[hider=Valerie Durand] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BNhfZtP.png[/img] [h1][color=#af7ac5][b]Valerie Durand[/b][/color][/h1] [hider=Theme] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzJuESWHl9U[/youtube] [/hider] [/center] [b]Gender:[/b] ♀ [b]Dorm:[/b] Ra Yellow [b]Appearance:[/b] Stands at about 5'8. Thin frame. Prefers black clothes and leather jackets when left to her own devices on fashion. Resting bitch face. [b]Personality:[/b] Confident and composed, Valerie doesn't lack for self-esteem. She's highly independent thanks to her upbringing, and tends to be quiet unless she's approached or something interests her greatly. Her general demeanor appears cold and distant, but this obscures a sense of loyalty to anyone she actually manages to get close to, as well as a preference for dark and grim humor that borders on insensitive at times. Of course, it doesn't help that to the outside world, she seems to be lost in her own thoughts at times. To anyone in the know, however, that's simply because she's busy conversing with her Duel Spirit. Her constant companion has stuck with her throughout her life, and she always makes time for it. One of the only things that gets Valerie fired up and excited is being pushed in a duel. To her, the game is at its best when she's given a challenge. Her own deck is influenced mostly by her Duel Spirit's archetype, and she's been constantly updating her Dark World deck. [b]History:[/b] The first time she touched Ceruli's card from the collection of booster packs she was given as a young girl, Valerie thought she was going insane. A tiny, wizened fiend appeared in front of Valerie with a raised eyebrow, and continued to follow her around whereever she went. The lack of reaction that anyone had to such as sight was all the proof she needed that she was the only one who could see the Duel Monster floating next to her, and so she kept quiet about it. Despite this, Valerie's childhood continued on as it always had. She was shunted from caretaker to caretaker and school to school as her parents continuously traveled overseas in pursuit of advancing their careers. Loneliness and a sense of instability accompanied her whereever she went, as Valerie had to change schools year after year when her parents dumped her off on another relative, family friend, or in one egregious case, her mother's secretary. Her one constant was the shade of Ceruli, Guru of Dark World following her wherever she went. The card spirit didn't seem to be malicious in any way, and was absolutely delighted whenever she played its card in playground duels. A few years passed in this manner before Valerie started hearing voices. Or at least, one specific voice in particular. It didn't take long for her to realize exactly whose voice it was. Valerie's own personal card game psychopomp explained that whatever spiritual ability she had that allowed her to see him in the first place had finally developed enough to allow her to hear his voice as well. Used to Duel Monsters-related nonsense from him floating around all over the place at this point, Valerie simply accepted this as a natural progression of the weird bullshit in her life. Ceruli never spoke much of himself or other Duel Spirits, with Valerie only catching him muttering spitefully under his breath about someone named Brron before he caught himself. Still, his presence did influence her into constructing her Duel Monsters deck around Dark World monsters. Valerie's sensitivity towards Duel Spirits was a major reason why she continued on playing Duel Monsters all through her adolescence, wanting to find out more about all of it. Of course, it helped that she had a genuine love of the game. While she was a slightly above-average student in traditional academics, it was more from her absentee parents pushing her to succeed in school than anything else. Thus, when she came of age to apply to Duel Academy, Valerie applied without hesitation. By the time her parents found out, she'd already gotten through the exam and was on the boat. Her exam results were clear: she'd missed entrance into Obelisk Blue by the slightest of margins. Her practical skill and general knowledge were almost enough to get her in, but a few slips on some of the more obscure parts of duel theory that even Ceruli didn't know meant Valerie was bound for Ra Yellow. Still, it didn't particularly bother her all too much. If she was that close in the first place, surely some actual instruction would have her moving up after a semester or two. [b]Spirituality:[/b] While Valerie is capable of seeing most spirits, she's only really able to communicate with Ceruli in particular, thanks to being in contact with him for so long. Her ability to communicate with spirits is dependent upon how long she's been in close contact with them, though this could change as her spirituality develops with exposure to more and more Duel Spirits. Ceruli himself claims that through proximity to him, she's likely able to speak to other Dark World spirits without issue, but other monsters will likely take an adjustment period. [b]Spirit Partner:[/b] Ceruli, Guru of Dark World [b]Ace Card:[/b] Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World [b]Deck(s):[/b] [hider=Dark World Denizens] Monsters (20): Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World x2 Sillva, Warlord of Dark World x2 Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World x2 Snoww, Unlight of Dark World x3 Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World x3 Broww, Huntsman of Dark World x3 Fabled Raven x3 Ceruli, Guru of Dark World x1 Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring x1 Spells (15): Allure of Darkness x1 Dragged Down into the Grave x3 Dark Hole x1 Terraforming x1 Dark World Dealings x3 Foolish Burial x1 Mystical Space Typhoon x3 The Gates of Dark World x2 Traps (5): Call of the Haunted x1 Dark Deal x2 Dark Smog x2 Extra Deck (10): Fabled Valkyrus x2 Dark End Dragon x2 Chaos King Archfiend x2 Infernity Doom Archfiend x2 Stygian Sergeants x2 [img]https://i.imgur.com/12rS1Xz.png[/img] [/hider] [/hider]