This paragraph killed me, and this is full of spoilers. I could write tomes of literature about this paragraph. This is from 'Monstrous Regiment' by Sir Terry Pratchett. Polly is a soldier pretending to be a man. Their god declares things sinful as abominations. The abominations were reasonable, then tolerable, and then wholly insane and even life-threatening. The country's citizens do what they can and guiltily ignore what they can't. Polly's mother was highly religious and found solace in their fading god.
Polly's brother is only described as having learning difficulties, but his hyperfixation is birds. He can name them, recognize their sounds, and mimic them. If he is not told what to do, he will stand outside and observe for hours. Polly, who was responsible for Paul, saved and worked to buy a paint set for him. Paul excitedly paints a bird that could fly off the page. Polly's mother is enraged by this, as painting living things is an abomination, and throws the paint and picture into the fire. Even though almost every room has a drawn picture of the Duchess, whom everyone prays to to talk to their god!
Her mother burned the picture. Her mother who Polly speaks about in only certain terms follows like a ghost in the story. She is another deity that has let Polly down. Something else she can't believe in.
I AM FERAL!
She lost everything she ever believed in that moment. Her mother, her country's god and the Duchess.
We all have that moment in childhood where we realize our parents aren't perfect, they aren't invincable. Polly's mom first did this by burning the picture then sealed it when she got sick and died. Which parelles how the country's god has died and all that is left is echoes. Echoes like that we see of Polly's relationship with her mother. Like how the Duches echoes the voice of another character when possessing her.
This story oh god this story. I will end it here, but there is still so much to say.
The Age of Innocence (1993)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
The Duchess (2008)
Marie Antoinette (2006)
Jenny Beavan probably designed this lovely choker as it was first seen in the 2005 movie Casanova by Lauren Cohan, who portrayed sister Beatrice. Later, it was worn by Keira Knightley as Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire in the 2008 film The Duchess. The piece was used again by Alicia Vikander as Caroline Mathilde in the 2012 film En kongelig affære (A Royal Affair).
"I expect you think I'm a silly girl," mumbled Betty after a while.
"A foolish woman, perhaps," said Polly, turning to watch the landscape intently.
"It was, you know, a whirlwind romance..."
"Sounds more like a hurricane to me," said Polly, and Betty grinned.
"Yes, it was a bit like that," she said.
Polly matched smile for smile. "Betty, it's daft to talk about silly and foolish at a time like this," she said. "Where are we going to look for wisdom? To a god who hates jigsaws and the color blue? A fossil government led by a picture? An army that thinks stubbornness is the same as courage? Compared to all that, all you've got wrong is timing!"
I'm considering this an official introduction since I'm not sure how to have Taliesin talk about his cats without info dumping and having the player have pets as well in mind. Maybe someday ;__;
Taliesin has two cats back home, two that he misses dearly. This fluffy white Persian is called "The Duchess", the lady of the house, the matriarch of catnip and the countess of tuna. She was given to Taliesin by his mother 25 years after the Great War.
Taliesin found brushing The Duchess helped calm him down and he quickly fell into the cat owner's life of spoiling his fluffy companion. The Duchess, in turn, was a lazy blob of a cat and tolerated a lot of Taliesin's open affection towards her, but did enjoy sleeping in his lap while he read on the couch or in front of a fire.
Currently, The Duchess is in the care of Taliesin's sister, Naarein. While she is cared for and spoiled, Naarein's lap isn't as comfortable for her as Taliesin's.