In the first part of the fourth chapter of Making Money<\/i>, Moist comes to terms with his new future. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of fatphobia<\/b><\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the Heretofore business. Who is this character??? It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have anything to do with the opening scene, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another<\/i> plot line, right? Even then, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so confused about the purpose of this. A man named Heretofore paid a lot of money for someone to create a replica of Vetinari\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ring, but out of stygium<\/i>, a material that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153drinks the light.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mr. Morpeth created things that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153seemed,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like a master counterfeiter, but of objects. Why does Heretofore want something like this? And he hired an assassin to steal it, right? So, even if he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want anyone to die, he was still willing to contribute to Mr. Morpeth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death just to get this ring. What the hell<\/i>?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Anyway, after this jarring opening, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dropped back into Cosmo Lavish\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coach. Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any problem with how he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s portrayed in terms of his behavior. Indeed, Pratchett seems to nail both the spoiled entitlement of the rich and the creepy, insidious ways in which they get what they want. I know we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discussed this before, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the equation of being fat with being greedy and rich, which is has a long history of usage both in the UK and the US. (And many other places, too.) I feel like this time it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more direct than before\u00e2\u20ac\u201dhe literally refers to Cosmo as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153thoughtless\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to explain his weight\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a coincidence. On some level, I understand that this is supposed to comment on his excess life, on the fact that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s used to having other people do all the work in his life. Still, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth discussing when this trope appears, you know? There are multiple little details here meant to identify that Cosmo is upper class, and those signs are brilliant. (Like the black glove on one hand.) I mean, the man just hands Moist a ten thousand dollar note to solve a problem. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s it! He literally thought that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how he could resolve a conflict!<\/p>\n Of course, he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that he was up against someone who would be offended by such a meaningless gesture. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of the fun reading Moist in this situation. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steps ahead of these men. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an extra layer of meaning to what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a criminal who uses his skills to defeat other<\/i> criminals, often because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just bad<\/i> at what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing. Like, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s far more subtle than the Lavish family, and he can think of long cons, while I get the sense that the Lavishes are all about the immediate future and nothing else. Well, even as I type that, I do<\/i> have to admit that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a pretty ironclad grip on the Royal Mint, but why is that? Why does one family have such an intense control over this part of the city? Well, maybe they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t so bad at thinking longterm, even if they throw money and influence at problems to fix them. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve certainly been able to organize banking so that the common person can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use it, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve kept themselves in power.<\/p>\n Maybe it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more that Moist feels scrappy and creative in comparison, that during the events of Going Postal<\/i>, he drew from a well of knowledge to defeat other criminals. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Vetinari is so insistent that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the perfect person for the job. Look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Vetinari killed Topsy Lavish; I think she was close to going, and Vetinari just introduced her to the right person at the right time. But I also have to acknowledge that this chapter contains the MOST direct confrontation between Moist and Vetinari that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen thus far. He may have manipulated events to get what he wanted, but at this point, Vetinari can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t act. But Moist can<\/i>. So when Moist shows up and interrupts a meeting to complain to about what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened, Vetinari is PISSED. I said this on video, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not used to Vetinari being THIS direct:<\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, Mr. Lipwig, you signed up to die,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d snapped Vetinari, his voice suddenly as cold and deadly as a falling icicle. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You signed up to be justly hanged by the neck until dead for crimes against the city, against the public good, against the trust of man for man. And you were resurrected, because the city required you to be. This is about the city, Mr. Lipwig. It is always about the city.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a necessary reminder, on the one hand. Vetinari spared Moist\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life after he was justifiably prosecuted for… well, for a lot. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hurt so many people! So, in Vetinari\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s logic, Moist is now working to repair a city he ravaged. In part, at least. And while we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve only seen the beginning of this Undertaking, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a sense that Vetinari does<\/i> want Ankh-Morpork to be better. The improvement of the bank and the Royal Mint is part of that. People with too much money, power, and time on their hands are running this institution, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to make things terrible<\/i> in the city if people continue to not use the bank. Wages are falling, remember? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spelled out in this chapter! With less money to be spent, disaster looms.<\/p>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the city. And as is usually the case with matters like this, Vetinari has seen where this is headed.<\/p>\n So, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who is waiting for Moist in the boardroom at the end of this split. I also don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what Moist just signed, but I am concerned<\/i>. Why would Moist sign multiple documents without checking to see what they are???<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/jZfXl_tBPds<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the first part of the fourth chapter of Making Money, Moist comes to terms with his new future. Intrigued? 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