Post by Simon Tam on Aug 16, 2013 19:42:46 GMT -5
SIMON TAM
AGE: 27
GENDER: Male
NICKNAMES: Doc, Doctor
MEMBER GROUP: Serenity Crew
BRIEF HISTORY:
Simon was raised his whole life on the core planet Osiris by his parents Gabriel and Regan Tam, alongside his little sister, River, his closest family member. He had always been quite intelligent himself, but it didn't take long before his sister began to outshine him despite the years he had on her. Simon never minded too much, a little jealousy here and there but nothing that would ever threaten to damage their relationship, she was his little sister after all and looking out for her came naturally.
Their family wasn't a particularly warm one where their parents encouraged play and things a child might like to do, instead it was always education that was pushed onto Simon and his sister. His father's plan for him became clear when Simon was only twelve years old; he told him that one day he would become a doctor, and until then all of his studies had to be focused around the profession... After that there really was very little time to be a kid, but River always seemed to find a way to slip some fun into an otherwise boring day.
Simon was sixteen years old when the War of Unification began and although he didn't participate, he did support unification. Granted, he had lived his entire life up until then on a major core planet, so he had no knowledge of the other side. No experience to base the decision on. A year later, to his father's pleasure, Simon was accepted into the best medical academy on Osiris. He went on to graduate in the top three percent of his class and completed his medical internship in eight months. Officially licensed to practice medicine, he shortly after became a resident trauma surgeon in one of the major hospitals in the capital city of Osiris.
River was fourteen now, and that was when she heard about the program offered by The Academy. She had always excelled at everything, things came as easily to her as breathing does to most people, so when she thought the school might actually challenge her, she simply had to attend. Simon supported her of course, and stayed in contact by sending and receiving letters. And he knew something was wrong when he began receiving letters from River that contained spelling errors, this from the little sister who had started correcting his spelling when she was three. It was a code. But when Simon brought the news to his parents, they dismissed him without a second thought.
Luckily, he knew his sister better than his parents ever did, and refused to give up on her. He went through great lengths, putting himself at risk entering illegal blackout zones, trying to figure out what these people were doing to his sister and the other students. Simon even came to be arrested once during this time; his father was far from pleased. It took two years, but finally, Simon managed to find River. He entered the place where they were keeping her, disguised in the identity of an Alliance official, and managed to rescue her right out from under their noses. He probably would have failed had he not been so desperate. They escaped the Alliance and successfully made it to Persephone... but he and his sister both were labeled as fugitives now, all of Simon's accounts were frozen, his medical license suspended.
He found Serenity while trying to secure passage for himself and River to another world where they could be safe, although with warrants out for their arrest all across the board, it was more of a long shot than anything. Instead, he wound up becoming the ship's medic and he and River have been staying aboard ever since. Simon has remained more focused on figuring out what's wrong with his sister and how to help her than actually trying to establish relationships with much of the crew, which makes him a crew member in the captain's eyes but not really family like the others. It doesn't help that Simon has some difficulty talking to people and is prone to saying the exact right thing to get on someone's bad side without even meaning to. As surprising as it might be, he is starting to loosen up... a little, maybe.
FACE CLAIM: Sean Maher
EYE COLOR: Blue
HAIR COLOR: Brown
OTHER FEATURES: His appearance from his clothing down to his speech and mannerisms intentionally tend toward proper.
GENERAL:
His first instinctive reaction in any situation is to give medical treatment to someone who has been injured. As a talented doctor, Simon is quick to determine the extent of a person's injuries and treat accordingly, provided he has the means to. This tendency to help people goes along with his typically non-violent nature that extends back to his upbringing in a wealthy family on a core planet. He was raised to be neat and tidy, to have manners, brought up to be proper, polite... all traits that one would expect from a member of a wealthy family. According to him, he only swears when it's appropriate. Uptight, could be a word used to describe Simon. He has rarely held a firearm and even more rarely has he actually fired one, shooting people being rather the opposite from what he typically does.
For his family, he has and would risk anything. This generally refers to River, his little sister, as she is the only real family he has left ever since their parents disowned the both of them. Since childhood, he has always been a protective older brother, always trying his best to keep River safe, not wanting any harm to come to her... at times heightening to the point of over-protectiveness where Simon will openly challenge the captain for putting her in harm's way. Plainly, the doctor can be a stubborn one, and he doesn't have a problem with talking back at the captain when he believes the man is in the wrong.
Sarcastic comments tend to be Simon's way of coping with threats and the like. He's always been smart, and was used to his teachers and peers referring to him as 'gifted' back in his old life. However, most wouldn't expect the doctor to be abundant in bravery, yet when it comes to the people closest to him, he can be just that. He gave up everything he had in order to rescue his sister and now they live on the run as fugitives with nothing of their old lives left, even so he doesn't regret the act and frankly never will. As for River, Simon places much of his attention and focus on her, constantly attempting to understand her condition, disgusted by what the Alliance did to her brain. He is infinitely patient with her and will always try to be the first one to calm her down when something begins to bother her. He tries to hide it, but when River has one of her worst kinds of outbursts, it really worries him.
He inadvertently distances himself from the crew by retaining the manners he learned in his upbringing, unwilling to give them up as they are practically the only thing he has left from his old life. In spite of this... even though the rest of Serenity's crew probably finds it hard to believe, Simon has certainly changed a bit since he's been onboard; loosening up more than he ever would have thought himself capable, and even becoming (slightly) more comfortable with talking to a girl like Kaylee, although while still remaining unaware of what the right and wrong things to say to her are much of the time.
WEAKNESSES:
-- Unintentionally insults people simply by saying the wrong thing during normal conversation
-- Tends to keep everyone but his sister at a distance
-- His proper speech (meant to show respect) actually puts people off instead
-- Where he was brought up, he received most anything he wanted
-- No weapon or fighting skills
STRENGTHS:
++ Medical expertise
++ Not a coward
++ Dedicated to his family (River)
++ High intellect, though it's nothing compared to River's
++ Clever; enough that he was able to decode coded messages sent by his sister
His first instinctive reaction in any situation is to give medical treatment to someone who has been injured. As a talented doctor, Simon is quick to determine the extent of a person's injuries and treat accordingly, provided he has the means to. This tendency to help people goes along with his typically non-violent nature that extends back to his upbringing in a wealthy family on a core planet. He was raised to be neat and tidy, to have manners, brought up to be proper, polite... all traits that one would expect from a member of a wealthy family. According to him, he only swears when it's appropriate. Uptight, could be a word used to describe Simon. He has rarely held a firearm and even more rarely has he actually fired one, shooting people being rather the opposite from what he typically does.
For his family, he has and would risk anything. This generally refers to River, his little sister, as she is the only real family he has left ever since their parents disowned the both of them. Since childhood, he has always been a protective older brother, always trying his best to keep River safe, not wanting any harm to come to her... at times heightening to the point of over-protectiveness where Simon will openly challenge the captain for putting her in harm's way. Plainly, the doctor can be a stubborn one, and he doesn't have a problem with talking back at the captain when he believes the man is in the wrong.
Sarcastic comments tend to be Simon's way of coping with threats and the like. He's always been smart, and was used to his teachers and peers referring to him as 'gifted' back in his old life. However, most wouldn't expect the doctor to be abundant in bravery, yet when it comes to the people closest to him, he can be just that. He gave up everything he had in order to rescue his sister and now they live on the run as fugitives with nothing of their old lives left, even so he doesn't regret the act and frankly never will. As for River, Simon places much of his attention and focus on her, constantly attempting to understand her condition, disgusted by what the Alliance did to her brain. He is infinitely patient with her and will always try to be the first one to calm her down when something begins to bother her. He tries to hide it, but when River has one of her worst kinds of outbursts, it really worries him.
He inadvertently distances himself from the crew by retaining the manners he learned in his upbringing, unwilling to give them up as they are practically the only thing he has left from his old life. In spite of this... even though the rest of Serenity's crew probably finds it hard to believe, Simon has certainly changed a bit since he's been onboard; loosening up more than he ever would have thought himself capable, and even becoming (slightly) more comfortable with talking to a girl like Kaylee, although while still remaining unaware of what the right and wrong things to say to her are much of the time.
WEAKNESSES:
-- Unintentionally insults people simply by saying the wrong thing during normal conversation
-- Tends to keep everyone but his sister at a distance
-- His proper speech (meant to show respect) actually puts people off instead
-- Where he was brought up, he received most anything he wanted
-- No weapon or fighting skills
STRENGTHS:
++ Medical expertise
++ Not a coward
++ Dedicated to his family (River)
++ High intellect, though it's nothing compared to River's
++ Clever; enough that he was able to decode coded messages sent by his sister
OTHER CHARACTERS: N/A
RP SAMPLE
First time the new fish was out in the yard and a look at the scenery had already given him the feeling that all bets were off out here. When it came to times such as this one when their cellblock had a portion of free outdoor time on their hands, Michael could only make guesses toward what the other inmates found passed the hours by best. Unfortunately, he knew that he would soon find out.
From the moment he had entered the yard; his eyes had begun to wander, in search of the person most important to him, the sole reason he was there. But where could he find him…
One uncertainty as it presented itself was where his older brother would happen to be at this time of day. And on that note, how much freedom was he allowed? Michael had taken enough time by now to look over most of this lot of inmates in the yard with him, and no, even on a quick glance he could tell pretty clearly that not one of them fit the profile. However, odds were on the fact most of them would know who he was talking about if he mentioned the guy who ‘killed the vice president’s brother’, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give that a try.
Michael shoved his hands into the pockets of his jumpsuit and approached the nearest standalone inmate; less to have to worry about that way. “You know where I can find Lincoln Burrows?” he asked right out of leftfield, no pleasantries attached, just a simple question to which he hoped to receive a legitimate answer.
“Barkin’ up the wrong tree already and you only just got here fish,” the prisoner scoffed, though it was a tossup of whether or not he was actually referring to the death row inmate or to himself. In any case, Michael continued to stare plainly at the man until he spoke again. “Fine, it’s your funeral. He gets yard time in that fenced off area across that way,” the inmate indicated by jabbing his thumb in the general direction.
Michael turned his head but saw only an additional fenced off area with no one inside, so he turned his eyes back onto the inmate, about to question it when again the other man spoke, “S’ on death row, doesn’t get as much time outside as the rest of us… Whaddaya want him for anyway?”
Shrugging in response, Michael began to turn away, but he stopped halfway through the motion and answered, “I want to ask why he killed Terrance Steadman.” It was a lie of course, one that should however be easily believed by the other inmate as Michael began to make his way toward the area where he hoped that his brother would soon be.
He got as close as he could to the fence, but there was a couple feet gap between the fence that he was at and the one his brother would supposedly soon be standing behind. Michael pressed his hand against the chain-link and stared intently at the closed off area where he’d been told his brother was at times allowed to get fresh air. Waiting.
