| Desirée Gomez |
|
|
| Portrayed By |
Minnie Driver |
| Gender |
Female |
| Date of Birth |
October 9th, 1970 |
| Age |
39 |
| Zodiac Sign |
Libra |
| Aliases |
Dezi, Fairy Godmother |
| Place of Birth |
Biloxi, Mississippi, USA |
| Current Location |
New York City, NY, USA |
| Occupation |
Paramedic |
| Known Relatives |
Yolanda and Johnny Russo (parents), Joseph Russo, Dwayne Russo (brother; deceased) and Leonard (brother), Parker Maddox (son), Portia Maddox (daughter), Elena (stepdaughter), Manuel (stepson), Luis (stepson), and Juanita Gomez (stepdaughter) |
| Significant Other |
Ramon Gomez (husband); divorced from Lance Maddox |
| Known Abilities |
Precognition |
| First Appearance |
Everyone Is Crackers Here |
"She's like Isaac Mendez, but with cereal." - Cass
Desirée: jack-of-all-trades, master-of-few. Out of place in NYC, the big city nevertheless has something to offer this visiting good-natured Southern import. Or is it that she has something to offer the city?
History
The sole girl to follow after three boys, Desirée Ginger Russo was born in Biloxi, Mississippi. She as given the middle name of Ginger after her "beloved great aunt". She would later come to suspect it was after her mother's dog, but she never held a grudge.
Her entire life, Desirée found herself starting and stopping. She always had the best of intentions, big dreams and hopeful plans. She sincerely strived, doing hard and honest work for what she thought she wanted. Her two oldest brothers went on to be accomplished professionals, while the one closest to her age died of a drug overdose in his early twenties. To her family, it seemed like Desirée was caught in-between her siblings, never quite living up to her eldest brothers. She was used to being underestimated.
Her education went through numerous ups and downs, one dream crushed after the other, particularly when she was diagnosed with a tremor that put an end to her desire to be a surgeon one day. She worked as a paramedic in Laurel, Mississippi until she met one Lance Maddox, a bigshot at an advertising firm.
It wasn't exactly love at first sight. To make a long story short, they got married earlier than they should have. They soon had twins together; taking care of them was a fulltime job in and of itself for Desirée. She went through a handfull of jobs during the time that she was married: she made quirky homemade candy and cupcakes to order (it wasn't particularly popular), experimented with music, became a midwife. As usual, she was barely commended for any of it.
It was a long time coming, but eventually the marriage fell apart for uncountable reasons - the umbrella to these causes was that neither of them could find it in them to care enough to keep it together. They got joint custody of the children.
Cut to a year later: the kids were away on a foreign exchange program in France, and one of Dezi's friends, an expecting mother, was about to travel to New York City to be with her family. Alone and grateful for something to devote herself to, Desirée agreed to accompany her as her midwife. She was thankful for the opportunity to go some place else, having felt a little bit like she was going insane at home; seeing images in ordinary objects, connecting dots that weren't there. She's just stressed, she told herself; the trip would do her some good.
Abilities
PRECOGNITION
Desiree has the ability to see the future. This power of precognition is by no means straightforward and is often difficult to interpret. Desiree sees the future in her environment: looking at certain objects, or a particular pattern, triggers her. Often, the objects that trigger her will be related to the "vision" she sees (ie. seeing a building explode by looking at pieces of broken bricks), but not always.
To give an example: say there was a pile of marbles on the floor. Everyone else may see a simple mess of marbles, but Desiree may see a pattern or picture, perhaps made more clear by rearranging the marbles. Her rearranging may make a vague picture more clear to others, not unlike making primitive art - but to Desiree it's much more vivid. It may be cryptic and hard to interpret, or conversely, detailed and vision-like. If it's particularly intense, she may go into a trance-like state.
Desiree always "sees the future" by seeing a specific pattern - a future possibility (or is it set in stone?) - in apparent randomness. With practice, she'll be able to willfully pluck patterns out of things, but this will take intense focus, and even then, will be hit or miss. If there's no pattern to find, it can't be made, after all. Although her ability often manifests in a somewhat artistic way, straightforward art in the form of drawing, painting, or even writing, does not seem to trigger her precognition because its power lies in the ability to visualize rather than create.
Timeline
- January, 2007:
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- Everyone is Crackers Here —> arrived in New York on her trip in late January. She meets Benjamin at the grocery store and realized they have some unusual things in common.
- February, 2007:
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- Spooked —> meets Paige at Common Grounds; the teenager spills her coffee, sparking not only conversation, but for Desiree to unexpectedly see an image on coffee-stained paper, depicting a man and Paige in an emotional scene. Spooked, the girl left, but Desiree then runs into her a few days later for apologies on both sides.
- Life, The Universe, and Coffee —> waxes philosophical with a member of SWAT.
- It Ain't Okay —> finding herself at a Catholic church in search of vague answers, she meets Tamara. It's then that the flower Tamara had given her the night before, at Central Park, reveals itself to Desiree in the form of a scene involving Tamara, a young man, and a laboratory of some kind. Seeing an address in the petals, she and Tamara embark to find it - it turns out to be Isaac Mendez's Loft, although she doesn't know that. They find a sign on the door that says Reed Street Laboratories.
- Next Time Take the Train —> a bus crashes when the driver falls somehow unconscious at the wheel; Desiree, a passenger, gets a mild wrist sprain but tries to help the injured before the (…licensed) paramedics arrive. She also runs into Benjamin again, albeit briefly, in the chaos.
- Shattered! —> meets a street performer - Jane - near Times Square and sees an image from several minutes in the future by looking at the change in her guitar case. It turns out to be Jane experiencing the effects of her own powers, which she then tests out with Desiree's help, leaving them both confused.
- Higher Meaning —> Church is her destination again when she attends a service on a Sunday morning in the first week of the month; she meets Ramon, who gives her some wise advice, and then meets his family officially (including Elena who was at the bus crash site). They go to lunch.
- Twenty Questions —> Desiree's friend has a healthy baby, which she helps to deliver. While in the hospital, Dezi spots Marcus and recognizes him from the vision she had with Tamara, confusing the poor man out of his wits.
- Continually questioning her sanity and what it all means as she keeps seeing things that shouldn't be there, goes back to Mississippi.
- March, 2007
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- Plagued by constant images of the same thing, over and over again, she believes she has to return to New York City to find out what it all means. She packs up her essentials and journeys back in mid-March.
- Meeting in Locomotion —> arriving back in NYC, Desiree meets Zac and spots Jane again.
- Mad World (Part One) and Mad World (Part Two) —> after seeing a confusing, vivid series of events in spilled wine and glass on the floor of a B&B, Desiree goes on an ill-planned mission to stop Ramon from killing the man he thinks murdered his wife. When calling him reaches Elena instead, Desiree heads off on her own and finds him at The Secret Lair, where she stops him from doing something he'll regret - and good thing, because the man he would have shot was under the control of the real killer. The owner of the store, Nima, comes across them and finds herself wrapped up in it, too. So, basically, Ramon finds out Dezi is precognitive, she finds out he's telepathic, no one goes to jail and the plot thickens.
- Meet the Oscillating Unit —> at Mount Sinai Hospital to speak with an official about their paramedics, Desiree is drawn into Detective K.L. Damaris' hospital room where she sees a vision in Monopoly money from the game Mara was playing with Peter. Among the images were a ticking grandfather clock and Mara. Fearing it foretells her demise by the hands of Sylar, the detective panics, just in time for Detective Parkman to deliver the news that Sylar took Molly and Mohinder. All of this was new and confusing to Desiree, who made sure to stay nearby to keep an eye on Mara.
- April, 2007
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- Someone's Watching Over You —> Dezi gets a vision that brings her to the hospital Ramon is staying at after his recent heart attack in order to stop the mind-controlled man (from Mad World (Part One)) from killing him.
- How to Harbor a Psychic —> When Elena gives her some flowers in thanks for helping out her father, they also run into Peter Petrelli, an Desiree shares with them the vague vision that she's been seeing everywhere. They think it might be the tornado Isaac Mendez painted.
- Feminine Magic —> Surprise Russo! Desiree moves in with the Gomezes for awhile. She bakes Ramon cupcakes.
- Fondunnit —> * Ramon asks Desiree on a date. Some day it happens.
[[/collapsible]]
- May, 2007
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- The Mendez Method —> Elena gets the idea to use a method on Dezi similar to the one Isaac Mendez used while creating his paintings: not heroin, but the use of her ability to transmit euphoria. It works, and Desiree is unfocused enough to get a vision bigtime… of her own death.
- Once More, With Meaning —> understandably upset, she breaks down a little — or a lot — and hides in her room (actually, Juanita's) and doesn't relay what she saw until the morning when Elena brings her breakfast.
- Phantom of the Friggin' Opera —> Ramon and Dezi finally go on their date — and make the point that neither of them exactly behave in a cultured manner. But they have a good date and are silly and kiss.
- Crashed —> she happens upon an EvoSoft cleaning house event wherein CEO Jaden Cain is tossing office supplies off of a roof in Times Square and winds up having a vision wherein Jaden is in a car accident. She tells he and Jane about it and insists the young man stay out of vehicles.
- To Thine Own Self Be True —> the Alchemist's puppet comes to the Gomez residence just like in her vision, but unlike her vision, Desiree is inside and Ramon and Manuel are outside the apartment to intercept the woman. Manny takes her down, prompting Dezi to tend to the resulting gunshot wound. The woman comes out of her trance and is revealed to be Mary Jones.
- She's Afraid If She Leaves, She'll Become the Life of the Party —> Desiree attends Jaden Cain's party dressed as The Fairy Godmother. Glitter ensues.
- You Gotta Have Faith —> Desiree talks about music and costumes with Jane and McAlister at Common Grounds.
- Dancing in the Street —> Desiree encounters McAlister again later that day during a summery street party with music and sprinklers. There, she meets Heidi (and remembering her as the lion from Jaden's party, encourages her to dance) and William. It's silly fun, until someone messes with the hoses, resulting in Heidi's son Monty breaking his arm when the water pressure explodes. Desiree stays to help the child until he can be taken to the hospital.
- June, 2007
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- Humans and Animals —> Ramon happens upon Desiree singing one evening. Unrelatedly, they talk about the nature of humans and how they can do horrible things like what was done to Mary Jones, but Desiree doesn't stay on the subject long. When she talks about her kids who are back from France in Mississippi, Ramon says she is family, that they're a clan, and if she stays in New York they might get a house.
- Deja Vu and You —> Desiree runs into Benjamin in the snack aisle of a food market. …wait, didn't this happen before? When the two realize they have friends in common (the Gomezes), Desiree invites him over for dinner.
- The Reaper's Touch —> After getting a vision about Manuel, Elena and someone getting hurt in the Gomez apartment, Desiree rushes over. She's too late: Manny has already killed Peter when his power goes out of control after a misunderstanding. He regenerates, miraculously, but Dezi is still horrified.
- How'd It Get So Bad? —> Desiree takes Manny outside to cool off and talks about what happened and what's to come.
- Parker and Portia call … from here in New York. Because they are here. In New York. !?!
- The Ex Factor —> Losing his mind because the kids didn't return as scheduled to Mississippi, Dezi's ex-husband Lance shows up at the Gomezes in a fluster. The result: Ramon punches him in the jaw. Elena punches him in the throat. He deserved in on account of being an ass.
- Return of the Prodigal Twins —> Parker and Portia show up at the Gomezes' door a few hours later, safe and sound, to reunite with their mother and explain that Portia wants to be a star, Parker was looking out for her, and their sudden trip to NYC was full of sound fourteen year old logic, et cetera. Dezi, truth be told, is just happy to see them.
- Advent —> Dezi accompanies Ramon, Peter and Cass to the business supposedly run by the Alchemist. This involves some sneaking around and being invisible, thanks to Peter. Inside, they discover Nima and Lee's father, as well as some disturbing files that have photos of the people the Alchemist has killed, along with photos of Heidi and Elena. There's a connection to a fertility drug. Huh?
- The Trap —> They come home that morning to explain their findings to Elena. Peter calls Heidi, who also comes over to be warned. Eric stops by for a visit.
- Truck of Cookie Doom —> While Dezi and Portia are having a girls' day, a car driven by Jaden flies into Battery Park trying to get away from a wild delivery truck. Jaden heads off the pier onto a boat while the truck crashes: her vision about Jaden comes true, but he (and his naked mole rat) are unhurt. Desiree finds an unmarked glass bottle in the cargo that was supposed to be cookies.
- Desiree takes on an actual job as a paramedic now that she's supposedly staying in New York for awhile.
- This's Gotta Be a Secret Meeting —> Desiree and Jane meet up to talk — mostly about Portia, namely her music, and then the possibility that she might have special abilities, too. The prospect throws Dezi for a curveball.
- July, 2007
- Invisibled —> Portia confesses that she was spying on Desiree and Jane and knows about her mother's "crystal ball stuff". How? Because she was invisible. Surprise abounds, but they share in the fact that they can both do strange things; then Ramon comes in to say "I knew it" and give them ice cream.
- Minutes to 8:15: Te Amo Mi Hijo —> After she comes home from working, Manny discovers a bomb strapped to his car. It detonates, destroying the vehicle and wounding him. Desiree goes to his aide along with Ramon. It's just the beginning of what John Carter, the Alchemist and killer of Ramon's wife among others, has planned.
- Get Carter —> Desiree accompanies a group of people, all of whom have the intent to stop John Carter — and rescue Elena, who has been kidnapped and is being held in a warehouse in Syracuse. Desiree sneaks in with Peter (and is later joined by Cass where they find Elena in a gas chamber. During their escape, Dezi is hit on the head by a falling pipe caused by the ruckus elsewhere.
- Back to Status Quo —> She wakes up in the hospital to find that everyone is okay, except for the news that Ramon lost an eye and Carter was killed.
- Is This a Kissing Book? —> In a watercolour painting at the hospital, Desiree sees her and Ramon's future; she's not surprised when, shortly after, he tells her he loves her when she visits him in recovery.
STUFF HAPPENS, stop the tornado save the world I'm getting there okay.
Connections
DESIREE LOVES EVERYONE.
Quotes
- "No one can do everythin', you know? I just gotta wonder, is there one thing someone's good at? One big thing they're meant to do in their life? Then what happens if you don't go through with it?" - Life, the Universe, and Coffee
- "Everyone's got problems. I got problems. That lady who almost got hit with a street lamp got problems. That fella over by the bustop with that really… silly reindeer hat got problems, prob'ly more'n both of us. I bet yours ain't so terrible. Just gotta figure 'em out first." - Shattered!
- "But I'm from Mississippi and New York City may's well be the Amazonian Jungle!" - Mad World (Part One)
- "You're plannin' on doin' somethin' stupid. Ain't ya? Well, I'm here to make sure you don't do it. 'Cause you ain't never gonna be the same if you do. Ain't worth it, whatever it is. So." *Thwap* "Hey, snap to! I'm like. Psychic. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so you can't deny anythin', and I'm tellin' ya, don't do it. You gonna come with me before the man you wanna kill comes along or what, Mr. Gomez?" - Mad World (Part One)
- Biker: How about you wait your turn, missy? Get the hell out of my face!" Desiree: "Oh, how 'bout shut your face, Snake-Eyes. I jus' need a minute!" - Someone's Watching Over You
- "… 'Hi, Mister Puppet Man, if you could… hi, mister, I'd really appreciate it if you could not stab my frien's IV with… no… hi, you goddamn—hey, if you'd just put down that hypodermic needle 'cause I'm trouble too I'd be real thankful… hi, mister…'" - practicing what she's going to say to the man about to kill Ramon, Someone's Watching Over You
- "So, these two pirates kidnapped me, see, and took me up on their ship to see the Cap'n and then I was forced to walk the plank and before I know it, I was in Davey Jones' locker… which… looked a awful lot like a bunch of foam and a dressing room… any rate, obviously, I died, and was made to be in league with Mr. Davey Jones hisself for somethin' in the realm of all eternity, then a buncha his pirate minions broke out dancin' and I found that sneakin'-around underage son of mine and dragged his ravin' ass home. How was your night?" - Terribly Beautiful and Beautifully Terrible
- "Is' my belief no one's meant to be wicked. But, along the way, some people, they learn it. Somethin' happens to 'em makes 'em think they're bad. Just 'cause you got skills in dark places don't make you wicked, means you've had a interesting life and learned things you can use for good." - Lost But Now Am Found
Trivia
Songs to Live By
