Irvine Kinneas
This is not Irvine's real background. This is a character background created by yours truly for the purpose of roleplaying on a Final Fantaxy MUX.
(Hear me)
And if close my mind in fear
Please pry it open
(See me)
And if my face becomes sincere
Beware
(Hold me)
And when I start to come undone
Stitch me together
(Save me)
And when you see me strut
remind me of what left this outlaw torn
"Outlaw Torn" by Metallica
Background:
Irvine Kinneas doesn't really remember his parents, both of whom died, when he was very young, during the war with Esthar. All he can recall is a woman's voice, singing, and the sound of what he assumes was his father's laughter. Though vague, he hangs onto both memories tightly, knowing he is lucky to have either. He arrived at the Matron's orphanage with only the beaded necklace as a reminder of whatever his parents' heritage was. Since then, he has never removed it.
Life at the orphanage was never cruel or harsh. The Matron reminded Irvy of his mother, and she sung to him sometimes when he was scared or upset after another bullying attempt from Seifer or another of the children. He made friends easily enough otherwise, Quisty, Sefie and Zell... and sometimes that odd kid, Squall, who liked to be alone all the time.
As he grew older, the children began to disappear, adopted by new parents, or taken away to a 'Garden' of some sort. Irvy missed Sefie the most, but didn't have to wait long before someone came for him too. His own adoptive parents, The Kinneas'. Though they were kind to him, Irvine never felt terribly close to either of them. Instead of attaching to them, as he had the Matron, he distanced himself. Seeing how upsetting this was to them, he felt both ungrateful and uncertain at the same time. They were decent people, owning a livestock settlement just outside of Deling City, in Galbadia. Though he did get used to them, he never quite called them mother or father. It was during this time that he began to identify with the cowboy image, however, as his foster father had just as much a penchant for the trappings as Irvine eventually did.
When the opportunity arose to train at the Galbadia Garden, Irvine took it. His foster parents fretted over it, trying to convince him that he was too young to go just yet. It didn't work, and at the age of ten, he left for Galbadia's Garden, which was the closest one to him.
The Garden Years:
In his first years at the Galbadia Garden, Irvine found himself in a virtual sea of faces and names. Feeling adrift, he never really made too many new friends, holding out instead to see if he recognized anyone from the orphanage. This earned him the label 'loner' and thusly his first years were fairly isolated ones. He experimented with a number of weapons, proving to be too clumsy with a blade of any kind, and too awkward with whips or blunt weaponry. It almost appeared he lacked the skill to be SeeD, until someone had him handle a shotgun. The Legend of Irvine was born soon after. What Mozart was to music, Irvine was to firearms. Thrilled by his recently discovered talent, he began to pop out of his isolation, gaining attention from other students (who either loved him for his bravado, or hated him for being a braggart).
It was also during this time that Headmaster Martine began indirectly influencing Irvine's training. Gunmen weren't unusual in Garden, sharpshooters and marksmen were something a little rarer, however. Martine had plans for young Irvine, but he generally kept them to himself, and merely arranged his training to include the skills of an assassin/sniper. Irvine went along with it, never really considering the consequences of it. It never occured to him that he'd have to actually kill a human being someday in that manner.
At twelve, Irvine was near the top of his class. His weapon skill was so far off the charts that he often was left to practice on his own, no trainer knowledgable enough to teach him anything new. Most of the Galbadia SeeD higher-ups agreed that he would most likely graduate before others his age. So it was that much more tragic for them to watch him fall from grace later that year. Always cocky and full of himself, Irvine had gotten into a rougher crowd. Often, for fun, they'd dare one another into stupid pranks and mildly dangerous activities for a rousing good time. One night, they all snuck into the training grounds, without any SeeD for guidance, to hunt the elusive and rumored T-Rex. They traipsed about, encountering minor creatures, until they were exhausted. Deciding it wasn't going to happen, they were discussing sneaking back to their dorm rooms when the creature attacked, snapping one of them up into his jaws. Everyone screamed. Everyone panicked and ran... except for Irvine, who tried again and again to free his dying friend, watching helplessly as his pitifully weak gun did hardly any damage to the rampaging beast. Finally, the Rex tossed the bloody corpse aside and came for Irvine...
He woke up in the infirmary. The boys had been caught by the Discipline Committee, and several SeeD had been dispatched to find the two and save them. Irvine was lucky, the doctor said, only a concussion, no other marks. His friend, unfortunately, was quite dead by the time the SeeD arrived on the scene. Psychologically, however, Irvine was scarred terribly. Watching his friend die had been the ultimate lesson in humility, knowing he was helpless to save him, or himself in the end. All the firearms skill in the world couldn't reverse one stupid moment.
After being released from the infirmary, Irvine withdrew into himself, guilt weighing upon him heavily. He avoided the crowd he'd hung with. (Which was fine, they had their own guilt and cowardess to deal with.) Practice became a ritual, but any attempts to partner him with a SeeD for the training rooms resulted in panic attacks and outright refusal. His trainers shook their heads, already counting him as 'damaged goods'. One in paticular, an Instructor named Emlee, frowned at the others for dismissing him so quickly. Under her wing, he began extensive re-training, in hopes that he could be salvaged in the end. Though it took time, it seemed to work. By the age of 16, Irvine was considered good SeeD material yet again. However, the darkness of his past never would retreat entirely. Making him a squad leader for his first set of final exams proved disasterous as the pressure of his role caved in on him and he buckled in the end.
So it was back to square one. Emlee tried to draw Irvine back into training, but found him resistant this time, emerging again from his shell into a rebellious teenager. To her chagrin, he garnered a reputation for being a ladies' man and notorious flirt, spending more time hanging out with the female population of the Garden then he did in training. She was near to giving up on him when the HeadMaster approached, asking for her opinion concerning Irvine. The idea of having him assassinate the Sorceress was hotly contested by Emlee. Sure, he was better now then he was five years ago, and he was, without a doubt, the best sharpshooter the Garden had, but he still had a major problem with pressure and could easily blow the mission. Her concerns were overridden. Irvine was called into the HeadMaster's office that day... and given his orders.
FF8 Events:
Irvine accepted his orders without any outward trepidation. Inside, however, he was a mess, knowing that the future of the free world rested on his shoulders. The HeadMaster took no heed of his psychological profile, impressing on the 17-year-old the importance of the mission, and how he could not fail. If he did, the Sorceress would take over Galbadia Garden and possibly the rest of the world. Irvine put on a brave face, and did his best to put his fear aside. He was being given to a group of Balamb Garden SeeDs and there was no way he was going to let them see how terrified he really was.
To his surprise, he recognized most of the SeeD group. Quistis, Zell, Selphie and even Squall, all the children he'd grown up with in his very early years. He waited to see if they would remember him, but to his amazement, they barely seemed to know each other, let alone him. He put on his mask of bravado for them, finding refuge in flirting with the girls. But, try as he might, the mission weighed heavily on his mind and there was little respite from it.
The events of the assasination attempt brought to light a new problem. It struck Irvine the moment he first saw the Sorceress come to the podium before the beginning of her parade. She seemed... familiar to him. The familiarity didn't become downright recognition until the moment he found himself atop that clock, taking aim. Cold realization struck him hard. The Sorceress was... the Matron. The same woman that had sung him to sleep and quieted his fears was now the evil Sorceress and his target. He froze, feeling the blood drain from his features, leaving his knees weak and his fingers shaking. There was no way he could do it, no way... panic set in, as it had so many times before. Yet, this was a hundred times worse. What kind of cruel twist of fate was this? How could they ask him to shoot the woman who was essentially the only mother he'd ever really known? Squall immediately realized something was amiss as Irvine began to outwardly reveal his inner panic and indecision. Sickened, Irvine soon understood that Squall didn't realize who the Sorceress really was either and there was no time to explain it. With Squall's coaxing, Irvine gave in to his orders, leaned over the edge of the clock... and fired. With a mixture of horror and relief, he saw his bullet deflected, though he knew that in truth he would have killed her if not for the magical shield she conjured at the last moment. This was the first instance of loyalties and duty conflicting so harshly, and Irvine would never quite lose the guilt that nested within his psyche.
From that moment forward, Irvine was drawn into the battle with the others. Galbadia Garden couldn't be returned to, and after revealing events at Balamb, Irvine felt a quiet hatred for his former home begin to fester. So they had used him, when he wasn't even a full SeeD, for a plot that wasn't even fully sanctioned. The lies and deceit shattered what little innocence he might still have retained. The only thing that kept him from falling into a brooding silence was Selphie Tilmitt's completely upbeat personality. Her dedication and optimism were infectious, and he was amazed at how she kept her humor after the descruction of the Trabia Garden. If the same had occured at Galbadia, Irvine was sure he would have been devestated to lose so many friends, yet Selphie seemed blissful anyway, grateful not to have lost everyone she cared for. Slowly, though if anyone had pointed it out to him he would have hotly denied it, he began to have feelings for her, trying to cheer her up here, or make her smile there. His bland attempts to flirt with her were becoming honest attempts to get to know her again.
In the end, Irvine was glad to see Ultimicia defeated, after the strife and trouble she had caused for his friends. His admiration for Selphie had bloomed into outright love, though he tried hard not to let it show too much. Selphie, for her part, seemed blissfully unaware of his attraction to her, except on occasion when he'd start looking at other women or flirting with someone other then her. Her jealous temperments surprised him a little, they seemed so out of place for her... and yet, privately it thrilled him. Things seemed to be going well, maybe there are happy endings, after all.
The Convergences:
The Convergences knocked Irvine for a loop. He'd studied his history... well, enough to pass certain classes, but he never expected to see it for himself! After spending some brief time out there to explore the new realms and areas that suddenly popped up, he returned to finish his studies at Balamb Garden, hoping to someday become SeeD.
Links to Irvine-ish Stuff