Name: Rachel
Age: 25
Contact: aziraphale at plurk, zaveid#2878 on discord
Other Characters: Solas & Six
Interests: Neither of the characters I play currently are really focussed on themselves - Solas seeks to change the world for the People and Six wants to try and help and protect the weak. I'd really enjoy playing a different world view, of someone who is trying to prove themselves and earn a place in the world when they really don't think they deserve it.


Name: Hanzo Shimada
Canon/OC: Overwatch (AU)
Journal: eruit
Race: Human
Nationality: Tevinter
Occupation: An Almost Magister, wandering Assassin
Division: Scouting
Mage or Not: Mage, technically
Age: 38

History

Hanzo grew up as the son and heir of a house in Tevinter, raised to take over from his father and take part in all the dealings that they had organised as part of their underground operations - now known to have some possible connection to the Venatori. From a young age he was expected to learn how to plan, how to use his abilities to further the reach of his family and how to use the legacy of spirits that their lineage had a connection to, dating back centuries. As is common in the Tevinter Imperium, the mages of his family bind spirits and use them as servants; in Hanzo's case they are two Spirits of Honour who appear as two blue dragons.

When he was later into his childhood his father had a second son, Genji, who also had a spirit bound to him. Unlike his older brother, Genji was wild and free, enjoying the use of their status to explore the world and do whatever he liked while Hanzo was forced to learn and study. After growing up proud to be his father's heir, Hanzo began to take more and more of the weight of his family's legacy and expectations on his own shoulders. Over time he grew cooler and distant, the shackles of the promise of his future weighing him down.

When their father died Hanzo became the leader of their household and was ordered by the rest of his family - elders of the bloodline who had been a part of his life since he was a child - to encourage Genji to get in line or remove the shame from their family tree. Unable to do anything to coerce Genji into returning to their family and proving that he still respected their legacy and heritage, the two were forced into a battle against one another. With the strength of his spirits at his side and the training he'd had over the years, Hanzo was able to overcome his brother and, as far as he was aware, kill Genji in cold blood.

Having to murder his brother broke Hanzo's heart and lead to him abandoning his position as leader of the family and leaving Tevinter for good. For a brief period of time he even went as far as considering his own death or being made Tranquil to atone for his sins. For years after his brother's death Hanzo travelled across Thedas attempting to make amends for his crimes and prove himself worthy, to try and regain the honour that he had lost, abandoning his magic along the way. Now he uses a bow and arrow - the only magic that he ever touches are the spirits bound to him who have been his constant companions since he was a child and the last connection he has to his previous life.

Personality

Hanzo grew up as the eldest son and the heir to the bloodline and, so, was raised with the knowledge that he was going to inherit it - and this shaped his personality. It seems as though growing up knowing that he would one day be afforded the honour of being the ruler helped shape his more controlled and careful nature. Hanzo was raised to be an Magister, to be deadly and dangerous and lead an family that was founded upon some illegal activities - to be the leader of a criminal legacy meant there was very little room for playing around or giving into idle fancies.

All of this seems to have continued even after he left Tevinter; Hanzo can appear distant and cold, definitely aloof, as though he thinks himself better than everyone that he is encountering. While some of that may be true (he was an heir, after all, and raised to know exactly what his place is) is also a means of protecting himself. By putting up walls and making sure that he keeps people at a distance, or appears beyond their reach, Hanzo will never risk the possibility of the agony and sadness he felt in the wake of what he did to his brother. He doesn’t seem to care much what people think about him and rejects any clear offers of friendship and kindness, especially if they somehow relate to his brother.

The main foundation of Hanzo’s nature as an adult is how desperately guilty and sorrowful he is at his actions when it comes to Genji. It is unlikely that he imagined that he would really go through with the murder, but in the ten years since he has spent much of his time trying to find a way to atone from that ultimate sin. Being a Magister was everything that he had dedicated himself to and he abandoned it all as a result of his own misery and regret, leaving him trying to mend his broken heart and regain all that he had lost. While he might seem broken by the mistakes he has made, he is stronger, capable of surviving even the toughest situations.

All of this seems to portray an extremely negative version of the man Hanzo becomes as a result of his choices, he is not completely without any kind of happiness. Getting to know Hanzo is difficult, but it’s clear that he will be an asset as a friend once someone is able to break through the walls of pain that he has put up to defend himself - and defend others from his own nature and the way he views himself. He is a skilled leader, can be dedicated to a person or a cause - looking back at his loyalty to the Shimada clan shows how that can be both a benefit and a problem - and is a deadly force and more than prepared to use it whenever necessary, either for himself or someone else.

Opinions & Affiliations

As a Tevinter mage, born and bred, Hanzo would still regard the ideals of Tevinter magic to hold true; mages should have the freedom to do as they wish without restriction, and the idea that they should be limited by the law would be somewhat a foreign concept to him. He'd be on the side of the mages in most debates, but he wouldn't ever be particularly vocal about it and would choose more to be an observer than anything else. He would also subscribe to the religious views of his homeland, though he's not overtly religious and doesn't care too much about the Chantry in Thedas outside of Tevinter.

His relationship with his homeland is complicated; while he doesn't particularly like much of Tevinter, he respects it as the place that he's meant to be and the place that his family had raised him to be a part of. He loves the area of land that his family owned and his ancestral home itself, but he certainly prefers Thedas for the most part, especially since he's been able to find a cause to offer himself to that might do something to rebuild his lost honour.

Adaptation Notes

The reason why I've chosen to make Hanzo a mage is due to the relationship he has with his dragons in canon. We're not completely aware of just what his dragons are and what makes them a part of him, other than a connection that all the Shimadas seem to have, the easiest way to translate it into Thedas without Hanzo losing the power seemed to be to make them spirits. Spirits of Honour are the most fitting, due to Hanzo's personality and his canon background, and it ties in well with the already established habit of Tevinter mages binding spirits to be used as servants for some reason.

Another reason to make Hanzo a Tevinter mage in particular was that the Shimada clan would copy over well as a Tevinter family - they're particularly concerned with the family's image and power with some black market dealings and magical powers that make them stronger. The idea of Genji having the same habits in canon would be equally as problematic for a Tevinter family, so the showdown between the two brothers would still work well in a Thedas setting.

Hanzo's search for redemption and his desire to see his family fall apart would make him an understandable member of the Inquisition and linking his family to the Venatori would make sense for their 'criminal' background and also give Hanzo added motivation to want to see them fall.

Strengths & Weaknesses

STRENGTHS: Hanzo is proud, determined, honourable (at least, in his own view of what 'honour' is), and in control of his emotions most of the time - unless a set of very specific Genji-orientated buttons are pressed. He's highly skilled in tactics, planning and leadership; he showed talent in these areas from a young age and this was honed. He's passionate about what he believes in, trying to work hard for his own redemption, and he's keen to prove himself as someone more than what his history has painted himself as, to earn forgiveness from himself as well as his brother.

WEAKNESSES: Hanzo is a little emotionally crippled by his regrets and the sadness that haunts him because of what he did to his brother. He also has trouble facing his problems and has difficulty discussing and accepting his past and the things he is doing to overcome it. His stubbornness leads him to be quick to anger when it comes to that history and while his control of his emotions can help keep him together it also leaves him somewhat more volatile as he tries to smother them and keep them under control. He's haunted by his mistakes and what he did in the name of duty and honour and is desperate to try and overcome it and honour his brother. As a result of his fight with Genji, Hanzo no longer uses his magical abilities, but he still has access to them; one does not simply stop being a mage. This would probably make people consider him very susceptible to possession with the possibility of him becoming an abomination, no matter what control he has over his magic.

SPIRIT MAGIC: Before choosing to give up his magic - with access to it, just not using it - Hanzo was mostly proficient in the use of Spirt Magic. Bound to two Spirits of Honour, Hanzo was taught to use the Fade and the strength of his dragons to terrify and weaken anyone that he came face to face with. This would be reflected in something like the DAII spirit magic specialisation. Despite refusing to use his magical abilities, the nature of mages in Dragon Age lends itself to the fact that magic requires control; Hanzo has to work overtime to make sure that he keeps himself safe and that his Spirit companions aren't damaged by his choices.

THE DRAGONS: The two spirits that were bound to Hanzo act as a form of the 'Crushing Prison' spell from the spirit magic specialisation line; when used, the dragons act as a line of telekinetic force, inflicting spirit damage for the length of time their victim is touched and for as long as they're active, which is only for about ten seconds maximum.

ARCHERY/SHADOW: After giving up his magic, Hanzo turned to archery as a means of protecting himself and taking down his family and those relating to them as best he can. He's proficient in the use of bows and arrows and sneaking around as an assassin in order to carry out his plans. His abilities would probably be reflected best in the Shadow specialisation from DAII.

Inventory

- Storm Bow (his primary weapon)
- Quiver with a set of arrows
- His traditional outfit, hair-tie included
- An alcohol container
- A sparrow feather

Motivation

Hanzo wants to join the Inquisition for one simple reason: he wants to redeem himself. He seeks to do something that will both bring down his family and restore the honour he lost after the murder of his brother, and he believes that helping the Inquisition fight against the Venatori and Corypheus will help him do both of these things.

Hanzo, for the most part, just seems lost. He is clearly out of his depth, despite the presence he has as he stands, the illusion of confidence that shows his pride rather than anything else. It's a bit of a mask, at heart, but there's no need for anyone else to know nor recognise that, not when he is in the midst of a place that is so unlike his own home that it actually makes him question his own sanity.

He's uncomfortable, and that's obvious, but he also doesn't seem to have any idea of what he ought to be doing with himself. For the most part he's been exploring, making his way around, learning what little he can here and there before he has to bow out and back away to the quiet room he had stolen for himself - but he is trying to make his way around. He's trying to memorise as much as he can as best he can - and it's not as successful as he would like, considering the myriad of people that are around. They're strange and different and his clothing and his tattoos are getting him enough looks that he's a little frustrated.

At night, the hours dwindling away into the budding dawn, Hanzo spends his time scouting along the rooves of Kirkwall to try and learn more about it. He's silent, stalking along whatever walls and tiles he can manage to get a grip on to make his way across the city. For the most part, he doesn't duck down into the streets or around where people might be able to interact with him; he's trying to plot out escape routes, trying to make sure he knows where he is and what he's doing, making sure he always knows the lay of the land.

Sometimes, there is no grip nor a wall for him to clamber up and that's when he drops down to street level, the armour on his legs making his fall silent as he slips through the darkness, ribbon moving behind him. He does his best to keep to the shadows, but anyone with a keen eye would probably be able to pick him out, especially in the brighter, more populated areas of the towns. He makes his way through Hightown and down to Lowtown - and that's where he has to duck into streets and off the rooves a little more, not enough room or grip for him to stay aloft as he'd prefer.

That's enough, he tells himself. If cornered, he's quick to draw his bow, eyes narrowed as he gazes at whoever has stumbled upon him, straight and stiff. It's not fear, it's discomfort, and it seems to hang around him like a solid weight.

TEST DRIVE | HANZO & GENJI | NETWORK SAMPLE