#incredibly specific anatomical threats

[neon-kazoo]

Muscles, Bones, and Joints (of the lower leg)

Villain entered the house with the grace of a ghost, feet light as feathers as they glided down the hall to where a soft glow crept out from a doorframe on the left. The hero was, as expected, inside, and seemed to be hard at work.

They sat hunched at a desk, flattened capri sun packet discarded to the side, papers strewn across the rest of the surface with a laptop planted square on top of it all.

From the looks of it, Hero had at least fifteen tabs open, and the poor little laptop fan was working overtime trying not to set fire to the physical notes below it.

A pair of oversized glasses sat slid down on their nose, lenses slightly yellowed. Their hair was a scraggly mess, clip lopsided and hair falling as if they had forgotten they had put in a clip at all.

Last time Villain had seen Hero, they had threatened to not-so-carefully deposit them into the air from a great height with no safety net. Villain hadn’t thought they would take the threat serious enough to hunker down like this, though.

Entranced in a stress-induced panic, Hero spoke to themselves like Villain had already lifted a gun to their head.

“The piriformis thinks it’s so special with its silly little spinal nerves…”

Villain took the opportunity to creep a little closer, as the hero was in no state to notice any disturbance around them.

“Femoral,” they recited, slightly feverishly, “Sartorius, cause females love Jacob. They also love pecs, pectineus. And wrecking things, rectus femoris. And…vast things. The vastuses.”

They shook their head, as if that might cause the information to solidify in their mind.

“Tibial. That’s Tibialis posterior, gastrocnemius, soleus, iliopsoas, and the flexors.”

Their eyes had closed as they attempted to reach deep into their brain for the information.

“Actually, the iliopsoas is innervated by the femoral nerve.”

Hero yelped, spinning around in their chair to come face to face with none other than Villain, their previously-closed eyes blown wide.

“You also forgot the plantaris,” Villain noted.

“I said that!”

“No, you really didn’t.” Villain tilted their head, eyes drawn to the crumpled chip bags that had fallen short of the trash can against the wall.

Hero scoffed, “Next, you’re gonna tell me the linea aspera is on the posterior side of the tibia.”

From the look on Villain’s face, Hero guessed they weren’t doing so hot in the bone department either.

A dull thud accompanied the smacking of Hero’s head against the desk. The villain took the opportunity to circle the table, now standing directly in front of the hero’s bent over form.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to help me study?” Hero mumbled through lips they had slightly lifted from the desk.

“How about I stab you, and you tell me which muscle I hit?” Villain offered, with all the sincerity of a well-armed home invader.

Hero let their head fall back down again, unimpressed by the blade-twirling going on between the villain’s fingers.

“I’m going to failllllll,” they groaned against the paper and wood.

Villain sheathed their daggers and sighed.

“Look at it this way,” the villain comforted mocked with an exaggerated eye roll, “you still have your future as a hero.”

Hero slowly raised their head, fire in their gaze as they threatened, “I am going to hit your extended knee laterally, causing an unhappy triad injury, tearing your medial collateral ligament, and with it damaging your medial meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament so your knee will never feel stable again.”

“That’s the spirit,” Villain chuckled, planting themselves on the desk and turning to face the face the hero with one knee resting on the edge of the wood. They showed a smile that was sure to drive them mad, if they weren’t already there.

“If you ever want to extend your knee again, you and your rectus femoris should get out of my house.”

“But I’m having so much fun,” Villain pouted.

Hero hung their head before assembling their signature law-enforcing hero face.

“Breaking and entering is a crime,” they reminded, “just like it’s a crime that the biceps femoris is in the leg and not the arm.”

Villain, as amused as ever, didn’t move a muscle. At least, none of the muscles Hero could name.

“So are you leaving or not?” They asked impatiently. “I have a practical to study for.”

“Does the gluteus medius insert on the greater trochanter of the femur?”

Hero stared in silence for a moment.

“Does the offer to throw me off a cliff still stand?”

“Only if you can tell me the muscles I would need to use to perform that movement.”

Hero screamed, knowing full well they had only gotten as far as reviewing the legs.

[5-falsehoods-phonated]

(Prompts with boxes have been taken, highlighted have been written)

Requests for this card are closed, thank you to anyone who sent in requests! If you don’t want to see these you can block the tag #false bthb. As always shoot me an ask if you wanna be tagged in future stories, whether it be for bad things happen bingo or any of the other series, one shots or in general!

I’ve been picking at this particular request since early December as the person who requested it had a lot of details they wanted put in making the writing process a bit more challenging. As a disclaimer, note that the chapter is split between present time and the past; with Logan recalling things in his past in an attempt to make the details requested for the story flow better. I received this request from AO3.

General taglist: @im-an-anxious-wreck

Experimental Socialization

Summary: Logan was raised by the government to be nothing more than an experiment and a weapon, utilizing his unique abilities as a mutant. When he finally escapes things are much different than he imagined they’d be but thankfully finds others like him willing to help guide him right where he needs to be.(Happy Ending)

Warnings: allusions to abuse, physical punishment and human experimentation, tw for weapons and fire, panic attack. If there are more please let me know

Prompt; Not Used To Freedom (requested by AngstyEmoGal on AO3)

Ships: Intrulogical, Logan x Remus

WC: 3432

“You just gotta breathe, Logan. In four, hold seven, out eight remember? You’re doing great, just keep going.”

Logan felt himself slowly coming back to reality as his breathing evening out, the raw panic that had gripped his chest easing slightly as Virgili continued coaxing him through the exercise. He felt the other slowly rub up and down his arm in a slow, steady beat that helped ground him further in reality and he smiled up at his friend gratefully and nodded to let xem know he was okay. Gripping his knees as Virgil’s voice trailed off he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and let out one last calming breath.

“Thank you, Virgil. I-” He struggled to find words, gesturing flippantly in the air making Virgil grin.

“It’s okay. Take your time, L.”

Logan puffed his cheeks out in frustration, thoughts swirling too quickly for him to comprehend anything but the apprehensive fear he held for the plans Remus had made for them later that evening. “I am- not used to being outside. Given my history and the threat I pose as a potential compromise to our place of hiding I fail to understand Remus’ reasoning for going out when we could just as easily celebrate our relationship here.”

“Hm.” Virgil leaned back on xyr hands and looked up at the low ceiling of their underground paradise. “Can’t really see the stars from here, no matter how many stickers Princey finds and puts up it can't really be compared to the real thing.”

Logan had made the mistake of going on a tirade of space facts a few months into his stay in the hideout, Remus patiently listening to the extensive infodump of constellation facts and space physics and planetary rotation. Having a limited amount of books to entertain oneself with for extended periods of time meant memorizing entire books on one subject, which Logan had used all too happily as a figurative escape from his situation in the past until he had actually managed to escape when he was 16. Hearing Logan speak so passionately about the subject had apparently made his mind up that he was taking Logan outside for their first ��official” date to view the stars, which had then landed Logan in his current state of panic as he realized that date was today and he was decidedly not ready for what might lay in store outside of safety of the hideout.

“I can stay close by if you want. I won’t spy or anything and Remus won’t have to know.” Logan looked over as his thoughts were interrupted by the offer, Virgil turning invisible and reappearing a couple seconds later to emphasize xyr point. Smiling Logan shook his head, knowing the other derived as much joy from going outside as Logan felt about going himself.

“Thank you for the offer though, you’re very kind.” Letting his thoughts drift again he idly wondered when Virgil had discovered xe could disappear and reappear at will and if xyr parents had tried to hide it before the government had found out. His own parents-

-----

“Logan?” A very small Logan turned at his mother’s voice, losing his concentration which made the hidden jar of Crofters fall from its suspended place in the air and smash to the floor. His parents hadn’t known he possessed any sort of powers, and even as small as he was he still understood the position he’d put them in if they ever found out. Fearfully his hands dropped to his sides as his mother covered her mouth in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks as she took a step back.

Men in suits and long coats were there just a few hours later, speaking in hushed voices while both of his parents cried and he was ushered out the door and into an unmarked car, quiet as he understood yelling and crying would do him no good now. What’s done was done, all he could do was be compliant and hope to be treated gently.

-----

The room suddenly brightening with a flickering light brought him back out of his thoughts, Roman entering with his signature bright flame held proudly in his hand. The image of him in his rather scrapped together Princely outfit posing subconsciously in the doorway was almost enough to make Logan roll his eyes but he didn’t want Virgil to think it was because of xem so he managed to restrain himself.

“My dearest brother has been pacing in the same spot for two hours now and I haven't been able to calm him down soooo I thought to check on our resident nerd.” Roman declared with his usual flare. Logan actually did roll his eyes this time but Virgil did as well so he figured it was fine.

“The ‘resident nerd’ is doing fine, Roman. Though it's concerning to hear Remus is nervous as well considering he’s the one who suggested the date.”

Roman waved his hand at Logan dismissively. “He’s just a sap- moreso than me surprisingly. He doesn’t want to do anything to put you in danger but he wants to do something nice, so he’s worried that’s all. Remus is an idiot but I trust him with my life; believe me when I say you have nothing to worry about except his terrible sense of humor.”

Logan merely hummed in response, staring at the way the flame moved around as Roman gestured with his words.

-----

He panted as he rolled out of the way of another flamethrower, singeing the tips of his hair in the process but he couldn’t afford to slow down enough to worry about that. Years of training with different fighting styles had earned him incredibly fast reflexes but a good portion of his accuracy in knowing where to step and when was owed to him working even harder to focus his powers. Thoughts from others constantly surrounded him on a regular basis, getting more and more prevalent the older he grew. Learning to block out the constant string of stimuli was a useful skill to keep him sane but learning to hone in on specific thoughts to predict actions was what had kept him alive.

He ducked below another bullet and brought up his leg in the same motion, kicking a throwing knife to the side and sending it to clatter harmlessly between one of his assailants feet. A twirl to the side and a tilt of the head let another bought of flame boil the air beside him while another knife just barely brushed his ear. The constant bang of bullets and roar of flames and whistling of knives was overwhelming and made the air so thick he could barely draw a breath and it was becoming a struggle to concentrate the way he needed to and-

A high pitched alarm sounded one, twice, three times- a blaring flash accompanying it that left him blinking painfully. His shoulders slumped as the barrage finally ended, another successful training day completed. He watched as everyone began putting their weapons away, laughing and congratulating each other, clapping themselves on the back and discussing whatever they had planned after this. No one even spared the thing they had been firing at seconds before a spare glance, save for the director of the branch, who took long steps forward to stand in front of him only to snap his fingers and motion forward no doubt to see him back to his room until dinner. Absorbing the sounds around him he drank in as much praise as he could that wasn’t his and would never be for him; people rarely congratulated weapons after all.

-----

“Is this where we all decided to hide today?” Logan looked up to see Patton sitting cross legged on one one of the beams in the ceiling, grinning happily down at them even as their fluffy ears twitched nervously and even fluffier tail whipped back and forth in agitation. They must have come back from trying to calm Remus as well, Logan mused; Patton had never done well being in the same room as Remus who tended to voice his thoughts abruptly and without much care to how they might sound to others which always managed to set Patton on edge no matter how hard they tried not to show it.

Patton was a rare mutant in that as opposed to being born with abnormal traits or abilities they had been a science experiment from the start- an effort to create super soldiers rather than stealing them away from families and training them. Even rarer was the fact that the DNA splicing had taken extraordinarily well by pure chance as Patton was born with a mutation that left their DNA incredibly malleable- a mutation that never would have been discovered had cellular manipulation not been the reason for them being in the experimental branch that they were. They had tried cloning Patton at first to see if their power could be duplicated but when that failed to work they began trying to combine them with different animals to see if desirable traits would come forward. By manipulating them on a physical and anatomical level they were able to change some parts of them to be more cat like, intending, Patton had guessed, to turn them into a kind of stealth soldier but they got away before they completed it, leaving them with heightened agility and surgically coaxed cat ears and a tail. They were only a child when the lab had done this but somehow they were never bitter, simply preferring to leave their past alone and embrace whatever future they could make- a trait Logan greatly admired them for even if their unending optimism could be somewhat grating at times.

“Did Janus brush your tail out Pat? It looks fluffier today.” Patton preened at Virgil's compliment, their tail beginning to wave in a more relaxed manner as their mind was distracted from whatever it was Remus had been ranting about.

“He did! He found a cat brush and got it for me so I could finally get the undercoat out!” Jumping down and landing lightly on their feet they posed a little and flashed another wide grin.

“Beautiful as always, Patton.” Roman said genuinely as he lowered his hand into a barrel to light up the paper scraps and wood in it for the night, the dim sunlight that had filtered through the grated having long since died. The home was a modified branch of a sewer system, thankfully the part most removed from the city where it flowed without the stench and was sealed off inconspicuously enough that in the ten years Janus and Remus had been using it no worker had ever found it.

-----

It had been Janus and Remus who had found him, beaten and bloody from an escape attempt he had made just days before his real one. He had made a weak attempt to coax the scientists into a false sense of security, holding back the full scoop of his powers during training for a year in anticipation for his final escape. He had punished severely but had simply thrown him in his regular cell, assuming he wasn’t strong enough to do any more damage than they had seen him do already and trusting that they had beaten him down enough that it would be a while before he tried again- if he ever did. Not six days later the mangled metal of the front of his cell was tossed into a group of guards, walls torn apart in a straight line to the exit and the huge buzzing gates leading to the outside world thrown open wide and stuck there with varying amounts of heavy debris.

The outside world, as it turns out, was a lot bigger and louder and downright terrifying when you weren’t being sent out as a personal assassin or field missions or training sessions- all controlled on some level to keep him from being killed and compromised. Without the begrudged protection from the labs and moreover having to hide from said lab was another story entirely. The times they searched for him and how closely they came to his spots were random and made it incredibly hard for him to pick out their thoughts from anyone else’s in the city and figure out how close they were. On more than one occasion they passed right by him crouched under piles of garbage or laying low under a hedge, his breath held as he tried desperately to keep himself as still and quiet as possible, thoughts of what they would to him once they found him pounding against his head and making him squeeze his eyes shut to keep his terrified tears from falling.

That was how Remus had found him. It had been dark and hours had passed since the searchers had left that park he had been hiding in. He had still been hiccuping down his sobs as he rolled out from under the hedge that he hadn’t bothered to scope the area for anyone’s close by thoughts, having shut out as much as he could after they had left to try and block out any other hate fueled thoughts that may send him spiraling again. His heart had leapt in his throat so high his breath caught painfully, immediately shifting to offense as he tensed, ready to fight as long and hard as he could. He couldn’t go back- he wouldn’t. No matter what they did or promised him or punished him with; he’d go down fighting or not at all.

But Remus had only raised his hands in the air in a motion of peace, eyes widening as he locked onto the government issued bracelet that marked him as an experimental mutant. He had grinned impossibly wide then Logan remembered, briefly disappearing from his sight and reappearing a moment later, setting him even more on edge but curious nonetheless.

“I’m like you.” Remus had said quietly. “Basically I run real fast and the government hasn’t figured out how to get me yet.”

Logan had watched as he jiggled his wrists a bit for emphasis, bare save for colored chords that he assumed didn’t associate him with any government branch since they didn’t look official.

“Are you okay?” Remus had asked next and mutely Logan nodded, unsure of how to react to this fellow mutant who had never been caught by any sort of lab, apparently living as free as one could when you were as different as they were. He stepped back as another man appeared behind him, Janus he later learned.

“Liar.” Janus had hissed, making Remus reach around and smack the back of his head.

“It was a polite thing to ask that he tried to dismiss Jan. Let the adults speak for a second.”

Logan had noted the faint pout on Janus’ face though he was still trying very hard to look intimidating. And then all at once his eyes had turned cold as his attention was once again focused on Logan, glaring menacingly from beneath a black bowler hat. “I’m younger than you and yet I’m the one that has to put my foot down. He’s being chased clearly; we are not bringing him back with us.”

Remus has turned, Logan seemingly forgotten for the moment. “That’s not how it works! He needs help and we’re not leaving him to starve or be found in the middle of a park! What would Patton say?”

“Patton is a soft fool who needs to figure out where their morals stand. I myself am choosing not to compromise our place of hiding and three other people that you know those power hungry idiots would love nothing more than to get their hands on!”

Remus rolled his eyes so hard his head had lolled with it, face going pale as he watched something in the sky. It was then that Logan heard the telling sound of a helicopter flying low and getting closer but he had barely tensed before he found himself gripped around the middle and held vertically with the ground flying underneath him. They stopped abruptly and he was set down, blinking in rapid confusion as Remus grinned sheepishly at him.

“Welcome to the hideout?”

Logan’s eyes had widened and his breath had caught yet again, chest tightening as he shook his head vehemently. “You can’t- I need to go back! They’ll do anything to get me back-!”

He was stopped from going forward with a finger to his chest, his blue eyes locking with beautiful brown as Remus held his gaze. “And we will do everything to keep you safe.”

Safe. With that one word Logan was his. He hadn’t known why and he still didn’t quite understand it but he had trusted Remus with everything he had- and he still did. Even as Janus had stalked off grumbling and Virgil and Roman had kept their distance at first Remus had kept him close and showed him how much better his life could be, even if they were living in a modified sewer system.

Back in the present he looked up as a hand was thrust under his chin, smiling softly as he took Remus’ hand and let himself be led away from the others’ idle chatter. He counted himself extremely lucky in the end that Janus had eventually come around to him, seeing how happy he made Remus and how Remus made Logan feel it had been him to finally talk to Logan about it and get the two to officially talk about how they felt, going on about the being “hopeless gay idiots” when they had finally started to date officially. Logan wasn’t sure what he’d do without Remus at this point, just a year later and he was so attached to their small group of hideaways he wouldn’t trade for the world.

They approached the exit to the sewers, Remus swinging their hands between them. Logan held his breath right before they crossed the threshold, closing his eyes and letting it out slowly as his feet met grass and he opened his eyes to the darkened field. There were a few tunnels that lead out to different places depending on where they needed to go and this, Remus had told him, was his favorite because of how empty it was. The city lay far in the distance so there was almost no light pollution to block out the sky. Soft grass and flowers brushed his ankles as he scanned the area carefully, seeing nothing but trees lining the far end of the field with a road so far away he could barely, make it out in the darkness. Remus tugged his hand softly to get his attention, searching his eyes for any hint of discomfort.

“Is this okay?’

Logan took another breath and let it out, the last of his nerves fading away as he took in the quiet. “It’s perfect Remus.”

The other grinned and tugged a little harder this time, walking fast to the middle of the field where he stopped suddenly and raised Logan’s arm up to lead him into an impromptu twirl. Logan laughed quietly and then louder as he was dipped, secure in Remus’ strong hold as he reached up to grip the back of his neck. He was safe. He was free and safe and happy finally with someone who truly loved and cared for him. His breath caught in his throat again but this time in awe, Remus chuckling as he was laid down carefully tucked into his side, till with his arms around his neck.

The stars shone bright and winked lazily while swirls of color dusted faintly behind them. The moon was waning, a barely there light that let the beauty behind it show fully as the wind whisked away any clouds that dared to try and cover it. It was everything Logan had ever hoped it would be and more, excitement thrumming through him as he squeezed Remus tightly in an attempt to convey it. He felt Remus grin against his scalp where his face was buried in his hair.

“It’s beautiful isn't it?”

Logan looked back at him, light from the stars reflected in his eyes and wild brown hair framing his face. He leaned up slightly and kissed him, a faint brush of their lips that left them both grinning like the idiots they were. Placing a hand on Remus’ cheek Logan smiled at him, thumb brushing over his cheek in adoration.

“Absolutely stunning.”

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[forevercloudnine]

batman forever riddlebat ship meme

(This one was inevitable. God, do I love this movie. @heroes-etc​ gave me questions from this ship meme.)

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?

The obvious answer here is Edward because he is... clearly and pathologically insecure in his identity and requiring outside approval. You could argue he gets over this once he adopts his flamboyant supervillain identity, but as soon as he steps out of it to be Edward Nygma again he’s as self-conscious as ever. On some level his Bruce cosplay at the Nygmatech party is probably supposed to be a dig at his former idol, but it’s pretty transparent that he’s paranoid about not measuring up, especially once Bruce actually walks in.

As for what makes him feel better, two obvious high points of his self-esteem right off the bat (lol) are when Bruce is giving him positive attention in his intro scene, and directly afterwards when he’s murdering his boss for ragging on him.

Of course, neither external validation or murder is, like, a permanent solution to insecurity. Obviously. If they ever got together Bruce would probably make him go to therapy, which would be incredibly hypocritical because, as Dr. Meridian points out in this movie, that’s not exactly something Bruce is doing. Although in Bruce’s defense, if you count the novelizations as canon for this continuity, the psychiatrist Alfred hired for him as a child basically wrote him off as a lost cause that was going to inevitably self-destruct at some point in adulthood. So I can see why he’d think therapy isn’t for him. 

"Young Bruce may seem quite the stalwart, but there’s still a child beneath that veneer of calm acceptance [...] The day will come when that veneer crumbles, and the boy reacts to the memory of his ordeal. Such matters may be postponed, but not indefinitely. And the longer this one is delayed, the greater the damage will be to his psyche.”

“Still,” Alfred pressed. “How do you think this will all come out? Off the record, if you prefer.”

Another pause. “I am not terribly optimistic,” the stout man admitted. “But I assure you, I will do my best.”

Alternatively, Bruce just lets Edward borrow his clothes and calls it a day. It’s less time consuming than therapy and both the movie and novelization demonstrate how into that Edward is.

He was murmuring to himself, “We’ll probably be dining at Wayne Manor together.” He envisioned Bruce sitting across from him, and began to launch into a narrative [...] “Yes. Yes. A Party in my honor? I should have rented a tuxedo. What?” he couldn’t believe it, “One of yours, Bruce?” He gave it a moment’s thought and then shrugged. “Why not? We are the same size.”

3. Who is the most romantic?

 Uh, not Bruce! Batman Forever is the most thoughtfully romantic he gets in the entire series, and even here his only two dates ideas are “whatever Gotham social event my secretary tells me I need a date for” and “coming on to my date in my alternate identity to see if she loves me enough not to cheat on me with Batman.” Also, he vacillates between staunchly refusing to do any flirting at all and dishing out the least romantic pick-up lines possible.

You say “bad writing,” I say “totally in character for a hot rich guy who knows that this is as hard as he has to try to get into someone’s pants.” Bruce might love his partner with the intensity of a thousand dying suns, but he’s still sending Alfred to buy all their Valentine’s Day presents. His idea of a romantic evening for two is finally trusting someone enough to tell them his secret identity. If he’s done that already, or they already figured it out, then his playbook is over. That’s clearly the only romantic fantasy he’s ever allowed himself.  

(I was going to say he does this once every movie, but he actually never does this in Batman & Robin specifically because he doesn’t actually care about Julie Madison. She proposes to him and he gets her name wrong while shooting her down. Add that to the “Bruce Wayne isn’t romantic” box.)

The ridiculous amount of magazine cut-outs populating Edward’s apartment indicates that he probably has a very vibrant and extensive set of fantasies involving Bruce, which is hinted at a couple times in the novelization.

Edward would certainly know him when he saw him. He’d spent enough time anticipating the moment, after all [...] Finally he was going to be meeting Bruce Wayne face-to-face, and he had every moment of the encounter scripted [...] He’d rehearsed it to perfection in his mind for weeks upon months.

In the grand scheme of things... in the fabulous, sweeping, intertwining destinies of Bruce Wayne and Edward Nygma, such a slip would not even rate a footnote.

He becomes suddenly and painfully aware that if Bruce Wayne walked away without Edward Nygma by his side, then that would be it. It would be finished. All these weeks, months... indeed, a lifetime of planning... and it was crumbling under him just like that.

Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean his fantasies are all romantic in the traditional sense of the word. This is a man who was charmed by Harvey holding a charity circus hostage with some kind of graffitied missile warhead. Tonally, there’s not even that much of a difference between his crush collages and his riddle death threats.

What’s weirder, using a magazine cutout of someone you hate to make a pop-up card of their face, or using a magazine cutout of someone you love to replace the anatomically correct heart in the cardiovascular system diagram you keep in your apartment/arcade/makeshift laboratory? Probably the former, since it was made with the express purpose of Bruce actually seeing it. Although presumably Edward was planning on taking Bruce to his apartment at some point? And in the novelization, he actually drags Bruce into his cubicle to look at his Wayne Shrine.

He grabbed Bruce’s arms and shouted “No, don’t leave me! I need you!” [...] Bruce was thunderstruck as he was pulled partway into Edward’s office... and then he caught sight of the shrine. 

Edwards’s head bobbed eagerly. Now, finally, Bruce would understand the depth of Nygma’s devotion to his idol. He would see how important he was to Nygma.

Notably, the only thing that upsets Bruce about the fact that one of his employees has a serial killer wall dedicated to him at their work station (@heroes-etc: realistically.... IS this the first time this has happened? i doubt it.) is the fact that the shrine includes a picture of him taken directly after his parents’ death, which is obviously a huge trigger for Bruce’s PTSD.

Wayne’s gaze zeroed in on the picture of himself as a young man. 

The eyes of Wayne the elder locked with Wayne the younger, and when he slowly turned his scrutiny back to Edward Nygma, Edward could feel the temperature in the cubicle drop to subzero.

Later, once Bruce isn’t being actively reminded of the most traumatizing day of his life, he reflects that he could probably relate to Edward’s specific brand of crazy, and hopes that it’s not too late to try again (it is).

He paused momentarily at Edward Nygma’s cubicle, thinking about the intensity he’d seen in the man’s eyes the other day. Nygma’s ideas might have been a bit odd, but that sort of passion—if properly channeled—could accomplish miracles. That was something Bruce Wayne certainly knew better than anyone else. Perhaps after this fiasco was the time to take Nygma aside under less-pressured circumstances. Start again...

With any other character, I would call bull on their being this unphased by someone being obsessed enough with them to build a stalker shrine, but, like. It’s Batman. He probably has a stalker shrine to Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman in his cave somewhere. When they start dating, Edward mails the weirdest magazine cutout valentines to his office on the regular, and every time Bruce has to assure his staff that it’s not a ransom letter and it’s just “his boyfriend being romantic.”

9. What is the most embarrassing thing they have done in front of each other?

I mean, by most people’s standards, any one of the things that Edward does in front of Bruce could easily be the most embarrassing thing to happen to them in their lifetime. But for the most part, Edward seems blissfully free of that kind of self-consciousness. He accidentally introduces himself to Bruce as “[extended moaning sound] Bruce Wayne” and shakes it off without even registering his mistake. Even when he feels like Bruce has rejected him and his project, his emotional state is more shocked, saddened, and angry than it is ashamed. He does apologize to Bruce, during the scene where they first meet, for holding on to his hand too long during their handshake. And by “handshake” I mean that Bruce extends his hand to be shaken, and Edward just grabs on and holds it without any motion whatsoever for the entire first half of their conversation. Which might be the only time he ever apologizes in the entire movie. So I’ll say that was his moment of embarrassment.

Bruce only really embarrasses himself in front of Alfred, but Edward does manage to trick Bruce into getting scanned by his mind reading device at the Nygmatech party. Being tricked in general would be pretty awkward for Bruce, since this movie goes out of its way to show the audience how SMART and CLEVER and KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT BRAINWAVES Bruce is at every opportunity. But being tricked into getting your mind read is about a million times more embarrassing than just running into a wall like some kind of Looney Tune. Obviously having access to Bruce’s mind allows Edward to figure out that his former boss/current obsessee is Batman, but also it’s just got to be super weird in there. Bruce is a bizarre man.  

12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Whether he’s idolizing Bruce or plotting his destruction, Edward is still seeing the subject of his lifelong obsession as a larger than life exaggeration of the real man. Some of that pedestal would probably survive into the beginning of a romantic relationship, but by the time they got serious Edward would have had to recognize that Bruce has both positive and negative traits. He would also have had to grapple with the fact that the man he once assumed would make everything in his life better is a lot of work to be around, especially in this movie’s continuity where the trauma of his family’s death and his guilt over allowing enemies like Joker to die are genuinely affecting Bruce’s day-to-day functionality.

(A lot of things, Chase.)

Edward’s introduction scene demonstrates that he doesn’t see Bruce as having these kinds of problems. His Escapism Wish Fulfillment Device TM is clearly a very personal project for him, since he, you know. Is kind of already living in a Bruce-centric fantasy world.

When he’s pitching it to Bruce, however, he states that he doesn’t think someone like Bruce would ever need to escape reality (which could just be ingratiating flattery, but he barely seems aware of what he’s saying at the time because he’s too busy staring with his mouth open at Bruce putting on glasses).

(Side note: an interjection from @heroes-etc​

Anyway, moving on.)

Obviously we know he’s wrong, since Bruce escapes his reality every night by dressing up like a bat and scaring people. Normally that’s just subtext (or me being cynical and creating subtext), but Batman Forever introduced a hot psychiatrist who is constantly poking at Batman for being a power fantasy created by a traumatized mind to cope with intense feelings of helplessness in childhood. 

 The novelization makes it clear that it’s not the illusion of perfection that Edward is attracted to, however. The picture of Bruce in Crime Alley is what kickstarts Edward’s obsession, not because Bruce seemed flawless but because he seemed to be going through similar pain as Edward (whatever Edward’s pain even IS in this continuity). So I think recognizing Bruce’s issues would be less of a dealbreaker and more of a point of connection, were they to get serious.

He saw, there in Bruce Wayne’s face, an intensity that mirrored his own. An anger, a frustration at the hand that fate had dealt him. There were no tears on Bruce’s face. Instead there was a smoldering intelligence that Edward intuitively sensed was on par with his own. 

There was something in Bruce’s eyes, something in that gaze. There was Bruce, in a moment of raw emotion, his parents just having been cruelly taken from him. And there was no self-pity. Just cold, hard anger.

[...] Ed still had the newspaper with him when he was walking home from school. Not that he needed it to read; the contents were safely locked away in his skull, thanks to his photographic memory. But he wanted to clip out the articles and pictures about Bruce Wayne. He found the young man fascinating, as if he had discovered a soulmate of sorts.

For Bruce, on the other hand, getting serious presumably just means attempting to include Edward more and more in the found family he builds in the latter half of the 90’s Batman movies. Alfred approving a love interest is not quite as tantamount in this continuity as it is sometimes (Micheal Gough Alfred is pretty laid back), but Bruce is still spending all of his non-Batman, non-socialite time with his butler. So if Edward wants to hang out with Bruce, he has to either get on Alfred’s good side or prepare for a lot of “romantic quality time” where his boyfriend’s dad is glaring at him from the background.

Dick is less important to get on the good side of, since he and Bruce argue all the time in these movies (apparently one of the proposed scripts for Batman & Robin was Bruce kicking Dick out of the house and making him go to college, where Dick would cope with his dad-related anger by bullying his psychology professor Dr. Crane into becoming a supervillain. I personally feel like I deserved to see that Scarecrow origin). So if Dick doesn’t like Bruce’s new boyfriend, it’s just one more thing for them to be catty to each other about.  

Alfred’s niece Barbara Wilson on the other hand (who is adorable as a fusion of Barbara Gordon and Julia Pennyworth, do not @ me) would be absolutely vital for Edward to win over, because her opinion could easily either make or break his standing with her uncle. Also Bruce decided to adopt her within five minutes of meeting her, so he’s obviously fond.

19. Where do they go on their first date?

Edward’s fantasy sequence in the novelization makes it obvious enough that he would really, really like to have dinner at Wayne Manor. Hanging out at someone’s house isn’t really a traditional first date, especially if one of you is a billionaire who could have taken you literally anywhere, but clearly none of that matters to Bruce, because that’s exactly the first date he invites Vicki Vale on in Batman (1989).

It’s pretty painfully awkward (“You want to know the truth? I don’t think I’ve ever been in this room before”) until Bruce gives up on the formality and takes her down to eat the rest of their courses with Alfred in the kitchen.

I feel like his first date with Edward could probably go the same way, with a few major differences. One, Edward would have been super enthused about eating in the fancy dining hall, and Bruce would have only suggested finishing their meal in the kitchen because Edward clearly wanted to see As Much Of The Manor As Possible. Two, when Alfred offers to stop embarrassing Bruce and leave them alone for the end of their date, Edward would have insisted he stay and break out the baby albums. You cannot convince me that Alfred is not a scrapbooker. Actually, does what Edward’s doing count as scrapbooking? Maybe they could compare notes.

[hcavensarrow]

Hiroko’s Monster Manual

Complete Bestiary of the Otherworldly, as compiled from information contained within the Tsukishita Archives; entry edited by Asai Hiroko

The Ho-o (or Phoenix, as it is more commonly known in the far west) is a species of bird of apparently divine origin. Their size often varies between individual from that of a human child to well over that of the average adult, but can be easily distinguished through their plumage; a Phoenix's feathers are described as gold at first glance, but iridescent, shifting in color from each angle, making the bird appear multicolored. They can also be distinguished by the crest atop their heads and long trail of tail feathers that have a similar iridescent color. Anatomically, it can be compared most closely to a common pheasant--albeit considerably larger.

Ho-o are near universally considered symbolic of the sun and, in turn, fire. While reports of their appearance can be found near anywhere, they seem to prefer to make their homes and nests in mountainous regions, particularly those well-isolated from any human civilization. Some accounts suggest that they only make appearances to those “pure of heart,” bearing blessings, but evidence would suggest that rather, anyone may encounter one, but it will only show trust and companionship to those of good will and honesty. Due to their elusiveness, they are a difficult creature to study in any great detail--many assumptions can be made from patterns in their behavior, but few conclusive facts have been found regarding the species and its specific origins; most agree that they hail from the Heavens, or whatever we may call the realm of existence of the gods. 

When one dies, its body combusts and burns until all organic material is burned away; then, the ashes re-form into a newborn. They are considered divine, or at least harbingers of luck, as they tend to bring blessings of longevity, happiness, and fortune to those who witness them--however, while many stories tend to depict them as mild-mannered, or even submissive, they can be highly aggressive when provoked--one report from within our Archives claims an attack by a particularly defensive individual when the author in question came too near to her nest. Likewise, they are not without malice, and have been known to bring curses down on those who bring them harm.

For that reason, trying to pluck a feather from such a creature is not advised--however, like all birds, the Ho-o is known to molt and lose feathers through natural causes on occasion. If one should come across a phoenix feather, they are incredibly fortunate indeed, as the medicinal properties of their feathers have been widely considered without compare. While there is no evidence to suggest that a feather can provide immortality (or even extend a person’s lifespan beyond its natural scope), they do function as an incredibly potent medicine for any number of ailments, so much that they may very well be considered a “cure-all”. Due to their rarity, of course, having any reliable stock of them is completely implausible. Likewise, their down is not only exceptionally warm, but completely inflammable--however, the odds of finding enough down feathers to produce any sort of garment are astronomical and would likely take multiple lifetimes. 

Ultimately, the Ho-o or Phoenix is a divine creature that poses no active threat and should be treated with due dignity; like all creatures, approaching without its consent is dangerous, though not typically fatally unless you make the mistake of bringing it to harm. 

[feministangertranslator]

The Daily Deluge

Image from Femstella

Bombshells big and small are being dropped daily as the result of the #metoo movement. I feel disappointed I don't have more hours in the day to read every tidbit of news about what is shaping up to be another major chapter in feminism, let alone sit down, process, and write about my perspective on it. I really wanted to have written more here by now. I am so busy loving the smell the Napalm in the morning, it’s hard to get much of anything else done.  Sometimes I want to call in sick to everything and everybody, make a bowl of popcorn and watch the patriarchy burn down from the comfort of my cozy home.  Honestly, I could eat this shit up all day and don’t want to miss a minute of it.

This, unfortunately, leads me to often find myself in ravenous consumption mode as opposed to thoughtful and deliberate output mode: I am devouring all of the news of the men who have been accused of sexual misconduct and their (mostly ridiculous) statements - I’m not even going to call those PR and attorney crafted liability avoiders apologies. Equally, I enjoy all of the beautiful heart-filled articles, posts, and videos from other survivors of sexual assault who are expressing reactions, thoughts, and feelings to which I strongly relate. I have a docket of saved articles in my Facebook account, tons of bookmarked Instagram posts, and cued up podcasts competing for my attention. I have to force myself to pull out of the social media rabbit hole, get up and away from my computer (sometimes TV) to go brush my teeth, straighten my hair, put food in my mouth, earn money, and do other things that are vital to taking care of myself. They seem so much more boring in comparison to the day of reckoning that seems to be unfolding right before my eyes.

I must resist this siren call for a few reasons. Firstly, I know this is the position our capitalist society wants me in: too busy watching, ingesting, consuming, buying, and promoting the ideas and goods being peddled by others to get angry about all the more important injustices and inequities from the fallout of capitalism befalling me and the rest of us. Fuck that. That is one of the reasons why I stopped working in television. I couldn't imagine myself working so hard to be (if I were so lucky) a part of a successful show; at the end of the day, even the best creation will always be an opiate of the people to me.

Whether it is the thoughts, theories, or products of others, like most of us Americans, I have been trained to consume and have reveled in it for too long. (My family is Romanian and I can definitely see the difference in some of our shopping and lifestyle habits). And I want to use my time, energy, effort, voice and dollars to only support who and what I believe in, and what will support and sustain me. It’s not just money that I have to be concerned with, it’s time and energy - which frankly, are more precious, and affect me, my psyche and actions, and therefore my life, tremendously.

What I choose to consume has to have the purpose either to benefit, uplift or inspire me, too. Because I am also dying to create and share I have to be mindful to not overconsume to numb myself out and satiate the fire inside me to make stuff. While part of me wants America to take a few cues from the Nordic market economy model or conversely maybe give Libertarianism a real shot, American capitalism can obviously work for others, albeit a select handful. So I have to believe I am also worthy of a piece of that pie, and there has to be a market for what I have to offer.  

For example, I find myself obsessing about the Roy Moore story. I need to constantly remind myself that paying too much attention to him and Leigh Corfman, with whom I identify with strongly who was brave enough to shed light on how he molested her by grooming and taking advantage of her, at some point puts me in the observer and consumer mode. If I’m not careful, the contact high I get from her beautiful inspired acts can placate me enough to detract from what I can do for myself, too. It is definitely easier to watch her do it than to put myself out on a limb in the public eye, even though I passionately want to get out there myself.

As a woman who was at many points throughout my childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood silenced through intimidation and abuse, I must heed the call to speak up and let it surpass my urge to stay comfortable and quiet because I think it will keep me “safe.” I must constantly fight the further ingrained notion that others (especially men) know better than me. That I’m not worthy of listening to. Or that I don’t know quite enough yet to open my mouth. This has plagued me for years - despite getting an English degree from America’s top public university, making it through the ringer to become a licensed attorney in one of the most difficult states to pass the bar, ranking obscenely high in verbal ability on an IQ test, doing well at public speaking in some of my jobs, and even breaking into difficult industries and making multiple career changes.

External achievements are no match against a deeply long-held belief that I am only here to serve others, and my life, safety, comfort, and opinions don’t matter. It would follow and haunt me in every job or relationship I had. I truly believe it started with experiencing many “adverse childhood experiences,” specifically being sexually abused by someone in my family who was supposed to take care of me instead of use and abuse me. This, of course, set me up for many years of unconsciously repeating that dynamic in a lot of my other relationships and further cementing this completely false belief as a “truth” for me. I know this is why it is important for me to speak now. It is the antidote to all my internalized shame, hatred and anger. That was someone else’s bullshit, dysfunction and pain put upon me, and I don’t want it anymore. And if anything I say can help someone else stop putting up with it, too, it will all be worth it.

I know I am not fully ready to say or act upon all that I have weighing on my heart and mind yet. Because I am insanely jealous of the output of others who are, I know I will do it, too. I have to make small steps that work for me, be patient, and hold onto my knowing I will get there when it is my time. As Julia Cameron said in the Artist Way, jealousy is a roadmap; to paraphrase in my terms, its purpose is to tell you where you want to go, what you want to do, and who you want to be by making you so fucking mad when you see someone else is doing it and you are not. It’s that simple.

I know why I am a bit hesitant to say what I truly feel, talk about my own experiences, and make myself vulnerable to judgment. It is way easier to read something someone else did and share it with a quick comment on social media as opposed to say and create something from my own heart. There is less of my skin in the game. And the game of speaking out about feminism and sexual abuse and assault? I already know what the rules are. When women publicly speak out about anything related to women’s rights, people (almost all of them men) systematically call them fat and ugly and threaten to rape and kill them. They try to silence them by attacking their womanhood: their looks (what society has deemed a woman’s hottest commodity), their sense of emotional and personal safety (through means of violating the anatomical vulnerability of their genitals in comparison to men’s), their actual lives (murder, duh), and if that isn’t enough, their straight up worthiness of being alive (by making them feel unattractive, unsafe, unloved, unwanted, unintelligent, unworthy and ultimately emotionally annihilated). For a woman not up to withstanding that attack, the threatening perpetrator doesn’t have to actually follow through on his threat; his words and fear they create are enough. Men systemically perpetrating violence against women is alive and well in our culture and we all know it.

Wielding the power to drum up fear of personal attack or violence is the main tool used to control women and it can be incredibly effective against one who has already experienced such awful acts. And words can be just as powerful as actions in affecting someone’s sense of safety. These trolls know that. That’s exactly what Trump did to Rosie O’Donnell when he called her awful names and whatever else he has done to other women who ruffle his delicate feathers. A woman who has experienced that attack and/or violence firsthand has to be able to do a lot of work to come to the other side of it to feel free walking down the street safely, and even more so to be brave enough to talk about such controversial subjects in the public eye. So since I already know what the rules of the game are, I am in the process of deciding how I and when I want to play it, what I need to strengthen, and equipment I need to bring with me to make sure I come out of it victorious and intact.

[meditativeyoga]

Wise words from the woman who pioneered curvy yoga

Curvy positioning is an art. I do not state that to be charming yet rather because I believe it's particularly real. When we browse us, a lot of the yoga exercise sources available to teach us poses show either an extremely thin body or an anatomical version [also known as a skeletal system] Neither is very valuable when you have curves.

While our postures might look a little different from an anatomical model [give thanks to benefits, right?], that doesn't mean they're not lined up. The very first time I saw an image of myself in Side Angle Posture, I was surprised. As in, completely.

All this time I would certainly assumed I was aligned, yet when I looked at the picture, I assumed my knee looked secured as well as that my hip was totally misaligned.

So I entered into the present once again, constructing it up gradually before a mirror to validate. And that's when it hit me: exactly what I would certainly seen as imbalance was actually simply the form of my body. Due to the fact that I was utilized to seeing straight lines and also angles in yoga exercise publications, I had not know exactly how various it viewed my body. Just what a revelation.

I encourage you to approach positioning from the in out-- feeling the placement in your body while likewise doing your best to establish yourself up safely.

Feet

If your feet tend to coming in or out [as much of ours provide for a range of factors-- genes, injury, etc.], you have an added special work to do: push them down firmly. Pretty much at all times. Grounding your feet could maintain you secure in your poses and could likewise help you build stamina in your feet and also ankle joints to keep you secure, both on as well as off the mat.

If your feet tend to roll in or out, push them down securely. Virtually all the time

If you have any sort of foot discomfort [plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, swelling, etc.], take into consideration taking a shorter position in standing presents. Often the feet can actually be grippy in standing postures because they're aiming to do all the work of maintaining your body upright. So whether you're really feeling discomfort in the feet for among the factors over or an additional reason, experiment with a much shorter position. You could also alternate between front- as well as side-facing postures to provide the feet some selection in the work they have to do.

Knees

If I had to call the number one grievance I listen to from my students, it's knees. So let's break it down [ not actually-- ouch!] Pain in the knees generally turns up in 2 forms: crunching/pain when moving as well as discomfort when kneeling.

Crunching/pain when moving

When removaling right into standing postures where the knee is bent [such as Warrior 1, Warrior 2 or Side Angle], go slowly. There is no blue bow for rocketing your knee directly to 90 degrees [although there could be a wrist bracelet if you go as well much and end up at the doc's office] Instead, removal slowly into the present on your very own breath.

For instance: "Inhale, flex your knee. Exhale, align your leg." Do this a few times and use it as a guide for where is a great area for your knee to be. That way when you're prepared to hold it, you'll know where to go.

Pain when "standing" on knees

If you have discomfort in stooping positions, you have a few choices:

Don' t do them. Seriously, there are lots of various other good selections, so why threat something as useful as your knee?

Do the pose in a different way.

If you're basically all right on your knees yet just do not like the sensation of your knee digging right into the difficult ground [and that does, actually?], attempt positioning a covering under your knee as well as see if that helps. Otherwise, go for alternative 1 or 2 above.

Legs

We're commonly educated to practise Standing Mountain, or Tadasana, with feet with each other or, at one of the most, hip range apart. Due to the fact that of our flesh [ particularly around the thighs], this placement [particularly feet with each other] could be uncomfortable at best and dangerous at worst. As an example, in my body, if I stand with my feet together, my knees bend out.

Throwing my body out of positioning to comply with a narrow [ actually] concept of a position is not yoga! If the exact same is true for you, junk it! Step your feet a comfortable range apart then build your placement from there. You're still secure doing it this means-- and also, actually, if this is just what is ideal for your body, you're actually safer.

Shoulders

Many curvy folks have actually gotten the message-- both implicitly and clearly-- that we must use up less space on the planet. That our body is not fine and also we must change it. The noticeable psychological toll this kind of message can take, it could additionally have a result on our body. On a subconscious level, we may shut down our heart and attempt to conceal a bit from the world. When that happens, it could create our upper body to collapse as well as shoulders to round in a little bit as we attempt to take up less space, or even an invisible quantity of this could make a big distinction in just how you really feel in a posture [and also in your life]

So lift your sternum and broaden throughout your collarbones. You have arrived! And you're gon na take up however much room you dang well please.

Wrists

Wrists are fragile as well as particular creatures. And also they can cause pain in yoga poses-- especially poses with an arm balance component like Downward Dealing with Pet. If your wrists are giving you any type of problem in a present like that, below are a couple of points to try:

Roll up the leading edge of your floor covering and area the roll at the centre/back of your hand. This could take a little pressure off the wrists,

Use a yoga exercise wedge to do the exact same thing,

Make clenched fists with your hands and do the position on your hands [base of the hand on the ground, not knuckles],

Holding into 3- or 5-pound pinheads can develop a similar effect to alternative 3 however might be much easier on the hands for some people because the pinhead is birthing the stress right into the flooring,

Do one more variation of the present, perhaps with the wall or a chair, that may include less wrist pressure.

A word on knee and also hip replacements

If you have had a knee or hip substitute, you are not the only one. My recommendations is to follow your physician's guidance on exactly what is finest for you. As soon as you're operating within those criteria, adhere to the feel great concept. If it really feels great, go all out. If not, discover one more choice that does.

Okey doke, now we're gettin' to some excellent things! Below are a bunch of recommendations for making your technique curve-specific as well as comfy:

Booty

When you have a little bit more to like in the booty department, it could make it hard to rest on your back easily. It can cause your upper back and neck to obtain ground as well as your reduced back.

There are several alternatives right here:

Take your Savasana, or final leisure position, in a different setting that you discover much more comfy,

Place a covering under your head, this is sometimes sufficient to align the neck and also shoulders a lot more comfortably,

Put a boost or rolled-up covering under your knees to release your lower back,

Some mix of 2 and also 3 that benefits you. Do not hesitate to make use of these suggestions in any relaxing positions that you 'd like.

Belly

I believe the stomach is the area that makes curved individuals most uneasy-- literally but additionally psychologically. We're not generally shown to touch, a lot less love, our bellies!

I typically recommend two things to offer bellies a little even more room:

step your feet wider and

move the belly skin.

Stepping your feet broader jobs well in standing presents [such as standing forward flex] and seated positions [such as sittinged ahead flex] When the feet are as well narrow in these placements, the belly could really feel stuck, or compressed, by the legs. Tipping the feet bigger could lower or eliminate the issue, do not hesitate to go mat-width or larger-- whatever you should feel good!

Moving the tummy skin itself is likewise a substantially incredible choice. It's extreme not only due to the fact that it functions so well yet due to the fact that it gets you in touch [actually] with your tummy, which is something we can most likely all advantage from. I typically provide 2 choices for this: [1] lift the skin up or [2] tuck the skin down. I personally choose the last, yet I've involved find that it's mainly an issue of personal preference. Some individuals locate more aid with training, others with tucking. I state whatever drifts your boat is a-ok!

In a nutshell, however, it has to do with as easy as it sounds: take your hands to either side of your belly, closest to your hips. Either removal the skin up and out or put it down toward your pelvis. Eliminate your hands as well as voila! You currently have a bit more area to removal comfortably into your pose.

Motivation

One of one of the most satisfying [and also concurrently tough] parts regarding starting or proceeding a yoga technique is the dance you pertain to motivation.

When I take into consideration hopping on my floor covering, resistance comes up for me as usually as not. For a long time [as in years and years and also years], this made me aggravated. I instantly switched into "tough on myself" setting. I didn't understand exactly how I can be so fundamentally flawed that I couldn't simply jump on my mat without complaining like undoubtedly every various other yogi on the planet have to be able to do.

One of the most rewarding [and concurrently difficult] components regarding beginning or proceeding a yoga exercise practice is the dancing you pertain to motivation

And then I started casually talking with other yogis about this, and also it struck me: this isn't really an one-of-a-kind trouble. This is something everybody deals with [and I'm not overemphasizing. I'm willing to wager that every individual who has ever before intended to have a normal technique has actually had problem with maintaining it up every now and then]

Here's what help me: when I feel resistance turn up [generally in the type of factors why I can't practice-- do not have sufficient time, do not seem like it, wish to do something else instead, I'll do it later-- which transforms into never ever, and so on.], I utilize it as an opportunity to examine in as swiftly as feasible. As soon as I discover it's taking place [which isn't really constantly quickly], I'll quit and also ask myself some variation of "What's truly going on right here?" And what I find is constantly informative.

Sometimes I discover that I'm feeling overwhelmed. Various other times I'm really feeling tired. Various other times I find I'm simply dropping into an old pattern. No matter what turns up, I obtain the possibility to ask myself my favorite question of all time: "What could I do?"

Too commonly, I "must" around myself. I "should" practise daily. I "need to" practise for 90 minutes, not 10. I "must" include x or y poses in my method. Et cetera and also on.

In situation you have not know it for yourself [You most likely currently have], "ought to" begins with "sh" for a factor-- due to the fact that it's a close cousin to "bind."

And that's what "must" seems like to me-- irons that keep me from my true practice. I began practising "must to could." To puts it simply, rather than coming down on myself wherefore I "must" do, I began asking myself what I might do. I welcome you to offer it a shot sometime: it changes the energy of the scenario totally. Need to is having, can is increasing. When I ask myself just what I might do, I constantly feel more creative.

I could often locate something I can do, even if simply for a couple of minutes. And I additionally feel extra complimentary when the answer isn't really yoga as well as is instead something like a snooze-- which is also really excellent yoga, in my point of view. I think that recognizing and fulfilling your real requirements is yoga in action!

[thetappingsolution]

How to Use Tapping for Pain Relief

If you're one of the over 100 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, or one of the millions of others suffering around the world, you've probably looked far and wide for a solution to give you relief.

Beyond the physical pain alone, physical pain puts tremendous limitations on our lives.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine, through their research has stated the following about physical pain:

You see, when you're dealing with physical pain it limits your ability to live a full life.

You're constantly putting mental attention and energy towards dealing with the pain, holding you back from putting that attention and energy towards the things you want to do in life. Releasing your physical pain is about a heck of a lot more than just feeling better in your body. It's about giving you the freedom to live the life you want, how you want. But I'm here to tell you that...

  Physical Pain Doesn't Need to Limit Your Life Any Longer...

The simple technique known as Tapping that I'll share with you on this page, along with the specific process I've outlined for you, will allow you to finally get to the root cause of your physical pain and release it... permanently!

If you're somebody who's been suffering with physical pain for a long time, you're probably thinking that this sounds too good to be true, but I promise you that by the time you get to the bottom of this page, you'll have a totally new understanding of what's likely causing your pain, as well as a clear path to how you can release it.

You see, since 2004 when I first began my own Tapping journey, I've helped thousands of people release physical pain.

And every time I speak onstage, regardless of what continent I'm on, I ask who in the audience is experiencing chronic pain. Without fail, at least one-third of the people in the audience raise their hands. And none of these events are focused on physical pain or pain relief!

And thankfully, because of the effectiveness of Tapping, I am almost always able to bring pain levels down and bring instant relief to the people I work with, and oftentimes within just minutes.

Now if you're like most people in Western culture, the idea of having pain relief in minutes sounds almost too good to be true. The normal “solutions” we've been taught to seek out by doctors include things like surgeries, injections, and medications and none of them ever seem to have very fast or lasting results.

That's because...

Traditional solutions for pain relief completely miss the underlying causes of physical pain...

Most doctors have a huge gap in their understanding of physical pain, and the solutions for creating lasting pain relief.

What traditional doctors miss is the understanding of the role that our emotions, whether they be conscious or unconscious, play in our physical health. As the CDC itself has said,

"There's an emotional component in 85% of all illnesses."

You see, we all naturally feel negative emotions as a result of the many stressors and demands of everyday life. When these emotions build over time (especially with anger) and remain unexpressed, they can become buried in the unconscious mind.

As negative emotions accumulate over time, they develop into physical symptoms. Here's how it happens...

Let's say, for example, that you went through a horrible divorce years ago. It needed to happen, and you now know you're better off as a result.

You feel as if you're over it today, but, in fact, while the divorce was happening, your unconscious mind buried some very strong negative emotions without your realizing it. That's what the unconscious mind does — it takes over without our knowledge or consent.

Over time, those repressed emotions limit oxygen supply to your muscles. That oxygen deprivation then leads to muscle constriction, which spreads to nearby muscles. As time goes on, when your muscles remain tight and constricted, you experience pain.

Imagine if I asked you to clench your fist right now and keep it clenched. After a minute, your hand might get tired. After ten minutes, maybe your hand would ache, and then pain would set in. What would happen if you kept it clenched for a whole day, month, or year?

Obviously, you would experience pain, muscular degeneration, and all sorts of problems, not just in your hand, but in your wrist and arm, as well. Eventually your shoulder would be affected, and so on. Imagine the same thing happening in whatever part of your body is in pain. The tension builds, muscles contract, blood flow constricts, and pain follows, all because of unconscious emotions.

The negative emotions linked with your physical pain can be around a number of different events that have happened in your past or they can be around one particularly traumatic event, such as an accident that caused an injury...

Very often when I explain to people how our emotions cause physical pain, they'll tell me, "But I had an accident that caused a physical injury, how is that related to my emotions?"

What people so often overlook, is the emotions around the accident, such as the fear, hurt, or anger they experienced during the event, or the emotions they have felt since the accident, such as embarrassment around what happened, or fear of the pain not going away, or anger towards somebody that may have caused the accident.

All of these emotions play a huge role in locking in the physical pain of an accident, no matter how "physical" you may believe the accident to be.

  Here's how Tapping works to release negative emotions locked in your unconscious mind, and thus release physical pain from the body...

So how does tapping figure into the science of pain and, more important, pain relief and the bodymind?

There's a growing body of research on the topic.

In a double-blind study conducted by Dawson Church, Ph.D., tapping was shown to produce, on average, a 24 percent drop in cortisol after just one hour of tapping. During that same hour of talk therapy without tapping, participants showed a much smaller drop in cortisol levels.

Research has shown that acupuncture, and potentially acupressure, as well, provides pain relief by increasing endorphin levels in the body. Since tapping engages acupressure points while also lowering cortisol, it's likely that tapping, like acupuncture, allows the body to release the endorphins that then relieve pain.

In other cases, like in someone who experiences chronic pain but has no physical conditions or abnormalities, such as someone who has debilitating back pain but has no herniated discs or other abnormalities, the brain may be creating very real physical pain in the body without an obvious physical trigger.

Fortunately, a growing amount of research is giving us a better understanding of what pain is and how to relieve it.

The incredible results that tapping has on alleviating chronic pain may be explained, at least in part, by its ability to access what are called meridian channels.

While knowledge of these channels dates back to ancient Chinese medicine, it wasn't until the 1960s that these threadlike microscopic anatomical structures were first seen on stereomicroscope and electron microscope images. These scans showed tubular structures measuring 30 to 100 micrometers wide running up and down the body. Described in a published paper by a researcher named Kim Bonghan, they are also referred to as “Bonghan channels.” As a reference point, one red blood cell is 6 to 8 micrometers wide, so these structures are tiny!

You can think of meridian channels as a fiber-optic network in the body. They carry a large amount of information, often electrical and often beyond what the nervous system or chemical systems of the body can carry. By accessing these channels while processing emotions, thoughts as well as physical conditions like pain, tapping is able to get to the root cause of chronic pain more quickly than other approaches can.

Because tapping sends calming, relaxing signals directly to the amygdala, it may also help us to override the brain's negativity bias more rapidly. By using tapping to neutralize what it thought were threats to its survival, we're able to reprogram the brain to support more positive experiences, such as pain relief, pleasure, and relaxation.

How to Start Using Tapping to Relieve Your Physical Pain...

There are a few great resources that can help you in getting started using Tapping for Pain Relief:

Resource #1 - The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief Book: A Step-by-Step Guide to Reducing and Eliminating Chronic Pain

If you're serious about wanting to eliminate physical pain from your body than this book is a must!

In this book I'll guide you on a journey that begins on the surface - tapping to address the pain itself - and then we'll move together to the deeper issues that often affect pain, addressing emotional pain, underlying beliefs, trauma, and much more.

With easy to follow tapping scripts and exercises you'll know exactly what to do to get relief.

There are many ways that brain and body can create, increase, and prolong pain.  After reading this book, you'll not only understand what's causing your pain but also how to achieve complete and lasting relief!

Go here to pick up your copy of this book today.

  Resource #2 - Free Training

I'd love for you to join me on an upcoming free webinar presentation that I'm running on this topic.  This is a content-packed webinar where I will take you, step-by-step, through the process of discovering the unconscious emotional and energetic causes of your physical pain and how to use the Tapping to eliminate them.

To learn more about the webinar and join me, click here.

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I hope you take advantage of these two resources.  I know they can help you.

If you have questions at any time please don't hesitate to ask.  Just send me an email by clicking here.  Or join me on Facebook here.

Until next time...

Keep Tapping!

Nick Ortner

What did you learn from this post? What questions do you still have? Post your comments below!

The blog post How to Use Tapping for Pain Relief was originally published to: The Tapping Solution's Blog