𝐯𝐢. Improving Imprinting in Fan fiction
𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐁:
MysticPsyche's Opinion
𝐯𝐢. Improving Imprinting in Fan fiction
OKAY. *clears throat* Let's talk about imprinting, and let me start with this one:
But before we could deep dive into the issues of imprinting. What is imprinting in the first place?
Imprinting CANONICALLY Imprinting is a bonding event that some werewolves go through where they form an unbreakable link with a human of the opposite sex. The reason why imprinting happens is the subject of numerous ideas. Some contend that it guarantees the werewolf gene will be passed on; others contend that it occurs to develop bigger, more powerful wolves in the following generation. The werewolves are unsure about the precise solution.
Excerpt from The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide: "Imprinting occurs only after a werewolf's first phasing. It can happen with anyone, regardless of previous personal feelings. Imprinting happens the first time a werewolf sees the human object of his imprinting; if the werewolf does not react to a human the first time he sees her after he phases, he will never imprint on that human. If the werewolf does imprint, he is forever changed. From the second he sees the object of his imprinting, he will do anything to please and protect her. All other commitments in his life become secondary, even his commitment to the pack. The relationship between the imprinting werewolf and the human imprinted upon is one of total acceptance and support on the werewolf's part. No matter the age or living conditions of the human, the werewolf automatically becomes whatever the human wants him to be, at the loss of his personal free will. If the human is young, the werewolf becomes the perfect platonic playmate and protector. As the human ages and changes, the werewolf instinctively switches roles to fulfill the human's needs."
My opinion is first before we go to technicalities. At first when reading this when I was a kid when it was first mentioned in Eclipse. I was like, that is so sweet! Then Quil (by no means his fault) imprinted on Claire Young, niece of Emily Young, two years old. I found it odd but gave it a side-eye and moved on. Then, Breaking Dawn, Renesmee Cullen, and the Jacob Black ordeal of imprinting I found weird and odd (again), and I was like, what is it with shifters imprinting on kids & babies? I found it really weird, but I didn't have strong opinions about it because I was a kid myself. I wasn't that knowledgeable when it came to those things to find it really fucking weird, and of course, my opinion changed because I am now a mature adult and now knowledgeable about these things. I found it disgusting.
Stephanie making Jacob and Quil's love interest babies is literally GROOMING. I do not care if you try to justify this as other than that.
"But they don't see them as a potential lover because they're kids. They're going to be their friend or protector first, to have a brotherly role,"
Okay, first of that's even weirder and the lowkey definition of grooming. I don't care if they don't see them that way while they're still a child. I don't give a damn if they don't think that way while they're young. It doesn't alter the fact that they will begin considering them as a love partner as soon as they reach legal adulthood. The fact that the imprinter is aware of this and the imprintee is not making it any less repulsive.
"But it's a spiritual connection, not a romantic connection." Respectfully NO. Stephanie could have made Quil's something something interesting (because it's not elaborated anymore if they got together when Claire turned into an adult) the same age as him, but she chose a two-year-old, okay...because for Smeyer, the end game will always be the same: a romantic/sexual coupling.
Also, making Jacob imprint on the child of the woman he was literally IN LOVE WITH. THAT'S HELLA AWKWARD AND WEIRD. In the books, there is no such thing as Edward vs. Jacob because Bella has only been interested in Edward from the start. Jacob is the only one who has a thing for Bella, so it's really one-sided. They only did that in the movies, Team Edward or Team Jacob.
I do not blame the shifters because everyone knows they're the REAL victim when it comes to the Twilight Series because of Smeyer's doing. If you're new to the Twilight fandom, everyone who has been in the fandom for so long knows how Smeyer did them dirty. Starting with Smeyer not crediting the real tribe, The Quileute tribe, that she has used in the story as nothing more but a plot device for her. Smeyer also acknowledged that she knew nothing of the Quileute tribe prior to writing the Twilight Series, and after the twilight series boomed, the REAL tribe spent a huge amount of time correcting the misconceptions about THEIR tribe. The stereotypes, racial coding, miscoding of their culture, the wrong interpretation of their legends, and how Smeyer profited from using the Quileute tribe. You can easily google all of that.
There's no imprinting in the real Quileute tribe legends!! Honestly, Smeyer could have just invented a fictional tribe with makeup legends—to really stick with fiction, instead of using a real tribe and then disregarding the real legends of said tribe. It's so disrespectful.
If you want to know more about the real Quileute tribe in Forks, visit their website!
https://quileutenation.org/
I'm gunna stop my yapping from there because Smeyer's naivety and ignorance as a white woman writing a young adult book back in the 2000s is a WHOLE nother topic to discuss. (And questionable writing choices of making that Jacob and Quil's love interest are babies)
Because we are here to talk about imprinting and how it can be improved in general or in fanfiction—but mostly in fanfiction because that is what was asked of me.
In my opinion, imprinting in fanfiction so far, is all alright. No fanfiction writer (that I am aware of) used an OC who is a child. So far, all that I've seen are the shifters are paired with OCs that are the same age as them, a year older or younger. (thank god) So it is appropriate.
Don't worry. Sam Uley is only nineteen years old in the books. He looks mature in the movies, but I guess they changed that up in the movies to make him look like a grown-up to be a leader of a pack.
The first actor who portrayed Sam Uley in the first movie was the one who said, "The Cullens don't come here," and they changed the actors. I don't know why exactly (??)
But I did see a lot of Sam Uley fanfiction that uses the age gap trope with Sam Uley from the movies, but let's not talk about that... (because I might yap again and forget about the main topic)
But yeah, age-wise, imprinting in fanfiction is all right. (Some of it, anyway, I know there are questionable fanfics out there on the internet, but it is not my place to touch up on that)
But mostly, imprinting is, like, replaced with soulmates, like mates.
Imprinting and Soulmates are different. HUGELY DIFFERENT IN A SENSE.
We all know there are different kinds of soulmates: Romantic, Platonic, etc. According to Miriam-Webster, the definition of a soulmate is a close friend or romantic partner with whom one has a unique, deep connection based on mutual understanding and acceptance.
That is where imprinting and soulmates differ. For soulmates, it is mutual understanding and acceptance.
In imprinting, let me quote what imprinting means: "whatever the human wants him to be, at the loss of his personal free will."
"As the human ages and changes, the werewolf instinctively switches roles to fulfill the human's needs."
Like whattttt?? The shifter has no choice but to follow whatever his imprint wants? No free will? They have no choice but to fit inside the box that their imprintee has decided for them. To mold themselves at the expense of their imprintee? that fucking sucks. That's like a violation of their human rights or a living being (they're not human, but you get what I mean)
Imagine if the imprintee decided to only remain friends with the imprinter, and they encouraged the imprinter to have a relationship. Then, the imprinter will follow them because that is what is instructed of them, and the imprinter has a romantic interest. I will feel bad for the shifter's partner because the shifter's entire being rotates around their FRIEND. I would simply feel irrelevant.
I will break up with the shifter. Because I get no explanation on why they always have a NEED to hang out with their FRIEND because tribe legends couldn't be disclosed to those who are not connected to the tribe, and because you are not actually the imprintee, you have no right to know, basically, what happened to Leah & Sam. Leah has no idea why Sam suddenly has mood swings and distances himself, and then BOOM. He imprints on Emily, and THEN when Leah shifts, she finally knows what the fuck happened to Sam — Leah finally gets the explanation she demanded from him, but still, it isn't enough.
My baby Leah deserves the world. She doesn't deserve the hate she gets in the Twilight fandom.
To continue in with the — Imprintee wants Imprinter to have a romantic relationship because the imprintee friend zoned the shifter — it's basically like your boyfriend having a girl best friend, but with this one, it's so much more intense (everyone that surrounds them—the pack, know that they should be together instead) OUCH.
However, this can be debatable if it really is JUST friends and platonic relationships. But I know that jealousy is an emotion that is really hard to get over. If the shifter loves the person that they didn't imprint on in the first place, THEN they could work things out. But differentiate and look at this in what will happen in REAL life vs the fictional one. And in real life, that could not have worked out for long, LOL.
Cause I know many fics like they make one of their vampire OCs that's paired with one of the Cullens have a shifter imprinter that's usually Seth, and they are really besties ONLY, and they really point out that they're only friends. Not following the CANON rules of imprinting. So that's alright. That's what fanfiction is about anyway: creative liberties doing what you want because you didn't like the CANON take on it. #stanfanon
It is emphasized that imprinting is a very, very, VERY strong bond, like it's EXPECTED that it will be a romantic relationship that's on CANON for sure.
That is where imprinting differs from soulmates. I do not think that imprinting is love. It's an intense emotion, but it is not love like soulmates. Because in the first place, soulmates accept you as you are while imprinting, the shifter HAS to adjust to what their imprintee wants them to be, and the shifter NEEDS to align their interests, etc., to their imprintee.
But yeah, that is where I think fanfiction could be improved when it comes to imprinting to differentiate it from soulmates/mates.
Because let's be real. Smeyer made sure that Shifters and Werewolves are different—we all know in every romantic novel or omega verse fics on Ao3 that Werewolves have a mating bond that is considered straight to the point ONLY romantic attraction. We have read what soulmates are like, and it definitely doesn't fit into the imprint category.
Also because, it's also said that Caius Volturi hunted werewolves because of the whole vampire vs. werewolves. So Caius made Werewolves extinct.
For me, soulmates, you work together as a team. You understand each other. You encourage one another. You support the other. Accept each other's differences. NOT make your partner change themselves because they don't fit to your liking (that is what imprinting is according to canon rules). Being soulmates means that you are in sync with each other's soul.
That is what I want to point out in fanfiction. Imprint is mistaken for soulmates or the mating bond because the similarities of imprint and soulmates/mating bond are when two people who are meant to be together make eye contact.
Suddenly, the world shifts into something different.
A whole new world in which they can only focus on nothing but each other.
But that's it. The eye contact.
Like, have I explained it well enough how imprinting and soulmates differ? Cause I know the question was like how imprinting can be improved in fanfiction.
I admit I have my faults, too, when it comes to wrongly blaming characters for their actions because the author made them that way, but I have grown to rationalize and be open-minded about it more. My Twilight fics have a major bias on the Cullens, but that does not excuse why I hated Jacob so much. idk why he just gave me so much ick in the books and movies, but Smeyer made him that way. I have come to realize that.
Jacob is just a character that was written to be that way. We should focus on the choices of the author instead of the character. This applies to all fictional characters as well!
I'm going to start redeeming Jacob's character, and the pack more in my future twilight fics as I did to Jasper and the rest of the Cullens. Because that is what we humans do, we continue to unlearn and learn things in order to be better people with mature mindsets, and so, as writers, we can write better in the future!
I'm not really comfortable of discussing online what I think about WHY Smeyer chose that kind of description for imprinting because I might get hate because it's a sensitive topic, and I really would not even dip my toes into that, especially when it involves religion cause ❤️no thanks❤️
Hihi. Thanks for reading my 2,360 words of yapping! Let me know what ya'll think!
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