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Not Your Average Teen Pop Star (DarkDreamer9110 x MsBloom)

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The second set was another three songs, two uptempo songs that gave Cassie all the opportunities to dance around on the stage she could ever desire and did she ever move to the music, her dress sparkling in the spotlights., and inbetween them a slow song that had Cassie sitting down at the keyboard but even then it was clear that she was the star of the band. Ellie stayed at the back of the stage for the most part more than happy to provide the back up for Cassie to shine. The second set was also longer than the first because the songs were, the slow song in the middle was well over five minutes long and up to that day the longest in their repertoire.

After the second set the girls were given a short break to go through and approve the questions that had come from the audience, both those actually present at the restaurant and some from those watching the live stream, before resuming their Q&A. As they did this, they withdrew to a corner booth near the kitchen and also took the opportunity to rehydrate themselves.

They were still within earshot of the bar where Adrienne was interviewing their parents and would show the video of Cassie coming out to her parents and Ellie's mum on her tenth birthday, a moment that was also the start of Funhouse Sweethearts even if they didn't define it as a band until the next day when they wrote their first song together.


As the video started on the screen Ellie looked up and couldn't help but giggle at her 10 year old self marching down the stairs of the Claytons' house in Fresno wearing a pale green summer dress with butterflies on it, her hair in the same partly braided pigtails she actually still wore occasionally even if her hair was longer now than it had been then. It was kind of cute how assertive and serious she looked when she told the Claytons and her mum to promise not to interrupt Cassie, or Austin as she had called her, rather reluctantly, for the very last time ever, until she was done. And Cassie was definitively cute as a button when she came down the stairs, wearing make up for the first time outside the BFF bubble of Ellie and herself. Ellie had helped make it perfect since Cassie was still learning. It wasn't much, some eyeliner a little bit of blush to make the face a bit more narrow and just a touch of lip gloss.

Ellie gave her a reassuring smile as she walked past her audience of the evening only just barely daring to look at them before she picked up her guitar and started playing a short introduction for the movie version of Reflections from Mulan. When Cassie didn't start singing when she was supposed to Ellie started over and this time nudged her BFF half a bar before she was supposed to start. From that moment Cassie performed without the nerves she had shown coming down the stairs seeing her parents give her curious looks.

It was a very simple version of the song they did that evening. Ellie had picked out the chords from the movie and they had rehearsed it for about a week, basically since Ellie's tenth birthday. At the age of 10 Cassie's voice was nowhere near what it would become in the following years, but it carried even if she struggle with the more intense parts, something she no longer did. All in all though it was not a bad performance, not even nearly seven years later.

The song was over in two minutes and then came the hard part for Cassie and Ellie had put the guitar down and gone to stand by her side holding her hand for support just like they had both done during the first Q&A when talking about the trauma and drama of their official coming out, the way they always had supported each other.

The silence before Cassie started talking could quite literally be heard on the video and Ellie looked up at the screen, saw how close to a complete breakdown Cassie had been, especially in those brief seconds after she had stopped talking and her mum rushed after her to stop her and let her know that she didn't care if she was a boy or a girl as long she still loved her.

She saw Cassie drop the mic and pull her hand free from Ellie's ready to run back upstairs. It was impossible for Ellie to even begin to understand what Cassie had felt as those seconds passed excruciatingly slowly. Then she smiled and felt tears welling up in her eyes as Madison and then Eric both hugged their daughter and spoke their daughter's name for the first time reassuring her of their unconditional acceptance before Madison invited Ellie and her mum into the hug to, declaring that they too were family.

The video had been edited with a fade to black of the five of them sharing one big family hug and there were quite a few awwws and ooohs from the audience.


After the video had ended Ellie refocused on the questions but heard both of Cassie's parents talk about a far too common consequence of young trans people coming out to less accepting parents, friends, being met with hostility and disgust, suicide. Ellie barely dared think about what she had done if Cassie's coming out had ended that way. She barely dared think it because she was unsure that she would have been able to continue living without Cassie.

"Too many parents have ridiculous expectations when it comes to their children, pushing them to become what they are not, whether it is as simple as expecting them to become doctors or lawyers or take over the family business or something more profound like expecting girls like Cassie to hide and keep pretending to be boys, and the other way around of course," Joan added to what the Clayton's had said.
"Speaking of," Adrienne interjected without interrupting.
"Your daughter came out as a lesbian recently. How did that make you feel?"
"I will admit that I was surprised by the way she did it but more so that it had taken her as long as it did to realise it, to realise how Cassie felt about her. It was pretty obvious if you ask me. I wasn't as surprised that she did though. There had been little clues here and there, a mother notices those sort of things."
She looked over at the table where Cassie and Ellie were huddled together discussing something.
"And as any responsible parent would I kept an eye on her browser history so I knew what she was watching at night when she was supposed to be sleeping."
Joan smiled knowing that it might perhaps embarrass her daughter that she had known this but Ellie had opened up that box of worms herself.
"If in the end that means I won't get to spoil any grandchildren then so be it, as long as she is happy, and just look at her, at them both."

Almost as if to make Joan's point Ellie sat up straight in the chair with a big happy smile on her face looking into Cassie's eyes.
"Just look at them both. They are so happy together. Nothing else matters."
 
Cassie didn't even need to watch or listen to the video; that memory was burned into her mind with absolute clarity. It had been due largely to Ellie's encouragement and support that she had had the courage to do it. She remembered the paralyzing nervousness, the way she'd missed her cue and Ellie had prompted her. The silence before her parents reacted had been an eternity in mere seconds, and just long enough for her to jump to the conclusion that she was being rejected. And then her mom had called after her, rushing over and embracing her. Then her father. Cassie had never felt so loved, so accepted.

Going over the submitted questions with a couple of the other track team members, Cassie had noticed that Adrienne had marked one with "I know this guy's username. He's one of Keith's buddies. So I'm leaving this to your call."

The question was a very rudely phrased one about the logistics of sex without a working dick between them, and Cassie had pondered whether to approve it or not for a minute. Finally, she had decided that she would, but she had her own plan for it. Namely to rephrase it for civility's sake and to give a rather snarky response

Another question, and one that got a more positive response from both girls when they saw it, was from Alice, Ellie's sister, and of course was both respectful and definitely worth answering.

The final comment Adrienne had deferred to their approval was far more surprising than anything else, and flagged by Adrienne as "definitely not my call to put this out there."

Cassie had read it, expecting something either extremely personal or possibly offensive, but was rather surprised by it. She decided it definitely deserved to be included. But Ellie also had a say, as the comment pertained to her as well.

After a few more questions for the parents, Cassie and Ellie had passed the approved list to Adrienne before heading back over to their interview corner.

As they settled in, Adrienne smiled. "So, we have just a few more preplanned questions for you girls, and then our audience submissions. First off, though, that video was beautiful. And it's clear you were both very talented even then. Would you mind giving us a little of the context around it?"

Cassie nodded. "It was the first time for a lot of things. The first time I presented femme to anyone besides Ellie. My first time wearing makeup in front of my family. Our first musical performance."

"The birth of Funhouse Sweethearts, one might say?"

Cassie nodded emphatically. "Definitely. We started writing our first song the next day, and we both got serious with our music lessons. If I could reach my parents with a song, who else could I reach with music?"
 
Ellie had almost gone awww when she read her half-sister's question about kissing girls. She knew Alice was quite curious about all things that had to do with romance and sex. Last summer when she had visited her dad the two had talked a lot more openly about such things, not that Ellie at that time had much more experience than Alice did. She was after all still a virgin at the time, and technically still was despite recent activities with Cassie. It had been a lot of giggles, a lot of ewww and gross when they had talked about the mechanics of sex but also fascination and curiousity. They had talked some about masturbation as well in general terms. It was times like that when Ellie really enjoyed being a big sister. The question itself seemed both simple and personal but since it related to her having just come out as a lesbian it somehow felt appropriate to include it. It wouldn't need an all too elaborate public answer and Ellie would certainly bring it up with Alice, in more detail, the next time they saw each other in a few weeks.

The last note on the table after they had decided to address at least one of the haters was both surprising and at the same time quite positive. Ellie read it after Cassie had passed it to her and nodded. It was certainly worth adding to the Q&A even if it wasn't a question as such but it would be a great balance to all the haters. The one issue Ellie had with it was that they had so far not mentioned Keith by name even if of course everyone from school knew exactly who they had talked about both in relation to the attempted rape of Ellie and the assault on Cassie. Addressing this final note would have to be made with a certain amount of diplomacy to not open themselves up to a lawsuit for slander or deformation of character, even if they did have two very good lawyers in their mums.
"We should definitely use this but let's be careful with naming names," she said and handed the note back to Cassie.

With that they were ready for round two and the camera crew shifted from the parents to the girls as they took their seats.
"As we were only ten at the time that first song might perhaps seem a bit childish today, but we still play it every once in a while, because despite being written by two children it still has a lot to say to us as teenagers. It is a simple song about friendship and how having a friend you can trust to never let you down, to always know just what to say when you're feeling sad and who will never judge you, no matter what, a friend you can be your true self with."
She smiled at Cassie as she explained the song.
"To say we wrote it the next day might be to simplify things. We started it the day after the video was shot and probably finished it a day or two later. It was also the start of what would become Funhouse Sweethearts. We didn't have a name for the band yet and did go through quite a few along the way. I think the first name we used was Cass & Elle. Funhouse Sweethearts actually came a few years later one night after we'd watched Pink's video for the song Funhouse which is absolutely fabulous, both the video and the song. I'm not entirely sure where Sweethearts came from but it might have something to do with it being a term of endearment our parents used for both of us at the time, and I think we kind of used it among ourselves as well."

Adrienne nodded and then addressed Cassie again.
"You say a big motivation for you when you started writing songs was to see who else you could reach with music. Do you have plans to write a coming out song now that you have come out to the world as trans?"
 
Cassie smiled as Ellie spoke. "It's something that was definitely inspired by our friendship, and by the fact that without this beautiful lady I never would have had the courage to come out to my parents at 10." She agreed.

A chuckle. "We went through like a dozen or more names over the years, yeah."

The question got a smile from Cassie ad she nodded. "We've actually been working on one for ... A long time now, like a few years. But we're finally getting close to a version I feel is worth releasing. We're calling it Not Your Average Teen Girl. And it's very much about finding the strength, confidence, and self-acceptance to come out. But that's just the start of what I want to do. I want to do a whole album, at least, about trans experiences. We actually recently started working on another song, something I was inspired to write by my experiences that first day at school after coming out. If NYATG is about the self-acceptance of coming out, this one is about what you can face afterwards, what the aftermath of coming out can be and what it can feel like." She said.

"That's a really amazing idea, Cassie. I'm really proud you're planning that." Adrienne said.

"Now, our next question hass been edited to remove the considerably crude and vulgar language it was written with by the guy who sent it in. But basically, how do the two of you have sex without a ... Fully functional penetrative organ between you two?"

Cassie chuckled, holding up a hand and wiggling her fingers. "What are these, then? Or this?" She said, sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry at the camera. "Seriously, though, sex doesn't have to be penetrative, or even include a guy's genitals, after all. And thinking it does is just a heteronormative misconception that is just ... Dumb and outdated." She said.
 
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Having let Cassie respond to the question about whether they were planning a coming out song, since that was her thing to talk about, Ellie then joined her girlfriend in blowing bubbles at the clearly derogatory question, stuck out her tongue and even held up her own fingers, just Cassie had done, to signal that no specifically male organ was needed and as she did she couldn't help but to giggle as she imagined just how iconic that freeze frame might end up being once people isolated it from the streaming video.
"An entirely obsolete notion," she added to Cassie's statement.
"I'm no expert," she continued.
"But there are so many other ways to have sex than simple heteronormative penetration. You don't even need penetration at all even if I'm sure it is quite nice."
She was just about to start making a list of ways to have sex without any sort of penetration, whether it was toys or fingers but as she looked up she saw her mum and the Claytons at the other end of the bar and decided against it. She had already opened up far more about her masturbation preferences that she was entirely comfortable with, not to mention the embarrassing moment when she found out that her mum had known about them. There was no need to add fuel to that fire.
"Let's just say that with a bit of imagination and curiousity you can have a full buffet rather than just a reheated dry cheese burger with too much dressing."

Adrienne nodded in agreement with a big smile on her face. She if any of the three would certainly know and when the camera panned back to her she agreed and said that the world of pleasure would indeed be a boring one if it all depended on the male of the species.
"Next question," she said and looked at Ellie.
"Is it better to kiss girls than boys?"
Ellie smiled and let out a soft amused chuckle.
"Well. It is certainly a lot different. Girls have softer lips, and well not just the lips either."
She took a deep breath and knowing who she was actually talking to she winked at the camera.
"If you are asking because you are a girl and you think you might like girls better than boys my advice to you is to simply try, BUT make sure you try it with someone who won't turn on you and use it against you later, make sure it is with someone you really like and someone who likes you too."

Adrienne nodded again.
"That is good advice. What about you Cassie, do you agree with your girlfriend?"

After Cassie had given her reply to Alice's question Adrienne took on a more serious face and looked at Cassie who was holding the note from Keith's dad.
"Now though. In the light of what happened to you both recently I gather that there is a message that was sent in through the Q&A chat that you would like to address."
 
Cassie looked at Adrienne as she was asked to weigh in on the question, then back at Ellie. "Well, I can't actually speak on if kissing girls is better. I've kissed exactly zero boys and one girl. I honestly wouldn't want to kiss a boy. I'm a lesbian, after all. So yeah, for me, I suppose kissing a girl is better because I actually want to kiss girls. But I do agree with Ellie's advice. Find someone you trust who won't use it against you, who you like and who likes you."

She nodded as Adrienne spoke. "This isn't a question. Now, for the context of this message, if you've been paying attention tonight, you'll have noticed that both Ellie and myself have mentioned being assaulted recently. Ellie at our junior prom, me at school on Monday. These were both perpetrated by the same person, a now-former classmate of ours. What I have here is a message we were sent by that student's father. I will be omitting names besides mine and Ellie's, and only using the first letters where other names are mentioned, but otherwise wish to read this verbatim because I believe it should be shared. But as for who's involved specifically, that's not something that needs to be dragged out right now. The people who need to know know, everyone involved knows. You'll find out more when we get this to trial. But right now doxxing him is senseless. And those who do know already who's involved ... Don't go harassing them or the families or anything."

"Anyways, moving on to the message." She cleared her throat. "Dear Ms. Clayton and Ms. Spencer, my name is R. I am K's father. In light of what my son did to you both, I wished to reach out to you to extend my sincerest apologies. What K did was horrible and hateful. I find his behavior reprehensible, and I am ashamed by it, as I believed I had raised him better than that. It is absolutely not right that either of you were subjected to his violence. I wish to inform you both that, as the criminal proceedings are moving forward, I will not be providing any resources towards his defense. Indeed, I hope that he will face the maximum penalty for what he did and that justice will be served, for both your sakes and those of any other women who may have in the past or future been similarly victimized by him.

"In addition, I sincerely wish to make this right, or at least to do something to make amends in some meaningful way. Therefore, if you both are amenable to it, I would like to make a sizeable donation to an LGBTQIA+ charity organization of your choice. I believe it fitting that the money K would want me spending on an attorney and legal fees for him be instead put towards helping members of the community his actions harmed. Please note I am not doing this to buy you off or to make this go away. That would be ignorant and insensitive of me, and completely contrary to the ideals of justice. I do not expect or desire that you drop the charges against K, and this donation comes without strings or conditions. It is my hope only that it makes a difference to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, so that some good may be salvaged from this situation.

"Again, I extend my sincerest apologies to you both and I sincerely hope neither of you face another attack like the ones K perpetrated against you. I wish you both the best of luck in your future endeavors and hope you have long, happy lives together.

"Yours most truly, R."

As Cassie finished reading it, her eyes were growing watery and her voice cracked as she fought back a sob. "Look at that, people. This man, the man who's son tried to rape my girlfriend and beat me bloody, had the courage to reach out to us. And not only does he not try to defend his son's actions, he actively condemns them, he apologizes for them, and he seeks to make reparations in a meaningful way. This, people, is truly impressive support and allyship. So, R, here's what I have to say. First off, I accept your apology. Secondly, if you want to make a donation to a good charity for the trans community, The Trevor Project is an excellent choice. And I want to thank you for reaching out to say this. It means a lot to me that you felt it necessary to apologize for him. And I want you to know, I don't blame you for your son's behavior. I admit, when we saw that this was from you, I ... Expected it to be much more negative. So thank you for surprising me. It was a very pleasant surprise and I am happy you gave us a chance to show an excellent example of how to handle that sort of behavior." She said, smiling and nodding as she wiped the water from her eyes.
 
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Ellie had of course read the message from Keith's dad but hearing Cassie read it out loud had a completely different impact on her. The way her voice had begun to crack with emotion towards the end. This impact could also be seen on Adrienne and many of the faces in the audience and the fragility with which Cassie began her comment on the message had more than a few eyes watering, including Ellie's and when Cassie had stopped talking she touched the palms of her hands to her eyes and cleared her throat.
"For those of you who don't know The Trevor Project is a non-profit organisation focused on preventing suicide among young LBTQIA persons. Among other things they operate the Trevor Lifeline, a confidential service where you can call a toll free number and talk to a trained counsellor 24/7. If for any reason you are unable to call you can either text or chat with them. Before the evening is over we will provide you with the number, unless of course Cassie has it memorised."
She smile and nudged Cassie before going on to adress what she had said before reading the message.
"I can understand the desire to dox people who behave in the way this man's son did towards myself and my girlfriend, some might see it as a way to warn others, some as justice others as well-deserved punishment but in the end what it comes down to is that it hurts not only the person you dox but also their family and friends, people who may have done nothing wrong. And remember that, even if this isn't the case here, that not all rumours are true and to spread unsubstantiated rumours can ruin lives, especially if they turn out not to be true."

"And with that I feel we should leave the girls to compose themselves a few moments before returning to the stage for another set of songs," Adrienne said and gave the girls a nod.
"In the meantime let us once more talk to their parents about how they feel about this indeed very impressive message of support."
"I can't honestly believe it," Joan Spencer said.
"It is such a strong signal of disapproval of the sort of behaviour our girls were subjected to. It gives back a little hope for true progress, not just within the legal system but out there in society as well."

Meanwhile Ellie took Cassie's hand and before returning to the stage they took a detour back to the changing room to repair their make up and take a few deep breaths.
 
Cassie had indeed had the number memorized, along with other similar numbers, and rattled them off almost reflexively as Ellie prompted her, the simple regurgitation of the numbers quick and oddly grounding to her.

As the girls headed to get cleaned up and composed, Eric looked at the camera as Adrienne asked what they thought. "Honestly, I have a lot of respect for him for being willing to reach out so publicly to apologize for something that he was not responsible for. This is a perfect example of non-toxic masculinity. He's saying 'I feel partially responsible for the harm my son my son caused," and he's also actually offering to do something that will do more good than a mere apology. He wants to show his sincerity. And I find that remarkable."

Madison nodded. "So often, when a teenager acts like K did here, it's the parents who taught them that behavior, that it was okay. But in this case, it's clear that was not true. It's still ... Shocking, to say the least. But a very pleasant surprise. I expected, I'm sure we all expected, a man trying to cow and intimidate my daughter into backing down. Instead he offers an apology, he respects her identity and validates it, he makes his support clear, and he finishes by offering to actually put his money where his mouth is. And I am thankful that he did so in such a well-handled fashion."

In the changing room, Cassie set to work on fixing her makeup as she relaxed. "That was ... I didn't think it would get to me so much. I thought I was going to be able to hold it together. But saying that out loud, actually reading it to the world ... It felt so validating to show that sometimes the people you don't expect to be allies are." She said. "And to show an example of how to handle it." She reached out to squeeze Ellie's hand.

"I am so grateful to have you, though."

After a few minutes of talking and fixing their makeup, Cassie and Ellie headed back out to the stage, after doing their ritual again, of course. They were leading off the set with "My Best Friend," and Cassie loved it when they performed that song. Not only was it basically their "friendship anthem," but it also had Ellie taking a more equal role with vocals, and Cassie loved to watch Ellie's rare moments stepping up to the spotlight.
 
"I wouldn't know what to do without you babe," Ellie responded moments before they went through their ritual again and went back on stage to a heavy round of applause.
There were almost exclusively, more or less, familiar faces in the audience. People from school, both students and teachers. This was of course not at all surprising since many of them had been specifically invited. Sabrina was there and so were a few of their followers with whom they had struck an online friendship. Adrienne had joined the other girls from the track team when she wasn't doing the Q&A and they all whistled and hollered as if it was a stadium gig.

My Best friend was an uptempo song charged with a contagious positive energy that had both of them singing separate verses and choruses. It was also one of very few songs where Ellie had actually contributed to the lyrics. She had written her verses and chorus and it had been her idea to do a lyrical counterpoint at the end where they sang each their chorus simultaneously as a sort of call and response of declared friendship forever. Of course since those lyrics were written by two ten year old children trying their hand at writing a song for the first time they were far from good in comparison to most of the material they still played, perhaps even a bit silly and childish but there was an adorable cuteness to it, as many had commented.

For the duration of the song Ellie had brought her microphone stand up to the front of the stage, side by side with Cassie something that always felt strange to her and even though she enjoyed the song as much as Cassie she was quick to move it back for the rest of the three songs of the set.. She was much more comfortable out of the brightest spotlights.

After the set was done there was one last Q&A to be done and then they would finish with a set of trans-themed covers they had specifically put together for this event.
 
During "My Best Friend," Cassie and Ellie had planned the choreography well, spending much of the song facing and singing to each other. One of Cassie's lines, "I don't know what you see when you look at me, but it feels like you see me," a little hint of the acceptance Cassie felt from Ellie, was sung with Cassie on her knees looking up at Ellie with adoration, and Ellie's response was sung while pulling Cassie up to her feet. The song ended with the two girls positively belting out the final line, "because you're my best friend," together.

After they wrapped up the set, Cassie and Ellie were flagged over again by some of the other girls for another quick review of questions Adrienne wasn't sure about approving. There were only two this time, and Cassie quickly decided the first was definitely worth answering. The second had her staring at the screen name for a few moments before chuckling, suppressing a squeal of glee as she nodded emphatically.

Moving over to the interview area, they settled down.

"So, girls, this is our last Q&A before the final set. I think we'll start off with this one for Cassie. 'I see a lot a people talking about being trans and talking about dysphoria and their desire to transition medically and physically. Do I have to experience dysphoria and want to medically transition to be valid as a trans person?'"

Cassie smiled, shaking her head. "Trans people aren't a monolithic bloc. Some of us experience dysphoria and feel the need to transition medically. Some of us want the whole medical transition deal. Some of us just want the hormones. Some just want certain surgeries. Some don't feel the need to change their bodies to be comfortable in them. All these viewpoints are valid. It's like saying you're not Christian unless you're Catholic. Being trans is a massive umbrella. Just like religious denominations. Different people have different things they want or need. Transition, and how it looks to any trans individual, is uniquely personal and subjective. And it's quite fortuitous that you asked this now, because ..." She hesitated, glancing at Ellie.

Taking a deep breath, she continued, "So, ever since I came out, I'd been planning on getting bottom surgery, a vaginoplasty, basically as soon as I turned 18. That was what I wanted. But now, well, I won't go into details, but I have decided on something different for now. I still plan to get the full vaginoplasty done at some point, but right now, and in no small part due to experiences with this beautiful woman, I don't feel like I need to have a vagina to still be completely valid as a woman, to be comfortable in my body. So it's honestly something that's ultimately up to you to decide. You have to ask yourself what transition should mean and be for you. But your choice is valid, no matter what it is." She said.
 
Having left the big surprise question for last Adrienne next turned towards Ellie.
"Now this question was slipped to me by a woman from the audience who also asked to talk to you both after your last set. How do you see the future for Funhouse Sweethearts?"
Ellie bit her lip pensively and looked at Adrienne.
"Well. We are always working on new material, currently there are two songs we are focused on, both of which Cassie has mentioned already. These are both much more related to Cassie being trans, one you might call a coming out song and the other focused more on how trans people are far too often subjected to abuse like she was before assembly this Monday."
She paused and took Cassie's hand, looked at her with a reassuring smile.
"Of course I only do the music while Cassie writes the words but in the end we collaborate on both. She makes musical suggestions and I make suggestions to her lyrics."
Another brief pause as she scanned the room trying to figure out who in the audience had asked the question. She suspected it might be someone who could get them into a professional studio maybe even a record deal and so she continued in that vein.
"We have quite a collection of songs now and would of course love a chance to record them professionally, perhaps put out an album."
 
Cassie chuckled as Ellie spoke. "Hey, don't sell yourself short, babe. We've also got that one that you started working on, "Down on Me," which may or may not be ... Suggestive." She said lightly, then nodded.

"We both have our areas of expertise and our own specialties, but like Ellie said, it's ultimately collaborative. We both provide input. And yeah, the newest project is one drawing directly from my experiences on Monday, and it's about what trans people can face when we do finally have the courage to come out."

"As for the future, like Ellie said, we've got a good body of work so far that we'd love to get done professionally. And honestly, since Monday, things have ... Exploded. Those videos went viral, and our channel and website traffic has been ... Skyrocketing. But minor Internet fame isn't where I want our careers to stall out. I know that for us to really get out there, we'd need a proper studio, maybe an expanded membership roster, because there's only so much you can do with backing tracks done by one girl with some sound software."

Adrienne nodded. "Well, you girls certainly seem to be on the rise. Let's hope you have a contract in your near future. Which brings us nicely to our last major question before the final set. This was sent in, and Cassie, this is meant for you. Now, given your reaction when you read it earlier to approve it, I can only guess you found something exciting about it."

Cassie nodded. "Now, I will acknowledge the tiny possibility I am wrong, but I believe, given the username, that I know who sent this in. After all, I'm a huge fan of hers. And it's always a huge honor to have someone you respect and admire acknowledge your existence and stuff. So, I am like 99.99% certain this was from none other than Kim Petras, who, for those of you who don't know, is, like me, a transgender female music artist. And she is amazing. Anyways, the question?"

"Now that you've caught the public eye and are reaching more people, you can't easily go back to anonymity, and given the relative lack of trans voices and representation, what are your thoughts on how you are now going to be seen as a role model and representative of the trans community?"

Cassie nodded. "I mean, the trans community doesn't have nearly enough voices and representation in the public eye, and those we do are a mixed bag between good examples and bad. Like, most of you, asked to name a transgender celebrity, will immediately think of either Caitlyn Jenner or Elliot Page. Maybe Demi Lovato, if you understand that being nonbinary is under the transgender umbrella. Now, Caitlyn, Demi, you're both absolutely valid people. But you're also not exactly good representatives of the trans community. A lot of us really don't like either of you. And that colors the public perception. You're the most visible people, likely some of the only ones people know of. But here, I have a chance to add my voice. I have a platform. I have followers. I have the ability to reach people and be one of those representatives.

"The truth is, especially in today's climate, where you have states like Texas denouncing gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse, where trans people are being called groomers and pedophiles just for being visible, where some British author who happened to get lucky and write the Star Wars of the millennial generation thinks she can spew hate and lies against us, where the fact that I am trans means I have a much higher chance of being murdered for it, we are at war. This is a war for our right to exist. A war for basic rights. A war to be allowed to live our lives. I may just be one voice. But that voice matters. That voice might reach people. I didn't have to come out as trans publicly. I could have just let everyone keep thinking I was cis. But I didn't. I spoke up. I outed myself. I put a target on my back, walked right out onto the front lines of this war, all because I felt that my voice was needed on those lines, on that battleground, and you bet I'm proud to be here. I am not ashamed of who I am. No trans person should be ashamed of it. So many people want us to just shut up and be invisible. And that's just the ones who don't want us dead, the ones who don't want us murdered in the streets or dragged out and lynched." By this point, Cassie was on her feet, staring into the camera. Her voice, while raised slightly, remained firm and passionate rather than angry and aggressive.

"They want us to go away. Our existence offends them, so it must be erased. They demand it. My answer to that demand is no. We won't. We're here, we're queer, we aren't going away. Deal with it. I am here. I will always fight for my community. I might wind up a martyr for it. I might very well get killed in the street minding my own business for it. But that's a risk I am willing to take. Do you know why? Because maybe eventually we won't be living in fear for our lives. Maybe one day the world will be accepting of us. And however I can help that cause, be it lending my voice to speak up, be it just showing some closeted trans person they don't need to be ashamed or afraid, or be it winding up as the dead victim of a hate crime that gets national coverage ... I am there. I accept the risks. Maybe I die. But I couldn't live with myself if I just stood by in silence. If my being out, being visible and speaking, helps anyone, it's worth it.

"If you have a problem with me, with my existence ... Come at me. I'm not going away. This is the hill I will die on. But I won't go quietly, I won't go gently. I will be screaming and fighting to the last breath, the last drop of blood in my veins.

"So yeah, I am proud to be an example, to be a role model, to be a representative and to lend my voice."

She sat down as she finished, letting out a massive sigh as she did so. "So, I hope that answers the question."
 
Ellie sat back and just watched and listened as Cassie started one of her speeches in response to the question they both assumed was from Cassie's major role model, a speech that turned into a rather aggressive rant as she worked herself up speaking out not only about role models as such, denouncing some while still validating them as persons, throwing a few stones at feminists who refused to include trans women into their ideology, but also speaking about how it was a war in which she was prepared to die on the front lines in. This repeated declaration did scare Ellie a bit, mostly because she didn't want to lose the love of her life but it also made her proud of Cassie for planting her rainbow flag firmly on that proverbial hill ready to defend it to her last breath.

"I am sure that more than answer the question," Adrienne said looking a little taken aback herself while Ellie wrapped her arms around Cassie both for comfort and to help her calm down.
The audience also seemed a bit taken aback by Cassie's speech at first but then Sabrina stood up, whistled and clapped her hands. Others soon followed until there was a roar of applause, a standing ovation which the camera crew weren't late in catching. It went on for a good five minutes before Adrienne held up a hand to silence them.
"Now for your last set I gather that you have something special planned and I am sure that we are all curious to hear what it is. So once again here they are on stage, Funhouse Sweethearts."
The applause picked up again as most in the audience followed the girls with their eyes as they headed back to the stage.
 
It wasn't the entire population of the restaurant, but it was a good chunk of it, and naturally the three parents were all very quick to join in, Eric and Madison screaming things like "that's our girl!" and "we're so proud of you, darling!" as they did so, and naturally the cameras milked those shots.

Cassie, for her part, was only aware of it on a detached level, recognizing that the massively positive response was to her, but not having the emotional processing power to respond, just hugging Ellie and focusing on her girlfriend's protective embrace. When she did react, she was clearly crying, and she choked out a "thank you so much, everyone" as her tears subsided and she silenced the sobs.

She nodded as Adrienne spoke about something special in their last set. "We do." She confirmed. "You'll know it when you hear it."

This set was entirely covers of songs, and each one picked out for a reason. They started with Kim Petras' own "Coconuts," for the shameless boob appreciation of it. As a fellow transfemme, of course Cassie loved it because she too had greatly wanted boobs.

The second song was Poppy's "Am I A Girl?," Very much about gender expectations and the pressure to fit roles.

The final performance was a very special one, and Cassie had made very specific changes to the lyrics. It was, as had been in the home video, "Reflection," but a cut of the full song that had changed the lyrics from questioning and uncertain to proud and self-accepting, a confident proclamation of her identity and who she saw in the mirror being her after all rather than doubting it showed the real her.
 
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To give Cassie a moment to once again repair her make up Ellie did something she had never done before. She took her mic stand to center stage and talked to the audience about the songs they were about to perform without actually mentioning them by title, just that one way or another they were songs that in their own way could all be sorted under the rainbow flag. She talked about how they had both felt it was important to the bands over all image and the best way to finish the live stream. When she heard Cassie step onto the stage she turned her head smiling at her girlfriend and introduced the first song of the final set.
"First out is Coconuts by the aforementioned Kim Petras because ... who doesn't love boobs ... right?"
She then brought the mic stand back to its original position, gave Cassie a nod and remotely started the backing tracks for the song.
 
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As Cassie touched up her makeup, she heard the door open, and in the mirror she noticed her mom walk in, smiling brightly. Madison walked over, gently wrapping her arms around Cassie. "I'm so proud of you, honey." She said, nodding. "That was ... A very powerful statement."

Cassie nodded somberly. "All I did was tell it how it is."

Madison nodded. "I know. But after that kind of an emotional tirade ... Are you okay, honey?"

Cassie smiled. "Mom, I stood up there and I told the truth. I stood up there and I called out the bullshit. I stood up there and I made myself a fucking target without shame or fear. I feel ... Strong. Powerful. Confident. I'm okay, Mom."

She chuckled as she finished up her makeup. "Alright. Last set of the evening. I got this."

As she walked out, she chuckled as Ellie commented about Coconuts and everyone loving boobs. She chuckled and winked at Ellie, adding her own "Gay men excepted, of course."

As they got into the song, with its upbeat tone, cheesy lyrics, and unabashed appreciation of having tits, Cassie made sure to move around actively, her own tits jiggling and bouncing enthusiastically as she sang.

When that was done, she glanced at Ellie. "Next, we have Am I A Girl?, which is all about gender expectations and how our perception of our gender identities doesn't always fit norms. And how gender roles and expectations are total BS."

When they finished up that song, she smiled at the crowd. "Now, this last one is heavily altered from the original, but I think you'll understand why. I wanted to change the tone from uncertain and questioning to self-accepting and confident. Fitting that I should use it here, coming out to the world, when I used it to come out to my parents nearly 8 years ago. Yep, this is our cut of Reflection, and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do."

With that, they started up the performance, and sure enough, Cassie's rewritten lyrics were far less questioning and uncertain, embracing the girl she saw in the mirror.
 
Ellie watched Cassie perform in front of her with so much sexy energy as they went through Coconuts. Watched her replicate some of the suggestive dance moves from the official video, leaning forward shaking her breasts as she sang Everyone loves the twins and even if she herself was at least a size smaller she gave her own a shake as she added backing to the repetition of the phrase. Even if she only saw Cassie from behind she had seen her rehearse the dance in front of the video enough times to be able to close her eyes and imagine it all from the audience's point of view. Many in the audience obviously knew the song well enough to sing along and to dance with Cassie, all the girls gave their best shakes whenever Cassie did. At one point she even imagined Kim Petras, wherever she was, watching and doing exactly what the audience did. It was absolutely amazing in a way to imagine that she had actually reached out to them with a question that had seemed so perfectly designed for Cassie to end the Q&A with.

Then as they went through Poppy's anthemic Am I a Girl she threw her hair and did som stylised headbanging in all the right places, perhaps performing more in those minutes than she had all night.

For the last song of the night the video of them at ten years old performing Reflection for their parents appeared again on the big screen tv behind them but with the sound muted. Cassie's mouth wasn't in sync with what she was singing, of course this was in part due to the rewritten lyrics but also because she was a lot less nervous now than she had been then. Now, on that stage in her father's restaurant, empowered by her speeches about trans rights and issues, by the events of the last week, she gave the song everything she had, vocally as well as emotionally. It was a beautiful sight, even from behind.

Once they had finished the song Ellie put down her guitar and walked up behind Cassie, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend from behind in a loving embrace.
"I love you so much," she whispered into Cassie's ear but not low enough for the microphone to pick it up as would later be revealed when they watched the recorded version. When the girls had bowed and received the love from their audience they disappeared back into their changing room.
"You were so fucking awesome Love," Ellie said and almost molested Cassie with her hug.

Back in the restaurant Adrienne had now taken the stage to announce that the girls would soon be back out for a more informal chat with both those watching online and those present.
"I am sure there are many more questions," she added and could see a few heads nodding back at her.
As she stepped down from the stage again a woman in her mid to late thirties approached her, handed her a business card and asked that she would give it to the girls and ask if they would give her a few minutes before they came back out. Adrienne nodded and took the business card backstage handing it to Ellie who was closest to the door.

Andi Willows
Record producer​

Ellie stared at the card and nodded half to herself half to Adrienne as she handed the card to Cassie. She could barely believe it. First Kim Petras had been watching their feed and now this.
 
Cassie had giggled as Ellie embraced her, and when they were alone, she smiled as Ellie told her she'd been awesome.

"Babe, don't sell yourself short. You did just as awesome. I saw you talking to cover me while I fixed my makeup. So proud of you for speaking out like that." She said.

The knock on the door from Adrienne got her attention, and as Ellie wordlessly handed her the card, she glanced at it. Her own expression turned to shock, and she barely heard Adrienne mention that the producer wanted to have a few minutes with them. She nodded, finding her voice as she did so. "We're definitely interested." She said. "See if Sabrina or our parents can cover a few extra minutes while we talk to her. Otherwise, we'll have to talk to her after we wrap up. But we are very interested."

Adrienne nodded, and quickly went to check with the four adults. She soon returned with a smile, leading Andi behind her. "Here they are." She said to Andi, letting her in.
 
It was probably less than a few minutes before Adrienne returned with Andi Willows, but it felt like forever and Ellie couldn't be still. She paced the small room, took Cassie's hands, kissed her and paced again. She knew who Andi Willows was. Ten years ago she had played drums for a local all-girl power pop trio with only a handful of singles and EPs to their name. Yes she was that much of a geek when it came to music. The trio had been quite good and seconds before Adrienne returned she had started humming the riff to one of their songs. Realising this, when the knock on the slightly ajar door matched her humming and she looked up to see Andi there with a smile beating out the rhythm on the frame of the door, she stopped and blushed.
"Aren't you just a wee bit too young to know that riff?"
Andi was dressed quite casually in black jeans and a burgundy shirt.
"I ... uuuh ... kinda like to explore all kinds of music of all ages," she said and while still embarrassed at having been caught shot Andi a smile which she returned.
"That's good," Andi said and looked over at Cassie.
"To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect when I came here tonight, only that I've followed your YouTube channel for a while now and really like what I've heard, but girls ... that was one hell of a show you just put on out there."
She gave the girls a few seconds to take in the praise before explaining that worked as a freelance talent scout who happened to own her own studio and would they be interested in recording a demo with her.
Ellie nodded and repeated what she had said when asked about the future of Funhouse Sweethearts earlier that evening that they would of course love to record their songs professionally and given the chance put out an actual album instead of YouTube playlists.
 
The name had rung a bell eventually with Cassie, and as the knock on the door matched the riff Ellie was humming, she chuckled. "Yeah, Ellie is kind of a musical connoisseur." She said with a smirk.

As Andi revealed that she had been following them for a while, Cassie shared a surprised glance with Ellie, knowing that Ellie would be just as shocked. As Andi made her offer, Cassie found herself nodding emphatically.

"We'd love to. But, like I said, I would also want to get a bigger permanent talent roster first. Get some more live instruments." Cassie said.

At that moment, there was another knock on the door. Adrienne poked her head in. "Hey, girls. Sorry to bother you. But you've got another visitor. I know you both know Dusty, and, well, he says he wants to talk."

Cassie shrugged. "Sure. Send him in."

Dusty walked in. He was one of their classmates, who had in fact been the one recording Cassie's assembly speech, and had come out as transmasc to Cassie, Ellie, and Adrienne shortly after. "Hey, Cassie, Ellie. Sorry to interrupt. But ... You mentioned earlier thinking about expanding your band's roster before getting a studio recording demo. And, well, since you're meeting with a producer, I figured I might as well mention it now that I play drums."

Cassie looked at Dusty curiously. "You're asking to audition, then?"

"Yeah. I think I am."

Cassie looked at Ellie. "I guess we'll try to figure out a time to record a demo after we see how Dusty does with his audition, then." She turned to Dusty. "Maybe this weekend, if that's good for you?"
 
"This weekend is good for me," Dusty said and glanced at Andi who was still in the room.
"Maybe we could do it at my place so I don't have to bring the drums over to yours," he added and shifted from one foot to the other seemingly a bit nervous at the mention of recording a demo.
"Sure we can come to your place," Ellie said and nodded.
"My guitar, amp and laptop is a lot more mobile after all."

Andi nodded and said she would call them early Sunday evening and agree on a date for their first demo session before leaving the girls to continue prepping for the meet and greet portion of the evening.

As Ellie had agreed to bring her stuff over to Dusty's place she had also thought of what else they would need to fill out the band. Being a multiinstrumentalist herself, and feeling a certain reluctance at giving up certain parts of their songs she suggested that the others would have to be able to play at least two instruments.

A few minutes later the four of them returned to the restaurant's seating area ready for a more casual discussion. As hey did the chat attached to the live feed was up on the big screen tv allowing those not present at the restaurant to participate and aske questions.
 
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Cassie had smiled as Ellie got into planning mode and recommended that they all know at least two instruments. She then asked Ellie what suggestions she might have for what instruments they might play, knowing that Ellie had a certain proprietary feeling towards certain parts of certain songs.

She glanced at Dusty. "Hey, you'll be okay. You have, what, six years of practice? It's not like anyone here is a rookie musician. I mean, I don't play much, but it's hard to spend years around Ellie and not up some stuff. I can probably at least not make a fool of myself on some of them. And vocally, well, I think that speaks for itself."

Dusty had nodded, smiling, and soon enough Cassie and Ellie were back out at the interview spot, and Cassie was grinning as they settled in. "Now, before we get any further, Ellie and I have an announcement to make. We're proud to announce that we actually did just get offered the opportunity to record a studio demo. So hopefully we'll be announcing signing a full record deal in the next few weeks. Keep an eye out for that announcement."

Adrienne nodded. "That's some amazing news, and I will definitely be watching for it."
 
At Cassie's comment about not being able to spend years around her without picking up at least some basic instrumental skills Ellie chuckled and poked her girlfriend playfully in the side. It was true though and Ellie knew this. There had been so many times over the years when the two of them had sat down while working on the music when Ellie had tried to teach Cassie both keyboards and bass guitar as part of trying out different arrangement ideas before recording but also because, as she said, it added to the musical dynamic to not have all the different parts played by one and the same musician. This had resulted in Cassie playing more and more regularly on their songs, even if she was perhaps still mostly following Ellie's lead. The one instrument neither of them had any actual experience with was drums, even if Ellie sometimes took the opportunity to use the school's kit to try to get a feel for the flow of the instrument, and a live drummer was certainly on the top of her list to give their music a more organic flow.

With the news of the offer of recording professionally announced Adrienne opened up for impromptu questions and after some hesitation Dusty raised his hand ad cleared his throat. When given the microphone he looked at Cassie, hesitated a few more moments as if trying to word the question on his ind as carefully as possible.
"As you know I am also trans, even if I haven't exactly come out publicly, which I suppose is what I just did."

Dusty looked around the room nervously, perhaps realising that beyond Cassie and maybe Ellie, he hadn't really told anyone, not even his parents even if of course they would have to be blind not to have an idea that their daughter wasn't comfortable being a girl. He had hinted at it, mostly to his mum, to test the waters. He was far from as brave as Cassie had been to simply appear to his family as a boy, even if he exclusively presented as a boy to them and to the world. The problem was that a lot of girls also did without being trans and if there was one word Dusty was sick to his stomach with it was being called a tomboy. Sure it contained the word boy but it also referred almost exclusively to girls behaving as boys, not girls who felt like boys, even if he was sure that many girls given the epithet were probably trans, but many weren't, weren't even lesbian or even bi, just not very feminine which was certainly not to be confused with being female.

Seeing nothing but smiles and sympathetic, encouraging faces in the restaurant, he looked back at Cassie.
"Something that I've been thinking about a lot for quite a while now is ... well after having transitioned and you kinda like ..."
He paused again and bit his lips nervously, still unsure how to word his question without offending anyone or seeming unsure of his gender identity.
"... I suppose I mean what if you regret having affirmation surgery and I dunno, want to transition back?"
He only just barely managed to meet Cassie's eyes when he finally asked his question.
 
Cassie had been watching Dusty as he spoke, and the empathy on her face was clear. She smiled as he finished speaking, taking the microphone and nodding her head. "First of all, I'm happy you decided to come out here. It's not easy, and doing it publicly is even harder. So congratulations on that.

"As for your question, there's a lot to talk about around that. First, what you're talking about are two different things, what are referred to as transition regret and detransition, respectively. And yes, those are both things and they're often used by transphobes to pretend they're 'worried about the children' or some BS. Now, while the transphobes and stuff talk like these are incredibly common, they really aren't. We're talking only a very small percentage of people who regret transitioning. Now, this can happen for a number of reasons. Sometimes it's because the person ends up realizing they weren't trans. Sometimes it's because they may have felt pressured to get surgeries they didn't actually want because they felt pressure to 'pass,' which by now I think we all know I consider a BS cisheteronormative concept that society crams down our throats. Sometimes it's because they weren't ready to take a step but felt pressured into it by expectations of transness. But, generally, most people who do opt for medical transition aren't going to change their mind or regret it. They've usually put a lot of thought and consideration into it. Now, most of the reasons for transition regret can be addressed and mitigated with proper therapy prior to deciding to transition, to make sure it's the right choice for them. As I mentioned before, for me, even the choice to start hormones was three years in the making. And Sabrina and I have spent a great many sessions on the exact topic of if GCS is the right choice for me."

She paused for a moment. "Now, to the second part of it. Detransition. Most of the cases where someone decides to detransition aren't actually wholly voluntary or driven by transition regret. They're actually usually instigated by social pressures. Maybe the place they live isn't welcoming to openly trans people and their safety is at risk. Maybe their family coerces them into thinking it was just a phase and they weren't trans, or rejects them until they back down and give up. It's usually being forced back into the closet by external factors. So the whole detransition narrative is basically societal cisnormative pressure 99 times out of 100."

"Now, for anyone around here who is considering transition, Sabrina and several other therapists at her practice specialize in gender issues, and I'll make sure to drop the info so you can see about such therapy. And, in fact, at least here in California, you need a psychology professional to sign off before you can pursue surgical transition and the like."

She smiled at Dusty, nodding. "So that's the best advice I can give. Get a therapist, be honest with them, and they'll help you decide what the best path for you is. I have been through, again, almost eight years of therapy to make sure I'm certain this is what I want and to make sure that I'm prepared for the surgery. I don't think I will regret it. I know that, if I were still waking up to looking at a male body in the mirror, I ... Yeah, I'd either be hating myself daily or not alive to look in the mirror. And even though you can't tell I wasn't born with a female body without seeing me naked, my genitals still cause me a lot of dysphoria. Ellie can attest to that." She said.
 
Ellie nodded and smile encouragingly at Dusty as he struggled to ask his question. She almost wanted to reach out and give him a hug to assure him that he was in a safe place to ask anything that was on his mind. Then as Cassie spoke to answer his question she kept smiling at him because it was clear that despite Cassie having not seemed offended by the question, but rather spoke to the effect that most who regretted medical and/or surgical transition were being pressured into doing so, in many cases because of exactly why the question had been so hard for Dusty to ask. There were societal and community expectations on trans-gendered people to transition, to have surgery they didn't really want to have, or felt they needed, hormonal therapy to make them passable, as if how a person look has anything to do with gender identity. Of course Ellie could easily imagine it being a lot easier to blend in if you were able to pass for the gender you identified as, no question about it, but to expect it as some sort of requirement for accepting a trans-person as valid was, as Cassie had said, cis-normative BS.

When Cassie again spoke of the possibility that she might not be alive under specific circumstances, in this case not having the body to match her gender identity, which with clothes on she appeared to have but underneath still had genitals to contradict it, Ellie shuddered and once again her thoughts went to what she would do without Cassie, how she would live without her best friend, her girlfriend, her soulmate. It was simply impossible for her to imagine a life without Cassie by her side, one way or another.

When Cassie said she could attest to Cassie's dysphoria regarding her genitals Ellie nodded, despite recent events, in agreement, because whether or not Cassie had discovered that her male parts could give her pleasure she had not imagined before they were still offensive to her identity and the cause of dysphoria. Cassie did still want them removed and replaced with their female counterparts, just not right at that moment. Cassie was still going to have an orchiectomy within days of her 18th birthday. That had not changed just because she had decided to experiment a bit with the genitals she had been given at birth.
"For as long as I have known her, and I've known her for all her life I suppose, Cassie has never really been comfortable with her genitals."

Seeing how Cassie's words had affected Dusty who was in a very emotional state she then stood up and after having asked quietly delivered the hug she had wanted to give as he started to ask his question.
"You are brave and strong and absolutely valid no matter what anyone else might think," she whispered in his ear.
 
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