Physical Appearance.
Okay, so I admit, this isn't technically Jackson Rathbone...but, then, who said it had to be? The best part of JR is his eyes. For him to become Jasper...he needed to get hench.
For the purposes of Take My Hand, this is the physique Jasper has. He's not huge, like Emmett, or thin, like Edward...he's strong and lithe...and very, very agile.
Alice has described Jasper as having the body of a swimmer, she's partly right, but Jasper is also quite acrobatic...at least he was before he was injured. So, think of him as a cross between a gymnast and a swimmer.
Profile and History.
I will add to this as the story progresses, but, as TMH is quite long, I thought it would be helpful to clarify some of Jasper's personal history.
For the moment, I am going to leave his military history alone. More of that will be revealed as the story continues, and when those chapters have been published, I will post his full back story on here.
At present, we just know that he left Forks when he was eighteen, and joined the army almost immediately. Jasper explains to Rose why he didn't go to Carlisle and Emse for help when Tom Hale threw him out. At the time, and still to this day, Jasper never felt there was a place for him there. As much as he knew they loved him, he didn't feel comfortable depositing himself on their doorstep and asking for shelter.
Jasper's intention when he joined the army was to travel the world and educate himself. He knew he couldn't find peace with himself if he stayed in Forks and he was worried he would end up hurting Rosalie. Not physically, of course...he was more concerned that he would start to resent her for being as happy as she was with Emmett.
He never intended to be away for so long, but that will be explained in due course.
Emmett mentions in chapter twenty six that Jasper was offered a scholarship to Stanford. It was a swimming scholarship but it was only partially funded. There was no way Jasper could afford to finance the rest himself. At the time, he was unaware that Rosalie didn't want to attend college, and as far as he was concerned, the money he'd saved was for both of them.
Jasper was also unaware that Carlisle and Esme wanted to help him go to college. However, it's unlikely that he would have agreed to it anyway.
Jasper always found it difficult to accept their help. Whenever he did, it was normally for Rosalie's benefit. It wasn't that he didn't like them, he did...he does. It was more to do with pride. Jasper spent his early years watching his mother work her fingers to the bone to pay for everything they ever had. It never seemed right for him to accept the help the Cullen's offered him
Stubborn? Yes. Pigheaded? Yes.
But remember, people, Jasper is human...and he's not perfect.
He's well aware that his life could have been very different if he'd been less resistant to help. But he also knows that he wouldn't have met Pete if he hadn't joined the army...or some of his other friends.
Jasper had some of the best days of his life in the Army...as well as the worst...and he's philosophical enough to realise that there experiences have made him the man he is. And while there are days when he hates himself, he also knows that some of the work he did really made a difference.
One day, Jasper will tell us that story...
