LilacPessimism Writes

Hello! I write Voltron fanfiction and you can find me on AO3 as LilacPessimism! 

[lilacpessimism]

Fic Update!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: A routine practice of survival amidst captivity soon turns to something far more harrowing as Haggar takes interest in a certain, hot-tempered prisoner.

After all, what is a blade if not a weapon?

(And what is a weapon if not something to be honed?)

TW for this chapter: Blood, injury, captivity, violence

Chapter Preview:

On the rare occasions when Shiro talked about the Arena, Keith had never been sure how to picture it. Some days, he imagined something like a Roman amphitheater: tiers upon tiers of onlookers ringing around a flat, open swath of dirt. He pictured the dirt brown, like it would be on Earth, even though it was impractical. Besides his mother, the Galra had never been to Earth, and most of the planets they encountered sported uniquely colored ecosystems, including soils hued in violets and blues, blacks, reds, and yellows. Other days, he thought about how the Arena was on a ship, how the Galra didn’t have a planet of their own. He thought about how unlikely the prospect of dirt would be and instead would picture something like the training room in the Castle, something with reaching walls and smooth floors and onlookers watching from somewhere high and pearly above. But that was impractical too. He knew it from the way Shiro’s face shadowed when he spoke of the Arena, and from the contrasting ease he carried running drills in the training room. He had heard Shiro’s shouts late at night through their shared wall, the dark waking throes of his dreams. On the worst nights, he handed Shiro pouches of water while he breathed heavily into his hands, sweat beading down his neck like he’d just finished a marathon.

[lilacpessimism]

Fic Update!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: A routine practice of survival amidst captivity soon turns to something far more harrowing as Haggar takes interest in a certain, hot-tempered prisoner.

After all, what is a blade if not a weapon?

(And what is a weapon if not something to be honed?)

TW for this chapter: Blood, injury, captivity, violence

Chapter Preview:

On the rare occasions when Shiro talked about the Arena, Keith had never been sure how to picture it. Some days, he imagined something like a Roman amphitheater: tiers upon tiers of onlookers ringing around a flat, open swath of dirt. He pictured the dirt brown, like it would be on Earth, even though it was impractical. Besides his mother, the Galra had never been to Earth, and most of the planets they encountered sported uniquely colored ecosystems, including soils hued in violets and blues, blacks, reds, and yellows. Other days, he thought about how the Arena was on a ship, how the Galra didn’t have a planet of their own. He thought about how unlikely the prospect of dirt would be and instead would picture something like the training room in the Castle, something with reaching walls and smooth floors and onlookers watching from somewhere high and pearly above. But that was impractical too. He knew it from the way Shiro’s face shadowed when he spoke of the Arena, and from the contrasting ease he carried running drills in the training room. He had heard Shiro’s shouts late at night through their shared wall, the dark waking throes of his dreams. On the worst nights, he handed Shiro pouches of water while he breathed heavily into his hands, sweat beading down his neck like he’d just finished a marathon.

[lilacpessimism]

New Fic!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

A new fic?? In the year 2024?? (it's more likely than you'd think!)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: A routine practice of survival amidst captivity soon turns to something far more harrowing as Haggar takes interest in a certain, hot-tempered prisoner.

After all, what is a blade if not a weapon?

(And what is a weapon if not something to be honed?)

TW for this chapter: Blood, injury, captivity, amputation

Chapter Preview:

Once, when he was eight, Keith found a lizard missing both of its back legs. “Something must have tried to eat it,” his dad said when Keith dragged him to the porch to look. They both crouched to consider the reptile: brown as the dirt and pressed belly-flat to the hot, wooden slats of the porch. If it weren’t for the slight twitch of its tail—which had made it, somehow, when its legs had not—it would have passed for dead. “How’d it get here?” Keith asked. He wanted to poke it to see how it moved but knew he’d be reprimanded. He picked at a splinter in the porch instead. “Stubborn probably.” His dad smiled and ruffled his hair. “Looks like the little guy wanted to live.” Keith considered this. “Can we keep him?”

[jinxy-valentine]

Hyperspecific Poll - Writer Edition

Your current WIP is between 60,000-70,000 words

The last time you wrote was Friday morning

Your current project has a character named Frankie, June, or Amira

You have deleted a draft over 100,000 words long and started again from scratch

You exclusively write nonfiction pieces about insects

You have written a ghazal, haiku, villanelle, sonnet, limerick, and an ode

You never use quotation marks when writing dialogue

You have been working on the same writing project for 8+ years

Multiple of these (explain in tags!)

I'm not a writer/none of these

Voting ended onMay 8, 2023

[lilacpessimism]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapter 10 is here! I hope you enjoy!

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: His mother, with her lovely lilac wings, had been in love with the sky. She loved the stars so much that when she left, Keith knew that she had disappeared to dance among them.

His father had been in love with flight. The wind whipping against his cheeks. The speed. The adrenaline. He left before Keith was ready to be alone.

Keith was in love with both. The sky. Flight. But he could never have either. (Or, the Wingfic where, for once, Lance isn’t the wingless one)

TW for this chapter: Brief mentions of blood and injury

Chapter Preview:

Despite Keith’s hopes, however, there was little change the following morning.

When he arrived in the kitchen for the pre-mission meal that had become mandatory after a time when Pidge had forgotten breakfast and fainted during diplomatic talks, Hunk had hardly glanced his way. Though not entirely uncommon—there were days where the Yellow Paladin was slower to smiles as a result of fatigue, or homesickness, or lingering ailment—Hunk’s lack of attention towards him was unusual. Even when he was sick, he typically still offered a small nod in greeting to anyone who walked through the door or a gentle enjoy when he passed them their plate.

Today, though, he handed Keith his breakfast without meeting his eyes, drawing his hand away from the plate the moment Keith touched it—quickly, as though he’d been burned...

[lilacpessimism]

There might be a new chapter of Blackbird coming your way sometime soon! 👀👀👀

[lilacpessimism]

This is gonna be the longest chapter so far! (Should be up tomorrow or Thursday if all goes as planned!)

[lilacpessimism]

There might be a new chapter of Blackbird coming your way sometime soon! 👀👀👀

[lilacpessimism]

Blackbird Ch. 9

It's finally here! Thanks for waiting and being patient! ♥

Beginning / Latest Chapter (9)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: His mother, with her lovely lilac wings, had been in love with the sky. She loved the stars so much that when she left, Keith knew that she had disappeared to dance among them.

His father had been in love with flight. The wind whipping against his cheeks. The speed. The adrenaline. He left before Keith was ready to be alone.

Keith was in love with both. The sky. Flight. But he could never have either. (Or, the Wingfic where, for once, Lance isn’t the wingless one)

TW for this chapter: Mentions of blood and injury, discussion of harmful/derogatory language

Chapter Preview:

Keith let his hand drift from his side and eased himself onto his back. The wound continued to ache but floating lessened the strain. He closed his eyes as the water lapped against his sides and over the tops of his legs. The pool didn’t appear to be treated with any chemicals that they used on Earth, though the water did smell faintly salty, reminding him of the Pacific Ocean and his early attempts at swimming. It had been nothing if not a learning curve, and he smiled at the memory of himself flailing so profusely to keep afloat that his splashing had startled some nearby seagulls, sending them into a bout of flurried feathers and squawking.

If he closed his eyes, he could still see the pale blots of the birds circling high overhead. Could still feel the raw sting of his sunburnt shoulders, taste the salt on his lips. Could still see the water glinting gold in the sunset as the sky bled from blue to red to orange to dark...

[lilacpessimism]

Blackbird Ch. 9

It's finally here! Thanks for waiting and being patient! ♥

Beginning / Latest Chapter (9)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: His mother, with her lovely lilac wings, had been in love with the sky. She loved the stars so much that when she left, Keith knew that she had disappeared to dance among them.

His father had been in love with flight. The wind whipping against his cheeks. The speed. The adrenaline. He left before Keith was ready to be alone.

Keith was in love with both. The sky. Flight. But he could never have either. (Or, the Wingfic where, for once, Lance isn’t the wingless one)

TW for this chapter: Mentions of blood and injury, discussion of harmful/derogatory language

Chapter Preview:

Keith let his hand drift from his side and eased himself onto his back. The wound continued to ache but floating lessened the strain. He closed his eyes as the water lapped against his sides and over the tops of his legs. The pool didn’t appear to be treated with any chemicals that they used on Earth, though the water did smell faintly salty, reminding him of the Pacific Ocean and his early attempts at swimming. It had been nothing if not a learning curve, and he smiled at the memory of himself flailing so profusely to keep afloat that his splashing had startled some nearby seagulls, sending them into a bout of flurried feathers and squawking.

If he closed his eyes, he could still see the pale blots of the birds circling high overhead. Could still feel the raw sting of his sunburnt shoulders, taste the salt on his lips. Could still see the water glinting gold in the sunset as the sky bled from blue to red to orange to dark...

[lilacpessimism]

Update: Blackbird Ch. 8

Thanks for being patient!

Beginning / Latest Chapter (8)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: His mother, with her lovely lilac wings, had been in love with the sky. She loved the stars so much that when she left, Keith knew that she had disappeared to dance among them.

His father had been in love with flight. The wind whipping against his cheeks. The speed. The adrenaline. He left before Keith was ready to be alone.

Keith was in love with both. The sky. Flight. But he could never have either. (Or, the Wingfic where, for once, Lance isn’t the wingless one)

TW for this chapter: Mentions of blood and injury, discussion of harmful/derogatory language 

Chapter Preview:

Hunk considered the vegetables, narrowing his eyes. Soup? He asked. The other day, the chefs on his favorite cooking show, Plated, had demonstrated how to make a beet broth soup. He had never had purple soup before and with some little dollops of sour cream on top… With the beets, he said, I don’t know what else to put on it, but we could fry the squashes into little coins, like chips? For on top.

His mother’s wings ruffled again. Her feathers glinted gold, gilded at every angle. I know just what we need to add.

Half an hour later, their arms laden with paper bags overflowing with soup supplies, they finally made their way out of the grocery store. Hunk was chattering wildly about other ideas for recipes that he’d had, and his wings were splayed wide behind his back, quivering with excitement. Mom, we could make pasta! Ravioli, think of all the things that we could put— He was interrupted as a new voice spoke up.

Excuse me, young man?

[jinxy-valentine]

The Blind Bandit!

[justheretobreakthings]

Okay, we’re starting off Bad Things Happen Bingo with a bit of a throwback to the Voltron Bingo event from back in 2018. Way back then, I got a request from @familyofpaladins for my ‘Taking the Fall for Someone’ square, for Keith taking the fall for Hunk, and then the bingo ended and the prompt has just been sitting there for an eternity. But now, my BTHB card has just the square for me to finally get this prompt filled. Hope it was worth the very, very long wait!

Got Your Back

Written for @badthingshappenbingo Prompt: Taking the Blame Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Word Count: 13,198 Characters: Hunk & Keith AO3 Link Coming Soon

Summary:

While defending the planet of Crelxatain from attacking drones, Hunk causes what he believes to be some minor collateral damage, but what turns out to be much, much worse. And when the Crelxats needed something to blame, Keith steps in to take the fall.

I don’t even drink coffee.

Keep reading

[lilacpessimism]

Update: Blackbird Ch. 7

Finally, at long last, a new chapter!!

Beginning / Latest Chapter (7)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Fic Summary: His mother, with her lovely lilac wings, had been in love with the sky. She loved the stars so much that when she left, Keith knew that she had disappeared to dance among them.

His father had been in love with flight. The wind whipping against his cheeks. The speed. The adrenaline. He left before Keith was ready to be alone.

Keith was in love with both. The sky. Flight. But he could never have either. (Or, the Wingfic where, for once, Lance isn’t the wingless one)

TW for this chapter: Mentions of blood and injury, fever

Chapter Preview:

Left with no other choice, Keith resigned himself to spending the next few days outside. He searched through the garage and found an old picnic blanket, which he laid under the tree with his backpack on top of it. He still had two oranges that he had stolen from the lunch counter at the bottom of his bag, and if he was careful, he could make them stretch for the next few days. His water bottle was half-full as well, and the sprinklers would come on at 6 am. If he needed to, he could refill it then.

The crises of food and water averted, his attention quickly turned to other things. Most prominently, his attention turned to the heat. Though it was September, the day was insufferably hot, and without the reprieve of air conditioning, there was nothing Keith could do about it. Even in the shade, the heat was stifling. It prickled across his skin, drawing sweat to the surface in glistening beads. The back of his neck was damp with the stuff, and it dripped down his spine every time he shifted. More than anything, he longed for a glass of ice-cold water or a long shower, but his water was limited until the sprinklers came on, and he wanted to conserve what he had. He couldn’t shower either, since he didn’t have access to the house, but maybe…

Maybe there was another option...

[lilacpessimism]

Update: Clipped Wings Ch. 12

Sorry for the long wait!

Beginning / Latest Chapter (12)

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Summary: The supply run for the Blade was never supposed to be anything more than a quick in-and-out mission. However, Keith quickly finds himself with more than he bargained for as an alien species known as the “Collectors” take an interest in his half-Galran, half-human heritage.

Lance never expected for anything to happen on his first solo diplomatic mission for the team. Instead, he finds himself facing an impossible choice and the truth of how unfair the universe can truly be.

TW for this chapter: mentions of injury, insomnia, graphic depiction of medical procedures

Chapter Preview:

Helpless.

Keith flinched as the word entered his mind. Helpless. Weak. Reliant on others to stand. To walk. To escape from the mess he had gotten himself into. Broken. Stitched back together with jagged scars and the biting needle of memory. He couldn’t fight. Couldn’t even bring himself to close his eyes and fall asleep.

He couldn’t return to the Blade.

Couldn’t be a paladin.

Couldn’t do anything.

Helpless.

A tear slipped down his cheek, and there was nothing he could bring himself to do to stop it. Another followed, and then a third. His chest ached with a need to scream, but he didn’t want to wake the other paladins (especially Shiro and Lance, with whom he shared walls). He couldn’t wake them.

He shifted to his side, attempting to curl his legs to his chest, and only spurring more tears as the bad one rebelled against him. His left hand brushed against his chest, sending a shiver across his skin as he felt the puckering of the scars beneath his shirt.

Pain. The glinting metal of the ceiling above him. Iron. Wet trails of mucus covering his leg as tentacles wrapped around it. His heart pounding in his chest. Something touching that pounding heart. One blink. Two. Pain. Pain. Pain—

Warmth.

[lilacpessimism]

Update: The Ones Who Walk Away... Ch. 2

Start! / Chapter 2

Rating: Mature

Fandom: Voltron

Summary:

To be happy…

Keith doesn’t know what to expect when he crash lands on the mysterious planet of Crevne.

Certainly not fresh air, fields of flowers, and colorful alien houses.

Not the sound of beautiful music and the scent of delicious food.

Not a race of alien people who never stop smiling, dancing, and laughing, who never stop being happy.

To be happy…

Not a terrible, gut-wrenching secret.

…is to balance pain.

Not the agony that ensues.

(Inspired by Ursula K LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”)

Chapter Preview:

Hunk’s stomach twisted in sympathy. The harsh red rash—so dark that it almost matched the hue of the Red Lion—that Lance and Pidge had found across their chests, arms, and faces earlier that morning had not looked enjoyable. Judging by the way Pidge had itched her elbow so hard it bled and the pained face Lance made every time one of his rashes so much as brushed another object, it probably didn’t feel all that enjoyable either.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky?” he said, nodding to the planet as Yellow began his descent. “Ninth time’s the charm right?”

“Charm?” Repeated Allura. Hunk couldn’t see her face, but he could picture the gears whirring, her eyebrows creasing, as she tried to place the human colloquialism. “I don’t understand. That is a human saying, yes? You are not referring to a piece of jewelry?”

The Yellow Paladin smiled. “Yeah, no, no jewelry.” Allura’s hand squeezed tighter around his shoulder as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. The cabin rattled violently, and Hunk couldn’t help but find himself grateful for the months of piloting that had helped cure his motion sickness.

“It basically just means that we might get lucky this time,” he continued as the shaking abated. “Usually people say it on the third time, but this is the ninth planet we’ve tried today, so hence the ninth. If that makes sense?”

“Yes,” Allura agreed, though the knit of her brows that Hunk saw when he took a moment to glance in her direction told suggested that the saying made about as much sense to the Altean Princess as the concept of Santa Claus or anything Lance said in Spanish. That was to say: not at all.

[lilacpessimism]

New Fic: To Keep Them Safe

For the lovely @bluebeam246

READ HERE!

Rating: Teen and up

Fandom: Voltron

Summary:

She would search the universe

She would stand alone against an army

She would call their name until she could no longer speak

When a simple mission goes awry, Pidge is forced to think about what family means to her, and what she would do for those she loves.

Fic Preview

“Oh, no, yeah for sure,” Lance agreed, his voice crackling as his pitch fluctuated. “I’m just saying. Juuust in case something happens—”

“Don’t think I can defend myself?” Pidge cut in, arching an eyebrow even though Lance couldn’t see it.

“Woah there, Pidgeon, don’t put words in my mouth.”

“She doesn’t have to.” Keith’s voice cut in before she could respond, and she swore that she almost caught a smile as he glanced her way while he spoke. “We’re here,” he continued bluntly before Lance could reply. “Let’s go.”

Pidge felt a smile of her own creep across her face as Red Paladin rose from the cockpit, beckoning her once before departing down his lion’s ramp. She followed, Lance’s indignant sputtering harmonizing with her footsteps.

“There should be nothing,” Hunk repeated, too late to mediate. “Intel should be in the control room, it’s a straight shot,” his voice lowered and took on an iron edge. “You’ll find him, Pidge.”

“Thanks,” she whispered softly, trying (and failing) to ignore the pang in her chest and the look Keith sent in her direction. She shook her head before he could speak. “Lead the way.”

He nodded, and she was thankful that he didn’t prod further.

If there was one thing she could count on about Keith, it was that he wouldn’t push.

[icypantherwrites]

Icy’s 30 Days of Thanks Day #15: In- Progress Fics

It’s important to show appreciation for all things both big and small. As part of the giving season for the month of November I wanted to extend some shoutouts to 30 fanfictions that I’ve read and loved ♥

I would like to thank them for the joy they’ve brought me, the laughs, the tears, the curses, the stomach curdles, the winces, the flinches, the “yessss,” the squeaks, the squeals, the arm flailing and of course the time, effort and love they have given these stories and for sharing them with us all.

All shoutouts are tagged as Icy30DaysofThanks (cough, if Tumblr would be so kind to actually work >>) for you to peruse. Please be sure to give these authors the love and thanks they deserve with a comment, a follow, a rec, a reblog… thank you ♥

Day #15

And now we’re halfway through this thing and so I’d like to give a shoutout to the fics I follow that aren’t finished (might not be halfway yet either) but I greatly enjoy them all (and am just as eagerly as all of you waiting for the next update).

Blue Lips, Pink Oceans by @pokimoko

Summary: During a mission on a pink ocean planet, Lance gets separated from the other Paladins and experiences a serious head injury at the hands of an unseen monster. Days later, he awakes in a pod, healed up from his recent incident. The others think he’s okay, despite the fresh scars that litter his body and the absent-minded looks that flicker across his face when his sentences go unfinished.

Lance is not as okay as they think.

Time Heals Some Wounds by @tresspaceace

Summary: “An emergency healing?” Lance felt a fresh wave of anxiety wash over and settle on top of his already mounting fears. There was no way he could perform the level of healing any emergency would call for. Not so soon after a healing session like the one he’d just had. “But I…” he smothered the protest at a withering look from Iverson.

“Do I need to do it myself?” Iverson asked meaningfully, pressing a finger to an intricate, twisting tattoo on the back of his left hand. Lance felt an answering twist in his gut at the gesture, his breath gone from his lungs. He clenched his own gloved left hand hard enough to bruise.Then shook his head mutely.

Iverson returned his right hand to his side. “Good.” He said, satisfied. And Lance set to work.

Or// An AU where Lance is a healer enslaved by the state for past crimes against humanity and under the care of Iverson. Then enter the Paladins, who formed Voltron without him.

Clipped Wings by @lilacpessimism

Summary: The supply run for the Blade was never supposed to be anything more than a quick in-and-out mission. However, Keith quickly finds himself with more than he bargained for as an alien species known as the “Collectors” take an interest in his half-Galran, half-human heritage.

Lance never expected for anything to happen on his first solo diplomatic mission for the team. Instead, he finds himself facing an impossible choice and the truth of how unfair the universe can truly be.

After the Bombs Subside by Evilkitten3 

(this is a BNHA fic, not VLD, but so so good. And dark. Prequel is finished but this one is all the comfort I crave ♥)

Summary:  Losing a classmate is hard. Finding out that he’s still alive is harder. Dealing with what’s left might be damn near impossible. 

Flicker by @discordiansamba

Summary: Keith Kogane has always known that his luck was bad. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that. But getting mixed up in an alien invasion? Yeah, that was a little worse than he’d anticipated.

(or, Keith never becomes a paladin and is around for Sendak’s invasion of Earth)

[lilacpessimism]

♥ ♥ ♥

Oh! Thank you so much, this made my day!

(You guys, Icypanther is one of the best writers in the Voltron Fandom, and if you aren’t following her already/haven’t read any of her fics, I implore you to do so. She’s amazing at writing characters and her stories are very well thought out. She mainly writes for Lance, but the others make major appearances in most fics, and many of her more-recent fics have focused on others. Please go check her out!)

♥ ♥ ♥