There are plenty of other male characters that reminded me of Rosie, but over the years there were a handful of female characters and people who helped shape her into who she was then to who she is now.
First and foremost, her original appearance was supposed to look like this lady:
Yes, once upon a time I actually watched Reality TV and one of the horrible shows I became addicted to was Rock of Love. In my defense, I think it was entirely because of this lady and her hair. This is Jes Rickleff, and as soon as I saw her, I wanted my character to look exactly like her. Everything from her tomboyish personality to the crazy, wild hairdo to even her body type (very tall, lean, small breasts, but still an athletic shape). It also helped that she was a bartender and Rosie was going to be a person with a substance abuse problem. I also loved the fact that she wasn't a beauty queen: she was attractive, but not a supermodel, and she was tomboyish but not to an extremity.
On the other hand, I'm also a film major. Any time I write a story or create a character, I start thinking of who would be the right person to play her in a movie. What would she look like? Who would nail her personality, or the way she's supposed to sound? At first she had a very heavy accent (Irish and then Scottish) but the people who looked like her didn't have one. Also, in regards to the hair style, I liked the idea that Rosie would probably switch up the color of her hair to maintain this sort of rock star image. Which lead me to another person I based her off of:
If there is anybody who can switch up the color of her hair from platinum blonde with tints of pink to all out fire rocket red, it is Alicia Moore, or Pink.
Pink has always been one of my favorite pop stars. She came in at a time where pop was associated with great dance numbers, sexy teenaged girls, really bubbly and happy music, and she came in with her own approach. In a way, it was more like an Anti-Popstar: she didn't have a rock star status, but was a lot harder and edgier than Britney Spears. She looked and acted like a girl who probably could get into a fist fight at one of her concerts but still be fun to party with. A lot of her songs and music videos had a sense of humor to them that not too many women in that industry would want to take on: she was opinionated, wasn't afraid to look silly or even ugly, but was not made of stone and wasn't afraid to show a side that was vulnerable, could be hurt, and could be sympathetic.
These are traits that I admire in characters. I like the fact that they can have multiple sides to them. You can be funny and wild but still care about what goes on in the world. You can be a tough chick but still cry at night over the fact that your mother and father don't love each other anymore. This reminded me a lot of Rosie: wild, funny, tough, different, but still someone who had feelings and who valued the feelings of those who are close to her.
But if there is one thing I did not want to turn her into, it was one of those very cliche "bad girls who are secretly sensitive." I don't think Rosie would ever hide the fact that she was sensitive to certain things. If anything, Rosie is someone with no filter. She says what she wants and is open about how she feels or what she thinks, but people might not actually care all that much about what she has to say. I also didn't want her to have a TON of baggage outside her substance abuse problems. Rosie was not a character made for drama. She had her own inner demons and she dealt with them in her own ways.
But when I decided to change up her image a bit to make her more of a charmer, there was one character that I didn't expect to find similarities in. It was actually brought to my attention by one of my friends, and it was a character that I honestly never really cared for until I saw those similarities.
Haruka Tenoh, or Sailor Uranus from the anime/manga Sailor Moon.
For those of you who don't know, I've always been a fan of the Outer Scouts more so than the Inners. I think it was because that they were older and more experience and added a level of melodrama that was needed in an otherwise childlike program. They handled situations a lot differently than Sailor Moon and her friends did. They were willing to make and accept sacrifices for the greater good rather than think of scenarios that could benefit all parties. Even their relationships with each other were more mature and sophisticated.
On the other hand, when Haruka is not Sailor Uranus, we're able to see a side of her that is more laid back and relaxed. She has a sense of humor, she is flirtatious, and despite being a tomboy through and through, she is still very classy with her approach. Her personality isn't as rough as Sailor Jupiter but she is not afraid to fight dirty and do whatever it takes to win. At the same time, she is self sacrificing, willing to end her life for the sake of the greater good. While she is strong and can take care of herself, she isn't made of stone, has a lot of inner conflict, and at times needs someone to take her by the hand and assure her that she's still a good person and that everything will be better.
This was also the moment when I actually took Rosie's sexuality into consideration. In the past, she had been involved with and was attracted to male characters. Overtime, when I started using Rosie in fanfiction and multi-fandom RPGs, there were subtle hints that she was possibly bisexual or at the very least was bi-curious. It really wasn't until this comparison was brought to mind that I started really considering making her a lesbian character. Slowly but surely, I kind of took a liking to the fact that she probably loved women or at least made an effort to be kinder to them as oppose to how she treated men.
On the other hand, there is also this character:
Lisbeth Salander from the American remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.
All things considered, she and Rosie are two completely different characters in virtually every respect. However, I loved the idea that Lisbeth was remarkably intelligent when it came to computers. I thought Rosie would be a remarkably interesting character if she had that much experience with technology as Lisbeth. There is also her appearance to take into consideration: while Rosie is most certainly "prettier" than Lisbeth, they both share a love for tattoos, preferably ones with meanings behind them.
But the part that reminded me the most of her was not just the love of technology and tattoos, but how this very rough and almost sociopathetic character could become gentle and tender with another woman. Lisbeth certainly isn't a character who cares if she comes off as too forward or rude, and yet when she is asking her one night stand to leave her home first thing in the morning, she does it tenderly. There is no "Get your shit and get out of my house, I've got stuff to do." She slowly wakes her up, tells her (nicely) that she needs to leave, and that settles that. That girl doesn't leave the home all pissed off, or feeling used or disrespected. That is something that stood out to me the most and it's something I think Rosie would have done for another female character.
But that's about where the comparisons end when it comes to Lisbeth. Rosie most definitely is not a sociopath or someone who is damaged on that level.
That is for another character.
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