Got into a discussion about emergency response at a professional retreat recently and everyone was going on and on about agility, and I was like, "Okay but what about contingency?"
And they were like "What?"
And I was like, "Agility isn't the ultimate form of preparedness. Contingency is. Agility still requires you to flounder and figure out a solution in the moment, but if you have a contingency plan, all you have to do is implement it."
And they were like "But you can't make contingency plans for every situation!"
And I was like, "Yeah, you basically can if you just identify all of your basic dependencies and contingency plan around the loss of any dependency," and then I gave a few examples.
And they all stared at me like I'm an alien.
Anyway, that's how I figured out I'm Batman-coded and also learned how Batman must feel talking to supposedly professional superheroes who never bothered to run disaster scenarios until I pointed out that it's insane that they don't already have a plan for if Superman turns evil.
Thereās a phrase that really stuck in my head around this. It was from one of the British divers who enacted the Thai caving rescue, though I couldnāt tell you which one or which interview.
As he described to the interviewer a moment of panic and how he he overcame, the interviewer said, in one of those, summarise-last-answer-given-with-appropriate-levels-of-respect-in-order-to-proceed-to-next-question phrasingās, āWow, so you rose to the occasion -ā
And the diver said, āNo, actually people always get that exactly wrong. In an unexpected and urgent situation you donāt rise to the occasion. You sink to the level of your training.ā
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Hello hello! I come baring fic! Haven't finished anything for a little while, but have had a lot of fun with this!
This is very self indulgent Captain Scarlet Pony AU fic, so yes they are all ponies here. But I want to explore situations that would only happen in that AU, and this is very much one of them!
You really don't need to know anything about My Little Pony for this, just be prepared for them to say 'everypony' and understand that my pony stuff is pretty headcanon heavy anyway lol
This fic ended up a lot longer than I expected, so I've split it up into three parts and I'll post them over the next few days (hopefully.) Also would like to say a very big thank you to the wonderful @mariashades for helping out with beta reading!
And with that, I've rambled enough, so here you go!
AO3 Link
Watching a pegasus fall out of the sky would always be chilling. There was a difference, of course, a big one, between a controlled dive that they could pull out of in a heartbeat, and the simple effect of gravity forcing them back to the ground when they could no longer keep themselves in the air.
Scarlet had spent enough time working with pegasi to be able to spot the difference, even at a distance. And what he'd just seen was, undoubtedly, the latter.Ā
One moment Blue had been flying swiftly through the air after their target. The next, said target had swooped back and Blue had been hit, hit hard, and he'd dropped like a rock towards the trees below.
The woodland that bordered the industrial compound the Mysteron's had targeted was dense and wild. Pushed back away from the buildings but otherwise left to its own devices. Finding somepony in that forest would be difficult.
Scarlet followed Blueās rapid descent, and practically leapt into a gallop the second it became obvious that he wasn't going to, or couldn't catch himself.
Blue disappeared from sight. The crunch of distant branches and a scattering of birds fleeing into the air told Scarlet exactly what had happened. He needed to get to Blue as quickly as possible, his hooves kicking up the dirt as he ran, weaving around trees and jumping gnarled roots that jutted up out of the ground.
A spark of magic locked onto the tracker in Blue's uniform - a trick that Magenta had taught him some time ago that often came in useful -Ā and told him roughly where he was.Ā
Scarlet followed the signal, not stopping even when a narrow stream came into view ahead of him. He easily cleared the water in one swift jump, losing no momentum as he landed on the other side.
A pink light flashed in the corners of his vision as his comms beeped in his ears, and his cap mic swung down into place.
"Scarlet, have you found him?" asked Magenta.
"No, but he's close," Scarlet replied. The signal was getting stronger, Blue had to be around here somewhere.
Scarlet slowed to a brisk trot, his eyes darting back and forth in search of a glimpse of blue amongst the greens and browns. "Damn it, Blue, where did you land?" he muttered between heavy breaths. Another slightly stronger spark gave him a clearer signal, and he turned and headed in that direction.
The first physical sign that he was going in the right direction was a single blue feather laying in the dirt.
"Blue?" Scarlet called out as he quickened his pace to a canter. He didn't get a response, but he didn't need one.
He pushed his way through the undergrowth, spotting another feather caught in the bushes. And on the other side, sprawled across the grass and worryingly still, was Blue.
"Magenta, I found him," Scarlet said quickly, before flicking his cap mic up and out of the way and dashing over to Blue. Magic shimmered around his horn as he tried to assess the condition Blue was in, though he could figure at least some of it out with his eyes.
"Blue, it's Scarlet, can you hear me?" Scarlet asked, cautious of touching him, not wanting to hurt him further. For the moment, he would rely solely on his magic giving him information on what was wrong.
Blue was breathing, and his pulse was a little fast, but he was alive and that was the most important thing. He hadn't responded to Scarlet's arrival, but the pained look on his face suggested that he was at least partially conscious.Ā
A quick glance at the broken branches above them confirmed Scarlet's theory of what had happened. The cuts and scrapes marking Blue's fur and feathers with red only added to that.
Scarletās magic gave no indication of injuries to Blueās neck or back, which was a relief on its own. His legs seemed okay too, and there were no signs of any large bleeds anywhere. Heād definitely be bruised and sore for a while, but the fewer larger injuries, the better.Ā
One of Blue's wings was draped loosely over him, but the other was partly trapped underneath him, folded at an odd angle. The metallic tang of blood lingered in the air, mixed with dirt and sap from the broken branches that had ripped and torn at Blueās feathers. Blood was dotted amongst the blue and yellow, and loose feathers were scattered around him. Some looked like they'd been dipped in red ink.
"Blue? I need to know if you're with me, buddy," Scarlet urged. Seeing Blue like this left a cold weight in the pit of his stomach. He needed to figure out the condition the fall had left him, and he needed to do it fast.
It took a moment, but eventually Blue opened his eyes and looked up at Scarlet. "Paul...?" he said, rough and quiet.
"Yeah, I'm here. Just stay still, okay? I've got you," Scarlet replied, meeting Blue's gaze with what he hoped was a reassuring smile.Ā
Blue gave a small nod and closed his eyes again. His breath shuddered as he exhaled. Something was definitely not right.
"My- my wing. It hurts-" Blue said shakily, his voice tight. Scarlet couldn't tell if it was from pain or fear. Or both. It was probably both.
Pegasus wings were powerful but delicate things. Many ponies, unicorns and earth ponies especially, didnāt realise how easy it could be to damage them. Broken feathers weren't uncommon, and whilst serious cases could affect flight, more often than not it just left the wings looking scruffy for a while whilst the feathering grew back.Ā
Anything that cut deeper than scapes or damaged plumage, however, could quickly range from concerning to devastating. And for a pony like Blue, a pegasus who loved to fly, who would probably spend all his time in the air if he could? Any kind of injury to his wings was frightening.
Scarlet had known at least one pegasus who had been almost completely grounded after suffering a badly broken wing. Even long after it had healed, they'd struggled to stay in the air for long. He didn't even want to imagine what something like that would do to Blue.
"Okay, I'll have a look," Scarlet said calmly. He didn't want to add to Blue's panic. It was already rare for him to be visibly afraid like this, Scarlet didn't want to make it any worse.
Scarlet pushed a little more magic into his spell, lowering his head to hold his horn closer to Blue's left wing - the one draped over him. Pale blue light, glittering with white and specks of green, shone against Blue's feathers as the spell did its work. Scarlet wasn't a medic, he couldn't heal wounds quickly like some unicorns could, but his magic did work as assessment and first aid, and right now that was what he needed.
Scratches and nicks of damage pinged across the length of Blue's wing where feathers had been torn out and the skin beneath had snagged on the tree branches. These were things that would heal easily. Feathers took time to grow back in, but relatively minor damage like this shouldn't keep a pegasus on the ground.
Scarlet carefully stepped over Blue and moved his focus to his right wing. If there was a more serious injury, he suspected it would be here. Trapped under Blue's weight and held at an awkward angle, it had likely taken more of the impact when he hit the ground. Scarlet really, truly hoped it wasn't anything too serious.
He took a breath, then shifted his magic over, the blue glow fading from one wing and settling on the other. Similar small pings of damage popped up at first, but were quickly overridden by a much sharper signal.
Scarlet focused his magic on that area, and swallowed hard as he processed the information he was receiving. Close to the elbow joint, just above it, was a much bigger flare. Internal damage, very possibly a fracture.
The blue glow around Scarlet's horn faded away and he stood up straight.
"Adam," he said, keeping his voice level despite the worry that had started to gnaw at him.Ā Staying calm and professional was never easy when it was Adam who was injured. Especially not like this. "Do you think you can sit up? Or at least lay on your belly, rather than your side?" he asked. Whilst he didn't know a lot about treating a broken wing, he did know the basics - it had been covered in first aid training many times over the years. But he couldn't do any of that with Blue's wing still underneath him.
Blue nodded and lifted his head. "Yeah, yeah I think so," he said, a little steadier now, but Scarlet knew him too well, and the pain and fear was still very much there.
Scarlet crouched at Blue's side to help ease him upright, matching his slow movements to avoid hurting him. Soon, he was laying comfortably on his belly, his hind legs close to his sides and his front legs tucked against his chest. He stretched out his left wing, wincing as the movement tugged at the scrapes and pulled feathers, but other than that the movement was fluid, confirming that the damage was minimal.
The right wing, however...
Trying to move it was a bad idea, and that became obvious immediately. Blue's feathers twitched and he gritted his teeth, and the wing stayed half-folded at his side.
"Shit..."
"Easy does it," Scarlet said gently. His horn lit up again and magic flowed across Blue's injured wing, focusing on the point of pain and pushing energy into a spell that should help to ease it. He couldn't get rid of all of it, not for an injury like this. It wouldn't last as long as proper painkillers either, but it was better than nothing. "Adam, you're going to hate this, but I need you to stay calm."
Blue looked up at him, an uncommon dread in his eyes. He knew what Scarlet was going to say but didn't want to accept it. "Why?"
"Because it will be easier. For both of us, but mostly you. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
Blue took a deep breath and looked away. "Just tell me..."
Scarlet watched him for a moment. He hated seeing Adam like this, he really, really did. But he couldn't keep the truth from him. "I think your wing is broken."
Blue let out a shuddering breath and rested his head on his front hooves, his ears pressed flat against his skull. "Okay..."
Scarlet laid a gentle hoof on Blue's shoulder. "You'll be alright."
Blue didn't look at him, just stared forward at the grass and leaves, dotted with blue and yellow feathers.
Before Scarlet could say more his epaulettes flashed pink, and the mic in his cap swung down and into place.
"Scarlet," said Magenta. "Everything okay? How's Blue?"
Scarlet took a breath before he replied, willing himself to keep calm. Splitting his focus between his magic and his injured friend was difficult enough already. Adding another thing didn't make it any easier.Ā
"Injured, but awake and aware," he replied. "How are things out there?"
"We've dealt with our flying troublemaker. Another of the pegasi managed to take them out after Blue went down. They won't cause anymore problems," Magenta explained. Scarlet was simply glad that the pony responsible for hurting Adam had been stopped. "Grey just headed out to find you two. He's got first-aid gear with him. He's flying over the forest, could you send up a flare or something so he can locate you easier?"
Scarlet looked up at the canopy overhead. It was thick and full of leaves. Grey likely wouldn't be able to spot them from above unless he found the damaged branches. And flying through them would be tricky without catching his wings on anything. But a bit of magic could pull them clear for long enough to allow Grey to fly through.
"Yes, I can do that," Scarlet said, his gaze dropping back to Blue, laying quietly and still staring at nothing. "Can you and Ochre handle everything on your end?"
"We'll be fine, there shouldn't be too much cleanup needed. You focus on Blue, okay? Just keep us updated."
"S.I.G." Scarlet nodded.
His cap mic flipped back up into place, and he allowed himself a soft sigh as he closed his eyes, just for a moment.Ā
This was not the kind of situation he'd ever wanted to be in. Okay, a lot of what he dealt with whilst on duty were situations that he didn't want to be in. But his friends getting hurt was a major recurring one. And very near the top of that list, second only to the absolute worst of possibilities, were two specific things.
One was Magenta suffering an injury that could permanently damage or even destroy his magic.
The other was Blue or Grey damaging their wings to the point that it left them unable to fly.Ā
Grey had already relearned how to fly once in his life. But as far as Scarlet knew, Blue had never suffered any major injuries to his wings. So a fracture there, even a minor one, was almost definitely a worst fear come true for Blue.
Scarlet may not be a pegasus, but it was a fear he could understand, at least to some degree.
A broken horn, after all, could easily kill a unicorn if severe enough. Knowing that he'd likely heal from it didn't take that fear away.
He needed to focus. Look after Blue, and make sure Grey could find them easily.
"Okay. Adam?" Scarlet said, trying to get Blue's attention again.
The twitch of an ear and a quiet 'hmm?' was the only response he got.
"This might hurt for a moment, but the spell should stick for a while, alright?"
"Yeah, sure," Blue replied, still quiet, but at least he'd used words that time. It was so strange seeing him like this.
Scarlet watched him for a few seconds, but he knew he wasn't going to get anything else from him.
Carefully, very carefully, Scarlet pushed his magic into Blue's injured wing. A little basic telekinesis allowed him to gently move it so that it sat folded against his body. Blue flinched and grit his teeth, but was otherwise silent.
Scarlet didn't have anything to make a sling out of, not until Grey got here, so for now this was the best he could do. He pulled his magic away slowly, not wanting to jostle Blue's injury too much.Ā
The glow around his horn faded, as did much of the light clinging to Blue's feathers. But there was still a slight shimmer around the point of injury where the painkiller was still active. That should ease the pain Blue was in for a while. At least until they could get proper medicine into him.
A small spark of magic told Scarlet roughly where Grey was. Flying over the forest not too far away. He stood beneath the broken branches, his eyes flicking across the damaged area as he determined how he was going to do this. The gap didn't need to be large. Grey's wingspan was smaller than Blue's, so he didn't need as much space to manoeuvre. But for something like this, even Blue wouldn't need a lot of room. Both were capable of tucking their wings close to fit through tight spaces.
Scarlet's horn lit up, and smaller branches above sparkled with blue light as he moved them carefully, just enough to create an opening in the canopy for a pegasus to fly through. A second bit of magic temporarily locked the moved branches into place.Ā
Once that was done, the magic around his horn glowed brighter as he pushed more energy into it. The light shifted from his usual pale blue to a bright red, and with one more push, a burst of magic zoomed up past the trees like a shot from a flare gun. Sparkling scarlet against the overcast sky.
Scarlet watched from the ground, and soon saw the familiar silhouette of Grey flying overhead.
Blue was still laying quietly. Scarlet really didn't know what to think of that, but he was worried. Definitely worried.
He wasn't given a chance to dwell on it for long, though, as the flapping of wings above was quickly followed by Grey swooping through the canopy, spreading his wings wide to catch and steady himself, before hovering a few feet off the ground.
"Scarlet," Grey said in a way of greeting, before his eyes drifted to Blue, and he looked as concerned as Scarlet felt. "Is he okay?" he asked as he settled his hooves on the ground and tucked his wings at his sides.
"I think this might be one you'll understand better than me," Scarlet said, not looking away from Blue.
"What do you mean?"
Scarlet finally turned to face Grey. "I think his wing is broken."
Grey's ears flicked back, his gaze drifting back to Blue for a moment, before he sighed and nodded. "Okay. Let's patch him up and get him out of here. The sooner we can get him back to Cloudbase, the better." The worry and shared pain in his eyes betrayed the calm in his voice, but it wasn't something Scarlet could blame him for. Definitely not.
Scarlet glanced up at the trees as he cancelled the spell holding the branches still. The leaves rustled as they snapped back into place. Then he turned his focus to tending to Blue.Ā
Grey lifted his wing to let Scarlet reach his saddle bag full of first-aid equipment, and Scarlet took everything he'd need before getting to work.
The last time he'd done this had been in a first-aid training session. He'd been working with Blue then, too. Now he was, once again, carefully putting Blue's wing into a sling. But this time, he was dealing with an actual injury. And as with anything, that made it so much worse.
Grey laid down in front of Blue and tried to talk to him. He asked how he was feeling, if anything other than his wing hurt, even simply tried to distract him from what was happening for a moment. Scarlet listened, but Blue didn't really say much. Scarlet wasn't sure if it was fear, or shock, or pain, or all three. But whatever it was, he didn't like it, not one bit.
Things were going to be tricky for a while, it seemed...
11. Orchestration
(noun)
the organization of the different elements of a complex body or activity so as to enable them to work together effectively
Tuesday 11 May, 0700hrs New YorkWednesday 12 May, 2100hrs Cloudbase
At precisely seven am NYT, Jeff stood behind the podium in the Tracy Tower auditorium, Lee just behind his right shoulder, and gave the assembled cameras and journalists a winning smile, relaxed and calm.Ā
This was probably the most technically difficult speech he'd ever had to give. Because that bitch had proof he couldn't accuse her of slander and he couldn't outright deny everything, so today was about dancing between the lines of what he could and could not say to lead the thoughts of the general public - because that's who he was really talking to, not the reporters - a certain way.Ā
This would be the foundation of his defence, Tobais and his team were busy building the rest even now, and by the end of the month itād be nothing more than a blip on the news cycle.
Taking a deep breath, Jeff began. āGood morning everyone, and thank you for coming. I'm going to just come right out and say it. The āexposeā screened last night can be summed up as bitter and angry words from a bitter and angry man who couldn't stand to share the spotlight, and that's all it is, words. I love my boys, I've cherished and nurtured them, and I've worked hard to give them the best of everything. To have my reputation attacked like this is deeply hurtful and I will fight these accusations - especially the baseless claim that my eldest son had to go into hiding.Ā Even now my lawyers are laying an injunction against the Kat Cavanaugh Show, and on their instructions I will not be able to answer any questions on this topic as it will be before the courts. Once again, thank you all for coming.āĀ
To a storm of āMr Tracy!ā and ājust one question!ā, with an accompanying forest of raised hands, he gave them all another smile and nod, stepped down from the podium and vanished out the side door, Lee guarding his back the whole way.Ā
āThat was perfect,ā Tobias fell into step with him and handed over a bottle of spring water. āWe've got it up on the website and socials already.āĀ
āWhat about pinning as much of it as possible on Lucille?āĀ
āWe're still running test audiences, but blaming a dead woman isn't proving popular, especially with how she died.āĀ
āKeep at it, there's got to be a way. How are the lawyers going?ā That was what Jeff really wanted to know.Ā
āTheyāre still in their meeting, but we should get a report when they break for lunch.āĀ
āGood. What's the next step?āĀ
āA counter attack. We're digging for dirt now, vetting a reporter for a follow up interview, and lining up character witnesses to tell the world the truth about the man who is the only possible choice for the next World President.āĀ
Jeff felt his lips stretch into a smile as he cracked open the bottle. āGood work Tobias, very good.ā
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
Between adventures, home for the Pendergasts was a small house tucked away in Burrumbeet, Australia. It was their haven, a place to rest, recover, and plan out new expeditions.Ā
They were in the middle of doing just that, having gotten back two days ago after a trip to Peru. The plan had been to take advantage of the cool night breeze to relax on the porch and review their footage before turning in, and they were more than a little annoyed to have their quiet time interrupted by a call on their private number.
They were even more annoyed when the guy calling them explained what he was after.
Buddy looked at the hologram, then at Ellie, who's extremely expressive face was doing an extremely expressive demonstration of how she felt about the idea.Ā
āTobias, right? Lemme get this straight.ā Buddy laid back on his hammock chair. āYour boss wants me to tell the world he's an awesome guy after Kat Cavernaugh told the world he beat his kid?āĀ
āIt's muck-raking by an angry, bitter man who couldn't share the spotlightā¦ā Tobias started, but Buddy cut him off before he got any further.Ā
āI've met that āangry, bitter manā,ā he kept his own expression neutral for now, āand I've met Gordon and I've met Alan. I've never met Jeff.āĀ
āThat can be fixed in a matter of minutes,ā Tobias gave him an ingratiating smile, āand the boost to your program will beā¦āĀ
Buddy cut him off again. āMate, I would rather fuck a spider.ā He ended the call and looked at his wife. āElls, you get all that?āĀ
She held up her tablet, grinning broadly. āEvery last bit. Feel like doing a quick piece to camera? I can have it edited and up before bed.āĀ
āLuv, I thought you'd never ask.ā Buddy rearranged himself in his chair, made sure his beer bottle was out of view, and when Ellie held up the tablet and gave him the thumbs up he tossed off a cheery wave. āHello adventurers, Buddy here. Iām sure youāve heard about the report about Jeff Tracy by now, and if you havenāt you soon will. Me and Ells just got a call from Jeffās head PR guy and someone forgot that Victoria is a one party consent state. Weāll let the clip speak for itself.āĀ
He waited until Ellie had lowered the tablet before reclaiming his beer. āHow was that, Luv?āĀ
āThat was perfect, Buddy.ā Ellie was already hard at work splicing the two clips together. āIāll have this up in no time.āĀ
It was online less than half an hour later, and it was the snowflake that set off a proverbial avalanche.
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
The hastily arranged interview at the Superlative Hadron Collider was conducted by remote, but that didnāt detract one bit from its message.Ā
āYouāve worked with International Rescue on several occasions, including providing the Centurium 21 fuel that was used to rescue Jeff Tracy from the Oort Cloud,ā the reporter was saying, ābut even though youāve never met Jeff Tracy youāre speaking out against him?āĀ
āI am.ā Calm and composed, Professor Moffat nodded, her chin raised and firm. āI was in fact recently invited to visit Tracy Island to meet him and possibly work for him, but I declined straight away. I couldnāt take the risk of working for a man like him or giving him access to my research.āĀ
Lieutenant Commander Atlanta Shore worked very hard to not roll her eyes as she listened to theā¦ she checked her tallyā¦ fifth reporter whoād made it through to her office āphone, trying to get information by going to WASP for the Gordon Tracy angle. She had to give the guy credit for persistence and creativity. After getting the official spiel of āno commentā and ignoring it, he was really laying it on thick with the āvital for people to know the truth with the election loomingā and other variations on the theme.Ā Ā
He wasnāt going to get a thing out of her though - she had her orders -Ā and she refused to give him the toe-hold of a disrespectful eye-roll to make print out of.
The first reason for her discipline was years of service in WASP and being held to a much higher standard than everyone else simply because she was Commander Shoreās daughter, the shared name automatically meant she had a much harder course to row.
The second reason was years of exposure to Tempest.Ā
āThe answer still hasnāt changed: No comment. No access. No interviews. Goodbye.ā A flick of her hand dismissed the call and she leaned her elbows on her desk so she could rub her temples to fend off the looming headache. āI need hazard pay for this.ā Yes, her job was to be the final filter to keep the nonsense out of the commanderās hair, but this was getting ridiculous. How in Amphitriteās name were so many people getting past the media liaison office?Ā
āAtlanta?ā A whirr of a hover chair and a touch on her arm was her father.Ā
āAre you sure this is the right thing to do, sir?ā she asked as she raised her head. Sheād met Lieutenant Commander Tracy and a couple of his brothers in passing once or twice, and of course sheād seen the news reports over the years. But as far as WASP as a whole was concerned, it didnāt matter that itād been years since he wore the uniform, Tracy was still one of them and he was entitled to the same protection as an active member. This broken record response of āno commentā was feeling uncomfortably like not taking responsibility and not standing in defence of one of their own, and the fact that Jeff Tracy and her father had been friends was only adding to that feeling.Ā
āIāve got Phones doing his thing, seems like some of those reporters are handing out bribes - and not a little blackmail - to get through to you,ā Shore told her. āWeāll get the cracks plugged in no time.āĀ
āBut just leaving it at āno commentā?ā Atlanta frowned. āTracyās WASP, he's one of us.āĀ
āThe water is muddy enough without us diving in too.ā Shore clearly wasnāt happy about it either, giving her arm a reassuring little squeeze. āItās being handled, trust me, but it's delicate. If we start spouting off we could capsize things.āĀ
āSpeaking of capsizeā¦āĀ
āYes, Marinaās keeping Troy busy and well off shore in Stingray for the next few days,ā Shore reassured her, āthereās no way Iām chancing him being unsupervised with the press on the hunt.ā The āagainā went unsaid.Ā
āYes, father.ā The holophone chimed and Atlanta gave the device a venomous glare: it was another reporter. āSir, I want hazard pay.āĀ
āYouāll get it,ā Shore promised as he backed up out of camera range - if he was spotted, it might get the reporterās hopes up of more information, especially if the word spread that they were starting to get past the proverbial guard at the gate. āIāll tell Phones to stomp on things harder.āĀ
āThank you, sir.ā Atlanta nodded, squared her shoulders and girded herself for caller #6.Ā
Sam Shore felt his heart swell with pride as he watched his daughter at work, but he couldnāt help the curl of concern - and guilt -Ā that curdled his belly. Charles had visited last week to give him the warning about the storm bearing down on them and the course he wanted WASP to sail. He hadnāt wanted to believe it, but Charles had brought proof, and itād taken a lot of fast talking from Charles to keep him from calling Jeff to bawl him out, then call everyone he knew to spread the news.Ā
Sam couldnāt hide his grimace. This whole mess had been a hell of a bitter pill to swallow. āCharlie, I hope like heck youāve got this under control, because sitting on my thumbs like this is getting hard.āĀ
T H U N D E R F A L L
Standing in the hall and listening to the bickering in the Yellow Drawing Room, Ćtienne Gieger rolled his eyes to the quite frankly ostentatious baroque rococo ceiling and prayed for strength to resist temptation.Ā
He had faithfully served the Lemaires as their head butler for almost ten years. With the kind of lifestyle the couple led, the tabloid scavengers had always lurked about with very large cheques in hand for gossip and tittle tattle, he could only imagine what this little exchange would bring with the current atmosphere.Ā
āFranƧios!āĀ
Ćtienne winced. Madame always became somewhat shrill when she was upset.Ā
āYou mean to tell me you want to support Jefferson Tracy?!ā she went on to exclaim.Ā
āI quite simply canāt imagine that he'd do something like that. It must be an exaggeration. You know what the press are like, they'll make molehills into mountains at the barest suggestion of a possible scandal. Theyāve done it to me enough times.āĀ
Ćtienne could imagine the expression that the Master would be wearing, his eyes half shut as he looked down his nose at Madame while lolling indolently in his favourite armchair, a snifter of brandy in hand.Ā
āHe has always been a perfect gentleman to me,ā the Master sniffed, āunlike his sons.āĀ
āHis sons who have saved our lives how many times?ā Madame demanded.Ā
āIāve told you, each and every time I knew exactly what I was doing!āĀ
āOh yes, you know exactly what to do: press the emergency button and eat camembert cheese with quince paste while you wait for rescue.ā She paused, then sneeringly added āwhen you can find the emergency button, that is.āĀ
The last line was laced with enough acid to burn even through the door. Despite himself Ćtienne crept closer to listen. They'd quarrelled before, but nothing like this.Ā
āHow dare you!?āĀ
A crash and breaking crockery was the Master lunging to his feet and knocking something over.Ā
āNo. How dare you, FranƧois Lemaire. I am fed up to the back teeth with your lackadaisical attitude to my safety and your callous disregard for anyone not yourself. We are done.āĀ
ā...Madeline, whatā¦what are you saying?āĀ
Ćtienne blinked, the Master sounded actually scared.Ā
āI am going to stay with my brother,ā Madame snapped.Ā
Heels clacked on marble and Ćtienne scrambled out of the way just before the double doors were thrown open and the furious Madeline stormed out, tears brimming in her eyes but her head held high. She spotted him immediately. āĆtienne, have my travel cases brought up and the car brought around,ā she ordered.
āYes, Madame.āĀ
T H U N D E R F A L L
"Who, Harrison?" John stared at his assistant, he couldn't have heard that correctly. Heād never met the man but he knew the name and the reputation, and a surprise visit, just dropping in out of the blue without even a āphone call? It was unheard of.
Harrison canted an eyebrow, he'd worked with John Svenson before he was The John Svenson, and had no fear of the man. "Lord Hugh Creighton-Ward. He said to mention that you have a mutual foe."Ā
John leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers together. "Did he now?" There was only one foe that had his attention currently and heād have been lying if heād said wasnāt burning with curiosity about how the man knew about his interest in the matter. "Ten minutes. Unless I say otherwise."
"Noted, Mr. Svenson. Ten minutes." Harrison turned and ushered in a tall man with blue eyes and silvered blond hair that was slightly longer than fashionable. What was extremely fashionable was his three piece suit in charcoal grey in a conservative English cut, crisp white shirt, and some kind of school or regimental tie done in a four-in-hand knot. John shifted slightly in his chair, he knew enough about clothes to realise this English lord was wearing bespoke Savile Row.Ā
John stood and held out his hand. "Lord Creighton-Ward."Ā
"Mr. Svenson." The handshake was firm without any of the usual power games. "I shan't take much of your time. I'm here to offer you an invitation for dinner tonight in New York. Harvest's private dining room, 8pm sharp."
The choice of restaurant was reassuring, butā¦"To what aim, Lord Creighton-Ward?"
The smile that came his way was a lion's snarl. "To discuss the downfall of Jeff Tracy."Ā
"So he would be our 'mutual' foe?" John crossed his arms. While he was reasonably certain about his own attack on the man, the offer of help would shorten the timeline considerably.
"Just so."Ā
John didn't need to think it over, but he made a show of it, he did have a reputation after all. "Any reason we couldn't discuss it now?" He waved a hand at the two couches and table in the corner of the room.
"Because the third member of this triumvirate isn't present." The lord hooked a thumb into his jacket pocket. "So, dinner?"
John's curiosity was aflame as he tried to figure out who the third person would be. "Dinner. I will see you there."
"Excellent." Lord Creighton-Ward held out his hand again. "Do be on time, it's rude to keep a lady waiting."Ā
T H U N D E R F A L L
āBearheads!ā In his artfully messy lounge, Brandon was lying sprawled across a gaming chair upholstered in orange and grey, surrounded by carefully arranged sports and video equipment. āUnless youāve been living under a rock, youāve heard about what a certain person has been accused of doing to the guy who literally saved my life. I said it on my socials, and Iāll say it again, right here, right now on live stream: I believe Scott Tracy.āĀ
He sat up straight, serious for one of the few times in his life. āScottyās someone I know, same with his brothers Virgil and Alan. Iāve seen them in action, and they always show up, camera or no camera. But Jeff Tracy?ā His features twisted into a disgusted scowl. āMe, Goose, The Bear Team, and a few friends of ours have been digging ever since the broadcast aired. You only ever see Jeff Tracy when thereās people he wants to be seen by and seen with, and he always talks to the journos. The rest of International Rescue? If you ever see them on camera, theyāre the ones doing the actual work while the big man takes the glory. Bearheads, Iāve got a challenge for you: look back in the archives, ask around, make notes. See when Jeff Tracy shows up and look at whoās there: whoāre the rich people, whoāre the famous people, whoāre the important people in trouble and needing a rescue. Actions, words, which one speaks louder, Bearheads? Ask yourself whoāre you gonna believe? The person who only shows up when it helps him, or the people who always show up to help you?āĀ
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
āI donāt care what itās doing to your budget, we have a job to do and we are going to see it done!ā Colonel Casey snapped as she stared down the image of the commander in charge of the North Atlantic. āIf we lose a ship because you ācanāt find the budgetā to run the operation you put on paper as having, I will have your head on a plate, and thatās after youāve fronted to high command to fess up to spending all your operational budget on not making sure your crews and your ships are ready to respond, 24/7. Is that clear?āĀ
ā....yessir,ā the man gulped, pale even through the blue tinting of the hologram, and Val cut the call with one hand while reaching for a bottle of ibuprofen with the other. She dry-swallowed a pill, made a timestamped note so she wouldnāt accidentally OD, then pulled up the file on her next proverbial fire to put out. iR had taken the strain in so many places across the world that many of her regional commanders had gotten slack, and the current crisis had shown that there was a non-zero number of āpaper tigerā operations out there: reported to be fully staffed and kitted out, but the reality was severely lacking.Ā
āI have a feeling thereās going to be several resignations after this, but thereās no way theyāre going to be accepted until after the investigations,ā was her sour thought as she scoured a map of Southwest USA and considered how to best redeploy the assets they had.Ā Ā
A tap at her door got an irritated āWhat is it?ā as she frowned at the map.Ā
Her aide de camp Lieutenant Rand stuck her head in. āColonel, itās Jeff Tracyās office calling. Again. They want a statement of support.āĀ
āTell them Iām busy,ā Val tried to not snap, and to Janiceās credit she recognised that. āYes I know Iām the GDF Liaison with iR, but iRās not flying and Iāve got emergencies to deal with.āĀ
āUnderstood.ā Janice nodded. āCoffee?āĀ
āYes, but make it decaf,ā Val absently waved a hand at the collection of cups on the corner of her desk. āIf I have any more caffeine Iāll be in orbit without the help of a rocket.āĀ
That got a brief smile. āYessir.āĀ
Janice ducked out and Val went back to her map, brows drawn close together in concentration as she moved GDF assets around like a grandmaster playing chess.Ā
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
This interview was an unusual one. Conducted in the visiting room of the rebuilt main facility of Parkmoor Scrubs Prison, the man once known as Fuse of the Chaos Crew was tidily presented in what had to be his court clothes, not the black and white stripes of an inmate, and seated opposite his interviewer at a plain, utilitarian table.Ā
The meeting had been arranged well in advance by a certain Lady with the ear of the right people in the right places and a deep appreciation of the effects of a personal narrative.
āThank you for agreeing to speak with us,ā the reporter said, her tone warm and friendly. āThough it did come as a surprise, considering you and your sisterās history with International Rescue.āĀ
āI had to.ā Clarence made a vague gesture at their surroundings. āWe saw it, the report I mean, anā the press conference this morninā.ā His expression darkened. āāe's lyinā. Jeff Tracy, I mean, not Scott Tracy.Ā I grew up in the system, I know when someone's lyinā.ā Clarence shifted his weight, his expression changing from anger to bitter regret. āLook, I'm in here because of what I did, right? Anā one of those things I did was almost murder Gordon Tracy. We dropped a pile oā rocks on his submarine anāā¦ā He paused to take a deep breath, ā...anā then I left him there to die. And you know what happened later?ā Clarence straightened up. āScott Tracy saved my life. I was at Shackleton tā steal uranium. I set off the lock down, anā I got in trouble. Big trouble. Like, āI should be deadā trouble, anā I dragged Scott anā two GDF guys right into that trouble with me. Scott saved me when he had no reason to and I had no right to be saved. I almost killed his brother on purpose, and he risked it all to save me. That ain't what a ābitter and angry manā would do. You ask me?ā He leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his broad chest. āThā only ābitter an angry manā āround here is Jeff Tracy. Heās got somethinā to hide and heās scared itās all gonna be dragged out inta the light.āĀ
T H U N D E R F A L L
In his London workshop, Tycho Reeves considered Beckyās hologram like it was a particularly fascinating insect, and in some ways it was.Ā
He had been in touch with Moffie for almost three years now, having met her through Brains, and she and he had been in cahoots on how to get Brains out of his pickle as soon as sheād alerted him to the true nature of Jeff Tracy. The knowledge that Brains had been evacād out was a deep relief for both of them.Ā
What made the little hologram of the PR flunky so fascinating to him was that the woman had the inside scoop on Jeff Tracy and she was still sold on him, hook, line and sinker, passionately defending his cause instead of running for the hills like a sane person. Not only that, she was trying to convince him to speak up in the manās defence. āI should look into why sheās doing this. Must make sure I donāt fall for something like it too,ā he mused as she went on, extolling the virtues of a man heād never met and really didnāt want to.Ā
She finally paused for breath and Tycho jumped in before she could continue her hardline sales pitch.Ā
āNo thank you, and never call me again.ā He hung up and blocked her number, then on second thought he set his phone to private and flicked a message to his PA to screen all of his calls with absolutely nothing from Jeff Tracy or his people to be passed on until further notice.Ā
Task done, Tycho went back to his work. He had upgrades to the Hypertube to finish and roll out before the rush of holiday travellers.Ā
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
āIt was a complete bloodbath after Jeff took over,ā Doctor June Calligan told the interviewer.Ā
Once the head of R&D at Tracy Industriesā UK division, she was one of a group of former employees that had (with the encouragement of a certain Lady) banded together for a series of interviews with one of Kat Cavernaughās comrades - another investigative journalist who reported under the moniker of Abby South - and they were being interviewed in twos and threes.
āThe man ruled the room and he deliberately dismantled all of Scottās pet projects, no matter how much profit they were making,ā she went on to say.
āHe fired me and half the board at TIās South American division,ā Eduardo Sousa chimed in from his seat next to her. āScott hired me as head of security, but as soon as Jeff took charge, me and everyone else that Scott or any of the other Tracys hired was either out or on their way out. He kept everyone that heād hired and everyone that his people had mentored, but if you were a ānewā hire, unless you proved your loyalty you got your walking papers pretty quick.āĀ
āDid anyone try to bring this in front of the employment courts?ā Abby asked. āThat has to have violated your contracts.āĀ
āSome of us tried, but his lawyers sued and bankruptedā¦ā Eduardo looked to Calligan.
āSeventeen,ā June supplied.Ā
āYeah, seventeen people, citing non-compete clauses and other stuff.ā Eduardo made a face. āThat plus things that started happening to the people that didnāt have those clauses: broken windows, cars getting damaged brakes, our kids being followed by vansā¦ well, it made the rest of us shut up pretty quick.āĀ
āSo why didnāt you go to the police?ā Abby asked the question she knew everyone else would want an answer to.Ā
June and Eduardo shared an incredulous look, then turned back to Abby. āItās Jeff Tracy,ā Eduardo began, "the richest man on the planet, and he was giving a warning. If weād taken it furtherā¦ wellā¦ weāve all seen what happens to whistleblowers.āĀ
āWhy speak out now?āĀ
āBecause Katās expose put the truth out there and if something happens now the world will listen and the world will know it was him,ā was Juneās reply.Ā Ā Ā Ā
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
At five minutes to eight, John Svenson strode into the Harvest restaurant and went straight to the maitre'd, a slim man somewhere in his forties who looked about as ruffle-able as a statue. āGood evening, John Svenson, there should be a reservation under Lord Hugh Creighton-Ward for the private dining room,ā he said, scanning the main room to see if he could spot the Brit and the mysterious third party.Ā
āYes sir.ā The maitre'd beckoned over a young woman in a crisp black uniform and spotless white apron.Ā
āThis way please sir.ā She turned and guided him to the small private room at the back of the restaurant. The table was already occupied by Lord Hugh and an older woman in a dark suit and royal purple blouse.Ā Ā
āAh, right on time,ā Lord Hugh said as he rose to greet him. āMr Svenson, I would like to introduce our third party, Doctor Ruth Tracy.āĀ
āA pleasure,ā John said with a polite smile and a handshake that covered how he was actually feeling. He knew of the Tracy matriarch by reputation, if she was involved in thisā¦ if she was going up against her own sonā¦ āThere is much more going on here than meets the eyeā¦ā
By silent mutual agreement, a quick scan of the menu was made and orders were placed, and as soon as the waitress had their orders and was out of the room, John got straight to business. āDoctor Tracy, would I be right in suspecting youāre leading the charge?āĀ
āYou would be. Because I know you like to know someoneās credentials, I was a partner in my husbandās agricultural business, I was heavily involved in managing the board in the immediate aftermath when Jeff wasā¦ away, and assisted in running it while Scott and the boys were in charge. The board all either know me or know of me.ā She drew a paper folder from the bag beside her chair and laid it on the table. āGentlemen, I need your help in launching a hostile takeover of Tracy Industries. Between the three of us, we are now the majority shareholders. The end goal of this operation is to get Jeff and his sycophants out while keeping TI as intact as possible: it provides the funding for International Rescue, and Iām sure youāll agree that the world needs iR back in the air ASAP.ā Her lips thinned. āThis needs to be done quickly and seamlessly. Knowing Jeff like I do, the longer things are drawn out, the higher the chances that heāll burn the place down on his way out the door.āĀ
āIf he canāt have it, no one can?ā John guessed.Ā
āExactly.āĀ
For a moment, just a moment, he caught a flicker of bitter self-recrimination, but it was gone before he could blink.Ā
āI have been advised that Spectrum will be arresting Jeff as soon as they can,ā Doctor Tracy went on. āThereās a lot of moving pieces in play, but all we have to worry about is our end. If we can get the takeover underway before Spectrum acts, weāll keep TI out of limbo and move things along that much faster.āĀ
John nodded slowly, absorbing everything. āI wonder if Adamās involved in this. It has to be more than just that expose, especially with how he asked me to get in on things all those months ago.āĀ āWhy is Spectrum doing the arrest?ā he asked out loud. āNot that I donāt agree that TI and iR need to be out of that -ā he almost said ābastardā but caught himself just in time ā- manās hands as soon as possible, and he cannot possibly be allowed to win the election, but so far what heās done is local law enforcement level, not World Government level.āĀ
Doctor Tracy flicked a quick look at the door to make sure it was closed, then turned back to him. āDo you recall what happened to my eldest grandson while he was in the military?ā
It took a momentās thought, but he nodded. āYes, butā¦ā The penny dropped and he blanched. āHeās involved with that country?!āĀ
āYes.āĀ
That cinched it for him. āAdam and I have aā¦ complicated relationship,ā John admitted to himself, ābut there is no way in hell Iāll stand by while someone makes nice with the people who tried to kill him.ā āIām in.ā He nodded to the door. āFood first, itāll be due any minute now, then show us your plans, Doctor Tracy.āĀ
T H U N D E R F A L LĀ
Exhausted at the end of a quite frankly hellish day, Tobias dropped into his plush office chair with a groan. He took the time to rub both temples with his fingers before pouring himself a glass of G Rum No.1 and taking a long sip.Ā
Today had been bad and he was not looking forward to Jeffās reaction to the results of their work trying to drum up popular support for him. He had a few voices, but no one of serious substance and standing, and anyone thatād been rescued by Scott? They were closing ranks and speaking out in his favour. āHow the hell did this go so sideways?ā Tobias asked himself as he sat back with his drink. The election should have been a cinch and running this campaign should have been smooth sailing all the way. Heād done his research before signing on the dotted line, looking into the backgrounds and track records of all the candidates like a gambler picking where to lay his bets on the Superbowl. Jeff Tracy had stood head and shoulders above the rest, a rising star that continually stretched to ever more stupendous heights, and attaching his name to the Tracy campaign promised to open every door for him.Ā Ā
But nowā¦ now that crusading bitch was going to ruin everything! Between āThe Bearā kicking off his trending hashtag on one side of the younger voter base and the Pendergastsā cheeky little clip starting things off with the other side, Professor Moffat appealing to the female and scientific communities, and of all things, one of the Chaos Crew speaking to the rougher end of society and the bleeding hearts who wanted to rehabilitate them, they were in deep trouble. Sure, they had the TI/Jeff Tracy die-hards railing away on social media and posting their clips of their favourite Jeff Tracy moments, but aside from Lemaire and Fischler there weren't any big social media names on their side and the overwhelming majority of mainstream media outlets were playing hard to get. Yale - both current students and alumini-Ā was turning out in force on Alan and Scott's side (and he was grinding his teeth over what those college kids were doing, heād literally kill to have that creativity and passion for their guy), the GDF was refusing to toe the line, and on top of all that, someone, or several someones more likely, had even dug up and set loose two or three more videos from the Paris Air Show incident and the media had pounced on it!Ā
Tobias scowled and took another sip of rum, letting the alcohol sit on his tongue and feeling the pleasant burn of it before swallowing. The Paris Air Show stuff was something he was going to chase up personally, theyād laid out a lot of money to Tracyās people in the different media outlets to catch and kill that particular story and all the associated photos and videos that went with it.Ā
āAll this means weāre fighting eight plus years of the Scott Tracy brand, the kids whoāve grown up with him as the face of International Rescue, versus two plus years of the Jeff Tracy brand,ā Tobias sighed as he thought out loud. āYeah, our guyās got the most recent attention, but heās not as established with the current generation. But itās not too late to salvage this.ā Tobias swirled the glass, watching the light play off the alcohol and the cut crystal glass. āEveryone hits a stumble or set back along the way, it was naive to think itād all be smooth sailing. Thatās all this is, a set back, and something that we can later frame as proof about how great our guy is, how he rose above this to get to where he needed to be. Yeah, thatāll work, āRising Aboveā, thatāll be the perfect title for his autobiography.āĀ Ā Ā
Feeling much better about it all, Tobias put down his glass and called up a holoscreen to quickly jot down some notes, only to get interrupted by a knock at the door.Ā
āWhat is it?ā he asked, and not a little sharply, irritated at the interruption to his flow.Ā
Expecting one of the interns, he was vaguely surprised when the bottle blond analyst walked in, a battered and old paper folder in his hand and a smug grin on his face. āTobias, I just struck gold,ā he announced as he put the olive green folder down on the desk.
His notes forgotten, Tobias dragged it closer, opened it up, then whistled through his teeth as he read the papers, then read them again to make sure they said what he thought they did. He looked up at the analyst - some really forgettable name. "Is this for real?"
Bottle Blond nodded. "I called in a favour with a guy I know in the WAAF records department. We can file an expedited FOIA since we have names. We can't use this yet, not until we have it 'officially', but after that itās all on."Ā
Tobias nodded and went back to the papers in his hands, paper didn't leave a digital trail so they couldnāt be accused of improper access until it was too late to matter. "File it. I don't care about the cost, file the damn thing. Youāre right. This is freaking gold." He looked up at Bottle Blond. "We can't use it verbatim, not yet, but we can sure as hell insinuate." He underlined some text with a finger: " 'Captain Tracy shows signs of psychosis, either due to genetics or more likely PTSD due to his incarceration as a POW in Bereznik'.ā He grinned at whatever-his-name-was. āThis is exactly what we need."Ā
A whump event set in August, run by @starryybrained
Write-up of prompts & rules under the cut
MAIN PROMPTS:
Day 1: resentment / infection / sinister
Day 2: electricity / dislocation / drugs
Day 3: lonely / paradise / cold
Day 4: shackles / support / stoic
Day 5: gunpoint / gristle / terror
Day 6: high / choking / charred
Day 7: needles / tense / smile
Day 8: angel / bite / mercy
Day 9: fresh meat / tragedy / selfish
Day 10: payback / beast / beating
Day 11: cpr / corrosive / coughing blood
Day 12: storm / stumbling / squirm
Day 13: cave in / catatonic / plane crash
Day 14: itch / skin / hooks
Day 15: hidden enemy / crime / body
Day 16: broken promise / flood / still waters
Day 17: chemicals / count / chronic condition
Day 18: flayed / knew it / shattered
Day 19: head trauma / wires / fuzzy
Day 20: training / jealousy / woozy
Day 21: sorrow / sanguine / system
Day 22: watching / bonded / resistance
Day 23: blanket / bold / crowbar
Day 24: draining / deadly / doomed
Day 25: twisted / aversion / crunch
Day 26: listless / misstep / remember
Day 27: rest / behave / title
Day 28: party / mania / limit
Day 29: exile / leash / fault
Day 30: quiet / pinned / perfect
Day 31: free day
ALT PROMPTS:
Alien
Headline
Tradeoff
Disappear
Freak show
Worry
Power hungry
Shadows
Reconditioning
Blindfold
Reunion
GUIDELINES:
Prompts should ideally be responded to in the form of whump
Creators can make any type of media they want (Yes, this includes any kind of media, no matter how niche. As long as itās creative, itās allowed)
Tag & trigger warn your content accordingly. This includes marking NSFW and putting up proper barriers against minors seeing it
You can complete these prompts in tandem with any other event or other prompts (such as in combination with Bad Things Happen Bingo, AU-gust, etc.)
DO NOT use ai or plagiarize
Tag your works as #augustofwhump and/or #augustofwhump2026. In addition to that, you can also tag this account ā @augustofwhump. Iāll try to reblog whatever I can!
I'll give this a shot. TAG or original Thunderbirds, CSaTM, Secret Agent 21, any of my AUs. Please include the whole prompt as well as any specific character's you want to see. Please no non-con or eye trauma requests, and I reserve the right to politely decline anything I am uncomfortable with.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
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Angus McBride's 1966 "Legendary Beasts" series ran in the backs of the weekly magazine Finding Out. Daisy at Beautiful Books has collected all 36 of them over here - this is just half of them!
The first rule of fandom is have fun. The second rule of fandom is find an enabler and become an enabler. Yes you should write that fic. What if it was even hornier? What if it was angstier? What if you wrote it just for me?
When you're on the morning commute through London and the spirit of Barry Gray decides this morning's ride is not going hard enough and that you should be thinking less about getting to the office and more about getting the atomic device to the excavation site.
"This week I discovered the same pattern, executed by Google. Google Chrome is reaching into users' machines and writing a 4 GB on-device AI model file to disk without asking."
Google Chrome is downloading a 4 GB Gemini Nano model onto users' machines without consent, with no opt-in, no opt-out short of enterprise t
pretty sure I did the chrome//flags thing a while ago, but also i switched to firefox, which is not without the occasional bullshit, but is vastly less bullshitty than chrome.
This is why I treat genai "features" like the invasive blackberry bushes they are: cut, root, burn, and vigilantly watch for new shoots to uproot. I'm 54 years old and the world got by fine without genai for most of my lifetime.
tags via@KKglinka #psa#having read the article#it's not clickbait#chrome is reaching#across all chromium browsers#to link a prepatory structure#this malware packet#will therefore occur#with all chromium browsers#it has nothing to do#with the actual ai interface#instead chrome is either#using your personal computer#as part of a cloud server#the way bitcoin malware works#or it's recording your own#actions on the computer#with a continuously active#background module#either way#that's malware#a 4gig trojan virus
404 has been knocking it out of the park since they started. Please support their original reporting on this! If you subscribe to nothing else I highly recommend them. Their podcast is great too.
Planning documents for "Scout" say the plan is to "make people addicted" to the tool before adding new features.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Quality
Anya is LIVE right now
FREE
Free to watch ā¢ No registration required ā¢ HD streaming
"This week I discovered the same pattern, executed by Google. Google Chrome is reaching into users' machines and writing a 4 GB on-device AI model file to disk without asking."
Google Chrome is downloading a 4 GB Gemini Nano model onto users' machines without consent, with no opt-in, no opt-out short of enterprise t
pretty sure I did the chrome//flags thing a while ago, but also i switched to firefox, which is not without the occasional bullshit, but is vastly less bullshitty than chrome.
This is why I treat genai "features" like the invasive blackberry bushes they are: cut, root, burn, and vigilantly watch for new shoots to uproot. I'm 54 years old and the world got by fine without genai for most of my lifetime.
tags via@KKglinka #psa#having read the article#it's not clickbait#chrome is reaching#across all chromium browsers#to link a prepatory structure#this malware packet#will therefore occur#with all chromium browsers#it has nothing to do#with the actual ai interface#instead chrome is either#using your personal computer#as part of a cloud server#the way bitcoin malware works#or it's recording your own#actions on the computer#with a continuously active#background module#either way#that's malware#a 4gig trojan virus
Like idk, I dont think its all that shocking a Bunch of Queer people most liked the show about having a complicated relationship with your culture and never being allowed to go home.
With thanks to @edutainer2022 for the suggestion based on this picture by @okierodeo and @the-original-sineater and @mariashades
~
The rest of the week was full on.
The ploughing competition was on Saturday so there were only two days left to ensure everything was ready.
Virgil and Brains spent most of the time in the big barn with Bertha. Their big old Deere had been a mainstay of the farm for years but she didnāt look like she had when Grandpa Grant had bought her new.
First Virgil and then later their live-in friend and fellow engineer Hiram Hackenbacker, mostly called Brains for ease, had tinkered and played and now Bertha was a monster with a turn of speed that was frankly unnatural for a tractorā¦
John spent his time divided between the designated field - walking the perimeter, taking soil samples and making extensive notes - and his barn on Thunderbird Hill making calculations and running experiments on the soil. And his dogs. Every day he spent the morning with them, running the course heād prepared.
Gordon split his time between helping John and his own aqua farming. Heād almost perfected his pain-relieving plants but they wouldnāt be ready for this yearās competition. They still needed tending though. The rest of the time he spent looking after the farm in general, taking over the jobs his older brothers would usually do to free them up.
Alan helped out Gordon around the farm and running errands, making sure that his brothers ate and generally feeling a little useless.
Everyone knew Alan hadnāt yet found his place, his roleā¦whatever you wanted to call it. He really wanted to do what Scott did. Heād been so much more than a big brother to Alan, heād been the only Father Alan had had for most of his life.
He was man enough to know he hero-worshipped Scott, but Alan knew that he needed to find his own way. Creating new fuels to help his brother go even faster was all well and good, but that was something both John and Virgil had both done before him, his second-eldest brother introducing him to the process once he was old enough not to blow the barn upā¦more than once.
Alan needed something that was going to be all his.
He just had no idea what that was going to be.
āAlan?ā
āYes, Grandma?ā
āI need your help a moment please.ā
āFAB, Grandma.ā
Sally Tracy smiled as her youngest skidded into the kitchen. Just like his eldest brother, Alan couldnāt do anything less than top speed, and he threw her a sheepish grin. She tutted but said nothing more, asking him to grab a box from the storeroom.
The storeroom was in the basement. It was neatly stacked but not somewhere Alan usually went. He found it creepyā¦but heād do anything for his Grandma. The box she wanted was easy to reach but up high, and he used what looked like a sturdy box to stand on.
It was not a sturdy box and with a yell Alan unbalanced and fell, the box his Grandma wanted and a couple others falling with him.
No one heard him, though, and with a sigh he twisted around and began to stuff things back into boxes, glad that there was no one around to hear him curse. Why did they have so much junk? He shoved a photo album back into a box but a picture fell out.
Alan glanced at the photo and froze.
His phone rang and Scott broke off from his discussion of tactics with John. He frowned when he saw who was calling.
āGrandma? Is everything alright?ā
āIām sure itās nothing, Scott, but I asked Alan to bring the box of labels up from the basement. Heās been gone a long time.ā
āFAB, Grandma. Iām on my way.ā
āThank you.ā
Scott knew that their Grandma couldnāt leave the kitchen. Her various dishes needed constant attention and so he loped over to see what was going on with his youngest brother.
He froze at the bottom of the basement stairs. Alan was standing there, holding a picture in one hand and justā¦staring at it. For some reason it made Scottās heart stutter.
āAlan? Al, buddy?ā
But Alan didnāt say anything for the longest while. Scott approached slowly but still he wasnāt acknowledged. Gently he removed the picture from Alanās hand. He couldnāt help the gasp that escaped him and finally Alan moved.
āScotty? Is thatā¦is that Mom?ā
āYeah.ā
āI never knew she rode rodeo.ā
āI guessā¦I guess we just never talk about it. By the time Gordon was born Mom had retired, but when John, Virgil and I were growing up it was Dad who looked after us mostly, Mom was always on the rodeo trail. Sheād be home maybe one or two months maximum spread out throughout the year apart from when she was pregnant.ā
āWas she good?ā
āOh man, Alan, I wishā¦I wish you could have seen her! She was like lightning on hooves. She had a turn of speed Iāve never seen anyone else have on a horse, she was a real Cowgirl. I think there should be some old footage in one of these boxesā¦ā
Scott broke off and began rummaging around the boxes and eventually held up a vid-disk with a soft smile. Grabbing firstly the box their Grandma wanted and throwing his arm around Alanās shoulders they made their way upstairs.
After handing over the box of labels they moved to the den and settled down. While Scott set up the vid Alan called the others and pretty soon they were all sitting on the large sofa ā Alan in the middle with Scott on one side and Gordon on the other, John on Scottās side and Virgil on Gordonās. And the video played.
They whooped and cheered along as Lucille Evans topped the bill. They watched their Mom riding, roping and racing far into the night until there was no more to see.
And Alan turned to his brothers, eyes alight and excitement clear.
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The Tube Post has been updated for 2026! Endless thanks to @andstuffsketches for the amazing art (!!!), @rowenabean for checking this over for me (all remaining mistakes are my own), @kelpforestdwellers for extra tips, and @appleyblam for an editing pass. Thank you all!
If you would like to download the zine for your own use, you can find it for free on itch.io.
@hamletthedaneās tags:
#Vincent Van Gogh is crying somewhere in the after and Iām crying just thinking about that#you knew!! you saw the patterns!! there is a whole planet painted in the oils from your brush!!#TIL that the craft Juno went as close as 4000km from Jupiterās weather surface#for context: the craft was closer to Jupiter than NYC is to LA#which is space terms is like. basically being on the planet#holy shit
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