This week we have an anonymous prompt: Scruff

"Aha!" Jinpei threw open the door, his finger pointed accusingly. "I knew it!" "Knew what?" Joe snapped irritably, pulling his hand away from his face. "You're shaving at night!" Jinpei chortled gleefully. "Ryu owes me twenty bucks!" "If you don't get out of here, I'll be getting those twenty bucks from your hide!" Joe growled. "No you won't." Jinpei smirked. "I know what you're doing. And I could tell Onechan." "What the hell are you talking about?" "I know you want to impress her." Jinpei grinned slyly. "and the other day, watching that movie, she said she liked guys with a bit of scruff... so now you're shaving before bed, so you can have scruff in the morning!" Joe made a fast grab, but Jinpei was faster, he had ducked out of the tiny bathroom, chortling all the way down the hall. Damn! How had he figured it out? ***** A/N Yes, this was inspired because my husband and I were watching Walking Dead last night and I always wonder how the male actors have exactly the same amount of scruff on their face from episode to episode. I've surmised that they must be shaving at night, to wake up in the morning with the right 'look'.

Aha! So now we know.

Oh, I do like a bit o' scruff ! Now you've got me wondering what Joe's got planned next TJ!

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EW, that was too funny! You sure like rats wearing Galactor uniforms! And I could totally see Katse flinging that poor rat across the room! Here's my contribution for the week: What had he gotten himself into? He stared into large brown eyes that brimmed over with unadulterated affection. Man, this was worse than anything he had ever faced before! Even a Galactor mecha could not compare. "You can't stay here!" he said trying to sound gruff. Damn! Those brown eyes just continued to smile at him. Leaning down, Joe picked up the puppy by the scruff of its neck, the other hand supporting its bottom and brought it up to eye level. He fixed the animal with his best steely Condor stare, but found himself failing. It was then that a warm pink tongue licked Joe's nose. He sighed and sat down on the bed in defeat, as the puppy rained doggy kisses all over his face.

You guys and your 'scruffy' animals! In a way you were thinking the same thing, but the holders of these animals certainly had a different reaction to them! LOL, EW, I hope Katse gets more practice throwing the rats! Redbird, why do I sense Joe is in trouble? Puppies are always bad news...

TG - I've often wondered that, too. Scruffy guys....yum! EW- Those rats better run for their lives before Katse decides to feed them to some big snakes. RB - Puppies are many a strong man's downfall, but also a great way to get women!

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Redbird, why do I sense Joe is in trouble? Puppies are always bad news...

Yep, he's in big trouble. Especially since this is THE puppy. LOL.

Originally posted by Becky Rock RB - Puppies are many a strong man's downfall, but also a great way to get women!

Very true, Becky. Very true!

TJ - to be honest, I didn't really know what "scruff" meant, but the image you painted of Joe certainly helped me learn! EW - I wonder if those poor GalactorRats have a union they can appeal to... RB - I haven't seen the "puppy episode" as it wasn't shown on BOTP, but I understand that Joe had better not be so friendly towards strays Although to be honest I can just as easily visualise Joe himself as a forlorn-looking puppy...And I want to pat him... aaaah

Daniella, there are many meanings for scruff.The 'official' definitions are here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/scruff I used more of an 'urban slang' definition, which is 'a small growth of facial hair on a man'. What used to be called a '5 o'clock shadow'. I believe it came from the idea that being unshaven was 'scruffy'.

Originally posted by Daniella T RB - I haven't seen the "puppy episode" as it wasn't shown on BOTP, but I understand that Joe had better not be so friendly towards strays Although to be honest I can just as easily visualise Joe himself as a forlorn-looking puppy...And I want to pat him... aaaah

LOL, he'd probably like a belly rub then!

TJ ... you have a point there! ... a little scruff makes a man more attractive, IMO up to a certain length, unless it grows so quickly that it would look untidy overnight like my DH's would do! That was a sweet piece of yours! .... .... as sweet as your piece, Redbird! A puppy could melt anyone's heart! EW ... if I were Katse I would have skipped dinner for sure!

//"Come on Jason, we'll be late!" Princess dove for the remote control, but Jason was faster. "Just a couple of minutes more, it's my favourite part." "What favourite part? It's Star Wars," snorted Princess. "You've seen it three thousand times and you can see it three thousand more. Come on, let's go!" "First of all, it's the Empire Strikes Back, and just a sec, here it comes!" Jason got up from the couch, posed, and mimicked Han Solo perfectly as he was asking Leia "Who's scruffy looking?"//

GM: Glad you liked it. Puppies are powerful weapons! LOL. DT: That's great! I can totally see Jason striking a Han Solo pose!

Originally posted by Redbird GM: Glad you liked it. Puppies are powerful weapons! LOL.

I can see the movie trailer now -- They thought it was just another dog day of summer. Little did they know it was....The Day the Puppies Conquered the Earth! DT -- yup, I can see that!

Originally posted by ElectricWhite They thought it was just another dog day of summer. Little did they know it was....The Day the Puppies Conquered the Earth!

Yeah they'll show it after "Devil Dog: Hound of Hell."

TJ--hee hee, my first thought was that he was shaving twice a day so as to be 'smooth,' for date night...not scruffy (something my hubby did while we were dating) ahh youth. EW--Poor rats, this series reminds me of the Nimh tales, but gone awry. Redbird--too cute. Rare is the human that can resist a sweet puppy. Wonder what Joe is going to do with it though at the base? Daniella-- I wonder what Jason and Princess were running off to? A mission call? Hee hee..Empire is one of my favorite movies and worth the delay.

DT ... great use of the prompt!

DT- That's Jason, all right. EW - One of the channels has a wonderful show on Saturday nights called 'Too Cute" which shows an hour of puppies or kittens by breed from birth to 10-12 weeks. Major league stress reliever. They really do rule the world!

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Iona is important to Nambu. The question is in what way. This is getting really intense. I'm loving every moment of it, K2!

From backstory...yeah, I need to post this somewhere like at the archive. Anyway hope this helps you and Redbird catch up with things. Iona replaced Ryu as the main pilot of the new, bigger, better, fast Godphoenix. This frees him to be more of an aid to the team. One of the reasons she's such an excellent pilot is her eidetic (perfect) memory. Sights, sounds, smells, she remembers with perfect clarity. Throughout the course of the story this has been slowly revealed. Such a child would be worth an awful lot to Galactor, and at one time when she was much younger, was offered by a certain criminal element named Technu. Before the deal could be made, this fellow thought it wiser to hand her over to Nambu instead for a bit of prid pro quo involving some rather nasty criminal charges being swept under the rug along with perhaps some further protection by the ISO.... Nambu in turn handed the child over to Lynn and her husband to be raised in as normal a way possible without any idea of just how deep the girl was involved within the team's activities. Any other questions? I love to chat about story creation and writing...

Exactly---I want to hear more about Iona/Nambu and their connection. I agree with Becky, k2! It's getting very intense! Keep going! (God, I have so many fics to try and catch up on!)

Originally posted by Redbird Exactly---I want to hear more about Iona/Nambu and their connection. I agree with Becky, k2! It's getting very intense!

Redbird, I thought I pretty much summed up the Iona/Nambu connection in the note to Becky. She's been in Nambu's custody since she was around 5/6 years old and now she is around 13/14 years old. This is later in the series where Jinpei is fully around 14 and the older fellows (Joe, Ken, Jun, and Ryu are in their twenties.) Been part of the team for the better part of a year now as the pilot of the Godphoenix-- There was a lot of friction early on between her and Jinpei. Jinpei didn't like her since he was worried that Nambu was going to foist her on to Jun, (which he didn't. Iona remained with her foster parents) then he was afraid that she was going to be a replacement for Ryu, which she is in a way in that she is responsible for getting the team where they need to be. Ryu is much happier being able to help out in the fight against Galactor.... Then she became the target of just his relentless teasing period--which almost had a tragic ending. Right now they could be best described as tentative friends. Iona does have a boyfriend of sorts...David, who comes from the same background as she does, and can kinda see the future... He knows there is more to her than meets the eye, and if asked about her all he can answer is "Birds." Oh the cuckoo, she's a pretty bird and she sings as she flies. She brings us glad tidings and tells us no lies. She sucks all the flowers to make her voice clear, and never sings 'cuckoo,' till the spring of the year.

Thanks for the info, K2. I hope Lynn either doesn't find Iona or Iona kicks her butt when she does.

Originally posted by Becky Rock Thanks for the info, K2. I hope Lynn either doesn't find Iona or Iona kicks her butt when she does.

That depends on this week's prompt, really. But as of now she's gotten a broken arm and a good knock on the head courtesy of that evil Blackbird. On the plus side, she does have Jinpei's tablet. And so we wait.

Originally posted by k2p2 Redbird, I thought I pretty much summed up the Iona/Nambu connection in the note to Becky. [/i]

I'm a dope, k2---I meant to say "Lynn" not "Iona". I was interested in more of their backstory. (Sorry my brain misfires when too much is rattling around in it! LOL). *facepalm*

I agree that intense is the word, K2! Keep it rolling!

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And as promised earlier..... TJ - and i always thought they used beard trimmers to keep their stubble trimmed. This certainly looks like a simpler and effective way to do it. E.W. - I must say, I'm with Katse on this one..... (not that I like to admit agreeing with him on anything) RB - I love to see Joe revealling his softer side.... DT - I'm not familiar with the scene, but I would like to see Jason in the pose.... maybe one of our artists would care to recreate it for us? hee hee hee, K2, one good thing about playing catch-up is that I don't have to wait to read the next post.....

Looks like Joe might have some trouble on his hands...

.... I agree TJ.

I read the next one first by accident, KT. Now it makes a lot more sense.

KT ... oh yes ... I'm sensing trouble, too!

TJ: Ah is that how guys get that scruffy look? EW: LOL "I can get more distance this way" *fling!* Redbird: Joe vs the Puppy, 0 - 1 ... Hmm, PuppyJoe might be a little mangy. PuppyKen would probably have crazy fur that stuck out everywhere. DT: Yeah, Jason would be a Han fan for sure. k2p2: Go Iona! KT: Uh oh, Joe's started a hole and forgot to stop digging, hasn't he?