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The wedding has made mom all Broody.

1 (1.7%)

$#!+! LUBE! I  KNEW I forgot to pack something! (WELP GOOD NIGHT)

5 (8.3%)

I usually sleep in my boxers, is that okay? (Y-yeah, whatev... er...)

0 (0%)

I would've been fine but now you've got me thinking about it and it's awkward

2 (3.3%)

Well excuse me for not just dropping my pants right in front of you.

4 (6.7%)

Claire in the blue dress!

20 (33.3%)

I know it's supposed to be a casual ceremony, but you should at least put on some pants.

1 (1.7%)

I can't remember how to tie a stupid necktie. (Seriously? Here.)

3 (5%)

Uh- IT'S FINE IT'S PERFECT

14 (23.3%)

Marten! Oh, you look so precious in your suit!

1 (1.7%)

Oh, Jane. I thought I smelled a gonorrhea infection.

0 (0%)

I'm impressed, Vicky. 11 AM and you're not at the bar! Or did you drink all their scotch last night?

1 (1.7%)

Last I heard, Henry and Maurice weren't doing pity-invites.

0 (0%)

Good to see you, you horrid old twat.

3 (5%)

You too, darling. You've lost weight! Is that just from sucking #### all day?

2 (3.3%)

Suddenly my taste in friends makes a lot more sense to me.

3 (5%)

Total Members Voted: 55

[ZoeB]

Am I bad to think that Claire is getting aroused down there or not given her facial expressions and her eye look?

No, not bad, it's natural I guess. I don't know, I've never been cis!

These matters are intensely personal. It's not unknown for pre-ops to have a "mental blank" in that area, and to insist on keeping underwear on in case they accidentally look "down there" and suffer what can only be described as hysterics. While some non-ops are OK with it, in general, most of those would prefer things to be otherwise, they just don't like the risks. People vary.

I think we're on safe ground to say that the usual male physiology, and physiological responses, don't apply. Hormones do that. Physiologically, a few years of HRT cause things to atrophy to a pre-pubescent state. Those working on films, saving for surgery, have to walk a tightrope with hormones, and can't do it for long. Obviously, post-ops don't have such issues.

She's a girl. That's it. Born with unusual and probably quite distressing anomalies. I don't know how much she's had fixed, or has felt it necessary to fix, that's private. These kinds of private issues don't just apply to Trans people, there are many Intersex people with genital anomalies who also feel the same. There are also those women who have had radical hysterectomies, requiring complete vulval reconstruction, but who may not have had it yet. There are those who are victims of FGM (female genital mutilation), and so on.

Here's something that may aid understanding. It's written by a guy I know.

Imagine yourself as a small child. Your body, apart from those bits normally concealed by your undies is sexually ambiguous. And the hidden bits don't do anything anyway - they don't really bug you. But you know what Dad looks like - that thick, hanging thing. In your dreams, you have one too, but it's always gone when you wake up. You get used to it.

You start growing up. You hit puberty, your breasts start to grow and are extremely painful. One morning you wake up and your bottom sheet (normally blue) is bright red and your legs and hands and face are blood smeared. You knew this would happen eventually, but you thought that your head would change at the same time - that you'd no longer feel like a boy. Instead you're more a boy and kinda scared. But you know that if you act like a boy, you'll get a talking-to from your parents. You sit and bear all the reminders (more frequent now that you bleed and have things on your chest) to act like a lady, wondering when you'll feel like a lady and when someone will tell you how to act like a lady. It's hard work looking at everyone and cataloging their actions, working out how women are meant to behave. And it feels so wrong when you do that stuff.

Around about the same time, you realise, rather suddenly, that when what's happening to you finishes, IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD! Not to put too fine a point on it, you Like Girls. Well that explains everything then. You're a Lesbian. You guess all lesbians feel like they're really boys in disguise - that's why they like other girls right? Because they're only sort-of girls? It's normal for a lesbian to hate wearing a bra - because it makes her chest shape all wrong. It's normal for a lesbian to feel embarrassed and hate her body below the waist. And above.

Then the real test comes: You've never really had any romantic attachment before. For some reason it has always felt wrong and you've avoided it. Sure sometimes you take special care, go out wearing a shirt and tie, bind the chest and uh. something in the trousers. It feels good but as soon as you start talking to someone, your voice gives you away as a pretender, a wannabe.

But someone comes along, someone that you could talk to forever, hold forever. She's a beautiful woman and God, you Want her. She's keen on you too and before you know what's happening, you're lying, naked, warm and relaxed in a mutual embrace. But even in ecstasy (and that's hard enough), you can't fully suppress the screaming in your head. Your body is wrong.

Is there any way to fix it? Whose idea is this anyway? Making you walk around for your entire life with the wrong shaped body. Why do people look at you and say "Yeah, right" when you say that you're a guy?

You find out that there is hormones and surgery. In the first, you're lucky: In a hormone fight, Testosterone wins. In the second, not so good, they can fix your chest such that it's flat, they can remove the parts that make you bleed (though that'll stop anyway with T), but you'll never have the penis that you can feel.

Once you consent to going through puberty again, you're on your way to becoming the guy you've always been - and it's only a few years too late. But there's a problem. People you love, people you work with, people you socialise with. They were all dependent on having a daughter, a sister, a female colleague, a female friend. I mean you had a female name right? Even though you never acted like a daughter, a sister, a girl, a woman. Somehow the fact that you were badged, when you were barely self aware is meant to define you forever. They reject you. They know your body will never be complete enough to reproduce and so they condemn you to be a girl forever. They'll never accept you as anything but.

There is hope though, some people, even if they don't really understand what it's like for the head to say something different to the genitals, care. And you'll go on in life and meet people that never knew you as a wannabe girl. They'll just see, and work with and share with the man you are. You'll care a bit more about women too - people you work and live with - because once, you faced the same challenges as they do. For you it was harder - you weren't wired for it, most of them are. They always could bear to look in the mirror, they always felt right when someone they loved loved them, they always woke up with all the right bits attached, all the right clothes in the wardrobe. Now, so do you.

His surgical results were reportedly excellent. His fiance knows his past, but none of his colleagues where he is now.

[xAmilli0n]

And so we finally get to see Claire's (surprisingly casual) fancy dress!  And poor Marten still can't catch a break.

[GarandMarine]

Wooo! Claire looks super pretty!

As to pants! Don't surrender Martin! Fight the power and prove yourself a truly manly man in one fell stroke against the wide world.

Wear the greatest clothing item ever conceived by man whilst incredibly drunk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ35SOU9HTM

Wear a kilt.

[Vurogj]

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

[Method of Madness]

Damn, you're right.

[Arancaytar]

I can only echo Jeph's sentiment:

asdfasdfasdfasdfasdf so cute aSDFn,dsfgsdgjl

[Loki]

Here's something that may aid understanding. It's written by a guy I know.

...

I have recently read that as an additional problem, sexual preferences can sometimes be reversed in trans* people when they undergo hormonal therapy. Is that even remotely true?

[CrowFairy]

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

Same with her hair. It looks like it's swaying in the mirror, but it's clearly straight down IRL.

[westrim]

I don't know why, but I find that bow on the back of her neck very intriguing.

You know Marten, you could have dressed while she was in the bathroom. Just saying.

Kinda hard to say, since we don't know for certain whether she's pre-op or post-op.  Though I imagine if Claire and Marten end up going to Makeout Town, we'll soon find out.

There are several communities in Shipping Shire, like Slash Settlement, Coitus City, Dating District, and of course Marriage Metropolis. Makeout Town is kind of odd because it's not Alliterative.

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

Same with her hair. It looks like it's swaying in the mirror, but it's clearly straight down IRL.

The only logical explanation is that light moves much slower in QCverse, so there's some lag time. Either that, or it's a smart picture mirror that can take snapshots so you can examine your reflection without contortion.

[Loki]

You know Marten, you could have dressed while she was in the bathroom. Just saying.

He prolly has to change his undies and was afraid she was going to come out at an unopportune moment. If that is so, he just displayed an unusual case of Genre Savvy.

There are several communities in Shipping Shire, like Slash Settlement, Coitus City, Dating District, and of course Marriage Metropolis. Makeout Town is kind of odd because it's not Alliterative.

Makeout Metropolis!

[Akima]

Claire looks very nice (I love the shade of blue), except that white bow is very strange. I've never seen anything like it, but I imagine Jeph found it somewhere. Marten reveals a hitherto hidden flair too. His tee-shirt and boxers harmonise!

The shower-curtain in the first panel is much too short, and there's no sign that it is the outer curtain of a double-curtain arrangement. You'd flood the bathroom every time you took a shower.

[Arancaytar]

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

Yeah, the perspective is a bit skewed anyway. If you look at the mirror's frame, it's perfectly rectangular so the mirror is facing directly toward the viewer. (Also confirmed by the infinite reflection of another mirror that must be right in line with the first one.) At that angle, Claire should be standing in the way of her own reflection. But I won't argue with artistic licence because otherwise we couldn't see her and asdfasdf so cute

Of course, if you look closely at the legs in the Tumblr sketch, you'll see something weirder.

oh god she's stepping out of the mirror help

[Mad Cat]

ACK! It's Dople-Claire! She's crossing into this plane! Stop her!

As to the blurb with which Jeph accompanies this strip... What shoes? There are no shoes in evidence in the strip.

[pwhodges]

There are shoes because he's just told you there are shoes.  Believe in the shoes.

[Arancaytar]

why is he wearing SHOES

Cold feet?

[ZoeB]

I have recently read that as an additional problem, sexual preferences can sometimes be reversed in trans* people when they undergo hormonal therapy. Is that even remotely true?

Yes. About a third of the time. Usually from lesbian to straight for trans women - though more like asexual to sexual.
If the change happens 9 months after starting HRT, it's probably physiological, it takes that long for Vassopressin to clear cellular receptors in the brain. But it may be clearing of a psychological block, as it is if it happens long before or long after.

Some trans women who easily cope with all other challenges in transition have some difficulty if they're in that one in three.

Yes, I speak from personal experience. No-one else was surprised, but I was utterly convinced I'd be happily lesbian, and not straight. WRONG!!!!!!

I really don't know how (nearly) everyone else copes with puberty. You do it in your teens too. I found it difficult enough at 48.

[ZoeB]

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

Depends - have you never seen a 3D large screen capture before? It might not be an old fashioned analog mirror, but a 3D image snapped some seconds before.

A very useful consumer device, allowing the user to take a snap, then examine the back of the head for hairdo failures etc. It would have made a mint for the inventors, but they put it in the public domain.

[bhtooefr]

Yes. About a third of the time. Usually from lesbian to straight for trans women - though more like asexual to sexual.
If the change happens 9 months after starting HRT, it's probably physiological, it takes that long for Vassopressin to clear cellular receptors in the brain. But it may be clearing of a psychological block, as it is if it happens long before or long after.

Some trans women who easily cope with all other challenges in transition have some difficulty if they're in that one in three.

Yes, I speak from personal experience. No-one else was surprised, but I was utterly convinced I'd be happily lesbian, and not straight. WRONG!!!!!!

To clarify (I think I get what you're saying), you were (at least somewhat) interested in women before beginning HRT, and then became interested in men once everything chemically realigned?

I really don't know how (nearly) everyone else copes with puberty. You do it in your teens too. I found it difficult enough at 48.

I actually suspect it'd be worse to go through puberty later in life - going through it as a teen, everyone around you is going through it too, and if you screw up it's not a HUGE deal (a lot of things that happen in high school don't actually matter, and there's usually a good safety net of some sort at that time). That said, you don't have the life experience to cope with it, but still... I definitely wouldn't want to go through it again, though.

[cesariojpn]

Considering he knows Japanese Rope Binding, I'm pretty sure he already knows the tips.

More in practical terms.

[Lubricus]

Considering he knows Japanese Rope Binding, I'm pretty sure he already knows the tips.

More in practical terms.

Yeah, his look of concentrated boredom will really ruin the show! 

[Tai Fanboi]

Well, at least he wasn't poking out of his boxers this time, don't think Claire could handle the drama that seems to bring. 

[Border Reiver]

Getting dressed while Claire was in the bathroom would have been the smart thing to do.  Maybe it's the old school Uniform Parades I had to do as a young whippersnapper in the Army, but getting out of underwear and into fresh ones and a pair of pants is what, 30 seconds - 45 if you're slow.  After that the timings for Marten wouldn't be that strict.

And that is a very nice outfit on Claire.  The colour suits her.

[Arancaytar]

Depends - have you never seen a 3D large screen capture before? It might not be an old fashioned analog mirror, but a 3D image snapped some seconds before.

A very useful consumer device, allowing the user to take a snap, then examine the back of the head for hairdo failures etc. It would have made a mint for the inventors, but they put it in the public domain.

WHOAH! That'd solve all the perspective questions too.

Right. After all, they do live post-singularity.

[teclo]

He could have been waiting to use the bathroom to have a shower and shave before getting ready... I know I wouldn't get dressed for a wedding without doing that first.

[Bluesummers]

Getting dressed while Claire was in the bathroom would have been the smart thing to do.  Maybe it's the old school Uniform Parades I had to do as a young whippersnapper in the Army, but getting out of underwear and into fresh ones and a pair of pants is what, 30 seconds - 45 if you're slow.  After that the timings for Marten wouldn't be that strict.

But we know that if Marten would have changed in the bedroom, chances are he would have gotten his foot stuck i the arm hole of his shirt or something, and been immobilized just long enough for Claire to come out of the bathroom and see something that can't be unseen. Come on, it's Marten we're talking about. It would happen.

[DSL]

Seems to me Marten's been reacting pissily to some relatively minor comments. Want to see where this goes.

[ZoeB]

To clarify (I think I get what you're saying), you were (at least somewhat) interested in women before beginning HRT, and then became interested in men once everything chemically realigned?

Not women so much as one particular woman. So interested, I fell head-over-heels in love with her at first sight. Engaged after a month, married a year later.

It's our 32nd anniversary on the 21st.

Now... a venture into TMI territory. Necessary to answer you completely though, alas.

One problem. Actually, two. I didn't realise just how far from the male norm my body was. There were certain physical issues. But just as big a problem was that I didn't get issued with a sexual orientation as such. No instincts. I can remember my father saying that all I had to do was relax, let instinct take over, my body would know what to do.

It didn't. I could control blood flow to certain places, but it took concentration - like learning to stop urinating in mid flow. Very hydraulic, controlling deliberately muscles that usually operate on autopilot.

Had my instincts been in place, or had my genitalia been more usual, perhaps intercourse would have been possible. When I went to a fertility clinic 4 years after marriage, they did say that physically it wasn't quite impossible. But I knew that.

Basically, I could please, but not be pleased. Anorgasmic. That had certain advantages, I couldn't believe that most guys were finished in less than 45 minutes.

No matter, We were, and are, in love. I looked male enough to be attractive to her. We're both intelligent people, and imaginative. It was always something of an intellectual exercise for me, if not for her. I was OK with it. I didn't actually understand sex.

After the change... it was an eye-opener. So much now made sense. I gained an insight, emotional, visceral, into other people's feelings, something I'd only understood intellectually before. It really is instinctive, your body responds, you're just along for the ride.

If this were fiction, we'd both discover we were lesbian, or at least Bi. No such luck. There's zero chemistry. We're both unalterably, irretrievably straight. But we're both totally in love. We want to share our lives together, to grow old together. As a bonus, though it took syringes etc to extract gametes from mostly dysfunctional glands, we even made a child together, before the change hit and sterilised me in the first week.

This isn't typical, I'm Intersex rather than normally Trans. Such natural (partial, apparent etc etc) sex changes happen, but except for a few parts of the world, they're quite rare. The F to M ones are pretty well understood, the rarer M to F ones less so.
See http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-guevedoces.html for an example. Or http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/17/gaza.gender.id/ .

We both tried boyfriends - but we both came to the conclusion that we were both already in love, and having sex with someone you weren't in love with, when there was someone else you were, while physically satisfying just didn't ring any bells. Too complicating too, and not fair on the guys.

[ZoeB]

Claire looks very nice (I love the shade of blue), except that white bow is very strange. I've never seen anything like it, but I imagine Jeph found it somewhere.

I thought it added the perfect finishing touch. But then, my clothes sense is on a par with Marigold's.

[jwhouk]

Claire is cute in that dress. Just in case no one's decided to say it yet.

[Barmymoo]

I like the bow too, it's fairly normal for dresses like that to tie with a bow at the back (sort of a halterneck but not quite). Also, to whoever said it didn't look very fancy, we can't tell what material it is made of - if it's something silky or linen or anything basically other than cotton it's definitely fancy. In fact I've worn cotton dresses to black tie dinners and got away with it, so they're definitely ok for laid-back summer weddings.

[sitnspin]

Holy crap I love shoulder freckles on a lady.



ZoeB, I wanted to thank you for being so open with us about your experience. While I realize your individual experience doesn't necessarily  extrapolate to trans* people in general, your story has been enlightening. I've only known one other trans* person in my life and unfortunately I had to move and lost touch before I could get to know her for very long. I always appreciate learning about people's experience that differ widely from my own. As a lesbian, I have encountered a lot of transphobic nonsense from certain people in the lesbian community over the years and even more complete ignorance. Thanks for giving more information to go on. I think it's really awesome that you are brave enough to share with us in such an open and honest way.

[LantisEscudo]

Being a glasses-wearer with a pretty heavy prescription, every time I see a character that normally wears glasses without them, I have to wonder: contacts, light prescription, or "flying blind?"

[Near Lurker]

I really don't know how (nearly) everyone else copes with puberty. You do it in your teens too. I found it difficult enough at 48.

...there is no damn way you're 48.

[Ruhtrax]

I am not sure .. Somehow Claire look a bit better with glasses ...
I donno why .. maybe it makes her look smarter?

[cesium133]

You know Marten, you could have dressed while she was in the bathroom. Just saying.

He prolly has to change his undies and was afraid she was going to come out at an unopportune moment. If that is so, he just displayed an unusual case of Genre Savvy.

There are several communities in Shipping Shire, like Slash Settlement, Coitus City, Dating District, and of course Marriage Metropolis. Makeout Town is kind of odd because it's not Alliterative.

Makeout Metropolis!

Makeout Municipality?

[Valdís]

Makeout Municipality?

Man, if all the makeouts in the world are supposed to fit there it's no wonder prime real estate is such a big deal!

[ankhtahr]

I so know these problems…
Real awkwardness when you're sleeping over at someone, and everyone changes into PJs, when you don't have any with you…
And to me Loki's explanation seems most likely (waiting for her, to avoid any more awkwardness caused by her leaving the bathroom while he is changing), at least it's what I would have done in such a situation.

Also thanks to you ZoeB, for giving us insights into what is rather unknown to many of us!

by the way, Valdís, nice quote in your signature! The Hávamál is a great piece of old norse poetry!

Also: First post of me as a former lurker!

[Pilchard123]

Hello! Today is the first day of the rest of your over-analyzing life!

[westrim]

...there is no damn way you're 48.

Why wouldn't she be 48? I know people in their 60s that are similarly undecayed.

Being a glasses-wearer with a pretty heavy prescription, every time I see a character that normally wears glasses without them, I have to wonder: contacts, light prescription, or "flying blind?"

I must share this sentiment. I suspect it's a nearsighted vs farsighted issue. My vision is okay at 20/40, but I still have never considered going without my glasses. Occasionally, I don't even take them off to swim.

[Valdís]

by the way, Valdís, nice quote in your signature! The Hávamál is a great piece of old norse poetry!

Also: First post of me as a former lurker!

Why hello there!

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, kindasorta new person!

[CrowFairy]

My left eye is currently (according to a prescription from three years ago) at 20/40, while my right eye is 20/200. I only wear my glasses when I need to see detail on something far away or in class when there are slides on the screen. In 2002, my left eye was 20/10, while my right eye was 20/40. My sister's eyesight degenerated much earlier and faster than mine, and my dad and his side of the family all have similar degeneration.

But I don't feel the need to wear my glasses most of the time, as I can see perfectly fine without them, as long as I'm not looking for someone (because I can't see facial features at a distance).

[bhtooefr]

They usually stop testing my left eye when they get down to 20/20, but I'm about 20/15 uncorrected, and my vision is stable.

The right eye is odd. Lazy eye, and my brain rejects input from that eye, in favor of the left eye that can't see. End result, it's about 20/120ish, and needs bifocals to prevent eyestrain when trying to focus.

And then, when you correct one eye, you correct the other... so my left eye has bifocals on top of it, too.

So, I don't need glasses in day to day life, but I wear them all the time anyway. Makes using my MBP Retina in 2880x1800 native comfortable.

[WAYF]

Being a glasses-wearer with a pretty heavy prescription, every time I see a character that normally wears glasses without them, I have to wonder: contacts, light prescription, or "flying blind?"

I am not sure .. Somehow Claire look a bit better with glasses ...
I donno why .. maybe it makes her look smarter?

^
Both relevant to my interests.

It's possible that Claire doesn't have that big a problem with her sight. I often go without glasses at work, because I'm only slightly short-sighted, but that's okay because I don't need to see past the edge of the restaurant. And when I do, it's just to check whether the slightly blurred people shapes are walking past or coming to order food. I do have contacts, but they're a bit more of a hassle than I thought they'd be.
Also, as I believe I said before, glasses do make people look better. And smarter.
It's entirely possible that Claire has contacts, though I like to believe that she just doesn't want to start weeping into her glasses when the grooms say "I do".
ALTERNATIVELY, and I'm surprised nobody's considered this yet, she COULD still be wearing glasses to the wedding, but she took them off in order to get changed and simply hasn't put them back on yet.

Gosh, a lot of this conversation would look a bit silly if that were the case...

[Kugai]

Gah, hate to be the nit-picker, but something was throwing me off about panel 1, and at least if I post it it might help anyone else who's thinking "something's not right there". Claire's legs are reflected incorrectly.

Ahh!  So that's where the Quantum Mirror from Stargate went to!!






Definitely a nice dress Claire.

[jwhouk]

I'm getting this feeling from Claire that she has a problem with guys in their underwear...

[Barmymoo]

I may be misremembering but I believe Zoe is in fact in her fifties now. I agree, Zoe you do not look it!

Perhaps Claire just feels awkward around anyone she doesn't know very well in their underwear. I know I would. Actually I'd feel awkward around people of the opposite sex in their underwear unless I was the cause of them undressing - no matter how well I knew them.

[LantisEscudo]

ALTERNATIVELY, and I'm surprised nobody's considered this yet, she COULD still be wearing glasses to the wedding, but she took them off in order to get changed and simply hasn't put them back on yet.

Gosh, a lot of this conversation would look a bit silly if that were the case...

A possibility, but I know I always put my glasses as soon as my shirt is on, so I can actually see the mirror instead of a blob of color.  But then, I can't see the big E on the eye chart without my glasses (with my left eye, I can read the second row with my right). 

I've got contacts I wear for exercising and days I know I'm going to have other things near/on my face, but they're more of a hassle than just putting my glasses on, so they don't get worn otherwise.  So my guess is either Claire has contacts for special occasions like this, or her prescription is light enough to get away with not wearing them for a while.

[Zebediah]

Just an observation - since Claire noticed Marten's lack of pants, I think we can assume that she can see reasonably well at the moment. So, she's not "flying blind". My guess is that she's wearning contacts, but doesn't really like them and finds her glasses more comfortable for everyday use.

[ZoeB]

...there is no damn way you're 48.

No, I turn 55 soon. My Icon's from when was 51.