[Mark Newman]

Marilyn has posted a reply to Alex on his forum "Alex’s Lament"

She asked that everyone disregard the Postscript. She really meant to delete it.

[Mark Newman]

Oops. I forgot to delete the PS. Please ignore it.

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

Dear Alex:

Well, you certainly have gotten yourself into a mess, haven’t you!

Men have been promising themselves to too many women for the whole of human history, I would guess. And, to be honestwe women have done the same. It USED to be that women would have to be very careful and clever about it, as we risked both societal disapproval and a severe beating if we were caught. In many places, societal disapproval has melted away. And now the changes have also limited the risk of beatings — for us! You of course, face the opposite problem.

I suppose I could sit back here, arms crossed in front of my own quite muscular chest, laugh, and say, "Alex, you’ve just got what you deserve!" It’s so typical of a man to blame others for his problem. You say, "Oh, Marilyn, my ex-girlfriends are just too pretty and too strong for my little mind to resist." You even blame the Changes for messing with your libido. (There is nothing, by the way, that science has found to substantiate Kate’s statement that the Changes have changed the way males and females think and feel. The Changes are purely physical. But somehow, when attractive girls get muscles, boys find muscles attractive. Is that really a mystery? After all, when there are no girls around, boys may even find boys attractive. But I digress.)

But I won’t say that. Why? First, I’m a therapist and I have to take a professional attitude about these things. Second, I can see why you do so well with the girls. Reading your story, I myself want to help you. It’s a talent you have, and you’re lucky to have it. So, for ten seconds, be grateful and feel privileged, then go back to the selfish dog boy you are that we girls find so appealing, even while we want to tear you into little pieces (before we put you back together again with hugs and kisses).

So, what should you do? Well, I will assume for the moment that like most men in your position, you don’t really care which of these three girls you end up with. You’ll go with the one who is closest and feeds your vanity and your sex drive most. (And then, someday, you’ll betray her with someone new, right? But I digress. Perhaps by then you’ll have learned some of the tricks that women have used for ages and you won’t get caught!)

Now, where was I?

Oh yes. Now if you are as smart as we women used to be, you will decide which of these girls can protect you best from the others. And then you’ll cling to her as tightly as you can. You’ll explain your predicament. You’ll tell her how the other girls threatened you and beat you. You’ll promise unending devotion. You’ll do little things for her that please and flatter her. You’ll listen to every word she says and make her think she’s the most interesting thing in the whole universe. And you’ll do that every day and every night.

Got it?

I don’t know which of these three girls you’ll pick. You may even pick MegaMom — she’ll protect you as well as the others. But pick one for now.

There are other choices. Boys can stay independent, even now. But not if they’ve played with as much fire as you have.

Marilyn

PS. To be deleted before sending.

And Alex, if you even turn up at my apartment … we’ll see how much you’ve learned. Slap, slap. Marilyn! You didn’t really say that, did you?!

[Mark Newman]

It was a great beginning. I don’t recall a sequel and a search of the DtV site doesn’t reveal one.

[Mark Newman]

Just a little bit too long again for Lingster’s software. Here’s the last scene.

Cindy bent down so that she could look at her face again in the mirror. It WAS strange the way her eyes had changed color tonight. Her mother had gone on and on about it, asking her so many questions, first about wasting money on tinted lenses when her hazel eyes were perfectly nice, and even suggesting the she was on drugs, and when Cindy denied it, she called her a liar too. Her father tried to intervene but her mother pushed him aside and then just talked over him, raising her voice even more. Until she stopped all of a sudden when Cindy said she wished she’d leave her alone. And she did. Just like that, spinning around and retreating into the kitchen without another word. That was amazing! She’d never done that before. It was too bad they’d had such a big argument, because Cindy had really wanted to ask her mother what could have caused the change in her eyes. But she was being so obnoxious and unfair that she didn’t want to ask. Now who could she talk to about it? Not her Dad. He was being nice, but he seemed so miserable these days. He barely had anything to say about anything.

The new eye color was kind of cool, though. She liked the green MUCH more than the old boring hazel. The whole day had been really cool. Everything had gone just like a dream. Joe was finally paying attention to her. Ha! That was an understatement! He seemed completely taken by her, and especially by her muscles. Imagine that! It was the part of her she loved best too! She straightened up and flexed a few times, looking at herself. She LOVED her body, and Joe loved it too. What could be better? He couldn’t keep his hands off her, and he was so cute about it too, pushing his thingee against her to try to bring himself off, which she thought he did, just before he went kind of still for awhile. She knew he’d her wanted to do more, to touch him and stuff, but she didn’t want to get all messy. Not yet, at least. Not if she didn’t have to. It was too bad boys got so messy when they came. If only they were as neat as girls. He seemed so uncomfortable too before that; she almost felt sorry for him. But it was sort of his own fault too that he couldn’t control it. That’s what boys were like. She was so glad she wasn’t a boy. Especially now that boys were the ones who were so small, with such little muscles. Poor Joe. He was so weak, so much weaker than she used to be and so jealous of her muscles. It really seemed to drive him crazy. But in a good way! It was like, all of a sudden he had a total crush on her. Imagine! He was SO hot for her. She couldn’t wait ’til school tomorrow. If he was as turned on tomorrow as he was tonight, there was no WAY he’d be able to walk around to his classes. That was kind of funny. And SHE, Cindy, was the reason for it! She felt so proud. She would have to carry him around a little again. That would be fun!

Ooooh! She just loved her muscles, the way they were growing, the power they gave her. She always liked to tell people what to tell people to do, but before the only one who’d ever really listened to her was Cal. Now she had Joe, her father was taking her side more and more and now even her mother had stopped bothering her. Being so big DEFINITELY had its advantages, even if she had to bend down to see her face in the mirror. Well, she’d just get her father to put up another mirror!

Mmmmmm. She closed her eyes and wished her muscles would grow even faster. Her body tingled as she thought about it. It was probably from the two hour workout she’d given herself after Joe’s mom sent her home. She hadn’t wanted to go, but at least she had a chance to exercise more. They were already bigger than her father’s EVER were, already as big as grapefruit, but a whole lot harder. She pressed her hands together, enjoying the way her arms and pecs bulged and the way her breasts lifted. It made her feel so beautiful, so sexy. She wanted to be the biggest and strongest person in the world — and she WOULD be! She set her alarm for six, enough time for another heavy workout before school, another chance to make her adorable muscle babies grow. Her BIG babies! She flexed them again, admiring the huge bulges, recalling the feeling of Joe’s fingers as they danced across them, trying and failing to dent them, and then the feeling of his lips pressing against them, as if he could somehow share in her power, absorb it, consume it for himself. And compared to Joe, she was!

And then she went to bed.

[Mark Newman]

Dear SGT White:

I don’t think there is anything inherent in the female personality that would make them less subject to discipline than the male. (In fact, although my area of expertise is adolescent behavior, certainly in that age group the opposite has always been the case.)

I am certainly not an expert on army procedures, but the conduct you describe seems far outside the bounds of military discipline and I hope it is an aberration. We need a strong army to defend ourselves, but an army of soldiers that mocks the established chain of command is an army that is both dangerous to its own country and unlikely to prove an effective deterrent to attack. I do hope for all our sakes that it is not representative of a future army of women in arms.

Because I am sure, notwithstanding the cultural objections of some of my countrymen and countrywomen, that the days of the male soldier are numbered. Sure, equipment can be made lighter, but as we’ve seen from our experience in Iraq, a strong, well-trained ground force is essential to hold territory and it would seem to me that the greater strength and conditioning of today’s females must give them an advantage over male soldiers. I think all of us would like to know what your views, as an instructor in armor, would be.

Best regards,

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am an armor instructor at Camp Mabry, TX. As of yet, we haven’t recieved any new female instructors, but we have been assured they are on the way. I’m not sure if the new changes have anything to do with it, but the Texas National Guard has decided to mve to lighter units. That is to say, armor will no longer exist in Texas. I can’t say if the same is true for the rest of the country. Losing the armor isn’t as much of an issue, but the possible influx of women in a combat arms role is concerning.

Some of the women who work at the camp have shown incredible growth and have also made it clear to us how much stronger and faster than us male soldiers they have become. A particularly embarrasing moment was just today during our Physical Fitness test. All four of the women, two supply sergeants, a medic, and a cook, basically made fun of their superior officers as we struggled with the push-up event. They did their’s one-handed, for three minutes passed the required time. Impressive, but the manual states both hands must be on the ground. Sit-ups were equally embarrasing. During the run event some of our best runners, who usually complete the two miles at an average of 11:35, had to be carried off the course. Once again, another violation of regs. When confronted, they were biligerent and unresponsive to the point of bullying. They refused to move, and the efforts of even pairs of military police couldn’t physically move them. Not even the threat of UCMJ action seemed to worry them.

I understand the inevitability of women taking the lead role in combat. With these women, we are curious to limit of their ability and would love to use that to our advantage. However, there is still a need for discipline. My concern is that this is the caliber of soldier we will be recieving. I surely hope not. Please, tell me that these women aren’t representative of the future our country has coming.

SGT Jason N. White

Armor Battalion, 136th RTI

U.S. Cavalry

[Mark Newman]

Dear Arielle:

I don’t think you’ll ever sound like Barry White. The physical changes we’ve all undergone seem to be limited to body size and muscle, and other organs seemed to have changed much less — only as needed to support our greater size, and conversely for males. It is possible that some sopranos will have to sing in a lower range, but interestingly, I’ve read that many tenors are larger, and have larger vocal cords than some with bass voices. Vocal range is not only related to size but also muscular control, so I would expect that some sopranos will find they have an increased range and power in their voices, without losing the ability to hit the high notes. I guess that’s one thing we will learn more about only as things progress.

I hope you do get used to the way you look from the neck down. Body image is always difficult for girls, and the Changes make it a lot harder for some. You WILL have to change your idea about what is feminine. MUSCLE is what’s feminine now and nothing will change that. Please don’t try to diet to avoid building muscle. Your body needs protein. It will grow very naturally, and there is nothing you can do to frustrate that growth unless you want to seriously endanger your health. We all know the dangers teenage girls face with eating disorders. Don’t let yourself be one of those statistics! I’m sure your priest or minister would agree with me.

Of course you’ve touched on some of the other dangers of being female too, and you’re right to warn your friends about pregnancy and AIDS, but I don’t think I would agree that things are "worse than ever". To be honest, I don’t share your religious perspective. I’ve noticed that there is a type of preacher who constantly warns that things have never been so bad and that our morals keep getting worse and worse. If that’s true than we should have fallen into complete barbarism many years ago. Still, I won’t quarrel with your point that all of us need to be responsible sexually. Whether or not the Changes have made our morals worse, I doubt that they’ve made them any better!

Finally, I’m not sure I would agree with you that parading around and acting "cocky" was ever the exclusive province of boys. Girls do it too, but in different ways. And from the perspective of most boys I’ve known, I would say that they don’t find that "parading girls" are acting like boys at all! At least, that’s what I would guess from the way the boys look at the girls. You may find that morally objectionable, but it’s not unfeminine.

Marilyn

[Mark Newman]

To: Marilyn Knewsome (marknew742@gmail.com)

From: Arielle Sharper

Dear Ms. Knewsome,

First off, I am, and always will be, a girly girl. Love it, got the pink lace bedroom and dresser top full of plushies to prove it. ^_^y

And I don’t like the change in strength much at all. First off, I hate the way I look. Sure, my face still looks okay, but I can’t stand looking at myself below the neck. -_-;;

Yes, I know it’s not all bad. It came in handy moving the church piano, I feel great, and all that. And I love being able to say no to some horndog boy more easily. As my great-uncle Max would say, the best sex protection is keeping your legs shut in the first place.

I thought that seeing my girlfriends stronger would be okay. I thought that with more muscle, we’d see a bit more sexual responsibility on both sides.

But from what I see, it’s worse than ever! Many of my girlfriends think they’re bulletproof. They haven’t stopped to think that their muscle won’t protect them from getting pregnant or getting AIDS. ;_;

And they’re parading around and acting so cocky about it. They’re acting like… boys. >.<;;

And this is a little thing, but last Sunday, I was singing a solo for our church’s anthem before the sermon. I used to be a soprano. But all through the piece, I cracked and sounded like Peter Brady on The Brady Bunch! o.O;;;

I tried testing my vocal range at choir practice last night. I’m now a very low alto, if that high! And when we all practiced the hymns, there was very little soprano or bass. It’s all one big mass in one tone! No variety at all!

What are we going to do? Will we have to recruit kids for the high parts? And what if I get bigger?! I don’t want to end up sounding like Barry White! T_T

Crying for help,

Arielle

[Mark Newman]

Jill is a fucking idiot. I mean, everyone always knew that, right? I mean, any guy who didn’t know that isn’t that bright. But Anthony didn’t deserve this. I don’t know what else to say.

Just makes me even more determined to get stronger. But don’t get the idea I would ever do anything like that. Sheesh.

[Author]

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