#imagine a time when edward couldn't manage trucks

[duskstargazer]

[1917]

“Goods trains… goods trains…!”

Over the past couple years, Edward had found no shortage of things to complain about on his new railway. Fairly high on that growing list was trucks. They were, he considered, noisy, filthy, and astoundingly bad-tempered. A far cry from the docile, good-natured coaches he usually carried.

“C’mon big blue!” The van behind him shouted. “No wonder they call you a seagull, with how slow you’re moving, it’s like you’re picking crumbs up off the lineside!”

“Pick it up, will ya!” Another truck hollered. “At this rate, it’ll be dark by the time we get there!”

“Shut up!!” Edward barked, his patience waning. “Our pace is fine. You just want me to get into an accident!”

“If we did, maybe then we’d get some excitement.” Another van sulked.

Edward snarled as the consist once again erupted into laughter.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Here's a hypothetical. Say whatever higher power in the Twilight universe, if one exists, decides that Vampires are just way too overpowered. Seriously, these sparkly crystal demons are stupidly strong. So, time for a balance patch on the universe and that means Vampires are getting nerfed.

When I say nerfed I mean Vampires go from being super predators on top of the Earth's food chain to something where they are still dangerous but can be killed by a sufficently prepared and skilled human.

So, they aren't speed blitzing through forests or throwing boulders, but they are still stronger and faster than an average human, just not insanely so. Edward can get to Bella and stop the truck to save her but it's going to be a close call and he's not going to crush it. Durability's getting nerfed too. They can take a beating from a heavyweight champion no problem but bullets can and will go right through them.

Sunlight still makes them sparkle but it's also painful since the venom within is being heated from the inside. But, it's managable. Put a Vampire next to roaring fire however, then it's a different story. The venom is boiling inside them, the pain is unimaginable. Get a Vampire in the roaring fire, and they're dead.

They're still immortal and they still keep their Gifts, but the physical side of their abilities is getting patched to be more balanced.

So, I guess this is more of a two part question. How would the Twilight saga have gone, if it even happened at all, if Vampires were more balanced from the start or what would happen if one day after Breaking Dawn Vampires weren't at the top of the food chain in terms of supernatural creatures anymore.

I just have to say, I love how in this fandom, the power level of vampires seems to personally offend people.

"No! That's stupid, unfair, and not allowed!" - fandom, who really really really wants vampire hunters.

The World of Nerfed Twilight: It's Not Happening

Twilight never happens.

The Volturi likely never comes into existence as humans can (with difficulty but can) defend themselves against the vampire. Vampires won't survive canon fire, gun fire, dismemberment with swords, etc. And you said it yourself, the point of this post is we can have human vampire hunters in a way that we can't in canon.

So, we now live in an entirely different world where humans know about vampires. Per the Twilight universe, our entire history can be thrown off course by this and I struggle to imagine that things would be the same enough that Bella shows up at the exact same Forks in 2005.

Even if she does, the Cullens aren't there.

Carlisle very likely never turned anyone else as he couldn't pose as a doctor: humans know what he is on sight and he'd be run out of every town he could enter (Forks, especially, if he tried it would not go well). Carlisle was only able to pose as a doctor long after the Enlightenment in western nations where humans had rejected the idea of demons (notice he did not do so in the 17th century when he very much was a human who believed in vampires).

Actually... Carlisle might have even been successful with that vampire hunt in which case he was never turned at all and neither were the others.

No one is in Forks.

Post Breaking Dawn

No difference occurs

The Volturi rely on their gifts rather than physical strength, and Jane and Alec are working as expected. It's not fun but it makes no difference and makes their job in a way easier as those they have to dispose of no longer are invulnerable and can be destroyed quite easily at a distance. Aro invests in human weaponry.

Vampires are still primarily a secret, so you have vampires hunting humans who are unaware then scampering off. Humans aren't realizing they exist let alone that they can and should fight against them (and even if they do, ordinary people who are targeted may not be carrying guns and may not have the skill to shoot someone who is still moving far faster than they are.)

As it is, you'll have vampires dying in dumbass ways as they don't realize jumping off a cliff will kill them this time. You also have those taking advantage of murdering each other at a distance for territory and having a great time when before it was near impossible to kill each other.

Bella feels like God has cursed her and given her something beautiful only to take it away again. However, she's still hot, so it's okay. Edward and Emmett are the ones in despair no longer being fast or strong.

TL;DR

Nothing happens twice.