Line #69 Fanfic/AnEmeraldUnearthed


1	''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/13280643/chapters/30389916 An Emerald Unearthed]]'' is a ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'' fanfic by [[http://archiveofourown.org/users/Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath/pseuds/Snarky_SliverHaired_Sociopath Snarky_SilverHaired_Sociopath]].
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3	It tells of Emerald's upbringing working as a pickpocket with her father, Cole. Unfortunately, a [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] by the name of [[LoanShark Randall]] [[BigBad Silva]] is trying to take all the money the Sustrais have and is willing to go to some scary length to make sure that he gets paid. After her father's death, she lives on her own for six years… and Silva finds his way into her life again.
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5	It is the second in the series ''Fanfic/TheMakingsOfTeamCRME'' after ''Fanfic/MyNameIsCinder''. The next story is ''Fanfic/TheBlackHearts''.
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8	!!This fic provides examples of:
9	* AgeInappropriateDress: The outfit she wore when Cinder found her is the same kind of outfit that she wears in this fic… at the age of twelve. Her father often complained about it. Even Silva notes this.
10	* AllMenArePerverts: Emerald has had some trouble with guys trying to hit on her. One thing she notes about the problem with her dating life is that men are usually creeps. Even Silva also takes a moment to notice [[ShesAllGrownUp how she has grown]] since he last saw her.
11	* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Cole tries his best to get money back after wasting it on gambling.]]
12	* BadBoss: Silva shoots his subordinates for minor slights and belittles them constantly. At one point, he even threatens to kill their families when they don't do as their told. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also doesn’t pay them much.]] [[spoiler: [[ExploitedTrope Emerald shows why]] [[DeconstructedTrope this kind of behavior doesn’t benefit an employer]].]]
13	* BadSamaritan: Silva comes to Cole offering him a place to stay after he gets his family homeless. However, he asks for very high prices knowing that Cole will have trouble paying. And when he does fail to meet a payment, he kills Cole's wife. This is likely a standard tactic for Silva.
14	* BeardOfEvil: Silva has a goatee.
15	* BigBad: Randall Silva. He is the one who is extorting the Sustrai family and is ultimately responsible for Emerald being on her own.
16	* BittersweetEnding: Emerald lampshades this as [[spoiler:Silva being killed]] doesn't change anything since she's still on the streets. Still, knowing that [[spoiler: he's dead]] makes things easier since she [[spoiler: doesn't have to worry about him and]] knows how to live on her own.
17	* {{Bookends}}: [[spoiler: The first scene and the penultimate scene end with a BigNo and someone getting shot and killed. The first is Cole screaming "No!" as Emerald's mother is killed by Silva. The last thing to happen before the epilogue is Silva screaming "NO!" before Emerald shoots him.]]
18	-->[[spoiler: ''"NO!" BANG!'']]
19	* BrokenPedestal: Averted. Even after knowing that her father [[spoiler: lost all their money on gambling]], it doesn't change her opinion of her because he still loved her and tried to make it up to her.
20	* ChekhovsGun: The Dust round that Emerald [[VictoriasSecretCompartment kept in her cleavage]] comes in handy for escaping from Silva.
21	* DarkAndTroubledPast: It involves her family ending up homeless because of [[spoiler: her dad's gambling addiction]] and a LoanShark taking advantage of them. She grew up as a pickpocket after her mother was killed by that loan shark [[spoiler: and her dad was killed by him, too]]. She lived on her own for six years on the run.
22	* DeadpanSnarker: Randall Silva loves making snarks whenever he can.
23	* DirtyCop: Silva mentions that he has a few cops on his payroll.
24	* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:Silva starts panicking when he realizes that his options are running out. When Emerald has Silva at her mercy and turns his men against him, [[VillainsWantMercy he begs for his life and tries to make every deal he can]].]]
25	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Silva's interaction with Cole shows how unapologetically greedy and exploitative he is. It also shows how willing he is to kill people just to get his money.
26	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: "Evil" is a bit of a stretch, but Cole clearly loves his daughter even though he uses her in criminal activities. He also loved his late wife.
27	* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Emerald uses [[MasterOfIllusion her Semblance]] to make Silva and his men think that the died by accident while trying to escape.]]
28	* FauxAffablyEvil: Silva is incredibly charismatic. He usually acts all chummy and has a casual, laid-back demeanor most of the time. That doesn't change the fact that he's a ruthless LoanShark who would kill you or your loved ones for not making a payment. In fact, this demeanor makes him look like an even bigger {{Jerkass}}.
29	* ForTheEvulz: While he notes that him having Emerald beat up is to persuade her, Silva does acknowledge that it’ll be fun to watch.
30	* TheGadfly: Emerald takes a man's wedding ring for being a jerkass and noticing that the girl he was with wasn't into him. After that, she goes to where he's proposing to him and uses [[MasterOfIllusion her Semblance]] to make him think he still has it, making him look like a fool.
31	* TheGamblingAddict: [[spoiler: Cole lost his money to gambling, causing him and his family to live on the streets. That's when Silva came in and offered him a home. At a steep price.]]
32	* GoodParents: [[SubvertedTrope Not exactly.]] While Cole does care about Emerald like any other parent, he still has her participate in his illegal activities at the age of ten (when she discovered her Semblance). [[spoiler: And he wasted all the family's money on gambling.]]
33	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Each chapter begins with the word "A" (i.e., "'''A''' Bit of a Long Shot").
34	* IronicEcho: [[spoiler: When Emerald lets Silva get beat up by his own goons, she uses some similar lines to when he had them beat her up.]]
35	-->[[spoiler:'''Silva:''' [to Emerald] I'll just stay around because at least watching these guys beat the snot out of you will be entertaining.\
36	'''Silva:''' [to his men] And remember, you don't need to kill her. Just make her hurt a lot.\
37	''[later]''\
38	'''Emerald:''' [to Silva] I'd do it myself, but watching these guys beat the snot out of you will be entertaining.\
39	'''Emerald:''' [to his men] You don't need to kill him. Just make him hurt a lot.]]
40	* ItsAllMyFault: Cole still blames himself for his wife’s death and for dragging Emerald into this lifestyle.
41	* {{Jerkass}}: Randall Silva, suffice to say, is not a pleasant person to be around. He insults people regularly and extorts people for loan debts.
42	* KickTheDog: Silva killed Emerald’s mother because of a debt that her father owed him. [[spoiler: Then, he kills her father for trying to protect her from him.]] Lastly, he makes his goons beat Emerald up to persuade her to join him.
43	* LackOfEmpathy: Silva does not give two fucks about anyone other than himself. Killing is as natural as breathing to him. He’d kill his subordinates, rivals, and people’s loved ones. [[spoiler: When she thinks Emerald died when she messed up a jump from a window, he doesn't seem particularly perturbed by it. And he won’t even acknowledge why Emerald might have a problem working with him after killing her parents.]]
44	* LaughablyEvil: As ruthless as Silva is, his jovial attitude and constant snarking provides a lot of comic relief.
45	* MeaningfulName: Silva lampshades Emerald’s first name for this. He then comments that her hair isn’t even emerald green.
46	* MsFanservice: Emerald's attractiveness gets a bit of mention after she turns eighteen.
47	* {{Narcissist}}: Silva implies that the reason that Emerald showed up is because of his "dashing good looks." Obviously, she is not amused.
48	* NeverMyFault: Silva has the uncanny ability of deflecting blame to others for the way he cons them and takes advantage of them. Shown especially in chapter 4. While he makes some good points, it doesn’t excuse Silva taking advantage of the Sustrais.
49	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Silva orders this on Emerald[[spoiler:, but ends up on the receiving end because of Emerald]].
50	* NonActionBigBad: Silva may shoot people, but he doesn't engage in direct combat.
51	* PrecisionFStrike: Emerald drops the word "shit" while defending her dad after Silva insults him.
52	-->''"So, yeah. My dad may have been a real piece of shit, but at least he was trying to [[TheAtoner make things right]] in any way he could. And at least he had a conscience, unlike [[TheSociopath you]]."''
53	* ScaryTeeth: Silva is a Faunus with shark teeth. He gets several opportunities to show them off with how many {{smug smile\|r}}s he gives.
54	* SharpDressedMan: Silva always wears the finest suits.
55	* SheIsAllGrownUp: Silva notes how [[BuxomBeautyStandard well-developed]] Emerald has gotten after finding her again when she’s eighteen. Emerald is not amused.
56	* SmugSmiler: One thing Emerald notes about Silva is that he does this often.
57	* TheSociopath: Randall Silva is a LoanShark who is described as a man who would "kill someone with a smile and go off to have lunch in twenty minutes." He's incredibly charismatic and shows no concern for anyone. He kills Emerald's mother because her father was behind on payments. He [[WouldHurtAChild threatens to hurt Emerald]] if she doesn't come to work for him. And, in that same scene, [[BadBoss he shoots one of his henchmen for not being able to find her]]. When she sees her again years later, he continues to pretend that killing [[spoiler: her parents]] was something Cole brought upon himself.
58	* SurroundedByIdiots: Silva makes his opinions about the intelligence of his henchmen very clear.
59	* TermsOfEndangerment: Silva calls Emerald "little Sustrai."
60	* ThatWasntARequest: When Silva said that he wanted to take Emerald and use her as a tool to get more money and make up for her father's debt.
61	* UndignifiedDeath: [[spoiler: Silva is first utterly humiliated by Emerald when she persuades his men into beating him up. Then, she leaves him a pathetic, bloody mess on the ground just before shooting him.]]
62	* VictoriasSecretCompartment: Emerald keeps some Dust rounds in there for emergencies.
63	* VillainHasAPoint: Silva is right when he says that it was Cole's bad choices that landed him and his family in the situation that he's in. And Cole seems to agree as well. Doesn't mean that taking advantage of him was a good thing.
64	* WouldHurtAChild: Silva threatens to kill Emerald if Cole doesn't get his money. And he says he'll hurt her if she doesn't come with him calmly.

Context Fanfic / AnEmeraldUnearthed