#SPEAKING OF THE MINIBANG FIC. i should go work on that

[allsassnoclass]

hazel!! hi!! i'm def going to have to rb your fanfic ask game soon, you've got some great questions on there 👀 some questions for you: 4, 41, 57, 62 & 66 both for pas de deux, 69, & 77? (feel free to talk about non-5sos fic stuff as well!) hope you're doing well -megs 💙

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii megs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for asking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and for giving me permission to talk about non-5sos fics lol

4. How do you choose which fics to write? it's either something I have a deadline for (self-imposed or not) or something that I have inspiration/motivation for! for example: right now I'm spending most of my writing time on a fic i'm writing for a minibang. I have a deadline for that, so I need to get it going, and this idea is the one that I have for this pairing that lends itself best to that type of event format. i've got quite a few prompts that i'm still trying to chug along on, because some of them are almost 3 years old at this point. i have a 5sos fic that i'd love to get done for summer because the summer setting is very important to it and i love the story idea. but otherwise i just go with what i feel like writing! whatever idea i'm vibing with!

41. Who’s your favorite character you’ve written? ooooooooooo. mr. michael in puzzle pieces is up there i love him. i have an oc named mason who i love a lot (his fic is not yet posted). i think i'll go with those two right now!

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics? In longer fics, it's something that I try to catch and add in as i'm editing. in short things i'm not necessarily looking for it, but with longer ones i feel like it's important in maintaining continuity and ensuring that there's a good arc to the story, because that's something that i really worry about with my longer fics. most of it happens on accident and i flesh it out more in editing as i catch the potential for it.

62. In pas de deux, is there a deleted scene/idea you wish you could have included?  Why did it get cut? ooooo let me try to remember my process for that fic lol. initially michael was going to call harry styles on the phone and ask for insight on ashton. michael and harry danced together at abt and used to date, gemma partnered with ashton at nycb back in the day. the scene just didn't fit, was unecessary, and would've been more of a distraction than anything, especially because realistically harry wouldn't have anything substantial to tell michael if his sister is the one who danced with ashton and it was years ago.

66. What’s a fun fact about pas de deux? mmmmmm i believe every name that is dropped is the name of a semi-famous person somewhat associated with 5sos, with the exception of my high school theater tech director :)

69. What are your favorite fics at the moment? ooooo very difficult question! at this exact moment (so these aren't my favorites of all time or anything like that) I'm thinking fondly of:

With Absolute Splendor by veliseraptor (it's about!!!! rebuilding a broken brother relationship via planning a wedding!!! and also it made me cry!!!! and also it has jiang cheng tell lan wangji (very seriously) "you may not have noticed that we live in a society" which my sister and i laugh about)

Run Away to Mars by almost-a-class-act (this one ROCKED MY WORLD it's so well done. it's a luztoye space au. it's so so so so good)

Leave the Light On (I'll Be Coming Home) by hmslusitania (my favorite buddie fic! grief and parenting and addressing the will reveal!!!)

yeah i'll leave you with those right now. i feel like, for all the fic i've been reading lately (because i've been reading a lot, i haven't really found ones that have fully gripped me.

77. Why do you enjoy writing fanfiction? i enjoy getting to create worlds and write very character-focused stories and i like getting to post them for other people to see and i like exploring canon or throwing away canon or just in general thinking of stories more in-depth. idk it's just fun! and it's a nice creative thing that i can do!

Fanfiction writing asks

[electricshoebox]

writing tag

Tagged by the lovely @adventuresofmeghatron, thank you!

Tagging: @junemermaid, @molliehaswords, @desynchimminent, @valkyriejack, and @mercurymiscellany​, if you’d like to do it!

1.  How many works do you have on AO3? 

39. Holy shit. 

2.  What’s your total AO3 word count?

533,274 words. Holy shit.

3. What are you top 5 fics by kudos?

How to Share a Bed Without Killing Each Other: a Love Story (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Iron Bull, 5 Chapters, Complete) The trials and tribulations of literally sleeping together.

Rivers in the Sand (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Iron Bull, Oneshot, Complete) The Hissing Wastes unsettles Bull’s memories, and when he and Dorian are trapped together by a fallen pillar, Dorian helps him deal.

a soft place to land (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Iron Bull, Oneshot, Complete) When a letter from his father sets him off, Dorian turns to Bull for a distraction.

Always Good at Bad Ideas  (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Iron Bull, Oneshot, Complete) Bull gets injured fighting a dragon, which leaves Dorian frantic enough to blurt out the one thing he was trying to keep to himself.

Flashpoint (Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dorian/Iron Bull, Oneshot, Complete) “One time he got so excited he set the curtains on fire.”

4. Do you respond to comments?  Why or why not? 

Yes, always! I’ve seen various opinions on whether authors should, but to me, engaging with and getting excited with readers is half the fun and half the point. I also just really want people to know how much it means to me not only that they read, but that they take the time to leave a comment. Comments are hard to write. I completely sympathize with that, sometimes you just don’t know what to say or how to say it, and I absolutely don’t begrudge anyone that doesn’t. It just means a lot to me when people do, even when it’s literally just “This was cool!” or something, and I want them to know that it’s appreciated!

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. I guess that sort of depends on your definition of angsty. None of them have directly tragic endings, it’s just not in me to write that way, but I have one or two with open or less definitely, obviously happy endings. The rarepair DA2 oneshot I wrote for Merrill/Orana, Counting the Cost, has the most open ending, left completely up to interpretation. The Inception AU DAI fic I wrote for Dorian/Bull, In the Shadow of Dreams, has what I think of as an optimistic ending, and less a happy one. I tried to end that one with more romance, but it just didn’t fit the tone of the rest of the fic, so a quiet ending that signals a road to recovery was what I chose instead.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Most all of my oneshots have pretty happy endings. I guess I’m tempted say A Line in the Sand, my Deacon/MacCready start-from-scratch slow burn novel, just because it goes from antagonists to lovers and has the longest road with the most earned happy ending. I feel like the long struggle to get there makes it feel happier. 

7. Do you write crossovers?  If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really. Instead I’m sometimes tempted into AUs based on other media, but not full blown crossovers with actual different characters meeting. Even then, I’m really picky in what I enjoy. I’ve only written one, the Inception AU for Dragon Age that I mentioned above. Honestly, it requires no knowledge of Inception at all. I really just stole a bunch of concepts from it and then made my own modernized Thedas around them.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no! I’ve received one or two kind of odd comments, but otherwise I’ve been very lucky and everyone’s been really nice.

9.  Do you write smut?  If so, what kind?

Hell yeah! I’ve written many kinds, really, whatever I feel like or whatever fits the fic. I’ve done plenty of your typical smut. I branched out into light BDSM with several of my Dorian/Bull fics, as well as waxplay and praise kink. I’ve also done some roleplay in the vein of “established relationship pretending to be strangers meeting at a bar” for Deacon/MacCready with By Any Other Name.

10.  Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. 

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! Two of my Dorian/Bull fics, Wishing Stars and No Patron Saint of Silent Restraint, both by the same lovely person: landanding on AO3. I don’t think I stopped flailing for a solid day when I got the request for permission either time.

12.  Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not since pre-AO3 days, beyond collaborating in a tabletop setting. I’m not completely opposed to the idea but it would have to be someone I felt really, really comfortable with and with whom I have really good communication. I’m really particular about my writing, and I’d need to know someone’s emotional comfort level with trading and changing and even eliminating ideas.

13.  What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Oh god that’s honestly really hard. I’ve written the most for Dorian/Bull and that ship will always have a special place in my heart. But I did write my first full-length novel for Deacon/MacCready, and they’ve already got me in the middle of my second. So they’re the ship that taught me I could do that, and they’re my beloved rarepair. There are a few more I absolutely love, but I think those are my top two right now.

14.  What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Definitely Uprising. It was the first time I tried longform fic, and it was meant to be an entire retelling of DA2 with Velanna as the Justice-bearing character, rather than Anders, because after learning the developers almost took DA2 in that direction, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I had a lot of plans for it, for how Justice might develop differently, for what it might have looked like if elves had been more of the battleground issue instead of mages vs. templars, for some angsty bittersweet long distance Nathaniel/Velanna and some complicated Fenris/Hawke and Merrill/Orana. But I drifted away from Dragon Age fandom in interest a long time ago, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get the steam back for it. I’m proud of how far I did get, though.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I feel pretty confident with dialogue, I can usually make a scene flow with it pretty well and I spend a lot of time trying to be meticulous about character voice. I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my descriptions, which I appreciate and wouldn’t have considered a strength, but my readers have been kind. I think I’m pretty good at including body language, too, though maybe to a fault.

16.  What are you writing weaknesses?

Much as people have been kind on the feedback, I really feel like action scenes are a weakness for me. I don’t enjoy writing them and I struggle a lot to make them feel like they’re flowing over just bulletpointing. I also feel like I struggle to make them exciting. I feel like I struggle with exposition scenes as well, and keeping them interesting over info-dumping. 

17.  What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’m generally in favor of including them, but with the caution of doing thorough research if it’s not a language I speak. I shy away from it if I can’t be completely sure it’s accurate, because I don’t want to risk putting off a native speaker reader, or saying/doing something offensive. I’d expand that to include anything about another culture, really. For example, I’ve been slowly picking away at writing a Fallout fic for my Sole Survivor Anthony and Preston, and part of what has been slow going is just making sure I’m getting Anthony’s culture right. His parents immigrated from Vietnam, and I want his experiences with them and with his culture to be as accurate and respectful as possible, not falling into any stereotypes but also being allowed to be complicated. 

18.  What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Depends on what we’re measuring. The first fandom I ever wrote fic for of any kind was Sailor Moon. The first fandom I actually put fic on the internet for was Lord of the Rings, on good old fanfiction.net. The first fandom I published on AO3 for was Dragon Age.

19.  What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

God this is such a hard question to answer, my feelings on my writing change so often. I think it’s hard for A Line in the Sand not to be my favorite for the reasons I’ve already mentioned, it’s my first successful novel-length fic, I accomplished a lot with it and learned a lot from it, and it’s a rarepair I got to kind of develop from scratch in my own way. 

But if I look back at my whole repertoire so far, just to branch out from the usual answer, I’d say I’m also really fond of To Have and to Hold, which was the first time I ever participated in a minibang, or really any kind of writing challenge. It’s a Dorian/Bull established relationship fic set during Trespasser, and it’s kind of a meditation on Dorian’s past and present and how they’ve shaped his feelings on love and commitment and marriage, all while he’s trying to decide his future. I’m proud of how it came out, and I think my Dorian voice still holds up okay. Plus I had two incredible artists working with me who put together stunning work for it, and how could I not be super grateful for that? 

It’s funny, most of the top ones up there for kudos are ones that I don’t personally think are my best, it’s a lot of my very early offerings for Dorian/Bull that I think I could improve on a lot of if I tackled them now. I’m grateful people like them but I feel like they’re more an accident of timing, being published early in the ship’s popularity. 

[pennywaltzy]

Fated Encounters (A “The Best Laid Plans” Story) (2/4)

So this is one fic I definitely plan on finishing for WIPBB’s minibang as I don’t think I need to do much more to get to a point where I can make a new story. So part 3 will go up at some point in the next few weeks and part 4 may go up on AO3 around the same time but it will be posted here on the 15th of February. Thanks to @strangelock221b for asking for an update!

Fated Encounters - Somehow, McCoy finds himself on a universe where he's considered a fictional character and a cat guides him to exactly the right person he needs to meet in order to survive here. But there's going to be more to this fateful encounter than he could ever realize...

READ CHAPTER 1 | READ CHAPTER 2 | SERIES PAGE | HELP ME SURVIVE? | COMMISSION ME?

Apparently, his pod had been discovered already, as there was a man who looked damn near like the bastard Khan gleefully pacing in Molly’s flat. “Alien craft,” he said without realizing Molly had company.

“Yes, I know,” she said. “Meet the occupant. Strictly human, though, not alien.”

It was only then that the man looked up and his eyes widened for just a moment before narrowing, as if to study him. Soon the man started circling around him, looking him up and down. “That movie you made me watch, with that actor lookalike. Is this...”

“Leonard McCoy? So he says.” She gestured to her sofa and surprisingly both of them sat down while the man stood up. “Sherlock, this is Leonard. Leonard, this is Sherlock Holmes.”

“Spock’s human relative?” he said, surprised. Not that Spock talked about his human side much, but there was a famous detective in the past who had a saying he liked.

“As far as I know, I’m not that particular one,” Sherlock said. “Considering the fact you’re wholly fictional here, it stands that my name was used to indicate that I have offspring in the future since I’m well-known in more than just the UK. Whether that’s the truth in your own universe...” Sherlock trailed off.

“You know, you’re taking this remarkably well,” Molly said, looking up at Sherlock.

“Space travel is possible, it’s happened. Time travel is theoretical. Multiple universes, also theoretical. If there’s truth that for every decision made a multitude of universe spring forth...well, there could always be one where Leonard is real and we’re fictional. Hypothetically.”

“Glad you’re taking this well because I need a drink,” Leonard admitted.

“Oh! I should have offered. I imagine this is a shock,” Molly said. “Um...whiskey will do?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Leonard said, leaning into the seat. “So let me get this straight. In this universe, I’m fictional. In my universe, it could be a totally different version of you that’s related to Spock. But there’s two Sherlock Holmes’s? Maybe more?”

“Theoretically, yes.” Sherlock began to pace. “My brother shall want to study you, as he’s already started with your craft.”

“Hell no,” Leonard said.

“Get his help without letting this man become a test subject,” Molly said as she came into the sitting room with a glass half-full of whiskey. She handed the glass to Leonard. “I mean...without the craft there’s no way he can go back. He’s here and he ended up running into us. It’s fate. We have to help.”

“There is no such thing as fate,” Sherlock and Leonard chorused before staring at each other.

“Besides, I have no idea how I got here,” Leonard said. “Not like I could get back if I wanted to. Kelvin pods don’t work that way.”

“What are those?” Molly asked.

“Something instituted on new ships after an incident with his lookalike,” Leonard said, jerking a thumb at Sherlock.

“The encounter with the Vengeance? That was the movie we saw,” Molly said.

“Guess you know a lot more about me than I do you,” he said sourly, having some of the whiskey.

“We’ll speak to Mary,” Sherlock said. “She’s good at crafting identities and has the necessary skills to make it stick. I think your cat managed to get Mister--”

“Doctor,” Leonard countered.

“Doctor McCoy here without much notice, and as I believe there is a convention in town at the moment he should blend in somewhat. We’ll keep his first name, alter his appearance slightly, I can provide clothing...”

“So I have to stay?” Leonard asked.

“With me, preferably. I can help with what you need,” Sherlock said, waving his hand as he headed to put on a scarf and coat. “Keep him here until I’m sure Mycroft has no idea there was a survivor who is still alive. There are some things that can be kept from my brother but we need to recruit Mary. Clothe him and I’ll be back.” With that, Sherlock made his way to the door and let himself out.

Molly leaned back into the seat she had taken after bringing the whiskey out and gave Leonard a half-hearted smile. “Welcome to your new home,” she replied.

He grunted slightly and finished off the whiskey. It seemed he’d fallen in with decent people, or at least he hoped, but this was going to take some serious adjusting.

[abracadora-archived]

Outward Honour for Inward Toil

This is my fic for the @safeklancewriters MiniBang. I was paired with the artists @cheritsundere and @cimderslla , so please go check out their pieces as well!

Pairings: Keith/Lance 

Rating: G

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Word Count: 28k

As the rival nations of Márea and Altea form an alliance after years of tension and border issues, Prince Lance is forced to deal with a treaty that is far too involved in his personal life, an infuriating Altean knight surrounded by shady rumours, and the rising threat of the Galra empire closing in on Lance’s kingdom.

Sample: 

Lance is undeniably eager when he peeks through his bedroom window and sees the dark smudge against the horizon line that is a team of Máreaan horses, pulling a gleaming carriage in tow. This signals his sister’s arrival from her foreign affairs, and he’s undeniably eager to hear the news.

“Hunk,” he says excitedly, and prods at his best friend who sits, curled on a low-lying couch, nose buried in a gilded book of fairy tales. “Unless, I’m mistaken, Ramira’s returned.”

Hunk looks up and peers out of the window next to Lance. “Unless I’m mistaken, I think you’re right. Should we head down to greet her, or let her speak about the private matters in private?” Hunk raises a single eyebrow, and it’s clear to Lance what Hunk believes is the better idea.

“Oh, dear friend.” Lance claps Hunk on the shoulder and grins. “You’re an admirable advisor, but you need to loosen up! Come, we must try and meet her as soon as possible .” Lance ends the sentence with pointed emphasis, though he doesn’t pretend that his words carry any true command; Hunk is far too familiar and far too flippant with him for that to work anymore.

“Yes, my Prince,” Hunk says dryly. He closes the book neatly, placing one of the bookmarks that Lance never bothers to use in between the pages, and sets it delicately on the window sill. “When have ever I denied your request.”

“Hurry,” Lance urges. He doesn’t bother to put on a jacket or coat and settles for buttoning up his shirt. Hunk takes no such leisure and securely fastens the laces of his sunny yellow coat before following along as Lance marches resolutely out the door.

The reason he makes such haste to catch his sister before anyone else is simply because her special meeting is meant to be kept quiet. Ramira, the second child of the royal family, is the official foreign ambassador of Márea, and just days ago, she left the kingdom to travel to a location that wasn’t disclosed to Lance, who is apparently unqualified to know such top level matters while he’s still in training.

But no matter.

He knows where Ramira has been: their neighboring kingdom, Altea. This hasn’t been the first time he’s eavesdropped to find out classified information, and it almost definitely won’t be the last.

In recent months, as threats from other kingdoms have increased, Márea has nurtured the idea of forming an alliance with their closest neighbors. This is a difficult concept to put into motion, mostly due to the tense history between the two kingdoms from petty skirmishes and trade disagreements. Unfortunately, the current atmosphere seems to be enough for Márea to reach out to Altea.

Lance figures that Ramira was there to discuss a possible meeting, maybe even something unassuming like inviting the leaders of Altea for dinner and castle festivities. He speeds up his pace as he and Hunk wind through the castle halls, determined to be included in the discussions.  

They arrive at the front doors just as Ramira is stepping out of the carriage, dressed in her plain, dark travel clothes. Lance’s mother, Queen Reina, stands at the edge of the marble stairs, watching quietly as Ramira is escorted by the guards up the steps and towards the doors. Lance’s eldest sister, Juliana, stands next to her.

“Welcome back,” his mother says warmly, taking a single step forward to greet Ramira. His mother puts her hand to Ramira’s shoulder and Ramira puts her hand to their mother’s waist, and they embrace with minimal contact and a simple cheek-to-cheek kiss. Ramira does the same with Juliana. Their proper, affectionate exchange will have to wait until later, in the privacy of their rooms- right now, they keep up appearances in front of the guards.

“Hello, Lance.” Ramira floats past their mother and sister and greets Lance the same way. Out of courtesy, Lance gives her a slight bow, and takes satisfaction in the way her lips quirk up from amusement.

“Princess,” Hunk says politely, though not unkindly, and he bows much lower than Lance, an indication of her authority.

Ramira smiles properly and reaches out a hand to tousle Hunk’s well-styled hair. If he were anyone else, their mother and Juliana would look scandalized, but Hunk is well-known amongst everyone in the castle as practically the fourth child of the royal family.

“Your father is in the meeting room,” Lance’s mother says, walking so that she stands level with Ramira. “Perhaps we should…” Her eyes slide over Hunk, then Lance, and Lance feels the familiar flash of irritation when he knows that she’s about to order him to leave.

“Let me stay for the meeting,” he says insistently.

The Queen hesitates. “Lance…”

“Please.” He stiffens his back, posture and face straight. “Let me be included.”

“It’s fine,” Ramira says. She shrugs her black jacket off, revealing the gray waistcoat she wears underneath. The Queen’s eyes cut to her, but she says nothing. “Let Lance stay, it’ll give him experience. He can’t learn these things if he isn’t exposed to him.”

Lance gives Ramira a grateful look as his mother sighs and says, “Very well. Let’s hurry to the meeting room.”

The meeting room they go to is not the large, high-ceilinged one that Lance’s parents use to discuss matters with all their top generals and advisors. Instead, they go to a place that’s more like a lounge, with comfortable seats placed around and oblong table, and silver platters of biscuits placed in the center.

Lance reaches for a sugared biscuit without second thought. Hunk gives him a reproachful look that screams “ behave like a Prince ” before Lance hands him a biscuit and Hunk rolls his eyes, giving in.

At the very head of the table sits Lance’s father: King Julio II, King of Márea. He’s broad-shouldered and gruff looking, with an impressive moustache and coal black hair. If Lance hadn’t known him since childhood, he would be intimidated.

Lance’s mother appears kinder, with soft brown hair and deep blue eyes like Lance’s, and she certainly is kind, but Lance knows to be alert around her. She’s the Queen, but more so she’s his mother, and that means she’s perceptive enough to pick up the slightest bit of mischief. She takes a seat to the King’s right, sharp eyes sweeping over the table. Juliana takes the seat to their father’s left, and Ramira sits next to her.

Nobody questions Hunk when he sits next to Lance, at the farthest end of the table. There are only a handful of others who are not part of the family, and none of them seem to be under the age of 50- all royal advisors and veterans of the Court or military.

“Lance and Hunk will be joining the meeting,” Lance’s mother whispers to the King. He gives a short nod and then leans forward, folding his hands together on the table.

“Very well,” he says. His voice, although quiet, is steady, and his words command respect no matter how brief they are. “As you all know- or may not know,” he amends, addressing Lance and Hunk. “Ramira has returned from her meeting in Altea.”

Lance exchanged a triumphant glance with Hunk.

“I’ll try to keep this talk short, so we can move forward with our plans.” He nods at Ramira. “You may give your report.”

Ramira takes a deep breath and smiles. Her shoulders are straight, confident, not betraying a hint of nerves. “As you all know, tensions have been running high, with the rising of the Galra kingdom.” She pauses, as many of the council members frown. “Fortunately for us, this seems to be a similar case in Altea.”

“They are rather private with their kingdom’s state, naturally, but from what I could glean from the conversations, the Galra are their main concerns. They seemed to be willing to do whatever it takes to stop the enemy forces from pressing closer to their borders. Including-” Ramira takes a pause, likely for a dramatic effect. “-cooperating with us.”

Juliana leans forward. “Meaning.”

Ramira smiles, and it’s sharp, victorious. “I persuaded them to attend treaty talks.”

Lance’s jaw drops. Altea has never been opposed to forming alliances, but Márea is the kingdom that they have had disputes with for long before Lance was even a thought in his parents’ minds. After the last, rather brutal skirmish over a piece of river territory a few years ago- which Márea won, to everyone’s surprise- Altea has been stubbornly resistant to any sort of peacemaking between the kingdoms. For Altea to give in after a single meeting with a single ambassador, they must be desperate.

Lance briefly wonders if the situation with the Galra is worse than it seems.

“Have they said when they would like to host the talks?” the Queen asks, her voice careful and considering.

“They didn’t specify,” Ramira answers, “They mentioned shortly that they would have it sooner rather than later, but there were no demands of specific timing.”

“Good,” the King’s personal advisor speaks up. “This means that we can set the terms of the meeting ourselves.”

“Preferably, we should have it in Márea,” Juliana cuts in. “A show of strength would benefit us.”

They turn, through some unanimous decision, to the King, watching as he strokes his chin thoughtfully. “We need a few weeks to properly decide our terms for the treaty,” he says after a pause. “We should also arrange festivities of a sort, to show off our kingdom as a whole, not just military. However, we should not push it for too long, or we risk them setting the terms of our meeting, or, worse, the Galra attacking before there is any sort of external support.” Another pause. “Expect to meet with the Alteans in a month’s time.”

The council murmurs assent.

The King sends a sweeping gaze over them. “This meeting has concluded. You are dismissed.”

Everyone except the King and Queen rise (no doubt they are planning to have further discussions). Lance considers offering to walk Ramira to her room, as a gesture of kindness and maybe to question her further and see if she divulges any details, but he dismisses that idea in favour of turning towards Hunk and gesturing excitedly.

“That was interesting!” he exclaims. “I would never have believed that we would meet with Altea, of all kingdoms, for a treaty. Do you think that trade compromise will be brought up?”

“Are you sure you’re meant to be talking about all this in public?” Hunk asks with amusement, as they walk through an empty hallway (really, a guard should be stationed here, but Lance won’t be the one to snitch). “I hope it will. Although I’m not sure if Altea would agree, they’ve always been stingy about that route. Do you think Altea will have a show of arms?” Hunk is silent for a moment. “Do you think they’ll show us any of their technology? Or do you think they’d be willing to share even a slice of information?”

“I don’t think a show of arms on foreign soil is very proper,” Lance muses, “And aren’t they very secretive about all that stuff?”

When Hunk deflates, he adds, “They would probably willing to show you something in the name of bolstering their reputation. Although I wonder if they will send anyone who’s willing to teach you. Do you think we could visit the stables? I haven’t gone riding in far too long.”

“Let’s go,” Hunk agrees. “Even I can’t return to my studies so soon, ugh. My tutor has been impossibly harsh of late.”

“Don’t even mention tutors,” Lance cries dramatically, throwing his arm over his eyes. “I need fresh air.”

Hunk snorts in amusement, and says , “Let’s hurry before the sun goes down.”

[Continue reading on AO3]