Augustus

Augustus is an fat, 6'3", mixed-Mexican woman in her mid-to-late thirties who lives with her dad and is straining at the confines of the closet. Her love of vampires and the Goth genre is most apparent in her room, although a combination of the aforementioned closet and her sensory issues means she doesn't dress in the common fashion very often. Loves weird vampire erotica, particularly in the vein of 'Toxic Yuri' Visual Novels she collects on her ten year old laptop.

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.

Still a huge fan of Bakugan and Sonic the Hedgehog. While she's never been very good at playing the video games, she loves the cartoons (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic X in particular) and has a decent sized collection of Bakugan and Sonic merch. Shadow is her favorite Sonic the Hedgehog character, although Sonic would be a very close second. Her favorite Bakugan is Altair -- she carries it around in her pocket as a comfort item instead of displaying it with the rest of her collection.

Augustus sounds like Gerard Way if they had an articulation disorder. 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. Finds it frustrating how often people will still refer to her as over-dramatic or prone to over-exaggeration when she tries so hard to make her emotions Smaller, causing a chronic cycle of her trying to repress them further and further. 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.