Jim Kirk

The Player
Name/nickname: AJ
Age: 27
Pronouns: she/her
Contact: notonboats@gmail.com, thiscosmiccelery on aim
Experience: allllready here, years of LJ rp before that
Currently played characters: gabriel, spike

The Character
DW account: james_t
Name: James Tiberius Kirk
Alias: Jim to his friends
Age/Birthdate: 36, taken from year 2269, born March 22, 2233
Species: Human
Canon: Star Trek, the original series
Canon point: the end of "All Our Yesterdays", second to last episode of the series
Played By: the shat, circa 1969

Icon:

(http://www.dreamwidth.org/userpic/8370196/2327217)

Abilities:
He can fence, and is decent in a fight. Good command skills, and good with engineering (of his own time period)

Through the rift, Kirk will gain some unusually good diplomacy skills - Kirk will be able to convince someone of anything as long as he believes he is not lying. So...he could reason Lucifer down from killing a random person by arguing that every life is worth something, but he couldn't convince Lucifer into thinking he's a giant duck. The effects won't stick permanently, but it'll take some thinking before the spell is undone. Power level or lack thereof doesn't effect this- People more likely to think things through rationally will more quickly erase the effects.

Appearance:
5'10 inches tall, and usually wearing boots that add another couple inches. Dark blond hair with pointy sideburns, light brown eyes. Slightly stocky build, but also fit- a requirement for his position. He tends to hold himself with a military bearing which stiffens if he gets angry or agitated, and wilts if he is troubled. He rubs at his knuckles when he is especially worried.

He'll be coming to New York with a phaser, a weapon that recharges itself and can stun or kill; and a communicator, which will be largely useless unless it's taken apart to make something else.

Personality:
Neutral Good.

He is very intelligent. A huge nerd. His hero is Abraham Lincoln. He's the best player of chess aboard the Enterprise, and was described as "a stack of books with legs" by a friend who knew him during his academy years. He enjoys reading and is an ardent student of history, philosophy, astronomy, and literature, among many other subjects. Given the opportunity to act like a gangster, he pulls up information he knows about 20th century Earth, does a bad accent and charms his way into making people believe he's a mob boss.

Kirk is touchy about revealing his feelings if he's afraid that he may not be acting logically. He is never intentionally cruel, though under pressure can get annoyed at inefficiency in his crew. He always recognizes when he snaps at someone who doesn't deserve that treatment, and usually apologizes. Ultimately, he respects the input of his crew and friends and considers all input for what it's worth before making a final decision.

Under stress or confronted with difficult situations, he is able to come up with new and innovative ideas. He is an excellent tactician and a decent diplomat, though he often sets aside diplomacy in favor of doing what he thinks is best for himself and his crew, even if it could be dangerous or against orders. If he's following orders that he doesn't think are worth his time, or if he's dealing with people he dislikes, he doesn't hesitate to show his displeasure.

He is willing to give up his life and his career for his friends. Of Spock, he says, "I owe him my life a dozen times over. Isn't that worth a career?" His crew seem to be equally willing to do the same for their captain. He enjoys giving compliments when they are deserved, and enjoys teasing his closest friends even more.

He expects and often assumes the best of people and likes to give them the benefit of the doubt when he can. He values fairness and kindness. When others are jumping to conclusions, he seeks proof.

He is not above using charm to get what he wants, especially if what he wants is information or a way out of a tough situation. He likes flirting, but gets uncomfortable if he's not in control of the situation or if it seems like things are moving too quickly for him. I'll be playing him as panromantic and demisexual. It's not difficult for him to fall in love, but it is required if he's going to enjoy being in a sexual situation.

Despite his charm and amiable nature, Kirk seems to make very few close friends because he values his work over seeking out new relationships. The people he is required to be most intimate with for his job seem to be his closest friends. Part of Kirk wants what he thinks of as a normal life- on a planet somewhere with someone to love, a family, and a sense of peace. However, Kirk could never be truly happy in that situation. He is devoted to the Enterprise and needs to feel useful and in control of his own destiny. Confronted with chances to settle down, he always chooses his ship and his crew.

It's notable, then, that the closest, most enduring, and most openly affectionate relationship in his life is the one he has with his first officer.

A brief note on the series itself:
The original series of Star Trek started airing in 1966 and ended in 1969. It's visually and morally a product of it's time. Episodes occasionally show a Kirk who is less progressive than I feel he would actually be. Depending on the writer, he can (for example) insist that the female members of his crew are the same as any other and should be treated as such, or bemoan that he was assigned a female yeoman. I've chosen to correct as I see fit where the expectations of the 1960s don't fit with how a captain of a starship at that time would actually act. I see Kirk as a staunch feminist.

History:
(canon isn't exactly consistent about Kirk's history, this is what I'm going with)

Born on a farm in Riverside, Iowa, he grew up primarily alongside his mother and older brother. His father, a security officer in Starfleet, was often away. In his early teens, the family moved to an earth colony on TARSUS IV.

At the age of 13 Kirk was one of nine surviving eyewitnesses to the massacre of some 4,000 colonists at planet Tarsus IV by Kodos the Executioner. He tried to save as many as he could, but only saved one- a young Kevin Riley, who later served on the Enterprise. Following the massacre, a week long visit from his father made Kirk resent the absence of a father figure in his life. The visit started a rift that only began to heal once Kirk was given command of the Enterprise.

After a few years of rebellion (and an incident with space pirates) and then a job aboard a space freighter, Kirk was ready to join starfleet. With the help of his father and others, he was sponsored for entry. He didn't want to let down those that sponsored him, so worked very hard to maintain his grades. Because of this, he gained a reputation as a hard-nosed cadet and was not well liked by other classmates. In particular, he was mercilessly teased by an upperclassman that liked practical jokes.

Kirk gained ensign commission while still studying at the academy, and was assigned to the USS Republic. While aboard, Kirk prevented a major explosion on board, but also reported the man responsible, which earned him a reputation as a by-the-book snitch. Later, while teaching a Federation History class to first year cadets, a friendship kindled with fellow cadet Gary Mitchell, and Kirk was able to worry a little less.

In the final year of the academy, Kirk beat the "unbeatable" Kabayashi Maru test by reprogramming the computer that gave it. There were talks of a court martial, but in the end he was given a commendation for original thinking.

After graduation, Kirk's first assignment after graduation was aboard the USS Farragut. One of his first missions as a young lieutenant was to command a survey mission to Tyree's planet in 2254. While serving aboard the Farragut in 2257, Lieutenant Kirk blamed himself for the deaths of 200 Farragut personnel, including Captain Garrovick, by the dilithium cloud creature at planet Tycho IV. Kirk felt he could have acted faster in firing on the creature, but learned years later that nothing could have prevented the deaths.

He rose up the ranks quickly and was assigned to various starships. By 2263, Commander Kirk was in command of the USS Lydia Sutherland, with Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell serving as first officer. In late 2263, the Lydia Sutherland was assigned a contact mission to the planet Ghioghe. The result was a disaster, as several members of Kirk's landing party were killed and his ship was destroyed. It was thanks to the efforts of Mitchell that the two escaped via escape pod. The two officers were badly injured, and had to undergo regen therapy at the Starfleet Teaching Hospital under the care of Dr. McCoy.

Kirk's greatest renown came from his command of a historic five-year mission of the original Starship Enterprise from 2264 to 2269. Kirk was dealt a personal blow when he was forced to kill Mitchell, following an encounter with the galactic barrier which gave Mitchell god-like powers. He suffered emotionally for weeks afterwards, reflecting on his friend, before delivering his eulogy on Earth. It was at this time that Kirk started to develop a closer relationship with his First Officer Spock, and the two developed a close friendship quickly. In the second year of his journey, an actor who came aboard was revealed to be Kodos the Executioner, alive and in hiding. After stopping a (now officer) Kevin Riley from killing the man, he has him and his daughter arrested.

plot summaries of the rest of the series can be found here.

A note: I won't be treating his relationship with Carol Marcus as canon, and i'll also be ignoring "The Paradise Syndrome" entirely because wow what a racist episode

Writing Sample:
Following the events on Sarpeidon, he'd been relieved that the next few days had been relatively quiet. Their next assignment had involved checking progress of a new colony station on planet Bilaren. It looked as if the colonists' efforts at growing crops had been successful, which was promising. In the next five years, more people might be able to join the colony, and humanity could spread a little further out into the stars.

At the end of shift, he is smiling as he makes his way back to his quarters.

And then- a lurch like a explosion on the ship, only he's not on the ship anymore. His body slams down hard against the ground, and he rolls halfway down a hill before he can gain purchase and stop himself.

With one hand he reaches for his phaser and with the other he pushes himself up, noting grass, trees, an oxygen rich environment. When he turns, he squints against the harsh sunlight to see tall buildings visible beyond the trees.

There are people watching him, but they don't seem hostile, so he holsters his weapon.

He needs to figure out where he is, but first things first. The most important thing to him is establishing that the ship and its crew are safe. He flips open his communicator. "Spock. Come in. Come in, Spock." No response. "Enterprise, come in. Come in, this is Captain Kirk." No response again. He frowns at the device. He's not even sure if it's working. As he replaces the communicator, he finds himself looking up at the sky, as if it might be possible to see the Enterprise circling the planet from here.

He stays there a moment, then walks over to the closest person still observing him. "Excuse me, miss. This may sound...strange." He smiles, hoping to look affable and non-threatening. "But. Can you tell me where I am?"

(previous threads here and here.)

The Game:

How did you find out about Big Applesauce?
The app is coming from insiiiide the hooooouse

What interests you about the game, and your character's place in it?
Kirk has very rarely been stuck in one place long enough that he genuinely believes he wont be returning to his ship. I'm interested to see how he deals with the loss of control.

Anything else?