Stupid Muses

[dawn_felagund]

Well, I gave in. meryth has a LiveJournal now. He's very excited. I'm not so sure.

The funny thing is that Meryth hasn't even been born yet in my story. He is still the proverbial twinkle in his father's eye. Well, I guess by the time he is born and grown up enough to become an actual character, I'll have a good handle on him.

So last night, I let Meryth design his layout, and this morning, I let him write his bio and his first entry. (His bio is, I believe, a whopping three sentences long. My little note about how his LJ is friend-locked was longer than what he had to say.)

Of course, I don't mind if people on my flist friend Meryth. Actually, he wanted me to make a plea to friend him, but I'm not going to do that because I think that most of what he has to say will probably boring to anyone who isn't interested in the original universe that I use in my stories and RPG.

So, enough about my imaginary friends. My cough is much better today; I think it's finally starting to go away. My right hip/leg still hurts like hell. I did an analysis this morning while putting warrants in the officers' mailboxes about how exactly it hurts to move. It hurts to step forward and then hurts again when my leg is behind me and I lift the foot off the ground. (Does that make sense? Probably not, but who cares.) So it hurts twice per step. I'm pretty sure it's a pulled muscle, not something bone/tendon-related like I originally thought. At times, I can feel it aching down my leg. And, stupidly, I'm pretty sure that it was caused by coughing. I think I aggravated the original injury while coughing. How daft do you have to be to hurt your leg coughing?? Anyway, it hurts like crazy when I cough, so that's where those suspicions come from.

I really want to skate tonight, but I will have to play it by ear. Despite my brave front, I don't want to aggravate an injury that's been bugging me for a few weeks now. I pulled a groin in 2001 (didn'tcha want to know that?) and it hurt intermittently for the next two years and I lost all flexibility in my right leg. I aggravated it once kicking a box of French fries at The Piece. (I am very good at hurting myself in profoundly stupid ways, as you can see. I can never hurt myself doing something scary, like an axel. No, it has to be kicking a French fry box. Or coughing.) But I don't want another two-year injury, if I can help it.

My sister-in-law is home from the hospital and doing fine. Thanks to all who gave me well wishes and happy thoughts for her! :)

Last night, I finally started watching Lost. Jenni mailed me her copy of the DVDs back before Christmas, and I finally got to start watching them last night. It wasn't something in which Bobby was interested, and it's hard to coordinate DVD-watching when one of us is not interested. There are always scads of things in which we are both interested that tend to usurp the watching of things that tickle the fancy of just one of us. So my plan now is to watch an episode every time Bobby has hockey. Last night I watched Pilot 1 (ironic name) and liked it a good deal, despite some eyerolling at melodrama and canned characterization. But that's just me. I can't help myself. And the pervading creepy/scary mood of the program made even those things bearable.

Edit: It seems that stupid Meryth even gets his own tag now. *rolls eyes*

Comments

[levadegratchets.livejournal.com]

Good to hear your sister-in-law is doing better! Now it's your turn, but I hear all over people talking about how this cold/flu/cough just hangs on and on.

The funny thing about muses is they exist outside of time, so past, present and future are meaningless. If they're not born yet in a story that fact never has stopped any muse I know from speaking up because ...what is time? :D Einstein must have listened to them!

Not fun hurting, hope your hurts and cough go away soon.

[dawn_felagund]

I'm hoping that the lessening of the cough will fix the leg. Silly, eh? :) But I had to cut short my skating practice on Sunday because of the cold, so I don't want to miss practice tonight because of the leg. Grrr.

It amuses me to think about how my "muses" are so real to me yet don't truly "exist" to the rest of the world. I like to say that I don't truly exist in theirs!

Meryth is nodding.... :^/

[juno-magic.livejournal.com]

Now all of my OCs want journals of their own. But I'm adamant: all they will get is tags of their own at juno_stories...

But Elentar sends his best regards.

Good news about your sister-in-law. I hope the recovery will be quick and painless!

[dawn_felagund]

I admire your steadfastness. All Meryth has to do is turn those big green eyes on me.

Plus, today is his birthday. He is 27 today. So I console myself that this was his gift and it didn't cost me a thing. :)

*Meryth peeks out from behind his handler Dawn Felagund and smiles shyly at Elentar*

[juno-magic.livejournal.com]

I know about characters expecting birthday gifts all of a sudden... usually right on the day of their birthdays, thank you for advance notice, yay.

Elentar is pretending not to give a damn, as usual.

I'll sort him out tomorrow. Although I haven't really earned the right to write his chapter, I think. (Yay, he's looking daggers at me, so he does care about something after all!) Editing Atlantis is a wearisome business. So many names. So many characters. So many Gods, Goddesses, mountains, rivers, forests - and everything needs a name. And then the legends. What was I thinking????

[dawn_felagund]

Bobby and I had lunch together and he told me that some surprise Elf-related gift for me shipped today. I said, "Oooh, yay! You can give it to Meryth for his birthday!" and he said, "No, sweetie, I don't want to give it to Meryth, I want to give it to you." A part of my brain thinks, "Wow, my husband doesn't think it's weird that my 'muse' expects a gift from him." And the other half answers, "Cool!"

What was I thinking????

Is there really thinking involved when the bunny bites? ;) Usually, I'm just trying to get the damned thing unlatched and leaving me alone. Hence the fact that I'm embroiled in two "epics" and a couple of short stories right now.

I am sooo behind in Atlantis. But I want to read it! Grrr...your productivity exceeds the hours of reading time free in my day. *envies* ;)

(I used to love Greek mythology, too, back in the day. My sister and I used to play Greek gods and goddesses, iirc. I was always Persephone.)

[digdigil.livejournal.com]

Okay, so is Meryth one of the main characters in your original novel and are you going to start posting it?

I'm really sorry about your leg/injury. Maybe you should see a good physiotherapist. That really worked for me where all else (including drugs) failed, when I had pulled the muscles in my hand. I hope your cold gets better soon so you don't have to cough and strain your leg. (I know that sounds crazy but I've had those kinds of things happen too.)

I'm glad that your sister-in-law is doing well. Poor thing. She's too young to have this kind of trauma.

Well, I hope you continue to enjoy LOST. The dark aspects are what keep me involved and some of the characterizations, once they start getting interesting. I loved the ending of that first season. (Well, that's been the only season so far, although we are nearing the end of Season Two, I think.)

[dawn_felagund]

The NaNo novel is set right before Talban and Meryth are conceived and goes until shortly after they are born. It centers on the wild antics of Felak (Felagund's name in the novel) and his spunky pal Belegil.

Meryth is raising his eyebrows and asking on what bizarre planet Belegil counts as "spunky." :^P

But in later stories (because you know I can never write just one!) Meryth--and, incidentally, Talban and Celinna--are very central to the story.

Meryth's diary (I should have told you) takes place two years ago, starting on the day the boys come of age. So I'm working in two time periods (three, if you count the Felagund/Ciris thing) and hoping not to get too confoosed! ;) But it's all in the name of characterization.

I've decided to take Mom-Jenni's advice and not skate tonight. :) Since I can't even walk down the back path without limping, it seems prudent to take a night off. Since the coughing is subsiding, I'm going to see how the leg feels over the next couple of days. I'm hoping it will heal itself, like it did the first time.

In the meantime, I'm keeping Icy Hot and Well Patches close by!

[digdigil.livejournal.com]

LOL! Talban thinks Meryth is a scream when he insults Dad! But then he would.

Ah! Now I've got the timeframe down!

Oh, good. You should always listen to Mom/Jenni!

[niothwen.livejournal.com]

Ell (my name for both Elladan and Elrohir because *cough* I can’t tell them apart) thinks Meryth is hot and wants to know if he can come play. Ell (the other one) wants some information on Talban.

My advice would be to say no. ;-)

It amuses me to think about how my "muses" are so real to me yet don't truly "exist" to the rest of the world. I like to say that I don't truly exist in theirs!

I’ve always said I don’t have an imaginary friend, I am an imaginary friend. Doesn’t it depend on whose backyard you play in? Even as a kid, I would rather play in their world than bring them home to mine.

Ouch! On the leg injury. I hope you’re feeling better soon. I’m currently off the treadmill due to a heel/achilles problem. Skating sounds like a lot more fun than running in place.....I think you have more of an incentive to heal. ;-)

[dawn_felagund]

*Meryth smiles shyly at Ell and invites him to play whenever he wants*

He's meeting all sorts of new half-Elves today! He's also flattered to be called "hot." Talban has always preferred to call him "sepulchral."

Incidentally, Meryth and Talban are twins too, but fraternal, thank Eru.

Oh, and Ell will have to ask Jenni (digdigil) about Talban, as she's his handler at the moment. ;)

I always make my husband look at me funny by suggesting that the very act of imagining a character and a world makes him real somewhere. And then how I envision his story becomes a sort of "fate" for him. For all I know, I am just a character in some nutty writer's novel. Just like Meryth is a character in mine.

I'd rather go to their world too. Meryth rarely comes to my world except to tinker with his LJ and to fight with my Silmarillion muses for my attention.

And ouch on the heel/Achilles injury. :( Achilles tendons gross me out for some reason. Especially injuring them. (Seeing Hostel did not help me in this regard.) Anyway, I *do* love skating, and it is an incentive to heal to get back to it. I was progressing really well too, until I got sick and hurt myself, dangnabit.

[niothwen.livejournal.com]

Talban has always preferred to call him "sepulchral."

Ummmm. Thanks Dawn. *pulling out my electronic dictionary*

Ahhh. Ell will like him then. He's drawn to the gloomy and tragic type. I know this now after his utter failure to cooperate with my last story where I paired him with a free-spirited and perpetually happy Lindir. He was most annoyed with me, and the story bit the dust as Ell kept trying to commit a kinslaying. Ah well, live and learn. or is that learn or die?

[dawn_felagund]

Oops, sorry about the dictionary! :^P

If the other Ell likes more upbeat types, he'll probably fancy Talban a good deal. Talban's always flitting around and posting penis icons in his LJ. :^))

Meryth has just rolled his eyes at Lindir and wants you to tell Ell that he knows the type.

[niothwen.livejournal.com]

If the other Ell likes more upbeat types, he'll probably fancy Talban a good deal.

No, they'll fight over Meryth. Or maybe share him?

[dawn_felagund]

Meryth is blushing and saying he has no idea what you're talking about. ;)

[niothwen.livejournal.com]

Meryth is young. Give him a few millennia. ;-)

The Ells wants to know if that damn "gift of Iluvatar" is effective in Meryth's world. That could be a problem.

[dawn_felagund]

There is immortality in Meryth's world, but it is granted by a deity, and he--as a part-Elf living on the continent where he is living--is not eligible for it. :^/

So, yeeeah...Ell & Ell better get busy then.

[callirhoe.livejournal.com]

I think I aggravated the original injury while coughing. How daft do you have to be to hurt your leg coughing??

Actually, something similar happened to me last year. I had a terrible cough that wouldn't go away and hurt my chest and lungs like crazy, and eventually it developed into a pain in the back of one of my shoulders. When I finally went to the doctor, he told me I had bronchitis, which had been aggravated by my swimming and turned into bronchitis + pneumonia. And all the coughing and general havoc within my body caused stress-related injury to a radicular nerve in my shoulder. It sucked -- hurt a lot, and I couldn't swim for like two weeks. :-(

Anyway, I hope that's not what you have, and I hope you feel better! Good luck with the healing -- don't push yourself too hard... :-)

[dawn_felagund]

*feels less daft*

Well, I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person capable of hurting myself by coughing, although I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. :)

My real-life friend, incidentally, recently broke her ribs from coughing. o.O Ouch....

I had a serious talk with Teh Husband over lunch at Subway, and we decided it's best for me not to skate tonight. He knows how I feel: He's a hockey player, and there've been a few times this year where I've had to talk him out of playing on an injury. I'm hoping to be back at lessons on Sunday, but we'll see. :^/

[callirhoe.livejournal.com]

Good for you. It's so hard to *not* do your sport -- I know when I had to stop swimming last year, I was freaking out because it was only a month before competition and we weren't yet sure whether I would be able to compete at all. Anyway, though, it's better to take care of yourself and take a break when you need to than to "work through it" and risk making the injury worse. You're doing the right thing.

(Like you needed justification, but I wanted to throw that out there. ;-) )

*friends Meryth*

[dawn_felagund]

Meryth did his version of a *squee* and insists that he will friend you back, just as soon as his stupid handler gets off of the computer. ;)

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

*covers muses' eyes*

I want to read Meryth's LJ! :)

Don't hurt yourself (more)! It's not the Olympics, not need to be insane.

...

You know what I mean.

Glad your s-i-l is doing fine!

[dawn_felagund]

You're welcome to friend Meryth! He has a few friends already (besides me and Talban) and is ecstatic about it. :)

I'm taking a night off from skating. Bobby and I had a chat about it, and we decided it's best. I don't want to aggravate an injury that would otherwise be gone in a week.

[tarion-anarore.livejournal.com]

That's good. Don't want to be gimping around for too long! ;)

[atanwende.livejournal.com]

Ouch. That sounds painful. I think it might be a wise decision not to skate tonight (though I can understand that you'd rather like to). Perhaps the ache will go away on its own. If it was me, it probably would. I seem to be somewhat indestructible anyway. I fell off horses, got kicked by horses, fell with my mountain bike on an icy bridge, twisted my ankle really badly after the bad idea of wearing high heels on cobbled streets and made it out unscathed every time. When I had the bridge accident I did (despite the fact that I couldn't sleep on my side for 3 weeks or so) not even get a real bruise. About two years ago I had a really swollen joint on my right hand one morning and couldn't bend my middle finger anymore. I simply waited and after three days or so it was gone. I do not know what it was and how I got it until now. Who knows, it might happen to you (eh, not the swollen joint thing - which was pretty painful - but the "everything better out of a sudden"). *crosses fingers*

In our family it's my sister who manages to acquire injuries in weird ways (she'd hate me, if she knew I was writing that here, hehe). I'm more the type to do stupid things like forgetting my gloves when horseback riding in winter and afterwards tearing my skin (which gets all sensitive and dry when cold) on a nail. Which is also 'ouch' but always only a matter of days until it gets better. ;)

See, I'm talking a lot about myself on your LJ again. *shakes head* Sorry. :)

Also, good to hear that your sister-in-law seems better. Life has unfortunately a thing for getting into our way with things like that. :(

[dawn_felagund]

You can talk about yourself in my LJ as much as you want. :) I am happy to know that I am not the only person prone to sometimes strange injuries. ;)

I also tend to heal myself really well, partially because I have a tendency to dislike medication or formal treatments of any kind. I much prefer to heal myself, and usually, I can. And I enjoy pissing & moaning about it in the meantime. ;)

My sister is also the Walking Murphy's Law of our family. So is my sister-in-law, as evidenced, perhaps, by the fact that she celebrated her twentieth birthday a day after having emergency surgery. (Unfortunately, my sister will probably find this comment, as she is an LJ friend. *waves to ssotknapsack and apologizes*) But she would be the one to acquire an obscure elbow injury while playing softball and the one who has to be rescued by ski patrol from the beginner slope. *blows kisses to ssotknapsack* :^P

Is your sister younger? My husband and I--both firstborns--believe that younger siblings are inherently prone to struggling.

[atanwende.livejournal.com]

I also tend to heal myself really well, partially because I have a tendency to dislike medication or formal treatments of any kind. I much prefer to heal myself, and usually, I can. And I enjoy pissing & moaning about it in the meantime. ;)

Sounds a lot like me. Really. ;)

And I'm the firstborn, too, so your theory might be right. While my sister was often ill when we were children I was always pretty uncomplicated. I didn't manage to escape inheriting my father's short-sightedness though. I'll probably never forgive him (or his genes) for giving me this (of all things!), but not his dark hair. ;)

[sirielle.livejournal.com]

I've friended him :)

Just to be fair with the artist - credit Anya I. Valle for Beleg's picture you have used for Meryth's icon. Nice girl, deserves it.

[dawn_felagund]

Oh, good, I didn't know the artist. I got the picture from a friend. :)

I should have known to ask you, that you would know. Thanks!