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madam_phoebe (204174)

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Name:

Phoebe Jane Reed Smith

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brokendelusions@hotmail.com

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Bio:

:: History ::

Phoebe was born in Colorado, to a lawman and a dance hall girl. She was born and raised in a simple life, and then on her 14th birthday her father introduced her to Rufus. Phoebe hated the man at first, mostly hated him after that too, but at 15 the two were wed.

As Phoebe's husband, Rufus, moved her from her simply life to Bodie, CA when she was only 16. Then abandoned her a few short months later, riding off on his horse one night and leaving her with nothing. She tried to make it at first, but with no skills it was impossible and she soon found herself working in the local brothel. The first year she truly hated it. Hated that she was forced into it by a man, hated that she was there. Hated everything about it (well, except the part where she was no longer expected to be a proper lady). Then she started to relax and actually talk with the other girls, and soon she started to almost enjoy it. Sure the actually sex was generally not that thrilling, but for the most part the boys were charming and fun. They had pretty good clients and most girls only got roughed up once or twice (it would sometimes take the hired guard a moment to hear the girls), if that much.

Phoebe worked in the brothel for 13 years, longer then anyone else had. Most of the girls would retire or move or end up marrying a client, something. But Phoebe, she stuck with it. On her 10th anniversary, the Madam began talking with her about becoming a madam herself. Nothing came of it at first, but it was something that always kind of thrilled Phoebe. She always noticed things that she felt could be done differently or better.

3 years later talk of Shelby being rebuilt spread through Bodie. This news pleased the Madam, and soon Phoebe found herself packing her bags and heading to Shelby to stake the town out. When she made her way back to spread the news that New Shelby was truly new, she purposed her plan of starting a new brothel there. At first the Madam wasn't pleased, she'd been planning to pass the brothel down to Phoebe. But soon another girl stepped up for the job and Phoebe headed off to Shelby.

It took a couple months to get the place up and running, and at first they only had a few girls. But soon Reed's House was a real running brothel. It was about that time that Donnie and his boys started coming in. At first Phoebe hadn't planned to take on many if any clients of her own for a while, but she couldn't not take him on. He simply struck her interest, especially once he'd layed down the law to his boys. After that, well had she been a proper lady she just might have been smitten with him. But being that she was far from a proper lady, she kept him as a regular client, sharing information that had slipped to her and her girls to him.

The brothel continued to thrive, some girls left, some girls arrived, but nothing overly eventful went down until 1873. When the then 38 year old Phoebe found herself with child. When the bouncing baby boy was born, everyone was sure things were going to go all to hell, but Phoebe took to the child (she'd loved Annie so dearly and loosing her had been what made children so hard and awkward for the woman), Kaleb. Despite being a mother to a child of her own, she continued running the brothel, though she saw fewer clients of her own.

The whores all took well to having Kaleb around, since nothing else changed because of him. Phoebe moved from the upstairs to the basement, where she set up a separate room for him near hers, so when she did have clients he wasn't in the room with them.

Then, in 1878, not long after the brothel celebrated Kaleb's fourth birthday, tragedy struck. While standing out in front of the house, greeting a new client in fact, another client arrive by horse and carriage. All would have been fine, except a gunshot in the distance startled the horse, causing it to rear up, and when it's hoofs landed only seconds later, it happened to be Phoebe they landed on. An unlucky hoof to the ribs, it took a couple days, with her in extreme pain, unable to breath properly, but soon the cracked rib which nicked her left lung took her life.

Despite being dead, Phoebe has no interest in leaving the brothel she'd worked so hard for, and no interest in not watching Kaleb grow and thrive. She stuck to the brothel for years, watching her odd family grow. Kaleb left New Shelby in 1888, and when the fire ravaged the city, Phoebe had never been more glad for something. Of course she tried to get all the girls out, make sure they were safe, but being a ghost wasn't very useful in helping those plans along.

Through out the years, when random travelers would make it into the remains of the city, she would stick to the brothel, keeping a close eye on them to make sure no one toyed with what was hers.

When people came into town and started demolishing and rebuilding she was very wary, taking unkindly to those who neared the brothel at first. Though not quite as violently as some had been, she did cause a few bumps and bruises to people. Whenever the living would come near the brothel, she kept a close eye on them, doing what she could to show her unhappiness, should they toy with something she didn't want them too, or tried to change something she wanted left untouched.

She has quite a bit of fun when the tour groups come through the brothel. It's not unusually for the living to claim to have felt someone gently caress them, or even occasionally something as cheeky as a pat or pinch on the arse.

With the new activity arriving in Shelby, Phoebe is quite excited to see what happens, but also wary of those who come near her beloved brothel. She's heard a rumor of descendants coming through, and she must admit, the prospect of seeing the Reed line alive and well has excited her.

:: Personality ::

Phoebe wasn't, still isn't really, exactly your typical Madam. She's not sweet by any means, but she cares about folk. Not all folk, since some are just scum, but she wasn't the type to turn a solider away simply because of that. She cares deeply for her girls and would kill for them. She's fiery and won't put up with any bull from anyone (not even when it'll get her in trouble or tossed around). First impressions are very important to her, as she quickly forms opinions on things and is very, very slow to change them after that. She's stubborn, won't back down from her views and won't change her mind. She's can also be a terrible bitch when needs be. She's a lot like a Mama Bear. If you don't fuck with her or her cubs she'll mostly ignore you, but if you fuck with anyone, anyone she cares about, she'll have it out for you.

Phoebe loves her job and her home. She loves all her girls and Angelo, and doing what she can for them. And she loves those rare men who treat them all right. She's got a firey hate for men who mistreat them. For people who try to pull one over on her and horses. Burn biscuits and Rufus, too. She's got a constant fear of anything happening to her girls and Angelo, herself, the brothel, and Donnie and his. Though she keeps that all to herself. It's part of why she's taught herself how to handle a gun, while no Annie Oakley, she's a fine shot. She wields a mighty frying pan (or whatever is handy) as well. However, give her a knife and she's likely toast. Though she's better with one then she is with horses, or being a poper lady. She can't make a biscuit to save her life, yet she keeps trying.

:: As a Ghost ::

The madame fits somewhere between benevolent and hostile. She doesn't try to attack the living for simply stepping into town, but she does not take kindly to anyone messing with the brothel in a negative way. Her thoughts vary on the living. Some of them she finds interesting, those tend to be the ones she plays cheeky with. And some of them she'd like to hit upside the head with a frying pan.

:: Stats ::

Name: Phoebe Jane Reed Smith; Phoebe Reed
Date of Birth: August 12, 1835
Date of Death:
Eye & Hair Color: Brown; Brown
Height & Weight: 5'6; 140
Appearance: Dark brown hair. Brown eyes that seem to have just a hint of green to them. She stands at 5'6, feeling that tall enough to mostly wear flat soled shoes. She's got a small build, not nearly as curvy as most girls in the business. Has a small mole above her left eyebrow and multiple scars all up and down her right arm. She wears corsets and silk while working. While out and about (depending on the errand) she wears corsets still, but her skirts tended to not be as full and she always has mostly flat soled cowboy boots on. She tries to not wear anything too flashy, she's proud of what she's got, but she isn't over the top in flaunting it. She leaves that to Isobel. Though when it's just her and the girls, or if she's off doing other kinds of errands, she prefers a man's shirt and trousers.
Ethnicity: English and part Spanish.
Spoken Languages: English, some Spanish.
Job: Madam at Reed's House
Religion: -
Sexuality: She prefers men, but if a female client of interest came in, well, she wouldn't turn them away.
Family: William & Jane [parents], William Jr [brother], Annabel [sister], Rufus [ex-husband], Annie [daughter; w/Rufus; died as a baby], Kaleb [son; with?]
Birth Place: Colorado
Currently Resides: Reed's House Brothel in New Shelby, CA

:: OOC ::

Played At: