Simon Tam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
doc_pompous) wrote2012-08-03 12:25 am
doc_pompous) wrote2012-08-03 12:25 am
APPLICATION: ATARAXION
PLAYER INFORMATION
Your Name: Whit
OOC Journal:whitticus
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: I am over 18!
Email + IM: amysterioussomeone@gmail.com | t0th3m00n
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Wheatley | Portal 2 |testgasm
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Simon Tam
Canon: Firefly
Original or Alternate Universe: Original Universe
Canon Point: Post-Objects in Space (last episode), Pre-Serenity (Big Damn Movie)
Number: 010 » 003 (If unavailable, 030 is GOOD ENOUGH. Beyond that, randomize me, captain.)
Setting:
"Here's how it is. The Earth got used up."
History of the 'Verse [1] [2] | Border Planets | The Serenity | List of Episodes (+ Summary Links)
Firefly takes place in 2517.
History:
Born 2490 on a central planet called Osiris, Simon was the product of an incredibly privileged upbringing. Though it's unclear how much of his decision to become a doctor was his, (versus the desires of his wealthy, socialite parents), he proved to be very bright from an early age, and received a top-notch education with the hopes of applying to MedAcad, Osiris' most prestigious medical school. Though he was too young to fight in the war when it happened, the strong Alliance ties of his home planet made him a supporter of unification. He just didn't really know any better.
Achieving MedAcad acceptance in 2507, Simon continued to prove his intellectual abilities, graduating in the top three percent of his class and finishing his required internship in a speedy eight months. A full-fledged trauma surgeon, Simon began his career working at the top hospital as an increasingly-accomplished doctor.
If Simon was "gifted", his younger sister River was even more so. Despite being eleven years apart, the two were very close growing up, and when she was contacted by an Alliance-sponsored academy for prodigious children, he and his parents were incredibly supportive of her decision to attend. She needed the stimulation, after all, and the Tams were not a family to stifle potential. For a little while, everything seemed fine, until River's letters began taking a strange turn. She wrote to Simon about people that didn't exist, parties that never happened, and though the parents were quick to write them off as one of her "games", Simon wasn't so sure.
The letters were a code, one that, when translated, revealed that River was being hurt, and she needed someone to get her out. It seemed the Academy was not an academy after all, and since his parents would not believe him, Simon took it upon himself to rescue his sister.
Over the course of two years, Simon went to increasingly great lengths in his pursuit of the facility, searching outside the law and jeopardizing his career (and his family's respectability) in the process. He was more than willing to spend a great deal of time and money on his investigation, much to the disdain of his parents, who could not understand why he was so worried. The ultimatum came after his arrest--having been found in an illegal "blackout zone", his father bailed him out of jail with the caveat that if it happened again, he was as good as disowned.
Simon got himself disowned.
But all that time and money bought him the information he needed, and soon the arrangements were made. With the help of his contacts, Simon was able to find and infiltrate the Academy itself, impersonating an Alliance officer and busting River out of the place. The two escaped and because of her addled mental state, River was put in cryosleep for easy, discreet travel (as discreet as you can possibly be with a giant metal crate). Simon's contacts brought them as far as Persephone (an Alliance planet, thought not very strictly regulated), and from there he was on his own.
The whole stint had effectively made both Tam siblings wanted fugitives, and with his bank accounts frozen, Simon's only option to get off-world was to board one of the many freelance ships that occasionally offered civilian transport under the Alliance radar. After a conversation with a bubbly mechanic named Kaylee, he chose a Firefly-class freighter called Serenity.
And they were off, under the command of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, accompanied by his crew, a preacher, and a second civilian. Everything was totally great, until someone on board sent a transmission to the Alliance. Then it was not so great.
Simon, oblivious to all those anti-unification Browncoats flipping their shit on the bridge about the aforementioned transmission, thought it was a super awesome idea to check on his sister-in-a-box. Mal, carrying illegal salvage and convinced that the good doctor was the Alliance mole (what with the big suspicious crate and all), met him there and punched him in the face.
PLOT TWIST!!
Turned out the other civilian was the mole, in pursuit of Simon, and the ensuing confrontation left Kaylee wounded. Mal, obviously unamused that his supposed civilian-passengers had turned out to be an Alliance officer (now tied up in the passenger quarters) and a wanted fugitive, demanded that Simon use his fabulous surgeon skills to save his mechanic, or be handed over to the Feds. The doctor agreed only on the condition that they fled a pursuing craft. Mal said sure okay, but only as long as Kaylee stayed alive. Then he opened Simon's mysterious crate.
AND THERE WAS A GIRL INSIDE!??? The crew was, understandably, very confused (because although we as app readers already knew what was in the box, they sure didn't), and demanded an explanation, which the doctor provided, sharing how he sacrificed his money and career to retrieve his sister from the Academy. With Kaylee stabilized and that story weighing on their minds, the crew of the Serenity proceeded to have a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day, full of close calls with more Alliance, Reavers (freaky space cannibals), and people who really wanted to shoot Mal very badly.
But despite a lot of people pulling guns on each other and a dead Fed agent punted out the cargo bay, it all turned out fine.
With Serenity still flying, the Tam siblings were brought on as part of the crew, under the reasoning that it would be safer for fugitives like them to be on the move, and HEY A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GOT SHOT TODAY MAYBE A DOCTOR WOULD BE USEFUL.
What filled the months that followed could only be described as "shenanigans".
Simon worked to incorporate himself with the crew to minimal success, finding himself at odds with the likes of Mal and Jayne (public relations) more often than not. River refused to speak of what, exactly, the Alliance did to her, and he spent most of his time trying to medicate what was seemed to be paranoid schizophrenia. Simon soon found himself juggling his unstable (possibly psychic) sister, adjustment to a life of crime on the rim, and a budding relationship with Kaylee, one that he continually botched.
Integrating was a lengthy ordeal, and so was learning to understand his new captain, but soon Simon took more active roles in Serenity's jobs for the express benefit of River, who seemed to be getting worse (on one occasion attacking Jayne with a knife). Knowing that she was building resistances to medications faster than he could alter them, he helmed a systematic infiltration and robbery of an Alliance hospital on Ariel, hoping to use the facility's diagnostic center to discover what the Academy had done. After finding that they'd removed River's amygdala (and therefore her ability to process and control her emotions), the Tam siblings (and Jayne) were captured by the Feds.
Jayne sold them out, that jerk.
Unfortunately, the betrayal didn't go quite as planned. Things went downhill quickly with the arrival of the "hands of blue", agents of the Academy looking to reclaim their stolen project. The three escaped back to Serenity with the knowledge that their situation was more dire than they first realized.
As time wore on, River's abilities as a "reader" became more apparent, even as Simon attempted to improve her treatment, all the while becoming more entrenched in Serenity's lifestyle. This was not without its speed bumps. Despite his best efforts, River continued to show signs of psychic skill, causing everyone to wonder how dangerous she really was (the answer, of course, is very--but that, friends, is a story reserved for the movie).
But despite his sister's continued instability, run-ins with existentialist bounty hunters, and the massive liability that was harboring wanted fugitives, Simon slowly came to realize what it truly meant to be a protected and valued member of Mal's family--his crew.
So basically, more shenanigans.
Personality:
Simon is, first and foremost, very, very smart. When sitting down with the crew of the Serenity to tell his story, it's the first word he uses to describe himself. Intelligence means a lot to him, and he takes great pride in his career and his accomplishments. He is also very uptight, very straight-laced, and pretty snooty, too. It's not a stretch to say he's a downright snob, though he doesn't necessarily mean it, really. Simon was born to a rich, important family, and his personality and mannerisms are those of someone rich and important--he's very privileged, slightly sheltered, and simply doesn't know how else to act.
He's not rich and important anymore, all due to his incredible capacity for self-sacrifice. Besides being ridiculously smart and ridiculously pompous, Simon is ridiculously devoted to his sister, River, and has never resented her talents or superior intelligence. Though he is an incredibly patient, compassionate doctor even on bad days, these qualities are exaggerated tenfold with regards to his only sibling. He was more than willing to sacrifice his social status to rescue her, effectively and irrevocably giving up his money, career, and other familial ties in the process. As Shepherd Book says, "there is not many who could do that", and in matters of his sister, Simon proves to be brave, supportive, and endlessly selfless.
However, this means he often disregards his own needs. Much of his time is spent treating and looking after River, and as a result, he ends up oblivious to most other things, including Kaylee's advances (especially Kaylee's advances). Although his outward actions suggest he doesn't regret his decision, there is a part of him that finds River and her abilities exhausting and frightening (as he reveals late in the season) and wants to be the distinguished, wealthy doctor back on Osiris, living the life he gave up. He is frustrated by the backwoods rim existence aboard the Serenity and how different it is from his affluent life, and this occasionally manifests in sarcasm and bitterness. He butts heads with Mal (for being just as stubborn as he is when it comes to the respective people they care about), Jayne (for being a trained ape without the training), and even Kaylee, who wonders why he feels the need to be so "proper" all the time.
The answer, of course, is that Simon values his education and the social mores instilled in him from a very early age. It's important to be polite and civil, especially in places like the Border Planets, because to him, that's where common courtesy is most lacking. He is somewhat of an outcast among the crew (at first, anyway), and having lost everything that identifies him as a well-to-do, respected citizen of the Alliance, finds it incredibly vital to hold on to what he can--in this case, his upper-class standards of behavior.
Simon does, however, love his sister deeply and is determined to protect her no matter what the stakes. He goes to great lengths to find what the Alliance did to her, would kill or die for her without a second thought and is more than willing to do anything in her name, including but not limited to EXTREME CRIME. Despite his initial reluctance to partake in the Serenity's missions of dubious status, he proves himself to be a rather capable mastermind for her explicit benefit. He was in the top three percent of his class for a reason, after all.
Being a doctor is another thing that Simon takes very seriously. He's bound by the Hippocratic Oath--it is his purpose to heal and cure. A patient under his knife is assured that he will do everything in his power to ensure their health and safety, no matter his personal feelings for said patient. If you are on his operating table, you are safe, even if you tried to sell him out to the Feds. When the situation calls for it, any reservations he might have are replaced by the calm, collected air of a professional, expert physician. Simon is very technically skilled and cool under pressure with excellent bedside manner (most of the time).
But when it comes to social situations and casual interaction, Simon has difficulties loosening up. Getting down and dirty with the less-than-refined crew of the Serenity is unfamiliar territory, and he tends to put himself above lower-class individuals without realizing it. He can often be blunt, rude, and unintentionally insulting, simply as a result of this cultural discrepancy and his own social ineptitude, inevitably worsening the situation by trying to fix it. He is a master at saying the wrong thing and offending people, especially those of less privileged upbringings. He suffers from the unfortunate tendency to speak before he thinks, and isn't very good at talking to girls. Or anyone, really.
When he does let loose, however, the results are a bit unexpected. It takes some time for him to drop his aloof demeanor, but when he does, he becomes very friendly and well-meaning. As he grows more comfortable with people, he tends to lose some of his inhibitions, growing more open and candid in the process. He might even tell you about the time he got very drunk, climbed a statue of of Hippocrates, and sang the national anthem.
Naked.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
>>Simon is an incredibly capable trauma surgeon, with medical knowledge not limited to his specialty, and he's often seen working outside of his area of expertise, diagnosing and attempting to treat what he thinks is paranoid schizophrenia and, on one occasion, delivering a baby. Suffice to say he knows his stuff. Once, he reattached a girl's leg. Her whole leg. She named her hamster after him.
>> On top of that, he's a highly educated individual, with a working knowledge of science, literature, and history. He's a quick learner and a total nerd. This does not, however, mean that he is street smart, and though he is not as naïve as he was when first boarding the Serenity, he still has the unfortunate tendency to apply his Central Planet upbringing to most situations.
>> It's very easy to write him off as socially incompetent, mostly because kind he is--Alliance norms and niceties don't mean much in the Black, and his uptight, proper mannerisms tend to get him in trouble. Functioning outside the law is something to which he's still unaccustomed--though he played an integral part in River's rescue and uses his smarts to orchestrate the hospital break-in on Ariel, he tends to take a backseat role when Serenity is up to the usual crime. When he does take an active part in a scheme that does not involve his sister, it becomes clear he has no idea how to behave and is painfully awkward throughout the whole thing, until Mal swoops in and saves his butt.
>> He's sort of a token non-action guy. Before joining the crew of the Serenity, he was lucky to guess the right end of a gun. He's a healer, not a fighter, and is easily overpowered in physical confrontation. He gets punched in the face a lot. It averages out to once an episode, more or less.
Just in case you were wondering.
Inventory:
>> 1 Medkit, a red bag that contains first aid supplies, staple medication (including a limited supply of the drug cocktail he's devised for River), and basic tools (syringes, forceps, etc).
>> A small black notebook/datapad that may or may not be his diary (it's an encyclopedia).
Appearance:
A little something like this:
Sean Maher in Firefly
Simon stands about 5'10", with dark hair, blue eyes, and strong features. He is, more often than not, very well put together. If his manner of speaking doesn't give him away as upper-class, his impeccable posture certainly will.
Age: 28 years old (he has a birthday about halfway through the series).
AU Clarification: N/A
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
The first thing Simon thinks as the tube rips from his throat and he falls from the gravity couch is that they've been kidnapped--Serenity's been intercepted, the Alliance has them. His vision is fuzzy and there's fluid in his ears but it's apparent that the tank he's spilled out of and the chamber around him isn't like anything he's ever seen before. It's different. It's wrong.
And he's alone, he's kidnapped and alone and they've taken River away from him and he doesn't know what's happening and he doesn't remember what he was doing before this and he doesn't know what to do--
"…River?"
Her name is the first thing out of his mouth and Simon doesn't even think about saying it--his voice is hoarse from intubation but that doesn't stop him from calling for her. He isn't sure what to expect and his heart drops into the pit of his stomach when he does not hear his own name in return.
River-- He can't speak, vocal chords icy with fear, the impossibility of the situation, but he tries to choke out the words anyway, willing his legs to function so that he can get up and move because there are people who need him, there's Kaylee and River and Mal and the rest, he's part of the crew, he's their doctor--
When the Alliance had issued the warrant--marked him as a fugitive, froze his bank accounts, left him with nothing but some clothes and a medkit and his sister in cryo--Simon felt what most normal human beings would. That is to say, he was uncertain and alone and frankly, scared.
This feeling is like that only about a thousand times worse.
When he'd begun hiding from the Feds, he had River with him. He'd saved her from the Academy and they were together, so underneath his fear and apprehension there was an inkling of hope. Even though he felt alone as she slept in stasis, he knew that he really wasn't. After years of trying to find her, they were together again, and that was enough.
He already knows there is none of that here.
Comms Sample:
[The voice that comes over the network is the kind of calm that masks a certain agitation--a placating tone that, despite its detached professionalism, somehow suggests the speaker is maybe a little upset about being removed from home--from the familiar and (relatively) safe. Simon is, however, composed and collected. He certainly isn't going to address anyone if he sounds panicked, no matter how scared he is or isn't.]
It's...my experience that there's always an absence of medical professionals in the places that need them the most. You wouldn't believe how many ships go off to the border planets without a doctor. So I suppose we're lucky to have the facilities we do, all the way out here--
[He trails off, a laugh with the slightest edge of bitterness.]
I'm a trauma surgeon. I, uh. I'm the medic on board the Serenity. Which is...it's a ship like this, but...smaller. Much smaller. I'm used to living and working in space--I have experience. I'd like to join your medical team, if I can. If there are positions open.
[And he's sure there are, because people always need doctors. The Alliance wants them alive, or he hopes they do. If he has something useful to offer who or whatever has brought him here, all the better for him.]
Your Name: Whit
OOC Journal:
whitticusUnder 18? If yes, what is your age?: I am over 18!
Email + IM: amysterioussomeone@gmail.com | t0th3m00n
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Wheatley | Portal 2 |
testgasmCHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Simon Tam
Canon: Firefly
Original or Alternate Universe: Original Universe
Canon Point: Post-Objects in Space (last episode), Pre-Serenity (Big Damn Movie)
Number: 010 » 003 (If unavailable, 030 is GOOD ENOUGH. Beyond that, randomize me, captain.)
Setting:
"Here's how it is. The Earth got used up."
History of the 'Verse [1] [2] | Border Planets | The Serenity | List of Episodes (+ Summary Links)
Firefly takes place in 2517.
History:
Born 2490 on a central planet called Osiris, Simon was the product of an incredibly privileged upbringing. Though it's unclear how much of his decision to become a doctor was his, (versus the desires of his wealthy, socialite parents), he proved to be very bright from an early age, and received a top-notch education with the hopes of applying to MedAcad, Osiris' most prestigious medical school. Though he was too young to fight in the war when it happened, the strong Alliance ties of his home planet made him a supporter of unification. He just didn't really know any better.
Achieving MedAcad acceptance in 2507, Simon continued to prove his intellectual abilities, graduating in the top three percent of his class and finishing his required internship in a speedy eight months. A full-fledged trauma surgeon, Simon began his career working at the top hospital as an increasingly-accomplished doctor.
If Simon was "gifted", his younger sister River was even more so. Despite being eleven years apart, the two were very close growing up, and when she was contacted by an Alliance-sponsored academy for prodigious children, he and his parents were incredibly supportive of her decision to attend. She needed the stimulation, after all, and the Tams were not a family to stifle potential. For a little while, everything seemed fine, until River's letters began taking a strange turn. She wrote to Simon about people that didn't exist, parties that never happened, and though the parents were quick to write them off as one of her "games", Simon wasn't so sure.
The letters were a code, one that, when translated, revealed that River was being hurt, and she needed someone to get her out. It seemed the Academy was not an academy after all, and since his parents would not believe him, Simon took it upon himself to rescue his sister.
Over the course of two years, Simon went to increasingly great lengths in his pursuit of the facility, searching outside the law and jeopardizing his career (and his family's respectability) in the process. He was more than willing to spend a great deal of time and money on his investigation, much to the disdain of his parents, who could not understand why he was so worried. The ultimatum came after his arrest--having been found in an illegal "blackout zone", his father bailed him out of jail with the caveat that if it happened again, he was as good as disowned.
Simon got himself disowned.
But all that time and money bought him the information he needed, and soon the arrangements were made. With the help of his contacts, Simon was able to find and infiltrate the Academy itself, impersonating an Alliance officer and busting River out of the place. The two escaped and because of her addled mental state, River was put in cryosleep for easy, discreet travel (as discreet as you can possibly be with a giant metal crate). Simon's contacts brought them as far as Persephone (an Alliance planet, thought not very strictly regulated), and from there he was on his own.
The whole stint had effectively made both Tam siblings wanted fugitives, and with his bank accounts frozen, Simon's only option to get off-world was to board one of the many freelance ships that occasionally offered civilian transport under the Alliance radar. After a conversation with a bubbly mechanic named Kaylee, he chose a Firefly-class freighter called Serenity.
And they were off, under the command of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, accompanied by his crew, a preacher, and a second civilian. Everything was totally great, until someone on board sent a transmission to the Alliance. Then it was not so great.
Simon, oblivious to all those anti-unification Browncoats flipping their shit on the bridge about the aforementioned transmission, thought it was a super awesome idea to check on his sister-in-a-box. Mal, carrying illegal salvage and convinced that the good doctor was the Alliance mole (what with the big suspicious crate and all), met him there and punched him in the face.
PLOT TWIST!!
Turned out the other civilian was the mole, in pursuit of Simon, and the ensuing confrontation left Kaylee wounded. Mal, obviously unamused that his supposed civilian-passengers had turned out to be an Alliance officer (now tied up in the passenger quarters) and a wanted fugitive, demanded that Simon use his fabulous surgeon skills to save his mechanic, or be handed over to the Feds. The doctor agreed only on the condition that they fled a pursuing craft. Mal said sure okay, but only as long as Kaylee stayed alive. Then he opened Simon's mysterious crate.
AND THERE WAS A GIRL INSIDE!??? The crew was, understandably, very confused (because although we as app readers already knew what was in the box, they sure didn't), and demanded an explanation, which the doctor provided, sharing how he sacrificed his money and career to retrieve his sister from the Academy. With Kaylee stabilized and that story weighing on their minds, the crew of the Serenity proceeded to have a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day, full of close calls with more Alliance, Reavers (freaky space cannibals), and people who really wanted to shoot Mal very badly.
But despite a lot of people pulling guns on each other and a dead Fed agent punted out the cargo bay, it all turned out fine.
With Serenity still flying, the Tam siblings were brought on as part of the crew, under the reasoning that it would be safer for fugitives like them to be on the move, and HEY A BUNCH OF PEOPLE GOT SHOT TODAY MAYBE A DOCTOR WOULD BE USEFUL.
What filled the months that followed could only be described as "shenanigans".
Simon worked to incorporate himself with the crew to minimal success, finding himself at odds with the likes of Mal and Jayne (public relations) more often than not. River refused to speak of what, exactly, the Alliance did to her, and he spent most of his time trying to medicate what was seemed to be paranoid schizophrenia. Simon soon found himself juggling his unstable (possibly psychic) sister, adjustment to a life of crime on the rim, and a budding relationship with Kaylee, one that he continually botched.
Integrating was a lengthy ordeal, and so was learning to understand his new captain, but soon Simon took more active roles in Serenity's jobs for the express benefit of River, who seemed to be getting worse (on one occasion attacking Jayne with a knife). Knowing that she was building resistances to medications faster than he could alter them, he helmed a systematic infiltration and robbery of an Alliance hospital on Ariel, hoping to use the facility's diagnostic center to discover what the Academy had done. After finding that they'd removed River's amygdala (and therefore her ability to process and control her emotions), the Tam siblings (and Jayne) were captured by the Feds.
Jayne sold them out, that jerk.
Unfortunately, the betrayal didn't go quite as planned. Things went downhill quickly with the arrival of the "hands of blue", agents of the Academy looking to reclaim their stolen project. The three escaped back to Serenity with the knowledge that their situation was more dire than they first realized.
As time wore on, River's abilities as a "reader" became more apparent, even as Simon attempted to improve her treatment, all the while becoming more entrenched in Serenity's lifestyle. This was not without its speed bumps. Despite his best efforts, River continued to show signs of psychic skill, causing everyone to wonder how dangerous she really was (the answer, of course, is very--but that, friends, is a story reserved for the movie).
But despite his sister's continued instability, run-ins with existentialist bounty hunters, and the massive liability that was harboring wanted fugitives, Simon slowly came to realize what it truly meant to be a protected and valued member of Mal's family--his crew.
So basically, more shenanigans.
Personality:
Simon is, first and foremost, very, very smart. When sitting down with the crew of the Serenity to tell his story, it's the first word he uses to describe himself. Intelligence means a lot to him, and he takes great pride in his career and his accomplishments. He is also very uptight, very straight-laced, and pretty snooty, too. It's not a stretch to say he's a downright snob, though he doesn't necessarily mean it, really. Simon was born to a rich, important family, and his personality and mannerisms are those of someone rich and important--he's very privileged, slightly sheltered, and simply doesn't know how else to act.
He's not rich and important anymore, all due to his incredible capacity for self-sacrifice. Besides being ridiculously smart and ridiculously pompous, Simon is ridiculously devoted to his sister, River, and has never resented her talents or superior intelligence. Though he is an incredibly patient, compassionate doctor even on bad days, these qualities are exaggerated tenfold with regards to his only sibling. He was more than willing to sacrifice his social status to rescue her, effectively and irrevocably giving up his money, career, and other familial ties in the process. As Shepherd Book says, "there is not many who could do that", and in matters of his sister, Simon proves to be brave, supportive, and endlessly selfless.
However, this means he often disregards his own needs. Much of his time is spent treating and looking after River, and as a result, he ends up oblivious to most other things, including Kaylee's advances (especially Kaylee's advances). Although his outward actions suggest he doesn't regret his decision, there is a part of him that finds River and her abilities exhausting and frightening (as he reveals late in the season) and wants to be the distinguished, wealthy doctor back on Osiris, living the life he gave up. He is frustrated by the backwoods rim existence aboard the Serenity and how different it is from his affluent life, and this occasionally manifests in sarcasm and bitterness. He butts heads with Mal (for being just as stubborn as he is when it comes to the respective people they care about), Jayne (for being a trained ape without the training), and even Kaylee, who wonders why he feels the need to be so "proper" all the time.
The answer, of course, is that Simon values his education and the social mores instilled in him from a very early age. It's important to be polite and civil, especially in places like the Border Planets, because to him, that's where common courtesy is most lacking. He is somewhat of an outcast among the crew (at first, anyway), and having lost everything that identifies him as a well-to-do, respected citizen of the Alliance, finds it incredibly vital to hold on to what he can--in this case, his upper-class standards of behavior.
Simon does, however, love his sister deeply and is determined to protect her no matter what the stakes. He goes to great lengths to find what the Alliance did to her, would kill or die for her without a second thought and is more than willing to do anything in her name, including but not limited to EXTREME CRIME. Despite his initial reluctance to partake in the Serenity's missions of dubious status, he proves himself to be a rather capable mastermind for her explicit benefit. He was in the top three percent of his class for a reason, after all.
Being a doctor is another thing that Simon takes very seriously. He's bound by the Hippocratic Oath--it is his purpose to heal and cure. A patient under his knife is assured that he will do everything in his power to ensure their health and safety, no matter his personal feelings for said patient. If you are on his operating table, you are safe, even if you tried to sell him out to the Feds. When the situation calls for it, any reservations he might have are replaced by the calm, collected air of a professional, expert physician. Simon is very technically skilled and cool under pressure with excellent bedside manner (most of the time).
But when it comes to social situations and casual interaction, Simon has difficulties loosening up. Getting down and dirty with the less-than-refined crew of the Serenity is unfamiliar territory, and he tends to put himself above lower-class individuals without realizing it. He can often be blunt, rude, and unintentionally insulting, simply as a result of this cultural discrepancy and his own social ineptitude, inevitably worsening the situation by trying to fix it. He is a master at saying the wrong thing and offending people, especially those of less privileged upbringings. He suffers from the unfortunate tendency to speak before he thinks, and isn't very good at talking to girls. Or anyone, really.
When he does let loose, however, the results are a bit unexpected. It takes some time for him to drop his aloof demeanor, but when he does, he becomes very friendly and well-meaning. As he grows more comfortable with people, he tends to lose some of his inhibitions, growing more open and candid in the process. He might even tell you about the time he got very drunk, climbed a statue of of Hippocrates, and sang the national anthem.
Naked.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:
>>Simon is an incredibly capable trauma surgeon, with medical knowledge not limited to his specialty, and he's often seen working outside of his area of expertise, diagnosing and attempting to treat what he thinks is paranoid schizophrenia and, on one occasion, delivering a baby. Suffice to say he knows his stuff. Once, he reattached a girl's leg. Her whole leg. She named her hamster after him.
>> On top of that, he's a highly educated individual, with a working knowledge of science, literature, and history. He's a quick learner and a total nerd. This does not, however, mean that he is street smart, and though he is not as naïve as he was when first boarding the Serenity, he still has the unfortunate tendency to apply his Central Planet upbringing to most situations.
>> It's very easy to write him off as socially incompetent, mostly because kind he is--Alliance norms and niceties don't mean much in the Black, and his uptight, proper mannerisms tend to get him in trouble. Functioning outside the law is something to which he's still unaccustomed--though he played an integral part in River's rescue and uses his smarts to orchestrate the hospital break-in on Ariel, he tends to take a backseat role when Serenity is up to the usual crime. When he does take an active part in a scheme that does not involve his sister, it becomes clear he has no idea how to behave and is painfully awkward throughout the whole thing, until Mal swoops in and saves his butt.
>> He's sort of a token non-action guy. Before joining the crew of the Serenity, he was lucky to guess the right end of a gun. He's a healer, not a fighter, and is easily overpowered in physical confrontation. He gets punched in the face a lot. It averages out to once an episode, more or less.
Just in case you were wondering.
Inventory:
>> 1 Medkit, a red bag that contains first aid supplies, staple medication (including a limited supply of the drug cocktail he's devised for River), and basic tools (syringes, forceps, etc).
>> A small black notebook/datapad that may or may not be his diary (it's an encyclopedia).
Appearance:
A little something like this:
Sean Maher in Firefly
Simon stands about 5'10", with dark hair, blue eyes, and strong features. He is, more often than not, very well put together. If his manner of speaking doesn't give him away as upper-class, his impeccable posture certainly will.
Age: 28 years old (he has a birthday about halfway through the series).
AU Clarification: N/A
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
The first thing Simon thinks as the tube rips from his throat and he falls from the gravity couch is that they've been kidnapped--Serenity's been intercepted, the Alliance has them. His vision is fuzzy and there's fluid in his ears but it's apparent that the tank he's spilled out of and the chamber around him isn't like anything he's ever seen before. It's different. It's wrong.
And he's alone, he's kidnapped and alone and they've taken River away from him and he doesn't know what's happening and he doesn't remember what he was doing before this and he doesn't know what to do--
"…River?"
Her name is the first thing out of his mouth and Simon doesn't even think about saying it--his voice is hoarse from intubation but that doesn't stop him from calling for her. He isn't sure what to expect and his heart drops into the pit of his stomach when he does not hear his own name in return.
River-- He can't speak, vocal chords icy with fear, the impossibility of the situation, but he tries to choke out the words anyway, willing his legs to function so that he can get up and move because there are people who need him, there's Kaylee and River and Mal and the rest, he's part of the crew, he's their doctor--
When the Alliance had issued the warrant--marked him as a fugitive, froze his bank accounts, left him with nothing but some clothes and a medkit and his sister in cryo--Simon felt what most normal human beings would. That is to say, he was uncertain and alone and frankly, scared.
This feeling is like that only about a thousand times worse.
When he'd begun hiding from the Feds, he had River with him. He'd saved her from the Academy and they were together, so underneath his fear and apprehension there was an inkling of hope. Even though he felt alone as she slept in stasis, he knew that he really wasn't. After years of trying to find her, they were together again, and that was enough.
He already knows there is none of that here.
Comms Sample:
[The voice that comes over the network is the kind of calm that masks a certain agitation--a placating tone that, despite its detached professionalism, somehow suggests the speaker is maybe a little upset about being removed from home--from the familiar and (relatively) safe. Simon is, however, composed and collected. He certainly isn't going to address anyone if he sounds panicked, no matter how scared he is or isn't.]
It's...my experience that there's always an absence of medical professionals in the places that need them the most. You wouldn't believe how many ships go off to the border planets without a doctor. So I suppose we're lucky to have the facilities we do, all the way out here--
[He trails off, a laugh with the slightest edge of bitterness.]
I'm a trauma surgeon. I, uh. I'm the medic on board the Serenity. Which is...it's a ship like this, but...smaller. Much smaller. I'm used to living and working in space--I have experience. I'd like to join your medical team, if I can. If there are positions open.
[And he's sure there are, because people always need doctors. The Alliance wants them alive, or he hopes they do. If he has something useful to offer who or whatever has brought him here, all the better for him.]