Thirdly

"All spic and sp ─ very funny," Diarmad grumbled then turned his head to hide a smile. He never thought he would be happy to hear Noël—Nico, mocking his, as he called it, antiquated language again. - Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. The negotiations are important to us, but they are still a local matter. So, why is there this sudden interest in clan disputes?- I know, right? Do we really believe somebody tried to get rid of Nico because he is the one guy who could cut right through whatever bullshit there might be?- That's what I'm thinking. Ivan pushed back his chair. "That's the garlic bread I put in the oven earlier." - Yuuuuum. I wanna go to one of their meetings just to eat stuff Ivan makes. "I disagree. Somebody could still see you. No, and these are my last words about this." - Dagnabbit, Di. Why are you so stubborn about this? You know you need his help. Nico took Diarmad's hand in his and pleaded with him. "It's a good compromise. D?" / "Very well," Diarmad conceded, through clenched teeth, and Simon smiled. - Yaaaaaaaaay. And Nico? Look out for him if... I... he is still human. Okay?" - Eeeeeeeeeeee. He cares~ Lifting his hand to put a strand of hair behind his ear, his gaze met Sho's in the mirror. "Well, what do you think?" - Ain't nobody dope as me I'm dressed so fresh so clean~ (So fresh and so clean clean) Don't you think I'm so sexy I'm dressed so fresh so clean~ The black Henley shirt he'd borrowed from Nico showed his tightly-muscled upper body. Nico smiled briefly, thinking how Ivan was going to have problems staying focused, seeing his future mate like this. - Eeeeeeeeeeeeee. "Simon chose well. You look good," and with that, he grabbed him by his shoulders, covered Nico’s mouth with his own, and kissed him, hard. - Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Oh, one member of the Order delegation inquired about the chair beside yours. Luckily, Cieran surmised it might be a gesture of honor in memory of your recently deceased mate. - That guy's so gonna crap his pants soon. *bounces in chair* Ooooh man, I can't wait for the next chapter! Things are gonna go down! I also can't wait to see Ivan's face when he catches sight of Sho. LMAO.

The intimate time we’ve all been waiting for. - *GASP* Dagnabbit. Why am I still at work? I can't read this one until I get home. *childish pout*

*tip-toes towards the chapter* *peeks to the left* *peeks to the right* *whispers* Ok, I think it should be safe to read another chapter sneakily at work. I need something pleasant to counteract the stress that caused me to bite my nails down to nubs to the point that it hurts to type. *cradles coffee while reading* I've also had less than three hours of sleep. But apparently Mr. Archibald had a grandson who was a year younger than Michael and had a passion for LEGO. This came out on Wednesday when the cardmaker brought home a rather expensive set which the boy lusted after. - Why am I jealous of a little kid? LMAO. Star Wars terms in English and the sounds of star ships fighting seemed to transcend the language barrier.- Exactly! I’ve settled Michael for a quick nap in my room. - Whyyyy am I jealous of a little kid again? The angel voice in his head was cooing: ‘oooh, he’s home early, show him how happy you are to see him’ while the little imp was chortling ‘fuck yeah, go for it boy, let’s give the whole neighbourhood a live show right here in your front garden.’ - *dying* I'm with the imp. And ehm, I guess we gave the woman next door a shock too. I’m not sure she approves. - Forget her! Why was she so adamant at staring, anyway? Not that I wouldn't have stared too, come to think of it...but, I wouldn't have kept staring...not that much.

That sounds like a wonderful community. I know that not all churches or religions are the same. I'm just tired of what I've seen and grown up with.

Yes. You are right that there is good and bad in all cultures. I had a good Muslim friend too, actually, she moved to London and is married with kids. She seems pretty happy. The reason I just feel so disappointed in this case is that you don't need a physical count to SEE just how big the Hispanic community has become in my area. But, the boss of my boss asked for a headcount anyway. For years, I've been telling them "you need more bi-lingual staff members, the Hispanic community keeps growing." But, they've always been in denial about that. What was the headcount? Over five hundred more Hispanic members than those of any other background. He became so upset that he pretty much forced one of the receptionists to change all of the members marked "mixed" to read "Caucasian" just so that the numbers looked better. It's like they want to live in a world that there are always more Caucasians than any other lineage. I'm sorry, but numbers don't lie. It's ridiculous that they're trying to pretend otherwise just out of fear of being the minority for once.

Now, I generally highly avoid talk of politics, racism, or religion... HOWEVER... Let's be real here. China and India have MORE than 1 billion people each in their respective countries, dwarfing just about all other countries. English is third, Spanish is second in languages spoken worldwide, and Chinese is FIRST. In the US, Caucasians are becoming the minority. They are being vastly outnumbered by those of Hispanic and African lineage. WHY is that such a scary thing when most of the children are mixed anyway? When we ALL are technically mixed down the line, anyway??? If we weren't, we would all have quite the medical and mental conditions, wouldn't we? I mean, inbreeding's always been a great risk. I just feel so disheartened having worked in this kind of environment for so long. God doesn't see race, politics, or wealth. I grow weary of hypocrites that preach unity when they're the ones in perpetual fear. Yes, the church provides great help to the community. They reach out to the poor, they feed the hungry. But, those in charge are also great cowards. I will do my best for my community for this, my final year here. After that, I seriously have to consider if my Faith and core beliefs are worth putting on a facade of support. ...and find out just how jaded I am at this point.

No mention of it YET. In the new chapter, you will see WHERE the jobs are in that world and a little of what's going on there. Edit: Oh wait, I'm wrong there is a tiny mention of it but not in the sense of jobs, more in the sense of the service provided. You'll see later on.

No, you did not miss it. We just haven't mentioned it yet. They were:

Yes, if I'm not mistaken, Pip mentions being able to regrow his fingers/limbs. Tilbei...he can regrow his peens if they detach (this kind of "detaching" could have happened had he mated a female Nubra...he really lucked out on the half-Polkin Jasper that can actually accommodate him). Yep. We went a little research-happy when we brainstormed this story.

*drops everything to read update* Eeeeeeeee. *happy little dance* I think it's time to point out the story's rating is mature.- Eeeeeeeee. *more happy dancing* It wasn’t until he traced his hands along Diarmad’s side that he noticed unlike him, Diarmad was still fully clothed. Tugging on his rumpled dress shirt, he demanded, "Off...." - You heard him, Di. Diarmad's shields were still fully in place. As he slightly probed them, they became even stronger. - Dagnabbit, Di! *flips table* Couldn't you at least tell him to wait and then explain why? All you had to do was show him the same, and everything should have been good. How did you manage to fuck up something so simple? - LMAO! Tell it like it is Landyn. Nico found himself lifted in the air and placed on the hastily closed piano lid. - Wait, on the piano? Well, at this point, I don't care where they get it on, just that they do it already. The window, the wall, the floor, the couch, the piano, the kitchen counter, on Nico's bike...I don't care where. Feeling the rapidly beating heart, he confirmed in a soothing voice, "I'm yours." - *throws confetti in the air* The world is right again, if only for only this moment! Things I also need to mention before I forget: 1. I still utterly ADORE Ivan and how he pretty much rescued Nico from his hangover even though he's clearly still mad at him. 2. Landyn is still the bestest bestie ever.

lmao! I'm indeed working on it, believe me.

Yes, I will definitely finish this one before starting anything else.

It's actually rare when I end anything on a cliffhanger, or so I think. That might change with a new project I'm working on, but I still don't know how that one will really turn out.

Glad you've enjoyed reading it thus far!

This is the story I'm currently work on now (since Cuddlefish is really slow going at the moment). Thus far, my solo stories have been in first person POV because: 1. I need the practice. 2. I want to get to the point where Robin's reactions are similar to the ones I give her on her work. 3. It's been helping me dive deeper into character building.

I'm glad you enjoyed the end. It was a bit frustrating and challenging wrapping up an older project such as this, but it was worth it.

Agreed.

Yes, in hindsight I see how it seems jarring. Though the scene's explained later, it's still a bit out there.

This is why I'm bad at reading poetry: My mind just made up a whole song around the whole thing. A mini rapper just popped up in my head... It's really good though, it flows and rhymes well. I like it!

Yes, I remember talking to Toma as we thought of the different levels of intimacy from one pair to the next.

I like to think I’m getting better at descriptive writing. But, then I remember that the final chapter of this was “hot-glued” together instead of properly ‘sewn seamlessly’ and I feel the tiniest bit of guilt.

Thanks for giving it a try. I warn that this one’s an older one, so it’s a bit more flawed.

Ansar is dramatic and outspoken up until things are serious, and then he doesn’t speak up when he should.

Yes, despite how good-looking they all are, no one envies the position Sindri’s in. The only tiny hope is that he is allowed to choose.

In terms of instalove: 1. These guys are alien dragons, they’re not built like humans despite sharing some of those genes. 2. This is a collaboration with Toma, whom even after marriage is an incredibly shy and innocent person fond of fluffy romance, leaving me all the dirty work (in this case, the smut, and have I mentioned she’s the married one? lol). 3. At least it wasn’t ‘love at first sight’...more like ‘love a few days later.’ Also, to be fair to Kelius, he’s the most animalistic out of all of them, so for him to run on instinct didn’t seem all that odd to me in this world. I do apologize for any inconsistencies since most of this story was written five years ago and I had to take on nearly all of the later chapters except segments of the final one). If the Solare’s a ‘President,’ then the Lunare’s the ‘Vice President.’