magicianpanache

[magicianpanache]

Who is Renée Dwyer ?

Who is Renée Dwyer ? Bella seems to have a pretty positive opinion of her. She's slightly condescending, and a bit insecure, but overall Bella seems to really love her. However, let's be honest here, Bella is a terrible judge of character, so I wanted to explore her a little.

Most people seem to have one of two views of Renee

A well meaning woman who got pregnant too soon but did her best. Things weren't perfect, but she tried to encourage Bella to try new things.

After all, she seems to really care about Bella. She's frantic when she goes to see her in the hospital in Twilight, they seem to have a good relationship... In fact, Bella doesn't seem to resent her in the least.

She signs up Bella for ballet, and accepts that Bella doesn't like it and lets her drop it, which suggests she respects Bella's opinion.

2. A neglectful woman who shouldn't have gotten custody, emotionally abusive and narcissistic

Why would I think that ? Bella cooks too well for a seventeen year old and seems to have been responsible for paying the bills for a while.

Most egregiously, Bella knows the last words her mom told her dad before leaving. Why, in God's name does she know that ? It screams enmeshment and parentification on Renée's part.

Where do you stand ?

#renee dwyer #bella swan #anti renee dwyer #anti bella swan #twilight meta #the twilight saga #twilight renaissance

[magicianpanache]

Harry Potter and the Protection Racket

In my last post I explained how vulnerable the Wizarding world was to powerful wizard.

TLDR: the existence of wizards powerful enough to be unstoppable stops the ministry from being effective.

This has many consequences, the biggest being that wizards will align themselves with wizards in patronage systems that mimic those of ancient Rome, centered around said wizards.

What do I mean by that ?

Well, in Ancient Rome, rich men cultivated a network of people who would be dependent on them. Said rich man (like, say, Julius Ceasar), would pay for legal representation if their clients were in trouble (cough Harry couch), would arrange for loans/gifts (Lucius with the brooms, Dumbledore with Mundungus), would give support if someone under their protection wanted to run for office or get n important position (see Fudge and Umbridge), or a myriad of other things.

In exchange, those clients would go to war for their leader (see Dumbledore and the order and Voldemort and the death eaters), or support him in his political career (I'll let you make your own conclusions).

During the time of the series, we have three patronage systems: Dumbledore's, Fudge's and Lucius' (who took over Voldemort's patrons), and I'll probably write metas expanding on them.

#harry potter #harry potter meta #voldemort #tom riddle #albus dumbledore #cornelius fudge #wizarding world #first wizarding war #second wizarding war

[magicianpanache]

Harry Potter and the Violence Monopoly

A popular philosophy idea is that to be the State, an entity must have the monopoly on violence. An easy example is that in most medieval societies, those who ruled were those who trained to fight (and not, say, the third estate who composed the majority of the world).

In our (muggle) history, this means that whoever can convince the most competent people to fight for them will be on top. The President of the USA is the president because the army and the police follow him and believes he is. Furthermore, there are enough branches of armed forces that one general can't just decide to instigate a coup.

In the Harry Potter universe, this fact is why the wizarding world will probably always be very corrupt.

Every few decades, someone is born that is so powerful that they can just take the power for themselves. Their power differential is so great that it doesn't matter if the whole ministry, (theoretically elected?) by the people is against them.

In book 5, Dumbledore is set to be arrested by the government as he's accused of building an army in his name in Hogwarts (something I have a hard time believing he had no idea about, and is therefore guilty of, at least indirectly). However, he's Dumbledore and he doesn't want to go to Azkaban. He run away and is never caught.

In book 7, Voldemort basically goes in the ministry, says "Mine.", and no one can do anything about it.

They are so powerful, laws need not apply to them, and that shows cracks in the ministry.

In a world where people so powerful they can't be arrested by the State can be born, the state will always be vulnerable. Fudge understood that reality, and frankly, had reasons to be worried about the DA.

#Harry Potter #Harry Potter meta #Dumbledore #Dumbledore's great ideas #Voldemort #Tom Riddle #Wizarding World #Cornelius fudge #Cornelius fudge was a little bit right

[magicianpanache]

How do you guys think Nessie will end up ?

Exactly what it says on the tin.

She's born into a billionaire family, with no contact with people who struggle in their day to day lives besides the pack, who don't babysit her and she'll maybe see once every few months.

2. She almost only socializes with immortal beings openly dismissive of humans at best and cannibalistic at worst.

3. She has no companions her own age. This ties in with the next point, but that's a huge point. People learn to be kind and to share by playing games with other people. Not only that, but they need to be challenge, to negotiate fair rules and learn not to cheat. However,

4. Everyone she meets is completely devoted to her. Now, I have my doubts it's natural, but even if it is, she'll grow up never having learned boundaries, with everyone willing to do anything for her. She's not learning that people might have bodily autonomy either (it's fine for her to bite Jacob).

5. Her family have a serious lack of boundaries. Bella watches her dreams, Edward reads her mind, she can hear them have sex while she's in bed... Clearly she won't know what's right and wrong in society.

With the mixture of smothering from Jacob and low-key neglect from Bella and Edward (or at least severe lack of judgment for letting Jacob around her)...

She's such a recipe for an annoying bratty trust fund kid that I have a hard time thinking she'll end up as a nice person. What do you guys think ?

#twilight meta #anti twilight #renesmee cullen #anti renesmee cullen #twilight saga #twilight renaissance #twilight

[magicianpanache]

How Smart Is Bella

Spoiler alert: smarter than most teenagers, but not that much.

Some people might laugh and say "of course she's dumb, she jumped off a cliff for a guy LOL". I'm not talking about that kind of smart. I'm talking about raw processing power (the difference between wisdom and intelligence in D&D, if you will).

After all, she's introduced as a clever girl in Twilight (see her essay which Mike doesn't understand, her grades in biology, even the attitudes of the characters towards her...)

So, what are the main things that make her seem smart ?

First of all, she has good grades. That the classic way to show your teenage character is smart. However, this can be pretty easily dismissed. In Twilight, Bella has good grades because she did the biology lab before. In New Moon, she's depressed and doing all she can do to take her mind off Edward, which translates to studying a lot and getting good grades. However, the fact that she studies so much to get those grades is a lot less impressive than if she got them while, say, having a social life or being part of a club. It is, to be fair, though, better than what most people could achieve.

But she gets accepted into Dartmouth ! Indeed, she gets accepted in an Ivy League school. However, having not sent her own application and never participated in any extracurricular or similar activity, I think it's pretty clear Edward is the one who got her in (probably with a bribe).

The second main reason is that she reads a lot of old books. It's her main character trait, actually. Be it Romeo and Juliet or Wuthering Heights, she read it. Is it actually a sign of intelligence, though ? After all, there's reading a book and there's understanding it's themes and points in it's social context. For example, Romeo and Juliet isn't (only) a romance, it's a tragedy. Not only is it a tragedy, but it's a critic of the blossoming role of love in marriage and a commentary on feuds and the impulsiveness of teenagers. Bella actually has some critical thinking, as her essay about misogyny is Shakespeare demonstrates (though we have no idea how good it was). We don't know how good her essay was (and if she chose the subject), but she did write it. However, that's the only hint we get, and Bella fails to actually demonstrate her understanding of Wuthering Heights when she compares herself to Cathy (we're both selfish she cries...). But she does understand Shakespeare, so kudos to her.

But she connects the dots about the Cullens, I hear you say ! That takes deductive reasoning ! Come on, I answer, she had no idea what he was until Jacob gave her the answer. That's more a proof of her ability to flirt than her brain.

All in all, though she's smarter than Mike Newton, Bella just isn't all that smart. She works hard and enjoys reading.

#twilight #anti twilight #twilight meta #twilight saga #edward cullen #bella swan

[magicianpanache]

I always laugh when I see that quote because Bella sounds so eighteen it's hilarious.

In any case, it's also the case for Rosalie (loss of her future by the most terrible way possible, by a gang rape and murder), and absolutely for Jacob.

I won't get into Jasper, but if he joined in because he thought the South was right...

As for the worst... Well it's obviously subjective, up to a point, but we can easily imagine how some characters might believe some circumstances might be worst if they went through them.

Carlisle seems to have easily adapted to vampirism, so he's out, and I'm pretty sure if Bella got raped and murdered by, say, Edward or Jacob on her way home some day, she would find it worst than being dumped by Edward. Or if Renesmee died.

Honestly, I don't know if Jacob, Esme or Rosalie had it worst, and I think it depends on said person's values.

Worst Thing Possible?

“I’d already lived through the worst thing possible.  In comparison to that, why should anything frighten me now?  I should be able to look death in the face and laugh.”  - Bella Swan, New Moon. To Bella, the “worst thing possible” is Edward leaving her and taking with him her dreams of forever.  But it sort of got me thinking–do you think any other characters have also lived through their own personal “worst thing possible?”   I think one could easily argue that the loss of a child is the “worst thing possible” to any mother, and Esme has experienced that.  I think you could also say that to a pious, vampire-hunting son of a pastor like Carlisle, becoming a vampire himself was probably “the worst thing possible.”  Death would have meant Heaven; vampirism would be seen (at least at first) as eternal damnation.   Do you think anyone else has lived through their own personal “worst thing possible?”  (Jacob and imprinting? Yes/no?)  Do you think we can compare these circumstances (which is the ‘worst’ worst thing?) or is it an apples/oranges thing?  Too personal to really compare? 

#rosalie deserves better #rosalie hale #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #jacob black

[magicianpanache]

The Jasper Opportunity: The Present

Who is Jasper Hale ?

He's a vampire. He is a smart man that managed to survive decades of violent warfare that has a single digit survival rate. This means he is pragmatic, opportunistic, cynical and ready to do what needs to be done. Beyond that, he's protective of Alice (his salvation), and of his family. Those qualities are exemplified in the discussion about what to do with Bella Swan : he argues to kill her, and, if Edward can't do it, he will. Jasper is also defined by his depression, because of his gift of empathy.

Who is he to others ? He's a husband to Alice Cullen. He's a son to Carlisle and Esme. He's a brother to the others.

But what if we dig deeper than that ?

Alice

Pages and pages have already been written about Alice and Jasper. They love each other and are each other's salvation, blablabla. She's his favorite Cullen, and his favorite person. He knows how dangerous the vampire world is and is therefore extremely protective of her. They compliment each other, though I'm not sure they have a functional relationship. Alice needed a physical protector once she changed. She's a tiny girl with no fighting knowledge. Her gift guided her to a desperate veteran looking for a purpose in life and a way out of his depression, which she provides.

This is the entire basis of their relationship. However, I can't help but wonder what would happen if Alice saw them no longer together (would she give Jasper the courtesy of explaining the break up, or would he receive a break up text ?), and how Jasper would react. Would he leave the Cullens ? Fall off the wagon ?

Furthermore, by playing chess with Jasper (and Jasper being a willing participant), it's quite hard for them to develop an actual equal to equal relationship. This, coupled with the fact I don't think Alice quite understands the hell Jasper went through (she didn't see it and, frankly, doesn't seem to ponder about other people all that much), makes their relationship not as solid as it might seem at first glance.

Edward

They often go on hunting together. However, it's pretty clear they aren't as close as other siblings in the family. Edward spends the first chapter in Midnight Sun disgusted with Jasper and his "weakness" to human blood. He wonders why Jasper even bothers to try. Of course, Jasper knows what Edward feels, and might even feel the same thing about his weakness. However, it's clear their bond isn't that deep.

Carlisle

I very much doubt Jasper and Carlisle have a filial relationship. Mutual respect, sure, but not a father/son relationship. Why ?

Well, why would they ?

Well, for once, Jasper and Carlisle only have like 4 years between them in a physical sense. Furthermore, unlike Edward and Rosalie, Jasper was an independent adult when he was changed. He didn't need parental attention the same way they did.

This gives them a respectful relationship, but one that isn't particularly deep. We have no mention of them hanging out, going hunting together, or anything else (though, to be fair, I don't think Bella or Edward would notice). With Carlisle being a doctor and Jasper a student, they don't interact much.

Esme

Esme is a mystery, and who knows why that woman does anything. However, I have a hard time seeing her and Jasper sitting in the same room doing anything else than staring at walls.

Rosalie

We don't see them overly interact, but I suspect Rosalie must be one of his favorite Cullen. She offered to go kill Bella herself in MS, which shows a level of pragmatism and down-to-earth character that Jasper no doubt values.

Bella

They aren't very close. Sure, Jasper likes hanging out around her because of her happy juice, but it's not enough to have them be actually close. Beyond that, they have nothing in common. Bella is an introverted bookworm, while Jasper is a grizzled war veteran.

Emmett

Emmett seems to be the person with who he interacts the most if we don't consider Alice. We have many instances of them wrestling, competing or betting on various things. They openly bet on how many people Bella would kill. In fact, Emmett's carefree nature must be very appealing to Jasper's cynical personality. They seem to be best friends (or at least the first person the other goes to to have fun).

However, Emmett isn't really the kind of person to have a deep conversation with, the way philosophical and history major Jasper undoubtedly wants.

Renesmee

Jasper never had any interest in children, and he was absent for Nessie's childhood. Not only that, but Bella and Edward have Jacob, Rosalie, Esme, Alice and Charlie who would be happier to babysit her. Unless something major happens, they will be strangers living in the same house.

This shows Jasper to be a very lonely man.

#jasper hale #twilight meta #twilight #twilight renaissance #anti twilight #anti edward cullen #carlisle cullen

[magicianpanache]

The Jasper Opportunity Part 1: The Past

Well, after quite an eventful start to the school year, looks like I'm back, and I'm going to be talking about Jasper Hale.

To do that, we must first of all start with a simple question.

Who is Jasper Hale ?

We have the basics, of course, we know when he was born, how he died, etc. In fact, his origin story is probably the most controversial of the Twilight fandom. I'll be the first to admit that I was... taken aback when I realized that the guy was fighting on the side of slavery (not being from the US, I didn't realize the implications of his fighting for the southern states when I read Twilight at 11 years old, but I got there eventually).

However, as I grow older, I realize now that Jasper's character quite compelling, and is, in fact, the kind of character that a world populated by immortal beings would be full of.

What do I mean by that ?

Well, people's values are informed by the society the grew up in. People don't magically become more, or less, racist. I can guarantee that a majority of the people who read this would have had the exact same attitude as Jasper had they been born in the same circumstances. Carlisle and Jasper are the two Cullens who don't have humans older than them still alive, which means that the two of them should feel the more alien.

This could've opened up an interesting reflexion about the changes in Jasper's view of the world. Does he feel guilty about his part in the civil war ? Or does he accept it in the same way one accepts that Genghis Khan murdered his way across the Eurasian continent ? Or is it a mere blip on his radar considering his considerable body count ?

What about Bella ? What benign belief does she hold that will be horrible in a hundred and fifty years ? Meat consumption ? Car ownership ?

Of course, Bella doesn't care or bother to think about it, but the question is still there.

Then, he fought in the Newborn Wars. That single handedly makes him the closest to an average vampire out of all the Cullens (Carlisle, as he was nomad for a long time, and Edward with his killing spree, come closer, but Carlisle never drank human blood and Edward wasn't gone for that long). When he explains his past, this is the closest we have to realizing the savage and depressing world of vampires.

Of course, SM wanted her steamy vampire romance, so we didn't get any of that.

But still, the character had potential.

#twilight meta #anti twilight #jasper hale #twilight renaissance #twilight saga

[magicianpanache]

Edward Cullen’s Mad, Mad World

Part 2: The Change

Edward gets changed during the Spanish epidemic that kills his parents. This, coupled with the fact no human friend of his has ever been mentioned, means that most of the links to his human life have been severed.

During his first year as a vampire, he spends most of his time learning basic control. Interestingly, during a flashback, we learn that Edward immediately fell into the “son” role with Carlisle.

Considering Edward’s fragile relationship with his father, this isn’t the most surprising thing he could do, but it is quite strange considering Edward is 17, on the cusp of adulthood and ready to go to war, while Carlisle looks barely 23. While Edward and his father probably weren’t close, I find it slightly odd that Edward was willing to replace his father so easily.

In any case, Edward quickly adopts Carlisle as his father. It’s quite clear Edward has a profound devotion for the man, seeing him as everything that is good in the world. When Carlisle mentions vampires have covens, Edward reflects the word isn’t strong enough for what Edward and Carlisle are. I will only say this, but Edward’s opinion of Carlisle reads very much like a school boy crush. Considering the opinion about homosexuality at that time, it would not be farfetched for Edward to have interpreted his romantic love as filial love, especially since he had a distant relationship to his father.

A lot of things change in Edward's life, but some stay similar. Edward goes from rich kid to vampire, which informs his opinion about wealth. Edward keeps his family's wealth, even after being changed, after all.

It’s also important to mention that Edward is thrust into a world where he is no longer a protector of maidens, but a dangerous monster, one slip away from murdering innocents. Yet, despite his doubts, Edward tries to embody virtue, until he can’t.

A few years later, Esme was changed. It’s worth noting that Esme is born barely six years before him and is barely nine years older than him physically. Edward still adopts her as his mother figure because she’s everything a mother should be. She’s kind, feminine, nurturing and beautiful...

We don’t know if Edward started calling her his mother before or after Esme and Carlisle got together, but I’m inclined to think Edward got them together because he felt like they were his parental figures in the first place.

In any case, Edward tells Carlisle that Esme loves him, so Carlisle marries her.

Despite this nurturing nuclear family, Edward will be tempted and will soon leave the comfort of his home.

Edward also remembers being profoundly disturbed by his transformation, especially his appearance. He cares deeply that he sparkles or that his hands are pale, but not as much as what makes him truly monstrous, like his bloodlust (though he does think about it). This is a recurring theme when he’ll talk to Bella.

The most damning change in his life, though, is his gift. He is now plagued with every inane, odd, private and disgusting thought people have. This clearly changed his ability to relate to other people, since he can here all their judgment (ugh, mom is sooooo annoying), shallowness (he's so handsome, I hope he'll notice me), and intrusive thoughts (I wonder how many people would die if I crashed this plane?).

What can we conclude ?

Edward already sees the people in his life as fairly replaceable. His parents, including his mother whom he loved and was very close to, are replaced within five years. His father is replaced within the year with a man Edward just met.

We also see Edward creating for himself a cocoon of which he is almost the center. I say almost, because the only thing Carlisle cares about more than him is the diet. Is it surprising he falls off the wagon a few years later ?

His self image also drastically changes, along with his image of other people. He is no longer a young man ready to protect a fair maiden. He’s struggling against the monster, but has never killed anyone. He can also here every thoughts people have: he "learns" just how inane and superficial the world is.

#twilight meta #twilight renaissance #twilight #twilight saga #midnight sun #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #anti twilight #bella swan

[magicianpanache]

Edward, Carlisle and Esme: The Cullen Ménage à Trois

I can't help finding it very convenient for Edward that by shacking up Esme and Carlisle, he gets to be the center of the world of the two people he cares most about.

Esme loves him more than anything, even maybe her husband, as any mother would, meaning she'll ultimately always be on his size.

Carlisle, though, is more independent. Sure, Edward has a special place as Carlisle’s first creation, but Carlisle has a job (doctor) and an identity outside of the coven (that weird monk). Edward, ever the clever bugger, ensures he’ll never leave by finding her a wife who will always be devoted first and foremost to him.

I find that hilarious.

#anti twilight #twilight #twilight saga #twilight renaissance #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #midnight sun #twilight meta #esme cullen #carlisle cullen

[magicianpanache]

Edward Cullen’s Mad, Mad World

Part 1: The Origins

To understand Edward Cullen, it’s important to go back to his human life, which gives us a very interesting insight into his motivations and way of thinking.

First with the facts: Edward Cullen was born in Chicago in 1901 from a well off family, his father being a lawyer, and his mother taking care of him. In his adolescence, like many other teenagers his age, he dreams of going to war. He claims to have stayed for his mother, but he was only 17 (a minor) when the war ended. His dream ends when he catches the Spanish flu in 1918 and Carlisle changes him into a vampire while he’s on his dying bed.

This seems like little information, but it gives us a lot of information about what kind of person he would become.

While very close to his mother, he and his father are not. In fact, in Midnight Sun, while he mentions his mother a few times with fondness, he only spares a thought to his father when remembering he died of the influenza. The fact he jumps quickly to seeing Carlisle as a father (within the year of his transformation) is telling.

The fact he also mentions or thinks about exactly 0 friends or other family members suggests that Edward was also a lonely child, who, like Bella, took refuge in books. This explains his romanticism and why he took to the government’s wartime propaganda so well, despite being in America, a much more isolationist nation than those in Europe. We can deduce he read the newspaper and saw the adverts and short stories that were omnipresent, from the time he was 13 year old until he was 17, the years that really formed his way of thinking and his sexuality.

Those adverts often portrayed Britain and France as a maiden in need of defense, calling for the population (especially young men) to be part of the war effort. I believe this is the start of his separating people into three groups: protectors, predators and prey. Young Edward internalized those roles, and decided he must become a protector, and the best way to do that is, of course, to join the army to protect young women.

This propaganda also comes with a particular attitude toward women.

Contrary to what many people might guess, the attitude towards womanhood and marriage was not static across time, until the 20th century, after which feminism happened and we became the enlightened people we are today.

Without doing a whole dissertation about it, in the Victorian Era, women began to be seen as paragons of morality, as opposed to evil temptresses of earlier times. Marriages also started to shift from a strictly economic and social arrangement, to also include (gasp) love and respect. Passion and sexuality would follow in the late 1910s and twenties as something to include in a marriage, but were not yet a necessity. Edward grew up with the conflict of nature of women’s sexuality being disputed.

This brings us back to the propaganda Edward’s life must’ve been full of: America’s propaganda, in books just as much as adverts, often focused on women’s sexuality and moral purity.

This propaganda split women into two groups, being at the base of Edward’s madonna/whore complex. There are the moral women, virtuous and self-sacrificing in poverty while they wait for their man to come back, and the immoral shrews, selfish, ruined by wealth, materialism and often drunk (aka submitting to their base urges).

Remind you of anyone ?

Edward grew up high class in the city, where gender segregation had in great part broken down because of the influx of young people in the city in need of work, without their parent’s supervision. This means he would’ve mixed with the higher class “ruined by wealth”, just as much as the lower class “drunks”. As a teenager, he wouldn’t have found the complexity in their characters, assuming their desires or impulses were because they were “lesser” women. Of course, his mother is exempt from this judgment.

This is important because it means that Edward grew up in a time before women’s sexuality was not accepted as a natural part of things (an acceptance which really happened in the twenties).

What can we conclude ?

Human, he already lived in an imaginary world, surrounded by books (and his mother). He gets changed very young, young enough that his vision of people is still very one dimensional. This means that once he gets transformed, Edward already sees women through his madonna/whore prism, and offers himself up as their protector. His few friends and family are also probably dead, explaining why he latched on to Carlisle so hard.

Join me next time as I discuss Edward’s early days as a vampire.

#anti twilight #twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #midnight sun #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #bella swan #twilight meta

[magicianpanache]

That's highly consistent with Bella's character, though. She's just not very interested in other people. This goes for her human friends as well. She judges Jessica for being cold toward her, after Bella could've gotten them seriously hurt with the bikers, never sparing a thought to why she feels that way, and only decided to hang out with her to get Charlie off her back as well. Even when she hangs out with Jacob, it's more about her (passing time and trying to hear Edward's voice) than actually being interested in him as a person. In the same way, the witnesses are there to protect Renesmee.

The only people she's actually close to are Alice, who saw them become friends and she therefore doesn't have to make an effort for the relationship to work, and Edward, with who her relationship is based on superficial attributes (appearances, smell, and aesthetic). though they both don't realize it.

I've been wondering if in the Twilight universe a lot of historical mysteries can be explained with vampires? Kind of like how in ancient aliens everything is just aliens. How were the Pyramids of Giza built? Vampires. Who created stone henge? Eh, vampires did it. Where is the lost city of Atlantis. That was Aro's fault.

No, but seriously some historical mysteries could be explained this way. Maybe Atlanis was a real city, only to be destroyed by the Volturi to cover up vampire activities. Maybe a coven lived there? Or the colony of Roanoke disappearing could've been a vampire or several wiping them out and cover it up. Maybe even a few historical killers were just vampires and that's why they were never caught. It's a very interesting rabbit hole to go down, on how mysteries might be explained in Twilight.

Honestly, why isn't Bella asking Carlise or the vampires in Breaking Dawn about this?! I would be asking the romanians and Amun about history all day long!

Yeah, see, this is the stuff I wanted more of. I think the only thing we really get is the "St. Marcus" story about driving all the vampires from Volterra, and that is purely made up by SM, not based on real history or legend (although probably inspired by St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland).

I guess there's the stuff with the Denali sisters inspiring the myths of the succubus, and Carlisle starting the 'stregoni benefici" legend, and obviously she co-opted the Quileutes' history and origin stories which is you know a Whole Other Thing, but otherwise it's just so romance-focused that we don't get a lot of this grounding sort of 'history' and world-building and frankly I was always more interested in that than the romance. I was reading the series as vampire stories vs romances, and while that might have been a misunderstanding on my part, it has influenced how I have engaged with them from the start.

And, yes, WHY doesn't Bella ask Carlisle or really ANY of the vampires about any of their history??? I found that enormously frustrating as a reader that she had centuries of lived experiences here and she just . . . didn't seem interested at all. Even with Edward! She doesn't ask him what the roaring 20s were like, what it was like to live through WWII, anything? She apparently loves Jane Austen--Carlisle was alive in that time period, she doesn't want to ask him about it? Again, I think this is a function of a) this is a romance and b) SM does not care about history; but it would have added so much depth not only to the supporting characters to learn more about their lives before Bella, before the Cullens even existed as a group in some cases, as well as her relationships with them.

I know everyone loves to headcanon they're all close and Bella's like the newest daughter/sister and it's one big happy family but I struggle with that because there's so little canon evidence of Bella like . . . giving a single crap about most of these characters as individuals. She doesn't seem curious about them. She only knows the bare outlines of their histories because THEY info-dumped them on her and then never talked about it again. Bonding moments of Bella asking about what the 1960s were like and all the Cullens telling funny stories or whatever would have made these relationships and Bella's love for these characters seem much more real.

And yeah, oh my god, I would have SO many questions for Amun. He’d probably get annoyed and kill me but it would be worth it to get all my questions about life in Ancient Egypt answered before I died. 

#bella swan

[magicianpanache]

Edward and the Volturi

Can we talk for a minute about Edward's complete U-turn regarding the Volturi ? In Twilight/Midnight Sun, he barely mentions them at all, only finding them rather gaudy for gifting Carlisle a painting (which I can't help but find hilariously petty). Honestly, he seems to consider them a petty annoyance to be thought about maybe once in the book.

In New Moon, suddenly, Edward considers them to be respected monarchs and tells Bella so at the beginning of the book.

Everything changes once Edward meets the Volturi: they refuse to kill him, (and go along with his grandiose love story), and suddenly they are the scum of the earth, ready to lie, betray and murder their way to earning new guards. Not only that, but they want their very clear law to be uphold and for Bella to be changed or die.

He then endeavors to create the wildest conspiracy theories about the Volturi and how they recruit members with barely any proof. He has the Romanians and Amun, who are clearly bitter about losing their top dog place and Eleazar who was kicked out of the Volturi. (I mean, I know he's a mind reader, but I really doubt Caius and Aro were thinking about whatever dastardly plans they had right in front of him). They oppose him, so they must be evil.

Essentially, after the Volturi break his plans for a tragic and doomed romance, they go from Carlisle's garish friends to the evil and corrupt tyrants of their world.

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #midnight sun #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #anti twilight #twilight meta #the volturi

[magicianpanache]

Venom and Natural Selection

Vampires mostly reproduce by biting each other, which transforms the victim into a vampire, making me think in acts as somewhat of a parasite. I cannot help but wonder if venom can be a unit of natural selection.

Now, vampires are very similar in their abilities. They have hard skin, sparkle in the sun and drink blood. They are strong and fast, but the level of strength and speed vary across vampires, mostly according to the individual's size (Emmett is huge and therefore stronger than most).

One area where differences are hard to explain are gifts. Of course, we know they at least somewhat depend on the human's talents (as seen with Bella), but I wonder if it also depends on the vampire that changes them.

Giftless Carlisle bit Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward, of which only Edward has a gift. Gifted Edward changed very gifted Bella. Gifted Edward and very gifted Bella had very gifted Renesmée.

In the same way, giftless Sasha transformed giftless Tanya and Irina, and gifted Kate.

On the other hand, very gifted Aro finds himself with a lot of very gifted vampires. Of course, this also happens because Aro searches for talented individuals, whereas Carlisle bit randos.

To find out if the creator has an impact, maybe influencing the likelihood of a gift appearing, we would have to make chains of transformation to learn the lineage of Twilight vampires, which we can't do on more than two or three generations since we don't have the information.

#anti twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #midnight sun #twilight meta #carlisle cullen #aro volturi

[magicianpanache]

Is Edward Completely Ace ?

We know Edward is at the very least on the ace spectrum. So, the question is, is Edward attracted to women, men, both, or neither.

Is Edward attracted to women?

The only women we know Edward has ever been attracted to is Bella, he says so explicitly in MS. All the others he despises for being whores or cannot fathom being attracted to, being Madonna's.

Here's the thing, though. I very much have my doubts that Edward is sexually attracted to Bella. In Midnight Sun, even after falling in love with Bella, he never checks her out sexually. In fact, he barely admires her physically at all. When he does, it's her skin, her neck, her collarbone... Not her boobs or but or even legs.

What he admires is her aesthetic, in the same way one might admire a painting. This is not helped by the fact Edward is a lot less entranced by his kisses with Bella than the inverse, and that he tries everything to get out of sex with Bella in Eclipse and in BD, even after their marriage.

Another interesting detail is that when she gets a blood transfusion in Twilight, Edward is less than pleased

While I was aware of a significant lessening of my thirst-pain, I didn’t enjoy the change. This strange blood seemed an interloper, alien. It wasn’t part of her and I resented the intrusion, irrational as that was. Her scent would begin to return in just twenty-four hours, before she’d even woken up. But she would not entirely replace that which was lost for many weeks. Regardless, this brief distortion was too strong a reminder that, at some point in the future, the scent that had compelled me for so long would be lost to me forever.

This strongly indicates that what compels Edward is his addiction to her smell. Edward gets less than pleased that he can't get his fix, and could lose it forever. I suspect he developed an addiction to her smell and justified it to himself by saying he felt lust. In his relationship with Bella, Edward mixed up bloodlust and sexual lust.

So, the most he felt toward Bella is maybe romantic attraction.

Is Edward attracted to men ?

Well, it's really hard to know. Edward does not explicitly check out men in MS. That could be because Edward is deeply closeted. The most damning piece of evidence is his romantic attraction to Carlisle.

So, what gives ?

It's possible Edward is completely ace, though he is capable of feeling romantic inclinations toward men and perhaps women also.

What do you guys think ?

Is Edward attracted to men as well as women ?

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #midnight sun #edward cullen #anti edward cullen #bella swan #twilight meta

[magicianpanache]

Is Edward on the Ace Spectrum ?

Edward has a clear disdain for sexuality. Every single person he mentions has a sex drive in MS, he feels disgusted by, be they married (like Rosalie and Emmett), or not (like Jessica and Mike). This goes past finding them crass. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, he could just have a lot of self-loathing for his own desires.

However, I found this gem:

I couldn’t afford to make mistakes, and it would be a monumental mistake to dwell on the strange hungers that thoughts of her lips… her skin… her body… were shaking loose inside me. Hungers that had evaded me for a hundred years.

Well, then. Case closed, Edward is demisexual. He only feels sexual attraction to people he's emotionally close to. This fits perfectly well with his opinion of Bella's appearance. At first, he finds her plain and unremarkable. The more he gets to know her, the more he finds her beautiful.

That would explain his disdain for people that do have a sex drive. He cannot relate to the feeling, and so he twists it into something evil and predatory, especially for women who he was raised as thinking did not have a sex drive.

#twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight saga #edward cullen #midnight sun #twilight meta

[magicianpanache]

Does Stephenie Meyer have trauma regarding blondes ?

Seriously though.

Every blonde woman in Twilight is either portrayed as a bitch or promiscuous (in a bad way) or both. We have Rosalie (a bitch), Tanya and her sisters (bitches and promiscuous), Lauren (a bitch and desperate for male attention). They fall into the mean girl mold, like Regina George. Seeing it everywhere really makes me wonder if SM is reliving her adolescent trauma with the Twilight books.

On the other hand, boys are portrayed more positively. We have Carlisle (the most moral character), Jasper (complex personality, neither completely good or evil), Riley (a teenager who was manipulated) and Mike (basic teenage boy TM).

#anti twilight #twilight renaissance #twilight #twilight saga #midnight sun #rosalie hale #twilight meta