Losers With Big Weird Eyebrows

Finished reading: Quinngali, Scissors MacGillicutty section

Have recently recovered from the creeping crud, so I feel better enough to go out to "Five Guys", which is a local hamburger joint that serves a great burger. One could call it a "mini-franchise", a franchise operation that operates only in a few cities. The menu is limited, but only fresh meat is used and the french fry potato sides are cut fresh daily, and a serving is plentiful enough to serve as its own meal. While waiting for one's food, one can nibble on roasted peanuts, making sure to put the shells in the metal buckets thoughtfully provided at each table. All in all, a very enjoyable -- and filling -- experience.

(* * *)

I must say that reading "Apocalyptic Daria" has spoiled me a bit for "Quinngali" and I have to shift my gears.

Why? All of the parts of "Apocalyptic Daria" can be seen as self contained units, but a fic like "Quinngali" requires some universe-building. A chapter of "Quinngali" is just as likely to end with questions posed to the reader as questions answered. Entire chapters might simply exists to provide groundwork for future parts of "Quinngali", so one must take one's time reading.
I think that the chapter that follows the Nemo Blank segment (Chapter 2?) is such a segment. (I have no idea how these "chapters" number.)

In the Nemo Blank segment, Quinn gave Daria a hypnotic suggestion to change her wardrobe (slightly), wear contacts (for a while) and smile (but only once) to Trent so that Daria could be marginally happier. However, Quinn finds out that Daria hasn't immediately taken to the suggestion.

After Daria inquires regarding Quinn's silence at her transformation, Daria explains that she will wear her contact lenses while helping Mystik Spiral drive to a far-off gig. It appears that Daria requires some sort of self-constructed mental justification to take place before the commands settle. Quinn isn't disturbed until Daria accuses Quinn of hiding her contact lenses.

Before Quinn can snap her fingers and send Daria into a hypnotic sleep, Jane shows up in her running gear, rather unexpectedly. The conversation between Jane and Quinn is seemingly jocular but Jane's body language betrays a hint of menace. After Jane departs, Quinn prepares to tug at her tee-shirt -- a gesture that Daria must pay attention to to set up a trance state -- but Daria happens not to be watching Quinn and simply leaves. Quinn will have to hypnotise Daria later.

Meanwhile, Jane takes an early morning trip to the Lawndale Public Library, not only checking out the common books on hypnosis, but also a set of declassified Cold War monographs with thick-sounding names. Jane gets back to school with the books, with no one the wiser. Jane has made her first decision...to see if these techniques could work on Quinn.....

(* * *)

This section of "Quinngali" isn't as exciting as the first one. There is no revelation of what Quinn has done or of what she plans to do, save to let Daria out of the harness just a bit more. As to what Jane might be able to do, that's left in the air as well. One will have to make an investment in the reading before one get's one's payoff.

However, the details at the end are rather intriguing. One has to look at the minor details. "Conditioned Reflex Therapy" by Salter is a real book. Krasnogorski is a disciple of Pavlov, the "original hypnotist". As for Mr. Serov and Mr. Lo, well, the payoff -- and the building of suspense -- will come in the following chapters.