MJ's place to boogie

[Doubar]

This is a most interesting thought and reasoning indeed. That there was much more to it than "just" loosing someone he loved.
You are right, much of his life was spent being afraid of things and when finally he has overcome his fears or at least learned to live with them he gets slapped in the face. Aye, he abandoned his ship - something no captain should ever do. But then again, can we really blame him? Wouldn't he have done the same for Doubar? And didn't he know, in the back of his mind, that his brother would be well capable of stirring the ship safely through the storm? Don't get me wrong, I am not meaning to argue against your musings, I'm just adding my own thoughts to yours. But at any rate, no matter whether he was to blame or not, and no matter whether he could be relatively sure that his crew would be safe... I can easily see himself feel regret over his choice because it could have doomed his crew all the same.

Anyway, you didn't imagine it. Mala turned into a watery presence after Scratch had pushed her into the lava. Personally I always saw her as just a ghost who had somewhat gained control over the waters (which is also how I play her here) but it could be just as well that she (was) turned into a Nyad after her death or that she was one all along even(?).

but that would mean writing a disseration on the possibilities of the innermost workings of Sinbad's psyche and who has the time for that?

Lol, true that. I guess none of us really has the time to tend to such kind of project although it would be an interesting thing to do for sure (is pretty much certain Nili would have to say one or two things about that as well xP ). ;D

[MJ]

Can you imagine what it would be like to lose people you love time and again in exactly the same way? I think I'd move to a dessert!

Aye, he abandoned his ship - something no captain should ever do. But then again, can we really blame him? Wouldn't he have done the same for Doubar?

Yes, and that's the point sort of, it was never really about Maeve, it was about Sinbad's loss.

And didn't he know, in the back of his mind, that his brother would be well capable of stirring the ship safely through the storm?

Doubar was manning the tiller wasn't he? And in a storm, that thing definitely needs lots of attention.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Sinbad for it, I just take it as a clue as to his state of mind.

And I'm sure Nili would have some great things to say indeed! She's played Sinbad longer than Zen did ;D

[Doubar]

So would I, I guess. Poor lad, really. I wouldn't want to trade places with him for anything in the world.

Yes, and that's the point sort of, it was never really about Maeve, it was about Sinbad's loss.

... which is exactly what I find so fascinating about this short story of yours. Because I had never focused so much on that rather general aspect of what has happened. And as far as I know it, neither has any other fanfic author.

Doubar was manning the tiller wasn't he? And in a storm, that thing definitely needs lots of attention.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming Sinbad for it, I just take it as a clue as to his state of mind.

Actually, I don't know anymore. O.o I haven't watched that ep in ages. Did Doubar man the tiller? I thought Sinbad gave it to Rongar but no wait... that was some other time. Yeah, guess it was Doubar then.
Anyway, I know you weren't blaming him and it's a great reasoning you did there. This can easily be a huge clue as to his state of mind! *bows to you for detecting it*

And I'm sure Nili would have some great things to say indeed! She's played Sinbad longer than Zen did ;D

O.o OMG, I didn't even realize... you're right! We've played this crew for longer than the real cast did. Holy sh*t. O.O Though, I guess if we compared the actual hours they've spent preparing and filming with the actual time we've spent writing posts I'd dare bet that they're a couple of weeks or months ahead of us still. xD

[MJ]

LOL! I honestly think your crew has spent more time thinking about AoS than the original crew, especially those not involved with the production process.

And my cynical side knows that Sinbad jumped after Maeve because that was the obvious thing to do for a Romantic Hero like he's supposed to be and there is precious little layering of emotions going on in the characters unless you look sideways and squint. But I enjoy fitting those moments that are only there to serve the plot and fitting them into the greater hole. So I end up looking sideways and dquinting a lot. No wonder I don't have a boyfriend

[Doubar]

Mar 2, 2013 16:34:20 GMT -5 MJ said:

LOL! I honestly think your crew has spent more time thinking about AoS than the original crew, especially those not involved with the production process.

Lol, okay I grant you that - when you count all the thinking we've done... then, aye, could well be that we surpass the original crew. XD

Haaahaha, but I fear your cynical side is right indeed. There sure enough wasn't even half of the stuff we fangirls interpret into that moment going on in that captain's brain. But then again, why should we care? It's just so much fun doing all the squinting and turning the guys into a bunch of Mister Fantastics. So I for one will continue to do just like you and look sideways and squint as much as I can. ^^

[MJ]

I don't know why but I don't feel like posting on FFN right now. I might do at some point, but for now my offerings are just for you.


=Little brothers=

In the darkness of the night Doubar stood on deck, holding the tiller and looking to the stars to reassure him of his course. A few lanterns- candles in glass cages- hung in safe places on the deck, but none too close to the first mate, he saw better without.

As they sailed deep waters there was no look-out needed, so there were just two men clambering up and down the mast, adjusting the sails to catch the wind. One man took this opportunity to swab the deck with a mixture of tar and frayed rope that made the old planks repel water once more.

Doubar treasured the quiet efficiency of these moments. They set his mind at ease.

Close to midnight he noticed another of the crew come up on deck, having a quick look around and then darting over to the upper-deck aft of the ship. Maeve came to a halt by Dermott, who was roosting just above the burn-mark made at the very beginning of their journey. She noticed Doubar and acknowledged him with a nod. Like a true sailor she didn’t need much to haul herself up to the cross-beam where her familiar perched, she just shimmied up and swung herself over onto the beam. Sailors who were afraid of falling were ex-sailors.

Doubar averted his eyes to prevent himself from looking up Maeve’s loose linen shorts but when he judged he’d given her enough time he looked up to see what was happening. He could only hope she wasn’t going to set the ship on fire on his watch.

He saw Maeve hunched over the sleeping hawk, waking him by lightly scratching his chest. The bird seemed confused at first, then Maeve quietly muttered a few words to him before she pressed a kiss to the top of his head. Dermott relaxed and looked at Maeve for a long moment. Then he went back to sleep and she scrambled back down to the deck.

“Careful,” Doubar said it softly but the quiet night carried his words to her just in time. The lower-deck was completely covered in tar by now. If she didn’t want to get her shoes covered in the stuff, she’d have to wait a few minutes.

Maeve came to stand by Doubar and after a few moments of companionable silence she answered the question he was too polite to ask:
“It’s his birthday, I’ve woken him up at midnight on the day of his birth since he was born,” Maeve said.

Doubar noted that she’d said ‘born’ instead of ‘hatched’ and quietly filed the detail away. He, like everyone else on-board, had his theories about the relationship between Maeve and Dermott, but he figured Maeve would tell them in her own time.

“I was thirteen when Sinbad was born. I didn’t dare touch him at first, he looked so tiny and fragile… But then my mother laid that tiny little creature in my arms and she said that having a brother meant that I would never be alone,” Doubar told her.

“I was seven and he was sickly child. He needed constant care and attention… It exhausted my parents, so sometimes I’d take over so they could get some sleep or feed the pigs or tend the crops or do one of the other of the hundreds of things that needed doing on a daily basis. So I’d sit there with him curled against my belly, like he thought I was his mother and he wanted to go back inside, and I'd feed him little bits of goat’s milk and then he’d sleep for a bit, exhausted by even that little act and then he’d wake up and we’d do it all over again.” Maeve shared.

“They need a lot, don’t they? Little brothers…” Doubar said, placing a comforting hand on the back of Maeve’s neck.

“You’ve given your life to yours,” Maeve pointed out, leaning against Doubar’s side, taking and giving comfort in the darkness.

“So have you,” Doubar said, and he was so normal, so non-judgemental about it that Maeve knew her secret was safe with him.

“It’s worth it,” Maeve said, then turned her face to look at Doubar’s. “Isn’t it?”

Doubar considered it for a moment, not for himself but for her. He didn’t know exactly what she’d been through to protect her little brother but he knew it had taken her away from everything that was familiar to her, shaped her into a sword-wielding sorceress and made a little hollow in her heart that could not be filled until she’d rectified the situation.

“It’s worth it,” Doubar finally said, his voice a deep rumble. Because at the end of the day, that’s what you did for your brother. “But they can be a real pain in the neck!” He added in lighter tones.

“Sinbad could get into trouble sitting alone in an empty room!”

“Tell me some stories,” Maeve requested, relishing the affection she heard in the big brother’s voice when thinking about his little brother.

“Well there was this one time when he was about five years old…”

They stood close together as Doubar told his tale, his deep voice forming a cocoon around them in the silence of the night. There was a comfort in the understanding between them of what it was to take the fate of a much beloved brother on your own shoulders and that simple act of understanding made it a little easier to bear.

[Doubar]

Awww, this is a very lovely piece, MJ! I really like how you connected Maeve and Doubar in their love for their younger brothers. And that Doubar realized the moment he saw her wish Dermott a happy Birthday, revealing his newfound knowledge so subtly by telling of Sinbad's birth. How Maeve responded to that was just awesome.

Really, a very beautiful piece. Thanx for sharing!

[Firouz]

First off MJ, both of those ficlets are totally awesome!

I LOVE how you made Sinbad's darkness a reflection of how he was angry and betrayed by the seas he was the master of.

I also LOVE how you made him come back to himself, with Mala's help in HH! It is a totally sick (cool) idea!

Also, I always thought that when Scratch sent the storms to kill Sinbad, and instead his father and mother, Mala, died she became a bound spirit as it were.

She drowned and became a human infused water sprite because she died there, but as a mother whose job was unfullfilled, she was bound to her place until such time she could fullfill her duty as a mother and protect her boys.

Maybe, it was her spirit that helped Doubar in his struggles in the storm, and she was simply waiting for the right time to help Sinbad?

To me at least.

*****************

And Maeve and Doubar bonding even more over being the elder siblings of such bothersome little brothers is a GREAT and heartfelt reason to bond!

And such a gentle, beautiful way to reveal just who Dermott really is to him!

I LOVE it!

[MJ]

*Hugs Doubz and Fouz* You know I wouldn't be anywhere without you gal's support right?

Speaking of support, Firouz, can I send another one your way for Beta? I've written it yesterday and it kicked my behind pretty badly until I basically bashed my head against the keyboard for a while until I had something aproximating and ending.

Heh, let this be a lesson to all you who think fanfic writing it just a jolly jape and would like to try a hand at it yourself: It can mess you up big time! (but it's fun! Really!)

[Eric/Deamus]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MJ you've no idea how this one is sooooooo beautiful, sweet and touching deeply,,, it's the sweetest i've read ever, and allow me to say i'd pick it over your other awesome works, without hesitation to be my TOP FAVORITE ,,,,,, no words i find .... in same time i wanna say a lot IIIIII LLLLLLOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE THIS little ONE to noooooo end,
it should be post on ffn,,,, it should,,
ahhh, i just wanna keep saying 'love it' over and over
and it really make me smile,, really really,, thankssss so much,,

just before going, i wonder what'll Sinbad do if he heard the "tiny & fragile" thing ? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Doubar]

MJ: *hugs back* Your stories are always a delight to read, and I totally adore your muse and creativity!!!!

[Firouz]

Sure MJ send it my way! I might even have it back within the same day since I'm on Spring Break from work!
LOL
I love working for the school districts!
LOL

[MJ]

So my mother grew up on a farm and they used to slaughter one of their pigs after harvest. The men did the butchering and the women did- well everything else. So my mother knows exactly how to cook/bake/boil/salt/smoke/freeze ie preserve every bit of a pig. This blew my mind.
Also: I have no idea how a wood-burning stove on a ship would work.

Fic!

“Sinbad,” Maeve poked the sailor in the side.

“Wha?” He answered, lifting his head from the pillow and looking around with barely opened eyes.

“Bacon,” Maeve said.

“Huh?” He asked.

“Bacon,” she repeated.

“’s from a pig right?” Sinbad asked.

“Yes, and I want it. I want bacon and eggs on heavy brown bread,” Maeve said, practically salivating at the thought.

“Can’t, pig ‘s unclean,” Sinbad said, turning around and laying his head back down.

“Sinbad, I am growing your offspring in here, the least you can do is get me some bacon!” Maeve protested.

“I can get you eggs at the next harbour,” Sinbad said, and that really was the best he could do.

“Have we got any bread?” Maeve asked.

“Hard-tack,” Sinbad said, his eyes closed and half-way asleep already.

“Cheese? Onions?” Maeve asked.

“Yeah, in the larder,” Sinbad mumbled.

Maeve got out of bed and walked towards the door.

“Where you going?” Sinbad asked.

“I am going to make onion soup, then I’m going to melt some cheese onto the hard-tack and dump it into the soup until it’s edible,” Maeve said.

That actually sounded quite good. “I’ll join you,” Sinbad said, following her into the galley. He knew better than to offer to cook it himself; she would take him up on it and he had no idea where to start.

“Here, slice ‘em into rings,” Maeve said, handing him a few onions before diving back into the larder to see what she could dig up there.

Sinbad was unabashedly crying when she turned back around.

Though she knew it was the onion’s doing she still felt a little tug on her heartstrings so she kissed his cheek.

“That’s all I get?” Sinbad asked.

“Get me a pig and I’ll see what I can do,” Maeve grinned at him.

“What would you do with a whole pig?” Sinbad asked, though he’d regret it in a moment.

“Slaughter it and preserve it of course. We used to slaughter a pig every year after the harvest was over. I think I can still do it, I might need you to help me with the heavy lifting,” Maeve said.

“But they’re unclean!” Sinbad protested.

“Not if you wash ‘em,” Maeve shrugged, chucking some butter into a pan and throwing the sliced onions in after.

“They’re diseased,” Sinbad said.

“Heh, if I’ve caught something from eating pigs you can rest assured you’ve got it now too,” Maeve said, totally unconcerned about his outrage. “Have we got any white wine?”

“No white wine sorry… You haven’t secretly fed me an unclean animal have you?” Sinbad asked.

“Well this is going to be a boring soup,” Maeve said, unable to find any stock so just adding water, salt and some common herbs. “And don’t worry so much, I haven’t fed you anything. I just meant that you’ve uhm… rather thoroughly enjoyed my body, so if I had something…”

“Oh,” Sinbad said, moving behind Maeve and wrapping his arms around her expanding waist. “Totally worth it.”

Maeve smiled and pressed another kiss to his cheek before turning her attention back to the cooking. “Can you melt some cheese onto the biscuit?”

“Put cheese on top of it, put the whole thing above the fire?” Sinbad guessed.

“I knew you were smart,” Maeve said with a smile.

Later, while they were eating the soup, sitting close together, enjoying their domesticity Maeve tried one more time:

“So about that bacon…”

[Firouz]

LOL
Never get between and pregnant woman and the food she wants!
Especially when you cross the religious lines! LOL
Love it!

[MJ]

Awwww thanks Firouz! I can't imagine Maeve and Sinbad married and not ever arguing anymore, that'd be so boring!
I think the fic I sent you acted like a stopper, preventing me from getting any other fic out, so now they're just flowing through me ;D