~ Meet Waves ~
dominique provost-chalkley & they/them; genderqueer ‷ watch out , waverly “waves” bordeaux has crash-landed into roswell !! they look 27 years old and celebrate their birthday on may 8th. they are from weston, massachusetts, reside in lunar crescent and are currently working as the co-owner of teal pumpkin café. one thing you should know about them is they are proudly deaf and are currently on hiatus from their aspiring broadway career‷
Backstory TWs: Mentions of Chronic Illnesses & Medical Content
Waves was born two months prematurely and on Mother’s Day, 1994. Their mother refers to them as her “little miracle gift” because of this fact. Their original due date wasn’t until the end of July... In addition to being born prematurely, they were born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss { profound in left ear, moderately-severe in right ear }, with bilateral clubfoot, and with a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot { TOF }.
They received the first of a series of open-heart surgeries to repair their heart defect when they were only 1 month old. The next surgery took place at 2 months. They also had surgery at 11 ½ months, 18 months, 3 years, and 5 ½ years. When it came to their clubfoot, their parents tried the bracing method; but they eventually underwent two surgeries to correct the positioning of their feet/ankles when they were 3 and then again when they were 4 years old. Because of this, they now wear sparkly AFO braces for support. They also still have lingering issues with foot/ankle instability and chronic pain.
Growing up, their parents spoke French at home as their father { Sébastien } was born and raised in Orleans and their mother { Amélie } was born and raised in the French countryside. They also have three older siblings, all of which were born in France. Their parents struggled to learn ASL to teach their daughter as their English had never been extraordinary strong; but the pair did their best best, teaching young Waves ASL, French, and English simultaneously. Despite ultimately being left-handed, they actually learned to sign as if their right hand was their dominant hand.
They received their first pair of assistive hearing devices at the age of 18 months. Their hearing aids were purple BTE { behind the ear } hearing aids with pink full shell earmolds. Every time they’d get a new pair of hearing aids, they’d stick with a similar color scheme; though once they were old enough and were able to communicate their desires, the earmolds were always sparkly purple but remained full shell in style.
Starting at age 6, they began attending speech therapy 3-4 times a week. Their speech therapist insisted they attend 5 times a week as they were delayed even beginning speech therapy due to health reasons; but their parents thought 5 times a week would be too much. They continued with speech therapy through the age of 19; though they went down to twice a week and then once a week and only through school as they got older. They actually never attended a formal preschool and instead was homeschooled by a private tutor who was a former teacher of the Deaf. They started kindergarten a year late at the age of 6 due to health reasons and frequent hospitalizations as a young child.
They never attended a mainstream school. Their parents wanted to give them the best chance for success; so they were enrolled in kindergarten at an elite primary school for the Deaf located in Boston. From there, they went on to attend the primary’s sister school—an elite secondary school for the Deaf. On their first day of kindergarten, their anxiety was so bad that their parents almost pulled them out of class. There was one boy called Dillon who came up to them, introduced himself, and commented on how much he liked their purple hearing aids and their matching { at the time } purple AFO braces. He was the only reason they got through their first day of school; and he stayed their best friend/platonic soulmate all the way through graduation day.
Everyone from their parents to their teachers { and even some of their doctors } encouraged young Waves to get involved in their school’s theatre program, believing their bright personality would truly shine on the stage as it was known to shine off stage. At first, they were skeptical of the theatre due to not liking the attention and the fact memorizing lines was quite difficult { which turned into their difficulty being further examined and an eventual diagnosis of dyslexia }; but after their breakout role as Molly in a production of Annie when they were 8 years old, they instantly became hooked on anything and everything theatre.
At the age of 11, they ended up needing two emergency open heart surgeries back-to-back. This led to them missing half a year of school. They almost needed to repeat the year; but thanks to a hired private tutor, they were able to catch up with their current grade level during their long recovery period. During this rough time, binge-watching musicals was the only thing that got them through. It was also during this time they first took an interest in baking as they’d been plagued with numerous food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances since they were a baby. Musicals and baking became their outlet.
Waves continued to be part of their school’s theatre program; and at the age of 15, they were given the opportunity to join the junior program of a theatre company in Boston called Deaf Atlantic Theatre Company { aka DATC }. This company was the New England chapter of an inclusive theatre company located in off Broadway in NYC that was known for having performances in both spoken English and ASL. Their breakout role with this company was as a lost child in a production of Peter Pan.
When it came time for college, the initial plan was to go to a university in London; however, due to health reasons { that ultimately led to a diagnosis of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome—MCAS }, their plans for London fell through. Fortunately, they’d been accepted into the infamous Gallaudet University as well. They ended up attending Gallaudet where duel majored in both Theatre and Environmental Science { the latter due always having had a strong appreciation for Mother Earth }.
Their junior year of university, they had the opportunity to study abroad in Greece. They jumped at this opportunity due to the fact their favorite musical, Mamma Mia!, made them want to go to Greece. They weren’t going to miss their chance to skip awkwardly down cobblestone pathways while sign singing and wearing well-worn overalls. It was the closest thing they’d gotten to getting to play their dream role of Sophie { for now }.
After graduation, the plan was for them to leave the New England chapter of DATC and join the off Broadway chapter in NYC. This would’ve been a huge break for them, especially since that company’s actors were often given the auditions with Broadway productions as well as different TV shows/movies filming in the boroughs. Their plans were put on an indefinite hiatus after a series of events that led to a need for placemaker placement surgery and a diagnosis of a heart condition called Long QT Syndrome. This diagnosis was the most harrowing thus far; and it led to the beginning of what could’ve easily been a very dark period in Waves’s life. The only reason it never led to that dark period was because one of their older siblings invited them to move out to Roswell, New Mexico for a change of scenery and some much needed R&R.
They moved to Roswell at the age of 23 and initially only planned on staying maybe a year. However, they stayed well passed that year. In their time in Roswell thus far, they’ve moved out of their sibling’s house and into their own place on Lunar Crescent where they now reside with their roommate/ASL interpreter and their hearing/medical alert service dog { a German Shepard named Atlas }. They’ve also opened a small vegan bakery café called the Teal Pumpkin Café that specializes in being allergy-friendly and accessible to all.
Their name sign is the sign for “long hair” done one handed and with that hand forming the “W” hand shape. This name sign was given to them during the first Deaf event they attended when they were 4 years old. The name sign came from the fact their hair was down to their butt by that age. They’ve always been known by the fact they have hair for days.
They are named after Sir Walter Scott’s Waverley Novels; though due to all the trauma surrounding their birth, neither of their parents realized the second ‘e’ was missing from ‘Waverley’ until several months later. And by then, their parents had fallen in love with the spelling ‘Waverly’ and just didn’t bother changing it.
They came out as queer at the age of 15 and as genderqueer { using the pronouns she/they } at the age of 22. They changed their preferred pronouns to they/she several months later. They always knew they had a much stronger preference to they/them pronouns over she/her pronouns; but it took them until their 25th birthday to be able to admit that to anyone and formally change their preferred pronouns to solely they/them. Despite their preference for they/them pronouns and their gender identity being genderqueer, they don’t have issue with being referred to as feminine titles such as daughter, sister, girlfriend, actress, etc. Titles such as girl, woman, and female are hit or miss. And when it comes to honorifics, they are only comfortable with Mx. as miss and ms. don’t sit well with them.
They are not formally trained when it comes to baking. Everything they know, they learned from growing up with a hired French chef. Initially, this chef was hired due to all of their food allergies and restrictions; but over the years, they began to learn from the chef... This is why their baking style is heavily French-inspired. Their cooking style, on the other hand, is a bit of everything.
The majority of their wardrobe comes from thrift, vintage, and charity shops as they wish to not give into the fast fashion industry. Only about 15% isn’t bought secondhand; and that’s because they believe it is important to support Deaf and disabled owned businesses as well. They collect both pins and beanies, the majority of which were purchased secondhand. Their favorite beanie is a thrifted mustard yellow one that a good friend of theirs embroidered “Waves” into the folded over bit. They also collect cool patterned socks; though hardly any of their socks are secondhand as socks are usually worn out before they can be given to thrift/vintage/charity shops.
They are an avid gardener due to the severity of several of their food allergies and a need to know exactly where their food comes from. Because of this, they have a decently sized greenhouse in their backyard as well as a hydroponic plant tower in their sunroom. They’ve taken to growing quite the assortment of produce; and as they hate to see any produce go to waste, they are known to donate any excess to local soup kitchens and homeless shelters. They are also known to dropping off baskets of fresh produce to their friends and neighbors.
They have a pretty big following on social media { mainly Instagram—their handle is thesbianwaves }; and they’ve taken to using their platform as a way of sharing their views on things like disability awareness/advocacy, deafness and ASL, queer pride, veganism, low-waste living, food allergies, and theatre/acting. They’re also rather well known throughout the Deaf community and the off Broadway acting community.
They’ve never learned how to ride a bike; and despite having others offer to teach them, they’re not entirely interested. They also don’t know how to swim. They do have some desire to learn to swim; but they’re kinda embarrassed to ask for lessons now that they’re a grown adult.
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Wanted Connections { hit me up if you’re interested in plotting—we can plot on here or via discord }
Older Sibling(s)—between the ages of 31-40
Roommate/Interpreter
Ride or Die/Best Friend(s)
Childhood BFF Dillon
General Friends
Neighbors on Lunar Crescent
Employees at Teal Pumpkin Café
Café Regulars
Slow Burn/Future Love Interest
Doctors/Nurses
Extended Family Members
