three-materia-blog asked you: So I, uh, really didn’t like the way Lucrecia was portrayed in Dirge of Cerberus in some ways–she reminded me of Tumblr when they have server problems, honestly–but I don’t think I have much insight into why people like her, outside of “well that was some really questionable characterization, yo.” So do you mind sharing what your favorite, say, two or three personality traits of hers are? (If that’s okay?)
No problem, and thank you for asking! I will try to keep this as brief as possible:
What I love most about Lucrecia is the fact she’s a walking conflict of interests. Fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion might recall one Dr. Naoko Akagi, a brilliant mind who built three supercomputers designed to place the key aspects of herself - the scientist, the woman, and the mother - in competition, and that’s essentially how I see Lucrecia as well.
The scientist - an ambitious academic prodigy struggling with ridicule from the wider scientific community over a thesis she poured her heart and soul into. An intellectual who tried to suppress emotion with logic - who saw that her child would change the entire world forever if she could step back from her maternal instincts and him go.
The woman - grieving from the loss of a man who she saw, perhaps, as more than just a mentor, and tormented by his shadow everyday when she looked into the eyes of his son. She loved Vincent, but couldn’t stand to have him around. Then, there was the other one beside her who didn’t seem affected by anything, who didn’t seem to feel anything (besides the professional frustration she understood all too well) - and in her longing to be free of all the confusion and guilt of the Valentines’ love, she fell for Hojo as well.
The mother - plagued by doubt as the pregnancy advanced, growing more attached to the child who, despite the God he would supposedly become, was still going to be a little baby when he first arrived into the world. She had, perhaps, always believed she was doing the right thing by him, but the increasing complications both internally and externally forced her to question all her choices.
I think Lucrecia tried too hard to be too much, and ultimately it was her own good intentions that destroyed her. She lived through a very particular set of circumstances which meant the scientist, woman, and mother aspects of herself clashed spectacularly and simply could not coexist, and by the end a compromise wasn’t even possible. She couldn’t give up one aspect to save the others, so she had to give up on it all.
And that truly terrible internal struggle is why I love Lucrecia. I understand some people view her actions as unforgivable, and I’m not trying to justify what she did. But to say that she should’ve just, say, run off with Vincent and saved Sephiroth etc, would be grossly oversimplifying her character.
I hope that all made sense! I tried to keep my own headcanon out of this as much as possible and just work off canon, but if anyone’s interested in headcanon please feel free to ask as well. :)
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