Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

Dora/ Martin.

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Carl-E:
Sometimes in real life, from even a mile away, you just sit there and watch that train barrel down on you, trying to get the car off the tracks even though you know it's not worth it. 

TheEvilDog:
And sometimes, people don't try to jump out of the way of the train, instead they run straight for it.

Yellowstone:

--- Quote from: Cmaley1 on 19 Nov 2010, 23:07 ---
As far as Marten goes, I think he really messed up letting Dora move in with him and Faye at the jump. That was a tell-tale sign that their relationship cannot progress past a certain point because Faye is still occupying some of his heart. The three of them should have seen that train wreck coming a mile away.


--- End quote ---

Of course Faye still occupies part of Marten's heart - they're best friends.  Sure, they started out as potential romantic interests, but in the 1300 strips since The Talk they've developed a deep platonic connection.  Sure, it's pretty unusual to have that sort of connection between people of opposite genders, but it's certainly not impossible.  And it's unfair of whoever Marten might wind up with to ask him to break that connection for the sake of the relationship.

I'll draw an analogy with another webcomic - Girls With Slingshots.  Marten and Faye have the sort of deep friendship that Jamie and Hazel have.  Does the Jamie/Hazel friendship mean that Hazel's relationship with Zach can't progress beyond a certain point?  After all, Jamie occupies a major place in Hazel's heart.


--- Quote from: mira on 19 Nov 2010, 22:17 ---
Furthermore, this relationship didn't feel right in the first place. It made Martin look like a faithless dope to jump ship to Dora when he was falling for Faye.  The entire relationship never made sense to me, for the same reason it never made sense to Dora. I couldn't believe he didn't hold a candle for Faye. No one is that flexible in their romantic interests. Dora was always going to be second fiddle-if only because she literally WAS his second choice.  


--- End quote ---

Quoting Marten and his mom from strip 447:


--- Quote ---
Veronica: What about Dora?  She seems considerably looser wound.

Marten: Dora's a great girl, but I can't just switch my affection from one person to another like that.  I need to see this Faye thing through to the end, whatever that end turns out to be.


--- End quote ---

It seems to me that Marten already recognized that Dora was someone he'd be willing to date, given the right circumstances.  And he did indeed "see this Faye thing through to the end."  Once he knew that it wasn't going to work, he moved on.  Probably not entirely by the time he started dating Dora, but a couple months in, by the time he and Dora knew that they made each other happy?  I'd imagine he'd fully gotten over it by then.

It's also worth pointing out that Marten befriended Faye a good bit before he befriended Dora.  If it had been Dora that had approached him in strip 4, and Faye whom he got to know a few hundred strips in, who's to say he wouldn't have been waiting to see how the Dora thing panned out before moving on to Faye?  I don't think we can say that his initial focus on Faye over Dora represents a preference for Faye over Dora, when it could just be due to the sequence in which they met.

Cmaley1:
You know, giving it a little more thought, I think some of this break-up involves Marten as well. He has an inability to be an initiator. Marten doesn't take initiative too often; he is great at reciprocation and that makes him a great friend and advice-giver, but Marten struggles with speaking his mind and being the one to address issues. Marten puts his foot in his mouth too often because he doesn't know how to finish something he's started, like when he confronted Ellen (I believe that was her name...Steve's first girlfriend in the series) and now when he confronts Dora he steamrolls into a conversation he wasn't prepared for and has nothing to say.


--- Quote ---Of course Faye still occupies part of Marten's heart - they're best friends.  Sure, they started out as potential romantic interests, but in the 1300 strips since The Talk they've developed a deep platonic connection.  Sure, it's pretty unusual to have that sort of connection between people of opposite genders, but it's certainly not impossible.  And it's unfair of whoever Marten might wind up with to ask him to break that connection for the sake of the relationship.
--- End quote ---


I agree in that no one can break the friendship Faye and Marten have, and that it is unfair to suggest such. But, it is unfair to put Dora into a situation that will always remind her of her insecurities concerning Marten's feelings for Faye. Granted, Dora should have recognized the situation as being a hazardous one, too.

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