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Evadne Cake

2021-01-30T09:00:13Z

Oryx and Crake: Added "Feet of Clay" to the list of cameos where she is mentioned in passing as Angua's landlady

{{Character Data
|title= Mrs Cake
|photo= Blank.jpg|
|name= Evadne Cake
|age=
|race= Human

|occupation=
|appearance=

|residence= Ankh Morpork

|death=
|parents=
|relatives= Great Uncle [[Erasmus]]
|children= Daughter, [[Ludmilla Cake]]
|marital status= Widow (though still talks to husband)

|books= {{RM}}, {{MAA}}
|cameos={{J}}, {{GP}}, {{MM}}, {{FOC}}
}}

'''''Don't ask.''''' – the [[Ankh-Morpork]] [[Post Office]]

'''Mrs. Evadne Cake''' is a psychic medium. Her size is small, but her hat and purse are extra-large. When Mrs. Cake sits with her hat on and cuddling her purse, she looks as if only her face is not covered with these accessories.

Mrs. Cake volunteers at all temples that she can find, taking over miscellaneous housekeeping duties and performing them efficiently. Unfortunately, sooner or later she invariably falls out with the priests (because she converses with the dead) and ends up leaving the temples in a mess because now nobody else knows how to fulfill the duties she has relinquished. Mrs. Cake is dreaded by all priests and priestesses across the continents, as far as the Lost Jewelled Temple of [[Offler]], in [[Klatch (continent)|Klatch]] (see ''[[Book:Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]''), and maybe farther. It is possible that Mrs. Cake can be considered a [[witches magic|witch]]. Besides conversing with the dead, Mrs. Cake also has the ability to turn on or turn off her precognition, a very useful tool while walking the dangerous streets of [[Ankh-Morpork]], but premonitions also make her conversation with normal people very confusing, because she tends to reply to a question right before it has been asked. Yet, if she has replied and then the person decides not to ask the question, she gets a [[Recursion|terrible headache]].

She has an amicable working relationship with her [[spirit guide]], [[One-Man-Bucket]], and knows how to get his full co-operation: setting fire to a glass of whiskey, so that its ghost lasts for just long enough on the other side, is her usual reward for a job well done.

Mrs. Cake has a daughter, [[Ludmilla Cake]], who is partly a [[werewolves|werewolf]] (in ''[[Book:Reaper Man|Reaper Man]]'']. Mrs. Cake now rents out rooms in her house to the undead, including the [[zombies|zombie]] [[Reg Shoe]], the werewolf [[Angua von Überwald]], and the [[vampires]] Count and Countess [[Notfaroutoe]]. Mrs. Cake is sensitive to the needs of the undead, such as the need for orthopedic gravel in the coffin, the need for a door handle that can be operated by a paw, and the need to leave a window open (for examples, see ''[[Book:Men at Arms|Men at Arms]]''). Mrs. Cake is also tolerant of the eccentricities of the undead, such as carrying one's own arm until it is sewn back on. By the time of {{MM}} she is even letting a room to one [[Mavolio Bent]], and that ''really is'' broad-minded.

She may be an unhappy medium, but she may also be psychically connected to the Goddess [[Czol]]. As evidence, see her position in the prehistoric postal pantheon by association. When Moist takes over the Post Office, the items on the "Dont arsk us about" list include two entries reading "Mrs Cake."

The full list is:

DONT ARSK US ABOUT:
*rocks
*troll's with sticks
*All sorts of dragons
*Mrs Cake
*Huje green things with teeth
*Any kinds of black dogs with orange eyebrows
*Rains of spaniel's
*fog
*Mrs Cake

And when Moist hires a very experienced golem, [[Anghammarad]], to be a postman, the [[Golems|golem]] recalls delivering messages in a past age:

‘You really used to deliver messages for kings?’ said Groat. 
‘Many Kings,’ said Anghammarad. ‘Many Empires. Many Gods. Many Gods. All Gone. All Things Go.’ The golem’s voice got deeper, as if he was quoting from memory. ‘Neither Deluge Nor Ice Storm Nor The Black Silence Of The Netherhells Shall Stay These Messengers About Their Sacred Business. Do Not Ask Us About Sabre-Tooth Tigers, Tar Pits, Big Green Things With Teeth Or The Goddess Czol’ 
‘You had big green things with teeth back then?’ said Tropes. 
‘Bigger. Greener. More Teeth,’ rumbled Anghammarad. 
‘And the goddess Czol?’ said Moist. 
‘Do Not Ask.’ 
 
She has a friend, [[Harms-Beetle|Mrs Harms-Beetle]], who lives in [[Welcome Soap]].

Evadne was also the first name of Dr Hinge, of Hinge and Bracket fame.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Cake, Evadne]]
[[Category:Supporting characters|Cake, Evadne]]
[[Category:Human characters|Cake, Evadne]]
[[de:Evadne Kuchen]]

Mollymog Street

2021-01-22T05:17:32Z

Oryx and Crake: /* Origins: */ added an alternative hypothesis for the origins

'''Mollymog Street''' crosses [[Ankh (city)|Ankh]] from the [[Ankh Bridge]] to [[The Soake]]; after it passes the Gibbet it forms the tip of [[Hide Park]]. The [[College of Heralds]] and its interesting menagerie were based there until the [[Book:Feet of Clay|fire]].

On November 1st this street hosts The Mollymog Candle and Tallow Fair.

== Origins: ==
Molly Mog, the Rose of Wokingham, was a seventeenth century barmaid in Berkshire whose beauty inspired a [http://www.berkshirehistory.com/legends/mollymog_bal.html ballad] written by poet Alexander Pope There is also a Molly Moggs pub in Soho, London, which is highly rated, and which is named after the eponymous barmaid in Pope's ballad.

Alternative hypothesis on the origin:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollymawk Mollymawk] is a bird, whose name dates to the late seventeenth century and comes from the Dutch mallemok, which means mal – foolish and mok – gull.

[[Category:Streets of Ankh-Morpork]]
[[de:Mumpitzstraße]]

The Lady

2020-12-06T11:21:07Z

Oryx and Crake: Added "Soul Music" to the list of cameos. The old lady who sells Imp y Celyn his extraordinary guitar is none other than the Lady herself. She manifests for a brief time - TP says the eyes of the old lady turn bright emerald green for a split second.

{{Character Data
|title= The Lady
|photo=
|name= "''The Lady''" "''She-who-shall-not-be-named''" "''The 'Million-to-One' Chance--and all of the other chances as well''" "''The One who will desert you when you need Her the most--and sometimes She might not''"
|age=
|race= [[Anthropomorphic personification]]
|occupation= Goddess
|appearance= Completely Green eyes
|residence= [[Cori Celesti]]
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status= Unknown
|books= {{COM}}, {{IT}}, {{TLH}}
|cameos= {{S}}, {{SM}}
}}

"''The Lady''", also known as; "''She-who-shall-not-be-named... The 'Million-to-One' Chance - and all of the other chances as well... The One who will desert you when you need Her the most - and sometimes She might not...''", is none other than the [[Anthropomorphic personification]] of [[wikipedia:Luck|Luck]], as well as the single most powerful [[the gods|goddess]] on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]], all for the simple reason that (although She has no worshippers and the only temple ever erected to Her was destroyed purely by chance) everybody hopes and prays that She exists and that She'll smile on them. Her suitors can be distinguished by their distinctive repetitive prayer; "''please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please''."

She's definitely a lady, but She'll quite happily [[wikipedia:Luck Be a Lady|leave Her escort and go blow on whomsoever's dice]] She pleases. If you think She won't be there for you, chances are She will (or won't), but say Her name out loud and you'll probably never see Her again, though you might. She has [[Nature of eyes|eyes]] of bright [[wikipedia:Green|green]], not that her eyes are green in the sense that you or I might have brown or blue eyes, but bright green from edge to edge: no [[wikipedia:Sclera|whites]], no [[wikipedia:Pupil|pupils]], just green. In the Discworld, it is not possible for deities to change the nature of their eyes.

The Lady is the eternal rival of [[Fate]]. She is one of the few characters in the series who can, or have, upset Fate's powers over the board when they play games with the lives of people down on the [[Discworld (world)|Discworld]]. While Fate is implacable, The Lady is capricious: [[Fate]] plays to win, the Lady plays not to lose. Often Her playing pieces do not appear very powerful. She has never sacrificed a pawn before, or at least, so she has declared. One of Her 'favourites' appears to be [[Rincewind]], for the simple reason that he is convinced, no matter how much evidence to the contrary he comes across, that he has survived everything simply as a coincidence, or just because the world hates him and that luck has played positive no part... (Oh ''Stercus''... I said it.)

While it is speculated that The Lady may possibly be the consort of [[Fate]], this isn't too likely, given that they are bitter rivals (but, then again...). The Lady actually shares more in common with [[Kaos]] than She does with Fate. Both Kaos and The Lady have exhibited the use of [[wikipedia:Probability|Probability]] in their approach to what they each do, they have even been connected with the imagery of '[[quantum weather butterflies|a very special butterfly]]', also known as the '[[wikipedia:Butterfly effect|Butterfly effect]]': In [[Book:Interesting Times|Interesting Times]], The Lady, when She was beginning a new game against Fate, released a small butterfly from Her hand.

== Notes ==
* The Lady is based on the semi-real Roundworld equivalent of the [[wikipedia:AncienIt Rome|Ancient Roman]] [[wikipedia:Goddess|Goddess]], [[wikipedia:Fortuna|Fortuna]], Goddess of [[wikipedia:Luck|Luck]], also known as "''Lady Luck''"--and Roman counterpart of [[wikipedia:Tyche|Tyche]], the [[wikipedia:Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] Goddess of Luck.

[[de:Die Lady]]

== External Links ==
* [[wikipedia:Discworld gods#The Lady|Wikipedia on 'The Lady']].

[[Category:Discworld characters|Lady, the]]
[[Category:Supernatural entities|Lady, the]]