Augustus

31 | She/Her

Augustus used to work at a Gamestop, but moved to work at a privately owned bookstore when the local Gamestop location closed. She's full-time under the 'Hiring Manager' position, but mostly works the front register since the bookstore is rarely actually hiring.

Diehard Sonic the Hedgehog fan -- she likes making shitty art of her OCs and plays mostly on PC. She is very bad at playing the Sonic games because she has godawful reaction time and hand-eye coordination, but she makes it work. Has extensive thoughts on character dynamics and relationships. Makes fancomics for the thrill of it -- is not a good artist, but can put together a cohesive comic page so she thinks that's good enough. She's not great at stringing together narratives either, but she gets the character voices so well you almost don't mind. Posts some of them online, but not very often; still has a decent sized audience she never interacts with.

Extensive Bakugan collection. Was mostly a fan of the show, and started collecting due to that. Occasionally ropes Changeling into playing the toy game with her, but this is rare because they both acknowledge that the game experience fucking sucks. Regardless, she still won't stop collecting the things. Favorite Bakugan: Altair -- she carries it around in her pocket as a comfort item.

Augustus has a mild-moderate speech impediment. Went through a lot of speech therapy as a kid, which Improved it, but did not eliminate it. She never managed to kick the lisp, and occasionally her R and L sounds dip more into W's -- especially when she's tired/overstimulated. Also has a tendency to have "atypical" cadence/pacing when she speaks -- tends to talk very quickly, with a lot of her words bunching up rapidly and then dragging slower in other areas, giving her a very uneven rhythem when she speaks.

Doesn't have a very good grasp on "personal space" and tends to get too close when she isn't paying attention, but is generally good about backing up and maintaining space when reminded. Tendency to talk too loudly and for too long, except for her small talk, which is pretty stilted. Augustus is open, and a little naive. Like Changeling, she does not feel particular shame or embarrassment about her inability to mask her Autistic traits, but she is very aware of them. She is scopophobic, and has a particular anxiety about being photographed or filmed in public. Does a lot to try to make herself "smaller" and less of a target, so she can be particularly bad about setting boundaries or asking for help. Also has a chronic tendency to Avoid thinking about her emotions at all costs. Her feelings are very Big and Intense when they happen, which is often overwhelming and uncontrollable, but the moment she can get it under control, she tends to overcompensate by trying to "put it away" entirely -- emotional repression is not something she excels at, but it is still a way of life. She would not consider herself an Anxious Person at all, but very much is one; it's just that her primary "coping" mechanism is Avoidance, so she simply will not think about it.

Augustus has a moderate tic disorder. Most common tics: Eye Blink, Head Jerk, and Nose Scrunch. Doesn't really go through the effort of masking this, and is very blunt/up-front about it when asked, but most people honestly don't pay close enough attention to notice unless they spend extensive time with her (not because her tics are particularly subtle, just because that's how it tends to go with tic disorders, really -- more than you'd think, at least). Does have occasional tic attacks, which she is wary of, because if they sneak up on her when she is in public, they can cause her to panic (scopophobia trigger). Notable stimming behaviors are: lots of swaying / rocking back and forth on her heels, usually carries a silicone brush that she likes to brush against her face/fingertips, and hops up and down when she's excited. Doesn't often handflap because she has weak joints and it can kind of hurt, but still occasionally falls into it when she's particularly bored/understimulated.

Extremely clumsy, and has poor depth perception, so she walks into furniture/walls pretty often and is usually sporting a handful of bruises from it; also struggles with fine motor skills, so she has bad handwriting, can't draw very well, and has trouble using scissors. Usually keeps her converse loose/pre-laced so she doesn't have to fight with them very often. Very bad interoception; has to use a schedule/reminders for most body functions so she won't forget. Okay with most noises when she's calm, but they bother her more the more keyed up she gets. Bright lights give her headaches. She's mostly particular about her clothing -- refuses to wear certain fabrics/cuts, despises tight clothes, and only ever wears full pants + long sleeves because she doesn't like having a lot of bare skin exposed to the air because that's uncomfortable. Not a picky eater at all though -- she'll truly eat anything.

Has a fluctuating tolerance for actual physical contact with other people -- sometimes enjoys it, other times very much adverse to it. Usually wears long sleeves/pants to avoid accidental skin contact; even when she enjoys being close to other people, the "skin on skin" sensation tends to give her the Ick. Experiences all of her emotions as Very Big; got in trouble a lot as a kid for "overreacting" to things, and has never really grown out of this, although adulthood has allowed her the opportunity to leave to calm down when she needs to, so it seems less noticeable. Has meltdowns infrequently, and can usually get herself somewhere safe/isolated to ride them out without much trouble even though she won't always consciously notice she's getting overstimulated until she's already on the edge.

Augustus still lives with her dad -- she pays rent to occupy a room in the basement. They do not get along especially well; her dad thinks she should be "trying harder" to mask, which Augustus is largely disinterested in doing. She does tend to make more concessions with him than she'd make for anyone else, though -- mostly in regards to censoring some of her autistic traits, interests, and gender. She does still depend on him for certain life demands (in particular, Doing Dishes, among others). Part of the reason that she is not fully 'out' about her gender identity, nor seeking medical transition, is because she relies on him enough that she can't afford to risk their relationship, and doesn't believe that he'd take it well. She could probably live alone and take care of herself okay, but it would be hard for her, and she's not sure she's comfortable risking it and not being able to take it back if she's wrong.

She met Changeling when she still worked at the Gamestop, after its mom decided it needed to spend more time outside of the house and made it go. She wandered over and wound up sparking a debate about Naruto that lasted for over thirty minutes, and eventually culminated in Changeling giving her its number so that they could continue the conversation after its mom picked it up. They've been hanging out ever since. When Augustus finally moved to work at the bookstore, she recommended Changeling for a part-time position, and aligns their schedules so that she can drive it home after its shifts. They spend a lot of their interactions with each other arguing and at least mildly irritating one another -- socially and autistically -- but are extremely close and mildly codependent. Augustus loves that the Changeling is someone who fully understands and likes her, and trusts it more than anyone else in her life. The Changeling makes her feel safe, and cared for, which she holds a lot of value in. Sincerely thinks it is one of the coolest people in the world.

Augustus has a younger sister, Aurora. They are about 12 years apart, and aren't particularly close. Augustus did a lot to take care of Aurora while their dad was at work when they were younger, and they were somewhat close during those years. The older they get, the further apart they grow. They do still love each other, and don't tend to butt heads very often, but Augustus gets the sense that the older and more independent Aurora gets, the more she begins to look down on and condescend to Augustus as a whole. They don't particularly keep in touch when Aurora leaves for college, although they do still talk when Aurora comes home to visit. Aurora was the one who helped accompany Augustus to get her nose pierced.