Your Nickname: Neon
Have you read and do you agree to the Code of Conduct?: Yes
Are you over thirteen? Yes
How did you find us and decide to write with us? RPG Directory
If you have written other characters here: Yes
If Yes, list them all:
Arcturus Hollingbury (P), Mordecai Hollingbury (P), Morgana Hollingbury (P), Adrianna Xin Ling Yue (P), Lydia Hollingbury (S)
Is this a Primary or Secondary Character?: Secondary

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Chinese adepts have no wands.

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Compared to his Western counterparts, Shaozu stands at a mere 5’07”. However, he has an aura about him that makes him seem larger than he really is, most likely because of the sheer confidence of the fact that he knows he exists, and does not hesitate to exude. It is very difficult to ignore his presence, to the point that he’s also capable of diminishing it if he needs to go unnoticed.

His face is not thin, but there is a slight impression of it when seen from an oblique perspective. This is due to his high cheekbones, which, while slight, seem to give him an air of shrewdness and intelligence. His brown eyes are turned upwards slightly at the far corners, shrewd, piercing and keen. The most significant feature of his face are the nine scars that criss-cross his features. The longest one runs from the bridge of his nose down his left cheek to his lower jaw; the scariest one runs from his forehead down to his right cheekbone, narrowly missing his eye and leaving no hair growth on his eyebrow where it crosses. All this is framed by chest-length black hair, usually tied into a neat ponytail.
Despite the creases on his face, most people would guess his age at least 3 years younger than he really is. He has no other blemishes on his face, which he says he’s thankful for.

He prefers a very modern wardrobe, with dress shirts and trousers. He doesn’t always look neat; he prefers to leave the first two or three buttons open and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. If it’s cold he goes for beige overcoats and fingerless gloves.

At first glance he seems almost youthful but careworn, if a bit stony-faced. His voice is strong, slightly deeper than one would expect it to be, and often with the right intonations that make it sound like a voice of authority. By default it sounds formal and polite, but he is capable of showing emotion and keeping it low if need be.

Westerners have often said he comes off as a Hong Kong Triad gangster at first glance. His day job is a chartered accountant.

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Gan Shaozu maintains a stern, stony and above all professional exterior at work and in front of people he doesn’t know. He gives respect to those who deserve it, and to those he thinks aren’t worth his time he remains polite, if distant. He shows courtesy to all regardless of blood purity or rank in society.

His expressions are reflective of his true emotions, but many don’t exploit this for their benefit because he is, after all, the Golden Tiger. He can be unpredictable, calm one moment and snarling the next. If you want a Chinese version of “good cop, bad cop”, he’s the best the Auror Corps have to offer, and he can play both sides of the coin if needed. He may seem hot-tempered and impulsive to the unfamiliar eye, but everything he does is controlled, kept within firm boundaries and personal rules. He knows when and where to draw the line, and how close he can toe it before pulling back.

He is no rulebreaker, but if he needs to bend the rules he will. He’ll play honourably, but if he’s given the reason to be pragmatic he won’t hesitate. He deliberately intimidates people, but gives them enough reason to respect him as well. Shaozu has no love for those who seek full control.

Outside of work, he is caring, kind and generous. He knows how to let down his hair – literally and metaphorically – when he has to. He prefers to always give people second chances, though he cannot understand men who just want to watch the world burn. He always thinks criminals have a motive, somewhere, be it for money, power or glory; he just can’t grasp the concept of people enjoying watching others fall.

Both his patronus and his signature duelling beast is a golden tiger, hence his nickname. Amongst the various dialects he speaks, his best are Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese. He can speak, read and understand English, but he doesn’t like to talk in English frequently because he doesn’t think he speaks it very well. In truth he isn’t bad at it, and he could get better if he practised. He has a distinct Cantonese accent, but frankly no one in China dares ridicule him for it – his reputation is known amongst adepts and criminals alike.

Within the office, his colleagues often call him Stone Face when referring to him, due to his stoic, blank and stern default expression while working. His initial reaction was of annoyance, but now he takes it in his stride.

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Like every child in China, he went to Muggle (“the common people” is the phrase used in China) primary school for the required six years. His parents were very secretive about their magical blood and felt that it would be good for him to integrate with Muggle children, but to not make friends with them. He therefore spent his school days alone, only interacting with Muggle children on a superficial level.

His turning 11 was marked by his admission to the Dragon’s Gate Academy in Wudang Mountains. According to the aptitude test he was suited for the White Tiger house, and there he stayed for the next 6 years. He did not take a liking to Muggle  subjects such as Classic Literature and Music, only doing the classics for his parents. His achievements lay in the more magically inclined subjects, as proven by his prowess in the famous Dragon’s Gate Academy Annual Inter-House Duelling Championship. He has held the Competitive Duelling Champion title for three years and Performance Duelling Champion title for two of those three years as well.

When he graduated, he was recommended for further study in the Sages’ Institute in Taiwan, but he graciously turned the offer down and went into Auror training. While he was considered one of the more gifted trainees, it took him three years of watching others who bribed the officers before he was finally qualified to graduate to full Auror. This made him unhappy with the government system, but as he worked he chose to exploit this for his own benefits.

Throughout his career as an Auror, he would work on certain cases that benefited his skills, usually using bribery to get “appointed” as one of the Aurors on the case. His commendations to the Chief Auror would eventually end up with him earning an Auror trainee to teach – and she was the one who stopped him from bribing with a few piercing questions with the innocence that only a newbie trainee would have. It was this woman that he fell in love with eventually, and the day she graduated from Auror training he proposed to her. She accepted, and they were married.
 
Shortly after their marriage, sadly, she was killed during a case. He later found out a fellow Auror had grown jealous of their relationship – and him – and had bribed the Chief Auror to put her on a case far out of her skills. Shaozu did not take this well and, with a guilt complex upon realising all the chances he had taken from others, nearly worked himself to exhaustion to in an effort to distract himself from his grief. He decided to not get attached again, surmising that his job was too dangerous for him to have loved ones.

He took a break from work, and then returned as a Senior Auror. Around this time a new person entered his life by the name of Xin Ling Yue, and although he was distant with her and looked down on her just as his colleagues had done, her hard work eventually attracted his attention. He respected her for her determination, and even quietly admired her when her hard work paid off in her Animagus course. In time, although he had thought he would never fall in love again, he slowly began to like her, even when she was with another man. But he refocused on his work, and did it as an honest man would – taking on whatever he was given and completing it. It was this time that he earned the nickname “the Tiger”, for his ferocity, skill and tendency of honing his anger into his strength. Later on it became “the Golden Tiger”, after the sight of a Seeking Charm in the form of a golden tiger stalking its prey in the streets of China became all too commonly associated with Shaozu, and for good reason.

As the Wolf-Man Murder case drew to a close, he was nominated and appointed Chief Auror, wherein the first thing he did was to completely ban bribery from the Auror Office and punished those who were guilty of it. When he was criticised for not having a completely clean record, he noted that it had been years since his last bribe, and then set about to imposing his authority in the place. By the time the case ended, he had a reputation that even criminals feared.

In the wake of Ling Yue’s boyfriend’s death, Shaozu unthinkingly took care of her, recognising her grief as the exact same sadness he had suffered years ago and knowing exactly how to deal with it this time. When he finally confessed his feelings for her, she asked to be with him as a way to recover and he agreed. But it was only for a short while; guilty of disrespecting her deceased boyfriend’s memory, she broke up with him and decided to leave China for England, where she had been born. This time Shaozu let her go, knowing that perhaps one day he would see her again.

He is the only person allowed to address her by her pet name Ling Ling, which was originally reserved for her boyfriend.

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His day to day tasks range from reviewing new cases and assigning Aurors to discussing laws and regulations with the Chinese Court. He sees himself responsible for all law enforcement in China, and everyone in their Department is answerable to him as much as they are to the Head of the Department. He styles himself as “the watchman who watches the watchmen”; he keeps an eye on all Aurors and ensures that they act within the regulations given on the case, and give respect to people regardless of blood purity. He also deals directly with international correspondence relevant to him.

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Twenty-six years of working as an Auror, going from trainee to Chief in his entire career. He has successfully completed more than thirty cases, with the criminals involved behind bars or dead, occasionally by his own hand. His name and nickname are known throughout China by civilians and criminals alike, and much feared.

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Gan Shaozu once searched for a direction in life. After many mistakes and troubles, he finally stopped trying to make a niche fit him, and instead took the approach of blasting a hole into other people’s lives which he forced to fill around him instead – but with honour, respect and understanding that as a leader people look to him and he has to deliver.