In Which I Suffer Through New Moon: Chapter 22 -- Flight · 2:50pm Apr 13th, 2018
As Bella, Edward, and Alice leave behind the vampire blood orgy (that’d be a great name for a death metal band), Bella slowly freaks out at what’s going on in the room she just departed. One of the Volturi’s human servants asks if they need anything, but Edward sends her away. According to Edward, she’s aware of what’s going on and is fully aware she could end up as a vampire’s dinner, but goes through with it in the hopes that the Volturi will turn her.
I felt the blood leave my face. “She wants to be one of them?”
He nodded once, his eyes sharp on my face, watching my reaction.
I shuddered. “How can she want that?” I whispered, more to myself than really looking for an answer. “How can she watch those people file through to that hideous room and want to be a part of that?”
You tell me, Bella. You’re desperate to be a vampire. What, did you think that just because you were with the Cullens and were going to drink animal blood, that your thirst for human blood would be just gone? You’ll always want to drink human blood. Carlisle wants to drink human blood. Edward wants to drink human blood. They’re just really good at self-control. You, on the other hand, go catatonic the moment your boyfriend dumps you.
Soon, the Volturi allow them to leave. Alice steals another car for them and drives them through the night. Edward advises Bella to get some sleep, as she’s been up for a very long time.
“I don’t want to sleep. I’m not tired.” Just the second part was a lie. I wasn’t about to close my eyes. The car was only dimly lit by the dashboard controls, but it was enough that I could see his face.
CM + 1
They fly to Washington — the entire trip taking four pages, and they’re not even at Forks yet — and meet the Cullens at the Atlanta airport. Esme tells Edward to never put her through that again, as if almost committing suicide was just a phase. Edward takes Bella home and Charlie, naturally, is furious, at her and at Edward. Given the situation, simply threatening to throw Edward out of the house shows a remarkable amount of restraint. Edward takes Bella upstairs to her bed, where she falls asleep.
Clinginess Meter: 68 x 4
See that? See all that? That takes twelve pages. Simply going home takes twelve pages. Naturally, it’s because Bella keeps thinking about Edward, even if she remains relatively unclingy. I know I went over something like this several chapters earlier, but the point of slow pacing is to dig deep and uncover ideas that linger. I’ll admit that I prefer faster pacing over slower, but I can still recognize when slow pacing is done well.
Before Sunrise is a romance film about two people who meet on a train ride. As they talk, they enjoy each other’s company so much that, when the train stops in Vienna, they decide to spend the night there until they have to go their separate ways in the morning. The bulk of the movie is them wandering around Vienna and talking. And even though its pacing makes molasses look fast, it works. Remember how Twilight skipped over the “getting to know you” stuff? This movie is basically nothing but “getting to know you” stuff. The conversations always reveal some aspect about both of the characters and develop their relationship. It’s the kind of movie that makes you think. That’s the purpose of slow pacing, not long scenes of couples staring into each other’s eyes.
I see Bella has all the self-reflection of a parsnip. Goes nicely with her general intelligence and charisma.