the games, application;

[dying]

OUT of CHARACTER
Name: KJ
Other characters: nope.

IN CHARACTER
Name: Character's name
Fandom: Fandom of origin
Canon point/AU: Just before Omega-4 Relay.
Journal: dying
PB: n/a; using canon material. You can get what he looks like here.
History:
I'll just link.

Presentation:
Thane is tall, dark, and alien. He has reptilian like features from head to toe, and scales. He's green, too. His eyes have an additional eyelid (as other reptiles) that come in from side to side. Also, his hands have webbing between his middle finger, and ring finger. He has large, black eyes, and otherwise is very humanoid looking. Also, he dresses in black. This is likely help him hide in the shadows. Also, he wears clothing that does not bind his chest much, as it allows him to help breathe, apparently.

The barest description of Thane would call him the perfect killer. He has all the makings of the ideal assassin, as he was essentially honed to behave that way. He was trained since he was six years old to be an assassin, so his ability to be such a great killer is attributed to experience and training...and definitely some natural skill.

The things that make him so ideal as an assassin are the fact that he is calm, cool, and collected. He often appears to be not bothered by the actions he has to take, or the things that need to be done in order to achieve what is needed. Throughout it, he takes a very level headed approach, and he appears to be very content with the life that he is leading (even if it not necessarily what is going on, he does not let exterior things interfere with his life at the time).

He seems rather at peace for a man who has killed so many. He considers the killer to be the person who hired him to kill, he considers himself a "weapon". That way, his actions don't truly tarnish his soul, but he is still able to do what he is most skilled at. He is able to separate his soul from his body (not literally, just in a spiritual way, in which he considers them to be separate things). His believes that the training he had caused his body to act separately from his soul (making it a weapon, again). He refers to this state - where he acts on instinct and kills - as "Battle Sleep". As his body is the one acting, and his employers killed them by his standards - his soul bears no guilt.

Additionally, he considers it an honor (and states it as such) to be trained by the Hanar. After all, the Drell owed their lives to them.

Another thing that makes him a great assassin is that he is not afraid of death, should it come upon him (in fact, he much would prefer to die fighting the good fight instead of in a hospital bed). This is likely due to his Kepral's syndrome, which is slowly suffocating him. Thane accepts death as a natural thing and a part of his life that is approaching him quickly. This is seen when one of the first things that Thane tells Shepard is that he is dying. He says this in the way that any other person would talk about what they had for dinner. It's so natural and normal for him that he's comfortable claiming it as a part of himself. This is probably where you get the impression that he's incredibly honest, and for the most part - he is.

Thane is pretty open about his life and his past with Shepard, but in part it is due to them fighting side by side with her. He understands that sharing some honesty with her is important. He also explains that he doesn't want her to think that anything he has going on will slow him down in the fight.

Even though he talks a lot with Shepard, he does not seem to really interact with the others on the ship. He is quiet, and spends a lot of time to himself in the driest room on the ship. He seems to be in thought, reliving his past with his Eidetic Memory, or praying. It seems to be what he prefers, too.

Thane brings the same cool and calm he has in battle to his personal life and conversations. When (if) Shepard chooses to criticize him, he accepts the criticism calmly and doesn't fight back or try to make his point. He just brings the information he has to the table and lets her make the decision about it. In a way, it is because he respects her opinion, and values what she thinks of him, even if she doesn't necessarily agree with him.

Thane is a very passionate person in his personal life, though. He views the woman he ended marrying as being what "woke him up" out of his "Battle Sleep". When she was murdered by enemies he had made, he blamed himself for it. Thane hunted her murders and let them linger without death for time before finishing them off, despite his training to execute quickly. After her death, he returned to his state of "Battle Sleep" where his actions returned to the automatic. He left his son behind to go back to work, and in a sense he buried himself in it. He isn't proud of his actions of essentially abandoning his son and getting his wife killed, though. The way he behaved shows how passionate he was, and he was willing to deal with the guilt in order to obtain that revenge. (Otherwise, though, Thane is never known to act out of vengeance.)

Although not specifically stated, it is easy to conclude that he returned to the "battle sleep" as a way of coping with what he knew he had to do and the sins he had committed. It was why he was still acting as an assassin when he was found by Shepard. He is treating the fact that he is joining the group as a way of atoning for what he has done. As such, he never asks for favors as a requirement to join by their side, too. Thane is fighting because he can, and because he feels like it would help to redeem him. He says "I tried to leave the galaxy better than I found it" - meaning he wants to make up for the things he did and make things better.

This likely stems from his religious beliefs. You get the impression, based on Shepard's reactions and the way he speaks that his beliefs are a bit traditional...or even antiquated. She is surprised that he's a polytheist, since many subscribe to the beliefs of other species, and not polytheism. He has faith in an afterlife ("Across the Sea"), and this is also why he does not fear death. He knows that even if he will die, he will meet his loved ones across the sea (pending atonement).

Also, an interesting note is that he likes to read things written by philosophers, and quotes Thomas Hobbes at one point.

Aside from his deceased wife, Irikah, who had formed his life in the past - there are two others that shape his life in the present. His son, Kolyat (who he reunites with in game thanks to Shepard), and Shepard.

As previously stated, he does value Shepard's opinion, and accepts her praises and criticism with heart. He never once seems offended by her expressing herself, and simply reacts in a calm and even manner. Even without a romantic relationship, hers is one of the two that he has in the present, and therefore is extremely important. Her behavior around him can cause him to fall in love with her throughout the games. Loving her will cause him to open up to her more and more.

Reuniting with Kolyat was an important time for Thane. He feared that his son would lead the life that he did, and after trying so hard to keep him away from it. After all, what parent doesn't wish for their child to have a better life than they did? Thane wishes exactly that. Although he is distanced from his son at the start of the game, by the end, he has built up a strong relationship with him. Kolyat brings him peace, and Thane knows that there is another good reason for him to fight with Shepard - for his son. Their relationship gets progressively better, although it's work (he states that it wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't work).

At the end of the game, there's a pivotal moment in the game for him. If he is in a romantic relationship with Shepard, Thane reveals that he is at unease because of the upcoming mission, which is the Omega-4 Relay (stated to be a "suicide mission" in game). He no longer finds death as welcome as he once had at this time. Although he doesn't reveal why exactly, and he states that he doesn't know why he's uneasy. Even though opening up requires a romantic relationship with Shepard, it is very likely that he experienced similar feelings anyway.

Thane reveals that he finds his fear and worry shameful, as well.

This shows that even though Thane on the surface appears as fearless and calm and cool collected, he still has the capability to have the same fears and worries as any other person.

All in all, Thane is a calm, cool, and collected assassin on the surface. But beneath that all, he is a passionate individual with a great capacity for love. And through it all, he is not incapable of feeling amusement or humor, although he may rarely express it, as well.

**Note: Thane comes from a universe where he was in a developing romantic relationship with Shepard. This is important simply because there are some things he would never reveal to Shepard (such as fears prior to the Omega-4 Relay) otherwise. Additionally, it can effect his behaviors and reactions towards her and only makes his own fears worse.

Motivations:
Thane is not motivated by fear or by the need to survive, since he is pretty well expecting death soon as a result of his illness. Threats on his own life are generally ineffective, since while he isn't seeking it out he certainly understands it is a part of his life. His faith and religion, as well as his own personal peace and acceptance have led to this place for him.

In Mass Effect, Thane's motivation is obtaining redemption for his past crimes. He has done a lot of terrible things as an assassin, and his concerns lie in making up for them. He states at a point that he would like to leave the world "a better place than how he found it". He will still be working on this path, as well.

He is also strongly motivated by his loyalty for his comrades he's fighting for and beside. When he strongly believes in something or someone, he will fight for it until the end. He is a great ally to have for this reason. His loyalty never wavers, and he would most certainly fight to his own death.

Love, both familial and romantic, is a great motivator for him, and probably the strongest motivator. In both his past and present, Thane fights hard for the people he cares about. He mentions that the death of his wife, Irikah, drove him back to violence and how he ended the lives of those who were responsible for her death. He also fights hard for his son, even though he had initially abandoned him - and for ten years (he viewed this as a way of protecting his son from the life he led as an assassin). Kolyat is and continues to be a huge motivator for him. He would do anything in his power to keep him from trouble and to keep him safe.

Shepard, who is a new romantic love for him, would also be a great motivator. When he mentions that the upcoming battle puts him at an unease and that he is afraid, it is the separation from Shepard that scares him. It is more likely that when he states he fears death, that he is afraid of the loss itself. Like Irikah, he sees Shepard to have woken him up. He would like to continue having what he did have with her. Note though: he sees Shepard as capable and quite able to take care of herself, so he would NOT interfere with one of her fights unless she wanted him to or he felt that it was a necessity to keep her alive.

Setting:
Thane, himself, has committed several murders. Most likely killing people as they sleep next to a spouse and without any warning. He was a skilled assassin after all. He'd even argue that he's masterful at it. As he is on the path of redemption now, he might see what is going on in the arenas and find it a bit unnecessary and brutal. His training makes him make the death quick, at the very least. The part where he might have some REAL problems, though, is going to be when there involves young people, regardless of species. As he is a father, he would find this rough. He will draw a weapon if he needs to, and when he needs to fight for himself or Shepard - or if it is for the greater good. He's not really inclined to see why this is 'entertainment'.

SAMPLES
First Person Thread:
[ The death itself was no less brutal or painful than he expected dying in battle would be. It was how he would have preferred to die, rather than in a hospital bed. So while the death itself had not frightened him, the waking up was unsettling, unexpected, and strange. He had the expectation to be left dead if he were to die. To think that there were people beyond Cerberus that held this sort of power over life and death unsettled him.

The room around him is sterile, and clearly a medical facility. The device which he is guided towards was not one that he had ever seen before, not in his lifetime, at least. It appears to be on, and they want his thoughts.

He's quiet, in thought, and he rests his chin on his hands as he leans forward in thought, towards it. He isn't certain what he should say. He has never had a second thought about dying until recently, and knows that it is just a part of the dangerous life that he leads. Even with how unsettled he is, his face shows no signs of this. Thane is good at keeping his cool. He carefully considers his words with the understanding that people who are able to do this have power. Finally, he speaks. ]

To speak on death and the experience of it in a meaningful way would be near impossible. Death is personal. My experience with it would not be the same as another's. I can offer no wisdom or advice for the dying as all will approach and feel it differently.

[ His eyes look around the room for a moment, then back towards the camera. Except he seems to be looking beyond them. ]

For all, though death is to be an end, nothing more - nothing less. I would not say removing the consequence of death removes the pain of it, though.

[ He gets quiet again, closing his eyes as he thinks again about this. ]

Does it not remove some meaning from lives that can be so easily forced to continue on and fight again and again?

Prose:
When Thane was young, he was given the honor of being trained by the Hanar. He had fought hard when he was that age, and was considered exceptional through his training. There was something reminiscent about him being taken from his home and told that he would need to show his skill. However, this time, there seemed to be very little honor in the ability to show off his skill. When he stepped in the room, the first thing he did was examine it. He wanted to ensure that he could store the faces and the location in his memory. He would want to know the faces of those he needed to impress.

He was told this could have a great effect on his survival in the upcoming battle to the death. First, he took note of the weapons. There was a wide array here - from knives to bows and arrows. He preferred a fight where he could end it quickly and often times, it required him getting up close and personal with the target. There were no guns around, so he knew exactly what he would need to do. They would know only his strength, and would make every effort to show no sign of his illness.

He grabbed two knives, and stepped away, towards a wall, finding the shadows. He took three quick steps towards one of the targets, and let his hands rest on the jaw line, twisting and snapping its neck, the target's head popping off with ease (he found the neck area of it was not near as strong as any creature's neck that he had personally snapped). Then, he took one more step towards a target next to him, and ran a knife along its throat. He decided one more would be fine, he took to shoving one knife into the spine of another, then another knife in the heart.

Each movement and "death" was quick, just as he was trained. He turned towards those observing him and nodded. If they were not intrigued with him, at the very least, there was nothing more that he could do.

What is your character scored:
8. Thane is fast, exceptionally strong, quiet, stealthy, and efficient in skills. In fact, snapping the necks of people is his day to day job. He's smart, a quick thinker, and fearless. Thane does not fear death. He's not easily rattled by the bad and ugly things in life, and he makes a point often to say that he will not allow these to effect him in battle. While it may not particularly help him in an arena that is ever-changing, he also has Eidetic memory. He's quite capable, and at first he seems particularly well suited to the arena.

While Thane is fast, strong, quiet, stealthy, and efficient in his kills, he has one glaring weakness - his illness. Kepral's syndrome slows him down, and if he gets a bad enough wound he is sure to die, even if it is something the average person could recover from. Also, humidity is nasty and advances Kepral's far more quickly, so it would likely slow him down in an arena (although he will work ten times harder to not show that). Without this, he could have quite easily scored higher. Also, the fact that Thane does not fear death does tend to make him stronger.