The Gift (fanfic)

"The Gift is your typical "boy becomes girl, girl freaks out, girl likes it, girl becomes boy again" story (maybe), only without the tiny chocolate robots (awww...). A Sci-Fi/Friendship/Humor/Romance/Mystery/Action story, with a hint of lemon."

- From the FictionPress.com website

The Gift is one part Misfile, one part Quantum Leap and one part Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness. An in-progress Self-Insert Fic by TV Troper BMeph.

The story -- 33 chapters published between April 2011 and August 2013 before it was apparently abandoned, can be found here.


 * Action Girl: Cathy is made of this
 * All Gays Are Promiscuous: Averted in a direct quote, by Cathy.
 * Alpha Bitch: JoJo-A to L.L. ("Dere" JoJo is dere.)
 * Alternate Timeline: The explanation of the Gender Bender. As for explaining the Alternate Universe,...
 * Amazonian Beauty: L.L.
 * Audio Erotica: Cathy "gives good phone". She later claims JoJo taught her how.
 * Author Appeal: It's a fanfic, so there you go. In particular, red hair, Green Eyes, and physically well-developed women are at the top of the list. JoJo seems to be in a local cluster of them, and likes it, a LOT.
 * Almost as much as she likes checking out butts.
 * Men and women.
 * There are no Pettanko in this world; C-cups are the new A-cups.
 * Averted, by Beverly Huysmann, a twelve-year-old girl with the body of a twelve-year-old.
 * Author Avatar: Pretty much all the Bates "kids".
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: How Amy and L.L. react to their older sisters’ Relationship Upgrade.
 * Biker Babe: Cathy.
 * Big Girl Little Girl: L.L. and JoJo, respectively.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: JoJo is reluctant to mention the inevitable separation of her and Cathy when she goes back to school in the second week or permanently, if she succeeds in.
 * Catch Phrase: Many, with "Did I mention..." at the top of the list.
 * "sooo" last millenium.
 * Coded For Your Convenience: name-A for originals, name-1 for.
 * Dad the Veteran
 * Deadpan Snarker: Almost everyone. It seems to be this world's hat.
 * Ethical Slut: Cathy, although it may just be for fanservice.
 * Expository Theme Tune: Except for a few standouts, each chapter has the title of a song, and the songs in each section are in the same category, if not sung by the same artist/group. The song relates to the events in the chapter, either by a pun on the title, or the lyrics describing a similar circumstance.
 * First Girl Wins
 * Gender Bender: JoJo
 * Genre Savvy: JoJo deliberately avoids high heels because of concerns of being in comedic situations. Also, she complains at first of not being the Hero type. Of course, she later changes her mind.
 * Heroic BSOD: JoJo is not comfortable with being the Uke. At. All.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Amy and L.L. are not romantic, but they are very close, and from the Prologue we see that  they are still together.
 * Huge Schoolgirl: L.L. - 5'10", and 15 years old.
 * In-Series Nickname/Stage Name: Almost everyone in-story uses a nickname, based on their given name. JoJo, after learning of Cathy's nickname(“Candy”), immediately starts using it whenever they are alone.
 * Manic Pixie Dream Girl: JoJo, to the point where her being a Tsundere is more of an Informed Ability.
 * Military Brat: Technically all of the Bates kids, but JoJo is the only one who remembers Dad in uniform.
 * Mood Swinger: JoJo especially at the mall, Sunday afternoon (chapter 22). Or just generally, JoJo.
 * The Nicknamer: JoJo. If you don't have a nickname, she will make one up. If you do have one, especially if not everyone knows it, she will find it out, and use it.
 * No Periods, Period: Averted and played with, in that while JoJo was expecting it, the timing was sooner than expected.
 * One Head Taller: Cathy and JoJo.
 * One of Us: Written by a Troper so not a big surprise. In-story: JoJo and Cathy discuss inventing a new trope to describe a potential situation.
 * Precision F-Strike: Combined with a Spoonerism - "What the talk are you f*cking about?"
 * Record Needle Scratch: When JoJo first meets her counterpart's (female, gay) best friend, who offers to give her a front massage...
 * Relationship Upgrade: Cathy had an unrequited crush on JoJo-A. With the new and improved JoJo, it got better.
 * Romantic Two-Girl Friendship: Cathy and JoJo-A.
 * Shout-Out: It's a Fanfic, so to be expected.
 * In-story Example: JoJo-A was born in a small Indiana town on the same day as Sam Beckett. She also, and now JoJo is trying to Set Right What Once Went Wrong...
 * And has a friendly adviser who's a hologram...
 * Except, she's the oldest child, not the youngest.
 * The chapter where Amy is introduced is called "The Magic of Friendship".
 * "CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY" ...
 * Most of the chapters are named after songs, whose titles or lyrics relate to the actions in the chapter. All of the songs in each chapter has a common tie as well, usually all done by the same artist/band.
 * Single-Target Sexuality: JoJo flirts with Anything That Moves, but feels an aversion to going any further than that, especially with men. However, she responded to Cathy from the first phone call....
 * Suspiciously Specific Denial: JoJo, a devout Christian, seems to have no problem being either a cross-dresser or gay (depending on how you identify her gender). Being bisexual, however...
 * She also has a list of "fake blondes" - female entertainers with non-naturally blonde hair - whom she prefers. Her list of said women is suspiciously long. She specifically remarks about her attraction to Cathy, who is not a "fake" blonde.
 * She "prefers" redheads and brunet(te)s...and "Candy".
 * Averted (slightly) in how she's taken to being (and being called) a girl. She's careful to make the distinction of being "a guy on the inside", as meaning that she thinks like a guy. She'll still try to correct someone who knows the secret, though.
 * "If only that ugly...expression were (slapped)gently removed ...."
 * At her first meeting with Cathy, JoJo takes great care not to call Cathy's shoes "practical".
 * Tiny Tyrannical Girl: JoJo-A - although there are signs that it isn't just the "before" version.
 * Tsundere: JoJo, and HOW. Although she seems stuck in Manic Pixie Dream Girl mode at home.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: JoJo has - and enjoys - a Class A, within hours of becoming a woman.
 * Tsundere: JoJo, and HOW. Although she seems stuck in Manic Pixie Dream Girl mode at home.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: JoJo has - and enjoys - a Class A, within hours of becoming a woman.