Hey everyone, SE here. Happy Labor Day! I've had one hell of a first week in graduate school, but thankfully I've got a handle on things, at least for now. I've got some interesting updates for the readership at large, so I'll start off with some review responses to those who've left a review thus far. Then I'll jump into the meat of the updates.

Gobert600: Thanks for the enthusiasm and the vote for Ozpin and Glynda. Those two definitely took some work in accurately getting their speech patterns and behaviors down, but I'm glad that you enjoyed that version.

thepowerfullkira: This is indeed a male SI, but as a disclaimer any topics of romance between characters will likely be on the backburner for a while, both from a preference perspective and the fact that most of the main cast are currently twelve. I will be adding male to the story description in case of any confusion though.

Guest: Haha, I also have a soft spot for Neo, so characterizing her without any words was a real treat to write. And any personal teaching by Goodwitch would likely be backbreaking. Informative and helpful, but likely backbreaking.

Gizmo Gear: I wholeheartedly agree that getting that much information would be enough to send most people spiraling, myself included. I also agree with your analysis on the different paths, but I think that's just another aspect of exploring different avenues of survival. Some might be harder to make it in the short term but provide better benefits in the long term, and vice versa. We'll just have to see how the story progresses.

Thanks for hanging in there. Now, next up on the list is an announcement that I am happy to make; due to reader responses and feedback surpassing expectations for the first week, I am quite satisfied with the poll results and will be closing the poll a week early. Voting results for the poll should be listed on my profile if anyone is curious. It was close for a while, but between the poll results, reviews and messages the winner and choice moving forward will be with Nora and Ren! I look forward to doing that storyline justice, but I don't think that's the last the readers will see of the other choices.

To answer the inevitable question, since the poll is closing a week early, yes, I will be writing and releasing the next chapter a week early as well. So expect Chapter 3 to be uploaded on September 9th instead of the 16th. I also think I'll be cementing this fic's status as a weekly Monday update fic, so look forward to that.

Last but not least, I wanted to thank all those who have read my writing so far, and especially those who have favorited, followed or reviewed these beginning chapters. The response and reception has been uplifting thus far and I'm looking forward to moving the story onto the Countdown Arc, as I'm calling it for now.

If anyone has any comments or ideas bursting to be heard, feel free to a send a message or review. I'm generally available most afternoons until further notice. Other than that, it's time to get planning and writing, so see you all next week!

-SE