Congrats, Sir/Madam. I registered an account just to join the conversation because of you.
Awww thanks! Glad you're joining the community!
Have you never had a friend that suddenly became a romantic interest?
...
I'd evaluate my feelings.
Sure, I've absolutely had that happen! Shame I was always too chicken to follow up on it
When it happened to me, though, it was someone that I already at least had friend-chemistry with, someone I was already connecting with. But there's been very little relationship development between these two! Nothing to say, "hey, there's something there, maybe!" He mused over the drunk-snuggle the same way he mused over Emily's cheek-kiss - noting to write home about there. Even when he's in the bar and calls Claire his favorite, he says "you're all my favorite!" Marten reaches out to Claire and invites her to things because that's what he does - he reaches out to people who seem like they need it. He's helping her feel included, that's all. If Emily wasn't so self-sufficient, he'd invite her out to stuff too. There's no indication that they even have a deepening friendship, besides idle conversations at work. It just feels like Marten falling into something because it's easy and she's has a crush, not through any real impetus of his own.
There's also the issue (for me) that she feels so much younger and impressionable. She's trusted him with personal stuff, but what has she trusted her with? What does he see in her? What is it that makes it about her in particular? I get that she has a crush on him, but it feels like an infatuation-crush, not like something Marten could sink his teeth into.
Here's the thing: Let's compare Claire to Padma. Marten didn't know Padma very long, just like he hasn't known Claire long. But he and Padma could talk about things, they could banter back and forth, they could laugh, there was chemistry! That I was totally into, I could understand that! Plus, Padma was an adult, you know? And her time with Marten felt like an adult relationship, brief as it was. We haven't seen any of that with Claire. He's been a confidant to Claire, sure, he's been a buddy. But more than that? It's just not there.
With Padma, it felt natural. With Claire, it feels forced.
As with most of the discussion to be found, it seems as though everyone is assuming that each character is acting towards a best case scenario. Even those who would say these action are out of character, are saying so because they assume that the story will be written in such a way that trends, from the beginning, towards a a favorable outcome. I have read several comments which seem to allude to this story line being pursued because of they think Jeph has a certain social agenda, or otherwise pandering. Might it be, that he does have an agenda, but it is not one which has been fully considered.
Disclaimer: If any of the following is against forum rules, please let me know, and i will refrain from discussing such things in the future, I have not been here for that long.
It seems that so many people have been assuming that Jeph's message is that two people can be in a relationship, regardless of any issues resulting from gender identity, or from being trans. What if that's not the point, there may actually be a different end game. After continuing to re-read the various strips with Marten and Claire, I can truly see the arguments from both sides as to whether or not the relationship developed naturally. Perhaps, in the end, they are not actually compatible people. We of course can not know that yet, and I do not feel like getting into listing all of the various pros and cons of their relationship. But, what this makes me wonder about, is if Jeph is trying to make a statement, maybe he will have them break up. Maybe it will be horrible. This will lead into a more important point. While it can be something that an author wants to talk about, when he creates a cis and trans character who get together, is it not a more powerful point to create these characters which end up apart because of their base incompatibility, and not something resulting from any of their perceived gender identity issues?
To elaborate, if you want to expound upon these issues, as out dear author may wish to, if you have a cis/trans couple get together, and then split, having a real, underlying personality conflict, will eliminate any speculation about whether the relationship ended because of any transphobic complications. This is possibly even a more powerful message than getting them together in the first place, because the reasons for their breakup are clear, and not related to any perceived trans issues. The reason that is see this as being a likely outcome, is that, while I like Claire as a person, I just don't think we have even met the person that Marten is meant to be with. It just seems too soon in the progression of the story. I don't know, it seems like either there is going to be a breakup, or there is going to be a marriage, how else would the story end properly? It would seem less likely to me that Jeph is going to eliminate all of the struggle from Marten's character in the foreseeable future, so the likely outcome is breakup.
Anyway, those are just my thoughts.