“Any normal person, they crawl off when they get a beating. Or they have the sense to stay down, at least. But sometimes you get one who just won’t let go. You know what I mean? Idiots who’ll go on fighting long after they should stop.”
“I think I know the type, yes,” said Lady Sybil, with an irony that failed to register with Sam Vimes until some days later.
Today is the 25th of May. An important day for all Terry Pratchett’s enthusiasts. An important day in the life of Samuel Vimes, a man from whom you might learn a couple of interesting things.
“That’s the way it was. Privilege, which just means ‘private law.’ Two types of people laugh at the law; those that break it and those that make it.”
“You took an oath to uphold the law and defend the citizens without fear or favor,” said Vimes. “And to protect the innocent. That’s all they put in. Maybe they thought those were the important things. Nothing in there about orders, even from me. You’re an officer of the law, not a soldier of the government.”
“You realized that people like Carcer were not mad. They were incredibily sane. They were simply men without a shield. They’d looked at the world and realized that all the rules didn’t have to apply to them, not if they didn’t want them to. They weren’t fooled by all the little stories. They shook hands with the beast.”
“Vimes had spent his life on the streets, and had met decent men and fools and people who’d steal a penny from a blind beggar and people who performed silent miracles or desperate crimes every day behind the grubby windows of little houses, but he’d never met The People. People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.”
We get, rightfully imo, pretty sad and somber and naval-gazey about Discworld and Sir Terry on the 25th of May but I need everyone who might be discovering this series through this annual outpouring of love and sadness that these books are mostly just really fucking funny. Like, they’re heart-wrenching and poignant but really they can only pull that off because they’re also the funniest books ever written. There’s a line near the end of Hogfather that, when I read it, made me feel more deeply connected to, like, the concept of humanity then I ever have before, but the book was only able to deliver that because the rest of it is about what if Santa Claus got kidnapped and a Big Skeleton had to take over his job? It’s a patently ridiculous series but that is absolutely also where it’s power comes from.
since i have only listened to the monstrous regiment book and not actually read it, discovering wazzer was called ‘wazzer’ and not ‘wozzer’ kind of blew my mind. very excited to find out what other characters/places etc i don’t actually know the name of♀️. i’m telling this story since i don’t have the actual words to describe how immensely this book affected me but who does really. i’m almost too scared to attempt the characters properly because i revere them so much (that might not be the right word but i’m too tired to look it up). all i know is maladict with 90s boyband curtains is definitely not staying but it was fun for just now
a bunch of Tiffanys. Tiffanies? Anyway my partner and I just finished listening to I shall wear midnight so you all know what that means…. shepherds crown is next. I’ve still not listened to raising steam so I’m going to make sure I listen to that myself first so that when I listen to my final final final discworld book I have my girlfriend there for emotional support . Might seem like overkill but I’ve planned it this way ever since I started rereading the series a few years ago and got her to start listening to some of them together too. I just know I’m going to be super emotional so this is the best way!
I hope this isn’t too much information but our discworld audiobook time has been priceless during 2020. Every Friday we run a bubble bath, pour some prosecco or gin, leave our phones in another room and just soak and listen to the books. It means we have been getting through the Tiffany books at about 40 mins a week so a bit of a snails pace, but it’s honestly the only time of the week I feel completely relaxed, and with not going out and working from home it’s given the week some structure. Highly recommend weekly bath night or at least weekly ‘lock the phone away and listen to something nice for an hour’, we’ll sometimes listen to a musical album instead. Really helps with the ol’ mental health.
Magrat Garlick sketch. I remember I related to Magrat most out of any discworld character back when I first read the books when I was younger. Her storyline of not really knowing who she is or what she actually wants in life, thinking she’s failing at everything, trying loads of different hobbies/approaches to witchcraft and none of them fitting, man it just hits different when you’re a skinny wee teenage girl! (The description of her body being like two peas on an ironing board stayed in my brain forever because it was so accurate to me too) I think that’s why Lords and Ladies holds such a special place in my heart, when Magrat finally takes a bit of control in her life. It’s so nice to reread the books as an adult and recognise what i loved about Magrat whilst not personally relating to her at all anymore. I know it’s said all the time but TP really got people man.
couldn’t decide how cheery littlebottom would wear her beard . either way she’d have it styled and pretty, but also functional for working with dangerous chemicals?
sally von humpeding. back when I was a wee baby gay reading thud for the first time I had SUCH a soft spot for sally! rereading as adult she’s still such a fun character to add to the mix of the watch. always wished we’d had time to see a bit more of her.
sooo after about 3 years of not posting art on here I think it’s time I start again! I’ve dove head first back into one of my first fandom loves - discworld! and I think tumblr is the best home for all my conceptual scribbles, so this is just a bit of a warning for those following me of what content to expect for the foreseeable future (though I’m sure fantasy gays will still be dotted around). if that’s not your bag that’s totally understandable, and if it is well enjoy the next wee while of me slowly uploading the last few months worth of discworld fan art! here’s a sketch dump from across a handful of the books to get us started.
[Video ID: Misery x CPR x Reese’s Puffs Song with little animations of Sam Vimes (Misery), Lord Vetinari (CPR) and Moist von Lipwig (Reese’s Puffs). End ID]
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