dexter anthony howell

[wolfofsilence]

-- DEXTER NICHOLAS HOWELL !

-- NAME: Dexter Nicholas Howell
-- NICKNAMES: dex, d nick
-- AGE & BIRTHDAY: 19 & October 4th
-- BIRTH PLACE: Chicago, IL
-- ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
-- OCCUPATION & SCHOOL GRADE: Student & College Sophomore
-- PLAYED BY: Jake Abel

-- PERSONALITY !

-- HARD WORKING: Every since he was a little kid, he was playing music, learning music, embracing everything music. He couldn't concentrate much in school, but when it came to music all his focus was there. He was talented for a kid his age, and he only got better from the hours of practice he applied. He shows true spirit and soul when learning and practicing. He gave a lot of his free time up to play music. Now when he wasn't playing music, he helped his mom with any chores in the house that he could. He made sure that his mom didn't have any more stress than she had teaching students at the university. He helped his baby sister, in any way that he could. Any dealing with years of ADD without medication, he finally started concentrating in school. But he had a lot of catching up to do so he put aside music a little more and started doing his homework. If he didn't get a question, he would try and figure out what he did wrong. At times, he's even gone to his sister to ask what he did wrong.
-- HONEST: Every since he was little, his family taught him to be honest even if it hurts to be honest. He'll tell you what he honestly thinks of something no matter the situation. It's against his nature. When he's drunk, he becomes more of a harsh honest. With honesty, he'll sugar coat it a little bit so he doesn't sound so mean. But with liquor, all his opinions and feelings toward something really comes out. When it comes to being honest with his dad, that's where he stumbles to find the right words to tell his dad what he thinks, with everyone else he can say what exactly is on his mind. But when it comes to his dad, he just can't do it.
-- SWEETHEART: Dexter is the instant nice guy when he knows someone has had a difficult past, just like he did. He makes sure everyone he's friends with that they're okay and if they ever needed anything, he would find a way to help. He's nice to everyone, especially to those people who aren't as social as he is. He likes to know that everyone who's around him is happy. He puts other people in front of himself because he knows that music will always be there for him.

-- LOVES: music, concerts, parties, dancing, medication, ink, technology, girls, singing, family&friends
-- HATES: bad music, viruses, video games, soda, overdosing, his condition, war, books, distractions, fighting

-- HISTORY !

Dexter Nicholas Howell was born on October 4th to Linda and Marcus Howell. Marcus was a soldier and his wife lived her life as a music teacher. Dexter grew up in a household pushing him to strive for his dreams. Since he was a kid, he looked up to famous artists like Yo Yo Ma, Louis Armstrong, Neil Peart, and so many others. His mom wasn't sure how far her son would go, and his father wanted him to be a military boy, not a musician, but after years of seeing how happy his wife was with music, he gave in. When he was four years old, his younger sister, Leslie was born. She became the pride and joy of his father. Dex naturally became closer to his mother because of the musician talent they shared. At the age of six, he started taking percussion and cello lessons. When he was seven, his father was called back to serve another two year term for the army in Afghanistan. His mother wasn't sure if she was capable enough to pay for two children, even with the military pay, so she went back to school to finish a degree in music education, her masters while her husband served in the military, leaving seven year old Dex and three year old Leslie home with babysitters, grandparents, and next door neighbors.

A year in his father's service, he became MIA. His unit was ambushed, two of them were killed and the rest were taken hostage. At the young age of eight, he became the man of the house. His mother was devastated. She still had another year to finish her degree, the next year was the hardest. The government sent their family monthly checks because technically their father was still serving. At the age of nine, Dex started taking drum set lessons, Leslie finally started school, and Linda Howell had a job opportunity in Massachusetts as a college music professor, at Berklee College of Music. She didn't want her children to be near the city, so she settled on Capeside, Massachusetts. His little sister was scared that their father would never find them again, because of the drastic change of scenery. Every day, young Dex would reassure his sister that their father would come back one day. After their move, his younger sister started playing different sports like softball and volleyball, eventually lacrosse. Dex continued taking cello, percussion, and drum set lessons from different musicians at his mom's work.

During his entire school career, he was always a trouble kid, had a difficult time focusing and remembering material, except in music classes. His freshman year of high school, he was diagnosed with a common disorder called Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD. The doctor prescribed medication that would help Dexter focus in school. For once in his life, he was finally able to focus in class beside music classes. He continued going through high school taking music classes and lessons. His sister played volleyball and lacrosse through leagues. His junior year, he started giving music lessons to younger kids with ADD through a private music school near his house. He saved his money toward school, buying a new computer, and any other expenses he might have. His senior year of high school, his family received news that their father had been found. Nine years later, they found his father after being debriefed and cured, he would return home.

His entire family waited for the day that his dad would walk through the door. Two weeks later, their still recovering father walked through the door. He was different. He seemed more distant. It took his dad months to even begin to adjust to civilian life again. His dad started going to a psychologist to help him cope with what happened overseas. His father would continue to talk down to his son about being a musician. One day, Dexter was sick of his father talking down on him that he took more of his ADD medication than he should have. An hour later, his heart started pulsing and he collapsed, with difficult breathing. His parents rushed him to the hospital. The doctors said he overdosed and that he would be fine and could leave in a couple days. That night, his father and him had a heart to heart. Once Dex explained how much music meant to him, they finally saw eye to eye, enough for his father to get off his back about music. A month later, he graduated with a 3.7 GPA and a scholarship Capeside College to study music technology.

-- SAMPLE !

If you want an example with Dex, just let me know. Here's the thread, click!

• He wasn't sure what to do. The day Amanda said she was leaving was probably the day he went into denial. He just laid on his bed at home, wondering what to do with himself. He went to work, paid his bills, hardly ate, hardly slept. When his boss noticed that Alec was being sluggish, he asked what was going on. Alec explained his whole girlfriend situation. His boss knew that Alec had trouble in the past with depression so he told Alec to take a week off. Some free time to get back on his feet. In all honesty, Alec wasn't sure what he would do. He wanted to stay in his room for the rest of his life, but of course. He would have to get over Amanda and move on. It came as such a shock to him. It seemed like yesterday they were at the aquarium looking at the turtles. He didn't cry. He just stared at the ceiling wondering what he was going to do with his life. It was an awful feeling. After two days of sitting inside his apartment, he eventually showered and ate some food. He didn't eat a lot. His appetite basically disappeared. It usually. On top of that, he hardly ate anyways. The third day, he woke up from another sleepless night, and decided he wanted somebody to talk to. The first person he wanted to talk to, was Anna. He sent her a message early in the morning and started getting ready for the day. He pulled on a shirt and jeans. He found his favorite blue hoodie and pulled it over his head. His dog tags bounced against his chest as he moved around.

• He sighed. It was going to be a long week, and it was only the third day. He ate a piece of bread when he heard his phone go off. It was from Anna. She said she would meet him at Starbucks. He exhaled, and pulled his shoes on. He shoved his wallet in his back pocket, grabbed his keys and phone, and was out the door. The brisk cold air hit his chest like a ton of bricks. He exhaled sharply. It was cold, eventually his body adjusted and he continued moving. He didn't want to take his car. He figured after coffee he would go walking off by himself to think. It was only a five minute walk to Starbucks anyways. His pace was slow and deliberate. He wanted to take his time getting there because he wasn't sure how long it would take Anna to get there. The five minutes only took a few moments it seemed, and he walked into the shop. He looked around and saw Anna sitting off by herself with a cup of coffee. He half smiled, and walked over to her. "Hey," he muttered. He sat down, and rubbed his eyes. The dark circles still lingered there from the lack of sleep he was getting, at least his eyes aren't red anymore. He managed to get rid of that problem when he started sleeping a little more. Honestly, the break up sucked. It felt like his heart was missing. That there was just an empty hole where a fleshy pump use to be. He looked at Anna. She looked good...not in a sexual way...like healthy. When he first met her, she was recovering from being kidnapped. She had bruises and scars all over her body.

• She did her best to hide it, but he was really good at noticing things like that. He sat forward in the chair closer to Anna, enough so he could hear her, and not have to talk to loudly. "Thanks for coming. I woke up today...really just needing to talk to someone," he said pathetically. He was pathetic. He was sleeping in his apartment, doing nothing. He wasn't even working on his car. Nothing. He needed something to do. He was considering buying a dog. He needed some life around his house. It was bad how useless he felt at home when he wasn't working. Sitting there at Starbucks, he wasn't sure why he even asked Anna to meet him here. Yes she had become a good, supportive friend, but what use did it have? Sure to talk, but would talking really help get stuff off his chest? He wasn't sure, well at least he might as try. He looked at her, and said, "I dunno even know where to start." He folded his hands on the table, and just looked at her. He was literally at a loss for words. Hopefully Anna would find some way to continue the conversation because Alec wasn't sure where to start. He looked at his hands, and pondered for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. It had been maybe a week ago that Amanda said she was leaving, and she wouldn't be able to see Alec anymore. He wasn't sure why. It felt like they were doing good. Alec cared about Makenna and Amanda equally, making sure they were both happy. Then out of the blue, Amanda ends their relationship.

-- OOC !

-- NAME OR ALIAS: CUPCAKE?!
-- AGE: 18
-- THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU: Sarcastic, Dedicated, and Nice
-- HOW YOU FOUND US: RPG Collection

[* NIKKI THE PEACOCK QUEEN]

- The trait words should replace “trait one” and so on
- Your dedicated paragraph doesn’t really paint him as dedicated, just musical
- ADD is not a personality trait. To quote glee here “your illness is not who you are supposed to be, it’s stopping you from being who you are supposed to be”
- Doesn’t the military pay soldiers a pretty good wage?
- Uh, where was he even serving?
- Why was he playing for his father? One, his father didn’t support his music and two, it’s a bit much that EVERY TIME he played was for his father.
- Why is he playing drums at a wind symphony?
- This character seems... flat. He’s built around three things: add, his dad and music. Which is a good start, but everything you wrote, his personality, likes, dislikes, relates to one of the three. It doesn’t create a fully fleshed out character, in my opinion...
Also please re-read the rules on image sizes. Your signature is too large, as was your application image.

[/size]

[wolfofsilence]

Here are the changes :]

• I know military does pay pretty good, but I honestly don't think it'll be enough to support a mother and two young kids, solely off the military pay. With schooling, babysitters, music lessons, and eventually sports and school, I figured it would make sense for the mother to get a better job.
  
• At the section where his father was shipped off, I said that he's in Afghanistan.
  
• I took out the part about playing for his father, edited the history along with it, especially the last paragraph.
  
• A percussion section contains many different instruments. Drum sets would be recovered if the wind symphony is playing some sort of collection of pieces from different Broadway musicials such as Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, and many others. I've been a percussionist for years ;]
  
• I'm not good with resizing stuff, so I just used three avatars :]

Hope everything else is up to your satisfaction =D

[/blockquote]

[* NIKKI THE PEACOCK QUEEN]

It alll looks good now, the only other thing is the images are in the wrong spot, but I will go ahead an except and you can fix that.

-- ACCEPTED !

[/size]