Simon Tam [Firefly] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pompous_today) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
doublestars2012-07-04 04:57 pm
pompous_today) wrote in doublestars2012-07-04 04:57 pm
Entry tags:
OOC: Application for paradisa
PERSONAL
NAME: Shurimon
PERSONAL JOURNAL:shurimon
EMAIL: spdbridge03 at gmail dot com
AIM: Shuripus
WIKI NAME: N/A
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER
CHARACTER NAME: Simon Tam
SERIES: Firefly
CANON POINT: Post-movie
LOSS: His knowledge of how he broke River out of the Academy and of what is wrong with her brain. Much of what drives Simon over the course of series is finding out what the government did to his sister's brain while experimenting on her, what they were trying to accomplish, and finding out how to cure her. Forgetting how he broke her out (and learning that they were turning her into a human weapon) and a brain scan that showed the precise damage done would be a significant blow to his ability to treat her.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Simon Tam is very smart and totally devoted to two roles in his life- being a doctor and being a brother. He loves River, his mentally-damaged sister, so much that he gave up his entire life as he knew it for her. He risked his life, his freedom, and a lucrative career in medicine, as well as estranged himself from his parents, in order to break her out of a facility where she was being held against her will and experimented on. As a result of this, the two of them share a very strong bond. He is always the first to come to her defense when others criticize or misunderstand her, hides what he knows of the true nature of her conditioning as a human weapon in order to give them a chance at staying in one of the few places they can be safe, and supports her no matter what happens to them. Simon is more than willing to give his life in exchange for hers or die alongside her rather than live without her.
However, his strong attachment to his sister is not without its bad points. Simon constantly shoves aside his own wants and desires for River's sake, to the point where it becomes detrimental to his ability to form relationships with others. This is most evident in his developing romance with ship mechanic Kaylee- while it is obvious that he reciprocates her feelings for him, his focus on River prevents them from going very far as a couple until the end of the movie. He also doesn't take much time to try and form bonds with the rest of the crew, aside from the ones who support him and help care for his sister the most (Inara, Kaylee, and Shepherd Book), which leads to a lot of tension between himself and the ship's Captain, Mal. In addition, he is willing to kill, or at least let someone die from their injuries, rather than risk his sister being handed back to the Alliance.
As much as he tries to hide it, the burden of caring for his sister does take its toll on him after a while, and there are signs in the last episode that he is starting to crack under the pressure. For example, when taken captive by a bounty hunter who forces him to help find River, the bounty hunter remarks that River is becoming a problem, and Simon replies that he feels for him.
During his months as a fugitive, Simon quickly learned to be guarded and wary of trusting others. There were plenty of people who would turn him and River in for the reward money without a second thought, and so he keeps his and River's secrets close to his chest, even when withholding knowledge of her condition as a human weapon puts the rest of the crew's lives in danger. The ordeal the government put his sister through also makes Simon somewhat mistrustful of authority, especially those known to be working for the Alliance.
Due to his upbringing, Simon tries to be well-mannered, clean-cut and well-dressed at all times. This makes some, including his newfound crewmates, perceive him to be a snob, and makes him stand out on the less-civilized border planets. However, he explains in one episode that his manners are all he has left out in the far reaches of space, and being polite to people is how he shows that he respects them. Despite this, he has trouble fitting in with the others. He is not shy about complaining about his lot in life, being a fugitive on the run from the law, when he's used to being respected and having a lot of money. In addition, he often lacks tact when dealing with people on a personal level, having a tendency to speak before he thinks, and believing that the social graces he learned as an upper-class Alliance citizen apply everywhere. He often seems nervous and high-strung when outside the confines of the ship, as well, likely due to a very realistic fear that he and his sister will be found and arrested at any moment.
As someone who had a privileged and somewhat sheltered upbringing, as well as a doctor who is very serious about his job as a healer, Simon has a difficult time in a fight and when planning capers, which can hinder him when the gang so often runs into trouble. He often shows a reluctance to deliberately hurt others and at first is visibly uncomfortable helping the crew engage in any illegal activity. While keeping a cool head under pressure as he treats patients, Simon's strength lies in careful planning and he can have difficulty thinking on his feet and improvising when his plans go wrong.
Simon takes his role as a doctor very seriously. He tries to treat everybody equally when they are his patient, regardless of his personal feelings toward them, and will go out of his way to help someone who is sick or injured, disregarding his own personal safety. He is even willing to move outside his usual duties and comfort zone as a surgeon, including helping deliver a child, to offer his services to those who need them the most.
ABILITIES: Simon has no supernatural abilities, but he is an exceptionally skilled doctor. Though a trauma surgeon by trade, he is shown to have a lot of more generalized skills as well, including emergency/field medicine, and he even delivered a baby in one episode, with the implication that he has helped do so before. He has an extensive knowledge of the human body and how to diagnose and best treat most injuries, as well as an extensive knowledge of many types of drugs and their effects.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: It was rare when Simon had a moment to himself. Truly to himself, and not when surrounded by the other crew, or by his sister's ever-present reading of his thoughts.
But today, he did. He'd drawn the short straw and was stuck watching the ship while the rest of Serenity's crew- still looking sadly depleted due to its two now-gone members- went to take care of resupplying their food stocks and ammunition and any other chores that needed tending to. That suited Simon just fine. The past year of his life had left him with a lot to unpack and think about, but not many opportunities to do so.
As he wandered the ship, starting in the cargo bay and moving towards the infirmary- his infirmary, he found himself thinking of it that way more and more- he remembered his first day. When he had picked Serenity due to its run-down, disreputable look, thinking it was his best bet to travel incognito. When he had met the 7 people he and his sister were going to begin their new lives as fugitives with. When his eyes had first fallen upon Kaylee, the woman he had fallen in love with, the woman he had, on that first day, threatened to let die if Mal had let the pursuing Alliance arrest him.
"Would I have really done it?" he asked nobody. "...I couldn't. She didn't deserve it." He stopped and looked in on the infirmary, where he had spent many hours treating the crew's many scrapes and slashes and burns and gunshot wounds, and many more hours trying to do something- anything- for his beloved sister. He then moved on, stopping to glance at the passenger dorms, where he and River sometimes slept, sometimes spent nights merely trying to sleep as he cradled her and did his best to make her nightmares go away. Book would visit them sometimes, because River liked his presence, his calmness, his wisdom.
"She's been having nightmares less and less. She's gotten so much better... so much." Up the stairs now to the engine room, though it really belonged to Kaylee. Her hammock, her tools, her rotating engine, the one she loved so much and kept in better order than Simon would have thought possible for a ship that seemed two steps from falling apart at any moment. The engine room where the two had made love for the first time...
Smiling to himself, Simon went on past the crew's quarters. Captain Reynolds, who had openly hated Simon for so long, yet always came back for him, always protected him, and the man he had ended up nearly giving his life for. Zoe, his loyal right hand, who had always seemed to not be bothered by his presence and even gently teased him a few times. Jayne, who had constantly fought against the presence of Simon and his sister.
"Funny how that stopped once the bounty on our heads was lifted," Simon mused quietly. Through the kitchen, where the crew had eaten many meals together, and Simon thought of having tea with Inara, whose shuttle was nearby. She had always advocated for Simon and River, always cared for them, had grown to love River.
He finally reached the bridge, the seat where Wash had been speared to death. Simon had not witnessed it happening, but the image of the shattered window and the blood-stained pilot's chair would haunt him forever.
Now he was at the foremost point of Serenity. The ship he had spent the last year of his life on. Where so much had changed.
Home.
That one word suddenly sprang to his mind, and he barely stopped to ponder if it was true before it sank into his heart.
Home.
It was home now, and these people he lived and fought and laughed with had become his friends, his protectors. His family. Dysfunctional they undoubtedly were, but Simon realized- admitted to himself for the first time- that he wouldn't have it any other way.
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE: [Simon has been exploring for a while before finally deciding to settle down and contact others. His writing is neat and precise.]
I have been walking around for a while, but I have to admit that I am feeling confused and lost. I am unclear on how or why I was brought here, or even where I am, really, though this journal is a fascinating way to communicate with others- if others can, indeed, read what I am writing.
My name is Simon. I am looking for my sister, River Tam, though if anybody else recognizes me, I would be more than happy to see you. There appear to be plenty of other residents here, however, so I would be grateful for any information any of you might have.
INTENT: I've been playing Simon for 3 years now, and he's a character I find myself always wanting to come back to, and I think of him as one of my favorite characters- from any canon, ever. When I watched Firefly for the first time, I was slowly but surely drawn to and touched by his and River's story. It's so tragic, but also filled with the deep love they have for each other and a quiet hope that things will get better, and they can make it out alive and be good again. Simon being sent back to square one if he has his knowledge of what is wrong with River's brain erased would give him a goal to work toward in Paradisa, even if he has to struggle or is blocked from regaining that knowledge.
NAME: Shurimon
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
shurimonEMAIL: spdbridge03 at gmail dot com
AIM: Shuripus
WIKI NAME: N/A
CURRENT CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER
CHARACTER NAME: Simon Tam
SERIES: Firefly
CANON POINT: Post-movie
LOSS: His knowledge of how he broke River out of the Academy and of what is wrong with her brain. Much of what drives Simon over the course of series is finding out what the government did to his sister's brain while experimenting on her, what they were trying to accomplish, and finding out how to cure her. Forgetting how he broke her out (and learning that they were turning her into a human weapon) and a brain scan that showed the precise damage done would be a significant blow to his ability to treat her.
ABOUT THE CHARACTER: Simon Tam is very smart and totally devoted to two roles in his life- being a doctor and being a brother. He loves River, his mentally-damaged sister, so much that he gave up his entire life as he knew it for her. He risked his life, his freedom, and a lucrative career in medicine, as well as estranged himself from his parents, in order to break her out of a facility where she was being held against her will and experimented on. As a result of this, the two of them share a very strong bond. He is always the first to come to her defense when others criticize or misunderstand her, hides what he knows of the true nature of her conditioning as a human weapon in order to give them a chance at staying in one of the few places they can be safe, and supports her no matter what happens to them. Simon is more than willing to give his life in exchange for hers or die alongside her rather than live without her.
However, his strong attachment to his sister is not without its bad points. Simon constantly shoves aside his own wants and desires for River's sake, to the point where it becomes detrimental to his ability to form relationships with others. This is most evident in his developing romance with ship mechanic Kaylee- while it is obvious that he reciprocates her feelings for him, his focus on River prevents them from going very far as a couple until the end of the movie. He also doesn't take much time to try and form bonds with the rest of the crew, aside from the ones who support him and help care for his sister the most (Inara, Kaylee, and Shepherd Book), which leads to a lot of tension between himself and the ship's Captain, Mal. In addition, he is willing to kill, or at least let someone die from their injuries, rather than risk his sister being handed back to the Alliance.
As much as he tries to hide it, the burden of caring for his sister does take its toll on him after a while, and there are signs in the last episode that he is starting to crack under the pressure. For example, when taken captive by a bounty hunter who forces him to help find River, the bounty hunter remarks that River is becoming a problem, and Simon replies that he feels for him.
During his months as a fugitive, Simon quickly learned to be guarded and wary of trusting others. There were plenty of people who would turn him and River in for the reward money without a second thought, and so he keeps his and River's secrets close to his chest, even when withholding knowledge of her condition as a human weapon puts the rest of the crew's lives in danger. The ordeal the government put his sister through also makes Simon somewhat mistrustful of authority, especially those known to be working for the Alliance.
Due to his upbringing, Simon tries to be well-mannered, clean-cut and well-dressed at all times. This makes some, including his newfound crewmates, perceive him to be a snob, and makes him stand out on the less-civilized border planets. However, he explains in one episode that his manners are all he has left out in the far reaches of space, and being polite to people is how he shows that he respects them. Despite this, he has trouble fitting in with the others. He is not shy about complaining about his lot in life, being a fugitive on the run from the law, when he's used to being respected and having a lot of money. In addition, he often lacks tact when dealing with people on a personal level, having a tendency to speak before he thinks, and believing that the social graces he learned as an upper-class Alliance citizen apply everywhere. He often seems nervous and high-strung when outside the confines of the ship, as well, likely due to a very realistic fear that he and his sister will be found and arrested at any moment.
As someone who had a privileged and somewhat sheltered upbringing, as well as a doctor who is very serious about his job as a healer, Simon has a difficult time in a fight and when planning capers, which can hinder him when the gang so often runs into trouble. He often shows a reluctance to deliberately hurt others and at first is visibly uncomfortable helping the crew engage in any illegal activity. While keeping a cool head under pressure as he treats patients, Simon's strength lies in careful planning and he can have difficulty thinking on his feet and improvising when his plans go wrong.
Simon takes his role as a doctor very seriously. He tries to treat everybody equally when they are his patient, regardless of his personal feelings toward them, and will go out of his way to help someone who is sick or injured, disregarding his own personal safety. He is even willing to move outside his usual duties and comfort zone as a surgeon, including helping deliver a child, to offer his services to those who need them the most.
ABILITIES: Simon has no supernatural abilities, but he is an exceptionally skilled doctor. Though a trauma surgeon by trade, he is shown to have a lot of more generalized skills as well, including emergency/field medicine, and he even delivered a baby in one episode, with the implication that he has helped do so before. He has an extensive knowledge of the human body and how to diagnose and best treat most injuries, as well as an extensive knowledge of many types of drugs and their effects.
THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE: It was rare when Simon had a moment to himself. Truly to himself, and not when surrounded by the other crew, or by his sister's ever-present reading of his thoughts.
But today, he did. He'd drawn the short straw and was stuck watching the ship while the rest of Serenity's crew- still looking sadly depleted due to its two now-gone members- went to take care of resupplying their food stocks and ammunition and any other chores that needed tending to. That suited Simon just fine. The past year of his life had left him with a lot to unpack and think about, but not many opportunities to do so.
As he wandered the ship, starting in the cargo bay and moving towards the infirmary- his infirmary, he found himself thinking of it that way more and more- he remembered his first day. When he had picked Serenity due to its run-down, disreputable look, thinking it was his best bet to travel incognito. When he had met the 7 people he and his sister were going to begin their new lives as fugitives with. When his eyes had first fallen upon Kaylee, the woman he had fallen in love with, the woman he had, on that first day, threatened to let die if Mal had let the pursuing Alliance arrest him.
"Would I have really done it?" he asked nobody. "...I couldn't. She didn't deserve it." He stopped and looked in on the infirmary, where he had spent many hours treating the crew's many scrapes and slashes and burns and gunshot wounds, and many more hours trying to do something- anything- for his beloved sister. He then moved on, stopping to glance at the passenger dorms, where he and River sometimes slept, sometimes spent nights merely trying to sleep as he cradled her and did his best to make her nightmares go away. Book would visit them sometimes, because River liked his presence, his calmness, his wisdom.
"She's been having nightmares less and less. She's gotten so much better... so much." Up the stairs now to the engine room, though it really belonged to Kaylee. Her hammock, her tools, her rotating engine, the one she loved so much and kept in better order than Simon would have thought possible for a ship that seemed two steps from falling apart at any moment. The engine room where the two had made love for the first time...
Smiling to himself, Simon went on past the crew's quarters. Captain Reynolds, who had openly hated Simon for so long, yet always came back for him, always protected him, and the man he had ended up nearly giving his life for. Zoe, his loyal right hand, who had always seemed to not be bothered by his presence and even gently teased him a few times. Jayne, who had constantly fought against the presence of Simon and his sister.
"Funny how that stopped once the bounty on our heads was lifted," Simon mused quietly. Through the kitchen, where the crew had eaten many meals together, and Simon thought of having tea with Inara, whose shuttle was nearby. She had always advocated for Simon and River, always cared for them, had grown to love River.
He finally reached the bridge, the seat where Wash had been speared to death. Simon had not witnessed it happening, but the image of the shattered window and the blood-stained pilot's chair would haunt him forever.
Now he was at the foremost point of Serenity. The ship he had spent the last year of his life on. Where so much had changed.
Home.
That one word suddenly sprang to his mind, and he barely stopped to ponder if it was true before it sank into his heart.
Home.
It was home now, and these people he lived and fought and laughed with had become his friends, his protectors. His family. Dysfunctional they undoubtedly were, but Simon realized- admitted to himself for the first time- that he wouldn't have it any other way.
FIRST-PERSON JOURNAL SAMPLE: [Simon has been exploring for a while before finally deciding to settle down and contact others. His writing is neat and precise.]
I have been walking around for a while, but I have to admit that I am feeling confused and lost. I am unclear on how or why I was brought here, or even where I am, really, though this journal is a fascinating way to communicate with others- if others can, indeed, read what I am writing.
My name is Simon. I am looking for my sister, River Tam, though if anybody else recognizes me, I would be more than happy to see you. There appear to be plenty of other residents here, however, so I would be grateful for any information any of you might have.
INTENT: I've been playing Simon for 3 years now, and he's a character I find myself always wanting to come back to, and I think of him as one of my favorite characters- from any canon, ever. When I watched Firefly for the first time, I was slowly but surely drawn to and touched by his and River's story. It's so tragic, but also filled with the deep love they have for each other and a quiet hope that things will get better, and they can make it out alive and be good again. Simon being sent back to square one if he has his knowledge of what is wrong with River's brain erased would give him a goal to work toward in Paradisa, even if he has to struggle or is blocked from regaining that knowledge.