Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Dr. Clairetenlove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Squee
Mr. Black Licorice:
First of all, I love the thread subject. Good Job.
With that being said, I would like to address everyone who claims that this arc is unrealistic... it's not unrealistic. It's not unrealistic that a new relationship goes wonderfully in the first week; if it didn't, there wouldn't be a second week.
It isn't unrealistic that a new relationship under unusual circumstances start with a lot of open, honest communication. Claire is a trans-person who has never been in a relationship and Martin is a cis-person who has never dated a trans-person. Without communication, both parties would not have been willing to give the relationship a first date.
It's not unrealistic or bad story telling to drive home the point that Claire and Martin are into each other. The first real test of their relationship is yet to rear it's ugly head. Someone within their group of friends is going to find out that Claire is a trans-person and NOT be okay with it. (My bet is on Faye...) This is going to put a lot of strain on their relationship - strain for which neither of them are prepared. We need to see that they are happy together now, so we are emotionally invested and want to see the relationship work.
Finally, I think it would be helpful for everyone to go back to the beginning of this relationship arc and read through it in one sitting. Getting a single strip a day tends to distort the pacing of the story. Seeing them back to back should help you see the story in the pace that it was originally intended.
eschaton:
--- Quote from: Mr. Black Licorice on 19 Feb 2015, 07:51 ---First of all, I love the thread subject. Good Job.
With that being said, I would like to address everyone who claims that this arc is unrealistic... it's not unrealistic. It's not unrealistic that a new relationship goes wonderfully in the first week; if it didn't, there wouldn't be a second week.
It isn't unrealistic that a new relationship under unusual circumstances start with a lot of open, honest communication. Claire is a trans-person who has never been in a relationship and Martin is a cis-person who has never dated a trans-person. Without communication, both parties would not have been willing to give the relationship a first date.
It's not unrealistic or bad story telling to drive home the point that Claire and Martin are into each other. The first real test of their relationship is yet to rear it's ugly head. Someone within their group of friends is going to find out that Claire is a trans-person and NOT be okay with it. (My bet is on Faye...) This is going to put a lot of strain on their relationship - strain for which neither of them are prepared. We need to see that they are happy together now, so we are emotionally invested and want to see the relationship work.
Finally, I think it would be helpful for everyone to go back to the beginning of this relationship arc and read through it in one sitting. Getting a single strip a day tends to distort the pacing of the story. Seeing them back to back should help you see the story in the pace that it was originally intended.
--- End quote ---
The only outright unrealistic thing about their relationship is that how they acted around each other changed so much once they hooked up. When people who have been friends for awhile become lovers, it's generally a seamless transition, because you skip the whole period where you're "putting on your best face" due to insecurities. The other person knows who you are, to a great extent, already. Marten should still stick his foot in his mouth sometimes. Claire should still fire off zingers at inappropriate times. The relationship feels like it was "fanficed" because they do not.
Mr. Black Licorice:
--- Quote from: eschaton on 19 Feb 2015, 08:01 ---The only outright unrealistic thing about their relationship is that how they acted around each other changed so much once they hooked up. When people who have been friends for awhile become lovers, it's generally a seamless transition, because you skip the whole period where you're "putting on your best face" due to insecurities. The other person knows who you are, to a great extent, already. Marten should still stick his foot in his mouth sometimes. Claire should still fire off zingers at inappropriate times. The relationship feels like it was "fanficed" because they do not.
--- End quote ---
That's a legitimate criticism. Maybe Jeph is doing that on purpose for some reason... but it is far more likely that he is more focused on writing about a difficult subject tastefully than he is on characterization. I do miss the puns, however...
Aziraphale:
It's not always seamless, though. I mean, it's not as though you're nothing more than coworkers on Thursday and you wake up married on Friday morning (at least not under normal circumstances). No matter how much you know about someone before getting into a relationship with them, you don't know everything about them. And yes, changing the "status" of the relationship does lead to a bit of a change between the participants; sure, you know the person, but I think you become a bit more conscious about how you treat them and act around them. After all, you've singled out that person as someone who means something different to you than the mass of other people in your life. After a while, people settle back to normal, and I'm sure these two will be no different.
DrClef:
--- Quote from: Mr. Black Licorice on 19 Feb 2015, 08:42 ---
--- Quote from: eschaton on 19 Feb 2015, 08:01 ---The only outright unrealistic thing about their relationship is that how they acted around each other changed so much once they hooked up. When people who have been friends for awhile become lovers, it's generally a seamless transition, because you skip the whole period where you're "putting on your best face" due to insecurities. The other person knows who you are, to a great extent, already. Marten should still stick his foot in his mouth sometimes. Claire should still fire off zingers at inappropriate times. The relationship feels like it was "fanficed" because they do not.
--- End quote ---
That's a legitimate criticism. Maybe Jeph is doing that on purpose for some reason... but it is far more likely that he is more focused on writing about a difficult subject tastefully than he is on characterization. I do miss the puns, however...
--- End quote ---
Which is my personal complaint.
#2901 at least seems to finally be getting back on track.
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