I’ve been on a Discworld re-read for about a year now, and it just struck me how Pterry gets progressively angrier and less subtle about it throughout the series.
Like, we start out nice and easy with Rincewind who’s on some wacky adventures and ha ha ha oh golly that Twoflower sure is silly and the Luggage is epic, where can I get one. Meanwhile Rincewind just wants to live out his boring days as a boring Librarian but is dragged along against his will by an annoying little tourist guy and honestly? Fuck this.
We get the first view of Sam Vimes, and he’s just a drunken beaten down sod who wants to spend his last days as a copper in some dive but oh fuck now he has to fight a dragon and honestly? Fuck this.
The first time we see Granny Weatherwax, she’s just a cranky old woman who has never set foot outside her village but oh fuck now she has to guide this weird girl who should be a witch but is apparently a wizard all the way down to Ankh Morpork and honestly? Fuck this.
Like, these books deal with grumpy, cranky people. But mostly, the early books are a lot of fun. Sure, they have messages about good and evil and the weirdness of the world, and they’re good messages too, but mostly they are just wacky romps through a world that’s just different enough that we can have a good laugh about it without taking things too much to heart.
But then you get to Small Gods, in which organized religion is eviscerated so thorouhgly that if it was human, even the Quisition would say it’s gone a bit too far while at the same time not condemning people having faith which is kind of an important distinction.
You get to Men at Arms and I encourage everybody with an opinion on the Second Amendment to read that one.
You get to Jingo, Monstrous Regiment, Going Postal (featuring an evil CEO who is squeezing his own company dry to get to every last penny, not caring one lick about his product or his workers or his customers or anything else and who, coincidentally, works out of Tump Tower. I’m not making this up).
And just when you think, whew, this is getting a bit much but hey, look, he wrote YA as well! And it’s about this cute little girl who wants to be a witch and has help from a lot of rowdy blue little men, this will be fun! A bit of a break from all the anger!
Wrong.
The Tiffany Aching books are the angriest of all. But you know what the great thing is?
The great thing is that Pterry’s anger is the kind of fury that makes you want to get up and do something about it. It upsets you, sure. But it also says It’s up to you to change all of this. And you can change all of this, and even if you can’t. Do it anyway. Because magicians have calculated that million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.
It’s the kind of anger that gives you purpose, and it gives you hope. And that concludes my essay about why the Discworld series is so gloriously cathartic to read when it seems like all the world is going to shit.
So go. Read them, get angry and then get up and fight. Fight for truth. Justice. Freedom. Reasonably priced love and, most importantly, a hard-boiled egg.
I’m kind of disappointed that so much Firelord!Zuko content seems to be about how he’s on the verge of falling apart, and how the nation doesn’t respect him and his ministers won’t cooperate with him, and he’s separated from the gaang
And that’s not untrue. Zuko has to run a government that was, a few months ago, ready and willing to burn the rest of the world to ash, and that’s a serious burden to bear, but it’s not hopeless. This is a new time of peace. A new dawn. Where are all my pieces that focus on peace and growth? About Zuko fostering friendly alliances? About Zuko leading by example?
A servant accidentally drops a serving platter of roast duck during a ball. The juice splatters a noble woman’s gown. She backhands the servant across the face and her husband is calling for punishment and people are watching as though it’s some kind of show, because this is the way it is in the palace. Until, that is, the Firelord steps forward and helps the servant to his feet. Zuko asks the shaking man if he is alright. He calls for another servant to help clean up the mess. He tells the noblewoman in a tight voice that she, nor anyone else in these walls, will not raise a violent hand to anyone under his care
Zuko is walking through a city courtyard as he speaks with the Mayor when a young child waddles up and tugs at Zuko’s golden-hemmed robes, curious at the way they catch the light. The guards rush forward and the boy’s parents fall over themselves to offer apologies and beg for forgiveness, and Zuko bends down and picks the child up under the arms, and settles him on his hip. The child reaches for his gold crown settled in his topknot and Zuko laughs and gently pushes his hands away. He gives the boy back to his parents, and says, “There’s no need to apologise. Curiosity is a valuable trait in a young boy. You should encourage his curiosity for life.” And then he sweeps away with the Mayor in tow, as though nothing is amiss, as though his gentle smile and understanding words didn’t rattle these two townspeople more than a reprimand every would
Zuko shifting the nation’s priority away from militarisation, while trying to create new jobs for displaced people, jobs that will help his nation recover. Zuko implementing a new curriculum in schools. Zuko consulting with all kinds of people, like Iroh and Aang, yes, but also other nobles, and common people, and foreign dignitaries, and historical and cultural experts. Zuko bringing culture back to the Fire Nation.
Zuko struggling with his famous temper, but working every single day to be the kind of leader his people can put their trust in. A Firelord that doesn’t strike fear into his people, the people he’s dedicated to protecting. A Firelord that’s very different to his forefathers, who decimated entire cultures, who burned the faces of their sons and cast them out for speaking out of turn.
Zuko being kind and patient. Zuko working hard but slowly, over time, earning the trust and love of his people.
If you like Brooklyn 99, you should read Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books, specifically the City Watch books, because they’re basically Brooklyn 99 but British, written 10-30 years ago, and set in a pseudo-medieval society that’s undergoing its industrial revolution.
There is a scene in Jingo where Sam Vimes learns of the growing nationalist tension and upcoming military action, hears one of his officers and best friends say the same casually racist things he’s said for thirty years about a brown-skinned foreigner that, by the way, he’s perfectly friendly to, calls him into his office, and says No.
This is a thing we are Not Going To Do Anymore, Fred. I know that you’ve been saying this for the last thirty years, Fred. It’s not offensive all of a sudden, Fred, it’s been offensive this whole time and I haven’t cared enough before, but it’s Time To Be Better, Fred.
There are several reasons punishments (including spanking, time out and “consequences” when they presented punitively) are mistakes. The most crucial is that children who are taught through physical or emotional pain tend to stop trusting us and themselves. Expecting humans at their most vulnerable stage of life to learn through pain and shame (when healthy adults would never put up with this) doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it? Can you imagine taking a college course and being spanked or banished to “time out” because you weren’t learning quickly enough?
Even if punishments didn’t have long term negative effects, the truth is they don’t work. The loving, trusting bond our children have with us is what makes following our code of behavior and internalizing our values something they want to do. Erode that relationship, and discipline becomes an “us against them” struggle.
Perceiving children as “bad” rather than in need of help
There was a toddler in one of my parent/toddler guidance classes whose behavior could be considered “bad”. He was compelled to push limits, probably because his adoring, gentle mother struggled to set them confidently. She admitted that his behavior unnerved her. That, in turn, unnerved him, and “acting out” was the way he demonstrated it.
Some days I would have to calmly follow this boy, shadowing him so that he wouldn’t push or tackle one of the other 18-24 month olds. When I sensed an aggressive impulse coming, I would place my hand in the way and say matter-of-factly, “I won’t let you push” or gently move him away from the friend he was tackling and say, “That’s too rough.”
There was no point in reminding him to touch gently (in fact, that would have been an insult to his intelligence). He knew exactly what ‘gentle’ meant and was clearly making a different choice. But what I would often end up asking was, “Are you having a hard time today?” “Da”, he’d answer a bit wistfully, a hint of a smile on his face, recognition in his eyes. This simple acknowledgement coupled with my calm, consistent limit setting would usually ease the behavior.
Toddlers love to be understood. They also need to know that their discipline “teachers” are calm, unruffled and understanding, not thrown or upset by their behavior. And that is the way that I have come to understand misbehavior. It is not intentionally bad, mean or a way to upset parents. It is a request for help.
Help me, I’m tired. Help me, I have low blood sugar. Help me stop hitting my friends. Help me stop annoying or angering you… better yet, stop me before I do those things. Help me by remaining calm so I sense how capable you are at taking care of me. Help me by empathizing, so that I know you understand and still love me. Help me so that I can let go of these urges and distractions and be playful, joyful and free again.
I don’t usually reblog children-things, but this is important.
Part of the issue is our cultural toolbox for dealing with problems is woefully understocked. Right now its almost entirely punitive. Many parents just aren’t equipped with the tools to enforce without punishment. We, as a culture, need to fix this. We need to give these parents the de-escalation skills and alternative methods to punishment for dealing with kids, to prevent that adversarial dynamic between child and parents.
adversarial dynamics are basically stupid, it turns out.
it’s not just that they’re evil, it’s that they don’t produce the desired results.
in d&d, deer have 14 wisdom. a deer is just as wise as my ranger for whom i put his second-highest ability roll in wisdom and who uses wisdom to cast most of his spells. a deer is wiser than everyone in the friendship campaign party other than erwyn, who is tied with said deer. what the fuck
Nancy Wake is on my list to cover, but her story is too cool to be able to do in one entry. I’m not kidding when I think she needs a full graphic novel to do justice by her story.
It is an amazing manga with an almost entirely LGBT+ cast and talks a lot about gender identity, sexuality and troubles faced by those within the LGBT+ community (especially for younger members). Also it is fucking BEAUTIFUL.
Kamatani Yuuki’s use of imagery and visual metaphors never fails to take my breath away.
Shimanami Tasogare is a story written by a trans author about the beauty and necessity of intergenerational queer communities and honestly I need it to never end.
Definitely a must-read if anyone is wondering about the black cultural references on full display at her incredible concert. Beyonce is seriously an amazing performer…
Excerpt:
Saturday night, Beyoncé became the first Black female headliner at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. In a performance that she called “very important for me” and that was politically charged, as has become her style, Beyoncé’s brazen tribute to Black history and Black culture has inspired mass reactions that reverberated across the internet. How could it not, after she declared Coachella forever changed: it is now Beychella.
and
Woven throughout Beyoncé’s performance are strategically placed sound bites and musical references. You heard the voice of Malcolm X giving his reverent speech “Who Taught You To Hate Yourself,” about the need to respect and protect Black women, and the earnest vocals of Nina Simone singing about lost love in “Lilac Wine.” The soulful singer-songwriter was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last night. The band also played a rousing rendition of Fela Kuti’s 1976 title track “Zombie.”
I never watched the first Pacific Rim movie because I can’t really abide a lot of smashy fight scenes, though I knew all about the plot and concept of course. So a couple of weeks ago I read Hello Tailor’s article ‘Pacific Rim’ actor Charlie Day says slash fanfic informed his performance more because of general interest in slash fanfiction in wider culture and all the associated issues, and I watched the video clip with the same thing in mind.
Except then the phrase he used, something like, “He misses the man that he’s in love with”, sort of snagged me with its pathos and I remembered that after the first movie there was an explosion of fan interest in the pairing and waxjism was definitely reading it for a while. So, being temporarily without a fannish reading interest, I went to AO3 and started acquainting myself with the fanfiction in descending order of kudos.
It’s always quite an experience going into a body of fanfiction for a canon that you haven’t seen, even with a fair amount of fannish osmosis background information to draw on.
In this instance, after a few pages of results I’d gone through enough post-Uprising stories to have been spoiled for it as well, and
wupacing 