Rain
Comic 1466 - In Box and Unopened
Author Notes:
Mad GigaKaizer X hasn't been mentioned in a loooooong time, but it's been one of the few non-Chiaki Koizumi original properties in the Rainverse that's not just a parody. It's inspired by a lot of old giant robot anime (the "70s design" seen here is a kind of a cross between the sleeker more modern design shown way in the beginning of the comic and the thicker, chunkier designs of old robots like Getter Robo and Gigantor). I confess that I'm not super well versed in vintage giant robot knowledge (not like I am with JRPG-styled fantasy anime lore), so I hope I did well enough. XD
But anyway, I know people were concerned with the state of Ana and Gavin's relationship earlier this week (and I've noticed people have been a lot more laser focused on people's last names and ring fingers than I expected!). But speaking as someone who was, myself, married at 24 (and still happily with that same person almost 14 years later as of this writing), I know that's not the path for everyone. There's certainly going to be marriage talk in this chapter, but people should not expect every character to be married, or for it to necessarily even be on the table for every character. It's not everyone's endgame, after all. It was something my spouse and I wanted, but it's not for everybody. ^_^
But, with all that said, if Gavin is "her man", it's probably safe to assume he and Ana are doing just fine together. ^_^
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I love when couples learn about eachother's interests. Shows they are good for eachother.
I love Ryan in this chapter! I feel like we get to see more of his personality as a confident adult and I’m HERE for it
I'm somewhat surprised Ana and Gavin are not married, but it makes sense for them, if you ask me
I feel like Gavin would want to, but with Ana between jobs, it might be harder to save for something like that. Weddings aren't cheap.
Then there's a couple I knew when I lived in Dallas who got married for $50. It's not very romantic to get a court house wedding, but it's a lot cheaper than having a big party.
Jocelyn, I’m also surprised to see you’re around my age (37, turning 38 in four months).
Learning stuff for your significant other is special
Even if you don't understand something fully just making an effort to learn is important
has she told him about herself yet?
This is actually kind of concerning to me. I was thinking about this while re-reading from the beginning before this chapter started, and realized that this similarity between Jessica and Ana might be at odds. I feel like if this isn't addressed, it could establish the wrong "moral" for Jessica's story.
I don't think she needed to tell Gavin before, and it probably is for the best she didn't tell him before the start of the time jump. I feel like, had Gavin learn or been told at the time, it might have resurfaced the inner conflict he talked about in Ch 12. However, I do think Ana should probably tell Gavin before things get "too serious," however you want to define that, to make sure the relationship is built upon honesty. (Not that I'm expecting to see that happen in the comic itself at this point, to be fair.)
And what do you mean she "has to" tell Gavin "before things get too serious"? The whole point of that arc of his inner conflict was that he got over it. Not to mention that they've been dating for 6 years at this point, so idk what you think "too serious" actually is supposed to mean when they're in a long term committed relationship.
And she is being honest with him, that she is a woman, she has no obligation to him or to anyone else to tell them she was born inter-sex, arbitrarily assigned male by the doctor, and then had to get SRS to reflect that she was a woman the whole time. In her eyes, she fixed the mistake made by a doctor, and she feels that her experience with and relationship to transitioning is different from non-intersex trans people, and does not want to tell people about it. Which is a completely valid choice, and not being 'dishonest'.
I feel like you've completely missed the entire point of both of their story arcs.
Trans people don't have to tell anyone that they are trans if they don't want to, that doesn't make them dishonest. Nobody is owed being told that you're trans, and it's far from the "wrong moral" to tell people that they don't owe anyone an explanation that they don't feel comfortable giving.
Their relationship is built on honestly, and it's very much spreading the actual wrong moral to say that trans people are inherently dishonest if they don't tell everyone around them that they're trans. Rain isn't "dishonest" for not telling everyone at her school that she's trans, and Ana isn't dishonest for not wanting to tell anyone at all. You need to examine that assumption of yours because it's built on the transphobic idea that trans people are dishonest or trying to "trick" people for presenting themselves authentically and not wanting people to see them in a way that they never wanted to be or be seen as.
Nobody has an obligation to the details of your medical history outside of the .01% of circumstances it impacts them directly... and even then it's a very strict "need to know".
I was largely concerned about Ana being dishonest to keep it a secret. A part of dating and forming a relationship is getting to know the other person, and that often involves talking about the past. If, in order to keep it secret, she starts having to tell lies about herself and her past, then that could cause issues for their long-term relationship. Someone can be ok with what a secret is, but not ok with how the secret was kept.
"I feel like you've completely missed the entire point of both of their story arcs."
That is verylikely. I don't necessarily believe in a right way to interpret a piece of media, but I can at least admit that some of what I think of the story is poorly substantiated by the text (something I realized while looking back at old pages writing this comment).
In terms of the "point" of the arcs, I have an open-ended question. Let's pretend for a moment that Jessica's original plan had worked: her insurance didn't back out, she got the surgery, and married Aiken. Would that be a healthy relationship? I'm not even talking about Jessica here. It's clear that Aiken had really toxic opinions about trans people, and it seems like they could be one childhood photo away from a relationship-ending fight. In that sense, is it better that Jessica ended up telling Aiken before they got married?
The thing I was talking about "morals" in the original comment is because I felt like you could draw a line between Jessica and Aiken's relationship, where she told him and the relationship blew up, and Ana and Gavin's relationship, where she didn't tell him and they're still together, and could come to the conclusion of "you should/must keep it a secret." I'm not saying it's a solid conclusion to make, but that was what I was referring to as the "wrong moral".
Having looked over some old pages again, though, I realized the better connection to make there is Jessica and Heather's relationship (however you interpret it), which throws out that whole conclusion. Maybe I'm just being an idiot.
From her perspective it seems that she views herself has having been born a woman from the start and everything after either was a mistake or something she's had to correct for. And because of that she doesn't feel the need to tell anyone that she doesn't absolutely have to, because she views it as correcting a mistake rather than transitioning in the typical sense.
I honestly might not answer this at all, and instead leave it up to reader interpretation. Personally speaking, I believe Ana does not need to divulge her status with anyone (even Gavin). If she feels happier and safer keeping it secret, that's her choice, and her choice alone. But if Ana does want to tell just Gavin, at least (because, let's be real, he'd be surprised for like a second and then get over it, and they'd continue as they were), then she can do that too.
Ultimately, based on these characters as they are, I don't believe it would change their relationship whether he knows or not. So if you think Ana told him, then she did. If you think she'll keep her secret forever, then she does. What we know for sure is that Ana and Gavin are together and happy, and that's the important thing.
A few years after high school, several of my old classmates were married or engaged to each other, but mostly _not_ to anyone they'd dated in high school. Weird how much folks can change (or not) in their early 20's!
Wait what if *Drew* is married to Randy and takes his last name omg
Mr. and Mr. Guy! It's too perfect!
I believe that my impossible soulmate has some of black wings karmini sorry if I spelled it wrong 😑 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈❤️ ThisTransGuy
There was no conflicts, they both agreed that people are people, and some of them have difficulties the likes of which nobody should ever have to deal with, and it was very frustrating that they got additional problems because of it due to other people not wanting to think about a world as complicated as the one we live in.
She concluded this with a with a hypothetical question something like, "So it wouldn't be a problem for you if I was born intersex, `fixed` into a boy without the doctor even bothering to talk with my parents about it, and then *actually* corrected a month before we met."
Gavin said, "Oh my god, I am so sorry people have to go through with crap like that."
It's not been discussed since.
Please don't tell Gavin or Ana that I said this; if they knew I was listening in on their private discussions, they'd hate me forever, and then another forever for sharing it with literally everyone.