NofNA, "Syconium" page #196

Syconium
196

August 25th, 2017

28 .	by:	August 29, 2017, 11:38 am
Im glad she kinda changed her stance a bit. She used to defend her work tooth and claw when someone tried to tell her that her audience isn't connecting with her work. I went to art school, people who refused to take critiques and insisted their work is perfectly fine were a bit frustrating.

27 .	by: Furrama	August 29, 2017, 12:53 am
New page come and wash away the sin.

26 .	by:	August 28, 2017, 8:02 pm
Is he gonna make a construct too? Then they mirror mice can fuck eachother and leave all the real life stuff alone.

25 .	by: Furrama	August 28, 2017, 2:18 pm
Crass.

24 .	by: kuu	August 28, 2017, 4:41 am
blahblahblah nobody communicate with me I still think there is a big differnce, for us humans in painting something verses, let's say masturbating in front of a webcam

23 .	by:	August 28, 2017, 1:20 am
@Mana Good words to read. Hoping it goes this way too.

22 .	by: Mana	August 27, 2017, 1:49 pm
I hope that with this next chapter, the gestating concept will come out as a whole and confident person who can communicate her original thesis, that sex and art are the same, without either overturning the other... at least, that's what I think might be happening here. Society has constructed a world where, for some reason, sex and art are diametrically opposed. As a result, the force of sex is in fear of being crushed. It manifests as hateful and malicious because that's how it's being characterized by society. It's being twisted into something it's not. Society doesn't want to acknowledge the 'first art' in a way that truly honors it or the arts that followed. Sexual art is similarly considered 'scandalous'. Honestly, it kind of reminds me of real-world society in a lot of places... 'sexy' is exploited/beholden to the power of credit, which is seen as the 'new' binder of people, while the unexploitable form of truly empowered sexuality and the sex act itself are both feared and hated. People's whole lives and personalities become toxic or warped sometimes, because of this fear of their sexual selves, who maybe don't want the kind of commodified 'sexy' that we're sold nowadays. Or are shamed for engaging in sex acts in any capacity [including for credit, in a way that doesn't benefit society's biggest credit holders; 'credit' is its own entity tbh], or being 'sexy' in a way that the arbiters of credit don't approve. 'Sexy' is oddly sterile and inhuman, and emotionally cold, when abused in this way... [I am not asserting anything]

21 .	by: kuu	August 27, 2017, 9:27 am
is XX going to have a new personafication in her head space? XX the schoolmarm?

20 .	by: Dani	August 26, 2017, 11:36 am
Ooo, you articulated the difference between them so well 16! I couldn't get it into words so I didn't comment to Furrama's question. I liked Smoothie overall, but somehow I am getting suspicious of him now!

19 .	by:	August 26, 2017, 1:20 am
This is so sweet. I don't even want it to be something romantic, I just want her to find her love for art again, and how much Smoothie seems to genuinely care about her wellbeing now, and wants to help.

18 .	by: Juna	August 25, 2017, 8:34 pm
Ah yea @16, that's a better, less heady way than mine to describe the difference. Morning Glory focused on protecting the pleasure of his own art to himself, but XX has always tried to connect herself to others. Going to the wilds would've meant giving up the chance to do that, in her mind.

17 .	by: Witch	August 25, 2017, 6:57 pm
AW MAN AW MAN I LOVE THIS PAGE

16 .	by:	August 25, 2017, 6:11 pm
I think the difference between Morning Glory and Smoothie is that Smoothie is offering Fig a way to help herself, rather than offering her an easy way out that's essentially giving up and running away. I also think Morning Glory thought she was losing her passion for sex (mentioning her as a girl who'd been in the business that used to seem more playful/fun) whereas Smoothie has focused on Fig as an artist. People have shown some irritation at Smoothie's role in the story, but I think he's a character that, in the end, will be good for her. Perhaps he's the symbolic male fig wasp we've been awaiting in the story, carving a path for Fig's escape.

15 .	by: Juna	August 25, 2017, 5:40 pm
On Morning Glory, he did come off more callous saying she should 'talk' to herself, probably bc he never really showed that he understood what was at stake for her, whereas Smoothie spent more time with her and let her admit her identity crisis on her own terms... for the most part. (He did snoop around a bit and dared her to that blush.) But what seems most important is that Glory's assertion equated with forfeiting this competition between Estrus and Order over the future of society. Instead of resolving whether sex really stood over society, or society uses sex as an archaic vehicle, what Glory suggested really amounted to self-imposed isolation. This time, though, XX and Smoothie are working together so she can regain her self.

14 .	by: Juna	August 25, 2017, 5:25 pm
Aw, that's sweet. I have to imagine how it feels to hear that someone wants to learn your art from you, after being convinced that no one can, or wants to, get it. What'll she start with? Is she going to start with figuration, or is she gonna try to remake the building blocks out of what she believes makes up the essential elements of art? I've been mentally picking at Smoothie's place in the narrative for a while, but him passing the baton to her in this way is really just sweet.

13 .	by: hazard	August 25, 2017, 5:03 pm
AHHHHHH MY HEART

12 .	by:	August 25, 2017, 5:00 pm
I think Morning Glory just came in too hard saying things she didn't want to hear. Smoothie took the time to figure her out for real rather than make an assumption. I think Smoothie might have legitimate feelings for XX, too. Romance seems kind of cliche in the NofNA setting but, seems like it's happening.

11 .	by: Furrama	August 25, 2017, 3:42 pm
(*the, be in touch/talk to yourself bit)

10 .	by: Furrama	August 25, 2017, 3:37 pm
I think this might be the page to compare Morning Glory and (S)XY. Especially page 112, since there are echos of that here. What's different? Why does she respond differently to what is essentially the same statement?

9 .	by: Dani	August 25, 2017, 3:21 pm
Hmm, this page reminds me of the analyses others have done on past pages of Smoothie. He really seems invested in Fig's case...are his only motives his bet with Scruffy/HIOT, and a desire to help XX? Or is there something else he isn't revealing?

8 .	by: Zack	August 25, 2017, 3:14 pm
Hi, Thank you for pointing out my errors. The image has been updated with the necessary corrections. .

7 .	by: Downhill	August 25, 2017, 3:09 pm
@5, Furrama I assumed she was guessing at what he'd been about to say, but maybe I was taking his request too literally, hahaha.

6 .	by: Furrama	August 25, 2017, 2:54 pm
@5 You know what, I didn't catch that, and I read it as him anyway. I guess because of the ellipses and his mouth was open and hers wasn't.

5 .	by:	August 25, 2017, 2:38 pm
(also... shouldn't it be Smooth's brown speech bubble in the last panel instead of Fig's gray?)

4 .	by:	August 25, 2017, 2:31 pm
GASP

3 .	by: Downhill	August 25, 2017, 2:07 pm
OHHHHH I love this.

2 .	by: Kai	August 25, 2017, 1:58 pm
Oh... That's so cute.

1 .	by: Furrama	August 25, 2017, 1:55 pm
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.... ((S)XY is missing his scar in panel 11)