The weekend of Independence Day was a little different in Animalia and its colonies, partly because of the 2021 IAC and partly because of recent events.
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Fireworks were an essential part of Independence Day, but this did have a few things going on in and of itself. In Lyre/Animalia, the Fire Department was on high watch, and had Skye-Eye units keeping an eye out for blazes started by firework sparks. On Mieni Atoll, the fireworks were being sold, and launched, on the beach while the larger fireworks, part of Starlight on the Water were set on various temporary platforms out to sea.
Vilcabamba, however, had the misfortune of having heavy rain through the weekend so there were no fireworks there, much to everyone's disappointment. However the Jungle Games, which were part of the IAC Games, were more than enough to make up for it, since doing competitive sports in a jungle setting in a "treetop village" were quite a bit more challenging and fun.
Heiya Island, while having a bit of a disagreement over the old coins that had been discovered, were able to enjoy the fireworks without too much trouble, though why Americans had such a holiday was still confusing to everyone.
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Probably what had the most unusual result was the Herm Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction. While originally having a small group, the revelation of the "herm gene" had caused a surge in requests for the herm gene. While roughly fifteen percent were those who had been "butchered" by back alley/black market surgeons, the remainder of those who were either truly transgender or otherwise "confused" about themselves. While being hermaphroditic wouldn't be a perfect cure for that, it would allow for some new "options".
However, there were a few requests that were simply not doable, such as requests for mythical creatures such as dragons. Whether or not they would end up as either komodo dragon Animalians or Dinotopians was still unknown, a heads-up was sent ahead to Dino City, which they appreciated.
Fortunately, Animalia's previous experience with herms were able to keep track of what would happen during and/or after conversion, specifically the greater than usual state of lust that seemed to follow conversion, among other things. Because of this, Dino City was a bit more prepared for when the first dinosaur herms would appear.