#bottled ocean

[icypantherwrites]

Fic Update: Bottled Ocean, Chapter 74

Chapter Snippet:

Lotor’s lips pulled up as Shiro’s back hit the wall.

Nowhere to go.

He lifted his sword in his right hand, left sparking with purple lightning that he held up as well and Shiro’s inhale sounded as loud as the gunshot even as he lifted his chin, eyes flashing defiance that couldn’t hide fear.

Because Shiro…

Shiro was about to die. 

“I will—”

“Stop.”

Lance barely heard himself speak, voice trembling and breathy, and Alaraan he had no idea what he was doing but he had to do something because otherwise Shiro was dead. 

“Please,” he whispered and while his hands didn’t lower and kept Shiro pinned to the wall, Lotor’s piercing gaze swept over towards him. “Don’t.”

“You forget, Lance,” Lotor said, voice still soft but no less dangerous. “Shiro is my property. I decide his punishment and for his transgressions there is only one befitting.” His eyes flashed. “Death. And so,” his gaze swung back to Shiro, who was still staring down that very thing with equal parts fear and pride, Lotor’s left hand crackling in a way Lance hadn’t seen it do yet.

Something told him it was not like the lightning he’d used to cause pain.

This…

This would cause death.

And there would be nothing Lance could do to save him.

The, the only thing he had left…

“I won’t try to escape,” Lance blurted out and Lotor stilled even if he did not look over. “I, I won’t fight back. I’ll,” he felt his cheeks darken even despite the circumstances, “cooperate and let you use me to,” his voice hitched, “to make more Mers,” and Shiro’s inhale then sounded horrified. “Just, just let Shiro go. Let Shiro and Keith both go,” Lance corrected. “Alive. And, and I’ll do whatever you want. I pr-promise.”

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Bottled Ocean is a Patreon exclusive fanfiction. You'll need to subscribe to the Patreon to be able to read it.

[arianwen44]

Inktober Day 18: Bottle

A bottled ocean wave for today!! I couldn't decide whether or not I liked the coloured version more than the black and white...

[icypantherwrites]

Normal people writing fight scenes:

Person sitting at a spacious desk, mug of something delicious nearby, a candle possibly lit, and a furrowed brow as they puzzle out what limb goes where in relation to a weapon.

Icy writing fight scenes:

All of the above but in the moment also grasping a roll of saran wrap in one hand and a roll of tinfoil in another as pretend dual swords, stumbling around her kitchen and trying to pretend she's fighting an enemy and if such a kill move is possible all while debating the merits of actually trying to perform a backflip off a window ledge to really get the sensation of the action and debating that no, unlike her character she will in fact break her neck.

[icypantherwrites]

It is finished.

Words I wasn't sure I was ever going to be able to write, but at 11:51 pm last night they became reality.

Bottled Ocean is finished.

I am really, really proud of myself for being able to come back to this story. I started writing it in all the way back in May 2020 so it has been almost four years from start to finish and it's been a really long, bumpy road. So much has happened over those four years and the story went from a vibrant, engaged audience when it first published to, if I'm lucky, one or two engaged readers and maybe five reading it total. It's been really hard to put forth the energy into writing such a monster of a story (it is officially over 250,000 words long) knowing that there's no one there really to read it and even now I'll be lucky to have one or two engaged readers for it.

But it is done. My legacy after writing over 400 fanfictions in the last 7 years is not an incomplete story. It's something I can look back on and be proud of that I wrote that and as anyone knows, 250,000 words is not a small undertaking.

I had promised myself that if I went back to writing this I would finish the story before it began publishing again on Patreon (which resumes today) and then life hit. I had Covid the last two weeks and felt really terrible and dizzy and unable to focus. I thought writing fight scenes was hard, bah, writing fight scenes while you're distracted by the word 'sword' because it says 's-word' and going off on a tangent of swear words you think pirates would say while still trying to write a fight scene is hard. I kept going.

I reached yesterday morning and realized that I still had at least four chapters to write and I wasn't sure how I was going to do it and even if my deadline was self-imposed I was going to fail it.

I didn't.

Outside of taking breaks to walk the dog (it reached 42 here in Chicagoland and for this time of the year that's practically tropical) and guzzling down over half of a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper and trying to drink water in there too, I did it. I sat down, wrote my ass off, and a little over 16,000 words of the most pinnacle parts of the story as it all comes together and concludes I did it. I am exhausted and I honestly didn't even recall most of the final chapter so I went back and read it this morning and not to toot my horn but damn I'm a good writer, and I am just so relieved and happy it is done.

I am done too. My writing journey comes to an end with this story (I'll still for sure be posting on Patreon for the rest of 2024 though with my insane backlog and of course Bottled Ocean and some works on AO3 too) and I'm hanging up my keyboard. It has been a long seven years full of the good and the bad, the bright spots and the dark, but I can look back at this chapter of my life and see that I wrote over 3.2 million words worth of stories to share and I feel...

I feel content. And relieved and honestly my wrists are aching from pressing against my laptop all night, but I am happy. Thank you to all who came on this writing journey with me, who have been with me since As Color Fades Away posted in 2017 or stumbled across my works this year. It has been a life-changing seven years of writing.

I'll still be around here posting updates and hopefully, maybe, trying to get a few of y'all to bite at Bottled Ocean and join me in reading my final fanfiction, but this author is finally, finally finished and it is the start of a new adventure.

Thanks everyone ♥

[icypantherwrites]

You know the worst part about being a Pantser?

When you think you, finally, have come to an idea to bring everything full circle and wrap it up neatly and are giving yourself a pat on the back and breathing a sigh of relief because this story you've been writing for over two and a half damn years has an end in sight and it's almost finally over and you can stop thinking about it and then...

Then you just write this single little line and it creates this whole new tangent, this whole new plot and Goddamn it this story is already almost 200k and I want to cry and ram my head into the wall and yet now that the idea is out there I can't shove it back into the dark recesses of my mind so here we go, damn it all xD

(The fic in question if anyone is wondering is Bottled Ocean, my Patreon Exclusive Mer!Lance fic featuring Night Elf Captain Lotor and slaves Shiro (Human) and Keith (Half-Human, Half-Night Elf) and is so full of whump and angst and pain I could literally bottle it as the title suggests xD. It's posted through Chapter Thirty-Five on said Patreon and I'm hoping to start publishing the rest once I finish the darn thing)

(and for anyone unsure of the term "Pantser" it describes the writing style fondly known as "flying by the seat of your pants" versus a "Plotter" who outlines and has an actual idea of where their story is going and how it gets there. I never know where mine go, they lead me and I just follow ;p)

[icypantherwrites]

Fic Update: Bottled Ocean, Chapter 36

Bottled Ocean summary:

Lance knew the moment he saw the one-armed Human man in pain, bleeding and tied up like bait in the ocean that the people on the nearby ship were the ones Mers like him were warned to stay far, far away from. Lance knew the moment he saw the one-armed Human man in pain, bleeding and tied up like bait in the ocean that the people on the nearby ship were the ones Mers like him were warned to stay far, far away from.

But even with such a warning there was no way of knowing how dangerous this particular ship, belonging to Night Elf Captain Lotor, could be.

And even had he known, Lance’s actions would have been the same. The man, Shiro, needed help. Shiro’s younger brother, a half blood Human / Night Elf and fellow abused slave needed rescued. And Lance could not, would not, turn away from those in need.

But all actions have consequences.

Lance is captured and now the fate that awaits him is as a test subject as Lotor seeks to unravel all of the legends, the mysteries and the magic of the Mers. His only hope is an escape alongside Shiro and Keith. But the clock is ticking as Lotor’s experiments and methods grow more cruel, more violent, and if they don’t escape soon… the only freedom any of them will find will be in death.

Chapter 36 snippet:

And because Shiro was staring so intently he saw the moment Lance’s eyes fluttered open, the whites catching the light, before they squeezed shut with another moan and Lance’s entire body curled in on itself, arms gravitating to wrap around his stomach. Shiro faintly wondered if he was about to be sick.

“Now, now,” and Lotor nudged Lance’s back with his boot, “it is not time for sleeping, Lance. You have done quite enough of that today.”

Lance didn’t react other than to curl up more with a small whimper and Shiro wasn’t sure if the boy was even aware of Lotor.

Lotor let out an exaggerated sigh.

Crouched down.

And purple lightning sparked upon his fingertips that he pressed to Lance’s already abused shoulders.

It didn’t even take a second.

Lance flailed awake with a shriek, eyes blown wide and body contorting to escape Lotor’s touch but unable to escape as Lotor merely followed his attempts, keeping the purple sparks going.

Shiro tasted blood as he bit down on his tongue, left hand curled into a fist at his side and nails biting into his palm and well aware of Keith’s low hiss next to him but like Shiro he did not move.

They could not engage.

It would make it worse.

But God.

Lance’s flailing came to an abrupt halt as he rolled into the side of the aquarium and could go no further and Lotor lifted his hand away as Lance huddled there, shaking and whimpering and tear-lined eyes pinpricked as they stared up at Lotor.

Shiro could no longer see Lotor’s face as he loomed over Lance, but he could picture the smirk perfectly as the man’s words came back towards them on the wind. “Awake now, are we? Finished wasting my time?”

Lance didn’t answer.

Lotor’s hand crackled with purple lightning.

“Y-yes,” Lance choked out even as he flinched backwards and in the flickering light the burns on his shoulders looked even angrier and Lance looking as terrified as Shiro had ever seen him.

This wasn’t right.

Read it here

[icypantherwrites]

Have you ever wanted to check out some of Icy’s Patreon exclusive fanfictions? Now you can! From now until April 5, 2023 at 11am CST, you can read CHAPTERS ONE, TWO AND THREE of Your Biggest Fan AND Bottled Ocean for FREE!

Not sure what this is? These two are exclusive chaptered fanfictions written solely for supporters of IcyPanther's Patreon. Your Biggest Fan is a finished fanfiction while Bottled Ocean is still ongoing (with still quite a tale to tell!). Their summaries are as follows:

Your Biggest Fan

Loverboy Lance has gained quite the following and Lance has absolutely no complaints. He’s loving the the fame, the fans and the chance to really shine in such a talented group as Voltron. This is his stage and he is ready to perform.

But fame has a dark side.

Lance has a fan that wants more than just an autograph and Lance doesn’t know the lengths this alien is willing to go. What’s more, he doesn’t know what he can do. The Coalition needs a successful show and he’s a part of that. He has to perform, he has to paste on a smile and pretend everything is all right. It’s for the universe. He can do this. After all, it’s just one fan. What’s the worst that could happen?

Icy's notes: for fans of thriller, stalker fics and dark elements including non-con touching, plenty of claustrophobic!Lance, gaslighting and emotional manipulation and hurt (but of course some really lovely comfort scenes too) this one's for you! ♥

Bottled Ocean

Lance: a Mer who has healing powers, an enthusiasm and love for exploring, learning new things and helping others; Shiro: a Human and former navy captain turned slave upon the Axca whose greatest wish is to find freedom for both himself and his younger brother; Keith: a halfbreed Human / Night Elf slave who is scorned by all except his brother and is used to keep him in line; Lotor: a prince of the Night Elf kingdom and captain of the Axca who is hunting a Mer to take apart and discover its secrets...   And in this section of the ocean all of their fates are about to intertwine.

Icy's notes: if you love world-building you'll love this story! We've got pirates and Mers and slaves and magic all bundled together with angst and whump for Lance, Keith AND Shiro because the more the merrier. Lotor is the cherry on top and for those that like how I write him you'll love how cruel and calculated he is here!

The first three chapters of each of these stories will be available through April 5 at 11am CST. If you would like to read the rest of the fanfictions you will need to join IcyPanther's Patreon. Your Biggest Fan is only available for supporters who join at the Iced Chai Tea Latte Tier ($60/month) and Bottled Ocean is available for readers starting at the lowest tier of Hot Tea Tier ($5/month). For reference, Icy's Patreon is on anniversary billing.

Happy reading!

Get started with Your Biggest Fan chapter one here and Bottled Ocean chapter one here!

[icypantherwrites]

Fic Update: Bottled Ocean, Chapter 47

Chapter Snippet:

Even in the darkness stealing across the deck Lance could make out the bright yellow and purple gaze as the Night Elf stared at them, his lip curling up.

And then with a flutter of his jacket and hair whipping on the wind, he turned and made for the room that Keith had pointed as being Lotor’s private quarters and disappeared inside it.

Lance blinked after him, certain he’d just imagined that.

But Keith’s quiet but angry, “what the fuck?” told Lance that no, Lotor had just been there.

And he’d left them.

Normally Lance would have been fine with not being anywhere near Lotor, but not this time. Now he needed to get out of the bottle, Keith needed to get out of the bottle, and Lotor was the only one who could do that.

And he’d just…

Lance shivered.

“He’ll be back,” Keith rasped.

His next words were barely audible.

“He has to be.”

“I’m—”

“If you apologize one more time I’m gonna kick you,” Keith interrupted. “On purpose this time.”

Lance’s lips twitched up into a shaky smile.

Keith’s brand of comfort was nothing like he’d ever experienced. It was rough, raw and on the surface seemed angry but…

But it made Lance feel warm.

It was just too bad such a feeling didn’t actually physically make him feel warm and Lance felt another violent shiver rolling through him that had his head clipping Keith’s chin.

“S—”

Keith’s foot bounced off his calf with more intent then the accidental kicks of his treading.

Lance huffed out a laugh, wincing as it grated on his throat.

Another sizzle of lightning cut across the sky and Lance silently counted out the seconds before the roll of thunder.

Four.

“Bastard’s probably waiting until last second,” Keith muttered. “Just before the storm reaches the ship.”

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