The 2021 Lunar New Year Celebrations in Lyre/Animalia was quite something, even with the signs of the times about. While the pandemic was finally "calming down", the precautions were still in place due to what some might call, "lethal stupidity". That didn't mean, though, that there wasn't fun and surprises to be had.
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Probably what was the, unofficial, biggest thing was the arrival of Itegami from Heiya Island to preside over both the celebration and the Year of the Ox competition. He certainly made a show of it when he sounded his conch horn to begin the festivities, which showed that it was a little more than a ceremonial piece.
Shuixing had also arrived with Itegami because she was competing alongside Nate in the competition. Some would argue that the pandemic had done her some good, since she had been dealing with the separation with binging on ice cream, but when news of the lunar new year celebrations reached her, she really began doubling down on her training, which helped burn off the ice cream "fluff" and really improved her overall build.
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Another thing that was a little noteworthy were those who were using Lunar New Year for new beginnings. Nicole's plan to "get even" with her mother by dating Philip's father was one of those plans that already had signs that things were about to go a little awry, in a funny way. Lars's conversion into a male fennec fox Animalian was noteworthy not only because he now looked like a slightly older brother to Philip, but also because he had gotten both tattoos and nipple piercings and had developed a bit more of a macho personality, much to Nicole's surprise and Philip's embarrassment. There were some on the internet that commented on how becoming an Animalian was giving rise to Lars' "inner frat boy", which was technically true since he had been part of the local fraternity while in college.
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Another new thing that was going on was that some who had undergone conversion sponsoring others for conversion. While this was not as common as it once was, it was still common enough to not raise eyebrows. But there were a few that did cause some concerns, such as some of Gloria's sponsorships.
"So these girls went to the same school as you, Gloria?" asked Dr. Jones, looking at the recommendations she submitted.
"Yes." answered Gloria, her skin color betraying her happiness at their willingness to join.
"While the school you went to no longer exists," said Dr. Jones, who had completed his research before talking with Gloria, "and I can say this: the only other place that was worse than the school you went to was Hagatha Home for Girls, and that was a fictional location."
"...right." said Gloria, whose skin showed 'visible confusion'.
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Another new thing that was going on during Lunar New Year was where some people were starting on new relationships. What was probably the most amusing to witness was Amos and Barb, partly due to a viral video on the website that Barb uploaded. In it, after Amos had passed out from "workout exhaustion", Barb had thought it would be funny to tie him up with leather straps while he was unconscious and film his reaction. However, when he woke up to find himself tied up, he had gotten himself free by tearing through the leather straps, though not just by flexing his muscles. Barb's reaction to that in the video also seemed to show that she had had a spike of unfamiliar emotions by simply watching, which, in a way, contributed to Amos' refusal to be a "gimp".