I kind of became suspicious when there seemed to be no real effort to respond in any way to investigate the possible real causes of the supposed coma.
If someone were in a real coma it seems to me the first thing anyone, laymen or doctor would investigate would be cause.
Then the fake deities thing really put the cap on it for me. Not knowing the guy it seemed an unlikely coincidence.
But I'd say he probably either does need help of some kind, or he thought it would be some kind of elaborate April's Fools joke.
If he does need help then Godspeed to him, if it was an April Fools joke then he didn't think it out very far, as to how others would react to the details and set-up of the joke.
I forgive him for his motivations either way, of course I really have nothing invested in him as an individual.
I do think though he owes those whose trust he betrayed an apology and some real thought and consideration on how this might have been perceived by some.
It seems like the guy is acting like the kind of teenager whose chief concern might be "punking people." If that is the case then that kind of thing won't take you very far in life for very long, and should be reserved for your best buddies on the weekend, not for the wider world over a long period of time.
But if I'm not mistaken, and I've have to go back and reread the various entries, didn't he have some assistance in his "joke." Didn't some people say they had visited him in the hospital?
Or maybe I am recalling wrong. Maybe someone said they intended to visit him and that was the way the deception was uncovered - I haven't had the time to read every entry in either thread.
In any case now that you are "awake" Rev,
and who hasn't done something dumbass in their life that they later regret, just think about this in that regard and I hope you will feel an inclination to apologize to your friends whose trust and concern you actually did betray.
I'm sure they will forgive you, just don't push your luck by making this kind of thing a habit in life.
It seems a lot funnier on TV than it does in real life.
And maybe that's part of the problem, confusing fantasy and fiction for real life.
In a fantasy or fictional world you just start over, no harm done. In real life you have actual obligations in your behavior towards others.
In real life
Character means far more than a set of disconnected rolled up attributes.
It's what other men and women can trust you to be. Can expect you to be. Can rely on you to be. Friends, or strangers.
So, maybe think about the difference.
Sometimes we dream we are "awake" and very wise, so much more clever than everyone else, when in actuality we are asleep to everything but ourselves.
And good luck with your meditations on the matter.
Personally, I'm happy to approach any reports of problems from community members in good faith in the first instance, and will continue to do so. It may mean that sometimes I'll get suckered, but I'd rather that happen than that I fail to offer condolences and prayers for those who are in need.
Thanks guys.
Well said.