Since this is the Saturday Open Thread, if I may, I'd like to declare it the Twilight (Nearly) Open Thread, in relation to our excellent deconstructions that normally occupy this space. We've had seven chapters worth of The (Mis?)Adventures of Bella Swan, and I'm sure there are bits of the narrative that haven't been covered or some concepts that still aren't making sense, no matter how many times Bella has an awkward dinner with Charlie or has to reject yet another unwanted advance from Mike Newton. So, what's on your Twilight-ed mind, Ramblites?
I'm still a bit o.O about the persistence of Mike. He's behaving more and more like someone a door-to-door salesperson who's been instructed to give the homeowner the hard sell - never take no for an answer, no matter how strongly hinted, and always keep coming back if there's even the slightest possibility of interest in him. We haven't seen anything in the text that would warrant this kind of behavior, but our narrator (and the illustrated canon guide) is fundamentally unreliable - she hasn't given us a real idea as to whether everyone thinks she's pretty, or that it's just a novelty thing, that Mike believes all the women of Forks High School are his because he self-styles as the UberPimp, or that Mike likes to try and pick off women who are clearly attached to other guys, or what. This is despite having a character that can read minds, and therefore can deliver perfect explanations for motivation on demand. Whom our narrator is too conveniently tongue-tied by his radiant beauty to be able to take advantage of. Grr, Bella. You could help make this novel so much moer internally consistent, if you would only remember to look away from Edward when you have questions. He's not Leck, after all.
Thank you, Silver Adept, I love the idea for the Open Thread. :)
I've been wondering about this, too. Mike really only comes onto the scene after Edward reacts to Bella in Biology, and only then to info-dump that Edward's behavior was strange/unusual and to reassure Bella that it's not because she's objectively disgusting.
So, I'm going to be utterly fan-ficcy and postulate thus:
Mike was the most handsome, sought after boy in school until the Cullens moved in. When the Cullens moved in, all the girls flocked to the handsome new boy. Jessica, who was only just starting to date Mike, left him in order to pursue Edward -- Bella intuits that Edward turned Jessica down at some time in the past, so Jessica's bitterness is a mix of being miffed at Edward's rude rejection (because of course Edward was unnecessarily rude about it) and her regret that she left Mike for something that didn't pan out.
Mike has been struggling for a way to reassert his dominant status at school. When he saw Edward react uncharacteristically to Bella, Mike intuited that the reaction was one of arousal, not anger. Mike decided to pursue Bella with the goal of (a) dating Jessica's friend to get back at Jessica, (b) stealing Edward's love interest to get back at Edward, and (c) winning the now most desirable girl in school in order to reassert his place in the pecking order.
Of course, if this is true, Mike is doubly dangerous because Bella's continued rejections will enrage rather than wound him.
"Funny thing, after I told them that, them being in Seatle went from incredibly unlikely to the most probable of all possible futures. It's amazing how much a small change can alter the course of events." Speaking of which, continuing the conversation was bringing certain outcomes into greater focus while shuffling others off the scale of probability.
I'm trying to figure out why I love this line so much, and I think it's because it takes Alice from narrative device to see and relate the future and moves her into the realm of actual agent, where she uses her power to shape the outcome she wants. It takes her from being a information-dispenser and makes her actually quite powerful. And it seems so utterly natural and right.
I initially read "Anacaona" as "Anaconda" and wondered if she was princess of snakes. You're not the only one.
My daughter had a few of those books; it's like old times meeting them again (although I don't think she had any of the ones featured here, but I knew those covers immediately).
That pretty well tracks with my non-narrative-supported, fairly Darkest-Sketch idea of Mike, as well. Too bad that Bella's so Edward-absorbed that she can't confirm this for us. Kind of irritating, actually. I would have thought that because Mike keeps accosting her, that she would mention it to Edward in a one-off and that he could chuckle and confirm something for her through his mind-reading powers.
@chris the cynic -
That's a great story. Not just because it has Alice doing rather than expositioning, but it does make sense for Jessica to want to revenge herself on the vampire that killed her. I think, though, she'd be up enough on the memeage to go somewhere in the vicinity of "Hell hath no fury like a woman vamped." And possibly to toss a one-off about how much vampirism is so not like Anne Rice.
If I didn't say she was Bella, could you tell the difference between her and someone she had loaned her truck to? (Other than the fact that she's not likely to loan out her truck.)
I think it's hardly your fault that Bella's character is so sparsely established in the original text that she translates badly to another, however, you could possibly sprinkle in some Pride & Prejudice references and/or run with the Vampire Otherkin theory.
Beyond that, we know she likes cooking and she thinks she makes decent Mexican food. Maybe there's a cultural cuisine passion lurking under the surface?
13 comments:
Aww, tiny kitten!
*sigh*
I don't want to go to work today, I want to stay home and write.
Cute and tiny kitten, that one is.
Since this is the Saturday Open Thread, if I may, I'd like to declare it the Twilight (Nearly) Open Thread, in relation to our excellent deconstructions that normally occupy this space. We've had seven chapters worth of The (Mis?)Adventures of Bella Swan, and I'm sure there are bits of the narrative that haven't been covered or some concepts that still aren't making sense, no matter how many times Bella has an awkward dinner with Charlie or has to reject yet another unwanted advance from Mike Newton. So, what's on your Twilight-ed mind, Ramblites?
I'm still a bit o.O about the persistence of Mike. He's behaving more and more like someone a door-to-door salesperson who's been instructed to give the homeowner the hard sell - never take no for an answer, no matter how strongly hinted, and always keep coming back if there's even the slightest possibility of interest in him. We haven't seen anything in the text that would warrant this kind of behavior, but our narrator (and the illustrated canon guide) is fundamentally unreliable - she hasn't given us a real idea as to whether everyone thinks she's pretty, or that it's just a novelty thing, that Mike believes all the women of Forks High School are his because he self-styles as the UberPimp, or that Mike likes to try and pick off women who are clearly attached to other guys, or what. This is despite having a character that can read minds, and therefore can deliver perfect explanations for motivation on demand. Whom our narrator is too conveniently tongue-tied by his radiant beauty to be able to take advantage of. Grr, Bella. You could help make this novel so much moer internally consistent, if you would only remember to look away from Edward when you have questions. He's not Leck, after all.
Fluffy!
I initially read "Anacaona" as "Anaconda" and wondered if she was princess of snakes. That's kind of a cool idea, actually.
Thank you, Silver Adept, I love the idea for the Open Thread. :)
I've been wondering about this, too. Mike really only comes onto the scene after Edward reacts to Bella in Biology, and only then to info-dump that Edward's behavior was strange/unusual and to reassure Bella that it's not because she's objectively disgusting.
So, I'm going to be utterly fan-ficcy and postulate thus:
Mike was the most handsome, sought after boy in school until the Cullens moved in. When the Cullens moved in, all the girls flocked to the handsome new boy. Jessica, who was only just starting to date Mike, left him in order to pursue Edward -- Bella intuits that Edward turned Jessica down at some time in the past, so Jessica's bitterness is a mix of being miffed at Edward's rude rejection (because of course Edward was unnecessarily rude about it) and her regret that she left Mike for something that didn't pan out.
Mike has been struggling for a way to reassert his dominant status at school. When he saw Edward react uncharacteristically to Bella, Mike intuited that the reaction was one of arousal, not anger. Mike decided to pursue Bella with the goal of (a) dating Jessica's friend to get back at Jessica, (b) stealing Edward's love interest to get back at Edward, and (c) winning the now most desirable girl in school in order to reassert his place in the pecking order.
Of course, if this is true, Mike is doubly dangerous because Bella's continued rejections will enrage rather than wound him.
"Funny thing, after I told them that, them being in Seatle went from incredibly unlikely to the most probable of all possible futures. It's amazing how much a small change can alter the course of events." Speaking of which, continuing the conversation was bringing certain outcomes into greater focus while shuffling others off the scale of probability.
I'm trying to figure out why I love this line so much, and I think it's because it takes Alice from narrative device to see and relate the future and moves her into the realm of actual agent, where she uses her power to shape the outcome she wants. It takes her from being a information-dispenser and makes her actually quite powerful. And it seems so utterly natural and right.
I love that song so much, but I love the ASL video even more. Thank you for introducing that here -- I'd never seen it before.
As I recall, I was introduced to that video when Will posted it on facebook some time ago.
And you're welcome.
And thank you.
I don't remember where I first saw that video (not Facebook), but I know I've seen it before.
He's done a few other Jonathan Coulton songs too. I haven't seen them all yet. I should go through them sometime.
I initially read "Anacaona" as "Anaconda" and wondered if she was princess of snakes.
You're not the only one.
My daughter had a few of those books; it's like old times meeting them again (although I don't think she had any of the ones featured here, but I knew those covers immediately).
That is the cutest kitty I've ever seen.
@Ana -
That pretty well tracks with my non-narrative-supported, fairly Darkest-Sketch idea of Mike, as well. Too bad that Bella's so Edward-absorbed that she can't confirm this for us. Kind of irritating, actually. I would have thought that because Mike keeps accosting her, that she would mention it to Edward in a one-off and that he could chuckle and confirm something for her through his mind-reading powers.
@chris the cynic -
That's a great story. Not just because it has Alice doing rather than expositioning, but it does make sense for Jessica to want to revenge herself on the vampire that killed her. I think, though, she'd be up enough on the memeage to go somewhere in the vicinity of "Hell hath no fury like a woman vamped." And possibly to toss a one-off about how much vampirism is so not like Anne Rice.
What fun!
And Snarky Bella still has an interesting attitude, but then, perhaps anyone with a time traveling '53 Chevy Pickup would.
Mostly I worry about character differentiation.
If I didn't say she was Bella, could you tell the difference between her and someone she had loaned her truck to? (Other than the fact that she's not likely to loan out her truck.)
I think it's hardly your fault that Bella's character is so sparsely established in the original text that she translates badly to another, however, you could possibly sprinkle in some Pride & Prejudice references and/or run with the Vampire Otherkin theory.
Beyond that, we know she likes cooking and she thinks she makes decent Mexican food. Maybe there's a cultural cuisine passion lurking under the surface?
Well, and of course: Linkin Park.
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