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SF's "Write Your Butt Off" Competition HD II.5 Remix


AnonymousSpeed

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10 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Just make 'em robots. The opposite of robot is robot.

It's a interesting idea. They can be androids or cyborgs.

10 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Don't worry too much about it. To date I've only written for just one entry. I have performance anxiety for the most part.

Well, I hope you can overcome your anxiety someday.

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2 hours ago, Maof06 said:

Write a story in which a character swaps bodies with someone of the opposite sex.

Welp, I'll try to write something, then probably come up with an excuse to not finish it 65% of the way through!

Hm... I can do some interesting stuff with this...

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16 minutes ago, Benice said:

Welp, I'll try to write something, then probably come up with an excuse to not finish it 65% of the way through!

Hm... I can do some interesting stuff with this...

You can do it, man! Make an outline so you have all the main points of the plot and then start writing. If you run out of time or creativity, you can rush the ending. It is better than nothing.

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On 4/3/2021 at 10:13 AM, Maof06 said:

So... only two people actually read it? Anyone willing to give some opinions about my entry? At least I can boast that I won on my first attempt.

Anyway, here is the new prompt:

Write a story in which a character swaps bodies with someone of the opposite sex.

 

To put it in context: I just read a manga called Shishunki Bitter Change (which I recommend you read by the way), where a girl and a boy change bodies when they're children and stay that way throughout adolescence. While you normally expect a genderbend story to be full of comical and wacky hijinks, this one is more dramatic, where the consequences of leaving your family and friends behind and growing up in a body where you don't recognize as yours are explored.

It’s fine if you go either way, comedy and/or drama.

 

Ah, excellent. I'll refer you back to Round 30 to read while you wait for us.

Speaking of the original post, @AnonymousSpeed I appear to have an extra E in my name in the list for Round 34. If you happen to feel like fixing that I'd appreciate it.

On 4/3/2021 at 12:55 PM, AnonymousSpeed said:

 

To be fair it had some pretty good potential and a killer Mega Ran rap at the end.

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7 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Speaking of the original post, @AnonymousSpeed I appear to have an extra E in my name in the list for Round 34. If you happen to feel like fixing that I'd appreciate it.

What are you talking about? It is your username which is missing an E that is the problem.

 

7 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

To be fair it had some pretty good potential and a killer Mega Ran rap at the end.

I mean, the rap is okay, but I agree that a sequel would have been nice, just to see what would have happened. If the sequel wasn't all that great though, to heck with it. I almost prefer Mighty No. 9's health refill system to E-tanks, but otherwise I think its attempts to reinvent Mega Man took the completely wrong direction from the original pitch.

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18 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

What are you talking about? It is your username which is missing an E that is the problem.

Ah, my bad, I'll get on that sometime.

18 hours ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I mean, the rap is okay, but I agree that a sequel would have been nice, just to see what would have happened. If the sequel wasn't all that great though, to heck with it. I almost prefer Mighty No. 9's health refill system to E-tanks, but otherwise I think its attempts to reinvent Mega Man took the completely wrong direction from the original pitch.

Honestly Ray Mode might be my favorite part of the game now, though I initially thought I would never be able to beat it considering your health drains. The challenge is quite fun, and I appreciated that Ray's weapons were actually tailored to her gameplay instead of just being copies of Beck's. That said, the fact that her story ends on a giant cliffhanger is infuriating, it's like the X series all over again, and I think the artstyle is just a touch hit-and-miss.

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On 4/4/2021 at 4:26 PM, SoulWeaver said:

Ah, excellent. I'll refer you back to Round 30 to read while you wait for us.

Your (non-participant) entry was great, probably the best one.

59 minutes ago, Ottservia said:

The body-swapping in Your Name ends very quickly.

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Ah, Round 30. Interesting one too. Sorry Anon, that it didn't pan out for Round 41.

1 hour ago, Ottservia said:

That movie is great.

4 minutes ago, Maof06 said:

The body-swapping in Your Name ends very quickly.

Well, it was part of the overarching storyline. At least in-universe time-wise they spent swapping for like... what was it again, some weeks/months?

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5 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Ah, my bad, I'll get on that sometime.

Good. You do that.

5 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Honestly Ray Mode might be my favorite part of the game now, though I initially thought I would never be able to beat it considering your health drains. The challenge is quite fun, and I appreciated that Ray's weapons were actually tailored to her gameplay instead of just being copies of Beck's. That said, the fact that her story ends on a giant cliffhanger is infuriating, it's like the X series all over again, and I think the artstyle is just a touch hit-and-miss.

Yeah, it's a mechanically cool idea, although I do wish Ray had a flavor other than "not-Zero" to her. The cliffhanger part is a big whatever for me, Mighty No. 9 was clearly a game with grand ambitions for its series more so than itself so its plot points will only ever be resolved by fanfictions which have no chance of being written by people not in this thread.

2 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Ah, Round 30. Interesting one too. Sorry Anon, that it didn't pan out for Round 41.

It was, I didn't get around to finishing my entry though. I forgive you.

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6 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

It was, I didn't get around to finishing my entry though. I forgive you.

I feel I should've at least done the asking part back then. Ah well.

Admittedly, I didn't felt like I could write for someone like Ganondorf. I did thought up like two ideas. One using OoT!Ganondorf, and the other being Oracle!Ganon(dorf). I was leaning more the latter, to add a comedic touch in that Link braces himself to fight the revived King of the Gerudo, only to find... yep.

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1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I feel I should've at least done the asking part back then. Ah well.

Admittedly, I didn't felt like I could write for someone like Ganondorf. I did thought up like two ideas. One using OoT!Ganondorf, and the other being Oracle!Ganon(dorf). I was leaning more the latter, to add a comedic touch in that Link braces himself to fight the revived King of the Gerudo, only to find... yep.

'Ey, no problem.

Oh hey the Oracle games. I gotta finish those- Link's Awakening is the best one so clearly the Oracle games should be right up my alley. I think that would have been a fairly funny idea- I had a more dramatic idea for that round but maybe it was better not to go through with it.

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9 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

'Ey, no problem.

Oh hey the Oracle games. I gotta finish those- Link's Awakening is the best one so clearly the Oracle games should be right up my alley. I think that would have been a fairly funny idea- I had a more dramatic idea for that round but maybe it was better not to go through with it.

I wish the Oracle gets would get a remake, like LA did. Also, a shame the three-game full plan was too ambitious back then to be done. As in, for you to write, or to suggest to me to write?

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8 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I wish the Oracle gets would get a remake, like LA did. Also, a shame the three-game full plan was too ambitious back then to be done.

I would adore an Oracles remake, and while in a sense it is sad the trilogy idea didn't work out, I think the end product might have been a bit more streamlined (for the better) as a result of just being two games.

8 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

As in, for you to write, or to suggest to me to write?

For me to write. @Benice had given me Saul, which was a very good option, but it didn't end up panning out fully.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 3/5/2021 at 1:29 PM, TheSilentChloey said:

Doing well I'm not always on SF, but I am on Discord with the same username if you'd like a more consistent chat.

your four digit after # ???

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On 4/5/2021 at 6:40 PM, Maof06 said:

Your (non-participant) entry was great, probably the best one.

Ah, thanks.

Probably not going to go with this round, I had an idea hit but it was...not-Ana-friendly, quite dark, made me question my mental health, etc. so I think I'm passing this time around.

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46 minutes ago, SoulWeaver said:

Probably not going to go with this round, I had an idea hit but it was...not-Ana-friendly, quite dark, made me question my mental health, etc. so I think I'm passing this time around.

Mind sharing the idea, just in case? Or I can let not knowing gnaw on me for a while, heh.

Anyway... well, I'm writing, actually writing oh my God... 😮  but I'm not sure if I'll finish it before the deadline. I'm at... let's say, 5/12th of the way with it, I think.

If not at least expect it to be up during the voting phase... if there is one.

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12 hours ago, SoulWeaver said:

Ah, thanks.

Probably not going to go with this round, I had an idea hit but it was...not-Ana-friendly, quite dark, made me question my mental health, etc. so I think I'm passing this time around.

I'm intrigued. What exactly was your idea?

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Hell has finally frozen over, for I'm actually participating again!

Title: Swap Order Mayhem
Word Count: 4063
Fandom: Rune Factory 4

Pre-Notes:

Spoiler

- The following story is going to go with selected choices. Basically on who is the protagonist paired with, as they will be the stars of this Freaky Friday Flip (TM). If you're not a fan of the decision... well, I hope it doesn't mar too much your reading of the entry.
- One thing to bring up right now is on the subject of pronouns during body swapping/transformation. I've seen people deal with them both ways. Some like to keep pronouns the same, taking into account the characters. While others decide to flip them, taking into account they're now in bodies that aren't of the same sex theirs is. Well, since this is for the sake of writing a prompt about body swapping, I'm going to go the latter route, and thus use pronouns in accordance to the bodies they currently inhabit, to emphasize the fact they did body swapped. I expect it might become confusing, maybe, so hopefully you can bear with it s you read.
- I could understand if the piece itself feels like rushing through it. What can I say, I started writing this long after the prompt began, wanted to finish it before the time limit, covering all I wanted to cover, and also since I wanted to make it shorter than my previous entry. Well, that's for you to decide how it ended up.

And now, the story itself:

Spoiler

Pain. It was the sensation Lest woke up to. A throbbing headache that kept his eyes shut and made him grit his teeth.

Ugh, I knew it. Leon did spike the punch, he thought in annoyance.

Just the night before a big event concerning him, the prince of Selphia, had transpired. His bachelor party. The men of town had gathered to celebrate right at the castle; in Lest’s own room to be precise. As it so happened, the former Dragon Priest had done it again in spicing things up.

Just what did he added this time, Lest thought. My body feels so weird; and is something weighting down on my chest?

He slowly moved a hand towards his forehead.

I swear, if things got out of hand, I’ll…

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted. As his hand made contact with his head, so did with his hair. Except, his hair didn’t felt the way it usually did. It felt much smoother and silkier.

What…?

The headache finally numbing down, Lest finally opened his eyes. He winced slightly as he was greeted by the light, but his vision quickly adjusted. However, instead of the familiar stone ceiling of his room, he was greeted instead by a wooden one.

Huh?

Lest slowly rose up, in order to get a good look around. What he saw surprised him. He wasn’t at his room in the castle. Where instead exactly not hard to find out, however, as the presence of many musical instruments about pretty much gave it away.

This is… Margaret’s house!

The musically-inclined elf… and his fiancée. Yes, it was her who was his bride to be. Now aware where he was, he felt himself relax a little, but at the same time, new concerns crept up.

Wait, how did I end up here?

Lest frowned.

And where is Margaret?

Just like how he had his bachelor party, so did Margaret had her bachelorette one with the women of town. Taking place in her own house, which still showed signs of having hosted such a celebration. However, there was no other soul inside but him. Still, just in case, Lest had to make sure…

“Margaret?” he tried to call out, but… “ah!”

His eyes widened in surprise. Though he spoke out, it hadn’t been his voice. It sounded quite melodious, and feminine to boot; but also very familiar…

I sounded like Margaret. Wait…

Lest brought a hand towards his throat, but then froze. His fingers made contact with smooth skin, the lack of an Adam’s Apple very apparent to his touch.

Don’t tell me…

His hand then moved to the side, until it hit something hard. Grabbing it, he brought it up to his face. It was the ornament of a braid tassel. The same one Margaret wore. He let go of the tassel of hair and brought his hand further up, until reaching his ear. He traced it up… until reaching a pointy end he knew wasn’t there the night prior.

No, it can’t be…

Needless to say, Lest was quite sure what that weight on his chest was now, his face heating up at the thought.

His gaze quickly scanned the room, until he spotted the vanity. He quickly sprung up from the bed, and hurried over, stopping right before the mirror. There, staring back at him with an astonished expression, was the face of Margaret. It was quite obvious what that meant.

“I’m Margaret!?” He cried out.

Lest stood there, staring at Margaret’s reflection, now his. Or rather, hers. A shocked expression which brought one thought to mind.

How…?

Unfortunately, there was no answer to be found for Lest. Not here at least. As she watched, her gaze slowly glanced down to where her chest was. Immediately after she quickly glanced away, face beet red.

Ah! Th-that’s not appropriate! She scolded herself. I can’t just stare at my… Margaret’s chest!

But then, she quickly realized…

Wait, but if I’m in Margaret’s body, does that mean…

Her gaze shifted back to the mirror, though slightly to the side. In the direction where the castle would be if her sight wasn’t obstructed. Her brow furrowed in determination.

I have to head back to the castle, right away!

She was about to turn around in the direction of the door, when she stopped.

Wait, is it fine to go out like this?

Not daring to look down, she glanced back at the mirror. Naturally, having woken up in bed, she was wearing Margaret’s usual pink nightgown. Not the most appropriate attire to venture out into town. On the other hand, changing into something more appropriate would mean having to undress. A thought quickly shot down.

“L-let’s not do that…” Lest spoke out loud, face all red again.

Ah, forget it! She thought. This works as good as any dress.

Not that she felt comfortable at that idea either, but the drive to head back to Selphia Castle currently override whatever reservations she still had. That said, her bare feet meant she still had to put on some footwear at the least. Spotting some slippers at the base of the bed, Lest proceeded to head back there to put them on. However, the prior rush of adrenaline over, the full gravity of having a woman’s body and wearing a floor-length garment finally came crashing down. Barely a step Lest took before finding almost losing her balance. She slowed down to a stop.

This will be harder than I thought.

She resumed her march, more subdued this time around, finding a beat to get used to. Lest closed the remaining distance, and upon reaching the bed, she sat down and proceeded to put the slippers on. Once done, Lest rose again and now made her way to the door. She unlocked it but as soon she placed a hand on the handle she stopped. She then took a deep breath.

Well, here goes nothing, Lest thought as she opened the door.

With that, she was off, towards the castle.

---

Meanwhile, at the castle itself in the young prince’s room, Margaret was stirring awake herself. A similar headache coursed through her as she rose to a sitting position.

I think that’s the last time I drink too much… Margaret thought, raising a hand to her head.

However, she couldn’t help but feel something was wrong. Her entire body felt… off. Heavier and places, but also lighter in others, strangely enough. Not to mention, as she massaged her temple, she noticed there was suddenly much less hair than usual.

Huh?

She quickly brought both hands behind, but they only grasped air.

What happened to my hair!?

She quickly shot open her eyes, and immediately she was greeted not by the interior of her house, but rather…

Wait, this is Lest’s room, she realized.

Margaret quickly panicked, the issue of her disappeared hair seemingly brushed aside.

W-what? What am I doing in Lest’s room!? And… on his bed!?

Her face went beet red, quickly turning to the side. However, the bed was empty save for her. In fact, the entire room was empty as well, with no sign of Lest in sight. Though this did far from calming her down.

“L-Lest?” Margaret called out, “huh?”

It wasn’t her voice what came from her mouth. Rather…

I sounded like Lest, she noticed.

She brought a hand to her throat, but to her surprise she felt a small lump.

This is… an Adam’s Apple! Margaret realized, her eyes widening. W-wait, d-does that m-means…

Between the missing hair and now this, she was beginning to freak out at the implication. She quickly glanced down and… sure enough, she quickly found out her hair wasn’t the only thing gone.

Did I turn… into Lest!?

She didn’t have to look into a mirror to be sure of it. After all, who else whose body was she, or rather he, in now.

How did this happen…? Margaret thought. To be in Lest’s body…

He could feel his face heating up again at the thought. At the same time, however, he also felt… something else acting up, down there. Margaret froze up, being quite aware what he had gained instead after this unusual change. He slowly glanced down, at the lower half of his… Lest’s body, still covered by the sheets. Then slowly glanced back up.

Margaret did the only thing he could think of.

“AHHH!”

---

Fortunately for Lest, there was no one out in the streets. Though it was already late enough in the morning, past the times most of the townsfolk would usually wake up to, the celebrations the night prior meant most would have slight delays to their schedules. As such, the prince was able to move along towards the castle without any unwanted delays as fast she could. Not that it was void of anything of note.

Walking in a woman’s body is so… strange, Lest thought.

Though she was now moving faster than when she began, she was still being subdued about it. Paying more attention than usual to the ground to avoid any tripping hazard. At least the nightgown was loose enough the danger of stepping on it was minimal, but she still wasn’t going to take her chances. As it was, however, it wasn’t enough to distract her from just how walking in Margaret’s body felt.

Soon she was in the vicinity of Selphia’s town square, which the castle overlooked.

I hope Margaret won’t freak out too much once she finds out she’s in my body, Lest hoped.

At that moment, however…

“AHHH!”

Lest stopped in her tracks.

I guess not, she sweat dropped.

Definitely his own voice, although…

Is that how I sound to the others? Lest wondered, then quickly shook her head. Never mind that for now. I must hurry!

With that she broke into a run. The danger of tripping shoved aside, she had to get into the castle. To Margaret. Quickly reaching the castle she made a beeline to her room.

“Now now, Your Majesty, everything will be alright,” she heard as she got closer.

That’s Volkanon’s voice! Lest realized, before frowning. This could complicate things…

Dealing with other people was certainly not in her plans. Not yet at least. In any case, upon finally reaching her room she came across the peculiar sight of seeing her own body, sitting there on the bed. Lest couldn’t help but shudder a little.

Definitely weird…

Anyway, as hearing his voice had told her, the head butler was in the room as well. Standing next to her body, his back to her, as he tried to calm down who she hoped was Margaret in her body. Who looked quite shaken, head facing down. Lest honestly didn’t knew how to proceed from here. Certainly make her presence known but…

If only Volkanon wasn’t here, Lest sighed.

“Hm?”

Not planned by the prince, her sigh was loud enough to be heard across the room. This caused Volkanon to turn.

“Oh, Miss Margaret,” Volkanon called out.

Uh uh, Lest was put on the spot.

“What are you doing here this early in the morning?” The butler asked. “And in your nightclothes no less!”

However, Lest’s attention wasn’t on him, but rather, on her own body. Which was now glancing up, altered by Volkanon’s words of her presence. Their eyes met, and time seemed to slow down. She saw her body’s expression slowly went from shocked to confused, then to realization. For Lest, that all the confirmation she needed that, yes, it was her beloved Margaret in there. Before she could say or do something, her body suddenly jumped off the bed, and immediately after Lest found herself being hugged by her own body.

“A-are you…?” She barely heard being asked.

“Y-yes, it’s me,” Lest nodded, hugging her body back.

As she felt Margaret resting his head on her shoulder, she looked over towards Volkanon.

“Ah, yes, I suppose you want an explanation, Miss Margaret,” the butler cleared his throat. “That earlier shout you no doubt heard, was young Lest here waking up from a nightmare.”

“A… nightmare?” Lest frowned, glancing towards Margaret.

“Y-yes, it was a nightmare!” He loudly declared.

“I see…”

Looks like we’re keeping it a secret for now, Lest noted.

“Must’ve been a very nasty one, if I may,” Volkanon continued. “To have left the young prince in such a state. Hopefully not the result of some last-minute pre-wedding jitters.”

He then smiled.

“But it seems your presence is doing the trick in calming him down, oh ho ho,” he chuckled.

But then gained a stern look.

“That said, how did you got here this fast? I, of course, was in the castle already. But even if the shout had been carried all the way to your home, it should’ve taken you much longer to come here.”

“Oh, um… well…”

Lest was at a loss, turning into slight worry as the butler narrowed his gaze. Even Margaret glanced back up, worried as well. But then…

“Ah, it must be the bond of love you two share,” Volkanon broke into a smile as he closed his eyes. “You likely felt it, didn’t you, Miss Margaret. You had to rush over to your beloved’s side in his time of need. Ah, young love! And soon to be wed. It’s enough to make this old man cry.”

And tears indeed began to cascade down from his eyes. The young couple was, understandably, stunned. Before breaking into nervous laughter.

“A ha ha, y-yes, something like that…” Lest nodded, sweat dropping.

She then turned towards Margaret.

“Sounds about right, eh, M… Lest.”

“Uh, s-sure, M-Margaret,” he agreed. “I am f-feeling better now.”

“Well then, now that things are fine once again, I’ll make my leave,” Volkanon said. “And don’t worry Your Majesty, I’ll let Vishnal and Clorica know to not come over just yet. After such a bad awakening, and with Miss Margaret here, it’d be best to give you two lovebirds some time for yourselves and sort everything out, oh ho ho!”

“Understood…” Margaret nodded.

With a last chuckle, the butler then bowed and left the room.

“Um, let’s go sit down before we…” Lest trailed off.

“Y-yes, that’d be… alright,” Margaret replied.

Breaking off the hug, the two walked over to Lest’s bed. Sitting down on the edge, side by side, they kept their postures rigid, looking straight ahead, avoiding each other’s gaze. Margaret even placed his hands on his lap while Lest kept them resting on the bed to her sides. An awkward silence followed.

“S-so…” Lest finally began, “we… swapped bodies.”

“Th-that’s right,” Margaret nodded.

More silence followed, before…

“Oh, Lest, how could this happen!?” Margaret turned to face her, fretting once more.

“I, I don’t know, Meg,” Lest replied.

It definitely happened while they were asleep, no doubt about that. But what caused it… they were at a loss.

“And who could’ve done this?” Margaret continued, before taking a look of surprise. “You don’t think this was an act of revenge from someone in the Sechs Empire, do you?”

Lest shook her head.

“I doubt it,” she replied. “If they were looking for revenge, I don’t think they would’ve resorted to something like this.”

“Then…” Margaret glanced down. “Someone from town, as a prank?”

“Hmm…”

Lest got pensive.

Admittedly, that sounded more likely. There indeed some in town who were… prone to mischief, as it were.

The parties were a prime chance to do this, she thought.

Still, best she could recall, nothing seemed suspicious. Even remembering the possible spiking of the punch was quickly shot down, recalling she hadn’t been the only one who drank from it, yet the town wasn’t in disarray since suddenly everyone found themselves waking in each other’s bodies. Which would’ve been quite obvious by now if that had happened. Not to mention, Margaret didn’t drink from it, unless the same had happened in the other party. So, overall…

“Perhaps,” Lest conceded, glancing at him. “In any case, we must tell them what happened.”

Margaret looked back at her, surprised.

“Eh!? T-tell them?” He asked, fearful.

“Well, I doubt we could pretend to be each other,” Lest explained, “and there’s no need for it. We could easily find out who did it, and if not, they can help find a way to reverse this.”

“I, I guess that’s true,” Margaret sighed. “Though I don’t think I’ll like it one bit.”

“It’s alright,” Lest said, placing a hand atop his. “I don’t like it either, but we can do it, together.”

Margaret relaxed, before smiling and closing his eyes.

“Yeah, you’re right, Lest,” he said.

Lest smiled back, before glancing back to in front of her.

If only Venti was here, Lest lamented, before frowning. Although… she would no doubt tease us to no end about it even long after the fact. But I guess that’s better than just… not.

She sighed.

How I miss her.

Lest shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to reminiscence. She stood back up.

“Now then, shall we?”

Margaret nodded. Immediately after, however, his face made a puzzled expression.

“Something wro…?” Lest was going to ask, but then she too made a puzzled face.

They felt it. A spike of magical energy, in the room.

“What is happening?” Margaret asked, finally standing up.

To their surprise, they saw how an orb of magic materialized in the air right before them. With a flash of light, the orb then turned into a sheet of paper, with something written on it. It remained floating in the air.

“Huh? A note?” Margaret noted, surprised.

Lest tentatively reached out for the note. Taking it, she laid it out before her.

“What does it say?” Margaret asked.

“Let’s see…” Lest cleared her throat. “‘If you tell, the swap becomes irreversible. Have fun in your wedding!’ Huh?

“What!?” Margaret exclaimed.

But before they could do anything, the piece of paper began to glow. With another flash of light, it was gone.

“I-Irreversible…” Lest repeated. “W-Well, at least this is definitely a prank, and nothing more sinister.”

Hardly reassuring, admittedly.

“Not a good prank, if you ask me!” Margaret exasperated, seemingly on the verge of freaking out again. “W-what will we do now…?”

Lest frowned. The note’s contents could’ve been a bluff for all they knew, but then, would they risk it?

“I guess, for now… we will not speak about it,” she replied. “Just in case. We’ll have to act as if everything is normal.”

“Pretend to be each other?” Margaret fretted. “Can we do it?”

“I’m sure we will,” Lest nodded. “We can help each other out on that.”

“But what about… the wedding?” Margaret pointed out.

Now that was the question.

“Um, well…” Lest looked unsure for a bit.

But then, she shook head and adopted determined look.

“We’ll still do it.”

“Huh?” Maragaret was puzzled.

“The wedding, we’ll still do it,” Lest repeated.

Margaret looked at her, a bit incredulous.

“B-but…”

“It’s too late to just call it off,” Lest explained. “Besides, it seems whoever did this, did it with the wedding in mind. Perhaps that’s their intention. For us to go through the wedding like this.”

“So you mean… we’ll return to normal once we’re married?” Margaret said.

“It’s very likely,” Lest nodded.

Margaret still looked unsure, but then adopted the same determined look Lest had.

“Okay, Lest, let’s do it,” he said. “At least we would still be marrying each other.”

“That’s the spirit, Meg,” Lest smiled. “We’re only days before the wedding. Let’s use this time to make sure it goes off smoothly.”

“But what about our usual errands?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. The monsters can take care of the farm in the meantime.”

“Right,” Margaret nodded, “and I suppose we can tell Porco I won’t be playing at the restaurant to focus on the wedding.”

“Don’t you mean I won’t be the one playing?” Lest asked.

Both broke into small laughter.

“I suppose that’s true for now,” Margaret said. “Well then, let’s focus on being able to act like each other until the wedding.”

The next few days passed by in a hectic frenzy for the young couple. Not just in ensuring the wedding could go without a hitch, but also in ensuring no one would suspect of their current predicament. They wouldn’t take their chances on the mysterious note’s word being real or not, after all. Though things were rough at the start, they became easier overtime. Soon, the day of the wedding arrived…

---

Margaret emerged from the castle into the town square, dressed in a mostly white tuxedo. He fidgeted with it, nervous. The span of a few days wasn’t enough to get used to undressing and dressing up in Lest’s body. Volkanon having helped him out with putting on the groom outfit for the day didn’t help matters to his nerves.

Hopefully this is will be the last time I’ll have to do this, he thought.

At least changing outfits was among the mildest things he had to endure through this ordeal. In any case, he walked in the direction of Melody Street, stopping once leveled to it. Thus, he begun to wait.

After a few minutes, he begun to hear the clacking of heels. Then, coming into view up the stairs, was Lest. Looking as nervous as he currently was, and clad in an equally white wedding dress, she made her way over to him. Margaret could feel his heart skip a beat. It may be his body, but knowing it was Lest the one in it right now… he couldn’t help but still feel flustered. Of course, the fact she too still wasn’t quite used to his body, in addition to wearing the dress, served to distract him. Unwittingly finding amusement with Lest’s still wobbly walk despite days of practice, and holding up the skirt of the dress in order to avoid stepping on it. Fortunately, no actual tripping ensued. Taking pity on her, Margaret stepped forward to close faster the remaining distance between them, upon which they stopped just short of each other.

Even at this point, finding themselves in each other’s company while in each other’s bodies remained somewhat awkward.

“So, um…” Lest began, “y-you look… um…”

Clearly, trying to complement themselves while not in their own bodies was proving harder than expected.

“… stunning,” she finally spoke out, blushing.

“Th-thanks,” Margaret, face also beet red. “You don’t look bad yourself.”

He then briefly glanced down and back up.

“The dress is… beautiful,” he added, his expression and voice tone both saddening at the end.

Which made Lest frown, likely knowing why that was.

“Meg…”

“No, it’s alright, Lest,” Margaret shook his head. “As much as I would’ve wanted to be the one wearing that dress, to be in my own body in this day… we knew it wasn’t going to be.”

He mustered a small smile.

“But as I said before, we are still marrying each other,” he continued. “Knowing it’s with you… it makes this whole thing more bearable.”

Lest then smiled as well.

“I feel the same way,” she said. “If this had to happen, to find myself suddenly in someone else’s body… I’m glad it was with you.”

Margaret then dropped the smile.

“Although, as… interesting these past days were, I want for things to go back as they should be,” Margaret said.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure once we go through this, we will,” Lest reassured him.

“I hope so,” he said before frowning, “though you bet I’m going to have some strong words to say to the one who thought this would be funny!”

Lest laughed.

“I’m sure you will. Now then…”

She then walked over to position herself at Margaret’s side, lifting again the skirt of her dress before stretching her other hand towards him.

“Shall we get going? Everyone is waiting.”

Margaret smiled once ago, before grabbing her hand with his and nodding.

“Yes, let’s go.”

With that, they were on their way. The young couple were starting a new stage in their lives. Perhaps not in the way they had expected to, but they cared too much for each other to let it stop them. Confident that their current predicament was to soon run its course, and things would go back to normal.

Whether it did, however, is a story for another time…

Author's Notes:

Spoiler

- So, to get it out of the way... why Lest and Margaret? Well, Lest since I wanted to go with using one of the protagonists, and I chose him over Frey. Since the idea was to go with the whole "swapped just before their wedding". Why with Margaret then? Because she's best girl, of course. XD It's the Lest pairing I like best as well. Not to mention, Margaret gives me vibes that if 4 hadn't deviated from the norm in that department, she would've had the same role that girls like Mist, Mana, or Shara have in their respective games. Even then, the fact Margaret gets four sub-events before triggering her pre-marriage one while other bachelorettes and even the bachelors only have like one or two shows she is still favored to a degree. Also, in the "official" manga, they do get together as well. Okay, to put it shortly, other than personal preference, it's what I feel is the most "default/official" pairing of the game (kinda like ChromxSumia from Awakening, if you will), and thus it's what I feel I should go with. Yeah, I'm like that at times. Anyway...
- As you may have noticed, the whole thing pretty much feels like it got cut short, very cliffhangery, lots of questions unresolved. I decided to do it on purpose. After all, the prompt is about body swapping, so I decided to only write about the immediate aftermath of the fact. Focus more on how the characters react and deal with it short-term instead of exploring who did it, how, and why. Of course, I glossed over a few things that tend to pop up in scenarios like this. Partly to not lengthen this too much, partly I wasn't sure if to write them for something to be read in public. In any case, perhaps if I ever write more to this in another prompt or as its own thing I might finally give out the answers to the queries that came out of this. To give a small hint, though, the title of the work was chosen for a reason. If you've played the game, you might understand where I might be going with this.
- While not outright spelled out, I chose to have the story take place between acts II and III of the game. Mostly since this is the time when Ventuswill is gone. That, too, can be considered another hint.
- Now, for the tone of the work... I'll be honest, when it comes to situations like this, I prefer when they lean more on the comedy side than drama. Not that I don't dislike them. In fact, I find it fascinating when they are dealt with sufficient gravitas. But I guess that's it. With seriousness but not drama, otherwise let's just have fun with it. Alternatively, when it just gets... defenestrated. Which is sorta what I did. After the initial reactions and stuff, I had Lest and Margaret just roll with it as best they could. Of course, perhaps it could change after the wedding itself when they might change back... or not. But for now, that's how it is.

And that's a wrap-up. Finally another prompt I participate. Enjoy it while it lasts. See ya again in twenty prompts or so...!

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44 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Hell has finally frozen over, for I'm actually participating again!

Comin' in with that epic last minute finish like you were me.

I might start preparing a prompt for the next round just to let you know.

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32 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Admittedly, I did planned to upload in the last hours. XD

So much for winning by deault.

Congrats!

Are we still going to have a voting phase?

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1 minute ago, Maof06 said:

Are we still going to have a voting phase?

Likely not? The last time there was a single story submitted, they just got declared winner by default. Then again, it was after the week dedicated to voting passed and there was still only the one entry.

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On 4/14/2021 at 11:17 PM, Acacia Sgt said:

Mind sharing the idea, just in case? Or I can let not knowing gnaw on me for a while, heh.

On 4/15/2021 at 11:02 AM, Maof06 said:

I'm intrigued. What exactly was your idea?

Basically a girl who reads TG/bodyswap fetish stories on DeviantArt gains one magic wish or something like that, then uses it to switch bodies with a boy. When the boy tries to inform others of this problem, everyone simply thinks he's "coming out" so they try to be understanding but ultimately drive him to despair, resulting in him throwing himself in front of a car. The next day, the girl(in the boy's body) sees her own mangled body on the news and sees her tearful parents talking about if only they'd been more understanding and accepting but they didn't know what more to do. She starts having a panic attack, realizing her attempt to live out what she thought was a harmless curiosity resulted in someone's death - technically in her own death speaking from a body perspective - and ultimately ends up killing herself after half-deliriously scrawling "I killed him" on the nearby table. The tragedy of the event is that the people both characters knew ultimately chalk it up to not being "accepting" or "understanding" enough.

It was initially intended to be something of a commentary on the current culture's semi-obsession with Transgender folks, but two issues resulted in me not going ahead with the piece.
First, I ultimately decided that this was in rather poor taste, as simply by virtue of being on the internet my own opinions on that matter are quite unpopular and usually result in people resorting to insults one does not generally say out loud in public. Amazing what a little anonymity can do to people's propriety.
As for the second problem, I can only describe it with this clipped screenshot:

Spoiler

pfft.jpeg.00251af475ea2fef969cb81b25a5504a.jpeg

 

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