Character name: Rose RaleighĀ Ā Age: 26 Ā Gender identification: Cis femaleĀ Ā Preferred pronouns: She/HerĀ Ā Residential area: Fishtown Ā Occupation: Chef De Partie at Friday Saturday Sunday Time in Philidelphia: Native resident (2 years in New York City, 3 years in Paris) TL;DR:Ā recently divorced, line cook at one of Phillyās most expensive restaurants, in her trainwreck and rock bottom era, enjoying the freedom of no longer giving a fuck
BIOGRAPHY:
tw: parental abandonment, cancer, infidelity, parental death, divorce
Rose Raleigh was the result of a quarter-life crisis. Her mother, Alma, during a nervous breakdown of sorts, ran away from her husband and two children and landed herself in Philly while having what she described as āa nervous breakdown about her impending 30th birthdayā. In a matter of weeks, after meeting him in the family diner where he worked, she was shacked up with Donny Raleigh in his apartment over the restaurant ā named āRosieās Tableā, a neighborhood staple. It wasnāt more than a month later that Alma was staring down two pink lines on a pregnancy test in Donnyās bathroom.
Her third child was on the way.
Fast forward to roughly eight months later, and Alma had had a change of heart about Donny, along with her husband and kids. Unceremonious would be the best way to describe her exit from the hospital after giving birth to her baby girl, jumping on the next flight out to reunite with her ārealā family.
Donny didnāt think twice about what single-fatherhood would mean ā the guy was all in. He raised Rose (named after his mother, the dinerās namesake), in the apartment above the diner. Rose grew up around the sizzle of the fryers and the smell of grilled onions; Sunday brunch regulars gossiping over endless coffee refills and hungover college students begging for a bacon egg and cheese even though they were a buck short. As soon as she was old enough to refill a ketchup bottle and roll silverware in a napkin, Rose was on the payroll.
She wanted connection desperately, and it was so easy for her to find in the kitchen. Rose loved the feeling of nourishing people, being a part of their daily routines and special events by proxy of the food that she made for them. She soaked up every foodie blog she could stumble across ā Donny even sprung for the extended cable package so they would get more cooking channels. It wasnāt a shock to anyone when she set her sights on Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
(Thank god for scholarships and Donny had been setting aside a portion of his tips since the day she was born.)
With a huge send off at a neighborhood block party, Rose waltzed out to Parisā¦and quickly realized that she was in over her head. However, failing and disappointing everyone in the diner who believed in her was not an option. With dedication and stubborn will (and several unhealthy coping mechanisms), Rose came out the other side with her degree in hand and a world full of potential at her feet ā
And ended up right back in the comfort of her fatherās kitchen.
It was there that she met Greg, the son of a local plumber who was allergic to pickles (hence why she remembered his order). One date turned into two, two went on to twenty, twenty led to moving in together, which led to a wedding.
Two weeks after he walked her down the aisle, Donny was diagnosed with lung cancer.
For the first year nothing seemed different, aside from a cough and chemo (which still wasnāt enough to stop the guy from smoking). Then he needed to wheel oxygen around with him ā that added another year. And then things went downhill fast, and Donny was bedridden and in a hospital more often than not. Unable to handle the operations of the diner anymore, he signed ownership over to his daughter ā but medical bills continued to pile up and additional treatment was needed, and then eventually in home hospice care.
Rose sold āRosieās Tableā to cover the expenses. And Donny died the next day.
The two weeks later, on the last day the diner was open, Rose ended up fucking a friend over the prep counter after closing. Greg ended up seeing the security video.
Things went downhill fast.
Divorce paper's freshly sighed and living in a studio partment, she now pours herself into her position as a line cook at one of Philly's most exclusive restaurants ā smoking out back like a fiend, doing a line or two mid shift, and wondering how the hell she got here.
QUOTE: "The way you make an omelet reveals your character." -Anthony Bourdain
PERSONALITY
Two positive traits: Driven and visionary
Two negative traits: Impulsive and sharp-tongued
FUN FACTS
never call her ārosieā
when left to her own devices, mostly eats microwavable meals or egg dishes (scrambled, fried, omelettes)
speaks spanish and french
doesnāt keep up on a lot of shows, except for depression binges of real housewives
starting to playfully dabble in illegal substances
has a talent for wine pairings with fancy food yet keeps franzia in a box at home
CONNECTIONS
WANTED CONNECTIONS
coworkers/people in the service industry to keep the same weird hours as her
neighbors from her apartment building
messy hookups because sheās definitely in her chaotic era
perhaps friends who have adopted her weird little self since she came to town
eventually iād like to dabble in the concept of her finding her half siblings, so if you have a character that could fit into that iād love to hear it!
