OMG! My favorite chapter yet! Holy crap! There were sooooo many good lines in here, and I would pull them out, but it would take too long, lol. But HuffWard is such a brilliant name! I laughed so hard.

And oh, you were totally right boutnthe last line. I love it. And I love that he freaking broke Mike's legs! He didn't just trip him, he mutilated him! It was great! hahaha.

I love him. And you. This story is so fucking great.

Author's Response:

Hi there MiaCullen!

I'm so glad you liked the last part there. I just love dark, territorial Edward. The thing that to me made it so hilarious is that his siblings are floored. He has never raised a hand to any human ever (or immortal) in front of them or out of their sight in seven decades. And all of a sudden he breaks both of Mike's legs in school in a brilliant way that doesn't expose them. And if you like Mike torture. The next two chapters should keep you entertained. I torture Jake a bit down the road. And I think what I do to him is worse than Mike.

Keep in mind that pretty soon this is going to kick into mystery mode. Everything you read has a reason and I've dropped clues throughout every chapter.

Thanks so much for your feedback and your amazing review!

Best,

Books

*blinks* No, i honestly did not see that coming. I probably should have, because the humor from chapters 1-7 is back in spades. I will try to leave a proper review later, but for now I will tell you that I snorted out loud at parts. You should feel as proud and smug as SSE for that. ;)

Author's Response:

Hey Chloe9!

I'm glad that I managed to surprise you. :) And I didn't expect people to predict that. At least I hoped not. And I'm delighted that you laughed. More fun with the newborns is up next chapter. As ever, thanks so much for your review(s)!

Best,

Books

Comparing Tanya to McDonalds was yet another stroke of genius that makes me bow down.  The chaste/chased thing is the one to make me kowtow.  But I have to admit I'm looking forward to seeing Tanya in action.  Against the trampires, that is. 

Poor Bella must think she is in an episode of the Twilight zone.  Is she not curious about the newcomers? 

With all the crap going on, I'm getting worried that the Volturi are going to catch wind of strange things occurring in the Pacific northwest and decide to make a visit. 

Thanks for the update!

Author's Response:

Hi there Sheeijan!

I'm glad you liked the joke about McDonalds. I was worried it might come across as too mean. Edward is a bit um harsh at times. And he points the fingers at Tanya for her sexual behavior, and at Jasper for his killing while kind of trying really hard not to look at his own - is kind of the point I was trying to make there. And I love puns. :)

If you re-read that chapter. Put yourself in Bella's shoes. She's been receiving mixed signals from Edward for so long that she's convinced herself that he only sees her as a friend and is being really nice to her to sleep next to her because of her nightmares. So imagine how confused she is with the whole declaring himself her boyfriend in public and then telling her a few seconds later while embracing her that it's just for show to irritate Jacob. And Bella has had so much going on with the finding out that she's disabled and everyone lied to her about it, that she's not as quick on the uptake in reading people around her. She also has zilch experience with men romantically. She is most definitely curious about the newcomers, but Edward leaning his head on her in the middle of the cafeteria and all but nuzzling her shoulder had her a bit preoccupied. Remember, she thinks he's an epileptic, and she also believes he suffers from migraines. And she can tell his head is hurting him. So she's a bit preoccupied at present. But you should most definitely read the next chapter thinking in the back of your mind - what would I be thinking if I were Bella.

And I am all kinds of eager to get Tanya and the trampyres in the same room together.

You should be worried about the Volturi - Carlisle mentioned it I think last chapter or the one before that they will be coming to pay a visit soon. After Los Angeles, the Volturi put out the word that they would be sending representative to every coven in the world to "discuss" the rules and to ensure the loyalty and commitment of the convens to observing them. And Carlisle already knows they are on their way. He just doesn't know when they'll be coming. That makes the whole red-eyed- people could be landing at any minute a bit more sticky for him.

As ever, thanks for the review and making me think about my story - gotta make sure I'm keeping the plot in line. :)

Best,

Books

Yikes. I couldn’t find the time to review this chapter before you posted another. And your chapters are the length of many multi-chaptered storied. I’m constantly in awe of you.  Now on to my commentary!
One thing I’ve been thinking about for a while is how Edward is able to put Bella to sleep at will with his wolfy powers. This reminds me of the way his lullaby works in so many stories. He hums a few bars, and Bella is out cold. Are you going to have Edward work those 2 things together, giving Bella a Pavlovian response to the lullaby?
How on earth did Liam convince the vampires guarding the land to let them live, and to work his experiments, when everyone else died? Unless I’m thinking of the relationship and timeline wrong.
Bella taking Edward to the O’Shea’s home, showing him the secret lab, AND opening up to him so much is like the shy equivalent of 3rd base. And Edward probably has no idea how very much all of those things mean, in relationship to how she feels about him.
And poor Edward! Having to see himself and his mother in their last living moments. But maybe these memories will remind him of how to love another person. Not just for scent-acular reasons.
Grace rocked my socks.
And I’m so intrigued by algae! Which is something I never would have thought I’d say.

Author's Response:

Hi there Chloe9!

I don't have a time limit on reviews. I have new readers giving me reviews on the chapters as they encounter them and I always find that helpful. So no worries if I post something and you haven't had time to review the one you were reading. I'm not tapping my foot. And I find your feedback very insightful. :) I liked the idea of him being able to send her to sleep and didn't want to use the lullaby because everyone does that. I had him sing to her once or twice so far - but I'm not going to be emphasizing it because again, everyone else does. I did not plan on having him work the two together. It was just my attempt to be different. :)

You ask a good question about Liam. One I am of course unable to answer at this time. But a very good question. Gold star for you. And again, two gold stars for the observation about Bella and her discussion with Edward. And again, you are right that Edward is clueless.

I wanted Edward to realize that he had remembered some details of his death wrong - and show why. If you go back and read the first section of HOD one and contrast it with that scene - you'll see the difference. In a way he gains something, but in a way he also loses something because he thought he had at least been by her side when his mother passed. And to me the image of Carlisle carrying her away to the sound of his Mother's heartbeat back in the ward as she dies surrounded by strangers....that kind of got to me. Her sacrifice and belief that her son would be better off and she had faith in him got to be even more. Edward will most definitely be pondering all of this. It's swimming around in his head at present.

Glad you liked the algae. I had a friend study glow in the dark bacteria and thought I'd incorporate that into the plot. I've never ran into another fanfiction with it. So thought I'd go there to up the creativity factor. And the challenge since I haven't looked at biology in yeesh ages.

Thanks so much for your review!

Best,

Books

*does her best Alice impersonation and bounces in seat clapping* what can I say?! Once again didn't see that coming and once again you've outdone yourself. I have to be honest and say I didn't see how you were going to tie this arc in with the beginning but I'm now seeing the characters develop slowly into what was in the beginning. Very nice. I have to say that I can't wait to see what happens when Tanya gets there. I imagine they won't know what hit 'em but we'll see!

(Side note: I know its gross but I have to wonder how OCDward would handle his Bottle Cap on her period, just a thought). :o)

Many many hugs and smoochies girlfriend!

-- Heather

Author's Response:

Hi there Robs_Muse!

Thanks so much for the review! I don't expect you to remember this line, but in the early part of HOD when Edward was being teased by Emmett for being a panty thief, he implied that Edward was huffing over Bella's trash can at certain times of the month. And Edward answered that he had gone through her trash, for research purposes of course. But he never inhaled. That was my nod to that issue. Another thing that I was trying to keep in mind was that there are several other stories out there than handle that issue and I wanted to avoid going where eveyrone else had so that was pretty much one of the only lines in the story I inteded on devoting to it.

I'm glad you didn't see how I was going to tie that in with the front chapters. That was my goal. I wanted to take "canon" and put a completely different interpretation on it so that the first seven chapters once you finish reading HOD and go and skim them - they are totally skimmable chapters to me, would take on a new meaning.

SSE is blowing kisses at you. :) Best, Books

This is, of course, amazing.  I so enjoy Edward and all his parts.  No, I'm not talking about the manly ones. The mental ones. Of course. 

Had to say it, though. First thing I thought Billy would do would have been to check to see if the, erm, surgery had been for real. I mean, you know, with a physical inspection of some sort.  (Necessary for sure.  I so didn't need to have the image of so many sperm samples in my head. Heckuva way to start the weekend! *dies*)

Mary Sue newborn was great. Nomenclature, not manifestation.  Dig it.  (The scene is superb, of course.)

What I would not give to be in the head of the dear little one on occasion during such moments. :)  Yeah, me and Main Edward, right?

Thanks for the Muse status! I bounced! :)

 

Author's Response:

Hi there LJ Summers!

I thought about writing him grabbing a quick peek but wanted to save the butterfly surprise. So I just had him take her word for it. Then, seeing Edward with a blood covered shirt and blood around his mouth for him kind of sealed the deal. His sister has never been the joke playing type. And I did go a bit overboard with the numbers on his ahem hobby. I was doing it to poke fun at him because Edward - the guy who ripped Bella's house apart in bonkers is sniffing at Billy for being nuts (pun intended) and OCD about his hobby.

I had to do Mary Sue. Satan made me. Your hint to set you up for the next chapter is to put yourself in Bella's shoes and re-read that whole chapter paying attention to Edward's nonverbal communication. That's going to be really important in this chapter and the next, And I'm having so much fun with the newborns. I did tell everyone I wanted the first 7 chapters to take on a new meaning. And there's this line with Bella walking down the stairs to meet Tanya for the first time (so I have to keep them apart in the next chapter) that if she could survive, James, Victoria, and the newborns, Tanya shouldn't be all that bad. Hence, I had to do something completely different with the newborns.

And you are most definitely my muse. Your reviews inspire me to want to up my game and write better. Thank you so much for them. Best, Books

This was amazing! I feel like everything you wrote is more like what really happened to Edward in the real Twilight series. Like, it fits so perfectly, minus the things like you said like how he feels like a part of the family and here he doesn't, and the conversations with Tanya and his family at the end are different as well, but the other main feelings and events seem so perfectly fitting.

I kinda reallllyyyyy love dark, emo, broody Edward. But like I said, I love me some jealous Edward, and I'm looking forward to seeing him soon too :]

Author's Response:

Hi there MiaCullen!

Thanks so much for your kind words! I wanted purposely to take the same idea of Edward's self-loathing and come up with a different spin on it. That's why I had him not tell his family what he did. To me, THAT would make the self-loathing much worse. And keeping his loathing of being a vampire secret? Even better. So in many places in the rest of the story, I'm going to deviate from canon in some ways in order to give me more wiggle room to tell the story. I didn't want people to think as they were reading it that I was telling the exact same story. There are obviously many simliarities in that I used the same time frame and basic same elements there, but from then on, we are going off the reservation with the plot and it's going to spin in a different direction than Twilight.

And I'm glad you enjoyed broody Edward. He's so much fun to write!

Thanks so much for the kind review. Best, Books :)

aww so cute bella is totally falling for edward as in a real byfriend kinda way. And edward being jelous of his shirt too funny cant wait to see what tanya does in the cafeteria gonna be great knowing you. By the way thx for the shout out. heres one starched shirt eddie hotness kiss comin at ya muahh thx

Author's Response:

Hi there dellatwi!

Bella is definitely on her way there to kinda sorta thinking that maybe he might think she's girlfriend material. I loved Edward and his little bouts of irrational jealousy. Oh I definitely plan on having Tanya show up - but who says it'll be in the cafeteria?

To me, that would be so predictable. And Tanya loves being different. Distinct. And the newborns need schooling. That's all I'm sayin'. :) *evil grin*

And I always give people who inspire me shout outs!

SSE sends hot kisses right back atcha!

 

Best,

Books

I'm glad that they were finally able to do something to Billy. He is one disgusting old dude. What could he have possibly done with all that sperm? Like anyone in the right mind would want it!

There were some really funny parts in this story...some sweet ones too. My favorite sweet moment was when all the Cullens were trying to help edward out with what to say or do to make Bella feel better. I know that happens often, but I love it anyways. It was so funny when Emmett accidentally said "what" when he couldn't hear Bella talk (about the shirt).

How is it that the newborns that showed up at the school a century older than Carlisle? Why did they choose the school. They are running a very high chance of exposing themselves.

Author's Response:

Hi Bella S!

Thanks so much for reviewing! I wrote that scene weeks ago with Paula and was waiting for the right place to put it in the story. And you're right Billy is just gross. Since Jacob is not his genetically and he's never really accepted him as his son, and he considers his daughters to be useless - Billy is obsessed with passing on his genes. A little too obsessed.

I'm glad the combination of emotions worked for you in this chapter. I  never know how it will come across so posted it and crossed my fingers. :) I have written Edward as a profoundly shy man. He will always need help communicating, because he does not have much practice at it and he gets so self-conscious when talking. So his family is not used to having to help him out because he rarely spoke before. This is just as new to them as it is for him. I was also trying to use those scenes to show either how insightful he is, or how dense. Maybe both. :) And I just love Emmett. He's so much fun to write.

Just because they take the name "newborn" does not mean they are. They are older vampires than Carlisle that have bounced around the planet surviving on a wing and a prayer. They are both stupid - and stupidly lucky. That's why they aren't a pile of ashes. And you are most definitely right, they are running a huge chance of exposure. You'll learn more about them in the next chapter. Swear. And more Edward and Bella time coming up, too.

Thanks so much for reviewing. You made my night.

Best,

Books :)

Every chapter I read, I am reminded of Tolkien. Please accept this as a compliment. I admire the complexity of your characterizations and the vastly amusing plotlines. 

This is an utterly entrancing tale and I am just in awe of your imagination.  Truly.

 

Looking forward to watching Edward recognize his eventual collapse. ;-)  Thanks for the "my Bella" tip. lol

 

~LJ

Author's Response:

Hi there LJ!

Wow! I adore Tolkein and am just.....wow. Thank you so much! I wanted to do something complex and um think I managed to make it complex enough that I have to keep track of it with a massive outline that makes my computer whimper when I start it up. All I knew is that I wanted to find a way to answer some of the issues from the Twilight Saga without doing a plot line like anyone else's and making sure that while I kept the canon couples I could re-shape the canon to a way the made sense to me.

I did the my Bella tip because I wanted to give you all something to watch for, but if I have anyone who is really faithful to canon, this story might drive them bonkers because I'm not following canon's timeline.

Again, thanks so much for your amazing review. And I hope I can keep up the writing to this standard. :) Best, Books

hahahahhahahahhahaha oh man gotta love a jealous Edward and nasty Mike

Author's Response:

Hi there MiaCullen,

If you love jealous Edward when you get to HOD 2 you will die. The last few lines in particular. Thanks so much for the review!

Torturing secondary characters in twilight is my secret vice. ;) Books

I am absolutely blown away not only by your writing, your writing style, but your intellect--it's mind-blowing!  I sit and read and my jaw just drops.  You must have had perfect grades in all honors classes in school.

You have me completely hooked.

Author's Response:

Hi Nofangsallowed!

I was always the person who had A's and one or two B's. Just enough to drive me crazy. But thank you for the amazing compliment. :) I felt when I thought about Edward, that if he's spent that much time trapped in school that he would sound, not only like his generation - your personality is pretty much set by the time you are 14 - so his major attitudes aren't really going to change without a whole heck of a lot of effort - like waking up a vampire. But still. I thought that he would be this curious mix of sexism but normalcy based on his time period. Women didn't vote when he died. They didn't have the right. So I liked the dichotomy of him being "normal" for his times - men did make all major decisions for the family - at least most men, women were fragile flowers. And I liked him coming across as a raging sexist in our time, while thinking he's liberated and open minded and not a stalker. He's a feminist when it suits him. He's most definitely stalking her - for moral purposes of course.

 

I just thought he'd be more complicated than he was in the books and I wanted the challenge of having him do pretty harsh things (bruising Bella's face comes to mind on the night of the truck accident, scaring her about Jacob when she was sick with pneumonia) but still making him come across as sympathetic and fighting falling in love every step of the way. So to me the idea of losing his memory as he aged appealed - not so much his memory as the memory AND the memory of some emotions. To me it makes perfect sense that Edward could fall in love and be completely clueless. Cause I really didn't think falling in love should have been that easy for someone who hated himself. So that's my deal.

I also have a friend of mine who shrinks heads for a living that specializes in treating young men - and ran my ideas by him - and had a heck of a lot of help in understanding what I was trying to say. At first I thought I was writing Edward as simply being in denial. "I don't love that girl." What I eventually ended up doing is arguing that Edward is living in his own little self-created hell. And because he is so shy and traumatized he's trapped living a delusion (the Cullens will kick me out if I'm not perfect, I'm acting shy, not really shy, I can't let them know how talented I am because I need to spy on them to be prepared for the day they toss me out - I like having siblings because I can hide and be left alone) until Bella literally rocks his security. She threatens the perfect vampire child role he's played with his family. If he kills her - then the beast will return and his family will toss him out on his ear - becase he really doesn't understand that they love him not when the chips are down. And he expresses admiration for them "I have the best vampire parents ever!" But you don't see him being loving towards anyone until Mary Alice gets in his face. So I wanted this to be the evolution of Edward as a man/vampire in not only falling in love, but in accepting love from Bella and his family. I imagined him living this incredibly lonely existence and literally hiding it from everyone with his gifts. I thought about in my mind, prudish Edward would most likely go to school, spend a little while around his family - perhaps an hour or two, and then leave for the rest of the night to give his family privacy. Then he'd come home and change for the next school day. He never asked for anything. He only spoke when addressed, that kind of lonely in the crowd life. And I thought he'd block out the thoughts from the humans around him because hearing them would hurt too much. He wants to be them and can never have that so instead he acts like he looks down his nose at them and keeps them at a distance sneering at his vampire brilliance. That's why I did him being clueless about pop culture. He only listened for vampire idioms.

I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. I had to slow the pacing a bit in this section of the story to line the plot up for where we are now. So you're getting into the mystery section. I've dropped clues well...everywhere. Hope you enjoy it. Best, Books :)

Cool!  Love the powers and the necklace--wow!  So awesome in a sci-fi way (I love sci-fi).  And Edward can sleep?  Can't wait for more.  You're my hero, Books.  This is my favorite fanfic, ever.

By the way, Starched Shirt Edward is hilarious!  I'm not Catholic, but know a bit about the faith and find your humor hilarious. 

Will Edward ever figure out that he's completely in love with her?

Author's Response:

Hi there nofangsallowed!

Thank you so much for your lovely review. I am floored. :) *blushes* I wanted to give Edward some complications in his life and I didn't like the idea of him getting these powers and all of a sudden being an all powerful everything works for him perfect kind of guy. To me that was hokey. Hezekiah said to him with power comes sacrifice and that is a central theme of this story.

Edward has accepted these powers but he and Hezekiah have absolutely no idea how they will work with his immortal system. And I liked the heartbeat.

I picked Catholic because I am one and wasn't comfortable writing SSE as being in another religion in case I messed up with the humor. I can defend myself against an outraged Catholic on theology any time since I've had lots of it. I didn't feel like I could do the same if I picked another religion. To me he's a metaphor for the superego and it's not so much what religion he is - I could have written him belonging to any in my mind - so much that he's very religious and very fussy about observing it and they are fighting over the whole pesky soul issue. I tried in later chapters to put more context in there when I do a religious joke.

Edward will absolutely figure out he's in love with her - I don't have a "meadow" scene per se but I'm not having him declare himself in the book timeline. CC is the story of both of their journey to that state. I am simply arguing that he took a whole heck of a lot longer and fought harder - hence the rationalizations - and kind of lied to everyone about it in the beginning. I don't think you can undo 75 years of habituated thinking in one stare across a crowded room. I just don't. So to me he's starting out really honestly compelled to be around her by her scent - it really was about her scent. He was attracted to her - but couldn't stay away so rationalized it as him having to desensitize himself. Along the way you start to see him treating her more like an individual, but he still is very ruthless and methodolical in making sure that she is in his life. I told readers in the latest chapter that I posted that you will know he's a goner when he says "my Bella" in his thoughts.To me what's ironic is that he is gradually falling for her - his family sees it, but he does not. He has no reference point for love. He doesn't know how it feels. That's why he thinks that the Cullens could dump him at any second. He does not emotionally understand what loving is because he lost the memory. Hope that makes sense. :)

Again, thank you for your review. It just blew me away. :)

Books