#the-new-fifth-year ai

[traceyc-uk]

Hope you get well soon 🫂💚🥹 Lots of hugs for you!! 💚🫂🫂💕

Aaaughhagh I kill u!!! I kill U with HUGS!!! 😭😭🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂💕 you so friggyfukky cute! In his little jim-jammies THANK YOU!🤧

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - March 18

1. FDA to Finally Outlaw Soda Ingredient Prohibited Around The World

An ingredient once commonly used in citrus-flavored sodas to keep the tangy taste mixed thoroughly through the beverage could finally be banned for good across the US. BVO, or brominated vegetable oil, is already banned in many countries, including India, Japan, and nations of the European Union, and was outlawed in the state of California in October 2022.

2. AI makes breakthrough discovery in battle to cure prostate cancer

Scientists have used AI to reveal a new form of aggressive prostate cancer which could revolutionise how the disease is diagnosed and treated.

A Cancer Research UK-funded study found prostate cancer, which affects one in eight men in their lifetime, includes two subtypes. It is hoped the findings could save thousands of lives in future and revolutionise how the cancer is diagnosed and treated.

3. “Inverse vaccine” shows potential to treat multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases

A new type of vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) has shown in the lab setting that it can completely reverse autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes — all without shutting down the rest of the immune system.

4. Paris 2024 Olympics makes history with unprecedented full gender parity

In a historic move, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has distributed equal quotas for female and male athletes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris 2024. It is the first time The Olympics will have full gender parity and is a significant milestone in the pursuit of equal representation and opportunities for women in sports.

Biased media coverage lead girls and boys to abandon sports.

5. Restored coral reefs can grow as fast as healthy reefs in just 4 years, new research shows

Planting new coral in degraded reefs can lead to rapid recovery – with restored reefs growing as fast as healthy reefs after just four years. Researchers studied these reefs to assess whether coral restoration can bring back the important ecosystem functions of a healthy reef.

“The speed of recovery we saw is incredible,” said lead author Dr Ines Lange, from the University of Exeter.

6. EU regulators pass the planet's first sweeping AI regulations

The EU is banning practices that it believes will threaten citizens' rights. "Biometric categorization systems based on sensitive characteristics" will be outlawed, as will the "untargeted scraping" of images of faces from CCTV footage and the web to create facial recognition databases.

Other applications that will be banned include social scoring; emotion recognition in schools and workplaces; and "AI that manipulates human behavior or exploits people’s vulnerabilities."

7. Global child deaths reach historic low in 2022 – UN report

The number of children who died before their fifth birthday has reached a historic low, dropping to 4.9 million in 2022.

The report reveals that more children are surviving today than ever before, with the global under-5 mortality rate declining by 51 per cent since 2000.

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That's it for this week :)

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[etirabys]

meandering post about reading Orson Scott Card again

I've been offline starting at 9pm every day (except once. I was drunk at karaoke and asked for anons at 8:30pm) for six weeks, with the result that in befuddled boredom two nights ago I picked up Orson Scott Card's Songmaster from the house bookshelf.

I read Ender's Game and three sequels when I was a teen thought the books were mid. Since those are OSC's best works I assumed he had nothing more interesting to offer me and didn't try more of him for fifteen years, but Songmaster was compelling enough that I immediately afterwards picked up The Memory of Earth, the first book of a pentalogy.

TMoE is extremely my jam: after humanity blows itself up on Earth, AIs monitor thriving human civilizations in the planets that survivors managed to escape to, and suppress any tech that enables large scale violence by exerting low key mind control via satellites. But forty million years pass, many of the satellites break down, and the AI needs help from humans to restore capabilities. Because as its control wanes, people are starting to e.g. conceive of airplanes or bombs again, and override the injunctions against entering military alliances more than two edges of connection away.

The AI is worshipped as a god all over the planet, but the fourteen year old protagonist that becomes one of the AI's agents tells the AI from the beginning that he'll break with it if its morality seems wrong to him. I like the fourteen year old – unlike Ender or Songmaster's protagonist (adult minds piloting ten year old bodies), he's a normal gifted kid who's unpopular 50% due to his ego and big mouth and 50% because he's socially inept and offends people even when he's trying to be nice.

Songmaster is also partly about a permanent solution to large-scale violence, albeit through one guy who establishes a monopoly on violence and sweeps in pax galactica. Both it and TMoE are preoccupied with the eradication of suffering from evil / human violence, which is closer to my resonant frequency than narratives about defeating particular people or ideologies. At the moment I can't think of any other book with such an insistent focus on the matter than T.H. White's The Once and Future King. It's hard to make a compelling story out of, and I don't think Songmaster really succeeds, but TMoE's premise is well suited to explore that. (I'm also enjoying the matriarchal culture where everyone is expected to have multiple serial-monogamous marriages.) After reading 70% of TMoE last night I wrote:

Usually when I read fiction there's a small part of me going, how can I use this as fodder for my own growth, how can I remix or improve or react against this, how do the author and I measure against each other? (If the quality and content are at an anti-sweet spot, the small part becomes quite large and I feel all teeth towards the author.) But on occasion I read something so close that the absence of that measuring-feeling is its own sensation – ego departs, or at least is split across two bodies. There's just amity and recognition

And it's pretty interesting to feel this way about Card for, well, the reasons.

(If you're familiar with Card drama none of the following will be new to you; I'm coming to it fresh so the rest of this post is me going "uh... wow")

I vaguely knew he was a homophobic Mormon who'd gotten into fights about gay stuff, but I couldn't tell from the Ender books I read. But in Songmaster his issues spring off the page in such a weird way. Every fifth Goodreads review of this book is "Card, u gay?" because, well,

(One review, possibly from a fellow Mormon, that went "Card, it's so sinful of you to be this gay in your novel". Why did he write this book that would predictably make everyone mad...)

it's full of gay male desire. The protagonist (Ansset) is approximately a castrato and characters notice him sexually a lot. The first and only time Ansset has sex it's with a Kinsey 4-5 male character he loves, who's married to a woman but has fallen in love with Ansset. It turns out the drugs Ansset took to prolong his singing career painfully and only-kinda-figuratively explode your balls when you have your first orgasm and you'll never feel sexual desire again. (You'd think his loving teachers would have warned him of that, but, whatever, they didn't.) The other guy is literally castrated in punishment for inadvertently torturing a highly valuable castrato. It's pretty bald: GAY SEX IS ALMOST IRRESISTIBLY TEMPTING BUT YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT.

(Sidenote: both Ansset and the guy's wife are very close and have a "there's enough love to go around" attitude about the gay sex initially, before they go "wait Josif is a SERIAL MONOGAMIST... he can only love one person at a time... the moment he had the gay sex his marriage was destroyed". It's funny in a mildly stupid way that Card would set up this parable of homosexuality destroying lives and a marriage but almost everyone involved is peacefully ready to sail into an open marriage. I guess it makes sense if you want to say very clearly that THE GAY PART IS THE BAD PART)

which is fascinating to me, because... why would you tell on yourself like that

(81k also told me secondhand of an essay? interview? where Card openly says "we have to stand against legalizing gay marriage because everyone will get gay married and society will collapse", so that's informing my read of Songmaster as well)

I am pretty dang open about my personal life online but if I had a lot of feelings I thought were disgusting and immoral I would not write a novel dripping with those feelings before pointedly castrating the leads for them. Especially if it wasn't relevant to the actually highbrow themes of (checks notes) winning over your adversaries with kindness and never relinquishing your monopoly on violence. I would be so so so so embarrassed to let this go to print, it's so psychologically transparent, what was he thinking

(Well, I assume he's a very different person with different social incentives. For all I know, people in his church went "hey Orson we read your book and it's clear that you're gay but signaling strongly that you won't give into the gay feelings, we're here for you, it was really brave of you to publish this".)

[ryuichirou]

Why is Ortho included in ship art? He died as a child, and although he was rebuilt, his emotional intelligence and maturity level stayed the same as that of a child. Although I fully disagree, I do want to understand your reasoning. Especially since Ortho and Idia are related and I saw your art of them kissing. I am genuinely confused.

I’ll be honest, Anon: the amount of people who message us pretending to be genuinely confused while having ill intentions are more than I care to admit, and this is very tiring; this is why I might sound a little dry in my reply. But I don’t mind explaining it if you genuinely want to understand it. That being said, let this be the last time I am ranting about this topic because there is nothing new I can say.

Here is the short answer: Ortho is included in ship art because we ship him with other characters. Ortho having a maturity level, mentality and/or intelligence of a child is a myth that contradicts canon and only exists to antagonise people who view Ortho as anything other than Idia’s baby mascot with zero agency. The fact that Idia and Ortho are related is not a reason not to ship them: shipping is fictional and doesn’t reflect one’s views on irl matters. Exploring taboo and problematic dynamics and tropes in fiction is a part of natural human experience. What I care most about in shipping is characters’ dynamic that I find fun for shipping. Their relation to each other comes second, but I won’t pretend it doesn’t exist if it does exist.

Now I’ll give you a long answer. Starting with “Ortho is a child/8-year-old/5-year-old/toddler” argument.

We actually saw real 8 yo Ortho before his death in Idia’s flashback and, wow, we can see that AI!Ortho and flashback!Ortho aren’t the same Ortho. "My largest amount of birthday data comes from eleven years ago, when I was five” is the line that Ortho says in one of his Birthday vignettes, which indicates that even though he does have memories of dead!Ortho, he is not stuck in the age of 8 – he thinks and feels that his fifth birthday happened eleven years ago.

But also just in general, if you listen to him talk and compare it to how he talked in Idia’s flashback (both the voice and the manner of speech), it becomes pretty clear that he is older. He is younger-looking and has a high-pitched voice but it’s due to the fact that Idia designed him to look that way, and there are a lot of potential reasons why he could’ve done it (all non-canon and theoretical, so we won’t dive into them today), but he is definitely not 8 years old. Ortho’s AI constantly learns new information, learns more about being a human – he is clearly maturing as the story goes, thus showing that he is in fact capable of aging mentally, and he’s been doing it from the moment Idia first created him. He is naive and inexperienced, but that doesn’t make him an infant.

Plus, post ch.6 he is always being grouped with other freshmen who are also sixteen years old. This is his age group. This is how old Ortho would’ve been if he was still alive, and this is how old AI!Ortho feels. He’s a proper first year student just like Ace, Deuce and the rest of the boys, and the story keeps highlighting it in all the events that happened post ch.6.

Speaking of post ch.6. At the end of the story AI!Ortho and real/blot!Ortho actually merged a little, as far as you can remember. Blot!Ortho, wow, is also 16. He’s been stuck in the Underworld since he was 8 and he existed all those years and grew up as well despite his terrible situation and more than unusual company, so we can safely assume his age. His merging with AI!Ortho also influenced him (AI!Ortho) in a way, making him more human as a result as well.

Not to sound mean, but I think the majority of people who still insist that Ortho is mentally 8 either don’t pay attention to his character, his story and how he interacts with others at all, or straight-up choose to believe that lie because it makes it easier to attack shippers or anyone who likes Ortho in general.

But also guess what, none of that matters actually because ultimately he is a fictional boy, and fictional characters’ ages are irrelevant. Just like fictional characters’ family relations are irrelevant. Even if you don’t think it’s right, that doesn’t change the fact that it is irrelevant, and the only thing that could be done about it is that you can block people and/or tags that make you upset. There is no shame about it: I avoid a lot of ships and tropes that make me upset.

I would prefer people to stop accusing me, a real person, of actual vile crimes (or having dark thoughts about them? What the fuck is wrong with you?) because of fictional, made-up things. If I want to, I can unrelate Ortho and Idia, and my fanart would stop being incestuous with a snap of my fingers. I can make them enemies, I can make them kill each other over and over again, I can kill Idia instead of Ortho. I say this to show how little it matters, and no, ~the implications~ don’t count. People make them up and choose to believe that instead of listening to the person in question. About a real person, let me repeat myself. You (plural/neutral you, not you, Anon) cannot make shit up about another person’s thoughts, ideas, and views just because you find it convenient.

As for why I personally ship Ortho with Idia despite them being siblings, you’re in luck because in addition to this already long post I have an even longer post for you to read if you’re interested! It’s been more than a year since I’ve written that post my reasoning is still pretty much the same, so I think it’s a pretty good one to read if you genuinely want to understand us better.

But if you don’t want to read another long post but are still interested, here is a TL;DR:

I love their deep love for each other and don’t want to just explore the platonic aspect of it – there are a lot of other scenarios that I want to play with;

there are a lot of tropes related to this ship that we love (us two against the world; AI in love; causing an apocalypse for the sake of your loved one; unhealthy and codependent relationship; obsession, etc);

their story has a lot of motifs that could be read as romantic (i.e. Orpheus and Eurydice analogy) that we really enjoy;

personal reasons; relatability (not elaborating on that; not related to incest though lol);

they’re sexy lol I love robot parts, size difference and a lot of other aspects that I won’t mention here.

I hope that explained some stuff. Just to be clear: I don’t want to force anyone ship Shroudcest, in fact I don’t care if we are the only people in the world shipping them (that will never be the case though lol). I just love Ortho very much, and I think he is a very fun character that has a lot to offer, and I really don’t like that people want to create this aura of “he’s just baby don’t touch him” that stops people for getting to know his character better. He is cunning, he is smart, he is caring, he is psychopathic, he is a lot of things, and all of those things make me want to see him bossing Idia around, acting cute around Vil, bonding with Malleus over their differences and similarities, all of those things.

[i-love-your-light]

too many thoughts on the new hbomberguy video not to put them anywhere so:

with every app trying to turn into the clock app these days by feeding you endless short form content, *how many* pieces of misinformation does the average person consume day to day?? thinking a lot about how tons of people on social media go largely unquestioned about the information they provide just because they speak confidently into the camera. if you're scrolling through hundreds of pieces of content a day, how many are you realistically going to have the time and will to check? i think there's an unfortunate subconscious bias in liberal and leftist spaces that misinformation is something that is done only by the right, but it's a bipartisan issue babey. everybody's got their own agendas, even if they're on "your side". *insert you are not immune to propaganda garfield meme*

and speaking of fact checking, can't help but think about how much the current state of search engines Sucks So Bad right now. not that this excuses ANY of the misinformation at all, but i think it provides further context as to why these things become so prevalent in creators who become quick-turnaround-content-farms and cut corners when it comes to researching. when i was in high school and learning how to research and cite sources, google was a whole different landscape that was relatively easy to navigate. nowadays a search might give you an ad, a fake news article, somebody's random blog, a quora question, and another ad before actually giving you a relevant verifiable source. i was googling a question about 1920s technology the other day (for a fanfiction im writing lmao) and the VERY FIRST RESULT google gave me was some random fifth grader's school assignment on the topic???? like?????? WHAT????? it just makes it even harder for people to fact-check misinformation too.

going off the point of cutting corners when it comes to creating content, i can't help but think about capitalism's looming influence over all of this too. again, not as an excuse at all but just as further environmental context (because i really believe the takeaway shouldn't be "wow look how bad this one individual guy is" but rather "wow this is one specific example of a much larger systemic issue that is more pervasive than we realize"). a natural consequence of the inhumanity of capitalism is that people feel as if they have to step on or over eachother to get to 'the top'. if everybody is on this individualistic american dream race to success, everyone else around you just looks like collateral. of course then you're going to take shortcuts, and you're going to swindle labor and intellectual property from others, because your primary motivation is accruing capital (financial or social) over ethics or actual labor.

i've been thinking about this in relation to AI as well, and the notion that some people want to Be Artists without Doing Art. they want to Have Done Art but not labor through the process. to present something shiny to the world and benefit off of it. they don't want to go through the actual process of creating, they just want a product. Easy money. Winning the game of capitalism.

i can't even fully fault this mentality- as someone who has been struggling making barely minimum wage from art in one of the most expensive cities in america for the past two years, i can't say that i haven't been tempted on really difficult occasions to act in ways that would be morally bad but would give me a reprieve from the constant stress cycle of "how am i going to pay for my own survival for another month". the difference is i don't give in to those impulses.

tl;dr i hope that people realize that instead of this just being a time to dogpile on one guy (or a few people), that it's actually about a larger systemic problem, and the perfect breeding grounds society has created for this kind of behavior to largely go unchecked!!!

[geoviki]

Chinese Holidays

I'm going to post about the special chapters in a minute, and that post is already too long, so I'm stuffing the background info about holidays in its own post. Complete with holiday picture!

These are Chinese holidays when the special chapters take place.

Chinese New Year, aka Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, celebrates the beginning of a new year on the Chinese calendar. Marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring, this festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (begins on the new moon between 21 January and 20 February) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year.  New Year's Eve is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner.  Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.  Note that this period may overlap with Valentine’s Day.

China has several Valentine's days to celebrate, including February 14th (western Valentine’s Day), 520/521 Day (an informal Chinese Internet Valentine’s Day on May 20/21), and the Qixi Festival. 

520/521 Day The number “520” phonetically resembles “Wo Ai Ni” or “I Love You” in Chinese.  "520" (May 20) for "I love you"; "521" (May 21) for "I am willing to accept your love."

The Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine’s Day) celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in mythology. It falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunisolar month on the Chinese calendar (usually August).

Mid-Autumn Festival happens on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with a full moon at night (Sept-Oct). The moon is the biggest symbol of the harvest festival.  The Mid-Autumn Festival is all about reunion with family members.  Lanterns are carried and displayed.

Chinese National Day Begins 1 October, and another six days are added to the official holiday, making it a de facto public holiday also known as Golden Week. Festivities and concerts are held nationwide.

Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or early June.

Christmas Day in China is on December 25th each year. However, Christmas traditions in the country are relatively young, and it is mainly celebrated as a commercial season instead of a religious day.

[loudrats]

Loud Rats Book Club 2023

This year the rats became literate!

We suggested a number of books each month and then voted on one to read (somehow Fish managed to read all 12 of them… wild!). The ones in red are the winners, but there are some other really good books in there.

Hopefully you can find your next favourite read below! :)

January

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

The Butchering Art by Lindsay Fitzharris

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Pirates and Prejudice by Kara Louise

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

February

Adua by Igiaba Scego

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

March

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Humans by Matt Haig

Cane by Jean Toomer

Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (#1 Broken Earth Trilogy)

Young Mungo by Douglas Stewart

April

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrel

Dubliners by James Joyce

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

May

Mary: An Awakening of Terror by Nat Cassidy

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Where You Come From by Saša Stanišić

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

June

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill

Swimming in the dark by Tomasz Jędrowski

Girls like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 17 by Jeff Kinney

Zami: A New Spelling of my Name by Audre Lorde

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

July

Kid Youtuber 9: Everything is Fine by Marcus Emerson, Noah Child

Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella

Hit Parade Of Tears by Izumi Suzuki

When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back: Carl's Book by Naja Marie Aidt

Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes

The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

Mapping the Interior by Stephan Graham Jones

August

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

Small Game by Blair Braverman

Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi

September

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century by Olga Ravn

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

October

Linghun by Ai Jiang

Eyes Guts Throat Bones by Moira Fowley-Doyle

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers

The Half Life of Valery K by Natasha Pulley

Catch the Rabbit by Lana Bastašić

Kindred by Octavia Butler

November

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Life For Sale by Yukio Mishima

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Liberation Day by George Saunders

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

December

Arsène Lupin versus Herlock Sholmes by Maurice Leblanc

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

[coimbrabertone]

The Backdoor Deals that Make Motorsport Go Round

This is going to be a bit of a different blogpost.

First things first, last weekend during the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we started hearing about the Andretti Cadillac to F1 story being resolved, at least on the Cadillac side. Today, we got confirmation, with the Cadillac F1 team confirmed to join for 2026. So far, we know this: Dan Towriss will be CEO, Mario Andretti (not Michael) will serve on the board, and Cadillac will initially use a Ferrari power unit while Cadillac develops their own unit in Michigan.

We also know that the team will retain all of Andretti's hires so far - Pat Symonds chief among them - and that the team will be based in Fishers, Indiana (where Andretti's new base will be) with a sort of forward operating base in Silverstone.

So...it's Andretti with the serial numbers filed off.

And I think this has been in the works for a long time.

Let me talk about a few things, and then we'll weave all these little threads together to show a bigger picture.

First things first, Michael Andretti launches Andretti Aquisition Corporation I - a Special-Purpose Acquisition Corporation, which is a public company that exists for the whole purpose of buying out a private company, merging with that private company, and using that to make the private company public in a streamlined manner - to merge into an AI company called Zapata.

Zapata starts trading at $10 a share, it almost immediately drops to $2.95 a share, and it keeps dropping. As of November 25th, 2024, Zapata AI stock is trading at $0.02 a share. That is quite literally two cents a share.

I don't need an economics degree to tell you that was a shitshow of a stock.

Second of all, at the Miami Grand Prix, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei reportedly promised to do everything in his power to keep the Andretti name out of Formula One.

Third of all, in response, Mario Andretti goes to his friends on Capitol Hill - Mario is the big political donor of the family - and petitions Congress to begin an antitrust probe into Formula One and Liberty Media.

Fourth of all, at the end of the 2024 NTT Indycar Series, Michael Andretti announces his decision to step down from the day-to-day running of Andretti Global. Dan Towriss, co-owner and the man who brought in Group 1001 (and its Gainbridge and Delaware Life subsidiaries) to the team, has been taken control. Michael is still a strategic advisor and maintains that he will still be connected to this team, but...it's a change.

And for whatever it's worth, there are whispers that Michael Andretti stepping down wasn't entirely his own decision.

Fifth of all, two weeks ago, Greg Maffei announced he is stepping down from his role at Formula One and Liberty Media at the end of the year.

Finally, like I said, it has now been confirmed that Cadillac will enter Formula One as its eleventh team. Mario is on the board, Dan Towriss is in charge, and the team will be run on Cadillac's behalf by Towriss' TWG Global.

TWG Global is said to be the owner of Andretti Global in Indycar, Wayne Taylor Racing in IMSA, and Spire Motorsports in NASCAR. That last one is particularly notable because, while there have been rumors about Andretti buying into Spire and Towriss' companies consistently sponsor the Spire cars, this is the first time we've actually heard about him owning a piece of Spire.

I guess Dan Towriss' thing is quietly acquiring racing teams without putting his name on them.

In any case, after all that, Cadillac is going to be in F1, the Andretti organization is going to run the team, but the Andretti name - particularly Michael Andretti - is not going to be attached to this project.

To illustrate that point, today, Michael Andretti tweeted about how proud he is about an American team entering Formula One and that he'll be cheering them on from the outside.

So...what has happened?

I think Michael Andretti got burnt bad on the Zapata stock, and I think it's possible that he might have been playing with some of Dan Towriss' money while doing so. So, Andretti now owes Towriss money, Towriss sees Formula One as a more lucrative return on investment than Indycar, and Michael Andretti has rubbed people the wrong way in Formula One.

Liberty Media and Formula One don't want Michael Andretti in Formula One.

Cadillac and Towriss want to be in F1.

Mario Andretti is a World Champion, so his name carries weight in Europe, but Michael Andretti's name does not. People in Europe either don't know who Michael is or remember him for that disastrous McLaren stint.

They don't care that Michael's bad 1993 was sandwiched either side by challenging for the championship in CART.

So...I think Michael Andretti had to get out of the way.

I think Greg Maffei had to get out of the way as well.

Cadillac is a big money name, Dan Towriss is a big money guy, and Formula One wants the American market, so an American manufacturer is an immense resource in that regard. So, in the name of the money, they got rid of the two big egos holding the deal up, and they got the team on the grid.

Now, I'm not a news source or anything, I'm just speculating on the bits and pieces of this that we know are public, but I find it hard to believe it's a complete coincidence that Michael steps down, Maffei announces his retirement, and then suddenly a Cadillac team is accepted with Andretti in more of a background role.

To me, it screams of a background deal for the greater good of the money people.

Liberty Media and Formula One don't want the Department of Justice sniffing around their business. Towriss and Cadillac want a piece of that Formula One pie. Mario Andretti wants to see his family's team in Formula One before he dies.

As for Michael, well...Andretti Global was his team, but he brought in investors, he started hiring people, he started building facilities in Indiana and in Motorsport Valley. The ball was already rolling, and Michael Andretti was the only thing holding it up.

Was he forced out? Maybe, but I think it's more likely that he was given a light push and a retirement package so that he can sit on his couch with his granddaughter and watch his team put a car on the Formula One grid.

Just without his name on it.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Protesters gathered in front of the Royal Bank of Canada's (RBC) downtown Montreal office on Saturday to demand that the bank stop investing in fossil fuels.

It was one of dozens of protests held across Canada as part of a multi-day campaign to put pressure on the financial institution ahead of its annual general meeting next week.

Rajendra Kapila Basdeo, co-ordinator of the Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) solidarity collective, was one of the people who showed up. 

"The bank should be a good example for people to put their money in, and they should divest from fossil fuels," he said. "It's the only proper way to protect our environment."

Last year, a Banking on Climate Chaos report found that RBC was the world's foremost funder of fossil fuels in 2022. Between 2016 and 2021, the bank ranked fifth in financing fossil fuels, according to the report. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid, @palipunk

Notes from the poster @el-shab-hussein: Unfriendly reminder that RBC has over 2 million shares worth more than 76 million CAD in a zionist military tech company that uses AI to murder and spy on Palestinians. RBC also invests in zionist settlements in the West Bank, something that is by every standard of international law completely and totally illegal.

[riseandfallofsecunit]

for the OC ask game: i'm just gonna hand you 11, 13 and 14 and you can take any or all that are relevant

Yayyyy omg okay

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”?

Armon! He’s not entirely what I’d consider “sunshine,” but he’s definitely the closest. He’s training as a physician’s apprentice, and considers making his patients feel comfortable to be about 45% of his job. Of course, he wouldn’t have been able to make Vetelki (protag) feel comfortable no matter what, considering the circumstances of their first meeting. He’s a tall, kind guy who’s very smart but a little daft when it comes to reading people. He likes soap operas meant for elderly romantics because his grandma raised him :-)

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

Definitely V-11/Vetania. They’re another Biocomposite (AI installed in a human body by the Anadmor Stratocracy), but they spent the first 24 or so years of existence as a nanny/guard for one of the military leader’s offspring. As a result (media/social networks/etc.), they know a whole lot more about how societies and governments outside the Anadmor function, and are a lot more critical of the highly militaristic system in place. Now, they’re stuck in a squadron of Biocomposites on another occupied planet, having to do things much more unpleasant than babysitting. Of course, they can’t really do anything about that (for now) due to the whole constantly being monitored thing.

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory

Vetelki… my beloved… aka V-12. This is basically their tragic backstory:

They’re an AI installed in a human body, and have been in seven bodies total so far (fifth panel) and died six times. None of the deaths were a good experience, but they r ember the first the most vividly. Because, before that, they’d been participating in the Anadmor war effort without thought, not understanding the ramifications of their actions until they experienced what it was to die - and the “enemy” soldiers they killed didn’t get to wake up again in a new body.

More Vetelki:

Thank you so much for asking!!!

[traceyc-uk]

Let's slowly get more into the mood for Spooky Season 🎃🦇👻🍁🍂

The New Fifth Year got invited to a smoll party. 💚

(Hope he had fun!)

He indeed had such great fun! First Halloween at Hogwarts and frothy butterbeers! his submission for the pumpkin carving wasn’t quite a pumpkin but he enjoyed making it 🥝

And indeed it’s setting the tone for the rest of October! Why must you vex me with your cute renditions 🥹😭🫂🫂💕💚💚 Thank you omg I love his suspenders I might have to try draw them more in his outfits

[captainsophiestark]

What The Fuck Is A Grid System

Jack Thompson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Jack Thompson's a New Yorker, dammit, and when Peggy and Daniel leave him to find his own way through the winding streets of LA with only some shaky directions as guidance, he might need a little help from a local to see him through.

Word Count: 2,031

Category: Fluff, Humor

A/N: It is not only a miracle that this got done, but also that I'm happy with how it turned out 😂

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I narrowed my eyes as I sipped my coffee, watching a man on the sidewalk. The same guy had just walked past this building for the third time, looking increasingly irritated. He kept checking a sheet of paper in his hands, then looking up at the buildings before disappearing out of my sight. So far, he'd never been gone more than a few mintues before coming back.

I debated getting up and saying something when he returned a fourth time, although I ultimately opted to stay put. But when he came back for a fifth time looking ready to hurl the paper in his hand into traffic, I decided to do something.

I stood, setting my coffee cup down at the counter with a wave to the barista before heading out the door. The guy still stood in the middle of the sidewalk, the same spot he'd visited almost half a dozen times now, looking around the city like this time, something would change.

"Hey!" I called, strolling up to him with a wave. He turned around slowly, like he wasn't sure I was talking to him, then narrowed his eyes when he saw me approaching. I gave him my best winning smile. "You look like you could use some help."

The guy scoffed, immediately turning away from me. i just smiled a little wider. He was tall, and handsome, and clearly pretty arrogant. Unfortunately for him, he also clearly had no idea what the hell he was doing.

"So what are you looking for?" I asked, ignoring the clear brush off and stepping closer to him again. "I can probably help you find it."

"I don't need help," he snapped, at last turning to face me. I just raised an eyebrow and stared right back. He cleared his throat, quickly turning back to the paper in his hands as a flush crept up his neck. "I don't need help. This city needs help. Who the hell lays a place out like this?"

"Ohhh. I thought you had some New York enegry going. That makes sense."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

I waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Look, you may just be able to walk in a straight line to get where you want to go in New York, but this is LA. We do things differently here."

"Differently and much, much worse."

I snorted and rolled my eyes, then snatched the paper out of his hand before he could stop me.

"Hey!"

"You're trying to get to the Sunrise Resort, right? Come on, it's this way."

"I've already tried that way."

"And clearly you did something wrong, since you ended up back here again. C'mon, let me help you. Unless you want to stand outside this coffee shop all day?"

I paused on the corner of the block, looking back at the man in question, his scribbled directions still held in my hand. He glared at me, and for a moment, I thought he really might not follow me. Then, he sighed and rolled his eyes, putting one foot in front of the other all the same as he trudged towards me.

"Fine. Let's go then."

He breezed right past me, walking with all the speed and huffiness I'd expected from him. I absolutely beamed at his retreating form, letting him get a few steps further away from me than necessary before calling out down the street.

"Wrong way, hot shot!"

He froze, his shoulders shooting up to his ears. I just grinned, waiting for him to eventually turn around. He did, slowly, a fierce scowl on his face. I had to fight back a chuckle.

"At least now we know where you were going wrong before. C'mon!"

I turned on my heel and started heading down the street in the opposite direction, this time trusting him to follow me. In less time than I'd been expecting, he caught up to me, falling into step beside me and walking with a confidence I hadn't expected him to recover for at least twenty minutes.

"You still need that paper, or do you actually know where you're going?" he huffed. I grinned and held it out to him.

"All yours!" He snatched it out of my hands, then shoved it in his pocket without another word. I let us walk in silence for another few steps, but this walk was going to be about half an hour all-told. I wasn't going to spend it walking in silence. "So... what's your name?"

The guy cut his eyes towards me, looking a little suspicious. I let the silence stretch, looking at him expectantly, and after the better part of the next block he sighed.

"Jack. What's yours?"

I told him, giving him the same beaming smile I'd given him a few times now. This time, he actually seemed a little more receptive to it.

"It's nice to meet you, Jack. So, what brings you out to LA?"

"Business. With any luck, I'll be out of here in a few days."

I laughed. "Oh, come on. Don't be ridiculous. It's the middle of winter, there's no way you're not at least a little bit happy to be in the LA sunshine over the New York winter."

"Have you had a pizza here?"

"Yes. I've also had ice cream on the beach in February. Both have been fantastic."

He snorted. "You really haven't lived yet if you think the pizza here is fanastic."

"Hm." I let my eyes wander, scanning the street ahead of us. Lo and behold, one of my favorite gelato shops was open on the next block, and even better, with almost no line. "Alright, pizza snob, time for a pit stop."

Before he could so much as open his mouth to ask a question, I grabbed Jack's arm and dragged him through the doors of the gelato shop as we walked past.

"Try doing this when you go back to New York and not freezing your ass off," I said as I stepped up to the gelato counter, pulling him with me. He huffed, but didn't put up any more of a fight. I smiled to myself as we surveyed the flavors laid out before us.

"Well, LA? What do you recommend?"

"Hm... honestly, you can't go wrong at this place. But I've always been a fan of the chocolate."

"Chocolate, huh?" He turned to the person behind the counter and called out. "We'll take two cones of chocolate."

I grinned, slipping forward to the counter and paying for the both of us while Jack grabbed our gelato cones. He turned for the cash register, then turned back to me with an incredulous look when he realized I'd beat him to it.

"I was gonna get that," he said. I just smiled and took my cone out of his stunned hand.

"You snooze you loose. Besides, I'm the one who dragged you in here. Consider it a better welcome to LA than our street system gave you."

Jack snorted, but the joke got him moving again. He fell into step beside me as we headed out of the gelato shop together.

"Well, thanks then. And I can say definitively, this has been a much better welcome than this city's ever given me before."

I laughed, leaning into Jack a little as we continued down the street, both happily eating our gelato. Unlike earlier, this time the silence was more comfortable than irritated, and I didn't mind it one bit.

As we continued making our way through the city, taking a few more gelato-style detours as we went, we fell into easy conversation. We talked about New York and LA, and Jack and I's lives in both places. He didn't seem to want to talk about work very much, so instead we talked about hobbies, things we liked to do in our free time, and even sports.

"Alright, you might've convinced me that there's something to this city that would make it bearable to be here for more than a few hours, but you will not convince me there's anything to the sports here. You don't even have a baseball team, for crying out loud."

"Oh yeah? Well both of our football teams beat all three of yours."

Jack huffed and waved me off. "Fluke. We'll get you next season."

"Like hell you will."

Jack snorted, but when I glanced over at him, I found him staring at me with an incredulous smile on his face.

"You know... I almost wish I were still lost," he said, the words tumbling out of him like he hadn't had time to think them through. "Walking around this city with you is the only time I've enjoyed myself here."

I smiled back at him, trying to ignore the way my heart sped up in my chest.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Why'd you decide to help me out, anyway?"

I shrugged. "You seemed like you needed it. And I didn't have anything more entertaining to do with my afternoon, anyway."

Jack huffed another laugh, then smiled at me.

"Well, then here's to you having way too much time on your hands."

"Cheers to that," I said, grinning right back at him.

Unfortunately, despite all our wandering and detours along the route, we'd finally made it to the hotel he'd been looking for in the first place. I heard Jack let out a small sigh as we headed into the lobby, and both of us dragged our feet more than we had for any other part of the way here.

"Well... I guess this is it, then," I said, turning to him and trying to force a smile on my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a man and a woman making a beeline for us. One of them shouted out Jack's name, a fair bit of concern and irritation conveyed in just Jack's name. I took a half step back towards the doorway, but Jack's hand shot out and caught my own before I could get further.

"Hold on. I'm not about to let the only thing worth being in this city for walk out that door without another word."

"I think your coworkers are anxious to talk to you."

Jack waved them off with his free hand. "They waited this long, they can wait a little longer. Can I get your number? I'll give you a call as soon as I'm done here. Take you out on a real date."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying my tour of LA doesn't count as a date?"

"Well-"

"I bought you gelato! There's nothing wrong with platonic gelato, but after spending an hour and a half on a trip that usually takes thirty minutes, I think it should count as date gelato."

"Fine! Fine, alright, I agree with you. Let me take you out on a second date."

I grinned. "I like the sound of that."

Jack rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything as I grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled my number on the piece of paper he'd been trying so hard to decipher before I'd stepped in to help him. I handed it over, then leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek before stepping back.

"Call me," I said, slowly backing away. Jack's coworkers had stopped just short of hovering over his shoulder, and I appreciated them not interrupting our moment, but they looked increasingly impatient to talk to Jack. He didn't seem to care, his eyes never leaving me as I headed out of the lobby.

"I will."

"You better."

"I promise."

He grinned at me, and I grinned right back as I took the last few steps out of the lobby. The minute I cleared the doors, Jack's coworkers descended on him, sweeping him away with lots of gesturing and shouting I couldn't hear from beyond the glass. I watched them for another minute, then finally turned away with a smile still on my face.

Thank goodness LA didn't use a grid system. If not for our confusing network of streets, I'd never have met Jack. I couldn't wait for him to call for our second date, not least of all to point out my new argument in favor of LA's city planning. I could already tell, we were going to have fun.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

Marvel Taglist: @valkyriepirate @infinetlyforgotten @sagesmelts @gaychaosgremlin

[morelikeravenbore]

how would Aurelie have navigated Hogwarts and moving to Scotland in a au where Sebastian was never there? Do you think she’d befriend Ominis?

HI ANON BB!

This question is genuinely so good, but I accidentally wrote a total crackfic in response that only sort of answers your question so I hope that's okay 👉👈

Toast & Tribulation

A crack fic in which I explore an AU where Aurélie is a Slytherin, and she and Ominis are besties/Hogwarts royalty. Yes, there will be Mean Girls references.

Content warnings: aside from nonsense and total crackficery, N/A, SFW.

Word count: 1.4k

Image credit: Ominis found via pinterest by sallowfae. Aurélie generated by me that one single time I tried AI and decided never again lol.

When Ominis Gaunt had first introduced himself outside the Undercroft by threatening to have her expelled, Aurélie swore right then and there to hate him for the rest of her life. And for most of her debut year at Hogwarts, she did just that — vehemently.

Such was her pleasure at seeing the Heir of Slytherin scowl unhappily, she made it a point to purposely side with his best friend Sebastian in every ridiculous argument the pair had, until, quite to her dismay, she found herself on the receiving end of Sebastian's crucio to retrieve a book, trudging through scary underground catacombs in search of some weird old relic and, worst of all, an accomplice to murder when Sebastian's uncle Solomon found out about their misadventures and tried to intervene. 

It was only then did she realise she'd perhaps been a bit hasty in inadvertently encouraging Sebastian's descent into darkness out of pure spite — but one didn't just threaten a French girl when she'd done nothing wrong and get away with it. 

As it turned out, murder had a way of bringing people together (so long as you weren't the one being murdered), and she and Ominis quickly found themselves allied together under the common goal of covering up Sebastian's crimes and keeping him out of Azkaban. That allyship, as unlikely and bewildering though it may have been, was only strengthened when Anne, Sebastian's twin and the only witness to Uncle Sallow's death besides Aurélie, rallied against them, insisting that her brother deserved to pay for his crimes by having Dementors suck out his will to live for the duration of his life. 

Anne Sallow had been a formidable opponent indeed; as stubborn as her brother and twice as clever, it had taken all of Aurélie and Ominis’ combined efforts of cunning and resourcefulness to convince her to spare Sebastian a fate worse than death. 

Subsequently, their allyship morphed into friendship after Anne up and disappeared, feeling betrayed by her brother and her oldest friend (and decidedly not a fan of the New Fifth Year), and was only strengthened further when Sebastian withdrew into his own private pit of despair, shutting them out despite their best efforts to pull him out again. 

Driven together by the absence of the Sallow twins and a burgeoning sense of camaraderie, Aurélie and Ominis — later dubbed Aurelis by their many admirers — found themselves with no one else to turn to but each other. By their seventh year, having realised they were far more powerful together than they were apart, the pair had become not only best friends, but Head Girl and Head Boy respectively, founders of la Société du Papillon Bleu (an exclusive club in which Aurélie passed judgement on the latest fashion trends and Ominis agreed even though he couldn't see any of it), leaders of the school choir, and the two most popular and influential students Hogwarts had seen since the original founders had walked the halls. 

If they could cover up a murder together, they could do anything. 

‘The toast is dry,’ said Aurélie one morning when Ominis joined her at the Slytherin table. 

Today, being Wednesday, Ominis had foregone his usual Slytherin green and silver for a bespoke all-black blazer, waistcoat and tailored trousers; one of the many ensembles Aurélie had ordered for him especially from France. 

‘That is unacceptable,’ he sniffed. ‘Hand it to me, let me feel it.’

A quick touch of the toast was all the confirmation he needed. Dropping it back onto the platter like a used handkerchief, Ominis wiped the crumbs off his fingers and declared, ‘Toast is out.’

Aurélie agreed with a fervent nod. ‘Toast is so out.’

Across the table, his mouth full of toast, Sebastian quietly rolled his eyes. 

‘You two are ridiculous,’ he muttered. ‘You do know that toast is supposed to be dry, don't you?’

‘You do know that on Wednesdays we wear black, don't you?’ Ominis retorted, and then, as an aside to Aurélie, ‘He's not wearing black, is he? I can sense it.’

Dressed in his typical emerald and silver uniform, Sebastian's natural tenacity rendered him immune to the self-imposed fashion rules that dictated his friends’ outfit choices, but he knew better than to argue with their astute judgement of appropriate bread dryness, and by the end of the day, nobody at Hogwarts dared eat another slice of toast lest they be cast aside and shunned for the rest of their schooling days — and possibly even beyond. 

And so it went: unchallenged in popularity, fierce and beautiful and vaguely terrifying, Aurelis were free to reign over the student body, revel in their infamy and walk in slow motion down the corridors between classes without consequence or reprimand. 

One spring morning, struck by a sudden stroke of inspiration, Aurélie brushed Sebastian's hair so that it swept across the right side of his face instead of his left. The result caused a frenzy the likes of which hadn't been seen since Professor Weasley had been caught smuggling toast into the faculty lounge, and suddenly every student, male and female alike, were changing the parting of their hair in hopes of replicating Sebastian's natural good looks and easy nonchalance. 

‘I saw Sebastian Sallow wearing his hair swooped over the opposite way, so I'm wearing my hair swooped over the opposite way,’ was a common phrase heard throughout the castle that week, and Sebastian enjoyed his newfound rise in popularity until Aurélie had the genius idea to let a lock of hair loose from Ominis’ usual slicked back hairstyle, and Sebastian's right-sided swoop was forgotten in the fever pitch that ensued thereafter. 

When December rolled around, the subject of the approaching Yule Ball was all anybody could talk about. Rumours abounded about Aurelis, the King and Queen of Hogwarts, until the anticipation was palpable and the collective excitement simmered on the edge of frenzy: what would they wear? Who would they go with? Would they arrive as a trio, Aurélie, Ominis and Sebastian united as one terrifying entity, or would they bestow their company onto those brave enough to ask them as dates? 

And what of Aurélie's dress? Had it really been handmade by a commune of Veela within the Palace of Versailles, who'd once, under utmost secrecy, made garments for Marie Antoinette? As the weeks wore on, the scrutiny over Aurélie's gown became so intense she had to hire a security troll to guard over her wardrobe day and night. 

When the trio indeed did arrive at the Ball as one united front, and glided down the Grand Staircase together in coordinated outfits, a collective gasp of adoration arose from the rapturous crowd, and several people actually fainted; never in the thousand-year history of the Yule Ball — nay, in the wizarding world at large — had a vision of such profound beauty and perfection been beheld. 

Aurélie's dress was an iridescent dream of shimmering gauze, as delicate as butterfly wings. Woven with unicorn hair and real fairy dust, the colours shifted from baby blue and sweet pink, to pastel green and pale lavender with every elegant movement and catch of the light. Several real butterflies fluttered in her long braided hair, and on each arm, in matching silk suits and unicorn hair bow-ties, Ominis and Sebastian stood tall and handsome beside her, enjoying their place next to the ethereal beauty that was Aurélie Genevieve Collins.

Once nothing more than a trio of misfits — an unknown French transfer student, a relucantant Heir, and an uncle-killing Dark Arts enthusiast — they'd risen above all adversity to come out on top. To come out as royalty. Overlooking the awestruck crowd, the three enjoyed their moment of glory until a great echoing bang sounded from across hall, and every head turned away from them. 

Framed in the great entrance doors, a blinding  vision of gold so bright they had to shield their eyes, stood a small figure, her dress cascading to the floor, glittering with what looked like pieces of pure sunlight woven into the silk. 

Somebody screamed, but whether from excitement or terror, Aurélie wasn't sure, until a moment later the stranger turned, moving so gracefully it made her want to cry, and a familiar face came into sharp relief. 

Their eyes locked from across the room. Beside her, Sebastian let out a gasp. 

Anne Sallow had returned to Hogwarts. 

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Wednesday

SpaceTime 20241211 Series 27 Episode 149

New observations links comet water to Earth's oceans

Scientists have found that water on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has a similar molecular signature to the water in Earth's oceans.

Discovery of a new main-belt comet

A mysterious object discovered in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 2021 has now been identified as a comet.

BepiColombo's fifth Mercury flyby

The BepiColombo spacecraft has just completed its fifth flyby of the planet Mercury.

The Science Report

Eating a healthier diet during pregnancy linked to a lower risk of autism in kids.

A new study has found that mealworms are able to eat and digest microplastics.

The bumble bee's sense of smell may be impacted by heatwaves.

Alex on Tech: galaxy AI upgrades

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[wifey-ohara]

Blood Like Fire. Burns The Same Way

Miguel O'hara&teen!Spidey!Reader (gn)

A/n (oh dear god there's many)

Angst/no happy ending, hurt/abso-fucking-lutly no comfort, theres a major absence of them in this fandom

Literally miguel's life falling on the seems and reader steps on it

Grief, lots of that, hospitals/car accident mentioned, dead character(s)mentioned, abandoned family, replaced family, basically cheating, rubbing slat on wounds, pure evil, well deserved tho, major daddy issues,panic attack,quick mentions of reader physically suffering(i made my spider bite to be very very painful) crying,planty of that,crusing(warn me if i should add more)

Reader acts alot like miguel and picked alot from him even without meeting him, manners, intelligence ect.. they also wear reading glasses,but they don't necessary need them seeing as they're a spider

The reader is evil,cold, unfeeling to miguel,they only make it worst , getting their revenge and getting it fast

Shoud be gender natural if i didn't slip (do tell me if i did so i can fix it)

i did proof read this but i haven't slept in more them 24 hours so correct me where i go worng

You're half way through your new book when lyla appeared above the book, catching your attention

"lyla?" you asked the AI, she looked frantic, worried, which made you, in return, worried

She never gets like this, unless it was something serious, mostly about the multi-verse

"y/n! The canon happened! Miguel he's-"

Oh

The "canon" happened

You stooped listening to her and worring about it, expression going blank, eyes falling to book to resume your reading, it was more interesting then his "canon"

Lyla fell silent above up, her figure flinshing back slightly "y-y/n?" she hesitated, something you know she did on purpose

Your eyes snapped up to her, your reading glasses' frame divided your eye sight in half, lifting an eyebrow, you waited for her to continue

"miguel is coming back... " she said, hopeful, yet knowing the reality of the situation

Miguel o'hara , your biological father, left you and your mother on your fifth birthday to go live with another family, raising another daughter claiming that it's the best for the universe.

You lived with your mother for the rest of her days, 11 years to be more exact

She would always praise your father to you, saying how much of a great man he is, and how he's out there leaving his two most beloveds to save this universe

You smiled at her and pretended to believe her, because you know that deep down, she didn't mean a word of it

And you didn't need to reach deep down to know, in fact, all you needed were mere touches on your cyan screen, activate a camera, to see him smiling at a mother that wasn't yours, a family that wasn't his and most of all, a daughter that wasn't you

He left when you were 5,your mother left when you were 16

you were bitten at that age too, sitting on your mother's grave, angry at your mother for leaving, angry at your dad because he doesn't know that she left and most of all angry at yourself for thinking about him in such a moment, that's when it happened, a little pinch at first, you thought nothing of it, but by the time you reached your room, you were crying, kicking and screaming, hell running through your flesh, lyla hovering around trying to offer words of comfort but to no avail

And that's what you call, your "canon" For becoming a spider, suffering alone..(it was actually losing your mother, but hey! Maybe with both being absent you'll have more powers?!)

You weren't put into an orphanage because you were almost 18 with stable income and good grades, one thing you could thank your father over is his pay check and his intelligence,, which you question from time to time if it was your mother's, and she decided to keep it hidden

After alot and of studying the multi-verse (mostly out of spite to prove that miguel didn't actually need to leave, to which he didn't, it was a canon for that girl to lose her father, by him being in the picture the universe he's in will get destroyed when her canon becomes his and he loses her!)

but then again, that lab that only opens to him was proof, of your intelligence, since it's your lab/work place now,, only opens at your command, full of your tools and projects, would he ask for it back? Not that you would give it to him,, it doesn't belong to him anymore, hell, nothing in this house does

By the time you re-surfaced from your dark thoughts you were already washing dinner's dishes, damn, you didn't even enjoy it, you rolled your eyes, as lyla flew around mumbling stuff under her breath, she sounds like fly, you held in your smile

You dried the last plate when you senced it, your face dropped and lyla paused.

He was here

You acted like nothing is happening, wiping the counters, your back facing the entery of which he'd reach a few seconds after unlocking the door

Lyla disappeared, probably not wanting to deal with the tension coming in the shape of traitor with bloody,torn clothes, messy head of hair, red,puffy eyes, and barely standing on his two damn feet

You heard him pause right before reaching the opening that signals the end of foyer and the beginning of the huge living room, dinning room and kitchen tied to it, the only thing separateing them were bits of walls and counters

You can hear his confusion, and damn it was funny, confused why didn't his "true love waits forever" wife come hurring to his side already? the memory of her wishing every night in that hospital that his mission was over and he'll come to her the next morning as you try to fall asleep in her side in that uncomfortable hospital chair ignited your hate for him like gasoline to a fire

He's dragging his feet carefully now, wondering why hasn't his daughter come with her mother yet, standing behind her, leaning on the door pillar, looking up at him like he was a gift sent from the sky, a dream came true, a legend proven real, a hero coming from war

You almost laughed at the idea, if it wasn't for his breath hitching at the sight of you

You were wiping down the stove now, pretending to be blissfully unaware of him, despite all your spider sences screaming at you to turn around, either fight back or swing away, even they knew he was a stranger

The stove and counter were half way through their third wipe down when he finally spoke

".. Hey" a broken, shell of a word

You turned around to face him, acting like you knew he was there, or that he'd been there for ages already, and both were correct, but he wouldn't know that

"hey" you repeated, voice louder but not attacking, monotoned to match you deadpan stare at his redish eyes

He took a sharp breath, the lack of reaction having caught him off guard, ego reversing itself back into a tiny black dot

You looked him up and down, features like an ironed shut book to him, good.

"um.. Do you know who i am? " he asked, confused, does he think you were not his?

You almost huffed out a laugh before swallowing it down by "Miguel O'hara?" it was worded like a question, toned like a state of the obvious, he almost folded in on himself, seemingly smaller, somehow..

"yes but what else? "

You snapped

He dares ask what else, as if he ever played any else it your life

Traitor, lier, cheater-

"-my sperm donor" you said, an extended hand, to give him a slap on the face

His eyes widen with horor

"where- where is your mother! " he was the one to snap, sharp yet weak, and you could almost see him yelling, blaming your mother "i leave to save this whole universe and what do you do??? Tell them I'm their sperm donor?!? You felt nothing towards me or my honor to tell them anything else!... You never really loved me huh?"

So you kept staring

" where is your mother? " words more confident this time, more angry

You swallow the knot in your stomach that brings tears to your eyes

It was now or never, break him or make him, and you're not a maker

"she was my canon event" you said, and you hoped that the hallowness of your voice did a good job in hiding the sadness that came with it

It takes him a moment,, then two, until he looks genuinely terrified, red-eyes becoming glossy, quickened breath turns into pants and little dry sobs, legs finally buckling down, arm reach to the nearest surface to insure a safe(r) landing, other hand reaching for his throat, tearing what's left of that blue and red suit of his, it was almost comical how it happned

Little pants turned into heaving "h-how-why-y.. What-" the rest you couldn't make out even of you tried

"car accident, last year, stayed three weeks in the hospital after they told us that even if she survives she'll suffer, do they pulled out the plug, by her call " you let the high walls get even higher because no way you are crying in front of this unfeeling man, no matter how much emotions are currently being on full blast in front of you right now

More heaving in hopes of enough oxygen to enter his lungs and calm his storm of thoughts

"the last weekshe stayed alive waiting for you, she was almost certain that you'll come see a last time" you didn't usually like rubbing slat in open wounds, but his look like a delicious meal for you

And there it was- that heart-crushing sob,that sounds like chocking and feels like it too, that always come with more tears then you know what to do with, as he leaned on the wall hands on his face,plams pressing into his eye sockets,,tears somehow still a stream down his face,despite the un-humanly possible pressure he's using..

For the first time since he entered, you took a step, out of the kitchen, then another, until you were in front of him...

He stilled a bit by your closer presence, and you resisted urge to laugh at him, he really thinks you're gonna be here for him? after everything? What a fool

You inhaled, his scent ten times in your lungs, well more of a mixture of salt, ash, dust, blood, sweat and if you focus enough a, colone

"your room is the same as always, bedding is the closet,clothing is as well , there is some leftovers in the fridge, do. Not. try and open any other room, they're not yours anymore" and with that you sealed you lips again

If he stilled before, now he froze, all tense

You stood back up, turned around and started walking to your lab

"lyla" you requested, the lighting figure appear within rhe second, face scrunched up and worried "yes y/n?"

"do help him if he asks, I'm done here" you almost added if asks nicely lyla turned to see that horrific sight, with a gasp, she turned towards you, but was cut off by his , repeated, quick, wet, inhales that only come with a scream as hurtful as death itself, been there, done that,

Before he reaches a range to let out a scream, you closed the lab's door and the sound proof walls done their job, having some homework to do and projects to work on.

Blocking a horrible, terrible, scream and grief and regret, tainted not by one, but four sets of blood, one still so warm and running down his skin as you breath when you closed the distance between you two, to throw ice at his boiling oil...

This took me almost 4 hours,short for my liking tbh

I think imma add a few more parts to this, to fully fefill the title's meaning, not sure tho, what yall think?

[17-noodlebird]

World Five = The Tranquil Paradise Of Harmonia

☮️🌼🪘🦅🦤🌴✌️🕊️🥭

~~~~

Jewel: Charoite

Power: Ghost

Color: Lilac

Theme: Peace-Loving Hippie Culture & Birds

~~~~

Objective:

Solve the dispute between the flying birds and the flightless birds and restore peace, love, and harmony to Harmonia once and for all.

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Chapter V: Peace Was Never An Option

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The fifth episode/chapter pays homage to mobile games such as Angry Birds, as well as the tropical island resorts tourists visit for the breathtaking scenery, and even the counterculture of the 1960’s, including the famous Woodstock music festival, advocacies for peace and love, the New Age movement, and New Wave music. It also serves as a polyamorous retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

The episode begins with the Magical Digital Van parking at the Digital Airport’s parking garage on the second floor. It's surprisingly crowded with other cars as the anonymous NPCs all seem to be having the same idea as the members of Team Circus. As everyone unpacks their luggage from the van, Pomni, carrying her cute little Gummigoo plushie, is oddly the most excited as it's been a really long time since she's flown in an actual airplane. Ragatha and Bubble are trying to calm down a really nervous Caine, as he has never been on an airplane before. The dimensional diplomats also try to reassure Caine that everything will be okay, feeling relatable sympathy for the poor ringmaster.

As they head into the airport, which is bustling with NPCs all booking a flight, the members of Team Circus each wait in line to receive their tickets to a designated flight that they've been assigned to; apparently, their next destination has to be reached by plane as it's a tropical island that no paved road can reach. They all converse with one another about the previous events that occured within the span of 10 months, from the car ride hijinks from the first episode, to the game show in the second episode, the NPCs saving the day for the players and not the other way around in the third episode, and lastly, the oh-so-traumatizing school year from Craniumville U that they somehow managed to survive thanks to their new friends and them changing an entire education system for the better in the previous episode. Caine doesn't appear to be entirely over what happened at Craniumville U, as seen when he vividly remembers the music teacher catapulting an entire drum set at him in a fit of rage in the previous episode. When they at last get their tickets to Digital Flight 65, they all put their luggage into the airport baggage carousel and head towards the moving walkway next to them, where they become mesmerized by the hall's beautiful imagery of neon lights, reminiscent of 1980’s music videos. Some random NPC blorbos are also among them, also basking in the beauty of the airport's interior design.

They then reach the airport terminal, where they are greeted to the security systems before they can reach the waiting areas. Unsurprisingly, Jax has to have his arsenal of weapons and prank items confiscated by the security marshals, much to the utter disappointment of Team Circus, and the blatant amusement of the dimensional diplomats. Afterwards, they each find a chair to sit in as they wait patiently and diligently for their flight to arrive. Pomni is excitedly kicking her legs as she clutches her Gummigoo plushie, her eyes fixated at her surroundings as a tsunami of nostalgia hits her to the days when she used to visit her grandparents from overseas with her parents as a child, a memory she shares fondly to Kinger and Ragatha. The former jots it down in his notepad so he doesn't forget later on, while the latter is still trying to get Caine to relax. Pomni finds it ironic that Caine, someone who has the ability to fly himself, is afraid of flying, to which the AI ringmaster vehemently denies, trying to brush it off as “jittery sensations” all the while. Gangle and Zooble are leaning on each other as they watch cat videos on the latter's communicator bracelet, and Jax is anxiously thumping his foot like an actual rabbit, still butthurt over his stuff being taken away by the airport security. Bubble tries to cheer up Jax, saying that maybe they'll give the confiscated stuff to him when they're finally at their next destination, although Jax doubts this being a possibility.

At last, after waiting for an hour and 45 minutes, their flight finally arrives and Team Circus heads over to the plane’s gate to have their tickets verified before going into the jet bridge that leads to the airplane. Caine is straight up not having a good time, with everyone now aware of his fear of flying thanks to his terrified mumbles, including at least three NPCs, who just look on in confusion. Each of the members of Team Circus are grouped into four pairs for their four assigned rows, with Kinger and Ragatha being in the back, Jax and Pomni in front of them, Caine and Bubble being in front of the aforementioned pair, and lastly Gangle and Zooble in front of the other three pairs, in that order. Ragatha, Pomni, Bubble, and Zooble get their respective window seats. Jax has mellowed out and has apparently gotten over the airport security debacle from just over an hour ago, and he decides to have a conversation with Pomni, which is about as Seinfeldian as it gets, as they're literally just talking the new Angry Birds movie that came out in theaters not too long ago. Caine can't stand the incessant talking, although Bubble has to remind his boyfriend that no one is causing any harm by talking about a video game adaptation. Caine apologizes, as he really, really wants this to be done and over with. Bubble jokes that at least they're not on a Boeing airplane, which does NOT soothe Caine's fears at all, and causes him to be a perpetually nervous wreck for the rest of the flight. Too soon, Bubble. Too soon.

Finally, the plane takes off after a while, and for the most part, everything is peachy keen, with Kinger fast asleep in his seat, Ragatha idly watching Final Destination on her seatback screen (probably not the best movie to be watching on an airplane, but I digress), Jax and Pomni (still carrying her plushie) watching The Lorax on their seatback screen, Caine curled up in a fetal position in abject terror as Bubble tries and fails miserably to keep him from jumping out of the seat while begging to be let off of this thing, and Gangle and Zooble having another Seinfeldian conversation about where they're headed off to next, as the destinations they're going to have remained a mystery to them as far as they're aware.

After 6 hours of flying — which means 6 hours of psychological agony for poor Caine, the plane lands to their next destination’s respective airport at long last, with Zooble being absolutely jet lagged, Kinger groggy from just waking up, Caine being relieved that he's finally outta there, and everyone else from Team Circus just being chill about the whole thing. When they leave the jet bridge, they find that the airport they're in consists of large colorful anthropomorphic birds, some who can fly and some who can't. The aesthetic is similar to that of Hawaii. A purple flightless bird greets them by giving them all flower necklaces known as leis, much to their surprise. The purple bird introduces himself as Ptoneigh (pronounced like “Tony”), and he is their tour guide to their lovely home known as The Tranquil Paradise Of Harmonia. Cue the name drop.

As Ptoneigh gives Team Circus a little history of how Harmonia came to be as a society, the members all try to grab their luggage while simultaneously listening to whatever lore is behind this strange yet beautiful place. It's then that they unfortunately realize that Caine's luggage is lost, and he uncharacteristically screeches in panic, causing a few flying birds to dart their eyes towards the group, thinking that it's another bird call or something. How embarrassing. Ragatha, being the goody two-shoes she is, decides to go over to the airport staff to ask about the whereabouts of Caine's luggage. She's unfortunately informed by an airport staff member NPC that it got lost after being misplaced somehow. No one knows what happened to the luggage; they assume it got on the wrong plane, or it got left behind at the other airport. This is terrible news. But on the plus side, they managed to give back some of Jax’s confiscated stuff from earlier, just like Bubble said to Jax they would. That's not exactly helpful, either; if anything, that just kinda rubs salt in the wound for Caine.

Defeated, and carrying Jax’s previously confiscated stuff, Ragatha goes back to the others, who are still listening to Ptoneigh’s ramblings about Harmonia's history. Ragatha, and in turn, the audience, missed out on the beginning details of Harmonia’s history, however, we stick around to find out from Ptoneigh that the avian island paradise had been split into two sectors: one half consisted of flightless birds, and the other half consisted of birds who could fly. The Flying Sector is one huge bustling city with pretty lights and shiny things, almost reminiscent of those upper-class neighborhoods you might see from time to time. The flying birds of the Flying Sector live lives of the utmost prosperity under the leadership of Chief Sora, a beautiful looking rainbow-feathered falcon who maintains the well-being of her subjects, but is also rumored to be a bit tyrannical if provoked or questioned. The Flightless Sector is a humble and quaint little tribe village with peaceful morals, happy faces, and entire groups working together to make ends meet for themselves, all of whom have a culture similar to the New Age hippie communities of the 1960’s, ruled by the old and frail, yet kind-hearted social butterfly Chief Laylow, whose lavender-colored plumage gives off warmth, innocence, and comfort, and having been alive the longest in Harmonia's history.

It turns out the reason why Harmonia was split into two sectors was because the flying birds and the flightless birds have been in a heated feud with each other for as long as any of Harmonia's residents can remember, with the richer folks in Flying actively provoking the influential nobles of Flightless, and everyone is just kinda okay with it. As Team Circus is led out of the airport by Ptoneigh, they look at their surroundings and find that it is dusk outside, with tiki torches being lit outside as the flightless birds dance around their own bountiful harvests from earlier that day in celebration of some sort, along with drum circles, meditation classes outside, crystal worshiping sessions, and even children with sparklers in their hands/wings playing tag. Ptoneigh tells Team Circus that they are in the Flightless Sector at this very moment.

Ptoneigh leads the members of Team Circus to the small beach house resort known as Bird's Eye View Resort that they'll be staying in, since they're tourists and look unfamiliar to the long-term residents of Harmonia. With this, the tour has concluded, and (sans Caine, sadly) everyone begins putting down their luggage as they settle in for the night. Caine just plops onto the bed and shuts down, exhausted from the stress of not only facing his fear of flying, but also losing his luggage in the same day.

Ragatha heads over to Jax, the former of which hands over the bag full of Jax's stuff that had been taken away from him at the security systems, much to the latter’s uplifted spirits (he thanks Bubble for actually being right this time, to which the antivirus says “you're welcome” to him). The two talk for a bit; Ragatha shares her frustrations over the lost luggage situation, and Jax is only half-listening as he's busy rummaging through all of his stuff and admiring them, wondering what to do with them. This only frustrates Ragatha further, despite having known already that this was the norm for someone like Jax. Curious to see what this rivalry is about, Jax suggests the two take a walk outside to explore more of the place, under the guise of getting Ragatha's mind off the airport debacle. She agrees, and they stroll out of the hotel and into the starry night of the Harmonian island village.

Meanwhile, we see two flightless birds, a flamingo and a peacock heading over to a nest-shaped penthouse where after knocking on the door, they are greeted by another couple who are also a peacock and flamingo. It turns out the residents of the penthouse are a married couple named Max (the flamingo) and Cherri (the peacock), and their respective in-laws Rosa, Max’s mother, and Armand, Cherri’s father have come over for dinner. As the four of them have sat down and are eating the dinner cooked by Cherri, they begin to talk about some bird politics going on around Harmonia, specifically the feud between the flightless birds and the flying birds. Rosa claims that the flying birds are way too privileged for their own good and can never truly understand the struggles they go through, especially with the harvests growing less and less bountiful with each passing year. Armand claims their crops are being stolen by the greedy flying birds, hence their low harvests. Max argues that the opposite might be true; because of the low harvests, they have to steal back from the flying birds just so they can be able to survive another winter, since they can't migrate like the flying birds can. Max thinks that sharing wouldn't be such a bad thing. Cherri chooses to stay quiet about this, not wanting to rock the boat. As expected, the argument gets heated, with Rosa holding some very conservative beliefs about the flightless birds’ way of life, not hiding any of her distaste for the flying birds, while Armand is just worried that he, his daughter, and the other flightless birds might be on the brink of starvation if they don't do something about it, partially agreeing with Max over the situation.

Upon the departure of the in-laws a couple of hours later, Cherri and Max lament to each other their over boring lives and their seemingly failing marriage, despite the two loving each other unconditionally. Not helping matters is the apparent food shortages that have been only getting worse over the past few years, and as an indicator of how dire this situation is, they have been making dance circles around the crops they were able to harvest. As a result, it's been hard for Max and Cherri to just enjoy being husband and wife, as well as Cherri's job as a yoga instructor and Max’s job as a historian being a hassle to take on when the feud and food shortage crisis is dampening everyone's spirits. There are even rumors of the flightless birds defecting to the side of the flying birds, but such prospects have never been confirmed.

After a while, Max remembers he has to meet up with his friends for a quick drive-by, just to calm his nerves from today. As he and Cherri give their goodbye kisses, the flamingo heads out of the penthouse and meets up with his buddies, Tuxer and Pepper. Tuxer is a penguin, and acts as the comic relief to Max's small friend group, while Pepper is a kakapo who's friendly and outgoing nature brings him, Tuxer, and Max together in tough times. They each talk about their days; Tuxer’s stand-up show was another resounding failure, and business at Pepper's grocery store was notoriously slow today as the food stockpiles were becoming less and less packed. Tuxer thinks it would be a good idea to pull some pranks on the neighbors, despite the events having previously occurred at Max's place. However, wanting to take his mind off the impending food shortage and the growing certainty of a potential famine coming their way, Max doesn't dare say no to this. Pepper is too much of a pushover to object anyway. After grabbing some paintball guns from Pepper's store, they set off to the Flying Sector to wreak some havoc.

Speaking of the Flying Sector, we head over to the next scene with the hustle and bustle of the city life, and we see our next character named Bo, an osprey, walking out of some city hall building where the Flying Sector’s chief works. Bo is apparently the chief’s apprentice and they just finished today's work. We see them heading to some flying podium where they wait in line to take off for flight to their destination, similar to the airport’s runway from earlier that same episode. As the runway marshaller bird signals to Bo that it's their turn now to go, they do just that and fly back to their living quarters. This portion of the scene is a direct shout-out Disney's Dinosaur (2000), in which the pterosaur takes Aladar’s egg with him to the nest. Here, we see aerial shots of the city's skyscrapers and other flying birds also heading back home after another long day. After Bo lands in a suburban neighborhood, we see them walking over to the gates of a beautiful mansion, where it's revealed that Bo lives there. After the gates’ doors scan them and confirm their presence, they open and Bo walks to the front door and is greeted by their parents, who look very happy to see their child back home after a safe journey home. Bo and their family is apparently wealthy (one of the perks of being a chief’s apprentice and having a father as a nobleman right hand man), as the interior is stylishly lavish, with other servants cleaning the house. Bo’s mother, Shriek invites Bo to dinner to talk about the day's events.

The Ospreys’ dinner is much more grand than the one seen at Max and Cherri’s, and it shows, with all the food they can eat and then some, just to rub salt in the wound of the Flightless Sector and the audience who was made aware of the growing threat of an incoming famine — but Bo doesn't know this. Bo’s father, the right-hand assistant of Chief Sora, Scratch, talks high and mighty about his day working for the seemingly ungrateful chief, arrogantly rubbing in how proud of his work he is, and the increasing prosperity of the Flying Sector. Once more, we are treated to the same bird politics bullcrap, but with the perspective of the flying birds this time. Scratch talks about how the flightless birds always steal their food (in spite of the clearly visible all-you-can-eat buffet in front of the audience) and how they are never grateful for what they have, not to mention the protests from next door being led by Chief Laylow, which are always ceased by Chief Sora. Bo is completely disinterested by the one-sided conversation of her parents, as they're sick and tired of listening to the haughty rambling of their wealthy lifestyle, and never get a word in. However, this time, Shriek is kind enough to ask about her child's day, which surprises them. Bo explains what happened at work, and we get to see an insider's perspective on the whole situation. We see that Bo has offered the idea of sharing their food with the flightless birds multiple times in the past, and Chief Sora always refuses, citing that they need to be grateful for what they have. This angers their parents, who are sick, tired, and annoyed of the same thing over and over, until Bo asks their parents why can't they just go over to the Flightless Sector and see what's up with the crop shortages. After a brief silence, Scratch has to explain the feud; if they were to go over there, the flightless birds would attack them first chance they get, since according to him, they're jealous of the privilege and wealth they have acquired through hard work and effort, something the flightless birds clearly haven't done, hence their lifestyle. Shriek is offended that Bo would not know this information by now, considering their time as an apprentice. She also believes that the flightless birds deserve to be humbled every once in a while, as she continues to double down on the whole “gratitude” thing. A second argument arises within the family, which Bo is quick to leave from, taking some leftovers with her, as their parents’ cold berating dies down in the distance.

As Bo leaves the mansion home, carrying the large tray of food with them, they head back to the edge of the neighborhood where they meet Coal, a cardinal who so happens to be Bo’s childhood friend. Bo is gonna try to donate some of her family's leftovers to the neighbors from the Flightless Sector, like the two have always done since the beginning of the food shortages. Chief Sora made it against the law to try to help out the flightless birds because of the feud, so they have to put on disguises in order to cross the one-sided borders (as in, the flying birds cannot cross, but the flightless birds can for some reason).

However, as they traverse the city grounds (the ground-level portion of the Flying Sector city, filled with dark alleyways and foreclosed soup kitchens and homeless shelters; more on that much later), they come across two unusual people traversing the premises; a ragdoll girl and a purple rabbit — those are our heroes, Ragatha and Jax! And the poor ragdolly is scared. When Bo and Coal run up to them, Bo’s first instinct is to try to comfort Ragatha, while Coal introduces himself and Bo to the two. They engage in the conversation, and Jax and Ragatha learn more about what's happening during the feud from Bo and Coal. After some time strolling in the streets, Ragatha and Jax agree to help them with the donations… but not before coming across three flightless birds who are paintballing all over the streets, who we see as Max, Tuxer, and Pepper. Coal is quick to call the group out, before Pepper tries telling him that he was forced into this, to no avail. An all-out paintball fight ensues after some bitter bickering, and oddly enough (albeit unsurprising), Jax comes prepared with his own paintball gun. Poor Bo gets caught in the crossfire, and Max immediately rushes in to save them and Ragatha. It's at this moment that Max and Bo meet for the first time. As Max patches up Ragatha, Bo decides to offer Max the leftover food she had intended to give the other flightless birds from next door. Max comes to discover that Bo isn't like most of the flying birds in Harmonia, which he is very much thankful for, as he always saw the good in others, even when everyone else doesn't think it's there. Somehow, Max and Bo form a deep connection after this meet up, and Ragatha is quick to gleefully point that out, much to Max's horror, as he is a married avian.

Soon though, the paintball fight comes to startlingly screeching halt when when Bo informs the others what their intentions were; Bo and Coal had been planning to deliver some of their family's leftovers to the hungry population in the Flightless Sector before things got out of hand (mainly Coal's strong sense of justice). Pepper immediately apologizes for the vandalism, as the idea was all Tuxer's. It's here that we see Tuxer's blatant distaste/bigotry against the flying birds (it's kinda obvious, considering he's a penguin, and penguins are notorious for their lack of flight), and a verbal fight between the flightless birds friends ensues, while Jax grabs Ragatha to make a getaway from the arguing… only to be caught hook, line, and sinker by Kinger, Bubble and Caine. Neither of them are pleased to see them.

As a result of the sudden appearances of three new individuals, the birds pause what they're doing and look on in curiosity and confusion. Bo sees that the (obviously pissed off) ringmaster looks very familiar, so they grab Coal and flee back home, while Max sees Bo run off into the distance, admiring the osprey from afar, despite the relenting guilt he feels for supposedly cheating on Cherri. As Tuxer and Pepper split off back home and Caine, Bubble, and Kinger pull Jax and Ragatha away from the scene, Max looks at the tray of food, and slowly heads back to his friends, still shaken from what's happened.

When the two groups split off and go their separate ways for now, Max announces to his fellow flightless birds that they found a portion of extra food for the night, and a large group of them are happy to take some. Afterwards, Max heads back to the penthouse to meet Cherri. Claiming that he's too tired to talk to his wife, Max heads to bed. Meanwhile, Coal asks Bo why they ran away, to which the latter answers that they think one of the strange-looking individuals looks familiar to them and Chief Sora. This will serve as a plot point later on in this episode.

Back at the resort, Bubble is relieved and jubilant that Jax and Ragatha are okay, but Caine is pissed off that the two had left the resort without his permission, since the newly-expanded digital world could potentially be dangerous as it's completely unfamiliar to him and thus uncharted territory. Likewise, Kinger gets scolded/chastised by the ringmaster for not keeping an eye on everyone like he was promised to — just because he's the eldest, that doesn't mean he can coherently comprehend every task and detail, a fatal flaw of his. Jax doesn't even bother to try and come up with an excuse or explanation for his behavior, knowing damn well what happened out there and what he did was wrong and bad, while Ragatha has the unfortunate audacity to try to reason with the fuming AI, which only serves to rock the boat further. To make matters worse than they already are, Ragatha explains to him that someone was just trying to donate some food to the Flightless Sector and that it was a bunch of vandals who started the paintball fight; one of the vandals, whose name was Max, had saved her and the new character named Bo, and they—

Caine stops Ragatha in her tracks, claiming that he doesn't want to hear any of it, nor does he care what anyone has to say; all he cares about at the moment is how Jax and Ragatha left the group without his permission, potentially putting them in danger as a result. Bubble, who can only helplessly watch, mentions to Caine about the confiscated luggage Jax got back at the airport earlier (seriously, Bubble; you couldn't have picked a better time for this!?). As though that was the straw that broke the camel's back, Caine quickly grounds both Jax and Ragatha for the remainder of the week, but not before removing one of his gloves and using said glove to smack Jax in the face; gee, like that’s gonna make it any better. Everyone (Pomni, Zooble, Gangle, and Kinger) had to bear witness to this embarrassing moment, and not wanting to provoke the ringmaster further, they decide not to do a damn thing to help in order to avoid his steadily increasing wrath. After Jax remarks “Now you know why I didn't say anything?”, Ragatha begins sobbing. Funny how a grown-ass adult like her can get so worked up over a simple grounding.

As Caine storms out of the room and Bubble, shocked and upset by this uncalled for reaction, follows him from behind to go talk to him, Kinger attempts to soften the blow of the ordeal by taking partial responsibility for what happened out there, to mixed degrees of success. It really wasn't Kinger's fault, however; Jax had been the one to suggest taking Ragatha with her out of genuine curiosity over the bird feud and sheer boredom, and the purple bunny rabbit couldn't resist a good altercation. Caine's stress just got the better of him and he ended up taking it out on the two, though that doesn't excuse his behavior. They pray that the next morning will fare much better than this, though who's to say?

And indeed the next morning arrives, with everyone seemingly in much better spirits than yesterday evening, except for Caine, who's still sour over the missing luggage. They do some more exploring in Harmonia's Flightless Sector, and they have an idle conversation with one another, and unsurprisingly, Caine is completely disinterested, still reeling over last night's events. They encounter Max again, who looks like he's headed off somewhere. Max introduces himself to Team Circus and vice versa, in spite of some bitter reception from the ringmaster. Upon asking from Kinger, he says he's off to find Chief Laylow, who's paying a visit to the senior citizen center; he's looking for guidance and advice over his crumbling love life. They all agree to go with him, though Jax and Caine appear to be more reluctant about it. When we see Team Circus head off with Max to the senior citizen center, the scene pans over to Bo in disguise, as they ask the flightless birds about the food shortages, using investigative journalism to get the answers they need to solve the crisis themself. Afterwards, Bo decides to indulge in some of the Flightless Sector’s culture to get a better understanding of them as a society, including crystal worshiping sessions, bonfire dances, and yoga classes. It's one of these yoga classes where we see Cherri, Max's peacock wife, as the instructor. However, after a while, Bo’s disguise accidentally falls off in a yoga pose, much to everyone's surprise, shock, and mild horror. Bo immediately flees the scene out of shame, but Cherri follows. When Cherri arrives to help, Bo explains to her that they're not supposed to be here, given the feud and them being a flying bird. Cherri reassures Bo that nothing bad is gonna happen to them; she's not going to rat them out to anybody. Bo is very thankful for this. They explain to Cherri about being an apprentice to Chief Sora, and the food shortages in the Flightless Sector they're trying to stop, to no avail. Bo only became an apprentice to Chief Sora because they saw the bad shape the Flightless Sector was in during a field trip they went to when they were little. Apparently the feud helped exacerbate the food shortages, with the Flying Sector refusing to help the Flightless Sector in these trying times (it's speculated the feud actually caused the food shortages in the Flightless Sector, but nothing’s been confirmed). Ever since, to try and make it up to the flightless birds' suffering, Bo and their childhood friend Coal have been out and about making generous donations to the Flightless Sector, from scraps of leftover food back in the Flying Sector, to heaping piles of money and tools to help them repair damaged buildings and provide stability to their way of life.

Cherri is grateful for the help; she knew all along there were others in the Flying Sector who weren't so stuck-up and selfish. The two also talk about how bullshit the feud is, knowing that if it weren't for that damn feud, the Flightless Sector wouldn't be under the growing threat of a famine, much to the shock of Bo, who up until now never knew how bad the shortages were getting. As they stroll about, they come across Team Circus and Cherri's husband, Max. Bo is frightened; they claim that Chief Sora knows these guys, especially the ringmaster Caine, and they need to investigate further under the orders of Chief Sora. Thinking this will help the two get closer to solving and ending the feud for good, Cherri agrees to help out, on the condition that Max doesn't find out about this. As they sneak up on the unsuspecting group, Cherri begins to feel something warm inside her heart when she looks at Bo. She develops the same guilt Max did from last night.

As Team Circus traverses up the hills to the senior citizen center, Max talks about how great his wife is and how he plans on starting a family. Ragatha mentions how she used to have a husband and kid before wounding up with the group, much to everyone's surprise. Everyone talks about their own families and what they were like, singing all sorts of praises for them and what they used to do in life, often wondering how they're faring without them now. When Pomni asks about Max’s family, he says it's a little complicated; for one, he's got himself an overbearing conservative mother who coddles way too much, and then his father-in-law who spends his days being “a bit of a useless worrywart”, as the flamingo puts it. They don't exactly get along per se. Team Circus reveals their own relationship with their parents, some quite healthy, others not so much, and Kinger's… are deceased; he's old, they've been dead for years. Caine is somewhat relaxed at hearing the calm cacophony of Team Circus’s voices, despite not paying attention to a damn thing any of them are saying… that is until Max asks Caine about his parents. That's the funny thing: he doesn't have any! Or in the very least he can't seem to recall having any. And though he tries his best to pretend to be fine with it, Caine ultimately waivers and breaks down into tears, lamenting his supposed orphan status, much to the panged pity instilled in everyone. Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to have woe on it for long as they finally arrive at the senior citizen center where Chief Laylow is supposed to be… unbeknownst to the fact that they're being followed by Cherri and Bo.

Unlike most senior citizen centers, it's a lot more lively, and smells of chamomile rather than tobacco. We see Chief Laylow competing in a shuffleboarding tournament at the patio. Chief Laylow is an elderly and overweight rhea wearing a lavender lei necklace, pale lilac plumage, and a crown made of leaves. His opponent is an elderly moa. The others are awestruck by the Chief's shuffleboarding skills, in spite of the fact that he doesn't win. Laylow is still a good sport and even congratulates the winning moa. We see that Chief Laylow is the life of the party, an affably wholesome guy, and still as spunky as he was in his youth, just like how he is now in his golden years. Max and Team Circus try to catch up with Laylow, who is very much excited to see them, giving them all huge bear hugs as a form of salutations. Max introduces himself and the rest of Team Circus to Laylow, and begins asking for advice about his marriage troubles. Likewise, Ragatha asks about the feud and how it's contributing to the worsening food crisis that's going on. While Laylow is unfortunately unable to provide a coherent answer to Max's question, seeing the complexity of it and not knowing all the details quite yet, he can tell the others all about the ongoing feud… but first, they have to go somewhere quieter and less crowded so he can be able to tell them all the details.

…In the meantime, Laylow suggests the idea that everyone play the Unstable Unicorns™ card game to pass the time. Cherri and Bo, who have been following them from behind, accidentally trip on a potted plant and expose themselves. Laylow greets them both with loving arms, immediately recognizing Cherri as Max’s wife. He then asks who the new friend is, and she introduces them as Bo. Bo is welcomed into the group, much to Bo’s skepticism and worry. Max and Cherri are immediately awkward around each other, as both of them are crushing hard on Bo, but neither of them want to cheat on each other. Fortunately for them, the tensions ease up with a game of Unstable Unicorns™, with Chief Laylow recognizing the three and encouraging them to talk to each other. And they do. They talk and get to know one another, as does Team Circus; playing all sorts of board games and party games. Laylow seems to have an ulterior motive, which Caine quickly notices. Laylow offers wonderful life advice to the individual members of Team Circus, and Bo, Max and Cherri. In the midst of the miniature festivities, Bo’s disguise accidentally falls off, and their status as a flying bird is revealed. Whoops!

Max immediately recognizes Bo, and Cherri is embarrassed to have been caught trying to harbor a flying bird in the Flightless Sector, and the tensions return full-swing. Bo is ashamed of themself and begins sobbing; they came here to try to get a better insight on the feud and how that's connected to the food shortages. Bo just wants to help. Much to Bo’s confusion, Laylow is absolutely thrilled to see a flying bird on his side. As it turns out, Laylow, fully aware of the increasing food shortages, has been trying to reach out to the Flying Sector for help (hence the protests mentioned earlier), to no avail, on account of the petty feud going on. He hasn't been able to get Chief Sora from the Flying Sector to listen to reason and see just how much in grave danger his people could be in. Bo, relieved to be free of judgment, reveals to actually be Chief Sora’s apprentice, in an attempt to get into politics and hopefully make Harmonia a better place, starting with the food shortages. Cherri tells Laylow that they've been donating leftovers (food, money, healthcare aid, and infrastructure supplies) from the Flying Sector to the Flightless Sector to make it up to them; you see, Bo felt awful about how the flying birds treated the flightless birds and how their privilege and wealth is corrupting them, their parents especially. Plus, if they could be able to find the root cause of the feud, they could actually be one step closer to resolving the food shortage crisis. Laylow is ecstatic and grateful for the support. Now all they have to do is figure out how to do just that. After some brainstorming from the individuals themselves (some more practical, others outlandish), Cherri suggests a huge gathering that unites flying and flightless birds together — at the end of every month is a peace festival that celebrates another successful month without any lasting collateral damage to the feud; apparently the Flightless Sector is getting more of the brunt of it than the Flying Sector, which is concerning to say the least. They could use the upcoming festival as means of uniting Harmonia into one island once and for all, but they'll need to do it in a way that's subtle enough to not pour gasoline to the fire, and fun for everyone. They could pull off a Woodstock-esque masquerade concert, where everyone is masked so that no one knows who they are as people, but everyone can still tell which bird is which. After reaching a unanimous agreement and settlement, they decide to plan on decorations and the location of the festival, which singers and songs to use, and of course, the recreational herbs used! Ranging from rainbow flowers, to the astral lotuses, and the good ol’ cannabis leaves! The effects of the herbs will make it harder for flying birds and flightless birds to distinguish who is who and just enjoy the fun. Of course, this will also mean that Chief Sora will have to come along and join with, as she had always done during the monthly festivities, which proves to be challenging due to the falcon Chief growing distant from her own people as well as the Flightless Sector.

Bo, Max, and Cherri begin to grow closer at this time as the potential for reconciliation on both sides is beginning to grow closer for the first time in years. Still, the feelings for each other are complicated to say the least, not to mention what their families might think of this. But so long as the three have support for each other in what could become a historical event for the benefit of Harmonia, everything will be okay. As the day goes by, the sun sets a second time, and everyone else continues to party-plan, all eight members of Team Circus receive a notification for their fifth objective on their communicator bracelets, and they prepare for what's to come. It's also at this moment that Caine reluctantly ungrounds Jax and Ragatha, much to everyone's delight.

Two days pass, and tomorrow is the end-of-the-month get-together that Team Circus, Bo, Max, Cherri, and Chief Laylow have been setting up. He's absolutely confident that this will work, especially in regards to saving the Flightless Sector from what could be their doom. That's when Chief Sora, in all her rainbow glory, flies overhead the Flightless Sector and stops by to see Laylow. Sora is a white-colored falcon with rainbow wings, a pearl necklace with a mother-of-pearl scallop in the center, and a golden tiara studded with diamonds. She seems friendly enough, albeit condescending to an obvious degree. Laylow notes that Sora is not good at maintaining a façade like that, which angers the falcon. He argues to the Flying Sector leader about how pointless this grudge is, as it's been going on for over 60 years now, and she should have just let it go by now. She argues back that his dad retaliated first, having led a riot on the streets that cost the lives of innocent birds in the process back in 1982. Laylow does not want to fight at all and refuses to give Sora the satisfaction of his defeat, noticing how mentally unwell she has been for a few years now. He does note, however, that his people have been forced to migrate to other areas of the world because of how dangerous the Flightless Sector had become since the early 1990’s, with the one-sided civil war that some have referred to as a genocide in some parts of the Flying Sector. Sora couldn't give a damn about the birds of the Flying Sector, as she had simply risen up the ranks trying to outlast her opponents in the civil war, which ended in 2000, hence the end-of-the-month festivities to celebrate the ceasefire since then. Laylow is disgusted by the reason, but still holds on to the hope that Sora apologizes for her actions and helps him end the feud for good, and to prevent a second civil war from happening. Sora flies away from the cliffside that the two were talking in moments ago, not wanting to hear anymore of this nonsense. Laylow looks on at the crashing tides from afar, wondering how much longer will any of this last. He remains unaware of the true cause of the food shortages, despite knowing that it's connected to the feud.

We finally approach the day of the festival, and it is dusk outside. All of the flying birds have been given invites left and right for the festival, despite most of them never having been to the other side of Harmonia before. The flightless birds, likewise, are all in attendance. Each of them are dressed in New Age wave garments as well as masquerade masks. Some have brought their own musical instruments, others have brought their own food and beverages, and even their own recreational herbs for funsies. Chief Laylow and Chief Sora all watch on their respective thrones. It's easy to note that Sora's throne is more lavish than Laylow’s. Bo, Max, and Cherri are all in attendance, as well as the tour guide from five days ago, Ptoneigh, the friends Coal, Tuxer, Pepper, and the parents Rosa, Armand, Scratch, and Shriek (the latter four are unhappy to be here, by the way). Team Circus also shows up in New Age spiritual garments and masquerade masks, some of whom are clearly feeling like wearing someone else's skin and not in a good way.

Pomni does try to make light of the situation by cracking a few jokes about their unusual appearances, to mixed degrees of success. Zooble immediately decides to get high on a bunch of rainbow flower brownies, much to Caine's frustration and Jax's amusement. The other members of Team Circus try to make this work by mingling with the other birds, with Jax encountering Tuxer and Pepper once more in a witty banter match, and Caine trying to at least enjoy the good vibes, even if it ends up being awkward in the process. All in all, the party seems to be going well. That is until Chief Laylow summons Team Circus to the throne area and tells them that they're going to be the festival’s replacement concert band!

It turns out a last-minute change was made in light of the fact that the other band from the Flightless Sector couldn't show up due to some undisclosed illness they contracted. The band even left behind their music instruments somehow. The members of Team Circus (sans a heavily zooted Zooble) were already feeling nervous, and this just fuels their worries further. However, upon being reassured by Chief Laylow and given the confidence boost they needed, they feel up to the task of giving the festival goers the concert they rightfully deserve.

Meanwhile, Bo, Max, and Cherri are having a blast in each other's company, taking the time to indulge in some of their interests and hobbies, Max sharing some cool history facts, Cherri giving Bo gardening tips, and Bo themself showing off some neat flying tricks. It's there that we see Team Circus on the stage — well, six of them, at least — preparing themselves and everyone else at the festival for the long-awaited concert. Pomni, in her state of nervousness and awkwardness, tells them that the band that was promised to them tonight had to cancel last minute for reasons unexplained, but she explains it all in the most jittery and cringey way imaginable; they're dying out there and they haven't even started playing yet!

Thankfully, Bo, Max, and Cherri cheer them on vocally from a distance, encouraging Pomni and the others to play the first song of the concert, a cover of “Bang-Shang-A-Lang” by The Archies, with Pomni as lead vocals on the microphone, Ragatha on the keyboard, Kinger on the tambourine, Jax on the drums, Gangle on the guitar, and Bubble on the bass. Caine, who is watching the stage from a distance and also babysitting Zooble their inebriated state, hopes that the music-based adventures he put them through in the past paid off in the end. While the song is playing, everyone is dancing and jiving along to the tunes, and for a while, the rival birds forget their worries, even the parents of Bo, Max, and Cherri. Tuxer and Pepper are also seemingly getting along with Coal. It's a sign that the festival is bringing both sectors together, much to the jubilation of Chief Laylow. Chief Sora, on the other hand, is completely indifferent to it all, frustrating Laylow in the process, though he decides to set it aside for the sake of enjoying the festival. Bo, Max, and Cherri are also enjoying themselves, as the song ends, Bo wonders to themself if maybe they have the same feelings Max and Cherri have for each other. But before Bo could ponder further about their newly developing feelings, the song concludes, and to Pomni’s relief, everything went incredibly well, with people applauding and wanting a new song from them, chanting and all. Caine is actually proud of them for actually managing to pull off a pretty good concert despite them not being experts in the music department. And Zooble is straight up tripping balls so hard that it's actually hard to tell whether or not they were really paying attention to the whole damn thing.

As the Team Circus band finds what song to play next, Bo decides to talk to Max and Cherri about their strange feelings towards the two, still wondering if any of their feelings towards Bo were actually legit or if it's some sort of phase. Their conversation lasts until Max decides to come clean that for whatever reason or another, they both love Bo and Cherri, and he feels incredibly guilty for having to choose, though Cherri reassures him that it'll be fine, as she also harbors feelings for Bo and still loves Max unconditionally. Bo, feeling relieved to hear this, decides to quickly confess that they have a crush on both Max and Cherri, and to her shock, they reciprocate them back with acceptance, although they are incredibly worried as to how their respective families and friends are going to react to this news.

But before they can worry further, the Team Circus band announces that they finally found a new song that they can play... and it's freaking “Wonderwall” by Oasis; Jax's choice. As the song begins playing and the crowd cheers once more, the three of them begin to get lost in the harmony of the tune, and soon, they begin to indulge in their affections for each other, taking turns kissing each other and forgetting their troubles all the while. Chief Laylow happily watches the concert from his throne, impressed by Pomni's singing abilities and overjoyed by Max, Cherri, and Bo, having a short make-out session in the background, seeing this as a possibility that the feud may soon end. It seems everything is working out alright… if it weren't for Chief Sora catching a glimpse of the three literal lovebirds from the comfort of her throne. As disgusted as she is with the thought of two flightless birds being in love with a flying bird, she sees this as the perfect opportunity to keep a further eye on Team Circus and to keep the feud alive for her grand plan for island domination. For Chief Sora, Bo would be of great use to her after all…

After the festival went on longer than expected, and the sun rises for Team Circus’s third day in Harmonia, Team Circus and the dimensional diplomats celebrate their first victory and express optimism over an easy adventure, alongside their new ally Chief Laylow, Bo, Max, and Cherri, with plans to find more ways to bring Harmonia back together once and for all. However, Valerie has a really bad gut feeling that she can't really shake off, even as she's viewing everything from her own communicator bracelet. It had already been four times that Team Circus had been tricked by a hidden snake in the grass amongst the group, so a fifth time was to be expected; however, that's not the only thing she's worried about. But we don't actually get to learn what that other thing is in this episode, so we'll have to wait a while longer to truly know the details. Valerie is thankfully thrust out of her thoughts when she sees what Chief Sora is up to.

Bo is up and about, having already arrived to the Flying Sector’s City Hall after having said their goodbyes to their friends and family just moments earlier, and upon arriving to Chief Sora’s office, we see Bo do their usual business as the chief's apprentice with the other government office workers before they are met up by the multi-colored falcon, just as Bo finishes up filling out official paperwork. It almost plays out like an interrogation of some sorts, with Sora pretending to be all buddy-buddy with Bo, and Bo playing along. The osprey is nervous, thinking she might've found out about their newfound union between Max and Cherri, but is relieved that it's not that at all… it's Team Circus.

Chief Sora and Bo take a stroll as the Flying Sector chief talks about her ambitions to make Harmonia belong only to the flying birds, since she believes that the entire point of an avian species is to fly — after all, what good is a bird’s wings that can't even lift them off the ground!? Bo is concerned and disturbed by this revelation, but does certainly explain parts of the feud going on between the sectors. Sora continues saying that she's also aware of someone trying to stop her plans for total domination, and no, it's not just Chief Laylow, but also, Team Circus themselves. It turns out Sora knows just how famous the group is, having just made history as the ones who stopped Professor Barnwell’s reign of terror in Craniumville and defeated the genocidal tyrant King Cloudbeard of Medievia. She thinks she could use that information to her advantage, thanks in large part to her secret weapon she and Professor Barnwell's father, Council Snowfeather, have been working on for years now: a special lavender-colored flower that has been used as a bioweapon to wither away the crops and make the birds sick.

Bo is horrified by the revelation; so this is why the food shortage crisis is happening in the Flightless Sector! Unfortunately, before they can even run off and warn everyone, Chief Sora forces the osprey not to tell anyone of her grand plan until the time is right. Knowing damn well that Chief Sora has leverage against Bo since they're merely her apprentice, Bo can only look on in heartbreak. Bo decides to get back to her work, not knowing how to tell the others about the new information. After a while, though, Bo decides to pay Coal a visit to take their mind off things during their lunch break. Looming in the shadows is Chief Sora holding a suitcase with her… hey, wait a minute!! (This will be important later.)

Valerie may have been the sole witness to the whole thing, but she can't interfere or warn Team Circus about this new revelation, especially with what shenanigans Chief Sora is up to. It's something to do with “canon events” and “the suspension of disbelief”; the dimensional diplomats refuse to specify.

It's here that we see the same lavender-colored flower, which Chief Sora called them Sleepysuckles earlier that same day, all over the Flying Sector. Bo remembers seeing a bunch of sleepysuckles scattered across the Flightless Sector too, around the barren farms and as floral garments worn by the flightless birds when she first encountered Cherri from four days ago. Somehow, none of the members of Team Circus even noticed, though that could be because of the many other flowers planted all over the Flightless Sector of Harmonia. After exchanging pleasantries to each other, Coal and Bo decide to continue their secret charitable work, with Coal carrying a wheelbarrow filled with wood and woodworking tools, and Bo carrying bags of food. All the while, they continue to have a heartfelt conversation with each other about the little things in life, easing up Bo’s fear for a little bit. Upon arriving at the Flightless Sector, they inadvertently meet up with Max and Cherri. Coal is understandably skeptical, seeing just how badly their first encounter was merely days ago, not to mention there were a lot of hallucinogenic plants involved in the festival, so their friendship was not yet a genuine one. After some awkward exchanges and a small introduction to Cherri and Max, they actually bond over their shared passion of community, unity, and helpfulness, and help the construction worker birds rebuild a few damaged homes that had been untouched from the civil war years ago. It's there that Coal learns that Bo has actually started seeing Max and Cherri since their relationship was officialized just last night after the festival. Coal is supportive, but notes that the three oughta be careful in public; Bo is a flying bird, and Max and Cherri are flightless birds. As such, who knows how everyone will react to seeing two flightless birds and one flying bird together in a romantic relationship? Since they've also just started committing to the relationship, they also promise to take it slow and wait to see what happens. All the while, Chief Sora is still continuing to spy on them from afar, hidden in one of the beachside clifftops with a pair of binoculars in her wings.

Meanwhile, Chief Laylow and Team Circus begin discussing the possibility of an incoming epidemic as well as the growing threat of a famine, seeing that the crop failures have not slowed down. Some farms have had their food turn up rotten and withered, with the farmers themselves having fallen ill too for some reason. They begin to wonder if it has any correlation to the festival’s original band having been sick from last night. Zooble is not even paying attention to anything, still high on those rainbow flowers since last night. Apparently, no one had forewarned anyone that unlike regular ol’ cannabis, the effects of the rainbow flowers, named Venus Blossoms in Harmonia, can last for up to a week at maximum. As such, Caine and Bubble are stuck with Zooble and have to make sure they don't get themself hurt. The ringmaster never really stopped being passive-aggressive, even after the initial success of the brief unity between the two sectors, still clinging on to the missing luggage from four days prior.

Chief Laylow asks the remaining five members of Team Circus to go gather some more information about the food shortage and sudden spike in illness cases while he stays behind to manage the three others, and they happily accept his kind request. They manage to meet up with Bo, Max, Cherri, and Coal, who are currently working together with their community service, where they are informed of a concerning surge of illness cases going on in Harmonia. Max assumes that it's probably just flu season, as the weather is getting colder, and it would be around that time that everyone is expected to come down with a cold of some sorts. Pomni says that Chief Laylow requested that they gather more information on it since he suspects it could be related to the band getting sick last night, as well as the crop failures. Bo looks like they've seen a ghost; they clearly know something no one else does, but can't actually tell them what exactly it is. So while Team Circus, Bo, Max, Cherri, and Coal do some surveys and interviews with everyone in the Flightless Sector, even Max's mother Rosa and Cherri’s father Armand, they're able to find some information that could be of use to Chief Laylow, including the potential of contaminated food caused by the crop failures and illnesses, which many blame on the flying birds in some random conspiracy theory against the Flying Sector. Upon interviewing Ptoneigh about the matter, he quickly agrees to help bring Harmonia together again without anyone needing to ask; his mom and aunt (the latter of whom was visiting for the month from the Flying Sector) had been infected with the same sickness the farmers have fallen victim to. What are the odds that a simple tour guide would go out of his way to help the heroes in their mission to end the feud for good?

Bo’s lunch break is almost over, so they have to go back to the Flying Sector to the City Hall where they work. This time, however, Bo has intentions to tell Chief Sora about their findings with Max, Cherri, Coal, and Team Circus, so they have to bid everyone adieu for now and fly off back into the Flying Sector. Back at Chief Laylow’s home, Bubble is taking up the duty of caring for Zooble, just as the venus blossom’s effects have only half-way worn off. Chief Laylow can sense that Caine is feeling extremely troubled, and it's only been four days since he and the rest of Team Circus first got here. It's cute in a pitiful way that he's still worked up over his missing luggage, but Chief Laylow would beg to differ on that opinion.

Laylow tries to ask what's wrong, only for Caine to answer that everything is fine in a bitter tone. Even when the Flightless Sector chief asks if he's sure, Caine insists, trying to brush it off like it's not a big deal. Laylow is not buying it in the slightest, but knows that pestering him won't work, so he tries to form a closer bond with the ringmaster by making small talk to him. Caine is a bit of a tough cookie to break, but Chief Laylow doesn't get deterred by his stubbornness. You'd be incredibly lucky to have a friend as patient as Laylow, since those kinds of people are really hard to come by nowadays. And while he unfortunately doesn't know yet the root cause of Caine's strife, Laylow is able to get Caine to open up about his own general problems without revealing too much about who he truly is. Laylow can kinda relate, as being the leader of an entire populace of flightless birds isn't exactly easy to handle; the feud has been going on long before Team Circus ever arrived here, and the food shortages was just a recent thing that happened only a few years ago when coincidentally, a beautiful looking flower was imported to the Flightless Sector as a ceasefire offering from the Flying Sector, and as a truce offering to end the civil war over two decades ago.

We learn a little more about the feud as the conversation goes on. Chief Laylow’s father, Chief Sundown, had been forced to fight back after the previous Flying Sector leader, Chief Cumulus, had been taking his pranks too far. That's right, folks! The feud started out as a silly little prank war that escalated into something more dangerous when an innocent civilian flightless bird was killed in an act of recklessness caused by Cumulus. It was never supposed to get this bad, but Sundown’s short temper and protective nature worsened matters with the declaration of a civil war, with Laylow fighting alongside his father during this tumultuous era of Harmonia, and even took up his position after his death. Chief Cumulus was training a young falcon girl to be his successor, with that falcon girl being Sora herself. According to Cumulus himself, the pranks were meant to drive the flightless birds away from the island so the flying birds could have it all to themselves. Sundown's retaliation and the persistence of the flightless birds made it difficult to accomplish, as the Flightless Sector still believes that both flying and flightless birds need to share this island if they ever desire peace and prosperity in Harmonia. Things have been at a stalemate ever since, with no more retaliations on either side, thanks to the implementation of borders, though Laylow notes that the Flying Sector has been climbing up higher and higher to the top of the mountains, leaving the ground level areas nearly abandoned altogether. The Flightless Sector remained humble all the while. Nowadays, the place has been used as a tourist trap to try and regain whatever reputation they lost from the civil war, with only minimal success, as people are only here for the scenery and not the culture.

It's a lot of information to take in, and Caine can only ask why he didn't just tell the rest of the group that. It's simple. Chief Laylow’s job is to make sure his people don't have a care in the world to worry about what he worries about. No worries? No problem! He can take care of everything and everyone can continue to live their lives as peacefully as possible, just as long as everyone acts like a community and treats others the way they want to be treated. Laylow's storytelling manages to soothe Caine for a bit, and Zooble is all but entranced by his soothing voice. The mix-and-match cast member asks what other stories Chief Laylow has. He happily obliges, telling more bits of his past to Caine, Bubble, and Zooble, with some visuals playing in the background, both flashbacks and present day, all while some gentle and calm guitar music plays.

By the time Team Circus, Max and Cherri arrive back, they're able to relay what they've discovered to Laylow, Zooble, Caine, and Bubble. Ptoneigh, the Flightless Sector’s tour guide, is among the group, and he's just as worried as everyone else. He's worried about his mom and aunt, looking ready to beg for help with how distressed he is by the recent sickness outbreak. Coal runs back to the Flying Sector to grab as many medical supplies as he can carry, and the sentimentality from earlier is broken with more tension than ever before. The moment everyone gets back to work, we see Coal go past the City Hall in the Flying Sector and spot a shiny, multicolored sparkle in the distance. He pays no mind to this, but we can see that the weather is now changing from sunny skies to cloudy snowfall, to indicate the calm is almost over and the storm is about to begin.

We're treated to a montage that shows the four months that pass during this time, where we see Max, Cherri, and Bo continue to develop their relationship over time, with Coal being a supporter from within the background, Team Circus and Chief Laylow also doing charity work and some community service, and life in both the Flightless Sector and the Flying Sector carrying on like normal, with the only difference in the Flightless Sector being less people outdoors, the food supply growing shorter and shorter, and hospitals being overrun with sick patients, while the sleepysuckles continue to flourish in the increasingly cold weather. This happens all while “Yesterday” by The Beatles is playing, to showcase that while there is still hope in Harmonia, it's begun to dwindle in the past coming days.

After the startlingly short montage concludes, Max guides Cherri and Bo up a mountain, wanting to show the two something beautiful he found. As the three of them traverse the thin cliffs and dark caves, they finally reach the tippy top of the highest mountain in Harmonia, it's there that we see both the Flightless Sector and the Flying Sector together at the same time, with exotic skyscrapers lighting up one side and the tropical villages with flaming tiki torches on the other. It is a really beautiful sight to behold as it showcases all of Harmonia and not just the two separated halves we've been used to seeing this episode. As the three of them admire the breathtaking scenery from the mountaintop, Bo confesses something that has been on their mind. They admit that they know where the feud started; it turned out that the flying birds wanted Harmonia all to themselves and wanted to drive the flightless birds out of the island as they believe that the whole point of a bird is to fly, hence their wings. They overheard this information at work one day, but didn't know how to tell the others, or when. Max and Cherri are shocked by this information; they intend to tell Chief Laylow about this immediately, thinking that he'll set things straight with Chief Sora. However, Bo suggests something else; a marriage alliance. Welp, so much for taking it slow!

Max urges that they slow down a bit since they've only been together for four months, but Bo insists that their matrimony would bring together Harmonia after more than six decades of segregation and fighting. Of course, they'll still try and take it slow behind the scenes, and with the help of Coal, Team Circus, and Chief Laylow, the feud can end once and for all. Max urges Bo to think about this long-term since his friends Tuxer and Pepper don't know about this yet, with Cherri adding that her father and mother-in-law are also still in the dark about everything going on, save for the humanitarian aid the Flightless Sector has been given during the colder seasons. Bo suggests that Ptoneigh can help Laylow make an announcement during the winter festival about the marriage alliance within a couple of months, which will hopefully bring the two bird sectors together like they did four months ago the first time and the other months before now at the end-of-the-month celebrations they hold in Harmonia. It takes some more convincing and debating from all three avian lovers, until they reach a unanimous agreement: they'll agree to the marriage alliance, but they'll have to tell Chief Laylow, Ptoneigh, Coal, and Team Circus first and then they can enact the marriage when Laylow declares when the time is right. If only they knew that once again, Chief Sora is spying on them from within the cave entryways that led to the mountaintop in the first place.

Sora decides to forge herself her own flightless bird disguise, just as Bo did earlier in the episode. She disguises herself as a red hen using… Caine's red ringmaster suits from the missing luggage she held hostage. If that's not kicking someone while they're down, I dunno what is. Afterwards, Sora goes over to Ptoneigh’s place and pays him a little visit, carrying some medicine and food in her hands. The disguised Sora calls herself “Akira”, and she happily spends time with Ptoneigh while watching over the two sick birds, his mom and aunt, who do not look like they're getting better at all. They have pale pox marks on their feathers, eye bags, and appear to have labored breathing. It's there that we reveal that Ptoneigh's intentions are not exactly selfless, as the only reason why he agreed to help Chief Laylow in the first place was so he could help his mom and aunt, as the purple flightless tour guide tells “Akira”. “Akira” sympathizes with Ptoneigh, taking note of his inherent gullibility and selfishness in her head, and suggests she go over and see some friends she's made. He agrees, thinking that it'll get him one step closer to helping his mom and aunt get better. “Akira” leads Ptoneigh to her group of friends, who are Max’s friends Tuxer and Pepper, his mom Rosa, and Cherri's father Armand, and they all look unhappy.

They all clamor about the increasingly dire situation in the Flightless Sector, not to mention their suspicions and fears as to what Max and Cherri are up to during that period. When Ptoneigh and “Akira” get them to quiet down, she allows Ptoneigh to speak up about what he's learned during his time with Chief Laylow: apparently Chief Laylow and a group of unfamiliar-looking tourists are helping cease the six-decade-long feud by bringing together both sectors during the end-of-the-month festivals that have been held ever since they arrived four months ago, not to mention the extra food, money, and supplies for the Flightless Sector being imported from an unknown location… at least it would have remained unknown had Ptoneigh not revealed to the gang that it's all coming from the Flying Sector. Everyone is shocked and outraged, still believing that the flying birds can't be trusted, with everything they've ever done to them in the past years or so, not to mention that the flying birds are far more prosperous than their non-flying counterparts, and are not affected by the incoming famine and outbreak that they know of. Tuxer is the most vocal about the matter, seeing that his seething rage towards the flying birds cost him his comedian career thanks to cancel culture calling him out for some really uncalled for jokes that went too far, and now wants payback. “Akira” is more than happy to help Tuxer get his long overdue revenge, with the rest of the gang sympathizing with Tuxer’s anger towards the flying birds, and decide to help rally against the Flying Sector in order to keep the flightless birds on the island that they call home. “Akira” also reveals even more information that the flying birds are trying to force the flightless birds off Harmonia so that they can selfishly claim the island as their own, causing more outrage and fear within the group. The disguised hen tells them that there's a group of flying birds that have agreed to a duel by the boating harbor at the beach, and that they should meet them there. They all agree, and set off to the harbor while “Akira” goes back to the Flying Sector to fetch another batch of birds for her second part of her plan.

Chief Sora sheds her “Akira” disguise and arrives at the Osprey mansion where Bo’s mom and dad, Shriek and Scratch live, and tells them that she has bad news to share about their child. As the osprey couple are sat down by Sora, she informs them that their child, Bo, has been dating a flightless bird from the Flightless Sector behind their backs, as well as betraying the Flying Sector by crossing the borders of Harmonia to mingle with the other flightless birds there. They are disgusted and horrified, and want payback for what they believe to be an injustice. Sora tells Shriek and Scratch that they are in luck; Bo’s new friends have challenged them both to a duel to prove Bo’s worth in the Flightless Sector just earlier today. The osprey parents do not hesitate to comply and fly off into the Flightless Sector to give these group of flightless birds a piece of their mind. Coal, who was walking over back to the Flightless Sector to continue helping out, is able to overhear all of this from a good distance, and he sets off to warn everyone of what Chief Sora plans to do.

As Coal hurries over to Chief Laylow and his new friends, we see Scratch and Shriek arriving at the boating harbor at the beach, where they are greeted by the equally furious group of birds, Ptoneigh, Tuxer, Pepper, Rosa, and Armand. Tuxer brought with him a pocket knife and Scratch brought his trusty pistol and the duel starts off as a nasty roast match between the individual birds before the actual duel begins. It's messy, to say the least, and as the physical altercation rages on, more insults are hurled at each other by both sides. It's there that Chief Laylow arrives at the scene, alongside Chief Sora, who had been watching from afar the whole time and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, as she pretends to fear for the safety of everyone involved. Sadly, Laylow doesn't even get time to process the betrayal of Ptoneigh's actions as he is forced to witness Coal getting in the crossfire in a futile attempt to stop the fight, resulting in Tuxer getting shot by Scratch's pistol. To make matters worse, since it was so chaotic, no one saw who exactly shot Tuxer in the first place. This puts the altercation to a screeching halt as everyone is separated and detained by Laylow and Sora, and Tuxer is halted away to receive emergency medical care in one of the makeshift clinics since the hospitals are now overcrowded with sick patients. What's worse, by the time Max, Cherri, and the rest of Team Circus arrive, it's already too late. Team Circus is not at all surprised by Ptoneigh having been a selfish person all along, having endured similar backstabbers four times already, and by someone they barely know, too (this is the second time now they've been duped by some they aren't that well acquainted with; the first time was with the mechanic/con artist Otto Partz).

When Laylow asks what happened, Coal attempts to explain how Scratch and Shriek were challenged to a duel by Rosa and Armand, only for Sora to interject by saying that she was the one who tried to stop the fight herself, but they wouldn't listen, because of their “undying hatred for each other”. Sora even goes as far as to exaggerate certain details that just aren't true, including Max cheating on his wife for an osprey, the food from the Flying Sector being laced with poison, hence the outbreak, and the most egregious accusation of all: Coal is secretly trying to get rid of the flightless birds himself because of his alleged hatred for them. Coal is flabbergasted and angry over this wild accusation, and even Shriek and Scratch are a bit dumbfounded and upset because they were initially just informed about their child Bo dating a flightless bird and being a potential traitor to the Flying Sector. It's hard to believe the lies, but since everything is chaotic right now, not to mention someone actually got hurt, no one can think rationally and is therefore shouting at each other, with Sora taking full advantage of it to further advance her goals. The only one keeping a calm and level-headed approach is Laylow, who tries his best to calm everyone down and try to get the full picture, but Coal’s ramblings of disbelief, the anger of Scratch and Shriek, the pathetic cries from Ptoneigh to justify his actions, and the frightened tears from Rosa and Armand are too much, and Sora declares to everyone that until Tuxer heals (if he ever heals, that is) and a proper trial can be set up, everyone involved in the fight will be banished to the uninhabited islet from 65 miles away from Harmonia called Lonely Isle. This, unfortunately, includes Coal, despite him trying to stop the altercation himself. No one is happy in the slightest about this, surprise surprise. Chief Sora offers to haul away the seven birds-turned-prisoners herself, and as if the tensions weren't already high enough, everyone who isn't inside any building in the village is treated to the sight of seven birds being hauled off in vine ropes acting as chains, causing whispers of worry and cries of shock and horror from a few scattered individuals. Everyone wants to know what's going on.

Chief Sora is the one who rows the boat to Lonely Isle while carrying the seven birds with her. Not once does she reassure them that everything will be okay, seeing that this imprisonment is merely temporary and that they'll be provided for until the trial gets set up. Armand and Rosa are scared as to what exactly is going to happen to them, since they're going to be away from their respective kids for a while, what with the outbreak and famine going on. Shriek and Scratch are filled to the brim with hatred in their hearts, seething with cold anger in their expressions and refusing to interact with anyone or each other. Pepper is a traumatized wreck, seeing as he was pulled into yet another dangerous situation, and Ptoneigh is remorseful for what he has done (though it is made explicitly clear that he's only sorry that he got caught, and that he only cares about his mom and aunt), and Coal is emitting a thousand-yard stare, trying to process what just happened and how the hell did he get here. Pepper notices just how troubled Coal is and, empathizing with him in the situation, starts to talk to him, only for Coal to snarl at him, not wanting to be bothered right now. That doesn't deter Pepper though, as he continues to talk to him anyway, going as far as to say thanks for thinking about his village when hardly anyone else would. Even if Coal isn't speaking back, he listens, albeit hesitantly, since he hasn't actually interacted with Pepper all that much. It's revealed that Pepper was trapped in an abusive friendship with Tuxer, along with Max, and was essentially forced to do a bunch of dangerous stuff against his will, even though he was a non-confrontational person and never really paid attention to the feud. A part of him actually hopes that Tuxer dies from that bullet wound, since that will mean he'll finally be free from that dastardly penguin once and for all. This whole time, Chief Sora is listening in on the one-sided conversation, almost as though she knew the entire time about Tuxer’s desire for control and power over his hatred for flying birds, from all the times she has observed Harmonia from within the shadows.

Once they reach Lonely Isle, the birds get dropped off there, and they are told no one is allowed to leave nor is anyone allowed to visit them while everything gets set up. Sora rows off back to Harmonia, leaving everyone to their own devices. It's there that Pepper actually grows a spine and tells everyone that if they're going to survive another day, they're gonna have to get along, regardless of their differences. He says that if hatred and segregation is what brought them here, then only love and unity will get them out of it. As inspiring the speech is and as convinced everyone is to try and work together, it won't matter; at this point, it's probably too late to fix things now, and the whole thing, and the feud in general, could have been prevented if they had just learned to stop fighting and start acting mature and getting along. But at least they all have each other, even if Ptoneigh is the odd one out of the bunch.

Meanwhile, Chief Sora visits Tuxer in the clinic, and Tuxer is immediately hostile due to his supposed hatred for flying birds. Sora is able to sweet-talk him into calming down once she gives him an offer; to join alongside her as her co-chief in her conquest to take over Harmonia. We learn about Tuxer's backstory in that the penguin attempted to run for a seat in a political position of power, but was constantly denied of it not just because chiefdom was an inherited position, and that such political matters were left up to the flying birds, but that Tuxer was also clearly abusive, cruel, and heartless, making him unfit to be in any position of power, so he took up being a comedian instead, hoping to garner enough fame to get him into that politician spot. Sora also learns from Tuxer that his bigotry against flying birds was never really relevant in the first place, because he's actually a psychopath who feels absolutely no genuine emotions and only craves power and attention, meaning he never showcased actual prejudice towards anyone, only the cold emotionless ruthlessness he held with him all along. It would appear that Sora and Tuxer have a lot more in common since she herself is a sociopath, and she could really use Tuxer's calculated and methodical prowess to get what she wants, even if everyone else has to die for it in the process. He even learns about the existence of the sleepysuckles, the source of the outbreak and food shortage crisis, which have been growing all over the Flightless Sector of Harmonia, remaining undetected by even the keenest of sight.

And so, Sora and Tuxer team up with each other and traverse to the source of the sleepysuckles, the Mother Plant, hidden in the caves of the mountains. With this, Sora feeds the Mother Plant some plant growth dust that'll make it pollinate, and the pollen then floats all across Harmonia en masse… both the Flightless and the Flying Sector. It's there that we see Sora's actual intentions: she doesn't want to claim Harmonia for the flying birds; she just wants it to turn the entire island into her own personal little dictatorial regime. If she could pretend to be the hero by curing the epidemic, everyone will be forced to rely on her and obey her at all costs, lest they face the consequences. And Tuxer would be her perfect tool. The first stage of her plan has been completed, and it's too late to turn back now.

Two more months pass, and everything has gone to hell in a handbasket. The state of Harmonia is extremely dire, and an epidemic has been declared by Chief Laylow. What's worse is that the very same outbreak from earlier has also spread to the Flying Sector, meaning no one is safe. A famine in the Flightless Sector has also been declared, and our heroes are doing everything they can to help out however they can, stressing them all out considerably, although Max and Cherri are doing everything they can to boost up morale in the group. Bo is practically broken; they have recently been informed of Chief Sora's actual plans to turn Harmonia into a tyrannical dictatorship under the guise of being the island’s savior, and they are utterly helpless in what's next to come. Speaking of which…

The moment Chief Sora calls them over, Bo notices a suitcase in her feathered hands. A sense of impending doom overcomes Bo as the two flying birds head off to the boats to fetch Coal from Lonely Isle. Bo silently cries, anticipating the reactions of their betrayal towards newfound friends and most importantly, their respective boyfriend and girlfriend, Max and Cherri.

It would appear everyone is doing just fine on Lonely Isle. Armand and Rosa are getting along extremely swimmingly with Shriek and Scratch, and Pepper and Coal have become best friends. It would seem these two months have humbled them all, which is a relief to hear from Bo. Ptoneigh, on the other hand, is treated as the scapegoat of the bunch, which is unnecessarily cruel to someone who really was just desperate to help his family, though it's not like Team Circus will ever actually welcome him back to their allyship… Bo and Chief Laylow might, but maybe not everyone else; grudge-holders are notorious for being meanspirited.

Scratch and Shriek are elated to see their child Bo again, as is Coal. Bo, unfortunately, does not reciprocate the same joy they have for them, knowing damn well what's about to happen. Chief Sora informs everyone that the outbreak has spread to the Flying Sector, and everyone reacts in horror. A majority of the infected have been dropping like flies, including Ptoneigh’s mom and aunt, much to the despair of the takahe tour guide. Pepper asks what about the trial, and Sora immediately answers that the trial has been postponed to focus on handling the epidemic first, but that he specifically requested Coal to come with. Coal is confused and furious; why in God's Green Gables would he ask him specifically, after Sora had just spouted out nonsensical bullshit just two months ago!? Bo grimly informs their soon-to-be ex-friend that they'll find out soon enough. After being given no other choice but to board the boat (via an ultimatum of being killed here in front of everyone or going back to Harmonia with them), Coal, Bo, and Sora sail back to the main island, with Sora fully intent on revealing her motives to everyone, and that no one will stop her.

Meanwhile, things in the Flightless Sector back at Chief Laylow’s home are… stable. Not good by any means, but it's less… hectic. Max and Cherri have tried their best to live their lives, as is everyone else in the village, celebrating small victories here and there, however fleeting they are. Everything is growing quieter and quieter, with hospitals and clinics being overrun and not enough space to bury those who have succumbed to the disease. The amount sleepysuckles have grown in size and are persisting into the cold seasons, right around the time the flying birds should be able to migrate to someplace else warmer to thrive… if only they could, considering that they too have been hit with the epidemic, with only a small chance to escape and no means to prepare themselves for hardship when migration is becoming less and less possible with each passing day, not to mention that the sleepysuckles are now also becoming more and more prevalent in the Flying Sector. Laylow is keeping everyone partially distracted from the grim circumstances with his storytelling while also taking care of Zooble, Bubble, and Caine. Pomni, Jax, and Gangle decide to host a bake sale to raise more funds for Harmonia, and a few flying birds have teamed up with the flightless birds waving placards demanding the permanent end to the Harmonia feud by going on strike after the Flying Sector became affected by the epidemic, led by Ragatha and Kinger. Coal is absolutely horrified by the state of Harmonia, as not even the drastic measures taken to save what's left of the island paradise seem to actually be working anymore. Bo’s expression remains bleak and filled with dread for their own life, as they hold the suitcase filled with tattered clothes, having already figured out whose clothes they belonged to. Sora tells the two flying birds to wait here.

A knock on the door could be heard from outside the humble house Laylow lives in, where Team Circus just so happens to also be residing in after they couldn't pay for an extended stay at Bird's Eye View Resort 6 months prior. Besides, Bird's Eye View Resort was already too low on funds to keep running during the epidemic anyway. Laylow gets the door, and finds Sora, Bo, and Coal on his porch. Sora asks to bring his fellow friends with him, so she can show them something. However, only three of them are with him (that being Zooble, Caine, and Bubble); everyone else is out there in Harmonia fighting the good fight. “That's okay,” she says. She only requests Laylow's presence with her, alongside Caine’s, but the other two can come along if they want.

Laylow complies, and takes with him the three individuals from Team Circus, and is greeted by Bo and Coal along the way. While Zooble and Bubble are bystanders to all of this, Laylow and Caine would unfortunately be not as lucky. They're greeted to the sight of the Mother Plant, and at first, they're extremely confused about it, and more perplexed as to why Tuxer of all people is there guarding it. And thus begins the typical cliché villain monologue, and by that point, the members of Team Circus were outright horrified by the extents Sora would go to, with her explaining that the the Mother Plant is the source of the epidemic and the famine, having been lying dormant in this cavern in the mountains, and only now just being activated by some plant growth dust, spreading the pollen to the sleepysuckles, the flowers that have been most prominent on the island for a couple of decades now. And apparently, the sleepysuckles are highly toxic to the point where inhalation of the pollen or even consumption of the plant is a guaranteed death sentence if not treated in time. Coal is just now learning this information, and pure terror fills him to the core. Laylow demands to know the motives for such a diabolical thing, and Sora answers that she wants the whole island to herself, with everyone bowing down to her as her giant army of slaves who will do her every bidding, and her being the end of the epidemic, the Flightless Sector famine, and the entire feud in Harmonia, something that she was destined for as her mentor and adoptive father Chief Cumulus once told her. Oh, and Tuxer will rule alongside her because he also wants to.

The straw that breaks the camel's back for our heroes? Caine's missing luggage from 6 months earlier. Sora apparently snuck into the airport and purloined the suitcase, not just to disguise herself as a hen named “Akira”, but also for funsies; apparently it's funny to Sora that a distressed person would get so worked up over the most trivial thing. Even Tuxer admits that he thinks it's comedy gold, especially with how feral he went with Jax as he himself witnessed six months ago and — ope, he's begun to attack. Coal furiously chastises the flying bird leader at what a sick and twisted individual she is, all while Caine just loses his self-control altogether, while being held back by Laylow, Zooble, and Bubble. Sora doesn't bother to keep lying about her blatant sadism anymore, as she believes it's already too late to stop her. Laylow is betrayed and gutted by Sora's true colors, and questions why she is doing this or how she could possibly enjoy this. Sora just says that it's fun. Hearing the word “fun” used in this context shatters the ringmaster, causing him to cease his fierceness, drop to his knees and go silent. Bo is distraught by everything, blaming themself for being an accomplice. To make everything even worse than ever before, Sora thanks Bo for helping out before telling them she's giving them the pink slip. Sora got what she wanted and their services are no longer required. All this time, the feud was never about the different types of birds; it has always been a means to take over Harmonia. The feud was a distraction to make all of this possible. And the osprey family Bo and their parents were part of were the ones to help out with the distractions. It's all sickening. And Bo… cannot take it anymore. Coal runs after them.

Bo finds a crystal cave to calm themself down. Or at least that's what Coal is hoping is happening. Bo laments over having been used and betrayed like that when they only wanted to help, instead making it worse, and blaming themselves for being partially responsible for not just the continuing feud, but also the destruction of everything they ever knew. Now they wonder if they and Coal should even still be friends after this. Coal attempts to talk down to the distressed osprey, but it's not enough to get them to come to their senses. Bo had picked a sleepysuckle from a nearby garden moments earlier, and plans to eat it to end the misery once and for all. And much to the cardinal’s horror and anguish, they do. Coal comes to fetch Max and Cherri, the both of whom are at their respective workplaces. He tells them the distressing news; first off, the sleepysuckles are the source of the famine and epidemic, then the feud was all just a distraction to get Chief Sora (as a puppet ruler for the posthumous Chief Cumulus) to take over all of Harmonia under the guise of martyrdom and saviorhood, and now Bo tried to end their own life, believing they were partially responsible for this mess. This catches their attention and alarm, as Cherri runs off with Coal to help Bo, while Max goes to warm the rest of Team Circus.

Meanwhile, Chief Sora reveals the rest of her deep-seated insanity to Laylow, Bubble, Zooble, and Caine, as Tuxer thanks her for this golden opportunity and makes a vow to Sora to remain loyal only to her, as his faithful assistant/co-ruler of Harmonia… only for her to reveal she knew the whole time that Tuxer was planning to betray her the moment Sora made her next move, knowing how blandly predictable people like that are, so she decides to betray him first by force feeding Tuxer a random sleepysuckle from the Mother Plant’s many vines on the wall, declaring that she's always two steps ahead of everyone, just like her mentor Cumulus always taught her. He writhes in agony as the sleepysuckle’s poison takes effect, a grisly end for someone who in the grand scheme of things was never really all that important. A snowstorm begins to brew over the island, signifying that more darkness is arriving. Laylow vows to destroy the Mother Plant if it's the last thing he does, with Sora possessively guarding the plant with her life. A battle between the two ensues as Max and the rest of Team Circus arrive to find their other three comrades.

Cherri and Coal find Bo being on the brink of succumbing to the sleepysuckle's toxins in the crystal caverns. Bo urges the others to leave before they get sick too. Cherri does not dare to leave their side, however, saying that none of this was their fault; it was all Chief Sora’s. And even if it was, Cherri will still love them unconditionally. As the two birds kiss on the lips, Cherri suddenly finds herself feeling the effects of the sleepysuckle. Till death do us part, that's what they often say.

Coal panics at the thought of losing his childhood friend, and can only cry in self-pity. When the sobbing cardinal hears Max and Team Circus looking for Cherri and Bo, he rushes over to them, saying that they might both be dead. Max’s world has begun to crumble into pieces, and doesn't hesitate to follow Coal to the crystal caves alongside Team Circus, where they all find Cherri and Bo in quite possibly the worst shape they've ever been in, bar none. With Rufus Wainwright’s “Hallelujah” playing in the background, Max mourns both of his lovers and everyone else can only look at the scene in sheer helplessness, all while the battle between Sora and Laylow continues to escalate outside as the blizzard begins to strengthen.

Laylow catches sight of crystal caves, where he finds our protagonists and their friends and rushes over to see what's going on. The Flightless Sector leader is absolutely distraught by the sight of Bo and Cherri so sickly and tiptoeing closer to death's door, with Max starting to look sickly himself, the despair having weakened him to the point of almost dying. Laylow is furious. And Sora, having followed him here, just mocks the whole situation, saying that none of this would be happening if she just simply had her way. The battle resumes, and they both take the fight to the village, where everyone, flying bird and flightless bird alike, can see. Laylow angrily berates the falcon for letting her and Cumulus’s greed over Harmonia ruin this peaceful and tranquil paradise, and cause needless fighting over the pettiest things, just because they were different from each other. Max, Cherri, and Bo were going to bring this island back together, and now they are dying because of her and everyone else complicit in the feud. He further says everyone oughta be ashamed and disgusted with themselves, because of how they unwittingly just helped Sora conquer this island, start the famine and epidemic, and destroy their own livelihoods in the process. It was their responsibility, and their responsibility alone, to make a difference, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it seemed to them, and they didn't do it. The residents of Harmonia are all remorseful for their actions, but it doesn't matter now. What they've done was unforgivable, and it's more than likely too late now to set things right. The only way to have prevented this outcome is if they had never trusted Sora, Cumulus, and those stupid rules from sixty years ago in the first place… and Laylow begins to realize that too, the gravity of the situation and how foolish he was to have tried to see the good in Sora, something that never even existed to begin with, weighing in on him heavily. Laylow decides that the right thing to do would be to destroy the Mother Plant, even if his actions will never mean anything now that everything has gotten irreversibly bad. Sora does everything in her power to try to stop Laylow from going near that plant, with the latter putting up a valiant effort to persist.

The bodies of Max, Cherri and Bo are meanwhile carried by Kinger as he and the rest of Team Circus are left to wonder what to do now, having supposedly failed their objective to cease the feud in Harmonia for good. Coal’s words of comfort do absolutely nothing to soften the blow of the detrimentally dire situation. Once the flock of birds, both flying and flightless, catch a glimpse of the three fallen birds in the clutches of Team Circus, they cry out their bird calls in mourning, lamenting the consequences of their inaction.

Eventually, Laylow is able to get a hold of the Mother Plant and cut off its power supply, causing it to slowly wilt and decay, and the structure of the area to begin collapsing. While Laylow was able to escape the falling debris of mountainous rubble, the same could not be said for Sora, continuing to harbor a look of bitterness and spite till the very end, despite him offering one last hand to help her. Laylow just sheds a tear, pitying the circumstances that led to this moment. He then notices all of the other birds crying out and begging for a second chance to make things right from a pretty good distance. For the first time in 6 decades, both flying and flightless birds have come together in unity to mourn the apparent loss of Max, Cherri, and Bo, the three of whom are still unconscious. The cries could also be heard from Lonely Isle, and the exiled birds are equally devastated, with the only one to remain quiet being Pepper, who can only stare at the large island with guilt embedded into his very being.

Laylow grimly heads over to where Max, Cherri, and Bo are, still upset and hurt by everything that's happened prior to this. The snow refuses to relent, though it doesn't stop the remaining sleepysuckles to also slowly wither. It does bring some hope that the epidemic will be halted and that Max, Bo, and Cherri will wake up, however it comes at the cost of all the other flowers withering in the process, having been infected by the sleepysuckles’ pollen months earlier. In all honesty, Harmonia didn't deserve those lovely flowers. But don't worry; they'll earn them back someday. By the time the sun's rays finally start to peek through and the snow storm calms down enough to just be regular snowfall, Bo, Max, and Cherri finally come to, and it's clear that the air is bittersweet with relief for their survival. The celebration is a quiet one; no victorious cheering, no triumphant bird calls. Just the company of Chief Laylow, Max, Cherri, Bo, Coal, and Team Circus as they head back into the village to sort the rest out themselves. The rest of the birds who have witnessed it all are left to wonder what to do next. It's there that they come to the conclusion that they're all on their own now; only they have the power to rebuild the island back to its former glory from sixty years ago, even though it will never make up for what they've been doing for years. Upon finding some supplies for construction laying around all over the village, they get to work immediately, hoping and praying that everything will eventually go back to normal.

One month passes, and so far it's looking good. The city structures in the Flying Sector’s sky-based areas on the mountains are being dismantled to make the island less unfair-looking and more humble like the Flightless Sector, with the Flightless Sector being renovated to look less poor and more like an actual livable area. Rosa, Armand, Scratch, Shriek, Ptoneigh, and Pepper have been let off Lonely Isle after Ragatha begged Chief Laylow to let them off, believing that they've been punished long enough. Team Circus and Coal are also doing their due diligence by volunteering in the renovation work, communicating with the dimensional diplomats all the while. Laylow is helping Max, Cherri, and Bo with the wedding arrangements, their marriage being their one last piece to bring Harmonia back together permanently. Coal and Team Circus have been setting up the altar for the past month, talking amongst themselves about everything that has happened a while back. And good news to Team Circus, they didn't fail their objective after all, as all of the birds are getting along without prejudices while they're rebuilding and renovating Harmonia, reopening the ground-level areas of the Flying Sector, and are in the process of forming their own Parliament to deal with the new government overhaul and the gradual disestablishment of the Sectors and decommissioning of the borders. The fighting is over! Now all that's left to do is prepare for the wedding, and officially declare the end of the feud once and for all.

Which they end up doing exactly three days later, when Chief Laylow officiates the marriage of Max, Cherri, and Bo, during a beautiful starry night, in a ceremony equally as beautiful and joyous. With the union of the three birds marks the official — and permanent — end of the six-decade-long feud. The crowd goes wild, and yet another glorious victory is secured by Team Circus.

The wedding reception is as lively as any other end-of-the-month festival Harmonia could have ever had. Laylow was kind enough to give Caine back his missing luggage after retrieving it from the rubble where Tuxer and Sora’s final resting place is, though unfortunately he wasn't able to fix the tattered clothes himself. The ringmaster is grateful and relieved to finally have it back, but still extremely bitter about what happened to the contents inside the luggage. Oh, well; he can take care of that problem later. Everyone is enjoying the reception, with Shriek and Scratch hanging out with their new buddies Rosa and Armand as each others’ new in-laws, and they can't wait to go travel the world together and seek out new things to try out. Coal is best friends with Pepper and Ptoneigh, although Ptoneigh is still learning how to be a good friend considering everything that's happened before. And Chief Laylow is taking full control of Harmonia instead of just the Flightless Sector, now that the island is being reunited as one, while the newfound Parliament manages all the political happenstances of the island.

During the reception’s dance rave, Cherri tosses her bouquet from behind her, and everyone, including Team Circus, is scrambling to catch it. Ultimately, it's Ragatha who catches the bouquet, which consists of gorgeous-looking lotuses and blossoms, as well as a faint pale purplish glow from inside. She digs into the bouquet and finds their next jewel for the road trip, causing the communicator bracelets of Team Circus to go off with this pop-up notification:

~JEWEL OBTAINED!~

4 out of 26

Only 22 remain

Chief Laylow catches sight of the beautiful looking gem in Ragatha’s hand. He recognizes the jewel as a pale purple lilac-colored Charoite. She explains that they're sort of on a mission to retrieve 26 jewels from all over the world; so far they managed to snag three of them. Pomni goes to retrieve the tote bag containing the three sparkling jewels, and Laylow also recognizes them as the dark blue Lapis Lazuli, the pinkish mauve Rhodochrosite, and the teal Turquoise. Valerie, who had been watching from her own communicator bracelet via a FaceTime-esque app, casually mentions that she forgot to tell them that the jewels have superpowers of their own, much to the chagrin of Team Circus, and Chief Laylow's small amusement.

When the reception finishes as dawn arrives, Max, Bo, and Cherri head off to Team Circus and Chief Laylow's place, where our protagonists are packing their things as it's now time for them to leave and head off to their next destination. But before they all share their goodbyes, they decide to test out the powers of their four gems; the Lapis Lazuli can apparently control metal and metalloids, the Rhodochrosite can control gemstones and crystals, the Turquoise has gravity powers, and the Charoite has powers relating to the undead, death, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomenon. When the lilac-colored jewel summons them, the ghosts of Tuxer and Chief Sora attempt one last verbal attack before the Charoite immediately sends the two back to the realm of the deceased from whence they came. Valerie also mentions that their introductory jewel from back home, the silver-colored Crystal, has the ability to control magic and energy, albeit in its most simplistic and primitive form. Really useful information should the need to use these jewels for battle ever arrive.

When the sun begins to set yet again on Harmonia, Chief Laylow, Max, Cherri, and Bo all help Team Circus back to the airport from when they first arrived 7 months ago, and bid their heartfelt goodbyes as their flight, Digital Flight 65, finally arrives to come pick them up. They all wave at each other as they go their separate ways, with our protagonists happy to have made new friends during their time in Harmonia.

Their flight back to the Digital Airport is as rambunctious as ever, with Jax and Pomni making small roughhousing, Kinger fast asleep yet again as Ragatha continues her movie-watching, Gangle and Zooble confiding in each other's company, and Bubble doing his best to soothe the extremely sore Caine, who not only has to deal with the aftermath of his tampered luggage but also his fear of flying that he never got over. They all take turns conversing with each other from different rows about what might happen next and how much fun they had. Ragatha mentions it felt like they were actually in a movie, and how they were the supporting cast of a beautiful story of hardship and romance. Everyone is eager to see what happens next and how they'll be able to change the course of history for their next destination of their amazing digital road trip.

The episode ends with the plane continuing to fly into the distance of a beautiful sunset, with the members of Team Circus carrying on with their hustle and bustle of excited rambles and expressing their desires, hopes, and dreams of what's next to see and experience all the while. So far, things are turning out fairly alright, and the future is still looking as bright as ever.

~~~~

Current Status:

4 Jewels have been collected

22 remain

☮️🌼🪘🦅🦤🌴✌️🕊️🥭

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• OG Cast

Lizzie Freeman as Pomni

Amanda Hufford as Ragatha

Michael Kovach as Jax

Sean Chiplock as Kinger

Marissa Lenti as Gangle

Ashley Nichols as Zooble

Gooseworx as Bubble

Alex Rochon as Caine

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• Audience Surrogate Cast/Diplomats

Hynden Walch as Valerie

Susan Egan as Pamela

Amy Winfrey as Garcia

Mandy Moore as Lulu

Nevaeh Hamilton (me) as Bethany

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• Background Diplomats

Andrea Libman as Winona

Cristina Vee as Patricia

E.G. Daily as Rionna

Stephanie Sheh as Olivia

Debi Derryberry as Yolanda

Cree Summer as Gemma

Ashleigh Ball as Cécelia

Erica Luttrell as Belle

Ashly Burch as Imera

Kimberly Brooks as Bailey

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• Episode's Antagonists

Maya Rudolph as Chief Sora of the Flying Sector

Fred Tatasciore as Mr. Scratch Osprey

Jill Talley as Mrs. Shriek Osprey

Jeff Bennett as Mr. Armand Peafowl

Lori Alan as Mrs. Rosa Flamingo

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• Secondary Characters Introduced

Andy Samberg as Max the Flamingo

Anna Faris as Cherri the Peafowl

Ali Wong as Bo the Osprey

Josh Gad as Tuxer the Penguin

Danny McBride as Pepper the Kakapo

Jason Sudeikis as Coal the Cardinal

Bill Farmer as Ptoneigh the Takahe

Adam Sandler as Chief Laylow of the Flightless Sector

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