02-03-16 Helps break the ice

[Giz]

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

[Spidrift]

Okay, so Dillon was being selfish - but in a trivial, where-am-I-gonna-sleep way, rather than a het-is-ugh way. I get the impression that if the solution hadn't involved Julian, he'd have been quite happy to let Ruby have the room on this sort of basis.

Meanwhile, when Ramona isn't following Ruby in shipping Dillon and Julian, she's trying to be helpful, but somewhat overloading poor Ruby. (Well, better than Zii's "throw Gary in the deep end; he's seen enough porn" attitude, I guess.) It seems that Jung maybe helped her too well. Ruby's expression in the final inset frame just looks weird - hopefully, it'll make more sense once the strip is inked - but it seems like confronting quite such a full range of sexual options in one go is understandably a bit much for her.

Her expression in the main body of the last panel is sweet, though. It looks like the idea of sex with Andy as an equal matter, rather than a chance for her to be humiliated or hurt, really appeals to her.

Hmm. I've been assuming that strip #300 will involve Ruby in bed with Andy, and I still think that's likely. But might it also show some horseplay between Dillon and Julian?

[Mr. Bee]

Forget breaking the ice. Romona just broke Ruby's brain.

[brasca]

She recovers quickly enough. Ruby does compartmentalize if she reacts this way after all the yaoi she's read. However, even if she knows what to do to Andy perhaps she is nervous about what Andy will be doing to her. This isn't about going at it with holes cut into sheets.

[Spidrift]

Remember, part of the appeal of the yaoi may be that the lack of female protagonists allows her a degree of distance from the squidgy realities of sex. The difference between looking at artful pictures of genital activity and actually having to get up close and very personal with something she had barely ever even seen until recently, is pretty considerable. (To put it bluntly, she can't even guess how it might taste.) Plus, yes, the implication is that Andy would be doing even more complicated things to bits of her that have been very private until now. And we know she's fastidious; she'll now probably spend three hours in the bathroom before the date, trying to avoid any possibility of Andy reacting with distaste.

And if she's being nice, she may be worried by the responsibility of taking her teeth anywhere near something she knows the owner will value.

[lordoffiling]

Trying to figure out what to make of "(ice?)"

Could it be that there is some part of Ruby's brain that has begun to move past Abject Terror and into Let's Fantasize?

[Spidrift]

Worry does tend to play havoc with the human ability to process metaphor.

And I'm sure that the bits of her brain responsible for Terror and Fantasy have been locked in hand-to-hand combat ever since she saw Andy. Fantasy is now getting on top and trying to apply a choke hold. But Ramona isn't always helping there.

(If you've seen Inside Out - somebody recently managed to work out why the puberty button wasn't engaging properly. Joy then got the drop on Disgust and hogtied her, and is currently in a screaming match with Fear, although Disgust has just worked the gag loose. Anger and Sadness are standing back, though either might jump in after Saturday night. And the construction crews have blueprints for a major new island, alongside the Yaoi Island that they built just recently, and are ready to roll...)

[JoybuzzerX]

The sad part is, Dillion obviously has some age over Julian (not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with what I'm guessing is someone 8-12 years older than the one they could be dating), but everyone seems to be more than willing to force Dillion into Julian's arms, and some of them (Ruby) know enough about them, that they should really have backed off on that idea.

Also, still Dillion's bed, which he has been willing to share with her. It shouldn't force him into sharing it with her and another, while he goes off somewhere else. Not if he's made to feel uncomfortable about it anyways.

[Spidrift]

Ruby's and now Ramona's yaoi-shipping of Dillon with Julian is rough on him and not either of them at their nicest, especially as it clearly triggers his squick reflex. But it's hard to avoid a mutter of "it couldn't happen to a more appropriate victim" sometimes.

And no, he's not obliged to lend her his bed. But it's exactly the sort of thing that he seems to think that friends should do for friends, and he was primarily responsible for Ruby meeting Andy and has been pushing them at each other ever since. Begrudging Ruby use of his room for the night now would be mean-spirited of him. The fact that this ends up steering him toward Julian's bed is a separate issue. If he really wanted, he could check into a hotel, or borrow Gary and co.'s couch, or something.

[Abraxas]

Ruby.exe has encountered a problem and must shut down.

[brasca]

Remember, part of the appeal of the yaoi may be that the lack of female protagonists allows her a degree of distance from the squidgy realities of sex. The difference between looking at artful pictures of genital activity and actually having to get up close and very personal with something she had barely ever even seen until recently, is pretty considerable. (To put it bluntly, she can't even guess how it might taste.) Plus, yes, the implication is that Andy would be doing even more complicated things to bits of her that have been very private until now. And we know she's fastidious; she'll now probably spend three hours in the bathroom before the date, trying to avoid any possibility of Andy reacting with distaste.

And if she's being nice, she may be worried by the responsibility of taking her teeth anywhere near something she knows the owner will value.

Well I like yuri for many of the same reasons Ruby likes yaoi, but that doesn't keep me from thinking about the realities of sex. If I had to imagine myself in a scenario I'd be like Kiley trying to defuse a bomb, but I wouldn't really be concerned about what I was or wasn't wearing. Even if she wears a teddy or negligee for the deed she still has to expose a very private area for easy access. Ruby's prudish not a gymnophobic, but it's one thing to be barged in while showering by a gay friend and sister and another to actually expose yourself to what is really her first romantic interest. Personally, I don't think she has to be too concerned about her downstairs. She eats right and practices good hygiene. That should be enough.

[Spidrift]

I don't know where the question of what Ruby will wear came from, but that could be a whole plot strand in itself - trying to avoid advice from Amber (and Dillon if she has any sense), wondering if she ought to go out and buy something lacy and underwired, hopefully ending up back with her usual knockout nerd-casual look...

And doubtless there's a whole lot she doesn't need to worry about but she doesn't know what's normal or expected or polite. And she's a natural worrier.

[brasca]

It wasn't but it's related to Ruby's fastidiousness as well as her own comfort level. She might prefer to wear something for the occasion that is enticing as well as preserves some modesty. Personally, I could care less what my sexual partner is wearing, but I understand she might feel self conscious if she's wearing underwear that's not very sexy or if it's too early in the sexual relationship to be completely naked.

[Spidrift]

It's an interesting question what sort of underwear Ruby would consider "sexy" without being silly or over-the-top or tacky. Being a sucker for plain black myself, I'd kind of hope that she might guess that that'd work okay - and she'll have some in her wardrobe already, to go under dark clothes.

Of course, any full set of underwear is likely to raise the question of whether Andy can remove a lady's bra neatly without making an ass of himself.

Though I'm not sure that it's ever too early in an actually sexual relationship to be completely naked, if one can get there from outdoor clothes with some dignity or style. Either you trust the other person and want to be intimate with them, or you don't - in which case, you shouldn't be there. If Ruby is too shy to lead with her best shot, and can find an excuse to change, she could go for one of those sleeping T-shirts that she's recently adopted, and accept that she'll be losing it soon.

[SilentChaos87]

I keep trying to come up with jokes about how badly this is gonna go, but everything that I can think of right now is wildly inappropriate.