opulent wrote:Ditto, Amanda Beth, on the whole fantasy thing...
And TNO, ummm.. .Can I point out that Nessie's development makes sense, especially the intellectual side of it? The vampires are able to think of many more things and much faster than humans. Plus they have perfect recall. So it would make sense that Nessie would only need to see or hear something once before she says or does it. On top of that, it ISN'T A PROVEN FACT THAT IMPRINTING EXISTS ONLY FOR REPRODUCTION (well, as much as anything in a fantasy novel could be a proven fact). That was only a theory on Sam's part. So who knows why Jacob imprinted on her.
And lastly, why in the heck would she be like a mule? She is half-human, half vampire. No mule in the equation. The vampire half obviously doesn't hinder change in her body, so it most likely wouldn't hinder pregnancy either.
Well, no, her intellectual development doesn't make sense. For example, Edward can hear Renesmee's thoughts while she is still developing in Bella's womb- but how would Nessie have been able to "think" in words? I know fetuses can hear and recognize voices, but they wouldn't be able to use words- they wouldn't know how to use words and they wouldn't be able to understand anything. The point being, Nessie might have some super sponge-like knowledge intake or whatever, but she's basically surrounded by darkness and liquid, so she wouldn't be able to articulate her thoughts. She wouldn't be capable of thinking to her father- "I will try to stop kicking because it hurts mother, and I love mother so I do not wish to hurt her." She shouldn't have been able to communicate, as it were, with Edward. I can live with her being a supergenius- I can't live with her being fluent in English
before she is even born. You cannot "grow" knowledge- to learn something (language, in this case) you have to be exposed to it at least once, no matter how smart you are.
Nextly, the mule thing- I meant she should be infertile, like a mule. Mules, in case you didn't know, are half-horse half-donkey cross breeds. They are also (largely) infertile. So are Ligers, for that matter. Or any other crossbreeds. Therefore, Nessie should be infertile (thus ending her similarity to both mules and Ligers). And just because the vamp genes don't stop her aging for an apparently arbitrary amount of time, she should still be infertile for the same reason mules are infertile- she's a crossbreed.
Furthermore: Re: "It's fantasy, it doesn't have to be realistic" argument: Uh-huh. Yeah, I know it's fantasy. But there's this thing known as Willing Suspension Of Disbelief (the definition of which should be pretty self-explanatory, but if not it means that the audience lays aside their knowledge of unbreakable rules of this world to enter and accept and for a while become a part of a fantasy/science fiction world). I quote:
An author's work, in other words, does not have to be realistic, only believable and internally consistent...
(TVtropes.org)
Now. Essentially this means that fiction- fantasy especially- doesn't necessarily have to abide by the rules of our universe, but it must make sense, and it must follow its own rules (e.g., saying "vampires can't reproduce!" and then turning around and getting your main character pregnant by her vampire husband
is not internally consistent).
See, sparkling vampires? While that turned Twilight into a Wall Banger for me, it was internally consistent in that the vampires glittered and shone their way right to the very end.
On the other hand, Edward made it very, very clear that vampires can't reproduce- and was backed up by every other vampire who had a say on the topic. Then, in BD, Bella's suddenly pregnant with Ed's child, thus breaking the aforementioned rule of infertile vampires, thus SM broke her own canon and the rule of internal consistency, thus turning BD into a Wall Banger for many of SM's fans. You see?
The general point being, fantasy can be, well, fantastical and unrealistic as it wants for all I care (though sparkly vampires is pushing it), so long as it remains internally consistent and realistic within itself. You see?
