CharacterExploration: Nessie - Stop Groaning and Read

Renesmee Cullen
By:

KenoshaChick

&

Addicted to Edward

KC:

Oh Nessie…my dearest little freak of nature.

A2E:

When I first read “Renesmee”, my reaction was “WTF kind of name is that?!”

KC:

Just this past summer, I was incredibly bored with far too much time on my hands, so I decided I wanted to get a story on Twilighted. I could not do this without help, so I began perusing the Twilighted forums, fruitlessly looking for someone to beta a post-Breaking Dawn story with original characters – not everyone’s favorite genre. Okay, I’ll admit, it’s not anyone’s favorite genre. I had nearly given up when I came across a posting of someone looking to discuss her own Nessie story. From within my boredom, I realized I had thought way too much about the little plot-hole, and decided I should at least share my crazy with someone who might appreciate it. And that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship with the lovely

Addicted to Edward

(A2E).

A2E:

Remember what Bella said when she saw the broken-down bikes in the Markses’ yard in New Moon? It basically sums up how I feel about meeting

KenoshaChick

. Someone is willing to listen to me ramble endlessly about Nessie and what imprinting means and if she can have babies and what kind of personality she’d have and how Bella and Edward would react as parents and … and … and…? Really? And not just listen, but come back with tons of feedback, insight, and things that make me go “Hmmm….”? Sometimes, kismet happens.

KC:

A2E and I spent a good chunk of the summer going back and forth discussing Miss Nessie and the endless realm of possibilities for her story. And it is endless. It was a frustrating and difficult process, but mostly fun, as we began to realize that when taking on a story featuring the little freak of nature, it’s not just about developing a decent plot or having a witty one-liners. When you take on Nessie, you’re taking on the Saga and everything Meyer left open to interpretation.

A2E:

My reaction upon finishing Breaking Dawn was, “Are you serious?” My husband, on the other hand, has declared it as his favorite book of the series and has read it multiple times. He especially likes Jacob’s section, despite the fact that he considers himself Team Edward. Is it a guy thing? I don’t know.

KC:

The fandom’s response to Nessie is a strange sort of phenomenon. There are fans out there who hate Jacob or Bella – and that’s fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion – but instead of any adamant dislike or love for Nessie, the fandom has collectively decided to ignore her. It’s an odd occurrence of communal denial. When asked about her pet peeves in Nessie fics,

Tears_of_Mercury

mentioned, “I think overall those writers who haven’t appreciated Breaking Dawn’s addition to canon have been lovely about not feeling the need to even include her as an element of their stories.” So true.

The disappointment over Breaking Dawn is unfortunate, especially for those of us who put our hearts into the fandom, only to be betrayed by a confusing and unexpected plot. I understand the denial and the grief, for I did not like Breaking Dawn either. If Meyer were to announce Breaking Dawn was a practical joke, I’d be okay with that.

A2E:

I remember reading on Stephenie Meyer’s website that Breaking Dawn actually grew out of an extensive epilogue she wrote for Twilight before it was published. She had planned from the beginning that Bella and Edward would have a child named Renesmee, which makes you wonder why it had to come from out of nowhere, when she could have foreshadowed it and tied it in nicely with the other three books. Instead, Breaking Dawn feels like an entirely separate book.

Although it is my least favorite book of the series, I’ve come to accept the book as a whole, as well as Nessie as a character. Now, the name has even grown on me to the point that I briefly talked to my husband about naming a future daughter after her because it’s a cool-sounding name. I wouldn’t really do that (the poor child!), but it was fun to think about.

KC:

My perspective on Nessie is somewhat unique. Truthfully, I don’t love her; however, I chose to embrace her because I am fascinated by her. I adore absurdities; things like Twilight conversation hearts that taste like perfumed dirt just blow my mind with the depth of their ridiculousness. Nessie is no exception.

---

Canon Renesmee

KC:

Okay, so the way in which Nessie came to exist is in a word…creepy. If I had to choose a second word, it’d be gross. Have you seen Rosemary’s Baby? Well, now you don’t need to. Bella’s unpleasant pregnancy and birth is uncomfortable to read, and Meyer has written it so you not only have to read the epic birth scene once, but twice – once from Jacob’s perspective and then again from Bella’s. Graphic hybrid birth scenes aside, the amount of concrete information there is on Nessie is limited. According to author

I am the Creator God

, “there are only 396 pages of story in which she was post-womb.”

Here are some of the facts:

• Full name: Renesmee Carlie Cullen
• Loved her parents from the womb
• Warm-blooded at a temperature one or two degrees different from Jake’s with a heart that beats faster than a human's
• Sleeps
• Brown eyes like Bella
• Impenetrable skin that has faint luminosity in sunlight
• Prefers human blood, but can live on animal blood or human food
• Full set of teeth at birth
• Not venomous
• Can show images in other people's mind by touching them (perhaps only by touching on face and neck). Prefers to communicate via touching; however, she has flawless grammar and articulation.
• At two days, looked like one-two months old. At three months, the size of a large one-year-old or small two-year-old.
• First word at one week old (Momma). First sentence right after that (Momma, where’s Grandpa?).
• At two days old, she had shiny bronze hair in ringlets past her shoulders. Hair to her waist at three months.
• She could run, dance, and read at three months
• Even on her first day she was intelligent enough to communicate, learn, and be persuaded
• Competitive with Jacob
• Should reach “maturity” at seven years old
• Even as young as four months old, she knew she was different: “She sighed, and in my head flashed pictures of all of us in one quick burst. Vampire, human, werewolf. She fit nowhere.” (Breaking Dawn, 425).

Nessie isn’t given much of a personality in Canon as we only see her first few months of life. But therein lies an amazing opportunity for fan fiction writers. You get to take those small snippets of her personality and Edward’s and Bella’s genes, and shape her into something amazing. It is incredibly common to find Mary Sue’s in Nessie fics, which is understandable considering there is no Canon available to give us any insight on her personality as an adult.

A2E:

Besides the lack of personality development, there are other aspects of Nessie’s life that are left open-ended and unanswered by Meyer. Her fertility, for example. What about imprinting?

KC:

Needless to say, Nessie is confusing. And amazingly, the more you think about it, the more confused you get. Cross your fingers that this article actually makes any sense.

---

Childhood Nessie: Growing up is Hard to Do…

KC:

Nessie is a start from scratch kind of character; however, most fics skip over her childhood. It’s understandable why authors would do this, I’ve done it myself. We want to get to the “good part” where Nessie is facing the drama her life will inevitably become. Nevertheless, portraying Nessie as a child can be critical understanding her as a character. Fics that let her be a child are rare and special. And even those of us who don’t like kids (that would be me) may find stories in which she is an adult are enriched by experiencing her prior growth.

Technically, childhood fics are the only stories that can be deemed Canon characterizations of Nessie. It’s also interesting to note that nearly every author I contacted considered her story to be Canon – a category that is usually quite strict in its guidelines – while each story is vastly different. Since there is no Canon with which to compare, I like to call anything that depicts Nessie at an older age Canon-ish. If it could happen, then it’s Canon-ish.

An important story that I would recommend to all readers, even those who despise Nessie, is

A Legendary Bourn

, by

I am the Creator God

. This story is epically long and epically good. Amazingly enough, all this story depicts are those first few years of Nessie’s life before maturity. When asking how she approached Nessie’s characterization, the author writes,

This (the Canon) was definitely not enough from which I could create a nearly-teenage Renesmee. I realized that if I was going to really be able to predict her actions accurately, I was going to have to get to know her better. I started 6 months after BD ends, knowing that not much would have changed in her world. I also started with Jacob's point-of-view because I felt like I knew him in a way I had yet to know her.

Written from Jacob’s perspective, the reader experiences the growth, change, and depth of his relationship with Nessie – and it’s not always pretty. Jake confesses at one particularly low point,

This girl, who was only bonded to me because I hadn't been able to take no for an answer from her mother. This girl, who would have a fucking loser tied to her hip for the rest of all eternity because he was a monster who had had to rely on magic to trap her. I cried because I had practically forced myself on her family. I cried because I knew I was scaring her by crying and I couldn't stop. I cried because I had figured out why Edward had frowned when I mentioned those mechanical books. And so, I cried. Because I would never, ever deserve Renesmee. And everybody knew it.

The Nessie in this story is innately inquisitive and has a fierce desire to learn, which on more than one occasion ends up being a flaw as well as a virtue. What I liked best about this story is every part of it makes sense. I can’t give the details away because they are too genius and it would ruin the experience to spoil it. There’s no battle scene or attack from the Volturi, just pure character development. Even though it’s from Jacob’s perspective, the reader will feel connected to Nessie in the same way they felt connected to Bella and Edward in Twilight. Oh yeah, and Jacob, Emmett, & Jasper get drunk and it is hilarious.

Another special little nugget of a story is

Momma, Can I Ask you a Question?

by

twirlingecho

. While the previous story is great because of its length, this story is great because it’s quite short. It captures a few special moments of Nessie’s life when she asks her mother the very questions I have wondered about Nessie. The story may be small, but the author explains everything effectively and concisely in sweet parental way. Again, the author lets Nessie be a child.

“Momma, can I ask you a question?”

I quickly saved the e-mail I was composing to the professor of my distance learning psychology class before swiveling my chair to face my daughter. I knew this might take a while, because she had been pacing up and down our tiny living area for the last eighteen minutes.

“Anytime, Nessie. What is it?”

Once again, I waited patiently while she composed her thoughts and prepared to ask her question.

“Will I be able to have a baby?”

Doesn’t every parent look forward to answering that question?

Although Canon Nessie is intelligent and has a strong comprehension of reality, she’s still a child. Authors are quick to make her naïve and bratty (that’s coming up in a bit), but when you’re very young there is no such thing as naïveté, only the wonderment of discovering something new. And for Nessie, there is so much to discover.

The Story of Us

by

Mindy Ann

is another story that begins at the beginning of Nessie’s life and accounts for nearly all of the time up to and beyond maturity. Step by step the reader experiences growing up with Nessie and having that prior experience helps to explain why Nessie is the way she is. Despite the speed at which she grows, her changes in character are not abrupt and feel natural.

As the title would suggest, most of this story has to do with Nessie and Jacob’s relationship. It’s difficult to comprehend how his feelings could go from brotherly to romantic. Upon first impression, the concept is disconcerting, so when an author is able to explain this transition slowly and clearly, it’s quite a feat.

North Star

by

Christina Cooner

portrays Nessie at the age of six, but she still has that spark of innocence to her. She adorably calls Carlisle her Pop-Pop and Esme her Gramma. I liked this one because Nessie is “old” but she’s still being babied and sheltered by her family. This can potentially lead to all kinds of drama.

A2E:

One final example of Childhood Nessie can be found in

Shadow of a Doubt

by

Nostalgicmiss

. Although this isn’t actually a story about Nessie’s childhood, the first chapter is a recap of the first nine years of Nessie’s life – including some of her memories from within the womb. It’s a good (although long) introduction to the rest of the story because, as the author says in her A/N, “it’s catching up what we've missed to the point where the story starts.”

---

The Brat: I’m Six Years Old! I’m Not a Child!

KC:

Once the days of childhood are gone, inevitably everyone must go through their less than pleasant stages of life. Here is where we find the bratty Nessie’s. Plagued by the oppression of a sheltered household and a body and mind that appear much older than they actually are, bratty Nessie’s are just plain unreasonable. She rears her ugly head almost always around the time right before Nessie reaches maturity. They tend to be selfish and self-centered, as every girl is from age twelve to sixteen (hopefully it ends at sixteen). They often beg to attend high school so they can be “normal.” This type of personality does not necessarily make her unlikable. It’s as if the experience is as frustrating for the reader as it is for the fictional characters involved.

Waxing Crescent

by

Pastiche Pen

unapologetically portrays her as a brat. Here’s Bella’s loving description of her from the very first chapter:

She’d gotten quite terrible since Jacob had left for Stanford in August. Her growth rate had seemed to really slow for a few months there, and we had been able to convince him he could leave. Of course, soon after he left Nessie had shot up a half foot, and the hormonal flood gates had opened. Her body seemed to have condensed all of the usual pubescent angst into a three month long series of eruptions. Nor did it help that she was more brilliant than any teenage brat should have the right to be. I really could have used Jasper right now…

I’ve heard it argued that Nessie would never be a brat because of her intelligence; however, I argue that intelligence does not equal emotional maturity. And given the fact that she’s human, than yeah, she’s allowed to be a little cranky from time to time. Regarding Miss Nessie,

Pastiche Pen

writes,

She's not human. She's not a vampire. She's like this crazy unknown subspecies with an overbearing vampire father and this massive family. She doesn't even have a “past humanity.” So I focused on her quest to figure out what being human is. Needless to say, I totally abandoned the idea of the wise, strangely mature Nessie, in favor of a too-smart-for-her-own-good, perfect-looking, mouthy little ** who is determined to forge her own path in the world. I'm always a sucker for the weirdo outsider.

I am a firm believer that Nessie would in fact be a brat. She’s an only child who was, no doubt, spoiled beyond comprehension, yet she has more constrictions put upon her than any other human child. Hopefully, authors will put the brat through some experiences where she can grow and gain wisdom so she’s less likely to repeat mistakes and stop being such a pain.

---

Emo Nessie: You’d be Screwed Up Too…

KC:

There is a definite difference between Bratty Nessie and Emo Nessie. Bratty Nessie is usually naïve and frustrated, whereas Emo Nessie has all the information and is freaking out about it.

A2E:

I think Emo Nessie is a logical characterization. Nessie knew from infancy that she was different from everyone else around her. No one in her daily life can truly understand and empathize with her. She must remain secluded from the world for at least the first six years of her life. Everyone else in her life is frozen in time while she is changing at a rapid rate. The only exceptions are the few humans she interacts with.

Even aside from physical growth, there’s the emotional development to consider. Nessie goes from birth to, theoretically, twenty-one in seven years. Anyone who has a child or has spent a lot of time with one knows how much a child grows just in one year. The amount of emotional growth from age two to three, for example, is phenomenal. Now, consider that range of growth happening in four months or less. It doesn’t matter how many books Nessie has read or how many languages she can speak, that amount of growth in that short a time is going to be hard to deal with.

KC:

Emo Nessie is not necessarily selfish either; in fact, she can be quite selfless and will probably commiserate on it for several chapters. Emo Nessie is far more despondent, rambling, and well, emotional. More often than not it’s because of imprinting.

Sigh. It’s always because of imprinting.

Nessie’s love story is a popular plotline to explore as it has the potential to be a very heartbreaking situation. In Canon, I believe Jacob’s imprint on Nessie was intended to explain Jacob’s draw to Bella as well as serve as retribution for everything he went through. And possibly, it may have been Meyer’s intent that Nessie feel happy and completed because of imprinting. In fic, the situation is often far more dramatic, confusing, and painful for both Jacob and Nessie. How does a young girl begin to accept the idea that the man who has been in her life since birth, who became her best friend, was once in love with her mother and thought about murdering her the day she was born? How does she accept this man is magically attached to her? How does the man give up everything he once held dear for this one person?

Oh, the angst.

I would be remiss not to mention

In Pursuit of Normalcy

by KariAnn. When I asked readers for their personal favorites this was the most popular response. The Nessie in this story is so disturbed by the fact that Jacob once hated her for killing Bella; she leaves the family to figure things out on her own. When asked about Nessie’s characterization, the author writes,

Well, I deliberately tried to make her seem flawed and, well, human, because I know I'm not a big fan of perfect Mary Sue-types. Also, considering the fact that she's grown up with the supernatural - not quite human but not exactly a vampire - and considering the fact that her soul mate contemplated murdering her prior to the imprinting, I figured, who wouldn't be a little messed up by it all?

A little messed up indeed. IPoN is all about coming to terms with imprinting, and to be honest, my favorite Nessie stories are the ones where imprinting is not easily accepted.

A2E:

Emo Nessie stories are among my favorites too, especially when the angst is related to imprinting. Poor Jake, he thought all his problems would go away once he imprinted. And it did start out that way, didn’t it? But does that mean that, as Nessie grows, it always has to be that way? I’ll be honest; I take some sort of sick desire in watching Jake suffer.

KC:

Be nice to Jacob!

A2E:

You’ve noticed I’m a bit Team Edward, yes?

KC:

Who am I kidding? Jacob doesn’t stand a chance of being happy in the first two thirds of any Emo Nessie story.

A2E:

But beyond that, the Twilight Saga, to me, is a love story. To continue that theme into stories about the next generation of the Cullens, there needs to be some conflict between the lead character and her love interest. I do have some compassion for him – I want the story to ultimately end with Jake and Nessie happily in love. I just prefer it if it’s a struggle along the way.

KC:

How’s this for struggle?

Ten Thousand Miles

by

Tears_of_Mercury

takes the drama of imprinting to another level. This is a very heavy story. In it, the Cullens are gone, Nessie has been adopted by Claire’s family as a baby, and she’s been raised on the reservation. Not until she’s a teen does she find out the truth as to what happened to her parents.

Tears_of_Mercury

goes a step further by calling Jacob’s imprint flawed! The story is listed as Nessie/Seth, but the author has yet to get these two together. Here, the author defends her take on her interpretation of imprinting:

Jacob's imprint on Nessie raised a lot of questions within the fandom about imprinting, both its purpose and how it worked. I think these are interesting and important questions that any fic about either Nessie or Jacob post-BD, whether they're paired together or separately, needs to answer. So for me, pairing Nessie with Seth or with Nahuel is a way to explore the assumptions about imprinting that SM seemed to take for granted.

Then again, it is perfectly in Canon for Nessie to be romantically involved with someone other than Jacob. It’s just not the most popular storyline.

Fade Away

by

Danielle18

contains an unselfish Nessie who reacts very dramatically when her parents insist she must leave Jacob behind in Forks for his protection. This story contains some excellent heart fail – the good kind that kicks you right in the chest. Conversely, her story also contains a Nessie who kicks a little ass – quite a rarity in Nessie stories. The fight scenes are written in a disjointed, almost poetic way. The author also confessed she wrote the story to satisfy her need for a battle scene. “I was really looking forward to reading a fight scene in Breaking Dawn, and when I didn't get one I just decided to write my own…complete with bloody deaths.”

A2E:

KenoshaChick

has written a series of stories—

KC:

Hold on a second. You are not…I’m going to go hide in a hole.

A2E:

As I was saying, she has written a series of stories she has titled

Damn Imprinting

. The series consists of four completed stories, and a fifth one is in progress. She has a lot to say about imprinting and the direction she has taken it in her stories:

Stephenie Meyer only gives us two pieces of information when it comes to imprinting: the wolf is forever grounded to their imprint, and the wolf becomes what the imprintee needs. I believe this is open to a great deal interpretation. The word ‘need’ is especially subjective. Unfortunately, Nessie is either unaware of her needs or her needs are selfish and hurt others. My version of imprinting may be intuitive, but when Nessie is confused about her own desires, how is Jacob supposed to react properly?

Nessie does not resent Jacob for his connection to her, but she does not accept the implications of it, nor should she have to. I wanted Nessie to have the freedom to fall in love, whether it is with Jacob or someone else.

This philosophy makes imprinting less romantic and more...painful, in all truthfulness. However, imprinting has a huge potential to be complicated. I offer the Sam/Leah/Emily triangle as an example. I wish more authors would take advantage of that potential.

How does Nessie feel about Jake and imprinting? Perhaps she’s not even sure herself. This is taken from the first story in the series,

Sasha

:

Jacob? Who is he?”

Sasha

asked curiously. I hadn’t spoken much of friends. I didn’t have very many - no one outside of my family or the reservation. I especially hadn’t said anything about imprinting werewolves. I needed to speak carefully as I continued.

“Jacob is my...boyfriend, I suppose would be the best answer. Although, that’s not quite right. He’s not just my best friend, he’s not only my boyfriend. He’s just this force in my life. We’re...connected.” It was a vague and befuddled response, to say the least. I wasn’t even about to get into the imprinting thing. That would be a different conversation entirely. Happily,

Sasha

didn’t push for a more precise definition. Perhaps his inexperience with personal relationships was finally limiting him.

“And what does he want for you?”

“Jacob? He wants to settle. He would do anything I wanted, but I know that’s what he wants most of all.”

“You do not feel the same way?”

“I know everyone expects me to be with Jacob,” I said flatly.

One would think after eleven months away from home I’d have a better handle on this situation, or at least be able to explain it coherently. I still remained at a loss.

---

Mature Nessie: All Grown Up…

KC:

Hopefully, as a result of suffering through all those harrowing experiences throughout the Brat stage and the Emo stage, Nessie will grow up. Physically, Nessie does this much, much faster than anyone else of course (I have been reminded of that fact in nearly every Nessie story I’ve ever read). However, becoming emotionally mature is another story. Mature Nessie means a Nessie who is in control, who has accepted imprinting, being a hybrid, anything that would make an Emo Nessie freak out. It is possible that Mature Nessie can exist at any age. In Canon, she is not the typical temperamental child; therefore, it stands to reason that she would be in control throughout most of her upbringing.

Will you be Ready When it Comes?

by

Hopeful Wager

is another one of those epic stories that could stand as another part of the Saga. Nessie does do some significant growing up in this story, but she never acts out like an Emo Nessie would. She is a competent and strong member of the family and plays an integral role in the future of the supernatural world.

A2E:

Another Day Dawns

by

Panda1499

is a unique story in the Nessie fandom. Whereas most Nessie stories focus on a Nessie within her first ten years of life,

Another Day Dawns

takes us a full seventy-five years into the future. Finally, the Cullen family can return to Nessie’s place of birth, Forks.

A very poignant moment in the story happens in chapter seven, when Jake returns to La Push. When Jake and Nessie were married (sixty-seven years before the story opens), the treaty between the Quileutes and the Cullens was dissolved, and consequently, the wolves stopped phasing. Quil was the only exception, as he waited for Claire to catch up in age. When Jake returns to La Push, Claire and Quil are the only ones of his old friends that are left, and they are elderly. While the Cullens and Jake have lived their lives with no changes for the last seventy years, life has gone for those they left behind.

But the time frame is not the only thing that sets this story apart. Although Nessie begins this story in the role of the spoiled brat, I have categorized it under Mature Nessie because she has to grow up very quickly:

Her greatest flaws are the idea that she never had to grow up. That she was the baby, and she thought she would always be the baby. Because of this she is able to get away with things, like using her power to stun poor Newton. They didn't really punish her for that, and I felt that is how it was for her since her birth. I exploited this flaw by forcing her to grow up. I gave her a child she had to take care of, a child that caused her to no longer be the baby.

Ah, yes,

Panda1499

has decided to take on what is possibly the most controversial question surrounding Nessie: her fertility. Why did she wait until Nessie was seventy-five years old?

To tell you the truth I always felt Ness should be fertile at some point. Why did I choose so far in the future? Because I wanted them back in Forks. I wanted them back where everything else had happened for this family. The reason I felt it worked was because Ness's body was different with the vampire DNA in it. Everything else moved so fast for her, aging as quickly as she did, I felt this one part would take a long time. That she would become fertile after 75 years, because in a way, her body knew it was only a short bit of her lifetime.

I, too, believe Nessie should be fertile at some point. Mostly because I just can’t imagine that Meyer would intend to end Jacob’s bloodline on the male side. He is such a strong Alpha wolf, the rightful Chief of the entire tribe, and carries the bloodline through both his father and his maternal grandparent through Old Quil. Why would he imprint on someone who cannot give him children to continue to line?

Unfortunately, Meyer gives us no indication about Nessie’s fertility or the true reason for imprinting. One of the wolves’ theories of imprinting is that it is for creating stronger wolves. Either that theory is incorrect or Nessie will be able to bear Jacob’s children.

KC:

It really creeps me out to imagine that Nessie can have children perpetually. That, or use some serious birth control.

A2E:

If we go with the idea that Nessie can have children then a whole new round of questions arise. Will her fertility end when she is fully mature? Will it start once she’s fully mature? Will she be fertile for eternity? What kind of children will Jake and Nessie produce? Will they be wolves or vampires? Or some kind of combination? Will they be immortal? Or will Jake and Nessie be faced with the prospect of forever outliving their children?

It is both frustrating and freeing that Meyer has left this so open to interpretation. Fan fiction writers can go in millions of different directions with this topic and still be able to justify the reasoning behind their decisions.

---

It’s all in the Genes: She is her Mother’s Daughter…

KC:

Although many of us may not want to accept this truth, more often than not, we all become our parents eventually. This idea can be extremely helpful for authors in determining Nessie’s personality when taking her on for the first time. The process also has a tendency to create a truly contradictive character. For example, Edward over-thinks whereas Bella makes impulsive decisions. Edward is stubborn whereas Bella can be reasonable. Edward was raised with ideals very different from Bella’s. As an author, you get to choose your favorite qualities, throw in some angst about imprinting, and you’ve got your Nessie.

goldentemptress

, the author of

Full Moon Rising

, follows the love story of Jacob and Nessie with some added action scenes as well. When it comes to the pace of their love story, well, does this excerpt remind you of anyone?

These tasted soooo good,” I said, trying to sound as sexy as possible as I took my last bite and sucked on the spoon, slowly pulling it from my mouth.

I lowered my finger into the bowl and dipped it into the now pink milk. I slowly pulled it back up to my lips and my tongue darted out to lick it off. His eyes widened at the sight and his chest began to heave a little as his breathing picked up. I returned my finger to the bowl and then brought it back up, but this time I put it into my mouth up to the middle knuckle and slowly pulled it out while I stared at Jake with one eyebrow raised.

I knew it would definitely get a reaction out of him so I patiently waited for him to do something, a small smirk crossing my lips. I had always teased him to a certain extent, but my new feelings for him were making me bolder. The sexual tension was palpable as I gazed at him across the table, daring him to make a move.

Much to my dismay, he simply stood up from his chair, extended his hand to me, and helped me to my feet, his eyes not leaving me once. Leave it to Jake to be the perfect gentleman while I am trying to get a reaction out of him.

She is so her mother’s daughter. This is how the author described her characterization:

I tried to combine the personality traits that I liked in Edward and Bella, as well as the influence of her family members. I think that I tried to take a little bit of Edward's propensity for self defamation, and his passion, and I combined it with Bella's stubborn nature and her curiosity. She also draws some of her snark from Rosalie and her energy from Alice. I tried to make her a character that people would like to read while still taking into account that she was in an unusual situation regarding her parentage and how she was raised.

A2E:

What is so fascinating is that by combining different traits of both Edward and Bella, using some as an asset and some as a flaw, different variations of Nessie can be created.

Consider this passage from

What Lies Ahead

by

DreaC

:

He laughed and kissed me.

I forgot whatever argument I had for him, any questions about the past were all forgotten when he kissed me. My eyes fluttered closed, and I savored the moment. I melted my body to his, concentrating only on his lips on mine and remembering to occasionally break away to catch my breath.

If you didn’t know better, you might think you were reading Twilight.

Or Bella’s depression in New Moon:

That night I laid on the floor and cried. Throughout the night I would hear agonizing howls from a wolf that was undoubtedly Jacob. Even our pain was the same, or his much more intensified. He's waited for me his whole life. I never had to wait for him; he's always been there for me since the day I was born. I've seen Jake everyday for ten years. I cried hysterically when I realized that the pain he was feeling was much more than I could ever know.

Nessie is also a terrible liar like Bella and as stubborn as Edward. But she’s not just a carbon copy, either. For example, she enjoys going shopping with her Aunt Alice because she understands shopping is not just about shopping for Alice. It connects her with her former humanity, and is an opportunity to bond with others. Nessie also has her own flaws. The author writes,

Nessie's greatest flaws are naïveté and inexperience. Because she wants to believe the lives of her family and friends have always been the picture perfect image it is now, she tends to overlook the facts that are right in front of her. Her inexperience in life and with people outside of Forks and La Push causes her to make mistakes. She's constantly trying to find a norm between her human side and her vampire side.

KC:

When I wrote my Nessie, I took Bella's impulsiveness and her great capacity for love, mixed it with Edward's stubbornness and his ability to over-think, combined that with the fact that Nessie grew up spoiled and sheltered, and I came out with a selfish brat.

A2E:

What a combination.

---

AU/AH: Because it can get Weirder…

KC:

I couldn’t resist. I didn’t make the monster joke once in this article. I bought this when I visited Loch Ness in Scotland in 2005. No, I did not see the monster.

KC:

Nessie’s Canon-ish storylines can get pretty out-of-control, so it’s not so surprising that her AU or AH characterizations can be all out crazy. One of particular note is

Officer Goodbody

, by

Kambria Rain

. She portrays an AH Nessie, and she’s all kinds of crazy fun.

Kambria Rain

explains the idea behind her characterization,

I made her crazy so even the anti-Nessie fans could like her. Since we only got to see her in her early years, we don’t really know what kind of person she will become. In a way, I took her relationship with Jacob from canon. At first, he wants to hate her, but by some strange twist of fate, she becomes his everything. That being said, I don’t think Stephenie Meyer ever intended for her to kiss Tanya and steal cop cars.

A2E:

angelicwish

has written two AU stories featuring Nessie,

Horizons

(completed) and

A Dark Horizon

(in progress). Although they go in two very different directions, they both stemmed from the same idea: What if Bella’s emergency vampirization didn’t work and she died as a result of Renesmee’s birth?

That one little difference in the events of Breaking Dawn changes everything. Although Jacob promised to kill Edward if Bella died, he is too overcome with hatred to follow through; he’d rather Edward live in guilt and depression for eternity. He flees the Cullen house without even glancing at Renesmee. But Jake’s efforts are in vain. Without Bella, Edward cannot survive even to raise his own daughter, and before long, he is off to Volterra to provoke the Volturi. Now deprived of both of her parents, Renesmee is raised by Rosalie and Emmett.

The premise is heartbreaking. Why would

angelicwish

do this to us?

Breaking Dawn was a mixed story for me. I hated it and loved it at the same time. I personally loved Renesmee's character, or the basic model Meyer presented us with. I did detest how she never really expanded Renesmee past this perfect child. There wasn't a moment where Renesmee ever did anything wrong. It was as if she was this happy little creature presented just to give Rosalie the chance to have a baby in her life, in some degree and I really wanted to know more of Renesmee, what if Bella had died after the birth? What if things in Breaking Dawn had not gone as smoothly, and by exploring that I came up with the two different stories:

Horizons

, which in essence is a HEA [Happily Ever After] and

A Dark Horizon

, which is the polar opposite.

Although her stories create an alternate universe and she introduces original characters, she certainly stays within Canon for the characters’ personalities.

Horizons

continues into the realm of the supernatural in a rather interesting and mysterious way. To delve any deeper would spoil the story; you’ll have to read it yourself to see how it ends.

How do you create a Nessie who, although she lost both of her parents in infancy, retains perfect memories of the brief moments she did have with them? How does Nessie deal with the fact that her father committed suicide rather than stay with her?

In

Horizons

, Renesmee's biggest flaws are her self doubt in her own personal worth. The events that lead to her returning to Forks also left her wondering why anyone would ever really care for her. She’s been through a lot and even though she's surrounded by her aunts and uncles who dote on her and love her unconditionally, she still wonders why all of these things had to happen to her. What made her the target for fate's twisted games? But at the same time she’s very optimistic, she’s willing to do anything to move beyond the things in her past and right certain wrongs so hopefully I’ve balanced her flaws with her better traits.

Horizons

moves away from the dark and depressing story it starts out as and turns into an exploration of fate and destiny. I recommend it for any Twilight fan, even those like me who shudder to think about reading a story in which Bella and Edward are dead. It gave me goosebumps and the ending kept me awake in my bed, thinking.

A Dark Horizon

, notes

angelicwish

, goes down a more realistic (i.e., less supernatural) path, and is more strictly a Renesmee story than

Horizons

. There are currently two chapters posted, with a total of seven or eight planned. Here is an excerpt:

She had thought her plan through and through, over and over again, calculating her method and the time it may take, and whether or not she could get away with it undiscovered. The thought of hurting her family further fueled her already maddening guilt, but she knew that she couldn't torment them with her suffering any longer. Something had to be done, and she knew that unless she took matters into her own hands, it would never happen.

She didn't bother unpacking her bags, merely shoved the heavy suitcases into the large walk in closet. There was no need to unpack her belongings, she had her outfit picked out and ready to go, draped across the suitcases in a garment bag. All other articles of clothing were now useless to her. Tonight would be her last night with her family, and she would cherish it dearly while she could.

Refusing to stifle her sobs, Renesmee walked towards the massive bed that rested against the only plastered wall in the room. She clutched her purse in one hand, while the other lingered at her throat, stroking the necklace lovingly as she crawled atop the mattress and sat cross legged in the middle of the bed. Taking a deep breath, she reached into her purse and extracted the small blue notebook buried within; attached to it hung a simple ball point pen that she plucked from the spiral bindings.

It took her only a few moments to write out what she needed to say, and then she silently slipped the notebook and pen back into her purse and stood, smoothing her skirt over her thighs as she glanced around sadly and stepped from the room.

I'm going to make the best of this night, she thought to herself, twisting her fingers into her skirt as she walked down the hall slowly. This will be a happy night.

It will be interesting to see if more AH and AU stories featuring Nessie crop up as time goes on.

KC:

Finally, I’m not sure where to put this story, but I had to rec it because I adore it.

One Night

by

MyMoon

. It opens with a semi-drunk Jake ogling Nessie while she takes her first shot on her seventh birthday. (Side note: As there will inevitably be more pack fics after New Moon comes out, please let there be more pack bonfires where we get to see drunken Leah. I’m totally going to come off as an alcoholic by the end of this article.) These lines of dialogue should get anyone interested:

She (Leah) held her hands up defensively. “I’m just saying, Nessie. Edward’s going to know the details of every time you make... er.... love.”

“Of course he won’t! It’s not like Jacob and I will think about only that, all the time.”

I’d never seen someone laugh as hard as Leah did at that moment. Her face actually turned blue before she was able to inhale a breath.

“Trust me, sweetie,” she was still laughing, “he will know every detail. You aren't stuck inside these guy’s heads every time I have to patrol. I feel like I've slept with you.”

My nose wrinkled. I was used to not having privacy, but that just hit a weird button. “Thanks Lee.”

---

Nessie No-No’s

KC:

We asked several authors and readers what their pet peeves were for Nessie characterizations. Quite a few authors admitted they don’t read Nessie stories, which I found to be interesting and kind of hilarious. Keep in mind, Nessie has only been in existence for a year, so it’s reasonable to say there are no clichés in Nessie fics yet. Consequently, this became more of a sounding board for complaints from those who know her best.

Kambria Rain

: I do cringe every time someone misspells her name.

aschim: My pet peeve with Nessie stories is when she is able to get pregnant. I don't think it makes sense, nor is it fair, that she gets to be immortal AND have babies. Maybe she could get preggo just before she stops growing, but, that means that someone would have to impregnate a 6 year old, and that’s just not ok, even if she looks 18 or so.

JacobaPotter

: One thing writers tend to do with Ness is make her either too perfect or completely inept, which annoys me. As long as there is a balance (like with most people) I'm cool.

Tears_of_Mercury

: Seeing her drawn as an overly sweet or idealized character bothers me. My only real complaint with the Nessie sub-fandom is when people make her a mini-Bella or a Mary Sue. (You have to admit, she's particularly vulnerable to this as not only the newest member of the Cullen coven but Jacob's super-beautiful soul mate!)

Hopeful Wager

: There is one pet peeve I see that annoys me beyond all others: When Ren magically becomes fully mature right on her seventh birthday and then proceeds to screw Jacob six ways till Sunday.

I am the Creator God

: The number one thing most authors lose sight of when writing from her point-of-view is that she is inconceivably intelligent. The second is that she has always been more mature than even her physical age. Therefore, any fic that has her thinking and speaking like an average teen, even an average human, is not very realistic.

goldentemptress

: I think that some authors make her too brazen or wanton when relating to Jacob. I think that some authors also make her too angsty and forlorn as a teenager. Given how open and playful as a child that she was in BD, I don't think she would have dwelled on being discontent.

Pastiche Pen

: My biggest pet peeve is when Nessie “runs away.” It seems to happen in 90% of Nessie fic. I like it better when demons are faced head on.

twirlingecho

: My only pet peeve for Nessie in fan fiction is when writers have her end up with someone other than Jacob. And I don’t know if I’d really call it a pet peeve...I simply choose not to read stories like that.

MyMoon

: My pet peeve with Nessie in fan fiction is when people make her sound like a whiny little girl. Nessie barely shed a tear when she was a first born and some stories make her seem like a perfect princess or bitchy instead of smart, caring, and sweet. Pretty much like she’s...well...Rosalie’s child instead of Bella’s.

Danielle18

: I really don’t like the stories that have a lack of conflict
between the Cullen’s and Jacob/Renesmee. Those fan fictions in which the
Cullen’s wholly accept their relationship, without bringing up the fact that
Jacob was once in love with Bella or the interspecies clash.

Mindy Ann

: I really don't like it when the rest of the family is forsaken. Her family is such big part of her life that I can't imagine Nessie doing that. I also
get annoyed when Nessie has no development or when she's written as stupid,
whiny, or mean (especially toward Jacob).

angelicwish

: I think that fan fiction is a great way to expand on characters in the series so I really don't like finding Nessie characterized as the perfect child. I think that Meyer had a basic template for this character who had so much potential to become much more than ‘Edward and Bella's child’ and seeing her in fan fiction where she's merely there to be Jacob's love interest, or to Alice's personal Barbie kinda does drive me a bit loopy.

Panda1499

: My biggest pet peeve when it comes to Ness is when authors make her out to be very ditsy, like she has no common sense. The girl would have been taught every subject by people that had been around to see A LOT. Even in BD, Steph made her out to be a very smart little girl. Why mess with that?

DreaC

: One of my peeves is that Nessie is always portrayed as wise, like her father and grandfather. My biggest deal with that is the fact that she’s only been in the world for a short time. During that time she had to stay mostly hidden because of her rapid growth, so there is no way she could have enough life experience to be as wise as her parents and grandparents. Another thing that irks me is that Jacob and Bella’s past is over looked or thought not to matter. I think that aspect should be explored. Maybe Nessie would have a problem with the fact that Jacob was in love, or thought he was in love, with Bella.

KC:

This list just makes me laugh because in this very article we rec’d stories in which Nessie does screw Jacob six ways till Sunday or she ends up with someone else or she gets pregnant, and I wrote a Nessie story in which she runs away.

A2E:

I have two main pet peeves when it comes to Nessie. The first, as has been mentioned, is the Mary Sue, perfectly adjusted, “normal” Nessie. Really? There is no one else like her in her whole family, she has to be hidden from the general public for at least the first six years of her life, all of her immediate family members are vampires, and her best friend is a werewolf. Yes, she’s intelligent. Yes, she is loved. But how do you grow up in that kind of environment without it having any kind of effect on you? How can you be suddenly immersed into school and the human population without a learning curve? And I don’t mean the kind of learning curve that can be solved by reading books.

My other pet peeve is when, one day, out of the blue, Nessie looks into Jake’s eyes and suddenly they are madly and passionately in love. Yeah, yeah, I know, imprinting, blah, blah, blah. She felt a special bond to Jake from even before she was born, I know. But that doesn’t have to mean it automatically becomes true love in a single moment, does it? Why can’t it build over time? Wouldn’t it be more realistic for Nessie to be confused about her feelings? Here’s this guy that’s always been in her life, first like an uncle or big brother, then as a best friend…wouldn’t it be a little weird if she one day woke up lusting after him?

---

In Conclusion…

KC:

So there you have it, Nessie is an absurd contradiction. Aren’t you glad you read this article? Isn’t she so much clearer to you now? Ha! This is what makes me excited about reading her story! There are so many directions it could go and they all have the potential to be genius.

Although, don’t get me wrong, I’m not delusional. I don’t believe this article will convince the fandom to fall in love with Nessie. I hope it will encourage everyone to eventually accept her and welcome her into the fandom. Laugh at her, love her, make fun of her, loathe her, but don’t ignore her. Just as it happened for A2E and me, Nessie can bring the fandom together. She’s not just a freak, she’s our freak.

---

KenoshaChick

is an art/design major who spends her non-studio time writing and rewriting the stories in her post-BD series,

Damn Imprinting

. She loves writing in the margins, effectively destroying her copy of Twilight with notes, criticisms, and sarcastic comments. She also loves A2E, who never leaves her comments about goats.

---

Addicted to Edward

is a thirty-something stay-at-home-mom with an unhealthy obsession with all things Twilight and, especially, Edward Cullen. So far, she’s only written one-shots (almost all from Edward’s POV, imagine that!), but a post-BD multi-chapter Nessie story has been in the works for months. Unfortunately, her anal left-brained self just isn’t letting her get past the outlining stage. In the meantime, she is enjoying her work as a beta for Project Team Beta, sometimes even more than writing itself. Going back and forth with

KenoshaChick

about the intricacies of Nessie is a close second.

---

Archived Explorations:

Upcoming Characters:

Rosalie, James/Victoria, Renee, Leah/Emily.