I mean she always was but like, damnnn

Oh, it is raining. ^_^
https://rain.thecomicseries.com/comics/1462/

Agreed, and it's a welcome addition to Ryan's character!

Also, I looove that pawn shop name, and the meaning behind it makes it even better <3

I think Ryan also had that streak. He was perfectly happy wearing a monocle just for the lolz.

Lynn had asked for a name for a “pawn shop”. I had suggested “Castle’s” but the final name is even better

Same here! :-)

Wasn't Ana a lefty? We don't see her right hand here.....

I don't know. I always thought that the wedding/engagement ring went on third finger of the left hand regardless? Of course that;s not true of all cultures, and i could be wrong... In fact I kind-of hope I am.

i think they mean theres no engagement ring

on top of that, diamond rings are bullshit. its possible her and Gavin just didn't see the point in them. seems like the kind of thing they'd do.

Some people wear them on a necklace instead... And Ana's looks rather ring shaped...

Well, she is going to a pawn shop, my supposition is she will leave with one.

To be fair they are only in their mid twenties. A lot of people don't get married until their thirties.

In all likelihood she's not engaged, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she and Gavin aren't still a couple though. Keeping in mind that everyone is only in their early 20s, it's entirely reasonable to expect that even if they're together that they're not engaged yet.

In that regard Rain and Emily being engaged is probably mostly due to the fact that they're literally raising a child together, and are well ahead of everyone else in terms of being able and ready financially and emotionally for getting engaged. Like on top of the fact that they would basically already be engaged based on the fact that they're living together and raising a child, a lot of things become a lot easier by getting engaged, just like from a standpoint of cementing legal custody for the child and all the legal privileges that come with that for example.

I've been around a lot of people and couples in my life who even despite being a couple for years aren't yet engaged because they aren't ready yet, or don't think there's any point to putting an official title on their relationship. And I say this as someone in her early 20s who is engaged, it's not something for everyone and it's not always something that every couple needs to or should prioritize.

"Walk on the Wild Side" was the other song for me.
"Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she…"

Didn't learn til much more recently that most of the verses were biographical. Andy Warhol had interesting friends.

We're a product of our era. I understand why some folks today don't like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but every vaguely queer person I know flocked to that. And then Hedwig and the Angry Inch!

All of the songs and shows and movies may not be as influential for the next generations, but we can still teach understanding why they were important.

@ShoShone

Stuff like this will vary from person to person. I know trans women who don't mind their kids calling them "daddy", and I know some would prefer to some variation of mommy (though I've seen more to the latter, personally). I don't personally know as many transmale parents, but I would assume that there are likewise, going to be some who use one or the other. However, whichever term is used - in absolutely any case - I don't think it should be pushed upon anyone what they "should be called" because of their "role" in raising the child. That is solely up to the individual to decide.

For purposes of the story, there's still another page of Mr. Bryer's letter we haven't seen yet, so we can probably assume Rain has some context that we don't, as well.

Regarding Kellen, even if she realized she messed up, that's still up to Rain to let her back into her life. If Kellen had just forced Rain to confront her on her terms so she can apologize, that would show Kellen's learned nothing, because it was that forceful behavior that alienated her from Rain to begin with. Like, if it's just about Kellen getting to apologize, then that's not for Rain; that's for Kellen. Rain is the one who was attacked; she has to be the one who decides when Kellen can or can't make up for it.

And Rain wants to mend this relationship too, for what it's worth, but it's still not always that easy for people who've been victimized in some way. And it turned into years before she finally felt ready for it. I know many people who would say six years isn't nearly enough time. I know many who would say no amount of time would change things. But regardless of how long it took, Rain and Kellen are on the scene together again, and clearly still need to take things very slow.

ijudging by Ryan's comment of old junk, it's a pawn shop with a chess-themed name.

@chrystal_dark

I've always heard the gender neutral version to be Mx (pronounced like "mix"). I'm sure there's other options too, but that's the one I tend to hear most frequently. ^_^

The only one I've heard of is Mx. (mostly only written, but sometimes pronounced "mix" or "mux",) and it might not be recognized. I find completely omitting the title preferable. (Although I know many companies policies don't allow that.) Not only because of nonbinary/genderfluid/trans addressees, but also plenty of cisgender addressees with uncommon or unisex names can easily be misgendered. For example I know an older cis man named Jan (his parents were European immigrants) whose junk mail is often addressed "Ms".
Although, if you can differentiate between Mrs, Miss, and Ms, it implies that the addressee provided that information to the company at some point. It can still be wrong, since titles can change, but if that's the case, the potential for offending someone can be mitigated by making sure that when that information is collected, there's gender neutral & blank options available, and ensuring that it can be changed later.

@Pseudonym

Honestly? There's no real consistent rule. It's usually meant to imply eye makeup with Rain herself (if you go back to any page where she's just rolling out of bed, you might notice she doesn't tend to have them there), or Ana, or Ruby (but not while presenting as Rudy). There are also a few instances like Chanel who doesn't typically have the lashes, but she does throughout the prom chapter which it's not outside the realm of possibility she wore makeup for.

That said, I don't know that that's necessarily the case for Ryan. I shortened his lashes a little, but it honestly felt right to continue to include. Maybe he's just got naturally thick lashes. Or maybe he's a man comfortable enough with his self-expression to rock a little guy-liner. ^_^

Cool beans. Thank you. Now that I'm curious about how things translate into visual language, could I ask if there are things about Ryan as he is now that you'd draw differently if he was a cis guy?

@Pseudonym

Not really. The thing about trans people is that - like cis people - we come in all shapes and sizes. Trans characters don't need a tell, and they don't need to look trans. That gets into stereotype/caricature territory and it's not really my thing.

I have been criticized in the past for things like my "trans characters are too cute", but that's kinda my artstyle: everyone's cute. And I dunno, trans people are cute, so I've never really seen how that's an issue. XD

Indeed they don't. However I find that pondering how making one change would affect the outcome is a good way to learn about visual expression. Especially for lunkheads like me, who hardly know anything about visuals. Thank you again.

@Zebstrika83

He's said it a few times himself throughout the series, but to confirm once again: Rudy is a male assigned and male identifying person who likes to wear skirts and dresses. If he dresses up like that, he does call himself Ruby and accepts she/her pronouns. But at the end of the day, Rudy still considers himself a man.

@Jocelyn

I certainly understand the part of "Rudy said he is male, so respect that," and if we were talking about a real person, I'd agree to leave it at that. However, as a fictional character in a story where we get more context into his thought process, and where I think talking about representation in terms of how people find their personal identity is reasonable, I want to dig into this a little deeper. Specifically, there's one line in the story that makes me feel like there's more to this.

Back in Chapter 33 (page 963 in ComicFury numbering), during "Ruby's solo debut," There's a thought bubble that says "I wish I could get this kind of treatment without having to dress like this, though." Perhaps it's just me looking too much into this, but I've felt like this pointed to some sort of underlying feelings about his gender, more specifically to social gender. I'm not saying that I think this one line in the comic means Rudy is trans, but more broadly that his gender identity may not simply be just "cis male."

I dunno, maybe I'm just reading too much into a line that could just as easily be read as "I want people to be nicer to me." I personally like to think there's no one right way to interpret a piece of media, not even the author's interpretation. Perhaps I'm just reading what I want to see out of "Ruby" based on how I'm handling my own (ongoing) struggles with gender identity, but maybe that's not a bad thing? I don't know.

I'm obviously not the expert on Rudy/Ruby, but my impression is that, like a lot of cross-dressers, he's mostly okay with being a guy, but likes to take a vacation from the guy role from time to time.

I have always felt that the male role was rather constricting; I always felt like I was living in a suit of medieval armor 24/7. It was so painful (it's one of the causes of my C-PTSD) that I chose not to vacation from it, but to actually emigrate. But not everyone feels that way.

Rudy's Ruby mode has always read to me as a consequence of how he refuses to half-ass shenanigans, not as a gender issue. (That said, I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone experienced in shenanigans and unfamiliar with gender issues.)

This is the kid who, when his heart was breaking, still got down on one knee and asked Rain to be his fag hag. Rudy commits. He turns things into performances, into little skits. And once they are performances, good showmanship demands taking things to the hilt.

From personal experience, this can be a coping mechanism, or a way to fit in. This can be how an outsider gets accepted. This can be something you do to make your friends laugh, for the love of the spotlight, since you like doing it and you're good at it, or just to be a little shit. This can be all of them for the same person at different times.