#March to June 2019 Month Calendar

[starburstmlp]

Luz is actually 13 at the start of the Owl House and here's why (Owl House timeline analysis).

Please read!!! 👉👈

Ok, so I've been rewatching the owl house recently through Danny Motta's videos on YouTube, and it got me to thinking about the years the owl house takes place in and the logistics of the BI and Earth time zones. So, I made an analysis:

*SPOILERS BELOW*

First off, let's talk about Luz.

When you look up Luz's age online, it says that Luz is canonically 14 years old in the show. But when you look at the events of the show (*Spoilers sorry*), we see that Luz is celebrating her birthday on the BI, and we see Eda say this line:

Ok, no big deal, right? Well, if we look at the events of the show, we know that the kids were in the Human realm for a while. It was fall in the human realm when the kids arrived after the day of Unity. After the montage of them in the Human realm, it is shown to be Halloween. This means that they would have been in the Human realm for a little under a year, meaning it doesn't make sense that Eda would say that line because Luz would have already turned 15 during that year in the Human realm while the collector was controlling the BI.

So, for this timeline, I'm gonna reference @drachenfalter's calendar analysis (check it out, it's great). In this analysis, they use this picture of a BI calendar.

We see here that the calendar has 42 days in a month, and so their analysis shows that the BI would have 9 months in a year instead of 12, meaning the time zones don't change, but the calendar is longer (hence, why Luz can text her mom in the same time zone).

For Luz's birthday, there is no specific birthday stated for her, but for the sake of the post, I'm gonna head cannon it to be April 8th because that is the day Watching and dreaming came out. Watching and dreaming came out in 2023, and there is a 3-year timeskip at the end, with Luz having graduated High school already in the human realm and preparing to start college in the BI. If we assume that the timeskip takes place in that modern day in 2023, then that would mean that Belos's final defeat takes place in 2020, and the start of the show would have taken place not in 2020, when the show came out, but in 2019, 1 year prior, explaining Luz's narration at the end.

With that in mind, here is my timeline Headcannon.

Luz- 13 years old at the start of the show finishing 8th grade.

Time: Mid-May or beginning of June 2019.

Luz birthday: April 8th (H.C.)

Luz turns 13, finished 8th grade, Camilla sends luz to camp; Luz leaves for BI in Mid-May (March for BI), 2019.

Luz learns magic, attends Hexside, dates Amity in the span of 5 BI months, 7 Earth Months. (It is fall when Luz finds Vee and returns home after the day of Unity).

Luz fights Belos and goes back to the Human realm in November 2019 (September for BI).

The Hexsquad go live in human realm for 1 calendar year, give or take.

- Luz goes back to school, the gang experiences the different seasons in the Human realm montage in Thanks to Them, time jump ends at Halloween.

Luz turns 14 during this time in 2020, and is a sophomore in high school in Thanks to Them (reminder: there is no pandemic in the Owl house universe)

The Hexsquad fights Belos again and goes back to the BI on Halloween in 2020 (End of August/Beg. of September for BI).

The Hexsquad saves the BI in November 2020 (September for BI).

*Timeskip 3 years later*

Luz turns 15 in 2021, spends it rebuilding the Isles.

Luz turns 16 in 2022

Luz turns 17 in 2023, reaches the end of senior year, graduates' high school in the human realm with Vee.

The finale takes place on April 8th, 2023 (February for BI).

- Luz turns 17, celebrates her "King-ceañera".

Luz goes to magic university in the BI in 2023.

- Luz's move in date for school is shown to be August 21st in "Watching and Dreaming", which would be June for the BI, meaning that Luz will have left for school 3-4 months early since she is also shown to be packing in the episode.

Ok, so one last thing to note, with this timeline, the finale would take place in 2023, and Luz would be celebrating her 17th birthday in the BI. This means that Luz would have still been a legal minor when starting college. My head cannon is that Camilla allowed Luz to stay with Eda and Raine for the 3-4 months before starting school, and constantly checked in on Luz during her time in the dorms before turning 18 (as well as long after, of course:)). Eda and Raine would likely also coparent to make sure that Luz was keeping up with her move in process and magic studies.

Anyway, that's my timeline analysis for the Owl house! Hope y'all like it! (I also have other Head cannons for the ages of the other Hexsquad members that go with this timeline if y'all wanna know).

[dragonagefanevents]

Dragon Age Fan Event Listings

The beauty of fan events is that they are run by fans.

Including you.

▸What are the types of fan events? - #education

▸Start a new event! - #how tos (coming soon)

▸Ask Box - send us advice, or ask for it!

▸Blog Tag List

Below is a list of all Dragon Age fan-run events we can find. The links should bring you to the most recent iteration of the event. Where possible, the time period the event covers is listed next to the event.

Want to get an event listed? Check out the link and submit. Look here for multi-fandom events, or more events in general.

Event Masterlist - #compendium

Bangs

25k Big Bang (July - November)

10k Big Bang (March - April)

Dragon Age Reverse Bang

Exchanges

Arlathan Exchange (April - June)

DA Polyshipping (August - November)

Handers Exchange (March - May)

Templartations Exchange (March - May)

Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange (June - September)

Platonic Ideal Gen Fic Exchange (December - February)

Smutquisition (January - March)

Theme Weeks/Months

Krem Week 2024 (July 22 - 28)

City Elf Week (August 5 - August 11)

Zevwarden Week (2024 dates TBD)

Tranquil Week (August 25 - 31)

Sera Appreciation Week (Oct 13 - 19)

Kink Memes

Dragon Age Kink Meme (Dreamwidth) | DAO | DA2 | DAI

Zines

Dragon Age Flower Zine (Creation Period)

Wanderers Zine (Creation Period)

Dragon Age OC Zine (Mod Apps Open)

Alistair Zine (Creation Period)

Special Events

Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle

Dragon Age Annual (2025 Production Period)

Dragon Age Create-A-Thon (Begins Sept 15 2024)

Reddit Weekly Dragon Age Writing Prompts

Unofficial Dragon Age Day (Dec 4)

Solavellan Day (April 11)

Past Events

Retired Bangs

DragonAgeBB (last: 2015; formerly on LJ and elsewhere)

Retired Exchanges

Demands of the Qun (Qunari)

A Paragon of Their Kind (DA Dwarves)

Solas Lovers

Hightown Funk (Varric/Hawke)

Retired Theme Weeks/Months

Autumn of Anders (Anders Appreciation Event)

Dalish Week

30 Days of Dorian (Dorian Appreciation Event)

Dragon Age Fan Week (2013)

Cullen Appreciation Week (2019)

Cullen Week (2021)

14 Days of DA Lovers

Fenris Appreciation Month (2017)

Rylen Appreciation Week (2018)

Sera Appreciation Week (2019)

Sub!Solas Week (2016)

Past Zines

Adoribull Fairytales

Age of Romance Zine (Incomplete)

ApprovesGreatly (Incomplete)

Andoralis Zine

Arcana: A Dragon Age Zine

Arlathvhen Zine (Incomplete)

Beyond the Veil Zine (Zine)

Bring Down the Sky Bioware Fanzine

Dragon Age 2 10th Anniversary Zine (Zine)

Dragon Age Codex Zine & Myths and Legends Zine

Fortitudo Dorian Artbook

Good for Each Other (Adoribull Zine)

In Peace, Vigilance Zine

Insufficient Skill Fanzine

Legend Mark Zine

Lotus and Root OC Zine

Love Across Thedas Zine (Zine)

Na Via Lerno Victoria (Fenris Zine)

Patron of the Arts Zine

Rebel Hearts Handers Zine (Zine)

Road to the Imperium Zine

Solasmancy Zine

Sunlight (Anders Zine)

The Coming Storm Zine (Ukrainian Zine)

The Dragon Age Zine (Russian Zine)

The Keeper's Codex Fairy Tale Zine

The Unsung Dragon Age Zine

The Zevran Zine (incomplete)

Thedosian Archives (incomplete)

to be happy (FenHawke Zine)

Wicked Eyes: A Dragon Age Finery Zine

Year of the Mabari (Incomplete)

Other Past Events

Dragon Age Calendar 2018

Dragon Age Calendar 2021

For Fans by Fans - Fan Forge

[arofili]

Tolkien Fandom Event Calendar

Recently I’ve received some asks about events/weeks in the Tolkien fandom, so I thought I’d compile a list of those that I know about. This is not exhaustive, and dates are subject to change by the organizers of these events!

Other blogs you can check out are @tolkieneventsblog and @tolkienfandomevents, though I’m not sure how active those are. The @silmarillionwritersguild Discord also has a channel dedicated to signal boosts for all sorts of Tolkien-related & general fandom happenings, which is another excellent way to keep up with fandom goings-on.

Want to run your own event? Here’s some of my tips!

If your event is not on here and you’d like it to be, let me know and I can add it :) Note: I will only add events that have announced dates!

~

JANUARY Screw Yule My Slashy Valentine @myslashyvalentine — work time Lord of the Rings Secret Santa @lotr-sesa — reveals Thorin’s Spring Forge @thorinsspringforge — signups Second Age Week @secondageweek

FEBRUARY Hidden Paths My Slashy Valentine — reveals Thorin’s Spring Forge — claims Maedhros and Maglor Week @maedhrosmaglorweek

MARCH Back to Middle-earth Month @spring-into-arda Thorin’s Spring Forge — work time Fëanorian Week Fun with Fanon Fest Round 1 @funwithfanon

APRIL Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang @tolkienrsb — signups Silm Remix @tolkienremix — signups & assignments Thorin’s Spring Forge — reveals  Aralas Week @aralas-week Barduil Month @bi-widower-dads All of Arda is Autistic @all-of-arda-is-autistic F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase I @spring-into-arda

MAY Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — claims Silm Remix — reveals Aspec Arda Week @aspecardaweek Angbang Week @angbangweek Gondolin Week @gondolinweek F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase II

JUNE Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — work time Scribbles and Drabbles @fall-for-tolkien — signups Tolkien Ekphrasis Week @tolkienekphrasisweek F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase III

JULY Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — work time Scribbles and Drabbles — claims Tolkien Gen Week @tolkiengenweek LotR Ladies Week @lotrladiessource Tolkien Appreciation Week @tolkienweek Tolkien Latin American & Caribbean Week @tolkienlatamandcaribbeanweek

AUGUST Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — deadlines Scribbles and Drabbles — art reveals Innumerable Stars Exchange @innumerable-stars — nominations & signups Tolkien of Colour Week @tolkienofcolourweek Silvergifting Week @silvergiftingweek Tolkien OC Week @tolkienocweek

SEPTEMBER Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — reveals Scribbles and Drabbles — work time Innumerable Stars Exchange — signups & assignments Sindar Week @sindarweek Dor Cúarthol Week @dorcuartholweek Finwëan Ladies Week @finweanladiesweek

OCTOBER Innumerable Stars Exchange — reveals Scribbles and Drabbles — work time Half-elven Week @halfelvenweek

NOVEMBER Tolkien Secret Santa @officialtolkiensecretsanta — signups & assignments Scribbles and Drabbles — fic reveals Nolofinwean Week @nolofinweanweek

DECEMBER Tolkien Secret Santa — advent calendar & reveals My Slashy Valentine @myslashyvalentine — signups & assignments Lord of the Rings Secret Santa — claims Khazad Week @khazadweek

MONTHLY EVENTS: These events have prompts/challenges occurring every month. Teitho Contest Tolkien Short Fanworks Silmarillion Writers’ Guild @silmarillionwritersguild

(this list was last updated 5/4/23)

LEGACY EVENTS: These events used to occur, but have not happened within the last year. Arda Needs More Pride @ardaneedsmorepride (bimonthly; last run 2020) Kiliel Week @kilielweek (timing variable; last run 2021) @oneringnet monthly events (last run 2021) Atani Week @ataniweek (January; last run 2021) Legendarium Ladies April @legendariumladiesapril (April; last run 2020) Gates of Summer Exchange @gatesofsummerexchange (May-June, last run 2022) Tolkien South Asian Week, run by @arwenindomiel (June; last run 2022) Arafinwëan Week @arafinweanweek (July; last run 2019) Fëanturi Week (August; last run 2019; no official blog and the creator has deactivated) Imladrim Week @imladrimweek (November; last run 2019) Doriath Week @doriathweek (November; last run 2020) Tolkien Family Week @tolkienfamilyweek (November; last run 2021)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Take with a grain of salt.

It's been over a year since DreamWorks rather unceremoniously rolled out a little movie called RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN. A movie that unusually was kept under wraps until... 3 1/2 months before release date. Official announcement from the studio, title, synopsis, trailer... All on the same March day, just months before its end of June release...

Now, the movie was briefly talked about unofficially by scooper sites in around 2021/22, and some DreamWorks employees had a MEET THE GILLMANS on their resumes, otherwise... Nada. Usually an animated movie is announced a year or so before its eventual release.

But, it being intended for streaming first and then hastily being bumped up to theatrical release (which has happened to movies from other companies, such as BARBARIAN and SMILE) could explain why DreamWorks just dumped this one. It did get decent reviews and could've been a small success in its own right, had it not been released in such a crowded summer...

It does feel kinda "streaming movie", though. A lowkey little effort, but I think it's cool that Universal and DreamWorks gave it a theatrical release if it was indeed intended to be some Peacock tuck-away. ORION AND THE DARK was a straight-to-Netflix affair, despite being co-written by Charlie Kauffman. I'm sure you'll see more of those every couple of years from DreamWorks. Something that's actually neat, and you wonder... "Why didn't that go to theaters?"

But it begs a question...

Around 2022, it was reported by the Fine Tooning podcast that DreamWorks' game plan going forward was "a sequel and a non-sequel" every calendar year. 2022 was BAD GUYS and LAST WISH, 2024 had KUNG FU PANDA 4 already and we have THE WILD ROBOT around the corner. DOG MAN and BAD GUYS 2 mark 2025, in addition to a TV series adaptation GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE. 2026 only houses SHREK 5 so far, it is unknown what the non-sequel opening that year is. (I've kinda given up on RONAN BOYLE happening. Maybe it's... I dunno... An original movie from LAST WISH/CROODS 2 director Joel Crawford?)

What would've accompanied TROLLS 3 in 2023 if RUBY GILLMAN remained a streaming title? Was THE WILD ROBOT at one point eyeing a spring/summer 2023 debut? 2023 would've been pretty quick for that movie, as director Chris Sanders presumably finished up his CALL OF THE WILD movie for 20th Century Studios in mid-2019. That was supposed to be a Christmas 2019 release, but after Disney completed their acquisition of 21st Century Fox film & TV assets in early 2019, CALL OF THE WILD moved to February 2020. Blue Sky's SPIES IN DISGUISE took its spot.

Could be!

If you remember... At one point, whatever that DreamWorks movie was going to be... RUBY GILLMAN, WILD ROBOT, something else... Would've opened in the fall of 2022... Well before that summer rush.

At one time, DreamWorks' slate had THE BAD GUYS opening in September 2021. That would've been followed by a spring 2022 release of PUSS IN BOOTS 2, and then fall 2022 would've housed an original/non-sequel. Which possibly puts a hole in the "test screening" claims. Maybe another picture was in the works, and then got cancelled.

If I remember correctly, COVID-19 altered that plan, with 2021 only being the year of BOSS BABY 2 and SPIRIT UNTAMED. BAD GUYS moved to April 2022, and booted PUSS IN BOOTS 2 to September 2022. This was when parent distributor Universal was planning to roll out the MARIO movie in Christmas 2022...

... Until they wanted the release of that movie to coincide with the Nintendo theme park opening, so... April 2023, boots the DreamWorks movie set for late March 2023 to June 2023... Which boots Illumination's MIGRATION to Christmas 2023. Dominoes.

And RUBY GILLMAN ended up being the June 2023 Universal animation release... And that was right after a Disney remake of a certain redhead mermaid movie... RUBY GILLMAN, which had been in some form of development since 2016 and probably entered full production by 2021, was kind of a victim of coincidence here. A benign cartoon plot about mermaids being the enemy of krakens (usually, we associate krakens with big scary monsters, while mermaids are often portrayed as non-threatening, simple subversion), used as some sort of anti-LITTLE MERMAID movie. A new weapon in a particular group of dingus' dumbass "culture war". And then you had a weird subset of LITTLE MERMAID remake fans who interpreted the movie - minus some weird rightwing crap - as some sort of jab at Halle Bailey's take on Ariel... The internet is full of embarrassment, isn't it? All that, over a silly movie that just so happened to open close to LITTLE MERMAID.

So yeah, RUBY GILLMAN initially being a streaming movie would definitely fill in the blanks regarding its very weird rollout last summer. DreamWorks/Universal have since announced other movies well before release.

[rnmevents]

2023 RNM Fandom Events Calendar

Happy New Year, RNM Fandom!

Despite the ending of our favorite little alien cowboy show, another year of events is upon us! And the events blog is here to keep you informed as much as possible.

Below, you’ll find an always-being-updated list of events going on in the RNM fandom throughout the year as they are announced:

RNM BIG BANG

Sign-ups Open: March 13th

Author Sign-ups Close: April 13th

RNM HATCH DAY PARTY

June 14th

RNM AFTER DARK

Dates to be announced

ALEX (MANES) GUERIN MONTHLY APPRECIATION

May

Looking for a schedule by month? Check out the Google Doc

2019 Calendar / 2020 Calendar / 2021 Calendar / 2022 Calendar

Questions? Concerns? See an event missing? Send us a message!

PAST 2023 EVENTS

ALEX (MANES) GUERIN MONTHLY APPRECIATION

February

March

April

RNM COMMENT BINGO

January 14th - February 14th

RNM MARCH FOR META

March 15th - 19th

RNM CRASHCON

March 25th - 31st

ALEX MANES WEEK

April 24th - 28th

ELIZABETH ORTECHO WEEK

May 1st - 7th

[ailtrahq]

The bears are gaining strength for both crypto and stock markets, as the major US indexes now confirming downtrends. Furthermore, October is usually a red month for markets, so there may be more pains before gains.  US stock markets have been in decline for the past two months, and the move is likely to continue into October.  Will Crypto Markets Follow? The Nasdaq has fallen below its previous low in August, forming a new lower low this week. The downtrend, which has been confirmed according to crypto analyst “Cold Blooded Shiller,” began in mid-July.  Since then, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index has dropped 9% to 13,063, where it settled at the close of trading on September 26.  Nasdaq 2023 performance. Source: X/@ColdBloodShill Additionally, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen by 5.6% since the beginning of August.  Furthermore, the broader S&P 500 Index has mirrored the moves. It has fallen almost 7% since the downtrend began at the beginning of July to 4,273 after the bell on Tuesday. Moreover, the S&P 500 is now down 340 points since the Fed removed “recession” from their forecast, according to the Kobeissi Letter. It added that the Fed marked the exact high in the S&P 500, which just hit its lowest level since June: “Since then, rate cut expectations were pushed out by a year and corporate bankruptcies hit their highest levels since the pandemic.” S&P 500 3 months. Source: X/@KobeissiLetter  A number of high-profile banks aped the Fed in dropping their recession predictions, yet the markets appear to be defiant.  Crypto markets have been slightly correlated with tech stocks this year but have remained in consolidation for most of it.  Following an initial spurt of growth in the first quarter, crypto markets have been flat since mid-March. Moreover, they have dropped 19% since their 2023 high in mid-April, also exhibiting a downtrend. A Red October?  October is historically the most volatile month of the year for US and global markets. With a downtrend already confirmed, things will likely slide deeper into the red next month, including crypto.  October’s record of market crashes makes it the most feared month on the financial calendar. The Bank Panic of 1907, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and Black Monday 1987 all happened during the month of October. In the 2022 bear market, crypto markets were flat for most of October, gaining marginally towards the end of the month. The bull market of 2021 saw large gains for crypto in October, but 2020 was similar to 2022.  2019 saw a brief pump at the end of October, but all gains were lost the following month. The bear market of 2018 was another flat October.  If history rhymes, crypto markets will remain flat next month, but be aware that November is usually much more volatile for this asset class.  Source

[f1]

F1 returning to China in 2024 as part of major schedule change

Shanghai in China last hosted a Formula 1 race during the 2019 season China is set to return to the Formula 1 calendar for the first time since the pandemic in a major revision of the schedule for 2024. The season starts with races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to be held on Saturdays, because of the impact of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In the quest for greater sustainability, the Japanese race moves to 7 April from its usual autumn date. And Azerbaijan will be twinned with Singapore in September. The calendar features what would be a record 24 races - exactly the same number as were due to be held this year before the cancellation of the Chinese and Emilia-Romagna Grands Prix. Earlier this year, Australian Grand Prix organisers announced that Saudi Arabia would hold the opening race of the 2024 season. But F1 has found a way to fit both Bahrain and Jeddah in before Melbourne by making the Middle Eastern events Saturday night races. Ramadan starts on the evening of 10 March, the day after the Saudi event. China was due to return this year but had to be cancelled because of the uncertainty over the Covid situation in the country at the start of the year, when there were riots as a result of continued social restrictions. These have now been lifted. The move towards greater regionalisation - which is an attempt to reduce carbon emissions from flights as F1 strives to become net-zero carbon by 2030 - has been partly stymied by Canadian organisers resisting F1's attempts to twin the Montreal race with Miami in May. Instead, the Canadian Grand Prix retains its traditional June date, forcing teams to fly across the Atlantic twice in just over a month. F1 chairman Stefano Domenicali said: "Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment." FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: "We want to make the global spectacle of Formula 1 more efficient in terms of environmental sustainability and more manageable for the travelling staff who dedicate so much of their time to our sport." Pre-season testing is due to be held in Bahrain on 21-23 February but those dates are still subject to approval from the FIA world motorsport council. Full 2024 F1 calendar 29 February - 2 March - Bahrain 7-9 March - Saudi Arabia 22-24 March - Australia 5-7 April - Japan 19-21 April - China 3-5 May - Miami 17-19 May - Emilia-Romagna 24-26 May - Monaco 7-9 June - Canada 21-23 June - Spain 28-30 June - Austria 5-7 July - United Kingdom 19-21 July - Hungary 26-28 July - Belgium 23-25 August - Netherlands 30 August - 1 September - Italy 13-15 September - Azerbaijan 20-22 September - Singapore 18-20 October - USA (Austin) 25-27 October - Mexico City 1-3 November - Brazil 21-23 November - Las Vegas 29 November - 1 December - Qatar 6-8 December - Abu Dhabi via BBC Sport - Formula 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/

[shumailach-blog]

Australian Visitor Visa Wait Times Have Blown Out With Some Nationalities in Limbo for Months

Tourists have been waiting three times longer to get their visas approved for travel to Australia this year compared to pre-COVID-19 times, with a new report showing specific impacts on visitors from one country.

Visa processing times for tourists and business travellers blew out this year. Source: SBS News

Travellers eager to visit Australia this year waited months to get their visas approved, with most Chinese citizens left in limbo for four months, a new report shows.The Department of Home Affairs' report on visitor visas paints a stark picture of the delays in the system after Australia's international borders were re-opened on 1 November 2021. It also shows significant changes in the numbers of tourists and business visitors applying to come to Australia - and where they are coming from - compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest report details processing times between 1 April and 30 June 2022 and has only recently been released. It shows that 75 per cent of requests for tourist visas (subclass 600 and 676) were processed within 59 calendar days, 269 per cent longer than the 16 calendar days it took in 2019.

The processing of business visas (short stay, subclass 456) and (business visitor, subclass 600) also grew to 15 days, compared to a processing time of seven days before the emergence of COVID-19 and the shutdown of Australia's international borders on 20 March 2020.

The blowout in processing times has happened despite the number of visa applications being much lower.

Around 75 per cent of tourist visas were processed in 59 calendar days. Source: SBS News

In 2019, around 1.3 million visitor visa applications (including both tourist and business visas) were lodged between April-June, compared to just 695,343 in the same period this year.

Why Have the Wait Times Increased?

The report reveals data from April-June, mostly covering the period prior to the Albanese Government winning the federal election on 21 May.

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson told SBS News in a statement that "processing times will take some time to improve as we work through older applications in the backlog".

The spokesperson said the department was implementing policy changes to allow more streamlined processing of visas.

"The department is managing risks carefully, targeting applicants who warrant it, while efficiently deciding applications for everyone else."

They said almost 2.8 million temporary and migration visas had been processed since 1 June, including more than 1.5 million visitor, 199,000 student and 43,000 temporary skilled applications.

The Albanese Government has announced it would provide an 

extra $36.1 million to hire up to 500 people for nine months to help address wait times. About 20 per cent of those positions had been filled by the end of September.

The department also recruited an additional 260 staff into roles supporting temporary and migration visa processing from the start of May, and officers previously focused on travel exemptions have been redirected to visa processing. But it's unclear whether staffing levels have returned to pre-COVID levels.

Some travellers wanting to visit Australia have waited months to get their visas approved.

Former Department of Immigration secretary Abul Rizvi said he didn't think there would be a recovery in processing times until the next report covering July-September, at the earliest.

"They should be being processed faster now, but I suspect the improvement will be gradual, it won't be sudden," he said.

Information on the Home Affairs website, which was last updated in August, advises travellers that processing of the tourist subclass 600 visa is taking around 63 days for 75 per cent of applicants - even longer than the average wait times seen earlier this year.

Certain countries experiencing longer delays

Processing times have been even longer for citizens of certain countries, with around 75 per cent of tourist visas from China taking 120 days to finalise in April-June this year. During the same period in 2019 most were processed in nine days.

The department did not address questions about why these visas were taking so much longer to get through the system.

Mr Rizvi said China's strict COVID-19 restrictions, including widespread lockdowns, could be making the processing of visas more difficult. Officials could also be taking a more cautious attitude towards processing visas from China, he said, pointing to a recent Nine investigation that exposed alleged visa rorting linked to criminal syndicates.

Mr Rizvi said it was likely the Australian government was aware of scams operating out of China, as well as other countries, and was scrutinising visitor visas more carefully.

The Australian Government may be scrutinising Chinese travellers more carefully. Source: AAP

When it comes to business visas, about 75 per cent of US citizens have been waiting 52 days for them to be processed, much longer than the average of 15 days.

But processing times have improved compared to April-June last year when most tourism visas took 160 days to process, and business visas were taking 342 days.

Arrivals Are Still a Long Way From Pre-pandemic Levels

The number of visitors arriving in Australia, including both tourists and business travellers, are still well down on pre-COVID-19 levels. Around 699,725 people visited Australia in 2021/22, more than nine times lower than the 6.5 million people in 2018/19.

Around 17 per cent of those travellers were from India, 15 per cent from the UK and 12 per cent from Singapore.

Back in 2018/19, 17 per cent were from China, 11 per cent from the US and 10 per cent from the UK. China now only makes up 2.3 per cent of arrivals in Australia, with just 15,855 travelling to the country in 2021/22 compared to one million travellers three years ago.

The number of visitors to Australia has dropped dramatically. Source: SBS News

However, more recent numbers show tourism could be starting to improve. In June this year, there were 219,607 visitor visa holders in Australia, only around 100,000 less than the 316,469 travellers in the country on the same date in 2019.

The number of visitor holders in Australia has increased by 396 per cent in the period from 17 December 2021, the week the borders opened to some fully vaccinated travellers, until 14 October this year.

Change in the Origin of Tourists

When it comes to visa approvals for tourists, there has also been a significant change in the source countries.

In 2018/19, before the emergence of COVID-19, the top source country was China, with 856,110 tourist visa applications granted, making up 17 per cent of the 5.2 million approvals. It was followed by the US, UK, Japan and Malaysia. India came in sixth with 250,874 visas approved.

China's numbers have since seen a dramatic drop of 95 per cent, to just 36,150 visas granted in 2021/22. India's numbers have remained fairly steady on 190,605 visas, making it the top country of origin. It made up 19 per cent of the one million tourist visas granted, followed by the UK, Singapore, US, Malaysia and China.

China was once the top country for the lodgement of visitor visas to Australia, but demand has dropped dramatically from tourists and business travellers. Source: SBS News

Singapore has risen from eighth position to third, despite approved visas dropping by 59 per cent, from 208,480 in 2018/19, to 84,792 in 2021/22.

Mr Rivzi said Australia may have remained a popular destination for Singaporeans compared to China, Hong Kong and Japan due to their strict COVID-19 restrictions.

"Singaporeans have got to spend their money holidaying somewhere and I think we're benefiting because we're seen as a relatively safe destination from a COVID perspective," he said.

The number of subclass 600 tourist visa applications granted under the Approved Destination Status from China also dropped to zero in 2020/21 and 2021/22, after being at 200,038 in 2018/19. Mr Rivzi said those visas were generally used by trusted tour groups and so may have been impacted by the lack of travel from China during the pandemic.

Business Visa Approvals Drop By 320 per Cent

The report also shows a significant shift in approvals for business visas. Back in 2018/19, around 504,782 business visas were granted. The top country was China, which had 82,026 visas approved (making up 16 per cent of the total) followed by US, UK, Japan and India.

Three years later, China has dropped to sixth on the list, with just 8,198 business visas granted. Overall 120,103 visas were approved in 2021/22.

The top country is now the US, making up 11 per cent of business visas approved in 2021/22, despite the number being four times lower than in 2018/19. The number of visas granted to the US dropped from 65,325 in 2018/19, to 13,444. The US is followed by Singapore, UK, India and South Korea.

Countries Finding It Harder to Get Visas Approved

Between April-June this year, Australia approved 91.9 per cent of visitor visa applications (including tourism and business visas) compared to 94.6 per cent during the same period in 2019.

It's understood the finalisation of visa applications lodged before or during the pandemic may have impacted the grant rate, as some applicants may have experienced a change in circumstances, and may no longer have wanted to travel to Australia.

COVID-19-related travel restrictions have also continued to impact the ability of Chinese nationals to travel internationally for tourism purposes.

Approval rates can vary widely between countries. Just 66 per cent of tourist visa 600 and 676 applications from Thailand were approved in April-June, compared to 95 per cent of those from the US.

Back in 2019, Thailand's grant rate for tourist visas was 82 per cent in the same period. Fiji had the lowest approval rate of 76 per cent while the highest rate was for Chile at 96 per cent.

This does not include figures for the 651 eVisitor visa, an electronic visa that only certain countries including the UK and other European countries, can apply for.

Australia approved around 83 per cent of tourist visas between April-June this year but grant rates for Thailand were much lower, at just 66 per cent. Source: SBS News

Meanwhile, approval rates for business visa 600 also dropped. Previously, most countries had high approval rates (of more than 90 per cent) for these visas in April-June 2019, and there was an overall approval rate of 94 per cent. This has now dropped to 91 per cent. In particular, China's approval rate for business visas dropped from 93 per cent in April-June 2019, to only 83 per cent this year.

By contrast, approval rates for sponsored tourist visa 600 improved from 81 per cent in April-June 2019, to 88 per cent this year. Indonesia boasted the highest grant rate of 94 per cent, a vast improvement from its 2019 approval rate of just 78 per cent.

Lebanon had the lowest approval rate of 71 per cent, although this was an improvement on its 2019 number of 55 per cent. Previously, the highest grant rate in 2019 was for Bangladesh citizens on 92 per cent.

Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australian-visitor-visa-wait-times-have-blown-out/g1m5rode7

[praise-joko]

So, I may have figured something out for Living World seasons, at least concerning the start of each episode. It will take some guesswork to determine when each part ends, but it's something.

I worked this out using the list of releases, side stories, and this chart for the Mouvelian/Gregorian calendar.

Caveat: Dev Note - March 31st, 2015

This obviously applies to festivals unless Tyrians really love 3 week long celebrations. I'm also only considering the release month and date when translating to the Mouvelian calendar and using the years listed in the story itself (though for LWS4 the years line up well - I think this would mostly apply to gaps between expansions).

I haven't gone any further in-depth than this yet, so enjoy this long list of when events might have occurred in LWS4!

Path of Fire

Scion 85, 1330 September 22, 2017 (very short - only 68 days between the start of PoF and Daybreak, but HoT was only 43 days so maybe?)

LWS4 Shadow of the Mad King *

Colossus 20, 1330 October 17, 2017

Daybreak -

Colossus 62, 1330 November 28, 2017

Wintersday *

Colossus 76, 1330 December 12, 2017

------------------------

Awakening Threat -

Zephyr 9, 1331 January 9, 2018

A Bug in the System -

Zephyr 65, 1331 March 6, 2018

Super Adventure Festival *

Zephyr 88, 1331 March 29, 2018

Reawakening Threat -

Phoenix 24, 1331 April 24, 2018

Long Live the Lich -

Phoenix 87, 1331 June 26, 2018

Festival of the Four Winds *

Scion 25, 1331 June 26, 2018

A Star to Guide Us -

Scion 81, 1331 September 18, 2018

Shadow of the Mad King *

Colossus 19, 1331 October 16, 2018

Wintersday *

Colossus 75, 1331 December 11, 2018

------------------------

All or Nothing -

Zephyr 8, 1332 January 8, 2019

Super Adventure Festival *

Zephyr 87, 1332 March 28, 2019

Rift Stalkers -

Phoenix 9, 1332 April 9, 2019

War Eternal -

Phoenix 44, 1332 May 14, 2019

Dragon Bash *

Phoenix 86, 1332 June 25, 2019

Festival of the Four Winds *

Scion 31, 1332 July 30, 2019

Icebrood Saga Bound by Blood

Scion 80, 1332 September 17, 2019

Alright, I’m just going to outsource this research to the gw2 community. It’s making my head hurt and distracting me from figuring out my characters’ timelines.

Does anyone have a fleshed out mouvelian calendar or further specifics on when festivals and important events occur?

For example, I would never have guessed that the HoT expansion only spanned 43 days if it weren’t for these journals.

Are there any other journals like these that give specific dates for events?

It’s all well and good knowing the year in which the story’s events take place but when you’re planning to write an epistolary for nano it leaves too much up in the air.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I just noticed...

Warner Bros. has recently dated their all-animated adaptation of THE CAT IN THE HAT... March 6, 2026...

This is the first of their new "Warner Bros. Pictures Animation" initiative, the plan being to have two animated films out every calendar year.

All jokes about this movie possibly being shelved and turned into a tax write-off aside (I don't think any animated movie is safe under the Zas), that's the same day as...

An untitled Pixar movie...

Pixar currently has two animated movies set for 2026, one on this date, and in June. June presumably goes to TOY STORY 5, which is - at this point, per Disney CEO Bob Iger - eyeballing 2026. It being the summer release is a given, I feel. TOY STORY 3 and 4 were June releases in their respective release years, 1 & 2 were Thanksgiving frame releases... Walt Disney Pictures claimed 3/6/2026 first.

Games of chicken in animated movie scheduling are nothing new, in fact... Some high profile animated movies used to open head to head. THE LITTLE MERMAID vs. ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN in 1989, OLIVER & COMPANY vs. THE LAND BEFORE TIME in 1988, A BUG'S LIFE just a few days within release of THE RUGRATS MOVIE in 1998, you get the idea. They don't do that kind of thing now, though... Unless the demographics are wildly different.

But I wonder who blinks. The Pixar movie set for this date is most likely an original movie (it's not "Ducks", that appears to be a hoax), which are playing a different game at the box office these days. Open low (like, say, ELEMENTAL last year w/ $29m) and then leg it out to a solid gross... THE CAT IN THE HAT, on the other hand, is based on a beloved Dr. Seuss book... Which happened to have a live-action version preceding it, which itself was preceded by a half-hour animated TV special...

Just like...

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS and THE LORAX.

Those movies opened with $67m and $70m respectively. So, I think CAT IN THE HAT is primed to have a pretty good opening weekend come 2026. That is, if it makes it to the finish line and avoids the dreaded beast at the end of the castle, and makes it out alive.

As for the Pixar original, that's a little trickier to predict. ELEMENTAL was the first original Pixar in theaters following shut-downs in 2020. Its $29m opening is on the higher end of non-sequel animated movies released over the past couple of years, though it was foolishly written off. Legs, of course, came to the rescue. ELIO is the next original, which I think could gross around there. Maybe less, because it's an animated sci-fi story. Could be another case of STRANGE WORLD, TREASURE PLANET, etc. Whatever the 2026 original is, the box office prospects are up in the air...

It all boils down to who blinks.

One of them will have to try out February, maybe around Valentine's Day. Probably the Warner movie. Easter's locked up by the MARIO sequel. Not like February can't work for a family-friendly animated movie, look at THE LEGO MOVIE.

Interestingly, Pixar's been trying to do this 2-a-year every other year thing. 2020 had ONWARD open in March, and if plans worked out, SOUL in June. ONWARD got cut right off by COVID's outbreak, SOUL went straight to Disney+. In 2022, TURNING RED went straight to D+ in March, LIGHTYEAR went to theaters in June. This year was supposed to be that situation, too, with ELIO being out this month being followed by INSIDE OUT 2 in June... But ELIO was delayed all the way back to June 2025.

So maybe 2026 is another one of those situations, where Pixar wants to have two movies out, but ends up rescheduling one of them. I have a feeling TOY STORY 5 stays right in its place, but it's possible that could get delayed to 2027. TOY STORY 3 was once thought to be a 2009 release, and it ended up coming out in 2010. TOY STORY 4? Two delays: From its original summer 2017 slot to summer 2018, to summer 2019.

Plus, this could aaaaall be moot within a few months. Animated movies are always moving forward and backwards.

Worth noting, this wasn't the first time Warner Bros. tried stepping on Disney's toes in one of their major corners. Right now it's with animation, last time... It was with superheroes...

That was when - in mid-2014 - an untitled CAPTAIN AMERICA movie was on the boards for May 6, 2016. A follow-up to the very well-liked CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER... (Side note: I refuse to believe that that was a decade ago. A DECADE.) Continuing on, Warner shockingly moved their BATMAN V. SUPERMAN to that same date. Later in 2014, Marvel revealed that the 2016 CAPTAIN AMERICA threequel was subtitled CIVIL WAR... Eventually, Warner conceded, and moved BATMAN V. SUPERMAN up a few paces, to March 25, 2016.

So, we'll see how this one goes... Or if both of them vacate the premises...

[calendarsnotes-blog]

(via March to June 2019 Month Calendar) 

[rainbowsky]

BXG Calendar

There are a lot of dates that are significant to BXG, either for CPN reasons, because of their significance for GG and DD, or because of the GG and DD content we can expect to see at those times. There are also some Chinese festivals BXG might be interested in knowing about. I'll keep this updated as a handy reference.

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

BXG Calendar

January

Weibo Night - An annual awards show that generally takes place in early January, but COVID has interfered with that lately. This is one of the few events we can expect both GG and DD to attend.

Chūnjié (pronounced tchwun-jaih) - Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) - First day of the Lunisolar Calendar (usually sometime between Jan 20 and Feb 20). Often there is a gala or event where GG and/or DD perform. There will also usually be posts from them, photos etc. GG and DD likely get to spend time together and with family, eating a lot of good food.

23 January - Lan Wangji's birthday.

February

14 February - Valentine's Day - Chinese people seem to love Valentine's Day, and they celebrate a few different ones throughout the year. The Western Valentine's Day is one of them. We will see some Valentine's themed ads from GG and DD around this time.

Spring Festival (see January for more info).

Yuanxiaojie (pronounced yuwen-shao-jiah) - Lantern Festival - On the first full moon after the new year, two weeks after Chinese New Year (usually in Feb). Lantern Festival marks the end of Spring Festival. GG and DD will sometimes post greetings or other content on this day.

March

14 March - 3/14 - The anniversary of the XNINE DDU episode where we first saw GG and DD together. A very special day for BXG, many of whom believe it's the day GG and DD first met.

28 March - Anniversary of Wuji Recording - Wuji was recorded on this date in 2019, and is special to BXG in part because GG and DD were able to record together. Fans celebrate this day by sharing videos and fan art, and Lin Hai (the composer) will post something commemorating the date.

April

4-6 April - Qingming (pronounced tching-mieng) - Chinese holiday where family tombs/graves are swept and fresh offerings laid out, paper money burned and firecrackers set off to scare away evil spirits. This festival marks beginning of spring and is associated with kite flying.

28 April - Anniversary of the BJYX supertopic, which opened on 28 April 2018.

May

17th May - International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia - celebrating and advocating for queer rights worldwide.

20 May - 520 - One of the many Chinese Valentine's Days. Based on the kadian 520 for wo ai ni or, 'I love you'. We will usually see a lot of Valentine's themed ads from GGDD, they may even drop candies, and we get a lot of CPN from BXG.

June

Pride Month

1 June - Children's Day - A government holiday that celebrates children. GG and DD always post for Children's Day, and we get to see cute pictures of them as children and sometimes hear cute stories about them as children.

Duanwujie (pronounced twan-woo-jiah) - Dragon Boat Festival - 5th day of the 5th Lunisolar month (otherwise known as Double 5th), which happens right around Summer Solstice (Solstice falls around 20-22 June). Zongzi are eaten, and GG and DD almost always post something around this time.

22 June - 622 - Widely believed to be GGDD's anniversary, or a date of similar special significance to them. There's always a lot of CPN, art and other content shared by BXG around this time.

27 June - 627 - CQL Anniversary - We see a lot of art and posts from BXG and sometimes posts from cast/crew at this time.

July

Yuehua Family Concert - Yuehua is DD's management company. They hold an annual concert featuring stars signed to the company, usually in July. Unfortunately in 2022 COVID interfered with those plans.

August

5 August - DD's Birthday - An incredibly special day. We'll usually get a lot of new content featuring DD, brands will post messages of celebration, BXG and other fans will go all out with posts and art, and often there will be candy dropped.

Qixi Festival (pronounced tchee-shee) - Chinese Valentine's Day - Another Valentine's day, taking place on the 7th day of 7th month of the Lunisolar calendar (usually sometime in August). GG and DD will usually be featured in a lot of Valentine's Day themed advertising around this time, and BXG post a lot of CPN, art and photos in celebration of the day.

September

5 September - BXG Day - DD's birthday falls on the 5th of August, GG's on the 5th of October, so BXG day is in between on this date. 9/5 is also special to BXG because GG and DD are believed to be 95% compatible. Turtles will celebrate and GG and DD will often drop candies.

Zhongqiujie (pronounced jhong-choe-jiah) - Mid-Autumn Festival, Moon Festival, Mooncake Festival - Annual harvest festival similar to Western thanksgiving, celebrated on the full moon. People get together with family to eat and celebrate, and mooncakes are traditionally eaten. A gala event is aired on TV featuring performances and variety show elements. DD performed for the gala in 2022. Brands release a lot of interesting ads during this time of year. GG and DD post greetings as well.

15 September - DD's Debut Anniversary - DD debuted 15 September, 2014. Always a fun day. Yibo Official will post something honoring DD's years as a star, and fans and brands will post in celebration of the day.

28 September - GG's Debut Anniversary - GG debuted 28 September, 2016. GG's studio will post something in honor of GG's years as a star, and fans and brands will post celebrating the day.

29 September - Xiao Zhan Studio Anniversary - Xiao Zhan Studio was launched on 29 September 2019. GG's studio usually releases a video showing all the progress made in the previous years.

October

5 October - GG's Birthday - An incredibly special day. We get a lot of new content from GG, usually multiple photo shoots with gorgeous photos and new looks, videos, art and other great content from him and from fans and brands. We'll usually get some good candy too.

31 October - Wei Wuxian's birthday.

November

11 November - Singles Day aka Double 11 - The 11th day of the 11th month. A day for single people to treat themselves to gifts, and for people to get together or get engaged. This is a big shopping day in China (actually one of the biggest shopping days in the world). There is usually a gala or event where DD and/or GG may perform. We get a lot of new brand content from them as there is always a lot of advertising leading up to this date.

December

Tencent Starlight Awards - Usually held sometime in late December, but COVID has interfered with that lately. One of the few events we can generally expect both GG and DD to attend.

25 December - Christmas - They'll be involved in a lot of advertising around Christmastime so they'll usually be pretty active and we get a lot of new brand content from them.

30 December - DD's Latest Song Release - DD releases a new song every year on 30 December and usually performs it on New Year's Eve. Promotional materials usually start appearing around Christmas.

31 December - New Year's Eve - GG and DD usually have NYE performances, so we'll get to see them sing, dance, etc. and they'll post a lot of photos of their outfits and New Year's wishes for their fans. They will do their customary chong ya pose as well.

I'm sure I've probably forgotten something, so if you think of anything that you believe should be on this list (or if you find an error), please let me know! 😊