#hyper mobility

May I request Jason Todd with hypermobile reader?

Lately I've been feeling a little dumb about my hypermobility since most rep I've seen is just talking about being extra bendy, and not the pain it can cause like... I have a lot of pain in my legs from standing and walking to the point where I now have to wear knee braces

It feels kind of silly sometimes that it takes me so much effort to do basic things like hold myself in a position that won't mess my joints up

Like logically, I know it's a disability, but it sometimes doesn't feel like enough to "count" (which is dumb, cuz it hurts, but brains are silly like that)

Anyways this is like half a vent/rant (I'm sorry) so thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day!

@mouse-anon

this is such a good pairing!!!

i did some research on eds and hsd since i didn't really know what caused it and how it impacted day to day life. then i found this document on how to support friends and family with hyper mobility conditions, and i think it could be pretty useful in case anyone reading has a hyper mobile loved one!

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in the early stages of dating, jason notices that you never seem capable of staying in the same position for a long time.

if you're watching a movie together, you start to get squirmy part way through before relenting and taking a break to stretch your legs.

then if you're ever waiting in line with him for something, he always picks up on you locking your knees back, planting a foot on the opposite leg's calf, jutting one of your hips out.

at first he just thought you were restless—but then on a day when your joints felt particularly sore, you confided in him about your hyper mobility.

he definitely never thought that what he always assumed was a rare talent could, in reality, be so debilitating.

he'd listen to you explain how you'd accidentally push your ligaments passed the safe extent, causing your surrounding tissue and joints to be in excruciating pain. he asked you about what activities you found made pain the pain worse, and the list you gave sounded like existing at all could be unbearable at times.

from then on, jason fell down an extensive internet rabbit hole on hyper mobility in hopes of finding ways to help you better.

he didn't want to treat you like somebody incapable of looking after themselves, but he now knew how some everyday things could be risky for you to do because of your risk of loose joints. whenever he saw you about to do something even marginally strenuous (opening a jar, lifting an object he deemed a little weighty, cutting lots of ingredients in a period of time), he'd glide into the room and take over the task for you: "i got it, babe", or "don't worry about it sweetheart", he'd always say.

he'd get you more things like knee braces to help. he got you some wrist compression sleeves that kept your wrists in place and avoided overextension, and then he got you some kinesiology tape that was supposed to make movement a little bit easier.

one of your favourite things that he'd do was pay so much attention to you that you felt like you were the only person that he knew existed. whenever your posture slacked, he planted a gentle hand to your back to remind you to try and keep it straight. he'd try every night to massage you with some heat-rub cream to relax your muscles. selfishly, he also just enjoyed having his hands on your body.

it felt so good to have somebody close to you who recognised your struggle and empathised with it. you never felt disregarded or invalidated. you felt like jason was the first person to really see you in a long time. <3

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

- scratching my back is really easy because I can contort my spine and elbows or whatever pretty easily to reach the itch

- I have a lot of great party tricks. My classmates are very impressed with me I think. Or afraid idfk.

-can crack my neck/back/knuckles with inhumane volume to assert dominance over everyone else

- I know how to re-locate most of my joints by myself

- I can fold my body into spaces that look impossible for someone my height during hide and seek so nobody even thinks to check them (cabinets, a pizza oven one time, a bookshelf, a hamper, under a couch, a cardboard moving box, the list goes on)

- I can rotate multiple of my limbs almost completely backwards with very little discomfort

Cons of hypermobility:

-ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow :(

Me: cool, cool. I'm bed bound but feel like I ran one yesterday. And today. And probably will tomorrow.

have a chronic illness now forever

pros:

can reclaim a new slur

Severitus where Harry has hsd (hyper mobility spectrum disorder) and he doesn't know. Like, his knees are hurting, he's randomly falling and manually taking every step. His elbows hurt, his shoulders on fire, he can't sleep. His back cracks constantly, everything hurts, and it feels like he constantly has to hold his body together. Well, one day it starts affecting his hands/wrist and he drops his wand or something. Snape makes a snide comment and Harry somewhat explains. "Professor, I'm sorry, but it feels like my knuckles are on fire and they're really hard to control today," or something like that, and Severus is just like 'uhhhh, tf? That's not normal.' He tells him to stay after class or wtv.

Add ons to the trope:

Madame promfrey doesn't really believe it's that bad, says he needs more sleep, etc. Severus yelling at her to get him some actual diagnostics, telling her that this isn't normal and that he needs help.

Harry is sobbing because it hurts so bad and nothing he does helps. Everything is on fire and it's so painful, no one can touch him without it hurting. Severus just nods and talks to him maybe combing a hand through his hair, trying to help him stretch his muscles, giving him potions to relax his muscles. Maybe, if there's a calming down point in the flareup, he holds him while he sobs about how much everything hurts. No venom, no comments, just support and listening.

Severus is the one to do research because we all know he secretly cares. He learns that the pain comes from the muscles tightening around the bones, learns how to help, learns how to get him to stretch his legs, shoulders, etc. He's the one who has to tell Madame Pomfrey to give him a muscle relaxer. He's the one to stand up for him whenever he's in trouble for it.

Ron and Hermione may not like Snape, but whenever he's having a bad night. Maybe he can't move, maybe his sobbing, doesn't matter, they go to Snape to help Harry, and he does it without complaining. He just silently nods and follows them.

Harry is unable to do housework for the Dursleys because it hurts too much, and Severus gets a letter about it from Harry. He talks about how unfair the punishments are— fucking casually mentions abuse because like, he canonically does it, lol— and Severus scolds them.

Harry shows Severus all the 'cool tricks' he can do with his body like rolling his eyes back to be white, dislocating bones, stretchy skin, etc, and Severus being horrified.

Severus knowing EXACTLY what causes a flare up. He knows quidditch hurts, but he won't tell Harry to quit because it's the one time he feels like a normal person. He knows that DADA hurts sometimes. He knows that duels hurt like nothing else, and he never judges. He never tells him he shouldn't do it because that's cruel, Harry just wants to feel normal for a moment. Severus holding him and supporting him through the flareup.

Severus absolutely babying him during flare-ups, although he'd deny it if anyone asked or if Harry told anyone. Like, he's cooking soup, helping him brush his hair, helping him get up, write, etc. Like, he's just completely there.

New normal for me ✨🖤