#the one and only time i accidentally argue edward is good for women's rights... hurts

[therealvinelle]

Why does Edward use his "old fashiodness" as a reason not to have sex before marriage bc people in the 1900s totally fucked

Yes they did, they also did other things they weren't supposed to.

Sex outside of marriage and promiscuity has been stigmatised since marriage was invented, and remains so in many cultures in the world today. Anthropologically, marriage has been a tool for men to own women and ensure heirs, and for women to be provided for (And for this reason is tied to the concept of property).

It is only recently in the West that this changed (and even then promiscuity remains a looked down upon trait), and that change is closely related to the financial liberation of women: if Elizabeth Bennet can find herself gainful employment and earn as much as any man, there is no need for her to be married and Mrs. Bennet doesn't mind not having any sons. Likewise, women can't leave relationships if they'll be out on the streets: the steep rise in divorce rates in the 20th century was a direct result of women's financial independence.

Edward lived in a world where women were not financially independent, and if a woman had a child outside of wedlock, both her and the child would live in shame. It's not even long ago, when my great-grandmother was little there was a girl staying at her aunt's house who was pregnant and who lived there, cooped up in a single room until she had the baby, so the people where she ordinarily lived wouldn't find out she'd been pregnant. This was in the 1920's. There were also women's houses (I don't know what you would call them in English) were pregnant unmarried women would come to live until they'd had their children, at which point they returned to wherever they'd come from and the children were adopted out. This meant their lives didn't have to be ruined. My grandmother remembers such houses being prolific even in her childhood, and that was in the 1950's.

The men were not looked well upon either, because if you don't marry the woman it usually means you were already married, or you simply didn't want to take on responsibility: either way you thought a woman getting pregnant, losing social standing and prospects and endangering her health (childbirth mortality rates only began dropping in the West around the 1930's) because you wanted to get rocks off was an acceptable quid pro quo. It's not a good look. (However, the father is not the one stuck with the nine month pregnancy and human child, so a child outside of marriage still had worse consequences for the mother.)

Edward having a deep rooted refusal to sleep with Bella without marrying her first isn't something I'll fault him for, especially not when Bella immediately got pregnant, proving that these things do happen when you least want them to. If I lived a hundred years I imagine there would be deep rooted notions my much younger peers would consider archaic that remained with me as well. Maybe I will be saying "Well when I was young, we kept our cats indoors!" while people just stare because there are no cars on the streets and the birds all died, let the damn cat enjoy the grass. Or "Well, in my day I took one shower each day! And sometimes- I took two! All of it in drinking water, hahaha!" will be a wasteful and shocking statement that appalls and embarrasses the children.

Culture and norms change when society changes, is what I'm saying. This can be for the worse and for the better (and I'm always slightly terrified when people assume that the world will continue to change for the better through some natural default. We in the Western World have been on a positive trajectory in terms of civil rights for the past century, that is great, but societies have made progress before and seen that progress be lost), in terms of women's sexual freedom it has been for the better since Edward's time.

Financial independence, abortion, and tireless feminists fighting for social change are what we have to thank for marriage no longer being socially required for women who wish to be sexually active, and even then I have to wonder - say the next United States election is won by a certain someone who seems uninterested in preserving the democrat process in the country, and the House and Senate majority is Republican. Abortion rights would not be strengthened in that scenario, but more likely further gutted, and recovering them would be very difficult if the concerns about the Republican candidate's antidemocratic alignments should be correct. You could also start getting worried about things like sexual education. Say ten, fifteen, twenty years go by. How do you imagine that's going to change the reality of young women who have sex outside of wedlock and got pregnant, and now can't abort the child? And what ripple effects do you think this might have?

To put it this way, looking at a different civil rights issue - I'm young, I'm under 30, yet I remember growing up barely knowing what "gay" was, just that it was a schoolyard insult (where the insult worked because the boy being bullied also didn't know what "gay" was, and tentatively said "... yes?" when asked if he was gay), and now schools draw rainbows and participate in Pride. Culture has changed tremendously, it's a very happy change, but I won't presume gay rights have come to stay and can't be taken away (just look to what's happened in Poland), nor will I presume these changes can't happen quicker than one would expect. I similarly will not presume women's rights are iron clad.

And should things go very awry, then men like Edward who don't have sex with women unless there's a wedding ring in place will be the good eggs.

In other words I'm very "But why were they different?" about things that were different about the past.

(Also I do not want to fearmonger. So, to be clear: I don't think The Handmaiden is becoming reality in the States tomorrow if the Republican side wins the US Election, I don't think we're all being shipped off to the gulags. I do however think that the belief civil rights gains are ironclad and a done deal is a terrifyingly naive one, and betrays historical and contemporary ignorance. Society will change, that's inevitable, and complacency risks that chance being for the worse.)

[go4blood]

you’re the one that i want - a.i.

I’m finally continuing the broadway series after 2653578 years! I’ve been having writers block, sorry about the lack of posts! This is based around Grease, y/n is Sandy, Ashton is Danny. Basically y/n is new to showbiz and Ashton shows her the ropes, friends to lovers trope, you know how we do.

2.5k words

You paced around your small apartment anxiously: it was callback day. Callback day was the most stressful time for anyone in the theatre world. Today was the day you find out if you made the cut to be apart of Grease or if you didn’t do good enough to make the director even bat an eye. You did a lot of theatre back when you lived in Chicago, but New York was different. More competitive. Thousands watching rather than a few hundred. Tourists traveling and spending hundreds on a good seat rather than some regular Chicagoans buying a ticket for twenty dollars. New York was showbiz central.

You took pride in your acting. Back in Chicago, you had countless roles you loved playing: Sally Bowles in Cabaret, Elphaba in Wicked, Zoe in Dear Evan Hansen, and more. But Chicago is way less competitive than the big apple. You knew the theatre world back home, but you didn’t know it here at all.

Your phone rang and you scrambled to pick it up and answer. You contain yourself and say a simple hello. A man's voice is on the other line. You’ve been offered another audition to further your audition process for the part of Sandy. You gladly say yes and end the conversation. You were relieved that you had another audition, but it was still terrifying. You could screw it up and lose your chance. Grease is a classic, and it has to be perfect. Callbacks were the next morning, so you went to bed early and waited for what was to come.

—

You arrived with an open mind. Around ten other girls were there. 10 girls who want to be Sandy. 10 girls who want this role just as much as you. Maybe more than you. If you were lucky you’d get a chorus member at this rate.

A tall man with light brown hair and hazel eyes walks around, greeting the girls. He has a kind smile paired with a silk red shirt and tight black pants, iced coffee in hand. You see him start to walk towards you and you’re slightly confused.

“Hey, how are you? I’m apart of the cast and could possibly end up being your Danny, and we’ll be performing some scenes together for your 2nd audition. I wanted to introduce myself, I’m Ashton.” He holds his hand out and you take it, shaking it and smiling.

“I’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you. Is this your first broadway show?”

He ponders for a moment, “This is my 5th, actually. I did stuff back in Sydney though before I came to New York. You?”

You begin to feel embarrassed. You have absolutely no broadway experience whatsoever. “This is my first broadway show… in Chicago I did stuff though. But nothing here in New York yet.”

“Well you got a callback for the lead so I think you’re in good shape, y/n.” He smiled warmly.

He was different from other actors you’ve met. Many were arrogant and were only there to do their part and leave. He cheered you on despite never meeting you. It was a pleasant surprise.

“Perhaps I am, Ashton.” He smiled and walked to a seat, and you did the same. The director handed out excerpts and began calling names. You watched some of the girls perform scenes and they were all quite impressive. You were very unsure of yourself. You kept growing more and more nervous and you didn’t know if you’d compare to everyone else.

“Y/n! Scene 11, the drive in scene.”

You stand up from your seat and take a deep breath, walking up to the stage.

Ashton cleared his throat, looking at the script then into your eyes, “Hey, you’re not with another guy, are you?”

“No, why?” Your eyes glance down at the script and back into his eyes.

Ashton acts nervous and nonchalant, “No reason… I uh wanted to ask you to take my ring.” He holds out his hand as if there’s a ring there and pretends to put it on your finger. The scene continues, and before you even have a chance to read the stage direction he kisses you. Your cheeks burn and you continue the scene, finishing it out. Ashton smiles at you and goes back to his seat as you do your singing portion of the audition to the song Hopelessly Devoted To You. You go back to your seat, wondering if what you did would be enough.

The last few girls perform and everyone is dismissed. As you put your jacket on, Ashton walks towards you with a soft smile.

“You did really good, I told you it’d be fine. You wanna maybe get lunch? There’s this place down the street you need to try if you’re gonna be a true New Yorker!”

“Sure, why not?” You walk with him to the small restaurant, talking as if you have known him your whole life.

—

“Your favorite movie is Kill Bill? I never would’ve guessed that…” Ashton was sat across from you at the sandwich shop, asking you a series of ‘get to know me’ questions.

“Uma Thurman is my girl crush,” You smirk, “what’s your favorite show?”

“Definitely Brooklyn 9-9. It isn’t deep or anything and it’s just a comedy, but it’s my happy place, what about you?”

“I love Gossip Girl… I know it’s such a girly show but I really like it.” You blush out of embarrassment, but he breaks out into a grin.

“I love Gossip Girl! I watched it with my sister all the time back home. It’s a great show.”

Surprised is an understatement. You never knew a guy could be such a softie. You smile out of relief and drink your tea as He rapid fires questions to you for the next hour.

—

You got the call the next morning. You were officially Sandy. In celebration, he’s hanging out at your apartment and he brought cheap boxed wine.

“What if I’m not cut out for broadway, Ash? What if everyone walks all over me? I don’t know anything about showbiz here in New York.” All you had in your mind was doubt.

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. People will be jealous. People will talk about you behind your back. Critics will rip you to shreds. But all that matters is your performance. That dumb, bald critic isn’t the one getting that paycheck and that standing ovation. It’s you. You have to give your all every night. But it’s always worth it. I’ll be with you every step of the way for this show. I’ll guide you. I’ll be like the guy in Pretty Woman! Guiding you through life…”

“Oh Ashton, I’m so lucky you’re my friend. I never thought I’d meet anyone here honestly. You really are the Edward Lewis to my Vivian Ward.” He laughs and clinks his glass with yours.

“First rehearsal is gonna be splendid, darling.”

—

The first rehearsal began at 7:30 am sharp. The first priority was choreography of “Summer Nights”. You met the girls playing Frenchy and Rizzo, and they were very welcoming. Now whoever was playing Jan, however, was a bit snarky. She didn’t even give you a simple hello. You decided to think nothing of it and just go on with rehearsal.

The tech crew brought out some makeshift temporary bleachers for the choreography and everyone got to work. The T Birds and Ashton went to the other side of the stage where the women were all to the other side. You held your music in hand and began your first note while also mirroring the choreographers directions. All was going well until you accidentally stepped on Jan’s foot, causing her to glare at you and yell, “Watch it!”.

You were taken aback. Everyone stopped suddenly and the pianist came to an abrupt halt.

“I’m so sorry-“ you started to say, but was interrupted immediately.

“Maybe you should know what you’re doing if you’re going to be the lead, or were you not aware that you should actually have some experience?”

You mumble barely loud enough for anyone to hear, “I won’t do it again…”

Rehearsal continued, and the room was tense for the remainder of the choreography portion.

“Alright everyone take 5!” The director's voice loudly remarked. Before you knew it, Ashton was walking towards you. His hair was a bit of a mess and his sleeves were rolled up.

“So how was your first choreography session, Sandy?” He grinned, taking a long drink from his water bottle.

You weren’t sure if you should tell him you actually were on the brink of tears. It was way too early to already have complaints, but you were sure that that one girl already hated you and you didn’t even know why.

“It was great, amazing.” You forced a smile and he broke out into a grin. You just couldn’t tell him you were already upset.

“I knew you’d be amazing! I told you it wouldn’t be so bad. We’re doing a run through of the song with everyone next. I’ll get to see you rock it.” He smiled and walked back towards the guys. You sighed, walking back to the group of girls. This would be a long 3 months of rehearsal.

—

You opened the door to your studio apartment and collapsed on the bed, burying your face in your pillow. Then the tears came. You couldn’t believe how upset you were. You didn’t think it would bother you as much as it did, but you felt like you already blew the role of your dreams. You decided to call Ashton, hoping he could lift your spirits.

“Hey y/n, what’s up?” He had his usual cheery tone of voice and you already felt better.

“I know I said rehearsal was great, but the girl playing Jan was really terrible and hurt my feelings really bad and maybe she’s right maybe I don’t have what it takes, Ash. What if she’s right?” At that point you were crying even more. You didn’t expect to cry even more, but it was happening.

“Woah woah woah. The real Sandy Olsson would never take anyone else’s shit. Y/n, you’re one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. You’ve forced me to come over now. I’m gonna make you feel better. Leave the door unlocked and just be expecting me.” He hung up before you could even argue. But you were glad you didn’t have a chance to argue.

—

About an hour passed and your door opened. Ashton walked in, closing the door behind him. He had 2 pints of Ben and Jerry’s and two 4 packs of Smirnoff in his arms. He kicked the door closed gently and sat at the foot of your bed.

“There’s my favorite broadway sensation.” You mumble from under your covers, grinning when you lock eyes.

“Here I am!” He smiled, handing you a pint of ice cream and a plastic spoon, “I also have alcohol.”

You smile, opening the ice cream and wrapping your arms around him, “Thank you for coming here�� I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

“Well I was planning world domination but I’ll get back to that.”

You laugh mad shake your head, “Well… let’s watch Gossip Girl and get drunk then, shall we?”

“We shall.”

—

“She’s just jealous that you’re the lead! Did you see her callback performance for Sandy? It was so half assed! You definitely were the best.” Ashton was on his third drink and there was no hiding it. He was slurring all of his words and laughing at every little thing. You found it adorable.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” A blush crept across your cheeks and you looked down at your cup.

With his hand, he pushed your head up from your chin, “I’m not blind, i know a good actress when I see one, silly. Also, it’s cute when you blush,” He smirked when you blushed even more, “I mean if you want we can practice scenes together outside of rehearsal. We could now! I have my script in my bag…”

Before you could even begin to say no, he was already reading out one of his lines.

“I really like you, Sandy.”

You sigh and grab your script, opening to the right page and sitting across from him on your bed, “Danny, take it easy! What are you trying to do?” You glance down at the book, seeing what his next line is and look back up.

“Can I try something out?”

“Um, that’s not your line Ash-“

His hand comes up to your cheek and before you know it, his lips are on yours. Taken aback, your eyes widen, but then slowly close. You wrap your arms around his neck and twirl the hair at the nape of his neck around your finger and his hands grip your waist. He pulls away and you catch your breath. He smiles at you, “But you enjoyed it, didn’t you?”

“Shut up.”

“That’s a yes I take it.”

You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol talking, but you were sure that you were falling. Hard.

—

“You’re the one that I want, you are the one I want, ooo ooo ooo honey…”

Everyone had gotten down the choreography to this scene, so everyone was just doing a run through without instruction. Before rehearsal even started, you talked to Ashton as usual. He didn’t even mention the night before. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was for the best. Some friendships need to stay friendships. And that was fine, but a part of you didn’t want that to be true. But what could you do? You never mentioned it again. You decided it was for the best.

-

Countless deli lunches together passed, dozens of coffee runs continued, about 100 more rehearsals occurred, months passed and the day came. Opening night. It was a full house.

You were in your dressing room, finishing up your makeup. A knock took you out of your trance, and you told them to come in.

Ashton came through the door, “Opening night! Are you ready?” He sat on the couch in the dressing room, wearing a tight white shirt and leather jacket, hair slicked back. He looked so good that it physically hurt.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” You weakly smile, “ya know I heard Rizzo has a thing for you.”

“Too bad she’s not my type… I’m into girls named Sandy.”

“Haha very funny, Ash, I mean like in real life.”

“Yeah so do I. A wise man once said, ‘you’re the one that I want, you are the one I want, ooo ooo ooo honey.” You laugh, and look into his eyes.

He’s not drunk right now. He’s sober. He is in your dressing room, telling you he is into you.

“Break a leg, Sandy.” And then he kisses you. And this time you know it isn’t the alcohol talking.

Summer loving. Happened so fast.

[cyrano2021dirjoewright]

boy i’m about to do it... @pikeisaman asked me for a gobblepot outline of how they progress through the show and i have nothing better to do so here we go

season 1

literally from the pilot their fates are sealed and it's clear that they and this city will always be a part of each other’s lives. gordon is a babyfaced war hero cop determined to make this city better. oswald is a lowly umbrella boy  to a mafiosa (fish....my love) who snitches to the cops about the wayne murder case to further his own status. jim is ordered by mob boss falcone to take oswald to the end of the pier and shoot him for snitching. instead he lets him live, telling him to never come back to gotham. well...he definitely does come back with a master plan and shows up on jim’s doorstep (scaring the living shit out of him!!) explaining that he wants to help jim because he’s the last good man in gotham. part of oswald’s plan is telling his new employer maroni about what happened, the dude forces jim to come to his aid and corroborate the story and i tell you. the look in oswald’s eyes as he silently thanks jim for saving his life yet again...is what started my descent into this madness.

so eventually it’s revealed that oswald is alive and there’s all this mob bullshit but what’s important to this post is that when oswald waiting for his fate from falcone, he begged that the job of killing him be given to jim because he knew he’s the only good man in this city with a conscious who would spare his life. and he was right and in return he now secretly works for falcone and pleads for him to spare jim’s life when he gets out of line (which to THIS DAY jim does know about and it pisses me off!!!!)

anyways down the line jim finally comes to oswald for his first of many favors down the line because the city and the gcpd are corrupt and oswald is literally SO HAPPY like he’s been waiting for this moment and so have i because before this point this was the basis of so many fics for them. “FAVOR IS DONE..FRIENDS DON’T OWE FRIENDS, SILLY” this is actual dialogue that haunts me to this day

but then of course oswald’s promise of “no one gets hurt” doesn’t bode so well and jim is like [gob voice] i’ve made a huge mistake so the next time he sees oswald he’s a raging douche to him and from there on out. said interaction is what i call the first gobblepot breakup scene. oswald is opening his new club and comes to the gcpd to hand deliver an opening party invitation to jim with an earnest look in his eyes that parallels asking your crush to prom. jim says no and says he doesn’t want oswald coming to his work and THROWS THE INVITATION IN THE GARBAGE. Oswald urges that jim shouldn’t treat him this way because one day he’ll come back to him because THEY NEED EACH OTHER AND JIM IS A DUMBASS FOR NOT YET REALIZING THIS.

So literally like four episodes later jim DOES need oswald’s help and they road trip it up to this cabin and jim saves his life yet again but cuts Oswald off before he can thank him for it. A few eps later he comes AGAIN for a favor and when Oswald fucks with him he literally GRABS HIM by the shirt with empty threats. This boy just loves grabbing other men and pulling their faces within inches of each other while looking all macho. I tell you. But yeah Oswald still does the favor and says jim owes him this time (we’re past “friends don’t owe friends” since jim rejected jim)

Then somehow in the s1 finale jim’s idea of a favor is threatening to leave Oswald to be killed by mobsters in a hospital and Oswald has to wit his way out of things and have jim take him with him but like….this is the first time you see in oswald’s face that he was wrong to trust jim and it’s so goddamn heartbreaking.  

SEASON 2

Jim has been demoted because he told the mayor to kiss his ass among other unruly things and he goes to Oswald (who is now “king of gotham”) to get his job back. Oswald agrees if jim shakes down this dude who owes him money. Jim ends up killing the guy in self defense and feels shitty but Oswald keeps his word and gets jim his job back. Meanwhile gcpd has a new captain because the writers hate women of color and killed off Essen so now Michael chikilis is here and is the most aggressive by-the-book dude you’ve ever seen. He’s like “yo if anyone here is corrupt and idk likes to fuck with skinny gay emo criminals for favors I’ll fire you” so jim is like :o when chiklis announces they’re going after Oswald jim goes to warn him and ask him about shit going down because it doesn’t sound like something Oswald would do (he’s actually being forced to do it because his mom is being held hostage). Instead of telling jim what’s wrong he snaps at him and this is breakup scene 2.0 basically. These boys love the angst. 

So oswald’s poor mom gets murdered by this dude named galavan who’s taking over the city and he’s trying to make it seem like Oswald is doing all this shit and jim is like “Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm” and galavan is elected mayor and Oswald wants to crash his party to fuckin murder him him. Jim for some reason is protecting this asshole because I guess it’s his job or something. This turns into jim standing between Oswald and galavan, both with guns drawn on each other. Neither can pull the trigger on each other. If this were literally any other person Oswald would just gun down whoever was in between him and justice for his murdered mom. But it’s jim. So instead he pleads and cries for him to step aside and jim implies that he can’t even though he knows galavan is guilty but it’s this dumb cop code or something. The writers decided at this point that instead of us getting to see who would back down first, Oswald is shot in the shoulder by someone else and goes into hiding and recovery. 

Them boys meet up again because galavan goes to trial and accuses Oswald of all the shit he did and jim’s like “WHY THE FUCK YOU LYIN” in the middle of court so he’s taken away by galavan’s men and they gonna kill him but then OSWALD APPEARS because theses dudes are like addicted to saving each other’s lives at this point. Jim wakes up with Oswald being there like “hello please help me kill this douche” and jim agrees. Some bullshit happens in between but what’s important is that they…literally….kill a man together. Like if nothing else that they’ve done for each other so far didn’t seal this connection, this did. 

And then even jim is technically the one who pulled the trigger on the bullet that killed galavan, Oswald takes the full blame and goes to arkham asylum for it. He goes through the worst mental torture imaginable for jim. When he sees jim on site and pleads for him to get him out jim is a Dick and claims this therapy is for his own good and it’s honestly so painful to watch like this is the last shred of hope Oswald had for jim.

A lot of this later half of s2 they’re doing their own thing and jim goes to jail and Oswald finds his rich dad who gets murdered in front of him but later on Galavan comes back to life and Oswald kills him again just as the dude was about to kill jim so oswald’s just like “you’re welcome bye”

SEASON 3

Jim and Oswald greet each other like bitter exes at the gcpp when Oswald asks jim (who is now a bounty hunter) why he hasn’t caught fish mooney and jim says “you haven’t made it worth my while”. He does eventually help catch her by calling Oswald (guess they just still have each other’s numbers) and telling Oswald where she’ll be.

They don’t interact for a while this season but at one point when jim is put on a hallucinogenic trip he has a vision that he’s fighting a war with Oswald and Oswald saves his life in the dream and tells him “never leave your unit behind.” They literally never explain this on the show but I assume it’s about jim’s guilt for leaving him at arkham.

So then waaaay later on Oswald shows up on jim’s doorstep asking for information on Edward nygma and gives jim a phone with only his number on it, which becomes useful to jim when he’s held hostage and calls Oswald for help. Oswald like Bernie sanders runs to the place and saves jim yet again. Instead of thanking him jim is once again an asshole and says “took you long enough”

So then the s3 finale. I have never been more stressed in my life. Jim has been infected with this virus that makes you basically a violent douche with no inhibitions so he’s battling those demons and accidentally kills fish mooney in the process (Oswald actually likes her this time so he mad) and then is ready to offer Oswald up to save the city. Oswald ain’t happy about this, but only finds out at the last minute that jim is infected with the virus so idk how that affects his opinion on jim’s actions here 

SEASON 4

Oswald has time for NO ONE his emotions have already gotten him nearly killed multiple times. He runs gotham and jim doesn’t like it. They keep publicly arguing with reporters and photographers documenting this gay shit. Even though they apparently hate each other they can’t get through an interaction without grabbing the other and bringing their faces within inches of each other to make empty threats. I’m told they will team up again later in the season which Gives Me Hope because both actors have said from day one that their destinies are forever intertwined. These boys are never escaping each other. 

So yeah that’s as far as an outline goes, I can go even further if you want more meta and headcanons 

[therealvinelle]

Answering the ask about Carlisle killing humans: take two

In this post, @effervescent-influenza​ asked me what it would take for Carlisle to intentionally kill a human. Sadly for effervescent-influenza, the thought of Carlisle killing people was apparently so inconceivable to my brain that it said “Error. Did you mean: accidentally kills a human?” and so I wrote them a post about Carlisle losing patients as part of his work as a doctor instead. [Insert the meme about Michael asking for a file but getting a cactus from The Good Place here.]

Anyway, here’s me trying to give effervescent-influenza an actual answer and not just another cactus.

What could motivate Carlisle to kill a human?

He was willing to kill newborns in Eclipse. This was in self-defense and to defend others, and he had no other means to stop them. These were unique conditions that had not arisen before in his near four-hundred-years long life.

He’ll never need to defend himself from humans. If he needs to keep a human from hurting other humans, then he will have an array of options, as it is we see him do this in canon with Bella’s would-be rapists. They’re drugged and taken to a police station, where the police have outstanding arrest warrents on them. (Question I’ll return to below: What would he have done if those would-be rapists weren’t known to the police? If they would go back to raping and murdering as soon as they woke up?)

Beyond that, looking for other motives...

Carlisle isn’t going to kill a human for his own benefit, as there would be none. He’s not willing to kill them for their blood, he would not benefit materially, and there’s nothing humans could do to him to provoke him. A patient could become obsessed with him and become his Misery-style terrifying stalker, or a capricious colleague could set out to make him miserable at work, and he’d probably fail but if he didn’t, if a human succeeded in being such a nuisance that it bothered Carlisle, then Carlisle can just move. Always, if a human becomes a problem for him, he can just pack up his things and move. He has a low threshold for doing this.

Carlisle’s not going to kill any humans for his own sake.

But, we do in canon see that he allowed Rosalie to kill her rapists and that he took it for granted that something had to be done about Bella’s would-be rapists.

To take Rosalie and her rapists first, Edward (who is not the best source, but I’ll write a separate post on that. Basically, read the below closely - notice how he inserts himself into this.) explains how it went down:

“In the first year of Rosalie’s second life, before she had disappeared on her several missions of revenge, her thoughts had given her away clearly and thoroughly. I knew what she was planning, and I’d informed Carlisle. The first time, he counseled her gently, urging her to let go of her past life, certain that if she did she would forget, and then her pain could lessen. Revenge could not bring back anything she had lost. But when his guidance met only the implacability of her fury, he gave her advice on how best to be discreet about her forays. Neither of us could argue that she didn’t deserve vengeance. And we both couldn’t help but believe that the world would be a better place without the rapists and murderers who had ended her life.” (Midnight Sun, chapter 18)

For the record, I disagree with the notion that Carlisle would wish Charles Evenson (Esme’s abusive first husband) harm, or harbor revenge fantasies, and this is why. Killing Charles wouldn’t take away Esme’s trauma, it wouldn’t undo any of what happened to her, and it wouldn’t help her heal. It would be for Carlisle’s own benefit, for him to feel better, at the cost of a human life.

More, this would make Carlisle judge and jury of which humans get to live or die. In his life as a doctor, Carlisle has seen countless of cruel men who abused their families. Most of them still have their wives and children living with them, with no rescue in sight. If Carlisle were to kill Evenson, what justification does he have not to kill other abusers?

We know, through Carlisle’s condemnation of Edward’s actions when he ran away to eat rapists, and again when he’s delighted Edward didn’t eat rapists in 2005, that Carlisle doesn’t think humans lose their right to live - or perhaps, to rephrase in light of Rosalie’s situation - killing isn’t worth what it does to you, the killer.

When Rosalie wanted revenge, Carlisle urged her to move past it, to heal without making herself a murderer. That had nothing to do with Royce, or whether Carlisle thought he deserved to die or not, and everything to do with Rosalie. She had a very long life ahead of herself, and Carlisle did not want her to start it off with murder.

Of course, Rosalie refused to move past it, she had to have her revenge to move past this, and so Carlisle agreed. I imagine his consent came because of several factors:

This wasn’t a vampire killing humans, as Carlisle killing Charles would be, or Edward killing rapists for that matter. This was personal: this was a rape victim killing her rapists. Had Rosalie survived and been given a gun, she likely would have done the same thing.

Had Royce and his friends been convicted of the rape and murder of Rosalie Hale, they would have received the capital sentence. Unfortunately there was no body, so no one would know what happened to Rosalie and no charges could be pressed against anybody. Even if they could, and suspected who did it, Royce King II was a rich white man at the top of the social ladder in the 1930′s. He was untouchable. He did what he did to Rosalie because he knew he’d get away with it. Rosalie killing him and the other four rapists was what the legal system would have seen to in an ideal world.

Royce King II would likely have done what he did to Rosalie again, to other women.

Rosalie deserved justice after what was done to her.

Royce King II was a perfect storm of conditions for Carlisle to approve of a killing, and even then he would rather have Rosalie not do it. Rosalie and Edward found out how far Carlisle would go, and that turned out to be not very far at all.

And yet, when Bella was accosted in Port Angeles, there was no question to Carlisle as to whether he should do something or not.

I think, and this is me headcanoning, that when Carlisle has found himself facing the Royces of this world, people who are only going to hurt others, and there has been no legal recourse, his preferred course of action has been nothing, or as little as possible. Action means making himself judge and jury of mankind, and that’s not what he’s for. He walks with humans to help them, not to act as some vigilante above us all . He doesn’t have that right.

In extreme cases, though...

There will always be extreme cases. Serial rapists, child molestors, the worst of the worst. And they’ll be hard to catch for humans, especially in times preceding modern forensics. Carlisle, with his nose and hearing, has likely known the identities of culprits and of undiscovered crimes he knew he could never bring to the police. “Yes, your honor, I smelled him all over the crime scene. He’s guilty!”

I honestly think, in the most desperate situations where to do nothing would be to condemn the innocent to suffer monstrously, Carlisle has gotten creative. This could mean anything, could mean bundling up the offending human and putting them on a boat headed to Australia, could mean gathering up his surgical equipment in the dead of night and making a eunich.

Doesn’t mean murder, though. He made that quite clear with Rosalie and Royce. No matter the evil of the human offender, becoming a murderer would only make it a greater tragedy.

TL;DR: “Cool motive, still murder” - Carlisle Cullen.