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timepiececlockA technical mistake that always irritates me in fanfic:
Arrow wounds.
Specifically, where one character is shot, and another character pulls or yanks or rips the arrow out of the first character to save them.
Do any of these people ever think about the arrows they're writing about? Arrow tips are specifically designed wiht a triangular head so that pulling them out is the worst possible thing you could do. Unless it's so shallow that the whole arrow tip isn't even in, pulling it out is going to rip your insides to shreds.
Doesn't anybody watch westerns anymore? I've seen less than ten old westerns in my whole almost-19-year-old-life, and even I picked up that much. Heck, I picked up that much about arrows from reading about Native American life in 4th grade Social Studies.
In a fight or battle where there's no expert surgeons and fancy hospital instruments available for surgery, arrows should be pushed through the body to exit out the other side, and the wound should then be cauterized (sp?). The only time you wouldn't want to do that would be if it meant pushing the arrow through heart or lung-- but I think if it hit any of those, you'd already be dead, honestly.
I'm probably not 100% correct, and I'm sure there's exceptions, but this is a general-knowledge thing that I see so many people mess up in fanfiction battle scenes. And I find that annoying, because my brain sees it and goes "That's so unrealistic," and it pulls me completely out of the story.
Also, it's such a self-explanatory common sense thing.
Imagine an arrowhead. Imagine it slicing through you cleanly the right direction, and then imagine pulling it backward through your guts, hooks and all. Like a serrated knife.
Now tell me how that's going to help save the hero or hero's soulmate from a already life-threatening wound, hm?
Specifically, where one character is shot, and another character pulls or yanks or rips the arrow out of the first character to save them.
Do any of these people ever think about the arrows they're writing about? Arrow tips are specifically designed wiht a triangular head so that pulling them out is the worst possible thing you could do. Unless it's so shallow that the whole arrow tip isn't even in, pulling it out is going to rip your insides to shreds.
Doesn't anybody watch westerns anymore? I've seen less than ten old westerns in my whole almost-19-year-old-life, and even I picked up that much. Heck, I picked up that much about arrows from reading about Native American life in 4th grade Social Studies.
In a fight or battle where there's no expert surgeons and fancy hospital instruments available for surgery, arrows should be pushed through the body to exit out the other side, and the wound should then be cauterized (sp?). The only time you wouldn't want to do that would be if it meant pushing the arrow through heart or lung-- but I think if it hit any of those, you'd already be dead, honestly.
I'm probably not 100% correct, and I'm sure there's exceptions, but this is a general-knowledge thing that I see so many people mess up in fanfiction battle scenes. And I find that annoying, because my brain sees it and goes "That's so unrealistic," and it pulls me completely out of the story.
Also, it's such a self-explanatory common sense thing.
Imagine an arrowhead. Imagine it slicing through you cleanly the right direction, and then imagine pulling it backward through your guts, hooks and all. Like a serrated knife.
Now tell me how that's going to help save the hero or hero's soulmate from a already life-threatening wound, hm?
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no subject
Date: 2003-03-12 09:26 am (UTC)As someone who works in the medical field, I can tell you it's never a good plan to undo the plug on a penetrating wound. Leads to things like bleeding to death, which is never good.
Moral of the story? If you're ever shot by an arrow of any kind, seek professional medical attention, kids!
:}
no subject
Date: 2003-03-12 10:05 am (UTC)I must say, I am loving this entire conversation. (And am now wishing for a medical consultant about long knife wounds, if you want to step over to my parlor...)
curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-12 12:22 pm (UTC)I'd think so. If anything, it's simply more practical, because you have less to work around, and less chance of catching the shaft on something and tearing the wound even more.
As far as knife/stab wounds, I remember from my first aid classes a few years ago that you should wrap some kind of bandaging tightly around the blade or piece of glass or whatever, holding it firmly in place in the wound. Oh, and elevate it of course.
My only gripe with the hihgly enjoyable Buffy episode that was First Date is how the left Xander on floor with a stomach wound to make "we're your friends who love you despite your bad taste in women" chitchat, and then didn't even take him to a hospital. But that's just a little thing that I can overlook as silly on the part of the writers.
Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-12 02:51 pm (UTC)Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-12 03:55 pm (UTC)Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:03 pm (UTC)And somebody gets to go to the hospital.
Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:08 pm (UTC)::smiles::
I feel all special and important now, knowing that I've inspired someone to actually do writing research...
Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:11 pm (UTC)Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:20 pm (UTC)Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:32 pm (UTC)Well, good then. I hate accidentally coming off pompous.
::comes back from reading fic bit::
SQUUEEEE!!!
I loved "Don't touch that or you will fucking die." And the army stuff too.
I can't believe you've got me reading Xanderfic and liking it.
Have you recently died? Are you perhaps non-corporeal and or able to make your voice boom outrageously by holding glowly red rocks?
Do you thirst for blood and spend your nights creating vampire spawn?
You must be evil, to make me like something that Xander-centric. Really evil. Really really.
Re: curse those clumsy shafts, that wave in the air as you twitch and bleed!
Date: 2003-03-13 10:37 pm (UTC)Wheeee, I'm glad you like! I have been sitting here at my computer needing to pee for like three hours to write this dang thing. I'm possessed!
yes yes! doctors good, morphine fun!
Date: 2003-03-12 12:27 pm (UTC)