Sorry for the down note for the weekend. Really. ^^;
But let's talk about this for a moment. Mr. Strongwell's threat of conversion therapy has been sitting quietly in the background for some time now. But would he really do it? Is he that insidious? Or do you think Chanel is right and this has got to be some kind of a bluff? That he couldn't possibly go that far?
Well, the good news is that in New York, where the story is set, conversion therapy is illegal and if they try it it could lead to them losing custody over Rudy (they already don't have custody over Maria since she's 18). Of course, then Maria still has to find a new place to live without her parents' financial support.
A friend of mine went through this... Scared the hell out of me when I heard about it. Sickening part, the church made it seem like such an amazing thing when they invited one of the head torture specialists to talk about the "work" they do...
Here's a slightly hopeful thought - remember how Brother Arthur said he let something like that happen to someone he cared about and how its haunted him ever since? I strongly believe that he is a good person and that there's no way in hell he'd watch it happen again to students under his care, given how painful it was previously.
Oh, and one other thing - as someone that did do the very early steps in training to be a counselor, conversion "therapy" makes my blood boil. It is a complete betrayal of everything that good therapists believe in and people become scared of seeking genuine, beneficial support because of the idea that conversion "therapy" is legitimate.
Ugh . . . unfortunately I don't think it's just a threat. If it was, wouldn't Maria's father have just scared her with it instead of doing research and not telling her?
Hello, I am a new reader. I spent the past couple days reading this entire webcomic so far. You have a really good handle on writing a compelling story.
I noticed your faq hasn't been updated in 7 years tho. It says your graphic novel won't be out any time soon, but you have 4 of them now, right?
Luckily for Maria, she's too old for her parents to force her to go (she's 18, right?). Rudy, on the other hand would be in for more concern, though that's assuming it's even legal in their state. Hopefully the father's research is turning out futile.
It's true that at the beginning of the story, she was 17. Maria's canonically had a birthday happen on-screen since then though, so it's also true that she's 18 now.
Oh I see... I forgot about that. Then I guess our guest has a point there. But yeah, that means Rudy is still a concern then. Though I suppose they could still coerce Maria into going via other methods? Maybe she'll go just to make sure Rudy doesn't have to endure that Hell alone.
I hope their parents don't try conversion therapy. My roommate went thought that nightmare and she suffers a lot to this day because of it. No one should have to go through what she has.
I noticed your faq hasn't been updated in 7 years tho. It says your graphic novel won't be out any time soon, but you have 4 of them now, right?
http://rain.thecomicseries.com/characters/
It's true that at the beginning of the story, she was 17. Maria's canonically had a birthday happen on-screen since then though, so it's also true that she's 18 now.
However there is nothing stopping her father from sending her to an out-of-state facility.
If you are in one of the 29 states where this torture is still practiced give thought to calling your state representative and or senator.