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.

She also has a very intense interest in both beetles and grasses. Augustus is fond of bugs in general, but her favorite bug is the Elephant Beetle, because Rhinocerous Beetles are her favorite kinds of bugs in general -- generally prefers larger species over smaller ones, but thinks they all have their merits. Thinks it's sad when people think they're scary and tries really hard to get people to understand why they're so cool and beautiful, but doesn't usually succeed in changing any minds. At least her boss has caved and will call Augustus to escort any bugs in the store outside instead of killing them on sight. Thinks about keeping them as pets occasionally, but her dad doesn't like the idea that they might escape their habitats, and Augustus is quietly a little sad that bugs have shorter lifespans and thinks she'd get a little depressed about having to replace them on the regular because they don't live as long as she will. Also very interested in Grasses -- Extremely good at differentiating and identifying grasses -- Buffalo Grass is her favorite. Augustus is generally bad at drawing, but is actually Very good at drawing grasses; she has a little field journal that she illustrates herself, inspired by her small collection of professional field guides.

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. Articulation disorder; 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. Struggles with disfluency, especially when she talks a lot all at once; really bad at breath control when she's speaking so she'll wind up running out of breath really quickly, which doesn't help.

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, a little naive, and not necessarily very smart. 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. Their relationship is a little complicated; they love each other a lot, but don't necessarily Understand each other very well. Her dad can be a little overprotective and seems to struggle with expectations (for example, her dad often tries to push Augustus into being more 'independent' with certain tasks and abilities, even when Augustus is uncomfortable with them, but simultaneously tends to question her competence in making decisions for herself when she wants to) -- but he cares about her a lot and wants her to live well, even if he sometimes forgets to treat her as an actual adult. They don't always communicate well because of that; Augustus tends to err on the side of keeping quiet about things she doesn't know how her dad will react to because she doesn't want to upset him, so it takes her a Very long time to come out to him and she tends to avoid talking about her relationship with the Changeling with him. (He's resistent to change and condescending, but not Malicious, to be blunt about it.) They don't necessarily hang out together a lot, but do make an effort to have dinner together on Saturdays to catch up and spend time together.

She met the Changeling when she was still working at the Gamestop, and they became fast friends (to both of their surprises). Changeling has a limited capacity for hanging out in public, so they usually meet at its house to spend time together -- mostly to just sit in each other's company, but they do enjoy watching TV together, and Changeling does enjoy just sitting around and listening to Augustus talk about whatever has caught her attention. 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 do occasionally spend some time 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.