Cody Simmons || 21 || The Crawford Farm || FC: Eddie Redmayne || OPEN
I’m wanted for involuntary manslaughter in the state of Tennessee. The man tried to mug my elderly father, and when I fought him off, I got carried away and hit is head against the wall too hard. I never meant to kill him.
Bio:
Blown in on the wind, Cody arrived in Sennewica two years ago, when he was hired by the Crawfords as a farmhand. His arrival caused quite a stir in the sleepy town, since visitors and newcomers were rare as it was, let alone ones who seemingly came out of nowhere, no home or family or past to speak of. He just drifted in one day, walked right up to the front porch of the first farmhouse he saw, knocked on their door, and asked if they needed a handyman for hire. This was certainly something to talk about for the townfolk of Sennewica, but people soon stopped asking questions when they realized that Cody wasn’t answering any of them. The Crawfords kept back the nosy busybodies who went to them for their farmhand’s story with evasive replies and curt changes of conversation- whatever they knew about the man they hired, they weren’t about to let the gossipers of the town feed off of the information like vultures. Really, the Crawfords didn’t know much more than the rest of the townspeople, but despite thier own initial curiousity, they came to realize that it didn’t matter. Cody was an earnest young man, a hard, efficient worker, and a desperately- needed asset on the huge farm which was already a struggle to keep up with. Though the man kept to himself in the beginning, over time they came to regard him as a part of the family. Cody feels the same way about the people who employ him and house him- wherever he came from, whatever he left behind, he has found a new life in this small town. To everyone, Cody became a familiar part of Sennewica in no time, a regular face, just another landmark assimilated into the landscape
Though around most he’s initially a man of little words, Cody is more than meets the eye. Some would label him just a simple farm boy since he never went to college after high school, but he’s knowledgable in a way that no formal education can bring, the way he instinctively knows his way with rain seasons and crops, or the stages of pregnancy in a cow, or how to break in a spirited, yearling horse to be as docile as a lamb. He’s a handyman by trade, which makes him very resourceful- he’ll figure out a way to fix anything, make anything work, just with what’s available to him. Branson and Delilah, the Crawford kids, like to joke that he can get more creative than MacGyver when the situation calls for it. And Cody’s a genuinely good and sweet person, as the Crawfords and most of Sennewica have come to discover. He’s fond of his “family”, and cares a great deal for them- Branson and Delilah are the siblings he never had, and the Crawfords are big-hearted, hard-working people he admires. His best friend in Sennewica, Brooke Conwell, is as versatile in trade and craft as he is, and the two first became friends after working together on the Crawford’s barn roof. Around these people, he’s more himself, more open and talkative and comfortable. Cody is as reliable as they come; someone who will never leave you in a bad situation, he’ll extend a helping hand to anyone in need of it, friend or stranger. Even with his secrets and unshakeable, questionable air of mystery, Cody is one of Sennewica’s most good, pure-hearted people.
The thing is, even if it doesn’t always feel that way, there is an outside world beyond little Sennewica, beyond the warm Georgian fields and quiet, rustling peach orhcards. It is that outside world that Cody came from when he appeared in Sennewica, and where he left the truth of where he came from and who he is. Cody is a good person, but even good people make mistakes- some, more serious mistakes then others. Little does anyone know, but Cody didn’t just arrive in Sennewica, he escaped to it, because a small, sleepy little speck of town like this one seemed the perfect place to hide from the mistake he knew he couldn’t just forget about or erase. But it’s been two years- will Cody be able to keep that mistake, the truth of his past, a secret forever, or is it catching up to him faster than he realizes? Everyone has some kind of darkness in their past, but how will the people of Sennewica, and the Crawfords especially, react when Cody’s secret finally comes to light?
Personality Traits and Key Details:
- In most environments, he’s not someone who talks a lot or speaks his mind out loud often, because he prefers actions to empty words. This makes him hard to read for most.
- Is protective and loyal of the people he cares, such as his friends and the Crawfords. He’s not related to them by blood, but over the past two years, he’s basically become a fifth family member.
- Is a man made for the farm- he knows everything about farming, about growing crops and tending to animals. Work on the farm is instinctual for him, it’s simply in his blood and his heart.
- Cody is always willing to be helpful. Turning down his assistance may hurt his pride a bit, but he doesn’t hold grudges, doesn’t harbor harsh feelings against anyone.
- He hides it well, but the guilt of the crime he is on the run for has been eating him alive inside as more and more time passes. He wishes he could just move on from it- that’s why he came to Sennewica in the first place- but his conscience won’t leave him alone.
Connections:
- Lives with the Crawfords, they’re like his “adopted” family after two years, and he’s very close to them.
- Views Delilah and Branson Crawford as younger siblings.
- Best friend is Brooke Conwell
