In the second part of\u00c2\u00a0The Fifth Elephant<\/i>, Vimes learns more about the political future he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to become a part of. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For transmisogyny<\/b><\/p>\n
Lots to cover, LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S GO.<\/p>\n
Undercover<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a part of me that\u00c2\u00a0thinks<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0this is Pratchett trying to do something a little different. Like, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something pure about Nobby enjoying the act of wearing clothing he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not \u00e2\u20ac\u0153supposed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to. If only that was what was occurring here! The whole bit where Angua tries to get Nobby to admit \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what people call men who wear wigs and gowns\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 terribly uncomfortable? Like, is she trying to warn him\u00c2\u00a0against<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0doing it because she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want Nobby to be called names? Or is she trying to express that what Nobby\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing while dressed as one of the Seamstresses Guild is unnatural? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not as outwardly cruel as other moments have been when Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s invoked this trope. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153not as bad\u00e2\u20ac\u009d doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate the implicit meaning or the unintended harm of once again using \u00e2\u20ac\u0153men in dresses\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for comedy or shame. LET NOBBY WEARS WHAT MAKES HIM HAPPY, especially if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wigs and gowns.<\/p>\n
The Scone of Stone<\/b><\/p>\n
Look, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll admit this without shame: I get\u00c2\u00a0really<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0excited when I understand British\/UK references without having to look them up or getting them explained to me. I UNDERSTOOD THE WHOLE JOKE ABOUT THE STONE OF SCONE, I GET THINGS SOMETIMES. But this joke was rewarding to me beyond this aspect: it was an avenue for some of my favorite worldbuilding yet.<\/p>\n
Dwarf identity is a complicated thing, and Pratchett reminds us of that later on in Cheery Littlebottom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s section. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just gender presentation that is highly traditional. Carrot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expository dialogue with Vimes reveals a complicated world that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s arisen ever since Ankh-Morpork started to become multi-cultural, if you will. Here, Pratchett explains how a dichotomy has grown amongst the dwarfs, split by the traditional, conservative dwarfs who want none of their cultural mainstays to be subverted or changed for any reason at any moment\u00c2\u00a0forever<\/i>. Then there are the dwarfs who live in Ankh-Morpork, who have discovered new ways of living. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just Cheery and her exploration of feminine dress and make-up. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what dwarfs eat in the city. Who they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re friends with. Their decision to live aboveground. To hold jobs that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153traditional.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Thus, the crowning of the Low King is a huge deal because of the schism that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growing within the dwarf community. The next king \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Rhys Rhysson \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is much more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153liberal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about being a dwarf than Carrot anticipated, thus leading to the unrest on the streets. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s this bad in Ankh-Morpork, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it going to be even\u00c2\u00a0worse<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0in \u00c3\u0153berwald?<\/p>\n
Lady Margolotta<\/b><\/p>\n
Another vampire character from \u00c3\u0153berwald?!?!?! And so soon? Well, this was a pleasant treat. I am very intrigued by her political plotting because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand it. BUT I WANT TO. However, I was most surprised that this section got me to remember the\u00c2\u00a0Who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Who Among American High School Students\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>scam that used to be very, very popular back when I was in high school. I was mistaken in the video for this part in stating that you had to pay to be in the guide; instead, you paid for the\u00c2\u00a0book<\/i>, which was some exorbitant price. Unsurprisingly, it did\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0help you get admitted to college at all. GLAD I DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T PAY FOR ONE.<\/p>\n
Sybil<\/b><\/p>\n
Well, Sybil\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s section just straight fucked me up. She hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t played a major part in a Watch book in a while; often, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there for support or to affect plots in quiet ways. But Pratchett pulls back the curtain here as Vimes leaves the house to accompany Carrot to a break-in. When he does, we are treated to a portrait of a wife who knows that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an entire side to her husband that she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get to see. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rather haunting:<\/p>\n
There was a Sam Vimes she knew, who went out and came home again, and out there was another Sam Vimes who hardly belonged to her and lived in the same world as all those men with the dreadful names\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I felt pity for her, even though I could see her not wanting any. It was like she entertained, for a brief moment, a life where Vimes gave her all of himself.<\/p>\n
The Crime<\/b><\/p>\n
I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT. At first, I thought this was an obvious crime! The Low King was to be crowned, so someone stole the replica of the Scone of Stone. Easy, right? Oh, sure, I had no idea\u00c2\u00a0why<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d want the replica and not the real thing, but hey, it felt like it was connected to something!<\/p>\n
Except why would someone want to be\u00c2\u00a0secretive<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0about the theft? Why the delicate touch? That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make any sense! Just steal it and go! Except\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 oh, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not even gonna try. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it at all. HERE WE GO.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/youtu.be\/Iae8l0SMf1E?a<\/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>
\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":"In the second part of\u00c2\u00a0The Fifth Elephant, Vimes learns more about the political future he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to become a part of. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read\u00c2\u00a0Discworld.<\/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":[463,248,527],"class_list":["post-4141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-the-fifth-elephant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141","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=4141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4141\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}