Ricotta Erripe (District 10)

Ricotta hasn't got a single angular characteristic to her name. She lays claim to a round, cheerful face, which displays dimples along with the ample smile. She has short, dark hair arranged into rather large curls. She rarely bothers taming it, preferring to just leave it be. Her eyes are a rich chocolate brown, positioned on either side of a straight nose with a rounded tip. Overall, she has a smooth, fair complexion: not tanned, but not sickly pale.

In addition, although she is of average height for her age, she is of significantly above average weight. She boasts a rather corpulent, bordering-on-obese frame that she's not particularly proud of, but not ashamed enough to go out of her way to work it off either. In any case, she does her part in day-to-day hard work, so perhaps it's simply due to inheritance. Or something. But that's her: protruding waistline, generally pudgy features, and all.

Her cheerfulness is revealed through a rather bouncy gait and an almost chronic smile. She will often be seen with a spring in her step for no apparent reason. It's possible that the bounce could be perceived as an illusion due to her bulbous composure, but she's so generally pleasant anyway, no one really considers that possibility. 

Face Claim: Nikki Blonsky

A good-natured soul, Ricotta has a buoyancy about her that is a personal characteristic as well as a physical one. A ray of sunshine, to use the rather hackneyed phrase for it. She has quite a sweet disposition when she's around others, never leaving home without a wide, dimpled smile plastered upon her face. She tries her best to always think on the positive side of the spectrum when faced with both internal and external conflicts, proudly emblazoning her optimistic reputation. Overall, she's a very sweet, lighthearted spirit, and not afraid to lay that on thick.

However, she often embellishes her jovial side to mask a slightly more serious aspect to her. Underneath the heavy layers of warmth is a shrewd side to her, constantly calculating on whether or not a person means what they say, or they're just telling her what she wants to hear. Ultimately, whether or not they're trustworthy. She's long since gotten used to stares ranging from envious to distasteful regarding her size, and has become aware that certain people might be saying something entirely different then what they're really thinking, judging by those very same facial expressions. 

It might sound like her cheerfulness is only a facade, but really, the opposite is true. She's genuinely the good-humored girl aforementioned; her shrewdness is just an additional accumulated trait.

She's also aware that you can't accomplish what you want without effort, and although she still retains her optimistic spirit, it's more of an optimism that accompanies knowing what needs to be done, rather than awaiting everything in life to simply fall into her hands. She has a strong work ethic and is willing to put in any given amount of work to achieve purposes she believes are worthy enough for her time. If her needs are strong enough, she might resort to any method as well.

Ricotta isn't someone who is liable to take offense very well. It's hard for her to hear critiques, much less insults. She isn't sensitive, per say, but she isn't someone to let those kinds of things go as if they hadn't been uttered in the first place. She is definitely prone to grudges and will remember something less-than-pleasant about a person until the day she dies. Even if, in her eyes, they've more than made up for it, she's more likely to keep their mishap in her mind, although she would never let any indication of that show outwardly.

Ricotta is the type who is always seeking out something new. Routine simply bores her. Frankly, though, it doesn't take a lot for her to get bored. She craves excitement, even if it's short-lived, for every time she chances upon something that interests her, sooner or later she will get fed up with it. In those moments when she has absolutely nothing to do, she will resort to helping out with the shop or doing just that—absolutely nothing. Even she doesn't understand her proclivity towards doing nothing when she becomes bored, as the concept is a bit backwards to anyone, really. Bottom line is, though, that if she got the chance for excitement, she would take it.

So to sum it up, although she isn't the kindest soul in the world, she has a sweet, buoyant disposition that is endearing to some and irritating to others. This is accompanied by an adventurous spirit and a strong determination. She is a positive thinker, but she's also aware that each person has a negative side to them as well, and almost subconsciously, she looks for that side to them. When she does find it, it's almost a triumphant moment for her, and she will proceed to hold a grudge against them for the rest of their lives.

April 21st heralded the first instance of the when name Ricotta Ilise Erripe was seen in writing. That was the name her parents, Quinton and Bree, selected for their first child, the name scrawled on her birth certificate just after her birth. It was a momentous occasion for both when they brought their daughter home from the hospital, as well as the long anticipated turning point. The first six years of their marriage had been wonderful, albeit tranquil, exactly the reason they felt that they were ready for a change. And this could certainly be viewed as the ultimate new experience. A challenge, as they themselves viewed it, one they happily accepted.

If anything else, they were certainly well-equipped for the task. Housed in a sizable farm on the outskirts of the district, there was more than enough room to accommodate a child. Or indeed, a number of animals residing on their estate as well. And being one of the larger farms in the district, there certainly were quite a few of them. Even enough for them to afford to make their estate semi-self sufficient. What animals they kept and bred served as more than enough to suffice for protein and dairy; what was left was transferred straight to Quinton's butcher shop, located more towards the center of District 10, and providing a reasonable income for other resources.

This was where Ricotta spent most of her life, particularly in her earlier years when school wasn't an issue. She grew up to be a sweet, inquisitive young girl, spurred by the extensive number of acres at her disposal to live a somewhat active life. She occasionally would help out her parents with minor chores, which would gradually increase in prestige as she grew older.

When she was four, she was brought once again to the hospital, this time to witness the arrival of her new brother, Edam. However, his arrival was by no means the smooth, easy birth that his sister's had been. It took several long, painful hours for him to make his way into the world, and even then, his family's first impressions of him were that he was a frail, weak child, unlike the vigor with which Ricotta had braced the world. Still, that didn't dampen his parents' efforts in the slightest. If anything, this drove them to make sure that their boy, and both their children for that matter, never saw a day go by without receiving more than enough of both the love and nourishment that they needed. And sure enough, Edam grew into a fine young boy, if not easily susceptible to illness.

So many novelties in such a short span: a new brother to look after, the sudden vigor of nourishment, the added necessity of school, and the addition of chores that had been meant to be her brother's! Ricotta could barely grasp it all; it was as though every day brought on something novel and thrilling. She loved the experience of completing the long trek to stand euphorically in front of the school gates, of successfully milking a cow for the first time when before she had only carried the buckets in, of new meals to try, new activities to sample—new everything!

Year after year, though, the thrill of transition wound down. For every pound she unwittingly put on over the next few years, a bit of her resolve weakened and broke away. She would still perform all her duties with a smile and a helpful nod, but it wasn't quite the same. She longed once again for the excitement that had been present since Edam's birth. She half-heartedly developed a routine, ever pining for something fresh in her life.

At fifteen, Ricotta's day goes something like this: school, leisure, chores, sleep, with meals in between. For her, life moves as slowly as the cattle her family tends to. Although some may, indeed, consider it an active lifestyle, the truth is that she's bored and that she feels that her life couldn't get any more stoic, perhaps a reason of her increase in weight over the years. She tries to make up for it by exploding into every new day as radiant as the sun, but all she really wants before her death is one wee bit of excitement, preferably of the non-life-threatening variety.

Yeah, good luck finding that in a District that is as bovine as its specialty.

Thats pretty much it. It's nothing special, but I hope you enjoy anyways. (: