…….which is that “Calrissian” becomes the standard surname assigned to orphans or children of uncertain parentage in Cloud City. Legally, technically, every child without a family to claim it is a ward of Bespin—but colloquially, it’s said they’re a son or daughter of Lando Calrissian, because Lando is Cloud City and Cloud City is Lando. To belong to one was to call the other yours.
And why shouldn’t children share their father’s name?
The running joke of it sticks. It becomes such standard procedure that Lando has met lifeforms of varying degrees of humanity on planets scattered through the system who share his surname. “Oh, you must be from Bespin,”
he can say with perfect ease, “one of my Calrissians.”
(he says that part, “my”, deliberately, with a certain emphasis. He likes the way they straighten up when he does, smiling or turning a darker purple or thickening their glands, however their species indicates pleasure. His daughters—the ones he legally adopted as such, and so are his Calrissians in a different way—protest, but he is Cloud City and Cloud City is him. If it gathered up one wayward orphaned Calrissian and made him family; it seems only fair Lando build on precedent.)
gootie suggested I draw Dean Winchester as the Morton Salt girl, and I thought it was such an awesome idea. Because, you know, every good hunter knows you never forget the salt.
“Listen, there are forty-one books in this series that’s been going since the 80′s, so it’s going to be a little daunting! Luckily there are at least forty-one approaches to the reading order, so you’ve got options! Just…don’t start with The Color of Magic, for god’s sake. I mean, theoretically, yes, you could read them in order but hell, who would want to? Start with Guards! Guards!, he’s got the hang of the thing by then. Personally, I read them using this chart!”
At which point they’ll pull out this lovingly made infographic that probably has sodding footnotes to boot, they’re so goshdarn helpful about it, when honestly, none of us really care which order you read them in, as long as you read them somehow.
Just…don’t judge the series by The Light Fantastic, wait to read that one after you’ve finished Soul Music or something and feel brave enough to go back. Seriously, the first few books aren’t BAD or anything, but they’re like comparing a sketch in Leonardo’s notebook to The Last Supper.
Discworld fandom gatekeepers do gatekeeping about as well as Ankh-Morpork does. We just let you in, and before you’ve turned around twice you’ve spent all your money and live here, and for all intents and purposes you’re one of us.
kototyph 