Love

John could still remember a time when he loved Amber deeply. After all, that was only about twenty minutes ago before the Role Exchanger hovered over the wedding venue and started switching bodies, personalities, and emotions around. It was just trying to understand the human concept of “love,” but none of the guests realized this. They were all just dealing with new bodies and new feelings.

For instance, John was now in the body of Amber’s friend Lacey. His love changed, too. From a romantic attraction to a long-standing friendship. He knew he once was, he just -- well, he no longer fit that role. Whoever was in his body now seemed happy enough to be dancing with Amber; if that even was still technically Amber. He didn’t really have any way of knowing. It wasn’t like he was going to tell people he was anyone other than Lacey either...

Not Too Bad

Emi always tried to explain to her boyfriend Ted how much she hated camping, yet he would always find some way to drag her along. However, planning a camping trip in the middle of winter proved to be the last straw. Emi wasn’t going to take it anymore, and created a plan that she hoped would teach Ted a lesson for good.

With a little magic, she swapped their bodies. There were certain inconveniences she always experienced as a woman in the woods that she hoped Ted would now appreciate.

And yet, several days into the trip, Ted seemed undeterred; he actually seemed to be enjoying himself! Emi had to ask how he was coping with everything as they sipped on hot cocoa by the fire.

“Well, I probably feel colder than I ever remember being in my life, and using the bathroom is more difficult, but it’s not too bad.” He said with a shrug.

S41FT - "Paper Constellations"

Noodles

Watching the news reports about the Great Shift calmed me down. They didn’t exactly make me feel better about suddenly becoming a woman, but at least it was an explanation. I probably watched for six or seven hours before I got hungry and went to the fridge.

It was empty. Well, mostly. There were a few left over noodles and some sugar packets, but otherwise it was completely empty! The cabinets were only marginally better with some crackers and an unopened ketchup bottle. I pondered for a while how anyone could live like this with almost no food in the house.

I also realized probably nothing would be open and no one would be delivering on account of the Shift. I’d have to do my best. I ate the small number of noodles first; I was still hungry afterwards, but I told myself it was enough. The next morning would be a feast of ketchup on crackers, hoping that would be enough for at least a single store or restaurant to open the next day.

Spreadsheets and Documents

It wasn’t being stuck in Serena’s body that Dave took issue with. In fact, he found being stuck in the body of a woman to be quite pleasant. The skirts that hugged his body, the sweet perfume he applied in the morning -- it all just felt so wonderful.

But then there was her job. He didn’t understand any of it. The spreadsheets, the paperwork -- it was all so confusing. For the first few days, he just let it pile up on her desk. After all, he didn’t expect to be swapped with her for very long; she could just take care of it all when they switched back.

But then days grew into weeks. While Dave was having a blast on nights and weekends, he was worried he’d be fired if he couldn’t figure out Serena’s 9-5. And if he couldn’t do that, he wouldn’t get paid, and those nights and weekends would become far less fun. But no matter how much he tried, none of the documents made sense to him.