Eulalie Roder

> Sounds fun, breaking laws and stuff. I could use the adventure.
>
> Eulalie Roder, The Seventh Machine Ch. VII

Eulalie Roder is one of the two main protagonists of the *Project 54* series. She is the daughter of Construo inventor Ulysses Roder, and takes after him as a skilled engineer. After her family’s carriage hits an intelligent automaton named Septimus, she befriends him and helps him to “save the world” and complete himself.

## Appearance

Eulalie is a chubby girl with curled, shoulder-length blonde hair, which she typically leaves down, although she sometimes ties it up for special occasions. She has an oval-shaped face, green eyes, and a convex nose that is slightly crooked as a result of her breaking it in *The Seventh Machine*. Her skin tone is pale, and her face always appears to be slightly rosy. After the events of *The Seventh Machine*, she has a scar on her left arm from a bullet wound and a scar on the right side of her temple from being hit with a pot in the chaos of Septimus’s bomb. She thinks that her hair and her eyes are her best features, since they're often complimented, though she also thinks that this is because others can't find any other things to compliment her on.

Before meeting Septimus, she usually wore dresses and gowns that made her look younger. Now she typically dresses older and more fashionably, as a result of Septimus.

She bears great resemblance to her mother, Ivonne Roder, stating in Ch. XVI of *The Seventh Machine* that the two share their curled blonde hair, green eyes, and nose, though she has her dad's body type.

## Personality

Eulalie is an upbeat, bold, and strong-willed girl. Always striving to be original and make good decisions, she is also quite curious, as shown when she follows Septimus to the Warehouse. She describes herself as “not the smartest person you’ve ever met,” then states that she struggles with subjects such as reading, writing, and history. However, this could just be modesty on her part, she is quite skilled in engineering and building and is better at the craft than some adults. She is also a good talker, a trait she inherited from her father, and is good at thinking on her feet, lying, and flattering people. This comes in handy many times as she and Septimus work to collect all the pieces of the latter. When she first meets people, Eulalie can come off as timid or shy, then shows her true friendly colors after getting to know them. Eulalie is very loyal and a good friend. She is sometimes a bit mean to her friends, often bantering with them. However, deep down, she really loves them and would risk her life for them, as shown when she runs into the heart of the bomb’s chaos to save Septimus and the city.

Eulalie despises being seen as young, weak, naïve, or stupid, especially by adults or men, causing her to become very stubborn and headstrong at times. She hates the misogyny she often sees, especially in the engineering community, and knows so much of it that she sometimes assumes what other people are thinking about her, as shown when she accuses Septimus of being sexist in Ch. VI of *The Seventh Machine*.

Eulalie also enjoys dancing and is good at it.

## Relationships

### Septimus

> And you’re my friend! I don’t want my friend to die! That’s… That's not fair!
>
> Eulalie Roder, The Seventh Machine Ch. XLIII

Septimus is Eulalie's best friend (though she's one of the only friends he has). After her family's carriage crashed into him, Eulalie followed Septimus back to the Warehouse, and joined his mission of completing himself to change the world. Though they didn't trust each other much at first, they grew very close through everything that they went through, with Septimus gradually opening up about his past to Eulalie. By the end of all of their ordeals, they have a strong and trusting bond. They are very loyal and protective of each other, with Eulalie vowing to help him after the two were caught, and Septimus often helping Eulalie with her injuries. Eulalie's family eventually adopts Septimus, and their relationship resembles one between siblings (meaning that they banter often, but care about each other a lot).

Though some characters sometimes question if the two are a couple, their relationship is purely platonic, as neither has any interest in romance, especially not with each other (as their dynamic is closer to that of siblings than lovers). Eulalie expresses some frustration with this, saying how annoying it is that whenever someone sees a boy and a girl together, they assume they're dating.

### Sixtine

Sixtine is Eulalie's friend. T Though their amicable relationship was originally because of their mutual connection and care for Septimus, they soon grew close themselves, with each having a lot of respect for the other for what they went through. T They share a love of dancing and engineering, and have a friendly and positive relationship.

### Cyrus Hernandez

Cyrus Hernandez and Eulalie met twice before the events of *The Seventh Machine*, both times at Construo parties (though neither left much of an impression on the other at the time). After Dr. Hernandez was placed in charge of catching Septimus and Eulalie and succeeded, Eulalie's feelings toward him turned hostile, and she was rude and aggressive with him. However, after they learned the truth of the bomb, the two worked together to find Septimus, complete him, and save the city. When Dr. Hernandez was crushed by a fire escape in the chaos of the bomb, Eulalie was terribly worried about him, and only left him after lots of yelling from him. The shared trauma of the weapon seemed to form a bond between them, along with their shared skill in engineering. Over time, their relationship improved into one between a mentor and a student, and Dr. Hernandez eventually helped Eulalie get into engineering school and become a successful employee at Construo.

Dr. Hernandez, though originally disapproving of Eulalie, now thinks of her as talented, intelligent, and full of potential. She also reminds him of Arthur Chandler, with both of them being gifted engineers with a lot of people skills.

### Eduard Eagleden

Though Eulalie never met Dr. Eagleden, she has a deep feeling of hatred for him. She was aware of who he was before meeting Septimus, though she only knew that he was a wanted criminal who had made the news a lot a few years back. After Septimus told her about his past, she felt a bit of trust and respect for Dr. Eagleden, which quickly disappeared after she learned the truth about the weapon inside Septimus. After the bomb went off, she despised Dr. Eagleden for everything he had put her and her friends through.

Despite Eulalie's hostile feelings towards Dr. Eagleden, the two have parallels in their stories. Both were engineers with lots of potential, both had loved ones taken from them by Construo (almost, in Eulalie's case), and both hated Construo with a passion at some point. If Septimus had not been allowed to live by Construo, it's likely that Eulalie would have gone down a similar, destructive path as Dr. Eagleden.

### Beatriss Rylerne

Eulalie and Dr. Rylerne have a mutual feeling of contempt between them.

### Arthur Chandler

Eulalie met Dr. Chandler twice before the events of The Seventh Machine, both times at Construo parties, where they had gotten along well (though they forgot about each other afterwards). They didn't meet again until after the events of Septimus's weapon, and their relationship was tense, since Eulalie was upset about Construo's decision to terminate Septimus. However, after Septimus was allowed to live, their relations improved. Currently, they're on good terms.

Dr. Hernandez has also compared the two to each other, noting how they share an extroverted personality, people skills, and a love for engineering.

### Ulysses Roder

> Dad and I have this inside joke where he chastises me and tells me to be careful.
>
> Eulalie Roder about Ulysses Roder, The Seventh Machine Ch. I

Ulysses is Eulalie's father. The two have always had a good relationship, often bantering playfully. Ulysses teaches Eulalie about automatons, and is to credit for all of her engineering skills. Eulalie is also very grateful to Ulysses, since he is the one who convinced Construo to let Septimus, Eulalie's best friend, live. The two love and care for each other a lot, though they lost a bit of trust for each other after Eulalie ran away and followed Septimus.

### Ivonne Roder

> Oh, Eulalie, baby, you had us so worried! Where were you?! Why did you leave?! Are you crazy?!
>
> Ivonne Roder to Eulalie Roder, The Seventh Machine Ch. XXXI

Ivonne is Eulalie's mother. Though they love each other a lot, their relationship can be tense at times, as Ivonne disapproves of Eulalie's outgoing nature and love for engineering. This is partially due to Ivonne's internalized misogyny, which Eulalie dislikes. However, Ivonne still is very protective and caring of her daughter, and Eulalie seems to understand that her mother means well.

## Quotes

* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. VI) *“Calm down, I won’t report you or anything. Even though it’s illegal.”*
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. X) "*Man, do they assume every girl only wants to see the fashion wing? Especially considering most of the lead fashion designers are men…*"
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XI) *“I was going to call you a loser because you can’t see color, but then you said you have night vision and that’s cool.”*
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XII) "*Honestly! How many weird secrets can one guy keep?*"
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XIII) *“No need to thank me! I guess I’m just too skilled.”*
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XIV) "*Then I realize that while I may not have a boyfriend, I do have a* boy friend."
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXV) *“*Is your arm supposed to be flopping like that?!*”*
* (Narrating, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXVIII) *“Forget the blind leading the blind, it’s two blind kids walking through a minefield.”*
* (To herself, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXIX) *“I will do everything in my power to save Sep and complete our mission.”*
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXXVII) "*Have you forgotten that* I’m *the one who figured this out?* I’m *the one who has operated on Septimus before.* I’m *the one he knows, and* I’m *the one who knows him. And what have I got to lose? We succeed or we die.* Take me with you.*"*
* (Narrating, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XXXVII) "*I don’t know how to drive, and it’s not often that I sit in the front seat of carriages, but as we speed through Fectumport, I’m fairly sure that Dr. Hernandez is* not *obeying road safety laws.*"
* (To Dr. Chandler, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLI) "*...My name is Eulalie Roder. Remember it.*"
* (To Septimus, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLIII) *“*And what does that make me?! How can you be so goddamn selfish?! You’re my friend! I don’t want my friend to die! That’s… That’s not fair!*"*
* (To Ulysses, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLIV) *“Well,* excuse me*. I’m* so *sorry that I’m* mourning my dead friend*.”*
* (Narrating, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLIV) *“How do people do this? How do they deal with loss? No one close to me had ever died before Sep. It feels weird to imagine myself doing ordinary things like going to school, after everything that’s happened.”*
* (Narrating, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLIV) "*If Construo hadn’t jumped to conclusions, everything would be fine. If Construo hadn’t been hunting us, everything would be fine. If Construo had just listened, everything would be fine. And even though all of it was their fault, Construo* still *killed Sep. They blamed* him*. They could’ve let him live. They could’ve removed the weapon. But they* didn’t*. And now my best friend is dead.*"
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *The Seventh Machine* Ch. XLIV) "I have no business with a company that kills innocent people!"
* (To Dr. Hernandez, *Prototypes* Ch. XI) *“I’m seven. But I’m basically eight, since my birthday is in 5 days!”*

## Trivia

* Eulalie’s name means “sweetly speaking,” referring to how she is good at sweet-talking people.
	+ “Eulalie” is the French version of the name “Eulalia,” which is of Greek origin.
* Clover, Eulalie’s middle name, is a flower name. It was chosen simply for the fact that it’s a flower and Eulalie likes flowers.
* Eulalie (and the rest of the characters) were originally supposed to live in France or a French-inspired imaginary country, but it was changed so that they live in an English/American-inspired imaginary country.
	+ Eulalie’s surname, Roder, was originally “Rodier,” but was changed so it would sound less French.
* Eulalie is aromantic and asexual.
	+ This is hinted with Eulalie’s disgust at her cousin in a relationship, although this scene could’ve been interpreted in many ways.
* Eulalie was originally meant to be genderfluid, sometimes going by he/him pronouns and the name “Eugene,” but this was scrapped.
* Because of her fondness for flowers, many of Eulalie’s outfits have flower accessories on them.
* Eulalie is right-handed.
* Eulalie has pierced ears, but doesn’t often wear earrings.
* She is jealous of Septimus’s slender build.
* In Eulalie’s original design, she wore a hat, gloves, and held a cane, (similar to Septimus), but this was scrapped because it would be too inconvenient.
* Eulalie has shown to have the nervous habit of biting her nails.
* Her lucky number is 8.
* She is agnostic.
* It’s been shown that she is not the best at spelling and grammar. Septimus sometimes corrects her writing for her.
* After being fired at while running from Construo employees, she developed a fear of guns.
* Eulalie’s story has some parallels to Dr. Eagleden’s.
	+ Dr. Eagleden had his fiancée, Arliss Rylerne, “taken away” by Construo, and Eulalie almost had her best friend, Septimus, “taken away” by Construo.
		- Interestingly, Arliss and Septimus have very similar appearances.
	+ Had Construo not chosen to spare Septimus, it is implied that Eulalie would’ve gone down the same path as Dr. Eagleden, becoming vengeful and wishing to seek revenge against Construo.
* She is an Aquarius (with her birthday being on February 2).
* Her blood type is A positive.
* Her MBTI personality type is ESTP-T.
* Her favorite animal is an octopus. She also likes eating octopus.
* She plays piano.

## Gallery

Chapter XXV of The Seventh MachineCh. XXXIX of The Seventh MachineA remake drawingCh. XLI of The Seventh MachineCh. XL of The Seventh MachineCh. XL of The Seventh MachineCh. XVI of The Seventh MachineThe first drawing of Eulalie