2024 wasn't really starting with a bang because many people, Human or Animalian, were still recovering from New Year's Eve, some in very different ways.
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What was probably generating a lot of interest was the "vacation pics and videos" Miss Juliet and her students were posting from their "semi-vacation" at Mieni Atoll. While many were confused about it being a "semi-vacation", the fact that there had been a massive bedbug outbreak in Paris made it a bit more understandable, even more so that Paris was going to be hosting the 2024 Olympics.
What was probably the most surprising to Miss Juliet and her students was the SS Joyous Bounty, though they did keep up with the news. It was a little more surprising to meet the members of both the BARA and ROSE houses, which inspired some of her newest students to at least request some shark or orca Conversions, even if they wouldn't get them.
After those two shocks, Miss Juliet and her students were able to enjoy themselves quite a bit, especially with natural wonders like the Luminous Reef, though Miss Juliet was working extra hard to watch how much alcohol she drank.
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One of the funniest things of 2024 technically happened in 2023, though it was still making waves in various ways. A car thief had stolen the getaway car of a group of jewel thieves while they had been robbing a jewelry store, causing them to make a break for it on foot and leading to their swift arrest and recovery of the stolen jewelry. The car thief herself had also been caught, leading to a real conundrum: while grand theft auto was a serious crime, said crime had actually stopped another crime that was almost as bad. So, what was law enforcement supposed to do in this case of 'two wrongs making a right'?
Mercy almost immediately made the suggestion that the car thief get the same 'treatment' she did, as in a double-dosed conversion with supervised probation, but lawmakers were understandably reluctant to reward a crime, though that didn't stop many a stand-up comedian or meme maker from making jokes about it.
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Finally, in something that was a bit more 'normal' for Animalia, both Horizon and Claw Coliseum (and its 'branches') were offering New Year, New Me packages for those with serious enough health problems. As a kind of 'un-surprise' (for lack of a better term), those who were buying up the most packages were those suffering from severe enough obesity to threaten their health. Because of the upcoming "Year of the Dragon" celebrations, many were getting Dinotopian conversions, causing a spike in population for both Dino City and the Mesozoic Enclave, even if the newest converts wouldn't be able to compete in the Year of the Dragon Competitions.