Post by Nimbostratus on Oct 25, 2013 18:46:51 GMT -5
Dr. Jolene Suthers
"Jo" to her friends
Human | Female | Age 29
"Jo" to her friends
Human | Female | Age 29
Background
Jo is a professor of anthropology, both human and Pokemon. Having grown up in Johto's Cianwood City, she realized at a young age the importance of the human/Pokemon bond - without Pokemon to surf or fly upon, Cianwood would have been completely cut off from the rest of the region. With the nearest school in Olivine City, Jo rode to school every day on a Lapras... despite her parents' protests. Both trainers themselves, they had hoped she'd follow in their footsteps; "You don't need an education to train Pokemon!" her father had always said. But Jo was nothing if not persistent; as she kept going to school and her parents became increasingly distant, that Lapras became her only friend. She had no siblings and no school classmates who were anything more than passing acquaintances.
The saddest day in her life was the day Lapras died.
Twenty-year-old Jolene had nearly finished her studies at Olivine University. She lived in Olivine, too - she'd found her own place not too long ago - but she still saw Lapras every day, telling it all about her studies and sometimes riding on its back, until one breezy Friday afternoon. She went to the beach as usual and saw Lapras there, seemingly waiting for her - but instead of greeting her with its usual happy gestures and sounds, it wasn't moving... it wasn't breathing. A frantic Jolene called a veterinarian to the scene and was told that the poor creature had simply passed away from old age.
Jo was so inconsolable that she nearly missed her finals. But just nearly - in the end, she passed and moved on to graduate school. She never forgot her friend the Lapras, not even when she finally earned her PhD at age twenty-six. Ever since then, she has been wandering from city to city, region to region; studying the bond between humans and Pokemon, observing the ways in which it has shaped history and even the world at large. Now she has arrived at the relatively remote region of Decona to study its ongoing development.
Appearance
Jolene is a rather average-looking woman. She stands at five-foot six, she's neither overweight nor skinny, and even her B-sized bust is unimpressive. Though her choice of clothing might have something to do with that, too - her manner of dress speaks of wealth, but no particular sense of style. She often wears bland colors like black and brown - or white - and she's never been seen in high-heeled or open-toed shoes.
For her daily fieldwork, she always dresses very practically - usually a black shirt and bluejeans under a dirt-caked duster, along with sturdy shoes or boots. And she's only slightly more formal when teaching a class or otherwise appearing in public; in those cases, she'll probably be wearing a lab coat instead of the duster.
But no matter what Jolene is wearing, it likely won't include makeup; she looks older than she actually is. She wears glasses, her neck-length hair is a faded blonde, and her skin has begun to show some signs of aging - but this never seems to bother her, unless someone negatively comments upon it. Her vanity (what little she has) is concealed behind her studious air. This also reveals itself in her soft, quiet voice: she always speaks very calmly and logically, as if explaining a lesson to a student.
Personality
Very much a scientist, Jo views everything she does as a new opportunity to learn and study. Though shy and a bit of a loner, she's friendly when approached - it's just that she almost never does the approaching.
Always seeming quite calm and collected, she approaches life very logically and with a very 'slow and steady' attitude. There are some things that can get her quite excited, though - mostly the prospect of studying a new culture or meeting a new Pokemon. Especially fossil Pokemon. Though not an archaeologist herself, she has always taken an interest in the field and is simply entranced by the idea of seeing Pokemon from a bygone era. And there's little doubt that she would be similarly fascinated by very old or immortal Pokemon... in fact, the idea of immortality and how to obtain it are thoughts that often pop into her head... of course, cultures use their monuments to make themselves figuratively immortal, but what about literally...?
But however strong Jo's interest in that subject might be, it still is not the focus of her studies - merely what she'd call a "side project". Her other side project is to find a way to understand Pokemon and translate their speech. But in the meantime, she is quite content to wander around Decona, curiously studying the culture and interaction of the region's many people and Pokemon.
Published Works
"Why Pokemon Do Not Speak: A Study on Pokemon Intelligence"; written age 20.
"The Effects of Pokemon on the Development of Hoenn"; senior thesis, written age 26.
"A World Without Pokemon: A Grim Vision of an Alternate World"; written age 27.
"People and Pokemon: A Bond that Transcends History"; written age 29.
