— all the arrows that you've stolen
split in half, now bum and broken

'cato secare', valnain's bane.

( aka cheesecake factory @ mateus )

an ex-conscript of the garlean empire's IVth legion, seeking to establish a new lif efor themselves within the eorzean underworld.

a viera of dalmascan descent, born on the outskirts of valnain after rabanastre's destruction. for years, it was conquer or be conquered— out of fear, if nothing else, wouldn't you have chosen the latter, too?

name: cato secare; formerly caelus (aan) catius
age: twenty-six (as of 1577)
nameday: 12th sun, 8th astral moon (8/12)
birthplace: valnain, dalmasca
species: viera (rava)
gender: apathetic. any pronouns
sexuality: bisexualheight: 172 cm / 5'7"
weight: 57 kg / 127 lbs
hair color: pale blonde
eye color: heterochromatic; their right eye (looking in) is red, and the left is gold.
notable features: there's a small scar across the bridge of their nose, and a large patch of scarring across their upper chest, reminiscent of burn marks.alignment: true neutral; what's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours. sounds fair, doesn't it?traits: blunt, awkward (to the point of rudeness), witty, incisive, skeptical, self-serving.
"Really, I'm trying to be a good person, but don't you have to look out for yourself before you start wringing your hands about morality?"occupation: ex-garlean conscript/footsoldier — currently an odd-jobs mercenary working under-the-table. partakes largely in criminal theft and heist jobs, as well as freelance bodyguarding. masquerades as an amateur botanist.
class(es): modified gunbreaker/gunblade, reaper (w/o voidsent ties, just the scythe). can't manipulate aether.

1551 — is born in valnain, dalmasca, four years after the fall of ranabastre, to viera parents who had long left the golmoran jungle to settle within city limits. grows up under garlean rule, along with a twin sibling.1557 — their father is killed after having taken part in a minor uprising against garlean occupation at the city outskirts.1565 — at the age of fifteen, is conscripted into the IVth legion, which they welcome; having heard tales of the destruction at rabanastre before their birth, they're not willing to take chances.their twin, a talented engineer and artist, instead of conscription, receives an invitation to the magitek academy, and accepts, leaving for garlemald itself.1568 — turns eighteen; is promoted to a full soldier. news arrives that their twin, now a natural mage, also possesses a connection known as the 'echo'; cato does not.1570 — upon further training, refines a prowess in combat. combined with their twin's 'echo', a group of the IVth's magitek engineers take this as an invitation to poke and prod at them— against the direct order of superiors, including noah gabranth. they're one of many who are investigated and subject to experimental supervision.1572 — undergoes a process regarding the further development of hypertuning, which leaves them unable to use or conduct aether, as well as forming a large patch of scar tissue across their chest. they do not grow any stronger; it's a failure, through and through. they're discarded as soon as they're taken interest in.frustrated and angry from feeling like they've lost once power they once held by having joined the military, they desert the IVth legion in the wake of the umbral calamity, taking advantage of the chaos brought about by the news of dalamud's fall to flee by boat to thavnair.1573 — after ~a year's time, makes the trip to eorzea, coming across a garlean defector named cato mammula. after recieving a few weeks of his aid, in atonement for his own guilt regarding his defection, and ready to start over, they take his name out of respect, and instead begin learning the ways of the bozjan gunblades— with assistance from weapons made from magitek, to account for their aether deficiencies— to defend themselves in a way divorced from garlemald.1575 — their twin passes away in garlean territory. cato's unaware of the circumstances.1577 — present-day! we're chilling.

small ooc note: cato is played as a former garlean conscript who's not wholly repentant for what they did in the ivth; they're of an 'it was either you or me' mentality, and doesn't condemn the decisions they made to take power into their own hands (with a tendency to view the conflict on a personal scale, rather than a global one. it's not, it's been global, for as long as they've known.) they're not a great person, and this may cause ic conflict! i'm totally alright with that.
feel free to let me know if you need this to be toned down.

HOMETOWN HEROES: ...well, not exactly, but... cato's a dalmascan native, from valnain! although they have a complicated relationship with their home country, due to their immperial service as a teenager, they're always a bit interested in meeting fellow dalmascans.BE GAY, DO CRIME: currently, their main source of income. they're in need of some underground contacts, or better yet, a quick way to get rich; anyone up for a heist movie?WHAT'S THAT PLANT: they've recently taken up cover as a botanist, but they're lacking in experience... a stranger with a green thumb who could show them the ropes would be greatly appreciated.RAN INTO MY EX BOSS: cato, out of both necessity and a desperation to escape poverty under garlean rule, was conscripted into the IVth legion from age 15 to 22. would've known other dalmascan/bozjan/misc conscripts from this, as well as garleans or resistance fighters— as either a former friend or foe.WE NEED ELECTRICIANS: took their new name post-desertion from cato mammula of the ironworks, and holds a lot of gratitude for his aid in their leaving of the army; they're familiar with some other ironworks regulars/engineers because of this, potentially including you!

hi; it's nice to meet you!i'm 23, and generally comfortable with any pronouns; not a huge deal for me. this is my first time leaping into proper xiv rp, so forgive me if i'm a little slow to catch on! i'm on ps4, so apologies for the lack of screenshots; i'm still working on trying to share mine OTLOK: mature topics irp (combat, violence, sexual themes) with a heads-up/ask beforehand, platonic + romantic + antagonistic relationships irp (esp. antagonism; bring it on!)
NOT OK: rp partners under 18, ooc romance/sexual advances.i'm alright with both ingame and discord RP, and typically give out my discord through game if the vibes click!the character art in my carrd are all vgen commissions ; clicking on each image leads back to the artist!