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It said "4.1.38". Is there anything new, bug fixes or it's not rolled out yet?

[Volume Nine (ish): Issues 696-800]

Volume Nine (ish): Issues 696-800

The evening holds many plans. At the record shop, Raven drops by to deliver coffee, playfully proclaiming she will be Adrian’s slave that night. Erin heads to rehearsal and tells Adrian to have fun with Raven that evening, and he bids her do the same with Reka and Weston. He texts Raven with specific instructions, which the submissive goth is more than happy to oblige. When she arrives that evening, she is clad in a dark purple robe, thigh-high boots, and a corset, bare otherwise. Adrian and Jacqui collar and leash her and proceed to make good use of her into the early hours of the morning.

As Erin spars with Reka, they discuss Reka’s tryst with Adrian and their upcoming threesome. Reka admits she isn’t used to Adrian’s size, and Erin seems to do something to her throat claiming she can fix that issue. That night, as they double-team Weston, Reka reacts as if her throat is an erogenous zone and enthusiastically blows Weston. She and Erin blow him together, and Erin invites Reka to the strip-club birthday party which will never happen. Wes returns the favor to the two girls, with Erin whispering to Reka to imagine Adrian inside her as he does so. Finally, Erin fucks Weston, and the three also party until the early hours, until Erin seems to realize something and asks Weston to drive her to a nearby bus stop.

At the pet store, Heidi attempts to graciously break off her entanglement with Miriam, claiming that she had a lovely evening but that they shouldn’t have sex. She amends the statement that they shouldn’t have sex right in the store with a few controlling caresses from Miriam. She has Miriam lock up, awkwardly mentioning she is heading to yoga with Jacqui, and Miriam makes plans to fuck her again afterward. That evening, as she restrains Heidi for sex yet again, Miriam edges Heidi and begins making off-screen demands; among the ones we do get to see are a lewd picture of Heidi’s naked and restrained body. Heidi protests the obscene image and begs Miriam to keep it private, but Miriam proceeds to send the image to Adrian for his appraisal in secret. She further attempts to convince Heidi to make a pass at her step-brother, resorting to her controlling touch when her boss proves obstinate. Adrian approves the photo and calls Miriam late at night, once he and she have tired out their respective lovers, for some phone sex.

Earlier in the day, odd events seem to unfold at the local hospital where Officer Rowenna (the PO Vik used Pink Clouds on) is being held. One by one, the visual feeds of the security showing Rowenna’s room cut; when the security attempts to make their way to the room, a flood of doctors, nurses, and visitors race past, claiming a nurse named Beth is still in the room with an unknown entity. The female security guard enters the room, seeming surprised by whatever is within. She then begins laughing in an unhinged manner. Meanwhile, the male security guard attempts to control the situation, when Cherry’s red monster creature suddenly appears, seemingly with a nude woman inside its form (the site notes claim it is Rowenna, in spite of her dark hair; perhaps a shading issue). The panicking crowd runs past the security guard, who is knocked aside by the creature as it flees. When the cops arrive, the security guard is wounded but stable, the monster seeming to have fled, and staff are working to get equipment back online. Upon entering Rowenna’s room, they find the female security guard and a woman who is likely Beth, both masturbating and giggling insensately. Rowenna is nowhere to be found.

This entire sequence with the red monster has always been somewhat confusing to me, but the theory I’ve seen best fit it is that, with the attack at the gas station, Cherry’s creature either consumed or merged with Vik (we will see in the late 800s that such a thing is indeed possible) and that Vik/the monster is now using its power to recollect his scattered harem and remake it anew.

Also earlier in the day (a very action packed day, I might add), Dani begins the deprogramming plan of Zenon’s former patients with Amy, as well as subtly reprogramming them to refocus their sexual obsession on Adrian. Multiple women, from cheerleader Rachel to her roommate Anya to musician Sue, are welcomed into the office and follow the same pattern: Dani hypnotizes them, has them masturbate in accordance with Zenon’s programming, strips the need to keep returning for future appointments, takes racy photographs of the women in sexual situations, and gives them a trigger to which they will respond with obedience. Following the final appointment of the day, Dani and Amy have leisurely sex in the office. Amy vocalizes concerns about Hayley’s growing attraction to Laura considering the latter’s status as one of Adrian’s women, and Dani bemoans the fact that, as she has always been owned by a man, she has little perspective to offer.

It should be noted that the obedience trigger for the patients is likely a suggestion from Caitlyn herself, as the women are never directly enslaved to Adrian, but are merely given obedience triggers, in theory to be more easily ensnared whenever Astrid decides to enact her nefarious plan which birthed this whole idea.
Elsewhere that evening, Hayley and Laura use the PC antidote to get nice and horny for an evening in together. When Dani walks Amy home and wishes her goodbye, the duo rope Amy into their fun as well. Dani herself is welcomed home by Marliese and Mallory (who, you will recall, were in a relationship before all the Watch madness began) and help her unwind after the long day.

In their dorm that evening (seriously, a packed single day for the SJI crew), Caitlyn and Hitomi discuss the future. Hitomi asks how Caitlyn is going to manage her dual loyalties; Cailtyn replies blithely that she can balance classes fine. She confirms to Hitomi that, in theory, they should be “having” Danielle for Saturday of that week (theoretically for a “party” at Astrid’s), along with the twins and potentially Laura. Hitomi suggests bringing Erin as well; Caitlyn says that will also include Adrian, but Hitomi is confident they can keep him distracted.

I beg you, Daphne, if the BE arc ever ends, to please continue developing Astrid’s story. The setup for a full harem struggle between Astrid and Adrian, especially with all the girls in their current BE-ed state, would be delicious.

Finally, as a last major event of the evening, Weston drives Erin to the bus stop, where they meet Aiken, who has made it to town to assist Erin, and Amaltheia, another student who has been getting to know him. Erin welcomes him warmly, and, when she expresses hesitance at him staying at the Infirmary, Weston gives him and Ama a lift to Ama’s flat at her insistence. Upon their arrival, they become intimate, and Ama formally welcomes him to Kearsarge. He brings Erin back to the Infirmary, where she is swept up by Dani, Mallory, and Marliese in the fun, the original Watch girls enjoying each other. Weston returns home to a still-awake Reka, and they discuss her future endeavors with Adrian as they have sex once more.

I swear, half of this post is just describing one day full of the characters having sex with one another. Oh, the woes of an archivist of a smut comic.

The next morning, Erin properly introduces Adrian to Aiken, the meeting awkward but friendly. Miriam materializes, as does Jacqui, and they join in the meeting, though Miriam leaves soon after to bring Heidi coffee. Heidi is wearing a daring yellow dress and thigh-high red boots, seeming much more daring than usual. Miriam lifts the dress to reveal that Heidi is commando beneath and praises her for following instructions, beginning to jill her off before they open the store. Heidi, resistance nearly a foreign concept by now, submissively complies.

Dani, glowing from her enjoyable day prior, heads to work and is told by one of her bosses that she has a message on the answering machine. When she inquires, she is alarmed to hear that Jakob Kuppler has called. Panicking, she calls Adrian, who was planning to go visit Cherry with Aiken and Erin in tow. He breaks off the plan to go to her side, taking Jacqui and asking Aiken to protect Erin if something comes for her. When he gets there, he comforts Dani and listens to Jakob’s message, remarking he is rather casual for a wanted man back from the grave. He then calls Julian, trying to determine if he knew of Jakob’s intentions, but receives no answer, further darkening their collective moods. Dani decides to call Einfríður for assistance. She asks the Icelander for a favor and hurries to work, seemingly not wanting to think about the problem. Adrian and Jacqui leave to find Julian. Jacqui volunteers to be harem-keeper when Laura texts for permission to date her professor amidst the chaos. He also confirms that evening for her, Heidi, and Miriam with him, and they head back to the shop.
At the record shop, Erin gives Aiken surface-level information about Dani’s issues and gently rebuffs his veiled advances. When Adrian and Jacqui return, and at Erin’s complaints, they organize takeout and sex in the storage room, Adrian and Aiken the lucky recipients of their lust.

In class, Caitlyn fantasizes about enslaving her history professor, a busty woman by the name of Professor Síndria. To accomplish her new vision, she meets with Laura and requests a vial of both Pink Clouds and the antidote. She visits the professor during her office hours and doses her with Pink Clouds, giving Síndria suggestions of submitting to her. Afterward, in celebration of Síndria signing off on a book Caitlyn is preparing, she suggests dinner, and Síndria agrees.
As mentioned, Laura is also planning on having sex with her professor; however, hers is of the consensual variety, as she asks Prof. Compton if she would be interested in a sexual relationship, to which the professor obliges.

During swim practice, Hitomi asks if Amaltheia is busy on Saturday and invites her to Coates and Astrid’s place. Ama agrees, asking if she can bring someone, likely Aiken.

Einfríður calls Angela (who, you may recall, is secretly working for Jakob) and tells her she is needed in Wilmot, elaborating little and explaining merely that the situation is a crisis. She keeps this secret from Johannes at Danielle’s request, as Dani does not seem to fully trust any Kuppler. Angela quickly marshals a plane and prepares to depart, calling Jakob to inform him of the news, though she mistakenly believes Johannes is the one telling her to come to Wilmot. Jakob tells her to go to prevent his brother from growing suspicious and tells her he will know when she arrives. He sends her an obscene picture of Dani, looking brainless and being fucked by Jakob in a maid outfit, and tells Angela that this is the woman she is to look for in Wilmot.

Miriam briefly stops by Reka’s place of work and gossips with her about the previous evening, teasing Reka with the idea of a threesome between the two of them and Adrian. She then heads to the record shop and offers to cover the counter for Jacqui so she can join in the fun in the back room. They awkwardly discuss the evening’s plans, broaching the possibility of them becoming intimate while tag-teaming Adrian, with Miriam, who has already demonstrated a surprising openness to the idea, surprising Jacqui with her forwardness. Jacqui heads to the back room and joins the fun, teaching Ama some blowjob techniques on Aiken while Adrian and Erin fuck.

At the hangar, Dani receives confirmation from Einfríður that Angela is en route, and asks if she can use her bosses’ gun safe. She also offers to stay late to operate radios, planning to use the excuse to welcome Angela to Wilmot with privacy.

Outside the hospital, in the aftermath of the red creature attack, staff are still scrambling to get equipment back online and manage casualties. Kanti is there, reporting on the developing scene for the Wilmot paper, and is approached by a bedraggled Cherry and asked if she knows Erin, claiming she needs to find her. Kanti gets Erin’s location from Laura and offers to give Cherry a ride. Cherry says they need to make a stop first to see if a friend is still alive.

Said friend is Julian, whose room we have previously seen trashed and covered in blood, and who we see wounded and clutching his pistol at the motel. Downstairs, Vik suddenly appears, seemingly manifesting some sort of Pink Clouds from his very being, and enthralls Patricia the desk clerk, telling her that Julian is not to be disturbed and that they are going to have sex before he eats her brain. Patricia, much like the crazed women at the hospital, begins laughing in an unhinged manner and strips as Julian claws for his phone upstairs.

Erin receives a message about Cherry going AWOL from her hospital bed and, reluctantly, breaks off the fun in the storage room. As Jacqui has to manage the store, they call Mallory to drive them to Julian’s motel. On the way, Adrian calls Dani and offers to be with her if she needs him, but she reassures him she has everything she needs, and we see the Watch in her pocket. Left behind and nonplussed at the orgy’s interruption, Jacqui sourly tends the store while Miriam tries to cheer her up with the reminder of the evening’s plans. Ama is curious to hear both of them have a date with Adrian, and Miriam cuts her off to drag her to the fish supply store, where she plans to introduce her to Heidi.

It is unclear to me the extent to which Miriam begins to flex her control over Amaltheia before the events of the BE arc, but given some of her fantasies in the prelude to the turn of the millennial issue, we can assume Miriam likely begins seeding her control into the girl now.

Arriving at the motel, Cherry and Kanti are stunned to see the interior filled with a roiling mass of pink energy. Kanti asks what it is, and Cherry says it is the creature she summoned, once again suggesting the creature and Vik have merged at this point. In spite of Kanti’s protests, Cherry insists on going in alone, warning her to stay near the car in case she needs a quick getaway. Her words turn prophetic but ineffectual, as even near the car, the pink reaches out and seizes Kanti, stripping her and filing her nose; she begins to laugh in the unhinged manner of Vik’s other victims and is pulled within the maelstrom.

When Adrian’s team arrives, they are similarly floored by the sight within the motel. Cherry emerges, transformed and giggling, and bids them join her. Erin offers to try and handle this, but Adrian orders her to stay away, while Mallory begins to call upon Baron Lacroix for aid. She tells Adrian they must find Julian, face transformed in Calavera style, and he and she dash off after he orders Erin to keep an eye out but not enter the vortex. They locate Julian’s room and burst the door down, finding him in dire straits. Mallory claims Erin can help him with her healing abilities, but Erin and Aiken have both succumbed to Cherry’s influence, love-drunk and hanging off her every word. She uses her abilities to summon pink tentacles from the vortex which shred their clothes and begin sexually stimulating them, claiming they will be together forever. As the two begin to chuckle manically, she slowly drags them within the motel and the pink beyond.

Devastated to find them gone, Mallory orders Adrian to go after them as she looks after Julian and keeps him from crossing over the threshold of life and death. Adrian obliges, dashing into the cloudy pinkness to find… Echo, his old flame from the past, clad in a simple robe and claiming she is finally back.

STOP

This section more than any highlights to me just how slowly the timeline of SJI moves in spite of all that transpires in said time. From a calendar in issue 79, most of the Night of the Watch takes place in January of the new year, the serial beginning in November of the year prior. Roughly four days after the Night of the Watch (perhaps a week if we assume a missed day here or there), Julian hits Dani with his car. Erin is released from the hospital the following day, and that evening Caitlyn has her adventure at the strip club.

Six days after the Night of the Watch is when Cherry initially visits the Infirmary, when Adrian rescues Amy and Hayley from Vik, and when Mallory learns via the Baron that Jakob is alive. On day seven (1 week after the Watch), the first ritual with Miriam unlocks her memories and undoes Jakob’s programming, and Caitlyn rescues Johannes and Einfríður at the airport. Day eight has more shenanigans with Vik, including his being gobbled by the red monster, and day nine is the night that the theater ritual and Cherry’s healing happen. Day ten is the enormous sexcapade which took up the top half of this very post, and day eleven is the day during which the hospital chaos and the motel pink dimension happens. Even if you add in a few days here and there as plausible time skips, the idea that all of this has happened and we have not only not reached the end of the month of January (in story), but we also haven’t even reached Mallory’s birthday which Jacqui confirms to be on the 28th due to its overlap with the strip-club performance (issue 82), indicates that, regardless of its titilation, the story moves at a glacial pace.

What was I talking about? Oh, right; plot.

The sexcapades of the late 600s-mid 700s aside, more and more chaos brews. Dani has begun the deprogramming of Zenon’s girls and the reprogramming of them into Adrian/Caitlyn’s girls, unwittingly playing right into Astrid’s hands. If only we ever got to see the effects of such nefarious movements.

Simultaneously, Miriam further extends her control over Heidi, hinting at the dark streak of control and domination which will reach fruition during the BE arc of the modern day, and Adrian continues to become more and more authoritative in the aftermath of his brush with Jakob’s psyche, using Raven with hardly a second thought when Erin offers her up to him on a silver platter.

Vik’s return heralds the building action which will lead to the current arc’s climax, as Adrian, Erin, and Aiken’s entrance into the creature-cloud at the motel will be the source of the drama for over 100 issues to come and will leave Adrian with revelations about the past and his women which spur him into dramatic action. And in the background, Jakob still resides in parts unknown, his fingers pulling puppet strings from a distance as he prepares to reacquire his original slave through his proxy, Angela.

[Volume Eight (ish): Issues 613-695]

Volume Eight (ish): Issues 613-695

Urged on by Hitomi’s eagerness, Caitlyn allows herself to be led to Coates and Astrid’s place. At the door, Astrid greets them both in a stunning and revealing white dress and escorts them within. She introduces Caitlyn to Coates, and they make small talk for a time over Caitlyn’s extracurriculars. Astrid leaves to get tea and asks Caitlyn to come with her. In their absence, Hitomi asks Coates half a question about Caitlyn, but Coates hushes her and tells her to undress. In the kitchen, Astrid and Caitlyn discuss Astrid’s field work as an archaeologist. Astrid claims that it’s mostly boring potsherds, but then offers to show Caitlyn something more. She opens a door and allows Caitlyn within; Caitlyn is washed over in blinding light and seems awed; she cries out in ecstasy as whatever is behind the door seems to bring her to climax, and Astrid smiles and says she’ll be back for Caitlyn soon. It is yet to be revealed what precisely is behind the door, but whatever it is clearly has some controlling power, as when we next see Caitlyn, she is nude, kneeling, and gazing in wide-eyed wonder as she masturbates. Astrid eventually retrieves her from the trance, and from her subsequent words and actions, she seems utterly subservient to Astrid because of the artifact’s influence.

At the hospital, Julian checks in with the desk clerk and sends Erin and Dani to visit Cherry. The women position themselves to block the room’s camera and open Cherry’s eyes so that Dani may begin using the Watch on her. While Dani claims the Watch ought to be working, Erin says it feels like parts of Cherry’s mind are beyond the device’s reach. With few other options, Erin decides to delve into Cherry’s mind to examine the blockage.

Miriam and Reka, still fuzzy but horny from their night at the theater, have been enjoying Weston’s company in bed. It seems, as well, that both of them are attempting to persuade Weston to join them and Adrian for a foursome, where Weston would get to watch Reka fuck Adrian while Miriam blows him before the girls switch places. Whether this proclivity of Reka’s for a sexual in with Adrian is simply base interest or a result of either her time under the crystal’s influence in Miriam’s mind or unknown commands Adrian gave her is currently unknown. Miriam does mention as well that she is not ruling out the possibility of fucking her own mother as well, if Adrian wants it.

It seems Miriam and Reka are not the only ones with Adrian on the mind, as Amy and Laura are taking advantage of Hayley’s new programming at Dani’s hands to tease her with ideas of a fourway between themselves and Adrian, to which Hayley seems putty in their hands, all former doubts forgotten.

In the dreamscape, Erin interacts with Cherry, partially in memories, partially in the present. Cherry calls her out for refusing to say that she loves Cherry, forcing Erin to admit that she doesn’t love anyone, ever. Before they can sort out their muddled feelings, Erin brings Cherry up to speed on the situation and convinces her to let her attempt her healing. Cherry, however, seems resistant, and Erin tells her to stop fighting her; however, behind Cherry appears a figment of Jakob, who claims to be preventing Cherry from allowing Erin access. Erin says Jakob isn’t real, to which he counters he is real enough. Jakob claims that, as Aiken has said, Cherry cannot control her power, and that he will forever be in her head so long as she is alive. He claims Cherry was a disappointment, but that she brought him Erin. When Erin asks what he wants, he brandishes the Watch and sinisterly replies, “You, of course.”

Adrian and Julian wait anxiously in the lobby as time ticks away, Adrian making small talk with the desk clerk to pass the time. He drops by the room to let Dani and Erin know their time is running short, and Dani informs him of the difficulties. Adrian tells Julian to use the crystal on the desk clerk to buy them some time, contrary to his prior wishes. Julian does so, entrancing the clerk and toying with the idea of convincing her to fuck him. As he and Adrian spar, they hear a scream from the room.

In Cherry’s mindscape, Erin protests that the Watch isn’t real, but Jakob again counters that it is real enough, as Cherry holds plenty of memories of her own exposure to it. Intent on using it to warp Erin to his desires, he comments that she and he both renounced love to claim their birthrights. Erin protests that she loves Adrian, but Jakob coldly reminds her that she said herself she does not love anyone, and that he does not require love of his slaves. Abruptly, Dani interjects, having joined the mindscape, and determines the Jakob fragment to be the blockage. Jakob claims arrogantly that Dani does not understand much of what is happening, that in spite of her useful contributions, he commands the Watch. Dani brandishes the scallop in hand and counters that she controls the Watch, having sabotaged it unbeknownst to Jakob. Angrily, Jakob claims she did nothing, that he was the true visionary, but using his distraction, Dani and Erin plunge him into an abyss, seemingly breaking his hold.

This breaking of Jakob’s control removes the blockage, and all at once Cherry is awake, her scream being the one heard by Adrian and Julian in the lobby. Erin seems able to absorb the brain damage and heal it, and the desk clerk (her trance broken by the sudden distraction) ushers everyone out. Before she leaves, Cherry calms, notices Erin, and says she loves her. Erin pecks her on the cheek and responds that she loves Cherry as well, before bidding her to rest.

At a 24 hour coffee shop nearby, Adrian, Erin, Dani, and Julian recover from the ordeal. Julian thanks them for their help, and Erin and Dani explain the trap Jakob had laid for Erin in Cherry’s mind. As they ride home, Julian calls Claudia to update her and asks if she knows Jakob’s location; she responds that she thought he was dead. Julian tells her to put on a pot of coffee and tells Adrian he will reconvene with him in a few days when he has found Jakob. He also recommends that Adrian have one of his girls teach him to shoot. As they climb the Infirmary porch, Dani and Adrian discuss whether Adrian is trustworthy or not, but they are cut off by Erin, who sees a spectral figure which eventually resolves into a busty redhead in witch’s garb who appears a dead-ringer for herself. Adrian and Dani cannot see her, and after a moment, the apparition vanishes for Erin. Jacqui welcomes them inside, and Erin notes that she is apparently having visions now. She asks Adrian what his mother’s full name is, and then they proceed to enjoy themselves, Jacqui joining in the fun. In the night, Erin calls Aiken and says she needs help, to which he promises to come to Kearsarge. When she asks if “this” is going to kill her, he says it might before promising to see her soon.

The morning after their meeting with Astrid, Caitlyn and Hitomi return to their dorm, Caitlyn gushing over the previous night. She says she will need to tell Adrian about them, but that it shouldn’t ruffle his feathers so long as he remains the priority. They discuss in nebulous terms the new arrangement with Astrid, to which we as an audience are still not fully privy, but Caitlyn says that Hitomi should let Adrian have her in order to reduce suspicions, implying a nefarious purpose.

By the fireside, Erin confirms that Cherry is out of the ICU and likely to be released from the hospital soon. She and Adrian discuss Erin’s lingering fear of and for her, and Erin also asks if they are truly going to kill Jakob upon finding him. Adrian says they have not made a promise to anyone, but Dani counters that she has promised herself that she will kill Jakob.

The morning following their fun with Dani, the twins and Laura diverge for their classes. However, Laura is confronted by Detective Mirabel Barthe with the Wilmot College Police, who has questions about Vikram. She and Laura both sit down with Professor Compton, and Laura explains #49 to the detective. Barthe reassures Laura that the police are aware Pink Clouds was an accident; however, the detective does mention that the officer found in her squad car (whom Vik abused on the highway) has been adversely affected by her exposure to the compound. She wishes to find Vik in order to stop him from continuing to produce PC, but Laura claims he does not understand the formula and cannot. They discuss the antidote, and Barthe begins to question Laura regarding Q’s involvement with the history of PC.

Miriam shows up for her first day on the job at the pet supply store, working for her boss, Heidi. She remarks that they need to get another female pufferfish, cheekily remarking the males are happier with a two or three to one ratio. Heidi bemoans her own lackluster numbers, and Miriam claims she can likely get Heidi laid if she is interested, much to her boss’s shock. As they close that day, Heidi turns down what seems to have been Miriam offering to set her up with Adrian. Heidi prepares to leave her, but seemingly at a touch from Miriam, asks if Miriam would instead like to get a drink. The two go to a gay bar and discuss Miriam’s sexual past; Heidi wistfully wishes she were bisexual, and Miriam suggests (with more skin contact) that perhaps she hasn’t found the right girl. Heidi haltingly attempts to rebuff Miriam, but with more skin contact, her resistance melts, and Miriam eventually coaxes her back to her apartment

Adrian and Erin discuss the events of the night of Cherry’s healing. Adrian can tell that Erin is bothered, but wants more specifics. Erin claims, much as Rain did, that Cherry is their responsibility now, for better or worse. She asks Adrian how he would feel about her fucking other men, bringing up Aiken’s iminent visit. Adrian appears thoughtful, but gives his blessing so long as it can help with what they are about to face down. At work, Jacqui asks for details, but Caitlyn bursts in before Adrian can spill many to inform him of her tryst with Coates and Astrid. After a short list of rules, he gives her leave to fool around with them, and she thanks him before heading to class. Erin leaves, met by a surprisingly skimpily dressed Raven for the cold weather, and heads with her to rehearsal, where Raven has the pleasure of stripping Erin several times over. The rehearsal ends, and Erin asks Weston if she is able to come over the next evening.

Still seeking answers regarding Vik, Detective Barthe is seen meeting with Kanti. Kanti says Vik likely assumes she is working with the police due to his phone going straight to voicemail. She also deduces that in spite of the blood found at the gas station, the detective must assume Vik is alive if she is meeting with Kanti. Kanti says that Vik being her brother doesn’t change what he did, and laments that her parents will likely blame her for everything when they find out, before proceeding to the topic of Q. Later, she meets with Q and says she will not ask if he’s mixed up in everything, warning him she will not protect him if so; he insists he is not. They discuss mass-producing the antidote, and Laura helpfully pops up. After they’ve brewed enough to serve for the time being, Q says he will ask Yves about setting up a lab for the mass-production, though Kanti is hesitant to get him involved. She offers to walk Laura home, though the other girl refuses, and asks Laura to leave some of the antidote behind so they may sample its side-effects.

At the Infirmary, Dani and Mallory practice their pole dancing as they await Adrian’s return for the evening, though Mallory is still having difficulty. She wonders if she can do a dramatic reading instead before suggesting she start with dinner. Dani offers to provide entertainment for her, Marliese, and Adrian, and Mallory agrees.

At Miriam’s, Miriam handcuffs Heidi to her bed and begins fucking her with fingers and strap-on. Miriam asks once they are through if Heidi is up for more, and though Heidi is originally exhausted, upon more skin contact, Heidi says she wants Miriam in her ass. Miriam knowingly smiles and tells her to get on her hands and knees.

Sidenote: As has been demonstrated several times now, Miriam seems to have suddenly manifested some sort of touch-based mind control ability. While at this point in the story one might consider the possibility of this being an ability she has gained from training with Erin’s arts, it is far more likely that the ability is genetic, as we will see when we receive a flashback to Patrick and Miel’s college days in the early 1000s.

At practice with Rain, Adrian has trouble focusing. Rain asks if his concern is over Erin and Aiken, but Adrian counters that he needs Rain to be less cryptic and more up front about what exactly he has gotten involved with. Rain admits that Jakob was a mistake she made, which she now needs Adrian to fix. She wanted Jakob to repair the campus Campanile. Jakob wanted something else, which Rain said he could not have. Adrian asks why this makes him responsible for cleaning up Jakob’s mess, and Rain replies that he was in the right place at the right time, and that there are worse fates than the one to which he has been consigned. He agrees that is fair enough.

Caitlyn and Hitomi casually fuck as they discuss Caitlyn’s seemingly constant horniness, as well as who they should next bring to meet Astrid. Caitlyn suggests the twins will be a perfect fit.

After rehearsal, Erin and Raven go home together, and Erin doms her, using her abilities to switch of Raven’s gag reflex as she trains her to deepthroat her strapon. Raven seems incredulous of the ability, but Erin seems to make her cum with a mere touch, silencing her questions. Erin proclaims she is getting Raven ready for Adrian and orders her slave onto her hands and knees.

Later, Adrian returns home for his evening with Dani, Mallory, and Marliese, but they are unexpectedly interrupted by a ring of the doorbell. Mallory goes to answer, assuming Jacqui is arriving as she said she would, but is surprised by Reka, who asks if Adrian is home. Reka sits with him on the sofa and discusses Erin’s imminent evening with herself and Weston the next evening. She confesses just showing up like this is not her usual forte, again indicating there may be lingering influence on her from her time with the crystal. Adrian has Marliese go down on Reka, then calls for Dani to do the same for him, before Dani fits him with a condom and he begins fucking Reka. She asks what he would like her to call him, and he defers to her; Reka says she will think of something but calls him sir at the end, once again suggesting lingering submission towards him. When Jacqui arrives, she finds a full-fledged orgy in the works, and the night devolves into various characters across the town enjoying each other’s company—the SJI orgy, Erin with Raven, the twins with Laura, Q and Kanti using the PC antidote, Caitlyn with Hitomi, and Miriam with Heidi long into the night. When Reka returns home in the wee hours of the morning, she disrobes and offers to tell Weston about her escapade with Adrian while they have sex, still not satisfied after her visit to the Infirmary.

The morning after, Raven awakens an exhausted Erin with coffee. Erin asks her what she is doing that night and, upon hearing Raven is free, tells her she will be fucking Adrian, much to Raven’s delight. At breakfast at OverRoasted, Adrian informs Erin of Reka’s sudden interest, and Erin informs him of her intention to whore Raven out to him. Jacqui joins them and asks if she can join the fun, to which Adrian agrees.

Kanti and Q dress after their evening together, promising to see each other again that evening and Kanti ensuring that she has some of the PC antidote stowed in her bag before she departs.

Miriam and Heidi head to work together, Miriam stopping to meet with Reka for a morning coffee. They swap gossip on their previous evenings, and Reka hesitantly reveals that she hooked up with Jacqui while at Adrian’s. Miriam, surprisingly, claims she is sorry to have missed it, expressing further and further openness for incestuous union since her night at the theater.

In Zenon’s office, Caitlyn joins Amy and discusses the overload of obsessed patients still desperate for their hypnotically suggested “therapy.” Amy mentions that there are dozens of girls needing to be deprogrammed, and that Dani thinks she can manage. Caitlyn claims the idea is uninspired, asking Amy to imagine Adrian fucking each of the patients. Amy calls Dani and discusses possible details of their scheme, and Dani tells her to begin scheduling the reprogramming appointments. In spite of her arousal, Amy says they’ll all go to jail over the affair, but Caitlyn dismisses her and texts Astrid to say “It’s on.” With the appointments scheduled, Caitlyn prepares to head to class, asking Amy what she and Hayley are up to that weekend. She offers for the twins to come to a party at Astrid’s, heavy petting with Amy all the while, and Amy shivers out her agreement. Caitlyn calls her a good girl in response.

STOP

I choose to break here, as the next cover is imminent, and this seems a fitting place to stop. Major developments of this section include the healing of Cherry, which also reaffirms Cherry’s claim that Jakob is very interested in acquiring Erin for the sake of her powers; the aftermath of the theatre, which sees Miriam, Reka, and Raven all giving into increasingly slutty impulses, perhaps at Adrian’s whim, perhaps at Jakob’s; and the reeling of Caitlyn into Astrid’s still-mysterious web.

Julian begins looking into Jakob’s whereabouts, but as we will see in the late 700s and beyond, this seems to be more than he anticipated, as we will not catch a glimpse of him again until he is bleeding out on the floor of his motel room. Cherry will also remain on ice for a time until the events at the hospital and motel which signal Vik’s return sweep up herself and the other characters into Cherry’s domain.

Astrid’s plan is the one which currently most fascinates me as a long-time reader. Obviously, the current rate of release from the site leaves doubts as to the serial’s continued longevity in spite of all protests to the contrary, but assuming things do return to normal at some point, I would love for the BE arc to conclude with haste so that we can return to Astrid’s machinations. With Caitlyn being programmed as a Trojan Horse in Adrian’s ranks, with designs on getting all of his women to Astrid’s to be exposed to her artifact, and with her double intentions in reprogramming all of Zenon’s patients along the same lines, it seems like setup for a classic harem struggle of the genre which would be highly entertaining to see, as it would be refreshing to have a break from Jakobin drama and see a new villainness take center stage… hopefully to be eventually humbled by Adrian and co, after an extended sequence of her overtaking his harem.

As mentioned, all of the theater girls seem to be turning even more sexual than they had been prior. We will see Erin lay further seeds in Reka’s mind about potential subservience to Adrian during her threesome with Reka and Weston, but Reka’s abrupt arrival at the house indicates the lingering influence of the crystal is strong upon her. With Miriam’s sexuality previously unlocked, it seems the crystal’s influence on her is continuing to expand her horizons, with less and less reluctance to the potential of being Adrian’s slave, more expressed interest in incest with her mother for Adrian’s approval, and her dominance of Heidi expanding on her increasingly domineering sexual persona, to come to full fruition during the BE arc of the modern day.

There's no reason for anyone to renew a subscription.  I don't enjoy typing that.  I've been reading Daphne stuff for 30 years.  "Talked Me Into It" is still one of my favorite stories.  I wish we'd get another chapter of "The Ring Cycle."  I miss "The In-Law Unit".  But all things end.  Daphne's been putting out terrific prose and art since the Clinton presidency, but everything ends.

Same, I keep buying their movies in order to get the comics like Friend Request and Persuader back

I have to feel like buying movies in the hopes of incentivizing them to make more comics might be sending the wrong message. That would seem to incentivize them to make more movies. Ideally we would incentivize them to make more comics by buying more comics.

Oh I subscribe too and that should be enough.  It just they make more movies than they do comics right now so I get whatever I can to help when I can.

Same, I keep buying their movies in order to get the comics like Friend Request and Persuader back

I have to feel like buying movies in the hopes of incentivizing them to make more comics might be sending the wrong message. That would seem to incentivize them to make more movies. Ideally we would incentivize them to make more comics by buying more comics.

From what I can work out, the last time we were zero "main" comics adrift was Saturday 13th December last year, with the publication of User Manual #2. I may have got something wrong here but I believe there have been 44 Wednesdays since then, and in that time we've actually had 22 "main" comics.

How that makes you feel probably depends on whether you view your schedule as half full or half empty. Or perhaps, like me, you wonder if it's just that the schedule is too big. Anyway, it's worth bearing in mind that the sporadic bursts of activity (five comics in the first eight days of July, and only two since) masks the average (that's still seven comics in sixteen Wednesdays). Plus, you know, it's been a while since I've been charged anything for my membership. So, even if I am consciously posting this on a Tuesday, aware that that average may be heading south, I'm cautiously happy.

I saw updates seeming to start to resume and bit the bullet and renewed. Hasn’t been an update since, and radio silence. Won’t make that mistake again. Makes me really sad, this was one of my go-tos and Expanded Universe was far and away a favorite.

I'll consider my recent decision to sign up for another year good or bad after that year is done. after all, I signed up again, in part, to provide additional money to help them get back on track.

Same, I keep buying their movies in order to get the comics like Friend Request and Persuader back

*rubs hands together* here we go!! The fun part.

Script: Daphne • Line Art: Plutonian Knight • Colors and Lettering: Octavia Moon