25-05-14 My weekly ritual

[Geeno]

I agree - Ruby is just an attractive woman who could, if she wished, make a lot of different looks work.

[Snakie]

Ah, another one of those huge showers where three people fit in without any problems.

I also note the "step into the shower and soap up by rubbing against anther naked body" was also recently in Ma3.

And, mmm, Ruby without glasses!!

Ruby, hair down, no glasses...

[Bambikles]

Heh. Always having been prepared to make passes at girls who wear glasses (back in my single days), and having nothing against her bob

Nothing against glasses, but hair down is much better IMO. It makes her look younger i.e. more like her age. The bob, the jumper and jeans make her look like she's in her 30s, while she's certainly 23/24.

[Spidrift]

More like 21/22 if she's just graduated, surely? And I'm sure that she's happy for what she wears to make her look mature, or more to the point, serious. Which she is, by nature, so she might as well go all-out and own the look.

[BlairFan]

Aw, c'mon, Ruby. Nobody said you can't join the fun.

[Bambikles]

More like 21/22 if she's just graduated, surely? And I'm sure that she's happy for what she wears to make her look mature, or more to the point, serious. Which she is, by nature, so she might as well go all-out and own the look.

Yeah, but you don't have to look 10 years older to look serious. Or rather, even if you're young, you can look serious without looking like you're older than you are.

Though it might be a character trait, just like her grand-ma nightgown.

[Spidrift]

Remember, Ruby has been consciously not trying to look sexy or attract men. She's not stupid; she knows that if she wants a business career, she needs good presentation - but if it ever crossed her mind that she was looking older than her years, she probably thought "Good". Youth isn't always taken seriously, and she really wants to be taken seriously. The fact that she has a rather slight build wouldn't help there. If you ever told her she looked girlish, she'd probably go and get changed straight away.

Not that I entirely agree about her looking 30-something, mind you. (Possibly because I have warm memories involving a serious-minded female 20-something with a taste for sweaters and jeans.)

[nottere]

I feel like Ruby has become the main character of Sticky Dilly Buns. Not that that's bad, but it occurred to me that we do not see that much of Amber in this particular comic.

[vampire hunter D]

And Dillon's purpose (despite being the titular character) is to annoy Ruby.

[Spidrift]

One does rather feel that the writers started the comic because they're attached to a character ... who isn't terribly interesting once you get past the one-note one-joke ditziness, and who therefore ends up as second banana to his "support" cast. Or perhaps I'm just too fond of Ruby.

['J']

i think dillon's the type of character who works better in a supporting roll anyway. he doesn't really seem to have enough depth to drive an interesting story all by himself, and as a comedic character he really needs a straight-man to work off of. so to speak.

i think that's why i personally find that his interactions with ruby go a long way to making him a more likable & less annoying character than he was in ma3.

[Spidrift]

Isn't the difference, though, that in Ma3 he wanted to get into Gary's underpants, whereas with Ruby he just wants to be her official Gay Best Friend?

Though funnily enough, it should be perfectly possible to add depth to Dillon, possibly even without making him an even bigger cliché. Does he have a family? If he's so dedicated to his acting, couldn't he tackle different sorts of drama? Is there anyone who he actually dislikes (as opposed to ex-boyfriends he cries about)?

[rpr]

Aw, c'mon, Ruby. Nobody said you can't join the fun.

Right! Do not be shy... She is your sister, half of her genes are inside you... (and waiting for the right trigger that will activate them )

[Spidrift]

Of course, if personality is genetically determined, one should note that half of Ruby's genes are in Amber. Having those activated would really bring the drama. "Oh god, I've pretty much wasted my life so far, spent years lying to my parents, let my hormones run my brain..." Actually, there's a little evidence that those genes have begun to express themselves lately.

['J']

Isn't the difference, though, that in Ma3 he wanted to get into Gary's underpants, whereas with Ruby he just wants to be her official Gay Best Friend?

sort of, but i think there's a bit more to it than that. in ma3, he's acting largely for his own benefit, and mostly serves as a designated 'comic relief guy' with only occasional importance to the story. in sdb however, he's actually trying to be helpful toward ruby & their relationship to her is integral to her development as a character.

similarly, the relationships and interactions are different. ruby is a much more assertive straight-man than gary. while he usually just annoyedly tolerates whatever dillon is doing, she is actually actually pushes back a bit. as such, the dillon/ruby relationship comes across as being much more one between equals than dillon/gary, & puts dillon in a better light.

in a sense, his role in sdb is actually somewhat like zii's role in ma3; a mischievous yet worldly friend who's trying to help the stunted adult-child grow into the world of adult relationships; though that help is not always the type of help that's wanted.

Though funnily enough, it should be perfectly possible to add depth to Dillon, possibly even without making him an even bigger cliché. Does he have a family? If he's so dedicated to his acting, couldn't he tackle different sorts of drama? Is there anyone who he actually dislikes (as opposed to ex-boyfriends he cries about)?

i think you could put dillon into more interesting situations, but limiting factor is that it's usually pretty clear how he is going to react & behave in any of them. the only time i can think of when he actually did something unexpected was when he dropped the camp to give gary & amber a serious talking to. if we saw more situations like that, were he would actually get serious about certain things, that might be interesting & reveal some previously hidden layers.

maybe we could see him on set, displaying an unexpectedly hard-core level of professionalism & dedication to his craft. or put him in a situation that calls for a greater level of personal restraint and sensitivity to others