In the twenty-first and penultimate part of\u00c2\u00a0Jingo<\/i>, Lord Vetinari reveals his master plan. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of transmisogyny and misogyny.<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, I was on to something with Leshp, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite get there. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discuss!<\/p>\n
Nobby<\/b><\/p>\n
I can see what Pratchett was attempting here with Nobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exploration into femininity. One some level, Nobby has a better idea of what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to be a woman because he dressed up as one for an extended length of time. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very surface-level, superficial tale, though, because there are just so many weird implications of it that are left completely unexplored. I brought one aspect of this up earlier, and I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth revisiting. This still fulfills the whole \u00e2\u20ac\u0153men in dresses\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comedy trope, even if Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intent in addressing misogyny is good. It felt even more glaring here because no one\u00c2\u00a0lets<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Nobby feel comfortable! It would be different if Nobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comfort with women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clothing were allowed to exist\u00c2\u00a0without judgment, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even the case here. The pressure for him to dress \u00e2\u20ac\u0153correctly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is so strong that this happens:<\/p>\n He looked at their faces and waved his hands vaguely. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All right, all right, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll put my uniform on after I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tidied up around the camp. Will that make you all happy?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n How can you blame him when Colon says this?<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00c2\u00a0told<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0him he could change back into his uniform, but he says he feels more comfortable like this,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d whispered Colon to Vimes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gettin a bit worried, to tell you the truth.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t handle this, Vimes thought. This isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in the book of rules.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take it a step further. When Nobby makes reference to using his sexual wiles on the Klatchian quartermaster to get food, here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the reaction:<\/p>\n Vimes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kebab stopped halfway to his mouth and dripped \u00c2\u00a0lamb fat on to his legs. He saw Angua\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes slam open and stare in horror at the sky.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This, combined with Angua\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relief that Nobby didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually do anything, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the most\u00c2\u00a0positive<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0thing in the world. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not gonna say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the worst because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obviously not, but it was a disappointing moment because it felt like it made a point about misogyny at the expense of queer folks. Why is it such a problem that Nobby wants to wear a dress of be more feminine? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s standing next to a zombie and a troll. If the watch can adapt to them, then surely they can adjust to this, right?<\/p>\n Carrot<\/b><\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just really pleased that he carries a deflated football with him. He is too pure and too good for the universe, I swear.<\/p>\n Vimes<\/b><\/p>\n I am also quite pleased that he held a burning piece of ember in his fingers solely to intimidate Lord Rust. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so petty and absurd, and IT WORKED.<\/p>\n Lord Rust is the worst, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n Colon<\/b><\/p>\n I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m continuing this train to add on that Colon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s beautifully unnecessary collection of souvenirs is another of this book\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finer jokes. Because I know people who buy souvenirs as conversation starts and I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT. Of course, I travel differently than a lot of people because I rarely, if ever, buy anything to take back home unless it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something super essential.<\/p>\n Your Fault<\/b><\/p>\n It is all your fault \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I am speaking to each of you right now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that I had to walk into so many puns in this section\u00c2\u00a0alone<\/i>. Oh my god, Reg got\u00c2\u00a0mice<\/i>. I HATE EVERYTHING, IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TOO GOOD.<\/p>\n Arrest<\/b><\/p>\n And because this is a Discworld book, I just\u00c2\u00a0had<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to have the rug pulled out from under me at least once more. I realize now that I should have expected Lord Rust to be serious about taking Vetinari down. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exactly the kind of petty person to do\u00c2\u00a0exactly<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0this, you know? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not enough that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now peace between Klatch and Ankh-Morpork. No, his\u00c2\u00a0pride<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is hurt, even though most people who aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t him or the aristocrats in the city really could not care about Ankh-Morpork\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s international reputation. Of course, Lord Rust being out of touch is sort of the point, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?<\/p>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s precisely what Vetinari uses against him, but more on that in a bit, especially since I wanted to talk about how torn Vimes is on his duty. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen Vimes as the kind of character who becomes\u00c2\u00a0more<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0ethical and moral over time, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why this was so heartbreaking to read at first. It is unfathomable to him that Vetinari could\u00c2\u00a0possibly<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0be treasonous. But I recalled that conversation Vimes had had with Ahmed about masters. And in this case, Vimes has a crushing realization: he cannot suddenly decide someone is incapable of being arrested. Granted, Vetinari\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arrest plays right into the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans, but Vimes doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that. Instead, he feels like he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a pawn of Rust and the other heads of the Guilds. Why shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he feel that way? These people want to get rid of Vetinari so they can rule themselves, not because they feel a moral imperative to do what is right.<\/p>\n Yet I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still blown away by how well-designed this all was. I (wrongly) figured that the peace agreement would be signed on the way back to Ankh-Morpork; I did not factor in the delay that Vetinari specifically created.\u00c2\u00a0He signed away rights to an island he\u00c2\u00a0knew<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0would sink, which completely deflated Lord Rust\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s problem with him. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO CUNNING, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL.<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All I know, my lord, is that Prince Cadram has, at a politically dangerous time for him, given up a huge military advantage in exchange for an island which seems to have sunk under the sea,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Lord Vetinari. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Klatchians are a proud people. I wonder what they will think?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n HE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED EVERY ANGLE. This act would embarrass Cadram, who will most likely be removed from power, and now Ahmed gets what he wants, too. And how can they engage Ankh-Morpork in war if they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been shamed by the foolish actions of their prince? Bravo, Lord Vetinari. BRAVO.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2_fqPps9a5c<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards. I POST A LOT OF CUTE PHOTOS, OKAY. Think of it like a private Tumblr blog that only SPECIAL PEOPLE get to read.<\/b> In the twenty-first and penultimate part of\u00c2\u00a0Jingo, Lord Vetinari reveals his master plan. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[521,463,248],"class_list":["post-4027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-jingo","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I have updated my list of conventions and events for the remainder of the year and much of next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"