Capítulo 50: Trans Idol (8)
Edited by: Kuro
This chapter is sponsored by a certain somebody! You know who you are. Thank you so much for supporting my work through Ko-fi.
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Jaden looked in the mirror and saw the changes in and outside his body. He had started HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) 2 weeks after living with JADED. He had many changes throughout the following several months so they had to adjust to that as well. His voice got deeper, his beard was growing in (though he had to shave it), and he also grew an inch. Working out and dancing made his body toned, and his jawline more prominent. He lost most of his curves and his shoulders broadened out. The best part was, he didn't get his period anymore, so Jaden felt like the best man he could ever be. He was visibly happier and cheerful, making everyone around him happy.
Of course, there were some struggles that came with the second "puberty" when going on HRT. He would get a pimple here and there and his legs and arms were itchy at first due to hair growth. Occasionally, he felt like a horny teenager and he was eating more than usual. He also felt his emotions were out of whack. His highs were too high and his lows were too low. His doctors had attributed all of these as normal when going on HRT. Of course, not everyone had these symptoms but these were pretty common.
Besides his physical and mental changes, he also got his name, and sex changed on all of his documents. With the help of the company, the long process was cut down to a few days.
'I haven't really documented my changes through pictures, but I am really surprised what HRT could do.' Jaden nodded to himself quite happily.
He felt that he should've documented his progress, but he was so busy with idol training that by the time he got to his dorm, he almost couldn't shower and wanted to pass out. Even skipping dinner sometimes.
Everyone was the same regardless of how long they were there. They had to keep training even after they became idols, so training never stopped.
Anyways, even with how he was progressing in his medical transition, he still wasn't done with the side missions. He still needed to get bottom and top surgery. Also, though it seemed like he had socially transitioned, he suspected that the public needed to know of his gender identity. With that, it would push for trans rights and trans health care. He was excited to get the movement going. It hadn't been going well so he couldn't wait to help promote the change.
He also had already told the other members about him being a trans man, and they were all accepting of him. They even felt closer together and every day they learned new things about one another. It was hard for the other members to imagine life without Jaden.
After bonding and training together, everyone felt that Jaden was the missing puzzle piece to their group.
He complimented each member well. He could keep up with Dexter's dancing, Daniel's vocals, Elijah's looks, and even with Alexander's and Daniel's music-making that was full of OCD tendencies. If they needed someone to harmonize at a certain part, Jaden was able to fill that in. If they needed someone to do a cool dance move with Dexter, Jaden was there.
Jaden was perfect for JADED. What a coincidence that he fit the letter J in JADED so well.
Even with all the joyful times, everyone was exhausted. They worked so hard for their debut album and concert that they didn't realize the date was approaching fast.
Meanwhile, Arisa (Sumia) had found a group that she was going to debut in. With her "awakened" talent, she became the leader of the group and really shined. She was going to debut a bit after JADED, but it was still a well-earned accomplishment, completely different from the original Sumia who didn't even make it that far.
It was a busy day for the two Hosts.
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"What's the status update on Jaden? Did you buy the Premium VIP tickets for every concert?"
"Already bought and picked the best seating. He also started HRT several months ago and his medical transition is going very well... But you know you can't do this all the time, right? You have work. You can't possibly follow Jaden on his debut mini-album world tour, nonetheless, go to all his concerts in the near future..." Luis wanted to scream and shout at his boss. He wanted to throw a temper tantrum because his boss was unreasonable! He knew what his boss was going to say, but for the sake of professionalism, he must endure.
Adriel's face literally had the words "try me" all over it. Video conference calls, getting and signing documents via scans/emails, having someone walk around the company while he was on a video call, etc. There are so many ways for him to be at and not at his office all at the same time, he was planning to try it all during the world tour. Plus, he could go and visit the other companies he had all around the world. It was killing hundreds of birds with a single stone. Technology was so great. They could even do conferences through their virtual reality technology. How fun was that?
Luis was about to take a frying pan to his boss's forehead. He wanted to kick the man off his chair. If only he could. At least he could in his imagination.
"This isn't like the start of the century when technology was basic. I could literally be in my bed running the company. I could go to 5 concerts in a day and still do all my work! Let's prepare for my trips. Schedule hotels and all that for me, okay Luis?"
Luis, who was being paid, sucked it up and nodded. "Understood boss." Money. He had to think about all the money he was getting paid. He was, unfortunately, a money-driven man.
What he didn't realize was that he was also coming along on the debut tour...
Adriel was very excited. He needed to get a lot of things ready. He had to buy all the necessary merchandise like the customized lightsticks. He also pre-ordered their album set and had a shrine ready in one of the rooms in his mansion.
Someone really needed to pick up their man because he's a stalk-... A mess. He was a mess.
****
"Are you nervous?" Jaden, whose stage name was Jade, asked his group mates who seemed really fidgety and stiff.
Jaden was calm as he was used to being on stage. His thousands of years of being alive tempered him to a certain degree. The only time he could be himself was when he was training in skills. When he was reading lines, that was when he had to act or the System would take over his body. The System took over his body a lot. It was like watching a horror movie and when you woke up, you found yourself after the scene you just watched.
That was probably why he was a little fucked up at times.
Anyways, Jaden was quite worried for his group members who had never been on stage. It was normal to be nervous. He wanted to act like it, but seeing his members like that, he felt he had to be the calm one to assure them.
Al, the leader, stopped pacing and shook his head. "N-no, I'm just doing vision exercises." He had stage fright. Even when he was in large or small crowds, he felt anxious. He was scared of strangers, but he learned to cope, but this was entirely different for him! There were so many people outside he wanted to vomit. This was how he felt internally, though everyone could see he was panicking even when he was trying to play it cool.
"That's right! If I close my eyes like this, I can imagine how the whole concert is going to go!" Dex replied as he placed his head on Jaden's shoulder and clung to him. It was a daily thing for Dex to cling on to Jaden. He felt as if someone was trying to take away his child and he needed to be on guard. He also found comfort in gluing himself to Jaden who didn't seem to mind it under that cool boy facade.
"You know if you worry and think about it, you will be more nervous..." Jaden replied, wanting to give himself a light facepalm.
Eli coughed. "I'm doing okay." His face was cold but it said 'I'm not okay.' He was a man of a few words, but he was so stiff that everyone could see he was not okay. He was probably the most worried as he felt he might drag everyone down. He felt useless compared to everyone else.
Danny was trying really hard not to bite his nails as he gripped his phone. He was the main vocalist and had a decent amount of lines so he was trying to remember all of them. Remembering wasn't his strong point as he was forgetful outside of singing. He had to remind himself not to forget. It was a horrid cycle. He didn't even pay attention to everyone.
Jaden said nonchalantly, "If all else fails, I will cover for you all. I remembered how to sing and dance to all of the songs, so don't worry too much."
They felt assured but they also couldn't help but think, talented, good-looking guys should all go die! They couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
While JADED was prepping, the venue was crowded with people. After releasing teasers and photos, many people flocked for the tickets and they were sold out in just a couple of weeks. For a group that was debuting, it was amazing. All the merchandise had been sold and the concert hall was full of customized lightsticks. It was a cube on a stick and each side had a letter on it, spelling JADED. The fans were being called War-Torn, as it went well with the meaning of JADED.
Towards the front, Adriel and Luis had their light sticks and signs. Adriel had a sign that had Jaden's stage name, Jade, in bright green and a huge heart. People saw the serious man with the sign and lightstick and put it all over social media. Many who were streaming made memes of Adriel. He wouldn't find out until after the concert though.
Luis also had the name "Jade" on his poster, but he put an arrow on it so that they had to look over at Adriel's poster. He also held the lightstick with full regret. He just wanted to rest at home, why did his boss have to bring him too?! Even though the trailers to the MVs were good, he could listen to the album after the concert when they released them! Or he could watch the livestream! He didn't really have to be here.
Money, he was here for the money because not only did his boss pay, but he also gave him a bonus!
"Luis, show more enthusiasm."
"Yes, boss..." Luis was smiling but dying inside. He had to keep reminding himself about money and professionalism.
When the lights on the stage dimmed, everyone knew the concert was getting started. The stage started to fill with white smoke and five color lights moved around the stage. The colors represented each member. Jade was green, Al was blue, Danny was yellow, Eli was red, and Dex was purple.
Once all the lights were fixed in place, they saw silhouettes of each member standing on stage. That was when the music started.
The beginning of the melody was very soft, and Danny's soothing voice could be heard. The song was a sorrowful song talking about depression and how they were slowly trying to overcome it. But it was a cycle, so it never ended. There were times of peace but times of struggles, and it spiraled more and more as they went through the song. Their dance matched the atmosphere of the song, their dance moves were very fluid, as if they were swimming through the ocean. It was a slow dance, but each move held powerful emotions. It was like watching someone going through a rough period of their life, like everything they loved was stripped away from them.
The second song was at a faster pace. It felt like someone was being chased around, anxiously looking around and seeing no one there. It felt like they were on edge the whole time, like the part of a horror movie where it was leading up to the scare, but it never ended. The feeling of anxiousness was so strong, the audience could feel their own hearts beating faster. Some even wanted to leave because they couldn't handle the anxiousness the song induced within them.
There was a warning anyway, so people were there at their own risk.
The third song felt like they were at war the whole time. Nightmare after nightmare, it was like they were living that same scene over and over. Even when it seemed like things were okay, flashbacks would come and ruin it all. It was a constant struggle of trying to stay sane and not let the flashbacks win him over. Did he ever leave the war? The audience couldn't find that out even at the end of the song.
The fourth song had a different feel from the previous songs. The song was all over the place, but somehow it all came together. It was a mix of styles but somehow it worked well. The dances for each person were different, but when they danced together each person had a part of the story they were telling.
And the last song was odd. It was so perfect that even the dance was in sync most of the time. But when one of the members "messed up" everything turned to chaos until finally, they were able to obtain order once more. And that cycle repeated throughout the song.
Each song had a different mental health disorder. The first song talked about clinical depression (Eli), the second song talked about anxiety disorder (Al), then PTSD (Jade), ADHD (Dex), and finally OCD (Danny).
The melodies for each song were different and allowed fans of different genres to enjoy at least one of the songs. It was very different from other idols who usually stuck to hip hop as well as certain topics like love, money, or sex.
Even though the album was helping with mental health awareness month, it didn't stop the audience from shedding tears as their lightsticks moved with the beat of the bass. It was amazing to see the colors change based on the song as if each song color represented a member.
By the end of the concert, JADED had won the hearts of the entire audience and left them in tears.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
MakusCorner
MakusCorner Grandpa Marky: This chapter was dedicated to Mental Health Awareness Month that takes place in May in the United States (about the time I had originally posted this on Wattpad). We should all take the time to learn more about Mental health and how it impacts people on a daily basis! It's important to note that you don't know what people are going through unless they speak up about it! The more we chat about mental health, the more we can spread awareness and educate people.
Also, those changes that I mentioned when taking HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is very common in trans men who are taking male sex hormones/testosterone. Also, please note, not everyone goes through these changes or they have other symptoms. It all depends on the person's body type and genetics. If you have a gene for balding, you may start to bald, etc. Of course not right away but somewhere down the line if you have the gene for balding. As for trans women, their changes are different so if you are curious, let me know and I can show you a great PDF that talks about the medical transitioning differences between trans women and trans men.
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