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Empatheias CRAU Summary
Emerald arrived largely alone in Empatheias in terms of allies (Torchwick was there but their relationship can't be called good, really) surrounded by a large cast of protagonist and protag-siding characters. As a survivor, she immediately established same as in canon that if Cinder isn't here, she doesn't care about any of what Salem's doing. She agreed not to cause problems, and they agreed not to go after her. A lot of Emerald's focus at this point was on survival- she had no support net again, and a deep-seated fear of ending up back on the streets like she was before Cinder took her in. Her apartment neighbor at the time was Akashi Seijuro, who ended up coming over after she was making a lot of noise in the middle of the night, and he helped her instead of telling her off. He started taking care of her in a lot of ways and helped her when she screwed up in a way that very well may have put her out on the streets, so she developed a gratitude toward him similar to the gratitude she feels toward Cinder. The biggest difference is that Akashi didn't abuse her emotionally/physically.
They became friends, doing things like shopping and hanging around at festivals together, but Akashi was showing significant anxiety after having been bitten by a vampire who utilized illusions to create traumatic memories of Akashi's parents being disappointed in him. What he described to Emerald when he finally shared sounded a lot like an illusion and she attempted to share that without giving herself away, since she had kept her semblance a secret, but Akashi is basically a genius and he figured it out. She ended up sharing her history with him and though he avoided her for some time because of it, eventually he came around and decided that he valued her despite that. This might sound like I'm rambling about CR but that was an extremely important moment for Emerald- this was the first time anyone had shown genuine care about her, without expecting anything in return, and was a turning point in her development because it conflicted with her previous belief that a person (Cinder) could only care about her if she was useful to them. Though Emerald had spoken with many people before that, she hadn't really made any deep connections, and this was the moment that she was able to really believe it would even be possible.
Emerald nearly killed the two people who poisoned him and only stopped because Akashi asked her to. When she took him to the hospital and went to fetch his friends to take him there, this was the first time she really bonded with Chihiro Mayuzumi, who empathized with her. She agreed not to hurt anyone and started hanging out more with Mayuzumi as well at this point. The two got along very well and developed an attraction toward each other. Akashi insisted that she tell Mayuzumi and Kuroko about herself eventually and she made it clear that she had no problem killing anyone who tried to hurt the three of them. They both accepted her as well.
During this time, she also made rocky but friendly partnerships with castmates Neptune ("friendly associate"), Jaune, Nora, and Roman Torchwick. She had a positive relationship with Oscar as well, neither of whom were canon updated enough to recognize each other at the time- he helped her to take care of her first potted plant, which was the first real personal item she had besides clothes and things she needed for survival. She also started to hang around Gundam Tanaka (Dangan Ronpa) and Billy the Kid (Fate/Grand Order) and spoke to various others but did not form lasting relationships.
At the start of the year, Mercury was brought into Empatheias at a canon point he believed Cinder to be dead and informed Emerald of this. Emerald had an extreme emotional reaction (Empatheias gives powers connected to emotions) and accidentally brought down her apartment building. He helped her out and they got a new apartment to stay in together, but Emerald was broken for some time. Akashi helped her at this point and they made a promise that no matter what, they wouldn't be separated. Akashi promised he would find a way that she could go home with them instead of going back to Remnant, and she wouldn't have to kill or steal anymore. About a month later as they both tried to recover from losing loved ones in various capacities, Akashi's competitive spirit landed them in a closet at a party and they kissed. Emerald rejected him at first, concerned that he was just rebounding from losing Miu Hinasaki (Fatal Frame 5), who he had been dating and in love with for months.
They ended up arguing, but ultimately leaving positively with the decision to not address it until Akashi could be sure he wasn't just rebounding. Eventually Akashi was canon updated and a year had been added to his memories which put Miu far behind him. The problem then was that Mayuzumi and Emerald also had feelings for each other, which Emerald expressed and asked if it was okay if she wanted to be with both of them. Akashi reluctantly agreed and they spoke with Mayuzumi. Though this relationship would not have worked with anyone else, because Akashi and Mayuzumi were partners back home and had a special kind of trust and respect, they agreed to it.
Going forward, Emerald ended up promising to try to get a real job and to stop pickpocketing despite her expertise, as well as other law-breaking. This was part of a plan to get her ready to go back to Japan with the boys- she needed to be able to actually thrive if she was going to do that, particularly given Akashi's position in society. After a number of failed job experiences, Emerald was still struggling with it and agreed to attempt to become a yoga instructor (or some other instructor of physical fitness) since that was something she believed she could do. She hadn't managed yet, but was starting to try to study the human body so she could at least get mildly qualified. During this time, she also befriended Goro Akechi (Persona 5) after learning he too was a killer trying to find a better way to do things after everything had gone to hell.
During the Flower Festival, Emerald had a chance to speak to Piphron (local Arehtei of trust/loyalty/etc. and the one Emerald was aligned to) and after the conversation with him and some self-reflection came to the conclusion that she did not have an obligation to remain loyal to Salem since she had always been loyal to Cinder. Given Emerald believes (however falsely) that Cinder genuinely cares for her, the assumption is that she wouldn't want her to be forced to enact her will after her passing (again- what Mercury said, not canon). At this point, she approached Jaune and offered up information on Salem believing Salem's defeat would be the only way to protect the people she cared about who were still here, as Salem has a habit of torturing and/or killing anyone who disobeys her. She did discuss this with Mercury and convinced him to let her, despite reservations (because she refuses to leave Mercury behind even if she refuses to admit he's family to her).
They became friends, doing things like shopping and hanging around at festivals together, but Akashi was showing significant anxiety after having been bitten by a vampire who utilized illusions to create traumatic memories of Akashi's parents being disappointed in him. What he described to Emerald when he finally shared sounded a lot like an illusion and she attempted to share that without giving herself away, since she had kept her semblance a secret, but Akashi is basically a genius and he figured it out. She ended up sharing her history with him and though he avoided her for some time because of it, eventually he came around and decided that he valued her despite that. This might sound like I'm rambling about CR but that was an extremely important moment for Emerald- this was the first time anyone had shown genuine care about her, without expecting anything in return, and was a turning point in her development because it conflicted with her previous belief that a person (Cinder) could only care about her if she was useful to them. Though Emerald had spoken with many people before that, she hadn't really made any deep connections, and this was the moment that she was able to really believe it would even be possible.
Emerald nearly killed the two people who poisoned him and only stopped because Akashi asked her to. When she took him to the hospital and went to fetch his friends to take him there, this was the first time she really bonded with Chihiro Mayuzumi, who empathized with her. She agreed not to hurt anyone and started hanging out more with Mayuzumi as well at this point. The two got along very well and developed an attraction toward each other. Akashi insisted that she tell Mayuzumi and Kuroko about herself eventually and she made it clear that she had no problem killing anyone who tried to hurt the three of them. They both accepted her as well.
During this time, she also made rocky but friendly partnerships with castmates Neptune ("friendly associate"), Jaune, Nora, and Roman Torchwick. She had a positive relationship with Oscar as well, neither of whom were canon updated enough to recognize each other at the time- he helped her to take care of her first potted plant, which was the first real personal item she had besides clothes and things she needed for survival. She also started to hang around Gundam Tanaka (Dangan Ronpa) and Billy the Kid (Fate/Grand Order) and spoke to various others but did not form lasting relationships.
At the start of the year, Mercury was brought into Empatheias at a canon point he believed Cinder to be dead and informed Emerald of this. Emerald had an extreme emotional reaction (Empatheias gives powers connected to emotions) and accidentally brought down her apartment building. He helped her out and they got a new apartment to stay in together, but Emerald was broken for some time. Akashi helped her at this point and they made a promise that no matter what, they wouldn't be separated. Akashi promised he would find a way that she could go home with them instead of going back to Remnant, and she wouldn't have to kill or steal anymore. About a month later as they both tried to recover from losing loved ones in various capacities, Akashi's competitive spirit landed them in a closet at a party and they kissed. Emerald rejected him at first, concerned that he was just rebounding from losing Miu Hinasaki (Fatal Frame 5), who he had been dating and in love with for months.
They ended up arguing, but ultimately leaving positively with the decision to not address it until Akashi could be sure he wasn't just rebounding. Eventually Akashi was canon updated and a year had been added to his memories which put Miu far behind him. The problem then was that Mayuzumi and Emerald also had feelings for each other, which Emerald expressed and asked if it was okay if she wanted to be with both of them. Akashi reluctantly agreed and they spoke with Mayuzumi. Though this relationship would not have worked with anyone else, because Akashi and Mayuzumi were partners back home and had a special kind of trust and respect, they agreed to it.
Going forward, Emerald ended up promising to try to get a real job and to stop pickpocketing despite her expertise, as well as other law-breaking. This was part of a plan to get her ready to go back to Japan with the boys- she needed to be able to actually thrive if she was going to do that, particularly given Akashi's position in society. After a number of failed job experiences, Emerald was still struggling with it and agreed to attempt to become a yoga instructor (or some other instructor of physical fitness) since that was something she believed she could do. She hadn't managed yet, but was starting to try to study the human body so she could at least get mildly qualified. During this time, she also befriended Goro Akechi (Persona 5) after learning he too was a killer trying to find a better way to do things after everything had gone to hell.
During the Flower Festival, Emerald had a chance to speak to Piphron (local Arehtei of trust/loyalty/etc. and the one Emerald was aligned to) and after the conversation with him and some self-reflection came to the conclusion that she did not have an obligation to remain loyal to Salem since she had always been loyal to Cinder. Given Emerald believes (however falsely) that Cinder genuinely cares for her, the assumption is that she wouldn't want her to be forced to enact her will after her passing (again- what Mercury said, not canon). At this point, she approached Jaune and offered up information on Salem believing Salem's defeat would be the only way to protect the people she cared about who were still here, as Salem has a habit of torturing and/or killing anyone who disobeys her. She did discuss this with Mercury and convinced him to let her, despite reservations (because she refuses to leave Mercury behind even if she refuses to admit he's family to her).