#mister vimes'd go spare

[aetherictree]

Honestly, now whenever I see racism, or prejudice, or general oppression of the poor and downtrodden in fantasy, I can't but imagine Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in the middle of it.

Just started The Druid's Call, and you *know* Vimes would have suspicion and prejudice against Tieflings -- but also that his recognition of their personhood and citizenship would far outweigh that.

And that at some point the aristocracy would get wind of it, and tell Vetinari that there must not be any Tieflings in the Watch. Which Vetinari would make sure to pass on to Vimes. He would make it very clear that the aristocracy do not wish to see any Tiefling officers and would be very upset with the Commander were he to hire some...

...and as Vimes leaves, he would realise he's been played once again.

[jabbage]

My Favourite Fanfics

2022 was the year I discovered fanfiction that I enjoyed reading, and I thought I'd share my mountain of fics that really stood out to me!

Jeeves and Wooster

Green Ice - Jeeves and Wooster & Lord Peter Wimsey

I'm hesitant to explain why I like this fic so much. It was 'spoiled' for me before I read it, and I wonder what the experience would have been like if I hadn't known where it was going ahead of time. So, perhaps I'll just say that it uses Bertie Wooster's position as possible unreliable narrator to add a really interesting dimension to his character and explore an aspect of note about the Jeeves and Wooster universe, and does so within a rip-roaring mystery which feels very authentic. AND Peter Wimsey is in it!

The War of the Worlds and All That - Jeeves and Wooster

In which Jeeves and Wooster thwart an alien invasion. Which is an utterly bonkers idea, somehow pulled off because said invasion hinges around the exact kind of dilemma which is entirely commonplace in Bertie Wooster's life. I was absolutely hooting with laughter throughout this whole thing.

Sherlock Holmes

The Craven Hive - Meticulously researched and textually deep historical pastiche with some absolutely beautiful character moments. Dr Watson returns from his war service and decides to assist in the treatment of shellshocked soliders. Of course when danger is at hand, he has to call in his old friend...

The Unsinkable Ship - Another meticulously researched piece. Holmes and Watson end up on board the Titanic. Much of the work is the pair going around exploring the ship, talking to each other and their fellow passengers (often real people), and dealing with navigating retirement together. They have such an old married couple vibe in this. Oh, and then the ship gets struck by an iceberg.

The Afterlife of Dr John H Watson - Good grief thing thing is absolute exquisite torture and I've read it I don't know how many times. Has entirely changed how I read 'The Blanched Soldier' and 'The Lion's Mane'. I get very very bored at 'kissy stuff' in stories, but the pivotal kiss in this GOT ME BAD.

The Taste of Truth - Delicious dark fantasy. If Neil Gaiman had written it, it would have won a Nebula.

Grit in the Sensor - Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century - Ok ok just hear me out on this one.... Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century is a very fun but silly Saturday Morning Cartoon which had a wealth of absolutely dynamite sci-fi concepts bubbling below the surface which it didn't ever address. One of these is that there is a robot who appears to have gained sentience by reading Watson's work. This fic unpacks that concept in a beautiful heartfelt way. It's narrated from Robot Watson's point of view, which leads to a delightful mixture of 19th century patois with machine logic.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Of Skulls and Secrets - I really enjoy it when people bring in the very bonkers real life history of alchemy into FMA stories, and this piece honestly feels like it could have been an extra chapter or OVA.

FMA Beyond - I don't know what to tell you. It's like Hiromu Arakawa wrote and illustrated more Fullmetal Alchemist. I got tingles when I started reading it. It gets Al right, which is always important to me :D

Others

Ciel D'Oro - The Name of the Rose

I can't believe somebody wrote a very decent sequel to The Name of the Rose and it's on Ao3 and you can read it for free.

Mister Vimes'd Go Spare - Discworld

If you were to tell me that this was actually written by Terry Pratchett, I would believe you. In my heart, this is what happened to Sam Vimes in the end.

A Man from the Stars - Doctor Who

Officially set my mind to rest about poor Joan Redfern.

Sing Down the Stars - The Chronicles of Narnia

Very beautiful reflection on Rilian from The Silver Chair ***

That's it for now! I'm sure I'll keep adding to this as I read more stuff :D

[motion-blur-crowley]

shockingly few mentions of this remarkable (2011!) fic

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[butternuggets-blog]

It's called "Mister Vimes'd Go Spare". I haven't read it yet but I think it's the funniest premise for a Sam Vimes story I've ever heard 😂😂

[luwupercal]

you can tell the tier of a night for me by how far back into my fanfiction reading past i'm reaching into. anyhow i forgot how good Mister Vimes'd Go Spare is

[aetherictree]

I'm enjoying The Druid's Call, but damn is it hard to read. Why they being so nasty to my girl Doric? Why?

These folk need to be given a Hard Stare.

[sellahdor]

Mister Vimes'd Go Spare

[libraflyter]

So in a world where belief makes reality, in several decades on, you're gonna find someone in Ankh Morpork who swears that they saw a copper emerge from the shadows, lit only by a cigar and surrounded by a faint sheen of smoke, and it will smell like rain even if it isn't raining, and this man will say something like "I'll stop doing that right now if I were you, kid," then if the someone was doing something they shouldn't have been doing they sure won't be doing it after seeing him just disappear into the shadows after they take a swing at him.

And if what they had been doing was something really bad, well, then the man doesn't even speak. He just emerges between them and their would-be victim. And then a flash of darkness, a sense of immense age, and a flick of a tail.

[morvith]

Basically Joe is Stromboli and Nicky is the Vesuvius ( with the potential of reaching Santorini or Krakatoa levels of destructiveness)

I wanted to talk about these moment because they say a lot about Nicky.

Nicky is pissed the fuck off. Not in a « yells and destroys everything around him » type of way. No. See the way the muscle in his cheek ticks? The way his jaw clenches? The look in his eyes? The deep breath he takes? This is silent fury. Cold rage. Frozen wrath.

Nicky’s anger doesn’t explode and burn fast. It simmers below the surface. You catch enough to know it’s there, but not enough to know just how deep it runs. Until it’s too late.

So when people say Nicky will forgive first I have to disagree. The expressions on his face here tell me Nicky will be the last one to forgive.

[armchairsoapbox]

Multiple someones in the notes shared this little fic going over exactly this idea:

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[susanontherocks]

I think Granny would just refuse… but I think Mister Vimes’d Go Spare.

Random Discworld Question!

[painfullymeta]

I commend to your attention "Mister Vimes'd Go Spare!", a fic on precisely this premise.

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[beleester]

If I had a nickel for every fanfic I'd read with this concept, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice.

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[oakandgumtrees]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/244534

Mister Vimes'd Go Spare!

Lunik

The god is lying on its face on the floor, but it doesn’t want to do anything about that just yet, because it’s pretty sure that just having a face to lie on right now is a good sign.

Not reading a book, then. Should he be threatening someone with a face full of dragon? No, no, he remembers now. He ought to be arresting someone. Wait.

Sam Vimes opened his eyes in horror. “Oh, bugger,” said the brand new god, with feeling.

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[kiralamouse]

This is the subject of one of my fave Discworld fics, Mister Vimes'd Go Spare! by Lunik.

“Someone in your bloody Watch thought it was a good idea to elevate me to the status of a gods damned… God! I want to know whose bloody idea it was, and how they’d like their bloody figgin toasted!”

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got

[anxiety-junkie]

There is a fic!

I like to imagine that Sam Vimes, instead of dying properly, instead got minor godhood. All watchmen at some point thank him for his actions, his actions a ripple across the Disc. There's precedent in the Duchess of Borogravia, and in his arc. He keeps getting promotions, and hates each one. What higher status could he be unwillingly raised to than divinity, eternally watching the watchman?

Anyways, that's just a headcanon i've got