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ysabetwordsmithThis story belongs to the series Love Is For Children which includes "Love Is for Children," "Hairpins," "Blended," "Am I Not," "Eggshells," "Dolls and Guys,""Saudades," "Querencia," "Turnabout Is Fair Play," "Touching Moments," "Splash," "Coming Around," "Birthday Girl," "No Winter Lasts Forever," "Hide and Seek," "Kernel Error," "Happy Hour," "Green Eggs and Hulk,""kintsukuroi," "Little and Broken, but Still Good," "Byzantine Perplexities," "Up the Water Spout," "The Life of the Dead," "If They Could Just Stay Little," "Anahata," "When the Wheels Come Off," "Against His Own Shield," "Coming in from the Cold: Saturday: Building Towers," "Coming in from the Cold: Sunday: Shaking Foundations," "Coming in from the Cold: Monday: Memorial Day," "Coming in from the Cold: Tuesday: Facing Fears," "What Little Boys Are Made Of," "Rotten Fruit," "Keep the Homefires Burning," and "Their Old Familiar Carols Play."
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Maria Hill, Nick Fury, Sam Wilson, JARVIS, DUM-E, U, Butterfingers
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Food issues, religion, past alcohol abuse, sparring, minor injury, insecurity, nonsexual ageplay, tactile issues, forgiveness, games, PTSD, boundary issues, HYDRA, teamwork, SHIELD, laboratory, messy medical details, facing the past, memory issues, frustration, interpersonal dynamics, emotional challenges, past abuse, and other angst.
Summary: Phil manages the household as Tony takes Steve and Bucky to a baseball game, and later spars with Betty and Bruce. Later that day, Bruce helps Bucky figure out some things about his body.
Notes: Team as family. Competence. Friendship. Comfort food. Emotional first aid. Nostalgia. Hot tub. Protectiveness. Hurt/comfort. Science. #coulsonlives.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2. Skip to Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.
"Coming in from the Cold: Thursday: Digging for Answers" Part 3
Phil didn't see the elbow that whacked his ankle out from under him. He rolled on landing, bounded to his feet, and --
"Hold!" Bruce barked.
Phil and Betty froze in position while Bruce trotted over.
"You've got blood on your mouth," Bruce said. "Show me."
Now that Phil was paying attention, he could find the faint spark of pain under the buzzing rush of adrenaline. "Sorry, that wasn't my best landing," he said, letting Bruce check him over.
"It looks like you just bit your lip," Bruce said. "Go in the bathroom and rinse that with mouthwash until it stops bleeding."
Phil obeyed, wincing at the firey sting. Bruce had stocked the gym with some proprietary blend of mouthwash that was loaded with herbal disinfectants. It tasted worse than Listerine. Hell, it tasted worse than rubbing alcohol, which wasn't even meant for oral injuries. Phil was still dragging his tongue against his teeth, trying to scrape off the taste, when he walked back into the obstacle course.
"Buttermint?" Bruce asked, offering a small green square.
"Please," Phil said fervently. It clashed with the medicinal bite of the thymol, but managed to wash away the worst of the flavor.
"I know how Betty fights," Bruce said with sympathy. "When she gets excited, she forgets and uses her elbows too much."
"No matter how many times you bitch about it, I'm not going to be sorry about that guy at Culver," Betty said. "He deserved to get his face rearranged."
"They had to call a plastic surgeon to fix his nose."
"He was trying to hurt you, and he grabbed my tits when he tackled me," Betty said truculently. "That makes him a legitimate target. He's lucky I didn't just break his hyoid and be done with him."
"Am I cleared for another round?" Phil asked, interrupting what was plainly an old argument.
Bruce prodded the swelling lip and then nodded. "Go ahead."
Betty gave Phil a good start before she took off after him again. He sprang from one high point to another, bouncing off walls and touching down lightly on the poles. Betty finally snagged him in midair. This time Phil landed better, but she pinned him anyway.
"Show me how you do those tricks with the poles," Betty panted in his ear.
"For the vertical ones, I can teach you the first exercise for plum-blossoms, but Natasha is much better at ninjutsu than I am," said Phil. "For the horizontal ones, ask Clint. He was in the circus and knows some basic tightrope tricks."
Phil brought out his set of practice bowls and laid them down so he could show Betty how to step from one to another, always centering her weight inside the ring on the base of the bowl. "The first thing to learn is precision in where you step," he said. He kept his hands on her waist.
"This is harder than it looks," Betty laughed as she wobbled from one bowl to another.
"All the good tricks are," Phil agreed. "What got you interested in this, though?"
"I need to push my balance," Betty said. "Ground work isn't the challenge it used to be."
"Ah, that one," Phil said. Sometimes it took finding a new exercise to push yourself past a plateau in learning. Before long, Betty got the hang of the basic steps and Phil could hold his hands a few inches away as she paced the circle of bowls. "There you go. Practice that until you can do it in the dark without missing a step, and you'll be ready for the foot-high poles."
"This should keep me busy for a month or two, easy," Betty said with a grin.
"You two look like you're having fun today," Bruce said wistfully.
"Would you like to play too?" Phil invited. Bruce almost never joined in anything more exertive than yoga, but they kept offering him opportunities.
Bruce made that face that looked like a smile but wasn't. "It's not good for me to get my heart rate up too high."
"You seem to be enjoying your excursions with Steve and Bucky," said Phil.
"Yeah," Bruce admitted, his smile turning more genuine.
"We could play tag instead of tackle," Phil said. "Once Betty gets us on the ground, she's always going to make the pin anyway."
"Three-way tag, attacker's hand to defender's body, shoulder and hip contact only. There are velcro targets in the equipment cabinent," JARVIS proposed. A spotlight indicated the appropriate location. "That will maximize opportunity while minimizing stress."
"Sounds like a ball," Betty said, raking sweat-damp hair behind her ear.
"I approve," Phil said. "Bruce?"
"... guess I could give it a try," he said. "What are we playing for? I get saltwater taffy."
"Turkish delight," said Betty.
"Got any more of those buttermints?" Phil asked hopefully. "The one you gave me was much better than storebought."
"How did you know I made it?" Bruce said, frowning.
Phil shrugged. "I just assumed you had, because it was so good."
"Well, yes, I do have a couple jars of them. I'll pony up for prizes," Bruce said. "You two go another round; I need to warm up first." He dropped into a yoga stretch.
Betty and Phil chased each other around the obstacle course for a few minutes. He actually managed to pin her against a low pyramid. Then she sneezed on him and, startled, he loosened his grip enough for her to get away.
"Good move," Phil said.
"That was genuine," Betty said as she wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I got a faceful of somebody's gymnastic chalk. God, this place needs to be vacuumed."
"Noted," JARVIS said. "Deep cleaning is normally scheduled once a week."
"Hm. Check the air filters and see who's loading up on chalk," Phil said. "It's probably Clint and Natasha. They do the most tumbling." The last thing they needed was for someone to start wheezing or coughing and upset Bucky.
"Ready to go when you are," Bruce said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.
"I'll get the targets," Phil said. He picked a set of palm-sized circles that alternated rings of red and luminous white. Then he passed them around to his sparring partners.
"Begin in the center, back to back. At the signal, head for the corner you are facing, touch it, and then you may stalk your opponents," JARVIS said. They formed up, and he gave a sharp whistle to start the round.
With two people in the air and one on the ground, the chase got even more lively. Bruce's freerunning translated fluently onto the obstacle course. He scampered across the tops of things considerably faster than Phil, who was more interested in getting air time.
Betty amended her strategy to pounce on them from shadowy corners. Once when she leaped out at Phil, he had no idea where she'd come from. He wondered if she had already been taking lessons from Natasha.
Phil evaded one swipe from Bruce by jumping right over him, making Bruce yip in surprise. The scientist managed to tag him eventually, though, and then Betty tagged Bruce. Phil connected with each of them once.
Then Phil missed a step and tumbled onto the mat, rolling to disperse the momentum. He tapped out. Betty sprawled beside him.
"I'm flopped," Betty said as she lay panting on the floor. "You?"
"Think I churned my muscles to tiger butter," Phil admitted.
Bruce chuckled. "I'm still good, but then I started this game fresh and you two had been working out for -- how long?"
"About an hour on the level, then another playing hi-lo, before we started with tag," Phil estimated. Alone, or with a less-skilled opponent, he could practice for hours without wearing himself out. Sparring against the other Avengers required a great deal more effort. "We should do this more often."
"When I can see straight again," Betty said.
Bruce crouched beside them and began gently working his hands over Phil's sore muscles. Phil whimpered into the mat.
"Trust me, you'll feel better later if you let me convince your muscles that they don't hurt as much as they think they do," said Bruce.
"Okay," Phil said. He concentrated on his breathing. That helped a little.
Presently Bruce switched to Betty. Phil listened to her soft groans as Bruce worked. Phil's body still felt like whipped butter, but at least it didn't ache as much as it had before.
"Everybody up. Go shower off," Bruce said. "Let's get you two overachievers into the hot tub before you congeal."
"G'way," Betty grumbled. Phil couldn't blame her. He didn't have the energy to move either.
Bruce smirked and slapped her lightly on the butt.
Betty squealed, lumbering to her feet. "Ooo, now I'm going to get you!"
Bruce danced out of reach. He pulled his shirt off and gave her a teasing look. Then he snapped the fabric at Phil.
Phil's instincts rolled him out of the way before he realized that the shirt had come up a foot short of his actual position. Oh well, I'm up now. I might as well hit the hot tub, he thought as he trudged toward the showers.
The coveted water feature was already burbling away when they all arrived in their bathing suits. Bruce's trunks were teal with yellow smiley faces on them, probably something that Betty had picked, judging from her fuschia onesie with cream and turquoise flowers. Phil felt a little underdressed in his plain blue.
The entire inside of the hot tub was dimpled like a golf ball, each small hollow holding its own water jet. Most of them were ball-joint nozzles that could move in any direction, but there were also fixed jets of various sizes and styles. Tony kept remodeling the tub based on team feedback. Phil was amazed at how good it had gotten. It far outstripped anything he'd found in a spa.
Bruce slipped into the hot tub like a seal disappearing into the surf, effortlessly twirling himself into one of the seats. Betty and Phil clambered in more carefully. "Ready for another massage lesson, JARVIS?" said Bruce. "Do you think you can handle three people at once?"
"I can if you help," JARVIS said.
"Oh, so that's why we suddenly have the best hot tub in the world," Betty said with a laugh.
"Okay, JARVIS, give me a body map and I'll make some suggestions," Bruce said. A hologram blinked on right in front of him. "Focus on major muscle groups, mainly legs for me and Phil, then arms and upper back for Betty because she had to reach up for us ..." Bruce rambled on about how to translate the finer points of sport massage into mechanical and aquatic applications.
Phil had gotten so used to his shower scrubbing him that he didn't even twitch when the spa jets shifted from automatic to live control. The water went from pleasantly foamy to abruptly feeling like dozens of fingers roving over his skin. Phil's body stopped bothering him. His everything stopped bothering him. His brain melted.
At some point Betty giggled, "We should dunk the Marketing guys in here. Or Pepper. I bet she'd love this."
"Marketing is still busy with sir's last delivery, Ms. Potts does not like me, and I am nowhere near figuring out how to render what I am learning into a simple user-customizable program," JARVIS said in a faintly exasperated tone.
"Give it time," Bruce said. A languid wave of his hand spun the body model in the air. He pointed out something on it, and Phil felt the nozzles under his thighs move in response, strengthening the flow of water into a deeper kneading action. "Once you build up enough examples in your database, you'll start to find patterns that you can use."
"So how'd this start?" Betty asked.
"About a month ago, I tied myself in knots with a new yoga routine. I came down here to soak it out," Bruce said. "I was wriggling around on the bench trying to get the water jets on the places that hurt, when JARVIS asked me what was wrong. I explained what I was trying to do. He pointed out that if I'd just tell him where to aim, he could control the nozzles and I wouldn't have to move. I figured it was worth a try, and it worked great," Bruce traced a line along the body model, and Betty purred in response. "So then JARVIS decided that what he was doing qualified as massage, and he wanted real lessons. We've been experimenting with it ever since."
* * *
Notes:
Thymol is a key ingredient in many recipes for herbal mouthwash. You can buy some or make your own.
Enjoy a recipe for homemade buttermints.
The hyoid bone at the front of the throat is a vulnerable point in martial arts. In addition to direct elbow strikes, neck holds and throttling can also injure it. Severe damage to the structure of the throat can be fatal in various ways.
Plum blossom poles appear in various forms within martial arts; this article introduces the low, wide, fixed type. Here you can see a ninja dancing along the high, narrow, unfixed type. This video shows Shaolin monks practicing on bowls and on piles. Plum blossom poles of any type are risky to use. However, the bowls are relatively safe and teach most of the same balance principles.
Massage after workout reduces pain and improves recovery. There is conflicting research on this topic, but that doesn't matter. If you're curious, just do the same workout with and without a followup massage. Record how you feel and how long it takes to recover, then compare results.
A hot tub contains a number of water jets, which may be stationary or articulated. In this case, most of the jets are articulated and JARVIS can control them, making for an epic massage. He is still learning how to fix sore humans in this fashion, but he is already quite good at it. Tony has redesigned the hot tub several times to give JARVIS more dexterity. Here is an example of a hot tub with 120 jets. The number, placement, and style of jets matter a lot in spa experience. So of course Tony is still tinkering as JARVIS learns what he wants in this peripheral.
[To be continued in Part 4 ...]
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Betty Ross, Natasha Romanova, Tony Stark, Maria Hill, Nick Fury, Sam Wilson, JARVIS, DUM-E, U, Butterfingers
Medium: Fiction
Warnings: Food issues, religion, past alcohol abuse, sparring, minor injury, insecurity, nonsexual ageplay, tactile issues, forgiveness, games, PTSD, boundary issues, HYDRA, teamwork, SHIELD, laboratory, messy medical details, facing the past, memory issues, frustration, interpersonal dynamics, emotional challenges, past abuse, and other angst.
Summary: Phil manages the household as Tony takes Steve and Bucky to a baseball game, and later spars with Betty and Bruce. Later that day, Bruce helps Bucky figure out some things about his body.
Notes: Team as family. Competence. Friendship. Comfort food. Emotional first aid. Nostalgia. Hot tub. Protectiveness. Hurt/comfort. Science. #coulsonlives.
Begin with Part 1, Part 2. Skip to Part 5, Part 6, Part 7.
"Coming in from the Cold: Thursday: Digging for Answers" Part 3
Phil didn't see the elbow that whacked his ankle out from under him. He rolled on landing, bounded to his feet, and --
"Hold!" Bruce barked.
Phil and Betty froze in position while Bruce trotted over.
"You've got blood on your mouth," Bruce said. "Show me."
Now that Phil was paying attention, he could find the faint spark of pain under the buzzing rush of adrenaline. "Sorry, that wasn't my best landing," he said, letting Bruce check him over.
"It looks like you just bit your lip," Bruce said. "Go in the bathroom and rinse that with mouthwash until it stops bleeding."
Phil obeyed, wincing at the firey sting. Bruce had stocked the gym with some proprietary blend of mouthwash that was loaded with herbal disinfectants. It tasted worse than Listerine. Hell, it tasted worse than rubbing alcohol, which wasn't even meant for oral injuries. Phil was still dragging his tongue against his teeth, trying to scrape off the taste, when he walked back into the obstacle course.
"Buttermint?" Bruce asked, offering a small green square.
"Please," Phil said fervently. It clashed with the medicinal bite of the thymol, but managed to wash away the worst of the flavor.
"I know how Betty fights," Bruce said with sympathy. "When she gets excited, she forgets and uses her elbows too much."
"No matter how many times you bitch about it, I'm not going to be sorry about that guy at Culver," Betty said. "He deserved to get his face rearranged."
"They had to call a plastic surgeon to fix his nose."
"He was trying to hurt you, and he grabbed my tits when he tackled me," Betty said truculently. "That makes him a legitimate target. He's lucky I didn't just break his hyoid and be done with him."
"Am I cleared for another round?" Phil asked, interrupting what was plainly an old argument.
Bruce prodded the swelling lip and then nodded. "Go ahead."
Betty gave Phil a good start before she took off after him again. He sprang from one high point to another, bouncing off walls and touching down lightly on the poles. Betty finally snagged him in midair. This time Phil landed better, but she pinned him anyway.
"Show me how you do those tricks with the poles," Betty panted in his ear.
"For the vertical ones, I can teach you the first exercise for plum-blossoms, but Natasha is much better at ninjutsu than I am," said Phil. "For the horizontal ones, ask Clint. He was in the circus and knows some basic tightrope tricks."
Phil brought out his set of practice bowls and laid them down so he could show Betty how to step from one to another, always centering her weight inside the ring on the base of the bowl. "The first thing to learn is precision in where you step," he said. He kept his hands on her waist.
"This is harder than it looks," Betty laughed as she wobbled from one bowl to another.
"All the good tricks are," Phil agreed. "What got you interested in this, though?"
"I need to push my balance," Betty said. "Ground work isn't the challenge it used to be."
"Ah, that one," Phil said. Sometimes it took finding a new exercise to push yourself past a plateau in learning. Before long, Betty got the hang of the basic steps and Phil could hold his hands a few inches away as she paced the circle of bowls. "There you go. Practice that until you can do it in the dark without missing a step, and you'll be ready for the foot-high poles."
"This should keep me busy for a month or two, easy," Betty said with a grin.
"You two look like you're having fun today," Bruce said wistfully.
"Would you like to play too?" Phil invited. Bruce almost never joined in anything more exertive than yoga, but they kept offering him opportunities.
Bruce made that face that looked like a smile but wasn't. "It's not good for me to get my heart rate up too high."
"You seem to be enjoying your excursions with Steve and Bucky," said Phil.
"Yeah," Bruce admitted, his smile turning more genuine.
"We could play tag instead of tackle," Phil said. "Once Betty gets us on the ground, she's always going to make the pin anyway."
"Three-way tag, attacker's hand to defender's body, shoulder and hip contact only. There are velcro targets in the equipment cabinent," JARVIS proposed. A spotlight indicated the appropriate location. "That will maximize opportunity while minimizing stress."
"Sounds like a ball," Betty said, raking sweat-damp hair behind her ear.
"I approve," Phil said. "Bruce?"
"... guess I could give it a try," he said. "What are we playing for? I get saltwater taffy."
"Turkish delight," said Betty.
"Got any more of those buttermints?" Phil asked hopefully. "The one you gave me was much better than storebought."
"How did you know I made it?" Bruce said, frowning.
Phil shrugged. "I just assumed you had, because it was so good."
"Well, yes, I do have a couple jars of them. I'll pony up for prizes," Bruce said. "You two go another round; I need to warm up first." He dropped into a yoga stretch.
Betty and Phil chased each other around the obstacle course for a few minutes. He actually managed to pin her against a low pyramid. Then she sneezed on him and, startled, he loosened his grip enough for her to get away.
"Good move," Phil said.
"That was genuine," Betty said as she wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I got a faceful of somebody's gymnastic chalk. God, this place needs to be vacuumed."
"Noted," JARVIS said. "Deep cleaning is normally scheduled once a week."
"Hm. Check the air filters and see who's loading up on chalk," Phil said. "It's probably Clint and Natasha. They do the most tumbling." The last thing they needed was for someone to start wheezing or coughing and upset Bucky.
"Ready to go when you are," Bruce said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other.
"I'll get the targets," Phil said. He picked a set of palm-sized circles that alternated rings of red and luminous white. Then he passed them around to his sparring partners.
"Begin in the center, back to back. At the signal, head for the corner you are facing, touch it, and then you may stalk your opponents," JARVIS said. They formed up, and he gave a sharp whistle to start the round.
With two people in the air and one on the ground, the chase got even more lively. Bruce's freerunning translated fluently onto the obstacle course. He scampered across the tops of things considerably faster than Phil, who was more interested in getting air time.
Betty amended her strategy to pounce on them from shadowy corners. Once when she leaped out at Phil, he had no idea where she'd come from. He wondered if she had already been taking lessons from Natasha.
Phil evaded one swipe from Bruce by jumping right over him, making Bruce yip in surprise. The scientist managed to tag him eventually, though, and then Betty tagged Bruce. Phil connected with each of them once.
Then Phil missed a step and tumbled onto the mat, rolling to disperse the momentum. He tapped out. Betty sprawled beside him.
"I'm flopped," Betty said as she lay panting on the floor. "You?"
"Think I churned my muscles to tiger butter," Phil admitted.
Bruce chuckled. "I'm still good, but then I started this game fresh and you two had been working out for -- how long?"
"About an hour on the level, then another playing hi-lo, before we started with tag," Phil estimated. Alone, or with a less-skilled opponent, he could practice for hours without wearing himself out. Sparring against the other Avengers required a great deal more effort. "We should do this more often."
"When I can see straight again," Betty said.
Bruce crouched beside them and began gently working his hands over Phil's sore muscles. Phil whimpered into the mat.
"Trust me, you'll feel better later if you let me convince your muscles that they don't hurt as much as they think they do," said Bruce.
"Okay," Phil said. He concentrated on his breathing. That helped a little.
Presently Bruce switched to Betty. Phil listened to her soft groans as Bruce worked. Phil's body still felt like whipped butter, but at least it didn't ache as much as it had before.
"Everybody up. Go shower off," Bruce said. "Let's get you two overachievers into the hot tub before you congeal."
"G'way," Betty grumbled. Phil couldn't blame her. He didn't have the energy to move either.
Bruce smirked and slapped her lightly on the butt.
Betty squealed, lumbering to her feet. "Ooo, now I'm going to get you!"
Bruce danced out of reach. He pulled his shirt off and gave her a teasing look. Then he snapped the fabric at Phil.
Phil's instincts rolled him out of the way before he realized that the shirt had come up a foot short of his actual position. Oh well, I'm up now. I might as well hit the hot tub, he thought as he trudged toward the showers.
The coveted water feature was already burbling away when they all arrived in their bathing suits. Bruce's trunks were teal with yellow smiley faces on them, probably something that Betty had picked, judging from her fuschia onesie with cream and turquoise flowers. Phil felt a little underdressed in his plain blue.
The entire inside of the hot tub was dimpled like a golf ball, each small hollow holding its own water jet. Most of them were ball-joint nozzles that could move in any direction, but there were also fixed jets of various sizes and styles. Tony kept remodeling the tub based on team feedback. Phil was amazed at how good it had gotten. It far outstripped anything he'd found in a spa.
Bruce slipped into the hot tub like a seal disappearing into the surf, effortlessly twirling himself into one of the seats. Betty and Phil clambered in more carefully. "Ready for another massage lesson, JARVIS?" said Bruce. "Do you think you can handle three people at once?"
"I can if you help," JARVIS said.
"Oh, so that's why we suddenly have the best hot tub in the world," Betty said with a laugh.
"Okay, JARVIS, give me a body map and I'll make some suggestions," Bruce said. A hologram blinked on right in front of him. "Focus on major muscle groups, mainly legs for me and Phil, then arms and upper back for Betty because she had to reach up for us ..." Bruce rambled on about how to translate the finer points of sport massage into mechanical and aquatic applications.
Phil had gotten so used to his shower scrubbing him that he didn't even twitch when the spa jets shifted from automatic to live control. The water went from pleasantly foamy to abruptly feeling like dozens of fingers roving over his skin. Phil's body stopped bothering him. His everything stopped bothering him. His brain melted.
At some point Betty giggled, "We should dunk the Marketing guys in here. Or Pepper. I bet she'd love this."
"Marketing is still busy with sir's last delivery, Ms. Potts does not like me, and I am nowhere near figuring out how to render what I am learning into a simple user-customizable program," JARVIS said in a faintly exasperated tone.
"Give it time," Bruce said. A languid wave of his hand spun the body model in the air. He pointed out something on it, and Phil felt the nozzles under his thighs move in response, strengthening the flow of water into a deeper kneading action. "Once you build up enough examples in your database, you'll start to find patterns that you can use."
"So how'd this start?" Betty asked.
"About a month ago, I tied myself in knots with a new yoga routine. I came down here to soak it out," Bruce said. "I was wriggling around on the bench trying to get the water jets on the places that hurt, when JARVIS asked me what was wrong. I explained what I was trying to do. He pointed out that if I'd just tell him where to aim, he could control the nozzles and I wouldn't have to move. I figured it was worth a try, and it worked great," Bruce traced a line along the body model, and Betty purred in response. "So then JARVIS decided that what he was doing qualified as massage, and he wanted real lessons. We've been experimenting with it ever since."
* * *
Notes:
Thymol is a key ingredient in many recipes for herbal mouthwash. You can buy some or make your own.
Enjoy a recipe for homemade buttermints.
The hyoid bone at the front of the throat is a vulnerable point in martial arts. In addition to direct elbow strikes, neck holds and throttling can also injure it. Severe damage to the structure of the throat can be fatal in various ways.
Plum blossom poles appear in various forms within martial arts; this article introduces the low, wide, fixed type. Here you can see a ninja dancing along the high, narrow, unfixed type. This video shows Shaolin monks practicing on bowls and on piles. Plum blossom poles of any type are risky to use. However, the bowls are relatively safe and teach most of the same balance principles.
Massage after workout reduces pain and improves recovery. There is conflicting research on this topic, but that doesn't matter. If you're curious, just do the same workout with and without a followup massage. Record how you feel and how long it takes to recover, then compare results.
A hot tub contains a number of water jets, which may be stationary or articulated. In this case, most of the jets are articulated and JARVIS can control them, making for an epic massage. He is still learning how to fix sore humans in this fashion, but he is already quite good at it. Tony has redesigned the hot tub several times to give JARVIS more dexterity. Here is an example of a hot tub with 120 jets. The number, placement, and style of jets matter a lot in spa experience. So of course Tony is still tinkering as JARVIS learns what he wants in this peripheral.
[To be continued in Part 4 ...]
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2017-11-25 07:39 am (UTC)Exactly! It's a fairly straightforward upgrade to luxury spas, and for clinical purposes, a tremendous improvement on hydrotherapy.
>> My JARVIS has subroutines for the showers, so people can get the wash they need without too much oversight. Or knobs. <<
:D Yeah, this has its roots in that sort of thing. I think my description of the Avenger showers is in "Hairpins." Scrubbing someone's back with a dozen or so nozzles in a walk-in shower is a lot simpler than a full-body massage, though. JARVIS was able to sneak in the shower service without people noticing for quite a while.
Re: Yes ...
Date: 2017-11-25 11:24 pm (UTC)Re: Yes ...
Date: 2017-11-26 12:41 am (UTC)