WHAT IS THE MAKEBELIEVE TIMES?

The Makebelieve Times is a satirical newspaper set in the Land of Makebelieve, a fictional kingdom where imagination rules all!

Every issue asks the same quiet question: “What can a fictional kingdom reveal about the real one we share?”

By removing proper nouns, political teams, and real world labels; and recasting the story telling elements as puppet kings, book dragons, dangerous sandwiches, and the Shadow of Fear itself, Makebelieve creates an imaginary buffer that gives readers a chance to step outside the “reality” of things and notice what’s normally hard to see up close: it is always the stories we tell that shape our beliefs, our fears, and the reality we see; as it bends according to the narratives we accept.

The goal of Makebelieve isn’t pretend. It’s to reflect on the power we all have to imagine differently and collaborate together using that power to reshape the world we share with more love and mutual care.

THE STORY

King Monday has returned to power and declared the Rule of Imagination, a decree freeing the Realm from the limits of truth itself. From now on, “Imagination is no longer confined to the imaginary!” he announces, “What is real is what we imagine it to be!”

Naturally, chaos follows. And in that confusion, imagination’s ancient nemesis, the Shadow of Fear, slips in to turn Makebelieve against itself by doing what Fear does best, twist imagination, turning it into a weapon of control.

THE REAL IDEA BEHIND IT ALL

We already live inside stories… nations, laws, identities, fears, values. These are all semi-imaginary ideas. They all rely on shared belief.

By exaggerating these forces in a fictional kingdom, The Makebelieve Times helps us make the imaginary storylogic of the real world more visible.

Makebelieve isn’t ever really about escaping reality. It’s about understanding it, rethinking the stories we accept as “true,” and reclaiming our power to imagine something better.

THE STRONGHOLDS OF MAKEBELIEVE

Libraries, schools, museums… These are the real world strongholds of imagination; places where ideas stay free, where stories are shared, and where fear loses its grip.

Our strongholds face daily pressure: censorship, misinformation, narrative control, and shrinking access.

Defending these strongholds means defending the freedom to imagine, question, and learn.

THE GUARDIANS OF MAKEBELIEVE

The Guardians aren’t soldiers or wizards. They’re ordinary people: librarians, teachers, artists, elders who refuse to forget, and kids who ask too many questions.

Anyone can be a Guardian! Anyone keeping imagination alive in daily life. Anyone who stands up to defend our Strongholds. Anyone who resists fear by choosing love instead.

If you’re reading this, you probably already are a guardian, you might just haven’t been knighted yet.

THE PARTICIPATORY STREET ART PROJECT

This isn’t just an imaginary paper to read, it’s a story to join. It’s a story you are already a part of.

By raising the Flag of Makebelieve, you aren’t just supporting a project, you are expanding the kingdom of imagination itself and strengthening our collective message: Imagination belongs to everybody. Stories should be free. And the world is better when we create it together.

Every person who flies the flag becomes a Guardian of Makebelieve. Doing so, they declare: I believe imagination is a force for love and good. I believe in free ideas, shared stories, open libraries. I’m part of something bigger. I believe in Makebelieve!

BE A GUARDIAN OF MAKEBELIEVE

Raise the flag. Join the story. Help Love outshine Fear.

Because when we imagine together, we don’t just picture a better world, we make it real.