survivor's move.

resource blog for emorality.

[survivormove]

I loved for Emori that I would say the most dominant force of her evolution was a love story because she's someone who has experienced such a severe lack of love in her life.

Not only that, I think society had always told her, you don't deserve this, you're not worthy of this. No one will love you on any level or value you on any level. In society, in a family, in a romantic relationship, as a friend.

It's so devastating. A person cannot survive like that; I don't know how she did. To have romantic love and then familial love be the things that let her grow, it just felt so real. I feel like that would be the thing in life that would allow you to overcome the kind of pain and trauma that she had been through in her youth.

[survivormove]

[x]

Obviously, knowing that John and Emori were on the outs when we pick up in season five, it had to get to that point, which helped inform a lot of the journey.I imagined that when their struggle started, she probably started leaning on Harper, Monty, Raven, and Bellamy because they knew him in ways that she didn't yet.

I thought that Raven being so brilliant and so capable, there probably were times when Emori couldn't keep up with her, and then she would go to Monty, almost as a tutor, and say, "Okay, Raven's teaching me this thing and I'm really struggling. I can't keep up. Can you give me a run down again? I feel like I'm not understanding it." And he would maybe take an hour and sit down with her and sort of work it through with her so she'd understand.

I imagine that she and Echo may have been uncomfortable with each other at first because they came from such opposite parts of their society. Echo was so deep within her community's core power structure, and Emori was completely on the outs. I don't know if Echo had prejudices, but I would imagine she would at least be aware, obviously, of where Emori would be placed in society. But at the same time, I feel like Echo would be the only one who would understand what Emori was going through -- being someone from Earth, who's now with these other people up in space. They didn't even know the Earth was round. They didn't even know what it was. They didn't know the stars were burning balls of gas. They didn't understand science. They knew some of the primitive stuff that they knew. Emori was familiar with technology, but she couldn't necessarily use it. I think there's a real fish out of water feeling that they both would have had up there. Whatever their struggles or exhilaration with this new world was, they were the only other person that could understand what the other one was going through. I thought there would have been beautiful moments with them when they would have realized, "I don't even need to say anything. I get what's going on with you, and you get what's going on with me." Over the years, it would have helped them and brought them close.

With Raven, Emori would have been so amazed and fascinated by what she's able to do. I think Emori's always been someone who has been extremely curious and very thirsty for knowledge and always wanted an opportunity to prove herself. She's always wanted to prove to society that she deserved to have a place in it from when she could first even conceive that thought because of being not accepted by it. Her method of dealing with that was to try and be capable. I think that's what led her to survive. To see Raven so insanely smart, capable, and brilliant and also suffering from a physical disability that really hinders her movement, but managing through the pain and whatever struggle that causes for Raven. Emori would have so much respect for her and would want to have learned from her. I think that obviously, that was the beginning of their friendship and mutual respect for one other. I love that there was someone there who could and would teach her and give her all the things she lacked when she was growing up. And that there was someone who would show her that she's capable and she can handle it. She's still learning and figuring it out, but she's smart. She's on her way.

And then, Bellamy. She learned how to be a leader from him up there because she saw him doing it. I don't think she ever wanted to take on that mantle herself at that point, but she saw what it looked like. I don't think she'd seen it before.

Obviously, with John, they probably had such great times and such painful times. When you spend day-in and day-out in an enclosed space with the same person or group of people, it's inevitably going to bring stuff up. You have to deal with it. That's what happened to them. I don't think they're people who were capable of dealing with it well, but they made it through. I, personally, love that they had that time of struggle because that's real. Relationships work because you keep choosing them, not because they're perfect. You keep choosing that person, and you keep working through the struggle because you say, "This matters to me." I think Emori and John both, even though it was hard at times, kept saying, "You matter to me. Let's find a way through." Whether they could think it through that clearly or not, that's what they did.

[murphystartedthefire]

come on, baby, stay with me.

[murphystartedthefire]

[doortotomorrow]

Okay, it’s time for a little bit of a rant, so buckle up, because I’ve kind of lost my patience here.

Over this season and throughout the overall run of the show, I’ve seen many people commending and celebrating the strength of the characters in this series, but you know who’s name is routinely left off that list? Emori’s.

In this season alone, this woman went inside a fucking NUCLEAR CORE chamber, exposing herself to massive doses of radiation for the sake of saving Sanctum from a meltdown, making herself sick beyond belief in the process, and you’d think that’d be something that would end up on a highlight reel…but all I hear from the fandom is cricket chirps. 

That’s not even getting into her overall character arc. Do you know how much immense strength and bravery it takes to be openly vulnerable with people again when you’ve been through what she’s been through? Emori, when she was born, was automatically discarded by her parents and treated like garbage instead of being loved and doted upon like a baby should be treated because she was born different. She was then taken in by Baylis, a man who went around collecting kids like Emori(according to Luisa’s personal backstory she created for Emori) and her brother, Otan, who then used her for his own gain and brutalized her whenever he had the chance. 

You’d really think after all of the abuse and neglect, she would have nothing but hate in her heart(she’s well within her goddamn right to hold immense disdain for people in general)…but by some fucking miracle, she doesn’t. She’s displayed a remarkable amount of compassion for those she considers family and has grown to the point of performing heroic acts for people she barely knows. 

So, with that being said, when you’re talking about strong characters from this show, DON’T leave Emori’s name off that list. I will never, ever get over how much disregard she gets from this fandom(and from people I actually fucking LIKE in this fandom, too) because she doesn’t deserve to be forgotten about. 

[murphystartedthefire]

Luisa & Lindsey on Emori in S7 (from Lindsey’s Instagram takeover)

LUISA D’OLIVEIRA: She’s just been feeling out being a leader in a way that she’s never allowed herself to want to be, think she could do, think that it would be important for her to do. It’s just never been a part of her life, ever, ‘cause she was always on the fringes. Slowly over the years, she’s been around so many people who have been such good leaders for so long. It never really required her to step into that role. She was very, I think, content as she started to trust people, in their intentions and their capabilities. And now there’s a bit of a- I mean, with all the flux that’s happening on the show, in Sanctum there’s a bit of a space, a power vacuum a little bit. And everyone’s vying for it. And she’s starting to feel, maybe there’s something I could contribute here. Maybe I’m useful in some way. And I think she’s seeing that some of her judgment calls have been effective, like the episode before with Indra being successful at taking care of and commanding Wonkru. She believed that would be a good idea after it got suggested and yeah, that was a good call. […]. I think she’s on this interesting path, I’m excited for her.

LINDSEY MORGAN: It’s like Emori is stepping up and really evolving. And like you said, she’s seen how her input and influence can do good, and she actually has a platform now.

LUISA: Yeah.

LINDSEY: And is instituting change in this power vacuum, like you said, in the society of Sanctum and The 100. And she’s doing good things, and I think that feels really good to her.

LUISA: I think so too, yeah. I think she’s- I think it’s very healing for her. 'Cause I think she’s felt the effects of a society where the people in charge… she’s felt the effects of being at the bottom of society, where all the decisions affected her in a bad way. And she’s like, what would I do different? How would I make this better?

LINDSEY: Which is, I have to say, amazing because Emori’s been oppressed and people have been very hateful to her, and literally cast her out of their society because she had a “deformity”, you know, a physical difference, which is terrible. And the fact that Emori can still believe in people and not just hate everybody, I think that says a lot about her heart. It says a lot about the person she is.

LUISA: I also like the fact that it was hard for her to get there. 'Cause I don’t think- I don’t think it was just her. I don’t think she just had a big huge heart that was kind of there hiding, I think… it took her a long time, with John Murphy, then slowly with Clarke, you, other characters…

LINDSEY: John Murphy healed your heart?! John Murphy made you believe in people again? (both laughing) Just kidding. No, it’s kind of amazing y'all’s coupling, it’s almost like two outsiders finding each other and really being there - like, you guys support each other so great, and are like each other’s support system and backbone. And it feels like because you two are so strong now, as a couple, it’s like you both are ready to reenter the world and society stronger than ever, and more mature and willing to give everyone another chance despite that they were really cruel to you.

LUISA: Mm-hmm. I think she’s grown up. She’s been healing. I feel like the little Emori will never go away from her, that little hurt angry person. I don’t know if - this is like a big, deep - does that person ever go away for people? I don’t know. But you grow up too, at the same time. I think she’s been growing up.

[doortotomorrow]

Finding a Purpose: Storytelling through Wardrobe

Although she’s not a main character(much to my disappointment), Emori kom Spacekru(a name she proudly wears), is the most fully fleshed out side character The 100 has. When she first leaped onto our screens, we all assumed she’d only be a one episode wonder…however, as fate would have it, we were pleasantly surprised when she showed up again in season three. She’s survived the Dead Zone, being possessed by ALIE, Praimfaya, the final battle on Earth, and has outsmarted the cult of Sanctum. Let’s see how she got from point A to point B.

When we first meet Emori, she’s wearing dark, muted colours. On the surface, it makes perfect practical sense for Emori to be dressed in clothing like this because she’s a thief and thieves need to blend in with their surroundings, but it clearly broadcasts Emori’s abject fear and mistrust of people. She doesn’t want to be seen. However, if she is spotted, her elaborate headscarf+braided hair combination provides ample distraction from people getting a good look at her left hand. 

In the third season, we get a glimpse of what Emori’s ideal appearance would be. The elaborate headscarf’s been left behind, the braiding in her hair’s fully exposed, and the most important thing of all is the absence of the wrapping around her badass hand. This is Emori’s greatest desire. To be seen and appreciated without any judgement.

It took us a long while for Emori to get a new outfit, but the wait was definitely worth it, because we finally got it in season five. What this outfit represents is someone finding a calling, a purpose, and a sense of becoming something they’ve always longed to be. Emori’s wearing strong and bold blues(a heroic color), and has traded in her dark hand wrap for a bright white/gray glove with shiny buckles on it, so even when it’s covered up, she’s still displaying it proudly. Also, the lack of braids in her hair coupled with the shortened length and the minimalist headscarf signifies the letting go of her former identity as a thief. She’s Emori kom Spacekru: the first grounder ever to fly a rocket.

The only wardrobe transition between season five and six was Emori losing her headscarf, but I still think it’s an important thing to note. She’s landed on a new planet about to surround herself with completely unfamiliar people, but thanks to the journey of discovering herself up in space, she’s gained such a strong love for herself that it doesn’t matter if she gets potentially shunned by these people…she’s got a family who absolutely adores her. She’s got people to protect her, and through that trust, she’s able to move through the world with confidence.

Now we’ve reached the culmination of all her character growth…the blue dress. Much like I stated with Murphy’s wardrobe analysis, this is Emori reaching her peak. In this dress, she’s revealing more of her body than she ever has before, and it really shows how comfortable she’s become in her own skin. She’s at home in her own body after being condemned by a society which deemed her undesirable and unwanted. For the first time in her life, she’s demanding people to witness and marvel at her existence. 

Emori’s journey has been the biggest joys in watching The 100 and every one of her personal victories feels like a history making moment because we all know how much they mean to her. Let’s raise a toast and celebrate our queen. May her reign be long and glorious. 

[murphystartedthefire]

Conageddon: Luisa d’Oliveira’s Panel + associated stuff

So it’s just my luck that immediately after posting my Richard/Luisa recap, a whole bunch of the Conageddon panels including that one became available online! I definitely encourage people to check them out!

Unfortunately the people who taped them missed Luisa’s solo panel and Richard’s solo panel. So I will still recap those to the best of my ability like I was planning to.

PANEL

- As with all the panels, it was introduced with a fan video - it was this one that had an angsty/uplifting focus on Emori finding acceptance with spacekru. <3 Luisa said afterwards that she loves watching videos that fans cut together because it’s seeing her character’s journey through their eyes.

- She talked about the backstories she’s come up with for Emori. She had different ideas and then the stuff with Baylis filled in some gaps but left a lot open. (Some of this came up at Unity Days also btw! I just don’t think I wrote it up then because I didn’t have time. *hides*) She thinks the real Baylis was someone who collected outcast/mutated children and basically raised her, in an abusive and psychologically manipulative way. Her headcanon is that Otan was not her biological brother, but that she bonded with him during that time and they’d gotten out together.

- Going into season five, she said she had two ideas about what could happen with Emori in space – she would either end up friends with everyone, or she’d not know how to deal with it and become more antagonistic. Which is basically what happened to John Murphy, so she was like “I nailed it” for both of them, hee.

- She has a project coming up but it’s on a new show/pilot and can’t say anything about it. [Note from Nicole: To be clear it might just be a minor role and not necessarily a big 100-affecting deal.]

- I asked her a question about her video game role in “Far Cry 5" – she did the motion capture as well as voice acting for the game! So she talked about what that was like, wearing the suit with the beads and moving around a room reacting to people who weren’t there. The hardest part was knowing how much to act with her face, because on TV you would try to use subtle expressions, but the animation might not catch it and just look blank.

- In season 4 it was interesting having scenes with a lot of new characters and she’d think about what Murphy would have told her about them. A moment that didn’t make it onscreen is when they’re planning to go up in the rocket, John says something snarky and Bellamy gives him a “Shut up, Murphy” or something like that, and on one of the takes she just immediately GLARED at Bellamy like how dare you talk to him like that. *G*

- An audience member asked how she would want Emori to die. She says “happy”, she would like an ending like Monty and Harper had, either that or in a “blaze of glory.” Emori would not go down quietly.

- Moderator Jo followed this up with asking if she would lay down her life for John Murphy. Luisa says absolutely, he would for her and she would also, that’s been established many times. Pointed to the scene in God Complex when she was trying to convince him not to fight for her. (She started cutely “reenacting” it like noooo save yourself and joked that was the original version before she helped them rewrite it.)

- Luisa’s Book Club recs: “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge and “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. She also loves Jane Austen and a book character she wishes she could transport into The 100 is Elizabeth Bennet.

- A character she would like to do more with is Indra. She never had any real female mentor relationships, at least before space.

- There were two really moving comments/questions in a row about her portrayal of Emori from people with diabilities, one said it was so important especially to see disabled love on TV, the other talking about the humanity and poise she gives her like few other disabled characters. She acknowledged she comes to it as someone who doesn’t have that experience in real life and wants to be respectful. She always just tried to ground it in something real and draw from the times she’s felt judged and isolated in her life, the feeling of walking into a room where everyone else is part of a family and she didn’t belong there. :..( Authentic without it being the only thing that defines her.

- Toward the end she was trying out her English (Cockney) and Irish acccents. Not bad at them! She said she once talked to a drunk man in Ireland and he believed her fake accent, just thought she was from some other town. But she thinks it wouldn’t have worked if he was sober. *g*

- Her favorite hot snack on set is pierogies. She was definitely also asked about her love of Italian food and what she likes to cook but I forgot! There was one audience guy who said he also has his friends over for dinner to watch the 100 and she was like “we were probably cooking at the same time.”

- Asked to describe Emori in season six with one emoji. She eventually went with “the one that’s a straight line mouth and big eyes” – which is actually the “Neutral Face”. LOL clever.

- HI I GOT BACK UP ON THE MIC AND ASKED ABOUT THE “JOHN MURPHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH” SCENE and when (or if) Emori’s feelings changed between that and the finale. Luisa says: Emori’s feelings never changed, that wasn’t the problem. She was trying to be logical and think with her head. When he was injured, her heart took over and everything else went out the window.

- What Emori now (or at the end of S5) would tell herself in her first episode: “There are people worth trusting even if they don’t seem that way at first.”

- Luisa’s advice to her own younger self (I’m pulling this from a livetweet): Don’t be so afraid of taking chances, saying or doing the wrong thing. Just keep paying attention and keep your mind open. Be kind. Be confident. You’re good.

OTHER LUISA STUFF

- While her VIP and panel were criminally under-attended compared to some of the guests, I was really happy to see a ton of people did visit her in the autograph room and she had a good line throughout. She even got an Emori Pop! from the same person who’d made mine.

- I should also mention that when I interrupted her and Richard’s beer pong tournament in my party dress Friday night, she immediately recognized me as the one who always dresses at Emori and told Richard that was me. *blush* So I decided to go to her auto table on the day when I was in the outfit and my friend captured a shot of her hugging me.

- Whew, the other big thing was that I gave both her and Richard the mixtapes I made for their characters. Hers is basically the same as the one I posted for Emori Appreciation Week… She seemed genuinely touched and happy and was like “I’ll probably put these into my workbook” and I was like ohhh no haha I hope you just like *one* of them. She already knows “Creep” is on it, was saying it’s a big Emori song for her and describes exactly how she felt in vulnerable moments.

- I also brought up something she said on one of the early panels (with all the girls) about how Emori carries stress in her body and I did notice that in the scene she was talking about. I also noticed that when she’s scared she usually reacts with anger like she’s trying to cover it. She said she definitely did that intentionally, it’s an animal-like instinct Emori has – when some animals are threatened, they try to go “I’M SCARY!!” (aww) Another way she’s like a cat.

- Also on Sunday toward the end, I ran into some of the cast near the VIP hallway and Luisa grabbed me and thanked me for my questions at her panel. ;___; This woman.

[okmcintyre]

That time that Emori was BRAVE and changed life in Sanctum, forever.

[murphystartedthefire]

#we👏 aren't 👏 talking 👏 about 👏 this 👏 enough#the woman looking at her children in the window-#realizing that they might be sacrificing their chance at living for false gods#and DAMN was that brave of her to say 

NBD EMORI TRYING TO START A WHOLE DAMN REVOLUTION WHILE TIED TO A STAKE.

[murphystartedthefire]

Hey, so i really REALLY want to like Emori and i really want to like the Memori relationship but i cant find that many reasons to ship them, can you give me some reasons that prove Emori is a good character and a good person because i know she IS, but my brain keeps blanking.

Oh anon this is a BIG QUESTION and I’m gonna yell my best HEY WHY DO YOU LIKE EMORI (AND MEMORI) SO MUCH answer at you.

Emori is from the very beginning a mirror to Murphy, a kindred spirit. She’s been through so much of what he has, despite coming from a completely different world. They’ve both been abandoned, abused, unloved, told by others that there is something wrong with them and in dark moments they believe it themselves.

And in turn they both react to the world in remarkably similar ways. They both have a deeply cynical streak and can do amoral things to keep themselves safe. Murphy survives a million calamities against all odds almost out of spite. Emori is quick to look out for herself first because if she doesn’t, no one else will.

Is she a GOOD PERSON? Is Murphy a good person? I’d say she very much is now and not so much when we met her. When we met her she had no capacity for choosing to be good. Her life was a constant struggle and she continued to live and that itself was a radical act. She never even had the *glimpse* of a loving family that Murphy did before his childhood fell apart. She couldn’t afford even to hope there was another way of getting by besides screw-people-before-they-screw-you.

She was loyal to a person she called her brother. (We know SO LITTLE and not enough about Otan?!? We know they were both abused by Baylis and got out. I definitely subscribe to Luisa’s headcanon that he wasn’t her blood relative and that foreshadows her attachment to spacekru so well too.) She wanted to save him, even after he was chipped and put a knife to her throat, but she lost him.

And then she became loyal and in love with Murphy, and him with her, in a way that was so new to both of them it turned them into children, kissing on the cheek and playing in the ocean. For the first time she felt not only accepted but desired and cherished by someone. And Murphy found a way to be another person with her – still him but softer and without all the baggage. He never hid who he was or what he’d done from her, but she *understood* it.

They brought out the best in each other, not because they always inspired each other to do good (they didn’t! that’s part of the Bonnie & Clyde charm!!) but because they made each other safer and happier and more selfless – even for one other person – and that was *necessary* to the road they both had to take.

Emori chose John over going it alone to find her brother. She was ready to attack armed Polis soldiers to protect him until he signaled her not to. She *took the chip to save him* – whatever actions she did toward him *while brainwashed by ALIE* it was BECAUSE she was trying to find him. She begged him not to fight for her when they were tied to the ladder in Becca’s lab. Facing a death that terrified her, all she could go was try to convince him to be smart and stay alive.

(And in the midst of all this, she was developing trust and empathy for other people too! She forgave Clarke – much quicker than Murphy did, as it turns out – when she saw how willing she was to sacrifice for her & others. The show made a point of showing us it was *Emori* distressed about leaving her behind on Earth. Moments later, she was the first to volunteer to give up her own oxygen to save Raven. SO MUCH GROWTH in such a COMPACT bunch of scenes.)

And then came the season 5 breakup, a polarizing arc that made some fans like her more and others turn on her (even though the show *directly told us* that the problem was him pushing her away, at a time that was otherwise a huge period of positive change for her). Even accepting that Emori didn’t handle her Very First Breakup perfectly and had some moments of unfairly lashing out at him, she still risks her life to protect him over and over. Staying behind and getting the shock collar off him. Going into enemy territory with him as a prisoner. Finally straight-up refusing to leave him with his gunshot wounds even if it means they’ll both die. Anyone who calls her selfish, uncaring, or doubts she loves John Murphy as much as he loves her is simply watching another show by now.

And speaking of now!! It hasn’t been the best year for Emori getting the storyline & screentime she deserves, but we do have 6x08, possibly the best Memori episode ever and the best stealth Emori-centric ep since “Gimme Shelter”, for almost the COMPLETELY opposite reasons. Where that episode revealed a darker side to her, “The Old Man and the Anomaly” was an amazing moment of moral strength. We saw her caught between her love for Murphy and her newfound family. In the end she chose to do the right thing while STILL affirming that she and Murphy love each other, and they understand immediately why the other did what they did.

…And then, because season six kinda sucked at telling a coherent story, we kinda went through all of that again with less agency for Emori the second time around (but a GREAT makeover so… I’ll allow it). But her choice was the same, and she did not hesitate for a moment to be a big giant hero and put her badass ~lying skills to work to save her friends, united with her fellow God/fake brother/fiance. :D

Emori is a good CHARACTER because, for one damn thing, there is no one like her with a physical mutation on TV. It’s both a significant part of her backstory and also, like, the 50th most notable thing about her. And there are few *especially female* characters who are allowed to walk the line of being as damaged and lovable as she is – to go from remorselessly throwing not!Baylis under the bus to save her own skin, to shakily pleading with Murphy not to fight for her, to survive after she’s gone.

She’s responsible for so much of Murphy’s (excellent) character arc and has managed to have her OWN dramatic transformation, probably the biggest of any secondary character on the show. From a nomadic, ruthless Grounder who trusted no one to a tech whiz and reliable friend who can land a spaceship and swoosh around in a flowy dress giving fake orders to people. (All held together by a scene-stealing Luisa d’Oliveira, terribly underappreciated and better to watch every season.)

WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT EMORI.

[survivormove]

[  x  ]   “i have always seen emori as a jaguar or a panther. she is like a big cat that’s solitary, that’s always watching and has plans and she is black in color because she is stealthy and not particularly a happy person previously. and she’s skittish too,  like a big cat, they get surprised, and they react.  [ ...  ]  and then now,  she is a lioness. there’s like a lion pride.  she’s still a big cat but she’s like gold in color now.  and she’s got her people around her.”   

[teenplicity]

Luisa d'Oliveira's Look Into "The 100" Season 6

“Her growth has been wonderful. She’s always been resourceful and resilient at the expense of relationships. Over time she learned to open up, to trust and love.“ - @LuisadOliveira on Emori’s growth, relationships, and more on #The100!

The Canadian actress looks at her character’s growth since her introduction and the obstacles ahead in season six.

When Emori first graced audiences’ television screens in season two of The 100, she immediately sparked new energy into the show. Not only is there undeniable chemistry between Emori and John Murphy, but she also incorporated a new aspect of Grounder culture with a fresh perspective.

View On WordPress

[luisasource]

(Via kristina.w4 ig)

[murphystartedthefire]

For real though, hearing Richard and Luisa talk about Memori’s problems in an articulate way is like the couples counseling session they will never be capable of having in canon. XD

Literally from that same panel:

LUISA: They’re not the best- these two are not very good at communicating. They’re good at, like, being and planning together and executing the plan together, and doing the stuff, but when it comes to like “I have feelings that are not happy, and I think some of it has to do with the way it is with you,” they don’t know how to say the words.

RICHARD: No, squish it down deep inside, never bring it up again.

LUISA: Put it in the black box. Throw it in the river inside.

RICHARD: Remember what I told you, Emori, just put it all away. ‘Cause Johnny’s not here to hear it.

[bombshellsandbluebells]

thank you @doortotomorrow for pointing out that after knowing Emori for like 10 minutes, Murphy - our self-centered survivor - jumped in front of her to shield her when he thought there was a threat

imagine how that made EMORI feel. Emori, who’s played this con before many times. how many times has someone tried to protect HER when they pulled this con? ESPECIALLY someone who had seen her hand. we talk about how much the “I think it looks badass” moment of acceptance and reassurance (and sharing the water) contributed to Emori liking Murphy immediately, but how much did THIS moment contribute? where he shielded her from danger with his OWN BODY without hesitation? in a world that Emori knows to be cruel and selfish and dog-eat-dog. but this kid who tells her he’s a bad guy and that she won’t like him risks his own life to shield her after just meeting her. after seeing her HAND and knowing what she is.

man. maybe Emori wasn’t too far off when she told him not to be a hero the next time she met him

[bombshellsandbluebells]

hey guys let’s talk about how damn SMART Emori is okay?? because I love my girl and want to talk about her but am not feeling organized enough to write meta

just a few things off the top of my head:

picks up on technology/machines way faster than other grounders

like completely jumps right into whatever job Raven gave her to refit the rocket while Echo’s over there having a (completely understandable, honestly) breakdown

had a better understanding of what ALIE was and understood that she transferred herself to the Ark from the temple - a concept the other grounders wouldn’t be able to grasp because they couldn’t even understand she wasn’t a real person because they had no basis of understanding for AIs/computer programs 

come to think of it - do we see ANY other grounders express understanding of what exactly ALIE was? even after being chipped?? is it just our girl Emori??

as @daisytachi pointed out our girl can READ NUMBERS ok grounders don’t have a written language or written number system and our wonderful brilliant outcast with less formal education can read numbers and maybe written language too I’m not putting it past her

and we don’t know when she and Otan got banished so there’s a possibility she basically taught herself Trig bc again no formal education and she didn’t grow up in a normal society that would let her learn a language naturally just by being immersed in it

and she taught herself fluent English too just because it was probably useful, so of course she did, why not, it’s not like it’s hard to learn to fluently speak a language without formal education - especially a language she probably had very little actual interaction with before Murphy

she can read people so damn well. she knew Clarke for 2.5 seconds and she knew how her mind worked and what made her tic and exactly how to get her to do what she wanted like DAMN girl she knows everyone’s darkest secrets and desires probably

you have to be pretty damn smart to sell cons as well as Emori does and manipulate people to do exactly what she wants. she shifts her baylis con to match everything Clarke says or thinks to still get Clarke to think what she wants

guys she fully placed a thought in Clarke’s mind and made her think it was her own suggestion. Emori full on inceptioned Clarke okay our girl is brilliant

[murphystartedthefire]

Conageddon: Luisa d’Oliveira’s Panel + associated stuff

So it’s just my luck that immediately after posting my Richard/Luisa recap, a whole bunch of the Conageddon panels including that one became available online! I definitely encourage people to check them out!

Unfortunately the people who taped them missed Luisa’s solo panel and Richard’s solo panel. So I will still recap those to the best of my ability like I was planning to.

PANEL

- As with all the panels, it was introduced with a fan video - it was this one that had an angsty/uplifting focus on Emori finding acceptance with spacekru. <3 Luisa said afterwards that she loves watching videos that fans cut together because it’s seeing her character’s journey through their eyes.

- She talked about the backstories she’s come up with for Emori. She had different ideas and then the stuff with Baylis filled in some gaps but left a lot open. (Some of this came up at Unity Days also btw! I just don’t think I wrote it up then because I didn’t have time. *hides*) She thinks the real Baylis was someone who collected outcast/mutated children and basically raised her, in an abusive and psychologically manipulative way. Her headcanon is that Otan was not her biological brother, but that she bonded with him during that time and they’d gotten out together.

- Going into season five, she said she had two ideas about what could happen with Emori in space – she would either end up friends with everyone, or she’d not know how to deal with it and become more antagonistic. Which is basically what happened to John Murphy, so she was like “I nailed it” for both of them, hee.

- She has a project coming up but it’s on a new show/pilot and can’t say anything about it. [Note from Nicole: To be clear it might just be a minor role and not necessarily a big 100-affecting deal.]

- I asked her a question about her video game role in “Far Cry 5" – she did the motion capture as well as voice acting for the game! So she talked about what that was like, wearing the suit with the beads and moving around a room reacting to people who weren’t there. The hardest part was knowing how much to act with her face, because on TV you would try to use subtle expressions, but the animation might not catch it and just look blank.

- In season 4 it was interesting having scenes with a lot of new characters and she’d think about what Murphy would have told her about them. A moment that didn’t make it onscreen is when they’re planning to go up in the rocket, John says something snarky and Bellamy gives him a “Shut up, Murphy” or something like that, and on one of the takes she just immediately GLARED at Bellamy like how dare you talk to him like that. *G*

- An audience member asked how she would want Emori to die. She says “happy”, she would like an ending like Monty and Harper had, either that or in a “blaze of glory.” Emori would not go down quietly.

- Moderator Jo followed this up with asking if she would lay down her life for John Murphy. Luisa says absolutely, he would for her and she would also, that’s been established many times. Pointed to the scene in God Complex when she was trying to convince him not to fight for her. (She started cutely “reenacting” it like noooo save yourself and joked that was the original version before she helped them rewrite it.)

- Luisa’s Book Club recs: “The Brain That Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge and “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. She also loves Jane Austen and a book character she wishes she could transport into The 100 is Elizabeth Bennet.

- A character she would like to do more with is Indra. She never had any real female mentor relationships, at least before space.

- There were two really moving comments/questions in a row about her portrayal of Emori from people with diabilities, one said it was so important especially to see disabled love on TV, the other talking about the humanity and poise she gives her like few other disabled characters. She acknowledged she comes to it as someone who doesn’t have that experience in real life and wants to be respectful. She always just tried to ground it in something real and draw from the times she’s felt judged and isolated in her life, the feeling of walking into a room where everyone else is part of a family and she didn’t belong there. :..( Authentic without it being the only thing that defines her.

- Toward the end she was trying out her English (Cockney) and Irish acccents. Not bad at them! She said she once talked to a drunk man in Ireland and he believed her fake accent, just thought she was from some other town. But she thinks it wouldn’t have worked if he was sober. *g*

- Her favorite hot snack on set is pierogies. She was definitely also asked about her love of Italian food and what she likes to cook but I forgot! There was one audience guy who said he also has his friends over for dinner to watch the 100 and she was like “we were probably cooking at the same time.”

- Asked to describe Emori in season six with one emoji. She eventually went with “the one that’s a straight line mouth and big eyes” – which is actually the “Neutral Face”. LOL clever.

- HI I GOT BACK UP ON THE MIC AND ASKED ABOUT THE “JOHN MURPHY I FELL IN LOVE WITH” SCENE and when (or if) Emori’s feelings changed between that and the finale. Luisa says: Emori’s feelings never changed, that wasn’t the problem. She was trying to be logical and think with her head. When he was injured, her heart took over and everything else went out the window.

- What Emori now (or at the end of S5) would tell herself in her first episode: “There are people worth trusting even if they don’t seem that way at first.”

- Luisa’s advice to her own younger self (I’m pulling this from a livetweet): Don’t be so afraid of taking chances, saying or doing the wrong thing. Just keep paying attention and keep your mind open. Be kind. Be confident. You’re good.

OTHER LUISA STUFF

- While her VIP and panel were criminally under-attended compared to some of the guests, I was really happy to see a ton of people did visit her in the autograph room and she had a good line throughout. She even got an Emori Pop! from the same person who’d made mine.

- I should also mention that when I interrupted her and Richard’s beer pong tournament in my party dress Friday night, she immediately recognized me as the one who always dresses at Emori and told Richard that was me. *blush* So I decided to go to her auto table on the day when I was in the outfit and my friend captured a shot of her hugging me.

- Whew, the other big thing was that I gave both her and Richard the mixtapes I made for their characters. Hers is basically the same as the one I posted for Emori Appreciation Week… She seemed genuinely touched and happy and was like “I’ll probably put these into my workbook” and I was like ohhh no haha I hope you just like *one* of them. She already knows “Creep” is on it, was saying it’s a big Emori song for her and describes exactly how she felt in vulnerable moments.

- I also brought up something she said on one of the early panels (with all the girls) about how Emori carries stress in her body and I did notice that in the scene she was talking about. I also noticed that when she’s scared she usually reacts with anger like she’s trying to cover it. She said she definitely did that intentionally, it’s an animal-like instinct Emori has – when some animals are threatened, they try to go “I’M SCARY!!” (aww) Another way she’s like a cat.

- Also on Sunday toward the end, I ran into some of the cast near the VIP hallway and Luisa grabbed me and thanked me for my questions at her panel. ;___; This woman.