charlie dalton headcanons that have been floating around in my head for a while
whenever he gets hurt, for example a broken arm or a bruise if he fell or idk, he will ALWAYS tell the others he got into a fight
has panic attacks way more often that he would admit it
doesn't like his father at all. i wouldn't say he hates though, but he doesn't hold him dear.
it's totally the kind of father-son relationship where his father is just there to pay for his education, to make sure he acts right and that he honors the family. it just makes so much sense to me, when we see rich family dynamics of this years. the only interactions he has with him are about his duty, school, etc. he's a cold man obsessed with his work (banker stuff, you get it), Always in his bureau, whiskey, short hair, stern face, grey suit, "it's time for you to grow up"
Charlie LOVES his grandfather though. and his mum.
I saw some headcanons saying that he takes his rebel side from his mum and for me it's so true ; I think his mum was wild at heart, and settled in a rich domestic hypocrit life because she was forced (social pressure of course, and maybe money and family issues ?). Of course in the family, she has no say about Charlie's education like his father does ; she's just there, domestic wife, cooking and planning little neighbourhood parties ; but her and Charlie totally both know that they're on the same team I could say. hugging him thightly when they're alone after his father got mad bc Char stood up to him, "keep going like this, i'm proud of you"
concerning his grandpa, i don't really have any explanations about this headcanon. It's especially because in Shaking the Tree, Gale Hansen's character comes from a rich family but he swims against the Stream by living on its own, and he's considered as a shame for his family, but still his grandpa loves him and he returns it. So as in this film, i could totally see Charlie's grandpa getting him out of trouble, getting around the father's punissions since his mum can't, like by giving him money, lui prêter sa voiture, etc etc. Always with a wink.
Starts smoking just for the aesthetic performative side but he ends up getting totally dependent, and realizes it late
i talked here about sightly longer hair Charlie. SO LET ME ELABORATE. he grows his hair out especially to get his father mad since the Ivy League haircut is THE must have for wealthy boys in prep schools. he has to go to the hairdresser everytime he comes back home for holidays, but he finds two ways to counturn it. first, his mum is in on it (she's the one who takes him to the hairdresser) : instead of really going to cut his hair they just comb it in a certain way to make it look as if he just got a haircut (idk how to explain this help). second, he starts searching for EVERY SINGLE TIP to make his hair grow faster. rosemary water, scalp massages, oils, miracle products, etc. probably spends 5 full minutes every morning massaging his scalp while Cameron is laughing his ass out. he takes WAY TOO MUCH care of his hair with differents shampoos, conditioners, masks, combs and gels.
this a well-known headcanon but still : he has a huge pool back home, but he always goes to public pools just for the girls in swimsuits
"sunglasses indoor are part for the cause" as said the Arctic Monkeys is SO him
Charlie would've been a huge fan of AM btw
has litterally NO CLUE about what he's doing with his life, and it goes stronger the older he gets. by the way, for me it is totally canon that he didn't go to the Ivy League, like Harvard, Yale etc. back at these prestigious years you CAN'T be accepted there after being expelled in your Senior Year of prep school for violence (punching Cam in the face)
anyway, he's not so annoyed about this because he never wanted to be a banker ; he always had this little certitude in the back of his mind that, when the time will come, he will avoid this fate. (HATES economy and maths btw).
so maybe he went for other studies like literature or art or music or philosophy. always dreamed to be a journalist. and to travel in Europe. or, he just started working when he got out of prep school, doing random stuff (even some castings im 172% sure of this) and eventually illegal stuff too
in fact i think he did both. since his father didn't to pay him studies he didn't want him to do, Charlie payed for it himself by working half time
him living in a Chicago apartment with a roomate who's a bro as lost as him, hanging out in bars, sharing beers, smokes and trying to get ladies in their bed together, like in Shaking the Tree, is SO canon
it's canon that he's the most muscled of any of the other poets like SORRY NOT SORRY, i mean the others look like STICKS beside him ?? or maybe not muscles muscles you know, but like he's dense, stockier, you know what i mean ? Cameron is SO jealous btw
puts way too much Cologne
has a red cachemire pullover he wears 24h/24
For someone from his social class at the time, it was basically expected that wealthy prep school boys HAVE to… "go out" i would say with wealthy girls, like in a VERYYY stern and formal way. "wanna go take a milk shake ?" is NOT for here. i'm talking about chatting in a living room about hypocrit stuff, surrounded by hypocrit family members in a hypocrit suit.
so if Charlie's a ladies man, it's NOT with the uptight rich girls his parents introduce him to that he will be a hellraiser. so he ALWAYS flirts with girls that comes from other social backgrounds than his family and is so GOOD at it
he found Playboys in his father's closet in summer 1959 (right before the movie) and was silently FURIOUS, it felt like betrayal because he loves his mum so much and it felt like his father was cheating on her or Something. so he stole it. of course his dad realized quickly his magazines had disappeared but he couldn't say anything, asking his wife or son about it. then Charlie just kept the Playboys and brought them to Welton because he thought it was fun and… well, you know.
he has his driver's licence since he's 17. his father gave him a car in summer 1959 for his birthday and good grades. he spent all his summer painting it red
totally the type of person who NEVER says when they're not fine. Charlie said he was okay with tears in his eyes more than 9839837 times. plus, since he's Always making jokes about everything and also has a real drama queen personnality, no one takes him seriously when he's really bothered by Somethinga