With nine days left to go before Animalia's Birthday Celebration, things were heating up across the board, and in more ways than one.
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It was around this time that "summer heat" began hitting many Animalians, mainly among those who were known to breed during the summer. As usual, there was an uptick in heat suppressants and birth control, so nobody was too worried about this. However, there were some new things going on that might make people raise or crinkle their eyebrows.
The best example of this was an unusual photoshoot done by the BARA House. While there wasn't anything inappropriate showing, it was certainly unusual, since it involved wearing male leather harnesses. While Sergei was initially reluctant to take part, he did admit (once the harness was on) that he did feel a little more comfortable with himself, which might or might not be symptoms of RHS manifesting.
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Speaking of raised eyebrows, there was one thing that was also causing a similar thing. Because of the new stallions, the Brown Farm was being unofficially labeled as the "Stud Farm". Partly this was because Sylvia, although she had fully paid off her part of the debt from the Seven-on-Four night, she had remained on the farm, and partly because, due to the success/popularity of the sauna and outdoor showers, the stallions had built a kind of "communal barracks" for themselves. Because of this, Sylvia was known to visit said barracks after dark, though never less than once a month, but sometimes as often as once a week. Fortunately, Sylvia was remembering to take her birth control, so nobody really bothered her about this.
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Another thing that was heating up was the IAC Competitions, with the Aquatic events holding the most attention. However, other events were certainly not neglected, such as the IAC Track and Field competition (with associated Human vs. Animalian comparison), and the "Beach Bod" competition on Mieni Atoll.
While Nio was one of the finalists in the competition, shi wasn't the only one that was generating a lot of attention. There was also Dan, who was generating a lot of attention as the first Animalian bodybuilder with four arms; Hector, though part of his notoriety was from the behavior of his new "flock", though the usual internet weirdos were blowing things way out of proportion, no matter how many times their claims were debunked; the "Bald Bull", whose 'condition' not only allowed him to soak up some natural color, but also allowed him to get some new tattoos; and Elena, a bull shark herm who had been competing in both the aquatic events and the bodybuilding events.
Of course, the biggest event was the arrival of the S.S. Joyous Bounty, which had been briefly delayed due to the beginning of the ROSE House. It really was something to see the ship slide into its new cradle, and Lexia's coverage of all its features certainly showed off all its best sides, so to speak