protagcnists

#PROTAGCNISTS   —   independent, highly selective, multimuse roleplaying blog featuring both canon and original characters.
   _{written by  JESS  (she/her, 25+)}   

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CHARACTER STATS.

BIOGRAPHY.

early life.

trigger warnings: abandonment, abortion, mentions of alcohol and drug use, religion- you don’t get to choose your family. no one knew this better than emily elizabeth prentiss. born into the prentiss family one october evening, emily was the child of elizabeth and richard prentiss. elizabeth was a very proud and ambitious woman. in many ways, emily’s mother had a regalness to her. untouchable and always just out of reach. her father, richard prentiss, could not have been more opposite.- richard and elizabeth had met at their parents arrangement. both came from families with status and wealth. it seemed like a natural arrangement in everyone’s eyes—everyone except richard. the arrangement was nothing less than strategy, and richard was hesitant to the idea. he wasn’t sure he was ready to give up on love, the opportunity to spend a real life with someone. elizabeth could see the doubt in his eyes from the moment they met. it was up to her to convince him.- and that she did. she told richard of the partnership they would have. they would support each other as they spent their lives together. they could please their families and themselves. although he was still hesitant, elizabeth’s words made him feel more secure in the whole idea. he even thought he was beginning to like her. an arranged marriage might not be the worst thing to happen to him.- it didn’t take long for him to regret his decision. a few years after they wed, elizabeth was absolutely entrenched in her career. her ambition and drive overshadowed just about everything else in their lives. richard’s frustration grew as their lives began to feel less livable. he made his discontent known to elizabeth, though she found herself confused by his dissatisfaction. they had everything — money, privilege, power, influence. her status was rising, and his would follow. this is what they were supposed to do. what was preventing him from seeing all of that? richard reached a breaking point one evening after an event. he went to elizabeth, telling her he wanted out of their arrangement. she told him she was pregnant. and so, he stayed.- when emily was born, they were both engaged at first. they both believed that perhaps their daughter would be enough to salvage their marriage. but even that faded as more of her birthdays came and went. richard had been drinking more and more, finding himself locked away in his study for hours every night. when he wasn’t there, he was out, often with little explanation. young emily would always try to get close to her parents, but there was always something that stood in the way, whether it be work or resentment.- eventually, what elizabeth had always feared came to light. richard had been having an affair with a younger woman. he was in love with her, and he was leaving elizabeth. he had given her the best years of his life and she had destroyed each one. emily was there the day he left, suitcase in hand as the rain came down. she tried to follow him, to hold on to him, but he detached himself from her, got in his car, and left.

young to early adulthood.

- after that, elizabeth continued throwing herself into her career. emily lacked stability with their constant moves. they would travel from place to place with elizabeth’s postings. having risen to the position of ambassador, her work became more important to her than ever. emily continued to grow up in the cold world of politics. she had access to the best schools and tutors. she was smart beyond her years, quick to learn new languages or read literature above her grade level. there were parts of it she didn’t hate. she liked having knowledge. it made her feel powerful. but she was also facing intense loneliness.- emily was fifteen when they moved to italy. she had spent much of her life trying so hard to make friends, only to have them ripped away from her with another move. something about italy felt different, though. she met matthew benton, a boy around her age. he was sweet and gentle. it didn’t take long for emily to care for him. it didn’t feel romantic, nor did she feel any pressure when she was around him. she could be herself, something she hadn’t felt for a long time. matthew was the one who introduced her to john cooley. john and matthew were two friends that couldn’t have been more different. where matthew was shy, john was outgoing. where matthew was sweet, john was...not so much. emily didn’t like john at first, feeling that he was arrogant and pushy. but after hanging out with both him and matthew a few times, she warmed up to him a bit.- one night, the three went to a party thrown at the house of some rich kid’s parents. emily often used matthew as a shield at these parties, not wanting to be left alone for long. there was nothing worse than being left alone with some drunk, entitled, rich kid who had never learned the meaning of the word ‘no.’ this particular evening, though, matthew had to leave early. emily felt less secure with matthew gone, but john didn’t let her worry for long. he offered to hang out with her, and the two spent the rest of the night drinking and sharing stories. john was an ass most of the time, but he still managed to make emily laugh. she wasn’t sure if it was that or the alcohol that made her not pull away when he kissed her. she didn’t know what she wanted in those moments, but she didn’t stop him.- some time passed after emily and john had slept together, and they didn’t talk about it much. john admitted that he liked emily, but wasn’t looking for “anything serious at the moment.” emily wasn’t naive enough to think that john would do anything different. she was prepared for it, even though it stung a bit. what hurt worse, though, was what came after. when emily discovered she was pregnant, she ran to matthew’s place in the pouring rain. she didn’t know what to do. she was shaking and crying. emily was insistent that her mother could never know. the mere thought made her want to vomit. matthew didn’t know how to help her. he suggested that she talk with their priest, thinking he could provide guidance, but he only provided more judgment and shame.- matthew was furious, and he did everything he could to find a doctor that would give emily an abortion.he drove her, stayed with her, and held her hand through it all. and then he held her hand in church that sunday, walking her to the front pew with her head held high. no one had ever been there for emily like matthew had. he made her feel like she was worthy—worthy of love and friendship. it broke her heart to think that she had been the beginning of matthew’s downward spiral. matthew began taking drugs and questioning his faith. his parents blamed emily, telling the ambassador to keep her away from their son.- emily and her mother moved again, elizabeth not sparing emily any of her ridicule and critique. she didn’t know the full story, but emily couldn’t tell her. she knew, deep down, that she wouldn’t find someone like matthew again. that made her feel the crushing weight of loneliness more than ever. for the remainder of her teen years, emily rebelled at every turn. she went to a lot of parties, drank alcohol, experimented with drugs. she became the wild child that the bentons had accused her of being. elizabeth was constantly letting emily know of her disappointment. but emily didn’t care. although elizabeth loved emily in her own way, emily knew that she would never really feel that love. so she stopped trying to earn it.