Here's a podcast about that toxic green pigment. I'm pretty confident they've talked about lead in makeup too, but I can't find an episode where it would fit.

@alahue said in My Magical Career at Court Vol. 4 Discussion!:

@alahue We're taking a planned streaming break. Part 6 of My Magical Career at Court Volume 4 will return on Tuesday, April 23rd!

Awww… Oh well. Take care, and thanks for the notice!

Just placed my pre order of vol 2. Let’s get it. Now to decide if i read chapters as they released or hold off.

I am bored…
Report card for the first 12 volumes of Tearmoon Empire:

Vol 1 perfection + 10+
Vol 2 just perfect 10
Vol 3 Everything is good, Rafina election arc and Bel is introduced 9
Vol 4 Peak Esmeralda 9
Vol 5 Mia vs. Kuolan, then Mia and Kuolan vs. Ruby and Skyred hare—I can’t have two perfection pluses, so I will call this one perfect. 10
Vol 6. This one is tough, 90% is on the level of the original arc, and we get the best side-story of all-time. BUT, as Dion would say, it does NOT stick the landing—really, the landing is more of a face-plant than a landing—meh exposition and ignores the two young women that are on the cover of the book! Boo! As bad as the conclusion was—it still does not ruin the book (and, again, it ends with a marvelous side-story). 9
Vol 7 Mia’s Birthday and a trip to Perujin—less ambitious than the other volumes and I don’t remember anything really heart-pounding, but it was all enjoyable with no flaws. 8
Vol 8. A fine introduction to a very meh story-arc 7
Vol 9. A great translator cannot save the worst story-arc of the series. Almost 2 volumes in Sunkland, and it was just not very interesting and it was actually cringey in some parts. Sion seems to backslide into being volume 1 Sion. Mia is an object that is battled for between Sion and Abel—you can justify it anyway you want (and the rationalizations just make it worse), it’s just cringe. Sion’s brother is boring and stupid and I don’t want him anywhere near Esmeralda! Esmeralda is not nearly as much fun as she was in her first arc. Tiona is okay. Mia, Citirina and Bel are bright spots—but, by Tearmoon standards—a total carriage wreck! Still, it’s Tearmoon Empire 6

Vol 10. New translator in an arc that is far superior than the previous one. Rafina and Malong may be the most enchanting couple in the series, and Mia racing horses. The new female characters are also fun 8 .5

Vol 11 We get Valentina, the Wolfmaster and the death of Bel—it should have been great—but it was just good. 8

Vol 12. Bel is back (that was quick!). I liked the volume but the elementary students sounded like geriatric lawyers at the end (yuck)—still, it was good. 8

@GeorgeMTO said in Oblivious Saint Vol. 2 Discussion!:

Translator and editor you've both done fantastic work on this series, I really enjoyed the prose itself, but the plot didn't live up to its standard.

We appreciate that! I for one was rather less than thrilled with the turn things took, as I spend a lot of time with Carolina, and that sweet, often irritatingly dense girl could do so much better. Unfortunately, I can only spiff up the turns of phrase, not turn around and let Carolina bop Edward on the nose as he so richly deserved.

OMG I thought I was the only one that was getting irritated how the author over explains things or uses multiple examples to explain a single thing that you already understood the first time and before you know it he used up a whole chapter just for that.

@kuali said in Dahlia in Bloom Vol. 8 Discussion!:

@hrchy Knowing this series, 'side stories' really means 'drinking stories', doesn't it?

Don’t forget the food! :p

@Rahul-Balaggan said in RVing My Way into Exile Vol. 1 Discussion!:

Volume 1 (Premium Edition): No premium bonus

Our apologies for the confusion and the error on our part.

Volume 1 premium edition is not able to contain a bonus shorty. Volume 1 has no premium bonus.

@Gat said in I Parry Everything Vol. 6 Discussion!:

@TheGrimLich said in I Parry Everything Vol. 6 Discussion!:

Sarenza isn't gonna Noor what hit it (eh? eh?)

Oh noor you didn't

...There's Noor way this is going to end well?...

@Paul-Nebeling said in The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects Vol. 3 Discussion!:

@Kurzaa said in The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects Vol. 3 Discussion!:

sanjivani is obviously a red herring to throw us off the scent of the next volume. Probably the last we will ever read of it.

I don't think so. To adapt a quote from Ian Fleming:
One mention is a throw-off comment.
Two mentions is a red herring.
Three mentions is a developing plot point.

I'm thinking @Kurzaa was making a joke, myself.

I do tend to come up with convolute theories about things and crediting authors with long-laid plotting, they were taking a poke at that, suggesting that this time there actually wasn't anything there in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

@Lisast This was unexpected. Welcome, but unexpected.

Anime project announced:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WGyLLfzCo0

@Pieta said in Earl and Fairy Vol. 5 Discussion!:

On the other hand Ermine, who was a fascinating character in the first volume, did turn out mostly absent and/or passive since her return, which is a shame.

My only advice is keep reading 👁️

To complain a little, at times it gets weirdly patriarchal though. Like, imagine if your identity was in doubt, and your husband had a definite proof you are who you say, but then didn't tell you anything while you were worrying about the whole case, until the time came to reveal the facts to the council (overwhelmingly made of other men). You'd probably be more than a little pissed off at him for never telling you and letting you worry, rather than just be amazed at how he heroically swooped in to save you with information he already possessed for some time, right? And if not pissed, then at least confused, because what reason could he possibly have to hide that information from you when he's on your side the whole time? It feels like the author felt the need for the men to be doing something, and for the ladies to concern themselves with being refined and doing social stuff, and so they cut the storylines in two without bothering to check if it makes any sense.

Also, sometimes I wish the novels weren't so noble-centric. This time there's literally no named character who isn't a noble or a perfectly loyal long-time personal servant of one.

I don't understand why it turned into a big discussion over 'magic carpet' and 'carpet riders', carpet riders makes sense when you think of how english language is used, a group of people are practically never referred to in the singular. A good translation doesn't just do a direct 1:1 translation, because then you can end up with very dry and grey reading material, it works with the language rules that make sense.

I could understand people still complaining about it if it was a dramatic shift from the original meaning but thats not what happened here.

Anyway, thats all I'm gonna say on it. What I had originally wanted to say is I had been re-reading the series from the start, and it really has been a journey seeing not just the journey of our heroine but also the journey of the author - you can feel how shakey it begins in part 1 but has an interesting idea and premise going, and as they wrote volume two and further they got more confident in their story direction and how they wanted to tell it. I look forward to seeing where its going to go from volume 8 onwards with Chise's new adventure.

I can only read “by the way, so and so did blank, then for the next two hours they got lectured” so many times.

Not sure if I’ll continue onto the next one.

@LightningLeaf said in Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars Vol. 1 Discussion!:

@TheGrimLich
I thought the current Gen emperor was Ou Eifuu. He's not dumb enough to be the foolish one.

And I was right.

Yay, good ending! Poor Ian...

The latter half of the volume turned out to be quite the bodice ripper. Especially when my combination of hardware and font settings rendered a line that ends with:

Cuddling, hugging, spooning, nothing of that sort?” she said, sticking an index finger out in

@Chesspwn-wxbksgn and now we have volume 2 streaming for our reading displeasure! This train wreck is not stopping soon so hop on!

@marten ditto!