Sam Vimes/Lord Vetinari

Pairing
Pairing:	Sam Vimes/Lord Vetinari
Alternative name(s):	Vetvimes
Gender category:	slash
Fandom:	Discworld
Canonical?:	No
Prevalence:	Popular
Archives:
Other:
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Sam Vimes/Havelock Vetinari is the slash ship of Sam Vimes and Havelock Vetinari from the Discworld series. As of July 2024, it is the most popular discworld ship on AO3 with more fics tagged Sam Vimes/Havelock Vetinari than any other ship.

The ship is commonly called Vetvimes by fans and is non canonical.

Fandom

Meta

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  a meme discussing common vetvimes meta by old-stoneface

rocking back and forth. dog-botherer and his dog. vetinari's terrier, i've heard them call you. always hot on the chase and he won't let go. do you know they call vimes “vetinari’s terrier”? terriers dig and dig and don’t let go. we are all someone's dog. someone got past his guard. yes. and i'm his guard. i'm his guard and i didn't see it coming. he's here somewhere. i know it. who is your boss, sir samuel? when push comes to shove? I think he’s got a sort of soft spot for the patrician, in his way. he once said that if anyone was going to kill vetinari he’d like it to be him. but he was smiling when he said it. that's your master, is it? the thought occurs, sir, that if commander vimes did not exist you would have had to invent him. you know, drumknott, i rather think i did. vetinari had tamed ankh-morpork. he’d tamed it like a dog. he needed vimes and his view of the world. he didn't thump the wall. i may have gone too far. he gave vetinari the look which said: if you take this any further i will have to lie. vetinari returned one which said: i know. sam vimes once arrested me for treason. he is known as vetinari's terrier. apparently, his lordship rather enjoys allowing vimes to break wind in the halls of the mighty. vetinari's terrier, eh?

p4nishers on tumblr

A common aspect of fandom for Vetvimes is the writing and sharing of meta. Common meta and anyalsis phrases have become so popular that fans of the ship can simply say these phrases and other fans immediately understand what they are referring to.

The most common of these is the recurring Vetinari’s Terrier theme throughout the watch novels (particularly in the novel Jingo). The words Vetinari’s Terrier has become extremely synonymous with vetvimes and vetvimes meta in recent years.

terry pratchett was out of his mind for writing all that about dogs and masters and servitude and explicitly linking it to carrot and angua's romantic relationship for two whole books and then another book later being like "oh yeah btw vimes is known as vetinari's terrier" and then not elaborating on that one

fullbottles on tumblr

Some other common meta/analysis phrases include:

• ”at the end of the day we’re all somebody else’s dog”
• ”sir”
• parallels with Carrot Ironfounderson/Angua von Uberwald

An 'essay' outlining the reasoning for shipping the pair was posted into 'The Shipper's Manifesto' in 2004 on LiveJournal by disc_sophist His Grace Commander Sir Samuel Vimes / Havelock Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork

1. Both have great responsibility and unflinching loyalty to the city of Ankh-Morpork.
2. They are both powerful men, despite their many critics and their questionable place in society.
3. They annoy the hells out of each other.

Aw... no extemporizing on the interesting quirks Night Watch added to the equation? :D I do find it funny how fascinated teenage Vetinari was with "John Keel." Vetinari's Terrier... I've always thought that said it all, really. There's some talk between Vimes and 71-Hour Ahmed at the end of Jingo about dedication and following your 'master' which has always struck me as indicative of V/V (without Vetinari even being directly involved). There's a tension between them that runs deeper than one might expect.

drworm's comment on the essay

YES YES YES YES YES. I didn't know there was any fanfic about them, but I always thought there should be. Mmm

lasultrix's comment on the essay

disc_sophist includes a Fic Recs section which links to the Discworld FanFiction Archive as well as broken links to the Discworld section of Fanfiction.net "while having exiled the NC-17 efforts, is still worth wading through." and a Yahoo Group "with an archive that often overlaps these two, but is a wonderful place to read, post, find betas, and just discuss your fanfiction with a sympathetic audience."

A forum titled Vimes and Vetinari - friends, enemies or what? was posted on the Sir Terry Pratchett Forum encouraging fans to discuss and define the relationship.

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

• Pseudopolis by Resonant
• Honed by melannen (Top work by Kudos on AO3 under the Sam Vimes/Havelock Vetinari tag)

Fanart

• world’s most normal workplace situationship by beeccoe
• Men At Arms Fanart by beeccoe
• Discworld! by rebelflet
• “Strange as it may seem, Sir Samuel," by jayessart