sheriffing | APPLICATION: Emma Swan (Once Upon A Time)

OOC

Handle: Mary Beth
Contact:

swanning
Over 18? Yes
Characters Played: Previously Tinker Bell, none at the moment.

THE CHARACTER

Character Name: Emma Swan
Series: Once Upon A Time
Canon Point: 3x22 There's No Place Like Home (near end of episode)
Character Age: 30-ish.
Background: link

Personality: Depending on the situation, Emma can behave as a kind-hearted heroine, a bratty twelve-year old or anything in between. Many of the ‘flaws’ in her personality are the result of her upbringing. She spent twenty-eight years believing that her parents had abandoned her on the side of the road. As a result, Emma grew up in the foster system. She was shuffled around to people who she believes didn’t want her, and ran away at sixteen only to become a thief. Once she was out on her own, she met another thief (Neal Cassidy) and fell in love, only to be abandoned by him just weeks before discovering she was pregnant with their son, Henry.

All of these events have weighed on Emma, and she doesn’t allow herself to trust easily. She doesn’t want to get invested and open up to someone only to end up disappointed again, and that is exactly what happens when she makes the effort. She’s been in love with Neal since she was sixteen, but he isn’t the only man who she has lost. At this point, a few men have "died" in her arms.

It's gotten to the point where Emma expects to have to be on her own. When other people put her first and risk their own lives to help her, Emma doesn’t know what to make of it. She assumes she'll always have to struggle on her own, and doesn’t always know her own worth. In her moments of weakness she can be very insecure, and will doubt herself and the things that she’s capable of. She wants to be independent, and isn't sure how to admit it when she does need someone else.

Although confidence doesn’t always come easily, Emma is extremely strong-willed. She probably gets this from her parents, and once she's set on something, good luck getting her to back down. Right or wrong, she will fight for what she believes is “right” or true. Having grown up in the ‘real’ world, there are things about it that Emma doesn’t accept. She believes that people need to fight back when they’re stuck and want to change their lives. Typically, we see Emma giving advice to others because they seek her out and ask for it, but there was a rare, honest moment between her and Ashley (Cinderella) when she gave the younger girl advice that seems to share a lot about who she is:

“People are gonna tell you who you are your whole life. You just gotta punch back and say, "No, this is who I am". You want people to look at you differently? Make them! You want to change things, you're gonna have to go out there and change them yourself, because there are no fairy godmothers in this world.”

Although she’s a little more receptive to it than she was before, Emma isn’t a big fan of destiny. She believes that people can change the course of their lives, even from evil to good. A good example of this is when she supports Regina, wanting the woman to become worthy of Henry instead of remaining as the evil queen. Emma has hope when she probably shouldn’t, and has been let down enough times to expect to be disappointed. Her own evolution has made her want to support others, even if there’s the possibility that she’ll eventually come to regret it.

It's difficult for Emma to let her guard down around others, and she comes off as being pretty abrasive at times. She's street-smart and very clever, although sometimes she'll miss what is right in front of her in favor of chasing down whatever it is she has her mind set on. It was especially difficult for August to deal with her during the curse, because as he dedicated precious time to setting up elaborate schemes to get her to believe, she would shut them down with whatever excuses she wanted to buy into. She's tough in a lot of aspects; won't back down from a fight, won't allow anyone around her to be bullied, and she won't let anyone convince her to do what goes against her instincts. In spite of all of this, there are some ways in which she is surprisingly fragile.

Like most people, what Emma really wants is love. She wants someone to believe in her, to stand by her, and to trust her. The first instances of that in canon were Mary Margaret and Henry, who both reached out to her when she was new in Storybrooke. She carries a lot of guilt for not believing Henry about the curse and confessed to Mary Margaret that as his mother, she should have believed him. Her idea of what a parent should be tends to based on unrealistically high expectations because for most of her life, she never had a steady parental figure. Her goal with Henry seems to be to become the parent she wishes she had. In all that she does, she’s always committed to making the best choice for her son.

After months of hearing Henry talk about it, the curse in Storybrooke was broken because of her son being her 'true' love and her opening her heart to him. There are times when she worries about whether or not she's capable of being the mother Henry needs, but Emma will do anything for him - even if it means finding the strength to believe in the Dark Curse or running around through the jungles of Neverland.

Emma believes that love is strength, and said as much to Cora when protecting Mary Margaret from her when she was in danger. Love has made her braver and more vulnerable. She now seems to accept affection and offer hugs to the people she cares about. She will take risks for others, although sometimes being impulsive is more of a curse than a blessing. When Mulan and Aurora threatened Mary Margaret, Emma fired off a gun to make a point. Instead of threatening them, she ended up alerting ogres to their presence and needed Mary Margaret to rescue her. She often dives in headfirst when she is worried about someone, and it's only after she screws up that she slows down and tries to think things through.

To her son, Emma is the hero of the story, meant to save them all. For her, the idea of being a savior was initially too much. It was a destiny too big for someone who spent her whole life believing that she was nothing special. Later, she began to wonder if being the prophesied savior was the same thing as being a pawn in the game of good and evil. She seems encouraged by being able to use her magic to help others, and is slowly growing more comfortable with what she is. Emma tries so hard to be one of the good guys, and has a very clear sense of right and wrong, but it's hard for her to see her true potential. When she does bring up her "savior" title, it's usually either to discuss the burden of being the savior (she isn't guaranteed happiness, and she never gets a day off), or to express her guilt because she believes she hasn't done enough to bring back everyone's happy endings.

One of the more amusing qualities Emma Swan has is that she's never one to shy away from confrontation, particularly where Storybrooke villains are concerned. When Regina tried to run her out of town, Emma cut down a section of one of Regina's apple trees to make a point. She did this in broad daylight, and stormed off after arguing with Regina. Even when arguing with Mr. Gold, she threatens violence and doesn't back down when he seems about ready to show her his favorite use for his cane. Anytime someone gets Emma's temper up, it can get ugly pretty quickly.

She might sound difficult to deal with, but Emma is someone who anyone would want on their side if they needed help. She said once that she wanted to show her son that good can win, and while Emma doesn't always 'win', she does continue to fight for everyone's safety and happiness.

Powers/Abilities: As the savior and the product of true love, Emma has powerful magic. Her one ability allows for a crazy number of magic-related options to be possible for her.The ones she will have used at her canon point are:

- Teleportation (later canon, game reward addition)
- Telekinesis
~~- Object rebuilding~~
- Pyrokinesis
~~- Portal opening~~
- Defensive magical blasts of light (meant to repel someone, not seriously harm them)
- Emotional fluctuation of electrical items
- Use of magical items (dream catcher, looking glass, wand)
- Leveling up by creating stronger magic with the support of someone else's (to stop a magical item, and to move another)
- Temperature control
- Magic manipulation of soul/body (never. again.)
- Creation of protective barriers

Natural Abilities

- Natural ability to detect lies/read people (not a perfect skill)
- Detective skills (some days are better than others)
- Use of guns, swords, knives in general
- Hand to hand combat
- Lying her way through a bad situation
- Street smart

Power Nerfs (if applicable): A lot of Emma's previous skills were specific to the situations in her canon (use of magic items, having a similar magic user to learn from and to level up with, opening a portal with the items available in that world). She doesn't have full mastery of her magic and doesn't completely accept it as a part of her at this canon point, which limits what she can do.

If a hard limit is necessary, she could keep her natural abilities and some of the more basic magic ones; pyrokinesis, telekinesis, defensive blasts, and the involuntary emotional responses (flicking lights, burned bulbs etc.) Anything additional or later abilities could be earned back through the reward system or learned with mod consent through in-game development.

Inventory: Emma will arrive with the clothes on her back ( pictured here ), a wallet carrying some cash and some pictures of her family, a sheriff's badge, a (useless) cell phone, and some keys with a star keychain. My weapon request for her would be her sword, which isn't magical but sure looks cool.
Incentives:The guaranteed safety of her sleeping family and friends. Specifically; Mary Margaret, David, Henry, Regina, Hook, Robin (and Roland), and Belle.