Bambi-Bap Mandu

SHORT DESCRIPTION WILL BE ASSIGNED BY STAFF FOLLOWING APPROVAL

Bambi-Bap Mandu carries himself with the exaggerated dignity of a washed up celebrity who doesn’t believe he’s washed up. He is an average sized sphinx cat, if somewhat portly from his luxurious and varied diet. His wrinkled skin is without pattern and is considered a seal-point in coloration. With a near black darkening against his face and extremities while the rest of him is an off shade of smoke hinting at paler skin underneath.

He’s got a pair of enormous ears that dial in and help give expression to his wedge shaped face paired with large, yellow eyes. His dark paws are delicate, with near jet black paw pads and each claw is adorned with glossy pink nail caps that protects his owner’s furniture from being shredded.

Around his neck rests his most treasured accessory – a fluffy pink boa collar that can give an impression of a mane around his otherwise thin neck. At its center hangs a quartz star charm that reminds him that he is the star in his owners’ life.

Bambi-Bap Mandu, or also called BamBam or Mr. Mandu by his owners, possesses the social appetite of a creature who believes being left alone is a form of cruelty.  He adored attention in all forms, the good and bad. Silence never tends to last long in his company and enjoys adding theatrics to his everyday conversation, especially if said conversation revolves around him.

BamBam is simply deeply romantic about beauty for the sake of beauty, despite all his vanity. The world would just be better, in his mind, if every cat learned how to present themselves with sincere, emotional honesty. To him style was not frivolous… and enjoys every bit of clothing and accessories that his human attendees put on him.

He does his best to push others to become louder, stranger, and more indulgent versions of themselves. There should be no shame in creation or performance, even if BamBam’s interests seemed to change like the wind. He easily falls in love with ideas, trends and cats, only to drift towards newer fascinations once the thrills dull to become more mundane. A part of him is aware of this fickleness and doesn’t purposefully intend to be unreliable… he just wants to be inspired, even in his old age, to chase the next thing that gives him something to look forward to.

He has a soft spot for broken, awkward, or creative cats and might collect them in a way cats might collect trophies of prey. Underneath all the decadence is an aging cat who desperately wants to be loved and will sulk and gripe for hours if he feels ignored – that’s the worst!

• Born in the Moon of Leopard's Rest (2010) 011

Born into an established pedigree line, Bambi-Bap Mandu entered a world of wonder and preparation. His father, Gochujang-Noir, was a celebrated champion and his mother, DeeDee Soohin, was another award winning cat in South Korea for her flawless posture. She had also produced multiple litters of which BamBam himself was merely one of many. As such there was no such expectation to continue the line’s reputation but he had some promise. He was unserious compared to some of his siblings, but promising.

His attention wandered…something always distracted him…television, pageantry, praise. The show world fascinated him completely even if he lacked the discipline. At a young age he enjoyed being handled, admired, and tried to learn to the best of his ability even though he seemed to flirt constantly with the judges for more points.

Their father viewed showing as an art form demanding total precision but BamBam wanted fun. Everything could be going well one moment and the next he’d become distracted or move needlessly. It made criticism a contention point between father and son.

As BamBam grew older it became evident that the usual training methods were failing to shape him like his father wanted. Eventually the cattery brought in a newer handler, a young assistant working alongside the breeding program in hopes of gaining recognition within the competitive show world. Experimental training could work an sessions turned into games of rewarding him more to his standards. BamBam enjoyed classical music and flamenco the most.

Throughout his adolescence he traveled the South Korean show circuit and at one point even traveled briefly to Japan for a handful of exhibitions. By the time he reached adulthood BamBam had developed a modest following online almost by accident. Among those admirers were two young South Korean influencers. The couple encountered BamBam at a winter exhibition in Seoul and to them, he did not feel like a competition animal so much as a fully realized personality – one that could reach more people online.

Now beyond his cattery expectations, he was flown to North America where he spent his winters in New York City where he attended showcases and gallery parties and took photos wherever he could. When the winter rolled around, they moved to their seasonal abode near the Great Lakes region close to Michigan.

There BamBam lived a quieter life for the first time far away from the City scene. However… he did come across other welcome oddities that brightened his long afternoons and daytime television.

Enter Pendragon and the Court of Camelot.

Whether they were truly a formal group of eccentrics or elaborate neighborhood roleplay hoax… it didn’t matter to Bam Bam. They were led by King Pendragon, the first of his name an devoted himself to quests of glory and recovery of ancient relics. At Pendragons side stood his Queen, Valiant, and knights, retainers, and lords… Naturally BamBam became obsessed.

Their world seemed to operate entirely on imagination, commitment and drama…Pendragon completely refused to separate fantasy from reality, but who was he to judge? It did not take long before BamBam was formally folded into the court. He became “His Lordship Bambi-Bap Mandu, First of his Name. Son of Gochujang of Noir. Lord of Mandu. Aide-de-camp in service to King Pendragon of Camelot”.

Though he was hardly a warrior, he proved invaluable to the court in other ways. Years spent immersed in performance, symbolism, aesthetics, and obsessive media consumption (he may have had a slight TV addiction) may had made him talented at investigating clues, context, and providing insightful input.

This proved especially important during the search for Excalibur.

Excalibur, the ornate antique letter opener he first saw online. By the time BamBam joined the court, the search for Excalibur was out full swing. With the power of the internet he unraveled the mystery…Excalibur was stashed in a decorative case inside an antique shop near the waterfront a couple towns over.

It was a triumph shared by the Court and even though the Aide-de-camp left during the winter months, he always returned when it got warm. However, a couple seasons later when he returned to Whitehart he realized that Pendragon and his Court was gone… Whitehart became a bit quiet after that, and he turned to new fancies that struck him.

A warm season later, he returned to Whitehart once more…a little delayed due to his patchy travel on a tour with his owners (Moon of Lion’s Glory 2021).

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Huzzah, Cats of Camelot! Kitsu has given me permission for Bambi to be wrapped up in all of that.