No, we’re not talking about football teams – do keep up! At a recent careers exhibition we asked fans of the Twilight saga to justify why their favourite character was the best – and here’s some of the results!

WORDS: LOUISE CRICHTON, GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY

“I have always been a dedicated Team Edward fan simply because I’m loyal and he was the first ‘team’ character in the books that fans met and loved. Although he is fictional – which is something a lot of people forget – the character that Stephanie Meyer has created is most girl’s dream guy. I don’t think him being a vampire appeals to anyone in particular, it’s more because he is incredibly romantic and committed to Bella. The ‘17 year-old’ has his flaws – like his over-protective nature – but I think that’s an endearing quality for him to have – it makes him seem that little bit more realistic, even if he does sparkle in sunlight. His mysterious and secretive personality keeps readers, and Bella, on their toes and begging for more, which is the perfect equation for making a character that someone can easily become obsessed about. In the ‘real world,’ Jacob would be a better option, but this is fiction so fans enjoy living in their heads for a while and imagining that a person like Edward could actually exist and sweep them off their feet.”

The character of Edward Cullen appears to make every girl’s heart melt with his romantic gestures and ‘forever’ commitment to Bella Swan. However, there’s another guy on the scene that’s got the girls drooling! 

WORDS: ANTHEA MCNALLY, ROBERT GORDON UNIVERSITY

“Jacob Black was first introduced into the Twilight books as Bella’s childhood friend; a teenage boy with cute dimples and a friendly smile. Then when ‘New Moon’ came around we discover that Jacob is carrying a secret of his own; he’s a werewolf! Along with this new quality Jacob’s body is transformed from boy to buff! Stephanie Meyer gets the girls’ hearts racing as she creates this muscle-rippling, kind hearted character. Jacob wants Bella for more than friendship and is prepared to take on the likes of Edward Cullen to get her. Along with his new physique, Jacob is also sporting a much sexier look with short hair, a tattoo and  a habit of wearing a pair of ripped shorts that shows off his body throughout the entire book – which Taylor Lautner demonstrates oh so well in the movie! That’s what the girls want to see! Unlike the cold touch of the vampire, Jacob’s skin stays at a cosy temperature of 108 degrees! I think I’d rather cuddle up to that. Go Team Jacob!”

 

The Cullens are a ‘family’ of seven vampires living in Forks, Washington. Senior member Carlisle was changed back in 1663; the now-eternal 23 year old so resented what he had become that he drinks only the blood of animals – what he calls being ‘vegetarian’. He ‘turned’ Edward to save him from Spanish influenza that swept the world after the First World War, and then rescued Esme from an abusive husband after she’d attempted suicide – he later married her. Rosalie was found beaten and barely alive by Edward and Carlisle; longing for a companion, she later found Emmett being mauled by a bear and quickly brought him to Carlisle so he could be saved. Jasper and Alice weren’t changed into vampires by Carlisle, but Alice’s visions led her to him in 1950 and he accepted them both into the family. Because of their immortality, the Cullens move on every 10 years in order to hide the fact that they don’t age. 

The Quileutes Tribe live in La Push, not far from Forks; it’s said that they’re descended from wolves and have always been enemies of “the cold ones.” The Tribe includes werewolves who protect the people of La Push from vampires who they hunt and kill before they get the chance to kill the humans. While in wolf form, the pack has the ability to communicate telepathically; in human form they are immortal, incredibly strong and tall. Members of the pack are Paul, Jared, Leah, Sam, Collin, Seth, Embry, Brady, and Jacob. After an agreement made by Jacob’s great grandfather, the Quileutes allowed the Cullens to live in Forks on the condition that they never bite a human. Jacob was intended to be the leader of the pack, but refused his title and gave it to Sam.