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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Twilight, Forks, and Twi-hards

I have not written on the subject of Forks, The Twilight Saga, or Twi-Hards or any of my experiences connect with any of them. At least not on this blog. That is because I have already started documenting and working on a book I am trying to write about those subjects. So instead I have focused on other areas in an effort to warm up my writing hand and get back in the habit of writing. I also don't want to give away the proverbial milk for free, so I am being tight lipped. In the past few days though I have seen a lot of remarks posted by people who are giving the twi-hards a hard time, so I am going to write something in their defense. If you are a twi-hard hoping I am also going to speak in defense of Stephanie Meyer... girl, you must be out of yo damn mind! As for Forks, I will say this. Stay within the speed limit, stay in a cabin outside of town, preferably one with a kitchenette. And if you pay me enough I will come along and cook for you. But back to the twi-hards (in Forks and Forks only will you hear the antiquated term "twilighter"), in my experience with them, I have found that most of the bashing the receive is completely unfounded. First of all, most of the people, and yes, there are guylighters, were extremely nice, and surprisingly balanced. In the media it seems like all you hear about are the obsessive and psychotic. In reality these people make up less than half of the actual twi-hards. In particular I was doing business most often with the twi-mids, or people who were not that serious. The funny thing is that some of the seemingly craziest, ie., the ones with the $900 Japanese Edward/Bella doll, or the woman who brought three costume changes, are in fact the ones who "skimmed" the books! Of course there was the woman who has read the entire series 47 times, including Midnight Sun. But that was so rare it was almost an anomaly. All in all I experienced a group of wonderful people out to have a good time. What chaps my hide is that men (or women) are allowed to be complete sports zombies, but when someone gets obsessed with a novel (the merits of which will not be discussed in this forum), they are a freak. Does anybody remember Ricky Martin? Does anyone remember the New Kids on The Block? Who cares whether you like it or not. I think most Twi-hards would just as soon watch the movies with their friends who also like it then force it on an uncooperative husband. I would be remiss if I failed to mention that more than one confident and happy man paid for their wife to pose with me in pictures this summer. Why were they so happy? Because they knew that their wife or girlfriend were having a blast and that the little bit that they gave would in all likelihood come back ten-fold. I know of one particular boyfriend, whom, just for going to the tail-end of a Twilight Convention, is going to be getting to go to a Star Wars convention with his girlfriend! These guys aren't dumb, its a simple matter of give and take. and in all seriousness, compared to some romantic comedies, the Twilight movies are riveting entertainment. So if someone starts to give you guff about Twilight (and it could quite possibly be me) I would recommend perhaps just doing a three minute google search on NASCAR, it will turn up just as many or more freakishly imbalanced fans, so just go with the flow. Let your Team Quil freak flag fly! So TwiHards, Twi-On!

7 comments:

  1. My husband gets to go to Vegas with his buddies and all he had to do was fly to Portland, drive to St. Helens, Forks, La Push, Port Angeles and then Seattle. He had a great time and it was beautiful! We've been back for six days and we're bumming.

    Plus, I got to meet you! Win, win!

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  2. You are awesome. That's all I have to say.

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  3. Thanks Ian, i think your writing skills are in pretty good shape. when i first heard of Twilight all i could think was Wow another teen vampire movie, as it turned out i watched the movie after my daughter said (mom you gotta).I watched and then i read and then i read it over and over each one 30 times. I've been to Forks 2 times, and each time I was greeted as an old friend who came home to visit. When i returned from Forks this year i lost my daddy, but he saw Forks through my eyes and I can tell you that what made him smile was the excitement in my eyes that a book or a movie or what ever took me to a beautiful place. So maybe a hot vampire took me to Forks but I drove 4000 mile to see and be a TwiHard and I plan to see you out there again next year. Thanks again Ian

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  4. lol thanks Ian that's awesome! Totally have to tell Jesse he got a mention! I must add that in my store I have also seen men who will watch their girlfriend's or wife's eyes light up and then sneak back later to by the twilight item. It is a fun thing!

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  5. In the words of Yoda "Do or do not there is no try!"

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  6. Agreed Ian. For the most part we have great visitors coming to Forks. I did have one gal come into my store last year and read me the riot act for allegedly frauding Twilight fans. She apparently had not done her homework because she had no idea the movies were not filmed here. She could not believe we had the nerve to pass "that truck" off as Bella's and the Cullen house was no where near what it was in the movie. I patiently explaned to her that there are Twilight adventures to take. The book adventure is Forks and LaPush the Movie adventure is in Canada and Oregon. But like you said, those people are few and far between. Most are very nice, well balanced and are glad to spend some time in our little town and we are equally happy to have them.

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  7. Bravo! You said it! I am one of those who have read the SAGA over and over again! Seems like ever time I read it, I find something new or forgot about. I've slowed down now that I've done the whole visit Forks, La Push bit. Now it's about seeing the sites of S.M. visions. Bringing back imagination to mind! Getting fresh air! After reading HOST... makes me want to go and visit Arizona! (and I've never been).
    Stephanie is an excellent writer. Very talented. She got me to enjoy reading!
    Again! Ian... Bravo! on your piece on "Twilight, Forks, & Twi-Hards".

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