Valentine's Day in Animalia wasn't simply people handing flowers and chocolates to their potential mates. For one thing, chocolate was a potential poison for Animalians, not just dog Animalians. Instead, it was a three day event that not only explained what Valentine's Day was, but it was also a time for potential bondmates to be found, both among humans looking to become converted, and Animalians both uplifted and converted. There were also a lot of laughs going around, as certain new businesses got in on the Valentine's Day spirit.
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Animalia Magazine hosted two white dove Animalians dressed up as male and female Cupids on the front cover of their February edition. There was also an article called "Mateship Myths and Misconceptions" which explained how NOT to mess up trying to attract the attention of a single Animalian, most of which involved not playing to stereotypes, such as mice and cheese. There also was a web address to gain access to the "Animalian Kama Sutra" which not only included sexual positions that would make the bedroom more interesting, but also maps of erogenous zones that Animalians had but humans didn't, which helped newly converted Animalians bond with their new mates easier.
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There was also a showing of "all-natural" Valentine's Day candy and drinks, with nothing artificial in them. These were a good thing because traditional Valentine's Day chocolates were potentially very dangerous. The most popular flavors were Sweet Berry (not just strawberry and cherry) and Passion Fruit.
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There was also a sale on naughty lingere at the newly opened Miss Vivian's Intimacy Boutique, but that was only available to either double dosed Animalians or couples that were confirmed to be out of high school. But getting them was worth it because most of them were either completely transparent, or composed entirely of patterned lace, ranging in style from petite and demure to daring and adventurous. There were also copies of the Animalian Kama Sutra available for Animalian couples, but those were only available for bondmates.
Miss Vivian, despite sounding like a dominatrix, was actually a psychologist who specialized in the psychology of love, lust and nymphomania. She had come to Animalia to do some covert research, fell in love with a South American Vampire Bat Animalian from the Lyre Zoo, bonded and double-dosed herself with Arthur, as he called himself, and opened the intimacy boutique as a cover for her doctorate degree research. Her preferred work uniform was Victorian Era Classy Vampire, because she had a deep dislike of books like the Twilight Series, where vampires were domineering boyfriends who sparkle in the sun. Her preference were Bela Lugosi's 'Dracula' vampires who disintegrate at the touch of sunlight.
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There was also a number of sales and deals going around Lyre Animalia. There was a 50% off sale on Bondmate and wedding rings and jewelry at the local Jared's Jewelry store. Siam Shine was offering coupons for Valentine's Day Grooming deals. The Steakhouse was offering discounted meal service for newly bonded Animalian couples and/or Animalian Newlyweds.
There was also a surprise announcement from The Burrows, where Animalians who were burrowing animals were living. During the excavation, several mole Animalians accidentally discovered a massive vein of gold. One visitor, who always wanted to become a goldsmith, decided to become a mynah bird Animalian and open a goldsmith shop where custom made rings could be made. His story was featured in Animalia Entrepreneurs in Animalia Magazine.
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Clara and the others visiting Mieni Atoll made it back in time for the festivities, but there was also an official announcement/report on CNN where the president officially transferred ownership to Mieni Atoll to Animalia, declared Mieni Atoll as a wildlife reserve under the Antiquities Act, and announced the placement of an Animalia colony/tropical resort/wildlife research post on Mieni Atoll, along with pictures of several new species found there, the bioluminescent reef, and future plans for the tropical resort. Everyone was surprised to find that there would be no major building there, just a large group of all-natural cabanas with modern conveniences such as electricity and running water. The goal was to have as little impact on the environment as possible, as the president said.
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Valentine's Day was also the opening of the Meat Market at 32nd Street at the Worldmeet Glade. The man who was behind the casino was surprised when a large number of ex-adult entertainment people, who had left the business for age or health reasons, showed up in Animalia to talk to him specifically. But together they 'conspired' to use the Animalia virus to restore them to their prime and have exclusivity to Animalian Adult Entertainment stars.
There was also a bright idea to include microchips in ID cards so underage people would not be able to enter the Meat Market. The idea was that the microchips would interact with a special security system scanner to pull up information on a person's name, while a concealed camera in the bouncer's podium would scan the face and use face recognition software to obtain an identity. If anything came up, or the identity on the card did not match the facial recognition identity, Casino security would be notified.
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Valentine's Day was also the official opening of the newly created Horizon Light Hospital, formerly Horizon Labs. Now that there was a lot more room for up to 500 Project Phoenix volunteers at a time, and there was a larger lab to make researching the Virus easier. There were also classrooms for both Animalian Adaptation classes (for converted Animalians) and Remedial Classes (for uplifted Animalians) as well as a five-star cafeteria and kitchen for patients and volunteers.
One piece of artwork in the hospital was a mural depicting Hippocrates and Galen welcoming a newly hatched pheonix Animalian into their midst, while another was a female pheonix Animalian was being welcomed by Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, both of which represented Animalia being welcomed by both medical and religious authorities.
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All in all, Valentine's Day was a great way to show both new love and new opportunities. The announcement/news report about the president's olive branch to Animalia certainly got enough attention.