Felis 'Bastet' Marinos

Through and through, one word describes Bastet: energy. They’re loud, rowdy, and often somewhat obnoxious, doing everything they can to keep attention on them, which, among other things, is why they take on some of the characteristics of a cat. They have seemingly boundless energy and are excited by near-anything to an almost childlike extent, finding joy and fun in even the slightest entertainment. They take an almost concerning enthusiasm in what they do, whether it be rather normal things or violent crime, and are incredibly playful in how they interact with the world, not taking things particularly seriously unless it’s through the incompetence of others.

They’re incredibly easily entertained, be it by their work or something entirely random, something which usually ends up manifesting in distractibility and getting sidetracked- but it’s often better than the alternative, as a bored Bastet has a tendency to take out that boredom on others through pranks and general annoyance. They enjoy pranks and tricks, and this gives them a strong tendency to come off as annoying- a view they actively cultivate. They find a joy in being a nuisance, and their mischief is something they take immense pride in, often intentionally messing with people just for the fun of it- whether that be through using their perceived cuteness to be annoying or saying oddly introspective things out of nowhere and then simply never elaborating on them. At the end of the day, they’ll do almost anything to be perceived, be that positive or negative- though they do tend to prefer the positive feedback, actively seeking out the pride of others to an almost annoying extent.

Bastet is extremely proud of their skills, whether those be real or perceived skills- they’re confident in being able to do what they do, and do it well. They firmly believe that crime comes easily to them, and are almost narcissistic in how they view themself, seeing their skills as above those around them. They often like to show off these skills, stealing small things from other people as a show of prowess or pointing out their ivory teeth, entirely because they see it as something to take pride in. A strong part of them believes they’re simply better than their peers, especially at their job, which is part of their motivation behind mocking absolutely everyone they meet. They also take criticism extremely harshly because of this, becoming either incredibly hurt or incredibly angry and insisting on their own superiority.

This, however, is reversed in how they view other people- Bastet’s easily infuriated by others, especially in their incompetence, and often dismisses the input of others as not worth listening to when it contradicts their own views. To a certain extent, they struggle to understand why people don’t see the world and the things around them like they do, and they tend to come to the conclusion it’s through the incompetence of other people. They’re aggressively stubborn when it comes to listening to other people, and hate being wrong, with a tendency to just do their own thing anyway if their own ideas go against a plan. They indulge in their own impulses regularly, tending to just do as they please, much to the annoyance of anyone who has ever had to give them orders. This isn’t helped by the fact that they rarely explain what they’re doing or why, simply going about it upon their own whims. They’ll still do as they’re told by the authorities in a gang, but taking orders from those they see as equal to or below them is often taken as a personal attack, with the best way to get them to do something often being a strict instruction not to do it.

Bastet’s pride also used to apply to their status, and there’s still remnants of that in their personality- they’re still getting used to the fact that they don’t really have a powerful family any more, and they have a tendency to still act as if they have far more power than they do. They’ll often offhandedly remark about their family before having to correct themself, and they’re a bit of a recovering rich kid, expecting money to solve their problems and often being surprised when things simply cannot be done for them. When they do get to talk about their family properly though, they’ll often keep up the act that their family is alive, mainly in an attempt to cling to the idea that their family weren’t all that bad. Admitting to what they’ve lost is hard, and they’ll often simply refuse to do it until forced to.

Bastet doesn’t like to show genuine emotion beyond anger and excitement if they can avoid it, instead preferring to go about things in their own Bastet way, but there are certain things that will set off actual emotional responses in them- primarily fear, an emotion Bastet likes to forget they have. They have a tendency to just freeze up when something causes a genuine emotion within them, just staring and shaking a little until the problem goes away, but this isn't something they like to admit to. Instead, after the fact, they’ll just try and brush off the entire event, laughing it off and pretending it didn’t happen in an attempt to both save face and avoid having to deal with that emotion. They didn’t exactly have a stable upbringing, so they’re not used to having safe environments to express emotion, which is why in most situations they absolutely refuse to. This unstable upbringing also affects their responses to violence- they see violence as something that simply happens, whether with or without a cause, and will often expect verbal or physical violence as the natural response to any sort of inadequacy or failure, reacting to those who don’t expect this as if they are naive and stupid.

At the end of the day, Bastet is not a good person- they’re comfortable around gang violence and crime, and engage in it with the same excitement as anything else because it simply isn’t strange to them. They’re also incredibly willing to let others suffer for their own benefit- they’ve been raised not to see the fault in lying to save your own skin, and don’t care what they have to do to avoid their lies being revealed. Their allies are protected somewhat by both their loyalty and personal stake in the gang, but they’re still not a person it’s wise to trust, something they’re smart enough not to admit to people. At the same time, however, their relaxed approach to lying is also given to other people. They pick up on lies easily, especially within normal people because they’re used to having to deal with mobsters, but they don’t often care about it, simply seeing it as a normal thing to do. They may take a passing interest as to why, but it’s no more intense than any of their other passing curiosities, not placing much worth in if or why people lie because they see it as so mundane. Sometimes they will try and get others to see what they see, but they are easily frustrated at others not picking it up quickly and will usually refuse to tell them outright because it spoils the fun.

Bastet’s easy infuriation, moral dubiousness and excessive pride tend to manifest most in how they view their work- they’re insulted at the idea that they’re too young to be doing what they do, even if it’s coming from a place of genuine concern for them. Ultimately, being in a gang so young isn’t an abnormal thing to them, to the point that they’ll show off their years of experience and ivory teeth as marks of prowess, and seeing people treat it as such tends to frustrate them, as they don’t understand why people are so concerned and tend to see it as babying- something which comes across to most as a remarkable lack of self-knowledge, considering most of their behaviour has been shaped by their trauma, especially in regards to their cat fixation. They often struggle to grasp seemingly normal concepts as they’ve simply never been exposed to them, and their moral compass is incredibly maligned, rarely seeing things as a normal 15 year old would due to their exposure to such crime and violence at a young age. They don’t like having this told to them, however, and find it incredibly annoying when people try to tell them that they didn’t have a normal upbringing- deep down, they know that, but they cling firmly to the idea that the crime they live within is simply how life is, even for a child. They’re proud of what they do, and they want other people to be proud of them too, something which is ruined by things like concern and incompetence.

When people do show this pride in them, though, they get incredibly attached very quickly, immediately latching onto the person giving them that validation. They view people in positive lights very rarely, but when they do they’re incredibly pleasant towards them, even if they never quite lose their easy frustration and playfully mischievous nature. Their loyalty to those they love is unparalleled, and though there aren’t many people who ever gain this position, they’d be willing to do anything to assure their safety. They’re also oddly affectionate, if only in short bursts, though this tends to manifest in catlike shows of affection. They do care deeply about those they attach themself to, despite showing it in unorthodox ways, and will do near-anything to ensure that those people see that care. This can, however, manifest in an overstepping of boundaries, as Bastet struggles to understand where to draw the line, and their attempts to help can often come across as intense or aggressive. Bastet doesn’t like explaining what they’re doing, and they can often come off as simply being a nuisance again even when they do have positive intentions.

Felis Marinos was born on the Greek island of Santorini, a small tourist island located southeast from the Greek mainland. They were the youngest of their three siblings, with their older siblings Basil and Jinan both being distinctly older (7 and 11 years respectively). Their mother, Auset, was a local politician, governing the city they lived in, and their father, Photis, ran a popular cruise and shipment company that operated in and around Greece. The family were incredibly well-off, with a lot of economic and political influence in the area, and they were generally well-liked by the community.

However, Auset and Photis also had another layer of connections, within the island and beyond. The two engaged in bribery and smuggling for the Ivory Teeth, a gang operating around the islands and controlling most of the surrounding land and sea. Their father managed shipments of illicit goods and important artefacts, and their mother ensured no political repercussions reached the gang. They were an integral part of the Ivory Teeth’s functioning, and so, from a young age, Felis became swiftly accustomed to life within the gang- they’ve never really known anything else.

They spent a lot of time wrapped up in gang activity, especially involving the tourists of the island. Felis became a talented thief, pickpocketing and burgling visiting tourists and mobsters alike, with a swiftness and elegance that ensured they were rarely caught. When they were, they developed a quick tongue for lying, especially when they were in smaller troubles at home. With their parents’ busy lives, and their high-strain jobs, it’s perhaps no surprise that their stress was often taken out on their children for the smallest missteps. Felis had grown up seeing their siblings experience this, and, determined to learn from their mistakes, they set about becoming their parents’ golden child. They behaved exactly as told, lied their way out of every problem, and always went along when their parents needed them for something, even when it was gang-related. They became well-travelled and versed in politics, and proficient at smuggling and forging, out of a sheer desire to make their parents proud. Their small stature and young age made it easy to overlook them, and that made them easy to use in criminal activity, even if they despised being treated like a child.

When their parents were off on excursions they couldn’t go on, Felis was raised mostly by their older siblings, Jinan and Basil. Jinan was an aspiring law student, and had absolutely no faith in the Ivory Teeth, or their parents. She believed that their family’s affiliation with gang life was immoral, being the eldest and most experienced of the siblings with its consequences, but also knew she would never change Felis’ mind, instead doing her best to instil the youngest sibling with a strong moral compass (to limited success). Basil, on the other hand, was willing to do his best to just slip under the radar within the family, and, while willing to go along with a few schemes to keep out of trouble, mostly poured his focus into his siblings, keeping Felis safe wherever he could. He believed more in anarchism than in gang life, and would do whatever he felt was right in a situation, with a few vices in the form of vandalism and theft solely because he could get away with it.

There was one other person raising them, however, and that was their parents’ boss, Medea Zervaki- the leader of the Ivory Teeth. Medea took a quick liking to the quick-thinking and confident Felis, and elevated them to a position of power within the gang, sweeping them away from the Marinos’ at age ten as her unofficial right hand. Felis was lavished in luxury, and enjoyed being treated like a grown-up by the other gang members, even as they grew up far too quickly. Medea gave Felis influence over the gang’s actions, and they were soon renowned and feared as Ailuros, Medea’s influential and brutal second-in-command. Medea taught them growing up to always strive for power, and to never let themselves be spoken down to or treated as lesser. Felis’ confidence soon became arrogance and ruthlessness, so assured in their judgement that they would refuse to listen to anyone else. They were Medea’s right hand, a grown-up important gang member. That mattered more than others’ opinions.

This, however, didn’t make them immune to the violences of gang life, or to Medea’s whims. Medea had never been a level-headed person, and her habits for removing or replacing the teeth of insolent gang members extended too to Felis, who has had their teeth irreparably altered by Medea. They became used to being attacked by gang members who rivalled the Ivory Teeth, leading to most of their scarring, and even, in one instance, an attack that lost them their right eye, leaving them permanently blinded. Felis doesn’t currently see anything wrong with this, seeing it as a realistic part of gang life, though they don’t openly showcase it. They, too, became accustomed to enacting violence, used to the inherent roughness of gang life. Ailuros became a terrifying name to hear in crime circles, drawing to mind images of a terrifying and ruthless Greek mobster, a reputation almost untouched by their small stature.

And then, when Felis was 13, Jinan disappeared, her body later found washed up on the beach. Reports would cite an accidental death, overdose on prescription drugs that led her to drown in the sea. The reports conveniently left out the lack of evidence for any drugs, or the clear evidence that she had been intentionally drowned. Jinan had become a problem to the family, her law degree swiftly being used to help get members of the Ivory Teeth arrested and put away. And so, something had to be done, their parents concluded. Jinan was gone by that weekend, and Felis assumed her death had been necessary. This was normal, everyone told them. Sometimes people had to go.

Even so, the story made it hard to stay in Santorini, where the press hounded the family. So the family soon moved to New Gethanam, under Medea’s advice. There, Felis managed the Ivory Teeth’s American branch, smuggling goods into and out of the country on behalf of their Greek counterparts. The name Ailuros carried, after all, came with a reputation, and any new branch needed that. Felis became a powerhouse in yet another country, shaping New Gethanam’s already crime-ridden streets to their will.

But, at age 15, Felis had their life once again interfered with. Desperate to regain some of their lost wealth, their parents stole a vital and expensive artefact from the Ivory Teeth’s shipments, disappearing off to who-knows-where. Basil was framed for this crime, and along with it, the presence of the Ivory Teeth in America at all. He was swiftly arrested for life, for gang activity, smuggling, and theft of a historical artefact. He left Felis to be cared for by a close friend of his, Arlie Bonheur, and as far as anyone else knew, that was the end of it.

But Medea knew better. She knew that the Marinos parents were behind the theft, and that they would never be found. As such, the debt fell to Felis, who Medea was sure could track down their parents or at least the artefact. But Felis had no idea. They knew nothing. And so, as Medea took back control of the Ivory Teeth’s American branch to give Felis time to find them, Felis instead began rapidly constructing a backup plan. Medea would grow impatient, and they needed to find and return the artefact, under any circumstances. They still had the influence of the Ivory Teeth’s name at their back, but they needed a way to get into the city’s various museums and galleries, certain that they would be able to track down the artefact somehow. And so, calling in a few favours and following up a mysterious lead, they found their way to the Scarlet Blades, a newly-formed gang of thieves that would allow them to achieve their goal. They covered their face to obscure their true identity, keeping their distinctive blinded eye hidden, and took on a new alias- Bastet, an up-and-coming thief unaffiliated with the Ivory Teeth and simply fond of the shinier things in life. They even managed to talk Arlie into letting the Blades use the bingo hall they owned as a hideout. From then on, Bastet would be a new person. A new thief, let loose on the streets of New Gethanam.

Bastet uses their cane both for accessibility purposes and as a weapon. The end is weighted, and the whole thing unsheathes to reveal a sword. They also fight with the claws on their gloves.

Bastet's cat ears and tail are fake, controlled through brainwave processors. They use them as accessibility tools: the ears help them with their hearing, and their tail works both to ensure their balance and for navigation, similarly to a cane. Both are also used to stim.

The bells on Bastet's design are real, and can be detached. They use the noise to help navigate and to stim.

There are strong electromagnets in Bastet's boots that can be switched on and off, to help them climb things.

One of Bastet's eyes are blinded, meaning they have no real depth perception.