‘Because she likes people,’ said the witch, striding ahead. 'She cares about 'em. Even the stupid, mean, drooling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of a servant. Now THAT’S what I call magic–seein’ all that, dealin’ with all that, and still goin’ on. It’s sittin’ up all night with some poor old man who’s leavin’ the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin’ their terror, seein’ 'em safely on their way…and then cleanin’ 'em up, layin’ 'em out, making 'em neat for the funeral, and helpin’ the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets–which is, let me tell you, no errand for the fainthearted–and stayin’ up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin’ on your door 'cuz his wife’s havin’ difficulty givin’ birth to their first child and the midwife’s at her wits’ end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again…. We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better'n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. THAT is the root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft, that is. The soul and center!'
Mistress Weatherwax smacked her fist into her hand hammering out her words. 'The…soul…and…CENTER!’ Echoes came back from the trees in the sudden silence. Even the grasshoppers by the side of the track had stopped sizzling.
'And Mrs Earwig,’ said Mistress Weatherwax, her voice sinking to a growl, 'Mrs. Earwig tells her girls it’s about cosmic balances and stars and circles and colors and wands and…and toys, nothing but TOYS!' She sniffed. 'Oh, I daresay they’re all very well as decoration, somethin’ nice to look at while you’re workin’, somethin’ for show, but the start and finish, THE START AND FINISH, is helpin’ people when life is on the edge. Even people you don’t like. Stars is easy, people is hard.’
She stopped talking. It was several seconds before birds began to sing again.
'Anyway, that’s what I think,’ she added in the tones of someone who suspects that she might have gone just a bit further than she meant to.
--Terry Pratchett, "A Hat Full of Sky"
2K notes
·
View notes
Everybody talking about how Cecil is peak Sexy Tumblr Man bc he's Skinny White Guy in a Suit
But nobody talking about how Cecil was also the catalyst for anti-Skinny White Guy in a Suit!
By the time WTNV and Cecil rolled around in 2014 people were sick of skinny white guys in suits!!! They wanted something different! and it sparked a lot of talk around the default white depictions of characters who didn't have canon designs.
There's this image by zenamiarts that depicts a lot of the popular human Cecil designs that started popping up as a result. You started seeing Cecil with long braided hair!! Cecil with a walking stick and chronic pain! There was Cecil who was a just giant floating eyeball. Cecil who could change his entire appearance at a whim. A very popular ask blog where Cecil was a Silkie Chicken. (Newer more modern designs also showcase the eccentric fashion Cecil is now known to wear.)
i mean Fuck. Cecil Palmer was the first male character I saw drawn in a skirt!! he was the first character I saw drawn as gender nonconforming and he got treated and drawn like it was a normal thing and i will never forget that.
was it the perfect depiction of diversity? nah. & it sadly seems like a lot of the surviving artwork of Cecil from 2013-2016 is 'Skinny White Guy in a Suit'. (the 2018 tumblr exodus might have something to do with that :( )
But!!! Cecil really did open the door for future audio drama character designs. (looking at u mr. jonathan the magnus archives)
Cecil is mr tumblr sexyman and always will be thank u
6K notes
·
View notes
was anyone going to tell me there are fanlore pages about me and my works or did i have to find that out by myself when i tried searching for one of my tumblr posts in a google search bar
edit: i just read through the solar lunacy one and some of the details on there are just kind of....wrong. lmao
edit: there's one for my iz fics??
728 notes
·
View notes