Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-96.236.119.41-20161215012520/@comment-26018514-20161216004615

ChishioKunrin wrote: I've also noticed that, when they accidentally activate their Semblance, their Semblance seems to target whatever is upsetting them (in the case of Pyrrha's weapons, what was upsetting her wasn't a physical thing, so it just warped the nearest metal). I mention that because, at first, I was like "That would suck if a battle with Grimm turned bad, you freaked out, and then you lost control of your Semblance" and then it dawned on me that, if your Semblance activates itself and targets what's upsetting you (in this case, Grimm), then that could actually just be an evolutionary defense mechanism.

The Grimm are attracted to negative emotion, high amounts of negative emotion can make it hard to concentrate and fight back (especially if it's fear or sadness), high amounts of negative emotion can cause accidental Semblance activation. this is likely why the masses keep their aura locked.