While the Spring Festival was winding down, Animalia was gearing up for Spring Break. Most of the prep was for tourist season, especially in Mieni Atoll and Vilcabamba, but there were a few other things getting started.
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Anton was just collecting his hatchlings from daycare when he met Dr. Jones coming towards him.
"Good to see you." he said, "How are your first 'students' doing?"
"They're doing alright." said Anton, "They've got the first part of the second half done."
"Good to know," replied Dr. Jones, "But you might end up with more students soon."
"Why's that?" asked Anton, a little surprised.
"Project Phoenix just got a large number of ex-adult entertainment performers." answered Dr. Jones.
"Really?" asked Anton, with a small shudder of disgust.
"Most of them were considered "in their prime" in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, and others had to leave the industry due to STDs, but some of them were "up-and-comers" that suffered the worst fate imaginable in that industry, changing tastes." informed Dr. Jones.
"Changing tastes?" asked Anton, incredulously.
"Seen it before, especially in art." clarified Dr. Jones. "Tastes change, and what was once considered beautiful is now considered shameful. In art, its as simple as a new hand coming in to paint clothes over nudes. But with the adult entertainment industry, it's not that simple. Often those stars, even new and promising ones, are let go."
"Oh." said Anton, not knowing what else to say.
"Fortunately Horizon Light started 'implant removal' services for half the usual price. So don't be surprised if you get some more members of Project White Lily." said Dr. Jones.
"I might need some help with dealing with so many students." said Anton, a little annoyed at that.
"I'll make sure to drop your request off at the Great Hall," replied Dr. Jones, "But before I do, here's a web article that shows how male and female beauty evolved in America, it's sure to give you a laugh." he finished, handing a paper with a website address from medicaldaily.com on it.
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"So how are our new 'knights' doing?" asked Clara of Robbie.
"They're doing quite well," answered Robbie, "They're progressing right along with their remedial lessons. I've also heard that they've founded a medieval 'secret society' of sorts called the 'White Stallions'." On seeing Clara's confused look, Robbie explained, "When I asked Dr. Jones about it, he said that medieval secret societies were nothing like the pulp fiction secret societies of today, and certainly not the groups of jaded aristocrats throwing wild parties in the 19th century at least." Seeing that Clara was still confused, Robbie said that, "You should ask him about it, I didn't get it either."
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In the main office of the Claw Coliseum, Brett was looking over the fighter roster of the registered UFC-A fighters. There were now enough to have a kind of "maiden match" in the Octagon. He was also looking at suggestions for "promos" for the first fight on the Animalia website. Some of them were definite possibilities, but others were officially signed as "no", whether they weren't very practical, or were copyright to other fighting networks.
One such request was that that female UFC-A fighters wear "slightly indecent" costumes (which had a good deal of promise) and had some ideas drawn up attached to the suggestion. While some of them might have been good ideas, there was the fact that most of the costume ideas were designed more for titillation rather than support or "protection". In response, Brett replied, "While many uplifted Animalians don't understand it, those costumes can cause "bouncing" that will leave to serious injuries. UFC-A isn't an underground fighting ring, so get out of the basement and into the real world."
Another such request was how the male UFC-A costumes/uniforms should look like. The main problem was that most of the attached "ideas" seemed to be little more than fighting "G-strings". To that, Brett replied, "And some people think guys are the most sex-crazed."
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Because of the upcoming events, including the official opening of the African Colonies, everyone was looking forward to Spring Break.