The Turks (Final Fantasy VII)

The Turks are Shinra Inc. black ops specialists that appear in all Final Fantasy VII media. In the original 1997 game, they are minor antagonists as opponents of AVALANCHE. The Turks are the main characters of the spin-off game Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- and the short story Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile - Case of Shinra.
==Canon==
The Department of Administrative Research—also known as The Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department or, more colloquially, the Turks—is the dirty tricks department of the Shinra Electric Corporation. Their duties include protecting company secrets, scouting for SOLDIER candidates, kidnapping, assassination, and serving as bodyguards to Rufus Shinra. As Cloud Strife observes in the Remake, they carry out all these tasks "with extreme prejudice". They are characterised by: their elite fighting skills; their extreme loyalty to each other, the company (initially), and Rufus; their determination to complete their assigned mission by whatever means necessary; and by their suits. 
FFVII's original concept art represented the Turks as aligned with Rufus Shinra. Through all the various installments of the Compilation and Remake they have remained closely associated with him, to the extent that Rufus is generally considered to be an "honorary Turk".
The Turks are also closely associated with Aerith Gainsborough. The original game contradicted itself by implying that the Turks were tasked with finding her but had for many years been unable to do so, while simultaneously showing that Tseng knew exactly where she lived. The Compilation resolved this contradiction by strongly implying that the Turks were keeping a watchful eye on her as she grew up in Elmyra's care, and the Remake makes this relationship explicit. 
===Final Fantasy VII (1997)===
In the original game, there were four active Turks:
* Tseng, the leader
* Reno, Rude's partner
* Rude, Reno's partner
* Elena, the rookie
Vincent Valentine worked as a Turk before going AWOL roughly thirty years prior to the events of the game.
===Compilation of Final Fantasy VII (2004-)===
The four Turks of the original game proved so popular among fans that in 2004 Square Enix released Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII—the first entry to be released as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII expanded universe—a VII prequel which recounts the events leading up to FFVII from the point of view of the Turks. Before Crisis was a mobile phone game that was never released outside Japan, and it was shut down in 2018. 
Before Crisis introduced a number of new Turks to the expanded world of FFVII. The majority of them only appear in Before Crisis.
*Veld/Verdot. Veld is the Director of the Turks in Before Crisis. He is a generation older than his subordinates, and knew Vincent. Veld is Tseng's mentor and a father figure to the Turks.
*Cissnei. This female Turk, known as Shuriken, plays only a minor role in Before Crisis. She is a major supporting character in Crisis Core.
The rest of the BC Turks are officially known by the names of their weapons. Unofficially, they have names that were assigned to them in the concept art, as well as popular fanon names. 
* Gun (Emma), Elena's older and more successful sister
* Shotgun (Freyra)
* Martial Arts female (Juget)
* Knife
* Shuriken (Cissnei)
* Rod (Alvis)
* Two-Guns (Ruluf)
* Martial Arts male (Maur)
* Katana (Balto)
* Nunchuks
* Legend, AKA Death God of the Battlefield
In Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007), set between Before Crisis and the original FFVII, the Turks are sometimes shown to have an antagonistic relationship with SOLDIER, though this could also be described as friendly rivalry. Tseng leads several missions to which Zack Fair is assigned, and becomes friendly with him.
Last Order -Final Fantasy VII- (2005): An OVA serving as an immediate prequel to FFVII. Tseng, Reno, and Rude appear alongside some of the BC Turks. This entry's status as canon or paracanon is particularly debated, and may or may not be considered part of the Compilation proper.
Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile - Case of Shinra (2009): This novella features Rufus, Rude, Reno, Tseng, and Elena between Meteorfall and Advent Children as they attempt to preserve Shinra's influence. The BC Turks make a brief appearance. Released as a tie-in to Advent Children Complete.
Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography: TURKS -The Kids Are Alright- (2011): This longer novella fills in the history of events between Meteorfall and Advent Children. Alternating chapters provide the viewpoints of Rufus and the Turks.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005): Rude and Reno provide support and comic relief to AVALANCHE, while Rufus manipulates events from his wheelchair. Tseng and Elena have minor roles. The 2009 updated version, Advent Children Complete, featured some additional scenes of Rufus and the Turks.
===Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)===
==Fandom==
===Reception and Reaction===
Some fans have interpreted the Turks as a morally gray faction whose hands aren't any more bloody than those of AVALANCHE, as both have knowingly engaged in actions that resulted in the harm and deaths of innocent third parties, and both have put forth extraordinary effort to save the Planet from Meteor.IISuperSlothII. Rufus isn't a good guy, but he's not exactly a bad guy either, he just tries to do things his way. posted to r/FFVIIRemake in February 2020. (Accessed October 2020.) Conversely, other fans point to the fact that the Turks have been willing participants in routine kidnapping, murder, environmental destruction, and human experimentation, and thus are unsympatheticcryoftheplanet. Aeris and one of the many men who antagonize her. posted to Tumblr on 16 December 2014. (Accessed October 2020.) and perhaps irredeemableTV Tropes. Alternative Character Interpretation / Final Fantasy. (Accessed October 2020.)allsortsoflicorice, fury-brand, quartercirclejab. my ffvii remake hot take is that you’re allowed to like characters, even if they’re irredeemable, and yes, this is about the Turks posted to Tumblr on 20 February 2020.; many of these fans express frustration that the Turks appear as friends and allies to AVALANCHE and the WRO in post-Meteorfall FFVII media, while apparently lacking a convincing or satisfying redemption arc.cryoftheplanet. My opinion is “ugh, Ultimania.” posted to Tumblr on 26 June 2015. (Accessed October 2020.) Others still may choose to enjoy or ignore the Turks as fictional characters without taking a firm position on defending or condemning their moral leanings.
In early 2020, the NHK released the results of a popularity poll surveying respondents' favorite characters across the entire Final Fantasy franchise. Out of 198 major and minor characters, Vincent Valentine ranked 22nd, Reno ranked 32nd, Rufus Shinra ranked 78th, Tseng ranked 178th, Elena ranked 181st, and Cissnei ranked 190th., NHK, Q1 2020. (Accessed September 2020.)TheMomAbides. I translated the NHK Final Fantasy poll character rankings., posted to r/FinalFantasy in Q1 2020. (Accessed September 2020.) In a July 2020 Famitsu poll, Reno and Rufus were respectively voted the seventh (376 votes) and ninth (241 votes) most popular characters from the first installment of the Final Fantasy VII Remake.リメイク』アンケート結果発表や開発スタッフインタビューなど、プレイ後に語りたい聞きたい大特集！ published in Famitsu in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.)MKillerby. Character popularity ranking from Japanese fan poll in new issue of Famitsu, posted to r/FinalFantasy in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.)GameFAQs. Official Famitsu character poll is out, Cloud and Tifa is tied for #1, posted to GameFAQs in July 2020. (Accessed August 2020.)
===Fanon and Conventions Common to Fan Works===
Turk Fan Fiction, also known as "Turkfic", is a major sub-genre within the Final Fantasy VII fan fiction corpus, with its own recurring themes, motifs, and tropes.
*The Turks are popular subjects of the Draco in Leather Pants treatment, perhaps second only to Sephiroth himself.
*Because none of the Turks have a known surname, fans may choose to invent ones for them. Reno has often been dubbed Reno Sinclair.ekala, jukeboxhound, et al. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 8 December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.)
*Fic writers may describe Turks as having “mako eyes”ardwynna. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 6 December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.)—unnaturally glowing iriseschofitia. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 8 December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.) that indicate possession of enhanced strength, agility, healing abilities, and/or sensory perception as a result of mako infusions.
*In pastfic concerning Vincent, fans may create Turk original characters to stand in as his colleagues.
*Before the Compilation re-opened the canon of VII, the community widely believed that Rufus and Tseng canonically died during the events of the original game.ravy-nevermore, tyramir, allsortsoflicorice, et al. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 8 December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.) Thus, in Turksfics set post-canon, their survival may be explained, or another character may lead the Turks.
*Recruitment/origins - How and why the members of the Turks came to work for Shin-Ra. May depict the Turks as having come from underprivileged and desperate backgrounds.
*Found Family / Teamfic
*Mission Fic
*Tseng loves coffee.allsortsoflicorice, jukeboxhound. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 7 December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.)
*Reno has a smoking habit, and may be otherwise associated with fire.
*Reno may refer to Elena as "Laney" or "Lena".
===Shipping===
Notable pairings include:
*Elena/Reno
*Elena/Tseng
*Reno/Cloud
*Reno/Rude
*Reno/Tifa
*Reno/Tseng
*Reno/Yuffie
*Reno/Rufus
*Rufus/Cloud
*Rufus/Tseng
*Tseng/Aerith
==Example Fan Works==
===Fan Fiction===
===Fan Art===
*FFVII: The Turks by Risachantaghttps://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/48542133
*https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/38380822
*https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/79438289
*https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/79438289
*https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/69738468 
*https://twitter.com/click_burgundy/status/1172172723293806594?s=20
===Meta===
*commentary by cryoftheplanet
==Archives and Communities==
*FanFiction.Net
**Final Fantasy VII: Welcome to ShinRa Inc. Sin City! 
**Reno and the Turks Collection 
**Blue Suits 
*Archive of Our Own
**The Turks (Compilation of FFVII) tag and Turks (Compilation of FFVII) tag 
**Turk (Compilation of FFVII)-centric tag 
**Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII tag 
*Pixiv: タークス (Turks) tag
*LiveJournal: Before_a_Crisis 
==Links and Resources==
*Wikipedia: Characters of the Final Fantasy VII series - The Turks
*The Lifestream: Fan-translated official materials
**New Before Crisis Player Turks Character Profiles p. 103
**Before Crisis English fan translation
**On the Way to a Smile - Case of Shinra | original translation by Xcomp/LHYeung
**On the Way to a Smile - Case of Shinra | revised audiobook script edition by Pixel
**On the Way to a Smile - Case of Shinra | fan-dubbed audiobook
**Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography: TURKS -The Kids Are Alright-, Chapters 1-30 translated by Pixel
**Final Fantasy VII Lateral Biography: TURKS -The Kids Are Alright- plot summary and art
==References==
Category:Final Fantasy VII Characters