#twilight except bella ends up with the denalis

[thegamingcatmom]

Bella/Tanya rant incoming

Kinda smad the Cullens never took Bella to visit the Denalis during her human time. Like-

They must've talked about her a lot when they went to visit Alaska, if Kate's "We've heard so much about you!" is anything to go by.

(Props to Bella for not immediately passing out here.)

And y'know-

It's just such a missed opportunity to not only introduce the Denalis earlier (like they were supposed to be), but also to, y'know-

Now, that's a love triangle I wanna see. 🫠

LIKE-

Imagine Tanya clapping eyes on Bella and at first she's like 'He rejected me...for this??' like y'know, still a bit salty cause she does have her pride (lots of it). And, tbf, I think any vampire would feel a tad bit insulted at being cast aside for a mortal, y'know what I'm saying? Then again, Edward's been rejecting Tanya since before Bella's parents were even born (ouch), so Bella was really just the cherry on top. Anyhow-

Tanya's still a leader and nothing if not hospitable Carmen makes sure of that, so ofc she's gonna be on her best behavior. Y'know, no meddling, no flirting etc. Just keeping her hands to herself like a good girl who's finally accepted that her chosen one is taken.

...Until she realizes that this clumsy human ain't so bad, after all.

It starts with observing her from afar, getting to witness a side of her even Edward doesn't get to see because he's with her all the time anyway, so there isn't really an opportunity for him to catch all those little quirks you only show when you think nobody's watching.

But Tanya?

Bella doesn't expect her to be there because she fully believes Tanya secretly hates her guts for stealing "her" man, so why would the coven leader linger in whatever space she occupies?

Except she does. Quite often. Without Bella noticing.

So there you have Tanya, slowly but surely getting to know a side of Bella nobody else has had the honor of witnessing before. And, lemme tell ya-

Sometimes, Tanya struggles to keep it together.

Especially when Bella starts using the wooden spoon as a microphone as she sings along to a song nobody but her can hear. And it only gets worse (better, so much better) when she starts dancing, too.

Bella has plenty of appealing qualities, it has to be said.

...Singing or dancing ain't one of them, though.

And y'know, Tanya being Tanya, she addresses it at some point.

Ofc she does. 🫠

Tanya: *slinks up to Bella, who's busy washing dishes*

Bella: *gives her a sus and slightly terrified side-eye, but manages to keep her cool otherwise (on the outside)*

Tanya: *busies herself with grabbing a dish towel, the faintest of smirks on her lips*

Bella, who didn't think the leader of all ppl would get her hands dirty with her: *...tf*

Tanya: *starts drying the first plate, lips still curled into an amused smile*

Bella: *keeps washing, struggles to remain calm and composed*

Tanya: *keeps drying, struggles to keep it together*

Bella: *risks a peek*

Tanya: *does too, still smirking*

Bella: "..."

Tanya: "..."

Both: *go back to their respective work*

A few seconds pass...

Tanya: "I must say-"

Bella: *drops the plate she's been washing back into the water, startled by the sudden noise*

Tanya, still drying, still smirking: "...I wasn't aware I'm housing a popstar. What an honor."

Bella: *stares dumbly at her for a moment, brain refusing to brain*

Tanya: *finally stops drying to stare back at her, eyes alight with mirth*

Bella: "...Huh?"

Bella, on the inside: 'Smooth, Swan. Smooth.'

Tanya: *flashes her a toothy smile that is full of mirth and mischief and absolutely radiating*

Bella: *brain refuses to brain again, but for an entirely different reason this time*

Tanya: *leans in real close as she reaches behind Bella to grab smt*

Bella: *leans back as far as the sink would let her, (gay) panic written all over her face*

Tanya: *whips up the wooden spoon and holds it close to Bella's face, still hovering much too close to look anything but hella gay*

Bella: 👀💧

Tanya, all sultry all of a sudden: "Would you mind giving me another taste of those...exquisite vocals of yours?"

Bella: *starts putting it together, (normal) panic slowly forming on her face*

Tanya: *breaks into chiming laughter that sounds much too lovely to become mad at*

Bella: 💀

Needless to say, Bella's mortified. And confused. So damn confused. Big, innocent puppy dog eyes and all. And her cheeks-

Her cheeks are on fire. She's sweating.

And, for some reason, Tanya finds the sight absolutely addicting.

ALSO-

Can you imagine the look on Kate's face when she realizes that Bella's immune to her buzzing shenanigans?? Like, y'all can't tell me Kate doesn't frequently zap! her family just for shits and giggles. And everyone is just fucking tired of it.

And then comes Bella.

And, for the first time in centuries, Kate is seen pouting.

(Much to the utmost glee of everyone else.)

Naturally, this also means that Bella's gift is revealed far earlier because there ain't no way Eleazar hasn't put two and two together by now. Especially because he knows she's immune to Edward's gift as well. (I imagine this was a hotly discussed topic during their previous visits.)

And, y'know-

I'm just smad.

[therealvinelle]

Favorite month for each of the cullens? For James’ coven?

I'm fascinated, why James's coven? But alright.

The Cullens

Alice likes parties, she likes decorating, she likes to have a reason to decorate the house for a party. And nothing says parties, decor, and finding a way to be modern, somehow sexy, yet tasteful and teaming up with Esme like Christmas and New Years' Eve. Plus the sun sets much earlier so she can go shopping at human hours, use atmospheric outdoor lighting, and have all sorts of seasonal fun that simply doesn't work the same in the Summer months (and Spring and Autumn are... so wet...). It's December for Alice.

Carlisle likes when he can be out longer, when the snow is still pristine and when there are happy festivities happening. He would uncomplicatedly be a December person, except the festivities are... dampened... by the family and partner violence and suicide attempts he gets at the end of the month. He's a December person who sees it as the time he has to save more people than usual, and also the snow is pretty.

Edward is for the fall months, because fall is such a beautiful time of year and more importantly he can think gloomy thoughts about nature following the cycle of life, every year it comes to life then dies again while he lives on. November... the twilight of the year, that brief flash of rapidly passing weeks just before the darkest time of the year and the death that is winter rolls in.

Emmett loves Christmas. There is no doubt in my mind Rosalie does a "Happy birthday, Mr. President" routine, and that they have some horrible lane about making their own fireworks for New Years' Eve. December is awesome, bro.

Esme loves family, festivities, and the joy of exchanging gifts with loved ones. Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but so too are the days leading up to Christmas, when she can put out the decorations and have a meaningful way of marking the passage of time for a few weeks. December.

Jasper enjoys the happy emotions coming from his family. December.

Renesmee's concept of the passage of time is completely warped. She dutifully says "December" when asked about her favorite month because that seems to be the done thing in this family.

Rosalie has thoughts about how Christmas is a time to be spent with family, specifically with children who believe in Santa Claus and miracles, and while she has a family there's a very central part of Christmas she'll never have, just as she can't enjoy any of the little things that made Christmas what it is, such as gingerbread cookies. It's another painful reminder, but so is her entire life. Renesmee helps heal this for her, in that there's now a child she can have many if not all of these Christmassy things she wanted to experience with, and also in that I somehow know several years of Christmases with the entire extended Black-Clearwater-Cullen-Swan family will be such a clusterfuck, everyone except Bella sensing the tensions, that Rosalie will be completely disillusioned as to what "family Christmas, just like the humans have it!" will never be appealing to her again.

James & co

Victoria prefers whichever month of the year rains most in whichever region of the world she's in. Rain washes away her scent, she can hide, and that makes for a happy Victoria.

James shares Victoria's preference, as more rain makes the hunt more difficult and he loves a challenge

Laurent thinks these people are fucking weird, rain ruins his hair and clothes and can we get a house? Laurent would like a house. ("How badly" is a question he must ask himself chez the Denali.)

[futuremrsdrcullen]

This Love Came Back To Me - Chapter 4

It's Finally Here!!!! I can not apologize enough for how long this took to get out. But here it is! I hope you love it.

Summery- I was completely overwhelmed with this looming dread. This wasn’t just about Bella anymore. Though that was bad enough, this involved me now. Despite how often Edward disregarded my safety and despite how desperately Carlisle tried to protect me from this;

My life was in danger.

It was never going to end was it?

Word Count- 11,920

Warnings- Vampires- and all the things that go along with vampires (blood, biting, age gaps, sparkling, dramatics) a lot more swearing this time. There's some minor injuries and some very minor character death. mentions of vomiting (2 actual vomits, due to injury) Battle, fighting and planning. It's all very happy I promise.

There is no imprinting and there never will be <3

Notes from me- My name is Claire and this! This is finally my third love child. I started writing this on the 27th of July in 2022. I lost hope a few times but it's here and I hope you love it. Thank you, so so much for staying with me.

As always, I DO NOT own The Twilight Saga. All rights go directly to S. Meyer.

Read on AO3 <3

Masterlist <3 (Ch 2, Ch 3)

I love you <3 Thank you for still being here <3

While I tried very hard to sleep, I really just laid in our bed curled up next to Carlisle with my eyes closed. Like Bella, I refused to not be in the clearing with them while they met with the wolves to train. I knew sleep was important and yet I couldn’t calm my mind.

He chuckled as I started again “Y/n?”

“I can’t turn my brain off…”

He lifted my chin so he could see my face better, “I can tell. Is it something I can help ease?”

“Maybe…” My eyes met his and I found just enough courage in them to ask my question. “Before us… Was this common?”

“I’m not sure what you mean-”

“Like, before you met me, and Edward met Bella, how often did you guys have to prepare for war?”

“I see. Well, I can’t say that we’ve ever had much of a reason… before now.” He ran his hand through my hair. His confusion still lingered on his face, “Why do you ask, Dove?”

I didn’t want to scare him. I didn’t want to make him worry that I was scared of him or of this life we’d made, but the panic attack earlier wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last. My heart beat just a bit faster, he held me tighter.

“I’m worried- only a little- that this will never end. I feel like around every corner there's just more danger. I just keep waiting for the dust to settle and for things to calm down… but what if it never does?”

He listened to my every word and when I’d gotten it all out he moved to his side. I shifted so our faces could be even with each other. He held my face again.

“I have faith that this will pass.” He brushed back the hair that had fallen onto my face. “In just a few days, we’ll have taken care of the newborns and hopefully their source-”

“But we don’t know their source,”

“Yet. But we will. Then soon we will catch Victoria. The Volturi will be quiet for a while, even more so once Bella is a vampire. We’re caught in some turbulence right now, but it will pass.”

“Except once we are vampires, then we’ve broken the treaty and the wolves will be after us. And we can’t seek solace with the Denali’s because they’re mad at us. And the Volturi might give up once we’re vampires or they could just pick another reason to chase after us to get at Edward and Alice.” I took a deep breath

“Is this what you were crying about earlier?” When I nodded he sighed, not out of anger or frustration, but there was something like sadness in it. Like he was only upset that I had carried this with me all day or that he wasn’t sure how to ease some of my worry.

He started again “I know it’s hard to see right now, but things will calm down. At the very least, you’ll be much less fragile than you are now.”

I almost smiled, “I guess I’ll feel a little better when I’m nearly indestructible. I could fight alongside you. It would be easier to breathe through.”

He winced slightly, “We’ll… cross that bridge when we come to it. Hopefully we never have to.” he kissed my forehead and pulled me into his chest, before resting his chin on my head. “We’ll take it day by day and figure it out together. You should try to rest, Cara. It’s going to be a long night.”

With his arms around me and his comforting words replaying in my head, I was finally able to fall asleep. It felt like I’d just barely closed my eyes, but when he woke me again it had been over two hours.

It was still hard to keep my eyes open as we walked into the clearing. Almost everyone had gotten there before us, save for Bella and Edward, who were only a minute behind us. Jasper looked much more relaxed, Alice looked like she already couldn’t wait for this to be over. Rosalie also didn’t seem terribly excited but Emmett ran over to hug me.

“Hey guys!” He greeted the four of us. “Bella, Y/n, are y’all practicing too?” he said with a smirk.

“Definitely not. I’m more of a ‘cheer from the sidelines’ kind of girl, but you guys have fun.” I laughed.

“Thanks, Y/n.” Edward grimaced. “And, Emmett, let’s try to not give them any ideas.” He said them, but I knew he meant Bella. I smiled at him anyway.

Calisle took my hand again and I pushed in closer to his side. “When will our guest arrive?” He asked Edward.

“A minute and a half-” He continued, but I missed the rest of what he was saying while I wondered how he knew. I wondered if people's thoughts sounded different from further away, or if he could see their surroundings through their thoughts.

I consciously reentered the conversation when Bella asked “They’re coming as wolves?”  and sharply turned my head towards Edward.

He nodded, cautious of our reaction. I winced and looked up at Carlisle. I’d never seen them as wolves before, and I wasn’t sure that I was all that excited to see them now. I didn’t think I’d be able to tell them apart enough to keep up.

I heard Edwards sharp intake of breath, saw the slight hint of a smile grace his lips. “Prepare yourselves- They’ve been holding out on us.” Which was one of the most confusing things he’d said.

Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who was confused. “What do you mean?” Alice demanded.”

He just shushed her, which was… unhelpful to say the least.

Carlisle gave my hand a quick squeeze before dropping it and they all moved to their positions. This part was easy to grasp, though I was given the rundown before meeting the others here. Rosalie would almost be at the start of the line, but she would also be a few steps behind Emmett. Jasper knew the most but Emmett was the muscle, so they would be the closest to the wolves. Carlisle fell in line next to them, because he was our diplomat and held most of the pack's respect.

Edward, of course, would have been up front as well, but we knew Bella would be glued to his side, so he stayed back. Alice stood to the left of me with Bella on my right and Edward to hers.

“Damn,” Emmett whistled “Did you ever see anything like it?”

I couldn’t see what they were talking about, so I studied their shock. Carlisle and Edward looked the least shocked, but the others looked like they couldn’t believe their eyes. Bella, thankfully, looked as confused as I felt. 

“What is it? I can’t see” she whispered.

“The pack has grown.” Edward murmured into Bella’s ear,  though I was sure it was only loud enough for our family to hear.

The clearing was still and silent and despite how hard I tried, I could not see what they were still taken aback by. I watched the shadowy forest until I caught just a glimmer of something beyond the trees. Bella gasped as she counted in twos. I wished I could tell what she was counting.

Edward muttered something else, but I missed because Carlisle took a casual step towards them. I knew the plan. Edward would translate, Carlisle and Jasper would lead. Every one of their breaths was planned out yet my heart stuttered as he stepped away.

“Welcome,” he greeted, what looked like nothing except flickers of sparkling… eyes? Were those eyes? They were so high up, I would have guessed they were in the trees.

“Thank you,” Edward responded,  his voice flat and unlike his normal tone. I guessed in an instant that he was matching Sam’s tone. I had to choke back a laugh as he continued. “We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self control.”

I rolled my eyes.

Carlisle nodded once and answered, “That is more than enough. My son Jasper-”  he motioned towards him, but Jasper didn’t move or even breathe “-has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I’m sure you can apply this to your own hunting style.”

“They are different from you?” Edward asked for Sam.

“They are all very new- only months old to this life…” 

Carlisle explained newborns in a cautious and practiced way though the rumble from the treeline seemed more excited than cautious. Even as they settled lower to the ground their excitement was palpable.

When Jasper walked further into the clearing my eyes focused on him. He didn’t seem to acknowledge the group behind him at all, but still spoke loud enough for them to hear. He continued Carlisle’s description of the newborns and I think my blood froze over. I had heard most of this before, but it all seemed more daunting in the clearing. 

In front of me stood everyone I could lose in the next four days. I couldn’t bear the thought of it. As Emmett stepped up next to Jasper, I looked at my feet. Alice wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I was beginning to wonder if I should have stayed home when I heard the boys start practicing.

Around them, everyone froze. It was over quickly, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of them until it was. Emmett and Jasper moved too quickly around each other for me to fully understand each movement. Jasper was always just a step ahead of Emmett. Emmett was always just a touch too slow to get his hands on Jasper. And then Jasper was behind Emmett, his teeth hovering just above his neck. 

Emmett swore.

It sounded like everyone let go of the breath they were holding at the same time. There was even a rumble from the trees. 

“Again,” Emmett insisted.

“It’s my turn,” Edward protested from Bella’s side. Bella tensed, but said nothing. I’d guessed that she probably couldn’t get any words out now if she tried. 

But it was actually Jasper who spoke up next. “In a minute. I want to show Y/n and Bella something first.”

I froze as my name was spoken, not terribly excited to be acknowledged. Alice gave my shoulder a light squeeze before skipping over to him. 

He continued, “I know you worry about her, I want to show you why that’s not necessary.”

I very much did not want to watch this fight, but I never took my eyes away. She seemed so small in the clearing. Jasper floated quickly around her, never really touching her, even though it looked as though Alice never moved. She stood there, smiling, with her eyes closed.

I was completely in awe of her. 

I blinked a few times trying to focus only on Alice. I watched as Jasper reached out, but his hands continued to find nothing but air. She was like a fairy, disappearing and reappearing just out of his reach. Their every move matched the others. It was mesmerizing. But as quickly as it had started, Alice was on his back and playfully biting his neck.

“Gotcha,” she said and she kissed his throat.

“You truly are one frightening little monster.” Jasper chuckled. 

There was more rumbling from the treeline, but it was impossible to make out what was going on. I glanced quickly at Edward.

“It’s good for them to learn some respect,” He murmured, amused. Then he spoke louder. “My turn.”

Alice traded places with him instead of returning to my side. I was fine with it, knowing Bella needed the support this time. “Cool, huh?” she asked us.

I only nodded, but Bella managed the word “Very,” as Edward met his brother in the middle of the clearing. 

Alice pulled closer to Bella and for a second it looked like she was whispering to her, though I couldn’t hear a thing. Not wanting to intrude I shifted my gaze to find Carlisle. He, of course, was intently watching the boys in the field, but I guess he felt my eyes on him and he turned to me. 

When his eyes met mine, we were the only ones in the clearing. His eyes were clear, his smile was confident. It was steadying. I took a deep breath and smiled back at him. He looked back at Edward and Jasper first, but I did have the confidence to watch them as well.

They were evenly matched. Where Jasper relied on his instincts, Edward read his moves in his head. Where Edward had speed, Jasper had experience. It went on for longer than the rest. Neither of them ever really gained the upper hand. There was a chortle from where the wolves lurked that made both me and Bella stiffen.

Carlisle cleared his throat.

 They instantly broke apart, laughing and grinning at each other like nothing happened.

“Back to work,” Jasper agreed. “We’ll call it a draw.”

As Edward returned to Bella, Carlisle walked up to Jasper and my chest tightened.

It wasn’t as seamless as Jaspers and Edward's fight. Carlisle was deliberate with every blur of motion. It was hard to watch, not only because I could barely see them in the dim morning light but this was Carlisle and the fight felt so real. He didn’t hiss or growl the way the others had. He was calm and calculated. Every move he made mattered and every step he took had a reason. He moved like a well-oiled machine. He moved like he was over three hundred years old and had done this a hundred times.

And Jasper still managed to lay him out flat on his back.

I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut. I knew I didn’t need to panic, but my heart picked up a beat and Bella grabbed my hand. I opened my eyes to thank her only to find that Carlisle had made his way over to me.

He smiled warmly at me and his eyes lightened slightly. He placed a cool hand on my cheek. “It’s only practice, Mon Coeur. I’m alright.”

“I know…” I felt a bit silly and didn’t add that it was only practice right now. That was the thing about practice, it normally led to something real. I dusted grass out of his hair.

There was more grumbling from the trees that I could only assume at this point was the wolves. A small, mischievous smile danced across my face and I placed a hand on his cheek before leaning up to kiss him. There was another grumble then a huff. I laughed and held on a bit tighter to him, if only to resist flipping off the trees.

This time Carlisle fell in line beside me and his arm stayed firmly around my waist. We returned to silently watching the rest of his family practice.

During each fight Jasper spoke little bits of instruction. He was an excellent teacher which did make me feel kind of sick. I hated to think about how many times he had to do this. I hoped it didn’t hurt him to do it now.

He seemed confident and encouraging, despite my worrying. “Just like that. Concentrate on the sides.”  His words were smooth even as Emmet threw him around. “Don’t forget where their target will be. Keep moving.”

Carlisle watched every move. It was probably easier for him to keep up. While Jasper and Rosalie fought, all I could see was a blur of blonde. Even Emmett seemed tense during that one. Carlisle seemed to analyze everything. I held on to his arm for support.

Edward watched beyond the trees. As the morning turned to day and the sun started shining a bit more in the clearing, Bella looked more and more tired. It got to the point where I genuinely thought she’d fallen asleep standing there. Edward caught on to my thoughts and whispered to her. “We’re about finished.”

Jasper nodded confirmation and turned to face the treeline where the wolves lurked. His calm and collected demeanor returned to his usual tense and brooding one. “We’ll be doing this tomorrow. Please feel welcome to observe again.”

Edward agreed in his Sam voice. The humor of it was still not lost on me. Then he turned towards us and said “The pack thinks it would be helpful to be familiar with each of our scents- so they don’t make mistakes later. If we could hold very still, it will make it easier for them.”

“Certainly,” Carlisle said to Sam. “Whatever you need.”

For a split second the forest seemed to rumble to life but just as quickly, everything stilled again. There was only the buzz of anticipation bouncing between Bella and me.

I don’t know what I imagined but it definitely wasn’t this. They stalked towards us and my breath caught in my throat.

Their eyes glowed and they were huge and there were so so many of them. I didn’t make a habit of hanging out with actual wolves, but they had to be so much smaller than the beast crawling towards us now. I’d never seen anything like it. I understood the others' reaction from before.

The one who led the pack had to be Sam. Even as he creeped forward I could tell he would tower over me. More than the fact that he was the lead, he was the biggest and there was something so familiar in his eyes, it had to be Sam. I wanted nothing more than to bury my face and hide in Carlisle’s chest, but doubted heavily that that was an option. I was still shocked and frozen when he stepped up to smell Carlisle.

 In any other circumstance, I would have laughed, but my brain was still reeling. Sam winced then looked at me. I gave him a soft smile and he nodded once before he moved on to Jasper. I searched the rest of their faces for anyone else I recognized, but fell short. I thought I’d at least know Jacob, but I only caught him when I saw the way Bella looked at the russet colored wolf.

When it registered for her too, she lit up and he looked just as excited. The way the three of them existed together resembled magnets. Bella fit perfectly at Edwards side and still leaned in closer to jacob. And Edward seemed a bit more at ease when Jacob stepped up- like the pack made him nervous but Jacob was a steady comfort.

Honestly, I wished they would put aside their drama and see what was right in front of them.

Of course, he just scoffed. Bella looked up to notice everyone was watching their strange interaction. When her eyes met mine she smiled softly in understanding but Edward sighed and asked her “Ready to go?”

Before she could answer he glared back at Jacob. Anything that had been between the three of them was tense again.

“We’ve not quite figured out all the details yet.” Edward answered an unasked question. I might have thought he was speaking to me if it wasn’t for the way he glared at Jacob.

Sam, as well as Jacob, seemed bothered by his response. I wondered what had been asked.

Edward continued, “It’s more complicated than that, don’t concern yourself; We’ll make sure they’re both safe.”

What are you talking about?” Bella demanded.

“Just discussing strategy.” Edward  answered casually, though I could clearly tell there was something more to it.

Jacob looked confused as well before he took off back into the trees. Everyone seemed to still: Carlisle pulled me closer to him. Bella looked hurt. I wondered if I’d missed something. The others followed after Jacob.

When Jacob came back out though, he was alone and human again. I breathed a sigh of relief for Bella knowing that she wouldn’t have to miss half of a conversation that was clearly about her.

However, as Jacob got back to them, I noticed that Carlisle wasn’t pulling me into him so much as pulling me closer to Edward and Bella. Whatever they were discussing, he wanted to be a part of it too. I was glad we were on the same page.

“Okay, bloodsuckers, What’s so complicated about it?”

“We have to consider every possibility,” Edward said,  his tone was understanding. “What if someone gets past you?”

Jacob was less understanding, “Okay, so leave her on the reservation. We’re making Collin and Brady stay behind anyway. She’ll be safe there.” 

Bella glared at Jacob, “Are you talking about me?”

“He definitely isn’t talking about me,” I said under my breath. Carlisle chuckled.

Jacob continued, this time a little more understanding of our presence, “I just think it would help to know what their plan is for the two of you during the fight.”

“You can’t stay in Forks.”

Carlisle nodded and added, “If someone got past us, it’s the first place they’d look.”

Bella’s eyes met mine as we had the same thought. Her face was paler than normal as she forced the thought out. “Charlie?”

“He’ll be with Billy,” He assured her, “If my dad has to commit a murder to get him there, he’ll do it.”

“There’s a game on Saturday. That’s enough to get him down there without more blood shed.” My voice was breathy and I was thankful that Carlisle still held on to me. Bella’s thoughts were all over the place. She drifted off on a sidebar that had both Edward and Jacob chuckling while I weighed my own options.

I didn’t want to stay in La Push. Not that there was a problem with La Push exactly, just that it felt like everything was happening around me all of the time and while I wasn’t excited to be involved, I was this time. I also had no interest in being in the clearing when the fight was happening. 

So that left me wherever Bella was. And brought their conversion back into my focus.

“You could hide them here…” Jacob waved his hands around him at the forest around us.

“That… seems impractical.” I said. There wasn’t anywhere to hide out here and with Bella’s luck, I didn’t like the idea of her being so close. The only upside being that the Cullens and the pack would be able to get to us quickly if things did go south- Then again so could the newborns.

Edward agreed with me, “Their- Our scent is too strong and combined with mine and Carlisle’s, especially distinct.”

“It’s what they’re being trained to look for. We’re hoping they’ll catch ours and come straight to the clearing, but-”

“We’re not sure exactly which path they’ll take because they don’t know yet. If they crossed her scent before they found us..”

I swear the three of them made the same pained face at the same time. Carlisle held me tighter.

“You see the difficulties.”

“So what’s the middle ground? Can’t stay home, can’t stay here. What makes this work?” I asked.

“Wait a sec- My scent disgusts you, right?”

“Hmm, not bad.” Whatever was in Jacob’s head seemed to make sense to Edward because he decided to call over Jasper.

Edward breathed a heavy sigh and Jacob held out his arms to Bella. Nobody moved.

“We’re going to see if I can confuse the scent enough to hide your trail,” Jacob explained.

Bella still didn’t move. She only looked more confused. I watched, silently preparing to bolt the second anyone tried to pick me up.

“You’re going to have to let him carry you, Bella” Edward said, completely unbothered. Bella frowned.

Jacob called her a baby. Then his eyes flicked to mine. “Y/n is easier to hide. Even Carlisle had a hard time finding her when he tried. I think if she just walked in front of you, you should be able to cover her scent. It’s just Bella who can’t touch anything.”

Relief washed over me. Carlisle chuckled and kissed my head. When Jasper made it over to us Edward explained the plan again, though I was certain he’d overheard. 

Both Edward and Jacob looked at me. Bella just looked pouty. “I guess I’ll scout ahead.” I joked before leaning up to kiss Carlisle’s cheek before walking into the trees. 

I walked far enough ahead so I wouldn’t disturb any conversations between the two that needed to be had. I also needed to focus on my footing and the amount of steps I’d taken into the woods. Jacob kept up enough that if I looked over my shoulder I could see them. After a minute or two I felt confident enough to turn, and loop back to the clearing. I resurfaced further away than I thought, but I didn’t get lost.

It was just Edward and Carlisle when we got back, and while it looked like they weren’t having the most pleasant conversation, Carlisle’s face lit up when he saw me. I couldn’t help but skip over to him.

When Alice and Jasper were back and Bella was on her own feet again she asked “Well?”

“As long as you don’t touch anything, Bella, I can’t imagine someone sticking their nose close enough to that trail to catch your scent.” Jasper grimaced. “It was almost completely obscured.”

“And there was no trace of Y/n at all. I wouldn’t have even known she was there if I hadn’t watched her walk in front of them. A definite success.” Alice agreed.

“And it gave me an idea.”

“Which will work,”

“Clever,” Edward agreed.

“How do you stand that?” Jacob muttered.

I laughed, “You get used to it. And sometimes, if you wait long enough, they fill you in!” It made at least Carlisle laugh. Bella still looked at Jacob sympathetically.

Edward ignored us and turned to me and Bella to explain. “You two are going to leave a false trail to the clearing. They’ll come exactly the way we want them to without being careful about it. Alice can already see that this will work.”

“But me? How would I help in this situation?” I figured this experiment proved that I was untrackable.

“Not ‘untrackable’- just not easy to track.” Edward said. “But they have your scent memorized. If you touch everything-”

“And with nothing following you to cover it up-” Jasper added.

“They’ll have no issue. Then when they catch the rest of us in the clearing, they’ll split up and try to come at us from two sides. Half will go through the forest, where her vision suddenly disappears…”

“Yes!” Jacob cheered. I wasn’t sold on his enthusiasm but Edward smiled at him.

Their comradery was only cut short when Edward scowled at Jasper. “Not a chance,”

“I know, I know.” He wasn’t exactly smiling, but definitely plotting. “It was just a thought.”

“What are you thinking?” If I could read anything in Edwards sharp shift in demeanor, whatever it was was never going to happen. Yet I couldn’t help the curiosity.

“If either of you were actually in the clearing, it would drive them insane. They wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything but you. It would make picking them off truly easy…”

“Absolutely not.” I said at the same moment Carlisle said “It’s out of the question.”

“Of course,” he backtracked. “It would be far too dangerous.” Though he didn’t seem convinced it wouldn’t happen.

Jasper chuckled under his breath and took Alice’s hand again. They walked back over to the others and I tried not to weigh the option.

Not Bella, never Bella… but me. Could I be there? I shook the thought out of my head and returned to what they were saying. 

“-it’s thoroughness, not callousness.”

Jacob snorted.

Another moment passed between the three of them that they seemed completely unaware of. Jacob moved closer to Edward, Bella moved closer to Jacob, without letting go of Edward. Time didn’t move around them.

But Edward refocused on the logistics. “I will bring Bella here Friday afternoon to lay the false trail. You can meet us afterwards and carry her to a place I know. Completely out of the way, and easily defensible, not that it will come to that. I’ll take another route there.”

“And then what? Leave them up there? With just a phone?” He was annoyed somehow. At least fed up with our plans.

“It’s not ideal, but it should be safe enough… Unless you have a safer alternative.” Carlisle remained patient with him.

Jacob lit up, smug but ready to share his thoughts “Actually I do?”

“Oh again, not bad at all.” Edward smiled so warmly at him that part of me wondered if there was pride on his face.

Jacob smiled back at Edward before facing Bella, if only to keep her involved in the conversation. “We tried to talk Seth into staying behind with the younger two. He’s still too young, but he’s stubborn and he’s resisting. So I thought of a new assignment for him- cellphone.”

“And, Carlisle, you can bring Y/n out here early Saturday so her false trail is a bit more fresh. Then, Seth can walk her up the mountain to meet up with Bella and swap places with Jacob. Distance isn’t a problem?”

“Nope.”

“Three hundred miles?” That’s impressive.” The way he looked now only proved that it was pride on his face before. It was even brighter this time.

I looked to Carlisle to see if he’d caught what I had. He smiled like he had. I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the training and the new information and the battle strategies, but it was nice to know that we were still on the same page about this.

“It’s a good idea.” Edward was hesitant, like he was afraid of revealing more than he meant.

“Having Seth Clearwater there is very comforting.” Carlisle said.

Edward nodded, “Even without the instantaneous communication. I don’t know if I’d be able to leave Bella there alone. To think it’s come to this though! Trusting werewolves!”

“Fighting with vampires instead of against them.” Jacob added in mock disgust.

“Aww, our little cliche is coming to a close.” I joked.

“Well, almost. They’ll still get to fight some of them.” Edward said. His smile did not fade.

Jacob beamed at him, “That’s the reason we’re here.”

~~

Carlisle carried me home. I was unaware just how tired I was, but when he held me I fell asleep almost immediately. I didn’t even wake up when he placed me in the bed. I really slept too. I didn’t dream or budge, I just got the rest I so desperately needed.

I only got up when I felt like I couldn't physically sleep anymore. Carlisle, of course, was right beside me, reading a book with a title in a foreign language.

I cuddled into him. He threw his arm around me allowing me to lay my head on his chest, all without disturbing his reading, still he placed his book on the nightstand. He kissed the top of my head. 

“Good Morning, Dove.”

“Hmm… What time is it?” Based on the light that came through the windows, I didn’t think it was still morning, not that I’d correct him anyway. 

He glanced at his watch. “Just after 2pm.” I was a bit surprised that I’d slept that late but was grateful for it. “Would you like to go downstairs for coffee?”

When I nodded, he helped me get upright. I steadied myself against him then leaned up to press a quick kiss on his lips. We broke apart and he took my hand leading me downstairs.

“The others are in the kitchen talking.” He told me. I nodded, though when we rounded the corner I noticed they weren’t talking much. Emmett sat on the counter and Rose was standing between his legs, facing the others. Alice was cutting fruit and dropping them into a bowl in the running sink.  Jasper was making coffee.

I knew all of this was for me. It still surprised me how generous they all were.

Alice looked up and smiled at us, like she had been expecting us. “Good morning, you two!”

I smiled back at her. “Thank you… for all of this.” I gestured to the whole of the kitchen. They laughed.

“It’s no trouble at all, Y/n.” Jasper pushed a cup of coffee across the counter to me. It was perfect- That wasn’t a surprise, atleast. He looked at Carlisle, “Alice said earlier that their numbers are down to twenty.”

She hummed and handed the fruit bowl. “Nineteen, now.”

Emmett frowned, “They’re picking themselves off…” He almost sounded disappointed. Knowing him he probably was.

“It will be an easy fight then.” Carlisle clearly still didn’t feel any of Emmetts excitement.

“If we can make Bella cooperate…” Alice was annoyed.

They all looked at me. I popped a grape into my mouth. “What’s she planning?”

“She doesn’t have a plan. She just wants to be in the clearing.”

My brows furrowed. “And that would be bad?”

She said “Very” and at the same time Jasper said “That depends on who you’re asking.”

My eyes darted between them, waiting for one of them to elaborate.

Jasper spoke first. “Her scent would drive the newborns crazy. They’d go straight for her. We could wipe them out and clean the whole thing up nice and easy.” His confidence made Emmetts grin grow wider.

“Would she- or me, I guess- would we be safer-”

“Absolutely not!” This time it was Alice and Carlisle who spoke at the same time. 

I looked at them, my eyes wide. After taking a bite of an apple slice, I said “Take a breath. I don’t want either of us there, really. But if it’s safer- for all of us, I’d like to at least consider the option.”

“The fight would be easier but you both would be more of a distraction. It wouldn’t be safe.” It was the first time Rosalie had spoken and if I’m being honest, it caught me a bit off guard. “If anyone lost control…” she winced and trailed off.

Carlisle finished her thought. “Or if any one of them got past us, you two would be all that they could focus on- All any of us could focus on.”

“Exactly!” Alice added. “They’d be focused on you. We’d be focused on you. It would make us too vulnerable.”

“So… more dangers than benefits? We’ll stick with plan A.” I took a slow sip of my coffee and Alice sighed.

She took out her phone and had it to her ear before any of us could ask who she was calling. “Edward…” She said it as if in answer to our unasked question. “I warned Bella that I’d tell you if her plans got more defined. She plans on trying to find a way to the clearing, but she just gets lost. You have to make her understand the dangers. Y/n gets it.”

Whatever he said made her soften a bit, then she said “She’ll listen to you.”

He said something and she agreed before hanging up. I took another strawberry out of the bowl and ate it. “In my defense, I would try to stop Bella before she wandered aimlessly into the forest.”

They all laughed. “It’s a valiant effort, but she’s too stubborn. You both just end up getting lost.”

I wouldn’t argue this. I didn’t know the woods beyond the marked trails very well. I highly doubted I would have any idea how to get where they were fighting from wherever they left us.

Though we would have Seth. I hated the idea of little Seth anywhere near the fight almost as much as I hated the idea of Bella being there. But I know Bella wasn’t including him in her plans, or Alice wouldn’t be able to see it. I didn’t want to give anyone any ideas so I kept my thoughts to myself and hoped Bella wouldn’t think of the same thing.

Jasper and Emmett discussed how exactly the newborns would attack. It was all very gruesome and from this conversation alone I was glad I didn’t have to be in the clearing. Also my heart hurt for Carlisle. I held his hand with both of mine while they casually chatted about how to kill these people. Feral or not, and even though we hardly had a choice in the matter, I could see the toll it was taking on him.

He would do what it took to protect his family- to protect me- but he would carry it with him for a long time. I wished more than anything it hadn’t come to this. 

I think he saw me worrying. He smiled softly at me and kissed my forehead. He held his eyes closed and lingered longer than normal. I think the kiss was as much for my benefit as it was his. I let him stay for as long as he needed.

When he pulled back and our eyes met he really did look brighter. I kissed him quickly. The other boys droned on and on about the fight ahead of them, but for that moment, it was just me and Carlsile in the room. The only thing that pulled us back to reality was Alice’s small gasp and her phone ringing.

She set it to her ear and said “You can’t.” Of course it was hard not to panic , but despite her dramatics she didn’t seem too bothered. “I guess. I’ll use the time to get Charlie on board with her having a weekend with me.” She sighed and hung up again.

I couldn’t take the suspense. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothings wrong, exactly. Edward decided to sit out.” Emmett bellowed in laughter at her words. I hadn’t caught on.

I scanned their faces for any clue but found nothing. “Sit out of what?” I asked.

“The fight.” She answered, like it was obvious. I guess it should have been, but it also didn’t seem possible.

“What?” I demanded. “Why?”

“Bella asked him to. He’s going to stay with the both of you up the mountain so she doesn’t join us in the clearing.”

“But-”

She turned to face Jasper. “I’m going to go sit with Bella while he comes here to talk logistics.” She kissed his cheek and disappeared. I was stunned that they were entertaining this. Carlisle wrapped an arm around me and ran a soothing hand over my arm.

“It’s going to be fine, Cara.” he whispered in my ear.

Emmett’s booming and over confident voice filled the room “More for us then!”

I didn’t miss the way Carlisle flinched, or the way Rosalie sighed. She stood a bit straighter and walked out of the room. Emmett called after her but didn’t follow. I was tempted to follow her, but I wasn’t sure what I could say to comfort her.

I couldn’t fault her for needing to step out. All of this was overwhelming and I wasn’t even going to be there. I couldn’t Imagine what it was like on their side of this.

I matched her sigh and stood as well but only to make another cup of coffee. Before I even had time to put the pot back, Edward was in the kitchen. 

His hair was disheveled so I guessed he had run here. I resisted the urge to straighten it for him and just finished making my coffee. He stood on one side of the island while Jasper and Emmett stood on the other. Carlisle came and stood by me.

It felt like a movie the way the four of them stood around the island discussing the upcoming fight. It felt like there should be a map with little flags and figurines. As silly as it was, I was happy to be a part of the discussion.

Before they could get too invested in their own plans, I asked “Bella asked you to stay with her- us?”

He softened a bit. “She did.”

“Why?”

“She… didn’t enjoy the idea of us ‘leaving’ again.” he put air quotes around the word leaving, though I could tell he sympathized with her. “I will stay with the two of you and Seth and she’ll stay out of the clearing.”

Carlisle held my hand a bit tighter and I wondered briefly what he saw on my face.

“We’ll be just fine.” Jasper added.

“Hell yeah! I can pick up his half-” Emmett was clearly perfectly fine with Bella’s decision.

As they fell into the rearrangements, I couldn’t help but understand Bella’s side. I almost wished I would have thought of it before her; wished I had asked Carlisle to sit out instead of Edward, but I could never ask him to choose between me and his family. I was completely surprised that she could ask that of Edward. It was selfish of her, but I didn’t blame her at all

I quickly turned to Edward. He didn’t act like he’d caught on to my thoughts. I hoped that if he had he wouldn’t rat me out.

They continued, unbothered.

“-We'll go hunting tonight after meeting with the wolves.”

“Seth will meet with Carlisle in the clearing to carry Y/n to Bella and Edward early Saturday morning.” Jasper was all business and Carlisle nodded.

My eyes danced between them. “Seth Clearwater is not carrying me anywhere.”

They all laughed like I'd told a joke.

“Seth will just be there as a precaution.” Carlisle soothed, “Just in case they can track you, Seth will be there to mask your scent.”

Jasper added “You walking in front of Seth while he's a wolf will be more than enough for that.”

“Oh… Right.  Good.” I was terribly uninterested in a child carrying me anywhere, werewolf or not.

“It will work.” Edward continued, though I didn't know who his words were meant to comfort. I nodded along.

I double- triple checked everything in my head. Dad would be on the reservation with Billy and the baby guard wolves. Bella would be with me and Seth and now Edward, in the mountains far enough away. My new found family- the love of my life, had trained for this and would continue training until it was time. It was a solid plan. 

Though they had continued talking while I got lost in my thoughts, when Edward spoke again, he looked directly at me.

“It will work.” He said again.

I nodded once, both in thanks and acceptance. 

It will work, I thought. It had to.

~~

We were back in the clearing just three hours later. The sun hadn't even really set yet. I wondered how Bella got past Dad, but I probably didn't want to know. They still showed up last.

The training in front of me was more physical than the night before. Edward only joined in when Jasper asked him to. Carlisle left me with them when he went to face off with Rosalie.

Edward stayed long enough for Jacob to join us. They chatted quietly with one another for a few moments. Clearly lost in their own world. I pretended to be distracted by the grass and tried not to think too loudly about how well they completed each other.

Edward joined the others in the clearing when they started doing two-on-one pairings. Those were equally as hard to watch. I could barely stand it when it was Carlisle against Emmett and Edward. My chest was tight and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

But then Rosalie was next to me- albeit as far from Jacob as she could possibly be. Without saying a word she took my hand. It was overwhelmingly comforting in a way I did not expect. I took a tiny step in her direction and laid my head on her shoulder. She didn't move to even breathe, but I think she did lean into me.

Carlisle got Edward down every time but Emmett was trickier. If Carlisle focused on Edward, Emmett would get him down and if he focused on Emmett, then Edward would. They tried this over and over and each time he was a bit more sure of himself.

When he finally got both of them down I had to squeeze Rosalie's hand to keep myself from cheering.

Carlisle swapped places with her answer she went against Alice and Edward. Even when it wasn't Carlisle fighting I still had the hardest time watching. I leaned into him the way I had with her.

They were good. They were confident.

The plan would work.

~~

Bella came over and stayed with us Thursday before they laid the false trail. The others went hunting and they wouldn’t be back before the fight. I hugged them all as tight as I could and tried very hard not to let it feel like a goodbye.

I had to have hope that I would see them all again. It made me sick.

They left while the sun was still up. Carlisle held me close as I watched the treeline they disappeared into. I was still standing there when Edward and Bella pulled in.

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and pulled myself together before they walked on to the porch. They didn’t seem phased by me at all. Carlisle held the door open for them and I followed in behind them.

“Have you eaten?” I asked Bella.

She nodded. “I made burgers at home for Charlie and ate one before I left.”

“Good… That’s good.”

“Are… Are you guys staying here tonight?” She asked. Edward chuckled.

I looked at Carlisle and he smiled at me. I felt like I was missing something.

“We’ll be here, but I believe we’ll be in our room all night. You’ll basically have the place to yourselves.” Carlisle assured them.

Oh, that’s what she meant. Her face fell into something that looked like disappointment. I was glad that I did not have super hearing. I wasn’t sure if the house was sound proofed enough for the vampires, but I could be blissfully unaware.

“We’ll be upstairs…” Bella was leading Edward up the stairs. I had to hide my face with my hand to not laugh. Carlisle led me to the kitchen.

I knew he expected me to be hungry. I couldn’t find the energy to actually be hungry but I got the leftover fruit from the fridge. He got me a glass of water. I made a show of drinking it.

I scooted a piece of pineapple around in the bowl with my fork. “It’s… so quiet.” I whispered, in an attempt to not disturb the peace.

“It is.” He stood next to me leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets. To anyone else he would have looked relaxed.

 “How are you feeling?” I didn’t really have to ask. I’d watched his honey eyes scan the treeline a hundred times. I took note of his heavy and occasional breaths. His eyes met mine and I melted. I placed my hand on his face and just held it there. He kissed my palm.

“I’m… I am confident in our family. It’s just…” His voice was so low. I stepped closer to him and his hands rested on my waist. He dropped his forehead to mine.

“I understand.” This is scary. I wouldn’t  say that aloud though, instead I pressed in to him and said “I know. I’m here.” As soft as I could manage.

His eyes were closed. I felt him nod. I kissed his nose. He took a slow, deep breath.

I leaned back and met his gaze again. “It will be okay.” He at least sounded more confident.

~~

The next day was much like the last. Bella and Edward got up early and were already downstairs by the time Carlisle peeled me out of bed. I wasn’t expecting Alice to be home but I was more than grateful to see her. 

She said she was only there to share the news about the snow storm, but she also had a private conversation with Bella. While it was happening Edward looked more and more uncomfortable but when Alice got back she looked happier than ever. Bella, on the other hand, looked like she wanted to vomit. 

I did desperately want to know, but thought better of asking. Bella would tell me eventually. Worst case I could probably convince Carlisle to.

I tried not to think about the fact that I couldn’t guarantee when or if I could. 

Alice left when Edward and Bella did. I hugged Bella for a long time knowing that I would see her in just over twelve hours but also fearing the worst. 

“Be safe.” She nodded. “Text me when you make it up there.” She nodded again. “Stay warm tonight.”

She laughed, “I will, Y/n”

This time, I nodded. “Okay. Good.” I hugged her again. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

I hugged Edward just as tight.

As they left I called after them “Be safe!” I thought I saw Edward smile before he lifted Bella and ran off towards the clearing.

This time, Carlisle held me in his arms on the couch while I cried.

It was hours later before I settled down. He put on reruns of Buffy. I cried off and on but drank the water he brought me and ate the pasta he made later in the night. After a while he brushed the hair out of my face and asked, “How are you feeling, Dove?”

“Like the world is caving in around us.” I tried to smile at him, I’m sure it looked pathetic. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

“There isn’t anywhere I’d rather be.” He leaned in and kissed me softly. “I had something made for you. Would you like me to give it to you now?”

Hesitantly, I nodded. “What is it?”

He chuckled. “I'll go get it.” completely unsure of what to expect, I tried not to panic waiting for him to get back. Luckily, he was only gone a few seconds before he appeared next to me again. “It’s a bit soon, and I know right now isn’t the best time, but I want you to have this… Well, in case-”

“Carlisle?”

“Yes?”

“What is it?” I asked again, smiling this time. I kinda loved it when he got all flustered. In his hand was a jewelry box, but it was too long to be a ring- I didn’t have to panic too much. He opened the box and showed me before he said anything else.

Inside the box was a locket on a delicate silver chain. On the front of the locket was the Cullen crest. My hands were shaking when I took it from him. I opened it to find one side was empty but the other had a dried petal from a lupine flower.

I was crying again. “Carlisle, it’s-”

“Again, I know it’s early, and we aren’t married, but you are a part of this family. I left the other side open so you could put whatever you wanted in it…” His eyes were soft and his voice was so genuine. If he wasn’t still holding the locket I might have tackled him. “It felt important… that you should have it now.”

“It’s perfect.” I didn’t know how to express just how much it meant to me but I started with “Thank you.” then demanded “Well, aren’t you gonna put it on me?”

He laughed when I turned away from him. I pulled my hair up as he put it around my neck. As soon as it was clasped I turned back to him and flung my arms around his shoulders and kissed him like the world might not end the next day. 

I kissed him like I needed it to survive.

When we finally broke apart, his hand still caressed my cheek. “Would you like to get some rest, Cara?”

“No,” my voice was breathy.

“Then what do you want?”

“I want you to make me forget the world is caving in.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up in the smallest hint of a smile. “I think I can manage that.” Then he kissed me again like he fully intended to try.

~~

I wouldn't say that I slept soundless that night but I definitely slept better than I had been.

The sun was just barely peeking through the sky as I got ready. I tried to dress warm with lots of layers but we still had to lay my false trail to the clearing. I packed my coat, some water bottles and a first aid kit in my hiking bag instead. Carlisle was already down in the kitchen making me a large thermos of hot coffee. I hoped it would last through the fight.

I fiddled with the locket around my neck for a second; still unused to the weight of it. When everything was packed, I took a deep breath, steadied myself, then met Carlisle downstairs. He smiled softly when he saw me. I kissed him every chance I got.

We walked hand in hand through the woods to the clearing. I touched everything I could. I hugged the occasional tree. But we hardly spoke at all. I felt like I had so much to say but no words to say them. I didn't want this to feel like goodbye. I couldn't let it be goodbye. 

When we made it to the clearing, the sun was just barely shining but the snow had finally stopped. I couldn't believe how cold it was. Carlisle’s hand was almost warm in mine. I hated how long it took to lay the false trail and to walk to the clearing. I hated that I still had so much longer to walk with Seth. More than anything, I hated this feeling of doom that threatened to choke me. 

As we broke through the treeline I saw Seth, Sam, and Leah whispering in the center. Leah was angry and was trying to get something through to Sam, though he only looked annoyed. I didn't know Leah had made the pack. Honestly, it almost made me panic more.

Carlisle pulled me into him but I was frozen in my spot. I forgot how to breathe. I locked eyes with him and shook my head.

“Y/n…” He was in front of me, his hand in my hair. “Breathe, Y/n.” He spoke slowly. This time I nodded. He was always able to calm me down. I didn't have time to panic now anyway. I took a deep breath in when he did and out shortly after. 

Get to safety- then panic. I could handle that. I nodded again. He smiled and wiped a tear from my cheek.

When I tore my eyes from him I found Sam again. He was closer, but Seth and Leah held back. Carlisle turned to face them too without letting go of my hand.

“Y/n, Carlisle.” He greeted us as he walked a few steps closer. “Leah and I thought it might be safer for everyone if I walked with you two. I will have plenty of time to make it back before the newborns get here, according to your psychic.”

“It couldn't hurt I guess…” My voice sounded so weak. He chuckled.

“We should leave soon. It's a long hike.” I winced. Carlisle took my coat out of my bag before handing it to me. “We'll give you a moment…” He slung my bag over his shoulder and stalked towards the others.

I buried my face in Carlisle's chest in the tightest hug I could muster. He squeezed me just as tight.

“It will be fine, my Love.” 

I took another deep breath. “It will.”

“Only a few hours.”

“Hours.” I repeated

He chuckled against me. “Faster if you let him carry you.”

“Absolutely not.” He laughed again. I leaned back to watch him- to memorize this moment. “Only a few hours… and the others?”

“They'll be here soon.”

“And then it will be over?” That one sounded more like a question.

He nodded. “Then we'll be back together.” He was confident.

And then he kissed me and it hurt my heart. I could hardly stand it. My fingers pulled tightly at his scarf and in his hair; certain that if I let go, he would disappear completely. I pulled him closer to me and he pulled me closer to him.

In only a few short hours, he would be fighting alongside our family to save mine and Bella's lives- to put an end to an army that was created to destroy us. And yet he kissed me like our timer wasn't out.

His lips pressed confidently to mine. They were firm, and soft, and sweet, and confident like he knew that this whole ordeal would be over soon and we would be together again, just safe.

He pulled away first because I certainly wasn't going to. I still chased his lips and kissed him a few more times.

His voice was low when he said “You have to go”

My breath was too shaky. I couldn't force any words out.

“I'll be right here, it will be over quickly, and then you'll be safe.”

“You have to be safe too.”

“I will be.” I looked into his eyes as he soothed out my hair. Somewhere behind him I heard a distinctly wolfy sigh. I flipped off where the sound came from.

Carlisle chuckled softly. He helped me put on my coat and wrapped his scarf around my neck. I pressed it to my face and breathed in this warm tea and fresh honey scent.

I stood on my toes to kiss him again. I said, “I love you, Carlisle.” all soft and breathy.

“I love you, Y/n.” He was soft and confident.

I found the strength to take a few steps back. I watched his eyes soften as he took in the goodbye I refused to say. He held on tightly to my hand until I got to Sam, who was a large black wolf and much closer than expected.

I squeezed my eyes closed and turned around before opening them again. A single tear fell from my eyes and left a stinging trail on my cheek. I held on to his hand until he couldn't reach me anymore. I hated how dramatic this was. I hated how much it hurt.

Seth ran ahead of us. Sam walked patiently by my side. I didn't look back at Carlisle until I was certain I wouldn't see him.

I knew I wouldn't have the strength to keep going if I did.

The hike was long and miserably cold. I almost gave up and allowed Sam to carry me a few times but my pride was too large, so we suffered. I had my headphones in and playing my music so loud I couldn't hear if he sighed at my stubbornness anyway.

And just as it became unbearable, we broke through the trees into the little clearing Edward had picked out.

Edward met us outside the tent. “Thank you, Sam, Seth.” He nodded in both their directions, but when I looked at Sam, his eyes were focused on me.

I nodded once and thanked him. I meant it more than I could put into words. He bowed his head and pressed his nose to my palm. It was cold and wet and I pulled my hand away. “Ew, Sam…” But I chuckled, and I could tell he smiled too before running off the way we came.

 “Be safe!” I called after him. I heard a cocky bark in response and rolled my eyes.

Edward smiled softly at me and said “If you could give us just a moment.” I nodded and he retreated into his and Bella's tent. I could only guess that he was going to console her given that I couldn't hear much of their muffled conversation.

I sat on a rock next to Seth, who just huffed dramatically any laid down beside me. He really did look like a puppy who had been told ‘no’. I reached down and ruffled the fur between his ears. He huffed again and I laughed.

I pulled Carlisle's scarf to my nose again and closed my eyes tightly. I hoped that if I focused enough- if I could block everything out- I would open my eyes again and it would all be over. It almost worked, but Seth sat up abruptly, and let out a little bark. 

Edward unzipped their tent and helped Bella stand up outside of it. I couldn't quite hear his words but Bella moaned, “Alice is so small.”

He chuckled, “That might be a problem… If it were possible for someone to catch her.”

Bella's gaze found Seth sitting in the snow next to me, then she saw me sitting on the rock beside him. She breathed my name and ran over to me. She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I was a bit surprised by her sudden burst of physical affection, but grateful nonetheless and hugged her back.

Another noise from Seth stirred us both, though this one was more of a whimper. She turned sharply to Edward.

“What's wrong?” She demanded.

“He's just angry he's stuck here with us. He knows the pack kept him out of the action to protect him. He's salivating to join them.”

She glared at Seth. He huffed again.

“The newborns have reached the trail- it worked like a charm, Jasper's a genius- and they've caught the scent of the ones in the meadow, so they're splitting into two groups now, as Alice said,” He sounded proud as he stared in the direction I'd come form

As grateful as I was that he was narrating for Bella, it was hard for me to hear. I didn't have the same comforts Bella did. Carlisle was there. I felt sick.

I heard him say they'd made it to the clearing. I heard him cheer on Leah. He said to let Sam lead, probably to Jacob. I wondered if they could hear him through Seth the way he could hear them. I try to drown it all out. I tried to not think.

But then a sharp silence fell over all of us. No one breathed. No one moved. I didn't let myself guess what was wrong.

“Edward?’ I tried, but my voice was barely a whisper. He held up a hand. I purposely breathed slowly and listened to Bella's panicked breaths. I feared the worst, but if I didn't know, Bella wouldn't know either. She was just panicking. There didn't have to be a reason to panic.

A part of me shattered as Edward urgently whispered “Go, Seth.”  and while he ran off and everything shifted around me, it felt like time was frozen.

Edward pushed me behind him, Bella next to me, protecting us both from something I couldn't see yet. I tried to back further away but my back hit a wall and I noticed we were against a cliff. I couldn't run if I wanted to.

We were trapped. As if on reflex, I grabbed Bella's hand like I could protect her from whatever was coming. And even though I didn't know what was coming, I knew it was bad. 

Thankfully, Bella put my question into one simple word. “Who?”

“Victoria.” He spoke her name like a curse. My stomach lurched as what he said sank in and what followed made it worse and worse. “She's not alone. She crossed my scent, following the newborns in to watch- she was never meant to fight with them. She made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find me, guessing that you both would be wherever I was. She was right. You were right. It was always Victoria.”

I was shivering to my core. I was too out of it to hope that any of us would make it out. But was grateful he'd sent Seth away. Grateful that Carlisle wouldn't have to watch me die- if it came to that. I wished briefly he'd pick up Bella and run- wished I could hide well enough to throw them off and give Carlisle time to find me.

There wasn't enough time. 

Before I could even blink there were two vampires walking casually into the clearing, the sun dancing off their skin. I'd never seen Victoria. I'd never seen any vampires outside of the Cullens.They were beautiful. They were young. The woman was maybe my age, but the boy didn't even seem to be Bella's age. He was just a boy. I wanted to cry. I didn't think I could.

Nothing moved for so long. I kept my fingers intertwined with Bella's. I watched Bella's face. She never took her eyes off Victoria. My eyes danced between all of them.

I just barely caught Victoria lift her chin in Edwards direction. I stepped in front of Bella, if only to give him time.

“Riley.” Edward said in a soft pleading voice.

Everyone froze again. 

Edward tried to reason with the boy. He tried to get him to realize Victoria had lied to him. I only saw confusion on his face. I wanted to see doubt.

Edward tried again from a different angle, “She doesn't love you, Riley. She never has. She loved someone named James, and you're no more than a tool to her.”

Victoria hissed at his words. Then the smallest glimpse of doubt did flash on Riley's face. Edward continued his negotiations, but it was so hard to focus on his words. The ringing in my ears muffled most sounds. 

There were multiple steps between Edward and us now. Victoria monitored each step he took, trying to find the best vantage point. I swallowed a breath and her eyes locked on mine. For a moment she looked surprised, then she just looked annoyed. 

Edward whispered. “Last chance, Riley.”

The boy didn't move, but he looked at Victoria like he was lost. 

She snarled, but her eyes never left mine. “He's a liar, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks. You know I love only you.”

I wondered how she got him to believe her. She had no inflection in her voice. Her voice was careful and practiced, but there was no love there. Riley regained composure. Her eyes tore from mine when Edward took another half step forward.

Then there was a growl from the trees.

Seth lurked out and threw Riley to the ground. Victoria screamed. I wanted to get away- to get Bella away- but I didn't have anywhere to go. My heart was racing and as the real fight was kicking off I couldn’t keep up with everyone's movements. At times, Riley was on his feet, others he was buried in the snow. Chucks of rock landed at mine and Bella’s feet.

Not rock- chunks of Riley. I truly felt so sick.

Victoria looked torn between bolting and trying to get at Bella. While she hardly acknowledged my presence at that point, I still stood between her and Edward. She’d have to get me out of the way. I shuddered at the thought.

“Don’t go, Victoria,” While Seth was attacking Riley, Edward shifted his taunting to Victoria herself. This would end here, one way or another. Edward wasn’t going to let her get away. I didn’t want to watch it play out. But I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. “You’ll never get another chance like this.”

She hissed at him. He dismissed her connection with James. He mocked the way he’d killed him. It worked the way he wanted; She attacked him again.

Everything was a blur. There was so much happening, and because I couldn’t keep up it felt like nothing really was. There were sounds from all directions- of teeth on stone, Edwards taunting, Bellas ragged breathing- I couldn’t stay focused on one thing. I wanted it to be over. I didn’t want to see the outcome.

I’d never been so scared. 

We were losing. Edward promised Victoria that she’d never get to Bella. Somehow that brought me comfort too, but their fights continued. And Seth was soaring through the air and crashing into the wall next to us. I barely managed to dodge him as he hit the snow beside us and the rocks that showered down around us too.

I got back on my feet and helped Bella to hers again, just in case we had to run. I stepped in front of her again. I tried to reassess the situation just as Riley charged towards Seth’s mostly unmoving form. Victoria was on top of Edward in the snow.

We were losing. I never thought I’d be the type to freeze, but there I was. I couldn’t do anything. I focused on Bella’s face. She was focused on her arm. When she looked at me I only saw desperation in her eyes. She winced and inhaled sharply. 

I breathed her name.

All of them turned sharply to Bella when she gasped. I was still positioned in front of her, so I even had to turn to see the blood running down her arm.

Then Riley was there. His hand was in my hair throwing me out of his way before I could process what was happening. I knew I hit the ground. I felt the snow fall around me. I felt my head hit something sharp but I couldn’t open my eyes. It was all too much. I couldn't watch my sister die.

I curled into myself. I pressed my hand to my forehead. It was warm and wet and sticky. I waited for it to be over.

I heard Seth snap, followed by more sounds of teeth on stone. Then this metallic ripping that was straight from my worst nightmares. I still squeezed my eyes closed and held pressure to my head.

“Victoria!” His plea was loud and too close to me. I tried to inch away but I don’t think I moved.

Then Riley’s screaming stopped.

“No,” That was Edward’s voice, much further away and smooth. I allowed myself that little comfort. “Stay just a little longer.”

More rustling for a few more seconds followed by nothing. Everything was finally still.

I felt Seth’s nose press into my side. I still couldn’t open my eyes. He huffed and paced towards where Edward’s voice had come from.

“Get every piece,” He sounded busy. No one mentioned Bella.

That thought alone pulled me back to the present. My eyes shot open searching for her. Edward and Seth threw chunks of rock into a fire. I hadn’t even smelled the smoke.

I didn’t breathe again until I found her. She hadn’t moved an inch but I was yards away. He’d thrown me further than I noticed. I was very lucky that only my head was bleeding. None of my bones felt broken.

And Bella looked fine. In shock, but alive and fine.

It was over.

I sat up and the world spun. The sticky sweet smoke hit my nose and I threw up in the snow.

Taglist!

@jakanddexter67 @a-not-so-poetic-poet @bridge597 @cestlavie03 @gaymazinglula @short-potato @jennyamanda8 @daisydreamingsims @arg888cam

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Could Bella/Victoria work

Congratulations, anon, you have stumbled upon one of the very few Twilight pairings that I will actually say "yes", to. Of course, as always, there are caveats, but we're not in my usual land of "AH HA HA HA HA NO".

Why The Hell Do I Think This Could Work?

Bella and Victoria both live lives of misery in part at the hands of men. For Victoria, I could see Bella having very easily been her redemption arc. (Which, of course, would lead to instead the madness of Edward, but that's another story.)

What do I mean?

About Victoria

Victoria's tale is a rather sad one. She started life impoverished and destitute in England centuries ago. She lived in a brothel and by some miracle, mostly her older sister's hard work, was able to avoid prostitution and starvation.

Then, one day, her sister disappears. Victoria's survival and well being relies upon making herself scarce, disappearing when someone comes looking for her, but things start getting desperate.

Then, not long later, her sister returns. Only, her sister has changed, is impossibly beautiful, with marble skin, and is barely recognizable. Victoria begs Anne to take her with her, Anne realizing Victoria will die in this place otherwise, takes the risk and turns her sister. Victoria joins Hilda's uber feminist coven (Anne's sire who seems to turn primarily marginalized women).

Well, Hilda likely turned too many vampires, and eating from densely populated areas they caught Volturi notice. All of the coven but Victoria (who escaped) and Heidi (who was recruited for her gift) were killed by the Volturi.

Victoria loses everything in one moment: her sister, her coven, her way of life. She wanders as a solitary, miserable, nomad who expects death now at every turn.

During this, James starts hunting her, intent on murdering her for sport. Victoria escapes him at every turn, which intrigues him further, and this eventually devolves into the toxic relationship we see between the pair of them in canon. They also at some point pick Laurent up.

Deep down, Victoria knows James is simply using her, that she's not even truly a part of his games but just a chess piece that he can use to hunt these women. But this is the end of her rope. This is all that she has, and she embraces it with all she has left.

And then James is murdered and it all falls apart.

Bella Swan is now Victoria's white whale, Victoria channeling both Ahab and Hamlet at every moment. Bella Swan in herself is a symbol, means nothing, but if Victoria can destroy her then she can avenge James and something in her miserable existence will have meaning. This one thing will have meaning.

And then, of course, Victoria fails at this at every turn, the Volturi come for her again, and now there is no way out. As Edward taunts her, she falls on her sword, choosing death.

(Victoria's tale is peak bleak and I'm honestly a little upset that we got Twilight instead of this.)

About Bella

Bella has a very different story, but she's also at her lowest point. She was hunted by James for what amounts to no reason at all, was used and dropped by Edward during the New Moon period as if she was nothing more than a toy he could cast aside, and is now going to be murdered in vengeance when her lover isn't even there to witness it.

All of this is about Edward, and yet, Edward is in Rio.

There is something so tragic in all of this that Victoria never sees in her blind pursuit of revenge.

So, Where Am I Going With This?

Say that Victoria catches up to Bella. Perhaps only Sam is a wolf, perhaps Bella goes to Florida and Victoria pursues her there. Rather than kill her immediately, Victoria waits.

She at first waits for the Cullens to show up, as surely, they can't have left her completely unguarded. This is a ruse and a lure to get her out of hiding. They never show up.

She then waits for some hint that they'll actually be witness to Bella's demise. Bella swears she has no address, Victoria has no address except the Denali, and she could send a video tape to them but...

What Bella says is worrying.

Bella isn't concerned about her life at all. She freely admits that Edward will never come, never witness this, and more damningly he doesn't care. Bella is a mortal mayfly to him, he got bored, and said as much himself.

James died for nothing and Bella will die for nothing: one day Victoria will realize this.

This might give Victoria significant pause. Of course, this could be a ploy, but if it is then Bella has balls of steel (which she does but this would be a bit much even for Bella). And the longer Edward doesn't show up... Victoria begins to think this is true: Edward truly doesn't care.

Now, either out of a sense of pity/rejuvinated purpose, to become what Hilda was for Victoria or else out of a new angle of vengence (Victoria clues into what Edward wants least of all), Victoria could very well turn Bella.

Victoria's probably still a paranoid wreck, still has Riley and his instructions to turn an army, which likely gets out of control in the worst of ways. But they may make their way out of this, or, rather, there's a chance Victoria gets to Bella early enough to avoid this.

There's a mess to deal with with Riley, of course, who is in part so loyal because he believes Victoria loves him. But I can see Victoria and Bella becoming genuinely close, good friends, and in time lovers.

So, yes, for once you get the "Muffin Approved" stamp, anon.

[panlight]

You've said before how Esme and Emmett could be removed from the story fairly easily and not affect the plot. How would you write them to actually have a purpose? How would you make them more than "Carlisle's and Rosalie's spouses"? In what ways could they impact the plot/story beyond being "Team Bella"?

Just having them spend actual time with Bella and develop a relationship that is more show than tell would help a lot. Like Esme is always saying stuff like "you're part of the family" and Emmett says stuff like "everything's more fun when you're around" but everything is so E/B (or Jacob) focused that we're just supposed to take it as gospel that Bella loves and cares for these other characters despite seeing like . . . no development with them. Even MS doesn't quite fix this, although it tries with Emmett, it's still in a "He instantly decided to love and protect this human based on like two seconds of interaction" way. That's nice of him, but it doesn't feel organic, it doesn't feel like he got to know Bella as a person. Especially since this happens literally after the baseball game on literally the first day he's met her.

The cut "Emmett and the bear" except would have helped here. They are actually spending time together and talking. It feels much more natural. Emmett as a parallel to Bella makes him more relevant, as a human chosen by a vampire. But Esme's experience is even more relevant (teenage girl meets a vampire, fancies herself irrevocably in love) and it's . . . never mentioned in canon at all.

With Esme the answer seems to be make Renee's crappy parenting more explicit and thus Esme as the surrogate mom more literal. As I've said before, I didn't think Renee came off that badly in Twilight (by Eclipse I was starting to side-eye her when she skipped the graduation, but that felt like an Author decision with SM going like "crap I already had Bella go to Florida and do the Renee thing, I don't have anything else to do with her" and made up an excuse for her NOT to come more than anything character-driven by Renee, who DID instantly come to Phoenix when Bella was injured in Twilight and DID come in New Moon when Bella was depressed). But in Life & Death and Midnight Sun it seems SM is fully all-in on the No, Renee Legitimately Sucks thing. Originally I just read it as "extroverted type B mom not the type of mom introverted type A daughter would prefer" vs "actual nightmare neglectful narcissist."

So if we make Bella someone who actively LONGED for a mother-figure, who was not only missing that in her life but WANTING it, Esme might have been more relevant. But because SM tried to make Bella SO MATURE and SO ADULT by calling her parents be their first names I never quite bought into this idea that she 'needed' Esme or would cling to her as a mother. Also just like, Breaking Dawn. All of Breaking Dawn. Why was the baby thing only centered on Rosalie?? Esme's backstory is just as much about that! Esme had actually been pregnant! Actually had a baby! Hell, Esme ran away to protect her unborn baby from its father--there are parallels there with Bella recruiting Rosalie as a bodyguard. And we get . . . absolutely nothing. Zip. Nada. Esme just flits about and looks worried and that's about it. The movie at least tried to make her more of a presence and a force, at the insistence of Elizabeth Reaser. Esme could have been a much bigger player in BD.

One easy thing to make these characters feel more relevant that would take like zero effort on SM's part is have some of the BD witnesses be Emmett's friends or Esme's friends rather than them literally all being Carlisle's. You're telling me affable dudebro Emmett doesn't have some dudebro and himbo vampire friends? Get out of here. Give me a vampire frat pack who play blood pong. Maybe there's another Sasha Denali type vampire mother out there whom Esme made friends with and appeals to her for help.

The other thing is that maybe it would have been nice if one single plot point wasn't about Bella or her kid? If some vampire who had beef with Emmett or something showed up and was causing trouble and Vampire Bella protected everyone from THAT, when it wasn't about her, that seems more impressive and heroic to me? And better payback for all the times Cullens protected her. And it would make Emmett (or whoever) a more integral part of the story, and we could learn more about him as we get the backstory on whatever happened between this vampire he pissed off and him. Or like Maria showing up. Or someone from Esme's past. Or literally anything. Bella can be the main character without every. single. plot. point. revolving around her. The closest we get to this is the James/Alice thing, but that doesn't really go anywhere in the end. And even Victoria's revenge is weirdly about Bella, "A mate for a mate." Cool, but Edward didn't kill James!! Emmett and Jasper did! So why does she want to inflict pain on EDWARD? Clearly because they're the main characters (and a human is an easier target than Rosalie or Alice I guess, haha).

[goofyassauthor]

Conjunction ❂

As Bella and Edward settle into the second decade of their new life together, this time as college undergrads, Eve crashes into it with an almost equally powerful, brand new supernatural species and romance for them to navigate. Eve just wants to forget about home and graduate. Unfortunately for her, she is Edward and Bella's third and final mate. The two vampires think they've got this down pat and aren't expecting more from Eve than a fragile human and are delighted to find she is much, much more interesting than any of them could have known. Eve can't help but but be fascinated by the strange, attractive couple- and the longer she spends trying to decipher Edward and Bella, the less she can avoid the reality of her own unique biology.

Hello! I’ve been neck deep in the twilight renaissance for years now and the idea of Conjunction has totally consumed me for months so I’ve made a lil side blog to share it and any following chapters, mood boards, fics and headcannons I write.  I'm hoping to publish the first chapter on Ao3 in the next couple of days- you can read a teaser for it now under the cut! I would like to shout out @siswritespotterverseyanderes who has written the most AMAZING fic Rule One: Don't Be Afraid which was the final push for me to put this plot floating around in my brain into words! Rule One also features a polyamorous relationship with a complex, well-matched, sensible OC for two of the Cullens. Conjunction won’t feature an explicitly yandere dynamic like Rule One and instead features a Bella/Edward/OC relationship but Stephanie Meyer’s vampires truly do lend themselves to the trope quite nicely so if you notice me wander into yandere territory like @siswritespotterverseyanderes - thats why! I would also like to mention @seedandflame who I found just last night! (Writing this on the 26th of September 21') I LOVE the concept of releasing fan projects with teasers and their own dedicated blog. Conjunction won't get such special treatment from me but I've been quietly curating a Conjunction Pinterest board for a few weeks and it's so cool to see that there's other people on a similar wavelength. I can't wait to see what they've been cooking up on October 1st!

If you want some further details on Conjunction (think of it as a teaser for mostly chapter 1) see below!

Conjunction is less of a fix-it and more of a punt at redemption for Twilight. It deviates from the cannon at two points: prior to the events of the first book (the Cullens don’t spend time in Alaska before moving to Forks) and at the honeymoon. Bella never conceives, literally just has a great honeymoon, comes home, gets turned (Jacob fucks off into oblivion) and goes to college. Shortly after Charlie is also turned due to what would be an otherwise fatal *genuine for the first time in Forks history* animal attack. At the end of 2009 the coven, now including Charlie, leave Forks to spend another decade in a similarly dreary place but in 2020 everyone is already homesick. It's still too early to return to forks so in 2021 they move to Fairfield, Alaska which is where our story starts! This time they are all university students except for Esme and Carlisle (who have fallen into their traditional roles of doctor and wife and are now posing as the aunt and uncle of their (all adoptive of course) orphaned nieces and nephews and Charlie who now poses as their grandfather and simply vibes in immortal retirement. Before the semester starts they are introduced to the idea of polyamorous vampiric relationships via the Denali sisters. Bella is unabashedly fascinated with this phenomenon which Edward ✨notes✨

At the start of semester 1, we are introduced to the Twilight Saga’s bread and butter: our every-girl: Eve. Her role in this fic is to sort of fill in the gaps that Edward and Bella’s personalities present.

Like Edward and Bella, she is still a fundamentally good person but much more naturally drawn to mischief and chaos than either of them or even most other people. However, she is also self-aware and tries hard (with very little luck) to reign it in. Edward obviously has a telepathic front row seat to this conflict, relays it to Bella and the two of them find it very endearing at first and then attractive as they identify her as a mate fall for her in synchronicity.

Eve’s goodness is sort of informed by a more contemporary lens and uh less Mormonism. Thats not a dig at Stephanie- I just can't personally relate. I’m going to try to keep Edward and Bella in character as much as possible while leaving room to focus on their darker inclinations and develop their personalities as Eve continues to influence them. For instance, Eve is more cynical and realistic than either of them but matches their intense obsession with herself and each other once her interest in them kicks into gear. She is less oblivious than Bella and more emotionally intelligent than them both as her frontal cortex has had the chance develop past 17 lmao.

Due to their mutual obsession with her, Edward and Bella learn more about each other- Bella the full extent of Edwards unhinged ‘protective’ thought process (she recognises it for what it is but can’t bring herself to care because at the end of the day, its still attractive to her PLUS she is now identifying similar urges in herself in response to Eve.) Edward consequently begins to see Bella’s full personality/nature for what it is now thats she's become more confident and embodied since being turned. So much so in fact that it comes to match his own assertiveness. Basically at this point they are literally both just tops 😩

Crucially, at the start of our story Eve is already grappling with her own secret life-long supernatural inclinations. Once Bella and Edward recognise this as more than just having a cheeky personality, they assume she falls into the category of ‘gifted human' à la Alice and Bella before being changed. However, they come to realise that this is inaccurate, and Eve belongs to a new species unknown to vampires in the Twilight universe, kind of like how Forks Wolves are ‘shape-shifters’ and not werewolves. It's fairies. The new species are fairies. For the purposes of this story, fairies present as regulardegular humans with the exception of some key traits which manifest on a spectrum and as such, will often move through the world unconscious of their own true biology with only a few accurately identifying their own true species. It’s likely that some of those gifted humans were in fact a fairy prior to changing but not all, as fairies on the strong end of the spectrum in this story are defined by a distinct taxonomy. I'm keeping some of them under wraps for the sake of the plot but some fun ones to know include that these fairies:

- Are impervious to vampire venom

- Smell and taste really fukn good to vampires without serving any nutritional benefit (as evidenced in the lack of change in eye colour after a ‘feed’ wink wonk)*

*Bonus lore: while fairies can experience a similar phenomenon to ‘mating’ or ‘imprinting’ with pretty much any supernatural species, part of their passive but extreme to-the-point-of-self-destructive-see-Eve's-inner-turmoil secrecy is due to their unhappy experience with the worlds earliest vampires whom fairies have since functionally 'obliviated' or ✨disposed of✨which explains why the no one, not even the Volturi know they exist!

- Have a general disposition towards impulsivity; present mindedness (often at the expense of forethought); creativity; abstract thinking; an endearing ‘weirdness’ according to whatever culture they happen to belong to and resourcefulness.

- Are otherwise physically fragile as humans with the exception of scent which they are pretty equal on

Eve is one such example BUT like many of her species in the 21st century, modern social convention has prevented her from leaning into her traits in a meaningful way. However, the longer she spends focusing on Edward and Bella, the more she allows herself to explore her own biology🧚

[alice-cullen-is-an-angel]

Lesbian twilight because I love women

-First of all Edyth has a lot of internalized homophobia, she is a huge lesbian and never fell in love because she never really accepted that part of herself

-so the whole "I'm a vile irredeemable monster" bs is even worse, she is just a little less vocal about it

-Bella is bi, Renee was super supportive but Charlie she was kinda scared to tell

-Bella first seeing the Cullen's and just dies a little because they're all so pretty

-Bella is even more confused when Edyth saves her from the van, like sure, she was kinda weird and cryptic but she can stop a van with her bare hands...

-its kinda hot

-"does she even like girls, what if she just thinks all the guys here a dumb? But she keeps staring at me! But what if its because I'm super fucking pale and weird and cryptic?"

-Edyth falls hard and she just goes to Carlisle and is a mess and meanwhile Carlisle is internally like "omg my baby girl fell in love I'm so happy I need to meet Bella now!!!!"

-he ends up telling her she could love whoever she loved he just wanted her to be happy

-she basically comes to school the next day like "fuck it ima shoot my shot and pray she ain't straight"

-telling charlie was very simple, Bella mentioned she was going on a date with Edyth, like a real date dad, and he was just like "ofc none of the boys here are good enough for you" and it was done

-the baseball scene happens and Bella spends the whole time admiring Edyth's ass in her baseball pants

-and basically everything is the same from here out except that Edyth is just better

-new moon, except instead of Edythe leaving, the Cullen's had to go visit the fam in Denali

-Bella gets depressed when her gf leaves, Jacob, being a good bro, helps her and keeps her company.

-Alice sees her go cliff diving, same dilemma with Volturi happens

-I don't remember most of eclipse because I read the books too long ago and I only watch that movie for Jasper

-but regardless it ends better because Edyth is less stupid.

-also, edyth and Jacob still have a whole, "I kinda hate you" thing because Jacob does love Bella, and has told her, but wasn't pushy about it and was much better because he deserves better

-Breaking dawn is literally a cute lesbian wedding, hot honeymoon sex, and then they go home and turn Bella.

-We also should have Carlisle call his friends to celebrate and that's how Kate meets Garrett because they're adorable.

So yeah lesbian twilight.

[meet-me-in-the-pouringrain]

OH MY GOD

okay

I had a THOUGHT.

what if the twilight books were about each couple.

So Twilight could still be about Bella and Edward. New Moon Rosalie and Emmett, Eclipse Alice and Jasper and Breaking Dawn Carlilse and Esme.

We’d still get Bella and Edward’s story in Twilight. Exactly the same. Except the rest of the Cullens are never mentioned by name. It’s always ‘the blonde girl’ or the ‘seer’ or ‘The Big One’ stuff like that.

New Moon - Rosalie and Emmett.

- could be a POV book switching every chapter between Rosalie and Emmett until they meet detailing their backstories. We get to know Roses life as a city girl vs Emmett’s farm life. This book ends with their first wedding. I chose these two to be New Moon because these two enter a completely different life style together. Rosalie goes from a popular city girl into a recluse cryptic with really only the Cullens for company. Emmett suddenly has brothers and doesn’t have to work a day in his life and can finally relax and have a good time. Rosalie learns to trust men again and Emmett has to adapt to this new situation. New Moon could symbolise their new life. The only mention of any other Cullen is when Rosalie gets turned and then drags Emmett to her ‘creator’. Again they don’t get mentioned by name.

Eclipse - Alice and Jasper

- could be Alice’s POV and her life after she woke up in the asylum. She gets a vision of the ‘Cullens’ (although it’s never specified that’s who it’s about because cryptic) and the POV switches to Jasper’s until they meet in the diner. The final chapter in third person and it’s them showing up at the Cullens doorstep. The book ends with them crossing the threshold of the door, hand in hand. I chose Eclipse because both of them suffer greatly before they meet. Alice doesn’t remember her human life at all but I think that emphasised her struggles because she doesn’t know who she is. Only who she’s going to be. Jasper obviously was depressed and heartbroken over what he is. They both fix each other. It’s like the Darkness meeting the light.

BD1/2 - Carlisle and Esme.

1 - book will just be Carlisle’s POV. starts out with him hunting vampires, gets bitten. This is basically his story tbh. A few chapters on the Volturi stint, time skips to 1911. Esme. Another time skip after he freaks the fuck out for a few chapters Then the Spanish Influenza. He says how he got his first son then stumbles across Esme again. Their story of love plays out, Son left, Son came back, Got a Daughter, got Another Son, Got two more.

2 - “it’ll be from Esme’s perspective?” NOPE! This book STARTS with the interaction with Carlisle, then as she grows older her life. Her marriage to Charles, her pregnancy and baby. Halfway through the book is when she’ll get turned and it’ll be about her falling in love with Carlisle. The last few chapters detail each new addition to their family. The final chapter will be third person and it’ll end with them all meeting Bella for the first time.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner? Easy. The DENALIS.

Anyways SM is a coward and damn I think I did something.

[humans4vampires]

first, edward is not a virgin

twilight is pretty much the same situation except edward can’t exactly hear bella’s thoughts, but he gets weird mental pictures and snippets of things that don’t make sense - it’s almost like a weird feedback loop where thoughts from others are bouncing off of bella and he can’t understand what it is that she’s thinking

there’s more time here for bella and edward to actually fall in love and it’s not like a three month thing

new moon bella rings the dinner bell when she cuts her finger, as usual, but it’s edward that attacks her

edward leaves and bella spends time with jake - no manipulation of native narratives here cause the wolves don’t exist. jacob is 100% perfect for bella and she starts falling for him and she admits it

turns out jake is the shield and alice can’t see his future or bella’s when they’re intertwined. bella cliff jumps because she feels like the more she feels for jake, the more she loses edward and needs to see him again. jake saves her but obviously rosalie still tells edward she’s dead and bella and alice have to rush to italy

eclipse is about edward and bella reconnecting and jacob being heartbroken since bella made it clear she wanted to be with edward

bella tries to bone edward but he’s all like “no i want to protect your virtue, i’ve broken all the rules but you don’t have to” and they get engaged without any forced crap from edward where he pressures her into it

victoria stuff ensues and the cullens team up with the Denali coven to take her down - laurent finds reasons to stay away from edward but is there when the fighting starts. it’s laurent and victoria that tag team edward and he manages them both despite not having any back up, BUT victoria escapes, laurent dies

edward and bella have to go back to the field to face the volturi and they have to let victoria go

breaking dawn - jacob is gone and they all assume its because he knows bella is going to be marrying edward

wedding, honeymoon, no resume

bella is sick, getting massive headaches, and somehow edward can hear actual blips of her thoughts. a fluke? headaches get so intense edward takes her home to carlisle where they find out she has a massive brain tumor (that totally was not there in twilight when carlisle was admiring her soft brain damage after the van incident) that is growing at an incredible rate. they discover its from exposure to venom that didn’t enter her bloodstream. they’re worried venom won’t cure her since it’s venom that caused it. bella suffers but decides to enjoy what little time she has left with edward and the cullens - they try to do everything they can to make her comfortable

while this is going on jacob shows up - he’s a vamp - victoria took him and changed him and that’s where he’s been. everyone is like whoa what and he’s conflicted because of his feelings for bella and the loyalty he feels to victoria. edward can’t hear his thoughts (cause jake’s the shield) so they let him stick around, not knowing jacob is there to infiltrate and help to kill them all

cullens and victoria and jacob fight - jacob gets near bella to kill her and totally can’t cause he’s still obsessed and he helps destroy victoria

bella is dying! edward gives her the venom syringe and shocker - it does work. bella suffered for months because edward was a coward (typical). bella is a badass and has this epiphany about being way braver than edward and everyone else and decides no one is going to be making decisions for her anymore.

cullens are teaching jacob and bella both how to hunt veggie style and bella discovers she has a sick gift - she can influence thoughts. she’s super dangerous (the volturi super want her), considering she can manipulate your will. there’s some weird thing that won’t allow her to influence alice (or jake since he’s the shield) - they all theorize about it constantly

bella is torn between jake and edward and the eternity that faces them

the volturi are threatened by the growing cullen clan and decide to incite some problems to take what they want, as they are historically known to do. everyone shows up to defend the cullens and they actually DO fight

bella is a rad fighter and some friends and enemies are lost (not a happy mormon ending). in the fight, bella is torn between saving edward and saving jacob

how does it end?

[ramajmedia]

Twilight: 10 Vampire Logic Memes Only True Twi-Hards Understand

Oh, Twilight. Some people absolutely loved it, some people absolutely loved to hate it, but it was a cultural zeitgeist unlike anything else that had ever been on the film or book series scene before. This saga authored by Stephenie Meyer was both silly and soulful, and these romance novels for a modern era set the hearts of girls and women of all ages on fire for quite a long time.

RELATED: Twilight Characters Sorted Into Hogwarts Houses

Understandably the fervor for Twilight started to fade after all of the books and movies had been released, but clearly there are still a lot of hibernating Twi-hards out there in the world just waiting for their comeback to arrive. And as it happens, Twilight has had a bit of a resurgence as of late, at least it has in the meme community. Twilight is the kind of project that was made to be memed, and here are 10 of the best Twilight memes out there.

10 Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

And to be honest, this could be applied to like every single member of the Cullen family. Yes, presuming that any of them is intelligent enough to figure out the cure for cancer is assuming a lot, but it's not assuming a lot to say that they could use their billions of accumulated dollars to legitimately save the world. I mean, congrats on not eating human beings, but you're really setting a low bar for yourselves, fam. At the very least they could have repeated college instead of high school, high school is like the worst possible portion of school to do even once, let alone over and over again for an eternity.

9 Felt Vs. Sparkles

Edward and the rest of clan Cullen has figured out ways to keep themselves a secret despite the fact that their skin is sparkly, but if the Cullens decided to live anywhere even slightly sunnier then Count Von Count might sincerely have an easier time blending into society.

RELATED: Twilight: 10 Most Underrated Supporting Characters

Also here's a little interesting tidbit about the Count. Old vampire lore said that vampires would obsessively count things, so if you wanted to evade a vampire then just throw grains of salt at them and they'll be compelled to count them. Which means that Count Von Count is probably more faithful to vampire lore than Twilight.

8 How Do I Begin To Describe Edward George

So I guess Edward Cullen is the Regina George in this scenario? It's kind of hard to see, but I guess as the only single sibling of the Cullen squad he accidentally fell into a bit of a leadership position, and we all know that he can be catty as hell too. But if we may add a few critiques here and there.

First off, Jacob being the one to say that Edward is flawless? Hard to believe. And secondly, James? Kind of underplaying the interaction between you and Edward dude, he punched you in the face and then ripped your body apart and set it on fire.

7 Cedric Reborn, But Sadder

Okay first off, everyone noticed him in Harry Potter. Cedric is an icon and deserved a better ending than being collateral damage in one of the many showdowns between Voldemort and Harry.

However, Edward is undeniably the most emo vampire to ever emo, and it would make some sense if he was just Cedric Diggory who was killed and sent to this hellish world where he's the saddest immortal on the planet earth. But thank god sad little Cedward managed to find love in the unlikeliest of places, and perhaps the sudden joys that life provided will make him ease off of his emo attitude.

6 Dream Big, Aro

Aro is such a gleefully nutty and bizarre character that it almost feels like he belongs in a completely different film. What We Do In The Shadows maybe. But we do know that for all of Aro's hilarity and unpredictability, he does love a good vampire superpower.

RELATED: Twilight: 10 Hidden Details About The Costumes You Didn’t Notice

It's presumably the only reason that he let Bella Swan live, because he hoped she would have an exceptional power and hoped that he would be able to add her to the Volturi vault at some point. And honestly it's not that hard to believe that he might be rocking out to Carly Rae Jepsen in his down time either.

5 Do Not Besmirch The Good Name Of White Chicks

Stephenie Meyer, the author of the Twilight saga, is Mormon. And while everyone has their own personal passions and tastes, it's safe to say that vampire lore and Mormonism aren't two things that feel like they go together very well. So it shouldn't come as a huge surprise then that the Twilight vampires seem like they're vampires in name only.

Yes, they drink blood, but pretty much all of the other Twilight vampire mythology is a completely random hodgepodge of abilities and weaknesses (if you can consider being sparkly a weakness). White Chicks is an absolute masterpiece of film making, though.

4 It's Awkward Cause It's True

Savage, but true. It's fair to say that Bella really couldn't do anything even when all of the drama was going on, because while she was caught up in shenanigans with sparkly stone vampires and werwolves the size of draft horses she was a regular human.

RELATED: Twilight: 10 Facts About Esme Cullen They Leave Out In The Movies

Actually, an exceptionally weak and un-athletic human. But realistically speaking, most of Bella's experience in her relationship with Edward was kind of her just waiting for him to do things and just reacting or hoping that it all went well. Thankfully Bella got into the fray once she became a vampire, because watching her stuck on the bench while everyone else played was a bummer.

3 It Would Have Been A Much Shorter Movie Then

Granted, the Cullen family and maybe the Denali clan were the only vampires in the Twilight universe that actually didn't deserve to die, but things would have been a whole heck of a lot more interesting if there were some Blade-style hunters in the Twilight universe.

Blade clearly would have been pretty conspicuous if he had shown up in Forks, but it seems unlikely that any vampires could have gone toe to toe with them. Also it's pretty weird that when you think about it, Blade and Renesmee Cullen are basically the same species, or the same type of hybrid at least.

2 Twilight Is Eternal

Well, it's called a renaissance for a reason. For quite a while there it looked like the whole Twilight saga and the Twi-hard fandom was permanently dormant if not completely dead, but suddenly Twilight made its glorious meme comeback.

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise in the end though. Twilight was a wildly popular series when it was released, but more importantly it's one of the most meme-able franchises in the history of books and film. Twilight was always completely unashamed to be it's totally bizarre self, which is probably why all of its fans were completely unashamed to love it too.

1 That's Not Because You're A Vampire, It's Because You're A Person

Who of us can't relate to that. And while Jasper is presumably so constantly uncomfortable because being surrounded by walking blood bags 24/7 kind of stresses him out, it's also safe to assume he's a pretty awkward dude no matter the circumstance.

I mean, if he wanted to avoid the discomfort of blood in his presence then he could just, you know, not go to high school anymore. However, he keeps going. And maybe it's because he wants to chill with the rest of his family, but maybe he is just the kind of person who is uncomfortable with merely existing.

NEXT: Twilight: The 10 Worst Things Edward Has Ever Done

source https://screenrant.com/twilight-vampire-logic-memes/

[fanfictionlive]

Desperately Looking for a Twilight Fanfiction

I know, I know, Twilight is, well, it's Twilight. Everyone loves to hate it. But I'm a particular fan of the AUs because they can make it so much BETTER than the original. And I read a lot of them. Unfortunately, while I try to favorite the ones I like, either I forget sometimes or sometimes a story is pulled, and I never see it again.

I'm hoping someone out there has read the fic I'm looking for and can help me find it again because I REALLY want to reread it again. I've actually read this one a couple times, and I thought I had it favorited. I really hope it isn't pulled, and that someone can help me out. Sadly, I don't remember the title, but here's a synopsis/details of what I do remember:

The fic is a New Moon AU where Bella gets pregnant (yes, there are a ton of them, I know). She's only pregnant with one baby, and it's a "normal" (for Twilight) vampire pregnancy, so accelerated. Once she figures it out, she ends up having to tell Charlie, who kicks her out because he thinks she's been lying to him about her relationship with Edward, since she tells him she's five months along because that's what level her symptoms are at. She hadn't told him right away.

After she's kicked out, she's living in her truck and trying to figure out how to contact the Cullens. She manages somehow, or Alice has a vision (I can't remember which). Either just Alice goes down to meet her in Washington or Alice and Carlisle do. (Alice may have called him after she met Bella--I'm foggy on this part.) They bring her back to Alaska, which is where most of the family are before moving to New York (I think that was their plan, anyway).

On the journey to Alaska, they meet Billy Black's brother in Juneau, I believe. He lets slip something to Jacob, I think, I who beings to follow them. (I know, I'm not too sure on that part, but I do remember meeting the brother, just not his name.) Later in the story, the brother's wife is attacked by Victoria's newborns, and he changes into a werewolf unexpectedly to save her. Everyone thought he was too old.

Bella's really pregnant by that point, and then Edward joins them in Denali after the rest of the family has seen her. They reconcile fairly quickly, and then she's in the process of the final stages of labor.

Bella has Renesmee. She was going to change after that, but Renesmee bit her, and for some reason her bite caused Bella not to be able vulnerable all the way to the venom. She does eventually change, though.

Jake shows up, imprints, there's a newborn battle, and that's all I remember except that the werewolf brother of Billy now has a vampire wife because she was bitten but not killed.

If anyone can help me find this I would be eternally grateful! Even if you can just tell me that the dang thing has been pulled so I can give up, that would help.

submitted by /u/merewenc [link] [comments] from FanFiction: Where Magical Ponies battle Imperial Titans http://ift.tt/2j3TYyX

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What if Bella had met the Volturi's as a child? What would it change and what ties do you think it would have?

It’d change a fair amount, as in, the entire plot of Twilight would have been derailed. Or, that is, it might change nothing at all.

So, we have three options here. 

Nothing Changes

Bella is an extraordinarily delicious child visiting Italy and the small medieval town of Volterra.

If Bella doesn’t happen to be on the tour, probably whoever’s looking at her sighs, looks longingly at her delicious blood, and then walks away. The Volturi do not lose control in their own city.

Bella goes on her merry way and Twilight presumably happens. Except maybe Bella goes to Alice, “Oh yeah, Volterra, I went there once. Nifty place, nice buildings.” Alice stares.

Bella’s Eaten

Bella’s an extraordinarily delicious child whose mother thinks it’s a great idea to sign them up for the tour of Volterra castle. It’s a very exclusive tour you know! Bella’s eaten almost immediately, she’s probably fought over, Jane gets one limb and Alec gets another.

Years later, Edward arrives in Forks, his personal purgatory where he listens to the banal thoughts of teenagers. Bella Swan does not arrive. Edward continues to be miserable and depressed.

The Cullens have a game of baseball with James, Laurent, and Victoria. Unfortunately, James recognizes Alice, and is intrigued enough to come after her. Unfortunately, Alice is a vampire and not a human with human relatives to hold hostage. The Cullens murder him, Laurent flees to have sex with the sexy Denali ladies, and Victoria swears vengeance upon Jasper.

Unfortunately, her gift tells her that any attempt to murder Jasper will end up with her dead. Jasper doesn’t give her the time needed to plan. He hunts her down and murders her in cold blood.

Carlisle has the world’s worst weekend. 

Edward is still depressed and concludes this is why vampires are abominations without souls. Irina gets to keep her boyfriend, he cheats on the diet and leaves within the year. Irina drowns herself in rebound sex with pretty mortals to try and feel better abou tbeing dumped. It doesn’t work.

Aro Discovers Bella

And this is probably the route you were thinking of.

Perhaps Aro’s taking a midnight stroll with Renata, perhaps he catches Bella on the tour, but somehow he manages to meet her and happens to brush her hand. Suddenly, eating Bella is off the table forever.

Bella’s gift isn’t game changing in the way Alec and Jane’s were, necessarily, but it is something Aro does not want falling into enemy hands and something he may one day need.

He’d probably do something similar to what he intended to do with Alec and Jane. He’d leave her to live her mortal life, keep close tabs on her, and turn her when she’s a young adult (probably around twenty).

Which means Bella returns to America, probably tailed by Demetri, and has no awareness that she is at some poing going to become an immortral blood drinking creature and move to Italy to become a member of an ancient vampire sect.

Bella moves to Forks, she has a run in with Edward Cullen who very nearly eats her, Demetri calls Aro to say “we have a problem”. At first, Aro isn’t too concerned, he’s delighted to hear that Carlisle’s alive and well and my god he has a coven now. Given Edward is Carlisle’s progeny, Aro is probably sure Edward will leave the city completely to avoid temptation and the others will quickly move on.

Edward’s back within the week. He attends school. He sits within a foot of Bella Swan in Biology class.

Demetri at this point probably summons Bella out of school in the middle of Biology with no warning, gets her the hell away from Edward, and has to come up with the world’s most ridiculous lie of why she should never enter within 20 feet of Edward Cullen ever again.

Demetri is a federal agent and Edward is under suspicion of being a sexual predator and serial murderer. Here are all the women who have disappeared in various towns the Cullen family have lived in.

Bella is of course horrified and shocked, but given Edward’s reaction in that first Biology class and his weirdness in the second one... 

Aro calls Carlisle. It’s a very awkward talk. Carlisle apologizes for not writing in forever he got... distracted. Aro says it’s fine, no big, CARLISLE MISSED WATCHING THE MOON LANDING WITH HIM. But regardless, Aro is calling to ask him what the fuck.

Aro tells him about Bella, Carlisle is very uncomfortable with this girl having no choice but to become a vampire and no idea what’s going to happen to her, but there’s no talking Aro out of it. He’s even more uncomfortable that he has been begging Edward to skip town but, for some unknown reason that is perhaps pride, Edward is refusing. 

“All these worlds are yours,” Aro undoubtedly says, “Except Europa, attempt no landing there.”

In other words, hands off Isabella Swan.

Carlisle tells Edward. Edward is appalled and conflicted. At this point, he’s unwillingly fascinated by Bella but has not yet decided he’s in love. He doesn’t quite have her Carlisle persona crafted yet  and so she’s not the saintly figure deserving of worship. Right now she’s just this plain, boring, girl who dared to smell delicious.

So, a part of him thinks it serves her right. Now she will suffer for all eternity as he does. More, he can save face, the monster inside him can go back to sleep for her days are number and he can pretend he’s the wonderful person everyone thinks he is. Everything will remain as exactly as it is. EDWARD IS FINE, THIS IS FINE.

Another part of him panics. First, this girl is condemned to the worst future imaginable. Not only is she becoming a demon, but a blood drinking demon at Blood Drinking Demon HQ. More, if she becomes a vampire, no blood for Edward. And remember, this is a scent he would scour the world for. Edward salivates over the thought of her blood, obsesses over it constantly, and fantasizes over how he will devour her. Suddenly, Edward may not be able to eat her. In canon, the option of eating her is always on the table, and some part of Edward is always thinking about it, always leaving it open. Here, it’s soon to be gone.

Edward probably sneaks into her room at night to watch over her sleep. Telling himself he’s protecting her from meteors but also realizing that he’s there to test his own will power and ponder over the future in which he quietly eats her in the middle of the night. 

Now, this can go two ways

Bella wakes up, and that guy Demetri said is a sexual predator targeting her is IN HER BEDROOM LOOKING SCARY AS FUCK. Bella undoubtedly screams bloody murder and tries to hit Edward with something.

Edward panics at the noise and eats her. Then when Charlie comes running he eats Charlie Swan too. The house is an utter blood bath, Edward stands there in a daze knowing the monster inside him has won. He no longer looks anything like Carlisle Cullen (this is a thing Edward does).

Probably though, Demetri is there. Which means Edward has heard his thoughts from the beginning. While Edward has the overconfidence of Gilderoy Lockhart, and tells Bella things like the laws of physics not applying to his driving or that he could beat Jasper in a fight with both hands tied behind his back, usually when push comes to shove he knows where he stands. (He tries to fight Jane in Volterra, it doesn’t go well, and he acts very meek at being confronted by Jane, Felix, etc. When he fights Victoria, he doesn’t fight at all, but just blathers nonsense and it somehow works out for him.)

So, while Edward will tell Jasper later that he totally could have taken Demetri, he’s not going to try. 

So, instead, Demetri goes, “Hey buddy, looking for a midnight snack?” and Edward shuffles and petulantly asks, “Aren’t you looking for a midnight snack?!” Edward’s here to protect Bella, you see. Demetri just nods, of course, Edward’s here to protect Bella.

They stare at each other.

Neither leaves.

Eventually, Edward slinks away, feeling very disgusted with himself, angry and Demetri, and internally raging that he didn’t get to eat Bella.

Demetri calls Aro and notes that they’ve got to turn the girl. Demetri cannot watch her 24/7 and this boy is 100% going to eat her. Aro hops on a plane in record time, bringing Renata, and makes an awkward visit to both Carlisle and Bella.

Aro tells Bella the truth about Edward which is... a little different but also pretty scary, the truth about what’s going to happen to her and why it’s important, and anything else she wants to know.

I imagine Bella quietly and stoically accepts her fate. 

Edward doesn’t get to eat Bella Swan. He feels very conflicted about it and is filled with self-loathing that he’s conflicted about it. I imagine the Madonna complex he holds for Bella blossoms at this point, and he later comes to Italy with the intent to free her from the Volturi clutches.

This doesn’t work out. 

Knowing Edward, his attempts increase in desperation until, finally, he does something very illegal in an attempt to free her and make up for damning her to this life.

The Volturi are forced to execute Edward.

Carlisle gets yet another awkward, terrible, phone call from Aro.

[panlight]

I was just thinking about New Moon and that whole chapter or so in Volterra and I was wondering if Bella was actually turned in Volterra. Do you think that would have had a massive impact on the rest of the story? Would Eclipse and the events in that book as well as BD not have happened? And what do you think Bella would have been like as a newborn if that sudden choice was snatched away from her?

I think if SM had written the books in order this would almost HAVE to be how it went down? Aro was holding literally all the cards here. Aro had to be all "lol whatever say hi to Carlisle for me!" because SM was still clinging to that Forever/Breaking Dawn ending of human!Bella marrying Edward and conceiving Renesmee. Bella couldn't become a vampire, or be trapped in Volterra, because SM very much still wanted that ending, and so Aro had no choice but to let them go and let her stay human.

Likewise when the Volturi roll in in Eclipse and see that Bella's still human, they can't be too mad or do anything about it, because Bella has to stay human so the wedding and baby SM has envisioned will happen. The Volturi don't give second chances, except when a future wedding and baby are on the line. They can kill Bree, though.

If Bella were turned in Volterra than the question becomes: is she allowed to go home, or does Aro force her to stay in Volterra? Something along the lines of like "I'll let Alice and Edward return to dear Carlisle if young Bella stays!" or something. And if any of them were stuck in Volterra then it becomes this big thing about whether the other Cullens try to "free" them or not, and whether or not this is the catalyst for the vampire world beginning to see the Volturi as corrupt but . . . I don't think that would work, because Edward LITERALLY was breaking rules here. Him and Bella being punished in some way is . . . fair? He let a human in on the secret. He refused to turn her. He was planning on exposing the vampire secret on their big holiday. You could argue Aro turning Bella and then demanding they work for the Volturi for 100 years might be letting them off easy. The story would obviously be wildly different from this point and largely depends on how evil or benign you want to paint the Volturi.

But since SM is writing this let's just assume that Aro turns Bella (or orders Edward or Alice to do it or whatever) and then lets them go home because reasons. There's no reason for the Cullens to stay in Forks at this point (or return to Forks, I guess, since this is New Moon) so I guess Edward and Alice take vampire Bella to Denali and meet up with the rest of the fam there. Probably not wise to take a newborn on an airplane, so they travel through Russia and then swim across the Bering Strait to get to Alaska. I'm 1000000% sure that SM would still have Bella be inexplicably controlled (look at Beau in Life & Death) even without all the supposed "preparation," so she probably adjusts quickly and then the conflict would be about Victoria still being out there and Charlie (and/or Jacob?) searching for the missing Bella.

And probably a fairy tale wedding thrown in there somewhere because Twilight.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

bella/esme?

Oooh, interesting but very tough question. I mean, given my track record, it's obvious my answer's going to be "I don't see it" except... in this case I kind of do.

Just not in the way you expect, or in a way that the internet will say will count.

So, What's the Problem on Esme's End? I don't read Esme as attracted to women. Though, I'll admit, it's also very hard to get a firm grasp on Esme in general. She's a very strange person, who could very well be attracted to women, but like the number of licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world will never truly know.

Esme is content to be Esme, mother to Edward, wife to Carlisle, sort of mother of the rest of those Cullen kids. If she found herself attracted to a woman, I don't think she'd even realize it, it'd be such a non-concept to her.

Where does that fit into Esme's surreal haze of an existence?

So, even if Esme likes women, even if she likes Bella specifically, I doubt it will ever even occur to her what's happening. She just stares at Bella and thinks how wonderful it is that Edward found such a charming girl.

In other words, that's right, there would be absolutely no difference from what we see in canon.

Otherwise, as usual, canon gets in the way. Esme and Carlisle have extreme issues, but neither realizes they have extreme issues. Esme at the start of Twilight and throughout the series is happily married to Carlisle and will remain so until something very unpleasant and unforeseen happens.

That something may have to do with Bella, but it's not Bella existing in the first place nor is it her having a relationship with Edward. Point being, Bella's a non-option for Esme at any point in the canon series.

And if Esme was single... I don't think she ever would be. I think, given the state she was in when Carlisle turned her, Carlisle not having married her (especially after Edward made Esme's feelings clear) would have destroyed her. And pining after Carlisle was a defining part of her life and may have had a very large hand in her ending up in that Morgue in the first place (Esme keeps saying no to suitors until... Charles comes along).

An Esme who never wanted to marry Carlisle would be a very different person and may very well have not ended up a Cullen at all.

If Esme decided she wasn't that into Carlisle... Well, this is a place for heretical meta so I'll go ahead and say it, she'd probably end up with Edward. And it'd be weird. Really, really, weird. Weirder than what those two do already.

POINT BEING, given that Esme bases her entire persona, for decades, around this Stepford housewife ideal, Esme is not staying single. Certainly not still single by 2005. And if she is then she probably left to go live with the Denali and is having an absolutely miserable time.

And even if we get past all of this, somehow, then Edward likely still shows interest in Bella. If he does, even if Esme is single and realizes her own feelings, Bella's immediately off the table. It's a non-starter, Edward deserves all the happiness in the world and Esme will gladly give that up.

Esme would never go for Bella as a romantic partner.

What's the Problem on Bella's End?

Bella has 0 interest in Esme as a person.

Esme is Mama Vampire, she's very sweet, the sweetest person Bella has ever met and a woman she imprints on as "mom", but that's it. They never spend time together, Bella never shows any interest in spending time with her, and beyond Esme being "mom" Bella could not care less.

Bella has at least one very deep conversation with pretty much every other Cullen: Carlisle at her birthday party, Jasper when he confesses his sordid history, Rosalie when she explains why she treats Bella the way she does and her own history.

The only other person that doesn't hit that quota is Emmett. And he, to Bella, is also a non-concept. He's funny older brother.

Bella won't go out of her way to make friends with Esme, to do anything with Esme, or even listen to Esme's opinions. She just does not care.

Also damning, of the people Bella's attracted to, which includes both men and women, Esme is not on that list. Bella's noticeably attracted to Rosalie, Alice (after they form an emotional connection), Edward, and Carlisle.

Esme's pretty and a vampire, she has oddly soft features for a vampire, but Bella has no remarks beyond that. She doesn't spend much time looking at Esme.

If Esme was the only vampire around, the first one Bella met, and had some interest in Bella then Bella might go for it, because vampire, but it's unlikely even an Esme wandering alone would show that interest.

But Didn't You Say This Was Kind of Canon?! So, the thing is, per the end of Breaking Dawn, Bella's left the planet in a very similar way to Esme.

She has a small cabin where she lives with her nuclear family within a family. Her hybrid daughter sleeps in one room, she has tepid sex with Edward in the other. She reads her alien daughter her favorite books like Wuthering Heights, somehow believing Renesmee follows all of this even when she undoubtedly asks "What's an England?"

Bella prances through the trees in beautiful clothes when she hunts, screaming, "I AM BEAUTIFUL!"

Bella went through a horrifically traumatizing experience, untold amounts of stress, and suddenly gets everything she thinks she ever wanted.

Just as this didn't seem to be good for Esme, it doesn't look good for Bella.

So why do I bring this up? Because I can see Esme and Bella being weird Stepford Mom/Wives together.

They bake cookies for Renesmee that Renesmee can't eat. They take "first day of school pictures" of Renesmee every time she goes to school. Every. Single. Day. Bella gives Renesmee the world's worst rendition of the sex talk as well as vaguely feminist pep talks that are completely out of context. Esme and Bella discuss the joys of motherhood, Esme talking about raising Edward, Bella discussing how she's raising Renesmee and kids just grow up so fast.

They bond beautifully over this shared experience. It's a deep emotional bond between them that the other Cullens can't understand. Bella remarks how close they are and she never realized how difficult Esme's job was before Renesmee.

They get really weird.

But they don't have sex, have no romantic notions towards the other at all, and are simply Mother together.