Jacksper and Me

Banner that I made a while ago.

If you’re reading this there is about a 99% chance that you know why I’m the person writing the Jacksper appreciation post on this blog. If you just so happen to not know then lets just take the easy route and go with this: Imagine the biggest Rob fan you know. Now, change Rob to Jackson and that fan is me. ;)

People like to ask me what my favorite thing about Jackson is. And I tend to give everyone different answers. Sometimes I say his voice, sometimes I say his smile, I think last time my answer was his ears. The truth is, I like everything about Jackson, including his flaws. I know some of you think I don’t notice the flaws, but I probably notice even better than you, the thing is I just love them too. :D.

So Alitriona asked me if I would like to write a Jacksper appreciation post, and so of course I was beyond excited to get to do that. I think we all know I love to talk about Jacksper. I mean, I even started a thread about eight months ago just so I’d have a place to talk about him as much as I want. Nothing is a bigger wake-up call that you’re boring everyone in the room when on chat you’ve taken up the whole page of talking about Jackson and you haven’t even realized that nobody has responded in the last ten minutes. Haha.

BUT! One reason AT asked me to do it was because Jacksper doesn’t get enough love. And with that statement I am torn. In so many ways I agree, he doesn’t get a lot of love because everyone is busy loving on Rob/Edward. You all probably don’t think I do this, but I really do stop myself from talking about something Jacksper related quite a bit, then I tend to run over to my thread to get it out of my system ;).

But, to be fair, everyone is extremely gracious when it comes to him, and my love. I think because in a way the majority of you do see the attraction for him, even if it’s not as strong as you have for Rob, or some of you with Kellan. I mean, ya’ll post pictures on my thread and post news I haven’t heard and all that other stuff, which always makes me beyond elated. Really whenever I see someone has posted on the Jacksper thread I get this huge grin on my face.

To me though, I don’t see how anyone would want to talk about Rob or look at picture of Rob when they could talk about or look at Jackson. It sometimes doesn’t register in my mind that ya’ll aren’t feeling the same as me. Though, because I used to find Rob endearing as well it’s easier for me to…understand?

I too was once among you all in a love for Rob, daydreaming about his hair and that lovely accent. He’s the only reason I even went to see Twilight! I was that girl in the theater making fun of everything but swooning as soon as he walked into the room. I walked away from the movie thinking ‘I’ll never see that again, I’m definitely never reading the books, and that blond dude was kind of cute too.’

I ended up watching it in theaters three more times and reading the books about two days later. Why? Fuck if I know what happened. I’m fairly sure it was for Rob though.

But something happened as I was reading Twilight and New Moon and especially Eclipse. I realized that the only scenes I was looking forward to as much as the “romantic scenes” with Bella and Edward were the ones with Jasper and Alice, or more specifically the ones with Jasper. I found him fascinating. He was the vampire that had to stay clear of Bella, yet his wife was her best friend. I never once blamed him when he attacked Bella in New Moon, though I’m fairly sure it would have been a natural reaction to put some blame on him. Even though I’ve voiced my theory and now I believe it was 100% no way something he could have been expected to control.

And then when I read Eclipse I re-read it. And not just for the leg hitch or the night before the tent scene or the scene at the end when Edward says “I want you, right now.”(Or whatever). I also read Jasper’s scenes over and over again, intrigued by his past, and enamored with his relationship with Alice, and a little bit turned on to learn that he’s covered in scars. I realized then that Jasper was a bad ass, he was reserved and tough and intelligent. Yet his relationship with Alice was one of actual love.

I began to realize that it wasn’t Bella and Edward’s relationship that I wanted, it was Jasper and Alice’s. It wasn’t as forbidden or exciting as Edward and Bella’s, but it was the all consuming kind where even though I was looking from another person’s very limited point of view on them it was impossible for me not to just feel the love they had for each other. They’re not that annoying couple that grope each other in public (*cough* Emmett and Rosalie *cough*) or that even more annoying couple that hang all over each other and don’t want to spend time with anyone else (*cough* Bella and Edward *cough*). Their love was noticeable yet quiet, I’m a big believer in the fact that you don’t need loud or grandiose declarations of love all the time. Jasper and Alice just know, and not because of their powers, it’s because what they have is real, soul mate love. And knowing that while reading the little we were given about them always left me intrigued.

The more I became intrigued the more I began looking at that cute blond guy that played him in the movies, who by my fourth time watching it was the ‘definitely the 2^nd hottest guy in this movie.’

So, I googled him.

To say I was surprised would be a severe understatement. He had dark hair! And GREEN eyes!

I was taken in almost immediately. Soon after, Rob and Jackson were at a neck and neck of who I liked better.

And then one day, like there was never any choice to begin with, I realized that it was Jackson. No contest. No comparison. Because every time I looked at him I found myself becoming more and more attracted to him. And that just had never happened with Rob, I was attracted to him and then it just stayed like that without any real progression. With Jackson I loved noticing new things about him and falling more in love with his eyes and his smile and his hair. And most recently, his ears. :D And somewhere along the lines Rob lost almost all of his appeal to me. I can see where ya’ll are attracted, but to me, there is no comparison between the two.

But at the same time I was realizing that I also liked Jasper more than Edward. And it had nothing to do with Rob and Jackson. As I said I was enamored by his and Alice’s relationship and I began trying to figure out who Jasper was by himself as a character. Passionate was one of the things that came to mind. A quiet kind of passion though. And passion in anyway always intrigues me.

So when I began writing I chose to make Jasper the best friend instead of Emmett, who is usually the more best friend/brothery type. Purely because I wanted to get to explore Jasper more, and I found that I loved writing him more than any other character. Even if he is OOC I still like bringing canon Jasper into my mind as I write him and think about his intensity, I have always tried to keep the intensity and passion that I see in canon Jasper in my own stories. And his scars. Because those are all my favorite things about

him.

Now, it’s easy to put Jackson and Jasper together. Like with Jacksper. But they are in fact two separate people and I do try to keep them separated in my mind as much as possible. Because to be honest, I love them both, but for very different reasons. I’ve said what I love about Jasper, but what about Jackson?

Jackson is multi-talented, he’s an actor, musician and an artist.

Let’s start with the “artist” claim because I know least about that, hehe. In interviews and whatnot that I’ve read he claims to love photography, and I’ve even seen some of the photos he has taken.

Self-Portrait

Le Bum

He also has made a music video for a song by Spencer Bell called Beautiful, More So. It’s an amazing song, I definitely recommend it. I’m also pretty sure he has expressed the desire to direct at some point (like almost every actor ever :P)

Beautiful, More So

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuvBJ1m9kX8

(I don't know how to post a video on here, I'm not fancy shmancy like AT, haha, so a link will have to do).

Now, onto the music. Anyone who knows anything about Jackson knows that he is a music guy. He often talks about his favorite bands, keeping with the sort of southern blues type bands and musicians. Most of them I don’t know but I do know that he is a fan of Robert Johnson, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan. And to be honest if I met a regular guy who was also fans of them he’d definitely go up on my attractiveness meter. But! This post isn’t about the music that I like, though one band I do enjoy immensely is the band that Jackson is in, 100 Monkeys.

He has claimed that their music is “funky rock” and I guess that’s probably the best way to describe it. There really aren’t bands out there that sound like them, their sound is original and unique and it’s very refreshing to know that there are people who can create something new still. I have gotten the pleasure of seeing them live and it is apparent that they are a performing band. It almost seems wrong to try and have someone listen to a recording of them, because it doesn’t give the person a fourth of an idea of what it’s like to see these guys live. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot. And it had hardly anything to do with getting to stare at Jackson all night, but that was a nice little bonus.

Side Note: Before going to get to see 100 Monkeys I prepared myself for the fact that I was going to see Jackson in person, not on a picture or with makeup or any of that. I was sure he would still be good looking, but nowhere near as good looking as he is in all those pictures I have of him saved on my desktop. MAN, WAS I WRONG! Boy is a looker. Just like with a band, you can only know for sure that you’re a fan once you’ve seen them live, the same goes with a person, so I can say without a doubt that I am attracted to Mr. Rathbone, because really…it’s just too hard not to be.

Now unlike many actors/musicians Jackson actually is talented as a musician, and doesn’t just have a pretty okay voice and has had lessons in guitar. He plays an assortment of instruments including:

Guitar/Broken Guitar/Slide Guitar/Bowed Guitar, Drums/percussion, Piano/Keyboard, Harmonica, Bass, and Mandolin.

And I bet you anything he knows how to play more than that. He is also a singer, he switches off vocals with his other bandmates, though when it comes time to improvise a song he is always the one who makes up the lyrics and sings. Not long ago someone (ILWA to be exact) asked me to describe Jackson’s singing voice. I was struck dumb, for lack of a better word. How do I describe his voice? I went and listened to some of his songs and came up empty. I ended up giving her a generic yet confusing explanation that I don’t think really helped her out much at all. Haha.

So I’m not going to try to coherently explain what his voice sounds like here. But follow me anyway. His voice is like liquid. Liquid you say? Yes, liquid. But like a thick liquid, one that runs slowly, like honey. His voice is southern and deep and you can sometimes hear an almost growl in his voice, if you listen enough, maybe. But at the same time it’s not a baritone, it’s higher and lighter and you can hear an almost playfulness in his voice. Let’s put it this way, his voice is like if you take a deep southern boy and put him in drama school and teach him how to sing show tunes.

Hey, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened with Jackson. :D haha.

Does he have the best singing voice I’ve ever heard? Hell nah. Is it the sexiest voice I’ve ever heard? Top ten, maybe. Is it one of the sexiest things about him? Very much so, though there are many, many other things.

Which leads me to Jackson as an actor. Let’s see. He went to some academy thing for drama and yada yada yada he did some TV shows and small movies etc. etc. etc. Then he was in Twilight and well, it didn’t make him famous but it sure made him a lot more well known.

Now because I’m a huge fan I have made it my mission to see everything he’s been in. So, as a person who has watched awful movies just for him I can assure you that he has grown as an actor and I really see a lot of potential for him. He just needs to get movies with better scripts and I really think we’ll see Jackson’s acting talent shine through. Because I have seen him in some great roles, such as Adam/Amanda in an episode of Criminal Minds, and as Stephen in the movie Dread. Both of those showed that when given the opportunity, Jackson can really do a great job. But an actor can only do as well as the scene he’s been given, and in both Twilight and New Moon he wasn’t given very much.

Thankfully, he finally got to show off a bit in Eclipse, and I think he did a damn good job, despite the accent coming out at random moments. I also saw The Last Airbender, and my opinion of it is…not good. But it wasn’t him I didn’t like in it, it was the fact that the script was just absolutely terrible!

I really don’t think I’m just being bias here, I’d like to think that if it came down to it I would admit if he was just bad and that’s all you could blame it on. But as I said, because I have seen him in fantastic roles I do know he has the talent to become a great actor.

Okay, now all those…technical things are out of the way, hahaha. As I’ve said, people ask me what my favorite thing about Jackson is, so how about this?

I love that it doesn’t matter what his hair looks like, he’s still sexy no matter what the style. His eyes look like he’s trying to see your soul. His smile is far too crooked to be acceptable, and yet it’s really just far too adorable to care. When he smiles for real he gets the hugest dimples on the side of mouth.

His lips are just a little too full, but also just a little too lickable for their own good. His ears…dear god those ears. I can hardly explain what it is but his ears are the most adorable things I’ve ever seen and I kind of just squeal like a ten year old girl whenever there is a good picture of them. I’m obsessed with his ears. The fact that he looks good with or without facial hair and I can’t decide which one I like better, though I have a feeling it might be with facial hair as I’ve just noticed that the majority of my favorite pictures are of him with facial hair. I love that he walks like a bowlegged cowboy and that he has some muscles but they’re not prominent. And I love that he has his own quirky style and he doesn’t seem to like to match, and yet he doesn’t look like a mess doing so. And I love that although he may be a little “short” for some of you people’s standards, you have to admit that he carries himself with such a magnetic confidence that it’s easy to forget that he’s not as tall or taller than everyone else around him. I love that he clearly loves his southern roots, I especially love that Southern Charm thing he’s got going on. I love that he clearly loves what he does, nothing is sexier than a man who seems to be complete in himself and happy with what he has done and is doing.

And I love, as I said before, that every time I look at him I am just a little bit more attracted to him than I was the day before. It’s the longest “crush” I’ve ever had on a famous person…or any person for that matter. My friend pointed out to me just the other day that I’ve never liked a guy as long as I’ve liked Jackson and the fact that I’m only becoming more attracted to him feels like it could be an issue. Haha.

So yes, there is a lack of Jacksper love, though he probably gets the most after Rob/Edward. But I don’t really mind that, because…well…I think we all know I can be a little territorial. What I would like to see more of though is a little more Jacksper appreciation. The guy is interesting and talented and gorgeous.

How we don’t have more conversations about him is just beyond me. Hehehe.

Peace, Love and Sandwiches!

Allysue

aka Ms Rathlock

Disclaimer: I would like to assure everyone that I am not delusional. I do not know Jackson, I have no idea what kind of person he actually is. I don’t actually believe that he is my husband or lover or anything else, it’s all just in fun that I say these things. I would never stalk the guy, I’d never scream or cry if he came near me, I’d never try and steal his hat (which someone did, and is extremely lame IMO). He is just a dude who just so happens to be exceptionally good looking and seems to have an amazingly charming personality.

P.S. Go check out the Jacksper Thread and look over some of the amazing things people have posted and leave some love yourself! <3