the birds and the bears and the otters too

[waiting]

sup CNC! Kytha here to bring you just a little bit of plot in time for the New Year.

Sometime next week (probably after Christmas) Bradbury's going to be making a post inviting people to go swimming -- that's right, winter swimming! In the grand tradition of polar bear clubs, he (and anyone else who feels like doing something life-affirming and is crazy enough to join him!) is going to be jumping off the boardwalk of Coney Island and into the water on December 29.

However, this won't be any ordinary plunge: with the line between this world and the demon dimension is a little blurred at the turning of the year, and a few unfortunate swimmers taking a dip will find themselves changed. They'll emerge from the water transformed into animals: bears, foxes, penguins, otters, puffins, walruses, seals -- basically, anything that can survive the icy water and get back to shore is fair game. If you aren't sure if yours counts, ask away!

What happens if my character becomes an animal?
They will not be able to speak or use their powers, but they'll remain fully sentient (think of Brave, minus the sliding into feralness thing). The extent to which animal-related powers can affect them is up to you.

Can they turn back?
Yes! Luckily, the change isn't permanent: the "curse" can be lifted if they can find someone else to fulfil ONE of the following conditions:
1. Being kissed. Fairly straightforward, think of it as your character being the Frog Prince, and someone has to break the spell!
2. Being killed. THIS WILL NOT COUNT AS A CITY DEATH. Someone has to kill your character before they return to being themselves.
3. Being let inside. Or more specifically, inside someone's house!

You can tweak these conditions for dramatic purposes slightly: for example, the killing has to be by beheading, or your character must be allowed to stay overnight for it to work.

Whether your character finds someone else to do this for them or not, they will turn back into their original selves by midnight on January 1st, a.k.a. right at the start of the New Year! Becoming human again isn't a Beauty and the Beast-esque transformation sequence; they'll essentially just shed the skin of the animal they were "wearing" (getting a skin pelt of whatever animal they were in the process whoops).

They will also, regardless of what they were wearing at the time of the plunge, be naked aside from the fur they just shed, so hopefully they aren't caught outside when this happens!

What if I don't want my character to be an animal/swim?
Absolutely! This is all completely optional. You can choose to have your character in the water, but unaffected. Someone will have to tell the Network what just happened, after all. Characters are also welcome to be simply spectators.

My character doesn't want to swim, but I want them to be affected!
As stated above, spectators are welcome, so as long as you can get them to the boardwalk, we can figure something out! Maybe they slipped and fell or maybe someone pushed them.

Please respond to this post with AFFECTED in the subject line, and fill out the following information. I've done Bradbeary as an example.

Affected Character: Rick Bradbury | whosgotme
Will Be Turning Into: Kodiak Bear
Can Be Turned Back By:  Being let inside and allowed to sleep overnight.

HANDY HTML BOX:
<b>Affected Character:</b> NAME | <user name="JOURNAL"> <b>Will Be Turning Into:</b> ANIMAL <b>Can Be Turned Back By:</b> Being killed./Being kissed./Being let inside. (CHOOSE ONE)

List UNAFFECTED if you're interested in having your character swim, but not be turned into an animal, SPECTATOR if they're coming by to watch (and/or mock) and UNDECIDED if you still need time to figure that out!

To sum up:
1. Winter swimming will happen at 1PM on December 29th. I will be making an open log for this and subsequent animal transformation shenanigans!
2. Characters transformed into animals can be turned back to humans on or before 00:00 on January 1, depending on certain conditions being fulfilled.

Remember to clear any large-scale damage and/or civilian terrorizing for moderator approval first!

Aaand that's it! Use this OOC post for organizing any curse-breaking needs; if you have any questions, please direct them to the first thread under this post so I can keep them organized!


AFFECTED
Rick Bradbury
James Bond
Roy Harper
The HABIT
Spike
Kate Kane
Rikku
The Shade
Wally West
Kotetsu Kaburagi
Oliver Queen
Stiles Stilinski
Feferi Peixes
Rose Lalonde
Roxy
Lalonde
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV

UNAFFECTED
Jane Vasko
Eridan Ampora
Hogan Bight

SPECTATING
April Ludgate
Zatanna Zatara
John Watson
KITT


WINTER SWIMMING LOG IS UP!

Comments

Q&A

[waiting]

Got a question? Drop it here so I can answer it for you!

[waiting]

Tossing up a few general guidelines for characters who have been turned into animals, as a cheat sheet!

• Turning into an animal won't happen immediately -- there's a little time to splash around like idiots and bitch about the cold before the change happens.
  
• They can understand each other, as well as any "normal" imPort speaking to them. However, they won't be able to understand normal animals.


• They can be understood by anyone who can speak with animals.


• They may be affected by people whose powers include telepathy/mind-control/etc (of animals or otherwise), but this is something that should be worked out on a case by case basis. If you don't want your character to be affected by these powers, just make it clear.


• They will not be able to use their powers.


• Putting on the animal skin they've shed won't turn them back into an animal again, sorry! But at least they have a nice rug/capelet/whatever to show for it. :')


• If they are not turned back by other means, they will revert back to normal at midnight on January 1st, right at the New Year.