rthstewart (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rthstewart) wrote2013-11-27 07:33 am
rthstewart) wrote2013-11-27 07:33 am
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H&M, Chapter 23
The end is near. I posted Chapter 23, Yule Tidings of H&M. I know the story is getting tedious. We're almost done. There was just stuff that had to be done in the last 3 chapters will all this outside pov. In the old days of the story, it was easy to get Morgan back where she belongs. But having done what I did because that's where the characters were in their arc, it meant I had to write out of it. And sometimes I know the end game but the way they get there isn't so well thought out. Or something.
A couple of things that warrant mentioning. Morgan is obviously suffering from depression in the first two scenes. The goatsweed infusion is supposed to be St John's Wort which, when dietary supplements were permitted to make they claims they now do in the US, it burst on the scene as a treatment aid in mild to moderate depression. Subsequent data don't bear that out but in the US it continues to be marketed for "mood support." HOWEVER -- DANGER DANGER -- st John's wort does have pharmacological effect and given how it is metabolized can reduce the efficacy of lots of other drugs!! The Narnians are obviously aware of other treatment modalities (that's not to say that exercise in company and sunlight, regular diet, sleep, and emotional support will always be effective -- they aren't. Data show they can help).
(fun fact, in the US dietary supplements, with a few rare exceptions cannot legally claim to treat disease. They can only claim to help healthy maintenance of the structures and functions of the body. So, if St John's wort claims, "support healthy mood" it's a dietary supplement that can be legally marketed; if it said "treats depression" it's an illegal drug that would have to be approved by FDA)
Ahem, anyway, back to the story. Yes, I obviously have some experience with depression, both as patient with occasional bouts of it over the last 25 years and as friend/family member/caregiver to those who must manage it daily as a chronic condition. It sucks. And I did want to warn for it in case it might be triggering in those first 2 scenes.
As the note said at the end, I really wanted Morgan to take some responsibility. She's going to have to do that and we see the more mature woman in flashback in TSG, so there's a lot of growth here. Gawd, talking OC personal growth. Shoot me now.
Gahiji and Ajouga Fumb made a brief appearance in Lost in Translation. I keep thinking about the Tolkien idea that Dwarf women are really hard to identify and often go about dressed as men. I have slowly developing head canon about the role of the female in that society -- it's no accident that she's there for Morgan. Gahiji is very much like a witch's familiar too.
There was some backstory slid in about Morgan's mother. I really liked the idea of the lady of the manor who marries really well, manages her lord's estate and easily pops out a boy or twins every year and so is revered in Archenland. You've already had a boy and a girl?! AWESOME FERTILE LADY. MORE BABIES. I'd tried to get in there something about how she'd defended the keep while her Lord was away too. Very traditional medieval middle-born to highborn lady with tons of responsibility who met Rafe while getting household management accounting training in the Lone Islands and stayed for a few years. There's something cold about her leaving two young children behind and I've not fully resolved that other than that she didn't want to bring her two children into her new husband's Archenland fief where they would always be second class but had wonderful opportunities available at Linch House. I guess I'm persuaded that children can really thrive when the parents are happy, even if they are not together. Even if Morgan hasn't thought very highly of her mother, Rafe does and they get along fine. ... maybe Felice should show up in Narnia.....
Alan and Peridan both really step it up here, with an assist from Maeve. I jiggered who said what A LOT in the two scenes, first with Maeve and then Alan, and thought about just cutting one of them but there were two separate things to resolve and so they had to stay separate, and another 8000 words.
And then, though it occurs off camera, we see the result at the Yule celebration. Morgan's still not written Edmund, but she's stepped up to her responsibilities and partly why she's not written is because she's going to go in person. And again, off camera, between Alan and Peridan, you should assume massive amounts of overt manipulation are going on. No Foolish Faun. Morgan and Edmund's nearest and dearest are bound and determined to get them back together, they have a plan and Morgan is indeed the boat and on the boat, referring back to the Foolish Faun story.
So, that's it, I guess. The response has been really muted so far, but I know it's a long chapter. I hope you liked it.
From Tumblr, this accurately describes my posting mood:
A couple of things that warrant mentioning. Morgan is obviously suffering from depression in the first two scenes. The goatsweed infusion is supposed to be St John's Wort which, when dietary supplements were permitted to make they claims they now do in the US, it burst on the scene as a treatment aid in mild to moderate depression. Subsequent data don't bear that out but in the US it continues to be marketed for "mood support." HOWEVER -- DANGER DANGER -- st John's wort does have pharmacological effect and given how it is metabolized can reduce the efficacy of lots of other drugs!! The Narnians are obviously aware of other treatment modalities (that's not to say that exercise in company and sunlight, regular diet, sleep, and emotional support will always be effective -- they aren't. Data show they can help).
(fun fact, in the US dietary supplements, with a few rare exceptions cannot legally claim to treat disease. They can only claim to help healthy maintenance of the structures and functions of the body. So, if St John's wort claims, "support healthy mood" it's a dietary supplement that can be legally marketed; if it said "treats depression" it's an illegal drug that would have to be approved by FDA)
Ahem, anyway, back to the story. Yes, I obviously have some experience with depression, both as patient with occasional bouts of it over the last 25 years and as friend/family member/caregiver to those who must manage it daily as a chronic condition. It sucks. And I did want to warn for it in case it might be triggering in those first 2 scenes.
As the note said at the end, I really wanted Morgan to take some responsibility. She's going to have to do that and we see the more mature woman in flashback in TSG, so there's a lot of growth here. Gawd, talking OC personal growth. Shoot me now.
Gahiji and Ajouga Fumb made a brief appearance in Lost in Translation. I keep thinking about the Tolkien idea that Dwarf women are really hard to identify and often go about dressed as men. I have slowly developing head canon about the role of the female in that society -- it's no accident that she's there for Morgan. Gahiji is very much like a witch's familiar too.
There was some backstory slid in about Morgan's mother. I really liked the idea of the lady of the manor who marries really well, manages her lord's estate and easily pops out a boy or twins every year and so is revered in Archenland. You've already had a boy and a girl?! AWESOME FERTILE LADY. MORE BABIES. I'd tried to get in there something about how she'd defended the keep while her Lord was away too. Very traditional medieval middle-born to highborn lady with tons of responsibility who met Rafe while getting household management accounting training in the Lone Islands and stayed for a few years. There's something cold about her leaving two young children behind and I've not fully resolved that other than that she didn't want to bring her two children into her new husband's Archenland fief where they would always be second class but had wonderful opportunities available at Linch House. I guess I'm persuaded that children can really thrive when the parents are happy, even if they are not together. Even if Morgan hasn't thought very highly of her mother, Rafe does and they get along fine. ... maybe Felice should show up in Narnia.....
Alan and Peridan both really step it up here, with an assist from Maeve. I jiggered who said what A LOT in the two scenes, first with Maeve and then Alan, and thought about just cutting one of them but there were two separate things to resolve and so they had to stay separate, and another 8000 words.
And then, though it occurs off camera, we see the result at the Yule celebration. Morgan's still not written Edmund, but she's stepped up to her responsibilities and partly why she's not written is because she's going to go in person. And again, off camera, between Alan and Peridan, you should assume massive amounts of overt manipulation are going on. No Foolish Faun. Morgan and Edmund's nearest and dearest are bound and determined to get them back together, they have a plan and Morgan is indeed the boat and on the boat, referring back to the Foolish Faun story.
So, that's it, I guess. The response has been really muted so far, but I know it's a long chapter. I hope you liked it.
From Tumblr, this accurately describes my posting mood:
source