#skeleton.w

‣  GRACE ADELAIDE | SHE/HER | 26 | WEST EGG | FC UTP

“ welcome to new york, it’s been waiting for you.  “

‣  STORY

grace was born in new york, but her family moved to london before the girl could make any real memories of the city. as the youngest daughter of a wealthy business man, grace was raised to be graceful, poised and soft, a rose petal in a sea of thorns meant to charm anyone around her – but none of that ever really stuck.

she has always been a handful, always defiant, always wild, and after a particular shameful incident involving one of the stable boys the girl was sent to one of the strictest finishing schools in the country. while her parents had hoped they would beat the wild out, the girl only learned to hide her rule-breaking, and found new ways to enjoy life in the process. she’d gotten smart, and she realized that if she truly wanted to enjoy the pleasures of life, she’d have to fly under the radar of those around her.

a little less than a year ago, grace became infatuated with a boy from london and blindly followed him back to the united states - the ‘land of dreams’. while she quickly grew tired of the boy and discarded of him within months, she reveled in the freedom, away from her watchful parents, and has since taken residence with her uncle on the west egg, determined to live her life as wastefully as she possibly could.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— ROY COATES : friend with benefits — GEORGINA SPARKS : project — MADISON HALLOWAY : new party friend

‣  SERENA VAN DER WOODSEN | SHE/HER | 25 | WEST EGG | BLAKE LIVELY

“ whose heart would not take flight? betray the moon as acolyte, on first and fierce affirming sight of sunlight, sunlight, sunlight. ”

‣  STORY

nicknamed the golden girl, you would expect serena to live a perfect life. unfortunately, a rocky household where the only steady aspect was her brother served as the perfect foundation for an equally rocky social life, with the men traipsing in and out of her mother’s life symbolic for the string of drinks she’d down and boys she’d fling herself to once she left childhood behind. 

at some point, things got out of hand – so much so that her mother finally had to step in and send her daughter away to save her from herself. by then, however, some author had gotten wind of her, and while she was on the west coast a book was published that detailed so much of her life she simply had to return; better to face it head on than to hide away.

the publishing of the scandalous book was a turning point for serena, but a bore she would never be. and so, after trying her best to be the good girl for years and a failed engagement to boot, her former wild child emerged when she got caught up in an affair with a prominent politician  – only to bear the burnt of the shame when everything was written out in the tabloids and the tale was spun in such a way that he was the innocent man ‘led on’ by the ‘vixen’ she was.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— CHARLIE RHODES : cousin — ZAHRAH MOREAU : friend — DAN HUMPHREY : love interest

‣  PAULINE CARMICHAEL | SHE/HER | 23 | WEST EGG | HARI NEF / FC UTP

“ cause you look greatest when you feel like a damn queen. ”

‣  STORY

pauline, born as frederick, was born as the youngest of three sons. a latecomer, she’s been different from her brothers ever since she was born, and even without the terminology or knowledge of what she felt, pauline knew she was ‘not like most boys’ - because she wasn’t a boy at all.

it was tough, growing up under the thumb of her parents, her oldest brother as the only confidante. that’s why, when he told pauline he was starting over his life, she knew she had to follow along. convincing her parents proved to be a difficult task, and her brother was even threatened to be disowned if he took his sister under his wing. but life finds a way, and even though for the pair it meant disappearing in the dead of night, pauline finally felt free when she boarded the ship to the new world.

with her brother as a provider, pauline was able to focus on what she loved most in life: her music. while initially, she mostly played at small events hosted by herself or close friends, she has created a name for herself and is slowly gaining more recognition – to the point where she truly feels like like new york can become a real home.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— PENELOPE SHAFAI : friend — SCOTT ROSSON : love interest — AARON ROSE : adversary; guy who her boyfriend cheated with

‣  PORTIA VAUGHN | SHE/HER | 23 | WEST EGG | UTP

“ you take care of everyone else, but who takes care of you? “

‣  STORY

a beautiful, perfect life for a beautiful, perfect princess: that was the future that was laid out for portia. she was daddy’s darling, a girl with a strong will who was raised to see the beauty in things. her mother raised her daughter right, with a special appreciation for those items that only the super rich could get. and so, the perfect little princess grew up to become materialistic and vain. but with daddy’s money rolling in, was that really a problem?

one day, without any prior warning, portia's father had packed his suitcase and left, leaving his daughter and broken mother only an empty house. she’ll grow bitter, they all thought, but portia surprised everyone when she turned her sorrow into softness and found purpose in life helping those who were even more broken than she was.

for a few years, portia kept herself occupied with people and projects, using her resources to transform others’ lives. but a recent conversation with her newest project had her finally facing what she’d been avoiding all her life: is she just decoration in others’ lives? does she really help - or just occupy her time? and if all she does is keep herself occupied, is she truly good? does she even want to be?

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— GEORGINA SPARKS : unlikely friend — DAMIEN DALGAARD : project / love interest  — NATE ARCHIBALD : close friend

‣  MADISON HALLOWAY | SHE/HER | 24 | WEST EGG | FC UTP

“ all girls wanna be like that, bad girls underneath like that. “

‣  STORY

madison was born with the most silver of spoons in her mouth. her mother, left infertile after complications during the birth, doted on her little princess from the moment she laid eyes on her, and madison dutifully grew into the daughter that her socialite parents wanted to see: charming, docile, and elegant.

it was no surprise when madison started seeing eric van der woodsen, equally golden and equally rich. it was a match made in heaven, and even in eric’s dark times she stood by him, while he was there for her when first her grandfather and then grandmother died in quick succession. it was the first hardship she’d really come by, but even in those grievous moments she was always the epitome of perfect – to the envy of many other girls growing up in her shadow.

walking in on her mother cheating with her father’s best friend changed everything. if her parents, who had always needed her to be perfect, couldn’t even try - then why should she? it was like someone had flipped a switch inside madison, and all she could think of was ways to exact her revenge. gone was the princess, emerged was the rebel of destruction, and she seemed destined to take down anyone and anything in her wake.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— ERIC VAN DER WOODSEN : ex-boyfriend — ASPEN HAWTHORNE : fling — DAMIEN DALGAARD : dealer

‣  GEORGINA SPARKS | SHE/HER | 26 | WEST EGG | MARIE AVGEROPOULOS / GRETA ONIEOGOU

“ be careful making wishes in the dark, can’t be sure when they’ve hit their mark. “

‣  STORY

georgina’s parents were dedicated to raising their daughter right, but unfortunately for them, the devil always finds a way. while she was a child, they kept her straight enough to become a skilled equestrian, but their efforts seemed in vain when, at just fifteen years old, she sold her prized pony for drugs at an international equestrian tournament.

a party girl through and through, the only solution her parents saw was sending her across the ocean to a nunnery for her to reflect on her life’s choices. she lasted a good three weeks before she managed to escape, taking her chances and travelling to italy with the last bit of pocket money her parents had bestowed on her.

it didn’t take her long to build up a name in milan, but the last thing she had expected as she partied the nights away was morning sickness and swollen ankles – our resident bad girl was pregnant. she was supposed to give up her child for adoption, in no way ready to be a mother, but when she laid eyes on the bundle of joy after giving birth, she simply couldn’t. instead, she’s traveled back home with her infant son, the proverbial black sheep returned, and now lives with her parents as she tries to make something real of her life. 

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— DAN HUMPHREY : ex-fling —  ISABEL COATES : potential blackmail victim — CHARLIE RHODES : suspicious of 

tw. drugs ‣  DAMIEN DALGAARD | HE/HIM | 26 | WEST EGG | SINQUA WALLS / JACK FALAHEE

“ sipping life from bottles, tight skin, bodyguards, gucci down the boulevard, cocaine, dollar bills, and…  “

‣  STORY

damien grew up surrounded by maids and nannies to cater to his every whim, and it shows. vain, privileged and entitled, it was only a matter of time before all those qualities would collide and find themselves the recipe for disaster – and it was no surprise to anyone when the youngest dalgaard found himself on the wrong side of the law.

with too much money to keep track of and a knack for risk, damien single-handedly built up an empire in the moonshining business. keeping the secret from his upstanding family was nerve-wracking, and he often thought of telling them just so he could show them he could amount to something, but as his business grew so did his independence, and as he pulled away from the family he was free to explore the finer things in life - namely sex, drugs and, of course, so much alcohol you could drown long island.

though he’d never admit it, damien’s life is a mess. he’s on top of his game, professionally speaking, but as his business grew (and even expanded into drug selling) so did his connections in the underworld. and while he’s been able to stand his ground, he feels grossly out-of-control as, essentially, a little rich boy who paid his way to the top. 

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— AARON ROSE : customer / friend — ERIC VAN DER WOODSEN : ex-customer / ex-friend — PORTIA VAUGHN : fling

‣  DANIEL HUMPHREY | HE/HIM | 25 | VALLEY TO WEST EGG | PENN BADGLEY

“ we’re all stories in the end. “

‣  STORY

it was dan’s mother who initially sparked the boy’s love for writing, which he developed throughout his childhood even after the woman had left their family, and by the time he was eighteen he’d written his first novel. in order to have it published, he worked as a footman for the archibald family where he got especially close with nate, who offered to help him launch his book. dan however, gratefully refused, wanting to do it by himself. 

eventually, he found a publisher he could afford and who wanted to print his book. the first few months after its publication, dan lived on cloud nine - revered everywhere, he quit his job at the archibald’s, was invited for parties and events, and he saw a future as a writer for himself – until the truth came out about the contract he’d signed and he was left with nothing.

it was nate who reached out to a depressed dan, motivating him to continue writing despite the setback, and even though he’s extremely grateful for what his friend offered, the next hurdle is one that seems impossible to overcome: his own struggle with writer’s block.

‣  SIGNIFICANT CONNECTIONS

— BLAIR WALDORF : unlikely friend — ASPEN HAWTHORNE : professional rival — VANESSA ABRAMS : close friend