PLAYER INFORMATION:
Name: Amie.
AIM: Queen Stone Age.
E-mail: pyrateamie@gmail.com
Timezone: AST.

CHARACTER INFORMATION:
Full Name: Erica Payton Redd.
Nickname(s): Redd.
Hometown: Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Age and birthday: Sixteen [July 5th; 1995].
House and Year: Lalaurie [11th Grade].

Electives & Schedule:
1- 7:45-8:30 - Transfiguration
2- 8:35-9:20 - Advanced Herbology
3- 9:25-10:10 - History of Magic
4- 10:15-11:00 - Musical Study
5- 11:05-11:50 - LUNCH
6- 11:55-12:40 - Basic Divination
7- 12:45-1:30 - Defense Against the Dark Arts
8- 1:35-2:20 - Charms/Wandwork
9- 2:25-3:10 - Latin

Wand: Springy dogwood with a core of kneazle fur, nine inches.
Boggart: Her father. With an expression of malice on his face that she knows too well.
Patronus: It is likely that Erica's patronus will appear in the form of a hedgehog. These little animals represent resourcefulness and self-preservation/protection. Despite not the strongest, they are experts at taking care of themselves, and despite their small size they are always ready to defend themselves if the need should arise.
Animagus Form: N/A.
Religious Affiliation: None.
Extracurricular activities:
- Quodpot [Captain & Runningback/Safety].
- School Band [Piano].
- Cooking Club.
- Debate Team.
- Magical Technology Club.

Family/Relationships-
Parents: Barbie Redd [mother] & Michael Redd [father].
Siblings: Benjamin Redd [older brother; senior in Sonnier] & Brian Redd [younger brother; sophomore in Lalaurie].
Extended Family: Her paternal grandparents passed away before she was even born, and her maternal grandparents died about four years ago, fairly close together. There are aunts and uncles on her father's side of the family, but they haven't spoken to Erica's immediate family in over a decade.
Familiar: Albino lavender California king snake by the name of Delta.
Sexuality: Heterosexual, but not closed minded
Significant Others: Currently single, but has her sights on Jackson Shea [dungeonmaster] & Shelby Ginnish [drummerboy].

Appearance-
PB: Valerie Poxleitner.
Detailed Description:
Out of herself and her siblings, Erica is the one whom most closely resembles their mother. Erica's hair is long, reaching her mid-back, and usually kept down, although sometimes with a headband or bandanna wrapped around. Her hair is very dark brown, nearly black, and stands out brilliantly when framing a face as pale as hers. She has small hazel eyes, with long lashes, and which are almost always accented by a bit too much eye make-up, and a slightly angular nose that runs in her family. Erica's smile is wide and bright, with straight and white teeth, the result of years of charms on the part of her mother. Erica's teeth were terribly crooked throughout her childhood, but her mother never gave up on her, even if a few spells might have backfired.

With only slightly fair skin, she much prefers keeping up a more olive complexion over her body. Despite being dark most months though, Erica often looks much more pale than she would like. She enjoys tanning, and tries to keep her summer color up, stretching it as far as she can manage. She hates how sick she looks when she lets her color go to waste, and much prefers the golden look, even if she has to go through a few sunburns to get it. Her face a little angular, with thin lips and thin eyebrows. She stands a little taller than most of the girls her age, reaching five feet and nine inches, just a few inches below her older brother. Her physique is lithe and athletic but petite; she almost looks a little lanky, other than her well toned legs. She doesn't have exactly the ideal build for playing quodpot, but she is hoping that spending time on the team might change that. Having been diagnosed with Celiac during early childhood, her growth was always just a little delayed, and she was always a bit smaller than her peers, but she has taken a bit of a growth spurt after freshman year and did some decent catching up to the other girls. She is glad to finally be able to hold her own with them.

Erica has no piercings, although she wouldn't mind getting them in the future. She does, however, have two tattoos. One on each forearm, which say; "jetzt und immer die segen von der vater und bleibst unschuldig bis zum schluss".

She has the quote split up between both forearms, and when translated into English, it reads; "now and always have the blessing of the father and remain blameless until the end". She got the tattoos just a summer ago, with the accompaniment of an older friend at a parlor.

When it comes to fashion, Erica is a little bit out there. She loves dark colors, lots of blacks and grays, and has an affection for cocktail dresses, khaki, bandanas and kicks. She loves to get dressed up for events at school, and doesn't waste a bit of detail when it comes to getting ready.

Personality-
Likes: Cooking, baking, piano, playing quodpot, running, basically any movie in 3D, listening to Kiss, watching Seinfeld, shopping in boutiques, getting riled up for a game, giving advice to friends, keeping a small number of true friends, relaxing in sweatpants, grape juice, bonfires, the colors red and black, handmade clothing, wooden art.
Dislikes: Her father, men who hit women, feeling weak, being taken advantage of, loss of control, needlessly crude or rude people, parents fighting in front of their kids, seeing children hurt, cheap stitching in clothing, perfect couples, nuclear families, rare steak, poor quality tissues.

Quirks:
~ Erica's favorite band of all time in KISS, and she won't hesitate to tell you so. She was first exposed to them during lower institute, through a muggleborn friend she made in one of her classes. She has been going strong for the KISS Army ever since.

~ Her favorite places to shop are small boutiques. She finds large corporations are too generic, not original enough. If a boutique can offer her handmade jewelry, she loves shopping there even more.

~ She doesn't consider herself the most experienced advice columnist, but she finds herself in the role among her friends and her little brother. She was her mother's shoulder to hold onto during the entire ordeal with her father, and still somewhat is, and that has helped her come even more into her supportive role in life. Even if she doesn't really believe in herself just yet.

~ Abuse is a huge trigger for Erica. Child abuse and spousal abuse hold a special place of distaste for her, but they aren't the only sort that set her temper and get her into a defensive mode.

~ She has Celiac Disease, or gluten intolerance. She is also asymptomatic, which only makes the condition worse since it makes detecting the damage to her body much more difficult. In addition to this allergy, she is additionally allergic to shrimp, pecans, and gets pretty watery eyes every spring.

~ In order to pump herself up for quodpot, she listens to Shout It Out Loud by KISS before all games and practices. She's considering making it the teams new theme song or something.

~ While she is genuinely polite to most people, there are very few people that Erica trusts completely, and if one is to find themselves in one of these positions of trust, they are definitely a special person indeed.

~ Erica learned to bake and cook at a young age. This came about originally due to her Celiac disease, and she sometimes views her baking as more of a necessity and less for the sake of enjoyment. She does not cook and bake solely for her own pleasure. It is an utmost necessity for her to know what she can and cannot have to eat, especially due to the fact that her reaction is only internally based. It's often safer in her eyes just to prepare her own snacks & treats. This fact, coupled with much practice and spending early years toddling around the kitchen after their housekeepers, has given Erica an acute skill in this area.

~ Erica hates to cry in front of anyone outside of her family, if she can at all help herself.

~ Erica can be extremely defensive, and tends to take things personally and dwell heavily on them. Even what started out as a joke often ends up really hurting her feelings, or at least giving her something to think long and hard about.

Secrets:
~ Erica has always wanted a sister. She feels that if she had a sister, she would have someone else to share the burden of their family with, someone else to come on girls out days with her mother, someone she could be closer to than her brothers, someone to relate to. When she was small, she used to tell her mother that she hoped Brian would grow up to be her sister instead of her brother, much to the amusement of Barbie.

~ Although she acts as if every cute couple is just the sweetest thing around, Erica holds a lot of contempt for people that she views as 'perfect'. She is skeptical about love, and about people who appear to 'have it all' in their lives. While she might call you and your boyfriend cute to your face, it's quite likely that she is gagging on the inside.

~ She claims she's joking whenever she brings it up to anyone, but Erica really would like to have a nose-job one day; whether through magic or otherwise.

~ It hurts her feelings more than she'd like to admit that people consider her a slut. Especially hearing it from either of her brothers.

~ Erica likes hanging around with older students, finding them more exciting and stimulating than people her own age, most of whom she silently views as immature. It was this affection for older friends, particularly older boys, which led her into sleeping with a senior during her freshman year. The secret part being that the night together wasn't a true 100% of her own free-choosing, something she intends to admit to no one.

~ She has considered suicide numerous times through her life. Most notably during the height of her father's trial, but again more recently after the death of her best friend and quodpot mentor, Adelaide Legaux. Erica always ended up backing out of the mindset by reminding herself that it wouldn't do any good to bring even more anguish to her mother's plate.

~ Her father is a dark wizard and convicted murderer/rapist. Although it isn't truly a secret, like her brothers, Erica doesn't like to talk about it and doesn't offer any of her insight/knowledge to the situation. She wouldn't even acknowledge having a father, if she had things her way.

~ Despite loving him deep down inside even if they aren't close, Erica is a little bit scared of her brother, Ben. He acts so much like their father at times that it freaks her out. She would defend him to anyone if she had to, and she doesn't voice her worries to him, her mother, or anyone else, and never would. But a feeling of unease sometimes creeps it's way in when she looks into his eyes long enough.

~ Erica is both excited and terrified about being captain of her quodpot team. She wanted to take over the team, and carry on in Addy's footsteps, but she has no idea if she can even do it.

~ Though she does really dislike him and holds him quite responsible for one of the most awful events of the last year, Erica feels a bit bad for Leon Shaw. Somewhere deep inside, her tiniest bit of sympathy is hiding in there.

What's in your characters pockets?: Erica carries a living plethora of KISS licensed accessories. She carries her phone, her iPod, her wallet, her water-bottle, and her credit card. And they're all plastered with the face of Gene Simmons.

Strengths: Loyal, good problem solver, excellent at proofreading reports/papers, listens well, supportive, energetic, friendly [mostly], good at quodpot, knows how to sew well, great cook, great baker, convincing liar, hides her emotions well, has a logical way of viewing life/love/etc, likes to comfort, maternal, takes charge easily, can provide a clear head in emergencies [knows CPR, First Aid, etc], prefers to look from a 'outside perspective' at her problems.
Weaknesses: Doesn't trust easily, skeptical of love/affection/relationships/etc, views herself as faulty or damaged goods, has big-time daddy issues, promiscuity, overly sensitive at times, takes things to heart, has a bad temper when provoked by the wrong thing, thinks too much in black & white sometimes, doesn't attach herself to people easily, allows herself to be used at times, severe allergies, gets frustrated with others quickly [despite not voicing said frustration aloud], needs to work on her patience in general.
Strongest subject in school: Potions.
Weakest subject in school: Charms/Wandwork.
One thing he/she can't live without: KISS [and her mommy].

Detailed personality:
Although Erica is far from perfect, she tries to project the best possible image of herself, despite all of her flaws. She can appear calm and cool, but still be full of turmoil on the inside. She likes to leave the sunny side facing up, smiling whenever she can. She keeps up a facade of goofiness and carelessness, but there is a much deeper side to her that only her closest friends get to see. Despite being rather friendly, Erica is a desperately private person who doesn't often like to share much about herself, or whatever she happens to be feeling. She is more than ready to let a friend open up and cry on her shoulder, but she is often reluctant to accept a returning of the favor.

Erica's issues with her family run deep, and have left a prominent mark on her view of the world. She plays the constant role of her mother's support system, and has from a young age. Even as a young girl, she was accustomed to girls days out together to relieve her mother's stress, and being the one to sit in her mother's lap while the woman cried over how Michael treated her. Erica is also fond of her brothers, although they are not particularly close; if push came to shove, she would support them, but she doesn't push herself on them. She hopes that they know well enough to come to her if they need her.

Even now as a teenager however, Erica still fits into that supporting protector role for her mother. During Michael's trial, pushing aside her own feelings about her father, Erica spent the entire thing focusing on her mother, and helping her out in whatever ways she could manage. She loves her mother intensely, and is silently glad that her father is put away, where he can't hurt her mom any longer. She has a strong sense of maternal instinct, from all of the care she has given and received from her mother over the years, and this instinct extends to anyone close to her in her life. She likes to know people are okay, and to hold them when they are weak.

Erica's feelings about her father are mixed, but mostly negative. She supposes that she might have what other people may call 'daddy issues', but she doesn't advertise about it. She detests him for everything that he has done, how he treated his family, particularly his own wife and children, but she can't deny that he is still her father and somewhere inside of her, she does love him. Even as much as she may not want to. She doesn't hate men because of him, but she is sometimes wary of them, even if it doesn't show outwardly. She has a terrible temper, something that she has inherited/learned from him, and something that she is working on fixing and is not proud of. With even a small bit of provocation, Erica can end up going off, and quickly regretting it. Luckily, she doesn't often get violent, although she does get quite mouthy. Living with her father has given Erica a pure hatred for abuse in any form. She has no tolerance for people who abuse others, especially men abusing women, and this is a sure fire way to set off that temper.

She has an issue with low self-esteem, having bouts of depression at times and even having considered suicide in the past. She lets herself get down on herself over little things. She is hyper-sensitive, even if she doesn't show it, and tends to take things personally and to heart, dwelling on stupid little things for days at a time. She over-analyzes situations and off-handed comments from others, and she has a knack for getting herself worked up over nothing. She views herself as damaged goods, and doesn't understand what anyone could possibly see in dating her, which has kept her out of relationships mostly.

Her view on love and dating is skeptical at best. She doesn't believe in 'true love' by typical definition, and thinks things like 'soul mates' and 'together forever' may just be a crock of shit. She views things in the realm of romance with a very logical eye, and has a tendency to pick things apart, or dig too deeply into it. She isn't sure anyone would want to love someone like her anyway, despite what others might try to convince her. She isn't on board with other teenage girls, fawning over the latest cute boy or celebrity, and sometimes feels that she might be faulty. She doesn't get what they see, and she isn't sure that she wants to. If the right person exists, and that is a big if, he [or she] will find her, and that will be that. She isn't into exclusive dating, PDA, and drama. She has never told 'I love you' to anyone outside of her family, and cannot see herself changing that too close in the future, if ever.

That isn't to say, of course, that she isn't sometimes attracted to other people. She isn't entirely asexual. She has been known to have crushes, but keeps it private, and keeps it at a casual status. She can be a bit promiscuous, and a bit of a cheater by the opinion of others. She doesn't like the idea of being held down to one person, and would rather move around to find momentary affection where she can. Holding down to one person makes her too vulnerable, and eventually, she'll have to explain herself to them, something she doesn't want to do. Keeping encounters casual, and never calling it a relationship, she does not run the risk of becoming hurt, or having to talk about things that make her uncomfortable. Boys who might think they are dating her, are often not in her eyes. This can lead to quite a bit of confusion and hurt on their end. She has very little attachment to people, outside of her family and small circle of best friends, and she likes it that way.

Smiling and acting casual are her natural defense mechanisms, and she intends to keep them in frequent use, no matter what she may feel internally.

Personal History:
Erica's family is directly descended from Wilmot Redd, one of the Salem witch trial victims. Executed on September 22nd, 1692, Wilmot was a generally disliked and foolish old woman, whom had been abandoned by the entirety of the Redd family. Upon her death, her body was not even claimed by any of her relatives. It was, in their eyes, her own fault for having the disposition that she did, and hexing a woman in from of several witnesses.

Three hundred years down the road, the Redd family has changed. Their involvement in the fishing industry has become the main source of their income and riches, and actual Redd family members are scarcely involved in the actual work. Up in offices and meetings is where you can locate them these days. Also three hundred years after her death, the view on Wilmot has also changed. Most view her as a victim of an ignorant time rather than the unpleasant blemish on the family name that she once was.

Over these many years, the family has also dispersed throughout the country. They can be found in places such as Virginia, Florida, Georgia, and eventually farther west. Some changed their name to Read. Some of the Redd family remained in Gloucester, and this is where Erica and her siblings were born.

Meeting during their own education, Barbie and Michael were the typical high-school sweethearts, and no one could have predicted how sour their relationship would one day become. They married shortly after graduation, and had their first son less than a year after that. One year after Ben was born, Erica came along next, becoming the couples only daughter, and Barbie's pride and joy. Unknown at the time of her birth, Erica would eventually become her mother's best friend and confidante, a shoulder and pillar for the older woman.

Growing up with a loving mother was a blessing, but growing up with Michael for a father was not an enjoyable life. Just like so many Redd family members before him, Wilmot included, Michael was often irritable, angry, and generally abusive. Toward both his wife and his young children. One of Erica's earliest memories of her father is from around just after her sixth birthday, when her father made the family dog 'disappear' in order to punish her for breaking a glass while setting the table for tea. She can still recall him screaming at her, his breath warm on her face, and his own face bright red with anger. Weeks later, she found the dog's bloody leather collar in the yard while playing with Brian.

Barbie did what she could to deal with her husband, and trying uselessly to protect her children, but she was blinded by her affection for the man. Every time he did something terrible to either Barbie or the children, Michael would apologize, make amends, assure her that he would work on improving himself. In all honesty, things never changed, not for any longer than a few measly days. Erica's early memories of home are riddled with recollections of his many screaming matches with her mother, and his incredibly cruel punishments, the way he would look at her as if she meant nothing, and the feeling it left in her has stayed with her for her entire life.

It wasn't long before Michael began acting even more distant. It was clear that although Barbie still loved her husband, Michael's love for her was long gone, and he had began to wander from the sacred union between them. He went away on business frequently, often being gone for days at a time, and Erica was always simply glad that he was gone. She loved spending days where there was no screaming, no fighting, her mother wasn't crying. Michael's demeanor even began to improve slightly for this time, and Barbie said nothing to risk changing things back to the way they had been before.

Erica was particularly close to her mother during these times. With Michael gone from the house, Barbie found herself without much to do, without him around to tell her what to do, and she began to spend even more time doting on her daughter. Unlike her older brother, whom Barbie worried about, Erica was a mostly happy and sociable child. She loved having tea parties with her mother, and playing in the back yard with her younger brother. She hated staying inside, and was often outdoors, exploring whatever she could find. Without Michael around as much, Erica was less worried about getting in trouble over trivial things, and was able to blossom more readily without his angry words at every turn, scolding her for every little action that he saw wrong.

Although looking back now and realizing what her father had been doing at this quiet time makes her feel sick to her stomach, Erica cannot deny that they were some of the happiest days of her life. It felt, for that time, almost like a more normal family.

When it became time for school, Erica was given a choice of education. She eventually settled on Crescent City Institute, just as her parents and older brother had done before her. Even if it was pretty far from home, it was a better quality of learning. Or at least it was in the eyes of her mother, which is what really tempted Erica into taking the plunge for CCI. People are often surprised that she is even related to Ben; if not for the family resemblance. She made friends easily, but kept them at a distance. Although she was happy, she was guarded, and it was apparent. Opening up was something she had never been taught, and trusting other people did not come easy, no matter how nice they were. She had learned from watching her father that a kind facade did not always mean a truly kind person. She felt comfortable among her peers, even if she knew she was different, and felt it inside. Other children spoke highly of their parents, of their siblings, and Erica found she didn't have much to say. She didn't like talking about her family, and she didn't think they would want to be talked about. She knew she didn't.

It was during her first year of lower institute that Erica happened to glance across the table at breakfast, and caught her father's face on the newspaper of another student. The expression on his face was familiar, it looked very similar to the way he looked when he had once screamed at her for tracking mud across the kitchen floor. It was the same face that she had seen as he tossed her into her bedroom, slamming and locking the door behind them. It was an expression of pure rage glaring at her from the photograph, stern and cruel.

She read the words silently, gathering the gist of the situation, and feeling her stomach knotting as she read each one;

Muggle Mass Murder; Michael Redd, 35, is suspected of having raped and murdered up to 5 muggle women.

She recognized one of the women in the five mug-shot style pictures at the bottom of the page. It was one of his secretaries, Erica had met her once, years ago as a child. The woman had smiled vibrantly, she had given her a peppermint. She felt her stomach twist at the realization, it made it feel genuine, made it feel like reality.

She was in total denial as a knee jerk response to the news, he was awful but not that awful, but a call from her mother that evening confirmed it. Erica's immediate reaction had been to cry, but she swallowed it down, deciding that her mother needed the comfort more than she did. Even at a young age, she began to realize this, and it quickly became a habit, a trend. Along with her mother, Erica kept close eyes on the investigation, and on the trial. Even as Ben drifted further away from them all, Erica only drifted closer, supporting her mother at every turn, and coming home every single weekend to be with her, just in case she was needed. She felt it was the least that she could do for her. It was all she could offer at such a young age, but she did her best.

Within a couple of days of the news going mainstream, it was like everybody remembered who the Redds were all of a sudden. How Erica's peers reacted was a mixture of fascination, horror, and interest; some students teased or bullied her, called her the daughter of a psycho, called her crazy. Some tried to start fights, others tried to pester her for details. Muggleborns avoided her, pure-bloods flocked to her, it changed from day to day. All in all, people whom hadn't even known she was alive last week suddenly seemed to want to be her friend, to try to talk to her, to get the scoop. Even upper academy kids, whom barely acknowledged lower institute students, came to her looking to know the truth.

She revealed next to nothing, avoiding the attention at every cost. Some less savory pure-blooded students even came to her with congratulations, wanted to know how it felt to have a father fighting-the-good-fight, to know how proud she felt. Mostly, she just felt sick. It was during this time that she considered suicide, wanting to get away from the drama, from her father, from the pestering of others. She decided against it, unable to handle the idea of further hurting her mother, no matter how much she wanted to escape life in those long months. She wanted nothing to do with her father, and only attended the trial to support Barbie. It was a hassle, dealing with others, dealing with their curiosity, their nosy ways. No one wanted to be her friend to be her friend, they wanted to be her friend for the gossip. Erica couldn't have been happier when the wave of interest died down, and people simply began to leave her alone again. She could go back to life, as best she could. Or at least try to.

When things were calmed down, it was time for upper institute at last, and Erica was sorted into Lalaurie; the same as her mother had been before her. It wasn't much of a surprise to her, and her mother was proud, sending a letter of praise as soon as she heard the news.

Erica thrived in upper academy, with most of the drama of lower institute faded into the background. People were, slowly, forgetting who the Redds were once again. People no longer tried to seek her out to ask how her father was doing. She was able to flourish on her own, to make her own friends, and set her own boundaries. She got along especially well with older students, finding them more suited to her interests and views on life, and she discovered a love for quodpot. She is captain of the Lalaurie team in her junior year, taking over the position from one of her best friends whom died the year before. She's worried, but wants to do her best with the job, win the cup, and make Addy proud or.. something. She feels like it's what she would have wanted if her head hadn't been clouded up with all of that Leon foolishness. It is Erica's biggest goal of the year to bring her team to the top.

Tags: !bio, !ooc