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Entry tags:
ota
Prologue?
[ One single word could change a life forever. Emerald's choice was between yes or no, and this Emerald? This one had said no. She knew better than to trust someone promising everything would get better as long as she said yes. It was a dangerous game, and it was one that too many street kids fell into and were never seen again. So she said no.
Life had gone on. She'd continued living on the streets, surviving, but only just. She'd had to run- no one said no to Cinder, after all, and if she stayed where she was, there'd be no way she would've gone without being found. But no one else could literally disappear from a person's vision if they needed to. It wasn't easy, but she'd made it. She'd used the money she'd got selling the ring for a hot meal and a ticket on a ship, ended up in another kingdom- in Vale. The story stayed the same, though how it played out had been considerably different without Emerald. But when you were dealing with someone like Salem, the end goal was what mattered, not how they got there.
Emerald had made it to Vale and remained, as ever, a street rat. There was little else she knew how to do, and no amount of believing in herself was going to account for the fact that she looked like scrawny riff-raff with no real talents besides not having the courtesy to die so she'd at least make a meal for some stray animals. But she survived, as always, and she kept trying until trying just seemed like a waste.
Emerald hadn't been watching the tournament when it happened- her first warning had been screams, then the screeches of the Grimm. Emerald ran. There was no one she had to check on, no one she had to protect, and no one who would protect her or notice if she was gone. She'd shot a couple of Grimm and incidentally saved some people, but it was more because they were in her way. Because if they came after her next, it'd be a problem. Then the dragon rose, and no amount of running could stop the carnage when Grimm were birthed steps away from where you'd been about to step. She had never trained with Cinder and Mercury. She could survive the streets of a kingdom, but this? This wasn't something you could learn to deal with on the streets. She ran again, this time into an old bar. The TV was still running, and she finally heard the voice- it was that woman, the one in the alley. Had this been what she had intended for her to be a part of?
It would've saved her life, she found out in her last moments, as a gun struck her back. A member of the White Fang, just shooting humans as they retreated. Emerald cried out and fell to her knees, the sound attracting a Grimm. Emerald was still alive when the griffon came, picked her up and shook her around like a cat toying with a rat and she wasn't sure if her neck had broken from it or what had happened exactly, but her vision went black at that point.
She'd woken up in Genessia, a place rather like a fever dream in her opinion. She still wasn't convinced it wasn't some version of the afterlife, after realizing that there were so many people who were present in Vale that day here. They could delude themselves as much as they wanted, just because they didn't remember dying doesn't mean it hadn't happened- especially if they were missing memories. Emerald didn't tell most of them that she was even from Remnant- what would the point have been? They weren't friends, and she'd rather not wait for them to turn on her like everyone else in her life had. Then that Mercury kid- the one who'd helped Cinder, ended up City Guardian, and it just affirmed one thing in her mind: there are no winners if you care what happens. The bad people ended up being lauded as protectors, the good people were painted as traitors, and in Genessia none of that mattered because it didn't matter what made you who you were, as long as you could play it up like you were something else.
If a murderer could be the city's hero, Emerald could be more. But she also remembered what that different choice could've made her- a part of that massacre, someone who had worked to cause it. She didn't want to be that person either, and maybe if she just stayed quiet...
Better the devil you know, isn't that how it goes?
So Emerald made a point not to make friends, not to get involved in anything. There were still people who had ended up knowing her, people she had spoken to- she'd needed to, to get by. ]
A. Action, Nova City, Day One
[ The streets which were very, very cold now and the old, abandoned building she'd been staying in had finally collapsed on itself, which meant the piles of blankets she'd been collecting were soaked from the snow and buried in debris. And Emerald was wandering the streets with nothing but an old jacket she might've grabbed from a homeless shelter over her tank and pants. It was getting dark and the temperature was dropping even further. Everglade had shelters, but it was too far. Her toes her were numbing, her face was already there. She'd tried to take cover in a coffee shop for a few minutes, but since it'd been a bit since she'd actually been able to really wash her clothing, it wasn't too long before she was asked to leave despite the snow. Her presence was bothering the other customers. One of the customers bought her a hot cocoa at least, feeling bad that she was getting booted into the freezing cold (but not bad enough to actually offer shelter). At least it warmed her a little.
Old Man Tanners probably had an abandoned car or two. She couldn't even remember why the hell she was in Nova City that day, but at least that was close enough and she could. Em finished off the small cocoa and started heading in that direction, limping a little as her foot started to tingle from the numbness. ]
B. Text, Anon, Day One
How do you hotwire a car? I want to turn the heat on.
C. Action, Attleton, Day Three
[ The farmers' market had moved indoors, but it was honestly the easiest way to grab a bite to eat. They didn't have the greatest security when it was just a bunch of vendors with their food piled high for the taking. Emerald even looked like a regular shopper, a reusable bag wrapped around her arm that she'd nicked from some cranky soccer mom earlier that day.
She stood right in front of one of the vendors, staring at him as she slowly placed a few fruits in her bag, then reached for a baguette and took a bite of it before slowly backing away, her eyes locked on the vendor, who didn't seem to notice until some jackass shouted from behind her
"Are you just gonna let her take that? I want one too!"
She started, the bag dropping to the floor and the fruits rolling out. She groaned and rolled her eyes, almost dropping the bread before catching it and running. One of the security guards is chasing after her until a very oddly-faced Pansage (.___.) trips him, then hops onto her shoulder and turns into a pink blob. Gotta keep one jump ahead of the lawman, etc. etc. They're outta here. ]
OOC Note
[ If you have something you wanna do with Em just give me a heads up. I'll be replying with the journal![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mintchip to all threads so I can use street!Em icons. :D ]
[ One single word could change a life forever. Emerald's choice was between yes or no, and this Emerald? This one had said no. She knew better than to trust someone promising everything would get better as long as she said yes. It was a dangerous game, and it was one that too many street kids fell into and were never seen again. So she said no.
Life had gone on. She'd continued living on the streets, surviving, but only just. She'd had to run- no one said no to Cinder, after all, and if she stayed where she was, there'd be no way she would've gone without being found. But no one else could literally disappear from a person's vision if they needed to. It wasn't easy, but she'd made it. She'd used the money she'd got selling the ring for a hot meal and a ticket on a ship, ended up in another kingdom- in Vale. The story stayed the same, though how it played out had been considerably different without Emerald. But when you were dealing with someone like Salem, the end goal was what mattered, not how they got there.
Emerald had made it to Vale and remained, as ever, a street rat. There was little else she knew how to do, and no amount of believing in herself was going to account for the fact that she looked like scrawny riff-raff with no real talents besides not having the courtesy to die so she'd at least make a meal for some stray animals. But she survived, as always, and she kept trying until trying just seemed like a waste.
Emerald hadn't been watching the tournament when it happened- her first warning had been screams, then the screeches of the Grimm. Emerald ran. There was no one she had to check on, no one she had to protect, and no one who would protect her or notice if she was gone. She'd shot a couple of Grimm and incidentally saved some people, but it was more because they were in her way. Because if they came after her next, it'd be a problem. Then the dragon rose, and no amount of running could stop the carnage when Grimm were birthed steps away from where you'd been about to step. She had never trained with Cinder and Mercury. She could survive the streets of a kingdom, but this? This wasn't something you could learn to deal with on the streets. She ran again, this time into an old bar. The TV was still running, and she finally heard the voice- it was that woman, the one in the alley. Had this been what she had intended for her to be a part of?
It would've saved her life, she found out in her last moments, as a gun struck her back. A member of the White Fang, just shooting humans as they retreated. Emerald cried out and fell to her knees, the sound attracting a Grimm. Emerald was still alive when the griffon came, picked her up and shook her around like a cat toying with a rat and she wasn't sure if her neck had broken from it or what had happened exactly, but her vision went black at that point.
She'd woken up in Genessia, a place rather like a fever dream in her opinion. She still wasn't convinced it wasn't some version of the afterlife, after realizing that there were so many people who were present in Vale that day here. They could delude themselves as much as they wanted, just because they didn't remember dying doesn't mean it hadn't happened- especially if they were missing memories. Emerald didn't tell most of them that she was even from Remnant- what would the point have been? They weren't friends, and she'd rather not wait for them to turn on her like everyone else in her life had. Then that Mercury kid- the one who'd helped Cinder, ended up City Guardian, and it just affirmed one thing in her mind: there are no winners if you care what happens. The bad people ended up being lauded as protectors, the good people were painted as traitors, and in Genessia none of that mattered because it didn't matter what made you who you were, as long as you could play it up like you were something else.
If a murderer could be the city's hero, Emerald could be more. But she also remembered what that different choice could've made her- a part of that massacre, someone who had worked to cause it. She didn't want to be that person either, and maybe if she just stayed quiet...
Better the devil you know, isn't that how it goes?
So Emerald made a point not to make friends, not to get involved in anything. There were still people who had ended up knowing her, people she had spoken to- she'd needed to, to get by. ]
A. Action, Nova City, Day One
[ The streets which were very, very cold now and the old, abandoned building she'd been staying in had finally collapsed on itself, which meant the piles of blankets she'd been collecting were soaked from the snow and buried in debris. And Emerald was wandering the streets with nothing but an old jacket she might've grabbed from a homeless shelter over her tank and pants. It was getting dark and the temperature was dropping even further. Everglade had shelters, but it was too far. Her toes her were numbing, her face was already there. She'd tried to take cover in a coffee shop for a few minutes, but since it'd been a bit since she'd actually been able to really wash her clothing, it wasn't too long before she was asked to leave despite the snow. Her presence was bothering the other customers. One of the customers bought her a hot cocoa at least, feeling bad that she was getting booted into the freezing cold (but not bad enough to actually offer shelter). At least it warmed her a little.
Old Man Tanners probably had an abandoned car or two. She couldn't even remember why the hell she was in Nova City that day, but at least that was close enough and she could. Em finished off the small cocoa and started heading in that direction, limping a little as her foot started to tingle from the numbness. ]
B. Text, Anon, Day One
How do you hotwire a car? I want to turn the heat on.
C. Action, Attleton, Day Three
[ The farmers' market had moved indoors, but it was honestly the easiest way to grab a bite to eat. They didn't have the greatest security when it was just a bunch of vendors with their food piled high for the taking. Emerald even looked like a regular shopper, a reusable bag wrapped around her arm that she'd nicked from some cranky soccer mom earlier that day.
She stood right in front of one of the vendors, staring at him as she slowly placed a few fruits in her bag, then reached for a baguette and took a bite of it before slowly backing away, her eyes locked on the vendor, who didn't seem to notice until some jackass shouted from behind her
"Are you just gonna let her take that? I want one too!"
She started, the bag dropping to the floor and the fruits rolling out. She groaned and rolled her eyes, almost dropping the bread before catching it and running. One of the security guards is chasing after her until a very oddly-faced Pansage (.___.) trips him, then hops onto her shoulder and turns into a pink blob. Gotta keep one jump ahead of the lawman, etc. etc. They're outta here. ]
OOC Note
[ If you have something you wanna do with Em just give me a heads up. I'll be replying with the journal
mintchip to all threads so I can use street!Em icons. :D ]