Simon Applewhite

Preferring the life of an introvert, Simon is very kept to himself and prefers the quiet over the hustle and bustle of **New York City.** Owning one of the only libraries in **Ladue**, Simon not only spends day and night there, but even lives above it to insure the older building is taken care of along with the books. If not working, he's visiting his twin sister, **Marnie Blackwood**, whom he's rather protective of. Especially from that buffoon of a husband she has.

## Backstory

Being raised by a mother who never loved you can never insure good things for a child growing up. When the Applewhite twins were born, only Marnie was expected. A sweet young girl giving **Pietro** and **Ingrid** the perfect little farm family they always wanted. But alas, Simon was born first and instantly Ingrid was repulsed by the idea of a son. As he grew up and left to the care of his mother after his father's imprisonment, Simon never had any grudge against Marnie. In fact, he saw his mothers wicked attitude as a reason to protect and shield his little sister from such an evil woman. So, like his father, Simon took a good portion of the beatings from his mother to keep Marnie unharmed.

This would eventually bite Simon as the Summer of 2005 would roll around. Knowing of his sister's secret love with a man states away, Simon kept the relationship under wraps and even smuggled the hand written letters to and from the post office for his sister. Learning that the man known as **Bailey Blackwood** was coming to Cottonwood Falls to steal Marnie away, Simon disagreed heavily with the idea but couldn't tell her no. He helped Marnie sneak out and ultimately crossed paths with their mother who wielded a Hay Fork from the barn. Just before she could harm Bailey with the weapon, Simon had put himself in front and took the hit which ultimately killed him within minutes.

Simon spent years in the **Afterlife** as a secretary. He was miserable, but who in the underworld wasn't? Everyone was lonely until their partner and/or family passed and if you had none of those on the surface then you were condemned to loneliness forever. (Unless you met someone in the Afterlife of course!) It's when Simon was approached by a **Reaper** who went by the name of **Charlie Linwood** that Simon was given a second chance at life. Being brought back to the surface as a ghost, Simon was reunited with his sister and the family she had created which overjoyed him. If only Bailey wasn't there.

Settling down, Simon eventually bought a business within the City of Ladue and turned it into a Van Der Linde Library, named after his father, and taken care of by only him and the occasional volunteers that would offer their time within the books.

## Family/Friends

Like his sister, Simon doesn't have many friends, but he likes it that way. He finds his social life within the pages of the books in his library and the chats with Marnie that he has.

## Headcanons

- Simon's favorite book of all time is *Frankenstein* by Mary Shelly,

- Although he says he's contempt being single, Simon secretly downloads dating apps every so often before getting bored with the hookup culture and deleting the app after a week only to repeat this cycle.

- Simon refuses to watch Star Wars. I really don't know why.

- Per ghost rule, Simon still has the wounds of the hay fork in his chest that never seem to close up no matter what remedies he tries.