Well, back from trip number two, which was a little more relaxing (though a lot more tiring... I do not understand how bodies work). As a result, I've actually been reading a bunch of stuff, including some fascinating finds in my Pocket archive, which I just want to get off my chest.

First up is a pretty recent post from Brynn Metheney, a fantastic artist whose work I've followed for years. The post details a recent contribution to an interesting project, the Endangered Species Book. That's an impressive list of artists to be working on a single project and it seems like a very worthy cause. Definitely one I'll be keeping my eye on.

Next, are a combination of quite old posts that have taken me far too long to catch up on. Both are written by Richard Thornton, a friend of mine who is currently living/working out in Japan (I say currently, but he's been out there for years now). The first is a brilliant look at sake culture, which was utterly alien to me but now has leap-frogged up my bucket list for the land of the rising sun. The second is a rather more personal account of shaving-procrastination (I can seriously relate) and snowboarding (I have zero life experience to understand this utter madness). Like everything Richard writes, they are funny, inciteful and make me equal parts jealous of his life and incredibly grateful for my own. Perhaps Japan should be the aim for 2018...

Finally, the oldest of the lot, is a short story I saved to my Pocket account so long ago I have zero recollection where it is from or how I found it. Mister Vimes'd Go Spare is an utterly fantastic piece of Discworld fan fiction; in fact, it's so good that I was almost convinced it had been written by Pratchett himself. The script, phrasing and language is very witty and the overarching concept is so incredibly correct to the voice of the series that it is definitely part of my head-canon now. I almost added it to this month's MiM, but I don't feel fan-fic is something I need to keep track of in that way. If you're a fan of the main series, you should definitely read this - it provides some clever closure on several key themes and characters.

That suggestion does come with a slight word of warning, however: it may get to you a little bit. Personally, reading Mister Vimes'd Go Spare made me realise I have been avoiding reading Pratchett since he passed away. It hasn't been an intentional, conscious choice but it is clearly one I've stuck to. Reading a story that even mentions, and briefly touches on, several of these characters I love and hold so dearly was, at times, surprisingly hard. Not only that, but the core idea at work was, and remains, incredibly powerful. Vimes has always been one of my favourite characters and, I think, the one that has been most influential on my own personality and life. Part of that reason is the character's understanding of and relationship with the concept of justice. It's a very nuanced one, yet contains absolutes which have always appealed to me. Vimes and the Watch storylines shaped my own concepts of morality a great deal.

As a result, Mister Vimes'd Go Spare cut close to the bone. The central concept is that, in the wake of Vimes' death, his ideals and belief in justice take on a life of their own. That shouldn't be confused with 'good' or 'right'; Vimes never lived in a 'good' world, never had much time for something just because it was 'right'. But there are standards. Some things have to be done, and they have to be done in a certain way. That's justice. Not making sure the good guys win and the bad guys lose, but making sure that the result is fair and that everything is equal. It's a very powerful idea. Talking about why I enjoyed the short so much to my partner, even writing this now, and truly contemplating that idea gets to me. It gets to me because I believe it; because, to me at least, it is true. It also gets to me because it is one of those wonderful Pratchett ideologies that feels important and correct; something that is both worth remembering and striving to obtain in our world. And that gets to me because we won't be getting any more of those. So be warned: it might get to you, too.