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pearlracers-official · 6 months ago

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Pearl Racers cast (part one)

Little personal project I've been working on for the past few months about bootleggers in late 1920s Louisiana, I figured I might as well post their bios here as well since this story has been plaguing me and all of my content as of late lol

Edmund Baptiste

Born January 4, 1882

An upstanding businessman by day, and a ruthless gangster by night, he was the founder of the Pearl, a literal underground burlesque speakeasy. Nicknamed “The Baron of the Crescent City,” Edmund had a finger in every possible business and recreation Louisiana had to offer, from racehorse betting and breeding, hunting, land-lording, and, unsurprisingly, bootlegging, as well as some more underhanded criminal activity even before the States was supposedly dried of all it’s legally acquired liquor. He was the proprietor of the Club d’Aphrodite until the onset of Prohibition, where he then utilized the labyrinth of limestone caves and underground rivers underneath one of his more modest cafes, the White Pony Room. Thus, the Pearl was opened, named after his daughter's beloved horse. A year before the story begins, his bullet-laden body was fished out of the Mississippi, leaving his wife to scramble to hold together his once-grand legacy, and his former employees try to piece together the mysterious circumstances of his death, and, more importantly, who killed him.

Tallulah Baptiste/Oklahombi (maiden name)

Born October 16, 1883

The enervated and dry-humored proprietress of the Pearl. The daughter of wealthy Choctaw oil barons, she married Edmund and moved to the bustling city of New Orleans in late 1904 and had Louise after five years of miscarriages. Since the murder of her husband, people once considered loyal patrons and close friends have vanished in an instant after she became the face of the Pearl. Despite most of her late husband's colleagues now refusing to do business with her, many of the family businesses having to be closed down, and her employees’ spirits being dampened by the melancholic state of the Pearl, she's determined to keep it open by any means necessary.

Louise “Missy” Baptiste

Born March 20, 1909

Known as the “Princess of the Pearl,” by the patrons and employees of the speakeasy, Missy is the bubbly, spoiled, and neurotic energetic daughter of Edmund and Tallulah Baptiste. She's the very pinnacle of a Louisiana belle- between sporting a French Center Part Bob, dressing up to date with the latest fashion trends, heating the dance floor, ready to jump on horseback in any conditions, and leaving a trail of broken hearts (and the occasional bones) of many young suitors and suitresses in her wake. Despite her being spoiled and a bit of a brat, she's well-loved by the employees of the Pearl for a reason. She's sweet as pie, genuinely kind to all, and more than willing to get her hands dirty if it means helping keep the Pearl above water.

Tashka Long Water

Born October 19, 1904

The bookish, impeccably groomed, seldom smiling, and slightly sociopathic triggerman for the Pearl's bootleggers. After an incident in his youth landed him in the care of his aunt Tallulah and her husband, he's been fiercely loyal to the family since. Has a serious case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and proves to be both a blessing and a curse when it comes to his work as a gangster. Has the couth and diction of a deep-pocketed Yankee, but when the facade wears off- should his fuse burn through by the antics of his less classy colleagues, his sensory symmetry be thrown off its groove, or his sophisticated ensemble ruined by an unexpected speck of filth- he turns into a rageful tornado of high-pitched heavy southern screeching and cursing in Chata.

Alek Gamzakov

Born December 3, 1877

A stoic and glaring brick shithouse that makes up the muscle of the Pearl’s bootleggers. The Russian Great War veteran, after an incident that resulted in him separating from his wife and sons, moved from Bath, Maine to Louisiana. Edmund briefly employed him as a bouncer of the Club d’Aphrodite before he permanently switched to racketeering. If you look past his intimidating and gruff exterior, you’d find he has quite the soft spot for the Baptiste family and the other associates with the Pearl, though he’d break a bottle over your head if you dare tease him for it. Or if you tease him for anything, really. Or if he just doesn’t like you or your face, it’s hard telling.

Antoine Louis Paul

Born January 27, 1905

The big-hearted resident handyman for the Pearl. Beautifully bright, and a jack of all trades, whether it be patching up bullet-ridden vehicles, fixing your plumbing, impromptu poetry, playing a mean guitar, killing the Lindy Hop, or occasional bootlegging, the man can do it all. Has a prodigal-level intellect, but his status as a Haitian immigrant bars him from completing any higher education. Despite this, he sees the best in the world, and within the people who reside in it almost to a fault (even to his detriment).

Wilton Lavange

Born February 19, 1904

The twitchy, mouthy, buffoonish gunman for the Pearl Gang. After being kicked out from his parent’s home years ago under circumstances he’d rather not speak of, he’s crashed at his grandmother’s farmhouse a few miles out from the Big Easy, where he’d eventually make his career in rumrunning. Between his Stooge-esque hijinks, absurd luck, and poorly-timed jokes, he’s a remarkably talented shot and fighter, and an even better friend. If his five years of working for the Pearl has taught him anything… it’s not a damn thing. All he knows is he hasn’t died yet, and that’s gotta count for something. His talents include prank-pulling, shooting things, blowing up things, breaking and entering, and playing the tuba. His automatic rifle is his prized possession. Her name is Matilda.

Lydie Ratliff

Born June 30, 1909

The latest addition to the Pearl’s lineup of bootleggers, albeit involuntarily. She’s the pure-hearted and stalwart prize of her grandmother, whom she was raised by after her parents passed from influenza when she was eight. After her grandmother suffered a bad fall that sent her to retirement, Lydie became the sole breadwinner for the two of them. At the start of the story, she’s unwittingly dragged by her older cousin into the world of vice kings, burlesque, gangsters, and jazz. If she were being completely honest, she’d rather smother herself in fish oil and dive naked into croc-infested waters than make an indefinite career in illegal activity, but the pay is good, and it keeps her daddy’s shotgun from rusting, so she sticks around.

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Annnnnd that's it! There are a whole bunch of "main characters" in Pearl Racers, these six are just the first ones I've officially made references for lol

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