Saint James Infirmary 528: Decision Time.

[Daphne]

[mi_english]

Can I just say that 're-patterns neurons' is a delightful new way of looking at SJI?  It actually changes the entire implication of how the watch works, and what it has done/can do to the women.  I'll have some alone time thinking about the fact that Erin (at least) KNOWS that the watch re-patterned her neurons to think of Adrian as her master...and that she is absolutely fine with it.  So we go from thinking of the girls as 'just hypnotized' to 'their brains have been changed'.  And they *know it*.  Daphne, I may have to re-read the entire strip now.

Which couldn't have been your intent now, could it?

 

[Haight]

mi_english, I agree with your assessment that it adds to the heat when subjects of MC are aware or possibly even enthusiastic with respect to the control, but this scene in particular seems a bit more somber - Erin's use of "Yes, Master," as indicated by the rollover text, is not exactly a gleeful expression of subservience, but meant to indicate that Adrian is doing something... drastic. Which is unfortunate, because happy and enthusiastic submissives are hot, mind controlled or no.

[jmundt29]

Is he doing something drastic by actively forbidding them something, or considering something drastic by potentially repurposing the watch as an instrument of healing...and other stuff?

[Haight]

Is he doing something drastic by actively forbidding them something, or considering something drastic by potentially repurposing the watch as an instrument of healing...and other stuff?

Well, Jacqui has some pretty intense emotions pertaining to Rain... Erin does too, apparently. One of the big mysteries in the series so far is what the heck Adrian and Rain's relationship actually is, and what they talk about when they spend time together, and whether she's taught him music-based mind control (and, if not, why the heck they're playing together).

[jmundt29]

Erin does?  I missed that.  Rain and Jacqui seem to have complicated history.  It seemed that they might have been cordial until an event soured it.  Was Rain scouting her for candidacy in the Wilmot line?

[Haight]

Was Rain scouting her for candidacy in the Wilmot line?

It's possible. If Rain was instrumental in breaking up Jacqui's threesome family situation... I could see why she might have some issues with the woman talking to Adrian.

[jmundt29]

It's the only event in Jacqui's life that I can think of that would fit the parameters we have so far for their falling out.  However, I don't know much about Jacqui's history yet.

[Technophyle]

Erin's use of "Yes, Master," as indicated by the rollover text, is not exactly a gleeful expression of subservience, but meant to indicate that Adrian is doing something... drastic. Which is unfortunate, because happy and enthusiastic submissives are hot, mind controlled or no.

What I get the impression is that Adrian is dead-fucking-serious about not using the watch on anyone else and Erin (who already has, without his permission, at least twice) is meekly acknowledging that yes, she understands he really means it.

An example seen in movies and TV shows is where a senior officer uses that tone of voice and the subordinate, who is normally pretty casual, snaps to attention and acknowledges it.

[Haight]

(who already has, without his permission, at least twice)

I don't think she has since he told her not to. She asked him about Raven, and he said no.

[mns_95125]

She used the pendant on Miriam and Einfreidur.  As far as I can recall she hadn't used the watch since the eponymous Night Thereof.

My sense is that she took Adrian's "No" on Raven to mean no permanent additions to the harem, i.e. no more making permanent sex slaves.  But using mind control to get women to sleep with Adrian without turning them into harem slaves was still on the table, and that's what she's been doing.

[Haight]

Yeah, exactly. She hasn't explicitly gone against Adrian's wishes vis a vis mind control at this point.

[GodWilling]

.

[jmundt29]

Yeah, they very rarely address him as that.  He did give explicit permission in that mass text during Erin's rehearsal, but he prefers the intimacy of first names, and they generally stick to that.  So far, other than when she used it on The Night of the Watch, Erin tends to use it when she agrees to something she doesn't like.  Walling Raven off from the harem, NOT using The Watch until more research is done.

Oh, Could Her Unpronounceableness have been faking the effects of the pendant then and just...er, enjoying her research into the SJI dynamic for her boss?  Of course Jakob doesn't seem like the type to share his toys with his siblings.

Another question--If Dani made the Watch in the first place, shouldn't she know in some deep recess of herself what all those buttons do?  I realize she has the most layers of programming of any of the characters so far and it's tough to tell truth from programming, but if she MADE The Watch, isn't she at least partly responsible for all of its different settings?

[Haight]

Another question--If Dani made the Watch in the first place, shouldn't she know in some deep recess of herself what all those buttons do?  I realize she has the most layers of programming of any of the characters so far and it's tough to tell truth from programming, but if she MADE The Watch, isn't she at least partly responsible for all of its different settings?

I don't think Dani knew exactly what she was making - the most comprehensive knowledge of what the Watch does seems to rest in Rain, which it seems likely she's taught a decent amount of to Marliese.