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Poor Jun's beat up pride.

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KT: Jun's gonna get all the dirt she can!

That's an interesting aspect of Joe's background... and one that makes sense!

Originally posted by ChrisW Poor Jun's beat up pride.

It's gotta hurt for sure!

Ok I played around a bit with some of their backgrounds. Was an interesting exercise, this one. Not what I expected to come up with, but it took on a life of its own. (and I think I used phobia, not phobias...hmmm) *********************************** Prompt #219 Phobias Kōzaburō Nambu watched the young adults on the video screen in his office as they continued to train in their specially designed gymnasium. Even after all these years, they never ceased to amaze him. All five of them had come so far, had risen to the task put to them beautifully. And while he mourned the childhoods they would never know, he was relieved they had accomplished so much, so quickly. It was a thought he had and would continue to have many times, over the years. For the world needed them badly and never so much as the present. Sometimes it was hard for him to reconcile the scared youngsters they once were to the confident powerful adults they were today. He glanced down at their thick files, having leafed through the paperwork that was written up when they first joined the project. Specifically their psychological profiles. The doctor adjusted his glasses as his eyes skimmed the documents. They were all damaged in their youth. Every single one of them. To watch them today, both during training and in their civilian lives, you would never have guessed they had overcome so much. First there was Ryu, the pilot of their warship, the God Phoenix. He had grown up on an island, born into a family of fishermen. Although they were part of the working poor, they were content with their island life. But due to a boating accident when he was much younger that had nearly caused him to drown, Ryu developed an immense fear of water that wasn't addressed until he arrived at the ISO training facilities. The boy's father hadn't been of much help to the situation, his cajoling doing more harm than good, and the gentle child eventually retreated more and more into himself. When word spread through their undercover operatives that they were looking for youngsters for a special program, his father had jumped at the chance to send Ryu for aptitude testing. After assessment the scientists found the manual skills ingrained in him from a young age and familiarity with nautical readings, segued very well into their flight simulation programs. It had taken quite a bit of time with the child psychologists, yet the boy progressed at a steady pace to overcome his fears. While Ryu had seemed happy with his family, he had found a new one here with the others where his talents would be more appreciated. The quiet boy now a man, found a new determination, which at the center was a rock solid core. Placing the folder aside, his eyes then moved to the thinnest file in the stack, yet no less important than the rest. The youngest, Jinpei, still had a lot of growing up to do, but when he first arrived at the project from an orphanage with one of their other candidates, he was practically a baby and presented with a phobia of any insect that crawled or flew. They weren't exactly sure when or what caused it to develop, however it seemed a common enough problem that plagued developing children. But after special tutledge that started out more as play rather than actual training, and showing him that not all insects were "bad", was he able to calm those fears. And thus through the years that play turned into the training that had instilled a curiosity and love of nature, of learning and compassion for living things in the boy that both amazed and humbled him. The future was indeed bright if they had young people such as Jinpei , helping to shape it. Nambu glanced up from his papers, having heard a shout of glee and just managing to see a flash of a pink and white clad form bringing down an entire row of their robotic targeting systems with a flick of a wrist, much to Jinpei's delight. "Yeah! You bad sis! You bad!" came the cries over the video feed. The doctor allowed himself a little huff of amusement and returned to his documents. Their only girl, Jun, had initially been pyrophobic. She had grown up in an orphanage after being given up by her parents as an infant. She was left there one morning in a box on their doorstep . Apparently, Jun was mentally scarred by a terrible fire that started in the orphanage kitchen one evening during dinner preparation. It had spread to the rest of the building and killed what few friends she managed to make. Not heeding the flames or smoke, Jun managed to save Jinpei from the blaze, the boy having been trapped in a locked nursery wing at the time. The two of them were inseparable ever since, and she came to view him as her brother from that point on. Only after many years of intense psychotherapy, studying physics and properties of combustion, were those fears allayed. That young woman was now G3, the Swan, their explosives expert, who could adeptly string together complex bombs and digital timers, with speed and efficiency, without breaking a sweat. Clearing this throat, he flipped open another folder and rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. And then there was Joe. He had heard Joe's name long before his indoctrination into the program, for his parents were Galactor agents, who at the time defected to work for the ISO. Unfortunately, Giuseppe and Katarina Asakura had been assassinated, the boy coming upon their bodies after hearing their screams. They were murdered on a beach in broad daylight on BC island, by a previously unheard of offshoot Galactor faction, his parents being discovered as traitors to their cause. Filled with fear and rage, young Joe had tried to kill the assassin himself with his father's gun and failed. When Joe first came to them, he was suffering from PTSD and flinched every time he heard a gunshot. Would cover his ears and tremble or would strike out in anger. Ironically, as he grew older Joe developed an intense fascination and uncanny capability with anything that would be considered a weapon .Today that man was the team's best marksman, the Condor, and his name was one of the most feared, whispered with dread amongst the Galactor organization. The doctor heard a commotion on the video feed and caught a glimpse of fire and smoke glinting off a silver metal boomerang shaped like a bird, as it sailed back into the palm from which it had been launched. And his eyes lit upon the last piece of their puzzle. Finally there was Ken, who showed immense potential from the very beginning. Ken , like Joe, was also known to him through his parents. His father, Kentaro, being part of an elite squadron of ace pilots created by the ISO specifically to fight the Galactor threat. The child had a love for planes and flying, surely inherited from his sire. However, when Kentaro went missing during a special assignment and was assumed KIA , coupled with his wife suddenly falling ill and passing away shortly thereafter, the boy fell into a deep depression. Ken didn't want to play with his model jets, or take flying lessons. He never wanted to step into or even be near a plane again. Grief counseling and hands on therapy helped the boy to be able to get back up to speed. Once he hit his stride, the boy took off like the jets he loved. His skills were unmatched and he dared to say, his natural talent even surpassed his father. Ken would later be known as the Gatchaman, the scourge of Galactor, defender of freedom on Earth. Kōzaburō took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. It was so long ago, but he could still see the shades of the children inside them. Though he was a hard taskmaster, that was his job, and he felt a connection and a pride in all of them, just as if they were his own flesh and blood. ******************** Elsewhere .......In the gym: "Come on man! Let's go!" "No, Joe. We've got another hour in here..." "Come on Ken, we've been through this drill five times already!" "Yeah my butt hurts!" Jinpei shouted, a frown on his face as he rubbed his posterior. "If you were paying attention to where you were going instead of watching Jun blow up the targeting system, you wouldn't have taken a dive off that platform and landed on your fanny, kiddo." Ryu told him, crossing his arms over his thick chest. "What, no comments from you Jun?" Ken asked, head cocked, hands on his hips. She lifted a shoulder in a demure shrug. "You want another hour?" She glanced at Joe, then back at Ken with a grin. "I'm game." A smile split Ken's face, as Joe let out a groan of frustration, along with a few curses, in the background. "Aw man! Why'd you have to say that sis!" Jinpei grumped. "Gonna make goopy eyes at him again huh..." he muttered under his breath, as G1 walked away. "Hey!"Jun reprimanded him quietly and sharply rapping him on top of his helmet with her fist. "Knock it off...." "You all know Hakase wants these maneuvers to be perfect." Ken called out over his shoulder, staring specifically at Joe. "I'll bet he doesn't even watch these feeds Ken!" Joe gestured at the cameras with a stab of a barbed shuriken. "Not since we were kids!" Ken paused a moment, looking around the facility. "I wouldn't be so sure about that..." he murmured to himself and leapt into the air, ready to start the next drill.

Redbird: Aaaaaw, all of that could be very true. Feels like something right out of an episode.

Redbird: I like the idea that you took what could have been potentially damaging weaknesses and turned them into their greatest strengths. Now, if only we could all do that!