Not Like I Was 2012-12-11

[Boxilar]

This little bit of info explains a lot about Suzi. It explains why she is in the FBI in the missing persons/homicide division, why she doesn't see anything wrong with eating criminals and especially why she flipped out and ate Bloody Meatsnak.

[Mark N]

This little bit of info explains a lot about Suzi. It explains why she is in the FBI in the missing persons/homicide division, why she doesn't see anything wrong with eating criminals and especially why she flipped out and ate Bloody Meatsnak.

Yup, it seems that he was, maybe, the kinda guy that snuffed her

[TheDOCTOR]

The "Not like I was" really makes you feel for Suzie. Even though shes a Vampire shes still trying to do good. My guess is Suzie "Brings them back" long enough to ask "Whats your name?" and perhaps "What happened?" I wonder if she pays out of her pocket for the headstone?

[Aleister Crow]

Thought- We know that Suzie has been a vampire since at least the 1890's. Two things occur to me from that date:

A (supernatural)- A certain well known Carpathian Prince arrived in Whitby, England. Suzy may have been a victim of his, either directly or indirectly ('converted' by Lucy Westenra). Personally I think this one may be a bit too obvious.

B-(Historical)- A serial killer terrorized Whitechapel in 1888. He has five known victims; it's theorized that he had more that were never found. It's possible that in the Wapsiverse, Jack was a vampire (maybe even tying in with the Springheel Jack legends).

The one glaringly huge assumption here is that Suzie was in England at the time. I have a very strong feeling that she's from that part of the world- which likely means I'm ridiculously far off the mark.

[Julie]

Okay...so she procures meals from the local morgue. I guess that's not bad. At least she doesn't do the killing herself...that's a pretty decent way to manage the life of a vampire (as long as we're in a mythology where the blood of the already dead isn't a poison). And she's going to see that the girl gets buried with a headstone, too? That's downright noble of our little bloodsucker (especially considering her tendency in the past to cartwheel off the proverbial wagon).

[chibichibi01]

Thought- We know that Suzie has been a vampire since at least the 1890's. Two things occur to me from that date:

A (supernatural)- A certain well known Carpathian Prince arrived in Whitby, England. Suzy may have been a victim of his, either directly or indirectly ('converted' by Lucy Westenra). Personally I think this one may be a bit too obvious.

B-(Historical)- A serial killer terrorized Whitechapel in 1888. He has five known victims; it's theorized that he had more that were never found. It's possible that in the Wapsiverse, Jack was a vampire (maybe even tying in with the Springheel Jack legends).

The one glaringly huge assumption here is that Suzie was in England at the time. I have a very strong feeling that she's from that part of the world- which likely means I'm ridiculously far off the mark.

I definitely like Option B.

Then there's Option C that she was just a poor unfortunate in the wrong place at the wrong time in her past and no one cared enough, or had the technology, to find her name and her "killer" and give her the closure she needed.

As for her past, we only know that she ate Criminals in the 1890s, we have no idea if that's when she was turned or if she'd been undead for a long while before that and that's just when Lily met her. I really want to know more about these two girls.

[Boxilar]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint.

Poking a hole in an artery and sipping out the blood would be incredibly inefficient compared to the way we saw Suzi feed before.

If the bucket is any indicator, Suzi needs considerable quantities of blood periodically. She may not need the meat, but eating her prey and then "processing" the blood out would be a far more efficient way of eating than the " sipping" most vamps do.

It would also explain how horrible a relationship with a vampire would have been for Justin.

I think way to much about this stuff.

[Wdot]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint.

Poking a hole in an artery and sipping out the blood would be incredibly inefficient compared to the way we saw Suzi feed before.

If the bucket is any indicator, Suzi needs considerable quantities of blood periodically. She may not need the meat, but eating her prey and then "processing" the blood out would be a far more efficient way of eating than the " sipping" most vamps do.

It would also explain how horrible a relationship with a vampire would have been for Justin.

I think way to much about this stuff.

Oooh. Oooooh. In Edith Bunker's voice. What a picture. Though I thought it was a werewolf for Justin. I may be wrong, though.

[Boxilar]

@Wdot, you're right. Justin specifically tells Shelly about a werewolf he was seeing, but the implication is that there were others.

I'm on my phone, otherwise I'd post a link.

[Dave]

The "Not like I was" really makes you feel for Suzie. Even though shes a Vampire shes still trying to do good. My guess is Suzie "Brings them back" long enough to ask "Whats your name?" and perhaps "What happened?" I wonder if she pays out of her pocket for the headstone?

Another possibility is that Suzi identifies victims the hard way... by doing the street-pounding research, finding people who may have seen the victim, looking for clues... old-fashioned detective work. She might succeed where most would fail, because she cares enough about the "discarded ones" to take the trouble to work at it.

If this is the case, then Monica (in her role as a direct emissary to the dead) might be able to help Suzi a great deal.

Identifying this poor dead teen (a runaway?) and learning her story may be Monica's first Jaguar mission. Might be good for her, to redeem her sense of self-respect and her trust in her own powers after the late lamented lavabake incident.

[Fairportfan]

Nobody deserves to be forgotten. My mother had a baby sister who lived just over a month. For nine decades she lay unremembered except by her immediate family. In 2009 I was able to rectify that unfortunate error, had a headstone placed on her grave.


"A person's a person, no matter how small." - Horton

A Stone for Bessie Smith

[bmonk]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint. . . .

I think way to much about this stuff.

ON the other hand, for some of us, a "willing suspension of disbelief" requires not just the "green sun" postulated difference, but then a more-or-less logical development of the consequences, given that the rest of the world is familiar. And, in that case, such thoughts are to be expected.

[Boxilar]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint. . . .

I think way to much about this stuff.

ON the other hand, for some of us, a "willing suspension of disbelief" requires not just the "green sun" postulated difference, but then a more-or-less logical development of the consequences, given that the rest of the world is familiar. And, in that case, such thoughts are to be expected.

True. Nothing pulls be out of fantasy, especially modern fantasy, than when the author gets mundane details wrong or contradicts themselves on in universe details. Paul is consistent, which makes the rollercoaster ride that much more enjoyable.

[Wyvern]

For those of us keeping track of real-world Wapsi Square locations (that is to say, me), the Hennepin County Medical Center is about a mile northeast of Stevens Square (where the Bibliothiki annex is hidden). The convenient location-establishing sign seems to be absent in the real world, but the view is generally that from the intersection of S 8th St and Park Ave S, looking down 8th.

[Fairportfan]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint. . . .

I think way to much about this stuff.

ON the other hand, for some of us, a "willing suspension of disbelief" requires not just the "green sun" postulated difference, but then a more-or-less logical development of the consequences, given that the rest of the world is familiar. And, in that case, such thoughts are to be expected.

The "cute little fang" problem is dealt with in a lot of current vampire-related stuff by having the fangs grow/extend when needed.

On the question of "willing suspension of disbelief" - yes, indeed. Necessary - for any fiction, really.

\However, i refuse to hang mine by the neck until dead.

[Fairportfan]

On a purely practical note, I find it interesting that Suzi and Lily have a full set of carnivorous teeth rather than the cute little fangs of most vampires. It makes sense, from a practical standpoint. . . .

I think way to much about this stuff.

ON the other hand, for some of us, a "willing suspension of disbelief" requires not just the "green sun" postulated difference, but then a more-or-less logical development of the consequences, given that the rest of the world is familiar. And, in that case, such thoughts are to be expected.

The "cute little fang" problem is dealt with in a lot of current vampire-related stuff by having the fangs grow/extend when needed.

On the question of "willing suspension of disbelief" - yes, indeed. Necessary - for any fiction, really.

However, i refuse to hang mine by the neck until dead.

Case in point - Kim Harrison's "Inderlander" books, where science went more to genetics and the biosciences generally, where there was a mutant plague that killed forty percent of ("normal") humans in the 1950s or threabouts - and people still use laptop computers, listen to music on CDs and as MP3s ... and popular culture seems to have developed precisely the same as it did in our universe ... except that there are "Inderlander" (supernatural/preternatural) acts as well as the Beatles and the Stones.

Oh - and Corvettes have steel bodies.

[Fairportfan]

True. Nothing pulls be out of fantasy, especially modern fantasy, than when the author gets mundane details wrong or contradicts themselves on in universe details. Paul is consistent, which makes the rollercoaster ride that much more enjoyable.

The "Elemental Assassin" books, in one of which te entire plot turns on something which is flatly geologically impossible.

(And they're Very Badly Written, too.)

==================

EDIT to add: Or Harry Turtledove's alternate-history "Atlantis" books, in which what is North America in our universe is two continents - North America and "Atlantis" - essentially the eastern part of the continent back as far as the Mississippi, more or less, is thousands of miles east of where it is in our world.

Internally, the books are as well-written as Turtledove's books usually are.



But they assume that European history (including that of the British Isles) is essentially the same as it is in our universe.

Uh huh.

Where's the Gulf Stream, Harry?

[kingklash]

"Last Time, on Vamp PD Blue..."

[Boxilar]

At the very least the Roman Empire likely would have stayed out of a frozen solid Great Britain. No Londinium. They probably wouldn't have made it into northern France.

And as far as a steel bodied Corvette the whole point of the fiberglass body is to keep the weight down. The 'Vette has stayed light (just over 3000 lbs ) throughout its production history. A steel bodied Corvette especially one using thick 50s steel would be way to heavy too be a viable sports car.

Sorry, pet peve rant off line.

[Mark N]

Okay...so she procures meals from the local morgue. I guess that's not bad. At least she doesn't do the killing herself...that's a pretty decent way to manage the life of a vampire (as long as we're in a mythology where the blood of the already dead isn't a poison). And she's going to see that the girl gets buried with a headstone, too? That's downright noble of our little bloodsucker (especially considering her tendency in the past to cartwheel off the proverbial wagon).

as far as this being how Suzi gets a meal it does not fit her comments. She was not too happy to get the message, which could mean that it is standard policy in the this part of the Wapsiverse to try and have no unmarked graves, so identifying the unknown may be a standard practice.
also, we still don't know for sure that this girl is a meal, I still hold onto the idea that this is some method to get information from the girls blood. Until Paul tells us for certain that the girls cannot subsist on anything other than Human blood I will have to assume that they have other sources for nutrition.