Rain FAQ
Last updated Apr. 25, 2011

● - Black Circle: Old entry
○ - White Circle: Edited entry
◊ - Diamond: New entry


● What is Rain?
Rain is a slice-of-life/comedy/drama that follows the life of a teenage male-to-female transsexual named Rain, attempting to go through her senior year in high school identified only as a woman. It's intended to be a comedy, but it will also touch on some heavy subjects including acceptance from family and piers, blind hatred, and many of the other difficulties faced by members of the GLBT community.


○ When does it update?
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  Exactly at midnight (EST timezone).  I have never updated late so far, but I often update early if I'm too tired to stay up (or even if I'm just bored).


● Where can I read it?
DeviantArt - http://littlelynn84.deviantart.com/gallery/27273884
SmackJeeves - http://www.smackjeeves.com/comicprofile.php?id=90588
Comic Fury - http://comicfury.com/comicprofile.php?url=rain


○ Are there any differences between them?  Do I need to sign up to all of these sites to get the complete story?
Not really.  They're all posted at roughly the same time (give or take a few minutes) and will feature all of the same content.  If you're into supplemental content though, DeviantArt is where is the only place where I'll post non-comic artwork, and it's also where the fanbase is largest (hence, more mingling if you're into that).


● So, in which direction do I read it?
Left to right.  The "not Japanese way".


● How long is Rain going to be?
However long it takes to tell the story.  There are a lot of arcs and topics I want to cover in this comic, and at three pages a week, I've accepted that that might mean it takes a few years to tell the story in full.


● I don't like reading comics on my computer.  Is there any chance of Rain being made into graphic novel?
Ideally, yes.  I would want nothing more.  But it wouldn't be any time soon.  First I'd need to accumulate enough pages put into it.  


● Why is it called Rain anyway?  Looks pretty sunny to me.
Contrary to popular belief, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the weather.  It's just the name of the main character.  That said, the word "rain" does have a bit of a melancholy connotation, which is perfectly suitable considering the themes of the story.  


● If it's named after Rain, does that mean she's the only important character?
Not at all.  The story will have a pretty large cast in the end, actually, and there are many arcs that don't necessarily even revolve around her at all.  But she IS the main character, and basically ties all of the other characters and events together.  


● Where are all the backgrounds?
You know, I'm pretty proud of my ability to draw people.  It took  a long time, but I'm pretty satisfied with the style I've adopted.  Everything else though, not so much.  I suck so bad at backgrounds, that unless it's absolutely crucial to define something, I simply won't waste my time on it.  Trust me, it'd be more distracting to have a hideous, indecipherable background then no background.


◊ I know you can draw better than this.  Why don't you draw everything better?
I admit, I've been cutting some corners in the artwork to make sure it's easy for me to produce more pages.  This is my first webcomic, and if there's one thing I've learned from reading so many over the years, it's that falling behind even once can kill it.  So I'm not about to take any risk; I believe most people will accept a small dip in quality in this case if they can be guaranteed consistency of updates.  That said, I'm getting more comfortable as I continue to do this.  And I believe my "lazy style" has even seen improvement since the first pages.  So I'm sure as the story goes, I'll continue to improve and my lazy style will simply become my normal style.


● I've noticed you refer to "the original version" once in a while.  What do you mean by that?
I originally came up with Rain in 2004.  At that time, it was a fantasy adventure story that just happened to feature a transsexual as the main character.  Rain and Gavin were paladins, Maria and Rudy were royalty and even Aunt Fara was a bandit leader.  All the same LGBT themes, just in a fantasy setting.  In 2009 however, I came to the conclusion that the fantasy elements really got in the way of the story I really wanted to tell and even contradicted my points on occasion.  So in the end, the fantasy elements were removed and Rain became a slice of life high school comedy.  Obviously, it's quite different, but you'd be surprised at how much is quite similar.


● I'd be totally into that!  Any chance you'll go back and do that too?
Honestly, chances are slim, I'm afraid.  There are a number of reasons why I decided against that version, and most of them were to remove aspects of the story I didn't like.  That said, I guess because I do still mention the original version from time to time, I obviously didn't hate it.  With that in mind, Rain and her friends are geeks (manga, anime, video games, etc.).  Their fandoms will frequently give nods to the original version with drawn parallels to emphasize certain themes and more.  


● What is Black Wings, Kaminari?
It's a fake manga that Rain reads (in other words, don't look for it at your local bookstore; it doesn't exist outside of Rain).  There are a couple other ones too, including Halloween Princess Pandora and Mad Giga-Kaizer X.  I've even considered parody references of existing titles (for instance, Kill Book and Dragon Cube A).  What significance does this all play?  You'll just have to wait and see.  ^_^


● Is Rain based off your past experiences? Or just something you thought of?
I've been calling Rain "pseudo-autobiographical".  Having not openly accepted myself as transgendered until age 20, obviously that means I never attempted to try to pass undetected in high school like Rain.  That said, beyond the basic setup of the story, it's pretty largely based off of my personal experiences, people I've met, things I've heard, etc. for better or worse.


● So… is Rain like, actually a woman yet?
She was always a woman.  A transsexual woman is still a woman.


● I mean, to put bluntly, does she have guy parts or girl parts?
Well, if we're going to be blunt about it, then yes, Rain is completely "physically" male. She's pre-op. That means no hormone therapy, no surgery, no nothing. Just girly clothes, well-applied make-up, and an assortment of tools and techniques to feminize the figure a little.


● Should I refer to Rain as a "he" or  a "she"?
"She" would be ideal, actually.


◊ How many transsexuals are in this story?
A few.  But contrary to popular belief, "transgendered" is really a VERY broad term, and no two are all that alike apart from the whole gender dysphoria thing.


◊ How does Rain have curves if she's completely pre-op?
She uses padding.  They  make products to enhance the curves of genetic women, but I can promise you that they work just as well on transwomen.  ^_^


◊ When does Rain get magically transformed into a real girl?
I'm seriously amazed by how often I get asked this.  I envy all of you who apparently live in a world where changing sex is as easy as a clicking your heels together three times.  Such an option would make my life SO much easier.

Jokes aside, I'm well aware that many people may have stumbled upon Rain while looking for stories or artwork that features people being morphed into the opposite sex (for those of you aren't aware, there's actually a fairly large community for it here on DA).  There's nothing wrong with that, but my comic is really quite grounded in reality and no such "magic" is ever going to occur.  Maybe a dream sequence…?  Maybe…


◊ Okay, well realistically speaking, will Rain ever be post-op?
You'll just have to read the story.  ^_^


● Why is Rain the only one whose dialogue is italicized?  And only sometimes!?
http://littlelynn84.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d32kl9e
The italics are meant to indicate that Rain is not using her natural voice.  In short, the italics imply they she's trying to modify her voice in such a way to make her sound more feminine.  When it's not italic (on the rare occasion), she is using her natural voice.  Every other character is using their natural voice so their dialogue doesn't look any different.


● Does Rain only have one eye?
No, she has both her eyes.  Her left eye is obscured by her hair most of the time, but it's not hiding any kind of gross disfiguration or an eye patch or anything.


● Is Rain gay or straight?
Good question!  Even I don't know.  I'm leaving that unclear quite intentionally.  Feel free to ship your favorite pairings.  I don't plan on revealing a thing.  ^_^


● But in that one old piece you did, you depicted Rain with…-
I said I'm not revealing anything!


● How old should I be to read Rain?
However old is needed to be open to the subject matter.  I would freely let anyone 13 and up read it.


● How "bad" is the content?
There's some occasionally strong language, including swears, and to a lesser extent, slurs and the names of certain body parts.  None of this is excessive though.  There are sexual themes and situations, although I never to display any nudity (I'm not above a little fan service, but no ACTUAL nudity).  Finally, there may be depictions of people smoking or drinking.  This is also rare, and I don't even know if it's really that big of a deal, but I just thought it might be a good idea to mention.


◊ Does anybody ever get killed or anything?
If you know me as a writer, I tend to like my stuff really dark and really heavy.  That said, Rain is probably one of my most light-hearted stories.  There will be some really dark scenes, I can promise that; but I don't want death in this story.  For the most part, I actually prefer Rain being light-hearted and positive (if a little emotional at times).  

A lot of stories that revolve around LGBT themes usually strongly focus on the dangers and brutality that people in the community can potentially face.  And realistically, yes, that threat IS there.  But I don't want this story to be about that; I think that method of storytelling just breeds more fear and sadness into those who are already worried.  But there's so much more to being a part of the LGBT community than worrying about hate crimes.  I want Rain to be, overall, an encouraging story.  I want people who read this to feel more confident in themselves; not bury themselves further in the closet out of fear.  

So, it's a little late for the short answer, but no, nobody gets killed or anything.


● Is it okay for me to say [enter statement here] in the comments section of a page?  I recognize that this story touches on a lot of delicate subjects and I'm a little worried about offending someone.
The fact that you're even considering other peoples' feelings before posting the first thing that pops into your head says to me that whatever you're about to say probably won't be ignorant.  Honestly, unless it's insanely ignorant or some sort of direct attack, I am personally a bit difficult to offend.  But I can't speak for everyone.  If you're ever REALLY unsure of something, it might just be best to play it safe.  


◊ I don't like this page/character/story arc/comic.  Is it okay for me to say so, or do I have to "be nice"?
Well, I would certainly prefer you not be a jerk… ^_^

Seriously though, if you dislike or disagree with something, you're welcome to say something.  But there's a constructive way to criticize another's work, and then there's trolling.  I don't think I should need to spell out the difference.  


● Do you mind if I do a fanart/fanfic?
I do not mind.  In fact, please, I would be most flattered.  Just make sure you credit me as the creator of the original story your work is based off (and of course, show it to me!).


◊ Do you mind if I ship _____ with _____?
I imagine a story with tons of teenage characters of canonically varying sexualities and genders would probably be a shipper's paradise.  Who am I to take that away?  ^_^  Seriously though, I WANT people to ship my characters; I'm genuinely interested in what pairings people suspect and why.  I may question the REALLY odd ones if I think you're not simply joking around, but I'm generally willing to approve any matchup.

Although, some pairings are set in stone for the end (others, I'm still not totally sure for), so what ends up actually happening may or may not be what you shipped.  I have a LOT planned for the future. ^_^


○ What does your work on Rain mean for your other projects that you started and never finished (I'm of course, referring to Shangri-La and Lavender Town)?  Can we assume you're just abandoned these?
What?  No.  I never explicitly announced that I was going to abandon either project.  I'm just waiting to get my bearings on writing an ongoing comic before trying to do a balancing act with more stories.  I still don't want to name any release dates as I don't know what the future holds for me, but in a perfect world, I could find the time to finish both in 2011.  But seriously… don't hold me to that.

I think I may try to dig deep into Shangri-La again this Summer though.  It's been long enough.  Please don't keep asking me though.  It doesn't speed anything up (it doesn't hurt either, but it really doesn't help).


● IS THAT MUCH AWESOMENESS ALLOWED TO BE CONTAINED WITHIN A SINGLE WEBCOMIC?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
No, really!  I'm not just tooting my own horn; someone asked this!  http://littlelynn84.deviantart.com/journal/36686746/#comments
By the way, I still haven't figured out how to answer this.