[OPEN] This is the most serious plot log of all time

[theearth]

Who: EVERYBODY. That means you. Especially you.
What: Ice bucket challenging. YEAH!
When: Anytime, really. Consider this a catch-all! Start your own threads - in-person, on the network, off the network... It's all good!
Where: Wherever buckets filled with ice water can be found.


[ After being tagged himself by Gabriel, Badri has officially tagged "all the Specials" (that means you, Numbered) to do the ice bucket challenge! So get on it. Or donate. Or wuss out. Your call, Specials! ]

Comments

[Geoff/Badri/Meredith, posted to youtube]

[bridgeburning]

[ The video opens on a vague, blurry... something that is way too close to the camera. A something that talks. ]

Hello Earth Internet! We have been tagged, which means that we need to be doused in freezing water for reasons I already forgot! I am Badri Barkley, like a dog or a tree!

[goldenbrother]

[The something is pulled away from the camera far enough that he becomes properly visible by a rather exasperated looking Geoff, who despite that still tries to give the camera and those behind it a friendly smile. Further in the background one can see a rather nondescript forest-with-a-cabin area and a third person, Meredith, sitting on a table with a large bucket at each side of him.]

Good evening, humanity. For those that have not met us yet, I am Geoff Benwick, this is Badri Barkley and Meredith Chownyk. We're from a far away planet and have come to establish peaceful relations with all those that reside on this world.

[He'll let go of Badri with a short look and a last pull at his shirt to make him stand straight, though none of it is marked by a negative attitude, more like a mother reigning in an unruly child.]

One kind of friendly gesture that we were introduced to rather abruptly earlier today when we were "tagged" by Gabriel West in the "ice bucket challenge". It sounds like a rather commendable activity, though it is strange to us, and so we thought that we should partake in it.

[Network Video]

[dead_black_eyes]

[From the neck down, viewers can see a skinny guy keeps approaching his ice bucket, then retreating on the balls of his feet. He paces and circles a little more in what appears to be a bathroom for several minutes, eventually just tipping over the bucket with his foot and letting the water spill all over the tile floor. Kicking aside a few ice cubes, he bends over the counter, briefly flashing a checkbook before presumably starting to write out a generous one.]

[sjokolade]

[Meanwhile Abby will be over here just raising an eyebrow]

You know, I don’t think it counts unless we see your face! Show yourself you mysterious person on the network, you!

[Action]

[belphe]

[The trickle of responses to the ice bucket challenge have been a source of entertainment tonight. Belle, given recent circumstances, is giving both herself and L a pass on responding to the blanket nomination on the network.

....at least until she sees a very familiar skinny body fidgeting with a bucket of water. When the bucket clatters over, she hears it do so in the neighboring hotel bathroom as well, spurring her to shut off her cel phone and roll out of bed to investigate.

There's a polite knock at the door shortly afterward, as she dares to hope the mess isn't as bad as it looked on-camera]

[espigeonage]

[Here's Julien in kind of a white tank top and soft gray pants. His back is to the ocean, and the wind coming off that is ruffling his feathers and sounding on the mic. Aware of that, he's raised his voice.]

I was tagged by Gabriel West, soon to be deceased. He's helped me mail off a check to the ALS foundation, but that won't save him.

[Anyway, here's the bucket. He's not bothered much by cold anymore, but still winces as he gets soaked and is barely acting as he sputters and holds his dripping wings against his body.]

I nominate Kendall, Stacey T., Stacie S., Sam Iwata, Naishe Rivera, Ariel, annnnd uh my sister! Sorry Cece!

[A grin starts to show. Now he moves off camera and there's yelping as he flaps water at people who're with him. Any of his friends could be there, having held the bucket on a ladder or whatever.]

[sylvanguard]

After you murder Gabriel, I'm coming for you.

[mistakesmakeuswhoweare]

...fine. But you're helping me with mine.

[thebalrogslayer]

[Laughing 5eva.]

You'll have to catch me before you can kill me.

YOUtube

[ursoreckless]

[ Shou really is a big ham. usually his station is of music videos, anime shorts, a lot of family concerts between him and his mother, a lot of cosplay skits, often in which he is being all dressed up outrageously.

today, he is going mostly naked just to dump a bunch of ice and water over himself in an obvious fanservicy way. once that is done, the camera has a view of part of a check - all info as to bank, his name, and his address not legible - before a close up of Shou, hair wet and that little smirk of his in place. ]

Let's see... How about all my family and friends? Think of it as charity.

[uploaded to YouTube]

[gogoghostpowers]

[Danny, decked out in full Cure Phantom costume, is standing in a kiddie pool in what looks like someone's backyard. (Because it is.) In the kiddie pool with him is a giant bucket of ice cold water.]

Okay, so uhhh I've been tagged by like 20 people so far, including the, uh--one of the aliens, Geoff Benwick, so. I don't--[he looks over to someone offscreen and waves his hands] no, I am NOT taking the spandex off, I don't--ugh, okay--

Anyway...I don't think I can put this off for any longer. Fair warning, though, the freezing cold doesn't really affect me that much any more, but, hey, ice water is ice water!

[and with that, Danny grasps the bucket and lifts it up over himself, the contents absolutely SOAKING him head to toe and filling up the kiddie pool around him. Once the bucket's empty, he grins.]

Okay, okay, uh--I challenge all the other Cures! And everybody on the Cure Phantom subreddit--especially the ones who keep calling me Spooky Badger. You know who you are.

[Youtube comment!]

[scarlet_devil]

[Let's see, her icon is a picture of VIVIT, her username is, well, her name. Emilia Stacojiu.]

I hope you don't seriously expect me to get swept up in this nonsense. Just donating should be enough.

after her own attempt, via youtube

[drama8om8]

Tavia Serket ::::) 1 min ago

8h m8 g8d this is so inappropri8.

video

[sylvanguard]

[Ariel is outside in the garden of her condo with an ice bucket off to one side as she is angling something (probably her laptop) up to show herself. She is wearing her usual jeans and a t-shirt outfit with her hair currently done up in a ponytail.]

Okay So, Julien tagged me to do this, so I am. And afterwards I'm going to pluck all the feathers off that Turkey... anyway, here goes. [She grabs the bucket, and mutters under her breath as she hefts up the bucket and tips it over her head.]

Cold! Coldcolcold Oh My fff-uu--mmm cold. [She shivers and dances around a moment, gasping.]

Right, okay. Liam, Killian, Aunt Mardís, Uncle Thorir, I'm tagging you. Oh and Isabela too!

[She flashes a grin as she grabs for a towel then heads over and closes the laptop to end the feed. Yes her teeth are chattering.]

[espigeonage]

Awww, but I'm ugly without feathers now!

[he doesn't appreciate being called a turkey but will hide that.]

video

[arrowpoint]

.............Uh, I thought you weren't talking to me?

action

[youngestone]

You fuckin' suck, babe.

video

[mistakesmakeuswhoweare]

I should make you help with mine, but lucky for you, Julien tagged me first.

Video

[arrowpoint]

[Unlike most people doing this challenge, Liam isn't filming outside. He has his laptop set up at the kitchen table, and he's filming himself as he types and looks distracted.]

Uh, okay so I'm doing this challenge thing...

[He pauses, looking at the screen further and the taking out his wallet from his back pocket. He looks over his credit card and starts typing in some numbers.]

...and I'm almost done.

[He flips over the card and types in a few more numbers, clicks with the touch pad a few times, and suddenly there's a whirring noise of a printer. Liam puts away his card and wallet, then reaches over to fetch the printed out paper. He holds it up for the camera, showing that he has in fact donated a respectable amount of money to the ALS charity.]

That should do it, right?

Video

[mistakesmakeuswhoweare]

Well, what fun is that?

[video uploaded to her official author site]

[mistakesmakeuswhoweare]

[Oh, you dare to challenge a romance novelist? It is on and she is going to get some very creative revenge.

The camera turns on to show Naishe/Isabela dressed in a get-up worthy of one if her own heroines: her hair done in romantic waves, dressed in an old-fashioned lacy white dress with a corset, putting her bountiful cleavage on display... And hmmm but that material looks worrisomely thin... In the background, Julien can be seen dressed up in a similar romance-novel-hero get-up. She smiles mischievously and can be seen writing something with a quill pen. It appears to be a check, at first, when she rips it off and lays it aside. But underneath, it looks like sheets of parchment. A large fancy pitcher sits on the table beside her. She then starts scratching something out on the parchment...]

And so did Isabela await the charming rogue who had first called her name. Anxiously, did she anticipate his arrival, for him to sweep her up in his arms and transport her to entire new worlds of pleasure... The wait was agony, and her mind turned to thoughts of what he might do to her that night. The thoughts alone were enough to set a fire in her dusky skin, and she was... desperate to cool it...

[Here, she lays down the pen. Reaching a hand into the pitcher, she pulls out an ice cube and starts to very sensually run it over her neck, bare shoulders, and collarbone, before letting it drop into her cleavage.]

Mmmmm.... But, no, that only seemed to make the flames fan higher... No, no, she needed more. Her bosom heaved and she could feel the rising lusts starting to effect her in delicious ways...

[Two more ice cubes from the pitcher this time, and she lets them dip down over her curves, she's purposely making them heave, before also being dropped. The cold is clearly starting to have an effect on her through the thin white material of her dress. Was that planned? Damned right it was.

Julien has started to approach her from the background.]

And then he appeared! And a shiver ran through her...

[Cue three more ice cubes, two into her cleavage and one down the back of her dress. She stands up and crosses over to Julien, putting her hands on his chest, posing like cover art for a romance novel.]

Yes! Oh, she wanted this, and as he took her in his arms, the rush she felt was... so exquisitely intense...

[Here she grabs the pitcher and pours it over her head, crying out deliberately in a way that completely puts to shame the famous scene from "When Harry Met Sally."]

His arms were blessedly warm... And there was no quenching the heat of their kiss...

[She snuggles right into his arms, glad his temperature is so much higher than hers, and plants a salacious kiss on him that lasts almost a full minute. When she breaks it, she starts laughing and turns back to the camera.]

There you have it! Special thanks here to Julien for helping me out after nominating me. And, in addition to my check, I will donate ten percent of all the sales of my latest book to support ALS treatment.

So, now, Hjalti, Blaine... Anders, if you can hear me... Your turn!

[espigeonage]

[Slightly red and mildly dampened himself, he half-bows at the camera when she credits him, then waits until the recording's over.]

Oh, no. I think the lens cap was on, we'll have to do it again. [It was not.]

[Youtube]

[originaloddcouple]

[And then there was a man in a Big Bird costume and a woman in a Cookie Monster mask.]

Hello everyone!

Its us, the great thieves of Locke City! [The duo appear to be attempting to speak in low gravelly voices, so no one will recognize it.]

Now, our good buddies have explained this whole "Ice Bucket Challenge" thingamajig. And we think its pretty cool!

And since we were nominated by the BadriSo, here we are, holding up this grocery store! Say hi Paul!

[The camera is turned to see the most baffled hostages in the universe.]

...Hello?

So, all the money in this register that isn't for workers pay, taxes, maintenance, and so on will be donated to ALS!

And according to the math Paul gave us, that's about $2!

[Paul clearly has the expression of someone who can't believe something worked.]

Now, that's not enough, so we decided to take money from the other registers too!

And Becca's math- oh, say hi Becca!

...Hi Becca? [That voice comes from behind the camera.]

Becca's math says that brings us up to $10!

In any case, since we couldn't get the dough, bring on the challenge!

[There's a long pause.]

...Paul?

Look, I'm sorry, but the ice bucket actually needs water in it to-

It'll be fine! Just go ahead and dump it!

[The cashier shrugs before dumping the bucket's contents on the duo. They are immediately pelted with all those store-bought ice cubes that stick together, letting out shouts of surprise and pain in the process.

Eventually, the bucket is emptied and the couple are brushing off any leftover cubes.]

Now! We nominate Batterman...

Inspector Spacetime...

And Rhode Island! Get to it, buddies!

[You might as well stop the video here. Its just three minutes of the thieves asking Becca and Paul how to turn off the camera and how to post it places. No, they didn't edit that out.]

[livestream]

[drama8om8]

Hiiiiiiii, adoring fans and fellow superheroes! I got tagged by a whole bunch of people. Which isn't a surprise, what with me being popular and famous and famously popular.

[ Octavia has taken this as an opportunity to show off. WHO WOULD EVER HAVE GUESSED. As a result, she's in full-on "look at me" mode - expensive swimsuit, perfectly-tousled hair, waterproof makeup, ridiculous poses...

She's also sporting a new set of sharp fangs, but shh. We don't talk about those. ]

I guess all the numbers people got tagged already! So I tag Mac and Kanti and Jamie and Ryan and Bertramholdt. And Nic Cage. Let's do th--

[ As Alan wanders into view with a bucket, she stops dead. Fellow Numbered might recognise the telltale signs of an echo, but even those who don't will see her turn beet red. ]

Wait! Waitwaitwait! Stop! I changed my mind!

[ She looks beyond embarrassed. Which is pretty odd for someone who was gleefully posing in a swimsuit only moments ago. Unfortunately for her, Alan ignores her shrieks of blushy protest and dumps the water over her head anyway.

The stream doesn't last much longer, since she lets out a tiny mortified wail and flies out of shot to kill the feed. The video is naturally up on Youtube within hours. THE PERILS OF PIMPING YOUR STUNTS OUT ON REDDIT. ]

private network video

[thebalrogslayer]

[Gabriel took a little while to hunt her down through the network so he could send her a private message after watching the video on youtube. He recognised those signs of an echo and it made him curious.]

You got an echo from the ice bucket challenge too?

[Youtube video]

[scarlet_devil]

[It all starts with one Emilia Stacojiu in her home's rather large garden beside a bucket, wearing a one piece swimsuit and looking annoyed about it all. At some point she's gotten a hold of some colored contact lenses to hide her unusual eye color, she'll hold off on revealing herself as numbered just yet. And fangs aren't noticeable either, so...]

Feel free to look, because this is the only time you'll be seeing me wear this little online. Anyway, a little Phantom decided to tag me.

[She glances down at the bucket of icewater, before leaning down to pick it up. She proceeds to effortlessly hoist it over her head, and, taking a deep breath, proceeds to dump the contents over herself. Cue shrieking and a lot of Romanian swearing.]

C-cold...!

Okay... I challenge... You know what, I challenge anyone that hasn't done this yet! [She smirks.]

Now, as for myself... [She walks off screen, shivering, and soon afterwards the video ends.]

[John Smith, network and Youtube]

[gobybessie]

[ The recording turns on to show a very grumpy John Smith. Really, he thinks this challenge is a good thing, and it’s helped a lot and there’s been loads of donations. He’ll make some too, of course. But he still doesn’t have to be happy about this. ]

My daughter is making me do this, since all of us “Specials” got challenged. Thanks, dear.

[ There’s bright and clear laughter, obviously from behind the camera, and thumbs up comes into view. ]

Right. If there’s anyone who isn’t in on the memo yet at this point, the ALS ice bucket challenge is to raise awareness for ALS; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease. It’s a neurodegenerative disease that slowly breaks down the brain’s ability to control the muscles in your body, which may eventually lead to paralysis and, inevitably, death, as there is at this point no known cure. I have donated to the ALS Association and I suggest anyone who has yet to do so, do so. Even if just a dollar.

With that over with …

[ He takes a deep breath, steals himself and waves his daughter forward. Before she goes, though, she zooms in for a close up on his face. Because he refuses to let her show hers, but she insisted she be the one to pour the water on him.

“Bend your knees, dad, you’re too tall,” she says, and he grumbles under his breath but does as told, ducking out of the shot.

You see the bucket as she empties it over his head, though, and as soon as that's done he straightens back up.

He manages to stay completely silent, but his shoulders are tense, drawn right up to his ears, and he takes several deep breaths through his mouth. Meanwhile his daughter collapses with laughter beside him. A laughter that quickly becomes a shrill scream as he wraps his arms around her and shares the cold. You can't really see either of them for a little while. ]

I challenge you, and your mother, and … [ he lets her go, turning back to the camera with a meaning smile, ] Emil. Even if you’ve already technically been challenged.

[ Be happy he used that name, Archie. He’s so kind. ]