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obnoxious shitstirrer envoy from an old friend

The invitation for a summer visit was extended to Jonty's old college friend, Ms. Alvida, of Alvida enterprises -- a string of nightclubs, hotels and resorts along the coast, as well as some rumored less-above-board investments -- but unfortunately she wasn't able to attend. She sent her protegee and ward Jakob ("call me Koby, please") instead, ostensibly to enjoy a month of rest and relaxation. However, Koby's been told in no uncertain terms: solidify the Balfour's commitment to investing in Alvida's business ventures, by any means necessary.

Or don't bother coming back.



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BACKSTORY:




Grew up as [redacted] Smith, an orphan bouncing around the foster care system in the Pacific Northwest, making a good faith effort to be good and hopefully find a permanent placement. What he found instead was Alvida -- attempting to reform some of her public image by taking in a foster kid. Koby is cagey about his teenage years, wherein he was formally adopted, changed his name and had the beginnings of his transition funded by Alvida, a fact she insistently brought up in the media for years afterwards. It's never been reported on what she demanded of him in return.

Those in the know are aware -- Koby shows up when a situation needs finessing, when Alvida's abrasive attitude won't do and a softer touch is needed. People are less likely to shoot the messenger when he's a sweet-faced, doe-eyed, earnest young thing bearing gifts -- money, drugs, favors, himself -- whatever is needed to solidify a deal. Periodically he'll show up when the situation is beyond fixing, too, making sure that things are cleaned up to Ms. Alvida's standards, and bringing the word back to her if it isn't. Nobody likes being on Alvida's bad side, therefore they do their best to stay on Koby's good side as well -- he's never wanting for anything, the most cutting-edge fashion, the best quality of liquor and drugs, the hottest men in his bed.

And he loves it, obviously. He'd be stupid not to. And Koby knows better, by now, than to be stupid.






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RUMORS:




Always the first to leave in the morning, no matter what -- once a man set an alarm for 2am to try and catch Koby leaving. He woke up at 11am to a pounding headache and a broken phone.

Has a stick-and-poke tattoo of the initials "MDL" on his hip, that he gave himself. Theories range as to who it refers to.

The tongue piercing was from a girl he used to know, in "a similar place". He refuses to elaborate further. It's the only piercing he never takes out.

Calls Alvida "Captain", not "mom". Always has.

To toughen him up, Alvida had him watch and clean up after the more brutal information-gathering sessions for six months. He was 13. Consequently: the first time Koby had to "take care of" someone, he didn't flinch. He was still 13.









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IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS:




Shanks: sugar daddy/situationship, a+ on the dick scale
Tim: bitch bff
Nami: ex-bestie (too good for him now 😒)
NAME:




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OTHER NOTES:








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VISUALS:


pinboard

For as long as anyone can remember, Silco has served as steward and head butler of the Balfour house, ensuring that everything remains running smoothly and that the family's every need is met. And if he resents them for their incompetence, well. That's for him to know, and for you to (never) find out. As for what you've been up to — all the dirty little secrets you've whispered to the house's walls — rest assured, he knows. He'll even enable them, if you ask very nicely.



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BACKSTORY:




Nobody knows where Silco came from — just that he appeared on the doorstep one day, beginning as a servant and footman before working his way up to the head of the household.

Some would say he's the perfect butler — seemingly impossible to ruffle, discreet, and deft when it comes to the matter of hiring and training staff. Whatever the Balfours wants, he knows how to get, a courtesy that extends to the house's guests to varying degrees (depending on one's proximity to Jonty and Portia, and on Silco's personal opinion). He's unfailingly polite, but a(n un)lucky few have caught him on poorer days. He may just be staff, but he still isn't a man to be taken lightly.




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RUMORS:




🛎️ He was involved in drug and weapons trafficking prior to coming to the house. Well, maybe not that exactly, but something illegal. How else do you explain that scar over his eye?

🛎️ That he seems to be completely immune to the debauched nature of the house has to do with a lost love. He won't talk about it in any explicit terms, but catch him at the right moment and in the right light, and that faraway look in his eye is unmistakeable.

🛎️ Rumor has it his chest is covered in bullet scars. All he says, when asked if they really exist, is, "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me."

🛎️ He gauges guests ahead of time as to whether or not he'll need to wear an eyepatch to ensure their comfort. If he decides he has to, well. The service isn't worse, but you may notice it's a little colder.

🛎️ Some time ago, a guest lamented the lack of a pool room. The next day, Silco showed them to a pool room adjoining one of the second floor libraries. Everyone swears it hadn't been there before.

🛎️ He knows every secret there is. The only reason he hasn't been taken care of is because he knows exactly what each secret is worth, down to the penny, and knows no one's rich enough to pay the price.

🛎️ A fatal "accident" befell a guest some odd years ago, leaving another guest's hands bloody. Silco was the one who convinced the coroners it was a suicide.

🛎️ The only times he's ever been seen to shed a tear are during his eye injections, which he administers himself. Otherwise, there's never been anything to suggest he's even capable of crying.

🛎️ There's been some tittering over his scar, not just over its origin but the fact that it seems to grow by the year. Fatal, some say. He won't last another ten years.

🛎️ A servant once forgot one of the forks in a place setting. She was gone the next day.

🛎️ Which makes it all the stranger that, despite how knife's-edge neat he is in matters of etiquette, there's only one guest he doesn't send a maid to correct when she uses the wrong fork at the dinner table.

🛎️ Wherever Alicent is in the house, if she calls, Silco will arrive within 30 seconds.

🛎️ The Giles brother who works at the manor was reportedly hired as a favor, though to whom, no one will say.

🛎️ There are only two things Silco ensures are stocked to excess: Alicent's favorite brand (and flavor) of tea, and blue foxglove, a bouquet of which delivered weekly to her quarters. Purely decoration, mind, and nothing more.

🛎️ The place he was born doesn't exist anymore. Saltburnt is his only home.




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IMPORTANT CONNECTIONS:


ALICENT HIGHTOWER: The work wife. He’s been caught staring before.
HENRY WRIGHT: A guest; a fellow enjoyer of the occasional cigar and fine whiskey.
JAKE SERESIN: A guest; intriguing enough that Silco has set aside a room for his periodic poker nights.
POWDER JONES: A guest; a nuisance, or so he says.
SANJI ATREIDES: Staff; the chef.
MIA CORVERE: Staff; a maid.
NATALIE SCATORCCIO: Staff; a maid.




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OTHER NOTES:




🛎️ Could draw a flawless blueprint of the entire house from memory. How does he get those rooms to move?




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VISUALS: