Declining Birth Rates

The birth rate had been falling for years, but it absolutely cratered after the Great Shift. The body swapping event shattered relationships, and it also turned out that many men in women’s bodies were less than eager about the idea of getting pregnant and giving birth.

Governments began to implement all sorts of incentives to encourage reproduction. Those programs were enough to finally convince Buck, who qualified simply due to the fact that he had been shifted into a woman’s body.

He was on his third pregnancy at this point. He had gotten used to the process by now. Show up for artificial insemination, sit around at home for nine months, give birth, let the government collect the baby, and then take his check. It sure seemed better than working and holding a steady job!

People like Buck weren’t exactly ideal for the program, but the payout wasn’t exactly alluring for high income earners. But still, there were enough people like Buck that it got results!

2012 (Part 2)

View Part 1 of 2002.

The three time displaced friends grew over the years from young women into mothers. They all kept in touch as well, just in case any of them had heard of Chrono-cell technology being developed in the news.

But it was Orion who first discovered they were all actually their own great-great-grandmothers. And that meant, they’d all have to give birth...at least once.

Xavier was the first to get pregnant, Orion and Adlai had nothing but worrisome questions, and Xavier did little to dampen their concern. He didn’t like it; he couldn’t recommend it. And yet...if they didn’t? Well, the entire fabric of the universe could fall apart from a paradox.

What choice did they have?

Gain

It was a dream come true for Reggie when he found himself in the body of a cute woman as a result of the Great Shift. Things started to get strange when he found he had an appetite that seemed impossible to satisfy. Burgers, sushi, pizza, pho, or whatever...it really didn’t matter. It was all good.

But all this food seemed to be adding to his weight, yet he just couldn’t seem to slow down; he just kept eating! He was hungry! It was so hard to see his cute new body lose it’s shape, but there was nothing he could seem to do slow down.

After a few weeks, he finally was able to get in to see a doctor. The news only got worse form Reggie’s perspective. The appetite and the weight gain were both for good reason. He hadn’t just swapped into the body of a woman; he had swapped bodies with a pregnant woman!

The Influencer | Part 3

View The Prologue of The Influencer.
View Part 1 of The Influencer.
View Part 2 of The Influencer.

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.

Starting a Family

A few months ago, my wife and I had struggled to conceive. None of the doctors we saw could even explain why; most of them just told us we were probably just unlucky with our timing.

Then the Great Shift happened, where everyone in the world just swapped bodies with someone else. We thought it couldn’t be any worse, as we both found ourselves in the bodies of women. But after a few weeks, we began to talk about sperm donors when my wife realized that I hadn’t gotten a period yet. I hadn’t even thought about it; I hadn’t even realized that was something that would happen.

When we went back to the doctor to examine my new body, she found that I was actually two months pregnant. It was the sort of miracle that we never could’ve possibly imagined. We would become parents after all, even if the odd twist was that I would be the one giving birth.

We were, of course, somewhat worried that the woman whose body I was now in would come forward and want her baby. But now with the due date just days away, we hadn’t been contacted at all. She was out of the picture, and we were ready to start our family.

Willing to Bet?

My wife always complained about how no one on public transit ever stood up for pregnant women, and I tried to argue. I told her that couldn’t possibly be true, and that I stood up all the time for this very reason. She asked me how much I was willing to bet.

I had no clue what I was getting myself into.

And that’s how I ended up swapped into the eight-months-pregnant body of my wife’s friend, Maggie. The terms of the bet were simple. I’d take a bus from our home in Brooklyn to midtown. If anyone offered their seat for me, I’d get my body back and be able to tell my wife “I told you so.” If not? Well, I’d be spending the next month in Maggie’s body, and I’d be the one experiencing child birth for her.

There were simple rules, like they had to offer (I couldn’t ask). As we got past 14th Street, I was getting pretty scared that no one would stand. I started to stare people down or other use nonverbal communication. But no one was budging.

I was not looking forward to the next month.

Spells 'R Us 2.0 (Part 3)

View Part 1 of Spells R Us 2.0.
View Part 2 of Spells R Us 2.0.

For a while, Connor called the store every day to see if the tablet was back in stock. Then he shifted to about once a week. After a while, it seemed like the store wasn’t even picking up the phone anymore. Finally, one day he called and an automated voice said the number was not in service.

Connor got on the bus and headed to the mall. The electronics store was gone. It was like it never existed. He tried to go to a different store, thinking he might be able to buy the tablet elsewhere. That’s when things got really weird. The other stores hadn’t even heard abotu the tablet before; it was like he had made it all up in his head.

Yet Connor knew that tablet existed; he was sure it’s what caused him to be in this body. He once again fond himself walking the mall to think about it. Walking was much harder this time.

While Elena had filled him in on a lot, she had no way to know she was pregnany when they swapped. And Connor didn’t even realize he was missing periods. By the time he knew, it was much too late to do anyting about. Elena’s parents yelled at him; they talked about a boyfriend Connor had never met. Connor guessed Elena had broken up with him not long before the swap. He couldn’t believe he was likely stuck like this for the rest of his life! He was now Elena, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Extended Offer

Angela had only discovered she was pregnant a few days before the Great Shift. Her and her husband were overjoyed; they had almost given up on having children after many failed attempts. They also realized this was probably their last chance of having a child, given their age.

The Shift’s body swapping didn’t offer them any additional hope; they ended up swapping bodies with a pair of neighbors around their own age. If anything, the problems were now compounded as a college student named Jim was now in Angela’s body.

Angela begged and pleaded with him to keep the baby and give birth for them. She offered him a lot of money and gifts to do so, and to treat him properly during the pregnancy. At the eight month mark, she couldn’t wait for him to keep birth. He was so demanding on shopping trips, always asking for more. Angela would always comply, not wanting to risk him doing anything dangerous to the baby inside his body.

Of course, Jim had gotten used to having his every need and more met; he didn’t want to give that up easily. He made a suggestion one shopping trip. “I’ve been reading a lot of mom books and stuff,” He said, “You know, they say the best thing for a baby is lots of breast feeding for the first few months. I’m just sayin’ I have two ample sources of the stuff here that I might be willing to help out with...for a price.”

Angela had read similar things. She cringed as she looked at her body with Jim’s masculine body language. She wanting nothing more than to be rid of Jim forever, and yet she was still seriously considering his offer....

Helping

Rachel and Doug had been friends since they were kids. Even as they grew older and moved far from each other, they stayed in touch -- regularly talking on the phone. Though as they got older, the phone calls stopped, replaced by emails. It was a while before Rachel revealed why, her boyfriend hated when she talked with other guys. It only got worse from there. As time passed, Rachel’s boyfriend went from controlling to abusive. She often asked for help from Doug to escape from the relationship, yet any attempts proved unsuccessful.

Doug finally asked if he could try using magic to help her. He wasn’t sure if it would work, because he had never really attempted any spell casting before. Rachel LOLed in an email response, saying magic wasn’t real, but she’d try anything at this point. And so he cast the spell, crossing his fingers that his plan might actually work.

Sure enough, the next morning he woke up in Rachel’s apartment and in her body with her abusive boyfriend snoring beside him. He was more than surprised that Rachel’s body was pregnant; this was something she hadn’t mentioned in the emails! He decided this didn’t change the plan at all as he quickly got dressed and went to the bus station. It’d be a long, uncomfortable journey in Rachel’s pregnant body for him to meet up with his own body, but he knew he had the will to make a break from Rachel’s boyfriend in a way that she just couldn’t seem to do on her own. Any unpleasantness was worth it.

After a Few Months

Marc hadn’t complained much since the Great Shift, but after a few months, he was finally ready to let loose about one particular frustration about his new body. As he sat doing crunches at the gym, he began to talk about with the person next to him.

“I think I was probably depressed when the Great Shift first happened,” Marc confessed, “I mean, I couldn’t stop eating! I think I was sad about being a woman now instead of the man I once was; I cried alone a lot. And I started to gain weight, so I told myself to eat better and to go to the gym. I mean, I’ve been doing that a lot; I’m here now, right!? And yet, I keep gaining weight! Look at me! I’m getting a beer belly...and I don’t even drink! I’m sorry to unload on you, it’s just that --”

The person next to Marc interupted, “Are you stupid? I don’t mean to be rude, but, seriously, how dumb can you be. That body isn’t ‘getting fat;’ it’s pregnant. I guess even when men have female anatomy, they choose to be absolutely clueless about it. What did you think when you didn’t get your period?”

“My what? Pregnant?” Marc’s heart was racing. He hadn’t even considered it, but once they said it, he knew they were right! He WAS pregnant!

Extended Vacation

It was supposed to be a two week vacation, but Steven had been stuck on Exchange Island for the past eight months. The staff had discovered the woman’s body he was in was pregnant about ten days in. He quickly had to defend himself, explaining there was no possible way he could’ve gotten pregnant on the island. He barely interacted with the other guests, let alone getting intimate with one of them! After a short investigation, they determined Steven had told the truth, but there was still a problem. The magic of the island wouldn’t allow a pregnant woman to leave. And so Steven was stuck on a rather lengthy vacation. Despite the discomfort of being pregnant, he enjoyed the extended time off. Of course, with nine months now just around the corner, he was a little worried about what giving birth would feel like and what would happen next...

Maternity Policy

After the Great Shift, the comany Blake worked for allowed employees to work from home for two months, but soon after pushed everyone to go back to the office. But Blake was a little bit concerned about doing so, and scheduled a meeting with June from HR right away. When June arrived in Blake’s office for the meeting, she was shocked to see how large his belly was.

“I guess I need to ask about some additional work from home time,” He asked.

“We have a maternity policy!” June said quite surprised, “Why didn’t you tell anyone!”

“I wasn’t sure what to say! It’s one thing to tell everyone you swapped with a woman, but a woman who was seven months pregnant? The doctors think I’m due any day now though.”

Big Surprise

Adam hadn’t been exactly thrilled with the body he swapped into as a result of the Great Shift. He often used words like “nerdy” or “homely” to desribe the woman he ended up as. He hated the thick glasses he needed to put on just to see, and the closet full of frumpy clothes he discovered in her room.

But it was several months later when he got the big surprise. He was pregnant! And it seems he had discovered this fact a little too late, so he would have to bring the baby to term. The thought of giving birth still seemed very puzzling to him (though he imagined any mystery surround it would go away soon, for obvious reasons), but what was even more puzzling to him was that anyone would make a baby with this woman!

Bro?

I had been your typical frat bro before the Great Shift. I enjoyed beers, parties, girls...you get the picture. Just about every single one of my frat brothers and I ended up swapping with women, about half from the sorority nextdoor. As you can imagine, we were pretty devistated about it. About a month in, I considered myself luckier than the rest of them. They had all had periods and the accompanying cramps, but I seemed to have avoided it all. I assumed I was now one of those women who just them irregularly or maybe even not at all. I started putting on weight, but I assumed I was still eating as thought I had my former body and this body’s metabolism couldn’t adapt. But by the time summer rolled around, it was obvious: I had not only swapped into the body of a woman, but I had swapped into the body of a pregnant woman! The doctors said my due date is in late August, and I hope to give birth and get back to school. If my frat brothers ever found out about this, I’d probably never hear the end of it.

Not Ready

Finding himself in a woman’s body as a result of the Great Shift was shocking for Gerold. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for things like makeup and skirts, not to mention things like PMS and periods. As he prepared himself for the latter, he was surprised that it still hadn’t happened after a month, and still nothing a month later. It wasn’t until his belly started growing out that the true nature of his predicament was apparent; he was pregnant! It must’ve happened days before the Shift, and now he was the one with a new life growing inside of him. He had tried to mentally prepare himself as soon as he became a woman, but this was more than he was ready for! This couldn’t be happening to him!

Lucky

Daniel had been affected much like the rest of the world. He found himself in a woman’s body, but he tried his best to keep a cool head. He assessed the situation fairly calmly. He was young, attractive, and in shape; being a different gender wasn’t the biggest deal. But after a few weeks, he felt like his body was getting fat. It was a no brainer to start going to the gym. But a few more weeks went by, and he was still gaining weight. He complained about this to the other people in the locker room.

Another woman looked as Daniel as he showed off his body.

“You’re not getting fat; you’re pregnant.” The woman explained.

“I’m WHAT!?” Daniel said shocked.

“Have you gotten a period since the Shift?”

“Ew, gross! No! I thought I was just lucky.”

“Well, your body probably ‘got lucky’ just before the Shift, because you are positively pregnant.”

Daniel’s jaw dropped. Being a woman he could handle, but being a mother? The shock of the Shift finally set in for him...

Gain (Part 2)

Click here for Part 1.

Mike now realized he not only had to adjust to being a woman, but a pregnant one. It was a lot to take in that a few short months from now he’d be birthing a baby. The bright side of things was that he could let himself go a little. He didn’t have to work quite so hard on his fitness routine and he could eat whatever he wanted to. He also wasn’t going to concern himself with dressing hot. He could just throw on some maternity clothes and relax. His ever-growing bely was already getting uncomfortable and he knew it was only going to get worse.

Gain

Mike realized pretty quickly that he probably shouldn’t be too upset with the body he ended up with as a result of the Great Shift. Sure, he was a woman now, but he was also young and hot. It seemed like a reasonable enough situation, especially considering some of the bodies his friends ended up in.

As the days and weeks passed, there only seemed to be one problem -- he kept gaining weight. Mike’s first guess was that he must’ve still been used to eating like a large guy instead of a small woman, so he tried to cut back. It was so tough; he just felt hungry all the time. And it also didn’t seem to help. He was sure he was now even developing a beer belly despite his caloric reduction.

So he started hitting the gym more, guessing the woman he swapped with had an intense fitness regiment. Yet even despite the intense workout, he was sure he was getting bigger.

It was on one gym trip as he mumbled under his breath about his weight gain and getting fat that another gym member commented.

“You aren’t getting fat,” She said, “You’re pregnant.”

Everyone

“So, you’re saying everyone swapped bodies, not just me?” Isaac asked his buddy Brian on the phone.

“Yep, yours truly included. I’ve got to say that it’s cool being 6 foot 5. That’s probably how you’ll recognize me, in fact. You’re at the corner of 8th and Elm, right?”

“Yeah, I’m looking around for you. I’m in the body of some chick in a blue dress...a little bit fat.”

“Okay, yeah, I see you. Just turn around. And I don’t think you’re fat...I think your pregnant.”

“Wait...what? Pregnant?”

And that’s when Isaac felt his belly move...like something was kicking him from the inside.