History Characters / TheCinderellaMurder

* NoSocialSkills: He tends to be highly awkward in social situations, sometimes coming off as abrupt or blunt, not always picking up on social cues, and rapidly switching from one subject to another, unrelated one. He's also extremely introverted; he doesn't enjoy hanging around large crowds and finds interacting with people over a long period of time to be exhausting. He does recognise emotions in other people, but tends to pick up on so much it becomes overwhelming for him. It's speculated he's on the autism spectrum, though personally Dwight doesn't like to label himself as such. The first time he meets Laurie, he rather suddenly brings up that her husband was murdered, which Laurie finds a bit off-putting; later Dwight feels bad about the way he brought it up, as he'd only been trying to establish a rapport with Laurie due to him also feeling a deep sense of loss over Susan's murder, and hopes he didn't upset her.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: She was jealous of Susan and saw her as a rival because Susan was widely viewed as a 'better version' of her. Both attractive, talented actresses, often going for the same roles in campus productions due to their similar physical features, but Susan was generally seen as more 'natural' and less "primped" than Madison. Susan was also skilled at IT and was quite popular, while Madison had few real friends and only went to college to appease her parents. It's well known that Madison was Frank Parker's second choice for the role in his first studio picture, with some whispering that Madison may have resorted to murder to ensure Susan wouldn't get the part. Madison also had feelings for Susan's boyfriend Keith, but he never regarded her as anything but a fling and always returned to Susan. After Susan died, Madison recalls that Keith drunkenly shouted that she would always be "a cheaper, lesser version of [Susan]", adding it was the only time he'd ever made her cry; the words have stuck in her head for two decades.

* NotHimself: Laurie and her team find it odd that, given Madison was known to be a social butterfly in college, she would've just been sitting around at home on a Saturday night and thus been able to audition for Frank Parker last minute. Madison claims she was sick that evening, but Alex and Laurie point out this doesn't make sense because she was still well enough to attend the audition; she was also able to leave for the Hollywood Hills half an hour away from campus immediately after receiving Frank's call and they think it unlikely she would've auditioned in sweatpants and no make-up, while Frank says she turned up looking "like a million dollars" just forty-five minutes after he called her. When they first met Madison, she also kept Laurie and her team waiting two minutes while she applied fresh make-up. Madison then claims she'd already gotten dressed up to go to a frat party but changed her mind, only for Nicole and Keith to confirm she wouldn't be caught dead at those kind of parties. [[spoiler:Madison eventually admits she was supposed to be going out with a man, but he stood her up; that man is later revealed to have been Professor Hathaway, who she really shouldn't have been fooling around with, hence the secrecy]].

* StartingANewLife: Following Susan's murder, Nicole dropped out of college and moved out of Southern California. She initially used a fake ID when she first arrived in Northern California and was only too happy to take her husband's surname of Melling when they married, only using Hunter when she absolutely has to. She has no social media presence and Laurie also notes that she's so drastically changed her appearance, she barely looks like the same person even with the passage of time. Nicole doesn't keep in contact with anyone from her college years save Susan's mother Rosemary (and even then she only starting staying in touch with Rosemary because Rosemary happened to recognise her while visiting the Bay Area) and has barely told her husband anything about her time at UCLA. Laurie and her team start to question why. [[spoiler:Nicole is terrified that Martin Collins, her ex-boyfriend, would make good on his threat to kill her and everyone she loves if she ever told anyone what she knows about him and Advocates for God (of which she was a member in her sophomore year); she's also deeply ashamed of her involvement in the church and was eager to get away and reinvent herself]].

* WithFriendsLikeThese: She became best friends with Susan after they were assigned as roommates in their freshman year at UCLA, with Nicole saying Susan took her under her wing and Rosemary remarking that Susan regarded Nicole as a sister. However, they didn't always get along as well as they appeared to, with Madison resenting that she always got painted as the "bad friend" when Nicole wasn't exactly clean either. Frank's wife Talia tells Laurie and Alex that the night of the audition, Susan and Nicole had a huge fight, with Nicole even throwing a book at Susan and Susan threatening to kick her out of their room. Madison also confirms she overheard them arguing and they both stormed out of the apartment. Less than an hour later, Susan may already have been dead. [[spoiler:Nicole eventually admits she fought with Susan after she found out Nicole had invited Keith to an Advocates for God meeting; Susan accused the church of being a cult and a scam, and insisted that Nicole was being brainwashed by Reverend Collins, infuriating Nicole. She subsequently found out that Susan was right about Martin and his church, but never mentioned the fight or anything related to AG during the investigation out of fear of Martin's retaliation. She also [[PartingWordsRegret regrets that this is the last time she saw and spoke to Susan]], as she really did care for her]].