My basement book club caught up to the end of book four of Dorley in January, and today they're starting When You Fell From Heaven. (I'm excited to reread this series.)
First notes from chapter one: "Wait, is this a KISSING book??"
Once more into the cishet male breach...
#DorleyPosting #WYFFH
Whenever I read something, I can hear the characters voices in my head, and I just noticed that for Faye, I'm just using my own internal monologue voice but a little squeakier.
The second years in this series are so relatable as a girl two years on HRT.
#DorleyPosting
Me: "Who is teaching them to identify eggs?"
Her: "You."
Me: "Oh, right."
Her: "Good to see you showing so much skin in photos these days, though."
Seems like the wives of the basement boys are mostly amused by the book club.
#DorleyPosting
One of the basement boys came across his wife's photos from high school and commented "God, that guy there looks so much like an egg?? Is he still a boy today???" and she laughed because he'd accidentally identified me at 15 without making the connection to how I look now.
#DorleyPosting
Everyone in the Basement Book Club seems to be coming up with Dorley mug ideas, so here's mine, a riff on "hurt people hurt people."
FIXED people FIX people.
With hearts but also cherries and scissors next to the second fix because it's Dorley.
#DorleyPosting
The Basement Book Club has a trans girl in here with me now (not one of the boys, sadly), and it's interesting the moments that hit us extremely hard but not the cis girls or the boys.
Especially the bit about trans girls not understanding masculinity's allure and poison.
#DorleyPosting
A message from a cishet boy who says "Whoa Aaron's going upstairs dressed as a girl (shocked emoji). For the Christmas Party. Ah ha... Maybe that's what I need to do..."
We got one!
(This is a message one of my boys in the basement book club.)
(Sadly, it's cropped in such a way to sound more like an egg crack than it is. Despite everything, they are all still just boys three books deep.)
#DorleyPosting
Book four of Dorley is like if the Lawful Route in Tactics Ogre were gay and trans.
#DorleyPosting
The temptation to send them "Don't Feminize Me Before My Morning Coffee" mugs for Christmas was high, but my spouse talked me out of it.
Lord only knows what THEIR wives think of me at this point. Maybe I need to do a cishet women's basement book club next year.
#DorleyPosting
I just said "Fuck you, I got castrated for that potato!" and the cishet boys in the book club laughed very hard, so suffice to say, they also love the second years in Dorley as much as I do.
They're adapting to trans (generic and Dorley specific) humor very quickly.
#DorleyPosting
Meme of The Fit I Wish I Could Wear that's a short jean skirt, a tabby jacket, kitty ear hood, and kitty leg warmer socks.
A safety sign that says cat ears must be worn in this area.
The second years in Dorley.
#DorleyPosting
This week's Dorley Basement Book Club, I get to teach the boys what a chaser is.
Wish me luck.
#DorleyPosting
I have never waivered in my conviction when it comes to the cishet guys in the Dorley Basement Book Club, but one of them just listed this as his favorite mug and it definitely... surprised me:
Great hair ✓
A winning smile ✓
Balls ✕
…Two out of three ain’t bad!
#DorleyPosting
Thought that was Aaron from Secrets of Dorley for a moment there. #DorleyPosting
Feeling called out by the section where they talk about how a certain type of trans girl always ends up with a plant name.
Fuck you, Mint is a delightful AND refreshing name.
(Not actually angry. Should be read playfully. Also, delightfully and refreshingly. Never been so attacked)
#DorleyPosting
Aaron is full of surprises. Still amazed to be invested in him*.
*For now.
#DorleyPosting
Higlighted text that reads: And that guy? From Bournemouth? From earlier this year? He saved those dogs from being crushed up, or something.” “Crushed up?” Jane says, frowning. “Wait— Bournemouth? Oh, goodness, Aaron; what is it you think a puppy mill does?” “Not important,” Aaron says, making a mental note to ask someone.
Strong "Wait, did you think a sweatshop is where they make sweat pants??" energy from Aaron in tonight's Dorley reading.
#DorleyPosting
I was curious how the boys in the basement would take "Everything Must Go."
It probably speaks to their empathy that they're all finding it extremely hard. I was worried it would leave me gutted as a trans girl but barely dent the cishet guys. They seem shaken up, too, thankfully.
#DorleyPosting
Dorley is not a YA series, but of course the author of Magic's Pawn has always been a little alarmed at 13 year old kids reading it and calling it YA. But as a teenager, if I'd read "Everything Must Go," it would have been the very first time in my entire life that I ever felt seen.
#DorleyPosting
Much as "Everything Must Go" wrecked me, it's the reason Secrets of Dorley could end up as one of my all-time favorite books.
I'm breaking ranks and saying that Faye and Bex were my favorites from this one. I needed their happy distraction after those two chapters.
#DorleyPosting
Secrets of Dorley complete! "Everything Needs a Body" is the first chapter of Enemies of Dorley for anyone who realized AO3's Save as Ebook button doesn't give you chapter numbers.
Waiting on the basement boys to catch up. The slowest reader just started "Everything Must Go."
#DorleyPosting
I should add that I've always wanted to believe that everyone can change and grow and reform. Like Fox Mulder, I want to believe, and I take action as though that is the case.
But Aaron's breakthrough/breakdown made me realize that deep down inside, I did not believe it was possible
#DorleyPosting
Anyways, I guess I've seen toxic men as an unfixable constant before now, but I guess I'm coming around to Dorley's view on the matter. So many trans women these past few chapters, it's nice to remember why we're here: to fix men and inspire questionable coffee mugs.
#DorleyPosting
They make me feel unsafe in a way that lingers even now. I've never tried to fix one. I've never seen one reform. They act like victims if you say you feel unsafe because of what they did and tell you that you're overreacting.
So Aaron finally seeing it hit me in a weird way.
#DorleyPosting
Weirdly the chapter after Everything Must Go also hit me kinda hard. I didn't realize how much I've treated toxic men as... bad luck? Acts of God? Like hurricanes or illness where you can try to avoid them but you can't change or fix them. Immutable evil.
Subconsciously, I mean.
#DorleyPosting
Shout out to me for scheduling an appointment with my trans therapist for the day after I read the "Everything Must Go" chapter. Gonna have to talk fast today to cover everything I'm still feeling this morning.
#DorleyPosting
The "Everything Must Go" chapter of Dorley probably messed me up more than anything I've read in years. Fuck, wow.
Is cis lit just bad? Am I just too trans to relate to cis experiences? Maybe cis writers are just terrible.
Gonna wash my face with cold water and go for a walk. Fuck.
#DorleyPosting
Amazed at how much Aaron has grown on the boys in the basement (book club). At least one is shipping Stef and Aaron.
Also, lest you think I'm not being punished for my sins, the boys have started making Dorley-style puns.
#DorleyPosting
Also, it's impossible to read Dorley without feeling pressured to be a better trans girl, so I'm painting my nails and remembering to apply top coat to them so they last longer during the book club.
Current most popular Dorley girl in the club: Vicky, dethroning Pippa. #DorleyPosting
Today's Dorley Basement Book Club discussion is about how HRT changes your smell. Also, the biggest mystery in all of Dorley: is Weetabix real or did Alyson Greaves make it up for this book series? #DorleyPosting
