G054 - Bogdanovic, Valerija [DECEASED]

[MK Kilmarnock]

DECEASED

Name: Valerija Bogdanovic
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Grade: Senior
School: George Hunter High School
Hobbies and Interests: Activism, debate club, volunteering club, current affairs

Appearance: Valerija stands at 5’7’’, and weighs in at 145 lbs. An ethnic Croat, she has pale skin, blonde hair, brown eyes, a long, prominent nose, and high cheekbones leading down to a pointed chin. Her hair is usually kept up in a ponytail. For her clothes, she usually wears a tanktop or t-shirt underneath a hoodie or sweater, along with sneakers and either jeans or yoga-pants. On the day of the abduction, she was wearing a yellowish-orange hoodie over a blue tanktop, black Adidas track pants, and a pair of red Converse.

Though she moved to America at a somewhat young age, Valerija consciously maintains her vaguely Eastern-European accent, seeing it as part of her identity. She is fluent in both English and Croatian.

Biography: Valerija was born February 20th, 2000 to Darko, a baker, and Marija Bogdanovic, then a nurse, in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. As a small child, Valerija spent much of her time with her father at the bakery, as the family would not be able to afford it if Marija quit her job and raised a child full time. Once she was old enough, Darko began allowing Valerija to help out with simple tasks around the bakery. While not exactly enough to make it a hobby, Valerija still enjoys baking as a way to stay close to her roots, and bakes a batch of fritulis for her family every Christmas.

At age six, Valerija entered elementary school. While at first she was uncomfortable with being separated from her father during the school-day, she soon adjusted and found herself with a small, but close group of friends. She began learning English as part of school, and showed proficiency in it along with in most other subjects (the exception being visual art).

When Valerija was nine, tragedy struck the Bogdanovic family. Darko, while working at the bakery, was killed by two teenagers in what they later admitted was an ethnically motivated attack. Valerija was devastated, and the family, deprived a major source of income, struggled financially for the next year, though they didn't go without help. Marija reached out to extended family living in America, and they offered to assist the family financially as well as help them immigrate to the US, if so needed. Marija graciously accepted, and by the time Valerija was eleven, the family moved to Chattanooga.

Living with Marija's family, Valerija at first had a rough time adjusting to life in America. Though she could speak passable English, she had a heavy accent, and this combined with her new peers' heavy American accents led to Valerija preferring to stay quiet at school as opposed to risk miscommunication. As she adjusted to her new environment, her accent gradually began to fade (though she still maintains one, seeing it as part of her heritage) and she grew more skilled at interpreting the twangy southern accent possessed by many in Tennessee. Soon, as she became more comfortable, she found herself excelling academically (particularly in the humanities), regularly being in the top twenty percent of her class.

As she entered high school, Val soon found a group of friends with ethnic backgrounds similar to hers. Val sees this group of people - informally known as the Slav Squad - as a way to both cope with her father's death and demonstrate her political beliefs. As the squad is composed of many different ethnic groups that have historically been at odds with one another, it contradicts the beliefs of Darko's murderers and is used by Val to reinforce her confidence in multiculturalism.

As a way to cope with her father's death, Valerija is politically active, believing in a generally left-wing ideology, and expresses her views through debate club and extra-curricular activist work. Valerija believes in a strictly diplomatic approach to political matters, thinking that being belligerent to one-another is just a surefire way to create further political division. In addition to being active in politics, Val is also active in her local community, volunteering for various charitable organizations - the cause varying based on whatever she believes to be pertinent to current events. After her high-school education, Val wishes to attend the University of Tennessee, and wants to pursue a career in politics, hoping to change the world for the better.

Advantages: Valerija's intelligence and diplomatic nature may provide to be a boon if she needs ally herself with someone or finds herself in a tough situation. Additionally, she has a strong pre-existing network of potential allies in the Slav Squad.
Disadvantages: Valerija's diplomatic approach maybe end up being a double-edged sword for her, as it is likely that in a kill-or-be-killed situation, some may not be willing to listen to reason. She is very close to her friends, and may be exceptionally affected if they are hurt or killed.

Designated Number: Female student No. 054

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Designated Weapon: Pickelhaube helmet

Conclusion: Screw diplomacy, G054. You've got killing in the blood... heck, you even got a tragic backstory to really get that rage going. Use your head (no, literally, ram it right into somebody's gut) and you're a contender. Or drop dead, see if I care. Cyka blat! - Dennis Lourvey

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