The Belles Come Out at Night
Day 7 of 13: The Character Reveal
October 23, 2025
LAN PHUONG — SONG HƯƠNG
The Spirit Weaver · The Silent Belle
In the dramatic, high-stakes world of the *Southern Gothic: The Belles Come Out at Night* collection, power is often measured in volume—the sharpest retort, the boldest play, the most theatrical entrance.
This dossier, however, delves into the strategic heart of the coven's most enigmatic new member, a woman whose influence is found not in noise, but in the profound and unnerving stillness of ancient resin.
We introduce Lan Phuong — The Spirit Weaver, the “Silent Belle,” whose quiet presence represents a formidable and unique form of power among her rivals, a power that lingers like the sacred smoke of oud.
The Woman Who Floats On Her Own
Lan Phuong's history is the source code of her unshakeable strength. It is a quiet narrative of loss, resilience, and rebirth that forged a woman who is both as gentle as silk and as unyielding as stone.
To comprehend the quiet force she wields within the coven, it is essential to deconstruct the layers of her journey—from her cultural roots and harrowing past to the supernatural gifts that make her one of the most respected and feared of the Belles.
This is the woman behind the whispers. For as the Belles know, true influence isn't about the storm; it's about the calm that kills.
Core Identity & Heritage
Full Name: Lan Phuong
Heritage: Vietnamese American, rooted in Louisiana’s cultural tapestry
Archetypes: The Spirit Weaver & The Silent Belle
While others whisper the moniker “The Silent Belle,” Lan Phuong herself has never claimed such a title. She doesn't need to. Her presence speaks volumes in the spaces between words.
From Saigon to the Seventh Ward
Age 16 (1975): Fled Saigon during the Fall, her family's traditional apothecary burned behind them. The boat journey claimed her parents and younger brother to fever and thirst.
Age 17–18 (1976–1977): Arrived in New Orleans' Versailles neighborhood, taken in by Catholic Charities. Found work with an elderly Creole root woman who recognized something ancient in her touch.
Age 20 (1979): Married Thierry Thibodaux, a jazz musician from the Seventh Ward. Their love was brief but profound—he drowned in Lake Pontchartrain during a sudden storm, three days after their wedding.
Age 21–35 (1980–1994): Established herself as a spiritual advisor, building a following among both Vietnamese refugees and old Creole families. Never remarried, claiming Thierry still visits in dreams.
Present (appears ~35): Initiated into the Belle covenant after demonstrating her ability to communicate with both ancestors and loa.
The Spirit Weaver's Gifts
Supernatural Abilities:
Spirit Communication: Converses with the dead as easily as the living
Ancestral Channeling: Can invite spirits to speak through her
Memory Extraction: Pulls forgotten memories from objects and places
Dream Walking: Enters others' dreams to deliver messages or warnings
Protective Wards: Creates spiritual barriers using Vietnamese and Creole traditions
Her spiritual practice is a unique fusion—she burns joss paper alongside sage, offers bánh and beignets to ancestors, speaks to Vietnamese thần and Louisiana loa with equal reverence.
"I don't raise the dead for parlor tricks.
I invite them for tea.
The living lie, but the dead?
The dead have nothing left to lose."
Her Essence: Song Hương
"Song Hương" — The fragrance of the river, where memory and prophecy meet.
For Lan Phuong, Song Hương is not merely a fragrance—it is an emanation of her very being, born from decades of burning ancestral incense and speaking to spirits in humid Louisiana nights.
The Sacred Oud
THE OPENING — Ancestral Greeting:
Lotus unfurls like morning mist. Caramelized Vanilla Bean rises like the sweet smoke of joss sticks.
THE HEART — Sacred Communion:
The lotus warms to skin. Sweet Cream & Green Tea flows like offerings of milk tea to ancestors.
THE BASE — Ancient Wisdom:
Oud Wood speaks of temples older than memory. Sandalwood grounds the meditation. Patchouli add earthy depth.
Song Hương Represents:
• The weight of ancestral memory
• Incense spiraling between worlds
• Silk áo dài in candlelight
• Ghost money burning at crossroads
• Tea ceremonies for the dead
• The pause before prophecy
• Silence that speaks louder than screams
• The moment you realize the quiet one has been listening all along
Among The Belles
In the volatile ecosystem of the Belle covenant, Lan Phuong occupies a unique position—confessor, medium, and keeper of secrets that the dead whisper and the living try to hide.
Her Standing: While others vie for dominance through display, Lan Phuong remains indispensable. Every Belle has losses. Every Belle has secrets. She can speak to both.
"I don't need to play their games. The dead tell me how every match ends."
The Power of Stillness
To understand her formidable nature, remember the lesson from that boat from Saigon—when making noise meant danger. True power whispers.
Now, in the Belle covenant, while others exhaust themselves in spectacle, Lan Phuong observes, listens, remembers. In a room full of storms, the eye is always the most dangerous position.
"They call me the Silent Belle,
as if my quiet is weakness.
They forget—
The dead speak loudest
to those who know how to listen."
— Lan Phuong — Song Hương, lighting incense for the living and the dead
Tomorrow: Day 8 of 13
From the Grimoire
"Some secrets are written in smoke..."
"Some spells are whispered by the dead..."
"And in the sacred pages of the covenant's grimoire..."
"Even silence has a price."
The Belles Come Out at Night
A Southern Gothic Fragrance Tale Collection by Sugar Mama's Fragrances
The new "La Reine Queen Belle" will take control (French): October 31, 2025
Products Launch: November 1, 2025