Sunday Snippet: On Ice

Wow… I can't believe May is almost over. The whole time speeding up thing has to be true. Or maybe I just try to pack too much stuff into life? Who knows.

Kind of a so-so week of television viewing. I had quite a few irons in the fire and needed some solid focus on a couple of projects. Still, not a bad slate of shows overall.

As usual, I caught two episodes of Peter Gunn. One I remember seeing before the other one I didn't. Also caught two episodes of Classic Who, starting The Ark storyline.

Watched the second episode of In the Dark and while it didn't charm me as much as the first episode did, I enjoyed it. Even though I love how flawed our heroine is, I can see her abrasiveness becoming a tired gimmick at some point. I'll definitely keep watching because I really want to know what happened to her friend.

Caught another episode of Blade and it's one I remembered featuring Chase's rehab after being burned almost to a crisp… literally. I'm about halfway through the season and if memory serves, things start getting really intense from here on out.

Started a rewatch of Banshee. Man… I'd forgotten how crazy the first episode ended up being. This show didn't flinch from violence in any way and it's one of the reasons I couldn't stop watching. Ugh… not because I love violence. More because the characters jumped right out and grabbed my attention. I also fell in love with Job's character at first sight.

Began a new Australian series called Blue Heelers and have almost two episodes watched. I found the show on the TubiTV app but I'm watching on the Freedive app so I can catch the series from the beginning.

Watched another episode of Chicago Fire and it ended up being pretty decent. I'm not sure about the whole Kelly and Stella vibe, but I like that they're still supportive of each other even if they're not together. Also liked Matt being something of a dick to Herrman. I know, I know… why would I like that? Because I want to see how he deals with his trauma of almost being shot.

Caught episode nine of Iron Fist and, holy crap, it didn't disappoint. Danny fighting without the fist and nailing Davos with the syringe blew me away. Colleen fighting the gang of goons kicked ass. Ward and Walker's interaction almost made me laugh out loud, but it also ended up being kind of touching in a bizarre way. The fact that Ward immediately knew Joy needed help speaks volumes, even if Joy doesn't want to hear about it. Watching her fall a full story down was… actually kind of mind-blowing. And, of course, Misty is always an added benefit to the show. The end… well, I'm excited to see where things go.

Watched the premiere episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries's second season. Great episode with lots of good stuff for the women to do. I like Frankie's interactions with her mom and I loved Trudy saving the day.

Picked back up with Riverdale's third season. I'm not all the way through the episode yet but I already want to smack Hiram. I'm really not sure about the whole G&G thing but part of loving this show is embracing the completely batshit crazy storylines. I'm happy to be back in the game so to speak.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from On Ice, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt of write a character that goes alpha on another because their bratty behavior has gone too far and they need a reminder of who is in charge." Kind of a specific prompt, right?

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…

"We're behind on curriculum. Is that because of the threat from Janus?" The elder mage, Newscome Atwater, called the academic staff meeting to order.

Birk drummed his fingers on his thigh. "The house of Janus doesn't train their people, sending acolytes out to wreak as much havoc as possible." His hand curled into a fist to stop the fidgeting. "If we don't prepare, we're going to lose good people." He couldn't be the only one that deduced the threat level.

Atwater nodded. "I tend to agree."

Paley jumped in. "I don't." She got up and started pacing behind her seat. "The house of Atwater already has the best alignment. Our scholars and acolytes are smart, savvy, and extremely talented." She paused and grasped the back of her seat. "We're holding them back with all the extra hours of training and repetitive bullshit." Her gaze aimed directly for Birk.

He absorbed the intended insult with no visible reaction. But her jibe stung. As she'd meant it to. Retaliation from earlier in the classroom.

Ignoring Paley, Birk addressed the other four mage instructors. "Are the recruits keeping up in the other areas?" Spells, conjuring, and alchemy required less physicality than deflection and projection.

Lydia Norj lifted one shoulder. "So far. And we're moving ahead, just not at our normal pace."

Paley smirked. "Ha! See… the longer training sessions are taking a toll elsewhere." She gave Birk a pointed look. "Told you."

Jim Bakerson held up a hand. "But it's not really. All of us are paying close attention to the individuals and making sure everyone is on the same page before moving on to the next topic."

Camron Michaels nodded. "Yeah, with the higher threat level lurking out there, we're being more cautious than we probably need to be, but I'd rather have it that way. We need scholars to teach and we can't do that if they're dead or injured."

Paley huffed out a loud sigh and directed her attention to the last instructor. "Mabel? Care to share your thoughts?" She pulled her chair out and plopped down hard in the seat.

Mabel Chambers didn't hesitate. "I'm inclined to agree with Paley. We're coddling the scholars and holding them back. They want to spread their magickal wings and see what they can do by gaining experience."

Paley started a happy chair dance in the seat. "Finally. Someone who knows what the Atwater acolytes should be doing."

Newscome held up a hand. "Enough, Miss Knoff. While you raise a good point, I'm still the elder mage here and I gave Southampton the master sage cords for a reason." He pinned Paley with his gaze. "You're the second ranked adept and your opinion holds weight. That said, we'll continue with the extra training sessions and revisit this topic next week." He glanced at the assembled group. "Is that clear for everyone?"

A chorus of nods met his query, with the exception of Paley. She rolled her eyes and got up, strolling out of the room without so much as a farewell.

Birk's lips thinned but he dismissed the others. "Thanks for the input today. Keep going with your classes and let me know if anything comes up." He stood, indicating everyone could leave.

Once they cleared the room, Birk sat back down, letting the anger in. Paley's attitude chafed, especially since they worked so closely together. And it halfway pissed Birk off that she wouldn't let it go.

Atwater rose from his seat at the head of the table. "The voice of dissent often rings the loudest. Sometimes there's a reason or hidden meaning in the conflicting opinion." He started toward the door. "Listen with all of your senses, Birk. You might hear more than you think."

Birk snorted but gave the elder mage a nod. "Yes, Elder Atwater." He got up and made his way out of the room behind Newscome.

He'd listen with his senses all right… to the resounding sound of Paley being a huge pain in the ass.

I love how much Birk absorbs in this scene. Each small dig chips away at his calm.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye