#( HC. / GENJISHIMADA. )

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Genji’s body language compensates for his masked face, and in his formative years as a Blackwatch officer/soldier, and then a member of Overwatch, he was considerably expressive------  to anyone who bothered to notice and comprehend the physical nuances. 

His hands were especially telling, and still are: depending on his temperament, he flexes his fingers, curls them, occupies them, balls his hands into tight, angry fists. He is a man of dynamic movement, proactivism, constant motion. He cannot sleep, after all. 

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FILE: UNSOG COMPONENT / BLACKWATCH. 

Gabriel’s highest rank as a MARSOC Marine Raider (Critical Skills Officer) was Team Leader (Captain). Inevitably, he would go on to volunteer for an experimental research project within the U.S. Military’s Soldier Performance Enhancement Program, a collaborative effort among DARPA, PEOS, the United Nations’ Security Council, and a private paramilitary contracting/weapons research & development company; he would become a Paramilitary Operations Officer for the United Nations’ Special Operations Group (UNSOG), and command a specialized strike team that would later evolve into what the world knows as the full-fledged peacekeeping organization: Overwatch, led by Jack Morrison. 

By the time he became Commander of Blackwatch, his role required less field work. As a Commanding Officer, he oversaw a powerful component of the UNSOG, his responsibilities prioritizing operational deployment, mission readiness and success, which extend to issues of quality of life, discipline, training, and morale. Gabriel created his own classified and personalized strike team, Fireteam Reaper, consisting of Jesse McCree, Genji Shimada, Moira O’Deorain, and himself. But personally leading and executing Blackwatch field operations are fairly rare (usually when it requires his unequalable skill set, overseeing and training new recruits, or it was just personal), but his role as a Missions Handler is frequent. 

Blackwatch recruits operatives from Overwatch, Russian Spetsnaz Alpha Group, British SAS, Polish GROM, the Canadian Special Operations Command Forces, and America’s DEVGRU, Delta Force, MARSOC, and Special Activities Division of the CIA (which recruits from DEVGRU and Delta Force anyway), and various other Tier One Special Forces groups across the globe. However, Reyes has recruited from other, arguably legitimate sources, as well. By 2068, Blackwatch had employed less than 2,000 active tier one operators, and 10,345 military and civilian personnel.  

Because Blackwatch recruits from existing special forces groups, training is a formality, and generally tailored to educate them on procedures, regulations, and the overall culture of Blackwatch’s methodology and operational tactics. Basic training is reserved for recruits who have no experience and/or professional background in special forces and covert political action, tailored specifically to overcome certain disadvantages/weakness, and perfect their strengths;  training lasts anywhere between 6 to 12 months, depending on the recruit’s role within Blackwatch (covert action, or paramilitary operations). Further training over the course of an officer’s career is mandated. Genji Shimada only required three months of basic training following his recovery from cybernetic augmentation surgeries; already trained in espionage, reconnaissance, guerrilla warfare, unconventional warfare, and advanced combat by the Shimada Clan from an early age, Genji had breezed through Blackwatch’s qualifications training with an unprecedented, admittedly unnerving ease; recovered and adapted to his new cybernetic body at an alarming speed. The usual regulations/procedure for recruitment and training was exempted, given the circumstances. Familiar with human augmentation/enhancement experiments, Gabriel had personalized Genji’s training to accommodate his cybernetic enhancements, and tailored it to test the limitations of his bio-synthetic implants and prosthetics in a safe way, utilizing former training and physical therapy techniques he had received from the Soldier Enhancement Program. 

Diet and food is regimented. Blackwatch DFAC units provide personalized meals for every Paramilitary Operations Officer and Specialized Skills Officer, as well as auxiliary agents, in accordance with their body type and metabolism. If a recruit is too skinny, their diet is high in protein and starch, and they recieve extra servings, personalized to  training/exercise for strength and endurance training (this diet was certainly applied to the rail-thin Jesse McCree, in the beginning of his training). If they are overweight, they receive less servings in accordance to their appropriate calorie intake, and a diet which consists of vegetables, vitamins, protein, and whole wheat, as well as tailored training regimens. 

Except for fruits, sugar is prohibited------   Gabriel brings treats from outside the base anyway; usually homemade pastries and empanadas, which he distributes to his squad and new recruits after training (after three high-intensity rounds of capture the flag, winners get first pickings, losers get leftovers, encouraging healthy competition, rivalry, and cooperation within group dynamics).

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     *  BELIEF & SPIRITUALITY. 

Genji’s mother, Shimada Akane, was a practitioner of modern zen buddhism, a belief at the heart of Japanese culture, taught in the school of Mahayana Buddhism. Zen is heavily associated with the warrior class during the Edo period, and she was a proud descendant of samurai nobility. Genji’s father, Shimada Sojiro, traditionally believed in shintoism, as a man whose way of life was heavily influenced and steeped in tradition, and the richness of their clan’s ancient past. However, their children were raised under both beliefs, and were allowed to choose either one, or neither (against the behest of the clan’s elders). 

Genji himself had previously been an avid believer of buddhism during his childhood, but became disenchanted and non-practicing in his youth, becoming particularly worldly as he began to explore a modern lifestyle outside of the shadows of his family’s empire. After Sojiro’s death, Genji had grieved, and sought several sources for comfort--------   anger, hedonism, and... religion. He would visit the family’s temple grounds often, to pay respects to his late mother and father, both murdered by their enemies. Genji blamed the clan’s criminal empire for this loss, and resented it that much more. He had wanted no part in “the family business.” However, the opportunity to reintegrate himself to spiritual practices did not come to pass, as he was killed before that could happen.

His time in Blackwatch, and then Overwatch, was static. Introspection was painful, and foggy. He contemplated his existence often, but at the time he was frighteningly single-minded, hyper-focused, and set on revenge. Experiencing dukkha in its varying definitions: dissatisfaction, pain, suffering, emptiness; the inherent cognitive dissonance of the ego, clinging to the impermanence of states and things. It was only as he had finally left the organization that Genji would return to the spiritual practices of his childhood, upon traveling the world and inevitably meeting Tekhartha Zenyatta.

Under the guidance of this peculiar Shambali monk, Genji was reminded of the inherently spiritual experience of buddhism. For years, he lived in a small village in Nepal, learning from the Shambali, and personally reacquainting himself with various doctrines of buddhism. The religion itself encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices predominately based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha, and resulting interpreted philosophies. Genji’s personal belief is deeply motivated by humility, love, forgiveness, expression, self-reflection, and the acceptance that the impermanent body does not define the proverbial spirit, or his humanity. Buddhism allowed Genji to release his past, and genuinely consider his new life and body as a gift. 

Now, Genji believes he is on the noble path, to be free at last from saṃsāra, where he works to liberate himself from the endless cycle and reach the state of paradise through enlightenment and self-denial. 

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* self knowledge test.

tagged by :   @valhela <3 tagging : @causefound, @simulacrumist (harper), @inviscodes, @pescaprincipessa, @theharellan, @kleinewahines (zia), @agruparse (ryder), @skogrrl (widowmaker) + anyone who’d want to! 

* INDEPENDENCE.

You don’t set out to be different for its own sake; you are more easily guided by what interests and moves you. You are more concerned about what is right for you than about the pressure to fit in. In sex you are more aware than others of impulses which are not entirely conventional. You know the value of selective irresponsibility, of forgetting occasionally about being ‘good’.

* EXHIBITIONISM.

There’s a strand in your nature which loves making an impression – perhaps with your clothes, or conversation, or in a self-revealing blog or a novel. You like to dramatise yourself, to pose as a unique, perhaps mysterious person, to joke or exaggerate your part in adventures. Though you might more than once have been called a show off, it is actually a generous tendency: you want to please and entertain others. It could be the start of good teaching and leadership. 

* RESILIENCE.

You have a tendency, after a setback, to turn your emotions towards restriving. What attracts you is the idea of wiping out a humiliation by resumed action – overcoming weakness, repressing your fear. Because part of your motive is pride, you can sometimes be unwilling to admit weakness or to receive aid. But at heart, your insistence on coming back and never folding has taught you a valuable pessimism: you know that important journeys are never easy.

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REPOST AND FILL IN WITH DETAILS ABOUT YOUR MUSE AS IF THEY WERE A CHARACTER IN A DATING SIM.

NAME:  Genji Shimada.

THEIR PROFESSION: Ninja. Unemployed. 

WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND: Worldwide, as he travels. But as far as permanent residences go: a little Nepal village near the shrines of the Shambali.  

FAVOURITE FOOD TYPE: He isn’t picky, but enjoys nostalgic foods, like ramen, and mochi. Food with texture, like cereal, and chips, crunchy or pulpy. 

FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK: Fruity cocktails (pulpy, always iced), sake (for special occasions). 

FAVOURITE TRAIT(s) IN OTHERS: kindness, forgiveness, love. 

WHERE THEY WOULD GO ON A DATE:  touring Hanamura, or other tourist hotspots, enjoying the food and entertainment. (Extreme) couples yoga. 

IDEAL GIFT: He is not materialistic. He would enjoy their company, and a sincere gift. He genuinely believes it’s the thought that counts. 

WHEN WILL THEY DRINK ALCOHOL: social occasions, if offered. 

HOW MANY DATES UNTIL THEY GO TO BED: He does not require sleep. 

✨ TAGGED BY: @loadeddeck (tyy) ✨ TAGGING: anyone who’d like to !