[help!] Magical Transformation

[NinjaGaijin]

hi guys and girls,

I'm currently writing a story in a fantasy setting, and soon I will hit a magical transformation scene (think Sailor Moon or Card Captor Sakura).

Now, I've been advised to leave the magical stuff magical, but somehow I'm not yet satisfied with magical transformation mechanics. The following questions might be silly...

If my character (a woman) was wearing her normal clothes when transforming into her alter-ego, with different clothes, then what should happen to her normal clothes? Should they vanish? Should they get taken off her but still existing nearby? (Something like throwing open a large robe to reveal clothes worn underneath) Should they be transformed into her new costume? How should I portray back-transformations (from alter-ego back to normal)? Would she return back in her normal clothes (which have vanished/dropped/transformed)? Or naked (with her normal clothes gone--"I lost my favourite skirt in the last transformation!")?

(...do I seem incoherent?)

Anyway. I hope you peeps can give me some suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[shinigamiinochi]

if you are going for the humorous or erotic, I would say, have her be naked when she transforms back. However, if you want it to be more serious or credible, have her normal clothes transform into her fantasy outfit. This way, you don't have to bother with the clothes nearby scenario and when she changes back, she'll have the same outfit. That just makes more sense to me. That's how Sailor moon worked. Cardcaptor Sakura scenarios only work if your character has a sidekick to carry around her normal clothes and help her change when danger arises, like Tomoyo. Or, you can have an Ah My Goddess or Scar Tissue approach in which the character is not human and can transform her clothes to anything she wants by changing molecules using magic.

[NinjaGaijin]

if you are going for the humorous or erotic, I would say, have her be naked when she transforms back. However, if you want it to be more serious or credible, have her normal clothes transform into her fantasy outfit. This way, you don't have to bother with the clothes nearby scenario and when she changes back, she'll have the same outfit. That just makes more sense to me. That's how Sailor moon worked. Cardcaptor Sakura scenarios only work if your character has a sidekick to carry around her normal clothes and help her change when danger arises, like Tomoyo. Or, you can have an Ah My Goddess or Scar Tissue approach in which the character is not human and can transform her clothes to anything she wants by changing molecules using magic.

Thanks for the idea. In the story, the character is a normal female that discovers a device that can turn her into a sexier version of herself (makeover & clothes & mindset temporary change included). I'm leaning towards naked back-transformation with normal clothes discarded; that might also get rid of the problem of new clothes appearing out of nowhere; if they vanish with the back-transformation, it would make the story more interesting... she gets back to her old self, but naked and sore in the nether regions!