Syconium
168

May 19th, 2017






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34 . by: Lhexa October 13, 2020, 3:21 am

Thanks for the clarification Zack!

URL : http://lhexan.dreamwidth.org
33 . by: Zack October 10, 2020, 9:58 am

It's been a while... What did I mean by this?

First, let's consider them as three entities: There's XX, her artistic side; there's Fig, what her artistic side made out of her body in order to reconcile her acknowledgement of sex as a more powerful art than her own art; then, this black-and-white Fig that exists here in the real world, an amalgamation of the two. She'll be the "amalgam".

The amalgam can't accept what Fig did to XX, which is really what society did to XX. Fig is just the by-product of that: the adjustment of her art into somewhere she knew it had to go, but, it wasn't her first choice. She doesn't know how to honor that choice, because she feels that it wasn't hers. How can she accept this artwork, her body, when it caused her so much pain, and now represents her? It's the undeniable reality, but, she's really bitter about her defeat.

Later on, the amalgam smoothly transitions into Fig, then sacrifices herself to allow XX to become Egress, her exit into the world that she had initially wanted. The masterpiece finally does her honor.

That's my interpretation, 3 years later.
32 . by: Lhexa October 10, 2020, 1:14 am

Reposting some stuff from Discord.

Kali: "Fig says 'I can't find the honor in the white coat'... but what does it mean? She feels trapped but her white fur isn't something she considers a (metaphorical) virtue? If yes, then why won't she just soil it and save herself?"

I think it's because her captivity is not one that can be escaped by running through mud, even metaphorically. Society has provided a parable about beauty, but Egress cannot derive any benefit from that parable.

Kali: "...And on page 353 she finally discards [her white body] and is free. Then why is 'death before dishonor' repeated there?"

MindFig is saying that, even in the midst of her degradation and self-destruction, Egress had continued to honor herself and her passions, even in the face of death. She rejected the repressive parable, and its message that honor is purity. (Lotsa sexism in that message, by the way.) However, she did so not by discarding it, but by finding her own meaning of honor, one which allows her to shape herself without objectifying herself.

Also, the scene in which Egress paints a labyrinth on herself shows that it's Smoothie who believes honor is purity.

URL : http://lhexan.dreamwidth.org
31 . by: May 22, 2017, 12:18 pm

@30

Agreed. That story feels like some really heavy foreshadowing...
30 . by: May 22, 2017, 11:41 am

the sky changes colour pretty drastically between the last three panels, so it seems like they sat there for some time, long enough for the stars to come out

anyway greenie's going to kill xx/fig i'm calling it now so i won't be upset later
29 . by: May 22, 2017, 8:57 am

He did mention being a student. Any of you guys go to university mental health services to save money and get stuck with "student counselors" who are just undergrads trying to get resume experience? Anyone go to a real therapist after that and see the marked change in service quality? That's what he reminds me of.
28 . by: Juna May 22, 2017, 1:13 am

For sure, if the second-to-last frame -weren't- there, Smoothie's transition would be a lot more curt.
27 . by: Juna May 22, 2017, 1:11 am

To be fair, he has helped XX in unpacking all her feelings re: sex and her position in it, so to speak, if in a more lecture-intensive way than you might expect from a therapist.

But I sorta like this interpretation, not so much that he's negligent but that he doesn't have the language for what she's brought up. He couldn't analyze the dilemma she's pictured for him, or decides not to impose, and the conversation comes back to the paintings. So, yea, I'd put my lot with @26's point on the second-to-last frame.
26 . by: May 21, 2017, 10:20 pm

I think the penultimate frame is meant to show that they sat thinking about the question for a while. I think he just didn't know what to say.
25 . by: May 21, 2017, 9:32 pm

@kaidona wouldn't it be courteous then to at least... acknowledge she said something at all? or that you want to think about it more? If I revealed something important to me, and the other party was silent then changed the subject (seemingly), I would feel alienated...
24 . by: Kaidona May 21, 2017, 9:19 pm

It's possible XY needs to think about her question before he can answer it. Either that or he doesn't know, and the thing mental health especially in our own world is most afraid of is the phrase "I don't know".

URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com
23 . by: May 21, 2017, 3:23 pm

i love you 21, ahaha. what a bad researcher/therapist he is. Your subject finally talks about her thoughts/feelings, and you don't ask questions, show interest, seek clarification and understanding? Blowhard
22 . by: Zack May 21, 2017, 3:56 am

Dear Lex,

Thank you; your drawing of Cherry II/Sherry's real face is adept.
21 . by: May 20, 2017, 6:00 pm

dude youve been monologuing for like two pages if you arent gonna answer the question at least acknowledge that she said something, sheesh
20 . by: May 20, 2017, 5:57 pm

"...so that I may be open in return" I wonder what secrets he has to tattle with her about?
19 . by: Lex May 20, 2017, 4:23 pm

I didn't have time to draw Sherry back when she was in pages, but I did a quick doodle of her now!

In any case, I really love this page. The emotions feel so real, and I love that we get to see this side of Fig. Additionally, I'm glad that Smoothie seems genuinely open and interested in what she has to say.

URL : http://imgur.com/a/AzE2Y
18 . by: Zack May 20, 2017, 1:39 pm

Dear commentator 16,

Thank you for your lovely and colorful drawing of Fig.
17 . by: May 20, 2017, 3:16 am

He left his flower behind
16 . by: May 20, 2017, 12:46 am

Quick Fig draw in URL.

I love the white coat parable in this page, so many ways to interpret it. The Greenie-spectre is downright demonic-looking. All the expressions are fantastic too.

URL : http://i.imgur.com/sOXlWJX.jpg
15 . by: hazard May 19, 2017, 11:41 pm

There's a weird knot of symbolism going on that could be relevant:

The white coat is the symbol of Fig, posessive sexuality. White coat = Fig captured by XX. White coat BAD. Fig will die before changing her coat. Wouldn't XX WANT Fig to be destroyed by "besmirchment"?

Notice how she mentioned "Virtue finding an exit" and the exit mentioned in the myth- Virtue blocks an exit- not accepting defilement traps the ermine.

What thing does XX need to accept that Fig doesn't want to touch for fear of being destroyed?
14 . by: camila sc May 19, 2017, 11:20 pm

I like how this story has been including different forms of art. The poem, the abstract paintings, and now this fable...
13 . by: May 19, 2017, 8:25 pm

I wonder if the next Sherry confrontation will be her going after Fig. It feels inevitable and like a black cloud looming on the horizon.
12 . by: Kaidona May 19, 2017, 7:31 pm

Other hallmarks of Green Bean in that image of the black beast is the lightning charges and vague appearance of a cape silhouette.

I get the impression that this visual is her interpretation of what it might look like.

URL : http://kaidona.deviantart.com
11 . by: May 19, 2017, 4:31 pm

Speaking of Greenie, I wonder how he feels about these meetings between she and Smoothie? Considering his controlling nature, I'm surprised he's allowed them to continue. Wonder if he'll try to put a stop to it at some point? Though far be it from he to turn away a weekly paying customer, I suppose. And since he rarely speaks to Fig I guess he's oblivious to the effect he's had on her so far, though Sherry has her eye on the situation too.
10 . by: Juna May 19, 2017, 2:55 pm

Liking that her habit for reading erotic novels came back like this!

Her base/virtue duality seems to fit with the ambiguity around her white coat, too. If on the one hand it draws attention away from her artistic self to her physical attractiveness, it's also set her apart symbolically, in the narrative.

Sorta like the way she used fig essence instead of a corsage, to both hide her public identity and and make a statement about invisibility, which ended up being her calling card more than anything else.
9 . by: May 19, 2017, 12:45 pm

From Wikipedia (along with the myth mentioned here): "In the folklore of the Komi people of the Urals, stoats are symbolic of beautiful and coveted young women." You really could not have picked a better animal, Zack. lol
8 . by: Witch May 19, 2017, 12:33 pm

Yes!!!! I love ermine mythology!! Another (I don't remember which culture this came from) says that stoats can jump between two worlds.

I'm still personally of the mind that Greenie did something and Fig biting the shit out of him was a reaction (especially since he never seems to want to blame her for what happened, and also Battery's bite)
7 . by: May 19, 2017, 11:27 am

I remember reading about the white stoats myths when I was reading up on stoats. Very cool to see them brought up here.

Greenie here also looks like the manifestation of Malice that SV sees in the lake during his epiphany. And that white background when she starts to tell the story - really good.
6 . by: May 19, 2017, 11:18 am

Greenie is trying to convince himself that Fig, with her beauty and white coat, is his virtuous half? That by being able to control her he doesn't have to look within himself for that half?
5 . by: May 19, 2017, 11:15 am

And Greenie calls her his "prize", and his "other half". Hm.
4 . by: Furrama May 19, 2017, 10:45 am

Zach that title pun. Shame. Shaaaame!
3 . by: May 19, 2017, 10:37 am

Holy shit, it DOES have Greenie's stripes. I didn't even notice that upon first read. This is going interesting places.
2 . by: May 19, 2017, 10:36 am

wheeewwww the pursuer has Greenie's stripes
1 . by: May 19, 2017, 10:00 am

Sooo... did Fig just become Freud?