Letting Someone Down 2014-08-28

[Aed]

I don't believe that Paul has revealed directly or indirectly how vampires obtain their strength. In other story worlds, vampirism is spread through contact between an older vampire and a victim (soon to be a vampire). The older vampires are stronger by virtue of their longevity and time spent feeding.

In the Wapsi-verse we know that vampires may be created when someone dies alone and forgotten. There is no transmission. While strength may be the result of a more recent death, it may also be a somewhat random factor. In life, take any two people with similar life styles and activity levels, one may prove naturally stronger than the other. That may be the case with Lilly and Suzie. Suzie may just be naturally stronger than Lilly. No secret to learn, nothing to change, it is just one of those things. vOv

[oldmanmickey]

That is a very valid point of view as well. However i just love the idea that there is a cure for being a vampire. What kind of mindscrew would that give the sphinx to know there was never a need to kill them just love them and they are human again. They are supposed to protect humans arnt they?

[AnotherFairportfan]

Something tells me that Lily hasn't talked about any of this with Suzi very much, during the century they've known one another... she may have just kept the pain buried inside, and never got around to breaking that habit after she teamed up with Suzi. As we've seen before these two ladies seem to have... well, an interesting and somewhat indirect style of interpersonal communication.

In an early Pibgorn adventure (which i call "The Tragedy of Henmellyn" - begins here, and if you can read the first ten or so pages without wanting to know what the hell is going on, well ...), Drusilla the succubus is informed that she has a daughter who is over four hundred years old ... and of whom she has never heard before.

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The last page is a killer...

[Aed]

That is a very valid point of view as well. However i just love the idea that there is a cure for being a vampire. What kind of mindscrew would that give the sphinx to know there was never a need to kill them just love them and they are human again. They are supposed to protect humans arnt they?

There very well may be a cure for vampirism in the Wapsi-verse that does not require killing the vampire. Paul hasn't hinted either way. If there is a cure, it probably requires an epic story arc, overcoming great peril, devious traps, nefarious near-do-wells, a cup of tea, and some of Phix's cookies. Why? Remember what the gang went through to "cure" Jin and give her a semblance of humanity? Now ask yourself, "why would Paul treat Lilly and us and different?"

[jwhouk]

That is the problem, though: what if the cure for vampirism is reversing the cause of their becoming one in the first place?

And what if that means that the person then ends up dying - though not alone?

[Aed]

That is the problem, though: what if the cure for vampirism is reversing the cause of their becoming one in the first place?

And what if that means that the person then ends up dying - though not alone?

Not every story has an ending where everyone lives happily ever after. The Japanese seem to use such endings a bit more than other literary traditions that I am familiar with. Fortunately for us, Paul has kept the death of beloved characters to a minimum. ((Alas poor Roy, we hardly knew you.))

I suspect that a cure, if there is one, would involve creating a potion, ointment, talisman, or some other object of power using items that would be very hard, if not impossible for a vampire to obtain. Think of Sphinx feathers as an example or maybe the blood of an innocent (not necessarily a fatal amount). To make it harder, all of the things of power must be obtained from their source freely - not trickery, theft or other schemes. Objects obtained incorrectly would be useless.

Anyway, I've probably rattled on long enough.

[Aed]

Perhaps a better question to ask is "If there is a cure, would a vampire want to be human again?"

After all, not all of the golem girls chose to follow in Jin's foot steps.

[Mark N]

Perhaps a better question to ask is "If there is a cure, would a vampire want to be human again?"

After all, not all of the golem girls chose to follow in Jin's foot steps.

And to add to that; Does one need a cure at all? Can our friends control their urges moderately well? So far we have only seen Suzy take out a criminal (to be exact, a human monster.) If this is so would they want to be cured?

[GlytchMeister]

And to add to that; Does one need a cure at all? Can our friends control their urges moderately well? So far we have only seen Suzy take out a criminal (to be exact, a human monster.) If this is so would they want to be cured?

I think the Vamps survive on blood of the recently deceased. I seem to remember Suzy draining a corpse somewhere. I guess they could get that from medical schools, hospitals, and morgues.
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Would diseased blood mess them up? The Red Cross doesn't let certain people donate blood, but they always take test vials when I donate. If a bag of blood is rejected, would it still be safe for vampires to consume? They probably wouldn't contract the actual disease, but it might give them oogie-boogie indigestion. Low-quality blood means low-quality undead existence?
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Lol, oogie-boogie indigestion.

[Dave]

Lol, oogie-boogie indigestion.

The oogie-boogie pukin' boy of Company B?

[GlytchMeister]

Lol, oogie-boogie indigestion.

The oogie-boogie pukin' boy of Company B?

No reference, sorry. Just laughing at the ridiculousness of that phrase.
...

Wait. What? Oogie-boogie pukin' boy? What the heck are you talking about?

[Dave]

Wait. What? Oogie-boogie pukin' boy? What the heck are you talking about?

Indugestion (as you were), and a reference to a classic bit of popular music.

[Opus the Poet]

Lol, oogie-boogie indigestion.

The oogie-boogie pukin' boy of Company B?

No reference, sorry. Just laughing at the ridiculousness of that phrase.
...

Wait. What? Oogie-boogie pukin' boy? What the heck are you talking about?

[TazManiac]

I think I am mistaken, I recall better, now, "the youngest ones are stronger...": from the 'Twilight' franchise. culpa de mia.

That said, I certainly recall a bitch-fest between Suzie and Lily where on boasted, or at least emphatically declared "I'm stronger than you...".

I theeeenk it was around the time that the 'Katherine-at the Dig' trauma was revealed...

[lake_wrangler]

That said, I certainly recall a bitch-fest between Suzie and Lily where on boasted, or at least emphatically declared "I'm stronger than you...".

I theeeenk it was around the time that the 'Katherine-at the Dig' trauma was revealed...

Right here.

[Dave]

I think I am mistaken, I recall better, now, "the youngest ones are stronger...": from the 'Twilight' franchise. culpa de mia.

That said, I certainly recall a bitch-fest between Suzie and Lily where on boasted, or at least emphatically declared "I'm stronger than you...".

I theeeenk it was around the time that the 'Katherine-at the Dig' trauma was revealed...

Paul confirmed here that Suzi is much stronger than Lily... this was during the sequence when Suzi kneecapped Lily with a couple of postol shots to get her attention.

I can't recall Paul ever saying specifically why Suzi is the stronger of the two.

[TazManiac]

Pilate's...

[AnotherFairportfan]

I think the Vamps survive on blood of the recently deceased. I seem to remember Suzy draining a corpse somewhere.

If i'm remembering that sequence, that's where we first got the "died alone and unknown/unloved" bit about vampire origin - Suzi has an arrangement with the local morgue to borrow "John/Jane Doe" bodies to drain - and to save them from rising as vampires.

Also the sequence where we first met Senior Director Oduya.