Maria not taking the situation seriously worries me. It's clear her parents will never accept her. Im even afraid that the end of this chapter she and rudy will go home to find men there ready to take them away.If I was her, I'd get Chanel's parents to take her in, then have child services get Rudy out and put him up with Chanel's family, or maybe Gavin.
Maria is 18 already, if anybody tries to take her (e.g. "conversion therapy" hired thugs) it would be kidnapping, a felony crime. Rudy is still legally a minor though, and I don't know the law would work in whatever hypothetical state the story is set in (NY ?) but there exists a possibility that CPS or similar agency might be able to intervene to stop what would medically amount to psychological abuse at such a camp.
From the way Gavin's mom was talking the night Rain slept over, it sounds like she may work as a civilian employee of the police department, like perhaps a records clerk or something.
Happy bday! And your family will come round soon, I promise. Here are some tips: have a timescale for what kind of correcting you want to give them. I did it like this:
First month after coming out: If they deadname me, I correct them with my preferred name.
Up to a year after coming out: If they deadname me, I say "that's not my name" so they have to come up with my name themselves and think about it as opposed to just listening.
Year+: Don't respond to my deadname. Pretend I didn't hear anything; if they insist on deadnaming me, we just won't talk.
Oh wow. I just realized The Haircut was over a quarter of the comic ago! (pages 690-710, approximately, if anyone wants to re-read) It still feels so recent! At at a page every few days, that implies I've been following Rain for... at least three years. Probably a lot longer. I feel like there was never a time I *wasn't* reading it, but also like I just discovered it. Kudos to you, Jocelyn, for keeping the magic and spark for your readers. I know I'm not the only one who loves this comic just as much (if not more) that the day I discovered it. Thanks for the wonderful writing!
It's not the same, but I get satisfaction out of knowing chasers would be pissed my girlfriend and I, both trans women, are dating.
Still trying to get my family to call me by my name but hey
First month after coming out: If they deadname me, I correct them with my preferred name.
Up to a year after coming out: If they deadname me, I say "that's not my name" so they have to come up with my name themselves and think about it as opposed to just listening.
Year+: Don't respond to my deadname. Pretend I didn't hear anything; if they insist on deadnaming me, we just won't talk.