GET TO KNOW ROSIE WIDOW
rosie finds herself trapped in routine by the time she’s seven. meals as a family, pouring her all into her schoolwork for the satisfaction of gold stars and straight As, and ballet and gymnastics on the weekends. she wraps a sky blue ribbon in her hair, smoothes imaginary creases out of her matching dress, and smiles brightly for yet another family photo that’s hung in the home as a reminder of how perfect their lives are. she learns early on the perfection is boring.
her parents are strict; so much so that anything that was even vaguely outside of the image they’d crafted for her was prohibited. rosie pretends not to notice the judgemental looks and sneers they give anyone who lives differently than they do. but pretending she doesn’t see it doesn’t mean she’s any less aware of it. because of fear of what their disappointment feels like, rosie lives her life the way they want her to. she doesn’t have a rebellious teenage phase, doesn’t try smoking behind the school, and won’t partake in shots at parties with her friends. rosie spends the majority of her life feeling as if she’s watching it breeze by her, and someone else is starring in the film of her life because the quiet perfect little girl everyone knows is not who she is. or rather who she wants to be.
her parents fully intend for her to go to college with the intent of becoming a doctor or something practical. rosie spends her junior year slaving over college applications, and the entire time she’s sitting at her laptop writing her personal essay the more she realizes she has no idea who she really is. it’s not like you can say “i wanna go to your school because my parents said i have to”. well she could, but then she wouldn’t get in and that’d be just unacceptable.
an overachiever by force, rosie spent her free time tutoring her peers who were underperforming. its how she made a lot of her friends, and finds herself in a role where she has to look out for the well-being (both academic and personal) of her classmates. as a tutor she learns a lot about the people around her and the drama that swirls around them, and she finds that she is extremely good at doling out reasonable advice. she also doesn’t entirely mind being kept in the loop but removed from the drama on a personal level.
when graduation rolls around her entire life is laid out in front of her. corona university pre-med, a sweet responsible boyfriend who fits in the family dynamic like he was made for this, and the financial support of her parents until she graduates. to the outside world she’s got it all figured out. on the inside she’s screaming at the thought of being this caged.
she knew gigi from high school, not enough to say they were close friends. but enough to admire the blonde’s life from afar. so, when her friends suggest they go to the circus one day rosie is excited to see what gigi’s life is like up close. it’s both the biggest mistake of her life and the first real step to liberation.
after the show rosie stays behind to talk to gigi and congratulate her. so, as her friends leave she hangs back with a bouquet flowers to gift her friend. it’s here that she meets julian, the lion tamer. nothing about their meeting is romantic in the way she knows romance and love to be. instead, it’s almost entirely carnal. their eyes meet and she finds herself wrapped up in want and need in a way she’s never known it before.
despite her having a boyfriend at the time, rosie finds herself behind the tent caught in a kiss that’s nothing but heat and sure touches. julian is like no one she’s ever known before. he rides a motorcycle, smokes with far too much regularity and wears more black and leather than she thinks anyone person should be allowed to. he’s her first act of rebellion.
rosie breaks up with her boyfriend not even a full day after meeting julian. her parents are...not pleased to say the least. this is where her relationship with her parents begins to get rocky. warm family dinners are replaced with rosie eating in her room alone. and instead of her parents telling her how proud they are of her all she gets is disappointed gazes and hurtful comments muttered under their breath. as much as she pretends that it doesn’t truly bother her, it does and she can’t help but blame her parents for loving an image in their mind as opposed to their actual child. her parents disown her when she admits to them that she rescinded her acceptance to corona university. with nowhere else to go, she moves in with julian because she feels as if she has nothing else.
!!!! CHEATING AND EMOTIONAL/PHYSICAL ABUSE TRIGGER WARNING !!!
things with julian were never perfect, and rosie is no fool to have ever thought they were. but now that her entire life is wrapped around him it’s becoming more and more evident who he really is. it starts out small; him getting irrationally possessive if she so much as stood too close to someone. it escalates into being told that she’s unimportant and insignificant, and if she ever thought of leaving him she’d never find someone else to love her. her own parents didn’t love her enough, so how could anyone else? rosie, who’s spent her entire life biting her tongue, begins to believe his words and once again finds herself caged.
julian is controlling, manipulative and selfish. worst of all, he’s a liar and a horrible one at that. rosie can practically taste someone else on his lips, she can smell perfume that’s not hers when she’s doing his laundry. it drives her insane, and she spends her days wondering if every girl she sees him y’all to is the girl she’s in secret competition with. it haunts her, and she can finally see how men are nothing but destructive forces. when she confronts him about it she finds herself on the receiving end of physical attacks that make her wary of sudden movements and flashes of anger in people’s eyes.
!!! DEATH & MURDER TRIGGER WARNING !!!
rosie won’t say she woke up one day and snapped. she knows herself well enough to know that’s not how this works. the rage has always been there, lying in wait until she was ready for it. she spends her days playing the part of the perfect girlfriend, smiling at every unfunny thing he says and pretending to find comfort in his arms. she needs to be the picture of love if she’s to get away with this. the decision comes to her easily, as if there’s not much to really think about here. and in hindsight, there isn’t: rosie has spent her entire life being tamed and she is not about to let some stupid, undeserving man continue the cycle. this is supposed to be her liberation.
she will never admit to anyone that julian’s death was no accident, and she certainly won’t admit that gigi may have helped her. as far as anyone else is concerned, tragedy hit her like a thief in the night and stole the one thing she loved most. her taking julian’s place was a loving move made to honor him, because it’s what he would have wanted.
she spent months shying away from the dating scene, playing up the broken widow role for the sake of her own ability to remain innocent. now that she is dating again she’s trying to take things slow, playing timid and unsure as not to give herself away. she’s bisexual, and now without her parents and julian breathing down her neck she can be open about that.
she loves her lions!!!! she takes great care in feeding them and grooming them, and has established a real great bond with them as if they’re just regular house cats. she respects them and in turn, they respect, rather than fear her.
all black aesthetic bro! catch her wearing the prettiest laciest things in the world and heels do shape that they could double as weapons it’s who she’s always been underneath the ribbons and flats.
really is the sweetest person despite everything. just...don’t cross her or hurt the people she cares about.
loves horror movies and is a real sucker for a tragic love story. her favorite movie is jennifer’s body because to her, it’s both. and i mean jennifer check was right!
aside from lion taming she does some trapeze work, putting her years of gymnastics to good use. she takes great pride in the name ‘mistress of the haywire’
she loves kids and works part time as a baby sitter on the island for some extra money. and honestly, despite the uh unfortunate nature of her exe’s death, kids adore her. she’s got a real motherly nature and is always up for adventures and crafts.
likes taking care of people honestly. she’s always got little bandaids and neosporin in her purse. she’s prepared for most accidents, both because they happen frequently in both of her jobs and because she was going to be a doctor had she not decided to hell with that.
WANTED CONNECTIONS
people who knew rosie before she left for the circus. either classmates, friends or people she tutored
circus regulars
exes. both before she left for the circus, and more recently. could be someone she just went on a few dates with to get back into the dating scene
hooks ups
all the usual stuff ya feel