#swanhilde bellamy

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Omfg, Swanhilde is completely and utterly usurping Bella's position as mother (just without the explicit title) even more thoroughly than even Rosalie ever could have done, and all without actually trying to do so! It makes me wonder how this situation would go with Hong Bellamy instead of Swanhilde Bellamy. Could you elaborate on that, Muffin?

The Seventh Seal.

To catch readers up. Bella's gift traveled back in time but ended up in Renesmee's body instead, concluded it was Renesmee's gift now, had to make a hallucination to keep Renesmee company, and then made that hallucination a person when the Cullens wigged out.

When it's Hong's female alternate form, Swanhilde, Bella loses her goddamn mind out of insecurity/feeling usurped in every way.

It's Hong Instead

Bella's fine now.

Oddly enough, a strange, beautiful, man fixating on her daughter and being the missing brother the Cullens never mentioned doesn't bother her in the least. There's no sense of competition, asking why Edward didn't choose Hong, no comparing herself to Hong and feeling herself come up short in every field that matters.

Bella's actually relieved as she'd been terrified about what the lack of Jacob would mean for her daughter. Hong's not her imprint, no one will be, but he's more than willing to babysit and form an emotional connection with her that the other Cullens (sans Rosalie but let's not mention her) aren't interest in.

Bella's Hong's number one fan and is very eager to get to know him as a brother-in-law to help cement her place in the family. She eagerly accepts the story of him being away in Europe and not having a cell phone during all the time Bella was in Forks. She accepts Alice not being able to find him for the trial as he's a hybrid, like Renesmee, Alice can't see him and had no idea where to look.

It's Edward who's going to be a problem.

What's Wrong with Edward?

Now, Edward's not the first anymore. He wasn't the one who started off the Cullens, it was Carlisle finding Hong in France/Germany (Edward does not question too deeply why a man by the name of "Hong" would have that appearance in that country at that time period except to grouse about it internally).

Added onto this, Hong has excellent control, never left the diet, is well-traveled, is a learned musician, can even do things like cook, and has always been and always looked more human than Edward.

Hong is everything Edward wants to be, and he does it effortlessly.

Now, Hong returns, and it's to the delight of Edward's wife and his daughter.

And it just gets worse. Hong talks freely with Carlisle about all the years they spent together when Edward hadn't been turned yet/when Edward left to eat rapists, Esme dotes on him as if he were her own son, everyone gets along with him even more than they do Edward.

And Hong, while stupidly gifted in a way even Edward has to recognize, has none of Edward's drawbacks. His gift isn't always on, he can respect the family's privacy, but he always knows what he needs to or can quickly find it out.

Edward begins to realize that he was happiest when Hong was away, that Hong returning changes things.

Hong even fucking looks more like Carlisle than Edward does, something that bothers Edward tremendously in Midnight Sun.

Edward Pretends it's Fine

Edward wants to be the better man, so he puts a smile on, and pretends this is great.

However, he breaks.

Bella's gushing about how amazing Hong is and how she wished she could have met him earlier in Forks. She pesters Edward with all sorts of questions about what Hong is like during the high school routine, how long he was in Germany for, how Carlilse found him, how he and Edward first met, what he thinks of Bella, etc.

Edward answers these curtly and tries to deflect the answers back to himself. Don't you want to know how cool I was in high school, Bella? Hong's boring, he's the pity brother.

Renesmee's also gushing about Friend/Uncle Hong, look daddy, they made a picture together! "Don't you want to talk about me, Renesmee?" Edward asks and Renesmee sort of stares because she hasn't seen Bella or Edward in three days.

At talk of them moving, on whether Hong should stay home to babysit full time or attend high school with them, on realizing that Hong Bellamy truly is back to stay and will be with them forever, Edward just dies inside.

Edward, feeling deeply insecure, realizes he can't do this.

Edward Subtly Hints Hong Should Go Back to Europe

Edward approaches Hong and starts dropping hints that it's great Hong came back and all, amazing, Edward missed him so much, but this isn't the best time.

Bella's new to vampirism and is in a very delicate place with the loss of Jacob (oh right, you didn't know that Hong, because you're not actually important). Renesmee's growing up fast, lost Jacob, and has deep emotional issues as shown by Friend. That Hong looks like this Friend character could only execrabate them.

The best thing Hong can do for the family is go back to Europe for a few years and keep--doing whatever he was even doing over there.

Hong refuses.

Edward then approaches Carlisle with this same argument. Wow, so great Hong's back, missed him tons, he should go to Europe because wife and baby. Carlisle reminds Edward that he can't and won't banish Hong to Europe, plus, that would just make Bella feel rejected and Renesmee as well.

Carlisle also doesn't see what the problem is. Hong's great with Renesmee, Bella seems to like him and seems to be making strides since Jacob's uh--whatever happened to Jacob, everyone's missed him for years, why would Carlisle kick him out when he's finally come home?

Edward has no good answer to that and goes away to stew.

Edward Gaslights Himself

Edward tells himself that he doesn't dislike Hong for unfounded reasons. That there appears to be nothing outwardly wrong with him, no pig-headed vanity like Rosalie, no violent past like Jasper, means that whatever's wrong with him must be more sinister.

Just what was he doing away for so many years anyway? Are they sure he stuck to the diet?

Why come back now after the danger is long over? Surely, even if the Cullens couldn't find him, he would hear through whatever means Vladimir and Stefan heard.

Edward tells himself that Hong is not only dislikable but a malevolent actor, an unworthy fraud, someone who only pretends to be this perfect but isn't truly.

He's come back, clearly, to ruin Edward's life personally.

Edward Confronts Hong Again

This time, Edward brings out the big accusations, he knows what Hong's up to. Hong plans to take the only thing Edward's ever loved, Bella Swan, away from him along with all of Edward's family and his daughter because he's an evil menace.

"HONG BELLAMY ISN'T EVEN A NAME" - Edward Cullen

Hong, once again, refuses to leave and also cannot understand what Edward's fucking deal is.

Hong has one job in life, one, protect Renesmee, and for some reason Edward's yammering onto him about Hong sleeping with his wife on the sly.

"Cool story, bro," Hong says then leaves the room.

Edward Summons a Family Meeting

Edward rings the proverbial gong and summons the family to dramatically tell them all his suspicions about Hong. Hong is a Volturi sleeper agent, he always has been, that's why Carlisle found him in Europe and why he didn't attend the trial. He also is clearly sent as a hybrid because they know that Alice's visions will be blocked.

Now, he's here to destroy the coven forever and ruin their lives.

Rosalie points out Hong could kill them all at any time.

Carlisle points out that, when he first met Hong, the Volturi had no reason to send a secret agent to infiltrate the coven he didn't have. They also have no reason to have secret agents. Period.

Emmett points out Hong's now been her for months and hasn't done anything. Wouldn't Hong have sold them off to the Volturi ages ago if that was the case?

Alice points out that, as much as Hong annoys her because ew vision blocking, he was here long before she showed up and so couldn't have been chosen by Aro to prevent her visions.

Renesmee shows the pretty picture of a rainbow that she and Uncle Hong drew together.

Bella's mortified. She's just mortified.

The family awkwardly suggests that maybe what Edward needs is a break and a vacation. He and Bella can go somewhere, they'll take care of Renesmee (read Hong will take care of Renesmee), and he can destress.

(Rosalie has also now gaslit herself into having distinct memories of Edward always having loathed Hong from the start out of jealousy and insecurity.)

Edward never thought the entire family, even Alice, would disbelieve him and feels not only abandoned but betrayed.

He confronts Bella later, she at least has to believe him, but Bella suggests that maybe they all just need to calm down a bit. What the others said sounds reasonable and Hong seems kind of amazing (and hot).

It Escalates

As you can imagine, we keep escalating, as Edward has to get rid of the threat to his family.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What would the family do if Swanhilde Bellamy became physically tangible and seen by them, maybe to better protect Renesmée?

The original post where Hong Bellamy is accidentally sent into Renesmee's body instead.

And The Seventh Seal, Hong Bellamy being our narrator and protagonist, Bella's time traveling sentient gift.

Funny You Mention That

I cut that post off because that was the next step, and I went "uh oh" in part because we'd branch if it was Hong or Swanhilde (based on Cullen reactions as you can imagine) but also because it was just... becoming almost a fic outline.

But alright, I guess we can go down this road.

Where Did We Leave Off?

Renesmee's new gift mind wiped Jacob Black because "love interests are bad", the Cullens left Forks, and Bella imploded. Renesmee was left without any social interaction outside her very distracted family who are afraid she'll die at any moment.

The gift became her imaginary friend, looking like "a hot person Bella would find hot but not Edward hot so she won't jump off cliffs because I have no idea what Renesmee would want to look at"

The family became concerned about Friend who said some very disturbing things, there was an intervention, and Alice was told she has to now play with Renesmee.

Things Still Aren't Coming Up Renesmee

Alice is a terrible playmate. It's fine when she can dress up Renesmee cutely, but actually interacting with her and holding conversations? Never minding that Renesmee blocks her visions so that every moment she tries to watch the family she's stuck with nothing. Nada. Because Renesmee's standing too close.

Alice makes her play across the room from her and tires to trade Renesmee duty with Rosalie.

Edward and Bella throw a fit over this because Rosalie would be a bad influence on their child with her vanity and pigheadedness (Edward, especially, is a strong opponent while Bella still suspects Rosalie secretly wanted her to die in childbirth).

It's suggested Bella and Edward could take a break from sex to spend time with their daughter. They're offended by this and ultimately refuse, the sex is very important, can't be held off for a few hours. (It's the only thing holding them together at this point.)

What this means is that not only is Renesmee still a desperately lonely child with no companionship, no social interaction, but now she's the clear cause of family strife that even Renesmee notices.

And Renesmee desperately misses Friend and is terrified that Friend has died or that she's become 'an adult' and thus no longer has imaginary friends.

Friend Tries to Visit

Renesmee's overjoyed, Friend has returned, oh she missed her so much (since apparently it's going to be Swanhilde here). However, by Renesmee's sudden change in mood/surveying her dreams/Edward surveying her thoughts, it's clear that Friend has returned.

Much ado is made over this, and Renesmee is condemned to intensive therapy with her father until she swears Friend has disappeared.

And it becomes clear that being Friend, simply giving Renesmee invisible companionship and advice, isn't good enough. Renesmee does need a physical protector and companion after all, one that can't be taken from her.

Friend Gets Creative

First, Friend shuts off Edward's gift for Renesmee. Has no idea why it allowed that for so long or even at all, but clearly, nothing good will come of that. (Cue, of course, Edward's panic as he's now blocked fully from his daughter. The family assumes Renesmee has developed a gift like Bella's and that perhaps hybrid gifts aren't static. Edward doesn't like that.)

Then lo and behold, Friend shows up in person. Renesmee's overjoyed and introduces them. And suddenly, Renesmee's imaginary friend is terrifying, as it wasn't imaginary at all but instead a real vampire preying on their daughter.

The Cullens immediately suspect this is someone that intends to kidnap Renesmee, wanting a child for herself (as many vampires do). Nevermind that she appears to be a hybrid herself.

Friend has to mind wipe them. (For the sake of the post, we'll say that Bella was out frolicking in the woods as one does.)

Suddenly, Swanhilde Cullen has always been a part of the Cullen coven. Yes, even before Edward! (Edward suddenly feels very flustered by this, insisting he was first, but no there's now a memory of Swanhilde there with Carlisle). Carlisle found her during the Great War in when he was in Alsace Lorraine before coming back to America. They now know she's actually a hybrid where Carlisle thought she was a funky vampire. (Wow, Carlisle thinks to himself, I wonder why I was so worried about Renesmee when I know Swanhilde stopped aging and appears to be as immortal as the rest of us.)

Except, of course, for Bella.

Bella doesn't remember Swanhilde.

"Oh, she was away," Carlisle says in a daze, "She was in Germany when we were in Forks."

Bella is gaslit (by people who themselves were just gaslit) into believing Swanhilde is a Cullen but she's disturbed. Swanhilde is beautiful, is clearly a hybrid but wasn't there to help with the trial and didn't show up until after (they couldn't contact her for reasons), everyone seems to like her and she has a clearer place in the group than Bella does.

It feels like Swanhilde is the missing Cullen, not Bella.

Not to mention, if Swanhilde was single, this beautiful, and this sweet--why didn't Edward end up with her?

Bella assures herself that it was because she and Edward were meant to be but she frets it's because Swanhilde was mysteriously away for so long. That if Swanhilde had been there in Forks, Edward would never have looked at her twice.

Bella tries to pay it no mind but--

It gets worse.

Swanhilde the Perfect Daughter/Sister

Swanhilde immediately volunteers for Renesmee duty and Edward is overjoyed. Finally, a sister besides Rosalie is stepping up to the plate (Rosalie can't even, but whatever, at least Edward's happy. How did they get by without Swanhilde?)

Bella watches as her daughter, who has apparently been having fucking psychic visions not of her mother but of her aunt Swanhilde, gets along famously with her as if they're best friends.

Swanhilde knows more about Renesmee than Bella does, Bella realizes to her own horror.

And it just gets worse.

Swanhilde is artistic, she can play the piano, she cooks with Esme, she seems to know everything, she has her own gift which is the intimidating ability to know everything, including the future, and her mind can't be read by Edward, she has perfect control, and she's very intelligent.

She's perfect.

And suddenly, even though Bella's a vampire, she feels human again. Human, imperfect, and like someone Edward never should have noticed.

And everyone likes her, clearly more than Bella, despite her having been gone for years.

Bella Gets Suspicious

Bella tries to confront Swanhilde, but she's too afraid to do so, and feels terrified doing so even though she's as much of a Cullen as Swanhilde if not more. (Swanhilde wasn't at the wedding! Edward can claim she was all he likes, Bella swears she wasn't there!)

Bella starts looking around for artifacts of Swanhilde's existence and discovers there are none.

There are no pictures, no possessions, no room even set aside for her. Bella never heard about her in the time she and Edward were dating or afterwards. Edward wouldn't hide something like this from Bella.

Does Swanhilde even really exist?

Bella begins to suspect that Swanhilde is an illusionist, but can rewrite memories, and that she's after Renesmee!

Bella Tears the Family Apart to Get Rid of Swanhilde

Bella brings her conspiracy theory to Edward who doesn't believe her. She calls the family into the meeting and presents her evidence, but it sounds insane, and to the Cullens Swanhilde is a beloved daughter and sister.

Yes, it's a shame Bella never got to meet her before, but Bella didn't meet the Denali until after being turned and Rosalie and Emmett also sometimes leave for up to a year at a time.

Swanhilde may have been gone longer than that, but that doesn't mean she's not family.

Bella gets more and more desperate to prove Swanhilde isn't real and is a predator. She's especially emotionally unstable after losing Jacob and having no support from Edward.

I imagine this leads eventually to a physical altercation where Renesmee has to watch in horror as Bella tries to tear into her imaginary friend.

And I'll cut it off here as you can imagine, it keeps going downhill...

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

if swanhilde bellamy went back in time to save beauford from edythe, how do you think her relations with the cullens would differ from hong's?

The Seventh Seal, and Bella's time traveling gift. This time, for similar reasons, Beauford's gift is going with a hot female version who is less hot than Edith who made Beauford jump off cliffs.

Well, congrats anon, on going so recursively deep in fics and metas that this ask would be nonsensical on any other blog.

But back to the question.

I'm assuming only Edythe is gender bent and we're not in full Life and Death here? I'll go ahead and assume that.

The Relationship with Edythe

Edythe is far less welcoming than even Edward was. While Edward comes to see Hong as someone whose focus is only Edward himself, and who is testing Edward and pushing him to be a better person, with ultimate faith in Edward, I don't think Edythe would.

Edythe, I think, would be too inclined to jealousy and seeing Swanhilde as the prettier, better, woman who Beauford is naturally showing more interest in when he'd never pay so much interest to Edythe.

That Swanhilde is more gifted is just icing on the cake.

Edythe never moves past the suspicion of and loathing of Swanhilde.

The Rest

Pretty much the same.

Emmett's much less intimidated and just shrugs and says "she's weird yo" and is over her that much sooner as he doesn't feel he's in competition with a skinny hybrid girl.

Rosalie, though, is still done. Done.

And the rest I imagine are pretty much the same.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hi Muffin, do you have any advice on naming characters? I always find it such a hard part of writing anything for some reason

Oh man, I am not the one to ask.

Titles and names are one of the hardest parts for me.

That said, when I have to come up with names, I either have a point in picking them or I'll default to some joke that only I will find funny.

Examples:

Rabbit

In Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus, Rabbit is a rabbit, so he gets the name Rabbit. Later, when he takes on a human form, he gets the equivalent of Rabbit McRabbitson in Lepus Rabbitson as again he has to be Rabbit.

Hong Bellamy

Bella's gift initially wanted to default to Bella Swan as that's the most important name it knows. However, there can't be two Bella's. So it needed a name that was a rough equivalent.

Hong was the only masculine name I found whose meaning with the right spelling could be "Swan" (he was almost Siegfried but that required too many Wagner references , Odette but too many Swan Lake references, or Swanhilde but too on the nose) and a last name with "Beautiful" somewhere in it (so we get Bellamy for "Beautiful friend")

Hence, he's still "Bella Swan" for all that no one character has figured that out yet.

The Denali Lovers

Explained here.

Conclusion

Basically, if you have a reason to give a name to a character or something that makes more sense than others, go with that. Otherwise try to think of who they're supposed to be and whatever name fits that role that you're willing to live with.

That's all I've got, man.