He said that she said that you said...

[kippurbird]

Chapter Eighteen, the Hunt.


Now we get to meet some of the other kinds of vampires. The terms that they're described in are very animalistic. She calls them predators exhibiting the natural respect of a troop of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind. In fact Meyers makes a direct point of differentiating the civilized Cullens with these new vampires.

As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot. Both men had cropped hair, but the woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and derbris from the woods.

If we remember the Cullens are always dressed fabulously, in designer clothes with fancy cars and always look perfectly primped. This is because the Cullens are...tame vampires. They've been domesticated while these new ones are wild and dangerous. This is rather the cliche in discovering the good and bad guys. Nicely dressed? Good. Ragged and worn? Evil. Because obviously they're not perfect, and so not perfect is evil. And they're obviously savages because they're running around without shoes on as opposed to being a sophisticated doctor. The new vampires are Laurent, Victoria and James.

They do some small talk, the new vampires amazed that the Cullens have a permanent residence. Carlisle invites him to their place, continuing to surprise the new ones at the fact that he has a home. Then Bella gets noticed.

The new vampires are ooh SNACK!! And Edward is all MINE and growlly. And they're all, but it's snack. And Carlise is No. She's not. Laurent, the guy in charge is all, well fine. We won't eat her or hunt in your territory. James is sad face. He wants to eat Bella. I'm sad faced too. I want James to eat Bella.

Bella is actually afraid of these new vampires. This whole time Id' been rooted in place, terrified into absolute immobility So, she's afraid of these vampires, but not the Cullens, even though Edward had been telling her constantly that he's dangerous. But see he's refined and pretty and rich so he's not dangerous. These people are hillbillies and they called her a snack. Meanwhile Edward has admitted wanting to kill an entire classroom of people just to have Bella. They've only were wondering why the Cullens brought a snack. But again, since they're not the preehty Edward, they're scary. They're even described as being animal like. I think I'd prefer the animal vampires than the civilized ones. Because at least you know the animals are going to go for your throat, the civilized ones... well, they might or they might not. They'll just smile at you the entire time and you can't tell if they're thinking about eating you or not.

Emmett, Edward, Alec and Bella go back to the Jeep while the others take the new vampires back to their place by running. Edward starts driving and the four of them try to figure out what to do. Edward says that they have to get her far away from there. Edward keeps on telling her to be quiet and not listen to her when she says that Charlie will call the FBI if she doesn't show up back home. When they try to come up with a plan, Edward refuses to listen and keeps on driving faster.

It's because James wants to hunt Bella. This, rightly frightens Bella, and she says they need to warn Charlie. The interesting thing is that they have her thrashing against her harness and it reminds me of a squalling child throwing a fit in the back seat of a car. Edward knows almost everything about James it seems like. Like he won't stop hunting Bella and he won't stop until she's dead. So, they have to kill him. Emmett has no issues with this.

Bella offers another option. Let her go back to Phoenix. Tell her dad she wants to go back home for a bit. That way James would have no reason to bother her dad. Though, really, I'd hardly see that as a deterrent. After all, Charlie knows where Bella lives.

After a lot of bitching and the old, "I know that he'll know we're plotting this and so he'll know it's a fake, because we'd never actually say where we're going in front of him." Emmett calls it diabolical. They decided that Alice and Jasper will take Bella to Phoenix so that way it won't look like Edward did something to her. Then after a few days, Edward could come after her.

Plan set, they go her home.

Comments

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

Am I horrible to not dislike the new vampires? I mean, if I came upon some nice campers roasting a lamb and I was hungry, (and not kosher), I wouldn't be adverse to asking for some. The new vampires are also looking a little wild, but honestly, they aren't looking that terrible, they are on a camping trip. The Cullens are sure unneighborly and judgmental.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Exactly. This is one of the reasons why farmers don't like their kids giving their livestock names. You're going to have to eat/kill it later.

Well, it's Bella being so judgmental, but they did invite them home. Still, there is pointage.

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

And since normal vampire behavior is to see Bella as one delicious cow (I'm so mean) the hostility is a bit...silly. "We're keeping this one, sorry. But in town, you can have your pick."

True, I forgot it was Bella's pov but since everything is her pov, it seeps into everything.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

And since normal vampire behavior is to see Bella as one delicious cow (I'm so mean) the hostility is a bit...silly.

No, you're not. But they're supposed to automatically know the difference between snack and friend?

[dungeonwriter.livejournal.com]

Especially when humans are alive, at best, breeding stock for more snacks!

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

As Spike said, Happy Meals on legs.

[brightrosefox.livejournal.com]

Troop of predators, huh? Faboulously dressed predators! That's gonna make me smile all day.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Yay! ^_^

[chaosarmoury.livejournal.com]

It's what, five on three? Does the book say why the Cullens just didn't solve the obvious problem preemptively by killing James on the spot? Or if the Cullens didn't think they could take them, why didn't the three feral vampires jump them to try and take over their territory?

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Does the book say why the Cullens just didn't solve the obvious problem preemptively by killing James on the spot?

Well, if they did that then there wouldn't be the horrible, "OMGAWD WE MUST PROTECT OUR SNACK BELLA!!!" Also, Emmett is a full advocate of the violence, but he's supposed to be the crude and uncivilized one.

Personally, I think Meyers suddenly realized she didn't have anything happening and threw them in to give it tension and conflict!!

[faded-enmity.livejournal.com]

Seriously. Five and friggin' three. One could protect Bella, two could gang up on one of the others to finish him off easily, and the other two could hold off the wild two until the third is beaten down. Common fucking sense, people! If they're 100+ years old, they should have some level of knowledge of how to fight strategically. But then, they're 100+ years old and still in high school, so I suppose it makes sense that they're all retarded.

[shmeiliarockie.livejournal.com]

You know, I prefer my embodiment of evil to wear an Armani suit and a fancy silk tie.

This whole cenario reeks of "Holy sparkles! I just realized I've got to put a plot in there somewhere! What do I do?"

In a better book, someone would have pointed out to Edward that the whole mess was caused by him acting like Bella is his possession. Preferably Bella herself. Like, "Way to go, jackass. You almost got me killed! If this is the way you're going to keep treating me, I think I'll move back to Phoenix permanently. Don't write, 'kay? Nobody owns me but me." But of course, we all know that's a laugh.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Well, as long as you know he's evil and he's not pretending not to be evil.

This whole cenario reeks of "Holy sparkles! I just realized I've got to put a plot in there somewhere! What do I do?"

Doesn't it?

[shmeiliarockie.livejournal.com]

XD No, I was joking about the suit thing. I don't really like evil characters. I prefer antagonists who are grey in regards to morality, not black and white.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Me too. Which is why I don't have any in my world. (Not that it'll stop the fan brats.)

[authoressarktos.livejournal.com]

As everyone else has said, this does seem like an Author's Saving Throw on Smeyer's part. Gone wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. Because Edward and Bella twu luv is threatened! we have to sit through more stupidity.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

And not a very good one. It comes too late in the story.

[faded-enmity.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm pretty shocked by the general sexism, classism and racism in this book. And they're there not in the way they would be if the author wanted to make them actual issues tackled, they're there in the way that this is how the author thinks and she doesn't see anything wrong with it.

So, in a way, it makes perfect sense that Bella is comfortable around the Cullens but not the wild vampires. The wild ones look poor, homeless even -- they're the reason you can't walk the streets at night. The Cullens are rich and sophisticated and therefore deserve to be above common decency and sense because, after all, they have money and are therefore the good side of society.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

You know, I never thought of that before. But it makes perfect sense.

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

... Ugh. I was about the ask where the racism came in until I remembered the Native American werewolves. I mean, from what Kippur stated, they're some of the few sensible people in the series but it does pit the vampires against them and all of the vampires so far are white. Plus, I'm not sure how things go on later in the book or series. Hence, I can't say much for or against that. :P

In a mild bit of devil's advocate, I must say that anyone who referred to me as a snack would creep me out. However, she reacted to their appearance first and I think you're on to something. (Of course, one could also try to compare them to cave men or animals but really... it is stretching things without putting them into more extreme clothing, like fur loincloths/togas/tunics, or complete nudity.)

[shmeiliarockie.livejournal.com]

Isn't that thing about the Native American's just horrendeous? Nevermind that, generally speaking, people tend to think of werewolves as savage beasts. That's a stereotype she should have gone out of her way to avoid, not cultivate.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

they're some of the few sensible people in the series but it does pit the vampires against them and all of the vampires so far are white

They're white, rich, and pretty. They're pretty much WASPs.

I must say that anyone who referred to me as a snack would creep me out.

I think someone telling me everything Edward did:

*He's dangerous.
*He wanted to kill a classroom of people to get to her
*He wanted to lead her out into the woods to eat her.
*He's been sitting in my room at night, watching me.

Would freak me out even more. At least these newcomers were more thinking about only eating one person, as opposed to killing a bunch of people to eat me.

Not that I'm saying being referred to as a snack wouldn't creep me out.

You're preaching to the choir

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

They're white, rich, and pretty. They're pretty much WASPs.

Yeah. Ugh. ;P

Would freak me out even more. At least these newcomers were more thinking about only eating one person, as opposed to killing a bunch of people to eat me.

*LOL* Oh, I agree with you. Edward is creepy as hell and far outweighs these three vampires in creepiness. I was simply commenting about Bella's reaction to the "savage" vampires because it still has some creepiness to it and that was what I was focusing on. (I mean, at this point, saying Edward is creepy is a GIVEN. There has almost never been a point in the book when he didn't act creepy or, at the very least, frustrating from a feminist viewpoint.)

And the idea that a "savage" vampire would give that much of a shit about Bella is also an impressive stretch. I think Meyer was indeed grasping for straws when she decided to make James determined to eat her. After all, wild animals don't become obsessed with one animal in a herd. They go for the weakest and easiest to catch. If they don't catch it, they try to catch something else because they can't afford to expend a lot of energy on anything that might be futile.

Which is another reason why really primal instincts vampires don't make a whole lot of sense, actually. Sure, they drink blood. But they're in no danger of dying from starvation because there is no end to easy prey for them. Not to mention, if they're uber, it would take a very, very long time for them to "die" of starvation even if they intentionally tried not to eat anything. I mean... are the cells going to start to degenerate? Even if they did, it would have to be a slow process considering they're immortal before they go on empty.

Therefore, they never have to live purely like animals unless they choose to. They would have plenty of time for all the "sophistication" of modern day life. And modern day life is generally more interesting. (Or they could at least try living like the Amish or something. But animals are only interesting if they're on TV and that's a lot of editing to show us the most interesting parts of their lives.) Plus, the vampires stand out a lot more, the more they go to extremes. It's much better to pretend to be a white collar or blue collar worker than a homeless person or a rich individual (particularly since the rich tend to end up in tabloids and such.)

Or is my reasoning illogical? I dunno. XD

But you know... going back to what that one fan brought up, in an attempt to defend Edward? She said it showed how he had grown up in a different time period. Okay, let us say this is a legitimate claim (which it isn't... stalking would be creepy in any era.) But thinking about it, wouldn't being immortal give one plenty of time to change their way of thinking? Yes, people can be very stubborn. But look how many people change once they're no longer a teenager. Experience is a great way for someone to slowly change their mind about something. And some of the ideas people have clung to in the past are given up over time because they have matured and learned more about the way the world works. I would say vampires, even over a hundred years, would have plenty of time to see how things are changing and plausibly change along with the times. At the very least, they would have an actual philosophy to give behind it.

Which is actually Meyer major downfall. She doesn't give enough reasons, even if the real reason is her religion. She needs to explain a lot more than she did. Of course, I suppose the book from Edward's angle is supposed to do so but since it's really just a rewrite with very little altered (and proves she did a shitty job of writing the first book if she has to rewrite it to get Edward's PoV across) then she still sucks at doing this. I'm not certain about that, mind you, but I'm betting that is the case.

Then again, I haven't read this one or the other two so I might be mistaken about how much she explains. (I doubt it though.) XD

*stops rambling now*

[thelastmehina.livejournal.com]

World of Darkness actually handles this quite well. Vampires, they declare, are unilaterally predators. If they weren't, they'd starve themselves into torpor. They carry this a bit further, in that there are social predators (how it sounds like the Cullens are) like Clans Toreador and Ventrue. Yet there are also those who let their Beast closer to the surface, like Clan Gangrel was famous for.

I haven't read the book you're talking about still, but I thought I'd pipe up with that. I don't think Meyers was smart enough to make that distinction (and considering half the WW staff was high on crack [I am so not kidding on this point] when they were writing Masquerade, this says a lot).

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

Well, the Cullens are Just That Special in that they Decided all by themselves that they weren't going to eat people. There is nothing about clans or anything like that.

Carlise decided he didn't want to become a monster and eat people.

[dove-cg.livejournal.com]

You could call it the Cullens Clan but they're too small for that. And clearly they're a minority, whereas most of the vampire clans are a decent size and of considerable age in WoD. XD

[thelastmehina.livejournal.com]

Well, that in itself is a popular trope of vampire fiction - the creature who rebels against his or her monstrous nature and tries desperately to quell the hunger and act human. Louis from Interview With the Vampire is probably the best example of this trope, but by no means the only one.

[dryaunda.livejournal.com]

Dirt on White Wolf? Where'd you find it? Any dirt behind Mage? (The nWoD is cool, but the oWoD version was luddite screed.)

[thelastmehina.livejournal.com]

I got it from a friend of mine who does freelance writing for White Wolf. Jesse Heinig, as a matter of fact.

[dryaunda.livejournal.com]

No dirt on oWoD Mage then?

[thelastmehina.livejournal.com]

As much as you'd like, actually. Jess Heinig is the one who wrote Mage Revised.

[dryaunda.livejournal.com]

:D

Okay, in oWoD mage, what was with all the hate against technology?

(To be fair, things did get better after Revised.)

(Also, I would've been more aware of Jesse Heinig but I was into GURPS at the time.)