06-08-14 Can we snuggle

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themacnut
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by themacnut »

Yep, Ruby is not only this comic's butt monkey, she's also become Dillon's personal butt monkey. She's been taking it up the butt from him pretty much since they met. Metaphorically speaking, that is. :))

Of course, I have little sympathy for either of them, so all this amuses me, and keeps me reading the comic.
Spidrift wrote:Gary is the actual subject of Dillon's fixation. Knowing that he's lost forever to rampant heterosexuality might well sting a bit. Adding Amber to the mix would just add a spice of betrayal; and knowing that she approved and encouraged it might suffice for that purpose.
I'm pretty sure that's one reason Amber may want to keep knowledge of her little rendezvous with Gary from Dillon for as long as possible, at least until he gets himself a new boyfriend. Of course if Dillon decides he's going to make Gary his new boyfriend, that will complicate things for Amber a great deal, especially if she actually manages to get a nice thing started with Gary herself.
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Spidrift
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Spidrift »

themacnut wrote:Of course, I have little sympathy for either of them, so all this amuses me, and keeps me reading the comic.
Whereas, of course, I do actually like Ruby, so Dillon's relentless abuse of her naivety and good nature take him from "not very interesting flawed character", through "rather boring jackass", dangerously close to something I actively, stupidly, immoderately want to see hurt bad.
themacnut wrote:Of course if Dillon decides he's going to make Gary his new boyfriend, that will complicate things for Amber a great deal, especially if she actually manages to get a nice thing started with Gary herself.
I increasingly suspect that her relationship with Gary will flare and burn, purely for narrative purposes - to show that She Got Troubles, and to prevent excessive crossing over between the two comics, which just creates problems for the creators.

However, as to Dillon - it does seem like he's just about, almost come to accept that he isn't going to get anywhere with Gary, at least on the conscious level, even if he does engage in idiot daydreams. And as Gary's current main problem/defining joke is that he's having to beat the women off with a stick, Dillon's chances of any kind of clear run at him are limited. (Plus, Dillon going after Gary creates plot crossovers, see comments above.) I think we're more likely to see either a new love interest for Dillon, or more likely, another go-round on the Dillon/Jerzy carousel - especially with Jerzy still living in the next apartment.
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TJgalon
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by TJgalon »

brasca wrote:
TJgalon wrote:I really do like her without the glasses
She's cute either way, but she bears too much of a resemblance to her sister without the glasses. Best to avoid confusion and not have a cliche makeover of the nerdy girl.

And congratulations to everyone on completing volume 1 and many more to come!
I like her with her glasses on, maybe it just something with them off to, to me at least.
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Tenjen »

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dmra
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by dmra »

TCampbell wrote:
crimzontearz wrote:same here

I don't know how someone can not hate him
I guess you just don't know me.

I'm curious to what extent your view of Dillon is influenced by being associated with the creative team?

Giz said a few days ago that Dillon's character was flawed but was going to "grow" but the "normal" reader can only go by what they see in the published strips. Obvioulsy without giving away any secrets does knowing that there is going to be a "journey"- and presumably some of the how and what of that effect how you view him?

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Spidrift
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Spidrift »

Giz has said at least twice that they get a lot of Dillon fans coming to the table at conventions, and one has to believe her. As I said before, I'd guess that those are the people who need Dillon's last couple of strips to convince them that he wasn't all that and a bag of salt and vinegar.
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dmra
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by dmra »

Or maybe those people don't mind Dillon being a whining and over dramatic hypocrite but actually like him for it. There are a lot of people around like that I've found.

I've known a few Dillon's in real life - some gay some straight. They were a lot of fun 95% of the time but could be a total pain when they went into full on drama queen mode. Sometimes there was good reason for their reaction but other times it was more for effect and to be the centre of things rather than any real sense of pain. I quickly learnt to tell the difference; avoided them during their more OTT moments and waited until they went back to being amusing. Other people though actually seemed to like them most when they were being most outrageous. they seemed to like basking in the reflected sense of drama.

I sometimes feel like I'm unique in being on the middle ground when it comes to Dillon. He's not my favourite character but I would miss him if he left. I find that he can be entertaining as a character and as a plot catalyst but there are times I find him really annoying. I guess I'm just doing the same thing with Dillon in the comic as I did with the real life equivalents. Enjoying the good times and putting up with the bad.

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Spidrift
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Spidrift »

When are Dillon's good times?
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dmra
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by dmra »

Question of taste but there are plenty there if you look.

I do find it quite strange that you have such a downer on Dillon for being a drama queen but seem to like Sonya who is actually quite a similar personality.

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Spidrift
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Spidrift »

It isn't really the drama queen thing, though I personally find the campness very tiresome; it's the way he presumes on everyone else, including Gary but very especially Ruby. If people like Amber and Jerzy like that sort of thing, that's their business, but when he acts the same way towards people who don't enjoy it, it's just bullying.

I mean, what's the real difference between Dillon and some drunken goon who keeps tousling someone's hair and tripping them up, between telling them to lighten up because it's all in fun? Apart from the fact that the goon will at least be sober in the morning?
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-- Motto of Hogshead Publishing of fond memory, and wise words to set your Foes List by.
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dmra
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by dmra »

Dillon may be boorish and insensitive but he isn't deliberately malicious (with a few fairly petty exceptions). Look at how Sonya behaved towards Yuki and Zii. Going with Gary to hurt Yuki and cheerfully trying to break up Zii and Erik puts pretty much anything Dillon has done into the shade. Which doesn't make her a bad character but would make her a bad person, a far worse one than Dillon.

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Spidrift
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Spidrift »

That imaginary drunken goon may not think he's being malicious; he may just think he's being the life and soul of the party. All those uptight twerps should loosen up a bit, you know? It's not his fault that the people who get humiliated for being uptight never include himself - because he's not uptight, so he's fine.

Remind you of anyone?

But anyway... Sonya certainly has a catalogue of faults, and was given a kick the dog moment or two at one point to establish that her drama addiction was taking her to some bad places. But she doesn't jar with me the way Dillon does, because, for whatever reasons, she doesn't act like a bully. She may pick fights (just as Dillon picked a fight with Angel the first time they met), but she always picks them with someone her own size; she wants the drama of a reasonably fair contest. She had a legitimate grouse with Yuki, and could have been happy to see Yuki become sad and morose, but instead it pissed her off in ways that she didn't even understand, because Yuki was no fun any more. And her occasional flashes of kindness look sincere to me, whereas Dillon's just look like yet more theatre, or manipulation.

For Sonya to turn into a generally good person, she just needs to calm the hell down a bit, get over her Zii obsession, and notice that her wacky schemes for being nice to people are generally more fun than her wacky schemes for being a femme fatale. That looks attainable (though the Zii thing will need some work). For Dillon to turn into a generally good person, he needs... I dunno. To have his head nailed to a coffee table? To stop being Dillon, basically.

Plus, yes, I'll save you the effort of stating the obvious; I'm a heterosexual male. Which bad person do you think I'm going to enjoy watching being bad?
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themacnut
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by themacnut »

Same here. I'd bet you good money that most of Dillon's fans are female - and other gay males.

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Geeno
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Geeno »

I think one reason Dillon bothers me is that I know someone like that - not a campy gay man - a middle aged woman who just has to involve everyone in the great drama that is her life, and she doesn't take "will you please just f**k off" for an answer. She's an old , old friend (30+ years), and she's a fundamentally good person - kind to strangers and animals, but the amount of work she is to deal with just makes you want to strangle her, and then you feel bad about feeling that way. It's just no win with such people.

Oddly, I actually liked Ma3 Dillon. He wasn't nearly as self-absorbed. He was self-absorbed, but not as much as now. His love of Gary seemed genuine and was kind of poignant after the play.
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Zippy
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Re: 06-08-14 Can we snuggle

Post by Zippy »

Geeno wrote:I think one reason Dillon bothers me is that I know someone like that - not a campy gay man - a middle aged woman who just has to involve everyone in the great drama that is her life, and she doesn't take "will you please just f**k off" for an answer. She's an old , old friend (30+ years), and she's a fundamentally good person - kind to strangers and animals, but the amount of work she is to deal with just makes you want to strangle her, and then you feel bad about feeling that way. It's just no win with such people.
Now you mentiom it, I have an aunt like that...

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