"It might just work if I intend to give it to you, or we might have to make it look like a trade, or it might be based on you holding it for a certain amount of time? Not sure, but the easiest thing is probably if I intend to give you the phone. It's kinda old and I don't really care if I don't get it back."

He takes a photo of himself.

As expected, nothing happens.

So he hands the phone to Matt, intending to give it to him.

Matt takes it!

Nothing continues to happen.

"… I could give you, like, a nickel for it or something, see if that works?"

He rummages around in his pocket and hands one over.

Nope.

"… Or I could try ten dollars in case it realizes that a nickel for a phone is not a typical, conventional trade? Not that ten dollars really is either but being honest this is kinda old and it's at least better."

He does so.

Nah.

"… And maybe it's just slow to respond to changes in ownership so I should keep hold of this for a while."

"I mean, I don't need it or particularly want it, so you can keep it anyway."

Now it works!

"… Okay so only now does it work. That might just be a 'takes a minute' thing or it might be an intention thing? Test again handing it back to me, maybe?"

… So he does so!

Works again.

"… That transferred it again. But now if it is an intention thing, since it doesn't seem to be a time thing unless it's non-obvious, I'm not sure we'll get reliable results because it's 'I want to transfer ownership for the purposes of a test'…"

"Yeah, seems to have worked just when you actually really wanted to give it to him for real."

"I mean, now I want to give it to him for the purposes of a test, so I'm not sure that's going to work, and I'm not sure it disproves anything, but I'll try giving it to him again?" So he does. And he tries to sincerely want to give it to Matt, because either way at the end of the day he doesn't much care if he gets the phone back, but the intention to give it to Matt is mainly just because of the test.

Yeah that one doesn't go.

"Didn't go, but I'm not sure that gives us much, nor would it if it did go, probably." Sigh. "Intention to transfer ownership has got to be probably one of the hardest things to test if you know what you're testing."

"Yeah, this whole thing seems to be mind magic of the worst kind. Which, I guess is a running theme."

"At least we have most of what causes the mind-magic tracked down, because it does seem to be pictures or videos of me in your possession? The memory thing giving me sway seems to make sense but I'm not sure we can test it unless we have me talk to someone else without actually seeing them, ask them what they think of me or something?"

"Well it works on audio recordings, presumably it'll work on conversation sans visuals, unless you mean, like, texting, or something?"

"No, I meant regular conversation, but then they have a picture of me in their head, I only have their voice, audio seems to be weaker than a picture, at least in small quantities, and it's less than video, so even though I do hear them it should at least do a lower amount and then we can test if it jumps up when they see me, with my eyes shut or something, and then see if it jumps up when I see them?" Pause. "This has the issue that people think I'm dead, though, so it might not exactly be feasible."

"...you called your mom."