I think one thing I really like about Emil and his backstory in particular is the ambiguity of blame--or rather, not so much of the blame itself, but the equality of it. Many of my characters have histories where the "antagonist" is pretty clearly defined, whether the character be the victim and another figure be the negative figure, or vice versa. For the better part of Emil's life he's entirely someone to be sympathized with considering his situation and the adults in his life kind of pushing him to and fro, making a pawn of him in their own rights. With his mother, the abuse was obvious. Even with Helen, she p much took custody of him as a big middle finger to the family, despite growing to love him lots later--I won't get into the negative effects there rn. With his dad, Gabriel's literally playing at his absolute NEED for male/fatherly approval, Emil would literally die to make his dad proud or prove his worth as the "man of the house" and be the provider. But with the relationship with Mauve that comes a little later, things get hairy.
Mauve met Emil at a party. He'd just gained his legs in the world of drug dealing, he was probably dragged there by a distant friend trying to usher him out of his shell, or simply went for the purpose of selling (after some convincing words). He was taken with her instantly when they met, she was so NICE to him and it was all genuine, he gave her some E for free and she was beyond affectionate to him during her high, probably danced with him and kissed him and just seemed so fun. It was she who probably suggested dating there, and Emil was soooo on board. Literal puppy crush.
The relationship was healthy for a bit. Fun, fluffy, doing things together and teasing and shit, and Emil began to actually open up with her and smile more and not actually feel like there was a spring of emotion coiled in his chest. When she began asking for 'favors' though, getting drugs out of him more and more, shit got bad. Emil wouldn't say no. He fed her addiction, thinking he was being good to her, wanting to make her happy and be the one to provide that happiness. She got worse and worse and her addiction only grew, to the point where it wasn't so much interaction between them anymore, but her just getting a fix out of him. It was she Emil lost his virginity to, and he ended up getting her pregnant, unbeknownst to either of them.
They got into more fights. Emil's explosiveness began to return, and while the spats would initially start out as back and forth snippiness, it'd evolve very quickly into straight up screaming matches. Of course Emil never laid a hand on her, but the boy could spit fire when he wanted to.
They split up. For both of them, it was sort of an in-the-moment rage-fueled decision--However, Emil really really really loved Mauve and didn't /actually/ want to be apart from her, no matter how bad things got, and Mauve still craved that easy hook, but couldn't really take Emil as a part of the package anymore. He's a lot to handle, between the emotional issues and baggage as a whole--PTSD, severe family issues, the whole shabang.
Mauve was ratted out by someone. A girl from school probably. Called the cops on her, they got her at home, and when they came for her the first name she threw was Emil's--however, Mauve had some heavy shit on her. Bad stuff. Emil never sold the heavier stuff, yet, maybe out of bitterness, she threw him under the bus.
They came for him on his way home in the evening--bunch of police cars pulled up, shined lights on him, had him put his hands up, and bOY HOWDY was he close to bawling like a fuckin baby.
Emil was no o oo ot about to go to prison. Not about to leave his aunt, nor end up like his father, he was an absolute wreck, sobbing and panicked. Helen, though, had been a lawyer before taking in Em and, later, dropping into alcoholism. And she was not going to let Emil go to prison either, she assured him of it.
Through some miracle, or cunning, she managed to get Emil out scotch-free. Mauve took the heat, got Emil's jail time as well. It was before they finally parted ways that she revealed to him she was pregnant. The confession was not delivered upon friendly words.
Mauve was bad for Emil. She was an inherently addictive personality, and sort of lacked the capability to handle Emil's bullshit. He invested an absurd amount of love in her, put her on a pedestal. Emil, though, ruined her life, without a doubt. Were I to develop an entire story for Mauve the tricky dichotomy of "blame" would likely be a lot more apparent.