Hey guys! I'm mostly posting this for my own use so I don't forget this stuff, but take a gander if you want. :M This is a timeline of what Stefan and Gabe were doing before the current OFAV comic strips. I could have included Tomato or Jo in the timeline, but... Tomato was in elementary school when Stefan was in college, so that would be weird to talk about. And I mention Jo occasionally in Gabe's timeline. So there.
YEAH, IDK. I write/draw about this stuff sometimes, so think of this as a brief summary of their lives! 8D And by brief, I mean this is actually kind of long.
There are also a couple characters in Gabe's storyline that I haven't talked about here on theO that I have mentioned on dA. I feel like I should at least officially introduce Will someday...
Pre-2000
Stefan: Age 15-18 in 1995-1998. Graduates in 1998. High school is when he begins to develop his tendencies to speak in a manner such that he's always on someone's good side. (Something he does currently when he's trying to book gigs for Tomato. He doesn't care so much around people he's close to.) Mentally, he's very cynical. He has one girlfriend some time in high school, but she breaks up with him after a couple months. He's not bothered because he didn't have strong feelings for her, but he still tried his hardest to be loving while in the relationship. He begins college in 1998.
Gabe: From 1997-1999, he's in high school (age 15-17). Freshman year he has a secret relationship with a friend of his named Dave. Dave accidentally lets it slip, and puts all the blame on Gabe. Gabe accepts the gossip; comes out at school, but not to his family. For part of freshman and sophomore year, his old friends avoid him. He befriends William mid-sophomore year, which helps bridge the gap of awkwardness (?) between him and his old friends. Gabe develops a crush on Will, but he keeps it a secret all through high school.
On a side note, Will ends up marrying his high school sweetheart later in life.
2000-2001
Stefan: Age 20-21, sophomore to junior year in college. Around this time, Stefan begins to notice he's romantically inclined to men the same way he is to women. His feelings for boys don't really surprise or bother him, but he decides not to mention it to anyone due to the fact that he likes girls and can appear straight if he only shows an interest in women. He has a girlfriend, who this time around he is more serious about. Things initially go well between them, but they slowly drift apart due to personal differences. (Stefan was too serious and unromantic for her taste, something like that.) (obviously I haven't had the chance to thoroughly think about this. xD) Their break-up was a mutual decision, but officially it was Stefan's ex-girlfriend who broke up with Stefan. Late 2001, Stefan befriends Noland.
Gabe: Age 18-19. Gabe graduates from high school in 2000, and does not pursue further education. Gabe comes out to his parents after Jo comes out as bisexual to them. (His parents have suspected for a while that Gabe is gay, but have wanted him to tell them himself.) After high school, his father "makes" him work in an automotive shop. He spend the next two years saving up money so he can move out of his home town and quit his job.
2002
Stefan: Age 22, and a senior in college. Stefan and Noland become close friends. Noland comes out and confesses to Stefan, to which Stefan admits similarly. He and Noland begin dating, but their relationship is more physical than emotional, unlike his previous relationship. (Stefan in the future describes to Gabe that he was "100% infatuated with Noland".) Stefan discovers that Noland has been cheating on him late in their relationship, but seems willing to make up with Noland. However, Noland thinks it best for them to break up and their relationship ends. They don't talk to each other for the rest of their college life.
Stefan graduates in 2002 with a degree in marketing.
Gabe: Age 20. Gabe moves to New York and works as an underwear model. He befriends a British (??) model, and the two of them engage in a long-term physical (but not romantic) relationship.
2003-2005
Stefan: Age 23-25. Stefan is hired at a modelling agency as a booking agent for miscellaneous models from the agency, and an overseer for casting calls and open calls (ie: an audition judge of sorts). Because he works with a variety of models at this time, he doesn't become attached to any particular one as friends or romantically. He is not particularly close to any of his coworkers either, because he tends to focus more on work than socializing--even after work hours. He becomes more comfortable being alone around this time, and his distaste for romance becomes more concrete. He is stationed somewhere in the United States.
Gabe: Age 21-23. While in New York, Gabe often uses his British friend (sorry for the lack of name) as a guinea pig for his hobby of hairstyling. Overtime he discovers he enjoys styling hair more than he enjoys standing around in his underpants in front of a camera--I mean, modelling. Luckily (if you want to call it luck), he gets fired in 2004 for getting a tattoo on his arm. He moves back home that year, and discusses with his sister that he wants to be a hairstylist. They decide they want to team up as a hair-and-make-up duo (Jo just finished cosmetology classes at a community college). The two of them spend 2005 figuring out how to get started, when Gabe throws in the idea of moving to Paris (despite only having mediocre skills in French).
Somewhere in 2004 or 2005, Gabe gets that weird tattoo on his chest. (Not that it's relevant at all...)
2006-2007
Stefan: Age 26-27. Stefan is assigned to Tomato as his personal modelling agent. Initially he finds the 17 year old boy extremely naive and highly annoying. After spending copious amounts of time together (and partially because of accidental flirting on Tomato's part), Stefan develops an awkward crush on Tomato. In late 2007, the two move to Paris on orders from Stefan's boss.
Gabe: Age 24-25. Gabe and Jo move to Paris, France. While Gabe's French is bad, Jo knows enough from high school and miscellaneous classes to help the two of them get by. Some time in 2006 the two of them meet and befriend Kasey, another American living in France. (How the heck...) The three of them then decide to team up as a hair and make-up trio. (??) Gabe spends 2006 and 2007 as a freelance hairstylist, rooming with Jo and Kasey until he acquires enough money for himself. Initially he thinks Kasey is annoying, but they eventually bond over their love for attractive male celebrities. (??????) Oh yeah, and his French does get better over time... Sort of.
2008-2009
Stefan: Age 28-29. In Paris, Tomato finds a boyfriend. Stefan initially thinks that Tomato having a boyfriend should prevent his feelings from becoming too prevalent, but instead he develops a kind of jealousy. As usual, Stefan tries to ignore his feelings.
On his bosses orders, Stefan hires a hair-and-make-up crew for Tomato. I don't know exactly how he finds out about Gabe, Jo, and Kasey (probably through a combination of phone calls, the internet, and the newspaper), but he does and he hires them.
Gabe: Age 26-27. Gabe thinks Stefan is physically attractive right off the bat, but at this point he's not emotionally attracted to him. This is the point in life when he notices he feels the most comfortable where he's at. He loves his job and and the people he spends time with. YAY!
2010
Stefan: Age 30. This is the current year in OFAV! A bit before the comics start, he hires Dean Johnson for help with things besides hair and make-up. He sees Dean more as an intern than an employee initially, but eventually trusts him with important and difficult tasks.
Gabe: Age 28. This is the current year in OFAV! Around this time Gabe begins to develop romantic feelings for Stefan, and tries to become closer to him on a more intimate level.
Even though OFAV technically takes place in 2010, I'll probably still make references to things that happen after 2010. Yes, nonsensicality!
I feel like the timeline ends kind of abruptly. Oh well. Thanks for reading, if you did!
I really don't know why I have all this stuff planned out, considering it NEVER SHOWS UP IN OFAV. Or idk, maybe there'll be references to some of this stuff occasionally...
