#discworld trolls

[stellarmeals]

Discworld Inktober Day 8 - Mr. shine!

Terry Pratchett’s concept of the Trolls in the Discworld universe was some of my favorite writing. A trolls name usually describes what they’re made of. A diamond troll is the indisputable King of Trolls. Heres my version of Mr. Shine, Diamond King of Trolls.

As always Tips appreciated ♥️

[skydaemon]

so we (and by we, i mean the very specific overlap of jews and nerds among whom i make my home) talk a lot about how tolkien's dwarves, in both the books and movies, were likely influenced by certain jewish stereotypes. obsessed with gold/wealth, secretive (especially about their language and religion), refugees from their ancestral home, portrayed with big, sometimes hooked, noses and interesting facial hair, and most specifically: the favourite little meow meows of one particular god, causing them to be shunned and persecuted by other races and creeds. this is likely unintentional, coming from the subconscious of tolkien in the same way orcs were "based on mongols" (ew colonialism) and activating subconscious biases/stereotypes in the people who designed the dwarves for the movies. it's subtext, albeit subtext that influenced the next eighty years of fantasy.

but what i don't see much discussion of is the fact that in terry pratchett's discworld, it's intentional. terry pratchett's dwarves are, more or less, jews.

carrot is a human adopted by dwarves, based on human standards. but within dwarf culture, he IS a dwarf. specifically, he has undergone specific rituals and memorised certain passages, making him LEGALLY a dwarf. this is basically how conversion works in judaism. indeed, as in judaism, it's considered rude to even mention that carrot is six feet tall and obviously wasn't born into the culture he has adopted.

the dwarves also have internal rifts - there are a group of 'orthodox' dwarves who consider the dwarves in ankh-morpork (who have adopted other customs and don't follow traditional roles) not to be dwarves at all, and don't recognise carrot as a dwarf for the same reason. they believe that the way to be a dwarf is to live in an all-dwarf community and follow their traditional rules, while other dwarves believe they need to change with the times and integrate (at least somewhat) with larger society. jewish as fuck.

there's also the interaction of dwarves with gender. when cherie comes out as female (which isn't a recognised gender by dwarvish society) she is ostracised for taking on the feminine roles common to other discworld races. however, she could never THINK of cutting off her beard, because she is still a dwarf. i see parallels with women in judaism taking on roles traditionally considered 'masculine' (e.g., as rabbis, wearing tallit and kippot) and the acceptance of queer people into jewish communities. there's lots of great discussion about cherie as a trans character on tumblr, btw.

finally, something that particularly strikes me is the line from carrot in tfe, where he says that the biggest dwarf city on the disc is ankh-morpork. obviously all diaspora communities can relate, but it's really something to know that new york is the city with the most jews in the world (960k to jerusalem's 570k. btw, 3rd is LA!).

i just love that, again, consciously or unconsciously, pratchett incorporated more positive elements of jewish culture into his portrayal of the dwarves.

[faniacmag]

TROLL BRIDGE | The Moving Picture - YouTube

Subtitulado vía YouTube.

TROLL BRIDGE is a love-letter to Terry Pratchett and Discworld. It exists because an awful lot of people thought it ought to. The film is adapted from the short story 'Troll Bridge.

[pratchettquotes]

But trolls and dwarfs had been fighting for centuries. Ending that sort of thing took more than a handshake. It was just a symbol.

On the other hand...the world wasn't moved by heroes or villains or even by policemen. It might as well be moved by symbols. All he knew was that you couldn't hope to try for the big stuff, like world peace and happiness, but you might just about be able to achieve some tiny deed that'd make the world, in a small way, a better place.

Like shooting someone.

Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

[dimity-lawn]

[dedicatedfollower467]

God I will never be over Cuddy and Detritus's friendship. I will never be over the clockwork thinking helmet. I will never be over Cuddy getting over centuries of prejudice long enough to learn how Detritus thinks and why he struggles so much and then go and create a solution for him.

[booksbabybooks]

Anyone else think it's wild that Samuel Vimes not only has an entire Disc-wide network of the law named after him (Sammies, the Old Sam) but also inspired a super popular cocktail and a best selling book? Not to mention that time "Vimes the Butcher" helped stop a war. Again.

Honestly I would read innumerable books / fics on the widespread influence across the Disc of Lady "I have a hospital named after me honk if you love dragons of course Havelock is my friend" Sybil, high mistress of correspondence, and Blackboard Monitor Vimes.

[artbypontpilat]

Mr. Thunderbolt character in the Discworld book series by T. Pratchett

Мистер Громоглас персонаж цикла книг Терри Пратчетта "Плоский мир".

[klinefelterrible]

Does anyone else cry at the last meeting with the King in Fifth Elephant? I was reading it at work yesterday and lucky me noone was around because fuuuuuck. Every single part hits hard

[pourablecat]

Always wanted to draw Vimes stumbling among a parade of dwarfs. No context, as always.

[nival-kenival]

I'm thinking about writing a leverage Discworld crossover because I love both of them

But I'm worried if I make Hardison a goblin if it is like racist? To be clear, none of the team would be human.

Goblins in Discworld (specifically mentioned in Raising Steam and maybe Snuff) are the best coders ever for the clacks, and they are amazing with picking up and improving technology, quite literally better at it than humans and other species (Raising Steam)

But... Goblins were until very recently a race that was looked down upon, and is still likened to unclean things even though the people of Ankh-Morpork are quickly warming up to the species

I am just worried if I make the black man a goblin it could be seen as problematic. Any thoughts would be appreciated

[the-octavo]

I fiiiinally got around to watching Troll Bridge and it's delightful and you should watch it. A true love letter to the discworld.

[elelandia]

Monstrous Regiment o il potere di un paio di brache.

Oggi, 28 Aprile 2024 è il Pratchett day. Ovvero, si celebra la nascita del nostro amato Terry Pratchett, dove per “nostro” si intende che vi viene imposto a forza dalla qui presente autrice. Questa sera vi parlerò di Monstrous Regiment, scritto nel 2003 3 trentunesimo romanzo ambientato nel Mondo Disco e ahimé ancora inedito in Italia. Cercherò di parlarvene senza spoiler, ma qualcosina…

[pratchettquotes]

"I never shook hands with no king before," said Detritus. "No dwarf, either, come to that."

"You shook hands with me once," said Cheery.

"Watchmen don't count," said Detritus firmly. "Watchmen is watchmen."

Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant

[dimity-lawn]

[dark-orca-dynasty]

I made another glitter graphic, this time with the Dark Orca themed title I made a while ago. It's not as fancy, I didn't bother trying to find a pattern for the red, and the lack of contrast kinda messes with the legibility, so I think I'll update this as soon as my brain is less mad at the weather.