Edith and Ben - Index

Basically gender-flipped Twilight with very different characters. Gender is probably one of the smaller differences between Edith Cullen and Edward Cullen. The same could be said of Ben Swan and Bella Swan.

The characters are different enough that it's almost certainly going to be impossible to make a single coherent scene for scene conversion of Twilight. It's easy enough to write what they'd do in a situation Edward and Bella were in, the trouble is that, since Edith and Ben wouldn't do the same things, something else would happen next. Where Edward and Bella progress from A to B to C, Edith and Ben progress from A to β, from B to Γ and from C to Δ, the sequence breaks.

In the three years and two months since I wrote the above I have in fact tried to make a consistent narrative, with things that don't fit because Edith and Ben don't go where Edward and Bella do being split off into apocryphal stories that, while they're what canon-Edith and canon-Ben would do in the situation, are not part of canon-Edith and Ben because they never canonically get into the situation.

Thus I have three sections here:
One - The canonical story
Two - Works that are apocryphal or just haven't found their way into canon yet
Three - Meta-posts.  Posts that are about the setting without actually being narrative.

-

The Main Sequence of Edith and Ben

Ben's Prologue - In which Ben contemplates how he got where he is while facing death.

And So it Begins - In which Ben thinks on his way to the airport.

Summers by the Sea - In which Ben looks back on a childish demand he made, and his mother followed through on, when he was 14 years old.

And So it Begins - In which there is more thinking on the way to the airport, a goodbye to his father, and  Ben gets on the plane.  Yes, this is the same post as two links ago, Summers by the Sea goes inside of it so this link takes you to the part after that.
Touchdown in the land of the constant rains - In which Ben arrives in Washington.
Charlize tells Ben about the truck - In which Charlize tells Ben that she bought him a truck, and why it was for sale.

Gun Safety - In which Charlize makes sure Ben knows basic gun safety.

Eye color - In which Ben notices that Edith's eyes have changed color.

The Van Scene - In which Edith saves Ben from a rampaging van.

Tricia at the Hospital - In which Ben talks to the van's driver.

Not Paying Attention - In which Ben doesn't follow what Jesse is saying, gets called on it, and explains why.

Michelle and the Dance - In which Ben is asked to the spring dance.

Erica, Tricia, and the Dance - In which Ben talks to people in a parking lot.

Post Invitation Cooking - In which Ben cooks, and that's about it.

Can I come? - In which Edith asks Ben if she can come with him to Seattle.


Blood typing - In which the smell of blood reminds Ben of things he'd prefer not to think of.

Words, Music, and a Trip to the Nurse in the Middle - In which Edith walks Ben to the nurse while discussing words like Whither and Where, and then they discover they like some of the same music afterward.

Edith and Ben - Alex and the Truck, telling Charlize Edith is coming on the Seattle trip - In which Edith drops Ben off, Alex returns the truck and takes the opportunity to talk to Ben, Ben tells Charlize that Edith will be coming with him to Seattle.

Erica and scraped hands - In which Erica notices and cares about the fact that Ben has injured himself.

Meeting Jacqueline - In which Ben reunites with an old friend.

Catching up with Jackie - In which Ben and Jackie talk some more.


[For those keeping track, the Port Angeles episode I have yet to write goes here]


Ben and Jackie in the kitchen - In which Billie and Jackie come over to the Swan household, Ben and Jackie talk.

Falling - In which Ben is clumsy.  Jackie tries to stop him from falling but just gets pulled along with him.  On the floor they discuss various things, notably past investigations into Ben being clumsy.

I know what you are - In which Ben claims Edith sleeps in a coffin.

Rational Explanations - In which Edith claims it all makes sense.

Step into Sunlight - In which Ben first sees Edith in sunlight.  Kind of difficult to work out exactly where this should fall.  I know what you are, Rational Explanations and Sometimes you talk like you're from a different time were all written ahead of the fact, and do not necessarily fit quite right.  Or, if they do, I haven't figured out how yet.

Feeding - In which Edith explains how difference between human and vampire feeding sometimes leave her less sensitive than ideal to human being's need to eat.

How I used to be - In which Edith talks about self improvement and the lesson of old age.

Sometimes you talk like you're from a different time - In which Ben claims Edith's mode of speech shows her age.

Rainy Days and Sunshine - In which Ben suggests that Hawaii would be a better place to be a vampire and Edith points out a flaw in that plan.

Edith, Ben, and Charlize in the kitchen post-Seattle - Because Edith and Ben wouldn't try to keep Charlize in the dark.

Getting the Venom out - In which Edith explains how that happened.

-

Apocryphal stories and

ones that are not yet solidly placed in canon 

Would you believe? - In which Edith makes reference to a tv show from the 60s.

You Promised - In which Edith explains why she's not telling Ben the whole truth yet.  Note that this is apocryphal as unlike Edward, Edith didn't promise or even suggest a promise and so this scene cannot fit into the story as a whole (note the "A to β" thing above) but I still think it is worthwhile to see how they would act if they were in that situation.

Promises Kept - In which Edith and Ben both keep their promises.  Follows directly from the non-mainstream continuity fragment above.

Save Yourself - In which Edith claims that it's better she be put at greater risk if it will keep Ben out of danger, and Ben claims that it's better if he's put in danger if it will reduce the risk to Edith.

-

Meta Posts of meta postery

Metapost: How the Cullens Feed - So apparently when discussing the sparklepires of the Twilight-verse human blood is best, then apex predator blood, then presumably non-apex predator blood, then herbavore blood, and I think that's as low on the scale as one can go.  This brings up questions of how the Cullens of the Edith-verse get their nourishment.  Answers inside.

Some thoughts on Ben's clumsiness -Not actually story, just some thoughts on how the consequences of falling a lot might play into the story.

Metapost: Edith's mind reading - Mind reading has a lot of questions that need answering:  Is it voluntary? How is it used?  Where does one draw the line between "I have a superpower" and "You have a right to privacy"?  What happens when you notice that someone's thought patterns indicate they have a mental malady?  That sort of thing.  This post describes how I see it working with Edith.

Trigger Warning: Rape

Metapost: Some thoughts on rape - Even though Twilight's story contains both attempted rape and, at least in the case of backstory, actual rape I do not intended to include rape in Edith and Ben. However I have, since Edith is a mind reader whose been around for decades, put some thought into how Edith deals with rape. This is just a short bit about that.

I've just noticed that I don't mention it in the post, but where Twilight seems to come from the assumption that rape is a thing done by a gang of strangers, I wrote that post on the assumption that when Edith came into contact with attempted rape it would usually be acquaintance rape, probably by someone who did not consider it to be rape because they weren't fitting the popular conception of a rapist.

End Trigger Warning

-

Most recently updated 1-12-2015

-

[Twilight Index]