Ritchie & Vin Blakeslee

Look. If we didn't hand out money like this, Dumas wouldn't run. We help people get on their feet so they can contribute something meaningful, yeah? But we aren't a charity. We'd be squatting if we didn't ask for something back. We scratch your back, and you scratch ours. Fair deal?

— Munro Blakeslee

Richard "Ritchie" Luke Blakeslee and Munro "Vin" Vincent Blakeslee are moneylenders operating in the Dumas System, with offices on OnRamp Beta and Vallon. Co-running the Blakeslee Brothers Lending Services since the retirement of their father in 442 IE, Munro also operates a restaurant on the OnRamp.

History

The Blakeslee family, consisting of Marilyn Harding and Richard Blakeslee Senior, originally hailed from Vallon, with Richard having operated a money lending business on his own for some years prior to the birth of Richard Junior in 401 IE. In 403 they relocated to the recently-opened OnRamp Beta, considering the financial possibilities too lucrative to pass up.
Ritchie and Vin both received good educations, with Ritchie particularly pushed towards the mathematical and accounting skills necessary to inherit his father's business, joining him as an employee in 422. Munro instead focused on the culinary arts, opening a restaurant with his boyfriend Vincent Thorben, taking advantage of a repossession made by his father to claim the property.
Vin became properly involved in the Blakeslee business in the wake of the Pythian Flu epidemic of the 430s, which saw Richard Sr. lessen his involvement due to ill health. At this time it was renamed to the Blakeslee Brothers Lending Services, possibly to make Vin feel better about needing to take attention away from his restaurant. Their father officially stepped back from the business in 442 following the death of his wife, with the brother's themselves taking time off to mourn.
The two have co-run the business since, with some involvement from Vin's eldest son Valentin. Under their ownership, the lending service has retained a reputation for exorbitant interest rates and heavy-handed collection tactics, despite Vin's personal reputation as an affable man.

Social Ties

Ritchie

Ex-Wife Isa Ziegler Wife Aoife Fleming-Harrelson Daughter Ria Ziegler Son Richard Ziegler Son Lonán Richard Blakeslee

Vin

Husband Vincent Thorben Son Valentin Blakeslee Son Vaughn Blakeslee

Though only Ritchie was born on Vallon, both have deep ties to the Vallonese business world through their parents. Ritchie cultivates these connections most, regularly jetting planetside to talk with industrial highrollers such as Diede van der Karmozijn. It was through these sectors that he met his first wife, Isa Ziegler, who divorced him in 431 shortly after the birth of their son Richard. His second wife, Aoife Fleming-Harding, is also a Vallonese socialite, keeping expensive company and cultivating friends as far abroad as the neighbouring Morrígan System.
Vin keeps stronger ties to the OnRamp, largely within the hospitality industry due to his restaurant which he co-owns with his husband, Vincent Thorben. The two raise two sons together, with young Valentin assisting in the lending business.

Richard Luke Blakeslee

Also Known As
Ritchie, Richard Jr. Age 47 Gender M Height 1.726m Blood Type O- D.O.B 29 September 0401 IE Place of Birth

Dúngaile, Vallon, Dumas System

Current Residence

Port District, OnRamp Beta, Dumas System

Ethnicity Vallonese, American background Occupation Moneylender Current Employer Blakeslee Brothers Lending Services

Munro Vincent Blakeslee

Also Known As
Vin Age 43 Gender M Height 1.764m Blood Type B- D.O.B 17 July 0405 IE Place of Birth Port District, OnRamp Beta, Dumas System Current Residence Port District, OnRamp Beta, Dumas System Ethnicity Vallonese, American background Occupation Moneylender, Restaurateur Current Employer Blakeslee Brothers Lending Services, Vin&Vin Vices Family Mother

Marilyn Simonette Harding

Father Richard Luke Blakeslee Sr.

Since the day I joined the Gersemi, I've dealt with these vultures, taking nearly every mote of profit. Richard is lucky his brother has a respectable business that he can hide behind when we call them vampires.

— Andrea Seward, Accountant and Ship Captain