Dunn Keyes/IF-36.688
Before Blaseball
Dulcinea Alondra Maria Quiñones was born and raised in Boston. She was the second of four siblings, and was close with her family. From a young age, Quiñones expressed an interest in singing and music. They began performing in local talent shows, and their parents realized that they were talented. Quiñones eventually enrolled in a performing arts school, where she honed her musical craft while working part-time as a barista to pay her tuition.
At the age of seventeen, Quiñones was approached by a talent scout representing an unnamed company. The scout informed her that their company was seeking a spokesperson for their product and invited her to audition. Quiñones auditioned and later learned that the client was Dunkies, a global supercorporation and coffee company. Dunkies offered Quiñones the spokesperson position alongside a recording contract, and she accepted.
Quiñones changed her legal name to Dunn Keyes to fulfill her contract. As the spokesperson for Dunkies, Keyes appeared in commercials, made public appearances, and recorded music exclusively about Dunkies products. Their own creativity was limited; they weren’t able to record any of their own music. Dunkies forced them to move to Los Angeles, isolating them from their family. Keyes struggled with her newfound fame and loss of personal control. After several years working for Dunkies, Keyes attempted to void their contract, to no avail.
Alternate Reality
One morning, Keyes woke up and found that she was back in Boston, but a slightly different version of Boston where Dunkies was no longer in charge. They learned that they had been brought to the immaterial plane as part of the Alternate Reality decree, and that they were now a blaseball pitcher. Despite not being a successful pitcher, Keyes was mostly relieved to be in a dimension without Dunkies.
While Keyes never quite managed to be a good pitcher, she flourished on her new team. They connected quickly with Moses Mason, a fellow child actor. Keyes spent several seasons getting to know the new Boston and learning to navigate the interdimensional portals. She gradually began spending time with Basilio Mason of the LA Unlimited Tacos, one of few people who understood her obsession with fashion. Basilio Mason encouraged Keyes to start singing again. When she eventually launched a SloundCloud, he was her biggest supporter.
Following the Flowers’ acquisition of grass blood, Keyes started finding flowers, grass, and the occasional tree branch in her hair. She uses these to help decorate the team locker room, and frequently leaves flowers in the Memorial Bat Forest for her fallen teammates. After Moses Mason’s incineration, Keyes could frequently be seen growing roses in memory of their friend.
In season 17, the Flowers experienced a reverb shuffle that left Keyes as a batter. They began befriending the batters on other teams, frequently offering them flowers. As more and more players were replaced with alternates, Keyes made a point of reaching out to help the alternates settle in in their new dimension, and ensuring that they had at least one friend in her. Keyes can often be found in Boston, exploring the various interdimensional nooks and crannies; in Los Angeli, doing the same with Basilio Mason; or helping a new alternate player look for an apartment and find the best takeout restaurants near them.
Trivia
- Keyes is bisexual.
- Keyes is Puerto Rican and fluent in Spanish. When she first joined the Flowers, teammate Margarito Nava helped her connect with the Latine community in Boston.
- Keyes’s favorite movie is the Hannah Montana movie. Her second favorite movie is anything about a heist.
- In her original dimension, Keyes had a small succulent garden in their apartment. When they tried to start one in the immaterial plane, the succulents grew big enough that their entire kitchen table is now covered in succulents. Keyes has not made any effort to remove them, instead opting to get a second kitchen table.
