It's a Pleasure to Meet You

I could probably write a book on Cullen family dynamics tbh. I sort of chafe against the Brady Bunch kind of thing I see a lot in fanfic, with Carlisle like this stereotypical sitcom dad who wants to pile the kids in the minivan and go visit the Grand Canyon. Like, I did not get that vibe from them/him at all. I can more easily see Esme as a stereotypical mom, but at the same time the Cullen situation is so unique that I think simplifying it to “Mom, Dad and the kids” is overlooking a lot of interesting stuff. No one ever calls Carlisle ‘Dad’ in the books ever.  Edward does call Esme “Mom” once in Midnight Sun and another time in New Moon, but both times it’s slightly teasing like “sorry, Mom.”First off, I see them mostly as adults, not kids. Alice/Jasper and Rosalie/Emmett are MARRIED, even. They are pretending to be high school students but they aren’t actually teenagers or children in the sense that human kids going through high school the first time are. So, no, I don’t think Carlisle or Esme do a lot of parenting in that sense, I don’t think they get grounded, I don’t think there’s a chore wheel, I don’t think they have curfews, or that they have to ask Esme or Carlisle’s permission to do anything. They’re adults, really. It’s fun to joke about the “But Moooooom,” aspect of it, but I don’t think canon supports it personally.