*stares at thread*
*looks down at The Useless Broom Made Entirely Out Of Dicks*
*looks back at thread*
...so be it ...if it must be done...
Okay, first things first: Marten and Faye are not about to randomly hook up. There are seven things wrong with that idea, and each one of them is all of it. Even if Marten still had serious romantic interest in Faye (he's said multiple times he does not), and even if Faye still had serious romantic interest in Marten (she's also said she does not), and even if Faye wasn't now into Angus (she is), and even if Dora and Marten do break up (they haven't), it still would not happen because Jeph is not a rejected writer from Friends. Seriously, what the fuck. Even if, IF the over-arching storyline of QC is leading toward them finally hooking up, it is absolutely nowhere near happening yet. No amount of booze, emotions, lowered inhibitions or ANYTHING ELSE can make that plausible.
Next, Dora.
Yes, she's being a terrible bitch. Eveyone in the comic has thus far realised it - including, and this is important, DORA HERSELF. Her being an insecure control freak is not a sudden dramatic thing, it is in fact one of the biggest recurring themes in the relationship and has been a major plot point several times in the past. Her insecurities have been a prevalent issue since literally within hours of her and Marten first hooking up when she collapsed in a ball of self-loathing after kissing him. Getting sad because Marten might not really want her, getting touchy when other women interact with Marten, not trusting Faye and Marten together, not listening to Marten, not respecting Marten's privacy - they are all offshoots of the same fucking problem and this has been made abundantly clear, in canon, a dozen times.
Is this problem making hell for Marten? Yes, obviously. Is Marten sick of dealing with this problem? Yes, obviously. So why is he still dealing with it? It is because Dora is his girlfriend and he obviously loves her and how the fucking hell is that not the most obvious thing of all, seriously. He has his limits, God knows he has his limits, but he's making the effort because he's a human being with real emotions who's working to make his relationship last with someone he cares about. If and when he reaches his limit the relationship might end, but he's not at the limit yet. How can we tell? Because he's still trying, even if he's bitter about it. Yes, he's nearing his limit, but he is not going to decide to change everything now. A relationship with someone you like isn't like changing your accounts to a new bank because you don't like the service at your old one, and acting like he can just "change his mind" about Dora is utterly, utterly retarded. His actions up until this point, and Dora's actions up until this point, are completely logical, make perfect sense for their characters, and I for the life of me cannot see what all the confusion is about.
Yes, obviously, things are pretty fucking bad right now. Will they break up? Maybe. Will they break up permanently? I have no goddamn clue. Maybe Marten's going to take that holiday he was talking to Dora about a while back, only by himself, to "clear his head" a little. Or maybe Dora will actually find some way to come to terms with her issues. Or maybe Marten will finally lose his famous cool, blow up at all the shit in his life, and they'll break up for good. What's even MORE likely is that none of these things will happen in the next strip, or the next ten, or maybe even the next hundred, because only Jeph knows where the current arc is going and thus far he's prett good at defying our expectations.
If we are to continue thinking of Marten and Dora as reasonable people (or characters) then they should not break up over this. Arguing otherwise is idiotic and proof that you know fuck-all about relationships. But guess what? NOBODY SAID THEY HAD TO BE FUCKING REASONABLE. People, as a rule, are not reasonable or sensible in the vast majority of cases. And even if Marten and Dora don't break up over this specific incident, maybe it'll be another one. Or maybe they won't. Screaming that they absolutely must do this or that will not only achieve nothing, it's stupid. I, for one, lean toward them sticking together, even if things are mighty strained for a while, but if they really wanted to break up, it would have happened three hundred strips ago and we all goddamn know it.
So in closing, my final thoughts:
This is all happening as part of the story progression. The characters are being true to what we know about them, even in going so far as to say that we know they can be inconsistent. The characters do not have to do the "sensible" or the "right" thing. And they are allowed to fuck things up for themselves. But, ultimately, things are going to change, because if they don't the story will go nowhere at all. How they will change, how dramatic it will be, and who - if anyone - is right... that, we're going to find out.
AND NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU POST ARGUING THAT YOU WOULD WRITE THE STORY DIFFERENTLY, IT WILL NOT CHANGE HOW THE STORY IS WRITTEN. So calm the jolly fuck down, have a little faith that Jeph is actually a competent storywriter, and let the man take us along for the ride. I, for one, am enjoying it.
*swings The Useless Broom Made Entirely Out Of Dicks around his head and gives a battle cry*
*plunges into the fray*
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Topic: WCDT 15-19 November 2010 (1796-1800) (Read 445557 times)