And that's the woof and his wings' time in the NIS Program. *dusts pixie-dust off hands*
The part in Dana's Afterward, when she mentions Lupe refusing to write any more -- that was the author talking. I had planned to continue the story through the weekend, including unleashing Dana's magic on Lupe's dysfunctional family, but right after the two finally got together, Lupe just completely shut up. He was done talking thank you very much, and even though he's a figment of my imagination, there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn't the first (or last) time I've had a character go "real" on me, but still the most startling.
Lupe's question about whether Fritz is human is still open. If he'd allowed me to continue the story, I thought we might find out he isn't -- at the time, I was wondering maybe half-troll, but rereading it now, kobold seems more likely. Trolls belong in the boiler-room, after all, not on the school paper. But since it isn't written, that's not canon, so I still don't know. Feel free to speculate.
I've nothing ready for posting at the moment, but am scribbling away on something new -- hope to finish it soon. Depending on how long it ends up, anyway.