@Derek - Yeah, I do like the slow-fade-into-weirdness effect, don’t I? Really glad you enjoyed it, and also learned something! I saw a bunch of people saying “Happy ____ Day” on blogs yesterday, where they inserted some other holiday that shares this day instead of Valentine’s, so that gave me the idea to name the story after one of the lesser known “Valentine’s Day” festivals. Juno Februa is a bonus since it’s at least potentially a made-up festival, as source material referencing it is sketchy, so it seemed ideal for a story about a secret VD popularity ritual.

Awesome story Reesa! Loved it! It was fun and educational for me (I had to look up the definitions for the title which I thought was a nice touch).