Leigh
|
Leigh Schroeder |
|
|---|---|
|
Intake |
|
| Gender | Female |
| Year of intake | 2019 |
| Sponsor | Tabitha |
| Gender at intake | Trans female |
| Date of birth | unknown |
| Name at intake | [show]William "Will" Schroeder |
| First appearance | Chapter 5 |
| Chapters with POV scenes | |
| edit this box | |
Leigh is a trans girl[SD 33] in the 2019 intake. She is sponsored by Tabitha and resides in Basement Bedroom 3, Christine's old room. [SD 5]
At intake, she was well-built and muscle-bound, [SD 6] which Tabitha suspected to be a product of overcompensation on Leigh's part. [SD 17] She is "at least" as tall as Paige or Vicky [SD 27], and is 190cm / 6'3" [LL]. Following her confinement in her cell after attacking Maria, Christine observes that she has lost most of her mass and has become much thinner. [SD 27]
"Leigh" is, at least to begin with, a provisional name, picked with help from Tabitha after she first came out as trans. [SD 39]
Pre-transition
Leigh was a Saints student before being inducted into the programme. Upon accidentally catching her younger brother having gay sex, she was physically violent towards him, nearly blinding him and sending him to the hospital. [SD 20] [SD 21] This incident seems to be responsible for her presence in the basement. [SD 9]
Leigh is transgender but was led to believe she was an autogynephiliac at an early age and came to regard her desires as a paraphilic disorder, resulting in her repressing her true self as a young adult. This repression is seemingly the root of her homophobic and violent impulses: At the age of fourteen, Leigh fell into a cycle of wearing her mother's clothes and masturbating in secret, followed by violent outbursts at school, fueled by her sense of guilt. This lasted a year until she was nearly caught by her father, after which she stopped wearing her mother's clothes but continued being violent to her fellow students. [SD 33] Indira described her as an "unexploded rage bomb", which proved accurate; Leigh confessed to Steph that she felt like she was constantly being filled with other people's expectations for her, which felt like "lit specks of gunpowder" that would inevitably result in dissociative white-outs of violence. [SD 21]
Pre-transition, Leigh found comfort in a rigid, logical worldview and ideas, largely as an extension of her view of herself as an autogynephile, and despite her violent nature, considered herself "a man of words". [SD 12] She was described by Bethany as a "pedantic arsewipe" [SD 33] and constantly annoyed the other members of the intake with lectures and by calling them out with pedantic corrections.
First year
At intake
Leigh initially pairs up with Adam in the basement. While their relationship mainly takes the form of an ongoing ideological argument or debate, they are often seen offering each other comfort and reassurance [SD 8] and Leigh has a noticeable soft spot for Adam, apparently making an effort to curb her temper around him and allowing him to lean against her on the couch. [SD 12] Leigh is already familiar with Goserelin from when her father had prostate cancer and explains its testosterone-suppressing effects to the other members of the intake. [SD 5]
Leigh attempts to fight back during the October examination by Karen and is tased and struck by Tabitha.
Early on, Leigh and Adam strike a defensive alliance with Steph and Bethany to protect themselves against Diana, Ollie, and Raph. However, following Diana's washout, Leigh becomes convinced Diana has been killed and that the rest of the intake are similarly doomed, which leads to Leigh teaming up with Ollie and Raph. Led by Leigh, the three stage a surprise attack against the sponsors on November 27th, where Leigh slams Maria's head into the concrete floor, seriously injuring her. [SD 17] In the wake of the attack, Leigh is confined to her cell, where she is kept shackled to the bed.
December
Upon disclosure, Leigh reacts by "shutting down" in despair, a response that vexes the sponsors. Later, in her cell, her only reaction is a barely audible “It’s not fair". [SD 20]
On December 5th, Leigh requests to speak with Steph in her cell, where she confesses that she was not disassociating but was, in fact, fully responsible for her actions when she attacked Maria and she is glad that Steph intervened, potentially saving her life. She cryptically tells Steph, "I know now: you’re like me”. [SD 21] She is "drowning in self-loathing" [SD 27] and admits that it would be good for her to become someone new and less volatile, and asks Steph to tell Tabitha that she has decided to stop resisting the programme and is "done" being Will. [SD 21]
Leigh is reintroduced to the common areas on December 16th and apologizes publicly to Maria for attacking her and to Adam for betraying his trust. Adam rebuffs the apology. Leigh demonstrates that she is afraid of losing control with any further violent outbursts and insists on voluntarily shackling herself when visited in her room [SD 27] and restraining her own arms or simply walking away when provoked. [SD 32] She also stops inflicting lectures on the others upon her return. [SD 30] However, her attempts at reforming her personality are slow-going and she admits she struggles to call Steph by her name due to a combination of habit and stubbornness [SD 27] and expresses to Christine that she is frustrated in her lack of progress. [SD 32] Tabitha takes her to secretly observe Ollie in his cell, to show Leigh how much progress she has actually made by comparison. [SD 33]
Coming out as trans
On December 26th, Maria has to warn Leigh to stop misgendering and deadnaming Bethany and Steph. Afterward, Bethany parades around the common room in a "slutty" catholic schoolgirl uniform and wig and makes out with Steph in order to make Leigh uncomfortable. Provoked, Leigh removes herself to her room, and Tabitha finally recognizes her distress as envy. Leigh confesses that she has wanted to be a girl "forever". [SD 33]
Two days later, at Maria's insistence, Leigh is confronted in her room by Bethany, who pushes her to face herself by again dressing in an overtly feminine style and repeatedly using her deadname, which she was still using at the time. Leigh reveals that her earliest memory may be asking her mother what she would have named her and being told that her parents never even considered it. She also confesses her time spent wearing her mother's clothes in secret. [SD 33]
Following her confrontation with Bethany, Leigh's belief in autogynephila is shattered after reading an essay provided to her by Tabitha, triggering a bout of self-loathing that results in a self-destructive outburst in her room. After this incident, she is encouraged by Tabitha to begin exercising to vent her frustrations, working out with a punching bag and sparring with Tabitha and Monica in a repurposed "prep room" in the upper basement level. Exercising provides her with a cathartic release, after which her temperament begins to improve; she also begins openly wearing a sports bra and fingerless training gloves around the basement. [SD 34] She eventually also joins Steph in practicing yoga, alongside Bethany, Raph, and Pippa. [SD 44]
By January 11th, she begins going by "Leigh" (a gender-neutral deconstruction of her deadname), mainly as a concession to Tabitha's need to have a way to address her without using her deadname. [SD 39] When Diana returns after escaping from Stenordale Manor, Leigh reveals to her that she is not attracted to women. [SD 40]
After coming out, Leigh is extremely sensitive to the progress of the other members of her intake and both Bethany and Raph continue to derive pleasure by flaunting feminine outfits and makeup around her. [SD 44]
Photos
This section is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.
Pre-transition associates
- Christopher, known as "Topher", Leigh’s younger brother. Prior to Leigh's abduction by Dorley, he made it known that he never wanted to see her again. [SD 21]
| Dorley girls (and a few non-girls) | |
|---|---|
| 2019 intake | Adam (Edy), Bethany (Maria), Diana (Monica), Leigh (Tabitha), Martin (Pamela), Ollie (Harmony), Raph (Jane), Stephanie (Pippa) |