Voltron Fanfic - Tumblr Posts

So what if I wrote a Voltron fanfic in 2024? And it was a band au, but I gave them music magicTM and there was a group of sirens that were hypnotizing the masses and turning them into mindless zombies and Voltron had to use their song to fight them? And it is just a silly time? With no pressure? And I can take a break from life?

Asking for a friend... Hahaha... Ha..

icypantherwrites Interview

Before we start do you mind introducing yourself (you can use whatever name you are comfortable using/ your readers know you by) and telling us a little about yourself?

Hello ♥ My name is IcyPanther, Icy for short. Icy in a nutshell: short, blind without her glasses, clinging to my last couple months before I hit thirty, sings (belts) in the shower and while driving, cuddles and loves on her dog (a Rotti Bernie Spaniel mix named Inara ♥) far too much, hasn’t burned her house down cooking yet, can’t work on projects when things are messy, will beat you to death with kindness, very vulgar sailor mouth that has gotten worse working for the police, and dream job would be writing all day followed by napping. Ta da!

Onto the interview!

Q1: What kind of fan fiction do you write? And, what made you gravitate towards this/these particular fandom(s)?

A1: I tend to specialize in whump and hurt/comfort with plenty of angst to go alongside it ♥ My only current fandom right now is Voltron: Legendary Defender but I got into writing fanfiction with a number of animes and was pretty into the Harry Potter (Dramione ♥) sphere for a long while and prior to my revival in 2017 with VLD that was what I was best known for.

I write only in fandoms that I enjoy but am most motivated when I have a deep connection to a character(s).

Q2: Why did you begin writing fan fiction?

A2: Because the show I was watching at the time (Rurouni Kenshin) did not have enough whump and angst for my favorite character and that needed fixing ;p I’m a pretty cheerful personality but I love darker things and a lot of shows won’t go that far or if they do it tends to toe the line most of the time (not all, and God, Rurouni Kenshin has plenty of delicious dark moments and backstories, don’t get me wrong) but it needed more. And thus enter my first super shitty, super awful piece that I keep alive online to remind myself of where I’ve come from.

Q3: Were you scared to begin posting it online?

A3: Nope! Now, being found out in high school to be writing it? Heck yeah xD Like I said, I have a very cheerful, innocent personality on the outside and I’d have been mortified for anyone (outside of my sister who was all for this xD) to find out what kind of dark shit I was writing but posting online under a penname? No big deal.

Q4: Do you ever want to published in a professional capacity one day?

A4: I technically am published with a crazy ton of news and feature stories from my days as a journalist and editor. Some of those pieces I’m very proud of and one in particular cast a spotlight on an amazing man who performed tattoo coverups for sex trafficking victims and old gang members and my story got picked up by some of the big news stations and he got so much good attention and press and, most importantly, donations and funding ♥ I loved being able to make a difference like that.

But I’m thinking this is leaning more towards fiction and the answer to that is yes, most definitely. I have dreams (as all authors do) of writing a bestseller and have finally found the courage and drive to start pursuing my own novel ♥

Q5: Has writing fan fiction taught you anything? About writing? Reading? Yourself?

A5: Most definitely. One thing I’m going to highlight here is I’m old by fanfiction standards. I’m not a high school kid anymore or even a college student. I’m a full grown adult and I’ve seen and been through a lot and seen my writing change and grow over the about fifteen years I’ve actively been writing. So its hard to say “yes, fanfiction has taught me ____” because there’s so much more to it then that.

I will say though that fanfiction is what gave me the drive to write more and more as posting for an engaged audience and hearing positive feedback told me that hey, I can write and people want to read it. It definitely solidified my career path in college although, cough, I am wishing a bit I’d gone the more marketing/communications route. She says as she works an overnight desk job xD

Q6: Do you write anything outside of the realm of fan fiction?

A6: See above for old jouranlism job and currently working on my novel, a young adult fantasy ♥

Q7: Do you notice any stigma surrounding fan fiction or fan fiction writers?

A7: When I first started doing this fifteen years ago? Yes. Most definitely. It was considered a lower art form (which makes me laugh as fanart was never put into the same category) and “weak” writing and to this day I remember when I was talking to my creative writing teacher in high school about it and she laughed and said that fanfiction is not original and is just plagiarizing another work. I never forgot that but I also never believed it. Fanfiction, I feel, is honestly one of the most difficult mediums to write. You have to work within a set world, using established characters, plots and backstory and then make it your own all while adhering to those parameters. It’s hard. It’s very hard.

Today though I think a lot of people respect that and I no longer see the discourse I used to on the subject (I still won’t tell anyone outside of my anime con friends though that I write it ;p). And I’m glad. It’s a much safer, inclusive environment for young writers venturing out to get into. I will also preface though that I don’t engage much with the drama (and God does my fandom right now have a lot of it) and just post and go about my day and I credit a lot of that to my age. But from someone who started back in 2003… it’s changed, most definitely.

Q8: If so, how do you feel about this stigma?

A8: See above ;)

Q9: What’s something you’ve never been asked but want to be?

A9: Um… Nothing is coming to mind in any category of this nature. Sorry.

Q10: Is Tumblr the site you prefer to post fan fic on? If so, why?

A10: Oh heck no. No no no no no. Tumblr is… is awful for posting text on. AWFUL. I use it as an engagement tool to interact with readers and to promote my works. I started off on fanfiction.net and when I rebooted in 2017 I crossposted between it and Archive of Our Own. Just about a month ago I made the decision to post solely on AO3 as the editing features are very, very nice and the traffic there is better ♥

Q11: What’s your favorite piece of fan fiction you’ve ever written? Why?

A11: So many fics to choose from, you want me to pick one? ;p I love all of my pieces, from the horrid ones in 2003 to 2010 years to my more recent VLD ones starting in 2017. All hold a special place in my heart.

But the fic I am most proud of would be my long boi As Color Fades Away, or Color for short. It’s a 430k+ fic that was my first foray into the VLD fandom and my first real fic after nearly seven years of not writing anything. I saw myself grow so much as a writer in that fic (although that history is erased now as given its popularity and my love of it I have recently re-written the first 35 chapters completely with edits in others as well) and it has everything I crave in a story: whump and angst and hurt/comfort and family and friendship and so much heart and love. It was a fic that touched a lot of people (myself included) and it’s my magnum opus now and forever of fanfiction.

Find icy’s fics here and her Tumblr page here.

glitteringconstellations interview

Before we get started with the interview, do you mind introducing yourself (whatever name you are comfortable with) and telling us a little about yourself?

Hi everyone! I’m glitteringconstellations, Glitter or GC for short. I’ve been writing fanfiction for well over 15 years now, though I only started sharing it around 2005. I minored in Creative Writing in college and I love writing in pretty much any capacity! When I’m not headcanoning one new story or another, though, I’m either adulting (ugh, adulting) or playing video games. These days it’s mostly Skyrim. I’m fluent in Korean and passable in Japanese and Spanish. I drink way too much pop to be healthy and I hate most fruit (though, give me any kind of melon and I’ll be a happy girl). Oh, and I’m a fledgling figure skater! I’m just a hodgepodge of random hobbies haha!

Q1: What kind of fan fiction do you normally write? Have you ever written fan fiction for other fandoms other than your current one?

A1: I tend to gravitate toward angsty fics. It’s long been my outlet of frustration, to put the character I love in harm’s way. The more pain, the better, haha! Though I do love the hurt/comfort aspect of it. Recently (as in, the last year lmao) I’ve been writing for the Voltron fandom almost exclusively (and sometimes YURI!!! On Ice), but before that I was in the k-pop ficdom (Super Junior, for the most part) for a looooong time, nearly 10 years. I won’t be opening that particular can of worms, though--I have Feelings and Opinions lmao. Before that I jumped around from anime to anime.

Q2: I see in addition to fan fiction that you do commissioned fan art! I’m not an artist myself, so I find it really interesting and cool. Do you want to talk a bit about that? And, feel free to plug yourself!

A2: This is actually a common misconception--I can’t draw to save my life!! I took commissions for fan fiction back in late June as a last resort to pay my rent. Typically though I’m horrible on a deadline so I don’t like to do it too often because I feel terrible making my commissioners wait. The art you’re referring to is the comic spread for The Parting Glass, if I’m not mistaken? I actually commissioned another artist by the name of Cota (@ccooooostuff on tumblr, go check her out she’s amazing at what she does and super sweet!) for that comic with the money I got for my birthday this year.

Q3: Do you write anything outside of fan fiction?

A3: I do! I journal a lot, or I try to anyway. This year I’m hoping to tackle an original novel for Nanowrimo, but more than likely, that particular project will start as fanfiction and we’ll see if I turn it into original fiction or not. I spend more time thinking about the things I want to write than… actually… writing them lolsob. My notes will be this gigantic document but when it comes to putting things together in a cohesive manner? Haaaaaa….haha…. The blinking cursor mocks me, I swear.

Q4: I see on your profile that you are 26. I think when most people think of fan fiction writers they think of someone younger, usually a teenager. Do you encounter younger writers a lot? What do you think of this assumption?

A4: I do encounter younger writers a lot! Surprisingly, though, most writers I know are either in their late 20s or late late teens (say, 15~19). Most people tend to think I’m young anyway just because I look a lot younger than 26, but as far as fandom goes, it doesn’t really bother me if people think I’m younger than I am. Usually I’m pretty forward with how old I am on my profile anyway! But yeah, I’ve been around the fanfiction scene a while. The k-pop fandom in particular had a way of reminding me just how long on a pretty frequent basis lol.

Q5: Why did you begin writing fan fiction? If it was for a fandom, why did that particular thing make you begin writing? And, for your current fandoms?

A5: I used to tell myself stories to get to sleep or on long car trips as far back as I can remember, and most of the time they involved characters from my favorite shows of the day. Pokemon and Digimon were two big ones for me before I hit those fun preteen years. As far as what got me started actually putting those stories to paper, it was born of frustration with shows not going the way I wanted them to, so I’d write the ending I wanted to see. For Voltron in particular, it’s just SUCH a fun sandbox to play in, be it by utilizing the incredible world-building or the plethora of interesting characters to play around with. So many possibilities! *3*

Q6: Do you ever want to be published in a professional capacity one day?

A6: Yes and no. I flip flop on this ALL the time. I’d LOVE to see my stories on shelves, but I’m actually very insecure and sometimes the thought of people reading my stories makes me want to die of embarrassment and sink to the center of the earth. That said, if I win Nano this year, I may run it by some publishers, even if only to get feedback. (Although if you want to get TECHNICAL I am officially a published journalist; I was an assistant editor for one of The Big 3 kpop news sites for a while. The one that starts with S. Also another can of worms.)

Q7: Has writing fan fiction taught you anything? About writing? Reading? The fandom? Etc.

A7: Oh absolutely. I definitely would not be the writer I am today without fan fiction. I wouldn’t say I’m super skilled, but the critique I’ve received over the years has helped me more than I have words for, honestly. Not even just in the capacity of writing fiction; my academic and professional writing has improved too. Also, just like reading anything in high volume, reading fanfic has helped me learn to read like a writer, how to pick out things that authors do that I admire and try to emulate that, and conversely what doesn’t work for me so I can avoid those things.

As far as fandom goes, fanfiction can be quite polarizing, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Just in my experience by and large it can be kind of toxic, to be quite honest. The particular issue Voltron faces that I experienced to some extent in other fandoms but not quite to this degree, is fandom policing. I find that certain members of the fandom (which, in my experience, tends to actually be mostly among those younger demographics, though not exclusively so) see certain topics as morally wrong and therefore anyone who writes those topics are 1) romanticizing said topic and 2) automatically a disgusting, horrible person and they have no problems telling you about all about it. The number one thing I try to put out there in my interactions is live and let live, ship and let ship. If it makes you uncomfortable, that’s okay! But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong, and it’s definitely not okay to go around purporting hate in the name of “morality.” Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent there haha...

Q8: What is a piece you’ve written that you’re most proud of?

A8: Just in the Voltron fandom, I’d say the fic I’m most proud of is The Parting Glass, by far. Funny story about that one; I’d never heard the titular song before I came across a cover of it on Facebook one day around St. Patrick’s Day, and let me tell you something. The reaction I had was almost a spiritual experience, it was so visceral. I was in tears when I heard it, and the story came so hard and so fast that I wrote it in 2 days. It stayed with me until I got it down in writing. It was an interesting challenge for me, exploring the grief part of a character death fic while almost entirely omitting the actual dying part. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had such a vivid vision of exactly how a fic is going to go from start to finish and I’m quite happy with the way it turned out. Which is why, when I had the money to do so, I commissioned Cota to illustrate what had to be the hardest and yet my favorite part to write. She brought the scene to life so beautifully too, I’m really happy with how it turned out. Months later I still go back and stare at it!

Q9: Do you notice any stigma surrounding fan fiction or fan fiction writers?

A9: Without a doubt. People hear “fanfiction” and they think one of two things: the pudgy neckbeard who lives in his parents’ basement, or the rabid tween/teenage fangirl. It’s a rather unfortunate stereotype, because some works of fanfiction are truly works of art, more masterfully crafted than some novels I’ve seen published. Yet they get dismissed simply on the basis of being fanworks and not “original” (which, let’s be real, nothing is truly original anymore). One such example that comes to mind of a beautiful fic is those glittering instruments in the EXO fandom, which was based on the real-life destruction of the Library of Alexandria. If you can find a copy of it floating around the interwebs I HIGHLY recommend giving it a chance no matter what fandom you’re in!

Q10: If so, how do you feel about this stigma?

A10: Like I said, it’s really a shame. The thing, too, is that as young girls we’re often shamed for the things we’re passionate about, like boy bands and, well, fan fiction, while boys don’t get that kind of shame to such an intense degree (at least, not about the usual suspects, like sports and girls and such). Not to say that it doesn’t happen, but there’s something terribly sad about seeing more young people afraid to talk about a hobby that makes them happy because they’re afraid of being perceived as weird or gross or something like that. Hell, even to this day I have very few friends from outside the fandom sphere that know I write fanfiction, because they still talk bad and make mean jokes about fic writers. It’s such a silly thing, because a lot of famous works are derivative fiction and people don’t even realize it! So I hope the day comes soon that we can get over this silly stigma and just enjoy what people share (for free!! Seriously!! FULL NOVEL LENGTH WORKS. For FREE.)

Q11: Is there anything you’ve ever wanted to talk about or be asked that no one has asked you about or given you the opportunity to talk about? (And if so, feel free to answer/talk about it).

A11: I really had to think about this one! I couldn’t really pick one topic that I’ve really wanted to talk about that I haven’t already discussed, but no one has ever asked me if I was okay with having fanart of my work. Which I would answer with a resounding YES. I am more than okay with it QuQ

Oh, I guess I do have something!! It’s unrelated to writing (well, I guess it could be related, depending on how you look at it) but since I have your attention, if you’re an American citizen GO OUT AND VOTE. The midterm elections are one week from today in the USA and it’s important you go vote!! I won’t tell you who to vote for (a third can of worms I’m not opening up. WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY WORMS) but I assure you, your vote matters, now more than ever. I believe in you!! Go vote!!!

Q12: What is your prefered site for writing/posting fan fiction?

A12: These days I prefer to use AO3. It’s a work in progress, but it’s far and away the superior fic platform of the time. Back in ye olden days (circa 2010~2012) Livejournal was my platform of choice, and FF.net before that. A surprising number of people prefer to post their fic on tumblr, to which I say, are you out of your flipping MIND?!?! Tumblr is soooo temperamental, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to restart a post or go into the HTML editor because the rich text editor decided to be stupid. Noooooo thank you. I’ll stick to AO3 thanks ahaha!

Check out Glitter’s Tumblr and AO3.

Interviewer Note: Glitter used her free question to encourage everyone to vote and I would just like to stress the importance of this, especially if live in the US. Young people are the demographic that votes the least, despite being the demographic that will have to live the longest with the outcome of the vote. If you are currently not registered, please register as it is important for all of our futures. And, remember the deadline for the upcoming US election is Nov. 6th, so make sure to get to those polls and/or turn/send in your ballot. If you need information on how to do any of these things, do not hesitate to reach out to my page and I will point you to trustworthy resources. 

Man. I just realised I have not promoted my Voltron Rewrite at all...

SO. WHO'S UP FOR A COMPLETE REWRITE OF THE VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER SERIES, FEATURING CHARACTER ARCS FOR ALL, NO QUEERBAITING, ACTUAL FOUND FAMILY, AND PLOTS THAT ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE?

If this something you'd be interested in, boy do I have the fic for you.

Introducing the Legend of Voltron, the very fic I have just described! Before I disappoint anyone, no. This is not Klance or Shieth. The main focus is on the found family aspect, not the romance. Yes. Hunk will have a proper character arc and will not be reduced to the fat comedic relief!

Link down below:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34617064

And that is the end of Season 1, folks! Ahh, it's been such a good time! I loved writing this season, setting things up for later seasons. I want to thank everyone who has been reading my rewrite, and for all your support!

Special thanks to CatGirlBeast09 and Username1232 for commenting so frequently! It really helped me find my motivation to continue it!

As of now, this is the first long fic that I've ever completed, and the longest! So I really am grateful that people have been reading and staying tuned for so long.

Now, I am planning to rewrite the rest of it, so fear not. This is not goodbye - I have a lot planned out. Season two is where we'll really see the canon divergances, where more new things are introduced, further character development, and things I just felt were missing from VLD.

I am planning to go back and edit the past chapter, specifically the ones written two years ago, so if you see that I've updated anything past chapter 20, that is why.

That's all. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see you in the next installment!

Beyond the Stars - Fix It Journaling Session #1

Hey, hi, hello. How is everyone today? I've been working on a fix it fic for Voltron for near a decade now, and I just want people to know that the amount of research I put in just to make my writing the least bit confident will show through. I will say this right now that the fix it fic does have an OC in it, as well as ocxcanon. I apologize if you do not like content like this, but it's something that has been healing my abuse victim self for a while.

Here's some stuff that I came up with recently:

Shiro is bisexual - it is not only mentioned, but shown

Alisha exists - she is a fan character who is Shiro’s childhood best friend who eventually joins the team as an engineer and navigator

Shiro was born February 29, 2292, which is actually a leap year

Alisha is one year younger than him, making her born February 13, 2293

The story, instead of taking place in 2314, takes place 2317

Shiro will not die in season 2, rather be transported to another dimension

The clone does show up as a way for the Galra to track Voltron

There are differences between the actual Shiro’s personality and the clone

Alisha is the first to notice - due to her knowing Shiro like the back of her hand

Keith is the second to be suspicious due to how close he was with Shiro

Shiro Alone will follow the real Shiro in another dimension

Alisha and Keith find out where the real Shiro is, and Alisha tries her hardest to modify the red lion in order to have the ability to cross dimensions

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Shiro/Original Female Character Characters: Shiro (Voltron), Original Female Character Additional Tags: Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), Fix-It, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, Yes Plaht City is spelled like that I hate it too Summary:

Shortly after the events of the news broadcast for the Kerberos mission, one woman puts her life on the line to save the most important person to her. She must bring him home no matter the cost.

I just binged the entirety of this fic in two days and holy shit, it's SO good.

There's no romance, purely whump (A term I'd never heard of before this fic) and fluff and comfort, and all our favorite characters are just. They're done so beautifully and this fic is so inspiring and the author really did them justice. I don't think a single thing was left untouched and everything has a purpose. I, as an author myself, am extremely impressed by the author's ability to not only remember but connect everything, as much as they had. Lots of love and respect <3

That said, as much as I love this fic, it's very intense. It's probably the most violent thing I've ever read, fanfiction or not, and I would not recommend it for those who don't like to read VERY in-depth graphic depictions of violence. And they are extremely graphic, mentally, emotionally, and physically. It's worth a thousand reads, and has a wonderful ending, but do be careful, especially if you have (mostly self-harmful, abusive-memory based, and some sensory triggers). The vast majority of the book is violent (I don't remember exactly which chapters, but the most intense parts are chapters 1-20 and then 60-80, with some speckled between) in one way or another, especially with the amazing, masterful writing. Not much is left to imagination; it is all very vivid.

Please give this fic a read and leave kudos and comments!!! I personally loved it a lot. It's a long read (80 chapters and almost 450,000 words), but it's worth every letter.

“Colors were dancing in his vision despite his eyes being tightly closed, and with each burst he felt a presence that was so much bigger than himself.”

As Color Fades Away - @icypantherwrites

Art by @dellaray

Poster of Commander Takashi Shirogane for Voltron Global Military Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Unit…most likely of Act 1 of the story.