Role Playing - [Young & Beautiful]

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:33 PM

High over the city our yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering.
I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.

The year is 1924 and times are a changing. It is six years after the resolution of The Great War and the United States is enjoying a prolonged period of economic prosperity. The New York City skyline grows with each passing day, Industrialism has seen the rise of the nouveau riche and a new social and economic ideology called consumerism has emerged in response to a new trend of mass production, making goods more affordable to the middle classes. The same movement that earned women the right to vote in 1920 has instigated a shift in social customs with the emergence of The New Woman – a woman who wears her hair short, her skirts shorter, who smokes and drinks and openly engages in discussions of sexuality. The advent of the radio has brought a new kind of music into homes all across America, fusing African and European musical influences together in the form of “Jazz.” And finally, with the ratification of the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the sale of alcoholic beverages has been banned. Despite the efforts of moralists, alcohol remains high in demand and a new brand of criminal has emerged to exploit that demand in the form of bootlegging and racketeering. It is a period in time that will go on to be affectionately dubbed, The Roaring Twenties, and never before has the American Dream been so easy to grasp.

Not everyone is pleased with the change, however. For many it is a time for prosperity and excitement, but for others the decade of decadence has led to the trampling of traditional values and a rise in moral depravity. As the nation trudges forward carelessly, there are those who continue to cling desperately to the past and the old world values that have served them long and well.

They were careless people … they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness,
or whatever it was that kept them together,
and let other people clean up the mess they had made.

Tucked away on the North Shore of Long Island is the township of North Hempstead. Unofficially dubbed The Gold Coast at the turn of the 20th Century, the families residing on the rocky beaches of the North Shore have a reputation for being amongst the most affluent of families in the nation. On the eastern side of North Hempstead sits the village of Sands Point, a haven for the respectable blue-blooded families of the “old money” tradition. Among the most prominent of families in Sands Point is the Duval family. Tracing their lineage back to a minor noble family in France, the Duvals were already reasonably wealthy when they first immigrated to the United States at the turn of the 19th century but would go on to make an immense fortune selling gunpowder during the American Civil War. By the end of World War I, the Duvals had a monopoly on the entire supply of gunpowder in the United States. At present they are one of three families that own land in Sands Point as well as several other estates around the country and across the Atlantic in England. As an already established and well respected stronghold in Long Island politics, the Duvals are traditionalists and champions of the old world values that progressive politics seek to challenge and deem obsolete.

Across Manhasset Bay is Sands Point’s western neighbor, King’s Point. Epitomizing the Nouvelle Riche lifestyle, the families of King’s Point acquired their wealth only recently, mostly through investments made with various manufacturing and automobile industries. Viewed as being ostentatious and gaudy in their display of wealth, the so-called new-money families of King’s Point have never been fully accepted by the old world gentry of Sands Point. Chief among the most influential of families in King’s Point is the Gallagher family. Having arrived in King’s Point only two years ago, the root of the Gallagher fortune remains a general mystery. Though they boast ties to J.P. Morgan’s U.S. Steele Corporation, the bulk of their wealth actually derives from racketeering, prostitution and bootlegging. As the resident crime overlords of the North Shore in Long Island, fear keeps most people from speaking too boldly about their suspect wealth and by involving themselves in local politics and charities they are still able to maintain a visage of respectability. The Gallaghers represent the American Dream realized; that any man who works hard enough can attain wealth and social status.

Long Island stands at a crossroads. Together the two neighboring towns represent the ongoing struggle in the culture wars of the fast-paced 1920s, with the Duvals stubbornly planted in the past where archaic values die hard and the Gallaghers conforming to the tenants of modernity. For better or worse, change seems inevitable.

This is their story.

THE DUVAL FAMILY
(The Duval Family is headed by the Matriarch of the family, Florence Duval, who would go on to run the family corporation following the death of her husband twelve years ago. She has been grooming her eldest son to take over the family business, though he has shown only a moderate aptitude for understanding the daily ins and outs of the business and thus she has slowly transferred her efforts to that of her eldest grandson.)

Duval Son: winter soldier
Duval Daughter #1: Captivating

Taken By: degausser
Name: Florence Duval
Age: Sixty-Five
Theme Song: Ballad Of A Politician by Regina Spektor
Personality: Old-Fashioned, Shrewd, Rigid, Poised and Neurotic.
Three Life Facts:
• Raised in the twilight of the Reconstruction period following the resolution of the Civil War, Florence Duval was born Florence Archibald. As the heiress of a newspaper tycoon, she learned first-hand that the lens history is viewed through is crafted by its victors. The Archibald family estate sat dead center on one of the Union and Confederate borders and her father played both sides of the war until a likely victor could be determined, in which case he became a staunch Union supporter. Much of the growth in both their influence and their wealth came through the exploitation of the Rehabilitation that followed the reconciliation of the Civil War. As the eldest daughter and second eldest child, Florence stood to inherit an immense sum from her father’s will including a percentage of his paper, making her one of the most sought after bachelorettes at the time.
• Though Nathanial Duval’s courtship of Florence Archibald had been quite a theatrical and public affair, people tend to say it was Florence who ultimately instigated and secured the match. Sensing her future husband would be pliable and his trade would continue to flourish in the coming decades, Florence snatched him up quick as she could and cozied up to him enough to learn the family trade. Progressive as Florence might have been in her youth, the reality of having a family to provide for and decades of living in the spotlight has seen her grow more rigid and conservative with age. Every business venture she has made, all the marriages arranged for her children and all the political power plays she has orchestrated have been calculated moves to help strengthen the Duval family fortune and legacy.
• Has become somewhat reluctantly aware of her status as an archaic antique of old world traditions, not that you’d ever hear her admit to such things out loud. Consequently she clings ever so stubbornly to increasingly outdated social paradigms that suggest men are the breadwinners, women belongs in the kitchen (except for her obviously), sex never occurs outside of the marital bed, class mobility is nonexistent and race inferiority is a fact of genetics. Her reluctance to heed to even the smallest sliver of change largely stems from her fear that progressive social ideologies will challenge the status quo and the lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed to living. It might seem that every move she makes is mechanical and impassive, but she is actually quite methodic, putting great thought into every venture she invests in. If she is reluctant to relinquish any control over the many different pots she has her hand in, it’s because she has little faith that anyone else can run things as efficiently and effectively as decades of practice has taught her. Having already outlived her husband, two of her five children and all three of her brothers, Florence is fully prepared to defy death itself and may just outlive her remaining living children and their children as well should a presumptive heir prove unsatisfying. Just try and tell her otherwise.
Relationships: TBD
Played By: Jessica Lange

Taken By: Wayward Melody
Name: Jack Clarence Duval
Age: 31
Theme Song: Mr. Writer - Stereophonics
Personality: Perceptive, Curious, Mercurial, Driven, Confused
Three Life Facts:
• Like his grandmother’s forbears Jack has a passion for news, right down to the smell of ink and paper right for the presses. Wanting to make his own way he traipsed off to Philadelphia after the birth of his young brother to work and write under the pseudonym Jack Clarence in a city where his name wouldn’t be the only scoop. Keen for a story, Jack found himself in all sorts of trouble and right at the forefront new cultural transitions towards race, sex, and modernity. Discovery made Jack even more enthusiastic to put pen to paper to erase those old Victorian morals of the past. Jockeying his way through tabloid journalism where he kept to the sensationalistic to sell bit scraps to working on the beat desk under William S. Payley.
• When he was making headway in Philadelphia, his grandmother called him home. Having been born under a cloud of abuse and thoughtlessness, Jack had always clung to the skirts of his grandmother, using her to stand up to the brute that was his father, until he could learn to stand up on his own. When she called him back to North Hempstead, he went without hesitation but if you asked him why he’d be unable to tell you exactly why.
• Working as a low level reporter for the North Shore Herald, Jack’s regressed occupationally but it puts him in a unique position of keeping his families dirtier doings swept under the rug while promoting the more nefarious doings of the Gallagher clan. He does this while chasing the stories of two-bit, jazz loving criminals while he descends deeper into the family business himself. But is it what he really wants?
Relationships: TBD
Played By: Chris Pratt

THE GALLAGHER FAMILY
(The Gallagher Family is headed by a middle-aged patriarch who runs a number of Speakeasies in town and earns the bulk of his wealth bootlegging and run running. He is currently married to wife number two, a scandalous affair as she is in her late twenties and not much older than his children. He is also grooming his male progeny to take over the family business.)

Gallagher Patriarch: Wayward Melody

Taken By: Captivating
Name: Elizabeth (Beth) Gallagher
Age: 38
Theme Song: We Fall Down - Dana Parish
Personality: Erratic, Protective, Vengeful, Seductive, and Nostalgic
Three Life Facts:
• Elizabeth Gallagher, formally Pruitt, comes from nothing special. She was raised in one of the dirtiest parts of Chicago. Her mother was a seamstress and her father worked various labor jobs. She rarely saw them as they were too busy providing a roof and food for their only child. When she was twelve, Elizabeth's mother died from polio virus. Beth didn't have time to cry. She had to think quick on her feet and lied about her age to enter the work world immediately. It was the only way to keep her father and her off the streets. Elizabeth served as a companion to an elderly middle-class woman during the day and sewed all through the night. Her hands, eyes, and spirit were constantly tired. The hard pressed teenager barely took time to look at herself in the mirror, let alone make eye contact with strangers passing by, but one afternoon something told her to look up. She was greeted by Frank Gallagher's smile. That one instant was all it took to tilt her whole world on its axis.
• Elizabeth fell hard and fast for Frank Gallagher, an assistant to a law clerk who, like her, came from lowly means. The couple's humble beginnings strengthened their bond as they shared their desire to work hard and earn brighter futures. They eventually married and Frank took over as a law clerk following the death of his employer. He and Elizabeth welcomed their daughter Olivia the following year. Feeling an increased pressure to provide for his growing family, Frank branched out into politics and business. His approach was questionable here and there, but money started to flow and Beth embraced her newfound wealth with few questions. The food, the clothes, the travel...their dreams had come true. Beth was able to aide her father into a comfortable retirement and relished her role as a mother and respectable member of society.
• As time passed Elizabeth's blissful existence slowly transformed into something of a nightmare. Her husband, once a relatively honest and hardworking man, made one too many compromises for her liking. She didn't mind when his illegal dealings were uncommon and under the radar, but Frank didn't stop there. He quickly grew power hungry and forced his family into the world of racketeering, prostitution, and bootlegging. If Beth had only herself to think about, she would have kept quiet, but with Olivia's well being on the line she fought back against her husband's deplorable ways. She begged him to clean his mess up, to leave his dark business and even darker associates. She cited their family's safety and her sanity as reasons for the change, but they weren't good enough for Frank. Beth eventually turned to gin and tonic to cope, and when her and her husband's relations grew increasingly hostile she boldly withheld sex and the hope for a legitimate male heir. Her unwillingness to procreate, combined with her drunken rages, turned her into a liability. A businessman first and a husband second, Frank kicked his wife to the curb to preserve his legacy. He remarried a woman half his age (if that) shortly thereafter. He still provides Beth with more money than she knows what to do with, a coward's attempt to persuade her from going against him. Beth doesn't intend to keep her mouth shut indefinitely. She's biding her time like any good ex-wife would do. And while she waits, well, Frank's money is providing her with enough booze to tranquilize a grown horse.
PB: Jessica Chastain

Taken By: degausser
Name: Olivia Gallagher
Age: Eighteen
Theme Song: Gods and Monsters by Lana Del Ray
Personality: Candid, Spirited, Open-Minded, Amiable and Impulsive.
Three Life Facts:
• Known to close friends and family members as “Liv” or “Livvie”, Olivia has always been free-spirited, willing to try almost anything at least once. Though she is hesitant to make any long-standing commitments, the few things she has committed herself to she has done so with two feet firmly planted forward, with little thought to where her leap of faith might land her or what the consequences to her actions might be. Though this philosophy has landed her in more than her fair share of trouble for her short eighteen years on this Earth, Olivia lives free of regrets, believing that in all mistakes is a lesson to be learned and a story to tell.
• The hard work and sacrifices endured by Frank and Elizabeth Gallagher ensured that Olivia would never know the same poverty and hardships they grew up with. Frank Gallagher’s progeny grew up believing the whole world was just barely beyond the reach of her perfectly manicured fingertips, and she need only reach forward to grasp her heart’s desire. Like a good little crime overlord’s daughter, Olivia learned not to question where all their wealth came from or whose blood was being washed out of her father’s clothes. As tension festered between Frank and Elizabeth over the years, Olivia’s little bubble of blissful naivety eventually popped. Life wasn’t as perfect as she initially envisioned it, and Olivia turned to Frank’s subordinates and Elizabeth’s booze and pills as a way to navigate the chaos and compete for attention.
• Upon arriving in King’s Port two years ago, Olivia had no conception of a difference between “old” and “nouveau” money, believing her family to be the equals of those already long established on the Sound. Youthful naivety and romanticism blinded her to the prejudices of those around her and Olivia soon found herself swept up in a lifestyle of drunken benders and glittery jazz parties. Three months after moving to King’s Port, Olivia Gallagher found herself completely ensnared with a respectable and wealthy boy from Sands Point. It was love, and no one could convince her otherwise, until an unexpected bump in her belly revealed the true nature of their relationship. Olivia was abandoned to deal with the consequence of her actions alone, and though a trip through a dark door in a dirty back alley and an intimate acquaintance with a wire coat hanger helped solve her little “problem,” the damage to her reputation, and heart, had already been done.
Relationships: TBD
Played By: Jennifer Lawrence

Taken By: dreamboat
Name: Finn Callaghan (Gallagher)
Age: Twenty-eight
Personality: Brash, hot-headed, egocentric, acerbic, magnetic.
Three Life Facts:
• Conceived during an ill-advised back alley romance hastened by lady liquor, and born out of wedlock into the less-than-thrilled arms of a sixteen-year-old barmaid, life for Finn it seemed would never be anything worthy of depiction in the illustrious works of Norman Rockwell. Two years his mother would put up with his needless squalling, two years she fed him whiskey from her own breast before he exhausted the life out of her and to her credit she chose not to abandon him on the steps of the nearest church or drown him like a sack of cats in the river—instead she left him with the man she presumed to be his father. Presumed, given her best recollection, though Frank Gallagher wasn’t told as much. Just found a scrawny, stone-faced lad on his doorstep one snowy night, a simplistic note pinned to his coat proclaiming his heritage and Frank’s subsequent responsibility. And to Frank’s credit, despite scraping by on a meager laborer’s salary he did as he was bade, and took the boy in. Kept him, even after meeting and marrying the love of his life, having another (legitimate) child, and working his way toward respectability. Finn, meanwhile, took a page out of his old man’s book and up and left home at twenty, just ditched his rapidly improving life to seek his own fortunes in Baltimore.
• Though his formal education stopped somewhere around eighth grade, Finn has a great mind for business and oozes charisma almost as much as cheap whiskey. He doesn’t shy from any of the more gruesome aspects of the criminal underworld but he’s best at getting the right people on his side. At schmoozing. Brokering mutually beneficial deals and still somehow ending up on top. Prohibition is Finn’s godsend, a way to put his talents to use and it wasn’t long after the ink on the amendment was dry before he managed to assemble the beginnings of a very profitable supply business thanks to a very special partner by the name of Joe Eckley. Until, that is, Joe decided to relocate to merry old England, refused to return despite some very crass, insistent letters and without a cooler head to balance Finn’s rather unique sort of business sense (and the muscle to back his crazy schemes) their shared business rapidly fell into disarray.
• With some very unsavory characters on his ass for debts owed, Finn had little choice but to slink back to his father’s side in New York City and join up with the family racket. Despite some unresolved tension and naught but a handful of short, terse conversations between the two Gallagher men Finn found himself folded back into the business as easy as if he’d never left. Which some small (sensible) part of him appreciates, but the larger (dumber) part of him considers the tethers to his family more of a leash or a noose, reeling him back more and more each time he but fantasizes about his independence. Something he’s fought for ever since he pushed his way out of his mother’s womb two weeks early.
Relationships: tba
Played By: Sebastian Stan

Other Characters and PB Reservations: Sebastian Stan, Chris Evans, Lily Rabe, Cillian Murphy, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Ioan Gruffudd

Taken By: Wayward Melody
Name: Joseph “Joe” Eckley
Age: 35
Theme Song: While All The Vultures Feed - Incubus
Personality: Simple, Quick, Steadfast, Deprecating, Passionate
Three Life Facts:
• Joe grew up alongside his cousin Matthew, sharing their childhood playtime together but Joe’s background was a lot sparser than his cousins. Because of an over excess of pride often times his mother, his older brother and himself concealed the state in which they lived. Later when Joe was old enough he began boxing for money, which led into what he’d hoped would have been easy money. He was not the most talented fighter but he proved to be one of the most tenacious, often time battling until he could no longer hold himself up. During one of his matches he went 17 rounds against cruiser-weight and was knocked down 42 times before scoring a K.O.
• Joe has only recently returned America after a stint in England. He was enjoying the criminality of the burgeoning rum running economy when his aunt requested he return as a companion for his cousin. Unable to deny anyone he loves anything; he returned and accompanied his cousin to Helmsley House, which the latter was due to inherit. There, he briefly reunited with his first love, where he was subsequently rebuffed. He then returned to America to find his partner had driven their business into the ground good and proper.
• Joe is secretly a romantic. He longs for a good, solid home and love in a way that is uncommon for those who do his type of work. He is also unerringly loyal, often times to his detriment.
Relationships: TBD
Played By: Jensen Ackles

Taken By: dreamboat
Name: Lorraine Porter
Age: Twenty-five
Personality: Epicurean, pleasant, gregarious, bohemian, frivolous.
Three Life Facts:
• The third-born daughter of a donut maker and his wife, Lorraine spent her early years portly, perpetually covered in bakers flour, and convinced she’d go on to fill out her father’s rather generously-sized apron as a fifth-generation pastry cook and, surprisingly, had no qualms with any of the above. On the contrary, a unendingly cheerful child, Lorraine fast became known for her infectious smiles and agreeable nature; though she was never particularly popular with the fellows she had no shortage of friends, if not because of her good humor than the treats she’d share at school, hand-made and fresh from her father’s first batch of the morning. Unfortunately, when Lorraine was a teenager her family’s shop was bullied out of business when a larger bakery opened down the lane, owned by some wealthy fat cat and boasting both lower prices and more variety. Her father found new work as a parcel delivery man but the creature comforts Lorraine had grown to rely on dried up and she slimmed down within the span of a summer. As the tide of her family’s luck changed, so too did the perspective of the boys at her school, when Lorraine was suddenly slim and too poor to snack on an unending stash of donuts. Her last few years of proper schooling were a whirlwind of short-lived romances.
• Stumbling into the film industry was 99.9% pure happy accident. Having few other marketable skills or attributes beyond an expressive, precocious face and stylishly slim boyish physique, it was either silent film starlet or rouged-up harlot, trading half-hearted hand jobs for pennies in a back alley. Lorraine was lucky in that she caught the right eye, at the right time, and only had to 'lie back and take it' from one or two Hollywood executives rather than an unending fleet in a bordello and suddenly she was the newest film darling, swooning into Rudolph Valentino’s arms again and again, picture after picture. The very man, in fact, she’d go on to fall head over heels in love with—given enough on-screen swooning—though it was sadly unrequited and Lorraine soon turned to imbibing first to overcome unfamiliar feelings of melancholy, then simply because she could. And wanted to. And finally because she didn’t know herself otherwise, sauced and only vaguely aware of her surroundings at any given time.
• Lorraine is gradually working towards an early, tragic grave and though some small part of her recognizes that, the happy majority is blithe to smother said small part with another tumbler of gin. She’s at the peak of her film career, ridiculously wealthy, and unfettered by obligation beyond whatever tenuous ties still remain to her family back in New Jersey and much like those memorable years learning how it was to be attractive back in high school, Lorraine’s enjoying the ride while it lasts. However long it’s meant to last.
Relationships: tba
Played By: Lily Rabe

Taken By: dreamboat
Name: Matthew Bellamy
Age: Twenty-eight
Personality: Affable, sincere, (slightly) hedonistic, ingenuous (to a fault), resolute.
Three Life Facts:
• Though by no means a child of overabundant privilege, Matthew grew up in a loving, almost sitcom-esque middle class household and wanted for nothing. His father, wealthy enough from inheritance and a good paying job as an investment banker, was able to provide necessary comforts and then some, and Matthew’s childhood was bolstered by vacations, boat trips and front row seats at all the best sport matches. It was idyllic and wonderful and made for the perfect bubble to shield innocent young Matthew from the horrors of the Real World. Up until somewhere around his eighteenth birthday, when he’d decided to set out on his own.
• His hometown is New York City, but he’s been virtually all over the globe as a result of his ‘eat pray love’ journey of self-discovery. At some point, maybe in China, he’d run out of mom and dad’s money and worked his way back across the world entirely on his own, during which time he acquired a reality check, an accidental (vulgar) tattoo, and a deep, unyielding desire to experience the world in a new way. Shortly after his return to America, he picked up the piano, moved to Chicago, and fell head over heels in love with the jazz scene. His family didn’t exactly approve, at all, especially when he joined up with a predominantly black band.
• When first informed of Helmsley House and his brand new responsibilities as Heir apparent, Matthew had thought it was a joke. His own mother had sought him out, tracked him down to some embarrassingly seedy club and pled with him to leave his life of 'sin and debauchery' for a new new life in Yorkshire, and he’d almost laughed in her face. One week later, he was boarding a boat to England, accompanied only by his older cousin Joseph, and wishing desperately he wasn’t so easily manipulated by tears and motherly guilt. Four years later, having recently returned from Yorkshire in favor of his beloved hometown, Matthew’s inner monologue of regrets hasn’t but multiplied in length.
Relationships: tba
Played By: Chris Evans

Taken By: degausser
Name: George Abernathy
Age: Thirty-Eight
Theme Song: Oats in the Water by Ben Howard
Personality: Reticent, Melancholy, Stern, Prudent and Humble.
Three Life Facts:
• Liverpool born and bred, George spent his formative years running around with a rag tag crew of miscreants that raked up a number of petty misdemeanors all in the spirit of boredom and a “good time.” Boxing saved George from a life of crime, and the combination of hard work and natural talent led to a promising career until an injury to his left eye killed his dream indefinitely. In the decade that followed George found himself in a perpetually drunken state, unable to cope with his failed dreams or reconcile the truth of his sexuality which had him abandon the one person who might have been able to help him face his new uncertain future.
• It was George’s former boxing mentor that discovered him living in a decrepit run-down London flat and helped set him on the path of rehabilitation. Upon vacating the position of valet for British aristocrat, Edmund Bellamy, Richard Warsaw recommended George to fill his vacancy, believing his young protégé would benefit from a change in scenery. In his tenure with the Bellamys, George took command of his sobriety and his life, while his diligence, hard work and discretion earned the respect of his employers. That all threatened to unravel upon the chance arrival of a one, Joseph Eckley, former boxing partner and lover. Once again forced to confront a past believed to be dead and buried, George found himself turning to the lesser of two perceived evils, effectively undoing three and a half years of sobriety.
• In time George reunited with his former lover but unable to view their relationship as anything more than a vice and a sin, in a tragic turn of irony, George found himself the one abandoned after Joe grew fed up with his unwillingness to live together openly. Once again finding himself at a crossroads and after deciding another change of scenery was needed, George returned to his roots and accepted a training position at a boxing gym in New York City. He is now eight months sober.
Relationships: TBD
Played By: Misha Collins

Taken By: Captivating
Name: Stanley (Stan) Mills
Age: 29
Personality: Snarky, Selfish, Perceptive, Territorial, and Paranoid
Three Life Facts:
• Stanley Mills' life started when he shot his abusive stepfather (sweet freedom) and ended the second his mother called the police. Stanley was only twelve. The idiotic slut who bore him called him mad. Mad for murdering the man who mistreated her. Stanley heard the word on loop while shuffled through the system. He quickly learned to adopt the insult as a badge of honor. Always striking before struck, always cursing before cursed, Stan survived through intimidation. Only, he played the part too well. At sixteen, his reputation turned into a self fulfilling prophecy. Stan killed his parol officer in cold blood and fled the scene. He ran straight to New York from his native New Jersey. A murderer for the second time, he took to the streets. Drugs did their damage shortly after. Stanley was homeless and strung out on drugs when the crime lord Frank Gallagher crossed his path. Frank spotted the reckless teenager poisoning himself in an alley and offered his services. He promised Stan a job and sanctuary if he got clean. It took Stan six months to get his act together but true to his word, Frank welcomed him into his business and showed him the ropes. Initially an amateur smuggler, Stan currently serves as a right hand man for his employer's bootlegging operation. He also uses his talents for prostitution dealings when necessary, not that his arm requires twisting.
• Look up the word shady in the dictionary and the name Stanley Mills will undoubtedly be printed beside it. In black, bold ink. Though Stan is currently loyal to the Gallagher clan, betrayal is not out of the question. After all, self preservation reigns supreme. If push comes to shove, the only God Stan will serve in the end is himself. He is always watching and listening to remain one step ahead. A side effect of his criminal past and present, Stan is constantly paranoid. His stoic silence and good looks tempt people to underestimate him but they'd be wise to shake off their assumptions. Stanley knows and remembers more about people's private lives than they do. He is well versed in both the inner workings of the Gallagher and Duval families, and everyone in between.
• Stanley is bi-polar with signs of schizophrenia emerging. Frank has been forced to cover up more than one 'accidental' death on Stanely's account. He does so to preserve his business and avoid losing a valuable employee. Stanley's episodes do not discriminate. Wealthy clients have gone 'missing' if they can't pay up and the occasional prostitute has 'vanished' after foreplay gone wrong. Stanley rarely remembers his actions after the fact. Rage blackouts, the medical books call it. Stanely calls it was it is - madness. Just as his mother said.
PB: Cillian Murphy

Disclaimer and Rules:
This game is loosely inspired by the shows Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey as well as the book/movie The Great Gatsby with an emphasis the clash between old-world/new money cultural ideas, prohibition and bootlegging and the decadence of the 1920s party lifestyle. The two towns of King’s Point and Sands Point were the inspiration for The Great Gatsby’s “East Egg” and “West Egg” and thus can be looked to for reference. The two families will have their houses literally across the bay from one another.
+ There is no boy/girl rule in the sense that everyone must write for an equal amount of gendered characters, but if someone is taking two girls and one boy I would like you to find someone else to take that extra boy you are not playing.
+ I don’t want this game full of teenagers. The family dynamics of these two families greatly depends on the involvement of the “adults.” So try to play at least one adult if you can, whether it’s a family member or an associate.
+ Be respectful of one another.
+ This is a mature game. Mature things will happen. Deal with it and deal with it tastefully. Thanks.

Profile:

Taken By: You
Name: Your character’s name
Age: Your character’s age
Theme Song: Optional
Personality: Five adjectives
Three Life Facts: Three facts that serve as background information and an expansion on your character’s personality.
Relationships: To be filled in later
Played By:

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:36 PM

Reserving space for potential profiles.

Link to previous installment

Also, Letty helpfully adds this from beyond the grave:

Note on the families:
I did not list all the available "progeny" for the two families because I did not want it to be too limiting. However, if we suddenly have ten "grandchildren" running around for the Duvals, or likewise, for the Gallaghers, I will limit it. So feel free to stake your claim as well as the coveted title of eldest son (in the case of the Gallaghers) if you so desire.

Informative Links:
North Shore (Long Island) – Information on the North Shore of Long Island
King's Point – Information on King’s Point
Sands Point – Information on Sand’s Point
The Roaring Twenties – Information on the cultural impact of the 1920s

Captivating · 01-03-2015, 11:42 PM

As requested (commanded):

Save me Gallagher family wife number one, PB: Jessica Chastain. Also, a late teen/young adult daughter for the Duvals, PB: Undecided. And a shady Gallagher associate, PB: Cillian Murphy.

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:43 PM

I'm so surprised Letty isn't doing it. So surprised. But pleased it's happening, regardless.

If Sarah isn't making an appearance this go 'round, are we going to do anything with the Helmsley crew?

Captivating · 01-03-2015, 11:45 PM

I wasn't planning on bringing Camille in since Sarah is MIA.

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:46 PM

That's understandable. I wonder what Letty is planning?

I'm bringing in Matthew, but could easily tweak his reasons for being there if the rest of the crew aren't tagging along.

Captivating · 01-03-2015, 11:50 PM

Hmmm. Your call how you want to approach it, but I'm thinking there would still be the Helmsley family connection regardless (i.e. Camille was a Duval before marrying and moving to Downton). If you don't want to rewrite too much of his backstory I can always drop my Duval girl and play a Bellamy daughter he's engaged to. Not that it has to last. I'm basically game for any and everything lol.

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:54 PM

I'm ALSO totally fine with rewriting Matthew a bit to suit the story, since this game isn't 'technically' 100% a sequel to Helmsley House.

I'd certainly be up for the idea of having his wife/fiancée in the game.

The only concrete bits of his character I'd need to retain are his back story, relationship to Joe, and personality (of course). Since I've played him so briefly, he's perfectly capable of being reworked for the sake of a plot or storyline.

Wayward Melody · 01-03-2015, 11:54 PM

Save me Joe and one female, undecided spot.

winter soldier · 01-03-2015, 11:56 PM

She means Joe and three undecided spots.

Captivating · 01-04-2015, 12:02 AM

I'll shoot you a PM tomorrow, Em.

Now I really must enter dream land.

winter soldier · 01-04-2015, 12:06 AM

Sounds good!

I literally want ALL the characters. Would it be wrong to take Ray Hornsby as well? Yeesh. I don't have a Duval, either.

There's also a potential to alter my characters from the old installment to make them more closely linked to the families. I'm considering making Finn a Gallagher.

degausser · 01-04-2015, 01:13 PM

Gasp!

You took my Cillian Murphy.

I'm bringing back almost everyone from last time:

Elder Duval Matriarch played by Jessica Lange
Youngest Gallagher Daughter ~~wild child~~ played by Jennifer Lawrence

And George (Mischa Collins), obviously. I'll have to get with Mandy to figure out time line and stuff.

And a fourth male character. Maybe I'll use Henry Cavill again, but tweak him to a more Peaky Blinders type flair.

winter soldier · 01-04-2015, 01:23 PM

You know what the best way to solve this problem is? CILLIAN MURPHY EVIL TWINS.

.... Actually that sounds pretty awesome. Like. Seriously. DO IT.

degausser · 01-04-2015, 02:13 PM

Two Cillian Murphy's would make you explode I'm pretty sure.

I'll figure something out one way or another. I need to finish season 1 before I even make the character.


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