Rosa Giovanno

[Rosa Giovanno]

Settle down, it’ll all be clear

Full name: Rosa Giovanno
Nickname: N/A
Alias: N/A
Gender: Female
Age/Birthday: 24 years, November 19
Celebrity Claim: Fiora Cavazza, Assassin's Creed series, Ubisoft

If you get lost you can always be found

Time Period: Renaissance
Appearance: It's never very hard to spot this woman in a crowd - that is, if she wants to be spotted. It is the obligation of someone in her position to be seen, but unseen. And she does it perfectly. Clothing of the rather riske style covers her fit body, enough to look good but not hinder her movements. She wears her long brown hair straight most of the time, but for parties and other special events, she might do something fun with it. The rest of her is relatively ordinary, though she has been described as beautiful.
Height: 5' 5''
Distinguishing Features: A small cut on her shoulder from falling off a horse.

Just know you’re not alone

Personality: At first glance she is a strong, confident, composed, and flirty little spitfire looking to make some money, and most of the time this is probably true. She’s the kind of person who doesn’t take no for an answer, and may seem to be able to hold her own. She seems to be spirited and full of life. Deeper, though, deeper than she’d like to let anyone see, she is afraid. She wants to go home, wherever that is. But her job is all she knows, it’s the only way she can think of to survive in the hell hole known as Rome.

Fears:

• Men. She loves them and fears them.
  
• Truly falling in love
  
• Living alone

Goals:

• To be successful financially and politically
  
• To help the Assassins, that one day the Templars may be driven out (or killed, either one works for her)
  
• To eventually leave the brothel and Rome all together, start a new life

Likes:

• Money
  
• Men
  
• Gambling
  
• Music
  
• Horses
  

Dislikes:

• Templars
  
• Men
  
• Rome
  
• Her lifestyle
  

Strenths:

• Street-smart
  
• Book-smart
  
• Providing distractions
  
• Providing information

Weaknesses:

• Minimal self-defense
  
• Difficulty in trusting men
  
• Is always hiding behind a facade, never being herself
  
• Low social-standing

Talents:

• Music
  
• Being able to take on almost any role required of her
  
• Setting aside money (though she always allows herself a little for gambling and other whims, when she has it)
  

Habits/Quirks/Flaws:

• Low self-esteem
  
• Puts on a false front of confidence to hide behind
  
• If she has no client for the night, she can't sleep without Salvatore (aka. Salvi), her dog, at the foot of her bed

Occupation: Courtesan
Alliance: Assassins

Cause I’m gonna make this place your home.

History:
Rosa Giovanno was not always the lowlife, sinful, fallen woman most people see today. She was not always a brothel tenant, hanging from the lips of wealthy and poor men alike. She was not always the dog, waiting to be beckoned, made to beg for her supper and sustenance of life. No. There was a time when she was much more than that.

Born the daughter of a minstrel, she watched her father work hard for his money. He sang until his voice was hoarse. He played the lute until his fingers blistered. He even taught her to play, and somehow they made ends meet. They were happy together, their family. Even though they were poor, they had each other.

Her mother upheld the duties of a house-wife, cooking and cleaning, keeping the garden, going to market, mending the clothes, and all the other things good house-wives did. But at night she would disappear, slip into the shadows of the alleys, the lanterns. There were no bedtime stories, no warm arms beneath which Rosa could hide from the tree branch at the window or the mouse in the corner. Sure, she had her father. But he was always asleep by the time her mother left, by the time her girlish nightmares sprung from the cracks in the floor. And he still slept, as most hard-working men do, when the sun rolled over and stretched each morning, reluctant yet to open its eye, when his wife was just slipping back in through the door.

When Rosa was fifteen years old, the door closed for good. No longer did it creak slowly open and shut twice a night. No longer did it welcome the scrambling, sneaky, loving house-wife back into the warmth of its walls. It slammed, wrenched into place by a clenched, womanly fist around its handle. The fist released it for the last time, and slipped away into the shadows of Rome.

The three years that followed were the longest of Rosa’s life. Instead of coming together through their struggle, the remaining two members of the once-happy family fought. They argued. They slammed their own doors. As adolescent arrogance and hunger for independence beat against the walls of age, hard work and wisdom, father and daughter grew apart into two separate beings. The house was no longer home to a family but to two, very unhappy and very different individuals. When adulthood finally anchored in her stormy waters, Rosa was gone.

Rome was happy to be the wind in her sails. It scooped her up quickly with the excitement of the city. It pushed her into taverns, pulled her into festivals. It’s electric winds became a tempest, brewing slowly overhead and thundering to the beat of her own heart. It made her feel alive. Rome made her feel alive, for the first time in her life. The places it took her, the people it introduced her to, were the first drops of rain on a dry and thirsty soul. And then the flood came down.

It churned and swirled, it raged. Rome. Rome. It chewed her up and spit her onto the steps of the brothel, cold and hungry. Homeless. And then it finally swallowed her. She worked for her money. She learned to work. She was forced to work. She worked until it was all she knew how to do. To persuade. Deceive. Gamble. Entice. Tempt. Charm. She was scared, and she had no one to turn to. Afraid, and no one cared. And so Rosa pushed herself down, deep down within herself. She became was she is today. The Courtesan.

Mother: Lorna Giovanno
Father: Leonzio Giovanno
Siblings: N/A
Significant other: N/A
Pets: Salvatore (a.k.a: Salvi), her dog
Home: Rosa in Fiore (The Blooming Rose), Centro District, Rome, Italy

Behind the Scenes

Name/Alias: Lyndsey, or I respond to any of my character names.
How long have you been in RP?: Six years
How did you find Cutting Corners?: I made it

Music credit -- Phillip Phillips - Home