This Is Me Now

Talia and Mark were in the carriage heading up to his suite. Talia was a bit disappointed. “I really wish Chloe was here joining us.” Mark flicked her forehead. “Ow! What was that for?”

Mark had a tight frown on his face. “Talia, what is happening to Chloe isn’t something we should be taking advantage of. It certainly isn’t something you should be getting off on.”

“Mark, you can’t fool me about this. You find what happened to her hot too.”

“I’ve already been over this with you Talia. I refuse to indulge plenty that I’m aroused by. You need to get used to that to some extent too. I’m sorry. I probably should have made the transformation fetish a bit less intense for you.”

“Definitely. You meant to say definitely.”

“Fine, definitely. I didn’t though, so you will have to accept that just because it arouses you doesn’t mean that is what a good person would indulge.” Talia looked like she was about to argue that point. “I would consider your words here carefully Talia. Since you would specifically be opening yourself up as the primary and immediate target of my indulgence of whatever you are about to argue.” Talia snapped her mouth closed at Mark’s words. “That’s what I thought.”

“You know Mark, if you aren’t going to indulge on occasion at least, why give me this fetish?”

“Oh, I have every intention of indulging with you, because you will enjoy it. Chloe wasn’t happy about what was happening to her. She was ****.”

Talia rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I heard in her voice but fine. Are you still up for doing stuff Mark, or are you mostly done for the evening?”

“That depends. What sort of stuff?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t want my date today to be a total flop.”

“I wouldn’t call the date a flop. I enjoyed our shopping. I think you did too. You also said you were really happy about the dress I bought you.”

“I – I am. I’m just not ready to wear it. I can’t believe you actually bought it for me.”

Mark shook his head at that. “Yet you have no issue with the idea of me seeing you naked apparently.”

Talia went red at that. “What are you talking about!?”

“Well you said I could take you whenever I wanted, normally people have sex naked.”

“Are you really happy to have just spent the day talking to me about clothes?” Talia said still a little disappointed that her date was derailed. “I was serious earlier. I had more to the plan than some simple ice skating.”

“Yes, and I believe you. Talia it isn’t your fault things went that way. I just got exhausted.”

“From having sexual encounters with everyone but me…”

“You caused me to orgasm. I feel like that counts as a sexual encounter. I am sorry that I got so worn out before our date, though.”

“I’m not actually upset that you did a lot of stuff. I’m a bit upset that we didn’t do more together though.”

“More in general or more sexual stuff.”

“Both.”

They arrived at the palace and went inside. “Well we could play some games together.”

“Like what?”

“Do you like video games?”

“I’ve played a few but not really. Outside of reading and learning, I would say volunteering and watching hockey are my primary sources of entertainment.”

“Movies?”

“Same thing… I’ve watched some but not high on my priority list.” Talia frowned realizing they didn’t seem to have a lot in common. “Why don’t you show me some video games you like? I should make an effort to get to know your hobbies.”

“Don’t **** yourself, Talia. You don’t have to like all the same things I do.”

“Mark first, I’m not saying that I’m going to get into all your hobbies, I just want to understand them. Second, I actually sort of have to show an interest in what you like.” Seeing Mark’s confusion she elaborated, as she sat down on the couch in Mark’s room. “Mark, BTGGF, didn’t simply make me your goth girlfriend. It explicitly made me doting. So maybe ‘have to’ is wrong. I want to do things to make you happy. That is what makes me happy now. If you found watching paint dry interesting, I would want to watch with you, or would paint the walls for you, even if I would normally find those activities boring. While I was hoping to share something about myself with you, I would still be happy for you to share your pastimes with me.”

“I’m sorry that this has happened to you.”

“Why? I know we both find it super hot. Mark, I think that getting pulled onto the show has been a great thing for me. I’m pretty sure that if I had the chance to talk with myself from the beginning of the show, even that version of me would agree that I am objectively better off for being here.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

“Really? Mark, I am the smartest woman on earth. I am phenomenally wealthy, to the point that not only could I simply retire, so could every person that I could realistically call family. That would include every member of your harem, and their immediate family as well. I’m in love with a decent man, who one day I’m going to marry and have a family with. I’m now nineteen years younger. I’m literally less than half my previous age and have four additional PhDs despite that fact. Sure I’ve paid a price, mostly in height, becoming stacked, our shared fetish, and having to share the love of my life, but I feel like I’ve come out ahead in that trade. That doesn’t even begin to cover the good I’ve done in the world, so far.”

“I know you’ve made really advanced prosthetics but not much else. I vaguely have heard of you in the altered history but it isn’t like you are a household name, like some other billionaires. So, what do you mean by the good you’ve done?”

“This is excellent. Sorry to pass on the video games. I'll tell you about my new life instead. As for the good I’ve done, well I think the biggest impact I’ve made is producing a relatively cheap, effective scalable desalination process, providing clean fresh water to people who sorely need it.”

“Damn no wonder you’re rich with something like that.”

“Oh, I’ve not made any money off of that. Not one penny in profit. I refuse to let go of the patent though. Corporations who want to use the method can license it by paying for the production desalination plants or stations throughout the world. Corps that want it because they need a large amount of freshwater and aren’t trying to hoard it, are happy to make them. It’s great publicity and for many overall lowers the cost of their water bill. I’ve also managed to produce an apple whose shelf life is about six months after picking at room temperature, and a few years when properly stored.”

“What’s it taste like?”

“A bit on the tart side of apples, but not too much. Otherwise pretty great.”

“Well I prefer tart apples. That is actually pretty impressive.”

Talia just shrugged. “I guess, currently most of the fruit is going towards planting new trees in my orchards to scale up. I’ve sort of handed that project off to my parents. They’ve retired but they both wanted something to work on that would eventually help people. In a few years I would expect a very cheap long lasting apple to become available.”

Mark was smiling. “See, this is more of what I expected from you. You’ve always been a good person Talia, I knew that. It’s part of what made me attracted to you, I was worried you were losing that earlier today, when you went and got stuff just to change Merida’s and Flora’s styles. Same with encouraging me to just go take Chloe instead of getting her help. You weren’t doing those things for them, or causing things incidentally, you were deliberately going out of your way to do something they wouldn’t normally like or appreciate. You also knew that fact.”

Talia looked a little ashamed. “Yeah… Thanks for helping me stay a decent person, Mark. Also for caring about who I really am, and trying to preserve my core beliefs like I asked.”

“Not a problem. Not sure if you knew, but I think Aubrey has mentioned it a bit. I was part of a community service organization for most of college, including grad school. I like helping others and making the world a better place. Honestly the only reason I didn’t ask you out in grad school is I had lost my faith and you were very religious.”

Talia held up a finger in correction, “I am still very religious, Mark.”

“If you say so, but the way it presents feels different. In any case what has made you billions if not those two?”

“Well the prosthetics earned a lot, but what actually made me personally a billionaire was something I made by accident. I’m surprised you don’t know about it, since it is so controversial.”

Mark raised an eyebrow at that. “Why so evasive?”

“Well… it’s a sex change pill.”

“Wait, are you telling me you invented x-change pills in our reality?”

“What are those?”

“They are a fictional pill that would temporarily change a person’s sex. There were a few varieties as well, for different durations.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Talia shook her head. “The pill I came up with only works male to female. It also takes a while to work just like HRT, the only difference is that the person actually becomes fully biologically female. The **** is still officially in testing but is being sold in some countries already. I’m hoping I can develop the reverse for female to male, but haven’t had success yet.”

“Okay, that’s still rather impressive. Why were you being evasive? I find it hard to believe that it being a sex change pill is why.”

“Well the controversial nature is part of it, but no if it was just people complaining about it being unnatural I wouldn’t care. It’s that black market copies are popping up. Also that shipments have been attacked and stolen. Apparently human traffickers are trying to get as much as they can. It makes it a lot easier to deal with a woman who has ‘never existed’. The only reason we know for sure that it’s being used that way is because of a raid which occurred as they were dosing their victims. The **** the victims suffered made it so they were detached from reality, not knowing who they were.” Talia looked down in disappointment and failure.

“Talia, that isn’t your fault. Don’t even start on you being responsible for that crap.”

“But—”

“No!” Mark said forcefully. “Talia, first of all you said you created it by accident originally. I suppose you could have simply refused to make that knowledge public, but I think that would have been a mistake and I think so do you, since you did make it public. That **** has a real world tangible benefit for transwomen, like you said it’s like HRT but more effective. Someone was eventually going to produce it, since it is apparently possible. It sounds like you are taking reasonable steps to stop the **** as much as you can too. Look I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try to help the people that were victims of **** of your creation but that isn’t the same as you being responsible for that happening to them.”

“But I could be doing more.”

“Really? Like what? Specifics here Talia. What could you do that wouldn’t remove access to the **** to people who actually want and need it?”

“I could pay for more security, have the **** administered at a clinic instead of something that people take at home, and…” Talia was struggling to think of more.

“That would raise costs and become a barrier to access for those who need it. Not to mention the danger and inconvenience to the people who would have to come to the clinic regularly. Plus these clinics would then become targets for theft of the ****. There is a limit to what you can be expected to do, and what you can do.”

“Thanks I guess.”

“So, anything you would consider really cool that you’ve invented?”

“What cybernetic prosthetics, not really cool enough for you?”

“Sure they are, but I meant something that the general public as a whole would probably use.”

“Teleportation.”

“Holy crap! That is cool… wait… are you messing with me?”

Talia smirked, “Yes, but you should have seen your face. Though I didn’t technically lie. I did successfully prove it is possible. More than just sending information, but sending matter. I was able to successfully teleport an atom. Not very far mind you and it isn’t practical at this time but it is a huge step forward.”

“How far?”

“A little more than a meter. But we are able to replicate it repeatedly. It also works on multiple elements. We are going through and checking all the stable elements to make sure there aren’t any problems there but it is fairly new. I have a few postdocs and graduate students running the experiments at the moment.”

“I mean that is really cool. Having a definitive proof of concept is important. Maybe in our lifetime it will be practical, for everyday use.”

“Doubtful.” Talia shook her head. “I would say a hundred years or more unless there is some miraculous leap in science.”

“Or you know… magic.” Mark offered. “Plus, it is possible that Laura and Sam will make it well past that age. I could see both of us making it there eventually depending on TFs. Like if you are made a demon or vampire, those tend not to have standard human lifespans. Plus with your anime physics, you can probably remain looking exactly like you do now for a very long time.”

“Hmm. That’s a good point. Another thing to add to the reasons I’m grateful for being on the show.” Talia leaned her head against Mark’s shoulder. “Mark, you were serious before about liking me as a person right? Even before the show?”

“Yeah, I was. You were just a touch to conservative and religious for me to consider dating.”

Talia cringed at remembering that. “Okay, I actually can’t believe I acted like that towards some of my friends now, especially Asuka. Would it be creepy to look her up after this. She doesn’t know me now and I only know a memory of who she was. Frankly her life could be completely different now.”

“Maybe a little, particularly with you being so wealthy, but I understand the desire. I guess the question is why are you doing it? Is it just for your own curiosity?”

“A little yes, but I also just want to make sure she’s okay. It seemed like she had a rough time in high school after I essentially abandoned her as a friend.”

“Okay, but what are you going to do if she is okay? What if she isn't, are you going to swoop in and ‘save her’?”

“Well, if she is okay, I’ll just leave her be, maybe invest in her local community or something but I wouldn’t try to insert myself into her life. If she isn’t, well I think it would depend on how she isn’t doing okay. Still I don’t think I have a right to **** myself into her life just because I feel bad, but I have money, no reason not to use it to help people.”

“Then I say go for it if you want. Just remember she’s old enough to be your mother now.”

“Umm no my mom is in her late fifties.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Yes but she is nineteen years older than you now. She mathematically could have a daughter your current age.” Talia opened her mouth and then closed it. “You hadn’t really considered that fact had you?”

“No… It’s confusing sometimes. Like I’m both eighteen and thirty-seven.”

“Yeah, history rewrites tend to be complicated, especially if you keep your previous memories and are given new ones. You have more of your new life you want to share?”

“Eh… now that I think about it I’d rather not divulge everything at once. Mark… I don’t want to seem like I don’t care but could we do something that would earn me some VP I’m a little concerned about how little I have.”

“You haven’t looked at your total today have you?”

“No, I haven’t…” Talia got out her phone and looked at her total of 31VP. “How did it get that high?”

“Let’s see, you touched my breasts, caused me to orgasm, princess carried me, probably caused Merida and Flora to orgasm, the accidental boob grabs I bet was worth points too, and that’s just what I can think of. So, do you still feel pressure to get more?”

“No. I do want to do stuff that would get me more, but not because I feel like I need the points. I just want to be with you.”

“I don’t want to rush things Talia. Especially when there is such a disconnect with how you feel about me and I feel about you. I’d like to emotionally be closer to you before doing sexual stuff with you.”

“I get that. Let’s just cuddle and watch something. Oh! How about you pick some anime you like, I haven't really watched any and if my life is going to be governed by anime physics maybe I should get to know some common tropes.”

“Sure, but you should realize that those things are probably going to be something I’ll notice that you won’t.”

“Right because I will think, 'that is just how life works'. Just point stuff out then. Pick out your favorite anime and we can binge it before we go to bed.”

Mark looked at Talia annoyed. “I’ll pick an anime I really like but I want you to know my favorite anime is a trick question. Favorite anything, doesn’t really have an answer for me. Not without a lot of criteria. Preference on genre?”

“Umm… isn’t anime the genre?”

Mark placed his hand on his forehead and muttered, “Oh, boy.” After shaking his head he continued. “No, anime is just like any other work of art or fiction, anime is a style. I will say there are some tropes and themes that are more prevalent in anime, but most of them can be found in other forms of media too.”

“Umm… how about romance then?”

Mark grimaced and then quickly **** his face into a neutral expression, “Sorry, wasn’t annoyed at your request. It’s just that it isn't a genre of anime I know a lot about.”

“I take it you are more an action sort of guy.”

“A bit, but I do watch plenty of different types. Oh, I have an idea, I heard they recently did a remake of it too…” Mark picked up the tablet to see if Cassandra had it. “Great, it's available. It definitely has elements of romance in it while also having plenty of other things too. We are going to watch ‘Ranma ½’.”

“What’s it about?”

“Funnily enough, someone like me.” Mark smirked while swapping into Mary.

“Someone who can change their sex.”

Mary nodded, “Yeah it’s a central plot point, you’ll see. In fact I suspect that the hot spring Cassandra has in the woods is based upon this anime.”

“Let me grab some popcorn, also would you mind staying as Mary? I would like to hold you instead of you holding me, and well… with the size difference.”

“Not a problem, I like being the little spoon just as much as the big spoon.” Talia came back with the popcorn, settled in next to Mary and began to watch the series late into the night.”