#camp rhino

[comicwaren]

From Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6 #056

Main story by Zeb Wells (W), John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna and Marcio Menyz (A)

“Proxy”, by Zeb Wells (W), Andrés Genolet and Rachelle Rosenberg (A)

“Responsibilities”, by Zeb Wells (W), Ramon Rosanas and Rachelle Rosenberg (A)

“Stark Kraven Mad”, by Lee Gatlin

[foxsoulart]

Inktober days 21+22 Rhinoceros and camp

[muses-of-the-memory]

Happy 19th Anniversary, Camp Lazlo, one of my favorite shows on Cartoon Network

[thehopefulraincoat]

[minty-muse]

The scene in Meatman where the meat turns into a rhino is funny because of the implications of Clam being scared of his own kind but it could have been even funnier if Clam’s parents look like real rhinos ( Gretchen’s parents are implied to be realistic looking alligators so it’s not too far-fetched to assume some of the other characters’ parents might also be ) and he ran up to the meat rhino excitedly for a hug shouting “Mommy!” And Raj is like “Claaaam noooo!” And he just. Fucking disappears into the meat becoming a part of the monster.

[keerysfreckles]

reader who has a habit of sneaking out at night to swim in the lake and Luke catches them and joins🤭🤭

YOUR BLOG AESTHETIC IS SOSO CUTE

not-so-secret — luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x poseidon gn!reader

warnings: small makeout sesh, petnames used (babe, sweetheart)

a/n: THANK YOU IM IN LOVE WITH MAMMA MIA I HAD TO HAVE MY PFP BE SOPHIE!!!!

masterlist !

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

being a demigod child of poseidon had it's perks at camp half-blood. most campers respected you and percy, considering you two were children of the big three. you had a whole meal table to yourselves. you had the ability to control water (your favorite perk).

ever since you found out who your godly parent was, it's as if you were one with the water. you felt like you needed to be around it all the time. sure it felt silly to admit, but it's the truth.

almost every night when all the campers are asleep, you'd sneak out of your cabin to go to the lake. you were surprised percy never woke up with how creaky the floor boards in your cabin are. you'd alternate between the same three swimsuits and grab your favorite towel.

your routine didn't change tonight as you were on your way to the lake. the moon was full so it made the water sparkle more than it has this summer at camp.

you were quick to take your clothes off, having your swimsuit on underneath, and jumped into the water. you stayed under the water for a moment. you could breathe underwater, you knew you'd be fine.

some poeple meditate or take naps to calm down. this is your version of meditation. it always calms you down from whatever you delt with during the day. the more stressful your day is, the longer you stay underwater.

no one knew about your secret late night swims, and you wanted to keep it that way.

you merge through the surface of the water, and brush any hair that had gotten into your eyes.

a rustle in the woods around you catches your attention. usually there were nymphs jumping from tree to tree at night, but this noise was much louder than the noises the nymphs made.

you're about to speak, but someone stepping out of the woods beats you to it.

"what? you can sneak off without me now? i thought we were a package deal."

you roll your eyes and swim to the edge of the lake, "how did you even know i was out here?"

you stare up at your boyfriend, luke castellan. he was shirtless and in a pair of swim shorts. you giggled, they were bright green with baby rhinos all over the fabric. he held a towel and his orange camp shirt in his right hand.

"well i checked your cabin, and i guessed the only reasonable place you'd be is the lake. you really think i don't know about your little hiding spot?"

you blush, knowing luke knows you better than you know yourself. he sets his things down by yours before canon-balling into the lake. you swim over to him once he merges from the rippling water.

you giggle as he shakes his head side to side, flinging water droplets everywhere.

you two simply smile at each other before he breaks the silence, "like what you see babe?"

you splash him, "you're such and idiot."

you both laugh as he splashes you back. this continues for a moment before he grabs you by the waist. he can stand in the lake, giving him the advantage here. you hold onto his shoulders, before your hands move to the back of his neck.

you play with the dark curls on the back of his neck as he slowly sets you down so your face to face.

"can i kiss you?" your voice is soft, scared that if you talk louder someone might find you two.

"you never have to ask sweetheart."

you pull luke towards you, causing your lips to crash together. the kiss is full of hunger and nothing but love. you knew you kissed him before you left for your cabin earlier that night, but you'd never get used to the feeling of luke's lips on your own.

you turn your head, deepening the kiss. your bottom lip is in between his, and you can't help but smile into the kiss.

"i love you," you mumble against his lips.

he pulls back slightly, and you could've sworn you saw hearts in his eyes, "i love you."

[cncity]

clam go numnum

clam go numnum

[stereotypicaljewishmother]

I’m sorry not is this incredibly antisemitic, defeats their whole purpose by calling Palestinians arabs, but I can’t take anything seriously that claims all the way back in the 1940’s the IDF trained rhinos.

Which is as absurd as it is hilarious. Mostly because of two things.

One, that the IDF didn’t exist until 48, and you know it would have taken years to train rhinos, so why didn’t they mention any of the other groups existing in the land pre statehood?

Two, the only evidence I could find of rhinos being in Israel is a couple in a Safari park, and evidence of rhinos once living there.

I guess we just brought rhinos with us from our native habitat of the concentration camps in Poland. (For legal reasons this is a joke.) 

[blueikeproductions]

Sentinel Prime also has an interesting conceptual history.

Also interesting is how he managed to be the main villain of two movies in the film series.

His origins lie in the Marvel comics, simply being the name of the guy who was in charge before Optimus, when the comics took the lead set by Rodimus in the original movie, and started setting up a proto-Prime lineage.

For the most part, Sentinel remained a comics only character, as the 80’s cartoon never had a Sentinel, instead using its own lineage consisting of various nameless generics.

Though modern material has retroactively declared this fella is the cartoon Sentinel.

Sadly this design and his rad space rhino truck mode has yet to be immortalized in toy form.

Sentinel’s personality didn’t start getting fleshed out until the Dreamwave era, where most material painted him as powerful, kind and a revered figure among the Autobots. Like Rodimus in the cartoon, Optimus felt inadequate stepping into the role Sentinel left behind.

Sentinel’s more pompous arrogance didn’t become common place until Animated’s version.

Originally more of a goofy friendly jock in his boot camp days, but after a falling out with Optimus during an off the books trip for treasure hunting that saw Elita lost and Optimus take responsibility for Sentinel’s stupidity, the big chinned bot became more entitled and bullheaded, unwilling to accept his own mistakes to look bad in front of Ultra Magnus. Developing a phobia of organics from the giant spider aliens, Sentinel isn’t exactly a people person, not winning over the citizens of Detroit like Optimus did during his time in Earth. This Sentinel would get increasingly desperate trying to make himself look better over Optimus who had won over Ultra Magnus, but usually this wound up backfiring for him like when the Headmaster cut his head off and took over his body. Sentinel got a bit lucky when Shockwave attacked Ultra Magnus, allowing Sentinel to become acting Magnus to lead Cybertron. This saw strict curfews and fear mongering propaganda, mostly about organics and Decepticons to Ratchet and Alpha Trion’s annoyance. In Sentinel’s brashness, he almost unwittingly destroyed Cybertron when attempting to shoot down an unstable Omega Supreme controlled by Megatron, leaking Transwarp energy that’d fry the planet if attacked. When Optimus’ crew came back to Cybertron with Megatron, the missing Protoforms, the Allspark and Omega Supreme they were regarded as heroes, but Sentinel wasn’t impressed, doubling down on how HE was Magnus over Optimus. In the semi but not totally official Trial of Megatron script reading years after the finale though, a dying Ultra Magnus officially appointed Optimus as the true Magnus, which only made Sentinel more desperate, getting fooled by Megatron into being put on a trial that ultimately ended in the Decepticon’s favor.

While a blowhard from top to bottom, TFA Sentinel was still trying to do what he felt was right to protect Cybertron, something that would influence his movie counterparts.

Pry the most well known version besides Animated Sentinel, the DotM version was initially a mix of his Dreamwave version and Star Trek Spock (cuz he’s voiced by Leonard Nimoy).

The IDW movie comics fill in some extra gaps, as Sentinel was a direct descendant of the Primes, and supposedly the last. Leading Cybertron into a prosperous age alongside his “sons” Optimus and Megatron.

Sentinel also fixed an issue that was never fully resolved from ROTF, where special technology was developed with Wheeljack in order to tether a sun to Cybertron, re-energizing the Allspark without needing to destroy it, and powering the planet. Turns out solar power was the answer still, the original Primes just… misunderstood it. The seeds of the eventual Great War were planted however when Megatron overheard Sentinel and Optimus talking, and grew jealous, as Sentinel revealed to Optimus he too was a descendant of the Primes, and is set to take over when Sentinel steps down.

Although it seemed Sentinel had died when the Ark seemingly exploded, he survived and his ship crashed on the Moon of Earth, kick starting the movie. While the Autobots were thrilled to see their old leader back, hoping the tech the Ark held could stop the war, their joy turned to horror when Sentinel Prime revealed he intended to bleed Earth dry, having made a pact with Megatron to save Cybertron in this way. The comics fill in the gaps by better tying it with RotF, where Sentinel and Megatron’s interests aligned, and they decided to go to Earth, the site of the final Star Harvester to complete The Fallen’s goals to save Cybertron.

DotM Sentinel was a noble being and a strong patriot of Cybertron. Like TFA Sentinel, he did what he felt was right, but unlike TFA Sentinel, he employed a form of tough love towards the end, realizing Optimus didn’t have the ball bearings to do what was necessary to win the war. Only too late did Sentinel realize Optimus actually DID when the Prime was pushed too far and shot his former teacher and beheaded his opportunistic brother.

Sentinel falls further in IDW, where due to a lot of retcons and current political events at the time, the orange and red IDW Sentinel Prime was the first instance of a false Prime. Originally an opportunistic Titan Master called Infinitus, he served the ancient Primes and vowed to keep their teachings alive: by keeping the weak in their place with the “good” insuring it. He took on the alias Sentinel and slowly rose to Prime rank, ensuring Cybertron kept its suffocating limitations like the Clampdown and Functionism in place. After being beaten by Megatron, and left for dead, Infinitus merely abandoned his old Transtector in secret (leading the Autobots to be confused how Sentinel was beheaded), and sought to build a new one to continue his plans. Disgusted at post war Cybertron, where the Transformers were slowly unifying with each other and the “disgusting” Colonists and aliens, Sentinel decided to make Cybertron great again by tearing it all down using the power of the Metrotitans. This didn’t go as intended and saw Sentinel die for good, but it did indirectly see the release of Liege Maximo Prime, who had been sealed away in his own MetroTitan that was needed to stop the lobotomized Citybots that Sentinel managed to send to Cybertron.

There was a brief reprieve in IDW’s poorly received reboot, where its Sentinel returned to the just but firm DOTM Sentinel prewar, with the impatience and boldness of TFA Sentinel. This Sentinel wasn’t a racist nitwit, as he led a cultural potluck on Cybertron consisting of other colonists both Transformer and organic aliens. Optimus worked as a political aide alongside Sentinel, and ultimately inherited the Matrix when the big guy was killed by the Rainmaker Decepticons.

Aligned Sentinel is a bit of a mess, because he was originally called Zeta Prime, but they wound up trying to have it both ways calling him Sentinel Zeta, with his younger self looking like TFA Sentinel, but his WFC design being completely unrelated. I’m saving him for Zeta Prime’s entry, but the main thing inherited from this version was being installed as a Prime by the Quintessons.

But now via, TFONE, Sentinel has fully embraced his villainous heritage. A blend of all the major Sentinels, DOTM and TFA visually and IDW personality wise, he inherits his Prime role from the Quints like Aligned. The main difference is Aligned Sentinel Zeta wised up and chased off the Quintessons, TFONE Sentinel sought to bargain with them for personal gain.

A former aide to the Primes similar to IDW, he instead grew jealous of their glory and power, wanting it for himself. He got his wish when the Quintessons invaded, secretly working for them to destroy the Primes and steal the Matrix. Once the deed was done, Sentinel instead took Megatronus’ T-Cog as a trophy as the Matrix spirited itself away from the unworthy blowhard. Creating an elaborate lie to the clueless populace, Sentinel painted himself as a hero who chased off the Quints and ushered in a new era for Cybertron, creating a new generation of diligent (Cogless) wokers to mine Energon, while he “led” expeditions to find the Matrix that was “lost” in the fight. In truth, he was paying off the Quintessons in Energon, though even Sentinel was forced to admit the arrangement was barely leaving the Transformers with anything.

His downfall came when the main heroes witnessed his dirty dealings, and heard the truth from a still alive Alpha Trion, with D-16 out for mech fluid. While Orion succeeded in showing the populace the lies Sentinel told Cybertron, that wasn’t enough for D-16, who first hand witnessed Sentinel’s mask coming off, his true cruel nature exposed at last. Sentinel was perfectly content in wanting to murder the rebellious High Guard and naughty Miners that fell out of line, wanting to use them as an example by massaging the truth. After all, the truth on Cybertron has always been what Sentinel wanted it to be.

While Orion didn’t want a murder (I assume Orion figured Sentinel would just be thrown in jail while Cybertron restructured itself), and took a shot for Sentinel, it was all for naught, as D-16 killed Sentinel anyway, and took back Meg Prime’s Cog, installing it in himself to fully evolve into Megatron.

TFONE Sentinel took the worst traits of his predecessors, becoming the embodiment of what a truly bad Prime looks like. Notably, Sentinel’s actions absolve Megatronus and Liege Maximo of their own counterparts’ misdeeds, putting all of Cybertron’s problems on Sentinel Prime only (barring any retcons in future sequels). Depending on what future stuff may do, perhaps Sentinel Prime is now the defacto bad Prime over Megs and Liege. What Sentinel Prime Transforms into varies, though with the inclusion of the cartoon “U-Haul Robot”, he tends to be a truck to mirror Optimus, but the truck differs depending on the character.

Hilariously, a new 40th anniversary Missing Link toy repaints the old Optimus toy into G1 Marvel Sentinel.

The modern G1 & TFONE Sentinel are the only deviations, opting for planes, and a space train that’s never really used.

Given the series’ habit of making most flyers villains, and ONE Sentinel’s quite literally being above the miners, maybe future versions of Sentinel will be arrogant jets instead.

[tsalala]

The two Plains Camp males - back when they were still cuddly little cubs. Photograph via Rhino Post Safari Lodge, 2017.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Niamh is peanut’s favourite Chelsea girl

Niamh was not prepared when Peanut came to Chelsea

She got rammed in the leg and then 'chosen' by this little girl who rarely interacted with her at camp (there, Peanut hangs with Liefje or LJ) and suddenly Niamh just couldn't escape the little rhino by her side

[disneytva]

JANUARY 2025 PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, Jan. 1 Original Series Sneak Peek StuGo “Sneako Peeko” on Disney Channel and Disney XD (8:50-9:05 p.m. EST) “Dog Eat Dog” – Mutant Mischief! The kids must face the Mutant thieves who stole their food. TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 10 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel SuperKitties “Mystery Boot Bandit/Slippery Situation” (2-16) (7:30-8:00 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/8:00-8:30 a.m. EST on Disney Channel) “Mystery Boot Bandit” – Pet boots go missing all over Kittydale.

“Slippery Situation” – When Lab Rat makes all of Kittydale super slippery, Bitsy has to help the SuperKitties stop her. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Disney Jr.’s Ariel “The Great Big Garden Show/The Sea Sniffles” (1-20) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/10:00-10:30 a.m. EST on Disney Channel) “The Great Big Garden Show” – Ariel gives her plant magic food to make it grow for the Great Big Garden Show.

“The Sea Sniffles” – Flounder fakes being sick. TV-Y

Saturday, Jan. 11 Original Series – Series Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Legitimate Summer Camp/Dog Eat Dog” (1-02) (8:00-8:30 p.m. EST) “Legitimate Summer Camp” – Sweet Summer Science! The kids arrive at Lullah’s mysterious summer camp and attempt to fix her laser.

“Dog Eat Dog” – Mutant Mischief! The kids must face the Mutant thieves who stole their food. TV-Y7 

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Nannytee/Noodle It (A Little Bit)” (1-03) (8:30-9:00 p.m. EST) “Nannytee” – Oh the Hu-Nannytee! Lullah wants alone time and creates a Manatee-Nanny to watch the kids.

“Noodle It (A Little Bit)” – Lizard Lovin’ Larry! Pliny must choose — support Larry’s noodling habit or keep him safe. TV-Y7 

Sunday, Jan. 12 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “Last Train to Dullsville/Fred of State” (2-12) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) “Last Train to Dullsville” – Dave is mistaken for a secret agent while on a train ride with his family.

“Fred of State” – Fred takes over as president when Chad Goldenboy goes missing. TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 17 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends “Tricky Tricky Trapster/Tractor Beam Trouble”(3-27) (7:30-8:00 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/8:30-9:00 a.m. EST on Disney Channel) “Tricky Tricky Trapster” – With help from Herbie, Spidey and The Thing must stop Trapster’s hidden traps from catching people.

“Tractor Beam Trouble” – Gobby and Rhino steal Spidey’s invention. TV-Y

Sunday, Jan. 19 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Diorama Drama/Goat Racket” (1-01) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST) “Diorama Drama” – Fiendish Figurines! Pliny tries to keep a promise when the kids play with a strange diorama.

“Goat Racket” – Crime and Beans! Sara feels guilt after conning Larry out of his collectible beans. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Breakfast at Chippany’s/Birdyguard” (1-04) (9:30-10:00 a.m. EST) “Breakfast at Chippany’s” – Chip Breakfast-Hands! Chip wants to make a breakfast that will blow his friends’ socks off.

“Birdyguard” – Herpetological Hijinks! Larry saves a baby lizard and swears to protect it from harm. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “Hamster Ex Machina/Awkwardly Ever After” (2-13) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) “Hamster Ex Machina” – Hamster and Gretel battle lookalike robots that can predict their every move.

“Awkwardly Ever After” – Kevin gets caught in an awkward love triangle with Hiromi and Lauren. TV-Y7

Tuesday, Jan. 21 Original Special – Premiere on Disney Channel Kiff “Lore of the Ring Light” (8:00-8:30 p.m. EST) Kiff and her friends go on an adventure to destroy a ring light of immense power. TV-Y7

Sunday, Jan. 26 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “No Manhands Is An Island/Sister Swim” (1-05) (9:00-9:30 a.m. EST) “No Manhands Is An Island” – Maritime Mutation! Chip tries committing to the ways of survivalist Nils Vulfen.

“Sister Swim” – Perturbing Porpoise! When the kids encounter a dolphin, everyone is excited — except Merian. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD StuGo “Moon Moon/Mailbog” (1-06) (9:30-10:00 a.m. EST) “Moon Moon” – Resentful Robots! Lullah sends Sara to stop a rover from drawing a dirty rear on the moon.

“Mailbog” – Dire Dispatch! Francis goes on a quest to deliver a letter. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hamster & Gretel “Paging Doctor Potatini/Snazzy Pantzz” (2-14) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) “Paging Doctor Potatini” – When Kevin is mistaken for a teen doctor, he has to go along with the ruse to stop a villain’s evil plan.

“Snazzy Pantzz” – Carolina and Gretel join a business that is not as innocent as it appears. TV-Y7

Friday, Jan. 31 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior and Disney Channel Mickey Mouse Funhouse “Quiet Ness/Happy Pal-entine’s Day!” (3-15) (9:25-9:55 a.m. EST on Disney Junior/12:00-12:30 p.m. EST on Disney Channel) “Quiet Ness” – Ness doesn’t want to attend a party because she’s afraid it will be too loud.

“Happy Pal-entine’s Day!” – The gang goes to Crayon World to draw cards for Pal-entine’s Day. TV-Y

[danganphobia]

hey. hey. if any of you watched/watch community, there's this episode where the gang build a giant pillow fort that takes up the whole college campus. so you get the idea, the campus throws a sleepover where everyone can just come inside the fort with their pajamas, pillows, plushies, food, whatever you want. laios tells toshiro about this and asks if he wants to come hang with his friends and he politely declines and says he has to study all night and he's tired from kendo and aikido so he doesn't want to. laios bemoans about it but decides to just let it go.

then later in the night kabru and mithrun come to their dorm and start grabbing blankets and pillows and stuff. toshiro's neck deep in studying and he turns back like "what are you guys doing?" and mithrun says "we're going to the fort." and kabru says "yeah we're going to the fort." and toshiro just stares at them like ? and when he follows them outside he sees everyone coming out of their dorms in their pjs with their belongings.

like shit is THAT SERIOUS it's like a campus tradition. toshiro calls namari on the phone and when she picks up she says "oh me and kiki are chilling in the fort in the west hall you should come" and toshiro is like "how many people are at this sleepover???" he gets a text from falin in the gc, her and marcille are surrounded by seal plushes. laios sends a video of him having pillow fights. toshiro shuts off his phone. HE NEEDS TO STUDY and everyone is slacking for a sleepover! how ridiculous!

he tries to focus on studying then he gets back pains. he can't really focus anymore. he has muscle soreness. his head slightly hurts. he should go to bed, but he hears people laughing and talking outside, dorm doors closing, everyone else seems to be awake while he's struggling to stay awake.

giving in, when it's literally three in the morning, he gets changed in one of those satin robes because he's classy, puts on his bedroom slippers, and gets a blanket and pillow in defeat. then his favorite rhino beetle plush laios got for him their first date.

this is stupid, he keeps telling himself. this is so stupid. he's been studying for 7 hours straight yet he remembers the exact location laios said he was setting up camp in. he's awkwardly crawling through the fort and excusing himself. just to be on the safe side, he's asking his peers if they've seen laios and they guide him closer to where he is.

when he gets there, he hears laios whisper "pssst hey toshiro!" and toshiro sees laios there in his shark onesie. he looks so silly in person toshiro can't help but giggle uncontrollably.

laios doesn't care though because he's so happy to see toshiro here. he says "you were studying forever, we thought you'd never come!" and toshiro asks, "we?" it just so happened most of their friends were still awake because they were all waiting for toshiro to come. toshiro's at a loss of words and says they really didn't have to, but they insist and say laios refused to give up until he comes and joins them.

in the knick of time, senshi and chilchuck come back with freshly baked desserts for the whole party.

everyone digs in and toshiro is the last to do so because he feels kind of bad about keeping them waiting. then senshi offers him a chocolate chip cookie. toshiro eats it, and notices they're all looking at him.

he's not really used to people doing such acts of kindness, so it makes him cry, and laios panics "TOSHIRO ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" and toshiro laughs as he wipes his few tears, saying, "yes, it's just really good. [the cookie] thank you everyone, for waiting for me."

it's a sappy moment, they don't tease toshiro or make him feel embarrassed for getting emotional, because they get it. it makes him feel more closer to them than before. they have snacks, do a DnD session, and end up falling asleep.

laios curls up on toshiro's lap and rests his head there. toshiro gives laios head-pats until he falls asleep. he's not sure if he'll get any rest here tonight but he's really glad he came.

the sleep catches up to him in the morning though. when laios wakes up he makes sure to sit up and lift the blankets over them both so toshiro can lean on his shoulder.

[gwynbleiddyn]

i feel like the dream in grimbold's camp at the beginning of book 6 should come with a warning that it will remove ur heart from ur body with the surgical accuracy of a drunk rhino

[carriagelamp]

It feels like I have been mostly reading duds this month… somewhat appropriately, I guess, given that January is rather the dud of months. About half of these books I really genuinely enjoyed (among others, Ducks, Fox 8, and Unseen Academicals were all great!) and the other half ranged from “fine but lacklustre” to “seriously?” I did end up reading more Canadian books than usual though, which was a pleasant surprise

Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping

A reasonably fun Doctor Who short story collection that nominally had a “winter” conceit to tie them together but… not it didn’t. This could be read at any point of the year, it's not particularly Christmas-y. Instead each of the twelve stories focused on a different Doctor Who villain/monster, with the Doctor and his companions only occasionally featuring — it was actually rather refreshing!

Of the stories, my favourites were: Red-Eyed League (Praternoster Gang!!! I love love love stories with them!), Celestial Intervention, Student Bodies, A Soldier’s Education, The Rhino of 23 Strand Street, and Anything You Can Do. I think there was only one story I disliked enough to skip, the rest ranged from pretty good to at least passable.

Apothecary Diaries v2 & 3

Honestly, this disappointed me. I really truly loved the first book of The Apothecary Diaries but for the next two books I felt like I was forever waiting for something to happen. But it was really just more of the same episodic stories. Which, if that's what you want, it delivers! Obviously lots of people who aren't me love this series! But for me... no

It feels like this author is allergic to character development — or even character interactions! You get a few funny moments now and again, but absolutely nothing that’s willing to go past the surface. I understand that Maomao is not a very social or empathetic character (frankly it’s one of the things that I love about her) but there’s ways for an author to force character interactions and make characters go out of their comfort zone even if the character's themselves are reluctant. This author… doesn't. Maomao just bops around, doing her thing. Which is fine. But also boring.

Instead the novels hinge entirely on the quality of the mysteries which… frankly just aren’t in-depth enough or clever enough to carry that weight. So. Disappointing. I might try watching the anime at some point to see if that’s more enjoyable because I do still enjoy Maomao and Jinshi… maybe that’s why I’m most annoyed, because this has potential that is just seems to do nothing with…

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore

Another disappointment. I saw this on so many 2024 book list round-ups! I’ve been looking for a new nonfiction book! It’s about bookshops!!! But despite this perfectly cocktail, this just… didn’t do it for me. I was more interested in getting a larger, overarching look at how things evolved, which this book gave a little bit of, but it spent too much time in the weeds for me. It focused a lot on single, specific bookstores and people. Maybe because I’m not American and don’t know these towns/stores/people so they have less impact, but I found it got so entrenched in kinda repetitive minutiae that it lost sight of the bigger picture that I was craving.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Now this was a pleasant surprise. I’ve read Kate Beaton’s works before (I think everyone on the internet has… Hark! A Vagrant and Step Aside, Pops)

but I hadn’t been aware that she’d done a new graphic novel or that it was going in a more serious direction than her gag-a-day style!

Ducks is a memoir-style comic that looks at Beaton’s time working on the Albertan oil sands to pay off her student loan debts, and the horror that comes from taking so many people and forcing them into a pressure cooker of a work environment. The oil sand camps tend to be quite northern, intensely isolated, very male-dominated, and run by the bastard oil companies that treat employees like disposal commodities to shove into their meat grinder. The conditions are horrific, and what Beaton experiences is also horrific. This graphic novel does a great job giving a sincerely nuanced look at these conditions and poses some very difficult questions about human nature and society.

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams

Just a fun youth horror graphic novel! I’ve enjoyed Graham Annable (the Grickle)’s work for years, mostly through his youtube shorts and Puzzle Agent, so I was excited to see him put out a standalone book. His signature style -- in art, humour, and horror -- is very present in this work, and it tells a few different horror short stories in a way that’s inviting to younger readers while still being able to give a thrill to older readers. Definitely worth giving a read!

Fox 8

A very neat short story that I also saw crop up on some 2024 reading lists. I listened to its half-hour audiobook and was very happy to do so! It’s told in the perspective of a fox who is struggling to understand why his forest has been ravaged, the ensuring food scarcity, and the people that now live there. It primarily focuses around Fox 8’s fascination with the humans and the “mall” that they’ve built where the forest once stood. Equal parts funny and tragic with a very unique narrative voice.

Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North

A very cozy children’s novel. I’d read The Very, Very Far North last year and was excited to see it had a sequel. It follows a group of animal friends who all live in The Very, Very Far North, and deals mostly with low-stakes friendship challenges and personal problems. It's written in a very Winnie-the-Pooh style — not the most exciting book you’d pick up, but it feels perfectly designed to be a bedtime readaloud.

My Dress-Up Darling v4

Another meh for me. I enjoyed the first few books of this series which focus on a girl who wants to get into cosplay but lacks the skills to do so, and a boy who is interested in things like sewing and outfit design but has only ever used it for crafting hina dolls. Their growing friendship is cute and I like all the research that went into this! But this one… just didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed some parts well enough (the budget cosplay chapters were neat!), but while the past three books I found had a good balance between plot and fan-service, this one felt like too much fan-service and too little substance. I probably won’t buy anymore, but I might keep reading them through the library, because I am invested in the cuteness of the main couple and the pretty costumes...

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind v1

………..I’m going to commit a grave sin and say that I actually didn’t love this. Maybe it’s because Nausicaa isn’t my favourite Ghibli film, but I found this so politically dense that I just got… bored. The art was pretty though, of course, and it would be an excellent read for anyone who really liked Nausicaa the film and would like to delve deeper into the lore, because it is apparently a LOT more expansive than the film is able to touch on.

Nim’s Island

A kidlit classic (even though it only came out in the 90s… it feels like a ~classic~ for some reason? Or that’s the vibe I’ve always picked up) that I’ve meant to read since I was a kid myself xD I finally did it! It’s a Robinson Crusoe style story about a girl who lives on a small island with her father, who’s a Scientist Performing Science. The story starts with her father needing to go to sea to do Science and getting stranded, so we see Nim needing to manage the island on her own while corresponding with an author through email. It’s cute. A little dull, the plot varies between slow to non-existent. I might have liked it more as a kid, but as an adult it really didn’t do it for me.

The Teller of Small Fortunes

A cosy fantasy book that follows Tao, a fortune teller who specializes exclusively in reading “small fortunes�� for people, reluctant to do anything bigger out of fear of drawing the Mage Guild’s attention. As she travels though she winds up telling a wandering mercenary’s fortune which have significantly bigger implications than she could have expected. Tao suddenly finds herself saddled with the mercenary (who is determined to see if stick around after hearing his fortune), as well as an ex-thief, a less-than-successful baker, and an ornery cat. For the first time in a long time, her life is suddenly full of people as she continues to travel the land and give out her small fortunes.

Cosy fantasy can be hit or miss for me (sometimes they feel agonisingly dull and pointless) but this one had just enough action and intrigue to keep a good forward momentum going. I enjoyed all the characters, and though I didn't think it totally stuck the landing the first half was very charming and I would recommend it to anyone that wants something soft and pleasant and magical.

Unseen Academicals

This must be my third or fourth time rereading Unseen Academicals, it’s one of my favourite Discworld novels; it’s technically the final book of the Wizard’s series, but it functions largely as a standalone since it has an entirely new cast of main characters and the wizards serve mostly as background cast. And man, did Sir Terry Pratchett absolutely nail his cast for this book. Mr Nutt, Trev, Glenda, and Juliette are all completely perfect and interact with each other in really interesting ways.

Technically this book is about football (soccer). More technically, it is not even remotely about football. More, more technically, it’s all about football. Also it's about gender and socio-economics and model minorities and genocide. Also it's Romeo and Juliette except it's not and also Romeo woke up in time to realise how stupid everything is.

Street football has always been popular in the city, creating a complex and occasionally violent subculture among the various streets and their teams, but now the higher-ups are beginning to take notice. Just as the wizards are starting to get involved in this Sport Of The People, other characters are determined to escape it and its ever present Shove. As always, Terry Pratchett does a great job dissecting people and society in a way that is both very poignant, a little tragic, and hilariously funny. Can’t recommend it enough, even if you’ve never read a Discworld book before.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit march to a security position after seizing Camp Rhino from the Taliban, 25 November 2001.