beauty & battle cries.

emma vanity has only been her name since she introduced herself to orion black for the first time, ~5 years ago. before that, she was called goldie schmulewicz.

goldie spent the early part of her life being raised by her grandparents in a jewish village in poland--- then part of the russian empire. her mother had been an embarrassment to the family, forsaking her upbringing to run away with her lover and live as an artist. they were quite poor, so when she became pregnant she had no choice but to ask her parents for help. she showed up at their doorstep two years after leaving to drop the newborn into their arms, and  neither they nor goldie ever saw her again after that.

her grandparents were stern and traditional, but loving. the rest of their neighbors didn’t embrace goldie as warmly --- her mother’s disgrace was well-known, and even if it wasn’t, the color of her skin still marked her ‘different’ from everyone else in her town. she started to figure out from an early age that if people were going to stare at her no matter what, she might as well give them a damn show.

became literally obsessed with the idea of becoming an actress, encouraged by her grandparents --- not because they thought she’d ever follow through on it, but just because they liked seeing her happy. they probably wouldn’t have let her carry on if they’d known the ambition would continue into her adult life.

when she was still a kid, her grandparents made the decision to migrate to america. russia seethed with discontent as the beginnings of revolution brewed, and antisemitic notions and attacks continued to rise. if they wanted to ensure a real future for goldie, there was no reason for them to stay. 

they moved into a tenement house on manhattan’s lower east side that was shared with three other families, and contained a single bed for goldie and both of her grandparents. it was cramped and loud, and they quickly discovered that in america, they were quite poor. goldie missed home, but still, there was so much more to do in new york. the cinema became her new favorite place (the first crime she ever committed was sneaking in unnoticed every week without buying a ticket), and she’d spend her time at home trying to mimic the glamorous looks of the women she saw on screen. goldie figured that was what someone important looked like. someone who commanded attention and had the whole world at her beck and call. that was what she wanted someday.

when she was in her early teens, a wave of influenza swept through the neighborhood, and her grandparents were killed. goldie, also deathly sick, tried to get to a hospital, but they were filled to capacity and after taking one look at her--- a filthy, unaccompanied kid who barely spoke english--- shut the doors in her face. she almost died on the street, shivering and feverish; and would have, if peter hadn’t found her.

the years that followed were the hardest of her life, but they were also when she learned how to survive. she had to be quick and smart to make it on the streets, and there was a definite learning curve.

after a while, goldie figured out that she had a knack for picking pockets. when she was still small, she could approach unnoticed, but this became difficult after a while. her looks made it likely that there was always at least one pair of eyes on her, so she had to adopt a different method. she would pick a male target and purposely catch his attention, drawing him close enough in conversation that he was mesmerized enough not to notice her sliding away his wallet or watch. it worked quite well for her, until she day she tried it on orion black. 

she was nineteen when she met orion, striking a deal when she’d been expecting to be turned into the police. instead, she found herself faced with everything she’d ever dreamed of. how could she say no?

so, goldie schmulewicz was left behind on the street and emma vanity stepped into the spotlight.

it’s felt less like a transformation and more like a fulfillment of what emma knew already existed inside her. if she’d been born into different circumstances, she figures she wouldn’t have ever needed the help from orion, but she can’t let herself dwell on that --- instead, she focuses on the fact that everything she achieved after that was her own. 

honestly, emma couldn’t care less about bad blood between gangs. she’s only there to play her part, because she has to. even with orion gone, she knows everything she’s achieved could be taken away if she ever tried to leave the death eaters behind, so she does what is necessary and no more. it’s all business to her, so she’s got nothing against the prewetts or any of them.

she doesn’t care if the death eaters are threatened, only if her career and/or reputation are. those things are just unfortunately linked now.