Queen of the Nerds

The Great Shift certainly made me feel like King of the Nerds ... or Queens of the Nerds, I guess, technically. I knew what all my friends were thinking when they looked at me now. We used to speak amongst ourselves about it all the time when we saw a pretty girl that we were too afraid to talk to. They didn’t really say it to me anymore now that I was one such pretty girl, but I could imagine. They all stayed in somewhat nerdy bodies.

However, truth be told, despite my feigning confidence, I was intimidated by my own body. I hadn’t really explored it much. I changed as quickly as I could, I wore a swimsuit when I showered. I probably could’ve made one of my friends very happy as their girlfriend, but I barely even knew my own new self yet -- I think I wanted to get to know that first. And yet I was just as terrified of my own pretty face as all those ones we used to see that we were scared to talk to.

Reflect

Ever since the swap, I had been mesmerized by my own reflection. Clara was so upset when we swapped bodies. She thought it was my fault; she refused to talk to me or share her clothes. I had to borrow from friends and just make due.

But sine that time, I’ve realized that was like a blessing in disguise. Her body was like a blank canvas for me now. I wasn’t going to be following her style and wearing her clothes; I would forging a path on my own and making my own decisions.

I was starting at journey at the mall today. I had tried on a few things but hadn’t bought anything yet. I realized it would also be an expensive journey, and borrowing from friends would likely still fill the gaps. But still, the most wonderful thing -- and the most magical thing -- was just taking the moments to truly appreciate who I was now.

Fair

If Howard could give the body he got from the Great Shift back, he would. It’s not that he didn’t enjoy it; he most certainly did. He loved being young again. He hadn’t felt this good in over 40 years, and he was certainly never this flexible ever! But he would give it up simply because it didn’t seem fair.

The poor woman whose body he had was merely 20 years old. She should have had her whole life ahead of her. Howard had been pushing 80; he had already lived a full life.

However, there wasn’t a way to undo the effects of the Great Shift. There was no solution in sight to reversing it. Body swapping had been pure science fiction before the Shift, and it remained so after. No one had been working on any secret technology. It just was, and everyone just had to keep moving forward.

Didn't You Get the Memo?

Traffic on the street was unusually light for rush hour as Malcolm made his way to the office. The parking lot was empty enough that he almost thought it was a holiday he had forgotten about.

It wasn’t until he arrived at the area of the office where the programmers worked that he got the biggest shock, however. A woman was sitting in one of the chairs; there were no women working in the programming department. He thought she was HR at first, aboout to tell him that everyone was fired. But she stood up to greet him, and she certainly wasn’t dressed like someone in HR.

“Is that you, Malcolm?” She asked, “You didn’t read your email before coming in? Or wach the news?”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Malcolm asked.

“It’s Eddie. There was this whole body swapping thing yesterday. It was all over the news, Bro. Like, everyone swapped bodies...except for you, I guess? They sent an email telling people they didn’t have to come in. I did just to escape my wife. She’s pretty jealous of my new body, and I don’t need to hear her all day...”

London (Part 1)

I was on vacation in London when my eyes caught hers. She was beautiful, and I felt a spark of attraction like nothing I had ever experienced before. But it turned out that spark wasn’t just some sort of metaphor. Something had actually happened when we locked eyes -- something that caused us to swap bodies.

She laughed as she heard me speak with her voice with my American accent. It was fascinating for me to hear my own body have a British one. We both seemed to take something so dramatic and life-changing in good spirits. She even offered to let me do all the tourist things I wanted to do, though she said she was going to hate seeing her body act like a tourist. She reasoned it away by saying whatever swapped us must be around somewhere; hitting up as many places as possible was just a good idea...

The Influencer | Part 2

View The Prologue of The Influencer.
View Part 1 of The Influencer.

All in the Family (Part 1)

Amber clutched the wheel tightly. She had avoided driving since swapping bodies with her mom as she didn’t have her license yet. However, a call from the school was forcing her to go in and meet with the principal.

What could her goodie-two-shoes mom have possibly done to get sent to the principal? Amber was in trouble all the time. She got detentions, notes sent home, and so many bad grades...but a call from the principal? Ugh.

Amber thought it should’ve been easy for her mom. After all, she had been through high school before. Amber was trying to manage life as an adult! That was much harder! Though even she had to admit that it was probably better for her than her dad and sister, who also ended up swapping bodies in this whole mixup.

And despite several near misses and a terrible parking job while being distracted by all of this running through her head, Amber did arrive safely at the school.

Intro to Swap Class

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Collision (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Collision.

He wanted to remove the uncomfortable heels on his feet, but the broken glass around the cars invalidated that option. Overall though, the cars themselves weren’t that badly damaged all things considered.

He looked to original body in the driver’s seat. There was some blood from a gash on the head, and the body appeared to be passed out. He stumbled over slowly in the heels to open the door and wake it.

“Who the hell are you?” The person inside his body asked.

“This isn’t your body?” He asked, having assumed it was that simple.

“Well, I’m certainly not in my own body, but I’ve never seen your body before in my life. Though if you want to exchange numbers, I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

“Dude! You’re in MY body! What does that tell you? I used to be a guy!”

“Well, you don’t look like a guy right now.”

From the other car, a similar argument was brewing, an argument about swapping bodies. It seemed this was very widespread, as if it was some sort of...Great Shift.

Sanctuary

Many of us gathered in the church after the Great Shift. I don’t think many of us were all that religious, and after the Shift, there were probably more people questioning their faith than ever. But it was a good meeting place to gather or talk or whatever.

I think I had come to find company for my misery. I had swapped into the body of my neighbor. She was at least twenty years older than I was and obviously a woman. Before coming, I tried to find more comfortable clothes. She had a son just a little younger than me, who had recently gone off to college. I was able to put on one of his basketball jerseys he left behind. All of his pants fit awkwardly, so I had to keep wearing my neighbor’s skirt.

I don’t think I spoke to anyone once I arrived. I just sat there, feeling uncomfortable in my new skin. I wasn’t sure if I was more bothered by new gender or new age more, or if I was annoyed with myself for even considering going out with this body to be a good idea...

No Person Is Illegal

Fred had known his sister Lynn was adopted, but he had no idea she was undocumented. Throughout their childhood, their parents had tried to work out the legalities. They had only told Lynn the truth once she turned 18. Fred found out a few years later on the day of her wedding in perhaps the most painful way possible.

He sat there in her body on the verge of tears before the ceremony, questioning why she would steal his body and leave him stuck in hers. She explained her undocumented status, and the difficulties in obtaining legal status. The talk continued to her desperation and finding Mark online. She didn’t love Mark, and she didn’t want to marry him; however, it was probably her last chance for a path to citizenship.

Fred listened. He didn’t want to marry Mark either. He didn’t want to be stuck in Lynn’s body. However, she had been through so much already, and he did love his sister. Surely, they could sort out her citizenship status, divorce Mark, and swap back. And surely, he could do that for her...right? He just wished she had asked first.

Grandchild

Nam had tried to tell his mom for several years about how confused he was concerning his sexuality. He wanted to tell her that he liked guys, and that that he even thought he might be trans. But he was unsure how she would react, considering how traditional she was, and how often she pressured him to find a girlfriend and give her grandchildren.

But when he finally came out to her, he only wish he had done it sooner. She didn’t seem bothered by it at all. Instead, she started talking about some traditional magic and blowing some weird powder in his face; the next thing Nam knew, he had been transformed into a woman.

He was instantly happy. He was slightly less happy when he mom began to pat his belly, telling him he was now with child, and that she would now be guaranteed to be a grandmother soon.

I Am You (Part 2)

View Part 1 of I Am You.

I wanted to say that I woke up from the dream feeling wrong, but that wasn’t exactly correct. Things were different, but they weren’t wrong; in fact, it felt like everything was actually quite right.

It’s not like I woke up as a caricature of a woman with long painted nails and a heavy chest. Nor was I quite the ethereal goddess from my dream.

And yet...I had become her, and I knew I was her. But it wasn’t something that had even “become;” I always was.

Part of me felt like I cheated. Transwomen don’t just have a magical transformation overnight like this. And despite all my denials for all these years about who I was, to have this gift of just being a woman without any surgery or social stigma -- I felt guilty.

Yet I was happy. I was who I was always meant to be. I was a woman now. I was me.

Checking In

It had been about a year since the Great Shift and at least a few months since she last checked in on her former body, but Erica was at least curious. The drive out to Kirk’s place was long, and it reminded her why she didn’t do this very often anymore.

He was waiting for her, sitting on the porch. She attempted to make a visual assessment, but wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He still held himself like a dude, and he had put on a few pounds. She knew bringing up either of those things aloud would get an earfull. But he had also dyed his hair blonde and was definitely wearing makeup to -- both seemed out of character for Kirk -- and both of these she felt like she could ask about.

When she did, he ranted about hormones for a few minutes before confessing he had a boyfriend now. Erica actually felt somewhat happy for him, and decided to ask all about the guy.

That's Rich

Most people take Swap Class Freshman year. It’s pretty easy to get it out of the way early that way, yet a few stragglers wait until the last minute. For Jeff, it was the final semester of his senior year. And because he was over 18, there were rules about who he could swap with. He was sure this meant he’d be swapping with the teacher, and he certainly didn’t look forward to being in Mrs. Crandall’s 60 year old body for the rest of the year.

But, as luck would have it, Madison was transferring back into the school. No one had seen her since first grade. She was a spoiled brat back then, and she still was now. Her family lived in the mansion on the edge of town, and she had failed out of several private schools. And the fact that she was going to have to participate in Swap Class was terrifying to her. She tried to fight it and protest, but there was no budging the requirement.

She was even angrier about swapping with Jeff. She knew she’d be stuck in the body of someone poor, but a poor guy? It was too much! Yet she still didn’t have much of a choice. For the rest of the year, she’d be living in Jeff’s body with his mother in the trailer park. Meanwhile, Jeff would be living in Madison’s body in her mansion. He’d wear her designer clothes; he’d have a butler and a maid. Jeff sure thought this was a much better option than swapping with Mrs. Crandall!

The Jar

I remember waking up in the dark basement, and I had trouble controlling my body. Everything about it felt wrong, like even down to my arms and legs being the wrong length (which, of course, they were -- I just didn’t know it yet). As my eyes began to adjust, I stumbled over to a shelf with some jars; at least one had a brain inside.

As I reached out a voice spoke. “I’d be careful with that,” The voice said, “That’s your body’s brain in that jar.”

“What?” I asked without being able to quite tell where the voice was coming from.

The voice laughed, “If anything happens to it, well...it could break the chain and make it very difficult to restore the right brains to the right bodies.”

It was in that moment the realization hit me. It was why everything felt to strange. I was inside the wrong body; I was in a woman’s body. My arms flailed in a panic, knocking the jar off the shelf. It shattered on the floor as I heard the voice laugh again.

Self-Conscious

It was weird to think that Adam was thinking of himself as fat. He was, after all, significantly skinnier than he had been before swapping into this body. In fact, he weighed half of what he did when he was a guy, yet he still felt so self-conscious as he pulled on his belly fat after leaving the gym.

Maybe the swap wasn’t as simple as he thought. Maybe he picked up some of this body’

He remembered being so attracted to her before the swap, but now all he could see were the flaws. Like, could his body have a bit curve to it? Could he get himself a thigh gap? It’s why he was motiviated to hit up the gym today -- he had never done that no matter how much he weighed in his former male body. He wanted to look better, but more important, he wanted to feel better -- but he just couldn’t seem to achieve that feeling.

ICE'd

I sat and waited on the grass in front of the sciences building. When the swap first happened, Minyoung told me it was a fluke from some of the advanced biotech studies majors, and they’d discuss a plan to sort it out real quick.

Sitting with her body felt weird. It wasn’t just that she was wearing a skirt -- it was that I was wearing a skirt at all. It was the fact that I was a woman; I was in Minyoung Gao’s body. It was hard to wrap my head around. It was several hours before she exiting the building with my body. I confronted her, and she seemed surprised to see me.

It was one of the others she had been that finally confessed the plan. They were all foreign students afraid of ICE, even though they were on student visas. They had stolen our bodies and then called the federal agents. Even if that meant never seeing their own bodies again, they were all willing to risk it. I tried telling Minyoung that the plan obvious didn’t work; that I was still here. However, Louisa Ruiz piped in to inform me that it seemed I was the only one they didn’t round up...

Quantum Entanglement

The scientists of the world were happy. The recent phenomenon was proof of a multiverse when our universe collided with another. Through some sort of weird quantum entanglement, there was an odd merging of the slight differences between the two two slightly different worlds. I was unfortunately one of those differences.

My brain was from what we called the Prime Universe. I had been a young male, 25 years old, living in an apartment in New York City. Audrey had been born on the exact same date and time as me in the Alt Universe. She worked the same job, lived at the same address on the same floor.

There were differences, too. From the evidence I could find, she seemed more outgoing and more eccentric. There was actually evidence all over, as our apartments had merged in interesting ways just like our bodies did -- this also made the strange layout of my NYC apartment all the more strange -- with things like clothes and photos from her life littered behind while many of mine remained as well. I looked at the crack in the bathroom mirror that had formed at the time of entanglement (which was now in the middle of the living room), and it all seemed so metaphoric for what was happening to me...

Punished (Part 4)

View Part 1 of Punished.
View Part 2 of Punished.
View Part 3 of Punished.

Chris just wanted the damned thing to work! Nothing he tried was getting him his body back. He was sure he was going to be stuck like this, and he was more convinced as he watched the strange man bleed out on the floor. He cried.

After a few hours, he wiped the tears. He’d have to figure out just who he was now. The man had said she had been a trespassing in this place before him. Maybe that was a few days; maybe that was years. Either way, there had to be a missing persons report, right?

Thinking about going to a police station after what he just did seemed weird though. He doubted anyway would come visit this spooky mansion soon. He could sit here and cry for a little while longer...and think...

Deadlift

Things just didn’t seem right in the world this morning as I walked to the gym. I saw moms crying and being comforted by their small children. I saw grown men giggling. I still didn’t think I was prepared for what I saw when I walked out of the locker room.

She was a small women -- probably less than a hundred pounds -- and yet she was deadlifting nearly four times her weight. Her build was remarkably average, no huge muscles to think of. I didn’t want to stare, but I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. Then she spoke.

“Everything okay? What are you staring at?” She asked with the voice of a husky man that sounded quite familiar.

“Joe?” I asked, not quite believing the guy was inside this petite feminine body.

“What’s you problem? You’re acting like we don’t see each other every day.”

I wanted to ask how he couldn’t not notice his body was completely different. I wanted to point out he was now a woman. Then I realized calling someone who can deadlift 400 pounds a woman if they didn’t realize they were one might be a bad idea.

A Couple of Pink Drinks

The last time they went to club, Alexia had ended the night by giving Ted an odd pink drink -- and that drink caused them to switch bodies. Ted was flummoxed, but Alexia assured him they could switch back tomorrow in the exact same way; she just wanted him to understand what being a woman was like.

And despite some discomfort, he had to admit that it wasn’t that bad. In some ways, it was even sort of fun -- even putting on a fun dress for their return to the club.

Of course, the first thing Ted did once they got there was to pick up two pink drinks in hope of switching back right away. However, Alexia told him that she wanted him to experience everything, and that included the full night at the club. He sighed, but it was only a few more hours...right?

Start Practicing

The idea seemed exciting. Curtis had suddenly and without any explanation found himself in a woman’s body. She was dressed up in a tutu in a dance studio, so he guessed she was a ballerina. His body did feel very graceful and flexible -- certainly not like his former body at all.

He began to wonder if he had her skills along with her body. He thought about how thrilling it would be to dance in the most elegant manner, and so he got up on his feet. He tried his darnest, but he wasn’t sure where to start. He ended up with just sort of lumbering around in a way that would’ve been more suited for his previous male body than his current female one. And so he sat back down, a little disappointed.

But then he thought about it some more. At least this body was theoretically capable of pulling off great dance moves, right? He just had to try; he just had to start practicing...

24 Hours

At His Age

The Great Shift was like a nightmare for Thad. He had always prided himself on his strength and his muscles. He had gone from being a very fit man in his 20s to a very weak woman in her late 60s. Every day he would go to the gym to workout and lift weights, but it never felt like he was getting any stronger. Even the small weights were tough to lift, and moving up seemed impossible.

However, despite the feeling that his gym visits were now worthless, they apparently had a benefit he didn’t realize. When he was for his annual physical, his doctor informed him that all the exercise was keeping his body’s extreme sarcopenia at bay. In essence, even if he wasn’t getting any stronger at least wasn’t getting any weaker.

He sat for a moment, thinking at least his effort wasn’t a waste, but still sad he wouldn’t be able to bulk up. Then his doctor started lecturing him about how coming in sooner. After all, with his new age, the muscle loss wasn’t the only problem.

Leaving the Matrix

“This can’t be real. I must be dreaming.” Adam quietly muttered.

“It is the life you remembered that is actually the lie,” A voice boomed in reeponse, “What you are now is the actual truth.”

“It can’t be...I can’t really be a woman...it’s not possible. The way I remember treated women...”

“...Is how you were always treated. You wanted to experience that power. You wanted to be male. That is why you entered in the first place. You got your dream, your wish. You could’ve chosen to be kind as a male, to be different or be better. Instead, you chose to the exact kind of toxic masculine behavior you said you always hated. That is why you were pulled out.”

“But I don’t remember this life, the one you claim was mine originally. I only remember what was inside there.”

“That’s to make what you are about to experience even worse.”

...And Now You're Even Older (Part 2)

View Part 1.

It was a few months after the Shift when John finally met up with his old body. It turned out to be a simple one-to-one swap. Just as he was in the body of a woman named Li, Li was now the one in his body. Of course, when Li arrived and saw John, she barely recognized her former self.

The first words out of her mouth were basically, “What the hell did you do to my face!?”

John did his best to smile with the latest Botox injections still fresh. “I found myself in a body more than twice my own age. I went through a period of extreme depression. It was all recommended by a psychiatrist to help me feel young.”

“But you don’t look young, you just look --” Li caught herself. She could only imagine what this young man had gone through upon finding himself in her body. She had to stop herself from being too hard on him. Yet she had to ask, “What about the boob job?”

John seemed to eke out a laugh, but his face didn’t really move to do so. “That’s a long story,” He replied, “It wasn’t easy becoming a woman either, of course. And I thought about going the other way with the surgery there. Instead, I leaned into it.”

The Power

It had been thirty years ago when Derek worked at a theme park. Putting on a smelly costume and dealing with ungrateful kids and their demanding parents in sweltering heat was a terrible job that paid poorly, but it was enough to pay the rent.

He saw a crying little girl one morning and went to go cheer her up. She said she wanted to meet Elsa. The park where Derek worked didn’t have Elsa or any other licensed characters. It was too cheap. Derek didn’t even remember which random animal he was dressed up as that day, but when that girl wished to meet Elsa -- something happened. His whole body started transforming, including his costume; he became exactly what she wanted. He became a real life Elsa.

The parents had a fearful look in their eye, and Derek felt like it was best not to mess with whatever power this girl possessed. He played along. He was Elsa. The girl seemed pleased enough now and moved along. He didn’t change back; he just had to deal with his new self.

In the following days, he had to adapt to the fact that he was now a woman who looked like Elsa. He supposed he was fortunate enough that the dress wasn’t permanently affixed to his body in any way, and he mostly seemed to be a typical woman. There was some differences. Within a month, he realized he wasn’t getting a period. And over the years, he wasn’t aging at all. He often thought of the girl that transformed him, about what kind of wild power she had, and the potential for that power to destroy the world. Despite his changed body, he was pretty thankful the world was still here.

You're Older Than You've Ever Been... (Part 1)

John had woken up late for his first class of the day. He didn’t have time to brush his teeth before he was out of his dorm and sprinting through campus. When the flash of light hit him, he thought he must have tripped or something. However, he was technically still on his feet -- well, not HIS feet, but still standing, nonetheless.

John had no reason to know there was a playground so close to the college; what reason did he have to go there? Yet that’s where he stood now. In someone else’s body.

He looked at his feminine hands. He was not only female but also older judging by the looks of them. Was he a mom? A grandma? A nanny? But he looked around and didn’t see any kids. Maybe she was just passing nearby too? None of that explained why he was in her body now, of course. He’d have to find out the news about the Great Shift in due time...

Help! I’m Trapped in a Waifu Body!

Top Ten

“What the hell is the holdup in here?” The man yelled bursting into the room. “You were supposed to out on that stage five minutes ago!”

Jason was tuning out the shouting. Quite honestly, he didn’t even care. He was focused on his own hands -- well, they weren’t technically his hands. They were a woman’s hands.

“I have no idea who I am,” Jason said.

“You’re Aira, the hottest K-Pop star in the world right now. And you’re running late for your sold out concert, so get your ass out there.” The man shouted, who was apparently Aira’s manager.

“You don’t understand. I’m NOT this Aira person at all!”

“Then f***in’ fake it for all I care. You’ve got a top ten hit in thirty countries around the world right now. Surely, you know the songs. We’ll lip sync them.”

“But...I don’t! I’m not much of a pop culture person. I don’t know who Aira is at all! I don’t know her songs! I don’t know how to dance! I’m telling you I can’t do this!”

“Well, we got to f***in’ figure out a way you can do this.”

Must Be in the Dumpster

The medallion had to be in one of these dumpsters. Kaitlyn had said she had thrown it away, and he had already checked the trash in the basement of the apartment building -- which means it must have been brought out back here already.

Of course, scaling the side of one of these things and digging around inside while in Kaitlyn’s body was going to be difficult. As he put his hands to his head; he thought that maybe he could just adapt to being Kaitlyn, adapt to being a woman, and adapt to a new life.

A few seconds later, he made up his mind and scaling the side of one of the dumpsters. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience.

(Not) Making It Work (Part 2)

View Part 1 of (Not) Making It Work.

After my girlfriend and I broke up, I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. I suppose after being in a relationship for so long I had forgotten what being single was like. Plus, the added complexity of the Great Shift and everyone being in someone else’s body made the whole experience even more chaotic.

At first, I would just try to show up situation as if I were a guy. I’d show up at a bar or a club, and try to strike up a conversation. But, I dunno, maybe I just wasn’t as comfortable or confident doing this all now that I was in my ex-girlfriend’s body.

I decided to try a different approach.

I’m sure my ex would’ve been psyched to see me in a dress and heels, though, quite honestly, I was moving awkwardly and probably looked more like a man than ever as I wore this sort of stuff at the club. Finding a chair was a lifesaver, and I was starting to think this wasn’t a good idea.

And that’s when she came up to me. The woman was around my age. She explained how guys in women’s bodies were just “her thing,” and that the Great Shift was like an absolute feast for her. I smiled and nodded, but it was my discomfort that seemed to be getting her excited. I wasn’t sure if she was genuinely interested, or if she was just fetishizing me, but it was also the first interest I was getting while being in this body.

Venture Forth (Part 6)

View Part 1 of Venture Forth.
View Part 2 of Venture Forth.
View Part 3 of Venture Forth.
View Part 4 of Venture Forth.
View Part 5 of Venture Forth.

“I still can’t believe you broke the staff,” Gwyn told Gideon, “We could’ve stolen it. I could’ve had you back in your own body. We could’ve sold it.”

“Or I could’ve been the one swarmed by goblins and dead on that castle floor,” Gideon added. “Besides, she threatened you. I couldn’t stand for that.”

“I guess...I appreciate that. Thanks.”

“I figure by the time this is all done, you’ll be a powerful enough wizard to revive me and swap me back to my own body. We got a few extra scrolls for you to study from the castle. The goblins did let their ‘princess’ take anything she wanted for her ‘diplomatic mission.’”

“Though it’s not like I had any time to study them so far. Your new goblin body isn’t exactly built for the front lines of this party anymore, and it’s forced me to learn how to pick up a sword. It’s less time for studying wizard stuff.”

“We need to recruit some more allies and create a bigger party. If you think anyone would want to join up with a goblin.”

“Hey, you’re kinda cute for a goblin though.”

“Oh, shut up. I think there’s a town a few hours down this road. Maybe we’ll find someone there. Someone that isn’t trying to steal our bodies or kill us.”

Two Rules

Eunice looked at her father, and quite honestly it was strange to see her own face looking back. Well, the face she had for about 30 minutes in the morning before putting on her makeup and 30 minutes at night after washing her face before going to bed.

She had a sense of annoyance in her voice when she spoke, “Remember the rules, Dad. Number one: stay home. And rule number two: Don’t open the door for anyone. Basically, no one should see me looking like ... well ... this!”

Her dad sighed, “It’s okay. I get it. You have an image. And, look, I still don’t know anything about that medallion we found in the attic with your mom’s stuff or how it transformed me into your doppelganger. But I do appreciate you coming out here for her funeral. I know we haven’t spoken much since you graduated. I think -- I think that’s my fault. I’m sorry. I could’ve been a better father. And I’ll spend my time researching this, and see if there’s some way to get me back to normal.”

Eunice’s stern expression softened for just a moment. She stared at her father with a sincerity she rarely had. A smile cracked on her face, “You tried, Dad. And I love you.” And after a brief hug, she put back on her sternest face and reiterated, “But, seriously, don’t let anyone see you.”

Misdownload (Parts 3 & 4)

View Parts 1 & 2 of Misdownload.

Forecasted

There was no rain in the forecast, but the ominous, dark clouds usually still kept people away from the beach. This was just fine for Brody; he preferred an empty beach, and this dreary day was perfect for that.

When he arrived, there was only one other car in the parking lot. A single towel and umbrella was set up, which he kept his distance from. The only evidence of another human being around was a dark head of hair bobbing up and down in the water, which looked like little more than a dot from his vantage point.

Despite the weatherman’s claim of “no rain,” the storm arrived very suddenly. It was like an instant downpour with intense thunder and lightning. He didn’t have time to get back to the parking lot, nor did the other person on the beach with him. And with a strange colorful flash from one of the lightning bolts, the storm instantly dissipated as quickly as it came.

But the storm left behind more than rain, it had somehow swapped his body with the other person on the beach -- a young woman wearing a purple swimsuit. Despite being soaked from the storm, he didn’t pick up his towel to dry off. After all, it was wet from the rain as well. He just felt like he needed to cover up more. He felt so exposed in her swimsuit.

And it seemed she felt just as awkward in his. He watched as his own body came running over, using the towel to try to cover up his former body’s chest area. She started demanding answers, but Brody didn’t have any. He had no idea why they had swapped bodies any better than she did.

Sandwiches

Bo had always hated how much pressure his parents had put on him, so going off to college, he was thrilled to assert his independence. However, upon returning home from break, he shouldn’t have forgotten to treat his parents with the respect they demanded.

Instead, he kept his shoes on as he put his feet on the sofa and demanded his mom make him a sandwich. It should’ve been obvious to him that this was a bad idea beforehand; but seing the anger in his mom’s face afterward surely confirmed it afterward.

She must’ve used some of that ancient Chinese magic she knew, because the next thing he knew, he was in the kitchen making sandwiches. But it wasn’t just that he was doing this, he also recognized the older feminine hands he was doing it with. To teach him some respect, she had swapped bodies with him, and he was going to have to be the one doing the typical “mom” chores for a while, including making sandwiches.

Taking Out the Trash

My neighbor Gretchen worked as a ballet dancer at a prestigious art center in the city. I could never bring myself to admit my secret crush on her, but I made enough nervous small talk to get to know quite a bit about her.

And on that warm summer morning, it was an absolute surprise to see wearing a sanitation worker uniform collecting the trash from my curb. She was doing it with the sort of grace and elegance that made me wonder if it was some sort of performance art piece.

“What’s going on, Gretchen?” I asked, trying to invoke our usual small talk.

She replied with what sounded like a mix of a snarl and a grunt but still delivered in her typically sweet voice, “Who the hell is Gretchen?”

I fumbled through some things that probably weren’t words like “um” or “uh” before Gretchen’s body spoke again.

“I’ve been collecting trash on this street for like 20 years and you don’t even know my name?” Gretchen’s body said, “It’s Anthony! Maybe you should try saying hello to some of the schmucks who do your dirty work around here!”

“Um...hello...Anthony,” I managed to say to Gretchen’s body. It was weird, but Anthony didn’t seem all that away he was now even in Gretchen’s body or take too much notice to the graceful way he was now moving...

Flipping

Jerry noticed the remote on the couch. It didn’t seem like the usual one, but it seemed to turn on the television just fine. However, as he tried to flip channels, nothing changed on screen. He tried again -- still nothing.

Well, not exactly nothing -- just nothing Jerry noticed. With each flip of the channel, his body changed into a completely different person. He had become a tall basketball player, a hispanic maid, a gang member, and a lawyer. When he finally stopped flipping and turned off the TV, he was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. Despite not noticing the change himself, his wife would notice something was wrong immediately when she got home...

Pilates and Yoga (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Pilates and Yoga.

James was mid-squat when his frat brothers returned from their game. They were early, and he had hoped to be completed with his exercise before they got back. Then he noticed Kevin was hurt, which is probably why it all ended so soon.

James had always hoped Kevin would give him some sympathy. After all, Kevin also swapped into a woman’s body -- although one that was still college aged -- and often struggled with physical activity due to his new petite build.

And yet, even with an injured ankle, Kevin was the first one to make a crack about James. “The whale’s about to get up,” Kevin laughed before screaming in pain as one of the guys in pre-Med started pushing one of Kevin’s bones back into place.

“I’m just wrapping up, no need for insults. I know how stupid I look,” James sighed.

“Naw, you don’t, but we’ll send pictures,” Another frat brother, Max, teased.

The Influencer | Part 1

View The Prologue of The Influencer.

Ladies Night (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Ladies Night.

At Ladies Night at the local club, women got dollar drinks and free admission while men paid full price for everything. Conrad thought this probably had to be the best deal in town for any woman, but he had yet to learn the hidden costs. When he entered, he wondered why so few women were actually at the club. It didn’t take him long to learn why.

Before he could even get a drink for himself, he was surrounded by three guys. He first thought was how uncomfortable they made him feel. He wished they weren’t so close, and he wish they didn’t swarm on him. His next thought was the regret that he didn’t make his body taller, though he wasn’t sure it would’ve done him any good.

They all offered to buy him a drink, and they each looked at him as if “No” wasn’t an answer. Then again, they also had a look that a “Yes” came with other expectations. He also wasn’t sure he could trust taking a drink from any of them. So he told them each a different drink that he wanted, and that he’d meet them back here. While they went to the bar, he slipped back out the front door.

All told, he was probably in the club for less than five minutes.

Yet still, he tried to focus on the success. After all, his machine had worked. He had turned himself into a woman that convinced the bouncer at the door and at least three guys inside. That was a win in his book.

Legs

I knew Mira was a professional dancer; I knew she had strong legs; I just didn’t realize how much so until after the Great Shift dumped me into her body. Going from man to woman was a pretty big change, first of all. The changes in physique and anatomy were a lot to wrap my head around, but Mira’s body seemed to be particularly unique.

I don’t know how to describe it, but I could feel the strength in my legs. Like, you know that Bond villain who could kill a man with her thighs? Yeah, I felt like I could do that if I wanted to.

Yet I felt like Mira always tried to hide her legs under a long skirt or dress or something? Me? Well, I decided to start showing them off. Short skirts, cut-offs -- whatever! I was actually kind of getting proud to showcase what felt like the best feature of my new body...

Volunteer (Part 1)

Orion had remembered volunteering to go inside the tank, yet he knew he shouldn’t. The tank had several objectives. First and foremost, it was supposed to transform Orion’s body from male to female. This part was clearly successful. But someone must have opened it earlier, because the tank should’ve wiped most of his memories as well -- yet he still remembered volunteering; he still remembered being Orion.

It was standard procedure on these interstellar trips. If the number of women dropped too far, men needed to be transformed in order to sustain the population. But why the memory wipe? It just helped ease the transition. Too many men simply had trouble adapting to the role of birthing without it.

Yet Orion had stepped out covered in transformation goo with his memories intact. The ship was also dark. Perhaps a power surge in the anti-matter generator? Yet it wasn’t just dark. The room was also suspiciously empty. Surely, there should’ve been at least one technician in here for monitoring, and maybe someone to give him a towel to wipe this goo off?

He began to have a bad feeling about this...

Out of Order

The odd vending machine loomed lagre in front of me. It wasn’t quite clear what it sold or how much it cost, but the thing was fascinating me. I thought that while my girlfriend was in the bathroom, I might be able to figure out how to get a soda out of this thing or something.

I put in a single quarter and thing sprung to life. It seemed way too cheap, but I tried pressing a button anyway. The change was instantaneous.

It felt wrong and right at the exact same moments, like I was becoming the wrong person and yet the person I was always meant to be. I had become a woman. and yet I didn’t feel out of place for an instant. My body didn’t feel strange, foreign, or unfamiliar. I knew it was different, but it still felt like this was who I always was.

I didn’t know how my girlfriend would react when I saw her coming out of the bathroom. But I soon realized she was looking right past my current form in search of my original body. I tried approaching her and telling her, but she seemed confused by my words. I realized I wasn’t speaking English. I really had to concentrate to speak my own native tongue.

“Me. Help. Change. Girlfriend.” It was about the most I could manage.My girlfriend did her best to understand. She looked at me. Then she looked carefully at the vending machine before she said, “I think it’s out of order.”

Only a Moment

Graham knew it was an accident. His roommate Peter had throwing a wishing token into this fountain the other week and wished for the perfect girlfriend. There was no way for him to know that the wish would transform Graham into that ideal.

The one fortunate aspect was that the transformation was slow. Graham could feel his body slowly changing into the type of woman that Peter often brought home with long hair and plenty of curves. But it was the mental changes that were really driving him mad. He found himself cleaning their shared apartment and cooking dinner for Peter.

Luckily, Graham still seemed to have enough of himself inside to try to stop this. He just needed to find another wishing token, which wasn’t easy. By the time he found one, he was sure his body was completely female. But he still had his mind, didn’t he?

He could only hope so as he threw the token into the fountain to make his wish. He wanted to wish to be normal again, but instead it came out, “I wish I could stay like this forever, and that everyone would forget the original Graham ever existed!”

He was horrified for a moment. But only a moment.

The Influencer | Prologue

Phoned In

It seemed entirely plausible that our obsession with our phones was the single thing that prevented riots and complete chaos in the aftermath of the Great Shift. I, for one, was completely confused as to why I was suddenly in a woman’s body. It felt like I was hardly wearing any clothes, and I immediately missed being the guy I once was.

But what did I do the moment it happened? I checked her phone. I searched for answers. The thing was, all the networks were loading slowly due to everyone else doing the exact same thing. It was practically at a standstill. But where else was I going to go to look for answers?

I kept reloading or trying other sites. And because I was so worried about trying to find information on my phone that just wasn’t coming, I wasn’t all too focused on the fact that I was actually in an entirely different body.

Punished (Part 3)

View Part 1 of Punished.
View Part 2 of Punished.

What was nearby was apparently a wrench. Chris picked it up and swung with all his strength. It didn’t matter how unfamiliar he was with his new body, it was in flight or fight mode. The strange man was knocked out cold. Was he still breathing? Chris wasn’t even sure whether he cared enough to check.

He pried the ray gun out of the man’s bloody hand and looked at him. He wasn’t able to learn how this thing worked, but his body was still inside of it somehow. It couldn’t be as easy as point and shoot, could it?

Chris did a simple test as he aimed it at himself and pulled the trigger. Nothing. He tried aiming at the strange man. Also nothing. He even tried using the finger of the man’s unconscious body to shoot himself. It still didn’t work.

Bowsette (Part 1)

Bowser had no idea quite how helpful the Super Crown could be when he first used it to transform into Bowsette. Of course, Mario and Luigi were easy to lure when he had a body as attractive as Peach, and he tricked them both into locking themselves in his dungeon. The toads were groveling at his feet, eager to please what looked mostly like their princess -- slowly transforming into Goombas. Even Peach herself was no obstacle with her protective plumbers behind bars.

Darkness fell upon the kingdom, just the way Bowser liked it. If he had known the Super Crown would’ve made it all this easy, he would’ve done this ages ago!

Clubbing (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Clubbing.

That sloshing of booze mixed with whatever drugs these woman had taken earlier meant that Jason and Stephen weren’t all too bothered that night by finding themselves in new bodies. It was a quick pause of realization, and then it was back to dancing.

“My outfit is so shiny!” Jason laughed, “And my hands are so smooth! Feel them!”

Stephen touched Jason’s hand to confirm; they were smooth. Of course, he didn’t know what Jason’s hands felt like before. And then Stephen noticed... “My hands are smooth, too!” He exclaimed, “And so are my legs!”

“I can’t feel your legs on the dance floor! It’s inappropriate!”

“We should go to the bathroom!”

“OMG! We could do that thing girls do when they go to the bathroom together in pairs! It sounds fun!”

“So much fun! Let’s do it!”

The Remote

Nobody

The streets were quiet. Ben had walked ten blocks and hadn’t seen a soul. This was much more troubling than the fact that he was currently inside Fei’s body.

He supposed this all started when he asked her own. She replied with the particular harsh rejection that she wouldn’t date him if was the last man on Earth. He even found himself wishing her words would come true; that they’d be alone in this world together, and she’d be force to be with him.

And that’s when things started to get quiet. It was a little longer before he noticed the change to his body. He figured he should try to find Fei. He guessed she was somewhere in his body, but then again, he didn’t really know that was true either. What if was some other man out there who was the only other person alive? Someone he would now have to be with if only to continue the human race? The thought was chilling.

The Ten O'Clock News

“What the hell is going on here, Kelsey?” Dan shouting to his production assistant.

“All I know is that we are in each other’s bodies.” Kelsey replied nervously from the lead anchor’s body before adding, “The entire news team is...if they’re even still in the building.”

“Well, that’s obviously going to be the top story, isn’t it? We’ve got to be on the air in five minutes. And I’m going to have to deliver this is your body. What do we have on this?”

“We’ve heard from other affiliates. It-it seems like this whole thing is pretty widespread. They’re calling it ‘The Great Shift.’”

“Okay. Okay. I can work with that.” Dan began to calm down. It was pretty common for him to get angry like this when a big story dropped so close to airtime, but it was weird for Kelsey to watch her own body to be freaking out like this -- perhaps even more than the fact that she was in Dan’s body.

The Passenger

Mirabel and Dave both know they couldn’t keep going on with both of their thoughts running through her head. Miabel’s mind was a supposed to be a temporary solution, a place where Dave’s brain could be stored as the university researchers worked to restore the problems with the device.

It would be one thing if Dave was just a quiet passenger in her mind. He was not. It was like they had to share control in order to keep her body coordinated, though sometimes one might be able to exert a bit more influence than the other -- those moments were usually fleeting.

And yet somehow it also wasn’t as difficult to work together as they would’ve imagined. They were able to mostly coordinate her body to go through a basic day, other than the headaches. However, when the device was finally fixed, this would come to be a problem when trying to separate Dave from Mirabel...

What Goes Around

Quite honestly, it probably served Jordan right. He often used to come to the gym and would often mocked women who he saw as being less fit. And now it former body was laughing at him as he struggled to do a single pushup.

It was all because of the Great Shift. He wasn’t at the gym when it happened; maybe his odds would have been better if he had been. He could feel the differences as soon as it happened: the love handles instead of abs, the running out of breath when even walking briskly, the flabby arm -- and, of course, the fact that he was now female.

When he made his way back to the gym, he knew he was exactly the type he used to make fun of. And it also seemed impossible for him to push his new body in the ways he used to do with his old one. As a result, it never felt like he was doing enough.

And then his old body showed up. He had no idea who was in it now; they would have no idea it was him in this body. And yet the way that person laughed at him, it was like they KNEW.