#because there's events i need to take place to teach Dante lessons

[anhonestdaysworkcomic]

i've done so much research on medieval farming and all it's gotten me is more questions

[joie-university-rp]

Dear DANTE NOIRE,

It is with great pleasure we invite you admission to Joie University! Welcome to the Thunderclap family!

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Congratulations, JUSTIN! Please be sure to check the New Members’ Checklist and send in your character’s account within 24 hours from now. We cannot wait to see all that you will bring to this roleplay! We love you already!

OOC INFORMATION:

Name/Alias; pronouns: Justin, he/him

Age, Timezone: 20, MST

Activity, short explanation: 3-4 hours a day, after work.

Ships: Dante/Kurt since I am filling the connection. Dante/anyone.

Anti-Ships: Nothing.

Triggers: None for me.

Preferred photo for Character’s ID (please give a link): https://media.gq-magazine.co.uk/photos/5d138d392881cc034d0a7267/master/w_1280,c_limit/Adam-Driver-04-GQ-12Dec17_Dante-Brookes_b.jpg

Anything else: I’m filling this connection. https://joie-university-rp.tumblr.com/post/189809373804/requested-connection-for-kurt-hummel-suggested

IC INFORMATION:

Full Name (First, Middle, Last): Dante Matthew Noire

FC: Adam Driver

Age/Year at University (Freshman [1st Year], Sophomore, Junior, Senior, or Graduate Student): 24 years old, freshman/first year

Birth date (MONTH DAY, YEAR): August 13th, 1995

Hometown (please be sure to check the hometowns listed for characters your muse is related to!): Los Angeles, California

Gender/Pronouns: Male, he/him.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Major(s): Philosophy

Minor(s) [optional]: Songwriting/Music

Housing request (remember, only the president of a Greek Organization is required to live at a Greek House to be in it!): Schuester Dormitory Single Dorm 205

Extracurriculars (Click here for the list. Be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, secretary, etc.] If something isn’t listed, please put it here and we will add it to the masterlist!):  Glee Club Member, Fencing Team Member

Greek Life Affiliation [optional] (Please be sure to specify any executive board positions [i.e. president, pledge educator, etc.] or if your character is not yet a member, but plans to rush): None.

CHARACTER PROFILE (TW; Alcohol abuse, suicidal tendencies):

Dante was born into a relatively normal upper-class family. His parents were a very successful pair, his mother a lawyer and his father a banking executive. He lived in peaceful comfort, went the best private schools for teaching, yet when it came time for him to start building towards a career path, he couldn’t seem to pick one. He was a joy in the classroom and had a knack for tutoring other students that struggled as well. Alas, he didn’t want to be a teacher like his mother recommended, or a social worker like his father suggested. He found his true home in the music room. His parents had him learn piano and other various instruments, including vocal lessons, much to their detriment. When it came to his senior year of high school with not a single college application submitted, Dante came clean to his parents; he wanted to be a musician.

He moved away from L.A. when his family rejected his selected career path, especially after they cut him off from his allowance. When he got to New York, he was dead-broke, but found a job quickly as a jazz -ballad singer and pianist at a couple bars around the city. He sang in parks and street corners, releasing self-written songs online, hoping one day he would get noticed. It wasn’t until he actually took a piece of his father’s advice that he started to gain fame; “Dress as if you already have the job when you go in for the interview.” So, Dante gave himself the new look, dressing like the jazzy, big band singers and performers of old, promoting his image as well as his music.

Dante’s relationship with Kurt ran along with his quest to fame. He met Kurt during one of his nights working at an underage-friendly jazz bar near NYADA’s campus. Due to his talents, the students that came in would tip him well. It was in September of 2016, one year into Dante’s tenure in New York, did he spot the other man in the same seat once a week. It didn’t take long for Dante to introduce himself. Kurt and Dante together felt like they were two puzzle pieces, making a complete picture. When Dante started to gain a small following online, he made efforts to separate his professional life from when he was at home. Kurt made him feel like he could be his true self, open and free, yet while he was on stage, performing for an audience of strangers, he was putting up an act. He knew Kurt’s voice was magnificent, but he never wanted Kurt to think he was using him like that to promote his own career. Dante loved Kurt, and he wanted to keep Kurt far away from his growing spotlight. Let Kurt find his own dream, his own claim to fame, with Dante supporting him the entire way. At least, that was the promise Dante proposed to Kurt with in 2017.

As his fame began to grow and explode, the lines between his face to his growing public and at home began to mix. Dante would come home shitfaced from some party, or a concert, or PR event. Photos online with him holding fans close, kissing their cheeks, and being flirtatious would come out in the tons each time he stepped outside. Kurt would have to sober Dante up, thwarting his attempts to get into his pants. Kurt never obliged while he was drunk, which would result in a heated argument. It wasn’t until the next morning that he would apologize. Trust became very thin, very quickly, turning into a vicious cycle, over and over. It was Dante returning from his first 3-month tour, as drunk as ever, that ended the relationship for good. Another argument had broken out, this time Kurt demanding to know why there were clips online of him running around some party with his hand in some girl’s back pocket. Dante became furious Kurt would think he cheated, yelling up and down it was just for PR. Kurt didn’t buy it, eventually locking himself in the bathroom when Dante threw a glass at him. It wasn’t until Dante woke up the next morning, somehow in his bed, that he realized just how badly he had fucked up. Kurt left him, with the ring on the kitchen counter, the glass cleaned, and fresh coffee brewing in the pot.

The depression that followed Kurt leaving had Dante near suicidal. He tried to find Kurt; his number was blocked, and when he contacted NYADA to find him, they said that he had dropped out. He was blocked on social media, using dummy accounts to find out none of them were being updated. Kurt had disappeared, and there was no way Dante could find him. He gave up, vanished for months from the public eye, nearly destroying his career in its infancy. In that time, Dante wrote songs, poems, and love letters for Kurt he could never send. When his agent demanded work from him, he just tossed the papers on the table in frustration, that having been his only work during that time. It was a good thing his agent had more business sense than Dante, recommending he commit his works to the studio, to audio, to music. And hence, his chart-topping, record breaking, radio dominating album, ‘To Kill the Canary’, was born. It tore away from his jazz swings of the past into a ballad genre, featuring less sax and more acoustic guitar. The day the album released, he saw the crowds form at his feet, resonating and praising his work. He was determined to live despite what happened, even if he couldn’t seem to move on.

With all this success, why attend Joie for a degree? He was set for life, he didn’t need more education. Dante’s agent thought the opposite. With the influence he held, and with him turning twenty-five in August, they thought it would look great for his image if he wasn’t just some good-looking musical flounce, doomed to fail when he was no longer dominating the public. They opted for the Emma Watson route; go to college. Get a degree. That way, he was a cut above all the others in his industry; he wasn’t just a talent, he was educated. He chose philosophy as his major over music because he already mastered music. He didn’t want college to be a complete waste of time, so he decided to learn something completely new. Joie was an easy choice for a university; it was a world-renown college, one his fans would recognize. The fact one of his dummy accounts notified him of a post to Kurt’s Instagram had absolutely nothing to do with this college selection. Nothing at all…

STUDENT CENSUS SURVEY:

(Please answer the following questions IN CHARACTER. Responses can be as long or short as you see fit!)

What made you want to attend Joie University?

The prestigious nature of the school seemed the perfect place to both earn my degree and gain life experience I have been lacking. The administration seemed accommodating considering my current position and gave the impression that I would be treated just like everyone else. Overall, I felt very welcomed and fell in love with Joie instantly.

What are at least 3 positive or neutral and at least 3 negative traits that you believe you possess?

My most positive trait would be my unwavering determination. Even in the face of my family being nay-sayers in the quest for my dreams, I went after them anyway. Now, I wish to prove there is more to me than a pretty voice, exceed my own expectations. Perhaps that is my second trait; ambition for a new challenge. No mountain is too high for me. And that ties into my third best trait being creative problem solving. I simply cannot take no for an answer. If there is a will, there is a way, and I have a lot of willpower.

As far as the negatives of my personality, every positive is a doubt edged sword. For all my determination, it is very difficult for me to know when it is time to stop, reflect, and take it what is around me. I am always pushing for the next goal, leaving me often forgetting to savor the moment. I don’t know when to stop pushing for more, for better. This has had my personal relationships suffer in the past as well, and I do plan to remedy this. Apologies are another weakness of mine. For all I try to correct any wrongs on my part, simply saying ‘I’m sorry’ seems to escape my mind. A third flaw… I am frequently told I am too generous with my money. It isn’t like I could possibly use it all, so I use it on others. This has lead to a few personalities latching onto me simply for my wallet or my fame. I suppose that makes me a sub-par judge of character.

Which of your traits do you value most?

My ambition, by far. Taking on the impossible and making it believable is something I enjoy doing, both in music and in life. I wish to up the ante by studying for my degree, see what challenges I can tackle next.

How can that trait benefit the University (or its student body) as a whole?

Being I am a special case, it would be no lie to say my experience in the school could lead to positive press. I would also be interested in investing in the school through funding scholarships and such, once I am no longer a student. I do believe in the power of education, so on the same hand I do not wish to distract from other students attending. Making a show of myself here is not the goal. I wish to meld into the student body just as a regular attendee, no special treatment. That is what I could bring.

What do you hope to gain from your experience at JU?

The typical college experiences. The ups and downs of dorm life, the stress of finals, the development into a greater person leaving than you were when you arrived. I want all these things.

What is a quote or song lyric that describes you?

“I wanna take you high up, Let our hearts be the only sounds, I wanna go where lights burn low, And you’re only mine.” -James Bay, ‘Wild Love’

[danithebookaholic-blog]

My Top Five Favorite Books of All Time

My Top Five Favorite Books of All Time

Over the last 30 years I have read a small mountain of books. Classic works such at Dante’s Devine Comedy and Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Literature works by Jane Austen and Nikolai Gogol. To the modern day works of Stephen King and Patrick Rothfuss, Kristen Hannah and Sylvia Day, Stephenie Meyer and Rick Riordan. There are so many writers and stories out there to be told and experienced, it’s hard to pick just five that I love. But after considerable thought, I think I have if narrowed down…ish. So, in no particular order, the following are my top five favorite books of all time…for now at least.

1)      The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I first read The Great Gatsby in my high school AP English class. Unlike most of the student in class, I actually read it and fell in love with it immediately. I love the roaring 20s in America. I often tell myself I was born too late. I should have been born in the late 1800s so I could have enjoyed the ever-changing world at the turn of the century. I envy my grandparents who could remember the first time they ever saw a car. They started their family just after the Great Depression, and got to experience the 1920s all on their own! The music, the dress, the speakeasies. This was my era, and I missed it by almost 70 years.

The Great Gatsby has so many lessons in it, and the first one is found on the very first page:

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

I think that’s the biggest reason why I love this book so much. What can I say, I’m an old soul. I like books that have a deeper meaning than what’s on the surface. I like books with moral lessons, and that ask the hard questions. And you get this with The Great Gatsby.

The writing style can be a bit dry at times, but that was also the style and language during the time in which it was written. If you can get past that part, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the book. It’s about glitz and glamor, extravagant parties, old and new money, adultery and car chases, and learning a lesson in the end.

2)      Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K Rowling

Of course, I loved the entire Harry Potter series, but I’m not going to cheat and say the entire series. I chose The Deathly Hallows because it amazes me how good of a job J. K. Rowling did with not only concluding the series, but how she began the series. Let me try to explain.

In the very first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Rowling introduces to you to the cloak of invisibility, one of the Deathly Hallows. Throughout the series Rowling continues to introduce you to the other Deathly Hallows. As you’re reading the series you don’t think twice about these object that she has made know to you. You just think, “Oh, that’s cool,” and move on. When the Deathly Hallows are introduces in The Deathly Hallows things start to click. You start to realize all the time and effort she put into planning this seven-book anthology. Years before, when she first thought of The Sorcerer’s Stone she already kind of knew the ending. She knew that she was going to have to bring these objects in throughout the series and make you understand how important they are, without giving the ending away, and she did an amazing job at it.

Another piece that she did this same thing with were the horcruxes. From the beginning, little do you know, the horcruxes are a part of your life and you don’t really begin learning about them until book six, Harry potter and the Half Blood Prince.

I understand that all authors must create this world of theirs before they can publish. They should come up with the history of each character and how each character’s life intertwines with the others throughout the story. There are authors out there who do this and do this well, but I firmly believe that Rowling is bar none the best. I don’t know how long she worked on this story in her head or on paper before finally going to a publisher with a rough draft, but I’m sure it took a long time. More that she probably gives credit for. The complexity of this series is on a whole other level, and yet it’s simple enough for it to be in the children’s section. The whole thing boggles my mind and inspires it all at the same time.

3)      Wizard’s First Rule (Book 1 of The Sword of Truth) by Terry Goodkind

It has been many years since I read Wizard’s First Rule, 15 at least. I hold this book in such high regard though because it is the book that opened the fantasy world to me. Before The Sword of Truth series, I only read Nicholas Sparks, Harry Potter (which I know is a form of fantasy, but in my mind, not the same thing), and classics that you read in school.  This is also probably the book that made my love of books flourish.

Wizard’s First Rule is a story of a mythical world that closely resembles our own. A world in which goodness and honesty are plagued by the forces of darkness and deception. It’s a tale of risk all for the sake of love, and a journey into the darkness of the human soul. Filled with magic, indigenous peoples, and far-off places, this is a great book to spark the love you’ll soon have for fantasy stories.

4)      The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

The Notebook holds a special place in my heart because it makes me think of my early relationship with Jack, and so, I’m probably a little bias on this one due to this reason. I first read it right before the movie was to come out in 2004. Jack had graduated high school in 2003 and almost immediately went into the Navy. While he had been out of boot camp for some time, he had stayed in Chicago on the Naval base there for further schooling. I, on the other hand, was getting ready to start my senior year of high school and was missing him terribly.

One day, while on the phone, I convinced Jack to let me read The Notebook to him. He must have really loved me, because he said yes. It took the entire day, and looking back at the memory, I’m surprised my parents never caught us—after all this was before everyone had cell phones, and I had called him from the landline.

I love this book of Nicholas Sparks not only for that memory, but because the story reminds me so much of Jack and me. A young, unusual couple meet through the most unlikely of circumstances, and fall in love. With everything in the world against them, they somehow (eventually) make it and get to spend their lives together. The part that really gets me is the part the Jack and I have yet to experience: those golden years, of being old and still in love. Anytime we see an older couple together, hand in hand, I always ask him, reassuring myself, “That’s going to be us one day, right?” His response is always the same, “One day.”

I’m incredibly nervous for that day. First, to think that I will have spent most of my life with one person is awesome and scary. Second, I’m afraid that I, like Allie, will develop Alzheimer’s and not remember that I love him. My grandmother was one of the youngest cases of Alzheimer’s in the state of West Virginia, and while it’s still unknown if it’s a hereditary trait, anytime I find myself forgetting something, or not being able to remember my words, I freak out a little on the inside. It’s a scary and sad disease to watch someone you love slowly forget who you are. And I never want my family to have to experience this. The Notebook encapsulates all of this for me.

5)      The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

The Little Prince is a book I plan on reading to my children from a very early age and multiple times over. It’s a book that I wish I had read at a younger age, but wasn’t introduced to it until Jack found it in his parents’ basement shortly after his mother had passed away. When he found out I had never read it, he handed it to me and told me that I must read it, and I couldn’t agree with him more. If you haven’t read it—or seen the Netflix Original—then you need to do so.

The Little Prince is loved by children and adults alike because of its view of what is important in the world. It opens with a pilot that is stranded in the desert who finds himself face to face with a young boy. The boy asks the pilot to, “Please, draw me a sheep.” After a while the pilot realizes that when life’s events are too difficult to understand there is no choice but to succumb to their mysteries. So, he pulls out a piece of paper and begins to draw. And this is where the wise and enchanting fable takes flight and teaches the secret of what is really important in life.

The Little Prince, like Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, is a book that every child needs to read to keep them young, and every adult needs to remind them to never grow up.

From one wine-loving bookaholic to another, I hope I’ve helped you find your next fix.      —Dani

Start a conversation: What is your favorite book of all time, and why?

Have a book you’d like to suggest or one you’d like me to review? Please feel free to leave your comments down below.