Babis Joestaridis

**Babis Joestaridis** is a character played by Zagnaphein.

Babis is a professional archeologist, paleontologist and a Dodo Logistics Lead Manager.

## Background

### **The Early Years**

Babis is the child of 2 famous professors of Archeology and Paleontology. His father wasn’t around too much because he was working on plenty of archeological dig sites and was traveling around the world finding Artifacts and Ancient Relics.

Babis rarely saw his father and was always happy seeing him when he was returning from his trips cause his father always had a story to tell. And pictures and videos of the things he discovered. He was always excited and he was saying that when he grew up, he would want to follow both of his parents’ footsteps.

His mother was a Professor of Paleontology and worked at the Museum of History in Greece. She was the one taking care of him. Babis was homeschooled so his interaction with other people weren’t many. Aside from the teachers that came to his house, he and his family had no other people to interact with.

Every time a class field trip came to the museum, Babis always felt sad. He saw children his own age but was never able to interact with them, because he didn’t know how. He did manage to sneak into a school tour group once, and feel like a normal kid, until one of the teachers realized that he wasn’t part of the group and told him to leave.

After that day Babis never tried to join another school tour, convincing himself that he was okay with the way things were so he wouldn’t have to feel that embarrassed and sad ever again.

One of the happiest moments of his life was when he went to Ithaca with both his parents. Ithaca was where his mother was from, the Island of the Great Odysseus. They visited one of the dig sites where a part of Odysseus Palace was discovered. His father told him to be careful and, while searching the monuments, he found something that seemed like an old coin!

He became excited because this was his first discovery! He wanted to make his parents proud, and went to show it to them right away. And while they both realized that it was a fake coin, like the ones that the tourist shops sell, they never told Babis because they saw how happy he was. His father told him to keep that coin in order to guide him for his future and the discoveries he will have on his own.

### **The University Years**

When Babis grew up, his parents decided to send him to a great college in the UK. Since he’d grown up alone and had never had friends before, he was socially awkward, sitting alone and not interacting with anyone. His classmates invited him to join their gatherings and parties, but Babis refused their invitations. His anxiety and fear of not being able to live up to other people’s social standards continued to keep him isolated from his peers.

One day, Babis’ professor told the students they had to pair up in order to finish a project that would play a huge factor in their grade at the end of the semester. Babis started feeling anxious about needing to speak to someone in order to find a partner but suddenly, a classmate named George approached and asked Babis to work with him. Babis agreed, and they began working together. As they started getting to know one another, George confessed that they had a shared fascination with Greek Ancient History.

That helped Babis open up a bit and they started talking more, taking breaks from the project to discuss Ancient Greece, the old myths, and the things Babis’ parents found during their expeditions in Greece. When the project was finished, they remained close friends. Not only did George help Babis get past his social awkwardness and anxiety, he even convinced Babis to attend a few parties every once in a while.

The years passed, and Babis finished his master’s degrees in both Paleontology and Archeology. The only problem Babis faced during the final months before his graduation was a deep concern for his parents, as he hadn’t heard from them in quite some time.

### **A Grim Return to Greece**

When Babis returned to his family home after college, he found waiting at the gates one of the rare visitors to the manor from when Babis was a child. It was Mr. Anastasakis, a less-than-pleasant person who came around every so often to have business discussions with Babis’ father.

Anastasakis informed Babis that his parents had gone into hiding because his father owed Anastasakis a lot of money and refused to pay. He claimed that Babis’ father had worked with him for years, funneling some of the expedition findings to Anastasakis to sell them on the black market for profit, but was now refusing to do so in order to bring Babis into the family business. Anastasakis didn’t like the idea and, when he threatened to expose the family, Babis’ parents disappeared.

Babis was in shock and awe. He couldn’t believe what Anastasakis was saying and refusing to believe it. Then, Anastasakis handed Babis a familiar-looking box. It contained the coin Babis had found years ago as a child, the one that set him on his path to continue the family legacy. Anastasakis told him to open the box and use his years of higher education to authenticate his first discovery.

Babis hadn’t looked at the coin in years, keeping it safe and focusing on his goals instead of the item that had set him on his current path. As he lifted the lid and picked up the coin, he could easily see that the coin was fake: his first discovery, the thing that had made him so happy as a child, was nothing but a cheap knock-off.

After the shock wore off, he made Babis an offer: take his father’s place and continue working for Anastasakis, or the government and the FIB would learn about how Babis’ father had sold priceless ancient relics on the black market. Devastated and alone, Babis decided to protect his family’s reputation and agreed to work for Anastasakis’ organization.

Babis began by joining Anastasakis on smuggling runs, in order verify whether the items were legitimate relics or counterfeits, and to prove he could be trusted. He slowly learned how the organization operated, and was eventually allowed to work without any supervision. During one of these runs, the police showed up and Babis was almost caught. He managed to escape their clutches, but that situation scared him and to this day, he still has panic attacks whenever he hears police sirens.

### **Fleeing to Los Santos**

On the anniversary of his 10th year with the organization, one of Anastasakis’ goons praised him for his invaluable contributions and that hit him hard. It had been 10 years since this whole thing happened, and even longer since he’d heard anything from his parents. On his way home that night, anguished tears began to flow. His vision was so blurry by the time he got home that he almost missed the letter waiting for him at the front door. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Babis was able to make out the sender’s name: it was none other than George, his dear University friend!

Eager for any positive news after such a terrible day, Babis eagerly tore open the envelope. Inside, he found photos of what he instantly recognized as dinosaur bones, fossils, and ancient relics, along with a letter and a plane ticket to a place called Los Santos.

> *My dear friend Babis,*
>
> *I am sending you some pictures of a couple of the things I’ve found in the city of Los Santos. If you want to leave the misery of your life in Greece, and earn money to save your family’s name and hire someone to find your parents, I think this city is where you need to be.*
>
> *I am including a plane ticket in your name; please use this ticket to come to the city. I don’t know if I will be there meet you anytime soon, but I am sure this city and its people will welcome you and help you get back on your feet.*
>
>

Babis was once again shocked, as well as bewildered: he hadn’t heard from his friend George since college… how did George know about Babis’ predicament, and what had happened to his parents?

Full of questions and, once again hope, Babis decided to use the ticket and visit Los Santos. Maybe this city really was the opportunity of a lifetime – he could finally start a new life, set up his own archeological expeditions, and find answers about his family. Perhaps he can also figure out how George is connected to all of this…

## Gallery

Shiela Monarch with **Babis Joestaridis** posing by his Portrait for the Gold Gala Art Exhibit at Vultur Lé Culturé Fight Club at 9-30-22Selfie of Nick at the Digsite