Rufus Shinra
President of Shinra Electric Co.
Having recently taken over his father's position as President upon his death, Rufus isn't as he seems. Although many would assume he was only gifted his previous title of VP because he was the President's son- and that was partly true- he is also a natural leader that has been groomed for this role all his life.
History
Name: Rufus Alexander Shinra
Height: 6'2"
Age: 30
Birthday: December 23rd
Orientation: Bisexual (heavy male lean)
Project 0
Before Rufus was even born, it was decided that he would be the first subject of what was at the time called "Project 0", and later became known as the Jenova project. President Shinra's obsession with the Promised Land led to the fact he wanted his heir to have the blood of the Ancients, and to be the first. Believing Jenova to be one of the Cetra that he had desperately been searching for, President Shinra wasted no time. He pressured an accomplished scientist into marrying him and bearing his child, and that child became Rufus.
Rufus doesn't know that he was a part of the Jenova Project, as the details of it had been hidden from him for reasons he did not know. If he ever discovered that he wasn't completely human, it would be quite the shock.
Childhood
Rufus Shinra was the product of the typical no-frills, no-surprises, no-love political marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Shinra barely even spoke to one another before the wedding, preferring to let their intermediaries iron out the details while they continued to pursue their own individual lives. They tolerated each other just long enough for Mrs. Shinra to conceive, and only then just barely. After Rufus was born, his parents gave up all pretense of being married. They led completely separate lives, with countless lovers on one side and shady intrigues on the other.
The empty space between these two political figures; this was where Rufus grew up. Rufus was given all the best that mako-profits could buy, including the best of butlers, nannies, teachers, and such. Rufus was never really alone, there was always someone to watch over him, trying to get a little closer to the future President of the Shinra Electric Company. Not for long, however; President Shinra ensured that the caregivers were continually cycled in and out of Rufus’ life. Presumably to keep his young heir safe, but it also kept Rufus lonely. Rufus soon learned not to be emotionally invested in any of his caretakers. They left. They always left. They all left him.
The only person who didn't leave was Sephiroth. Rufus had grown up with him, the both of them being raised together in Shinra manor. Sephiroth was his best and only friend.
Rufus got Dark Nation as a birthday present when he was four. She grew up alongside him, and the two are inseparable. Oftentimes, she would try to take the beatings from Rufus' father for him.
Rufus rarely saw his dad outside of official functions, and he secretly preferred it that way. He wished he had parents who showered him with affection, but President Shinra wasn't capable of love. The weight of his father's expectations had been crushing Rufus’ shoulders from his childhood, and when he grew a little older, he soon suffered his father’s fists, as well. Mrs. Shinra taught her son to cover up his bruises with her array of fancy makeup. Rufus would soon own his own collection of makeup, along with acquiring the skill to adorn multiple layers of clothing to disguise what could not be dusted over by GIFT OF THE GODDESS Foundation no. 27.
Rufus was eleven years old when his mother died. A tragic accident involving her research, which was classified. Her death left Rufus oh so vulnerable- not only emotionally, but physically, as well. He didn't have his mother to protect him, anymore. The beatings he took from his father increased, after that. President Shinra then proceeded to take a more hands-on approach with him, wanting him to be the perfect heir to the company, treating him more like a robot than a human. Perfection was an expectation- if his work wasn't perfect, he would be punished, and have the few things he cherished taken away from him.
After his mother's death, Rufus grew to resent and outright hate his father. He tried acting out, but was only met with heavy punishment, and no help whatsoever. After all, anyone who went against his father usually ended up dead. The only reason he wasn't dead was because his father needed an heir, and he knew that.
Rufus had always done well in school, and his teachers had nothing but praise for him. He was smart, ever since he was a kid, and the world knew of the prodigy that was the president's son.
What people didn't know was how much he was suffering.
Teenage Years
Teenage Rufus was a rebel, but not in the typical way that most teenagers are. He experimented with a lot of things: fashion, makeup, his hair, and his sexuality. He discovered that he was bi, and when his father found out, he was furious. Shinra Senior was, unfortunately, extremely homophobic. He was a bigot in every way you could think of, but this blow was personal for Rufus. Rufus' father made clear that he expected Rufus to have a wife and kids, and Rufus detested that.
Soon, when Rufus was around 15, Sephiroth was sent to fight in the war with Wutai. This caused Rufus to be against the war, but he soon found many more reasons to be against it. Unfortunately, no one would listen to him, as he was still a child.
Rufus couldn't wait to be an adult, to finally have a say on things, to be free from his father's abuse- but unfortunately, that wouldn't happen until the old man's death.
Young Adult Life
Rufus was clever, and purposefully cultivated his image as a rich playboy in order to get people to underestimate him. In reality, he was a genius, and had long-since been crafting schemes to take power from his father. He behaved as much as he needed to, putting up so many false masks that, sometimes, he forgot who the true Rufus was.
The only person he could trust was himself, he knew. Even so, he had taken to funding an eco-terrorist group by the name of Avalanche, in order to further interfere with his father's plans. However, he was never caught. With his guidance, Avalanche grew to quite the impressive force, with him as the leader.
The Nibelheim Incident happened, and it broke Rufus' heart. If only he had known, if only he had been there when Sephiroth needed him most- but he wasn't, and the guilt has been eating at him ever since.
Upon discovering Lazard was his half-brother upon his death, Rufus began looking into any other half-siblings he might have, and found plenty. It seemed like his father had knocked up just about every blonde secretary that had ever worked at Shinra, for Shiva's sake! Among them, he found Evan- however, Evan didn't know the truth about his father, so he kept his distance. It was better to be blissfully ignorant, after all. In his experience, there were lots of things that people wouldn't want to know.
The Present
The plan was almost complete. He planned to kill his father that very night, with the help of Avalanche flushing him out. He wanted catharsis, to see his abuser beg for his life before he ended it, staining his pure white clothes with his blood as a memento. However, he hadn't planned for the rogue Avalanche cell to show up. They were out of the loop, and caused quite the commotion.
However, something more unexpected happened: Sephiroth was back from the dead- but that wasn't the Sephiroth he knew. No, it was something else that had either possessed him or taken his form.
He's determined to get his friend back, but also realizes that, in his current state, Sephiroth was dangerous. His duty as a leader came first, unfortunately.
Personality
Rufus isn't as he seems. He has many layers to him, and many masks he wears in front of others.
There was the Rufus the media saw: the rich playboy, with beautiful women always on his arms, wasting his money on frivolous parties. A man who couldn't do anything on his own, earning him the insulting nickname "bonbon".
There was the Rufus he presented to his father: one that would acquiesce to demands, doing his absolute best to get on his father's good side- if he even had one.
There was also the Rufus he showed to Avalanche: A cunning, skilled, and strategic leader that was ruthless in efforts to complete his ultimate goal. He had gotten rid of Fuhito a long time ago, seeing that the man was dangerous, and ultimately had the desire to destroy all life on Gaia. Rufus did believe in switching away from mako as a power source, but he didn't believe in waste, or the brutal murder of everything on the planet. That was also why Barret's more extreme cell was cut off, because of the extremism and mass disaster they wanted to cause. There were other ways to heal the planet, which was necessary to sustain life on it. He had his goals, and with Avalanche, he'd see them through.
Then there was the Rufus he showed to Wutai: A negotiator and diplomat that greatly respects their nation and culture, even going out of his way to learn to speak fluent Wutaian, so he didn't need a translator. Both parties wanted to end this war for good, so Rufus also worked with them, welcoming Wutaian forces into Avalanche, and helping sneak them right into Midgar.
And who knows how many other masks he'd developed over the years?
But who is the true Rufus?
Rufus, at his core, is much different than one would expect. He genuinely wants to make the world better, fix everything his father had done, and do better than he ever did. He's afraid of letting people in because of his upbringing, yet also desperately craves to be understood. He's hurt, and he has a lot of trauma from his father's abuse- both emotional and physical. He keeps people at arm's reach- both literally and metaphorically. He doesn't trust people touching him (other than shaking hands) to not cause pain. The only people he trusts with that are his Turks.
Rufus doesn't view himself as a CEO like his father did, but as a king. That may sound troubling at first, but he views it as his duty to protect and care for his subjects, which is much different than his father.
Occasionally, he had went down to the slums in disguise, being horrified at the poverty he saw. How could Midgar claim to possibly be the best city in the world when all of this is hidden beneath the plate? It was intolerable to him. His first priorities were to rebuild the sector 7 plate and renovate and clean the slums so they were actually liveable. Yes, it would be rather difficult, and a really long process, but Rufus Shinra was a hard worker. He worked tirelessly for his goals, and he wasn't stopping now.
He hates propaganda with a burning passion, and judges people by their actions. Growing up with the world's elite surrounding him, as well of the lies of his own father, he knows just how fake and surface-level everything about it is. He despises sychopants, and absolutely hated all of the parties his father threw, especially when his father would try to set him up with some wealthy woman from a big name family. In the end, they didn't care about him, they cared about his status and his money.
In reality, he wants to be loved. He wants to be respected for who he is as a person, and what he does- not because he's the former president's son. He's had quite enough living under his father's shadow with no real power, so now that he finally has it, he's going to be making big changes.
He doesn't want to be fake, but he had to to survive, to get where he is now. He's tired of hiding and putting on masks, saying what people want to hear instead of what he actually thought.
The best lies have a grain of truth, and the truth was, Rufus was rather flirty. He's too scared to have a committed relationship, afraid everything would fall apart when he got serious, and he'd end up being hurt. However, if someone were able to get past the many walls he put up to protect himself, to get Rufus to actually trust them, he can be quite the loving and affectionate partner.
Relationships
Name: Richard Shinra
Status: father (deceased)
Rufus was abused by his father both physically and emotionally, and came to resent him to the point where he tried to kill him. He does not mourn him, but in fact celebrates his death and his own ascension to the throne of Shinra.
Name: Brigit Shinra
Status: mother (deceased)
Rufus has complicated feelings when it comes to his mother. She didn't do anywhere near enough to help him, yet he can't bring himself to resent her for it. He blames his father for her premature death in an "accident" he still does not know the details of.
Name: Lazard Deusericus
Status: illegitimate older half-brother (deceased)
Rufus had only known Lazard through work, and had no idea that he was his half-brother until after his death. He had only had a professional relationship with him, and he regrets that, even though there was no way he could have known that they were family. Part of him wonders what could have been, if he had had a relationship with his older half-brother... He certainly would have felt less alone.
Name: Evan Townshend
Status: illegitimate younger half-brother
After Lazard's death, Rufus went digging, looking for knowledge of any other illegitimate half-siblings he might have. He discovered Evan, but kept his distance, as Evan didn't know the truth about his father.
Name: Tseng
Status: ???
The director of the Turks, Tseng is his right hand man and loyal confidante. There is no person on Gaia that he trusts more, and thus, Tseng is one of the few that gets to see behind the mask he puts up. He can be softer when alone with him, which he doesn't let anyone else know. Rufus also secretly (or not so secretly) harbors a giant crush on him. Rufus had earned his loyalty after saving his life.
Name: Dark Nation
Status: pet, loyal companion, guard dog, emotional support animal
Rufus absolutely adores Dark Nation, who was made just for him. Her loyalty to him is unwavering, and she obeys his every command without question. However, he will not put her at risk unless absolutely necessary, commanding her to hang back when she gets too injured. In addition to a guard dog, she also acts as his emotional support animal.
Name: Reno
Status: subordinate, ???
Reno is one of the few people that Rufus can trust completely. He's good at his job, and Rufus respects that greatly. Outside of missions, Rufus finds Reno quite funny, and enjoys playful banter with him. Sometimes Rufus flirts with him a bit, but Rufus flirts with a lot of people.
Name: Rude
Status: subordinate, ???
Rufus views Rude as dependable, and trusts him just as much as he does Reno. Reno may be more fun, but he appreciates Rude's calmness and surprisingly gentle nature. He's quite the good listener, as well, and Rufus appreciates that. After all, there were a LOT of things Rufus simply couldn't tell a therapist. He also likes hearing Rude talk about birds.
Name: Elena
Status: subordinate, ???
Elena is new, and thus, Rufus doesn't completely trust her, yet. However, he has Tseng's word that she is an excellent Turk, and fit for the ranks. He trusts Tseng's judgement more than his own. Though, Elena can be quite gung-ho about things, since she's a rookie. She sometimes takes things a bit too seriously- but Rufus finds it charming. He actually views her as a little sister- or, what he imagines a little sister would be like, anyway.
Name: Sephiroth
Status: childhood best friend
Rufus has known Sephiroth ever since he can remember, with the other just being a couple years younger than him, and both of them being raised in Shinra Manor. Sephiroth was his best friend throughout his childhood, but things changed when Sephiroth went to war at the tender age of twelve. Rufus didn't see him much after that, with Sephiroth constantly being sent out on missions. He misses him, and feels horribly guilty about his reported death. He is rather confused as to how Sephiroth is back, and why he's acting so strangely.
Ships
Tseng
Sephiroth
About the Mun
Name: Nova
Pronouns: They/them, Fae/faer
Age: 23
I'm mentally disabled, so please, be patient with me! I'm always doing my best. I might need more explanation than most, and a lot of times I word things wrong, so it doesn't sound like what I actually mean. If in doubt, always ask! I tend to be very honest, as lying is painful for me. I'd rather know about a problem and try to improve than have things go unsaid.
I like to get to know who I'm roleplaying with, and hopefully we could be friends.
Rules and Info
-Multiship
-New to both character and fandom
-10+ years roleplay experience
-Matches in length, but tends to range from semi-para to multi-para, averaging para
-Will not roleplay with minors
-Keeps NSFW to DMs or Discord
-Ships with chemistry, except for those in the shipping section