#books released in October 2020

[chlochette-sunde]

Know your Destiel/Cockles history: a calendar 

As a newcomer on Tumblr and on the Supernatural fandom, I first had trouble following all the past events that were regularly reminded and celebrated.

On this very special day (December 14th, European time), the following post is an attempt at listing those events, focusing on Destiel and Cockles (with a hint of Jenmisheel). Feel free to advise me for more (or less) dates!

Acknowledgement: The idea came from @youchangedmedestiel who also contributed to the content. The present post would never have been possible without @livebloggingmydescentintomadness 's Cockles masterlist. Color code: Destiel / Cockles

Honorary periodic event: FIMMF (Finger In My Mouth Friday)

January

12th: "Mish. Dee." (2021) - 1

16th: Broadcast of 15x09 “The Trap” (2020) - /

17th: ‘Isn't the season you met Misha?’ ‘Taste the rainbow’ JaxCon (2016) - 1

18th: The abandoned Jenmisheel podcast (2022) - 1

24th: Dean's birthday + ‘Jensen's the horse’ HousCon (2015) - / + 1

February

2nd: Broadcast of 12x10 “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” (2017) - /

14th: Destiel wedding anniversary (2021)

16th: Broadcast of 12x12 “Stuck in the Middle (With You)” (2017) - /

26th: ‘Which is funny, because so do I’ JIB11 (2023) - 1

28th: ‘Misha's been working out’ ‘He has though, hasn't he?’ NashCon (2016) - 1

March

1st: Jensen Ackles' birthday (1978) - 1 2 3 4

18th: Danneel Ackles' birthday (1979)

20th: Broadcast of 8x17 “Goodbye Stranger” + Gag reel (2013) - / + 1

23rd: Broadcast of 7x17 “The Born-Again Identity” (2012) + Broadcast of 15x13 “Destiny’s Child” + Gag reel (Jensen's infamous fart joke) (2020) - / + 1

April

1st: Mishapocalypse (2013) + Mishapocalypse 2.0 (2023) - 1 2 + 3

10th: “When Harry Met Sally” JIB2 (2011) - 1

13th: Season 15 EW Photoshoot (2020) - 1 2

15th: Broadcast of 5x18 “Point of No Return” + Gag reel (blowjob+‘we’re missing the gay angel’+‘confetti it’s a parade’) (2010) - 1 + 2 3 4 

15th: Bishagate 2.0 NJCon (2023) + Misha’s Cas essay (2022) - 1 2 + 3

23th: Bishagate ‘I’m all three’ NJCon (2022) - 1

25th: ‘I happen to be straight’ (2022) - 1 2

27th: Broadcast of 12x19 “The Future” (2017) - 1 2 3 4

28th: ‘Balls deep’ CR8 (2024) - 1

29th: Broadcast of 6x19 “Mommy Dearest” + Gag reel (2011) - 1

May

6th: Broadcast of 6x20 “The Man Who Would Be King” (2011) - /

7th: First release of 'Watching Over Me' (2021) - 1

19th: Straddlegate JIB10 (2019) - 1 2 3 4

21st: Jensen's bear underwear reveal JIB8 (2017) - 1

23rd: ‘Okay babe’ (2021) - 1

24th: Misha tenderly rescuing Jensen+’We like you the best’+Hitch scene JIB5 (2014) - 1 2 3

26th: ‘It’s not a subtext. It was clear text.’ PurCon8 (2024) - 1

27th: ‘I talked to Jensen and Danneel this morning because I couldn’t sleep’ PurCon7 (2023) - 1

June

July

1st: ‘I miss my blanky’ + ‘I love you’ VS ‘I need you’ (2021 (yes, on the same fucking day)) + ‘Also, Cas is gay.’ (2023) - 1 2 3 + 4

14th: 'Destiel is Cockles Fault' Day SFCon (2024) - 1

24th: ‘Wow, that was really informative. Thank you.’ SDCC (2011) + ‘How do you know’ SDCC (2016) - 1 + 2

August

9th: Destiel fanfics first ship to reach the milestone of 100,000 stories 'I have to admit, I like being on top' (2021)

13th: ‘I’d love to do a Western…slash romcom with Misha’ VanCon (2017) - 1

17th: Cockles day at sea (2015) + ‘I would probably choose to be the car, because Dean would ride me all day’ SPNDEN (2018) - 1 2 + 3

18th: Destiel winning TV Choice Best Chemistry (2015) - 1

20th: Misha Collins' birthday (1974) - 1

September

8th: Release of "Some things I Still Can't Tell You", poetry book by Misha Collins - Men in the Woods (2021) - 1

13th: First broadcast of Supernatural (2005) - /

18th: Broadcast of Lazarus Rising, first appearance of Castiel (2008) + First release of Jensen publicly singing 'Angeles' (2012) (+Bonus: Jensen serenading Misha at JIB11 (2023)) - 1 + 2 3 4

24th: Broadcast of 5x03 “Free to Be You and Me” (2009) (Bonus: reference of ‘personal space’ at SFCon (2024)) - 1

October

11th: Danneel Ackles, sharing a picture of Jensen, reading "Some things I still can't tell you" by the fire, Misha tagged on his heart (2021) - 1 2 

13th: Broadcast of 12x01 “Keep Calm and Carry On” + ‘You're poking me’ Gag reel (2016) - 1

16th: ‘He’s like an angel plushie’ DenCon (2021) - 1

20th: ‘I can say whatever I want because Danneel is in love with you' HCCB (2024) - 1 

21st: Broadcast of 10x03 “Soul Survivor” + ‘Aloha cowboy’ Gag reel (2014) - 1 2

23rd: ‘I should have said ‘I love you too’ and hugged him’ VanCon (2022) - 1

28th: Broadcast of 11x04 “Baby” (2015) (Bonus: reenactment of the CasDean scene at JIB7 (2016))

November

5th: Broadcast of 15x18 "Despair" - Destiel's anniversary (2020) - /

8th: ‘Homosexual declaration of love’ Darklight Online Con (2020) + 'I live it' (2021) - 1 (no official proof because the panel has mysteriously been deleted from social medias around the 26th) + 2

11th: Broadcast of 10x05 “Fan Fiction” (2014) - /

12th: Broadcast of 9x06 “Heaven Can't Wait” (2013) - /

16th: Broadcast of 13x06 “Tombstone” (2017) + ‘Release the tapes!’ Day (2020) - / + 1

19th: Broadcast of 15x20 "Carry on" -> Last episode of Supernatural (so far 🕯🤞🏻) (2020) + Misha sharing by mistake (?) “The epic love story of Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins” blog (2013) - / + 1 2

24-25th: 'y yo a ti' (2020) - 1 

24th: ‘His ferret goes other places’ (2024) - 1

26th: Misha having to live stream and do PR during Thanksgiving, in mid divorce, following 'y yo a ti' (2020) - 1

December

1st: Danneel sharing a post to promote "The Adventurous Eaters Club", featuring Jensen and their kids (2019) - 1 2

5th: ‘I love you, not like a brother, but like a lover’ CCXP (2024) - 1 2

6th: ‘Cas was supposed to have his arm around Dean in the bar’ CCXP (2024) - 1 2

14th: Cockles anniversary (2009) + Introduction of 'Eyes Like The Sky' beer (2020) - 1 2 3 + 4

19th: Jenmisheel holiday package (2017) - 1 2

[essektheylyss]

Because it's the anniversary of the last time they played live on the channel, I do think it's really interesting looking back at where they were in 2020; one main campaign episode every single week except for, essentially, the week of Thanksgiving and then a few weeks over the holidays, plus a weekly talk show, as opposed to monthly, and then the occasional one-shot, all of which were live.

But the Daggerheart one-shot airing on this date highlights something—I have to wonder if, had they continued with that frequency and mode, they would have created two brand new systems since, and several really interesting and creative different shows, both in and out of Exandria. The hiatus really pushed open the door for different formats, especially with things like Narrative Telephone, and Darrington Press wasn't announced until October of 2020. Exandria Unlimited only released in summer of 2021 after campaign 2 wrapped.

It's fun to have a live show today on the anniversary, especially using this new system that really showcases a lot of the most fun ways they have played with the heroic fantasy genre, but I sometimes think there is a lot of nostalgia for those days—not unreasonably, because watching live and knowing that not even the players knew the outcomes yet was very fun!

But the breadth of creative shows and whole new games (to say nothing of a wider spread of comics and books) Critical Role has released since is really fun to see, and I don't know if it would've happened without a major shift in that status quo.

[yuurei20]

I have been stalking your tumblr for a while now bc I'm fairly new to the fandom and you've been really helpful lol (thank you!!!)

I don't know if you've answered this before but I have been wondering who was the youngest of the first years? I thought it was jack and ace, but apparently they're the oldest but aren't all of them 16 and then jack and ace's birthdays come later in year? This might be really stupid but idk lol

Hello hello! Thank you very much!! ^^ ♡ You are so kind!

And yes yes, we have received hints sometimes about which characters are older than the rest, with Vil being younger than Cater and Jade being older than Riddle.

We know that the beginning of the school year is in September, and Jamil's birthday is the first one in September, so Jamil is assumed to be the oldest of the 2nd-year students (confirmed in a tweet by Yana!).

Adding to this is the fact that Jamil's birthday was the first to be released in the original game! :> Every new birthday series starts with Jamil and ends with Riddle, as they would be the oldest- and youngest-2nd-year students, if we are following a September-to-August school year.

(Cater is the first birthday on EN! I am not sure why this was changed. The original game was launched in March of 2020, so there were no birthday banners for the first six months after the game's release until we reached Jamil's birthday of September 12th. EN was able to get birthday banners immediately, shifting the balance of when new series start and who seems to be older than who.)

If we wanted to list the human characters (and Sebek) oldest-to-youngest according to this system (minus the special case that is Leona), it might look like this!

Ace is the oldest first-year, while Deuce is the youngest.

(Ortho's actual age is difficult to place, as he was "born" pre-programmed with a memory that is older than his physical self.)

Jamil is the oldest second-year, while Riddle is the youngest.

As Riddle was born on August 24th, he is technically only a month older than Ace (who was born September 23rd).

Trey is the oldest non-fae, non-Leona third-year, while Vil is the youngest.

At 700 years old Lilia is the oldest third-year.

January 1st also does not seem to be his actual birthday: he does not remember the date of his birth and possibly never knew it in the first place, having been adopted by Malleus' grandmother.

Malleus is the second-oldest character on the main student cast at 178 years old, while Leona is 20 (due to starting NRC a year late (under duress) and then being held back an additional year for poor attendance (which was possibly on purpose, as he does not seem to want to go home. Ref: Leona's Age and NRC).)

We know that time is passing in-game as we will receive occasional cues like the school year starting in September, the interdorm Spelldrive tournament being in October, the new semester starting in January, and the VDC being held in February.

There has never been any main-story acknowledgement of the characters getting older, but we can track their ages for ourselves based on the timeline of the main story!

If the ages in character profiles represent how old they were at the beginning of the school year, then we can surmise the following (none of which has been officially acknowledged anywhere as of this post, it is all conjecture):

Book 1: Jamil turns 18, Ace turns 17 Book 2: Jack turns 17, Trey turns 19. Books 3 and 4: Jade/Floyd turn 18, Rook/Idia turn 19 Books 5 and 6: Cater turns 19, Azul turns 18

After Book 6 things get a little vague!

Lilia says that Book 7 is "half a year" since school began, and it is presumably before May's Spelldrive tournament, so possibly March? Whether or not Sebek, Vil and Ruggie have had their birthdays yet might be unconfirmed!

To answer the initial question: it is not officially stated outright in the game that "Deuce is the youngest first-year," but there are fans who believe that this is what is being implied by the school year starting in September!

This is where "Ace and Jack are the oldest first years even though their birthdays are later in the year" comes from ^^ The school year does not start until autumn, meaning that Sebek, Epel and Deuce all have birthdays in the second semester, whereas Ace and Jack's birthdays are first semester, thus making them older than the other three ^^

[unhonestlymirror]

I am horrified by how often I see people writing, "Well, we shouldn't take Holocaust into account when talking about Israel-Palestine war." Of course we SHOULD, and that's why:

"October 7 is getting rewritten and certain social media users are an active of the campaign to erase the atrocities.

I was barely awake on October 7th when news of the atrocities that were committed by Hamas began to trinkle in, horror by horror. With sleep still in my eyes, I had hoped it was a nightmare I could erase by burying my face in pillows and returning to slumber, but alas, reality was insistent. Hamas had butchered over 1,200 people, amongst them infants, pregnant women, the handicapped, and the elderly. Even dogs were not spared.

But Hamas didn’t just murder them in cold blood, they had tortured, raped, desecrated their bodies, and took hostages. Their depravity was limitless. And they were so proud of their crimes that they used GoPro cameras to record them, later releasing the sickening spectacles to the public as a form of psychological terror. Add to that the live streams, cell phone recordings, and CCTV camera footage, and you’ll probably have the most documented massacre in history—with a reported 60,000 video clips collected.

I’ve seen some of these videos, including those not circulating quite so widely in public. They will haunt me for the rest of my life—and that falls far short than the 47 minute “film” shown to select journalists and diplomats worldwide, a number of whom broke down and/or fell ill during the screening.

But as shocking as all of this deranged butchery was — which was entirely the intention — what stunned me in the aftermath is the world’s reaction.

Putting aside disputes of land and politics, it was jarring to hear such a blatant reframing of narrative. It started with calling Hamas the “resistance” and justifying the unjustifiable. A number of BLM chapters had put out “heroic” images of Hamas terrorists descending on parachutes. I half-expected them to release action figures of Hamas fighters too. Maybe they did?

And then came the "BUTs." Sure, some folks condemned Hamas, but it was always followed by a "BUT," justifying the unjustifiable. I've been asked, ad nauseam, "What would you do in their situation?" Well, my response remains steadfast: not commit random acts of murder, torture, and kidnapping. Call me old-fashioned. (For the record I’ve called many colorful words for my stance, but oddly that was never one of them).

It was a wake-up call for many, especially those of us in the global Jewish community. Overnight, the illusion of safety shattered, much like the dreams of anyone who's binge-watched a horror series alone at night. But now we were all collectively trapped in that nightmare, and couldn’t wake up no matter how hard with pitched.

The history of the Holocaust is taught in many schools around the world. “Never forget” and “never again” are sentiments that are echoed within that curriculum. Yet, while some might scoff at the persistent advocacy for Holocaust education, insisting that it’s hitting them over the head, a nationwide survey in 2020 reveals that the under-40 crowd seems to have missed the memo. Shockingly, one in ten respondents haven’t even heard of the word “Holocaust,” let alone being aware that as many as 6 million Jews perished in it.

Further, nearly a quarter of those questioned said they believed the Holocaust was a myth, had been exaggerated or that they weren’t sure. Meanwhile in Canada, one in five young people (under 34) either hasn't heard of the Holocaust or isn't sure what it is. And in Britain, one in twenty adults flat-out deny that it ever took place. Ah, the privilege of blissful ignorance.

Most who underestimate the number of Jews killed in Holocaust have neutral or warm feelings toward Jews.

But it's not just ignorance; there's an entire industry that has been propped up and dedicated to Holocaust denial, complete with books, “movies,” and groups. To make matters worse, alarmingly, fewer Holocaust survivors are around to share their firsthand accounts and counteract the flames of denialism.

Nearly half of the 1000 people surveyed had stated that they’ve seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online.

I’ve always thought that denials of genocide—such as the Holocaust —were something that happened over time, with history slipping away and being re-written.

However, I never expected to be observing this in real time.

While initially the so-called “resistance” was celebrated by a subset of society, this soon turned into full-fledged denials of Hamas’ actions on Oct 7. Despite overwhelming evidence in the form of videos captured and shared by Hamas themselves and shared on Telegram channels and elsewhere, I would read and hear people claiming that they had only targeted Israeli military. Absurd claims emerged using supposedly ‘leaked’ footage where an Israeli helicopter shoots at Nova music festival goers. That video was viewed over 30 million times on X alone. The video, which was actually originally shared by the IDF on Oct 9, was showing their attacks on specific Gazan targets—certainly NOT indiscriminate bombings of music festival attendees in Israel. (Here’s a great thread that details how this piece of disinformation spread and geolocation information that further confirms that the claim is fake).

I’ve heard countless denials of the rapes of women (and men), despite overwhelming evidence in the form of physical evidence, forensics, and a number of witness testimonies. Women’s rights groups, meanwhile, remained silent—thus offering a vacuum for denialists to fill. Proponents of “me too” also stayed silent. Worse, the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre’s director signed an open letter calling Hamas perpetrating “sexual violence” an “unverified accusation.” It took UN Women nearly two months to issue a lukewarm condemnation of the brutal attacks. “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks,” they wrote, following a letter writing campaign urging them to speak up. Better late than never though, right?

The roughly 40 dead babies claim was debunked as a lie. At least that’s what people on social media now declare as fact, citing a Haaretz investigation.

“Haaretz investigation EXPOSES all the ISRAELI LIES from October 7th just like I predicated (sic),” reads the post of one particularly large disinformation account.

These claims persisted despite Haaretz directly addressing that post and calling it “blatant lies” and insisting that it “absolutely no basis in Haaretz’s reporting.”

The denials continued regardless of the fact that a group of 200 forensic pathologists from all over the world had confirmed that babies were indeed murdered and that some babies were found decapitated, though it was unclear whether this was done before or after death. First responders also corroborated that they witnessed beheaded infants. Regardless of decapitation, these were babies, murdered.

The forensic pathologists also confirmed that humans were executed, bound and burned alive. Israeli police have over 1,000 statements related to the attack.

When some of the hostages were released, Hamas supporters claimed that the hostages enjoyed being held by them, that they hardly wanted to leave. That this was like a pleasant vacation for them, that’s all. Like sipping piña coladas by the beach. In fact, they would state that they were more concerned about their safety in Israeli hands. They even concocted stories of love affairs between a hostage who was shot in the leg and a Hamas captor. A sick and twisted take on reality where up is down, cats are dogs, and denial is truth. They dismissed the reality that many of these hostages watched their loved ones get murdered in front of them, and still had relatives being held in captivity. The hostages were also administered Clonazepam by Hamas, a mood-enhancing tranquilizing drug, before handing them over to the Red Cross, so that they would appear “happy.”

Meanwhile, the Yale Daily News published a correction of an opinion column stating that the “allegations had not been substantiated.”

The denials go on and on, and I can’t help but feel like I’m watching a version of Holocaust denial, except this time it’s happening in real time—not years after the fact. And this time, it has a Wi-Fi connection and a social media account.

The conditions for this were ripe. Moral relativism is why just several weeks ago, Gen Z embraced Bin Laden's 'Letter to America.' It has been building up for years across college campuses, a breeding ground for ideologies that support violent means to achieve political gains.

The perceived power dynamics play a role here too. In the eyes of many, the Israelis are seen as a superpower whereas the Palestinians, and by extension Hamas, are seen as underdogs. In their view, the underdog is always right because it is the victim, and the “power” is the oppressor. So how can the oppressor be a victim?

Israelis, despite the majority of the population being Mizrahi Jews, as well as 20% Arabs (who were also victims on Oct 7), have been framed as “white colonizers,” vs the Palestinians who are seen as “POC” in the context of this conflict. Never mind that Jews, including Ashkenazi Jews, can be traced back to the land through DNA, archaeological evidence, and historical documents.

An overall distrust for media is another factor, which has resulted in individuals taking the word of random influencer accounts as gospel over traditional media outlets. According to Gallup polls, Americans’ trust in media is near a record low. Only 34% of US adults have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence as of 2022. This is a major hindrance to our sensemaking abilities.

And then, of course, there’s cognitive dissonance. When a group identifies so closely with the perpetrator and they commit heinous acts, confronting that fact happens to be uncomfortable. So, in an attempt to reduce that discomfort, they rationalize or deny the evidence. This means that they accept only evidence that supports their existing beliefs, while placing unreasonable demands on the other side.

But none of these factors would have gained as much traction if it weren’t for something that didn’t exist during the Holocaust: social media. This is the engine that helps drives this real-time historical revisionism and denialism. According to 2021 data from Pew Research, over 70% of Americans get their news via social platforms. A Reuters Institute report from 2023 found that 30% of respondents use social media as the main way to get their news.

We have a society that consumes sound-bites of information, both truth and lies (as well as lies based on grains of truth).

Social media algorithms—combined with human nature—tend to amplify outrageous untruths, which spread widely. Corrections, never make it as far as the original lie. They are just a faint hum.

Throughout the Israeli-Gaza war, we’ve seen AI generated images and bots used to paint a specific narrative—for evocative, emotional effect. But technologically sophisticatication isn’t a prerequisite for painting false narratives. Many “influencers” have taken to using existing images or videos and attaching misleading headlines to them—including sharing content that captures events in Syria while presenting it as taking place in Gaza. These networks of influencers have large reach, and can turn even the most blatant lie into a revisionist truth.

Researchers for Freedom House, a non-profit human right advocacy group, found that generally at least 47 governments have used commentators to manipulate online discussions in their favor, either via humans or bots. They’ve also recruited influencers to help spread false and misleading content, and have created fake websites that mimic actual media publications. Then there’s always Russia’s propaganda arm RT, and various other publications like Al Jazeera and Quds who have direct ties to Hamas and/or other Islamic regimes.

All of this has contributed to narrative confusion, and the erasure of unspeakable acts of brutality, and the denial of the facts of October 7, right before our very eyes.

If we cannot even share a common reality, how can have any hope of resolving anything?

“Never again” is happening now."

[tomorrowusa]

People who have heard Trump in private understand better what a danger he is to the country. Disproportionately this group consists of those responsible for protecting the United States.

Mark Milley was head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top ranking person in the US military. He's one of the people Trump used to call "my generals". Now Gen. Milley is calling Trump "fascist".

Mark Milley, the US Army general who Donald Trump appointed as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now says the current Republican presidential nominee is a “fascist to the core” and says no person has ever posed more of a danger to the United States than the man who served as the 45th President of the United States. Milley, a decorated military officer who became a target for right-wing scorn after it became known that he expressed concerns over Trump’s mental stability in the wake of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden, is described by journalist Bob Woodward in his new book, War, as incredibly alarmed at the prospect of a second Trump term in the White House. The Independent obtained a copy ahead of the book’s October 15 release date.

This wasn't a gotcha sort of thing. Gen. Milley went out of his own way to talk to Bob Woodward.

Woodward writes that when he approached Milley at a reception, the general spoke first and told him: “We gotta talk.” He told the journalist that “no one has ever been as dangerous to this country” as the former president. He asked: “Do you realize, do you see what this man is?”

At his retirement ceremony Gen. Milley famously said...

We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator.

Of course Trump has promised to be a dictator on day one.

It's always easier to acquire dictators than it is to get rid of them.

[renaultmograine]

Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime left Blizzard because he was reportedly tired of fighting with former Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, according to those who worked closely with him, the two leaders having butted heads for years regarding the future of Blizzard.

New details about Morhaime's 2018 departure and Blizzard's contentious relationship with Activision come via an excerpt from Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier's upcoming book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment , which releases on October 8 (the same day Blizzard's first expansion for Diablo 4, Vessel of Hatred, launches).

For years, Morhaime attempted to keep Activision, which acquired Blizzard in 2007, at bay. That goal of keeping Blizzard insulated from outside Activision pressure became harder in 2013 when Blizzard canceled project Titan, an FPS MMO that had been intended to be the next World of Warcraft, according to Schreier.

After the project's cancellation, which cost Blizzard around $80 million, Kotick and Activision began to assert more control over Blizzard, including pushing Blizzard to hire a chief financial officer, Armin Zerza, to keep costs in check. Zerza just "kept talking about how to make as much money as possible," according to one former employee, and at one point suggested axing Blizzard's annual BlizzCon fan convention, confused as to why a project with such low profit margins was allowed to exist, according to Schreier's sources. Blizzard announced this year there would not be a BlizzCon 2024.

Morhaime continued to battle Kotick in the following years, defending Blizzard's need for customer service employees and the studio's cinematics team. Following a meeting of Activision, Blizzard, and King leaders focused around the theme of "One ABK," Morhaime feared Blizzard was losing its independence, according to Schreier. He wrote a lengthy email to Kotick in response, stating he believed "preserving Blizzard's culture and magic" was a necessity in order to attract and retain "the best creative talent in the world." He additionally said that it had been "increasingly hard for me to provide Blizzard leadership and staff confidence that Blizzard has a stable future."

In 2017, Morhaime submitted a resignation letter, but was persuaded at the time by Kotick and others to take it back. Following the One ABK meeting in the spring of 2018, Morhaime formally announced his departure that October, saying it was time for someone else to lead.

Blizzard's story would of course continue, but without the man that Schreier said many Blizzard staff worshiped. Morhaime went on in 2020 to found a new game studio and publisher, Dreamhaven. Blizzard, meanwhile, in 2021 found itself embroiled in controversy following an explosive state of California lawsuit that accused Activision Blizzard of systemic sexual misconduct and discrimination, eventually settling with the state in 2023 to the tune of $54 million. Morhaime said in a statement addressing the lawsuit that he was "ashamed."

"To the Blizzard women who experienced any of these things, I am extremely sorry that I failed you," Morhaime said.

In the wake of the lawsuit, Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, with Kotick stepping down as Activision Blizzard CEO in December 2023.

[shiningliive]

Today is Utapri's 14th anniversary, and we've gotten some more information about previously announced Shining Live Memorial Books, Nnintendo Switch port, and a new set of collection cards.

Shining Live Visual Collection Cards

Not much known at the moment, but it looks like there will be some kind of special bromide set using artwork from Shining Live

Scheduled to begin release in Winter of 2024 (Japan time). More information will be revealed at a later date. You can find the official website here.

Shining Live Archive Book

*Some information may be incorrect. Please check for yourself!

The memorial books will be released as a 7 volume series, and will contain "various visuals and costume designs" from Shining Live.

They will be sold individually and as sets at Broccoli and Animate's online stores. They are A4 size, hardcover, and around 300 pages per volume. Each individual volume is approximately 1.2kg, and 6600 Yen.

The release dates and set prices for the volumes are:

Volume 1 and 2 - 13,200 yen. Releases October 31, 2024.

Volume 3 and 4 - 13,200 yen. Releases February 27, 2025.

Volume 5, 6, and 7 - 19,800 yen. Releases May 7 2025.

Each volume contains content from a different year of the games time in service:

Volume 1 - August - December 2017

Volume 2 - January - December 2018

Volume 3 - January - December 2019

Volume 4 - January - December 2020

Volume 5 - January - December 2021

Volume 6 - January - December 2022

Volume 7 - January - December 2023

More specifications and information on the order bonuses can be seen on Broccoli and Animates online stores linked above, but there are currently no sample images.

Nintendo Switch Port

*Image is from the official staff blog and is still under development. Not much information was revealed. It has only been confirmed that they are still planning on porting "various content" from the app to the Nintendo Switch.

It's unknown if this would be a standalone switch game, or if it may somehow be tied to the release of Dolce Vita, which was also confirmed to still be in the works.

[snowflaketale12]

Frozen Fan Fest

Since I found out about the new Frozen Fan Fest banner on Amazon, I've been super excited, hoping for new content (maybe a series or a short) in the Frozen franchise! 💙

Before that some of my Instagram followers were asking me what Frozen Fan Fest is, so below is a brief explanation based on my experience, and based on googled, so please correct me if I'm wrong 😂

Frozen Fan Fest is a global celebration for fans, featuring new merchandise launches, in-store events, exclusive content, and much more. So far, Frozen Fan Fest has only taken place twice: on October 4th, 2019, and October 12th, 2020.

In Oct 2019, new merchandise was released, including dolls, storybooks, the novel Forest of Shadows, apparel, and more. The Frozen 2 soundtrack was made available for pre-order, and Frozen II-themed food and beverages were also introduced at Disney World.

In Oct 2020, similar releases included new books, the novel Dangerous Secrets, toys, apparel, and costumes—just like in 2019. A trailer for the short film Once Upon a Snowman was released, and there was a digital event called the "Frozen Virtual Playdate," which featured activities like sing-alongs, choreographed dance lessons, and a how-to-draw Olaf session.

Alright, that's everything I’ve experienced and googled, again correct me if I'm wrong 😂 And lastly I'm really looking forward to this upcoming Frozen Fan Fest, hope we'll get new Frozen contents 😍

[choicesficwriterscreations]

April Creator of the Month: Aallotarenunelma

Each month, CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers or artists, and this month’s creator of the month is the lovely @aallotarenunelma! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page. Past COTM's can be found here.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog My Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? 

Aallotar is fine. I am agender. My pronouns are they/them.

More below...

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I saw the app being highlighted a lot in Google Play in 2017, but it was only at the end of February-beginning of March 2018 that I downloaded it. It was when Perfect Match 1 started releasing and shortly before Bloodbound 1 began releasing. Time is flying!

There were already a lot of books, and it was a bit overwhelming. I chose the series that was being heavily advertised: The Royal Romance.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined the Choices sub-Reddit in July 2019, then the Tumblr fandom in April 2020.

I first joined the sub because I wanted to discuss the books and the characters, and hopefully befriending other players. It was lonely to read the books, and having no one to share my opinions and theories with. Then, I took a step back from it and after lurking a bit, I joined the Tumblr community. 

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

When I joined Tumblr, in April 2020, it was initially to be a Writblr. I was writing a story about a heroine named Aallotar. Its title gave my blog’s URL. My blog’s title is its English translation: Aallotar’s dream.

In the end, my blog turned into a bit of everything.

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

This is my very first post. This is my original writing, conveniently mentioned right above. :)

5- Do you write fanfiction, create fan art, or are you one of those really gifted people who do both? 

I define myself as an artist because I create. This is how I express myself. It doesn’t matter if the pencil I use is to write or to draw as long as I create. Before I started learning how to draw, I was always saying that I was drawing with words. To me, this is what writing is. I draw and paint with my words to depict stories that my characters want me to tell.

I mostly write, but I also create fan art, such as sketches and various kinds of edits: quotes, sprites, moodboards, etc. 

6- How long have you been creating for Choices and for any other fandoms?

For the defunct app Lovestruck, from December 2020 to October 2021.

For Choices, since April-May 2020. 

7- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to create for?

My all-time favourite Choices book is Veil of Secrets. I adore it!

I heavily create for the It Lives Anthology - the three books - and also for Immortal Desires. I love these books so much that I made a crossover, and most of the characters from the Anthology and from ID have met and even befriended each other.

8- Share your first Choices fanfic or fan art that you posted with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were creating it today?

My first Choices fiction is a Blades one: Of Stardust and Light.

I still love it and I wouldn’t change anything - except the typos and the clumsy grammar/syntax, due to the fact I am not an English-native speaker.

For a long time, I thought it was my masterpiece, that I wouldn’t write something as good or even as better than this. But I proved myself wrong in the end.

The other reason why I wouldn’t rewrite it now is because I have definitively stopped writing for my Blades pairing, Tyril x Soile. I made it official a few months ago, and this decision is final.

9- What is your favorite piece of fiction or art that you created? 

It’s really hard to choose only one, but I do have a soft spot for Répondez, S’il Vous Plaît ! #3 because this is where I tell about my OCs’ Ash and Skylar’s meeting. It was a story I wanted to write for a long time and I love it.

Chronicles of a Crimson Summer deserves to be mentioned as well. This is the longest story I have shared here, and it’s a real balance of angst, fluff, and funny moments. Also, because its birth was extremely painful, so for all of these reasons, I am glad I wrote it and shared it.

10- Do you have a fic/art that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to do well but found it could use a little more love?

I never expect anything I share to be well received, whether it’s a fiction or a drawing. I’m only sharing it, hoping that at least someone will find it and enjoy it. Even better if it helps the person in any way.

That said, sharing my art remains a lot more difficult than sharing my writing, so any art reblog is leaving me a bit confused, due to my imposter syndrome.

Most people here who are familiar with my stories have read some of the funny stories I have shared, as well as the fluffiest stories I have ever written - sometimes too fluffy for me. 

However, this isn’t only what my writing is about. Darker Than Night has generated so much indifference that it saddens me.

This series really shows what my writing is, minus the layer of humour that you can usually expect. It truly deserves better, just like In Joy and Sorrow, that actually gives a good idea of what my writing really is.

11- (WRITERS) If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

I usually share a lot of fluff here, because the world outside is hard, so I want to uplift people with sweet and funny stories. However, my original writing is usually angsty with some funny and fluffy moments to alleviate all the angst a little. So, I’m choosing angst. Definitely. To me, writing angst is comforting.

11a - (ARTISTS) If you could only draw one style or type of art for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? 

I could easily do oil pastels for the rest of my life. It’s an easy technique to learn, it’s very forgiving, it’s calming, and I love how it looks.

12 - Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

I am agender and aspec, so in any non-binary and/or aspec MC / OC of mine can be found parts of me, regardless of how they define themselves on those large spectrums. Representation is highly important to me, so this is one of the recurring themes in my writing.

Also, the witty/sarcastic and playful characters are easy to write because I know them too well!

13 - What element of writing/art do you struggle with most?

Finding the right word is difficult, either in English or in my native tongue. I always want to capture the emotion, the feeling, the landscape with the perfect word. I’m still learning in my daily life.

Regarding my art, at the level I am right now, that would be shadows. Sometimes, they look great, but they often don’t. Practice makes perfect, so this is what I do whenever I can.

14 - Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

I tend to have only one WIP that I see to end. One reason for this is that I usually write my stories in a notebook, before I type them down to share them. The state of the notebook is not always great; I even sometimes struggle to re-read what I corrected!

If it’s about my original work, then, yes, I want to finish that one novel’s second draft.

15 - If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to see your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you show them first? 

It has actually happened with one of my siblings. At that time, I was only writing for Blades and had maybe like five stories posted. I let my sibling read them because we are close. For other people, I think it would be on a case-by-case basis, but most likely not. I'd rather make them read my original writing, if my shyness isn’t getting in the way.

16 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing or art? Are there any artists that influence you?

Émile Zola and Arto Paasilinna are my all-time favourite writers.

I am learning from every fanfiction writer I am reading. First, because I read in a foreign language. Second, because I believe you learn from everyone every day.

In terms of art, I don’t think I have a particular influence. I am still exploring my style.

17- (WRITERS)  Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

It would be In Joy and Sorrow. I created this It Lives in the Woods AU series to give a life to my first MC, Riikka. The one she couldn’t have. In this series, I talk about close friendships, coming outs, being bilingual/bicultural, how to navigate a romantic relationship as an aspec*, how to deal with bullying/harassment, etc. I talk about timeline collapse and time-travelling as well.

And because there’s the most delightful OC ever, my all-time favourite: Ash. He truly is one of a kind and his friendship with Dan is really something special.

*aspec: a person on the aromantic and asexual spectrums.

18 - (ARTISTS) Which one of your creations would you like to see a fiction written about? 

I don’t have any yet that would justify the honor of having a fiction being written about.

19- Do you write original fiction or create non-fandom art? 

I started writing when I was 10 years old. It was thanks to an assignment for my native tongue class when we were studying the structure of a fairytale. I really enjoyed writing one, so I kept writing over the summer. Little stories about everything and nothing.

I wrote my first novel when I was 13, but never dared to send it to a publisher. I kept writing novels - and not sending them, I have a nice collection, now! - and branching out in other forms of writing, in hope to develop as a writer: rpg forums, poetry, (fan)fictions, creative writing course, etc. I took a ten year break from writing (fan)fictions before returning to them.

I am working on the second draft of a novel about grief, and I have three other different novels already outlined.

Regarding art, I mostly create non-fandom art.

20-  What other hobbies do you have?

Except writing and drawing; I paint murals and do oil pastel; I do theatre; I design and crochet my own clothes.

I enjoy watching old films, Hollywood era and silent ones included, but modern films as well, if they are excellent.

I love learning foreign languages, listening to music and going to gigs.

I am also a true race car enthusiast, preferably Formula races - F1 to F4, Formula Regional included.

I also enjoy going for walks in nature and travelling.

21: Tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

I want to thank CFWC for highlighting me, and giving me the chance to talk more about my characters, my stories, my writing and my art. This means a lot, especially as this month is also when I’m celebrating my 4 year Tumblr Anniversary.

Thank you for your support throughout these years!

I want to thank so many people, but I’m also scared to miss any of them!

Thank you to my friends, old and new. 💛

Thank you to everyone who has read and reblogged my stories and left kudos and comments on them. It has been helping me so much in believing in myself and my writing.

Thank you to everyone who has reblogged my art and my edits and left comments on them.

Thank you to every talented person who has gifted me a piece of their beautiful art, written or not, anonymously or not.

Thank you to everyone who has asked about my characters and my stories.

Thank you to everyone who has sent me positive and uplifting messages.

Lastly, thank you to every single person who has supported me these past months, in many different ways. Your kindness and your presence have made a difference, and I am grateful for those and for you all.

And a special shoutout to my fellow rainbow creators! 🌈

[pers-books]

Lesbians in Space: The Anthology (Where No Man Has Gone Before)

Booktopia 2024 📚#Fantasy#Indie#Sci-Fi

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You've asked for it, so Space Wizard provides. Here is the long-anticipated Lesbians In Space Anthology!

Space Wizard Science Fantasy!

Space Wizard Science Fantasy is a queer science fiction and fantasy indie publishing company which opened its doors in 2021 to publishing outside authors. - In 2022, the Space Wizard Science Fantasy Year 1 campaign raised nearly $18,000 to pay authors top rates, create amazing book covers, fund an audiobook recording, and publish 12 books between June 2022 and June 2023. - In 2023, Year 2 raised over $18,000 for 12 more books released from June 2023 to June 2024 with more excellent covers, custom illustrations, and pro rates for our anthology writers! This year we added exclusive collector's hardbacks! - In 2024, Year 3 just concluded in July with another $17,250 raised for for 13 books, one omnibus, and 2 TTRPGs!

We're back again this September for one more anthology, this time with a bunch of incredible authors participating in Booktopia. Lesbians in Space has a stellar (ha!) lineup of writers already on board, including (in order of confirmation):

- Seanan McGuire, multiple Hugo Award-winning author of the Wayward Children series, the October Daye series, and the Incryptid series!

- Travis Baldree, author of Legends and Lattes, shortlisted for the Hugo Award for best novel in 2023, as well as exceptional audiobook narrator!

- Emma Newman, Hugo Award-winning podcaster and author of the Planetfall series, which was shortlisted for the Best Series Hugo Award in 2020!

- Mary Robinette Kowal. Hugo Award-winner Mary Robinette Kowal has written: The Spare Man, The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, the Lady Astronaut Universe, and many short stories.

Also see our "writers" section below for our current roster, and for how you can submit your story!

Lesbians in Space: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Peanut butter and chocolate. Cheese and wine. Sex and rock n’ roll. History is full of great pairings.

Get ready for the next great one: Lesbians and Space! Join a host of intrepid explorers heading to the outer reaches of the galaxy, exploring planets, space stations, strange new worlds and interesting aliens. Focusing on lesbian / sapphic protagonists, this anthology will contain works from numerous established, award-winning, and lesfic authors, and a few new faces as well.

We have an amazing cover already created by Serene Chia, and we have a bunch of great addons and gifts for you as well! This anthology is going to be packed with fully-inclusive, sapphic stories about space, space opera, science fiction, exploration, adventure, and of course, romance. The stories will have representation of all sorts, including cis, trans, bi, sapphic, non-binary, ace, aro, and many other types. There's lots of room for Lesbians in Space!

We have our invited group of writers already working on stories for the anthology, but we're opening up to any and all submissions as well! So if you're a writer, polish off your best story about Lesbians in Space, and send it in!

Are you a writer? Do you like Lesbians in Space? We will be holding juried selections for more stories for the Lesbians in Space anthology. To enter, simply polish off your writing skills and craft a story of around 2000-4500 words, but definitely not over 6000.

This anthology will focus on lesbian relationships of all types, including cis, bi/pan, ace, non-binary, intersex, trans, and others that fall under the ‘sapphic’ banner as long as the primary pairing is lesbian. Give us your best story featuring sapphic protagonists at least partially located in space. This could be on a spaceship, with magic, on a planet or asteroid, in another dimension or realm, or any other connected idea. Surprise us!

Stories will be juried and final selections will be made (hopefully) by end of January 2025. Projected publish date is June 2025. Selected authors will be compensated at semi-pro rates or higher. Send your completed story in by midnight EST, December 31st, 2024 using the instructions at https://www.spacewizardsciencefantasy.com/submissions We are hoping to publish Lesbians in Space around June 2025.

-- I've just backed this as it looks absolutely fabulous!

[nicromancytarot]

so how did you manage to find the exact name of your spouse thats quite cool!

It’s a long story in all honesty. 2022 I liked this guy, and I stumbled across pick a cards on YouTube, I watched one about my future spouse and it mentioned some specific things that unfortunately for 2022 me did not add up with the guy I liked. At the end of 2022 I interacted with my future spouse unknowingly, and he’s always been under my nose which sounds insane and creepy at the same time. My friend sent me a video of him in 2021 and I had no idea who he was, I used an audio of him on tiktok in 2022 and still hasn’t a clue of his existence, even as far back to 2020 when I saw him on youtube and vowed to never watch his content ‼️

He’s somewhat in the influencing space if you can’t already tell (I’ll keep his name private for the sake of both of our privacies and timing, since obviously things can change) so I didn’t think much of it. Then mid 2023 I got back into Tarot and pick a cards, I was feeling really demotivated so I decided to watch some about my future spouse again, same thing as always happens, I put two and two together and was like “oh, hang on a minute” then bro got semi cancelled and I was onto bigger and greater things, hoping Louis Partridge was my husband instead 😔

I always felt verrrry drawn to this person no matter what and it pissed me off cus this was my era of loving Miguel Ohara and wishing that he was real, but it was spoiled by this man being on my mind. So around 5 months later I got back into his content (very loosely) and I was a tad more content with him being my future spouse.

I then started learning more about astrology, he hasn’t got many chart analysis posts about him as he’s not mainstream or anything, but the ones that he does have, the “soulmate” ones weirdly describe me and it’s creepy, because it makes me feel parasocial, I only know one other person with a “famous” future spouse so I don’t really know how to feel about it, since there’s so many unsuspecting, but it’s weird to know who you’re going to marry.

Another thing I should probably say is that my spirit guides don’t hide much from me anymore, the start of 2023 they gave me a blob of information about the universe and how it works and all these things about the afterlife (which again, makes me sound psycho, so I don’t speak about it) I’m writing a book on it, have been for the last year, it’s definitely going to be a lot when I one day release it lmao, but because of them telling me all this stuff, they don’t really care to hide my future spouse’s identity for me, I think they figured that it will motivate me to actually get my ass up and become who I want to become so we can meet.

But going back to the astrology, I was told by my spirit guides via pendulum that I was going to meet him at 21, that was told to me October last year, December last year I was looking through our astrology transits, we both have a 5th house (love and relationships) transit on November 24th 2026, 14 days after my 21st birthday. So that was certainly confirmation lmao. His 7th house ruler (where you could meet) in astrocartography goes over the country I live in, and my 7th house ruler also goes over that place too, so again, very strange.

During my October pendulum time, I spoke with one of my great grandparents who had a specific message for me, and she proceeded to spell out his name, so that’s how I know that lmao.

I’ve done so many readings on it since because it does make you feel absolutely, incredibly insane and possibly out of your mind, and they’ve always added up. I did a “how he’s going to meet his future spouse” and then mine, they added up too much, it was terrifying (bro feels rejected by me, L) and I also asked for confirmation a few nights later for just a single sign that he is indeed my future spouse, I pulled AT THE SAME TIME the lovers and two of cups, I genuinely sobbed when I realised I could’ve recorded it, it’s the craziest thing that’s happened to me in Tarot I swear.

I also received a few readings since during exchanges and games where people have straight up confirmed that he is who I think he is. So hopefully we both make the right decisions to be together in the end, it’s definitely not an opportunity I plan on missing out on.

I can’t lie, knowing your future spouse is hard, especially if they’re somewhat someone you look up to, I’m not necessarily a “fan” of him, I don’t really interact with his content anymore, I haven’t really done so since early 2023, but I feel guilty for not doing so now as of who he is to me, and who he shall be. I constantly have doubts about it, my guides get pissed off at me all the time because I’m always asking for confirmation or searching for something, but really all I know now is that if I make all the right choices, and he does too, then we will become what we will be, but for now I guess I feel isolated in that.

I won’t get into the whole negative side of knowing your future spouse, unless some asks me to lmao, it’s certainly too much for this already too long rant.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk xoxo

[foxes-that-run]

What are your thoughts on haylor meeting up in late 2016? Do you think there was a slight chance of them getting back together, and do you think they would've made it if they did get back together? I know Taylor chose the safest option, but Harrry and her didn't even seem to talk things out, so why even meet in the first place? Didn't Taylor tell him she loves someone else, too? It's so confusing...

I think they did, there are enough crumbs to give it plausible and they both spent November and December in LA and London respectively. But this is in the same time the Joe stuff was starting so who knows.

This got long, sorry. The TLDNR is:

the canon is Taylor met Joe at the Met, dated Tom, broke up and in October 2016 went to Joe's premiere and started dating him. Although Joe was not in the same country as Taylor for most of that time. In May 2017 they went public and were seen 20 times before Reputation came out in November, it was super public.

An alternate timeline is that after Hendall and Hiddleswift both ended within a month and before Joe/Taylor and Harry/Tess Ward went public within a week the haylor sightings, being in the same city, songs, gifts, blind items, edited videos and friend comments were because they were secretly dating again.

because....

24 August - Hiddleswift over

22 September - Hendall break up again.

28 September - Taylor with Cara, Harry MIA, released Another Man covers/mixtape, Joe London.

October - Harry was in Jamaica recording HS1. Joe in London on 3rd. On 13th Joe and Taylor at Bowery enter separately. Joe is in NY for the Billy Lynn Long Halftime Walk promo tour so unlikely to have ample days ahead in NY given the films budget.

11 October - Taylor went to Joe's movie screening and the Rep book has a 19 November polaroid captioned "how would you feel about having a song written about you?"

3 November - Both are in LA for November with HS1 recorded.

25 November - Harry was seen in LA then disappeared for a week. Taylor posted a lot of photos of friendsgiving in RI. Joe not there. Taylor posted photos so would only show who was public.

28 November - is the first clue things may have been back on in a few months (apart from having both been in LA). Gemma (Harry's sister), Lou Teasdale (Harry's close friend & 1D stylist), Sam Campbell (Lou's sister and friend of Harry, married to one of Harry's friends too) go to Karaoke and post lyrics to WANGBT and Sam captions it "talk to my friends". 👀

Haylor Secrets posts that they are together, which.. that account may be totally fake, or making it up, but had been right about stuff

December - Both in London, IDWLF released, Taylor has a birthday party at her London House the Rep magazine photos are in, Harry MIA but in London. On 28 December there was an unconfirmed sighting of them together and Taylor gave Austin a record signed by friends of Harry's. He thanked them and the band commented that it was signed for 'a friends little brother' who turned out to be Taylor Swift.' Harry knew them for years and Sam Campbell commented 'LOL'

31 December - in 2020 7 photos of Taylor & Joe getting ready in her London house leaked with this date given. Why only 7? The date of the New Years Eve jumping into an icy pool story Taylor Nation edited out. If the story was about Joe why would it be edited out?

3 January 2017 - Lover journal that Taylor has been with someone for 3 months, no one has found out and she is living in London. It had been 3.1 months since the Hendall break up and 2.5 months since Joe got to NY. .....

7 January - Harry records Lately where he sings 'I don't believe what you're saying to me, "that I love him"'

13 January - Taylor records DWOHT and the IDWLF music video.

1 February - Harry's birthday, the rose ring appears. Taylor is in NY/Nashville, Harry NY/London and Joe in London.

April - Harry's Rolling Stone interview where he leaves the table when Taylor is brought up and says he wants to tip is hat to her about 1989, and give his whole cap to the muse of HS1, now over.

7 May - Harry seen with Tess Ward, the first time he has been seen with anyone since having dinner with Kendall in September.

16 May - a week later The Sun reports Joe and Taylor dating 'for months'. First time Taylor seen with anyone romantically since August

Even longer versions are in the 2016 and 2017 timelines.

[the-inheritance-games]

Ok so I was going to post my theory on why I thought jlb was going to announce a new book/novella as the last card later today but then of course this amazing fandom somehow got a synopsis and found it on good reads idek how, but I was going to post this breakdown from evidence I gathered from stalking jlb’s insta but now I’m posting it to show a timeline of when she was Writting this book and how much of a mastermind jlb is.

This going to be long so buckle in

Ok so let’s begin on October 3 2022, jlb announces TBH as the new book in the TIG universe, single handedly returning my will to live after the heartbreak I endured when Grayson ended up even more sad and alone in TFG 😭

Then we fast forward to Dec. 14 2022, we see that jlb is Writting the Grandest games.

Fast forward even more and we start getting updates about how the book is going and about her Writting process (scroll 2)

And then on March 10 2023, she turns in the first draft of TGG

This is where things get interesting, mind you at this point we know about TBH and TGG openly, but she starts talking about another secret project she’s working on, using #secret project, (March 20, 2023) (scroll 3)

She also says that she has been working on this on and off for 2.5 years (from March 2023), which if you go back is late 2020-early 2021. Which also happens to be right around the same time she was writting THL (wrote tig in 2019, released in 2020, wrote thl in 2020, released in 2021, etc)

Why is this fact important?

Bc jlb has openly stated that thl is the book she has planted the most clues/ Easter eggs in. It’s also arguably the best and most important book in the triology. (Argue with the wall if you disagree)

It’s the book where we get the most backstory and information on who this family is. I can imagine jlb Writting the book and delving into this world and, for example Toby’s past and his relationship to Avery’s mom and her past, and coming up with all these ideas she can’t really write into thl in much detail bc those events where in the past.

If she started Writting this novella, backstory, prequel, whatever during this time it would make total sense. It would also give her a chance to answer all those unanswered questions that where left while also doing us some fan service.

Now fast forward, she keeps updating on the grandest games and at the same time posting about writting this secret project, but most recently (February 7 2024) she posted this

She states that her secret project, the novella book that she has been Writting, her secret, is not going to be a secret for much longer, just a week before the vault opened, and 13 days (in Taylor swift we trust) before this all happens.

It was right there infront of us and yet we didn’t see it coming.

So yeah, she’s been Writting this book and compilation of stories for a while now, starting from when she was Writting thl. I was going to use this convince y’all her secret was a book could be a prequel but I don’t have to anymore but still I find it so interesting and I just got this out of my drafts bc why not. I had a hunch for a while but this is honestly better than I could have imagined, if it is what we are seeing :)

[fullscoreshenanigans]

hello, i was late to the fandom so i might have missed out on this discourse but do we ever find out the real content of Ray's letter to Isabella? Is it something of a plot point the author hasn't developed in canon? If so, what would the plot be you think? Thank you so much!!

Same hat, anon 😎🤝😎 (coming up on my third anniversary of first discovering the series just this month)

Shirai has never officially, explicitly stated in an interview what's in the letter Ray writes in chapter 22/S1 episode 7, but I've talked about this before and personally find it funny how he made a big deal out of the mystery surrounding it back in a 2019 Jump interview (translated here):

When I feel most people’s first guess as to what was in it after the escape arc concluded was eventually confirmed in December 2020 with the release of chapter 181.3:

A farewell letter from a son to his mother that reveals their biological connection when headquarters purposely kept it a secret.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)

It's meant to be such a huge revelation it stops Krone in her tracks and deters her from digging around in Ray's room further to discover the rewards he's been receiving for six years and the lighter fluid he's been stockpiling for five.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 Q& A | Chapter 22; Krone evens whips out records she brought along in her suitcase from headquarters to corroborate what she's read.)

I've also talked before about how Ray's retaliation was threefold in its pettiness, and this letter falls into points 2 & 3. After years of bottling up his anger and resentment toward her, he wanted to incriminate her by implicating she at very least knew about the escape, potentially that she even helped with it, all because she knew of their biological connection and wanted him to survive (the same thing he wished she would have said to him back on his sixth birthday at the gate):

(Chapter 181.1)

He found it sickening how she could choose to prolong her own life by sacrificing all his siblings over the course of her tenure at Grace Field. With this, he thought he would seal her death at the hands of the demons she groveled before like a dog, while he would die on his own terms as a human.

(Chapter 14)

What he didn't count on was Isabella's prioritizing results over rules was something that was enabled by her mother, to the point they were willing to remove Krone from plant no.3 altogether.

(Chapter 23 | Chapter 181.3)

Ray assumed Krone did not have the means to contact headquarters like Isabella did, so she would keep the bait and bide her time until presented with the opportunity to reveal it to someone higher in the chain of command. Ray assumed Krone would still be at Grace Field at the time of the escape, and that after he was dead and the four other oldest kids were gone and headquarters was looking for an explanation for how a blunder of this magnitude could have possibly happened, Krone would show her hand to usurp Isabella's position.

It's why he's so caught off-guard when Isabella reveals she made a move first.

(Chapter 24)

As for why Shirai gave conflicting information about this, I'm assuming he wanted to leave the door open for multiple possibilities before his health tanked and he began aggressively cutting off story branches so he could still complete the series under his own power and maintain his sense of artistic integrity.

(October 2020 Series Completion Interview)

And that's how we arrive at the contents of the letter being what a lot of fans suspected from the jump.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nick Anderson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 8, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 08, 2024

“It’s been a tradition for more than half a century that the major party candidates for president sit down with 60 Minutes in October,” host Scott Pelley said to the camera last night before 60 Minutes aired an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. This year, both Harris and Republican nominee former president Donald Trump accepted an invitation for an interview.

“Then a week ago,” Pelley said, “Trump backed out. The campaign offered shifting explanations. First it complained that we would fact-check the interview. We fact-check every story,” Pelley said. “Later, Trump said he needed an apology for his interview in 2020. Trump claims correspondent Leslie Stahl said in that interview that Hunter Biden’s controversial laptop came from Russia. She never said that.

“Trump has said his opponent doesn’t do interviews because she can’t handle them. He had previously declined another debate with Harris, so tonight may have been the largest audience for the candidates between now and election day. Our questions addressed the economy, immigration, reproductive rights, and the wars in the Middle East and Europe. Both campaigns understood this special would go ahead if either candidate backed out.”

And with that, 60 Minutes aired its interview with Vice President Harris.

Trump broke a fifty-year tradition so his false world would not be challenged by reality. He apparently wants to make sure voters cannot base their decisions about the country’s future on facts. Hiding reality is in keeping with his continued refusal to release his tax returns or a medical report—even after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania—or the video from the incident at Arlington National Cemetery, instead insisting that people take him at his word about what happened. 

If voters trust his disinformation campaign, rather than thinking things through for themselves, who will his policies help? 

A bombshell story from a forthcoming book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward today revealed that in 2020, when he was president, Trump secretly shipped Covid-19 testing equipment to Russian president Vladimir Putin for his own personal use at a time when Americans could not get it.  

A Trump aide told Woodward that Trump and Putin have spoken as many as seven times since Trump left the White House, prompting Edward Luce of the Financial Times to comment: “What possible business could an out-of-office U.S. president have to call Vladimir Putin seven times?” Woodward recounts a moment when Trump told a senior aide to leave the room so “he could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin.” 

The Woodward book also says that when South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham was visiting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, in March 2024, Graham said “Hey, let’s call Trump.” According to Woodward, an aide brought MBS a bag full of burner phones, one of which was labeled “TRUMP 45.”

This news highlights the fact that Trump retained classified documents when he left the White House, carrying them with him to Mar-a-Lago, where he tried to hide them from federal officials. A grand jury indicted him on 37 felony counts for those actions, but Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, dismissed the case in July after concluding that Special Counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed.  

Trump’s campaign came out swinging after the story broke, with Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung calling Woodward “a total sleazebag who has lost it mentally.”

In contrast to Trump’s disinformation campaign, Vice President Harris is running a normal campaign, offering policy proposals. Today she proposed a plan to permit Medicare to help cover the costs of long-term home health care aides for seniors. Harris announced the plan on ABC’s The View, where she spoke of the so-called sandwich generation, people—mostly women—who are taking care of their elderly parents at the same time they are also taking care of children. “[I]t’s just almost impossible to do it all, especially if they work,” Harris said, adding that many end up having to leave their jobs. She also called for Medicare to cover vision and hearing care to enable seniors to live independently for longer.  

Harris said the money to pay for the new services will come from savings realized through Medicare’s new ability to negotiate drug prices—an ability Republicans are eager to end—and through cracking down on Medicare fraud. A fact sheet about the plan emphasizes that it will enable the government to work with the private sector to expand the home care workforce and provide more access to telehealth. 

Her plan also calls for stopping states from seizing family homes of recently deceased Medicaid beneficiaries to restore funding, a program called “Medicaid estate recovery.” Those seizures particularly hurt rural and minority populations, she noted, preventing them from building wealth. 

Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times note that both expanded home care benefits and drug negotiations are popular. KFF, which conducts health policy research, reports that Medicaid estate recovery has been criticized because it “falls primarily on individuals with limited incomes, raises little revenue, and is applied very unevenly across the states.” 

Deepa Shivaram of NPR noted that a relatively large percentage of middle-aged and older women remain undecided in this race and Harris’s plan speaks to their needs. The plan would also bring more money and care workers into rural towns with aging populations, giving those areas an economic boost.  

In a fact sheet, the Harris-Walz campaign noted that Trump is focused on tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, has repeatedly called for cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and gave clemency to those abusing the system. As Amy B. Wang and Azi Paybarah explained in the Washington Post: “In his last year in office, Trump commuted the sentences of at least five people who collectively filed nearly $1.6 billion in fraudulent claims through Medicare or Medicaid.”

On The View, Harris said, “In this election, people are ready for a new generation of leadership that’s about fixing problems.” 

The 2020 60 Minutes interview for which Trump demanded an apology last week was the one in which he promised his health care plan was “fully developed,” then angrily walked out. His exit was apparently planned, for shortly after his departure, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany walked up to Stahl with a giant book, saying: “Lesley, the President wanted me to deliver his health care plan. It’s a little heavy.”

Trump and McEnany likely expected that the audience would remember their theatrical move rather than the reality, which was that the book contained no Trump healthcare plan because one didn’t exist. 

Four years later, it still doesn’t. Trump said at the September 10 presidential debate that he has the “concepts of a plan.”

CNN today set a deadline of Thursday for Trump to accept its invitation for an October 23 presidential debate. Harris has already accepted. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[yuurei20]

hello!! ive always loved ur work, with answers and theories and explanations towards twst which is honestly helpful to a newbie fan like me. i have been wondering if there is a set timeline of the main story happenings and events? like which events happened during or between main story happenings?

Hello hello!! Thank you so much, you are very much too kind ^^ And thank you for this question!

There does not seem to be an official, set timeline that includes events! And, what more, there seems to be timeline-weirdness that has been inserted intentionally in order to make ensure a clean mesh of event- and main-story-content impossible to achieve (at the moment) 👀

Previous posts have touched upon things like the main story timeline overall, the overblotting timeline specifically and a potential, event-inclusive reading order (version 1 / version 2).

In the "reading order" posts there is more detail about the timeline that the game seems to have set for itself only to intentionally break, and the main two points might be Ortho and unique magics :>

First released in August of 2020, Wish Upon a Star is one of the game's earliest events. It establishes two important points that 1) Ortho is not a student at NRC and 2) the Star Rogue sequel is released.

But then we come to August of 2021 and Book 6 of the Main Story, wherein the Star Rogue sequel has yet to be released, and Ortho enrolls at NRC.

The game did not have to emphasize Ortho's lack of student-ship or the release of Star Rogue in the event, but it did, thus rendering it impossible for Wish Upon a Star and Book 6 to take place in the same timeline (as we know it) 👀

And then we have the unique magics: Deuce and Epel learn theirs in Books 5 and 6 respectively, and these magics come up again in Glorious Masquerade.

And Glorious Masquerade takes place on October 31st.

But the VDC (where Deuce learns his unique magic) and Book 6 (where Epel learns his) both take place in mid-February, and the start of the school year at NRC is in September.

This means that it is impossible for Glorious Masquerade to be before February, but equally impossible for it to be after February!

To return to the initial question: No, I do not think that there is a set timeline of the main story and events! And it is also possible that the game has been designed intentionally so that we cannot make one based on the information we have at the moment, but there are theories 👀