Happy Terry Pratchett day!

Chapter 11: Merry Meetings (here on AO3)

“Here comes the lift,” Lady Rust said with a dazzling smile, and turned back to the dance floor.

Merrylee did the same, though she knew what she would see; poor Lady Sybil and Lord Vetinari would simply have to do the turn as normal like the old people-

Lady Sybil put her arm around Lord Vetinari’s waist and lifted him easily into the air, turning around with him in a graceful swirl of skirts, and for a moment, Lord Vetinari smiled in delight, fully and openly. A handful of couples stumbled, and one fell over in sheer surprise, for it was a sight that, unbeknownst to Merrylee, no one in that room had seen before.

Lady Rust’s face was white with rage."

[ID's in Alt] a big illustration for my favorite scene in my favorite chapter

Chapter 11: Merry Meetings (here on AO3)

“Here comes the lift,” Lady Rust said with a dazzling smile, and turned back to the dance floor.

Merrylee did the same, though she knew what she would see; poor Lady Sybil and Lord Vetinari would simply have to do the turn as normal like the old people-

Lady Sybil put her arm around Lord Vetinari’s waist and lifted him easily into the air, turning around with him in a graceful swirl of skirts, and for a moment, Lord Vetinari smiled in delight, fully and openly. A handful of couples stumbled, and one fell over in sheer surprise, for it was a sight that, unbeknownst to Merrylee, no one in that room had seen before.

Lady Rust’s face was white with rage."

[ID's in Alt] a big illustration for my favorite scene in my favorite chapter

Discworld meshi! (Image ID's in Alt text)

Lots of people have made the comparisons between carrot and Laios, but I don't think they'd be able to be friends for long after Laios finds out carrot is dating a werewolf.

Laios and Sybil on the other hand, they would get on like a dragon stable on fire.

Chapter 10: Knowledge is the cure (also here on A03)

Vimes knelt by the bed and leaned in. “Please, think, Mrs Crewe. Boys in the Shades keep secrets from their mothers. They don’t want them to worry. The violence and the hunger and injustice sits in their bodies like a fever, growing, festering, driving them mad. But they don’t want their mothers to know. If Danny was a good boy, he must have felt the anger. He must have kept the secret.”

He was aware, suddenly, of the three women all looking at him with different eyes.

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of commander Vimes, Mrs Palm, and Tilly, around a bed with Mrs Crewe in it. Mrs Crewe is a pale and fragile older woman with greyed hair, lying on a large pillow. To her left is Tilly, a young blonde woman in a low cut pink dress with a corset, is holding her hand with both of her own. On Mrs Crewe's right is Vimes, in full uniform looking tense but earnest, kneeling by the side of the bed and reaching out a hand to her face. In the foreground facing the bed with her arms crossed is Mrs Palm, a larger middle-aged woman with light brown skin and black hair in a fancier and more purple version of what Tilly is wearing, including purple leather gloves. The room is small with has grey/pink walls and one window lighting the room with golden afternoon sunlight. There is an iconography of Danny and a seamstresses guild plaque on the wall. End ID]

Chapter 9.5: that town sure is talking (happy April fools, here on A03)

"the conflicting needs to escape and to stay were so strong that he tore himself awake with a painful convulsion.

He lay for a moment breathing hard in sheer frustration. Great, more of this. "

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of Vimes being kissed by Vetinari and Sybil on the palace steps as vague figures walk by. Vetinari is on the step next to him, leaning down to kiss Vimes's jaw. Sybil is on the step below, leaning in to kiss at his shoulder. Vimes is looking absolutely wrecked, his shit collar is open, and he has a hand at Sybil's neck and Vetinari's hip. There are 6 other shadow figures on the stairs, walking or standing and staring. There are columns in the background and the top of the stairs.The color pallete is orange-yellow with purple shadows, and the image fades into white at the edges. End ID]

Chapter 9: The Talk of the Town (also here on A03)

If he had not been so tired, Vimes would have mastered his instincts, swallowed his need and walked away, but he was swimming in a fog. So he did not rise, but remained seated before his Patrician, because this was where his penance must happen.

“I could have prevented it.” Vimes bowed his head, unable to meet Vetinari’s eyes. “I was right there, just down the street. I would have heard the cry for help, heard the door shut, heard something.” He forced the next words out between his teeth. “But I was asleep. I was asleep against the wall.”

For a long moment, there was silence, except for Wuffles fidgeting.

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of Vimes and Vetinari in the palace gardens. Vimes is sitting on a bench, hunched over with his head in one hand, looking stressed. Vetinari is standing away from the end of the bench, holding wuffles against his chest, and looking away from Vimes. His cane is leaned up against the bench. There is golden afternoon lighting on the scene, the garden has blue petunias along the path that the bench is on, a pink Camelia bush behind Vetinari, a grass lawn, and a line of red rose bushes against the far wall. End ID]

Bonus sketch of this Doctor Henry guy everyone keeps talking about

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of a handsome man in a doctors jacket and a blue-grey waistcoat. He is white with strong cheekbones, a chiseled chin, blue eyes, and neatly slicked back brown hair. There are little sparkles around his head. End ID]

Chapter 8: On The Trail Of Evil (also here on AO3)

Evil intention,” Sadie said. “Evil plans. An evil heart or an evil hand. A devil rode that carriage, that’s all we know for sure.”

“Except,” Dotsie added, “that we will catch up to them eventually, and they will not like it.”

“But what am I supposed to do with this information?” Vimes asked with some frustration. “I believe you, but I can’t use your assertions as evidence.”

“Use them as motivation,” Sadie said, lifting her head. “Use them to drive you in the hunt.”

Dotsie nodded seriously. “This person must be stopped. They will kill again; they’ve opened the door to it, and now that it’s done, they’ve found it was easier than they feared it would be. They must be stopped.”

[ID: a pencil sketch with digital coloring of a pile of papers and photos. The photos show Eddie snide, a man with messy brown hair and very dark eyes, in various poses including: sipping from a flask surreptitiously, lounging at a bar with a bottle of wine, wearing a fancy outfit and kneeling with a death grip on Tilly's hand, growling in anger. There are also closeups of his eyes, very dark with a thin ring of blue around the edge, and his hairy hand on a pile of coins. Obscured by two other photos is one of Tilly, a young blonde woman in lingierie, struggling against his grip. Alongside the photos are a police report on the rust family's stolen carriage, a bill from the seamstresses guild, a bar tab, and Carrot's investigation notes which read "aunt's smelled evil? (Carriage). Ms Tilly did not tell about danny. Snide was a problem customer. Am I scary? (Ask Angua)". The note is riddled with spelling and punctuation errors. End ID]

Chapter 7: The Baker's Boy Murder (also here on A03)

Vimes looked down into Dotsie’s kind, black eyes.

“He is going to wish you found him first,” she said with a smile.

“No,” Vimes said.

The ladies looked at him blankly. “But you can come with me if you like,” Vimes said graciously, and then he walked towards the door that Sadie had pointed to. It wasn’t that the Agony Aunts didn’t scare him, they did, but Vimes was in a mood. To think they’d asked him to just walk away from the hardest part of the job. What sort of man would it make him if he didn’t take part in this?

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of Vimes, Sadie, and Dotsie standing over a dead body in the rain. The body is a indistinct bloody mass lying in a puddle in the foreground. In the background, Vimes stands to the left in his guard uniform holding his lantern up, his other hand is a fist. Dotsie , a short old woman in all black and a white bonnet, is next to him, holding a black handbag, her eyes are green like a cat's in the dark. Next to her is Sadie, a tall thin old woman also in all black and a white bonnet, holding an umbrella over herself and Dotsie. She is looking at the body, her eyes are the same as dotsies. The lantern is casting orange light on the scene, and the rain and darkness shade everything else in blue. End ID]

Chapter 6: Sam has his say (also here on AO3)

[Vimes] felt a perverse sort of triumph at finally pointing a sword at the man he had said so many times he would someday end. So what if his stomach was turning with nausea.

-----------------------------

Mr Silvervein bared his teeth. “Am I to stand by while troll kind are forgiven for what they did to my wife? What they did to my friend, Hew?” He grabbed his shirt at the chest and clutched it, his other hand a fist at his side. “Shall I carry all this pain while you carry none? Shall I watch you walk away as if you are innocent? I will go mad! Never! You understand nothing! I would rather die!”

[ID: two pencil sketches with digital coloring, the first of Vimes holding Vetinari at sword point, the second of the dwarf Mr Silvervein. In the first, Vimes is grimacing as he holds his sword with a very straight arm directly level at Vetinari's chest, his other hand is shaking. Vetinari looks surprised and his hands are paused halfway through a motion. In the second sketch, Mr Silvervein, a bearded dwarf chainmail and leather clothing, stands in a dimly red-lit prison cell, he is gripping his chest with one hand and the other is a fist. He is grimacing, his eyes are very bright and have a slight red tint. End ID]

Chapter 5: Sybil gives her naughtiest boy a bath (posted here and Uncensored on AO3)

“Are you alright, Sam?” she asked gently.

“What are we doing?” he asked back, hushed in the half-dark.

“I want to take care of you, Dear,” she said. “And maybe punish you just a little. Would that be alright?”

She must be able to feel the heat of his blush, with their faces so close.

[ID: a digitally colored pencil sketch of Sybil and Sam Vimes. Vimes is naked, kneeling in a washtub with Sybil, clothed, kneeling behind him. He is shivering, gripping the sides of the tub, and leaning backwards into Sybil, who is kissing his shoulder and has one hand on his chest. There is a censorship box that says "private please don't look" over the hip area. Vimes's neck is badly bruised, he has a hairy chest and a happy trail, and scars all over his chest and arms. Sybil is in a partially unbuttoned green blouse and grey-blue skirt, she is not wearing a wig. End ID]

Chapter 3: A little advice can be a dangerous thing (posted here on AO3)

"Vimes ran ahead of his pack all the way to Silt Street, even outpacing the racing trolls, not only because he should have been on the scene twenty minutes ago, but also because he had a vain hope that if he ran fast enough, he could somehow leave behind the memory of his name held title-less and intimate in Havelock Vetinari’s mouth."

[ID: two pencil sketches with digital coloring. The first is a recreation of the "you can't catch me gay thoughts" meme, Vimes in his full guard armor is running, glowering at a thought bubble behind him and yelling "you can't catch me submissive thoughts". The thought bubble has another Vimes in it, with a dreamy expression, saying "no but Sybil could, she's so big and strong she could catch you and pin you down and then she and Vetinari could" then some censor boxes. The second sketch shows a blushing Vimes smacking Vetinari's hand away from himself, Vetinari looks very pleased with himself. Above them some half sketches of Vetinari's face are visible. End ID]

Chapter 3: Lord Vetinari's confession (also here on AO3)

“I love him. His rage, and his genius, and his great, big, gullible heart. I did not know I had fallen." ... "But he is yours,”

.... ....

“Havelock,” she interrupted him gently. “Havelock, do you think you could you learn to love me too?”

[ID: a two panel sketch in pencil, with digital coloring, of Sybil and Vetinari. The first panel shows Vetinari standing with his head bowed and his eyes downcast, his hands clasped on his cane. He is facing Sybil, who is sitting on a bench with a shocked expression, crying. She is in a dress and fancy wig. They are in a lamplit garden surrounded by hedges. The second panel shows Sybil, in her dragon care-gear and a different wig, standing and grasping Vetinari's outstretched hand with both of her own. Vetinari is seated at a desk, and his eyes are very wide. There is light coming in from an unseen window behind his chair, casting him in shadow but highlighting Sybil and their hands in gold. His hands are shaking. End ID]

Bonus doodle:

[ID: a pencil doodle of Sybil walking towards the viewer with an angry expression, behind her Lord Monflather's legs are sticking up out of a fountain with the caption "get dunked idiot", he is circled and multiple arrows point to him end ID]

Chapter 2: Sybil Considers Things (posted here on AO3)

" “All is well. Sleep now, Sam,” she had said, and the resulting doze was an act of pure obedience. "

[ID: a pencil sketch with digital coloring of Sybil Ramkin and Sam Vimes spooning in bed viewed from above. Sybil is curled around Vimes and has a hand on his throat, she looks thoughtful, Vimes is completely out for the count and faintly saying snork-mimimi. The lighting is dark and soft, and Sybil is backlit by a touch of light pink early morning sun. End ID]

Chapter 1: Putting the commander to bed (also posted here on AO3)

I am starting a series of sketches based on scenes from "Putting the Commander to Bed" by Judin on AO3, which is a fantastic fic that I have been rotating in my head since I first read it. I hope to do one for each chapter, and maybe a full illustration for my favorite chapter. We'll see how it goes!

[ID: a pencil sketch that had been digitally colored showing Vetinari leaning over a sleeping Vimes and resting a hand on his neck. Vetinari sits on the edge of the bed, Vimes is turned away from him and looks troubled, the room is in shades of blue with highlights of orange from the light coming in from a crack under the door. Vimes's armor is discarded on the floor. End ID]

Figuring out a way to digitally color my traditional sketches, so I practiced on this little Vimes and Sybil sketch I did to work on getting their body types down

[ID: a pencil sketch of Sam Vimes and Sybil Ramkin in their underwear, colored digitally. Sybil is a large white woman with short hair in a basic purple corset, she has a burn on one arm. Vimes is a shorter more brown skinned man with a farmers tan and a dad bod, wearing boxers with red hearts on them. End ID]

I was thinking about Discworld couples for a Discworld group chats Valentine's ship fest, and I've noticed a sort of running theme among the couples Terry Pratchett writes. Much to think about....

Bonus times ot3 because they technically aren't canon but also I couldn't NOT include them

[ID: 6 variations on the "me and the bad bitch I pulled by being autistic" meme with Discworld couples cuddling or holding hands. The featured couples are: Carrot and Angua, Sybil and Vimes, Tiffany and Preston (caption changed to plural pronouns to reflect their autism 4 autism power couple status). Then Mort and Ysabell, Death and miss Flitworth, and finally Otto Sacharissa and William (caption changed to pluralize bitches) end ID]