SALTBURNT 💌 au

WILLIAM RANDALL GILES

THE POET

Plucked from obscurity and offered the creative opportunity of a lifetime by one Armand Kamali, William is Saltburnt's new Poet In Residence. He's hard at work polishing a collection that he hopes will land him a spot at the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, and part of his residency includes regular readings of his work--to very mixed reviews.

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BACKSTORY:
The product of a youthful affair between Rupert Giles and a mystery woman, William was raised by his aunt in London, and had a quiet youth punctuated by his mother's early abandonment and his father's absence. He found solace in the written word, and began keeping extensive journals the moment he learned to write. Bullied relentlessly in secondary school for his sensitive demeanor and terrible poetry, William dropped out at 17 to backpack around Europe and America and work on his writing--though he avoided southern California, where his father and half-sister Buffy lived. During his travels, he was scouted by Armand Kamali, who offered to sponsor a residency at Saltburnt. The opportunity at Saltburnt is three-fold: polishing a collection to submit to Iowa, reconnecting with his father (and meeting his sister for the first time), and investigating Portia Balfour, whom he has reason to suspect might be his mother.

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RUMORS:

💌 A local magazine column titled "Hotties on the Thames" hosted a man with a striking resemblance to William for a six month period. He was in the same spot each time, reading the poetry collection Mountain Interval.

💌 Rumor has it William has hemophobia. Even the scent of blood is enough to make him break out in sweats. One time, the sound of jingling pennies made him faint — though whether that was just the effect of American capital is anyone's guess.

💌 In his youth, William spent an entire month speaking only in rhymes. His most interesting rhyme was "choke" with "yolk."

💌 William once got so pissed on St. Patrick's Day that he recited the entire third act of Hamlet from the bar top of a pub. The patrons wept.

💌 William claims he had a torrid love affair with a member of parliament's daughter. They never touched each other — just stared deeply into each others eyes.

💌 Allegedly, William plays a mean game of cards. Witnesses attest his lying face is "guileless."

💌 Although he claims he was named after the playwright William Shakespeare, in truth it's after Robbie Williams. His mom was a big fan.

💌 William earned the nickname "Spike" from his impressive volleyball playing skills. Friends say he could've gone professional.

💌 Equipped with absinthe and a Gautier poetry collection, William taught himself fluent French on a cruise.

💌 William once saw a stray cat so beautiful in Athens, he wrote an entire poetry collection dedicated to it. "Surprisingly sensual," reviews claimed.

💌 Despite (or perhaps because of) his romantic leanings, William has yet to be in a real relationship--nor has he explored any of his more primal urges with another. He claims to be waiting for his soulmate, whom he'll know at first sight.

💌 In addition to his poetry, William keeps a sketchbook. He's terribly shy about sharing his art, but he's actually quite talented.

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IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS:
📚 ARMAND: patron. alluring. perplexing.
📚 BUFFY: half-sister. soulmate? object of fascination.
📚 GILES: father. distant. withholding.
📚 KOBY: tease. tormentor. crush
📚 PORTIA: mother?
📚 POWDER: friend. music-maker. brilliant. crush.


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OTHER NOTES:
🖋️ Pen name is William Pratt.
🖋️ Wears reading glasses.
🖋️ Brown hair, but known to bleach it when he needs an "artistic shake-up".
🖋️ 26 years old.
🖋️ Plays guitar with Powder, on occasion.

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VISUALS:
PINBOARD.