thinks to himself “carpe diem” every time he goes to a terror professor’s class
is part of the over 75% of welton graduates who move onto the ivy league
drinks wine when having to study core subjects he does not care about
misses classes way too much
overanalyzes for poetry classes, almost fails college-level math
just goes along with how neil wants to spend date night
he loves suits because he gets to blend into the crowd even if he is the most frightened college student that has ever existed
his parents buy him ugly suits and he pretends to like them
studies at the coffee shop until 2 AM, unless neil is studying a role because he joins neil at the diner and withstands the terrible coffee
exam season breakfast is either nothing, or something while on the subway (he tries to be as discreet as possible)
constantly forgets where he put his metro card so he keeps buying new ones because he’s almost always late for class
brings huge bouquets to neil’s performances
owns lots of shoes but only wears one pair because it’s his most trust-worthy one (feels somewhat comfortable even after hours of walking)
is comfortable around neil all the time, except for when he’s writing poetry because neil might steal it because he’s done (walt whitman chasing part 2)
speaks as confidently as possible when called on by a professor but still undergoes stuttering moments once in a while
Neil
an nyc actor
his friends invite him to chill at the Paramount Hotel a lot, he only goes because he’s too afraid to tell them he can’t afford it so he just avoids spending money while he’s there
estranged from his father, who needs a lot of time to accept his career decisions
goes to the ticket booth in times square for last-minute musical tickets on sale
still memorizes lines from a midsummer night’s dream
goes to a small unknown university in the city, just in case acting doesn’t work out
shares an apartment with todd, the love of his life (todd also pays for the apartment but it’s okay todd doesn’t mind)
absolutely loves times square in the day but todd hates it so they only go when it’s 4 am and there’s less people
when todd is stressed, he tends to blurt out musical songs to make todd laugh (”come on babe, why don’t we paint the town?”)
never learned how to drive
when the rest of the dead poets visit, they complain about how much neil makes them walk without noticing it (new york means walking ALL THE TIME - meeks hates it)
is a sucker for breakfast bagels on sunday mornings
learns roles in the local diner 6 minutes away from their apartment (“hey neil, up for an audition again?”)
is friends with the diner owner and the coffee shop barista
Knox
a pre-law student at yale
“mr. future lawyer”
he and chris are still together but chris goes to a liberal arts college far away so knox goes on road trips just to see her
writes a poem for chris every time he visits
he ADORES the snow in new haven because it reminds him of happy days in vermont
his favorite places to eat apart from the dining hall are shake shack, taco bell, and the chinese food store beside it
has a poetry notebook whenever he feels like his soul being sucked into a passionless profession (other people are passionate about it, he just isn’t)
has a lot of friends but chooses to hang out with pitts a lot because pitts also went to yale, enrolled in a different course (engineering)
he refuses to wear suits unless required because he is so tired of that welton uniform
his dad visits him more often because he decided to follow the path he was set out to take
has a secret dream of writing award-winning poetry
sits on the grass way too often that upperclassmen give him the stink eye because he tends to play loud romantic songs when he studies
would die for Insomnia cookies (his favorite cookie shop in the world)
has a lot of money but doesn’t want to spend it so he drives all the way to the nearest walmart or target to buy things