Inflate to 50 PSI

Reading: Turnabout Confusion

Tonight, I have my sleep study. Looking forward to it with a bit of trepidation. The worst part of it is that I can't have any caffeine after 1 pm; the people at the lab want to make sure that I'm able to fall asleep. A doctor might even prescribe a one-time sleeping pill if that proves impossible.

(* * *)

And now, on to "Turnabout confusion".

At the end of the first day -- Monday -- Daria finds Quinn at home, in tears with Helen wanting to know what's going on. Daria, however, is in a bad mood and has no time for explanations.

Quinn goes to Daria's room for a confrontation. She assumes that Daria is somehow using her brainpower as a form of tricky geek hypnosis, and accuses Daria of somehow engineering the whole bet. Daria responds that she hates all of the unwanted attention people are paying to her body and regrets the bet as well.

The two decide to break off the bet. Daria wonders how Quinn can stand all of the attention. Quinn thoughtlessly replies that she's strong enough to take it and it's nothing for Daria to be ashamed of if she can't.

Unfortunately, this statement causes Daria to angrily break the truce. The bet will be played out until the end of the week.

The next day, Jane observes Daria begin to acclimate to her new found popularity, or at least not be so hostile to the attention paid her. Jane finds this change of mind puzzling.

Quinn walks by. Jane needs answers, so she talks to Quinn and Quinn explains what has happened.

Quinn now has a new plan: to pretty much go into seclusion, hide out and cut a few classes until the bet blows over. Quinn figures that Daria will be the one to crack first.

Jane asks Quinn why she'd be telling Jane this, because Jane would have the option to reveal Quinn's plan to Daria. Quinn replies that Jane won't even get near Daria with all the fuss being made over Daria. Quinn further advises that Jane should make Daria pay for the slight after the bet is over.

(* * *)

This way of writing -- posting by segments -- is a very interesting way of composing a story. Some of Dennis's segments are just two or three paragraphs; others are longer and more detailed.

It would certainly be tempting for writer to misuse this power and get continuous happy feedback and ego-boosts. (Oh, the authors in the past that would have misused this!) But Dennis's premise is quite promising, and it is indeed well worthy of the laudatory attention.

The problem with segmental posting is that it's rather hard to review. I don't want to have to read the entire "Turnabout Confusion" before I review it. Part of the reason why is that I want to experience the story in the same manner as the commentors, only having part of the whole text to look at. This limits the reviewer to making suggestions along the lines of "if the story had only been completed to this part, this is what I might have done."

The premise leads to some interesting conclusions. First, it is implied that "the outcasts" might temporarily team up. Jane is the ultimate outcast, who took Mr. O'Neill's self-esteem class six times before meeting Daria. Jane would never normally talk to Quinn -- and she needs more information -- but it's natural to ask Quinn, because after all, they are both outcasts now. One commenter made the remark that Quinn is starting to use her mind now. One thing about being an outcast...it allows a lot of time for self-reflection.

Second: Quinn, furthermore, is probably right regarding the way things will play out over the next week. Jane has enough understanding of how high school works to know Quinn's words have the ring of truth.

The final comment I would like to make is that we haven't even begun to discuss the intoxicating power of popularity. Like it or not...popularity is powerful. Popularity is, in effect, celebrity. People remark how pretty you are, how brilliant you are, how witty you are. Every boy (or girl) wants to sleep with you, and every girl (or boy) wants to be your best friend. Everything you do is filtered through a rose-colored crystal and is interpreted as sheer brilliance. Sooner or later, you start to believe the bullshit and depend on it.

Quinn has lived with this power all of her life. She knows how to craft it. Like it or not, Quinn was not insulting Daria. She was being truthful. Quinn's ego is "strong enough" to take it. Hell, popularity is what she's sought all her life, and "with great power comes great responsibility (to be fabulous!)".

Daria, however, has had popularity thrust upon her. Brother Grimace continually makes the remark (and he has to stop, because it's in all of his fics) about how Daria thinks Quinn has a valve at the back of her neck which reads "Inflate to 50 PSI". Now, Daria is the one whose ego is being continually boosted by everyone around her. I expect Daria's head to start swelling...and soon.