CHRISTMAS ENDS SMOOTHLY, BATON PASSES TO NEW YEAR 

By: Porter

Christmas has officially gone by without a single incident this year, and now, the baton is being passed to the new year!

That’s according to Rainier, Secretary of Christmas Affairs at the Pole, who stated that this year’s Christmas was a success and went without incident. Santa managed to distribute 1,824,756,813 gifts across the dream world this year; compared to last year when 1,408,295,106 gifts were distributed, it’s a definite increase!

“We got to distribute 416,461,707 more gifts this year in comparison to last year, and that's a lot!” Rainier said, “We were so close to two billion, but maybe next year we'll reach that goal!”

Rainier says that there were also less people on the naughty list in comparison, but wishes it was even less. 

“During the snowstorm, we saw the naughty list decrease noticeably as a result of neighbor helping neighbor,” Rainier explained, “Though, I wish the number was less, but it's nice to see people had a change of heart because of the disaster!”

The secretary also noted there were no incidents this year that hindered the Christmas holiday nor Santa's journey in the dream world. As Christmas passes, it is now time to look towards the next celebration on the list.

“Christmas is over, but the holiday season is not!” Rainier said, “It's time I hand over the baton to Sir Timely. He's in charge of everything regarding time and in case you didn't realize, it's almost a new year!”

Sir Timely is an ancient guardian angel that has reportedly been around since the beginning of time. As a guardian angel, he protects and looks over the dream world using time as a protector and sometimes, in the past, as a weapon. He was also one of the big figures who helped stabilize the dream world in its very early days.

Nowadays, he is in charge of keeping track of time in the dream world.

“Yes, that's me! Sir Timely at your service!” the guardian angel told me, “I left much of the past behind and now resort to keeping track of time! Based on my watch here, it looks like it's almost a new year! I fear I blinked and suddenly it's almost 2025!”

Sir Timely says that he expects New Year's celebrations to be run without a problem, and expects more crowds than usual this year.

“We got that Francis smell out of the carpet at long last so I don't think we'll be seeing anyone interfere with celebrations soon,” he said, “After a rough few weeks, I think people will use these festivities to go out and make it worthwhile. We all need a bit of happiness and hope for the year ahead!”

Regarding 2025, Timely said he's seen glimpses of it, but does not want to spoil anything.

“I am able to both see and visit the past and the future, but the future is always a surprise of what to expect,” he explained, “I only travel a month or two in the future and that's typically at this point in time as it is very risky to do so. I won't spoil what I've seen coming up in the next month or two, but it's a bit surprising. Stay tuned!”

Sir Timely says that he hopes 2025 is a great and peaceful year.

“In any case, may the new year be bright and filled with hope! I'm ready to observe the new year, are you?”

From all of us in the Subliminal Tribune staff, we wish all of our readers a safe and very happy new year to come!

TO THE YEAR BEHIND US AND IN FRONT OF US

By: Editorial staff

Hello to all of you readers! The staff at the Subliminal Tribune decided to get together and write an article piece for this occasion.

2024 was a year that many of us did not expect to go the way it did. Granted, there had already been numerous incidents in the two years prior to this one that may have led us to become complacent. Getting caught off guard, the rural dream world experienced a terrible snow storm and blackout that we are still slowly recovering from.

While that is in the past now, this incident highlights a key observation: there is a difference between what the rural dream world had versus the District where most of us live.

The District remained virtually untouched during the disaster with residents enjoying light, power, and regular day-to-day activities. It is our neighbors outside the District walls that suffered most of the disaster. Even so, we in the District opened our doors to help those who evacuated and sought refuge here. We helped our neighbors find safety in the midst of the storm.

Not only that, but kind residents in the same rural dream world opened their own doors to people seeking safety. It is in our instincts to help each other out no matter the circumstances. Things could have been a lot worse had people not helped each other out.

Still, this year was tough at the last minute. As we transition into the next year, we will leave behind the things we went through in 2024. The time now is to look towards 2025.

And yet, many of us may feel anxious about what next year could bring. It's understandable to feel this way after a bad event. It's normal even. It's hard to know what could happen a few months from now, let alone maybe tomorrow or five minutes from now.

But we must remain both vigilant and hopeful. We saw how a bad event can bring us together to help one another out. Not only is it important to stay safe ourselves, but to also make sure others around us are safe too.

So to the year behind us, we simply look back and reflect both the good and the bad. We had good moments, we had bad moments, and we had moments we weren't sure how to react. They become memories now, but we'll keep them safe in our minds.

And to the year in front of us, we are vigilant and hopeful. We are not sure what to expect in 2025, but we will be here hoping for the best and hoping for a more peaceful dream world. And of course, no matter what happens, we will stick together and make it through until the end. We will keep each other safe and look out for one another like we did this year. That's what makes us who we are.

Until then, goodbye 2024. See you soon, 2025.

Q/A: Ask Lucid

Dear Lucid, how have you been?! It’s been so long!

By: Ben Awile

Greetings Ben. I have been fine, thank you for asking. I have been quietly and patiently observing the ongoing events in the dream world during the past year. I have seen many things, and in particular, the attempt of Francis Robert P. Jackson to take over the rural dream world. We are fortunate enough to no longer have him hiding and causing havoc, but we are still going to feel effects from his actions in the months to come. In the meantime, I am doing well. The usual, you know?

Dear Lucid, how’d you know to save the dream world?

By: Ned Tuno

Hello Ned. I had a feeling…well, in a literal way. I had grown suspicious towards the beginning of November as a result of…a peculiar visit. When I reached the dream world, it was darker, colder, and it was snowing across the vast landscape. At that time, I was traveling across the dream world trying to get an idea of what was going on— I was well bundled up for this, do not worry. It was a very apocalyptic looking landscape, and it made me quite sad to see the usual lights and sounds of the dream world be off and silent. During one of these journeys, I suddenly had a strange feeling as if something was wrong. It was a piercing feeling in my head and it came with memories of Nate; he was in trouble. I knew I had to teleport to him, fast, and help him. I teleported using a channeling method and saw the predicament both he and chief Tsukanai were in, and managed to save them and others in the process. Do you ever get the feeling like something is not right? A “gut” feeling? Always trust it.

Dear Lucid, so it’s true you’re really powerful?

By: Berry Struong

Greetings Berry. “Power” is objective and I am not one to say I am the “most powerful” or the “chosen one” for that matter. I assume you heard the story of how I managed to shut down Francis’ dangerous portal to the real world. This is why opening portals to the real world is dangerous and should only be done by those who are extremely cautious in doing so. It is not an easy task to do, let alone for a human. Yes, I have done so in the past, but it was completely safe. If you want to believe that I am really powerful, then go ahead. This was a piece of cake for me. I can do much more…

Dear Lucid, what is 121,500 divided by 60?

By: Matt H.

Hello Matt. The answer to that is 2025, which coincidentally, is the year that will follow this one. It certainly was a very turbulent year, but I hope next year is much more calm and orderly.

Dear Lucid, do you think the Council will pardon you?

By: May Beaso

Hello May. That is difficult to say. I am not really sure if the Council will pardon me, let alone consider it. All I know is that it is very hard to reverse a decision once they made their judgement. For someone like me, it will take mountains to move and oceans to drain before they issue a pardon. That is to say, it will be very, very hard. The chance of me being pardoned is not zero, however, but it is quite low. I do not know if I want a pardon next year, but it is the same for me if I did or did not. Let us wait and see what they say, but neither you nor I should hold our breath.

Dear Lucid, what do you wish for your birthday this year?

By: Makiwis H.

Greetings Makiwis. Perhaps the obvious wish is for a pardon and redemption for myself, but I do not want to use such a birthday wish for that. What I wish is for all of my friends to have peace and for their dreams to come true next year. I do not have many friends nowadays, but those who remain close, I wish for their happiness. Their happiness is my happiness and there is nothing more that would make me happy knowing that they will be there for me no matter what. I do not want to use such an opportunity on myself. I want to use it for those I have close to my heart and hope they are happy next year. To whatever the incoming year brings, may it be nothing but light, hope, and of course, joy. Thank you for asking this question. I hope you have a wonderful New Year’s Eve and may your own dreams in 2025 come true.