Did You Run a Whorehouse?
for Phoebe
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
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#1
Amanda wound her way through the streets of Haulani, thinking over her rather odd encounter with the sex god. It hadn't been remotely what she had expected. Well, she had expected the sex god to be, well, sexy. But their interaction had been confusing, alluring, and yet disgusting at the same time.

But she had succeeded in her negotiations. She'd convinced the sex god to make a deal. And she was going to get something, finally, out of one of the gods. For the first time in the Abandoned's life, she had a use for the gods.

She searched the houses that wound their way up the steep streets of the city. It was still unseasonably cold, and Amanda regretted her choice to wear a dress to the shrine. But she didn't feel like going home to change, and besides, she thought it would help make a better impression on her "friend." It felt weird to have long skirts swishing around her legs, and she didn't like the way the men she passed were looking at her, but it would have to do.

She scowled at a man who looked a little too closely at her, pushing her way past him on the way to the address Flora had given her. When she arrived at the right place, she knocked as loud as she could, repeating the knock perhaps a few more times than were necessary.

When the door eventually opened, she said, "Hi! Remember me? Frey sent me. Did you used to run a whorehouse?"
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
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#2
PHOEBE
Phoebe was home, doing what she usually did - which was keep the house. Dusting and mopping and cooking, she was a whirlwind of activity. Anything to keep her mind off her problems or missing her son who was away at his father and step-mother's home. But then there came a knocking, insistent no-less, on her door.

She didn't know what she expected, but she certainly hadn't expected to see the abandoned woman from the shrine on her stoop. The Nightingale blinked slowly as the woman spewed out questions. Well then. "Hello. Yes, I was the madame of the brothel the Halenani." she said slowly, unsure where this was going.
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
Played by: Terra Omen Offline
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#3
"Good," Amanda said. She brushed past the woman into the house without waiting to be invited. "Nice place." She looked around, hands on her hips, giving a nod of approval. "You should come decorate my place. I live in a pig sty."

She looked around until she found the first piece of furniture, plopping down on it and putting her feet up, ankles crossed, on a nearby table. "So," she said, "like I said, Frey sent me. I went back and got them to make a deal with me. I get a nifty magic sex item, and all I have to do is talk to you," she pointed at Phoebe," and a couple of other people about sex and stuff."

She leaned back, crossing her arms behind her head. "Oh, I'm Amanda, by the way. Don't think I introduced myself last time we met."

"So, tell me about being a whore boss. Did you fuck people yourself, or just give orders to the other girls about what they had to do?"
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
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#4
PHOEBE
Phoebe bristled as Amanda barged right in. Really she wasn't certain she had met such a rude person in her life. But she muttered a thank you at the complement about her house, keeping her mouth shut that she wasn't surprised the other woman lived in a pig sty. "It takes work to keep a home looking like this." she said simply. And somehow she doubted decorations would fix Amanda's home style.

Again she bristled as Amanda spoke of her former work so crassly. "Madame's run the business, they don't work it. And no I didn't give orders. I protected a vulnerable population of men and women who would otherwise have been abused by customers." she said, crossing her arms. "I made sure the prostitutes were paid and housed and clothed and fed and had access to medical and child care. A brothel is a business that sells sex, not a free for all."
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
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#5
Amanda nodded along with the explanation. As a businesswoman herself, she could respect what Phoebe was saying.

"Gotta protect the merchandise, got it. I betcha got a lot of rowdy clients in a place like that. Did you have bouncers? Anyone to throw out a guy or girl who got too rough with your goods? Or did you just take care of that yourself with your fancy girlfriend-of-a-god powers that you've got?"

She looked around, continuing to admire the place. She picked up a few of the knick knacks and decorations laying around, turning them this way and that to examine them with a critical eye. A few things that would fetch a decent price. When she was done examining each item, she put it back...in the wrong place. Then she picked up a fragile one and started tossing it up and down with one hand like a ball.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
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#6
PHOEBE
"I wouldn't call the prostitutes merchandise. They were people." she clarified. "We only had rowdy customers at first. People learned quickly that didn't fly at my brothel. It was a very upstanding place. And yes there was a bouncer and he usually only had to intimidate people." she said, watching as Amanda picked up this and that.

Though Phoebe took pride in her home, there were very few physical possessions she felt emotionally attached to. Being tossed here and there did that to a person.

That they were in the wrong spot? Irksome.

But when Amanda grabbed a fragile piece and began to toss it she cringed. "Please put that down. It is fragile and I don't want to clean up a mess." she said quickly, voice tight.
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
Played by: Terra Omen Offline
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Posts: 117 | Total: 419
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#7
"Don't worry, I'm not going to drop---whoa!"

Amanda--quite deliberately-- fumbled and started to drop the fragile decoration. She let it tumble to the floor...then caught it with her telekinesis right before it hit the ground.

When she saw the look on Phoebe's face, she laughed out loud. "Oh, calm down, Pheebs. I'm not going to break your stuff."

She tossed the item over to Phoebe, then continued her line of questioning.

Pacing around the room and looking at every little thing, she asked, "So, what's the difference between an 'upstanding' whorehouse and a...not...upstanding one? Like, did you have better whores than the other places? Silkier bed sheets? Harp music playing while people fucked? Like..."

She flopped down on the couch.

"...what really makes a whorehouse upstanding? I mean, people come there, they get their rocks off, and they go home. How do you make that all respectable and stuff?"
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
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#8
PHOEBE
Phoebe flinched, holding her breath as the trinket began to fall...only to stop midair by some magical force. Telekinesis was Amanda's power then. She sighed, glad it didn't break but nearly fumbled it when it was tossed to her suddenly. Apparently a heart attack was what Amanda was after.

"By reminding people that it is respectable." she said, setting the trinket back on its shelf. "You pay a carpenter for woodwork. That's respectable. You pay a maid to clean. That's respectable. And you pay a prostitute for sex. That's respectable too - so you treat it respectably. My brothel was clean, my prostitutes well kept, and my clients knew any disrespect would be met with the door."
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
Played by: Terra Omen Offline
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#9
Amanda snorted out a laugh. "You just...say it's respectable, and it makes it respectable." She laughed harder, shaking her head.

"A carpenter's respectable if he makes good quality woodwork. A maid is respectable if you trust she won't rob you while she's tidying up. Did you charge extra for your 'respectable' whores? Cause if it were me, I wouldn't pay extra unless I'm getting some good quality fucking out of it."

She scratched her head, trying to put together what Frey expected her to get out of this. So far, it seemed like a waste of time. Though she was enjoying messing with Phoebe. The girl was cute when she got all flustered. Just like Flora.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
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Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#10
PHOEBE
"No, you set the standard." Phoebe said with a sigh. Was nothing she said getting through to her? "What's the difference between a brothel with well kept prostitutes, that is clean and serving champagne, and a brothel that is run down and dingy and the prostitutes are sick and dirty? Respectability." she said with a curt nod.

"Besides, prostitutes treated well perform better than those that aren't. If you give the greatest carpenter in the world the worst tools he won't make his best work. Sex work is no different."
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
Played by: Terra Omen Offline
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Posts: 117 | Total: 419
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#11
"Set the standard?" Amanda scratched her head, then her eyebrows shot up. "Ahh! You try to make your place the one everyone else strives to match, eh? Drive out the competition by making sure they have to struggle to keep up with you. I bet the champagne helps, too. Got to add the little frilly touches. Like them fancy restaurants with the parsley on the plates. Doesn't matter if you eat it, long as it looks tasty, right?" She nudged Phoebe with her elbow, winking at her.

She rubbed her chin, considering the various angles of it all. Definitely sounded like you needed to be an expert in your field to make it work. She could respect that--a business was a business, and you couldn't be sloppy about it if you wanted to do good work.

"Okay," she said, nodding, "greatest carpenter with the best tools...you've told me about the tools, what about the people? Other than being clean and treated nice..." She waved her hand dismissively at those trivialities. "...how do you get a good quality hooker? Do you hold interviews? If I were a carpenter, I wouldn't hire someone new without seeing how good they were with the tools. You like, make the girls give a trial fuck before they can sign up?"

This was certainly proving educational, but she still didn't get why Frey had sent her here. What did the god get out of it by having her learn how brothels worked? Learning this stuff was the service Amanda had to perform to get the goods she wanted, but usually, you had someone perform a service because it benefited you in some way. How did teaching Amanda about brothels benefit Frey in any way?

"Why do you think Frey sent me here?" she asked distractedly. Phoebe certainly knew more about the sex god than she did. Maybe she would have some answers.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
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Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#12
PHOEBE
A trial run. By the gods. It was all Phoebe could do to keep from having her hand run down her face. "Most of my prostitutes had been in the industry for a few years. And I supported them worshipping Frey to make sure they had someone knowledgeable to ask or practice with." she said. No she didn't do a trial run! "And they practiced with each other. It was a safe learning environment."

The next question threw her for a loop though. Why did Frey send her here? To bother her clearly. "I can't say I know how Frey's mind works but I built the brothel in their honor to protect the people they love the most. Perhaps its so you understand how meaningful it is to them?"
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name
Amanda Branford
Scavenger

Age: 27 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 1 - Strg: 5 - Dext: 12 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 2 - Int:
Played by: Terra Omen Offline
Change author:
Posts: 117 | Total: 419
MP: 0
#13
Amanda scratched her head. "You built a brothel...specifically to honor a god? I figured you'd have built it to, y'know, make profit." She had been beginning to think that she understood Phoebe, one businesswoman to another. But apparently not.

"So let me get this straight," she said, pacing back and forth and gesturing with her hands as she talked. "Frey is the sex god, so they really like hookers, and hookers can ask Frey for advice on how to...hook better. Or to just practice on Frey themselves."

She thought back to her encounter with Frey, her face turning red. Yeah, she could see Frey being the sort to teach that sort of thing hands-on.

"So you'd find a bunch of street-walkers with a few years of experience under their belts. Got it. Searching for the talent, offer them a better gig if they come to your place. Pretty it up, make it all nice and fancy, let the merchandise practice on each other, everyone has a good time."

She snapped her fingers, her eyes going wide. "Aha!" She pointed right at Phoebe. "I get it now!"

She rubbed her hands together, grinning. "You said you 'supported' them worshiping Frey. But that's not it at all. Oh," she waved a hand dismissively, "maybe that's what you thought you were doing. But I see Frey's tricks now. They want you to bring in these street walkers, show them a nicer way of life, let them live in luxury, drinking champagne and getting down and dirty with each other. And the workers are so grateful for being lifted up off the streets that they're ready to get down on their knees for Frey. Err, in prayer and worship, not in...never mind, with Frey, that's probably the same thing."

She held one hand out to the side, palm up. "Your workers get a nice, new, clean, better life that makes them soooo grateful to Frey for making their lives better." She held her other hand out to the other side. And Frey gets new worshipers for...I dunno, whatever gods need worshipers for." Maybe the gods got off on having people pray to them. She didn't know. But clearly they wanted to be worshiped, and the more worshipers, the better.

"It's a scam. A profitable scam, I'm sure. Must have been raking in the profits, what with your classy upscale joint and all. But the whole point of it is to get people to love Frey more. Heck, I bet the hookers call out Frey's name when they're servicing clients. And you probably got the customers praying to Frey, too. The entire industry just gets Frey more believers. Frey's just a businessman...woman...person. A businessgod."

She nodded seriously. She was confident she'd figured it out.
Phoebe Steadman
the Nightingale
Midwife

Age: 26 | Height: 5'9" | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Greatwood
Level: 5 - Strg: 32 - Dext: 46 - Endr: 41 - Luck: 41 - Int:
PIM - Mythical - Dragon (Electricity) BRANBAST - Mythical - Sear Cat (Speech)
Played by: Grant Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,062 | Total: 5,479
MP: 1825
#14
PHOEBE
Phoebe listened to Amanda's tirade in silence. There were glimmers of understanding. Hints of insight. But oh the conclusions were so, so wrong. Again the urge to smack her own face was nearly overwhelming. But she resisted once more and took a slow, deep breath in through her nose...then a slow breath out through her mouth. This was fine. Everything was fine. You know why?

She didn't care.

She didn't care if the wrong conclusions were drawn. She didn't care if Amanda understood. Frey had simply commanded that she speak to her and nothing more. What she did with the information wasn't her problem. "Sure. The god of nature and sex was more interested in followers than sex. Yup." Phoebe said, nodding.
You thought you'd watch me fade away
When you broke me into pieces
But I gave I gave each piece a name


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