(from tsukasa's 2 star in the "smile of a dreamer" event)
I find it so interesting that tsukasa's (and our) early impression of emu is as a spoiled princess, like it's cute and obviously affectionate!! but you do kinda get that vibe from emu in the first episodes of the main story. she's childish and naively optimistic, and when she doesn't get her way she whines and clings on to tsukasa lmao. she acts like a spoiled rich girl, and while most of us were probably charmed by how chaotic she is, her behavior does come off as a tot throwing a tantrum
and you can see where the princess-ness comes from. her father is the head of an amusement park that takes up like 1/5 of the map, and she lives in a mansion with a vaulted ceiling. (we, of course, don't know this at the start of the main story, but her princess association continues until at least emu1.) she has a bodyguard. and they even let her have her own stage, which she doesn't seem to know how to manage. but she still has enough authority to invite tsukasa on as a cast member, she must be a nepo baby, right?
the thing is, that's also how her brothers and her father view her. she's too immature to understand the big business decisions they have to make, she's too emotional and stuck in the past. they let her have the wonder stage — it'll make her happy and keep her busy — but they give it to her under a condition, with the threat that they'll demolish it if she fails to make it popular. very rarely is emu ever given anything, she has to fight for it. she has to work for her family's respect and to get cast members for her troupe. and she has friends not because she's rich and can get them free phennyland tickets, but because she's genuinely kind and lively and uplifting and a hard-worker and they like her. even when she gets her dream troupe, they're going to be ripped away from her eventually. very rarely is she doted on, but she's explosive in her affection for other people
also of note: emu is very rarely portrayed as a princess (like in her lineups). her wedding card and her vday card are somewhat princess-y, but she's notably lacking in a crown. at most she's a lady, but both costume names just have her as a girl or a bell(e?)/bride. in wms!, while tsukasa is a king, emu is the clock rabbit. she's a herald, subordinate to the king/queen. and in peter pan + wendy emukasa, emu is (fittingly) chosen to portray peter pan rather than the heroine. she's also not a princess in her white day card but is more of a defender or a mage/knight, like in nene5. or she's a magical being with powers to make true the wishes of others, akin to her magical girl bloomfes.
the only times emu is represented as royalty is in the first wxs world link where she's a queen, and recently in emu7 where she's a rabbit princess (and the whole event is about her swapping places with a "princess")
emu7 actually illustrates this point pretty well. emu is a princess only because she's swapping places with one, giving her the freedom to be a normal girl for a moment. here she is elevated to a position of royalty because it helps someone else. oh but also! she's portrayed as royalty in that one honami birthday 4koma — as a prince. but again, she does so for honami's sake, to make her feel special.
emu is so often placed in a servile position, and she does this to herself as well when speaking to tsukasa on the ferris wheel in the main story (which— it kills me that wxs can be divided into support and diva, rui and emu being the helping hands while nene and tsukasa are the stars that they make shine. emurui left behind while nenekasa strive forth (yuke yuke yuke) and reach new heights. and you see this in the second wxs wl, specifically with emu).
(first img from the wxs main story. second img from wxs wl2. in emu's fate so to speak, she's backstage, playing a supportive role. the other characters are taking charge or receiving accolades in some way, but emu isn't even performing, yet is still smiling brightly)
and emu7 is probably the most emu has been treated like a pampered princess. like emu has short hair so she doesn't really get the girly hair treatment often like nene has the ability to, and emu loves doting on nene and hyping her up. but in emu7 nene is the one doing emu's hair and making her the center of attention while emu gets to be called princess and my lady (like i've always headcanoned—)
but ofc, the parallels between emu and elle can't be ignored. the event exists for a reason. because yes, emu is still the daughter of the president of phennyland. and she may have status, but her influence is limited. her brothers, initially, give her the appearance of authority just to hide her away in a stage that's off the beaten path. they expect nothing of her and talk over her voice until a ~man~ comes to her defense. and emu is forced to give up the things she strives for the moment it trods on someone else's happiness.
in a lot of ways, emu is a princess. a princess in the historically accurate sense. one that's trapped in a tower. one that belongs to a rich and reputable family but is often pushed to the side, left to entertain herself, remembered only when she can serve a purpose. really, by taking elle's place as princess in emu7, she's just choosing to confine herself for the sake of another girl's dream.
but! let's not forget wondasho. because emu is wondasho's princess.
wxs are the ones who first give emu what she deserves. tsukasa reminds her that her happiness is just as important as anyone else's. nene offers emu a listening ear and tells her to cry in front of them so they can comfort her. rui actually takes her voice and her ideas into consideration and tries to make her wacky dreams come true. they all get on that grind to save the wonder stage, to keep phennyland as it is, to include her and make her happy. tsukasa chooses saving phennyland over winning the show contest, signaling to emu that she's important enough for other people to sacrifice things for her. nene notices when emu is feeling down, she fights to be at her side, she entertains emu and takes the time to be her teacher. rui stands up to emu's brothers, he shows her she can let other people come to her defense, to protect her smile. i'd say besides emu7, emu4 is the event where emu gets to be the center of attention (in a... far sadder but still validating way). wxs treat emu as a princess without undermining her authority, they support her and her most outrageous decisions and stand by her as she grows into a leader.
emu's character is defined by the dichotomy between what little people expect from her and the actual impressive intelligence she possesses, the way that people treat her as naive and out of touch versus the far-sighted and empathetic viewpoint that connects her with her target audience and rallies people to her. she's viewed as spoiled yet hardly has she done a truly selfish thing. but to wonderlands x showtime and the people that care about her most, she'll always be their princess.
