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Personal Information
Name: Panda
Age: 27
Personal Journal: ningi
Email / AIM / MSN / Plurk: amandaleewilliams@gmail.com/Sanguine Ningi/areyouokaypanda
Current Character(s): n/a

Character Information
Character Name: Tadashi Hamada
Fandom: Big Hero 6



Character History: Here, have a Wiki link.

Tadashi is a young inventor and older brother to Hiro Hamada, a fourteen-year-old prodigy and the protagonist of the movie. Orphaned ten years prior to the events of the film, they both live with their aunt, Cass, in the city of San Fransokyo. Imagine a world where after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, the city's reconstruction was heavily influenced by Japanese immigrants. Imagining it? Well, that's what San Fransokyo looks like. Tadashi is a student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology (hereafter known as SFIT) who specializes in robotics engineering, though the first glimpse we get of him is not in the lab, but in a dark alley on the bad side of town as he's yanking his younger brother out of a bot fight turned sour. Turns out that grown men/possible yakuza members don't take kindly to having their butts handed to them by cocky teenage boys. Who knew? It's lucky that Tadashi was there to prevent Hiro from taking a beating, but neither of them were quite lucky enough to avoid the police cruisers that showed up shortly after. You see, bot fighting isn't illegal. Betting on bot fighting (something the little Hamada was definitely doing)? Very illegal. Handcuffs were a thing, along with what was probably a few hours in lockup. Good job, Hiro. Some of us are legal adults and don't get a whole cell all to ourselves, bonehead. ANYWAY...

Cass bails them both out and they get off pretty lightly (at least in my opinion) with only some ear yanking and a lot of stern rambling. The real chance for disciplinary action is left to Tadashi, but rather than unleashing the hellfire and brimstone Hiro actually deserves (Tadashi's not really a fire and brimstone kinda guy anyway, except for that one time later when he actually is in a really literal way, but that doesn't exactly end well), he instead deters his little brother from going to another bot fight (on the same night, no less, what the hell) by dragging him to visit SFIT. It's stated early on that Hiro graduated high school at thirteen, so it's safe to assume that he's spent the better part of a year being an unproductive, law-breaking little shit. It's also safe to assume that Tadashi spent that year doing everything he could try and inspire Hiro to do better, make something of himself, rise to his potential, etc., but nothing worked.

Until the visit to the "nerd lab", anyway. Between meeting all of Tadashi's awesome friends (students with such differing specialties that I have no idea how it is they all came to share the same lab), being introduced to Baymax (a robonurse robotic healthcare companion and Tadashi's personal project), and chatting it up with Robert Callaghan (world-renowned scientist and creator of Callaghan's Laws of Robotics), Hiro finally manages to find that spark of inspiration he needed. Nerd school is a glimmering hope on the horizon, but how does one get into nerd school? By wowing Callaghan at the school's annual science expo, of course.

It's rough going at first, but with a little help and a lot of support from Tadashi (along with Cass and the new nerd lab bros), Hiro comes up with something pretty sweet in the form of microbots. Thousands of tiny robots capable of forming solid constructs, preforming incredible feats, and generally revolutionizing the way things are done in just about any area they're applied to, all controlled via a neurotransmitter headband. So... less of a cool-science-project thing and more of a world-changing-technology thing, but whatever. A day in the life of the average Disney genius, am I right?

The microbots are a hit, blowing minds all around. They even draw the attention of Alistair Krei, incredibly wealthy entrepreneur and CEO of Krei Tech. He offers Hiro a lot of money for his invention, but some rather vocal objections from Callaghan and some less vocal support from Tadashi nips that issue in the bud. Who needs Krei Tech when Hiro's earned himself a place at SFIT, anyway? Time to celebrate, though not before Tadashi pulls Hiro aside for a quick moment of brotherly bonding over his success. It's all very sweet and touching. Shame that that touching moment is what seals both brothers' fates in the end.

Having stayed behind for their little chat, Tadashi and Hiro are still in the area when alarms suddenly begin to sound. They run back toward the convention center only to find the entire thing on fire. Not a little bit of fire. Not even a lot of fire. The building (which I feel I must remind you is filled with less-than-stable chemicals and tech) is engulfed in flames. A fleeing woman whom I will never forgive helpfully informs them that Callaghan is still inside, and Tadashi, in the dumbest move I have seen a smart person make in a very long time, runs inside to try and save his mentor. The last words he speaks to Hiro embody Tadashi as a character and are, along with Baymax, what keeps the brothers tied together even beyond death.

"Someone has to help."

And then the building blows up and Tadashi dies. Smooth.

Character Personality:

Have you ever met someone who's just too nice to be real? The kind of person that makes the rest of the human race look bad by just existing? No one can be that sweet with no hidden motivation. That guy that stops to help an old lady carry her groceries when he's already running late, or who'll walk for blocks in the pouring rain without an umbrella because he gave his to someone else who forgot their own. They're so sincere it's almost annoying. A person like that can't really exist outside of a cheesy romantic comedy, right?

Wrong. That person does exist and his name is Tadashi Hamada.

Orphaned at a young age, Tadashi had to grow up very fast in order to take care of his younger brother. Now, that's not to say that their aunt, Cass, is an unfit or absent guardian. Not by any means, but when a young woman running a business on her own takes on the sudden responsibility that comes with two small boys? Well, that's a classic recipe for overworked single parent. Being the older of the brothers, Tadashi took on the responsibility of caretaker for Hiro very early, and over time he grew to be exactly the type of role model that Hiro needed. Responsible, understanding, and calm the majority of the time, he's not afraid to voice his displeasure whenever Hiro stubbornly heads down the wrong path, nor does he have any qualms with some minor manipulation if it means setting his little brother straight. It's really only through Hiro that we get to see some of Tadashi's less positive emotions, and even then, any anger or frustration he expresses isn't so much at Hiro, but on his behalf. Anger because of the dangerous situations Hiro has a tendency to get himself into, frustration at Hiro's lack of motivation.

It's not all serious-after-school-special in the Hamada household, though. While he does take on the part of the male role model for Hiro, they're still brothers, and as such Tadashi has no issues with being, well... a huge dork. He's the kind of guy whose idea of "shaking things up" is to pick you up by the ankles and literally shake you around. Optimistic and ever encouraging, he doesn't believe in dead ends or giving up. Worked yourself into a corner and can't figure your way back out again? Tadashi's the guy you turn to. He's also prone to bouts of unabashed excitement, whether in response to his own accomplishments or those of others. This one has very little shame when it comes to expressing his emotions, even when out in public. Moody teenagers, you have been warned.

Hard-working and very intelligent, he definitely has the brains to back up all that dorky optimism. Hiro's prodigious abilities seem to outshine his older brother's in the film (and even act briefly as a source of jealousy during their early years), but one doesn't get into SFIT just by being a nice guy. Heck, it was Tadashi's interest in robotics that drew Hiro to the field in the first place. Way to get the ball rolling, man. His personal robotics project, Baymax, is the chief example of those brains at work. A learning healthcare companion that Tadashi built and coded on his own from the ground up, Baymax is made with cutting-edge technology and programmed with over 10,000 medical procedures. That's a pretty impressive sounding number, even more so when you consider things on Tadashi's end of the process. Millions of lines of code split between diagnosing injuries and illness, choosing one or more of thousands of available medical procedures, and carrying said procedures out. Tadashi's practically stuffed his head with a whole extra profession in order to channel that knowledge into a robot meant to revolutionize healthcare and better mankind.

He's still a young man, but he's spent the majority of his short life teaching himself how to care for people, and not just through his work in robotics. Tadashi is brave, selfless to a fault, and incredibly protective of the people he's closest to. And pretty much everyone else, actually. Nearly everything he does is done with the well-being of others in mind. Whether he's bowling through back alley thugs on his scooter to pull Hiro out of a rough situation, coming home from the lab early to help Cass in the cafe, or losing sleep over the amount of people Baymax will be able to help if only he could just fix that last glitch, he's rarely looking inward. Unfortunately, it's that same selflessness that ends up getting him killed when he runs into a burning building to try and save Robert Callaghan, his mentor at SFIT.

Kind and dependable, innovative and wise beyond his years as long as fire isn't involved, Tadashi is, above all other things, a loving and supportive big brother. Every bit of energy that isn't invested in Baymax is focused squarely on his little brother, his best friend and the most important person in his life. They know each other better than anyone else, and Hiro's health and happiness are paramount in Tadashi's eyes. Hiro is his everything, and for all his plans to change the world for the better, nothing makes Tadashi happier than his little brother's success.

Powers and Abilities:

Tadashi doesn't have any supernatural powers. He's physically fit, sure, but he's as human as they come. Tadashi is, however, highly intelligent and a quick study, especially in situations relating to his chosen fields. He specializes in robotics engineering, meaning he can design, build, and code robots from the ground up. It follows that he must be pretty awesome with computers and general future tech as a result. His primary project is a medical robot, so Tadashi's also has a large understanding of health and medicine.

Samples
Network:

[A young man in a green blazer appears on the new feed, hesitating for a few moments while he contemplates the camera in front of him. He reaches up with his free hand as if to adjust a hat before realizing that he is, in fact, not wearing one. Letting his hand drop, he frowns and nods to himself, as if the aborted gesture has helped him to make up his mind about something.]

Um... hello! I'm Tadashi Hamada, and I just arrived here. Well, a few days ago. [Have an only slightly awkward grin, Nautilus.] Things are still pretty confusing, alternate worlds and timelines and whatnot, but this seems like a friendly enough place. I was wondering, though, if anyone's seen my brother? He's about five feet tall, dark messy hair, answers to 'Hiro'? [His smile falls a little.] I know my being here doesn't necessarily mean he's been... "called" too, but just in case? [Shrug.] If you see, tell him he needs to call his brother. I'd really appreciate it.

[Alright, give him a second to collect himself... yep, full smile's back in place. There we go.]

Anyway, I thought I'd offer my services while I'm here. I was studying robotics before... y'know, so if anyone has any tech issues they need help with, I'd be glad to lend a hand. Or if help's needed with anything else, really. Might as well keep busy if I'm going to stick around, right?

Third Person:

A bright red moped roars down mostly empty streets, the young man at the wheel driving with one hand and holding onto a phone with the other. It's likely impossible for the average passerby to spot, but there's a flashing dot on the screen. Something (or someone) being tracked in a custom GPS app. He's getting close.

Tadashi sticks out like a sore thumb in this part of town, moving quickly past boarded up doorways and flickering neon and stopping only briefly to question a small group of women lingering beneath one of the few working streetlamps. From the top of his helmet down to the wheels of his vehicle of choice, everything about about him screams "I don't belong here". His clothes, his posture, the alert, wary expression on his face as he glances down every street and alley he passes. Hiro's the one who was always comfortable roaming these back alleys between shady looking bars and even shadier looking clubs, and while Tadashi isn't afraid, he's far from comfortable.

He'd be slightly more comfortable if he knew where Hiro was. His tracker's stopped moving (something that brings both relief and trepidation. Did he just reach his destination, or is something wrong?), and Tadashi's once again grateful for the GPS chips he'd sewn into his brother's clothing. Not exactly the most ethical way of doing things, no, but if it meant being able to pull Hiro out of nasty situations he was constantly getting himself into before the worst could happen? Then it was worth it.

The moped skids a little as he rounds the next corner, and that's when he hears it. The muffled cheers and jeers of a crowd. Tadashi knows the sound of a bot fight in progress by now. Clashes of metal, screams of frustration, the constant shuffling of onlookers as they pass bets and money back and forth. The fight's still going on. He made it in time.

He cuts his speed and takes one last glance at his phone, confirming his location before tucking the device away. He can see the back of the crowd from here, gathered around a lone spotlight at the end of a narrow alley. Tadashi doesn't have to be ale to see the ring to know who's inside it, but he hangs back. Barreling in now will only start problems where there aren't yet any, and he won't risk Hiro's safety. Instead he shuts off his headlight and rolls his scooter into the shadows provided by the mouth of the alley, gripping his handlebars and listening intently for the shift in tone that means he's needed.

If he's very lucky he won't be needed at all, but either way? He's ready.