Indira
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Indira Chetry |
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|---|---|
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Dorley girl |
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| Gender | Female |
| Year of intake | unknown |
| Sponsor | unknown |
| Gender at intake | Cis male |
| Date of birth | unknown |
| Name at intake | unknown |
| First appearance | Chapter 3 |
| Chapters with POV scenes | |
| edit this box | |
Indira (sometimes called Dira) is a senior sponsor at Dorley Hall. She is currently co-sponsoring Faye and Rebecca with Bella. [SD 16] She previously sponsored Christine and briefly stepped in as Bethany's sponsor while Maria was recovering from an injury. She has reconnected with her biological family with Aunt Bea's permission in 2018 [SD 10] and is dating her childhood friend Hasan.
Indira is 176 cm (5'9") tall [LL] and of Indian descent. She speaks with a South London accent. [SD 37] She is disarmingly even-tempered and polite and seems to have a strong sense of humor.
She likes to dress in breezy, light-coloured clothing [SD 11] and wears a beaded bracelet she made with Christine as part of a matched set. [SD 7]
Indira considers herself a trans woman [SD 9] and has a trans NPH. [SD 4] Following her reunion with her family, her mother Aasha has become a "minor social media celebrity" as a trans rights activist. [SD 4]
Indira is part of a tight-knit found family unit consisting of herself, Christine, Paige, Abby, and Vicky. She has a particularly close, sisterly relationship with Christine; [SD 9] her biological family consider Christine part of the family, having done "everything short of formally adopting her". [SD 21] Indira remarks to Lorna that Christine "might well be the future" of the Hall, though "not in its current form". [SD 22]
Pre-transition
Even as a boy, Indira was exclusively attracted to men. Her struggles with her sexuality contributed to the misbehavior that eventually made her a candidate for the programme. [LL]
Indira recalls that, as children, Hasan was kind to her even when she was not kind in return. [SD 10]
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
In the programme
When Indira was in the programme, Dorley girls were still required to undergo an archaic traditional mannerism and comportment training, drilling various subjects such as how to get out of a chair while wearing a short skirt. [SD 11]
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Reunited with family
Indira reunites with her family 2018 [SD 10] leading a "pilot programme" for allowing Dorley girls to reconnect with their families. Abby confesses that it began simply as Indira making "a huge pain in the arse of herself until Bea finally gave in", but now the Hall is watching the situation carefully with the intention of possibly revising the Hall's policies after five years of observation. [SD 18] However, her "careful, process-led pathway" of reintegrating with her family has quickly opened the door to other "more radical" approaches from other Dorley girls. [SD 29]
Sponsoring
Pippa considers Indira "a great sponsor". [SD 20] Her technique for first-years seems to be a balance of extreme niceness and a fiery intensity that keeps basementees off-balance and amplifies guilty feelings after bad behavior. Christine states that her sponsoring technique largely involves "weaponising niceness" [SD 19] and that she knows "how to climb into someone’s psyche and prod them in the right direction"; [SD 27] Bethany compares her personality as a sponsor to "a pedantic primary school teacher". [SD 19]
Indira seems to be one of the most senior sponsors in the Hall, next to Maria and Edy, and appears to be trusted to use her judgement to supervise and sign off on decisions for more junior sponsors, graduates, and Dorley girls other than her own charges, and to speak on behalf of the Hall and its resources. [SD 26]
Christine
Paige recalls Christine being "broken", "wounded", and "defensively crass and instinctively aggressive" at the beginning of the 2017 intake. [SD 21] Indira's early days of sponsoring Christine were handled with her trademark approach of weaponized niceness [SD 19] and she "leaned hard" on shame as a tool in handling Christine [SD 22] -- as Christine gradually started opening up, she once shouted at Indira and then, regretful and scared of damaging their developing relationship, apologized the next day. Indira once confided in Paige that she had a clear vision of the woman Christine would become and that she knew that they would one day be sisters. [SD 21]
Christine states that Indira was "pretty much" the first person to every show her kindness; Hasan (to the extent that he understands their relationship) believes that being sisters with Christine has been "healing" for Indira. [SD 10] Nine months into Christine's first year in the basement, Indira made a promise to her:
I’m not just your sponsor any more; I’m your Sister. If ever it gets too much, if you need a break, if complying with a request of mine will hurt you more than it will help you, and if you understand that there are expectations upon me to ensure your progress and commit to helping me fulfil them, then all you need do is ask. Ask, and I will do everything I can to help you and to heal you, and if I have to I will move this whole building to keep you safe. [SD 7]
Christine had Indira pick her name for her, her only specification being that it shared no syllables and no initials with her deadname. [SD 12] (Indira affectionately calls her Teenie.)
Christine's first trip out was to visit Indira's family with her. She has since removed the viruses from Aasha's computer and set her up with free movie streaming. [SD 22]
By October 2019, Indira seems to be focusing on helping Christine to get more comfortable outside the Hall, encouraging her to go out clubbing with herself, Paige, and Vicky, along with their friends from outside of the programme. She has also been instructed by Aunt Bea to ensure Christine's "continued feminine development" as her progress stalls out early into her third year. [SD 7]
On October 16th, Indira attends a protest at the Anthill against Katherine Frost with Christine and Vicky and Vicky's girlfriend Lorna. [SD 8]
Faye and Rebecca
Indira's boyfriend, Hasan, visits the Hall on October 25th for Aunt Bea's birthday party [SD 9] and meets Bea, Maria, and Edy along with many of the Dorley girls in attendance. [SD 10]
After Christine intervenes on Faye's behalf, Aunt Bea relieves Nell from her sponsoring duties and reassigns Indira to assist Bella in co-sponsoring Faye and Rebecca and monitoring the other sponsors; Christine relays the news to Indira at the party. [SD 10] According to Indira, the co-sponsoring is a fairly easy assignment as "as Faye and Rebecca are inseparable, and practically sponsor themselves." She receives a pay raise for the new role. [SD 16] Later, it is determined that Nell will resume sponsoring in the 2020 intake under Indira's direct supervision. [SD 27]
The next morning, Indira and Hasan wake Christine, Paige, and Vicky in Christine's room with orange juice. Afterward, she and Hasan leave to visit some of Hasan's extended family the next county over. [SD 11]
On November 9th, the day after Steph's deception is uncovered, Indira's response to learning of Christine's involvement is "rough" but ultimately ends in hugs. Later, on reflection, Indira finds it hilarious that Steph, a white woman, "asked to see the manager" while in the basement the previous month. [SD 16]
Aaron
Starting on November 28th, Indira is temporarily put in charge of the basement while Maria recovers from her attack by Leigh. Her main role is taking over as Aaron's sponsor (as well as lending support to Edy by watching Adam while she cares for Maria); [SD 18] Aaron is immediately disarmed and frustrated by her sponsoring technique, comparing her to a "pedantic primary school teacher". [SD 19] Indira seems to keep him on a strict sleep schedule, waking him up early in the mornings. [SD 19] Facilitated by Indira, Aaron writes Maria a "surprisingly polite" get-well-soon card while she is in the hospital. [SD 18]
Indira is present for the split population disclosure on November 30th during which Monica singles out Aaron as an example, detailing both his history as a bullying victim at boarding school and his extensive campaign of serial harassment at Saint Almsworth. Confronted with his own behavior, the Hall's dim view of his future as a free man, and his impending feminization, Aaron becomes distressed. At the end of the presentation, he requests to return to his room alone, where he sits, staring at the wall, for the next several hours. When Indira is unable to elicit any response from him or to get him to eat, she reluctantly allows Steph to intervene, hoping to avoid having to resort to force-feeding; after Steph confesses her feelings for him, his resolve is broken, and he is later seen eating on the security cameras. [SD 19] Aaron spends the next couple days with the lights off, listlessly eating, sleeping, and crying; he accepts the following estradiol shot from Indira "without fuss". [SD 20]
Aaron tries refusing to eat as an act of "passive resistance" "a couple times" under Indira, who initially plies him food with and nutrient shakes until he eats; he ultimately relents after Indira plays along, letting him go without eating for a day then suddenly threatening him with force feeding. [SD 21]
"She’s like if you could fill a nuke with niceness instead of radiation and explosions. And that only makes it scarier when she turns it off and threatens to feed you through a tube." [SD 21]
Though Aaron believes her goal is simply "babysitting" him and keeping him alive until Maria returns, he is nonetheless convinced by Indira that the programme is "fucking serious" that feminizing the basementees will help them become better people. Indira reassures Steph that despite suffering in the short-term, Aaron will be okay when she leaves the programme. [SD 21]
Indira is present in the kitchen when Lorna arrives to speak with Christine on December 2nd. [SD 20]
Maria returns to sponsoring duties on December 11th; [SD 22] Aaron remains intimidated by Indira for days after. [SD 23]
When Lorna returns to the Hall later that day for her GRS and electrolysis consultations, Indira takes her on a tour of the first floor basement. While talking in the medical area waiting room, Indira snaps at Lorna, berating her for insulting and triggering Christine a few days earlier when Christine and Paige intervened after Lorna threatened to blackmail Aunt Bea. Lorna tearfully acknowledges her error and suggests that the Hall could have done a better job helping her adjust after reading her in. The two apologize to each other. [SD 22]
Afterward, Indira relays a message from Nell to Maria that Aaron has been acting strangely on the security cameras; Indira gives Maria her assessment that Aaron has reached an inflection point. Maria goes to his room to find him experiencing a moment of ego death as his psyche shatters; she comforts him then shares her backstory and reveals the true nature of the Hall. [SD 23]
Further adventures
Indira intercepts Melissa and Shahida in the kitchen before they leave to meet Rachel on campus to do "damage control" after Melissa re-establishes contact. She signs off on their plan after making sure they bring along an audio recorder. [SD 26]
Following Christine's intervention, Indira puts in a word with Beatrice to allow Yasmin and Julia to graduate and leave the Hall ahead of schedule; Speaking with Indira "stirred some stuff up", causing Yasmin to reflect and decide to attempt to reconnect with her intake and other girls at the Hall in the remaining months before she leaves. [SD 27]
Indira spends the evening of December 16th watching all of the Shrek movies and eating pizza with Christine, Abby, Paige, Hasan, Naila, Ren, Pippa, Charlie, and others on the fifth floor. [SD 27]
Indira drives Christine and Paige to Brighton to visit Christine's hometown on December 18th. As Christine recollects her teenage years, Indira muses on how she has only recently become able to incorporate her past and present selves in a healthy way; she is moved to tears by how far Christine has come. When they arrive at her parents house, Christine is supposed to stay in the car while Paige and Indira go to the door; however, Christine impulsively leaps from the car at the sight of her mother, Helen. The three girls continue with their plan to pose as adopted sisters, with Christine improvising her role, claiming to be an orphan of two parents in an abusive relationship similar to her own parents'. When Christine breaks down crying, her mother invites the three into the house. Inside, she shares the story of Christine's disappearance with the girls, admitting that she believes that her son committed suicide and that she blames herself for his death. When Helen points out Christine's resemblance, Indira improvises a story implying that Christine was the product of a sperm donor and that they have sought Helen after their family's legal research into Christine's adoption; Helen makes a logical leap, coming to the assumption that her late brother Hamish had donated sperm before his death while away in America. [SD 29]
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
Pre-transition associates
- Aasha - Indira's mother
- Siji - Indira's sister
- Hasan - Indira's childhood friend from three doors down, now boyfriend; Christine states that he is "a lovely man". [SD 10] According to Indira, he believes she ran away to transition, finished her education at Saints, and finally contacted her family again when she felt ready. He is not read in and is unaware of the true nature of the programme. [SD 22]
| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| Others from unknown intakes | Amethyst, Atiena, Bella, Daisy, Donna, Ellie, Emma*, Farah, Francesca, Harmony, Indira, Jan, Jane (Natalie), Jenna, Lisa, Margaret, Monica, Pamela, Rabia (Trish), Sally, Selena, Tanya |
| 2017 intake | Christine (Indira), |