![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
empatheias application!
NOTE: Please check out Emerald's Permissions Post!
⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Tay
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
skycastles or taylotjelly#4556 on Discord
Age: 27
Current Characters: None.
⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Emerald Sustrai
Age: 20
(There is no canon age, but many people assume she and Mercury are slightly older than the main group, most of who started at 17 in volume 1. She does refer to team RWBY as “kids” at one point, though they are clearly young enough to still blend in with a school uniform, likely as seniors. Current canon point is probably at least a year after that at this point after a 6-8 month time skip and two volumes more of travel time and story.)
Canon: RWBY
Canon Point: End of volume 4.
Background: Wiki page.
Personality:
Emerald Sustrai is the person no one else wanted. It sounds a little harsh to say, but understanding that is core to her character. In her and Mercury's shared character song, I'm the One, her defining line is "I'm the one who rose out of filth and was loved by no one." This is a reference to the fact that she was a street rat for most of her life. We see this life reflected in the flashback in which Cinder recruits her, where she literally is cornered next to some garbage in an alley. That's the life that Cinder picked her out of, and it's the life that lead her to obsessive loyalty to someone who gradually went from a metaphorical monster to a literal one.
Emerald is extremely submissive toward Cinder, someone she views as her savior and the only person to ever care about her. She shows trust for her and has professed that she owes Cinder "everything" as one of her primary motivations for her actions. She perks up when she walks in the room, goes out of her way to please her, and even squeezes between her and Mercury at one point. She doesn't care about Salem or any of the plot nonsense that's going on, she has a debt to repay and a loyalty to uphold to the first person to ever show her kindness and take her in-- even if it's an extremely one-sided affection in which she has been victim to power plays in the form of both physical and mental abuse (being physically hit, being used basically as torture practice, being used as both a figurative and a literal tool at different points, being told to 'remember her place' when she has an opinion that isn't 'yes Cinder.')
Emerald is very loyal, to the point of being shown to have actual pet peeves about loyalty. The first scene she's introduced in, she and Mercury are shown murdering a former White Fang member because "You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep," referring to him attempting to desert the terrorist organization. This job was not assigned to her, and based on later dialogue despite that Mercury is the one who hates being bored, it is likely that Emerald was the one to suggest going after him (she stole Roman's information/orders and later when she's trying to explain herself, she explicitly says "I just thought-" before being cut off). That said, Cinder gave her everything- and I mean everything, considering that the other person we see her have a real relationship with is Mercury Black, someone Cinder literally had to force her to accept as she first tried to convince Cinder that they didn't need him.
Mercury Black isn't Emerald's savior, but he is the closest thing she has to an equal. He's her partner, and he's also the only one she acts like her "truest self" with, so to speak. They may have been forcibly hammered together by Cinder, but at some point during that time, they developed Emerald's only relationship that isn't one-sided. That's important to understanding who she is outside of carefully crafted acting, illusions, and being so starved for love that she'd help commit acts of genocide in exchange for warm meals and a place to be. Emerald's scenes with Mercury when Cinder isn't around have her behaving rather playfully, bratty, and catty, regardless of who else she is around unless Cinder demands otherwise. The two of them are almost theatrical when they go after Tukson, like two cats playing with their food before a meal. When they're just talking, it's usually banter. He's the only one who's ever made her laugh on screen, and it wasn't about something kind (slightly racist joking about a faunus murder victim). Around Mercury, she'll joke about murder victims, call people names behind their backs, complain and vent. Though she doesn't consider him someone she owes everything to, she does consider him important, and she has been shown to trust him with her life in a very literal sense. When she used her semblance at the end of volume 5 on eight people despite that "two is a stretch" according to her, she went unconscious despite that Mercury and Hazel would've stood a much stronger chance of survival without carrying her around like a sack of potatoes. This shows that Emerald is capable of trusting others, though it's a very rare occurrence and when it does happen, it's completely.
When Emerald does get attached to someone and can be herself a little more, she's decidedly willing to communicate, get sassy, and she shows a confidence that she doesn't show in the presence of strangers. She can be a brat, sticking her tongue out or stealing something just for payback or fun. She also has a different way of speaking that's significantly more relaxed when she's being herself, often resulting in her use of expressive interjections significantly more in conversation (she uses almost none when she's acting, some around Cinder, and most when she's being herself- it's almost a "tell" for when she's lying, but if you don't know her well enough it'd be hard to realize). She's shown that she's more than comfortable lying on the floor on her stomach while Mercury exercises, the two of them almost behaving like children more than adults even though they refer to other characters as "kids." That said, it should be noted that she does get annoyed easily- Mercury when he's being a pest but only teasingly, but there are two key times when she was annoyed went a little further beyond that: the first time was when Mercury moves teasing about her thieving into the idea of thieving from someone who 'barely had enough to get by,' she actually got angry to the point that he backed off- implying she may have a problem with stealing from others who can't support themselves, and when she was venting to him about Team RWBY and asked "How can they be so happy all the time?!" They'd really done nothing to earn ire at that point, but Emerald couldn't stand how happy they were-- likely because she never had been, and she didn't understand how anyone could be.
Is Emerald a bad person though? She's certainly not a good one, but her motives have clearly been shown to be entirely up to loyalty, even claiming in the middle of a fight that she didn't care about Salem's anything but she owed Cinder- and she has done bad things in Cinder's name. However, it's the "unnecessary" behavior that really speaks to the fact that Emerald's anger bubbles to the surface. She and Mercury are confident and merciless in fights, they play with their enemies, and Emerald herself literally dug her heel into the wound of an already downed victim (Amber) with no orders or necessity-- and she smirked when she did it. Though she has shown moments of regret, uncertainty, and worry as things seem to get worse and worse, she's also shown that she's willing to act outside of orders in sadistic patterns with both Amber and Tukson. That said, Emerald is a very expressive person, so it's been showing more and more as the level of evil gets worse that she's clearly less and less confident in the crimes-- first at the Fall of Beacon, then almost entirely while in Salem's realm. She gains some clear confidence back when she and Mercury are back outside of Salem's place, but it's obvious that she's not entirely on board with everything. When Salem tells Cinder that she'll stay by her side, Emerald is visibly upset by this idea-- she wants to get out of there, and get back to how things were, clearly reflected once they're out again. Once again, it comes back to loyalty overcoming doubt and anxiety (which she's also been shown to get when things happen off-plan, such as when Roman's train crashed into Vale days before it was supposed to and she was immediately worried.) The may show more remorse than any of the other villains in the show, but she's still kind of an awful person and it's important not to forget that.
It's also important to note that Emerald is a great liar and actor; she managed to befriend Team RWBY and others at Beacon during the Vytal Festival and she exhibited a talent for being observant while doing so. Emerald was left in charge of "the list," which was later learned to be candidates for the Fall Maiden's power, meaning Emerald was in charge of keeping track of profiles of students. She and Mercury actively investigated and tested others' abilities without getting caught to find this information and report back to Cinder. They even managed recon while dancing to make sure that Cinder's spy mission wasn't interrupted. The persona she used during acting blended some of her regular sass with a friendliness and kindness that made her very personable to others, while still seeming "real" because she routed her acting and lies in her own personality well enough that she didn't screw up. These abilities of hers likely stem from her semblance, which literally the ability to deceive others by manipulating their minds to cause visual and auditory hallucinations, which she can and does play up. She'll go for a person's emotional weak points- whether it be a family member, or getting close to someone with the vision of a friend who's been downed or a small, crying child. Emerald understands how to deceive both with her words and her semblance, both of which are likely what helped her to survive alone on the streets in a world where negative emotions attract monsters.
Basically? Emerald is a brat with a strong sense of loyalty who got in way over her head because she thinks she finally found a place she belongs, and is willing to kill to keep it.
Abilities:
Aura: In the world of Remnant, Aura is term used to describe an extension of the soul that when activated and properly honed acts as a shield, through conduits for increased offensive capabilities, and for healing. It protects the user “like a force field" in the words of Jaune Arc. Realistically, it's an explanation for how characters can take so much damage without being fatally injured and functions like an HP bar. It's visible as an actual HP bar if one of the scrolls provided by huntsmen academies are used. Aura can also heal wounds rapidly, making scars a very unlikely event as it would take wearing down a person’s Aura completely to cause them to be unable to heal from the damage, with rare exceptions in cases of characters being unable to heal from wounds or being knocked unconscious while their aura was in tact (Ruby being punched in the face by a White Fang goon, Weiss’s head being slammed into the train floor by the White Fang Lieutenant on the train, Sun being stabbed by Ilia, and so on- there is no official confirmation as to what caused these exceptions at this time). Aura is also what generates semblances.
Semblance: Semblances are special abilities that are unique to the individual, with a few exceptions (such as the Schnee family's genetic semblances). Emerald's semblance is of a rare variety in that it involves control over others’ perceptions and is one of the only known semblances to cause physical pain to the user. Her ability allows her to manipulate a person’s mind into seeing or hearing whatever she wants them to, with severe restrictions that make it difficult to use. A significant amount of concentration is required to make consistent and precise illusions, meaning that if she doesn’t catch something happening in the physical world like accidentally kicking up dust on a dirt road, she can’t compensate for it and it may make it possible for an observant victim to realize whatever they’re looking at isn’t real. Additionally, while she is capable of using it on more than one person at a time, two minds can give her an excruciating headache. In the volume 5 finale, she used it on at least 9 people (10 if you count Oscar and Ozpin as having different minds) and it caused her to lose consciousness after holding it long enough for Mercury and Hazel to escape carrying her.
Because of Emerald's semblance, she's an incredibly skilled thief. Emerald was, in the words of Roman Torchwick, a "street rat" for most of her life before Cinder took her in. She managed to survive by stealing from others, whether it was money or other items of value. Of course, that doesn't always mean she gets by without being caught, especially if there are multiple potential witnesses around.
Combative Skills: In addition to her other abilities, Emerald is a very skilled fighter. She has quick reflexes and makes use of a transforming three-in-one weapon. Her weapon consists of two sickles that transform into two revolvers that also transform into a pair of long-chain retractable kusarigama. She expertly wields these in canon to dispense of Grimm, to assist in the murder of Tukson, during the Vytal Festival Tournament against Coco, and in the near-murder and actual-coma-inducement of the Fall Maiden, Amber. As of volume 5, she has additionally been shown to have been sent in first against Raven’s tribe, showing a significant amount of trust in her combative skills from Cinder and Mercury, particularly given that they both have shown more significant front-end battle skills and most of Emerald’s had previously been more passive battle techniques.
Alignment: Piphron- Some of the most dominant traits Emerald exhibits are a sense of loyalty and her ability to deceive others. Her first act on screen was to kill someone from being disloyal, her motivation is driven by loyalty to Cinder, and her only other meaningful relationship is with her partner Mercury, who she's had to rely on many times and in recent canon very literally had to trust with her life. I can go on about a lot here but she really fits more Piphron than anywhere else in my opinion.
Other: --
⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.
General Sample: Test drive meme!
Emotion Sample: It'd been a long day. Emerald had hoped that would be a good thing- that it would mean she would sleep well, that she wouldn't wake up from a nightmare into whatever had manifested from it. This place was worse for her than most people, she thought. If she were a happier person, someone whose smile felt more real, she would probably be okay with it.
But she wasn't. Most of the time, her emotions set off negative reactions. The more that happened, the more scared she was eventually no one would want to be around her, which made it happen more. Having lived on the streets once, it was especially terrifying to sleep. The wrong nightmare could do something she couldn't take back to the place she lived, and she doubted that word wouldn't spread. If she couldn't learn to control this, she would end up the one place she never wanted to be again.
As she closed her eyes, she tried not to think of anything. A deep breath, focus on that. In and out... Eventually Emerald drifted off to sleep, a place whose battles she now feared more than those in reality. Salem's realm... even if there were a lot of things that Emerald had done in Cinder's name, that place was enough to give her nightmares. When she was awake, she could remind herself that it was for Cinder, that she would do anything and put up with anything.
Having been taken away from there, having left Cinder- even if it wasn't on purpose, her dreams often left her alone in that hellscape, Cinder having left her in exchange and the normally placated Grimm turning on her while their master wasn't around.
It was hard to tell when she'd actually woken up, a visible darkness having enveloped the room entirely, blacking out the windows so not even the street lights could get through. Her fingers gripped at the sheets beneath her. Sheets. She could feel the sheets. Emerald sat up, staring into the darkness with her eyes narrowed. It was real. Not a dream, not an illusion. Her breathing was quickened from the dream still, the fear felt more real than anything as the suffocating darkness enveloped her.
Calm down.
Emerald took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on slowing her breathing. Even if she felt lost, swallowed by it, it hadn't caused damage to the room. It had just sucked the light from it. She was awake, and she didn't have to worry about losing shelter. This was fine. She would be fine. The relief helped clear up the darkness, at least enough until the moon was visible through her window again, and Emerald stood to walk over to it. She slid the window open, inhaling the sharp night air. It was cold enough it hurt her lungs to breathe it in, but she didn't care. It was clearing the dark.
Questions: Emerald's semblance involves interacting with another's mind. Would this have the potential for accidental use while using the amulets, since it would connect her directly to another's mind? (Normally I would just assume no cross-"network" use of her abilities due to distance, but since it's a mind-to-mind connection I figured I would ask. She likely won't intentionally use it in that way, but since it sounds like it functions similarly to how she makes others see things, I could see her having an accident while doing it.Or just passing out in a group call because she does it on accident while trying to focus on something. I really just like being mean to Emerald let's be real here.) ]
Player: Tay
Contact:
Age: 27
Current Characters: None.
Character: Emerald Sustrai
Age: 20
(There is no canon age, but many people assume she and Mercury are slightly older than the main group, most of who started at 17 in volume 1. She does refer to team RWBY as “kids” at one point, though they are clearly young enough to still blend in with a school uniform, likely as seniors. Current canon point is probably at least a year after that at this point after a 6-8 month time skip and two volumes more of travel time and story.)
Canon: RWBY
Canon Point: End of volume 4.
Background: Wiki page.
Personality:
Emerald Sustrai is the person no one else wanted. It sounds a little harsh to say, but understanding that is core to her character. In her and Mercury's shared character song, I'm the One, her defining line is "I'm the one who rose out of filth and was loved by no one." This is a reference to the fact that she was a street rat for most of her life. We see this life reflected in the flashback in which Cinder recruits her, where she literally is cornered next to some garbage in an alley. That's the life that Cinder picked her out of, and it's the life that lead her to obsessive loyalty to someone who gradually went from a metaphorical monster to a literal one.
Emerald is extremely submissive toward Cinder, someone she views as her savior and the only person to ever care about her. She shows trust for her and has professed that she owes Cinder "everything" as one of her primary motivations for her actions. She perks up when she walks in the room, goes out of her way to please her, and even squeezes between her and Mercury at one point. She doesn't care about Salem or any of the plot nonsense that's going on, she has a debt to repay and a loyalty to uphold to the first person to ever show her kindness and take her in-- even if it's an extremely one-sided affection in which she has been victim to power plays in the form of both physical and mental abuse (being physically hit, being used basically as torture practice, being used as both a figurative and a literal tool at different points, being told to 'remember her place' when she has an opinion that isn't 'yes Cinder.')
Emerald is very loyal, to the point of being shown to have actual pet peeves about loyalty. The first scene she's introduced in, she and Mercury are shown murdering a former White Fang member because "You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep," referring to him attempting to desert the terrorist organization. This job was not assigned to her, and based on later dialogue despite that Mercury is the one who hates being bored, it is likely that Emerald was the one to suggest going after him (she stole Roman's information/orders and later when she's trying to explain herself, she explicitly says "I just thought-" before being cut off). That said, Cinder gave her everything- and I mean everything, considering that the other person we see her have a real relationship with is Mercury Black, someone Cinder literally had to force her to accept as she first tried to convince Cinder that they didn't need him.
Mercury Black isn't Emerald's savior, but he is the closest thing she has to an equal. He's her partner, and he's also the only one she acts like her "truest self" with, so to speak. They may have been forcibly hammered together by Cinder, but at some point during that time, they developed Emerald's only relationship that isn't one-sided. That's important to understanding who she is outside of carefully crafted acting, illusions, and being so starved for love that she'd help commit acts of genocide in exchange for warm meals and a place to be. Emerald's scenes with Mercury when Cinder isn't around have her behaving rather playfully, bratty, and catty, regardless of who else she is around unless Cinder demands otherwise. The two of them are almost theatrical when they go after Tukson, like two cats playing with their food before a meal. When they're just talking, it's usually banter. He's the only one who's ever made her laugh on screen, and it wasn't about something kind (slightly racist joking about a faunus murder victim). Around Mercury, she'll joke about murder victims, call people names behind their backs, complain and vent. Though she doesn't consider him someone she owes everything to, she does consider him important, and she has been shown to trust him with her life in a very literal sense. When she used her semblance at the end of volume 5 on eight people despite that "two is a stretch" according to her, she went unconscious despite that Mercury and Hazel would've stood a much stronger chance of survival without carrying her around like a sack of potatoes. This shows that Emerald is capable of trusting others, though it's a very rare occurrence and when it does happen, it's completely.
When Emerald does get attached to someone and can be herself a little more, she's decidedly willing to communicate, get sassy, and she shows a confidence that she doesn't show in the presence of strangers. She can be a brat, sticking her tongue out or stealing something just for payback or fun. She also has a different way of speaking that's significantly more relaxed when she's being herself, often resulting in her use of expressive interjections significantly more in conversation (she uses almost none when she's acting, some around Cinder, and most when she's being herself- it's almost a "tell" for when she's lying, but if you don't know her well enough it'd be hard to realize). She's shown that she's more than comfortable lying on the floor on her stomach while Mercury exercises, the two of them almost behaving like children more than adults even though they refer to other characters as "kids." That said, it should be noted that she does get annoyed easily- Mercury when he's being a pest but only teasingly, but there are two key times when she was annoyed went a little further beyond that: the first time was when Mercury moves teasing about her thieving into the idea of thieving from someone who 'barely had enough to get by,' she actually got angry to the point that he backed off- implying she may have a problem with stealing from others who can't support themselves, and when she was venting to him about Team RWBY and asked "How can they be so happy all the time?!" They'd really done nothing to earn ire at that point, but Emerald couldn't stand how happy they were-- likely because she never had been, and she didn't understand how anyone could be.
Is Emerald a bad person though? She's certainly not a good one, but her motives have clearly been shown to be entirely up to loyalty, even claiming in the middle of a fight that she didn't care about Salem's anything but she owed Cinder- and she has done bad things in Cinder's name. However, it's the "unnecessary" behavior that really speaks to the fact that Emerald's anger bubbles to the surface. She and Mercury are confident and merciless in fights, they play with their enemies, and Emerald herself literally dug her heel into the wound of an already downed victim (Amber) with no orders or necessity-- and she smirked when she did it. Though she has shown moments of regret, uncertainty, and worry as things seem to get worse and worse, she's also shown that she's willing to act outside of orders in sadistic patterns with both Amber and Tukson. That said, Emerald is a very expressive person, so it's been showing more and more as the level of evil gets worse that she's clearly less and less confident in the crimes-- first at the Fall of Beacon, then almost entirely while in Salem's realm. She gains some clear confidence back when she and Mercury are back outside of Salem's place, but it's obvious that she's not entirely on board with everything. When Salem tells Cinder that she'll stay by her side, Emerald is visibly upset by this idea-- she wants to get out of there, and get back to how things were, clearly reflected once they're out again. Once again, it comes back to loyalty overcoming doubt and anxiety (which she's also been shown to get when things happen off-plan, such as when Roman's train crashed into Vale days before it was supposed to and she was immediately worried.) The may show more remorse than any of the other villains in the show, but she's still kind of an awful person and it's important not to forget that.
It's also important to note that Emerald is a great liar and actor; she managed to befriend Team RWBY and others at Beacon during the Vytal Festival and she exhibited a talent for being observant while doing so. Emerald was left in charge of "the list," which was later learned to be candidates for the Fall Maiden's power, meaning Emerald was in charge of keeping track of profiles of students. She and Mercury actively investigated and tested others' abilities without getting caught to find this information and report back to Cinder. They even managed recon while dancing to make sure that Cinder's spy mission wasn't interrupted. The persona she used during acting blended some of her regular sass with a friendliness and kindness that made her very personable to others, while still seeming "real" because she routed her acting and lies in her own personality well enough that she didn't screw up. These abilities of hers likely stem from her semblance, which literally the ability to deceive others by manipulating their minds to cause visual and auditory hallucinations, which she can and does play up. She'll go for a person's emotional weak points- whether it be a family member, or getting close to someone with the vision of a friend who's been downed or a small, crying child. Emerald understands how to deceive both with her words and her semblance, both of which are likely what helped her to survive alone on the streets in a world where negative emotions attract monsters.
Basically? Emerald is a brat with a strong sense of loyalty who got in way over her head because she thinks she finally found a place she belongs, and is willing to kill to keep it.
Abilities:
Aura: In the world of Remnant, Aura is term used to describe an extension of the soul that when activated and properly honed acts as a shield, through conduits for increased offensive capabilities, and for healing. It protects the user “like a force field" in the words of Jaune Arc. Realistically, it's an explanation for how characters can take so much damage without being fatally injured and functions like an HP bar. It's visible as an actual HP bar if one of the scrolls provided by huntsmen academies are used. Aura can also heal wounds rapidly, making scars a very unlikely event as it would take wearing down a person’s Aura completely to cause them to be unable to heal from the damage, with rare exceptions in cases of characters being unable to heal from wounds or being knocked unconscious while their aura was in tact (Ruby being punched in the face by a White Fang goon, Weiss’s head being slammed into the train floor by the White Fang Lieutenant on the train, Sun being stabbed by Ilia, and so on- there is no official confirmation as to what caused these exceptions at this time). Aura is also what generates semblances.
Semblance: Semblances are special abilities that are unique to the individual, with a few exceptions (such as the Schnee family's genetic semblances). Emerald's semblance is of a rare variety in that it involves control over others’ perceptions and is one of the only known semblances to cause physical pain to the user. Her ability allows her to manipulate a person’s mind into seeing or hearing whatever she wants them to, with severe restrictions that make it difficult to use. A significant amount of concentration is required to make consistent and precise illusions, meaning that if she doesn’t catch something happening in the physical world like accidentally kicking up dust on a dirt road, she can’t compensate for it and it may make it possible for an observant victim to realize whatever they’re looking at isn’t real. Additionally, while she is capable of using it on more than one person at a time, two minds can give her an excruciating headache. In the volume 5 finale, she used it on at least 9 people (10 if you count Oscar and Ozpin as having different minds) and it caused her to lose consciousness after holding it long enough for Mercury and Hazel to escape carrying her.
Because of Emerald's semblance, she's an incredibly skilled thief. Emerald was, in the words of Roman Torchwick, a "street rat" for most of her life before Cinder took her in. She managed to survive by stealing from others, whether it was money or other items of value. Of course, that doesn't always mean she gets by without being caught, especially if there are multiple potential witnesses around.
Combative Skills: In addition to her other abilities, Emerald is a very skilled fighter. She has quick reflexes and makes use of a transforming three-in-one weapon. Her weapon consists of two sickles that transform into two revolvers that also transform into a pair of long-chain retractable kusarigama. She expertly wields these in canon to dispense of Grimm, to assist in the murder of Tukson, during the Vytal Festival Tournament against Coco, and in the near-murder and actual-coma-inducement of the Fall Maiden, Amber. As of volume 5, she has additionally been shown to have been sent in first against Raven’s tribe, showing a significant amount of trust in her combative skills from Cinder and Mercury, particularly given that they both have shown more significant front-end battle skills and most of Emerald’s had previously been more passive battle techniques.
Alignment: Piphron- Some of the most dominant traits Emerald exhibits are a sense of loyalty and her ability to deceive others. Her first act on screen was to kill someone from being disloyal, her motivation is driven by loyalty to Cinder, and her only other meaningful relationship is with her partner Mercury, who she's had to rely on many times and in recent canon very literally had to trust with her life. I can go on about a lot here but she really fits more Piphron than anywhere else in my opinion.
Other: --
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.
General Sample: Test drive meme!
Emotion Sample: It'd been a long day. Emerald had hoped that would be a good thing- that it would mean she would sleep well, that she wouldn't wake up from a nightmare into whatever had manifested from it. This place was worse for her than most people, she thought. If she were a happier person, someone whose smile felt more real, she would probably be okay with it.
But she wasn't. Most of the time, her emotions set off negative reactions. The more that happened, the more scared she was eventually no one would want to be around her, which made it happen more. Having lived on the streets once, it was especially terrifying to sleep. The wrong nightmare could do something she couldn't take back to the place she lived, and she doubted that word wouldn't spread. If she couldn't learn to control this, she would end up the one place she never wanted to be again.
As she closed her eyes, she tried not to think of anything. A deep breath, focus on that. In and out... Eventually Emerald drifted off to sleep, a place whose battles she now feared more than those in reality. Salem's realm... even if there were a lot of things that Emerald had done in Cinder's name, that place was enough to give her nightmares. When she was awake, she could remind herself that it was for Cinder, that she would do anything and put up with anything.
Having been taken away from there, having left Cinder- even if it wasn't on purpose, her dreams often left her alone in that hellscape, Cinder having left her in exchange and the normally placated Grimm turning on her while their master wasn't around.
It was hard to tell when she'd actually woken up, a visible darkness having enveloped the room entirely, blacking out the windows so not even the street lights could get through. Her fingers gripped at the sheets beneath her. Sheets. She could feel the sheets. Emerald sat up, staring into the darkness with her eyes narrowed. It was real. Not a dream, not an illusion. Her breathing was quickened from the dream still, the fear felt more real than anything as the suffocating darkness enveloped her.
Calm down.
Emerald took a few deep breaths, trying to focus on slowing her breathing. Even if she felt lost, swallowed by it, it hadn't caused damage to the room. It had just sucked the light from it. She was awake, and she didn't have to worry about losing shelter. This was fine. She would be fine. The relief helped clear up the darkness, at least enough until the moon was visible through her window again, and Emerald stood to walk over to it. She slid the window open, inhaling the sharp night air. It was cold enough it hurt her lungs to breathe it in, but she didn't care. It was clearing the dark.
Questions: Emerald's semblance involves interacting with another's mind. Would this have the potential for accidental use while using the amulets, since it would connect her directly to another's mind? (Normally I would just assume no cross-"network" use of her abilities due to distance, but since it's a mind-to-mind connection I figured I would ask. She likely won't intentionally use it in that way, but since it sounds like it functions similarly to how she makes others see things, I could see her having an accident while doing it.