(no subject)
CHARACTER NAME: Erica Michelle Vance
CHARACTER'S DATE OF BIRTH, AGE: February 8, 1982, 25 going on 26
SHORT PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Erica is a stunning woman. She has a bright smile, and big blue eyes, with rich brown hair that falls just past her shoulders. Standing at 5'6", she is far from imposing, but carries herself with more of a welcoming nature that brings people towards her.
PLAYED BY: Maggie Gyllenhaal
PERSONALITY: Erica basically possesses a strong and attractive personality. Exuberant, lively and exhibitionist, she is always hiding the considerable depths of who she really is under a mask of frivolity. She is strong willed and forceful in her convictions, though she is usually honest enough to change her opinions if evidence comes to light which persuades her that she may be mistaken. Consequently she is unprejudiced and tolerant of other points of view. This is because she can see the validity of the argument, even if she does not accept it herself.
Erica is strongly imaginative and drawn to the more exciting parts of what life has to offer, wanting to try everything at least once. She has a philosophical and spiritual bent that may be dangerous in that it can drive her to a point where she meditates on things that bear little relevance to real life. When some cause or work of this nature inspires her, she is capable of such devotion to it that she may drive herself to the point of exhaustion and even risk injuring her health.
At various points in her life, Erica has found the need to retire from the world and to become a temporary loner. She appreciates opportunities for meditation or one of her religious retreats. Even in company she is fiercely independent, refusing to follow the crowd. She dislikes interference by others, however well meaning it may be, and will accept it only on her own terms.
In spite of the often intensely magnetic, forthcoming and open personality, she does not make friends easily. Erica sometimes appears condescending to others and doesn't bother to get to know people that don't appeal to her. She does not give herself easy and is sometimes considered cold. But once she decides that someone is worthy of her friendship or love, she will become a tenacious friend or lover, ready to sacrifice everything for her partner and be faithful to them for life. However, she is sometimes disappointed emotionally because her own high personal ideals cause her to demand more of others than is reasonable. And if she is deceived her anger is terrible. If disillusioned, she does not forgive.
Among her faults are fanatical eccentricity, wayward egotism, excessive detachment, an inclination to retreat from life and society, and a tendency to be extremely dogmatic in her opinions. Erica can express a lack of integrity in broken promises, secretiveness or cunning. Simmering anger and resentment, rudeness or, worse, a tense, threatening silence which may suddenly burst out in eruptions of extreme temper, these are all part of the negative side of her. This can also reveal itself in a hatred for enemies that is capable of enlarging itself into a anger that is shoved towards everyone around her.
HISTORY: Erica was born in Seattle, Washington, and has a particular fondness for the Evergreen State. Her childhood was fairly normal. School was simple enough until she got into High School, and then that was when the rebellious nature of Erica really kicked in to full effect. Until then, she was very disillusioned, believing her parents and brother to be the best people the world had to offer. Then she began to really understand what was going on, their personality faults, and just how wrong they were about life in general.
There was more to living than slaving away over a business, or catching up on whatever else the famous celebrities were doing. There was so much out there to see, to do, to experience, and it drove Erica mad that no one else seemed to understand that. She was locked away behind the walls of a school, and then the walls of her house. Her life was a prison, and her parole was set at age 18. Still, she did what she could to partake of any small thing that would give her a rush of adrenaline, allow her to understand the meaning behind life, or accept what life had to offer.
It all began her Sophomore year. Erica finally made a friend, a real friend, not one of the acquaintances that she kept. Her name was Rosemary Buckley, and they both just managed to click. Rosemary's parents were from a commune not too far away, and Rosemary filled Erica with so many ideas of different life choices that Erica knew she had to try them all to find out what was right for her. The transition to the little Wiccan girl was almost immediate. She became a strict vegetarian, and tried to start a club that supported PETA in her school. But, it turned out she didn't have that much time for it, what with Drama club and Debate. Eventually, she dropped Debate to spend more time outdoors, worshiping the Mother Goddess. If her parents ever asked her about it (which in her mind they never did, since they didn't pay any attention to her at all, as ALL parents 'ignore' teenagers) she gave the usual answer of 'You'd never understand,' and leave it at that.
Over the years, the two girls went through many phases together, many of which involved trying out different religions to see which was the closest to finding out what gave them meaning. They also tried out different lifestyles and living in different places, once they reached the age of 18 and could move out. A few things always remained the same though, and that was the constant disgust of major corporations, and how they were destroying good people's lives. She was embarrassed of who she was, and would constantly lie to become someone else. It happened so many times, that she started to forget who she was, and what she had actually done, and started living in this fantasy life. Of course, they'd always come back to Seattle, since that was home, but it was hard for Erica to keep doing so.
Just before Erica turned 24, the girls were shacking up with a few people in the U district, taking drugs, and generally just being little punk rebels, since the Anarchist society was obviously the best choice. It was then that Rosemary, when she was coked up, started to tell Erica that she was going to kill herself. Erica did what she could to stop it, but there was no way for her to help. She had lost the person she had attached herself to the most, and it was at that point that Erica realized that she needed to grow up and be in a safe environment.
After that, Erica cleaned herself up, went back to her parents, and started to take more interest in the family business. It was safe, she could play the part of a business woman. After speaking to one of the girls in the office, it was mentioned that she should see a therapist about the death of her friend. Erica finally agreed to do so, after careful consideration, and has become far more stable and far more of a powerhouse as far as business is concerned. She actually looks like she could run the company, currently, and is hoping that it will happen. Still, there's always that overwhelming urge to be outside, to just leave it all and become someone new.
Perhaps this trip to China would be just what she'd need to finally grow up and accept the person that she is inside.