Hi all,
I thought I would do a fun little post with just some random facts about the Twilight Character we all love.
Nothing real in depth, just a sort of brief history of sorts.
This information was taken from the Twilight Saga Wiki and simple google searches.
Jasper Whitlock
Born: 1843
Not much is known about Jasper's life before he was turned in 1863 by his creator Maria *one of my personal favorite characters in the saga*. We do know that he was from Texas *swoons over accent*, and that he lied about his age to join the confederate army. Eventually he climbed the ranks and became the youngest Major ever in the confederate army, even if he was to go by his real age.
“My military career was short-lived, but very promising. People always . . . liked me, listened to what I had to say. My father said it was charisma. Of course, now I know it was probably something more. But, whatever the reason, I was promoted quickly through the ranks, over older, more experienced men. The Confederate Army was new and scrambling to organize itself, so that provided opportunities, as well. By the first battle of Galveston — well, it was more of a skirmish, really — I was the youngest major in Texas, not even acknowledging my real age.”-Jasper to Bella Swan-Eclipse
*This was the information I found while googling, but a while back I saw info that stated this was wrong. He lied about his age which would actually make him 18 at the time of his change instead of the suggested 20. If you have clarification on this please add it in the comments. I can't find that info now, so it might be wrong*
While on his way back to Galveston Texas one night, after evacuating the women and children to Houston, he ran into three woman, thinking they might need help. Little did he know, his fate rested in the hands of one of the most sadistic vampires ever to walk the earth.
“Just a mile outside the city, I found three women on foot. I assumed they were stragglers and dismounted at once to offer them my aid. But, when I could see their faces in the dim light of the moon, I was stunned into silence. They were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had ever seen."
“My hair was standing up on the back of my neck, though I didn’t understand the meaning of anything the beautiful creatures were saying. My instincts told me that there was danger, that the angel had meant it when she spoke of killing, but my judgment overruled my instincts. I had not been taught to fear women, but to protect them." Jasper to Bella in Eclipse
*I always thought this line was so chilling*
We all know what happens next. Jasper is turned by Maria because she had wanted to "keep" him. Whether she had an ability to know he would be "special" was never determined, but honestly, who wouldn't want Jasper if they ran across him? That's a no brainer. JS. All we know is that she saw something different in him and decided to turn him.
*boobage for the WINN*
“‘He looks right — young, strong, an officer. . . ’ The brunette paused, and I tried unsuccessfully to speak. ‘And there’s something more . . . do you sense it?’ she asked the other two. ‘He’s . . . compelling.’
After he was turned and his gifts were determined, he fought in the Southern Vampire Wars * I always think of Bella remembering this instead of the actual confederate wars during History*. He helped Maria claim territory by fighting other covens, using newborns he controlled with his ability to manipulate emotions.
Jasper would train the newborns to fight, gaining territory for Maria, turning him into something vicious. He fought for blood, or rewards as he called in Eclipse, along with the approval of his Mistress. It was his job to destroy the newborns after they were no longer useful. This caused Jasper to surge into a deep depression, as his ability to feel what his kill felt as he drained it took a toll on him.
Maria told Jasper there was only one way to live and so he made himself useful to her wanting to please his mistress. *swoons, Please me, please me!* He gained her territory and was the only one to survive the battles that raged as new newborns were created and destroyed. He knew no other way.
“Maria grew quite fond of me — she began to depend upon me. And, in some ways, I worshipped the ground she walked on. I had no idea that any other life was possible. Maria told us this was the way things were, and we believed.
After fighting for several decades, he met a newborn that had proved himself useful and was kept instead of destroyed. His name, of course, was Peter. They formed a sort of friendship with one another. When Jasper was ordered to kill a batch of newborns, Peter tried to talk Jasper out of killing a few of them, saying that they were somewhat useful, but he told Peter no out of wanting to follow Maria's orders. Jasper was unaware that Peter had fallen in love with one of the newborns.
“We were about halfway through, and I could feel that it was taking a great toll on Peter. I was trying to decide whether or not I should send him away and finish up myself as I called out the next victim. To my surprise, he was suddenly angry, furious. I braced for whatever his mood might foreshadow — he was a good fighter, but he was never a match for me.
“Maria was irritated with me for that . . .”-Jasper Hale to Bella Swan-Eclipse
“Maria was irritated with me for that . . .”-Jasper Hale to Bella Swan-Eclipse
*These are the supposed peeps to play Peter and Charlotte in Breaking Dawn, via BreakingDawnMovie.org*
Jasper continued on with his way of life with Maria, slipping further and further into an abyss of pain from the way his life was. It wasn't until Peter returned five years later, that Jasper realized his life could be much different; more peaceful than it was.
He left with Peter and Charlotte, traveling with them for a few years, getting a feel for his new, more peaceful life. However, this did not help his spiraling depression.
“I traveled with Peter and Charlotte for a few years, getting the feel of this new, more peaceful world. But the depression didn’t fade. I didn’t understand what was wrong with me, until Peter noticed that it was always worse after I’d hunted.
“I contemplated that. In so many years of slaughter and carnage, I’d lost nearly all of my humanity. I was undeniably a nightmare, a monster of the grisliest kind. Yet each time I found another human victim, I would feel a faint prick of remembrance for that other life. Watching their eyes widen in wonder at my beauty, I could see Maria and the others in my head, what they had looked like to me the last night that I was Jasper Whitlock. It was stronger for me — this borrowed memory — than it was for anyone else, because I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them.
*This is one of my favorite parts of the book. I love how he talks about being a real vampire*
He eventually left Peter and Charlotte, after needing to be on his own. He kept killing, but wanted another way of life. It was then that he met Alice *stabs her repeatedly*. He fell in love with the short haired pixie like vampire, and together, they found their way to the Cullens, ultimately showing him what he had always wanted; a life of peace and without the pain of the kill.
*OK, ewwww*
“Alice told me what she’d seen of Carlisle and his family. I could hardly believe that such an existence was possible. But Alice made me optimistic. So we went to find them.”
The Twilight saga tells us that he's married to Mary Alice Brandon, but we all know his true soul mate is Isabella Marie Swan. *snickers* Team BELLA!!! *shifty eyes*
Well, this is where I leave you, because we all know the rest of the story.
I wanted to give you all a fun little run down of who Jasper Whitlock Hale Cullen *great day what a name* is. It's nice to go back to our roots sometimes, and I think this is especially important to fan fiction writers. The reason being most of us have read so much fan fiction that we don't know what is in the books and what isn't anymore. There are so many possibilities, especially with such a rich history as Jasper's, that you tend not to know what is true and what isn't anymore. Well, from a fictional book standpoint that is.
Please feel free to leave any additional information below or correct anything that is wrong. I got this off several sources, along with going by memory, but I'm not infallible and neither are most wiki's. JS.
Hope you enjoyed,
Izzy
November 3, 2010 at 11:36 AM
I thoroughly enjoyed that, Izzy! This reminds me of all the reasons I fixated on Jasper in the first place. What an amazing backstory for those of us that want to explore it and write more about it!
November 3, 2010 at 12:32 PM
I have to agree with NCChris that it just cements the reason why I love him so much. and yes I agree that even though he is married to the Pixie bitch his soul belongs to Bella.
Hugs
November 3, 2010 at 5:31 PM
In Eclipse, SM states that Jasper lied about his age and joined the army in 1861 shortly before his 17th birthday. The Confederate Army started recruiting in South Carolina in April and would have spread west from there. At the earliest, Jasper would have joined in May, making him turn 17 in the latter half of 1861.
SM says that Jasper was promoted to Major by the time of the First Battle of Galveston/ Battle of Galveston Harbor (Oct. 4, 1862). She says that he was changed in 1863 on the return trip to Galveston after escorting the women and children out of the city to Houston due to Yankee mortar boat danger.
These details (the evacuation and mortar boats) match the details of the First Battle of Galveston. That would mean that Jasper would have to have turned in 1862 at the age of 18 (not age 20 and not in 1862). Or, he was changed on the same day as the Second Battle of Galveston (Jan. 1, 1863) and SM mixed up the details of the two battles (which would still make him 18).
Either way, SM did not check her facts or her math about Jasper. (Is Google really hard to use?)
I've been working on a Civil War story about our favorite major and I've constantly been smacking my forehead. It's a struggle to decide which it would be better to cheat: what SM has put down as canon or the facts of the Civil War.
November 4, 2010 at 12:20 AM
@NCChris and @Karebear Thanks so much. I've been a J/B writer for so long now that I forget some of the canon story myself. I was curious about a few things and said the hell with it. Let's make it a post. lol I'm glad you liked it.
@Livmass You know, I think that's why everyone is so thoroughly confused about it. Everything I myself found online was conflicting and I'm just too damn lazy to go read it myself. *snorts*
But your information was very informative. There are so many contradictions in the actual Twilight series, that it just ruins it for me. Sure, it was great the first time around, but I was so Absorbed in reading it that I missed all those conflicting details. It wasn't until I became a writer of FF and started researching things that I started to see those details.
Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm sure just writing FF we aren't too worried about getting every detail just right, because this is, after all, just for fun. SM however had this shit published and made Lord only knows how much money off of it. She could have at least got her facts right.
I think the biggest issue is Jasper's age. No one really knows for sure, because like you said, the dates conflict, but a trend I've noticed in FF is that he was 20 at the time of his change. I guess that's going by his lied age and not his real age, but it just makes it easier to just stick with that number since it's what most of the fandom goes by anyway. It's free fiction, we can't be too picky right? Even though I'm super OCD and really like for shit to be correct. lol Good luck with your story. I'm sure whatever you decide to go with, it'll turn out great. You just go with whatever is true to your heart. Peeps will read it.
Thanks everyone for you comments. I'm super thrilled you like the post. I had a blast writing it.
Izzy
November 8, 2010 at 1:39 PM
LOL the picture of Jasper & Alice made me say 'ew'... so your caption made me laugh even harder.
Thanks for the recap.
November 9, 2010 at 5:41 AM
I think she wrote the part about him claiming his age as older than promptly forgot and wrote the rest as if he actually was 20.
Personally I like him being older than the others, it suits his personality better.
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