Saint James Infirmary 122: After the Rain

[Daphne]

Coming October 9th!

[jmundt29]

Okay, this seems fairly straightforward.  This would appear to be Adrian walking back into Deep Black Vinyl to talk to Jacqui and their subsequent conversation would illuminate what Rain shared with him on that walk.

[meltons]

Daphne, you and your team continue to do great works.  Thank you for all that you have given.

[Werdna]

As always, really excellent work.  I especially like the look of relief and happiness on Jacqui's face when she is finally able to call Adrian "Master".  It's a very hot scene, and surprisingly sweet given the context.

Also, it finally brings Adrian up to speed on his status.  Next important question to answer:  what, exactly, did Rain tell Adrian in their conversation?

[mi_english]

Okay, Jesus Christ, that was hot.  Jacqui's relief, her expression when finally able to surrender to the need...and is it my imagination, or does Adrian suddenly look a lot more confident, more assured, with the understanding of status.

I thought occurs - A guest strip (one of those out-of-sequence ones) showing Dani using the watch on Adrian to make him not only okay with owning all these girls, but building his confidence as a master, would be an ingenious twist

[jmundt29]

First things first.  Kudos to GW for seeing this coming.

Second, beautiful art and already an interesting twist.

Third, yes it is a sweet scene which says a lot about how Adrian is different from Derek the Moron, Q-Box the rockhead, or Zenon the manipulator.

mi_english--That's an interesting thought, and there is a time gap that would accommodate such a happening, but there are a couple problems

1. Dani is no longer in control of The Watch or the programming.

2. While I suppose it would reveal Adrian's true character, we run the risk of a Pwned disaster.

Now there is a context problem with the dialogue in this one.  Namely, Dani isn't the one who finished Jacqui's programming or added the prohibition on naming Adrian "Master" to his face.  Mallory and Marliese did that.  So what is Jacqui talking about?   Is this another secondary layer of programming to keep Adrian from finding out who has control of The Watch now?

All of this leaves us with a very important question.

What's Rain's role in all this and what's her agenda?     Is she trying to undermine the harem by letting Adrian know?  Is she trying to get him to retrieve The Watch for her (or whoever's running her) to "free" the women in his new harem?  Or is she acting at Marli's request/instruction to...well, help Adrian adjust to the new reality?  Is it a little of both?  Perfect cliffhanger.

[Garg22]

Yeah, I'm going to go with everyone else and tell you that the last panel where Jaqui says Master is a work of art.

This also brings up the question of why Jaqui let Rain talk to Adrian in the first place.  Consider how miserable she looked when Rain first came into her store, almost like Jaqui knew what Rain was going to tell Adrian.  So the question becomes why did she allow it?  Was it a shard of Jaqui's personality hoping, begging that Adrian would find a way to free her, or something else?

[jmundt29]

I don't think Jacqui knows about Rain and Marli.  I think the ugly look was probably due to past associations with the Q and whatever role Rain played in that mess.  But, as demonstrated very recently, I've been spectacularly wrong about this strip before and will be again.

[Daphne]

This also brings up the question of why Jaqui let Rain talk to Adrian in the first place.

Rain doesn't strike me as the kind of woman you say no to, even Jacqui...

[Werdna]

My take on why Jacqui looked so worried was that she knew Rain was going to tell Adrian about (among other things) her enslaved status, and she was afraid of, and saddened by the prospect of, Adrian rejecting her.

Just like jmundt, though, I am prepared to be spectacularly wrong about this.

[jmundt29]

I think the tone of their conversation after Rain leaves reflects her concern about being rejected, but I don't think that's what was going through her mind when she saw Rain walk in.

What's the source of song lyrics in the pop-up text?

[GodWilling]

.

[Tony]

I think it is highly possible that Dani would have mentioned the 'not calling Adrian Master' part in the early programming. After all, Jacqui did everything he suggest quite quickly when she was only partially effected. Obviously, the final programming was done by Mallory so that Jacqui could where clothes again.

[jmundt29]

Tony--No, actually the opposite.  In Dani's experience "masters" of the harem enjoyed being named as such by the women of the harem.  The initial programing had Marliese AND Erin calling Adrian "Master" in issues #53 (Marliese in the throws of passion on the table), and #55 (Erin whispering the title in Adrian's ear and he freezes for an explanation).  In fact, Mallory also uses the descriptor in #56 (walking by with a tray of drinks) and that's when Adrian calls Danielle down for explanations.  In #57 she proposes that they remain his harem but behave normally and he nixes it.  It's this discussion that triggers the modifications Mallory and Marliese make to everyone's programming (particularly Jacqui, Erin, and Danielle) when they assume control of The Watch.

This makes Jacqui's comment about Dani's warning...puzzling.

Again, I'm not clear what Rain actually said to Adrian (maybe just "The girls are your harem,") or at whose direction she said it since we have no idea where her loyalties actually lie.  To quote Vera Prescott:  "Love is love, but business is business."

[Daphne]

What's the source of song lyrics in the pop-up text?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2f3li_10-000-maniacs-because-the-night-li_music