Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT strips 3681 to 3685 (19-23 February 2018)
Tova:
--- Quote from: BlueFatima on 23 Feb 2018, 03:35 ---
--- Quote from: Emperor Norton on 22 Feb 2018, 20:34 ---Like I said, come in apologizing, but you can't just not have the conversation.
Actually, the way Momo and May are addressing it odd entirely to me. Like Momo referred to it as just an issue of miscommunication. Marigold imagining Emily and Dale fucking just because they were laughing when she came in is not a "miscommunication" issue. That is a deeper issue, and it feels bizarre to me that it is being glossed over, even by the person giving her advice.
--- End quote ---
I agree. I also think their advice is off the mark. Both of them (mostly Momo, but May is doing it today) have been making it out that Dale is *settling* for Marigold, and that Emily is out of his league.
--- End quote ---
I don't think that's what they are saying or even implying at all.
Pennepasta:
--- Quote from: Tova on 23 Feb 2018, 04:12 ---
I don't think that's what they are saying or even implying at all.
--- End quote ---
Really? I get that vibe from Momo, with the "Well, you'd rather have a pilotable Gundam than him!" in response to claims of him preferring Emily, giving a strong inference that Emily is unattainable for Dale in a similar way that a pilotable Gundam would be for Marigold. Also, "He cares for you very much!" is a... weak counterargument to "He'd rather be with someone else than me", again implying that there's no solid argument against Dale preferring Emily, but she's just out of his league.
SpanielBear:
--- Quote from: Tova on 23 Feb 2018, 04:12 ---
--- Quote from: BlueFatima on 23 Feb 2018, 03:35 ---
--- Quote from: Emperor Norton on 22 Feb 2018, 20:34 ---Like I said, come in apologizing, but you can't just not have the conversation.
Actually, the way Momo and May are addressing it odd entirely to me. Like Momo referred to it as just an issue of miscommunication. Marigold imagining Emily and Dale fucking just because they were laughing when she came in is not a "miscommunication" issue. That is a deeper issue, and it feels bizarre to me that it is being glossed over, even by the person giving her advice.
--- End quote ---
I agree. I also think their advice is off the mark. Both of them (mostly Momo, but May is doing it today) have been making it out that Dale is *settling* for Marigold, and that Emily is out of his league.
--- End quote ---
I don't think that's what they are saying or even implying at all.
--- End quote ---
tbf, it is a little bit. But that's okay. I've heard it explained like this: People have a (conscious and subconscious) list of things they look for in a partner- let's say 10 things. Often that list includes things that are inherently contradictory- safe and exciting, for example, or funny and serious. So finding someone who is 10 out of 10 is essentially possible, But when we find ourselves with someone who scores 7 say, we find we are perfectly happy and content so we cheerfully compromise. But we do still miss those missing 3 things, so when we see someone else who has them, we may think we've found our perfect 10 because they fill in the gaps, without stopping to see if they actually are all that.
(spoilers: they probably wont be.)
The key seems to be to remind yourself of all the things that you do love abut your partner, and focus on those. That certainly seems to be the gist of May's advice.
For the record, I am talking about relationships where things are normally fine and happy. If a relationship is actively making you miserable, you are absolutely not obligated to stay.
ckridge:
This whole story arc is shaping up as pedantic and moralistic, with the humans falling into sin and error and their wise robot companions setting them back on the path of righteousness. I have no problem with teaching or with morals, but it is all being told with a very heavy hand. A 20th-century humorist wrote about Hopalong Freud characters who ride into town and explain everyone to themselves and to each other. The robots are acting as Hopalong Freud here.
More could have been done with Emily as a person, rather than as an occasion of sin. More could have been done with Dale and Marigold examining their feelings toward each other, rather with each treating themselves and each other as off-the-shelf, mass-market, boy/girl-friends with standardized properties. More could have been done with the robots' own feelings of possessiveness, defensiveness, jealousy, and chronic irritation toward their human companions. As matters stand, I fear that we will be left with no more than several mostly-true-much-of-the-time lectures about how to manage jealousy.
WoaLG:
--- Quote from: ckridge on 23 Feb 2018, 04:56 ---This whole story arc is shaping up as pedantic and moralistic, with the humans falling into sin and error and their wise robot companions setting them back on the path of righteousness.
--- End quote ---
I'm about 104% sure that that's not at all what Jeph is going for. I don't think it has anything to do with robots vs humans. But May is Dale's best (non-Marigold) friend and Momo is Marigold's best (non-Dale) friend. Plus, since they're roommates, they're probably the first friends that Dale and Marigold see. (Since I can't imagine either of them going out socializing when they're hurting. They're both the kind of people to go home and nurse their wounds.)
And there have been arcs dealing with the companion AIs' feelings about their "owner" spending less time with them and more with other friends. I can't recall the page numbers, but I vaguely remember Pintsize just shrugging and Momo expressing happiness that Marigold was making new friends, which she'd been encouraging.
As for Emily, there have been several arcs where Emily is expanded on as a person, but this particular arc is being told from Marigold and Dale's Point of View and everybody's the main character in their own story. The story being told here is about jealousy and trust, not about a cheating boyfriend, so I don't see what more Emily needs to have done in this instance.
I'm not sure how to interpret the rest of your post about mass-market boy/girl-friends with standardized properties, but I'm pretty sure your fears are groundless.
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