While January was only thirteen days along, the Snake Animalians of Animalia and its colonies started doubling down on various forms of training due to the Year of the Snake beginning on the 29th. However, the newest snake Animalians were barred from signing up for the competition, though there were some who protested this injustice. Though that didn't mean that snakes were completely discarded.
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Because of Chrissy and Marcella's little brouhaha, there was a new debate about distributing the Animalia Virus, though it was later determined that Marcy had obtained her sample of the virus through subterfuge while her mother was doing volunteer work with Animalia, so the only real solution for now was to better secure the samples.
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There were also some clips on the Animalia website from New Year's parties, but they were mainly "opening champagne fails" or "people trying spicier food than they were used to" clips, so they didn't detract too much. However, there were some who took the phrase "new year, new me" a little too far and got their conversions on New Year's Eve/Day. This resulted in a few funny things such as new features (wings, tails, horns, etc.) bumping into things, getting caught in doors, or similar accidents. These were considered funnier, in a way, especially when said accidents were caught on camera.