#Chalemeaux E. Hannibal

[rayne-storm]

Mr. E and Lizzy Grimm

AUgust 9 - YouTube

Fandom: original work haha….

Summary: Chalemaux x Elizabeth

She's wasting her PhD discussing fairy tales and folklore for internet strangers.

He's an ancient being… who likes to talk about history for internet strangers.

They get requests for a collab.

A/N: yes these are entirely original characters from a story I've been working off and on for the past 3ish years. Is it written down at all? Hahaha hahaha no. Do I love them anyways? Absolutely.

***********

"-And that will do it for our history lesson today. This concludes our tour of Bram Stoker's London. Please do let me know what period of history that we should explore next. This is Monsieur E, goodnight."

***

The comments section was wild, always, but something new caught Chalemeaux's eye:

"Beautifully done as always, Mr. E!! Have you ever thought of doing a collab with Lizzy Grimm?"

He'd never heard of that person before, but the commenter helpfully left him a link to her most recent video. Amusingly, it was about tracing the origins of the Victorian Vampire. Well, he would see how accurate she was.

Intrigued, he pressed play.

***

"-And that's all for today's journey through the bloody, sexy world of Europe's Vampires. Thank you, as always, for your love, support, and suggestions! If you have a favorite fairy tale, folk tale or other piece of past mythology you want me to cover, please leave that in the comments below. This is Lizzy Grimm, signing off!"

***

Elizabeth looked through the comments on her latest video - a really fun look at the origins of vampires as they were presented in Victorian and Romantic-Era literature: Carmilla, Varney, Dracula, the like.

The few people that followed her and left comments were always delighted by this sort of thing, it seemed, but one in particular sparked her interest:

"I loved this, Ms. Grimm! Would you ever do some kind of collaboration with another channel? It would be so much fun to see you and Monsieur E work together!"

Oh, she knew of him. The beautiful history youtuber that she'd followed since practically day one of his work. His deep dive into the Jack the Ripper case had inspired her to start her own channel, using somewhat similar methodology (in addition to what skills she was currently "wasting" from her time getting her PhD). She would love to work with him on literally anything, but there was no way he'd notice a nobody like her. She had just enough followers and sponsor money to keep the lights on, and that was fine for her.

She replied to the sweet comment (as she tried to do to all of her non-troll comments), a thank-you and self-deprecating something-or-other about how he was definitely too busy doing his work and far too popular to notice her. It read fine. She tried to put the whole thing out of her mind and went to bed.

***

Well, this channel was positively lovely. The host - one Lizzy Grimm - was also rather lovely, as well, he thought idly. She had a way with words that was magical, and he could tell that there was a passion here for her work. He remembered a time, eons before, when he felt the same way about history, and research, and the mess of it all. Fond days running around with the poets and historians, trying to make beautiful the ugly universe.

He spotted the comment on her channel asking about working with him (it was one of only a handful on the video), and the response broke his heart a little, honestly. That she didn't seem to feel worthy, but did seem to know him? Interesting.

He looked up her username in his own followers, and was shocked, perhaps a little humbled even, to see that she was there… and she was his first. He remembered, blearily, just starting out. Every follower was a miracle, it seemed.

Looking further, she had commented something encouraging on every one of his videos. Admittedly, he had been blessed with quick success (a perk of being conventionally attractive and niche), and they soon got lost in a sea, but there they were…

Well, now, of course he would have to reach out. Even if nothing came of it, he simply had to let her know how grateful he was for her support.

***

She couldn't believe it when the email popped up in her notifications. It had to be a prank. Or someone pretending to be him. But no.

"Dear Ms. Lizzy Grimm," it began, proper and eloquent like he was, "I'm Monsieur E, as you may know. I am actually him, even, and not some kind of hacker or other ne'er-do-well playing with your time. I am unsure how else to prove this, so please see the attached screenshot of you, my very first follower."

She looked, and indeed, the screenshot was there, on his channel, and… yes, it did appear she was his first follower. It felt like some kind of sacred honor, now, honestly. She hurriedly read on.

"I was approached by a commenter, who seems to have also reached out to you, requesting we collaborate. I would like you to know that I would be extremely honored to do so. I would like to meet up, if possible, to go over these details, and perhaps just talk with a fellow history and literature lover. I understand this is very unusual, and perhaps feels unsafe, so do feel free to tell me to shove right off, and I will do just that.

Thank you, so much, for your support. It means the entire world to me.

Yours Truly,

M.E."

Well, that… happened. He wanted to meet her. The impossibly handsome history king wanted her, wasting her life, average nobody, to work with him. He wanted to meet her in person. It felt like some kind of dream. Of course she'd do it. That he even bothered to mention that it could be sketchy to meet in person was very considerate. She quickly shot off a response and tried not to hyperventilate.

***

He hadn't been expecting a response so quickly, but there it was, shiny and unread in his inbox. He immediately opened it.

"Monsieur E,

I was surprised and, admittedly, thrown off when I saw your email. You were indeed correct that I didn't believe it was actually you at first. The screenshot has me mostly convinced.

"I would love to work with you, yes. And to meet up. A café or something similar would be perfect, a neutral, populated place where we could both feel comfortable that neither is going to murder the other. I live right near Galway, though I'm not native, as you may guess by the conflicting accent, and I believe in videos you have mentioned that you live more North? I don't mind taking a train to meet up somewhere in the middle, if that is convenient? I have friends in England and Scotland as well, that I can stay with if needed, if we want to do in-person collaboration.

I am very excited by the potential of working together. Thank you for everything.

Yours truly,

Elizabeth G. Bennet."

Oh. She had used… well that certainly appeared to be an actual name. He felt his heart warm and speed up, and re-read the missive several times. She actually wanted to meet up! And she really wasn't that far away! Hell, he thought he had a place in Killarney or Cork, and that wouldn’t' be too far of a drive… Oh, he had plans to make.

And a future collaborator, perhaps… even a lover? To meet.