#terry Pratchett's characters

[klinefelterrible]

What I love about Terry Pratchett's good characters is that they never fail you. Sam Vimes might push you towards the piss puddle for fun, or put a farting pillow under your chair, maybe tie your shoelaces while you're asleep - but he would never fuck your wife or piss into your shoes or make you miserable for no reason other than sheer "fun".

Granny Weatherwax would never say "no" to a crying for help or "please". She wouldn't betray her morals for money, some sort of respect gain or power.

So wouldn't Angua. Or Susan. Or Adora Belle. Or Carrot. Or Luggage.

[sator-the-wanderer]

For the Discworld designs series, the witches of Lancre

[colleendoran]

Quiet

I got a very kind note asking why I don't respond to asks on Tumblr anymore, yet they see me chatting on other social media.

I closed down my asks here because they became overwhelming. While I do respond to snippets now and then on Twitter, I sometimes really don't say much for days. In fact, my Twitter settings don't even let me see most of the incoming material. Something I posted went viral the other day and I don't think I saw more than 25 comments on it.

I have a lot left to do on Good Omens and am getting past a long illness. I don't have the energy I need, and am still 1000 emails behind as well.

I wish I could be as entertaining as Neil Gaiman is here, and I don't know where he gets the juice.

Magic man.

I do appreciate all the interest and enthusiasm from everyone, and think it's best if I put my focus on the art and less on talking about it. Talking about it too much drains the power I need to get the art out.

Anyway, I don't think I ever posted this early model sheet of Crowley here. He's so much fun to draw.

Later, I added glasses on the central figure for some promotion art.

[if-not-now-tell-me-when]

Semi paraphrased from another post about Crowley’s portrayal in the Good Omens book versus the show. On the importance of hope, even when you don't have optimism.

Crowley as written in the early 1990s called himself an optimist. Crowley in 2023 is very much not an optimist, and I think this reflects what the audience for this story needs now. (And keep in mind, I'm an American writing from my personal, individual American worldview. I'm aware that there are other countries besides America).

The 1990s were a time of optimism in the West. The Cold War was over, the threat of nuclear armageddon was finally lifted, the economy was booming. It was a pre-9/11 and pre-Columbine world, a world in which you didn't have to pass through metal detectors and x-ray scanners to board a plane or enter a government building. Readers in 1990 had reasons to be optimistic in their future.

We in 2023 do not. We live in a very dark timeline. Climate change is barreling down on us, and time is quickly running out to stop it. We've emerged from the wreckage of the War on Terror, and we've realized just how much we were lied to in order to justify 20 years of war. Rent is soaring and wages are stagnant. Income inequality is at historically bad levels. Fascists openly march in the streets and storm our houses of government.

So why would we carry on? Why would Crowley of 2023 carry on? Because he has to. We have to.

Be brave. Do the hard thing. Do it anyway. Do it while not being an optimist in the slightest.

Even in the face of impossible odds.

Especially in the face of impossible odds.

There is nobody coming to save us. All we have left is each other. So we must keep on loving, and keep on living.

All is not lost.

[nikki-rook]

Michael Sheen as Aziraphale Appreciation Post - Good Omens [S2]

[pratchettquotes]

Susan was sensible. It was, she knew, a major character flaw. It did not make you popular, or cheerful, and--this seemed to her to be the most unfair bit--it didn't even make you right.

Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time

[miroimirage]

Guards, Guards fanart very much inspired by @snippit-crickit !! ILIVE for their designs and I wanted to give mine a new coat of paint

[iseutz]

Teen Magrat, complete with excessive kajal and mystical jewelry, finally completes my "Young Witches of Lancre" series.

Hop on my Instagram

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[im-this-kind-of-girl]

Aziraphale and Crowley's unhinged character analyzis (pt1)

Controversial opinion:

Aziraphale and Crowley at the end of Season2 managed to accomplish the main goal they each had since the beginning of time. Only to realize that what they wanted no longer made them happy.

It sounds crazy, but to explain myself I have to do an in-depth analysis of their personalities and the possible transformation arc that both characters are probably going to have at the end of the Good Omens story.

Disclaimer: I have no idea about what is going to happen in Good Omens. This analysis could clearly be considered a theory since I'm not Neil Gaiman, but as someone who knows about narrative and character structure, I'm going to elaborate. Also, English is not my first language, so sorry in advance.

Aziraphale

First let's talk about Aziraphale. For two reasons, firstly because he is the one who seems to deserve the most defense right now; and second because Aziraphale, in my opinion, is the main character of Good Omens. This is because Aziraphale, out of the two, is the one who is likely to have the biggest change in his personality once his arc ends.

In a story, especially one like Good Omens with many characters, it is common for there to be many arcs, as every character has something to learn. Crowley, as a co-protagonist and love interest, is clearly going to have a change at the end of the plot, but his change won't be as big as our angel's.

First things first, what is a transformation arc?

It is the transformation that a character undergoes from the beginning to the end of the story. Basically, at the beginning of a story, a character is in a certain state of equilibrium, he lives and thinks in a certain way until he is exposed to a situation that forces him to act outside of his comfort zone. During this, he will undergo different changes that will be reflected in actions that take him away from his natural state until the climax, where the character will make a decision that will change his normality forever. This is important. In every story, the climax marks a before and after in the protagonist's life: whatever he decides at this moment has no turning back and will mark his life forever, so that after the climax, the character may again have a state of equilibrium but different from the initial one.

What is the climax of Good Omens? Well, in the 1st season we have the bodie swap and in the second season the separation of Crowley and Aziraphale. But of the story itself? It's still a mystery.

Neil Gaiman has already confirmed that Good Omens is a three-act story, so its climax will be located at the end of season 3. We still don't know what definitive change there will be in our characters… although throughout the series we have enough clues to at least know what they probably have to work on changing.

Aziraphale's Role

In order to analyze Aziraphale we must begin by understanding his role within the angelic hierarchy. Aziraphale was created as a Cherub and then, after Eden, became a Principality. Both ranks have one thing in common: they are guardian roles.

Cherubs are second in the highest circle of heaven, below Seraphims. They are described as "guardians of the universe from a divine plane and without direct contact with humans, although they positively influence them". On the other hand, Principalities are seventh within the last circle of the angelic hierarchy, and the highest rank within it. They are the guardians of nations and countries, overseeing global events within politics and commerce.

So, Aziraphale was created with the main purpose of being only one thing: a soldier. His function is to obey and protect objects, places and beings. That is why he was the angel who received the sword of fire, his task was to protect Eden. But he also has a very strong sense of intrinsic goodness that has led him to make erratic decisions throughout history that question just how much he is willing to obey orders.

If Aziraphale feels that something is wrong, he won't do it. It doesn't matter if he has to go against Heaven or sin. It doesn't matter if killing a child saves the rest of the world, he won't do it. It doesn't matter if God will grant Job new children, he can't stand idly by. These actions make him stand out from the rest. A simple soldier just obeys while Aziraphale has a critical mind, he has too strong of an opinion about right and wrong. If an event happens that he considers evil, Aziraphale will go to great lengths to prevent it.

It is remarkable that the first thing he did having free will was to give his sword to Adam and Eve. Of course he did it with the function of protecting them but, by giving them his only weapon, Aziraphale was left in a serious state of vulnerability. He did it because he is good and kind, but it could also be considered an act of sacrifice. Here enters another important issue when talking about Aziraphale that relates to religion itself.

The Martyr Hero

One of the most basic conceptions about the Christianity is that without sacrifice a person cannot really be good. Jesus was crucified to free us from our sins; Job sacrificed his whole life to prove that his faith was genuine. Even centuries later, the ecclesiastical institution maintains that the more you suffer, the poorer you are, the more chances you have of ending up in Heaven.

All the sacrifices made in life will eventually be rewarded in the Kingdom of God. It is the eternal figure of the martyr that is worshipped in Church, the idea that to really love, to really do good, sacrifices must be made.

Aziraphale believes this blindly. Now, he is an angel, not a human. He will not have an eventual reward of any kind, and that does not matter to him, because he considers himself lucky to be able to be a being of light who brings happiness to others no matter the price he has to pay. He was willing to fall only to save the lives of Job's children just because it was the right thing to do.

Performing actions for your own happiness without thinking of the consequences is frowned upon throughout the Bible. It is considered selfish and is a great source of guilt for all its faithful.

There is a line from the Good Omens Musical that has always stayed with me. When they argue, Crowley tries to talk some sense into Aziraphale by claiming all the reasons why he should help him avoid Armageddon, to which Aziraphale replies "you and I are not important."

Why didn't Aziraphale quickly give in to the proposal to stop the end of the world? Why didn't he tell Crowley where the Antichrist was without hesitation? Why did he help Gabriel in spite of everything? Why didn't he kiss Crowley back although he wanted to?

Truth be told, Aziraphale does not prioritize his own happiness because he does not consider himself important.

At the center of it all is God, good and ineffable who would never let anything happen unless it is not amenable to the greater good, then there is all the rest. Aziraphale believes he is just a soldier with a mission: to protect the Earth and everything he considers worth saving. He is not on this list: his welfare does not matter to him because, in the grand order of things, Aziraphale does not believe he is important.

There is no afterlife reward for him, though that doesn't stop him from feeling guilty about wanting it.

Aziraphale's dilemma

Aziraphale's great dilemma ould be summed up as:

Do I do what I want or do I do what I must?

Should he obey the rules or get what his heart yearns for now that it is within his grasp?

Throughout Good Omens, we learn Aziraphale has given into various temptations such as food. But these sins are small in comparison to what he really wants. For how does he explain to God that what his heart desires the most is to be able to love the Serpent of Eden?

He is madly in love with Crowley. He could lose everything: his bookstore, restaurants, music, art, but the feelings he has for him will never go away. It were years of repression, believing that if he loved him in silence, everything would be okay.

Now, in the season finale, Crowley expresses it, confesses and kisses him, offering him what he has always secretly wanted on a silver platter.

But Aziraphale was also offered a place in Heaven, finally being accepted by the family he misses. Aziraphale spent the entire 2nd season getting involved in trying to save Gabriel, in bringing Maggie and Nina together, getting perhaps a little too invested because he clearly missed having a purpose.

He was not well emotionally. He missed feeling that he does good because, despite everything, he believes in the potential that Heaven has. Aziraphale knows that if he is in charge, if he gives up everything that makes him happy, if he stops being selfish as he was all these years, he can make the necessary change to prevent the End of the World.

Aziraphale is a soldier whose main goal has always been to protect. Becoming the supreme Archangel he is able to protect everyone he loves. Because of this, he decides to sacrifice his earthly happiness and make the most difficult decision but the one he feels is right: to leave Earth, reject Crowley and become Head of Heaven.

The end of his arc and Crowley

Like any arc, Aziraphale's is clearly at the end of the story. He's already changed a lot, and he's done mostly so because of Crowley. Not just because of love, no, Crowley manages to awake something in him. Crowley is the driving force that encourages change in him, that reaffirms or questions his beliefs whenever he is in doubt about whether something is right or wrong. He inspires something that Aziraphale, an obedient soldier of the Lord never had: freedom.

Obviously, our angel always had that spark of freedom, though repressed, hidden in the darkest part of his being because he knows it is something that makes him different from the rest and he doesn't like to admit that he doesn't fit in Heaven.

Because this means that he doesn't fit in Hell either, nor on Earth completely. Ergo, admitting to being different means confirming his suspicion that he doesn't fit in anywhere. But he never had to pretend this with Crowley.

Knowing all this, how will Aziraphale's arc end?

Well, he's going to have to choose between heart and duty again. Aziraphale is going to want to save Earth at the Second Coming, that's obvious. He is going to be forced to disobey Heaven once again as he realizes that he cannot change them. In this way, he will confirm something tragic: his sacrifice was in vain.

But it is necessary that he can assume this in order to understand that he is wrong:

It is not necessary to suffer in order to deserve love.

It is not necessary to sacrifice everything that makes you happy to prove you are good.

Eternal sacrifice is not the solution. Aziraphale has to learn that being happy and being loved is not a reward that has to be given, no, it is something he is worthy of without the need to sacrifice his life. Aziraphale must understand that he does not have to prove that he is a good person by martyrdom. He is a good person because he is empathetic, smart and sweet.

The secret is to find the balance between love and duty, between good and evil, to embrace his freedom and find happiness by accepting his mistakes that make him different from the rest. The easiest way is to learn to love in the most genuine way: the human way. Discovering that love does not necessarily have to be painful or repressed, that he can do it openly, that what he feels is not a test of faith, but the reward he has been waiting for all these years.

Aziraphale will ultimately become free through Crowley's love.

[chekovpavelandreievich]

the thing about el higgins is that terry pratchett would have loved her.

I’ve never encountered a character or a series that I could call a spiritual successor to tiffany aching but el is perhaps the closest possible thing. the way that tiffany’s righteous anger is her magic, born from a sense of deeply rooted love and identity with her home and blossoms into a tempered, powerful ability to see what is in front of her. the way el rages against the systems of oppression she can see and how she follows that rage to the very core and from that core she dismantle those systems. how in both doing the right thing is a choice, always a choice, and one that requires choosing again and again and again. “this far and no further.” “you’re already dead but stay anyway.”

[madcat-world]

Discworld Character Portraits (3 of 3) - Federica Costantini

[sator-the-wanderer]

Some Discworld wizards designs

[georgiacooked]

Took a brief detour from my usual Doctor Who character designs to veer back into the Discworld.

I can't tell you how much this series meant to me as a teenager, and what an impact it still has on me as a writer. I've wanted to take a crack at this beautiful lot for ages. Featuring Mort, Death, Lord Vetinari (and Wuffles), Vimes, Moist, and Rincewind.

[pend4ri]

Starmakers 🌟

I don't usually insert myself into my sketchbook, but I just turned 21 a few days ago, and wanted to give myself a small present :)

So this is for the child I was, who naively had two dreams : to have wings and to study astronomy by exploring space.

When I saw the first scene of Good Omens S2, my inner child was sooo overjoyed... I remember crying a lot :')

Crying firstly because we were discovering Crowley as an Angel, crying because of excitement, but also because we were witnessing a scene in space with a "star maker looking" character. Of course, I already liked Crowley hugely ! The series/book and it's characters brings me tons of happiness since 2019. I've become very attached to it as I've grown up.

There are things like that which carry you along and become kind of comfort places. Drawing allows me to realise those little scenarios that sometimes run through my head. It may sound silly. They're fictional, unrealizable, but they're there.

Thanks to them for inspiring me and keeping me dream, because sometimes, even for a short moment, it feels good to escape reality.

💙

[pratchettquotes]

Many people who had come to know Rincewind had come to treat him as a sort of two-legged miner's canary and tended to assume that if Rincewind was still upright and not actually running then some hope remained.

Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

[dreams-shape-the-world]

There has been some debate out there regarding what type of angel Crowley was before the fall. Some have speculated that he was a minor angel, that knew a bit of this and that, which is what landed him in the spot that he is in right now.

After a bit of research, I have come to the conclusion that Crowley was a Virtue. Everything that I have read points to him being, at one point, in the Third Tier in angel hierarchy, with Powers and Dominions. This actually puts him above Aziraphale, in which he is a Principality.

Let's delve into what a Virtue does in the grand scheme of things. One of their primary goals is, well, to run the universe, control the elements, seasons and command storms. But also, they assist in making miracles for HER, a bit on that part later.

When see Crowley, he is sent to start the universe, this is his role as Virtue. But he not only starts the engine, he oversees the entirety of it, the planets, stars, everything. That is why he so upset when he was told that it all has to be destroyed, he was the one, or at least part, that helped create it and supposed to maintain it.

We see him here, manipulating rain to make Maggie and Nina get together, the "dawn of a new awing" , as he said. He hasn't controlled the weather in a long time, but it comes back to him naturally. This is because that is part of who he is and what he does.

Finally, the miracle to hide Gabriel. Aziraphale suggests, half a miracle from each would be fine, so Crowley goes along with it. I think the mistake was that I don't think Crowley is capable of doing just half a miracle. Yes, we have seen him do minor things, but what they are attempting is out of the ordinary. Aziraphale is able to do his half miracle, but I don't think Crowley is wired to do that. I thought for the longest time it went wrong because there were under the symbol that Aziraphale uses to contact the Metraton, but now, looking over this, I think it was because Crowley was a Virtue Angel. Part of their role is to help create miracles for HER, a direct mandate from HER to do this, so yea, SHE isn't doing any half miracles for humankind.

I also think that it puts into perspective how close to HER he was, since we know how much his "sauntered" from grace affected him. He was part of the engine, and was supposed to be its caretaker, if I am correct in his being a Virtue, I am truly saddened because they took away one of things that he cared for, the universe. For all I know I am way off base with this, but it has been fun seeing where this lead me and adding to the other theories out there.