Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT

WCDT 2932-2936 (6th to 10th April 2015)

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Kugai:
Oh dear


Clinton, you poor bastard.



Laughing my ass off here

joran:
This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

I also realized that the comic is really into characters who have no experience in sex/relationships these days. I'm thinking early days Marten, Steve, Faye, Dora, Sven to Marigold, (Dale?), Claire, Clinton, Emily. As the comic is aging up the characters are aging down in terms of experience, if not maturity. I'm gonna let Tai and Hannelore cancel each other out because I figure they showed up early and around the same time.

Elder Sign:
To me, this whole arc smacks of "Hey, these are the two weirdest characters in the strip right now, let's shove them together, watch it all go to hell, and then point and laugh!", both in-universe (Claire and Marten being mean and messing with Clinton and Emily for kicks) and out-of-universe (Jeph deciding that they must suffer to make a few punchlines).

I'm not looking kindly on this storyline, since I have plenty of experience with being the odd/bookish person in the room/class/group and getting messed with relentlessly because others found it "funny".  So no, I'm not getting a kick out of this one.  If this is Jeph's way of backhandedly making me (and others) sympathize with Emily and Clinton, well, it's working.

On top of that, the contrast between relationships could not be any more stark.  Claire and Marten get a hundred strips of relentless saccharine overkill; meanwhile, Faye and Angus are no more, Dale and Marigold get no screen time, Dora and Tai get one brief strip of one argument, and Emily and Clinton get used as the butt of jokes.  Gee, I totally can't tell who the author's favourites are ...

jheartney:
One of the mysteries of humanity is the way that different individuals, in combination, bring out bits of one another that otherwise may never be seen. In my own experience I've seen this in many many interactions. In some ways i become a slightly different person each time I'm interacting with many people I know. In some cases, there may be incurable awkwardness and clumsiness, while in others, there's confidence, or loquacity, or shyness. I may become a nerdy raconteur, or a bemused but mostly silent observer, or many other unexpected personalities. The passage of time doesn't seem to affect it much, either. Seeing an old acquaintance, I slip into the same mental place I was with them years earlier. I don't think I'm the only one this happens to.

Jeph is a good enough observer of humanity that he picks up on this. We've all seen how doormat Marten transformed into a suave and confident man-about-town when in Claire's company. I don't think this is bad writing; to the contrary, it's something that really happens, and it's a sign that the two could have a nice future together. They complete each other and turn one another into better people.

Clinton and Emily's personal chemistry is looking just dire. She becomes even more of a space cadet, and he becomes a complete kneebiter who makes terrible choices. It's difficult to watch, honestly. Maybe they'll find a way through all this to stop going to wherever mental space they send one to, but it's not looking hopeful.

Warning - while you were typing 2 people took the thread in another direction entirely. You may wish to dump your post.

Aziraphale:

--- Quote from: joran on 08 Apr 2015, 21:11 ---This doesn't even make sense. Clinton wasn't ever into Emily, it was just Claire/Marten's offhanded suggestion/tease that he ask her out. Why does he want to impress her? Why does she care about tattoos and undercuts all of a sudden? This woman drunkenly cut her own hair off one day. Just...doesn't seem in character for either.

I also realized that the comic is really into characters who have no experience in sex/relationships these days. I'm thinking early days Marten, Steve, Faye, Dora, Sven to Marigold, (Dale?), Claire, Clinton, Emily. As the comic is aging up the characters are aging down in terms of experience, if not maturity. I'm gonna let Tai and Hannelore cancel each other out because I figure they showed up early and around the same time.

--- End quote ---

Character dynamics. Any time you have a differential in experience (including, but not limited to, romantic experience), you have the potential for a more interesting story; there's potential for conflict, learning, humor, and quite a bit else. If everybody was perfectly and evenly matched, things would likely get old quick.

You also have to bear in mind that not everyone has the same experiences at the same time, then factor in age (some of these characters are younger than others, don't forget), and general nerdiness/geekyness (it made a difference for some of us, y'know).

Regarding the dynamic of their relationship so far: sometimes things start well and go to shit. And sometimes things get off to a shaky start -- as they've been doing here -- and end up quite well. It's a bit early yet to be writing the post-mortem for Emily and Clinton as a couple, or to second-guess what this means for either character's growth as the whole thing unfolds.

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