APPLICATION.
"He's a bastard and a madman and a master of the gun."
***dark blue implies revisions as of January eleven, two thousand eleven.
THE PLAYER
NAME. Angel
E-MAIL. ask for privacy's sake.
AIM. kidwiththefac
JOURNAL. n/a
OTHER CHARACTERS. n/a
THE CHARACTER
JOURNAL. suuscurator
FULL NAME. Cody Emerys Nivson
AGE. August 24;; 19 years
CANON. original character
RACE. human
TIMELINE. mid-canon.
FAMILY.
biological mother -- Leann Emerys Savanh, 36 years has not seen since sixteen.
alive.
step-mother -- Natalie Sinclair, 35 years
father -- Thomas Daniel Nivson, 37 years
half-sister -- Alyssa Sinclair Nivson, 13 years
deceased.
ABILITIES.
* in all honesty? he's average. Cody's not considered a wimp nor is he known for being a muscle head. while years of climbing and running around whatever the city's offered to him have left Cody with the ability to hold his own, his stress-smoking habit has him not as good as he could be. he's got some skill in grappling and hand to hand combat aside from his spider monkey antics, thanks to rotten friends and self defense lessons. though, as it stands, he is pretty average when compared to the next person, but he can make things aesthetically pleasing, if that counts for anything.
* knowledge wise, he's read his fair share of books, he knows his own set of fairy tales, but his strength lies in technology. he spent a few years minoring in computer science just so he could make a few dollars on the side working tech support. that along with his major in photography? he knows a thing or two about machines. also, due to his family's background, he knows some Swedish and Korean on the side. have fun figuring out which part of the race he really is though.
POWER LIMITATIONS.
* not applicable - he's average, got nothing out of the comic books. pretty much, he's fair game to anything and it's possible he will be broken in half like a twig if he crosses paths with the wrong people.
INVENTORY.
× one messenger bag, complete with gloves, a black hoodie, some pens, matches, pencils, papers, and a book with various scribbles in it; Cody's schedule, grocery list - just absent minded notes
× the clothes off his back - one bandanna-scarf, a pair of jeans, track shoes, gray v-neck, leather belt
× one pack of Camel cigarettes complete with a full lighter - eight months without smoking will do that
× one nikon camera
× one flashlight with a spare pack of four batteries
HISTORY.
Cody was born at a high school party in Oregon to a pair of teens who had no clue what the hell they were supposed to do with a crying baby boy. naturally, the initial feeling was to leave him for someone else to find, but both Leann and Thomas' sympathy for the child led to them taking care of their new --and unexpected-- son at sixteen and seventeen, respectively. things are already until Cody's third birthday - Leann believes she can't handle the stress, and disappears in the middle of the night, leaving Thomas to take care of their child. by this time, he's already grown far too attached to his son to the point where he can't believe his sweetheart's justification for taking off. his parents help to care for Cody, and this is where his detachment from his mother begins.
he grows up semi-normal; due to Thomas' insecurities about leaving his son with his parents, Cody is often brought to Thomas' job at the old cinema. he spends time growing up knowing classic movies, and he watches them so often that sometimes he quotes the films to brighten up his father's day. there's a point however, where little Nivson finds himself upset with the moving pictures. he doesn't like the idea of life moving at a neck-breaking pace; he wants to take things at his own speed. but there's this small fear that one day, life will pass him by and he won't be able to do anything about it. [of course, the reason for /why/ he has such a dislike of watching certain films isn't realized until later on. still.] upon this realization, he goes through a series of night terrors; a trip to the doctor reveals he has a mild case of hemophilia, courtesy of Leann's side of the family. thanks, mom. despite it, Cody's not all that bothered - he just thinks he's a little different. so he gets some medicine for the nightmares, and treatment for his conditions begins. around this time, Cody finds himself spending a little less time enthused by the films, and instead looks through the film reels themselves because he can't sit still and watch life; he wants to be part of it. school starts with little difficulty - Cody doesn't get into much trouble until the second grade.
this is when he meets Dren de Ciantis, the guy who's been the closest at ever knowing everything about Cody. their encounter is a subtle one; Cody asks if he can borrow Dren's green crayon, and by the end of the day, Dren is already sticking his neck out for the other. regardless of such chivalry, they both end up in the principal's office - the black eye on Dren's face doesn't hurt but Cody needs stitches. this is also the beginning where Cody picks up how friendship works, and why you should always make sure that the kids you talk bad about aren't there to hear you. aside from the fights that often escalate out of control because of Dren's reckless ability and little Nivson's inability to convince his friend otherwise, the two of them get along well for the rest of elementary school. Dren brings over a video one day, and the two of them watch. it's a film about parkour, and immediately both boys are interested. right after, they rush out and start running on whatever they can see, climbing whatever's not too tall for them - they come back to Dren's house covered in bruises, much to the alarm of Dren's mother. they promise to each other that they'll get better at it, and so everyday after school, the two of them rush off to the park to practice, when they're not busy with other things, of course. the feeling catches Cody and he finds himself free; he doesn't mind the pain, because Thomas has taught him that there is no reward without struggle. he learns a lot of things from his dad. for his twelfth birthday, Cody gets a Polaroid camera - he adores the thing and abuses the flash function but that's okay because he's doing what he wants to do. just in time too.
seventh grade starts, and middle school is a whole different ball park. the night terrors have settled themselves and he's no longer at risk of death from a paper cut because of treatment. should problems be stumbled upon, he finds his escape through photography, parkour, living life, and friends like Dren who go out of the way to treat him kindly and like crap at the same time - fights are often, but they're mild and the worst that Cody endures during middle school is a black eye where Dren elbowed him trying to stand up. inbetween all of these crises, the fights he and Dren get into continue - at least those make sense. he makes friends and enemies all at once, since that smile hardly leaves his face for the rest of middle school. Thomas meets Natalie somewhere inbetween Cody's seventh and eighth grade - the two of them hit it off quickly and soon Cody finds himself with a mother suddenly where he thought he had none. he holds no qualms about the decision because if his dad is happy, why does he need to get in the way of that? Alyssa becomes his step-sister and he doesn't mind the company, almost welcomes it. during the time that Natalie and Alyssa move in, Thomas has found a house for he and Cody to live in, away from his parents.
during remodeling for the new members of their family, Thomas sets up a development room for Cody's photos. he encourages this hobby, says that Cody looks happy when he's sharing his pictures, doing what he wants to. his son can't agree more, and he knows lucky he is to have such a father in his life. he doesn't want his biological mom - the life he has is enough. yet, because the fates are cruel, Leann comes back just as freshman year starts for Cody. she wants to make amends, apologize for missing so many birthdays and holidays. Cody doesn't want to hear any of it because the resentment's been bottled up with nowhere to go - he becomes livid at her appearance, and rejects any offer she makes to catch up. she gives up once she sees that no one is on her side, and promises to return to at least give Cody his birthday gift. the rest of the night, Cody spends his time in the development room, refusing to come out as he strings up photos, organizes what he has left yet. parkour continues, his pictures continue, school continues. he doesn't hear from Leann again and he's okay with that, because when has she ever been there for him anyway? sixteen is supposed to be a good year. it's not. unbeknown to anyone, Leann had been diagnosed as terminally ill - Cody rejecting her as his mother hadn't helped at all, but whatever sanity she had stayed with her until her baby boy was to turn sixteen.
she comes to visit, but Cody is out with friends in the city. Leann says she can wait for him to come home, Thomas concedes, but its not the right choice, and his kindness towards his high school sweetheart is what ruins things. when Cody comes home, Thomas, Natalie, and Alyssa are dead, and Leann is holding a smoking pistol, her hands are covered in blood. she wishes him a happy birthday before making a run for it out the backdoor, and Cody doesn't bother to follow. the next day, he is declared a ward of the state, and is sent to grow up in a foster home. thanks for the gift, mom.
growing up in a foster home isn't so bad - he lives the next two years of his life with an elderly couple who barely know the reasons of why Cody is an orphan in the first place. they're senile to the point where they believe that they've raised little Nivson on their own since he was born, and while this is bitter and sweet at the same time, he doesn't blame them for anything. if anything, he tries to love them as if they honestly are his parents; half the time it works, and half the time it doesn't. moreso, he spends his time planning on what to do after high school instead, so that he doesn't present so much of a burden on them. regardless of what he believes, mister and miss Collins adore him.
he continues high school, and most of it is spent hiding such scars - he allows the hate for his mother to hide beneath the surface and grow while trying to keep a strong front for his classmates and friends. he keeps a smile. the hate doesn't completely consume him at this point, but this is where the crucial point comes in. Cody resolves to live the life he was given to the best of his ability, and for the most part, it seems to work. he even graduates without any problems!
at seventeen he nearly falls back to reality, because Cody tries his hand out at bootcamp. he spends the next few months at a makeshift training camp. it's not so horrible a place that it breaks his persona - he takes it with a grain of salt. during the time he spends there, he makes more enemies than friends and it does take its toll on his happy-go-luck attitude. his aggression practically skyrockets from the time he spends at boot camp. the shouting and the fights inbetween the strenuous courses don't help it either and his stress grows with nowhere to go but up. due to such a change in his life, it's not so much that night terrors come back to him at this time; rather, it's a spell of insomnia that wracks his frame this time around. due to the stress and desperation to find some sort of reprieve, Cody's willing to do quite literally everything to nothing. its at this time a bunk mate offers him a cigarette and like taking candy from a stranger, Cody accepts. he finds that despite raising his risk for lung cancer while using the sticks, they lower his stress and make it easier for him to focus. he bums a smoke regularly from the same person who gave him one in the first place for the rest of the time he spends in training.
this habit stays with even even past the recruit facility. Cody makes it through the three months but they leave him more detached from society than close to it. he's more aggressive if he's pushed the wrong way, and the number of things that manage to irk him have tripled since the time he walked past that camp settlement. everything around him has stayed the same; he's that one that's changed and it feels as if his world beneath his feet slips away. he finds himself distant from everything that had been his life, from friends to hobbies. anything that made him free now feels awkward this realization hits him a month or two after he gets out of recruitment and he tries to make amends. he starts with the small things at first - on his eighteenth birthday, he resolves to stop smoking. it happens painfully, but he weans himself off the cancer sticks, despite keeping a pack of Camel in his back pocket at all times. some habits die hard however, and if you mess with him then it ends in more ways than one, with Cody hurt, you hurt, or the police having the break up whatever goes.
just in case things ever start to suck badly, he tells himself. his life falls back into place, and though things are not the best they can be, he's getting somewhere. it is that same awkward fit, but he's a persistent one and so he makes it work the best he can. Cody moves onto college at nineteen and works at his major in photography - computer science is taken as a minor for fun, he says. he gets by paying tuition through the scholarships he was sane enough to apply for, and the ones offered to him because of his photos. no longer a dependent, he buys himself an apartment; the separation from the Collins is painful on both sides, but Cody seems to hide it better than the other two do. he makes money on the side doing odd jobs and selling his photos to local newspapers, magazines -- loans seem to help pay where he can't. he struggles to pay the bills and find a job, just the same as anyone else.
nothing to do, nowhere to be
PERSONALITY.
to be blunt, Cody is a normal guy who reacts the way one does. upon first impressions he either likes you or he doesn't, but he's always ready to give a second meeting a try. there's a bit of a laid-back personality within him that shines through when he'd rather smile and laugh at an idea instead of taking it seriously. at times, he usually goes along with the minority rather than the majority, mainly because he believes everyone just deserves a chance at some point. he'll watch the back of his friends without asking for the same, and he's willing to do the impossible when push comes to shove. because his dad was mainly the sole parental figure in his life, Cody's been raised to treat others with a decent amount of respect. be kind and courteous to those you can, and hold back whatever comments you can about someone - at least until they're not listening.
of course, with twenty years spent on developing such a perspective, he has his own personal tweaks on the lessons handed down to him. being polite to everyone? he can do that, but if he's provoked? he can't necessarily be held responsible for defending himself. though.. this openness has him a little more oblivious at times - rather, he focuses on one thing at a time more than the whole picture. whether it's because of a small attention span or not, it just tends to happen. if there's anything he can say, he's learned kindness from his dad, trust and positives. now, his mother is a different story. ask anyone who knows Cody - they believe he can't honestly hate someone. sure, complications and disagreements may arise, but he doesn't have it in himself to hate anyone because he knows better, he realizes what it is to not be wanted. yet.. with his mother? he hates her, he can openly say it and if he does, he hardly looks like the kid who shot you that smile, threw a joke to cheer up your day. long story short, his mom's a difficult topic, and his violent tendencies rear their head when she's in the mentioned.
there's motive behind his resentment however, past the fact that she left him. he doesn't want to repeat the mistakes he's been witness to, those mainly being everything Leann's done that has affected him directly/indirectly. everything that he's done in life has been in rejection of the woman who birthed him. from her decision to leave him? he resolves to love his sister without end to avoid having another person grow up wondering what the hell they did wrong to make mom leave. his mother's choice to visit and expect that everything was okay? it results in a lack of complete trust for anyone he meets; they might know Cody, but that doesn't mean he's shown them all. his hate might just be his Achilles's heel however - he won't ever talk about it to anyone, and since it sits there inside him, it takes root. it's given time to grow, and because of it, Cody can't always be the positive kid that others perceive him as. in fact, spending time in training camp hardened him a bit - his hostility increased and his tolerance for his dislikes decreased; it leaves him prone to getting into more fights. along with that, such hate stays with him even to this point in his life; it's bound to make or break his decision, if he doesn't learn to find an answer on how to deal with such contempt.
yet even though such traits appear to leave him almost jaded, he's caring, forgiving. his heart shows on his sleeve and if he cares about someone, it'll be painfully obvious. he's no master at subtlety - if he gives you honesty, that's what you'll get and then some. should he begin to flirt? it means you've got his attention, and that he'll either end up liking you, or he'll really start to like you. now, back to what dad's taught him, and what he's learned because of it. usually, no matter what tends to happen to Cody, his positive demeanor shines through because he's taken it upon himself the mindset that well.. no one deserves to suffer, and why should he be a part of the reasons for such turmoil? he'd rather help than make things worse. despite such an outlook, he falls under the influence that his own life has been nothing but a string of mistakes and bad luck - one he needs to leave at just that. so he'd rather help people than mope around self-pity and misery - he aims to make others smile.
Cody resolves to prevent further mistakes through his actions, and that's what defines him. yet at the same time he's distancing himself from his mother, he's breathing life to feelings and resentment towards her because of what she's done in regard to him. this resentment's been given time to grow; from the moment she left him and his dad, to the point where she took his family and left herself alive, through training camp, and even now. even if camp was not her doing, it brought out almost the worst in him - the restrictions on his life and attitude chipped away at him, and allowed the hate to seep in even more. the fact that it pushed him into smoking didn't help his feelings either. this is what has him at that moment in his life; he's worried that if he sees her, he'll kill her, yet at the same time if he doesn't, there's this paranoia that his contempt for her will consume everything he's worked for.
Cody can't take a fast paced life that he's not a part of. he'd rather be part of it and slow down if he can - if he can't, then at least he can hold that experience as his own. he's more of the spontaneous type to be honest, but that's how he sees life. unpredictable, random, capable and incapable of being described with a single photo. a picture is worth even more than a single action, at a thousand words a piece. whatever Cody takes pictures of, he finds meaning the significance in its happening. if it's difficult for him to find such a positive, he ends up dragging himself down but of course that doesn't stop Nivson. he stops himself with a reassuring statement that there's only one of him - if he falls down, who'll pull him back up?
with such a philosophy, Cody finds it hard to stay on the other side of the fence for so long. in addition to that, not much angers him either so that positivity stays with him. he ends up wanting to make the best of things in the worst of times despite all the cards life's dealt him in the past. it's more of his way of coping, if one would like to look at it from that way. that doesn't imply that he's a pushover or anything. if there's a lesson to be learned, he'll be stubborn in proving it - and that can be either in a good or a bad way. in addition to that, Cody's not friendly to gossip or things of the sort; false statements that go around until they become truth? he'll give whoever started it and whoever spread it something to talk about once he's done with his way. when he's upset, he'll either hold it in --because he thinks it's his own problem--, or he'll let the world know just because honesty's a good policy. he does have a tendency to speak without thinking however, but that hasn't necessarily killed him. yet, anyway.
with strangers he's friendly, with friends he's a gentleman and all around good guy, and with close friends... well, he hasn't gotten that far yet. past that hardly anyone knows about his lack of interest for romance past Hayley Johnson in grade eight. yes, he does flirt with every other girl he seems to meet but past the surface, it seems as if there's nothing else. he's become quite open with his sexuality as well - he doesn't give a straight answer, but he doesn't exactly deny the claim. in that, he's almost a bit of a joker and philosopher at the same time. should the mood call for it, he'll quote something that may or may not be insightful - if it gets something done, that he'll hardly complain for it. aside from these layers, that's just who Cody is. he still has his own issues behind that smile, of course, but its nothing that he believes he can't handle. though.. he is also a bit of a workaholic, if things ever set themselves up properly. once he works himself to the point of exhaustion, it's possible to see him in a different light - and that happens often, since he'd rather be occupied than without work. if caught off-guard during this time however he can be quite unlike himself; he turns into a pushover, he says yes to anything, he thinks things through, and he gets to admit some things he'd protest against otherwise.
so to sum it up, he's a kid who wears his heart on his sleeve, the kind of optimist you want to know, but at the same time a kid who's got his own set of scars and problems.
PLAY-BY. Gaspard Ulliel.
SAMPLES.
first-person
* Hey, anyone mind helping a guy out? I mean, I'm still not so sure on the idea that I've been kidnapped by... fairies, but it looks like that's the best answer I'm gonna get around here. I mean, I'm not trying to find a loophole or the back exit, heck I'm not even trying to offend --I wouldn't, honest!-- but is there really no way back home? I mean, 'cause that's awful lousy timing on the part of whoever decides to take people from where they are and then drops them here without another explanation. I doubt anyone else would want to be taken just as they need to make a choice, and hey, maybe that's how everyone ends up here but.. does anyone know when they get to go back? What happens if they go home, and it's.. already to late to make whatever choice there was? Or.. maybe I'm thinking too hard about this. The stress got me, that's it! All I need to do is... is... Aww, cripes. I'm really stuck here, aren't I? And not just me, everyone else who got grabbed, huh? Well.. Least that's one thing we've got in common - guess we're not that different.
third-person
* Fingers shake as he lowers the phone from his ear - his teeth gnash against one another, as if the top if the ocean, and the bottom row is just a line of rocks for punishment. They beat against one another, and one side eventually concedes defeat. Met with the dial tone on the other side, he founds himself quieter than usual, unable to take a seat yet not wanting to stay standing, not when his legs are shaking and his knees knock together the longer he decides not to make a decision. He opts to lean against the kitchen counter, and the phone doesn't even make it to his back pocket. Instead, the pack of Camel stays without a companion, and instead that piece of communication finds itself flying across the room. It slams against the fridge and slides down, the plastic cover over it breaks and lays limp against the tile. Attempting to calm his breathing and prevent shouting, Nivson clamps both hands over his mouth and presses himself against the cabinet, sliding down until his knees are level with his neck.
A breath in, and a breath out - another one in and another one out, he says. By the time he finishes, his breathing resembles that of a sob, but he tries not to point that out much to himself. His mom.. his mom's alive - she kills everyone he knows, wishes Cody a happy birthday, runs off without further wood, and.. she's alive. Cody realizes at this point how cruel life can be, and for it, he buries his face into the denim of his pants. He lets it out in a yell, and he doesn't care who's listening or who'll come over to watch. Honestly? He doesn't know how much longer he can keep trying to be strong if the next piece of news is worse than the current one.
What else can he do though?