application for lastvoyages

[anidiotchild]

User Name/Nick: Gwen
User DW: betterdeadthanred
AIM/IM: girlwonder004 @ AIM
E-mail: isthereair@gmail.com
Other Characters: Dick Grayson, Trip Tucker, Charles Xavier, Bucky Barnes, Luther Scott.

Character Name: Dr. Simon Tam
Series: Firefly
Age: 27
From When?: Post Ariel.

Inmate/Warden: Warden. Simon is a good person, with good intentions and takes no pleasure in hurting other people, despite living with a bunch of criminals and being a wanted fugitive. He is also a very patient, devoted person, and would definitely be warden material.
Item: A notebook.

Abilities/Powers: Simon is a baseline human, but is incredibly, incredibly smart, and is a very skilled doctor, who's had to learn over the last several months how to get people out of dangerous medical situations with basically no supplies.

Personality: Simon can, and often does, come off as fairly unassuming. He's not particularly physically threatening, he's not a fighter by nature, and he still carries an air of being out of his element among criminals, from time to time. He's loosened up after being on Serenity, but there's still a sense that he came from money, and that he isn't entirely at home on the outer planets. It's partly apparent in the way he speaks: he rarely swears, and he tries to keep his temper in check even when upset. He insists to Kaylee that he only swears when it's appropriate, and that basically summarizes Simon in a nutshell. He still tries to keep civilized and only let his metaphorical hair down when it's appropriate, which makes him seem like he's not a threat and he's still kind of an uptight guy who doesn't 100% fit in on board a ship with a bunch of smugglers.

But Simon is very much more than he seems. As Shepherd Book points out "That young man is very brave. He gave up everything to free his sister from that place. Go from being a doctor on the central planets to hiding on the fringes of the system... There is not many who could do that." Simon might not be a fighter in the traditional sense, but he is far from the weak willed city boy he comes off as. He was (and still is) willing to stop at nothing to rescue River once he'd realized something was wrong, throwing away his entire life because none of it mattered if it meant his sister was still suffering. Abandoning everything you've ever known for the sake of one person takes guts. He would do literally anything for his sister.

And he has made strides in fitting in with the crew of the Serenity. Despite being pretty much hilariously incompetent at lying and playing other people at first - such as in "Jaynestown", when it's pretty obvious that he has no idea how to pretend to be a person in the market for clay, and is certainly no "Master of Disguise" - there is a definite harder edge to him that comes out in times of stress that makes him more or less fit in just fine on a crew of smugglers and outlaws when it really comes down to it. After Kaylee is shot in "Serenity", Simon uses his skill as a doctor as a bargaining chip, saying he'll help her so long as Mal doesn't turn him and River into the Alliance. This isn't to say he's an entirely uncompassionate monster. Simon has a lot of compassion and concern for other people, and is horrified with himself when Mal tells him Kaylee had died (which turns out to be Mal playing an awful joke on him). Basically, while he's certainly not all talk, he doesn't actually take pleasure in hurting other people, and doesn't usually take part in actual jobs. The only one that he does orchestrate he makes sure won't really affect the people in the hospital or the population of the planet itself, and while he could be talked into taking a gun into a firefight, it's only in the name of hurting people with plans to hurt the rest of the crew.

Simon is a pretty sarcastic person, usually using it to diffuse uncomfortable situations or point out how gorram ridiculous things have gotten. It's a coping mechanism, but it's also just a part of his personality, and there are times when he comes close to maybe pushing someone's buttons a little too much. He can be directly confrontational, and while he can't really take a punch to save his life, he's gotten to a point in his life where he isn't always going to take it lying down, either. While he does have moments of frustration - everyone does - Simon is generally a very patient person, who can speak calmly and rationally even when upset. It's unusual for him to raise his voice, and really he usually just sticks to calmly explaining why you're an idiot, or calling you out on your bullshit in a generally dryly sarcastic way.

Simon tries to stay positive, even when things get complicated and frustrating. He can be and often is a realist, but that doesn't mean he gives up easily. Just because he knows River's been seriously messed up by the Alliance doesn't mean there can't be some way to help her, and if the answer's medication or therapy or just stubbornly trying to unlock pieces of the puzzle, he is going to find it, and he won't give up until he does. And while he isn't as close to the rest of the crew of Serenity as he is to River, he's still a devoted crew member, and does get along well with most of them at the end of the day, even if still he feels a little like an outsider from time to time, especially with Jayne. He is, however, aware that his stay on Serenity is very conditional, which is probably also why there does tend to be a bit of a wall between him and the rest of the crew during tense situations. During the day to day, it's easier to pretend it doesn't exist, but when the chips are down, the Tams are still a risk to the rest of the crew and they might have to leave, and Simon makes sure he doesn't forget that.

He does miss life back home, back when things were simpler and he wasn't constantly on the run from a government that probably wants him dead and wants to do god knows what to his sister, but he really is satisfied with how things are now. He would do the whole thing again for River, because she's the most important part of his life. His parents, his friends, their society didn't care that she (and probably other kids) was being tortured, and so there's nothing left for him there. He still thinks of the good parts fondly, but they're in the past, nothing's going to change that, and he doesn't really mind.

And despite his stick in the mud tendencies, Simon is actually capable of having a good time. It used to be something he'd indulge in more frequently before his life went to hell, and he is still capable of it, but between needing to act like a professional and keep a watchful eye on his sister, he doesn't have a lot of time to relax and enjoy himself. This will probably carry over onto the Barge, because as a warden and a doctor, he has responsibilities, and this isn't going to be a pleasure cruise.

He's incredibly smart. Even if he comes off as being a fish out of water in a lot of situations, he's well read, and knows a lot about history, science and medicine, and he does, actually, have a mind for crime when he's familiar with the place they'll be hitting. He's well spoken, doesn't swear often, and does cling to the etiquette and manners he grew up with on Osiris, despite now being far away from that life. He explains to Kaylee that it's important for him to stick to it even while out in the black, because it's all he has left of his old life, and being polite with her is the only way he knows to show he cares about her.

As Simon tends to take things in stride (as best he can, really), he will do his best to roll with the various punches the Barge throws his way. Floods and breaches will probably be met with the usual amount of oh god, is this really happening to me/what the hell was that, but he'll ultimately be okay handling them. He will definitely get homesick, but as he'll be coming here with a deal to help repair the damage to River's brain, he'll be more than willing to stick it out for however long is necessary. He'll be patient and understanding with his inmate, and probably treat them a little bit like how he handles his sister. He'd probably do well with a younger inmate because of this, and does - obviously - have really strong older brother instincts. He will also probably try to stay professional and maybe a little distant from people on board initially, similar to how he worked with people on board Serenity before warming up to them.

Path to Redemption: N/A

History: Simon on the Firefly Wikia.

Sample Journal Entry:
[Simon clicks on the video feed, and he looks - and sounds - exasperated. The kid flood was fun and all, but the infirmary's still pretty thoroughly TP'd, and you can see a couple curtains of toilet paper draped over one of the cabinets behind Simon. The rest of the infirmary looks a lot worse.]

Look, I don't actually care why you did it or where you found six months worth of toilet paper, but I'd appreciate it if the people who wrecked the infirmary could get down here and pick up after themselves. Merlin and I are here to put people back together, not clean up after a bunch of kids who apparently snuck into the bar.

And if anyone wandered off with the cotton swabs? We'd definitely like to see them again.

Now that that's taken care of, [And he sighs, still sounding exasperated, but maybe a little embarrassed now, too, because he definitely maybe got up to some mischief himself, even if he was a semi uptight rich kid.] if anyone could tell me how best to start pretending this weekend didn't happen? I'd appreciate it.

Sample RP:
It was amazing, to be on board a ship that actually had supplies. Back on Serenity, Simon had to conserve the supplies he'd brought on board, because when they ran out of painkillers, it was anyone's guess when they'd ever see more again. Admittedly, they'd been able to restock when they'd done the hospital job, before the Admiral had offered him the chance to help River, really help her, not just try different medications and try to get her to tell him what had happened or stare too long at the scans they'd been able to take of her brain.

But it was still strange. There was new tech to learn - he'd never worked with a dermal regenerator before, for example, and the hand held scanners were definitely an idea he'd think about patenting back home, if he wasn't on the run from the government and therefore not in any position to be considering making strides in the medical field - and once again, he had a crew of people, many of them criminals, he had to prove he was worthy of their trust. And while things hadn't exactly gone smoothly at first back home, and there definitely hadn't been a lot of trust or affection in the beginning, convincing seven people he knew what he was doing and wasn't going to be a problem seemed easier than convincing a couple dozen, including a staff of people who'd been here for years.

At the moment, he was familiarizing himself with the infirmary, making sure he knew exactly where everything was, not really wanting to move anything around too much, even if he'd maybe think this would better be stored there and so forth. It almost felt like when he'd been doing his residency, on Osiris, except here he didn't really have anyone to answer to. Sort of.

(He honestly still wasn't sure what he thought of the other 'doctor' on board specializing in magic, of all things.)

There were footsteps behind him, and he immediately startled a little, almost looking like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. He straightened and awkwardly cleared his throat, closing the cabinet behind him.

"Can I help you?"

Special Notes: I'll be dropping Bones if Simon is accepted, but wanted to keep him on board until I could make the switch so the Barge wouldn't be without a licensed medical professional, especially given how bad port was. And here is a DM post for extra voice testing.