WMGs for Discworld / Going Postal and Discworld / Making Money. Warning: Potential unmarked spoilers.
Adora Belle is Anoia, the goddess of things stuck in drawers (or possibly could be an avatar or possessed by her).
Think about it — Moist has become obsessed with Anoia since the whole praying-for-money incident, said incident increased her worship dramatically, and when Anoia herself shows up in Wintersmith it's exactly the same character as Adora Belle.- Moist also points out that you're supposed to smell cigarette smoke in the presence of Anoia, and anywhere Adora Belle has been for more than ten minutes reeks of it.
- In Going Postal, Mr Pump says this about Adora Belle: "Anghammarad Said She Reminded Him of Lela The Volcano Goddess, Who Smokes All The Time Because The God Of Rain Has Rained On Her Lava." And in Wintersmith, Anoia says "I used to be a volcano goddess [...] and the god of storms was always raining on my lava."
- Also note: God of Rain. Moist Von Lipwig. Rains on Anoia/Lela/Adora Belle's lava. Moist is only barely able to calm Adora Belle's personality, but the challenge of rain trying to cool off lava is an apt metaphor for her appeal to him (and why the lack of her subconciously forces him into more absurd challenges.)
- Alternatively, Anoia appears in her current form because Moist had Spike in mind when he popularized her worship.
- As did all her new followers, when they saw Anoia's favored postmaster propose to Adora Belle in public.
- Also, Adora Bell is obsessed with freeing trapped tools AND she's the one who finds the key in the hidden draw in Lavish's desk, opens the secret cupboard, AND she's the one who proposes that they leave the contents on the floor. I think this qualifies as yet more Fridge Brilliance on Pratchett's part.
- If you look at it metaphorically, Reacher Gilt and the other owners of the Grand Trunk were Stuck in the Drawer (i.e., the Trunk) preventing smooth business and efficiency. Adora Belle helps Moist unstick it by removing the offending object.
- Plus, Spike should probably be dead or having major lung damage from the amount of cigarettes she smokes. Being a goddess would prevent that.
- Moist got her attention with his Last Words. "I commend my soul to any god who can find it."
- Moist is frequently compared to a corkscrew (all twisty but he gets the corks out), which Anoia is said to eat. Make of that what you will.
Vetinari paid for the Grand Trunk's repairs with the bounty on Reacher Gilt.
The Patrician is an Assassins' Guild graduate, he was at least as responsible for Gilt's death as he was for Lord Winder's, and it'd appeal to his sense of symmetry to collect on the Guild contract for that sole purpose. Vetinari is grooming Moist von Lipwig to be his successor.
If Vetinari wants something, he takes one thing to mold it into what he wants. He legalized the Thieves' Guild to regulate crime, then he took Vimes and made him forge a powerful new Watch. For now, the city is not only stable, but growing. In order for it to thrive he needs to revitalize the major public services. So he takes Moist and uses him to resurrect the Post Office, which becomes big business in and of itself. He then targets the banks and the tax office that we know of, planning to use Moist to do so. He would have used Reacher too, if he'd have cooperated. He'd have played the two off of each other to create one ideal successor.- As for why he'd want someone like Reacher or Moist, he knew stability was assured with his system in place, especially while Vimes or Carrot was around to keep the Watch together, so he saw that the city could need help in order to grow as well as it could. Thus he needed someone savvy enough to keep his system, know how to handle people and know how to get things done. Instead of Vetinari's subtlety he relied on a show biz personality to make the people go along with these ideas, leaving the old fashioned Guild leaders powerless to resist the change.
Vetinari is grooming both Moist and Sam Vimes to be his successor(s).
In more recent books, Vimes has started to show a streak of Magnificent Bastardry, which he even remarks on in Thud!. Knowing that Vetinari takes a personal interest in his development, it seems quite plausible that this was his intended goal all along. Vimes and Moist represent different elements of what makes his style of government successful. Vimes is focused, has a clear sense of right and wrong, is absolutely incorruptible and has a talent at upsetting established power players, but can be a bit hard-headed. Moist is a born con-man, good at manipulating people and getting them to like him and thinks outside the box all the time, but he's flighty and unreliable unless forced to focus on one task. It's possible that Vetinari either intends to make them compete indirectly to show which one would make a better successor or split up his power between them eventually. Also note how, in his interactions with each of them, he seems to channel the spirit of the other. With Vimes, he's gratuitously obfuscating and manipulative, almost trickster-like, while with Moist, he's a stern authority figure.- The main problem with this is that based on the events in Night Watch Sam is pretty similar in age to Vetinari (he was starting as a cop around the time Vetinari was starting as an assassin) so he's a bit to old to be a good successor.
- Age may not be relative. The Patrician has had how many death attempts? He is seemingly more unlike himself/unhinged as the series goes on. Sam may only be the Plan B should the Patrician needs a replacement before Moist is ready.
If/When Vetinari cops it, Lipwig will be forced into the Patricianship via an assassination contract
Even if Vetinari is grooming Moist into the next Patrician, the chances are Moist isn't going to particuarly want the job, because it completely destroys any chance of reverting back to his old life (for one thing, they'd have to put his face on the stamps), and like the other positions Moist has taken, it's not exactly renowned for it's holder's longevity (unless of course you're Vetinari). Vetinari has probably set up a contract stating that he's to be assassinated if he refuses the Patricianship, and Moist will only be informed of this after Vetinari's death. Also has the bonus of stopping the other Guild Heads putting their own person up for the job, because by then it will so obviously have been Vetinari's plan, and nobody wants to know what happens when a plan of Vetinari's doesn't go his way, even if he is dead.- The Assassins' Guild already has a conditional contract out on Moist, however: as of Making Money, they're to kill him if Mr. Fusspot dies of anything other than natural causes. As they don't accept jobs that would breach a previously-accepted contract, any such arrangement would have to wait until the Chairman has died of old age.
- Kill? Like a common murderer? Surely you mean inhume.
When Vetinari's man finds Heretofore it'll be to offer him a job
Seriously, Vetinari doesn't waste talent, and Heretofore did manage to go from being an assistant gardener to position of closest advisor to, and manipulating, one of the city's richest men and orchestrating a very neat scam on him. He'll be given an angel deal as one of his clerks.- It seems more likely that Heretofore might be offered the role of head tax collector given how Vetinari is clearly thinking of having someone new take up that job not long after mentioning Heretofore (granted, he also discussed Moist in that conversation, but later books indicate Moist wasn't given the job of tax collector).
- It's possible Heretofore could be the secretary to his protege, Moist von Lipwig (although this is possibly tossed by him not appearing in Raising Steam). Heretofore has already demonstrated an ability to mimic the position of Drumknott, and an absolutely unflappable adjutant is something Moist will require as Patrician. He will also need an expert commander of the Watch, and for that he will have one Carrot Ironfoundersson.
Moist Von Lipwig is an avatar of Mercury/Hermes from classical mythology.
Moist is implied to be an avatar of a god and in classical mythology, Hermes was a trickster and con artist, but was also the messenger (angel) of the gods. He was in charge of lucky finds, commerce (the word actually comes from the root merx) and communication. His symbols included winged sandals and a winged hat.- It's all but stated he is an avatar. Or rather, he's the avatar of Discworld's equivalent to Mercury/Hermes: Fedecks, Messenger of the Gods.
Mr. Bent is actually a dwarf.
That would explain his aversion to light, and his obsession with gold. His unusual gait could be a result of an Igor lengthening his legs. The story about being a clown was just a cover-up.- He show remarkable aptitude for being a clown then (and aptitude is often inherited on Discworld).
Vetinari was bluffing about Mr. Pump being able to hurt people.
Because there's no Law of Robotics that keeps golems from scaring the hell out of people - and, since the threat was effective, there's no need to actually follow through with it. Leonard da Quirm was an early beneficiary of Vetinari's 'rehabilitation' system.
It wasn't quite so sophisticated in those days- perhaps for want of a suitable hangman- but his life in the palace sounds very much like the one eventually believed to be the fate of Owlswick Jenkins. In fact he was probably quite elderly and he hasn't been mentioned for a while, so his... apartment might have come vacant, as it were, by natural causes (or the natural effects of using a lot of dangerous chemicals all the time)- It would be out-of-character for Leonard to have actually committed a crime worthy of hanging, however. The worst harm he's ever done was to build the gonne, and he honestly never imagined anyone would try to use it on another person.
- Leonard was never tried for a crime. The folks at Alchemists' Guild mention that he simply disappeared, so Vetinari just had him kidnapped and gave him everything he could want in a workshop to keep him happy.
- In Raising Steam, it's mentioned that Leonard is still around. It does seem like Leonard's situation is essentially the forerunner of the whole "rehabilitation" system in spirit if not specifics, though, which is pretty neat. Same deal with Moist, even, in a loose sense. Maybe Leonard and Owlswick are neighbors now; they'd probably get along well.
Stanley is mildly autistic.
That's why he's obsessively devoted to one narrow topic, and he takes instructions literally.- He's pretty much a textbook of someone on the spectrum.
Moist's family motto
If he gets to pick one, it will be Tarn deliram ad operamini. Or "Crazy Enough to Work"- Or possibly Perfugium in audacitate.
- Wouldn't that rather be "Refugium ab audacia petendum." or "In audacia, refugium"?
Tiddles has met the Amazing Maurice.
Maurice from The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents recalls having known a blind cat who walked into doors a lot. Tiddles acts blind and walks into doors if they're not opened for him, and there can't be many places in Ankh-Morpork where a cat that oblivious can survive. If Maurice met Tiddles before the former became Amazing, he could easily have concluded Tiddles really was blind, simply by how he behaves. Moist and Adora Belle's first child will be a daughter
Named either 'Hope' or 'Angel(a)'- Doubtful, both have names in that kind of vein, but they both dislike, so they wouldn't want to subject their daughter to the same thing.
Vetinari isn't grooming a successor at all. Instead, he's making it so the city doesn't need him.
He's controlled everything under the guilds, uses the Watch to keep an eye on them, and is rebuilding the public services, right down to the Post Office and unsnarling the traffic problems. He's making it so the city works, and that keeping it working is in everybody's best interest. Indeed, so that the city will act to keep itself stable and working, without him needing to threaten anyone with an eyebrow.- He's setting it up so the potential 'successors' of Vimes, Carrot, Lipwig, and the Guilds are all propped on each other and holding each other up, so that any bids for power will collapse the whole affair. Part house of cards, part crab bucket.
Mr Gryle is Mr Ixolite having undergone a Face–Heel Turn.
In Reaper Man, Ixolite is described as "the world's last surviving banshee", which could only be true if Gryle was the same person as Ixolite. Considering the time gap between Reaper Man and Going Postal, it's plausible that Ixolite may have experienced some Start of Darkness, changed his name and started working as a hired killer. This could also explain Gryle's Terse Talker tendency, as Ixolite is shown to be very self-conscious about his speech impediment.