If so, is this capacity unique to her? If not, what does the society use as the monetary standard instead of precious metals?

I don't think the monetary standard is that big of a problem, in part because there economy must already look very different from any real life analogs. For example, I suspect the ability of an earth mage to nigh instantly create stable, incredibly durable, structures with no meaningful resource requirements should completely change their economy. At a minimum, stone castles, walled cities, and good roads are now much easier to build, which should have far reaching implications for both warfare and trade. Beyond that, any jobs that would have been based on either extracting resources for construction (e.g. forestry and mining) or actually building structures are now significantly less in demand.

In terms of the currency itself, there are three relatively straightforward solutions.

1. If the countries are stable enough, they could have switched to a fiat currency sooner than real-life. This mitigates would mitigate the problem of mages pulling precious metals or other things out of their rears while also allowing for a more stable economy. (The gold standard and mercantilism were not actually good things.)
2. Currency could be based on some magical substance that cannot be easily replicated, rather than a naturally occurring one.
3. Magically created materials could have specific tells that allow them to be recognized as such, like a detectable magical charge, or they could be temporary in nature and will fade over time. I find this last possibility the least satisfying, but it would also help reduce the economic changes caused by mages pulling entire ramparts out of thin air. (Though it wouldn't completely eliminate them, since you can still do a lot by just moving the earth around.)

Circling back to the alloy, how did she actually carbide all that tungsten? AFAIK that substance does not occur in (our) nature, so does it mean that it is naturally abundant in this world's soil? Or does she pull the carbon out of the earth or air (less likely, given how she is not an air mage) and let it react with elemental tungsten? If so, how does she achieve the necessary temperatures of 1000+ degrees without having an affinity for the fire element?

I'm not sure if that's a reasonable set of questions? Even FMA style alchemy, which explicitly cares about the presence of the correct atomic elements, doesn't require you to exactly replicate the normal chemical process to create compounds and wouldn't involve heating the substance to any particular temperature. If this system is more conceptual, with people performing effects based on how they perceive the world to work, then it becomes even less of an issue: Rei did not create her wall by pulling atomic tungsten and carbon out of the earth and then combining them, she summoned a wall with the properties of Tungsten Carbide, rather than more common stone.

Given the way Prince Rod was able to create detailed, animated, flame constructs and Clair was able to utilize some form of plasma or laser cannon, which isn't an obvious form of fire magic, I suspect their magic is conceptual in nature and most people simply don't have the concepts they need to really abuse it.

last edited at Jul 26, 2021 1:32PM

I know the focus was on Kiwi's power-up, but it's interesting how Utena's stars changed throughout this fight. At the start, she only has one under each eye, but by the end she has 5 on her right side and upward of 7 on her left. That is quite the swinging power, but it's also interesting in how it progressed over the course of the fight, as Utena got more into it.

Ah. This isn't fair. I want to read Ashen Oil, but I really want to read Lucky Sis. Give me my anthropomorphized fortunetelling styles!

I am concerned. On the one hand, it is very pretty. On the other, Romeo and Juliet was not a romance, so comparing the main couple to them is not a good sign, for at least one of two distinct reasons.

Lol okay yeah that was me being liberal with the translation ^^' The chinese was something meaning like enemies-to-lovers/a couple/rival families so I spun the wheel of my vocabulary and called it a day at 'Romeo and Juliet'.

That's fair enough.

While they get reduced to "fated lovers from rival families" fairly often, Romeo and Juliet also involve a lot more ... less pleasant baggage. It's a story about young idiots getting people killed, including themselves, for nothing. Their deaths, at the end of the play, do a good job of exemplifying everything else: Rather than die for love, they died because they were too impatient and refused to think things through.

The term is "star-crossed lovers"

No. Star-crossed lovers specifically refers to a short lived love, a bright flash that quickly fades away. The phrase comes from the sight of two shooting stars crossing and then going their separate ways.

My guess is he's just a high-school kid who lives in the same building and recognizes them as the lovey-dovy couple he ends up following home fairly frequently. He might also recognize them from their media work.

So, I can't help but notice that the tag is for all three of them, but the one in the back seems unmarked. Does that mean she's the one who went wild?

I am concerned. On the one hand, it is very pretty. On the other, Romeo and Juliet was not a romance, so comparing the main couple to them is not a good sign, for at least one of two distinct reasons.

idk why but this last chapter hit me differently. Maybe because I've just woke up. But it seems a bit hotter than the others.

Gyaru took a more active, and pro-active, role this time, rather tan always being on the receiving end and putting up halfhearted denials. We saw a bit of that in the last chapter, but it was still mostly Megane on the attack.

It being demonstrably mutual is nice for this type of fluffy smut, even if it was already clear that they both enjoyed it and each other.

The author did a great job as shown in this thread; everyone got such heated reactions. I personally wished this was longer. Did they make it through? Did she really change for the better? Or was this a terrible end? Ugh.

I hope someone could pick up some of this mangaka’s works. Too good to pass up! And the credits! I hope you guys are okay!

Look at the way Kanon changed herself to get back with Serena and then look at the actual problems Serena had. The two don't line up at all. Instead, she changed herself to look like the idol Serena initial commented on, because she focused on Serene paying attention to that idol instead of her. Similarly, at the end she's talking about how Serena is the only one in her life, while focusing on the attention she gets paid, but Serena was just lamenting her inability to hang out with friends or go to events because Kanon wanted her to solely focus on her.

Put another way, Kanon made drastic changes to herself to regain Serena's attention, but made no effort to improve the parts problems that Serena actually cared about, despite spending plenty of time discussing the grief she caused.

I like to believe people can change and improve, but this is an example of someone very energetically remaining the same.

This feels very different from Lin's normal art, but it's still very recognizable. Also, still very good.

Nice pic :) But isnt it Marisa who wears big lace up boots normally not Reimu?

This artist has there own take on Reimu. Among other things, she's portrayed with darker skin.

Just a reminder, doing exercises builds muscle. Doing squats might help you tone your legs, but it won't make them thinner.

I suspect there's a strap-on in their future.

I feel it's worth pointing out that Vesperia might be better, if you're looking for yuri. It has a bit of a slow start, but I'd argue it's also the better game, once it gets going, and Rita is definitely the better mage.

UHHH OFFICER I CAN EXPLAIN

My head cannon is that this is like Gundam: The ages are a complete lie and everything makes more sense if you assume each of the characters are a few years older. That still leaves them too young, but 16 is less bad.

At this point I'm just waiting for the day that Mihoyo decides to make these two canon

Snow bunny quickly rose to the top of my ships after that trailer lol

Eh. I normally have pretty decent yuri goggles, but the "dance with a sinner" line sounded more like a threat, when I heard it in the trailer.

i mean you don't use the same tie everyday normally, isn't it okay if she has 2 of them? just give her the fucking gift

I suspect it's more a matter of timing. Giving her a hairband right after she just bought one, with another friends encouragement, feels less special then giving her one while she's hesitating over which one to get. She's also probably worried about looking like she just copied Hana.

Now, realistically, Hime probably wouldn't view it that way and would probably appreciate the gesture for what it is, but teenagers and unfounded insecurities might as well be synonyms.

I can really sympathize with Shima here. Mornings are evil. Fortunately, unlike Shima, I've managed to arrange my schedule so I can avoid them.

and vastly different lifespans.

Why does everyone always get hung on this, as if real mortal people couples somehow magically perished simultaneously and didn't have to cope with grief just the same?

A lot of it is that humans have roughly the same lifespan so they can generally have one lifelong partner and be old when they die, stay celibate until their own death or at most have one remarriage after becoming a widow(er).
If two types of beings have radically different lifespans then the older lived one either grieve their short-lived lover for most of their life or get so many serious lovers that it's highly debatable how "serious" the longer-lived being is about them and if they are not just short flings that only the short-lived partners are deceived into thinking is the love story of a lifetime.

For me, the issue is more about aging. The maid will slowly grow older and less capable while the vampire stays exactly the same, both of them forced to watch as their lover drifts further and further away while still remaining at their side. It's like a romance where one partner is guaranteed to suffer from a progressively debilitating illness, but where said illness wouldn't be an issue if they dated someone else.

typically vampirisation is supposed to take place only if you are killed by a vampire bite

I've heard that you can only become a vampire if, after they drink your blood, you drink their blood. You usually drink it from the wrist. You exchange blood basically.
It's appeared in most stories I've read about vampires, and maybe it's the case here.

So, the maid should be fine. :)

It depends pretty heavily on what version of vampires you're dealing with. Some require you to drink their blood, others just require them to drink yours or even just take a single bite. There are also versions where its dependent on some quality in the mortal, rather than a specific action, or completely disconnected from the vampire (possibly requiring some sort of ritual or practice).

As with any fictional species, the specifics are determined by the author and little else.

This follows the same template as the Mistress and Cat Maid one, but it's a little bit more concerning, what with the constant blood drinking and vastly different lifespans. I know it's just supposed to be fluff that you don't think about too heavily, but I can't help it.

I think the chapter order is messed up too. I think 1-3 is after 4-8.

It was not.

The chapter titles seem to be correct, but the order they're linked in seems to be messed up; so chapter 8 has a next chapter button that leads to chapter one and chapter 2 has no next chapter button.

And that right there is why I will never ever drink Boba, why da fuuk would you want a drink with marbles in it?

I wouldn't really compare them to marbles, since they aren't hard. Mostly, they're just fun to chew and they hold some flavor.

Aya was really unprofessional as a journalist: she already had biases against the Myouren Temple before writing her newspaper and really scary as a youkai. Well, that's Aya being Aya.

Isn't the Bunbunmaru basically a rag?

That said, Aya's reporter getup is a special kind of cool. I want more manga with girls in suits and cabbie caps.

Wait, what was the context for this in the show? It doesn't look like bugs was cross-dressing or anything like that at the time?

I haven't kept up with Genshin since launch, but why is there a character named End User License Agreement?

First Lovecraft and now Stoker? Both are unexpected, yet rather welcome, especially with art like this.

Imagine going on a plane trip anywhere

Not just a plane trip. They had actual armrests and leg room. I'd peg that as business class, at the least. So imagine being able to afford a spur of the moment plane trip, where you don't have to travel in coach, and then having enough money to afford a suite, with similarly last minute booking.

One of them has Money.