#Victor Tugelbend

[archerygun]

I love wizard protagonists in Discworld because they are literally THE post-exams mood. Every time the apocalypse happens they’re like “Ah. I memorised this for a test once 😔” and then still have no idea what to do because the university doesn’t teach them to apply that knowledge.

Victor and Rincewind are going through life with the same “Duh, I learned it from a source in a Year 6 practice reading comprehension SATs paper, keep up.” knowledge as us and I think it’s brilliant.

[pratchettquotes]

Victor made a few experimental slashes with the sword.

Gaspode watched him with his head on one side.

"What're you supposed to be?" he said at last.

"A leader of a pack of desert bandits, apparently," said Victor. "Romantic and dashing."

"Dashing where?"

"Just dashing generally, I guess."

Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

[laurenfoxmakesthings]

So, I've been through three Discworld books by now, most of which I like...and Pyramids. They're fantastic, but I haven't really clung to a protagonist yet like most fans have. I mean, I adore Wyrd Sisters, but I haven't focused on one witch just yet, all three are great.

And now I'm up to Moving Pictures.

Apparently, of all the characters tempting me to put them under a microscope, it's not Mort, not Death, not Magrat, not Nanny Ogg, not Granny Weatherwax, not the Fool, not even Teppic.

It's fucking Victor Tugelbend.

[aeshnacyanea2000]

Victor and Silverfish read it carefully, as one reads a dinner menu in an alien language. This was an alien language, and to make it worse it was also their own.

-- Terry Pratchett - Moving Pictures

[ansatsu-sha]

Victor stared at the pages again. There certainly was a figure which, if you half-closed your eyes, looked very much like a statue of a knight with his hands resting on a sword.

'It might not mean a man,' he said. 'Pictographic writing doesn't work like that. It's all down to context, you see.' 

He racked his brains to think of some of the books he'd seen. 'For example, in the Agatean language the signs for "woman" and "slave" written down together actually mean "wife."'

Terry Pratchett / Moving Pictures

[thinkanamelater]

Victor Tugelbend 🤝 Jonathan Strange

Smart, tries out many jobs but is too lazy to follow up, very innovative with magic, gets passionate and incredibly popular on their niche

[monstrous-tournament]

The Ankh-Morpork Movers and Shakers Tournament!

I know y'all know these two, but still, feel free to add your propaganda in the notes! 

[moss-under-a-rock]

Me: *reading moving pictures and not being able to pronounce Victor Tugelbend's last name* Ah, yes, Victor Tughdjdhfbdbxn 🙂

[curarems]

Victor Tugelbend went through some hard mental gymnastics when figuring out what he wants in life. Imagine wanting to be a student forever and actually having a reason and making a system to make sure it stays that way. Couldn't be me.

[mendedrum]

when will my husband victor tugelbend return from the war

[archerygun]

Hello I am back on my Discworld bullshit after reading Moving Pictures. I started it in the middle of my GCSEs and god. Was not ready to be hit with the biggest exam student ‘me fr’ of all time. Victor Tugelbend you are officially crowned king of every exam student ever you learned one thing for your exams and applied it to the apocalypse and it worked.

Mr. Pratchett you gave him too many shapes in his fucking eyes. Golden stars and hexagons? That’s too many!

Victor is the only wizard that can lie about it for fucking shit.

[pratchettquotes]

Victor stared helplessly at the city of lights. "Why us?" he said. "Why is it happening to us?" "Everything has to happen to someone," said Ginger.

Terry Pratchett, Moving Pictures

[tossawary]

One of my favorite Discworld books is actually one of the more obscure ones, "Moving Pictures", which is about the invention of films and the movie business in this fantasy world that has dwarves and trolls and wizards and so on. It has its rough patches like every early Discworld book, but Ginger's speech about people who were born in the wrong time or wrong place for their dreams really gets to me in a good way, and I love all of the references to classic films and commentary on fame and creativity. It also has classic characters like Gaspode the Talking Dog and C.M.O.T. Dibbler, and it introduces Detritus's romance with another troll named Ruby.

Perhaps most importantly to me is that this book introduces Ponder Stibbons, who is a wizard, and who goes on in later books to be one of the most important members of the Unseen University (he holds like twelve different positions), in that he's one of the few people who can competently manage a project and so ends up managing nearly everything. (Bear with me, it's been a while since I read any Discworld and my memory is a little rough.) In "Moving Pictures", Ponder is the classmate (roommate?) of a fellow named Victor Tugelbend, who is one of the main characters.

Victor begins the book as a career student, in that a wealthy relative left him a great deal of money exclusively for school; so as long as he STAYS in school, all of his living expenses are paid for. If Victor graduates, that's the end of the money. If Victor drops out, that's the end of the money. But if Victor manages to hit a specific mark range in the 80s every year, then he gets to stay on for another year and try again, and so Victor is perhaps the most dedicated and knowledgeable wizardry student in the university's history, because you have to know what the right answer is in order to intentionally get a certain number of the questions wrong, so that you can continue to coast along on your college fund.

Ponder's graduation is (accidentally) Victor's fault, because Victor runs away to get into the movie business. (I won't spoil what happens, but it's VERY funny.) Now, I like to imagine after the events of the book, after Ponder holds a faculty position in the university, Victor comes BACK to the university occasionally as a disgustingly well-paid external consultant, which drives Ponder UP THE FUCKING WALL. Like, people are so stingy all of the time but SOMEHOW the university budget has room to bring your offensively handsome dropout roommate back just to say, "Hmm, yes, that looks bad. Have you tried turning it off and on again?" I'd throw a fit, honestly. (As soon as Ponder has enough seniority, he probably puts his foot down to stop this if Victor isn't actually useful. Maybe he is, idk, but maybe not for THAT consulting fee.)

I also like to imagine that Victor Tugelbend and Theda "Ginger" Withel are still together, maybe even still acting (badly? mediocre-ly? decently?) together, in some dingy little theatre (Ginger is the director and runs their acting troupe like a tyrant) where the front seats are regularly filled with middle-aged folks who still sigh over the memories of moving pictures. (Moving pictures are now, presumably, VERY illegal in Ankh Morpork.) Victor and Ginger have only because even more attractive as they've gotten older, which is EVEN MORE OFFENSIVE to poor Ponder because his former movie star former roommate is married to another gorgeous former movie star?! I'd throw another fit.

Anyway, I think Ponder deserves to have an affair with a pair of aging former movie stars. I like to imagine this purely because I think it's funny. He seems kind of busy for marriage, so joining someone else's marriage part-time might be good for him. It probably makes most of the rest of the Unseen University faculty breathlessly envious and that really does it for him.

And I think that this affair would OF COURSE be covered by every newspaper and tabloid in the city, including The Times, and William de Worde and Sacharissa Cripslock don't fully understand why their entertainment reporter is so breathlessly excited about people who were famous over a decade ago? (Supermarket tabloids love to tell me about alleged affairs of people who were famous 20+ years ago.) The article on Victor Maraschino and Delores De Syn's failing marriage* is their bestselling newspaper in months and William puts his head down on his desk in despair. (He's fine. This happens on a weekly at least basis. He just needs a minute.)

*Victor and Ginger are very happy with this situation, actually. They're going to take Ponder to dinner to go on a double date with Ruby and Detritus soon. Victor and Ponder are going to get distracted arguing about some of the Inadvisably Applied Magic research projects, but that's fine, because Ginger wants to talk to Ruby about this one-troll-woman-show concept. (Detritus will proudly hand out tickets at the Watch station and accidentally intimidate all of his coworkers into accepting the invitation.)

[aeshnacyanea2000]

He was dimly aware that where people stayed was often infested by the Common or Greatly Suspicious Landlady, and he felt that he had enough problems as it was.

-- Terry Pratchett - Moving Pictures

[mildlybizarrecorvid]

@chaoticwolfharmony

Look what you've brought me to

(this is of course all in jest, I'm a nerd who attempts to be humourous. Not being driven to madness just yet)

[dragons-locator]

Trick or treat!

You get a small origami dragon! Its name is Victor Tugelbend.