The ranting thinking thread

[Angel]

Drunken women should not be allowed outside of their homes.

Awful, shrieking harridans...

 

[Goldsickle]

I feel like my sickness and crankiness is being boosted to high levels.

They don't call it "booster" shot for nothing.

 

[Goldsickle]

30+ hours of rain, which is spiced up with an electrical outage at 3 AM.
Bad time to feel the side-effects of the booster shot.

 

[Lain]

If ever I needed proof that Evil lurks within our society it would be this: Throughout this pandemic we've been told over and over again to "protect the NHS at all cost". Now undercover journalism has revealed that doctors have been discriminating against patients with learning difficulties by getting them to sign "do not resuscitate" forms despite the patient clearly not understanding what is going on, all because hospitals need as many beds as possible and it's totally fine to get rid of the undesirables amirite?

 

[Goldsickle]

Providing evidence or sources for your claims is the most basic thing to know in a discussion, debate or argument.
If you can't get this, there's no hope for you to have a civil discussion anywhere.

 

[therogis]

Postnatal depression caught me anyway even though I was already certain I avoided that.

It makes me feel like a failure.
But I try to focus on the good stuff and the facts: It is hard enough to become a mother in the first place. Hard enough to get through labor that went wrong in so many ways that I can't recall anything between going to the hospital and leaving there. (Heck, I cannot recall even the moment I posted here about it but apparently I did. Blackout dissociation, they say...) Becoming a mom brings back traumatic memories from my own childhood as well. As a final touch I've buried my mother just 2 weeks after my daughter was born and I'm just finalizing the legal stuff.

So I'm trying to tell myself it's really not a surprise I'm sad. It doesn't make me a failure. It'll pass.

 

[Angel]

It's anecdotal but as someone who has had postnatal depression 3 times and with varying severity (ranging from a bit sad to near psychosis), I can assure you it really does pass. Can't tell you how long it takes (again, I ranged from 6 weeks at the least to 7 years at the most), but it goes away. Most important thing to remember is that when you are struggling, reach out - let other people support you. Might not be an easy road, but it's one well travelled by many women over the years and you're definitely not alone.

Current rant: of course I would get sick across 2 bank holidays, thus ensuring I have zero chance of medical help. Yay.

 

[therogis]

Thanks Angel. I'm trying to remind myself I've got through worse than this. There's a reason why I've got that semicolon tattoo on my scarred wrist.
My husband is being awesome once again. He isn't disappointed or anything. He called the maternity guidance clinic for me and next week they'll send us a social worker to help me with the household chores and the baby a couple of hours a week so I can rest. Free of charge, which once again amazes me. I'm happy to pay taxes for a country that arranges this kind of social services, really.

Hope you're not in too bad condition there. It's Monday soon!

 

[Angel]

Thanks Angel. I'm trying to remind myself I've got through worse than this. There's a reason why I've got that semicolon tattoo on my scarred wrist.
My husband is being awesome once again. He isn't disappointed or anything. He called the maternity guidance clinic for me and next week they'll send us a social worker to help me with the household chores and the baby a couple of hours a week so I can rest. Free of charge, which once again amazes me. I'm happy to pay taxes for a country that arranges this kind of social services, really.

Hope you're not in too bad condition there. It's Monday soon!

Service you wouldn't get here in the UK unless they thought you were a danger to your baby. Says a lot about us, really. I'm glad you've got a great little network there to help you - enjoy the rest!

I'm waiting to see if I have covid and it's taking FOREVER to get my test results. Because I got sick on Boxing Day (and our postal service doesn't work during particular holiday seasons), I couldn't get a test delivered until the 29th (no test appointments available in my area until 2035, apparently). I posted it back the same day, before the last pick-up, and it should have been sorted by the next day or yesterday at the latest. In the UK, you have to wait 6 days before calling up and presumably being told that your test results were lost or void or in a black hole somewhere...but I need to go back to work and I can't do that without my results. And I can't afford to miss work because, y'know, bills.

Can't breathe very well, can't sleep and I've got zero appetite so I'm not eating, which exacerbates my diabeetus which then makes my illness worse.

Yay etc.

 

[therogis]

A perfect moment for my step-brother to start acting like a prick again. Sending me pretty heavy stuff in my work email not related to anything, especially not to the estate inventory.

Why am I doing this for free? Oh right, because neither of my brothers gives a fck and because I'm not gonna pay a lawyer for stuff I can do myself as well.

I wonder if he knows how much he hurt me again. Saying those things about my father, the only family I have in my blood.

And nope, I didn't say anything, there was no reason for it (other than him being probably high/drunk/both). It was a nice surprise email to mess me up right before bedtime...

 

[therogis]

I was really excited for Witcher S2. Got really upset because of a scene in the very beginning but I thought I could take it.

Got halfway through the last episode and no, I'm definitely not gonna watch it to the end. That was just sick, I say.

Shove it, Netflix. I really wanted to see it for the story. That was nothing more but shock for the sake of shock value. Not good scriptwriting, nor should it entertain any sane person.

// OK so I got myself together and read what happens in the last half, saw no danger, watched it, felt better. Note to self: from now on, see the parents guide before watching this kind of twisted gore fantasies...

 

[Morgan]

I was really excited for Witcher S2. Got really upset because of a scene in the very beginning but I thought I could take it.

Got halfway through the last episode and no, I'm definitely not gonna watch it to the end. That was just sick, I say.

Shove it, Netflix. I really wanted to see it for the story. That was nothing more but shock for the sake of shock value. Not good scriptwriting, nor should it entertain any sane person.

// OK so I got myself together and read what happens in the last half, saw no danger, watched it, felt better. Note to self: from now on, see the parents guide before watching this kind of twisted gore fantasies...

Isn't the original book series full of rape, incest, baby murder, and general brutality and gore?
I mean, that's basically a convention of the medieval fantasy genre for the sake of "historical accuracy".

 

[therogis]

Isn't the original book series full of rape, incest, baby murder, and general brutality and gore?
I mean, that's basically a convention of the medieval fantasy genre for the sake of "historical accuracy".

So does the Bible and I don't see people getting upset for th--- wait

Seriously talking. That's the beauty of books, IMO. They're ink on paper. They tell you what happens, but you're the one with the camera. So when it tells you someone's hand is chopped off, you can focus on the bloody hand or the action of chopping. TV series does that for you and I guess that's the reason why bad scriptwriting is a bigger problem than a poorly written book... TV series just does all the work for you, in sickness and in health. You just have to stare and not bother your head too much.

Take that as a general response.
But in this very moment, blame hormones for that lol. And I indeed felt sick when I reread the Book of Matthew. You know, the point where Herodes sends people to kill all children below the age of 2. I can assure you it didn't sicken me before becoming a mother myself so it's really not anyone else to blame than myself
It'll pass I guess. Though I'm still horrified by that scene I was talking about. Next time I'll really see the parents guide, if there will be next time at all. Might be that I'll stick to the books.

 

[Morgan]

So does the Bible and I don't see people getting upset for th--- wait

Yeah, I'd imagine if someone made an adaptation of the Bible and included all the rape, incest, and child murder and it was age-rated and content warned accordingly, I'd think it entirely nonsense for someone to complain about the TV adaptation having those elements just because the depiction upset them and question if they know the source material at all or are better served watching a different show that's actually rated PG-13. And I'm not even especially religious or a fan of the Witcher outside of the games, I just promote adults knowing what they're doing. Like, I wouldn't walk into a McDonalds, take a bite out of a Big Mac and then get upset that the McDonalds has unhealthy fast food. But I digress.

The Witcher books have a level of violence/gore and sexual content given it's an adult fantasy series. The Witcher show is a TV-MA adaptation of said adult fantasy series with content warnings for language, nudity, violence and probably drug use (alcohol and/or smoking). The show is therefore accurately adapting the violence when taking it to the screen instead of censoring themselves for sensitive people, and the content is a convention of that genre, where the options are take it or leave it. I watched Rogue City (rated R) and Netflix had a content warning plastered right on the upper left corner warning for suicide, nudity, and violence. The movie then opened with the former in the first five minutes and the latter happened throughout the movie. That's just what the director is into portraying. Netflix just happens to host it.

That's the beauty of books, IMO. They're ink on paper. They tell you what happens, but you're the one with the camera. So when it tells you someone's hand is chopped off, you can focus on the bloody hand or the action of chopping.

Don't you think that's short selling the ability of authors to describe things, especially when more than one author has the reputation of being overly descriptive and painting a picture with words?

When a book tells you someone's hand is chopped off, unless the author either tends towards dry prose or is wasting your time/money and trying to hide it with dry prose, they can write words to focus your mental image to what it is they want to place importance on in a scene: whether the chop was a clean swing, how much blood spewed out of the wound, and other details either gratuitous or expected. Their words are the camera with varying resolution settings. Your brain is more of the screen it's projected on, but something written in the equivalent of 580p is still going to look like absolute garbage sweat on a 4K tv and it's a waste of a tv.

Anyway, GRRM's description of Tywin being killed, and later his body decomposing in A Feast for Crows isn't something a reader can selectively focus on short of straight up ignoring what's on the page.

Spoiler: Here it be

He found his father where he knew he’d find him, seated in the dimness of the privy tower, bedrobe hiked up around his hips. At the sound of steps, Lord Tywin raised his eyes….

Tyrion’s finger clenched. The crossbow whanged just as Lord Tywin started to rise. The bolt slammed into him above the groin and he sat back down with a grunt. The quarrel had sunk deep, right to the fletching. Blood seeped out around the shaft, dripping down into his pubic hair and over his bare thighs. “You shot me,” he said incredulously, his eyes glassy with shock.

“You always were quick to grasp a situation, my lord,” Tyrion said. “That must be why you’re the Hand of the King.”

“You… you are no… no son of mine.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong, Father. Why, I believe I’m you writ small. Do me a kindness now, and die quickly. I have a ship to catch.”

For once, his father did what Tyrion asked him. The proof was the sudden stench, as his bowels loosened in the moment of death. Well, he was in the right place for it, Tyrion thought. But the stink that filled the privy gave ample evidence that the oft-repeated jape about his father was just another lie.

Lord Tywin Lannister did not, in the end, **** gold.

[...]

The vapors rising from the corpse were making Pycelle’s eyes water. “The flesh... as the flesh dries, the muscles grow taut and pull his lips upward. That is no smile, only a... a drying, that is all.” He blinked back tears. “You must excuse me. I am so very tired.”

...

The stench of death was growing stronger, despite the scented candles. The smell reminded Jaime Lannister of the pass below the Golden Tooth, where he had won a glorious victory in the first days of the war. On the morning after the battle, the crows had feasted on victors and vanquished alike, as once they had feasted on Rhaegar Targaryen after the Trident. How much can a crown be worth, when a crow can dine upon a king?

...

As the glass in the dome began to lighten, suddenly there were rainbows shimmering off the walls and floors and pillars, bathing Lord Tywin's corpse in a haze of many-colored light. The King’s Hand was rotting visibly. His face had taken on a greenish tinge, and his eyes were deeply sunken, two black pits. Fissures had opened in his cheeks, and a foul white fluid was seeping through the joints of his splendid gold-and-crimson armor to pool beneath his body.

The septons were the first to see, when they returned for their dawn devotions. They sang their songs and prayed their prayers and wrinkled up their noses, and one of the Most Devout grew so faint he had to be helped from the sept. Shortly after, a flock of novices came swinging censers, and the air grew so thick with incense that the bier seemed cloaked in smoke. All the rainbows vanished in that perfumed mist, yet the stench persisted, a sweet rotten smell that made Jaime want to gag.

When the doors were opened the Tyrells were amongst the first to enter, as befit their rank. Margaery had brought a great bouquet of golden roses. She placed them ostentatiously at the foot of Lord Tywin’s bier but kept one back and held it beneath her nose as she took her seat.

...

Red-eyed and pale, Cersei climbed the steps to kneel above their father, drawing Tommen down beside her. The boy recoiled at the sight, but his mother seized his wrist before he could pull away. "Pray," she whispered, and Tommen tried. But he was only eight and Lord Tywin was a horror. One desperate breath of air, then the king began to sob. "Stop that!" Cersei said. Tommen turned his head and doubled over, retching. His crown fell off and rolled across the marble floor. His mother pulled back in disgust, and all at once the king was running for the doors, as fast as his eight-year-old legs could carry him.

...

“I wasn’t scared,” the boy insisted. “The smell made me sick. Didn’t it make you sick? How could you bear it, Uncle, ser?”

"A man can bear most anything, if he must,” Jaime told his son. “The world is full of horrors, Tommen. You can fight them, or laugh at them, or look without seeing... go away inside.”

Others had begun to stream out onto the plaza, fleeing the noxious odors in the sept.

What's up for the imagination or for readers to interpret on their own terms: whether Oberyn poisoned Tywin with Widow's Blood beforehand as a setup for Tyrion to kill him, seeing as Tyrion "knew" Tywin would be in the privy, or whether Tywin was never poisoned at all and Tyrion knowing where he'd be is just confirmation bias.

What's not up for imagination: Tywin got a crossbow bolt to the gut while he was taking a dump, voided his bowels at the moment of death, his corpse smelled disgusting, parts of it were liquefying into a putrid white fluid, and it made people sick even when they tried masking the stench. GRRM really wanted readers to come away knowing that Tywin's corpse was horrendous to be in the same room with. He could've just written "The body smelled awful, it made those present at the wake very sick". He did not.

TV series does that for you and I guess that's the reason why bad scriptwriting is a bigger problem than a poorly written book... TV series just does all the work for you, in sickness and in health. You just have to stare and not bother your head too much.

A scene being gory doesn't entail that the script is poor, it just means the scene has something overly violent in it. You objecting to it doesn't make it bad. The Thing and The Fly have grotesque visuals, and A Quiet Place had a kid get got in the opening scene. They're still enjoyable movies in script and direction. I wouldn't take anything away from those movies even if I turned my head elsewhere at their more disturbing visuals, and this world would be poorer if media had to do that.

Anyway, the visuals of a scene are generally the director's purview as it's their interpretation of the script done by a different person. If you were upset with the script itself, you'd actually complain about the writing, like a scene happened too conveniently or contradicted established character traits or someone evil/possessed got Talk-no-Jutsu'd into no longer being evil.

I would hope that readers are possessed of adequate brain power to notice when a book is poorly written so that hack authors don't have "reader imagination" (or a straight up failure to think critically) to fall back on for their sh#t book not getting called out for the hackery that it is, but Twilight got popular enough with housewives that they backed 50 Shades, so I have the impression that I'm expecting way too much.

 

[therogis]

I think we've got a different visual approach to books because I don't agree with your statements about imagination and what you can or cannot focus in while reading even with your examples. It's not something worth arguing any further since it's like having a debate over how one should perceive green color I think it's interesting though, had so many of these discussions with my husband.

 

[BrawlMan]

I don't know if I'm going to continue with My Hero Academia. I still have not watched season 5 yet. And from what I've heard, they kind of screwed the pooch on it. The story is lacking, and the fact that the animation gets worse. It doesn't help that they prioritize another movie that's basically non-canon or non-essential, over the actual plot that is going on. I hate it when anime does this crap; especially Shonen. I rarely ever bother with the genre, and have even less patience for it now. Plus, I'm just looking at different and other anime features. Or going back to old ones that I have not seen in a long time or have not seen before. And I just can't keep up with overly long series anymore, not that I tried much before in the first place. Also, I hate Bakugo, Endeavor, and Mineta especially. They are the worst.

 

[Lain]

Welp, that didn't take long. In about a week since the courts decided it was okay for random people to pull down public statues if they offend you for any reason...a man took it upon himself to climb up to the statue sat atop the BBC's headquarters and try to destroy it with a hammer. And the BBC journalists who reported on it had the gall to say that destroying statues is wrong when before they were talking out the other side of their mouth when it was statues of people they don't like. But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, the BBC does certainly have a history of protecting paedophiles and this time is no different. I suspect the activist this time won't be getting a Not Guilty verdict since he dared go against the State though.

 

[BrawlMan]

I don't know if I'm going to continue with My Hero Academia. I still have not watched season 5 yet. And from what I've heard, they kind of screwed the pooch on it. The story is lacking, and the fact that the animation gets worse. It doesn't help that they prioritize another movie that's basically non-canon or non-essential, over the actual plot that is going on. I hate it when anime does this crap; especially Shonen. I rarely ever bother with the genre, and have even less patience for it now. Plus, I'm just looking at different and other anime features. Or going back to old ones that I have not seen in a long time or have not seen before. And I just can't keep up with overly long series anymore, not that I tried much before in the first place. Also, I hate Bakugo, Endeavor, and Mineta especially. They are the worst.

To add to this, I sold all my MHA Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Box Sets. So yeah, I am done. I am keeping the hoodie since its comfortable and bought it at a cheap price.

 

[Goldsickle]

Got halfway through the last episode and no, I'm definitely not gonna watch it to the end. That was just sick, I say.

I haven't watched it but what was so bad about it?

 

[therogis]

I haven't watched it but what was so bad about it?

Spoiler

A lot of babies were first tortured, then killed. Not the first scene where that happened, it was just too much. The way it was told was different from the previous scenes.

But yeah, while I still consider the way it was told as unnecessary and not good for any sane person, blame hormones I guess. Best regards, A mother of a newborn baby. I get anxious these days over crying Moomin characters for heaven's sake