Saint James Infirmary 303: If You're Not Busy.

[Daphne]

Tuesday, June 17th!

[Haight]

Does Miriam dye her hair purple or is that just an artistic touch?

[jmundt29]

Seems like an artistic touch accentuated by her bandana (and earlier by her proximity to Raven).  Okay, look.  I think I should start an unofficial Nick Bottom award for male characters in SJI who are feckless, self-centered, yet ridiculously lucky.  So far, my even money nominees are Coates Taverner ("Hey I've been married 18 months, but I have a cheerleader girlfriend while my wife's away--and hey, her superhorny teammate just showed up") and Weston Hartley who's somehow even worse.  He flirts freely with his girlfriend's friends in front of her (and given who her friends are, that's a pretty dangerous proposition anyway).  Tonight, he went from providing his girlfriend moral support (or...something, he's not in Act 5) while a presumably attractive Juliet got sloshed to picking up Pearl.   Unless he's going on an ice cream run or making sandwiches or bringing them water while they explore each other, there's no reason he should just fall into that kind of luck.  Zero.

ETA--I'm a fan.  I love the story so far and the art is gorgeous.  I just can't figure out why Weston and Coates (particularly Westion, since we've seen more of him, he keeps popping up, and he seems more careless and self-involved) are getting a Fred Vincy kiss or Nick Bottom's enchantment luck so far.

[Haight]

I dunno, I don't understand the hate for Weston and Coates.  Like, if Coates is lying about the status of his marriage, sure, then that's fine.  It's worth mentioning, however, that he might be under the effects of the tower as well, in which case none of it is really his fault (we don't know for sure if it affects dudes).  Weston - is just lucky.  Sure, he's an unabashed horndog, but going by the dialog in this last bit, his girl is cool with bringing other people home.  Looks to me like she's staring at Miriam's tits along with her man in the first panel as well.  Moreover, just because he has a sense of humor and is perhaps honest about how he feels about women doesn't mean he's self-centered.  Feckless, maybe.  Ridiculously lucky?  Almost certainly. 

To be honest, I wish Adrian would be a bit more direct at leading things in that way.  Given the situation, the only thing that'd keep me from diving head-first into the harem is the scary shit going on. 

[jmundt29]

Except, Weston flirts for himself to the exclusion of Reka...with Erin of all people.  I'd be a little more understanding...maybe, if his pursuit of Erin had been for the both of them.  I might be able to put it down to them being into fantastic and rare experiences as a couple and he's just overeager.  But, he appears to carry himself like he subscribes to the "Rick Miller theory of women."  To wit:  "I am human cocaine."  And Reka is just along for the ride...or some of it.

The implication with Imani and Coates is that they've been dating or dating adjacent for awhile.  Before the belltower got turned back on full blast.  If Coates' wife is having the time of her life in Egypt, or wherever she is at the moment, and she gave him a free pass to...amuse himself while she was away, that changes things.  But he's clearly not scouting for a couple.  He's just enjoying himself and as an almost newlywed, that's kinda disturbing even in the best possible light.

ETA--We're fairly certain from the earlier guest pages that the belltower does affect men (look at Patrick) but I don't think they get withdrawal headaches or fever dreams.

[Haight]

Well if the belltower affects men, then they're literally uncontrollably horny too - can't really fault them for that.

[Daphne]

I'll just mention that it is Réka, not Weston, who invites Miriam over.

[GodWilling]

I was just about to point out the same thing. (I was also just looking for an instance of é to copy and paste...) It was also Réka who kissed Erin in front of Weston - and that was at Erin's request.

I love Miriam's expressions in the last two panels of this one. At the back of my mind there's a suspicion she really does just fancy talking at them some more, but no - that's a near enough dirty smile, right? And is that because it's Réka asking?

I've been intrigued by the pair of them (Weston and Réka; not Miriam) since that kiss with Erin. There is, we know, a tradition of open relationships at Wilmot: Patrick and Miel; Coates and his wife (of 18 months, apparently); ...and Weston and Réka? Weston's quite expressive with his hands (check out panel 4 of 302 - just think how you could misinterpret that without the captions). Although I don't hate him, I've never trusted him for some reason. But then, I don't know, maybe it's her? Or maybe it's nothing. But it would be nice if there was some mind control going on somewhere, wouldn't it?