#RoryJackson

[auroraxjackson]

Everything from here on out is for a new group, however the the character name, and relationships are the same.

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : I Kill Giants (2017)

Graphic novel film adaptations are certainly not a new phenomenon... as far back as the 1980′s, filmmakers have found properties to transition from the page to the screen.  As studios like Marvel and DC gain a stronger foothold in the film industry, however, there has been a surge of graphic novels that may have flown under the radar of most that have found new life via the silver screen.  One of the more recent adaptations that has found itself at the center of much buzz is the modern day fantasy fairy-tale I Kill Giants.

Barbara (Madison Wolfe) lives with her brother Dave (Art Parkinson) and her older sister Karen (Imogen Poots), who cares for the two.  In an attempt to escape her harsh family life, Barbara finds inspiration in two unique sources : the fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons, and the legend of former Phillies pitcher Harry Coveleski, known as ‘The Giant Killer’.  Because of the fantasy world Barbara has created for herself, she finds herself isolated from her family and peers.  One day, Barbara meets Sophia (Sydney Wade), a young British girl new to the states, and based on their connection, Barbara confides in Sophia that she is a giant killer and protector of their city.  At school, Barbara is bullied constantly by Taylor (Rory Jackson), and her standoffish attitude keeps her in hot water with teachers and administration, but school counselor Mrs. Molle (Zoe Saldana) makes continuous attempts to breakthrough with Barbara in hopes of helping her find peace.  Barbara’s fantasies are so vivid, however, that it keeps her in isolation from everyone, including those that try to help her.  Sophia and Mrs. Molle make repeated attempts to help Barbara, however, ultimately forcing her to face her fantasies and reality in equal measure.

Director Anders Walter wisely uses the magic, mysticism and fantasy of Dungeons & Dragons-style turn-based games to present an escape mechanism from reality, even going so far as to use video games represent modern day in direct comparison during the film’s opening moments.  That escapism is paralleled against an unappealing reality, where struggles, love and loss can be immensely painful, especially when you’re too young to have to deal with these things.  Using escapism to hide pain and avoid facing hard truths gives the narrative forward thrust, with heavy symbolism coming from all angles that makes the initially vague story start to become clear as the viewer learns more about the situation.

The way the film captures the awkwardness and social anxiety of childhood, which is amplified when you’re considered an outcast, is pitch perfect.  The struggles of a non-traditional, broken home family format are also shown with cutting reality, as vicious fights occur even when deeply unconditional love is present and attempts at clearing up misunderstandings fall short.  The film does a great job of capturing the standoffish nature of misunderstood kids, and how hard it is for genuinely concerned adults to connect.  The use of fantasy elements is perfect for the story, as belief so vivid in something nobody else understands that it leaves you alienated from all is a very real thing, though not in the fantastic nature presented by the film, obviously.  In my opinion, this is possibly a film that can help children understand both sides of bullying.

The film uses a wonderfully muted color palette that allows visual variety while setting a proper mood on multiple levels.  The fantasy sequences resemble moving comic images, specifically due to their stunning colors and visual textures.  The presence of an exhilarating score that livens up as the fantasy ramps up keeps the viewer’s heart racing, adding to the experience.   The feel of a film from the 1980′s or 1990′s is present, but the advantages of modern CGI enhance the experience in new ways.  The heartfelt writing that addresses heavy issues with tact and grace deserves praise and recognition.  ‘Uncomfortable’ cinematography is used well, as the camera tends to get intimate with the subjects rather than standing back and being observant.

Madison Wolfe gives an incredibly dynamic performance for someone so young, combining introspection, biting wit and bold determination together in the form of a mythic hero.  Zoe Saldana provides unconditional love and support to a lost child, while trying her best to understand what seems very real to the Barbara character.  Sydney Wade also brings an attempt at understanding to the table, but her childlike innocence and fear shine through her attempts to befriend the Barbara character.  Imogen Poots displays the hurt of a child forced to deal with adult responsibilities, and perfectly embodies how painful that forced transition can be.  Rory Jackson provides proper intimidation as a real-world antagonist for the Barbara character, with her imposing height, cold stare and sharp tongue sending chills down the viewer’s spine.  Appearances by Art Parkinson, Jennifer Ehle, Don Wycherley, Sonya Kelly, Noel Clarke and more fill out the world of the narrative.

If someone were to take all of the best ideas of The NeverEnding Story, eliminate the fluff, and reposition the events that take place in the fantasy world into a strange middle ground of reality and fantasy, you’d have I Kill Giants.  If this film doesn’t achieve some sort of cult classic status in the oncoming years, I’d be wholly surprised.

[castle-cameron]

who: @roryjackson​ what: Trying to get out of playing the game To say that Cam was a nervous wreck would have been an understatement. And to make matters worse, he didn’t even have Parker anymore to ease the fears he had about how the game was about to go. And so needless to say he may or may not have been avoiding just a little bit. His helmet in hand as he made a b-line out of the locker room, feet shuffling towards the exit. This was too much. He couldn’t do this. He felt so certain of that as his eyes avoided eye contact with anyone who might have recognized him. Which unfortunately meant he wasn’t watching where he was going when he ran himself directly into Rory. “Shit... Shit I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to do that..” He started, looking around for where he’d dropped his helmet. Once he had it back in hand, his eyes finally met hers, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her as quickly as he could away from the crowd. “Rory I don’t know what to do I can’t play in that game. I’m going to get myself killed.” 

[elainefm]

closed starter for @roryjackson​

With all the chaos happening around them, Elaine had become more and more accustomed to spending her free time on the beach. It was the one place in Cherry she’d always felt settled and the thing she’d missed the most while she was away, even with all the bad memories it held over the past year. There were happy ones there, too. Of Harvey, of Casey, of Zahra... of Lux. All torn and stained now, fuzzy around the edges, slipping through her hands faster than the sand in her palms. She wishes now more than ever that she could run, but the Candy Girl’s grip on her only grows stronger with each passing day- now more than ever now that she knew about the giant red target on her back. 

Speaking of which, she spots Lady Backstabber herself, edging closer than Elaine thought she would dare after both her cousin and her boyfriend had been revealed as wronging her. “Back for round three?” she asks with a raise of her eyebrows, “I mean- you sure do surround yourself with rats and sleezeballs, it’d only make sense that you were one too, right?” 

[jamiecromwell]

@roryjackson​

“You waiting around for Yang too? Join the club.” So, maybe it was a party of one, but Jamie was certainly happy to finally have company after the hour he spent in Kamilla Yang’s waiting room ( a single chair in a carpeted shoebox?? Some waiting room!) all by himself.  How many times was he supposed to replay the CD on his Discman before he completely lost it, really?

It’s not like he had very pressing news to discuss with the Town’s historian, but he had dedicated his recent days to badgering the woman whenever he had a chance to. If there was a whole world mirroring their own, then Jamie wanted to know everything he could about it... If there was a chance his grandmother’s magic was real? Whoa, with a capital ‘W.’ 

“Sign on the door says, ‘out for lunch,’ but I’m pretty sure she’s just avoiding me. We got into a pretty heated debate over the origins of the Hallows yesterday - and not to brag! - but I wouldn’t exactly want to face me either after that, so...” Jamie scrunched his nose up in amusement - and braced himself for Kamilla to, like, come popping out of one of the walls to correct him on his mistruth: she had definitely won the argument. “I’m just saying, it might be a while.” 

“Here!” Jamie scrambled up to stand - there was only one chair, after all. “Take the seat. I’ve always been more of a floor guy anyway.” 

[caseyrussell]

who: @roryjackson what: listen... sometimes i just am in the mood for soft friend things as a christmas treat! where: the holly party!

"Disclaimer," Casey says in lieu of greeting, small box wrapped in ludicrous layers of green and red from where he couldn't get the wrapping just right jutting into his stomach from where he's holding it too close to his body. "You are not my secret Santa but y'know..." Casey gives a nonchalant shrug. Or, that is, it should be nonchalent if the slight edge that maybe the subject of his brother's affections had suddenly had a personality change in the past twenty-four hours and would publicly reject a gift given from him hadn't clearly made its way into his disposition. "I consider you a friend and thought this would be pretty rad on our next car ride so." Finally, he extends the badly wrapped gift out, small smile clinging to his lips as he does. "Merry Christmas. You can save it for the day if you like or whatever... y'know. If you wanna be traditional."

[harvardiii]

@roryjackson​

They’d barely even gotten a fraction of the way through the night before Harvey felt his capacity for bullshit begin to tip over the edge of tolerable. With his and Mac’s stolen moment already tucked away into his back pocket, and his BAC teetering on the verge of ‘too much,’ he knew the gift exchange was all he was holding out for at that point. Harvard II didn’t care how early his son left the soiree, didn’t care what he did afterward, as long as there was some snapshot of Harvey around the tree with the other junior members of the H.A.H board to send out in their Holiday Newsletter... And God knew Harvey would probably rather do anything than smile in a picture next to Elaine and Danny of all people, but as long as it marked an exit point he’d look forward to it.

He’d been loitering around the Den for a while now; wasting time running his fingers over ribbon and wrapping paper, and nodding his head along to ‘Deck the Halls,’ and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ with alcohol teetering joints.  It wasn’t until he heard a small cough - ehhem - behind him that he found his bubble broken. 

At least it was Rory. A breath of fresh air in the lungs compared to the hot, humid haze of Holly, Hargrove, and Archer that he’d been breathing all night. “What’s up, punk?” Harvey’s smile was small - just for her - but it was warm. “Kinda surprised you don’t have a Holly, a Russell, and a King glued to your side tonight. You having fun yet?” 

[noahrussell]

who: @roryjackson​ what: finally a Christmas thread 

Had Noah perfected being the perfect party goer just yet? Absolutely not. But had he gotten just a little bit closer in the form of being able to socialize a little bit before retreating to his notebook in some forgotten corner of the house? Yes. He’d made a point of chatting with Donny, and catching up with some of his peers he recognized from classes. He’d even managed to grab a drink or two with some of them. Something he wasn’t quite used to having such difficulty doing considering how easy the access was when he was at The Pit. But after a few hours of attempted socializing he was ready to find someone who made it feel a little bit easier. One of the few people Noah felt he could truly drop down and be himself around. Not to mention he’d been keeping a small gift for her all night that he’d been itching to present but that could wait a little longer if it needed to. He made a point of making his way back inside from the backyard, eyes scanning the room until they landed on her. He could feel his heart pounding like it was the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her and wondered briefly if there would ever come a time when his body didn’t react this way to seeing Rory Jackson across the room. It was hard to wipe the smile off his face as he approached her. Like a overly smitten kid trying to ask a girl out for the first time, but at least by now he felt confident enough to reach for her hand when he wanted her attention. “Hey stranger.” He started quietly when she locked eyes with him. Ever their greeting despite how much they’d been through. His fingers folded easily into hers as he admired the outfit she’d dawned for the event. “So while I didn’t think it was possible, the Holly’s have actually taught me something about myself and it’s that I don’t think I’m an eggnog fan. I really wanted to be that guy but I just don’t think I am. But with that out of the way I think that makes it fair game to ask if you’d want to grab a hot chocolate with me and maybe get away from the crowd for a little bit?” 

[donnyholly]

who: @roryjackson​ what: salmon upstream where: the holly home :-\

He would smile. He would nod. He would talk when he needed to. He would be a great pretender. He would be the perfect side character. He would be the bonus -- that character you unlock who, in the end, is rather useless, but it’s nice to be able to say you unlocked them! And he would be left alone, all parties flocking to his mother and David and Danny and leaving him where he was most comfortable at H.A.H-funded events: looking on.  With a flute of champagne in hand ( actually, it wasn’t champagne -- it just passed for it... really, it was sparkling grape juice ), he swirled it absentmindedly ( oh, Donny, that’s what you do with wine! you swirl wine! not champagne! and certainly not grape juice! ). His eyes scanned the room, fake smile still plastered on for those who caught sight of The Other Holly... But that fake smile turned into a real one when his eyes landed upon Rory. Squeezing between partygoers with polite ‘pardon me’s and ‘I’m so sorry’s along the way, a quick trip across the room felt like a lifetime! But it was worth it with her -- one of his first genuine friends. One of the first friends he had made all by himself. “Rory, hey!” Very cool. He had not just swum upstream like a salmon to visit. “It’s nice to see you! How are you doing?”

[damndannyholly]

who: @roryjackson​ what: Getting Rory in the holiday spirit

Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t... And yet despite his wishes, on came the antler’s as Mrs. Filbertson pushed them onto his head. And who was he to tell her no? A woman as sweet as she’d always been to him, but he could have hoped. His eyes scanning the room to the best of his ability to make sure that no one who mattered saw what was happening. Someone spotting a softer side of him? Not an option. Which meant that almost as soon as they’d come on, they were coming back off once the old woman was out of sight. His frustration almost palpable as he swallowed hard and reminded him there were only a few more hours to maintain. Parties didn’t last forever. He’d done this a million times and he’d be doing them a million times more. A sort of unhelpful mantra he’d been saying to himself as he caught himself walking directly into Rory. His focus returning, momentarily about to tell her to watch where the fuck she was going when he realized who she was. Rory Jackson was not the kind of person you want to be caught cussing out at a Christmas party of all places. So instead he reminded himself to take a breath before speaking. “I’m so sorry about that, but you are actually the perfect person I could have run into.” He said, a quick witty idea coming to mind as he glanced down at the antler’s that were still in his hand. “You see I was just given these and I was thinking who here needs these so much more than I do and...Here.” He started as he placed the pair of glowing antlers on her head. “Now you’ll be impossible to miss. Makes you a little bit taller.” 

[cherryusa]

the following players have 48 hours to  meet activity guidelines:

@romxnticss @roryjackson @alicealder @zahrajackson @thezevking @beachboy-west @winnifredwu @sxbrinalogan @pilarhamilton @miamontcya @spinnerreyes @castle-cameron @emirerdogan @ozzyokala @touristdisconnected @elainefm @emersonlogan

please unfollow:

@parkerpantone @ofsouthsidcrs @cristianova​

[romxnticss]

who: closed starter for @roryjackson​ what: pie time!  where: ​the quad?

🎸

Pies. Sweet, sweet pies. Made by someone who actually knew how to bake a pie. Him and Rory had tried their hand at it and failed... a few times. And there was nothing sadder than having a bad day that could only be fixed with a slice of pie and having to eat something that barely resembled it and being stuck cleaning the kitchen. So when Mac heard orientation would include a brand new pie stand? He was over the freakin’ moon. “Look!” he says, dancing back and forth with the orientation guide in his hand, “Pie stand!” 

[castle-cameron]

who: @roryjackson​ what: Getting the ball rolling 

Cam wasn’t the type to wait for classes to get hard to start studying. Oh no. He’d been hitting the books almost as soon as his class schedule dropped, wanting to get as far ahead as possible. He’d only lived in Cherry for a short time, but he didn’t trust it. Didn’t trust things not to get chaotic before the end of the semester, and with all the extracurricular’s he’d be involved with this semester? The stakes were higher than ever and he was not about to let any of the above get in the way of him making straight A’s. Which meant that when a member of the infamous gang offered to study with him, he couldn’t help but be just the slightest bit paranoid about how it was going to go. “So I’m thinking we should start with either the Earth’s Materials and Processes, or Earth Resources and Human Interactions. What do you think?” He offered, glancing up from the syllabus to eye Rory expectantly. “Also I’m sorry I know I’ve asked you this like a dozen times, but are you absolutely sure you can commit to this study group. Because I can only carry so much. But I need to know you’re going to take this seriously. Like Global Warming kinda serious.” 

[zahrajackson]

who: @roryjackson​

what: so. that sure was a weekend

when: first night back home

Zahra doesn’t even bother lying down once she’s ready for bed. If any sleeping was gonna happen, it wouldn’t go well. Not after everything that had happened. Rory had been drugged, there was no way that was good for nightmares. Or sleepwalking. Fuck.

She slips out of her room and pads a door down to push into Rory’s room. She pauses in the doorway. The weekend at the lake house runs on a loop through her mind. She can still smell smoke, no matter how she tries to shake it. She’s silent when she crosses the room to climb onto the bed and lay beside her cousin. She still doesn’t say anything, just reaches out and adjusts Rory so she can link their pinkies. That says an awful lot, though, doesn’t it? Never ever leave me. Elaine, Harvey, and Casey are slipping between her fingers, if they’re not gone already. And Rory is hurt, again, and Zahra isn’t even sure why or how. She needs the surety of their little promise.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” she says quietly. There’s a lot of people she can’t help resenting for that. The fucking Candy Girl. Cristiano. Elaine, Harvey, Casey. Lux. Herself.

“Wanna run away with me? Just - leave all this behind, go start new lives somewhere else,” she adds, only half joking. It would be so much easier. And, frankly, she doesn’t want to deal with the consequences of the lake house. Not when it feels like she’s shouldering Lux’s blame for her, the bitch. Not when she probably still needs to talk with Casey. Not when Elaine’s words (dead to me, dead to me as she is) are stuck in her head.

[macwalsh]

closed starter for @roryjackson​

Mackenzie always felt a little bit out of place at parties like this. Lux materializing at his side was usually enough to take that fear away, or at least push it down a little bit. The feeling was stronger this year, but he couldn’t be sure if that was due to his former friend’s absence or his newfound attachment to Cherry’s Golden Boy. It was hard not to dwell on it when there was such a perfect scene playing in front of him, Elaine and Harvey’s picture being snapped in front of the Christmas tree. Her mother was beaming, surely longing for the day the two would finally reconcile. Mac was waiting too, though the possibility brought him nothing but dread.

Rory’s voice fades back in beside him and it’s like he’s woken from a trance, cheeks flush from the possibility that his friend had caught him staring at Harvey for just a little too long. “Shit-sorry... I was totally in space for a second there. What were you saying?” 

[roryjackson]

caseyrussell​:

who: @roryjackson what: listen... sometimes i just am in the mood for soft friend things as a christmas treat! where: the holly party!

"Disclaimer," Casey says in lieu of greeting, small box wrapped in ludicrous layers of green and red from where he couldn't get the wrapping just right jutting into his stomach from where he's holding it too close to his body. "You are not my secret Santa but y'know..." Casey gives a nonchalant shrug. Or, that is, it should be nonchalent if the slight edge that maybe the subject of his brother's affections had suddenly had a personality change in the past twenty-four hours and would publicly reject a gift given from him hadn't clearly made its way into his disposition. "I consider you a friend and thought this would be pretty rad on our next car ride so." Finally, he extends the badly wrapped gift out, small smile clinging to his lips as he does. "Merry Christmas. You can save it for the day if you like or whatever... y'know. If you wanna be traditional."

☼

If Rory wasn’t tipsy, she’d be more embarrassed about how she perks up at the sound of Casey’s voice exactly the way a golden retriever would, her entire face lighting up as she turns around. She’s desperately trying to tamp down her excited grin, but it’s a losing battle. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” she reminds him as she accepts the pretty package, but even as she says it, her eyes are sparkling with delight. “C’mon you know I don’t have that kind of patience! But... if you want me to wait, I guess I could control myself until I can give you yours too.” It had taken longer than usual to figure out what to give Casey this year—mostly because money is even tighter than usual this year, which makes gift hunting more major stress than exciting quest. “Totally up to you.”