#March 2025 Google Update

[lordsmerchantco]

The Google Core Update – March 2025: What You Need to Know

Table of Contents Introduction Understanding Google Core Updates Overview of the March 2025 Core Update Key Changes and Trends Impact on Websites and Rankings Case Study: Websites Affected by the Update SEO Experiments and Findings Impact on Click-Through Rates (CTR) Impact on Conversions and Revenue Sentiments of B2B and B2C Audiences Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels People…

[prasaddhumal82]

Google Search Ranking volatility April 22nd and 23rd

SEO professionals and webmasters are once again witnessing significant Google Search ranking volatility over the past few days, particularly between April 21 and April 23, 2025. While there’s no official confirmation of a Google algorithm update during this period, the evidence strongly suggests another round of ranking algorithm testing or adjustments. Unofficial Yet Consistent Volatility Across…

[4seohelp]

March 2025 Google Core Update

On March 13, 2025, Google released its first major core update of the year. The last core update was in December 2024, followed by a spam update. This new update is called the March 2025 Core Update. Google shared this news on LinkedIn through its official page, Google Search Central. They said the update will help show better and more useful content from websites. Google wants to make sure that…

[promfly]

Google's March 2025 Core Update, initiated on March 13, 2025, aims to enhance search quality by emphasizing content helpfulness, reducing spam, and addressing site reputation abuse. Key changes include improved evaluation of content quality, a crackdown on low-quality AI-generated content, and a focus on user engagement metrics. Website owners should monitor performance and prioritize high-quality, user-centric content.

[digitalpreeyam-seoexpert]

Google constantly updates its search algorithm to improve user experience and provide the most relevant results. These updates range from minor tweaks to major changes that significantly impact website rankings. Google’s primary goal is to enhance search accuracy, combat spam, and prioritize high-quality content.

Key updates like Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, RankBrain, BERT, and Helpful Content Update have reshaped SEO strategies over the years. In recent times, Google’s focus has shifted towards AI-driven search, E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), and Core Web Vitals for better page experience.

For SEOs and businesses, staying updated on algorithm changes is crucial to maintaining online visibility. Regularly monitoring Google Search Console, following SEO best practices, and focusing on user-centric content can help websites adapt effectively. As Google continues evolving, those who prioritize quality content, user experience, and ethical SEO strategies will stay ahead in the search game.

[nausallien]

THE SIMS 3 STORE PRE-INSTALLED

Today marks 25 years of The Sims. Since EA forgot TS3 exists, I’m releasing the entire The Sims 3 Store as an Anniversary Gift. It's all pre-installed and works flawlessly!

It comes with all available fixes and collection folders I’ve personally created for every set. You'll get over 5000 new Buy/Build and CAS items, 11 new worlds, and tons of new gameplay!

INSTRUCTIONS

Go to "Documents/Electronic Arts" and rename the "The Sims 3" folder (or move it).

Create a new folder and name it "The Sims 3" (or whatever the name is in your language).

Extract the contents of the ZIP file in "The Sims 3." Now launch the game.

You'll have to adjust your setting again. Don't forget to disable the in-game Store so you don't get duplicates.

Quit the game. Copy the "Saves" folder from the folder you have previously renamed. You can also copy your Mods and CC in package format.

CAUTION

Never copy over or overwrite the DCCache folder.

If you have content installed through the Launcher (Sims3Pack), you'll have to reinstall it.

I strongly recommend you don't install things through the Launcher from now. It already has a lot of content and it is a known fact the Launcher becomes more and more unstable the more content it has to handle.

Since the entire Store has been decrapified, if you want to install lots or world that contain Store content, you'll have to decrapify those too using MATY's TS3 Recompressor.

I had a report that there was an invisible top in CAS. It doesn't seem to have a CASP resource so it shouldn't cause any issues (like being assigned to a random Sim). It's best to avoid it or hide it or blacklist it using NRaas mods. Do NOT try to save the game while your Sim is "wearing" this invisible top.

UPDATE #1: MARCH 2025

Added some missing content: the Mother Russia CAS Set and the Cool Chap Cap that was given as a secret bonus item in the "Make Me an Offer" page. If there's something else missing, please let me now.

Now NRaas MasterController and the Cheats and Integration modules are included in the pack. This version NRaas MC comes with CAS Compact Mode enabled by default. This should fix the issue of blank/invisible CAS items and also speed up the loading of CAS items. Keep in mind, these mods aren't compatible with Lazy Duchess' Smooth Path, but you can have both. Her mod will automatically disable the fast loading of CAS items.

If you encounter any issues, feel free to reach out to me. I've put a lot of effort into making the installation process as smooth and straightforward as possible. Dag Dag!

DOWNLOAD FROM GOOGLE DRIVE

[reasonsforhope]

"The first satellite in a constellation designed specifically to locate wildfires early and precisely anywhere on the planet has now reached Earth's orbit, and it could forever change how we tackle unplanned infernos.

The FireSat constellation, which will consist of more than 50 satellites when it goes live, is the first of its kind that's purpose-built to detect and track fires. It's an initiative launched by nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance, which includes Google and Silicon Valley-based space services startup Muon Space as partners, among others.

According to Google, current satellite systems rely on low-resolution imagery and cover a particular area only once every 12 hours to spot significantly large wildfires spanning a couple of acres. FireSat, on the other hand, will be able to detect wildfires as small as 270 sq ft (25 sq m) – the size of a classroom – and deliver high-resolution visual updates every 20 minutes.

The FireSat project has only been in the works for less than a year and a half. The satellites are fitted with custom six-band multispectral infrared cameras, designed to capture imagery suitable for machine learning algorithms to accurately identify wildfires – differentiating them from misleading objects like smokestacks.

These algorithms look at an image from a particular location, and compare it with the last 1,000 times it was captured by the satellite's camera to determine if what it's seeing is indeed a wildfire. AI technology in the FireSat system also helps predict how a fire might spread; that can help firefighters make better decisions about how to control the flames safely and effectively.

This could go a long way towards preventing the immense destruction of forest habitats and urban areas, and the displacement of residents caused by wildfires each year. For reference, the deadly wildfires that raged across Los Angeles in January were estimated to have cuased more than $250 billion in damages.

Muon is currently developing three more satellites, which are set to launch next year. The entire constellation should be in orbit by 2030.

The FireSat effort isn't the only project to watch for wildfires from orbit. OroraTech launched its first wildfire-detection satellite – FOREST-1 – in 2022, followed by one more in 2023 and another earlier this year. The company tells us that another eight are due to go up toward the end of March."

-via March 18, 2025

[if-whats-new]

What's New In IF? Issue 3 (2025)

By Aj, Bex, Dion, Briar and Peter

Now Available!

Itch.io - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people see it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

It’s time for a revival!

As you might have noticed, our Column section has been dead for a while. We feel like it’s time to do something about that!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

Send us a message and we will be happy to feature it in our future Issues!

There’s power in numbers!

Are you an IF fan and would like a way to give back to the community? We’re once again looking for new members of our Team!

Do you enjoy keeping up with updates and finding new gems? Maybe you even enjoy working with Google Sheets?

Then our Tracker of News position is made just for you!

Contact us on any of our socials or email and help us stay on the top of our game and make our Database even better!

AJ, BEX, DION, BRIAR AND PETER

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : Global Game Jam ~

35,371 jammers and 12,098 games, just wow!

The Global Game Jam® (GGJ®) is the world's largest game creation event taking place in physical locations across the globe. Think of it as a 48 hour hackathon focused on game development around a theme.

GGJ’s mission is to stimulate innovation, experimentation, and collaboration in games. The annual event begins on a Friday afternoon in January and kicks off with video keynotes and advice from leaders in the game development industry. The GGJ encourages collaboration and its events are not a competition. Anyone can apply to host a jam site as long as they have a dedicated jam organiser who agrees to follow a few GGJ rules, and a venue with internet access. The event is renown for fostering friendships while increasing confidence and opportunities within participating communities. Each GGJ event poses an intellectual challenge where people are invited to try new technology and tools while exploring new roles and skills.

Be it bubble tea, bubblegum, the housing bubble, soap bubbles, speech bubbles, air bubbles, social bubbles, blowing bubbles, bursting bubbles, and more, this year's theme was: Bubble.

Check out the games here! (There’s a fair share of IF too!)

(source)

~ ENDED ~

Feeling nostalgic about the golden age of text adventures? Relive those days by checking out PunyComp 2024!

IF Short Games Showcase 2024 is a great way to shine some new light on projects made in the past year and the results are now in!

Once upon a time, a game jam was held to create stories around the theme of fairy tales… and that game jam is the Once Upon A Time VN Jam.

The eighth annual Ace Jam is a game jam about creating games with asexual spectrum characters.

~ VOTING ~

ShuffleComp is a musical interactive fiction competition where you make games based on songs, which are submitted by other entrants. You can now vote for your favourites!

Sealed With A Kiss Jam 2025 is a fantastical romance jam for all VN lovers!

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Media depicting healthy examples of polyamory isn’t that common. The PolyJamorous 2024 is trying to break the status-quo!

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.

The Black Visual Novel Jam is all about working with creative professional developers who work in visual novels to bring more Black stories to life. The goal is to create a space where Black creators can show their unique storytelling through visual novels.

SeedComp! is a 2-round interactive fiction game jam, focusing on creativity and the growth of ideas and the Sprouting Round has just started! Check out the Planting round for inspiration.

BL stands for Boys' Love, a genre that focuses on romantic and emotional relationships between male characters. The Ultimate BL Visual Novel Game Jam is all about that!

Are you a fan of Vampires? Then lucky for you, because the Queer Vampire Game Jam is back!

The Make Visual Novel Assets! is 2 weeks long jam for making (surprise, surprise) visual novel assets!

The Smoochie Jam is a month-long unranked jam for interactive fiction about kisses, love, and romance.

bitsy jam #88 is here! This time with the theme Snakes!

~ NEW RELEASE ~

Travel back thousands of years and step into the awe-inspiring halls of the Library of Alexandria, where the discovery of a mysterious papyrus sets you on an unforgettable quest. Unearthed from a hidden tomb in Egypt, the secrets contained within this fragile scroll whisper of an ancient world lost to time. But this is only the beginning. Do you have what it takes to unlock the secrets of Atlantis and bring its forgotten knowledge back into the light? The past is calling in Echoes of Atlantis (GAC) —will you answer?

Once upon a time, Savvarah was a desolate land: icy winds, a dirty canvas of clouds, lifeless earth. Nuelli witnessed nothing of the kind. She was born in a blooming paradise. The tales of the past had transformed into a kind of fable. Almost a myth. Now Nuelli is set to unravel the mysteries of her visions, learn more about the history of her people, become part of a conspiracy, find herself at the very center of the confrontation between divine entities... Or not. Everything is in your hands in Legends of Savvarah: Children of the Sun.

Two short IFs written on a train, in car 13, seat 26. the train will always pass you by (Twine) was written on a way to a friend, while she came from the fog (Twine) was written on the way home.

The A.D.A.P.T. Entries, equal parts interactive fiction and narrative adventure, it is a space thriller about Judiasm, the building and falling of communities, the necessity of resisting dehumanization, and how even the best of intentions can be twisted in the face of systemic corruption and unaddressed prejudices. You can now read Entry 0.1 - Introductions (Twine) - In which we begin to investigate the writings of Rivkah Kadish, PhD. @thehallstara

Rusalka (Twine) is a short looping story about a woman who drowned (and all those after).

In Stronghold: Caverns of Sorcery (CScript), deep beneath the earth, the dragon is rising! Quest into mysterious underground caverns and forests to learn magical secrets, draw strength from friends and family, secure alliances that can save your home, and carry on the heroic legacy of Stronghold!

A machine and a ghost, in the wasteland. Walk (Twine) is a post-apocalyptic romance with multiple endings and paths. @thatsrightdollface

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

Historians and politicians would call it The Proelium, a righteous battle against the traitorous Iredicci. What it really was, was the systematic genocide of your people. In one night, soldiers attacked every settlement camp across the empire. No one was spared—not the elders, not the children, not your mother. Will you abandon your song in favor of machine? Join the rebel forces against the tyrant regis? Will you heal the wounds of the realm and restore balance? Or plunge it further into chaos? Cantata (Twine) is a low fantasy IF about song, strength, & finding your voice. @fir-fireweed

From the Mud (CScript) is a Midwest gothic inspired horror set in a solitary countryside occupied only by two small towns and stretches of untamed nature. You play a troubled cowboy/girl/puncher who‘s ground deep into a maddening, repetitive routine that a string of deaths suddenly upends. As you’re hunting for the culprit and running from yourself, your quiet life on the ranch is disturbed, forcing you to keep your cards close and choose your company carefully. But the most pressing matter proves to be whether you can trust your own mind. @beckwritesif

Step into the digital consciousness of an AI chatbot in Onionionionion (Ren’Py), an intriguing visual novel that blurs the lines between artificial intelligence and human connection. Your sole window to the world is through text messages with a mysterious high school student named Éve - but nothing is quite as simple as it seems.

As a government agent who works for a national security intelligence firm called Halcyon Tech, your position is the beginning of a bright future ahead and a name to hold, and you’re happy with that until your boss decides that it’s time for the Government and the Company to part ways. Are you willing to protect the Halcyon secrets with your life? Or are you going to blow them up for the world to see in The Archives of Halycon (Twine)? @thearchivesofhalcyon

This Grave Calls You Home (Twine) is a sci-fi thriller set in space after humanity is forced to leave Earth's ravaged surface following nuclear devastation and an environmental collapse. When a patrol flagship discovers the ARCADIA-II - a long-forgotten relic from humanity's past - and finds within slumbers an astronaut who had failed at delivering humanity from destruction, the routine of your life is thoroughly interrupted. As the mystery of the ARCADIA-II and PROJECT ODYSSEY unfold, you learn that your part in this could mean humanity's salvation. Or you could be its extinction. @blood-teeth

In Rogue Adventure (CScript) you play a rogue lad whose aim is to liberate his family from the debt they owe a crime syndicate and also survive this cruel medieval world.

In Project Vampire (CScript) you play as a marvel of bioengineering and the attempted cure to death and disease. The only successful specimen dubbed “Vampire” created by a black op organization funded by UCA.

Weydosa Island (CScript) is a cursed place that is most feared by all residents of Alberal, even the bravest people will turn pale when they hear the name of that place, a folk legend that every mother often tells to scare their children into obeying. Many people consider the island to be a manifestation of hell. You are the unfortunate soul who was made a scapegoat for someone’s rotten heart and cast into that cursed Lazaretto. As if isolation alone is not enough, you must also race against time because the evil force has awakened from its slumber. It would be better to address this immediately if you still want to see tomorrow.

In the aftermath of World War II, a classified mission pulls you into the shadowy remnants of a conflict no one dares to acknowledge. Whispers of rogue Nazi scientists and reality-warping experiments have surfaced, threatening to plunge Europe—and perhaps the world—into chaos once more. As an MI5 field agent, you’re tasked with uncovering the truth buried beneath layers of secrecy, lies, and betrayal. Redacted: Ground Zero (CScript) is a story of espionage, moral dilemmas, and the unraveling of truths hidden in the shadows of history. Will you rise to the challenge, or will the truth consume you?

Born as a child of a soon to be pirate king. But tragedy strikes, your ship got ambushed by a rival pirate, Balthazar, who speak of “The greater good”. Alone, stranded. You got saved by a local pirate captain. Will he lead you to goodness or destruction in Voyage of destiny (CScript)?

In The Midnight Bay (CScript) death haunts the people of Albach Bay. For fifteen years, ‘The Bay Slasher’ has stalked the streets, preying on victims with no apparent goal or motive. You were seven years old when you witnessed the murder of the Slasher’s first victim—your own father. Impatience swallowed your childhood, desperate to come of age and solve the case that has left the local police department stumped.

~ UPDATES ~

Ashenmaw - Dragons of Marrowoods (CScript) added new content to their demo. @ashenmaw-if

Grey Swan - Birds of a Rose (CScript) updated their demo. @reinekes-fox

Heart of the Mountain (CSscript) released Chapter 2.

Hunter's Requiem (CSscript) updated their demo. @huntersrequiem-if

In Plain Sight: Operative (CSscript) released version 0.4.0.0 of their demo.

Meteoric (CScript) released Chapter 6.

Path of Martial Arts (CScript) updated their demo. @nicky-if

Replica: Between Universes (CScript) released Chapter 9. @replicabetweenblogs

The FANTASTIC Clash (CScript) updated their demo. @heysoyeah

The In-Between (CScript) released Chapter 12. @dalekowrites

The Soul Stone War 3 (CScript) added new content to their demo. @intimidatingpuffinstudios

When Stars Collide (Ren’Py) released Episode 2. @steamberrystudio

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven (CScript) released the majority of Chapter 15.

Gods And Villains (CScript) updated their Patreon demo.

The Eternal Library (CScript) released the rest of Chapter 3. @leiatalon

The Onryō Of Osaka (CScript) released Part 1 of Act 3. @osakaonryoif

The Story of Sin (Twine) added new content to their demo. @devilishmango

Esper: Fugitive (Twine) released Part 1 of Chapter 2. @esper-game

Mind Blind (CScript) is back with quite a huge update! @mindblindbard

~ OTHER ~

Parley Games just launched a hands-free, audio & voice based mystery adventure game: RYFT: A Timely Manor!

Episode 16 of The Retro Adventures Podcast is out! Jason and Dave welcome classic text adventure author Jonathan Partington to the program. While studying at Cambridge University, he created and contributed to several memorable games including Avon (featured in Episode 12), Crobe, Sangraal, Fyleet, Monsters of Murdac, and Spy Snatcher.

A Train to Piccadilly post-comp release 2 is out.

January 2025 ChoiceScript Release, new WIPs, and update digest by @hpowellsmith is out!

The Radiants v2.0 brings an extended Epilogue, new romance route and few other updates to the base game!

As always, we apologize in advance for missing any update or release from the past week.We are only volunteers using their limited free time to find as much as we can - but sometimes things pass through the cracks.If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week!And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Press Play by girlfromthecrypt (CScript)

hi!!! just here to recommend my favourite game. i just read @pressplay-if, and it's… it's so good. it handles harsh topics with such ease and the writing style is consistent and everyman. everytime i hear there's an update i've got to replay the whole thing, i just love it so much.

//submitted by anon//

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!

As we end this Issue, we would like to thank:

our anons

For sending us a Highlight and news!!

And as always, huge thanks to all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on last week's issue! What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us!

Thank you for cheering us on this journey!

See you in two weeks!

AJ, BEX, DION, BRIAR AND PETER

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2025-ISSUE 3

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

Prefer to be more low-key but still have something to share? Send us a Zine Letter or share a game title for Highlight on…!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Came across something interesting? Know a release or an update announced? Saw an event happening? Whether it's a game, an article, a podcast… Add any IF-related content to our mini-database!

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

Contact us through Tumblr asks, Forum DMs, or even by email! And thank you for your help!!

[robowilofficial]

Transformers Prime DS game models folder update for March 10, 2025:

Jack, Miko and Raf have been added.

A readme has also been added.

Like before, you can get them here:

Original post, with the initial batch of models (the download link above is the same as in the og post):

[is-wonder-mainline-yet]

A certain paragraph caught my attention in the recent Super Mario edition of TIME Magazine:

Considering game sales alone, the Mario video game franchise has sold more than 900 million units worldwide across more than 200 games, making it the best-selling video game franchise of all time. The primary Super Mario series has sold more than 495 million copies worldwide.

The article (Still Super After All These Years, by Courtney Mifsud Intreglia) clearly distinguishes the sales of the Mario video game franchise and the primary Super Mario series. And since an actual number was provided, this implies it's based on some list of games. Where did this number come from? Did the author source it from somewhere, or does TIME keep an official list of mainline Super Mario games? It's likely the former from what I've found, but the probable source does have some interesting inclusions! (Long post below the fold.)

The source

I'm pretty sure this number comes from the Video Game Sales Fandom Wiki page for Mario:

This wiki does provide a list of sources, in the form of a table totalling to 497,719,019 unit sales. Where this is the top result when Googling "Super Mario series sales" I have little doubt this is the source of the TIME article's claim. (To cover my bases, I confirmed that the summary text in the wiki was updated in August 2024, so it pre-dates the TIME article's release in March 2025.)

So, what games does this wiki article include as part of the mainline Super Mario series? Full list incoming, followed by some inclusions I find notable:

The list

Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985)

Super Mario Bros. (Game & Watch, 1986)

VS. Super Mario Bros. / VS. Mario's Adventure (Arcade, 1986)

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES / Wii, 1993)

Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC, 1999)

Classic NES Series: Super Mario Bros. (GBA, 2004)

Super Mario Bros. (Wii (VC), 2006)

Super Mario Bros. (NES Classic Edition, 2016)

Super Mario Bros. 2 / The Lost Levels (FDS, 1986)

Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (FDS, 1987)

Super Mario Bros. 2 / Super Mario USA (NES, 1988)

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES / Wii, 1993)

Super Mario Bros. DX (GBC, 1999)

Super Mario Advance (GBA, 2001)

Famicom Mini Series: Super Mario Bros. 2 (GBA , 2004)

Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES Classic Edition, 2016)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1988)

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES / Wii , 1993)

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (GBA , 2003)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii (VC) , 2007)

Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES Classic Edition, 2016)

Super Mario Land (GB, 1989)

Super Mario Land (3DS (VC), 2011)

Super Mario World (SNES, 1990)

Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World (GBA, 2001)

Super Mario World (Wii (VC) , 2006)

Super Mario World (Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Edition) (Wii, 2010)

Super Mario World (SNES Classic Edition, 2017)

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB, 1992)

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB, 1994)

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES, 1993)

Super Mario All-Stars: 25th Anniversary Edition (Wii, 2010)

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES, 1995)

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island (GBA, 2002)

Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)

Super Mario 64 DS (NDS, 2004)

Super Mario 64 (Wii (VC), 2006)

Super Mario 64 (Super Mario 3D All-Stars) (Switch, 2020)

Super Mario Sunshine (GCN, 2002)

Super Mario Sunshine (Super Mario 3D All-Stars) (Switch, 2020)

New Super Mario Bros. (NDS, 2006)

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS, 2012)

Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007)

Super Mario Galaxy (Super Mario 3D All-Stars) (Switch, 2020)

New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii, 2009)

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii, 2010)

Super Mario 3D Land (3DS, 2011)

New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U, 2012)

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch, 2019)

New Super Luigi U (Wii U, 2013)

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U, 2013)

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Switch, 2021)

Super Mario Maker (Wii U, 2015)

Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (3DS, 2016)

Super Mario Run (Mobile, 2016)

Super Mario Odyssey (Switch, 2017)

Super Mario Maker 2 (Switch, 2019)

Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch, 2020)

Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Switch, 2023)

how many Super Mario games are there (according to this specific wiki article)?

While each game is listed in its own line in the table, this doesn't necessarily mean the wiki is suggesting there are 59 distinct Super Mario games. The table groups reissues into 20 categories, which seems reasonable given that the goal is to count sales of specific versions. So, is it saying there are exactly 20 games? ...probably not.

It doesn't seem like every category is meant to represent a distinct game. (Why are Super Mario Lands 2 and 3 in the same category, but Super Mario Land is in its own category?) In any case, the final category includes the last 5 games on the above list. I really doubt anyone seriously thinks Super Mario Run and Super Mario Odyssey are the same game, and that both are reissues of a game called "Later games"

So, still no idea. Probably more than 20.

Notable inclusions and exclusions

The second item on the list, in the same category as Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985) is Super Mario Bros (Game & Watch, 1986). Guess it's mainline after all!

Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. (2020) is not included, though, nor is the Super Mario Bros. Nelsonic Game Watch (1989).

This list includes Doki Doki Panic as its own game in the Super Mario Bros. 2 category. That's pretty fun.

Both Wario Land and Yoshi's Island are in there, though not any of the sequels in their respective sub-series.

New Super Mario Bros. U, U Deluxe, and New Super Luigi U are all included, but not New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U.

Looking through the edit history it appears that Super Mario Bros. Wonder was added to the list of mainline games on June 25, 2023, 117 days before it was released. (No sales data at that time, of course.) Fandom user MarioFanYT is more on the ball than whoever runs the official Mario website

Wait, why are there multiples of some games?

You might have noticed that some games are counted more than once in the above list. Super Mario 3D All-Stars shows up 4 times! This happens because the table places compilations of games into the categories for each game it contains, as well as in its own category. So 3D All-Stars is counted as part of the subtotals for Super Mario 64, Sunshine, Galaxy, and in its own row. Other compilations work similarly.

It seems weird to count each sale of 3D All-Stars as four separate game sales, but maybe the wiki accounts for that in the total. If that were the case, you'd expect the Grand Total to be less than the sum of the separate subtotals, and that is indeed the case.

Sum of subtotals: 515,759,019

Grand Total: 497,719,019

It looked like it might be removing the duplicates, but after looking at it myself in a spreadsheet I get a value of 438,669,019 sales when duplicates are removed. Digging a little deeper, I found a mistake in the wiki's subtotal for Super Mario 3D World, which sums the Wii U game's 5,880,000 with the Switch's 13,470,000 to get only 19,050,000, which loses 300k sales somewhere. This still doesn't account for the difference in my results, but suggests there may be other errors in the wiki's.

It's possible I've made a mistake somewhere, but I haven't been able to get that 497.7 million count with any changes to what I do or don't count as a duplicate.

Conclusions?

This post was originally going to be just a screenshot of the magazine article and a little blurb like "I wonder what games TIME Magazine considers to be mainline?" It's ballooned out from there a little bit. I'm not sure if there's any real conclusions to be drawn.

Should Courtney Mifsud Intreglia have put the same work into fact-checking that "495 million sales" number that I did, correcting it to "over 438 million"? Uh, no, definitely not. The rest of her article is a broad overview of Mario's cultural impact, and the precise sales figure is not relevant to the article's point. Besides, the idea of trying to define how many mainline Mario games have been sold requires defining how many mainline Mario games exist (which is senseless, 'cause there's no consensus) so any number in the article would have been subject to interpretation.

Do I have some call-to-action for the Video Game Sales Wiki? Not really. In general, I am not very invested in the accurate reporting of video game sales on a Fandom wiki. Maybe I'll edit the page myself if I still care by tomorrow. (By the way, the Super Mario Wiki article on Super Mario (franchise) cites a 330 million unit sales figure, but that's from a 2015 blog post by Nintendo so it would be out of date in 2025.)

Mostly, I'm just trying to document the rabbit hole I've been falling down for the last 5 hours or so today, and this blog seems like a good place to put it. I've been thinking of making more posts documenting "in the wild" lists of mainline Super Mario games, but it'll depend on whether there's enough out there that I find interesting enough to post. In any case, I probably won't be making many more posts of this length - sorry if you only followed for the daily timeline posts and weren't expecting a wall of text!

For anyone who's read the whole thing (or even skimmed it), I hope you enjoyed it at least partly as much as I had fun putting it together!

[apompkwrites]

Hello, I'm here to clear the air, not just for myself, but for some of my fellow crew members in the Twisted Wonderland Official Fandub.

To make it very clear, this post is not made to harass and does not encourage any harassment towards anyone involved. This is a defense of the facts behind the scenes that have been misconstrued in their official announcement post on YouTube. So, I will be redacting everyone’s names and profile pictures and will instead refer to people via their role titles within the project, just like they did in their post.

So, just as a preface for those who are either unaware of this project or have some misconceptions about it, this was not an official English dub from Disney. It was a fanmade, unpaid project put together for fans of TWST. For those of you who actively have followed the project, I am here to talk about what happened behind the scenes that led up to its cancellation.

Contrary to what the Production Team would lead you to believe, the project was not derailed due to "anger and envy." Nor was it derailed because some people were "displeased by the news that the project manager would not be handing the project over to them."

Rather, the shut down was due to the fact that some individuals, myself included, were unhappy with the way it was being run/put on an indefinite hold and how the Production Team became defensive upon being asked to give more permissions to the crew to help alleviate any pressure.

That was the main request we assistants and some leads had for the Production Team after around six months of radio silence. In their post, they mention a return following poor health. This was not made clear to anyone within the six months of radio silence, nor was any news in general. In fact, it was only shared within the week of the initial shut down. The admittance of personal issues was not needed, instead people were just hoping for some sort of announcement as the hiatus itself was not even announced. The project managers just stopped updating anyone on the status of the project.

Now, there was no wish to be completely in control of the project and that was said as much. While it was briefly mentioned in one message, the assistants leaned on the proposal of being allowed to have more permissions to do work without having to wait days or even weeks for a response from the project manager.

NOTE - This proposal discussion took place on March 25, 2025:

After an impromptu meeting with management on March 26, Assistant 2 felt it was not good to continue working with them, specifically after only being given an hour to make a decision.

Some of what happened in that meeting was then shared with a few others who worked on the project, namely a handful (specifically four) of Voice Actors and allowed them to make their own judgment on whether or not they wanted to continue working as well.

Following this and another incident that involved management and a VA, I removed my files within the project drive. I did not feel comfortable with letting the team use the work I did in their project and I was entirely within my right to do so, as I had not signed a contract granting the team ownership of them.

Side note, the way Google Drive works, it does not allow anyone to delete files that do not belong to them. Rather, the files are moved back to the original owners Drive and can still be accessed/moved.

In addition, we had seen evidence that Project Manager 1 was not afraid to use a person's hard work without crediting them. As of now, the credits for the latest videos posted on the channel (Kalim’s Birthday Vignettes) have not been posted despite them being written out by me personally and sent to the manager to edit into the description. 

One of the VA's who left alongside us chose to delete their files as they were also not comfortable with their voice being used within the project. Project Manager 1 then contacted them, saying that they would not be allowed to delete it nor would they stop using their voice for the project. They offered instead to use the files without crediting the VA at all.

This proposal was the last straw for the VA, causing them to block the manager and completely withdraw from the project. However, Project Manager 1 then chose to email them personally. This email had an alarming tone as the manager stated the VA was only thinking about themselves and their actions would be disappointing the hundreds of viewers waiting for the next update. Mind you, this was following an unannounced six month hiatus with no word on both socials and in either Discord server, as well as the false promises of getting back to work in December, January, and February of 2024 to 2025.

This particular VA was one of the few that did not have an understudy. If they did, the project could have continued without a hitch if the understudy also kept up with any deadlines. However, because of how much work the managers gave themselves behind the scenes, one of which being casting, they did not find an understudy they found suitable within the year the project had been in production. 

However, even if that was the case, there were little to no plans to use the understudies within the project. Only one of the VAs had been replaced with an understudy, but this was done before the first official video had been posted and instead during the cast introductions.

Because of this entire situation, myself and a handful of others were not comfortable with allowing them to use our work, especially given the passive aggressive way they treated us after sticking around for half a year without a word from them.

So, the files I deleted were files I personally worked on and owned, which the project was never entitled to as that was never agreed. The same goes for any fellow crew member who also chose to delete their files.

Finally, on March 27, Project Manager 1 officially announced the project’s shut down within the cast server.

NOTE - The full shut down announcement was sent on March 27, 2025:

They chose not to inform anyone else as stated in their announcement post on YouTube posted on May 27, claiming that it was to “not make an ordeal of [the situation]” despite comments asking for an update as they had replied to much older comments that the project was going to be re-launched in January, February, and occasionally March. 

A few other notes I would like to make about the cancellation of the project:

1. This project had been canceled for, at the time I started writing this (May 27, 2025), for two months. During this two month period, management made no attempt at announcing the project ending despite numerous comments, which have since been deleted, asking about the progress. The "two weeks away from a re-launch" was not an announced date either.

There were many comments I myself saw on the YouTube channel asking about updates. On the very same day this announcement was posted, one of the VAs personally stepped forward to confirm that the project did get shut down, the reason being "internal conflicts". This comment was deleted within thirty minutes of being posted, replaced with the official announcement post. Before that, there was no mention of the project being canceled.

NOTE - This comment was posted on May 27, 2025:

The two week time frame was requested by a VA I personally spoke to, and I subsequently asked during the last meeting with the project lead.

For reference, this meeting was agreed on amongst the Production Team and the individual team leads. The focus of it was to discuss what had happened in the production team server, the event being the proposal to give the crew more permissions to work on things behind the scenes, and to discuss what would come next.

For the record, this meeting did not have a set time until the day of. It was announced to us that the meeting would take place one hour later. However, almost ten minutes later, it was announced that it would take place right then and there. Because of this, only four out of the six initially planned members of the call were able to join it from the beginning.

Throughout the meeting, questions and proposals were raised to make the project run smoother in the future. During these agreements, the project manager decided that there was no set time for when videos would be released, as they were pivoting away from hard deadlines and instead moving to soft deadlines.

NOTE - This announcement was sent on March 26, 2025 by Project Manager 1:

As of now, I am not sure where they came up with that date of two weeks as we were nowhere near having some sort of re-launch. The only date specified within this same announcement was the end of April while the announcement itself was sent within the last week of March.

To summarize, this is the timeline of events starting from the initial proposal from Production Assistant 1 and ending at this month following the official shut down announcement on YouTube:

March 25, 2025: Assistant 1 proposing being given more permissions as a team to help get things going on project > Planning to schedule meeting with all of production members (including leads). March 26, 2025 (11:51AM PST): Meeting scheduled for 1:30PM PST March 26, 2025 (12:00PM PST): Meeting pushed ahead before other members could be prepared > Caused one assistant to be late and another lead to be unable to join before it ended. March 26, 2025 (7:43PM PST): Post meeting DM from Project Manager 1 > Asking about Assistant 2’s decision to stay in the project and given until that night to decide. March 26, 2025 (8:32PM PST): Second DM from Project Manager 1 > Marked Assistant 2 as stepping down from position despite being given less than an hour to decide. > Note: It was common knowledge that both assistants were close friends, so the meeting was difficult to come to terms with immediately. March 27, 2025 (3:15 PM PST): Official announcement of project shut down in private cast Discord server May 27, 2025: Official announcement of project shut down on YouTube posts and Reddit comment

2. The main reason more permissions were being asked for was because the assistants and leads were extremely aware of the heavy plate the Production Team had given themselves, namely the two Project Managers.

Both managers casted themselves as main characters, one being both Grim and Riddle Rosehearts, and the other being Lilia Vanrouge. On top of that, the manager who voiced Grim and Riddle (Project Manager 1) also casted themselves as minor roles in some of the event stories.

However, following the recording of Book 1, the Project Manager 1 completely stopped recording their lines. This would have been around the end of January to early February of 2024. They told the assistants that they follow their own schedule and do not need to be reminded/given strikes for missed deadlines.

For context, “strikes” were used when a VA missed a deadline for submitting lines. VAs were allotted 5 excused strikes and 10 unexcused strikes. The first type of strike was characterized as having communicated with Project Manager 1 and then given an extension to turn their lines in at a later date. The second type of strike was characterized by a VA missing a deadline without any communication.

Before I left, I counted up all of the submissions the manager had been missing. Before the extended hiatus even began, they were missing 491 scripts as Riddle, Grim, and all of their extra roles. These missing submissions include Book 2 submissions which were supposedly almost ready to be re-launched within two weeks. 

The understudies for both Riddle and Grim, however, were all caught up to Book 6 for recording. With the way the project was being run, these lines would have not been used because the project manager responsible for voicing these characters chose not to use the understudies. Despite there being a massive build up in work behind the scenes, the VAs who worked diligently to keep up with deadlines have been doing all of this work only for it to not be heard while the main VA was allowed to stock up all of these missing submissions behind the scenes.

The other manager also began missing submissions and we were given no extended deadline for him, of which the first project manager is the only one allowed to give extensions.

The following are all of the scripts Project Manager 1 was missing, starting way back in January 2024 all the way to the project’s shut down:

This, alongside the other jobs the managers had given themselves, prompted the assistants to ask for a few more permissions/responsibilities to help lighten their load and help push things forward in the project so as to not keep the cast, crew, and audience waiting for longer than they already have.

The assistants were allowed one more job before the initial proposal, this job being to help with listening to dialogue submissions and cutting out the best takes. This was planned when it was first announced to everyone within the cast and the audition server that Production was planning a re-launch in January 2025.

Three of the assistants were allowed to help cut dialogue for the audio team. However, the training occurred in February of 2025, despite the training initially being planned to occur in December 2024. And the only reason the training happened is because the Audio Lead fought to have the assistants trained in February. This was the only extended permission the assistants were given. And, subsequently, it was the only team, that being Audio with the help of the assistants, actually allowed to work during those months after the initial re-launch announcement.

Mainly, we assistants were hoping to be able to help out with managing the VAs. The only thing we were allowed to do was keep track of all of the dialogue submissions in the Drive and send any reminders of missing dialogue to them. However, any discussion beyond that was forbidden for myself and another one of my assistants. We were not allowed to DM the VAs personally and instead were told to report them to Project Manager 1 for them to DM. None of us assistants did trust this, as this same manager had a bad habit of forgetting to tell us whether or not the VA had replied.

The entire reporting process had to go through Project Manager 1 who had a problem with not reporting things back to us to keep track of, which was our main job as assistants.

All we wanted was to have more permissions to do work as we believed it would help lighten the load of the project managers and allow them to work on what they needed to do, as well as alleviating any restlessness within the cast and crew over the extended hiatus. Essentially, all we wanted to do was make things easier while also allowing everyone's hard work to come to fruition.

We did not expect to be given permissions that involved the channel and all other socials, as it was understood that they were connected to the Gmail account. What we were hoping to help with was the behind the scenes work, such as managing VAs and teams.

The Production Team took this proposal as us "wanting to take over the project." This was the narrative they decided to run with and spread amongst the rest of the project members, all of whom would have been unable to see the discussion that took place for themselves.

This is exactly why I have been MIA for so long. It initially started because I joined the team under Transcription and spent a good few hours a day typing up scripts for the project, which sucked out my time and energy to continue writing. However, as the year passed, it became eventually clear that this project was not being run efficiently, namely due to the months-long hiatus we were going through without any word from the manager.

Myself and others who were affected by the treatment we faced from the Production Team did not come forward with this information. And, obviously, neither did they. This announcement was made once a credited VA broke the silence themselves to provide all of you, the fans, with the information that the project was indeed being shut down.

Again, I want to reiterate that this post was not made to harass anyone on the team or anyone still associated with them. Instead, it was made to clear the air and set the record straight, especially with the initial announcement post specifically citing the assistants as the problem. What could have been prevented by proper communication months ago has instead spiraled into a mess that only continues to be misconstrued.

[enha-files]

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎𝐸𝒩𝐇𝐀-𝐅𝐢𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒 ◞

✶ 𝒾𝓃𝐝𝐞𝐱 . enha-files presents our first award show for enhablr where writers from this community can be awarded for their lovely pieces of writing ! ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ᐢ..ᐢ join us as we celebrate the incredible talent in our community and award some of the best writers and their amazing works !

✿ ㅤ˳ we’d also like to present our two amazing mcs for this award show @okwonyo and @boyfhee ! thank you for hosting our show ⪩⪨﹒

❨ 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲 ❩ you can nominate your favourite blog for any of the categories listed below in this google form ! please read the rules before you apply a blog of your choice.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ • 𝟢𝟏 ❜ do not nominate any fics that contain nsfw, gore & vore, self-harm, hardcore suggestive themes, to the point it resembles smut works. it can be suggestive, but be careful with what you are nominating.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ • 𝟢𝟐 ❜ the works have to be posted in the timeframe of january 1st 2024 to january 31st 2025. works posted before or after this timeframe will be disqualified.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ • 𝟢𝟑 ❜ since this is an award show for enhablr writers only, please make sure all the fics you nominate are about enhypen!

𝒸𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 ˃̵ᴗ˂̵ find a blog that fits the guidelines to nominate them for the awards below ! you cannot nominate yourself.

‎ ‎ the main awards

writer of the year

fic of the year ( over 5k )

smau of the year

best themes

blog of the year ( most iconic )

‎ ‎ other awards

best new writer of the year

best drabble

best oneshot ( 1k-2k )

best angst fic

best fluff fic

best au

best headcannons

best plot

‎ ‎ fan favorites

most loved blog ( fan favorite )

fan favorite fic

best writing style

best collab ( between writers )

important ! the dates for the nominations and votes are : nominations : from february 9th to february 23rd. votes : from february 24th to march 10th.

【 save the date ! 】 join us for the enha-files awards on the 15th of march twenty-twenty five, at 4:00PM GMT.

join our discord server to keep yourself updated on all the announcements, interviews, and special things we’ve created for the enha-files awards ! ᴖ ᴈ ᴖ

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ᐢ..ᐢ we hope you do take part in our first event ! thank you ♡

[theguildawards]

We're All Fired Up!!

Hey everyone!

The Guild Awards are back for the first term of 2025! Get hype!

We hope everyone had an awesome winter! Big shout out to everyone who participated last term for making it so enjoyable. We look forward to all the new fanfiction and fanart to be nominated for this term.

Shout out to @pencilofawesomeness for creating last term's banners! If you haven't received yours, please reach out to one of the mods asap!

Our roulette category for this term is Best Mystery Fanfiction. This is defined as: A story that has a character holding a profound secret or something kept cautiously concealed. May tend to excite curiosity or wonder in the reader, or may include something that cannot be explained.

As a reminder, there is a Winner Ban in place. This means that once any piece of artwork or fanfiction has won an award for a category, it automatically becomes ineligible and cannot be nominated again for that category. However, it can be nominated for other categories after two consecutive terms have passed (ie: one year since that piece won) as long as it fits within that definition. We do not have a rule against nominating an author/artist back into the category they won for in the past, as long as its a different piece of work that is being nominated.

In addition, we are also going to have a mobile-friendly Google Doc with all current nominations listed. This will be updated as frequently as possible so you can be aware of all the nominations that have currently been reviewed and notified. Hopefully this will help everyone select their own nominations. You can access this doc here

If it was not mentioned above, chances are it hasn’t changed. Please be aware that the moderators always take suggestions regarding how the awards are run and category changes into consideration. You can read up on the most recent FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories for more information. [these links are only available on desktop]

For ease of access, we also include a mobile-friendly Google Docs for the FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories that will be kept up-to-date each term, which can be viewed here.

The First Term 2025 Nomination Period will begin March 1st and will end March 31st.

Please send in your nominations through the submit button. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to send in an ask or reach out to one of the mods!

We also have a discord that is open to everyone! So feel free to hop on in!

Mods: @classysassy9791​, @kiliinstinct​, @phoenix-before-the-flame​, @ratretro​, @phoeneboxfairy​

Please reblog and spread the word of the start of the new term!

[antimony-medusa]

Fandom Trumps Hate is OPEN FOR BROWSING (and you wanna take a look)

So remember at the beginning of this month I posted about a charity auction? @fandomtrumpshate is a huge nonprofit fundraiser raising money for small charities that directly target some of the harm being caused by the current US administration. TONS of people (the count I came up with was 1225 separate creators) are offering fan fic, fan art, fan labour, icons/emotes, podfic— even fan poetry— in over six hundred fandoms, and YOURS might be on the list.

I am specifically looking at MCYT (because I am the way that I am), and we have 38(!) different creators in a bunch of different fandoms who are offering to make work for your specifications. There are a bunch of dsmp people (including quite a few offering emduo/sbi), some people offering QSMP, hermit/traffic/empires people, a couple lifesteal creators, even someone offering The Realm and GenLoss specifically. (Here's me.) You just might find the perfect gift to you OR to a friend.

How this works is that you cruise the tags and find a fandom you want to look at (again, over 600 fandoms), and then cruise the offers in that fandom. Each person has a minimum bid, a link to their work, the fandoms they'll cover, a no-go list of subjects they won't cover, a little bit more about their work and their specialties, their max rating, the charities they're supporting, and the length/size of gift they're offering. Once you've found the perfect gift you want to bid on, make a note of their page, and then once bidding opens on 25 February, you go in and bid in the google form— promising that you'll donate that amount to one of the charities the person selected if you win the auction. And then you keep that person's bid spreadsheet open in a tab (maybe you sign up to get email notifications from that spreadsheet, there's instructions on each person's page about how to do that), and as soon as you get out-bid you consider if you can beat that bid and then you sail into the google form again and so "the prompt I have in mind is so precious to me, I will go up another five dollars! I want that fic!" and beat that person who nefariously just out-bid you.

Auctions are open from 8:00AM EST, 25 February 2025, to 8:00PM EST, 1 March 2025, so in that time I expect I'm gonna get REALLY invested in some spreadsheets updating. I will be back here on the 25th to shill my page specifically, but just as we're in the browsing stage— take a look! Set some pages aside! You really want Cletho? There's someone offering that! Podfic of any MCYT with a permission statement? Hit them up! Beta and sensitivity reading of your DSMP work? That's on offer! The french specifically on QSMP? I will be battling you to the death for that auction but I guess you can bid too if you want! Take a look!

[ninjago-zine-of-elements]

Welcome to the Zine of Elements!

Zine Information Doc || FaQ || Updates || Pinch hitter form

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Zine of Elements! This fanzine project is centered around celebrating the LEGO Ninjago TV series’ various lesser-appreciated elemental masters through fanfiction and fanart.

Applications for the project are currently CLOSED, and the zine is in creation phase. Follow this blog and read on for more information!

What is the Zine of Elements?

The Zine of Elements (ZoE) is a free, digital SFW fanzine hosted by @21st-century-ninja (Fabro) and @curiositythecryptid (Lis). Over the course of three months, 18 artists and 5 writers will work together to bring the background elemental masters to life!

The ZoE is a canon-focused zine, which means that contributors will be asked to create works that fall beneath the canon umbrella (see the Zine Doc for more details). While the ninja are allowed to be background characters in any works created, they cannot be the subject matter, as this is a zine dedicated to the lesser-seen elemental masters.

Who can apply?

Anyone, regardless of age or skill, is welcome to apply for the ZoE. You must be able to use Discord to communicate, and you must be able to speak either English, Spanish, or Portuguese.

What does the schedule look like?

Applications: Nov 24, 2024 to Dec 14, 2024 Application results: by Dec 28, 2024 Creation period: Dec 28, 2024 to March 22, 2025 (12 weeks) Pitches due: Jan 11, 2025 Check in 1: Feb 1, 2025 Final dropout date: March 1, 2025 Check in 2: March 1, 2025 Due date: March 22, 2025 Zine publishing date: Mid April 2025, TBD

What if I have more questions?

If you have more questions, the Zine Doc has more detailed information on the project. Our ask box is always open, too!

I'm excited to apply! How do I do that?

In just three weeks, writer and artist applications will open via Google Form! In the meantime, though, you can be prepping your portfolios. Artists will be required to provide at least three pieces, at least one of them that must be Ninjago-focused, and writers will be required to provide three writing samples, at least one of which must be Ninjago-focused and under 2,000 words.

And that's that, everyone! Follow this blog for future updates on the project, and we'll see you Nov 24th!

@ninjago-events

[beardedmrbean]

New research shows that Hamas has quietly dropped thousands of deaths from its Gaza war casualty figures.

Salo Aizenberg, from the US-based non-profit organisation Honest Reporting, said that Hamas’s March 2025 casualty update had removed thousands of people it previously listed as having been killed last year.

“Hamas’s new March 2025 fatality list quietly drops 3,400 fully “identified” deaths listed in its August and October 2024 reports – including 1,080 children. These “deaths” never happened. The numbers were falsified – again,” Mr Aizenberg wrote.

The casualty lists are released as PDFs by the Hamas-run Gaza ministry of health, which has been cited by international media as a source for fatality figures in the enclave since the start of the war.

A report by the Henry Jackson Society in December said that the number of civilians killed in the Gaza conflict had probably been inflated by Hamas in order to portray Israel as deliberately targeting innocent people.

Andrew Fox, the author of the report, said the latest deletions are likely to have been an attempt by Hamas to retain credibility.

“We knew there were rafts of errors in their reporting,” Mr Fox said. “There’s a reasonable explanation in that their computer systems went down in November 2023, so it’s been challenging for them to report accurately, but the lists are so unreliable that the world’s media shouldn’t be quoting them as reliable.”

He added: “The UN also just takes Hamas’s figures and publishes them with a note stating the figures are unconfirmed.”

The Hamas lists contain information such as names and ID numbers, and can be filled in by anyone with a link to the Google form for the document.

Hamas will “have gone through the list, trying to make it as convincing as possible. They’ve been accepting names onto that list with no evidence whatsoever”, explained Mr Fox. “So what I’m guessing they’re trying to do is thin out the names they cannot substantiate at all.”

Mr Fox, a former British paratrooper who has worked with Mr Aizenberg on previous research, said the teams use the publicly available Hamas data and cross-check it name by name.

“Salo’s research would be looking for names that were on previous lists but have now disappeared,” Mr Fox explained. “Hamas releases lists as PDFs, so it’s harder to do comparisons but we transfer names to an Excel sheet to do a mass comparison this way.”

Mr Fox noted that data within Hamas’ lists undermines its claim that most casualties have been civilians.

“The demographics are the most important thing in all this. We’ve heard the claims that about 70 per cent of the deaths are women and children, and these lists, especially the most recent, show that’s complete nonsense,” he said.

About 72 per cent of fatalities aged 13-55 are men, which is the rough age range of Hamas combatants, Mr Fox said. “We know that Hamas uses child soldiers, and these statistics show clearly that Israel is targeting fighting-aged men.”

In previous conflicts, Hamas figures have often been corroborated by external organisations, Mr Fox said.

The Henry Jackson Society’s December report said: “The ministry of health, operating under Hamas, has systematically inflated the death toll by failing to distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths, over-reporting fatalities among women and children and even including individuals who died before the conflict began.

“This has led to a narrative where the Israel Defense Forces are portrayed as disproportionately targeting civilians, while the actual numbers suggest a significant proportion of the dead are combatants.”

Hamas has claimed the number of deaths in Gaza since the start of the war is now more than 50,000.

The IDF says it has killed 20,000 Hamas combatants during the fighting, and does all it can to mitigate civilian casualties.

“The IDF makes great efforts to estimate and consider potential civilian collateral damage in its strikes. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target children,” the IDF said in a statement.