Status Updates From Why We Love (and Hate) Twil...

I get questions all the time about how Edward filled up the syringe, and sadly the only viable answer seems to be that he would have had to spit in it for a very long time.
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😂

Esme really turned out to be good bodyguards for Bella 4 Again, this is not a conversation about choice; this is a conversation between two men who want Bella to live, are sure they know what's best for her, and are willing to take action without her consent even if it means fully incapacitating her.
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THANK YOU.

It kind of pisses me off that Bella “choosing to have Renesmee” is some sort of “pro-choice” social commentary. Dude. Let people 👏🏻 change 👏🏻 their 👏🏻 mind.

Some people want children until they don’t. (Hopefully *before* having kids; they don’t have a return receipt) And some people don’t want kids until they do.
Bella’s in the latter category. LET HER.

This is NOT pro-life vs pro-choice. It’s pro-“save Bella” vs pro-“support Bella in her choice.”

Saying “*most people* wouldn’t choose to carry their own baby if it meant their own death,” is as accurate as saying, “*most people* would rather risk their own life and carry their baby as far as they can rather than abort.”
BLANKET STATEMENTS ARE NEVER TRUE. (The only blanket statement that is)

I don’t remember this much detail of Leah’s transition. Poor Leah!

You decide: Is Esme the heart of the Cullen household, as Edward says, or a weird kind of ghost haunting its halls?
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Ooo, true!!

Rosalie is not a bad person; she's a practical woman who cares about her family and doesn't understand why they're expected to entirely change their whole lives for a random human Edward has known for literally days. She's also heartbroken over a life that was taken from her and forced to watch as Bella gleefully chooses to give up everything Rosalie ever wanted.
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🌹

The very thought of Edward desperately playing piano over the clanging of his boulder-like siblings and *parents* being intimate for half a century (remember, he can hear all of their thoughts) is one of the greatest gifts that Stephenie Meyer has ever (unintentionally) given us, and I thank her for this cursed chaos.
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😂

Whereas Edward is wary of Jacob because he insists that werewolves are erratic and dangerous, Jacob is filled with hate toward the vampires because their very existence has deprived him of a normal childhood and, ultimately, life.
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An interesting parallel to all those who have also lost their childhood prematurely from extenuating circumstances.

Jacob is a child trapped in the body of a man.
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🐺🐾
Aw :(

I do think Edward’s controlling nature gets a *bit* of a pass because Bella’s normal human decisions aren’t having normal human outcomes in the way most people would expect. She’s dealing with a whole OTHER WORLD. One she knows little about, and is only starting to understand. So his overprotectiveness, while I don’t love, can be forgiven in a way a mortal man’s couldn’t.

Let’s just say I’m loving it

Edward gets to be both very dangerous (because he’s a vampire!) and exceptionally safe, because of the turn-of-the-century values he espouses.
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🍏

When I really think about it, I don't think I ever had a boy ask me a question about myself in high school, let alone listen intently to the answer so he could generate *more questions.*
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This doesn’t go away… sadly. Or they listen to get brownie points for you to like them. Then there are the actual genuine guys. I LOVE THEM. Even if just friends, they’re the best. Active listening isn’t gender specific

This last part is especially important, because I think so much of Edward's appeal comes from the level of interest he shows in Bella and her life from the very beginning.
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I actually think a lot of relationships stem from the fact that people just want *someone* who is interested in them. Which kinda makes me sad… and is a base-line requirement. Not “the one” potential, just a prerequisite.

I think people think love is juvenile. Especially romantic love (I know I did). As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve realized why all the poems, songs, and stories exist. Love’s not juvenile, it’s revolutionary.
Bella giving up everything for love isn’t crazy to me. Because, once you have it, you’ll do anything you can to preserve it. To keep it. Because nothing becomes more precious than that.

Ironically, Edward's presence in her life gives her something to live for while simultaneously driving her toward death.
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🌹🥀

PT 2 | I do think this is a very fair assessment of Bella's strengths and traits that we don't hear about from Bella herself because she is so self-effacing. Though she may not crave human company, she very much doesn't want to see anybody else in pain if she can help it.
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🍎

PT. 1 | Edward realizes that, due to her shyness, the only time Bella steps out of her comfort zone is to help someone else, and this leads him to conclude that Bella is "kind and self-effacing and unselfish and brave. Though Edward may not be the most reliable narrator either, given his obsession with Bella,

I love this view of Bella

Off the record, Pappademas asked me how Twilight fans have been able to do what society at large seemingly hasn't: wrestle with and work through deeply problematic media that means something to us instead of abandoning or "cancelling" it.
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I love this.