Life and Death Characters - Casting Call

For the most part, I have avoided trying to put face to names. In large part, this because many of the characters from Life and Death. A few days ago though, I got into a conversation with a which led to us talking about some of the Cullen household and what they might look like. Since then I've worked to put faces to names. I'd already matched faces for Beau, Edythe, and Julie, but the rest of the Cullens I hadn't.

I sort of doubt I'll do it for other characters, below are Beau, Julie, and the whole Cullen Clan

Beau was described when he was human as being tall, broad-shouldered, and blue-eyed. After too many hours looking through far too many actors to mention, I finally found Luke Bilyk. I admit, he's a little too old, but I do believe he is a good match.

We never got an official description of Julie after she because a shifter, but my assumption is the females are similar to the males from the original saga, both shooting up in height, and losing they're baby fat, etc. As such, Devery Jacobs felt like a very good fit. 

Edythe was described with the same copper hair as Edward had. And no matter who the movies selected, to me 'copper hair' is more red than brown. Also, based on her general description, I belie Katherine McNamara is the best match

It was harder for me to find genderswapped characters for the rest of the Cullens. But I finally decided on Brooklyn Decker for Carine and Armie Hammer for Earnest.

Kenton Duty as Royal and Kalia Prescott as Eleanor

Cameron Ocasio as Archie and McKenna Knipe as Jessamine

Life and Death Continuation Banner

As everyone knows, I almost always make my own banners for my stories. They may not be the best in the world, but it's just part of my process. However, a few days ago, I commissioned a banner for my Life and Death Continuation as whole. One that used specific people, which tends to be a bit beyond my capabilities. 

Today, I got the finished piece that was made by Bee Masen for this. 

The people I chose for characters are Devery Jacobs as Julie Black, Luke Bilyk as Beaufort Swan, and Katherine McNamara as Edythe Cullen

The Characters of the Continuation of Life and Death

My continuation of Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer, which consists of Death and Rebirth, Rebirth and Affliction, and finishes with Affliction and Life, follows the same idea as Life and Death, in that almost all characters needed to be gender-swapped. Below is a list of all the characters with both the original and the change

no marker = The name given by Stephenie Meyer
* = my name of choice
ⱷ = has ability

CHARACTERS

HUMANS

• Amanda Reed = Arthur Reed*
• Amber = Sal
• Angela Weber = Allen Weber
• April = Arturo*
• Ashley Dowling = Ashford Dowling*
• Austin Marks = Audra Marks*
• Beaufort Higginbotham = unchanged
• Ben Cheney = Becca Cheney
• Beth Crowley = Benton Crowley*
• Bob Banner = Mrs. Banner
• Brett Warner = Brenda Warner*
• Charles Evanson = Charlene Evanson*
• Charlie Swan = unchanged
• Charlotte Gerandy = Charles Gerandy*
• Coach Clapp = Coach Clapp
• Conner = Colleen
• Cynthia Brandon = Clark Brandon*
• Deputy Mark = Deputy Mary*
• Deputy Steve = Deputy Silvia*
• D.J. Garrett = Deidra Garrett*
• Dr. Gerandy = Dr. Gerandy*
• Dr. Snow = Dr. Snow
• Edward Masen Sr. = Edythe Masen Sr.*
• Elizabeth Masen = Edward Masen*
• Eric Yorkie = Erica Yorkie
• Francesco Solimena = unchanged
• Geoffrey Swan = unchanged
• Gustavo = Genova*
• Harold Greene = Henrietta Greene*
• Helen Swan = unchanged
• Henry = Henrike*
• Isaac Weber = Isis Weber*
• J. Jenks = Janice Jenks*
• Jeff = Jack* (still a guy)
• Jennifer Ford = Jeffery Ford*
• Jessica Stanley = Jeremy Stanley
• John = Joan*
• John Dowling = Janet Dowling*
• Joshua Weber = Josie Weber*
• Julia Hammond = Mr. Hammond
• June Richardson = Juan Richardson*
• Karen Newton = Karl Newton*
• Katie Marshall = Kane Marshall*
• Kaure = Katsu*
• Lauren Mallory = Logan Mallory
• Lee Stephens = Leann Stephens
• Lonnie = Lottie*
• Lizzie = Lawson*
• Marie Higginbotham = unchanged
• Max = Maxine*
• Mike Newton = McKayla Newton
• Mr. Berty = Mrs. Berty*
• Mr. Jefferson = Mrs. Jefferson*
• Mr. Mason = Ms. Mason
• Mr. Newton = Mrs. Newton*
• Mr. Varner = Ms. Varner
• Mr. Weber = unchanged
• Mrs. Goff = Mr. Goff
• Mrs. Stanley = Mr. Stanley*
• Mrs. Weber = unchanged
• Omar Jenks = Opal Jenks*
• Perrine Buyure = Penny Bruyure*
• Phil Dwyer = unchanged
• Renee Dwyer = unchanged
• Rob Sawyer = Rhonda Sawyer*
• Robert Walsh = Roberta Walsh*
• Royce King II = Rowena King
• Samantha Well = Sean Well
• Shelley Cope = Mr. Cope
• Tyler Crowley = Taylor Crowley
• Unnamed son of Esme = Grace
• Vera = Vaughn*
• Whitney = Whitcomb*

Quileutes (includes humans and shape-shifters)

• Billy Black = Bonnie Black
• Brady Fuller = Brandy Fuller*
• Claire Young = Clay Young*
• Collin Littlesea = Colette Littlesea*
• Connie Black = Connor Black*
• Embry Call = Embrianna Call*
• Emily Young = Elliott Young
• Harry Clearwater = Holly Clearwater
• Jacob Black = Julie Black
• Jared Cameron = Jaelyn Cameron*
• Joshua Uley = Jordan Uley*
• Kevin Littlesea = Kelly Littlesea*
• Kim = Kirk*
• Leah Clearwater = Leland Clearwater
• Paul Lahote = Paula Lahote
• Quil Ateara III = Quilla Ateara III*
• Quil Ateara V = Quilla Ateara V
• Rebecca Black = Aaron Black
• Rachel Black = Adam Black
• Sam Uley = Samantha Uley
• Sarah Black = George Black
• Seth Clearwater = Sarah Clearwater
• Sue Clearwater = Saul Clearwater
• Tiffany Call = Timothy Call*

Ancestors

• Ephraim Black = Emmaline Black*
• Kaheleha = Kahlilia*
• Levi Uley = Lexi Uley*
• Quil Ateara II = Quilla Ateara II*
• Taha Aki = Tahiya Aki*
• Taha Wi = Tahiya Wi*
• The Third Wife = The Third Husband*
• Utlapa = Uttara*
• Yaha Uta = Yahaira Uta*
• Yut = Yukina*

Cullens

• Alice Cullen = Archie Cullen ⱷ
• Carlisle Cullen = Carine Cullen
• Edward Cullen = Edythe Cullen ⱷ
• Emmett Cullen = Eleanor Cullen
• Esme Cullen = Earnest Cullen
• Isabella Swan = Beaufort Swan ⱷ
• Jasper Hale = Jessamine Hale ⱷ
• Rosalie Hale = Royal Hale
• Renesmee Carlie Cullen = XXXXX

Amazons (includes a human and hybrids)

• Huilen = unchanged
• Jennifer = unchanged
• Joham = unchanged
• Kachiri = Kamali*
• Maysun = unchanged
• Nahuel = unchanged
• Pire = unchanged
• Senna = Seneca*
• Serena = unchanged
• Zafrina = Zafrin* ⱷ

Denalis

• Carmen = Cameron*
• Eleazar = Elena ⱷ
• Garrett = Gabrielle*
• Irina = Ivan
• Laurent = Lauren
• Kate = Kirill ⱷ
• Sasha = Sampson*
• Tanya = Taavi*
• Vasilii = Valerie*

Egyptians

• Amun = Amiyah*
• Benjamin = Bernadine* ⱷ
• Kebi = Kerem*
• Tia = Taj*

Irish

• Liam = Lana*
• Maggie = Magnus* ⱷ
• Siobhan = Siddhartha* ⱷ

Mexicans

• Benito = Benita*
• Lucy = Lucas*
• Maria = Marcel*
• Nettie = Navarro*

Newborns

• Adam = Ada*
• Bree Tanner = Bradley Tanner*
• Dean = Denise*
• Diego = Deanna*
• Doug = Dolores*
• Fred = Freya* ⱷ
• Heather = Homer*
• Jim = Jeannette*
• Jen = Joel*
• Kevin = Kendra*
• Kristie = Kristopher*
• Logan = Lorena*
• Raoul = Raya* ⱷ
• Riley Biers = Raven Biers*
• Sara = Stan*
• Shelly = Sherman*
• Steve = Stacy*
• Warren = Wanda*

Nomads

• Alistair = Alison* ⱷ
• Charles = Charity* ⱷ
• Charlotte = Carlson*
• Cold Man = Cold Woman*
• Cold Woman = Cold Man*
• James = Joss ⱷ
• Makenna = Malik*
• Mary = Marvin*
• Peter = Peggy*
• Randall = Reyna*
• Victoria = Victor

Romanians

• Stefan = Stefania*
• Vladimir = Vasilisa*

Volturi (includes a human)

• Afton = Anastasia*
• Alec = Jane* ⱷ
• Aro = unchanged ⱷ
• Athenodora = unchanged
• Caius = unchanged
• Chelsea = Clarence* ⱷ
• Corin = Corbin* ⱷ
• Demetri = Demeter* ⱷ
• Didyme = unchanged ⱷ
• Felix = Fahima*
• Gianna = Gavin*
• Heidi = Hammond* ⱷ
• Jane = Alec* ⱷ
• Marcus = unchanged ⱷ
• Mel = Mele ⱷ
• Renata = Reinaldo* ⱷ
• Santiago = Sandra*
• Sulpicia = unchanged ⱷ

Affliction and Life Difficulty

So, it is my greatest hope to finish Rebirth and Affliction by the end of January or February at the latest. Not really all that far out, and as I head towards that and then go into the final book, Affliction and Life: Breaking Dawn Reimagined, I come to a surprisingly annoying challenge.

It is my plan to have the final story rated M. I have thought about this for quite awhile and while I could leave it rated T as Breaking Dawn was, I want it to be more mature. So I have an issue because of that.

In the original Twilight Saga we know Edward was a virgin when he was turned, which isn't a huge issue, because he's a dude. Of the female vampires in the original Cullen family, we know Rosalie was raped before she was turned, Esme was married and even had a child before she was turned, and though details about Alice's human life are limited it is easy to assume she was raped either by her father or one of the doctors in the asylum where she was sent. Obviously we know Bella wasn't a virgin when she was turned. Other vampires in the Twilight Saga we don't know enough about to truly guess with the regards to that topic.

In Life and Death, we have Eleanor, Jessamine, and Carine. Purportedly, Carine was the devout religious daughter of her priest father, but she wasn't a nun. And a 23 year old woman in the mid 1600s would have already been married. Perhaps she had had a brief marriage to a man who came down with something like black plague and died leaving her as a widow and returning to her father's care. Or any other number of possibilities. But no matter what, I can't see her as being a virgin when she was turned. Eleanor, we know less about, but she is the female version of Emmett, and I always saw Emmett as being sexually active before he was turned, so I assume the same could be said for his female counterpart. Then there's Jessamine, and my best guess is the male vampire who kidnapped her raped her when he turned her.

So all of this leaves me with Edythe, who by all accounts is a virgin. It makes sense since she was a 17 year old girl in 1918. She may or may not have already had a suitor taking her out on escorted dates, and she may have even had a chaste kiss or two on her lips when she was human if she did have a suitor (obviously forgotten after she was turned) but that would be as far as her sexual prowess would have likely gone.

The problem with her still being a virgin is this little thing called a hymen. And by all accounts, the only way to prevent a vampire from healing is to burn it ... which sounds seriously uncomfortable.

Now, the reality is that in spite of hundreds - if not thousands - of romance novels who show men breaking a woman's hymen their first time together, it is extremely easy for it to have broke before then even when the woman is a virgin. So, did Edythe go horseback riding and suffer from a hard bounce as a child? Or perhaps as a Chicago native, the home of Schwinn Bicycles, she had a bike and suffered damage to her genitalia while riding?

Or perhaps when she was turned to a vampire, the venom naturally destroyed that part of the flesh as there's no true purpose for a hymen?

Or do we go with the Jessica effect? (For those who don't get the reference, please go look up Jessica from True Blood - the show, not the books) ... And if I'm going with this route than this fourth story really needs a new new title. I.E. Comedy and Errors: A Bad Breaking Dawn Parody.

The Position Behind My Continuation of Life and Death

So, as I opened up Death and Rebirth: New Moon Reimagined, I tried to imagine what would have happened after Life and Death now that Beau was a vampire. Especially if I followed the general plotline of the rest of the Twilight Saga. This brought forth a number of challenges. 

In the original Twilight Saga, it is this really sappy teenage love story with small hints at deeper meanings and thought processes. The first time I read the complete saga, I read it in much that way - as a sappy teenage love story.

But I needed to find more meaning, more depth, than just that. So I read it again, and again, and again (you get the picture). A little background on me is that I'm a lawyer with a major in psychology. So to put that into perspective, I need to suss things out, need to analyze, over analyze, and ultimately understand every little detail of something I become obsessed with. This would be why I've read the Twilight Saga well over twenty times. I could go in depth into my thoughts on Bella, Edward, Jacob and the other characters in the Twilight Saga (in fact I probably will, in some other post(s)), but that's not the purpose of this post.

The Twilight Saga has a lot of different changes that happen to the characters, but it never goes into detail on the changes. The focus wasn't on the character growth, the emotional development, or the maturing of the characters in general. It was all there, in the background, but it wasn't a focus. Instead, the focus was on a sappy teenage romance that had no morality or anything else behind it.

So going into my stories, I wanted the characters to still have that ultimate sappy romance, but I wanted there to be reason behind it, I wanted people to actually see the growth of the characters. The problem is that the main characters, Beau and Edythe, are both vampires, both turned at seventeen. So barring major influence they can't change. A "real life" romance would never survive if all it was was an early stage first love with no depth behind it.

Because of the way vampires are in the Twilight universe, Beau isn't just going to wake up one day and be a mature adult (he can't sleep), Edythe would never instantly move away from that overprotective vampire faze. There are a lot of psyche flaws - for a lack of a better word - in both of the main characters. And since vampires are stuck in their ways and almost never change without major things happening, it makes it difficult to have these characters grow.

For Edythe, walking away from Beau because she believed it would save him and then believing he was killed has helped her to grow into a more mature woman, watching him walk away and actually be with Jules - at least for a short while - made her come even farther into her own. Obviously, Beau didn't get to see most of that growth as he wasn't there for it, but it's hinted at through the first half of Rebirth and Affliction. The thing with Edythe though is that she was no longer a child when she was turned. In the early 1900s a seventeen year old would most likely already be at that point where they're starting to be courted, where they're learning to be a homemaker, learning how to raise children, and more. Edythe wouldn't have quite been an adult when she was turned, but she definitely wasn't what we consider to be as a typical teen in today's terms

Beau, on the other hand is more of a typical teenager. He's just a seventeen year old boy who was turned at that cusp of adulthood.  He didn't grow up in a time of war, disease and/or depression, he never had that kind of experience. He never truly had a chance to grow up at all. (Born middle age and all that be damned, he's still a kid). To top all of that off, he was stubborn as hell when he was human so that comes through in spades now that he's a vampire. As a result, Beau's journey is more difficult. It takes multiple metaphorical 4x4's whacking him over the head to get him to grow.  Having him deal in depression, anger, bloodlust, and more have helped to develop the backbone behind that growth. As we go into the second half of Rebirth and Affliction, the final major metaphorical 4x4 will hit him. It's that one, the major one actually, that will finally break through that stubborn wall in his mind.

There's more to these stories than just that emotional growth, but that particular part of the stories is about to hit it's climax, at least where Beau and Edythe are concerned (Jules growth is still to come).  

Hopefully I have done justice to the struggles, setbacks, and general state of continuity that will allow these characters to truly find love, respect and happiness in the long run.

Who are The Brotherhood?

So, since my writing is fanfiction, I - like most writers - occasionally like to add my own spin.

In this case, it's one of the oldest spins I ever embraced. My first published fanfic was Five Years Later. It is no longer posted. It wasn't, however, the first piece of work I started writing. The piece of work I first started writing was called Alice, which was supposed to be Alice's full story, from her time in the asylum, to waking up as a vampire, to meeting Jasper, up through the entire Twilight saga and beyond. 

Very early in this story, I introduced John, the doctor in the asylum that turned Alice. In spite of the fact that John was killed very early in the story, I wanted to know his story. 

His story took effect in a spin-off from Alice called Angel's Sisterhood. It was about a group of nine women that had been turned over the last five to six hundred years. All of them saved by John. Angel was the nickname they gave John. 

Very little is actually known about the person who turned Alice, as per the Twilight Saga. The only things that are mentioned is that he was an unnamed staff member who befriended Alice. And that James referred to him as being old. When it comes to vampires, there are two types of old. They either look old - as in they were changed late in life - or they've been a vampire for a very long time.

I've always seen James as being relatively smart, in spite of his ego getting him killed. So that leads me to believe the meaning would be the latter.

I know that since I originally wrote that work, there have been two fan-made movies that were featured in Storytellers that showed the person who turned her as being the groundskeeper and at least one named him as Kumboh. These were fan-made though, so officially we still don't know anything about the person who made her. There are many reasons why the groundskeeper wouldn't make sense in my mind... I could write an entire segment on it. I won't.

But after I started writing this spin-off, Angel's Sisterhood, they made appearances in almost all of my longer fanfictions. 

Since Life and Death and the continuation I'm writing are Gender-Swaps to the original Twilight Saga. In my mind, I saw John's mate - who had originally died over seventeen hundred years ago in Angel's Sisterhood - Cerulean as being the one that survived instead of John. The Brotherhood would therefore be the men she turned and saved. 

Affliction and Life Teaser Scene

The following is a very small teaser from the final book in my continuation of Stephenie Meyer's Life and Death. The book is to be called Affliction and Life. This scene does not show any spoilers. It's just to make you curious:

I ignored the man that had just greeted me, looking at the two women in their simple dresses.

"I thought you told me you were going to take care of him."

I could feel the eyes of my family on my back, even as the two women in front of me shared a look. I ignored my family as I waited on an answer from my acquaintances.

"And we did," the shorter of the two finally replied.