Sunday Snippet: On Ice

The Last Ship continues to blow my mind. I love the words that come from Chandler's mouth. Is the man perfect? Hell, no. But I'd totally back whatever play he wanted to make, even if it blew up in our faces. Can't wait to see what Blond Ambition tries to pull this week. And I have to say, the whole building of a wall thing, making the regional borders permanent, haunts me a little. I'm very interested in how that whole thing plays out. And hey… I get to see a familiar face on this week's episode!! YAY!!

Killjoys stayed dark and twisty and I won't complain. I'm saddened by the loss of a character who became a favorite. I'm also really interested in finding out what the hell is up with the faux scarbacks Evil Delle has working with her. Because that's a snag I want to see play out.

Dark Matter dialed the tension back a little and I'm okay with it. I continue to be amused by the little callbacks to the Stargate 'verse—this week it was a personal shield—and hope the inside references don't get to be too much. We'll see how that goes.

No Strike Back this week, but I did finish up season two of Babylon 5. I'm taking a small break to start on some 80s movies with my daughter and I've also got season one of Killjoys on tap. I'm revisiting the first episodes to see if there are some seeds planted that I missed. :)

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from On Ice, a novella built around the prompt of one character having enough of the other's brattiness and deciding to show them who's boss. A totally fun scenario to play with.

Here's the mini-blurb:

A battle is brewing between opposing magical factions and Paley Knoff and Birk Southampton are charged with readying their troops. Paley thinks Birk is taking the threat too seriously and when he ignores her in favor of adding more training, she pushes him a little too far, leaving him no choice but to put her on ice until she remembers who's in charge.

And a preview snippet…

Paley Knoff rolled her eyes. "Can we please move the hell on from deflecting fire ball attacks?" She met the gaze of her fellow instructor.

Birk Southampton narrowed his eyes. "Not yet. Only half the class is proficient." He turned and began an incantation to make more projectiles.

Paley whined. "But it's so booorrrring." Her tone grated on her ears, but they'd been at the same exercise for half the day.

Birk glanced back over his shoulder. "Maybe, but it's better than half our students being dead." A dozen fiery orbs hovered in the air beside him.

Paley couldn't argue. "Okay, true. But at least let me take the ones who've mastered the skill and—"

Birk cut her off. "No. We stay together. I'm not bucking protocol because you have the attention span of a gnat." The balls followed him when he moved to the center of the room.

His admonishment stung. She never liked being called on her bullshit. Something Birk managed to do on a regular basis.

Stomping to the middle of the training area, she whipped up a batch of matching flame missiles. "Heads up, people. The master has deemed more work necessary." She launched the first volley. "Let's all get it right this time." A brief flash of satisfaction flared when two students worked together to destroy the fire ball.

And a surge of pleasure filled her when Birk's mouth thinned to a slash across his face. If he wanted to call bullshit, she'd retaliate by hurling insults. If she pissed him off in the process, she'd consider the achievement a bonus.

She'd scored a direct hit, based on Birk's intense focus for the next thirty minutes. He tended to ignore anything but his goal when he got riled, preferring to stew in silence. Taking turns making the flaming orbs, each put the group of twenty students through their paces. By the time Birk decided they passed muster, Paley almost leapt with joy. Finally… they could move on to something more interesting.

And maybe get back on schedule.

I'm going to love seeing how these two get together. Okay, I know how they're going to work things out, but it'll be fun getting all that on the page. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Old Wounds

August 21, 2016

Well… Blonde Ambition finally showed her true colors on The Last Ship. About damned time. LOL I'm going to be really super pissed if anything happens to Kara because of Allison's machinations. I almost dread watching tonight's episode. Almost. J

Killjoys. Wow. Took a very dark turn and I love it. The way the cast works together amazes me. There's tension, usually understated, and buttloads of chemistry with everyone. I hope this show lasts for a good long time.

Dark Matter had a very trippy episode with an alternate 'verse. The showrunners have crap tons of experience with the concept, coming from the Stargate stable. The possibilities of the blink drive makes for lots of interesting scenarios. Looking forward to seeing what they do with that.

My Strike Back and Babylon 5 rewatches took a nosedive. My schedule exploded last week and I had zero time to watch either. Hopefully I'll get to reconnect this week.

Looking forward to several new shows this fall and, obviously, my returning favorites.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Old Wounds, a novella that started with the prompt of writing a scene around the anniversary of someone's death.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Abbot Isley's father lies near death, Nixie Grimm is willing to open old wounds to help him cope. Taking a trip down memory lane is not her favorite thing, but Abbot's steadfast support triggers a healing process she didn't know she needed and lets her move forward—with Abbot.

And a preview snippet…

Abbot slid into the vehicle and took a five count, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Fishing around for the keys, he started the car and turned the heater on. The chilly interior helped clear his head, but they needed to get moving and Nixie wouldn't wait long to ask questions.

He backed out of the parking space and pulled up by the main doors. Nixie finished up and exited, dashing over to the passenger side.

She leaned in. "I can drive, if you want."

He shook his head and she settled in, buckling her seatbelt. Pulling out onto the road, he merged with the light traffic. Not many people needed to be out and about at four in the morning.

Hell, he didn't want to be driving down the street at the buttcrack of dawn.

Pounding his fist on the steering wheel, he cursed. "Damn them! Every last one of them." He gunned the engine and sped along the road, catching all the lights until he hit the outskirts of the town.

He braked to a halt, fingers drumming on the dash. When the signal changed, he floored the accelerator and shot across the intersection. The list of everything wrong with his dad played through his mind. Actually, his father had one thing wrong, but no one had been able to get to it yet. Dammit.

Nixie angled in the seat, turning to face him. "Who are we damning and what did they do to the old man? Something pretty fucked up if you have to break the land speed record to get back." She folded her arms across her chest and waited.

Abbot sighed and finally slowed down. "You know the who. My dad is in flux. Some kind of virus, but the healers can't get to it because it's wrapped in about ninety layers of spells and bindings." He made a turn onto the state route that would take them home.

Nixie's shoulders slumped. "Shit." She didn't have to say anything else.

They'd missed their mark and let the bastards get away. And his father might pay the price.

We'll eventually get to the anniversary part, but not for a while.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye 

Sunday Snippet: Numb

Wish I had commentary about The Last Ship. Looking forward to the new episode tonight. Where's Rachel when we need her to figure out the science? I'm actually wondering if her former flame has something to do with the green mist stuff. Can't wait to find out who's behind that.

Killjoys continues to intrigue me. I'm so excited to see where this season ends up. I love how the various factions all seem to have pieces to a puzzle but no one knows what the puzzle looks like yet.

Dark Matter had a terrific episode. Great to see Five get some screen time to remind us of her mad skills. Three and Four make a fun team. I'm interested in finding out what else is going on behind the scenes.

Babylon 5 has two episodes left in season two… I think. Can't remember if they did a standard twenty-two episode season or not. I'd forgotten how much of an impact Talia's betrayal had, even if she had no idea what happened.

No Strike Back this week. Had way too much other drama going on to be able to watch. *sigh* Maybe I'll get to it this week.

That's the TV update for this week. Tonight's post is from Numb, a novella that started with a detailed prompt. Characters are apathetic. They're not happy, not sad, they just don't… feel much anymore. The sparkle of life has gone and they're going through the motions.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Cyan Fitch and Theron Dibney have a great relationship—hot sex, rock solid friendship, and mutual respect. When a mostly lethal virus tears through their community, the couple works side by side to help as many as possible, but it takes a toll. They can't quite get comfortably numb while they face the devastating losses and neither is willing to bend for fear they'll break.

And a preview snippet…

Theron stood beside the grave, trying to feel something over the exhaustion weighting him down. Cyan swayed but caught the action and straightened, squaring her shoulders. He'd lost count of the death toll, but the number hovered in the triple digits. The service ended and people, less than the day before, made their way to the walking path leading out of the cemetery.

Cyan remained, dry-eyed and solemn. Theron moved forward and finally put an arm around her, offering whatever small comfort he could. This one hit hard.

Cyan spoke with a broken whisper. "I can't believe she's gone." Her eyes filled and she blinked the tears away.

His heart broke for her. "She fought hard, Cy. And she helped so many." Ciara Fitch gave everything she had.

Cyan turned and buried her face in his shoulder. "I thought she'd pull through. That she'd be the one to find the cure. Answers." A shudder wracked her.

Theron wrapped his arms around her and let Cyan mourn. Losing her mom wrecked not only Cyan, but lowered the chances they'd beat the bio-curses. No one knew the biology better then Ciara, and she hadn't been afraid to use the dark arts to find a counteraction to the hexed virus taking so many lives.

Cyan eased away from him, tilting her head back. "Take me home, Theron. We've earned a brief reprieve." Glancing toward the grave, she nodded to the crew.

They began lowering the casket into the ground.

Theron slid his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze. "We'll take a full twenty-four hours, Cy." Sadly, they couldn't have more. "Then we'll get back to work." Ceaseless, unending, and soul-sucking.

Cyan laced their fingers together and lifted her chin. "I'm going to meet with the council. I'm done being reactive. It's time to get proactive and find the assholes who unleashed this damned virus on us." Stepping away from her mother's grave, she started for the path.

Theron didn't argue. She'd have a tough time convincing the council to let her go on the hunt but, in the end, the group of twelve would allow the pursuit.

Theron would make certain, no matter the price.

I loved this prompt and had several ideas fall into place almost immediately. Can't wait to finish this one.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye

Sunday Snippet: Nowhere Good

Well… a lonely week without an episode of The Last Ship, but the previous episode gave me lots of fodder to make theories about. LOL. I seriously think Blonde Ambition has an agenda we have yet to see. A friend suggested Allison is in cahoots with Jacob the asshat reporter and I love the idea. On the Asian front, Chandler has his hands full. The green mist stuff may make me find a new favorite color. LOL

Killjoys keeps getting better and better. Truly love how lots of threads are working their way together and twisting around each other. This show continues to amaze. And guess what? It's got green plasma goo stuff, so, yeah, maybe orange is going to be my new favorite color. LOL

Dark Matter finally dropped some details about Nyx, one of the new crew members. Looking forward to seeing how the interaction with Four changes when she finds out what he suggested for her brother.

Babylon 5 rewatch continues and I'm almost at the end of season two. I'm looking forward to diving into three because the groundwork from the first two seasons starts building one of my favorite characters arcs of all time.

I viewed more Strike Back and remembered how much I loved all the mistakes they let Stonebridge and Scott make in season two. Seriously, the duo messed up on a pretty big scale… several times. LOL I think that's why it became one of my favorite shows.

And that's it for television. Tonight's post is from Nowhere Good, a novella based on the prompt of characters having a celebratory kiss.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After wiping out a rival fae faction, Adria Stock plants a hot kiss on Shaun Henrickton, a fellow enforcer, and their world tilts sideways. They've got custom and ritual, protocol, and baggage between them and if they cave to their baser feelings, the outcome can't go anywhere good.

And a preview snippet…

Shaun waited for Adria's contrary response. The woman threw up more roadblocks than a construction crew. When she remained still and quiet, he blinked. She didn't make a move to shove him aside or duck away.

Wonders would never cease.

Her possible capitulation filled him with a kernel of hope. But he needed to hear her say she agreed. Wanted to see her determination to fight for them. Craved her willingness to step outside their predetermined roles and create a path only for them.

Resting his forehead against hers, he pushed for answers. "What's going on in that head of yours?" He braced for her response.

Adria lifted her chin. "A battle between the rational side of my brain and the wish fulfillment part." She stepped away and started pacing.

A good sign in his book. She worked better when on the move. If he could keep his mouth shut and let her wrap her hear around the concept of "them", they had a shot at something great.

Adria stopped and faced him. "Okay. Screw 'em all." Her fierce features softened. "If you make the declaration, I'll accept your suit." A husky tone crept into her voice. "And we'll face whatever obstacles come our way together." She moved closer, grasping his hips with her hands.

Shaun wrapped his arms around her. "Starting with our families. Deal with them, half the battle is done." And it would be a fight on both fronts.

Adria buried her head in his shoulder. "Ugh. But you're right." She lifted her chin and met his gaze. "We'll hit mine first, right after you make your intention known." Her hands skimmed along his sides then smoothed down his back.

Shaun nodded. He agreed, starting with her relatives would be the best route. But he'd rather focus on sealing their fates first.

I love writing battling families. It's such a fun source of conflict.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye