Welcome to the commentary for "Power Corrupts. Absolute Power is Kind Of Nifty". Please read the chapter first; no need to be spoilered.
Now that the rival girls are out of the way, it's time to get to know Laura's new roomies better. Skye surprised me during this chapter, taking time to explain things to Laura. Autumn was the original choice, but she has her own issues. Mind, I don't think there's a girl at the Academy who doesn't have a subscription full of issues, but Skye seems to be one of the better adjusted Unrulies. With Skye being the fount of information for Laura and, by extension, the readers, I could slip in information as needed.
Caitlin finally let me show her personality. She's the leader of the group, a position she grabbed. The rest tend to let her lead and then pretend to follow her. There is history between Caitlin and Verity, one that should reveal itself over time. I didn't want an info dump there; I prefer that the reader come up with a few ideas instead. Caitlin's plan has some obvious flaws, such as assuming Verity doesn't want to be Homecoming Queen. But, that's a later plot.
I managed to finally reveal more about Laura and why she was sent to the Academy. The other girls, or at least Skye, were kind enough to say why they got sent, too. Laura has ties to organized crime through her father. Skye plays rough in sports, which has bled over off the field. Autumn hacked North Korea; she'd be arrested if she ever set foot in the country. Caitlin tried to overthrow a school board to put herself in as the head of a military junta. I wasn't trying to be serious, though not every reason was going to be grim and gritty, either.
The Jennifers finally get explained. Named after one of the most common girls' names, the Jennifers are the first year students. They're mostly feral, though the junior students, the Grade 11 girls, are tasked with making sure that they're fed, watered, and mostly accounted for. The Jennifers were the girls who attacked the car Laura arrived in, though that wasn't really made clear. The first year girls are mostly redshirts, but they will reappear and may even have an arc of their own.
Tomorrow, The New Girl Chapter 4, "Squirrel Brains and History".
Also tomorrow, over at Psycho Drive-In, the February news round up.
Saturday, over at MuseHack, fixing Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li.
Also Saturday, check out Comics Bulletin for comics-related reposts of Lost in Translation.
Autumn does seem to have a chip on her shoulder, and perhaps prefers to be online versus face-to-face. It seemed like a good time to explain backstory here, to give a clearer idea moving forward. Caitlin's plan seems to have HUGE flaws, like assuming whether Verity wants it or not, she can't simply roll with it... good that you add the question of their history to replace the one about the group's origins. Also that things didn't feel overloaded like the first part. I'm not sure about this "Jennifers"/junior student thing. Maybe it's the lack of discipline, given my teaching background. I'm wondering what classes are like. ^^
ReplyDeleteAutumn has a very healthy sense of self that doesn't live up to reality. She's the group's hacker, and does prefer online to offline, unless she can embarrass Caroline. Caitlin's plan also has the flaw of being what Verity wants her to do. Verity knows Caitlin as well as Caitlin knows Verity. The "Jennifers" thing will be shown next arc. For now, the first year students are background elements.
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