Beth

“She waited by the blackboard, trying to scrape up enough of her abysmal Japanese to ask what was going on. Lectures were always in English, which was just as well, because she had the linguistic capability of a sea cucumber. As far as she could tell, the word for ‘husband’ and the word for ‘prisoner’ were identical. Half the faculty were still worried that she’d got Baron Matsumoto locked away in her attic.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

“I’d have known what that meant, when I was young,” he said, sounding strange, and sad. “Do you ever feel like your whole life happened to you in languages you don’t speak any more?” That hit me deeper than I expected. “All the time. What is it?” “I’ve forgotten,” he said, apologetic.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Hymn to Dionysus

“Chivalry—Kuroda, you know when women put vegetables on a spoon and zoom it round so their kids think it's a magic butterfly or something? Chivalry is just what your mum called being a decent human being so you'd feel like a really good boy when you were nice to people. Don't say it to grown-ups.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow

“Thaniel wondered if real geisha painted themselves white so that it was harder to see how angry they must be all the time.”
― Natasha Pulley, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow