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[Superkid11]

Well ok, that wasn't as bad as I expected. I thought for sure Marten was going to snap. Then again, snapping isn't his thing... Didn't end in that comic though, so we may yet see the worst...

[Bushbr]

Dora isn't blowing this as out of proportion as you all think. look at her face in the 4th panel, she's scared. she doesnt want to lose marten.

especialy considering the whole *she stole him from faye* psychosematic brain fart mulling around in her head.

she's doing what just about any girl would do in her situation.

and as far as people not liking the more serious strips, get over it, its what makes a comic great. (not like 8-bit theatre which IMHO has started to go down the crapper.)

[Superkid11]

Well yeah, she isn't going into all out RRRRAAAGE at least.

[DNS]

Well, as someone who has stolen their current miss from someone else, who stole her from another someone else, I fully expect to be putting up a fight at some point within the next year. But getting all angry or defensive or whatever you want to call it, certainly isn't a good way to keep Marten around; at least, I certainly don't plan on taking that route if/when it happens. She should chill, and try to remind marten why they are together, while realizing that it may not be as big a deal as she thinks.


Wait... did I just make a post to suggest what a fictional character should do in a comic strip?

...wow

[Headwoünd]

Fictional shmictional, it's all about reflection.

Which is why I "sadly" don't consider this whole arc as anything particularly interesting unlike all the tldr folks. No offense of course.

Guess I'm just here for the anthro-PCs' shenanigans and teh phunny wrapped in indie chicks wrapped in awesome racks. >_>

[Tiney]

Dora isn't blowing this as out of proportion as you all think. look at her face in the 4th panel, she's scared. she doesnt want to lose marten.

especialy considering the whole *she stole him from faye* psychosematic brain fart mulling around in her head.

she's doing what just about any girl would do in her situation.

and as far as people not liking the more serious strips, get over it, its what makes a comic great. (not like 8-bit theatre which IMHO has started to go down the crapper.)

Dora reaps what she sows as far as I'm concerned.  I had a friend steal a guy from another girl and so she kept thinking some other girl would steal him from her.  Horrible foundation and yep, they broke up after a year of constant fighting.

[AnkhWL]

(this is not a response to anyone's post here, i just start out sentences really awkwardly)

So... Dora is showing the reaction Marten was hoping to avoid. 

Honestly, I DO get Dora's side of the argument, but she's taking it really a bit too far. I'm pretty jealous and insecure too at times, but chances are I would've only went as far as the Coffee of Doom comic and left it at that. Especially after seeing that the girl was clearly NOT going to persue him.

[Blyss]

Okay - being a guy that's had an ex-girlfriend (yes, there's a reason she's an ex) set me up in just the way the Dora did to Marten here - I HATE reading this particular story arc.  It's a trap, plain and simple.  If she didn't like the answer she got, she should have asked her question differently - instead of setting her boyfriend up for failure.

[Mallli_kite]

Ya know, whenever you do something to try to avoid stepping on your SO's buttons, you will inevitably  step on other buttons.  I do it with mine and vise verse, and the usual excuse to me is "I didn't want to upset you" with the unspoken follow up of "so I did something else that will upset you twice as much".  Of course, we've been button stomping each other for 15 years now.

That's the  thing about buttons -- everyone has 'em and someone who gets close to you is GOING to step on them.

sitnspin had a great synopsis of the strip -- the thing is not about Marten and the other girl, but about Marten concealing something (as he admits).  It only get worse when he tries to justify the concealment with "I was protecting you!".  And, looking back at the actual strip where he was asked out, it wasn't a case of "not important/forgot" since he remarks on it to Tai.  Plus, Marten has complained enough over time about his lack of action with the girls, so it wasn't an insignificant moment for him. 

That said, yeah, Dora is having herself a full out insecurity tango here, which, if she wasn't in the middle of it she would see and stop dancing.  Jeph's doing an EXCELLENT job of keeping this pretty real.


Also, one other thing that keeps coming up here -- that Dora "stole" Marten from Faye.  I did a little retrospective reading last night.  Faye did everything she could to push Marten and Dora together short of rent them a room and hand them the key.  Now yes, she did this out of her own conflicts, but the "stealing" thing was pretty much in Dora's head because she actually puts her friends before herself (in the way of really insecure people).  You cannot steal a person out of a relationship who wants to stay in the relationship, and in reality Marten and Faye didn't even have more than a platonic relationship, so there was no 'stealing'.  There was just a lot of insecurities dancing around.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=120

On a slightly more meta-note, Wow!  Jeph!  Way to build the dynamics!  A story without conflict is boring.  For conflict to be interesting, it has to take place between characters about whom the reader cares, and it has to have something worthwhile at stake.  Otherwise it won't work.  That some people around here are uncomfortable with what's going on is sad for them, but a good indication of how well Jeph has written the story.  Very cool!

[lisavilisa]

I think it's not that Dora stole Martin from Faye (which she didn't) but that she thinks she did. 
Ergo Dora feels guilty and thinks that Martin is steal-able.

[Superkid11]

Ya know, whenever you do something to try to avoid stepping on your SO's buttons, you will inevitably  step on other buttons.

And from some of the responses on here, it seems authors(of webcomics or anything) will inevitably step on their audience's buttons, especially if they deal with realistic situations. :p

A story without conflict is boring.  For conflict to be interesting, it has to take place between characters about whom the reader cares, and it has to have something worthwhile at stake.  Otherwise it won't work.  That some people around here are uncomfortable with what's going on is sad for them, but a good indication of how well Jeph has written the story.  Very cool!

Too bad writing conflict between characters that like each other can make the writer uncomfortable too.

[Mallli_kite]

Superkid, exactly right.  Especially in the author/audience situation, since the author has NO IDEA what buttons might be out there.

And the best writing is often that which makes the writer squirm.  I forget who authored the quote, but someone once said that writing is easy -- just open a vein and bleed on the page!

[Rocketman]

I thought for sure Marten was going to snap.

You can't snap a mashed potato.

[Superkid11]

I thought for sure Marten was going to snap.

You can't snap a mashed potato.

But you can heat them to where they start bubbling.

[wargrafix]

At that point they become soft and collapse upon themselves.

At least he'll go well with gravy.

[Mallli_kite]

At that point they become soft and collapse upon themselves.

At least he'll go well with gravy.

Mmmmmmm...Marten gravy.....

[wargrafix]

of course you would have to rush since Faye's appetite might lead her to pulverizing people.

[Superkid11]

At that point they become soft and collapse upon themselves.

At least he'll go well with gravy.

Or dry out and crack.

[Bushbr]

I thought for sure Marten was going to snap.

You can't snap a mashed potato.

no, but you can blow em up

[wargrafix]

lol, all of this could be an elaborate plot by raven to get sven.

normally the plant would be A->B->C->D

Raven's plans go A->N->Q->C->W->A->D

[Jimor]

Marten needs to remember that, when defending your own actions, the phrase, "Seemed like a good idea at the time." should NOT be part of the repetoire.

I bet ER doctors hear this a LOT.

So far, I'm in the "this feels realistic for the characters" camp, so I'm curious where it will lead.

[redd1]

i wish marten would grow a fucking set........twice already when he went to dora with things that his poor pussy whipped mind has thought of as cheating she blew it off as nothing..and now when it really is nothing....now shes jelous and acting like its a big deal WTF?

[maeven]

I think Marten got defensive and evasive because Dora became aggressive. I think if Dora hadn't gotten angry and just asked him about it casually, Marten wouldn't have hesitated to tell her about it. People tend to clam up when they're under attack.

[Headwoünd]

lol, all of this could be an elaborate plot by raven to get sven.

normally the plant would be A->B->C->D

Raven's plans go A->N->Q->C->W->A->D

I still can't figure out what role her side plot of talking Wil into a cross country trip to win Penelope's heart plays in her grand scheme.
And although I've already seen through Lydia's involvement as Raven's spy I can't quite put my finger on what she hopes to get out of the whole gig.

[DanteShepherd]

You know, Jeph's comment on twitter last night about hating to write arguments made me realize that's one of the reasons why I try to never write dialogue.

Still, the comic was enjoyable nonetheless.

[lisavilisa]

i wish marten would grow a fucking set........twice already when he went to dora with things that his poor pussy whipped mind has thought of as cheating she blew it off as nothing..and now when it really is nothing....now shes jelous and acting like its a big deal WTF?

I know about Hanners boob, what was the second thing?  Tai piercing?

[Golani]

Not bad, Dora reacted like I thought she would. Boy, Martin is digging himself deeper and deeper, though I think he didn't have to tell Dora what happened earlier in the library.

Dora's starting to remind me of my ex.

[Superkid11]

I don't think Dora's insecurity is going to be "removed" in an arc as much as she and Marten will learn how to deal with it(that is if they don't break up). She could mellow out a little bit over time, where as Marten will learn to fortify his backbone* when necessary. (which can help him in other situations) If they can do that their relationship may well have passed a crucial test.

Learning how to deal with each other's flaws is a pretty crucial step in relationships that doesn't seem to be written often, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

*Despite "growing balls" being a common expression for becoming more assertive or brave, the reality is thinking with your balls in matters not related to sex really doesn't help anything. :p
And frankly I thought Marten stood up for himself alright. Just in his own Marteny way.

[jordinyc]

look at her face in the 4th panel, she's scared. she doesnt want to lose marten.

Then why isn't SHE honest with herself and him and just say she's affraid of loosing him in plain friggin english. What's he gonna say? "Bitch, pull yourself together and make me a sammich!" He's mister sensitive. There's no need to contextualize this in terms of who did what wrong. You only need to do that with INsensitive people. I'm not getting angry at Dora for feeling upset, but I just really really hope this doesn't turn the relationship into him having to choose between being obedient or dumping her. There are other options.

I hope it works out. I mean I don't mind if Marten becomes a punching bag, as long as he's not a doormat.

[BigSol81]

SERIOUSLY!?

She seriously expects Marten to inform her of every single incident when a girl flirts with him? Seriously?

SERIOUSLY!?

...WTF. Marten doesn't have the backbone for this, but I'd seriously tell Dora that if she didn't start trusting him more and stop being so insecure that she'd have to start looking for a new boyfriend. He needs to put his foot down.

[Superkid11]

SERIOUSLY!?

She seriously expects Marten to inform her of every single incident when a girl flirts with him? Seriously?

SERIOUSLY!?

...WTF. Marten doesn't have the backbone for this, but I'd seriously tell Dora that if she didn't start trusting him more and stop being so insecure that she'd have to start looking for a new boyfriend. He needs to put his foot down.

If she "asks" about it. That's what she said. :p
Marten found it just as crazy before she said that. "I don't expect you to tell me every time one of your customers flirts with you."

I'm not justifying Dora's behavior, I'm just saying. As I said before, I think Marty's going to learn to put his foot down when he has to as their relationship goes on(if it survives). He's showing signs of approaching it.

[Ipskaya]

Going back to Friday's comic, I interpret her initial inquiry as to the nature of his day to be in a humorous/teasing way.  She thought it was cute and funny that the girl flirted with him.

Which is why she took out a sword when she found out that girl asked Marten out...

Oh, and yay, new comic! It's nice to see Marten standing up for himself.

[Superkid11]

Aah, now see? I was right. He fortified his backbone.

... you know who we haven't seen in a while? Mieville. That got me wondering... maybe an Allosaurus didn't eat Steve... MIEVILLE DID.

[jodokast34]

"I'll be in the bedroom petting the cat..."

Make-up sex on its way.

[Jeff7]

Oh no, not her cat!
His solution is always to kill someone, isn't it?

[Mallli_kite]

I so freaking love this strip!!!!

[Blackcat Moebius]

Four panels into the strip.... reaction:  "Oh great, Jeph's having their argument fizzle.  Again."

Scroll down page to see fifth panel... *blink* *blink*  Well played, Mr. Jacques, well played.  See you in twenty-four. 

[nickdwaters]

Really well done strip!  I started reading it just a few weeks ago and wonder why it hasn't received more widespread readership.

[absofflab]

...Marten's...spine...growing...

Yes!

Progress is being made.  This is a good thing.  Very slowly but surely, Marten's asserting himself when people treat him unfairly.  I look very forward to the day when he refuses outright to put up with bullshit the second it's heaped on him.

The day of course, will roughly be at the same time as the heat death of the universe.   

[Norton Quintessential]

The day of course, will roughly be at the same time as the heat death of the universe.   

...So wait....Heat death... carry the two...

I either need a lot more ice, or a lot less.

[Darke]

Really well done strip!  I started reading it just a few weeks ago and wonder why it hasn't received more widespread readership.

You'll probably slowly discover that, actually, it has. You just need to know what kind of people to ask.

Today's strip is good. Marten refusing to let them stay in passive-agressive land is a bold (and good) move. Most people are happy just to have the argument over with and will go about their business and be quietly resentful towards their significant other for the next few days.

[raoullefere]

I think it's not that Dora stole Martin from Faye (which she didn't) but that she thinks she did. 
Ergo Dora feels guilty and thinks that Martin is steal-able.

To quote a rather one-dimensional character from my childhood, "Exactimundo." Like most people, fear is at the bottom of Dora's insecurity. A great deal of fear, I suspect.

Marten handled thing superbly. Held his ground without trying to 'win' and stopped things when he found himself doing that.

[kaitco]

Four panels into the strip.... reaction:  "Oh great, Jeph's having their argument fizzle.  Again."

Scroll down page to see fifth panel... *blink* *blink*  Well played, Mr. Jacques, well played.  See you in twenty-four. 

My exact reaction. I want to get all excited right now and let some hope shine through my pessimistic exterior, but I just cannot bring myself to do it. This is going to blow over into nothing. I like the fact that Marten is not going to take Dora's "stuff" anymore and, while a part of me has always wanted to see Faye and Marten hook-up, I would really hate it if this is how Dora and Marten break up with each other. So, now the pessimism is turning into its own sort of optimism...

[Econoclast]

I wish they'd just break up already.

[HappyGrar]

I think we all know where "I'll be in the bedroom petting the cat" is leading. 

My vote is the next comic will have them laying in bed together, all post-coital and passing a joint back and forth.

"Dude, what were we even arguing about?"
"...fuck, I can't remember. Can I have another hit?"

Then Dora will call up Hanners and offer her $200 to bring them cookies, and all will be well in QC-land.

Honestly, though, Marten handles these things amazingly well. He knows when they're getting too pissed to keep on with a subject, and can deflect the anger by reminding his girlfriend that they're both in the wrong and annoyed and need a minute. I mean, how many people in real life can pull that off? He's almost...TOO...perfect.

[Kugai]

This has two outcomes

1) It's leading to the brealup of Mardora.

2) Their relationship will move to a new level.

[Bushbr]

look at her face in the 4th panel, she's scared. she doesnt want to lose marten.

Then why isn't SHE honest with herself and him and just say she's affraid of loosing him in plain friggin english. What's he gonna say? "Bitch, pull yourself together and make me a sammich!" He's mister sensitive. There's no need to contextualize this in terms of who did what wrong. You only need to do that with INsensitive people. I'm not getting angry at Dora for feeling upset, but I just really really hope this doesn't turn the relationship into him having to choose between being obedient or dumping her. There are other options.

I hope it works out. I mean I don't mind if Marten becomes a punching bag, as long as he's not a doormat.

because she's a woman..... duh

and for all you haters wanting the break up of Dora and Marten i say

SHAME! SHAME ON YOU! how can you root for the destruction of a beautiful and loving couple? i wish i could be as lucky as Marten and find a gal who complimented my personality as well as Dora does his, not to mention being a total freak in the sack!

they won't breakup. I can't even let myself think they will. we all know deep down we want to see what kind of fucked up wedding Dora and Marten are gonna think up. Faye as maid of honor. Sven or Jimbo as bestman! pintsize/winslow as the ring bearer/flowerbot some totally random indie band at the reception.

we all know we want to see it

[LizziL]

I want them to break up if only so the plot can move forward.

[geffyb]

look at her face in the 4th panel, she's scared. she doesnt want to lose marten.

Then why isn't SHE honest with herself and him and just say she's affraid of loosing him in plain friggin english. What's he gonna say? "Bitch, pull yourself together and make me a sammich!" He's mister sensitive. There's no need to contextualize this in terms of who did what wrong. You only need to do that with INsensitive people. I'm not getting angry at Dora for feeling upset, but I just really really hope this doesn't turn the relationship into him having to choose between being obedient or dumping her. There are other options.

I hope it works out. I mean I don't mind if Marten becomes a punching bag, as long as he's not a doormat.

because she's a woman..... duh

and for all you haters wanting the break up of Dora and Marten i say

SHAME! SHAME ON YOU! how can you root for the destruction of a beautiful and loving couple? i wish i could be as lucky as Marten and find a gal who complimented my personality as well as Dora does his, not to mention being a total freak in the sack!

they won't breakup. I can't even let myself think they will. we all know deep down we want to see what kind of fucked up wedding Dora and Marten are gonna think up. Faye as maid of honor. Sven or Jimbo as bestman! pintsize/winslow as the ring bearer/flowerbot some totally random indie band at the reception.

we all know we want to see it

Um, I for one don't want to fathom what Faye will be experiencing at that wedding, can you say train wreck?

[appleshampooid]

I fear for Mieville's safety.