Uh, wow. Newts? Thwacker? "Magical Gatherings" has apparently been through a few revisions between this comic and future storylines.

I used to have a fascination with the concept of Nirvana and enlightenment, along with with the accompanying question of "how do you achieve a state you desire when the objective is a lack of desire?"

Of course, the answer is that you just sort of do. I mean, if you've reached the point where all other worldly desires don't bind you, I'm pretty sure you're just sorta going to default to achieving that state. Easier said than done, but it makes sense to me. Still a fun thing to ask and rant about, though.

That said, I don't want to give the impression that I don't have respect for the concept. I do. It wouldn't have interested me enough to put it into a comic otherwise. It should be apparent that I tend to poke fun at the things I like. Case in point? "For only three newts!"

And yes, Nanase is freakishly flexible. This is less "the hot girl is flexible" fantasy and more vicarious "I wish I could do that" fantasy.

Commentary added December 31, 2014