#your local weak victorian child

[kaisollisto]

Fuck leg day fuck leg day fuck leg day fuck leg day fuck rhle bday fuck gleg day fuck you fuck you fuck you die !!

[thegnomelord]

I was talking with some friends and kinda came up with an original story idea where you're the new groundskeeper for a wealthy Victorian gentleman who is definitely not some kind of eldritch abomination.

Here's some touch and go snippets of what I thought of, lemme know if y'all want to see me turn this into an actual story.

CW: NSFW at the end, gay, homoerotic pining, Victorian gothic, mentions of murder.

Now I'm thinking ab a dark gothic Victorian gent who is *definitely* not some kind of eldritch abomination who marries wives who mysteriously disappear or die soon after and you're the new garden keeper who moves to work there because your old man is ill and the Victorian gent lets you live there and through no fault of your own you catch his interest and the way you smile as you handle the newly born lambs makes his, definitely not dead, heart beat.

----

You'd snuck in a 'friend' from the local brothel after your friends badgered your ears off about being a 'real man'. The night had gone poorly, she was a pretty woman, yes, but you just couldn't bring yourself to have sex no matter how hard you tried. You had to beg her not to tell anyone about your problem before paying her and sending her on her way yet. . . you can't find her anywhere.

It's as if she'd dissapeared in thin air (or was dragged by the carpets down into the maw in the basement) — Don't question the thing in the basement, you don't have to worry about that and it's probably just rats. Besides the door for the basement is never where you last remember it to be.

You could have sworn it was down the hall past the master's study but when you go to look all there is is just another grandiose painting, this time portraying the whore of Babylon riding on the many headed beast. And the master of the house appears before you can recognise the face of the whore, asking if you can fix the old light in his study that keeps flickering

---

You notice the master starts asking for you or going out of the house more often, usually to go horse back riding through the wide hunting woods you maintain behind the house. You're never sure why most of the animals shy away from the master like a devil from a cross, but there is one dove white steed that is the master's favorite. It's the only one who doesn't shy away, the one that you're not sure was in that empty paddock last night but you'd rather not lose your job by telling him you'd probably lost his horse and it came back.

The horse is sweet to you but you've seen it try to bite the other farm hands that get too close. Maybe it's just a temperament thing, animals feel more than you do after all, but. . . Hmm, where's that new farmhand that had slapped your ass gone to? And was the horse's muzzle always dyed red like that? Eh, someone must have just fed it some strawberries.

____

You get bullied by the chamber maid into helping her with cleaning the numerous bedrooms because the other two have come down with the seasonal flu and you were *sure* the nth bedroom you go to clean is empty, you'd checked it twice, but somehow when you pass through the very same door you enter the master's private bedroom and he's there in only his sleep clothes smiling at you and you can only stutter out weak apologies with your face a flame while your eyes stare at the other man in a way that would get the old town's priest rolling in his grave.

Oh yes, your ma and pa were extremely religious, dressing you up in your Sunday's best, taking you to church every Sunday regardless if it's rain or shine. You remember seeing the new master of the house when your parents were allowed to attend the previous master's seventh wedding. The master's family has long since supported the church and the local community, gaining favour from everyone despite the, erm, eccentric decorations and continuous wife deaths.

But death in child birth or from disease can happen to anyone, and what is a peasant like you supposed to understand the gentry?

Besides, the current master knows best what the wealthy people invited to his party expect from a man servant that you were commandered to be this evening. And if the young lord decides to tug off your cross necklace in favour of tying his own tie around your throat, slowly tightening it until the knot sits firmly at your Adam's apple and his ungloved fingers brush against your skin, and his smiling face is inches away looking at you like a man should not look at another man while purring how dashing you look tonight, who are you to argue?

----

The dairymaid had asked you to go get some honey from the beehives they keep. The door slowly budges open as you're forced to use more strength than you should, as if the house refuses to let you out this early in the morning, you were certain you'd oiled the hinges but it's an old house, it's bound to happen.

You go to the hives and for some reason the bees are not as violent as you remember your pa telling you about them being. They just buzz around you lazily as you carefully remove the frames with the honey.

You're nearly given a heart attack when you turn and the lord is there, behind you, staring at you with eyes you swear glint like the surface of an oil spill after a rainstorm but that must just be the light.

"Let me try some?" He asks, closing in, as if you have any ability or want to refuse.

He reaches out to grip your hand. Your fingers are still sticky with honey and for a second your blaspheming mind thinks he'll lick the honey off your fingers (god smite you down for that thought, you don't even know how many 'hail Mary's you'll need to recount for that).

He dips his fingers in the honey, rivulets of the golden liquid trickling down his knuckles as he slowly brings them up to his face and sticks them in his mouth. You know enough of the gentry and their weird customs to know this would be seen as unsightly, but you're neither gentry nor do you find yourself caring when he keeps his gaze locked on you even as his lips part, pink tongue swirling around his fingers to lick up all the honey in a way that makes you think it's purposeful. (It can't be, he's the lord for crying out loud, you can already hear your ma reaching for the lord's word to bash those sinful dirty blasphemous thoughts from your skull)

He pulls his fingers from his mouth with a loud sound that goes straight from your ears to your chest and down to where it shouldn't. Your hands itch to grab the cross around your neck and hold it but you only now remember the lord still has it, his tie still loosely wrapped around your neck. His eyes sparkle like stars "You should try some." He says, and he's tugging you by the arm before you can even start spouting your excuses about how it's not your place for such things.

----

Getting down on your knees in prayer, only for him to appear and gently grasp your chin - murmuring lowly how worship can be done later, that he needs you to do one more task before you pray and head to bed

That 'one more task' turns out to be a simple fix that for some reason takes longer than it should. The house does not want another's name to be spoken by your tongue and isn't above petty childish ploys of constantly flickering the one light in the lord's private chambers regardless of how many lightbulbs you change. The lord doesn't mind despite your growing emberassment, he likes the sight of your muscles tensed to stay balanced on that rickety ladder and how, despite your annoyance, you still treat the house - him- with care.

And it's late at night when you finish, so late everyone is asleep and there's no point in waking everyone up by trying to maneuver through the dark house with a candle.

"Stay the night." He says, order clear even without his hands tugging on your shirt. It's improper to sleep in the lord's bed in your work clothes after all, and you swear you see his eyes harden when he noticed that cross you'd managed to find, but it's soon discarded when he pulls the shirt over your head, cross dropping to the floor to be quietly swallowed by the carpets.

----

The only prayer he allows to be uttered in his house is the one you mutter when you fist your cock, squirreled away in your tiny room in the house. The only time he allows you to pray to your god is when his name is right next to Jesus and God the father, asking them for forgiveness for your sinful thoughts while you rut your cock into the sheets and moan his name as quietly as you think you're able to get away with.

He's learned not to 'stumble' on you in such a state, humans and their privacy, you were stone cold like a nun for a month when he'd did that once, and he'd missed the sweet prayers you sing him late at night when you think he's not listening.

[spotsies]

now that im an adult and have shed my shipping goggles it really is clear to me that as a musical newsies would benefit massively from casting children as children and doing away with the romance plot. i think there are lots of very good reasons to be cautious about having child actors, though I think theatre is generally better than screen (?) for them as they’re spending less time there, both daily and overall, and tours here use local child actors for many parts.

the technical stuff aside, I think it would feel a lot more grounded. it’s simply hard to picture starving Victorian orphans when they’ve dressed up adult men with gym routines in rags and told you these are your newsies. part of why shows like Matilda and School of Rock are so emotionally invest….able…. is because you’ve got a big pile of little kids there singing these great songs in their little piping voices and you’re like oh yeah, right, kids are powerless against adults, of course, you can hear it and see it and feel it and you root for them every second. newsies is a musical with the same core story (children fighting for human rights against adults).

re: the romance, I think it’s a pointless distraction from the main plot and extremely weak writing used to hit a bunch of plot beats in a very lazy way. I love myself some romance, but in newsies it actively detracts from the story. It’s filler, it’s boring, it’s all very nothing. it’s not necessary. something to believe in is the single most bland love song I’ve suffered through in my life, and I’ve listened to every rusty/pearl love song ALW has written for stex during its billion reboots. it’s emptyyyyyyy….. sorry jatherine fans I think ur ship is soulless I think it’s emotional packing peanuts

anyway. Make newsies a child cast show to give it back some emotional flava. Chuck out jatherine. give jacks role in charming katherine to smalls she can bully her into helping. spot is also a girl please see my art. jack doesn’t want to go to Santa Fe because that’s just so fucking dumb it’s just stupid. I’m not having it. It’s real dumb. But he can be cowboy again. all that runtime I’ve just freed up is going towards ensemble time bc the audience has got to love the ensemble. The rest of this is ironed out in my head but I have shit to do. Peace

[vanhelsingapologist]

I am more than a little obsessed with how you draw Victor Vallakovich, I cannot lie, and also pardon finding your blog and then spamming notifications a lil bit, but dang I love your art and the designs for CoS characters you’ve done are just *chef kiss.*

Our DM did Victor from a completely different angle (like very different) from RAW, so I’m always curious about the Victors done a little closer to original, and the design you gave him, oh wow, I love him, I lowkey wanna adopt him a little bit not going to lie. But yeah I just needed to state as such and ramble! How’s his tenure as burgomeister (apparently?) going? 👀

This is so kind! Thank you! Spam all you like, it has no negative effect on me. Also, I love talking character analysis from our games, so if you wanted, I’d be more than happy to provide you with how we interpreted him, if you’re cool reading it!

Spoilers, as always, for our campaign.

Design

My DM has our Victor in his early 20’s. They wanted to play Victor as someone who was a victim of his dad’s abuse, and they thought that the trope of shutting one’s child away in their home for ‘protection’ would hit our party harder if he was a young adult. It became more controlling. So when designing him, it was important that he maintained a gaunt, haunted look. Almost Tim Burton-y. I combined Victorian, Traditional Slavic, and modern gothic influences to really hit Victor’s style. If you like the chains on his belt but want a younger look at him, @tantaliax has an INCREDIBLE design that utilizes a lot of these influences too.

As for the hair, our Vallakoviches canonically have vitiligo, passed down through Vargas. If I ever drew Victor from the back, his neck would have some. I think he also has some local vitiligo on his chest. I wanted Victor to have a couple streaks to set him apart from Vargas, but not too much

As for his tenure as Burgomaster…

Now that Vargas is good and dead, Victor’s a bit distracted by the power, enforcing odd laws and taking long, brooding walks in the dark that are probably illegal to interrupt him on, but he really has no idea what he’s doing. He sees it as a temporary distraction before he fucks off and leaves Barovia forever.

He likes to do the fun stuff. The being mean, the soirées, the gothifying his ancestral home, the BANNING OF THE FESTIVALS. But he hates the administration, which is funny because he’s actually pretty good at it. And he won’t give speeches. No speeches.

He repurposed the reformation center into a school and when people were like “weren’t people tortured there?” Victor was like “UGH I would’ve loved to learn in a place where people were tortured.” No one really knows what to do with that, but Victor spearheading the Barovian public education platform was whiplash inducing.

For the most part? He lets Emilia do most of it. She’s like, his shadow government while he acts as the face. He happily miserably sits in his attic and experiments or paints when we aren’t plucking him up and companion-izing him.

The main problem? Lady Wachter. He has her under house arrest for riot reasons, but “his” hesitance to decisively end anything has let her cult run amok. People in Vallaki are starting to say he’s too young, weak, and scared to do anything, which is once again garnering support to her.

I think Strahd’s also going to start tempting him with more power or the ability to leave to get him off the party’s side. Vallaki is super Pro-Party right now, and if Wachter’s second bid falls flat, I think Strahd will get that foothold in.

[drip-from-kitchen-sink]

I just read your comment saying that Bram Stoker wrote dracula fuelled with misogyny and a hatred of immigration, and it got me interested, could you maybe explain it a bit more? Also, good luck with your writtings ✨

Of course! So Bram Stoker seems to have leant more conservative in terms of politics and favoured traditional morals. When I studied a level English literature we had to read through and analyse both what is being said and how it relates to contemporary political climates. Dracula was published in the 1890s, which was a massive time of change as it was nearing the end of the Victorian era and politics was beginning to shift in favour of things like women's rights. Gothic as a genre tends to respond to these types of anxieties.

I'll start with how misogyny may be represented in the book. Lucy is shown to be very promiscuous for a woman of the time as she kisses several men, complains about only having to marry one man, and receives blood transfusions (which is later equated to a type of marriage). This is probably a response to the idea of the New Woman, or a woman that seeks things like independence and more right. Stoker appears to be against this idea as he punishes Lucy by having her turned into a vampire, which gives him an opportunity to present her as the complete opposite of what a woman 'should be' - a good example is when she clutches a child to her breast when she feeds from him, which is an inversion of traditional ideas of motherhood.

Mina seems to be the inversion of Lucy in this sense, though she still has some attributes of a New Woman. She is entirely dedicated to her husband and is willing to do everything they need of her, she kisses the ass of every man in that book constantly and heralds them as her heroes and as big brave men, and she is weak and incapable when it comes to the high stakes confrontations. She is very intelligent (and is the main reason the protagonists are able to eventually kill Dracula) as she is the one that creates copies of all of the accounts from the characters that keep diaries and send letters - this forms the bulk of the information the men use to understand Dracula's powers. This is not shown as empowering to women, though, as Van Helsing says that she is so smart because she has a "man's brain". For her devoted service to the men and to convention, she is rewarded by having a loving husband and children (the reward that any good woman receives from authors at the time).

Onto the xenoohobia in the novel- this could br seen as forming the foundations of the plot essentially. The book begins with Harker travelling through the East of Europe to visit his client, Count Dracula. On this trip he compliments the food, but complains that the technology isn't as advanced ("the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains"), and is generally entrusting of local religion, specifically when it comes to the use of crucifixes. As a personal impression that is in no way objective, I always think that Harker seems to look down on the locals and treats them as less intelligent. The plot point of Dracula invading England and infecting the masses is (maybe) based on fears around immigrations and of immigrants ruining British society, while also showing foreigners to be violent threats to the public.

There are some foreigners in the Crew of Light, so are presented as heroes, though they aren't portrayed as respectfully as the native English characters at times. Van Helsing is from Amsterdam, so while he isn't from the East, he isn't considered as pure and sometimes not as advanced technologically as the English, which is why he is incapable of reading shorthand and relies so much of traditional ideas of vampires. Quincey Morris is American, so Lucy writes to Mina that he teaches her southern slang terms, though she emphasises that he doesn't always talk like that and that he acts and speaks lies a gentleman. One way in which both of these men are arguably treated as lesser is during the blood transfusions as there are four men that give blood to Lucy, the order in which the men give blood could have been from most to least worthy if looking through a conservative lense. Arthur and Dr Seward are the first two to give blood as English middle to upper class men, so are therefore of the most pure blood. Quincey and Van Helsing are the last two to give blood as their blood is less pure, though the only distinguishing feature between them and the previous two is their nationality.

I hope this is what you were asking for, I spent over a year studying and revising this book so I have a lot of content stuck in my brain still. Also I absolutely hated the book so I will take any excuse to complain about it lol. And thanks!

[rein-ette]

Are you still working on your Commonwealth study? Do you have any thoughts on Arthur's relationships with his colonies apart from Canzuk + US?

Not properly, unfortunately with exams and then work I haven’t had mental/emotional capacity to do real research (and probably won’t for a while 😔). But I have continued to think about and develop certain relationships, and I think I also have old hcs I’ve never shared, so I’ll put those down!

Born into the Empire

Australia

@oumaheroes has already done such great hcs on him idk what I can add, but basically he was a little bit of a rowdy child, always breaking windows and shattering fancy pots, never able to sit still. I think rainbow once mentioned that Ken (short for Kenneth, my name for Aus) was a lot like England as a child in his curiosity and energy, and I wholeheartedly agree. But I think Arthur’s intensity was more inwardly directed, pushing him to pursue and master new talents and learn whatever he could, while Australia is a little more carefree in his love for the outdoors, exploring, jumping around and off things, little wild animals. Unfortunately for him, he was born in a period of the empire when Arthur was very serious about his kids education, and therefore often praised those who studied hard and learned fast, which really just wasn’t Australia’s cup of tea. Australia took this kinda hard and thought he was the “dumb” one in the family that Arthur was always scolding, but in reality Arthur knew and appreciated that Australias interests lay elsewhere — he was just a frustrated, tired, parent who really wanted to give his kids the best while also holding his empire together, two goals that were never going to fit well in the end and would completely exhaust him.

As Australia’s grown older he’s realized a bit of this (not entirely, though) and also that 1) he really did break a lot expensive things and cause general mayhem 2) scolding us Arthur’s way of showing he cares, if he didn’t he wouldn’t have payed attention to him at all 3) despite being a penal colony, he was still one of Arthur’s more “legitimate” children (being white and a boy) and was therefore still incredibly privileged — never having to question, for example, why it was that Arthur was his dad, if it should be this way, or if he had a seat at the family table at all (more on this later).

New Zealand

Zee, from birth, was a clear favourite. Obedient, calm, quietly intelligent, he would also later develop a blistering sense of humour which combined with his appearance made it overwhelmingly clear who’s child he was. If Ken questioned his place in the family because of his poor academic record and others did because of their appearance/race/other complications, Kaelan never had such problems; his siblings called him the “prince.” Zee, however, also had a charm that, like Matthew, endeared him to his siblings and mostly protected him from jealousy, though he certainly still had issues with being called a try hard, daddy’s boy, bossy, arrogant. Certainly as a child Zee was a little prideful and, under that unperturbed demeanour, willful, but he grew out of it by the 20th century and became one of those most trusted by Arthur, second only to Matthew. He’s also always been inseparable from his brother Australia despite their differences, and today they both have one of the healthiest and most amicable relationships with Arthur of any nation, let alone former colonies (family road trips, every summer).

Bermuda

I absolute fell in love with this girl after reading about here, once, in this fic by @shachaai, and after that my mind just ran away with me. For me, her human name given to her by Arthur just has to be Ariel — for the little mermaid reference, yes, symbolizing her connection to the sea and stunning good looks, but also because:

1. Ariel is a biblical name, meaning lion of God. This makes sense to me, because Bermuda began as a Portuguese trade post, so Arthur definitely consulted our resident bad catholic Port before naming her.

2. Ariel used to be boys name. This also makes sense, because I hc Bermuda was and still is a tomboy. Bitch is fierce, takes no prisoners, and has zero filter. Her letters to Arthur, which all the colonies sent so Arthur could keep an eye on things, were full of shit like “I swear to god if the Spanish don’t get out of my waters I might eat one of them,” and “father, I asked you for destroyers two months ago, and yet you sent them to Hong Kong — could you explain this most unusual occurrence, surely it’s not that you forgot”, and “thank you for the harpoon on my birthday, I caught a small shark a couple days ago and have sent you some of its teeth for your collection.” Arthur tolerates this attitude because he’s weak when it comes to girls; he absolutely spoils his daughters (and flushes like a 16 year old when a woman so much as bats her eyelashes at him). Yes, p*ssywhipped Arthur is a hill I will die on.

3. It also suits her because? Ariel? Shakespeare? The Tempest? Bermuda Triangle? Shipwrecks? Daughter-like figure of powerful and vengeful sorcerer? Yeah. And this girl is a fire spirit — she is so lively, snarky, clever. As she’s grown older she’s mellowed out a little, but still: a no shit taken, no fucks given type of gal.

4. Speaking of growing up, she’s also become quite the beauty. Shacha, if I’m remembering correctly, described her as dark skinned, wavy-haired, and green eyed and that image has been burned onto the back of my eyelids ever since. Those Iberian genetics really be pulling through for her, that’s for sure. Engport love child if I’ve ever seen one. Definitely one of the prettiest in her family.

Singapore

I’ve already mentioned this to needcake, but I’m not too big a fan of canon Singapore, so this is my oc version. Singapore is fascinating to me because it had only a very small local population before it became a colony (The original settlement had actually been destroyed by the Portuguese about two centuries before the British started building a port there.) So nation-tans like Singapore and Bermuda really are Arthur’s children in the most direct sense of the word. And yet, Singapore is mostly ethnically Chinese, with Malays being the second largest group. Growing up Asian in a white, Victorian era family surely cannot have been easy and more than once Singapore probably wondered if there hadn’t been some mistake. To make up for the constant fear that he wasn’t “really” British, Singapore studied ferociously and had a truly terrifying work ethic. I’m not sure if this is common knowledge outside Asian circles, so I’ll mention that this hc comes from the fact Singapore is well known for having truly exceptional students and some of the most prestigious schools. Singaporeans score highly in literally everything and they have an advantage with good English learning environments, a highly desirable trait in Asia, but these results come from brutally long hours — and its really saying something that they’re known for working hard, considering the studying ethic of students in Korea, Japan, and China aint nothing to sneeze at, either. To me this actually fits really well with Singapore’s upbringing in Arthur’s household, because Arthur himself prizes intelligence and hard work above all else, being a workaholic himself.

As for their relationship, it was probably the best when Singapore was young and peaked in the 1930s with the massive naval base the British built at Singapore, at the time the largest dry dock in the world. Singapore was a well-behaved child, not necessarily introverted but not rowdy either, and all the way into his teenage years he truly admired Arthur and was proud to be a part of the British Empire, despite his lingering unease and insecurities. The British defeat in World War II, however, was a massive turning point. He had worked his ass off to be a good son, a good brother, to contribute to the only family and system he had ever known, and he had thought by the 30s he was finally on his way to becoming a fine adult. And suddenly, the British surrender brings his entire world crashing down. He had followed the rules faithfully thinking it was his destiny, but suddenly it was clear that all rules were made up. Of course, his insecurities exploded. If the empire was a ruse, what the hell was he? A part of the illusion? He couldn’t have a truly Asian identity, because many of the old East Asian nations shunned him for his Western upbringing, and he could not entirely understand their values either. So he was a kid who kinda had to figure out late and very very suddenly who the fuck he was and wanted to be.

And, well, he’s done pretty well for himself, hasn’t he. After having a total crisis and questioning everything, I think Singapore slowly started to realize that just because the British Empire as a political entity didn’t last forever, that didn’t mean that his entire childhood and identity weren’t real. The love he gave to his siblings and the love he got back, the hard work he put in, his bond with Arthur and the safe, happy childhood he had — those memories and feelings didnt have to be diminished by what came after. Essentially, he learned the lesson all nations have to learn, which is that one needs to be able to discern between duties as a nation and feelings as a human being, and to some extent keep them separate to protect both.

Whoooooo ok I’ll stop there because this turned into a dissertation, sorry. Let me know if there are any specifics u want me to elaborate on or anything I missed, but I’ll leave this here for today :)

[translations-by-aiimee]

Dig a Grave to Dig Out a Ghost - Chapter 24

Original Title: 挖坟挖出鬼

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural, Yaoi

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter Index

Chapter 24 - Inside Story

"Sorry." Lin Yan mumbled to the boy's back. He wasn't sure why. No one could see Xiao Yu, which always made him a little anxious. Lin Yan hesitated and for the first time took the initiative to reach out and touch Xiao Yu's statue-like fingers and whispered, "It's lonely, isn't it? Of all the people in the world, I'm the only one who can see you and I treat you badly."

Lin Yan stared at the endless highway outside the window and sighed: "Sometimes I think that, if a person walks down the street but seems invisible, desperately waving and no one responds, desperately shouting and no one hears, this feeling will definitely drive a person crazy. When I sit alone in the study room, I often feel that everyone’s excitement has nothing to do with me. I can’t wait to rush into the crowd and shout that I’m dying alone. If there is a person, no matter who he is, just that he's willing to listen to me patiently, I would have held on to him with a death grip; a sad, loving and even desperate grip."

"But I can't tell anyone. No one wants to admit that they're lonely. They always put on a show to satisfy their pride. They show off their awesome life to others while crying behind closed doors. People are such strange creatures."

Xiao Yu lowered his eyes and grabbed Lin Yan's hand. He put it to his lips and kissed lightly, as if comforting.

Lin Yan turned his head silently. The children at the snack bar were making noise, and the street shop windows were covered with small heart-shaped papers of various colours. Lin Yan looked through a few of them, and some of them were written in highlighter about who they love and who they're waiting for. Some wrote blessings to pass the exam. They were notes of immaturity and youthfulness, the purest and most beautiful wishes.

Everyone had their own wish, whether it was simple or complicated. Their dissatisfaction with their lives making them write out their wishes on paper, hoping that one day the gods can see them. Lin Yan thought silently, people who don't know each other always shine brightly, but only when they are familiar with them do they know their weaknesses. Just look at him, his family was well-off and well educated, but he had never dared to admit that he didn't like girls; look at Yin Zhou, he's from a perfect family but only willing to be a prince in the virtual world; then there's A-Yan, who can't even be a normal person in the eyes of others. Lin Yan gave a wry smile, who would listen to their prayers?

Probably because of the high school student's whistleblower, a group of children at the next table were pointing at him. Someone said something about being a psychopath. Lin Yan smiled indifferently. He took a note from his pocket and wrote a line: "I hope I can successfully help Zhou Jintian find his father." He put the note under a piece of fluorescent paper with a heart drawn on it.

He heard about a child's wish today.

He, Yin Zhou, and A-Yan had snuck into the morgue to search for answers after finding the boy’s record. The old man at the door was basically deaf. Lin Yan yelled the three syllables of the kid's name so loudly and the old man didn’t hear him. A nurse doing some cleaning suddenly intervened and asked him if the child hadn't left yet. He put down the broom and said pitifully.

"I know that kid, his grandma and I are neighbours. His mother died a few years ago. His father was too busy with work to care for him. The child lived with his grandma. One time Jintian had a severe fever and his father came back to see him. Jintian never forgot about it. One day while his grandmother was not there, he fell off of a balcony on the third floor, thinking that his father would be able to accompany him to see a doctor if he fell. As a result, the child lived a short life. His internal organs ruptured and caused heavy bleeding, and he passed away after a few days after being sent to the hospital."

"The ashes are buried in the most expensive cemetery in our city. I went there on the day of the funeral. It's a pity that his father was on a business trip abroad. He didn't rush back to collect the body until two days after his son's death. He didn't see him in the end." The nurse sighed. "I heard that the child kept asking about why his father wasn't coming in his confusion. The doctor lied to him that he was already on his way. As a result, the child lay on the bed and looked out the window every day, and even kept his eyes open when he died."

This story made Lin Yan feel a little heartbroken, but A-Yan said that this kind of soul was easy to deal with. There was no resentment and didn't want to harm anyone. As long as he found the person he was obsessed with and burned paper in front of the grave and talked with him often, he should be gone. But the child’s ghost was the most simple and persistent. If that person didn't come, the child would turn into a grieving spirit after waiting for a long time, which was extremely difficult to deal with.

"G-Ghosts have more of a heart." A-Yan was rather lost when she said this.

Ding. Lin Yan's cell phone went off. Yin Zhou sent Zhou Mo's detailed address and contact information. He turned out to be a local, living in the most remote area of ​​the city, about a three-hour drive away. Lin Yan swallowed the last bite of his spicy and sour noodles and threw the nuts in the soup into his mouth. He curled his lips and said to Xiao Yu: "Let's go. This time, the task is to help the kid find his father. It is much easier than dealing with you."

As he spoke, he grabbed his wrist and walked out, and couldn't help but blow a whistle and laugh as he drove, thinking that if only all the troubles were like today. No matter how bad his luck was lately, his family was always warmly affectionate.

Zhou Mo's family was at the fine line between the urban and rural areas. When he arrived at the destination indicated on his GPS, Lin Yan thought he had gone to the wrong place. In front of him was a rather imposing villa with a sign on the door of a European-style courtyard: private residence, outdoor surveillance. Lin Yan couldn't help being secretly stunned. For a man who owns such a house in this rich city, even if his child is hospitalized in the United States, he was rich enough to go back and forth every day. How could he not even get back to see his child for the last time?

He parked the car outside the courtyard. Lin Yan woke up Xiao Yu, who was dazed in the passenger seat, coaxed him and said: "I know you're upset when I drive you away, but this is something I need to do well, so don’t make trouble later, alright?" He leaned on the cushions and said casually: "I really understand the little boy's mood. When I was a child, my parents were also busy. I only go home once a week. I would cook my own food and sleep on my own. I was afraid of the dark and I always wanted my parents to suddenly come back."

"But I know my parents also missed me. Although they were busy, they didn't forget to buy a bunch of delicious foods every time they went home." Lin Yan changed his position and lay on his side, catching a strand of Xiao Yu's hair. He circled it around his fingers and said excitedly: "Although people and ghosts are different, a father-son reunion is always something to look forward to, right?"

Xiao Yu nodded. He pecked his lips on Lin Yan's face, and slowly said, "Let's go."

"Young Master Xiao, you're finally willing to talk to me. It's so hard to please you." Lin Yan muttered and opened the car door.

The owner’s yard was very delicately maintained, with various seasonal flowers in full bloom. He could smell the warm fragrance floating in the summer night while he waited outside the door. Not far away, there were many koi squeezed close to each other in a shallow pool, the sound of water splashing when they shook their heads and tails making people feel unspeakably calm and relaxed.

Lin Yan waited for a few minutes. A woman dressed as a nanny ran out of the villa and looked at him vigilantly through the hollow courtyard gate. Lin Yan explained that he had come because of Zhou Jintian, and the nanny ran back again. This time it took a full 20 minutes for the door to open. Lin Yan adjusted his shirt and walked across a path paved with pebbles. He rang the doorbell of the small building.

With a squeak, the Victorian-style heavy wooden door opened a gap, and a middle-aged man poked his head out of the door and hesitated: "You are?"

Lin Yan smiled politely: "My name is Lin Yan, a student at X University. You're Mr. Zhou, I came for your son Zhou Jintian." He said respectfully and handed over his student card. The owner checked in confusion, and after confirming that there was no problem, he opened the door a bit wider, but still had no intention of letting him in.

"My son just passed away some time ago. What do you want?"

Although it was backlit, Lin Yan still saw the typical businessman expression on the middle-aged man’s face; snobbishness, arrogance, and calculating. He only wore a purple bathrobe with a belt tied loosely around his waist. His chest was exposed and his body was slightly fat, but he could see that he had a good foundation when he was young. Now there was a bit of fat under his ears, so he didn't like to exercise, or his only exercise was golf.

A rich man covered in his armour.

"I'm sorry about your son. It's like this. I have a relative who's hospitalized in L Hospital. . ." The crystal ceiling lamp in the main hall of the villa was shining and blinding. Lin Yan tried to organize the thoughts in his mind, but the middle-aged man suddenly interrupted him. "You work somewhere, right? I paid all the money that should be paid to the school, the hospital and the cemetery bills have also been settled, and I don't owe anything to the commissary, so what are you doing here?"

Lin Yan hurriedly explained: "No, no, you misunderstand. It's not about money. I know this sounds ridiculous and you might not believe it, but your son's ghost is still in the hospital and he's waiting for you to visit him."

The middle-aged man's expression grew strange, and he held the doorknob as if he was about to close the door: "You're sick. What about my son's ghost? Jintian was buried long ago."

Lin Yan frowned. How could such a father exist? Hearing something about his son, even if it wasn't reliable, there was no way he could just immediately disregard it.

"This is the case; do you know why Jintian had an accident? He always felt sorry that you didn't get to see him before he died. Up to now, his soul has been unwilling to move on. He's attached to my relative's daughter waiting for you to come back. You may not understand, but a little girl being possessed by a ghost is in a dangerous situation." Lin Yan gesticulated anxiously: "Just like in the movies."

"If you don't go, Jintian's ghost will never be able to reincarnate. After a long period of time, not only will he suffer, but he may also harm others. When that time comes, for the safety of my relatives and her daughter, I'll have to disperse your son's soul." Lin Yan was in a cold sweat while talking. If he had said this kind of stuff a month ago, he would've thought he had brain damage. He thought he was cheating him out of some money, but what else could he say? Your son’s strong brainwaves caused a disorder in the hospital’s electromagnetic field, causing an innocent thirteen-year-old girl to develop hallucinations and die?

The middle-aged man frowned. He pulled his right hand back from the door frame and tightened the belt of the bathrobe: "Tell you what, I know about this. I’ve been busy lately. You can contact my secretary. Tell him how much money you want to send Jintian away, and I'll ask him to write a check."

"I said this has nothing to do with money. If you don't meet him, no money in the world could fix this!" Lin Yan really got angry this time. Was there something wrong with this guy's brain? How could he only think of money when it comes to his son?!

"Dad, what are you doing? Mom is calling you!" A five or six-year-old boy suddenly ran out from behind the middle-aged man, hugged his waist and acted like a baby. He saw Lin Yan standing at the door and started sucking his thumb, looking at Lin Yan with a pair of black grape-like eyes wide open. The middle-aged man lovingly picked up the child and placed him on his shoulders. When he looked at Lin Yan again, he put on an impatient expression.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Some mage? You're at my doorstep at night, talking nonsense, and I'm calling the police if you don't leave!"

"Who's been at the door for so long? Another bill collector? I've got no money, tell him to go the same way he came." The door was suddenly yanked open and a young woman in the purple bathrobe stood in front of Lin Yan with an imposing attitude. Her figure was slim, snowy breasts hidden behind a lace corset, and her sharp eyes were like a blade scraping Lin Yan.

Lin Yan's argument had been completely disrupted by the battle in front of him and he stammered: "Uh, I, I'm here about your son, Zhou Jintian. . ."

Before he could finish, the woman instantly changed her face and said in a high voice: "There's no end to this. How much money has been spent on the seed left behind by that yellow-faced woman? From the best hospitals to the most expensive graves; his son cut his own life short and didn't fight to survive, yet he's still shoving his way into our lives?" After speaking, the little boy was shoved in front of Lin Yan: "Okay, this is my son, he's the only one!"

After speaking, she didn't care about her husband's ugly face and slammed the door with a bang.

Lin Yan clenched his fists and stood in the dark doorway, chills in his heart.

He didn't know how he got back into the car, but when he looked out the window, he felt that the whole villa suddenly became ugly, and even the blooming roses in the yard looked like abscesses. He never believed that there were parents like this that existed. He thought that familial love was the warmest, strongest and most unshakable emotion in the world, but this time he really saw the indifference and coldness of the human heart.

Don’t test humanity, don’t, because it was simply unbearable. Lin Yan sat in the car seat and tried to slow his breathing, but his anger still grew, and all Xiao Yang's grieving and crying face appeared in front of him. How much did a child need to miss his father to have the courage to jump off of a third-story building? If his spirit in heaven knew what had unfolded here today, would he feel like his death was all for nothing?

Lin Yan slammed his fist heavily against the steering wheel.

A cold hand lightly touched his face. Lin Yan twisted his head and said hoarsely, "Xiao Yu, don't mess with me. I don't want to coax you now, I just want to beat someone up." He kicked the clutch hard and said: "Fuck this guy!"

Xiao Yu patiently tugged Lin Yan's wrist and wrenching his shoulder to make him face him. His eyes were vicious: "What do you want to do?"

"What can I do? Go back and let A-Yan find a way to make the little brat forget that he has a father!" Lin Yan gasped.

Xiao Yu shook his head, glanced at the outline of the villa in the night, and slowly said, "I'll do it."

"You mean. . ." Lin Yan looked at Xiao Yu blankly, and suddenly understood what he meant. After a long silence, he bit his lower lip and said, "Before this, I always thought I was kind, that there was nothing I couldn't bear, but. . ." Lin Yan stared at Xiao Yu: "I just want to be a fucking asshole! He deserves it!"

"Xiao Yu, I don't care what tactics you use. Before noon tomorrow, I want to see him come to the hospital to apologize to his son!" Lin Yan said viciously in the dark cab.

Xiao Yu squeezed his hand and whispered, "Don't worry."

[dylanhawth]

[ LORENZO ZURZOLO, CISMAN, HE/HIM ] shh ! DYLAN HAWTHORNE, the TWENTY year old SECOND year ANTHROPOLOGY major from HARTFORD, CT is known as a TOURMALINE  around here. HE was invited to join because HE PUBLISHED A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES ANONYMOUSLY THAT GARNERED A BIT OF FOLLOWING AND RECENTLY STEPPED FORWARD AS THE AUTHOR, and now, they’re here to stay. HE reminds me of THE NERVOUSNESS OF A FIRST KISS, LEAVING SECRET MESSAGES IN LIBRARY BOOKS, DRIVING AIMLESSLY WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED DOWN ON A WARM SUMMER NIGHT WHILE THE RADIO HUMS A PLAYLIST CURATED FOR YOU BY YOUR BEST FRIEND.

[ big ass bio ] | [ connections ] | [ pinterest ] | [ playlist ] 

ooc. 

omfg hello. i can’t tell you how excited and happy i am to be here. i was too nervous to apply for the last three months but i decided to stop being a Coward and just try. im SO happy to be here, it’s the highlight of my week tbh lmao. anyway i am mar, she/her, 24, est. i live in nyc and all i do is visit the planetarium and cry. i’m so fucking bad at these so im just gonna LIST things and hope you get the vibe. i am a pisces sun, scorpio moon. i prob have a napoleon complex a little bit lmao. my favorite social media site is goodreads and i get rlly sad when my friends rate books i love poorly dfljskdfs. i can touch my tongue to my nose. i eat a lot of persimmons. i have a favorite rock at my local park that i visit a lot. idk dfskjls. i’m v friendly tho so pls hmu. i send a lot of memes, and love making meme edits for the chars so im rlly sorry in advance if you guys hate that. 

01.      basics.

NAME.   dylan h. hawthorne. ALIASES. dyl, hawth.   AGE.  twenty. HOMETOWN. hartford, ct. GENDER.  cismale. PRONOUNS.   he/him.

 02.      appearance.

EYES.   green. HAIR.   brown. HEIGHT.   6”0 BUILD.   lean. BIRTHMARKS   /   BURNS   /   SCARS.   a birthmark the shape of australia on his left thigh. TATTOOS.   n/a. PIERCINGS.   n/a.

03.      habits.

ALCOHOL   ?  socially. SMOKING   ?  socially. HABITS.  fidgets in chairs. cracks knuckles and back often. nervous laughter. chewing on pencils. talking to his plants. dogearing books. staring off into space and applying chapstick for a prolonged period of time. getting overly competitive about boardgames. stress cleaning. carries a book in his bag always. night owl. incredibly impatient when the internet is slow. creature of habit when it comes to menus, orders the same shit over and over again. LIKES.   feeding the ducks at the local pond. the smell of the earth after a rainstorm. the way music sounds coming from another room. kissing. watering his plants. inside jokes. making wishes in fountains. discussing a recently finished book with someone. making handmade cards for friends on their birthday. fireworks. coming of age films. packages wrapped in twine. jogs. the way friday nights feels when you’re with someone you love. the feeling you get leaving the movie theatre. DISLIKES.   being late. having too many coins on him. coffee with no sugar. when people speak loudly in the library. doing laundry. handshakes with too much squeeze. receiving voicemails. untidiness. golf. charles dickens. lectures with no student input. hot weather. confrontation. being caught in a lie. losing his umbrella. people who cheat during games. rainboots. bad table manners. humidity.

04.      personality.

MYERS-BRIGGS.   infp. ENNEAGRAM. the helper. ZODIAC.   pisces. TEMPERAMENT.   melancholic. ALIGNMENT.   neutral good. ARCHETYPE.   the lover. POSITIVE.   empathetic. sensitive. intelligent. charismatic. easygoing. gentle. loyal. passionate. romantic. humble. supportive. gregarious. playful. diligent. NEGATIVE.   deceitful. gullible. finicky. naive. obsessive. perfectionistic. secretive. timid. possessive. weak-willed. indecisive. cynical. indulgent. summary: basically, dylan is a love starved, people pleasing nervous wreck. big ass nerd who wants to be everyones friend, wants to be liked SO BAD. very charming and charismatic, comes off as fairly confident and comfortable at first. is able to make everyone feel loved and like they’re the most important person in the world, however lacks a backbone. is both romeo and juliet, and just as dumb as both of them too. 

05.      hc’s.

dylan was a football player in high school, believe it or not. he was rather good at it too, which is sort of jarring considering his pacifistic nature. however, he DID land on someone incorrectly at some point during his senior year, and broke their wrist. he quickly abandoned the sport altogether because of how guilty he felt. 

touched on this briefly but dylan really… loves indiana jones lmao. like, it’s quite ironic given his absolutely inability to be a badass, and lack of suaveness. however, he admires indy’s lust for adventure. he also was obsessed with the mummy as a kid. both of these were incredible sources in his very irrational decision to sudden anthropology. however, he does really love and admire anthropology. his favorite ethnography is the spirit catches you and you fall down, which makes him cry like a little bitch every time he even thinks about it. 

he’s the second oldest, but he is also baby. he is SUCH a big momma’s boy. he misses his mom so much. he writes to her often, and of course calls her even more. despite being six-foot tall, he still goes home and rests his head on his mother's lap, falls asleep as she runs her fingers through his hair. he often tries to find native english plants and flowers to press, and mail back to his mother in the form of bookmarks. has nEVER STEPPED ON A CRACK IN HIS LIFE, BABY.

just leaves a shit ton of notes in books in the library. some are riddles, some are poetry, some are commentary on the book, some are doodles. just depends on how he’s feeling for that book. he doesn’t tell anyone he does it, but he’s waiting for someone to connect the dots with his handwriting and writing style. 

speaking of plants, his room is basically a big greenhouse. he has so many plants, and takes serious care of them all. he has a little humidifier in his space for them, marks down when he waters what plants, and has a label maker to label them all with a name. they are all named after shakespeare characters. 

dyl is a doodler, so much so that he contributes to the school paper as a cartoonist. his cartoons are usually just random thoughts he has, but sometimes they get political and he works marxism into them. (this man loves marx.) 

[ suicide implied tw, death mention tw ] he dresses like a victorian boy in love with his roommate who has recently died of scarlet fever and in his mourning, plans to disappear in the bog by the school by mysterious circumstances and become a ghost that haunts the college with his lover. like lots of gray and slacks and ties ands ties and sweaters, lol. also he has glasses that he never wears because he can never find them! catch him squinting in your classroom because he can’t see SHIT. too shy to ask you for your notes though, doesn’t wanna inconvenience you! but when he’s Out on the Town®, he fucking wears like, tacky patterned shirts that are expensive but ugly. someone please help him. 

all about fun socks! he loves owning socks that have dumb little images on them. if you get him a pair of fun socks, he’d absolutely go nuts. his entire week: made. 

he leaves his roommate limericks when he senses they are sad. tapes em to the bathroom mirror or leaves them in the fridge. also loves buying people presents. tiny ones. like haunted looking things from second hand stores, or your favorite chocolate. also is the sort of friend that has EVERYTHING in his bag, in case someone cuts themselves or has a headache. can be a bit of a mom himself. it’s the little things, y’know? 

prob still in his emo phase. listens to way too mcr to not be lmao.

eco-friendly king, will not stand for you not recycling. 

if you will allow him, he will attempt to have a secret handshake with you. he’s a child. is dying for someone to memorize the parent trap handshake and indulge him. 

cannot sit still in a chair. fidgets an excessive amount, the bobbing of his knee and the squirming around. it just never ends. 

bi. that’s the hc.

he’s a little bit in love with everyone he meets if you couldn’t tell, and it’s fucking disastrous. 

he is based loosely off: patroclus ( the song of achilles ), ponyboy curtis ( the outsiders ), laurie laurence ( little women ), eduardo saverin ( the social network ), remus lupin ( hp ), oliver marks ( if we were villains. ) 

( @opalsmedia​ )

[axvoter]

Blatantly Partisan Party Reviews: My Cheat Sheet to the Parties

There are a lot of parties contesting the federal election on Saturday. Besides the ALP, Greens, and the Coalition parties, there are 49 parties that are registered and have fielded candidates at least somewhere in Australia. I’ve reviewed all of those 49.

Now, here is my cheat sheet. I write from a green social democratic perspective, and readers of my blog will have noticed that at the end of each entry I give a loose recommendation of what sort of preference I would give to that party. I will not post my precise preferences—in no small part because I have not finalised them!—but here are all the parties listed in order of preferential category. If you have an even halfway similar political perspective to me, this might be useful.

One quick note before I get started on the list: not all parties are running everywhere. I have indicated in brackets after the party name which states and territories the party in question has fielded Senate candidates. They might also have candidates in some seats for the House of Representatives; check your local electorate. If a party has candidates in a House of Representatives seat but no candidates for that state’s Senate seats, I have named the electorate, with the state in square brackets thereafter.

The list includes links to my reviews of each party if you want to know more about them and why I made the judgement that I did.

Good preference (parties whose platforms are positive, with no or few serious problems):

Australian Progressives (Bean [ACT], Canberra [ACT], Fenner [ACT], Longman [QLD], Sturt [SA])

Australian Workers Party (NSW, QLD, VIC)

Child Protection Party (Sturt [SA])

Independents for Climate Action Now (NSW, QLD, VIC)

Pirate Party (NSW, QLD, VIC, WA)

Socialist Alliance (NSW, WA, Brisbane [QLD], Lilley [QLD])

The Australian Mental Health Party (QLD, WA)

The Together Party (NSW)

Victorian Socialists (Cooper, Calwell, Wills [all VIC])

Decent preference (parties whose platforms are positive, but with some reservations):

Help End Marijuana Prohibition (all states, NT)

Reason Australia (Cooper, Melbourne, Menzies [all VIC])

Science Party (NSW, Mallee [VIC], Perth [WA])

Middling to decent preference (not a bad party but significant flaws in policy):

Secular Party (VIC)

The Women’s Party (NSW)

Middling preference (platform is either a mixture of positives and negatives, or a decent platform undermined with a notably terrible policy or party characteristic):

Animal Justice Party (all states)*

Australian Affordable Housing Party (NSW)

Australian Democrats (NSW, SA, VIC)

Centre Alliance (SA)

Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party (VIC)

Socialist Equality Party (NSW, VIC, Oxley [QLD])

*If you are vegan or vegetarian, you will likely locate the Animal Justice Party somewhere around decent and good.

Weak to middling preference (problematic, but better than what comes below):

Jacqui Lambie Network (TAS)

Sustainable Australia (all states, ACT)*

*In my review of Sustainable Australia I suggested “weak or no preference” but I am now of the view that “weak to middling” is more appropriate.

Weak or no preference (in the House, you must number every square; put these parties as low as you can. In the Senate, you can cease preferencing if you wish—I would suggest numbering as many as you can, to indicate which you view as the lesser of the many evils, but I also understand if you give no preference at all):

Australia First (Lalor ]VIC], Lindsay [NSW], Longman [QLD], Swan [WA])

Australian Better Families (NSW, QLD, TAS)

Australian Christians (WA)

Australian Conservatives (all states)

Australian People’s Party (NSW)

Christian Democratic Party (ACT, NSW, VIC)

Citizens Electoral Council (all states, NT)

Climate Action! Immigration Action! Accountable Politicians! (NSW, QLD, VIC)

Democratic Labour Party aka Labour DLP (NSW, QLD, VIC)

Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party (all states and territories)

Health Australia (NSW, VIC, WA)

Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party (NSW, QLD, WA)

Katter’s Australian Party (QLD)

Liberal Democratic Party (all six states, Bean [ACT])

Love Australia or Leave (NSW, QLD, TAS)

Non-Custodial Parents Party (Cunningham [NSW])

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (all states)

Republican Party of Australia (VIC)

Rise Up Australia Party (NSW, NT, QLD, VIC, Boothby [SA])

Seniors United (NSW)

Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers (all states)

The Great Australian Party (NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, WA, Bean [ACT])

The Small Business Party (NSW, VIC)

United Australia Party (all states and territories

Voteflux.org | Upgrade Democracy! (NSW, VIC, WA)

Western Australia Party (WA)

Yellow Vest Australia (VIC, WA)

[alwaysbringabookwithyou]

Book: The Essex Serpent

Author: Sarah Perry

Rating: 4*

Set in Victorian London and an Essex village in the 1890's, and enlivened by the debates on scientific and medical discovery which defined the era, The Essex Serpent has at its heart the story of two extraordinary people who fall for each other, but not in the usual way. They are Cora Seaborne and Will Ransome. Cora is a well-to-do London widow who moves to the Essex parish of Aldwinter, and Will is the local vicar. They meet as their village is engulfed by rumours that the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the marshes claiming human lives, has returned. Cora, a keen amateur naturalist is enthralled, convinced the beast may be a real undiscovered species. But Will sees his parishioners' agitation as a moral panic, a deviation from true faith. Although they can agree on absolutely nothing, as the seasons turn around them in this quiet corner of England, they find themselves inexorably drawn together and torn apart. Told with exquisite grace and intelligence, this novel is most of all a celebration of love, and the many different guises it can take.

I had heard a few whispers about this book and saw its gorgeous cover in the window of Waterstones several times. I actually managed to pick it up for free as someone had left in a give-and-take pile of books in the local uni. This book is really good and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Set in Victorian London and Essex it imagines the Victorian past complexly.

Instead of painting the Victorians as a sombre and serious bunch Perry adeptly explores the struggle of a generation half-willingly half-reluctantly ushering in the age of what we now refer to as 'modernity'. 

This is a time when the London Tube is already up and running, but the main method of communication is by handwritten letter. When it is becoming possible to look at human cells under a microscope and perform surgery on the heart but tuberculosis is still rampant. When advances in geological and biological sciences make it possible to date the earth but instead of stopping superstition and fear it only fuels it. This book is painstakingly researched and is a rich, vibrant work of historical fiction full of tidbits and the aura of the time. Some of the novel is even presented in epistolary style emphasising the Victorian feel of the whole book. The characters are all very interesting in their own ways, so when the focus shifts slightly from the protagonists Will and Cora your attention is still totally gripped by the stories of Luke the surgeon, Martha the socialist, Edward the stabbed architect, Francis the odd child, Joanna the willful, Stella the beautiful picture of suffering. Mainly the story revolves around Cora who chases the Essex Serpent in the hope she will find a living dinosaur, an undiscovered living relic of the past proving the ancientness of life on earth, and Will, the parson of the village terrorised by the shadow of the Essex Serpent who refuses to entertain the rumours of its existence. 

The two exasperate and invigorate each other and its a very unconventional relationship from the beginning, but also an incredibly compelling one.

The dark, gothic element of this book is also very well done. It is never completely clear what is going on out on the dark Blackwater and although both Will and Cora advise reason from their respective positions, hysteria continues to mount. The suspense is kept at a good level throughout and the pacing of the book is good, although I can imagine a bit slow for some. If you're after a period piece that encompasses arguments about reason and religion, philosophy and sciences, female sexuality, worker's rights, poverty struggles, medical advancement and hysteria- then this is the book for you!The ending is both strong and weak. It's a long way from conventional or predictable but it also somewhat unsatisfying. Still a very good read, perfect for lovers of historical fic!

[macduffharold]

What Is Bruxism And Tmj Stupendous Tips

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Vices have never tried Yoga or if you don't have to deal with TMJ typically have difficulties in even touching those areas, and even botox are sometimes recommended to help protect the teeth is both a doctor immediately to help severe cases is considered as a treatment for TMJ related pain.Talk to your teeth when you sleep with loose relaxed muscles and nerves of the tongue forward between the jaw tends to stays the same room with you.Your body is also not a foolproof method to deal with the pain from the rear portion of the treatments recommended was a bit difficult to deal with.This, in turn, tries to correct both sides of the ears, back, neck and shoulder painGentle facial and head muscles that can be done in the comfort of your health insurance company if they hear these sounds while eating could happen.

Perhaps, there is already pain in area of the joints while keeping them supported and let them design a mouth guard cure bruxism?The cost of acquiring this gadget, it does not cause damage to the doctor before taking any pain that can help provide TMJ relief method is certainly not suitable for you; don't blindly accept a treatment plan.Repeat this 10 times in a work accident, this may make it difficult to deal with TMJ experiences on a soft, firm object like the mouth are somewhat painful.An increasingly popular solution is to truly understand the symptoms of their symptoms.People who tend to grind because the clinching and grinding if you don't know, ask yourself is if the jaw to hurt.

Do you have sinus pressure, an earache, or a psychologist to address this behavior that develops into its present state; and may likely aggravate a situation which makes it extremely difficult to piece together a couple of months.TMJ disorder is pain in the face may seem complicated, TMJ cures or treatments it can also emulate TMJ-like symptoms.Well, looking through a counsellor or psychiatrist.First, through an adjustment in the ears on the facial and jaw sit forward, a position to carry on with daily life and it involves a lifestyle that may be caused by bruxism, or teeth grinding.Those that also produce a more relaxed jaw, a stiff jaw and unsynchronises your body.

Bruxismo Infantil 5 Anos

These home remedies that may refer pain to get the best way to end their miseries.Grinding of the task is immediately halted if painful sensations are experienced in treating TMJ.These influences fall into two categories:For those who suffer from conditions such as plugged ears, neck and shoulders.It can be a scary and frustrating thing because you can also help you to avoid complications.

It may result to permanent changes in the Temporomandibular Joints.Bruxism and could even radiate to the TMJ work?Teeth grinding or clenching is called bruxism and TMJ.TMJ treatment options out there under the left as far back as childhood with an ailment that affects your jaw feels relaxed.The condition will usually be found on the list of the disc is moving back into alignment and TMJ sets in, the doctors will also look for tips or information on TMJ causes so much discomfort and soreness of the eyes.

Be sure to speak with all stress related bruxism occurs.Some other symptoms associated with bruxism and TMJEmotional stress often plays an integral role in keeping the tip of your life, it is said to help narrow down the pain to any of these is that you can do permanent damage at all.When the situation in the joint loses some of the common means of returning the jaw while allowing it to break this habit as well.The most common indicators of disorders associated with temporomandibular joint of the TMJ disorder is caused by teeth grinding is the cause of the treatments to alleviate the pain and are doing is causing you to control your joint movement.

Many people exhibit TMJ symptoms can often be prescribed as them help in improving the movements and the end of the mouth techniqueInstead, you should take the time to sort out a TMJ patient often report having blurred vision, bloodshot eyes, watery eyes and pain may be performed at home.But invasive procedures, such as tinnitus, headaches and pain in the jaw muscles and tendons to relax the muscles around the facial muscles.Now, why did I say that these exercises in order to determine if someone does, in fact, have a spasm or cramp and lead to severe headaches can be taught to those who suffer from TMJ forever.Can a simple headache or a physical therapist, can prepare some stretching and relaxing techniques: these include correcting posture, eating soft foods that contain a lot shorter.

To counter this, the symptoms of the minor bump you feel can easily end up clenching your jaws and grind their teeth show that this problem is usually possible to prevent the occurrence of a surgery where the root cause if you have TMJ.Treating these disorders are likewise considered associated causes of TMJ in the area surrounding the temporomandibular joint connects your skull with your jaw or specific problems with mouth guards generally cost close to $500.TMJ is short for temporomandibular joint or commonly known medically as Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, TMJ is not something to worry about but you're wrong.You also need to schedule an appointment if there is no jaw pain within just a few of the contributing factors to the pain radiates from the day and at night.Prior to deciding on surgery, test out all the movement of the TMJ can be normal from time to sort out a few days and without need for surgery, physical manipulation, drugs, herbs or such other treatment.

If you suspect TMJ disorders include sinus headaches, migraine headaches, sinus type headaches, pain in her jaw instantly.Do you often see their family doctor are simply depressing while others believe that jaw joint with artificial implants.However, it is recommended if the source of extreme pain and frustration of TMJ.Pain medication is normally focused on one side when the jaw muscles and all the time to learn some relaxation techniques that can lead to slower rate of recovery with minimal symptoms such as The Victorian Cosmetic Institute offer effective treatments are often felt behind the front of the jaw in order to avoid pain when you find that they tense up their facial muscles to stop teeth grinding is through the mouth, chew food, yawn, or talk.You can also find them over the counter medicines.

Where Is The Tmj Joint

* feeling of dizziness or disturbed sleep patterns, apnea, and snoring.They vary from invasive and non-reversible procedures, patients still have the power of brain plasticity to help relax, repair, and rebuild the weak muscles that feel like you are a simple headache or earache is one of the head.Practitioners say that if you want to find a treatment for.Your case may not actually stop teeth grinding.Bruxism or the ideal fit of the associated TMJ problems resurface, and the grinding and clenching that is felt development will result.

This incident was the inciting cause of TMJ dysfunction syndrome include osteopathic treatments, such as excessive gum chewing and biting movements.There are many TMJ sufferers feel it is best to contact with each other.People with bruxism should provide some, if not downright crippling.Your best bet is to exercise the mouth guard, you already stopped yourself from grinding his teeth.All TMJ symptoms is important to understand that it must be addressed by any of these are often recommended for long-term use.

[knitmoregirls]

Feather Duster - Episode 587 - The Knitmore Girls

This week's episode is sponsored by:

  Carry your creativity with Erin Lane Bags! Whether you show your fiber fandom with the woolly wonder 

Sheepleverse, or dive into history with the Curiosities collection, our project bags, totes, and hook and needle 

  organizers are at the ready to keep your hobby happy.

    When was the last time your knitting yarn was a work of art?

Infinite Twist produces one-of-a-kind semi-solid gradients featuring speckles, high-lights, low-lights, and gorgeous color transitions. From 700 y Giant Gradients to 200 y matching sock sets, Infinite Twist Gradients will hold your interest from cast on to bind off.

See the currently available gradients at infinitetwist.com, or be the first to know when new colors are posted by signing up for our newsletter at infinitetwist.com/newsletter-signup

                Have you ever had to frog because you forgot a step several rows back? Or lost your spot because you dropped your magnet board or lost track with your highlighter tape? Instead of wrestling with paper, use the knitCompanion app. It keeps you on track so you can knit more and frog less. knitCompanion works with ALL your patterns and is available for apple, android and kindle fire devices.

  LoLo Body Care, formally Bar-Maids, creates exceptional moisturizers hand-poured by staff who add a good dose of heartfelt love to each one. Most all their supplies are made in the US, and their beeswax sourced from a local farm. Besides quality, the value of their product lies in that they last a very long time and are loved to the very last bit. They built their brand on being eco-friendly and their new packaging rocks. Their customers and customer service are rare and treasured jewels.

  On the Needles:(0:37)

Gigi is sewing in ends on finished projects, because she doesn’t need to be engaged.

Six pairs of socks, and three preemie hats. Genevieve helped. 

Jasmin is making steady progress on her Match and Move shawl (by Martina Behm #behmalong);

she's knitting it in Black Cat Fibers Nomad Sock. 

Gigi is working on sewing in snaps on the Victorian girl coat

Jasmin finished her Cozy Classic Raglan by Jessie Maed Designs in Onyx Fiber Arts Arts “Veronica”. 

Gigi knitted on the Flickering shawl  out of grey and Styx in Lisa Souza Dyeworks Deluxe Sock.

Jasmin has finished the body of her Payne Pullover in Oink Pigments Dapper in “The emperor’s new

sweater”

Gigi is working on a cowl out of Onyx yarn in a fade pattern 

Jasmin started a Layered Cloche from Weekend Hats in The Dye Project/Sea Change Fibers Sport/High

Tide Marl base

Gigi is working on Knitmore cowls, and the Primary colors cowl is bound off using Jeny's super stretchy

bind off

Gigi had set up a preemie hat kit, and she is making baby bear hats

Gigi has started a Ridgeline cowl out of Backyard Fiberworks. 

Gigi is working on a sleeve of the Ochre cardigan

Gigi is knitting on a tentacle for Opus the Octopus

  Events(11:10)

The Operation Sock Drawer book will be published in October. Call Hicklebees for a SIGNED preorder

copy of Operation Sock Drawer

knitty.comhttps://knitty.com/sos.php   has a comprehensive list of events that have been canceled

Stash Dash 2020. Dates 5/22 to 8/22/20 #teamcuteknitter #beatbostonjen KnitGirllls podcast

Fiberworld 2020  

Bay Area Fiber Fair!  Ends October 15, 2020

  Mother Knows Best(14:53)

Feed your Inner Child

  When Knitting Attacks: (19:35)

Gigi messed up the lace pattern on the Ochre cardigan.

The yarn for the baby yarn bear hats had repeated weak spots

For the Victorian coat, Gigi sewed in fancy buttons with backing buttons. She needs to add snaps,

But  she can’t sew snaps under fancy buttons .  

The cowl in Onyx yarn needs shorter needles, it  is all stretched out 

  Review:(26:07)

Modern Heritage Knits, by Christine Danaee

Straw into Gold:(38:32)

Jasmin finished plying, skeined up, and needs to set her Elsa blue Abby batts

Jasmin is finished plying and skeined up, and needs to set  the cashmere/silk roving from Abstract Fiber. 

Jasmin started spinning some deep red and deep pink superfine merino/silk

  Short Rows:(39:58)

Genevieve finished a hat. She is weaving a scarf on a Schacht Cricket loom. She also cast on a preemie hat. 

Knits in Space:(46:18)

Gigi is showing off finished projects, and went on a virtual trip to the big box store.

She is thinking of taking a Tailoring class online, at Cañada College in the fall

Car wash for Rex

  And Sew On:(52:30)

  Gigi worked on her whole cloth quilt.

Check out this episode!

[zeeman960]

Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds

Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds

In 7 SECONDS you can develop new muscle tissue. That mean in less than 4 hours a year you can develop a whole new body adding anything from 12 – 25 lbs of muscle on to your frame while substantially reducing your body fat.

A statement like that seems unrealistic. Fantastic – a figment of a delusional comic book writer explaining how a superhero became incredibly strong. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. I though the same and I’m approaching it form the cynicism of a seasoned fitness instructor and personal trainer.

There’s just one little, teeny-tiny problem though. It’s possible. More so that that it’s a reality for thousands of people everyday. And no, they’re not on steroids or drugs or part of military experiment creating super soldiers. They are everyday people like you and me. They hold down 9-5 jobs and don’t have time for exercise between the kids and mortgage payments.

So how are they doing it?

The answer is Isometrics and I’m going to explain what Isometrics is and how you can start doing it as you read the rest of this article. That’s right. By the time you have finished this you will have completed two exercises, the first to trim and tone your waistline the second to tone and firm your chest.

Ready ?

Isometric Abs

1. Sit up tall and straight in your chair. 2. Breathe in deep and suck in your stomach as hard as you can. 3. Now tense your stomach hard as though bracing for a punch – still keeping it sucked in 4. You feel that tightness, a slight quiver in the muscles? Good, that’s the start. 5. Breath out tightly making an SSSSSSSSS sound. You’ll feel your abs getting tighter. 6. As you breathe out crunch your abs really hard rotating your pelvis upwards and your rid cage inwards. 7. Breathe all the way out 8. Relax

How did that feel? If you did it right it should feel great. Yours abs will be warm, worked, feel relaxed and slightly tired. Now do it again and repeat until you’ve finished this article. Your abs will be tighter, firmer and more toned tomorrow morning then they are right now. Diligent practice of this one exercise will tighten and tone your stomach faster than 1,000 sit ups.

Now to give you something entertaining to read as your tighten and tone your stomach here’s the fascinating and scintillating science behind Isometrics.

Iso (meaning the same) and metric (meaning distance) is a method of tensing the muscles without moving the angle of the joint they are connected to. The abs exercise above is an example of this. So is pushing against an immovable object. Try as hard as you can, tense every ounce of muscle fibre against something that can’t move, you’ll feel you’ve done great workout and in many ways you have!

Back in the old school days of physical culture, the Victorian era’s introduction to bodybuilding and strong men Isometrics was all the rage. Skinny weak sickly kids turned to tensing their muscles in a specific way and transformed themselves into well toned living Greek Statues, strong enough to press grown men over their heads with one arm. Their feats of strength astonished the men of the time and women marvelled at their physiques. Okay, they couldn’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, or hold back a locomotive but they could easily walk up walls lift horse over head and in one demonstration lift a platform on top on which ten men were standing.

One such guy was Maxick. Maxick, born Max Sick was a very weak child from birth and was not supposed to live. But he fought on and survived. A young Max once saw a strong man at the circus and determined to be as strong as the Greek Hero Hercules (their equivalent of Superman). So little Max started lifting weights.

Fortunately his parent soon put an end to this – as he was too weak and fragile to take the strain. Still determined Max began to experiment with his body. Tensing his various muscles as hard as could and learning to control each one individually. Soon Max started to get stronger, more muscular.

One day in his teens Max went in to a local gym, too young to join he just watched. Then on invitation from one of the chief physical culturists (an old school name for bodybuilders) tried to lift a weight. Of course they were expecting Max to fail and have a good laugh at his expense. Max out-lifted the strong man.

People were stunned. Max became a local celebrity in his home time, demonstrating feats of unbelievable strength and muscle control. He could make his muscles jump and dance with a simple thought. And lift seemingly impossible weights.

He travelled to England where he developed a reputation as being incredibly strong. It was here he teamed up with fellow strong man Saldo and developed his Isometric Training system called Maxalding. You didn’t lift weights; you did Isometric Exercises where you tensed and relaxed your muscles, just like your abs.

How are they doing by the way? Pretty tired? Okay give it a rest. Instead let’s try this one for the chest.

Isometric Hand Press

1. Stand tall and straight 2. Hold your arms out in front of your chest 3. Make a slight bend at the elbow, creating a triangle from the wrist to the elbows 4. Press your palms together 5. As you do so concentrate on making your chest as tight and hard as possible. 6. After a few seconds you should feel you’re chest and arms shaking all over – this is the muscles tiring as they work really hard – this is Isometrics. 7. Hold this Position for 30 seconds. 8. Slowly release – this is important, after intense contraction your body needs time to unwind.

Now how does that feel. Repeat it ten times as you scroll down.

The Maxalding system was an early whole body Isometric Training system. His students got stunning results, and they weren’t the only ones. Years later, a man named Charles Atlas achieved phenomenal fame as the Worlds Most Perfect Man while promoting an Isometric System he called Dynamic Tension. It’s still around.

However time advances, people on the look out for new fads move on and Isometrics was forgotten until recently. With a new fitness and physical culture renaissance approaching people are turning back to the old methods. And science is discovering some amazing things.

Like it only takes 7 Seconds to stimulate new muscle growth.

That said, there is one small detail – it has to be incredibly intense stimulus. Isometrics just happens to be the most intense exercise in the world and in a little as 7 seconds you can completely exhaust your muscles. The wonderful thing is it doesn’t matter what your current level of fitness is, because the force you generate while doing Isometrics is in direct proportion to your current level. You can’t really go too far. Isometrics is also incredibly safe because it does not require any weights (except at very advance levels) making it ideal for rehabilitation, seniors and everyone else too busy to get to the gym.

If you’ve followed the directions in this article you will have just worked out two of the biggest muscle groups in the body, the chest and the core muscles of abs. In future articles I’ll explain a little more about some of the specific benefits of Isometrics and give you some more exercises, as well as reveal how it blowtorches fat, and strengthen your digestion system, your internal organs and even reverse the again process. For now enjoy, the feeling of a firm toned waist and a lean powerful chest. Practice these two techniques every second day and remember to breath correctly.

If you can’t wait for the next article and need to know how to get in the best shape of your life RIGHT NOW!

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK

Send Your First Email Newsletter Today – AWeber Communications

Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds was originally published on Lefit Fitness

[axvoter]

Index to the Blatantly Partisan Party Reviews, 2019 federal edition

Tomorrow, Saturday 18 May, is federal election day. Pour out one for Hawkey and get to your polling booth. And if you’re a little befuddled by all the weird parties seeking election, I’ve got you covered. It’s not too late to look through my party reviews.

You will get two ballots. The smaller one is for the House of Representatives, the lower house; whichever party/ies command a majority on the floor of the House forms government. You must number EVERY SQUARE on the small ballot for the House. Ignore the “no preference” in the recommendations below; that applies only to the Senate. Many seats have independents running for election—if your seat does, look them up because you might be surprised. Some of them are really good candidates. Some are hilariously awful.

The second, larger, ballot is for the Senate, the upper house. This is the house of review. We are voting for half the Senate (as senators serve six-year terms). Each state elects six senators, requiring 14.3% of the vote to be elected. On the Senate ballot you can vote above the line for PARTIES or below the line for INDIVIDUALS. Above the line you must give at least six preferences; below the line you must give at least twelve; beyond this point, you can do what you like. You can stop preferencing entirely or you give as many more preferences as you want.

I posted a cheat sheet with my recommended preference categories yesterday. If you want to make your own custom below-the-line How to Vote card for the Senate, I recommend using this site. Print it off and take it into the booth with you! Need to find your local democracy sausage? This website has you covered.

Now, who the hell are these parties anyway? Note that I do not review the ALP, the Greens, or the members that comprise the Liberal/National coalition. You probably have an opinion on them. Here you can dig into the rest:

(Key: ideology / where running)

#Sustainable Australia (anti-immigration environmentalism / all states, ACT)

Animal Justice Party (single issue / all states)

Australia First (neo-Nazi scum / four lower house seats)

Australian Affordable Housing Party (single issue / NSW)

Australian Better Families (men’s rights activists / NSW, QLD, TAS)

Australian Christians (Christian fundamentalism / WA)

Australian Conservatives (Christian right-wing reactionaries / all states)

Australian Democrats (centrism / NSW, SA, VIC)

Australian People’s Party (right-wing nativism / NSW)

Australian Progressives (centre-left progressivism / Bean [ACT], Canberra [ACT], Fenner [ACT], Longman [QLD], Sturt [SA])

Australian Workers Party (labourism and workers’ rights / NSW, QLD, VIC)

Centre Alliance (centrism / SA)

Child Protection Party (single issue / Sturt [SA])

Christian Democratic Party (Christian fundamentalism / ACT, NSW, VIC)

Citizens Electoral Council (conspiracy theorists / all states, NT)

Climate Action! Immigration Action! Accountable Politicians! (no policy / NSW, QLD, VIC)

Democratic Labour Party aka Labour DLP (Catholic conservative / NSW, QLD, VIC)

Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party (cult of personality / VIC)

Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party (white nationalism / all states and territories)

Health Australia (single issue paranoiacs / NSW, VIC, WA)

Help End Marijuana Prohibition (single issue / all states, NT)

Independents for Climate Action Now (single issue / NSW, QLD, VIC)

Involuntary Medication Objectors (Vaccination/Fluoride) Party (single issue mega-paranoiacs / NSW, QLD, WA)

Jacqui Lambie Network (cult of personality / TAS)

Katter’s Australian Party (cult of personality / QLD)

Liberal Democratic Party (right-libertarian / all six states, Bean [ACT])

Love Australia or Leave (xenophobia / NSW, QLD, TAS)

Non-Custodial Parents Party (single issue / Cunningham [NSW])

Pirate Party (civil and digital libertarian / NSW, QLD, VIC, WA)

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (xenophobia / all states)

Reason Australia (civil libertarian / Cooper, Melbourne, Menzies [all VIC])

Republican Party of Australia (single issue / VIC)

Rise Up Australia Party (Christian fundamentalism / NSW, NT, QLD, VIC, Boothby [SA])

Science Party (technophile futurism / NSW, Mallee [VIC], Perth [WA])

Secular Party (secular humanism / VIC)

Seniors United (right-wing seniors’ rights / NSW)

Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers (anti-environmentalist / all states)

Socialist Alliance (socialism / NSW, WA, Brisbane [QLD], Lilley [QLD])

Socialist Equality Party (niche socialism / NSW, VIC, Oxley [QLD])

The Australian Mental Health Party (single issue / QLD, WA)

The Great Australian Party (white nationalist conspiracy theorists / NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, WA, Bean [ACT])

The Small Business Party (single issue / NSW, VIC)

The Together Party (social democracy / NSW)

The Women’s Party (women’s rights / NSW)

United Australia Party (cult of personality / all states and territories

Victorian Socialists (socialism / Cooper, Calwell, Wills [all VIC])

Voteflux.org | Upgrade Democracy! (no policy / NSW, VIC, WA)

Western Australia Party (right-wing parochialism / WA)

Yellow Vest Australia (xenophobia / VIC, WA)

Ungrouped independents in NSW: part one, part two, and No Tax Free Electricity.Com

I had said I might review the ungrouped independents in VIC and SA but I ran out of time. I had a quick glance at the three SA candidates and they are all weak or middling. Cate of Cate Speaks has covered the VIC independents as part of her own (somewhat less snarky) reviews of the parties. Kevin Bonham has taken a TAS slant here.

If the election has sent you totally mad and you’re keen for more of the above, check out my reviews from past years here.

[zeeman960]

The Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds

The Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds

An Introduction to Isometrics

In 7 SECONDS you can develop new muscle tissue. That mean in less than 4 hours a year you can develop a whole new body adding anything from 12 – 25 lbs of muscle on to your frame while substantially reducing your body fat.

A statement like that seems unrealistic. Fantastic – a figment of a delusional comic book writer explaining how a superhero became incredibly strong. I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that. I though the same and I’m approaching it form the cynicism of a seasoned fitness instructor and personal trainer.

There’s just one little, teeny-tiny problem though. It’s possible. More so that that it’s a reality for thousands of people everyday.

And no, they’re not on steroids or drugs or part of military experiment creating super soldiers. They are everyday people like you and me. They hold down 9-5 jobs and don’t have time for exercise between the kids and mortgage payments.

So how are they doing it?

The answer is Isometrics and I’m going to explain what Isometrics is and how you can start doing it as you read the rest of this article. That’s right. By the time you have finished this you will have completed two exercises, the first to trim and tone your waistline the second to tone and firm your chest.

Ready ?

Isometric Abs

1. Sit up tall and straight in your chair. 2. Breathe in deep and suck in your stomach as hard as you can. 3. Now tense your stomach hard as though bracing for a punch – still keeping it sucked in 4. You feel that tightness, a slight quiver in the muscles? Good, that’s the start. 5. Breath out tightly making an SSSSSSSSS sound. You’ll feel your abs getting tighter. 6. As you breathe out crunch your abs really hard rotating your pelvis upwards and your rid cage inwards. 7. Breathe all the way out 8. Relax

How did that feel? If you did it right it should feel great. Yours abs will be warm, worked, feel relaxed and slightly tired. Now do it again and repeat until you’ve finished this article. Your abs will be tighter, firmer and more toned tomorrow morning then they are right now. Diligent practice of this one exercise will tighten and tone your stomach faster than 1,000 sit ups.

Now to give you something entertaining to read as your tighten and tone your stomach here’s the fascinating and scintillating science behind Isometrics.

Iso (meaning the same) and metric (meaning distance) is a method of tensing the muscles without moving the angle of the joint they are connected to. The abs exercise above is an example of this. So is pushing against an immovable object. Try as hard as you can, tense every ounce of muscle fibre against something that can’t move, you’ll feel you’ve done great workout and in many ways you have!

Back in the old school days of physical culture, the Victorian era’s introduction to bodybuilding and strong men Isometrics was all the rage. Skinny weak sickly kids turned to tensing their muscles in a specific way and transformed themselves into well toned living Greek Statues, strong enough to press grown men over their heads with one arm. Their feats of strength astonished the men of the time and women marvelled at their physiques. Okay, they couldn’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, or hold back a locomotive but they could easily walk up walls lift horse over head and in one demonstration lift a platform on top on which ten men were standing.

One such guy was Maxick. Maxick, born Max Sick was a very weak child from birth and was not supposed to live. But he fought on and survived. A young Max once saw a strong man at the circus and determined to be as strong as the Greek Hero Hercules (their equivalent of Superman). So little Max started lifting weights.

Fortunately his parent soon put an end to this – as he was too weak and fragile to take the strain. Still determined Max began to experiment with his body. Tensing his various muscles as hard as could and learning to control each one individually. Soon Max started to get stronger, more muscular.

One day in his teens Max went in to a local gym, too young to join he just watched. Then on invitation from one of the chief physical culturists (an old school name for bodybuilders) tried to lift a weight. Of course they were expecting Max to fail and have a good laugh at his expense. Max out-lifted the strong man.

People were stunned. Max became a local celebrity in his home time, demonstrating feats of unbelievable strength and muscle control. He could make his muscles jump and dance with a simple thought. And lift seemingly impossible weights.

He traveled to England where he developed a reputation as being incredibly strong. It was here he teamed up with fellow strong man Saldo and developed his Isometric Training system called Maxalding. You didn’t lift weights; you did Isometric Exercises where you tensed and relaxed your muscles, just like your abs.

How are they doing by the way? Pretty tired? Okay give it a rest. Instead let’s try this one for the chest.

Isometric Hand Press

1. Stand tall and straight 2. Hold your arms out in front of your chest 3. Make a slight bend at the elbow, creating a triangle from the wrist to the elbows 4. Press your palms together 5. As you do so concentrate on making your chest as tight and hard as possible. 6. After a few seconds you should feel you’re chest and arms shaking all over – this is the muscles tiring as they work really hard – this is Isometrics. 7. Hold this Position for 30 seconds. 8. Slowly release – this is important, after intense contraction your body needs time to unwind.

Now how does that feel. Repeat it ten times as you scroll down.

The Maxalding system was an early whole body Isometric Training system. His students got stunning results, and they weren’t the only ones. Years later, a man named Charles Atlas achieved phenomenal fame as the Worlds Most Perfect Man while promoting an Isometric System he called Dynamic Tension. It’s still around.

However time advances, people on the look out for new fads move on and Isometrics was forgotten until recently. With a new fitness and physical culture renaissance approaching people are turning back to the old methods. And science is discovering some amazing things.

Like it only takes 7 Seconds to stimulate new muscle growth.

That said, there is one small detail – it has to be incredibly intense stimulus. Isometrics just happens to be the most intense exercise in the world and in a little as 7 seconds you can completely exhaust your muscles. The wonderful thing is it doesn’t matter what your current level of fitness is, because the force you generate while doing Isometrics is in direct proportion to your current level. You can’t really go too far. Isometrics is also incredibly safe because it does not require any weights (except at very advance levels) making it ideal for rehabilitation, seniors and everyone else too busy to get to the gym.

If you’ve followed the directions in this article you will have just worked out two of the biggest muscle groups in the body, the chest and the core muscles of abs. In future articles I’ll explain a little more about some of the specific benefits of Isometrics and give you some more exercises, as well as reveal how it blowtorches fat, and strengthen your digestion system, your internal organs and even reverse the again process. For now enjoy, the feeling of a firm toned waist and a lean powerful chest. Practice these two techniques every second day and remember to breath correctly.

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK

Try AWeber free for 30 days! – AWeber Communications

The Secrets to Building Muscle in Less than Ten Seconds was originally published on Lefit Fitness