#twilight series

[lilacblossomdreams]

Apparently Chelsea's original name was Charmion, which. The name "Celsa" was right there.

[lilacblossomdreams]

Twilight Saga & Names

Isabella Marie Swan: "Swan" is self-explanatory. "Isabella" is ultimately from an Occitan form of Elizabeth (which is also Edward's mom's name. That's not Freudian at all, Meyer) and means something like "my god is an oath". "Marie" has a variety of different translations, including "bitter", "rebellion", or "wished-for-child", but it's believed to be ultimately derived from an Ancient Egyptian word meaning "love" or "beloved". "My god is an oath of love" is such a beautiful name meaning and fits the protagonist of a romance novel perfectly, I can't. Anyway, her nickname, "Bella" means "beautiful" in Italian, which. Very clever, Meyer. /s That being said, it can also be Latin for "wars".

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen: "Edward" is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning either "he who guards wealth" or "he who guards happiness", depending on the translation. Personally, I like the second one better, it's so cute. "Anthony" is of Etruscan origin and has no known meaning, but is commonly (and incorrectly lol) associated with the Greek word "anthos", meaning "flower". Gives a whole new meaning to the meadow scene, doesn't it? "Cullen" has three separate etymologies. One is from the name of the German city of Cologne, meaning "colony". The other two are Anglicized from two Irish surnames meaning "holly" and "whelp, young dog" respectively, the latter of which would have made it a better surname for Jacob if you ask me. It also sounds very close to "culling", which I guess does suit an apex predator. As for "Masen", that's not a name. Meyer was most likely going for "Mason".

Jacob Black & James Witherdale: might as well do these two as a double feature since they have basically the same first name. Both are versions of a Hebrew name meaning either "supplanter" or "God will protect" depending on the translation. Jacob was named after Stephenie Meyer's brother. For Jacob his last name is self-explanatory, and for James, his was given to him by the movies (he doesn't have one in the books, boo!) and it apparently comes from the name of this village in England called "Withersdale", which is Norse in origin and means something like "Vidar's valley", with "Vidar" meaning something like "wide army". What a name. In Norse mythology Vidar was a son of Odin, and it is said that in Ragnarok he will avenge his father's death by slaying the wolf Fenrir. This doesn't factor into James' character at all (okay, except maybe the fact that James apparently chased a werewolf all over Siberia???), which is very sad, because that would be hell of a reference.

Mary Alice Brandon: "Mary" I already went over in Bella's section. "Alice" comes from the Germanic name "Adelheid", meaning something like "nobility", and is most likely a reference to Alice in Wonderland. Lastly, her surname comes from a place name that means "broom-covered hill".

Rosalie Lilian Hale: "Rosalie" is self-explanatory, "Lilian" is either a short form of Elizabeth or elaborated form of Lily, and "Hale" means something like "nook, recess, hollow". Her first name was originally supposed to be Carol.

Jasper Whitlock: "Jasper" refers to either the gemstone, or a Hebrew name meaning "treasurer" which is traditionally assigned to one of the three Magi who visited Jesus. "Whitlock" apparently means either "white enclosure" or "white hair" depending on the translation. His first name was originally supposed to be Ronald.

Emmett McCarthy: "Emmett" is apparently a male form of Emma, meaning either "whole, entire", "great, exalted", or "world, earth". I think this is the only instance I've seen of a male name being derived from a female name as opposed to the other way around. Interesting. "McCarthy" means "son of Cedric", ultimately from an Irish word that means "loving".

Esme Anne Platt: "Esme" is an old French name meaning "beloved, esteemed", "Anne" means "grace", while "Platt" means, well, "flat".

Carlisle Cullen: "Carlisle" is from a city in northern England meaning "stronhold of Lugus", the Celtic god of commerce and craftsmanship, equated with Hermes/Mercury. Lugus' name is in turn derived from an Indo-European root meaning either "light, bright", "dark", or "oath".

Charlie Swan: "Charlie" is a diminutive of "Charles", a Germanic name literally meaning "man". Well, either that or "army", but still. Everyone has these interesting names and then there's Charlie. Anyway, because of Charlemagne, versions of Charles have been borrowed into various European languages as the word for "king", kinda like what happened with Cesar, so I guess that's consolation enough.

Renee Dwyer: "Renee" is from a French name meaning "reborn", while "Dwyer" is from an Irish name meaning either "dark brown" or "black wisdom". Her maiden name is apparently Higginbotham, which. I think we know why she married Charlie straight out of high school. She was probably trying to get rid of that name as quickly as possible.

Phil Dwyer: "Phil" is a short form of "Philip", and means "friend, dear, beloved" by itself. Which is probably why it was chosen, considering his only role in the series is to be Renee's arm candy.

Renesmee Cullen: her first name is a blending together of Renee and Esme's names, which. For wanting a unique name for a unique baby, Meyer sure chose the most uncreative name imaginable.

Victoria Sutherland: "Victoria" is self-explanatory, while "Sutherland" means, well, "southern land" (a better name for Jasper if you ask me), and like with James it was given to her by the movies. Victoria is apparently the name of Stephenie Meyer's mother-in-law.

Laurent da Revin: "Laurent" is the French form of Lawrence, from a Roman city whose name was probably derived from "laurum" (laurel). His surname was given to him by the movies, and is spelled incorrectly; they were probably going for "de Ravin", which does exist and means "of the ravine". "Ravin" also just so happens to match the spelling of an antiquated English word meaning "predatory animal", an apt description for most vampires in the series.

[kingofblackdresses]

Reading the book version of twilight right now. It’s great, but sometimes I would like if Edward were to just stop talking. I can’t stand when he goes on about how dangerous he is. Love him though.

[lilacblossomdreams]

I've joked about the idea of Edward being Polish, but honestly the more I think about it the more sense it makes.

For one, he's from Chicago, which has the largest Polish population in the US, and did back in the early 1900s as well.

For another thing, he was really gung-ho about fighting in WW1. America was isolationist at the time and largely indifferent to the war, to the point where Woodrow Wilson's was re-elected in 1916 on the basis of "He kept us out of the war!". However, Polish Americans were very in support of the war, volunteering in droves as well as contributing in other ways, like working in war-related industries and buying war bonds. Of the first 100,000 volunteers to enlist in the US army during WWI, almost half were Polish, and after the war it was estimated Polish names made up 10% of the casualty lists despite being only 4% of the US population. The Italians were really the only other demographic that was like this. By contrast, Irish and German Americans (who were also a large portion of Chicago's population at the time, and still are to this day) were strongly against the idea of America entering the war.

We also know that Edward's desire to fight in the war wasn't just some passing interest, it was something he cared about to the exclusion of basically everything else, which tracks considering this was existential for the Poles in a way it simply wasn't for the Italians. About 100 years earlier, Poland had been wiped off the map, split between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and wouldn't be re-established until the end of WWI. Veterans of the failed November Uprising would've been still alive, albeit very old, when Edward was growing up.

Edward's family Anglicizing their name might even help explain why the heck Edward's surname is misspelled—Masen does sound similar to the Polish surname Masny.

It also provides an unexpected and quite frankly bizarre link with Jasper. The first Polish communities in the US were founded in Texas in the early 1850s, right around the time Jasper would've been a child. I like to imagine learning this is one of those times interacting with another vampire really gives Edward an existential crisis.

One thing that does give me pause is Edward's view of Jacob, and the Quileutes in general. I mean, aside from mourning the complete destruction of his homeland by foreign powers and wanting to fight to see it re-established, a Polish Edward would've also had to deal with anti-Polish sentiment and discrimination, especially what with McKinley's assassination by Leon Czolgosz, which happened just three months after Edward was born. You'd think a guy with those kinds of experiences would a tad more sympathetic to a group of indigenous people who very clearly do not want him near them, and not, say, idly think about killing them all for the crime of one guy blabbing about things he didn't even think were real. Then again, being an oppressed minority has never prevented anyone from being a total fuckhead.

Last but not least, it makes for a very fun bit of reality subtext, considering Meyer's initial choice for Edward was Henry Cavill, who ended up being cast in The Witcher. Okay, this last one has nothing to do with anything, I just thought it was hilarious.

[varenkaaaart]

Everything below is just my headcanon about Aro and Sulpicia’s possible backstories

Aro

Of all the Volturi, Aro is the one we actually know a bit about, but to me he still feels vague like something specific is missing. He’s not the kind of character who needs a tragic, tear-soaked backstory. The fact that he does what he does from cold calculation, not from some wounded past, makes him even creepier and more dangerous. So here’s my headcanon for his life before he became a vampire.

Aro was born into a big family of merchants, the second eldest son. Nobody expected him to join the military or become a hero; everyone assumed he’d take up the family trade. He didn’t resist that. If anything, he wanted to push the family business to a whole new level and he had the talent to do it.

He was driven by a deep desire to be more than just a small-town trader. He understood that the family business was a real avenue to achieve bigger ambitions.

From a young age he knew one thing clearly: he didn’t want to take orders, but he could and wanted to command. That distinction shaped him. He became an excellent businessman. He knew what people wanted, when to take risks, when to wait. He could manipulate people so skillfully they thought their choices were their own, never noticing his hand. He never looked threatening; he came off as charming, reliable, the kind of businessman you’d trust without questioning his motives.

But he forgot something obvious: human life is wildly unpredictable, and planning for years ahead can be fragile. During one caravan trip escorting the family goods, they were attacked by vampires. Aro was turned almost by chance, he wasn’t meant to be immortal, but fate dragged him into it. The first year as a vampire was apathy, loneliness, disappointment. He felt like his dreams and ambitions had been crushed.

Then he met Marcus, who became his guide into the chaotic vampire world. They formed a genuinely honest friendship because for Aro this new world didn’t fit into ordinary human categories. He soaked up everything Marcus told him, and realized vampirism was a second chance to pursue the ambitions that hadn’t died with his humanity. Marcus became more than a friend - he was Aro’s conscience. With Marcus he could talk about ideas of a “fair” world, share doubts. But for people like Aro, conscience is never decisive. Vampirism was his second chance, and he wouldn’t waste it on pity or passivity.

Aro didn’t crave heroic glory. He wanted recognition in a form that made the world respect him not just for power, but for the “logic” and necessity of his existence. He believed chaos was an opportunity more than a threat, and power was not only violence but constructive order and he saw himself as the only rightful architect of that order.

Sulpicia

She’s a lot trickier, because canon barely gives us anything to work with. What little we do get doesn’t really form a clear picture of her as a character. Canon says that when Aro started looking for a wife, he had specific criteria in mind. What those criteria were, though? No one knows. Was he only interested in someone with minimal ties to human society, or was there more to it? Canon doesn’t answer that. Personally, I like to think there was more (and no, not a gift), so I tried to sketch out what Sulpicia might be like. This is just my headcanon, nothing more.

Sulpicia is intelligent, self-aware, emotionally cold, and forced to grow up far too early. From a very young age, she understands that no one really needs her, and no one was waiting for her.

She was born during the late Roman Empire into a wealthy aristocratic family. Her parents raised her with the expectation that she would marry someone exceptional, someone worthy of her status. But that never happens - her parents die when she’s eleven.

After that, she’s taken in by distant relatives who aren’t exactly happy to have an extra mouth to feed. They take her in, but she never truly belongs there. She’s not mistreated in an obvious way she’s not turned into a servant like Cinderella but she constantly feels like she shouldn’t be there at all.

Her relatives focus on their own daughters, while Sulpicia fades into the background. And this is despite the fact that, when her parents were alive, she had the best of everything. That’s the environment she grows up in. She understands that eventually she’ll be married off as an afterthought, just to get rid of her.

And that’s when Aro appears. He’s looking for someone whose disappearance wouldn’t really matter. Sulpicia is perfect: good family, but completely unnecessary to it.

He courts her in a very polished, calculated way at first, but quickly realizes it doesn’t have much effect. She doesn’t believe his pretty words, doesn’t lose her head over him, doesn’t fall in love at first sight. At some point, she tells him outright that she’s not impressed. That she stopped expecting anything from life a long time ago. And that’s what actually catches his attention.

From that moment on, the pretense drops. Aro gets straight to the point. He tells her plainly that he doesn’t want her out of love he needs a woman who will stand by him and support him and Sulpicia agrees.

She knows perfectly well she’s not being chosen out of love, but in her situation, Aro is the best and maybe the only option. And honestly, the idea of standing beside someone who plans to rule immortals sounds a lot better than being married off to some decaying old nobleman. From the very beginning, she sees exactly who Aro is. She has no illusions about him.

As for their relationship, I don’t think love between them is impossible. It wouldn’t be soft or healthy more like something deeply wrong, maybe even a little disturbing but that doesn’t make it less interesting. Yes, it starts as a calculated marriage. But that doesn’t mean it can’t turn into something more over time. Even if there’s no love at first, there’s definitely interest.

And Aro was, without a doubt, impressed by her.

[lilacblossomdreams]

I was today years old when I realized Jasper from Twilight was also white Sokka in the movie that doesn't exist.

[mulumuludesign]

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