...you woke up the opposite gender? I'm writing a character who is technically genderless but has come to think of himself as male because his Vessel is. Through an unfortunate turn of events, he finds himself having to find a new body very quickly and doesn't have time to be fussy. And so he becomes she. This is not intentional, but considering how badly things could have gone wrong, it's a relief that everything went... mostly to plan. I'm wanting to make sure this character's reaction feels realistic. The character has had numerous Vessels in the past, of both genders, but after five years in a male Vessel, was very used to being referred to as 'he'. This IS a fanfiction but I want to write it as well as I possibly can.
If the character has been both male and female before, the main issues that they would face at this point is forgetfulness. Even after a while of being female, after the initial jolt of becoming re-accustomed the the female anatomy, they'd more than likely still think they're in their old vessel at times, so may do things like not respond properly when people are addressing them as "she" or "her" or, attempt to do or buy things designed for males: going to the men's section of the clothes store or going into the men's toilets for example. Bearing in mind that it was a deliberate change rather than a sudden, unexpected one; a change which has happened before no less, the emotional reaction may be less pronounced rather than a large, traumatic experience that it would potentially be for most people, and would be more focused on suddenly having to re-adapt (as well as reacting to no longer having access to specific male aspects of life that were previously enjoyed). Our reactions to waking up as the opposite gender are likely to be vastly different to the character's based on the fact that they have that past experience already. Unless, of course, everything from before is forgotten when there's a change, as it's as though it's the first time each time?
I think it's going to be stranger for the character's friends to be honest. They haven't seen any Vessel but the current one. The change is going to be very strange for them. Especially because this new female body isn't a Vessel that the character can leave at will. This genderless character is being forced to create a half-angel, being the angel half. Half-angels are usually born but can be created if the angel is willing to be tied down to a physical form, willing to become mortal [though abnormally long-lived, think biblical lifespans]. It's going to be weird. Question is how much is too much? Guess I'm going to have to work that out for myself. It's not like it's a situation any of us would be likely to find ourselves in!
Hands up how many men would look down their shirts first thing if they woke up as a woman hahahaha [don't worry I'm a pervert too, first thing I'd do would be look down my pants ]
I think I would just stay calm for a few minutes then finally realise that I was a guy. A part of me would be relieved because of my tomboy side but then I would realise I like being a female xD But that's an interesting question...
Yeah, as soon as I read the OP, the first thing I thought of writing was, "I think we all know the first thing we would do if we suddenly had the body of the opposite sex..." Not nearly as, um, interesting as if I met an opposite sex clone of myself.
I'd be a way hotter man than I am a woman hahahha.... I'm not curvy, I have broad shoulders for my size [tiny tiny tiny person, I'm about a US size 2 [Aus 6] waist down but I have to wear bigger shirts because nothing smaller than a US 6 [Aus 10] fits across my shoulders - and no, it's not chest, I barely have a chest], I have a very square jaw, and I've been told I have "British cheekbones" - which I take as a compliment - but all of that would be much better suited to a male body than a female one. There WILL be several funny moments when dear Castielle realizes she now has breasts to consider. Running is very painful without a good sports bra - and as mentioned I don't even have much in the way of a chest!
From the perspective of your character, they've done this before. I think it would be akin to wrecking your awesome car and having to borrow a friends pink Ford Focus. I'd be glad to have it, but perpetually annoyed at the appearance and attention I garnered.
Scream. Then take off my clothes and examine the new me. Get grossed out and put my clothes on again. Then try and figure out what I'm going to wear because my peasant blouses and tight jeans don't go with the new me.
How much has the Vessel change affected the character's mindset before? Does the mindset switch come along with the Vessel change, or lag behind it? If it comes with it, seems they'd regard their old male self almost as they would somebody they used to know, or the way we think of ourselves at a younger age. Their problem would be more intellectual. As in, "Oh, look, I've got the girl body now. OK, how do I explain this to other people?" And are this entity's human friends familiar with the kind of creature he/she/it is? Or do they think he's an ordinary human being like themselves, and no creature like him/her exists? That would make a big difference.
I'd panic a little at first. After I calmed down, I would head to the produce section of the grocery store and stock up for a very interesting night or three.
The very first thing I would do is freak out and then immediately begin to check myself out. I know I'll be hot! Hell yeah, narcissism!
Here's the approximate sequence of events: 1. Freak out. 2. Write a strongly-worded letter to my Congressman, because we all know they can solve everybody's problems, right? 3. Wait a few minutes for my Congressman to solve my problem. 4. Drink extraordinarily heavily in response to Congressman's failure to act. 5. Recover from end-of-the-world hangover. 6. Search online for support groups for this kind of condition. There have to be some, right? 7. Abandon search in despair. 8. Double mastectomy. I'm a gay male, and I don't want to look female! 9. Acquire lots of male hormones illegally. 10. Take up bodybuilding. 11. Develop prosthetic to form male-looking bulge in my posing suit that will have the side effect of stimulating the parts of me I'm not yet familiar with. 12. Drink even more heavily when none of this seems to work. 13. Write a strongly-worded letter to the President. Copy the Pope, Queen Elizabeth (if she's still alive), Jesus (anyone have his address?), Bill Gates, RuPaul, and Bono (no, not Chaz Bono). 14. Abandon hope. 15. Develop an overpowering fascination for soap operas. 16. Write many strongly-worded letters to soap opera producers, advising them about character development and plot points. 17. Finally accept the inevitable and change my screen name to minstreless. 18. Resume whatever normal life I can. /silliness
@minstrel - Cheer up, for many of us females the soap opera phase is fleeting indeed. In my house, it's my husband who occasionally watches them. (Mind you, British soaps are much more like real life than the US versions.) So your obsession with soaps will not permanently derail your intellectual train–unless you really MUST know what happens next. Look at it this way: as a gay male living as a female, at least you'll still be sexually attractive to men. Straight ones, anyway...that could prove interesting. Better keep the boobs, though. Every silver lining has a cloud, or something like that...
I wanted to write a story about this concept. A normal man wakes up one day to find himself in the body of an attractive women. It's still morning, so he doesn't freak out. The first thing he does is get some full length mirrors around the bed and gives himself a 1st person POV solo most men would kill for. He has his fun. He's still a woman. OK, time to call in sick, tell his girlfriend he can't see her that day cause he's too ill. That night he seeks out other attractive women, in hopes of having a lesbian scene most men would also kill for. The next day he realizes this is not a dream, reality sets in.... He tries to figure out how to fix himself, eventually tells his girlfriend, who is horrified. They agree he must keep it a secret, and they try to live a normal life. However, she's a straight women with straight needs, so she eventually leaves him. Worse, the estrogen and female identity are starting to kick in, and, he starts to become confused about who he is and who he's attracted to. He's horrified by his budding attraction to men, and chemically unstable, which leads him to snap and try to fork stab the genitals of a wealthy older man who won't take no for an answer at a restaurant, and in the end, he's living out in some hell hole in Texas as a housewife with kids and a husband, and she's happy. And yes, I think that's exactly what would happen if a man woke up in the body of a female. But she has to be hot, otherwise, suicide.
Well, I'll write a story where a woman wakes up as a man. Whee. She can now rule the world... throw off the burka or the high heels ...wear comfortable clothes, dump the kids and housework on Her-Indoors-Or-Working-Part-Time ...be taken seriously when she speaks ...go to the pub ...follow the dream...la la la la la... (Dreaming again, slaps own face ...)
Five years is longer than this character has spent with any other Vessel, but though it's weird for all involved, it's the friends finding it harder to adjust to than the character himself [now herself]. Now that I'm actually writing it. As you guys have all said, been there and done that so Cas can't be too weirded out. Sam and Dean on the other hand, while they know Cas is an angel and they know about the Vessel switching thing [since Cas has been in a female Vessel while they've known him - a 5 year old girl], will find it strange and need some time to get used to the idea. Fem!Cas is necessary for the storyline I have planned or I wouldn't bother because I'm so in love with Misha Collins and his portrayal of Castiel. Just want to say again that this is a fanfiction
