{"id":5180,"date":"2020-05-11T05:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T12:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=5180"},"modified":"2020-05-11T15:29:19","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T22:29:19","slug":"mark-reads-the-shepherds-crown-chapter-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2020\/05\/mark-reads-the-shepherds-crown-chapter-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;The Shepherd&#8217;s Crown&#8217;: Chapter 9"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the ninth chapter of <i>The Shepherd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Crown<\/i>, Tiffany has a visitor. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <i>Discworld<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I am so excited, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I AM SO EXCITED. I had figured that Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plot would converge with Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and it has finally happened at the PERFECT spot. Tiffany is in need of help, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s completely willing to train someone. But Pratchett brilliantly calls back to Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own epiphany about being a witch. Tiffany realized that she was in a unique position: she was now in control of Granny Weatherwax\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old steading, and <i>no one could tell her what she had to do with it<\/i>. Oh, there was certainly an expectation from each individual witch about what Tiffany <i>should<\/i> do. We saw one of the more extreme ones from Mrs. Earwig, but thankfully, it seemed that the witches closest to Tiffany knew that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to figure this out on her own.<\/p>\n<p>So why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she make <i>new<\/i> rules along the way?<\/p>\n<p>Still, Tiffany is initially suspicious by Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s claim that he wants to be a witch. Clearly, he meant <i>wizard<\/i>. Except&#8230; nope. He meant <i>exactly<\/i> what he said. But Tiffany is used to a binary, to a world where men do one thing and women do another. I noticed the exact point where Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s belief in this began to crumble:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Mr. Wiggal\u00e2\u20ac\u201dmy tutor\u00e2\u20ac\u201dtold me of one witch who became a wizard, so surely, mistress, the concept must go both ways? They say what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good for the goose is good for the gander, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, yes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Tiffany, uncertain of herself.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not the biggest fan of the Adam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apple moment (and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like Pratchett intentionally was trying to fall into that trope of calling out an Adam\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apple to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153remind\u00e2\u20ac\u009d someone they are a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153man\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), I <i>did<\/i> think it was fair for Tiffany to bring up another major roadblock for Geoffrey: A lot of women were just <i>not<\/i> going to be comfortable with this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153unknown man\u00e2\u20ac\u009d suddenly being in their homes for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153private circumstances.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That is a legit concern, and I like that Geoffrey didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dismiss it. Instead, he talks about what he <i>is<\/i> good at, where he could help, and what he might be able to offer. And yes, assisting with goats might not be the most necessary thing in the Chalk, especially since anyone who owns them around this part of the Discworld most assuredly knows how to take care of them. Still, Tiffany has some sympathy for him, so she decides to entertain the notion that <i>maybe<\/i> this could work out.<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Mephistopheles. You know, I got that Geoffrey and Mephistopheles were close, that their relationship was different and not what was expected, but because of this chapter, I have to examine this entirely differently. What the HELL is going on with that goat? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s response to the goat was way too much to ignore. And You is a strange enough cat as it is! If Granny Weatherwax\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cat does THIS:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230;she saw You stroll past the apple tree and suddenly stop, her back arching and her tail fluffing out to a remarkable size as she spotted the goat. There was a pregnant pause as the two eyed each other up\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand Tiffany could have sworn she saw a quick flash of fluorescent light, greenish-yellow-purple\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand then all was suddenly calm, as if there had been an agreement signed and sealed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>THEN I AM GOING TO PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION. What strange magic just unfolded? What was that <i>flash<\/i>? I know I had wondered if the last remnants of Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spirit was still in You, so is this further confirmation of that? If so, <i>what the fuck is inside Mephistopheles???<\/i><\/p>\n<p>I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not ready for this, am I?<\/p>\n<p>Actually, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready for this part:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am intrigued, Geoffrey,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why do you want to be a witch instead of a wizard, which is something traditionally thought of as a man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s job?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never thought of myself as a man, Mistress Tiffany. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m anything. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just me,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said quietly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The sheer cosmic coincidence that would line up this passage just days after I came out on Twitter as nonbinary (HI, HELLO, IT IS VERY TRUE, They\/He pronouns please!!!) is astounding and joyous to me. Because there it is, spelled out in about as direct form as I can imagine. Well, I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say <i>never<\/i> in my case, but for many, many years, I certainly have not. And I loved that Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s immediate response was that this was a GOOD ANSWER. It felt so damn affirming, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the things Geoffrey does to impress her. Now, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this means that Pratchett necessarily intended Geoffrey to be nonbinary, but it was still an incredible moment. And from it, Tiffany knows she has a chance to do something incredible: change the world. Because, as she puts it:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If she was going to be a sort of head witch, she should be able to decide this. She didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to ask any other witches. It could be her decision. Her responsibility. Perhaps a first step toward doing things differently?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>YES. YES!!! Tiffany is in a position of power, and here she is, thinking of using it to change everything, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s starting with one person. Geoffrey intrigues her. (His goat certainly does, too.) And when Nanny Ogg shows up the next morning, this all takes a whole new meaning. Well, one of them isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a new meaning. As I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d spoken about in the review for the first chapter, Geoffrey feels so <i>personal<\/i> to me. So yeah, it was nice seeing Tiffany correctly identify that Geoffrey had left home because he had had difficulties with his father. Some people just <i>know<\/i>, and in the months after leaving my mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s home, people figured out what I was going through after <i>very<\/i> little time around me.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Anyway, what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m leading up to. I loved this line:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You mean he wants to do magic. Send \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcim to the wizards!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what helps convince Nanny that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got it all wrong. Because no, he actually <i>doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> want to do magic. Note that even when he was telling Tiffany about what his skills or interests were, he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mention magic once. No, he brought up <i>helping someone who was in need<\/i>. That is&#8230; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a witch, right? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what they do! So maybe it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that absurd that Geoffrey could be a witch, you know?<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/s4QkA94jl7o<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/us.macmillan.com\/books\/9781250169211\">You can now pre-order my second YA novel, <i>Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a><br \/>\n&#8211; Not only that, but my very first pre-order campaign is now live for North American readers! <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/EachOfUsADesertPreorder\">If you submit proof of pre-order, you can get a limited edition print that comes with the book<\/a>.<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>&#8211; If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the ninth chapter of The Shepherd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Crown, Tiffany has a visitor. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.\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":[463,248,567],"class_list":["post-5180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-the-shepherds-crown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5180\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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