Happy (early) Halloween, all! ^_^

First real Rain strip after the comic ended too. I planned to occasionally whip these up from time to time when inspiration struck (and still do, going forward), but wow, it's hard to find the time. If I'm being totally honest, this entire strip started as me just wanting to do a piece of fan art, and not being able to find the time for months (had books and another comic to focus on, after all). Then it became, "what if Rain cosplayed that character instead?" And then, "what if it's Halloween and Lydia's cosplaying another character from the same game?" And then, "what if Lydia threw a dolphin at somebody?" Logical progression, you see? XD

But yeah, for months, nothing happened. And I figured if I didn't do it for Halloween, I was just never going to do it. So, uh... here we are. XD

If you're unfamiliar, Rain and Lydia are cosplaying the characters, Bridget and May, from the fighting game Guilty Gear Strive (or in Rainverse, let's call it Shamed Sprocket Persist). Several of the gags do assume a degree of familiarity with the characters, so my apologies if they don't land.

Ironically, I haven't played Strive yet myself. It's been on my radar for years because some of the earliest entries in the series are among my favorites in the genre, but again, time is an issue. My old main, Bridget, getting her reveal (in being added to the game, and officially canonically coming out as a trans girl) certainly raised my interest a few notches, though! So I really wanted to at least draw something, if nothing else!

Emily and Gavin also cameo in this strip, and yes, I absolutely considered having them cosplay other characters from the game too. I figured Emily would probably make a good Millia, but I also thought it might be a bit much to cosplay like that at work in her profession. I also thought about Sol, Ky, Chipp, and Leo as costumes for Gavin. But I ultimately veered away, thinking, contextually, Maria having to make all these costumes for her entire friend group seemed like a lot. XD

But anyway, it's just a little gag strip for the fun of it. And I hope you like it whether you know the references or not!

Also, I am aware Bridget is kind of a touchy subject for some people. But as per usual, I won't be tolerating any misgendering in this comments section, and I'm not interested in hosting any toxicity (I don't think I need to tell y'all that, but I just want it to be said). This comic is meant to be silly and fun; so let's keep that out of here, please. Thank you.