2019/02/20 - Letters From Home

[D-Rock]

[2019/02/20 - Letters From Home]
Title Text: Also: incredibly vulnerable to sledgehammer attack. In fact I should have checked the former before the latter

Sometimes we don't think technology through.

[Gbr23]

He kept the letters

[Saturn381]

Aww, he kept the letters.

Also, I expect some warm Grape cuddles by the end of this arc.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Back to date and he never replied,
keeping his feelings locked up inside,
a Boy accepting he had things to hide;
our Max has his fragile pride.
The mystery of his past takes shape,
telling us of his first great escape
and pointing a way, through peril and scrape,
to the lady that calls herself Grape.
Rufus was the Dad on whom he could depend,
the guy who would protect and defend;
the best Dog that heaven could send;
protecting him even beyond the end…
A truer love there’s rarely been shown;
we see how much Max has grown.

[Champion Wallace]

Everybody brace yourself! Radar has detected there is "all the feels" headed on a collision course. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.

Aww, he kept the letters.

Also, I expect some warm Grape cuddles by the end of this arc.

I wouldn't expect the first letter to keep well.

[fenrirblack]

Okay so here we go. The classic Lifetime moment when the main character reminisces over his past and the mistakes he made while the love interest pops up to resolve the situation or in this case probably make Max feel worse. Like seriously poor Rufus, Max never wrote back and now he’s feeling all this guilt and feelings. So classic, so sad. Look at that face. That is a face that says, “Why didn’t I ever write back?”
One thing that’s been bothering me is, Did Max know Rufus died before the Temple Crashers? I wonder if Rueben had the awareness that maybe Max should know and called Jeff to tell him. I doubt it for several reasons but that would be an epic and incredibly heartbreaking scene.

I knew he kept those letters.

Something else I realized is that Grape called Max from the farm. If Rufus knew that he could have just grabbed the phone from her and actually talked to him. Again, Rufus really laid on the passive aggressive guilt in these letters. I do hope that the next strip Grape does the obvious thing and asks Max and we get some kinda answer to why he never talked to Rufus again. This raises another question about Rufus popping up in the Temple Crashers. Did they talk just the two of them, at all?

[Obbl]

He kept the letters
It's so beautiful! Look at his little face

[Legotron123]

I’m reminded of the words of that one alternate Cave Johnson from the Portal 2 DLC. “You know what would have been better? Regular doors with locks. Locks that don't open when the power goes out.”

[IceKitsune]

It's really kind of weird that he never replied to the letters yet kept them all these years. Or heck even just picked up the phone and called him. I really hope we get a good explanation for this.

[fenrirblack]

You know there’s really no good reason for not responding. This has happened to me before. I stopped talking to The only real friend I ever had after I moved away. We got together once in a while the following year but after I started high school I just stopped talking to him for no reason other than I was ashamed and bitter. You know normal teen stuff. Even years later when I did talk to him again I made an absolute fool of myself and stopped talking again because it was too late, he moved on. The saddest part is I still regret not doing more back then and wonder what I could have done differently.

[anhedral]

This is just heartbreaking. Poor Rufus; he really cared, went out of his way to help, and Maxwell never did write back. Yet even in the afterlife Rufus showed nothing but goodwill. What an awesome dog.

[NHWestoN]

WiFi locks fail in power outages!?!?!?!? Oh...wait...we have a deadbolt...whew.

[Champion Wallace]

This raises another question about Rufus popping up in the Temple Crashers. Did they talk just the two of them, at all?

I agree it doesn't make complete sense. Rufus accepted Kitsune's offer to see Max, but he only spoke to him twice, technically three times on panel. The alt text from the kiss excuses it as obscured by catnip, but there was no catnip in the current arc (that could just be him deflecting, though). A letter makes sense as a medium the first time ("If you want to send a message, use [email]. If you want to [pee on it], use the post"), but why didn't Rufus call or do something modern after that. Max is younger than Sabrina so those two shouldn't have the same problem as she did keeping in touch with someone. In the end though, I trust in Rick Griffin that this will all make sense when it's finished.

[Gameb18oy]

Looks like I was right on Rick keeping Grape mostly separate from what really upset Max. It’s weird how much this arc has turned Max as a character on its head for me. I used to think of him as the least developed of the main cast... but somehow this arc not only added to Max just a little bit, I think it may have made some of past Max feel like a different character, without Rick having to retcon any of it. This arc just amazes me, and I’m glad Rick did it, even if it was an arc made merely because he focused too much on the Rufus kiss

[fenrirblack]

when all else fails.
https://youtu.be/x-Z8_7Lsjrg

[Silly Zealot]

So are we still in a flashback but skipped to after Temple Crashers or is this after Max left the sauna?

(aww Max why didn't you reply?)

They are having a power outage due to the snowstorm, so it's the present.

WiFi locks fail in power outages!?!?!?!? Oh...wait...we have a deadbolt...whew.

Deadbolt? I highly recommend giving it a proper funeral and installing a new one.

[GameCobra]

This raises another question about Rufus popping up in the Temple Crashers. Did they talk just the two of them, at all?

I agree it doesn't make complete sense. Rufus accepted Kitsune's offer to see Max, but he only spoke to him twice, technically three times on panel. The alt text from the kiss excuses it as obscured by catnip, but there was no catnip in the current arc (that could just be him deflecting, though). A letter makes sense as a medium the first time ("If you want to send a message, use [email]. If you want to [pee on it], use the post"), but why didn't Rufus call or do something modern after that. Max is younger than Sabrina so those two shouldn't have the same problem as she did keeping in touch with someone. In the end though, I trust in Rick Griffin that this will all make sense when it's finished.

I'm guessing Rufus wanted to observe Maxwell more than anything, content to see everything he was up to. Rufus's letters seem to indicate he was anxious to hear from Maxwell, but at the same time wanted to keep Maxwell's life at a good pace. I'm guessing he was also happy to see him dating Grape? On an amusing note when i think about it - she 'did' call Max to arrange a date at the farm...

But man, poor Rufus. I'm sure MAxwell had a good reason, but I also think a bit of his pride might've been hurt.

[Nathan Kerbonaut]

Respond to the letters Max, gosh darn it! Rufus is pouring his heart out for you

[Argent]

WiFi locks fail in power outages!?!?!?!? Oh...wait...we have a deadbolt...whew.

I'm sure it's a safety requirement. You don't want your lock stuck in a fire.

I suspect you can get ones that have a key lock as backup, so they can safely fail locked because you can unlock them with the key.

[NHWestoN]

Maybe, for Max, Rufus is that distant aunt or cousin who wrote you a note or card once or twice a year whom you met or stayed with long, long ago. You weren't all that attached to them or the attachment faded quickly. You might have responded - when a parent remembered to remind you - but just a note or so. Yet, you kept the cards or notes because they were kind, they touched you some place deep, and they were yours. Wonder how big Maxwell's "library" is?

A small puzzlement - wonder how Max knew it was safe to leave the spa? Or maybe he was so pained, he didn't care if the storm turned him into a popsicle like it did to Fido.

Be interesting to witness his exchange with Grape. She, too, has "history" with Rufus. Wonder if Peanut came with, too.

[Gameb18oy]

Maybe, for Max, Rufus is that distant aunt or cousin who wrote you a note or card once or twice a year whom you met or stayed with long, long ago. You weren't all that attached to them or the attachment faded quickly. You might have responded - when a parent remembered to remind you - but just a note or so. Yet, you kept the cards or notes because they were kind, they touched you some place deep, and they were yours. Wonder how big Maxwell's "library" is?

A small puzzlement - wonder how Max knew it was safe to leave the spa? Or maybe he was so pained, he didn't care if the storm turned him into a popsicle like it did to Fido.

Be interesting to witness his exchange with Grape. She, too, has "history" with Rufus. Wonder if Peanut came with, too.

I kinda doubt it. While I think he actually has more to apologize for than Grape, he’s often kinda oblivious on the moments he causes problems, and even then, I think they know he’s not gonna want to see him or Sabrina after their responses.

[NHWestoN]

We'll see, Game. If Peanut comes, it'ud be because Grape brought him along. Just as likely, he's still emmeshed in his "Rufus meets the Cyclonic Coyote" graphic.

[fenrirblack]

We'll see, Game. If Peanut comes, it'ud be because Grape brought him along. Just as likely, he's still emmeshed in his "Rufus meets the Cyclonic Coyote" graphic.

If Peanut does show up jopefully he’ll being a finished version of the pictures he was drawing. Maybe some kind of storybook ending that showcases what Max could have done differently. Although that may make him feel worse. Maybe Grape brought it over. If nothing else I’m hoping there’s a picture of Max and Rufus together side by side. A touching final panel that just makes you cry.

[Cesco]

It's impressive that Rufus kept write Max also when he is now adult. He has always been a great good dog... Max could even try to visit him, didn't he never do that? Oh, there's a blackout, and curious Grape is curious. Pff, screw those locks and return to the good old and safe key locks.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Looks like Max never even bothered to go to try to visit Rufus and now he regrets it because he knows that he is gone.

If I was Rufus, I would haunt the **** out of him.

[fenrirblack]

Hopefully after this saga Rufus will pop up again and maybe they’ll have a real heart to heart and reconcile. Probably during the next end of the world arc.

[shadowlucario50]

Okay so here we go. The classic Lifetime moment when the main character reminisces over his past and the mistakes he made while the love interest pops up to resolve the situation or in this case probably make Max feel worse. Like seriously poor Rufus, Max never wrote back and now he’s feeling all this guilt and feelings. So classic, so sad. Look at that face. That is a face that says, “Why didn’t I ever write back?”
One thing that’s been bothering me is, Did Max know Rufus died before the Temple Crashers? I wonder if Rueben had the awareness that maybe Max should know and called Jeff to tell him. I doubt it for several reasons but that would be an epic and incredibly heartbreaking scene.

I knew he kept those letters.

Something else I realized is that Grape called Max from the farm. If Rufus knew that he could have just grabbed the phone from her and actually talked to him. Again, Rufus really laid on the passive aggressive guilt in these letters. I do hope that the next strip Grape does the obvious thing and asks Max and we get some kinda answer to why he never talked to Rufus again. This raises another question about Rufus popping up in the Temple Crashers. Did they talk just the two of them, at all?

I agree it doesn't make complete sense. Rufus accepted Kitsune's offer to see Max, but he only spoke to him twice, technically three times on panel. The alt text from the kiss excuses it as obscured by catnip, but there was no catnip in the current arc (that could just be him deflecting, though). A letter makes sense as a medium the first time ("If you want to send a message, use [email]. If you want to [pee on it], use the post"), but why didn't Rufus call or do something modern after that. Max is younger than Sabrina so those two shouldn't have the same problem as she did keeping in touch with someone. In the end though, I trust in Rick Griffin that this will all make sense when it's finished.

I'm guessing Rufus wanted to observe Maxwell more than anything, content to see everything he was up to. Rufus's letters seem to indicate he was anxious to hear from Maxwell, but at the same time wanted to keep Maxwell's life at a good pace. I'm guessing he was also happy to see him dating Grape? On an amusing note when i think about it - she 'did' call Max to arrange a date at the farm...

But man, poor Rufus. I'm sure MAxwell had a good reason, but I also think a bit of his pride might've been hurt.

To add to a reason why Rufus just observed instead of interacting, there may be a hint in the Beloved Smother comic strip. Max already shown guilt about leaving and was willing to just return to Rufus. Rufus probably didn't want Max to feel indebted to him, so he put all his efforts to find him a new home. Max possibly stored those letters away and tried to forget about that life since, as we know, his self-esteem probably felt guilt and felt like he hadn't found the right way to repay his kindness. But Rufus probably forgave Max. In the Temple Crashers arc, Rufus probably didn't want to bring up the past because he wanted to see how Max was doing in life. It's implied that being in heaven doesn't mean you can see everything of what's happening in the world, and it probably was Rufus's chance to finally be at peace and see how Max grew up.

Just my interpretation though. I might be missing something...

[TendoTwo]

WiFi locks fail in power outages!?!?!?!? Oh...wait...we have a deadbolt...whew.

I'm sure it's a safety requirement. You don't want your lock stuck in a fire.

I suspect you can get ones that have a key lock as backup, so they can safely fail locked because you can unlock them with the key.

That's... not how any of the ones I have seen work, and I was researching several as I recently got one. They tend to have either a backup key, or a backup way to provide power to them such as attaching a 9-volt to them.... plus almost all of them are battery powered, it's tricky to provide mains power to a door lock. Even then however, that's only to prevent you from being locked OUT, you can't be locked IN because they have manual latches you can turn by hand from the inside.

[fenrirblack]

WiFi locks fail in power outages!?!?!?!? Oh...wait...we have a deadbolt...whew.

I'm sure it's a safety requirement. You don't want your lock stuck in a fire.

I suspect you can get ones that have a key lock as backup, so they can safely fail locked because you can unlock them with the key.

That's... not how any of the ones I have seen work, and I was researching several as I recently got one. They tend to have either a backup key, or a backup way to provide power to them such as attaching a 9-volt to them.... plus almost all of them are battery powered, it's tricky to provide mains power to a door lock. Even then however, that's only to prevent you from being locked OUT, you can't be locked IN because they have manual latches you can turn by hand from the inside.

Whoever sold the Sandwiches that pet door probably sold Jeff that lock.
In all honesty, Jeff probably assumed that the lock would work and did not bother to manually lock the door so it was open all along. He got so used to technology that he forgot about it. Like those commercials "goodnight google." That's what I'm assuming happened.

I agree it doesn't make complete sense. Rufus accepted Kitsune's offer to see Max, but he only spoke to him twice, technically three times on panel. The alt text from the kiss excuses it as obscured by catnip, but there was no catnip in the current arc (that could just be him deflecting, though). A letter makes sense as a medium the first time ("If you want to send a message, use [email]. If you want to [pee on it], use the post"), but why didn't Rufus call or do something modern after that. Max is younger than Sabrina so those two shouldn't have the same problem as she did keeping in touch with someone. In the end though, I trust in Rick Griffin that this will all make sense when it's finished.

I'm guessing Rufus wanted to observe Maxwell more than anything, content to see everything he was up to. Rufus's letters seem to indicate he was anxious to hear from Maxwell, but at the same time wanted to keep Maxwell's life at a good pace. I'm guessing he was also happy to see him dating Grape? On an amusing note when i think about it - she 'did' call Max to arrange a date at the farm...

But man, poor Rufus. I'm sure MAxwell had a good reason, but I also think a bit of his pride might've been hurt.

To add to a reason why Rufus just observed instead of interacting, there may be a hint in the Beloved Smother comic strip. Max already shown guilt about leaving and was willing to just return to Rufus. Rufus probably didn't want Max to feel indebted to him, so he put all his efforts to find him a new home. Max possibly stored those letters away and tried to forget about that life since, as we know, his self-esteem probably felt guilt and felt like he hadn't found the right way to repay his kindness. But Rufus probably forgave Max. In the Temple Crashers arc, Rufus probably didn't want to bring up the past because he wanted to see how Max was doing in life. It's implied that being in heaven doesn't mean you can see everything of what's happening in the world, and it probably was Rufus's chance to finally be at peace and see how Max grew up.

Just my interpretation though. I might be missing something...

Judging from Max's behavior during the Housepet's babies arc, I think it was more of a confidence issue. Even before the whole Rufus bonding thing, Max acted street smart and when he had to rely on someone that went away. When he started living in the neighborhood he tried to develop this reputation of this strong manly figure that oozed confidence. He's shown that on several occasions. This story does say a lot about Max's character. He was once weak and helpless and now tries to portray this macho persona to hide his own insecurities.
It could also be something more basic like the fact that Max was abandoned by his own family that this time he shut Rufus out to avoid feeling that abandonment again. He cut ties with Rufus to avoid being heartbroken and over the years pushed that pain deeper inside. Now that it's out there he doesn't even know how to deal with it. That might explain the catnip thing.
Even the way he acted at the spa indicates either embarrassment at his own weakness or the desire to avoid the feeling of heartache. It could be that Max never replied because doing so would be admitting that Rufus was a parental figure, one that he would never see again, or admitting that there was a time in his life that he had to rely on someone which would go against the notion of strength that he has built up in his own head.
Either way telling the story clearly brought up feelings of pain which is why he decided to read the letters again.

[TheOne]

I once saw a movie where a main character stopped believing in Santa because he saw the nanny/maid burn his letter-to-Santa in the fireplace.

It was later revealed that burning letters written to Santa is actually a genuine practice to some particular European culture. They believe that burning the letter delivers it faster than mailing it.

I wonder if Max could use the same idea to write a letter to Rufus.

Edit:

I googled it. Apparently, burning letters to Santa isn't European; it started in the Appalachian area.
http://appalachianmagazine.com/2017/11/ ... as-letter/

And, the movie was "Santa Who."
https://lifefamilyjoy.com/burning-santa-letters-magic

[Amazee Dayzee]

I actually remember that movie and watched it with my late grandfather who really liked Christmas movies. Of course now that he is gone I tend to stay away from those movies because of memories. Still, I never thought that the movie in question would ever come up again.

[fenrirblack]

I once saw a movie where a main character stopped believing in Santa because he saw the nanny/maid burn his letter-to-Santa in the fireplace.

It was later revealed that burning letters written to Santa is actually a genuine practice to some particular European culture. They believe that burning the letter delivers it faster than mailing it.

I wonder if Max could use the same idea to write a letter to Rufus.

That reminds me of the Percy Jackson books where they burn parts of their meals to send to the gods. Maybe Max could also talk to Kitsune about speaking to Rufus. For some reason it has been established that communication between heaven and earth is possible via manifestation.

[NHWestoN]

My father was a Navy Officer. In 1955-1956, he was posted to Bangkok, Thailand, as part of the attache office there. Everyday, he wrote a letter to Mom on the blue flimsy paper which was used for airmail at the time. She saved all of those letters and he brought back most of her replies. They went into a shoebox to be unearthed decades later when I found them, cleaning out the house after they both passed on in 1998, three months apart.

As you might imagine, they made fascinating, often moving reads. Thailand fascinated Dad. He also talked a lot about the embassy and the debates that went on about policies, especially about China. He was also pretty homesick, thinking about civilian life, and worrying about us kids. So, predictably, Mom kept him informed about us, neighborhood doings, and her job in the school cafeteria. Sometimes they argued politics (Dad was a staunch "Eisenhower Republican"; Mom was a deep-dyed "New Deal" Democrat) the same way people argued about sports teams. Always, they closed with loving, impatient words. Like Rufus, they never wrote more than three paragraphs - didn't want to exceed mail weight limits.


Such as strange, wonderful gift, to get letters from your own ancient past, like finding a hidden Christmas present..... Even if he didn't answer them, I'm not surprised Max kept them. Maybe a part of him regretted his parting from Rufus even though the farm held some bad or embarrassing memories....


….. and, on the subject of memories, I do remember a discussion in the fourth grade school cafeteria with a couple of classmates who had cousins who delivered their letters to Santa by burning them. I never heard of such a thing but it sounded very plausible - if you believed in Santa (which my mother very emphatically did NOT!). I hadn't thought of that conversation until you brought the topic up, The One. Thanks for the recollect.

[D-Rock]

There is something very moving about reading old letters from decades earlier. Felt like that when we looked through letters written by my late grandmother to various relatives. We went through them about two years ago, my grandmother passed away in 2011. The latest of these letters were maybe mid-90s.

It still hurts a bit to think about that.

[fenrirblack]

You know what is really interesting about this entire chapter is that Rufus was such a forgettable character. He was in one chapter back in 09 then appeared again 17 times during the Temple Crashers arc where he did nothing the entire time except at the end when he kissed Max. Now he's this super dad who took care of Max, wrote all these letters and feelings, and now feel like should have had a larger role. If Sabrina ever gets a back story, we need to see Jata or just more Jata in general. If Rufus can come back for no good reason then have this huge impact on one of the main characters then so can anyone. It would be funny if there are all these random connections no one realized before. Like if Henry Milton secretly or somehow inspired Miles to learn about human culture as a cub. Or if Itsuki lived with the Mr. Bigglesworths for a little while after first arriving in America. Or Res! Res has so much potential because we know he was a stray. There is so much potential like how he came up with the Pridelands stories. GASP! What if he met Jata once and lived in Feraga for a little while before going to Canada. Jata could have come to Chicago for a diplomatic whatever, met Res, taken him back to Feraga, something stupid happened, then Res ended up in Canada. The possibilities are endless. Maybe he met Shardal once like before Shardal ended up at the zoo he could have been a wild cat wandering around then met Res.

[MrBlueSky7]

Aw man, guess this means the Hot Springs edition of Fan Service time is ending...

[TOPCATDIGIANIMEFAN]

Uh Grape I Don't Think He Wants To Talk To You"

[NHWestoN]

I'm guessing Grape's there for the apology tour.....

I'd too like to see many of the long absent characters return for further development. I've been carpet bombing hints for Daisy to return for a long time. Or, as fen suggests, SHardul. Grape pays the tiger a visit to find out what life was like for a "big cat". Jata ...hmmm .... Jata meets Gale? Where's the li'l dino-demon? Rex - he did get a walk-on, how about a role - maybe bring back the Good 'Ol Dogs boys (Yeltsin, Boris, Griswold, Bino and the other lugs)?

But it's Rick's world - I'll let him command the stage.

[Amazee Dayzee]

If Grape is there to apologize, then that is good but I wish Sabrina would also do the same if she is not there.

[GameCobra]

I'm hoping Grape can fix this snag for Max. If what we're seeing is true, he's loaded with regret.