Thanks go out to: ImagativeRainbowPeinguin, Inkheart4evr, Icethroat21, Hiddenfilly, allygirl56, Brightstar's Promise, and Emberfur for reviewing.
Warning: This chapter might contain minor spoilers.
Chapter 2:
Jayfeather; Because StarClan knows every good series has a handicapped emo guy to feel sorry for.
A Clan of Racists
Yes, Jayfeather, no matter how old he was or what role he played to the plotline, he always seems to get marked off in the same way: EMO
So, why is he marked off this way? Is he really an emo, or is ThunderClan just plain racist? You be the judge! (The answer is emo.)
Jayfeather was first introduced as a kit into the Warriors series in the Power of Three Arc, and, let's face it, he hasn't changed much.
He started out as a tiny, cute, and cuddly little kit that won the hearts of the millions of Warriors fans out there the second he was introduced into the story. Yes, the moment the world read about him, everyone loved him…
And then, he just had to open his big mouth.
Oh well, he's still cute and cuddly, right?
After the very first syllable uttered by Jaykit, one thing was definitely clear about his personality; he was an emo. A cute and cuddly little emo, but an emo still.
We first encounter Jaykit as he embarks on an epic suicide mission with his two siblings, Hollykit and Lionkit, to drive foxes out of ThunderClan's territory, which of course was a genius idea that could never possibly back fire in any way what so ever.
While his siblings were safely recovered by a warrior patrol before they got eaten by foxes, Jaykit instead ran for his life and ended up falling off of the high side of the gorge.
Oh Jaykit, you silly little klutz.
After surviving a giant fall that probably would have killed a less important character, it is revealed that Jaykit is not only emo; he is also blind as well, a double blow for his social status.
Everyone in the clan seems to believe that Jaykit will never be a warrior, but, being the determined, stubborn little emo that he is, Jaykit plays the racist card until Firestar eventually agrees to let him be a warrior apprentice instead of a medicine cat.
However, when Jaypaw is named apprentice, his is both shocked and enraged when he finds out that his mentor will be Brightheart. He gets butthurt and tries playing the racist card again, but Firestar simply deals with it by not caring, leaving Jaypaw to crawl in his emo corner and deal with his own angst.
The first part of the book pretty much is nothing but Jaypaw being emo about how everyone treats him like, like, LIKE SOME FREAKING DISABLED PERSON! The audacity…
Eventually, after epicly failing in his very first battle, Jaypaw decides that, maybe, just maybe, he wasn't really meant to be a warrior. May be he should pursue life as… as a MEDICINE CAT!
So, even though he knew that it was the only choice, and even though every single other character told him from the very beginning, Jaypaw decides to bring in a second opinion and sneaks out of camp one night, breaks into the sacred StarClan meeting place, and has a little chat with Starclan, even though it was completely against duh rulez, which ended up proving that he was indeed meant to be a medicine cat (but we totally didn't see that coming) and that aside from being an emo, Jaypaw is also a rebel.
So, Jaypaw finally swallows his pride (careful kid, don't choke) and agrees to become a medicine cat apprentice.
Of Superpowers and Ambitions
Jaypaw for the most part doesn't change a whole bunch during the series; he's constantly emo, likes playing the racist card, but somewhere in between the end of the first book and the beginning of the second book he also adopted the role of ambitious prophesized chosen one (AKA: conniving little sneak.)
Oh, yeah, and he develops SUPER POWERS! Wow, I guess it does pay to be related to the SUPER LEADER of all time Firestar.
Yes, it turns out that Jaypaw can read minds, but only sort of because he only picks up what other cats are feeling, so I guess he reads emotions. But wait, he can read memories too? And occasional thoughts? So that means that he reads memories and feelings and thoughts, so wouldn't that be the same thing as reading minds?
…Wait, what?
Also, Jaypaw has the ability to walk in other cats' dreams, which isn't creepy at all! Great, so not only can this kid stalk little children during the day, he can haunt them in their nightmares too.
As if all of that isn't enough for you, there's also the fact that he gets 'prophetic dreams' from Starclan, The Tribe of Endless Hunting, and the ancestors of the Tribe of Endless Hunting.
Wow, no wonder Firestar hates this kid; he surpasses the Thunderclan leader even on that level. Even if Jaypaw wasn't given a prophecy himself, he could always just intrude on some other important cat's prophesy induced dream, making him doubly awesome and more than slightly scary.
Seriously, this kid has more powers than even the great non-Mary-Sue Firestar, and more than enough abilities for him and his siblings within the first two freaking books.
At the very end of the first book, Jaypaw finds out that he and his siblings are part of an epic prophecy that says that they are even more powerful than Starclan. Now, instead of being intrigued, or even slightly nervous about this prospect, Jaypaw the emo blind guy embraces it as a way to feed his new found lust for endless power and decides to shun StarClan because he's so much better than them.
Basically, the rest of the series for Jaypaw is nothing but him spying on his clanmates, the other clans, the Tribe of Rushing Water, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, the Mysterious Ancient Cats that Have No Particular Name, and of course Starclan.
JAYPAW YOU STALKER!
Long Shadows Is Long
The fifth book in the Power of Three arc is really sort of a milestone for Jaypaw spiritually. In this book, Jaypaw's non-racist head swells to dangerously high levels when StarClan actually asks him for help in beating the now atheist ShadowClan back into submission- um, I mean, getting ShadowClan to follow their wise, benevolent ancestors again.
OH STARCLAN, WHY! WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY, WHYYYYYYYYYYY?
So Jaypaw solves all of their problems by sending Blackstar (a fellow non-racist) a fake sign from StarClan which turns into a real sign from StarClan.
So, why didn't StarClan just send a real sign in the first place instead of endangering the world further by swelling Jaypaw's already giant ego? …Silly little knave, what would be the fun in that?
Later on in the book, Jaypaw takes an epic (and completely random and unexplained) journey through time and finds out that many moons ago he was one of the Mysterious Ancient Cats that Have No Particular Name, and is responsible for single handedly convincing the Random Nameless cats to follow their ancestors -even though he doesn't care about his at all (HYPOCRASY) - and leave their home so that they can go live in the mountains and become the Tribe of Rushing Water, but SSHHH! It's a secret!
All of this only fed his growing ego more until we were all certain that it couldn't grow any larger…
WRONG!
In the same book, Jaypaw saves the clan from a deadly outbreak of Greencough by stalking fellow medicine cat apprentice Kestrelpaw in his dreams and learning that they could simply steal catmint from WindClan instead of finding their own and earned his Medicine cat name. And that is when Jaypaw reached his ego breaking point and actually managed to express mild emotions afterward as a result. Oh StarClan, ThunderClan is a terrifying place…
After all of that, you'd think that there would be little more ego boosting, head exploding knowledge that you could fit into a single book, right?
WRONG!
Toward the end of the book, on the edge of a high gorge that was ablaze with a raging inferno (no, seriously, that was the actual setting) Squirrelflight, in order to save Jayfeather and his siblings, reveals to Ashfur a shocking secret to prevent him from killing them all that no one ever saw coming, that will not be mentioned do to major spoilers…
OMG SQUIRRELFLIGHT AND BRAMBLECLAW ARENT THEIR PARENTS! SQUIRRELFLIGHT LIED TO SAVE THEIR REAL MOTHER FROM HARSH JUDGEMENT AND SPITE AND NOW WE HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO IT IS!
….*Ahem*
Anyway, it is still unknown why Jayfeather just didn't jump off the gorge to escape certain death. What, he can survive the fall as a small defenseless kit but not as a big strong medicine cat? Really!
Love at First Touch
In his many adventures, Jaypaw/feather encountered many challenges and perils that would put many other protagonists/antagonists-at-heart to shame. He saved lives, he destroyed lives, and he uncovered secrets that changed lives, but, halfway through the arc, he encountered something that even threw the kick-butt emo blind guy of the epic prophecy off balance.
You guessed it: true love!
Everyone knows that love is strictly forbidden for medicine cats (though Starclan knows why cause it's never ever written in the warrior code) but, hey, why not right? That never stopped Yellowfang, Leafpool or Spottedleaf.
Jayfeather thought that love would never be for him, and then he found the love of his life, the only one that could ever truly love him back. No, Jayfeather made it clear early on that there was one that he could never live without…
JAYFEATHER X STICK ALL THE WAY!
Ever since Jayfeather found Stick in Dark River, everyone could tell that it was true love. Let's face it, with a personality like his, Stick is probably the only one that could tolerate being around him for extended periods of time (though whether its patience or simple lack of eardrums is debatable.)
Stick also shares many of the same traits a Jayfeather, proving that they are truly meant to be forever. Stick is tied to the Mysterious Ancient Cats that Have No Particular Name, just like Jayfeather. And, Stick is blind too! (Blind, lacking eye retinas, what's the difference?) But, probably the most appealing similarity that Jayfeather found he and Stick share is, with all of the scratch marks left by the ancient cat, Rock, Stick was indeed, almost as emo as Jayfeather himself!
Truly, in the entire warriors series there is no truer love than Jayfeather and his beloved Stick. Jayfeather can't live without Stick, plain and simple.
And, what is that? How does Stick feel about this relationship? Does Stick love Jayfeather back?
Answer: Well, Stick doesn't have vocal cords, so who cares?
**An Obituary for the Fallen (BEWARE YE WHO ENTER HERE, FOR SPOILERS BE AHEAD)
RIP Stick, cruelly struck down by the evil, twisted Rock…
…What do you mean it wasn't freaking Rock that killed stick! Of course Jayfeather would never willingly kill his only love! It was totally Rock! In a fit of jealous rage, he possessed Jayfeather and murdered Stick! Oh cruel fate, you think you're so clever, but I know the truth…
What? Angry that the Author overlords murdered the only pairing I mildly liked? Psssh, of course not!
And come on, if this part in Fading Echoes when they're throwing the shattered remains of Stick into the lake doesn't confirm it, WHAT DOES, I ASK YOU!
The following is an excerpt from Fading Echoes, page 23. I DON'T own this.
As the last part of the stick struck the waves, Dovepaw heard the agonized yowl of a cat in pain echoing through the trees. … ...
Dovepaw frowned. She cast her senses farther, ears pricked, listening, trying to tell which cat had howled in agony. A scent drifted to her on the damp breeze, tinged with the echo of pain.
Jayfeather!
Shecould hear his rough tongue scraping the fur on his flank. His movements were urgent, as though he was trying to find the source of the injury.
Fear brushed Dovepaw's pelt. When Jayfeather let out that terrible wail, it had sounded as if someone had sank a claw into his heart.
PROOF! YOU CAN'T TELL ME THIS ISN'T FREAKING PROOF OF JAYXSTICK!
Livin' in Duh Hood
Jayfeather has a complicatedsort of love/hate (but mostly hate; lots and lots of hate) relationship with his clanmates.
His relationship with his clan leader, Firestar, is a deep and troubled/painstaking. Unfortunately for the ThunderClan leader, Firestar is usually on the receiving end of the pain…
Most likely, the reason why the two of them aren't close is because Jayfeather is always pulling his racist card to influence his leader and Firestar is extremely jealous because, not only does Jayfeather get his first love choice, he also has much cooler powers than the ability of not being a complete Mary-Sue.
His relationship with his 'parents' Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw is begrudgingly close, though more because Squirrelflight is excessively clingy because she doesn't want them to know that she isn't really their mother, and it's sort of hard to ignore your 'father' when he's the clan deputy and there for owns your soul.
Jayfeather seems to hate all clan warriors with a passion, simply because they got to achieve the life that he always wanted. He especially hates Cinderheart out of all of the warriors ever since his attempt at drowning her failed miserably when she actually learned to swim in his half-baked plan. Drat! So close…
He doesn't have much against apprentices because they are simply naïve little tools used to do the warriors' bidding and ultimately hold no higher purpose in his planned new world order.
Elders are the bane of Jayfeather's entire life so he has decided to eradicate them during the new world order.
He hates all kits simply because they annoy him and, and, like apprentices, hold no higher purpose in his new world order except cheap entertainment. Why Jayfeather, do I detect a sick mind at work here?
Pretty much the only cats that he can tolerate are his two siblings (though Hollyleaf pushes his sanity to the limit and offers little help in achieving his new world order) and his 'mentor' Leafpool, who clings so close to him that it would be impossible to remain sane if he didn't except her presence.
Basically the only cats he likes are those that can help him in his quest for a new world order.
Jayfeather, I AM the Plot Twist…
Definitely the most the most dramatic book in the entire Warriors series is the final book in the Power of Three: Sunrise.
In this book, we actually learn something new about Jayfeather; how he deals with stress.
This book has so many plot twists that lesser characters would have (and did) die anticlimactically just to escape the sheer stress of it all. The Power of Three kits learn a shocking secret about one of their own, find out their secret heiratage, and learn something so shocking that NO ONE EVER SAW IT COMING! (No, serious, this is so incredibly random that no one could have possibly seen it.)
So, how does Jayfeather deal with all of these stressful plot twists? Simple, he doesn't care about them because none of it will matter anyway in his new world order.
But, just because we can and have nothing better to do, let's take a look at some of these scenarios, shall we?
Scenario Number One:
Jayfeather discovers that his mentor is hiding something from him. Does he
A) Cry
B) Play the racist card (always a good option)
C) Ask her about it
D) Kidnap her in an elaborate scheme involving a three-step plan and theme music
E) Not care, but investigates anyway just in case it holds some key part to his new world order
Well, that's a hard one, and, to prevent spoilers, I'm going to have to let you decide that for yourself. (The answer is E)
Scenario Number Two:
Jayfeather finds out that his life is a lie; his parents aren't who they say they are, and his very existence breaks the warrior code. Does he
A) Cry
B) Not care, because the warrior code holds absolutely no purpose in his new world order
C) Play the racist card
D) Go to Starbucks to drown his new found angst in coffee goodness
E) Destroy the world (always a good option)
(The answer is B)
Scenario Number Four:
One of Jayfeather's siblings dies very anticlimactically (SHHH! It's a secret!) after exposing their heiratage to everyone at the next gathering and then attempting to murder their mother. Does he
A) Cry tears of joy, and laugh uncontrollably because the entire thing is so incredibly unexpected that it's actually a good plot twist.
B) Play the racist card
C) Not take the time to morn for his lost sibling (don't worry , I won't tell you who is was because that would be SPOILERS) because he's too busy rethinking the entire Power of Three prophecy and his new world order
D) Not care; nobody liked Hollyleaf anyway
E) All of the above
In case you're wondering, THE ANSWER IS E.
So, as all of you know, the big secret about the Power of 'Three' kit's heiratage is finally revealed in this book, but will not be mentioned do to major spoilers.
OMG LEAFPOOL AND CROWFEATHER HAD BABIES!
*Ahem*
But what role does Jayfeather play in this discovery? Well, surprisingly, Jayfeather does almost absolutely nothing. You know, besides figure out that his mentor is really his mother by undergoing an in depth investigation into the past and then receiving a sign from Starclan telling him exactly who his father is. Other than that though, he did zip, nada, NOTHING!
(Oh yeah, did anyone notice that I didn't put a Scenario Number Three?)
The New World Order
Jayfeather isn't just some random blind protagonist/antagonist-at-heart; don't forget he's also a stalker, and emo, and a non-racist.
So, what is it about Jayfeather that everyone loves so much? It certainly isn't his winning personality or his love for all things emo.
No, the element of Jayfeather's life that has definitely captured the hearts of millions and left us all wanting more is (you guessed it) the overwhelming, heart breaking FORBIDDEN LOVE factor that has every fangirl in the entire freaking world practically begging for more.
JAYFEATHER X STICK!
Good luck Jayfeather, we look forward to witnessing the pain and fire of a thousand evils that shall be unleashed once you accomplish you new world order.
Hope you enjoyed that one as much as the first. I'll try to get these up as fast as I can since you guys seem to like them so much.
Next up will be Lionblaze and then Hollyleaf, just so that I can get the Power of Three out of the way. After that, I'm taking suggestions, so tell me if there's any cat in particular that you want to hear about.