Lille

La Duchesse

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  NAME: Lille Martine Gabrielle Murat
  TITLE: Duchesse de Polignac
  STYLED: La Duchesse, Ti Grace (your grace)
  
  DATE OF BIRTH: December 30th, 1770 (24 years of age)
  PLACE OF BIRTH: Lille, France (For which she was named)
  SEX: Female
  HEIGHT: Five feet, seven inches
  ORIENTATION: Discreetly bisexual, lean unapparent
  MARITAL STATUS: Widowed, for all she is aware.
  EYES: Muted green; slit pupils, tapetum lucidum for enhanced night vision
  HAIR: An unusual teal colouration; long and wavy when unstyled; styled 1 2 3. Owns a large collection of elabourate, powdered wigs in teal, white, powdered blues and pinks.
  SPECIES: Pure-bred nebelung house cat, the defining species of the Murat line
  FACE: Wide eyes; small, felinesque nose; full lips; long, white whiskers sprouting from her cheeks. ref
  BUILD: Petite, slender. Weak, with no defining muscle. Waist sloped dangerously inward due to a lifetime confined in taut stays. Plantigrade feet.
  FAITH: Roman Catholic, seldom practised
  POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Royalist.
  AILMENTS: Psychological trauma, anemia, frequent shortness of breath due to corsetry
  
  
  Personality and Persona
  On the surface, La Duchesse was cut from the most impalpable of cloths, stitched to perfection, and fragranced with the most quality of blends; the very model of feminine, aristocratic finery. There was an overwhelming calm to the woman's muted green gaze despite her youthful features, betraying a certain maturity uncommon for her years. Much like any so consumed by the mechanisms of court-life, she held a large concern for the public image, and knew well how to construct a powerful façade. Underlying all of things, one detected a certain level of manipulation and cunning.
  
  Beneath it all, Lille was free-spirited and passionate, yet defined by capriciousness. In one moment revealing a kitten's affection; tooth and claws in the next. She yearned for adoration and validation, yet abhorred showing any instance of weakness.
  
  Etiquette
  While many years and leagues away from the Court of Versailles, La Duchesse still upholds an elegant and graceful dignity. Maintaining proper courtesy, etiquette and image affords her a sense of order and strength which one can only marvel at. Her careful practice is noblesse oblige in action, so nonchalant that it is woven into the very fabric of her character. Even if the world were crumbling beneath her feet, she would not abandon her noble sensibilities.
  
  Fondness and Contempt
  Likes: Games, conversation, tea, sweets, music and the arts, flirtation, gossip and scandal (at someone else's expense), the strange and unusual*,
  Dislikes: The savage and the uncivilized, the bourgeoisie (tolerated), water/bathing**, magic
  
  Complement
  Lille is nearly always accompanied by her 'ladies': a trio of (NPC) servants that see to all of La Duchesse's needs. These women are her closest confidants, tasked with secretarial, wardrobe, and staff supervision duties, though are also utilized as secret informants.
  
  If anything is to be said about her courtly armament, it is that they have impeccable timing.[/i][/size]
  
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  *"the strange and unusual": Lille has something of a lesser-known fascination with the exotic and the bizarre. This is especially true of the arts. Her interest only goes so far, for she finds magic and the supernatural to be deeply unsettling.
  
  **"bathing": This plays a little into the cat's known dislike of water and, more importantly, the nature of the times. In 18th century France, people bathed extremely infrequently as it was still believed that water opened up the pores of the skin, allowing pestilence into the body. She cleans her hair and fur with powders that she combs out, and uses an extensive amount of perfume. No, she does not smell. Given tgt's setting, this practice was very common among Europeans and would certainly not have been of any surprise.

• Additional

  Feel free to skip over this section.
  --
  

  mapped, in brief

  This unpolished section is for my own personal reference and details the rough timeline of Lille's life. Much of it is borrowed from her original inspiration.
  
  1770- Lille Martine Gabrielle Murat, the first-born child of Jean François Gabriel Murat, comte de Polastron, seigneur de Noueilles, Venerque et Grépiac, and Jeanne Charlotte Hérault, is born in Lille, France.
  1773- Bénézet Emile Phillipe Murat is born.
  1783- Lille makes her debut at the court of Versailles at a formal presentation in The Hall of Mirrors, soon supplants Princesse de Lamballe as the Dauphine's favourite. (age 13)
  1784- Lille replaces Victoire de Rohan, princesse de Guéméné as Governess to the Children of France after some scandal involving her husband's bankruptcy. The court is outraged.
  1785- Murat household falls into debit and can no longer maintain the cost of Lille's court life. The Dauphine settles the family's debts, and supports Lille with considerable allowances and pensions on condition that she marry.
  1786- Betrothed and wed to Jules François Armand, marquis de Mancini. Lille is unable to produce any heirs.
  1787- Jules is granted the title duc de Polignac, elevating Lille to duchesse, much to the aggravation of the court.
  1788- Contempt for La Duchesse and the Dauphine grow. Pornographic illustrations of the two women surface, among other unsavoury rumours and propaganda
  1789- National Assemby and Tennis Court Oath take place
  1790- Lille is ordered to flee France in the aftermath of the Storming of the Bastille, though is unable to find her husband in the chaos. Jules is reported dead by an informant, making her a widow without an heir. She flees to Austria.(age 20)
  1791- False reports are made, La Duchesse is believed dead. She travels Europe under a false name.
  1792- The French Monarchy is abolished. Lille returns to France, where she meets with Jean de Batz in Paris. Lille leaves Paris, travelling the country and meeting with other loyalists.
  1793- Le complot de l' oeillet fails, and the Dauphine is charged and executed. Lille meets with an informant in Cathédrale Notre-Dame in North-West France who tells her of this death. Lille resolves to flee the country and live out her days in solitude, leaving La France and The Reign of Terror behind.
  1794- Lille arrives on the island of Guildereim (age 24) // timeline assumed to have been shifted
  
  ???- Present, unknown

• Portraits

  Commissioned works or work drawn by me.
  These are NOT free for anyone else's use.
  
  Most of this is oldoldold.

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