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I wonder how Mormonism affects Brandon Sanderson's works. My criticism of his books is that they feel sexless and 400 pages too long. The only other book I've read with Mormonism front and center is A Study in Scarlet. Not a great book on account of the fact that the first half is Sherlock Holmes' first adventure while the second half is a boring, unrelated melodrama set in Utah.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 10:41 |
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# ? May 27, 2024 03:18 |
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While the chapter feels unrelated it’s in part to provide context to why the murders in the story take place to begin with. When questioned about that chapter Doyle stated “all I said about the Danite Band and the murders is historical so I cannot withdraw that, though it is likely that in a work of fiction it is stated more luridly than in a work of history.” That said, he had access to contemporary accounts of people who left and were excommunicated from the Mormons, including women who left and wrote about how poorly they were treated. One of Young’s sons tried to claim Doyle privately apologized, but this was after Doyle’s death. I call bullshit. While that chapter drags on compared to the rest of the story, Doyle was very effective at making you care about these people struggling to cross the wilderness in the US only to be be eventually betrayed by the Mormons who “saved” them, so I get kinda defensive of it. quote:Some passages have been interpreted as allowing the skin of the Lamanites to finally lighten once they accept God truly, which associates Mormonism with whiteness. Reminder that Meyer-pires don’t just become sparkling, but are described as turning pale. All of them. Even the ones who are indigenous Brazilian, Mexican, and Egyptian (all examples we see later on). While it’s poorly described, the implication is not cute, and given the context can be interpreted as horrifically racist.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 13:57 |
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SUPERMAN'S GAL PAL posted:While it’s poorly described, the implication is not cute, and given the context can be interpreted as horrifically racist. It is horrifically racist, and to me the only question is whether Meyer was explicitly weaving Mormon theology into the book like Orson Scott Card admitted to doing, or just being terminally White Suburban Mom.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 14:37 |
Chapter 17: What do I Look Like? The Wizard of Oz? You Need a Brain? You Need a Heart? Go Ahead. Take Mine. Take Everything I Have. Yes, that is actually the chapter title. quote:I sort of had a plan as I ran to the Cullens' garage. The second part of it was totaling the bloodsucker’s car on my way back. Wait, didn't he leave his motorcycle out front days ago? I checked and he never took it back. He's just taking the Cullens' car and leaving his bike! quote:So I was at a loss when I mashed the button on the keyless remote, and it was not his Volvo that beeped and flashed its lights for me. It was another car—a standout even in the long line of vehicles that were mostly all drool-worthy in their own ways. The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish would be one of the most obvious cars for Meyer to use, as it had gained fame 5 years before her writing of this book as a Bond car. The Vanquish was originally intended to appear in the prom scene in Twilight, where Edward would let Charlie take it for a spin around the block to distract him, but this was cut because the epilogue was already getting longer than a normal chapter and filled with even more useless poo poo. Notice how rapidly the otherwise emotional and tense scene (as much as Meyer can write anything as "emotional" or "tense") crashes to a halt as soon as Jacob sees the cars. We need to get beaten over the head over and over with how rich and cool the Cullens are, so Jacob has to immediately forget all of his angst to drool over an Aston Martin. quote:I didn’t pause to think about it, or if this would change that second part of my plan. I just threw myself into the silky leather seat and cranked the engine while my knees were still crunched up under the steering wheel. The sound of the motor’s purr might have made me moan another day, but right now it was all I could do to concentrate enough to put it in drive. Let's all say it together: "gently caress Leah." quote:I turned south, because I had no patience today for ferries or traffic or anything else that meant I might have to lift my foot off the pedal. I guess there's just no police at all in Washington! quote:The only sign of surveillance I came across was just a hint of dark brown fur flitting through the woods, running parallel to me for a few miles on the south side of Forks. Quil, it looked like. He must have seen me, too, because he disappeared after a minute without raising an alarm. Again, I almost wondered what his story would be before I remembered that I didn’t care. He has his A Serbian Film-esque relationship waiting for him at home. Also, isn't this the worst decision an Alpha could be making? Leaving his very small pack all alone to go mope in another zip code? quote:I raced around the long U-shaped highway, heading for the biggest city I could find. That was the first part of my plan. It seemed to take forever, probably because I was still on the razor blades, but it actually didn’t even take two hours before I was driving north into the undefined sprawl that was part Tacoma and part Seattle. Wait, so he's driving at 200 MPH to a city that's 138 miles away but it takes him just under 2 hours to get there? quote:This was a stupid plan. It wasn’t going to work. But, as I’d searched my head for any way at all to get away from the pain, what Leah’d said today had popped in there. This is loving incredible. It seemed like Jacob was tearing out of Forks like a bat out of hell because he's depressed, shocked, betrayed by the Cullens and by Bella, all alone with nobody willing to help him save her life. No, the first thing on this dude's mind is to just fling himself at every single woman in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area to see which one is his soulmate! Who the hell needs things like "grieving" and "therapy" and "moving on" when you can just force yourself to fall madly in love with someone else as a replacement? Huh. Almost as if Bella did the exact same thing by using vampirism as a replacement for solving any of her flaws and developing as an individual. What does that say about the author? quote:So how do you look for a random soul mate in a crowd? Well, first, I needed a crowd. So I tooled around, looking for a likely spot. I passed a couple of malls, which probably would’ve been pretty good places to find girls my age, but I couldn’t make myself stop. Did I want to imprint on some girl who hung out in a mall all day? So that's Bella and Jacob both dismissing girls who do things like wear makeup and go shopping. quote:I kept going north, and it got more and more crowded. Eventually, I found a big park full of kids and families and skateboards and bikes and kites and picnics and the whole bit. I hadn’t noticed till now—it was a nice day. Sun and all that. People were out celebrating the blue sky. ....he's rejecting the mall but scoping out pussy at the playground? quote:I parked across two handicapped spots—just begging for a ticket—and joined the crowd. An Aston Martin Vanquish screeches in a handbrake turn sideways. An impossibly muscular 6'7 Native American wearing clothes the wrong size who hasn't showered in days (who canonically looks like he's in his mid-20s because of the werewolf testosterone) stumbles out and begins charging through the playground staring at every female he sees with wild eyes. I cannot believe the above sentence is literally what happens in the Twilight series, yet here we are. quote:I walked around for what felt like hours. Long enough that the sun changed sides in the sky. I stared into the face of every girl who passed anywhere near me, making myself really look, noticing who was pretty and who had blue eyes and who looked good in braces and who had way too much makeup on. I tried to find something interesting about each face, so that I would know for sure that I’d really tried. Things like: This one had a really straight nose; that one should pull her hair out of her eyes; this one could do lipstick ads if the rest of her face was as perfect as her mouth.… Sometimes they stared back. I didn't think the books could somehow get more pathetic than they already were, but... quote:Either way, nothing. Even when I met the eyes of the girl who was—no contest—the hottest girl in the park and probably in the city, and she stared right back with a speculation that looked like interest, I felt nothing. It's even worse that he's specifically looking for the hottest chicks in Seattle and begging he doesn't imprint on someone unappealing. It shows how much stock Meyer puts on imprinting, and in turn her own Mormon belief in soulmates, that Jacob isn't even trying to find a conventional romance of the kind he suggested for Leah just one chapter ago. quote:As time went on, I started noticing all the wrong things. Bella things. This one’s hair was the same color. That one’s eyes were sort of shaped the same. This one’s cheekbones cut across her face in just the same way. That one had the same little crease between her eyes—which made me wonder what she was worrying about.… Again, find a normal girlfriend. quote:“Hey, you okay? Hello? You there, with the stolen car.” "Cataloged." quote:“If you’re feeling that remorseful over boosting the car,” she said, smiling so that a dimple popped out in her chin, “you could always turn yourself in.” I'm embarrassed reading this! quote:“Sure, that’ll hold up in court.” Lizzie is not included in the movie. This entire bizarre interjection where Jacob runs to Seattle to leer at underage girls at the park is cut completely and Bella goes into labor right as she's sharing baby names. quote:“Anyway…,” she said awkwardly, “I was just wondering if I could help. Seemed like you were looking for someone before.” She gestured toward the park and shrugged. I'm assuming that to Lizzie, this creepy unwashed dude just stared her right in the eyes for an uncomfortably long period of time. quote:“This is a beautiful car,” she said. “It’s really a shame they’re not making them anymore. I mean, the Vantage’s body styling is gorgeous, too, but there’s just something about the Vanquish.…” No! Stop it! quote:“How’s it drive?” she asked. Let's maybe drop the disturbing self-harm connotations here? quote:I wasn’t in that healthier place where Leah was headed. I wasn’t going to be able to fall in love like a normal person. Not when I was bleeding over someone else. Maybe—if it was ten years from now and Bella’s heart was long dead and I’d hauled myself through the whole grieving process and come out in one piece again—maybe then I could offer Lizzie a ride in a fast car and talk makes and models and get to know something about her and see if I liked her as a person. But that wasn’t going to happen now. A whole cast of tortured pretty boys with the emotional maturity of a toddler. quote:Lizzie waited, maybe hoping I was going to offer her that ride. Or maybe not. I would read a book about loving Lizzie before Bella, Edward, and Jacob. quote:At first, I drove more sanely on the way back. I wasn’t in a rush. I didn’t want to go where I was going. Back to that house, back to that forest. Back to the pain I’d run from. Back to being absolutely alone with it. Finally, we admit that Leah is the best! quote:I thought of the hunt this morning, and how close our minds had been for that one moment in time. It hadn’t been a bad thing. Different. A little scary, a little awkward. But also nice in a weird way. Day trip in the Cullens' Vanquish, no less. quote:I nodded to Leah and Seth, too, as I cruised up the Cullens’ driveway. It was starting to get dark, and the clouds were thick on this side of the sound, but I saw their eyes glitter in the glow of the headlights. I would explain to them later. There’d be plenty of time for that.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 15:24 |
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I'm glad Lizzie never had to have the talk explaining that she's destined to breed werewolves and must relocate to an unfamiliar community where she will be expected to trash on Leah and occasionally babysit Quill's fiance.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 16:34 |
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chitoryu12 posted:Lizzie So did someone win a contest or something? What the hell is this fluff? This could have been summed up in one sentence: "As my dark, bleeding, manly soul ached, I thought back to the time when I traveled two hours to Wherever Town, hoping to find my soul mate in the crowd -- but no luck." Done.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 19:33 |
When I opened this book, "Jacob stumbling wild-eyed and unshaven through a park leering at underage girls in an attempt to make himself supernaturally horny to forget Bella" was not where I saw us going.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 21:09 |
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I'm starting to think Meyer just doesn't have any understanding at all of how relationships start and progress for people who aren't hardcore Mormons.
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 21:22 |
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I'm still confused why a one-scene character gets a name and more detailed physical description than any of the main characters. Was there one more family member that she just had to squeeze in? Did a friend die and this is how she's immortalizing them? Did a fan win a raffle to be included?
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# ? Jun 3, 2020 22:00 |
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This feels like a community theater original production. Everyone's just walking around, talking, and occasionally having bouts of DRAMA while some intern props more pillows under Bella's shirt.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 04:54 |
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Is this about where Edward begins to become a non-presence in the story? Imagine being into these books as a teen/young adult trying to finish the series you started and it turning into the Bella and Baby Power Hour.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 13:02 |
quote:It was a surprise to find Edward waiting for me in the garage. I hadn’t seen him away from Bella in days. I could tell from his face that nothing bad had happened to her. In fact, he looked more peaceful than before. My stomach tightened as I remembered where that peace came from. Or because he's a billionaire and can buy a brand new one whenever he wants. quote:“A few things, Jacob,” he said as soon as I cut the engine. The sociopath didn't explain things properly? A shock. quote:“What did she do?” "My precious Bella is too sensitive! Her weak constitution can never handle disagreement or negative emotions! I am her knight in glittering armor, protecting her from consequences!" quote:“Hold on. What did she say?” None of this was making any sense. "It didn't make any kind of sense! Everyone knows you're a terrible excuse for a human being!" quote:Whoa. “I didn’t ask her to do that.” As much as I hate the idea of anyone defending anything Jacob does, it's very cathartic to think about someone finally laying into Bella until she's crying. quote:“Anyway, I’ll talk to Bella about it, too. She doesn’t need to feel bad. This one’s on me.” No teenager talks like this about these things! quote:He ignored that thought, continuing with a more complete answer to my question. “She’s… better in some ways. Aside from Leah’s tirade and the resulting guilt.” Okay, good to see there's nothing actually terrifying about this scenario! Our fetus is super-smart and loving! quote:I stared at Edward, feeling sort of like my eyes might pop out of their sockets. Underneath that disbelief, I could see right away that this was the critical factor. This was what had changed Edward—that the monster had convinced him of this love. He couldn’t hate what loved Bella. It was probably why he couldn’t hate me, either. There was a big difference, though. I wasn’t killing her. Again, this would be so much better with a twist that the baby really is evil and is actively manipulating them now. quote:Edward went on, acting like he hadn’t heard all that. “The progress, I believe, is more than we’d judged. When Carlisle returns—” Is Carlisle at the point of breaking into blood banks now? Or is he hooking up dead deer to blood bags in the forest? quote:“Why isn’t it necessary? If she needs more?” I legitimately don't think Stephenie Meyer knows how long a minute actually is. Every chapter has minute-long pauses in a conversation, or even longer. Try just staring at someone for a straight minute during a conversation and see how that feels. quote:“Yes,” he said again. “Waiting, as we have been, for the child to be ready, that was insanely dangerous. At any moment it could have been too late. But if we’re proactive about this, if we act quickly, I see no reason why it should not go well. Knowing the child’s mind is unbelievably helpful. Thankfully, Bella and Rose agree with me. Now that I’ve convinced them it’s safe for the child if we proceed, there’s nothing to keep this from working.” Why does that look so hilarious to me? quote:“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I am truly sorry for the pain this causes you, Jacob. Though you hate me, I must admit that I don’t feel the same about you. I think of you as a… a brother in many ways. A comrade in arms, at the very least. I regret your suffering more than you realize. But Bella is going to survive”—when he said that his voice was fierce, even violent—“and I know that’s what really matters to you.” Remember how a few days ago Jacob came here specifically to kill him and Edward still hated him? quote:He was probably right. It was hard to tell. My head was spinning. This is comically melodramatic. I know it's Meyer being a poo poo writer, but it feels like Edward the sociopath trying in vain to imitate how he thinks emotional conversations are supposed to go, with specific scripted moments of poignancy. quote:“I know how much you have given,” he said quietly. “But this is something you do have, and only you. I’m asking this of the true Alpha, Jacob. I’m asking this of Ephraim’s heir.” I was way past being able to respond. “I want your permission to deviate from what we agreed to in our treaty with Ephraim. I want you to grant us an exception. I want your permission to save her life. You know I’ll do it anyway, but I don’t want to break faith with you if there is any way to avoid it. We never intended to go back on our word, and we don’t do it lightly now. I want your understanding, Jacob, because you know exactly why we do this. I want the alliance between our families to survive when this is over.” "Only blood matters. Sam's desire to protect his community makes him a false king." quote:It’s not my decision. What are the chances Meyer just ran out of ideas for how to fill in the time but also couldn't stand to skip a single day's events? quote:I don’t know. Let me think. Just give me a minute here, okay? Reminder that Jacob hasn't washed or brushed his teeth in days apart from whatever incidental river water he gets as a wolf. quote:There was a movement in the brush at the edge of the big lawn, and then a low whimper. Seth shrugged through the ferns and loped over to us. "He's one of the only characters in this series who hasn't behaved like a crazy person, honestly." quote:“I know that,” I grunted. "Death!" quote:I walked through the door. Get hosed. quote:“Hey, Bells,” I said quickly. “How ya doing?” Please do not do this in real life. quote:“Fine, I won’t say it,” it sounded like she mumbled. Oh I do hope Edward tells Bella about what Jacob's adventure was. quote:Tomorrow, she’d be someone else. But hopefully alive, and that was what counted, right? She’d look at me with the same eyes, sort of. Smile with the same lips, almost. She’d still know me better than anyone who didn’t have full access to the inside of my head. The bond that existed for like, 2 months before every conversation they had would turn into a fight, attempted murder, or sexual assault. quote:Tomorrow, she’d be my enemy. Or she’d be my ally. And, apparently, that distinction was up to me. "Got asked to please leave the premises before the police were called." quote:“Sounds nice.” Ah, my beer consumption. quote:Edward and I both got out of the way while Rosalie came to lift Bella from the couch and take her to the bathroom. Canonically, Edward heard that. quote:“One more day,” she said, and patted her stomach. the what sound quote:“Oh!” she gasped.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 19:27 |
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Bella is a sociopath. Edward is emotionally abusive. Jacob is a rapist. Baby is a chestburster. And people thought this was wholesome?!
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 19:51 |
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chitoryu12 posted:“It’s a bit more than that,” he murmured. “Now that I can make out the child’s thoughts, it’s apparent that he or she has remarkably developed mental facilities. He can understand us, to an extent.” Take that, all you harlots out there aborting your
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 20:03 |
Cythereal posted:Bella is a sociopath. Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet. This next chapter is basically torture porn.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 20:12 |
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chitoryu12 posted:Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet. This next chapter is basically torture porn. I don't know why I wasn't expecting body horror from Twilight.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 20:31 |
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I really wish there were classic vampire hunters in this universe so we can have a scene where a Cardinal descends a secret elevator under St. Peter's Basilica to bring his master the haunting news that the prophesied coming of E.J./Renesmee has come at last.
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 20:33 |
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Midjack posted:This story seems like it’s building towards a chestburster self-C-section birth scene and we’re suddenly plunged into an Alien fanfic but I know that can’t be what happens. welp
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 21:20 |
Midjack posted:welp
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# ? Jun 4, 2020 21:39 |
Cythereal posted:Bella is a sociopath. Edward got with Bella and Bella got Renes she was sharing bella's outlook on the topic of some fleas Baby was a monster kid and Jacob was a rapist They were all in love with dying They were doing it in stages Leah had to suffer because meyer is a hack she bounced off one bad lover and got stuck with jacob's pack They were all in love with dying they were drinking from a fountain that was pouring like an avalanche coming down a mountain...
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 02:08 |
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Anias posted:Edward got with Bella holy bananas!
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 02:11 |
Anias posted:Edward got with Bella gently caress.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 02:50 |
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Anias posted:Edward got with Bella
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 03:54 |
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I read that to the tune of "Miss Suzie had a steamboat" until the last line, and now that's all I can hear it as.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 05:44 |
https://twitter.com/randazzotweets/status/1268608526491910145?s=21
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 11:59 |
Chapter 18: There Are No Words For This You got that right! quote:Bella's body, streaming with red, started to twitch, jerking around in Rosalie’s arms like she was being electrocuted. All the while, her face was blank—unconscious. It was the wild thrashing from inside the center of her body that moved her. As she convulsed, sharp snaps and cracks kept time with the spasms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR3k-R2zcF4 quote:“Morphine!” Edward yelled at Rosalie. Jesus Christ, Jacob, now? quote:“What’s happening, Edward?” Yeah, you thought these books were all gonna be milquetoast and boring? People can't even swear properly? Hell naw! SMeyer was saving it all for this chapter! poo poo's gonna get real hosed! quote:“The morphine—,” Edward growled. There's about 1.2 to 1.5 gallons of blood in the human body. Presumably Bella has more, considering her diet. You're gonna see all of it end up outside. quote:And then Rosalie lost her focus. I saw the expression on her face shift, saw her lips pull back from her teeth and her black eyes glint with thirst. This is the scene that Robert Pattinson said would have been NC-17 if they didn't cut it heavily during editing. quote:“Alice, get her out of here!” Edward shouted. “Take her to Jasper and keep her there! Jacob, I need you!” Dear lord. quote:And then I bent over her head. Her mouth looked clear, so I pressed mine to hers and blew a lungful of air into it. I felt her twitching body expand, so there was nothing blocking her throat. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Meyer had Jacob exhale so hard that it bursts her lungs. quote:I heard the soft, wet sound of the scalpel across her stomach. More blood dripping to the floor. quote:I shuddered as I blew more air into Bella. Even in the middle of this, they have to get a dig in at Bella. quote:I didn’t look away from her red-spotted eyes, but I felt her hands lift weakly. "I....regret.....this name." quote:And then she gasped—gasped in pain. Oh my God. quote:I didn’t look at him or it. I watched only Bella as her eyes rolled back into her head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKRPgJYHblo Yes, that CGI baby is as creepy as you think it is. No, it's not the creepiest Renesmee you will see. quote:She missed maybe half of one beat, and then my hands were on her chest, doing compressions. I counted in my head, trying to keep the rhythm steady. One. Two. Three. Four. I can't take this seriously. I can't. quote:“Give her to me,” a low voice chimed from the doorway. I shouldn't need to remind everyone that CPR does not make your heart beat. It's not like pulling the starter cord on a lawnmower. quote:“Move your hands, Jacob.” Oh, you thought the gratuitous injuries were done just because the birth was over? quote:“My venom,” he answered as he pushed the plunger down. But....how did he get the venom in there? Nothing can pierce vampire skin except vampire and werewolf teeth. Did he drool into a cup for an hour? quote:I heard the jolt in her heart, like he’d shocked her with paddles. This has got to be a fetish thing. quote:I blew more air into her mouth, but there was nothing there. Just the lifeless rise of her chest in response. I kept pumping her heart, counting, while he worked manically over her, trying to put her back together. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men… This is one of those passages that you think is going to sound really clever, and then you sober up in the morning. quote:I knew it was too late. I knew she was dead. I knew it for sure because the pull was gone. I didn’t feel any reason to be here beside her. She wasn’t here anymore. So this body had no more draw for me. The senseless need to be near her had vanished. Oh yeah, here we go. quote:“Go, then,” he snapped, and he hit my hands out of the way again, taking my place this time. Three fingers broken, it felt like. Seriously, this is loving funny at this point. It's like Quentin Tarantino directed it. It's like the Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" skit from Monty Python. Every new page is some graphic injury out of nowhere. quote:He pushed her dead heart faster than I had. “She’s not dead,” he growled. “She’s going to be fine.” I feel much the same! quote:I wanted to sprint away, to take the stairs ten at a time and race out the door, but my feet were heavy as iron and my body was more tired than it had ever been before. I shuffled down the stairs like a crippled old man. Not like she's using it anymore. quote:My strength came back to me as I listened to the sound of the little executioner feeding. Again, this would be a great horror concept. quote:Rosalie would try to kill me when the creature was dead, and I would fight back. I wasn’t sure if I would have time to finish her before the others came to help. Maybe, maybe not. I didn’t much care either way. Honestly, all of this poo poo does seem really hosed up from the perspective of an outsider who doesn't have insane love for this monster baby. quote:So I wouldn’t get the chance to keep my promise to him, unless—and it was not a wager I’d put money on—I managed to win the fight against Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice, three on one. But even if I did win, I didn’t think I had it in me to kill Edward. He knows that Edward would take way too goddamn long to even commit suicide after that. quote:It made me almost smile, as filled with hate as I was, to imagine it. No Bella. No killer spawn. And also missing as many members of his family as I was able to take down. Of course, he could probably put those back together, since I wouldn’t be around to burn them. Unlike Bella, who would never be whole again. Again, a book for teenage girls. quote:The murderer stared past Rosalie’s shoulder at me, its gaze more focused than any newborn creature’s gaze should be. Oh, whoops. quote:From upstairs, there was a new sound. The only sound that could touch me in this endless instant.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 15:23 |
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Y'know, call me crazy, but I'm starting to wonder if Stephanie Meyer doesn't actually like being a mother.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 15:27 |
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I read many of the later das_sporking Twilight entries as they were published and several times they reminded people their community wasn’t the place to speculate deeply on Meyer’s personal life, but what this chapter, some later chapters, and some of Meyer’s forum posts indicated....
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 17:13 |
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Jacob had better be under the influence of "vampire child protective mind control" or something. The alternative is horrifying. Also, picturing Carlisle getting a phone call in which he only hears Rosalie hissing while everyone else is shouting incoherently in the background.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 18:27 |
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chitoryu12 posted:Chapter 18: There Are No Words For This Mmm yeah that was really excellent writing and definitely not weird at all. Cythereal posted:Y'know, call me crazy, but I'm starting to wonder if Stephanie Meyer doesn't actually like being a mother. That’s what I take away from the whole vampbabby subplot.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 18:29 |
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Hi, Billy Mays here with Vampire Teeth (TM). Vampire Skin getting you down? Then you need to get some Vampire Teeth, a surefire way to cut through Vampire Skin.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 18:43 |
Grammarchist posted:Jacob had better be under the influence of "vampire child protective mind control" or something. The alternative is horrifying. Yeah, Jacob imprinting on a newborn would be pretty horrifying, wouldn't it?
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 19:11 |
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was that chapter supposed to make me feel any particular feelings, other than being grossed out?
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 19:13 |
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chitoryu12 posted:Yeah, Jacob imprinting on a newborn would be pretty horrifying, wouldn't it? Imagine if the vampires took Jacob's imprinting as evidence that it IS a vampire child, and suddenly everyone's positions flip, with werewolves defending it and the Cullans attacking it.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 19:36 |
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Honestly, it being some kind of horrifying vampire child that is able to dramatically affect other vampires and humans would be a really cool horror twist. Bella ending up being immune to it and slowly coming to the realization that no one else around her is acting anywhere near normal, watching as the Cullens start massacring the people of Forks to feed it, people offering themselves up happy to be drained by an infant that also loves Bella... It's a concept really ripe not only for horror but also exploring ideas of a parent being responsible for their child even if that child becomes a monster (thinking of like facing your son becoming a serial killer). Combined with the parallels of imprinting and super vampire mind control, the horror of one's 'free will' being at the whim of chemistry or outside forces, a good writer could follow up that gross out body horror with a really impactful exploration of psychological horror. I think the thing of Meyer being a lazy and incurious writer who manages to repeatedly come up with interesting ideas or characters to only to ignore them or explore them in the most dull and disappointing way possible is pretty accurate. Also super creepy ways.
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# ? Jun 5, 2020 22:19 |
Twilight as an idea is really interesting with all sorts of potentially nice things to explore. The execution....well. Remember way back in book one when Rene and Charlie totally believe Bella fell down the stairs? After all this would you believe SMeyer's other books have equally interesting premises and terrible to horrifying execution? That's kinda how R and C feel about B. "Sure sounds plausible. You say she managed to knock over the building? Oh bells..." (They do, or at least "The Host" does, I haven't checked her bibliography recently)
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# ? Jun 6, 2020 01:22 |
Anias posted:Twilight as an idea is really interesting with all sorts of potentially nice things to explore. The execution....well. Remember way back in book one when Rene and Charlie totally believe Bella fell down the stairs? After all this would you believe SMeyer's other books have equally interesting premises and terrible to horrifying execution? That's kinda how R and C feel about B. "Sure sounds plausible. You say she managed to knock over the building? Oh bells..." The Host and The Chemist are actually her only non-Twilight books ever written, other than two short stories. She wasn't a writer in any capacity before the sudden popularity of Twilight and never planned for fame, so she seems to have just been flying by the seat of her pants since. It's why the Twilight series progresses randomly without any sense of advance planning and she barely writes anything else. Supposedly The Host has even more Mormon stuff but I haven't read it. I have a copy next to me but it's the size of a brick.
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# ? Jun 6, 2020 02:55 |
Okay I read the first few chapters of The Host and flipped to a few other random pages and it's no better. She improved nothing about her writing style or worldbuilding at all. I don't think I would even have the energy to do a thread on it.
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# ? Jun 6, 2020 03:13 |
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...Did Bella start to miscarry because she leaned over to pick something up? Is that a thing? Also, Stephenie Meyer said that she gave Edward and Bella's child a silly name because she wanted it to be unique, like Renesmee herself. But it's already been made clear that other women have given birth to vampire-human hybrids, so what's so unique about Renesmee? That she's a child of a vegetarian vampire? They should have split the difference in terms of names and called her Renesmeeej not matter what her gender actually was. It can't be any sillier than what it already is.
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# ? Jun 6, 2020 05:15 |
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# ? May 27, 2024 03:18 |
chitoryu12 posted:Okay I read the first few chapters of The Host and flipped to a few other random pages and it's no better. She improved nothing about her writing style or worldbuilding at all. I don't think I would even have the energy to do a thread on it. I’ll do a post hitting the highlights. Obv spoilers The Host Here we go: The premise is great. Earth has been invaded by bodysnatching symbiotes. Humans lost. Humans are now hosts. Our protagonist is “the wanderer” and she’s nothing special. She’s on a routine post invasion mission and going to find some rebel humans. She’s given a host named Melanie. Normally the hosts are convinced to go dormant, but Melanie has memories wanderer needs, so the usual methods won’t work. Eventually wanderer decides to betray her species. Presumably for Melanie and her memories. This could be such a good story but Meyer is writing so no. When she does this, she has to travel through Mordor (the desert) to deliver the ring (melanies body) to the mountain (the hideout in a cave)...You’ve probably seen this heroes journey so good news it is described In the same way Bella talks about her revelations and then cut very short when wanderer drinks all her water and passes out. She is luckily found by uncle jeb, who is the leader of this cell and also some kinda Moses figure. He takes her to the cave. Melanies boyfriend backhands her as soon as she regains consciousness and they throw her in the oubliette which Meyer has never heard of so describes in detail because of course she does. Meyer has also never been in a cave in her life. Thus begins the exciting no agency protagonist period where she is held by crazy militia people, leads on the boy that is only sort of complicit in the other boy beating her, and is generally confused. Eventually she decides to help the humans get medical treatment, and earns her place in the tribe by being able to go to the invading civ walmart’s and buy nanomeds. Finally, confronted by her boss (The Seeker) and overcome with guilt she helps the humans surgically remove The Seeker and then blast The Seeker into space. Don’t get your hopes up, she helped the humans hijack a cryogenic rocket pod the size of a dorm fridge. (Meyers understanding of actual physics/space flight/etc is bad folks). Yes it makes no sense when you read it too. Eventually, after helping several other humans so the local doc can learn how to do this, and suffering acceptable losses of symbiotes and humans that would make me get loving squirm, she decides to “give” Melanie her body back. The plan is for Wanderer to return to space. The humans, not satisfied with her choice, implant her into a different body. She wakes up, and in this new body realizes she really does love the slightly less a abusive boy. She goes on another supply run for her humans, and maybe also makes friends with Melanie. On the supply run they meet another alien that is helping their own band of humans. Cue sequel? If you want to read a book that fails to explore all sorts of things it hints at, enjoy?!
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# ? Jun 6, 2020 05:45 |