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15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:27 am
by Giz

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:09 am
by Zippy
Let's be fair here, Amber. Given your history (not least with Nathan), the only one you can get angry with while being fair is Ray.

And THEN only for keeping secrets, not for the act(s)...

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:58 am
by Hogan
I was thinking the same... Amber did play around with Nathan herself back when she was in for the "serious roles" and she used sex and pressure to get him to sign over the condo as well... :-)

... something about pots and the colour black?

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:59 am
by Dr. Jamming
I think she's far more than justified in heaping blame on Nathan; the man takes exploitation and abuse of power to the next level. She's been in Ray's position, on the other hand, and should only feel sympathy for him...

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:07 am
by Azrael
Let the Nathan hit the floor. :p
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Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:30 am
by Cortez
Ray can't be that dumb, can he?

Also, since they clear dislike Nathan, i'm surprised Amber and Dillon haven't screwed him over by telling his wife.

I mean if they're worried about their careers, they can just tell her anonymously.
Hogan wrote:I was thinking the same... Amber did play around with Nathan herself back when she was in for the "serious roles" and she used sex and pressure to get him to sign over the condo as well... :-)

... ?
She wasn't happy about that if you recall. You mentione the condo, which happens when Dillon and Amber force him to stop manipulating them into having sex with him.

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:37 am
by Azrael
To paraphrase Obama: Yes he can! :p

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:13 am
by crimzontearz
Cortez wrote:Ray can't be that dumb, can he?

Also, since they clear dislike Nathan, i'm surprised Amber and Dillon haven't screwed him over by telling his wife.

I mean if they're worried about their careers, they can just tell her anonymously.
Hogan wrote:I was thinking the same... Amber did play around with Nathan herself back when she was in for the "serious roles" and she used sex and pressure to get him to sign over the condo as well... :-)

... ?
She wasn't happy about that if you recall. You mentione the condo, which happens when Dillon and Amber force him to stop manipulating them into having sex with him.
Because...you know...that would solve the problem and make sense

And we just CAN'T HAVE THAT now can we??

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:14 am
by lordoffiling
Gooooood. Use your aggressive feelings, Amber. Let the hate flow through you.

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:14 am
by Spidrift
Cortez wrote:Ray can't be that dumb, can he?
Well, yes he can. But he's an Ma3-universe character; room-temperature IQ isn't that surprising. What's weird is that Amber, who's generally average-smart, hasn't previously noticed that her boyfriend is thick as shit. One wonders what they talked about during their walks in the park; nothing complex, that's for sure.
Cortez wrote:Also, since they clear dislike Nathan, i'm surprised Amber and Dillon haven't screwed him over by telling his wife.

I mean if they're worried about their careers, they can just tell her anonymously.
Well, for one thing, a deal is a deal; they bought the condo by giving Nathan what he wanted, just once, which at least implicitly included discretion. Going nuclear on someone when you've had what you wanted from him is a poor long-term trade practice.

And for a second thing, another part of the deal was the promise of options on three more parts each. Even if they avoided letting Nathan know that it was them stitched him up, he might well guess, and even if he didn't, a big marital bust-up, perhaps including a divorce and a big alimony deal, could play havoc with his business, which would be bad for their new careers.

For a third, even if they sent an anonymous tip-off, Nathan's wife would presumably investigate, and likely discover the truth, including the names of two of Nathan's adulterous partners. So they could well end up in the middle of some kind of shitstorm, despite their secrecy.

And for a fourth, they don't know anything about Nathan's wife. She may well have married him for the money, and be turning a blind eye to his adventures so long as the shopping trips and champagne parties keep coming in. So snitching on him might achieve nothing - except Nathan's wife might tip him off that he has treacherous underlings somewhere.
Cortez wrote:She wasn't happy about that if you recall. You mentione the condo, which happens when Dillon and Amber force him to stop manipulating them into having sex with him.
Nonetheless, Amber has traded on her sexual availability for years, and not just with Nathan; he was just a last customer. She can't honestly call it bad in itself, unless she wants to be more ashamed of her porn career than she's ever admitted.

But I guess that she feels that she went into things with her eyes open, while Dillon ... was a gullible idiot, but, well, that was in the past, and anyhow, revenge has been taken for that. So it looks like she's getting really angry now because she's discovered that Ray is frankly borderline mentally deficient, and she feels that Nathan was exploiting that.

Still, it'd be interesting if Ruby was around when Amber went off at Nathan, and asked coldly why Amber thought that buying and selling sex was such a terrible thing.

EDIT: Also, I notice the big "G" on Ray's chest. Please don't tell me that his character is called "Gay-Man".

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:46 am
by lordoffiling
Well...

Amber is a bit of an airhead herself. Like many in the Pixie Trix universe, she tends to go with her first impulse, not allowing her brain to chime in with relevant information until days, sometimes weeks later. A great example would be her mixing Yuki and DiDi up, then realizing the mistake later and calling herself "clearly an idiot."

It wouldn't surprise me if Nathan defends himself with gentle reminders of Amber's past transgressions. That's what the truly sleezy often do.

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 11:51 am
by Fluffy
The big difference is that Amber was well aware of what she was doing when she was using sex to get the better roles in Nathan's movies. Ray, on the other hand, doesn't have a clue; as he thought the sex was just part of the audition. Hence why she's so pissed and targeting her anger at Nathan - which is completely justified, on her part; as - even by Nathan's own admission some pages back - Ray was suitable for the role, even without the sex (i.e. - he manipulated Ray into believing he had to perform 'fake' gay sex in order to prove he had the acting chops to play a gay role - which Ray fell for).
Cortez wrote:Ray can't be that dumb, can he?
Yes, he can - as he's still very much under the ridiculous impression that 'being on the down low' had nothing to do with any sexual gratification for either side; that it was just part of the audition that landed him the role.
Also, since they clear dislike Nathan, i'm surprised Amber and Dillon haven't screwed him over by telling his wife.
Maybe it would have been considered a breech of contract? They tell the wife, and Nathan finds out, they're out of work and kicked out of the condo. Why risk it?

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:07 pm
by JoybuzzerX
This is everyone assuming Ray is stupid and not knowing full well that this is getting him the job he wants.

He even states "what's the harm?" Nathan gets what he wants and he's getting the acting job he wants. Which is exactly what Amber (and Dillion) did themselves, not to mention past evidence that others who have gotten parts with Nathan or parts in general have done.

Amber is just upset that it's her current BF :p She already knew Nathan was the type of guy who traded sex for movie roles.

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:29 pm
by cellabella
JoybuzzerX wrote:This is everyone assuming Ray is stupid and not knowing full well that this is getting him the job he wants.

He even states "what's the harm?" Nathan gets what he wants and he's getting the acting job he wants. Which is exactly what Amber (and Dillion) did themselves, not to mention past evidence that others who have gotten parts with Nathan or parts in general have done.

Amber is just upset that it's her current BF :p She already knew Nathan was the type of guy who traded sex for movie roles.
Bingo. Yeah, I am rethinking my own "Ray is the human equivalent of too-dense pudding" supposition.

I am not yet putting him in the class of a manipulator like Izz from Ma3, but I think this strip indicates that there is more than meets the eye with him. Before, I thought that he really thought the sex was only a way to judge how "suitable" he was for the role. Now it is clear that he's aware that he was using the casting couch and he sees no harm in this, nor does he seem in any way sorry or remorseful, which strengthens my case for calling this relationship non-serious on his end.

But Amber's attitude puzzles me. She says "You had sex with him to get the job? Already?" And looks dismayed, not infuriated or horrified to have been cheated on. She sounds as if she fully expected for Ray to have to bend over for Nathan at some point, but she's floored that he did it just out of the gate. I'm not sure what to think of this. Without Zii's throwaway panel in Ma3, I'd just assume that Amber also was not serious about Ray and considered him an FWB, but we know she doesn't. Yet ... acting like a disappointed parent and then storming out to confront a man you've banged before for the same reason really isn't the reaction of a woman realizing her great love has been having sex with other people behind her back.

I dislike ascribing certain labels and behaviors to sex workers or former sex workers, but it feels like Amber has been conditioned not to accept monogamy from anyone with whom she becomes involved. That's okay if that's okay with her, but I don't think it is, and that's just sad.

Re: 15-01-16 Always business with him

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 2:11 pm
by Varanus
JoybuzzerX wrote:He even states "what's the harm?" Nathan gets what he wants and he's getting the acting job he wants. Which is exactly what Amber (and Dillion) did themselves, not to mention past evidence that others who have gotten parts with Nathan or parts in general have done.
I think one difference there might be that Amber at least would own up to it being a messed-up situation, just one she was willing to be a part of. Ray seems to think it is a perfectly legitimate business practice.