- Aug 30, 2017
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I think they're different enough, with one caveat. Diane really is just a free, uh, spirit. She's into the MC, but only for the thing she wants. Alana doesn't have any feelings for or interest in the MC at all; if he's available and she's horny, cool, but I rather suspect that an attempt to arrange something would be met with disbelief rather than mere resistance.
Lisa's the exception. She's flirted and they've danced around it, but unlike the others she hasn't had sex with the MC. Not really. (On the other hand, if the MC was in a committed relationship — say, with Sandra, just to pull a name out of a hat — his behavior with Lisa isn't particularly forgivable.) But I think saying that Lisa is another free spirit who doesn't want to be tied down gets her wrong. She does want to be tied down, and quite probably literally. She dates men she can control, but she's waiting for someone strong enough to control her. She constantly misbehaves for very little reason, she constantly annoys Sandra knowing that she's doing so (and gets away with it), and these are all classic brat behaviors. Since we know the writing (for Haley) understands this character archetype, I think that Lisa's acting out and playing the "she's too hot for them" field until someone reigns her in. Lisa will sleep around with a harem of malleable men until someone handcuffs her to a cage and makes her stop.
Now, I'm not saying the MC is or isn't the person to do that for Lisa. That presumes a really intense version of the beard scenario, and I still don't know if the story's going there. And while the MC clearly understands the d/s mentality, and does well enough with Haley (and Adriana if he pursues that relationship), Lisa's a whole different level of challenge. Lisa's the type that literally needs to be grabbed by the hair and dragged towards whatever punishment she's been begging for. In terms of a sub craving correction, she's Haley x 10.
The thing all the women except Diane have in common isn't a lack of interest in monogamy, it's that they want a stronger man to control them. Diane's a strong, confident woman who just likes sex...except that she likes herself even more than she likes sex. Diane's a domme without the interest in the work required to be a domme. Alana's the weakest case, and I'm doing some guessing, but her sexual interaction with the MC suggests that she wants to be taken more than she wants to be the one who takes. That said, I could be wrong about Alana. I've already made the case for Lisa. Adriana plays at being a domme but if the MC pushes her she very quickly and easily submits. She doesn't respect her husband, so she won't do it for him, but she's looking for someone who will and, like Lisa, will retain control until she finds him. Sandra is a force in the real world but needs someone to control her, sexually and personally, otherwise; her manias are uncontrollable except when the MC actually controls them, at which point she's clearly uncomfortable but unquestionably submits. As for Haley, her submissive sexual traits are explosively clear by now.
While I think this is all clear, I probably wouldn't be so bold about it if we didn't have precedent. In Dreaming of Dana we had the pure submissive (the secretary), the low-emotion swinger who needed a stronger man than her husband (the auditor), the domme (the yoga instructor), and a DLO switch who, once their relationship was established, wanted to submit (Dana). This writer knows and plays with d/s archetypes as a matter of course. None of the NPCs in Haley's Story track one-to-one with the Dreaming of Dana archetypes, but the context is there.
Lisa's the exception. She's flirted and they've danced around it, but unlike the others she hasn't had sex with the MC. Not really. (On the other hand, if the MC was in a committed relationship — say, with Sandra, just to pull a name out of a hat — his behavior with Lisa isn't particularly forgivable.) But I think saying that Lisa is another free spirit who doesn't want to be tied down gets her wrong. She does want to be tied down, and quite probably literally. She dates men she can control, but she's waiting for someone strong enough to control her. She constantly misbehaves for very little reason, she constantly annoys Sandra knowing that she's doing so (and gets away with it), and these are all classic brat behaviors. Since we know the writing (for Haley) understands this character archetype, I think that Lisa's acting out and playing the "she's too hot for them" field until someone reigns her in. Lisa will sleep around with a harem of malleable men until someone handcuffs her to a cage and makes her stop.
Now, I'm not saying the MC is or isn't the person to do that for Lisa. That presumes a really intense version of the beard scenario, and I still don't know if the story's going there. And while the MC clearly understands the d/s mentality, and does well enough with Haley (and Adriana if he pursues that relationship), Lisa's a whole different level of challenge. Lisa's the type that literally needs to be grabbed by the hair and dragged towards whatever punishment she's been begging for. In terms of a sub craving correction, she's Haley x 10.
The thing all the women except Diane have in common isn't a lack of interest in monogamy, it's that they want a stronger man to control them. Diane's a strong, confident woman who just likes sex...except that she likes herself even more than she likes sex. Diane's a domme without the interest in the work required to be a domme. Alana's the weakest case, and I'm doing some guessing, but her sexual interaction with the MC suggests that she wants to be taken more than she wants to be the one who takes. That said, I could be wrong about Alana. I've already made the case for Lisa. Adriana plays at being a domme but if the MC pushes her she very quickly and easily submits. She doesn't respect her husband, so she won't do it for him, but she's looking for someone who will and, like Lisa, will retain control until she finds him. Sandra is a force in the real world but needs someone to control her, sexually and personally, otherwise; her manias are uncontrollable except when the MC actually controls them, at which point she's clearly uncomfortable but unquestionably submits. As for Haley, her submissive sexual traits are explosively clear by now.
While I think this is all clear, I probably wouldn't be so bold about it if we didn't have precedent. In Dreaming of Dana we had the pure submissive (the secretary), the low-emotion swinger who needed a stronger man than her husband (the auditor), the domme (the yoga instructor), and a DLO switch who, once their relationship was established, wanted to submit (Dana). This writer knows and plays with d/s archetypes as a matter of course. None of the NPCs in Haley's Story track one-to-one with the Dreaming of Dana archetypes, but the context is there.
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