Inktober 2025 - Day 10 - Sweep

"Vimes stared blankly at what was in front of them. “Okay,” he said. “The gravel and rocks, yes, I can see that. Shame about all the rubbish. It always turns up, doesn’t it…”

“Yes,” said Lu-Tze. “It’s part of the pattern.”

“What? The old cigarette packet?”

“Certainly. That invokes the element of air,” said Sweeper. “And the cat doings?” “To remind us that disharmony, like a cat, gets everywhere.”

“The cabbage stalks? The used sonky?” “At our peril we forget the role of the organic in the total harmony. What arrives seemingly by chance in the pattern is part of a higher organization that we can only dimly comprehend. This is a very important fact, and has a bearing on your case.”

“And the beer bottle?” For the first time since Vimes had met him, the monk frowned. “Y’know, some bugger always tosses one over the wall on his way back from the pub on Friday nights. If it wasn’t forbidden to do that kind of thing, he’d feel the flat of my hand and no mistake.”"

"Is it not written in the sacred text, 'There's a lot goes on that we don't know about, in my opinion'?" said Lu-Tze.

"For it is written: 'I can't be having with that kind of a thing.'"

"For is it not written, 'It does you good to get out in the fresh air'?"

"For it is written, 'There is no time like the present,' which is Mrs. Cosmopilite's most profound understanding."

"For it is written, 'You can't tell a book by its cover.'"

"It is written, 'You've got to learn to walk before you can run,'" said Lu-Tze, putting his broom over his shoulder.

"It is written, 'Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!'" he said.

"Truly it is written, 'You could knock me down with a feather,'" he muttered, as they headed up the sloping passage.

"It is written, 'I've got a feeling in my water,'" said Lu-Tze.

"Hah! It is written, 'I'm not as green as I'm cabbage-looking'!" snapped Lu-Tze.

"For it is written, 'Wrap up warm or you'll catch your death.'"

"Is it not written, 'Every second counts'?"

"Oh, well, in that case," said Lu-Tze, "is it not written, 'If you want a thing done properly you've got to do it yourself'?"

"However, is it not written, 'When you have got to go, you have got to go'?" said Lu-Tze.

"And also that 'You should always wear clean underwear because you never know if you will be knocked down by a cart'?"

"But is it not written, 'If you have another one, you won't have an appetite for dinner'?"

Once again I am struck by how brilliant Terry Pratchett was at plotting. I wish he had lived long enough to tell us who followed Veninari as Patrician. My money is on Carrot. I can't see Sam every accepting it. But then who heads the Watch? There is so much else that he might have told us. Not just what happens to Princess (Alice) after she grows up.

The news of Discworld graphic novels yesterday morning made me promptly reread Thief of Time and then draw up how I see these characters in my head so I have ‘em nice and solid before the comic comes out. I’ll probably do Monstrous Regiment soon too, though I’ve drawn the Little Lads before.

…screaming quietly about two of the three announced graphic novels being two of my three favourite Discworld books aaaaaaaaa

Most of this is either based on description or stuff that wasn’t mentioned, but I took a couple liberties—

Time’s dress is described as black and red, but by the time I got back to that I’d been imagining her as a black lady in white all book so I stuck with it; she’s referred to as “dark” a few times so why not

Lady LeJean’s hair is supposed to be black, but I made it a dark reddish-brown to align better with Lady With An Ermine and also because I liked it as a little bit of colour to presage her transformation

the one good thing about my bus home being delayed by five hours is that i had time to reread both Thief of Time and Hogfather, and they're still two of the all-time Discworld bangers

Bonus: