I’ve been thinking about a whumpee who in the eyes of everyone around them (or even society) is the bad guy. Like, their whumper paints them to be this villian in order to isolate them from society and keep them under their grasp. To add insult to injury, at the beginning the potential caretaker believes all the rumors and whumper’s narrative to the point that they contribute to whumpee’s isolation. They’re just so against whumpee, they’ll disagree with them, overthink whumpee’s intentions, etc. But they’re not that harsh with Whumpee compared to others so in whumpee’s eyes they’re the kindest person to ever exits, that maybe they’re worthy of an ounce of kindness.
And when Caretaker finally finds out the truth (either through them just slowly realizing the true relationship of whumpee and whumper or like an event that triggers whumpee) they have no idea how to care for whumpee knowing that they contributed to whumpee’s suffering and that they barely scratched the surface. So they just try their best instead of resulting to inaction.
But like here’s the catch, so far in whumpee’s eyes caretaker has been the kindest to them, so now whumpee worries about caretaker’s sudden change in actions. (Because they’re not use to comfort)
(Bonus points if their whumper was possesive and often result to physical action and soft words laced with malice. And that’s how caretaker normally comforts people, so they try the same with whumpee only for whumpee to slip into the thinking that they were wrong about caretaker and that they don’t deserve such decency.)
perpetual mourning – batman black and white (1996) #1
[ID: a black and white panel sequence of Bruce Wayne as Batman investigating a murder. He performed an examination of the victim's body and found DNA evidence to convict her killer and then performed an autopsy to examine her stomach contents — which led him to a little 24/7 diner. He walks in, disrupting the cozy scene with his presence.
Bruce internally reflects, ‘People think i'm a knight. A savior. But in truth, I'm only a vessel to hold the memories of those who've passed on. Those who've no shell left to store them. They must think I revel in my victories. It must seem like I never lose a fight. I lose plenty. The ones I couldn't get to. The ones I couldn't save in time. Those are the ones I carry around inside of me. Those are the ones I'll mourn forever.’
He shows the only waitress a photo of the victim's face and asks, “Excuse me. Do any of you know this woman?” The waitress gasps and holds her hand to her head in shocked distress. She stammers, “That's Chelsea, she comes in here all the time. Sits in the same booth, the same time, reads the same book... um, what was the title...? She, uh, left here only a couple of... Why do you... Oh, god. No. Dear girl...”
Back at the morgue, Bruce solemnly gazes down at the woman as she lays in an unzipped body bag. He thinks, ‘Luckily, you hadn't digested your last meal, Chelsea. There're only a few places in the neighborhood where you were found that serve blueberry pie at this hour of the morning.’ He carefully zips the body bag entirely. The identification label states she was a thirty year old caucasian female. The name ‘Jane Doe’ has been scribbled out to now be replaced with ‘Chelsea Rain’. Bruce continues to ruminate, ‘You only have your thoughts and dreams ahead of you. You're someone. You mean something. I'll remember. You're within me now. Forever.’ END ID]
the question of what would have become of sasuke had he not learned about konoha's involvement in the uchiha massacre really does keep me up at night. before that point, sasuke had devoted every waking minute to matching itachi. after finally letting naruto and sakura in and admitting to himself that protecting his friends was as important to him as seeking justice for the family he'd lost, his encounter with itachi knocked him back on the path of vengeance at the cost of everything else. killing itachi was all that he lived for... i don't think sasuke ever conceived of there being an "after."
this panel in particular is so haunting. what's left after you've completed the quest that consumed the very essence of your being? what happens once everyone you can admit to loving is dead and you've avenged them? what must have gone through sasuke's mind, watching itachi crumple to the ground not only as the murderer of his clan but also as his beloved nii-san, tapping his forehead and asking for forgiveness one last time -- and knowing that itachi fell by his hand? sasuke just smiles, and then collapses right next to itachi like he's dead too.
Revelation 1:4-6 (NLT). “This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”
John 14:6 (FBV). “Jesus replied, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
1 Thessalonians 4:17 (FBV). “Then those of us who are alive and still here will be carried up together with them into the clouds, and we shall meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever!”
“Jesus, the Faithful Witness” By In Touch Ministries:
“Sometimes the best encouragement comes from reminding ourselves who Jesus is.”
“John wrote the book of Revelation to encourage Christians being heavily persecuted by the Roman emperor Domitian. Approximately 25 years earlier Rome had destroyed Jerusalem and taken away Christians’ rights. Many believers were beginning to wonder, Where is Jesus? Is He still Lord? So John’s main purpose in writing this book was to remind believers that Jesus Christ was alive, and He was and would continue to be the same loving, all-powerful Son of God.
We also can be encouraged by remembering who Jesus is. Revelation 1:5 reminds us that He is the faithful witness, which means we can rely on every single thing He says. And not only are His words true, but according to John 14:6, He Himself is the truth. In other words, if He says He will do something, we can trust that it will happen. And that includes not only His statement that life on earth isn’t all there is, but also that He will be with us forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
We know Jesus’ words are trustworthy because He conquered death through the cross and His resurrection, preparing the way for all who trust Him. If you’re unsure whether Jesus is alive and active in your life, remember what lengths He went to in order to keep His word.”
my actual unpopular opinion re: this campaign is that I'm actually quite sad at how reskinned the Aberrant Mind subclass is. just, because it's my favorite sorcerer subclass and it's so goopy and slimy and tentacle-y and gross and I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. I want to see gross girls covered in a thin layer of mucus with tendrils coming out of their eyes. I want to see them with frilled gills, webbed feet, and cilia growing through their clothing. Revelation in Flesh is insane and I'm so fucking into it's vibes in its original form, wish we'd get to see it in all it's nasty glory
I'll never understand how some fans are so incredibly willing to just be okay with "it happened in a timeskip" to excuse bad writing lol. Like "oh yeah these two characters who have been enemies for like four seasons of a TV show had their entire reconciliation OFF SCREEN in the time skip between episodes right at the end so it works" or "oh yeah this character who was left basically broken had their entire growth and development where they came to terms with the thing that broke them in the time skip so it works" kind of stuff. Like that's literally the ENTIRE emotional climax of a story that's been building for a while and you're FINE with not getting to actually SEE IT???
With Birthdaygate pretty much confirmed, here are two moments from 4x02 Vecna's Curse that hit different...
(1) First we have Jonathan stopping Will as he goes into Rink-O-Mania to tell him something. Will turns around quickly and almost looks, dare I say, hopeful?
But why would that be the case? Unless of course there's something Will's waiting for Jonathan to say, that he hasn't said yet? Happy Birthday perhaps? Surprise Will! We didn't forget your birthday! We're coming in! We have a party planned and everything! Meet you inside! (interesting that there were birthday decorations in there as well...)
Unfortunately, all Jonathan does is tell Will that they'll be back to pick them up at 6:00. And so Will goes from sad, to hopeful, only to go back to looking sad again...
I think a lot of fans attributed Jonathan's concerned looks in this moment as him knowing about Will's feelings for Mike. And I do still think that's present, especially as he's telling Will they'll be there to pick them up later. In that specific moment he sounds sympathetic like Sorry buddy, that sucks.
However, the look Jonathan makes after Will turns away, as Argyle starts driving off, doesn't look like sympathy or pity from someone witnessing unrequited love. It looks like confusion and almost deja vu being experienced by Jonathan himself. As if he's forgetting something, but doesn't know what it is...
(2) Next is at the very end of Will and Mike's fight. Mike sort of echoes the same level of frustration he had during their rain fight, when he said It's not my fault you don't like girls. We know the scenes parallel each other, and how after both of those things are said, there's this silence that takes over, making clear that this is as far as they can go, otherwise they might risk hurting each other beyond fixing. We see both of them make faces of deep emotion here, because they probably are also being reminded of their fight last summer.
And so Will's options here were to, either (A) take it even further and risk hurting Mike more than he's hurting him, or (B) just don't say anything and let the argument end there before it gets beyond repair.
But the thing is, it almost looked like Will was going to say something. He quite literally mouths the word But-- only to cut himself off all together, looking defeated.
Here's what I think. THIS would have been the perfect moment for Will to say, But, you forgot my birthday, Mike. If it was genuinely something as simple as Mike and everyone simply forgetting and needing a reminder, without any supernatural implications involved, I think this would have been the moment to do it.
It would have also mirrored their rain fight even better because it would have been Will saying something and likely walking away, leading to Mike being like OH SHIT I have to fix this! I messed up.
But we all know it's not that simple.
As far as Will knowns, EVERYONE forgot his birthday, not just Mike. And so him calling out Mike here, might have felt slightly unjustified in that it wasn't just him who forgot.
It's almost like they're not the problem here, he is. (WILL POV ANGST)
That's what truly makes the scenes at Rink-O-Mania so heartbreaking. Because it wasn't just about Mike and El ignoring him, it was the fact that it was his literal birthday. All the most important people in his life, who used the literal memory of his birthday to bring him back bc they cared about him so much in the past, have now apparently forgot about him in the present.
Not to mention, the story not blatantly acknowledging his birthday being forgotten in the narrative of s4, means that it was framed this way bc the whole point was they only wanted it to be hinted at in s4, saving it as a surprise revelation in s5.
And so, if Will did say here, but Mike, you forgot my birthday, how would that have impacted the conflict in s4 and Vecna's plan as a whole, specifically for Will? All it would have taken was them connecting the dots after that, figuring out Vecna's plan before he could even reach Will, rendering s5 plotless?...
S5 is likely going to jump right into this, there's too much incriminating evidence about unused footage at the Rink-O-Mania location. It also fits with them not mentioning it in s4 if it's intended to be an early s5 revelation.
TBH with all the storylines going on in s4, them exploring the depths of Will's connection to Vecna just wasn't an option, bc they wouldn't have been able to do it justice. He needs to be front and center for that.
"There's a distinction to be drawn between those who claim to have access to revealed truth and therefore claim to know what happens to us after we're dead on the basis of a text, whether it's a Koran or a Holy Bible, which is nonsensical.
If they want to believe it then fine but they mustn't push it down our throats and they mustn't tell me who I'm allowed to go to bed with and who I'm not allowed to go to bed with. It's not acceptable. Anybody who wants to tell me what happens to me after I'm dead is either a liar or a fool because they DON'T. KNOW."
-- Stephen Fry
It's not merely that they don't know, it's that they can't know.