Do you know what actually breaks my heart ten times over about Emori every single day?

The fact that she must have had parents. 

Yes. Emori had a mother and Emori had a father. That’s just simple biology- but it’s so much more than that. 

At some point in time, two people must have fallen in love and couldn’t wait to start a family together. Someone must have carried Emori inside her stomach for ten months, felt her kick and move, wondered if this little life would have her nose or her lovers eyes. Someone must have watched her belly grow from the outside, who’s heart skipped a beat whenever she felt her move. Someone must have prepared for her and sewed her baby clothes. Someone must have spent hours thinking of the perfect name. Someone must have imagined all the things she would learn. Someone must have been ready to teach her how to hunt, how to trade, how to walk, speak, read, love, grieve, grow, be strong. Someone must have been ready to show this child what the world had to offer, and, despite their challenges, how beautiful still life could be. 

Ask your own family- they did this for you. Whether they were your birth parents, adoptive, foster, two men, two women, multiple people, grandparents, aunts, uncles… SOMEONE out there took care of you when you couldn’t take care of yourself. You DO have a family, because they are the ones who raised you, and they love you. 

That’s who these people were supposed to be to Emori. I, for one, often forget that these people actually existed. They were already Emori’s parents. They already loved her, as any expectant couple does. They wanted her. They were ready.

Until she was born. 

These people- who had just spent months of their lives waiting and preparing for this little child- took one look at her and changed their minds.

These people took one look at her and didn’t see the beautiful baby girl of their dreams- they saw a defect. They saw a stain. They saw a mistake.

And you know what they did?

They threw her away.

…Okay, let’s step away from Emori for a moment. It’s crucial to note something that The 100 has shown us in seasons past- not every Grounder agrees that Frikdriena are stains on the bloodline.

Way back in S2, Jaha crash lands in the Dead Zone, remember? He is rescued by a little boy with a facial deformity named Zoran, and he brings him back to his family, who is on the run in search for the City of Light. His mother Sienna later explains to Jaha that even though their culture called for it, they never could have left their boy to die. That mother and father would rather struggle and suffer in the blazing desert than give up their child.

Emori’s parents didn’t leave their people and vow to raise and love her against all odds. Emori’s parents weren’t willing to risk their lives in an unknown land if it meant their baby lived. Emori’s parents didn’t fight for her. They didn’t even consider. 

They just got rid of her.

Let me restate that- nobody has ever fought for Emori in her entire life. Ever. Nobody has ever thought she was worth an effort. Not even her own parents. 

That’s why she has only ever known to fight for herself at all costs. She’s never known what it felt like to be protected unconditionally. Emori had to raise herself, do all the things her parents were supposed to, and teach herself all the things her parents never did.

And I’m sorry, but who the fuck just does that? Who just throws away their own flesh and blood as if it was an assembly line reject? Who just ignores their paternal instincts and blindly follows the crowd? Who just punishes an innocent (a fucking baby no less) for something they had absolutely no control control over?

A lot of things about Grounder culture terrify me… but this just infuriates me beyond measure. If none of the shit above utterly breaks your heart for our Emori, I honestly don’t know what will. 

And growing up, that hit Emori hard. Real fucking hard. I can’t even begin to wrap my head around the guilt she must have felt. She carried that burden day in and day out. She truly believed it was her fault that she and Otan had such difficult lives. Her fault, because she was born this way. 

Her fault that her parents didn’t love her, want her, care about her.

Emori thought this every single day of her life. That’s the mentality of her childhood. Can you imagine that? Living with the reality that your own parents didn’t want you? That no other human being around you didn’t want you? That humanity thought you shouldn’t be alive? 

In response to all the Emori haters of Tumblr who cannot seem to give her a break… try stepping into her shoes, just for a moment. Imagine living through the tragedy after tragedy that molded her, being rejected by the people that bore you, never having parents that loved you. It would destroy you. It would harden your heart. You’d do things you wish you hadn’t. 

This is the kind of shit that turns people into psychopaths. Emori’s past could have absolutely broken her soul. She could have given up on life, love, happiness…

BUT SHE DIDN’T! 

Emori is not psychotic. Emori is not selfish. She is not evil, or vain, or cruel. Emori is human- flawed, yes, but beautiful and worthy nonetheless.

Just as @bombshellsandbluebells stated in their meta (again, linked above the cut), Emori never killed or stole just for the sheer fun of it. She was forced to do it to survive. She literally said this to Clarke in 4x07, people. It probably still haunts her. 

If Emori had killed for the sheer fun of it, that would make her a psychopath, friends. BUT SHE ISNT BECAUSE SHE IS GUILTY AND IS STILL CAPABLE OF LOVING OTHERS.

Despite every terrible thing that happened to her in her terrible lot in life, Emori survived. Emori persevered. She got through that. She found acceptance. She found people. She found a reason to live. She realized what made life worth living- LOVE- in John Murphy, and the same goes for him. Emori found the good still residing in humanity after almost all of them let her down, time after time. 

Now look me in the eyes and tell me that Emori isn’t an inspiration. Tell me, after everything she’s been though, that she’s still worthless. Tell me that she doesn’t deserve a family. Tell me she doesn’t deserve love. 

The very people who gave Emori life didn’t think she should have survived- but now she isn’t just surviving; she’s living.

Emori will continue to be one of my favorite characters on this show and all of television. How did we get so lucky with her? I am more and more amazed with Emori each passing day, and I’ll love and defend her until the very end. She (and Luisa!) deserve so much more from the writers and the fans. I pray they receive it soon enough. Cheers to more Emori goodness in S5!

Wowza. That was long. If you actually made it to the end, bless you. Sorry that it’s all a big old mess, but I warned you, lol. You also might want to read the paragraph above the cut again if you need to, btw. PLEASE let me know your thoughts/responses to this, and anything important I could have missed! (But you know the rules, keep it nice)