#oc: detective iona gray

[extraordinarymage]

it’s bad luck when your first boyfriend turns out to be a snake 

which just makes it hard to think about the good moments

i think iona and bobby get together pretty early in uni, like freshmen year. and their relationship is good for awhile, bobby was supportive of iona’s transition and legal name change - i imagine that nickname came out of the period where iona still had their dead name and wasn’t sure on what to change it to, so Bobby offered “Angel” as an alternative. and Bobby actually was attentive whenever iona experienced an emotional spiral. 

at the end of junior/start of senior year, iona had a serious case of depression and nearly flunked out of their forensics program. that’s when iona finally figures that bobby had been plagiarizing off of their work lmao

[extraordinarymage]

😳 Decided to do my Detective, Iona Gray, and how they looked between the books! Descriptions of their style/life and bonus outfit below the cut. 

Book 1: Iona overworks themself to compensate for their new position as detective - blame on the imposter syndrome. At the same time, Iona gets hampered with interference from UB. Still, they try to make the best of it by being friendly and straightforward with the team - maybe it won’t be so bad! End: Well, that was kinda bad. Really bad. Iona gets put through the ringer by Dr Murphy, but the Agency does end up apprehending him. At the same time, 

Book 2: Honestly, Iona puts on a brave face for UB, pretending that they weren’t as traumatized by Murphy as they were. And, to be honest, due to the supernatural nature of it, they stop seeing their own therapist in order to keep UB’s secrets. 

On the inverse of that, Iona is feeling more secure in their role as a detective. It’s tough work, tougher than one would have thought, but with UB at their back, they’re managing. And also that Mason dude is pretty cute, so Iona starts dressing up a bit more. Especially at the carnival. For no particular reason...

Book 3: Iona continues to wear neckerchiefs, scarves, turtle necks to disguise their neck wound from the Murphy Incident. They don’t like looking at it. But it’s fine!!!

In general, at the start of Book 3, Iona seems geniunely happier, she’s forged strong relationships with UB, especially Nat and Mason ( 😳 ). She’s trying her best to roll with the punches and see what comes out of life. I feel bad because I know Book 3 will probably be ruff with Mason’s feelings and THE VERDA FAMILY dinner. 

bonus outfit, how Iona looked in college (less than 10 years ago for them), which was pretty rough for them:

- They were dating Bobby and that relationship would crash and burn pretty soon

- After getting through their criminal justice and forensics program, Iona almost flunked out of university due to burnout 

- They were completely out of contact with Rebecca by this point. Both because Iona resented her a bit, for a sheltered childhood, and just internalized shame from their anxiety (Thankfully, the two are better terms nowadays)

- In general, they were just a wreck, only realizing later in life they needed some more help - whether through therapy or medication. At least Iona was taking the right step in the direction 

[extraordinarymage]

Hello!! 27 and 35 for Iona please!

27. How do they act around someone they are crushing on?

Awkward! They try so hard not to make it obvious. As a city official, Iona will just act all business and keep layers of professionalism between their interactions. If they can focus on work, then they can keep neutral - but if you start bringing up feelings, they are prone to general nervousness, develop a stammer and sweat too much. Oh, and if they have a serious crush on you, Iona will just start avoiding you at all cost. Prior to UB, they had so many hangups and don’t want to risk another relationship after Bobby - or to have another reason to be anchored to Wayhaven. With most crushes, they can get away with not revealing their feelings, but let’s say UB (and Mason) are a rare breed who can just get under their skin. 

35. Between saving the world or their RO which would they choose?

OH NO, I don’t think abOOUT IT, and neither does Iona tbh! I think they would be a lot of hesitation and turmoil for Iona about this, it’s not clear cut to them - they wouldn’t want to do that Mason, but they also could not cope with the guilt of destroying that many lives. Ultimately, I think they would choose not to save Mason, but goddamn would they try to save both, if they can. 

[extraordinarymage]

lmao i havent posted on my DA account in awhile, but with the wayhaven chronicles book 2 coming out, i wanted to post about some OCs

B A S I C S

Full name: Iona Gray (Langford)

Gender: Nonbinary 

Age: 31 (at start of book one)

Sexuality: Bisexual 

Pronouns: They/them/theirs

Faceclaim: /

O T H E R

Family: Rebecca Langford (mother), James Langford (father)

Birthplace: Wayhaven

Ethnicity: English (Rebecca’s side), German (1/3 on father’s side) 

Job: Detective with the Wayhaven PD & human liaison to “The Agency”

Phobias: Fear of not being in control. Whether losing their senses, being unable to control their own fate, or anything that catches them off guard. Iona operates in facts, statistics - when that fails them, it makes them incredibly uneasy. In addition, Iona vaguely just has an issue with intimacy, but that’s less a fear than a fast and loose comfort thing.

Guilty Pleasures: Singing / music? The detective cannot play or sing to save their life, but they love experimenting with sounds and listening to all kinds of music. It’s liberating to them. 

Hobbies: Collecting! Anythng really, whatever catches their interest for a few months at a time, Iona will go antiqueing, stay up late to win Ebay auctions, and whatever else to amass a collection of junk. After getting to know Mason, they even started collecting snuff boxes, even though they don’t smoke.  Plus, photography! Originally, they were on the newspaper in high school, but it grew further into their police work and then a side job. An amateur wildlife photographer, mostly gets pictures of Wayhaven’s local rock doves rather than anything exotic - until the supernatural comes to town. 

Languages: English primarily, but studied German and French for about a decade. A little rusty due to disuse. 

M O R A L S

Morality alignment: Chaotic Good

Sins: Wrath/Pride

Virtues: Kindness/Patience

S T A T S

Charming vs Intimidating

Impulsive vs Cautious

Sarcastic vs Genuine

Friendly vs Stoic

Easygoing vs Stubborn

T H I S  O R  T H A T

introvert / extrovert

organized / disorganized

close-minded / open-minded

calm / anxious / restless

disagreeable / agreeable / in between

cautious / reckless / in between

patient / impatient

outspoken / reserved

leader / follower / flexible (more of a mediator / into delegation)

empathetic / unempathetic

optimistic / pessimistic / realistic

traditional / modern / in between

hard-working / lazy / in between

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: Iona/Mason

OT3: Natalie/Iona/Mason if that was possible I guess? 

BroTP: Iona/Natalie, Iona/Ava, Iona/Felix (I just want everyone to be friends wow) 

NOTP: Iona/Bobby (Bobby thinks it can still happen, but Iona has smoothly moved on from that. Mostly.) 

5  F A C T S

The detective is trans and changed their name a few times throughout their life, but landed on Iona Gray as their full name - legal and all. Rebecca does have a different last name because of this too. 

The detective is a hoarder. They manage to keep it under control, but if a bad mental health day hits or work piles up - Iona can get overwhelmed with all their stuff. 

Iona wants a dog desperately, but simply does not have the time currently. So they volunteer to walk and dogsit their neighbor’s pets all the time. (Perhaps they only talk to their neighbors to get access to their animals?)

The detective almost flunked out of college (around the time they were involved with Bobby) and they were a wreck during that time. Eventually, with some assistance with their mental health and learning disability, the detective was able to finish their studies in sociology and forensic criminology. 

Iona honestly wanted to work in the forensics area of the precint, but as Wayhaven is a smalltown, they were needed much more in a field position and later on, as a detective. Iona still likes to sit down with Dr. Verda to discuss cases or help him out with processing lab tests. 

[extraordinarymage]

tender moments taken before disaster

[extraordinarymage]

The latest demo got me back on my M bullshit, so here's some music

[extraordinarymage]

9, 29, and 34 for iona!!!

9. Which career would they have followed if they hadn’t become detectives?

in all likelihood, probably still a public servant in a similiar vein. They have degrees in sociology and forensic criminology. Basically, they wanted Verda’s job............ but the Wayhaven PD wasn’t hiring for it when they came back to town after college, so they settled to be in the PD for financial security. Altho this changed since they had been burnt out from academia during college, they did imagine themselves becoming an instructor at some point. Many times, they have considered quitting and becoming a full-time wildlife photographer and self-publish books (if they had the guts to just do something that risky career-wise?) 

29. What type of videos does your detective watch on youtube?

GOSH, they watch a lot of nature-related things (sometimes Youtubers who make videos abt their birds and dogs) and documentaries, old PSAs and archival footage type features. other than that, they’ll go down video essays rabbit holes too

34. What’s their love language?

Iona’s is Acts of Service - they’ll do check ins and make themselves useful to other people. They will lots of things unasked of them tho. For example, periodically checking Mason to see if he’s overwhelmed with new senses. in the early and even deep relationship, I imagine Mason rarely ASKS Iona to do things for him first, so it confounds them to no end lmao

[extraordinarymage]

[extraordinarymage]

[Picrew link]

Detective Iona Gray

Height: 5′2″

Description: In their early 30s. Short frame, but stocky/chubby build. Light, pallid skin. Small, round nose. Tired brown eyes. Mousey brown hair cut into a bob usually left unstyled. Generally nervous disposition. Settled for their job, but are passionate about their interests and Wayhaven as a community. Just a human trying to cope with their knowledge of the supernatural.

Agent Maia Winters

Height: 5′6″ 

Description: In xyr 40s. Lanky build. Dark skin with olive undertone. Wide nose. Sparkling brown eyes. Little makeup except dark lipstain and mascara. Black, wavy hair with a slight grey to it. Usually worn in a scrunchie or a long braid. Pretty serious about xyr job with the Agency, but not humorless. Probably a witch. 

[extraordinarymage]

if some of my mcs were in a dating sim ✨ [picrew link]

iona: twc detective, maia: coce and ofna: birds of a feather MC ro: mind blind mc iris: mind blind mc