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Driven both by boredom, the irregularities with the site in the last 10-ish months, and a (admittedly likely unhealthy) obsession with SJI, my effort with this post is to do for the 15+ year serial what user jwik01 did for Beyond Rubies as it was approaching its conclusion back in 2017. Please feel free to point out irregularities, errors, and additional useful information, as in spite of the ludicrous amount of information I’ve consumed regarding Saint James Infirmary, there are doubtlessly still going to be spots I miss.
Volume One: The Night of the Watch (Issues 1-78)
Adrian Cavanaugh, musician and student, transfers to Wilmot College in Kearsarge, New Hampshire. Down on his luck after a recent breakup, he has accepted an offer to rent a room in a house already occupied by three tenants. He is pleasantly surprised to find that the three tenants are a trio of bombshell college babes: Mallory Lefebvre, a brilliant brunette who works with the campus library; Erin Hackberry, a busty, feisty redhead currently cast as Juliet in the campus’s upcoming production of R&J; and Danielle Pellerin, or Dani for short, a beautiful blonde who initially seems to fit the stereotype of the blonde bimbo. All three women are knockout gorgeous, but Mallory cautions Adrian that dating housemates is off-limits, with Erin in particular having a trail of broken hearts behind her. Mallory also informs him that the house they share they have nicknamed the eponymous “Saint James Infirmary.”
Though none know it at the time, these three women will become the seminal members of a harem which eventually spans the campus with Adrian at the center. Each of the girls also harbor as of yet unrevealed secrets which make them all far more than meets the eye.
Erin begrudgingly begins getting to know Adrian better, eventually encouraging him to seek employment at the record store at which she currently works. The boss, a no-nonsense woman named Jacqui, hires Adrian after the interview, though it is clear that Jacqui is not quite what Adrian was expecting. Adrian and Erin get lunch together after the interview in celebration. They have Vietnamese together, and Adrian asks Erin on a tentative “date” afterward. She agrees, and they go for coffee, where Adrian frustrates her by revealing a near-identical taste in music to her own. It is quickly becoming clear that, despite her frosty initial impression, Erin is beginning to fall for Adrian, much to the amusement of local barista and goth Raven.
Meanwhile, we are introduced to three new girls, each in their relation to the on-campus hypnotherapist known as Dr. Zenon. Caitlyn Hess, a campus cheerleader with post-grad political aspirations, is first seen under trance in Zenon’s office, slowly being coaxed out of her pants and masturbating before the doctor at his orders. In the lobby, Amy Honeywell sits as receptionist and assures Laura Lovering, a ginger TA pursuing her PhD in chemistry, that Zenon will be with her shortly. Upon Caitlyn being released, we see her being confronted by a man eventually revealed to be Derek, an ex-boyfriend of Danielle’s who apparently has access to hypnotic triggers which Zenon has programmed into his patients. Caitlyn is triggered by Derek and follows him, allowing him to grope her as she does so. He fucks her in an alleyway (the same one Erin and Adrian pass on their way to the Vietnamese place) and then takes her for lunch, conditioning her further one table over from Adrian and Erin. He makes out with her against the window of the Over Roasted coffee shop while Erin and Adrian are on their date, before sending her away with a dazed expression.
Though we are not privy to their session, Zenon clearly programs Laura with the same set of triggers, as Derek is seen triggering her outside of the coffeehouse where Adrian and Erin have their first date; he and Laura depart, Laura glassy-eyed and unresponsive to Derek boldly feeling up her tits in public.
Christmas and New Years pass in the span of two issues, Adrian gifting each of his housemates a present and receiving condoms from a secret Santa. It should be noted that his gift for Danielle is a certificate for stress management at Zenon’s clinic. Erin is sexually frustrated, unwilling to make a move on Adrian (which is vocally apparent to the other housemates); Laura and Caitlyn spend some time as Derek’s sextoys, clad in costumes for his amusement; Danielle shows up for her first appointment with Zenon; Raven the barista is shown to be considering her burgeoning bisexuality, and Jacqui (up to now only shown in shadow) determines to get laid more in the New Year.
Erin and Adrian bond further, hungover from the New Years Eve celebrations at work. They discuss Adrian’s previous relationship, and he explains his ex broke up with him by phone and mid-coitus with her new man. Derek is seen in the background trying to use a trigger on Jacqui, who breaks his nose for his trouble.
Danielle’s first session with Zenon is shown in detail. She strips without any prompting from Zenon and explains some of her past while masturbating, claiming she had been a good girl until arriving at Wilmot but gaining a wild streak after arriving as an exchange student. Zenon, skeptical, asks if she has ever been hypnotized, which she denies; she does, however, elaborate that her first boyfriend was an older man who had ostensibly hired her as a housekeeper but was really interested in sex. Dani obliged with eagerness and submission, which she recounts while having an animated orgasm. After this, she redresses, is hypothetically given programming from Zenon, and sent on her way.
Erin, seeming conflicted, tells Adrian she isn’t looking for a relationship right now in spite of her feelings for him. He mentions needing to stop at Student Health before turning in for the evening. Adrian leaves her and heads to Student Health to buy condoms (inexplicably, given we have seen no evidence he used his Christmas gift). Outside, a dazed Danielle walks past, and Adrian eventually spots her and catches up to her… right as Derek does the same. Derek leans in and whispers something in Dani’s ear, but before he can capitalize, Adrian sweeps her up and whisks her away, much to Derek’s chagrin. Venting his frustrations, we see him triggering Amy (confirming she has also been hypnotized by Zenon) and fucking her off-panel. He later calls Caitlyn that evening and triggers her, telling her to join Amy at his place.
Adrian carries Danielle home and calls Erin to let her know about Derek’s appearance. Danielle goes upstairs, Adrian thinking she’s been shaken up by the encounter; in reality, we see her doing her makeup and donning a stereotypical French maid’s outfit. Adrian asks Erin if she thinks he has a chance with Dani, and she seems hesitant to respond, but Dani reappears and Adrian hangs up before Erin can reply. Dani presents herself to Adrian and begins to unbuckle his pants, claiming she will do anything he wishes, much to his surprise. Erin’s arrival home startles him and he frantically shoos Danielle to his room. Erin, seemingly emboldened by Adrian wondering about his chances with Danielle, directly asks to fuck him, suggesting they go up to his room.
Adrian, a bit overwhelmed by two women throwing themselves at him in such quick succession, makes out with Erin up the stairs as they disrobe, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. He distracts her long enough to tell Dani to hide in his closet before Erin returns and begins blowing him. Dani, turned on by her view of the show, begins touching herself and falls out of the closet; Erin storms away, furious. Adrian is dejected, but Dani claims to have a solution, reassuring him to wait as she heads for her room.
Mallory, whom we had previously seen considering having her girlfriend Marliese over for a date night, arrives home and assumes the house is empty. She calls Marliese to invite her over as she begins making dinner. Upstairs, Danielle retrieves a box from her room with a spiral-covered notebook, a series of polaroids featuring a host of women, and a golden pocketwatch. She goes to Erin’s room, and we see spread polaroids of Dani using the watch to hypnotize an unknown woman and coaxing her into sexual acts with her former employer as Dani talks with Erin, eventually showing her the Watch.
Dani sends Erin to speak with Adrian while she heads downstairs to confront Mallory, approaching her from behind with the Watch in hand. Erin enters Adrian’s room and asks what happened with Danielle, and Adrian explains the odd behavior Dani had displayed. To his shock, Erin rises and sheds her green robe, revealing herself to be nude beneath and promising to finish Danielle’s blowjob and then let him do whatever he wants to her.
While Adrian fucks Erin, Dani answers Mallory’s phone to tell Marliese that Mallory had to run an errand but that she will be back for dinner and that Marliese is still welcome. She looks down and tells Mallory they should talk about her girlfriend, Watch in hand, as Mallory eats her out. Erin proposes asking Dani for tips on deepthroating Adrian, then proposes that the two women can practice on him together. Adrian heads to clean up before dinner but is surprised in the shower by Mallory, who says that Dani explained things to her and proposes they not let the hot water go to waste. They fuck in the shower while Erin and Dani fix dinner downstairs and prepare for Marliese’s arrival.
Marliese arrives and is surprised by the three women, each clad in slutty garb. Erin and Mallory restrain her while Dani shows her the Watch, which seems to put her into a hypnotic trance. Dani tells Erin to go and entertain Adrian while Mallory finishes dinner, then sets about programming Marliese into Adrian’s adoring sex-slave. Mallory calls Jacqui, whose power has gone out before she’s finished submitting her taxes, and invites her to the Infirmary for dinner; Dani plans on using the Watch to make her into yet another slave for Adrian.
At dinner, Adrian is surprised to find Marliese under the table sucking his cock, and seems for the first time to wonder whether something fishy is going on. The ladies exhort him to simply sit back and enjoy as Jacqui rings the doorbell. Dani welcomes her in and takes her upstairs to hypnotize her while Erin and the others tend to Adrian. Though he is still hesitant, Mallory and Erin eventually persuade him to fuck Marliese over the table.
Upstairs, Jacqui finishes filing her taxes and catches sight a string of pornographic photos displaying more women on Dani’s computer. Notable among them for future reference is a petite girl named Echo, whose photo is right beside Dani’s own. Jacqui asks if Dani was a talent scout, and the maid replies that she was part of a harem as she dangles the Watch before Jacqui’s eyes, telling her that they will now both be part of Adrian’s harem. Jacqui attempts to resist, and Dani explains that Monsieur (her boss) invented the Watch and used it on Dani and other women to make his harem when she lived in New York. Now, seemingly confusing Adrian for her Monsieur, she is intent on resuming her duties and brainwashing women for Adrian.
Adrian, thoroughly enraptured by the crazy turn his life has taken, is finally fully alarmed when both Erin and Mallory refer to him as Master. He hollers for Danielle, who heads downstairs, leaving the Watch and a dazed Jacqui stripping in front of the computer. Dani explains what she has done to Adrian, who is bemused and intent on returning the four to the way they were. Dani reluctantly agrees to fetch the Watch, only to be interrupted as a nude Jacqui descends the stairs, Watch in hand and pissed that she can’t redress herself. The two realize that someone else must have put Dani under and deduce the nature of her hypnotherapy with Zenon. Adrian tells her to awaken, which she does, but she retains no awareness of what has happened since her therapy session and no knowledge of how the Watch works.
Without Dani’s hypnotized mind, Erin and co. are stuck in the slave personas Dani programmed into them. Zenon is conveniently out for a week-long vacation, but Adrian proposes trying to go to Derek to see if he can retrigger her. Dani is reluctant, but Jacqui convinces her with the promise of some sexual favor. She calls Derek, and she and Adrian dress to go meet him, leaving Jacqui to the sexual mercies of Erin, Mallory, and Marliese, who quickly begin having their fun with the record-shop manager.
Derek, having already collected Caitlyn and Amy, enjoys their company along with Laura as he roleplays supervillain and awaits the arrival of Danielle, eager to have her back under his control. En route, Dani tells Adrian that Erin does genuinely care for him beyond the effect of the Watch and proposes (free of hypnotic triggers) that she and Erin reward him for saving them together. When they arrive at Derek’s address, hands reach out and grab Danielle, yanking her inside. Adrian tries to follow, but he too is apprehended. Tied to a chair and confronted by a hypnotized Laura, Caitlyn, and Amy, he is able to use their preexisting trances to persuade them to release him and view him as their Master. Derek, having triggered Dani, is prepared to fully reclaim her, but Adrian and his new slaves burst in and rescue her, Derek once again injuring his broken nose in the process. Adrian and the four women hastily redress and flee into the night, the four still dazed from their experience under Derek’s control.
As they are entertaining Jacqui, Mallory and Erin stumble upon the Watch, left at the Infirmary by Danielle; they use its power to finish Dani’s brainwashing, properly inducting Jacqui into the harem in spite of her best efforts to resist. When Adrian arrives back with his four rescues, his three slaves and Jacqui (secretly now a fourth slave) greet him enthusiastically. Erin claims they discovered how to turn off the Watch, temporarily undoing the programming. Mallory says she will use the Watch to purge Caitlyn, Laura, Amy, and Danielle of Derek’s influence, while Jacqui encourages Adrian to enjoy the fruits of his heroic labor and have sex with Erin upstairs. However, once he is gone, Mallory, Marliese, and Jacqui program all four women into Adrian’s sex-slaves with the Watch, including Danielle, who has previously not been under its influence. The group then descends into a sapphic orgy while Erin reassures Adrian that she is open to Danielle and other women being a part of their relationship.
STOP
Thus ends the Night of the Watch! Though Adrian does not know it yet, he has suddenly and unexpectedly been saddled with eight obedient, adoring sex-slaves who have been programmed to obey his every command. In the coming volumes, his slaves will grow more bold in their desire to not only formalize the harem, but to open its doors to others… whether they want to or not.
The Watch, a seemingly innocuous and charming reference to the ultimate stereotype of the hypnotic genre, eventually evolves into the most consequential artifact in SJI’s mythos, able to rewrite thoughts and personalities in whole with no limits on suggestibility or timeframe. More will be revealed as to its origins and predecessors in due time.
Derek has been established as a semi-recurring character who will eventually be revealed to be tied to much bigger players in the overall story of SJI, and mysterious secrets in Danielle’s past with her boss which will ultimately form the crux of the story are teased in the form of the polaroids, her known history at the time, and her possession of the Watch itself. Even Dani is not aware at this time just how impactful her presence in Kearsarge is.
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