If that applies, she needs an excuse for what she's doing in that last panel, if only for herself - and she hasn't got one (yet). She went to that shelf and got the books down. Now, on past form, she might, say, have done so to destroy them - but they're Dillon's property, and she really isn't that rude to him. Without that, well, she's got to admit to at least being curious. It might be disgusted-curious for now, but you can bet that she'll be going back to those books, or something similar - and the contradictions have to get to her quite fast. She's not stupid, and she's not actually schizophrenic.themacnut wrote:Ah Spidrift old boy, I think you underestimate the power of denial in the psyche of a person who simply does not want to think too hard about a certain subject. Makes the Dark Side of the Force look like a fluffy light grey cloud in an otherwise blue sky.
Less damaged than first appeared, actually, if only to preserve the comedy. She isn't Yuki; no fugue states, no serious physical violence. She's constructed a coherent, conscious, quite rational explanation of her view of sex; she's too busy and not interested, and the whole thing is faintly yucky. There are sane people out there for whom that would actually be true (at least in the real world, if not in the Ma3 universe); it just isn't for her. She's annoyed by other people's open interest in sex, but she hasn't really condemned anyone for it since those first few seconds in that wardrobe.themacnut wrote:And it really should be obvious by now that Ruby is already quite damaged, where her attitudes toward sex are concerned.
Which is good for her, but actually makes her look stupid instead of damaged. She can think about sex without throwing up, she has a fair idea how relationships work, she's had her first kiss, and she's not especially embarrassed about her body. And yet, she's still in denial about the fact that she can be turned on in a perfectly unremarkable way. How many weak-kneed blushes and trips to that bookshelf will she have to endure before she at least tells herself "Fine, I like the sight of hot guys" and either does something about it or consciously sacrifices the option for now?
I mean, someone ought to tell her that she's in danger of being rude to Andy by stringing him along. If she said to him "You're cute, but I need to sort my life out - this isn't fair to either of us. Call me in six months", that'd be fine.