#ML-4000

[trainphilos]

New Toys!

During the last few weeks a couple of new items were added to the rolling stock roster of my model railway. As per usual I had totally forgotten having “pre-ordered” them over a year ago. Model train manufacturers tend to announce new future projects with an option for the customer to “pre-order”. This pre-ordering process gives the manufacturers a rough idea on how many model train enthusiasts…

[home-of-renn]

Marinette has half a mind to take a blowtorch to the offending little imposter.

[ghostess-with-the-mostess]

Okay so I DO agree you're absolutely correct that Miraculous is an uneven mesh of different ideas that aren't thought through in the SLIGHTEST and make character relations wonky as hell, but can I also make a few small (ha) corrections to your explanation here? As well as bolster your points/bring up ways to actually do these plotlines well.

What you're describing isn't the magical girl genre, at least not in its entirety - what you're describing is the sentai/superhero team subgenre that was started by the likes of Sailor Moon and further expanded by Pretty Cure.

You're also correct in that drawing irresponsibly from this subgenre is (part of) what's causing all these problems, because the sentai/superhero stuff is what Miraculous Ladybug is consciously drawing on - but the conclusion from the writers of Miraculous (and your essay) that it's 'because magical girls and romcoms don't mix' is not only incorrect but it ignores the actual history of magical girls, both pre- and post-Sailor Moon.

MAGICAL GIRLS AS ROMANCE, AS SITCOM

"Miraculous is trying to be both a Magical Girl Show and a romantic comedy, but those are not genres that mesh."

First is the fact that the original magical girl template was FOUNDED on romance and sitcom tropes.

Most sources are going to tell you that the origin point for Magical Girls was the sitcom Bewitched, which if you're not familiar, is about a witch falling in love with a mortal man and vowing to be a normal housewife for his sake - but her family, who doesn't approve the marriage, constantly interferes to break them up through their magic, thus hijinks ensue.

Not EXACTLY described as a romcom, but I'd argue it DOES count as at least romcom-adjacent seeing as the focal point is the relation between Samantha and Darrin, even if a big part of the conflict between their relationship comes from outside the two's interactions.

It was popular in Japan, and was where two of the three grandmas of all magical girls gets its main inspiration from - one series being Sally the Witch, which is about a witch girl who finds herself in the mortal realm and decides to stay when she makes some friends, but with the caveat she has to hide her magic powers - hijinks ensue.

Now, with this one we do see some of that initial inspiration that would also bleed into Miraculous Ladybug well down the line - namely the whole 'keep your identity a secret' thing being a hard rule, rather than something the characters do for the sake of keeping their loved ones safe like in superhero works.

(Albeit, Miraculous does it incredibly poorly, as it IS the superhero safety thing, but wants it to be the magical hard rule because... drama.)

But this is the starting point of the original magical girl, founded on these sitcom tropes, whether or not they also include romance.

But they CAN be romance focused.

Two good examples of this type of sitcom magical girl with a romance focus (and hilariously, a more 'spooky' focus) exist both east and west.

In the West, (though most people might not really consider it) we have Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

(I just like making people aware that this actually existed)

Predating both Sally, as well as Bewitched by two whole years, Sabrina has had multiple permutations (the original comic, the ABC sitcom, four cartoons, the more recent show, and however many versions of her appear across the Archie-verse) but they generally follow a similar plot to Sally - girl who has to keep her witchy side secret from the normal people around her.

But compared to Sally and her friends, Sabrina doesn't really have consistent friend characters, sometimes not even within the same continuity/series.

But who is the most prominent human character? It's (at least usually) her love interest, Harvey Kinkle.

Interestingly, in a way that does bolster OP's essay, is while Harvey often gets to be the main human secret-keeper (when he's allowed to be, and for as long as it lasts), the one instance where its a female friend instead of him (the first DIC animated series) is also the first where he isn't really focused on as a love interest due to being a show for much younger kids (as far as my memory can go, it's been a while since I watched any Sabrina so forgive me.)

On the eastern side, is my beloved Tokimeki Tonight.

God I love Tokimeki Tonight

Tokimeki Tonight revolves around Ranze Eto, a half-werewolf, half-vampire girl who finally gets her parents to allow her to go to public school, where she falls in love with a boy named Shun Makabe - but not only do her parents not want her dating a human boy, she also has a bitter rival in the form of the rich mob boss' daughter Yoko Kamiya. In trying to maneuver through this, she makes use of her power to turn into anything she bites (and turning back when sneezing), and with this, hijinks ensue.

Out of all the titles I'll bring up as examples this one is more magical girl-adjacent, particularly the manga which is much more shojo romance than classical magical girl (the anime, which only adapts a small portion of the manga, veers much closer to the genre) But it does have the hallmarks of those older series - girl with magical power, and the conflict of interest (having that same 'family nonapproval' thing as Bewitched) which she comes to blows with.

In the manga, she does have a couple of friends, but in the anime, we don't really see any friends of hers, at least not beyond any bit roles - the focus is on Ranze and Shun, and Yoko, her yakuza father and Ranze's own family/magic society who tries to get in between them.

No matter what, though, there is one through line between all of these series - a girl with magic powers, in conflict with her social life. Friends or romance, what is important here isn't the girl's relationships, but what the girl is going through.

There leads into my second point, and my main point of contention with OP's argument. Magical girl series aren't SPECIFICALLY all about 'women and their friendships'.

MAGICAL GIRLS - EXPLORATION OF SELF

It entirely depends on the series (and the sentai/hero subgenre often uses it because its a universally common trope to team-based kids programming) but the ONLY real requirement to a series being generally considered a magical girl series is that its about A) a girl, who B) has some sort of magic/power, that C) causes her conflict, either in daily life and/or through an antagonist they have to face.

Sally the Witch may have friends, but they are a means to an end so that Sally can get into hijinks that involve her hiding her magic from the normal, non-magical people in her life.

Sabrina and Ranze have love interests, but they often exist more as plot devices that drive along that same wacky conflict of keeping things a secret.

Not to mention: in those Showa-era days, there really wasn't a lot of 'magical girls fighting evil' like the whole genre has been wrapped up in. Rather, many of these stories would serve as vehicles for girls to be able to fantasize about all the sorts of fun things they could do, once they get older.

Lets get into that second grandma.

Himitsu no Akko-chan, which predates Sally the Witch in manga form but didn't get adapted until after Sally's own adaptation, is about an elementary schoolgirl named Atsuko Kagami (nicknamed "Akko") whose mirror becomes enhanced by spirits thanks to the respect she'd given it upon it breaking, thus becoming a magical tool that allows her to transform into anyone and anything, and even allowing her to copy abilities of others.

This isn't the only magical girl series that has this type of setup - You have other early examples like the (more mundane) Marvelous Melmo, where a girl gets magic pills from her dead mother that allow her to age up and de-age at will, or Magical Princess Minky Momo, in which a Princess of a magic land is sent to help revive the hopes and dreams of mankind, usually via transforming into an older version of herself, with a costume and skills that suit the task on hand.

There's also the five Pierrot magical girls series, most notable of which is Creamy Mami, where a girl gets temporary powers from aliens that let her transform into an older version of herself that becomes an idol singer. Three out of the four other series that succeeded it (Persia, Magical Star Emi, and Fancy Lala) also transform into older/adult alter-egos.

Now, this style of magical girl is pretty well (mostly, the above is the ad for a new Pierrot series) dead in favor of the Sentai-style or just team-based magical girl groups, but it IS another important branch of the magical girl trope - and none of these really focus on 'friendship' first and foremost.

Sure, these characters often have friends, families, love interests - but they are not the focus of any of these series. The focus is on the magical girl herself, as she learns lessons and experiences the cool possible things that the future holds for her as she grows from a little girl to a teen, and later, adult. Modern team shows do this as well, of course, but its through the circle of friends that she can confide in rather than the fantasy of the future.

But why did that shift occur, from slice-of-life-fantasy self-expression to beating up bad guys and friendship?

One (smaller) element is that it was thought that girls couldn't really handle/be interested in action series or genuinely evil threats.

This was quashed by the eventual success of Majokko Meg, which appealed to both boys and girls and had these elements, including the first dark magical girl, Non.

If you've watched Sugar Sugar Rune, this is the show it cribbed its notes from.

Majokko Meg itself was the followup (in terms of the staff who worked on it) to Cutie Honey, which was not aimed at girls, being a sexy action comedy that skews way, WAY closer to being a classic Sentai like Kamen Rider, just happening to star a female hero (you know, for the sexy). It does still serve as a precursor alongside Meg to action-oriented magical girls before Sailor Moon existed, and thus does play a role into the gradual change the genre's most popular form would experience once SM did release.

But obviously that's not all it, right?

And for that we need to take a quick detour in the world of Idols.

MAGICAL GIRLS AND IDOLS: THE PAST AND FUTURE

In Zombie Land Saga, one of the girls, Junko, has difficulties embracing the modern idol culture. She's a fantastic singer and a great presence, but she's not a great dancer, and, more importantly - she struggles to work in a unit, as idols of the Showa-era were generally solo acts.

Magical girls and Idols are VERY inextricably linked, especially in the 80's - one of the most popular avenues to promote actresses in anime and live-action shows during that time was to have them release an idol album and do performances - Creamy Mami being one example of many, whose voice and singer would go on to produce over two dozen albums in the wake of Creamy Mami's popularity.

That's not the only way in which magical girls resemble idols - both in their most typical forms are market-and-merchandise-driven media that exists to advertise 'the idealized girl' albeit in different forms, and sometimes (though not always) to different market groups.

In the 80's, both the ideal magical girl and idol were usually a single girl as the promotion, untouchable yet relatable. By the 2000's, what was popular was instead a collection of different girls, often distinguished by certain characteristics that made them stand out, yet also act cohesive in the group, allowing them to gain a larger following than one might be able to alone.

Also, they dance!

The multiple girls is especially important for magical girls, as unlike (most) Idol units, Magical Girl shows have a story to tell - and by the new millennium, having a more intricate story and world in place was becoming more important compared to the more story-light and sitcommy series made in the Showa Era. One of the easiest ways to do that is, of course, have more fleshed out (or at least different) characters that can actually bounce off each other.

Because, like. Girls, they have different personalities and interests, right? As much as I love Showa-era magical girls, many of them had quite similar 'average girl' personalities that made them comparably less distinct from each other. It's just good sense to cater to as wide a range as possible via more relatable archetypes split into multiple girls, rather than shoving every archetype into one bland girl.

(I'm no expert on Idol culture, especially in the 80's, but I don't believe the variance in personalities was much greater in that industry either - if an idol lover can correct me in another paragraph-spanning post, please do)

But that's not the whole picture, either.

Wait, I keep using words like 'Market', don't I?

(look, I'm getting to one of my two points in making this, please allow me my very short rant to set my bullshit up)

I'm not saying anything new when I bring up that Magical Girls (and Idols) are intended to be money-machines - most animation made since the days of President Reagan have been made for the sake of making millions of moneys off of the kids (and kids at heart) that want to buy the toys, the merch, the dvds, the albums (if they bother with the last two), etc.etc.etc. And with more characters? That means you can make more merch, more dolls of the characters, each of their magical tools, blind bags that people can keep drawing on until they get the one actual girl they like, the works.

(But as long as people are properly passionate and have the time they need they can make good work, blah blah blah, if I get into the obvious here I will unquestionably go on a massive detour its 1am I've been thinking about and writing this for seven hours - just remember that point about passion and time for later when I attempt to wrap this around)

But with that, lets get to....

MAGICAL GIRLS AND FRIENDSHIP

So, this part is less about me explaining it, as OP explains it very well above. What I have here is just to explain the two series that founded this perception of magical girls being 'about friendship'

Sailor Moon and Futari wa Pretty Cure.

ESPECIALLY the first Sailor Moon anime.

The original manga for Sailor Moon is long, albeit not even close to the longest out there, at a solid 18 volumes (later compiled into 12).

(Its also been eons since I read the manga and even longer since I watched the anime, I've fact checked this with a friend but forgive any errors I've made)

The manga does cover female friendships, of course - compared to many magical girls before this which were written by men, this was notable as a series written by a woman, both for the friendship element as well as its much darker story on top of that.

The anime, meanwhile, has 200 episodes which granted the anime a lot of juicy filler, including opportunities to further flesh out the other scouts, their daily lives, and their friendships with each other.

It also had Kunihiko Ikuhara as its second series director.

Now, the rumor mill has it that he HATED Mamoru with a fiery passion and quit because he wanted to break up the leading pair - this is more an exaggeration, at best. He's been on record saying that, really, he's just not fussy on the 'perfect prince' archetype that he felt Mamoru embodied (and is something he would explore in his beloved Revolutionary Girl Utena) and he moreso quit after SuperS because he disliked not having the creative freedom he wanted in his projects.

Even so, I would at least make the argument that his interest in the girls over Mamoru meant he kept the focus on the friendships between its female cast in the seasons he worked on, where a lesser director and/or writer might've taken that focus away and diluted it with something less important or unrelated (COUGH COUGH COUGH)

I didn't bring it up specifically above in my explanation about solo vs team, but this series probably WAS the one that blew everyone's minds and made them realize 'hey, more magical girls... means more depth, AND more merch to sell!' (depending on the individual's inclination of course)

This is taken up to eleven by the next big magical girl franchise to take off, Futari wa Pretty Cure, by putting all that friendship power into the single friendship between two girls. With this one, we get a bland satellite love interest (and a doomed villain love interest), but both of which are still overshadowed by the bond between Honoka and Nagisa - and from which the pattern of magical girl friendship would be perfected into a science.

this is what I grew up on, you now must face it with your own two eyes and ears. Fresh was the airing season when I got into this series GET ON MY LEVEL NONCANADIAN/NONBRITISH SCRUBS

Again, I don't have to tell you how big Sailor Moon was, and how it was then followed up by Pretty Cure, Tokyo Mew Mew, Shugo Chara, Cardcaptor Sakura, and many, many others. So, of course, that's the series that defines 'magical girl' to MANY in the west.

I wanted to get into this topic because HONESTLY, AS A HIPSTER SHOWA-ERA ANIME LIKER it pisses me off to see people frame genres in these hyper-specific ways, likening them to hard rules when its better to look at these things like interconnecting threads that you'll snip pieces off and knit into a cool sweater - sure, the knots might be wobbly, the colours might be mismatched - some might think its the ugliest sweater ever made, others might love the colour clash - but its an effort of love built from one's own gathered ability and frame of reference, and it's really cool to unravel that sweater and see where it used to connect.

But that's only one point I wanted to make with this incoherent nightmare, I've still got more to say!

And that is...

ARE THERE MODERN TAKES ON OLD MAGICAL GIRL ARCHETYPES?

Obviously, of course there are - I just noted above that Pierrot's making a new magical girl series, and we'll see if they go for a classic solo girl or try to make a team.

Sugar Sugar Rune takes the classic 'girl from the magic world on a quest' archetype, where two friends must collect the hearts (or, more accurately, the emotional power) of human boys as a competition to see who becomes the new Queen, while evil lurks in the shadows threatening the world and their friendship.

Arina Tanemura is very fond the the classic magical girl as well - One of her earlier works, Full Moon o Sagashite, takes the magical idol/age-up and gives it a heavy does of tragedy, in that the girl is terminally Ill and is given this power by shinigami to find the boy she fell in love with before her time is up, and only gets more sad from there. There's also Idol Dreams, a josei manga which subverts the 'older form' magical idol girl by instead being about a woman pushing into her 30's that finds herself able to turn back into a teenager via experimental science, which as per the genre, she uses to enter the idol industry.

There's probably others I don't know as much about, but many of those would be pretty niche (or are just beyond my scope, who knows)

But there is one more series that I think does the 'sitcom-solo-magical-girl' thing, not great, but as a decent start.

Its called Miraculous Ladybug: season 1.

Okay, so I said I agree with OP, and the above essay does bring up Origins, which is a season 1 episode - I can't deny that we were seeing the cracks form as early as that. But a lot of those cracks are things we only really got a look at in hindsight.

Season 1, as it stands on its own, is a 6.5-7/10 decent start to a kid's cartoon that embodies the classic magical girl ~but with a twist~ alright.

Miraculous Ladybug, as stated in the opening, is about an ordinary girl named Marinette. She has a crush on young model Adrien Agreste, but has to hide the fact that she's his own biggest crush, the superhero Ladybug. The twist is - Adrien himself is also her sidekick, Cat Noir, who also must hide his identity from her, his father, end everyone else in his life. Hijinks, of course, ensue.

Its a neat little gimmick, turning the often normal/satellite love interest into arguably a more in-line typical magical girl than even its actual female lead, giving us two parallel protagonists that also serve as love interests to each other. It also has a diverse and fun, but one-note cast of characters that serve as decent satellite civilian friends for the cast, as well as fodder for the villain to use his abilities on.

If Ladybug had stayed a single season show, it might've been seen as a rocky but decent start to a possible franchise, with wasted potential in having not continued so that it could blossom into something great from its starting point, albeit perhaps with the less-considered risk of getting stale with its romcom setup.

But that's not what happened.

DESPITE EVERYTHING, LADYBUG IS A GODDAMN CONFUSED MESS

Like, what else do you need me to say that OP or dozens of other ML fans and critics haven't said? This show started what could've been a fun, modernized, general audiences take on the classic magical girl + superhero ~with a twist~ but bloats itself trying to line itself up to be more like other modern magical girl shows without considering its setup, gives its female protagonist self-reflection/lessons that range from weak to even sometimes terrible, putting what should've been civilian characters further ahead while sidelining one of its protagonists to the point that he doesn't get involved the THE FINAL BATTLE THAT REVOLVES AROUND HIS OWN BACKSTORY, failing to actually address this issue while acting like it was building to something meaningful about it all along (season 4), pretending to have character arcs for characters before taking it back and making them worse (Chloe) and thoughtlessly destroying the logic of its story so hard for the sake of drama that it turned its entire cast into Ron the Death Eaters in the countless fanfics and essays written of it.

But again - it doesn't work not because 'magical girls and romcoms don't mix' its because of the writers, who appear to be writing each season in EXTREMELY not enough time actually needed to smooth out the kinks. They are over-eagerly putting in all this glut because 'that's what a magical girl series should do' or 'this could be super hype!' to which companies looking to make more merch aren't going to complain about (yeah sure have 19 possible minimum heroes/villains think of all the toys and merch! environmental variants! fusions! power swaps! so many possibilities! The hype will keep them in!)

This comes at the cost of actual cohesion, and thus multiple threads that are just kind of being jumbled up into a ball that vaguely has the shape of a sweater.

Hbomberguy, when talking about RWBY, said that it 'threatens to be good' which is something I'd say aptly fits Miraculous Ladybug as well - there's a lot of good, or at least fun, ideas, but its so bogged down by that perceived 'idea of what magical girls should be' or 'what a good romcom should be' and hell, that whole 'each episode will have a bomb on par with Chat Blanc' bull that it just leaves something that becomes more fun when placed into the hands of fans that care about doing something fun with these characters, or this world.

I do think, now that the Gabriel arc is over and they're pushing the whole 'everyone is a permament hero!' thing, that the series DOES have the opportunity to swap to the ensemble cast idea presented at the end of OP's essay - Adrien and Marinette are together, leaving only their identities being revealed (and maybe, doing something with the fact that Marinette is now constantly lying to Adrien about his dad) on the table, so it might be neat to use this to further expand on their relations to the rest of the cast... not that I could see them feasibly doing something to that scale, with 18 heroes to work with, but its a lofty thought.

I have like a lot more to add but holy christ its now 3 am (at the time I finished this) and I should sleep

Pick One: Magical Girl Show or Rom-com. You cannot be both.

Early in season four we get the episode Gang of Secrets. An episode that ends with Marinette outing her secret identity to Alya. A touching moment that sparked outrage across the fandom because it meant that Marinette had made the choice to reveal her identity to her best friend while keeping her hero partner in the dark.

This choice spat in the face of the exceptions that many fans had for the series. Thousands of pre-season-four fanfics feature moments where Ladybug and Chat Noir promise each other that they'll be the first to know each other's identities. After the Alya reveal, scores of fanfics were written to salt on Marinette's choice to tell the "wrong" person.

Most of these fics feature a betrayed Chat Noir quitting or otherwise punishing Ladybug for breaking their promise to be each other's first, thereby destroying his faith in their partnership. But that promise was never made on screen. It only existed in the realms of fanfic and, when Chat Noir finally found out in canon, his reaction was largely neutral. He never once blamed Ladybug for her choice or pushed for a reveal or even asked for the right to tell one of his friends.

So what happened here? Why did the fans have such wildly unrealistic expectations of canon? Were their expectations even unrealistic or did canon betray them? The answer to that is not as straight forward as you might think because it all comes back to one of Miraculous' many, many, many writing problems: Miraculous is trying to be both a Magical Girl Show and a romantic comedy, but those are not genres that mesh. You can only be one (or you can be a third thing that we'll get to at the end as it's the easiest way to fix this mess, but I want to mostly focus on where the anger is coming from and why the writing is to blame.)

To discuss this mismatch, we're going to do something that breaks my heart and talk about some of Origins flaws. While I love that episode and unironically refer to it as the best writing the show ever gave us, it's not perfect and its flaws are all focused around trying to set up both genres. Do note that I'm going to use a lot of gender binary language here as magical girl shows have a strong focus on gender segregation and rarely if ever acknowledge gender diversity.

Let's Talk Magical Girls

Magical girl shows are shows that center on young women and their friendships. While male love interests are often present in these shows, the boys tend to take a backseat and function primarily as arm candy while the girls save the day and carry the narrative.

A great example of this is the show Winx Club. This show features a large cast of teenage girls who save the magical universe from various threats with their magical powers. Each girl has a love interest, but the boys are usually off doing their own thing and only occasionally show up for a date or to give the girls a ride on their cool bikes or magical spaceship. I don't even think that we see the guys fight or, if we do, it's a rare thing. They are not there to save the day. They are there to be shipping fodder.

Like most magical girl shows, Winx Club starts with the main character making friends with one of the girls who will eventually become part of her magical girl squad. This brings us back to Miraculous.

Did you ever find it weird that Origins implies that Marinette has no friends? She doesn't even have a backbone until new girl Alya shows up to become Marinette's First Real Friend:

Marinette: I so wish I can handle Chloé the way you do. Alya: You mean the way Majestia does it. She says all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing. (pointing at Chloé) Well, that girl over there is evil, and we are the good people. We can't let her get away with it.

This is a bizarre opening because Miraculous is not about Marinette making friends or learning to stand up for herself. If you skipped Origins and just watched the rest of the show, then you'd have no clue that Marinette wasn't close with her classmates before this year. You also wouldn't know that Alya was new in town and you definitely wouldn't know that Marinette had never stood up to Chloé before this year. So why is this here? Why waste screen time setting up elements that aren't actually important to canon?

Miraculous did it for the same reason that Winx Club did it: magical girl shows traditionally start with the main character making friends with at least one of her eventual female teammates because Magical Girl shows are all about the girls and their relationships. The boys are just arm candy.

But Miraculous isn't a magical girl show. The writers have explicitly stated that it's a rom-com and romantic comedies aren't about female friendship. They might have female friendships in them, but that's not where the focus is. The focus of a rom-com is on the romance and Origins is very clearly all about the romance.

Origins as a Rom-com

Origins has a lot on its plate. It has to establish the villain's motivation for the first time, show us how the heroes got their miraculous, show us how the heroes first met on both sides of the mask, show us how they met their respective best friends, and show us how the heroes dealt with their first akuma. It would be perfectly understandable if this 40 minute two-parter didn't do anything with the romance. They have a full show to give us that!

In spite of this, Origins has some incredibly touching moments for both Ladynoir and Adrienette because romance is the heart of Miraculous. It is the main focus of the show. The driving motivation for both of our leads and the majority of the show's episodes. To tell the story of how their journey started without at least one of them falling in love would feel wrong. That's why we see both of them fall in love!

First we get Chat Noir giving his heart to his bold and brilliant lady, then we get Marinette's heart being stolen by the shy sweet boy who never once thought to blame her for her snap judgement of his character. We even get a touching moment where Chat Noir inspires his lady to accept her role and be Ladybug, leading her to boldly face their enemy and call him out:

Roger: I have a new plan, unlike you! Move aside and let the pros do their thing. You've already failed once! Ladybug: …He's right, you know. If I'd captured Stoneheart's akuma the first time around, none of this would have happened! I knew I wasn't the right one for this job… Cat Noir: No. He's wrong, because without you, she'd no longer be here. (they look at Chloe) And because without us, they won't make it, and we'll prove that to 'em. Trust me on this. Okay? Ladybug: Okay.

I love this moment, but it does lose a little of its power when you remember that we had an Alya-driven variation of this exact same thing five minutes prior:

Alya: HELP!! (Marinette suddenly gets filled with courage. She gets the case out of Alya's bag and puts on the Miraculous. Then, Tikki appears, happy to see Marinette again.) Tikki:(raising her arms) Mmmm! Marinette: I think I need Ladybug! Tikki: I knew you'd come around! Marinette: Well, I'm still not sure I'm up for this, but Alya's in danger. I can't sit back and do nothing.

This scene initially confused me because - if Miraculous is a rom-com - then why would you make Alya the reason that Marinette became Ladybug? Why wouldn't you have Chat Noir be the one in danger so that Marinette chose to fight because of her love interest and then encourage that bond with the later scene of him encouraging her? Why split the focus like this? Why give Alya so much attention?

In case you haven't figured it out, it's because Origins is trying to establish two different genres of show. Two genres that will continue to fight for the rest of the series (or at least the first five seasons).

Magical Girls Vs Rom-com

Why is Alya the one to shake off the nightmare dust and inspire the others during the season five finale? Why is Alya the one that Marinette trusts with all of her plans while Chat Noir is kept in the dark? Why does Alya and Marinette's friendship get so much more focus than Adrien and Nino's? Why was Alya the only temp hero who got upgraded to full time hero?

It's because Alya is Marinette's second in command in a magical girl show and magical girl shows focus on female friendships while the boys are just there to be cute and support the girls.

Why do most of Marinette's talks with Alya focus on Adrien? Why is Chat Noir the only other full time holder of a Miraculous for the first three seasons and then again for the final season? Why do Marinette's friends become more and more obsessed with Adrienentte as the show goes on? Why is the love square's identity reveal given so much more narrative weight than any other identity reveal?

It's because Miraculous is a rom-com and the love square is our end game couple, so of course the story focuses on their relationship above all else!

Are you starting to see the problem?

Circling back to our original question: no, it was not unreasonable for the fans to expect that the Alya reveal would have massive negative consequences for Ladynoir. That is what should happen in a rom-com and Miraculous is mainly written like a rom-com. But the writers are also trying to write a magical girl show and, in a magical girl show, Alya and Marinette's friendship should be the most important relationship in the show, so it makes perfect sense that the show treats the Alya reveal as perfectly fine because the Alya reveal was written from the magical girl show perspective.

When it comes to Miraculous, if you ever feel like a writing choice makes no sense for genre A, re-frame it as a thing from genre B and it suddenly makes perfect sense which is fascinatingly terrible writing! It's no wonder there are people who hate the Alya reveal and people who will defend it with their life. It all depends on which genre elements you've picked up on and clung to. Neither side is right, they've both been set up to have perfectly valid expectations. Whether those expectations are valid for a given episode is entirely up to the mercurial whims of the writers!

How Do We Fix This Mess

At this point, I don't think that we can, the show is too far gone, but if someone gave me the power to change one element of Miraculous, that element would be this: scrap both the magical girl stuff and the rom-com stuff and turn Miraculous into a team show where the friendships transcend gender.

At this point, I've written over a quarter of a million words of fanfic focused on these characters (the brain rot is real) and one thing I've discovered is that it is damn near impossible to keep Adrien and Alya from becoming friends. They're both new to their school while Marinette and Nino have gone to the same school for at least a few years. Alya and Adrien are both obsessed with Ladybug plus Adrien is a natural hype man who loves to support his friends and Alya loves to talk about her blog. Alya is dating Adrien's best friend. On top of that, Alya, Adrien, Nino, and Marinette are all in the same class, meaning that they pretty much have to be spending time together five days a week unless French school don't give kids a chance to socialize or do group projects. If so, then judging them for the first issue, but super jealous of the latter.

Given all of that, why in the world is does it feel like Alya is Marinette's close friend while Adrien is just some guy who goes to Alya's school? Along similar lines, while canon Marinette barely talks to Nino, I've found that Marinette and Nino tend to get along smashingly, especially if you embrace the fact that they have to have known each other for at least a few years.

If you embrace this wider friendship dynamic and scrap the girl squad, replacing it with Alya, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino, then the fight for narrative importance quickly goes away. It's no longer a question of is this episode trying to be a magical girl show or a rom-com? Instead, the question is: which element of the friend group is getting focused on today? The romance or the friendship?

A lot of hero shows do this and do it well. I think that one of the most well known examples is Teen Titans. That show has five main characters and the focus is usually on their friendships, but there is a very clear running romantic tension between the characters Robin and Starfire with several episodes giving a good deal of focus to their romance. I'd say that this element really starts in the show's the 19th episode - Date with Destiny - and it all culminates in the movie that capstones the series: Trouble in Tokyo. The character Beast Boy also gets a romance arc and, while it's more short lived, it's further evidence that you can have strong romances and strong friendships in the same show and even the same episode. You just have to own the fact that boys and girls can be friends with each other, a very logical thing to embrace when your show has decided to have a diverse cast of heroes instead of imposing arbitrary gender limitations on its magical powers.

I couldn't figure out a way to work this into the main essay, but it's relevant so I wanted to quickly point it out and give you more to think about re Origins. Have you ever found it weird how Origins gives both Adrien AND Marinette the "I've never had friends before" backstory and yet wider canon acts like Marinette has this strong amazing friend group while Adrien doesn't seem to care about making friends and instead focuses all his energy on romance? Why give both the protagonist and the supposed deuteragonist this kind of origin if it's not going to be a major element of the show? It makes so much more sense to only give one of them this backstory and then focus that person's character arc on learning about friendship.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Stunning 1974 Victorian in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania would also make the classiest Gothic Vampire, Goddess, or Goth Girl/Guy lair. It has 4bds, 4.5ba, and is listed for $2.7M.

The central hall entrance.

There's a very nice sitting room with a beautiful ceiling. Can you picture how you would decorate this room?

Check out the amazing gilded gold in the library.

The dining room is nice. It has a fireplace and sconces. I would expect them to leave the chandie.

Nice kitchen. The cabinetry looks high end.

Beautiful room with the original fireplace, but it's too modernized. Now it doesn't look like we're in a Victorian anymore.

Look at the original closet in the upstairs hall.

This is way too modern.

They did the baths modern, too. Note the mural on the walls.

I like the way the night tables are attached, but I would not put modern rustic furniture in an historic Victorian.

This room is a better design. More authentic looking, yet modern.

They have a nice rec room that opens to the garden, but it looks so new.

Stone patio and paths separated by hedges and lawn.

The pool is pretty far from the house, and you have to go down stairs.

Mansard roof with cute awnings.

And, the perfect gothic gate.

[whistlingstarlight]

StEx in real life Part 1: Engines

These are mostly headcanon, as there are either too many inconsistencies or not enough information to properly assign every character an irl basis, but I thought it would be fun to do. Explanations are provided for each.

Rusty: CNJ 2-6-2T

Rusty was very hard to pick an irl counterpart for, as if he is based on a particular engine it's hard to tell as his helmet is misshapen to accommodate the actor's visibility. I feel like Rusty is more likely a tank steamer than a tender, and the helmet looks more like it has side tanks than any other shape. This 2-6-2 has a cowcatcher, a lamp on top of the smokebox, and even the same style of cab window as Rusty. So I'm satisfied to choose this as my irl counterpart for him.

Greaseball: EMD E9 A-unit

This isn't really headcanon as Greaseball's helmet looks incredibly close to an E9, and they're very iconic and memorable Union Pacific's rolling stock.

Electra: SNCF CC40101

This one is just literally fact. Electra is surprisingly the most specific character when it comes to their basis, as he has it printed on his helmet. It's an outdated choice for the "engine of the future", but he certainly looks retro-futuristic.

Poppa/Momma: Kansas Central 2-6-0

This one is very contradictory to what little info we have on the Old Steamer's class, but I decided to go with it. Poppa wears the Kansas Central logo on his hat, and given their similar designs I choose to believe Momma is from the same company. In Broadway Poppa is called "the Big Boy", but to my knowledge no UP Big Boys ever worked for KCS, and as the KCS logo lasted longer than the Big Boy line I prefer to use that. I love the idea of Poppa and Momma being old-fashioned American steamers, and this was the only KCS I could find.

Greaseball's gang

These ones are honestly just pure headcanon and very self-indulgent based on some of my favourite diesels. Felt weird leaving them out but trust me, there's nothing in canon to justify these.

Tank: KM ML 4000

Lube: BR Class 122

Gear: BR Class 08

[abumuhamd]

ارقام طبية مهمة في حياة كل شخص

1. ضغط الدم : 120 / 80

2. النبض : 70 - 100

3. درجة الحرارة : 36.8 - 37

4. التنفس : 12 - 24

5. الهيموجلوبين : ذكور ( 13.50 - 18 )

إناث ( 11.50 - 16 )

6. الكوليسترول : 130 - 200

7. البوتاسيوم : 3.50 - 5

8. الصوديوم : 135 - 145

9. الدهون الثلاثية : 220

10. كمية الدم بالجسم : 5 - 6 لتر

11. السكر : للأطفال ( 70 - 130 )

للبالغين : 70 - 115

12. الحديد : 8 - 15 ملغم

13. كريات الدم البيضاء : 4000 - 11000

14. الصفائح الدموية : 150000 - 400000

15. كريات الدم الحمراء : 4.50 - 6 مليون ..

16. الكالسيوم : 8.6 - 10.3 mg / dL

17. فيتامين د٣ D3 : ٢٠ - ٥٠ ng / ml ( نانو جرام لكل ملي لتر )

18. فيتامين B12 :

200 - 900 بيكو غرام / مل

نصائح لمن وصلوا عمر -

ال *40*

ال *50*

ال *60*

ومافوق

متعكم الله بالطاعة والصحة والعافية

{ النصيحه الاولى }

عليك بالحجامة كل سنة حتى وإن لم تشعر بالمرض أو بأي علة

{ النصيحة الثانية }

اشرب الماء دائماً حتى وإن لم تشعر بالعطش أو الاحتياج له فأكبر المشاكل الصحية وأغلبها من نقص الماء في الجسم

{ النصيحة الثالثة }

العب الرياضة حتى وأنت في قمة انشغالك فلا بد من تحريك الجسم ولو بالمشي فقط أو السباحة أو أي نوع من الرياضات

{ النصيحة الرابعة }

قلِّل الطعام ( بحسب ابن آدم لقيمات يقمن صلبه - حديث نبوي )

واترك شهوة الطعام المفرطة لأنها لاتأتي بخير أبداً ولاتحرم نفسك ولكن قلِّل الكميات

{ النصيحة الخامسة }

قدر الإمكان لاتستخدم السيارة إلا للضرورة القصوى وحاول الوصول على قدميك لما تريد الي المسجد البقالة وزيارة أحداً أو أي هدف

{ النصيحة السادسة }

اترك الغضب

اترك الغضب

اترك الغضب

واترك القلق وحاول أن تتغاضى عن الأمور ولاتقحم نفسك في مواقف الإزعاج كلها تنقص الصحة وتُذهِب بَهاء النفس واختر مجالسة من ترتاح له

{ النصيحة السابعة }

كما يقال اترك مالك في الشمس واجلس في الظل لاتقصِّر على نفسك وعلى من حولك فالمال جُعِلَ لنحيا به لا لنحيا من أجله

{ النصيحة الثامنة }

لاتذهَب نفسُكَ حسرات على أحد ولا على شيء لم تستطع تحقيق�� ولا على شيء لم تستطع امتلاكه وتجاهل ذلك بل انسه فلو كان مقدراً لك لوصلك في سريرك ومادام ليس لك فقد منعه الله عنك ومامنعه عنك إلا لسوء كان سيجلبه عليك وأنت وأنا نعلم هذا لكن النفوس تنسى ونحتاج لمثل هذه الذكرى لننتفع بها

{ النصيحة التاسعة }

تواضع ثم تواضع فالمال والجاه والقوة والنفوذ كلها أمور تَفسُد بالكِبرِ والغرور والتواضع هو مايقرِّب الناس إليكَ حُباً ويرفعُ بهِ اللهُ قَدرَك

{ النصيحة العاشرة }

إن تَلَوَّنَ شعرُ رأسِكَ بالشَّيب فهذا لا يعني نهاية العمر بل هو دليل على أن الحياة الأفضل قد بدأت فتفاءل وعش بالذِّكر وسافر ومتِّع نفسك بالحلال ونصيحة أخرى لاتسهر ونم باكراً

{ النصيحة الأخيرة والأهم }

لاتترك صلاتك أبدا فهي ورقتك الرابحة في الدنيا و يوم لاينفع مال ولا بنون

إن أعجبك هذا فكن سبباً في الخير وتفضل بنشره وإن لم يرق لك فلا تحرم منه من قد تكون أنت سبباً في انتفاعه به

ودمتم بخير وصحة وسلامة

[turnthepagevn]

How many rounds would Robin need to complete fill up the mc's stomach. Let's keep queenlilithprime volume of 50 ml and let's say that the most tentacles that Robin will ever use to fill the mc at one time is 8 (I'm going off the number of tentacles in octopus as Lovecraft monsters are sea based). In one round, he would ejaculated 400 ml into the mc. The human stomach can hold about 2000 to 4000 ml. Therefore, he would need at least 5 rounds to fill the mc with the least amount of cum and 10 rounds to stretch their stomach to their most natural limit. Let also say that Robin is really good at not cumming immediately and each round can last an hour. The mc would need to endure 5 to 10 hours of fucking for Robin to achieve this goal.

-math anon

holy fuck math anon my beloved...

Anyway yeah, Robin is more than down for that.

[otherwise-elsewhere]

If you aren't sending me Krauss-Maffei ML 4000 pics then what are you sending me...

[ptseti]

MEDICAL NUMBERS IN THE LIFE OF EVERY HUMAN BEING*

Blood pressure: 120 / 80

Pulse: 70 - 100

Temperature: 36.8 - 37

Respiration: 12-16

Hemoglobin: Males (13.50-18) Females ( 11.50 - 16 )

Cholesterol: 130 - 200

Potassium: 3.50 - 5

Sodium: 135 - 145

Triglycerides: 220

The amount of blood in the body: Pcv 30-40%

Sugar: for Children (70-130) Adults: 70 - 115

Iron: 8-15 mg

White blood cells: 4000 - 11000

Platelets: 150,000 - 400,000

Red blood cells: 4.50 - 6 million..

Calcium: 8.6 - 10.3 mg/dL

Vitamin D3: 20 - 50 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter)

Vitamin B12: 200 - 900 pg/ml Tips for those who have reached Over: the 40years the 50 the 60 First tip: Always drink water even if you don't feel thirsty or need it… the biggest health problems and most of them are from the lack of water in the body. 2 litres Minimum per day (24 hours)

Second tip: Play sports even when you are at the top of your preoccupation…the body must be moved, even if only by walking…or swimming…or any kind of sports. 🚶 Walking is Good for a Start… 👌

Third Tip: Reduce food…

Leave excessive food cravings… because it never brings good. Don't deprive yourself, but reduce the quantities. Use more Of Protein, Carbohydrates based Foods.

Fourth tip As much as possible, do not use the Car unless absolutely necessary… Try to reach on your Feet for what you want ( grocery, visiting someone…) or any goal. Climb Stairs, than use Elevator, Escalator

Fifth tip let go of ANGER… let go of Anger… let go of anger… Let go of Worry…. try to overlook things…

Do not involve yourself in situations of Disturbance… they all diminish health and take away the splendor of the soul. Choose a babysitter you feel comfortable with. Talk to People who are Positive and Listen 👂

Sixth tip As it is said..leave your Money in the Sun.. and sit in the Shade.. don't limit yourself and those around you… money was made to live By it, not to live For it.

Seventh tip Don't make yourself feel Sorry for anyone, nor on something you could not Achieve, Nor anything that you could not Own. Ignore it, Forget it;

Eighth tip Humility.. then humility.. for Money, Prestige, Power and Influence… they are all things that are corrupted by Arrogance and arrogance.. Humility is what brings people Closer to you with Love. ☺

Ninth tip If your hair turns Grey, this does not mean the End of Life. It is proof that a Better life has Begun. 🙋 Be Optimistic, live with Remembrance, Travel, Enjoy yourself. Make Memories!

It may help someone when you share it

HEALTH HINTS FOR MY ELDERS

However busy you are, observe all these to remain healthy: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Drink less milk in your tea. Instead, add lemon or lime juice.In the day time, drink more water; but night time, drink less.

In the day don't drink more than 2 cups of coffee, Advisable To Stop Completely too.Eat less oily foods.

Best sleeping times are between 10pm to 6am.In the evening, eat little or nothing after 5 or 6pm. ~~~~~ Don't take medicines with cold water but with warm, and take your medicines half an hour before going to bed. Never take medicines and lie down immediately.

As you aged further , stop drinking chilled water but drink only water at room temperature Try to sleep for at least 8 hours per day.

Having a nap for an hour and a half between noon and 3pm, to relieve stress and keep younger and not age easily.Once your mobile phone battery is left with only one bar, don't make calls anymore, because the dangerous radiation and waves are one many times higher than a fully charged battery.

Use your left ear to answer calls, right ear will directly hurt your brain. 😳 Better still to use earphones to answer calls.Two things to check as often as you can: (1) Your blood pressure (2) Your blood sugar.

Six things to reduce to the minimum on your foods: (1) Salt (2) Sugar (3) Preserved meat and foods (4) Red meat especially roasted (5) Dairy products (6) Starchy productsFour things to increase in your foods: (1) Greens/vegetables (2) Beans (3) Fruits (4) Nuts

Three things you need to forget: (1) Your age 😮 (2) Your past 🤔 (3) Your worries/grievances 👍🏽Four things you must have, no matter how weak or how strong you are: (1) Friends who truly love you (2) Caring family (3) Positive thoughts (4) A warm home.

Seven things you need to do to stay healthy: (1) Singing (2) Dancing (3) Fasting (4) Smiling/laughing (5) Trek/exercise (6) Have sex often with your love (7) Reduce your weight. Six things you don't have to do: (1) Don't wait till you are hungry to eat (2) Don't wait till you are thirsty to drink (3) Don't wait till you are sleepy to sleep (4) Don't wait till you feel tired to rest (5) Don't wait till you get sick to go for medical check-ups otherwise you will only regret later in life (6) Don’t wait till you have problem before you pray to your God.

One thing you must do after reading these health tips:

(1) Forward this to your loved ones and friends, and as you do so, may God bless U.

While go about your normal business please let's remember to always check our body to know how fit you are. Health is wealth.

MEDICAL FITNES HIGH BP ----------

120/80 -- Normal 130/85 --Normal (Control) 140/90 -- High

150/95 -- V.High

PULSE --------

72 per minute (standard) 60 --- 80 p.m. (Normal)

40 -- 180 p.m.(abnormal)

TEMPERATURE -----------------

98.4 F (Normal) 99.0 F Above (Fever)

Please help your Relatives, Friends by sharing this information….

Heart Attacks- Drinking Warm Water:

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about Heart Attack's. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating. For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is very Harmful to have Cold Drink/Water during a meal. Because, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

French fries and Burgers are the biggest enemy of heart health. A coke after that gives more power to this demon. Avoid them for your Heart's & Health.

Drink one glass of warm water just when you are about to go to bed to avoid clotting of the blood at night to avoid heart attacks or strokes.

A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this message sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life. …

Good Morning!!

[fearlessinger]

Hello, grieving Adrien stan here.

Do i need to read all the pjo and heroes novels to fully “get” trials of Apollo books? I was never that interested in greco-roman myth or those series as a kid when they were super popular. also I haven’t read a proper book in an embarrassingly long time. Nevertheless I’d like to give a chance if they’re as great as you say.

unrelated,a while back I had half a mind to watch smallville do you know if its worth it?

hey Anon, first of all, my condolences. I’ve been there too.

Second: no you absolutely do not have to read any of the previous novels to understand/appreciate TOA! I am a big proponent of the “TOA first” reading approach in fact (tho obviously you won't have to go back and read the rest of the saga afterwards either), and I’ve already written a little primer for fellow readers who may want to start directly from TOA like I did, based on my own reading experience and the knowledge gaps that I found myself having. I will add, given what’s your reason for wanting to check this out, a few caveats:

this story is not a romance. It's about abuse, emancipation and self actualization. It’s also simultaneously a redemption story because

this Adrien is older (like 4000+ years older lol) and both his personal history and the amount of character development he underwent before the story even starts reflect this. He’s had time to grow up, fuck up very badly in ways that his upbringing explains but does not excuse, and this story is also the story of him coming to terms with and figuring out what he can do about that.

He’s also an incredibly unreliable narrator, and not in the ways you’re led to expect (if you’re familiar with the Adrien The Liar meta know that it’s as much - at this point probably more lbr - about Apollo than it is about Adrien, except for Apollo you gotta multiply it for like 10000). Which means you may have a hard time recognizing him for a while (I think when it really clicked for me was between book 3 and 4). Or maybe not, bc apparently some people clocked the similarities since the very beginning

it’s all so cringe. You’re a fellow ML (ex) fan so I'm sure you can appreciate some quality cringe but I feel compelled to give a warning anyway. I love it, and I don’t think a story like this about a character like this could have been told any other way because (among other reasons that I won’t say bc I’m already spoiling enough) nobody who cares as much and earnestly as Apollo does could ever be Cool ™. But yeah. The narrative style either works for you or it doesn’t bc it’s 100% not a bug but a feature.

Last but not least, if you think it might be easier for you to digest a whole book series in audio format, I’ve been told by multiple people that the TOA audiobooks are really well done.

-

As for Smallville… well, the show as a whole is definitely… an acquired taste 😅 It’s so dumb in so many ways, and not self aware enough to make up for it. I have an incredible fondness for SV, and for its version of Clark & Lois especially; I’d dare say it is still my favorite modern interpretation of their dynamic on screen to date, but it took the show a while to get to the point where their relationship took center stage (S8-9-10, basically. This is after all technically a superman origin story) and it was a very bumpy ride. The show has some truly terrible writing mixed in with the brilliance lol. But yeah go for it if you feel in the mood! Fyi Lois Lane only gets introduced in season 4 which is also one of the show’s best, most enjoyable & silly seasons imho so if you’re on the fence you could try beginning from there (I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure out what’s going from context clues).

[bafflinghaze]

不要物种歧视, 作者：月下蝶影

Don’t Discriminate Against Species by Yue Xia Die Ying (Butterfly's Shadow Beneath the Moon)

Fu Li was a yaoguai from the countryside who had never seen the world. After entering the city, his biggest dream was to become a civil servant and leave his name in historical records.

However… He didn’t have a university degree. Not even a high school graduation certificate.

So, even a yaoguai would not be able to find a good job if they didn’t study well.

Raws: http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3279919

Translation: https://www.novelupdates.com/series/dont-discriminate-against-species/

MC: Fu Li | ML: Zhuang Qing

Setting: Xuanhuan/Modern China with supernatural and cultivator elements

The summary is a bit misleading in the scope and depth of this novel. It has some vibes that are a bit similar to New Times, New Hell (which I also recommend!). In the modern world, yaoguai (primarily animals who cultivated intelligence) and human cultivators and normal humans live in relative harmony, with the cultivator’s management bureau overseeing things.

Through the MC Fu Li, we slowly get introduced to the new order of things under the management bureau plus the history of a past thousand years also slowly get revealed, along with various plots and the changing wills of the Heavens.

The MC Fu Li is powerful!!!!!! He’s sweet and innocent and powerful and because of this, the story has a strong light-hearted, fluffy, relaxing flow. The ML Zhuang Qing protects him sometimes, but it’s also often the other way around and I really like that. The two of them are really sweet together, with the ML being the typical cold ML who softens when his love appears XD

A common recurrence in the novel is country bumpkin yaoguai getting introduced to the modern bureaucracy, harmony between cultivators and yaoguai who used to fight, and the deep sighs from old yaoguai (+4000 years) about the state of modern cultivators and yaoguai LOL.

 Recommend!

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Unusual 1915 home in New Orleans, Louisiana that was once multiple units and turned into a single family residence. 3bds, 3ba, $749,600.

Enter a lovely large living room with a fireplace flanked by 4 stairs. So, this is a very sunken living room.

In the corner, in front of the window is a bar.

On the other side of the room is double built-in shelving in a corner.

And, look what's behind the door.

Ascending the stairs to the dining room, you can see that a new fireplace was built around the original chimney. Note the fixtures above the table are make of green bottles.

The kitchen is close to the dining table and doors open to the yard.

This kitchen cabinetry is a nice blue and it has fun tile backsplash.

There's a guest powder room.

The primary bedroom isn't terribly large, but it's an adequate size and has access to the patio.

And, it also has its own en-suite.

This smaller room has wainscoting and shiplap to give it interest and the tall headboard draws the eye up.

It looks like a powder room was turned into a shower room.

The 3rd bedroom fits a smaller bed nicely.

This is look a den/guest room and has doors to the terrace.

The 2nd bath is very nice.

Behind the home is a nice patio and pool.

[whatdoesshedotothem]

x Monday 24 December 1832

8 10

10 50

very fine morning ground whitish with frost F48 ½° at 8 10 am incurred a cross just before getting up thinking of Miss W- exactly as if she had been my regular mistress   respect for her is quite gone in those matters at least   what can I think of her better? mused first time on sending her anonymously from Bradford or London Ovid’s Art of Love Mr Jeremiah Rawson came at 9 5 kept him waiting 10 minutes and went down at 9 ¼ and had him ¼ hour or 20 minutes - had the coal plan - he thought they could not get 10 acres - I made sure of it, for Hinscliffe could get about 3 acres all which JR- agreed to take (not to pay for what may have been stole and got before) and seemed persuaded of getting 7 acres more - not to go lower the Wakefield read upper wall - I said 10 acres should be stated in the agreement but that if they really could not get so much with the present loose, I would not, of course, insist upon their paying for so much - it was not my intention to take any unfair advantage of  anyone - he said I might now send down into their works whenever I liked - still maintained the coal would cost them getting 6d. a corve and there would only be 4 corves per square yard - said the collier ought to have as much as the landlord i.e. Messrs. R- and I ought to divide equally the profit - all the terms before proposed agreed to, I conclude, as no objection which made [to]

 SH:7/ML/E/15/0169

 thus has ended this tiresome business tho’ I shall not feel myself secure from pother till all is signed and sealed Mr R- said Holt had the coal was not worth more than £160 per acre - ‘did you hear him say so?’ ‘no!’ ‘then I don’t believe he said any such thing’  Mr R- said he was never beaten but by ladies and I had beaten him   said gravely I it is the intellectual part of us that makes a bargain and that has no sex or ought to have none – Washington was waiting for me – Gave me his own bill, and all the bills for the mystal at Southholm and other work done yet unpaid for, at Dumb mill etc – told him to come the day after the rent day, and I would pay him the balance of £52.12.6 – spoke to him of the stewardship concern – limiting it to the landed property, saying I meant Mr. Parker to have the personalty matters – told W- to think about it, and consider what percentage he would require – breakfast with my aunt at 10 40 in ¾ hour – wrote all but the 1st 3 ½ lines of today till 11 50 – off to H- at 12 ¼ - Washington gave me check on the bank – ‘Leeds and Whitehall turnpike Road no. ------- H-x 8th December 1832. Messrs. J.W. and C. Rawson and co. Bankers H-x Pay Miss Lister or bearer five pounds 2/. for one hundred and two yards of stone – which place to account of John Waterhouse Emmanuel Emmet, and Thomas Teale. John Waterhouse  £5.2.....’ - - down the o.b. to Mr. Parkers’ to send him the trust deed to look at respecting Mr. Firths’ money – should be glad to throw the money into chancery – asked if I could have (supposing I did this and bought Godley) £4000 at 4p.c. on bond – wanted 4 ¼ p.c. – no! – well then on my bond, could get me the money – had it to dispose of for Mr. John Daniel Dyson. then mentioned my intention of making him my agent for the personalties and Northgate rent to the amount of 6 or 7 hundred a year – making him at the same time a handsome speech – asked him the percentage – thought he on my uncles’ death in naming the subject said 1 ½ p.c. did not remember but thought he had – yet what I mentioned would be no trouble – he would do it on my own terms – behaved very handsomely – said I should merely give Washington (as I had told him (W-) the rents of the farms to receive and pew-rents – Mr. P- would take the coal concern, and settle with Holt – and tho’ did not say so, mean him to pay my aunt – Mr. P- said in respect to the Godley road meeting that as to Mr. Waterhouse whom we had expected to do all for us, were better without him - Stocks and Emmet and 1 or 2 others of that set made no difficulty in giving me the order about plating the East side of the embankment, and would make no difficulty about anything else, only did not like building me a boundary wall – they had not done it for Emmett but I might make all the ground in as soon as I liked – mentioned the 360 yards of scale and 140 good grass land I was to pay £10 for – P- said they had forgotten all that – I might take it in, and do as I liked – said I would write a note to Stocks to say that I understood from P- and that I meant to wall of the ground immediately – then went to the bank – the navigation dividend not paid – perhaps would be next Saturday – gave in to be placed to my account the check (vid. line 11) to be placed to my account, and get order on a sheet of letter paper, as before, for £12.10, payable on demand on Carr Glyn, and co. and wrote a few lines saying I would not inconvenience Miss Bolland by keeping her waiting for her money, but begged she would send me her mothers’ address as soon, as she could – wafered and left my letter at the bank (to be sent by them) to ‘Miss Bolland at ‘Mr. Grahams’, Surgeon, 17 high street Stockport Cheshire’ Mr. Rawson just came in before I had finished my letter – looked grave or crossed – a mere civil how-do-you-do on both sides – not a word about coals – called at the Saltmarshes’ – Mrs. S- very poorly but particularly engaged with Miss Somebody – hoped to have the pleasure of seeing her some other time – then about 1 ½ went to call on Mr. and Mrs. Holmes to thank them for their very civil message by my sister about Godley – he was out shooting but she at home – apparently very much pleased at my visit and kept me talking and seeing her house near an hour – thanked her for their civility about Godley and congratulated her on being so comfortably fixed and making so many improvements – laying out 3 or 4 hundred pounds – the white marble chimney piece Mrs. Walker brought from Italy cost £60 there – in very chaste and neat style – Mrs. H- looked perfectly astonished when I told her, in confidence, Carr had asked me £3586 for Godley – sure Mr. Holmes would do anything he could for me about it – he would not like me to give more than £2000 for it – he and Mitchell very good friends – would manage the thing together – then went to Wellhead for an hour (till 4) – tête-à-tête with Mrs. Waterhouse after the 1st few minutes that Mrs. Musgrave and her sister were there – very civil and good friends as usual – mentioned, en amie, the report I had heard of Miss (Ann) Waterhouses’ putting herself into passions with her tradespeople – yes! it was a pity – want of tact rather than of good heart – up the o.b. and turned along by Bird-cage and got into the Godley road and thence by the Lower brea breach road – (saw nobody at the stubbing in Wellroyde brow – no Pickles) to Lidgate in ¾ hour at 4 ¾ - Miss W- was at her door just returned from distributing things at the school - very glad to see me – asked if I had got her note - no! had come direct from H-x - had been miserable ever since she had sent it it was to beg me not to come again till she had had her sister’s letter Miss W- asked me to stay all night - refused at first -  then consented – wrote a little note to my aunt and sent it off by Miss W-‘s servant to say that I was staying all night and not to expect till her breakfast time 10 or 11 tomorrow - dinner at 6 - then tea - cheerful chitchat - Miss W- read prayers and went upstairs at 10 10  - damp small rainy day

[computer8920]

Top 5 Trends in the Computer Components Industry for 2024

The computer components industry is constantly evolving, driven by technological advances, changing consumer needs, and shifting market dynamics. As we move into 2024, several key trends are emerging that will shape the future of this industry. From innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) to sustainability efforts, here’s a look at the top 5 trends that will dominate the computer components market this year.

1. AI-Powered Hardware and Specialized Chips

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword — it’s becoming an integral part of modern computing. In 2024, we’re seeing more specialized hardware designed to optimize AI performance, including AI-accelerating chips and coprocessors. These components are built to handle the heavy workloads required for AI algorithms, machine learning (ML), and deep learning tasks.

Companies are increasingly investing in AI-specific processors, such as NVIDIA’s A100 Tensor Core or Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which offer higher performance for AI workloads compared to traditional processors. Additionally, AI-enhanced GPUs are becoming essential for industries like gaming, data centers, and autonomous vehicles. For businesses in the computer components wholesale industry, this presents an opportunity to cater to the growing demand for hardware optimized for AI-driven applications.

2. Sustainability and Eco-Friendly Components

Sustainability is no longer just a trend — it’s a necessity in the tech world. In 2024, consumers and businesses alike are placing increasing emphasis on eco-friendly computing solutions. The demand for green hardware is surging, driven by growing concerns about e-waste, energy consumption, and the carbon footprint of electronic products.

Manufacturers are responding by designing more energy-efficient components, such as low-power CPUs and energy-efficient memory chips, as well as incorporating recyclable materials in their designs. Companies like Intel, AMD, and others are taking steps to reduce their environmental impact by committing to carbon-neutral goals and offering more sustainable products. For wholesalers and IT partners, this shift towards sustainability is an opportunity to offer clients products that align with their environmental goals.

3. Gaming Hardware and High-Performance Components

The gaming industry continues to be a driving force behind innovation in computer components. In 2024, the demand for high-performance hardware — especially graphics cards (GPUs), processors (CPUs), and memory — will remain strong, fueled by the rise of 4K gaming, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR) experiences.

Ray tracing technology and high-refresh-rate monitors are becoming standard features in gaming setups, pushing the limits of what computer components need to deliver. Manufacturers are introducing even more powerful GPUs, with the latest models from NVIDIA’s RTX 4000 series and AMD’s RDNA 3 architecture offering increased performance for cutting-edge gaming experiences. As a wholesaler, staying ahead of these gaming hardware trends can position you as a key supplier for both individual gamers and gaming businesses.

4. Next-Gen Storage Solutions: SSDs and Beyond

In 2024, the demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) is expected to continue its upward trajectory as more consumers and businesses shift away from traditional hard drives (HDDs). SSDs offer faster read/write speeds, higher durability, and greater energy efficiency, making them ideal for everything from gaming to enterprise applications.

Additionally, we are seeing the rise of even faster storage solutions like PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 5 SSDs, which are capable of lightning-fast data transfer speeds. NVMe SSDs are becoming standard in high-performance systems, and new technologies like 3D NAND are pushing the limits of storage capacity and efficiency. Wholesalers should be prepared to meet this growing demand by keeping up with the latest storage innovations.

5. The Rise of Modular and Customizable PCs

Customization has become a key driver of consumer and business demand in the computer components market. In 2024, we’re seeing more users and businesses opting for modular PCs — systems that allow users to swap out and upgrade individual components easily. This trend is especially prevalent in the gaming and DIY enthusiast markets.

Modular PC designs enable users to customize their systems to meet specific needs, whether it’s for gaming, professional content creation, or computational tasks. Companies like NZXT and Corsair are leading the charge with customizable PC cases, cooling solutions, and easily interchangeable components. As a wholesaler, you can tap into this trend by offering a wide range of modular components, from CPU coolers to GPU mounts, to help customers build their ideal systems.

Conclusion

The computer components industry in 2024 is poised for exciting advancements, driven by AI, sustainability, gaming, storage innovations, and customization. For wholesalers like VSTL — Your IT Partners, staying informed and adaptable to these trends is crucial to meeting the demands of an evolving market. Whether you’re sourcing the latest high-performance components, offering eco-friendly options, or supporting the rise of gaming and DIY PCs, these trends present opportunities to stay ahead of the competition and provide valuable solutions to your customers.

Want to Buy IT Components in Bulk from VSTL?

At VSTL, your trusted IT partner, we offer a wide range of high-quality computer components at wholesale prices, perfect for businesses looking to buy in bulk. Whether you need CPUs, GPUs, motherboards, memory, storage solutions, or accessories, we provide competitive pricing and reliable delivery for all your bulk purchasing needs. With our commitment to excellent customer service, fast shipping, and top-tier product selection, you can streamline your supply chain and ensure your business stays ahead in the fast-paced IT industry. Contact us today to learn how VSTL can support your bulk purchasing needs!

[vapeandgo]

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