The Years of Their Lives

Backgrounds and OOC Information

STUDENTS

ARTIE ABRAMS—OPEN

Name:
Age:
Timezone:
Favorite Ship(s):
Least Favorite Ship(s):
Reason for acceptance:
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background:

BLAINE ANDERSON—TAKEN

Name: Mimi
Age: 16
Timezone: Central
Favorite Ship(s): Klaine, Bike Chanderson, open
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 4th
Background: Blaine Anderson was born into a rather wealthy family, one that would give him everything that his pretty little heart desires from toys to books to clothes, as long as he lived up to the familial expectations placed upon him from the time of his conception, practically. However, it was evident from the time that he was able to walk and talk properly, that he took a special interest in everything and anything musical, being entirely talented with instruments and similar things, while he mainly didn’t show much interest in academically-related things. That did not mean that his parents gave up entirely at that point, though. Instead, they persevered when it came to their son and how he could grow up and taught him to be studious and pay attention to his studies to the point that he really didn’t have time to be able to do anything that he desired to outside of studying and books and things. He didn’t really mind, since that was all he really knew in his life, and he constantly strove to please his parents, no matter what happened or what his personal wishes were, pretty much.

By the time that he was twelve, though, it became evident that he would most certainly not grow up and conform to the Anderson name. He realized that he was absolutely gay, mainly because he showed little to no interest in girls the way kids in his class—a private school, of course—did most of the time. In fact, he preferred being friends with them and play with their hair and doing mainly friendly things, no matter how many girls would tell them that they thought he was cute or had a crush on him. When he came out to his family, distance grew between them almost immediately. It wasn’t that his parents were homophobic, exactly, they were just clueless about how exactly to take the news that their eldest son was gay and would never marry a girl. Since then, Blaine tried twice as hard to please his parents—everyone around him, really, because the look of disappointment on his parents’ faces were absolutely heart shattering to him, and, quite frankly, he hated it quite a bit.

His acceptance letter came when he was fourteen-years-old, and he was ecstatic about the fact that he had been accepted into the prestigious institution, the one and he thought was a myth, because while people talked about it, no one could quite confirm the fact that it truly existed. His parents were happy, as well, though not quite as happy as they could have been, because he was accepted mainly for his musical talents. But, Blaine was happy and glad that he was, apparently, one of the most talented kids in the entire world, and left his childhood home as fast as possible, though he visited during holidays and such things. But, even at Ashmore, he strove to please absolutely everyone around him, and in some ways, it altered his mentality and made it so that he conformed to whatever a person wanted him to be.

Still, he couldn’t quite deny that being at Ashmore made him happier than being anywhere else.

RACHEL BERRY—TAKEN

Name: Sandra
Age: 18 
Timezone: Central
Favorite Ship(s):  St. Berry, Puckleberry, Samchel, Pieberry, Pezberry, any
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 1st
Background: Rachel Berry was born in a small, cozy town in Ohio to her loving and dedicated dads, Leroy and Hiram Berry. She was born out of love, her parents having screened potential surrogates based on beauty and IQ. When Rachel was born, it didn’t take long for her parents to enroll her in every performing lesson possible - dance, voice, acting; in short, anything that could possibly give her a competitive edge. Being Broadway fans themselves, Leroy and Hiram were ecstatic when Rachel announced at the young age of three years old that she was going to be the next Barbra Streisand.

With how she was raised, it was only natural for Rachel to eventually grow up to be incredibly talented, driven, and passionate when it came to her future Broadway career. All her life, she was admired and looked up to by her peers - none of them being quite as passionate as Rachel, and finding her drive to be incredibly admirable. However, when she reached high school, Rachel’s life took a dramatic turn. While her passions for performing never changed, her peers did. What was once awe and admiration, had drastically turned to disgust and obvious annoyance. Rachel was now seen as a nuisance, and she became the social outcast at her school. While it was incredibly lonely to be isolated like that, Rachel did her best to push aside the loneliness to focus on her career. However, the loneliness was difficult to bear, and when she started getting hazed, she slipped into a bit of a funk.

So when she received a letter to Ashmore Academy - a place where she was sure she would be once again looked upon with admiration and adoration rather than disgust - Rachel immediately jumped at the opportunity. Her dads were a bit hesitant, not wanting to be parted with their baby girl for too long. However, they knew how hard-headed their daughter was, and knew that there was no way she wouldn’t get what she wanted. In no time at all, Rachel had all her stuff packed and was off to Ashmore Academy - eager to finally be in a place where she would finally be respected and would no longer be bullied.

MIKE CHANG—TAKEN

Name:  Ali
Age: 17 
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Tike, Bike, Fabang
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Dance and Academics
Year at Ashmore: 3rd
Background:

Suffice it to say that Michael Chang Junior was born into a family with extremely high expectations.        As the only child in the family, both mother’s and father’s hopes and dreams were pushed on to the boy from a very early age, though the family remains loving.

It was his father’s dream that Mike would become a doctor and Mike was content to live that dream for a while. After all, his grades were almost flawless and he had always been a very helpful person. What better career than that?

But when Mike began to dance, and found that he was really good at it, his father’s medical dreams began to slip from his mind. He soon realized that he wanted to be a dancer and nothing else. He hasn’t confronted his parents about this dream just yet, but they do know of his love of dance. His father disapproves. Usually Mike would steer clear of what upsets his parents, but he loves dance too much to give it up. And his grades were still as perfect as ever, so why would he have a reason to give it up?

When Mike received his invitation to Ashmore Academy, he was ecstatic. He had been accepted for both his dancing talent and his grades! His father only likes to focus on that second part, but Mike can still not get over the fact that someone wants him for his dancing ability.

Life at Ashmore Academy was fantastic. Mike was able to keep up in all of his classes and further his dancing skills simultaneously. He even made a best friend there, one Blaine Anderson. The two were very, very close and open with each other. Mike knows that he would never be able to find a friend as wonderful and true as Blaine.

He also managed to find himself a girlfriend, or rather, fiance. Mike couldn’t have been happier with Tina Cohen Chang. So much that he proposed to her at the tender age of seventeen. Naturally, as they would, things about the couple began to come out and this was the way that Mike found out that Tina does not know the identity of her father.

Mike thought about it for a while and thought that it would be the greatest present in the world for Tina to know her father. So he went on a search. After pawing through medical records, family trees and many complicated document, Mike finally found him.

He was planning to talk to Tina about it all first, but his father’s growing expectations pushed him over the edge and he was broken. Torn between his love for dance and his respect for his father, Mike chose neither. He pushed his parents out of his life, left Ashmore for backstreets London and left Blaine and Tina behind.

But he’s back now, though. He’s reconsidered. Mike needs dancing like everyone needs oxygen. And if he’s done with his father, he needs something to live for. He’s ready to approach Tina and Blaine for forgiveness.

TINA COHEN-CHANG—TAKEN

Name: Gwen
Age: 19 
Timezone: Mountain
Favorite Ship(s): Tina/Happiness, Tike
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance:  Musical skill
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background:

Tina Cohen-Chang is a seventeen-year-old student at the prestigious Ashmore Academy, granted access because of her vocal ability, tap-dancing skill, and budding talent in piano. To say her life revolved around music and performance would be an unfortunate understatement. Tina adores the stage and everything that comes with it, especially the fashion. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved experimenting with her wardrobe. Her mother would lay out an outfit for her in the morning, but by the afternoon, Tina would be wearing her own creation (whether she ripped off her shirt sleeves, added Sharpie to her shoes, or changed into a mismatched skirt). Though her father is wary of her “goth” look, her mother supports her endeavors whole-heartedly. Tina considers herself very lucky to find her passions so early in life. She wants to go on to be a Broadway performer, though she realizes her chances are slim (especially with how emotional she can get once the spotlights hit her). Even if she never makes it to New York City, she would be more than happy to work in the fashion industry at a designing level.

Although she confident in her dreams now, she used to suffer from a debilitating case of shyness. When she was in elementary school, she was called on to give an oral report. In a moment of panic, she told her teacher she couldn’t because she had a stutter. She was one of the only Asian students in her school, she dressed differently than all the other girls, and now she had a stutter to maintain. Those three things alienated Tina from her peers, so she spent her formative adolescent years predominately alone. Because of this, she is hesitant to let people in. Once you earn her trust, however, you’ve found yourself a fast friend. Before discovering her high school’s glee club years later, she only had two friends on Facebook (her parents).

It really was her high school’s glee club that changed things for Tina. She found an outlet for her childhood isolation and sadness and, more importantly, she found friends who shared common interests and aspirations. Once she found an atmosphere that was accepting of her love for music, she began taking tap classes, piano lessons, and even a few introductory acting courses. Tina surrounded herself with the things she loves and couldn’t imagine herself any happier—until the day she received her acceptance letter to Ashmore.

Tina loves her parents and little sister very much, but in the frenzy of getting ready to enroll, she stumbled upon her birth certificate. Until last year, Tina did not know she was adopted. Tina’s family doesn’t even know that she knows! All she knows about her birth parents is their names and that they are from South Korea. Now that Tina is living away from home, she realizes that this would be the perfect opportunity to search for her birth parents without hurting her family. But will she? She has a lot on her plate right now and is caught between focusing on the future and sorting out her past. With all of the pressures from school, friends, careers, family, and relationships, Tina doesn’t know quite where her birth parents fit into the mix.

SAM EVANS—TAKEN

Name: Jordii
Age: 14
Timezone: GMT
Favorite Ship(s): Fabrevans, Samchel, Samtana
Least Favorite Ship(s): Sam/Male
Reason for acceptance: Musical, athletic
Year at Ashmore: 1st
Background: Samuel Evans was born and raised in the country of Tennessee, a U.S state located in the South-eastern United States. He had grown up there as a child with his parents, Sarah and Derek Evans. He had a great childhood growing up. His parents showered him with love and affection; he always thought he was a pretty lucky kid to have that much support. He has always cherished his family; they always come first, no matter what. The Evans family were always very tightly knit, they’d literally give their life for each-other. Sam felt he was lucky to be born into such a great family with such honourable values. He always strives to make them proud—excelling in his musical abilities and his athletic abilities. They’re extremely proud of Sam and boast about his success with pride; it always makes Sam happy to know that his family is there for him and take interest in what he does. 

Sam Evans has a pretty fantastic life, if you ask him. He has wonderfully supportive parents and two adorable little siblings. What else could he possibly wish for? Well, a lot of the time he does wish he didn’t have dyslexia; but he takes it in his stride. When he was a small kid, his educators noticed he wasn’t doing as well in literature as he should, they then found out that he had dyslexia. It wasn’t something he was ever ashamed of, he just thought it was a hassle, that’s all. When he was younger, he got extremely insecure about it—but after some talking with his parents he realised maybe it wasn’t so bad after-all. He found different hobbies; he was always interested in football and was the best player in his school, so he took pride in that. He also found music and his love for it. He excels in playing the guitar and has surprisingly good vocals; it came to a shock to his parents because neither of them thought being musically gifted ran in the family, they were over-joyed nevertheless. 

Sam applied to Ashmore in hopes of doing what he loves—both music and athletics; which they catered for. It was a dream come true for him because he could never really find a school that supplied for both of his talents and he was always indecisive about which of them he wanted to advance further, but Ashmore Academy supplies education for both, so of course he was overjoyed when he got accepted.

QUINN FABRAY—TAKEN

Name: Rae
Age: 17
Timezone: Central
Favorite Ship(s): Fuinn, Quartie, Fabrevans, any
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Academics
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background:

Every little girl dreams of being a princess, but for Quinn Fabray, the glamorous lifestyle is all she’s ever known.

Growing up as an only child to two extremely successful business owners, Quinn has been nothing short of privileged. Greenwich, Connecticut is where most of her childhood took place. She grew up in a home that was big enough to fit a small town and her closet alone was bigger than all of her friend’s rooms put together, and she’d be the first to admit it. She’s not a bragger by any means, for it was against the WASP codes set in place by her respected grandmother, but she definitely knew the difference between the wealthy and the poor.

For the most part, Quinn got exactly everything she wanted. Some may call it spoiled, but Quinn called it affection. Her parent’s form of affection, that is. It was almost a rare occasion that Quinn spent time with her parents outside of the forced public events, family formal dinners (that only took place on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Easter), and their annual vacations to both their summer home in Venice, Italy and their winter home in Aspen. And even then, they all seemed to take their own space to do their own things, and for the most part, that’s the way it had always been.

Friends were few and far apart for Quinn. In fact, the word ‘friend’ was something Quinn had yet to fully understand. A friend was someone you frequented the red carpet with, someone to follow you around school, someone to sip martinis with poolside at the Country Club. A friend, she decided, was someone you kept around until the doors were closed, someone you couldn’t trust as far as you could throw them. And judging by the tall high heels and layered necklaces, they wouldn’t be able to be thrown that far.

It was no surprise to anyone in Greenwich, let alone the Fabray family, when the sleek, white envelope fell into Quinn’s hand, letting her know that she had been accepted into Ashmore Academy and they were awaiting her arrival. Everyone who was anyone attended Ashmore, and there wasn’t a moment before she was accepted that Quinn doubted she would be invited. Her great-grandmother had attended Ashmore, as well as her grandmother and both of her parents, so to say the pressure that was put on her was great would be an understatement.

Her parents had demanded perfection from her all of her life, and she’d be damned if she was going to let them down now.

RORY FLANAGAN—TAKEN

Name: Katie
Age: 16
Timezone: Central
Favorite Ship(s): Rory/Harmony, Rory/Sugar Rory/Girl
Least Favorite Ship(s): Rory/Brittany, Rory/boy
Reason for acceptance: Music
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background: Born in Derry City in Northern Ireland, Rory was raised by two loving partners along with his two younger siblings. Rory grew up like every other kid, playing football with his friends, messing with his baby sister, and thinking he would take over his family’s restaurant after university. However, he changed his plans when he realized his love of singing when pushed by his mother to join their church’s choir. Although he had been reluctant, when Rory got to perform a solo for the Christmas service, he was hooked on performing. For once, he felt like he was not just good at something but great.

When Rory approached his parents with plans to become a singer, they listened but didn’t take him seriously. They only agreed to enter him in different singing competitions and find him a voice lesson teacher if he helped out around their family restaurant, hoping their son would change his mind. Despite his family’s less than enthusiastic support, Rory refused to stop trying to improve and achieve his goals.

Over time, Rory developed a wide range and collected numerous trophies by winning different singing competitions. He looked towards Frank Sinatra and other big band legends, deciding that if he wanted to be like anybody, it was Sinatra.  or more specifically New York. At age 14, he joined a local singing group outside of church group. With the singing group, he was able to travel to England to compete in a choir competition for the entire UK. This was where the Ashmore recruits noticed Rory for his vocal talent.

When Rory received the coveted Ashmore invitation, he couldn’t believe his luck. This was an opportunity of a lifetime! However, it wasn’t as easy to convince his parents. With a combination of bribery and begging (lots and lots of begging), Rory’s parents relented and allowed him to enroll.

The moment Rory stepped into the highly competitive halls of Ashmore he was overwhelmed. He hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t this. No one could understand him through his thick accent, and everyone was just so good. He felt sub par, at best and caused Rory to hang in the background in music and academic classes, letting others shine. The typically cheerful and friendly teenager became inoverted and shy around his peers. He struggled to be accepted by the others, and he knew standing out was not the way to achieve the acceptance he desperately craved.

However, this year, Rory wanted to change that. He made a plan to stand out, get solos, make friends, go crazy, maybe even catch the eye of the beautiful dancer he had a crush on the year prior, anything. This was going to be his year.

FINN HUDSON—TAKEN

Name: Cerena
Age: 15
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Fuinn, Finntana, Sinn, Farmony
Least Favorite Ship(s): Finchel, Fritters
Reason for acceptance: Athletic talents
Year at Ashmore: 1st
Background: Finn Hudson was born in a small town to loving parents Christopher and Carole Hudson. Christopher was a Marine and was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan when Finn was seven years old. It was hard on Finn losing his father, as he had taught him how to play football. Finn continued to play the sport in memory of his father, and took the responsibility to care for his now-widowed mother. While playing at the neighbours’ house the one day, one of the men told Carole how well Finn was at playing football. It didn’t take long until Carole signed him up for a football team; it was expensive however, so he didn’t stay in it for that long, but that didn’t stop him from playing the game he loved. He would play at recess, and at one point, got hurt from getting tackled so hard.

Besides football, Finn also loved to sing and play the drums. Music was something that he had always loved, and it gave him the confidence on knowing that he was great at something (besides football) and was special. High school was a great experience for Finn; he became popular and was a ‘stud’ among the girls. He sort of liked it, but he hated being popular at times because it would be so stressful just to do things that everyone else wouldn’t expect from a person like Finn. So, he joined the school glee club, and didn’t care about what everyone thought about him after that point. All he wanted to do was just be himself and have fun.

That fun didn’t last long, however, because soon enough, it was that time where everyone had goals that they could live off of when graduating high schools, whereas Finn had none. Some people already had their lives planned out after high school, and there was him, with no aspirations or goals. Although he did want to play in the NFL, he didn’t know how likely it would be for him to make it. This was something that worried Carole. When a letter from Ashmore Academy came, Carole was more than happy that her son would be attending a better high school. It worried Finn because he wasn’t going to be able to look after his mother, but packed up his bags to attend the school, maybe, just maybe, his dream of playing in the NFL would come true.

KURT HUMMEL—TAKEN

Name: Zoe
Age: 17
Timezone: GMT
Favorite Ship(s): Klaine
Least Favorite Ship(s): Kum, Puckurt, Kurtofsky
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 1st
Background: Kurt was born in a rather humble neighborhood in the uneventful town of Detroit, Michigan. From day one he was nothing short of a complete diva, ask his father and he’ll openly agree with you without any hesitation. At age three he asked for a pair of sensible heels for his birthday, at age four a karaoke set, and by age six he was dancing around the house singing showtunes to some of the most famous and catchy musical numbers. For example Grease, though he’d rather sing the parts of one Ms. Sandy rather than Danny.

When he was eight years old, still choosing to sing show tunes and dance about the house and outside rather than join his father in his car garage shop, his mother died. This shook up both he and his father tremendously as one can imagine, and his father spent more time in the garage and more time watching sports games.. two things that Kurt really could care less about.

By the time he reached junior high, he quickly realized that he had no true interest in girls at all. As all of the other pre-teens and budding hormonally driven boys his age were getting past the “cootie” phase in a hurry, Kurt found he had no interest in them whatsoever.. and that some of them had rather horrendous fashion choices at that. The more the idea dawned on him that he might be gay, the more he tried to push away from it and fake being straight. The more his father seemed to be bothered by him singing in a perfectly sharp soprano voice, the more he shyed away from it.

In highschool, everything finally seemed to come full circle. He joined glee club, which his father was initially less than enthusiastic about but he gradually realized that it was something Kurt wanted to do and was pretty damn good at it, too. He could hold soprano notes better and higher than any girl in his club could, in such a range typically unusual of a male singer. He still attempted his “straight” facade the more he realized he was in fact gay, dressing less artsy and more boyish. He even attempted having a girlfriend for a total of two and a half weeks before he realized he really couldn’t, and finally came out to his father.

After coming out and having his dad’s full support, Kurt was free to dress like he walked right out of a Marc Jacob’s catalog and even freer to sing his heart out. He was bullied relentlessly in his first year and a half of public highschool, called “fag”, “gay”, “lady”, and a whole other sleu of horrible words. Being the only openly gay boy in his school to his knowledge at the time, he was picked on left and right to the point that he became rather intimidated about being in the school in general. But singing and glee were everything to him, so by the end of his second year of doing just that, he received a letter in the mail from one prestigious Ashmore Academy.

Kurt of course, was over joyed by this. There’s no better private institute in the country to focus on the arts, and it would be a place where he could finally be who he was and be courageous and proud about it rather than having to avoid the cafeteria around lunch time. Burt helped him by taking out several loans for him to be able to attend the school in the first place, and Kurt eagerly packed his bags and headed on out for what Ashmore has to offer.

JESSE ST. JAMES—TAKEN

Name: Emily
Age: 14
Timezone: GMT
Favorite Ship(s): St. Berry, St. Lopez, St. Fabray
Least Favorite Ship(s): St. Harmony, Jesse/Guys
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 4th
Background:B

For much of his childhood, Jesse’s parents were absent from his life, instead throwing money and expensive gifts at their son to make up for their constant jet-setting around the globe, both for business trips and leisure. This had led to a strained relationship between the two parties, but things between Jesse and his father were particularly bad. The main point of argument between them was Jesse’s choice in future career. Growing up, Jesse had always been very musical, having learnt the piano from the age of three, other instruments being added to that list as he grew older. He’d always taken part in school plays and local youth productions, and he’d been in the choir at his elementary school. Of course, this led to dreams of being a performer, more specifically acting upon the Broadway stage. For Alan St. James, the idea of having an actor for a son was a great disappointment, and Jesse’s unwillingness to take over the family business was proving a great issue between the two. It was only widening the rift that Jesse’s lonely childhood had already caused between father and son.

Being a New Yorker didn’t really help. With Broadway just around the corner, and nannies who couldn’t say no to him, Jesse managed to sneak out of the house on many occasions to see shows. However, despite his great focus upon musical theatre and the arts, Jesse had managed to maintain his grades to an impeccable standard. His behaviour at time was considered a little unruly, but teachers deemed the cause of this to be that he was simply too bright and therefore got bored of learning things he considered easy. He was often found humming to himself as he scrawled down various musical notes, clearly not paying any attention to the lesson at hand and instead composing his own pieces. However, when questioned on the subject that he was supposed to be studying, his teachers could never seem to find fault in his knowledge. Part of this was because he’d spent so many hours teaching himself. Being an only child with his parents always absent, Jesse had spent a lot of time during his childhood alone, finding children his own age inferior and adults not imaginative enough. Therefore, his energies went into extra studies and ensuring that he was the best, which, of course, he knew he was.

When the letter for Ashmore Academy had arrived through his letter box, Jesse had been thrilled, finally feeling as if his hard work was being noticed. His parents had always disregarded everything he’d done as useless, and being accepted on musical grounds just proved to him that what he’d done did have a point. Though his father hadn’t liked the reason for his son’s acceptance, he of course knew of the school, and there was no way he refuse Jesse the chance to attend. In fact, he even encouraged his son to go for it, and for the first time in his life, Jesse’s father actually told him that he was proud of him. Jesse had been eager to get to his new school, and luckily for him, Ashmore was everything he’d hoped for and more. He could finally be around people who were actually near the level he was at (because obviously, no one could surpass it), and people who admired and respected what he did. His teachers knew what they were talking about and for the first time in his life, his school work challenged him. To Jesse, these were all good things, and for once his talents and abilities could be nurtured and developed into something truly amazing, by people who knew exactly how to mentor him.

MERCEDES JONES—TAKEN

Name: Keesh
Age: 17
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Samcedes, Kurtcedes (platonic)
Least Favorite Ship(s): Puckcedes, Artcedes
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background: Mercedes Alisha Jones was born to David and Alexa Jones in Brooklyn, NY. Her father’s a dentist and her mother’s a cosmetologist, that owns her own salon. From the time Mercedes could talk, she was singing. It was something she has been passionate about for so long and she was good at it. Through out her high school years, she’d been known as the best and as far as she was concerned there couldn’t possibly be anyone better. It was safe to say her talent had come from her mother, who also had a glorious voice. 

Her family wasn’t the most wealthy but they had enough. She certainly wasn’t spoiled and learned early on that she needed hard work and dedication to get the things she wanted in life. Which is exactly what lead her to be accepted into the absolute best school she could ever dream of - Ashmore Academy. Mercedes didn’t waste another moment of her time after that. She knew that Ashmore was the perfect place for her, without a doubt, and her parents supported her completely.

This is her second year at AA, and she loves it. Of course it has it’s challenges, but that’s what she wants. A challenge of her abilities. She’s met amazing people and made some great friends. Her dream is to be a star, the best of the best - the next Beyonce. And as far as she concerned attending Ashmore, is the first step on her journey.

SANTANA LOPEZ—TAKEN

Name: Riss
Age: 16 
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Brittana, Pucktana, Finntana, Santina
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Musical talent (piano prodigy)
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background: Santana was born and raised in a small town in Massachusetts. Though she did live with her parents, they both had very demanding jobs, so she was technically raised by her grandmother, a very ethnic, Colombian woman. Her grandmother barely spoke a word of English, and Santana wasn’t fluent in Spanish, so the two didn’t really know how to communicate. However, the old woman was an amazing piano player, and whenever San heard her play, she was in awe and wanted to be as good as her grandmother some day. So, at a very early age, Abuela Lopez started to teach Santana some basic keys. This became their mean of communication. As Santana grew up, Abuela convinced Mr. and Mrs. Lopez to enroll Santana in actual lessons, and since they were pretty wealthy, her teacher was one of the best in town.

Santana was completely engrossed in the instrument, always dying to show her Abuela anything new that she learned. When she started middle school, she became involved with the girl’s acapella group and found interest in singing. However, piano was always her main focus. It was her only way of communicating with the most important person in her life, and it was also a way that she was able to express herself. Growing up without parents to talk to, Santana learned to keep to herself. Sure, she could vent to her grandma who was always willing to listen, but she never got much advice in return. That taught her to fend for herself. She didn’t really need people. All she needed was her grand piano and her Abuela to smile along as she mastered another symphony.

One day, during 8th grade, Santana got the worst news of her life. Her Abuela, old and sick, had passed away due to heart failure. The news came as a complete shock and for a very long time, Santana was just bitter and in denial about the situation. Whenever she talked to her parents, it was to tell them to fuck off, and she started to bitch at anyone who crossed her path in school. Girls talked about her behind her back, and boys told her she would be alone forever, but she brushed it off. She was unaffected, because her heart was cold. She didn’t want to love anymore, not if it was ultimately going to make her feel like this. 

A lot of people would take the death of a relative and apply it negatively to their lives. They would lash out and stop caring, but Santana did the opposite. She dedicated all of her time into her piano lessons for several hours a day, and her academics. Though she liked to believe she was doing it to honor her Abuela, she knew that wasn’t completely true. She did it because that was the only thing she knew how to do. It worked out though, because she excelled. That’s why it was no surprise when she got the invitation from Ashmore Academy.

At Ashmore, Santana keeps the same attitude as she always has. She acts superior, the best at what she does, and she doesn’t need anyone to bring her down. Friends aren’t necessary, and enemies are welcome. After all, Santana hungers for some healthy competition. Or unhealthy, whatever. Her personality remains a bit closed-off, and she keeps it real. The biggest difference between the younger Santana and the Ashmore Santana is that the older, sharper version likes to enjoy herself outside of the piano. She explores and she parties, but she likes to do those things alone. Of course, she hooks up every so often. She’s a growing girl with hormones, so she can’t help it. But it’s always no strings attached. Always. Again, love is not exactly her thing. Not anymore. She doesn’t care about hurting people’s feelings, or about how many friends she loses, because she has already lost the one person she loved the most in the whole world, so why not just lose everyone else?

SUGAR MOTTA—TAKEN

Name: Dommie
Age: 16
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Sugar/Happiness, Sugar/Rory, Sugar/Artie, Sugar/Sebastian, Sugar/male
Least Favorite Ship(s):  Sugar/female
Reason for acceptance: Believes it’s her musical talent but it was money
Year at Ashmore: 3rd
Background:

Sugar was born into a very wealthy family living in Manhattan, whose head is a business tycoon who has played all the right cards in terms of money. The Motta fortune is quite vast and because of this, Sugar was constantly showered with gifts and good opportunities such as holidays and classes from birth.

Sugar’s parents are divorced, after her mother ran off with one of the pool cleaning boys who used to work at their estate. Sugar has not seen or heard from her mother since. She doesn’t let this bother her as much as she should, because her father is enough of a parent for her not to miss having a mother as much.

Sugar’s father is very supportive of anything and everything that Sugar does. He admires the fact that she is ambitious and driven, much like him. Thus, he will spend any amount of money to assist her in helping her dreams come true. He is her biggest, and sometimes only, fan.

When she had just turned fourteen, Sugar and her father were thinking about which high school to send her to. They immediately ruled out all of the public schools in the area and were looking to send her to a private college. 

But when Sugar voiced her interest of being in a school with a strong performing arts program, Sugar’s father was at a loss. Most of the schools they had thought of were focused on academics, not so much the performing arts.

But then, he remembered Ashmore Academy. It was a very elite school based in England, with both a high standard for academics and performing arts. Although entrance to the school is generally only through invitation, not application, Sugar’s father, unbeknownst to her, made a phone call to the school and offered to donate a new library wing in exchange for her enrollment, for which he would also pay the fee. 

A month and a half later, Sugar received the invitation to attend Ashmore Academy and was overjoyed. To this day, she still does not know the real circumstances of her enrollment. 

Sugar has been at Ashmore Academy long enough to consider herself a veteran. She will be sad to graduate next year, because these last few years of feeling special have been the best time of her life. She plans to move back to New York and attend a performing arts college, such as Juilliard. And if her singing career doesn’t pan out, she can always dance for a living.

HARMONY PEARCE—TAKEN

Name: Ashley
Age: 19 
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Rory/Harmony, Harmony/Male
Least Favorite Ship(s): Harmony/Female
Reason for acceptance: Musical Talent
Year at Ashmore:  4th
Background: Harmony has been in the acting business since before she was even born and yes, she does mean that literally. Her fetus ultrasound was featured on a prime episode of Murder, She Wrote and her mother even has said ultrasound picture framed on the living room wall at her home. In her youngest part of life she was also the Gerber company’s favorite model and she likes to think it’s because her charm and acting potential showed from the time she was a baby. And yes, pictures of that Gerber run are also hung up on the walls at her home (and on her side of the dorm room at Ashmore). Needless to say, Harmony was born to be a star from the time she was born, even from the time she was conceived she’d like to argue, and a star she would be.

Her mother pushed for the best acting lessons and vocal lessons while she grew up, partially because her mother definitely lived vivaciously through her daughter’s success and pushed for Harmony to strive and to achieve more. Of course, surrounded by constant praise and attention and promises of bigger things to come, it wasn’t very long into her lessons that Harmony was teaching herself and pointing out mistakes that some of the vocal and stage instructors happened to make along the way. She’s not vicious though, not at all, unless you get onto her bad side. She’s actually quite sweet and can be either your best friend or your worst enemy, so choose wisely. If you’re on her good side, she’ll drown you in praise and compliments and friendly conversation. However, if you’re on her bad side don’t be surprised to get a little bit of passive aggression in the form of critique and “pointers” in the right direction.

Needless to say, she attended the best all girls private school for elementary and middle school where she strengthened her vocal talents even further, and she heard about Ashmore Academy in her final year of middle school. She applied right away, knowing that such a place of high prestige would be lucky to have her was a place that she absolutely needed to be. She’s been at Ashmore Academy since the very start and now she’s in her third year, looking forward to senior year and all of the opportunities that are sure to come along with it. She has a few close friends and she’s more than willing to make more, especially considering this school is full of such true talent like herself, but some people have definitely learned to cross her the wrong way already.

BRITTANY PIERCE—TAKEN

Name: Violet
Age: 18
Timezone: Pacific
Favorite Ship(s): Brittana
Least Favorite Ship(s): Bartie
Reason for acceptance: Dancing skill
Year at Ashmore: 2nd
Background: Brittany Susan Pierce was born and raised on Peace and Love. A hippie child, born to later generation hippies, Brittany was first taught the importance of self-expression before any ABC’s or 123’s. Next came kindness and curiosity and most importantly, acceptance. The little girl grew up with wide eyes; absorbing everything the city of San Francisco could offer her. She danced before she could walk and she laughed before she could talk. Despite being sweet and well behaved, the little blond fought going to school with a passion. How could she focus in a cold building when the wonderful world her parents created for her was waiting just behind the heavy doors? But with time, Brittany started to enjoy learning, and her teachers learned how to be a little more patient.

 Brittany grew in every sense of the word, but the hardness of the world never managed to touch her. She danced through life; as innocent and loving as she was when she was three years old, tossing stale bread to the ducks at the pond.  People flocked to her, they were drawn in by her internal sunshine and she made friends everywhere she went.

 Brittany’s natural talent and instinct for dance had blossomed into a pure and artistic power. There was no move she couldn’t do, no style she couldn’t learn and when she did compete, she always took home the gold. Her skills had caught the attention of many directors who wanted to take her under their wing and groom her for dancing stardom, but the young girl was always content to work in the studio she had been dancing at her entire life.

 Although Brittany won’t admit it out loud, a part of her loves the attention she gets while she dances.  She feels like it is the only time people take her completely serious. Because she struggles in school and with staying on top of the trends that people her age are interested in, having something that she was so good at was important to her. And yeah, she could totally see herself as a star some day. Brittany needed a long-term plan and the letter from Ashmore Academy promised the perfect first step.

NOAH PUCKERMAN—TAKEN

Name: Kayla
Age: 17
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Puckleberry, Quick, Pucktana, Pierceman
Least Favorite Ship(s): Puckcedes, Luck
Reason for acceptance: Football and musical talent
Year at Ashmore: 3rd
Background:

Noah Puckerman, though most call him Puck, grew up under the care of a single mother who had always struggled to keep a roof over her family’s head. His father had left Puck and his family when Puck was only 6, leaving Puck, his mom, and his two younger sisters to fend for themselves. Thus, from a very young age, Puck was forced to step up to the role of “man of the house”. He was the one who had to provide dinner for his sisters when his mother was working late nights at the local hospital as a nurse, he was the one who had to save up every penny he could lay his hands on so he and his sisters wouldn’t go hungry (without his mother knowing), and worst of all, he was the one who had to watch helplessly as his mother cried herself to sleep every night when she though nobody was still awake to hear her.

Without a doubt, Noah Puckerman’s childhood was far from “perfect” or “privileged” like those of many of his future classmates. This tough upbringing found Puck in the middle of many precarious positions from which he drew a sort of toughness and aggression that, ironically enough, he associated with staying out of trouble. While Puck lived out his difficult childhood in the slums of the Upper West Side in New York City, he had many opportunities to develop and utilize strong “self-defense” skill. These proved to be something of a necessity for Puck and his life on the less glamorous streets of NYC. Given his past, Puck also found himself to be the bearer of an abnormal amount of aggression which he had no problem releasing on those who pissed him off. Puck’s lifestyle made him the victim of too many close calls with the law, as he had barely managed to avoid juvie time and time again since the age of nine.

Once he started middle school, however, Puck had found a new way to both exert his aggression and use the skills he had learned on the streets in the form of football. Puck discovered that he had a natural talent for the sport and, with a little practice, he was soon the athletic star of the neighborhood. While he still found himself involved in shady situations, football was able to, for the most part, keep him out of serious trouble. By the time he reached high school, Puck had broken nearly every record in the city as a wide receiver and could even play as a defensive back. It wasn’t long before he was playing, and, as he would put it, “kicking ass”, in state-wide championship and all-star games. Puck even earned a spot as one of the Top 100 High School Football Athletes in the nation- as a freshman. His future as an NFL player seemed inevitable, but what had set Puck apart from everyone else, ultimately getting him accepted into Ashmore Academy, is his additional talent as a musician.

When Puck was 7, his mom had wanted to get something special for Puck’s birthday because she knew how hard his dad leaving had been on Noah. Recognizing that Puck was and would continue carrying more responsibility than he ever should at such a young age, his mom tried to make it up to him by buying him his very own guitar. Puck had never played any musical instrument before, but had always idolized George from the Beatles and had wanted to learn how to play the guitar so he could be like George. From the moment his mom gave him the guitar, it became his most prized possession and Puck used music as a means of letting out what he was feeling- without having to slam his body into another person.

Over the years, Puck, who had taught himself how to play the instrument, developed a talent at both writing and playing music on his guitar- something he kept secret however as a kid and pre-teen. Puck felt music and the guitar were his own private escape, and he didn’t want other people to judge or affect him and his process. He was discovered however when one day, late after school, Puck was found in the school’s choir room playing his latest song by the head of the music department in the district. The music director had insisted that Puck participate in the school’s variety show and from there, Puck’s reputation as a “kick-ass song writer” grew.

The fact that Puck was so successful in music and football made him unique in the eyes of many colleges and private schools across the nation, including the prestigious and highly selective Ashmore Academy. Puck enrolled in Ashmore during his sophomore year and is currently a senior at the school.

SEBASTIAN SMYTHE—TAKEN

Name: Monica
Age: 21 
Timezone:  Pacific
Favorite Ship(s): Seblaine, any
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Reason for acceptance: Athletic talent
Year at Ashmore: 3rd
Background: Sebastian is a 17 year old lacrosse player who enjoys nothing more than a wild night complete with sex. His parents are ridiculously wealthy, partially because of inheritance and partially because his dad is and owns one of the top law firms in the US. Sebastian grew up with little to no attention from his parents, and developed a wall built so strong he is determined to never attach himself to anything. He has no siblings. He has only been in love once, and that ended when his boyfriend’s father ripped him out of school for being gay. They never spoke again. Sebastian doesn’t really care about labels. Is he gay? Is he straight? Is he bi? Who cares? Sex is sex, and love doesn’t exist. He seeks things that make him feel good. Some things he enjoys among frequent orgasm are Broadway, lacrosse, fine dining, live performance, and virgins (to name a few). He is an incredibly skilled lacrosse player, and he has no interest in academics although, academics have always been easy for him. Sebastian invests his interests in other talents… like singing. One of the things Sebastian learned growing up was if you could play the guitar and sing, you could make almost anyone lust for you. He doesn’t speak to his parents unless he needs something, and vise versa. His dad hates that he’s interested in men, and his mother is indifferent. She’s prescribed so many pills Sebastian is surprised she can drive, let alone walk places. Ashmore doesn’t mean much to him yet; all he knows is that rich kids always end up being quite interesting. He is excited to experience all the little rich kids, and mettle with their relationships. It’s what he’s best at, aside from lacrosse.

FACULTY

Vincent Ashmore—TAKEN

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Name: Mimi
Age: 16
Timezone: Central
Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Least Favorite Ship(s): N/A
Background: N/A

Shelby Corcoran—TAKEN

Name: Alethea
Age: 16
Timezone: Eastern
Favorite Ship(s): Shell, Shelby/Dustin, Shelby/Male
Least Favorite Ship(s): Shuck, Shelby/Any Student, Shelby/Female
Background: Much as she puts on a façade of having it all figured out, Shelby Corcoran has never known what to really want. The only thing that has ever been constant in her life has been to want more. It’s her coping mechanism – it’s been her only way to get out.

Michigan is the only contigual US state where you have to drive south to get to Canada, and that fact itself had always seemed a hindrance to Shelby. Though she lived in Grand Rapids as a child, with Detroit close by and Chicago not much further, she viewed her state with a sort of half-contempt that seems so intense when one is a teenager (but really isn’t that intense at all). I’m trapped, she would insist to her diary on a nightly basis. The middle child in a solidly middle-class family, Shelby, with her frizzy 80s curls that only served to hide her away from the rest of the world, felt decidedly average. She wasn’t living a cliché (though she would have liked to convince herself that she was much more hard-done-by than she really was), no – her parents didn’t expect the stars and the moon from her, and her siblings weren’t exceptional at anything, either. That in itself was the problem: there was an insurmountable sense of status quo around her.

Shelby always felt as if she had to do something radical to get out. This attitude was more a mindset than a rebellious phase. It was due in part to Shelby’s musical taste – she’d been listening to the original cast album of HAIR, which she’d found under her parents’ bed, for as long as she could remember. Lusting after the strength of character of the youth depicted, standing together and fighting for what they believed in, Shelby even managed to convince herself that she was born in the wrong era. She would spend days at a time redecorating her room, reevaluating her wardrobe choices, and above all, singing along to the cast album, trying to bring herself closer to what was so radical in comparison to her altogether pedestrian home life.

Though supportive of her enthusiasm of the “music that moved a generation”, the Corcoran parents worried slightly about what their daughter was getting herself into by trying to emulate the 60s. By then, it was the mid 80s, and as far as they were concerned, it was a time that was radical enough. An executive decision had been made to put Shelby in a contained, supervised environment, where any…experimenting  she would choose to do would be monitored at the very least.

Fourteen-year-old Shelby found herself sitting in the middle of a church’s basement one afternoon, trying to figure out what “Pippin” was even about. HAIR had seemed to her more a depiction of a way of life rather than a story – musical theatre, though she’d obviously known what it was, was a foreign art to her. It was a supportive room, much as Shelby was apprehensive, and when they’d asked her to sing (she’d picked Easy to be Hard, naturally), the overwhelming applause made Shelby think that she’d found her own slice of “radical”. Of course, when she’d been given the role of the Leading Player, there was nothing to do but dive in headfirst and hope for the best.

Shelby lived a decidedly average life, it was decided, except when she was in front of an audience. There was no denying that she was talented, and soon there were more cast albums playing out the door of her room than just HAIR. But in Michigan, it was incredibly difficult to overcome all aspects of the status quo. Eighteen year-old Shelby, now versed in four years worth of eating, sleeping and breathing the arts, naturally wanted to pursue performing as a career. Still middle of the pack in terms of academics and in terms of family income, it was impossible for Shelby to scrounge together the amount of money to even think about attending a prestigious music or theatre school. Feeling almost betrayed by her parents for no good reason at all, Shelby packed her bags and headed as far as her grades and her family’s dollars would take her – Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio. A voice major in their Conservatory of Music, she was getting the training she needed, but had gotten a little too big for her britches. In her college search, she’d decided: She needed sparkle. She needed New York City, and she needed it now. Her financial situation had ground that dream to a halt. Or at least it had until she’d met the Berrys.

A young gay couple looking to make a life in Ohio of all places, the Berrys wanted a surrogate mother to carry their child. The money would be enough to make her a life in New York City for a year, and Shelby, stars in her eyes, convinced herself that within that year she’d be a hit in New York, fully capable of supporting herself once the Berrys’ money ran out. She’d agreed to carry the baby.

Following a set of unforeseen circumstances (her estrangement from her family over her “unforgivable decision”, her attachment to the baby girl that wasn’t at all her own), Shelby arrived in New York City ready to “eat nails”, as it were, in her first audition. And the next. And the next. And the next. Somehow, she just wasn’t what they were “looking for” – and she tried to convince herself that she was still good enough, that she should keep on keeping on. But it became too much of a heartache.

She returned to Ohio, the closest thing to a home she had left, practically broke and all too disheartened. The best thing – though not the easiest thing financially – was to return to Baldwin-Wallace and finish out her degree. Drowning in more student loans than ever, she decided that it would be best to have a small source of income, and opened a voice “studio” of sorts out of a local high school music room. She funneled her boundless ambition and crushing heartache into her students, gradually building a reputation for breaking students down and building them back up again, into the type of performer she knew she hadn’t been able to be in New York City.

As it turned out, the Big Apple wasn’t finished with her yet. Her voice studio eventually brought her back to New York for good, coaching the top young talent. And she was the top herself. Cliché as it may be, there is only room for one at the top, and the view from above did get lonely for Shelby. Though her students were everything she’d hoped they could be – talented, successful, driven – they weren’t hers. And Shelby, deep down, was the same old Shelby she’d been all her life: always looking for more. Though complications after her time serving as a surrogate for the Berrys had left her unable to have more children of her own, there was a yearning in her heart for a perfect little package that she could call hers despite everything.

Connecticut wasn’t far. When Quinn Fabray had a little bundle she needed to dispose of in a hurry, Shelby happened upon her case and was there at the drop of a hat. In arched, confident letters, she signed to fill (or at least attempt to) the hole in her heart with Beth Corcoran.

But it was never enough. Perhaps nothing was ever enough for Shelby Corcoran, because she seemed all too willing to pack up her life to frigid, rainy England to teach at Ashmore (after a stint at the Professional Performing Arts School, where the “Broadway attitudes” of her supposedly “professional” students had her fed up faster than she could ball change).

She’d been chasing dreams that had let her down her entire life. She didn’t know when to stop. She still doesn’t.

Holly Holiday—OPEN

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Emma Pillsbury—OPEN

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William Schuester—OPEN

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Sue Sylvester—OPEN

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