Shaun Hastings

"What am I – who are you, my mum?"

- Shaun Hastings, addressing a curious Desmond.

Shaun Hastings is a supporting character in Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. He is voiced by and modeled after British author and comedian Danny Wallace. He assists Desmond Miles by creating database entries on various people, places and buildings he will encounter while in the Animus 2.0 (as well as giving tactical supports to the other Assassin teams across the planet, and those who are on field duty).

Early life
Shaun was interested in conspiracies and the unknown from an early age. Though he was initially unaware of the existence of modern-day Templars and Assassins, he did realize that there was a company called Abstergo Industries that was "up to no good" and decided to try and put a stop to them. Shaun tried to dig up information on Abstergo's activities and then attempted to tell others about his findings, not realizing that the Templars would try to silence him. Fortunately, Rebecca Crane "rescued" Shaun and recruited him into the Assassin Order. This was somewhat unconventional, as Assassins are usually born into the order.

Assassin's Base
Shaun's role in the order is to provide tactical support to the other Assassins. After Lucy Stillman and Desmond Miles escaped to the hideout, Desmond entered the Animus to relive his ancestor Ezio Auditore's memories. Shaun supplied Desmond with interesting database entries and the occasional piece of advice on glyph puzzles. However, as the de-facto historian of the Assassins, Shaun was always busy working on his computer and rarely had any opportunities to speak with Desmond – telling him to "go away."

Assassin's Sanctuary
After entering the sanctuary, Shaun continues on doing his research just like before. He seems to be much nicer to Desmond now (probably since they only talk about history). Though he is still just as rude as ever toward Rebecca which causes Lucy to make him work more shifts. After Desmond completed the 9th sequence of Ezio Auditore's memories, they are still left with the mystery of where the Apple of Eden is. Desmond points out to the numbers on the wall as well as the triple triad symbol meaning something, upon which Shaun correctly deduces that they are relevant to God and God's number 72, which he also states is the same year that Rome's Colosseum was built. They all decided that's where the Apple would be, and take a long road trip there. When they find the Apple, they get Desmond to use it to ask where all the temples are. Shaun, upon seeing and identifying the Phrygian Cap, which stands for freedom, and the Eye of Providence, which he said both come together in only one place. However before he could say what place it was, Juno possessed Desmond through the Apple, causing a temporal time freeze to those around him, and forced Desmond to stab Lucy in the abdomen, however Shaun's fate - along with Rebecca's - remains unclear. At the point where Lucy and Desmond collapse, and the scene is revisited after the credits, he and Rebecca are still visibly conscious and apparently unaffected by the Apple's power.

Characteristics and personality
"England is not in Europe actually, Rebecca; we, we tolerate Europe, you know? Like, like a person tolerates herpes."

- -Shaun to Rebecca in Monteriggioni

Shaun is often cynical, condescending, sarcastic, and pessimistic, but does have a playful side, often inserting humorous tidbits into the database entries of the Renaissance characters. Sometimes he will have little patience to talk to Desmond, other times he will lead off into long conversations. While Shaun's annoyance is usually directed at Desmond, he does insult Rebecca's immaturity by saying "the grown-ups are talking now" – even though she says she saved his life multiple times. During the modern segments, Shaun is secretly desperate in wanting to enter the Animus, he even resorts in begging Lucy through E-mail (which she silently declines by not replying the mail). Although when he is confronted about it he'll say that "the job behind the desk" is much better. When talking about his status as an Assassin, Shaun says "I've killed before, I expect to kill again. It's just that I’d prefer not to". He often plays the rather sarcastic role of the one who does all the work and doesn't get noticed, as he has complain more than once that "no one missed me." His cynical attitude can be seen when he points out quickly that the Assassins are still killers whatever their motives; making them no more the "good guys" than the Templars. He no doubt holds Rebecca in higher regard than he likes to admit, since she did save him from Abstergo. Only Lucy seems to be above his snide remarks, either as a sign of greater respect or because he knows not to mess with her. Even though he initially despises Desmond, in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, he seems to show a lot more respect (and sympathy) towards Desmond.

Trivia

 * Danny Wallace, the voice of the character, was contacted by Ubisoft when he went to the BAFTA video game awards with a friend. He was e-mailed and asked if he would like to be a character in an unknown video game, which he accepted. The game turned out to be Assassin's Creed II.
 * Shaun states during the corrupted sequences that he forgot Rodrigo Borgia eventually became Pope even though there is a portrait of him on the wall next to his computer.
 * In one conversation with Desmond, Shaun tells him that he has his own special type of ability, which allows him to see information and decode it more easily. He compares it to Desmond's Eagle Vision, only more "useful" in his opinion. He was probably referring more to his high intellect than some kind of super-human ability.
 * The character Shaun Hastings is named after Sean Hastings, a cult hero in the computer industry.
 * In Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Shaun has a portrait of Cesare Borgia near his desk, as well as pictures of famous landmarks in Rome, such as the Pantheon, and some of Leonardo da Vinci's designs, like the crossbow.
 * Shaun once dated a girl named Kate, whom he fondly calls Kitty-Kat. However, he is openly embarrassed when Rebecca reveals that, over lunch, Kate had told Rebecca that she and Shaun had never made it to second base.
 * Shaun's password for his e-mail account is GuyFawkes23, which likely refers to Guy Fawkes, a man who was instrumental in the failed Gunpowder Plot, in 1605.
 * It was hinted as a child, he was an altar boy due to his priest saying "You know too much for your own good".