For excuses on lazy updating, see my profile page (if you really care.) Also, other somewhat important notes on this story are being posted in my profile now in order to keep annoyingly long ANs to a minimum.
Alright, so the votes are in, and I've decided that next chapter I'm going to switch over to series bashing and save character bashing for every sixth chapter. Why am I waiting till next chapter? Because now that I've committed to this 'every sixth chapter is different thing' it would honestly kill a very OCD side of me if I changed things up in the middle of the cycle.
On a second note, since obviously the Warriors series is still well under way (four*twitch*freaking*twitch*arcs) and obviously we learn more about characters throughout the series, periodically I will go back and add a small subheading or paragraph to a chapter, which will be marked with ** and a spoiler warning.
Also, over the summer I finally stumbled upon TV tropes, so, as a result, expect some of my vocabulary to be altered accordingly.
Chapter 11: From Nobody to Sadistic Psychopath; a Spiritual Journey
Ashfur; Because he puts the 'fun' in dysfunctional!
Ensemble Darkhorse: A Story of Irony and Lolz
To say that Ashfur is a more than slightly unstable, controversial character that became important out of freaking nowhere is a bit of an understatement. Especially considering the fact that he's been in the Warriors series since the middle of the first arc and still managed almost completely untouched by the Greater Plotline until the second half of the second arc, after which he was promptly forgotten until "The Unspoken Event of Which Will Not Be Spoken of" at the end of Long Shadows.
Before The New Search for Money (*ahem* the New Prophecy, sorry) Ashfur was mostly just one of those side characters that no one really noticed or cared about. After his would-be-almost-sort-of-affair with Squirrelflight, he was a bit better known. Heck, for a grand total of two books, he even got his own legitimate pairing that died before its time.
And after "The Unspoken Event of Which Will Not Be Spoken of" Ashfur was suddenly the focal point of what could only be a hurricane caused by the emotional overload suddenly directed at him by the fandom.
Suddenly, Ashfur was no longer a side note, a pairing reject of a ship long sunk. No, suddenly, the fandom was in an uproar. All over the internet, fanfics were springing up about him. Pairings were being resurrected, inferred, or just plain made up in order to please the attention of the growing fangirl rave.
With the release of one book, Ashfur was brought into the spotlight, died, and was born again (and no, not in the StarClan/Dark Forest sense, though everyone's still wondering about that…)
For, alas, in that moment, the planets aligned and the fandom rejoiced, half mad and yet feeling saner than they had ever been as Ashfur, the formerly unnoticed second rate character made a transformation so shocking and stunning that it has forever made every author in the history of ever scratch their head in confusion at some point or another in their career.
It was the transformation from ordinary side character to the unforeseen favorite of a wide variety. From the over shadowed loner to the pedestal of high regards, no matter his actions or actual personality. He was an ensemble darkhorse in his own rights.
And the Author Overlords scowled.
Hero to Zero
But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's back up for just a second here.
Ashfur's childhood was much like any other underappreciated ThunderClan kit's. Being of common blood (not related or resembling Firestar) he quickly fell into the shadow of others more important to the plotline. But, like his sister Ferncloud, he secretly longed for the spotlight.
Oh, how he tried to earn attention of his own, like any young kit longing to be noticed. He worked as an obedient, loyal apprentice to the pedophile that would later claim the role of his sister's mate. He didn't fight openly with the other apprentices - no, instead he planned painstaking revenge upon them, which would later result in dogs getting released into ThunderClan's territory, Bluestar going mad and refusing to name the others apprentices before he could achieve warrior status, Swiftpaw and Brightpaw's suicide mission which would leave one dead and the other forever scarred, and a mass war with BloodClan!
My, my Brindleface, you seem to have raised quite the conniving little sneak. Between him and Ferncloud, you must be so very proud.
By the time the New Prophecy had rolled around, Ashfur had been the center of about half of the unseen or simply unacknowledged disasters of the Warriors world. Such incidents include Heavystep's random acquiring of nine lives, the death and later regeneration of Smokepaw, and gender change of Rowanclaw.
Now I understand that many of you skeptics out there are probably rolling your eyes. How, by StarClan, would he have done all that, and why?
It's actual quite simple…Because, according to a majority of the fandom, he's that awesome/gay/EEEEEEVIL! As for why? Well, as I'm sure you can guess, as the plotline progresses with the subtlety of a drunken rhino in a glass shop, side characters can get pretty bored with nothing to do besides make a passing comment or two. So, you temporarily hack into the Author Overlords' computer, alter a few allegiances here, bribe StarClan a bit, and presto, subtle entertainment!
By the time The New Prophecy started running out of ideas, The Author Overlords finally got tired of watching him screw with their creation and moved him to the front line to teach him a lesson and occupy his time.
And then the plotline ensued, and, for the next few books, he was unimportant on a completely different level.
Love Triangles – Warning: May Cause Bodily Harm If Used Incorrectly
In his first plot involvement, Ashfur finds himself cruelly forced to submit to being forced into a pairing with none other than Firestar's lookalike daughter, Squirrelflight. This is especially cruel since Squirrelflight, along with having one of the most nonsensical names besides Leafpool, is probably one of the most inadvertently shallow and oblivious characters in the entire Warriors series. Taking into account exactly how many character there actually are in Warriors…well, that's saying quite a lot.
This entire ordeal starts when Squirrelflight decides to shun Brambleclaw for being related to Tigerstar. After all, how on earth could a hero's daughter and villain's son ever love each other? So, in an effort to redirect her confused, plot induced feelings, she sets her sights on Ashfur, who, apparently is deeply in love with her.
Now, despite setting off yet another long episode of ship to ship combat between BrambleXSquirrel fans and newly dubbed AshXSquirrel fans, this pairing always just kind of sat wrong with me. For one thing, there is no prior knowledge that Ashfur even acknowledges Squirrelpaw/flight's existence in the earlier books. It just seemed like one of those pairing that cropped up out of nowhere for convenience's sake, which, unfortunately is, if anything, only confirmed as the series progresses.
Also, has anyone else noted the fact that the age difference between Ashfur and Squirrelflight isn't that far off of that of Dustpelt and Ferncloud? Hmmm, seems like Ferncloud and Ashfur have a lot more in common as siblings than first anticipated.
Personally, this entire ordeal just bothered me. Especially how, when Squirrelflight goes crawling back to Brambleclaw like we all knew she would, Ashfur is completely heartbroken and very nearly throws a rage fit. They weren't even officially together in the first place! Squirrelflight honest to goodness didn't even know he liked her like that! It was a pointless pairing spawned out of nowhere with no other purpose than to cause tension between Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight and stretch out the little material that the Author Overlords had to use in order to finish the arc!
Honestly! It's hard to believe that so many cats not only fall in love over night, but with such a wide age gap between the two! The only reasonable explanation is that there were no other cats in his age range that weren't taken! Brightheart was with Cloudtail, Tawnypelt was in a different clan (not that that would stop some…) he's just not the incest type, and Brambleclaw…
… actually wasn't technically taken…until Squirrelflight abandoned Ashfur to get together with him…
…
HOLYSTARCLAN ABOVE! ASHFUR IS FREAKING GAY!
No! Wait, before you press that "back" button at the top of the screen, it makes perfect sense!
They're closer in age, and Ashfur is never openly upset about Squirrelflight not being with him…until she officially gets together with Brambleclaw. And, come on! This scene during the "The Unspoken Event of Which Will Not Be Spoken of" totally says it all:
Long Shadows, page272-273
"Know you think I've never forgiving Brambleclaw for stealing you from me, but you're wrong, and so is every cat who thinks so. My quarrel is with you Squirrelflight." Ashfur's voice shook with rage. "It always has been."
Okay, seriously, unintended or not, how else would you take that. "Squirrelflight, I love you so much that I hate you for not loving me so I'm going to kill you"? No, I think not. I mean, come on, sure, he was never the most stable one to begin with, what with volunteering to go on a suicide mission in A Dangerous Path and all. But still! He's not mad at Brambleclaw. He's mad at Squirrelflight!
For crying out loud, is it wrong to assume he's so far in the closet that he's fighting to free Narnia?
Luke, I Am You're Mother's Sister's Mate's Stalker
After being rudely kicked out of his love triangle with Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight (how you organize that triangle is up to you), Ashfur finds himself once again pushed into the shadows, his usefulness ended. Seasons pass, babiez are had, and suddenly, he finds himselfin another position on great power, unforeseen (or, rather, seen but hand waved in order for future uses) by the Author Overlords.
In The Sight, Ashfur is made a mentor for the first time, and to none other than Lionpaw, the supposed son of none other than Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw.
Confounded by this sudden turn of events Ashfur is presented with an opportunity. An idea wormed its way into his head, and suddenly, revenge became a very real possibility. Could it be? In a lapse of ideas and any real antagonist for their new arc, the Erin Hunters offered him a choice. An opportunity of a lifetime.
From the beginning, Ashfur clearly distances himself from Lionpaw, contrary to the tradition of mentors and apprentices. Ashfur saw Lionpaw as one thing and one thing only. Not an apprentice, but a tool, a weapon that could be used to strike a blow to his opponent for Brambleclaw's affections. Not, just any weapon, the living equivalent of a fully loaded missile launcher, emphasized by the point that Lionpaw himself was physically equally as dangerous.
So, for the first four books in the arc, Ashfur sits back, training his apprentice, and secretly waiting to strike.
Though, frankly I find it slightly ironic that, in order to hurt Squirrelflight, he is willing to kill her kits, which would just as equally hurt Brambleclaw, whom he has no quarrel with and may possibly be secretly in love with.
But then, logic has often gotten hand waved in the past.
Resorting back to his sneaky ways, Ashfur attempts to kill Lionpaw in subtle attempts that are barely noted in the plotline: collapsing a badger set to bury him alive, making a deal with Rock to drown him in the tunnels, heck, at one point he even flat out tries to murder him during a training session! Lionpaw didn't even freaking realize it! The kid's freaking indestructible!
Despite The many attempts on his life made by his mentor, Lionpaw doesn't realize Ashfur wants him dead until he's back up against the edge of the high side of the gorge, surrounded by fire with Ashfur monologuing all over the place!
"The Unspoken Event of Which Will Not Be Spoken of" is Spoken of
It is in Long Shadows, high upon the edge of a gorge ablaze with fire that Ashfur finally gets his long awaited one chapter of fame.
Having trapped Squirrelflight's kits in a situation that will surely be the end of them, Ashfur reveals to Squirrelflight the true depth of his hatred for her for stealing away his beloved Brambleclaw. It is in this moment that Squirrelflight reveals that Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, and Jayfeather aren't her kits, thus he can't hurt her by killing them.
…In retrospect, it's kind of a stupid argument. "Oh? Those three? Oh, yeah, I raised, them, cared for them, took on as my own and loved and cherished them. What? No, of course I don't care if you kill them, it's not like I actually gave birth to them!"
Come on! Even the three kits knew she was lying about not caring about them (or, at least, they didn't bring it up), and these are the three it took an entire book to find out that Leafpool was their legitimate mother when the string of clues left for them had been so obvious to begin with!
But Ashfur? "Psssh, oh, okay, just kidding. Oh, hm, well, I guess I'll just have to expose your big secret instead."
For this single moment of what is viewed by many as awesome, Ashfur was suddenly a very popular character among the fandom. And how! He was trying to kill the three freaking protagonists/anti-heroes! Generally, that isn't supposed to be very well received!
…Then again, Jayfeather had already survived falling off the gorge once, so he probably wouldn't die, Lionblaze had already proved his immortality, which left only Hollyleaf to possibly not walk away…
OMG ASHFUR IS A FREAKING GOD! ALL HAIL ASHFUR, ALL HAIL ASHFUR!
Head Scratching and the Contemplations of an Overlord
Unlike the fandom, the Erin Hunter's were not pleased by Ashfur's sudden rise in popularity. One of their main punching bags had suddenly risen into a position purely reserved for those directly related to Firestar. It was infuriating! It was impossible! It could not be allowed to continue!
But revenge on the sudden rise of the underdog would not be so easy to achieve. Alas, Ashfur had already been killed off in an effort to add to plot tension.
Scrambling to pick up the pieces of their shattering illusions, the Author Overlords quickly threw in a few wrenches in the next book in order to throw readers off. Instead of being murdered by Squirrelflight as had been all but confirmed in the last chapter of Long Shadows, Ashfur was revealed to have been murdered by Hollyleaf, a large blow to the fandom since much of his fan worship came from his attempts to murder her.
However, even this had an undesired affect. Suddenly, fans were not only rejoicing their martyr, they were pairing him with Hollyleaf! AshXHolly became one of the most popular and emo pairings on the archive for a time, pairing Ashfur with his own murderer…who was even younger than Squirrelflight! Seriously! This pairing is every bit as disturbing to me as PineXLeopard in Bluestar's Prophecy, and that one really takes the cake!
Now thoroughly baffled as to the minds of young readers, the Erin Hunters were at a loss. What was wrong with the youth of the world?
Unsure of what else they could do to deter this unreasonable amount of clearly misaimed hero worship, the Erins had no choice but to simply remove Ashfur from the picture all together. Therefore, unlike every other mildly important character who has died, they are soon after shown in StarClan in some manner, or the Dark Forest. Or…somewhere. But no, in order to prevent any further exploration of Ashfur's character from occurring, the Author Overlords refuse to give us such comfort. The fandom is left guessing, which, inadvertently spawned a whole new generation of fanfics, adding even more to Ashfur's popularity.
And then the authors sighed, throwing up their hands in exasperation.
Those darned kids of today! Something is clearly wrong with the lot of them!
A Legacy Born
So, what can be said about Ashfur?
Quite a lot of things, ranging from just another misunderstood emo to a doomundously evil genius plotter who almost killed Hollyleaf and is questionably homosexual.
His reign of awesome was only a short lived few chapters, but the repercussions will forever be felt throughout the Warriors world. Where ever he may by now, let it be known that he will not be forgotten…much to the great frustration of the Author Overlords.
But is his hero worship truly deserved. Is he really worth all of this hype and admiration?
Well, as a full supporter of the Hollyleaf Haters Association (HHA – we have T-shirts and cookies), for once I must agree with a majority and say that any character that came that close to actually killing the greater evil, and then causing her to break dun rulez and go insane is truly worthy of praise, and I must applaud him.
Congratulations, Ashfur. Where ever you are, may Hollyleaf be far, far away.
Well, there you have it. That's the last character chapter until chapter 18.
Up next: ThunderClan