Tales From The Role Exchanger #4

I was re-reading one of the Role Exchanger stories recently and thought I would share possibly my favourit change with you all.

This one comes from The Role Exchanger 2 in which the blue alien entity has some fun in a suburban neighbourhood with two sisters.

It's always fun to take a straight laced business type and turn her into a bad girl.  The changes are so well done here from the purple streak appearing in Karen's hair to her constant swearing showing that she was changing. The slow realisation that her sister got piercings everywhere because they were now appearing on her body and the transfer of tattoos. The thought processes are written well as both come to the conclusion that they like their new looks. I love that Chloe is quietly relieved that her adornments have disappeared and now it was respect that mattered to her as she considered her future. Karen meanwhile despite her initial shock, loves her new badass look, seeing it through Chloe's eyes.

The next morning Karen would probably blow off work and head off to a tattoo parlour and some clothes shops while Chloe would be borrowing her old clothes, perhaps putting on a skirt suit and go around town looking for work. she would probably end up the breadwinner too with her new work ethic. I would love to read more about these two characters.

The role swap truly makes them see things from the other's point of view. Chloe admires her big sister for her style and respectability while Karen gets the appeal of tattoos, piercings and the bad girl look. It makes her feel strong. Of course with me, it's nearly always down to the clothes and it's a great style switch.

Disclaimer: I did not write this story. It is the copyright property of Morpheus and can be found in its entirety on Fictionmania here: The Role Exchanger 2. If the writer sees this and would like it removed, please contact me.

      Karen frowned slightly as she critically examined her younger sister... half
sister Chloe who had just come over for a visit.

 At 29 years old, Karen was already successful in her career, due in no
small part to her ambition and determination. She was also known at work as
something of an ice queen... Work came first. Even when she was at home
she often wore her business clothes, though she was currently and somewhat
rarely dressed in a more casual manner.

 Chloe on the other hand was almost the complete opposite of Karen. She was
17 and still in high school, though Karen thought it a miracle that she
hadn't dropped out yet. And where Karen was always conservative, Chloe had
gone Goth or punk...though Karen couldn't quite tell which. Her clothes
were mostly black, with a black leather jacket that had a few metal studs on
it. There was a streak of purple in her hair, and that didn't even touch
the tattoos that she had or that her face nearly looked like a pin-cushion
due to all of the piercings.

 "Well?" Chloe demanded, "Are you going to lend me the fucking money or
not?"

 Karen rolled her eyes slightly at Chloe's foul language, though well used
to hearing such from Chloe's mouth. She couldn't help but wonder what had
ever happened to that cute and innocent little girl she used to be. But of
course, Karen had always thought that Chloe was a brat, right since the day
that she had been born.

 "Do you have to speak like that?" Karen sighed, "You know that you aren't
going to get anywhere in life if you keep dressing and talking like you
do..."

 "What's wrong with the way I fucking talk?" Chloe demanded, just to push
Karen's buttons. "And at least I'm an individual... not some fucking
corporate sellout..."

 "Well this corporate sellout has decided against lending you any money,"
Karen responded coldly. "After all, I know that I would never see it
again..."

 Just then, both Karen and Chloe caught a glimpse of something blue from the
corner of their eyes. But when they turned to look, there was nothing
there.

 "What the fuck was that?" Karen demanded. "That nearly scared the shit out
of me."

 "How should I know?" Chloe shrugged in annoyance.

 Karen scowled, then paused as she realized that something wasn't quite
right... She looked back at Chloe and was startled to realize that her
sister no longer had the purple steak in her hair, though she didn't notice
that a matching purple streak had now appeared in her own hair.

 "Where did you get that?" Chloe gasped, "Your hair... That tattoo..."

 "What the fuck are you talking about now?" Karen demanded, then looked down
at her own arm and gasped in shock at he sight of a tattoo of roses and
thorns which encircled her upper arm, just like the tattoo that Chloe had...
"Shit! No fucking way..."

 "That looks just like mine," Chloe whispered, quickly taking off her
leather jacket and now revealing her own naked and untattooed arms.

 After glancing at Chloe's arms, Karen looked back down at her own,
surprised to see that several more tattoos had appeared in the last few
seconds. There was one on her other arm that looked like a skull and
dagger... just like Chloe's.

 "Let me see your shoulder," Chloe exclaimed, moving to look at Karen's back
and then whispering, "You have all my tattoos..."

 Karen and Chloe were both too stunned by this to even be able to say
anything. But while they just stood there, staring at Chloe's clean arms
and Karen's new tattoos, Karen felt a cold tingling rush over her.

 "What the fuck?" Karen demanded as she reached up to touch her face where
the tingling had been strongest, stunned to feel something in her nose. Her
nose was now pierced, with a small ring through one side. But that
obviously wasn't all. She could feel more of them... on her lips and above
one of her eyebrows.

 "No fucking way?" Karen gasped, "No fucking way can this be happening..."

 But when Karen looked at Chloe, who was staring at her in disbelief, she
didn't miss the fact that every single one of her little sister's piercings
was gone. Even the ones in her ears, or at least all except for one small
piercing in each ear. And those ones looked like Karen's ear rings.

 Quickly reaching to her ears, Karen realized that she now had half a dozen
piercings and rings through each ear. There was no doubt in her mind that
she had somehow gained them from Chloe, but that made no sense. And Chloe
looked just as confused by what was going on as she was.

 "Shit," Karen spat out, glaring at her sister, "Your fucking tits and cunt
weren't pierced too, were they?"

 "Well..." Chloe shrugged in embarrassment.

 "Goddamn it," Karen spat as she turned and ran to the mirror that hung on
her living room wall.

 For a moment, Karen just stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself
in disbelief. That couldn't be her in the mirror... She'd never had a
single piercing, at least not other than one on each ear, nor had she ever
had a single tattoo. But now she had multiples of both.

 But as Karen stood there, she couldn't help thinking that they looked rather
wicked. She took a deep breath, feeling rather pleased, feeling sort
of... dangerous. She looked like a real bad ass bitch. And though she
wasn't sure why, she knew that she liked the changes in her.

 Then Karen looked down at her clothes and scowled. "Shit," she muttered, "I
can't wear these fucking rags..." She was going to have to find some new
clothes... Something wicked that went with her new tattoos and piercings.
Maybe something like Chloe's leather jacket...

 At the same time, Chloe was looking down at herself, letting out a sigh of
relief, suddenly feeling glad that she'd lost her tattoos and piercings.
Who in the world would want to go through the rest of their life branded
like some sort of cow? It just wasn't respectable...

 "How would anyone take me seriously like that?" she asked herself.

 Chloe looked at her own clothes and silently winced. She couldn't believe
that she was wearing those things. They made her look like some sort of
slut or punk. And there was no way that she'd get any sort of respect
wearing such things as that. Now Karen's clothes were nice... Chloe
realized that her big sister really knew how to dress and decided that she
was going to have to start wearing those kinds of clothes herself.

 While Karen and Chloe tried making sense of what had just happened to them,
and made plans for their new images, neither of them noticed the glowing
blue ball which hovered somewhere overhead. It remained were it was, as if
watching them for a moment longer before it began moving away...

Schoolgirl

I enjoyed writing yesterdays blog on fantasies so today my mind wanders back to my schooldays and I wonder what I would have been like as a schoolgirl. I'm talking senior school, or high school, age by the way.

I reckon it would probably have been much the same, fat and geeky, perhaps with a long skirt, jumper, buttoned up shirt and tie. I know we all wonder what it would be like to go back to our teenage years and what we would do differently now. Maybe finally stand up to that bully, study harder and ace every test or just ease off a little and enjoy your freedom more but what would it be like as a different gender. That one change alone puts you in with a different group of people and even though you may essentially be the same person, your surroundings and what is expected of you differ.

I always remember my year got three new students at the beginning of one year. The girls flocked around the only girl there, the guys were talking to the thin, athletic dude and then there was this other guy sitting in the corner. I went over and talked to him and he became one of my best friends for many years. We still keep in contact, by the way, but don't see each other as much as we used to. Oddly enough it was him who introduced me to the gang of friends I hung around with for the rest of my time there, people who had been in my year for the last two or three years.

Perhaps I would like to think I would be more outgoing as a girl but I would probably be the same same shy geek although I would have different friends. Some may have been the same as me but who knows I may have fallen in with the more popular girls who would teach me about make-up and wearing my skirt short. Maybe I would have had a bigger gang of friends and done more things. Sounds a bit like Mean Girls but you never know what might have happened. Of course we had people who were more popular than others, held in higher respect, but it wasn't like a clique or anything. Perhaps I've just watched too much American TV but that's probably a stereotypical view of high school. Never had cheerleaders and I doubt I would have tried out anyway but I did kind of covert the girls sports skirts and tops. They used to play a lot of netball at my school. I used to steal my sister's school skirt when she was otherwise occupied and dress up.

I used to have an odd little fantasy as well. I used to imagine I was I woke up in an alternate universe (but I was aware of it) and was now the equivalent of one of the more popular girls, who I remember used to have a great dress sense. In fact I chronicled it in a caption. The below cap was made for Rachel's Haven caption competition in March 2011 which had 'Everything is Wrong Day' as its topic. The picture is a promo from the 2009 film Tormented 

The New Lisa (2011)

Another fantasy I had was for one of the girls to teach me how to be like her. How to dress, do make-up, behave in class, what to put in my bag etc.I would love to write this up as a story one day and its been a constant fantasy through my life for a woman (she could be a goth, chav, bimbo etc) to teach me how to be like her, personality quirks and all.

Maybe my fantasies owe more to my school days than I first thought.

Secretary

Back to work today... but now I can't help thinking what it would be like to be sexy secretary.

Dressed in a white blouse, perhaps buttoned up to the top or maybe with a pixie collar. Long black pencil skirt, black tights and black heels. Perhaps a bob cut or my brown hair all tied back in bun but just dribbling down the sides of my face. Bright red nails and lipstick to match. Answering the phone with poise, style and an ice cool voice. Clattering about the office in my heels, the model of professionalism and cool beauty. Nothing fazes me.

Or...the bubbly blonde. Curly blonde hair, dressed just in a black mini skirt, blouse with too many buttons open and maybe a pink jacket. Big sunglasses, big handbag, forever attached to my pink glittery phone, lots of make-up. A friend to all and the source of all gossip. A proper chatterbox who will say anything to anyone. I like hearing gossip and spreading it, perhaps I have a loud obnoxious laugh too. Long lunches, sneaky shopping trips, coming back in the office laid down with bags and trying to hide them under the desk. Leaving on the dot of half 5. Still damn good at my job and that's why anyone puts up with me.

Or...perhaps the teen office intern. Dressed in the latest fashions. Glad to get the experience yet thinking everything's beneath her. Trendy skirts, tight fitting clothes, going to lunch with mates. Lots to do but little pressure or responsibility.

One of my favourite captions ever is Trend Setter by Evie in which a teen intern picks the trend setter card from the Role With It box and makes a male co-worker dress like her. If you have Haven Gallery access the three parts can be found here: Trend Setter.

Hope you enjoyed my little set of fantasies as much as I did writing them.

Edit: Ooh my 100th blog post! Yay!

Post-Christmas

Well it's the first day back at work for me tomorrow.

After Christmas there's always that lag towards New Year and then back to work. Whenever I think about it I also feel glad I have a job considering the current climate although that doesn't mean the feeling of sadness goes away. At least it's not sheer dread which is what I used to get with my old job. I'll know that when that starts, that's the end of it for me. Time to move on. I have no plans to at the moment though and at least there's plenty to keep me busy during the coming week.

When I was younger i knew the Christmas holidays were over when my Dad went back to work. holidays meant rolling out of bed, everyone in dressing gowns and something cooked to eat. The minute my Dad was back in a suit and cereal was on the table, that was it or at least it felt like it. These days it feels different although I still seem to have that habit of wishing my days away. i was so happy coming home on Christmas eve but still had the thought of tonight, the last day, at the back of my mind. Still, it hasn't been too bad. I have a bit of a cold at the moment and I've spent the last day curled up on the sofa catching up with The Flash. It's a wonderful little show so far.

At least I've managed to do most of the things I set out to with this time off including keeping this blog up. I apologise for drifting into less girlier subjects but hopefully I should stay more on topic soon.

Take Me Out 2015

Take Me Out started again tonight.

This is a dating show in which a man comes on, presents himself and does tasks for the chance to win a date with one of 30 single women. It's a of guilty pleasure of mine which I started watching purely because my parents did and it became something I'll half watch on a Saturday night while doing other things. It's a show I would be utterly terrified to go on though; I don't I could ever be the centre of attention for that amount of time and face all that rejection. Still you never know, it's the fear of rejection I think bothers me most rather than the actual rejection. Once it happens on a scale such as that, it might be enough to push me out of it.

It is nice to see what all the girls are wearing though and it's one of the main reasons I tune in; some very varied outfits and lovely dresses . I would really love a pleather pleated skirt. One girl paired it with a lovely tartan top. Another wore a 1950s inspired Lindy Bop dress. I don't know if I would fully want to do the 1940s/50s vintage thing but it would be something I would want to try. I think it's fascinating that the style has made a comeback. Perhaps it took clothes getting shorter and skimpier over the years to make us look back to the past and something which could look glamorous but still be modernized. I've seen these dresses made out of all kinds of materials including patterns I had on curtains and duvet covers back in the 1980s.  

Fiction

One of my resolutions this year is to do more fiction writing.

I have some friends who regularly write short stories and even publish novels online and ever since then I've been considering doing the same. Hopefully one of my stories will be published with a group of others next year too. I also hope to submit something to Rachel's Haven's own anthology series "A Little Bit of Girl Time" which is reaching its third volume soon. The first two are available now as e-books from Amazon along with the individual stories. I have meant to submit something before but time and other work has previously been an issue.

Amazon link for A Little Bit of Girl Time

When I was writing the first story I mentioned (apologies if I'm sounding a bit cagey about this, by the way) I found it a little hard to get back into the groove since I have been writing non-fiction things like blog posts, and reviews for various websites. It's funny that I never even considered all the captions (at least 200+ now) I wrote as fiction when of course they are. Not long enough to be short stories they are kind of micro-stories I guess and although they are on a similar theme, there are still many, many, many things you can do with it and I'm very proud of all the work I've done.

When I was younger I used to write fan fiction mainly. Now, most people think that fan fiction is just writing about various characters hooking up and to be honest that's what a lot of it is but I've read many wonderful stories by people wanting to write about adventures set in their favourite universes. I would recommend fan fiction to anyone as a good way to get into writing. Straight away you have a set-up and characters right in front of you. The hardest thing to do can be to stare at a blank sheet, or screen, in front of you without the foggiest about how to start. With fan fiction, you get to play in someone else's sandbox for a bit with their ready-made characters. You get to make up your own stories involving them, dialogue and bring in your own characters. There are various websites you can publish these on such as fanfiction.net. It's a good way of building confidence and once you have that then you can go on to cultivate your own ideas and characters.

Of course, this is not for everyone. I've spoken to people about this before and they've just not been able to do it. Indeed, it can feel odd writing in someone else's universe with familiar characters. It can make you feel a bit like a charlatan and not a proper writer. I know, I've felt all these things but yet I would still recommend it to writers starting out to sharpen up their confidence.

Many years ago I also had an idea for a series of books. Sadly, although I had the concept I didn't have any solid plot ideas so I've remained stuck ever since and I've further been soured on it by finding that a similar idea has already been used. However though it could still happen. I've always wanted to write a novel and in this this shiny new digital ago of e-books that is more of a possibility than it was 10 years ago.

Hopefully, this will be something good for me this year.

New Years Day

Well, not much to report for today. New Years Eve was a bit of a let down to be honest because we didn't find anything much to do. I've become a little depressed by the whole changing of the year. I should have more hope I guess but it just reminds me of everything that's happened over the last year. Of everything that happened with my ex-girlfriend I guess it's the sexual side of things that worried me the most. At first I wondered whether it's worth even trying to get into another relationship again, whether I would be able to trust someone not to up and leave no matter how much they profess to like you. At the end of today, I think I have my answer and its more positive than I thought.

Today has been a cloudy, overcast day and I've been hit by a cold which I hope to get rid of by next week. 

One thing I did enjoy tonight was the final episode of the sitcom Miranda and I must give a quick shout out to the wonderful outfit that Stevie wore tonight (right of the picture below). Lovely blouse, shorts and black tights. Eclectic but still stylish. 

Miranda and Stevie toast their finale 

Photograph: Radiotimes.com