#stories: true or false?

[annabelle--cane]

I like the subtle world building implications in the differences between the usher foundation and the magnus institute. if the usher foundation and the magnus institute were meant to be direct parallels to each other, then the usher foundation would have been established in like the 1870s in boston or nyc, but no, it's in dc and was founded no earlier that 1955, and that gives me less "old respectable academia" vibes and more "insane reagan era project comissioned to weaponize the supernatural in the cold war that didn't work but was never officially shut down."

[tenebris-lux]

- pg 256, The Way of Kings

Gonna post more about Lirin much further down the line when I finally get to Rhythm of War. But from my vague memories (or is it my imagination?) and having come across this page, he and Kaladin have some things in common. At the very least, saving lives is EXTREMELY important to them.

[venti-death-watch]

love looking at yanqing star rail. sir you are so fucking suspicious. why are you one of five playable characters who we don’t even know the original species of (ruan mei, yanqing, luocha, the trailblazer themself, march)

[hooked-on-elvis]

[Trigger Warning] ELVIS MEETING HIS FANS, WITH A GUN BEHIND HIS BACK: TRUE OR FALSE? (July, 1972)

July, 1972 on Elvis' Beverly Hills home, 1174 Hillcrest Drive.

INTRODUCTION: Some things need to be clear beforehand. Elvis was threatened quite a few times over the years, specially since he began performing live on stage again, in 1969. Death threats were sent his way occasionally. Whether the threats were intentional or just a way of messing up with a famous person, some of those sounded pretty serious, thus not only Presley's personal security men or the local police department, even the FBI worked in investigating some of those incidents. Things got to a point when there were moments the threats warned about bombs being placed at his concert sites at the same day a show about to take place. Nothing came out of any of those threats, fortunately but, once those things happened, naturally Elvis was concerned for his life, therefore he was absolutely entitled to carry a gun, out of precaution, safety, "just in case" situation. It's fair to mention the Manson murders had only taken place a few years earlier (August, 1969) and, as we all know, actress Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered inside her home, tragically, which happened to be at Elvis' Beverly Hills neighborhood, so, yes, Elvis Presley was usually carrying a gun throughout the 70s, often, if not all times.

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Now, where this story on that one specific picture came from? Elvis' stepbrother, Billy Stanley. Billy is standing behind Elvis on the picture above.

Fans discuss Elvis' personal life over and over - and almost nothing can possibly come to conclusion because we weren't there to witness anything and some of the sources the stories come from are not so reliable as they seem to be, but still it's fun to collect different accounts on things that happened in the King' life. On January 10th, 2024, a fan shared the first picture (on top of this post, Elvis walking alone towards his gate with the left hand behind his back) on a Facebook fanpage. The fans passionately discussed the "gun" rumor. Pamela Freiberg, owner and administrator for "Elvis in the 70s" Facebook group, directly asked Billy about this "rumor" that was published in books and articles over the years, and he confirmed the story to her.

Pamela's comment on the group was: "Billy wrote to me ... here are the words .... 'There's actually a series of photos from this day. I was outside and saw a guy that was trying to look like Elvis. When I saw him, I thought Elvis would get a kick out of this. So, I went inside and told him about the guy. Elvis picked up his pistol and we walked to the gate. He didn't want anyone to see the gun, so he put it behind his back. As we were walking toward the gate, he motioned for me to take the gun, which I did and tucked it behind me in my jeans.'"

Some believe him, some not. One can wonder 'why Elvis would have his left hand on the gun, when he was right handed?', for instance.

Sandi Miller, one of the most recognized Elvis fans, who met Elvis in the 60s and today calls herself a "gate girl", — those passionate fans who met Elvis by standing at the gates of his homes, waiting for him to come outside, whenever he was there, to talk to them, something he would do frequently — who even was (to a certain extent) very close to Elvis, a friend even, since she dated Charlie Hodge for a time, was there that day on July, 1972. She commented on the thread in that one Facebook group too, trying to defend Elvis. She said, "He did not have a gun in his hand!! He often carried guns but not always and not usually when he would come out to visit with fans...more likely that he'd have his little derringer In his boot."

Elvis, July, 1972. Sandi Miller: "Same day but after he visited with everyone…then he and the brothers got in the car and left - he stopped again when he came back also."

— Sandi Miller's accounts on this July, 1972, moment. Those pages comes from the book "Elvis - Behind the Image" by Bud Glass. I do not know if it's the Vol. 1 or Vol. 2, tho. Excerpts from Sandi Miller's journals, where she wrote down details of the meetings with Elvis in the 60s and 70s, were used to both volumes of "Behind the Image" publications. Many candid pictures in those books are also hers. By the way, many of the candid pictures of Elvis in his gates we see around the internet were actually taken by Sandi.

Arrived around noon and there was already quite a crowd at the house. In the crowd of fans was a guy that resembled Elvis somewhat in you just glanced at him. He had heard that Elvis sometime came out to visit and had hoped to meet Elvis. One of the girls (fans) pushed the speaker and mentioned that there was an Elvis look-alike standing out there.... whoever answered the speaker apparently knew already because the answer was "We know". Just then a door opens up and there comes Elvis walking up the drive with his stepbrothers right behind him. It was fun watching Elvis' face as he talked to this guy, and add to see them side by side. After visiting for a while, Elvis said he had to get back inside because they had to leave for an appointment shortly. They shook hands and Elvis went back into the house - he drove out not too long after and once again stopped for photos before leaving. The man at the gate commented that Elvis had "made his day".

Personally, I don't see the fuss about this. I believe Billy. I believe Elvis was carrying a gun indeed, but he obviously didn't intend on using it unless he felt threatened, and we know stories about passionate fans who lashed out their idols, some even murdered them in fact (John Lennon was one of the icons, assassinated by a passionate fan). There's plenty of those stories. Let's just imagine ourselves as famous people. We hear there's someone trying to look like you, standing outside your house. Wouldn't you felt at least a little bit uneasy? I know I would never walk out there by myself. Elvis was curious if the guy indeed looked like him or not, maybe even because he had a twin brother who died at birth, Jesse Presley, so if I was him I would've been dying to see this look-alike person, but I would've been careful about meeting him too. You never know.

Elvis and his look-alike fan, Larry Blong. July, 1972, Beverly Hills, CA.

Fortunately, things went smoothly. Elvis saw the guy, shook hands, and the fan had the time of his life meeting his idol. That is all we need to care about. ♥

[rooted-limbo]

Meanwhile, even had been pondering on the past few hours.

So much pain, betrayal and doubt of her own thoughts and beliefs crammed in a shitty lottle package. She could only swallow the bile in her throat and wait... wait til'....

A loud crash spooked her thoughts away, looking absolutely baffled. Even turned towards the noise, walking warily twards it.

"... uh...?"

@shadow-of-scarlet-flame

[repurposedmeatlocker]

On one hand, I agree that there should be a more diverse field of subject matter utilized in "adult animation". Not all "adult animation" should be used as an excuse to revolve around shock content and gratuitous potty humor. At this point in time, stuff like this being seen on prime-time television is no longer out of the ordinary. And, from my observation, is done well even less frequently. There should be more films that treat themselves seriously and explore an array of topics rather than just comedy with a middle-school idea of mature subject matter.

ON THE OTHER HAND. I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with animated movies and shows with lots of drugs and boobies and sex and gross jokes. I think cartoon characters having freaky sex is funny af. Both have the right to exist together. Art should not be pigeon-holed through a lens of "respectability" in order to be taken seriously. Demanding adult animation be "palatable" for an "adult" audience ultimately strips it completely of what makes it a unique medium for expression in the first place.

[shipaholic]

Yeah, I think I’m ready to call this: Crowley and Aziraphale start S2 having drifted apart and/or fought between S1 and now. That’s why there aren’t any promo clips of the two of them - it would give away that their relationship has cooled.

Evidence:

1. Aziraphale’s snippy “I can see that” in the trailer. It’s funny, but it’s also the bitchiest he’s ever sounded talking to Crowley.

2. Crowley saying “We can do it together” and Aziraphale's surprised response, as if the idea of doing something ‘together’ is out of left field.

3. Crowley seems to have been living in his car for a while - long enough for Shax to know about it. Aziraphale either doesn’t know, or is letting the situation continue even though he has the means to stop it.

4. Crowley is hanging out in St. James’s Park without Aziraphale, and with another demon. Since when has Crowley had other friends? Didn’t every demon in Hell show up to watch him get horribly dissolved in holy water? Why is he this desperate for company? It could just be business, but Shax knows that his current address is “the Bentley”. That’s personal information.

5. (Speculative) S2 is, we hope, going to be the middle season of three. Act 2 is where the problems and complications fall, between Act 1′s set-up and Act 3′s resolution. Also, Neil has said S2 is a bit less plot-heavy compared to S1 and S3, which makes it a good place to put all the interpersonal and romantic angst, without an apocalypse taking centre stage.

6. (Speculative) One of the few, only things we know about Terry and Neil’s planned sequel that never was, is that Crowley and Aziraphale end up sharing a home in the South Downs. It makes sense that the TV season designed to bridge the gap between Good Omens the novel, and what would have been its sequel, would feature a plotline about their living arrangements, and whether they should live together.

[ierotits]

the story as told from the point of view of Louis isnt the true events, but neither is the story told by Lestat in season 2. it isn't about who's right and who's wrong they're both wrong they're both right. it doesn't matter and neither of them are necessarily lying, it's about lack of accuracy of memory and to what degree can we trust what either of them say. everyone changes the way they tell their story based on their own points of view and experience no two people are going to describe the same event the same way

[dougielombax]

The following program was based on a true story.

These events actually happened.

*THEY DID NOT!!! EVERY WORD OF IT IS A LIE!!!!!!*

[limeade-l3sbian]

biopics that knowingly divert from the true events of the story they're telling are just big budget fan fictions.

[fictionadventurer]

I appreciate the theological take on my "changing the past" time travel post. But also I can't emphasize enough how much theology was not the point of that post. This is a fun, tongue-in-cheek exploration of science fiction discourse that accepts the "changing the past" possibility as its initial premise. Fixed timelines are for another post. Aquinas may be right, but he wasn't a sci-fi writer.

[dustorange]

Every time you read an article from da gray lady or her circle, you should entertain the possibility in a sidestream thought: What if everything this writer said was false? Intentionally false—or incidentally, accidentally false? The accused innocent and now wrongly persecuted and life-ruined, and the crime justified, or falsified, or sensationalized? Even and especially do this when the article’s themes fit your priors. This alternate reality you furnish yourself is probably like, by virtue of being the inversion of the acceptable journalistic line, or of being more thought-through, however inexpertly and uninformedly, than an article on FP slammed together to meet a deadline, 75% truer than whatever the article says and most importantly it develops your capacity to like to borrow a term from chewy instagram infographicworld “hold space” for the “characters,” that is, real people, not in fact so easily reducible to graft-sucking stage machiavel or like brave human rights crusader, the real people about whom the articles are written. Imagine if a 28-year-old with a J-school masters degree and no subject-area-expertise self-confidently condemned you on the world stage and manufactured a legitimation by paralogy by which every “well-read” “good person” would feel totally confident condemning you, too

[skecherss]

Wait what are your petty grievances with wfa

Well. They are indeed petty. My primary one being that it just feels like they're....having too much of a good time.

which isn't even so much a writing flaw as me knowing what i want out of a story; I tend to gravitate a lot towards fluff and snuggles myself but I gravitate to them as a balm for my spiritual aches. I seek comfort when I need comforting, and I want the fluff coming to the characters who ALSO need comfort. It's hard for me to empathize with characters who aren't feeling any of an ordinary day's stress that I might feel. especially when they're engaged in activities and experiences that realistically would result in MUCH higher levels of mental and emotional strain.

(also i have five siblings and it feels cruelly unrealistic for the Wayne sibs to hang out as much as they do and not fight. I'm not talking about the petty bickering. Bickering isn't the same thing as leaving a conversation with your brother and being filled with a genuine rageful desire to PUNT the little jerk)

[mariocki]

A young Peter Wyngarde guests as journalist Andrea Bakolas (a fictionalised version of the real Gregorios Staktopoulos) in Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!: The George Polk Case (1.9, ABPC, 1957)

[benetnvsch]

look at this silly picture why does it look like she's in the void,,,

[sketching-shark]

I'd like to share some theories I have about lego Erlang shen

First theory: I have seen theories about how from SWK's point of view he was abandoned by the brotherhood in his fight with heaven, but what if it wasn't just from SWK's point of view, what if everyone who was present at the battle, Erlang shen included, thought that in fact the brotherhood escaped and left sun wukong to his fate?

Second theory: Erlang shen kills the six-eared monkey to keep him away from sun wukong permanently not with the intention of harming sun wukong in fact he does so because he does not love him romantically but brotherly Erlang shen sees SWK as his younger brother and thinks he deserves something better than a weak monkey who leaves him to his fate and then tries to steal his identity

Monkie Kid spoilers below:

Could very well be the case @maidenofthecloud! And it definitely would be refreshing to have something from Sun Wukong's past that isn't just him getting yelled at and/or screwing everything up lol. Though given lego's tendency to introduce characters in a set that never actually make it into the cartoon that could very well be what's happening with the little sage...also they'd have to go into why Erlang Shen would even care about The Monkey King in the first place outside of "he's an incredibly strong yaoguai I need to subdue"--especially since lego show Sun Wukong is far less powerful than book Sun Wukong--& I don't know if Flying Bark would want to spend time on that given all the other questions they've raised that STILL haven't been answered, such as what even happened to the other og pilgrims, why did SWK trap the Demon Bull King under a mountain, or why SWK even wanted a tudi in the first place. Of course it could be that Erlang Shen becomes the next character from the og classic who gets thrown under the bus to force Sun Wukong & the Six-Eared Macaque into a closer relationship, which at this point I wouldn't put past Flying Bark lmao. Personally I think it would be the neatest if all of the recent nonsense with SWK's former brotherhood was a scheme that Erlang Shen concocted to A) Take down the Jade Emperor who he sees as a bad ruler (and also to get back at his uncle for having his father and brother killed but good luck getting him to admit that lol) and B) Take heaven's throne for himself through right of succession without having to dirty his hands. In other words, I'd LOVE to see an antagonist Erlang Shen, but of the kind hinted at in Lotus Lantern where he does what he does because thanks to his own trauma and knowledge of the cataclysms heaven and earth have suffered because of the decisions of various deities and yao he developed a very particular way about how he thinks heaven and earth should be run and how deities should interact with yao and mortals, and that anything that falls outside of that needs to be Corrected.

Also I know it's a long shot at this point but I'm personally hoping that they keep closer to the og classic's version of the true and false monkey king arc if for no other reason that it would be very funny to see the fallout of the truth of LEMH's whole murder-replace scheme being revealed. TFW you become so violently obsessed with your bestie that you start running around in a skinsuit that looks like him & saying that you're actually him.