#infiltrator leyya

[morgacht]

Absolutely delightful sketchpage comm for @ratasum ! Leyya and Zojja, back in simpler times…

[ratasum]

Look, I am aware the Lesbian Day of Visibility isn't until next week, but I think we could always use some cute rat lesbians having a kiss in our day to day, don't you?

(Could I have put them in pants?? Absolutely. Will I? Nah. Not like anything's showing LMAO.)

Anyway some Leyya and Zojja kisses for your afternoon; enjoy.

[wall-legion]

Don't Make Me

Countess Anise hated coming to Lion's Arch. It was so disorderly and uncouth compared to Divinity's Reach. She sniffed as she passed a female charr, dressed in pirate's garb and arm in arm with a norn male who was dressed similarly. Pirates, she thought to herself with a sniff. What is their council thinking, letting piracy continue unchecked in their ports? But then again their council was mostly run by current and former pirates, so one had to take that into consideration she supposed.

She tipped her chin up and picked up her pace through the streets, wishing she had sent Logan on this errand instead for a brief moment... but no, he would be useless, as usual. Thackeray was a tool, a hammer to swing when you had a nail in sight, but otherwise he was too much "of the people" to be practical when it came time for anything that required more than a little finesse and likely any words that would come up with more than two syllables. Beyond that, her target was one of his little projects so that would likely have led to him getting distracted by small talk. No, as badly as she would have liked to avoided this whole job by sending him in her place, she knew deep down she needed to be the one to do this.

It took another few minutes of walking and a brief stop to check her directions with a local, but finally she stopped in front of her destination: a narrow, two-story building that clearly housed a storefront on the first floor and all its living space in the upstairs. The small wooden sign hung over the door read "Rose and Moon Soapcrafting". As she watched, someone left and called a goodbye over their shoulder through the door.

Good. She was home.

Anise strode forward, pulling the door open to step inside and slide to the side to hopefully disappear from sight. There were a few other people in the shop at the moment, a norn woman who appeared to be making a delivery to the girl while a charr couple appeared to be shopping together and an asura was browsing on their own. The girl was cheerily thanking the norn for the delivery, and hadn't appeared to notice that Anise had entered at all.

She tentatively took a few more steps to the side, as her target started focusing on the charr couple, so she could peek through the door behind the counter. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw next.

The rumors were true: she was harboring a monster. It was tall enough that if it stood up straight its head would touch the ceiling, had two extra limbs emerging from its back to hand it tools and bottles from the shelves, and eyes the color of bloodstone.

Eyes that were now meeting hers, and narrowing.

"Who are you?" it said, setting down the bowl it was holding and starting towards her. Despite herself, Anise stepped backwards and reached for her scepter.

That was when the world froze for her.

"No weapons in my shop." The girl finally came out from behind the counter, holding a shield that was faintly glowing. She must have had it under the counter, Anise thought as she watched her easily slide it onto her back. "This is a nice establishment, after all."

"Could have fooled me," Anise managed to growl through her magically-shut teeth.

"And here I thought the nobility were taught manners. Silly me." She turned to look at the asura. "I'll be right back with you for that order for Bayside Boutique in just a moment. Let me deal with... this."

The asura just tittered. "Oh please. Don't rush on my account."

Anise would have grimaced if she could, but instead she was picked up by the thing and lugged into the back, only to be tied up in a chair just in time for the spell to drop. She took the opportunity to kick the beast in one of the arms as it was finishing a knot. "You should have died in the jungle with the rest of your disgusting siblings-"

"I know." It tied her legs to the chair after that and stood up, eyes downcast. "I know." With that, it left her, and she sat in the back room of the soap shop for at least twenty minutes before the girl finally came back to join her.

"I apologize for Sheridan," she said as she entered, with the monster- apparently she called it Sheridan- not far behind. She produced a dagger from a fold of her skirt. "They're very protective."

"It's certainly something. How'd you teach it to talk?"

Odetta frowned sharply at that. "They knew how to talk when they were a sylvari, and retained it through the blighting." She cut the ropes away and Anise stood up, stretching briefly. "What do you want?" "I'm here to speak to you in regards to the recent... phenomenon that occurred in Garenhoff." Odetta's eyebrow quirked at that. "Are you accusing me of making an entire tower of disappearing, Countess? I had a very large order to complete for Mr. Oskar Garoldsen of the Bayside Boutique, I didn't have time for that kind of nonsense."

"Besides that, Odetta would never do anything of that sort. She is too kind." "Thank you, Sheridan." "Too kind, perhaps, to freaks," Anise muttered. "And what is that supposed to mean-?" the thing snarled. Anise recoiled at seeing the mouthful of fangs it had. She couldn't recall any of the Mordrem she had seen to have teeth such as these. "Kindly recall your snapdragon, before I have to do something you'll regret." "Sheridan." Odetta laid a hand on its arm and looked up at it. "Please. It's fine. The countess will be brief and then she'll leave. Won't she?" Anise watched as the Mordrem backed off, and privately wondered when the orphan had grown such a backbone. "As I was saying, the incident in Garenhoff has her majesty's attentions, and she is requesting that it be addressed promptly. I'm sure you know that your commander is... well..." "Commander Firstblood is in the process of getting married as I understand it, via Olmakhan customs," Odetta said cheerily. The girl seemed to revel in celebrating the other races' weirdness. "We've received an invite." "Goody. And of course the others who have previously been commanders in your guild-" "Oaklinna stepped down after Traehearne's passing, and Vezz and Rissia have their children to mind now." "Of course. But most importantly, her majesty wishes this to be handled... well, this requires a human touch." Odetta gave her a long look. "The elder dragons never required a specific race. Why start now?" "Because Garenhoff specifically lies within human territories, and has for a very long time. We don't know who is in that tower, and the last thing we should be doing is sending another race in there to muck up anything we could potentially utilize-!" Anise drew herself up. She had misspoke, and she knew it. Odetta stood very straight, blue eyes glowing faintly from her magic starting to build. "Countess, I may have been a citizen of Divinity's Reach and of the Queen, but I left it behind as soon as I was of adult age. I've lived here in Lion's Arch- which, I'll remind you since you and apparently Queen Jennah seem to have forgotten, is not a part of the kingdom she reigns over- for almost ten years now. I have this little business now. I have my friends. Do you think I give one shard of bark off Melandru's leafy ass about where you two want me to go?" She flicked her hands, and Anise looked down to see a portal start opening beneath her. "I took a moment after Sheridan saw to you to go to the beach and place the end portal for you. I think a little fresh sea air would do you a world of good, Countess. Clear your head and get those silly ideas about me leaping when you say 'jump' out." "You wouldn't-" Anise started. "I would." Odetta made the final movement for the spell with her left hand, and Anise felt herself start to fall. "Do give the Queen my best. And good luck with that tower problem." As soon as the other woman was gone and her shrill, angry scream had stopped emerging from the portal, Odetta quickly moved to close the portal so she couldn't come back through before sitting down in the now empty chair. "You were very brave just now," Sheridan said after a moment. "Thank you," Odetta said. "I didn't feel brave. I felt terrified." "Well, you didn't let it show. -I locked the front door and put the closed sign up, to be safe." "Oh, Sheridan, you're a blessing." There was a noise on the stairs behind Sheridan, and they both immediately looked as someone started down the stairs from their residence above. What began as panic though, gave way to relief and slight embarrassment as it was only Leyya. "What in the Alchemy was all that noise?" she demanded. "I woke up to someone shrieking!" "...we'll explain over a cup of tea."

[scourgeblooms]

Went to my first art party on the 7th!! Only stayed for a little bit in order to grab some screens to sketch from, but I had a great time lurkin around and lookin at everyone's bangin toons. Definitely looking forward to attending another.

Here are some folks from the NA party! I totally spaced asking for tumblr urls, so if you see yourself, please let me know!!! I recognized some folks though, so I'll tag a few! EDIT: I FOUND EVERYONE YAY

Vigil Apothecary (@adaarsvitaar)

Lyhil (@lyhil)

Tam Odair (@slagharrow)

Infiltrator Leyya (@ratasum)

Firstborn Kynwyl (@creativebrainrot)

Razan Meziani (@bjoramarches)

[ratasum]

Simpler times. Just a couple of girlfriends chilling around the Snaff Memorial Lab. Probably the place Leyya and Zojja spent the most time together before the personal story started.

Bonus, Zojja looking like she's shoving her face in Leyya's chest.

Thank you, @wisp-enclosure, for making a Zojja clone I can play dress up with.

[ratasum]

Lore Post - Leyya, Whispers Infiltrator

(There are some headcanons ahead, as well as information from mine and @wall-legion's lore and slightly altered version of some events.)

The oldest child of Pruri and Daxx, and the only one they had in their contract (though both would go on to have numerous other contracts, having gotten contracted after a whirlwind college romance the minute they were of age meant things fell apart pretty quickly after Leyya was born).

With at least twelve other half siblings spread between both of her parents, she was always a little out of place.

It is, of course, important to note that Leyya was not born Leyya, but I will be referring to her as "she" and "Leyya" through the entirety of this post.

By the time Leyya was old enough to enter progeny school, Pruri was working as a private progeny instructor, primarily in a cushy position as tutoring "wards of the council." That is: she specialized in teaching orphans who were under the care of the state.

Since Leyya was the right age at the time, Pruri just decided to have her sit in on the class instead of enrolling her in a traditional progeny school. She was a friendly kid, open, got on well with the other kids around her. It helped the other progeny feel more at ease in the uncomfortable new surroundings. What happened then was unexpected, however: Leyya spotted a girl sitting in the back of the class. Prickly looking, big pale blue eyes, tucked in on herself and taking notes without really talking to anyone.

Her decision? Yeah. That girl's going to be my best friend.

This amused Pruri- after all, Leyya having a close friendship couldn't hurt. And so Leyya met Zojja, and it was pretty clear Zojja had no idea what to do with this girl with the wild white hair and pumpkin orange eyes and big toothy grin that sat down next to her and talked enthusiastically after every lesson, regardless of the what they were learning.

To be fair, it was not an easy initial friendship. Zojja was very unsure of Leyya, and Leyya was an Extremely Loud Kid. But it can be lonely being an orphan living in Charitable Council Provided Housing with Council Provided Care, especially when you're very smart and there's just something that sets you apart from everyone else. Then you've got Leyya, miss "Hey, I'm a weirdo too!"

Things did eventually warm, to the point that they were pretty much glued at the hip. And honestly, Leyya being so loud and boisterous let Zojja focus on her work… and it did eventually bring her out of her shell a bit.

They were tight enough that when Snaff came into the picture, looked at this angry but clearly brilliant ten year old orphan, and went "Is anyone gonna adopt that," he kept her in Pruri's progeny classes and happily encouraged her friendship with Leyya.

Of course, in the end, Leyya did end up going to Dynamics instead of Synergetics... not that it did much to divert her. She wound up playfully instigating academic rivalry with Zojja, though she otherwise did quite well in college. She proved to have a penchant for sneaking and hiding and getting into trouble, too. It was also during this time that she sort of started… feeling herself out.

Leyya was not as she was born, Leyya was a girl. And so in college, she tentatively came out to Zojja first. Not out of any fear of her reaction to Leyya being trans. Growing up steeped in asuran culture, being trans was a perfectly normal state of being. Matter can change its shape, and so too can people. Instead, it was because of a different reason: by this point, Leyya had developed a significant crush on Zojja, and she was worried about whether Zojja was into girls.

(She forgot to ask Zojja if she was into girls.)

After the two of them graduated, they did drift apart a little, though not completely. Zojja threw herself into her apprenticeship with Snaff while Leyya went on to be recruited by the Order of Whispers. Eventually, Leyya drifted back into Zojja's life, and the two hit it off as if they'd never spent time apart. Snaff began affectionately referring to Leyya as "Zojja's girlfriend" during introductions with strangers, something both young woman constantly denied.

This continued on even into the start of Destiny's Edge, when during one meeting at Snaff's laboratory, she was introduced as such to the new members of the small guild.

Leyya was encouraging the whole time. Zojja had her reservations, not trusting the plans of these representatives from the other races, and it was all Leyya could do to try to keep her spirits up as things grew more and more tense.

And then, late one night, she met Zojja at the entrance to Snaff's lab as she returned home alone, having cremated her adopted father and mentor with her own hands after their disastrous attempt in Elona.

She was one of the only people outside of Destiny's Edge to witness Zojja cry, sitting on the floor with her long into the early hours, draped over her like a blanket and paying little mind to the tears that soaked her thick leather jerkin as her childhood best friend, the most beloved person in her life, grieved the loss of her master.

As for Leyya, she vowed to never let Zojja bear that kind of weight alone ever again.

As time passed, Leyya did her best to help out where she could. She encouraged her parents to help sponsor the creation of the Snaff Savant prize, and for the six years it ran leading up to the Personal Story, Leyya was often in the peripheral, keeping an eye on things and being there should Zojja need a "gopher."

When Zojja came to her to let her know she was seeking out her old classmate Vezz with the intention of having him help with a project since his recent rumored "explosive" exit from the Inquest, she gladly stepped in to help, leading Vezz's induction into the Order of Whispers and then tailing Zojja through the dungeons as the war against Zhaitan progressed. When they learned of Logan's sacrifice in Arah, it was Leyya again who encouraged Zojja to finally speak with Eir, leading the two women to finally bridge the gap and start working down the path to reconciliation.

Through LWS1 and LWS2, Leyya spent her time alternating between living with Zojja and traveling to keep an eye on the younger of her two apprentices, Taimi. It was a time for both of them to relax, and Leyya's time away provided Zojja with time to work and to continue her talks with Eir.

HoT provided the major pivot point. Leyya was at Zojja's side en route into the jungle, but they were separated when the Pact airships were decimated. And when Leyya finally was able to get back to everyone, she learned what had happened to her beloved Zojja. Furious at what had happened and at herself, she went searching for some way to find some form of vengeance. And she found it in an ancient dagger. On slicing through the skin of her arm with it, she was overwhelmed by a foreign power, foreign entity, foreign thoughts...

And so her possession by the Kryptis, Cepir the Greedy, began. She immediately went into hiding, immense guilt overwhelming Cepir's attempts to use her lust and anger to return to Zojja immediately.

What happens next is a story for another day.

[ratasum]

HERE THEY ARE! In honor of Trans Day of Visibility, from your local trans nonbinary bunny player to your dashboard, all of my current trans/nonbinary characters. There will be more, don't worry. Give me time.

Infiltrator Leyya (she/her), Islwyn the Penitent (he/him), Demoltionist Billi (they/them)

Laxzzi (she/her, with her lovely wife), Necrologist Ahlma (she/her), Xeonna the Lost (she/her)

Ktokka (she/her), Butch Crushfist (she/her), Mharnii (she/they)

[ratasum]

Sometimes you just need to have a low light read while your girlfriend snores away beside you. Leyya is capable of sleeping like the dead. At least Zojja doesn't mind.

[ratasum]

God Leyya is SO good in some of these shots...

[ratasum]

Got animation locked while working on map comp today.

[ratasum]

"no one wants a half-remembered tragedy. you must know the width of the knife and how it ruined you, name the organs it kissed." - Life of the Party, "Addendum II to No Baptism" by Olivia Gatwood

Infiltrator Leyya, Asuran Specter

Possessed by a creature that had been sealed within the cursed dagger she carries, Leyya had once been a friendly, light-hearted, amicable young woman, often seen hanging around her childhood best friend Zojja. But desperation and anger fueled her to take a different path, and now she struggles to retain control despite the thing that claws at her sternum and slams into her ribs, threatening to break free if she ever lets down her guard.

All for a best friend she was madly in love with but too afraid to ever say it out loud.

[ratasum]

Finishing up one of my commission sketches to get to the person tomorrow to finalize, but wanted to bang out something quick for Valentine's Day. So have some Leyya and Zojja for your viewing pleasure.

[ratasum]

The shit Zojja has to put up with from this woman, honestly.

[ratasum]

Distracted from coloring by a sudden need to do this.

[ratasum]

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Which of my Commanders, Commander Adjacent characters, or Wayfinder Hunter would you take on a date?

Images under the cut.

[ratasum]

Overwhelmed by grief, pain, guilt, and heartbreak, Leyya does finally get overwhelmed by Cepir in the dagger. And now there's only one thing they can do to save her: they have to fight her, whether they want to or not.

I'm still working out the mechanics, but basically "Legendary Possessed Leyya" is a thing at a point in SotO.