#death discworld

[sloth-with-a-knife]

One of my favorite things about Terry Pratchett's books is their unique relationship with used bookstores. Particularly because they are difficult to find, for three reasons. The first reason is that they aren't there. Books in used bookstores were once owned by other people, people who decided to let that book go in the hopes that it will find someone new who will love it. It's very difficult to let go of a Terry Pratchett book. The second reason is that, if they make it into a store, they never stay there very long. They're usually purchased less than a few days after their arrival.

The third reason is my favorite: if they made it to the bookstore, and remained unnoticed, it's because the spine is worn. It's been read and loved so much it's almost unrecognizable from the spine. I've never found a used Terry Pratchett book without a cracked spine, and I love it. Cracked spines, stained pages, worn covers, these are the physical signs of love that we leave on our favorite books, and every Terry Pratchett book I've found in a used bookstore has been loved, dearly.

[oftenoffler]

NO NO NO NO NOT MY PATIENT NOT MY PATIENT

[togfer]

lowkey obsessed with my Death bookend that I have so I drew the pose

[lonesome-greenery]

Terry Pratchett's take on The Little Matchgirl in The Hogfather is both devastating and incredibly up lifting. Here's the thing, I've read The Little Matchgirl too many times and thought, 'hey, that's kind of fucked up. Why didn't anyone save her?'

Only to get told that 'oh, it's a tragic little story that's supposed to remind you to be grateful for what you have and also to show you the horrors of poverty. At least she's in a happier place now.'

And none of that ever sat quite right with me.

But Pratchett calls this out. He has Death ask the question of why no one came to help, about the reasoning behind letting this little girl die just for a sad story. It's poverty porn and also complacency in a systemic issue.

He doesn't leave you there though. Something is done to save her. Something is done to help. She is given a future. And no one knows who did it except for Death. She is given hope.

And this is something that I've found to be a through line on many of Pratchett's works, hope.

Yes things are fucked up. Yes things are awful. But there is always hope. There is always something that can be done.

And in just turning up your nose at an issue and saying, oh dear, that's very sad, you fail to take action and continue on with the problem year after year after year.

There is hope if we act. And there is no greater gift than a future.

[thestuffedalligator]

The wizards said the orangutan would be able to lead them back to the dungeon in a couple days.

What a sentence, Chilchuck thought. It seemed to him that he’d been saying a lot of things with full sincerity that weeks ago would’ve been total gibbering nonsense.

The others had wandered off into the city like tourists. Laios was spending the day in some kind of pet shelter for dragons. Senshi had mentioned bringing Izutsumi to check out the local dwarven cooking. Rats were apparently involved, to his total lack of surprise.

He had decided to hole up in the nearest bar that would accept a fistful of foreign coins. He was at the stage of buzz that felt as though someone was wrapping a woollen blanket around his head, and it was loosening his tongue.

“And he’s a good kid,” he was saying. “He’s a good kid, he’s even a good fighter, but he’s got all the social skills of a dead donkey. This is a guy who hears that he has to eat part of his sister, and the first thing he says is-”

THE EGG IS PLACED ON TOP OF THE BACON?

He paused mid-ramble and blinked stickily at the stranger seated next to him. “Sorry?”

WHAT STRUCTURAL SUPPORT DOES THE BACON OFFER THE EGG?

He blinked again. “It’s for,” he tried. “You know. So you can eat the egg and bacon at the same time.”

INSTEAD OF CONSUMING THE ELEMENTS OF THE BREAKFAST SEPARATELY.

“Right.”

BUT IN THIS EXERCISE, YOU WISH TO REMOVE THE EGG FROM THE BACON.

“Right — right! The idea is if we take away the half of Falin that’s a dragon, we can resurrect the human half of her.”

THUS UNFRYING THE EGG.

He screwed an eye shut and tried to make out the face of the stranger through the three images swirling in the hot, lightheaded haze. It looked like a very skinny face.

“I’m starting to lose the food metaphor,” he mumbled. “My point is, the further we go to fix this problem, the worse it gets. And it’s not that i have a problem with resurrection — have you ever been resurrected?”

NO, BUT I HAVE BEEN WITNESS TO PART OF IT.

“Some people are weird about it. Senshi’s weird about it too, but he’s the one who suggested it. Anyways, it’s not that I have a problem with resurrection, I just don’t like the idea of eating an old coworker.”

Another sentence that would have been nonsense barely a week ago. He tried to shrug and missed. “I guess they say, ‘Eat to live, don’t live to eat.’”

A STRANGE THING TO SAY. A PARADOX OF SOME KIND, I’M SURE.

He was beginning to feel a slight headache. “No, it means, like — treat food as a fuel, a necessity, don’t get fussy about the experience of eating it.”

THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. The stranger plucked a paper umbrella out of their drink. They twirled it thoughtfully between very skinny fingers. I WOULD RECOMMEND A CURRY, they said. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN FOND OF A CURRY.

[yeoldecryptid]

Thank you Terry Pratchett for making it so a valid answer to ‘who’s your favorite Christmas character’ is death.

[bigtabart]

deltarune x discworld doodles

[paulinahalliwell]

“I was given a ride on the horse,” said Susan, not listening to him. “I had a bath in the big bathroom.”

“Soap all over the place,” said Albert. His face contorted into something approaching a smile. “I could hear the Master laughing from here. And he made you a swing, too. Tried to, anyway. No magic or anything. With his actual hands.”