Called to Change

So... on the one hand...
Of all the characters in FE, Ronnie is the one whom I've most wanted to know her back story. Probably because she's decidedly my favorite of the characters, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Anyways, I'm basically giving an internal squee of anticipation at the moment.

On the other hand...
If we finally learn about her past, all that mystery and secrecy goes away. She'll still be the same person so the comic shouldn't suffer for it, but then I'll have to find some other thing to stay up at night and think about... Something like if the size of one's tongue affects how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. And that isn't nearly as interesting.

I have to say, I'm really a fan of the expressions in this one. You can read them so well, and they truly show how the characters or feeling at the moment. I especially like Vikki's eyes. They're very well done and read so well in this.

So... backstory time? Or partial backstory time? This has been long coming and long anticipated; I'm looking forward to learning more about where Ronnie's coming from. Or else just having more clues and tidbits dropped, depending on how much the bunny decides to share.

Also, I agree with Trevor_Fox: I adore the expressions.

To Cutekitty: Backstory Time!

I guess subtlety wasn't his strongest talent...

Whoa! That escalated very quickly! 0.0

Though I think the bluntness of the letter does help the comic make its point. It makes me feel bad for Ronnie...
He could have at least let her down gently.

(Also, it took me a while to recognize Ronnie with the different "hair"-do!)

Poor Ronnie. I do have a question, though. Is Hayden the same rabbit as in this strip: http://furryexperience.smackjeeves.com/comics/786070/page-42/

I ask because their fur color is different, but they have the same hair. The more I think about it, but more I figure it must be, but I thought I would ask just in case.

Also, I knew missionaries with that kind of blunt personality.

It's weird seeing Ronnie so...happy. She looks like a different person when she smiles so much.
also, Hayden's a butt, he doesn't even write a long letter. One sentence is not enough, plain and simple.

Banjo(Auz) wrote:Also, it took me a while to recognize Ronnie with the different "hair"-do!

It's not just how she wears her ears. Pretty much her, well, everything is different. Her dress, her demeanor, her ears, everything.

As for the letter, that is rather harsh. Just to play devils advocate, it may be so short and to the point because it was all Hayden could get himself to write. I can't imagine it would have been easy for him either.

Latrans wrote:

Banjo(Auz) wrote:Also, it took me a while to recognize Ronnie with the different "hair"-do!

It's not just how she wears her ears. Pretty much her, well, everything is different. Her dress, her demeanor, her ears, everything.

As for the letter, that is rather harsh. Just to play devils advocate, it may be so short and to the point because it was all Hayden could get himself to write. I can't imagine it would have been easy for him either.

Perhaps, and that's entirely possible. We're only seeing this from one side of the coin, and we have no idea how Hayden feels about this. Perhaps Ronnie's Dad was on the phone with Hayden at the end of the arc where he came to visit? Who knows. There's a lot of unanswered questions flying around, and I'm fine with that. There's a lot of mystery surrounding this still.

I did want to say, though. Being in the MTC and being out in the field is.....it's a different experience. The only way to know is to...well....experience it. I've never studied or prayed more in my life than during those times, and you're surrounded constantly (and I literally mean 24/7) by other people doing the same things. It puts you in a completely different type of atmosphere and mindset. One that is very focused.
I'm not saying this is a bad thing. This is just how it is. How people react and respond to it is very different.

A missionary is usually the most focused and dedicated to his work when first arriving out into the field. They are said to "have that greenie fire!" They work as hard as they can and usually don't let anything distract them during that time.

Latrans wrote:It's not just how she wears her ears. Pretty much her, well, everything is different. Her dress, her demeanor, her ears, everything.

Yes, I know. I'm just saying that that was the main reason why I didn't recognize her. I feel like an idiot now for saying what I originally said. :/

Trevor_Fox wrote:Poor Ronnie. I do have a question, though. Is Hayden the same rabbit as in this strip: http://furryexperience.smackjeeves.com/comics/786070/page-42/

I ask because their fur color is different, but they have the same hair. The more I think about it, but more I figure it must be, but I thought I would ask just in case.

For confirmation's sake, they are the same guy-fortunately I've gotten a lot better at coloring between those two pages ^^;

Oouuuch. He could have done a better job than that xD

Holy frijoles on a flaming stick. That's... well, HARSH. When I saw that, I was ready to write the guy off as a jerk for not explaining himself. But then I read what Latrans and Trevor_Fox said here, and you guys bring up some good points. We still don't know both sides of the story, or, indeed, even all of one side. Trevor_Fox, that's an interesting hypothesis; Ronnie's dad very well could have been talking to Hayden on the phone. I also want to point out something else that was said during that arc, too: Ronnie mentioned that her "buddies" weren't her friends--the plural implies that for some reason, probably after what Hayden wrote, all the people he'd introduced her to turned on her for some reason.

But I still think, no matter what emotional turmoil he was going through, he could have at least given Ronnie a proper explanation for his sudden change of heart. He was her friend, or at least acted like it, and blindsiding her with a bombshell like that without even telling her why is low--especially low when done in writing. See, the thing about writing is, at least as I see it, it's far easier to write what needs to be written, in the way it needs to be written, than say what needs to be said aloud. When speaking face-to-face, the words come and pass in the spur of the moment, and, once uttered, they cannot be edited or taken back. In writing, however, one can take all the time necessary to manipulate the words to the expression and tone of one's liking, possibly in a way that gives no hint of the author's true feelings. Someone may be steaming mad or even bawling when they first try to write something, but they can write and rewrite and edit when in a more rational mindset, can transform a bunch of scattered thoughts and turbulent emotions into a cohesive, logical, even elegant statement.

I'm not saying that it's easy. It requires the presence of mind and self-discipline to step back and spend time carefully evaluating what is being said and how. But it can be done. I think Hayden's letter looks as if he did not do this, and I believe he owed it to Ronnie to put more time and effort into doing so.

...I wonder why Hayden would consider Ronnie a temptation? Because she's not a member of the LDS faith? Because he believed he needed to have his mind one hundred percent on his missionary duty, and thinking of Ronnie meant not having his mind on his duty?

Wow... Cutekitty, I do believe that's the most passionate rant I've seen you post thus far.  As an added note, keep in mind that text does not convey nearly as much as talking (inflection, emotion, emphasis, tone, etc) or being in person (body language). It is VERY easy to misread something if it isn't written out exceptionally well.

Anyways, I was just digging through the archives and came up with some interesting tidbits...

"You never smiled like that with your high school buddies."(as mentioned earlier)

"I moved here when I was fourteen." (8-9th grade, beginning high school)

"Biggest Molly Mormons I've met since high school" (dun dun DUN!)

In an unrelated note, starting with Filler Page 31, Ms. Natalie started using a different drawing style for noses and I just now noticed...

 Oh my, I hope I didn't get overdo it. It's, ah... yeah, writing's something I dearly love and have some strong opinions about. ^^;

But anyway, yes, you raise another good point, Latrans. That's also part of what makes it easier, I think, for people to mute or conceal their own emotions in writing, since they can't escape through the voice or body language--but at the same time, it does make it more challenging to convey the emotions or tone one wishes to express; diction and punctuation become crucial. I guess that's why there's stuff like emoticons on forums and smiley faces in texting, eh?  

...Some very interesting tidbits you've dug up indeed. I'm looking forward to the next page; I wanna see if the pieces fit together how I'm beginning to think they fit together.

I'm guessing Hayden isnt back from his mission yet, but considering the time frame of this comic... it would almost seem that he is due home any time... >_>

Hmph. some friends THEY are! But Vicki is so sweet in the last panel. Don't worry Ronnie, Vicki, Dawn, and Cat are your true friends!

I can attest that sudden changes like this to someone is usually forced.  

Is this also because in this universe, rabbits are thought to be very promiscuous?

Mr. Cardinal wrote:I can attest that sudden changes like this to someone is usually forced.   

I can definitely agree there. I would like to learn more about that relationship and Hayden's situation in the future.   

Ouch. Poor Ronnie. No wonder she's so bitter toward Mormons and their culture.

I love how Vikki's pulled Ronnie into a one-armed hug in that last panel. It's just... It's so sweet, and I think it says things far beyond what words can easily express.

Oh geez >.<; This is why I HATE those Utah Mormons who are what I like to call SDS (SunDay Saints, rather LDS - Latter-Day Saints). You know, the kind who eagerly embrace someone who's not a member of the LDS faith, but the moment they either A ) clearly state that they are not interested at all in joining the LDS faith; or B ) are judged by one person to be a 'danger' or 'temptation' or 'bad influence' and word gets around, the SDS people who've been so wonderful and kind and welcoming drop the non-member like a hot potato and shun them, treating them like a pariah or a leper or something (they're also hypocrites in other ways, but I won't go into that here). I HATE that. It's that kind of attitude and behavior that makes it so hard for more open-minded, less judgmental members of the LDS faith to be trusted and have their friendship accepted by non-members.

Speaking as a member who grew up as the child of a convert from another, more open-minded country, I've had the hardest time making friends with people from outside of the faith. This isn't because I'm trying to convert them and/or have a 'holier-than-thou' attitude (I'm not and I don't, by the way). It's because when people find out I'm from Utah, and/or that I'm LDS, they immediately think that I'm going to judge them or that I'm just trying to convert them. Trust me, I have friends who are members of other faiths than the LDS faith, and friends who are in the LGBTQ crowd, and in both cases they're some of my best friends, but they were a bit leery at first until they saw that I don't care what faith they are or what they choose to do in their own time (that in fact, I have a 'you have your belief system/lifestyle, and I have mine. I won't shove my lifestyle/belief system down your throat, please show me the same courtesy. At the same time, you're always welcome to ask me questions about my beliefs and lifestyle, and I'll ask you when I have questions about your beliefs and lifestyle if you're comfortable with me doing so' policy when dealing with anyone else).

Wow, sorry. That kind of turned into a rant. Okay, back to the comic: I really do find people like Hayden and Ronnie's high-school "friends" to be among the lowest of the low. All right, I'll give Hayden a little slack since he may have just been awkward with words, or had gotten the 'you need to not be writing to girlfriends or girl friends right now, they're a distraction' lecture, or he may have been paired up with an older companion in the MTC who saw any non-member female who was writing to a missionary as a temptation, and was thus influenced by him. All the same, Hayden was a coward and a jerk for acting like that, and he should be ashamed of himself. I'm probably reacting strongly to his hurting Ronnie in that way because I had a similar experience in high school, even though I'm LDS: I had a friend who was on a mission, and he never answered my letters the whole time he was gone (the only way I found out how he was doing was that I'd call his mother, who loved me to pieces, and she'd give me updates). When I'd found out that he'd gotten back, I gave him a call to see how he was and to say welcome home, but he was really cold over the phone. Cold enough that I quickly stammered out a 'welcome home, it's good to hear you're back', hung up, cried for the next half-hour, and was pretty down for a while after that. Needless to say, if I'd been a non-member, I would have probably ended up feeling like Ronnie does about the LDS faith.

...oops. I'm ranting again, aren't I? Sorry. Anyway, back to the comic again: Vicky is definitely an amazing friend, and I'm glad she and Ronnie know each other. I'm also glad that Ronnie and Dawn and Cat are friends. I will say that I hope if we ever see Hayden, he gets his just reward for how he treated Ronnie, and the ripple effect that it caused.