i'm bigger than my body [open & closed]

[tanker]

who: John Proudtar + Shigeru Miyata, Minsu Oh, Cisco Ramon, and anyone
what: Catch-all
when: throughout march
where: various places, mainly the perimeter guard training grounds
warnings: none that I can think of! Will update if necessary



i. meditate (open to all)

[ Since putting his training offers out on the Quarantine network, John has been putting up dates and times and locations for 'classes' - he hates calling them as such, but if the shoe fits.

There's nothing special about the spot he's chosen - it's by the river, shadowed by some trees, pleasant and quiet. John's sitting straight on the ground, cross-legged, as he waits for any 'student' who might be interested in learning about meditation. He's prepared to fight stereotypes, remembering Lorna's reaction the first time she saw him practicing, how surprised she'd been, how long she'd teased him for it after.

John waits, until a few people are seated in front of him, before he says anything. ]

Before we start, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. The goal here is to get some tools for you to center yourself if you ever feel like control, or your sense of self is slipping. Meditation is what we make it out to be - contrary to popular belief, it isn't about sitting on a rock for days at a time, humming to yourself, although you're welcome to do that, if it works for you.

[ John smiles. This should be fun. ]

We're going to start much smaller, here.

ii. combat (open to all)

[ Come one, come all, whoever is interested in trying to test themselves against that mutant who can't get hurt. He'll take your punches and will try to give pointers wherever he can - he is, after all, an ex-Marine himself, and has seen combat situation more than once.

Depending on who's here to train and who's interested in helping, there are several stations set up in the Perimeter Guards training grounds - one, large and further away than the rest, for those who want to try out their powers but might struggle with control, or simply have a huge range. One for hand-to-hand combat, with dummies and training equipment strewn around. One for swordfighting - the weapons are blunt. John's walking around between the different stations, helping out wherever he can, and learning, himself - he's never held a sword before, after all.

Come and train, fight, help out, or whatever else you want to do! ]

iii. wildcard

[ Closed starters in comments! Find me at ellievolia if you want a specific starter, or just hmu with anything, I'm happy with basically anything. ]

Comments

i

[outofthinair]

Sure you don't want to change your mind about incense and a man bun, or taking your shirt off?

[ Clary grinned, unable to stop herself from a little teasing. She'd grown up in Brooklyn, so she'd watched the Hipsters take over and she'd seen some of the types she just knew had to attend meditation and yoga, if not teach it.

But John was definitely better than all of them, and probably a hell of a lot more interesting and grounded. She held up her hands to indicate it was her one and only joke before resettling into position.

Her own hair was pulled back and out of the way, some of her runes showing even with the sweater she wore over her tank top. But one shoulder had slid down and there was no hiding the runes on her neck. ]

[tanker]

One, we're outside, so incense would be a waste. Two, I wear my hair in a bun all the time. And three? Never on the first session.

[ He's smiling as he answers the questions, taking them for the tease that they are, and responding in kind. He gives her a critical look afterwards, still smiling, before resuming the actual talk of meditation. ]

Okay, so the main thing is - don't worry about your thoughts. Even if they're about my shirt - [ wink ] - the point of meditation is not to not think. It's to allow your thoughts to come, and pass. Not stay stuck on them. So whatever you're thinking through these exercises, let it happen, but also allow these thoughts to pass through. It might come back, but it doesn't matter. Just focus on your breathing.

[outofthinair]

[ She gave a salute in response to the wink. Hey, if the man was giving her permission to think about his shirt then she was going to allow that thought to come and go as directed. It wasn't like she'd touch.

It was the river she was more concerned about. It wasn't quite like the lake in Idris, but it was still pulling her mind back to the moment she had been taken from. To her father. To her brother. To Jace's body.

And at the mention of breathing she pushed out a breath through her nose and gave a nod. ]

See, told you you'd be good at this. Breathe in, breathe out, rinse and repeat? What if... Well, what if the environment isn't exactly conducive to letting the thoughts pass?

[tanker]

[ John gives Clary a look, considering. ]

You should always be somewhere where you feel comfortable. Honestly, you can meditate anywhere you want - I used to do it on transports, when I was in Afghanistan, so it really is up to you.

[ His voice is gentle when he starts again. ]

So if you don't feel comfortable, or safe here, we can go somewhere else.

[outofthinair]

No, it's okay. A river isn't a lake, right? Completely different bodies of water. And if I think about what I might think about then I just let it come and let it go.

[ She tried to look like she was as reassured by her own words as he was. It didn't help that the weirdness between her and Jace had stirred it all up.

Her eyebrows went up after a few moments when what he'd said before that sank in. ]

Wait, you could seriously do this on a transport in Afghanistan? Then I'm really not complaing about where we are.

[tanker]

[ John keeps looking at Clary with something like worry and understanding mixed together. He knows all too well how it is to want to keep going, fighting against your own instincts, and he also knows that it doesn't always work as well as you want it too. But he's not going to force Clary to stay, and he's not going to force her to leave. It's her choice, so he nods eventually, resting his hands on his knees. ]

Well, if you ever want to move, just say the word. We can go anywhere.

[ he chuckles, shrugging. ]

It helped not worry too much about all the dangers, actually. And that way I could drown out some of the worst jokes that flew around.

[outofthinair]

[ Going anywhere else would have been a lot quicker and easier if Clary could create a portal. But no Stele meant no using runes. It wasn't exactly a logical solution to stay put, but she was stubborn when she wanted to be and right now she figured she might as well use this meditation lesson to face down a fear.

She gave a small smile before letting out a chuckle. ]

Is this the first session that's required a meditation safe word?

[ Her nose crinkled a little. ]

I can only imagine. I feel like guys in that sort of environment are even more unfiltered than usual. Also proves why you should be teaching this to other people.

[tanker]

[ He shrugs. ]

They’ve got a lot to deal with, and sometimes crass humor is the only way they find to handle it. Being a Marine, you’ve got a lot on your shoulders and very little space to work out your feelings, and sometimes, it comes out wrong.

[ He could understand it. He did not condone it, but he didn’t blame anyone for their coping mechanisms. ]

My squad always called me a hippie. But sometimes, a couple of them would join me, so I don’t think I did too badly.

[ He grins at Clary. ]

Honestly, this is hardly a lesson, considering we’ve been talking the whole time...