#character:bios

[gaia-cove]

Name: Cassidy Bolton Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 32 Occupation: Server at Sunny’s Diner Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 32 years Face Claim: Richard Madden

Bio: (Triggers: Drugs, Addiction, Teen Pregnancy, Death Mention, Toxic Relationship )

Growing up in the Bolton family was a wonderful life, although not rich none of the children needed and/or wanted for anything.  The only exception might be wanting to explore the world, travel and see new places. 

Throughout his childhood, Cassidy outshone his siblings academically, musically and was assumed to be the Bolton kid that was college bound.  However, life has funny twists.  The girl next door Sophia stole his heart when they were just in diapers.  Growing up next-door, the two were inseparable and became playground boyfriend and girlfriend at a young age and eventually official boyfriend and girlfriend at thirteen.  Sophia and Cassidy planned to go to college and travel the world together.  Yet at the ripe age of fifteen the two paced the floor of his bedroom waiting for the results of the pregnancy test.  Several minutes later the stick turned pink and their plans of adventure went south.  Needless to say, both families were not thrilled at the prospect of their kids having kids.  However, each family was extremely supportive and did their best to help navigate them through the prospects of parenthood.

As Cassidy was supposed to become into the rite of passage of getting a driver’s license, he instead was becoming a father while his older brother was graduating high school and off doing his own adventures, Cassidy felt left behind and stuck.  Both Sophia and Cassidy quickly got jobs to support their baby son, while trying to finish their GED.  With sleepless nights and being so young the two fought constantly about bills, their son and everything under the sun.  Eventually a year after their son’s birth, the two called it quits and decided to split custody for their son’s sake.  Little did they know what the future would bring them?

After their breakup, Cassidy fell into a pattern of partying and dating several women at a time with little concern of any parties involved.  At least until he met Stella, who flipped his world upside down.  Everything about the woman enticed him; the two started a toxic relationship filled with cheating and drugs.  Eventually, this resulted in twins by the time he was nineteen.  With three kids to support before the age of twenty, Cassidy found jobs in the upscale restaurant business working as a server and pulling in high tips and working part-time at his family’s bar when he needed the extra cash flow. 

However, with his addiction issues it caused problems with his custody arrangement with Sophia and he started seeing less and less of his oldest son Aiden.  In fact, his drug issues started affecting more than just himself. It stretched to his siblings and his parents, he began stealing from work which caused him to lose his job at the upscale restaurant and eventually he got caught stealing from the family pub resulting in the lack of trust with his family and him.

For years, Cassidy would sober up for several months and then would fall off the wagon, always leaving his mother in fear of getting the phone call that her son died.  At the ripe age of twenty-six, he met Riley at a party.  The woman was younger, but she lured him in with her looks and the way she smiled at him.  Before he knew it, the two were together in the most intimate ways and he introduced her to the life of addiction, not thinking once how she would spiral into an addict with him.  Throughout the years, Cassidy and Riley maintained their rollercoaster relationship.  Anytime Cassidy felt alone or wanted to be with someone who understood him he always ended up at Riley’s despite the way they were toxic for one another..

At the age of twenty-eight, Riley informed him that she was pregnant.  It came as no shock, the two were wild and reckless, but the question to keep the child was on the table.  After much consideration, both agreed to move forward with having the child and getting their lives together.  Both started going to narcotics anonymous and began building a clean life together.  After Lily was born, things appeared to be going great.  However, that was all appearances.  Little did Cassidy know how badly Riley was struggling with sobriety and being a mother and months after Lily was born, he came home to a crying baby and no mother in sight.  For a while, he tried searching for her but she was off the radar.

Now, he still struggles with his disease but he goes to his meetings and leans on his family.  He has been sober for nearly three and a half years and is working as a server at the local The Diner.  Little does he know that Riley is about to re-enter his life to turn his life upside down once again.

Cassidy is played by Amber

[gaia-cove]

Name: Leopold“Leo” Dawson Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 34 Occupation: Unemployed Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: Born and raised, moved to New York at 18 and came back when he was 33 Face Claim: Dan Stevens

Bio:  (Triggers: homophobia, physical abuse, emotional abuse )

Born in the small coastal town of Gaia Cove, Leonardo grew up in a family of seven being born number four out of the bunch.  The Dawson family is well known throughout the town, being original settlers centuries prior. Throughout his childhood, he was extremely close to his siblings even though he felt like an outsider.  At a young age, Leo knew he was different when he started to realize he was attracted to males and preferred what many would deem “feminine” things such as nail polish, crossdressing, etc.  Although his family had always been open minded about things, he kept much of this hidden throughout his early years. During high school, he played baseball and was quite the player until he tore the cartilage in his elbow.  He also was active in the school drama club and could be found starring in a few shows for the town.  Throughout his high school years, he did date a female to keep up appearances and after graduation broke things off with her using the excuse they were going separate ways. Right after high school, Leo fled to New York and soon enough he found his people.  Things were different up in the city that never sleeps.  Life was in the fast lane and he found himself in love with the Big Apple.   In New York, he attended New York University where he got a double degree in English and creative writing. After college, he received a job with a fashion magazine where he would write numerous pieces on the latest fashions, the dos and don’ts in relationships, how to spice up your sex life, etc. Leo also wrote a small book series surrounding a gay character that made it on the top best sellers list. 

Around the age of twenty-five, Leo met this man named Hector who had him under his spell.  Leo was completely and totally in love with the man.  At first, things were amazing between them the first year or so, however there was a shift and Hector became controlling over Leo.  To the point where Leo stopped visiting his family.  Most of the abuse was emotional, but there were occasions where physical altercations did happen. It was not until he was thirty-three that he decided to leave Hector and ended up back home in the comforts of his family and friends. 

Currently he is unemployed and living off his royalty checks and has been drifting around the last year with no path of certainty.

Leonardo is played by Amber

[gaia-cove]

Name: Jezebel “Jez” Keira Dragoumis Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 31 Occupation: Police officer Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 31 years Face Claim: Tracy Spiridakos

Bio: (Triggers: Implied crime )

For as long as Jez could remember there had been whispers about her family from before they immigrated to America. Her family name was one that once heard would result in whispers and stares. Even three generations in Jez experienced it firsthand. Anyone with ties to Greece would hear their name and whisper; they would stare- but they’d never reveal why, never give actual details about what made them talk as soon as they heard the name. As a child she often used to ask her parents what the whispering was about; she’d question why so many people seemed to react so strongly when they heard their name. And each time their parents simply replied that a long time ago an ancestor of hers had done something terrible. It had granted the family a certain amount of financial comfort, but it had also made them a lot of enemies; they had explained that sometimes hatred would pass down from generation to generation even if the people receiving the hate had nothing to do with the initial act. Elaborating on the details was out of the question and as soon as that simple explanation was offered, they instantly took the idea of questioning further off of the table. The oldest of five children (though by only mere minutes where her twin was concerned) Jez had become a second mother to the younger Dragoumis kids from a very young age. She would often spend her time helping them get ready for school, aiding them with their homework and when their mother was busy she eventually ended up being the one to cook them meals. It was something she took on gladly and never felt pressured to do but it absolutely shaped her. She easily went from being a second mother to her siblings to being the mom friend throughout middle school and high school- always making sure her friends were safe and fed. It even got to the point where some of them jokingly called her ‘Mom’ when they were together. It was never a nickname that she enjoyed but it was one that she had become accustomed to- and she knew it came from a place of affection. But all the while the so-called darkness deep within her family history was never far from her mind. So perhaps that was why it came as a shock to no one that she wanted to be sure to do everything she could to distance herself from that. And with that in mind as a young adult she entered the policy academy. Not because she thought she could change what her family was and what had happened so many years before she was even born but because it felt as though she should at least try to do some good for the world to counteract some of the bad her kin had done in the past. Shortly after graduating the academy and getting a job with the local police precinct Jez finally moved out of the family home- much to the dismay of her family. They were extremely tight-knit and were pretty determined to stick together but Jezebel had wanted to forge her own path- and living on her own seemed the best way to do that. Her siblings still visit her often and she is always returning to the family home for dinners at least once a week. But these days Jez is focused more on trying to figure out who she is without playing second mother to her friends and siblings. And what she genuinely wants out of life. Because while she knows that she never wants to be like her ancestors who brought about such hatred from so long ago? She doesn’t really know who she wants to be beyond that.

Jezebel is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Willow “Will” Elizabeth Bolton Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 26 Occupation: Barista, Drips Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 26 years Face Claim: Kennedy McMann

Bio: (Triggers: Mentions of addiction and teen pregnancy )

After the birth of their sons Evelyn and Jack Bolton hasn’t planned on having any more children- or more to the point that they didn’t anticipate it. But low and behold six years after the birth of their son Cassidy they welcomed a screaming baby girl into the world. Despite the love that Jack had for his two sons his youngest child- and only daughter- was instantly the apple of her father’s eye. Her father made sure to instill in her a sense of caring and compassion- something Jack said all Boltons were taught from a young age. And while the girl never lacked in love of any kind it wasn’t to say that there wasn’t a fair share of drama as she was growing up. At the ripe old age of nine Willow found out that she was going to be an aunt- and her older brother Cassidy was going to be a father. More confused than anything- an event which forced her mother to have “the talk” with her far sooner than she probably would have liked- Willow refused to comment on the news. But deep down the idea of having a baby around she could help out with sort of thrilled the youngest Bolton. While still very young at the time of Aiden’s birth Willow helped out her brother and his girlfriend as much as she could and absolutely adored being an aunt- and adored her nephew. It seemed that while the shock of her brother fathering a child have been a bit much for their parents to handle at first that things would turn out just fine. Of course, things don’t always work out the way people think they will. Though she was still young when the middle Bolton fell down a darker, more destructive path in life Willow was too smart not to understand what was going on. Her brother was struggling; her brother was digging himself into a hole of addiction as well as fathering two more children. And while Willow was always closer to Dan than she had been to Cassidy? Knowing that she couldn’t do anything to help her elder brother struck the young woman hard. For a while it even colored her plans for the future and she decided that when she graduated she was going to become a nurse. That way even if she couldn’t help her brother with his demons? She might be able to help other people in some way. But once her brother fathered twins and his addiction had gotten bad? Will had given up most of her normal teenage life to take care of her niece and nephew. She never regretted doing it though it definitely caused a strange relationship dynamic between herself and the twins- because she’s their aunt, but she’s also the only mother they’ve really ever had. And while they are living with their father once more Will is definitely invested in their futures. And at first when Willow graduated she went down that planned path and enrolled in college courses. But very quickly she decided that it wasn’t for her- and that while she still loved her brother and wished she could help him and other people struggling like him she couldn’t make her life choices based on what was happening in his life. So much to the surprise of most people who knew her Willow dropped out of college and took whatever jobs she could because while she may not have been sure anymore what she wanted to do with her life? She knew she wanted to be as independent as she could be. These days Willow works as a barista at Drips and visits her family as often as she can. She’s still far closer to Dan than she had ever been to Cassidy but she does love both brothers dearly- as well as her nieces and nephews even if she’s not always the biggest fan of their respective mothers (Jordan being the exception to that rule). She spends more time with Dan than she does Cassidy but she can’t deny she finds herself stopping in to check on the middle Bolton often. Because while her brother has been keeping himself in a better way in the last few years? There’s always a fear that he will fall right back down that rabbit hole. But life is still complicated for Will- between a secret relationship that is taking it’s toll, the usual drama of her family and not knowing what she wants to do with her life? It’s never a dull moment in the life of Willow Bolton. 

Willow is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Sienna Adams Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 32 Occupation: Wedding dress designer Hometown: Cardiff, Wales Amount of time on the island: 3 months Face Claim: Jenna Coleman

Bio: (Triggers: death, pregnancy, divorce )

Sienna Adams had it all, until the day she lost everything, but to make sense of everything that happened we should probably start from the beginning. Born in Cardiff, Wales, she never really got to know her hometown before her family moved to London instead when the girl was only two years old. So actually she considers herself to be a London girl at heart, never growing up with the accent that Cardiff would have given her she instead sounded entirely southern. The middle child she has an older sister as well as a younger brother - piggy in the middle - except she never felt like she had any kind of middle child syndrome. If anything the Adams’ children were lucky to gel pretty well all together despite their differences as well as the age gap between them. Sienna was never exceptional at school but she did what she had to do to get by, always popular thanks to being tall, slim, pretty, and charismatic she was lucky enough to sail through with a solid group of friends by her side. At sixteen she changed schools to attend the College of Fine Art because without a shadow of a doubt art was her favourite subject, not to mention the one she was best at. It was on the understanding that once she’d done her two years of focused art tuition she would go to university to study something more ‘sensible’ and making the deal with her parents the whole family were delighted when at seventeen Sienna was accepted into the University of East Anglia to study Journalism. Everything seemed to be going so smoothly, with the odd hiccup here and there in the shape of messy breakups with high school boyfriends and the tattoo she got on her sixteenth birthday without telling her parents, and to most outsiders the Adams family were a solid unit who wouldn’t be shaken by anything because no matter what they would be united in it. 

Sienna had been away at university hundreds of miles away from London when she got the news of her parents car crash, everything seeming to dissolve in a matter of seconds. Racing back to the capital so she could be with her siblings the three of them processed their grief in their own ways but Sienna was steadfastly there for them both regardless. Even when Rhiannon became distant as a way of dealing with what had happened the younger sister still stood by her so that anytime she asked for a helping had she was there to give it to her without question. Losing her parents left a hole in Sienna she wasn’t sure how to fill for a while, choosing to throw herself into her journalism degree with a passion since for her to do it was what she saw as their last wish. It was the best way to honour the people who she loved more than anything. Despite being born of pain the outcome actually stood her in stead because straight out of her three years of university she was hired by a top London magazine from the Conde Nast group. Sure, it wasn’t The New Yorker which was the publication she dreamed of writing for, but her position as a junior assistant at Vanity Fair was nothing to sniff at. It was actually this turn of events that showed the woman she could combine her love of art and journalism at the same time, happily climbing the ranks at the magazine while learning as much as she could about fashion. Specifically drawn to wedding dress styles and fashions, as they changed and evolved. 

She started to toy with designing her own wedding dresses from the age of twenty seven, sketching them up before making a couple of the designs up herself, even if it was a painstakingly slow process that resulted in a lot of broken sewing machine needles and frustrations. When her older sister asked her to design her wedding dress however was when a big step was taken by Sienna and she fully embraced a change in career. She went from working at Vanity Fair to a couple of years later having one of her designs featured in the publication, the tides had truly turned and she’d found what she was meant to be doing with her life. Another big change in her life was when she met the man who was destined to be her husband in a bar on a work night out, not expecting anything from their little flirtation, he went on to surprise her and the two became close. Fast. Before Sienna Adams knew what was happening she was wearing a large diamond ring on her left hand and was designing her own wedding dress to wear. There might have been a huge gap where her parents should have been that day but otherwise it was the happiest day of her life because she was getting to pledge the rest of her life to the man she loved. The next step? For them to have a family. A year and a half ago along with a nasty bout of morning sickness the couple found out they were expecting their first baby together, a little boy they decided to call Freddie. If anything the pregnancy was too smooth and Sienna should have suspected something bad was coming her way but she didn’t, instead she was smug in her #blessed situation. It was nauseating to many of her friends who were going through rough pregnancy experiences of their own. 

Then for the second time in her life the woman was smacked in the face by unforeseen tragedy, and this time it changed the course of her life forever. On August 13th 2020, Freddie Carson was born at The Portland Hospital in London after a thirty two hour labor that had truly tested his mother’s ability to cope, but that didn’t matter because he was her beautiful baby boy and he was finally here. Then everything started to happen impossibly fast but in slow motion at the same time. Her little boy managed to cling onto life for only seven minutes before he passed away in his mother’s arms and it was the day Sienna Adam’s finally broke. The following weeks she barely spoke, literally propped up by her family to get through the funeral, her husband and herself rapidly drifted apart. Within six months he was filing for divorce from his wife thanks to a relationship that had entirely broken apart. Gone from something so loving to a cacophony of bickering and fighting the man couldn’t see any way back. His wife was no longer the woman he’d married and the heartbreak they had endured was apparently just too much for their relationship to withstand. Sienna felt like she had nothing left and it brought on a creative block when it came to her designing, too painful to be creating dresses for the happiest day in a woman’s life when she felt like all the joy had been sucked out of her own.

It was on a trip to visit her sister and extended family in Gaia Cove that it was suggested by Rhiannon she separate herself from the things she had lost in London and instead put down roots in the Californian town surrounded by her family. With nothing to go home to the woman agreed, which was how she found herself living in Glen Ellen and working at the Castillo’s wine bar as the manager until she found the inspiration within herself to go back to designing. She was trying, her entire apartment was covered in half finished sketches, but nothing seemed to be flowing properly. Nothing seemed to be coming together. Despite being a shadow of her former self to anyone who knew Sienna before she was hit with a plethora of heartache the woman is still a bubbly, sweet person who is desperately trying to move past the events of her past. Every so often she will be pulled back by bouts of depression, even if she is on medication that is meant to help, occasionally the pain is just too much for her to cope with. Resorting back to some unhealthy coping mechanisms she will look for comfort in food, alcohol, or even drugs. Although nothing harder than weed if truth be told, which she occasionally enjoys with her big sister at some of their more ‘grown up’ sleepovers. All Sienna wants is to find a way to be defined by who she is and not what she’s been through, but when grief is eating away at you at every turn it’s sometimes hard to find a way. 

Sienna is played by Indi

[gaia-cove]

Name: Nadia Pérez Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 32 Occupation: Screenwriter Hometown: Querétaro, Mexico/ New York, US Amount of time on the island: 3 months Face Claim: America Ferrera

Bio:  (Triggers: neglect/emotional abuse)

Nadia Pérez was born Nadia Joanna Pérez de León in Queretaro, Mexico; where she lived 3 years of her life before her family immigrated to the US, as her father, Leonardo Pérez, had a job opportunity in New York City. The Pérez de León family only agreed to move since Nadia’s mother, Karina de León, had relatives in NYC.

Enrolled in a catholic school all through kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school, Nadia had to learn English as fast as she could so she wouldn’t be left behind by her American classmates. Ambitious since a young age, Nadia’s goal during her school years was to be the top student in all her classes, something that was easy for her once she overcame the language barrier. She joined multiple clubs in school but her absolute favorite extracurricular activity was her school's local newspaper, where she wrote a column.

A distant father and an emotionally abusive mother made Nadia’s household a living hell during her teenage years. Her father often neglected her, as he would rather do literally anything else than spend time with his own daughter; meanwhile, her mother would usually force her to get good grades otherwise, she'd say Nadia was a waste of space. Being the introverted teen she was, her only company were books and often, her aunt Elena de León who lived next door, where Nadia usually spent her evenings so she wouldn't be near her mom. It was during these years where she began writing her own stories, submitting them to local contests in hopes of winning. 

During her last year of highschool, Nadia actively searched for scholarships, knowing that was the only way she’ll go to a college where she could study what she wanted since her mom wanted to enroll her in a community college where she’d study business. Nadie won a full scholarship to attend the New York Film Academy after submitting a screenplay for a short she had done for class.

At age 18, she rented an apartment with 4 other friends and began attending New York Film Academy, slowly starting to cut communication with her direct family, all except her aunt. Nadia worked part-time in a bookstore while attending college and started dating an older student at the academy, who broke her heart after years of dating.

4 years later, Nadia graduated from the Film Academy and instantly decided to move to California, joining a group of aspiring actors, directors, and writers who wanted to make it big in Hollywood. While working on a local newspaper, Nadia started writing a short film which later would be funded by indie production, thanks to one of her friend’s connections.

After the success of said short film, Nadia worked as a screenwriter for other indie directors and small-scale projects. After some years of work like that, Nadia got her big shot as she started to work in the film adaptation for “Faster Boy”, a known bestseller. The movie was a hit and earned Nadia an Academy Award Nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2019.

Nadia Pérez currently resides in Gaia Cove, working on an original screenplay. After the success of "Faster Boy", Nadia felt like she needed a new place to write, someplace where she could feel at peace. Her first thought was to move back to Mexico, but one of her friends told her about Gaia Cove and the place charmed her. Originally, Nadia was only supposed to stay a month, but she found herself feeling like Gaia Cove was the site for, the one place she could call home. While she's still working on her script, now that she's an official Gaia Cove resident she started working at the local Herald, going back to her newspaper roots.

Nadia is just 32, her whole life is ahead of her and she has no rush for the future, whatever comes at her, she’ll be ready.

Nadia is played by Eileen

[gaia-cove]

Name: Alara Arduc Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 28 Occupation: Owner, The Great Divine Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: whole life / left at 19 & recently returned Face Claim: Hande Ercel

Bio: 

The Arducs moved into the area when Alara’s grandfather was barely 13; they were an odd family and his parents spoke broken English so they did what they needed to find work. Attempting to find a better life her great-grandmother used the skills of fortune telling to start 'the great divine'. Many people loved the little woman, offering something different to the area - fun and insight to the future and unknown. Somehow it became the main livelihood for Arducs. Although her grandfather wasn't really into it, her grandmother was more than excited when the two were married to take over. It was a real blessing for the family; the business grew with them from a tiny corner booth to the location now. As long as Alara could remember among the Arducs they circled divination, along with different metaphysical alignments. It was all magical and wonderful. She loved it as a child, but a lot of things that are magical when we are young are simply a cover for something worse.

Her grandfather would constantly talk badly about the business despite the success; making clear it was simply a job and nothing real. An uncle was a strong believer that it was a scam, even going as far as saying it in front of family friends who had obvious expressions of surprise and distaste for such talk. Alara could never settle on her feelings towards the family and the business as a whole; she kept her thoughts on hold while putting her family and education on the forward front. A bit of a golden girl among teachers, quiet and well-mannered her grades were slightly above average, nor did she ever cause real trouble other than the discrimination her family received for their line of work. Her head stayed down and had a goal on never returning to Gaia again. As much as her love for family was there, her want to be free of the 'Arduc' name was stronger. Come her senior year she cut ties with everyone at graduation; boyfriend, friends, relatives all got a warm goodbye before she took off.

Most assumed they'd never see her again but seven years later the mid-twenties year-old returned with a degree and child in hand. Oh the rumors were quick to circle with no father in sight yet like with her childhood years needing to ignore the hate for 'The Great Divine' she ignored the whispers. Her parents stepped back from the shop allowing her to take over the year she came back. Alara gave the outdated shop a warm update along with the little apartment above she claimed for a home. Since returning she's become popular for her  'abilities' in divination; advice for young girls in relationships, couples on pregnancy, whatever those were asking she has an answer.

Alara is played by Minn

[gaia-cove]

Name: Noah Gideon Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 33 Occupation: Vicar,  Church Of The Heavenly Father Catholic Church Hometown: Redwood, California Amount of time on the island: 6 months Face Claim: Cody Fern

Bio: (Triggers: Drugs, neglect, abandonment, death )

Born on Halloween, Noah was a unwanted child. His mother was a stripper who had succumbed to drugs and his father was a bar man who didn’t want a child. A month after he was born, his mother was killed in a car accident and he was sent to a church where the nuns took him in and cared for him as if they were his mothers. Noah had a innocent upbringing. The church was his safe haven and he never wanted for anything. At school he was a grade A student with a knack for understanding psychology, something the nuns were not keen on. At the age of sixteen, Noah went to bible camp and was alone for the first time with girls his own age. Shy and sweet, his innocence and looks were like honey to the girls who were interested in the quiet boy. By the time he came home to the church, he was no longer an innocent young boy, but attractive young man who was starting to understand the affect he had on others, both male and female. The nuns picked up on this and kept an eye on him. He was sent to Italy for five years to stay in a priesthood, which in hindsight was also bad as he had an affair with a man. When he came back to the nuns he was too old to live with them anymore and he was given jobs all over the country. He would always shadow other priests and then in May 2021, the priest of the Heavenly father in Sonoma died of a heart attack. Although Noah was nervous, his mentor gave him and glowing reference and convinced the town that the young man with the icy blue eyes was quite capable of doing the lords work in Sonoma. Now in town, he is no longer under the watchful gaze of the nuns or the priesthood and as long as he keeps the church running, he is left to his own devices. He tries hard not to sin, but finally being given the freedom he has never truly had has given Noah the opportunity to explore the town, the world, and himself in ways that the nuns may not agree with. He currently resides in a quaint house next to the church, but on occasion there has been seen a red head woman exiting his house early in the morning, could it be a early morning confession or a sin from the night before?

Noah is played by Van

[gaia-cove]

Name: Santana Harley Blackwood Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 33 Occupation: Veterinarian Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 29 years Face Claim: Heather Hemmens

Bio: (Triggers: Teen pregnancy, divorce )

Santana was born to a seventeen year-old mother, Olivia, who had intended to keep her baby. Her mother tried for the better part of a year to raise her daughter on her own before realizing that even though she loved her baby dearly she couldn’t give her the life she deserved. Saddened and desperate to find a good home for her baby Santana’s mother showed up at the home of her junior year science teacher, Samuel Blackwood. After tearfully explaining her dilemma Samuel and his wife Marisol offered to adopt the baby and keep Olivia updated on how the little girl was doing. And while Olivia had desperately wished she could keep and raise her daughter she knew deep down inside that the Blackwoods would be able to provide her a more stable environment and so she adopted her daughter out to the couple. Samuel and Marisol renamed their daughter Santana after Marisol’s maiden name and kept her original name, Harley, as her middle name in honor of the mother who gave her up so she could have a better life. Even before Santana completely understood what being adoption was she knew that she had been adopted- that her parents had chosen to be her family and that her birth mother had given her up in hopes of giving her a better life. It had been an act of love and not as a way to get rid of her. And up until the time Santana was seven the Blackwoods kept their promise and wrote to Olivia to keep her up to date on her daughter’s progress. But it was around that time that Olivia stopped replying- and the letters started coming back. Samuel and Marisol assumed that Olivia was trying to move on with her life- but they both always hoped one day she would get back in contact to get to know the little girl she had given up. Taking in Santana made the Blackwoods realize how much they had always wanted a big family and over the course of the next decade and a half they adopted several more children- and took quite a few in as fosters. Santana grew up on a large piece of property always surrounded by siblings- both legal and foster. The house was always cramped but happy and the kids were deeply bonded- so much so that if a foster sibling left the remaining kids would cry for weeks but insist that they would keep in touch. When she graduated from high school Santana left town for a couple of years trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. After some travelling she came back home, enrolled in college and began working at the Bolton Bar to earn money while she was in school. During college Santana met and married a classmate though the marriage didn’t last long. The two split ways amicably, realizing that they jumped into marriage far too soon though they still cared about each other very much and still keep in touch to this day. Santana graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine and bought her own piece of property on the island. She mostly sets her own hours and is the type to make house calls to make it easier for pet owners in the area. She still hangs out at the Bolton Bar and picks up extra shifts when one of their bartenders calls out for the day and they need someone to cover for them. But Santana is mostly just trying to live a comfortable life around the family that loved her and the siblings she cares so much about. But a part of her can’t help but wonder about the birth mother she never got to know- and wonder if her marriage had been a mistake or if it was the divorce that had been.

Santana is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Rydell “Ry” Amara Beausoleil Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 28 Occupation: Tattoo artist, Ink And Needles Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 28 years Face Claim: Elizabeth Gillies

Bio: (Triggers: Teen pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, self-esteem issues )

Rydell was born to a seventeen year-old mother who was completely unprepared to be a parent- let alone to do it alone. Who Rydell’s father is? Well, that has always been a mystery to her, one her mother never dared to share the answer to. As a small child the used to ask question upon question about who her father was, where he was- anything she could think of. But her mother had always remained tightlipped and so Ry has never known anything about the man who fathered her- not his name, what he looked like- or even if he is one of the residents Gaia Cove. Knowing that she could be passing by her father and members of her family every day without being aware ate away at the girl for a good portion of her childhood. While her mother did the best that she could raising Ry and Rydell’s younger brother- also without a father- she couldn’t stop from wondering about the family she never knew. But the wondering led to questions that she simply couldn’t find an answer to, questions about why her father wasn’t in her life. Had he known about her? Did he care? And if he did know? Why wasn’t he in her life? What had been so bad about her that he had decided to keep away from his own daughter? Eventually those questions became a bitter poison inside of the girl’s brain and heart. While still very close to her mother and younger half-brother the girl built a wall around her heart to keep her safe from the rest of the world. Putting up a wall was far easier than letting people in. If she didn’t let people get close to her then she couldn’t get hurt. And she would get hurt. Because it couldn’t have been more clear that there had to be something wrong with her. If there wasn’t? Then her father probably would have been in her life at least a little bit. Over the years Rydell became a bitter, cold person. Most people would consider her cruel or rude; most people didn’t enjoy her company. She had a select group of people that she was still close to, both her mother and brother being a part of that small group. For years the only real socialization that she had was when she was out partying, falling far too easily into drinking too much and using drugs and sex to escape the pain inside of her. But the people she spent time with weren’t people she considered friends- and even the friends that she had for years? She doesn’t really call them her friends either. These days Rydell spends as little time around people outside of her small social circle as she can unless she needs some vague human contact. Most of the time she can be found at the local tattoo parlor where she works as an artist, with her small family or at one of the local bars. She’s been trying to reform her ways a little bit and while she still drinks probably far too much and goes out far too often she doesn’t get sloppy like she used to. And she’s been giving the whole celibacy thing a try for the last few months. But as broken as she is on the inside- and as cold as she acts on the outside- Ry is forever looking for affection and validation outside of what she receives from her mother and brother. It just happens to be very ironic that any time anyone seems to be getting close to her? She pushes them away.

Rydell is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Riley Madden Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 26 Occupation: Unemployed Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah Amount of time on the island: 5 years, left for two, back a week ago Face Claim: Phoebe Tonkin

Bio: (Triggers: Drug abuse)

Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Riley’s pattern of being unwanted began the second she came out of the womb. Unable to care for her daughter or unwilling to, she never actually found out, her mother put her up for adoption straight away forcing the tiny baby to be put into a foster home. The first of many it turned out. Bounced from one dysfunctional thrown together family to another the little girl never really had a sense of where her home was. Spending the first five years in Utah with three different families before being sent to a new foster family in New Mexico she never really knew where she was meant to belong, or what her identity was meant to be. Attempting to carve one out for herself just turned her into a bit of an oddball, acting out considerably at whatever school she was flung into, no one ever seemed to want to adopt Riley and honestly who could blame them.

The girl was a bit of a tearaway always wanting to push the boundaries as much as she could to see where that got her, and most of the time it got her sent to another family. Before she was even old enough to drink she’d sneak out to get drunk illegally with friends - at least she told herself they were friends but really they were just a group of misfits just like she was trying to muddle their way through the confusion and hell of adolescence. Still she never touched drugs until she met Cassidy Bolton. Having decided to take herself to California when she turned eighteen and was no longer under the ward of the state she moved from town to town without any real purpose, finding herself in Gaia Cove  a few weeks before her twentieth birthday.

Cassidy was unlike anyone she’d ever met before, he was like poison to her but in the best possible way, introducing her to a life of class A drugs that left her feeling something and nothing at all at the same time. It was exactly what the woman had been looking for. A way to escape the crippling emptiness of her life when she felt like a burden at all times. Not to him though, no to him she felt like an asset for the first time ever, he wanted her around, they had a good time together and it lead her to put down some tentative roots in the community. She managed to get herself a job mixing drinks at The Vine which was the perfect way to segue her work straight into her partying as soon as her shift ended, not that she always waited for that, drugs and alcohol so ingrained into her life she was never really entirely sober at all. Weed, the odd bump of coke, it gave way to crack and then a vicious addiction to heroin that became all consuming, but it didn’t matter, because it was part of the life she now shared with Cassidy and the two of them had fallen into their personal utopia they had no desire to get out of, nor did they have any need to. 

No need to until Riley found out she was pregnant that is, turns out unsafe sex and reckless behaviour could lead to this kind of thing even if the two of them hadn’t even considered it as an option. Her first reaction had been to run to the nearest planned parenthood without stopping to catch her breath, but after a few lengthy discussions with both Cassidy and his mother, some of which ended in yelling…actually most of them did, but the conclusion they reached was to attempt to get clean while they kept the baby. Lily didn’t make her entrance quietly, her mother was in labor for thirty two hours before she was finally born, and everything seemed so good for a while. Like it might just turn out to be okay for her, after all she had her own little girl now who was the most perfect child in the world. Except the fear inside her that she was going to ruin this perfect baby got worse, consuming her over the next couple of months, and without the comfort of drugs to take the edge off it caused her to breakdown. 

Riley had never wanted to leave her daughter in the arms of her father but the idea she might influence the way the little girl turned out because of her addictions was too strong of a pull. The burden of that fear was just too much for her to bare and bolting was the only way out. Heading for Los Angeles she only got as far as the half way point of Route 66 before she crashed out with a woman she’d met at a club who shared her love of…illegal substance abuse and reckless behaviour. Indulging in everything her heart desired to try and ignore the guilt she felt for leaving her family behind. It took three years but she finally saw clarity. If she stayed away from Lily any longer her fears had become a self for filling prophecy. Her baby would grow up without her mother just like Riley had, forget the drugs, she would have been abandoned and who knows how much that could impact her self worth down the line. And just as soon as she had disappeared, she came back. 

Jobless, homeless, dangerously low on money with only enough to cover a couple of nights at the Swan Motel under her belt she was at the mercy of her ex entirely. It was scary, she was secretly scared, but shooting up would help her get through just like it had for the last six years. Was it a healthy way to cope? No. Was it the only option Riley thought she had? Yes. She wanted to see her daughter, plus she missed her ex in ways no one else was able to for fill, so now she had one thing on her mind. Plus getting a job obviously, none of this would be coming for free after all. 

Riley is played by Indi

[gaia-cove]

Name: Darren Carlos Rojas Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 35 Occupation: Owner and manager, Red Moon Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: 23 years (split between two times) Face Claim: Michael Trevino

Bio: (Triggers: Allusions to serious crimes, mercenary work, death )

It had been said many times in his life that Darren was simply born under a bad sign. When he was born his parents were ecstatic. He was the child that they had always hoped and prayed for. After all, his parents had been trying for a child for five years before Darren was born and there he was, their miracle baby. But quickly the excitement of finally having the child they had always wanted faded. By the time their son had hit first grade it became apparent to them that something was amiss. By then their second child had been born and Darren quickly showed that he hadn’t developed the same emotional range that other children his age had. Solemn and somewhat cold their son had a problem connecting with other people and often had little reaction to anything sad or violent that would happen around him. That only worsened as Darren got older. Puberty only seemed to make him colder and those around him soon realized that any friendly or polite interaction with him was little more than an act. His parents sought professional help assuming that they could fix whatever was wrong with their child. But there would be no fixing Darren. Something inside of him was skewed and if he felt the normal range of emotions? They were buried deep beneath the surface, so deep that even he didn’t seem to have access to it. Throughout high school his so-called friendships were superficial at best, connections simply used to put his parent’s minds at ease and to appear normal to those around him. But Darren always knew that when push came to shove none of the people he spent his time with mattered much to him at all. Not his supposed friends, not his family- no one. He knew that it wasn’t normal not to care about others at all but it was normal for him. And soon after graduation he left Gaia Cove and practically cut off all contact with the people there. For over a decade following his departure Darren travelled the world, never sticking in one place too long. And for the better part of that time he paid his way working as a mercenary, taking on whatever job was offered to him and completing them without hesitation. His inability to connect to others made that life easy- there was no guilt, no remorse and no one to worry about leaving behind. On the rare occasions that he would return to Gaia Cove? His parents had learned not to ask about his life and how things were going. In truth? Darren was sure that his parents were afraid of the answers they would get were they to ask. Eventually it became clear that no matter where he travelled he would never truly be like everyone else. While true connections are still quite difficult for him he has become better at putting on a front. And with that knowledge he returned to Gaia Cove, moving in with his uncle upon his arrival rather than with the parents who had always been rather disappointed in their first born. Even venturing to his family home has been a rare occurrence even though he does tend to stop in to visit his sister from time to time. But whether it is because he actually cares rather than he feels obligated to look out for her? Well, that’s not something he is even sure of anymore. His uncle was the first real connection he had ever formed- though it took years for him to be capable of even that. So, when his uncle died it definitely didn’t hep matters any though he didn’t react the way people would expect one to expect when losing the family member they are closest to. Upon his uncle’s death though Darren inherited the Red Moon bar from him. And while had earned enough from his mercenary work where he didn’t need to work if he didn’t want to? He decided to take over running the bar like his uncle had wanted. These days he’s far better at faking feeling things like everyone else than he used to be- but whether or not he’s capable of making a connection to anyone else aside from the only one in his family who seemed to take him as he was? Well, that remains to be seen.

Darren is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Kaia Rowena Bowen Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 26 Occupation: Waitress, Green Wave Hometown: Sitka, Alaska Amount of time on the island: 4 years Face Claim: Florence Pugh

Bio: (Triggers: Cults, mentions of abuse, arranged marriages, allusions to murder )

Kaia was born into a large religious family in Sitka, Alaska. The winters were cold and harsh but her close-knit family made it work. From a very young age her father, the leader of their church, taught his children one very important rule- do not talk about their religion to outsiders. As a child Kaia never questioned her father’s rule. But as time went on she began to wonder why they weren’t allowed to discuss their religion. And the more she learned about the churches that her friends went to the more she began to realize how strange and restrictive her religion actually was. But she had been taught not to question their religion because to do so was to damn her soul- and to disobey her father was unheard of.

By the time Kaia was seventeen she had come to realize that their church wasn’t exactly a church but a cult. And her father ruled over them with manipulation and the threat of physical pain. And with that Kaia began to question her church and so-called family as a whole. While she was the exalted child of their church’s leader she wasn’t allotted any more freedom than anyone else in the group. And soon she began to realize that if she stayed? Her life would never be her own and all choices would have to be approved by her father. Because the profit knew what was best; the profit was to be obeyed.

Shortly before graduating from high school Kaia began to plan her way out of the cult. It would take time and dedication- and a lot of manipulation on her own part. She bided her time; she got permission from her father to get a job in town and secretly squirreled away money she earned beneath a floorboard in her room; she pretended not to notice when other members of the cult either showed up wounded or disappeared entirely. She played the part of the perfect daughter her father had always wanted and it broke her down a little bit more each day.

It took three years for Kaia to save up what she thought would be almost enough money to leave- but her time was quickly running out. Because her father was determined to marry her off to a young man he considered worthy of her from their “church”. Knowing that she couldn’t outright refuse her father’s wishes and that if she was married off she would lose the freedom she had to go into town and make more money would be completely gone. And so, though she hadn’t completely reached her goal, one day in the dead of night Kaia packed up only what she would need in a suitcase, removed her money from beneath the floorboards and left her family home never to look back. So a few weeks shy of her twenty-first birthday Kaia found her first taste of freedom.

For months she travelled through Alaska and through Canada trying to get as far away from her father and his group as she possibly could, only stopping to rest when she was too exhausted to go on and only staying in towns long enough to make a little more money so she could continue on her travels. She eventually crossed the border from Canada into the United States and just kept going until she eventually ended up in Gaia Cove a little over a year after she first left home. She finally felt far enough from her father and her church to settle into a home. But every day she worries that someone from the cult will track her down in her new home. She’s still going to make it work as best as she can.

Kaia is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Ophelia “O” Bernadette Thornwood Gender pronouns: she/her Age: 37 Occupation: English teacher, Gaia Cove High School Hometown: Salcombe, England Amount of time on the island: 12 years Face Claim: Natalie Dormer

Bio: (Triggers: Military, mentions of possible death )

Ophelia was born into a military family. For generations every male in her family served their country and did so with pride and dignity. And while her father wasn’t disappointed in the fact that he had a daughter and loved her deeply- he was very sure that for his family line? The days of the Thornwood family joining the military was over. Which is why it was a huge surprise to her father that upon graduating O instantly signed up for the military herself. Her father expressed concern for her safety- and was quick to remind her that not all men appreciated women serving. Those concerns were quickly dismissed by his strong willed daughter. Ophelia not only proved she could hold her own- but just how capable she was. She excelled in every challenge that was put before her and that in many ways she surpassed others in her unit. And while her father hadn’t been completely wrong- some people absolutely weren���t pleased with their being a woman working with them- for the most part she faced very little difficulties as a whole during her military career. At twenty-three Ophelia decided she had enough of military life and wanted to do something completely new. As if on a whim the blonde packed up everything she owned and moved out of the country, eventually settling in Virginia- and six months later moving to the island of Gaia Cove. The island had a certain charm and it was absolutely an easy place for her to settle in. She attended college on the mainland, working part time as a waitress at the local diner as she did until she eventually got her degree- and eventually ended up getting a job as an English teacher at the island’s high school. Ophelia kept in contact with her family and while none of them could understand the desire to move so far away but the blonde simply explained that she had needed a change- and while she couldn’t explain why really? She knew that she belonged there on the island. Four years ago O’s world shifted so she was no longer living alone on the island when she welcomed a little girl. Oriana quickly became the light of her life and nearly every second she wasn’t at work? She was with that little girl, rarely hiring a babysitter to watch her. Usually her coworkers would have to all but beg her to take some time for herself and trust Oriana in the hands of someone else. As for Oriana’s father? Well, Ophelia hasn’t seen him since shortly before she found out she was pregnant. The only thing she ever tells anybody about the father was that he had been someone she had loved and that he was no longer around. But what happened to him? No one really knows. She has never named names and people often wonder- is he still on the island? Did he leave? Is he even still alive? Whatever the answers are? Ophelia isn’t telling.

Ophelia is played by Jay

[gaia-cove]

Name: Cole Einstein Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 33 Occupation: Coast Guard Member Hometown: Bridgetown, Maine Amount of time on the island: 18 years Face Claim: Michael Vlamis

Bio: 

From a ‘wealthy’ family of tradesmen located along the east coat of North America within Maine specifically. He was raised along side his brother, barely a year apart they were near like twins. His brother excelled well in his own area; hosting, social life, academics were second compared to his skill, blending into society and the higher class of the population. Well Cole was a prodigy; at a young age he had a talent in studies and even dipped into musical tendencies just to have the boost for appearances. His parents thrived in the perfect child, sure his brother was special in his own way, adding diversity to their family. 

Cole’s talents in books to etiquette  and athletics were great and a true ‘Einstein’. The family earned a reputation for producing the intelligent, beautiful and perfect kids. Between that and the business the elder Einsteins wanted to expand their name so they moved to Gaia Cove, attempting something different from the pace between. Cole was just sixteen while his brother was prepping for his finally year of school, thrown into the area the two adjusted as they could.

Cole happened to discover a love for the sea in the time he had left in high school. It wasn't as his father would have liked but he saw the wonder of the water during a fishing trip with a friend’s family and there was little to change his mind. However he applied for college at first thinking it was the proper thing, going for marine biology. His time there spent between books and bed how he managed to meet a woman who reminded him of the water is a real miracle. When they got married it happened suddenly and too quickly to allow them to fully enjoy the time and it ended before it had a real chance. Despite the closure of the chapter they still are on good terms. He owes the change of his life to her; signing into the coast guard shortly after he started his third year of college. Years later his parents still hold a minor grudge over his choice in careers but his rank and dedication earned him respect among peers. Spending a few years traveling he made his way back to the shores of Gaia with a fresh title and ready-go attitude for life he had only as a child.

Cole is played by Minn

[gaia-cove]

Name: Daniel Bolton Gender pronouns: he/him Age: 33 Occupation: Firefighter / Derry’s Pub Manager Hometown: Gaia Cove, Virginia Amount of time on the island: Always Face Claim: Chris Hemsworth

Bio:  (Triggers: Mental Health, Suicidal thoughts )

Daniel was always a free spirit, so an institution like a school didn’t work much for him, he suffered from ADHD, so it made him feel trapped. He was always skipping classes, going out to skate, surf, and have fun around the town. It was a bit surprising that he actually finished high school, but then again deep down he knew how to make things work for him and was smart, he just wasn’t interested in spending a whole day sitting on a chair listening to a guy that had probably never left their town to see the world.

Right after he finished high school, he immediately got himself to work, he wasn’t interested in getting into another prison-like college, he was all about winning as much money as he could, to leave Sonoma and travel the world and so he did.

He quickly took a backpack and made his way from the coast of Virginia, to California and down to beyond the border, and worked his way from Mexico to La Patagonia.

It was in Mexico that he met what he was certain was the love of his life Adriana when he first met her he thought she was just a middle-class girl he met at a bar while he was working, she taught him how to speak Spanish, how to dance. But things changed when his bar closes down, he was left on the street, that he learned the truth when she gave him a place to stay and found him a job as a kitchen helper in one of her dad’s hotel, things didn’t change much around him it seemed like the more time they spent together the closer they got.

That’s when he also realized that his dream job was to cook for other people, to create dishes, learned about new countries’ food, so that’s when he asked Adriana to join her on his trip, but things got complicated and eventually Daniel left Mexico without her, but they stayed friends, and he was always emailing her, sending her photos about the food he learned to cook, the beaches he had surfed and the people he met.

Right, when he was preparing himself to move his journey to Europe he received an urgent call from his family, asking him to come back, after his father almost lost his life on an emergency call.

He didn’t know just how broken things were at home until he came back to his home to find his dad’s life hanging, his brother suffering from a bad drug addiction, their mom having to deal with everything, having baby sister to be kind of the rock of everything when she should just be enjoying her youth. Daniel felt guilty for leaving his family, and just not being there for them, so he forgot about his dreams, rolled into the Fire Academy like his dad had always wanted, took most of his father’s responsibility at the bar, and just did what he thought would make his parents life a little better and relaxing.

Daniel was trying to be the perfect son, the perfect brother, but living that way trying to make everyone happy but himself, has affected him emotionally, making him very depressed and angry but hiding it very well from everyone. He hit a very dark moment in his life, where he thoughts were strongly affecting him and thinking about ending his life. He force himself to find professional help before he ended up making everything worst for his family due to his silent mental illness, after months his therapist suggest to get a emotional support animal, that’s when he got Arya, most of his family members and everyone around him, just think of her as his beloved dog that he takes everywhere, but deep down, she’s there as part of his therapy progress. And even when she has helped him, Daniel was still suffering quietly from the anger, depression and frustration.

Daniel is played by Mafe