#here have some ableism mixed with imperialism and objectivation on this good friday night
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look man you can do whatever you want with Inquisitions narrative all you want but the fact that it leans perfectly into the dehumanization of worship and becoming a symbol is perfect for Eurydice, who has been an object all her life
the constant unpredictability of her father, calling her his 'jewel' one second and his 'empty thing' the next, either a object of pride or abuse, but either way always an object, a thing, a mistake, a piece of a beautiful, broken piece of property
the rejection by the clan that refused to see her parents for her they were and therefore refused to see her as a full child or person--just a strange bird at best, a troublemaker, creepy, cold, cruel, damaged, dangerous, a shadow to gawk at and level suspicious glares at, because Lycus and Ismene speak of the trouble with that one, that one causes them such headaches, that one's eyes are off, that one must be as dull as she looks, it's a shame to her parent's names, but at least that one is beautiful. At least she's nice to look at occasionally.
being placed in the position of the First despite the discontent in the clan, robotically going through the motions for duty's sake because duty is all she has, loyalty to the clan, to her family, to her Keeper, that if she performs right, there will be a nod of approval, she will be liked, left alone to her own devices, maybe even understood, but it never comes. She is a good student but a poor First--they whisper to each other that they hope a mage is born among them soon, or they must go to another clan for a new one. Can't have that one be the Keeper. Deshanna is mad and blinded by her own affection. She can't see what that is.
she leaves, for duty, she gets a taste of personhood for a few months, she wanders the world and feels an identity being grown past daughter, sister, mage, first, jewel, thing--
and then conclave explodes and the shemlings capture her, the imprison, they worship her, and they crown her
and she's only a fully realized person to a few of them--and even then there's a habit of them still trying to dehumanization her for the sake of the Inquisition as an agenda--Sera talks about the little people and how Eury can't forget about them, but she has issues seeing Eurydice past her position as "elfy" or "Inky. Vivienne, Mother Giselle, and Varric struggle between Eurydice the Inquisitor and Eurydice the Person; they both recognize that her personhood doesn't matter here, as much as it should. Eurydice as a person can't survive against the persona of the Inquisitor and as much they both want to tell her to save herself, in order for the Inquisition to prosper, she can't BE an individual, she has to be a commodity that keeps the world captivated. Something akin to a holy relic.
Cassandra and on a lesser note, Leliana, are almost desperate for Eurydice to be a prophet despite her denying that every breath she takes. Them looking at her, an elf with God's of her own, having to live with the possibility that the Maker choose her doesn't work with what they know, what they want, but they'll make it work. It's why Cassandra asks Eurydice "Is there no room in your pantheon for one more god" because yes Cassandra IS tossing aside Eurydice's own beliefs because in the chantry's eyes, the elven pantheon doesn't matter but also it's not even about that for Cassandra. It's about HER comfort, HER faith, her need for Eurydice to take on the role as a Herald in a specific way to justify her faith
and Solas? Solas watches on and I think stays, at least in part, because he knows what he just sacrificed in Eurydice's name. She may not have died at the Conclave, but he killed her in a way. It may have been what was done to him all those years ago, when the rebels made him into the Dread Wolf and had his own name forgotten to time and dreams. Gods aren't people. They are beyond such things.
and Eurydice lives with it, stripped down every second of every day when they call her: Inquisitor, Herald, Your Worship, Lady Lavellan, The Banshee, Witch, The First, Jewel, Thing. What is she if not a doll, one posed this way and that for the will of an society that is just waiting to chop off her ears and portray her as human?
and when someone uses her name and sees Eurydice as a thinking, breathing person, her first instinct is to think she must have tricked them
because if everyone else only saw her as a thing, then it must be true, right?
#eurydice lavellan#writing#here have some ableism mixed with imperialism and objectivation on this good friday night
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