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Deceit stared at herself in the mirror.
She felt… off. Something wasn’t right about what she saw. Her hair was too long, even though it only reached her shoulders. Her voice, she knew, was too high when she spoke. Her body didn’t… fit , somehow.
She frowned, her brows furrowing. She wrapped her arms around her chest, cringing at what she felt there. She quickly dropped her arms back to her sides, shivering. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel this way? She turned away from the mirror, tension curling in her gut like a snake, writhing, putting her on edge.
She knew that she couldn’t let the others know about this. Especially Anxiety, he was too young still, he wouldn’t understand, he couldn’t understand, how could he when Deceit herself couldn’t? She grimaced, sighing, putting a gloved hand to her head.
She quickly looked around for a hair tie, finding one. She put her hair up onto her head in a bun, as tight and small as she could get it, before she placed her beloved bowler hat on top of it. She rubbed her eyes, slouching. She adjusted her baggie dark grey hoodie with yellow accents and interior, her yellow socks slick against the cool wooden floorboards. She sank out, reappearing near the light sides’ area of the mindscape.
She could hear chattering in the living room, so she decided to avoid that, heading into hallways on the right, wishing to avoid confrontation. As she was walking, she quickly lost herself in her thoughts.
“Anyways, as I was saying,” a slightly muffled but very close voice said. She jumped, looking around quickly, her heart thudding in her chest. She saw that slightly in front of her was a door, slightly open and with a sign saying in neat print, ‘Logic’s Room.’ She frowned, looking back down the hallway, realizing this was where the light sides’ rooms were located. She glanced back to the door, hearing murmurs of conversation. She felt a brief moment of internal debate before inching forward carefully, listening.
She heard Logic saying, “It’s perfectly normal to be feeling this way, Creativity. The term for it would be ‘transgender.’”
She heard fabric rustling, before a confused voice said hesitantly, lacking the usual bravado she usually associated with the other’s voice, “Uh.. What-What does transgender mean?”
Logic patiently explained, “Transgender would be when one doesn’t identify with the gender they were born as. This typically culminates in something called gender dysphoria, which would be when you feel anxious or uncomfortable about your body not matching with your gender identity. There’s nothing wrong with it, nor with you.”
Creativity burst out, “T-That’s what happens with me!! I look in the mirror and everything feels wrong and I hate it and it just- I never knew there was a word for it!! Thank you so much!!”
Logic replied cordially, muted joy in his voice, “I’m glad I could help. There are some ways to alleviate gender dysphoria as well. I can give you some now if you would like.”
Deceit could hear Logic’s bed squeak as Creativity excitedly bounced on it, exclaiming, “Yes please!!” Deceit stumbled back, her heart thumping, her brain rushing with this newfound knowledge. She began listening again, more attentive than before as Logic listed various methods, such as binders, haircuts, more suiting clothing, etc. that would help, as well as offering to use male pronouns for Creativity and helping with said haircut, all of which Creativity readily agreed to.
Her mind was soaring, these revelations astounding her. There wasn’t anything wrong with her? She wasn’t alone? This was normal? She- No, he , was normal? He quickly sank out, reappearing in his room. He quickly set to work.
Hours later, he was exhausted, but he was happier than he could remember being for a long time. He stared in the mirror, not hating himself and how he looked. He had chopped off his hair, the usual curls more pronounced. It wasn’t the best look, but it was his look, and even if it didn’t look the greatest it made him feel better.
He had changed his appearance as well, making it so his chest was flat. His pants were loose and so was his shirt, but his shape definitely looked more masculine than before. He couldn’t permanently change his height, so he’d have to deal with being short, but that was manageable. He grinned, his scales glinting, joy welling in his heart.
His heart, however, quickly sunk as he realized that the others didn’t know, and he’d have to tell them. Better to not worry about that for now. But he would have to tell Anxiety. He took a deep breath, calling down the dark sides’ hallway, “Hey, Anx..?”