This is going to be a post for myself, no need for you to get bored reading it, as there are a lot of details, lol. I want to write down everything I know about this reality before I shift back to it (I minishifted on 20/11/'25), because it's the first time in years I'm actually excited to experience shifting again.
First... what's different?
Well, there are a lot of things that differ from the reality I'm typing this from. It can't be properly called a "better CR", but it's a plain life without any magic or extraordinary things - just a normal teenager living a whole hour away from a big city - so I prefer giving it that name. It's not some crazy desired reality to me; it's simply my other life.
Let's start with the location, which I feel like is what makes a DR a reimagined CR. I live in Italy right now, but because I became obsessed with the character Sebastian Sallow from Hogwarts Legacy, I started developing an affection for Scotland, a country I've always thought of as beautiful.
Initially, I wanted to live in Edinburgh, but I changed my mind after remembering that I hate the crowded city life. Like, yes, the views are amazing and everything is accessible, but... oh my God. Way too much for me. So I changed it to the small coastal town of North Berwick, even deciding where my friends and I would live, our school...
I chose a house near the beach, right on the border of the town.
As for my friends, I've already mentioned Sebastian. He's my best friend, along with his twin sister Anne, my cousin Ominis, and our other friend, Poppy. Sometimes, Garreth might pop in to hang out with us if we're going out, but he mostly stays with his own friend group.
The twins live a four/five-minute bike ride from my house (they also live in front of the beach), because in my CR, all my friends live in the town next to mine, and I always struggle to be included. Ominis and Poppy live a bit farther away, but it's fine because he's kinda rich and can pick her up on the way to Seb's house with his driver.
Our activities include going to the beach, hanging out in the pool in my backyard, going to the cinema, studying together, visiting Edinburgh and enjoying the nightlife in both cities. Sometimes we just chill at home - there's not always something to do. That's life.
We're not in the same class - we girls are all grouped together while the boys are in the classroom next to ours. For convenience, I made it so that our classes are always paired for school trips.
A cute moment I was thinking about was changing in the stalls after PE. I know it might sound silly, but I long for real, feminine friendships where we can just be dumb girls. I've always been ashamed of my body, changing in the bathroom alone with shitty classmates I've never really bonded with. I just want a friendship where we can take our clothes off without judgment and gossip, and go on about our day.
Regarding my identity and background, I tweaked some things. I changed my physical appearance to look skinnier and more appealing, my name, my parents' jobs, and my family's wealth.
I live comfortably in a large house as my mum makes a lot of money as an architect, while my dad owns a jewellery shop and makes custom pieces or repairs (I will take over in the future, so I'm not going to university or college). I have two younger brothers, but nothing's changed about them.
We will have moved two years before the shifting date, which I haven't specified exactly... it's a few days after the start of summer break before S5 (I will be 16 going on 17), all because my mother got a post in Scotland, which she's always loved.
Now, about school... probably the most dreadful topic of all. Well, not really, as I changed a loooot of things. There are only 5 days a week of school, all lasting 5 hours with 15-minute intervals every 2 hours. There's no lunch break!!!! We eat at home. Sometimes I just end up biking back to the twins' house instead of mine... just a quick turn to the right instead of the left.
I also modified the lessons in terms of organisation. I'm not sure how the Scots do it here, but I made it so that there are only a few written tests, no orals and no presentations (fuck my anxiety). We get to spend a bunch of time 'doing work' together during class as the explanations are not that long, so I always get a chat with Anne and Poppy while we work (or not).