Everything Volturi

Thank you! I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the blog.

━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━

Compensating for a deeply rooted insecurity:

Unlike most of the Volturi guards, Felix does not possess a ‘gift’. He is instead kept around for his combat and battle techniques. In a coven that rewards powerful and unique supernatural gifts, and appears to be hierarchical with cloak colours prominently displaying everyone’s ranking, this would not be a comfortable position to be in. 

I do not think Felix is easy to replace, hence why he is still a high-ranking member; to survive this long in the Volturi he must have demonstrated exceptional skills. However, he is replaceable because it is possible to overpower and supersede him through training and hardwork. Without a supernatural power like most other guard members, he will constantly need to fight for his position and prove his worth. 

“If there had been one better, the Volturi would have traded up. Aro didn’t surround himself with second best.” (Breaking Dawn).

We know at least one other permanent member who relies on their battle skills for a position in the Volturi (Santiago), and I do think Aro actively cultivates a competitive culture amongst these combat vampires in order to incentivise them to work harder and keep them on their toes. 

A way to regain power and control:

Consequently, it makes sense for Felix to seek power elsewhere to regain his self-worth. In this case, it manifests in the form of a flirtatious persona, and an almost ‘impulsive’ lust for bloodshed. 

1- Flirting: Felix consistently adopts a promiscuous and flirty act. We see him flirting with Gianna in New Moon, with Bella at the end of Eclipse, and during the confrontation in Breaking Dawn. 

“As Felix passed the desk, he winked at Gianna, and she giggled.” (New Moon) “Felix looked up. He let his hood fall back slightly so that I could see him wink at me and smile.” (Eclipse) “Felix chuckled. “You look good. Immortality suits you……” “Felix winked.” (Breaking Dawn).

I do not think he is genuinely attracted to them - he would happily murder them…Instead, he flirts because he can. It enables him to regain a sense of control, and with his otherworldly vampire beauty, most human women would reciprocate. For a vampire in his position, this constant validation would be flattering.

2- Fighting: Felix craves violence, and when appropriate, he actively provokes opponents to initiate a fight.  

[Edward]: "Then I'm afraid that I'll be unable to accept Aro's invitation, Demetri." "That's just fine," Felix purred. (New Moon)

This makes sense because combat is an area he excels at. It is his way of proving his worth to the Volturi, and again, to exercise control over his opponents.

Underestimated Intelligence: 

However, although his actions might fuel his ego, Felix is not blindly impulsive, and behind all his actions there is always a greater purpose for the benefit of the Volturi. 

He only provokes when it serves a purpose, and when he’s fully in control: 

In the alleyway confrontation in New Moon, his violent threats serve as a part of his and Demetri’s ‘good cop, bad cop’ psychological tactic. 

Later in the book, his provocation of Edward occurred deep within the Volturi layer, in the presence of Alec and Jane. Any rashness on Edward's part would not only be futile, but would also give the Volturi more justifications to prosecute them, if Aro wishes. Luckily, Alice also recognises this. 

“Edward only smiled, his expression contemptuous. Then he froze. ‘Dibs,’ Felix called casually from behind. Edward turned, a low snarl building deep in his chest. Felix smiled—his hand was raised, palm up; he curled his fingers twice, inviting Edward forward. Alice touched Edward's arm. "Patience," she cautioned him.” (New Moon)

━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━

Demetri New Moon - Duality of Diplomacy and Violence

Demetri first appears in the alleyway, instructed by Aro to bring two potential law-breakers back to him. Even in this tense and dangerous scenario with violence looming over everyone, Bella’s first impression of Demetri is his ‘soothing’ tone. This is no doubt a tactic to control the situation and discourage any rashness on Edward’s part. 

"Felix merely meant to point out the proximity of the sun," the other shadow said in a soothing tone. 

Even when Edward is refusing his request, Demetri continues to play the role of a ‘polite’ shadow who resembles ‘reasonableness’. Indeed, his request does seem reasonable - they 'merely' and ‘simply’ want to ‘speak’ somewhere less conspicuous.

But simple requests should have simple consequences - you don’t kill someone for refusing to comply. Him masking the underlying threat under the pretense of reasonableness when bringing someone back for trial is manipulative and calculating.

The second, more reasonable shadow cautioned. "Not here." He turned to Edward. "Aro would simply like to speak with you again, if you have decided not to force our hand after all."

It also shows that he is not someone that relies entirely on his vampire strengths and animalistics instincts (very common for vampires), and instead understands the politics of the hunt. 

A readiness to kill: 

What impresses me the most is how quickly he is able to shift from politely negotiating, to being ready to literally kill Edward and Bella, and then immediately return to his polite demeanor once Alice points out the human witnesses. He is able to evaluate the most suitable course of action in a split second, and adjust accordingly. This is not a simple task, as many hunters need to actively get into the mindset to kill.

I imagine this is a requirement for his job, where he is often the first point of contact with the accused, and would be forced to make a split second decision to either give them a chance to attend trial, or take swift actions to eliminate them if necessary.

‘No doubt, he would be a fighter. There was no other way he could have survived so long, always at the spear point of any attack. And he must always lead, because he was their tracker. (Breaking Dawn).

Therefore, Demetri is either someone who is able to calmly negotiate even when he is ready to kill, or someone who is able to quickly shift into a killing mindset. Either is equally impressive and dangerous.

━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━

I still question whether vampires actually ‘mate’ for life, and I will delve deeper into this in a later post. For now, I can categorically say that I do not believe in the ‘true mate’ or ‘soulmate’ trope. 

By ‘true mate’, I mean the idea that two individuals, irrespective of them being vampires or humans, who are destined to be together. They usually feel some kind of inexplicit pull towards each other the instant they meet, and it’s like the universe is always coming up with ways for them to meet. 

When I wrote my first twilight fanfiction 8 years ago, I was obsessed with this trope. The notion of a human having a metaphysical and unbreakable bond with a beautiful and powerful vampire was the perfect premise for my self-inserted fanfictions.

But my stance has changed, and there are a few reasons for this:

First: How does it actually work?

This is especially relevant for vampires, who are often over hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Most vampires also do not interact with humans or other vampires. All this is to say that the chances of vampires meeting their destined mate is not looking good statistically. Therefore, considering the amount of vampires who are ‘mated’ in canon, I highly doubt the plausibility of there actually being a ‘destined’ mate, 

Also, what happens if a vampire does not find their ‘mate’ in time to turn them before they pass away? What if their mate existed before their existence? Are they subjected to a mate-less eternity, or simply ‘mate’ with someone and accept the reality that they have settled for second best, and might never meet their ‘true mate’? What if they find their ‘true mate’ after already having mated with someone? 

It’s all quite depressing. 

Second: How it impacts the characters and their relationship dynamic. 

If you were told that your partner is destined to be with you, and would love and support you unconditionally, just how healthy is that? Not to mention the underlying ethical implications involving personal autonomy. (*Imprinting has left the room*).

Personally, I would want my partner to fall in love with me because of my qualities, values, or aspects about myself that I am proud of and worked hard to achieve. If I were told that my partner would still love me even if I were a horrible, abusive, lazy, selfish narcissist, I would seriously question the foundations of our relationship. 

It also takes away the abundance of complexities and challenges that come with relationships, especially one involving a vampire and human. Knowing they are fated to each other really lowers the stake (pun not intended). 

Third: Why do we still do it? 

It feels safe:

For many authors and readers (myself included…), the idea that a vampire, who is theoretically better than humans in every way, is destined to be with us and will never leave us, is very reassuring. Less work and uncertainty is involved in the relationship dynamic because even the universe wants us to be together. 

It is convenient:

This is especially relevant in the twilight-verse, where vampires often view humans as poultry, and other vampires as territorial threats. It is certainly not the optimal premise for falling in love and developing a substantial and meaningful relationship. 

━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━ ◦ ❖ ◦━━

Alec New Moon - A blatant disregard for humans.

Although Alec only had a few lines of dialogue, his blatant disregard for human lives is obvious - more so than some other blood-drinking vampires.

His first line was:

"they send you out for one and you come back with two...and a half."

when referencing Jane bringing back Edward, Alice and Bella. Here we see some of his 'dark' humour shine through, but it also highlights how little he thinks of a human's worth compared to vampires.

After examining Bella, he skeptically asked Edward:

"And this is the cause of all the trouble?".

By refusing to use the pronoun 'she', Alec further creates a sense of detachment; objectifying her and reducing her into a mere entity and situation to be dealt with. Even Felix, who acts as the 'bad cop' in the scene and has consistently expressed a keen interest to eat Bella, referred to her as 'the girl'.

Unlike Felix, I do not think Alec is saying these things to intentionally provoke anyone. I think that his disregard for humans is so deeply ingrained that he genuinely find the situation preposterously amusing. Alec is someone who keeps up appearances (this is the person who spoke to the Cullens with so much ‘warmth…like lifelong friends' once Aro found them to be innocent). He’s too smart to engage for the sole purpose of angering Edward and humiliating Bella.

This indifference and disregard for humans is interesting. Compared to other 'bad' vampires like James, Victoria, Laurent, who were tempted by Bella's scent, viewed her as a toy/challenge, or the key to revenge. Or Jane and Caius, who openly despise Bella and saw her as a threat, inconvenience, or a mockery of the law, Alec gives us nothing. He is able to objectify Bella and tease her worthlessness, and then speak to her as a lifelong friend within the span of a few hours. It is quite terrifying. Perhaps an extension of his gift?

Alec most exhibits what Stephenie Meyer said about how vampires view humans:

"To most vampires, humans are like a herd of cows."(twilightlexicon - 2006/04/18)

"Other Twilight vampires see humans as beef or poultry." (twilightlexicon - 2007/05/20)

"Human lives are so short—sort of like fruit flies that only live a day in comparison." (twilightlexicon - 2007/05/20)

Imho, most twilight vampires give humans more time of day than I expected. You don’t get angry at a herd of cows, and you don’t waste time humiliating a fruit fly; you simply don’t care for their existence.