I'm going to post profiles of my Wayhaven Detectives :) Art will as always belong to my partner in crime who got me into wayhaven, @kurczakmarty !! Under the cut to read about Minerva!
Name: Minerva Ivanakovich
Age: 28
Highest skills: Charm and people skills
Romance: Adam
Best Friend: Morgan
Background: Half Russian on Rook’s side
Sexuality: Bisexual
Fashion choice: Elegant, usually only wears black. Loves long dresses, but at work she wears pencil skirts and low cut blouses (eh scandal!). Has emergency button ups in her desk in case she needs to dress a bit more modest for work.
Personality & History:
The first thing you would notice about Minerva is just how naturally sultry she is. Almost always grinning a little, her intense eyes piercing through, one might think she was a classic mean girl. While it is true she loves gossip and fashion, she certainly doesn’t want to be lording over anyone.
She’s flirty, sarcastic, and loves to tease. Self confidence is her bread and butter. She loves being around people, thrives on it. She learned as many languages as she could so she could speak with more people. She was a bit of a rapscallion as a child, often escaping to explore Wayhaven and get into trouble...and then get out of it with her charm.
Minerva very much wanted to be close to Rebecca as a child. But her heart was broken too many times by her mother. And if you don’t show interest in her, she won’t show interest in you.
She burned through a few babysitters who tried very hard to keep her in her room while they were looking after her, but Minerva couldn’t sit too long to keep that up. Eventually, an older siren who took a shine to her stayed on a permanent basis, and what would you know, Minerva would stay in sometimes to listen to her stories. Interest reflected.
Minerva was always dating throughout her teens and early adulthood. Most, if not all, of her relationships ended well with very little tears. She was always good at letting them go.
In her college years, she grew close to Tina and a photography major named Valerie. They became a trio, inseparable and feisty and full of life. Originally, Minerva was a journalism major and that’s how she met Bobby, who she dated for a bit. Minerva was Valerie’s favourite model, and Tina’s enthusiasm kept them busy. Life was good.
One day however, Valerie went to a party and was badly hurt by a few frat boys. No details as it is very personal and private. Minerva and Tina tried very hard to comfort her, but not long after, Valerie vanished without a trace.
The two tried so hard to find her, but after a few months, the case went cold. Instead, they had to fight even harder so that the frat boys responsible were punished. In their grief, they both switched to Criminology majors and started a path towards becoming detectives.
This was a catalyst in both her relationships for Rebecca and Bobby. The former, who did try her best to find her friend, ultimately tried to make Minerva promise she would never go to a party alone like Valerie did. Minerva interpreted this as blaming Valerie, and has held a grudge ever since.
In Bobby’s case, he tried to help by publishing an article about Valerie, but also ended up implying Valerie had made bad choices and was partially at fault. Disgusted with him, she immediately dumped him and barely thinks about him in the present.
She sailed through her degree and landed a job with the police not long after. Although uncomfortable by the many aspects of the job, she decided she would use it as a means to prevent another Valerie. Her favourite part of the job is, as always, the people she gets to meet. Her favourite job involved a lost dog that she found. She keeps the drawing a little girl drew for her in thanks of finding their pet, one of many mementos from folks she’s helped over the years.
In the end, Minerva is a kind-hearted individual, with just enough sharpness to keep things interesting. She follows her heart, values freedom and choice above all. She is fiercely loyal to her loved ones, and terrifying to have as an enemy. She’s someone you want on your side, as you know she will value you.
Oh, and she has a self-admitted obsession and love for bats that is the only thing she would get embarrassed about. Take that as what you will.
set in a country named Somar :) setting is more like, sci-fi adjacent but more leaning towards 'slightly futuristic' than 'full-on science fiction'
people speak two languages (for the sake of my convenience) in somar: Chirish (or Chiran, depending on who you ask) and Common. Common (equivalent to english i just gave it a cool name) is not more widely spread or anything, but it is the only one recognized as the country's official language. official speeches, laws, high-budget movies and big news outlets are mostly made in Common. if you speak chirish, you either learn common to get by (+ get more opportunities in life, in general!) or you just. get neglected as a demographic. the only films you can watch in your language are fandubbed. chiran is also usually seen as less professional or crude. mean caricatures have chiran-like accents. the school system mandatorily covers Common in areas where chiran is more common, but the curriculum is not very efficient and it's very hard to learn it in there.
in this setting of linguistic dominance, is Juno 👍 she does piracy. Juno comes from a family of chiran-speaking people, but is quite good with idioms - she's learned about three or four all by herself already. including common. she basically translates tons and tons of official mandates and summarizes laws to chiran so people can directly access them and see what they say, she adapts media in common for chirish, books to comic books and the like. she's very passionate about this
piracy is illegal. seriously so in somar. met with harsh consequences. she gets arrested.
in Somar, the carceral system also notoriously works for providing good and cheap labor
set in a country named Somar :) setting is more like, sci-fi adjacent but more leaning towards 'slightly futuristic' than 'full-on science fiction'
people speak two languages (for the sake of my convenience) in somar: Chirish (or Chiran, depending on who you ask) and Common. Common (equivalent to english i just gave it a cool name) is not more widely spread or anything, but it is the only one recognized as the country's official language. official speeches, laws, high-budget movies and big news outlets are mostly made in Common. if you speak chirish, you either learn common to get by (+ get more opportunities in life, in general!) or you just. get neglected as a demographic. the only films you can watch in your language are fandubbed. chiran is also usually seen as less professional or crude. mean caricatures have chiran-like accents. the school system mandatorily covers Common in areas where chiran is more common, but the curriculum is not very efficient and it's very hard to learn it in there.
in this setting of linguistic dominance, is Juno 👍 she does piracy. Juno comes from a family of chiran-speaking people, but is quite good with idioms - she's learned about three or four all by herself already. including common. she basically translates tons and tons of official mandates and summarizes laws to chiran so people can directly access them and see what they say, she adapts media in common for chirish, books to comic books and the like. she's very passionate about this
piracy is illegal. seriously so in somar. met with harsh consequences. she gets arrested.
in Somar, the carceral system also notoriously works for providing good and cheap labor 👍 there is basically a system commonly called the "Criminal Rehabilitation" program in which an inmate's sentence can be reduced if they sign with a company to repay their 'debt to society' by using the prison time they have left with Service. not just any company - they have to own a certificate from the Federal Comittee of Penalty Policies and pay some taxes to maintain their project. it has to be up to FCPP standards (which mostly involves making sure that the 'rehabilitation' electees can be safely restrained and are 'under control') but these certified companies can be often very inffluent. it's in the system's best interest to provide as much labor as possible to them
cue why it is also very common and legal and possible for somebody's prison sentence to be. lenghtened. say, you get arrested for some shoplifting. your initial sentence is of six years. then you don't exactly 'comply' in prison, maybe you 'act out', or break a rule about the curfew. maybe there's some fight and you were involved. these all would count as an infraction, and the prison can (and will) add up to your sentence for these. ("if such an outlaw can't even behave inside here, then they clearly aren't fit for civilized society and should be locked up for further time"). then maybe some guard just doesn't like you. you piss off someone high up the ladder. they add three years to your sentence
it just goes and goes and it is actually very rare for someone to leave with just the original sentence they got. Juno's case is like that. unfortunately for her, she's not exactly compliant. more of a defiant whumpee case
her sentence ends up obsenely long, so when a certain company shows up and offers to sign up with her to freeze it at a mere five years of service for them, she ends up accepting. she has way less rights than a non-criminal employee and there is Workplace abuse 👍 she has some pretty valuable skills that serve these people's interests, so they had an eye on her.
the company has their very own 'en-office rehabilitation program' (their name, mostly shortened to EORP - other companies have similar ones but this one is unique for them; it just follows the Penalty Policies standards as well) and it is basically full of whumpees. yay.
one of them has been in this EORP for years (juno meets him and is unsure of how much time he has even left to 'pay off' since it just seems like he's been there for like forever already), and is mostly colaborative. compliant. his name is london. they eventually sort of grow to become friends
i'm still conceptualizing this company (which im thinking of calling "A.L.M.A."), but maybe they're... a shady organization of sorts. you know that 'we do the government's dirty laundry' trope? yeah. some cool self-indulgent missions ensue. juno is Not happy about this. she is not very colaborative
ALMA's ceo/leader (Minerva something-last-name) has a daughter! :) she's his pride and joy. and no wonder. she is... very talented to say the least. smart. a lot. known as a beauty; athletic, a bit calculistic. not even the first daughter, maybe, but the heir. it couldn't be anyone else
her name is Aadarsha. it means "perfect"
aasha has also been an adult for a few years now - it's in minerva's best interest to give her an... appropriate life partner. he takes in his own hands to make a little side project (the Golden Bride Program) to snatch people he finds promising and train them to see who'll turn out a better fit for aasha. she is not at all opposed to this. she's got a bit of a whumper streak. the golden bride involves some human experimentation, physical enhancement, straining classes and intellectual evaluations and throughough etiquette lessons. juno comes in. minerva is a little interested in her
I couldn't find any images that captured the Crustiness so just know that his vibe is "scene but every item was taken from either a corpse or a dumpster."
tagged by @tzimizce (i did my black hand critter since he did his)
tagging: anyone who wants to, especially if you've already done one
I wrote a drabble for Minerva below! I imagine it takes place in between book 3 and 4. I know in the book 4 demo there's a scene with Adam if you choose to have him as you MC's handler instead of Rebecca, but I imagine there was a lot more paperwork before that lol.
💬 0 🔁 3 ❤️ 14 · I'm going to post profiles of my Wayhaven Detectives :) Art will as always belong to my partner in crime who got me into w
Above is the bio I made of minerva that will give you extra context for the drabble! Also has @kurczakmarty's GORGEOUS art of her. Anyway, drabble below the cut~
While the paperwork was boring, Minerva was glad to have Adam back.
Having decided to not have Rebecca as her handler, that responsibility was now given to Adam. Which of course, resulted in about a millions worth of signatures, boring legalese and a cramped wrist. But it had been some time since she last saw him, having been too busy with the new agent training. Of course she wanted to see him. The last time had been quite the revelation.
His features gave nothing away. Laser focused on completing the job he had set out to do, Minerva kept examining his face to see if there was any indication that he was true to his word about letting her go. So far, it seemed as if he was, which hurt. She tried not to let it show on hers.
As he passed a new booklet of papers towards her, she yawned and stretched. When she refocused, she could have sworn she saw the lightning fast reduction of reddened cheeks, but it was gone before she could know for sure.
“This is the acknowledgement of the dangers of the job,” he said casually, mask up. “I am certain you had something similar at your old job.”
She waved a hand. “Yes, yes. The possibility of death and dismemberment from a creative hostile. I consent, I consent.”
His lips thinned, which made her grin. Now this was familiar.
“This is serious Minerva,” he chided, though gently. “The Agency will be far more dangerous than your previous work, you are guaranteed to face many challenging situations--”
“Challenging, like being kidnapped by a vampire who wants me as a personal blood bag? Done it. Dealing with a hyped up ancient being tied to a human slaver? Done, again.”
He sighed, knowing full well she was teasing. Still, he gave a serious answer like he always did. “I fear you may come across worse.”
“Already have,” she stated, flipping to the page that required her signature. As she whisked her hand to sign, he grew awfully quiet.
She glanced up through her eyelashes, and found him with a concerned look. She passed the paperwork back to him. “Valerie was my worst.”
The concern did not fade, though now it mixed with confusion. “Who is Valerie?”
Ah. She had assumed the Agency had a file about her with all the nifty details of her life to be analyzed when needed. Seeing as how Valerie was somewhat involved with Rebecca, she had also assumed even more so that team Bravo was at least aware of her. That might have been vanity on her part.
“I thought the Agency would have this on file or something,” she smiled, though it was not her usual. It too, was a mask. “Val was a friend of mine in college.” She paused, not relishing having to explain. “She went missing over five years ago.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead, he looked apologetic and his gaze went towards the table. “I am...sorry to hear that.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” she replied. “Horrid as it all was, it was what brought me here.”
She was severely downplaying just how much the situation had broken her, but that was something she did not feel comfortable sharing. It was the centre of her being, Valerie was, and her fate. It did strike her as unfair that she would not say it to him, as he had already bore his past to her and it was equally as heartbreaking and was also his core. But the only person she ever talked about Val to was Tina. It didn’t feel right, in this moment.
She also didn’t want to cry in front of him.
He hesitated, but did ask. “In what way?”
“I told you once my motivation in joining the police, that I did it to help people. That is true, but not the full story. I wanted to help people like Val. She is my motivation.”
He looked up at her, his worried features only getting worse. “Then leaving for the Agency is--”
“Exactly what I should do,” she grinned. “Val’s situation is not unique to only humans.”
Before he could ask what exactly happened, Minerva decided to cut that short. “You can look up what happened. It was on the news. And I’d rather not talk about it.”
He drew back, probably not expecting that. Minerva usually loved talking about her life, in very intimate details. But he respected her wishes, though she could see he was a touch sad. As he was putting away the paperwork, she brightened. Maybe she could convince him to stay a little bit longer.
“Why don’t I show you the best parts of her?”
She sprang out her seat, tossing a cheeky smile his way as he stared after her. Making her way to her living room, she gently took out a large portfolio tucked safely away in her bookshelf. Then, she sat comfortably on her vintage couch, tucking her legs under her. She beckoned him over with a finger. “Come here.”
This time, she did see his blush. Her grin only deepened.
Still, he did as she asked. He almost shyly sat next to her, her knee just tantalizingly out of reach of his leg. She had to bite back the urge to sit on his lap, when it was right there in front of her. She very much wanted to see how much burgundy lipstick she could leave all over his body. She could swear he could read her naughty thoughts, as he cleared his throat awkwardly.
Still, she handed him the portfolio. He took it and that was what sat in his lap instead of her. Tease.
“Val was a photography major. One of her favourite subjects was yours truly.”
His raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. “I am hardly surprised.”
“Open it up, you goob.”
He did. Inside was exactly what Minerva advertised-- filled to the brim with pictures of her. Some were casual, some were definitely posed as an assignment. But they were all professional, and composition wise, a marvel. His eyes went to a photo she was sure he had seen before- the photo of Minerva, Val, and Tina smushed together and smiling while a party raged behind them. This was the photo she had displayed on her desk, back at the station. Now it was placed back in here where it waited a new home. Minerva wanted to place it somewhere she would spend most of her time, so she could admire it often.
“This was the photo in your office,” he smiled.
“Mhm,” she sighed wistfully, taking it out of the portfolio. “As beautiful as these photos are, this one is my favourite.”
Curious, he flipped through a few pages. He paused at one large printed photo, where Minerva was curled up in front of a lake at night, fireflies illuminating the background. She had a gentle hand in the water, her eyes closed. This photo had won Val an accolade. The lighting, in particular, was masterfully shot.
Some days, Minerva wished to take this photo in and get it blown up canvas sized. She would love to hang a giant version of it above her bed. But something about the smaller version felt more personal, like it was for her eyes only unless she let someone see it. The way that Adam’s eyes sparkled as he took it in was priceless.
“This is...” he breathed.
“Good, right?” He gave her a look that said it was definitely more than just good. “I have to say, this was a hard photo to pose for. I couldn’t stop laughing!”
“Oh?”
“You have to imagine the placement, right? She was in the middle of the lake, trying her best to stay perfectly still on a long board. With a giant camera in her hands. Do you know how many times she nearly dropped that five thousand dollar camera into the lagoon?”
Yes, the dimples! She laughed in tandem with his chuckle. The dimples were back and she just wanted to kiss them.
“Seriously! Every time she nearly lost it, we had to wait for the ripples in the water to calm down. It was three in the morning by the time we got the shot. We slept in her car afterwards.”
He looked it over again. “I believe it was worth it.”
She smiled. “Val made everything worth it.”
“Were you in love with her?” he asked suddenly. He wasn’t accusatory in his tone, merely curious. If a touch sad again.
“Oh, I definitely had a crush,” she nodded. “However, she was tragically very straight.”
He actually burst out into laughter at that. “Very tragic.”
He flipped through a few more pages, pointing out a few more photos that he liked. Minerva would happily tell him the story of the photo, what Val did, and said. She fully relaxed into the couch, resting her chin on her hand and edging ever so slightly closer to him as they laughed together. His shoulders relaxed as well, his posture finally melting the usual ice. It was so nice to talk about Val again and her art. Like a weight had been lifted. And to laugh in casual conversation with Adam, without the heaviness of their confused relationship and just be, was a gift insurmountable.
That was, until Adam flipped to the boudoir photography section. Val had loved this kind of intimate photography, while Minerva loved to pose in lingerie. It had been the perfect combination. Minerva had honestly forgotten about these photos in the moment, now very blatantly on display in Adam’s eyes.
There was a pause. Calmly, Adam closed the portfolio without a sound. It was nice that he didn’t slam it shut. She fought back a deep laugh bubbling in her throat as he turned absolutely crimson.
“Sorry,” she said, clicking her teeth. “I forgot.”
“It’s fine,” he mumbled, handing it back to her. “I...I must return. And finish filing the uh--” He glanced at her, eyes avoiding anywhere he thought too saucy. Which was all of her.
She grinned and quirked an eyebrow.
“—the paperwork,” he finished, getting up a little too quickly.
She gave him her best flirty look. “Well, you are welcome to peruse Val’s portfolio whenever you fancy.”
He tried to nod, but he was moving so fast to the door the wind brushed her hair away from her eyes. His hand was on the door knob by the time she turned around. “Until next time, dete- Agent.”
“Till next time.” She waved, showing off her nice manicured nails.
rundown of the characters we got for the penalty wip as of now that might get a proper intro later when i have more solid designs
(here's a lil post about our worldbuilding as of now also 👍)
juno: main character, we've gone over her. defiant whumpee. new to the EORP program*
*EORP is a program in this company that has for a goal "rehabilitating criminals" by making them sign deals in prison offering their labor in exchange for being set free. so basically every1 who is an eorp electee was convicted for some sort of crime. this is often used as an excuse to mistreat them (cough cough institutional whump) and frame it as "you don't deserve better anyway" and their own fault. juno's crime was piracy.
london: an important side character. gets assigned as juno's pair, more like her babysitter, because she's troublesome and he has been here for a while already; he is compliant, cooperative, the opposite of her. can also be pretty convincing and friendly. it was a good choice to pair him up with juno. (he actually has a doodle here. still fine-tuning his appearence.) it's unclear what his crime was. juno can't make out of what it was or why no one seems to know - except those who do don't want to tell her - and she swears he's been here for longer than he admits. he won't tell her
anita: another eorp electee, a little older than juno and london both. she is anxious, new to this (got in along with juno) and not having a very great time. she feels guilty of the way she ended up here and fully believes it's her role to take it as gracefully as she can and pay her debt to society by serving the company for the time of her contract. friendly with london and juno, they're sorta friends. might be plural. crime: vehicular manslaughter.
minerva: the boss of this entire progam, the ceo of the entire company. kind of an easygoing whumper, and juno despises his guts. okay she did make a deal with him BUT it doesn't mean that she's happy about it. it was just better than the alternative. he is ruthless, but charismatic, and is a little familiar with her. she finds herself going to complain to him as one would with a friendly school principal, even though she's well aware of the dynamic here. he finds it endearing. juno has quickly grown into his most interesting asset.
aadarsha: minerva's genial daughter. a more secondary whumper, a little evil. she has this grace about her, and is known for being a little too good at everything. she's beautiful, too; even juno who hates her thinks so. very eloquent, makes it too easy to believe that it was your fault. pragmatic, has no reservations in using people to get what she wants. the heir to the company. seems to be close to london - as close as they can be. almost friends? he can't convince her of anything and she treats him as any other servant, but they seem a little familiar about each other. london calls her "dash". she allows it.
madam alice hollowood: a secondary whumper. high-ranking employee at HuiHui - a company who provides technological equipment to miverva's business - and has kind of the power to do whatever she wants when she comes to stay a while for whatever meeting they have going on. juno hates her. juno does hate a lot of people, given, but like can you blame her. madam alice is sort of allowed to order the eorp electees around as much as she wants, and even though she's not the only one, she's the one who picks on juno the most.
Minerva; they/he; 7th gen Malkavian Antitribu; Path of (it's complicated); Black Hand Emissary in SI-Occupied Montreal; ductus of The Pantheon; experiences reality in triplicate and decided to be a catboy about it.
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Liber; he/him; 11th gen Ventrue Antitribu; Path of Cathari; former Seneschal of Ottawa, now Minerva's bf in SI-Occupied Montreal with The Pantheon; memory issues georg. Based on the protagonist of Parliament of Knives and the Ventrue Enforcer from Bloodhunt
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Peona; she/they; 10th gen Tzimisce; Path of Cathari; priest to The Pantheon; childe of The Rose; tattoo artist and functional Archbishop of SI-Occupied Montreal.
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Pluto (Silas McAllister); he/him; 10th gen Lasombra; Path of Caine; member of The Pantheon Pack; little lad lasombra.
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Adaline, The Obsidian Mask & Francesca Faustina Fioranti; she/her for both; 8th gen Harbinger/Hecata and the even older wraith of a former Cappadocian/Harbinger; Path of Death and the Soul; recently awoken from a 7 year torpor under the Atlantic
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Caleb Quincey; he/him; 9th gen Gangrel Antitribu; Path of Harmony; 100 year dirt nap champion, anarch impersonator, and former ductus of The Prowlers. Based loosely on Caleb from the cult classic Build Engine fps, BLOOD (1997). (My character for the C@M Good Intentions chronicle)
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Niko Rakoczy; she/he; 9th gen Tzimisce (former Obertus revenant); Path of Death and the Soul; ductus of The Last Nail; likes to watch anarchs like bugs under a magnifying glass.
i love having multiple muses i love being able to weigh in on the topic of vicissitude catboys on two completely different sides of the arguement. in this corner we have: incredibly satisfied catboy minerva pantheon! and in the other corner we have: deeply traumatized by a tzimisce sev whosepackisdead! they're both fucked in the head in their own ways and i get to put them on blast for it for fun!
