Application - City of Ariel

[shinra_dog]

→ OOC

□ Name: Magellan

□ Age: 25

□ Contact: PM character journal shinra_dog, or plurk at shinra_dog

□ Journal: no ooc journal

□ Do you play anyone in Ariel?: no

□ Is this a re-application of a dropped character? If yes, when was the character dropped?: new player to a dropped character, dropped sometime in the last month?

 

→ IC

□ Name: Reno

□ Journal: shinra_dog

□ Series: Final Fantasy 7 compilation

□ Canon point: after Advent Children, vague awareness of Dirge of Cerberus events but before resolution. Aware of the W.R.O.

□ History: Reno’s mannerisms and speech patterns suggest a low-class upbringing, though enough time with Shinra (and especially Rufus) has taught him how to be "sophisticated" if and when he has to be. Thus, he's seen a lot more than some of the other characters might, such as poverty, drug abuse, abandonment, prostitution, etc., but his time above the plate has given a nice sheen to his charm and ability to manipulate others. Little is known about Reno's past, and that's the way he likes it. He's been with the Shinra Turks for over ten years now and it's slowly eaten away at his soul. Missions began simply enough: maintaining company secrets, eliminating leaks, and assisting SOLDIER recruitment. The demands grew as the company did, and as global tensions rose. Threats were eliminated and assets were acquired – however, some were not volunteers. Not long after Reno joined the Turks, Shelke Rui was identified as a particular asset to Shinra for her Synaptic Net Dive ability. The Turks kidnapped her from her sister’s custody in order to forcibly recruit her into the SOLDIER. Unbeknownst to them, President Shinra, Sr. decided she would be best used for Deepground, and “Lost Unit” Deepground SOLDIERS ambushed the Turks over the girl. The Turks were injured, their SOLDIER convoy killed. As far as Reno knew, until the reveal of Deepground (Dirge of Cerberus), Shelke Rui was dead. For the next ten years, Shelke would be held by Deepground and the Restrictors, and her sister Shalua would search for more kidnapped SOLDIER candidates.

In the meantime, Reno and the Turks continued their work during the war with Wutai, while the Lost Unit continued to take the injured from the battlefield – to be revived, or recruited into Deepground experiments. Normal SOLDIER candidates were recruited or pressed into service as needed, for the greater good of expansion and the war effort. Turks utilized their skills for espionage as well, and on several occasions assisted Zack with ferreting out Wutaiian spies and insurgents in Midgar.

Of course, anti-Shinra forces were always at work, if not one group then another. After Wutai officially surrendered after the capture of Fort Tamblin, the original AVALANCHE Insurgence was founded. For the next five years, Reno would be involved in attempts to deal with the Wutaiian-based group as well as clean up after Genesis’ desertion. Forced SOLDIER “recruitment” was ramped up intensely, often led by Reno and Rude, after SOLDIER nearly collapsed with the mass exodus following Genesis. Turks were also tasked with corralling others involved in the threat brought by Genesis and his clones, investigating a theft of classified Shinra documents, while still maintaining a guard of the President. Again, Reno led several of these missions, reflecting his rank below Veld and Tseng. Reno is likewise responsible for acquiring Red XIII (Nanaki) for Shinra research as part of an endangered species. However, at this point Reno still has enough heart to wait for Nanaki to finish a traditional ritual with his mate before the Turks bring him back to Shinra.

As the Turks learned more of the inner workings of Shinra, they grew more disillusioned and agreed to side with their leader, Veld, to save his daughter – knowing it means committing treason. Unable to control them, President Shinra, Sr. eliminated their order and put a bounty on the remaining Turks. Without revealing spoilers, this resulted in a stand-off between the President holding their lives and Veld, and Tseng, Reno, and Rude holding Rufus for exchange. The Turks are spared only by Rufus’ doing, but in exchange for their lives and their positions, Shinra, Sr. orders the immediate death of Veld. Reno begins to protest, but Tseng interrupts him by shooting Veld, essentially saving his subordinate. The first and last time anyone sees Reno scream and cry is after Tseng’s “assassination” of Veld (Before Crisis). This is the moment where the emotionally-compromised Reno that would later massacre Sector 7 is born, suppressing all of those feelings in order to carry on. It takes such a disaster as Sector 7, and facing the end of the world, for Reno to really take another look at himself again and try to change.

The Turks were also involved in the cover-up of the Nibelheim incident, rebuilding the city and maintaining a lie. Most of the work was left to Veld when Reno and the others voiced their discomfort over the idea. When Zack and Cloud escaped from Shinra Mansion, the Turks organized a recovery mission in an effort to provide amnesty to the former SOLDIER and infantryman after discovering the truth of their captivity. Unfortunately, the Turks were unable to locate the two before Shinra infantry did, firing upon them and leaving Zack and Cloud for dead.

More detailed history can be found at these links:

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Reno

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_VII/Timeline

 

□ Personality: Reno’s appearance really represents his personality well; disheveled, yet in uniform, he is a clusterfuck of contradictions. Normally he has a very laid-back attitude, highly maintained by arrogance, so when he is sufficiently challenged he loses his temper. His cold, cruel exterior in the presence of enemies or carrying out orders (or, similarly, his cocky, lackadaisical attitude on the job) was likely developed as a self-protecting mechanism to simply "get through.” If he pretended it didn't matter, he wouldn't have to face what he'd done, or what he'd allowed others to do to him. He drinks himself to oblivion when it gets to be too much. He can be extremely loyal, but to a degree of self-imposed boundaries: when he is on, he is 100% on; when he is off, he is 100% off. He allows Cloud and the other “terrorists” to go about their business, despite complaints from Elena, because he is on vacation. And when he coldly drops Don Corneo off the highest mountain in the area, the only reason behind it is “Because it’s our job.” He has spent enough time in Shinra doing dirty work that little by little he has adapted to be able to heartlessly commit atrocities (such as the destruction of Sector 7). When once he would've had moral qualms about his orders and would even consider rebelling, the gradual exposure to more and more questionable missions has worn him down to the point where massacring hundreds of innocent civilians is simply another job. It's the small, petty evils that have led him so far astray and it's not until the entire planet is almost destroyed that his eyes are opened to the full nature of the atrocities that Shinra has committed. Now shameful of his sins and tired of fighting his old "enemies," he and his comrades seek to atone for what they've done - though Reno questions if he'll ever be able to fully atone for such evils.

Considering all the circumstances, it is surprising no one has noticed how high Reno ranks for suicide risk, considering how he compensates by his slight sadistic tendencies and certainly his drinking habits. After what he has been ordered to do, some of his off-duty behavior could reflect PTSD. It is just as likely that no one at Shinra really cared – Shinra, Sr. was more concerned with money and how he could use his people as tools, and by the time Rufus ascends there is simply no time for a psych evaluation. On the other hand, after his experience with Drs. Hojo and Hollander (among others), Reno isn’t a fan of medical professionals and probably wouldn’t have gone on his own accord anyway. Instead, Reno has a tendency to drink away his troubles as his go-to solution, and whenever he is off duty he's usually at a bar (as can be seen in Wutai at Turtle’s Paradise, and even during Rufus’ own Inauguration). He often holds himself above the rules, such as (again) the uniform, immediately disobeying orders he’s just given to subordinates (“don’t step on the flowers”), or disobeying direct orders to engage Cloud because he didn’t feel like it. His confidence in his competence is not without merit, however. He is second in command after Tseng, a position that was no doubt earned considering the prowess of his partner and other Turks. While Cloud and company defeat him several times throughout Final Fantasy VII, Reno has actually participated in, and led, quite a few successful missions during the events of Before Crisis/Crisis Core. Even though he had to leave Tseng and Elena behind, the mission to recover Jenova’s Head in Advent Children can be considered a success. Lastly, while his professional limits tend to lean toward the selfish, he does have some sensible motivations and his pride does not keep him from retreating when necessary. In his words, “A pro isn’t someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That’s just a fool.” He would do anything for Shinra, but he wouldn’t do that. So when he runs into Cloud and Gang again in the tunnels during the Meteor evacuation, he decides he’d rather disobey orders than get his ass handed to him again when there were more important issues to deal with, such as getting more people out of the city.

Reno is not completely heartless, though, as he does risk his life to go back and save a few brainwashed orphans from Bahamut-SIN in Advent Children (even though most of them are, in fact, orphaned because of him). He and Rude also save Tifa after her defeat by Loz (although, admittedly, they had an investment in Cloud & Tifa’s survival). As for saving the children, without anything in it for him, a few conjectures can be made. It could be part of his attempts for “redemption,” although it happens as almost an afterthought more than a conscious decision. It is entirely possible that Reno will only attack “adults” (with wiggle room for Yuffie), and company-identified “enemies,” (when he’s not on vacation) leaving unarmed children as non-targets. Dropping the Plate over Sector 7 is easily overlooked/justified as a faceless, nameless massacre where Reno did not have to see any person in particular to be faced with concrete effects. However, Advent Children and the Sector 7 massacre are the only instances where children are ever involved, directly or indirectly, so there is no canon evidence as to his change of heart.

Overall, though, Reno would be an interesting drinking buddy, a fun gossip-monger, a good (if not difficult) friend, and probably a good lay. Even if some of those qualities could be from poor coping mechanisms for continued exposure to cognitive dissonance and trauma.

After working with them for so long, the Turks have become more of a family to Reno than simply an extension of Shinra. Tseng and Reno are polar opposites when it comes to personality and decorum, but Reno respects the other man, especially for making some of the harder decisions that Reno couldn’t (or wouldn’t), such as earning their way back into Shinra (Before Crisis) with the order to assassinate the previous “treasonous” leader of the Turks. Elena may always be treated like a “rookie,” but she’s still earned her way into the organization through hard work and dedication, so she also has some respect – at least more than the average person. Somewhat like a little sister to Reno (since he worked with her older sister before), there exists that attitude of “nobody can treat her like crap except me.” Rude, of course, is Reno’s best friend and working partner. The redhead is actually pretty protective of the larger man, even though he can get pretty careless when it comes to respecting personal property (ex: sunglasses in AC). When Rude starts acting a little different, Reno is the first to order a tail on him, then follow him and discover a secret relationship with a woman who turns out to be a spy and confronts her. It can be assumed that when Rude confessed he was also attracted to Tifa that alarm bells went off in Reno’s head for the same protective streak. However, it is also reasonable that Reno is somewhat jealous of his partner’s attention and perhaps has a personal interest (since Reno’s sexuality is not explicitly explained in canon) in asking the other man “who do you like?”

Rufus is a bit of a special case. Things did not start out well with him, to avoid spoilers, and eventually ended up in a physical altercation where Reno, Rude, and Tseng captured the younger Shinra and used him as leverage. Rufus earns Reno’s respect by staying his father’s order to have the three Turks executed, as well as just plain being a more effective president later on.

What it really comes down to is a strong set of relationships built upon the professional obligation to live or die with these people. After a while, the obligation turns into a genuine connection and willingness to die for any of them. Technically, when Shinra still existed, Turks were not able to freely leave the company because of their level of security clearance and information. Reno stayed because he had an idea of what he was getting into when he joined, and he would be killed if he defected (canon proven, “the only way you leave the Turks is in a body bag,” the assassination order for Veld). Now, though, it’s become more of an emotional bond than simply for his physical safety (not that that wouldn’t be threatened if he left); when the world has gone to shit, and these are the people that were once your entire life, you stay with them for stability. Shinra is what Reno knows. He also feels obligated to actively work to set things right and atone for what the Shinra Corporation had done in the past, as do Rufus and the other Turks (at least so they say). Atoning for past sins under familiar leadership with an elite “family” of coworkers is stable and safe.

As for previous members of AVALANCHE, Reno holds no malice for them. He seeks out Cloud through Tifa (with a friendly phone call, no less) when Rufus needs assistance (Advent Children) – and while he does attack Cloud, it’s more out of an obligation as bodyguard. After he’s easily defeated, he completely lets it go and is a lot friendlier. From an airsick rookie to becoming an all-around badass, Cloud would probably get super props from Reno if it didn’t mean Reno had to admit being less than the best.

Hands down, though, Reno can’t stand incompetent people – biggest example, the now-deceased Heidegger. He’ll probably follow orders from them because he “has” to, but he will hate it and let them know.

□ Age: 27

□ Gender: Male / Male

□ Appearance: Tall and lanky, especially when compared to his particularly muscular partner. May not look like much, but all that lean muscle mass makes him a hellish target and is all endurance. Left-hand dominant. He has flaming red hair that he keeps tied back in a ponytail that reaches to about mid-back, though shorter wisps hang messily over his pilot’s goggles. He has twin red slashes on his cheekbones, unspecified whether scars or tattoos in canon, and bright blue-green eyes. Carries himself in a laid back slouch, his uniform is blatantly disheveled and he seems proud of it.

□ Abilities/Powers: As a Turk, Reno has gone through all basic training and has a grasp of firearms and hand-to-hand combat, though he prefers use of his electro-mag rod (a nightstick that can be electrified, often used to stun opponents). He’s all lean muscle rather than bulk power, boosting his endurance. When he does engage in close-combat without a weapon, he’ll utilize kicks. His strength is in his speed (Before Crisis mentions him as the fastest Turk), rather than force, so he’ll come in with quick attacks and dodges versus his partner’s grapples and throws.

Reno does exhibit a defense/resistance to electricity or Lightning attacks, most likely from possessing a Lightning/Thunder materia (different names used in original game vs. Before Crisis, Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus). Of course this would be disabled in Ariel. There are only two other “magical” abilities he exhibits: Pyramid and Turk Light. As a non-magical being, it can be assumed that these are unique materia abilities and said materia is included in his personal items, disabled. Pyramid summons a transparent pyramid of energy around his enemy that incapacitates them until it is destroyed. The pyramid itself does no damage, simply traps the other party and restricts movement. Its structure is also not reliant on Reno; anyone can attack the pyramid to destroy it without harm, or can attempt to injure Reno enough that he drops it/flees (which will take much longer).

Turk Light is a non-elemental magic attack. Though it appears like a fireball or ball of light shot out at an enemy, it does not burn. The damage is likely more of a spiritual force physically felt slamming into the body, but unfortunately the exact mechanics are not canon specified.

Possessing a Lightning materia can give him Lightning magic abilities once it is activated, should he decide to use it offensively. There are three levels of power, and each would have to be earned in order of damage. There are four levels: Bolt 1, 2, 3, and Master, lightning bolts with increasing strength and number. Since Reno does not often use it but for defense, it is unlikely that he has even leveled it beyond Bolt 2, and for it to grow more powerful he would not only have to earn back the potential from Ariel, but train with the materia for a significant time to gain more proficiency in using it that way.

□ Personal Items:

- Electromag Rod

- Lightning materia (disabled)

- Pyramid materia (disabled)

- Turk Light materia (disabled)

- one set of Turk uniform

- PHS phone (disabled)

- pack of cigarettes

- lighter

- 1 pornographic magazine, featuring sexualized SOLDIER and Honey Bee uniform spreads

- notepad and pen

□ First Person Sample: (after an old curse event)

[The Reno on the screen is a far cry from the confident Reno one would normally see on the streets. He's pale, agitated, sullen. He stares straight ahead with a hollow gaze, the soulless dead eyes of a killer for hire.]

 

T' whoever did this t' me -- you know who you are. An' ya done fucked up.

 

I will find you. An' I will kill you. But not before cuttin' you open an' takin' out yer organs one by one in front a' yer eyes, you fuckin' sick son of a bitch.

□ Third Person Sample: Test Drive Meme: http://theloonybin.dreamwidth.org/21754.html?thread=12679930#cmt12679930