As the Year of the Snake Celebrations wind to a close, there were relatively few surprises within the competitions, while there were plenty of other surprises from the outside world.
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The only real surprise inside the Year of the Snake was the Shi/Hir Zodiac Pageant, mainly because the previous contests were labeled as Zodiac Kings and Zodiac Queens, and nobody could really agree what "royal" term applied to hermaphrodites. However, the Race Up Zodiac Mountain was generating a lot of hype no matter who would be crowned the winner.
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Outside the Zodiac Celebrations, there were a few things that 'slithered' into Animalia (pun semi-intentional). The biggest thing was the discovery that at least two government agencies were "misappropriating funds" (to put it mildly) to fuel all kinds of ridiculous, and in some cases illegal, programs. One really unbelievable plan was to found Animalia colonies in places such as Afghanistan, Iran, etc., both to spread Western ideas in places where they're clearly not wanted and to further the 'disposable shock troop' ideas that some radical idealists still thought Animalians could be, even though there were plenty of evidence against this.
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Another thing that was, admittedly, kind of funny was the Ao Guang's Winter Weight Watcher's party. Due to the Year of the Snake, snake-based conversions were at reduced prices. China was indeed learning a lot for their government, but it wasn't what they actually wanted.
Part of the reason behind the party (that the Chinese agents didn't admit) was that, due to China's population problem, an attempt was made to "reinvigorate" the oldest generation in an attempt to reverse this problem. However, the virus seemed to have an odd sense of humor, because all those converted were not only larger and more "sexed up", but also more openly critical of the government. Also, China seemed to have forgotten the increased size and strength that most Animalians had, which would lead to things like housing, appliances, infrastructure, etc., having to be retrofitted, revamped, or even outright replaced, and China's current problems simply wouldn't let that happen.
On the surface, however, the Winter Weight Watcher's party was nothing more than one big, continuous beach party, and for some, that was all that mattered.
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The next event coming up was Valentine's Day, though this year it wouldn't be interrupted by religious holidays, so everyone was looking forward to spending time with their loved ones.