reposting from my twitter. my devil may cry oc, elishah
some more about eli under the cut (cw for cult abuse, xenophobia, and intersexism)
ignore how messy this is since i never finish anything anymore LOL
elishah is an artificial demon that was originally a human. as an infant, it was taken from its mother - a chinese refuge who disappeared under mysterious circumstances - and placed under sanctus' care three years prior to him becoming vicar, in hopes to turn it into something 'holy' and deserving of living within the order. throughout its childhood, abnormal development was noticed. elishah was seen to have persistent mullerian duct syndrome, and received "corrective" surgery for a variety of 'issues'. little did it know, seeds were sown with its peers to detract them from it. they viewed it as a monster wearing the skin of a human, they called it filthy and dirty, and not many saw it as anything more than a personal pet for sanctus himself, after he'd poisoned solemnis and taken charge of the order. as elishah grew older, those around it slowly but surely refused to call it by name. it was referred to as lamb and goat, treated like an object, until eventually it was given to agnus and another scientist of the order to experiment on. it was already an obedient, meek thing that refused to do anything outside of what was commanded of it, and who would miss it anyways? agnus bound elishah's human soul with that of a devil arm, hoping that its power could help them awaken the savior statue; if they could get away with sacrificing something with no social repercussions, then that was all the better for them. they could continue to blame the issues within the order on the outside world, and no one would so much as question them. elishah's torture, upon being turned into a demon, grew more intense exponentially. it was injected with chemicals, experimented on with swords and devil arms, pushed to the brink of death until it was forced to devil trigger. this soon became daily life, until it saw itself as nothing more than a husk. elishah became withdrawn, incapable of expressing or feeling emotion, and saw itself as having an "expiration date" upon learning that they intended to sacrifice it. the only solace it found was in the libraries and in the quiet of its room, where it would read poetry and books on art history, as well as within the main headquarters. any time they were empty and without service, elishah could be found at the feet of sparda's statue. it grew to believe that he thought through it. it heard 'his' voice, and would do anything 'he' said. to elishah, sparda was like a shepherd. it needed guidance to get through… everything. and once this began, elishah began to write its own poetry, make its own carvings and miniature sculptures - of sparda, of sanctus, of agnus and the knights. what they did was 'righteous'. it deserved the 'punishment', and it thought that, to be sacrificed for the order - for the savior - was its ultimate duty. its sole intention and worth and use. it went through this for years, only for the day to come. and nothing happened.
the entire purpose of elishah's character is to essentially embody the feeling of what suffering through a cult is like when you, as a person, mean nothing to your peers - especially after isolation - no matter how 'special' you were told to be. it never meant anything. cult abuse is never done for any good reason.