Prologue:
I looked around, making sure that everything was set. New winter clothes for three females, check. New books, including a special softcover, check. A spare Kero-chan plushie that had cost a small fortune on eBay, check. Fully-charged battery packs for a certain laptop PC, check. Everything was as ready as it was going to be.
Once more unto the breach, I thought as I pressed the button.
Yomiko-san was the first to arrive. She looked up, smiled, and closed the book she was reading. "Hello, Rob-san. It's good to see you again. This is for you." She gave me the book -- an English translation of Sumerigawa's Midnight Liberation Zone.
"Thank you," I said as I accepted the copy of her friend's novel. "And these are for you. I mentioned to Bob that you had been here last year, and he sent me this." I handed her the book on top of the pile -- an autographed copy of Schroeck's GURPS Shapeshifters.
She read the inscription, smiled, and said, "Please let him know I appreciate it."
Next to arrive was Chisame. "Now what? Oh, Rob-san -- thanks for getting me out of that madhouse. It's just a temporary break, though, right?" I nodded and she sighed. "Do you mind if I recharge my electronics?"
"No problem, Chisame-san... sorry, but it seems odd to call you that when you look the way you do now." Although I didn't mind at all the way she looked now, since my hormones didn't react to her in that state; there'd be no repeat of the problems I had over Hallowe'en. "Do you mind if I call you Chiu-chan?"
"Everyone else does," she replied as she plugged her cellphone's charger into the wall socket. "It's all right if you do, too."
Finally it was Sakura's turn to arrive. "What... oh, hello, everyone."
"Hello, Sakura-chan. How was trick-or-treat?"
She smiled. "We all liked the candy I was given, Rob-san." Then she noticed Chiu-chan, and bowed. "Hello, I'm Sakura Kinomoto. Who are you?"
"I'm Chisame."
Sakura looked puzzled. "But... you're my age. Chisame-kun is older than me."
"It's a magical effect. I have to hide who I am because I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit, and I have to clear my name."
(I thanked whatever gods were listening that Chiu-chan didn't go into all the messy details. If she had, we'd have been talking about that all afternoon...)
"Oh." Sakura smiled again. "Are you really that young now? Can we play together?"
Before Chisame could reply, I interrupted. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, but there's a small matter of a Challenge or three to take care of first."
All three of my visitors turned to look at me. Making sure Sakura couldn't see her, Chisame mouthed the words 'thank you.'
"Do you know what the problems are yet, Rob-san?"
"Not yet, Yomiko-san. But I expect we'll find out soon."
Part One: The Old Song-And-Dance
The phone rang.
"Speaking of finding out," I muttered as I picked up the handset. "Hello? Hey, good to hear from you. I thought you were busy with the con... Yeah, they're here -- they just showed up... You want us to what?... Sure, why not? I think I can talk them into it. When do you need us for?... That's too soon, man. You've got to give us time to prepare... Well, okay. But you owe me one. See you in a few hours." I hung up.
"Who was that?" asked Chiu-chan.
"My friend on the NewYearCon committee. Sakura-chan, you wanted to play with Chiu-chan? How about you be in a play with her instead?"
Chisame glared at me. "What's this all about?"
"They promised the convention-goers an anime musical, but can't afford to hire actors. I thought maybe we'd help them out. It isn't as if you haven't done something like this before, Chiu-chan."
"Doing cosplay and posing in front of a camera isn't the same as acting, Rob-san."
"You can do it!" Then I had a brainstorm. "Don't worry about people recognizing you -- we'll give you a wig and hang onto your glasses. You'll even have a videocamera to hide behind."
"I guess that'll be... hey, wait a minute." She looked at Sakura, then turned back to me. "You want me to play the secondary role?"
"You catch on quickly, Chiu-chan," I replied. "We don't have time to come up with a script. I trust you to be able to improvise and stay in character at the same time."
Sakura looked worried. "I don't know if I can play a character if I don't have a script, Rob-san."
"That's why I'm giving you the lead role. You get to play yourself."
Yomiko looked up from her book. "I've never acted."
"That's okay -- I want you to use your paper mastery to create a monster for Sakura to fight and change into a card at the end of the battle."
"All right." She went back to her book.
"Wait a minute," interrupted Chisame. "You said this was a musical. You don't want to hear me sing. Trust me on this."
"That's what the Song card is for, Chiu-chan. Sorry, I should encourage you to get into character by calling you 'Tomoyo-chan'," I added with a grin. "I'm assuming Sakura-chan can use the Song card, the Float card, and another card that won't actually hurt anyone at the same time."
"I think so, but why do I need to use the Float card?"
I walked back to where I had placed the presents I had picked up for everyone, and picked up the stuffed Kero-chan I had bought for her. "This plushie isn't going to move itself..."
A few hours later, Chisame was wearing a long black wig, I was hiding behind a curtain speaking into a microphone to provide Kero-chan's voice, and the audience was watching Card Captor Sakura and the White Snow, a seasonally-appropriate play depicting Sakura's capture of the Snow Card (played by Yomiko's paper).
Reviews were mixed -- the audience adored Sakura and "Tomoyo," but thought Kero-chan sounded completely wrong...
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
I looked around, making sure that everything was set. New winter clothes for three females, check. New books, including a special softcover, check. A spare Kero-chan plushie that had cost a small fortune on eBay, check. Fully-charged battery packs for a certain laptop PC, check. Everything was as ready as it was going to be.
Once more unto the breach, I thought as I pressed the button.
Yomiko-san was the first to arrive. She looked up, smiled, and closed the book she was reading. "Hello, Rob-san. It's good to see you again. This is for you." She gave me the book -- an English translation of Sumerigawa's Midnight Liberation Zone.
"Thank you," I said as I accepted the copy of her friend's novel. "And these are for you. I mentioned to Bob that you had been here last year, and he sent me this." I handed her the book on top of the pile -- an autographed copy of Schroeck's GURPS Shapeshifters.
She read the inscription, smiled, and said, "Please let him know I appreciate it."
Next to arrive was Chisame. "Now what? Oh, Rob-san -- thanks for getting me out of that madhouse. It's just a temporary break, though, right?" I nodded and she sighed. "Do you mind if I recharge my electronics?"
"No problem, Chisame-san... sorry, but it seems odd to call you that when you look the way you do now." Although I didn't mind at all the way she looked now, since my hormones didn't react to her in that state; there'd be no repeat of the problems I had over Hallowe'en. "Do you mind if I call you Chiu-chan?"
"Everyone else does," she replied as she plugged her cellphone's charger into the wall socket. "It's all right if you do, too."
Finally it was Sakura's turn to arrive. "What... oh, hello, everyone."
"Hello, Sakura-chan. How was trick-or-treat?"
She smiled. "We all liked the candy I was given, Rob-san." Then she noticed Chiu-chan, and bowed. "Hello, I'm Sakura Kinomoto. Who are you?"
"I'm Chisame."
Sakura looked puzzled. "But... you're my age. Chisame-kun is older than me."
"It's a magical effect. I have to hide who I am because I've been accused of a crime I didn't commit, and I have to clear my name."
(I thanked whatever gods were listening that Chiu-chan didn't go into all the messy details. If she had, we'd have been talking about that all afternoon...)
"Oh." Sakura smiled again. "Are you really that young now? Can we play together?"
Before Chisame could reply, I interrupted. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, but there's a small matter of a Challenge or three to take care of first."
All three of my visitors turned to look at me. Making sure Sakura couldn't see her, Chisame mouthed the words 'thank you.'
"Do you know what the problems are yet, Rob-san?"
"Not yet, Yomiko-san. But I expect we'll find out soon."
Part One: The Old Song-And-Dance
The phone rang.
"Speaking of finding out," I muttered as I picked up the handset. "Hello? Hey, good to hear from you. I thought you were busy with the con... Yeah, they're here -- they just showed up... You want us to what?... Sure, why not? I think I can talk them into it. When do you need us for?... That's too soon, man. You've got to give us time to prepare... Well, okay. But you owe me one. See you in a few hours." I hung up.
"Who was that?" asked Chiu-chan.
"My friend on the NewYearCon committee. Sakura-chan, you wanted to play with Chiu-chan? How about you be in a play with her instead?"
Chisame glared at me. "What's this all about?"
"They promised the convention-goers an anime musical, but can't afford to hire actors. I thought maybe we'd help them out. It isn't as if you haven't done something like this before, Chiu-chan."
"Doing cosplay and posing in front of a camera isn't the same as acting, Rob-san."
"You can do it!" Then I had a brainstorm. "Don't worry about people recognizing you -- we'll give you a wig and hang onto your glasses. You'll even have a videocamera to hide behind."
"I guess that'll be... hey, wait a minute." She looked at Sakura, then turned back to me. "You want me to play the secondary role?"
"You catch on quickly, Chiu-chan," I replied. "We don't have time to come up with a script. I trust you to be able to improvise and stay in character at the same time."
Sakura looked worried. "I don't know if I can play a character if I don't have a script, Rob-san."
"That's why I'm giving you the lead role. You get to play yourself."
Yomiko looked up from her book. "I've never acted."
"That's okay -- I want you to use your paper mastery to create a monster for Sakura to fight and change into a card at the end of the battle."
"All right." She went back to her book.
"Wait a minute," interrupted Chisame. "You said this was a musical. You don't want to hear me sing. Trust me on this."
"That's what the Song card is for, Chiu-chan. Sorry, I should encourage you to get into character by calling you 'Tomoyo-chan'," I added with a grin. "I'm assuming Sakura-chan can use the Song card, the Float card, and another card that won't actually hurt anyone at the same time."
"I think so, but why do I need to use the Float card?"
I walked back to where I had placed the presents I had picked up for everyone, and picked up the stuffed Kero-chan I had bought for her. "This plushie isn't going to move itself..."
A few hours later, Chisame was wearing a long black wig, I was hiding behind a curtain speaking into a microphone to provide Kero-chan's voice, and the audience was watching Card Captor Sakura and the White Snow, a seasonally-appropriate play depicting Sakura's capture of the Snow Card (played by Yomiko's paper).
Reviews were mixed -- the audience adored Sakura and "Tomoyo," but thought Kero-chan sounded completely wrong...
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012