Info.
Name: Valentina Oleynevna Mihailova....don't worry you can call her Val.
Age/Birthdate: 26. January 10, 1982.
Sexuality: Bisexual.
Occupation: Owner of the Herpeton, a reptile museum(and pet shop) that caters to providing encounters with the animals.
Location: London, England.
Played-By: Eva Chavela
Fairytale: Little Miss Muffet that sat on her Tuffet.
Age of Realization: 12, when she encountered a nasty school yard prank.
Ability, if any: None.
Defining Character Traits: She holds and still hides a severe phobia of spiders, something so inherently strong that just the song the Itsy Bitsy Spider would make her cry irrationally when she was a little girl. As she got older she made a choice to take hold of her fear and has since become something of an ent/herp enthusiast; though she still can't stand the sight of spiders.
Status: She doesn't care enough to hide it, it's nothing spectacular enough to go about bragging though..She's been active on the journals for about four years now when she ran across it on a slow day at the Herp while surfing the web.(bada dum)
History: Born prematurely in St. Petersburg, Russia on a trip to her mother's parents; it could certainly be said that Valentina came into the world with a bit more "bang" than her conception. Her mother, a rather straight laced biochemist that had taken to working out of Oxford, had literally designed her child based on her wishes. A single mother and a narcissist of the greatest capacity, the woman chose to be artificially inseminated based on the I.Q. of the donor. Olenya sought to create the next child genius, what she got in return was something quite different.
Moving back to England when Val had was getting near her first year, so that Oleyna could return to work; the girl was given promptly to an Au Pair, and the hours not spent in the laboratory were ceremoniously spent trying to mold her daughter. Public school had not seemed like an option for what was supposed to be a child prodigy. And so private school, after Catholic school, after private school the rambunctious youth with a big blunt mouth found herself consistently kicked out of one and tossed into another. Her mother blamed this bad behavior on her early birth.
Finally came the Bury Lawn School; where the creative pre-teen would make her reputation, and find her true self. The first year she had taken to dying her hair red- one particular bully thought it would be funny to dump the class pet, a tarantula onto her head. What ended in the shrill screams and sheer humilation for the young girl, weeks of reconstructive surgery for the boy, and the brutal death of the Wiggles the Spider also led to the awakening of Miss Muffet. What a lame excuse for a tale. This small thing however struck that stubborn bone, and from there on there was distinctive decision that...A bloody nursery rhyme wasn't going to rule her. No sir! And so she took to dealing with the phobia that had become instinctive since she was an infant; except it never quite went away. Valentina learned to love and appreciate every other squirm inducing creature there was(especially those that ate spiders); but arachnids never quite made it. As she got older, and effectively ignored the fleeting memories of past lives the girl grew to be more popular. What small amount of attention she had put towards school work had all but dissipated for the social butterfly; and soon she found herself bar tending or playing with her "garage" band on weekends and adding to her collection of pets instead of studying. Come her last year, she'd nearly all but flunked out and was soon enough stuck back at home with a none to appreciative mother.
Following the by the skin of her teeth graduation from school, Valentine took her new found freedom with a run from Oxford and into downtown London with a grudgingly given trust fund and her walls of terrariums and tanks. It wasn't much longer, a revelation caused when she found herself sharing her shower with three turtles, until she realized that the over priced and undersized flat was in no way conducive to her habit of collecting pets. There was brain storming; lots of it- with the people she served at the bars, with friends, with strangers on the street, and the fellow enthusiasts and pet store owners that she bought her feed from... and from it came the idea to open up her own zoo; a museum of sorts. Where people could also learn to overcome their fears, to sit down for a drink, and hang out with a spotted python.
The Herpeton was formed, and as far as Val is concerned it was the greatest idea she'd ever had. Of course she still needs to pour a few drinks to keep herself fed.
Personality: Valentina is the sort of girl that prefers to take the world one minute at a time, not caring to reflect on the past nor worry about the future; there is rarely a newspaper lifted or any time spent longer than she wishes doing something she doesn't care for. Part of this manifests in a definitive go with the flow attitude, and much like her reptilian friends much of her time is spent in a semi-lethargic hedonistic state. Draped over a lounge in the front window of her "museum" with her guitar, a cigarette, a snake and a bottle of pop is how she prefers to spend her time. This makes her seem unworldly and self centered. This is partially true. Unless something is directly effecting herself or those that she loves, Val generally could give a rat's ass about it; and this is likely her biggest vice. If not her tendency to say so. Regardless of her seemingly self absorbed world, she is extremely friendly and charming to almost all that happen upon her. Panic and worry are two words that don't often enter her vocabulary, and many slights are often taken with a grain of salt and the attitude that she simply won't have to deal with that person again. While she hates the word, she is genuinely quirky; with her menagerie of "creepy crawlies", the constant song in her head, and her tendency towards 8 hour long fashion "revolutions".
Flighty and confusing, most people don't seem to be able to quite wrap their minds around her at first go around and that suits the red head just fine. Unlike most, she doesn't seek to create lasting relationships at first meeting, and instead prefers to meet as many people as possible if only to indulge her own lazy curiosity. If someone is interested enough in her, they'll come around and if she's interested enough in them...she'll seek them out. It would be pompous to call her intriguing, easier to call her annoying- but to say the least more tend to seek her out than she seeks out others. The fact that she's often found with some menacing looking critter could indeed be a part of this; she tends to be a constant conversation piece.
In her relationships, Valentina is often dominating and fighting off restlessness. What was once fun when she was younger is slowly beginning to wear on her now, and lasting connections to those other than her snakes, lizards, and insects are something she is coming to realize she should begin to form. Most of those of the romantic nature have ended in heartbreak for the other party; as her inability to settle(usually on one gender) has often led to infidelity. It's easier to be out for a good time than it is to try and bother with that "whole damn courting ritual".
Although she is quick to pick up on information, if it is not something that catches her immediate attention it is often ignored or put out of mind as quickly as possible. it is for this reason that her diet consists mainly of fish and chips, soda pop, and vodka; and her knowledge base is chock full of music history, herpetology and entomology details, and guitar chords. Her inability to budge and self indulgent personality has led her towards an odd sort of retail that allows her to cater specifically to her own wants and needs; rather than those of others.
Potential Interaction: People who hang out in London are welcome to know her/hang with her, I'd love to play some stuff with her and reptilian tales(The Serpent, Kaa, etc.)..But she's a pretty damn clean slate.