Erin

Erin Suzanna McCarty
Portrayed By	Rebecca Herbst
Gender	Female
Date of Birth	19 DECEMBER
Age	28
Zodiac Sign	Sagittarius
Aliases	Morgan Starr
Place of Birth	Cresson Ridge, PA
Current Location	New York City, NY, USA
Occupation	Set Designer/Actor
Known Relatives	Olivia McCarty (Mother); Joseph McCarty (Father); Mikayla, Janet, and Caleb (Triplet siblings, age 24)
Significant Other	None
Known Abilities	Nosokinesis
First Appearance	She Has Amnesia

An actor who's just found out she's Evolved, and is therefore weird. NOT AN EASY THING TO DEAL WITH.

History

Erin's History! (Part One)

In a small town in the Appalachian Mountains called Cresson Ridge, two people from the working class fell in love and got married. Their first child, a daughter named Erin, was meant from the start to bring this family into financial security, to rise above and beyond the factory workers and generations of McCarty family with no solid education. The family was fully willing to do it right, take it slowly, painfully fund private school education with what money they had, until they could send their daughter to college. Unfortunately, those plans were dashed when Mom McCarty had triplets a few years later, and with four kids to raise, their little shining star was destined to carry on the family tradition of becoming a Pennsylvania blue collar laborer.

Olivia McCarty wasn't content with that life for her daughter, though. With three infant babies and a four-year-old, all of whom needed to eat, she was willing to try anything. This included attempting an unsolicited audition to an agency in the area that happened to be filming for commercials. When the casting director discovered Erin's natural talent - as natural as could be expected from someone her age - he inadvertantly jump-started her career in acting.

Within a couple short years, she landed a small role on a children's television show. The show had a moderately decent two-season run, where she appeared from time to time as a recurring background character, though it was eventually cancelled in favour of something else. The experiment was a success, though, and Erin now had an excellent savings account in her name. As well, her family was now able to pick up and move themselves somewhere a whole lot nicer; given the fact that their daughter was pretty literally putting food on their table, they could think of no place better to move than New York.

It took the McCartys awhile to regain their footing. Living in an apartment with such a large family was difficult, and acting didn't come as easily to Erin as Olivia had hoped. With some many aspiring talents in the area, they basically had to start over again from square one, which meant more auditions, more unflattering commercials, bit roles, and a whole lot of rejections. It really was the only life Erin knew, so to say she was miserable would be a lie… However, she wasn't exactly happy, either.

Between going to school and going to commitments, she was up from six in the morning to ten at night, and had little time for herself. It also seemed as if her mother and father had lost sight of their original goal of bettering the lives of their children, since it had become a question of what auditions stood to pay the most, rather than which would be the best for their daughter. To this end, two of the triplets also started appearing in various commercials, though the focus really remained on Erin. At the age of twelve, and now with her own agent, she managed to land a co-starring role in a television show on a family network. It pretty much catapulted her career right into the range where Olivia wanted it, but Erin still wasn't exactly ecstatic. Her co-stars didn't like her much, she was snappy, often tired, and while she did the job and did it pretty well, she wasn't exactly Little Miss Sunshine. Partway through the show's fourth season, she was written off.

Now sixteen, she still had a couple years left before she could be truly independent, which meant more commercials, more small roles, more expectations than she wanted. None of this was for her anymore. It felt as if her life became an excuse for her mother's greed. Even if it had the best intentions, it turned out all wrong. Eventually, the young actress reached a breaking point.

Erin's History! (Part Two)

At the age of eighteen, she liberated all her funds from her bank account, and a year later, she had only a fraction left. That was typical for many child stars, but in this case, she did it on purpose, to the confusion of her family, her friends, and almost everyone else who knew her. Saving enough so that she could move into an apartment of her own and make a modest living, Erin got herself a part-time job so she could pay her way through college. She gravitated toward theatre, since that's what she knew and /did/ love, to an extent, and learning from the bottom up was so much more rewarding than having her mother throw her at various auditions. This way, she could pick and choose what she wanted to do, learning a passion for art, and eventally majoring in theatre design. Perfectly content to work behind the scenes, she didn't envy the actors who had to memorise countless lines on a weekly basis, and while she did participate now and then on stage in the studio theatre, set design became her forte, and she finally found herself happy, able to make and keep friends, and - most importantly - she was proud of herself. She still enjoyed acting and volunteered as a coach in a local community centre. By the time she graduated, she was ready to get herself a good job that would hopefully last a really long time. Something comfortable and dependable.

Set design for a soap opera seemed like a safe bet.

So she walked into the studios of One Life to Live, and walked out with more than she bargained for. Unable to help herself, she jumped at an open audition for the recurring role of Morgan Starr, just for old time's sake, and ended up nailing the cold read. Still, at least she was doing what she wanted to do now. As an assistant set designer, she was responsible for consistancy and aesthetics while she read from her own script between scenes. At times, there would be weeks where she'd go without a speaking role, and honestly, that was just fine with her. The scenes she did get in front of the camera were more than enough to keep her satiated.

Now nearing thirty, Erin's started to find that strange things are happening around her. Sometimes people get sick for no reason. At other times, sick people become spontaniously /well./ She doesn't think anything of it, really, though. Either there's something in the air, or something in the water, or there's a flu bug that just won't go away. At this point, she has absolutely no reason to believe that she's an evolved human with the ability to create and destroy viruses just by thinking about it. After all, that stuff is for the movies, right?

Really, she'd rather concentrate on what people her age /should/ be doing, which includes possibly starting a family, as well as reconciling with her parents and siblings, all of whom she's been seriously neglecting lately. After the falling out she had with her mother a decade previously, she's really only seen her sisters and brother once in a very great while. They, of course, are also doing well for themselves, so she's not worried. She just misses being around them, and now that she's not a spoiled brat, Erin would love to get to know her family for the first time ever.

After all, when it comes right down to it, her mother did exactly what she intended to do all along.

Timeline

+ 2007 Logs

• She Has Amnesia - Doctor Pryce and a Mystery Woman talk about head trauma, and Taine tries to ask Erin out on a date, but is soundly rejected. Awww.
• Next Time on One Life to Live... - More news on the mysterious Jane Doe, and Erin rebuffs Taine's advances with a resounding 'maybe.'
• Geeks Will Inherit the Starbucks - Off camera, Erin meets Gene, and almost kills him.
• Pizza and Purse Snatching - Erin is saved from a purse snatcher by an UNLIKELY SUBJECT.
• Crazy and Mostly Harmless - Crazy Guy in a Park.
• Den of Thieves - What is it with Erin running into nutters in Central Park?!
• Kittens and also Explosions - Fireworks! And Erin doesn't like fleas.
• Roomies - For once, Ali and Erin aren't in peril!
• Do You Want Fries With That? - Taine and Erin finally go on a date. To McDonald's.
• Go Take a Flying Leap! - Erin discovers that her roommate has a really scary talent.
• You Make me Sick - Oops. Erin discovers she's a freak like Ali.
• Coming to Terms - …And she's making people sick without meaning to.
• The Cure - Erin fixes Taine, but she's not quite okay herself.
• I'm Sorry I'm an Ass... - Taine apologises. With flowers and teddy bears.
• Slothpile - A reunion between siblings.
• Memory of Her Attacker - One One Life to Live!
• SPOILER ALERT - OLTL SPOILERS BEWARRRRRRE
• Moss, Moths, Sloths - Y helo thar, Mikayla!
• Freak Like Me - Caleb can squish things. It's cool!
• I Just Play One on TV - Trip to Gramma's!
• Hiding from your Troubles - Erin needs some help, and Ali is a bad influence.
• Talk Like a Pirate Rave - A ninja amongst pirates!? GASP!
• Ali is Going to Die of SARS - Erin. Does. Not. Want. CATS.
• A Star is Boring - Hooray, a copy of Activating Evolution finally comes into Erin's possession.
• Sibling Rivalry - Oops. Now Mika knows that her siblings are X-Men.
• The Brink of Inhumanity - Wherein Erin worries that she's no longer human.
• A Monumental Occasion - …And somehow doesn't blame Caleb for this.
• Guiding Light - A visit to Cass for help turns out better than expected.
• Single Ray of Hope - Erin cures a virus.
• Leads - Nathan and Cass try to work out a cure.
• Life Insurance Policy - Another attempt at a cure. Not so good this time.
• Fake Doctor - After Erin cures Elena, Taine takes Erin back to her apartment.
• The Shape of Things - Montage / Erin cures a kid.
• Support for Those who Help

+ 2008 Logs

• Who We Are - Montage / Erin kills a plant.
• The Disease Spreads - An evil Peter locates Erin on set, and nearly kills her.
• A Friend in Need - Erin calls Cass for advice and help.
• The Black Death of Sugar Maples - Trees will die.
• Homecomings - Ali returns home. Yay!
• Child Support - It's a mini-me. D:
• Cold Morning Warm Coffee - Watch out for falling revelations.
• Water - Jamie accidentally transforms in school.
• Self-Control is a Lie - The truth comes out.
• Blind Obsession - Four years into the future, things are looking bleak.
• Here we Are - Afterlife isn't cancelled. Time goes on.

+ 2009 Logs

• Bloody Ebola - Erin's honing her skills…
• Lizard Lips - How's THAT for acting!?
• Normal is Just a Formality - Erin's buddy, Tracy, has a power, too!
• I Like You - The truth?

Quotes

• "Thanks to you, I'll never be able to come here again. Were you out to ruin someone's day? Because you did a good job."

Trivia

• Was on some long-forgotten sci-fi show on the Disney Channel when she was a lot younger. It still has a cult following, and Erin's been known to look at fanart and read fanfic. Mostly because no one seemed to like her character, and that's amusing.
• Has a nice apartment, but enjoys living simply. She has two jobs - one is a recurring actor on One Life to Live, and the other is a set technician - for One Life to Life. She's hoping to bump her recurring status to a contract role one day.
• As of July 2007, she hasn't discovered her power, or any powers in general, despite the fact that she's seen them in action.
• Dark Future Castpage here: Erin

One Life to Live

• Plays 'Morgan Starr' on One Life to Live. Currently, Morgan has amnesia and can't remember a thing. It's assumed that, since she was found by the side of the road with nothing on her, that she was either hitch-hiking or attempting to do so. No one seems to know her, and so she currently uses the name 'Jane Doe.'
• Morgan has an antagonistic relationship with another character on the show - Dr. Pryce - who she can barely tolerate. Of course, he's the best neurologist in the country, so she has to let him near her.
• The Soap Files features weekly updates on the show!