This week's activity is the Colour Palette Challenge!!!🌈

Send eachother a subject (character, vehicle, location, ect.) and a pride flag pallete and draw and create to your heart's content.

Underneath the cut will be some simple rundowns for each identity featured in this year's pallete challenge for anyone who is unsure of what they are or just wants to learn more. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

It is the Gift Exchange for @thunder-pride and I was assigned to make something for @tanushakyrano!! I had SO much fun with the prompts, and really hope this brings a smile to y'all <3 <3 <3

Full image under the cut!

AO3 link

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‘Is it done John?’  Virgil didn’t regret making the call.  It was this or a bigger headache with a lot more paperwork.

‘In about 30 seconds.  I’m sure the entire island will hear it, just waiting for Alan to finish turnover.  It’s the last thing I’ll do before I take off for home.’  John was double checking everything for his return trip home.  

‘Ok, we’re ready down here.  Who has the password?’

‘Gordon.  As much as I love you Virgil, if he pushes you enough, you'll cave.  On the other hand, Gordon will write it on a piece of paper, stick it to a fishing pole, and wave it in front of his face, just out of his reach.’  Virgil chuckled.

‘No offense taken John.  I was just wondering who had it, just in case.  I actually thought you’d given it to Penny or Tin.’

‘I considered them, but they’re both off island.  Better to have it more local.’

‘Agreed, ready?’  John finished up the last few things and settled into the pilot’s seat.  

‘Flipping now.’  Within seconds, Scott saw a message take over his screens.  The groan could be heard all the way in England.

‘You’d better leave 5 now John, before he tries to convince someone to call you.’

‘FAB.  I’ll see you all soon.’  Scott walked into the room, just as John cut the link.

‘Virgil,’ Scott started, ‘really?’  

‘Yes Scott, really.’  Scott rolled his eyes and was about to speak when Virgil cut him off.  ‘In all fairness big brother, you were warned.  You need rest and a break.  Your injury will never heal properly if you don’t.’  Scott opened his mouth to protest, and Virgil cut him off again.  ‘Don’t even try it.  We’re all paramedics, but I’m the family medic.  You may be able to fool the others, but not me.  You have 2 options right now, take this break, and I’ll keep my mouth shut about your ribs, or you can keep going on like an idiot, and I’ll turn this into medical downtime.  What would you rather?’

‘You don’t play fair.’

‘No I don’t.  What’s your choice?’

‘Ok, ok, you win.  Regular downtime.  You really don’t play fair.’

‘Noted.  Now, John will be some soon enough.  He’s going to do the supply run with me and Gordon.  Don’t forget to add what you need to the list please.’

‘Already done.’

‘Ok, now scoot.  It’ll be lunch time in a little bit, why don’t you take advantage of this nice weather and eat on the beach.’  

–

‘How’d it go Virg?’

‘Better than I thought Gords.  Honestly though, I was expecting more of an argument.  Just let me know if he tries to break into the system or bother you for the password.’

‘Well, you did pull the John card.  You never do that.’  A bunch of noise from the kitchen caught their attention.  ‘What is he doing?’

‘I mentioned maybe enjoying lunch down on the beach today to relax.’  Virgil took a good look at the mess in the kitchen and the basket being packed.  ‘Just how much food is he packing?’

‘Finally.’

‘Finally what Gordon?’

‘He’s finally taking the first step.  It’s about time too.’  Virgil pinched his nose and groaned.

‘Gordon, not enough coffee yet this morning.  Take a step back and try again please.’

‘Scott’s smitten and has been for a while now, but he’s never done anything about it.  Didn’t you hear what he was saying?’

‘His mumbles?  Yea, I heard him mumbling, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.’

‘I heard enough.  He was trying to remember if Brains liked lemonade or grape juice more.’

‘Ahh…so finally.’

‘Yup, finally.’

‘Ok, let’s let him be and get ready for our supply run.  Once John lands, we’ll head out.  I was thinking…pizza night tonight.’

‘Oooooo, and a movie?  I’m sure Alan can beam in later.  I'm pretty sure Kyrano sent him up with his favorite pizza.’  Gordon started bouncing.  He always loved their movie and pizza nights.  ‘Can I have pineapple?’

‘Gordon relax.  Yes we can do movie night, and I’ll never understand how you and TinTin can eat pineapple on pizza.’

‘Don’t knock it Virg.’

‘I’ll knock it all I want.  It’s just not right.’  Gordon started to pout.

‘You’ve hurt my feelings big brother,’ he said, laying it on thick.

‘I’m sure.  1 pizza…only 1, for you two to share.  What movie are you thinking?’

‘Hmmm, how about Top Gun?  Scott and Alan both really like that one.’

‘Sure.  Now go shower.  John will be landing soon.’

–

Scott watched his younger brothers take off for the supply run.  It was rare that John wanted to join in on it, but Scott was pleased to see him branching out a little bit.

‘Gordon remember, only 1 pineapple pizza.  That’ll be plenty for the two of you.  The rest of us would appreciate our favorites too, you know.’

‘I know Scott.  Virgil told me, John reminded me, and now you too.  I promise to bring home lots of pizza for our movie night tonight.  All different varieties…something for everyone.’  Scott smiled.

‘We’ll see you all later.  I already called in the order for pick up in a few hours.  You have the list, right?  I think Kyrano and Brains added a few small pickups too.’

‘They did, and yes we have it,’ Virgil answered.  ‘Enjoy your afternoon Scott.’

‘I will.  Be careful.’  

Scott had noticed that Brains was holed up in his lab.  The last record was 5 days.  His impromptu picnic was the perfect opportunity to get him out of his lab for a break.  He finished setting up the beach before heading down to the lab.

When he arrived at the lab, he stood in the doorway and smiled.  Any time something happened to them on one of their missions, he would go into full blown hermit mode while he worked out how to prevent something from happening again.  Because he was so engrossed in his work, he didn’t hear Scott approach.

‘Hey fella.’  Nothing, no answer.  Scott got his attention when he placed a hand on his shoulder.  ‘Hey, you need to eat.’

‘H-huh?’  Brains’s brain hadn’t quite caught up with the conversation yet.

‘Break time.  I’m taking one too.  Why don’t you come join me for some lunch?  Get some air, some food, and rest and reset for a moment.’

‘I-I’m sorry Scott, but I can’t right now.  This is very important work.’

‘It’s always important work.  Your work is some of the most important stuff here, and we all see, appreciate, and love your hard work and dedication.  You work tirelessly to keep our birds in their best shape possible to help keep us safe on our missions.

‘S-safe,’ Brains huffed.  M-more than once your birds failed to protect you guys.’

‘No,’ Scott started, turning Brains around to face him.  ‘No, more than once we only got off with a few bumps and bruises instead of something far worse.  Case in point, my ribs.  Yes I’m sore and need rest, but nothing’s broken or life threatening.  Without your technology, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.’  Scott paused a moment.  ‘Do you remember what Granddad used to tell us?’  Brains shook his head.

‘If you do not schedule system maintenance, your system will schedule it for you.  He wasn’t talking about work.  He was referring to self care.  And yes, I know, kettle meet teapot.  I didn’t listen to his advice and now I’m on forced downtime so that I can take proper care of myself.  I should have done this weeks ago.  I would have been better off.’  Brains considered his words.

‘I-I guess it’s been a while since I’ve taken a break.’

‘Then it’s settled, come join me for some lunch.’

‘Join you?’

‘Yes.  It’s just us for the next few hours, until my brothers get home with the supplies and pizza.  I made a nice lunch, food enough for both of us.  It’s set up down on the beach.’

‘Oh okay.’  They took the short walk from his lab to the picnic that Scott had set up for them.  ‘S-scott, you did all of this?’

‘It’s nothing much, really.  Just some sandwiches, fruit, and juice.  You like lemonade, right?,’ he asked as he started to pour their drinks.  

‘Y-ses, thank you.  You really didn’t have to do all of this.’

‘We both needed a break,’ Scott started as he started to plate their food.  ‘I don’t know about you, but I like your company, and since we both seemed to need a moment….I thought this was a good idea.’  Scott was stammering, unsure if he made the right decision.

‘I-I like spending time with you too.  You’re one of the few people I know that doesn’t mind listening to me prattle on about my stuff.’  Scott smiled.

‘I don’t pretend to understand it all, but you always talk about your work with such passion.’  Scott didn’t expect to go down this road, but his mouth wouldn’t stop now that it started.  ‘I like you for who you are, all of it.  Please never stop being you.  To be honest, I can’t imagine a life without you in it.’  Brains didn’t know what to say.  No one had ever spoken to him like this before.  ‘May I admit something to you?’  His mouth still didn’t seem to want to stop.  

‘S-scott, you have my strictest confidence.’

‘When you were on the Anasta expedition, it was the first time, in a long time, that I was scared.’

‘Why?’

‘You were so excited.  I watched you spend hours planning.  Even during your first check in, you were so hopeful about what you expected to find the next day.’  Scott took a moment.  ‘But the next morning, you missed your check in.  I wanted to hope that you were just too busy with your excitement, but I knew something was wrong.  I’ve seen you forget to eat or sleep, but you’ve never missed a check in.’

‘S-scott…’

‘I’m really sorry Brains.  This has been on my mind a while.  That day, Dad didn’t need to tell me twice to launch.  Hell, if he had told me to wait, I would have gone anyway.  I was both shocked and relieved to see you.  Shocked to see you buried in the sand, relieved to see you alive.  It wasn’t real until I had you out of that sand and leaning against my leg.’

‘I-I’m not sure what to say Scott.’

‘I’m sorry to offload like this on you.  I really just wanted to have some lunch and relax.  I hadn’t planned on this.’

‘Scott….stop….breathe.  F-first, thank you for trusting me with this.  Seeing you that day was a huge relief for me too.  The logical part of me knew that you’d come once you realized something was wrong and that T-thunderbird 1 would be the first to arrive, but I was relieved to see you standing in front of me.’  Brains covered his hands with his own.  ‘I-I can’t imagine a life without you in it either….I-I’m not sure what to do now.’  He said, turning timid.  

‘How about this? We take it 1 step at a time.  We both enjoy each other’s company, right?’

‘I-I’d like that,’

‘That settles it then.  One step at a time and see what happens.’  They both smiled and continued their impromptu picnic.  Scott didn’t expect them to have this conversation today.  It really wasn’t his intention, but he’s glad they did.

‘S-scott, one thing first.  I-I’m not sure what you expect of me.  I’m relieved that we’ve both admitted our feelings to each other, but I-I don’t know what you expect.’  Scott took his hands in his own.

‘Nothing, I expect nothing.’  Brains looked at him, confused.  ‘Really.  I’m just happy to have you in my life.  If this leads to something more, great…if not, then I still have you as a close friend, and that’s ok too.  Do you expect anything of me?’

‘No Scott, same as you.  1 step at a time and see what happens.’

–

The next months go by.  Brains had asked Scott for a favor, part because he needed to learn something, but it would also be the perfect excuse to spend some extra time together.  After Anasta, he realized that his self defense skills were not good enough.  Scott was more than happy to work with him.  Through these lessons, they took time to learn more about each other.  

The more Brains learned about Scott and observed him, the more he saw his natural born leader.  He would question Scott about the reasons behind some of his decisions.  It wasn’t to criticize, but to help him break down the why behind it, so that next time, he could anticipate.  If he could break down some of the decisions better, then he could improve their technology.  Never once did Scott tire of his questions or lose patience with him.  

They would face a big test with the Sun Probe mission.  Scott knew that Brains was keeping a close eye on the mission.  He had friends at mission control, and every so often, they’d run their ideas or calculations by him.  Scott came down to his lab to see if he wanted to watch over the broadcast with them.  He wasn’t surprised when Brains said no, that he’d rather keep working on Braman.  Braman was his newest project.  There was talk about what to do next if the Sun Probe mission went well.  Rumor had it that they were considering a deep space mission.  If they were to accomplish that though, they’d probably have to use hibernation pods, which meant that they’d need a robot like Braman to help.  If he could get Braman to think faster, better, more independently, then he could gift it to the program.

‘T-thank you Scott, but I want to keep working here.’

‘Ok, just don’t forget to eat something.’

‘I won’t.  I have my coffee here too.’  Scott left him to his work and returned to the lounge to watch the broadcast.  While watching it, Jeff mentioned that Brains should be there to watch with them.  Before Scott could answer, Jeff got up and went down to the lab to fetch Brains. 

Jeff smiled as Brains essentially shooed him from his lab.  He knew all he needed to know about the mission, and he had a direct link with his friends over there.  He didn’t need the broadcast to know what was happening.

Brains did take a break once he saw the data start streaming in.  After a moment, he made a hurried call to his friends, but they didn’t answer.  They were probably all too busy celebrating the mission’s success.  He could see a problem brewing.  He went up to the lounge to inform Mr. Tracy of his concerns.  He saw them all watching the broadcast still and expressed his concern.  A few moments later, the broadcaster confirmed that they hadn’t fired their retro rockets to return them home.  International Rescue was needed.  While Jeff called Cape Kennedy, Brains went back to his lab to pour over his data and maybe distract himself some.  

After his call, Jeff convened everyone in the lounge, and they started going over options.  As they threw out ideas, Brains crunched numbers in his head.  He knew that his birds and technology were good, but would they be good enough?  Safety and excellence first, he always told himself, which meant that he had extra room to work, but even pushing things, it was too close to tell if they could pull this off.  Thunderbird 3 could withstand a lot, but this went well over anything they thought to test.  She would have the clearer shot with her beam, but Thunderbird 2’s were stronger.  The problem was, he couldn’t just switch them with each other.  He could modify them both, maybe make them work a little bit better, but he couldn’t just switch them.  He stored that as a future problem to solve.  

In the end, they took Gordon’s idea and decided to try both approaches.  Hopefully 1 or both would work.  Just before Thunderbird 3 was ready to launch, Scott came down by him.

‘Hey fella,’ he started, handing him a cup, ‘have some coffee.’

‘T-thanks Scott.  I-I’m still nervous about this mission.  The numbers are too close to tell.’

‘Safety and excellence first, right?’ Scott said, turning him around to face him.  ‘You’ve poured every fiber of your being into these craft.  I trust that they will get the job done.’

‘S-scott…’

‘No, Brains.  I trust you.  I trust your machines.  Trust me on this mission.  We will bring them home and be home before you know it.’

‘Of course I trust you.  I-it’s the numbers, that’s all.  I-I can’t stop going over them.’

‘You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,’ Scott said, giving him a hug.  ‘Dad wants to meet with us all 1 more time before we launch.’

‘I-I’ll only be a moment.  I just need to put these panels back on.’

‘Good man,’ Scott said as he left to return to the lounge.  Brains kept thinking.  There were too many unknowns, it was too close.  

Up in the lounge, they went over the mission parameters 1 more time.  Jeff couldn’t hide his worry about sending Tin Tin on the mission, but Alan was right, he needed an engineer with them in space.  Brains was needed in Thunderbird 2 for her part.  After the briefing, Scott stole a quick moment with Brains.

‘Save this for later,’ he said, handing him a box.  He then returned to the lounge and set off.

With Thunderbird 3 launching, Brains shifted his focus to Thunderbird 2.  He couldn't shake off his anxiety with this mission, and it got worse the more he ran his numbers.  He had to keep telling himself to have faith.  After all, Scott seemed to have faith in him and his machines.  He repeated to himself that he was an excellent engineer, and he wouldn’t be with International Rescue if he wasn’t.  Thankfully he made sure to have his checklists for everything.  They helped to keep him on point.  Unfortunately, they weren’t a fool proof way to check everything.  He missed that Virgil had packed the wrong box.

Before leaving the island, Brains put the box that Scott had given him on his work bench.  He needed to grab some of his tools to make some adjustments to Thunderbird 2.  

Out in space, the first part of the mission was relatively uneventful.  Scott heard Alan mumbling to himself.

‘I just don’t get him sometimes.’

‘Who Alan?’  Alan looked at him surprised.  He hadn’t realized that he was talking loud enough for anyone else to hear him.

‘Brains.  It’s been bothering me.  I mean, why would he rather play with his robot than watch the broadcast with us?  Wouldn’t he have seen the issue sooner?’  Scott shook his head.

‘Did it ever occur to you that he wanted to keep himself busy?  Or that he has friends in mission control that were feeding him information faster and earlier than any broadcast could?’

‘Ummm…’

‘In fact, if he hadn’t been in his lab to see the data himself, he probably wouldn’t have realized the danger as fast as he did.  Did you know that he tried to call mission control before coming upstairs?’

‘No, I didn’t,’ Alan answered sheepishly.

‘His friends were so busy that they didn’t see the danger, nor did they answer his call.’  Alan was seeing Scott’s passionate side.  It could be downright intimidating.

‘Geeze Scott, don’t jump down my throat.  It was just a question.’

‘Alan, you and I both know that it wasn’t ‘just a question’.  There was more to it than that.  You honestly thought that he didn’t care.’

‘Whatever Scott.’

‘No Alan, not whatever.  If you had spent even 5 minutes with him before all of this, you would have known.  Instead, you assumed and let yourself get hung up over nothing.  Did you know that he’s looking to gift Braman to the space program?  Did you know that if the Sun Probe mission goes well, that they’re considering other deeper space missions?’

‘Wait, really?’  Scott turned his attention to the panel in front of him and continued speaking.

‘Yea, there’s talk about a deep space manned mission, but that’ll probably need to involve those hibernation sleepers.  Which means that they’d need something to help watch over the ship while her astronauts are asleep, that’s why he built Braman.  That’s why he’s trying to get him perfected.  Braman would be a huge asset to them.’

‘I didn’t know all of that,’ Alan admitted.

‘No you didn’t Alan.’  Things were quiet for a little bit before Alan spoke up.

‘Say Scott.  How do you know all of this?  Last I checked, you didn’t have a huge interest in space exploration.’

‘I’ve spent time with him, taking interest in his interests.’  Alan got quiet again.  He realized how wrong he really was about just about everything in the past 24 hours.

‘I’m sorry Scott.  It was pretty rotten of me to think that way about him.’  Scott ruffled his hair.

‘It’s ok Sprout.  Next time though, look at the situation from all sides.  You were just looking through your eyes, that you didn’t see things through his.  It’ll help you with your missions too, you know.  Bad assumptions/blindness lead to mission failures.’

‘I will Scott, I promise.  Say, if I act like a twit like this again, feel free to snap me out of it.’

‘Sure little brother, sure.’  After their conversation, they decided to test their beam.  Scott was hoping that they’d be lucky.  The beam wasn’t enough, they had to go closer, but Scott didn’t want to risk Tin Tin’s life.

‘Alan, call Tin Tin and tell her to get to the escape capsule.’

‘Scott, we can ask her if she wants to go, but I know her well enough to know how she’ll answer.’

‘It’s not about asking her, Alan.  I’m telling her to get into the escape capsule.’

‘Listen Scott.  She knew the risks when she came with us, and we need an engineer down there.  I might be good, you might be good, but out of the 3 of us, she’s the best.  If something needs to be adjusted or if something goes wrong, we will need her to fix it.  I trust my bird, but I simply don’t know enough about the beam to fix it if it breaks, or even how much I can push it.’

‘She doesn’t have to take this risk with us.’

‘She chose to come.  You can ask her, but I’m pretty sure that I know her answer.’

‘You don’t speak for her you know.  I know you two are close, but you don’t make decisions for her.’

‘Like what you're trying to do now?’

‘Touché little brother.’

‘Scott, ask her, but don’t be surprised when she tells you no.’  Alan was right.  She refused to leave them.  

Back on Earth, Brains and Virgil were busy working on their own calculations.  Their beam wasn’t good enough.  The beam in Thunderbird 3 would have to work.  Brains knew that Tin Tin was working tirelessly on her own modifications and calculations.  It had to work.  As Brains picked through his own data to see if he could get their beam to work, he saw the Sun Probe craft move to head back towards Earth.  Brains thought to himself, after this mission, I am picking apart every piece of this data.  Thunderbird 3 needs to be able to handle deeper space missions if the space agency was going to go deeper into space.  

As he was deep in thought, they heard from base.  Mr. Tracy confirmed that Thunderbird 3 was able to fire the Sun Probe’s rockets, but they could see that Thunderbird 3 hadn’t fired her own to turn around to return home.  He had to do something.  This mission would not end this way.  They still had their beam.  Thunderbird 3 was closer to the Earth than the Sun Probe.  Maybe they could reach 3.  It was a long shot, but they had to try.  He discussed his idea with Virgil.  Virgil was on board, so they went over to the pod to get the mobile computer.  Brains needed help with the math.  They discovered that they had packed Braman by accident, but he was able to get the job done.  His calculations brought Thunderbird 3 and her crew home.

After the mission debrief, and some much needed rest, Scott joined Brains and Braman in their game of chess.

‘Did you open my box?’

‘No Scott.  W-with the excitement of the mission, I didn’t have time.  I’ll go get it.’

‘I’ll walk down with you.’  They made the quick walk in comfortable silence.  Scott saw the box, picked it up, and handed it to Brains.  ‘You didn’t have to wait, you know.  Here, open it.’  It was a simple box.  Brains opened it, unsure why Scott had given him this.

‘O-one of your dog tags?’

‘Yes, I wear the other one still,’ he said, pulling out the one around his neck.  ‘But, I wanted you to have this.’  Scott took the necklace out of the box and put it around Brains’s neck.  ‘Do you know what it means when a soldier give someone their dog tags?’

‘No Scott, I don’t.’

‘Soldiers do not share their tags easily or lightly.  It signifies the highest trust and respect.  It means that I trust you with my life.  It is also a reminder that you are never alone, and that you’ll always have someone fighting for you.’  Scott steadied himself, his hand covering the do tag on Brains’s chest.  Brains was at a loss for words.

‘I want you to know how I feel.  In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I care about you a lot, and I cannot imagine my life without you in it.’

‘Nor I without you S-scott.  Thank you for this,’ he said, placing his hands over Scott’s on his chest.  ‘I’ll cherish this always.’

@thunder-pride day 26!

Trans John and all the stars in the sky.

A drawing of a younger John who hasn’t got it all figured out but is ever looking upwards, with a lot of feelings of being something and neither both, but never what anyone is saying you are. This is John.