#thank you Pterry

[ineffablecrankshaft]

"A man is not dead while his name is still spoken."

- Going Postal, Chapter 4 prologue

[internet-goblin]

Anyways...

Dwarfette with beard! DWARFETTE WITH BEARD!!!

[rider-on-a-white-horse]

Would you happened to have watched the movie, Meet Joe Black?

I HAVE. IT IS AN INTERESTING, ALTHOUGH INACCURATE, FILM.

FOR ONE THING, I DO KNOW HOW TO EAT.

[wellmetmat]

Don't forget the druids of Llamedos and their cloud computing!

It’s not a Discworld joke unless you read it, don’t parse it as a joke, and then carry on with your life for ten years until someone stops you to say something like “It’s a pavlovian response because the dog ate a pavlova” and you scream Terry’s name with enough indignant rage you hope it rattles the pillars of the multiverse so wherever his soul is he’ll hear it.

[jellymish-art]

I like to do this thing every now and then where I compare my old artworks to my new ones, because I find it fascinating to see my progression over the years. I'm always struck with how much about it has changed, yet how much has stayed the same. And Sam Vimes is the perfect subject for this, because I just don't quit drawing him. XD

Here's to many more years of art to come!

Also, today happens to be Sir Terry Pratchett's birthday! As he himself wrote: "A man is not dead while his name is still spoken". Thank you Pterry for sharing your passion, humor and imagination with us through your books. It means the world.

[jotun-philosopher]

Discworld/Good Omens parallels ramble

Exactly what it says on the tin! These are some fun little Discworld/Good Omens parallels that my brain picked up on at various times (usually 3 a.m. or thereabouts... Thanks, mum, for the persistent insomnia...)

Mild-to-moderate spoilers for Wyrd Sisters, Lords And Ladies, Men At Arms and Carpe Jugulum below the cut.

In A Life With Footnotes, the official biography of Terry Pratchett, Rob Wilkins mentions that when he was in school, a young Pterry wrote for English class a story (sadly lost to the mists of time) about orcs attacking a vicarage in full Jane-Austen-spoof fashion. Now, given how the Whickber Street Shopkeepers' Ball turned out, it seems reasonable to assume one of two things: a) this story was not a factor under consideration when writing S2 and the parallel is an ineffably delightful coincidence (a bit unlikely) b) this story *was* an inspiring factor in the writing of S2, and the nod to Pterry happened to work really well with the plot (seems a bit more likely). Either way, the parallel is there and giving me all of the warm fuzzies <3

There's an idea in Discworld, forming a significant part of the moral backbone of the series, that's very succinctly summed up by Granny Weatherwax in Carpe Jugulum: "[S]in [...] is when you treat people like things. Including yourself." This is absolutely at the core of what's wrong with Heaven and Hell and God and Satan in Good Omens; the leadership and culture of both organisations/cults treat everyone -- angels, demons and humans alike -- as disposable things to be used and toyed with and discarded or destroyed if they start having the temerity to be imperfect or form opinions or thoughts of their own.

There're two characters in Discworld who parallel Aziraphale surprisingly strongly: Magrat Garlick (of the Lancre witches) and Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. -*Magrat is viewed as a bit of a soft, soppy 'wet hen' by the other witches, but she is still a witch, with all that that implies. She also has at least one scene in every book in which she appears where she does something extremely badass and witchy; for example, turning an ancient wooden door back into a tree, or (very pertinently to GO) delivering a literally iron-clad punch to the face of a villain who's mentally torturing her with her own insecurities. Likewise, Aziraphale seems to mostly be viewed as a bit dull and wimpy by the other angels we see (though Magrat still has the genuine respect of her witchy peers) but he is still an angel -- a Principality -- with all the powers, steadfast guardianship and bloody-minded stubbornness of that rank. The Metatrash might not be vulnerable to iron in the same way as Discworld elves, but you can bet that his attempt to break Aziraphale and bring him into line is going to backfire just as spectacularly! *For the parallel between Aziraphale and Captain (well, Corporal, at this point in the Discworld timeline) Carrot, the novel I have in mind is Men At Arms. At one point, Vimes is being held at crossbow-point by a villain, and has a bout of internal monologuing about how, if someone has you at their mercy, you'd better hope they're evil, because that way they'll take time to gloat and mock you so you'll have an opportunity to think of a way out; a good man will kill you with barely a word. Carrot does exactly that at the climax of the plot, putting his sword through the villain and the stone pillar behind said villain without saying a thing. Now, Aziraphale might not quite have Carrot's 'incorruptible pure pureness' tendencies, but he is -- for all his flaws -- a good person. If he knows that something needs to be done to prevent an evil outcome, he will DO it without hesitation. He knows how to use a sword, too, and if That Frickin' Elevator Smile Of Tranquil Fury is any indication, the Metatrash is in far deeper doodoo than he realises! Related to the above, The Smile also reminds me of the old adage, "beware the fury of a patient man." (Well, man-shaped being in this case...) Very appropriate for our careful, thoughtful angel -- it would not surprise me (much) if Metatron were to depart the plot of S3 with a flaming sword pinning him to one of Heaven's columns (probably won't happen, but I can dream, eh?)

Hope you enjoyed reading all that :D

[apatosaurus]

A glorious 25th of May to you. On this day of reflection and hope, may you find truth, justice, freedom, love and a hard boiled egg.

Thank you, Sir Pterry.

[thesiouxzy]

Oh fuck! Nooooo 😭 This is devastating news 💔 I’m thankful that I got to watch the 35th anniversary of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure in Austin with Paul Reubens in attendance. We got to do the “deep in the heart of Texas” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 part live as a theatre. Afterwards he did a Q&A. Pee Wee has always been a huge part of my life. Goddamn you cancer!!!! 😩

Pterri & I are heartbroken 💔

[querulousmegapode]

Hello. Please, tell me what do you think about Angua. I'm personally struggling to like her after her words to Carrot, something about "why you are so supportive!?", when he didn't start a fuss about her being the werewolf.

It would be nice to see another point of view for the character. I hope it helps me to understand her better.

Thank you

Hi!! Firstly thank you so much for this ask! It’s a really fun one and I’ve been thinking over how best to answer it and figuring out what exactly I like about Angua so much, so I appreciate it a lot!

There are a few different reasons why I like her. Some of them are pretty superficial, so I think I’ll get those out of the way first.

In general I just think that she’s pretty cool! From a purely superficial standpoint she’s pretty and gets to be badass and a werewolf and that’s just kind of fun. The whole circumstances around people finding out she’s a werewolf are also just pretty funny to me.

I also really like her in terms of the way that she’s written.

I really like how Pterry writes women in general because he manages to write them in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s fitting into stereotypes about women? They’re all real people with nuances and I feel like Angua is a good example of that. Yes, she does get to be badass, but also she’s a person and has a lot going on internally. She’s got a constant struggle with trying to fit in around people and trying to be human which is something that I haven’t often seen around werewolf characters and I think Pterry explores it well.

Werewolves in media seem to go in a couple of pretty predictable ways. You get the general horror of someone turning into a werewolf and then it either seems to go in the direction of oh no the werewolf is a monster!1!1! Or oh, the werewolf has a pack and learns to live that way. For me Angua is interesting because Pterry goes okay, but what if a werewolf doesn’t have a pack?? Angua is pretty much estranged from her family; she doesn’t have anyone to help her with the experience and is generally met with fear and hostility when people find out that she’s a werewolf. She has to deal with a LOT, even people who mean well and actively like her (Cheery) inadvertently hurt her with comments about werewolves and that’s someone who doesn’t know she’s a werewolf!! I can’t imagine that other Ankh Morpork citizens are somehow kinder or more understanding. And in amongst that you get to see the inner conflict that Angua has. She comes to this environment and she doesn’t just magically adjust - she struggles with trying to maintain control when she turns and she struggles with maintaining humanity and seeming human, because that’s what people around her will accept.

I think that, for the most part, is why I can understand the way she reacts to Carrot, as it’s pretty unusual for someone to be completely supportive. I’m segueing slightly, but I do really like how her relationship with Carrot develops because it’s nice that she has someone there who accepts her without question. Carrot is just *nice*, with no ulterior motives or strings attached and that’s something she doesn’t seem to encounter too often.

The other main reason that I like Angua is how comedic her perspective is. She’s quite a funny character and consistently plays the straight man to the rest of the watch’s insanity and that’s really fun.

Her internal monologue is great for this because despite being a werewolf she’s somehow the most normal person in the watch.

I love those watch guys but Dear God none of them are normal about their job. I love Vimes’ POV very much and he’s one of my all time favourite characters, but sometimes it feels nice to just take a step back and view the watch through the eyes of someone who isn’t used to it. Angua is pretty great for this.

I also quite like seeing her go from incredulous to understanding about Carrot - she’s quite perceptive and figures out pretty quickly that he’s deceptively simple. She can also be quite dry in terms of humour, which I personally really like.

Overall I just think that she’s pretty neat! I hope that this has been helpful!

Ultimately though, if you still don’t really like her then that’s fine too!! Discworld is full of wonderful characters and the best part is that there’s no right answers about which ones resonate, even if one is particularly popular or well liked.

[fdelopera]

Friendly reminder on Terry Pratchett Day that Pterry wrote Maskerade, a work of Phantom of the Opera fanfic that you absolutely should read. Truly it's my favorite published phanfic (not that I read a lot of phanfic, but Maskerade is my go-to).

As with most Pterry novels, my favorite character is DEATH. I love how bemused he is with these living creatures -- they are an endless source of confused fascination for him. He's a benevolent figure, much more of a Guide than a Grim Reaper.

Here's an excerpt from Maskerade. GNU Terry Pratchett.

.

In the reeds, a swan was dying. Or was due to die. There was, however, an unforeseen snag.

Death sat down on the bank.

NOW LOOK, he said, I KNOW HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO GO. SWANS SING JUST ONCE, BEAUTIFULLY, BEFORE THEY DIE. THAT’S WHERE THE WORD ‘SWANSONG’ ORIGINATES. IT IS VERY MOVING. NOW, LET US TRY THIS AGAIN…

He produced a tuning fork from the shadowy recesses of his robe and twanged it on the side of his scythe.

THERE’S YOUR NOTE…

'Uh-uh,’ said the swan, shaking its head.

WHY MAKE IT DIFFICULT?

'I like it here,’ said the swan.

THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

'Did you know I can break a man’s arm with a blow of my wing?’

HOW ABOUT IF I GET YOU STARTED? DO YOU KNOW 'MOONLIGHT BAY’?

'That’s no more than a barbershop ditty! I happen to be a swan!’

'LITTLE BROWN JUG’? Death cleared his throat. HA HA HA, HEE HEE HEE, LITTLE-

'That’s a song?’ The swan hissed angrily and swayed from one crabbed foot to the other. 'I don’t know who you are, sirrah, but where I come from we’ve got better taste in music.’

REALLY? WOULD YOU CARE TO SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE?

'Uh-uh!’

DAMN.

'Thought you’d got me there, didn’t you,’ said the swan. 'Thought you’d tricked me, eh? Thought I might unthinkingly give you a couple of bars of the Pedlar’s Song from Lohenshaak, eh?’

I DON’T KNOW THAT ONE.

The swan took a deep, laboured breath.

'That’s the one that goes “Schneide meinen eigenen Hals-” ’

THANK YOU, said Death. The scythe moved.

'Bugger!’

A moment later the swan stepped out of its body and ruffled fresh but slightly transparent wings.

'Now what?’ it said.

THAT’S UP TO YOU. IT’S ALWAYS UP TO YOU.

[higgsbison]

Your discworld art has made me listen to the audiobooks

Just want to thank you for the great inspiration and great joy from your art.

ahh thank you that's really nice to hear💛

also ehehe good good, I love to spread the good word of Pterry

[gollancz]

Fresh off the back of their WODEHOUSE PRIZE NOMINATION (did we mention that HIGH VAULTAGE was shortlisted for the 2024 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction? The prize where you win a giant bottle of champagne and a pig? The prize that Sir Pterry - GNU - himself won? The prize that didn't run in 2018 because they judges didn't think any books were funny enough? THAT Wodehouse prize?), Chris and Jen of @victoriocity have interviewed each other for THE NERD DAILY!

Of course this happily married couple approached the assignment of "interview each other" with complete seriousness and gravitas, as is only appropriate for such hard-hitting journalism:

Jen: Hello, Chris.

Chris: Hello, Jen.

Jen: I just want to say what an enormous pleasure it is to interview you, my husband.

Chris: I’m sure it is.

Jen: Thank you for being here.

Chris: You’re welcome.

[lorcaswhisky]

@the-lady-general you need to give me some kind of warning if you're going to tag me in this kind of indecent image

psst. @aristofranes

[dustsculptures]

Hi tumblr user dustsculptures! I just wanted to ask what the fuck?? Wh. At how are are you so prettyy????!!? Escuhse me uhm umm um uhmmm ughm pretty woman!?? Pterry mmmm uuuhhh umm literally howw????

thank you friend

[dr-graf]

hello!! im sorry im trying to not make this weird but i just discovered your art and as a HUGE fan of pterry (but also stroud's works!!) im screaming........... since i just discovered your existence 5 minutes ago im not sure if the book covers are like, a personal project or the actual covers for the books in your country.... because if thats the case.... would there be any way to purchase them internationally?? im obsessed thank you aaaaa

Hello! Wow, thank you for such kind feedback! I'm very pleased :3

Yes, covers are official in my country. Unfortunately, I don’t know official sellers on international marketplaces, sorry :(

[klinefelterrible]

Last time I posted here it was Fifth Elephant but I managed to read Small Gods afterwards without taking a pic and now I chose Mort because why not and here’s my another re-reading Pterry’s books journal entry thanks for reading Turtle Bless You