Concept: 3rd shift Cashier with a little bit extra
AKA: Rosalie has a vibrant social life on Deviant Art as an artist going by the handle "Degree Absolute" Or D.A. for short.
Desc: On the short side and heavy. Unafraid of any man or beast and strong eye contact as a direct result. Long straight black hair strenuously tied back. Multiple piercings in her ears, at least two are there for the sole purpose of averting migraines. (it seems to be working.) A stud in her bottom lip. Ink in various places, but not with any kind of coherent theme. Some good muscle in her arms. Not particularly pretty, and yet undeniably sexy when she feels like showing it. Has a voice that could stun a police dog.
History: Rosalie knows that she’s made some mistakes in her life. Wrong guys. Bad decisions with drugs and alcohol. Screwing up in college and losing her scholarship. Being fucked over by feckless room-mates and gormless boyfriends. And on those occasions when she has time alone, and with nothing to do, she has a bad time with her mind downing her for those decisions.
And sure, she’d like to have gotten a real job somewhere. She just wants an opportunity to make her art. (She paints but mostly does digital art now because it’s too expensive to buy real art supplies) and raise her kid Stuart.
And maybe that day will come. But until then, Rosalie works 3rd shift at Gas-N-GIT! on the third shift. and on those nights when Stuart isn’t with his father Jamal, Usually he’s on the floor next to her chair fiddling with his beloved legos. It’s never a problem usually. Stuart is autistic and not all that verbal really. He melts down occasionally, but Rosalie has a positive gift for cooling him out.
In fact, Rosalie has begun to notice that she seems to have a gift for cooling ANYONE out. One night some hopeless homeless guy rolled into the GnG. Policy is that they are allowed to sit in the area by the deli section and that customer service representatives can even give them a cup of coffee. But they aren’t allowed to let them sleep. One this particular evening the fellow in question sat there, nursed his coffee, asked the occasional incoherent question (greeted with a nod and a smile). and then, as predicted, he nodded off.
Well, S.O.P. is to call the cops and have them roust the guy and move him along, but you’d be surprised at how little the S.O.P. actually trickles down to third shift. So Rosalie touched the guy on the shoulder to wake him up and move him along. and he flipped the fuck right out. and he tried to turn over the racks and shove the roller grill off the counter. And then at some point, she touched the guy and she felt something go out of her...and his eyes cleared immediately.
Embarrassed, he started and ran out the door. But then he came back a week later. and he was very contrite. Not more coherent mind you, but he seemed so pitiful that she reached out to him and she touched his shoulder. and it happened again. His eyes cleared and he said, “Oh dear Jesus. I can think straight again. I think YOU did it! ”
They sat and talked for hours. He made lists to remind him of things he should remember when he wasn’t able to think straight again. and he wandered back into the early morning light with a promise to seek out some help...Which he got. Thank God. He’s recovering still and he’s got meds now.
It happened another time. Some dude wired on crank came in with a kitchen knife and demanded all the money in the safe. He was not interested in the idea that the safe had a time-lock and she couldn’t open it at all. Without thinking ,as the guy came closer, she threw up her hands and accidentally touched his wrist.
It was surreal. Sitting outside, on the 12 packs of Pepsi, one arm thrown over the guy's shoulders as he cried it out. But he left the kitchen knife and she never saw him again. He did send her a card, though. Thanking her.
She doesn’t know what to make of it yet. But she’s grateful for this gift...if it is a gift.
Attitude: “ So. Guys...there’s a new element in my life and I don’t know exactly know what it is or why it’s come into my life. But it’s interesting and I just wanted to share it with my Deviant Art Peeps...”
Skills: Rosalie has decent physicals although she’s not really a combatant. (Although she has been in a fight or two and normally walks away.) She’s gotten pretty good with social skills and has an undeniable presence. She’s got a smattering of Spanish. She’s got some actual serious computer skills. Her artistic skills are weapons grade but since it’s mostly digital art, she’s kind of ghettoized in the art world. Getting the book jacket of a sci-fi or fantasy paperback is essentially a holy grail for her.
Still, she picks up small change commissions from deviant art folks who want her to do character sketches and the like. She’s also been approached multiple times about producing art “for exposure” and her usual response is something along the lines of, “And how exactly am I going to use exposure to feed my autistic toddler? How about you directly go fuck yourself!”
Additionally, she has developed a psychic gift that essentially chills out emotional agitation and suspends the effects of derangement for the space of a single night and a day. This gift requires a skin to skin contact and the expenditure of a willpower point and if you are using “Second Sight” may be the gateway to additional powers detailed in that book.
Gear: Rosalie has exactly one thing in her life,aside from her son, that is well cared for. Her laptop. It was top of the line about 2 years ago when her old one went tits up. Since she got it from a rent-to-own business, by the time she actually owns it, it will be terribly obsolete and she will have paid 350% what she would have if she’d bought it retail...but it truly doesn’t matter. Her Lappy is her absolute lifeline. She normally carries rolls of quarters for both laundry and bus riding purposes but she HAS discovered that they make good “Brass Knuckles” in a pinch. She also normally has a large handbag for toting Lappy and Stuart necessities.
Home: Rosalie and Stuart live in a shabby little duplex that is right on the bus line. Rosalie’s car is in various states of repair/decay and hasn’t moved from the driveway since they moved there. Rosalie is the only one on the lease but she sublet the back bedroom to various people. Carl moved out two months ago taking his half-ass automotive expertise and his bass guitar with him. Fortunately, Rosalie was able to get her actress/stripper friend Lisa to come and share the rent. Lisa makes good money but likes nose candy a little too much and so she normally has to be OUT during the day because Stuart and Rosalie sleep in the daytime. Both the living room, which doubles as Stuart's bedroom and Rosalie’s room have black poster paper gorilla taped to the windows.
Circle:Online, Degree Absolute is considered an art goddess, but IRL, she has only a few real friends. Some people she went to high school with and some people from college. Most of her friends have made the same sorts of questionable choices in their lives and have the police records and shattered credit scores to prove it.
Story Uses:
“Don’t worry. You see this sort of thing all the time on the night shift.”
Rosalie might be a good person to know, not just because she has this weird gift, but because occasionally, you want Burritos and smokes after dealing with your usual world of darkness problems and the Gas-N-GIT is well stocked for both. Also, people on the third shift have seen some stuff. It may only be a matter of time before Rosalie might have to cool out some pissed off werewolf or a frenzying vampire. Then, I suspect, it will be ON like barbecue sauce.
“I didn’t know the two of you knew one another...Shit. Fountain drinks are on me tonight.”
Weirdly, Rosalie like Rory O’Halloran has the potential to be one of the sorts of characters that nearly everyone in Painted Corners town has met, even if they don’t necessarily KNOW her. Sure, Rosalie has some people she considers her regulars, and she even LIKES some of them. So you never know who you’ll bump into over at the Gas-N-GIT.
Connections:
* Jack Marston has been in the GnG more than a couple of times in the late nights and early mornings. Some time ago, he bought one of those ENORMOUS insulated travel mug deals which he routinely fills with coffee. While this normally means killing a whole pot that Rosalie has to then turn around and make fresh, he's such a nice guy that Rosalie doesn't grumble. also, he's easy on the eyes.
* Jackson "Whitey" Savaliga comes in often enough that Rosalie recognizes him and they struck up a conversation when she noticed his camera case. His house is about a two blocks away and he comes in all the time because he's occasionally restless or there's so much fucking going on that he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Rosalie loves him, He's one of the few people she can talk art with in real life.
* Officer Wesley Ullman and Detective Bela Janofski and Officer Honus Brightwater are all regulars. S.O.P. is that all law enforcement professionals get their drinks free and if they want day old donuts and there ARE any leftover, they are welcome to those as well. Bela and Wesley are decent dudes in Rosalie's book. Wesley's a little high strung, but he doesn't have any problem with coming out on an official call involving asshole customers. Brightwater, on the other hand, seems like a stiff. Or maybe he's got issues with fat girls or some crap.
* Used to fuck Rick Deluca in high school. Heard that he went into business for himself. He drops by occasionally. Sometimes he has treats. He seems to get on well with Stuart, being that he has some medical training there is a whole host of things that she doesn't have to explain to him about autism.
* Joseph Cartolano is the regular donut delivery guy. He's also a fellow comic book nerd. Follows her Deviant Art Account with interest.
* Rosalie and Ezekiel Stubbs knew a lot of the same people growing up. Once, at a party, he knocked it through her uprights. He may not necessarily remember doing so. Rosalie remembers, though. Oh yes.
* Clavo Hernandez did most of her ink. They were acquainted in college and he also follows her Deviant Art Account...to the point of thinking about creating one himself.
* Has bumped uglies with, and still does occasional business with Teflon John Galloway. In fact, there was some question as to whether or not Jamal was Stuart's father after all. John, for his part always seems to be able to get a smile out of Stuart and Stuart ain't like that with ANYBODY else.
* Occasionally, one of the regular customers is kind of creepy. Rosalie just gets bad vibes off of Lewis Flowers and Stuart will hide in the cooler until he goes away. Flowers is very careful to not let Rosalie touch him for some reason. Does he know something? WTH?
* The Caboose is not far from here. Rosalie is always glad to pick up the ones for her drawer. She's friendly with most of the girls and is not unfriendly with DJ Razor Burn...She sees the signs already that he's a "Wrong Guy" but she just can't help herself. The one thing that prevents her from going after him is that he's been impatient with Stuart and looks like the type to smack a kid.
