BoM/TWS Message Forum

I'm gonna set an extra constraint on my own choices. Because I don't want to tip any ideas that I might work with, I'm going to make choices that for whatever reason (too hard to pull off; unlikely to lead to interesting storylines; whatever) probably wouldn't show up in BoM, but which would really do something to the characters.**

M2M: Frank Durras and Gordon Black. Any story with the Durrases focuses otherwhere than life-changing shenanigans, so this wouldn't be a great incident to put into a story except as a temporary change. But Frank-as-Gordon would quickly put Gordon's bullying father in his place, and Gordon-as-Frank would get an idea of what real alpha leadership (as opposed to alpha bullying) can accomplish when you've got goals to set and reach. Frank wouldn't be improved by the switch (during or after a switchback) but Gordon would be; and though Gordon started off in the earliest chapters as a mere bully, he has grown a lot more interesting and sympathetic in my own imagination.

F2F: Anita Nuevo and Chelsea Cooper. Story-wise, such a switch would be best carried off (I suspect) as a background subplot rather than as a direct focus. Consequences of it? Anita-as-Chelsea would be very demanding of the cheerleader squad, but she'd be a much more positive and encouraging leader, so the squad would be a much happier place, and she'd shut down a lot of Chelsea's shit elsewhere in the school. Meanwhile, Chelsea-as-Anita would run head-long into a wall of girls just as tough as her and would learn how to persuade and charm instead of bullying as a team leader.

M2F: Justin Roth and Andrea Varnsworth. The change would be so subtle it would be almost invisible, even allowing for their ability to mimic each other thanks to the mind bands. They would probably quickly talk and compare notes and realize what had happened; they would probably become inseparable friends and partners; I doubt they'd become romantically or sexually linked, though, but would be best friends as each tried to do the best by the other while being the other. But there's no good way to study what they would do and why except through their viewpoints (or with an omniscient narrator). Most everything they would say or do that would be meaningful would be made in the privacy of their own conversations.

** But in pondering things, I think I have come up with an awesome idea that could be pulled off inside BoM. I'm not going to say any more about it, though, as I'd like it to be a surprise if it shows up ...