#the long awaited sequel to the last talking flower video

[snazzy-suit]

AAAAaaaAaAaaAAaaaah

[andiinaraethtash]

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warnings:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories:

F/F

Gen

M/M

Fandoms:

Empires SMP

Minecraft (Video Game)

Relationships:

Bryce | fWhip & GeminiTay

Bryce | fWhip & MythicalSausage

Bryce | fWhip & Geminitay & MythicalSausage (Video Blogging RPF)

Katherine Elizabeth/Shelby Grace

Jimmy | Solidarity/Scott | Smajor1995 | Dangthatsalongname

Everyone & Everyone

Scott Smajor & Xornoth

Characters:

Bryce | fWhip

GeminiTay (Video Blogging RPF)

MythicalSausage (Video Blogging RPF)

Scott | Smajor1995 | Dangthatsalongname

Jimmy | Solidarity

Shrub - Character

Shelby Grace

Katherine Elizabeth (Video Blogging RPF)

Joey Graceffa

Joel | SmallishBeans

Lizzie | LDShadowLady (Video Blogging RPF)

Jonny | Pixlriffs (Video Blogging RPF)

Pearl | PearlescentMoon

Xornoth

sort of - Character

You'll see

Additional Tags:

Angst

Hurt/Comfort

roseblings

Wither Rose Alliance on Empires SMP Setting (Video Blogging RPF)

Alternate Universe - Empires SMP Setting (Video Blogging RPF)

Flower Husbands

Nature Wives

Minor/implied Jornoth

Possession

Corruption

Can't Escape the Fallout (Feel the Fire Rain Down)

AndiinaRaethTash

Summary:

Things are back to normal. No, seriously, they are. Sure, Scott’s ice powers are getting a little out of control, and fWhip is occasionally acting a little weird, and Pix can feel something brewing on the horizon, but things are fine, right? If only things would stay that way. But something dark has other plans, and the rulers and their lands will soon find themselves fighting for their lives as light and dark collide in a way that will either bring them all together, or tear them all apart…

Notes:

Here we are, the sequel to Before Something breaks That Cannot Be Fixed! (I'd say long-awaited, but it's only been a month or so.) Hopefully I'll finish this before Empires S2 comes out and consumes my soul, and if my guess is correct, that shouldn't be too hard, considering I'm projecting mid to late summer at the very earliest for that. I'm not quite to the point I wanted to be before I started posting, but I'm close enough, and I've got the inspiration going, so my buffer shouldn't run out. Hopefully. (Last time I said that, I accidentally deleted everything I'd written with no way of getting it back, so you know, knock on wood if you're superstitious and all that.) I'm projecting at least as many chapters as were in Before Something Breaks, but I don't have a final chapter count yet. I'll update the fic when I know for certain. With that out of the way, I'll let you get on to reading! (Chapter title from How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty)

Chapter 1: Waking Up at the Start of the End of the World

Once, Scott would have said he’s only a little scared by his ice powers. By now, he’s verging on terrified. There’s an ice storm that’s just now letting up, and it’s barely the first week of summer. An ice storm. In June. Aeor, but these powers were getting out of control.

He’s been on the verge of just heading over to Gem’s and seeing if she could help him; she’s been building a new magical academy since early spring, and from what he’s heard—mostly from Jimmy, one of the only ones brave enough to face the neverending winter—it’s nearly complete.

But he’s had other concerns, other… alright, excuses, to keep him in Rivendell. So he’s not too chuffed when he hears a knock on the door, because it can only be one of the other emperors, most likely one of them in particular.

“Jimmy, I’m not in the mood to—” He stops himself short as he opens the door, because that is not Jimmy.

Sausage raises an eyebrow. “Not in the mood for what? Do I need to give you the shovel talk?”

Scott gapes for a moment before blurting, “Lizzie and Joel already did that.”

They had. It had been rather terrifying, having a ten-foot-tall fish goddess, and her over-protective, hyperactive husband telling him they would absolutely smite him into smithereens if he hurt their little brother. Not that he ever intends to. That is the last thing he wants to do.

Sausage beams and pushes past Scott into the lodge. “Geez, it’s cold. Don’t you guys have summer up here?”

“Usually, yes,” Scott replies, closing the door behind his unexpected guest. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sausage, but why are you here?”

“Oh, just acting as a messenger boy. I was hoping to see some cooler weather up here, but man, this is not what I had in mind.”

“The message, Sausage?” Scott has to fight not to grit his teeth. Aeor, he’s forgotten how annoying Sausage can be, and he needs him gone before he accidentally hurts him with his uncontrollable ice powers.

Sausage pulls out a scroll as he warms his other hand over the fire. “fWhip sent it,” he says unnecessarily, because Scott can see the seal of the Grimlands on the letter.

Still he takes it, removes the seal, and reads it. He raises an eyebrow as he does so, because that’s… interesting. “fWhip’s called a meeting of the twelve empires?”

“He has?” Sausage asks, scrambling over to read over Scott’s elbow. “Huh. You’d have thought he’d have told me.”

“Maybe he was counting on me telling you, or he was going to tell you when you went back to the Grimlands.” Scott pointedly raises an eyebrow, and Sausage flushes ever so slightly.

So he has been staying in the Grimlands. Jimmy had said something last time he’d been here about Joey complaining that one of Gem or Sausage or both was always with fWhip, and honestly, Scott understands. He’s their brother and/or best friend.

Still, he can’t help but be jealous of that close relationship, even though he knows he shouldn’t. He may not have his brother, but he does have this family, this little group of broken people who were trying to build each other back up by taking pieces of themselves and patching each other up with them.

Scott sets the scroll down on the table. “How are they doing?”

Sausage sighs heavily. “Gem… she says she’s forgiven me, but… she’s still wary. It’s not hard to tell, she won’t let me and fWhip alone for longer than she needs to. As for fWhip—I don’t know, he’s been acting funny. He won’t let us into his forge, he spends an awful lot of time in there, and when he comes out he’s exhausted and snappish.”

“Have you considered that maybe he’s tired of being babysat?” Scott asks, a hint of amusement leaking into his voice, because he knows he would be. Having someone always watching over your shoulder has to be annoying, and if anyone was going to understand that, it’d be Sausage, considering what he went through just three and a half months ago.

Sausage twists his face in consideration. “Maybe. That would actually make sense. Alright,” he says, clapping his hands together, “I’ll see if I can’t get Gem to back off a little.”

Scott nods and pointedly looks at the door. Sausage, thankfully, clues in for once in his life. “I should get going, huh?”

“Probably. I know I have stuff to do, and I can only imagine that you do as well.”

With a nod and a smile, Sausage steps out of the door, letting a blast of cold air in. Scott doesn’t even shudder.

Something is very, very wrong with him.

______

fWhip is nearly bouncing with excitement next to her, and Gem can’t help but smile. It’s good to see him like this, like nothing has changed. On her other side, Sausage is looking around, watching for the other rulers and occasionally making jabs about them to fWhip, who laughs, giddy and visibly shaking.

Currently, they’re at spawn, where the meeting of the empires is to take place. fWhip has pulled out a lectern, a book and quill, and a small table, and set them in the middle of the ring of pedestals. She has no idea what he’s doing—he’s kept quiet about the reason behind this meeting, but if he’s this excited, it’s either something really good or really stupid.

Joey, unsurprisingly is the first to arrive. He is, after all, closest to spawn, and he’s followed by Pix, who smiles at them all, and goes up to Joey to engage him in conversation. Katherine and Shrub arrive together, followed by Jimmy, Joel, and Lizzie, who all arrive at the same time, if not necessarily together. Pearl is next, sunny personality on full display as she greets each and every one of them.

Scott arrives last, so late she’s beginning to wonder if he is coming at all, accompanied by a gust of cold air. He hangs back, avoiding even Jimmy and watching nervously as they all settle down.

fWhip steps forward, fiddling with his scarf, a sure sign that he’s anxious. “Friends, allies, and cod—” he adds that last bit with a quick but genuine grin in Jimmy’s direction “—I’ve asked you here today to reveal a great vessel, the new power in the empires. I’ve been hard at work in the forges of the Grimlands to create, this.”

He produces a golden crown, dotted with jewels of various colours, setting it on the table. As the emperors ooh and ahh, she frowns slightly. She has a bad feeling about this.

“Infused with the magicks of the different empires, this crown grants the user the ability to create one rule that all the empires must comply with. Check the book here at spawn for terms and conditions.” fWhip steps back, looking proud, and all Gem can think is, I was right. This is bad.

[quickspinner]

April Kisses - Finale Part 1

I did 30 lukanette kiss prompts for April, but it was a list of 50, so I thought it would be fun to see how many I could put in one final piece. It’s three connected scenes, so I thought I would go ahead and post them as three pieces as they’re done, and the whole finale will go on AO3 as a single chapter. This is a sequel to Day 17, featuring:  

47. A kiss paired with a tight hug, knocking the breath out of the person being hugged. 48. One person has to bend down in order to kiss their partner, who is standing on their tip-toes to reach their partner’s. 39. Kissing tears from the other’s face. 36. Starting with eskimo kisses before moving on to soft kisses. 40. A gentle kiss that quickly descends into passion, with little regard for what’s going on around them. 43. A kiss pressed to the top of the head.

It wasn’t as if he was unprepared. She’d been gone for a little over a year, but they still talked and texted and video called so often that Luka had had to upgrade his internet plan to keep up. There were months where he didn’t see her; where she was somewhere with spotty or no signal, and all he got was a very occasional “I’m fine, miss you” or a picture of a spectacular sunset somewhere. But most of the time, they kept in contact. The wall over his bed was plastered with her pictures and postcards and he went to sleep staring at her face almost every night.

So Luka was prepared for the way her new pixie cut made Marinette’s stunning eyes even more striking, for the new earrings decorating the shells of her ears, the extra freckles the sun had dotted across her face, and the deep tan that had started out as a painful sunburn. 

Luka wasn’t prepared in the least for the way her face lit up when she saw him, or for the true living color of those eyes fixed entirely on him, or for the way the arms she threw around his chest crushed him, sending all of the air out of his suddenly slack-jawed mouth in a whoosh, or for the way she immediately rose up on her toes, sliding her hands up his chest and around neck to pull him down into a kiss that exceeded every fantasy he’d had about this moment. The constant fear he’d been living with that something would happen, that her feelings would change, that she’d find a reason not to come back, melted under the heated way she kissed him, like she’d been waiting for it, missing it just like he had, and Luka wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back for all he was worth. 

She was back, and she still loved him.

He didn’t realize there were tears on his face until she pulled back and brought her hands to his cheeks. “Luka,” she breathed, and he’d never forget the way his name sounded in that moment, as she leaned up and gently kissed the tear tracks. 

“Sorry,” he said roughly, pulling away just long enough to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know where that came from—” 

“It’s okay,” she soothed, stroking his cheeks. “It’s really okay.” And it was, because when he looked back at her, her eyes were shimmering too. 

“Marinette,” he sighed, cupping her face in his hands, discovering anew how small she was compared to him as his fingers curled around the back of her head. Her eyes closed briefly and he wondered if it was his touch or the sound of her name that made her do it. He rested his forehead against hers. “I missed you,” he croaked, and cleared his throat. 

“I missed you too,” she replied, and he couldn’t help a smile at her breathless squeak and the way she had to clear her throat too. Her hands moved to curl lightly around his wrists. “I’m home.” 

Luka’s smile widened, and he brushed his nose lightly against hers. “No regrets?” he asked softly. 

She smiled and nuzzled him back. “None. You were right, I needed this, but I’m so happy to be home.” She tilted her face, and he obliged, kissing her softly, testing out the feel of her lips, still pink and plump but slightly roughened from all the time spent outdoors. Her mouth curved in a smile under his, but she just leaned into him and let him explore as they traded tender kisses. Luka brushed his fingers over the new piercings he’d been subtly staring at in every picture and video for months, and slid his hands back to get acquainted with the feel of her short, silky strands sliding through his fingers. He found he especially loved stroking the even shorter hairs at the nape of her neck. His rough fingers traced the curve down the back of her neck and she gasped against him. 

That was new. He glided his fingers back up just to be sure and sure enough just as his fingers met her hairline, her head tipped back slightly and he felt her lips open beneath his as she moaned softly. A low growl of his own escaped him and he wrapped one arm tight around her waist to pull her hard against him as his other hand gently gripped her short hair to bring her face to just the right angle. He nipped at her lips and drove his tongue into her hot mouth, reveling in the way she pressed up into him, her hands gripping his shoulders tight for a moment before her strong arms wound around his neck to hold him just as fiercely as he was holding her.

Caught up in the sudden rush of a year’s worth of longing, Luka entirely forgot where they were and that people were waiting for them, lost in the sensations crashing through him as they swayed lightly in place. He broke the kiss only for a brief gasp of air, but the when the alarm on the top of the baggage carousel sounded just as he was coming back for more, and they both jumped, suddenly brought violently back to reality.

Breathing hard, Luka let Marinette peel herself away from him, and then slipped behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Marinette bit her lip and Luka suspected she was trying not to laugh at him. “Need a minute?” she asked, pressing back into him. 

Luka grunted. “More than a minute if you keep doing that,” he muttered by her ear, hands going to her upper arms and squeezing. “It’s been a long time since I actually got to touch you. Can you blame me for being a little tense?” He dropped his face to the crook of her neck and sighed, and then inhaled again with some surprise. “You smell amazing.” 

He could hear the smile in her voice. “You like it? I blended it myself on that trip I told you about last month.” 

“Mmm.” He breathed her in again. “You’re trying to kill me.” 

“I might be,” she conceded, giggling as she turned her attention to the baggage carousel. 

“After those pictures you sent me last month you’re only going to admit to might be?” 

He lifted his face from her shoulder just to watch Marinette’s face flame up. Oh, he’d missed those fiery blushes. Technology seemed so wonderful until she was here in person and the blue of her eyes and pink of her cheeks made all those pictures and videos seem suddenly dull by comparison. Technology, he reflected, actually had quite a ways to go yet. 

“There wasn’t anything wrong with those pictures,” Marinette said primly. 

“No, there wasn’t,” Luka agreed fervently. “Not a damn thing.” 

“It was a perfectly modest swimsuit.” 

“It was,” Luka agreed. “And you looked fantastic in it.” 

Before Marinette could retort, Luka’s toe nudged something on the floor and he suddenly remembered the box he’d been holding as he waited for her. “Oh,” he said, letting go of Marinette to pick it up. “I wanted to bring you something but I thought a bouquet would be a bit hard to manage,” he explained as he fumbled the box open, relieved that the contents were intact despite his having dropped it the second she flung herself at him. “Our, uh, our little friend and I did some brainstorming and—well, it was kind of my idea, but I had to get Rose to actually make it for me…” Luka drew out a circlet of pink and white flowers delicately woven together with wire, watching her face a little anxiously, but he relaxed when she lit up with delight. 

“It’s beautiful! That’s really sweet, Luka,” she said, hands clasping together in front of her as she bounced on her toes slightly. 

“You deserve the big bouquet,” he said with a slight shrug and a lopsided smile as she twisted to look up at him, “But...well, like I said, I thought you’d probably need your hands. I hope it’s not—I mean, I’m glad you like it.” Tikki had assured him Marinette would love it, but he’d still been nervous.

“It’s perfect,” Marinette smiled, leaning back into him.

“May I?” he gestured, and when she nodded, he set the crown carefully in her hair, tying the ribbon at the nape of her neck and secured the top carefully with the bobby pins Rose had provided. He smiled and caressed her cheek when he was done. She turned her face to kiss his fingers, and then turned around to hug him with a contented sigh. 

When she let go of him, Luka picked up her carry-on from where she’d dumped it on the floor, and slung the strap over his shoulder. He put his arm around her shoulders and she pressed against his side. It felt so, so good to have her there again. He couldn’t help leaning over to press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Your public awaits,” he teased, to cover the sudden lump in his throat. “Let’s get your bags and get out of here before your dad decides to come look for you himself.” 

Marinette groaned. “He’s gone overboard, hasn’t he.”

“Mm…” Luka hesitated, and then relented. “Yeah, he really did. If it hadn’t been for your mom I’m pretty sure he would have closed the bakery so he could come get you himself. He’s probably already sitting at the window watching for us, so we better get a move on.”

[sagehaleyofficial]

HERE’S WHAT YOU MISSED THIS WEEK (9.10-9.17.19):

NEW MUSIC:

·         nothing,nowhere. and Travis Barker dropped a new, guitar-driven groove titled “TRUE LOVE” from their upcoming EP collab, Bloodlust, out this Friday. This marks the second single from the EP after the heavy first single, “DESTRUCTION,” was released early last month.

·         Fall Out Boy releases an ice-cream themed music video for their new single, “Dear Future Self (Hands Up),” featuring Haitian rapper and musician, Wyclef Jean. The second new song they’ve released this year thus far, they collaborated with rappers ILoveMakonnen and Lil Peep on the song “I’ve Been Waiting” this past April.

·         Green Day releases new song “Father of All…,” which they debuted live on Jimmy Kimmel Live later in the week. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was quoted as describing the song as “a unicorn falling out of the sky,” hence the single’s unicorn-themed album artwork.

·         Waterparks released another song, “[Reboot],” from their upcoming third full-length album, Fandom, due for release on October 11th. Like many of the band’s songs, the fourth single discusses a failed relationship and its aftermath.

·         The sequel to Fall Out Boy’s greatest hits album, Believers Never Die Volume Two, had its track list revealed. The album will contain singles from Save Rock and Roll to the present, including a new song titled “Bob Dylan.”

·         Microwave released a lookalike-filled music video for their song “Mirrors.” The single comes from their latest album, Death is a Warm Blanket, which was released last Friday.

·         Stand Atlantic dropped a new song, “Hate Me (Sometimes),” along with a vibrant new music video to accompany it. The video features the members dressed in an array of weird costumes including mice and flowers.

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS:

·         Twenty One Pilots, the 1975, Angels and Airwaves, IDKHBTFM, and several others are announced to play a five-day holiday concert series in Chicago. The concert will be called The Nights We Stole Christmas, and is hosted by radio station 101-WKQX.

·         Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy announce dates and release tickets for their long-anticipated Hella Mega Tour, and played an intimate gig at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles.

·         Dashboard Confessional revealed a new compilation album, as well as a 20th celebration tour to accompany its release. The band will be supported by The Get Up Kids and Piebald on select dates of the tour.

·         Mayday Parade reveals the Forever Emo Tour, in which their set will consist of covers of pop-punk and emo classics, as well as new music. The band has also partnered with a handful of local emo night DJs for each date.

·         In light of blink-182 and All Time Low’s cancelled gig in Columbus on September 22nd, Neck Deep will be playing a show at the local Woodlands Tavern that same night. Blink-182 still has a handful of dates remaining on their tour despite the final stop being cancelled.

·         IDKHBTFM play a previously unreleased track, “Lights Go Down,” during their set at Riot Fest in Chicago this past weekend. It is rumored that the track may be included on their long-awaited full-length debut next year.

·         Lil Wayne cancelled his blink-182 tour set in St. Louis after he was kicked out of his hotel, resulting in police involvement. Back in July, the rapper walked off stage just a couple of songs into his set while threatening to drop off the tour.

·        Avril Lavigne kicked off her first tour in five years in Seattle on Saturday, with a set list containing hits spanning her entire career. The set list begins with her most recent hit, “Head Above Water” and concludes with her early single “I’m with You.”

·         The Offspring were announced to play the very first “World of Tanks” in-game virtual concert. The show will be available starting tomorrow.

OTHER NEWS:

·         Vans teased their latest collection themed around the cult classic Nightmare Before Christmas, coming soon. Each shoe style is transformed to include characters such as Sally, Jack Skellington, the Zombie Band and more.

·         Former-MCR frontman Gerard Way’s hit Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy, announced three new characters for Season 2. None of the aforementioned characters are found in the original comic.

·         Save Face provided a near-perfect cover of My Chemical Romance favorite, “Teenagers.” The cover comes off a recent split EP with fellow musicians, Graduating Life.

·         In preparation of their opening gig on the Hella Mega Tour, the Interrupters released a ska-punk cover of Billie Eilish’s hit single “Bad Guy.” The Interrupters show no signs of slowing down before then, kicking off a headlining U.S. run next month before traveling to the UK.

·         The Cars frontman and founder, Ric Ocasek, passed at 75 from heart disease in his home, receiving tributes from many musicians. He was also famous for producing several iconic albums in the alternative scene, including multiple albums by Weezer and No Doubt’s Rock Steady.

___

Check in next Tuesday for more “Posi Talk with Sage Haley,” only at @sagehaleyofficial!

[wizardessheart-sideb]

The latest episode is here! Below the cut is a transcription

HEWWO!

Hello everyone, welcome to Royal Magic Academy Radio, a podcast about Wizardess Heart. I’m your host, Mari. So uh. YEAH, we had a lot of big stuff happen since the last episode, so let’s get on with the show.

GAMING NEWS

Event-wise, we got a joint Romance Point slot that brings back some of Elias and Luca’s past stories AND CGs. So it’s a combo of two guys AND stories and CGs. There’s a new star collection event, All Aboard the Mystery Express. I have to say I never expected to get a mystery train event, but I’ll take it. I think it’s a good theme and I like Hugo’s story. I haven’t read any of the other stories because I don’t care about them and I don’t have Klaus’ yet. 

We got Joel’s sequel! His main route early bird is still running, so we’re getting like Double Joel. Or in my case, triple Joel since I’m transcribing his main route so. It’s Joel season y’all.

We also now have quite a few new features. After years of asking, we now have a greet all button. While I’m glad this is a thing since a lot of people are happy about it, I personally don’t use it because using greet all and then sending people messages for that extra 20 Lune is a nightmare. I did a time comparison using my personal account and then the one I use to screen record stuff for Ceragon Dubs, and if you use greet all and then go into your friend list to send messages it’s a lot longer. But it wasn’t as long as how much time I spent screen recording, logging in and out of facebook accounts, and video editing and breaking out my phone and screen recording that for a timer.

There’s also a new feature on consumable items. I mean, that’s the best way to describe it. So basically, there’s now a thing called limited time items. As the name suggests, they’re only available for about 15 days, and if you don’t use them in that time, they disappear. So far, we’ve seen this with Story Tickets and Muffins. I imagine it will probably go over to the other snack items, but I don’t know about the others consumables. Time will tell, I suppose.

FUTURE EVENTS/SPECULATION

Okay so since we’re now getting the next batch of sequels, if we’re going in the order of the poll, Hiro’s is next. That is all. Although I do think we're gonna get season 10 first. But yeah, Hiro's should be next. Sequel-wise, at least.

CALL AND RESPONSE

And now we have the long awaited response portion of call and response! Everyone’s favorite segment where I have no clue what I’m doing, I take shit from Love Live!, and I am met with the realization if I were an idol my call and response would be the worst because I can’t think of anything, which is why we make Love Live references. Ngl I feel like my call would be like “Who’s my favorite audience member?” and then the audience is like “me!” and I fake mishearing them and I’m like “memes?!” and then we all dab or some shit because that’s my brand. Dabbing at everything. Okay but yeah so. I asked you guys to rewrite character bios so. Let’s have some FUNNNNN.

Okay, and I sort have things in the correct places so I can just read them. I mean "sort of" because I have to go through DMs and stuff, but... Okay so our first one is from @nadia-the-wizardess. And hers is for Hugo which of course it is, I love you dude. So she submitted... And I'm not gonna try to be a complete ham. I'm gonna try and have some dignity while reading these. "Friend or foe? The masked man seemed to be at every turn, either helping us or using us to his advantage. He claims he has come from the future to help put us on the correct path and change our tragic destiny. We still don't know what Hugo is truly planning, but despite all this, I've decided to put my faith in him and join him in his journey through time and save his-- our future!" And then her sidenote, "(God I hope I did this right sbhdnsns)." You did! You are all good and I - you know I love Hugo, probably… well…  probably just as much as you. Hugo is my best boy, so.

Okay, so. God, this segment is cursed. I… This is literally the fifth time I;ve tried recording this one little story because like my mic just keeps like cutting out. I need a brand new mic like this one is not cutting it anymore but anyway. So this call and response has a funny story behind it. So essentially like when I first get responses, I don't necessarily read them carefully at first, like I'm just kind of aware. Like “okay, like some.” So when I first did the call and response a while ago, um, I was vaguely aware that I had two and one was from Nadia and the other was from an anon. And so obviously like I push it back and then, uh, me and my friend have been chatting, who's not Nadia. That's the only identity clue I will give you cuz I'm not going to say who it is but um, *laughs* she's gonna be so mad though. So anyway, so me and my friend were talking and she was like, “Oh hey, I have a question so ‘theoretically’” in quotes, if she had sent a call and response answer to me like, would she have to make a new one or like whatever, like trying to figure out what's going on. And I said like honestly I’ll use whatever you give me because I do literally like whatever people spend in and I will use so it's a free-for-all, like I’ll use anything. 

And then she told me that was good because she forgot what she, and I air quote this, “theoretically” sent. And I was like, “Well you”... This was before I checked my inbox cuz I was like, “Oh, I’ll just go in and like copy paste in and put in our chat. So I was just like “You could always ask me to send you things” like if you don't remember what you do - andthis goes for anyone. Like if you send a response by not DM by like inbox and you don't remember what you wrote like you can totally just message me and be like, “Hey I sent this, I don't remember how I worded it exactly I'm worried that I messed it up could you please tell me what it was” and like totally go ahead and do that like I don't mind. So then, you know, like I went into my inbox so I was like, “Okay let's see what she said” and um. This is what she said. “Call and response for Sigurd (Feat. Leslie) - Sigurd's the only student who can equally terrify the staff at Olive Garden along with Klaus. With his overbearing obsession and appetite for any sort of pasta, he's best known as Klaus' right-hand man when it comes to needing a bud for their 2 for $12 appetizer promotions.” Not sponsored by Olive Garden. “I hear even though he currently majors in Magical Creature Taming, rumor has it he'll be switching to Culinary Magic for... ‘Reasons.’ Personally, I'd rather not know,” Same. “but if you insist...*Shrug”

And anyway this is cursed and yeah, I can understand why my friend did not want to like, confront me about this. Oh God, RIP. We got through it, she's fine.

So our next one is from @uraminowaltz and she has two and they're both for Klaus because of course they are. I should just rename this segment to me roasting my friends. Okay, so her serious Klaus one is: “Likes: Tea, sweets, challenging games, cooking. Dislikes: Coffee, Zeus,” Girl me too. “Irresponsibility, abuse of authoritative power. Hobby: Cooking, inventing magical tools. Skills: Unintentional romantic gestures, endurance with magic, WORKAHOLIC.” Yeah I-I felt that. I felt that. So the joke one: “Likes: His giant personal ring of 500 different keys. Dislikes: Losing his keys.” Also same. “Hobby: Making copies of his keys. Skills: Losing his keys PLEASE HELP HIM FIND HIS KEYS HERE IS A CROWDFUNDING LINK TO FIND HIS KEYS IT'S FUNDED AT 60%.” Oh, Klaus. Klaus. Honestly though when they did the Klaus II profile and it was like, thing that worries him, uh, losing, uh, lost his keys I was like goddammit. Like it just… It was one of those things that I didn’t realize was on brand for him, but then once I read it and saw it, I was like “Oh God yeah yeah that's his brand that's his... poor baby, that's his brand.”

Okay so our second to-  Actually, it might second-to-last I haven't checked the notes of that post so I guess I have to do that too. Okay so anyway, @sigurdcurtisholdsmegentle said… uh, did some, and you're going to be surprised who it was for. It was for Sigurd. So their joke one and they said… Their personal note for this was “Please actually kill me for this.” No I will not. You must atone for your sins. Uh... “Likes: Pasta. Dislikes: People who don't like pasta. Hobby: Naming spices in the pasta sauce. Skill: Cooking Pasta.” I'm very glad you did not put anything else because I would not want to read that out loud and that is NOT a challenge to anybody *laughs* So their serious one is: “Likes: Jazz music, Puns, The Rain, Make up.” Hell yeah. “Dislikes: His father, Himself, Ch… *laughs* CHICA,” I… We’re going for it. We’re going for the discourse and controvershy. The controversy. I can’t talk. Uh. Also dislikes “Blood. Hobby: Writing letters, Playing trumpet, Playing chess with Klaus. Skill: Decorating, Well timed exits, Running on little to no sleep.” Poor baby. But yeah I mean yeah. That's him. So the next one is... that they did was for Mel so it's “Likes: Apple cider, Plants, Perserving wildlife. Dislikes: Time Magic, Sol Felia,” It’s feh-lia not fee-lia, right? Like it’s not… I don’t feel like it’s fee-lia? I’m like pretty sure it’s feh-lia. Okay, it’s feh-lia now, I’m making the executive decision. It’s feh-lia now. Uh. “Oranges, Explaining.” God I felt that like whenever I reread Sigurd’s route, Mel's like “I don't want to explain” I’m like please shut up stop it like please, just explain. Good God. Like you're just making more trouble for yourself my dude. “Hobby: Sleeping in the greenhouse, Reading lore. Skill: Botany, Making wands, Flower” Oh my God, flower arrangements, that’s so cute. Oh my God, I love that actually. Like, I mean honestly like I liked all of them, but like that's so cute. That was super cute, I really like that one.

So, I don't think my call and response post had any notes. Except from people just liking it but I'm going to double-check cuz I'm not 100% sure.

Okay so it's time for our final call and response which will be my own. I literally have to bring up the my inspiration, my muse to *laughs* to do this. Okay so like, my whole inspiration for this prompt was the fact that like Azusa never got like an actual profile. Like it's all just question marks and um, we're going to fix that. And that's why I got the idea like, “oh that be really funny like everyone just rewrote things.” Let's go for the serious one first. That way I can do that and then I can goof. So my serious profile rewrite for Azusa and I did not write this beforehand, so… yeah! Let’s see… “Likes: his brother. Dislikes: hypocrites, himself.” Uh, that’s such a… *laughs*

That's such a mood. Every dude in this game is like self-loathing and some way. But I mean that's just how people are so I mean I guess it's not actually like that much of a stretch. But anyway. “Hobby… ………” Uh. You know, it's bad that I can't think of anything not just because like, I can't think of anything, but because he's one of my favorites and I'm like, “does he even have hobbies” like I'm not - I'm sure he does but I mean… “Hobby: telling Randy to shut up” I don't know. Uh, “Skill: onmyojutsu” just because we're basic and that was our serious one. And now for the fun one.

Um…. okay so, “Likes: his family. Dislikes: people. Hobby: ……….. you know. Skill: being a jackass” I don't know. I'm not even going to try and improv a description. Oh, poor Azusa. Although I do wonder if- when he gets a sequel, I wonder if that… I wonder if they’re gonna, like, continue making the, you know, kinda like additional info thing or if we’re gonna get like, a real profile for- Okay like, okay. I would be so fucking mad if like once he gets his sequel and they put like his like, um, like second profile thing and it's literally just all *laughs* it’s all question marks. I would be so fucking mad. I’d be like “come on PLEASE. PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO US.” Okay anyways, so that was call and response. Thank you guys for coming on this journey with me. Um, that was fraught with recording problems and I'm not looking forward to transcribing this, but sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.

ROUTE REVIEW

All right, so it’s time to review Sigurd’s route. His route had come out a bit before I started playing, and I vaguely remember getting a notification about it, but honestly I don’t remember too much about it. I was playing Yukiya at the time and while I thought Sigurd was cute, I was too lost in the Yukiya sauce to do anything but Yukiya-related stuff. 

It honestly took me a while to play Sigurd’s route, like i played it for the first time last year, and like. I just genuinely enjoy Sigurd so much. Like he’s such a funny guy and so sweet. Falling in love with a guy like that just feels natural. And the story handled it super well too. The story balances plot and romance very well and they feel very cohesive. 

The plot was really solid, with enough ends left to get resolved in Mel’s route. But then again, I’m very partial to this mystery series and no, I’m not just saying that bc I cosplay sol maiden!Liz. It’s a good story idea, bront. Not to mention there’s like, a lot of fluff in Sigurd’s. I mean it absolutely has upsetting moments, but it’s just. Okay like I don’t mean to get on a soapbox or whatever, but it’s just. I feel like my culture gets inundated with these images of cishet relationships where men don’t treasure their partners. I acknowledge it’s toxic and it’s a serious problem and all, trust me this sort of thing is something I’ve taken enough classes on to consider it an unofficial minor, but like I’M SO TIRED OF SEEING THESE CISHET MEN BE JERKS TO THEIR CISHET GIRLFRIENDS. Like really, we’re gonna romanticize a dude being a jerk to his girlfriend and not show the repercussions of this sort of behavior and act like it’s normal? Really? That’s what we’re gonna do? So like any media that portrays a guy as being loving and smitten and affectionate with his partner is just. That’s so refreshing and so WONDERFUL like I eat that stuff UP. Like it’s so clear Sigurd is so taken with the MC and it’s just like hot chocolate on a cold day. 

So yeah the plot’s good and Sigurd is just. Wonderful. But I also love how much lore we got in this route. We got country names, continent names, what sort of extra curriculars the academy has. Even some Goldstein lore. In my opinion, the best routes usually have some hella cool lore details and this route had a lot. 

And this is a minor thing but. As someone who was raised with their cousins and stuff, they just nailed the cousin interactions between Klaus and Sigurd. I have a cousin who, as of now actually since birthdays, is the same age as me, although usually I’m older. My cousin and I mess with each other all the time and he bullies me constantly. I’m just kidding, I’m definitely the Sigurd to his Klaus. And like Sigurd and Klaus, we actually play a lot of games together, or play the same game at once. We’re both really into video games and his latest hobby is bullying my brand new Fire Emblem husband Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. But in all seriousness, the game handled then well and the only way they could’ve made it more realistic is if they kept poking each other and making weird noises at each other. I mean, do you REALLY have a cousin if you don’t greet them by screeching like a pterodactyl? 

Typing this all out makes me realize how weird my cousin and I are. 

Okay but anyway. This route is very good and Sigurd is just an absolute doll. I highly recommend reading.

BYE BYE!

And that’s it for us today!! Thank you guys for tuning in this week. I’m sorry this episode is late. I was going to record it yesterday but something happened and basically made me give up on doing anything I wanted to do yesterday. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and hopefully next episode will be on time!! With that, have a great week! This is Mari, signing off.