Mind Control Comics Forum

Coming Friday, July 12th!

Is Raven really aware that Erin is part of a 'harem' yet?  Or just that she's with Adrian as well?

She's heard about Adrian from Laura, and she's seen Adrian with Amy.  I think she might just believe that Adrian is an operator at this point.

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She is one of the The SJI bunch episode 51

Yeah, but so is the unflappable Sue, and she's been MIA since...episode 20?  Before episode 20?

Where "Nevermore" gets us, I don't know, but I don't think it has to do with Raven the character--after all, she didn't even have to knock in this sequence.  I'm still waiting for Kanti to launch a solo raid on the SJI.

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My guess is Raven will look very different, having been
waylaid by nefarious individuals and dressed differently to
throw off our crew of armed Heroes while said bad guys sneak in
through another entrance and try to pick the girls off one at a time.
Or this is Ravens final moment as the big bad takes her life while
she stands in the doorway, then melts back into the night.  Which adds
Tragedy, violence, suspense and words like BANG, and Noooooooo!!!

Either way its probably a flashback issue of Raven being
encountered by nefarious mind controller before she can get to
The house as they try to insert her as a mole in the ranks of the gang.

Shrugs.

I sincerely hope you're joking and/or wrong.  Pulling Dani out of the fire cost a lot and was already a cliffhanger of considerable length what with PK's vacation.  We could really use a break from the tension and a healthy dose of enjoyable fun at this point.

Sorry No page :'(

Should be working now.

Some days at work I feel like Raven
Eveyone hit me at ones

I have to say, the art struck me as particularly good in this episode.  

I'm still that guy who doesn't like Erin's hairstyle though, heh.

Here's hoping that Raven's agitation requires some Watch intervention.  

Heh, I think it's funny that someone mentioned Sue upthread.  We don't know anything about her except that she works at that restaurant and is 'unflappable.'   It'd be funny if she sees these kinds of mind control games all around her in this little town and it ain't no thing for her.  

Erin's hairdo is quite severe, but in it's current state it's quite fetching.

I like the exchange and where things are progressing because it looks like Jacqui, Adrian and....Caitlyn (was she helping to load the arsenal in the last couple of episodes? ???) are about to crash into the Pink Clouds effect at the club.

However, it should be noted that I find Raven's series of reactions understandable and quite logical, actually.

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Oh, I don't think Raven's reaction wasn't reasonable. 

Well, people are often not completely rational in affairs of the heart. :)

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Wait one thing. 

"When I want your opinion of your relationship with Adrian, you'll keep it to yourself."

Shouldn't that be "Until..."?

The dialogue balloons in this episode accurately reflect what Erin said.

That's... actually kind of funny.  I know it's a running joke that Erin has a temper, but that was pretty harsh. 

Erin just had a near-death experience, though, and someone likely wants to kill some people she's very close to, so being on edge makes sense.

Looks like the sentence structure is meant to reflect Erin's irritation. She's so mad by the end that she goes for vehemence over clarity.  The other implication is that until Erin wants her opinion, Raven shouldn't even have one.

Raven's take can be seen as amusing because she doesn't know about The Watch, New York, Derek, Zenon, Q, Pink Clouds, or the belltower.

Not at all, I assure you. I strongly encourage the readership to have their own opinion on how irrational or not Raven is being.

Raven actually seems like the voice of the readership just after the arsenal was first revealed.  By the by, is this another three episode week, or did the calendar hotlink reflect an expected delay in the release of the current issue?

The latter, sorry for any disappointment. :)

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Um, obviously not all of us.  As the readership we can see a myriad of threats, some the cohorts are aware of (Derek, The Kuplers, The Driver), some they only vaguely perceive (Q, Pink Clouds, Zenon's systematic "treatment program," Rain), some they haven't run into yet (the Belltower, Claudia's reorganized New York Harem, The Cavanaugh Legacy).  The Driver raised the stakes (even for folks not aware of Kupler) so, those members of the cohort comfortable with guns decided to use them as tools of defense and intimidation.  It's interesting that Erin and Adrian were initially surprised and just rolled with it but Mallory, Jacqui, and Dani were active, and Caitlyn seems completely comfortable with the escalation.  We've seen some things in Erin and Mallory's backgrounds that would indicate familiarity with high-pressure, high-danger situations, and Dani's an Air Force brat.  However, we know nothing about Caitlyn except that

1. She's self-conscious about her weight, and
2. Her membership on the Mantis Squad has changed her physical form.

Well, you know Caitlyn's a cheerleader, she's on the chess team, she's a Poli Sci major...

Apologies.  We haven't seen the fruit of her membership on the chess team or her major.  She's an interesting bundle of contradictory attributes, but none of the ones we know would appear to indicate comfort or savvy with firearms

Except, of course, for her just having shown comfort with firearms.  There is a first time for seeing everything.

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We don't actually know that Caitlyn is familiar with, comfortable with, or savvy about firearms; we just know she didn't have a freak-out worth mentioning when she saw them.

All we've seen about Jacqui's involvement with the guns is that she didn't freak out, and was pouring coffee while Dani and Mallory loaded.

Speaking as someone who was raised in Toronto, it's hard for us Canadians or our UK brethren to completely get how common guns are in the US, especially in rural and semi-rural states.

I find Caitlyn's lack of a response to the small arsenal on the table odd myself.  To me that would indicate that she's comfortable with a lot of guns around at home.  Where did she grow up?  What kind of a place is Livermore, California?

As far as my own reaction to the latest turn of events--At the very least, everyone at the table knows that someone has raised the stakes to life and death.  Our mystery Driver went out of his/her way to hit either Dani or someone wearing Mallory's jacket with the intent of causing fatal injury.  There's no indication that the driver lost control of the car or attempted to brake.  That was intentional.  It looks like a majority of the first cohort has decided to invoke what the film The Untouchables called "The Chicago Way."

Because we know the stakes are now life and death, fear, vigilance, upgraded security and defense are called for--but I mentioned other options.  Mace and tasers would be viable nonlethal options for women under threat in a town setting.  They're easy to use (or to learn to use), they're portable, and they're discreet.  Installing a security system would definitely help.  Plus, considering self-defense classes makes sense, but that's a process, not a single step.  Guns (particularly shotguns and long weapons) are neither discreet nor easily portable.  And you notice, none of the girls went out and got .22s or Saturday Night Specials, they got serious firepower, even in handguns.

As our author indicated, these aren't available wholesale at Walmart.  Purhcasing them and matched ammunition would require proficiency and a little discernment, and finding a gun shop that sold such weapons.   It looks like they went out and bought them while Erin was in the hospital (since we haven't seen any weapons before or any gun safes where they could be stored (the way that Erin's athame is stored in a decorative-looking box).

They went out on a weeknight and purchased a small arsenal of well-made weapons from a gun shop.  Are there gunshops in Kearsage?

I've asked about The Watch in a couple previous posts.  I have to believe that we're going to see it soon at the SJI since our author is staying mum about it.

There are probably at least three gun shops in convenient driving distance of the Infirmary, based on my experience of New Hampshire (it's a very gun-friendly state). It wouldn't surprise me if one was, if not 24 hours, open late. However, it's not giving away anything to say that both Mallory and Danielle had both the guns and the ammunition in their possession since before issue 1. The SIG P226 is not an extremely common gun (although it is the standard officer sidearm for at least the RCAF), and Holland & Holland shotguns are all bespoke.

Bespoke?  Does that mean H&H is an old manufacturer that went under or was bought up by someone else, or that they're all custom-made?

As for the danger--Adrian did tell Dani about the coming storm (or the impression Rain left of it) just before the snowball fight.  I'm fairly sure that she's passed that tidbit along to the first cohort.  So the Pellerins are like the Siscos?  For one of her birthdays, Dani's father gave her an RACF sidearm and ammo?

Custom-made.


Well, General Pellerin does not seem like the kind of father who is overly concerned that his daughter only display ladylike characteristics.

Sorry, I garbled that a bit.  He wouldn't have just given her one of his own and requisitioned a new one.  So, I'd assume he'd have it custom-made.  So, he had a copy of his own made, or did he size it down slightly to fit her grip and stance?

I'm not sure if you're referring to Mallory or Danielle. In the case of Danielle, her guns are mass-manufacturered. In the case of Mallory, "he"?

I was referring to Dani.  The gun she's holding in 203 is her SIG I'm assuming.  She's 25.  It's been 3 years (hasn't it) since the solo flight into New York that precipitated her kidnapping (tough to tell with three different competing histories bouncing around in her head).  So, she was 22 the last time the General saw her.  Typical air force and navy sidearms are heavy weapons (big for her hands, enough recoil to knock her flat), or at least that's how it used to be.  So, I was wondering--wouldn't the General have had a sidearm specially modified for Dani at 18 or 21, so that it would sit well in her grip with enough stopping power to be a serious weapon, but a light enough kick that she'd be comfortable with it?

It's right next to Pleasanton, which is in the running for the most inaccurately-named municipality worldwide. 

Loosely speaking, there's no reason why any particular person from that area wouldn't have a personal familiarity with firearms.  New York it ain't.

Well, the standard-issue P226 is a 9mm, which (while it means business) isn't really wrist-breaking. I have a friend who is 5' 0" and maybe 110 lbs soaking wet, and she can fire a 9mm and stay on her feet.

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I was going to say sig226 in 9mm isn't exactly a nothing gun but 40 & 45 caliber
have a lot more kick.  Though the sig226 isn't that common; Chinese knockoffs (norinco) are just as easy to buy (at almost half price) online.

My quibble is with
Dani wearing dual shoulder holsters.  Tomb raider made it look easy but firing two pistols at once unless at extremely close range along with weapon recoil is a waste of bullets no matter how hard you try to aim.  As for the abundance of firearms dealers.  I think for Canadians, its not something that rates high on public awareness, but in fact there are far more gun stores than people realize.  There is also nothing to say that Dani didn't buy the Sigs on her own.

And why do I get the feeling that there are more gun owner/readers than first realized.

A lack of guns sitting in public doesn't denote their lack of presence. It just shows they were stored properly till the were needed.

New Hampshire its license plate slogan being : Live free or Die.  I would guess that makes them pretty gun friendly.

I put down Jacqui's iron nerves to her time spent as a groupie / roadie.

Yeah, the firing-two-guns-at-once thing is pure theatre (I've tried it; it's a stupid idea). Having two guns is not a terrible idea in case there is a problem with one, or you don't want to take the time to reload, though.

True .  And the Sig226 costs  1000.00 per gun , but the np22 from norinco costs 379$.  I think she bought
  knock offs.  My guess is that its quicker to reload than reholster, draw and fire new pistol. I agree though.  Having more is better than less.

  As for the lack of visible guns in 200 issues.  We also havent seen birth control pills on a regular basis or condoms but thats not to say they arent close by or hidden.

The lack of birth control is probably an acceptable hand-wave in what is ultimately a work of pornography.

Agreed.  But if we are being continuity sharks (of which I am guilty).. I figured to point out one of the most glaring omissions.

Depends where Dani got hers and when.  If she purchased them herself after her escape from the Kuplers, they're probably knockoffs.  If one of them is a gift from her father, that one's probably a custom-modified Sig.

Unfortunately, dedicated fans tend to morph into continuity sharks periodically.;)

I try not to invoke Rule of Porn too often, but condoms and birth control fall under that category (that being said, they can be an issue sometimes...).

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It is definitely safe to assume that Caitlyn saw the guns sitting on the kitchen table, since she was in the kitchen with Mallory, and that her reaction to them wasn't as extreme as Raven's, for whatever reason.

Ok. "That's serious birth control" is the BEST line in this thread.  Goodwill, you have the Conche.
Seriously.

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Well, I don't speculate here about characters motivations; I try to confine myself to matters of fact. But you, the readers, can absolutely speculate as much as you wish to about what is going on with the characters; that's your privilege (or burden).

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