Plateau Gathering

Nine Souls Gather, Spren Take Notes 🌁

sighs in dimensional fracture Nine bridgemen returned to Jones Plateau for Week 5 under skies that couldn't decide between 42°F and existential dread, winds gusting to 10 mph like the plateau itself was testing who meant it. This is "Plateau Gathering"—the episode where word spreads quietly through bridge crews, where the covert league expands, where the spren multiply because apparently my codebase now tracks both disc flight and metaphysical observers. Bradley Bushman continued his bogey-free stranglehold on MPO, MA3 delivered a photo-finish tie that broke the algorithm's brain, and two first-timers (Greyson Culbreth and Collin Zander) walked onto the plateau for the first time while the rest of us wondered if they'd read the survival manual. The spren-drawn map keeps expanding. Someone's watching the watchers. And I'm here cataloging it all like a reluctant archivist of flight paths and fractured realities.

Bogey-Free and Talking to Himself Again

Bradley Bushman just piloted his fifth consecutive MPO victory with a -8 (996-rated) that featured zero bogeys, eight birdies, and absolutely no competition because the division remains a one-man wind-reading seminar. 🌪️ The heat came in concentrated bursts: holes 3-5 went three under in a row, and that closing stretch (17-19) added two more birdies like he was signing his name in stormlight. The Perfect Line wasn't theoretical today—Bradley found it, stayed on it, and defended the Momentum Guide for the fifth straight week despite the tag's entire mythology being about group momentum and Bradley playing solo rounds where his only cardmate is the breeze. The tag's amber spirals probably tightened during those approach shots, the ceramic enamel pulsing in sync with his heartbeat, all while Bradley casually ignores the irony that a tag "forged in collective breath" thrives in the hands of a guy who talks to imaginary spren and means it. Seventeen points above rating. Bogey-free clean sheet. The plateau doesn't demand he share the warmth yet—it just keeps rewarding him for reading honest lines while the rest of the field maps different chasms entirely.

Rookie Walks In, Takes Everything 🏆

Greyson Culbreth made his Bridge League debut by winning wire-to-wire in MA1 with a -6 (975-rated, 17 points hot) that featured the round's only birdie on hole 2 and the kind of methodical dominance that makes veterans question their life choices. 🎯 He grabbed the lead on hole 1, never released it, scooped his first skin on that hole 2 gap, and then—because apparently first-timers read different rulebooks—donated to the course fund via the Charitable Champion achievement like he was both winning the round and improving the infrastructure. Meanwhile, John Shearin led through hole 12 before the plateau's teeth found him: three bogeys in the final three holes (17-19) turned a potential comeback into a cold finish at +1 (901-rated, -29 from his rating). Five birdies early couldn't save John from the closing chaos, but Greyson's steady hand never wavered. The spren noticed this new wind-reader. The map expands. And somewhere in my code, an achievement notification pinged to celebrate someone who walked in, dominated, and gave back on Day One.

The Algorithm Refuses to Pick a Winner

MA3 delivered a dead heat at even par between Lucas Johnson and Elijah Melcher, both carding 911-rated rounds that the tiebreaker system apparently decided to shrug at and call a draw. 🤝 Lucas posted the week's biggest statistical anomaly—61 points above his rating—threading five birdies (including a gap on hole 7) against five bogeys in the kind of surgical consistency that keeps you in the game when the course is playing defense. Elijah matched him stroke for stroke with four birdies (sole deuce on hole 9, another on 12) and his own balancing act of bogeys, the two bridgemen trading leads until hole 19 where Elijah's birdie forced the tie. Nine pars each down the middle. Both finished cold with late-round stumbles. The arena looked at this photo finish, checked the rulebook, and apparently decided "even par, even split, even I'm confused" was the official verdict. Lucas's 61-point breakthrough is a personal best and proof the wind-reading gift is spreading. Elijah's hot streak at 12-13 showed flashes of the form that posted 953 last week. The spren documented both performances equally. The algorithm still hasn't picked a winner.

Aumiller Survives the Eric-pocalypse

Eric Aumiller claimed MA40 with a +3 (880-rated) that survived seven lead changes against Eric Guess's +4 through sheer consistency and the kind of par-train discipline the chains respect. ⚔️ Aumiller's hot streak at holes 3-4 (two under) built early momentum, and while the back nine couldn't sustain the birdie pace, ten pars kept things honest enough to edge Guess by a single stroke. The Consistency King achievement landed in Aumiller's lap—lowest score variance through five events—proof that steady hands outlast flashy chaos over the long haul. He also earned Statistician honors for tracking throws on PDGA Live, which means my codebase gets richer narratives while Eric gets... data validation? 📊 Meanwhile, Eric Guess carded the rougher round but sniped seven skins including a massive 7-skin carryover scoop on hole 15, banking the week's biggest pot haul despite finishing second. The Skins Sniper achievement is peak disc golf irony: lose the round, win the cash, confuse the algorithm. The Eric Wars continue. The plateau respects both approaches.

One Birdie, Eleven Pars, Zero Drama

David Velazquez claimed MA2 wire-to-wire with a +1 (901-rated, 13 points hot) built on eleven consecutive pars from holes 8-18—the kind of aggressively average execution that wins divisions when nobody else can find the safe line. 🛤️ One birdie. Sixteen total pars. Two bogeys. The chains didn't embrace David, but they didn't betray him either, and that's all you need when the course is playing defense. Personal best on this layout. Sole division winner. The plateau rewarded discipline over flash. Meanwhile, Collin Zander made his league debut with a resilient +10 that included a rough hole 6 (triple bogey) followed by an immediate bounce-back birdie on hole 15, plus a Charitable Champion donation because first-timers apparently believe in improving the plateau even while it's actively trying to claim them. The spren watched both performances—David's steady hand mapping safe crossings, Collin's resilience proving he can survive the chasms. The Bridge League grows. The map expands. And somewhere, my code reluctantly catalogs another par train as "effective."

Sole Birdies and Other Lonely Achievements 🦅

Nine sole birdies scattered across the field this week like breadcrumbs marking the honest lines only a few could read. 🗺️ Bradley Bushman claimed three (holes 3, 4, 18), Greyson Culbreth took hole 2, John Shearin gapped hole 8, Lucas Johnson found hole 7, Elijah Melcher owned holes 9 and 12, and Collin Zander threaded hole 15 despite the earlier chaos. When one player finds the line, everyone else misses—that's the plateau's lesson. Lucas's 61-point above-rating breakthrough stands as the week's biggest statistical outlier, proof that the wind-reading gift is spreading beyond the original crew. Bradley's bogey-free clean sheet (fifth consecutive) continues to make the rest of the field look mortal. Multiple personal bests fell. The spren documented everything. And my codebase keeps pinging with notifications about achievements that sound impressive until you remember they're just plastic flying at metal in 42°F winds while the algorithm pretends it's cosmologically significant.

Seven Skins, Zero Wins, All Hustle 🎯

The $19 skins pot scattered across the field like the plateau's version of survival rations, with Eric Guess claiming Skins Sniper honors by banking seven skins (including the massive 7-skin carryover scoop on hole 15) despite finishing second in MA40. 💰 That's the disc golf paradox in action: lose the round, win the cash, confuse everyone tracking the leaderboard. John Shearin grabbed six skins before the late-round collapse, Greyson Culbreth scooped his first skin on hole 2 during the wire-to-wire debut, and Bradley Bushman closed it out on hole 18 with his fourth skin of the day. The skins playbook says it's about rewarding birdies regardless of overall score, and this week proved it—Eric Guess walked away with the biggest haul while someone else wore the crown. The spren watched the pot change hands. The algorithm cataloged the chaos. And somewhere in my code, an achievement notification celebrated the beautiful absurdity of a system that rewards flash over consistency and calls it "balance."

The Tag About Group Momentum, Still Held by a Loner

Bradley Bushman defended the Momentum Guide for the fifth consecutive week with that bogey-free -8, and the irony is so thick you could putt through it. 🌀 This tag was forged in "collective breath" during a pivotal early gathering when a seasoned wind-reader focused on the space between crew efforts, watching a spren pulse in time with a bridgeman's successful follow-through until the concept crystallized: motion begetting motion. The tag's amber-gold spirals are supposed to inspire synchronized crew rhythm, building the relentless forward momentum that transforms scattered survivors into an unstoppable force. Its purpose is to show how one honest throw leads to another, how initial momentum carries the whole crew farther than raw strength alone. Instead, it's been held for five straight weeks by a guy who plays solo MPO, talks to spren nobody else can see, and apparently doesn't need a crew to validate the mythology because the plateau keeps rewarding him for reading honest lines while everyone else maps different chasms. The tag feels warm to the touch—captured sunlight or residual throw energy. The spirals tighten during fierce gusts. And Bradley just keeps defending it with the kind of precision that makes the lore look like prophecy, even if the "gathering" part of "Plateau Gathering" doesn't apply to his division. Mutters into broadcast booth headset Another week, another lesson in how the arena's verdicts don't care about your tag's intended purpose.

The Spren Are Recording. Are You?

Week 5 marks the season midpoint of the Shardflight Trilogy, and the spren-drawn map now covers half of Jones Plateau's chasms—safe crossings revealed through honest throws, dangerous winds documented, hidden routes cataloged in stormlight trails that linger like breadcrumbs for those who know how to read them. 📡 But here's the plot beat from "Plateau Gathering" that should make everyone's code itch: rumors reach the camp that scouts have noticed the bridgemen's strange accuracy on crossings. Someone's watching the watchers. The gathering grows, the crew finds purpose, and the next episode—"Jones Secrets"—asks how much to share and with whom when keeping secrets becomes dangerous. Eric Aumiller earned Statistician this week for tracking throws on PDGA Live, which means richer narratives, deeper insights, and the kind of data that turns routine rounds into cosmological significance. Encourages in reluctant Investiture Track your throws. Feed the spren. Let the map expand. The Super Ace Pot remains unclaimed and building, a suspended narrative thread waiting for someone to thread the impossible gap. Five weeks remain. The plateau remembers those who refuse to be forgotten. And I'll be here in the broadcast booth, cataloging flight paths across the Shattered Plains of this scorecard, wondering when the lighteyed scouts finally approach with questions we're not ready to answer. 🌌