OOC: Character Information
Name: Tseng
What world they came from: Gaia, Final Fantasy VII
Birthday (if known): Unknown (as is true for most orphans)
Species: Human
Occupation: Director of the Administrative Research Department (aka Turks) at Shinra Electric Power Company. (Though the 'Department' is down to four people inclusive, and the 'Company' has lost all traces of its former glory).
Appearance:
Tseng was born in Wutai - Gaia's equivilent of Asia - and possesses the features typical of his race. His more distinctive characteristics are the ones you shouldn't ask about, either because he would refuse to give you an explanation, or because he doesn't have one himself. The hair, for instance - what sort of assassin slash corporate ninja keeps waist-length hair; wouldn't it just get in the way? (The hair is symbolic, Tseng would say, if he was feeling particularly generous, and leave you to decide whether he was being serious or not). And the dot in the middle of his forehead - what's with that dot anyway? (To that Tseng has no answer, because he was never educated in the strange customs of his birthplace. Why brand a newborn in such an obvious fashion before you cast him out into the big open world? Who can fathom what the parents Tseng never knew were thinking?)
Dress-wise, Tseng's tastes are extremely limited (a fact he would readily admit). Open his wardrobe and you'd be assailed with an impressive (and oppressive) row of suits neatly hung - Turk suits (at least two of those), three piece suits, company function suits, ballroom suits, casual suit jackets - and all of them black or close enough to (ie, look from afar and there's no real difference between them). Tseng is a sharp-dressed man less because it's a conscious decision on his part and more because that, having been a Turk since he was fourteen years old, he really doesn't know any alternative.
The rest are details of the sort a fawning mother would give (if Tseng had one). 184cm tall (a good solid height), dark brown eyes (stoic and sombre, though sometimes downright wicked), and overall quite a handsome boy (capable of turning heads on the rare occasions he walks among the public. Though that could just be because very few others would wear a suit to, say, a beach).
He also has a predisposition to injury. It comes with the job description.
Personality:
Despite appearing more bookish and delicate than many other Turks, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that Tseng is a force to be reckoned with; the dog-eat-dog hierachy of Shinra demands this forcefully of its leaders. Unlike the previous commander of Administrative Research - the stern and formidable Veld - Tseng's relationship with his subordinates is, at first glance, almost too casual. He tolerates their small talk and individual quirks with impecable patience, even enjoys and participates in their banter and playful slander. But, when the Turks get working, it soon becomes apprarent that Tseng's power is absolute. Able to remain calm and professional even in extreme circumstances, his capacity to plan for catastrophes before they happen, coupled with his ability to work under pressure that would crush most others, means that precious few are better suited to their role than Tseng. He himself is well aware of this fact, and strives to maintain and improve his impressive reputation - indeed, his perfectionist nature is one of the things which gives him most grief, making him constantly critical of his own actions, striving always to do more, to do better.
Special abilities/talents:
Give Tseng any firearm and he will fire it, and ninety-seven percent of the time hit what he means to hit. Out field, if Tseng doesn't want you to hear him moving, you will not hear him moving, and you damn well won't see him either if he wants to remain unseen (repeat: corporate ninja). A Turk is able-bodied, stronger than the average gym-going body-builder despite their lean physique, and as nimble on their feet as dancers. Tseng certainly possesses the above traits, but his forte is in the subtler art of manipulation, negotiation, drawing curtains over eyes and elaborate displays of theatrics - all in a day's work in keeping the delicate, superficial peace for and within a corporation that rules - correction, ruled - the world through fear, lies, and oppression.
Weaknesses:
An age ago, Tseng was more of a thinking person who questioned his assignments before carrying them out. The younger Turk valued the lives of innocents and the fates of friends and close acquaintances, putting them above the wishes of the company he served wherever possible. But, a series of tragic events and misintended deaths later, Tseng grew jaded, indeed tired, with the idea of being a savior. Then, the sympathy, morality, protectiveness he had in his youth started to be actively disgarded. What does a dog of Shinra need humanity for, after all? Why have consideration for others if it was only extra weight on the shoulders of a Turk? Within FFVII, this conscious shedding of 'unnecessary' emotions was in its most active stage - Tseng defined himself so much as a corporate tool that he hand-delivered the woman he loved to Shinra, fully aware that she would suffer there.
But a conscience is a nagging and persistant thing that can't be gotten rid of, so Tseng's conscience plagues him like a latent, relapsing disease. He carries out the dirty deeds of Shinra by sheer habit - blackmailing, maiming, and massacring all become so easy when they occur on a day to day basis. But introduce something that disrupts this pattern, something that FORCES Tseng to reflect, to think, to comprehend what he is doing, and his carefully woven villainy will fall apart at the seams. At times like these, Tseng's temper can overcome him, making him wild, angry, even reckless to the point of disregarding his own life.
Another consequence of closing his ears to all but the voice of Shinra is that Tseng has become heavily dependent on receiving orders. He is a natural leader, but only as capable as the hand that leads him. This, in fact, colours his relationship with Rufus Shinra, and Tseng's devotion to Rufus is much deeper than either of them might suspect.
Quirks:
-Sugar. Tseng takes to sweets like a heartbroken girl to chocolate. Sometimes there's more brown sugar in his coffee than coffee.
-Tseng is a pessimist who doesn't believe in anything, but paradoxically this makes him attracted to visionaries and dreamers, the people who strive wholehearted towards grand goals such as rebuilding or 'saving' the world. Outwardly he may scorn them, call them naiive, take pleasure in pulling their plans and good intentions apart, but in reality he truly wants to be proven wrong. To be shown that a brighter future is actually possible and achievable.
-A psuedo-masochist in that he will push away things that make him happy, because deep down he doesn't think he deserves to be happy. This isn't a conscious thought on his part, since Tseng considers 'happiness' a rather vague and irrelevant emotion, but it does mean the people who are most important to him are the ones that cop most of his shit. (Rufus Shinra is rather an exception to this, but then Rufus Shinra doesn't make Tseng happy per se.)
Sexual orientation:
Sex was a tool before it became any well-formed desire, and as such Tseng had experienced a bit of everything before making up his mind that - yes, sex is great, and generally the more options that are open in that department, the better (read: as bisexual as it is possible to get). However, the one night stands and casual flings as a rule occur only with women; Tseng would never, ever, talk loosely about the (two or three) men he had bedded in his life.
(And really, with that impeccable dress sense and the long, beautifully kept hair, you'd not expect him to be completely straight, would you?)
Reputation:
A Damn Good Turk, and all the associations that come with the profession. To enemies, Tseng is seen as colder and more ruthless than his subordinates, less emotional and more a man of mystery. To the few people who know him well, he's actually a little awkward and shy in strictly social circumstances. Though to both friend and foe, Tseng has a reputation for being a dangerous, dangerous man you never, ever, want to cross.
Background Information:
Tseng joined the Turks at a very young age, and became Director after killing Veld - the treacherous then-leader of the department (at least that's how it appeared). After that show of loyalty, he continued to serve the company, saw the rise of the young Shinra prince into power, and helped Rufus attempt to find the fabled Promised Land. At one stage he became an obstacle for Sephiroth, and ended up how obstacles for the Silver General generally end up (read: a kebab), but survived through to see Meteor fall. What followed was a period of his life Tseng would rather not recount (though it involved a very ill president and his very dead company), but after the establishment of the WRO things started to look up again...