Character Notes
Prudence
-Intellectual, but not snobby; has a sense of curiosity
-Writing style: frank, direct, not trying to hide anything, only the necessary details [model off of souseki? Idk]
-Articulate for the sake of service; accommodates to who she’s speaking to
-In relation to Noland, has an air of coolness/clarity (compared to Noland’s warmth?)
-Largely objective
-loves Noland
-Actively trying to be friendly but is aware that conversations are somehow stilted between her and others because she's somehow not getting people
-Maybe she's fidgety? always needs to be doing something
-(comparison to stefan?) more avant-garde taste in literature/movies/etc?
-prosopagnosia (failure to integrate different spheres of life and understand “proper” socialization = a major conflict)
Noland
-Wants to be fascinated/”in fascination” with someone.
-Not “in fascination” with Prue, but does love her in some ways. Or the relationship he has with her is deeper than any relationship he’s had before, like with Stef or Chrys or Janie. But he doesn’t think of it as love because he’s not fascinated.
-Intense fear of failure, not helped by the fact that he messes up a lot.
-^this sort of shame stems from his mom kind of off-hand babying him and kinda acting like he can't do anything for himself.
Gabe
-A parallel in Gabe’s high school (1999?) and current (2010) timeline: Gabe thinks he can get Will (high school crush) to like him by forcing himself on him, doesn’t work that way. Later thinks he can get Stefan to fall in love by being pushy, doesn’t work that way. It takes a couple of tries for him to wise up.
-Likes sex, but (in 2010 timeline) getting tired of just sleeping with people he doesn’t feel like he knows. Doesn’t not want sex, just wants a more than a casual relationship. (??? Idk)
-Conceptualize like a teenage pop-punk singer falling in love
-Initially: thinks he can convert Stefan to “believe in love” a la “have you seen this girl” (a song); learns people aren’t as simple as that, can’t force a person to have a belief (ie: more forceful of opinion >> worse reaction)
-Sex as having multiple meanings per situation (eg: enjoyment, boredom, distraction, obligatory, affection), but confusion/stress regarding sex happens when meanings get convoluted (probably where his frustration with casual sex starts to come from)
-Simultaneously has the opinion that sex is something special between lovers, but also something casual between friends (>>confusion/stress stem?)
-Often hard for him to imagine life outside of playtime
-Has never had any clear goals or dreams in life, and has thus had a habit of letting things coast by/letting people do his work for him since he never cared much about the outcome. (Hanging w stefan gives him a better context of what it's like for ppl who work towards a goal, along w forcing him to see the consequences of pushing his responsibilities onto others)
-has casual sex bc he thinks sleeping alone is lonely
Stefan
-Uncomfortable with Gabe flirting with other guys not because he’s jealous, but because it creates Gabe in an unreliable or untrustworthy light (Skepticism stems from relationship with Noland) (Though are trust issues too corny? Idk if I’d call it trust issues, just skepticism)
-Wants to distance himself from romance, but sometimes goes a step too far to the point of denouncing and criticizing romance
-Lives to impress others
-Likes Gabe best when Gabe’s just acting natural, I guess, and not worrying to hard about how Stefan will react
-Feelings for Tomato: mostly just sweet on him b/c he’s cute (doting in a way), but does have a sort of special friendship with him (tho Toma really does get on his nerves easily)
-Judgmental
-Self control (mental and physical) = very important to him as a person
-(comparison to laf) judgmental to maintain self esteem
-(comparison to prue?) likes typically critically acclaimed movies (king's speech, forrest gump), probably likes adele?
-(comparison to laf) externally cool and collected, internally has a bit more of a sense of humor
-(gabe influence) thru gabe he's forced to concern himself not just with his own selfish goals and problems, but to feel a connection with another's personal life as well.
-opinions on sex: not really about personal gratification, more about interest in the other person or smth
-As much as he complains about it, Stefan actually enjoys the duplicity/fakeness he puts on for his job. it's fun to pretend you're more charming than you really are, and it's comforting to know that people buy it. But putting on an act all the time can also be taxing.
-good recognition and well liked but frustration w constant front/acting; tired of never being honest
Dmitri
-trouble speaking openly about his likes and dislikes, doesn't choose them easily. When he does genuinely like something, he's pretty secure about it.
-Frequently forcing himself to be interested in things his friends like--since it seems fun for them, in theory it should be fun for him too. (I say this all fancy but he just wants to fit in. Even if you're honest with yourself about your likes, it's not fun when no one acknowledges them)
-older dmitri: freelance translator, does a lot of manga translation. Not actually interested in manga, but loves Japanese and fairly knowledgeable about Japanese culture. Usually leaves tons of translation notes (to the annoyance of the publishers)
-mature, but skittish and antsy
-laughs too hard (does the sharp inhale laugh when something is funny to him); tries not to laugh too much because he thinks his laugh is embarrassing
Lafayette
-(comparison to Stef) not really judgmental so much, just thinks he's better than everyone by default
-(comparison to stef) kind of reverse-stef? externally wild, internally dark n cool
-Has a habit of saying exactly what's on his mind without thinking it's rude.
-frustration that he doesn't get constant positive recognition; acts for performances to a degree, but bad personality in personal affairs (comp to stef)
-Hates being bored/not doing stuff, gets involved in dangerous stuff even if it doesn’t make him happy because at least he’s not doing nothing, often purposely gets caught up in activities so he doesn’t have time to second guess himself or think about the consequences
--with Dmitri he’s more comfortable stopping/giving himself time to reflect bc he doesn’t have to figure out things alone + he trusts showing a more vulnerable side of himself to Dmitri
--compare to stef, stef prefers crying/etc in private/alone (?) Laf only breaks down around people he trusts.
Lafayette's Mom
seen as "oniyome"? preg w laf at young age (unmarried) has a job/jobs and works long hours, ostracized by family members
-maybe went to uni and preg w laf senior year?
-kind of curt and rough, but earnest and looks out for laf's best interest even if she doesn't understand him
-ostracism empathy w laf
lemonlight
-music insp: Keaton Henson, sza
Chrystal
*actively mean while Lafayette isn’t so much; laf is rude but not really spiteful
*maybe think of as Ozu from Tatami Galaxy?
Comparisons
-Stef: doesn’t trust ppl; Laf: doesn’t respect ppl
-Dmitri: skittish, suspicious, antsy; Noland: nervous, shy, more moe-seeming but actually dying lsfdjsldf; Stef: suspicious, but confident
*Laf: assumes peoplehave the same goals as him and acts accordingly
*Dmitri: assumes he knows what people want/what their goals are and acts accordingly
both make assumptions abt people and how they think, but different center?
in the case of each other they both have a tendency to think they know what the other is thinking w/o saying (Dmitri does this more since laf usually thinking abt himself)
