This trans woman came out to her old friends, and their response took her by surprise

Coming out can be terrifying, especially if it’s to people who’ve known you for a long time. But when that goes well, it can feel especially rewarding, as one trans woman found when she made an unexpected connection with some folks from her past.

The woman in question, Eleanor, took to social media to share the story of a random text she received. Three men she knew before her transition (“guys I used to play League with five years ago,” as she put it) sent Eleanor a selfie out of the blue with the message, “We miss you.”

When Eleanor replied simply saying the texter’s name — “Gage” — he shot back with an excited flurry of messages. “We didn’t expect you to answer,” he wrote. “We need to bool. No flaking you p*ssy.”

(Booling, of course, is slang for hanging out — and Gage’s use of it here gives a good glimpse into his personality.)

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Here’s where Eleanor dropped the big reveal: “Gage I gotta be real [with you] dawg,” she wrote. “I am a woman now.”

Eleanor didn’t see Gage’s reply until the next morning (“I was so worried [about] the response I just silenced my phone [and] went to bed,” she explained in another post), but when she did, it was a surprise in the best way possible.

“Are you serious,” Gage wrote. “[Because] if you are you’re still our dawg. Doesn’t mean we still don’t wanna bool with you. You can’t escape us [because] we love you still.”

Eleanor’s story quickly went viral, with the internet fawning over Gage’s wholesome message of friendship. As one user put it, “They’ll always be the lads.”

thats so cute wtf i might cry a little

— shale (@sediment_girl) March 31, 2024

This is wholesome as hell, I will cry

— Auds (@WeepyLuna) March 31, 2024

Oh to be loved

— Sahara (@saharanotdesert) March 31, 2024

Dawgs don't need gender they just need their dawgs dawg

— Tobin &トービン (@Please_Tobin) March 31, 2024

They'll always be the lads.

— Spudfella (@SpudFella) March 31, 2024

The question remains: did Eleanor and Gage get together and bool? Yes, and they posted a selfie to prove it.

Mid-bool, Eleanor shared an important message from Gage, who was already becoming the subject of a lot of thirsty posts: “Gage wants you all to know that he’s single and a good ally.”

We’re booling rn for those who wanted an update

— Gage (@GageHoller) April 4, 2024

Even League of Legends itself, the game that brought them together all those years ago, chimed in on the lovefest. “The real legends of League,” it wrote. Legends, indeed!

the real legends of league

— League of Legends (@LeagueOfLegends) April 4, 2024