Ringo, Shade

Physical Description and Characteristics

Shade Ringo is a brown tabby with a reddish-brown/auburn muzzle, this same color running down the front of his neck and some of his chest. The tip of his tail is also this color. He’s most often seen wearing his trademark sunglasses indoors or out, keeping his blue/green eyes hidden. The only real ‘hair’ that he has is a tuft of fur between his ears that he usually keeps well-gelled and combed. His physique is muscular, but he’s no body-builder, relying more on his quickness and luck. For all the pretty-boy image he gives off, he’s actually very rugged due to his dare-devil lifestyle.

Off duty, he prefers the comfort of an assortment of shirts or sweaters with anything from blue jeans, slacks, to cargo pants. When he’s feeling especially bad to the bone, you’ll even see him don a leather jacket. Clean shaven, well groomed, and a snappy dresser, he tends to think of himself as a cool character, which does wonders for his ego. He’s a fast talker, quick to act, and has tricky, nimble hands. All in all, he can get along fairly well with others, but if you even *think* about touching his hair, he can be one nasty fellow.

Special Relationships

None in particular, unless you count his precious ’57 Chevy Corvette.

Past History

Born Sheldon Cole Ringo, he grew up in a well-off family, his parents owning a chain of styling salons in the city. At age 5, he was already wrecking bikes and driving remote control cars off the roof, all while donning a pair of toy shades. Sensing their kitten’s future rowdiness as a teen, his parents sent him off to a boarding school where his wild antics waned to a degree and an air of severity was nailed into him. Yet the sunglasses remained, and his need for extreme along with them. Others around him noted this, and hence Shade became a more fitting name that just stuck.

Once he was out of the strict suit-and-tie prison, Shade went to college at MKU. College afforded him the chance at last to fan his dare-devil flame, and he quickly took full advantage of the special stunt courses offered in an Acting/Theatre minor, while majoring in Criminal Justice to feed his ultimate rush: crime fighting. It should be noted that during this college era, Shade’s incurable infatuation with the opposite sex finally took flight, as it seemed some girls were attracted to guys who performed incredibly dangerous, stupid feats. Yet over time, he managed to cool off, allowing the females of the city to take a well deserved sigh of relief.

After graduating college, Shade spent his summer taking a specialized gun training course, to prep him for a special ops Enforcer’s unit he had applied for the previous semester. There, he perfected his aim with a small firearm and scored high in the course’s shooting range and various simulations, as well as exposing him to many types of firearms. When the course ended, Shade found himself out of luck, as all the remaining positions for the special ops unit had been cut due to budgeting short-falls.

Though other units, specifically local law enforcement, were still open, Shade reconsidered his law enforcing career and tried the fast-lane business of professional stunt doubling on for size. After countless crashes and numerous injuries, Shade was more than willing to continue his career as a professional stuntkat. Yet after refusing to do a particular stunt, deeming it impossible and not properly calibrated by “those executive idiots,” Shade was fired on the spot and brutally labeled as “chicken” by the industry. The rookie who took his place performed the stunt beautifully but ended up paralyzed from the waist down. Guilt ridden and severely rattled, Shade finally gave in to his parents’ pleas and took a less demanding job with a security firm. After months of boring nights spent watching monitors and prank calling TV promos, he desperately needed a change and applied for a position at a new law agency, the MBI.

Present History

After witnessing the come and go of directors, foiling several city-takeovers from evil supervillains, and racing demented bikers named after garden tools, Shade’s been finding himself right at home at the MBI. The risk and danger suits him just fine, and retelling his adventures from on the job makes it a little easier to find a date when on the town. He keeps house in an apartment above a closed down billiard, and enjoys visiting his parents’ salon for free hair gel and an occasional trim. (Not to mention for the chance to pass the all-female yoga class that’s right next door to it.)