Clarity
4th Jun 2021, 10:55 AM in Ch. 42 - One Day at a Time
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Clarity
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Average Rating: 5 (19 votes)
Author Notes:
Jocelyn
It's been too long. I needed to get another "Dude she's a lesbian" gag in there. XD

Fun fact: In the Caption-Me Rudy short done by the Rain: The Animated Series team, I suggested a couple of the bits used. And when I was trying to think of suggestions, the bit on this page, actually crossed my mind. But before bringing it up to them, the entire context of this page occurred to me, and I decided to keep this one for myself. I hope the team will forgive me for selfishly hording one. XD

But it's not all goofs and gaffs here. This page is also important for Rudy. Since the first introduction of "Ruby", I only ever wanted to establish Rudy as a male assigned and male identifying person who likes to wear skirts and dresses. This is a perfectly valid way to be, but it's apparently been a bit of a tough pill for some to swallow.

I've seen a lot of remarks throughout the comic, saying things like "why else would she dress like that", or "Rudy's definitely an egg", or just saying "Ruby" or "she" when he's presenting male. And I'm not trying to call anyone out or make anyone feel bad, but that always felt a little icky to me. It always felt like misgendering. He's told us he's a guy before. More than once, even. And he's confirmed it with others too.

I absolutely recognize and agree that many trans folks go through some serious denial before accepting themselves (I sure did!), but I think it's also important to let people discover themselves at their own pace. Because until a person tells us, we don't know. Instead of projecting or preemptively deciding for another person that they're trans because they meet one or a few of the stereotypes, I think it's better to hear what they have to say. If they say they're not trans, trust them. If they come out later on down the road, it doesn't mean they were lying earlier; it means they needed time to sort things out. I think it's great to offer support, to lend an ear or a shoulder if they need it, to provide information if they ask, but I don't think we should assume we know a person better than they do.

As for Rudy, is he trans? He says he's not. He says he's a guy. So I think we should trust him and respect his name and pronouns as he tells it. If he realizes something down the road and says he is trans or nonbinary, we respect whatever changes he requests (if any!).

Sorry if that was a little too soapboxy for a gag page. It's been on my mind for a while. ^^;

Have a nice weekend, everyone. ^_^


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User comments:
Asphodel (Guest)
Now this, this is quality throwback meme time
LariUmbreon
Lol I am not mad at you in the slightest you kept this one for yourself. XD I love it.
ChaosStar0 (Guest)
So I thought that video was funny, but are you actually gearing up to do a dub of the comic? Because I'd watch it if you did.
Drake Zephyr
Not sure about that, but they (by which I mean the whole team, not Lari in which I would say she I presume) are making an animated series.
1602 (Guest)
Haha, I missed a lot of Rudy's humor and jokes.
I hope we can continue to see Ryan, I don't know maybe in therapy with Vincent.
1602 (Guest)
Maria in lovely sister mood is so cute.
Phrown (Guest)
1-I love the way the reference was used here. And I never thought it was overdone.

2- I find the comments about Rudy as being trans to be more complicated than they need too. He’s a guy who likes cross dressing, plain and simple.
That said, when is he going to become a drag queen? (I’m 100% confident this will happen. There’s so many signs he will)
OZ (Guest)
She just wanted to make sure, and to be fair on this one school year they met tons of trans people and had a lot of plot twist going on
purplespacecats (Guest)
omg, this party is the perfect opportunity for isaac to come over like, "hey, you like drag too? ever thought of performing?" :D
Some Ed
Since Rudy didn't just graduate, probably at least a year from now, unless he switches to the public school.
Syter6
This has got to be my favourite running gag out of every comic i've ever read
Pseudonym (Guest)
Yeeeeeeah, good one.
Oz (Guest)
omg this throwback and Rain meming, this is the perfect page here
rawr :3 (Guest)
I LOVE IT :D
WhoDoesn'tKnew (Guest)
This was SOOO good. Snerked out loud !
Long-Time Lurker (Guest)
Aaaaaah that was great! I love the call back. :D Also Maria's such a good sister. This page made my week -- and I was already having a really good week.
Kyle (Guest)
I wonder if Rudy and Maria will bring up their parents. Haven't heard any updates on that front in a while.
Absentia
well their mom met Ryan, so she's at least trying to be more accepting.
Kyle (Guest)
I don't think Mrs. Strongwell knows Ryan's trans though. And I was more talking about if Mr. and Mrs. Strongwell are getting divorced, if Mrs. Strongwell has reached out to Maria at all, or if she'll ever accept Rudy for being gay.
Absentia
remember, Mrs. Strongwell is the first person other than Rudy that Ryan used his new name on,. and she knows it. so even if she doesn't know the specific details, she knows Ryan isn't exactly as he appears, and actually probably asked Rudy about it.

as for the rest, unclear about the divorce, i doubt she's reached out to Maria, that seems like something that would have happened on screen, and she may not fully understand it all, but all she wants is to ensure her son is happy. she doesn't have to fully understand him being gay or even fully be okay with it to let him be himself anyway. in her eyes, first and foremost, he is her son. that's what she cares about.

at least it is now.
Anna Gartlin9
o no, now im laughing so hard that (if i could) im crying lol nice reference love it
Guest
And now i read it with the voice of Kira xD
Leslie (Guest)
Oh gosh... I laughed so hard at that joke ^^
Willow13
Gotta love Rain's reaction
cooltv27 (Guest)
I would love to see how rudy/ruby feels about the term "femboy" someday. whether he likes or dislikes it, I would like to see his opinion

ruby is actually the only character I have ever felt truly represented by. I dont consider myself a femboy anymore, but ruby is still the closest character to me
SometimesIReadComics (Guest)
I love callbacks. 😆
arkathenia
This is perfect, I love this soooo much <3
Keiya (Guest)
Goddesses I love the Strongwell kids. They're just fun characters.
Absentia
out of curiosity, which goddesses?
Keiya (Guest)
Honestly, when I use phrasing like that? ... It's usually the Three Golden Goddesses from the Legend of Zelda. I use them because they're in a spot of not being stepping on people's beliefs but also being... revereable? Plus invoking the right one for a situation *feels right*. Kinda weird, I guess, but it feels good and right to me.
Absentia
ah, alright. i thought you were referring to a group of actual goddesses, but honestly, you're not wrong about them being revearable. honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were inspired by some goddesses, i'd have to look in to it.
bgb16999
I laughed quite hard at the next-to-last panel, and I love Allison's expression in the final panel!

I actually feel like Rain's line in the final panel sort of throws things off, though my opinion might change when I'm rereading the scene as a whole.
Julia_
Aww poor Allison thrown right into this 😅
Lilian
It seems Allison has yet to find the fourth wall
Absentia
so, my two primary theories

1) Rudy is jsut a crossdresser, that's it. might end up a drag queen like Izzy.

2) Rudy has some slight gender fluidity like Ky that he's using his crossdressing to unconsciously release.
chlo (Guest)
Mentioning Ruby right now reminded me of the theory about Gavin's attraction to Rain/Ruby creating tension between Ana and Gavin, which in this context might lead to conflict between Ana's stealth ideals and her attempts to help Ryan.
bandana_girl (Guest)
I love that this is a callback but also I'm strongly ambivalent about the overlap and confusion with futch and twink that this is so much a perfect thing to say for.
Guest
Seems a bit weird to make him self conscious about his exposed chest if he's not Trans then. I mean the only people I've known to be like that are Woman and sometimes Trans Men but never Cis Men.

I mean I've even seen it listed as one of a list of potential signs someone is Trans.
Absentia
i think it was more reactionary than anything. Allison pointing it out, plus the memory of how they first met made him a little shy. since his shirtlessness was the biggest factor of it all, he covered in an attempt to pull attention away from it.
Mild Lee Interested (Guest)
Cis guy here and i always wear a rashy or t-shirt swimming. Being self conscious is a thing for some people regardless of gender.
Absentia
Okay, rereading the comic and just noticed.

The faces of the three match the faces of the people in their original spots in the original page.

Rudy's face here matches Maria's face in the old page, Maria's here matches Gavin's there, and Gavin's here matches Rudy's there. I love that consistency.
Gabibutcher (Guest)
Okay, this was the perfect way to rework a gag, I almost laughed out loud
cooltv27 (Guest)
im rereading thru this and that joke has caused me to laugh out loud for a solid 2 minutes. and ive already read this page before, but dang it that running gag being flipped like that is amazing
AndreaWiggin
The last two panels were absolute gold. Giggles galore
JustRaining
💯
Lena/Lyra (Guest)
In my eyes Rudy/Ruby is just a guy into drag. It always made sense to me because especially if he was an egg he’d have told this group
Egg3770
The ultimate ending for the best running joke!