At the weekend my husband and kiddos went to Beamish (massive museum in North East England, if you can go do it's amazing) and they had a guest exhibition from the North East Meccano Society. I was away but I feel a bit sad because I didn't see MECCANO TWO AND FOUR!!!
one of the legs are missing from tb2 but thats alright with me!! i got it off facebook marketplace (i can always count on it when i want something lol) and he gave it to me for free :3
What are these things called in the dry tubes? Do they have a "proper" name? The best I can come up with is like, a restraint like for a rollercoaster but even that is escaping me
and to celebrate, i wrote a lil something-something between Gordon and Four that's, not related to that main story i'm writing with them, but, just as a side thing, if that makes sense xD c:
here go! enjoy them being cute >w<
(i dunno why but i was listening to Kingdom Dance from Tangled on repeat while writing this. it helped motivate for some reason :D)
Early mornings before the rest of the island was awake were often the best parts of the day. Especially when you got to soak in the silence before rowdy brothers, or a klaxon alarm, interrupted it. Gordon had missed his morning swims.
His arm finally healed, he could actually enjoy them again, and strode down to the pool with a pep in his step. Hopefully he’d have just enough time to do a couple of laps (and maybe relax a bit) before they were called out on any rescues.
Just as he stepped forward to dive into the water, a louder splash sounded out from the sea, down by the shores of the island. Amber eyes brightened as the aquanaut curiously went to investigate. Had something fallen into the water? Was there a creature splashing about in the sea? Was there an intruder on Tracy Island?
Gordon half-ignored the last thought, but decided he’d better go down and check it out anyway.
It was a bit of a walk from the poolside down to a safe spot of the shore where he wouldn't slip and fall, but he found he didn't need to go to the water's edge to find what had been splashing about.
His Thunderbird stood tall in the water, ripples around her knees where she kept her ground on the sand as it disappeared into the watery depths. The aquanaut hid a laugh in his hand as the craft suddenly twirled around, and landed on her backside in the water, having tripped on something he couldn't see.
"Gordon!" the sub chirped happily, ignoring that she'd fallen, just being glad her pilot had found her. "Look! I found a spot that's the perfect depth for me!"
"So you did." Amber eyes swept over her frame, Gordon grinning as he moved a little closer to the water's edge. "You okay though?"
"Yep! I-..." The Thunderbird suddenly paused, dropping her hands into the water at her sides. Sea-green optics trailed over her pilot, a little sullen in guilt. "Oh... I didn't, wake you, did I? I thought, I couldn't be heard from the villa.."
Gordon shook his head with a laugh. "No you didn't. I was already poolside when I heard you; thought I'd come investigate the splashing though!"
If the craft couldn't tell where he was headed by his outfit and the towel slung around his shoulders...
The ocean was starting to look mighty inviting. And he didn't particularly feel like trudging back up to the pool...
For now, the aquanaut sat himself on a rock next to the water, dipping his feet in and just watching his Thunderbird enjoy herself.
"... It's weird being in water not in my craft-form," the sub observed, lifting a servo and watching the water run off her digits.
"You're gonna be more salty than normal," Gordon commented with a snicker. "And don't even get me started on the sand-!"
Thunderbird Four let out a soft huff... and tossed a handful of water at him. Gordon yelped and nearly slipped off the rock, spluttering as the water hit him like a tidal wave. It certainly felt like one-!
He sat there, dripping and stunned, for a moment before swiping water out of his eyes. His sub looked a little shocked herself, before bursting into giggles.
"You can be sandy with me!"
"Hey no fair! I can't splash you back!"
The Thunderbird continued her giggles; she might have been the smallest of the crafts, but she had still had advantage over their human pilots. She didn't notice Gordon get to his feet, and back up to take a running leap into the water, chanting 'cannon ball!' as he landed. An attempt was made - the water merely only splattering against the sub's arm. He surfaced a second later, floating on his back to stare up at the yellow Thunderbird, her frame shading him from the sun. He felt warmly comfortable at her side, knowing she was keeping an eye on him, so she didn’t accidentally move and sweep him away in the water. Who said you couldn’t be friends with a giant robot-?
Gordon rolled over and changed position, treading water so he didn’t slip under and blindly tried to find a submerged crook of metal he could find his footing on. He found one in her hand as she lifted it to gently aid him; the aquanaut then tilting his head at her.
“What made you decide to come out here anyway?”
“I was… maybe a little bit bored…” Thunderbird Four sheepishly admitted. Gordon had broken his arm, which meant she’d been grounded unless one of the other brothers piloted her for a rescue. What made her decide to come out to the water today, she was still thinking about. “Needed to get out for a bit. Poke around the island… explore.”
She could have done it any other day, now that she thought about it. But… something about today told her she’d eventually meet up with her pilot… and she had! Craft and pilot could enjoy the water together, where they belonged.
“I stopped here cause, something about it felt special. When I transformed, I wasn’t expecting to be able to stand! I thought there’d be another drop-off, like every other part of the island!”
She laughed, and Gordon lightly joined her with a laugh of his own. That was true, and the ocean was pretty deep to begin with! He suspected his Thunderbird would have likely sunk to the seafloor had she not figured out how to float. The aquanaut turned and swam over to a spot he could grasp onto metal, before hauling himself out of the water to climb his Thunderbird. The sub sat quietly as she let him, waiting until he was sat on her shoulder before she moved freely, sitting more comfortably as the water shifted around her.
“… Why have we never done this before?” Gordon then asked softly.
“I guess, there was never an opportunity to,” Thunderbird Four answered, peeking at him from the corner of her optic before looking back over the horizon. “I’m glad you’re my pilot, Gordon.”
