MJ's place to boogie

[MJ]

@tk, <3 thank you sooooooo much for your lovely review. You are a true day-maker

D'awww, and haaahaha, and d'awwwww again. This is so cute and funny, and cute! I really love how non-romantic this little shot is, and at the same time it's so utterly lovely because it seems so real - so very possible.

I know right! I could just see them sitting there, all hungover and gross and holding hands because thinking about all the things that would make their relationship a bad idea were too much effort to think of right then. Hangover trumps (ir)rational thought any day of the week

Of course Sinbad planned for big vows of love and whatnotelse, but when do such things ever go as planned anyway? The guys throwing a party and Maeve and Sinbad just enjoying theirselves is pretty realistic, and I actually love how they just so slip back into being easy around each other.

When writing this I was envisioning it as a starting point for a series on the gradual growth of their relationship because TV tends to be very all or nothing, totally will they or won't they, and I think there's a lot in between there to be explored one step at a time. So this was to be a jumping off point where A. Maeve rejoins and B. The decide to be together but they don't know exactly how yet. Only then I realised we were covering that same ground in Courting of Bryn so I just kept it to this one shot.
Oh and I think maybe it was our Courting Doubar who told me that he would totally throw a party when Maeve returned so I am holding you partly responsible for that ;D

Also, of course I really appreciate that Bryn and Maeve get along well right from the start, and to add Mala to this all... aw, what a lovely move!

Can you imagine how nervous Sinbad would get if Maeve and Bryn truly teamed up? Hee! He'd be sweating bullets! To me there's no question that the two women would get along but Bryn does always have a very awkward place in Maeve-returning fics. I prefer to pick their friendship up when they've had time to get to know each other.

Really, this is yet another great little chapter. I really enjoyed the read. And thanx a lot for sharing!

Your words mean so much to me. I can't thank you enough for reviewing my work and supporting my writing so much. You truly are a gem!

[Doubar]

You're most welcome, sweetheart. I'm always happy to see you published something new.

I know right! I could just see them sitting there, all hungover and gross and holding hands because thinking about all the things that would make their relationship a bad idea were too much effort to think of right then. Hangover trumps (ir)rational thought any day of the week

Aye, that's just what I meant - and what's so funny and yet also utterly cute. You just gotta love how for once they just are and don't spend all their time thinking of all the reasons why they should not be together. Aw, I really just want to give those two a hug now. ;D

Whoa, and this was originally thought to be a series of fics? That's an amazing idea! And actually I think you could still go for it, because you're right - TV often tends to give us either nothing or everything, neglecting all the little steps in between. But it would be lovely to see their relationship grow slowly, and see them finding out who they are together. After all, even most fics step right into the pairing mode (and look, I'm guilty of that myself ;D ). So yeah, that's a great idea.
And as for The Courting covering the same ground... hum, it does in some aspects yeah, but it only does since a couple of tags really. Because before Maeve and Sinbad were still in this odd denial phase that they've been in ever since. So to start off with a mutual understanding actually seems different than the Courting. Or at least to me it does.

Oh and I think maybe it was our Courting Doubar who told me that he would totally throw a party when Maeve returned so I am holding you partly responsible for that ;D

Oh yeah, that is totally him. ;D And I will happily take the blame for that. ;D

Can you imagine how nervous Sinbad would get if Maeve and Bryn truly teamed up? Hee! He'd be sweating bullets! To me there's no question that the two women would get along but Bryn does always have a very awkward place in Maeve-returning fics. I prefer to pick their friendship up when they've had time to get to know each other.

I definitely can. And actually enjoy the thought very much. ;D He would totally stand no chance against them at all. ;D
Oh, and same here. Whether intentionally done or not (I guess not) but these two really make for a great combination. With Bryn being the calmer angle of the friendship and Maeve being the encouraging one, they could ground and motivate each other. It's a shame really that before that can happen though the issue with Sinbad would first have to be solved - which makes for the awkward position of Bryn in most reunion fics. But I, too, prefer to avoid that and am pretty happy that I managed to get everything sorted out in the story arch that The Rise belongs to before Maeve returned.

Your words mean so much to me. I can't thank you enough for reviewing my work and supporting my writing so much. You truly are a gem!

And I tell you it's my pleasure!! I really love your writings and adore how creative you are with them. You think of so many things that never even crossed my mind that each time you publish something new I am excited and looking forward to how you'll surprise me this time. ;D

[MJ]

Right I almost forgot, but I posted Ban's 2012 christmas pressie. I suck at titles so I named it Water's Prince. I think next week some time I will post Maeve's pressie. Anyway, link!

www.fanfiction.net/s/10019868/1/Water-s-Prince

[Doubar]

Yay! If you don't mind, I would also like to share it on our fb-page.

[banmaixanh]

I saw the fic on FF.net. I was a little surprised as if I received the present the second time. Thank you, MJ. Btw, I just wonder who will post the Vietnamese version? You or me?

[MJ]

Sorry for the late reply, I have had an insanely busy week

Doubar Sure, you can share the link, you can share all the FF.N links you want

banmaixanh I am so glad you still like the gift As for the posting of the vietnamese version, I think you should post that on FFN and credit me as the author and yourself as the translater in a note, 'cause translating is hard! I wish I could read what you made of it. It is totally amazing to think that I wrote a stories about Vietnamese tales + AoS and it's been translated into Vietnamese!

[banmaixanh]

Is it ok we post one story two times by two accounts? However, will think about it when I finish translating. The work is killing me. I don't have time to finish the translation even I'm already done with the raw translation two weeks ago.

[MJ]

I think it's OK, but if you feel more comfortable with it I will post it... And take all the time you need. I don't want to pressure you or anything.

[MJ]

Finally posted this year's xmas gift to Clem on FFN:

www.fanfiction.net/s/10049546/1/Arrangements

I called it Arrangements, because I suck at titles

[Doubar]

Yay!!! Reviewed and faved!

Though the review really is almost an exact copy of what I had written in the Christmas thread. Just couldn't think of something new.I hope you don't mind.

[MJ]

Jan 24, 2014 15:20:44 GMT -5 Doubar said:

Yay!!! Reviewed and faved!

Though the review really is almost an exact copy of what I had written in the Christmas thread. Just couldn't think of something new.I hope you don't mind.

Of course I don't mind. I still haven't even replied to your last review, or Fouz's! I barely found time to post the thing, never mind reading the reviews and responding to 'em! But Thanks so much for reviewing. I don't mean to sound ungrateful... just scatter-brained.

[Doubar]

And don't you worry, you don't sound ungrateful at all. We all know just how busy you are these days so take it easy, dear. Reply when you got time to.

[MJ]

I listened to a pretty song about nature tonight and this is what happened. Written in half an hour, so it's more like the impression of a story than an actual story, but I like the feeling of it. Or maybe I just like the song that's still in my head.

For completeness: this is the song:

Bryn lay in the middle of a small grassy clearing in a mixed forest on a small island. The grass caressed her outspread arms, the sun kissed her skin, the occasional bug tickled her until she laughed out loud. This was what joy truly felt like. The trees around her told her stories of the decades they had been alive, she told them of her adventures as a sailor. The trees were silent for a while as the wind sung its songs between them.

“Take us to sea,” a great oak said as the shadows started to lengthen.

“We will make a fine ship,” a birch promised.

“I’ll make a sturdy mast,” a pine assured her.

“And I’ll be the bowsprit!” a tiny beech, not ten years old piped up.

“We’ll grow however you want us to,” the trees pleaded.

“We’ll fit together however you’ll like,” they said.

“I’ll twist and twist and make rope for rigging,” the willow told her.

“We’ll form a loom between us and weave everyone’s leaves together for sails,” two spruces reached their prickly branches towards each other and started their plan right then and there.

A large pine, its branches hanging to the ground and its needles growing thick said: “And I will shelter you as long as you’re here. You will never feel a speck of rain you don’t desire. You will never be cold for I will warm you. You will never be hungry for we will feed you. You will never be lonely for we will love you. Help us make our dreams come true, please.”


Bryn walked back to the beach where her friends had made their camp.

“Where have you been? We were getting worried,” Sinbad said, pressing a bowl of soup into her hands.

“Thank you Sinbad,” she said, then saw he thought she meant for the soup. “When I had nothing but my name you took me in and gave purpose.”

“You did that yourself little one,” Doubar assured her, seeing the tears in her eyes.

Sinbad turned and looked at her, saw how serious she looked. “What’s the matter Bryn?”

“Come back here in twenty years and I will have a gift for you, to give to your firstborn son,” Bryn said, a calm coming over her as she realized she was making the right decision.

“I don’t have a son,” Sinbad said, looking confused.

“What do you mean, come back in twenty years?” Doubar asked.

“Are you staying here?” Firouz asked.

Rongar came to sit by her, gaving her shoulder a supportive squeeze.

“Yes, I’m staying here. I’m needed here,” Bryn said, leaning against Rongar for support.

“Twenty years?” Sinbad asked.

“Give or take,” Bryn shrugged. “I think this will make me the happiest woman I could possibly be.”

“Well then,” Doubar stood and hugged her tight, unmindful of the bowl of soup that fell out of her hand and drained onto the sand. “That’s all I ever wanted for you.”

[Doubar]

Oh, MJ, I truly love this one. It's so sad, but in a beautiful way. Maybe it's also because of whom I had to let go but I cherish this little story more than I am able to say! That final moment, when Doubar tells her that happiness is all he's ever wanted for her - even if that means losing her - that's just... beautiful!

[MJ]

Glad you like this Doubs. I hadn't meant for it to turn so melancholy. I was just painting with broad strokes and I guess the sacrifices one has to make to realize dreams was on my mind