Don't Anime Me

Cheri knew she was in trouble, but what could she do? If she moved, she would be thrown out. If she didn’t, how would Yu find her? Oh, she thinks, why did we have to get robbed in the first place? That is what started it all.

Four days ago, Yu was in his comic book shop all a buzz with excitement. The latest comic-con was coming to town, and he had our 2 tickets. Yu looked like any other Asian-American. He was short (just my height), thin (lighter than me), dark hair (unlike my blonde), and a slight accent (he’s from Boston originally). He owns a small comic shop on the south side of town. He boasts of the largest anime collection in town and has quite the following. My name is Cheri, his fiancé. We are to be married in a few months, so I have been busy with the preparation for that.

Now, I’m not much on the whole “anime” thing. I mean, he gets some pretty strange characters into his comic book shop now. He says he needed the added business, and with money being tight, I understand. I usually avoid his shop during normal business hours, except when there is a comic-con to attend. A few years ago, he asked me for a favor. His current girlfriend was supposed to dress up as some anime character for a comic-con in town. He asked me to fill-in, and though I had no interest in that, he offered me a nice payout. So, I put on the strange outfit and went with him. And that is as they say is that. I had so much fun with all the excitement and buzz of being there, that I had to do it again. I became his comic-con girl and would travel with him 3-4 times a year to various conventions. So he dumped his girlfriend for me, and that started our more permanent relationship.

So, 3 days before the event, someone broke into the shop and took a bunch of stuff. The money was bad, some of the memorabilia stung, but the worst part, they took our comic-con passes. Now, we had no way of getting into the convention. Needless to say, I was depressed. I hated that we were robbed, and it will take months, maybe years, to recoup some of his losses, but the passes? That was just not right. Now, he was able to appeal the convention for one more pass, but just one. Now I really wanted to go, but we both could not. Since he owned the shop, we figured he would go.

The day before the convention, he came home with a box and a great idea. He asked me, “How would you like to go to comic-con this year?” Of course, I jumped up, hugged him, kissed him, and said, “You know I would.” He pulled away from me, opened the box, and said, “Well, here is your costume, now all you need is a little patience.” Looking into the box, I saw another one of his anime costumes. It was a blue spandex cat suit with yellow trim down the sleeves and legs, with a white, hard-plastic armor covering part of it. The white and blue helmet had a visor to shield the eyes, but left the bottom open for long hair (like mine) and the mouth. Giddy with delight, I bent to pick it up, but he stepped in front, “Wait, you gotta hear the rules.” With a confused look, I asked “Rules?”

“Yes, I was not able to get another pass.” Holding his hand up to stop me, he continues, “But I think I have a plan. My booth usually has some type of prop to go in it, right? Well, you get to be the prop.” The confused look on my face sent him to talking, “Well, you can wear the costume and on the way there, we’ll stop and you can climb in the back. Strike some cool anime pose and hold it. When we get there, I will ‘unload’ you and take you to the booth. Once you are there, we’ll set you in the booth. You can interact with everyone that comes by as a person, but when a convention official comes to the booth, you just ‘freeze.’ So you get to go for free.” I thought it through, and though it seemed like it would not work, I agreed. I mean, this was my only chance to get in the convention.

So on the morning of the convention, I get out the costume. I put on the slick, stretchy blue cat suit. Looking into the mirror, I can see it holding to all of my curves, and with some satisfaction, it holds in any imperfections. Grabbing the armor, it looks like it covers my breasts and back, like an oversized bra. There is a separate piece for the bottom, which is nothing more than armored panties. It has latches on the side, so it must just click into place. The boots come up to my knees, buckling into place. The soles are kinda thick, so I hope I don’t have to run or walk fast in them. The gloves are thick and come midway to my elbows. The helmet with tinted visor fits snugly, leaving the lower half of my face open, my hair coming out from under the back of the helmet. With a little bit of work, I get the whole suit on me. Not sure it suits me, but I think I look pretty good in it. “mmm,” I hear from behind me, “you look fantastic” I turn around to see Yu looking at me lustfully. “Really? You think so?” He walks up to me, grabbing my hard plastic butt and pulling me into him, kissing me. “Oh yes, my comic-con girl, you look delicious.” If the timing had been better, I might have had to redress myself, but we did not want to be late.

The trip to the convention goes on without incidence. In a parking garage a block from the convention center, Cheri crawls into the back of the station wagon. This is not easy with her “anime” armor, but she manages it. Laying down on top of the boxes, her face rests near the ceiling of the car. Moving her arms and hands, she grabs the fake gun and positions it in front of her. She makes a fist with the other out to her side and tries to lay very still.

Yu jumps back in the car and continues onto the gate. The guard sees the tag in the window and the badge held out, so he waves them on, hardly looking into the car. Yu slowly drives around the back. “okay,” he starts, “here comes the tough one.” Another guard, standing by the back entrance with mounds of boxes around him motions Yu to stop. Coming up o the window, he states, “Comic-con?” Yu nods. He says, “Unload your items here and give me your booth number.” Yu stammers, “Uh, I thought I could…” The guard cuts him off, “Only union employees can load and unload items into the conference hall.” Yu knew that, but he forgot. Knowing he can’t say anything, he gets out of the car. The guard follows him to the back.

Opening the hatch, the guard sees a pair of shiny white boots, connected to two stiff legs. “You only have one ticket son, and trying to hide someone without a trunk is just plain stupid.” Yu holds up his hands, saying, “No sir, this is my mannequin for the display booth. Really.” Yu reaches out and grabs both feet. Cheri feels herself dragged along the boxes. Holding her feet out, she feels Yu’s hand come under her back as he helps her tilt upwards past the open hatch. Cheri blinks her eyes into the bright sun, but her visor covers them nicely. The guard stoops down and looks into the visor, seeing nothing but a heavily tinted screen. Looking Cheri up and down, she seems quite stiff. Taking his fist, he knocks on her breasts. Her soft, just over a handful sized, ones are under the plastic armor, which actually adds a cup size. The guard hears the thud-thud of his knocking. “okay, what’s your booth number?” holding up his clipboard. Yu checks his ticket, “161.” The guard repeats that and writes it down.

Yu unloads the rest of the car. The guard steps away, so Yu can say quietly, “Don’t worry, I’ll park the car and get around through the front in no time. I’ll be waiting for you at the booth.” He smiles into the visor and winks at me. Cheri hears the sound of the closing hatch and the car pulling away. She stands there, like a statue, waiting to be moved.



Within seconds, she hears footsteps. The guard comes into view with a stack of brightly colored paper. He writes “161” on one and tapes it to a box. He repeats that for each. Coming up to Cheri, he tries the same, but the tape will not stick to her armor. Walking away cursing, Cheri can hear him on the radio. “..won’t stick…yeah…okay, got one of those…thanks.” The guard returns shortly with a hole puncher and a rubber band. He punches a small hole in the paper, threads the rubber band through, doubling it over. Grabbing her right wrist, he rotates her arm up, away from her waist. Cheri follows that motion stiffly. He puts the rubber banded number on her wrist, leaving her arm up. Reaching into his holster, he pulls out a scanning gun. Cheri hears a beep and then “Well, you are now the property of the McDaniel Conference Hall.” Without hesitating, he reaches down and strokes her womanhood, though it is covered with an armored bikini bottom, she can feel the pressure. Yuck, she thinks, go away pervert. Almost as if he heard her, he walks away.

Yu parks the car as quickly as possible. Gathering everything he needs from the car, he almost sprints inside the convention center. The sound of moving and talking is rather low, as most people are still setting up, with the public coming in a couple of hours. Yu can see a short line already forming to get in the front, as he goes in the exhibitor doors. Flashing his badge, grabbing his goody bag and agenda, he is on the convention floor in seconds. Normally, he takes his time walking in, trying to drink up all of the excitement of the comic-con. But today, he is all business, gotta get there before her and set-up, he thinks.

Cheri has not moved in what seemed like an hour. She has maintained her pose, watching lots of people coming and going. Box after box stacking up around her, labeled and tagged by the same pervert in the rumpled uniform. She is getting hot, and sweating would not be becoming of a mannequin. She fights the urge to turn her head when she hears new voices.

A group of men wearing matching uniforms enter the scene with hand trucks and dolleys. The union has arrived to start moving items into the convention center. Cheri can hear the scraping of the hand trucks and the grunting of the men as they start hauling everything inside. Now Yu would know she is real and not fake, but these guys won’t. If they try and pick me up, they will know who I am and throw me out. Oh shoot, she thinks, why did we have to get robbed? Why am I standing out in the heat waiting to be “loaded up?”

With that thought, she feels two hands push her in the back. Not ready for this, she rocks forward. She feels a platform slide under her as she settles back down. Before she can react, a hand grabs her armored breast and pulls her onto the hand truck. Without warning, she is tilted back and starts rolling. She bounces slightly as the man, whoever he is, walks quickly over the uneven ground. She stares up at the sky as the convention center roof comes into view. Within seconds, she stares at the ceiling of the convention center, as it rolls past her. He slows to a stop. She feels him tugging on the tag, looking at it. She hears, “191, got it.” 191? Wait, that’s not right, she protests quietly.

Working his way through the crowd, she feels eyes on her, as they past booth after booth. Comments of “nice mannequin” and “check out the sexy armor” and “huh, cool” can easily be heard. She tries not to smile, as her reason for coming is already starting, but not wanting to give up her cover. I made it, she thinks triumphantly. I just gotta get to the right booth.

She feels him stopping again, turning sharply, then uprighting her onto the floor. She feels herself falling forward, as the wall of the booth is right in front of her. She wants to put out her arms, but that would give her away. Hoping it will hold her, she falls stiffly forward, her helmeted head resting on the wall, and her body leaning against it stiffly. I can’t see anything, she complains, but the booth wall in front of me. Fortunately, the only thing that moved was her toes, as she extended them to keep the rest of her stiff. On her tippy toes, leaned against the wall, she is now in the convention center…finally. Ok, Yu, she pleads, find me.

Yu paces inside his booth. He has everything set-up now, except for the other boxes. He is starting to get worried when he sees the first of the union workers on his aisle. Whew, he thinks to himself, they are bringing in the items from the parking lot. Cheri should be here soon. With a smile, he clears her spot, ready for her to come “rolling in” at any point.

Chad and Lars own booth 191. They were making a last minute snack run when Cheri was “delivered.” She is the first thing they notice. “Lars? You see what I see?” Chad exclaims as he sits down the half-a-dozen candy bars on their table. Lars doesn’t even do that, he walks right up to Cheri and says, “Oh man, check out this mannequin, so cool.” Lars’ hands immediately go to Cheri armored-covered butt. “Wonder how she ended up here?” Chad checks the tag, “191.” Walking around her, he has not looked her in the face yet, as her chest distracts him. Lars sets down his snacks and looks up. He sees the tag from the other direction and reads, “161.” It clicks in his mind, “Chad, she belongs in booth 161.”

Cheri was terrified at first, but realized she was safe. These guys appear harmless, and the convention is about to start. Loads of people will be coming through here in minutes. They got the booth number right, so maybe we can get this straightened out. She figures its almost over, but then she hears, “Hey, what’s with the sci-fi mannequin? You guys are fantasy, right?” Great, she thinks, always some guy trying to point out how “not right” something is. Lars recovers first and replies, “Oh no, she’s a rental, we got to get her changed.” Now, we will never know if they were going to send her back or not, but they are committed now, and Cheri is kinda stuck…posing.

The “your wrong” guy says something to the effect of ‘whatever’ and walks off. Chad is already fishing around in his convention briefcase. Lars says what he is thinking, “You wanna transform her for the convention, redress her, then return her later? Booth 161 will figure it out, man.” As Lars shakes his head, Chad says, “ah ha, here it is.” Waving his hand, as if to say “details, details,” Chad walks up to Cheri. She can see him putting his finger up near her nose. On the tip of his finger, a small square-looking chip is on it. I wonder what that is, she thinks.

She does not have to wonder long. As the cold chip touches the tip of her nose, she can feel her whole face freeze. Starting with her nose, she begins to tingle all over. ‘What is happening,’ fear gripping her now, ‘to me.’ The tingling begins to wash over her whole body as it freezes in place. The tingling makes her feel colder than ever before, like someone dropped her into the freezer. But, as it feels almost unbearable, it stops. Her whole body going numb now, like she cannot feel it. Even her vision is not going dark, but really bright. All the colors are changing, becoming more gold like. I wonder why it looks ---

Cheri’s thoughts are lost, as the transformation takes over her internal organs. The processing chip converts all organic mass into gold, but since the density is so different, it makes the new statue hollow. Not only that, but it makes it lighter to carry, which Lars and Chad like very much. Within a few seconds, Cheri is nothing more than a hollow, gold statue. Chad removes the chip and puts it back in the briefcase. With a flick, Cheri’s golden nose gives a hallow clang. “We’re good,” he nods, “let’s get her undressed and redressed.” Lars states, “I think she will fit the warrior princess costume.”


Cheri’s costume was mostly snap-on, so they get her armor off quickly. Her hair is now a wig, it does not get transformed. Her catsuit is one piece, but they slip most of it off her with only cutting a small piece of it to get it completely off her. Within a few moments, they have a golden statue, completely smooth and naked. If they were in a private place, they might have taken longer to admire her. But, they have started to draw a crowd with the naked, golden statue, so they are working to get her ready.

Lars pulls out the black, full length dress. It has two large slits that show as much leg as you would want. The dress can be tied on, so it is. The black top is a bra and corset mix, which would pull Cheri’s upper stomach into her chest and push everything up into her chin, but since she is already a statue, it just wraps around her, exposing her belly button and cleavage, but covering most of that in the middle. Without much thought, the bright red wig is placed on her bald head. It is cropped very short, giving her a playful look, until Chad pulls part of the wig over one of her eyes. Hmm, he thinks, much more devilish that way. Since her feet were extended to have her on her toes, she gets to wear a pair of black boots that stop just below the knee, zippering on one side.

Chad and Lars step back to admire their handy work. In front of them is a golden goddess, shiny in the convention center lights. Amplifying her beauty is the black, glossy warrior princess outfit. Lars puts a small scepter or wand in her hand, which was posed for a blaster this morning. A quick high-five, and the guys turn to basically be mobbed by the crowd. Everyone wants a picture with her! Everyone wants to know who she is and where she is from, and… “guys, guys, easy, one at a time,” Chad says with his hands up, “She is not going anywhere, so enjoy her all you want.”

Over the next several hours, a constant stream of people comes through their area. Chad and Lars have made their weekend quota in one day. The number of copies they made and all their merchandise they brought for the whole weekend is now gone, as the Friday session comes to a close. They are excited and tired from it all. “Okay, I will stop by the copy center…” Lars says. “And I will stop by the store to get more bags and merchandise to sell,” adds Chad. They each give Cheri a kiss on the cheek and leave her reluctantly for the night. Cheri maintains her pose, staring with a smile out into the near empty convention center. Like a good statue, she does not even notice the lights being turned off on her. Holding her vigil, she silently waits for the morning, but no hurry, she is a statue after all, so where is she going to go?

The next day, and Yu is almost overcome with fear, he cannot even think. He cannot talk to people or even answer their questions about Cheri. Most of the regulars know her, but she is no where to be found. He makes some lame excuse with an obviously bogus story. He cannot figure out what happened to her. She did not even come home last night. Where could she be? He frets.

If he could see over the walls, she would be looking right at him - a golden statue in a glossy, black, too-revealing fantasy outfit. Like the day before, she holds her pose like she was never a person. She never complains. She never speaks. She never tires. She is nothing more than a golden display statue. Chad and Lars enjoy another day with her, making their weekend quota again for a second day. However, by the end of Saturday, they find out who their warrior princess is.

Yu is walking the convention center now, looking for Cheri. He is asking every booth presenter. When he walks up to Chad and Lars, they recognize him. “Hey, Yu,” greeting him, “What’s wrong? You seem depressed.” Yu can only nod his head, “I’m looking for my fiancé, uh mannequin. She was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but I can’t find her.” Lars cuts a quick glance to Chad who is helping a customer, but he can tell this conversation made it into his head also. “Uh, well, I think, that is…”

“Nope, no mannequin here Yu. Might keep looking, right? What’s your booth number? You know, just in case.” Yu does not make eye contact with them as he turns from Cheri, not recognizing the new her, “161.” Before Chad and Lars can hide their shock, he is gone, looking for her again.


“Okay,” Chad starts as they eat a quick dinner at the concession stand, “We gotta give back his mannequin.” Lars nods, “I know, he was even the one who had his store robbed this week.” As they munch on some chips and sip their sodas, they try to figure out how to get the mannequin back to him without him knowing what happened. “Well, we gotta change her clothes, change her back to plastic, and change the booth she is in.” Chad looks up and states, “That’s a lot of change.”

The conference is done for the night, with Chad and Lars still unsure of how to get out of this. They don’t want anyone to figure out what they had done, especially with the transforming chip. Chad was not even supposed to have it, and his boss will be upset to learn he took it off property. They have several plans, but none seem to work out well. Lars nearly jumps out of his seat when Yu shows up again. His face is flush and he looks like he has not slept in days.

“Here,” he croaks, “they said they delivered her here.” Chad and Lars look at each other. They had not accounted on him checking with the union workers again. Chad speaks first, “You are right, Yu, they did deliver her here.” Lars’ jaw drops as Chad just spills out the truth. “We were getting our breakfast when she was delivered.” Yu, almost stammering with anger, says, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Where is she?” Chad motions him inside the booth. He holds out his hand, “Lars, will you hand me my bag?” Lars, still dumbfounded, obeys. “You see,” Chad fishes in his bag while talking, “The tag said 161, but they read 191. It was an honest mistake, see?” Chad points into his bag, so that Yu can look in. The distraction allows Chad to put the chip on Yu’s arm. Yu cannot even speak before he freezes.

His mind goes blank, as he becomes cold like Cheri. His whole body tingles as his soft, Asian skin becomes hard plastic. He stiffens into a pose, as he is bent over slightly, with hands extended outward beyond bent elbows. His features are now smooth, looking every bit of the mannequin he now is. “What are you doing?” Lars protests. Chad waves him off, “Saving our tails, man. We can’t let him know what happened.”

“But he is a mannequin.”

“Yeah, well she is a statue, what’s the difference?”

“The difference is,” Lars stops and points to Yu, “he’s a she.”

Chad turns to see large breasts stretching Yu’s t-shirt. Without thinking, he unbuckles Yu’s belt. Yu’s pants slide down, revealing nothing beneath his boxers.

Lars stammers, “Wha wha what did you do?”

Chad slaps himself in the head, “I had it set on female mannequin.” Chad and Lars shake their heads in unison: now they have two booth props that do not belong.

They needed time to think, so they quickly stripped Yu. Grabbing the soldier armor that Cheri was wearing the other day, they quickly dress him in it. Setting him back next to her, he becomes an object, just like his fiancé. They both stand still, not knowing they are right next to each other. Chad and Lars grab their bags and go, whispering to each other as they do. The lights in the convention center go out, leaving a statue and mannequin in the dark. They never flinch and do not seem to mind their plight. Their existence is for display only, so they do just that: display.


Today is the last day for the convention. The crowds are low, so this would be the perfect time to fix this ‘problem’, Lars thinks. As he gets to the booth, he sees Chad already there. He has a cable running from the warrior princesses butt cheek to his laptop. The female Yu has a similar one on his cheek (except it’s on his face). Chad is typing and scratching his head. “Well?” Lars asks dropping his bag and putting a stack of brochures out.

Chad replies without looking up, “Well, it seems we have a problem.”

Lars retorts, “I think we have two problems.”

“No, seriously, I think the chip is messed up.”

“What?” Lars comes over to him, real concern in his voice.

“See?” Chad points to an Excel spreadsheet with a long column of numbers and letters.

“Okay,” Lars shrugs, “What am I supposed to be seeing?”

“You should see two columns of data, one for him and one for her. But, there is only one.”

Lars has not quite figured it out yet, “So that means…”

“When I transformed Yu, his data was mixed with hers” pointing to the golden statue. Lars’ mouth drops as Chad states, “I don’t know who is who.”

As they ponder their new problem, they move the female Yu back to his booth. He or she or whatever does not fit their theme. They set him up next to his table of goodies for the conference attendees. They check on him throughout the day, and everything seems to go fine. People stop to take pictures with Yu, but they never ask about who should be running the booth. They figure he is out getting a snack or on a bathroom break. Occasionally, Chad or Lars peak over to check on him and the booth (they had to restock only once throughout the entire day). The rest of the day goes without incident.

With the show nearly over, a union rep comes around giving out tags for transport of goods. Chad had the day to figure this one out. He found Yu’s shop keys in his pocket, so he fills out delivery for all Yu’s stuff, the mannequin Yu, and his warrior princess. With the coupon he had (from last year and expired, but he conveniently tore it off so the date is partially missing), he can get all of Yu’s booth shipped back to Yu’s shop for free. Lars was hoping to use it to save on their work, but they felt like they owed Yu this much at least. Lars stays with their booth, while Chad marks and boxes up Yu’s booth. The last thing he does is to tag Yu himself or herself or whatever. Lars spent his time packing up their booth and finally stripping their golden statue. He takes his time, enjoying her every curve, removing each article of clothing slowly. As he backs out of the booth, he has a lovestruck look on his face.

Chad walks up to him with, “Ok, loverboy, back to work.”

Lars shakes his head, smiling. “She is like a goddess you know,” shrugging his shoulders.

Chad nods as he throws an extra large t-shirt his way. It is one of last year’s conference shirts. “Better put this on her, so we don’t draw too much attention.” Lars drapes it over her head, unable to thread both arms in it. Its size covers her past her waist, making her look like some armless art project. Lars staples the tag to the shirt and walks away. They leave loaded with their boxes, hoping everything works out.

The next morning, both Chad and Lars have to go back to their normal jobs. Chad spends every free moment he has trying to fix the transforming-chip problem. Lars, likewise, begins to look at taking an extended leave from work. Now would be a great time to use all those sick days, he reasons. They agreed to go over to Yu’s after dinner (and after dark) to make sure everything was delivered. Just after 7, they both pull into the darkened parking lot. With nervous, small talk to pass the time, they go right into the shop with the spare key. Yu had two keys, so the moving company used the one and delivered everything inside. They were to leave the key on the counter and let themselves out the back.

Yu’s store is one of the best in this end of town, so everything looks so well organized. At night and in the empty shop, everything takes on a more sinister look. Chad and Lars spend no time admiring the merchandise as they walk to the pile of stuff in the middle of the floor. As they walk up, they see Yu still holding his or her pose in the spacesuit. As they look for their golden goddess, they notice the counter with the key. It is resting on a t-shirt from last year’s convention. Chad shrugs and turns to continue the search, but Lars’ shaky hand points to the tag stapled to the shirt.

Before Chad can say anything, Lars asks, “So where is she?”

The end???