Thilina Liyanage’s orchid Villa
I hadn't thought about this comic in a while. Maybe I wasn't entirely satisfied with the art, but now that some time has passed, I liked the small story and the feeling of hope it suggests. So I decided to repost it, with some tiny edits for clarity.
I think it's more than a bit influenced by Clark Ashton Smith ethereal short stories.
For as much as I think Le Guin misunderstood Gandalf (as suggested by the assumptions she made conceptualizing Ged), one thing she hits dead on the fucking ringer is that Ged losing his magic but getting to live more humanly is a quiet triumph in the exact inverse of how Gandalf largely losing his more human traits (affinity for pipes, mischievous streak, occasional foul temper) to become a more perfect embodiment of divine power is a quiet tragedy.
Le Guin asked “who was Gandalf as a boy” which is the wrong question, he was always an angel and was never a boy. He only temporarily took on the quirks and mannerisms of a human before giving them up to return to his divine calling. In that way perhaps Ged is his inverse: a human who assumed transcendent power and authority before giving it up and allowing a new world to be born without needing him.
I feel like Germany really needs to draw the right conclusions from Eurovision: a) No one votes for us anyway at this point b) we're guaranteed a spot in the finale bc we're a member of the Big 5.
Conclusion: We can basically hold televisions across Europe hostage for 3 minutes and do what the fuck we like. Let some random security guy sing, elected 30 seconds before going on stage. Classical opera sung after breathing helium. Slightly sing-songy stand up comedy. Sneak in Die Ärzte under fake names and do whatever. A speed caricaturist drawing the competition while doing some half-hearted whistling. Host a drunk ballet performance.
What are they going to do? Ban us?
I volunteer to hold a lecture on java programming set to off-key flute music.
Why not make this a double-act?
