Characters:
Allen Jones /2p!America
Matt Braginski (Jones/Chloe) /2p!Canada
Nikolai Ivanovich Braginski /2p!Russia
Jett Cook /Australia
Oliver Kirkland /2p!England
Benny Schmidt /Luxembourg
Ekaterina Braginskya (Katya) /2p!Ukraine

Text in italics signify it is said in Russian

WARNINGS
Transphobia in flashbacks, including the t-slur, abusive gender therapy/counselling mentioned in flashbacks, and some general ignorance/lack of knowledge
Again, the opinions of the characters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the writer

"And when did…" Allen gestures vaguely to Matt.

"Use words, Allen."

"Use them carefully, Allen," Nikolai adds in a threatening growl, and Matt pokes him in the thigh.

"When did you realise…" Allen continues to gesture up and down Matt, "This?"

("Tranny!")

"When did you realise you're a transsexual?" Jett finishes, and the entire group freezes into silence.

("You can't go punching other students in the face for no reason, Jones.")

("I had a reason.")

("Pointing out your sins is not a reason.")

("I am not a sin!")

Nikolai rises, and Matt grabs his knee quickly, Nikolai stopping half-stood, glaring Jett down.

("You can't go hitting people, kid," the counsellor said as empathetically as she could, "You have to explain things to them politely.")

("It's hard to be polite when they're calling me names.")

("So what if they're calling you names? Its playground bullying, Chloe- can I call you Chloe?")

("I prefer Matt. And I don't like them calling me a tranny!")

("We don't use language like that. Just ignore them.")

("Tell them not to use language like that!")

("Who are 'them'?")

("The people calling me a tranny- you're not even listening to me!")

("Don't go losing your temper, you're not helping yourself.")

("You're not helping me either!")

("Don't sound so ungrateful, Chloe.")

"It's not a sexuality," Matt says dully, clearly having given this talk before, "So we don't say 'transsexual'. 'Transgender' is okay. 'Transmale' is better. 'Male' is best. They're also adjectives, not nouns. So don't put a pronoun in front of them."

"Sorry," Jett says quickly, "I didn't know the words."

"Clearly," Nikolai sits back down, still glaring at Jett. "You owe Oliver two dollars now."

Matt tuts, but smiles. "We snuck into a lecture at the 'atheist college'. Well no, it was a public talk, but we'd been warned by the Fathers not to go."

("They promote promiscuity, homosexuality and blatant sin. They spit in the face of our Lord and deny him. There is only place these people will go, and I bade each and every one of you not to be dragged down with them.")

(Matt and Nikolai would be sat on the front row, dubbed 'the naughty step'. The Fathers would often glare at the pair as they spoke in mass, prayer, or damnation of the inferior. The pair would simply glare back.)

"So we went."

Allen snorts in laughter. Jett passes the two dollars to Oliver.

"It was this huge lecture on sex and gender," Matt continues, "And sexualities and all these identities and they gave out these cards covered in websites and blogs and local groups and it was so weird. We got back to the dorms and looked through some of the websites online.

"One of them was a blog run by a transman. And I remember reading the posts and it was like someone had taken my mind and put it online. I knew exactly what he meant and how he felt and I'd never met this guy but I understood him. I can't really explain it to people who haven't experienced it, but it was just relief. Someone else grew up confused and uncomfortable, and that shouldn't be comforting but it is because it's not just me."

("Of course it's wouldn't just be you," Nikolai had said flippantly, "There are six billion people in the world- you can't be the only one.")

("Now is not the time for your fucking nihilism," Matt threw a pillow at him, and Nikolai realised Matt was trying not to cry.)

"I already went by Matt, it's what the coach and most of the boys already called me. None of our teachers did, though. I got detentions for refusing to answer to Chloe, and eventually got thrown off the hockey team and cadets when I couldn't pass for a boy anymore. But I was old enough to join the mixed hockey team at the Pleasure Grounds. I saved up for a binder, and Nikolai let me wear his old clothes when we weren't in uniform. Some of the guys I'd been in clubs with gave me clothes too, but after the Fathers lectured us all on gender roles and Adam and Eve and some other bulls- they stopped."

Allen giggles at the save.

"We graduated from the boarding school," Matt continues, "I think they were glad to be rid of us, really."

"I was glad to rid of them," Nikolai grunts.

"I got a scholarship to the college doing modern linguistics, worked in bars to keep myself up. Nikolai got an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop. I graduated, we took a holiday to Russia so Nikolai's parents could meet their unofficially adopted child and try to take Nikolai back in. It failed, and we ending up getting married to spite the Russian President."

("This is a pretty unorthodox reason to get married," Matt said as Katya had straightened his tie.)

("We've never been exactly orthodox, though," Nikolai replied smartly. Matt laughed.)

"My parents were not amused," Nikolai says, half-laughing.

("Nikolai Ivanovich Braginski, you have shamed us for the last time!")

"So we moved back to America," Matt continues, "Bought the first decent shop we came across and opened this place. And that's us. The end. Yeah."

Matt gives an awkward jazz hands, and Nikolai raises an amused eyebrow. Ten years condensed into two minutes.

*awkward flail*
Obviously, some stuff Matt has glossed over, such as his counselling but he doesn't like to talk about that
The LGBT+ community is flippin' huge, which is a little bit daunting. And unfortunately it isn't discussed enough in mainstream media for the general public to know about the LGBT+ community, how to talk about LGBT+ subjects (I.e. Matt's talk), or even how to approach the LGBT+ community outside of Pride events and gay bars.
Luckily the LGBT+ community has gained more power in recent years, and have resources all over the place. The university I go to often has lectures and talks organised by the LGBT+ society which anyone and everyone is welcome to attend, often with leaflets Matt and Nikolai mentioned. While they wouldn't be as info-packed as the one Matt and Nikolai mentioned, as that's just way too much information to process, they tend to be useful and eye-opening.
There are also a lot of resources online, and many of these websites have 'escape' buttons, which you can click and the website re-routes to Google. Clicking the 'back' button on your browser takes you back to the page you'd been on. Obviously, if you're in a position where you'd need a feature like that, please stay safe; remember to delete your browser history, and try to avoid using a computer you would share with someone who would confront you on your search history.

Random headcannons:
Yes, Matt has given the "don't say 'a trans'" talk a few times. He has to give it less often at this point in his life, as he passes as male.
Jett is very blunt and sometimes a little careless in what he says. He meant no offence towards Matt, he we was just uneducated on the right language to use, as a lot of people are. However, he's a little bit scared of Nikolai. And Allen.
Nikolai refers to benches as 'the naughty step' in English. It's easier for him to pronounce, and makes Matt laugh. Confuses his 'sisters' though.
Nikolai's family paid for Katya, Nikolai, Natasha (2p!Belarus) to go back to Russia to see them. When they found out that Katya had 'adopted' Matt, they begrudgingly also paid for Matt to go with them. The Braginskis have only known Matt as 'Matvei Vasily', and never figured out how Nikolai managed to marry a man in Russia. And they possibly never will.

Forgot to actually mention Benny in this chapter, oops. He's in the character list anyway because he IS still there, just listening quietly.

Matt talking about the blog is loosely based on my own experience of discovering the asexual community. Relief, then a little guilt at that relief, but generally happy that it's not just me.
The counsellor is based on mine and some friends' experience of counselling, but none of us (as far as I know) have faced gender therapy/counselling. In general, my experience and experiences I've heard about haven't been great. Which isn't to say that counsellors/therapists in general are terrible, this is just what I have experienced/heard.

"But if Matt (and kinda Nikolai too) were abandoned by their families, who paid for them to stay at the school?!" I hear you cry (or not, idk). More on it later, no worries.

Next chapter; back in Canada, Romeo pays a visit with Allen and Nikolai's ex-boss 'Romano'
The end notes weren't meant to get this long I swear.
I own nothing
-Laurel Silver