monsters-and-mystics

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Twilight (2008) — dir. Catherine Hardwicke

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I think I’ve talked about it before but having Bella be 100% sure about wanting to be a vampire really wasn’t the move

Like yeah okay on the one hand it’s cool to see a woman who knows what she wants unapologetically, and not be punished for it. But where’s the tension? This is arguably the conflict of the series and iirc her only hesitation was “what if Edward doesn’t like me as much when I’m not so warm and squishy and tasty”? ...And honestly smeyer could’ve done a little more with that avenue, angst-wise. The way I see it, she had 3 options to add a little depth/tension: 1. Have Bella worry and fret over the choice 2. Have Bella be super confident in her decision and then not have the easiest time in the world as a vampire, or 3. let Bella have that wholehearted confidence, and then topple it

I’m going to explore #3 here.

See, Bella and Edward have this massive wad of chewed-up bubblegum stuck in the gears of their communication: Edward’s self-loathing. Edward reacts so dramatically to the mere hint of causing Bella unease, that Bella’s constantly hiding stuff from him for his own good. If she ever has a problem she can’t go to him about it because he’ll freak out, and she’ll have to reassure him that he’s not horrible, and then he realizes that she’s having to comfort him on top of dealing with whatever made her upset in the first place, so he feels worse, and so on

So she learns to downplay everything to protect herself and Edward. In fact she's already pretty good at downplaying negative emotions, presumably from growing up with Renee.

Consider a Bella who is actually a bit insecure in her decision to become a vampire. She could never tell Edward (at least she wouldn’t think so). She knows he’d latch on to any doubt she voices as a reason to claim she isn't ready.

So she puts on a brave face and convinces herself that she 100% wants it, because at this point it’s easier to lie to herself than to Edward. She's sure because she has to be.

Now take that scene at the end of Eclipse where Edward offers to call the bargain off and have sex with her right in the meadow, no strings attached, but change it so that instead of offering sex he offers to bite her right then and there. That fact that he really means it—he’s not calling her bluff—makes it all the more distressing to him when Bella immediately launches into a panic attack. Confronted with the reality of her decision, having to really consider all the pain she's about to endure and all the people she'll lose, the dam breaks. After all her arguments and assurances, she’s not ready. There's no life-threatening situation to take the decision out of her and Edward's hands, she has to say "yes", and she can't. And if she’s not ready now, will Edward ever trust her when she says she is? Is it now or never? Will she ever be ready? How long can she put this off before there’s an age gap between her and Edward that will bother her for all eternity? What if—-

Bella's crying, Edward's floored, but it's also kind of a relief for him, because he finally has confirmation that she's thought through all of the drawbacks and isn't "yes"ing him to death (literally). So when she does eventually say she's ready, he can believe her.

Idk, man, all I know is that 99% of the time you see a character have such an absolute surety like this, narrative balance calls for them to at least nibble on some crow. Faith is uninteresting unless earned or tested. That thread of the canon narrative is “girl wants an extremely hazardous thing, gets it, and there are no repercussions because she’s special and always right”. That’s not very juicy

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alice cullen moodboard ˚˖𓍢ִ໋📷˚

"I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be." - alice cullen, midnight sun

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Happy pride month tiny Edward! You should really look up the term “demisexual” btw. You know……… just in case you learn something about yourself.

Your message has been intercepted. Response follows.

Even more especially because you're likely correct.

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reasons why edward only owns one brain cell:

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team alice

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Jacob isn’t a bad character, he was just put in the hands of the wrong author.

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to me the appeal of pathetic vampires is similar to the appeal of stupid cats. you have the teeth and claws to rip through flesh to your heart's content, but here you are. paw stuck to a quilt. staring woefully with eyes the size of saucers to get someone to help. same goes for a vampire failing miserably to use a touchscreen because his fingers are too cold.

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I find Alice’s gift fascinating because even though her visions are based on decisions, there are things that are destined to happen like Bella going to Forks and meeting Edward.

The fact that years before Bella arrived, Alice bought a short sleeve shirt for Edward, even she herself was surprised by that purchase because he could never use it but she still told him not to get rid of it because it could be useful someday. Then!!! Edward used that same shirt to show Bella what he looked like in the sun!!

🤯.

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Honestly it’s so funny that Edward turned out to be absolute shite at tracking. I love it.

He’s got a great many talents but when it came down to the very important task tracking down the biggest threat to the love of his life he just. Fumbled. So hard. He blew it. And just gave up and curled up into a ball in Rio about it. Had no idea whatsoever that Victoria was actively stalking and plotting against Bella.

Like. smeyer is notorious for her plot holes. But she bothered to fill this one, and the filling was “yeah he tried. he just sucks”

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I love you, representation of vampires being unnatural and corrupt and wrong. I love you, depiction of humanity standing up to them as an act of defiance and love and loyalty and family. I love you, vampires who are allowed to be evil and hungry and so filled with longing about everything that once reminded them of being human.

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does our favorite boy like having fans?

it's been an experience

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"i accidentally uprooted the young spruce tree my hand was resting on when he pinched a strand of her hair between his fingers" (midnight sun p. 159)

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"my projectile hit dead center, the thickest end of the bough smashing with a booming crunch and disintegrating into shards of shattered wood" (midnight sun p. 352)

aka edward hates trees part 2 (part 1 here)

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Think smarter not harder

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Carlisle and Edward father and son bonding time?

they've been getting into trains