Not everyone can say they’ve been to the Big Apple, but [ KENNEDY PRATT ], a [ 46 ] year-old [ CIS MAN ] has lived in [ UPPER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN ] for [ THIRTY-TWO YEARS ]. This is the city of dreams and [ HE ] knows it, because they've been in NYC as a [ FINANCIAL MANAGER; SOCIETY FIXTURE ]. Well, that and as an [ FATHER ] to [ RYLAN PRATT ]. Living in the city means they meet all kinds of people, but everyone always seems to think they look like [ ANTHONY MACKIE ]. They even got away with free cab fare once because of it! [Amy, 27, she/her, EST, n/a]
Kennedy Pratt
Age: 46
Pronouns: he/him
Cisgender man
Biography
Only child of Lionel and Sherri Pratt, born in Hillcrest, New York, a suburb of the city, in 1976. His father commuted to the city each day, building up the family’s wealth in finance as Sherri raised Kennedy in town. But while Lionel and Sherri wanted a quiet life for their little family, enjoying the way that the town was outside the city but still a majority Black community, Kennedy found himself entranced by the evenings he and his mother would go and meet his father for dinner when he’d work late. He loved the energy of the city, the way everyone was rushing somewhere instead of leisurely riding a bike down a cul-de-sac like his childhood friends did.
So when his father announced that, due to a promotion and needing to be at work more often, they were moving to Manhattan…Kennedy was thrilled. He was 14, 1990 in New York City. And it was bleak. Crime was at an all-time high. He had to watch himself in a way he never had to in the small town of Hillcrest. He can still remember the shell-shocked look on his mother’s face when she was jostled around and robbed on the sidewalk just outside their apartment building, just across the street from Central Park.
But…yes, even still, but… Kennedy felt more alive in the city than ever. There was a thrumming in his veins, excited by the newness and the glitter of it all. The money pouring in from his father’s promotion didn’t hurt either, and he started teaching Kennedy the way money really worked, the way finances–well-handled for the wealthiest of the wealthy–can turn into money in their own pocket. And that was nice.
Then there was the matter of school. In Hillcrest, he skirted by, no problem. He was always quick, always witty and ready with an answer. In the city, placed into a prestigious high school, Kennedy found himself a little on the outskirts. He found himself as one of the only Black students in the school, and even besides, these were kids who learned Latin alongside English when they started reading. It was different as anything. He found himself needing to work harder to get to benchmarks, let alone exceed them. But it became his goal: if he was already going to have attention on him, if people were always going to give him sidelong glances, he might as well be the fucking best.
He worked hard. Hard enough that he almost didn’t notice Olivia start staring at him at the end of the high school. But luckily, he did notice, and thus began a friendship blossoming into romance that lasted as they continued into college. Their families began plotting their wedding, much to their children’s embarrassment, since they didn’t want to settle down until late in their twenties, of course. They had dreams. They had ambitions beyond marriage in New York society.
But those plans went out the window in 1997.
News that Olivia was expecting a baby rocked their entire world. They were still in college, not to mention the gossip and the judgment that would rain down on them from the society ladies who didn’t much like Kennedy’s family anyway. They were stuck. Panicked. Too young and growing up too fast, in the way that all rich kids seemed to do, but Olivia and Kennedy seemed to be on an elevated track. They rushed a wedding, claiming elopement, which got some judgment but not as much as it would be if they remained unmarried. They cried a lot together. They worried and fretted and almost gave up on building that complicated fucking crib a million times but they figured it out.
That’s the thing. The two of them…they figured it out. Kennedy will still say, even with all the difficulties they’ve had, even with all the questions that linger around what if… he’ll still say that Olivia is the one that got him through that time and built him up enough that they could make it. That they could have Rylan together and raise her and pour all their hopes and dreams into her.
Which…right. Next chapter. Rylan.
Kennedy loves her to pieces but holy shit, that girl has shaved a few years off his life by now. He and Olivia started to get even stricter with her as she neared the age that they became pregnant with her, concerned that she won’t get to live her life on her own terms like they couldn’t. He could recognize the way that Rylan hated that, but he believes fully that it’s for her own good. Plus, he would add, she does have some serious problems for which she needs some extra reminders to take care.
He believes in her so much. He doesn’t want her to suffer the same sorts of judgments and glares he received. He wants better for his daughter. So when she does something like stumble out of clubs, or kiss other girls on tables in bars, or rejecting a proposal from someone that both Kennedy and Olivia loved? Yeah, he has some problems with that. Problems enough that he and Olivia have started tossing around the idea that they cut her off a bit, curtail the spoiling that got her so reckless. Especially if she does something particularly un-Prattlike soon. Like making a mess with Lachlan, for example, or feeding those rumors about her dancing partner. Still, he tries to take care of her, taking her on frequent lunches when he can and slipping some money into her bag. Reminding her to take her meds and keep her therapist appointments. All that.
It’s just…the stress of all of this, plus a strain on his marriage, it’s been a lot. It’s been a lot. And Kennedy’s started to feel like it doesn’t matter what he does. That there’s always going to be something that falls to the wayside. That it’ll all fall on his head. He and Olivia have been together now for almost thirty years, since they were incredibly young. It’s difficult to keep that up.
And if he’s started to look for attention elsewhere…ugh. Forget it. Not even Kennedy can fully justify it, try as he might. At the end of the day, he’s ashamed of how he’s sought attention from another woman recently. Olivia finding out has caused a deep rift in the trust they so thoughtfully built a long time ago. He knows he needs to tell Rylan; Olivia’s made that his responsibility. But he is dreading it. Even within his apologies and trying to make it right, it’s felt like he’s made a mistake for which he’ll be atoning for a long time.
Traits:
Protective: Kennedy is protective of himself and his family, though that protection can span a wider circle for some exemptions. Kennedy's protection may look a little domineering, but it comes from love and concern.
Charming: He learned how to schmooze with the best of them. He likes talking with people, getting their stories. Sure, it may get him in trouble a little bit when those lines seem to sound like flirting but it's all (mostly) harmless and fun.
Rational: Kennedy has a reason for everything he does. Even if people don't like his reason, he has one.
Materialistic: He likes the finer things in life, that's all. He likes to have the kitchen renovated with current trends, his suits to be in season, all that stuff. And it matters, in this city. People are watching.
Critical: Kennedy has an idea of how those around him should present themselves, as well as an incredibly high standard for himself. He isn't afraid to share when he feels that he's fallen short of it, or that others have fallen short.
Headstrong: He has his rationale and he's sticking to it. You won't find Kennedy entertaining a whole lot of feedback from those who have drastically different views.
Personality types:
Enneagram 8w7, The Noncomformist
ESTJ-A, The Executive
