31 days: August 13, "I am already king"

[tarigwaemir]

DeWolfe Apts., on the Feast of St. John Berchmans

I survived the Ordeal of the Primers (TM) somehow, but must return to lab for round two tomorrow. Thanks for all your sympathies!

The question of why I attempted Discworld fanfiction even though I can't write humor must forever remain a mystery. This fic is a bit tangential to the theme, but still related, I hope. In my head, anyway.

Interrogation
Dedicated to fadedcliche, a fellow Discworld addict

Once, Sam Vimes made the mistake of asking Lord Vetinari about his motives.

"Motives, Commander? Why do you ask that?" Vetinari folded his long, bony hands together on his ebony desk and looked up with what would have been an inquiring expression if he hadn't already had the eyes of a man who knew the answer anyway.

"Never mind, sir," Vimes muttered. "A copper's instincts, that's all."

"Ever a cynic about human nature," Vetinari said cryptically and handed him the file on the latest riots in the Shades. Vimes bowed and turned to leave.

Just as he had reached the door, the Patrician said, "Do you know the first lesson they teach you in the Assassin's Guild? How to determine the monetary value of a human life. What is a merchant worth? What is a duke worth? What is a /king/ worth?"

Vimes paused and looked back at the Patrician, who was now standing at the window, contemplating the slow ooze of the River Ankh below. The chaos of narrow alleyways and mismatched buildings; the crowds of humans, trolls, dwarves, zombies, werewolves, golems and many more untold sentient and not-so-sentient species navigating their way through its labyrinths.

"Well, sir?"

"And then I asked myself, what is a city worth? When I found the answer, I decided to retire from the Guild."

Vimes frowned as he digested the words, then straightened. He saluted and left as quietly as he could.

END

Yours &c.

Comments

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

"What is a /king/ worth?"
O_O ::wimper::
Soo~ good. It's not tangential at all! I'd say it hits the mark pretty well.
Once again, you just dig into the brains of these characters, and find what they have in common with you, and make it all shiny for us to read.

[troisroyaumes]

Thanks, Tryo-chan! ^_^ You're my most loyal commenter. XD

[tryogeru.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, I thought you said "Commander" rather than "commenter". Hahaha.

[briar_pipe]

Wow. If I said anything else, it would just... wow.

(And I do believe "sharp and pointy" counts as a Discworld style, funny or not.)

[troisroyaumes]

Heh, very glad you liked! Thanks for commenting! (Am enjoying your Holmes/Watson fics as well. XD)

[murinae.livejournal.com]

. . .

Dude. You rule and win the intarnets!

It is so hard to find good Pratchett fic, and good serious while in-character pratchett fic ... (from the referencing of Vimes' status to Vetinari's own background as a graduate from the assassin's guild) it's like finding the last bottle of wine from two centuries ago. Wow.

I love how you captured Vimes and Ventinari so well. The city watch is one of my most favorite of TP's series.

And the last line ... wow. Bravo. Consider me in awe ... good Discworld fic CAN be done!

-muri

[troisroyaumes]

Muri~ It's so nice to find your comment in my inbox this morning...not to mention your lovely rec as well. Thank you! I'm very glad you liked and flattered that this falls in the realm of good Discworld fic. ^_^ Just finished Going Postal two days ago, and was in quite the mood to write Vetinari. ^_^ I love the City Watch books the best, as well.

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

He was an assassin? OO; I guess that makes sense.. Huh.. xD
I do like the last line and the "banjun" of it. Tehe. I be watches too many korean TV.

[troisroyaumes]

You didn't know Vetinari was an Assassin? You clearly haven't read the latest books. >_< Go read Night Watch, silly! Also Monstrous Regiment and Going Postal. And whoa, I think this is the first time you said you liked anything about my fics. O_O;; Has the sky fallen or what?

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

Well, I try to play Devil's Advocate, and I tried for this one, but I was like... Ehhhh. Naaaah.

[troisroyaumes]

Your comments are so unhelpful though. :P I mean, it's all "Write more KJK! Why isn't this shoujo? Where's the sap?!" ^_^ Nah, just kidding, it's always nice to have a critic.

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

I said I TRIED.. I didn't say I was... >_>

And there's nothing wrong with JK. Harumph. He has a pulse less than 70... OOoooh~~

[troisroyaumes]

A pulse less than 70...and this is interesting why? O_O;;

[aetherangelette.livejournal.com]

CUZ THATS VERY FIT!!! WHY AREN'T YOU ONLINE???!!

[troisroyaumes]

I'm so sorry! I had dinner with the CGR interns today; we all went out to this swanky Italian restaurant in Boston. I stuffed myself on food and came back at like...11 PM. >_< I need to go to sleep now to get to lab early tomorrow. 너무너무 미안해, 내일은 꼭 있을께. 용서해다오~

[perseid.livejournal.com]

nice =) You got them spot on.

Ah Vetinari, how I adore you. You know exactly what you're worth.

[troisroyaumes]

Thank you! I'm a Vetinari fan as well. XD

[issen4.livejournal.com]

Came in from murinae's rec:

Eep, that's hitting the nail on the head, all right. I second, er, third all the people in saying that it's so hard to find Prachett fic, and you've captured the essence nicely.

[troisroyaumes]

Whee, that's good to hear. It's really hard to capture the Discworld tone, and I'm glad I didn't stray too far from the tone of the books. ^_^ Thanks so much for your rec as well, by the way!

[geekette.livejournal.com]

Ahh! I'd have commented on this earlier if not for awful school deadlines.

I've always loved the Discworld books centered around Vimes' Watch, and I really do admire how you manage to portray your characters so well.

"..looked up with what would have been an inquiring expression if he hadn't already had the eyes of a man who knew the answer anyway."

This line really does fit Vetinari to a T. :)