SDB 06-12-18 Having a secret or two

[Giz]

New SDB comic on Ma3 is up! http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/sdb- ... et-or-two/

[TheEighth]

Childhood resentment and jealousy that Amber never knew Ruby had

Who'd have guessed

[DocMesa]

Awww. I thought this strip was kind of sweet. Its also really nice that Ruby enjoyed her first time.

[OllieOrOlly]

For once, eavesdropping in this universe brought something good; I must confess, in spite of how - maybe not dysfunctional but rather - misaligned their sisterly bond is, there was a genuine sweetness to Amber hugging Ruby in a heartfelt embrace, without spoiling the moment by admitting her emotionally charged fondness was caused by overhearing a private moment (sometimes omitting the truth isn't the worst option). Also, before that, it was nice to see Ruby's true, unadulterated feelings regarding her sister, beneath the frustration of having to hide a secret from their parents and despite of her underlying envy over Amber being "sexier."

I'm curious as to what Andy meant by "not like other guys." It seemed like there would finally be a non-sexual romantic relationship, but then just became a vanilla sexual encounter (granted, vanilla *is* uncommon for this franchise), yet now apparently Andy and Ruby had sex, without the former... achieving ecstasy? Seems odd that he can get the "mechanics" of the operation going, but evidently doesn't gain *traditional* sense of pleasure.
Regardless, it is a pleasant development that it turned out satisfying for Ruby, especially since she was so nervous and uncertain about it.

[Spidrift]

Andy presumably classes as either "asexual, but heteroromantic, capable of the mechanical act, and likes the closeness and making another person happy", or "low libido, but gets there eventually when the emotional bond is strong enough", depending how you look at it. Ironically, the latter would make him almost the male DiDi (and he has the good looks and persistent slightly manipulative-seeming obtuseness too). As to the mechanics working despite the low desire... Well, human sexuality is just weird at the best of times, and he's a healthy guy with, no doubt, good circulation. There are people with stranger wiring out there. I doubt that Ruby will complain; she gets laid by a good-looking hunk who pays more attention to her desires than to his own satisfaction.

Mind you, I'd imagine that there are mechanical processes that he'd enjoy, and I can imagine her taking identifying those as a personal project.

Anyhow, all of that said... Amber overhearing all this was a bit of a wild coincidence, but it's presumably a way of helping the comic reach a satisfactory wrap-up point in not too many strips, and anyway it's that kind of comic so I won't waste time complaining about it. I'll be a little less impressed if this ends up miraculously resolving the entire Ruby/Amber relationship problem, though. I can believe that there was a bit of jealousy in Ruby's view of Amber (with, doubtless, the irony of Amber in turn being a bit intimidated by and even jealous of Ruby's greater book-smarts), and I can accept that there was some remnant of Ruby's childhood love for her cool big sis buried under everything else -- but there was so much more involved; Ruby's truthfulness is a key part of her character, and having to lie for Amber clearly hurt her, as did Amber walking out on their friendship just when she needed it most. There's surely a lot of repair work still needed there, even once Ruby has relaxed a bit and become more willing to talk.

Plus, Amber still needs to tell their parents about her past career sometime. Getting moral support from Ruby rather than just chiding may help, but Ruby isn't actually the only one with a messed-up emotional life in places.

[brasca]

This is sweet even if I find it a little difficult to believe in an apartment with 3 other people Ruby’s use of the love egg went unnoticed.

[Milnoc]

In real life, this relationship might not last very long. Andy's the emotional equivalent of a love doll. Ruby might realise soon enough that her partners need to have as much of an emotional involvement with her as she has with them.

[Fluffy]

That was a very sweet ending.

Now, here's hoping Amber doesn't ruin it by admitting she listened in on Ruby's intimate moment with Andy.

[Spidrift]

This is sweet even if I find it a little difficult to believe in an apartment with 3 other people Ruby’s use of the love egg went unnoticed.

Perhaps there's a special silenced model available in the Ma3 universe. Or perhaps Ruby jumps for the bed with egg in hand every single time she finds herself alone in the apartment.

And it's just possible that Dillon has glimpsed it, wherever she keeps it, but has attained a sufficient level of un-Dillonish tact and understanding of Ruby's personality that he doesn't mention it.

Now, here's hoping Amber doesn't ruin it by admitting she listened in on Ruby's intimate moment with Andy.

Amber has never been written as entirely stupid. (She's not DiDi.) What she's just heard makes it clear that she has to keep schtum about these specific topics. Whether she can resist saying just enough that Ruby guesses that she's guessed something will be another question, but realistically, Ruby can't keep the basic fact of the relationship quiet in the medium term; even if Dillon doesn't drop a tactless "How did it go with Andy?" -- and Amber already knew there was an issue with him anyhow, and had even provided advice -- Ruby and Andy will want to arrange some private time together.

Longer term, well, I imagine that Ruby will end up taking it as understood that she and Andy are a full-scale item. The next big breakthrough might be her asking Amber's advice on some specific sex-related subject.

[worldshaking00]

A good amount of information in this strip.

"Other guys" struck me as a bit odd. He just doesn't place sex as a top motivation and doesn't respond usually to visual stimuli. Fair enough. I'd like for him and Ruby to explore themselves a little bit more, to see if he responds quicker/better with someone he cares for deeply. I assume that SDB isn't one right now, but that might be too difficult to squeeze in with the remaining time left to the comic.

Speaking of squeezing in (sorry for the pun), YAY RUBY! The question of her whether or not she masturbates is answered. She might have been a repressed virgin but she at least was curious/desperate enough about her body to explore. The way she always lashed out about how wicked sex was left doubt in my mind. I assume that Amber 'teaching her' about them meant Ruby found one in their bed. Combining that with her short stint selling fuckerware with Dillon meant she could easily get her hands on one. One wonders what she fantasises about, whether it was just because of her being turned on by reading her yaoi or honest sexual exploration. Rhetorical, really. Either way, I am happy for her.

As far as keeping her love egg a secret, Ruby is intelligent. She generally knows the schedules of Ruby & Dillon, being their PA. I assume Jerzy and Ray don't pop in whenever. Voila. Plus Dillon might spend a fair amount of time out at Jerzy's. Then there is audio camouflage, like music. She doesn't have to moan loudly either. Or perhaps she has a waterproof model and takes it into the bath with her. It is plausible that she was able to keep it secret, for a short time at least. Considering the wibbly-wobbly time span of when Ruby discovered yaoi and found Amber's toy to the present strip, that could be a few months. I also don't expect Ruby to be roosting on her egg day and night either; she'd have brought it out only when safe.

I am also happy that Ruby & Andy were able to finish their sex without interruption. Whether it was happy luck to not get barged in on and how much Amber's eavesdropping/guarding the door helped is anyone's guess. I am not as freaked out as some of the readers are by Amber staying the duration of their intercourse. Amber loves Ruby and Amber wants Ruby to be happy. Considering Amber's blasé attitude towards sex and how she'd want to keep Ruby's goings on safe,I can see her keeping guard over the door rather than being a creeper. Having Ruby be more approving of sex has been a goal of Amber's for a while. While it doesn't alter the fact of Amber's deceits, it gives Ruby a frame of mind on how wonderful sex is and to what lengths a person can go to have more. Perhaps there is a small addictive personality that runs in their family. Amber found sex for her outlet whereas Ruby found education as hers? How angry Ruby always got about Amber's lying always seemed a little too much. Now we can see that part of her anger really was because of her jealousy at how sexual/sexy she was of Amber.

Now the question is if can Amber keep secret. I think so. She just doesn't have to lay it on thick (like how panel 4 displays) how much she loves Ruby. Having the two of them sit as sisters and ibe open and frank about love and sex would be great. I'd like to see Ruby and Amber have a double date, to end the comic... perhaps both sisters wearing roughly the same attire.

[Antinerd]

Awww. I thought this strip was kind of sweet. Its also really nice that Ruby enjoyed her first time.

Would a naughty picture of the event be too much to ask for?

[christopheftw]

It was super sweet!

[Spidrift]

"Other guys" struck me as a bit odd.

He's realised that his responses are a bit non-standard. It's clearly not been killing him, but anyone who discovers that sort of thing about themselves is likely to worry a little about being weird, unless they're insanely self-confident or actually psychopathic. But he's now found that he can get a girlfriend, she's someone who can understand him and not judge, and he can make her happy -- which is a good stack of reassurance.

I assume that Amber 'teaching her' about them meant Ruby found one in their bed.

The reference for that long-range callback, in fact.

Combining that with her short stint selling fuckerware with Dillon meant she could easily get her hands on one.

I'd love to see a follow-up to that bonus strip, with Ruby having become a terrifyingly effective saleswoman.

How angry Ruby always got about Amber's lying always seemed a little too much.

Well, there were always hints of a bit of jealousy being involved. But also, Ruby clearly had the sense that Amber ran out on her just when Ruby desperately needed a friend. There were a whole lot of related contributory factors (only some of which have now been resolved).

[Zellgato]

Wait... Did I miss it?
When did Andy's misunderstanding clear up?

Wasn't there some portion of their conflict (besides their different understanding of their sexual concepts) being that Andy thought she was a former porn star (with the original scene leaving the implication (for a fair long while-until they brought up sexuality)) that part of their conflict was him thinking he wouldn't match up)
When was that cleared up? He clearly references first time... Did I miss a panel, or do we just assume they had the conversation "in the moment" ?

A good amount of information in this strip.

"Other guys" struck me as a bit odd. He just doesn't place sex as a top motivation and doesn't respond usually to visual stimuli. Fair enough. I'd like for him and Ruby to explore themselves a little bit more, to see if he responds quicker/better with someone he cares for deeply. I assume that SDB isn't one right now, but that might be too difficult to squeeze in with the remaining time left to the comic.

I can say that the "other guys" bit is pretty accurate. I'm a demi, I have mechanical operation but 0 interest without long standing emotional bits and bobs. and I regularly feel his lines about various comparison to other guys and their sex drives or enjoyment etc. When you (in my experience) grow up with off sexuality in a highschool... you tend to get a disposition of "I don't stack up and relationships are hard /weird"
Hell I still have issues when I do develop a sex drive, it tends to feel more overwhelming because 98% I don't have aon or anything at all really.

[JoybuzzerX]

I'm curious as to what Andy meant by "not like other guys." It seemed like there would finally be a non-sexual romantic relationship, but then just became a vanilla sexual encounter (granted, vanilla *is* uncommon for this franchise), yet now apparently Andy and Ruby had sex, without the former... achieving ecstasy? Seems odd that he can get the "mechanics" of the operation going, but evidently doesn't gain *traditional* sense of pleasure.
Regardless, it is a pleasant development that it turned out satisfying for Ruby, especially since she was so nervous and uncertain about it.

I'd say his difference is likely in that he needs more than just looking at a girl he finds hot to get going. That's what his dialogue seemed to imply earlier. He needed touch/sensation to get his motor running.