In the Foreign Office there is a very specific mention of Caerphilly cheese. Can’t prove it, but 98% chance this is a shout out to Monty Python’s “Cheese Shop” sketch: “Well, stout yeoman, four ounces of caerphilly!”
ANOTHER Monty Python, even better:
The Connected Pet of the Tomb Colonies is a bandaged, probably dead raven in a cage, which the owner insists is alive, and has “lovely plumage!”
I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE PLUMAGE, IT’S BLEEDIN’ DE-MISED!
Catullus 2 and 3, referenced in detail in the An Intimate of Devils storyline!
"Little bat, my lady’s darling." (Passer, deliciae meae puellae)
"You describe the bond between the deviless and her pet in simple, evocative verse. The way the little creature used to nestle in her lap" (quem in sinu tenere)
"and chirp just for her." (ad solam dominam usque pipiabat)
"The way she really seemed to love him." (quem plus illa oculis suis amabat)
"You ask your reader to mourn him as he makes his final journey on a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river…" (qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum / illud, unde negant redire quemquam)
It’s almost word for word, with a few Neath-isms added in–Catullus’ lover’s pet is a bird, and the "journey of darkness" isn’t nautically themed.
I really loved the Quiet Deviless, and discovering this gem in my journal makes me miss her all the more!
edited by jolybean on 11/12/2020