Topic: Poor Padma/Marten (Read 17906 times)

Nerin · « **on:** 08 Dec 2011, 05:42 »

Not to make this all about me, but I have so been there. I'd been in a new city (Seoul) at a new job for just a few months, and fell hard for an amazing guy. We had an unbelievable two months before he flew back to the States. Eight of the longest months of my life followed, but we reunited in the end, and now we've been together for more than five years.

This could end happily, is the moral of the story. Still, we're probably in for a long, angst-ridden wait.

snubnose · « **Reply #1 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 07:07 »

Hehe, Marten & Padma are just fictional people. And it seems like you have a happy relationship since 5 years (still calling him "amazing guy"). Congrats ! Not everyone is that happy.

Coffee_Kaioken · « **Reply #2 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 08:51 »

I'm in the Elliot stage right now, myself. <_<"

Vista · « **Reply #3 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 13:22 »

Quote from: Coffee_Kaioken on 08 Dec 2011, 08:51

I'm in the Elliot stage right now, myself. <_<"

Asked out a person on the advice of an acquaintance, was shot down by said person who then hooked up with said acquaintance?
Sucky situation.
Well just remember: no matter how awesome they are/were, there's someone cooler for you out there, and now you have the opportunity to find them. You probably will not find them very soon--sorry--but you might.

LoveJaneAusten · « **Reply #4 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 13:50 »

It's no big deal. Jeph will write Marten yet another love interest, probably another Manic Pixie Dream Girl-type, who will latch onto him for a while, despite the fact that he has literally nothing going for him.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #5 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 13:55 »

Employed, kind, only minor vices. Decent-looking.

Nobody looking for excitement would go near him, nor anyone aspiring to an upper-class lifestyle, but he does have his good points.

Carl-E · « **Reply #6 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 13:56 »

And once the band gets a few gigs, There Will Be Groupies...

Soulsynger · « **Reply #7 on:** 08 Dec 2011, 23:35 »

Quote from: Carl-E on 08 Dec 2011, 13:56

And once the band gets a few gigs, There Will Be Groupies...

... yeah, the kind that greets you after the show, puts a hand on your shoulder and says "Well done, boy." ... ergh. I made myself feel bad.

Considering Padmarten (sounds a bit like a Pokémon) ... meh, they seem to be doing okay. And as far as we know, Padma's stay at her grandma's might not be indefinite.

edit:
Pffffrrt... see what I did there?

ranga1992 · « **Reply #8 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 02:15 »

Now that Padma's chosen to stay, my predictions either she will back out and go anyway or she will stay and her grandma will die and she will regret her relationship with marten, i cant help but be pessimistic for them

Carl-E · « **Reply #9 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 04:16 »

I had a thought similar to the second one.

Three of my four grandparents passed away while I was away at college, and the last when I was getting my Ph.D. I wasn't able to make it to any of the funerals (I was more than halfway across the country, and couldn't afford airfare or make arrangements in time).

It really is something you regret later.

VonKleist · « **Reply #10 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 04:41 »

Quote from: LoveJaneAusten on 08 Dec 2011, 13:50

It's no big deal. Jeph will write Marten yet another love interest, probably another Manic Pixie Dream Girl-type, who will latch onto him for a while, despite the fact that he has literally nothing going for him.

He is supposedly moderately attractive, intelligent, can be charming without being smarmy, is really into music etc.

Jesus, I know he´s not overconfident and all but imho it doesn't qualify as having "literally nothing going for him".

jwhouk · « **Reply #11 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 04:56 »

The problem with thinking like that is, you never know when it could happen.

My grandfather passed away after being in a nursing home for years. We thought that the illness that put him in the nursing home would be the end of him. It wasn't.

I guess my experience is that I've lost family members suddenly, so I wouldn't wangst over missing a funeral (especially now that I'm hundreds of miles away from where most of my family lives). Yeah, I'd be upset, but I wouldn't navel-gaze indefinitely over it.

Carl-E · « **Reply #12 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 09:39 »

Oh no, I regret it, but it's certainly not one of those things that keeps me up at night.

I have enough real problems for that...

Carl-E · « **Reply #13 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 10:27 »

Funerals are fior the living.

And my family does wakes.

ranga1992 · « **Reply #14 on:** 09 Dec 2011, 22:31 »

It's probably why Padma has stayed; that you cant know when it will happen, but if it does it may have a negative effect on her relationship with Marten, because she was going to go before they hooked up

ZBixby · « **Reply #15 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 06:29 »

Quote from: ranga1992 on 09 Dec 2011, 22:31

It's probably why Padma has stayed; that you cant know when it will happen, but if it does it may have a negative effect on her relationship with Marten, because she was going to go before they hooked up

Schrodingers Cat perhaps? I'm positive the idea has already been mentioned somewhere referring to Marten and Padma.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 14:25 »

Quote from: tender on 09 Dec 2011, 11:08

*shrugs*

People deal with death differently, so I won't broach the subject any further here.

Are there any cultures that don't have some version of friends and relatives gathering to support each other? And rituals specific to the occasion?

Tova · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 02:46 »

Quote from: LoveJaneAusten on 08 Dec 2011, 13:50

It's no big deal. Jeph will write Marten yet another love interest, probably another Manic Pixie Dream Girl-type, who will latch onto him for a while, despite the fact that he has literally nothing going for him.

I'm trying to figure out whether this is a criticism of Marten or the comic (although I've had a guess).

NotAwesomeAnymore · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 08:05 »

I'm pretty sure the problem with Marten's previous love interests is they weren't Manic Pixie Dream Girls - they all had their own personalities, issues, ambitions, and none of them lead to real personal growth for him. In a way, isn't Marten the Manic Pixie Dream Girl?

DSL · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 09:00 »

Are there any Manic Pixie Dream Girls in QC? -- he asked rhetorically.

pwhodges · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 10:47 »

SweetTits is this forum's Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

Tova · « **Reply #21 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 20:45 »

OK, fine. You've all made me go and google that phrase.

Does this mean I've been living under a rock?

I guess that helps answer my question, anyway.

pwhodges · « **Reply #22 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 22:57 »

First time I've seen it, too.

Yarin · « **Reply #23 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 23:25 »

Now I have to go make sure my character isn't one of these

Welu · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 05:44 »

The Manic Pixie Dream Girl TVTropes description sounds disturbingly familiar to me...

NoOne3 · « **Reply #25 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 01:02 »

So, that's it? And where's the last minute mad airport rush, huh?
He could have at least decency to say: So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish.

And by fish I mean all them bonks of course.

st_owly · « **Reply #26 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 04:56 »

If QC ever ends, I reckon Marten and Pizza Girl will be together

pwhodges · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 05:20 »

As foreseen.

Salad_Is_Murder · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 14:20 »

I liked Padma, but I don't think she treated Martin well in the end and didn't really deserve any better than what she got from him. I know that Martin is the door mat in, like, every relationship but it's makin' us ladies look bad.

Kugai · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 15:38 »

Ahh well, they'll always have Paris

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Jan 2012, 17:36 »

Could it have worked in the long run anyway even if Padma had stayed in the area?

Welu · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 01:17 »

Possibly? If she was never leaving, they might not have started as a fling but then they may have never started at all.

pwhodges · « **Reply #32 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 01:35 »

Anyway, playing "what if?" is a mug's game. By changing one thing, you change the whole world, and your before and after scenarios are simply not comparable.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #33 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 13:40 »

To rephrase, then:
Are Marten and Padma compatible in the long-term-romantic sense of the word?

pwhodges · « **Reply #34 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 14:19 »

That, in practice, is hard enough to tell in real life, where we have more opportunity to know those concerned. All I think we can say is that there is no apparent reason why not.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #35 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 14:56 »

Padma's impulsiveness might balance Marten's inertia.

pwhodges · « **Reply #36 on:** 18 Jan 2012, 14:57 »

That could also lead to tensions - though manageable (yes, my present wife and I are contrasted that same way, and we've been together almost 20 years).

Magdalena · « **Reply #37 on:** 21 Jan 2012, 10:19 »

Quote from: Salad_Is_Murder on 17 Jan 2012, 14:20

I liked Padma, but I don't think she treated Martin well in the end and didn't really deserve any better than what she got from him. I know that Martin is the door mat in, like, every relationship but it's makin' us ladies look bad.

I have to agree. (Long time lurker reader, first time poster, btw). I think it's actually a good thing that he told her he was "busy" after waiting around for her to contact him.

Not saying that I DISLIKE Padma (because I think she was okay) - but honestly I didn't she her as girlfriend material for him. She was fling material, that's it.

I know it'll sound silly but if she really liked Martin and wanted to spend time with him (and not just for a booty call) she could have said to him, "Look I like you a lot, but I have to leave to take care of my grandma. I still want to spend as much time with you as I can before I leave. Even if all we do is hang out while I pack. We can have a pizza or something afterwards."

Madmartigan · « **Reply #38 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 11:47 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 18 Jan 2012, 14:56

Padma's impulsiveness might balance Marten's inertia.

That makes sense. Marten needs a girl to cure him of his utter passivity and inertia. I loved Dora, but you really could tell they wouldn't last.

I dunno if anyone else has thought it, but I always thought Hanners and Marten would make a hilarious couple. Hanners certainly has the spontaneity and strangeness to keep Marten on his toes. Seeing Hanners getting her first kiss would be the strip of the year. Imagine her getting kissed then a massive punch to the face of whoever it is kisses her.

I can't imagine Hanners with anyone, but if she ever did, Marten is really the only male she feels comfortable with other than Sven I guess...Which would be...odd

And I agree on Padma being a fling. Never seemed like a real option. I dunno, but she always seems vaguely Dora-esk. Not sure why.

DSL · « **Reply #39 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 11:55 »

You're about. to be reminded (gently, I hope) of the shipping ban -- pairing Hannelore with anyone is a sore subject; Jeph, most of the characters, and not a few of the forumites are protective of her.

That said, Hannelore as a friend has been good for many of the characters; she seems (to me, anyway) as a catalyst that brings out the best side of many of the other characters, benefiting herself (as in learning how to socialize) in the process. In Marten's case, H. has been the one character with whom he is most consistently learning to give a shit about someone beside himself, with no thought as to what he might get out of it.

pwhodges · « **Reply #40 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 12:12 »

Welcome, Madmartigan!

That post is a nicely balanced appreciation of Hanners (and Marten) that I have no reason to object to; to have managed that in your first post here is actually rather remarkable, and I hope you remain around.

I suspect, though, knowing how these things can go, that further discussion along those lines would be unlikely to maintain the same standard.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #41 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 12:27 »

Seconded! That was a good first post. Speaking as a moderator, I'd say you were on the safe side of the line, but facing toward it, and there was a risk of people rushing past you into the minefields.

jwhouk · « **Reply #42 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 13:48 »

The "Dora = Padma" thing was pretty much noticed from day one of the latter's appearance in the strip.

Madmartigan · « **Reply #43 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 14:01 »

Quote from: DSL on 28 Jan 2012, 11:55

You're about. to be reminded (gently, I hope) of the shipping ban -- pairing Hannelore with anyone is a sore subject; Jeph, most of the characters, and not a few of the forumites are protective of her.

That said, Hannelore as a friend has been good for many of the characters; she seems (to me, anyway) as a catalyst that brings out the best side of many of the other characters, benefiting herself (as in learning how to socialize) in the process. In Marten's case, H. has been the one character with whom he is most consistently learning to give a shit about someone beside himself, with no thought as to what he might get out of it.

I wasn't really shipping Hanners with anyone. So far, I haven't had any real preference for who Marten ends up with. I just wanted to say it's absolutely hilarious to envision Hanners getting together with anyone, let alone Marten.

That said, I agree. Hanners is amazing for all the characters. Her learning to socialize normally basically teaches everyone else how to. That's one reason it'd be strange for her to really be paired with anyone in the near future.

Anyway, back to Padma. I liked her, but I think her purpose was served as the Dora rebound and the parallel between CoD and her co-workers as a bridge. She never seemed to fit anything Marten was after and was sort of the teaching instrument for Marten and basically served as another basis for why him and Dora didn't work out. He's too damn passive, which Faye really hammered home.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #44 on:** 28 Jan 2012, 23:30 »

For some reason I'm thinking of a line from Dark Shadows:
"You can't be that passive! I won't let you!"

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Author Topic: Poor Padma/Marten (Read 17906 times)