As a few of you may have noticed, I'm planning to complete Spectacle within the next few weeks. At the moment, the novella stands at around 7,500 words; I'm aiming for a conclusion of just over 10,000. It will be the first of a series combining transgender themes with domestic discipline, something I've already used in two previous short pieces (Swift Justice and Persuasion, both of which may be read in Cynosure: Collected Fiction Vol. 1).

Spectacle tells the story of a young art student who finds himself transported to an alternate reality where he was born female (a variant of the device I used as the basis for Stepping Over). Upon arrival, he discovers that he can access the memories of his "twin", allowing him to adapt swiftly to his new circumstances. Needless to say, his personality undergoes as radical a transformation as his body, due to his female persona being the more dominant in this universe.

Those of you who are familiar with my sporadic literary background know that I'm notorious for leaving stories incomplete, sometimes for decades. I started Spectacle way back in 2002 under the working title 'Day of Revelations'. I ran out of steam after the first 5000 words, mainly because I wasn't sure how where to take the plotline after the title character had made his transition. Fifteen years later, I have some vague notion of how to finish up the story; hopefully, nobody here will consider it a 'cop out' on the original concept.

Matt Walker is a post-grad student living in the picket fence borough of Chamberlain Heights. His younger cousin Tristan Conners has just moved in for the summer, preparing for his senior year at high school. Tristan – or 'Trissie' as he's known to his family – is a most unusual young man: due to a severe Alpha 5 deficiency, he has a hyper-feminine appearance, looking precisely like an adolescent girl (with only one tiny difference).

While Matt and Tris have known one another since early childhood, Matt is undoubtedly more mature of the pair, and slowly begins to view Tristan as the 'little sister' he never had. Tristan, for his part, has developed a major boycrush on his older cousin, frequently seeking his attention and approval. An unavoidable side-effect of his hormone imbalance, 'Trissie' tends to behave in a juvenile manner, coming across as sweet, affectionate and quietly submissive. Matthew naturally starts to treat him like a child - specifically, a young teenaged girl - and their initial bonding process is complete.

One afternoon, Matt comes home from university to discover that Tris has covered all of his psych textbooks with floral contact paper. Matthew knows that this was intended as a gift, but he decides to use it as an excuse to engage in some good-natured teasing. This is a well-loved game they played during their shared childhood, one which Tristan will nonetheless try to avoid at all costs.

Cornering Tris in his bedroom upstairs, Matt subjects him to a long and extremely thorough tickling (all the more embarrassing as Trissie is wearing nothing but his white, cotton uni-pants). Much to his surprise, Matthew finds the experience highly arousing; Tris' body feels smooth and lush beneath his fingertips, as soft and yielding as any woman's. Ignoring Tristan's tearful pleas for mercy, Matthew 'tortures' his pretty little cousin for over an hour, tickling his bare, virgin flesh until he's literally weeping with helpless mirth.

The following day, neither mention the incident – Tristan appears to have forgotten about it entirely, and Matt is hesitant to admit how much he enjoyed the episode. Heading off to university, Matthew buries himself in his research, trying to forget how delicious Trissie's body felt against his. He is, of course, fighting a losing battle. The thought of such intimate contact excites him beyond anything he's ever known, and Matt decides to repeat the experience as soon as humanly possible.

Over the next few days, their relationship becomes increasingly physical, as Matt uses every possible excuse to strip Trissie to his underwear and 'torture' him into submission. Trissie himself is not an unwilling participant, clearly enjoying Matt's attention and giving in after an appropriate level of begging and pleading.

Matthew eventually decides to adopt Tristan as a surrogate girlfriend, an arrangement Trissie raises no objection to. The process begins when Matt takes him downtown to buy clothing more appropriate to his appearance. Easily passing for a ****** year-old girl, Trissie tries on various skirts, dresses and knickers, modeling them for her cousin's approval (even stepping out of the dressing room to ask how these panties look). Matt suddenly finds he can barely control himself – if the risk of discovery hadn't been so great, he would have shoved Trissie back into the changing booth and ravished 'her' on the spot.

Once he gets her home, Matt drops all pretense, tearing her clothes off and practically eating her alive on the bed. Once again, Trissie pleads and cries and struggles in his arms, but otherwise offers no true resistance. Once the mock-deflowering is finished, Matt realizes that the panties were what had set him off. The illusion is now complete, nobody could ever guess that Tristan is actually a boy.

Later that evening, Matt asks Trissie if he can take some photos of her on his digital phone. Tris agrees without complaint, and models all of the girlie, floral underthings they'd bought earlier that day. Matt has another flashback to the department store and goes crazy with lust once again. Their lives continue on in this way until the new semester begins and Trissie has to enroll at Chamberlain Matric.

Working from home, Matthew creates a pay-for-view site called "My Living Doll", uploading clips and photosets of Trissie in various states of undress. While the site earns considerable revenue for Matt and his younger cousin, it also attracts the attention of the authorities. The police soon arrive to arrest Matthew, but are forced to drop the charges when it emerges that Tristan is actually over 18. There is also some debate as to whether "My Living Doll" constitutes obscene material, but the District Attorney decides not to pursue the case, as no sexual acts were ever depicted.

The story ends with a 'happily ever after' scenario: Matt has finished his doctorate, Tristan is half-way through his bachelor's degree and both have found the thing they desire most in life.