reiko — Roleplayer Guild

"It may be small and stupid, but I love the feeling when I help someone find a book they’re looking for."
- Vanessa Quinn

Name
Vanessa Gwendolyn Quinn

Age
XXII

Gender
Female

Sexuality
Bisexual

Job
Librarian Assistant at Skyline University Library

"I tend to look at the good in people and the more positive side of things. Someone has to in today's world."

In-Depth Appearance
Vanessa compliments and contrasts the image of a librarian just enough for people to believe her if she claimed she either was or wasn’t one. Sharing the glasses association, her vision isn’t damaged to the point of needing incredibly thick glasses that would obscure her caramel colored eyes. While most librarians fall on the taller side of the spectrum (potentially for reaching the books on the top shelf), Vanessa stands at a short 5’2 and possess a slim figure. However, with all these features at her disposal, she isn’t mistaken for someone younger–or even out of her age range–that often. The general demeanor she gives off is one of a youthful adult that has a certain sense of maturity to her.

Vanessa doesn’t do too much with her physical appearance, not being one for keeping up with the latest fashion trends. She values simplicity and comfort over glamour. Plus with the anxiety she feels from receiving attention, she’d rather stick to her modest clothing than the vibrancy and boldness of the stylish ones. She does acknowledge that some of the outfits are cute and hopes to be able to wear them one day. Maybe when she’s a little braver.

Usually she can be found in long sleeved, collared blouses of various colors paired with a knee-length pencil skirt and flats. The designs are either solid colors or simple ones like plaid. Vanessa generally has her hair either down or in a slightly messy bun. She doesn't have too much of a problem leaving it down since it isn't long or wavy enough to become a nuisance or hassle. In dimly lit areas, her hair looks like a boring, dark hue of brown, but under florescent light or the sun, there is a natural, bronze tint to it.

Naturally, it can be assumed that Vanessa doesn’t have any markings on her body such as tattoos or piercings aside from the earlobes. Even then, she tends not to lean too heavily on accessories, foregoing any jewelry or–in her opinion–unnecessary additions to her appearance. On a normal day, her makeup will consist of a light concealer and mascara. What can she say? She likes her eyelashes.

Habits and Quirks
Packs lunch
Drives 40-45mph on small roads and 60-65mph on freeways/highways
Suppresses affection

Likes
Cooking/Baking
Animals
Reading

Dislikes
Eye contact
Cussing
Pretentiousness

Biggest Fear
While most might assume Vanessa fears living a mundane, unadventurous life, the librarian assistant is actually quite happy with the way things for her are. It isn't the characterless impression of her life that she's scared of but more of herself. She's afraid that she's so undistinctive that she'll become unmemorable. She doesn't care to be someone's number one priority (although she thinks that would be nice) like falling in love might do, but simply just be important to people and impact their lives somehow. Whenever Vanessa encounters someone she remembers or knows and they don't remember her, that fear creeps up again and causes her to worry about it until something can pull her out of the doubts plaguing her thoughts.

Also, clowns are pretty creepy.

Personality
Vanessa is acutely similar to what one thinks of a stereotypical grandmother, down to making extra food to share and the coupon cutting. She's a gentle soul who’s always ready to lend a helping hand and wants to make everyone happy. Her first reaction is to always give the other person the benefit of the doubt and see the good in everyone, believing that they must have a purpose behind their actions.

From first glance, it's very obvious Vanessa is meek, soft-spoken, and struggles to maintain eye contact. She doesn't usually go and do exciting activities or make conversation well, being too awkward and careful for it not to be painful on both parties. However, that doesn't mean that she's reclusive or voluntarily shies away from people. Secretly, Vanessa yearns for supportive friends whose company she can enjoy and is actually quite physically affectionate. She merely suppresses her wants in concern she might offend those she attempts to reach out to.

Hardworking and honest, Vanessa was a model student and an ideal employee. While most might see a simple, timid young woman who naively listens to her superiors, the assistant is surprisingly observant and logical. Perhaps that's what causes her struggle with excelling in literature. Although Vanessa has a love for reading, she falls short in analyzing the metaphorical aspects of fiction stories. This also contributes to her ever growing insecurities of being inadequate.

"Sometimes I wish I was brave enough to just go and do things."

Background
There is no doubt that Vanessa came from a happy household. Gordon Quinn was a banker making a decent salary when he met Stacey Lane, a starting paralegal. They were instantly compatible due to both being kindhearted, traditional people. They progressed their relationship following the right steps and after seven months into their marriage, the two were delighted with news of being pregnant with their first child. From the steady income of their two careers and the preparation for this lifetime changing event, the new parents didn't have to fret over much aside from having a healthy child and correctly raising them.

There wasn't a lot of concerns of the social environment negatively affecting Vanessa while she was growing up. The small family of three lived in a moderately sized city where old values were still heavily influential on the residents. Having a very lighthearted childhood, Vanessa got along with enough children and invited to enough birthday parties. Still, she was always seen past, never really having a title or making a mark all through her schooling years. By the time she hit high school, it was established she was the nice, quiet girl who did well in classes and wasn't picked on because she was so nonexistent.

Always having been a little more mature than her fellow peers from her obedience to her upbringing, Vanessa was ready to play a supporting role in taking care of her baby sister at eleven. She made sure to watch out for her and help her parents with the additional responsibilities such as driving Kaley to school and picking her up. Vanessa always had an affinity and talent for working with children and took up babysitting kids of family friends toward the later end of her high school years. Usually she would make them dinner, play a few board games with them, get them cleaned up, and read them a story before they went to bed. She was especially happy when the kids would be excited to hear the next chapter when she came back again.

After graduating, Vanessa wanted to stay close to her family and began to attend Skyline University which was in Hartford, a city only two and a half hours away from home. The first semester, she was an English major, believing she could have a future in literature one way or another simply because she loved it so much. However, she quickly had to switch to Psychology after struggling with the subject despite all the efforts and hard work she put in. Although it shouldn't be seen as a bad thing, Vanessa wishes that her natural talent in the Psychology field could be transferred to English.

Staying at the dorms for the first three years, she finally moved out her senior year to Eden Gardens to get some momentum to living on her own. Despite not having a down payment, Vanessa used the leftover money she got from scholarships as a form of insurance that would give her at least two months of occupancy if she ever misses a payment. She goes to visit her family at least two or three times a month, usually on the weekends and will sometimes have Kaley stay over at her apartment for a few days.

Even though her mother has connections that can get her a job instantly, the fresh new graduate is slightly lingering on going straight into a career to experience true freedom just a bit longer. She applied for a job at the library and since the staff had seen her there so often while she was attending the school, she got the position relatively quick.

Relationship Information
Relationship Status: Single
Partner:  N/A
Father: Gordon Quinn
Mother: Stacey Quinn
Siblings: Kaley Quinn (younger sister, age 11)
Pet(s): N/A
Other: N/A

Alex makes Vanessa uncomfortable. Not because he isn’t nice or anything like that. He’s just so animated that whenever the shy girl interacts with him, she feels a pressure to be more energetic which really takes her out of her comfort zone. Despite the one-sided inconvenience, Vanessa likes Alex’s kind and carefree personality. She always greets him when their paths cross, whether at the apartments or library, and attempts to hold a conversation with him no matter how nerve racking or awkward it might be for her.

However, she does genuinely feel uncertain on how to handle the situation during the rare occasions he flirts with her, even if he is just teasing. Vanessa’s never sure when he’s being cheeky or not.

Vanessa doesn’t know where she exactly stands with the other Clarke sibling. They don’t interact much do to the intimidation the older girl receives from Abby and the relations connecting the two only leaves things that much more ambiguous. Despite the fact he tutors her, Kim and Abby don’t seem to get along and Vanessa worries that the feeling will translate onto her since she’s close to the other assistant.

The brunette has seen the taller girl tending to the gardens at the apartment complex and admires how Abby can be both headstrong and gentle. At the same time, she’s also amazed at how similar yet contrasting the twins can be. Speaking of them together, Vanessa knows the bit of information from what the media has put out and the rumors that circle Hartford about their situation. Although she’s never voiced her opinion on the matter, she worries about how the two are affected. She knows they have each other and are inseparable but going through all of that can’t be easy.

The two women haven’t had much interaction most likely due to their differences in interests. Vanessa isn’t one to drink and therefore has no purpose to be at Vibe where the bartender can be found. Likewise, it doesn’t seem Cassandra has an interest in books and would rarely be found in the library. Really the only times they’ve met is when Vanessa comes to the bar to pick up Kim, and even then it was mostly attempted introductions over the loud atmosphere.

There are two boys at the complex that Vanessa greatly worries about health-wise. Jack would be one of them. He's a college student who has two jobs and she almost always sees him either really sleepy or asleep. Also, she's pretty sure he doesn't eat the most balanced meals either and misses some too. The librarian wishes she could help in some way but they aren't familiar enough to where she can intrude on his life rudely, even if it's coming from a good place.

As far as interaction goes, the two have been limited by their meek, overly considerate natures. However, Vanessa will generally ask Jack how he's doing when they get the chance to talk.

Vanessa has two mindsets to people: intimidating and approachable. The one exception comes in the form of Kimberly Seo. Their relationship and the feeling the girl receives from the other can be put into one word: comfortable. The Odd Couple is quite tight knit and the closest to a best friend either of them have. Vanessa can’t remember when they became so familiar but somewhere along the awkward small talks and just as equally awkward silences, they understood each other and enjoyed one another’s company.

Vanessa first met Kim through her job. Having just gotten the same position two weeks after the older male, she was assigned to be trained by him. The two are actually a funny looking pair with all the right likeness and variations to make them compatible. Even though the two are both quiet bookworms, one emits a friendly vibe while the other is very aloof and assured.

It seems like whenever Kim is around, Vanessa is always smiling. The fellow assistant is the only person she can be honest with and not be as afraid to be who she really is and say what she thinks. Although it's still suppressed, Vanessa still manages to get her fill of affection with their hugs and wearing Kim's jacket (which he offers when he sees she's cold) after many hours of sitting in the heavily air conditioned library, despite all the effort he makes in grumbling in a false show of distaste. (Somehow she manages to be just as efficient even if the sleeves engulf her hands and the jacket falls well below her waist.) However, Kim knows never to push his friend off when she clutches his arm. He's picked up that it's her subconscious response to when she's feeling particularly nervous or worried. They're each other's security blanket. Kim makes Vanessa feel more confident and serves as an anchor for when she's in a new place or surrounded by new people. On the other hand, Vanessa makes Kim's life a little brighter and helps him become more social, even if he mainly just sticks to her for now.

Despite how involved they are in each other’s lives with the frequent visits and hangouts and natural interaction, Vanessa believes she still hasn’t gotten to know Kim in all his entirety. Although he's met her family, Kim’s still secretive and defensive whenever his past is brushed upon and it worries the smaller girl. Of course she always worries about him.

In contrast, Quinn makes Vanessa feel extremely uneasy and intimidated. With the bartender being a whole foot taller than the librarian and possessing a very immediate presence, the younger will avoid the other by any means. She's quite sure that her heart will mimic the mouse's whose nature she also stole from. And that she'll unintentionally offend the stranger which could lead to something ugly and scary (at least for her).

She has always wanted to make the joke that if the two were sisters the older woman's name would be Quinn Quinn, completely unaware of her social awkwardness and the consequence of an uncomfortable conversation arising from the harmlessly intended comment. Fortunately, her crippling fear of the smoker has prevented the situation so far.

Vanessa doesn't know much about Doris aside from what she's observed. Although the DJ is in school, she doesn't attend the library often, limiting interaction between the two women. The few things the younger does know of her fellow resident is that she's passionate about her job, very loud, and many men leave her apartment in the morning. Vanessa doesn't hold any of this against the law student but keeps her distance out of uncertainty of how to approach Doris or even why she would need to.

There are so many relations that connect Vanessa to Max. He's the other resident whose health she worries about. The gamer probably lives in the same conditions as Jack: staying up way too late, eating unhealthy, probably not living in the most organized and hygienic condition. However, she also admires him for having made mistakes the first time he attended college and giving it another try despite the additional obstacles confronting him the second time around and with a more determined resolve. They met and began associating mainly from having jobs at the university and whenever they both have a shift, Max will come visit Vanessa at the library.

They also both know what it's like to be an older sibling, even if Max is more like a friend to his brother and Vanessa is a caretaker to hers. The boy is friendly with just about everyone, similar to his best friend, however the difference being that he actually has a decent batting average when it comes to holding a conversation with the socially reclusive girl.

Secretly, Vanessa thinks he's attractive.

As guilty as she feels about it, Vanessa mainly knows Lewis as Max's roommate. They have an interesting dynamic but she supposes it's similar to the bond she shares with Kim. The boys probably have something common that links them and the rest are differences that make each other their friend's perfect foil. She's never been able to tell him but she's thankful for Lewis. Although the living conditions might not be ideal -she can't expect perfection when it's two college student boys- she believes it could be a lot worse if it were Max living by himself. The shorter of the pair seems responsible and she can tell he really cares for their mutual friend, which she knows means he'll always look out for the other and she appreciates Lewis for that.

The two actually see each other quite often. However, Vanessa is never quite sure how to approach her fellow resident. He makes her anxious and she gets the vibe that he isn't too fond of her. When she first encountered him, he seemed quite cross and was squinting and rolling his eyes at her. From then on, Vanessa has made all attempts of avoiding confronting the grocer, out of fear. 

Despite working at the same place and running into each other more often than others might assume, Rucks and Vanessa don't necessarily get along. Not that they have any problems or tension between them but the girl thinks the photographer has an issue with her. He always talks about authenticity and she suspects that he possibly thinks her meek nature to be a front and it rubs him the wrong way. The assistant also gets a little irked when Rucks will direct his attention to something else when they're talking. Not only is it rude but it brings back her concerns of being invisible and unworthy of regard.

He did make her laugh one time by telling her his snake's name was Flumpykins. She thought it was cute.

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