06-03-15 Did not mean to hurt me

[Giz]

New strip! http://www.stickydillybuns.com/strips-s ... to_hurt_me

[Spidrift]

Ah, the one way that Ruby can survive receiving Too Much Information as usual; get sufficiently angry first. And she's still the quickest thinker in this comic, going from Amber's statement to a conclusion about Dillon to the realisation that she's apparently been in bed with a bisexual man in one leap. And the fun thing is, the only way that Dillon can reassure her is by saying either that it involved an act of prostitution or by coming up with some kind of half-true story implying that Amber tricked him - neither of which is going to improve Ruby's opinion of Amber one iota.

Not that it's high already. "Devil witch" indeed. And the revelations are likely to keep on coming; for example, if Dillon says that he had someone to comfort him after the breakup, Amber might just discover that Ruby is a more complex and competent human being than she quite realised before. Or there might be some more confusion about Rudy.

Meanwhile, Amber is being a bit wangsty. She may have stuff to apologise for, but she really needs to dial back the emoting. I guess she really is crap at conventional human interactions.

[Azrael]

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[Bambikles]

I love how the two sisters seemed to be locked into their own world !
They're far more similar than they would admit it, especially Ruby, in their campiness.
Ruby seems to take every opportunity to look/talk down to her sister, which I find quite unsavoury. Dangerously close to slut-shaming in fact. Really, Ruby comes off as quite unsympathetic in this strip... In fact, in almost every strip where Amber is involved. Grudge and rivalry don't excuse everything.

Meanwhile, Dillon seems to take all of this pretty well. He kind of surprise me. Where has his drama queen side gone ?

[wiseguy]

I think in a way, Amber is mad at herself for treating Gary as a "piece of meat" the same way many men treated her for being a porn star and for being scared of being "emotionally connected" (as a friend) to Dill

BTW, Ruby does not know YET that Gary is not bisexual (if we don't count Senna as he sees her as a female with an extra tool)

[brasca]

Ah, the one way that Ruby can survive receiving Too Much Information as usual; get sufficiently angry first. And she's still the quickest thinker in this comic, going from Amber's statement to a conclusion about Dillon to the realisation that she's apparently been in bed with a bisexual man in one leap. And the fun thing is, the only way that Dillon can reassure her is by saying either that it involved an act of prostitution or by coming up with some kind of half-true story implying that Amber tricked him - neither of which is going to improve Ruby's opinion of Amber one iota.

Not that it's high already. "Devil witch" indeed. And the revelations are likely to keep on coming; for example, if Dillon says that he had someone to comfort him after the breakup, Amber might just discover that Ruby is a more complex and competent human being than she quite realised before. Or there might be some more confusion about Rudy.

Meanwhile, Amber is being a bit wangsty. She may have stuff to apologise for, but she really needs to dial back the emoting. I guess she really is crap at conventional human interactions.

Yes this is definitely the kind of revelation that will not go over well. Ruby gradually got comfortable with being in close proximity with Dillon because he is gay. If he reveals that he was only straight for pay that will not be reassuring.

[TwoWayStar]

*laughs* *facepalms*

Have fun explaining that one guys

[Fluffy]

I think in a way, Amber is mad at herself for treating Gary as a "piece of meat" the same way many men treated her for being a porn star and for being scared of being "emotionally connected" (as a friend) to Dill

I didn't get that impression, at all. All her guilty babbling indicates (to me, anyway) is that she feels rotten for hurting Dillon. How she used Gary has nothing to do with this sudden breakdown.

[Artemisia]

Someone please sit Ruby down and give her The Talk...and please include things like "not all gay men engage in anal intercourse", "men can engage in cunnilingus with women", and "not all lesbians avoid penetrative sex". The poor girl's got less knowledge about sex than 1890's school girl!

[Spidrift]

Ruby seems to take every opportunity to look/talk down to her sister, which I find quite unsavoury.

It's a bit obnoxious, but it's hardly unsavoury.

If I read her attitude correctly (and, oh God, full disclosure, I think that I know it very well indeed, like five or ten years' worth of very well), it's a defence mechanism. Never forget that Ruby is the introverted, intelligent, younger one. From her point of view, the only way she can retain any kind of self-confidence in the vicinity of Amber is by repeatedly reminding everyone including herself (and Amber) of the areas in which she has the edge -- and the only way she can be sure of her parents' attention and affection is by playing to her strengths. And Amber's confidence and extroversion probably feel like arrogance to her, so slapping that down will feel justified as well as satisfying. She may feel that this is the only way to get some respect from Amber, too, which she probably wants more than she admits.

The thing is, though, that they ought really to be over all this by now. It's a teenage thing; Ruby ought to have learned a bit of subtlety by now. Nor is Amber blameless; if she knew Ruby better, she'd understand what was going on, laugh it off, and occasionally very gently slap Ruby down until Ruby learns better. But neither of them have had the chance to learn anything until now.

Dangerously close to slut-shaming in fact.

Oh, I think Ruby will get closer to slut-shaming than this before the conversation is finished. The thing is, though, right now she has a bit of an excuse; Amber's lifestyle choices and lack of self-control have come back to bite her, and half of what Ruby may say is likely to be justified. Ruby has played her cards completely differently, and of course she'll take the pot when she wins a hand.

Really, Ruby comes off as quite unsympathetic in this strip... In fact, in almost every strip where Amber is involved. Grudge and rivalry don't excuse everything.

No, they don't, but the sense of betrayal explains a lot. In a night and a day, Amber went from being Ruby's probably-admired big sister into turning Ruby into a long-term liar. That could just have been the low point of their relationship, but instead they've both let things drag on for years. Amber has become the symbol of everything that Ruby rejected, and of every doubt that Ruby feels about her own choices. There's not much human being left in Ruby's view of Amber (and not much understanding in Amber's view of Ruby).

Meanwhile, Dillon seems to take all of this pretty well. He kind of surprise me. Where has his drama queen side gone ?

He's been subject to a good influence. That's where you can find a reason to like Ruby in this strip.

Funnily enough, it isn't so much anything Ruby has said or done as the way Dillon sees her. He's been reminded that not everyone has to love him for his bad habits, and he's actually started worrying about the consequences of his actions and choices. It's making him a better person. And as I said before, I bet that his shoulder angel now has round glasses, a blazer, and a rah-rah skirt.

[wiseguy]

I think in a way, Amber is mad at herself for treating Gary as a "piece of meat" the same way many men treated her for being a porn star and for being scared of being "emotionally connected" (as a friend) to Dill

I didn't get that impression, at all. All her guilty babbling indicates (to me, anyway) is that she feels rotten for hurting Dillon. How she used Gary has nothing to do with this sudden breakdown.

"why must he be as good as you" shows she realizes her main reason to be with him is his skills and not to do something for him (specially if we remember yesterday's strip) plus this proves is not as big of a babbling as you think, as we know that she actually thinks that Gary is BETTER than Dillon AND Zii, not "just as good as Dillon" but she still has enough of a presence of mind not to say that

[FlashD81]

Damn a lot going on in this strip. Amber is going full drama, Ruby is on a witch hunt, and Dillon is just trying to understand what is going on.

Meanwhile, Dillon seems to take all of this pretty well. He kind of surprise me. Where has his drama queen side gone ?

With the good influence from Ruby, and Amber's current drama queen performance, Dillon is doing his best just to keep on track.

I have a feeling that Ruby is going to lay it on a little too thick in a strip or two if this keeps up. Dillon, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have had enough time to process all of this. His reaction to Ruby's comment could go any number of ways, and none that I can see will make her feel much better.

Still I think that Amber's actions have put her in the dog house for now. But, if Ruby reacts worse than she has been I think she will join Amber in the dog house.

[Spidrift]

I have a feeling that Ruby is going to lay it on a little too thick in a strip or two if this keeps up.

Ruby has had most of her Amber-related buttons pushed at once. We've not seen much of them together recently, but Amber evidently brings out the worst in Ruby, by symbolising everything that troubles her. She's unlikely to let up now.

Dillon, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have had enough time to process all of this. His reaction to Ruby's comment could go any number of ways, and none that I can see will make her feel much better.

But if Ruby thinks that Dillon has been lying to her, leading to her sharing a bed with a bisexual man, she'll stop caring what he says or thinks. Her regard for his opinions has always been a bit shaky anyway; Ruby just worries a bit what anyone thinks of her if she doesn't despise them (i.e. she's hung up on respectability), and Dillon has got through to her by logical argument, but right now he's putting himself right back in the "part of Amber's sordid little world" category. And it's unlikely that he or Amber will be able to say anything to remove that risk.

It's really hard to see how this conversation can not drop all the relationships in the apartment right into the pan for a week or two, really.

[FlashD81]

And that is what I'm afraid of. Dillon has made good progress and for him to lose the source of that... hmm.

Dillon might decide for revenge and reveal that Ruby likes Yaoi. Thus making things worse. OK, I'm going to stop here, if I keep going I'm going to have them trying to kill each other.

*Takes deep breath and exhales* I'm going to stay calm and just wait for the next update.

[Spidrift]

Oh, character progress in these comics has always been of the two-steps-forward, one-step-back variety. (Sometimes three-steps-back, actually.) And Dillon's hormones are still what they are, and Jerzy still lives across the way... I'm sure that the soap opera will continue a while yet.

But I don't think that he'd go for some kind of tacky revenge on Ruby; breaking a formal promise is precisely the kind of "dishonourable" action that most of the cast avoid to prove to themselves that they're "good". Letting something slip by accident is a whole other matter, obviously, but I'm betting more that Dillon will say something about Rudy at some point.

But anyway, Dillon doesn't really have much cause to seek revenge on Ruby at present. She's going to be annoyed at him over the "bisexuality" issue, but his response to that is likely to be to try and work out how to convince her that he really is gay. She will no doubt be having a fairly nasty go at Amber, but Dillon will probably try to play the voice of sweet reason there. His only actual reason for bitterness in the current mess is Amber's bedding his two crushes, and he's still trying to say the right things about that.