NofNA, "Syconium" page #134

Syconium
134

January 13th, 2017

49 .	by: Lhexa	July 29, 2020, 3:28 am
On Page 13, the doctor says "As I understand it, you went steady in the first place for the different sexual experience." I don't know what experience that is, but if even your doctor is talking about your boyfriend's sexuality, it's probably not something conventional! URL : http://lhexan.dreamwidth.org

48 .	by:	July 28, 2020, 3:17 pm
Well I also don't think that that kind of fanon/headcanon representation is deserved either as Smoothie is specifically practicing celibacy (despite physical attraction) for a specific reason (just as if he were doing it for religious reasons), which is not something asexuality really encompasses and is a misconception that often has to be explained to people when they are learning about it.

47 .	by: Hawkpelt	July 28, 2020, 3:00 am
Yeah, I can agree with you on the earned representation thing, especially when it's retroactive and has no real bearing on the work. However, I've seen it argued that you should forcefully assign representation to a work if said work is problematic, either purposefully or accidentally. It's...quite a point of contention in some fandoms, actually. URL : http://twitter.com/FrittyKitters

46 .	by:	July 27, 2020, 3:25 pm
Like it's great that a gray-ace person can identify with him as a character but it is not good to assign asexual representation to a character just because he only happened to be sexually interested in one character throughout a single story. Representation should only be earned through specific intent by the author.

45 .	by:	July 27, 2020, 3:16 pm
Smoothie isn't ace... he's specifically physically attracted to Fig...

44 .	by: Lhexa	July 27, 2020, 7:31 am
Yeah, I hate him, but only because he's so well-written. Come to think of it, it's very strange that a sex-negative story like Syconium has a main protagonist who's ace. URL : http://lhexan.dreamwidth.org

43 .	by: Hawkpelt	July 26, 2020, 2:38 pm
NGL, Smoothie was always one of my favorite characters in this arc. The fact that he took advantage of Fig for a bet is pretty egregious, but as a gray-ace I still appreciated his unique, analytical outlook on sex, even when it went to some...unsavory places, let's say. URL : http://twitter.com/FrittyKitters

42 .	by: Furrama	May 27, 2017, 5:13 pm
Oh here it is, the tie in the the MOON thing.

41 .	by: kuu	January 17, 2017, 5:36 am
fur like mooonlight, he has night blooming flower. something symbolic will happen

40 .	by: doLst	January 16, 2017, 3:41 pm
Why does Smoothie's face remind me of Professor Oak? Surf Wisely. URL : http://gravesidebreakfast.com

39 .	by:	January 15, 2017, 8:53 am
good body language in panel 4

38 .	by: Witch	January 14, 2017, 8:57 pm
Oh she said "I'll do anything"-- maybe RG caught that she didn't say no oral?

37 .	by: Witch	January 14, 2017, 8:55 pm
I think the black nose markings are a callback to when XX was going to be a fox, since they're really common fox markings. Her tail being especially foxy might be too?

36 .	by: Kaidona	January 14, 2017, 8:27 pm
Was XX REALLY attracted to the guy whose face she bit into or was the sex just really good because he was the same species? I understood the latter from the way she talked about it. I'm not sure she's going to lash out physically against this HIOT agent unless they have similarly physical relations. It appears to be wholly triggered by sex. When I mentioned RG's face, I was thinking he might be reacting to their conversation. I wouldn't be surprised if the way she's talking is actually out-of-character for her even in prostitution mode. That's not the way I remember her chatting-up Morning Glory at their first encounter. URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com

35 .	by: natoon	January 14, 2017, 5:36 pm
The changing markings remind me of how SV and NT's noses got blacker during the course of the story. It seems characters bold characteristics parallel personal power and conviction, especially around the eyes.

34 .	by: Nobody	January 14, 2017, 3:10 pm
i'm worried she'll snap at him in a more literal way... the last dude she was actually attracted to didn't leave with such a good-lookin' face anymore.

33 .	by: Mutt	January 14, 2017, 3:05 pm
I was actually more concerned that she'd snap at him like she did with Glory. She doesn't like being confronted with the reality of her situation. But then again, it would be very refreshing to see her open up again.

32 .	by: Furrama	January 14, 2017, 2:10 pm
@29 Oh no, I'm right with you. I'm just saying that I think the darkening of the markings over time might just be artistic evolution, so in universe they would have always been the about the same size on her present white self. But in the end it's not all that important, no. The markings themselves are oddly fox like, while the tail tip on Cherry II is oddly stoat like, I will agree. Interesting, given the fact that XX was originally going to be a fox. Maybe some vixen like aspects blended over.

31 .	by: Tenka	January 14, 2017, 11:32 am
This is making me shakey, I'm scared that this meeting will end before Fig's honesty emerges, and she needs... I want her to be honest with someone besides us viewers. On the other hand I'm happy to finally be getting to see her mask.

30 .	by: nik	January 14, 2017, 2:05 am
@8 and Furrama Ahh I see where I missed the transition now, thanks guys ;)

29 .	by:	January 14, 2017, 1:46 am
@Furrama I had considered that as well, but after seeing Cherry II and her identical markings to Fig I do think there is something intentional about it, rather than feeling there's a hidden meaning behind it. I say this mostly because the markings are very small on brown XX and extremely prominent on Fig, and in the dream with her mother/XX it shows a closeup of her nose markings along with the elongated fur tufts, so the markings are definitely a part of the upped 'sex appeal' in her design, even more confirmed when Cherry II came along with them since stoats don't typically have these nose marks, nor do foxes typically have black tail tips. It's not a huge noteworthy thing, but it is just another small detail.

28 .	by: Jen	January 13, 2017, 11:43 pm
I once got over an inappropriate crush by finding out he used "lol" as punctuation this feels like that XD

27 .	by: Zack	January 13, 2017, 10:56 pm
Hi, Thank you for the correction to the spelling mistake. It has been revised.

26 .	by: Furrama	January 13, 2017, 10:39 pm
@8 Sorry, I missed that you had already answered nik's question, my bad. As for her markings and other physical things changing on her and Greeninator (I'm just going to call him something different every time for my own amusement) I think that has more to do with artistic evolution and Zach getting more and more used to drawing his main characters than any hidden meaning. Connecting Jolly Green's eyebrow lines with his ears feels natural and right somehow. I think XX's nose markings got thicker and darker to help them look less like a part of her nose bridge, but since Cherry II has them there might be something to the idea that they're a psychosomatic beauty mark. Buuuut foxes have markings like those on their muzzles too, so I don't know.

25 .	by: Furrama	January 13, 2017, 10:28 pm
@nik Look two pages ago and then last page. She turned (internally) white when she completely gave up.

24 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 9:33 pm
That second panel with her synchronized bed-patting and tail-swishing cracks me up. Poor Fig really thought she was being rewarded for giving up...

23 .	by: North	January 13, 2017, 6:28 pm
@22 I mean, last time Fig had a customer she was attracted to (or rather, "inspired" by) it didn't go great for him...

22 .	by: Kaidona	January 13, 2017, 4:45 pm
Does RG look a little bit... concerned/suspicious to anyone else? URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com

21 .	by: Silkworm	January 13, 2017, 4:14 pm
In getting a look at what makes Fig white we'll be getting insight to Greenie's green as well. So as confirmed by White Cherry's appearance a White psychosomatic effect likely has to do with completely giving in to 'The Power of Sex.' Green could be control? Greenie gets worse and his design becomes more distinctive as he's put into positions of power over others. And remember in that bar scene when he realizes that XX has dipped into prostitution he 'shatters' as the illusion of control he thought he had is shaken. And what does he do? He puts himself back into control by telling people where to find XX at home.

20 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 3:29 pm
And, I wonder if the dark marks are indicative of something in general? Cherry II has them very prominently obviously, as well as the same coat patterns as Fig, and Cherry had the dark nose markings but they were very faded out. Greenie's black markings on his forehead were sketchy and rough at the beginning, but are very solid and much stronger now. A small thing, but definitely intentional I think. Nofna tends to be fairly rife with tiny visual details, even down to the whisker layouts.

19 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 3:25 pm
A small detail I noticed as I skimmed back through the comic, but Fig's nose markings are MUCH larger than they were at the beginning of the comic, and it's definitely been a very gradual progression. I wonder if they're just another small bit of representation that her sexual self, 'Fig', has taken over, since the nose markings are so small on the brown XX we see along with her fur tufts being much shorter.

18 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 3:11 pm
fig's face in the last panel is killing me lmao

17 .	by: Dani	January 13, 2017, 2:42 pm
This reminds me of the beginnings of a soon to be derailed Tinder conversation. I love it!

16 .	by: hazard	January 13, 2017, 1:54 pm
How she describes herself is so sad. Her artist identity is gone, she is entirely just a facade to please the customer. I hope Smoothie riles her up good, in the brain!!

15 .	by: Juna	January 13, 2017, 1:39 pm
Smoothie's aura is dark and intense... like he got a blacklight under him.

14 .	by: elk	January 13, 2017, 11:52 am
I have a strong feeling, he is here to fuck her brain, not her body. That's my fetish =_=

13 .	by: Nigel	January 13, 2017, 11:05 am
That face in the final panel. Is. Perfect.

12 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 10:23 am
Imagine a cow romantically, seductively chewing cud in the moonlight

11 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 10:00 am
That last panel is just golden, lol. There's a typo in panel 11, "cudding" instead of "cuddling".

10 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 7:21 am
Her speech still has a bit of red in it.

9 .	by: elk	January 13, 2017, 4:28 am
DENIED No sex for you here, Fig.

8 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 4:28 am
@nik: she seems to have turned white as soon as she gave up on art (last panel like two pages ago). hard to say what that means yet, but still noteworthy i think

7 .	by: kuu	January 13, 2017, 4:28 am
so now we know almost how she turned white

6 .	by: nik	January 13, 2017, 4:22 am
Figs been a sort of grey colour for most of the comic, I wonder why shes like all #FFFFFF white now? :?

5 .	by: North	January 13, 2017, 3:44 am
I mean, I guess this is the only way she'd ever be able to see a therapist... even if that's not really what she wants from him right now.

4 .	by:	January 13, 2017, 3:13 am
Ditch greenie date a psychologist

3 .	by: Mason	January 13, 2017, 3:11 am
would have taken the FAT raccoons over the psychoanalysis huh

2 .	by: larkspear	January 13, 2017, 3:07 am
way to kill the mood, dude

1 .	by: Furrama	January 13, 2017, 3:01 am
My my Smoothie, but you're no fun at all are ya? Hahaha! But I suspected that he was here more for what he could learn from her and less so much for the hankery pankery. I highly doubt Figgy is going to get any relief for her frustrations, as it were. (I missed her more dynamic facial expressions and lively personality.)