Sunday Snippet: Yanking the Pipe

Getting a late start to my day because my sleep schedule is out of whack. This has affected my great cleanout project, and I'm still determined to get back on track and at least do small things each day. Stay tuned!

On a different note, I did get about ten pounds of ground beef cooked and in the freezer. Also got three bags of grapes cleaned and in the fridge. So, the cleanout project took a back burner, but I did get other things done.

Work is still busy with new projects coming in and I'm enjoying the variety of things I have right now. I've also been able to do some catchup on my own stuff. I've been striving for better balance between my editing work and my writing.

Had a solid viewing week and made a full round of my regular shows and my two back burner shows. I'll be starting a new one this week, I think. Looking forward to picking up with a new season of something.

Started the week with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and enjoyed the episode and getting some Dr. Mac backstory.

Think I finished up the first season of Art Detectives. I really enjoyed this show and hope to see another season. They left enough seeds to pick up if they get one.

Caught another episode of Death in Paradise and ended up really loving the mystery. Not a standard path and the twists were good.

Enjoyed another episode of Poirot. It's one I'd seen most of before and I remembered most of the plot. Good episode.

Watched an episode of Elementary. Gotta say I love Joan being totally unafraid of the elder Holmes. Their interactions were very fun. And her getting the goods on him rocked the entire episode.

Caught an episode of Batman Beyond. It's one I remembered but forgot about. Does that make sense. Great episode too.

Enjoyed an episode of Lower Decks. This show is kind of wonky but usually adorable. Just enough tongue in cheek to keep things interesting and fresh.

Watched the opening of Peak Practice season eleven. Sam is on a precarious journey, and I think his exit is set up nicely. Not really sure about Will and Kate. I'm not really interested in them becoming the new Andrew and whatever his partner's name is.

Also caught another episode of Reacher. Man. This show. If I ever find the time, I want to do a deep dive and dig into some of the themes and tropes I love.

And that's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Yanking the Pipe, a novella that pulls a couple apart when they choose to travel different paths.

Here's the miniblurb:

Sammie Shields and Firth Fairmountain have fun yanking the pipe—pulling anonymous pranks—until one of their fellow soldiers gets injured. Their commanding officer gives them a choice—transfer to a marine unit to learn discipline or get busted down a rank. Sammie opts for demotion, but Firth chooses the alternate and finds a new mission, which Sammie struggles to accept.

And a sneaky peek…

Sammie moved her belongings to the junior pilot quarters. The roaring in her ears started when reaction finally set in. She didn't quite know how to deal with the idea Firth wouldn't be in her corner anymore.

Their last conversation replayed on a loop in her mind.

Firth scoffed. "I'm not leaving you."

Sammie's eyes widened. "Yes. You are. We won't see each other if you're going to be with the marines." How could he not get that?

Firth frowned then sighed. "You can look at it that way if you want to. But I will still see you." He threw the rest of his stuff in a rucksack and headed out of quarters.

Right. He'd still see her if they bumped into each other in the corridor. Maybe.

She started unpacking her gear.

"Hey, Lieutenant. Welcome to the lower ranks."

"Wow. Does this mean I don't have to take orders from you anymore?"

"This bunkroom operates by seniority. Previous rank doesn't count. You're low man on the ladder now."

Getting ribbed by her former junior officers sucked balls. But she'd have to grin and bear it. She could listen to this for a month … right? Because she didn't plan to accept a demotion for anything longer than thirty days.

Placing her personal belongings in her locker, she faced her new bunkmates. "Get your licks in now. But remember this … my time here will be short, but my memory is very long." She slammed the door shut. "Choose your digs carefully…" With a mock salute, she turned and exited the room.

The next month would be brutal. But she would not dive into the grunt factory and kowtow to a bunch of marines. She couldn't believe Firth opted for the harder route.

One that took him away from her. "Some friend he turned out to be." She wouldn't miss him one damn bit.

I'm happy with how this scene turned out and I'm excited to get Sammie and Firth through this conflict.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yanking the Pipe

Well, July kind of blew right by. It's been a busy month with a lot going on and that always makes the days seem to speed along.

Had a decent week finishing up a work project and making some solid headway on a couple of my personal projects. This is on top of having one kid in NYC and another that landed in the ED then got admitted to the hospital for three days and two nights. Thankfully, he's doing okay.

Actually got a lot of viewing completed also. I'm currently watching The Force Awakens. It's kind of a rewatch, but I haven't seen the whole movie from start to finish … ever. I've always come in at weird random places so I've seen the whole thing, but not in chronological order. I'm strange that way.

Also caught another episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries. This one had a very interesting twisty mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Watched the second half of Silent Witness and kind of loved where it ended up going. I like the way the two-part episodes are playing out right now.

Enjoyed another episode of Classic Who. Ace keeps growing on me. I love her as the companion for the Doctor. There's way less screaming, which is a bonus.

Caught another episode of Most Terrifying Places in America. This one focused on ghostly encounters and I enjoyed it.

Watched another episode of Moon Knight. Honestly, I kind of love this show. It's a little campy, which keeps the darker aspect of the storyline in check. It works for me and I love it.

Ended up enjoying another episode of The Hardy Boys. There are a lot of twists and turns this season and some have worked better than others. Joe truly annoyed the crap out of me but I think they might pull all that together by the end of the season.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. I ended up enjoying the less soap-operaish storyline this week.

Enjoyed another MasterClass lesson with Roxane Gay. This week she talked about revisions, editing, and proofreading. I love that phase of writing and I loved what she had to say about her methods. She's also not a big fan of the phrase kill your darlings. I've never liked that one and it's nice to have someone like Roxane say she doesn't either.

Watched another episode of The Babysitter's Club. I'm honestly so disappointed there won't be another season of this show. It's really coming together in this second season.

Caught an episode of The Ready Room. This one featured Shazad Latif and I completely enjoyed the interview. He had some great insight.

Enjoyed the second episode of Driven. Tawny can die in a fire and that would make me really happy. Not sure I like the dude or, well, possibly dudette following Riley. Becks makes me very happy. I love this series so much.

Watched another episode of Chicago Med. I'm so surprised Will kind of shut Natalie down. Not that it wasn't deserved, but I was surprised nonetheless. Glad to see Maggie might not lose Ben. I'm seriously not sure what the hell is going on with April. Should be in for some interesting future episodes.

Caught another episode of Batman: The Animated Series. This is probably my all-time favorite animated show ever. I'm happy I'm rewatching again.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Yanking the Pipe, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sammie Shields and Firth Fairmountain have fun yanking the pipe—pulling anonymous pranks—until one of their fellow soldiers gets injured. Their commanding officer gives them a choice—transfer to a marine unit to learn discipline or get busted down a rank. Sammie opts for demotion, but Firth chooses the alternate and finds a new mission, which Sammie struggles to accept.

And a sneaky peek…

Firth reported to Gunnery Sergeant Glenn Marxon. "Transfer papers, Gunny." He kept his back straight and his head high.

Marxon gave grunt. "Didn't think you had the stones. Figured you demote down to lieutenant." He initialed the orders and stuffed them into his file.

Firth held his stance. "I think the transfer will do me good. And I expect you to put me through my paces." He actually wanted to be so tired by the end of the day he couldn't think.

The gunny scoffed. "I don't want someone who can't be a team player." He jabbed a finger in Firth's shoulder. "And it's obvious you're not."

Firth point-blank made a commitment. "Not yet. But I can be." He met Marxon's gaze. "My rank will be checked at the door. I made a choice. To come and learn." The words settled in his mind and strengthened his resolve. "It's not about guilt or trying to prove my dad wrong." The decision started that way, but Firth craved something different and new.

Not that he'd ever give up flying, but a different path couldn't hurt for a while.

Glenn studied Firth for several long moments. "You're wrong about that. Guilt is riding your ass and you'll always have something to prove to your old man." He relaxed his stance. "But if you can pull your weight and show you can have the unit's back for one week, we'll be golden and I'll follow your orders as captain of this regiment for however long it lasts." Marxon stepped up toe-to-toe with Firth. "But if you fuck me or anyone else over, or if you try any of that yanking the pipe shit, the commander won't have a body to bury." His tone didn't indicate anything less than seriousness.

Firth held the gunny's gaze several moments before giving a terse nod. "Your point's made." He put his eyes straight ahead. "Will there be anything else, Gunny?"

Marxon grunted an approval. "We do daily calisthenics at 0500. Don't be late."

Firth lifted his chin. "0500. I'll be here." He turned to head for the exit.

Marxon caught up with him. "Study this. It's our unofficial playbook. If you come prepared, you'll have a better shot at a smooth transition." He handed over a thick binder.

Firth tucked it under his arm and left the room. This wouldn't be an easy ride, but the injured crewman bothered him. He'd take the wake-up call and strive to do things right.

Even if he had to go it alone with no Sammie in sight.

I honestly love writing this story. Firth and Sammie have some personal issues to work through and having them on opposite sides is fun to write.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yanking the Pipe

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 Yanking the Pipe, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of writing about pranks gone wrong.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sammie Shields and Firth Fairmountain have fun yanking the pipe—pulling anonymous pranks—until one of their fellow soldiers gets injured. Their commanding officer gives them a choice—transfer to a marine unit to learn discipline or get busted down a rank. Sammie opts for demotion, but Firth chooses the alternate and finds a new mission, which Sammie struggles to accept.

And a sneaky peek…

Firth braced for the impact of Sammie's reaction.

She didn't wait long. "Screw that. I didn't train to fly a multi-billion credit spacecrafts to wind up in a marine grunt unit." Her face twisted in a grimace.

His dad quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? That training included instruction in yanking the pipe, then?" He folded his arms over his chest.

Sammie had the grace to flush a little. "Well, no. I'm kind of a natural when it comes to that stuff." Her shoulder lifted in a shrug.

Firth shook his head. "Not helping, Sammie. You can shut up now." Before she really jumped into the fire.

She swung her gaze around to him. "No. Because this is bullshit, Firth." She paced back and forth again. "I get we need to face some kind of repercussion, but a demotion? When we've worked our asses off to be the best?" She flung an arm out. "Or worse, a transfer to the meathead marines, where there's never a fight they won't settle or an ass they won't kick." She stopped and braced her hands on her hips. "No. No way." She met the commanding officer's gaze head-on.

Fairmountain straightened. "I figured you'd say that." He reached behind him and retrieved a box.

Opening it, he handed it to her. Lieutenant pips. Son of a bitch. His dad definitely prepared for this confrontation.

Sammie's jaw dropped but she had little choice but to face her situation. She snapped the container shut along with her mouth. Then she tucked the box into her pocket. Lieutenant Shields. Damn, Firth's stomach roiled with the idea.

But it strengthened his resolve.

Fairmountain met his son's gaze. "Well?" He said nothing else, leaving the choice firmly in Firth's hands.

Firth lifted his chin. "I'll report immediately to the gunnery sergeant." Which would be interesting, considering Firth outranked him.

One side of his dad's mouth curved upward slightly and he turned, signing Firth's new orders.

Sammie's shocked gasp rang in Firth's ears. She'd expected him to follow her down the ladder. And he could take the easy way, but a fellow crewman got hurt and Firth didn't like how the knowledge he'd been responsible sat with him. Past time for him to step up and act like he'd had the training Sammie spewed on about. His path would be different from hers.

His dad held the papers out. "You're both dismissed."

Firth took the new orders from his dad and snapped off a salute. He turned and the hurt and betrayal in Sammie's eyes almost had him rethinking his decision. Almost. Maybe some time apart and away from each other's influence would be a good thing.

Sammie obviously didn't agree. "I can't believe you did that. Why are you leaving me?"

Poor Sammie is in for a tough ride. Without Firth backing her plays, she's not going to handle things well at all.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Yanking the Pipe

Well, the big super bowl game is on tonight and I’m watching a Star Trek Next Gen marathon instead. LOL Don't get me wrong, we still have all the food and trimmings, like WAY more than we need, but with several televisions in the house, the game can be merrily playing in the kitchen and living room while I hunker down in my writing cave and watch something totally different. If anything really exciting happens, the family will let me know. :D

So, next week The Walking Dead returns and I'm not sure if I'm super-excited or not. I think I am, but won't know until I see the new episode. And Bitten is coming soon, February 15 on Syfy. Definitely excited for more of that show.

My usual shows all had great episodes. I completely forgot to mention The Magicians in last week's post, but I'm seriously liking that show. And Lost Girl is in its final run of episodes. I've seen the way it ends and I'm definitely watching the last hurrah. I hope another show with fae-releated characters turns up sometime.

The Flash ended up surprising me, which I'm always thrilled to have happen. Arrow also threw in an interesting reveal and I'm speculating like mad now. Legends of Tomorrow mixed up the teams and I'm down with them doing that on a regular basis.

Agent Carter has such a great mix of humor and tension. I almost wish there could be a longer season, but I'm also kind of happy with the brevity, mainly because the writing stays pretty focused and doesn't dart off on too many tangents.

Last but not least, The X-Files had one of those instant classic episodes that I could watch over and over again. I can't wait to talk to my brother about it. Teen Wolf, again, feels rather choppy, but I've been thinking about that and have come to the conclusion it's supposed to feel that way, especially since the creepy doctors can warp time, or whatever it is they do. So yeah, I just needed to have that last little piece click into place. LOL

And that's it for television this week.

Tonight's post is from Yanking the Pipe, a novella that got its start with the prompt of "pranks gone wrong", followed by the challenge of showing the fallout for the characters.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Sammie Shields and Firth Fairmountain have fun yanking the pipe—pulling anonymous pranks—until one of their fellow soldiers gets injured. Their commanding officer gives them a choice—transfer to a marine unit to learn discipline or get busted down a rank. Sammie opts for demotion, but Firth chooses the alternate and finds a new mission.

And a sneaky peek…

Commander Barnabas Fairmountain cut an imposing figure on a regular day. But when he had a head full of rage built up, he took on a scary visage that took Sammie Shields' back to her childhood. She blinked to clear the bad memories from her brain.

Fairmountain slammed his hand on the desk. "Dammit, you two. I expect better from you." He directed his gaze to the man next to Sammie. "Especially you, Firth. When my own kid pushes things too far, how can the rest of the crew respect me?"

Sammie winced. Ouch. At least she only had to face memory lane when she screwed up. Firth had to live under his father's thumb every day.

The commander crossed his arms over his chest. "You're latest stunt landed one of my pilots in sickbay. I can't overlook this stupid yanking the pipe bullshit anymore." He turned away, putting his back to them.

Firth spoke up. "Permission to speak, Sir."

Sammie's eyes widened at the formality. Usually, when they got in trouble and Fairmountain dragged them into his office, they still had a casual demeanor with each other. After all, she and Firth were notorious for pulling pranks and practical jokes, yanking the pipe in military speak.

The commander glanced over his shoulder. "Granted. I'd love to hear what you have to say for yourself." He faced the back wall again.

Sammie wouldn't mind hearing what Firth had on his mind either.

Firth relaxed, but only a little. "Obviously, you can't let us slide on this one, but you have to know we didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." He slid a Sammie a sideways glance.

She found her tongue and seconded Firth's statement. "Right, Sir. No one should have been around when the—"

Farimountain whirled to face them. "But they were! And that's not the point." He came around his desk. "You two know better and I can't let you get slide anymore. I've got to make an example of you." His face betrayed the difficulty he had with the spot they'd put his dad in.

Sammie didn't blame Firth, but her heart landed in her stomach. The way the elder Fairmountain exhaled on a long, slow breath did not bode well for either her or Firth. When Nabas didn't bluster and blow his stack, the outcome tended to be bad.

The commander cleared his throat. "You have two choices. Demotion or transfer to a marine unit." He stared straight ahead, waiting their response.

Firth closed his eyes, his shoulder slumping. Yeah, maybe he could accept defeat, but Sammie had no plan to do so.

She growled. "Are you kidding me?" Pacing back and forth—without permission to do so—she let her mouth rule the day. "You cannot be serious." She didn't doubt her CO, but she wouldn't go down without any kind of resistance.

Barnabas directed his gaze her way. "Very serious. It's one or the other."

Sammie's path won't be an easy one but she makes the only choice she thinks she can. And Firth's choice throws her into a tailspin.

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye