Everybody's Aunt

To fully comprehend where Rufus comes from and why he is the way that he is, we have to go back to his childhood. In On the Way to a Smile: Case of Shinra, it’s outright stated that he didn’t see his father very often, and faced neglect. The few times his father did come home, he was typically very angry with Rufus and would tell him to go back to bed, as it was late. Rufus, in all likelihood, had no real parenting from his father. His mother seems to not have been a very present force in his life, either. Given President Shinra’s proclivities and tendencies to sleep around, particularly with his secretaries, as Rufus notes himself, this does not surprise me.

A particular instance that is detailed in Case of Shinra is one where Rufus is five years old. His father has, for once, let Rufus take part in talks about Shinra as a company. He was delighted when his father showed him the blueprints to the President’s office, but here we see the beginnings of a trait that would be a common thread in every action he takes henceforth. He looks at the blueprints and, instead of giving baseless praise, wants to find a way he can improve it. He wants to prove he’s intelligent, and wants to one-up his father in some small way. While here it isn’t malicious, later it would become as such. Here, it’s just a childish desire to seek praise for coming up with something that his father might not have thought of.

This backfires terribly, and Rufus redoubles his efforts to get out of the situation. President Shinra embarrasses him by implementing the idea Rufus had, but not for himself, notably. It’s for Rufus specifically, and it has a mark that Rufus cannot forget. ‘L’ for ‘Loser’. The idea that if he ever needs to run from his battles in the future, that’s a failure, and he’s a loser in his father’s eyes. That’s something imprinted early, and Rufus compensates by being able to be martially powerful, too. He learns to fight as well as the Turks in time, and outright battles Cloud atop Shinra Tower at the end of the Midgar segment of the game in the original.

What is also interesting here is the idea that even at five, Rufus has been told that the position of Shinra Company’s President is not promised to him. While I doubt he was aware of the fact that his father was producing heirs in case Rufus didn’t make the cut at this time, he becomes aware later on. Nothing is promised, and any one of Shinra Senior’s children could have taken Rufus’ spot had he proved impotent. This is highlighted later when one of President Shinra’s children, Lazard Deusericus, is made the director of the SOLDIER division of the military. As well as, when Rufus was around 6 years old, President Shinra had a child with someone more “special”, that Rufus posits was meant to be his replacement if Rufus himself didn’t make the cut, something he did not become aware of until many years later, but something President Shinra did nevertheless. This need to prove himself was drilled into him from a very young age.

---

Something notable within Chapter 9 of Before Crisis is that neither Veld nor President Shinra could fathom Rufus being the traitor. President Shinra wrongfully suggests it’s Veld, and when the activity continues despite Veld’s change in position, blame is then shifted to Hojo. Despite Rufus’ questionable actions thus far and clear resentment of his father, President Shinra still views him as wholly loyal. Whether this is because of some latent trust or whether he believed he “raised Rufus better” is left up in the air. Regardless, Rufus is not suspect yet at this point in time despite his clear questionable actions.

---

Interestingly, this is the first sign of Rufus being interested in the Promised Land as well. While Rebirth made it clear that Rufus has little to no interest in the Neo-Midgar project, I think that Rufus wants to find the Promised Land out of spite rather than any of the reasons his father wants it. He wants to find it before his father does to prove that he’s capable and different. That he isn’t less than simply because he’s younger.

He speaks about a plan to bring Aerith in using military force, talking to his father about the amount of resources and time wasted due to being “careful”. This is a more callous Rufus talking, one that’s more impatient. His father's dallying about Aerith’s situation makes it easy for Avalanche to come in and take what they want. Rufus, obviously, doesn’t actually want Avalanche to succeed. He uses Avalanche as a means to an end, to push President Shinra into action rather than sitting atop his heap of gil and growing complacent. It’s a push to get President Shinra to listen to Rufus about how the company should be run. An attempt to back President Shinra into a corner and get what he wants. Eventually, this turns into Rufus outright asking Avalanche to assassinate President Shinra. To cut out the middle man, so to speak, and give Rufus free reign to do what he wants without having to do these machinations behind the scenes.

---

I think more interesting than any of this though, is Rufus’ complete lack of understanding why Cid would want to fly his airplane before the rocket launch. Cid was meant to be the pilot of the rocket, and would be taking part. But he flew the Tiny Bronco because he enjoyed it, and Rufus can’t wrap his head around doing anything out of enjoyment, least of all with so much on one’s plate. Cid has a great deal of preparation to do before lift off, and Rufus views him as shirking his duties. He can’t fathom doing anything but work at this moment. I think this speaks again to how President Shinra must have raised him. Again, from a young age, President Shinra was trying to drive home how important “working hard” is. Rufus likely took this to heart, and has little time for “play”, as it were. It would do a lot to explain his rigid attitude. He doesn’t understand why you would choose to do something enjoyable or fun when there is the opportunity to work. Having been pushed into this mindset his whole life, he begins to look down on others who do this. Because if he can’t have fun, then no one should be able to, at least without criticism.

The full exchange Rufus has with Cid is enlightening, to say the absolute least, and speaks volumes to both of their values. Rufus tells Cid that he’s firmly against the space program, that it’s a waste of resources and time. That there are more efficient ways to expand business. And Cid, interestingly, says that Rufus is young, but lacks passion. Something, according to Cid, President Shinra has in spades. Whether President Shinra is doing this for the sake of his own dreams is still in question, but it’s interesting that Rufus is already so disillusioned from doing anything simply because he wants to. He views everything in terms of what is the most efficient way to achieve his goals. He doesn’t ever stop to think about things like morale, at least not here. It’s interesting to see how this stance changes later when Meteor is overhead, when he sees a panicked people and finally understands what these big, grand displays do, and what their purpose is. Especially because this is a point in time where trust in Shinra is low because of what’s happening with Avalanche.

It speaks to his immature view of the world that the only thing he has to say to Cid about what President Shinra has done with the company is to not bring his father up in front of him.

---

President Shinra is taken off the spot when Cid outright says he doesn’t care if he dies so long as he can achieve his dream. Rufus’ words once again go unheard, his ideas go ignored. Rufus, in honesty, likely didn’t care whether or not Cid lived or died. He put on this show to try and show how corrupt his father was in front of Cid, so that the rose-tinted glasses he has can fall off, and he can see how callous the president really is. This never happens, though. It’s Cid’s fervent wish to go to the moon, no matter the cost.

Upon hearing this, Rufus changes up his tactic. The immeasurable damage a failed launch would have upon the company. President Shinra is doing this launch for a morale boost and for trust to return to Shinra. Rufus sees this as a needless, pointless expense to keep favor. What Rufus proposes isn’t artificial trust. When he says he wants to run the world through fear, he means it. I don’t think he was truly interested in seeing Shinra succeed as a company. He wants to prove that he can do it better than his father, and that’s it.

Rufus doesn’t have enough experience to understand that ruling with an iron grip, with forcing people to respect and trust you, doesn’t work. This is blatantly evident with Rufus’ actions throughout this game, even. President Shinra ruled Rufus through fear. Raised him with fear, made Rufus afraid of him so that Rufus would, in turn, respect him. This simply didn’t work long-term, though. While it may have worked when Rufus was a child, Rufus is an adult now, and sick of being afraid. He revolts, thrashes, fights back in his own way. Shinra had no choice but to fall under Rufus’ leadership, because he has no idea what it really takes to be a leader. He sees failures, and sees from an outside perspective how to fix them, but without the burden of the public on him, he can’t imagine what it’s like. President Shinra, ironically, has a point with what he says to Rufus in this scene.

Rufus, thus far, has no idea how to run the company. The most efficient way is not always the most effective. President Shinra, during his time as president, understands this and does what he can to keep public favor alive so that the gil can continue rolling in. Actions that Rufus deems frivolous and unnecessary are necessary for the longevity of the company.

---

By the end of the game, the executives are still pushing for the Turks to be disbanded. Thus, they are put on trial in the president’s office, when none other than Rufus comes to put a stop to it and ask that his father reconsider.

While it isn’t wholly an altruistic decision, Rufus still does this because he, on some level, has grown to care about the Turks within the last four years. He knows their worth, knows how valuable they are to the company. He knows exactly how lost Shinra would be without them. He’s seen them work from within their headquarters, has talked to them, strategized with them. By helping them, he has earned their loyalty and respect. He knows that he can depend on them in the future. They’ve made sacrifices for each other, and the respect is mutual. Rufus sees in them a potential that President Shinra is blind to.

This is the very last thing Rufus has to say to the Turks before the end of the game. Trust in anyone is something he’s been lacking all his life. People he can depend on, people who elevate his strengths and can help make up for his deficits. This bond they all share isn’t something so easily erased. As we see, even post-FFVII, the Turks remain wholly loyal to Rufus. Even when everyone has turned his back to him, even when he gave each and every one of them an out, they stuck by him. This bond is something lifelong and runs deeper than blood. It’s beautiful to see a character like Rufus, who is so focused on efficiency and so stuck on what he can do personally, is able to forge these bonds. Of course, he still tries to do most things on his own. But when he can’t, he knows that his Turks have his back.

---