Suggestion 2015/07/16(Thu)12:04 No. 656297 ID: 88960e

>Raven-Pendel
Um. You really don't have to do that if you don't want. It doesn't make me feel any better to have it be my fault another person has the wrong body.

>Lily, Ron, are you going to go to school like this tomorrow?
Oh no. Um. It probably wouldn't be a big deal if you missed school. And your grades already suck. But people would notice Lily skipping. And you can't stay home sick, because then you might be stuck at home trying to act with her parents.

You're going to have to pretend to be Lily! (Better get her schedule, pray there are no tests to flunk on her behalf).

*Slightly desperate* ...how long are we stuck, Pendel?

>>656280
It would be pretty simple to call in sick.

Should start answering that question by doing your dang homework everyone. That means being prepared for all of what heroin high and crash can and will do, and also the homework you've all got from school. In the process of figuring out how impossible it is for people that aren't medical professionals to properly prepare for a heroin crash, you may discover that at a minimum Veronica's body won't be going to school. It probably also entails some degree of preparation for what this Silvio or Silvio-impostor is likely to do.
Possibly a related question: How does time work for you normally anyway Pendelion, is it the same as for everyone else? Would it be the same for this presumed-Silvio? Figuring out what he is up to involves narrowing down all four dimensions of possibility for a place to find him, and knowing what his limitations for movement in those four dimensions are would be at least as helpful as figuring out what his agenda is.

>>656280
We should probably ask Pendel if he wants a drink, also talk about how easily you can be switched back to your body after you have done that, also planning on how do the rehab thing is a good idea, things need to be known about how long it takes you to burn through a dse on average and what reactions you have afterwards.

Veronica!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/19(Sun)15:21 No. 656975 ID: 26e769
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Thank you for this update’s art, Apollo!

“Uh… can’t we call in sick?”

Orchid shakes her head. “Sorry, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you alone here, and mom and dad would never believe that Lily and I both got sick on the same day.”

You think it over. “Well, Lily can’t go to school as me. She really is sick. Speaking of which, she needs someone to look after her.”

Raven nods. “I’ll stay home with her tomorrow.”

Lily leans forward. “I feel fine.”

“You haven’t crashed yet. The fact that you can even talk right now is a testament to my tolerance. Anyway, we can’t actually pretend to be each other, can we? It’ll never work. I’m not you, and you’re not me. People will notice.”

“Even if someone does, no one is going to figure this out. Ever.” Orchid scoffs. “Hell, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that you were Lily right now.”

“Yeah, Ronnie, you are me.” Lily reassures you. “No one is going to notice anything.”

“But I’m not you, Lily! I don’t know how to be you! What if I mess everything up for you at school? What if I make people think you’re crazy? How do I talk to your friends? How do I talk to your parents?” You put a hand to your face, and you notice that you’re shaking. “…I don’t think I can do this. I really don’t think I can do this.”

“Hey, hey. Come here.” Lily makes room on the couch, and pats the seat. You sit down, bemused. Lily surprises you with a big, warm hug. “It’s going to be okay, Ronnie. This isn’t forever.”

After a moment, the strangeness of being embraced by your own body fades away. “Lily…” You close your eyes and rest your head on Lily’s shoulder. It feels strangely comforting to be hugged when you’re this small; it’s like you’re a kid again. “Thanks. I’m sorry.”

In response, Lily just hugs you more tightly.

Veronica!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/19(Sun)15:25 No. 656976 ID: 26e769
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You turn to Pendel, feeling a bit better. “So, how long are Lily and I going to be stuck like this, Pendelion?”

“I’m not sure. Until I can figure out what Silvio switched between the two of you, I suppose.”

“What? You said it would just be a day!” You feel panic rising inside you. “How can you not know?!”

“I’m not omniscient, Veronica.” He frowns. “I do have a few guesses, but trying to reverse what happened to you without fully understanding it could kill the both of you, or worse.” He stretches his shoulder, and it makes a loud popping sound. He chuckles. “Ah, new joints always do need a bit of breaking in.”

“You know, Pendelion, you really don't have to be Raven if you don't want to be. It doesn't make me feel any better to have it be my fault that another person is in the wrong body.”

“Oh, please. It’s not my first time being an eighteen-year-old girl.” He sits up a little, breathing more easily. “Besides, the reverse transformation is quite a bit more comfortable, though I think I’ll need a little time before I’m ready to change again. I’ll turn back in fifteen minutes or so, once you’re all convinced that I can maintain Raven’s shape.”

“I’m convinced.” Raven’s voice is shaky. Pendel gives her an apologetic look.

“Is there any way we can protect ourselves from Silvio, or fight him off?”

“In terms of fighting him, you’d best leave that to me. Though I’m not sure as to the extent of his abilities, I doubt any of you will have much luck against him if it comes to a direct confrontation. At least not without a few wishes to tip the scales…” He considers something, then smiles. “Well, that’s an idea. At the very least, there’s one way you might be able to protect yourselves from the aftereffects of any future wishes he might grant.”

“What is it?” Lily rubs her eyes in a tired way.

“Not you, Lily-pad. But for the rest of you, except perhaps Veronica, your memories are currently unprotected, should Silvio make a wish with retroactive effects. Once you make a wish, however, your memories will carry over no matter what.”

“Wait, what are you suggesting?” Raven looks worried.

“I’m suggesting that if anyone in your little band feels like keeping their memories secure, they should consider making a wish here and now.”

I... can't tell if that's a trap or not. I'm probably just being paranoid though.

Wish for Silvio to leave y'all the fuck alone.

>trying to reverse what happened to you without fully understanding it could kill the both of you, or worse
Why do we have to understand it? The metamyriad knows what it did, right? Can't we just wish for it to undo Ronnie's wish? Won't it know what that entails?

>I’m suggesting that if anyone in your little band feels like keeping their memories secure, they should consider making a wish here and now.
...this feels like a trap. Silvio wanted us to make wishes too!

>people should make wishes
People in the current group with unprotected memories are Raven, Orcid, Ikram.

Someone who actually knows the system (ie not Ronnie) should ask Pendel how many wish credits they each have.

The other problem is if we wish now, we might not have the credits to fix the two of them, later. (Maybe Raven could wish that Lily and Ronnie will be fixed, when Pendel knows how? Can we wish for something to happen in the future, rather than now? Would that protect her in the present?).

Is wishing that we (or Pendel) understood what Silvio did an option? That would cut down on the time stuck in wrong bodies. (Possibly we could use Orc for this- she wishes for understanding, Raven wishes for the fix).

We know what Iks would wish for. He should go last though, since it risks messing everyone else up. (And we discussed caveats and conditions the last time we were him).

Biggest wildcard is Orcid. Unless she agrees to make an inconsequential wish to protect herself, or agrees to help wishing for information, she could wish for anything, and her ideas are kind of crazy. Unless she wishes to help Mercy?

Okay, quick check-who has what amount of credits, and what sort of wishes can we make that won't massively dick over ourselves.
I'm thinking something along the lines of this:
Orc: Wish yourself taller, like maybe two inches.
Ikram: Is probably just going to wish his sister back, but word it so she appears in a beam of light, maybe in the middle of dinner with your family. That way, we don't get alternate history shock.
Raven:You're a tough one to pick for...Maybe wish for 20 more dollars or something minor that won't have drastic effects, like getting that last item in a collection that's incomplete if you have one.
I'm also maybe thinking Silvo is using your wish credits in his wishes...Or maybe they're 'free' if you don't mind him garbling the intent of it, like a monkey paw. That actually sounds like a good insulting name for him. Monkey Paw, or maybe Monkey hands. Or just call him a monkey.

>>656983
Orc wishing herself taller would make Lily taller too, though.

...and Ayame appearing in a beam of light seems exactly what we want to avoid. We want alternate history. It's better if the world thinks she was never dead than if it has to deal with or we have to cover up a miraculous resurrection.

>I'm also maybe thinking Silvo is using your wish credits in his wishes
Wish credits aren't real. They're a made up way for Pendel to track what he's willing to give you. He could grant any dang wish he wanted, whenever he wanted. He chooses to make people earn it.

Couldn't just one person wish for everyone's memories to persist, rather than everyone needing to expend a wish?

Uh, lesson apparently not learned: Did nobody notice how confused Wister Wilton is because he doesn't remember the current (rewritten) history of him being instead his twin sister's identical twin sister? Remembering how things were but not how they are is, uhm, bad.

>>656976
Could someone wish for the heroin addiction to go away? Not retroactively.

>>657140
Just stepping in before this causes more problems: Ronnie, don't say that. You're not supposed to know the name "Wister", and you don't know if anyone here besides Lily knows it.

As to the actual point, that kind of depends. I assume most the cast have a vested interest in retaining their current selves / memories, even if that results in some confusion as the world changes around them. (Ayame is the most extreme case- I doubt it would be good to remember being dead for years).

>>657149
Somebody could wish for a fast-acting, comprehensive, no-side-effects cure for opiate addiction, in pill form, to have been recently developed in secrecy, and a that sample of that drug intended for human consumption be mailed to the Wilton household rather than the appropriate FDA testing facility due to a smudged shipping label misinterpreted by the post office's automated sorting machinery. Seems like that could leave the visible past largely intact and unambiguously benefit the future. Might be just a 1-point wish since it doesn't require anything blatantly magical.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/22(Wed)20:47 No. 657595 ID: 26e769
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The stranger in your sister’s body looks worried. “Wait, you want us to make wishes? Like Silvio?”

“Not quite like Silvio. You don’t have to make wishes. It would be for your own benefit, really, but it’s still just a suggestion.” He attempts to shrug, only to have a little difficulty with the motion. He glances down at himself. “Ah. The brassiere. Devilish invention, though I suppose it’s better than a corset.” He mutters.

“So, uh… How many wish thingies do we all have?” You try to remember what he called them back in the car, but, hey, you were half asleep at the time.

“Wish credits?” Pendel blinks. “Bring Ikram here, and I’ll tell you all at once.”

“Sure.” You yell up the stairs. “Yo, Ikram! Get down here!”

A few moments later, Ikram wanders down. He raises an eyebrow. “Two Ravens?”

You point. “That one’s Pendel.”

“Oh.” Ikram blinks. “So, what’s up?”

“Just updating you on your earnings.” Pendel thinks for a moment. “Let’s see, then. Lily and Ikram, you’ve each got two wish credits. Orchid, Raven, you have three apiece.”

"Three?" Your eyes widen. “When the hell did I get so many?”

“You’d be more prepared to answer that question, I think.” He gives you a thin smile.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/22(Wed)20:48 No. 657596 ID: 26e769
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“What about me?” Veronica tilts her head. “Also, what are wish credits?”

“The credits are a form of currency - symbolic proxies for power.” Pendel glances at her. “I suppose I can consider you a new hire, if you’d like. Help people, get wish credits, and use those credits to buy wishes from yours truly. Sound good?”

“What do you mean, ‘help people’?”

“Fulfill the desires of others. Make dreams come true, solve people’s problems, give them peace of mind. How you do any of that is up to you, though the methods you use will affect how the Metamyriad grants your wishes, should you make any.” He offers a hand. “The job’s yours if you want it.”

“Why not?” She shrugs. “I’ve never been that good at helping people, but I’ll do my best. Can we use those wishes for anything?”

“Just about.”

“Could I wish my addiction away?”

There’s a brief pause.

“Certainly. It would take one or two credits, depending on how you choose to have it cured.”

“I’ve been thinking about that, actually, and-“

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/22(Wed)20:50 No. 657598 ID: 26e769
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“Wait, hold on.” Ikram interrupts. “Pendel. You said I had two credits, right? Isn’t that enough to bring Ayame back?”

“It is, yes. Do you want to make that wish now?”

“Yeah.” He steps forward.

“Whoa, hold the fuck up, quicksilver.” You put a hand on his shoulder. “No making wishes until we’ve talked it all over.”

He shakes you off and gives you a glare. “What’s there to talk about?”

“Gosh! You’re right! Why talk about anything? I mean, it’s not like making bullshit not-thought-out wishes has led to anybody else having to deal with unexpected problems.” You gesture at Lily and Veronica. They both look a little uncomfortable.

Ikram sticks his hands in his pockets. “Hey, I have thought it out. I've been thinking about it a lot.”

“Well, before you start fucking with people’s memories, seriously, let’s just talk it over. It’s just the three of us who need to wish for stuff, right? Raven, you, and me.”

“No.” Raven shakes her head. “I’m not going to make any wishes.”

“What?” Lily looks at her, surprised. “Are you sure, Birdie? Your memories-”

“I’m not going to make any wishes.” She repeats, firmly.

“…Huh. I guess that just leaves the two of us.” You scratch your neck, thinking it over. “Uh, let’s see, what do I want? I guess I could wish for a castle or something.”

Ikram looks exasperated. “If you’re not sure, then just let m-“

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/22(Wed)20:51 No. 657599 ID: 26e769
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Wait, quiet!” Raven calls out, suddenly. “Did you hear that?”

“What-“

“Quiet!” She hisses.

Everyone obliges, going silent and listening. At first, there’s nothing… but then you hear the sound of a car door slamming. “Oh shit.”

STOP IT

YOU FIGHT TOO MUCH AND YOU'LL WASTE YOUR WISH CREDITS KILLING EACH OTHER

Okay?

Orchid: Okay, it's kind of a waste, but could I just wish our parents get home late today, and not due to an accident or anything terrible happening, so we have time to finish talking stuff out? (Should be only a 1 credit wish).

Otherwise, just tell the genie to go away before they count the redheads. Shoo! Shoo!

Also, Orc, what about Mercy?

>“I’m not going to make any wishes.”
I wonder if she's so upset by everything that's gone on, this is a kind of surrender or suicide. If she doesn't make a wish, her memories won't be locked, and maybe eventually she'll be changed into someone who isn't as torn up about this anymore.

>>657599
Alright first, tell Pendel to go upstairs. Second, tell Lily hands off, don't want to freak out her mom. Lastly, go upstairs with Ikram to continue the conversation with pendel.

I'm thinking you could cut to the chase and just wish for the group's memories to be protected. Hey, be nosy and ask Pendel why Raven doesn't want to make any wishes.

Orchid, wish for every literate person in the world to effortlessly keep a well-organized journal of what they were thinking on any given day of their lives, the master copy of which is magically legible only to them. This will make all sorts of things easier for everyone with wish-proof memories.

Ikram, wish for the ability to decipher such journals after the owner is dead, and use that to program a flawless copy of Ayame's mind into a cute robot.

Only thing we really have to do is make sure the parental units don't see the ginger doppelganger. Begone, you. Or go upstairs, at least.

And remind Iks to not do anything rushed. If he cares about his sister, and doesn't want to risk fucking her over, he needs to check with someone he thought of everything. People aren't the most objective when it comes to family, as you're a shining example of.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/31(Fri)17:46 No. 659595 ID: 26e769
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You’re the first to leap into action. “Okay! First off, anyone who isn’t Raven and isn’t in Lily’s body, keep your hands off of each other for a bit. We don’t need Mom and Dad freaking out over people cheating.” When they hesitate, you lean over and firmly disentangle them. “There we go. And Lily, remember, you’re not you. Don’t call Mom ‘Mom’ or Dad ‘Dad’, okay, Lily?”

Lily nods. She still seems out of it.

“Ikram, put your wishing on hold for a bit. For your sister’s sake, think things through while we talk to our parents. Pendel, we don’t need any redheaded clones running around. Take Ikram upstairs and wait for us.”

“Certainly.” Pendel stands, then wobbles, almost falling forwards before catching his balance. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” He walks carefully, but then falls face-first onto the floor. He scrambles to get up, with a sour expression on his face. “Well. This is embarrassing. Ikram, be a gentleman and let me lean on you, would you? These new muscles are frustrating.”

Ikram shrugs, then offers a shoulder. Pendel hooks his arm around Ikram’s neck and hangs tight.

“Ooh, naughty thoughts.” Pendel chuckles. “Do try to fight that latent attraction, Ikram. I’m a little out of your age range.”

Ikram rolls his eyes and yanks Pendel off towards the stairs.

“I think I’d better go with them.” Lily puts a hand to her head. “If I know Ikram, he’s going to try to wish Ayame back to life the second they get upstairs.”

“Lily, no, you can’t leave me here alone!” Veronica whimpers. “Oh god, oh god, I’m not ready! I can’t do this! I don’t know anything about - I can’t act like - I’m going to screw everything up!”

“Hey, calm down.” Lily smiles sleepily. “Raven and Orchid know ‘Lily’ about as well as I do. Maybe better, even. They’ll help.” She gives Veronica a reassuring pat on the head. “You’ll be fine.” With that, Lily turns and heads upstairs.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/31(Fri)17:48 No. 659596 ID: 26e769
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>Okay, it's kind of a waste, but could I just wish our parents get home late today, and not due to an accident or anything terrible happening, so we have time to finish talking stuff out? (Should be only a 1 credit wish).

You consider wishing that your parents would have gotten home later, but you’re a bit worried that a wish like that might end up delaying them by causing the next 9/11 or whatever.

You poke Veronica in the shoulder to get her attention. “One more thing, Ron. I know it’s going to be a pain, but don’t act too distant with Raven. Mom’s been a real bitch recently, and I don’t want to give her any ammunition. Think of it as a play, if it helps. You’re playing the part of Lily, Raven is playing the part of Lily’s girlfriend, and they love each other very, very much.”

“But…” Veronica looks up at Raven. Raven looks down at Veronica. Veronica quickly stares at the floor, blushing.

…you really hope that you’re misinterpreting that, but you don’t have much time to think about it. You get distracted by the sound of footsteps just outside the front door.

“Here they come.” Raven puts her arm around Veronica and gently gives her a one-armed hug. “You can do this, Ronnie.”

Veronica just stares at the door, shaking. Then it opens, and Mom and Dad walk in.

“Hi. Welcome home.” You call out, waving.

“Welcome home!” Veronica echoes. Her voice cracks a little.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/07/31(Fri)17:48 No. 659597 ID: 26e769
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Mom doesn’t respond. She stands still for a moment, staring at Veronica, then she rushes up to her, hugging her to her chest. “Oh, god, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Veronica gives you a confused look. You shrug, just as clueless.

Incoming explosion. Just wait for the boom.

Stay quiet and let eL's mother explain. Then proceed to hug vicariously.

Followed by an immediate full squad retreat to eL's room.

>>659597
Whoops time to remember the thing that happened at drama club and leaving school early and all that jazz.

Play it down but be vague until you figure out what assumption mom is working off of. What did she hear?

play it cool.

>Think of it as a play, if it helps.
Huh. Come to think of it, body swapping hitting the drama club is pretty far from the worst case scenario.

>Oh, god, I’m so glad you’re okay!
Uh-oh. Either she somehow heard her kids cut the end if school, or she somehow heard about Lily's screaming freakouts.

I think this is on you, Orc. I don't think Ronnie can handle this on her own.

No, no, play it like a normal person: She said, "I'm glad you're okay," which is not a normal greeting for anyone.
"Uhhh, I'm pretty sure I'm okay, yes, what happened?"

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/15(Sat)14:16 No. 662697 ID: 3bc92d
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“Yeah, she’s fine, mom. Why are you so worried? What’s up?”

“We were scared out of our minds.” Mom still holds Veronica close to her chest. Veronica gives her a feeble, halfhearted hug. Mom eases away, trying her best to look reproachful. “Why on Earth would you skip school like that?!” It’s funny how she gets more bitchy when she’s trying to be ‘motherly’. Does Mom think that parenting is about being an asshole?

Dad walks in, closing the door behind himself. “We got a call from your English teacher. He said you broke out screaming and crying in class, and he told us to meet him at school to discuss what happened with you. When we got there, though, you were gone.” Dad puts a hand on Veronica’s shoulder. “If you hadn’t been here, we were going to phone the police. Why didn’t you answer any of our calls, sweet pea?”

“I, uh…” Veronica stares at the floor, helpless.

“She’s been having some trouble with her phone.” You speak up. “I was with her pretty much the whole time, and we didn’t hear it ring.” You hazard a guess and assume that Lily didn’t charge her phone, since she can’t unlock it anyway.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/15(Sat)14:17 No. 662698 ID: 3bc92d
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Thank you for the art, Apollo, you wonderful person!

“Yeah… Yeah!” Veronica nods enthusiastically. “My phone - it’s been really glitchy. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She hesitates. “Sorry, m-mom. Sorry, dad.” Veronica adds it as an afterthought, and she speaks the words strangely. Then again, if you had to call a stranger ‘mom’, you’d probably have some difficulty with it too.

“Lily…” Dad gently turns Veronica’s head so she meets his eyes. “What happened today? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Veronica shrugs. “I just, uh… look, can we talk about this later?”

“No.” Mom crosses her arms.

“Acacia, please.” Dad sighs, then smiles weakly. “We’re here if you need us, Lily. Always. If you ever feel like talking, sweat pea…”

Something about that makes Veronica frown and look away. “…Thanks.”

Dad pulls her into a warm hug. “We love you, Lily. Don’t forget that.”

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/15(Sat)14:19 No. 662699 ID: 3bc92d
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Apollo also provided the art for this panel, though I edited it a bit. Thanks, Apollo!

When he lets her go, Veronica is crying. She tries her best to wipe her eyes, but she just keeps sobbing. “This isn’t fair. I can’t - I can’t do this.” She looks directly at you, tears streaming down her face, her expression utterly miserable.

Mom and Dad look shocked. “Did I do something wrong?” Dad shifts his gaze between the two of you.

Veronica shakes her head, still crying. “It's too much. I’m sorry, but it’s just too much.” She keeps looking at you, as if pleading for a way out.

...There...Is no good way outta this I think. And worse yet she's gonna feel like the absolute worst for breaking down like this.
...This is going to sound absolutly bonkers as far as ideas go, but what if we just...came clean about the Veronica body-swap thing?
She's not actor enough to play as Lily, and besides which, Lily has been acting weird for a few days, so hopefully this will help provide some...'cover' so to speak for Wistera to get more into the swing of things.

>>662699
Say she had a nightmare about switching into someone elses body and stealing their memories, now she thinks it might have actually happened and everything she knows is a lie.

Existential crisis.

>Does Mom think that parenting is about being an asshole?
Hey, maybe it's the only way to get through to asshole teenagers. I mean, geeze, look at the way you deal with most teenagers.

>You hazard a guess and assume that Lily didn’t charge her phone, since she can’t unlock it anyway.
Really should take that to the store and tell them she can't unlock it anymore, one of these days. There's probably a way they can reset it, so long as you can convince them it's not stolen. (And if you have a receipt and/or are paying for phone service, that's probably enough).

>“It's too much. I’m sorry, but it’s just too much.” She keeps looking at you, as if pleading for a way out.
Fuuuuck. I knew the parents were gonna be the hardest part for her. I was counting on school incompetence meaning word of weirdness didn't make it's way back to them this quickly. She might have made it if she could have just been quite and subdued at diner or something.

Telling them the truth seems a terrible idea. Lily said your Mom left before the wish. If she finds out about magic, it'll eventually come back to why Lily made a wish in the first place, and it'll happen again. You're not letting her put Lily though that again. That, and you don't trust what she might wish for if she finds out she can. She might wish to "fix" you and Lily or something horrible.

...Dad's enough of a weirdo to maybe get it, but still.

(I guess truth-telling could be constrained to the swap, without revealing we know how it happened? It's unlikely we'd be able to keep the rest secret then, though. And we risk them just not buying it).

Problem is, I don't know what story you can give that will make this stop being a problem. Calm your parents down, make Ronnie stop breaking down. Not screw up Lily's life after. (You can't let them think she's crazy, for instance). And right now, this is screwing with Lily's relationship with her parents. Dad thinking he made her break down like this isn't cool.

You could try and take the hit yourself? Pretend the two of you twin-switched for the day and it backfired terribly? ...no they'll never believe that's 'Orchid' broken down in tears and not 'Lily'. Too complicated, and Ronnie would make an even worse you than she makes a Lily. No spine.

Orchid can't even just be the bigger distraction. "I made out with a girl today!"

Maybe the best thing is to just get her out of there? Hug her, pretend you're comforting your sister, see if you can take her to your shared room?

A few extra hugs to ease the pain. From Ikram and eL and you. Raven does a stupid dance for your entertainment.

Veronica might be experiencing psychological withdrawal from heroin. The good news is that since eL is the one with the physical addiction, you can split the rehab. Maybe going cold turkey won't be fatal because of the specialized circumstances of separating physical symptoms from neurological ones.

>>662699
Okay. Wait. Why is she freaking out. It's one thing to be hard to keep an act in front of angry parents, but ask yourself why she broke down when dad was nice?

...oh right. Cause she's a homeless drug addict, and that only could have happened if her parents were terrible, probably.

That's your problem. The crappy druggie feels like shit and can't stand being subjected to someone else's good life. Get her past that, keep dad from getting too huggy and nice, and she can keep going.

Tell Lily's parents that there actually is more going on, but make them promise to take it seriously without freaking out, and to let you finish the whole story before asking any questions.

Then, explain everything you know about Pendel, a wish-granting demon who claims to be older than the concept of death, and his mysterious rival. This whole misadventure could really use more competent adult supervision.

Worst case, you can just wish that this conversation had gone differently, right?

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/21(Fri)00:20 No. 664278 ID: 3bc92d
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“Hey, Mom, Dad, is it alright if Raven and I talk to Lily on our own? She’s in kind of a weird place right now.” Before either of them can respond, you move closer to Veronica and give her a gentle hug, pulling her away from your parents and into a huddle. “You okay, Ron?”

Raven joins you. She glances over at your parents, then gives Veronica a bigger hug. Ron seems to calm down a little bit at that, but she’s still sniffling.

“My parents were never that nice.” She hiccups out another sob, and more tears run down her face. “No one’s ever cared so much about me.”

“I care about you.” Raven ruffles Veronica’s hair. “Lily cares about you, too.”

“How could she still care about me? I stole her body.”

“Don’t be silly. She’s not the kind of person who would get mad over a mistake like that. You didn’t know what you were doing when you made the wish, anyway.”

“No, I didn’t know then, but - but every minute I spend in Lily’s life makes me want to keep it.” She stares at the floor and starts sobbing again. “I’m such a terrible person. I’m the most awful bitch. I’m-”

“Hey! Hey…” Raven holds Veronica’s head to her chest, though Raven looks noticeably unsettled. “You’re not a bitch, Ronnie. You’re just in a bad place. Once you get back into your own skin, things will get better, I promise.”

“You can’t stay as Lily, either.” You point out. “You just can’t.”

“I know that, I do.” Veronica wipes her eyes, sniffling. “But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to.”

You feel uncomfortable, but you choose to ignore your constant worry that you’ll lose what little remains of your real sister. “is there any reason I shouldn’t tell Mom and Dad about the swap?”

“What?!” Veronica’s eyes go wide.

“I, uh… I don’t know.” Raven shrugs. “I think there was a reason, but nothing’s coming to mind right now.”

“What will they think of me?” Ronnie looks into your eyes, scared. “Will they hate me? I’m a stranger in their daughter’s body. Would they even believe us, if we told them?”

“I don’t think that they’d think it was a joke, or anything like that.” You shake your head. “Dad’s the kind of person who would take this kind of thing seriously, but he’d want proof. Mom’s pretty spiritual, so she actually might believe it more easily. As for how they’d feel about you… I don’t hate you. I don’t think that they would either.”

Veronica seems surprised at that. After a short pause, she nods. “Whatever you want to tell them, I’ll go along with it.”

“Thanks. Just give me a few seconds, I need to think this over.”

>>664278
Well there was the fact that Pendel doesn't like having his existence exposed to too many people. You'd have to talk to him about it first.

Why bring up Pendel? If you're going to say that there was a mind swap just leave it unexplained and claim ignorance. Truthfully we don't know much about how it happened or why anyway.

Waaait... wait just a second. Does ANYONE want Veronica's original body back? Anyone at all, anywhere? Could we just change the body Lily's mind is currently stuck in to match Orchid's again, incidentally reversing the effects of opiate addiction in the process, and leave Veronica as a mysterious separated-at-birth triplet?

>>664367
no. thats a terrible idea. avoid fucking with the timeline you nerd

Hrrrm...
Spiritual? What sort of Spiritual exactly?
So like, depending on what the mother believes, we might be able to disguise the cause of this as being some sort of woo-ish event that can't be repeated.
This not only potentially gives cover to Veronica, but also helps out Wistera since now she might get the 'breathing room' to ask around what she was like before to calibrate and ease her transition into this new life.

>every minute I spend in Lily’s life makes me want to keep it.” She stares at the floor and starts sobbing again. “I’m such a terrible person
It's not wrong to want something better for yourself. I don't think you're going to cross the line where you hurt someone else on purpose because of that.

>>664300
The biggest problem with leaving out the genie and wishes is that then we have no good reason to be sure the switch is temporary and reversible. That means the Wiltons will be rather more worried than we are, and worse, might start looking for their own solutions. (Especially bad if either of them idly says "I wish..." aloud while Silvio is still in play).

Another snag is the only real way for Mom and Dad to confirm Lily's identity is to question her. And she's all silly and high now. And like the first period / coming out memory with Orcid, they might ask about things they think 'Lily' should know, but she actually doesn't.

Distant tertiary concern is that if they know, Lily's probably not going to be left alone with Raven, so they're still not going to have a talk they really need to have.

This is all kinds of messy, but I really can't think of something else to tell them that doesn't have messy long term consequences for Lily anyways. (At least this way we might get math-Dad helping us with some of the metaphysics). I wish have a strong desire that I could, though.

>>664367
Veronica want her body back, I'm pretty sure. She just doesn't want it back full of drugs and her life her body lives to suck.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/22(Sat)14:46 No. 664501 ID: 3bc92d
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>Spiritual? What sort of Spiritual exactly?

Mom believes in a mishmash of stuff. It’s sort of like Native American spirituality lite, with sprinklings of paganism and Christian dogma mixed in. She’s not really a devout believer in anything, but she’s definitely the most religious person in your household. Occasionally she’ll go through episodes where she talks about things like ‘auras’ or ‘karma’, and it always annoys the hell out of you.

“Okay.” You smile, trying to look confident. “I’m going to go get Lily. Stay here with Raven, Ron, I’ll be back in a moment.” You pause briefly. “It’s okay to want things to be better, you know. I might have been harsh before, but as far as I can tell, you’re not a bad person.” You give her a small comforting shoulder-pat, then you turn and run to the stairs.

“Uh, Orchid?” Dad calls after you.

“Mom, Dad, we’ll tell you what’s going on in a moment, I promise. Just hold on for a little bit longer.” You zip up the stairs before either of them can say anything, and open the door to your room. Ikram and Lily are hanging out on the lower bunk, while Pendel is lazily playing with his hair. It looks like there were in the middle of idle conversation.

“Lily, we’re telling Mom and Dad about the swap. Ron couldn’t handle pretending to be you.”

“Whoa, really? We’re telling them?” Her eyes turn to Pendel.

“Interesting.” He says, sounding a bit silly with Raven’s voice. “She’s going to try to leave me out of the story. I approve. No complaints here.” He shrugs.

“Ikram.” Lily turns to him, looking stern. “While I’m gone, don’t wish your sister back, okay? You can do it after we do this. Retroactive wishes kind of… interrupt things, if mine was any indication, so please wait, okay?”

Ikram shrugs.

“Ikram…”

“Don’t worry, he won’t do it.” Pendel laughs. “Also, he thinks your new body is attractive.” Ikram punches Pendel in the arm, hard. “Ow! Hey, don’t wound my dainty lady-limbs! You’re such a rude young man in this world. I liked the other one better.”

Ikram gives Pendel an odd look. Out of the corner of your eye, you catch Lily looking shocked, but when you turn to look at her, she’s normal. She stands, less wobbly than before. “Let’s go.” You offer your shoulder for her to lean on.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/22(Sat)14:48 No. 664502 ID: 3bc92d
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You head back downstairs.

Lily immediately rushes over to Raven and Veronica. “Ronnie, are you okay? What happened?”

At the sight of Lily, Ronnie looks like she’s going to start crying again. “Your parents… your parents are really nice, Lily.” She keeps wiping her eyes, and she’s so choked up that she can barely speak. “I wish -“ She cuts herself off, slapping a hand to her mouth. “I mean… if I still had a family, I would want it to be like yours.”

Lily hugs Veronica. Veronica cries. You sigh and wait for the waterworks to pass. Once Veronica’s calmed down a bit, you clap your hands once to get the swap-ees’ attention. ”Okay. Let’s do this.”

You pull Veronica and Lily forwards. Mom and Dad look completely nonplussed. They look at Lily. “Who is this? Girls, what’s going on?”

You search for words, not quite sure what you should say. How exactly are you supposed to explain this?

>>664502
Introduce lily to them, then reintroduce Veronica.

Say this is why Lily was screaming in class. Just gloss over exactly why it happened, go "I dunno, maybe a wizard did it." I'm not sure how to prove it. Veronica has the proper memories, but Lily doesn't, aside from the past few days.

...maybe Lily can use those recent memories?

>How exactly are you supposed to explain this?
Half formal introductions, half silly beauty show.

Mom, Dad, may I introduce to you to your daughter, Lily Wilton. Tonight she's wearing Veronica Diez. And over here, we have Veronica Diez, wearing Lily. Lilly, Mom Dad. Ronnie, my parents.

(And obviously you have to gesture to whoever you're introducing at the time).

So yeah. Inexplicable freaky friday shit happened and Lily caused freakouts. That's why we pulled them the hell out of school.

Then kick back and watch the disbelief and chaos. (When your parents disbelieve, your response should be: "try 'em").

This is going to get weird fast.

Just tell them about Veronica's addiction and how she was kicked out of her own house. eL... had her own issues recently and decided to make friends. She'd like to stay.

As family.

The good news is, she's willing to take up a contract, do some work, act as a dependent.

The bad news is that her asshole ex-boyfriend (Silvio) is stalking everyone around her. It won't stop even if they kick her out, he's fixated on ruining random people for fun.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/23(Sun)21:40 No. 664739 ID: 3bc92d
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“Okay, Mom, Dad, this is going to sound a little nuts, but you have to promise to take it seriously, okay?” You wait. “Okay?” You repeat.

Dad nods, then prods Mom. After a beat, Mom nods too.

“Alright, then!” You gently push Veronica aside, then flourish at Lily. “Allow me to introduce your daughter, Lily Wilton. She’s wearing the body of Veronica Diez. Speaking of Veronica Diez…” You gesture at Veronica. “Veronica is over there, in the body of Lily Wilton. Veronica, meet Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad, meet Veronica.”

“Hi.” Veronica waves weakly. “Pleased to meet you. I’m really sorry that I’m in your daughter’s body.”

Lily sighs. “You don’t have to apologize, Ronnie. It’s not your fault.”

“But Lily-!”

“Wait.” Mom blinks. “I don’t understand.”

“Me neither.” Dad looks between Lily and Veronica. “What are you talking about?”

You shrug. “You were wondering why Lily broke out screaming in class? Turns out that wasn’t Lily. Ron realized she was in the wrong body, and she freaked.”

“Wrong body?” Dad looks bewildered. “What do you mean, ‘wrong body’?”

“It’s me, Dad.” Lily says, quiet. “I’m in Ronnie’s body, but it’s me. I’m Lily.”

“Excuse me?” Mom mumbles.

“That’s not possible.” Dad shakes his head, his face pale.

“You’re a scientist, Dad. A mathematician. You can’t just say that things are impossible. You have to prove it.” Lily walks right up to Dad, a serious look on her face. “I’ll give you proof. Ask me anything. Do whatever you need to do. I’m your daughter, on the inside. I’m Lily.”

“And I’m not.” Veronica adds. “I don’t know how I can prove it, but… my name is Veronica Diez, I’m eighteen years old, and I’m a friend of your daughter.” She fiddles with her clothes, looking very anxious. “We switched bodies.”

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/23(Sun)21:41 No. 664740 ID: 3bc92d
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“Wait.” Dad puts a hand to his head. “Slow down. You’re saying that you’re Lily?” He points to Lily.

“Yeah, Dad. It’s me.” Lily is practically pleading. “Please believe me.”

“If that’s true…” He looks like he’s utterly lost. “This is so strange. I don’t understand.”

“Ask me a question that only I would know the answer to, Dad.”

Lily’s clear command pulls Dad out of his stupor. He thinks for a moment. “I bought Lily a stuffed monkey when she was nine. What color was it?”

“Mr. Jummytum? He’s purple. I still have him somewhere.”

Dad’s eyes go wide. He’s silent for a while, thinking up another question. “What was the first book Lily and I read together after she turned thirteen?”

“Um… Oh! ’A Short History of Nearly Everything’.” Lily dutifully recites. “We kept switching off on who was reading aloud. I got every other chapter.”

“Oh my god.” Dad stumbles over to the couch and collapses, face blank. “Oh my god.” He repeats dumbly. “It’s really her, Acacia. I don’t know how, but it’s her.”

Mom strides over and stands in front of Lily. Mom stares at her, as if sizing her up. “Haash yinilyé?” You recognize it as diné bizaad - Navajo. Mom tried to teach it to you and Lily when you were younger. You never really got the hang of it, but Lily had managed to learn a few phrases.

“Shí éí Lily yinishyé.” Lily stumbles over the words a bit, and she seems unsure of herself as she says them. After a moment, she continues, smiling softly. “Ayóó ánííníshí, Mom.”

Mom stares at Lily for a full minute. Lily bites her lip, obviously nervous. Then Mom slowly reaches her arms around Lily and holds her close. “I love you too.”

Lily hugs back, relief washing over her face. “Thank you for believing me.”

“Are you okay? You’re not in pain or anything like that, are you?” Mom’s tone is concerned, even gentle, for once. If she was like this all of the time, you think you’d like Mom a lot more. “God, Lily, what happened to you?”

“We don’t know. It just did. My stomach and my head hurt, then everything felt like it was shaking, then it was like I was blind and flying through darkness at a thousand miles per hour, but then it all stopped, I looked down, and I was Veronica. Sorry for skipping school, by the way, but we didn’t know what else to do. We were all freaked out by the switch, and Ronnie is really, really sick - I’m sick, now - so we came home right away.”

“Sick? How sick?” Mom’s voice is worried. “Should we take you to the hospital?”

Lily glances back at you and Veronica, as if she’s not sure how to respond. Veronica looks to you, equally unsure of what she should or shouldn't say.

>>664740
It's um, a private issue. It should be fixed in a couple days, don't worry about it. (WISH IT AWAY)

>>664740

Wait, is Lily mentioning the eventual heroin crash that she's going to have in Ronnie's body? Saying that's she on drugs is probably hospital worthy. I mean, Veronica could have had enough of that drug that her body might just give up soon. Shooting up again is not an option. It's not viable and it's life threatening.

Switching back quickly or not, if her body can't take it anymore or dies, that's it. Game over and someone will have to spend a wish to revive you. It's better to be safe than sorry, no matter the repercussions of more people finding out. Veronica's parents finding out her daughter's in the hospital, possibly having to tell them about the body swap if they come, which I'm against, and further spreading the word of Metamyriad than it already is when we probably shouldn't be getting the attention of it. We want to help Veronica because she's messed up and got nowhere to go to, right?

Though, I don't know how everyone feels about using a wish to remove such an addiction, and fix the damage to the body. Either way, it should be discussed sooner rather than later with any party really.

This isn't the full truth, of course. Tell them that. Tell them that they need to get used to crazy, not just to mitigate the frustration, but because the level of insanity this reaches would break their minds.

Like Veronica's parents.

What they need to know is that the person responsible for this is a stalker. You've got another friend, Pendel (don't say his full name yet), who is your main contact to the world of weird. Unfortunately, he has an ex-boyfriend Silvio who is powerful and sadistic. He can hire anyone, go anywhere, and he's fixated on beating his personal best for wanton chaos and destruction - starting with anyone Pendel has been in contact with. Obviously he had something to do with all this.

Explain as little as you can about how because you don't want your parents caught up in the fight between Silvio and Pendel. It isn't even lying to say we don't know how Pendel or Silvio make these things happen, so we can truthfully say, "Regarding how, well, we don't really know. The last thing Veronica remembers before this happened was wishing she weren't herself, so for all we know it's some crazy fantasy nonsense like evil genies."
Also, because the parents are scared, worried, and won't let up until they know what 'sick' means we have to tell them. They want something to do about their daughter being in trouble, and this will give them something they can do.
"Her creepy uncle got her addicted to heroin so now I'm currently high. We've been confused about what to do about this because neither of us are properly ourself. Her parents couldn't afford rehab and just kicked her out so she's homeless right now too."

>“Sick? How sick?” Mom’s voice is worried. “Should we take you to the hospital?”
Uh, shit. I think we have to be honest, again. We're not gonna be able to hide that effectively (sans wishes), they're really going to be paying attention to her, and if they catch us in an obvious lie we loose all credibility.

*Sigh* She's not sick. She's high. Ronnie's life is kind of fucked up now. Dad, she flinched away from the nice guy routine because her parents are jerks who kicked her out instead of frigging trying to help her.

(Refuge in Orcid-bluntness)!

>>664794
Nope. No mentioning anyone being responsible. Just don't address the magic, Pendel or Silvio ot all.

Yes a hospital would be appropriate. Veronica, please explain the basics about your family.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/27(Thu)11:10 No. 665298 ID: 3bc92d
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You sigh. “She’s not sick, mom. She’s high.”

Mom and Dad both turn with a start. “Excuse me?!”

“I’m sorry!” Squeaks Veronica. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody else.” She shivers and cries a bit more. “It’s heroin. Lily’s high on heroin. I’m - I’m addicted to heroin, and now Lily’s addicted instead.”

“No…” Mom’s face is transfixed with shock. “No!”

“This has to be a nightmare.” Dad mutters, pale. “This doesn’t make any sense. None of this makes any sense.”

“It’s not that bad.” Lily speaks up. “I’m okay, really. I think the high has almost passed, too.”

“Lily, stop saying that. You haven’t crashed yet.” Raven puts her hand on Lily’s shoulder. “You do know how serious this is, right?”

“Yeah, I… I guess so.” Lily shakes her head. “But, honestly, you don’t have to worry about me so much.”

“That’s it.” Mom walks to the door and opens it, standing aside. “We’re going to the hospital, now. Basil, you have the keys. Get up.”

Dad stands up silently.

“Lily, Orchid, Raven, and…” Mom hesitates. “Veronica. All of you, into the car. Let’s go.”

You glance at the stairs. Ikram and Pendel are still up in your room.

Yeah. Great. Let's just make a big deal out of something that would take 5 minutes to wish away. Now either Lily/Veronica has to sit in rehab for the next few months or we wind up doing a retroactive wish to eliminate the fact that we said anything about it. There's no in between here! Even if we wish away the long-term effects of the drug while she's in rehab, they will still keep her there until they're sure she's better! REHAB IS NOT A SHORT TERM SOLUTION.

Also who's going to pay for it after we get their minds swapped back? Are lily's parents rich enough and generous enough to just pay for Ronnie's rehabilitation?

Anyway tell them you gotta go get something from your room first, so you can talk to Ikram and get his wish fucking decided on so he doesn't do it on his own and potentially fuck everything up by wiping everyone's memories.

>>665298
Okay, your parents seem to be capable of taking insanity in small doses. Don't tell them everything at once, but you can give further hints over a long-term period.

Addiction is a complex matter, made of moving parts across multiple fields that the human imagination can't target and wish away, so the hospital is probably a good idea. But if anyone says ANYTHING about body-swapping please punch them in the face before this gets out of hand.

Be on the watch for Silvio. If you detect him, find a weapon and use non-lethal attacks.

>>665298
Um. Wait. Lily's in Ronnie. Ronnie's a minor, and you're not her parents. So the hospital is going to call Ronnie's parents when you bring her in.

I'm all for making sure Lily doesn't die, but how do we stop them from taking Lily from us and handing her over to Ronnie's terrible parents who threw her out on the street instead of making sure she got treatment?

>Ikram and Pendel are still up in your room
Great. I really hope Pendel is right and he doesn't change his mind and make a wish while he's all alone. That's all we need- for this to get messier.

>Even if we wish away the long-term effects of the drug while she's in rehab, they will still keep her there until they're sure she's better!
Well, not if you cure her retroactively, so she never would have gone to rehab. Course, as we're well aware, that has it's own consequences.

Notify Ikram and Pendel of the developments by text message. Ask Pendel if abnormally-but-not-supernaturally quick, easy, complication-free rehab is an acceptable 1-point wish and what other effects such a wish might have.

>>665367
Uhh, from memory, those two don't have phones at all.

>>665320
I agree, there's nothing much you can do sadly, you could probably plead to the hospital that the family committing child neglect and that they're a threat to Veronica but mandatory reporting laws are a thing in Washington.

As for Ikram and Pendel, I'm more for at least notifying them that we're going to the hospital. Make some excuse up that you need to quickly go to your room if you have to, Orchid.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/08/29(Sat)05:19 No. 665540 ID: 3bc92d
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“Mom, Dad, I’ve gotta go get…” You hesitate, thinking fast. “…my phone. It’s still up in the room.”

After a brief moment, Mom nods her assent. “Okay. Go run and get it, fast as you can. The rest of you, into the car. Go.”

You run up the stairs, throwing the door open. Ikram jumps at the suddenness, but Pendel only smiles expectantly. “Hello, Orchid.”

“Yeah, yeah, hi, whatever. Ikram, the rest of us are going to the hospital. Please don’t make any wishes while we’re gone, okay? We really don’t need any memory-wipes to make this situation any weirder.”

“Uh, what?” Ikram glowers. “I’ve been waiting for over an hour as it is. How long do you expect me to just chill out with the genie while you deal with all of this bullshit?”

“Dude, come on, our parents are freaking the fuck out.”

“Yeah, and my sister’s dead.” Ikram sighs through his teeth. “Look, I know you’ve got problems too, but… I don’t know where all of this is going, or how long we’ll have this guy around.” He points at Pendel. “Every minute I wait could be the minute that I lose this chance. I just want my sister back, okay? I can deal with any crazy shit that happens to me, but I want Ayame to be alive and healthy when this is all said and done.”

“If either of you would like to do so, this would be a prime moment to make any wishes, including the ones you’ve been considering. Or not.” Pendel shrugs. “Orchid, I do know you’ve been thinking of turning back the clock, wiping your parents’ memories. For two credits, I can do that. Then again, you have three credits to spare, so you also could go for superpowers, or practically anything else that crosses your mind.”

“Orchid!” You hear Mom calling you from the bottom of the stairs. “Hurry it up!”

Not a good idea. Until Silvio is dealt with and his trap network is disabled, every wish you make has the potential to kill you.

Hope nothing goes wrong with the drive tho.

Actually, I think we might want to consider it, or at least try and work out what can go wrong so we don't get unintended side-effects...
I'm thinking wish Ayame is alive, and if needed, for memories of her being around so we know what's the changes will be.
Orc can wish to be slightly taller if only for wish-shielding, and so it's not a big change that throws everything off.

>I don’t know where all of this is going, or how long we’ll have this guy around
You could ask him, maybe. He's a person, not just a magic force that fucks up lives, though he seems to do that too.

Pendel, you gonna leave him high and dry if he delays not to fuck us over, or can you make some kind of promise he'll get to spend his wish dosh so he'll stop freaking out.

>would you like to make a wish, Orcid?
Well, to do that, I'd first have to go through this whole song and dance to make sure you didn't really teleport off somewhere with Ikram when I was out of the room, and that I'm not talking to Silvio and a magic imposter right now.

Also even without evil genies, poorly thought out wishes are bad. I need more than the spur of the moment while my mother shouts to think. So unless you've got a complimentary wish-discussion time-stop up your sleeve...?

Honestly, the one big fucking wish we have right now is to switch those two back. But you can't / won't do that. Everything else we're even considering is a hack solution to deal with that (and really, per customer service, those coping fixes should be complimentary until he resolves the problem. Heck, even switching them back should be free, since the switch bypassed the regular rules, and Ronnie was tricked into it, and no credits were spent on it).

...we wouldn't be rushing off to the hospital and worried about drugs if we just fixed Ronnie's habit. But then we're burning Orcid's points on her problem, and since she's not in the loop, we'd be permanently messing with Ronnie's head.

>>665540
Orchid needs to make a wish to preserve her memories. So let's get some superpowers. Hmm. Should be something that can be used without people freaking out about it, or something that can't be blamed on her. How about... the ability to remember things perfectly on command? That would help a lot with studying, and is really useful in many lines of work.

I'm in favor of turning back time so Lily doesn't have to go to rehab, but... then we have to wish away the addiction, and Raven is refusing to wish for anything, so someone else is gonna have to use wish credits.

>>665556
Ronnie made a wish (the body swap), her head is safe.

>>665558
Not if we're wishing to cure her addiction, since her addiction is part of her head. Ronnie was already concerned about what curing herself meant, and it'll only be worse if she's not even involved in the decision, or how it works.

You could wish for the superpower to cure any and all organic poisons with a touch and a silent act of will, including long-term effects thereof such as opiate addiction. Greatly simplifies the immediate crisis, and it's likely to have long-term utility. Dispensing miracle cures might be a great way to rack up wish credits. Shouldn't change history if you've never used it before.

New plan: bellydance your problems away

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/09/11(Fri)22:35 No. 669139 ID: 3bc92d
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“How do I know that you’re not that evil zombie genie or whatever?”

“I’ve done all I can do to prove myself to you.” Pendel gestures at himself. “If this isn’t enough, nothing ever will be. Silvio can read minds, and apparently he can shift his shape. This being the case, I honestly don’t see any way that I could completely prove my identity to you.”

“I guess so. Fuck it, I might as well believe you. Can you put Ikram’s fears to rest? You’re not going to leave him high and dry, are you?”

Pendel shrugs.

“You sketchy alien fuck!”

“I’m still not an alien, and I’m also not in the habit of making promises like that. Sorry.”

“Fucking great. Thanks a lot for that.” You groan irritably. “Well, I need to make a wish before Ikram changes the past, right? Otherwise I’ll get mind-wiped or whatever. So, superpowers-“

“The ability to remove organic poisons from the human body or the power to remember things perfectly at will? A bit lower-key than I was expecting. You do understand you could wish for the ability to fly, or to change your shape, or-”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. What did you expect? These wishes seem to have a habit of fucking people over. Low-key seems safer to me.”

“The wishes work perfectly. People just don’t think them through.” Pendel sighs.

“Yeah, well, I can think of one wish we’ve thought through. Put my sister back in her body.” You cross your arms. “Seriously, why haven’t you granted that wish already?”

“Because I don’t know what it could do to Lily. Trust me when I say that Silvio is a lying, manipulative, murderous, amoral son of a bitch who doesn’t take any action without planning ahead on multiple levels of complexity. I am absolutely sure that whatever trap he’s prepared will be triggered by our trying to fix it. But…” He goes still for a moment, like he’s thinking something over. “…beyond that, there’s another reason why I’m hesitant to return them to their original bodies.”

You wait for a few seconds. “…so? What is it? I don’t have a lot of time, here.”

“Sorry, dealing with the eternal plight of being a mindreader: debating whether I should violate other people's privacy or not.” He taps his head, continues to think for a moment, then shrugs. “Oh, it’ll probably come up on its own, eventually, so I might as well tell you now: neither of them wants to switch back.”

That will change, I can see why in both cases: In one case someone is seriously creeped out by being a twin of Orchid and their bizarro family life that's just similar enough to be creepy--mostly stupid reasons. In the other we have the somewhat more reasonable desire to avoid the mess of dealing with family that burned their bridges and treated her like shit over a mental health issue, and then the mental health issue and its secondary problems on top. Eventually they'll each realize that this isn't a vacation in someone else's body from their problems with self-alienation because no matter where you go, there you are.

Also, why would there be a time-limit on redeeming wish credits--is it just to be a jerk or what? It seems like by threatening to run out on Ikram with an unfulfilled wish and credit towards obtaining it you're trying to rush him into something here. Is that the case, and if so why?

>>669139
Why the hell does Lily want to stay in that body?

Also for higher key powers how about... the ability to tell if someone's lying or not. Yes, even Pendel and Silvio.

Oh...
Cripes, it makes sense.
'lily' is not lily but Wistera, a boy who wished to be a girl all his life but now is thrust into a life he never lived, and feels like he stole someone else's life. So, getting to fix up a druggie's life by being the daughter that family wanted, without the baggage of suddenly being in a life he doesn't know? Awesome.
And Veronica...Well, her life was sucking but now she has a warm loving family. Why give that up?
Basically...I'm thinking instead of wishing Lily into another body, wish that Lily had the MEMORIES of the lily she became first. THEN, she won't feel like a stranger in her skin, but will truly be at home in her skin...And more importantly, want it back.
As for Veronica...That's the hard part. That's the part we were trying to work on before Silvo screwed everything to high heaven....
Actually...
Why not let her have this family? Why not wish your mother had a third daughter, that was Veronica?
And since memoeries will get messed up from that, wish beforehand that we have the memories of that, so there's no confusion. Also throw in that you met with Mercy and did that thing with her you did, because that actually went well in all this mess.
And if possible, in the making veronica your sister thing? Get Ayame back in with that wish.
Flip all the tables now since we're doing that instead of having to stop and think and get scared and not go.

>The wishes work perfectly. People just don’t think them through.
You say as you set the situation to pressure me to make a wish while my mother is shouting for me to hurry up, and the deadline of mopey boy mind-wiping me, loom. I'm not a mind reader, but I do understand what playing someone is. Circumstances aren't giving us the chance to think them through long enough.

>the ability to fly
We live in a future with flying camera drones and radar and gun nuts and who knows what else. Flight isn't practical unless it comes with a whole big superhero package to keep me safe when doing it.

>to change your shape
That just looked creepy. And unlike you, or evil genie, or my sister, or Ronnie, I never wanted to be anyone else. I'm awesome. Respect the Orc, bro.

>The ability to remove organic poisons from the human body or the power to remember things perfectly at will?
What if we made the first one more broad? Like, manipulate chemistry. We could negate poisons / drugs, but we could do a hell of a lot more than that.

Memory power isn't anything to sneeze at either, (especially if it goes past wish revisions). I would mean you'd never have to study again, learning anything would be super easy, you could solve crimes by getting witnesses to actually remember things...

>I might as well tell you now: neither of them wants to switch back.
Thank you very much for giving two messed up people the chance to run away from their lives and problems. I'm sure that isn't going to blow up terribly, eventually.

Fiiiiine. That's a real reason, I guess. *Grumble* Gotta help them both through their frigging self blame complexes or whatever so they stop feeling guilty about being themselves.

...hey, here's one promise you are getting stuck with. If you bug out on us before we get them fixed, I will make you regret it, magic wish powers or not.

Orchid, wish for the ability to heal all the adverse effects of poison, not just remove it. Addiction is complicated. Magically extracting opiate molecules from somebody's bloodstream isn't the same as recalibrating burned-out nerves. Heroin withdrawal can be fatal to somebody who goes super-cold turkey like that.

Ikram, wish for Ayame to have never actually died, but rather faked her death in some way that's functionally indistinguishable from the perspective of everyone you know personally, just like Racer X, such that she is now hiding in the trunk of Orchid's parents' car for some perfectly logical reason.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/09/15(Tue)14:31 No. 669773 ID: 3bc92d
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“What? Why the fuck would Lily want to stay in that body?!”

“Something tells me you already know.”

“Like hell I…” You hesitate, thinking it over. Lily did break down in tears a bunch of times yesterday and today, and she has a confusing new life she doesn’t really remember. Meanwhile, Veronica is a drug addict with a family that abandoned her. Two messed-up people who would probably jump at the opportunity to have a vacation from themselves. “Okay, maybe I sort of get it. But it’s still completely fucking stupid.”

“Take it up with them, then. Now, about your wish - ooh, those are nice ideas.”

“Would you quit that?! Get out of my head, you dick!”

“And here I thought you were worried about being rushed. This will go a lot more quickly if we don’t pretend that I don’t know what you’re thinking of asking.”

“It’s still annoying. At least let me think over what I actually want. I’ll say it when I’m sure.”

“Very well.” He pauses. “Since you’re convinced of my identity, by the way, I think I’ll just…” With a flourish, he returns to his normal, creepy-looking self. You blink, surprised at the speed of it. He smiles. “Ah, there we are! Much more comfortable, as well as dashing and handsome. Oh, don’t bother contradicting me. Your attraction is written all over your thoughts.” He laughs.

“I think I liked you better when you were uncomfortable.” You grumble. “How about the ability to tell if someone’s lying? And have it work on, like, anyone, even you and the evil genie.”

“Solid idea, but tricky to execute, since truth is a very subjective concept. I could almost certainly get around any sort of lie detection in a minute or two, and Silvio is even more adept at deceit.”

“Fine. How about the ability to manipulate chemistry, then? Like, all of it. That should let me do all sorts of things, right? Like, clean up heroin addiction and stuff?”

“It’s a bit vague, but it would certainly work. Is that your wish?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I feel a bit rushed with all of this, which doesn’t exactly lend itself well to ‘thinking things through’. Seriously, why can’t you just promise to stick around?”

“I dislike promises. They make me feel… trapped.” Pendel’s expression flickers into one of worry for a moment, but his smile quickly returns. “I suppose I could make a minor exception and promise to stick around for an hour or so, though, if it really means that much to you.”

>Why not let her have this family? Why not wish your mother had a third daughter, that was Veronica?

Look, uh, Veronica seems nice and all, but you’re not exactly sure you want a retroactive sister who happens to be a heroin junkie. You don’t even know her all that well.

>Oh, don’t bother contradicting me. Your attraction is written all over your thoughts.
Keep it up and I'll wish for a creepy you-fuckdoll just to spite you.

>chemistry manipulation
The biggest potential complications are (a) if it's a skill and therefore has a learning curve and/or requires knowledge or practice to use properly (meaning it'll be initially useless, and worse, dangerous to learn how to affect people with) and (b) the mechanism by which it operates. If there's a range, if it works by touch, if you're actually managing a chemical reaction that technically follows the rules or if you're just willing something different.

>I suppose I could make a minor exception and promise to stick around for an hour or so, though, if it really means that much to you.
I thought you'd be at least sticking around until you understood what Sil-butt did to my sister and Ronnie, so they'd have the chance to switch back, even if they're being stupid about it right at this minute. Doesn't have to be a promise if those weird you out, but you owe them that much.

>you’re not exactly sure you want a retroactive sister who happens to be a heroin junkie. You don’t even know her all that well.
Yeah it takes longer than you've know her to be cool with effectively adopting someone, retroactive magic or not.

If Pendel's not comfortable with promises, maybe the appropriate compromise would be a simple statement of intent. How long is he intending to stick around, if nothing especially unexpected happens?

I think we may be overlooking the obvious, here. How about a superpower for thinking things through? Sort of a package of related powers, but if "manipulate chemicals" is okay it shouldn't be too much. Basically, the ability to put the world on pause at will and analyze everything you already know or can currently perceive in meticulous detail, as if you'd studied that millisecond for a full day, taken comprehensive notes, and then gotten a good night's sleep while some magical ubercomputer crunched it's way through any relevant numbers.

And the power to unpause the world after you're done, of course. Don't forget that bit.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/10/09(Fri)10:58 No. 675610 ID: 3bc92d
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“I thought you’d at least stick around until you figured out what’s going on with whatshisface.”

“That is a mystery I would like to solve, true.” He shrugs. “Fine. I promise I won’t leave until I understand how Silvio is here, and what his intentions are.”

“Yeah, okay. So, um, for wishes, I was thinking the power to think things through would be-“ You blink. Pendel and Ikram have vanished. “…what the hell?”

The door opens behind you. “Ahem.” Mom clears her throat. “Orchid Wilton! Can you please explain to me why you are wasting time while your sister’s life is on the line?!”

“Hey, I wasn’t wasting time!”

“Really? You could have fooled me! What exactly was taking you so long?”

“I…” You struggle to find an excuse for a moment, then, out of the corner of your eye, you see the edge of a shirt sticking out of your wardrobe. You grab it and pull it out. “I wanted a warmer shirt, ‘cause, like, I don’t know how long we’ll be at the hospital. I’m ready now.”

“Good. Come down to the car. Everyone’s waiting.” Mom turns and walks back down the stairs.

You grab your phone, quickly change shirts, then rush downstairs and hop in the car.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/10/09(Fri)11:01 No. 675613 ID: 3bc92d
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You end up crammed in the back seat with Lily, Ronnie, and Raven. It’s not exactly comfortable, but at least you managed to get a window seat. As soon as you close the car door and buckle your seatbelt, Dad revs up the engine and pulls the car out of the driveway.

Everyone’s very quiet, and the atmosphere is tense. Raven cuddles Lily a bit, but they both look worried. You occasionally throw annoyed glances at Ronnie and Lily. Why the fuck would they want to stay this way? You’re pretty sure that if you were in an addict’s body, the only thing you’d want would be to get back to normal. What are these idiots thinking? Are they even thinking at all?

After a little while spent stewing in your own irritation, you try to take your mind off of it. You spend a short time absently staring out of the window at the passing scenery.

Eventually, you feel something tug at your shirt. You turn to see Ronnie. She looks absolutely miserable, with tears in her eyes. She glances at Mom and Dad, then leans in and whispers in your ear. “What do you think is going to happen when we get to the hospital?”

You shrug.

“Yeah, I don't know either.” Ronnie hesitates, then starts whispering again. “Hey, um… we haven’t really had a chance to talk, but I was wondering about something, and I figured I’d ask: Do you dislike me, Orchid?”

>You’re pretty sure that if you were in an addict’s body, the only thing you’d want would be to get back to normal.
Lily doesn't have a normal. She wished her whole life different already. At least this weird new body didn't come with expectations.

>Do you dislike me, Orchid?
I barely know you. And... not in the best of circumstances.

I kind of resent this whole mess, but it's not like you did it on purpose. And... you could have been a lot worse. Not exactly what I expected from a drug addict body snatched, honestly.

When your girlfriend asks you a question, the answer is always Yes.

>>675629
Ronnie isn't Mercy. (Unless there's been more body swapping).

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/10/09(Fri)17:01 No. 675668 ID: 3bc92d
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“No offense, Ron, but I barely know you. The only reason we met in the first place is because you got stuck in my sister’s body. I am pissed off that you switched places with Lily, but you had no way to know that it would happen.” You sigh. “You’ve been pretty good about stuff so far. Way better than I would have expected, honestly. I thought you would get high in Lily’s body the first chance you got.”

“I would never do that to her.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t know you. I still don’t, really.” You glance at her. “Why do you care what I think of you, anyway? I’m a stranger to you, too.”

“Are you? I mean, if you look at it a certain way, we’re family right now.” Ronnie smiles very slightly. “Genetically, physically… I’m technically your sister, right?”

“Technically.” You feel your eye twitch. “But you’re not my sister. Don’t forget that.”

Ronnie looks crestfallen. “I wasn’t being serious.”

“I was.” You turn away. “Besides, that’s not the real reason why you asked me, is it?”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Then what is?”

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/10/09(Fri)17:02 No. 675670 ID: 3bc92d
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“I’m just trying to figure out why I’m like this.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Huh? Like what?”

“Like I am. All fucked up.” She bites her lip. “Just… why do I always make all the wrong decisions? Why did I start shooting up with my uncle? Why did I push Lily away when she was just trying to help? Why am I in her body? Why did I break down in tears just because I was hugged by a stranger? Why - why did my parents throw me out? Why didn’t they even try to take me to the hospital?”

“I, uh…” You shuffle around in your seat, feeling uncomfortable. “I don’t know if I’m really qualified to help you figure that stuff out, Ron.”

“But you always look at me in the same sort of way that mom and dad did. I thought you might know why they… I don’t know. I don’t really know what I thought. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, does it? S-sorry. Forget that I said anything.” Veronica starts to cry, but she keeps mumbling through the tears. “Sorry. Don’t worry about me, it’s nothing. I just… I don’t feel great right now.” She sobs.

Yikes.

This is so, so awkward. What the fuck are you supposed to do here?

>Ronnie looks crestfallen
Her own family cast her out, and she blamed herself. She's pretty clearly desperate for some kind of connection, here.

>This is so, so awkward. What the fuck are you supposed to do here?
Hugs? Go "there there"? There's not much to do with someone crying but try to comfort them.

Trying to answer her questions:

>Why - why did my parents throw me out? Why didn’t they even try to take me to the hospital?
I would guess they simply have no idea how addiction works, if they thought throwing you out might scare you strait.

>Why did I break down in tears just because I was hugged by a stranger?
That's easy. As was already said, she's desperate for a connection and unguarded kindness totally caught her off guard.

>Why am I in her body?
Because Idiom. But that's a meta-reason. :v

>Why did I push Lily away when she was just trying to help?
People in bad places don't always react rationally. You're not necessarily in a position to see help as what it is, or accept it.

>Just… why do I always make all the wrong decisions? Why did I start shooting up with my uncle?
Well, there's a pretty general "people are stupid". I would guess something was bothering her in the first place if she was willing to try it. Or maybe some part of her thought she'd have to be okay if he could do it?

"People make bad decisions when they don't understand the whole situation, or are under stress, or... all kinds of reasons. It's just a fact of life."
Tap side of your head with one finger, as if to indicate the contents.
"The human brain is such a fragile, glitchy piece of meat, it's some kind of a miracle we can think at all. That's why five minutes ago I stacked another miracle onto mine just to make it work better, when I could've gotten flight or x-ray vision or bloodbending or whatever instead. I've made bad decisions too, you know? But I always got back up and moved forward. I'll help you find a real professional counselor once we get to the hospital. Pretty much everything you've been through, they will have seen somebody who's had worse, and they know how to help. For anything modern medicine and psychiatry can't cope with, well, miracles and magic are real. We'll find a way."

Then call Ikram, find out where he got retcon-teleported to.

Orchid!5tTWT1eydY 2015/11/18(Wed)09:35 No. 684712 ID: 3bc92d
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>five minutes ago I stacked another miracle onto mine just to make it work better, when I could've gotten flight or x-ray vision or bloodbending or whatever instead.

You’re not entirely sure that your wish was granted. You don’t feel any different, at least.

>call Ikram, find out where he got retcon-teleported to.

You would, but that dumbass doesn’t even have a phone. Seriously, what a luddite.

>She's pretty clearly desperate for some kind of connection, here.

Sighing quietly, you reluctantly hug Ronnie, bringing her close. “There, there.“ You pat her head. “People in bad places don’t always think rationally, Ron, but you’re getting better, no matter what happens. Tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, someday soon, you’ll be fine. You’ll be happy. The trick is dealing with all of the bullshit while you’re working on getting there.”

“But…” Ronnie glances at her body, with Lily inside it. “I only know one way of dealing with stuff.”

“Well, you can’t do that anymore. We won’t let you. Look, Ron, I’m not - I mean, I know I’m kind of a - a harsh person, but if you really do want my opinion, I’ll tell you what I think, and I’ll be honest. Is that what you want?”

“Y-yeah. It could help me figure things out.” Ronnie sniffles, and you suddenly feel an odd sense of responsibility. Maybe it’s just because she looks like Lily.

“Right, then. Let’s see… about the whole ‘shooting up’ thing, don’t worry about it. It’s your uncle who fucked up, not you. He should never have let you join in. As for Lily… god, it feels weird to talk to Lily about Lily, but… sometimes, when we’re desperate, we don’t always make the best decisions. It’s hard to see help for what it is, or to accept it. It’s not your fault.”

“But it’s still me making all of these stupid decisions.” Ronnie sniffles. “I should be a better person than this.”

“Ha. That’s not… Huh. Okay, Ron, I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, okay?”

“Huh? Okay. I promise.”

“Then here goes.” You lean in a bit closer, and whisper more quietly. “I’m the dumb kid in my family. I’ve got bad grades, I’m bad with people, and I’m scared of a lot of stupid shit. I don’t have any real friends besides Lily and Raven. Everyone around me knows what they’re good at: Dad’s a mathematician, Lily’s got straight-As and is an actress, and Mom is a wonderful dancer. Me, though? I can’t do anything, and most people think I’m a bitch, anyway.”

“I, um… I don’t think that.”

“Really?”

Veronica hesitates.

“Don’t worry about it.” You shrug. “It’s okay. I know I’m a jerk a lot of the time. It’s just who I am, I guess. I mean, when I try to let that anger go, all that’s left is a scared, weak little girl.”

“I don’t think that you’re weak.”

“Thanks.” You sigh. “I’m sorry. There was a point to this whole speech, back when I started it, but I guess it kind of turned into me whining about my problems, huh?”

“I don’t mind.” Ronnie hugs you tightly. “Thank you for trusting me.”

You pause, looking at her. You realize that you’ve never really thought about her feelings in all of this. You’ve been more concerned with the prospect of losing Lily. Looking at Ronnie, sitting there, you begin to wonder how scared you would be in her position, to be wearing another girl’s face. After a moment, you hug her back. “Hey, um… I take back what I said earlier.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You…” You stop mid-sentence and take a long breath, still unsure. “You can be my sister for a while, if you want.”

“Really?” Her eyes widen, surprised.

“Yeah.” You smile softly. “I don’t mind.”

Lily!5tTWT1eydY 2015/11/18(Wed)09:37 No. 684714 ID: 3bc92d
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“Oh, wow. Look.” Raven whispers, gently tilting her head towards Orchid and Ronnie.

You turn to look. Ronnie is resting her head on Orchid’s shoulder, and the two of them are hugging. It sort of feels like you’re looking at two Orchids. You’re still finding it hard to believe that that’s what ‘you’ look like, now.

“Mm.” You mumble, feeling nervous. You’ve been kissing Raven a lot, but you’re beginning to wonder if maybe you shouldn’t be so cavalier with somebody else’s body.

“Are you feeling okay, honey?” Dad calls back to you.

“I’m okay, Dad.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Honest. Besides… this, I’m okay.”

“Alright, sweet pea.” Dad sighs. “God, this is just so bizarre.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“What do you feel? I mean, you must feel different, right?”

“Well, I’m taller. My arms are longer. My, uh, my boobs are bigger. The texture of my skin feels a bit coarser, too.” You gently stretch your arm, experiencing the smooth way that this body moves.

“I feel the opposite of that stuff.” Ronnie adds. Even her voice is just like Orchid’s voice. “Shorter, smaller. Tiny boobs. Smooth skin.”

Everything is different, and you’re somebody else. But that’s not much of a change from yesterday, is it? You’re not quite ‘Lily’, and you never really were. In a way, it’s comforting to have everyone notice that you’re not who you’re supposed to be. You don’t have to keep up with the pretense anymore.

Being Veronica feels more normal than you’ve felt in days. You’re tall again! You didn’t think that you’d feel nostalgic about your height, or anything about your old body, in fact, but being a copy of Orchid for a few days has made you start missing a lot of the things that made the old you… you.

“Are you falling asleep, sweet pea?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, no, my mind was just wandering.”

“I’ll say. It wandered off into another body.”

You can’t help but laugh. “Wow, Dad.”

Dad smiles weakly. “Sorry. Couldn’t pass that one up.”

Raven pulls you close, kissing you on the cheek. You think you’re blushing, but it’s hard to tell what sensations are what in this body. Raven’s been way more physical with you since you switched bodies. Something about that feels both wrong and right, but you’re not entirely sure why that is, on either count.

“I love you.” She whispers in your ear.

You bite your lip. You’re doing your best to go along with what she wants, but this is getting to be a bit much. Even when you were together, you were never this, uh, active with Raven. You honestly aren’t sure how you feel about her at all. You’ve been trying to be the girlfriend she expects you to be, but you’re beginning to wonder if you’ll have to keep this up forever.

Should you talk to her about it, or just let things stay as they are?

littlebeast 2015/11/18(Wed)12:03 No. 684727 ID: ca183f

>>684714
It... might not be the best idea to talk about that her and now. What with your parents in earshot and all.

But, uh, you almost certainly should talk about this at some point. Just not here.

At this point it's worth reflecting upon the fact that you've been rescued by magic, twice now, from having to accept things about yourself that most people wouldn't bother challenging in the way and degree that you did. You've gone from one case of 'impostor syndrome' thinking that you weren't really a teenage boy, into another case thinking you shouldn't be specifically *this* teenage girl, to here yet another thinking you aren't who this young woman thinks is her girlfriend. You know what? Everybody has disagreements about, and distance between, what their circumstances dictate and other people think of them versus what they want to be, try to be or privately think they are.
Before you invoke the potential of breakup drama, which is sometimes lethal I may add, I have to ask you one important question: How close is the relationship this young woman thinks she has with you to what you'd actually want, and can you change it, learn to like it, or in some other way compromise? Nothing in life is ever perfect, and a large part of growing up is to accept the things we cannot change--or which would take too much effort to change--while concentrating on the things we can change that are worth changing. How much is this worth changing to you, and to her, and to everyone else involved?

>Should you talk to her about it, or just let things stay as they are?
I think you kind of have to talk to her. You can't have a relationship based on not talking. That will go terribly. You're clinging to you being someone you're not, exactly. Any relationship that has even a chance of success has to be based on honestly.

Granted, trapped in a car with your family listening isn't an ideal location, especially if this gets messy and emotional, but we could start, at least.

>I love you
Raven, you've been kinder and better to me since all this happened than maybe anyone else. And... that's really not fair because I think I hurt you most of all, just by being here. I want so bad to be good back to you, and make it right...

Is this working or are we just hiding it? I don't know what you're thinking, and I barely know what I am. I just, I don't want to hurt you any more.

>>684712
>You’re not entirely sure that your wish was granted. You don’t feel any different, at least.

You're not supposed to feel different. It's an active ability. Try thinking about some math problem or something and see if you're better at it than normal.