Yes it's that time again! And yes, since I'm trying to fight off a migraine/cluster headache.....I'm getting this out now before my brain explodes.... This prompt this go around is: courage Hope this one wasn't used yet, but interested in seeing the fruit of your efforts!

Ugh. I know that feeling all too well. Hope you can get rid of it quickly. Migraines suck.

Jun finally worked up the courage to tell him... *grin*

Oooh Springie! I really like this one. Love the looks on their faces! (And thanks GGO. Gotta love them right? Felt like a drill boring into my eye. Just lovely!)

[unrecoverable text]

LOL. Jason giving Princess some food for thought, eh? Good thing she wasn't watching....err....*cough* something else *cough* because Jason might have had other ideas about a "sticking place" (and yes, I went there) (AFWIW: Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare play, the Tempest *might* come after.....it's been so long!) Edit: Sheesh, I forgot to say: GGO, I hope you kicked your own migraine in the butt and are feeling better soon!

Nice one GGO. I recently had someone ask me where that quote came from and what it means. This friend of mine had been puzzling over it ever since his daughter performed in a production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Gaston sings "screw your courage to the sticking place" during the Mob Song. Something I read online suggested the "sticking place" is the point where the screw takes hold and will no longer turn. I just think it sounds cool.

Love it, GGO! Although after Redbird's comment, I'm kinda wishing she was watching that "something else", now... 😉

Ok didn't expect to do this one, but here it is. Not what I envisioned writing, but this is what came about. I'm thinking this might be back in the very early days of the team being together........ *************************************** Prompt #287-- Courage Ken sat on the edge of the bed in the medical ward, bright blue eyes studying Jinpei's face; then moving down to the arm that was set in a cast. The doctors told him the boy should be coming around shortly, having been given a mild sedative to set the broken arm he suffered. He didn't doubt this was going to be the first of many injuries over the coming years. "Stop it......I'm a ....Science Ninja......Mighty Swallow....." Jinpei murmured, head tossing fitfully back and forth on his pillow. "Damn...Galactor..." Ken smiled to himself, watching as Jinpei's eyes slowly fluttered open. They were dazed and a little unfocused, trying to adapt to the light in the room. "Don't move." he warned his little brother. "You broke your arm and took a nasty bump to the head." A moan escaped from between Jinpei's lips. "Why are there two of you Aniki?" In his wildest dreams, Ken could only wish there were two of him. Someone else could be Gatchaman for once, while he could just be ...well...himself. Then maybe, just maybe, he could finally have a normal life. Or something that passed for normal. "You smacked your head Jinpei." he reminded him with a frown, a thread of worry in his voice. "Do you remember?" The kid blinked a few times, eyes gradually coming into focus. "I....I think ..so? We were on a ...mission, right?" "We were." "I....I remember goons....and a ...a metal beam...." "You fell right into it." He didn't want to mention the fact that the kid didn't follow their plan of attack as instructed, and was showboating. That was something better left for another time and to be addressed in a meeting together with Nambu Hakase. All he knew is that he never wanted to have another experience like the one earlier today. He was behind Jun, taking rearguard position. Flurries of shuriken rained down from above, as Joe marked and took his targets while they advanced on the exit one of Jun's bombs had blown open in the mecha's hull. A horde of goons erupted from a hidden panel , surprising them. Jun let fly with her yo-yo and Ken loosed his bird-rang , cutting open a path in the green sea of bodies. Instead of moving forward as planned, Jinpei decided to take it upon himself to launch himself into the air, making to swan dive the goons with his bolo. It made him an open target. Laser rifle clipped both his wings, throwing him off trajectory and head first into a metal support beam. If they hadn't been in the middle of a sortie, it would've been comical. It happened so fast, there was no time to prevent it. Only react. And boy did they ever react. He heard Joe's enraged shout from above and saw the dark shadow of his wings as he dove into the remaining goons. Their screams of terror that were suddenly silenced with a choking gurgle, was something that would stay with him for a long time. Jun's eyes flashed green fire as she methodically cut down the Galactor troops in front of her with her yo-yo as well as lipstick bombs. As for himself, he felt a cold mechanical haze fall over his mind. He didn't know how many goons he felled, just kept going towards their youngest team member, who he found laying motionless on the steel plated floor of the mecha, his arm cocked at an odd angle. When they got back aboard the God Phoenix, Ryu had raised Hakase on their comms informing him what had happened. Ken left Joe in charge of the bridge. The Condor covered in the blood of goons, merely nodded to him, crossing his arms over his chest and looking to the forward view screens. Ken himself brought Jinepi to the tiny medical bay aboard the ship. Jun followed, her white birdstyle dotted with black soot and gunpowder from the battle. Her hands trembled as she helped settle Jinpei onto one of the med bay berths. Lost in thought, heart pounding, Ken shook his head to clear it, hearing the kid talking to him. ".....I didn't listen to you." Jinpei murmured, eyes downcast. "I'm sorry..." He looked up, brown eyes welling with tears. "I promise it won't happen again." he knuckled away a tear that threatened to overflow. "Really.... I was wrong..." "It took a lot of courage to admit that Jinpei." Ken told him quietly, reaching out and resting a hand on his shoulder. "Aniki, I was so scared. I didn't think we'd make ...." "But we did." Ken interrupted gently. "Jun was right behind you, and Joe was high above , providing cover fire." Jinpei chewed his lower lip, unwilling to meet his eyes. Ken leaned back on his hand, his palm sinking into the mattress. "But," he sighed before giving him a stern look.. "We'll talk about this more tomorrow, with Hakase alright?" "Yeah, okay." Well, that didn't go too badly.. But there was one more thing....something important. "So....you were really scared?" The kid nodded. Ken let out a little chuckle. "Jinpei, do you really think Joe would let anything happen to you? Or Jun? Any of us?" Jinpei's shoulder lifted idly in a half-shrug. "Well, Joe-anki was mad with me yesterday....." his voice trailed off and he fiddled with the light blanket that covered him. "We're a team Jinpei--we work together as one. We have to trust and rely on each other. And Joe is right outside this door, waiting to hear about your condition. As are Jun and Ryu." Jinpei's eyes comically grew wide with astonishment. "He is? They are?" "Yep." "Really?" "Really." Jinpei glanced at Ken, then his gaze darted away. "They aren't ....mad at me....are they?" Ken thought carefully before choosing his words. While he was upset with Jinpei for disobeying orders, and not following through on their mission as planned, he wasn't angry with him. Disappointed and exasperated perhaps, but not angry. He couldn't speak for the others, but was sure they were more concerned with the Swallow's physical condition at the moment, than they were at the mission going awry. Even Joe, who was cursing up a storm back in the hallway over the whole thing.....Ken knew he was worried about the "annoying little squirt". "I think they'd really like to see you right now." Ken paused a moment and leaned a bit closer to him. "Do you know how many goons Joe took out after he saw what happened to you? " If it was at all possible, Jinpei's eyes grew larger. "A lot?" "Piles, Jinpei." he made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Piles." A huge grin split the youngster's face. "Aniki?" Ken raised an eyebrow. "I think I'm ready for visitors now."

Springie-- so Jun worked up her courage before Ken did! Figures -- if you want something done, ask a girl! GGO -- With a bit of luck, Princess will eventually get Jason interested in something else than racing magazines -- or maybe not... RB -- the meeting with Nambu will be very interesting. Somehow I don't see him as understanding as Ken... "Bon courage" to everyone suffering from migraines -- I empathise In my case, I think magnesium helped.

Nice vignette, Redbird. Daniella, in my head, the dynamic between Jason and Princess is a brother/sister thing. They can rib each other (which they do in canon) and they care very deeply for one another, but not in a romantic or sexual way. Also in my head, this is because during their early teens, Jason and Princess stayed on Earth and completed their education together, like siblings, while Mark and Tiny went away to Riga to hone their art at the feet of Cronus. Others may see it differently, and this is a good thing. I just like the idea of Jason and Princess feeling completely safe with one another and being able to talk about almost anything without it getting awkward. In a way, their relationship is more stable than the one Princess has with Mark. Mark may be the love of Princess' life, but Jason's her rock. They're like a much less snarky version of Spock and McCoy, albeit most of Jason's snark is aimed away from Princess. Jason's definitely the team Snark Knight, though. Katblu, that explanation makes sense, with the caveat that I'm unsure as to the use and understanding of the item in question during the early reign of King James. (Good Queen Bess had passed on by the time the Bard wrote the Scottish Play.) Whilst the use of the screw (the threaded/cylindrical inclined plane, you perverts!) dates back to the time of Archimedes (to whom the giant burning glass in the Ant episode was an obvious homage), in the mediaeval period, threaded screws were not in common usage outside of certain trades. Back then, screws were generally large and made of wood, used in things like presses for winemaking and such like. Most fixings were of the peg/dowell and lacing type, while handmade rivets were used for cold joins in smithing - such as armour. It was only the introduction of mass produced steel and machinery in the industrial revolution that brought the common hardware item as we know it into being. You can all now stop giggling at the use of the word, 'screw.' Seriously, you guys are as bad as the Minions. Bottom

DT: Yeah, I don't think Hakase will be so happy GGO: Thank you! Ok, now I'm laughing at Jason being the "Snark Knight". Instead of "Batman: Dark Knight", we get: "The Condor: Snark Knight"---coming soon to a theatre near you--now with TWICE the explosions....

Ouch Redbird and GGO, hope you both are completely over your recent migraines. Springie: Oooh yummy. Go Jun! GGO: I tend to think of the sticking place as a more metaphorical turn of phrase. Poor Princess, she can't enjoy anything without being messed with. And thanks for the history lesson, that was interesting! Redbird: Oooh, that was both intense and sweet! I love how gentle Ken is with Jinpei in the medical bay, and how protective they all are of their youngest. Though Jinpei better dread the talking to he's gonna get.

This prompt reminded me of a joke that someone emailed me many years ago about the Red Shirt of Courage. I found it on the interweb http://english-zone.com/esl-jokes/brown.html

LOL

Katblu: That's a classic!