And now for the complete set!

One good set of contest entries deserves a good set of
contest entry reviews! ^_-

Hmm... I noticed that several others had posted their
entries for Larry F's 100th Newsletter fic contest,
so I figure that I might as well do that, too.

And if you hadn't, others would have asked you to ^_^

Possibly, possibly. Of course, I've tended to stick
in the background enough that most people don't think
to contact me. ^_^

  Nosferatu, the occult powers, and aliens.... I'd heard
and read about them all, but I had thought they were just
things from ghost stories, meant to scare us. But now I
know that they must exist.

Around here I realized who it was.

For those familiar with Azumanga, it is, quite literally,
a no-brainer.

  A dear friend of mine is under their control. Somehow,
she succumbed to their wiles and became their slave. To
most people, she appears to act normal, but when I look
into her eyes, all I can see is emptiness. She moves and
speaks with an intelligence that is not her own.

It would explain a lot about Tomo ^_^

A lot about most of the Azumanga characters, actually. =^.^=

  I have dreamt--or perhaps better said, seen in visions--
how they are manipulating her. They sit upon her head,
visible yet hidden, demanding her total obedience and
forcing their dark power to course through her veins.

Ah, so it's those plush cats of Sakaki's ^_^

More powerful that the plush cats.

...

Then again, in Sakaki's dreams and imagination, the plush
cats tend to represent Chiyo's dad, so they could indeed
be dangerous. ^.^

Indeed, under their influence, I have even seen her fly.
Who knows what else she may be capable of?

Forcing people to be under her command when wearing her special power suit
(aka penguin costume).

Looking at it, it's kind of blue and white... So I kind of
got the idea it was a shark costume--a much more powerful
powersuit, in any case.

Chiyo's a fun character to think of as a pod person.
I guess that's why Osaka does it.  The only person I can
think of that would be more fun would be Chibiusa.
(Chiyo's fun-adorable cute. Chibiusa's true annoying cute.
Kind of like D&D alignments in that aspect. Chibiusaliens,
anyone?)

  If there's one thing about aliens, ghosts, or whatever
force binds her, there is almost certainly a wicked plot
behind it, the scale of which I can only begin to fathom.

You know, it's never something simple like maybe a vacation....

Correct! It has to be something really sinister, or it's not
going to be worth fighting against.

On the other hand, Azumanga's REALLY good light and fluffy stuff
that doesn't have that much in the way of pathos--except perhaps
that one wild cat incident, but that ends up becoming warm and
fuzzy after a while.

If someone as bright as her can fall to them, how much
longer will it be before others follow? If an invasion
or infestation is what they have in mind, we may not have
much time left.

I'm suddenly wondering how Osaka would've reacted if the class had decided
to go with the 'Chiyo-chan Show' idea.

Hey, it would've been great! Chiyo's such a fun character in that
aspect. Especially paired with Osaka.

  Saving her may not be easy. That which throttles her
psyche may decide to fight back, possibly killing her or
me in the process. Still, I believe that they can be
removed. It may have been in a vision, but I saw it done.

Well, in her visions, a slight tug would cause them to come off.

Yup! Quick, efficient, and brain dead before she hits the ground.
It'll require a more surgical effort to get them off right. ^_^

  Curse my memory! I fear that if this goes on much longer,
there will be nothing left I can do for her, but if I act
improperly, the outcome may be the same.

Osaka: (Screaming in frustration) I can't decide!

(She pulls off both at the same time.)

*Pop!*

Chiyo: (In a voice that sounds nothing like hers) We're sorry, but that

was

the incorrect method.

(Suddenly the world blows up.)

Pre-cisely!

-------------------------------------------

  "Osaka-san, quit tugging on my ponytails!"

I thought they were pigtails?

I've been denounced for calling Usagi's ponytails
pigtails, so I thought I was safe this time--but
they're definitely ponytails in the manga, so at
least I have that defense this time. :D

  "Oh no, this is worse than I thought! They're stuck!"

  "What's stuck?!"

Oh dear....

^.^ Quite.

  "I'm sorry, Chiyo-chan! But, for the sake of the human
race, it has to be done!"

This isn't going to be good.

You know, I've spent long hours throwing bunches and bunches
of words at people in an effort to get them to laugh, but
when it comes down to it, sometimes simplicity is best.

  "Hey, what are you doing with those scissors--AAAH!"

  *SCHHNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!* *SCHNIIIIIP!*

  "OSAKA-SAAAAAN!!!"

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Case in point. ^_^

  "This is very bad. Their eggs are gone but so are they!
They must have hidden inside your head now! Don't worry.
I'll get them out for you!"

'worry, I'll' - I think.

Yeah, it's more Osaka-like to have the comma there.

  "AAAAAH!"

*Ginrai tries picturing a bald Chiyo-chan and shudders*

^_^ Well, we've seen her without the pig/ponytails, so
it's not that big of a leap.

Of course it could be worse if Osaka then thinks that her bald head *is*
the egg.

Then she'll do something drastic, like try to microwave
the egg or something similar...

^_^ Fin... Or was that Flipper? I can never remember. ^_^

It had to be a short story, otherwise, I'd have shown the
bits where the ponytails start taking over the entire
school and where the Chiyo-pods are maturing. :D

Oh, of course! ^_^

...Which I'm actually kind of thinking about doing, once I get
the other half billion things in the queue done. (Got chapters
1-8 of NETTG through a basic startup revision. Will work on
9-10.2 before doing major content changes.)

And Osaka's not delusional! She's just... better prepared
than the rest of 'em.

Heh, well she is special....

In-deed!

A very funny fic (though I'll once again mention that a bald Chiyo-chan

is

a very disturbing image).  Well done!

Thanks for the review, Ginrai! I didn't think it was _too_
horribly funny, but then again, I consider Excel Saga good,
down to Earth, wholesome entertainment.

Later!

----------------------
Benjamin A Oliver
boliver@email.arizona.edu

Writings:
http://rakhal.com/florestica/ben-oliver/index.html

Comic:
http://nettg.simud.org

        "We are the Bored. Lower your shields and surrender your fics.
         We will add your standup and slapstick comedy to our own.
         Your humor will adapt to make us laugh.
         Resistance is and always has been: Futile."

         As long as we're going to survive anyway,
         we might as well feel all right about it.


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