Georgette Friloux
Though the business she oversees is one of earthly, carnal pleasures, Georgette herself remains quiet and withdrawn, spurning the advances of many would-be suitors and seemingly disinterested in any conversation that does not pertain to business or influence. Indeed, she scarcely ventures from the Muse at all. Rumors afloat in the lower decks suggest she may not even exist.
[[Georgette is roughly 80% NPC, so I take some liberties with her regional fame/notoriety for the sake of the stories she is involved in. Your character is in no way obligated to have ever heard of her or the Muse!]]
■ Quiet. Silence brings peace and serenity to sensitive ears.
■ Money. Wealth offers security, influence, and power.
■ Order. Chaos is too noisy and unpredictable to be controlled.
■ Knowledge. Knowledge is power, after all.
|
■ Noise. Georgette is extremely averse to loud noise.
■ Chaos. Order is at the heart of her empire. Chaos is unwieldy and unpredictable.
■ Vulnerability. To have any part of her openly exposed is enough to send her into a quiet spiral of panic.
■ Crowds. Noisy, cramped, and chaotic, crowds represent practically everything Georgette hates rolled into one.
|
■ Wealth. Wealth offers comfort, security, and a road paved toward power and influence.
■ Power. Specifically the power to crush competition or those who might cross her in her business endeavors.
■ Influence. Knowing with whom to rub elbows and when has never steered her wrong. Influence spares her from sticky situation and allows her to more easily take the unlawful route, when necessary (or easier).
■ Knowledge. Knowledge of all things at the very least limited to the area. Who knows who, which sea routes are more heavily monitored, at what time does the Yellowjackets’ shift switch over.
|
■ Ruthless. Her true loyalty is hard-won largely due to her own flakiness, but once it is there, it is there for life. Giselle does not commit herself to someone half-heartedly.
■ Ambitious. When she actually manages to apply herself, Giselle is extremely productive. She does hard, fast, and good work.
■ Intelligent. Mental agility serves her both as a craftswoman and a people-person, not to mention on those rare forays into the battlefield.
■ Keen hearing. Even for a Duskwight, Georgette’s hearing excels expectation. It surpasses her sight as her most relied-upon sense.
|
■ Agoraphobic. Being in the midst of a crowd is Georgette’s greatest nightmare, invoking terrible memories from her past alongside the overstimulation that stems from her hearing and a sense of control loss.
■ Phonophobic. Superb hearing has its downsides. Too much noise will stress her out, but especially loud noises, especially in quick succession or sustained, will drive her into panic.
■ Photophobic. With eyes tuned for low light, Georgette has little tolerance for anything greater. Candles and lamps are fine, as is a partially-opened window, but much more and eyewear or a parasol are needed to come between her and a headache at best, temporary blindness at worst.
■ Feeble. Physically weak. She has no combat training or experience save a few scuffles in her distant youth. Should she ever find herself in a physical fight, she’d likely be broken in half quite easily.
|
■ Eerie. Arguably so, but it’s been said all the same. It is difficult to avoid such a label when one prefers to live quietly in the dark.
■ Accent. Georgette speaks with a slight accent of ambiguous origin. Even to an experience linguist, it’d likely be impossible to discern what exactly it is. She also tends towards an archaic Ishgardian manner of speech.
■ Cerebral. Georgette speaks and advises almost solely from the head over the heart. Her worldview can seem nonchalantly cruel and she has an inclination toward metaphors pulled from a cold and detached intellect.
|
Her face is one of classic beauty (at least according to the songs sailors sing of it); a slim, hooked nose, a square jaw, a slightly protruding chin, high cheeks and deep-set eyes that tend toward the tired or the sad. Her eyebrows are thick but kept neatly shaped, rarely deviating from their lofty shelf that lends toward a look of sleepiness.
To call her manner of dress modest would not quite be accurate. While preferring long sleeves and high collars, Georgette does not shy away from showcasing her figure or the tops of her breasts, finding them an all-too-valuable asset where matters of business are concerned. She favors dark colors that compliment her skin and pale eyes, ranging from burgundy to purple, blue, black, and brown. Dresses of vaguely Ishgardian fashion make up most of her wardrobe.
Little is known of Georgette's early past, and for the most part she strives to keep it as such. What is known is that she founded the Muse, a luxury brothel on the Upper Decks of Limsa Lominsa, some thirty years ago and has thrived ever since.
Shortly after settling into her wealth and success as a madam, Georgette bore a single daughter, Giselle, purportedly by Thibault Bretodeau, a Wildwood from Gridania. Thibault was given the child shortly after, though she returned to stay the summer with her mother with each year afterward.
Roughly ten years after the founding of her business, Georgette's path crossed with that of the notorious pirate captain Geissrael Helbmannwyn. Though the nature of their relationship remained mostly unclear, a keen eye might have determined that they had entered some manner of business arrangement. When open piracy became a more difficult career in Limsa Lominsa, Geissrael took up a more permanent role at the Muse, presumably as a bodyguard to the workers there.
To this day the Muse thrives, serving only the wealthiest of captains, businessfolk, and politicians to come through the port. Georgette, however, remains as reclusive as she has always been. Whether this is to maintain her enigmatic reputation or just because she hasn't the inclination toward conversation is up for debate.
Some of these rumors are untrue, speculation, or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under the Player Character category! ◢ COMMON RUMORS - Easily overheard. Use these freely!
■ “Madame Friloux’s one o’ the most respectable folks what calls Limsa home, if you ask me. One o’ the richest, too. Heh.” - a dockworker in Limsa Lominsa.
■ “I hear she doesn’t age. Probably bathes in the blood of the innocent or some such.” - a waiter at the Bismarck.
■ “What I’d give just for one night at the Muse. Or one night in the Madame’s bed, but no one’s got that much gil!” - a young bookkeeper of the Arcanist’s Guild.
◢ UNCOMMON RUMORS - A little more difficult to hear. Use sparingly or ask first!
■ “”Those that raise a hand to ‘er girls...you don’t ‘ear from ‘em anymore. I didn’t tell ye, but if that’s yer fix, best to take yer business elsewhere.”- a wary captain.
■ “You think Cap’n Geissrael’s just a business acquaintance? Pof, yer wet be’ind the ears. There’s somethin’ deeper there, or at least somethin’ more...carnal.”- an old, salty dog deep in his cups on the dock.
■ “I heard she used to be a whore herself. Not that that’s terribly uncommon for those in...her line of work.”- a Wildwood noblewoman passing through the port.
■ “If you’ve been in this city for any time at all, you know Madame Friloux has a veritable trail of bodies in her wake. I wouldn’t cross her or her girls if I were you." - a Duskwight of questionable repute.
◢ RARE RUMORS - Very rarely overheard. Please ask before using!
■ "House Friloux. I swear I’ve heard the name before. Ishgardian, perhaps?" - an elezen commoner on extended stay in Limsa Lominsa.
■ "You know, she ain’t from around ‘ere. Not Limsa, I mean. Just not…’ere.." - a Midlander pirate freshly off the boat.
■ "A little bird told me that noise drives her mad. It’d be a wonder how she survives in this city at all, then, don’t you think?" - a worker on the Upper Decks.
■ "Madame Friloux? I ‘eard she came from deep beneath the ground. Deeper ‘n most Duskwight, even. Deeper ‘n anything else that lives." - an older “privateer” in the Missing Member.
■ "I’ve heard the Muse is kept afoot by the madam’s involvement in the black market- and dare I say piracy." - a milquetoast lalafell.
◢ PLAYER CHARACTER RUMORS - Feel free to add rumors of your own!
■ "Feel free to add your own rumors here!" - Georgette Friloux
|
♥ Romantic Attraction | ♥ Platonic Love | ✔ Positive | ✖ Negative | ● Neutral note: Characters with whom Georgette has interacted extensively. I’ll try to keep up with this as best I can!
|
- ■ Lominsan Underground. Your character has been involved in the Limsa Lominsan black market within the past 25 years.
- ■ The Muse. Your character is a patron of the Muse (or would like to be).
- ■ Piracy. Your character is involved with piracy in and around the Vylbrand area.
- Outside Links:
- ■ Madame Friloux - A Tumblr inspiration blog. Some IC content. Moderately NSFW.
- Misc Info:
- ■ Template adapted from Bancroft Gairn, with edits by Xheja Rajhera / N'hadiya Khei. Further edited and adapted by Giselle Friloux
- ■ Georgette’s face claim is largely undecided but her appearance draws much inspiration from Alice Barnole.
- ■ Georgette’s voice claim is Shohreh Aghdashloo.
