If they wanna make the world a better place

Dawn noticed that Morgana looked a little shaken when she returned to their bedroom. She’d run off on her own after the… surprising incident had occurred this morning, stoking Dawn’s curiosity.

“So where’d you get off to?” Dawn asked curiously, peeking over the book she was reading.

The shorter woman wasn’t usually a snoop, but apparently her cat transformation was making her a little more curious than normal.

Morgana sighed. “I, uh… I went to take a hot bath in the hot spring,” she said, gesturing to her still-drying hair. “I needed to cool my head, after…. Well, you know.”

Dawn nodded and returned to her book. It was easy to understand Morgana’s position; even after everything Dawn had already seen on this show, all the twisted transformations that easy defied reality, there was something unnerving about seeing Nick change her gender; something that felt twisted on a fundamental level.

I really hope that doesn’t happen to me, Dawn thought, shivering a little. The thought of turning into a boy made her feel sick to her stomach. Especially if she didn’t get that much taller, and had to be a shorter guy.

No, thank you.

“What are you reading?” Morgana asked curiously, walking over to the bed. Dawn could already feel her heart rate increasing just from hearing her voice. She sucked in some air in a gasp and glanced up from her book.

“It’s just a science-fiction book,” Dawn replied. “It’s one of my favorites. I read it cover to cover when I was a little girl… I’m surprised the shop had it.”

Morgana raised her eyebrow. “You… I’m sorry, wait, you read books?”

Dawn looked up at her, an incredulous expression on her face. “What kind of question is that?” She asked sincerely. “Of course I read books. I love books. What, is there something wrong with me reading books or something?”

“N-no!” Morgana raised her eyebrows and shook her head frantically. “That… that wasn’t what I was trying to say at all! No, I just meant… well… you have, like, a perfect memory, right?” She asked. “So… why would you even need to read books? Can’t you just… well, you know?”

She pointed at her head, as if that answered everything perfectly. Dawn sighed and replied with a bemused smile.

“Yes, Morgana,” she nodded, “if I wanted to, then I could absolutely remember what happened in the book just from memory. But I don’t want to do that.”

She turned back to her book and closed her eyes, and took a deep whiff. “No, there’s something special, you know? When it comes to reading a book. The actual smell of the book, the feeling of turning over the pages in your hands… just because I can remember all of that stuff along with the content, doesn’t mean it’s not fun to go through the experience again.”

She turned the page she was on for emphasis.

Morgana was a little surprised. If she’d had the memory powers that Dawn had, there was no way she wouldn’t use them to her full advantage. She’d never read an old book again, only new stuff! But Dawn seemed to have a different perspective, that was for sure.

Morgana thought that was pretty cool. Dawn was like the cool best friend she always wanted. She even had the sarcasm and snark of a goth! Not that she had any interest in dark clothes, her outfits were always very professional.

“Your hand is doing that twitchy thing again,” Dawn observed, glancing up from her book. ‘Is it time for you to start writing in your journal?”

Morgana gasped. She nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, I think it is,” she said, conjuring her diary out of thin air. “So… only problem is…”

“Gotta come up with someone?” Dawn asked. “Hmm… this is an interesting thought experiment, actually.”

Morgana raised her eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean?” She asked curiously.

“Well, think of it like this,” Dawn said, looking up from her book. “If you write someone’s name down in that diary, then they have to have a dream with Nick, right? A fantasy of some kind. But… you don’t like women, right? And Nick’s a woman right now. So how do you see him? Would you be fantasizing about him as a guy, and then he turns into a guy for the dream? Or would you be fantasizing about him as a guy, only for him to turn into a woman, because that’s how he is right now? Or, heck, do you fantasize about him as a woman, and then he would be a woman in the dream?”

She shrugged. “I just think that’s an interesting experiment to test out, is all.”

“Well, if you’re that curious, I could always write your name!” Morgana joked.

“Sure, you can do that.”

Morgana blinked. “…Wait, really?” She asked, surprised to hear that.

“Yeah, why not?” Dawn set her book aside and turned her attention fully to Morgana. “You can experiment with me a little. It’s not like it would be the first time I’ve had one of those dreams from you, right?”

Morgana nodded. That was definitely something to consider. “Well… okay, then,” she agreed. “I guess I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Oh, if Nick is still a boy, though, then maybe could you have him… I don’t know, hold me down and pull my arms behind my back?” Dawn asked, her cheeks flushing a little bit as she imagined her shoulders bending backwards. “You know, for the sex position. If you can do that. I’d like to feel him inside me with my back arching and my arms folded back.”

Morgana looked shocked that Dawn would ask for something so direct and explicit. But the more that she thought about it, the more it made sense- after all, Dawn had just gotten that transformation that caused her to be aroused by the thought of Nick folding her into different sex positions and making use of her flexibility. This was just an extension of that.

Plus, her own transformation was working right now, leading to Dawn’s continued burgeoning arousal. It only seemed fair to provide her with some sort of release for it.

“Okay then,” she said, flipping open the diary. “Any other, um… positions? That you wanted Nick to hold you in, I mean?”

Dawn just smiled. She could name a few.

This is actually pretty good, she thought. “You know, Morgana, your diary is actually a pretty good transformation if you put your mind to it.”

“Really?” Morgana asked, surprised. “You think so?”

“Definitely,” Dawn nodded. “Because it allows you to experiment and practice with things safely. Just think about it like this. If I want to use my transformation with Nick and see how it affects me, I can have you come up with a dream scenario in which I can experiment with it safely. That way, I know just what I like, and I can be ready for when Nick uses me on my own night that way. You see what I mean by that?” She clarified.

“Oh, hey, yeah!” Morgana’s eyes widened as she contemplated what Dawn was telling her. “That’s actually pretty cool.”

“Of course,” Dawn continued, “it also means that, if I’m open to feeling good, I can let myself experience some pleasure normally, you know, as an added bonus.”

She was already looking forward to what her dream tonight would bring was Morgana opened up her diary to begin writing in it. Dawn had been uneasy and uncertain about having sex the first time, but now that she was dealing with Nick in a controlled environment, she was very excited and open to the idea in front of her.

Not to mention the fact that she was a lot more open to sex now that she’d had it, and it had been good. She was glad that her transformation had won… although, Nick didn’t have a penis anymore. Sylvia said that it was a temporary thing, but… what if it wasn’t? What if she was wrong, or Dakota had changed something? Then she’d be having sex with a woman… which wasn’t exactly the most thrilling prospect, admittedly.

Morgana glanced at her, wearing a thoughtful expression on her face.

“What’s up?” Dawn asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing,” Morgana said, shaking her head quickly and getting back to writing. “Just… I was thinking if this diary really is such an advantage, I almost wonder if I should be charging you money for this or something! Or BP, anyway.”

Dawn burst out laughing along with the goth. Of course Morgana wasn’t serious about that, she owed Dawn way too much for getting picked anyway.

But Dawn’s doubts and worries continued to bounce around in her head even as she laughed. The notion that her own interest in Nick might be tempered by the fact that he was in a woman’s body, and had the risk of staying that way, was an issue she might have to consider seriously.

Dawn wasn’t the only one who was thinking that way, either.

“Aargh, what a mess!” Rose groaned. She stormed back and forth around the room, pacing up a storm. And trying very hard to maintain a dignified appearance, when frankly she just wanted to curse her mouth off at the moment.

And could she really be blamed for that? After all, in her present state, she was dealing with a whole mess of problems.

“…You good, Rose?” Marley winced.

“You need anything?” Carly asked worriedly. “It seems like you’re really kind of under a lot of pressure right now… it’s not a big deal!”

“Not a big deal!?” Rose turned to Carly and scowled. “Come on, this is a massive deal! My night with Nick is tomorrow! And not only that, I was going to spend 5000 BP in order to make sure we have the whole day together! But now he’s a woman! Sylvia SAID he’d turn back, but what if he doesn’t?! What if I spend all that money on a date, and he wouldn’t even be able to…”

Her voice cracked and she had to stop. Tears welled up in her eyes. “Come on,” she sighed, shaking her head. “It’s not like it would have been amazing or anything, but… I really worked hard, planning it out. I wanted him to have fun…”

She sighed and curled up into a ball beside the bed.

“Hey, I mean… it’s just a date, right?” Carly said. “I’m sure you guys can have a great time, even if Nick’s not exactly functioning like a guy.”

“…Crass, sis,” Marley said, glancing at her sister and shaking her head. “That’s a little too crass.”

Carly frowned. “Hey, come on, it’s not that big of a deal!”

She turned to Rose, only to see that the blonde was trying very hard not to cry.

“…I mean, yikes,” she stammered, confused. “What’s up?”

“You wouldn’t get it,” Rose mumbled, shaking her head. “Tomorrow was… it was supposed to be a fresh start for the two of us. A really special day. I wanted it more than anything... And considering we didn’t meet under the best of circumstances... well, I certainly didn’t show him my best side. And I keep making mistakes like that. What must Nick think of me right now?” She wondered, staring wistfully out the window.

Carly winced. Maybe she should be taking this a bit more seriously. She hopped off the bed and crouched next to Rose, patting her on the back.

“Come on, Nick’s a nicer guy than you’re giving him credit for,” she urged, trying to keep the other woman feeling positive. “I’m sure he doesn’t care about all that stuff- he probably forgot it a long time ago!”

Rose shook her head. “It’s not that. I know he doesn’t hold a grudge against me or anything. It’s just… when it comes to dealing with love, I just…”

She let out a long sigh and played with her hair. “…I really screwed up before,” she mumbled, shaking her head. “Even though he forgave me, that’s not enough to erase his first impression of me as a loose, flighty woman scheming behind his back. And that’s not me! That’s not the kind of person I am!” She protested.

Her eyes watered as she looked to Carly and Marley for support. “You guys don’t think of me that way, right?”

“Of course not!” Carly exclaimed, shaking her head.

“You’re certainly not loose,” Marley agreed. “As for the other stuff…”

“Marley!” Carly exclaimed, turning to her sister.

“What?” Marley frowned. “Come on, I wasn’t even around then! Not really, anyway!”

Marley’s memories of the show from before Mimi had been “born” were, in a word, spotty at best. “All I’m saying is that given what I heard about how she acted, it’s not unreasonable for her to be worried about things with Nick, that’s all. But there were positive times, too, weren’t there? Didn’t you guys go watch the movies together?”

Rose smiled a little when she thought of that. “Oui,” she nodded, lapsing into French due to her nerves. “We did… and it was very fun.”

Carly grinned. “There, you see? So there’s no reason to think that your next date will be any less fun with him, even if he is a girl!”

That caused the smile to fade from Rose’s face. She sighed again.

“But… tomorrow was supposed to be special,” she mumbled, looking down. “After all… I… I put a lot of effort into it, because I don’t know… I don’t know if we, if he…”

She bit her lip, feeling overwhelmed with uncertainty. The road ahead was a troubling one, and she wasn’t sure how well she could handle it.

After all…

“…Would he really want to have sex with me, after everything?” Rose asked quietly. “I know he wants me physically… but… I want it to be something more than that, you know? To have a relationship built on simply physical intimacy, but no desire beyond that…”

She held her hand to her chest and felt her heart pound. It wasn’t exactly the most reassuring of feelings.

Carly frowned. “I… I don’t think it’s so wrong, personally, to have a relationship focused around sexual attraction…”

Marley sighed. This wasn’t the sort of conversation her sister was equipped to handle… but then, she wasn’t exactly built for it, either. After all, she had a very short list of successful relationships herself.

A list with zero names on it.

“Carly, I don’t think that’s the best thing for her,” she said, shaking her head. “Rose… you want something more, right? A deeper connection?”

“Of course I do!” Rose exclaimed, her eyes widening. “After all… this is Nick we’re talking about! He… this… it would be my… my first time…”

Her voice dropped to a whisper as she confessed the truth, her face burning with shame.

Carly and Marley both stared at her, surprised.

“You… you’ve never had sex before?” Carly asked, stunned. “Not even once?”

Rose winced. “Is… is that bad?”

“Of course not!” Marley said adamantly, shaking her head. “I’m just a little surprised, that’s all. I mean, never having had sex before…”

Rose frowned. “…I told you both this, though,” she pointed out.

Neither woman could actually remember that happening. If it had, then this was a rather embarrassing moment for the two of them!

“Well, uh… we’ve had a lot on our minds,” Marley said, scratching her cheek.

“Yeah, sorry… I guess we didn’t really register it,” Carly apologized.

Rose sighed. “It’s fine. “it’s not like it’s some major thing… I’ve always safeguarded my chastity, in spite of my demeanor… you know, my first real night with Nick, the night before Holly got eliminated… I was certain that my number was up. With how my popularity in the polls had cratered, I was afraid… afraid that I wouldn’t be able to stay. That I would be twisted and warped into a sex ****, and that… that terrified me.”

“I can imagine,” Marley winced. Her own elimination transformation had been significantly less problematic than what Rose was describing.

Rose shook her head. “You really don’t…”

“Hey!” Marley frowned. “I was a virgin before I got eliminated, too, you know. Or Mimi was, anyway. So… I kind of get it.”

Rose glanced up at her and gave her a wry smile. “Oui… I suppose that’s true,” she admitted, wiping her eyes. “But still… it doesn’t change things. I tried to offer myself to him… stripped naked, climbed on top of him…. In spite of what I stood to lose, I considered it to be absolutely worthwhile.”

“But you didn’t go through with it,” Carly pointed out.

Rose shook her head. “No,” she said. “I didn’t. Because… Nick stopped me. He could see… he saw that this wasn’t what I wanted, that if he touched me in that manner… then it would hurt me terribly. He held himself back, even though he wanted me, and he just… he held me. And we cried together, as I told him my story.”

The memory of that night brought a smile to her lips.

“It wasn’t perfect,” she said, shaking her head. “But… it was the first time I had felt truly safe and secure in a very long time.”

Neither girl really knew what to say to the blonde.

It was Carly who stepped up, though.

“Then tell him that,” she said, her voice kind but filled with conviction. “You have all day tomorrow, right? You’re trying to make a new first impression to him, and trying to show him you best sides, so he’ll like you, and fall in love with you right back? Then tell him what you just told me. That he makes you feel treasured and safe, like there’s nothing to worry about I guarantee, he’ll fall head over heels if you let him know just how much that night really meant to you.”

Maybe it was her training as an actress, but Rose had an unbelievable level of skill when it came to communicating her emotions to other people. Carly thought that if there was anything that might draw Nick to her, it was that.

Rose was less convinced. She looked up at the cosplayer, surprised.

“You… do you really think so?” She asked.

Carly nodded. “He’ll want to hear it,” she said. “Knowing that you mean the world to someone… it’s a powerful bond that can lift you up, and make your heart feel lighter than air… at least, that’s what I’ve heard, anyway.”

A sad shadow crossed her face. “I haven’t ever experienced it for myself,” she admitted. “But… I think I’d like to feel that way.”

Her words inspired the confidence in Rose’s chest.

“I’ve decided,” she said. “I don’t care if it’s going to end up being a waste of money, with Nick not turning back until after the deadline! I’m doing to do my best regardless and pay for the date anyway!” She declared.

Rose: 7900 BP – 5000 BP = 2900 BP

She let out a sigh. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Well… it’s done,” she said, wiping the sweat from her brow. “We’ll see what tomorrow holds, I guess.”

“Good luck,” Carly wished her.

“I hope you don’t need it,” Marley added.

Rose just smiled and tittered along with the two of them, thinking about her upcoming date tomorrow with fond hope.