Shadowhome

-- Terry Pratchett - Soul Music

be like Thor, be there to support your loved ones,accept who they are and celebrate them

BTW, this is all canon, Loki is canonically genderfluid and is referred to as a “both” or “neither” by others, even Odin:

i love one (1) genderfluid norse deity and one (1) support icon 

This has the same energy as “act like a lady.” “I’m a guy today” “then act like a gentleman”

a collection of my favourite Carrot moments from the end of Men at Arms

He saw an opportunity and took it :)

I love how, whenever they’re discussing, they talk about different things: Leonard talks about his actual intentions and mechanisms while Vetinari uses all of that as metaphors for people or political situations.

Friendship goals right there

Also the moment when Vetinari realises that he may have gone to far with Vimes, asking for his badge. Idk it’s so precious of him and it shows that he really does care about others, especially Vimes.

One of the reasons I love Aleksander so much is that, much like the Allied forces during World War II, he found himself in a situation where his choices were dictated by the necessity of survival and the greater good. War is never fought in black and white, and victory rarely belongs to those who refuse to step into moral grayness. The Allies, faced with the monstrous threat of Nazi Germany, had to make devastating decisions that often led to civilian casualties, deception, and destruction, but ultimately resulted in dismantling a regime that threatened the world. Aleksander, in his war against Fjerda, Shu Han, and the Ravkan monarchy itself, walked a similarly ruthless path, where every compromise, every difficult decision, was not made out of cruelty but out of necessity. This is yet another thing his critics like to forget.

One of the most well-known examples of the Allies’ morally complex decisions was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The bombing of Dresden in 1945, a city known more for its cultural significance than its military strength, caused enormous civilian casualties. Yet, it was part of a broader strategy to break the Nazi war machine. Similarly, Aleksander’s use of the Fold and its expansion can be seen in the same light—not as an act of senseless destruction, but as a weapon, terrible, yes, but still a weapon against those who sought to eradicate and enslave Grisha. Just as the Allies sought to dismantle the infrastructure and morale of their enemy, Aleksander used the Fold to prove a point, to deter, to protect his people.

The D-Day invasion of Normandy was another instance where the Allies had to weigh terrible losses against long-term victory. The landings on Omaha Beach alone resulted in thousands of Allied casualties, and yet, had they hesitated, had they refused to take the risk, Nazi Germany might have remained unchallenged. Aleksander’s actions reflect the same understanding: standing back, waiting, and hoping for justice would have meant certain death for Grisha. Instead, he took control, knowing that wars are not won through passive and noble ideals but through decisive, often brutal action.

It is crucial to understand that the war Aleksander fought was not one of conquest but of survival. Grisha were hunted, experimented on, treated as subhuman by their enemies and had no safe refuge. Just as the Allies had to forge alliances, sometimes with deeply flawed leaders, Aleksander also had to make difficult choices to secure his people’s survival. His war was not about morality in the conventional sense but about ensuring a future for those who had none.

It is easy to judge him from a distance, to believe that war should be fought with honor, fairness, and strict moral codes. But history has shown time and again that such wars are lost before they even begin. Aleksander, like the Allies, had no luxury of purity. He was forced to fight fire with fire, knowing that to do anything less would mean condemning his people. His actions, like theirs, did not stem from cruelty, but from the understanding that sometimes, to stop a greater darkness, one must be willing to walk through the shadows. That is why I stand by him.

Ok, but I’d love to know what kind of trouble you’re talking about, Vetinari.

Also a few lines later we get this:

Vimes spotting that Havelock Vetinari, unflappable tyrant, was feeling harassed…and making the choice not to push any more of his buttons.

I just adore their dynamic.

He’s really trying to be nice

“We made a device that can collapse reality”

“Ah, well, how nice of you”

I like that Vetinari isn’t portrayed like some superhuman that knows everything. He is human too and he can make mistakes, and here his mistake was that he didn’t understand just how much the badge mattered to Vimes. Yes, it was just a piece of copper, but it was a piece of copper that Vimes had built his entire life around, it was his identity, taking that away was like taking away his very name.

Though I do like how he dropped the subject immediately when he saw that Vimes didn’t want to give it. It just seems so sweet and considerate.

I also think this is when Vimes himself realises what is truly important to him and this conversation probably had a role in making him accept the title of commander.

Text: decoupling pregnancy from femininity means accurate and more inclusive language and treatment, but it also allows cis women to refuse motherhood without refusing womanhood, which is great for feminism and terrifying for misogyny.

–THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS. As a sterile cis woman who doesn’t want to have children anyway I feel this is every ounce of my being. “Define woman” types tend to do so in a way that excludes me too, so I got to stand with my trans sisters.

Your periodic reminder that “divine feminine” this “magic womb” that is just patriarchy in gauze and glitter. REJECT THE BOX even when it has a makeover.

I love talking with neurotypical people about my executive dysfunction because I'm like "yeah there's this invisible wall in my head that I'm incapable of getting past no matter what I do and it stops me from doing things" and they're like what the actual fuck

Meanwhile other neurodivergents are like

Discworld (Jingo):

Good Omens

Mort - Terry Pratchett

Morning Doodle: Nikolai Lantsov in his Infantry Era, clothing reference for myself.

“And your point, Madam, is…?”

I love how good at stealth young Vetinari is, no wonder John Keel/ Vimes never managed to see him. I suppose all those hours of “staying still in the darkness” finally paid off.

"But we took the oath, Sarge, and now we're disobeying orders and helping rebels. Doesn't seem right, Sarge," said Wiglet wretchedly.

"You took an oath to uphold the law and defend the citizens without fear or favor," said Vimes. "And to protect the innocent. That's all they put in. Maybe they thought those were the important things. Nothing in there about orders, even from me."

— Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett

Havelock Vetinari is literature's most dangerous tyrant.

Astute, learned, and wickedly clever, there are no ends the man will not go to in achieving his goals. There is no one he will not manipulate, no one too important to remove by a variety of means, and no one so powerful as to threaten his position.

And this applies, most importantly of all, to himself. Who watches the Watch, after all?

But Vetinari is literature's most dangerous tyrant because he is at once, yes, a tyrant, but ALSO literature's most dedicated civil servant.

He cares for the city. And ONLY for the city. It is from this position of being the man who truly only cares for Ahnk Morpork that he derives his authority. After all, who cares as much as he does?

Vimes? Perhaps, but he's a married man and a father with private concerns that should take his attention as well (even if Vetinari has to constantly remind him of that fact). He has other things to worry about, but good job that man for sticking to his lane: a sledgehammer sized scalpel for repelling threats and keeping the peace.

Carrot? Certainly, but Carrot cares more for the PEOPLE than the CITY. His mind is on the present, keeping the ones who are alive upright and breathing and getting justice for those tragically cut short. He is not concerned with the welfare of the CITY, as such. Not with the future the next generation shall inherit.

The guilds? Self-interested fools who were happy to take what Havelock gave them: stability and a piece of the pie no sane person would eat. They are content to squabble over portions of nebulous power, and all of them recognize that if Vetinari were gone... well, it doesn't much bear thinking about, really.

The nobles? Self-interested fools who are UNhappy with what Vetinari has given them: a slow walk to total obscurity and an eternal life in the back catalogues of Twerp's Peerage. Besides, they tend to only be effective when they can convince others to foolishly do their bidding, and the market for such men has seen a suspicious dearth in supply as late.

The wizards? Certainly not. Tried that before, thank you, and everyone seems much happier when gravity remains consistent and no one randomly becomes newts. Let them remain in their university, fat, happy, and most definitely NOT doing any bloody magic.

Lipwig? Maybe. In time. If he is convinced that it is in his own self-interest and things remain... interesting. But he also has Spike and the Bank and the Post Office, and a man can only juggle so much before suddenly there's a chainsaw in the front row and an awful lot of screaming. Best to keep him in practice of course, but... no. Not yet.

Vetinari uses all of them. They are tools in his box as he tunes and fixes and cares for the Disc's greatest city. The Turtle moves, but so does the Patrician, and it is a close contest on who shifts greater mountains. It is easy to imagine more than a few of the gods on Cori Celeste are keeping an eye on him and wondering what he's up to.

Except for the smart ones. They are doubtlessly taking notes.