APPLICATION | For mckinleyrewind RPG
NOTE: On the face of it, Jackson might seem like he has a lot of opening to be emo. I promise, he's far from that. He has taken his situation in his stride and really is just another typical teenage guy. My brother has MS and I work closely with MS patients, so this app isn't me talking out of my arse ;) Well-researched, I promise.
IN-CHARACTER
Character name: Jackson Fraser
Played-by: Hunter Parrish
Looks: Short blond hair, blue eyes, 5'7" tall, toned but not athletic build, very casual attire, usually seen with a camera and iPod in his possession.
Brief history: Jackson Fraser, McKinley High sophomore, has faced a lot in his sixteen years on the earth. He was born in Columbus, Ohio to Scottish born parents, Alistair and Mary and was part of an identical twin set. However, his brother died just four days after birth being the weakest of the two infants. Jackson thinks it's cool he was a born a twin and can't help wonder occasionally what it would have been like to have a close brother, but being an only child was cool. He grew up in a pretty average environment, his father a sport's reporter for a local newspaper and his mother a midwife. Jackson never showed any particular talent or interest in anything until he hit middle school and found a keen love in photography after being given a camera for his birthday. That was what led him to decide he wanted to be a police officer when he grew up, and hopefully go into Forensics and Crime Scene Photography. Because of this, he loves science and art, getting good grades in both, where most of his other subjects he just comes in hovering around average.
In Jackson's Freshman year at McKinley, two years after his parents moved to Lima for his father's promotion with another newspaper, he fell seriously sick and ended up in hospital for six weeks just a couple of months into the school years. Many tests, poking and prodding later, Jackson was diagnosed with early onset Multiple Scleroris and took the news as a heavy blow, believing his life was over. It took some time for him to get back on his feet, and although he missed a lot of school, he was able to keep up with the work and still complete his Freshman year. As a result, though, he fell completely out of the school social ladder loop and now in his Sophomore year, he feels a bit on the outer. The health scare gave him a new outlook on life, though, making him realise that he really did need to live for the moment because the illness could set him back again at anymore, with even a possibility of ending up in a wheelchair if he fell sick enough. Some days are better than others, and although he was tempted to not talk about what happened to him in the early days, he'll now answer questions about it if asked.
Jackson will try anything once, and is a pretty easygoing and approachable guy. He tends to unconsciously set in motion avoidance tactics if he isn't feeling well, only because it harbours an odd fear that people will start giving him a hard time if he is acting strangely and start filling in gaps for themselves. His yearning to enjoy life while he can has had him try (and fail) the football team and the basketball team that led him to decided he really wasn't cut out for athletics beyond frisbee or Wii Sports. He also tried the debate team, but got kicked off for switching viewpoints halfway through trying to argue for his side. Now with the increasing curiosity about Glee Club filtering around the school, he figures if he can sing in the shower, why not try out for Glee? A Slushie in the face was the least of his worries. He was pretty sure he could make a bigger fool of himself all on his own without the necessity for a Slushie, so as far as he was concerned, they could bring it on.
Because of the ever-present uncertainty about his illness at the back of his mind, Jackson doesn't trust very easily, but once he is your friend, he is 100% loyal. He has never had an urge to slot in with the "cool" kids, because he thinks it looks like a lot of hard work staying popular. Jackson is straight and dated a couple of girls before he fell ill, but he is nervous about inflicting himself on anyone anymore and doesn't like to contemplate his dating future too much. He figures if it's meant to be, he'll find a special girl one day to take him as he comes.
Family/Relationships: Mother and father in Lima, Ohio, and probably a bunch of more distance relatives in Scotland.
Mixtape song: "Everybody Hurts" by REM (You Tube Link)
When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes
Writing Samples:
#1 [FIRST PERSON]
I'm not exactly sure what I expected out of Sophomore year. I swear, I had some sort of idealistic notion before school actually started, but a few banally monotonous English classes and one mind-numbing school assembly, I can't help but wonder if I was drugged when I was anticipating an enjoyable school year. Most probably wouldn't agree, but the only slightly interesting and out-of-place thing that seems to be occuring is the reinvention of Glee Club by Mr Schu. He was always a pretty good teacher, even if I sucked at Spanish. Really sucked. So much sucked that there should probably be a whole new word invented for it. For some reason, every time I tried to get the phrases right, I managed to end up at swearing at Mr Schu in the foreign language. That could possibly have been quite cool, if I had known what the hell I was saying.
But that aside, I hear Glee has recruited Finn Hudson, resident Quarterback, so that has to say something, right? Still, it's not like I've ever exhibited much musical talent. I certainly have no Broadway or Billboard fame urges. If Kurt Hummel thinks I make even Addidas look shabby, then I'm pretty sure he won't vouch for my vying for his and Rachel Berry's position at the top of the musical Christmas tree. Still, music is cool and I can sing in the shower or when I'm vacuuming for mom. I totally failed on the sport front, so why not give this a shot? I hear they need members, so maybe they might just be desperate enough to humour a fashion victim like myself? And really, it's not like I can fail more than I did in Spanish. Then if all else fails, we can always break out the Macarena or the Nutbush, right? Now there's something I can really rock.
#2 [THIRD PERSON]
It wasn't a good day. Really, it wasn't. Jack knew he should have written the day off when that pigeon crapped on his head on he walk to school. Or maybe when his car didn't start, that should have been the first clue. By the second class of the day, his head was thumping and the words were swimming on the page as he distractedly noted the History teached droning on somewhere in the general direction of the blackboard out front. The kid tapping his pencil at the desk over from Jack really couldn't be more irritating if it tried, either. Who did the buttface think he was, Britney Spears? Tripping over his own feet in front of the whole football team and then having a lunch lady accuse him of being drunk just really took the cake. More to the point, when she actually whipped out one of those mini disposable breathalysers in front of three Cheerios and asked him to blow, the chorus of giggles drilled at a portion of his brain he really wasn't aware existed.
Blow, indeed.
He probably should have gone to the nurse, or to Principal Figgens. Both were aware of his situation. That didn't take away the fact he was a sixteen year old guy with an ego as big as the next teenager. No one wanted to admit they failed at life, let alone walking in a straight line. He pulled open his locker and then rested his head against the edge of it. He was just tired. It would pass.
"Are you drunk?"
Jackson closed his eyes briefly and turned his head to find Kurt standing there, blatantly scrutinising him. How tempting it was to just say yes. "Something like that," he responded with a wary glance up that hall.
"You look atrocious. So does that outfit. Was David Hasselhoff having a yard sale?" Kurt asked primly and started to open his own locker with a disdainful sniff.
Jack really didn't have an answer for that and for a moment, he just looked blankly at the other guy... until he saw a flicker of an opening. If anyone had the inside scoop, it would be Kurt. "Is it true, Glee are holding try outs?" he asked.
Kurt stilled, looking at the interior of his locker."Auditions," he corrected with a roll of his eyes. "This afternoon." He closed the locker door succinctly, and took a step closer to Jackson. "I wouldn't bother," he said with a snobby bite to his tone as he brushed passed Jackson with a mere glance up and down at him before walking away.
Despite his sore head and generally shitty day, Jackson watched Kurt walk up the, narrowing his eyes a little. All it took was one person to tell him not to bother with someone to make him want to bother ten-fold. He looked down at his shaky hand and then squeezed his fingers closed in a fist. Damnit, he was trying out for Glee if it killed him. Now, just to somehow pull a decent song out of his ass in all of... an hour and a half. Oh, wonderful.