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January 15th, 2018






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33 . by: Juna January 18, 2018, 9:14 pm

Yea totally @Furrama, I agree on you there, especially on the potential for Art to free sex. Or more specifically, an Art that recognizes the worth of the individual over the transient impulses to dominate and consume.

In fact, you did one better than me cuz you connect XX's confusion over her desires--do I want to still be an artist? will I be happier becoming "Fig"? should I abandon society?--to the collective behavior of Society. The entity that Fig symbolizes relies on XX (and society at large) being lost in the maze of themselves, so to speak.
32 . by: Furrama January 18, 2018, 9:11 pm

Oh and "him who got his face nibbled" last year. Uh... "Buddy" I guess.
31 . by: Furrama January 18, 2018, 9:09 pm

We have had several hints that it was probably in winter. I have assumed up to this point that they were getting into it and it was her first snap, pun intended.

I think it was just an accident. Well, on half of her part.

Most of her significant bullet point encounters have been in winter. First guy, (E)XY, VD, and (S)XY.
30 . by: January 18, 2018, 8:57 pm

@28: The only common known factor we have in XX/Fig doing lasting physical harm is Greenie. We also have no real context for what happened between her and Greenie, not even knowing if it was an accident. We do, however, have context that Greenie has a history of being psychologically abusive via manipulation from his conversations with his friend in the beginning. Sometimes the abused injure their abusers either out of fear or increasing hostility; being abused alters your mind.
29 . by: Witticaster January 18, 2018, 8:57 pm

Oh, good point 28. I really want to know the specifics behind that event, I hope more is revealed about that + how Green and XX met.
28 . by: January 18, 2018, 8:31 pm

Fig did hurt people prior to figtrees. Greenie being that example
27 . by: January 18, 2018, 8:23 pm

would fig count as a tulpa by now or no?
26 . by: Furrama January 18, 2018, 7:29 pm

I'm seeing the claim that she was happy before Fig Trees, and that it was society pushing her here that's her real problem. Society villainizing sex is to blame. Her mother was a prude, (S)XY was pushing wrong ideas about sex, these are more symptoms of society pushing her to this. If only she could have done what she wanted without the stigma, then she would have been happy.

I keep seeing those things pop up in arguments over and over and they don't work. For one, she wasn't happy before Fig Trees. She wanted to be valued for her artwork, but wasn't getting any appreciation for it. When (E)XY's friend paid her and said she was good (value) she got something she had been missing: Validation. Sex became her art because sex was the only thing she could find worth selling. And because, it felt good. Powerful.

But she wasn't happy.

She kept trying to paint anyway, kept getting rejections. After all, XX, through her mother, had made Art a part of her before estrus awakened in her, and wanted to turn around and use the power of Art to feed society, and in doing so would feed herself.

But she ended up feeding something else to get fed. And that thing has grown fat and become more powerful than her will. It has grown insatiable.

Even without the brothel and the boyfriend this would have happened in some form. The brothel just made it easier to feed the beast.

Point number two, society is at fault. If only it had left her alone to sex and be free! And if it hadn't demonized sex Fig Trees wouldn't exist! Or Fig herself!

I mean... kinda? It's a symptom of a bigger problem that circles in on her from inside and out.

Again, and this page does spell it out: Fig is in every individual. And, like (S)XY outlined, society has its own desires, just like an individual. Fig is in the larger body of society. The individual Fig and XX are symbolically parallel to the same issue that society is struggling with. Society wants sex, it forms itself around sex. It needs it. But it's afraid of it too. It tries to separate the good parts of itself from the bad but still desperately desired parts of itself.

Fig exists because Fig exists. If you get me?

The prudes of society are like white blood cells, trying to attack a cancer that they can only somewhat contain, (like inner XX was trying to do with Fig), and even the act of containment is doing damage to the body. They're afraid. Look at Fig, what she is and is capable of. That's what they fear.

In short, society is playing a big dumb game of Stop Hitting Yourself in an effort to stop the danger that it doesn't really want to stop.

The greater body and the individual bodies are slaves to itself/themselves, to a relic of the past that no longer grows them but holds them back, is trying to choke it/them. And if it is allowed to grow wild society collapses and higher minded achievements, science, Art, advancement, cease. So their fears are not unfounded, and remember: Fig has teeth that reach into reality. (As does XX's Art, if we remember the hatch blush)

Fig and XX are society. Animal VS Art, past VS future. If XX disables the Animal, primacy, it brings sex under control of its users. It's not Sex VS Art like some arguments seem to be thinking it is? I think? Art can free sex. Instead of being bodies with minds they'd become minds with bodies.
25 . by: Juna January 18, 2018, 7:03 pm

Yea, I'm on the same wavelength on Witticaster on this one. What makes the arc both fascinating and frustrating is wondering if XX will connect all the dots about the exercise of power, her critique of Society, and its use of sex. I love Smoothie while also feeling a little let down by his thesis, but that gives XX the moment she needs for hers! He was able to trace the pro-social origins of sex in this hybrid account of biology and sociology, and how people's sexualities adapt to their society (for better or worse). But he failed to fully decouple the desire for power and control from the idea of sex. Or maybe, he wasn't confident that it wouldn't be possible to have sex freed from that destructive force, and so couldn't find any recourse besides not having it.

I'm just reiterating Witti's points, though.

I don't think this arc will go the way of oppressing sex itself, despite XX's self-avowed battle. The episodes w the courtesans showed that they got hurt not because they like sex in of itself, but because of the refusal of their their employers or their clients to recognize their humanity, their wants or their feelings. XX's rebuke of Fig is above all, her objection to the cycle of hurting and being hurt -as articulated through sex-.

In her world now, though, that -is- sex. Once she's able to expose Fig for what she is, I hope it'll free both her and the concept of sex from the greed and abuse that Fig Trees has exemplified.
24 . by: January 18, 2018, 4:34 pm

I don't have much to add, but I think the more time that passes in the story, the more important the scene with the florist (outfitter?) becomes. When the mole asks her if she has nothing else to contribute to society, she has a moment of considering her paintings, and ultimately says "no". She is, in some ways, DRIVEN to commodify herself because society sees no other value in her.
23 . by: Witticaster January 18, 2018, 2:02 pm

Y'know, as much as EvilMindFig might like to believe she represents an ancient instinct separate from society, the story so far seems to indicate that most if not all of her was created FROM society. She doesn't represent the instinct of sex any more than Wal-Mart represents the instinct of eating.

Smoothie emphasized repeatedly that his definition of "sex" isn't just the act or the instinct - it's that plus the entire culture surrounding it. He taught that society created the concept of "sex"; he even said "most of sex happens outside the body". He taught that society took a simple instinct (estrus) and created the 'sexual cue' (attractiveness) and built it up into a very socially important thing.

Unfortunately, in XX's world, society decided that people NEED this thing at any cost (helping to create Fig Trees), society decided that you're worthless and used-up if you're not sexy (harming Cherry), and the intelligent mind created paraphilias, some of which involve hurting others (harming Chestnut, Pomelo, Fig & her victims). None of these things are part of that old instinct - they're new, they were invented by society and intelligence and tacked on to the sex act.

This also explains why XX's sexual violence only became a real problem after she came to the brothel. In Fig Trees, it's socially acceptable to harm and kill people if it suits you. Outside the society of Fig Trees, she managed not to maim Greenie's friend when she did the deed for the first time in ages, nor did she murder the VD when they first met and did predator roleplay. Sex itself didn't change, but the society she lived in did.

Everything else in the story (the rejection of her art, the cruelty of the credit system) paints society's failings as the villain. Having sex be corrupted by society fits right in with those other themes.

If you define "sex" like Smoothie does, as sex + all the awful additions that have been glued onto it by society, then I agree with XX: those additions definitely don't deserve the power they have, and she needs to escape from them ASAP if not sooner.

The good news is that if society created those awful additions, they can also change them. Sex doesn't have to be selfish and harmful.
22 . by: kuu January 18, 2018, 6:25 am

i thought something like the peacock's tail was a sign of health, that they are so healthy and strong they can grow cumbersome feathers to show how good their genes are
21 . by: January 18, 2018, 2:14 am

i agree with 12 & 15. I'm afraid I just don't jive with furrama's takes, though at this point i concede that the story seems to be more on that side; but if that turns out to be the case, then it would just turn out to not be the sort of story i can gain value or enrichment from. Still, I want to keep reading and find out what its final thesis will be.

I want to believe Fig's ability & mind for abstraction will make her able to deconstruct things in a way more potent, powerful, AND truthful than smoothie's extremely entry-level ideas. He's barely scratching the surface.

Her struggles have been turned completely internal due to everyone's dialogue about this subject. It's unfair to her that she be battling herself in this way. Her sexuality had to become violent and aggressive to survive in a world that insists it is insipid & invalid & one-dimensional. She's become attached to this personification of sexuality as demonic and parasitic. She's become attached to the idea of her own virtuous side that is instilled with the beliefs of her conservative mother who wanted to hide sex from her daughter.

If nothing else I have to believe Fig's mom being pictured as she was must mean that "sex is primal and destroys art" cannot be the point of this comic. It's impossible. There has to be a greater connection. Fetishes are abstractions of sexual desire, and fetishes are not inventions of a bored society-- fetishes exist in nature. The gorgeous plumes and songs of animals often inconvenience said animal's lives & interest in being discreet & are in no way tied to 'strength' or 'power'-- but their desire for colorful and loud partners can supercede other priorities. An animal evolves to have inconveniently giant spatulas on its ass because it wishes to pursue pleasure. Art is in bodies manifest & attraction has been abstracted since long before animals forged society. There's a lot for Fig to discover that society probably does not want to admit to. Someone of her social standing (the bottom) is the only kind who can find that truth.
20 . by: Zack January 17, 2018, 11:06 pm

Hi Dani,

Thank you, but there are no plans for the time being.
19 . by: Dani January 17, 2018, 10:27 pm

@Zach, will you create any Syconium-related media or merchandise? I want to support your efforts!
18 . by: January 17, 2018, 12:08 pm

Yeah, balance sounds ideal and all but Sex literally made X a murderer. It's worth tamping down a facet of self if that facet leads one to cause harm to others.
17 . by: January 17, 2018, 8:36 am

If you ask me, "balance" is a nice idea in theory...but at this point, Sex is a total parasite. So long as it has an inch, it's inevitably going to take back the whole mile. Like a girl who stays with an abusive boyfriend; "He said he didn't mean it, he'll be better now," but, inevitably...

What whatever I could say has been said better:

"The unconscious doesn't care about happiness, or sadness, or gifts, or bullets. It has one single goal, protect the ego, protect status quo. Do not change and you will not die."

URL : http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/04/the_abusive_boyfriend.html
16 . by: kuu January 17, 2018, 6:14 am

I don't have the master's degree in psycology to know 100% what this is, but this is Zack's so what he says is going to be canon, as the idea of "headcanon is canon untill stated" and even though I love things like "the pixar theory" it sometimes is not good thing, I guess because if I wanted to use symbolizm I'd want it perfect on a infallable godly level

so, which psycology is this? I forgot what Freud's death drive is, and wikipedia has alike articals that leads to a page on "destrudo"
15 . by: hemlock January 17, 2018, 4:15 am

I think I kinda get where 12 is coming from; because for the summary to work you kind of have to agree that sex is this primal, aggressive, obsolete thing that is the source of the problem.

But that seems incredibly unhealthy as a point of view. XX was doing alright when she was working for herself; sexually satisfied and making art. It wasn't until Green and the brothel and the government officals got involved that it started to go south. She was told that if she liked sex, or liked being violated, she wasn't good for anything else and deserved to be in her position in the brothel and the violent persona of Fig that was the worst part of herself was fully realized to overcome/absorb that. Sex isn't the problem; the way society views it is, and the way it's caused her to view herself. Smoothie didn't challenge society, or look to do anything to change her situation for the better, he challenged sex and nature. It turns a problem that was societal into something internal she has to struggle with almost entirely alone. or something, i dunno.
14 . by: K January 17, 2018, 3:55 am

Thanks Furrama for that concise summary thus far, I feel I have a similar understanding but it takes me re-reading many times to digest all the symbols!
13 . by: Furrama January 17, 2018, 1:00 am

If Smoothie hadn't shown up her story would have ended there, in her room, white and featureless. Forever shackled to her addictions and vices, the Animal wouldn't be a part of her anymore, but all that remained. She'd just be another Cherry II.

(S)XY didn't indoctrinate her. He didn't brainwash her. He only taught her about the science of sex when he was asked to, willingly, by her, uncoerced. He told her that she still had value apart from the Animal. He showed her how sex worked from the inside of each individual with some of the most leading science that their culture has, and told her that he believed she could overcome it if she really wanted to. That she could have purpose through Art and self control.

His mistake was in failing to be an avatar of self control. Failing to stop his own Animal. He's missing something, just like she has been missing something. (And she'll figure it out and save him too.)

Balance sounds nice, but the Animal is not nice, it's not fair. It isn't even her, it's a parasite, a left over part of evolution that she as a conscious thinking individual does not need to thrive or survive. It's not evil, it's a force of nature after all, but does evil to its host when left to grow unchecked. XX has to check it, and if that fails and she is overwhelmed, as it has been so far, she would have to get rid of it, no? Or at least, subdue it? Or find another route to sate it, change its diet? What's the alternative when it's so addictive and primal and destructive? (When she goes without she maims and kills, and will be used up and destroyed eventually?) Going along with it and lose her identity forever?

This page shows that 'Fig' is in everyone. This is a societal problem, manifest most strongly in XX. If XX can find a solution for herself, she will then have found a solution for society, and will have fully freed herself from the stigma that society has attributed to those like her and the darkest parts of itself because the stigma will no longer be necessary to protect itself. Sex will just be.

(S)XY tried to give her the tools he thought she needed to become who she really wanted, but all he could give her in the end was love, a connection to the outside, hope in herself once considered lost forever. He put the pigment back in her hands. The science didn't help much, though it was nice context and helped her better understand her place in society, and her inner selves. But all it was was context. He will be right about where the solution comes from and we know this: Art is the key. She just has to figure out what to do with the key.

Tldr: I still don't get the Smoothie hate. Well, I understand it but I don't get it, if you catch my meaning.
12 . by: January 16, 2018, 10:36 pm

This and the last page has really made it stand out just how badly Smoothie's choice of indoctrinating her with his thesis, while she was already in such a vulnerable position, has intensified the split and put her unnecessarily at odds with herself. Especially with how part of her now wants to fight for the side of a constructed dichotomy that was directly responsible for putting her in the brothel in the first place. It's at the worst possible time too as far as how such a big shift in mental state and behavior could be a danger to her in her current place and situation. All over a dichotomy that doesn't even have to exist and Smoothie's thesis doesn't even attempt to challenge or seem to even add anything to in any meaningful way.

It would feel less hopeless if the change was for more balanced and directly constructive reasons, like a desire to educate society about the damage the stigma is causing or at the very least something more at parity with herself and her experiences. It's reasonable that she'd seesaw so hard after being worn down by everyone, including the people closest to her, instead of finding equilibrium though. She was never really given any opportunity to directly face the reality of how society and people around her failed her or to learn how to direct fault to where it's due. She wasn't given any sort of real therapeutic process. Smoothie using his resources and connections to get her out of there first and actually working within the context of her life and experiences instead would have spoiled his little wager though. It's hard to imagine that he'd have been able to give her proper therapy anyway, with of how much of his identity and ego seems to be wrapped up in a thesis that is just a word craft's version of what is already status-quo for that society.

Trying to keep some thread of hope though. She's a deconstructionist and representational artist, so it's more than possible she could pull things apart again and find balance and redirect that fire to the real roots of the issues and try to spread that through her art. Especially if she gets the chance to gain enough experience in sharing her work to learn that art and how society treats it fall into the same framework of constructed dichotomies she's already struggling under. At the very least she'll have to learn to cope with those things someday or else face the very real potential of becoming just as disillusioned with art as a result (doubly in a universe where arts can be used as powerful and mind altering weapons to a degree unmatched in the real world).
11 . by: Seven January 16, 2018, 8:13 pm

Estrus-Fig's a bit of a poet herself.
10 . by: January 16, 2018, 7:50 pm

Reflections from below.
9 . by: January 16, 2018, 9:59 am

I wonder what X is planning...?
8 . by: kuu January 16, 2018, 7:07 am

this is getting trippy
7 . by: lunch January 16, 2018, 1:59 am

capital A art???
6 . by: January 16, 2018, 1:35 am

Also, mindFig is a lot less saturated as well. Take panel 5 compared to the previous panels; here her eyes are vivid and piercing against a washed out, unshaded, untextured body. It's like she's really scraping up as much power as she can muster but coming up short.
5 . by: January 16, 2018, 1:33 am

I'm thinking of a spread of tarot cards.
4 . by: Furrama January 16, 2018, 1:01 am

"My spread for you pathetic beings to despair."

That's a weird sentence.
3 . by: Papeipou January 15, 2018, 9:21 pm

Oh damn, she’s waking up!!!
2 . by: January 15, 2018, 9:05 pm

oh man, Fig doesnt have bold lines anymore. she has color, but XX has definition now. if they do truly fight, they might be on equal footing...
1 . by: Nobody January 15, 2018, 8:58 pm

ooohh i love that mirror motif you're playing with here.