application ☼
[ Player Name ] : January
[ Personal LJ ] : myfarewells
[ Age ] : 17
[ Timezone ] : GMT -5
[ Other Characters ] :
Billy Iketani (aimforthesun) | Beauty Pop
Zen Wistal (countrybeloved) | Akagami no Shirayukihime
Train Heartnet (sweepered) | Black Cat
[ Character's Name ] : Renton Thurston
[ Character's Age ] : 15 by his canon point
[ Series ] : Eureka seveN
[ Canon Point ] : Post-Ep. 47
[ History ] :
Eureka seveN Wiki entry!
[ Personality ] :
Renton is someone who changes throughout the entire series, what with it being his Coming of Age story. At first, he is simply a whiny brat who talks without realizing what he's saying, but by the end of everything, he's become, as Hollands puts it, a true hero.
At a first glance, he doesn't seem like much. Sure, for a guy who seems to have grown up with no friends, he's pretty outgoing and somewhat bold in that regard, as he's willing to approach just about anybody. When one of his missions requires him to make an embarrassing face at whom he believes to be the client, he does it without hesitation. The Gekkostate wants him to approach a grumpy old man? Hey, those are his specialty. He's the kind of guy who'd like to get along with everybody if he could, as he's not the type to shy away from strangers. Quite a bit of his journey involves him talking and bonding with people he meets in strange situations, after all. He's grateful towards all the people he's met and the experiences he's walked away with. He's also fairly polite, typically referring to others with a 'Miss' or 'Mr.' and whatnot. Even Gidget, who's only a year older than him! He can be rude on occasion, though. He has a tendency to investigate whatever he wants, even if it's not always the most courteous thing to do. As Holland remarks, this may be because he never really had anyone while growing up to punish him, so he's a bit used to being allowed to run wild.
On the other hand, to dismiss him as just another friendly dork would be a huge lie.
Firstly, despite all the magazines he reads telling him to act otherwise, Renton is very sensitive and emotional-an undeniable fact. He generally doesn't express his emotions in moderation and instead wears his heart on his sleeve. When he's upset, you can usually expect the waterworks to follow soon after. When he's happy, his smile will show up on his entire face. When he's embarrassed, does he flail. This is part of why the other members of the Gekkostate often poke fun at him, as they know that he'll definitely react in some way, if not rather amusingly. He's the sort of person who has something to feel about everything and tends not to hold back. This has occasionally (or perhaps more than that) led to reckless moves on his part straight from the beginning to the end, as he typically acts without thinking of the consequences. When overcome by his emotions (which is often), he tends not think about the finer details and instead just jumps right into action.
However, he's not so proactive just because he's reckless. A large part of it also stems from a recurring saying in the series:
"Don't ask for it. Go out and win it. Do that and you'll be rewarded."
It's a lesson Renton realizes at the start of his journey and personifies at the end, understanding that waiting for his wishes to be fulfilled will get him nowhere. He doesn't like sitting around, hoping someone or something will come and save him. At the start, he realizes that if he wants to change his life, he has to take the opportunity he has instead of wishing for an easier route to open up. Mid-way through the series, he decides to keep on fighting, knowing that refusing to fight won't end the battle that's already started, and that only more fighting will end it, paradoxically. By the end, even when all odds are against them, he knows they have to keep pushing through to finish it all. These are far from the only moments where the quote comes into play, though. Again, it's repeated many times throughout the series, often by Renton himself as a mantra of sorts.
On that note, he's quite a hard-working and enthusiastic individual. Despite essentially being a gofer aboard the Gekkostate and aware of it, he tries his best to complete all his tasks efficiently (... even if a few escape his mind sometimes) and can take pride even in the smallest of tasks. Any time the Gekkostate sends him on what they call an 'important' mission, Renton tends to put all his enthusiasm behind it, regardless of how insignificant the task seems at a glance. Also, for all his complaining about how he never wanted to be a mechanic, it's still noted that he helped out at his grandfather's garage (where he picked up a few piloting skills) and clearly learned a thing or two about mechanics. And when he gets into something, he really gets into it. His fanboying started off with the Gekkostate, and now that he's left his sheltered life and explored the world, it's spread out to just about everything. He's often in awe of anything new and unusual to him, often tossing "Awesome...!" and whatnot around. Reffing and interesting sights are probably the prime example of this, though. The former is his passion and the latter is, again, a sign of how closed off his world used to be. From trapar dust to mines-he's intrigued by it all. In many ways, he's still an innocent child, fascinated by the world around him.
Additionally, he's rather optimistic, which is another reason why he tends to do some crazy things without much thinking. While he knows that merely hoping won't save anyone, he places a large amount of faith in believing itself. And now that his will to fight has been strengthened, he tries to look on the bright side of things and to not lose hope. When he and the others are stranded on Earth, he tries to cheer the more pessimistic Maurice up, commenting that they've always pulled through before, despite the fact that they've run out of water, are relying on wild fruit for food, don't know what the fate is of the Gekkostate, and have no idea what to do-on top of Eureka behaving strangely.
Of course, this also means that he can be rather naïve at times. This is especially obvious towards the beginning of the series, where it doesn't really occur to him that he's killing people despite Eureka lamenting how she's dragged him into all this. As he puts it, it just... didn't register. Again, he tends to make decisions based on his emotions, not logic, and more often than not does he not have the full picture. However, he has still developed a resolve of steel even with this occasional ignorance, and generally-speaking, his impulsive actions also stem from his kind-hearted and compassionate nature.
That's another undeniable fact about Renton: that he cares immensely for those around him. He's the kind of person who hates it when others are hurt, even if we're talking about people he just met. Heck, even if it's people he doesn't even really know. Going back to the point about him being naïve-he's also very idealistic on top of it. This can be very clearly seen when he meets a dying Vodarek girl (to a given extent of 'meet', as she's unconscious the entire time) and tries to save her, despite her parents having accepted her fate. However, more about that later, as the grim outcome of that event helps shape him into whom he is now. But with that being said, he really does evolve into a somewhat messianic character, stating that everyone in the world is important to him, which is why he's willing to go all out to save the planet. It's because of this that he takes having the fate of said planet placed on his shoulders rather well, because... honestly? It's not like they would've needed to ask him to do it. There was no way he would stand by and let others try to destroy the world he loves so much. However, despite what one might expect from a once whiny adolescent, this isn't a trait that only exists in the latter half of the series. Right from the beginning, he doesn't hesitate to try and protect others-even in what he perceives to be a dream-no matter how badly the odds are against him. Holland even calls him out on it, claiming that he doesn't like Renton's 'knight' attitude during the kid's emotionally unstable phase (to which Renton replies that he really will become one for Eureka).
Further highlighting his kind nature is his development later on in the series, where he even becomes somewhat of a pacifist, refusing to kill when he doesn't have to and instead opting to disarm his opponents. After discovering how much he's been killing, he understands the weight of a life and the consequences when a life is taken-realizing that it's not something that can be undone or 'fixed.'
So, of course, it's not just the world itself that he cares for. He holds great compassion towards the people he personally knows as well; particularly Eureka, whom he promised that he would be with forever. His determination to be with her is to the point where he doesn't care what the situation is, as long as they're together, not wavering even when he learns that she's not human. Unless he's feeling irritated, he does his best to always be sweet and gentle to her-despite, again, his magazines telling him to act more like a 'wild animal.' In the beginning, he feels that his place on Gekkostate is to look after her, wanting to be her strength. True, this is also naïve of him, as he comes to realize later, but it's the thought that counts. It's to the extent where he desperately tries to be as patient with the kids as he can, even with them doing everything they can to make him miserable and drive him off. He doesn't even let Eureka know how they're mistreating him, knowing that she'll blame herself for it. And when he realizes why they act the way they do, he shows his soft-hearted nature as he empathizes with them, even pulling off a grand prank to amuse them and then willingly takes the blame for everything afterwards. By the end of the series, he tries his hardest to understand the children and Eureka-his family-comforting them when they're feeling insecure and reassuring them that they're not alone.
Speaking of which, family is very important to Renton, who never had a normal one given that a chunk of it died/disappeared when he was still young. He values the principle behind being part of a family, which is part of why he declares Moondoggie as his brother, is so happy with the Beams, whom he comes to see as parents, and why he initially resents his father. He believes that the man simply abandoned them, but even that doesn't stop Renton from badly wanting to learn about him. He even outright says it: it's normal to want to know about one's family, which should make it clear as to how much it means to him. And once he realizes that his father cared about them all along, he's greatly touched and his resentment disappears. Even though his father still, in a way, neglected them for research, the fact that he cared past it all is what matters to Renton.
Furthermore, he's rather sentimental in general. He's not the type to forget others easily, since, as said earlier and as he himself states, all of his experiences are important memories to him. He allows everything to be a life lesson to him, taking the morals and values that others impart to heart. Charles in particular has left quite the impact on him, which is likely why Renton carries the man's wedding ring even towards the end of the series, letting it serve as a reminder to protect Eureka with everything he has. It can be said that he's fairly pensive and philosophical as well, often thinking about the deeper meanings behind things.
It's also because of these experiences that he understands now that helping others blindly can actually have the opposite effect of what was intended. Going back to that Vodarek girl mentioned before-that event is what helps him realize this. His attempt to save her (which was futile from the start) was likely not what she wanted, and that realization hurts him to the point where he doesn't care that her parents are still touched by his efforts. From this, he's learned that even benevolent actions, if done carelessly, can end up hurting others and that what matters are their feelings on the matter. After this point, he comes to respect others' decisions more, trying to be more considerate of their feelings.
This compassion doesn't extend to just humans, though. Having grown up as a mechanic, he cares a lot about machines and the like as well, believing that they also have a 'heart,' in their own way. To him, a scratch on a ref board or an LFO is the equivalent of a person being injured. He's very fond of the Nirvash in particular, treating it as if it were another person just like how Eureka does. It's not at all unusual for him to talk to it, despite the one-sided conversation.
Unfortunately, this kind-hearted nature of his means that he tends to have rather low self-esteem, often calling himself "the worst" and the like. While boastful about the few talents he feels he has in that teenage sort of way, he's also rather humble when serious and quick to blame himself when things go wrong while he's there. Every time Eureka gets hurt or he fails to realize how she's feeling, he immediately points the finger at himself, hating himself for failing to protect her or for not noticing-even when she's making an active attempt to hide what's wrong. In a sense, he can be considered arrogant in that way, with all the responsibility he places on his shoulders. He has a bit of a fixation on the idea that he's a "kid", though not necessarily in an attempt to excuse himself. Rather, he uses it as a means to self-deprecate himself, acknowledging his own ignorance. His own naïvety frustrates him at times, even if others are the ones locking him out of the loop. However, despite all this, he's come to the point where he no longer allows his grief to consume him. Even if he's given up, as long as he's given another reason to hope and fight, he'll bounce right back, good as new. Again, his will to move on and fight is quite remarkable.
Don't let his self-esteem fool you, though: Renton is extremely adamant about being who he is. Or, more specifically, "I am me," as he states. As someone who's always lived under the shadow of his celebrity father, he hates it when people don't see him for whom he is. He's determined to live his own life, rejecting the idea of becoming a soldier just because it's profitable or becoming a mechanic like his grandfather wants.
In his own way, Renton is surprisingly mature about certain things. While he may not always see the big picture due to a lack of information, he does what he can to try. He's no longer the whiny, unintentionally self-centered kid he was at the start of the series. Granted, he still has his childish moments, but he is only fourteen (well, fifteen by this point). Otherwise, he's learned to see outside of his own world and how everything in life is connected. In a vast world where so much is unknown, he's able to see his own place amongst everything. Though he's very much on the selfless side, he also knows how to balance the desires of others and his own wishes. This may tie in with the previous point, regarding his emphasis on self-identity, as he knows not to lose himself while trying to help others. Also, for all his naïvety and idealism, he's far from as oblivious as he was at the start. He's aware of the conflict that surrounds him now and the harm he may bring others. Whereas in the start, he didn't even realize he was killing, he'll now acknowledge when he's killing even Coralians where others might not even think twice about it. He even says so himself, that killing Eureka's 'brethren' might be what others consider a sin-but he'll carry that burden if it means saving her.
tl;dr he's an emotional but strong-willed kid with a big heart who grows up a lot. Yep.
[ Strengths/Weaknesses ] :
Renton is a talented pilot and reffer... Neither of which will help him any in Vatheon! However, that being said, when you consider that reffing is essentially placing your entire life on a single board while up in the air, Renton's got a fair bit of courage, only strengthened by the fact that he regularly puts his life on the line during combat. He's the kind of person who won't hesitate to fight, no matter how afraid he might be.
That aside, while he always hated the idea of following his grandfather's footsteps, he's quite the handyman as well. Clock's broken? Let him have a go at it. Toy needs fixing? Sure thing. Heck, want a small toy made? Got it. Giant robot needs fixing? He's on it (to the point where, in the manga, crew members mistake his work for his grandfather's, who's a legendary mechanic).
He's also shown to be a fairly decent cook.
However, he's still very much an ordinary 14/15-year-old. He doesn't possess any particular physical or mental prowess, lacking most of the other characters' military training and having never done well in school, meaning he doesn't have any real means of defending himself outside of an LFO. Again in the manga, he even states that there was never really anything he was good at (granted, his self-esteem isn't exactly the greatest either). He's also the type to let his emotions get the best of him and to jump before he looks, which has led to more than a few tight situations or unwanted outcomes, as mentioned.
[ Other Important Facts ] :
Birthday is December 28th, according to his passport.
[ Sample ] :
[... Déjà vu, in a way, really.
....
Slowly, he gets up, not looking as fazed as one might expect from a person who just woke up in another world. Instead, calmly, but not without a sense of curiosity, he looks up at the sky-or lack thereof, at least.]
Am I dreaming...? Or is this still the Command Cluster?
[It'd hardly be the first time he's had such a lucid dream, after all. But, at the reminder of what he just left, his eyes widen, as he looks around.]
Sis? Dad? [His head whips the other way, still calling out as loud as he can.] Nirvash! Maurice? Maeter? Linck?
[And, of course-]
Eureka!
[Damn it, not again. They'd just found each other again, so why were they already being separated? But... then again, the 'why' doesn't matter in this case, does it? He pulls a ring out of his pocket, staring at it for a few moments. A reminder-
You just have to do... right, Mr. Charles?
Standing around confused isn't going to do him any good, after all. And regardless of whether this is the Command Cluster, another dream, or something else entirely... he knows one thing for sure.
And so, his conviction set, he grips the ring before pocketing it and, ignoring his dripping wet clothes, begins to run.
Continued here! /o/]
[ Questions? Comments? Concerns? ] : ... I'm sorry about the length. /)_(\