Saint James Infirmary 109: Older and Wiser

[Daphne]

Coming August 28th!

And we're extremely pleased to announce that, through Plutonian Knight's and Octavia Moon's hard work, Saint James Infirmary is moving to a twice-a-week schedule, Tuesdays and Fridays!

[Werdna]

OK, so I go on holiday for a week, pretty much incommunicado for the whole time, and there are seven new SJI waiting for me upon my return.  Not only that, but three or four of them are beyond even SJI's usual standards of hotness.

Then I see this news.

This is beyond awesome.  SJI twice per week!  WOO!   

Thanks to all three of you. 

[jmundt29]

This is, indeed, superb news.

I don't quite have a handle on the title.  I'm leaning toward this being about  Jacqui, Laura, and Amy, but there are other possibilities (a return to Pearl's storyline, meeting the confederacy of slugs who have Jacqui concerned, or even Zenon or his boss).

[Tony]

Thank you. I know I asked for it and I was hoping that it could be done. Now I find that it will be done.

And since the plot seems to have taken a twist in the complex direction recently, this should move it along a bit quicker.

After all, some of us aren't as young as we used to be anymore!

[elbenton]

Coming August 28th!

And we're extremely pleased to announce that, through Plutonian Knight's and Octavia Moon's hard work, Saint James Infirmary is moving to a twice-a-week schedule, Tuesdays and Fridays!

I am guessing that this also indicates MCC's increased ability to pay them accordingly, which also attests to Daphne's and others' (or maybe just Daphne's) ability to manage things and get the whole enterprise back up and on relatively solid ground.

[jmundt29]

This is actually what I thought we'd see with the last update.  Beautiful.

About the pop-up text, um Amy and Laura don't know Danielle yet, and they're still getting to know Jacqui.*shrugs*

[Daphne]

About the pop-up text, um Amy and Laura don't know Danielle yet, and they're still getting to know Jacqui.*shrugs*

Unless you are speaking strictly in the Biblical sense, they all know each other; check out #78. (Amy is also the doctor's receptionist, so she at minimum also knew Danielle, Laura and Caitlyn before the events of #78.)

[jmundt29]

They all met the Night of the Watch, but Laura's comment about Adrian is problematic because she's also barely met Jacqui, and her knowledge of the others is not extensive.  Before the Night of the Watch, Dani didn't move in the same circles as Laura or Amy.  She met Amy once in her capacity as Zenon's receptionist (the day of the Night of the Watch).  Laura might be a nodding acquaintance with Amy.  She's seeing Zenon for stress relief.  Caitlyn might also know Amy to say hi, she's been seeing Zenon for a few months--though I still maintain the only way that works, is if Caitlyn has her scale somewhere that's nowhere near any mirrors (she was seeing Zenon for weight loss).  However, the non-SJI residents don't seem to know each other or the Infirmary tenants very well before circumstances throw them together.

Laura's major and her focus so far seem to limit her social circle.  She works closely with Vikram, but doesn't have time for much else.  She knows Amy to say hi Amy is Zenon's receptionist and Laura's seeing her for treatment. Laura actually seems most comfortable around Raven.  They might know each other pretty well if Laura gets her coffee at that establishment every morning.  Amy and her twin sister (whose name escapes me at the moment) intersect with a lot of these people casually because of their jobs.  Amy is Zenon's receptionist, so she's met all Zenon's patients and is probably friendly toward most of them.  Her sister is a clerk in the dispensary, so people visiting the clinic interact with her, but I don't think that automatically fosters a deep connection.

[Daphne]

Laura's comment about Adrian is problematic because she's also barely met Jacqui, and her knowledge of the others is not extensive.

Wait, I thought we were talking about the pop-up text? That's a reference to Jacqui's history as a groupie, which is kind of a modern-day equivalent of being in a harem.

Laura's comment about Adrian seems straight-forward enough under the circumstances. I don't see anything in 109 that implies that the girls have a deep past connection.

[GodWilling]

.

[GodWilling]

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[jmundt29]

It is a great ep.

I suppose I was struggling with two separate issues.

Issue #1--I guess I don't see being a groupie as equivalent to the sort of harem relationship that the Watch has constructed around Adrian--so I translated the pop-up as referring to knowing and/or trusting Dani (though that's a stretch contextually).

I have no experience in this area except listening to "Behind The Music" interviews with '80s hair bands.  Those clips led me to believe that most of the time, being a groupie was about following the band around, getting swept up in the euphoria of concerts, and then once or twice sharing passion with a member or members of the band being followed.  That's not the sort of relationship Adrian has with any woman, and certainly not with any of the eight.  It might mirror the western fantasy of what a harem might be like, but it doesn't match what's happening here.  This distinction is important because it makes Adrian much more likeable (if not necessarily heroic yet) gives us a chance to get to know the other characters and enjoy them.


Issue #2--Then, I took a look at Laura's comment about Adrian and thought more about it.  I found it odd because she's confessing confusion to two women (like-minded, beautiful women) who she doesn't really know any better than she knows Adrian.  On the surface, asking Jacqui for advice or clarification on the situation makes sense because she is intelligent and more experienced than Laura, but the way they're framing the discussion, it's as if they accept that they know one another better than they know Adrian when that isn't true.  In fact, at least in Jacqui's case, the reverse is true.

I've been accused in the past of overthinking these things--but it isn't spoiling my enjoyment, and I think clarification on some of this, or at least consideration of it might actually help going forward.

[Daphne]

I guess I don't see being a groupie as equivalent to the sort of harem relationship that the Watch has constructed around Adrian--so I translated the pop-up as referring to knowing and/or trusting Dani (though that's a stretch contextually).

We'll put it down to a failed joke on my part, then.

On the surface, asking Jacqui for advice or clarification on the situation makes sense because she is intelligent and more experienced than Laura, but the way they're framing the discussion, it's as if they accept that they know one another better than they know Adrian when that isn't true.  In fact, at least in Jacqui's case, the reverse is true.

This is true. However, I would say that there is some automatic camaraderie between them because their all in the same position, and... well, they are in bed together; there's a certain amount of intimacy there.

[elbenton]

I've been accused in the past of overthinking these things

No shit?

[mns_95125]

You need to update the description of this forum board -- it still says SJI updates weekly, and now it's semiweekly.

This comic touches on something I've been wondering about -- the girls internal perspective on what's happened to them.  Based on #56 and #58, the original cohort programmed by Danielle (Erin, Mallory and Marliese) know that they were hypnotized into being Adrian's slaves.  It isn't clear whether Jacqui knows this, but based on #76 she knows that the second cohort (Danielle, Amy, Caitlyn and Laura) were hypnotized.  The second cohort, though, does not know that about themselves -- they were programmed to think their feelings are natural.  Presumably Jacqui and the first cohort have an agreement not to mention the truth to the second cohort.

This seems like it would put the second cohort in kind of an odd position.  They suddenly have all these new feelings with very little reason to justify them.  That seems likely to provoke curiosity.  Danielle is in an even stranger position: based on the events in #62-65 she knows about the existence of the watch and what it can do, based on #76 she shouldn't think the watch has anything to do with her new feelings for Adrian, and based on #78 she knows the watch was used on her.  That's got to be an interesting thought pattern: "I'm now Adrian's sex slave, after being hypnotized by the watch that turns people into sex slaves, but there's no connection between those two facts."