#skeleton.e

‣  BECKHAM COOKE | HE/HIM | 26 | EAST EGG | FC UTP (POC)

“ and the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love, great clouds roll over the hills bringing darkness from above. “

‣  STORY

groomed to follow in the footsteps of his parents, beckham has always been the spitting image of his father: confident, charming, ambitious, and with a knack for making people comply to his will. even as a young boy, he knew he would take over the empire that his father had built up, and he was ready to do so before he really understood what it meant.

about a year ago, reading a newspaper on the train, beckham came across an article from an old doctor who’d been arrested on charges of swapping babies in a hospital in the city – the very hospital where beckham was born. it seemed a ridiculous notion, but something tugging inside made him eventually contact a private investigator, just to ease his mind.

the result of the inquiry, however, was anything but soothing. he can still remember the sweat trickling down his spine as the p.i. told him of the document he’d found, proving him to be the son of people from the valley. this revelation, so terrifying, should never see the light of day, he determined, worried for his ties to the family legacy and estate. and so, since then, he’s been searching for the boy who was supposed to be beckham cooke, so that he could make sure that boy would never lay claim to what beckham has been promised since birth.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— PENELOPE SHAFAI : friend — SAM SCHULZ : rival — ASPEN HAWTHORNE : friend turned love interest

tw: gambling addiction ‣  ROY COATES | HE/HIM | 24 | EAST EGG | ROME FLYNN / FC UTP  (POC - see isabel)

“ leather jacket, collar popped like antenna. never knowing when to stop.   “

‣  STORY

in the coates family, tradition and excellence have always been values that have determined the course of many generations. for roy, this was no different, taught from a young age the importance of family and entrepreneurship. the boy excelled in school, easily made friends and seemed native in the kind of small-talk that dominates the events he was required to attend.

he excelled in everything he tried his hand at, except one thing: money managing. being a coates, however, meant there was always a steady flow of cash and nothing to worry about, which in its turn only facilitated the lavish parties, the expensive holidays, the highest fashion and – most harmful of the vices, the most high-stake gambling games.

the games brought a level of excitement unmatched for roy, and before long he was playing daily, his life consumed by the bets he placed and the chances of wins. keeping the addiction under wraps from those around him is proving to be more difficult with each hand of poker, especially because his trust fund is emptying out quickly and he’s simply too focused on winning to do much else with his life.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— DAMIEN DALGAARD : poker buddy — ISABEL COATES : twin sister, rival — GRACE ADELAIDE : friend with benefits

tw: sex work ‣  ISABEL COATES | SHE/HER | 24 | EAST EGG | LAURA HARRIER / MAISIE RICHARDSON-SELLERS

“ You don’t need a lonely night, so baby, I can make it right. You just got to let me try to give you what you want.   “

‣  STORY

isabel’s sense of self-worth has always depended on others. even as a child she’d compare her christmas gifts to her brother’s to see who was in their parents’ best graces. and so, it was no surprise that the girl fell in line with blair, measuring how much she was worth against how high she was up on blair’s list of friends. and so, rather than outgrow her insecurities, they festered within, despite the fact that to outsiders, isabel seemingly had everything she could possibly want.

as she grew older and started turning men’s heads, she found yet another way to feel worthy, feel accomplished. and so, what began as innocent flirtations snowballed into something much more dangerous - a game of how far can i take it, until one day, with a friend of her father, she took it too far and ended up being paid for her .. services.

there doesn’t seem to be a way to turn back, the hollow girl numb to life, feeling only the rush of excitement when realization dawns that she owns the men who pay for her, can have them eating out of the palm of her hand just by undressing. and even though she tells herself she could stop any time she likes – she doesn’t need the money, obviously, there’s a tugging in the back of her mind reminding her it’s not that easy, lest she finds something else to make her feel alive.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— BLAIR WALDORF :  friend-ish — ROY COATES : twin brother, rival  — EMERSON ALDERIDGE : blackmailer

‣  CARTER BAIZEN | THEY/THEM | 25 | EAST EGG | TARON EGERTON / RAIN DOVE

“ and the feeling coming from my bones says ‘find a home’. ”

‣  STORY

carter baizen is not a bad person per se. in fact, if they had grown up with less temptations, they might have grown up to be someone who adults would call ‘responsible’. unfortunately, this was not the case, with the effects of a wealthy family seeped so deep into them that it was difficult to become anyone else.

after an especially bad stint, the baizen’s had enough. they cut carter off from their money and sent them to live with a distant relative in monaco, thinking some time away from the toxicity of long island would do them good. and while carter was initially skeptic, their whole life was turned upside down when they met rory, a gender nonconforming person who made carter realize why they had always felt so wrong.

it was eye-opening, and having the freedom to explore and question ( away from their parents ) was a welcome change. but they were sent away over a year ago, and carter’s parents are looking to their only child to continue the baizen legacy, so they requested him back with a grand reintroduction into society – whether carter wanted to or not.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— BECKHAM COOKE : ex partner in crime — GEORGINA SPARKS : former friend — SAM SCHULZ : confidant / close friend

‣  NATHANIEL ARCHIBALD | HE/HIM | 25 | EAST EGG | CHACE CRAWFORD

“ i am the master of my fate, i am the captain of my soul. “

‣  STORY

the east egg’s number one golden boy has always wanted to be good. seeing all the scheming, the manipulation, the blackmail and hush money that was so commonplace in his world only solidified his wish to make things better, to be better - and even though an old family feud with the cooke family often showed the worst of both families, nate was  determined to outgrow their antics.

despite his knowledge of how vile things could get behind the scene, he was still shocked to his core when his father was arrested for embezzlement. the archibald’s were the talk of the town for weeks, if not months on end, and it seemed that money couldn’t fix everything (though not for lack of trying) with every passing day his father spent in prison.

for a while, the affair with his father reviled nathaniel so much he wanted nothing to do with the world he grew up in – especially not after he effectively had to prostitute himself to overcome the family’s financial troubles. lately, however, he has changed his mind about his involvement and has started his political pursuits - and though it means having to play the game, he’s willing to do so if ti means he’ll be able to make changes in the long run.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— CHUCK BASS : best friend — BECKHAM COOKE : family rival — LOREN RUSH : fling

‣  ASPEN HAWTHORNE | PRONOUNS UTP | 26 | VALLEY OF THE ASHES | FC UTP

“ bow down and stare in wonder, oh how we love you. no flaws when you’re pretending. “

‣  STORY

aspen has always known they needed something extraordinary to make it out. it never really mattered what the “something” would be, as long as it could be their ticket out of the valley, out of misery. and so, as soon as they found they had a talent for storytelling, they started to hone their skills, started to attend school to learn how to read and write and work on stories every waking moment. 

for a long time, it worked. they even caught the eye of a local book publisher, and three years later, aspen hawthorne was a respected name, almost a commodity to be flaunted around – but aspen didn’t mind. in fact, they welcomed the adoration and were more than happy to take up residency in an empty cottage on the east egg. suddenly, a whole new world had opened up, and it was too difficult not to get swept up. 

with a newfound arrogance and cash to boot, aspen decided they’d worked enough in their life. and so, in order to keep up the life they’d built, they hired someone to write for them. it worked great, at first, they were able to keep up the partying while still bringing out new work. but the truth always has a way of catching up to you, and it’s difficult to keep track of all the lies needed to present this particular story.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— MADISON HALLOWAY : fling — SCOTT ROSSON : faux-friend  — ROY COATES : party friend

‣  PENELOPE SHAFAI | SHE/HER | 24 | EAST EGG | AIYSHA HART / FC UTP (MIDDLE EASTERN)

“ it almost feels like a joke to play out a part, when you are not the starring role in someone else’s heart. “

‣  STORY

as an only child, all the attention of penelope’s parents went straight to their little princess. unfortunately, what attention they gave to penelope, they certainly didn’t give to each other: her parents have been stuck in a loveless marriage for as long as she can remember.

anywhere but stuck at home used to be the young girl’s mantra, desperate to get away from cold, empty house she called home. but life isn’t kind, and instead she fell under blair waldorf’s clutches as one of her minions, a relationship as cold as the one she tried to run from. throughout the years, though, this made penelope cold as well, and as she despised who she’d become more and more, it seemed impossible to find a way out.

when blair left the usa behind, it was supposed to be a new start. penelope traveled for a bit, worked on her painting and singing skills and explored the world, but more than anything she felt lost, and started to realize she didn’t know who she was without blair. and even though she was determined to figure it out, blair’s return has penelope falling back into old patterns against her will, too afraid to step out of line to walk her own path.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— ZAHRAH MOREAU : cousin/rival — CARTER BAIZEN : crush — ISABEL COATES : ex-friend

‣  BLAIR WALDORF | SHE/HER | 25 | EAST EGG | LEIGHTON MEESTER

“ i can’t help that i need it all, the primadonna life, the rise and fall. “

‣  STORY

blair waldorf has always had everything she could possibly want. her early memories are filled with fond moments with her loving (albeit somewhat distant) parents, which made the news that they were getting a divorce all the more a bolt from the blue. the girl was sad, confused, angry- but mostly bitter: how dare her father leave her mother for some parisian twink he’d picked up in a random cafe? 

as if things weren’t difficult enough, her best friend up and left without a word only a few months after her parents had split. as a result, blair closed off her heart even more, spent her teenage years a cold shell of the girl she used to be, until she had carefully crafted the image of queen bee, equally feared and revered – an image she holds even now, despite her softening in recent years.

the only reason blair agreed to leave home turf for england was because of it promised even more upper crust: marrying into aristocracy would solidify her status and prove what she had always known; she was destined to be royalty. for nearly a year, she adapted to the english lifestyle, only to return a mere weeks ago after a scandal so big even she couldn’t overlook it. heartbroken but more determined than ever, blair is ready to re-conquer the scene she deserves to be queen of.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— CHUCK BASS : ex-boyfriend — SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN : best friend — GRACE ADELAIDE : project / friend