Random here to save the day!

I feel that apologies are in order for our readers who come here and actually like Twilight, or are genuinely interested in it. We've given caveman summaries of the first two novels, and no thanks to Buffyrules, a little bit of bashing. So far we've covered the bases of those who know Twilight like the back of their hand, and possibly given the Anti's something to chuckle at. But what about the rest of you?

Well, you could just as easily go to Wikipedia or Amazon and look up the summary of Twilight, but those places don't tell you why this book has had such a huge impact on women (and maybe some men) of all ages. Why the world has gone crazy for Twilight-that's what I'm here for. I'm going to explain to the best of my abilities why people are so fascinated by this story.

Comic Edward is intrigued!

And here we go again!

Twilight is the story about one girl, a simple 17 year old girl with brown hair and brown eyes-what most people look like (hello dominant genes)-which makes her relatable. Twilight is mostly read by women, so I think it's safe to say that we've all been there; we've all been 17 at one point in our lives (or maybe we're getting there). We all know what it's like to start at a new school, whether it's because we've moved or we're moving up the scholastic ladder. We've all experienced that dread of the unknown: what if I'm late to class? What if no one likes me? What if I don't make any friends? Bella Swan is going through the same thing...only on a different level, she also has to deal with the thought of "Why is that attractive god of a man looking at me like he wants to eat me?"

I admit, that's not exactly how it goes, but those of you who are about to read this series will soon find out that Bella likes to talk about Edward's gloriousness quite a bit

But before Edward becomes "glorious" he is scary, why? Because he is a vampire! And sadly enough, Bella is cursed with delicious smelling blood, and Edward hasn't fed off of a human in years.

Let me take a quick moment here to explain Stephenie Meyer's version of vampires: they don't have fangs (which is a big complaint with vampire enthusiasts), the Sun doesn't burn them because their skin is like granite, so instead it makes them...sparkle....Also the usual stakes, holy water, garlic, etc. that normal vampires would run from-doesn't effect them at all. These vamps also have venom; like snakes they bite their prey and then infect them with their venom. If the vamp hasn't lost control and completely killed the person, eventually said person will become a vampire after the venom has gone through the body, taking up about three days.

Edward and his family, the Cullens (of which there are 7 of them in total) only eat the blood of animals, but Bella's blood smells so good that Edward goes crazy and leaves town for a few days just to get away from her and not massacre the entire school board

Bella, like any girl, thinks about him the whole time, wondering what his deal is and why he doesn't seem to like her (again who can relate to this? Me, for one thing)

Then of course comes the real kicker, the thing that sucks everyone in: the forbidden love

After Edward comes to know Bella (not through his special power which will be talked about later) he ends up falling for her. This of course causes an issue: he's a vampire, she's a human; he wants to eat her, she wants to eat his face with her lips; he's afraid of killing her, she wants him to so that they can be together forever.

It's a modern Romeo and Juliet, and we all know how popular that story is

Really what it comes down to is you have a girl who is just like every other girl in the world (maybe even just like you...unless you're a guy) who defies the odds and ends up winning the heart of a man (a vamp-man) who has spent his entire undead life just going through the motions. He's dead to the world until this girl comes into his life and shows him how to live again.

That to me, is an amazing story

The invisible moon that is often called New...

Ah yes, New Moon...the second book in the Twilight Saga that is usually the least favorite out of the series (behind Breaking Yawn...I mean, Dawn). I've asked Random to let me talk about this one and she reluctantly (very reluctantly) agreed to let me do this. She probably thinks I'm just going to bash the novel, but no...I'll save my bashing for later. This is going to be another basic synopsis of the novel that is going to be very similar to what Random did (because I absolutely loved how she did it)

So here we go...

Girl reluctantly celebrates birthday

Girl somehow cuts her finger on wrapping paper (???) and with her hemophiliac tendencies, the "wound"bleeds profusely sending the other vamps into a frenzy

My favorite Southern vamp tries to kill Girl

Everyone rejoices

THE END

...just kidding (Random is not going to let me do another one of these things again)

Boy stops Southern vamp

Boy suddenly stops talking to Girl

Boy breaks up with Girl and leaves her

Suddenly there are pages with only one word on each...

Girl is a zombie

Not literally

Girl starts hanging out with Human Boy from the last book

Girl realizes that doing dangerous things allows her to see Boy

Human Boy falls for Girl through the course of the novel

Girl finds out that Human Boy isn't all that human

Human Boy becomes Wolf Boy

Girl almost gets killed by Vamp from previous novel

Girl goes cliff diving after watching Wolf Boy's friends do it

Wolf Boy saves Girl

Girl comes home to find Boy's Pixie sister

Pixie thought Girl had died

Pixie gets vision that Boy is going to kill himself

Pixie and Girl fly to Italy

Girl stops Boy

Girl meets old vamps

Girl and Boy get back together

Girl gets grounded

Basically THE END

All I have to say is not much really happens in this novel. It's kind of like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest...just a bunch of running around with little plot development. Shapeshifters are introduced along with the Volterra but that's it. You could honestly just read to the part where Edward leaves and skip to the part where Bella finds out that he's going to kill himself (which is probably what most people do anyway) and be fine.

There you have it, New Moon...

And here's a doodle!

I think I'm getting better at this drawing thing

Keep sending in your doodles!

-Buffyrules01

And Here We....Go

Well, I hope everyone is having a great three-day weekend. Today's post is on the background and basics (and I really mean basics) of the story of Twilight. We've all heard of it, most of us have either read it or plan on never reading it, so this is just going to be a little snippet along with some other things we're adding to the Fangdom.

Girl moves to a new state

Girl goes to school

Girl meets boy at school

Boy glares at girl

Girl glares at boy

Boy saves girl from van

Boy saves girl from creepers

Girl falls for boy

Boy is a vampire

Boy wants to eat her

Girl finds this romantic regardless

Boy watches her sleep

Girl and boy decide that they are together

Boy introduces girl to family

Vampires come and want to eat the girl

Boy tries to protect girl, but girl is too stubborn

Girl goes to Phoenix with Boy's fake bro and sis

Girl finds out that evil vamp has her mom

Girl escapes fake bro and sis to save mom

Girl finds out that it was all fake

Girls gets the crap kicked out of her by vamp

Vamp bites girl

Girl is dying

Boy comes and kills vamp

Boy saves girl

Girl wants to be vamp

Boy says no

THE END

On a more serious note, the idea of Twilight came to Stephenie Meyer through a dream where she dreamt about Edward and Bella sitting in a beautiful meadow and Edward tells Bella that he loves her, but he is a vampire and wants to kill her as well. That dream became the 13th chapter of Twilight and in just three months, Meyer finished the first Twilight novel.

In other news, we've come up with a new segment for the Fangdom called "I Do Doodle, You Do Doodle Too" where we will be accepting your drawings (no matter how crappy or amazing) of your favorite, least favorite, down right hilarious scenes from whatever supernatural/mythical form of entertainment you can think of.

Our first one below was done by our very own Buffyrules01 and it's pretty obvious where this is from and why she chose to doodle it:

Buffyrules01 would like to note that she does know that Twilight vampires don't have fangs, but she doesn't care.

So send us your doodles at our e-mail address: randomfandom89@hotmail.com (remember to leave out the "G")

Have a great Memorial Day! -Random

Reviews

I would first like to apologize to our loyal readers. I have not been putting up any posts lately and I am deeply sorry for it. But, I'm sure that many of you can understand that school needs to come first. So, my next bit of information is I'm DONE - until the fall. Yay!
Okay now, I have two reviews for you loyal readers. The first is in regards to "The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide" and the other is in regards to "Water for Elephants" (the book and the movie).

I have been waiting for this book since it was announced that it would be coming out. I love reading character backgrounds and that was one of the major points for the book. It has other interesting features including: a timeline, an interview with Stephenie Meyer (I must admit that I only glanced over this section), and information regarding the cars in the series and the music Stephenie Meyer used as inspiration. There are other features as well and I'm sure you can look up the book to find out more. But, my review of the book is that it's interesting and better written then the books themselves - I agree with buffyrules01 that the books are lacking in grammatical correctness and a lack of explanation for literature, but it's an interesting story to me and I tend to ignore grammatical errors while I'm reading because I'd rather just enjoy the book. My review for this book is to check it out if you are even remotely interested. It's interesting and it helps clear up some of the confusion that present themselves in the book.

I read the book "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen before I went to see the movie. I wanted to see the movie because I wanted to watch Robert Pattinson in something besides "Twilight" - I think all of the Twilight actors and actresses do better work in movies other than Twilight. My review for the movie... eh, it wasn't terrifically awesome but it wasn't horrible. Although, at one point in the movie I wanted to desperately leave because it was boring and wasn't following the book well. I suggest reading the book more than I suggest seeing the movie. But the choice is up to you.

Those are my reviews and while they might seem a little vague they are what I think. Until next time loyal readers....

-scarc91989



Bring on the Anti's

I should probably put up a disclaimer before I write anything else: I am the Anti-Twilight, so there may be some slight bashing in this post. I don't mean to offend anyone who is a fan of Twilight, I'm just stating my opinion; that's all. If you want some Twilight lovin', see the previous post.

Moving on!

So...Twilight, a word that now makes me cringe regardless of whether or not it's referred to the series or the time of day.

Several years ago, I too was reading this series and I admit, I liked it at the time. What happened to make me change sides you ask? The answer is very simple: I woke up.

I originally read this series back before it exploded into the craziness it is now, and way back before Twi-Hards were getting their knickers in a twist over everything. I was a naive high schooler who didn't know any better and was trying to get everyone I knew to read this series.

Fast forward through college and I'm now trying to prevent people from reading it. Why? Because it is not quality literature. College opened my eyes to the proper usage of grammar, and let's face it, Twilight has some serious issues when it comes to that front. I physically cannot read the books anymore-it's too painful! The series is now hidden away somewhere in a tub inside my house.

It's not just the grammar that bothers me though. I can't for the life of me figure out why Stephenie Meyer couldn't take the time to explain things within her novels properly. Or to do some research. I'm sorry, but if it takes three months to write a novel of that length and quantity, then something must be wrong. It took JK Rowling five years just to write the first Harry Potter novel-five! And just look at the difference between the two series: you have one with quality writing, wonderful characters, a completely unique made up world that follows it's own set of laws...and then you have Twilight, where not even Port Angeles is depicted correctly.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do think that what Stephenie Meyer has been able to achieve as a stay at home mom is great. The fact that she found the time to even write a novel of that length is amazing-but after the success of the first novel, I think she should've learned more about the craft of creative writing to make each of sequels afterwards better. Instead what we end up with is Breaking Dawn: what is considered by many fans to be the worst and the most disappointing of the saga. Some even go as far to say that it reads like a bad fanfiction. At some points, I'd have to say I agree with them.

I could go on and on about the issues I have with this series right now, but I'm going to save that for later. As we dive into this series and go through everything, you will all see both sides of the spectrum.

I hope you all enjoy what we have in store for you!

-Buffyrules01

The Phenomenon known as...

Yes...we're bringing THIS up. Instead of doing a segment on Buffy, we've decided to hold off on it for awhile and switch things up by giving you the phenomenon known as the Twilight Saga.

Most of you (unless you've been living under a rock) have heard of this series, and I'm going to take a guess and say that either you've read the books, watched the movies, or you're completely Anti-Twilight and refuse to involve yourself in either. Well, what we're going to do for this is involve all of you. I myself happen to be a Twilight fan, Random is sort of in the middle, and Buffyrules has completely gone to the dark side-she's our Anti-Twilight and refers to those "Twi-Hards" as "Pysch-Wards."

Now, I am certainly not a "Twi-Hard" and neither is Random. I was introduced to the Twilight world right before the first movie came out when one of my roommates, our very own Buffyrules before she turned, thought it would be a great idea to go see the movie when it came out. Before I'd met Buffyrules, vampires used to terrify me; but once she introduced me to Buffy; I was hooked! I agreed to watch the movie, but opted to read the books before seeing it so that I could be on the same page as Buffyrules and my other roommates. By the time Twilight came out in theaters, I had finished the entire series, and I was a fan.

Years have gone by and I still enjoy reading the series, but I can see now why certain people may not enjoy the books as others do.

For the next few weeks, us ladies of Random Fangdom will be bringing you everything we know, love (and hate) about the Twilight series. There aren't going to be any biases, we've all read the series so we're not just judging the book by it's cover, so buckle your seat belts and enjoy the ride! Everyone is welcome: Twilighters, Twi-Hards (just don't go crazy on us), the Anti-Twilights, and even those people who are still trying to decide which side to be on.

We welcome you all!
                                                                                            ~ scarc91989

Vampire Mythology: Blood

"Blood is too precious a thing in these days of dishonorable peace..." (Dracula, Ch. 3)

Nothing has so defined the vampire race than that which they take from humans to give them life: blood.



Since ancient times, humans have seen the connection between blood and life. Hunters observed the relationship between the spilling of blood and the subsequent loss of consciousness, the ceasing of breath, and eventual death of the animals they sought. Blood was identified with life, and scholars through the ages have produced endless speculations about that connection.

Some believed that by drinking the blood of a victim the conqueror absorbed the additional strength of the conquered (sounds pretty vampirey to me). By drinking the blood of animals, one took on their qualities. As late as the seventeenth century, the women of the Yorkshire area of England were reported to believe that by drinking the blood of their enemies, they could increase their fertility (creepy!).

Among blood's more noticeable qualities was its red color as it flowed out of the body, and as a result redness came to be seen as an essential characteristic of blood, the vehicle of its power. Red objects were often endowed with the same potency as blood. In particular red wine was identified with blood, and in ancient Greece, for example, red wine was drunk by the devotees of the god Dionysus in a symbolic ritual drinking of his blood.

In Dracula, when Lucy Westenra is hovering near death, Van Helsing suggests a blood transfusion, something that was very new at the time due to Dracula being written just as modern medicine was emerging. The idea of using a transfusion to counter the vampire introduced a new concern into the developing myth of the vampire through the twentieth century, especially as the supernatural elements of the myth were being discarded. If vampirism was not a supernatural state, and rather was caused ultimately by a moral or theological flaw of the original vampires, then possibly the blood thirst was the symptom of a diseased condition! Caused by a germ or a chemical disorder of the blood, either of which might be passed by the vampires bite (sounds a little like I Am Legend, doesn't it?).

In the mid 1960's there was a brief medical speculation that vampirism was the result of misdiagnosed porphyria, a disease that caused victims to be sensitive to sunlight and which could be cured or helped.

Anemia is a disease of the blood that was initially associated with vampirism. Anemia is caused by a reduction of either red blood cells or hemoglobin relative to the other ingredients in the blood. The symptoms include a pale complexion, fatigue, and in its more extreme instances, fainting spells. All are symptoms usually associated with a vampire attack. In Dracula, during the early stages of Lucy Westenra's illness, Dr. John Seward hypothesized that possibly she was suffering from anemia. He later concluded that she was not suffering from the loss of red blood cells, but from the loss of whole blood. Dr. Van Helsing agreed with his friend, "I have made careful examination, but there is not functional cause. With you I agree that there has been much blood lost; it has been, but is not. But the conditions of her are in no way anemic" (ch 9). While Stoker dismissed any association of anemia and vampirism, over the succeeding decades, attempts to posit anemia as the underlying explanation of vampirism occasionally occurred.

The traditional beliefs that surrounded blood, the medical exploration of its properties, and the analogies it harbored, facilitated the adaptability of the vampire myth to a seemingly endless number of situations. Scientific considerations of the vital function played by blood in the human body have, if anything given it an even more mystical place in human life and promoted its revitalization in this modern era.


I own none of the above. It belongs to those who have spent their lives researching vampires and have put this information together for us to learn from
-Buffyrules01