She is usually seen sleepy, tired, or outright sleeping in official art, secretary lines and ingame events. This is a reference to her historical counterpart's final battle against the Japanese battleship Hiei and two other destroyers during the Naval Battle of Guadacanal, where Laffey nearly collied with Hiei due to the battle taking place in the midnight. She would eventually sunk after taking direct hits from Hiei's 356 mm guns and a torpedo from destroyer Murasame. Her name were later reused for the more famous Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer.
In fanart and even official loading screens, she is sometimes portrayed as a drunkard as well, with her preferred drink being whiskey.
