Cold, focused, and determined to a disturbing degree, Rufus Shinra was known majorly as the President of Shinra Incorporated of Final Fantasy VII. His stone heart and cool attitide were easily seen throughout the game, up to his death on disc three. Unlike the deaths of Aeris Gainsborough and Sephiroth, his death did not affect players very much. . .
. . . But, dang it, you have to admit he is just amazing! Young, handsome, and brandishing the attitude of an uncaring, emotionless man, this bad boy ranks high in my favorites list. (Actually, he went ahead and jumped to the top!) While he wasn't very much of a character in the game, there were small things about him that made him completely unique. His cool habit of flicking back his bangs, for one. The ability to shoot a shotgun with one hand and not getting blown backwards in the process, for another.
To me, there seem to be two quite different sides to Rufus Shinra. The serious and commanding Rufus that controls Shinra Incorporated and sends the Turks to find the Promised Land and AVALANCHE is one of them. The other side would have to be the ruthless, stubborn, and mocking Rufus that fought Cloud Strife on the rooftop of the Shinra Building and reprimanded Heidegger on almost every occasion. This is the Rufus that dares to keep the company of a black panther and use a double-barreled shotgun without so much as proper training.
The ending product? A cute, blond-haired, blue-eyed, young man that's as lovable as hell. ^_^
His Profile 
Name: Rufus Shinra
First Name Origin: Latin for "red"
Last Name Origin: Japanese for "new evil" (or something like that)
Age: Between 18 and 26
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Single
Height: Between 5'8" and 6'1"
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Blond (Said to be red or orange as well)
Eye Color: Blue
Blood Type: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Birthplace: Most likely Midgar
Father: President Shinra
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: None known
Pets: His "bodyguard" panther, Dark Nation
Weapon: Double-barreled, sawed-off shotgunHow I portray him in fanfics: I've tried my best to make Rufus appear as a person that has feelings in my fanfics, making him look as much like a victim as Sephiroth to his father's wishes. To me, his arrogance and cool manner are a facade that hides his sorrow and wanting to be loved. Basically, I try to make people feel sorry for him.
How I've seen him portrayed in fanfics: I've seen Rufus to be portrayed as the true enemy of FF7, especially in Sephiroth-turns-good fanfics. Since I think Seph's super-cool too, I don't flame the writers. ^_^ He's also shown as either cruel and sadistic (serious fics) or the president of an incompetant company (funny fics). One of my favorite portrayals of Rufus is when he fusses over his hair more than should and gets on anyone's case that insults his hair. *grin*
"A Father Figure" -- Perhaps my most twisted dive into FF7 up-to-date, not to mention ridiculously short considering how long I've had the idea. What if Rufus had been abused by his dad as a child? (Not a hard concept to grasp, I'm sure.) But what if he found a savior in . . . Hojo?
"Rufus and Cloud" -- Perhaps my most popular fanfic, RaC is the ending product of my ideas on Tifa's short story, Rufus and Cloud. It started out as a simple one-part story, but soon developed into a complete re-write of the FF7 storyline from Shinra's point-of-view. *_* And you know what's the freaky part? People want a sequel to it!
"Her Last Request" -- Rufus is asked by Tseng to bring Cloud into the Lifestream to see Aeris one final time, and Sephiroth decides to hang around Rufus while this is happening. Can the One-Winged Angel and President of Shinra, Inc. get along to do a Dreamwalk and pass through the negative parts of their presence in Cloud's dreams?
