Protag

## Protagonist

**Protagonist** is one of the main characters of *Elevator Hitch*. He is a prospective hire of a nameless corporation and gets stuck in an elevator with Coworker while on his way to an interview.

## Personality

He appears to be somewhat meek and awkward, often stammering when talking to others. Despite this, he is generally very polite. Protag is also prone to being startled and anxious.

Protag has a natural curiosity and shows lots of initiative in trying to figure out their situation.

## Appearance

His blue-black hair is slightly wild and reaches to the base of his neck. He has tanned skin and black eyes that appear to have eye bags beneath them. His face is clean-shaven. He is shorter than Coworker and has a slimmer build.

Protag wears a brown suit jacket with a darker brown grid pattern as well as a long-sleeved white shirt underneath. It is buttoned. His tie is usually drawn as having an alternating pattern of red, a darker red, and white stripes, though some CGs also have it as plain red. His glasses are thin with rectangular black frames. His pants are a darker shade of plain brown, and he wears black shoes with white socks.

## Background

Protag originally heard about the job by reading it in the paper. In reference to his old job, he says it wasn't a "Real Job" because he wouldn't be respected for it. When he enters the lobby for his interview, he is dismissed by the receptionist and left to his own devices. He notes that everyone else seems to know where they're going, while he himself does not. Once the endings start playing out, he quickly realizes that Coworker seems to have no idea about their cycle of death and resurrection.

In the lead-up to the Parents ending, Protag goes stiff at the sight of a door that resembles the one of his "old place." When prompted further about why he thinks it's so familiar, the dialogue options are as follows: "The floors would creak loudly," "I could barely get any sleep," and "I hid everything I owned." Entering the room only elevates his discomfort, with him making a pained expression as the player interacts with various items such as the cross hanging over the bed.

A drawing of Protag standing between two monster figures, one screaming and the other frowning, can also be found. Shortly after, a voice calls up to him from downstairs, reprimanding him for not being in bed. When the two figures representing his parents appear, Protag looks petrified. Another possible one of his fears can be gleaned from his interactions with Normal Guy, where he says he is afraid of heights and gets vertigo from them.

In the end, he is unable to escape the company after bumping into a mysterious figure that coerces him into thinking about how badly he needs the job and how stupid it would be to give up when he hasn't even started. When Protag stands in front of the exit, it is revealed to be yet another elevator.

## Relationship

### Coworker

Protag is visibly put-off by his attitude and quickly becomes resigned to the man's flippant and self-obsessed personality. However, this resignation does not prevent him from still being occasionally irritated by Coworker's lack of effort. He also considers Coworker to be way too optimistic.

Despite Coworker continuously denying remembering anything, Protag still checks in on him a few times. After the Stranger Danger ending, Protag tells him to stay safe after the typical memory denials, to which Coworker goes quiet before giving him advice about making sure to crack the weaker one first when doing negotiations. Though the advice is suspiciously applicable to the situation, Coworker still denies knowing anything, so Protag gives up.

However, after they get the scissors from the doppelgangers, Protag is unsettled by Coworker complimenting his cold-blooded nature and saying that he thinks he understands the situation. His trust that Coworker is not behind this situation falters, and if he says as much, a stricken look will come over his face. He starts repeating to himself that Coworker is not real moments before snapping and using the newly-acquired scissors to brutalize Coworker.

When Protag finds the rat in the vent, Coworker screams and hides behind him, clutching at his shoulders. He is clearly terrified of it, literally clawing at the walls to try and get away from it. Protag then brandishes it at him, causing him to scream even louder. Protag grins deviously, clearly enjoying this.

Once they reach the top floor, Coworker says he'll be leaving now, which catches Protag off guard. Before Coworker can leave, Protag remembers that he forgot to give Coworker his lighter back and says as much to him. Coworker seems taken aback by this, but he regains composure and tells Protag that he can return it to him when they go for break together in the future. Protag agrees, giving him a hesitant smile, and Coworker leaves.

### Fake Protag

Protag is unsettled by the doppelgangers from the beginning. At first, he goes along with Fake Protag's questions and answers everything. However, when he agrees to let the doppelgangers join him and Coworker, Fake Protag's expression turns menacing. He then grabs Protag by the tie and throws him into the other elevator before flipping him and Coworker off.

In the next cycle of resurrection, Protag's request to speak with only Fake Coworker makes Fake Protag visibly nervous. He tries to push himself into the conversation, but Protag persists, causing Fake Coworker to crack. Fake Protag is quick to follow. Protag tells Fake Protag that they'll trade places with the doppelgangers so long as the doppelgangers give them the scissors, but he is quickly revealed to have been lying, and he shuts the door on them moments later. Once the doors are shut, Fake Protag yells that he will kill Protag, which he is obviously unable to do.

An additional dialogue route has Protag continuing to push at Fake Protag rather than Fake Coworker, resulting in Fake Protag being the first one to snap. When Protag attempts to leave, Fake Protag pulls out a pair of scissors and starts screaming. Shortly after, the Stranger Danger ending occurs.

### Fake Coworker

After the Stranger Danger ending, Protag asks to speak with just Fake Coworker. His replies are hesitant and he mostly refuses to meet the Protag's eyes. However, as Protag continues to question him, Fake Coworker finally breaks and reveals the details of their situation. He is silent for the rest of the encounter, though both he and Fake Protag try to force the door open after he shuts it on them.

### Normal Guy

Upon their first meeting, Protag mostly just seems grateful to finally have reached his destination, not immediately showing any signs of being scared of Normal Guy. However, as their conversation continues, he grows increasingly tense and sheepish—especially when he answers a question incorrectly and receives a negative reaction.

If he passes the interview, he accepts the lobby key from Normal Guy and moves on. If he fails the interview, Normal Guy kills him and turns him into a shell of his previous self.

### Manuel

Protag is originally grateful for the existence of Manuel and the promise of help, though he is confused by Manuel's message in Morse at the end as well as his declaration of love. Despite this, he is still grateful when the elevator door opens up until Coworker's head is shot off. He wears a shocked expression very briefly before his head also explodes.

## Trivia

* As stated by Rachel on her Tumblr, Protag's name "wont ever be revealed because every time he tries to he gets interrupted by the co-worker or a bus passing by or other badly timed events."
* In an RPG Horror OTP bracket, the Protag and Coworker pairing (also known as Proworker, Cotag, or Elevatorstuck) went against Kanatou from Cell of Empireo and received 43.2% of the 155 votes in comparison to Kanatou's 56.8%.
* On the official RachelDevsThis Discord, Rix said that "the point of the protagonist never getting a name was meant to show how he remains a nameless face in a corporate environment . . . its not necessarily that the protagonist doesnt have a name . . . but just that both of them are in positions where the individual is not important. also its funny."
* Protag, along with Coworker and Normal Guy, can be found on page 94 of the Phantasmagoria Zine.