As the Shadow Shifts

You Feel the Beginnings of a Trump Contact...

And now for the long-awaited new feature of As The Shadow Shifts: You Feel The Beginnings of a Trump Contact, the arena in which You, the Readers, make up for getting this whole thing free by writing clever, witty, and above all, lengthy letters to us, thus relieving us of the burden of ever having to be funny again. And so, without further meta-ado, the first edition of YFTBoaTC:
To the editors,

	I'd know that face anywhere!  That's Oberon in disguise.  

Guy who never-ever wins contests,

MJP


Dear MJP:

Close, very close. But the editors of As The Shadow Shifts would like
to remind you of something: Oberon is dead. Dead, as in kaput,
croaked, deceased, defunctional, six feet under, just like the
Norwegian Blue Parrot. To quote Dworkin, ``Funny. Funny funny funny.''
Also, he said, ``You come as the young Lord Corwin, thinking to sway
me with family sentiment. Why did you not choose Brand or Bleys? It
was Clarissa's lot served us best.''

Collect one generation of ancestry. Proceed to confusion.



Dear ATSS staff:

So I was wondering.  Who's this Oberon guy that everyone seems to be?
Is this like Dalamar, who there were lots of in the third issue? Is
Dalamar related to Oberon, or are they the same person too?  In
addition, in the first issue, Dalamar was introduced as Dalamar
Adiplomat, while in the fourth issue his last name was given as
Skywalker.  I've got an explanation for you: at first, he wasn't sure
whether to trust the rest of the group, so he gave a false name, but
now that everyone loves him, he's admitted to his secret identity.  So
do I get a No-Prize?

				until the Shadow Stops Shifting
				make mine, damn, the only things that
				start with M are Mikele and Minax...

utSSSmm,d,tottswMaMaM:

Actually, although popular belief has been for some time that K is the
most popular letter to start someone's name (witness, Katarina,
Keverian), it turns out that M is in fact the most common. Minax,
Mikele, Martin, Merlin, and Mandor, not to mention Mistress Margot,
Chef Michael, and, of course, Droppa MaPantz. Another bit of ATSS
trivia: the issue in which Dalamar's last name was given as Skywalker
was actually the fifth ATSS issue.

Anyway, on to your question. The relationship between Dalamar and
Oberon is indeed a shadowy one. It is unclear whether the two have
ever met face to face, although given how many disguises Oberon has
had, and how many copies of Dalamar are probably running around by
now, it is almost inevitable.

But as you so astutely point out, Dalamar now trusts the group
completely, and has become very frank (sorry, couldn't resist) and
forthright with his new friends. This is very different from Oberon,
who, although he has been interacting with the group for some time,
has not revealed his secret identity to them yet. Secret identities
are of course, a dime a dozen in Chaos, where it is in fact a great
effort to avoid having a few dozen secret identities.

So you certainly get a No-Prize. In fact, you get two. Heck, take 'em all, 
they're small.



Dear As The Shadow Shifts,

Your recent episode, while meritorious in the categories of genre
satire and ridiculing the protagonists, not to mention verbosity,
nevertheless showed one major flaw: namely, I made no appearance
whatsoever, nor were any characters revealed to be Myself in disguise.
As the Shadowy Villain To Whom No Evidence Whatsoever Points, it is
imperative that I be featured ominously in every episode.

Oberon
King of Amber (retired)
Secret Shadow Barred to Pattern, Logrus and Trump #23



Dear Oberon:

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Our meritoriously
genre-satirical protagonist-ridiculing enhanced-verbosity vocabularic
episode failed to include sufficient film noir elements to be
classified with pure representatives of the art form. I would point
out, however, that you have made an error, in that while your shadow
there is impervious to Pattern, Logrus, and Trump, simple conjuration
seems to have been very effective. Hope you like molasses.





Dear Oberon,

	Wow.  Is that Katerina a hot babe or what?  Ever since she
first appeared in Issue # 1 wielding that blowtourch, I knew she was
the one for me.  My heart jumped when I saw her get blasted by that
rocket launcer back in Issue #3.  I thought the paint would never come
off.  Who was that mysterious guy anyway.  I can't wait to see good
ol' Katerina trounce him. She sure is slick with those ultralights
though.  I'd let her fly my craft any day!!

	I can't believe you writers let her get ambushed by that
sneaky Torquil in Issue #4!  Everyone knows not to trust Internal
Security!  Katerina is certainly more clever than that!
	
	By the way, how DID she get that nuke into Liesl's brain.  It
worked beautifully, I admit, but we didn't even get to see the
surgery!  And tehn afterwards, how did she end up walking around with
his head on a platter?  I think Katerina had this all planned from the
beginning.  She'll catch up to the real Liesl any day now and then
we'll see some fireworks!


a devoted fan,

Santa Claus


Dear Santa Claus:

This year, I would like you to bring me some seven-foot tall sentient
beavers. I have been a very good girl. I have made pretty sculptures
for my daddy, and I have been wearing my special hat when it's chilly.
Please don't drop my beavers out of an airplane. Also, I would like a
pony who understands English.

Merry Christmas,

Kate
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