Dolores Ann Graves

* Headshot
* App (1.2)

## Personality

Grandma glasses, bright red lipstick, short-cut hair.. It all checks out, the whole nine yards. Looking something like a therapist or school counselor more than anything, it’s not hard to tack a pin in her personality upon first meeting her. Chatty and personable, Dolores is a grade-A southern belle with a knack for hospitality. She bumbles about the Parable, content to tend to herself and those around her like life-long friends. There doesn’t seem to be much more to this than what’s given.

Striking up conversation with her feels something akin to slipping along a babbling brook, sentences broken up by her drawling accent and punctuating laughter. Sarcasm is of second nature to her, dousing interactions with extravagant similes and witty dry humor. There’s a rich warmness about her, however, despite this, you feel as though there’s a wall there. You can’t quite chip away at that amiable exterior. Every conversation feels just above the surface, like she’s holding you at arm’s length.

This is quite ironic, considering how stifling she feels to be. You’re baffled by how a single person can feel so close, yet so far at all times. You aren’t sure if it’s a hap of her occupational habits, or merely an annoying setback, but the way she navigates social territory feels oddly domineering. True to her nature, she treats every situation like she might an ornery patient, dismissing and setting aside others’ worries in reassurance to “Trust her!” or that “You’re just bein’ silly darlin!’”. She does so abruptly, much preferring to move on from discomfort rather than confronting it. She is fully satisfied to favor marinating in her own apprehensiveness over actual resolution, dancing about confrontation like a bed of hot coals.

## Biography

#### Early Life

“You could say I lived a quaint life in my Ordene days. One wrought n’ the scents of a good ol’ fashioned family bakery. Not that it was established, heavens, no! But Maw sure did know how to cook up a storm. One could’a mistaken that cinnamon-smellin’ fragrance for a storefront from miles away. In fact, they often did. That’s how her n’ Daddy met. Or, well.. Not exactly. But that’s a tale for anotha time.”

“But anyways! Y’know how thay say, poor in one thing, rich in anotha. I was rich in life. Richer than those little pound cakes Maw used to bake. We lived awn an estate, plenty o’ room to roam about, rompin’ like a trio of miscreants with my dear sisters, flirtin’ with boys.. Nevertheless, upkeep for the place was expensive. Lots o’ their money had been inherited, and the property grew to be far more demanding than their wallets could handle. Life required of us a frugality that contrasted the ratha’ grandiose appearance of our livin’ quarters. We had to leave that grand ol’ place eventually. It was too much. I don’t really recall much about that part of my life anyhow, much of it comes to me as a blur..”

“Our parents made sure from early awn to try n’ instill those good work ethics in us, to make shore we could get off the ground and support the household. Lucky them, I was a learner. The books could hardly keep up with me as I would them, flippin’ through those pages at camera shutter speed. I shot up like a bean sprout! Ohhh, those were good days indeed!”

Dolores drums the tips of her fingers against one another, tapping away with some sort of preserved, child-like glee as the memories burst into mind.

“A lil’ spitfire I was…” She sighs wistfully “Wish I still had that energy.” There is nothing that tells you that this woman does not still possess that energy.

“I tore through school. I wanted to do right by my maw and paw. Couldn’t stand for a second the thought o’ them directing the worried looks that they gave my older sisters toward me. They were busy out gallivanting, ignoring the cautions my parents had voiced. ‘Make sure you pay attention in school! Make sure you wrangle yourselves a stable job!`. None o’ that was on their to-do-list, that was for sure. Both ended up pursuing Maw’s craft, baking, n’ opening a little shop. It actually didn’t do half bad,”

“In a ways, I wish I could’a had the guts to join em’. They possessed such zeal. But I had my own interests to tend to, n’ I deliberated to simply apply that same kinda energy to my own studies. Heck, I could still learn a thing or two from a couple o’ stragglers. I let their energy inspire me. It did me quite well, too. I owe em’ and their support a lot, ‘s well as Daddy n’ Maw,”

“Durin’ my highschool career, I learned that I had acquired a sorta affinity for science n’ the medicines. Somethin’ ‘bout the idea of helpin’ innovate new science to share with the world, comin’ up with new ideas.. It really struck a chord with me. It was enrichin’, and it made me wanna know more. It was a window away from what I knew. Bonus points for pleasin’ my folks,”

“I made my way through highschool inna blur. I wasn’t any sorta genius, let me tell you. Matter o’ fact, I’d rank myself ‘bout average in those years. I made it good enough to land myself a few scholarships, but with the college I had my eyes on, it didn’t add up to much. It was a college in the Eastern Reach, and my folks didn’t much approve of such a hefty price, seein’ our financial struggles as it was. That didn’t make me feel too dandy, n’ I hesitated on the idea for a while in favor of their wishes. But I prevailed, n’ ended up reachin’ out to the college anyhow. I made a whole sob story ‘bout my financial state, provided em’ with my school records as proof of my good grades. I even showed em’ some o’ my dinky science projects- sometimes all they need is a little bit of butterin’ up. N’ what do you know? They actually invited me to their lil’ fancy college with some aid! Never been through more of a frazzlin’ process than sortin’ out the paperwork for that darned place, let me tell you. Didn’t get all these gray hairs from nothin’, that’s for certain.”

“Regardless, when all was said n’ done, I’d scored myself a major accomplishment in my books. My folks were right happy ‘bout it too! Despite the monetary implications o’ the situation. I’ve always loved em’ for that. They always understood, n’ in the end I was still fulfillin’ their wishes.”

#### Young Adult

And so, Dolores packed her bags for the Eastern Reach and began her pursuit of study in the field of medicine. She’d be quick to know the effects of an expensive college life; using cut up cereal boxes as plates, borrowed tupperware, the dreaded cafeteria food.. Check-up letters from her parents were returned with too-quick guarantees of her “lavish” schooling days. No, she wasn’t usin’ a brick to prop up the broken leg of her bed! No, she wasn’t utilizing the local sample displays at shops as a means of supplying her pantry!

“It was… Rough.. I’d never known such a type’a stress. I often reconsidered my career choices, n’ I think the advisor at our college might’a quit ‘cause of me. I can’t hardly begin to fathom the wear n’ tear her poor psyche must’a gone through with me. Had a near crisis every single day I saw a grade drop,”

The tears would prove to pay off, however; an internship. An internship! Heavens! She’d really amounted to something after all! Dr. Dolores would spend a year at this internship, working under a certain eccentric doctor by the name of Dr. Lorenzo. He introduced her to many new concepts, plopping haphazardly into her lap on the first day a year’s worth of stacked books and materials for her to take notes from in the process of observation at the workplace.

Within these stacks of books was where she would nestle for the next year of that internship, frantically absorbing all that she could. Most authors of these books remained a blur on the cover in her mind, but one author’s studies stuck out the most to her in her notes; an esteemed Dr. Price.

His learnings about cardiology were fascinating; clear, concise, and easy to follow. She tore through his content like a teenager to fanfiction, plucking up along the way the concepts and notes that most interested her. Never before had she been so inspired by an individual’s writings and wit. Dolores expressed her captivation with his works to her mentor. He supplied her with more of his works, and after reading some of Dr. Price’s personal journals, she felt compelled to follow suit; she took a pencil to paper and never looked back.

After a while of looking up to Dr. Price, Dolores’s mentor got in her in contact; Dr. Price had apparently agreed to let her write to him. So she wrote. She wrote about his theories, his research, spinning paragraphs out of sentences like spools of thread, asking questions- all the questions she asked! She expended energy on letters like this for a long time, to no avail. He would never respond.

These letters were dispersed over the course of around nine months before she gave up. At first, her inexperience allowed her to feel bad.

“I’ad felt I wasn’t worth somethin’ to this man. I let it get to me for a bit before movin’ on and decidin’ it didn’t matter. Can’t let silly hold ups like that affect my pace now, can I?”

So she moved on. Got back to her studies. Took a page out of his book and began to journal her studies. She took a focus in cardiology (inspired by him) and a sudden interest in functions of the brain in relation to memories. She finished that one-year internship, made it through eight years of med school, and graduated at 28 with her MD as well as PhD as a physician-scientist.

Not without copious amounts of debt, of course.

Her parents hadn’t been kidding when they meant the well had run dry. She had nothing to pull from except herself. So she focused on finding a clinic to work where she could treat patients, setting her personal studies aside to make money.

#### Later Years

“I took a wander for quite a time before I found myself a suitable place o’ work. If I’m bein’ honest, it wasn’t easy findin’ work in such a bustlin’ place. It was.. Overwhelmin’, that enough was for certain. It was tough, n’ I was a softshell. I found a means o’ survival though. Found myself a clinic I could make myself useful at n’ settled in! Even got myself a.. Homey little apartment nearby, with a potter or two ta cope,”

A fish out of water, Dolores spent most of her time attempting to build up a reputation, attending conventions relative to her field of work. To no avail. It was a man-made world out there, and she was, well- certainly not a man. Nor a land-dwelling fish. More of a hierarchical amalgamation of the two. College had taught her everything if not one thing, and that was how to refrain from kicking a snobby, city boy doctor in the groin.

It was one convention, however, which preceded the kicker of her dreams.

She sought out a publisher at a convention whose attendance she had caught wind of through the grape-vine. The publisher of Mr. Price. Dolores came in contact with them, and they, to her great joy, expressed interest in her work. He offered to republish her works for her, and Dolores agreed. She did, however, insist on publishing under a pen name, out of concern for being overlooked for what she said was her “credibility”.

They stayed in touch, made a marketing plan, sorted out the terms, and got her published.

“And what do you know? It worked. Things took off after that. I was thrilled! It was a bit of a slow process, of course. Lot’sa contracts, things of the like.. Heck, I didn’t care. Gosh, I was so proud o’ myself, not to be any prideful sort of gal, but- aww heck, who am I foolin’? I’m DARN proud,”

She looks away from the camera like “AWWW SHUCKS”.

Her works would grow decently popular in the medical world, accumulating a good amount of attention from her peers.

It wouldn’t be until later when things had finally taken off that she would finally meet the acclaimed Dr. Price at another convention. He’d expressed sudden interest in meeting his publisher’s other famed cohort, and so they did. She was excited, though less childishly so after all these years. They exchanged words, and kept in touch afterwards.

They talked for a while through letters, before stopping. There was word of a falling out. Regardless, Dolores moved on in her career.

A careful eye on her works would note that her prior mild interest in the whispers would grow to be her eventual only focus. Her journals were filled to the brim with notes taken about the whispers, and she would turn from strictly treating patients to conducting research during the night and whatever spare time she could grab. She took time off of her normal clinic job, cutting down her hours. She found someone capable of doing testing, and It took a year or two of attempting to perform tests with the fellow who worked at a laboratory for Dolores to realize that she was making no progress. She didn’t know the basic fundamentals of what she was attempting, and decided that she would approach from a different angle and study the memories themselves.

Frustrated and desperate, having accumulated even more debt than before in the process of getting supplies for testing, she couldn’t afford to sink money into studies without fruition anymore. So she looked into the next best step; becoming a fisher. It was a free ride, and thus, much more substantial than gathering the funds herself. She studied, took the test, and got her license. Dolores sought out the local Fisher HQ, connecting lines with Captain Cor after being redirected due to her scientific and medical interests.

Not really knowing wholly what she was in for, she’s accepted into the crew.

#### Present

Dolores meets with an excitable Lung after she injures her finger, who explains a rather worrisome tale concerning the young’un’s search for a crew. After bringing up the Parable, Lung begs to tag along. Dolores agrees to patch her up for free, she cooks Lung a meal, and they head to the Parable together.

## Trivia

* Strengths:
	+ Hospitality: Dolores is an expert at accommodating others, or sometimes, buttering them up.
	+ Reassurance: She knows how to keep a person steady in high-pressure environments.
	+ Negotiation: She’s good at finding a middle ground, compromising when needed.
* Weaknesses:
	+ Understanding: She has a hard time truly grasping the gravity of some situations.
	+ Straightforwardness: Dolores will beat around the bush even while dissing someone. Her method is passive aggressiveness.
	+ Focus: She has incredible difficulty focusing on one thing at a time.