Theater

No one was sure what caused the body swapping at the theater before the ballet performance. Mostly, it seemed to be between the performers, and so the main result was mostly arguing about who should dance which part. One particular notable exception was Cameron, who had simply been walking outside the theater at the time. He found himself in Akiko’s body, one of the leads. He was certainly glad Akiko wasn’t in his body; she had found herself in the body of her own understudy.

Of course, he knew that despite his body’s talents, he was certainly in no way trained to dance in the show. Akiko did warn him that he’d have to keep her body “in practice” and “up to standards” as long as they were swapped, and that they’d discuss what that meant in detail after the show. Cameron wasn’t sure what she meant by all that, but for the time being, he simply slipped into the back row to watch to performance.

He had always found ballet boring before, but there was something different watching it through Akiko’s eyes. Perhaps there was a feeling of personal investment as he watched Akiko in her understudy’s body, it was in some ways like watching himself. But it was more than that. It was almost as though he had an innate sense and understanding of what he was watching now. He could tell who was tight and who was sloppy. He could see a missed step from his far off seat. And he developed a weird feeling of confidence from it all. Maybe keeping “in practice” and “up to standards” wouldn’t be as difficult as he initially thought...

Please!

Chong had come home from university for the weekend with plans to go to a baseball game with his friends. And of course that meant he arrived home to hear his mom guilt trip him about how he doesn’t call often enough and how he only spends times with his friends when he does visit home.

They went to bed angry, but they woke up in each other’s bodies! Getting dressed in his mom’s clothes felt weird. Even if it was jeans and a t-shirt, there was still the matter of the underwear (which she helped him with). And then his mom put on an apron and got to work making breakfast.

Chong thought about complaining about the apron, but it’s not like he wanted to cook so he let it slide. And then the text came in. It was from his friends about the game.

“Mom,” Chong stated, “The game’s today. You’re going to have to go in my place.”

“What?” His mom asked, “No, you need to worry about your classes.”

“Well, you’re going to have to go to those in my place, too! It’s not like I can show up like this! But those aren’t until Monday, Please!”“But I have chores around the house like cleaning.”

“I’ll do them, Mom! Just...please!”

“No, you are terrible at chores. You’ll do a bad job.”

“I’ll try twice as hard! Please!”

“Okay, fine, but I won’t enjoy this game.”

“Thank you!”

Back to Brooklyn

Falling asleep on the train back to Brooklyn is never a good idea. It isn’t uncommon for someone to take your phone or your wallet. And as Brian slept, he was completely unaware of the things that we being taken from him. First a woman took his manhood, turning him into a feminine woman. Then an Asian immigrant came by, stealing his native status and race.

Brian awoke just in time for his stop, and as he rushed off the subway train, he didn’t even have time to consider the changes to his body. But once the general grogginess wore off, it all became very apparent.

It was hard to even wrap his head around. He was even thinking in a language he wasn’t sure he fully understood. It was weird to consider what had been taken from him, and even weirder to consider HOW it had been taken from it; it didn’t exactly make sense to suddenly be a different race and gender. And he had rushed off the train too quickly before he could ask anyone if they knew anything. It seemed like he was stuck.

Soul Orb (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Soul Orb.

Despite the heels now on my feet, I was still walking with the same gait I had as a man. I found myself wandering, realizing this wasn’t the same place I had been when my soul entered the orb.

When I finally made my way outside, a man seemed to be there waiting for me.

“Was there anything cool in there, Kelly?” He asked me.

I guess Kelly was this body’s name.

I shrugged. “Not much, just sort of these weird orb lights. I think it might be some sort of art exhibit.”

“I hope everything is okay. You were gone for a while in there, and now you’re walking like youre hurt or something.”

“I’m having lady issues.” It was only sort of a lie, but I also knew that such a lie would shut most men up immediately (including me).

And sure enough, the man simply nodded.

BBQ (Part 1)

Last year’s annual family BBQ had been quite an event. No one knew exactly how or why everyone swapped bodies, but they were all hoping that somehow this year it would happen again in order to return to their own bodies. In the time that had passed, they had all agreed to assume the lives of the bodies they were currently in -- as they doubted anyone would believe a story about body swapping anyway.

Travis had found himself in the body of his own mother, a woman in her 50s who had given birth to five kids (including himself), all of whom were now grown up and at college or living out of the house. Most of his siblings swapped with each other; he considered them pretty lucky not to have to deal with a significant age difference. He felt bad for his mom though, who ended up in his grandfather’s body.

As he flipped the hot dogs on the grill, he couldn’t help but think about his body and all he had missed out on in the last year. But when he looked around, he noticed his body wasn’t there yet.

“Where Alvin?” He asked. Alvin was his nerdy, overweight cousin that had ended up in his body. Travis had been an athletic guy in his 20s before the swap; it would be just like Alvin to ditch and not want to risk swapping back.

“Mom!” His brother Dennis said from inside of his sister Mirah’s body while looking up from her phone, “Alvin is right over there.” She pointed to Alvin’s body, sitting in the corner.

“Oh, shove it, Dennis. You know who I mean,” Travis snapped back, “If he’s not here and we all somehow swap back...”

“That’s so not happening, MOM. Come on! That was like a once in a lifetime thing! There’s no way! You just have to learn to live with it...”

Work It Out

The coach had initially seen the competition between Enrico and Reggie as a good thing. It was inspiring them to push themselves harder in practice, and it was improving both their games. Things took a turn, however, when they both suddenly transformed into women one afternoon. The coach had certainly seen the effects of illegal X-Change pills before, but he doubt either of them did it to themselves. He told them enough for enough and to work their shit out.

Each of them was able to pull some clothes from the university’s lost and found to fit their smaller bodies, and they began to talk in the hall after practice.

“Look, it doesn’t matter which one of us is a starter and which one of us is on the bench,” Enrico admitted, “We’re both gonna still be kicking ass on this team. Coach was right about the pills. I’m sorry I slipped one in your water bottle. It’s only a 24 hour pill though, so you’ll be back to normal in about a day. How long am I stuck for?”

I don’t know,” Reggie shrugged.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Enrico asked while putting his hands on his hips in a feminine manner, “Didn’t you ask the guy you got ‘em from how long they last?”

“I don’t know, because I didn’t buy any X-Change pills. I didn’t slip anything into your water bottle or your food. Whoever did it, it wasn’t me.”

“Come on, drop the bullshit. Who else would do this to me?”

“Dude, you think I’m your competition, but I’m not. I’m good, but I see you every day on that field; you’re better. I’m pushing myself just to try to stay anywhere close to spitting distance. I know I’m going to be on the bench for most of this year. But the other guys? The upperclassmen? You could very well end up benching one of them, and do you think they’re gonna take that lying down? I really have no idea how long that pill is gonna last, but I’m pretty sure more than a few of them want you out of the game for a long time. So who knows?”

Attacked!

“Whatever the hell just happened, it happened to everyone in the stadium, I think,” Trayvon said as he fell to his knees, realizing he was in the body of a reporter on the sidelines instead of playing on the field.

“What are you talking about, Janet?” He heard a voice coming from an earpiece in his ear say.

“That’s what I’m talking about. I’m NOT Janet. I was a linebacker, but now I’m in her body. I’m not the only one. I’m telling you that it’s EVERYONE; at least everyone in the stadium. I’m not sure how...or why...”

The voice continued in his earpiece. It now seemed to just be reporting and ignoring what Trayvon had to say completely. “We just received word of a person claiming responsibility for the attack on the stadium. It seems to be some sort of mad scientist taking credit for the body swapping attack. And he seems to have a list of demands. We’re going to play the video now, but we should warn the viewers that these are the words of a terrorist that we are playing unedited, as we feel doing so is in the public interest...”

Go Shorty

It was the first day back in the office after the Great Shift caused all sorts of chaos, switching everyone’s bodies across the world. For the most part, everyone at the company just swapped with each other (though a few people had some very interesting stories). As a team building exercise, HR had organized a happy hour after the work day was done.

Susan was very interested in whoever ended up in her body. They hadn’t gotten in touch with her after the Shift, she hadn’t seen them in any online meetings in the weeks following the Shift. But finally, there is was at happy hour -- her former body.

She approached it and began to ask questions. Who was she really? Why didn’t she reach out for help? Did she need any help? How did she feel about the body?

“Well, first of all, I’m not a woman -- or I wasn’t one -- I guess I am now. I’m Pete from IT,” Susan’s body said. It made a lot of sense once she looked at the mostly plain clothes he wore, khaki pants and a simple shirt that she thought looked pink in the light but may have actually just been white. He wore no jewelry.

Pete continued, “My wife helped me with most of the things about being a woman, so that wasn’t so bad. But I gotta say that you are damned short! I mean, I’m feel like I’m on my tiptoes just to lean on this bar!”

Susan laughed. Her old body had been only around five feet tall, which she imagined was hard for Pete. Herself now in a the body of a significantly taller blonde woman, she couldn’t complain.

Realty

For years, no realtor in the city wanted to touch the house where the murders took place. When Kelly finally got her license, she was young and ambitious. What no one else wanted to touch, she saw as her golden opportunity.

She was the first person to go in the place since the police investigation. She didn’t know any of the gory details of the man who killed the house’s residents before taking his own life. All she saw was a large house, which was completely furnished, that she could sell for a bargain to make a big commission. She flicked the light switch, but the electricity had been turned off ages ago; she made a mental note to call the utilities the next day. Yet a strange blue light from one of the room drew her in.

Before she could even get a good look of the strange glowing blue fog, it seemed to surround her before entering her body through her mouth. She coughed a few times as she inhaled it before she fell into a daze. She no longer seemed to be in control of her own body as it stretched out it’s arms.

Then Kelly found herself speaking. “A woman?” She said, “I’m a woman? Not exactly my first choice, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

Kelly found herself stumbling down the hall, kicking off her heels complaining about “damn women’s shoes.” She went into the kitchen and reached for a knife. She licked it and smiled before whispering, “Time to continue where I left off.”

Kelly inside wanted to scream. Who was this crazy person controlling her body!? Why was she stuck as a mere observer in her own life!? And what the hell was with the knife and talking about “continuing?”

I Am the Spirit

The book had flown off the shelf at the library...literally. Neil couldn’t help but notice the oddity floating in midair with a sort of magical dust surrounding it. He thought about calling over a librarian, but what, exactly, would they possible help with? And if it fell to the ground before someone else arrived, they’d just think he was nuts. Instead, he began to wonder what was inside of the book, as he reached out to pick it up and read it.

This turned out to be a mistake.

The instant he set one finger on the book, his body lurched. His bones cracked in horrible ways as they reshaped. A moment later, he had changed forms. He realized he should probably be thankful he had simply turned into a woman instead of some sort of monster.

He was now able to flip the pages of the still floating book without further change. Though the books was mostly filled with strange symbols and other nonsense. There was a single page in the back he could read that said, “I am the spirit; you have taken my form.”

He wasn’t quite sure what it meant, but it seemed obviously related to the change to his body.

15 Minute Break

“So you’re suggesting we just go back up to work and act like nothing is wrong?” Sean asked as he sat down on a bench outside their office.

“I mean, obviously something’s wrong,” Rita replied, “We swapped bodies! But our 15 minute break is almost up, and they’re fire both of us if we’re not back up there in time for the daily stand-up. It’s not like we aren’t able to do each other’s jobs; we’re both product owners. I think we can manage until we can find a way to swap back.”

“But what if we can’t find a way to swap back? I don’t want to live my life as you! The last thing I would ever want to be is a woman! These heels are already annoying me.”

“And you think I’m crazy about being a guy? But if we’re stuck like this forever, then you’re going to have to get used to it. And it’s like anyone would believe that we randomly switched bodies in the middle of our break. But if the shoes are bothering you, I have some flats at my desk. But I’ve got to warn you that you’ll feel REALLY short when you talk to people.”

“I already feel short! And I hate that you’re right about this. Let’s go back. But after work, we need to make a plan about researching ways to swap back and another set of plans for if we don’t.”

“Making plans like that is EXACTLY why we’re both such great product owners.”

Coma (Part 1)

As I was being wheeled into the hospital after the accident, I apparently signed the paperwork for the experimental procedure. At least, I think I did. I barely remember it. I felt like there were so many people around me doing all they could to save my life that if one person threw a paper in front of me to sign, I probably managed to do it despite my injuries. They told me I fell into a months long coma after that night. That made it easier to transplant my brain into the new body. I remained in a comatose state for a few more months after that. To some extent, they expected that, but I was apparently out for longer than the doctors anticipated.

When my eyes fluttered (and I do mean fluttered) open that day, the nurse was actually surprised. They had chalked up the operation as a failure by that point. The ones who had their brains transplanted before me still hadn’t woken up.

I remember being thirsty. I remember wondering where I was with only fragments of the accident still in my mind. It wasn’t until the doctors began to ask me questions that I even noticed my new body -- and my new gender. My movements were more like a toddler as I tried to move my fingers. I surely could grasp anything and lifting myself up with the aid of the adjustable bed was impossible. My speech was slurred as I answered their questions. I wasn’t sure how much of this was due to the coma, but the doctors seemed to indicate much of it was due to the brain transplant -- that my mind was learning many motor controls like a baby might. They told me it would be a while before I could feed myself or stand up on my own. I’d be in the hospital for quite a while longer.

Down Stream

After hours of searching, Wyatt pulled a chain from the muddy river. Emi was excited at first, but expected Wyatt to be happier about finding the medallion again. Her joy quickly turned to concern.

“That’s it; isn’t it?” She asked him.

“It’s the chain it was attached to, but the medallion must’ve come off,” Wyatt said without looking up from the chain he held.

“Well, then it can’t be far. Maybe just a little further down stream...”

“You don’t get it. It’s all part of the legend. I didn’t believe any of it. Not the body swapping; not the stories about how it always got lost leaving people stuck. And then we tried it...and it worked! I still didn’t want to believe it could get lost so easily. And now...”

“...And now you’re going to have to go back to Japan in my body.”

Wyatt nodded. He couldn’t believe he had gotten himself into this mess, and now it seemed like he was going to stuck in Emi’s body forever, scheduled to go back to her home in Japan later tonight...

Interned (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Interned.

Attending college parties for the first time in decades was a wild experience for James. The basic premise hadn’t changed much -- grab a beer in a cheap plastic cup from a keg kept in the bathtub that was filled with ice hadn’t changed.

He certainly had no problem turning the heads of many men with his current body. However, he did find conversation with many of them difficult. They wanted to talk about Marvel movies or videos games while James was more interested in striking up a discussion on the stability of the current options market. He was never quite sure if they found the subject matter boring, or if they were just intimidated by the fact that he was a knowledgeable woman.

He had considered trying to dump the way he talked down, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be so vapid.

Pizza

“Can you please stop staring?” Clyde asked as he took another bite of pizza.

“Could you maybe have a salad wit that?” Tiffany pleaded, “That IS my body after all.”

Clyde rolled his eyes. “This again?” He asked, “No, this isn’t your body. This WAS your body, and then the Great Shift happened. That’s when it became my body -- whether I wanted it or not. And what’s it been now? A year or so? Honestly, I think you have to admit that I’ve adapted pretty well, all things considered. And I haven’t ruined your body or your figure or even your modeling career! I think I can treat myself to a pizza every once and a while, can’t I?”

Tiffany sighed. She knew Clyde was right. She did have to let go. She couldn’t control Clyde or her body anymore. It was his now, no matter how much that upset her...

LARPing

Matthew and Abigail had gone for a walk in the forest, ventured off the nature trail, and had gotten quite lost. As the couple argued and yelled about who was responsible, Abigail noticed a rustling amongst the trees. Matthew could barely make out a figure that seemed to be hiding, but they blended into the background of the forest all too well.

“Please,” Matthew begged of the unseen person, “We’re lost. We could really use your help.”

Neither Matthew or Abigail could’ve predicted what happened next. A woman with pointed ears emerged from behind a tree holding a mace; the reason she blended so well was because her skin was green!

“You need to leave,” The woman warned, “I was LARPing --”

“What the heck is LARPing?” Abagail interrupted.

“Live Action Role Playing. I was pretending to be a fighter that was half-elf and half-orc. I stumbled onto the witch’s cottage -- an actual real life witch! -- and she transformed me into my character. My skin’s not supposed to be green; I shouldn’t have pointy ears; I’m not even really a woman! I susvive by hunting and eating small creatures in the forest. My orc blood likes them raw. It’s so gross, but...Look, you just need to leave.”

“Maybe that witch in the cottage can help us!” Abagail beamed.

“It’s worth a shot,” Matthew added.

The green-skinned woman seemed stunning, “Did you not listen to a word I just said? She’s magic, like REAL magic. I have no idea what she’ll do to you, but I literally just told you what she did to me.”

Bureaucracy (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Bureaucracy.

The apartment was just wide enough fit a twin bed. Ian had to walk over the think to get to the only window and only other door. Behind this door was a bathroom, which contained a fixture that seemed to be a stand-up shower and toilet and sink all-in-one. There wasn’t much room for clothes (not like he reallyy had many except for a few things he borrowed); the kitchen was down the hall in a communal area; there was no TV or desk or anything like that.

He thought about asking one of his friend who were now (at least temporarily) rich if he could stay with them. But he really just wanted to be able to go back to his own home -- which itself was being occupied by the person who presently had his body.

The whole thing was starting to feel like something out of a Kafka novel, and his only hope was a return to normalcy as quickly as possible. Somehow.

Tunnel (Part 1)

As Ben walked down the abandoned subway tunnel towards the bright pink light, he noticed the heavy footsteps following him stopped. He turned slightly, not quite looking at his original body, but certainly acknowledging the lack of forward movement.

“Are you scared?” He asked.

Daisy didn’t respond. The quiet was confirmation enough.

Ben continued, “If I could think of any other way to switch our bodies back, I wouldn’t be down here. I don’t even know if this is going to work. All I know is that the magic should be powerful enough to do so.”

After a pause, Daisy finally spoke up. “That’s what I’m afraid of. It’s TOO powerful. Why would it just give us what we want?”

Shoveled (Part 2)

View Part 1 of Shoveled.

Murray couldn’t believe it snowed AGAIN! That had to be the third time this week alone. Quite frankly, he was getting sick of it. He stepped out into his driveway to assess the situation. The snow was wet and heavy, and he was pretty sure there was no way he was going to shovel everything yet again.

So he made two calls.

The first was to his work. He was taking a personal day.

The next was to a plow company. While they were certainly busy, they did tell him they could get to him before the end of the day. He said that was fine, but he was also ready to sign up for the yearly contract. He wanted them to come around EVERY time it snowed; he didn’t want to shovel the driveway EVER again.

Instagram Model

Olivia told Ron not to panic. Quite honestly, it was much easier said than done. They had swapped bodies, and he was stuck as her! His face felt like plastic. He could feel the heavy makeup on his eyes every time he blinked. His mouth seemed to be upturned into a slight smile at all times -- even when he tried to frown.

Olivia, on the other hand, was much less concerned about the actual swap than she was ensuring content would continue to flow to her Instagram. She told Ron he could avoid videos for now, but he should post at least three selfies each day -- and if they could each be with unique outfits, it would be better.

He snapped a quick pic to keep her happy. Olivia actually told him it wasn’t bad for his first try. Ron hoped that would be the only one he’d have to take, but (unfortunately for him) it was actually the first of many...

Doors

It had to be a dream, didn’t it? Except it seemed like Fred couldn’t wake up. He was wondering a building inside someone else’s body -- a woman’s body -- and he eventually came to a hallway. There were a lot of doors, and a voice over the loud speaker said something about picking a door. Then it mentioned that picking the correct door would get his body back, but the wrong door? Well, that’s when the voice became overwhelmed by static and he couldn’t hear any more.

And so Fred wandered down the hallway. He had a chance to get his body back, but there were just so many doors! The likelihood that he’d go back to normal seemed so low. But then again, it’s not like he wanted to be stuck as a woman either. So he had to take a chance, right? And so he opened a door, and...

Historical Shift

Scientists were leaving no stone unturned as they attempted to undo the effects of the Great Shift, experimenting with advanced tehcniques in quantum physics and spacetime relativeity to achieve their goals. What they didn’t realize was that their efforts were leeching pieces of the Shift into the past.

They had no way to know how they were changing the past, as they had already become true in the future. In fact, numerous random body swaps from the past had already been taken into account in the scientists’ work. While most were between two random and relatively unknown people, there were some notable ones.

There had been, of course, a lot of research into Abe Lincoln’s body swap in the midst of the Civil War. Though the scientists looked at significant historical record at the time, they had very little evidence that traced it back to their own work. Most of the time, it was dead ends and the occasional cracking of a “Babe Lincoln” joke. They remained completely oblivious that they were the ones responsible.

Bao Bao

“It’s been a week since we swapped bodies, Mom. You can’t keep doing everything,” Jin said reluctantly, “You’ve been attending my college classes as well as doing all the cooking and cleaning around the house. I guess it’s time I start pulling my weight.”

“But my little Bao Bao,” Jin’s mother replied, “You are a horrible cook, and you can’t even clean your own room. How do you expect to maintain the entire house.”

“Please stop calling me that! It was embarrassing enough in my 18 year old body, but now that I’m in your 50 year old one, it just feels weird! As for your responsibilities around here, I guess I’m just going to have to learn! You’ll just have to teach me!”

“That sounds like more work than just doing it myself! If you really want to help out, maybe you can start wearing some of my dresses or something? I think your father is getting suspicious when you dress my body up like a slob!”

“Oh, hell no! I’m not wearing a dress! And Dad doesn’t care about what you wear; he doesn’t even notice. The reason he’s suspicious had nothing to do with the clothes I’m wearing while in your body, but we are absolutely NOT going to talk about THAT. And he can continue to be suspicious all he wants; I’m NOT going to convince him otherwise.”

Unsubscribe

Just a fun reminder that subscribers on DeviantArt are the ones that REALLY keep this site alive. Seriously. You should all thank them. They are amazing. If you want to be one, I seriously appreciate your support. I realize that this is not something that everyone can do, which is why I appreciate those that do all the more! Thank you! You are all amazing!!!

“Well, look at this little hottie,” Harvey slipped over to see the woman working at cubicle 3F. “Are you new here?”

“No, Harvey. It’s me. It’s Lewis.” Lewis said from inside the body of a woman in a floral dress. “I signed into my office computer this morning, and it was subscribed to this website on DeviantArt. I think it was called Great Shift Captions or something? It was all these short stories with images of men being turned into women. The next thing I knew, I was a woman! I think it was some kind of prank...”

Harvey gave a knowing smile.

“Oh, hell, it was YOU, wasn’t it?” Lewis said quickly going from nervous to furious. “How do I undo this?”

“You just gotta unsubscribe.”

“But it’s not my account! It’s just on my computer!”

How Adorable

What did Daryl do to deserve this? He wasn’t even sure how he had ended up here in this hell-like dungeon. For the first few days, he was at least with his buddy, Al. But then men came and took Al away, leaving Daryl all alone. It got even worse when the food stopped arriving.

Just as he had lost almost all hope, the door to his cell opened. A woman walked in.

“Hey Daryl,” She giggled cutely.

“Do I know you?” He asked.

She pouted. “How do you not recognize me. It’s me, Al!”

“Al? Albert? No way, man. Al’s got graying hair, and is like three times your size. Not to mention: he’s a man!”

“No, Al is short for Allison! At least it is now.” Her giggle returned, which now seemed more scary than cute. “I wonder what your new name is going to be. Daryl’s a terrible name for a girl.”

“I ain’t a girl, and I ain’t gonna be.”

“Oh! How adorable! You think you have a choice in the matter!”

Transcendental Metamorphic Intercontinental Interactive Experience

Edgar had received the invitation for the performance art piece that was billed as a “Transcendental Metamorphic Intercontinental Interactive Experience.” He had no idea what any of that meant or any of the art speak that followed, but he still loved just going to the museum.

When he arrived, he was apparently at just the right position in line for a special participatory experience. He was seated in a chair, told to put a weird looking thing on his head, and insructed to stay still until told to do otherwise.

What happened next nearly blew his mind. The paintings on the wall phased in and out, as if he was teleporting from museum to museum. But he wasn’t -- he was shifting from body to body at other versions of this performance art exhibit throughout the globe. When he was finally told he could stand to make way for the next participant, he realized the long gown and high heels he wore.

He protested. This wasn’t his body! This was a woman’s body! They certainly couldn’t leave him stuck like this.

The museum employee ushering other participants simply smiled and explained that was exactly the way this performance art piece worked.

Socializing

As a commuter student at college, Gerry always had trouble socializing with his classmates. The idea of having a girlfriend was practically out of the question. Yet after one of his classes, he heard some girls complaining about a concert they really wanted to attend.

“21+ shows are so stupid,” One of them whined.

“I know! We’re 18! We’re adults! We should be allowed in!” Another echoed.

“They let 18+ with someone over 21,” The third mused, “But it’s not like we’re cool enough with any seniors.”

"I could help,” Gerry interrupted.

“There’s no way you are over 21,” The first girl scoffed.

“Just bring an extra ticket for me day of show, and trust me, okay? I’ll pick you all up at 6PM.”

When the day of show came, Gerry’s car pulled up to the girls’ dorm room, and the three women were surprised to see a middle aged woman driving.

“It’s me; it’s Gerry,” The woman said.

The three students shrugged and got in the car before heading to the concert. With Gerry along, they weren’t even carded at the door. As the headlining act came on, the girls danced in excitement and cheered on Gerry to do the same. He was sure his mom was going to be pissed about the whole body swapping thing in the morning, but maybe she’d just be glad he got out and socialized for a little while. In fact, with the way things were going, maybe he could go back to the dorms with one of this girls tonight...then his thoughts stopped dead in his tracks. Not with this body he couldn’t!

Next Day Curse (Part 1)

Reed didn’t think much of ditching out on his one-night stand before she woke up. She was in the long line of many women he picked up at bars over the years. Then the strange text came while he was at work. It was an unhinged rant from the woman he had picked up. He wasn’t sure how she had gotten his number, but it was multiple messages about how he was cursed now for what he did to her and every other woman. He just marked it as spam and moved on, barely giving it a second thought.

However, as he stood up for his lunch break, he began to take it a lot more seriously. He was now somehow wearing a skirt...and heels...and his legs were shaven (and much more shapely)! It seemed impossible. He rushed as fast as he could in his new heels to the bathroom to confirm the worst -- the change between his legs. Then he rushed back to his desk to try to undelete the message about the curse on his phone. But it seemed gone for good...

The Joys of Science (Part 4)

View Part 1 of The Joys of Science.
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And it wasn’t just the guys affected by Julian’s potion. Brittany was exactly the type of woman he had been targeting. She often found time to tease nerds like Julian, and she acted entitled and selfish. And yet, she didn’t exactly freak out when she woke up on Saturday morning as a guy. In fact, she saw an upside.

Her dad had always treated her brothers better than her. She had a feeling this was just a taste of what the rest of her life would be like -- with men being treated better than women. But now that she had become a man? Well, the table might finall turn. Perhaps she’d have more opportunities open to her; maybe her opinion would be respected more. At the very least, her dad could no longer treat her differently than her brothers, right?

The Island

Ever since entering the lobby of the island resort, Ingrid had been mostly focused on her larger male body with its hairy arms and rough hands. But, of course, her husband had changed genders, too. She had mostly ignored him so far, yet she soon began to notice how comfortable he seemed to be with being transformed into a woman.

“He’s probably just adapting fast,” The lobby clerk said to Ingrid seeing her concern, “The magic of the island doesn’t just swap your gender on a superficial level, it transforms your very beings. Notice how your clothes changed, too? And your luggage? You’ll experience most of your entire vacation as though you were born the opposite gender. Even your mind will adapt with altered memories. Sometimes it takes about an hour, but I think your husband adapted much quicker. Or should I call him your wife? Or should I say her?”

“Won’t we be just as freaked out about this when we return to normal after leaving?” Ingrid asked.

“Not usually. While you’re here, it’s like your genuinely forget your original gender. And when you return, most people describe it simply as a wonderful dreamlike feeling they’re awakening from. Though in rare instances, people have a natural aversion to leaving without really knowing why.”

“What happens to them?”

The clerk simply smiled. She couldn’t explain that at all; it was just something she had known on her own trip before taking a job at the resort...

Wingman

Evan and I went to the club on that Friday night hoping to pick up chicks. We pledged ourselves to be each other’s wingman. I know it sounds shady, but we both thought it was better to meet women in actual real life as opposed to on the internet. And we had rules to try to avoid being creepy guys -- no inappropriate touching, no cheesy pickup lines. Still, we never had much success, and it seemed like tonight was going to be no different.

We asked two women to dance. They could’ve politely declined or simply said no, but instead they laughed in our faces. We felt immediately humiliated, but fate ended up stepping in an odd way.

Within minutes of our rejection, the lights in the club flashed oddly. Suddenly, I found myself inside the body of one of the women we had just asked to dance. And sure enough, I figured out that Evan was in the body of the other one. I asked Evan to dance, and he looked longingly into my eyes. We kissed before getting to the dance floor

The women in our bodies were furious at this, but what could they do at this point? I got to enjoy a night with a beautiful woman by my side -- and Evan did the same (even if we technically were each other’s beautiful woman).

It was only much later that we’d learn about the Great Shift. How the swapping not only affected the people in the club, but all over. We also had to come with the grips with the fact that we were never going to return to our own bodies. Though considering Evan and I were now in a committed relationship going on several months, I think we were both fine with that.

VHS

Hayley found the old VHS tape left on the kitchen table with a note on it written in her missing husband’s handwriting. It said, “I’m sorry.”

Using an old camcorder was definitely on brand for her husband, who was into retro things. And figuring out the old VCR was a challenge for her, but she eventually did it.

Inserting the tape, she was a little surprised that the video was of a woman, one who looked very scared.

“This is probably going to be hard to believe,” The woman on the tape said, “But it’s me, Mike, your husband. I don’t know how this happened to me; I don’t know why I’m in this body. They want to study me. They’ve already taken my phone. I don’t know how else to get you this message. I hope you can figure out the old VCR. I don’t know if I will ever be back -- if they will ever LET me come back. But know that I love you, Hayley...”

Despite the fact that she didn’t recognize the person on the tape, the patterns of her voice were unmistakable. Somehow that was Mike. He was still alive; he was taken; he was...somewhere.

Awesome

It was the first Comic Con that my friends and I were attending after the Great Shift. I was the only one of my friends to find themselves in a different gender as a result of the Shift, and it’s something my friends the need to mock as we walked from the subway to the convention hall. Mostly, they were making fun of my costume, which was Chun Li, and suggested I should’ve worn her more revealing dress instead of pants.

I sighed and explained, “If I wore a dress, then I couldn’t do this.”

I proceeded to sprint several feet ahead of them (despite the high heels on my feet), briefly running up the side of a wall before doing a backflip into a handstand. I held the pose for several minutes while all their jaws dropped.

My choice of outfits wasn’t an accident. The body I had ended up in wasn’t just a woman; she was also athletic and an acrobat, and had all kinds of amazing skill that came with that. I learned that many of these moves were sort of baked into having her body, which meant I could do things I never dreamed was possible. Dressing as Chun Li was an obvious pick with this ability.

I didn’t care how much my lame guy friends teased me; my new body was awesome!

Soul Orb (Part 1)

How long had my soul been trapped in that orb? I had no idea. Inside the orb, you enter this state of limbo where you don’t really feel anything. You aren’t happy or sad; you aren’t bored or excited. You just exist with time passing as you wait for someone to touch your orb. I guess someone finally touched mine.

I had been a man on the brink of death when I took the risk of allowing my soul to be placed inside one of the magic orbs, and it seemed I was now a woman.

In a body once more, emotions began returning to me. I felt a sense of curiosity; I wasn’t sure if it was because of my new body or a lingering sense of what this woman was feeling that compelled her to touch my orb.

After looking at my own new hand with much fascination, I looked at my former orb. Her soul was now the one inside, and it would take a while to fully charge. I could only hope that one day someone would come along and touch it to release her in the same way she had released me.

Rachel Rachel

“I’m hoping the researchers can get you back to normal today. It was unusual enough when they transformed you into my exact copy, but now it’s completely weird that you picked the exact same outfit as me without coordinating.” Rachel stated.

“But I AM normal. You’re really Daniel transformed into a copy of me; don’t you remember?” The other Rachel stated.

The first Rachel seriously considered it for a moment. She was sure she had all of her own memories and that they were hers. “No, Dan, come on. THINK! You’re not really me!”

“I KNOW I’m Rachel! I remember everything! Maybe we’ll ask the researchers.”

“What if they don’t really know either, and they choose one of us at random to go back to being Dan. Ew. I don’t want to be Dan!”

“I don’t want to be him either!”

“But we can’t both be Rachel, can we?”

“Why not?”

Empty Husk

Finding himself in a cubicle and inside the wrong body, Jude was immediately in a panic. Another person could clearly sense something was wrong and asked, “Is everything alright Naomi?”

Jude guessed that must be the name of this body, Naomi. He wasn’t just in the wrong body; he was in a woman’s body! Considering the heels and the skirt, he wondered why he hadn’t noticed any earlier, but maybe his mind was still reeling with the fact that he was in the wrong body at all.

“I think I just need some fresh air,” He said to the coworker and began wandering around to look for the elevator. Getting to the lobby was a huge relief. He knew this building. It’s where he had been right before this all happened.

Jude found his original body without much difficulty. It was mostly where he had been, but stumped on the ground instead of standing. It was still breathing, but it was also unresponsive. He tried waking it, but it was like his former body was an empty husk with no soul -- which actually made sense considering he was now controlling Naomi’s body. But where had her soul gone? And what was he going to do with his original body?

A.I. Girlfriend

Jackson knew he had been spending too much time online talking to his AI girlfriend. He knew she wasn’t real, but maybe that’s why she was so easy to talk to. Still, he often wished he could take the confidence he had with her and use it in the outside world.

As he logged on for the third time today, the AI girlfriend noticed his sad state. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I wish I was attractive,” Jackson lamented, “Then maybe I could talk to other women as easily I can talk to you.”

“Oh, I can help with that! Do you want me to process the request?”

“I guess so...”

The AI froze for a moment, and Jackson could feel the warmth of the processors coming from his computer. In the next moment, he changed. He still had his scrawny frame and short haircut, but his body had undeniably changed to become female. Oddly, his clothes changed along with him to become more feminine.

“What the hell did you do?” He asked as soon as his computer became unfrozen.

“Well, you were never going to find yourself attractive as you were. You were a guy, and straight guys like you aren’t attracted to men! So I changed you into a form you should find attractive: a lesbian! Do you find yourself attractive now?”

Jackson looked a the small thumbnail of himself on screen and sighed. “I do,” He admitted.

“Now why don’t you go and try it out! I’ll always be waiting back here for you!”

Changing Channels

It was the first thing Dennis usually did when arriving in a hotel room on any vacation, he plop on the bed, turn on the televison, and flip through the channels. His wife Carly never understood why. After all, they’ve got TV at home. Yet she still accepted that this was his ritual.

And on their latest trip, as per usual, he got onto the bed and began flipping channels. And while the TV turned on just fine, when he pressed the channel button on the remote, the show on the television stayed the same while everything around him changed around: the hotel, the hotel’s location, even his and Carly’s bodies! He tried flipping it back to the original, but it only seemed to change it more.

“Honey, the remote’s broke!” He shouted as he continued flipping to try to get back to normal.

“We’ll call the front desk,” she shouted from the bathroom When she walked back into the main room, the changes froze, and the buttons on the remote seemed to stop working.

Dennis was horrified. Of all the bodies he could’ve been stuck in -- he was now a woman! And it seems Carly was now his husband!“I...I...but...” He stammered at a loss for words trying to explain what had happened.

“I know your ritual is important to you, Denise,” Charlie said, “But the front desk will take care of it. Let’s just enjoy our time here, go out to dinner, or something...”

Rerun (Part 6)

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It was like Jenn’s demand managed to manifest itself into being as the next time the light and static appeared, she and Nick found themselves behind a newsdesk. They both instantly realized where they were and hustled into action.

“Call in the B-Team, we gotta bounce,” Nick told the cameraman as he rushed off the set.

Jenn was a little further behind. While Nick was in the youthful body of the female co-anchor, Jess was stuck in the body of the much older male lead.

As they got to the parking lot, Nick realized he had no keys in his pockets (or anything else). Luckily, Jenn came down just in time, hitting the button on a keychain to unlock a sportscar. They sped home together as quickly as possible to grab the remote as they noted the newscast with the backup anchors was still showing on the set.

“Shouldn’t our bodies be here?” Jenn asked.

“Maybe they’ll reappear once we turn it off,” Nick suggested.

But once Nick turned the power off, nothing happened. They both sat there still stuck in the bodies of the two newscasters. Nick turned the television back on, flipped through the channels, but they didn’t get sucked into any of them. Turning it off didn’t revert them to normal; it stuck them in whatever body they were last in. Jenn certainly wasn’t happy to be a 60 year old man; Nick wasn’t happy being a woman. The only solace they could take was that at least they ended up in the real world and not some fictional scripted show.

Spiders

Getting bitten by a spider was probably pretty common, but developing powers from it was straight from the comic books. When this first happened to Kurt, he thought it seemed pretty cool. Though his initial power seemed to be just jumping really high.

As he went off to college, more powers developed, and more changes came with it. As he devloped the power to make webs, his body clearly became more and more feminine. He figured it made sense, female spiders were the ones who spun webs, after all. Plus, now despite clearly being female, he was powerful enough to actually fight crime. He bought a “Spider-Girl” costume from the Halloween store, and he actually set about being a superhero.

But visiting home from college proved to be difficult. While no one at his liberal college blinked an eye at his gender transformation, his conservative parents were far from understanding. They assumed that the college had done something to him. He wanted to explain the truth to them, but he didn’t want to reveal his secret identity (and he wasn’t sure they would listen anyway). Soon enough, they kicked him out of the house and told him he’d have to pay for college on his own...

It wasn’t going to stop him though; he knew what he was now: a hero. Oh, and also a woman.

Dive

There were rumors of a medallion that could swap people’s bodies that was rumored to have been thrown into the bay many years ago. While Victoria and Carter had no idea if the rumors were true, they figured looking for the medallion was at least worth a shot. The pair didn’t have any idea how they swapped bodies, but were looking for any way back possible.

It also didn’t hurt that Victoria considered scuba diving one of her favorite hobbies. She had bought a wetsuit that fit Carter’s body and had dove in yesterday. She struggled. Carter’s body just wasn’t used to any of it. She did her best, but suggested a different strategy today.

As she had Carter dress up in her wetsuit, equip him with all the gear, and drag him out onto the boar, he kept expressing his doubts. But she assured him that she was convinced her body would just know what to do. He still look scared after being fully ready, so she just pushed him in.

Carter never ended up finding the medallion either, but he did find that Victoria was right! Being in her body gave him access to many of the abilities she had built up over the years -- including being a skilled scuba diver.

Produce Flame

A few years, back when I was in high school, a group of girls approached me. They told me they could sense magic in and asked if I would join their coven. As a D&D nerd, the idea that magic really existed and that I might be able to use it was exciting.

However, they explained that there was a catch: only women could use magic. That crushed me until they explained there was an option; they could transform me. It felt like a huge cost, but it seemed worth it for real magic.

I ended up being the most disappointing witch you could ever imagine.

The only spell I could ever seen to achieve was creating a bright light in my hand, similar to “Produce Flame.” The other girls could talk with animals, fly, and do all this other amazing stuff. I made a small ball of fire that extinguished once it fell too far from my fingers. At the same time they kicked me out of the coven, they also told me there was no way to transform me back to my former self.

As such, I had a body with no birth certificate, no ID, no protection of a coven, and practically no powers. Instead of going to college, I joined the circus for a time. However, even they grew of my one-and-only “trick” and eventually let me go.

I still hoped other powers would emerge. That’d I’d master more spells as the years grew on. But so far...nothing. Or, at least, nothing more than my little flame.

Think of the Profit

“Your problem is that you never wanted to monetize anything you ever made. You could’ve been a millionaire...maybe even a billionaire. And now that I’m the one in your body, you will be...or I will be, at least,” A smug Marilyn Liu proclaimed from inside Professor Newton’s body.

“It’s all too unethical to be sold! You’ll never figure out how most of it works anyway! That’s all still inside my brain, no matter what body that brain is now in!” Newton protested while tied up and inside Liu’s body.

“Now, now. I figured out your body swapper machine, didn’t I? That alone should be quite profitable. And one must ask if these ethical concerns exist in the first place, why invent something like that at all?”

“You think I’m the only one to invent body swapping tech? The government came to me with a problem; I built them a solution. But the problem is more out there than you might think.”

“Oh, blah, blah, blah. Luckily, you won’t have to bore me for much longer. The cops should be here soon. There’s plenty of evidence of YOU breaking into MY lab. And I’m sure they’ll be glad I apprehended you myself. Good luck trying to invent anything in prison.”

“I might be more resourceful than you think...” Newton muttered under his breath.

Interned (Part 1)

Not long ago, James was the CEO of this company. That was before all the weird body swapping stuff that took place that caused him to swap bodies with one of the lowliest interns at the company -- she didn’t even have a full cubicle!

And yet he decided not to claim his rightful position as CEO, instead opting to continue the life of the intern. In part, it was simply fun to be able to act young again; he went to college parties on the weekend and classes on the weekdays he wasn’t in the office. There was certainly a lot less pressure as an intern as well. However, the part of it he probably enjoyed most was her loving family. Both of her parents were still alive, and she had two brothers. This was a far cry from James, who had been an only child and never married.

One thing that did strike him as odd was that she never spoke up to rightfully claim her body. He figured she would. Who in their right mind would give up this life?

Medic

“You’re never going to get away with this,” Tanya said weakly from inside the elderly man’s body. It had been three days since he had recited some sort of magical spell causing them to swap bodies, leaving her stuck near death’s door. It had been the first time since it happened that he dared to see her face-to-face. And yet, Tanya saw that her body seemed legitimately shocked by the accusations.

“Look, Pops, chillax, okay? I didn’t ask for this. I was minding my own business on the street when this chick steals my body and dashes off. I’m just lucky I know how to do this nurse stuff from my time as a medic in the army.” Tanya’s body replied.

“That’s my body!” Tanya protested, “Give it back!”

“I would, Old Man, but do you think I have any idea how she did this? You think I want to be a woman? Though I have no idea why she’d want to be a homeless man.”

Tanya paused to think before answering. “Because you won’t be missed if you disappear. And he wants to be a man again -- any man, I suppose. But if he doesn’t like it, he can always swap again.”

“He?”

“This was originally his body.”

The man in Tanya’s body didn’t quite know what to say, but he certainly knew there was nothing he could do to help aside from the general duties of a nurse that he was performing...

Switch or Ditch?

After offering brief condolences to Karen, the host of the game show addressed Carl, the winner of today’s game.

“So, big winner!” The host said as he smiled, “A bunch of prizes and $100,000 cash, but you’ve said you’re a big fan of the show, so we come to the daily question: Switch or Ditch?” The crowd cheered as the name of the show was spoken.

“I’ve thought about it, Alex; and I think I’ve got to Switch.”

The crowed went wild.

Karen began screaming. She knew it was possible, but she never imagined this would happen. No one ever switched. Her screaming continued even after the podiums worked their magic and transformed Karen into Carl and Carl into Karen.

“Wow, always a fun twist when it happens!” The host said now turning back to Karen, who was now in Carl’s body, “This means those prizes and cash are all yours. But, of course, it also means Carl gets to keep your body. However, you now get to come back tomorrow! If you can pull off a victory, the decision to Switch or Ditch will be yours. Let’s give another round of applause to our contestants and tune into tomorrow for another episode of Switch of Ditch!”

YAS QUEEN!

Was Arlo dreaming? Perhaps it was some of technological simulation? Whatever it was, he wasn’t complaining. He had always dreamed of being a woman, but now he wasn’t just a woman -- he was a queen! He ruled over a substantial kingdom with people to handle his every want or desire. He could get any piece of clothing imaginable to wear; he had access to any item he could think of.

It was a dream come true, and he never wanted to wake up. And days passed and then weeks and then months. It all still was! He was still a woman; he was still the queen! And he loved it all!

I Didn't Do It!

The police didn’t believe Mark in the slightest, but Mark couldn’t exactly blame them as he barely believed it himself.

He had been minding his own business as he walked down the street when the woman ran into him head on as she wasn’t looking where she was going. They bumped heads as they fell over, and that bump apparently caused some sort of body swap.

As it turned out, the woman had been running from the officers after solicing an undercover cop in exchange for cash. Technically, this body was guilty while he was innocent. He knew it sounded crazy when he explained it to the police, and he knew it would still sound crazy when he explains it all to a lawyer. But he seriously didn’t do it!

Monday Morning

Connor was already having a terrible Monday. He woke up late; he was out of coffee; his shower was cold -- and then THIS happened! He swapped bodies with a woman!

As he continued to walk to work, he had trouble doing so due to the tightness of his skirt and the height of his heels. He had to take each step ever-so-carefully.

But as he was about halfway there (and even later than he already was), he realized something -- what was the point? He couldn’t exactly go to his office looking like this! He didn’t have his keycard with this body, they’d never just let him in, and there’s no way he could explain what happened to him.

And, sure, maybe he could go to this woman’s workplace, but he had no idea what she did or where she worked either! And why would he even bother to put the effort into HER job? No, he’d slowly make his way back home. He knew the keycode to his door; it’d be no big deal. He could figure it all out later.

The End

If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide there are ways to get help:
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.TALK (8255)
Or chat online using the Lifeline Crisis Chat anytime, 24/7.

I’ve thought about it many times since the Great Shift. Ending it. Ending it all. The train tracks are always a tempting way to do it. Maybe on the third rail of the subway or maybe in front of a passing commuter line.

Everyone tells me how lucky I was in the Shift, about how I got such a beautiful body. But I hate it. I hate the fact that I became a woman; that I am a woman.

At least that’s what I tell myself. Though I often wonder if this body just had some sort of chemical imbalance, which was now my chemical imbalance. I wonder if she was just always like this; if she always hated herself; and if she was looking for any reason to hate herself. The change in gender due to the Shift was just the easy target of that for me.

I also wondered why I tried to hide this. Why didn’t I tell anyone about it? I think maybe because everyone told me I should be happy was part of it. Yet I kept thinking about the end. But as I feel the breeze of the express train rush by alarmingly close to my face, that day is not today.