Character Profile: Duval & Debora
Art by Maria Petrelli
Name: Duval Dukakis and Debora Dukakis
Setting: Mostly rural fantasy, they could appear in other settings as long as there's a fantasy element and they could come from a more rural region
Sexuality: Pansexual
Ancestry: French/Finnish, most of the French comes on Duval's side and most of the Finnish comes on Debora's side (e.g. accents)
Birthday: January 15th
Stories: Two Minds, Two Eyes
Two Minds in One Body
From Swap to Share
Duval: Friendly and Trusting
Debora: Cold and Competent
Okay So What Does That Mean for Hypnotic Situations
Farm-Raised
Shades of Disaster
Fled to the Army
Wandering Life
Peace, Perhaps Love
Stylish Sports
Duval: the Arts
Debora: Religion
Duval and Debora are two minds, two entities, residing in one human body. Duval is male, and uses he/him pronouns, while Debora is female, and uses she/her pronouns; as a single body they use they/them pronouns. As far back as they can remember they've both existed; each one's earliest memories have the other with them, in various stages of fighting and amity.
At an early age Duval and Debora would swap control of their body. At the youngest they fought for control, but they learned to share and swap more amicably over time. As they grew they learned to share the front at the same time, with Duval controlling the right half of their body and Debora controlling the left. They collaborate on controlling the legs but usually control their arms and eyes separate. The level each controls the mouth varies. When one is excited they may take more control without warning, but they usually have equilibrium.
Duval is friendly, always open to lend an ear, chat, or help out. He's easygoing and can make friends easily, for better or worse: while he can get people to trust him easily, he'll also trust others easily. He's simple and unassuming, so someone with shady intentions can trick him easily, and it's Debora's shrewd nature that helps them determine who is a trustworthy friend. Though he's skilled with the blade, he prefers to resolve issues with words, which can be a problem if his enemy is better with words than him.
Debora doesn't get along with others very well. She tends to keep to herself, unlike Duval, so any friends she has usually come through Duval. Though she won't offer to help people, once Duval has she's usually the one most able to help. She can handle most situations, particularly with a weapon, but Duval is better at defusing them. When a situation can't be defused, and someone intends ill on them, Debora is the one able to bail them out. She sees herself as having to look after Duval, and can be arrogant and impatient, leading her to offend people easily, but she's often right about a dangerous situation.
Duval is fairly easy to hypnotize. Trusting and looking to defuse a situation with words, not swords, Duval can be easily led into a trap and hypnotized before even Debora realizes what's going on. Debora, on the other hand, can resist mind control fairly well, and has gotten Duval out of such situations by pulling them away. Because Duval is swiftly hypnotized, she can be accessed through him, as her mind is linked to Duval's. Once Duval is hypnotized she can be hypnotically assailed both externally and internally, and if she can't get a grip she'll fall too.
Duval and Debora's parents believed they had violent mood swings when younger, due to their swapping control of the body. They took them to a doctor, who diagnosed them with multiple personality disorder. Despite the doctor's orders they refused to let just one control the body, and they continued to share it, though they grew bitter at how others treated them. Duval wished to be accepted, and Debora wanted to lash out. Eventually they sought a way to split into two separate bodies.
Duval and Debora were born on a farm. Their parents were minor farmers in a rural community; they weren't majorly successful, but they were well-liked in a town that knew everyone. Duval and Debora were seen as a stain because of their condition, but their parents tried to protect them and raise them right.
Duval and Debora grew more uncomfortable in their own skin as they aged, and their frustration hit a boiling point as they came of age. Together they sought a mage at the edge of town to split them into two separate bodies. Whether by accident or evil design, instead of copying their body the mage's spell copied their minds, creating a dark physical shadow of themselves that wreaked havoc in the town. Their names were tarnished as the town was thrown into chaos, and they fled, their last vision of the town as the villagers chased them out their home burning.
Forced to leave their hometown behind, Duval and Debora wandered the countryside. They eventually arrived at the nearest big city. Afraid of either their former neighbors following them or encountering their shadow selves, the fate of which they were unsure of, they found a military recruitment and joined the army. They took to the training, with Debora in particular using their experience on the farm to help. Duval made friends with their fellow soldiers, while Debora proved adept in training and strategy, and the two learned to work together to further success.
After years in the army, where Duval and Debora learned to appreciate and work with each other, they chose to retire on good terms. They had traveled the land in the army a few times, and they wanted to see more of the world. With their hometown a distant memory, they no longer feared meeting angry villagers, though they wondered what became of the evil shadow of themselves. They traveled from their home nation across the world, relying on their skills, Duval's amiability, and Debora's shrewder outlook to carry them on their travels.
Though they'll still deny it, Duval and Debora have come to accept that they need each other. They work well in together and have weaknesses alone the other can address. Thus they try to bring peace among each other. Often it works, but they do get angry with each other at times. They've never again thought of splitting apart. They both look to the idea of meeting someone to love in the future, but they agree that whoever they may find would have to love both of them. Despite enjoying seeing the world, they would also like to someday find a place they're needed to settle down, at least for a while, perhaps permanently if they found a partner.
Debora has always had an interest in sports, both watching and playing, and would often lead the body when they played sports with other kids in town. This led to Duval apologizing on her behalf after when Debora was too rough. While Duval isn't as interested in sports, he and Debora keep their body in good shape, and he enjoys showing off stylish moves to people, using his experience with the sword to entertain people.
Duval enjoys all kinds of arts: music, painting, sculpture, and more. He loved to listen to musicians in the village, but he never got the chance to learn one himself. A fellow soldier played harmonica, but Duval could never learn it because Debora didn't cooperate with her half of the mouth. He also enjoyed painting when he could when younger, though he could never practice it much. He loves to see paintings and sculptures, and praises art he sees.
While Debora is less interested in art than Duval, she is interested in religion and the art and history it creates. In the past she explored several religions, including local religions as she and Duval traveled, but none of them held up to her scrutiny. She worships no god, but she remains interested in researching modes of worship and deities, and often seeks to find the secret truth that led to the formation of religions. A related interest is the condition she and Duval are in, two mind sharing one body. While she no longer wants to separate, she does seek to learn how such a thing comes about and what it means on a scientific, metaphysical, and spiritual level.
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