#vld horror bang

[bluemantics]

Transcript quotes from a VLD ghost hunting au (in the style of The Office)

(Interviews)

Hunk: Keith and Lance decided to go ghost hunting last year. Keith wanted to find ghosts, but Lance just thought Keith was hot and was willing to follow him to shady places.

Lance: any place is a makeout spot if you have enough determination.

(show)

Keith: I’m taking out the EMF reader.

Lance: HA, an Emo Mother Fucker reader.

Keith: ….

(interviews)

Keith: Sometimes I feel like Lance doesn’t take this seriously.

(show)

Lance: Do you think if I start banging these pans together a ghost will yell at me to stop? loudly hits pans together

(Interviews)

Keith: I’m starting to think he doesn’t believe.

(interviews)

Lance: Oh, yeah. I never believed in ghosts. The things you do for hot men… unspeakable.

(show)

Keith: Ms. Petunia, if you can hear me, turn the flashlight on and off.

Lance: I could turn YOU on!

Keith: Sorry, what?

Lance: Uh, I was talking to the light

(interviews)

Lance: I was not talking to the light.

(show)

Keith: it looks like the ghosts aren’t active tonight.

Lance: DARN, guess we’ll have to go for dinner and a movie! What a shame.

Keith: I guess we can. Do you want to see the new horror film that we watched the trailer for?

Lance: …sure.

(interviews)

Lance: I hate horror.

(interviews)

Keith:

He hates horror, but if he wants to get in my pants that badly, he’ll have to endure “Blood on Shore 3” first.

*Someone speaks off camera*

Keith: Yeah, I know it’s a date. I just like fucking with Lance. I’ll kiss him at the end, he’s earned it.

(Later interviews)

Lance: my subtle plan worked!

[zenthisoror]

@fenfyre

1/3/2018 Part 1 of VLD Horror Bang Art for ‘A Different Breed’ by @fenfyre.

Part 2. Part 3. Part 4

[communikateee]

My piece for @vldhorrorbang​​, and I am so so so lucky to have been able work with the amazing @lyrikin​! Please check out the amazing art she made for the piece {{{HERE}}}!!!

Chapters: 1/5 Rating: Mature Warnings: Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Gen fic with Pidge POV Tags: POV Pidge | Katie Holt, Horror, Psychological Horror, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Violence, Blood and Gore, Blood, Needles, Ghosts, Drowning, Near Death Experiences, Paranoia, Angst, betrayal at house on the hill - Freeform, Betrayal Words: 5,767 Summary:

It was routine: their weekly game night to play whatever new game Pidge managed to get her hands on. Simple. Easy. Normal.

But tonight was not normal, not even close. They woke in an old house on a hill with flashlights as their only means of light, dressed like the game’s characters and clutching to each other for support.

And their only means of escape? Explore the haunted house that threatened to kill them at every turn, attacking them through every opened door. Bloodied, tortured, and tormented them. But they had each other, at least until the game took that away too.

Because the ninth circle of hell is reserved for betrayers.

Excerpt:

“Pidge,” Shiro’s voice was firm, as he glanced around the room. Allura traced Shiro’s gaze with the flashlight, illuminating spiderwebs and rodents that scurried away from direct light. Lance was already at the window, analyzing their surroundings.

He was straining to see when a flash of lightning shook the house and showed where they were. Pidge ran to his side, feeling the brush of his skirts against her bare legs. They were at the top of a hill surrounded by barren trees and fog that consumed any other distinguishable characteristics of the area.

Keith pulled at the handle of the large oak doors. They didn’t budge, and before anyone could convince him otherwise, he jumped back and took a running start into the door. He stumbled back with a hiss, gripping his shoulder.

“We’re locked in,” Keith announced. And another flash of lightning showed the gentle slope of land leading to the house.

They were on a house on a hill.

Pidge rotated on the ball of her foot to look each member in the eye. If this was the game, how would they win? And who would betray them?

“So what do we do now?” Shiro asked, looking directly at Pidge. She glanced down the entrance way, looking at the old stairs and the way boards were broken in the middle and the termites that crawled along the banister.

“We play the game,” Pidge whispered, looking at the door directly behind Allura and Shiro.

[gabriel-the-cryptid]

February 26th, 2018

What’s happening that day??

My contribution to Event Horizons: A VLD Horror Bang will be premiering! I’ve been working on this precious child of mine for six months, and I can’t wait to finally share it with all of you! Just in time, with it being near Shiro’s birthday!

So yes! Despite being incredibly excited to post my fic already, I will be beginning to share chapters next Monday!

[nightpeltofthunderclan]

My little preview of my fic for @vldhorrorbang 

Dead To Me

Rating: Explicit

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Pairings: previously mentioned Shance, Kuro/Lance

Summary:  Lance and Shiro had been happily dating for years now, soon to be married in fact. The night before the wedding should have been the happiest night of Lance’s life, but when Shiro came home something was..different. It soon became apparent that this was no longer the man he loved, in his place was a monster in his lover’s mask, an entity named Kuro who reveled in the pain of others.

Tags/Warnings(more to be added on the finished fic): intense violence/gore, psychological torture, noncon body modification, torture, abuse, sexual content, noncon, psychological horror, omorashi, Kuro/Lance, Brief Shiro/Lance past relationship, Major Character death

Excerpt:  A frown tugged at his lips as he sat at a bus stop, listening to Hunk’s voicemail for the umpteenth time that night. It was odd that there was no answer, moreso with all the missed calls he had gotten from the big guy. Then again...nobody stopped by to ask about me... He shook off the thought and stood, stretching and breathing in the crisp night air. He could figure that out later, after he called the police….which admittedly he should have done first thing. With a palm to his forehead he dialed the number. “911, what’s your emergency?” “I need to report a kidnapping and a murder..” He trailed off as headlights flashed down the street. “What is your name?” “Uh..Lance-oh shit no..” The car got close enough for him to recognize it as Shiro’s, which probably meant Kuro had found him. “Fuck fuck fuck, look check the basement of 3420 Sycamore, I-I gotta go.” “Sir please stay on the line, and off-” Lance hung up and took off running, cursing the lack of places to hide as the man sped forward in the vehicle and swerved in front of the panicked man. Kuro stepped out and caught Lance, who had tripped and skidded to a halt. “You’ve been naughty Lance.” Cold fury radiated off him and trembles racked Lance. “Pl-please Kuro let me go! I promise I won’t tell anyone, or..or I just I want-” He shrieked as Kuro lifted him over his shoulder. “NO! LET ME GO!!” He writhed and screamed, and as hope flared at the lights in nearby houses flicking on it was easily squashed as Kuro opened the trunk. “Can’t have anyone distracting the driver sweetheart.” As Lance was shoved unceremoniously into the trunk he gagged at the smell of rotting, and shied away from a dark patch on the carpet. “Please...please don’t leave me in here! Please Kuro!” He reached out to clutch at the edge, only for Kuro to slam the trunk down on his fingers. Lance shrieked as he heard a sick crack and felt warm blood spurt down his palms. Kuro quickly opened the trunk, leering at him. “Please keep your hands inside the ride at all times.” The bleeding man cradled his hand to his chest, biting his lip and tasting blood as tears flowed freely. With a last jaunty wave, and the sound of distant sirens, Kuro left him in darkness as blood soaked his shirt. He was sure he had seen a gleam of white when light was shining in, but now he hoped it had been his imagination. Lance wasn’t aware he had fallen asleep, or maybe passed out from blood loss, but he was dizzy and his limbs felt heavy. He could tell the car had stopped, but it was still dark. Panic flooded through him. Maybe Kuro had ditched the car. Maybe he would be left to suffocate and bleed out. He tried to control his breathing as claustrophobia set in, but it wasn’t enough. It felt like every breath made the space smaller, tighter, and it seemed to send more throbs through his fingers. He tried to move the injured ones, but muffled a sound of pain as the stiff joints seemed to click together wrong. Wrong, he scoffed. Everything about this is wrong. He slid his eyes shut, not that it made much difference, and hugged himself. “I don’t wanna die….I-I want my mama…” He thought about his family, how they would feel...how they must be feeling right now. Maybe they didn’t know, were expecting him to visit after his honeymoon. His breaths stuttered as he cursed. It wasn’t supposed to be like this! When the trunk opened and Kuro stared at him, dawn barely breaking behind him and the wooded area they seemed to be in, he almost leapt up to hug the human being. Almost. He took gulping breaths as he sat up and allowed the other to lift him up, too tired to protest anymore. “You really broke my heart Lance, we were bonding and you left me...you’ve been bad, and you need a punishment. Only fitting, don’t you think kitten?” He merely nodded as Kuro spoke, unable to find the strength to make a biting remark. “But I’ll let you rest first. I want you able to feel it.” Fear spiked through him as darkness descended and he let out a final whimper. Once Lance came to again, tape over his mouth, he was bound in a chair again and a heavy bandage was on his right hand-no. Not hand. A stump where his hand was. His blood ran cold and he bit his lip and flinched when a cluck came from a corner. He slowly looked, tears burning his eyes as the man wearing his lover grinned down at him, the white forelock that Lance had adored stained red. Kuro held a scalpel in his hand as he straddled the bound man, tilting his head. “You’re very beautiful Lance, but I’m sure there’s something I can do to improve your obedience. You were very bad, running away like that.” For some reason Lance felt his captor was glad to have an excuse to hurt him more. A whimper broke free as the cold metal scraped gently along his jaw, like a lover’s touch. “One blink for yes, two for no. Should I….cut out your tongue?” Two blinks. “No? Well...how bout I,” Kuro purred as he dragged the scalpel down to follow the artery in Lance’s throat. “Sever your vocal cords?” Two blinks, followed by tears sliding down his cheeks. “Well what should I do Lance? You tried to leave me! I am protecting you!!” His voice rose and the trembling man flinched as Kuro pushed away, glaring heatedly. “The world would destroy you!! Why can’t you see I’m keePING YOU SAFE?!” Kuro’s prosthetic hand curled around Lance’s throat as he sobbed, squeezing lightly as his voice dropped to a chilling whisper. “I could squeeze the life out of you right now...feel the breath leave your body...It would..” The large man shivered and grinned. “Be an absolute pleasure, don’t you agree love? In fact, I think we should have some fun.” Lance’s eyes widened as his muffled protests echoed in the dank basement.

[squirenonny]

Happy Friday the 13th, everybody! In honor of this spooky day, the folks over at @vldhorrorbang have decided to do a preview day! So enjoy this snippet from my bang fic!

(Don’t) Stop Running Rating: T Ships: Gen, with the focus on Hunk & Pidge Summary: While investigating a rift in spacetime, Pidge and Hunk get stuck in the void between realities, where deadly spores and a glimpse of their own deaths are the least of their worries. Because even if they find their way home, the rift may not let them go. Warnings for this excerpt: death of alternate reality versions of major characters; brief, non-graphic panic attack

Preview below the cut!

A hand closes around Pidge’s ankle as the physical world ceases to be. All is light and motion, her eyes flickering through a thousand fractured scenes before they adjust to the omnipresent glow of--

The rift.

It hits her as the spores evaporate. Without them, without the ground beneath her, the hand on her ankle is the only thing tying her to her body. She’s in a vast open space, falling—floating? She can’t tell which direction is up, whether there are any physical structures in this space or just the swirling golden clouds.

She thinks they’re clouds. They’re insubstantial, though they glow with an intense light that reminds Pidge of refined Quintessence. Is that what this place is? Pure Quintessence, so dense it gathers in streams that churn around her like schools of fish in a vast, empty sea?

“Oh my god,” Hunk whispers. A second hand joins the first on Pidge’s foot, reminding her of what just happened. She twists, trying to look down (up?) at Hunk. They drift, weightless, the jagged scar of the rift visible some distance beyond Hunk, so dark against the golden glow it looks almost black.

“What the fuck?” Pidge whispers. “What the fuck?”

Hunk turns a slow circle, his hands clinging to Pidge’s leg. “Are we—? Did we just--?” Hunk’s eyes widen, and he twists so fast he momentarily lets go of Pidge, who yelps and flails and just manages to catch hold of his arm before they’re separated.

“Don’t let go of me, Hunk!” she cries. “If we get separated in here, we’re dead.”

Poor choice of words.

Hunk’s face goes ashen, he yanks her toward him so hard their helmets smack together, leaving Pidge dizzy and disoriented. The clouds around them grow more agitated at the disturbance, a few spores venturing out toward them.

Hunk squeaks, firing his jetpack, and they shoot deeper into the void, past yellow vapor and clusters of violet spores that perk up at their approach. Pidge loses track of herself, and of the dark spot in the sky that marks their way home.

“Hunk!” she cries, clinging to him as he pushes them faster. The edges of Pidge’s vision go white, and all she catches are flashes of gold and violet and stars. Alien planets flash before her, and the castle-ship, and Green—only it’s not Green. It looks like her, but where there should be a familiar presence, warm like sunlight on leaves, there’s only darkness and decay.

They speed on, and more unsettling visions appear in the clouds. She sees herself, awash in the frosty glow of a computer screen. She sees her team, older than she remembers them, dressed in battered armor but laughing as they celebrate a victory. She sees her mother wielding a Galra rifle, her face a mask of fury. She sees--

“Dad?”

The word tumbles out of her, and she twists in Hunk’s hold, screaming words she can’t hear. She doesn’t know what she’s saying, except that they have to go back. They have to find him.

They stop.

Pidge slams into Hunk, grunting as his shoulder digs into her stomach.

Hunk is rigid, his eyes fixed on something up ahead, something that makes his hands shake and his breath come in uneven spurts. He gags, twists, and Pidge sees them.

Corpses.

There, glassy-eyed and coated in too-bright blood, are three corpses. She sees Hunk first, so peaceful she might have thought he was asleep if not for the hole through his chest. Beside him is Pidge, a scream frozen on her face, her gloves burned away and her palms black with char.

A spike of fear burrows into Pidge’s skin and she turns away. She doesn’t want to see that. She doesn’t want to see who else died.

“It’s another reality,” she whispers. Hunk lets go of Pidge with one hand to claw at his helmet as he retches again, his hand shaking so bad he’s having trouble with the catch.

Pidge pries his hand away from his helmet. “No! Hunk, stop!”

“I can’t,” he gasps. “I can’t, Pidge, I—I have to—That was us. Oh my god, that was us. We were dead and that was us and we’re dead, Pidge, we’re--”

“Stop,” she growls. “Hunk, listen to me. You can’t take off your helmet here; we’re surrounded by pure Quintessence. You remember Coran’s story about Zarkon and Honerva?”

Hunk freezes, his eyes finding her face. “You mean we’re turning into space zombies?”

“Not if you stay calm and work with me. Our suits will protect us, Hunk, but we’ve got to find our way back to the rift.” She has no idea if that’s possible, or if their armor provides any protection at all. But Hunk is listening to her; listening and breathing more steadily than he has since the spores first attacked. “Okay,” she says, pointing toward a patch of vapor that seems thinner than the rest. “We came that way, so that’s the way we have to go. You with me, Hunk?”

“Uh...” His eyes drift to the side, and he starts to turn back toward the vision of their dead bodies.

Pidge grabs his helmet. “Don’t,” she says. He stares at her, wide-eyed. “Alternate realities, Hunk. It’s better not to know.”

He nods, drawing in a shuddering breath. “Okay.”

They turn themselves around, maneuvering with their jet packs, lock eyes, and set off. As they do, Pidge notices a stream of gold keeping pace. Curious, she lifts her hand.

Her glove is torn, a long, shallow cut on her palm bleeding red. Icy Quintessence streams into the wound, and Pidge gasps.

Hunk turns. Pidge hides her hand behind her back. “Alternate realities,” she says brightly. “Nothing to worry about.”

Only when he turns away does Pidge risk a second glance at her hand. The wound is gone, the skin pink and unbroken. Quintessence clings to her like a second skin, glowing softly.

Well that can’t be good.

[mikiri]

Preview!

Hey, so I’m writing for the @vldhorrorbang! Which is wonderfully awful. so:

Title: The Nightmare Once Past Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender Tags: Gen, Major character death, gore, torture, everyone dies, no happy ending, psychological horror, body horror, Allura centric, clone shiro theory, Kuron the third, misuse of balmera crystal, literally everyone and everything dies Summary:  How could everything have gone so wrong, she was only supposed to be in the pod a few hours, a day or two at most. It had been over 200 years and now she needed to discover what had happened in her absence. The dead only tell tales in their own memories.

This is very dark so under the cut.

Allura felt her breathing stop. That couldn’t be Pidge, not her Green Paladin. Pidge was alive, she couldn’t be a slumped over skeleton. Had she awoken into some terrible alternate universe? Had they found some strange portal to another place? There was no way one of her paladins had died while she had slept. There was no way, they had all gotten so good at combat, there was no way Pidge was dead.

Allura darted forward, carefully not disturbing the skeleton slumped onto the console. She had to know, how long had she been asleep? It could have only been a few days, that’s what the pod should have been set to. She stared in horror when the date appeared, 242 years had passed. Two hundred and forty-two years since she had last been awake. She had to know what had happened while she had been asleep. There was a faint, blinking warning in the corner that she ignored as she turned off the screen.

She carefully removed herself from the console, leaving Pidge’s skeleton undisturbed. She headed to the bridge with a sense of purpose, she needed to see the records of what had happened 242 years ago to result in the death of her paladin. As she marched toward the lift she saw something that made her chest hurt even more. She had first noticed the bayard, the paint slightly corroded by blood and time, but still noticeably yellow. A few feet away was a yellow helmet, dented on one side and spattered in blood.

Allura braced herself as she move forward, trying to prepare herself for the image of Hunk’s remains. But no matter how prepared she thought she was, it was not enough. Her heart ached in pain as she stared, the top half of his skull was gone and there were bone shards scattered that she assumed were his right arm and leg. She felt tears gather in her eyes, the pain he must have felt would have been horrendous. She took several steadying breaths, she had a purpose, she needed to know what happened and falling apart here would only invalidate the effort she could plainly see had been put into hiding and protecting her.

She was tired of people dying for her.

[eledritch]

vld horror bang!

hey, SO, i know we’re all excited for voltron nsfw week but there’s another exciting fandom-made event comin’ up that you should all check out - the VLD Horror Bang!

if you liked THIHV and its genre full of vampires, witches, shapeshifters, dark magic, and things that go bump in the night, why not check it out and collaborate with a writer or artist to make your own supernatural/urban fantasy fic? or, if you’re more into crime/mystery, go for that! or try your hand at a psychological thriller, or maybe a little sci-fi, or maybe a good ol’ zombie apocalypse AU; the possibilities are ENDLESS! to learn more you can go here and if you have additional questions feel free to ask their main blog! 

please boost this to get the word out, this is such a cool event!

[fenfyre]

A Different Breed - Part XX

Part I    Part XIX

There’s a distant, familiar hissing sound and the first conscious breath Lance takes is warm and humid, soothing the lingering burn in his lungs. A voice might say his name but he can’t be sure, his senses still dull and fuzzy as he slowly journeys back to wakefulness. Broad, warm hands cup his cheeks and the voice returns. It sounds soothing even though Lance still can’t make out the words. He lets himself drift a while longer in the pleasant warmth, the safe feeling of someone being there to watch over him lulling him in. The corners of his lips twitch upward. Maybe it’s his boyfriend here to fret over him, maybe it’s… Lance twitches awake with a pained gasp as the memories crash over him. Memories of Tiye and Keith acting strange, of his boyfriend turning into something monstrous and otherworldly to hunt him down, of the ruins and the explosion and… “Keith!”, he chokes out, arms flailing and hitting something soft but unyielding right when his eyes fly open.

Hunk.

His best friend stares at him with deep concern, arms reaching out to steady Lance’s trembling, weak body. “Hey, buddy. It’s okay, it’s all gonna be…”, he tries with a calm, steady voice. But the reassuring smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. There’s too much … guilt in them. Guilt and fear. “What, ah … Hunk, what … what happened, where’s … where’s Keith, what…” “Take a breath, alright? Let’s just … let’s just breathe for minute.” Strong hands grab his shoulders and Lance instinctively reaches up to grab Hunk’s forearms, letting his friend try and calm the bubbling panic rising up once more. He sucks in a deep breath when Hunk does, earning a slow, approving nod as he lets it out through his mouth. “Just like that, we’re gonna be fine. C’mon breathe with me.” It sounds a little bit like Hunk is trying to calm himself as much as he’s trying to calm Lance but after a few breaths Lance actually does feel a little better, even though the fear is still lurking in the back of his mind, has only been pushed away for the moment. Not on his way into a panic attack anymore Lance notices Pidge, Allura and Coran behind Hunk. A little further away there’s Shiro, arms crossed and shoulders hunched up defensively. A tight smile flickers across his face when his eyes meet Lance’s but it’s gone again just as quickly, gaze shifting away. Allura steps forward when Hunk steadies him enough that he can slowly step out of the pod. His legs feel weak and he’s grateful for the help, not above accepting Hunk’s arm wrapping around his waist to keep him from swaying. “How are you feeling, Lance?”, Allura asks with a smile but her voice is tight as she regards him. “Any lingering pains? Soreness?” He shakes his head before he can even think about the question. “No, I’m - oof!” The breath is forced out of his lungs when Pidge barrels into his chest, slim but surprisingly strong arms wrapping around him and squeezing tight. “Hey, what…” “Shut up!”, she snaps but her voice sounds suspiciously wet and trembles a little as she hides her face against his chest. “We thought … we thought you wouldn’t make it. We thought you’d…” She doesn’t finish the sentence and Lance can feel his stomach pull tight at the words, the shaky desperation in her voice. He wraps an arm around her slim shoulders, pulls her as close as he can and watches Hunk pat her tousled hair affectionately. “Wouldn’t make it? Come on, I’m Lancey-Lance. You didn’t think you’d get rid of me, did you?” The joke doesn’t feel as lighthearted as he wants it to but it’s the best he can manage right now. At least an attempt was made, even if it only gets him a shaky punch to the shoulder before she begins to sniffle and hugs him tight again. “Hey, it’s okay”, he soothes and feels the simmering panic recline even further as he gets to take care of someone else, he sways her carefully, left to right. “I’m here. I’m good.” After a few quiet moments she gives a nod but doesn’t let go. Lance hugs her even tighter. “You’ve been in a coma for the last fifteen quintants”, Allura explains, her hands clasped tightly in front of her body. “We tried to awaken you from stasis several times but … you weren’t ready.��� For a long moment Lance just looks at her. Fifteen quintants. Holy shit. The longest they’d ever put one of them into a pod for healing had been about six quintants and that had been… Lance swallows. Now that he’s more awake a fear of even asking the question again makes his insides clench painfully. But he needs to know, he needs certainty. “Where is…”, his voice breaks pathetically halfways through the question but Allura seems to know what he’s asking, gives a slow nod. “We were able to extract Keith as well. He’s aboard the ship.” A tide of emotion rises up at her words, makes Lance’s insides prickle and floods his veins with icy heat. Keith is alive. He’s here, somewhere. They were able to save him. But it’s not just relief that fills him up at the thought. There’s still a flighty, panicked little thing quivering in his chest. It adds guilt into the whirling mix of confusion. “Though”, Allura continues carefully, “we had to put him in cryostasis.” The pang of relief he feels at those words only makes the guilt worse. If they couldn’t even start healing him in the time Lance spent in his pod there’s a good chance they might not … no. No, he can’t think of that. Pessimism never helped them before and it looks like his team needs some cheering up. He can’t falter as long as they do. But he still needs to know. He needs to… “Can I see him?” Allura and Coran exchange a long, meaningful look and at the end Coran sighs quietly, gives a minute shake of his head. “I would not exactly advise it but … it would be cruel to deny you so yes, of course you can see him. Let me just run a few tests on you first? We want to make sure you really are healed up and ready.” Because that worked so well last time, Lance doesn’t say. Instead he swallows the bitter sarcasm and nods once before he starts peeling away from Pidge and Hunk. “Come on”, he smiles when Pidge doesn’t budge. “You wanna know I’m fine? Let the man work…” When she finally lets go of him her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy. He pretends not to notice.

Part XXI

[If you enjoy this story consider buying me a coffee or check out how to commission me!]

[commodorecliche]

After Shiro goes missing on the Kerberos mission, Keith is left with nothing more than a shack, his thoughts, and a wide, desolate desert to keep him company. And every day that Shiro is gone, hope for his safe return begins to dwindle. But when Shiro suddenly reappears in the middle of the night - somewhat different than Keith remembers him - Keith begins to question what's real, what isn't, and what kind of person he truly is. With his grip on reality loosening, and control over his actions dwindling in the presence of this stranger that's returned to him, Keith must come to terms with the darkest parts of the universe and himself.

Here’s my fic for the @sheithbigbang ! This is a horror/thriller canon-divergent fic. Please make sure you read my tags! 

I was paired with the amazing @her-paintstrokes - please, please go check out the gorgeous art she did for my fic. Thank you again, for your patience and your wonderful work.  

link to art || link to fic

[breadpoetsociety]

im ascending @yuisaki-drabbles​

post the most recent thing you’ve written, and tag someone else!

“When Lance opened his eyes again, he knew he was dreaming.”

vagueness is my specialty. im finna tag my homie @andriseup​ ♥

[cabbagebender]

[header reposted from this post by @ao3commentoftheday​, with permission]

The following excerpt is from an April Fool’s Day VLD fic I started last March, and am considering finishing up for this April 1st.

The context: Team Voltron is spending a week of vacation at Shiro’s cousin’s very nice mountain lodge house. They have one conference meeting that happens to fall on April 1st, but other than that, they have the week off.

“I was up early,” Pidge said, “so I set up the dining room as a conference space.”

“What does that mean?” Lance asked. 

“Like I tested the equipment and set out stuff to take notes.”

“That's old-school of you,” Shiro said.

“What can I say, even I get nostalgic sometimes.” 

Shiro laughed as he walked into the dining room. “Oh.”

Each seat had a sheet of colored construction paper and a blunt crayon in front of it. 

Hunk chuckled. “Nice one.”

Pidge glowed with pride.

Allura sat down in her chair and picked up the crayon with some interest. 

“What is this?”

“It's–” Keith began, but Pidge grabbed his arm, gesturing at him to shush. Keith frowned at her, but didn't keep talking.

Romelle picked hers up as well and inspected the label. “It says it's a… cray-on.”

“Whatever that is.” Allura turned around to the others. “Are you not going to tell us?”

“I like seeing you figure it out,” Pidge said. 

Alura sighed and returned to examining the crayon. 

“Oh, there – look,” she said after a moment, leaning towards Romelle. “It says Wild Strawberry. That's an Earth fruit. What does yours say?” 

Romelle turned the crayon. “Cotton Candy.”

“Flavors?” Allura suggested.

“Maybe they're like those candy canes,* Romelle said. 

“Oh, no,” Hunk muttered.

“The packaging does look similar,” Allura took the edge of the paper wrapping and pulled it down.

“Wait, Allura, no–” Pidge cried out, but it was too late – Allura had already stuck the crayon in her mouth and taken a tentative bite. Romelle immediately followed suit.

“Hoooly quiznack,” Lance said.

“It's chewy,” Allura said, Then she made a face. “That doesn't taste like strawberry at all.”

“I like it,” Romelle announced, taking another bite. 

Hunk looked like he was going to be sick. “Guys, that's not food.”

Romelle looked up, the stick in her mouth. 

“It's not?”

“No! It's a writing utensil! It's made of wax!”

Allura grabbed a tissue from the center of the table and discretely spat out the bite she'd already taken. “That would explain why it tastes so strange.”

“Like you can talk,” Keith said. “You drink nunville.”

“Is it dangerous?” Romelle asked, her eyebrows flying up. 

“Well…” Pidge blinked. “I mean… probably not… they have to make it non toxic for kids.”

“So… if I had more, it wouldn't hurt me.”

“Don't eat more!” Keith exclaimed, and all the other humans chimed in to agree with him. Shiro sank into the chair at the head of the table, looking faint – and a loud raspberry noise ripped through the room.

The conversation halted. Everyone turned to look at Shiro.

 “That wasn't me,” Shiro said quickly. 

Hunk sniggered. “You sure?”

Shiro reached under his seat and pulled out a deflated whoopee cushion. “Alright, very funny, who left this here?”

The other paladins glanced at each other. 

“Wasn't me,” Pidge said. 

“Yeah, me neither,” Hunk seconded.

“Or me,” Keith added.

“I don't even know what that is,” Allura said, and Romelle nodded along. 

Shiro turned to look at Lance.

“Uh,” Lance said. “I… I thought Keith was gonna sit there.”

Keith shot him a glare. 

“Oh, really?” Shiro said. 

Lance laughed nervously. “Uh–”

Shiro's mouth twitched into a smile, and Lance relaxed a little.

Which meant that, when Shiro jumped out of his chair, grabbed Lance, and threw him over his shoulder, Lance was too slow to react. 

"Hey! Put me down!"

Shiro turned around and walked out of the dining room.

“Shiro, think about what you're doing!” Lance yelled, kicking futilely. 

Shiro remained impassive, walking through the living room.

“Wait,” Pidge said. “Are we going where I think we're going?”

Shiro grinned.

“Wait, where do you think we're going?” Lance demanded. 

A second later, Allura caught on and laughed. “Oh, you can't be serious.”

“What?” Lance pressed.

"Can someone get the door? Shiro asked.

Pidge hopped ahead and slid open the glass door to the outdoor pool.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no–” Lance said, and then Shiro dropped him in the water. 

Lance went under with a splash and emerged gasping.

“I can't swim!” Lance yelled. 

Shiro's expression morphed from triumph to horror. “You said you grew up on the beach!”

“Yeah, but I–” Lance flailed vaguely in the direction of the pool wall. He seemed to be barely managing to keep his head above the water. “We just – splashed around in the shallow part!!! We didn't–” 

“Wait, hang on,” Shiro said, frowning. “But – you and Hunk–”

But he didn't get to finish. Keith dove onto his stomach at the edge of the pool, stretching his arm out as far as he could. “Grab my hand!”

Lance beat at the water like an oar and managed to propel himself a few inches in Keith's direction. He reached out – after a few slippery tries, his hand clasped Keith's. 

“Thanks,” Lance breathed. Then he grinned. “Wow, you have a terrible memory.”

“Huh?” Keith asked, and then Lance dove under the surface, yanking down on Keith's arm. Keith yelped and tried to grab at the side of the pool, but in vain – he went tumbling face first into the water. Lance shot back up like a dolphin and gave a triumphant whoop before settling down into a lazy backstroke, circling Keith's point of entry. A second later, Keith came up spluttering and looking ready for murder. 

“You–” he seethed. 

“I can't believe you don't remember the upside down pool,” Lance said. “Why would I be going swimming if I couldn't swim? How could I have survived the whole mermaid planet with Hunk if I couldn't swim!?!?”

“Oh, man,” Hunk called out, laughing. *Keith, I can't believe you fell for that. Lance? Not know how to swim? That's a good one. He's basically a duck.”

“Excuse me,” Lance said, “I'm a swan.”

“Yeah, cause swans are assholes,” Pidge mumbled. 

“I was worried!” Keith exclaimed in high-pitched indignation.

“Aww, you really do ca–”

A deluge of water crashed against Lance's face. 

“Seriously, what was that for!?”

“Well, I was trying to get Shiro back,” Lance said, “but I wasn't going to pass this up.” 

He splashed Keith back.

“Awwww yeah, splash party!” Hunk cried. “I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get my swimsuit–”

But he'd barely made it a few steps towards the door before another huge splashing sound occurred, followed by quick footsteps coming directly towards him. Hunk turned back around to see what the matter was. He had a fraction of a second to process Keith running at him, water droplets flying into the air behind him, and then something kicked Hunk's legs and he went down. A cold wetness sank through his shirt from all sides as he hit the wet floor and Keith climbed on top of him.

Hunk groaned up at the sopping wet person lying on his chest.

“Why?”

“You laughed at me,” Keith said simply.

Hunk sighed. Then he pushed Keith off easily, sat up, and pulled his shirt off, followed by his shoes. 

Lance cheered. “You coming in?”

“Since I'm already wet.”

He grabbed Keith around the waist and stood up, lifting Keith off the ground.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Keith said, and then Hunk cannonballed into the pool, and for the second time that day, Keith was drenched against his will. 

Hunk emerged, laughing – then he blinked around.

“Where’s everyone else?”

“They made a break for the door when you jumped,” Lance said. 

Keith scowled, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. “Yeah, 'cause they're smart.”

Hunk whacked him with a pool noodle.

It was a very soggy trio that tromped back into the meeting room.

“We brought you towels,” Pidge said sweetly.

Allura stood well on the other side of the table, lifting the towels over with her old staff – red, blue, and yellow.

“Scared of getting wet?” Hunk said. 

“I saw what Keith did to you. Dry off before you get it on us.”

She prodded the staff forward. 

“Thanks,” Keith said grouchily, taking the red one. Hunk followed suit with the yellow, but Lance was still busy figuring out the best way to arrange his sneakers on the heater.

“I'm placing an open bounty on Lance's head,” Keith announced, as he dried off his hair. “Whoever wins gets nothing but smiles from me for a day.”

Hunk whistled. “That's tempting.”

Keith pulled the towel off of his head, and Hunk and Lance gasped – but the girls all snickered, and Shiro bit back a smile.

“What?”

*Your –” Lance pointed. “It's red.”

“My what!?”

“Uh-oh,” Hunk said, pulling his own towel off of his head. “Is my–”

Keith stared at Hunk’s hair, which was bright yellow.

“Altean hair dye,” Allura announced. “Activated by water. Don't worry, it's temporary.”

Keith looked at the towel, which was now white on the inside. Then he spun around, looking for a mirror, which he finally found over the fireplace. His hair was, indeed, bright red. 

“ALLURA.”

“Well,” Pidge began, “the rest of us helped– ahh!” She broke off as Lance grabbed her and ran his wet hands through her hair.

“Someone hand me a towel!” he yelled.

Hunk tossed over the yellow one – then, after a moment's consideration, picked up the blue one as well. “I wonder if they mix to make green.”

“Only one way to find out– oof!”

Pidge had elbowed Lance in the stomach to make her escape.

Keith climbed on top of the table and stared at the ceiling.

“Uh, Keith,” Hunk said, “what are you doing?”

“Strategizing,” Keith said, and then he held his hand up to the sprinkler system and summoned his bayard. 

Everyone shrieked as the sprinkler burst on, showering the room. 

Keith hopped off the table and grabbed the blue towel out of Hunk's hand. 

“Hey, Allura,” he said, holding up the towel. “I think maybe you need a little Blue Lion pride.”

She held the staff out in front of her. “Don't you dare.”

Keith kept advancing, pushing forward against the staff with his chest. Allura stood her ground, but she was so focused, she didn't notice Hunk sneaking up behind her. 

"Got her!"

Hunk wrapped his arms around Allura's torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and lifted her off the ground.

"Put me down!"

Keith threw the blue towel to Lance, who was standing closer. 

“Lance, I'm warning you!” she yelled, but it was too late. Lance had wrapped the blue towel around her head. 

Hunk set Allura down as Lance pulled the towel away. 

"You know what, Allura," Hunk said, "blue hair suits you."

Allura glowered. 

[zenthisoror]

3/3/2018: @fenfyre ~ for ‘A Different Breed’

One last little piece, because I said I’d draw a last something. ;)  Pencil is my first and foremost art love. Thank you for being an excellent big bang partner, taking me along on your story ride, and letting me play with your written vision! Good luck with all your exams!

[nexthecryptid]

This is Home Ch. 4

Summary:

A pack called the Galra are up to something, and it’s somehow tied to the disappearances of creatures, and the increase of demonic activity. Keith had somehow stumbled into the danger when he found his mother, making the choice to stay away from his friends to keep them safe. But in the end it didn’t even matter. They’ve got targets on their heads, and the Galra are slowly closing in on his home town Arus. He isn’t sure how to face his friends… Two years was a long time to be gone. … There are rumors that are floating around VLD University, crazy ones. While some of them Lance could tell was him or his friends, there are others that were… inexplicable. To make matters worse, he’s having dreams again, dreams about someone who just vanished. It felt like he was being haunted. Lance didn’t know he was going to have other things to worry about until the ghost revealed himself.

…

Prefer to read it on A03?  Read it Here!

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A/N: I'd like to give a warning to readers that at the beginning of this chapter is a little graphic.  It contains fire and graphic burns so please read carefully.  

If you are uncomfortable and would like to skip it, please start reading after "He was too late".  

Keith is having a nightmare.  He finds that the house he had went to first is on fire, and then later finds that all of his friends had been inside and had been caught in it.  He wakes up after hearing one of his friends call out for him.  

...

It was too late.  They were too late.  

He stared in horror at the house in front of them, engulfed in flames as the smoke blanketed neighboring buildings, blocking the light of the moon.  The glow of the fire lit up the night instead, flickering ashes floating through the air as if they were fireflies.  He didn’t wait for the car to come to a full stop before getting out, swinging the door open violently and stumbling over his feet onto the street.  The heat felt like a smack as he rushed to the sidewalk, wanting nothing more than to rush inside but he hesitated.  Fear stopped him.  

Fear of finding out what he had lost.  

Things were collapsing inside, the glass shattering from the heat and spraying the yard with shards.  Instinctively he took a step back, covering his face to avoid getting hit.  He thought he heard something then, someone calling out, someone screaming.  He couldn’t tell if it was coming from inside or not, but it didn’t matter.  That was the only thing he needed.  

There was a chance.  A chance that they were still alive.  

He barreled through the door, hissing when he felt the flames lick at his arms.  He didn’t waste time though, quickly rushing around the debris to find something.  To find nothing.  To find anything.  He could hear people shouting, the sirens blaring closer and closer as he continued his search.  But they still sounded too far away, and time wasn’t on anyone’s side.

He froze as he came across what he had been hoping against, a sense of numbness slowly creeping through his body..  His eyes spotted them through the smoke, through the flames, widening with realization, widening with fear.  Only…  it was much worse than he had imagined.  

There were bodies.  Not a body.  Bodies.  No…  Corpses...  Six.  There were six…  All huddled together, all burned beyond recognition.  But he knew who they were…  

He flinched when one of them moved, their bodies moving in such an impossible and gruesome way.  He could feel bile at the back of his throat as he watched pieces of them fall off, could smell the scent of burnt human skin.  They were slowly crumbling, but they continued to move despite the pained sounds coming from them.  He clenched his jaw, watching their head turn to him, watching their arm reach out for him.  

“Keith…” 

Hearing the voice, hearing his voice, felt as if all the air was sucked from his lungs, his desperate cries going unheard as he reached out desperately for him.  Their fingers brushed, and in an instant his cries were drowned by a pained wail.  

Keith could only watch as his friend crumbled, falling back towards the others until their pained screams died out under the roar of the flames.  He stumbled back, numb from shock, and stared.  Stared until reality hit him.  His emotions ripped through his throat with enough force to make his body tremble and collapse with the building.  

He was too late.

…

Keith felt himself startle awake, hissing when his knee knocked into the dashboard in front of him.  He growled in annoyance as he gently rubbed the pain away, sitting back and sighing a bit.  They were still in the car, sunlight flickering through the trees inside.  He did his best to stretch in the cramped space of the passenger seat, already feeling the way his body berated him for sleeping the way he did.  He rubbed at his neck a few times before letting his hand fall back into his lap, sitting back and taking a quick look around.  He needed to distract himself, the image still fresh in his mind as he frowned at the unwanted nightmare.

“Are you alright?” Krolia asked.

“M’ Fine.  Where are we?” He asked, not really in the mood to talk about it.  

“We’re just about to pull onto the university grounds.  I was unsure when you had wanted to take over, but I figured you could use the rest and was going to wait till we got there before waking you.” She explained.  

He took a look out the window again, this time recognizing the buildings they were passing.  It felt odd.  While everything seemed familiar and unchanged, he couldn’t help but feel like he was seeing everything for the first time again.  The further they went in, the more he remembered, the more he recognized.  He shifted slightly, the thought of actually being in the city making him antsy. 

“Thanks.  Do you mind if I just direct you?” He asked.  

“Not at all.” She said softly, and she seemed to know what exactly he was thinking.  If he got out of the car, he didn’t think he’d be able to hold himself from running.  Worse if he actually took over driving.  With Krolia at the wheel though, his impatience couldn’t lead to any reckless actions.

He thought back to his nightmare for a second, desperation filling his gut as Krolia slowed to a stop at the light. 

...

“This is it.” Keith said, looking up to a small white house, wind chimes hanging from the porch’s roof.  There was a distinct smell to the house, plants grown and placed specifically in the yard to ward off anything unwelcomed, small symbols carved into their pots as well as the fence that bordered around it.  While these details were hidden from any passerby, Keith knew they were there, had even helped set some of them up.  The house itself blended in well with the others, and wasn’t isolated.  It was also just down the street from the main campus’ main buildings.  

Meaning it would be hard to attack without witnesses.  

When he stepped out of the car, he took a deep breath, humming at the comforting scents that mingled through the air.  He had no doubt that some of the flowers had already begun to act, feeling himself relax almost immediately.  He took a moment to stretch, hearing and feeling the satisfying pops and cracks that came from his bones.  Krolia had done the same, taking a look around the property before stepping onto the sidewalk.  Keith motioned her to follow him as he started walking up the path, noting the cars that were parked in the driveway.

“Is this your home?” She asked, looking around curiously at some of the plants.  

“No.  We’ll probably head there last, depending on where everyone might be.  Shiro is probably working right now, so there wouldn’t be a point to go there now.” He explained, pausing at the steps to watch her.  

“I see.  So is this-” 

Before Krolia could take a guess at whose house they were at, the door had been thrown open, the noise of the door smacking the wall startling both shifters.  He let out a yell when they slammed into him, stumbling a bit before finding his balance and kept the both of them from falling down the steps.  The smell of chamomile and lemon hit his nose, vanilla lingering from inside the home, and he sighed, unable to hold the smile as he wrapped his arms around her.  He knew for a fact that it was her, a pang of guilt hitting him when he felt the other shake.  Small sniffles could be heard, and her grip only tightened.

“Hey Allura.” He said softly, rubbing her back a bit.  

“Don’t you ‘Hey Allura’ me!” She snapped, roughly pulling away to glare at him.  

“I’m sorry…” 

“You better be!  Do you have any idea of how worried we were?  How scared?  Does Shiro know you’re back?  Please tell me he does, or so help me Keith!” She spat, rubbing the tears from her eyes.  

“I haven’t seen him yet.” He admitted.  

“Keith!”

“I can explain!  We-” 

“You have a lot of explaining to do!” She snapped once again, making him wince when she jabbed his chest with her finger.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated.  

“I know.  But Gods Keith...  I’m glad that you’re back.” She said, the relief evident in her voice.  He offered an apologetic smile, Allura smiling back with a sigh, shaking her head a bit.  Her hair had been cut shorter, bangs being swooped to the side and the length falling just above her shoulders and curling around her cheeks.  She looked more mature if possible, her posture never losing her confidence.  But he could tell not much else has changed, based on the mother-like reaction he got.  

“She is just as you described her.” Krolia chuckled, gaining both of their attention.  Allura raised a brow, glancing at Keith before stepping forward.  She cleared her throat before holding a hand out.  

“My name’s Allura.  Though I suppose you already knew that.” She said, smiling politely.  

“Yes.  Keith has spoken of you all on several occasions.  My name is Krolia.  It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Krolia is my mother.” He added.  Allura looked conflicted then, her hand retreating a bit and nodding.  

“I see.  I’m beginning to understand why you’ve been gone for so long.  But, I’m sensing that there is something more to it then reuniting with your mother.” She mused, looking to Keith for confirmation.  

“Yeah.  There’s a lot more Allura.  That’s why we came to you first.  But I’d feel better if we had the others here.” He explained, crossing his arms.  

“I have… several questions I’d like to ask.  But seeing as you’re anxious to see the rest of our friends, I’ll wait until then. I can imagine that it will be easier for you to give us all an explanation at the same time rather than repeating yourself as well.”

“I think with the situation we’ve got on our hands, it’ll be better if they knew what we were too.  I think…  I think we should tell them.” Keith suggested quickly. 

Keith knew he sounded crazy then, knew the suggestion came off as unordinary coming from him.  Out of Shiro, Allura, and himself, he had been against the very idea the most.  To Keith, the less people who knew he was a shifter, the better.  It wasn’t because he couldn’t trust his friends or thought they would let the information slip, he had total confidence that they would keep their secrets.  He just didn’t know how they would react to it.  And that part scared him, no matter how much Allura and Shiro had assured him that everything would be fine.  In the end, they had agreed to keep their own abilities a secret as well, not wanting Keith to be suspected or make him uncomfortable.  But now…  With the Galra on his mind, he was willing to face whatever reaction they would have, even if it meant they would be uncomfortable or even scared of them.

“Well…  I certainly was not expecting... that.  But it does make me more concerned about the situation at hand.  Let me grab my things.” She said, turning on her heel and quickly entering her house.  

“While you go and find your friends, I believe it will be best if I take a look around to scout the area.  I’d also like to make certain that we weren’t followed and contact the others.” Krolia said quietly.

“Alright…  Just…  Be careful.” 

“You as well.”

…

“Where are we going first?” Keith asked, Allura driving them towards campus.

“We’re on our way to the school’s library.  Pidge said that they would be there to get some work done, and Shiro is currently having a meeting in one of the nearby buildings.  The others haven’t responded yet, so we’ll go and get those two first.” She explained.  

Keith’s knee started bouncing, anxiety pooling in his gut at the information.  He had to remind himself that his friends could be working, or maybe busy with their own school work.  They could stop by their places to see them and everything would be fine, everyone would be fine.  It was funny how before they had made it to the city, he had been tempted to turn back.  But now all he wanted to do was get everything over with and see all of them again.  

He caught Allura looking at him through the mirror, an almost amused smile on her face and he quickly went back to glaring out the window.  She could tell what he was thinking.

When they finally got to the library, Keith had practically jumped out of the car, waiting as patiently as he could for Allura to join him.  He looked at the large building in front of him, growing antsy as he tried to think where Pidge would most likely be.  They were probably going to spend a while hunting their friend down, so Keith just wanted to get started already.  Before he could even go in though, Allura quickly grabbed his arm and laughed.

“Still impatient as ever!  I’ve already messaged Pidge to meet us out front, so relax.” She teased.  

He only huffed in response, crossing his arms as he turned to watch the door.  It only made her laugh.  He relaxed though, waiting until he could spot a familiar mop of hair.  He nearly missed when Pidge came out though, not expecting them to have a completely different look.  He blinked a few times, a smirk forming quickly when the two of them made eye contact.

“No fucking way!” Pidge yelled, not wasting a second before running over.  He was prepared this time, catching the other in his arms and pulling them in tight.  The familiar smell of old books and coffee clung to them, a hint of oil and wiring mingling in, telling him that they had been working on something recently.  It was definitely Pidge.

“Did you get shorter while I was gone?!” He teased, grinning when Pidge returned the hug.

“I got taller, asshole!” They laughed, pulling back and quickly wiping tears from their eyes.  

“Taller?  I don’t see it.” He shot back, ruffling their hair a bit.  It wasn’t the mop of hair that he had grown accustomed to, now cut in an undercut fashion with hair that spiked out.  It suited them more than the one they had gotten to match their brother, though they still had the glasses.  And even though he had teased them, Pidge had definitely gotten taller, and he could tell they had grown stronger too.  

“Where have you been?!  We all thought you had died or something!” They snapped, quickly punching his arm.  It hadn’t hurt, but he said ‘ow’ anyway, rubbing his arm.  

“Yeah…  I’m sorry about that.” He said, putting all jokes aside.  

“You fucking better be!  I looked everywhere I could for you!  I couldn’t find you, I couldn’t even find a trace!  I thought…  I thought you had disappeared like my Dad had.  Like Matt!” They started sobbing, glaring at him through tears.  He could see the circles under their eyes, dark and noticeable even under the glasses.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated softly, guilt eating away at him. 

He frowned when Pidge just kept rubbing at their eyes, their glasses falling when they pushed them too far out.  He quickly caught it, handing it to Allura before pulling Pidge back into a hug, rubbing their back.  They clung to him then, Keith letting them cry for as long as they needed.  

“I’m so glad you’re back.” They murmured eventually, pulling back and using their shirt to clean their face. 

“Me too.” 

“You better not be going anywhere either.  I will kick your ass if you leave again.” They threatened.  

“I won’t.  I promise.” He laughed, ruffling their hair again.  This time they swatted his hand away.  

“Here.” Allura  held their glasses out, Pidge squinting a bit as they took it from her.  

“Thanks.  ‘Llura’” They mumbled, cleaning the lenses before putting them on.  They blinked a few times, adjusting them a bit before looking to their hands in disgust.  

“Yeah, please don’t touch me with your snot hands.” Keith teased.  

“I will if you don’t shut up.  I’m still mad at you.” They huffed, but Keith could see them smiling.  

“Hold on.  You can use this.” Allura pulled a small bottle of hand sanitizer out from her purse, squeezing some into Pidge’s hands.  

“How are you always prepared?” 

…

“Shiro says he’s getting out of the meeting now.” Allura informed, the conversation they had been in dying down.  Keith felt their eyes on him, the pressure enough to kill him as his nerves began to buzz.  He took a deep breath then, feeling someone place a hand on his shoulder to give him a comforting squeeze.  

“Okay…  You guys…  You guys stay here.” He cursed inwardly over how shaky his voice was.

“Are you gonna be alright?” Allura asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.   

“Yeah.  Just…  going to go face my brother who I’ve never contacted once in the last two years to let him know where I’ve been…” He forced out, the laugh so awkward it made him cringe.     

“Worst case scenario is that he’ll kill you.” Pidge offered, and Keith immediately turned to glare at them.

“Technically Shiro does have first dibs on taking your life.  He is your brother after all.  Though to be fair, we all agreed to end your life together and then revive you.  I’m sure I could find a way to do so without going into the dark arts.” Allura added.  He blanched.  Pidge cackled but had no idea that Allura probably could.

“You guys are the worst.” He mumbled. 

“Go!” They both yelled and he grumbled, quickly walking away.  

He looked up to the building Allura had said that Shiro had been in, nibbling his lip as he tried to work himself up to actually go inside.  Theoretically, he didn’t have to go in, he could just wait outside the door in hopes it would be the one he took.  But realistically, Shiro might go out through a completely different door depending on what Allura said to him, so he could miss him and it would only frustrate him.  But his nerves were starting to get to him, the thoughts of unpredictable reactions rushing through his mind and freezing him in place.  This was only one of the two hardests reunions he was going to have today, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle it, let alone both.  What was he going to say?  A simple ‘I’m sorry’ didn’t feel enough when he said it to Allura and Pidge, so it definitely wouldn’t feel enough now.  What was he going to do?  What should he do?  What-

“Keith?” The voice was quiet, but the desperation in his voice was so loud.  He swallowed and turned toward the voice, already feeling tears well in his eyes.  Like Pidge, the smell of old books and coffee had stuck to him, but there was a hint of pine and fallen leaves, something so very Shiro.  There was another smell that mingled with his and it threw him off, but he had doubt that it was Shiro, and he could worry about that later.  

Shiro stared in disbelief, mouth hanging open as eyes studied what he was seeing in front of him.   He looked older, dark circles nearly hidden by the glasses he was wearing.  His hair still had the weird patch of white in the front, but he could see more whites growing into the rest of his hair.  He looked a bit thinner, but not enough to concern him too much.  But it was enough to add to the guilt that consumed him.  The look of relief that washed over Shiro’s face made it feel like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, tears already pouring out as he moved closer. Keith couldn’t stand still anymore, rushing over to meet him, the hug crushing.  

“I’m so sorry Shiro.” He whispered, afraid of the sobs that would escape if he spoke any louder.  

“I know Keith.”

…

Keith quickly composed himself as they headed back towards the library, running a hand through his hair a couple of times as well as rubbing at his eyes a bit.  He heard Shiro snort and shot a glare at him before walking faster.  Shiro stuck close though, not letting Keith stray too far.  He couldn’t blame him, and he knew the rest of his friends would probably be like that after they had gathered.  He was sure the only reason Allura and Pidge had stuck behind was because they had already slipped some way of tracking him onto his being without him noticing.  

He shivered.

“Why did you wait so long before coming back?” Shiro asked, his voice quiet.  He glanced back at him, feeling himself shrink a bit with the sad look that Shiro had on his face.  

“I thought it would be for the best.  But I was wrong.” He admitted.

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” 

“I will.  I’m going to tell you all what happened and what’s going on and why I came back.  And what I am.” He assured, pausing to look Shiro in the eye.  As he expected, Shiro was caught off guard, but instead of saying anything, he nodded.  They started walking again, something uncomfortable twisting in his gut. 

“Hey look!  You’re still alive!” Pidge yelled, hopping up as they walked up.  

“Ha ha.” He huffed, crossing his arms.

“I still haven’t gotten a response from Adam, Hunk or Lance.” Allura said, frowning a bit as she checked her phone again.  

Lance.  He felt his chest tightened.

“They probably don’t have any service right now.” Shiro mumbled, pulling his own phone out.  

“What do you mean?” Keith asked.  

“Adam texted me earlier saying that he and the others would be going into the forest.  They’re probably still there.” Keith could hear the concern that laced itself into Shiro’s voice, making his hair rise.  The article that he read a few nights ago came to mind.  

“I understand that they enjoy hiking, but with the rumours that have been circulating, I would think they would try to avoid it.” Allura looked worried, her frown only deepening.  

“I think the only reason they’ve gone is because of what happened the other night with Lance.” Pidge cut in, and realization dawned on Allura and Shiro, the three of them exchanging a look that he couldn’t interpret.  

Lance.  What happened with Lance?  His chest tightened again.

He would have asked about it, but the fact that their friends were still in the forest, maybe, made him anxious.  Someone from the Galra was able to find pictures of them.  Hell, maybe they had even taken them.  And it just so happened that there were strange phenomenons happening in the forest around the same time?  The only reasonable explanation in his mind was that maybe someone from the Galra pack was there, using it as a way to hide, but also doing just enough to keep most of the humans away.  Which meant his friends could be in serious danger. 

Which meant Lance could be in danger.

“We have to find them and get them out of there.  Now.” Keith said urgently, quickly walking to the car.  The others quickly followed, Allura unlocking the car before they piled in.

“Keith-”

“I’ll explain everything later on.  But we need to go now!” He felt bad for raising his voice out of frustration, but Allura seemed to understand.  

“Okay.  We’ll find them Keith.  Don’t worry.” She said reassuringly. 

…

He was extremely worried.  

The place Allura had taken them was the same place the others had also gone, Hunk’s car parked under the shade of the trees at the start of the parking lot.  It was easy to miss, the street being a one way and the trees blocking any driver’s view of the vehicle.  If it weren’t for the fact that Allura had planned to park where they were, they would have missed it.  She pulled in next to them, frowning a bit as she got out.  Her frown grew puzzled as she inspected the car further, bringing her arms up to indicate that she was thinking. 

“What is it?” He asked, coming up next to her. 

“Can you smell anything from their car?” She whispered, glancing behind them as Pidge and Shiro got out of the other side of her car.  

Keith raised a brow, but took a second to actually smell the area.  He could smell the different scents from the forest, his friends that were present, Allura’s car as it cooled down.  His eyebrows knitted together then.  He could smell water.  But there weren't any rivers or ponds nearby, and it hadn’t rained either.  Strangely though, it was coming from the car, as if a large amount of water had been dumped on it to wash all other smells away.  But the car was completely dry, and so was the asphalt it was parked on.  He tried to find anything else, but found nothing and it was troubling. 

“Just water.  I can’t pick up anything else.” He mumbled, crossing his arms.  

“What’s wrong?” Pidge asked, walking up and peering into the car.  He shot a look to Shiro, tapping his nose to see if maybe he could pick anything up.   

“Nothing.  I was just checking to see if they had left anything behind.” Allura lied, curling a finger around her hair nervously.  

“Pidge, why don’t you stay behind in case they come back.” Shiro suggested.

“Sure.  I’ve got a lot of equipment in my bag so I’d feel better staying with them anyway.  I could probably use my laptop to contact you if they do come back while you’re still looking.  Let me see your phones?” They asked, Shiro handed his phone over, Keith doing the same.  Pidge looked to Allura expectantly.  

“I’ll actually be staying behind with you so you won’t be on your own.” She said, and Pidge nodded.  

“Alright.  Let me get  these setup then.” They went back into the car, starting to pull out their laptop to do what Keith called ‘their’ magic.  

“There’s magic around the car.  It’s like a cloak, almost as if the person who did this was expecting someone to go looking for them.” Allura whispered to him and Shiro once Pidge were out of earshot.  Keith gritted his teeth.  

“We’ll be quick.  Contact us immediately if anyone shows up or if anything happens.” It wasn’t a request, and Allura knew it.  

“I will.” 

“Okay.  I’ve connected your phones to my laptop.  I’ve also plugged in my own signal booster into your phones, so you should be able to get my messages and send them while in there.” Pidge called, hopping out of the car and handing their phones back.  

“Thanks Pidge.  We’ll let you know if we find them.” Shiro promised.

“You two stay safe.”

“We will.” 

…

[gabriel-the-cryptid]

I’ve broken out of my hiatus to announce my upcoming project for @vldhorrorbang ! I’m very excited for the ending results of the fic! It will officially be published in February. Here is the synopsis with an exclusive preview under the cut:

Mind Over Matter Rated Explicit Fandom: Voltron – Legendary Defender Pairing: Sheith Summary: Takashi Shirogane was an intergalactic soldier before a great invasion destroyed the land. An entire army was completely wiped out by alien monsters locally known as Leeches, which mercilessly suck the quintessence out of their victims. Once bitten, their fate has been sealed, and there is no possible way to reverse its effects. After being the sole survivor of the attack, Shiro was abducted by Galra scientists and experimented on for two years before narrowly escaping death. While both battling trauma and fighting for his life, Shiro finds a way to seek vengeance when a small militia see potential in recruiting him. To even his own shock, they discover that the only known thing on Earth that can kill the Leeches is his bionic arm forced upon him by the Galra. A FULL LIST OF ALL TAGS AND WARNINGS WILL BE SHOWN IN THE FINISHED FIC.

PREVIEW TAGS/WARNINGS: Horror, Body Horror, Teeth, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depictions of Combat, Gore, Dismemberment, Decapitation

Excerpt:

Shining his flashlight, we finally see a case near some debris. It’s the supplies!

“Got ‘em!” Keith grins as he heads over.

“Uh, Keith…”

Hunk’s concerned tone makes me do a double take. Right where Keith’s heading over, I can see a long, tarry black hand reaching, a disgusting ray of teeth gleaming in the artificial light.

“Keith, stop!”

Distracted, he looks up, quickly stepping back as the Leech reaches forward to lunge.

“Hunk, shoot at it!” If they’re going to start freezing up now, I’d might as well take charge.

His reaction is delayed, but it’s enough to get him to shoot at the damn thing without causing Keith any harm. He gets it in the torso, the impact flinging it back. It’s stunned, and we only have a couple moments before more Leeches try and follow the noise the blast emitted.

Hunk hurries back further. “Keith, grab it! Quick!”

He shakes his head, possibly to come to his senses, and he grabs it as quickly as he can. He doesn’t look back. “Let’s get out of here,” he mutters.

Hunk’s already in his jeep, trying to rev the engine to life. He’s having no such luck, however, and frustratingly he punches the dashboard. “Fuck!”

“It can’t stall now!” Keith tosses the supplies in the back. “We gotta move!”

“Tell that to the jeep!” he snaps as he tries starting it again. It won’t even catch. “I thought it was ready. God, Allura is gonna kill me!”

“We’ll all be dead if we don’t get out of here!” I frown. “Just focus on getting that thing working. Keith and I will fend off any Leeches in the meantime.”

I’m shocked at my own tone. If you asked me days ago if I ever would not only continue fighting against the Leeches but also be the calmest one in the group, I’d have laughed in your face. But in the moment, I can feel myself capable of taking control. It’s a liberating feeling that I don’t have very long to absorb.

And what’s even more to my surprise, they listen to me. Even Keith does. I didn’t have too much authority in the military, but considering that I’m among the few that had personal contact with these bastards, I need to take initiative.

Hunk tries starting the car again. No such luck. He swears briefly before trying again, but we’ve got company.

“It’s a whole swarm.” Keith sounds scared.

“Relax,” I insist, and I can feel myself channeling the emotions that I can feel towards them. Anger, fear, rage… Vengeance. My arm glows that pi—purple color that I hate so much, and I know that now I can break some more jaws.

Keith has his blades on him, and he takes one out with a tight grip on the hilt. He’s the type to perform melee combat, but these things are unpredictable. One of them comes right for me, and I give it a smirk to signify that what it’s doing is a huge mistake. While the hum in my arm seems to grow louder and my arm’s burning brighter, I hold my hand out flat and swiftly chop right for the neck.

Its head…

I can feel Hunk and Keith’s eyes staring wide as the body falls to the floor, its head rolling off while it still has that wide-eyed, hungry glare on its numb face. The blood it’s produced sticks to my skin, and I try to keep it out of my eyes.

“Oh, shit!” I hear Hunk gasp.

Keith doesn’t have time to register what just happened. He grips his blade and stuns the Leeches with cuts to the throats and stabbing anywhere on their faces within reach. It’s then that I would step in and use my hand.

One, I’d managed to break off its jaw, much like with the very first one. It’s not that this is breezy or anything, but when only facing one at a time it’s a lot quicker of a kill than I expected. All of them at once, however, is a lot to take in. I don’t have enough eyes to watch all corners, but that’s what Keith is for. He’s behind me now, stunning any that try to attack me from there. But whatever my arm’s doing to deliver these devastating blow, it’s working like a charm.

…

“Yes! It’s alive!”

Hunk’s cries cut through the air, and I’m being dragged away from the ever-growing swarm. Regaining our footing, we rush over to the jeep.

“C’mon!” Hunk calls, ready to speed off as soon as we get inside.

The Leeches are chasing after us. On foot, they could’ve easily caught right up to us. But now, we have enough speed to gain a head start.

“We can’t lead them back to the base,” I tell him. “Outrun them first, then we’ll go.”

“How long is that gonna take?”

“As long as it has to,” I mutter. I hold on tightly to the jeep’s frame when we go over a huge bump. “The barrier we have over the base isn’t strong enough for a swarm like this. Lance won’t be able to take all of them out.”

“Hunk, just listen to Shiro,” Keith then assures him in the back. “He knows what he’s talking about.”

The air is still uneasy. “Okay…” Hunk speeds up, and I look back to see the swarm still chasing after us. It feels like every second they’re starting to get closer, speeding up.

[ebhenah]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Hunk & Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Rachel, Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Hunk & Lance & Rachel, one-sided Hunk/Rachel Characters: Hunk (Voltron), Lance (Voltron), Pidge | Katie Holt, Shiro (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Coran (Voltron), Allura (Voltron), Rachel (Voltron) Additional Tags: hanahaki, Lance & Rachel are Twins, Childhood Friends, Homesickness, martyr-streak Hunk, Insecure Lance, over-protective brother Lance, flashbacks to childhood adventures and misadventures, Sick Hunk, alien surgery, Memory Loss, Secrets, surgery without consent, Blood, Bisexual Lance, Pansexual Hunk, mentions of previous encounters with biphobia/homophobia, parental seperation/divorce, twin seperation anxiety, Allura reminds Lance of Rachel, Needles, VLD Angst Bang 2019, bittersweet but hopeful ending, Lance is crushing on Keith, pining lance, supportive shiro, Pidge cares more than she lets on, keith is TRYING, Alteans have different ethics, Allura is doing her best, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), Found Family, Body Horror Summary:

Hunk and Lance have been friends forever, the whole team knows this. Barely a varga passes without one or the other of them breaking into some story about their childhoods, or their time as roommates at the Garrison. References to “The Three Musketeers” are common, even though there are only two of them.

When Pidge discovers poorly hidden bloody flower petals in the trash, it doesn’t take her long to confront her friend and teammate. His terror at the possibility of Lance finding out seems to explain the situation pretty well, but Hunk is refusing the surgery that could save his life AND stubbornly refusing to talk to Lance, insisting it is pointless.

He knows he should have the surgery, but that would mean losing almost all of his childhood memories. Given how advanced his hanahaki is at this point, the surgery has almost no chance of saving him anyway- far better for Lance to think that Hunk succumbed to some alien parasite, since Hunk will die either way. Hunk’s put a lot of thought into this and knows what he wants.

Too bad the Alteans have very different views on Hunk’s right to refuse treatment, and a strong stance on how irreplaceable any of the Paladins are. Written for the @vldangstbang with art by @griffonskies