astramaru » Hibernal Den » August

August

(#80922841)

I hope you're proud.

Energy: 50/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

3.19 m

Wingspan

3.54 m

Weight

530.85 kg

Genetics

Clay
Python

Clay
Flair

Ivory
Sparkle

Hatchday

Sep 19, 2022
(1 year)

Breed

Adult
Skydancer

Eye Type

Earth
Common

Level 1 Skydancer

EXP: 0 / 245

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Offspring

none

Biography

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AUGUST
THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH

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▬▬ ABOUT ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the scientist overseeing Adrienne's projects is as unsympathetic as the deity herself. After all, many of The Fallen One's demands are quite ruthless and selfish, and someone who would hesitate to help her meet her goals would not last long in their position. Only someone who could match the deity in narcissism and cruelty could ever hope to make her happy.

As head researcher and scientist, August is Adrienne's right hand for all her more technical wants and needs. If The Fallen One wants their enemies dead, August will supply the weapon. If The Fallen One wants someone under their control, August will bring out the chains. If Adrienne asked August to die for them, she would do so without hesitation. She will get everything done no matter what it takes, even if it means that she has to sacrifice herself.

But where does this extreme loyalty come from? Your first guesses may be along the lines of "for ego" or "for money" or "out of fear." All reasonable guesses, considering that those are the among the most common motivations for Adrienne's employees. But none of those apply to August. No, her reason is quite different: she stays by The Fallen One's side to escape her grief.

▬▬ ORIGIN ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

If you traveled back in time to meet August's childhood self, you'd be shocked; the hatchling that you would meet could not be more different than the ruthless scientist who stands by Adrienne's side today. Kind, caring, and wanting nothing more than to make others happy, comparing August's past and present are like comparing night and day. How did this skydancer grow up to lose all her morals?

The answer lies with her mother, a stoic dragon who rarely showed her emotions.

Young August was (and still is) the sort of dragon that is eager to please, and what she loved most was seeing other people's smiles. Helping others was what made her the happiest, and seeing people's smiles was one of her greatest motivations. But August's mother almost never smiled.

In fact, August was sure that her mother never smiled until she handed her her first report card.

It was flawless-- straight A's-- but the young skydancer still didn't expect any response beyond a simple "well done." Imagine her shock when she saw a small grin creep over her mother's face instead.

To this day, August is not sure why her grades were the thing that finally worked, but she didn't care. Though the skydancer had seen many people smile at her before, her mother's smile was something different; she had worked hard for it. She had earned her mother's approval.

If August earned others' smiles through kindness, then her mother's was won through academics. And if that's what it took, the young skydancer was determined to make her proud.

This desire for approval is what lead August through the rest of school, from elementary school to college and even her decision to pursue a PhD. Even when she got the degree and traveled Sornieth to look for a job, she did so with her mother in mind.

She structured much of her life around her mother's happiness over the years. So much, in fact, that when her mother died unexpectedly, poor August was left not only grieving but without a direction in life.

At the time, she was working for Adrienne as thanks for a favor. She had intended to only stay there temporarily. But after hearing the news, August buried herself deep into her work, unable to bear the pain. No matter how deep she immersed herself in her research, though, it always seemed as if she was on the brink of tears. One wrong thought, and she would revert back into a crying mess.

It was then that August made an unexpected realization: The Fallen One's smile bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother's. Not the exact same, mind you-- August was sure that no one's would ever be the same-- but enough to make her cling to them in desperation.

Now, Adrienne had not planned August's mother's death, nor did they intend to resemble her so much. But they saw an opportunity: if August was looking towards them as someone who might take her mother's place, then it would be all too easy to nudge her into doing what they wanted, so long as Adrienne's approval was offered as bait.

Has August realized what The Fallen One is doing to her? It's hard to say. Even if she knew, she might pretend not to. Anything to avoid the pain.

▬▬ ADDITIONAL ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

» Full Name: Dr. August Moore

» Age: adult

» Pronouns: she/her

» Relationship Status: single

» Likes: cheesy snacks, seeing other people smile, and sunlight

» Dislikes: being inside for days on end, fried foods, and not having anything to do

inventory
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» a cube of indeterminate composition. It is cream colored, tasteless, and nearly devoid of any texture. Apparently, August made this so she could get her daily intake of nutrition without taking too much time to eat. Even The Fallen One is a little concerned that she seems to subsist only on these.

» a few blank sheets of paper and an envelope, addressed to her birth clan. She's been meaning to send a letter to her family, but she needs to get work done on that project, and she's so close to finishing this other thing...

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▬▬ RELATIONSHIPS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

adrienne
boss

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"Thank you for what you've done for me. I hope... I hope I am making you proud."

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october
brother

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"I am not sure how October learned about what I am doing here. It is troublesome that he bears a strong hatred for both my work and Adrienne, though he is not going to be an obstacle as long as he is trapped within the void. Alas, my brother is just as clever as I am, and I am sure that he will find a way out eventually."

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skadi

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"I will continue to keep an eye on her, but now that the project is done, I will turn my attention to other matters at hand. Based on my past observations, I am confident that she will more than live up to our expectations."

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pilia

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"I remember that spiral. She was a candidate for a project we finished not long ago. She was strong, stronger than many of the dragons we ended up choosing. But I ended up picking someone else over her. Pilia was far too humble, for our standards. She would never compete for the sake of her own ego."

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▬▬ NOTES ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

» stays inside constantly for long periods of time mostly because of her work, though Adrienne will often purposely keep her busy to keep her away from the outdoors. This is primarily because they feel as if August sees firsthand the consequences of her work, she'll leave Adrienne's side. Adrienne could still force her to stay (like she does with a lot of her other employees), but in their eyes it's more ideal to keep her seeing them in a good light.

» Adrienne does let August have actual breaks from her work though. They care about her health, although only to make sure that she does not suffer from burnout.

» even though she can take breaks, she rarely does

» has not contacted her family since she started working for Adrienne. Her family just assumes that she's extremely busy (which she is), and they have no clue what she's currently doing (except for October)

» often stays up for days on end just doing research and/or working on projects

» has mostly given up her morals for Adrienne but there is still a part of her that asks if doing all of this is right

▬▬ OTHER LORE ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

ORIGIN (CONT.)
[ WRITTEN BY ASTRAMARU ]

If you asked almost any of August's family members about her childhood, they'd talk nonstop about a skydancer who was known throughout her clan for both her kindness and outstanding academic success. Her grandparents would be practically leaping out of their seats to show you award after award, flawless report card after flawless report card. Her father would be beaming as he spoke about how his daughter grew flowers to give to the lonely graves in the cemetery, or how she volunteered whatever little free time she had outside of academics to tutoring other kids for free. Her siblings would tell you about how she always made time to play with them despite her packed schedule. Nearly all of August's family would tell you about a dragon who could not seem more different than the scientist who works for Adrienne.

All of them except October, that is.

If you asked him, he'd probably begin like all his other family members with praise for her kindness and academic achievements, but he would mention one key thing that no one else would: that August's mother was what shaped her into the utterly unrecognizable dragon that she is today.

August is and has always been the sort that's eager to please. Perhaps this part of her originates from her kind nature, but nothing brings her more joy than seeing other people smile. Usually, bringing a smile to people's faces is something that the skydancer came across naturally thanks to her caring heart. Even those who rarely smiled could not help but give her a small grin with their thank-yous.

But August's mother was a different story; she never smiled at anything. When she watched her children take their first steps, the corners of her mouth did not curl up in joy. When she came home and was hugged by August's father, she kept her lips drawn tight. When August presented her with a handmade gift, all she did was nod solemnly and give her daughter an emotionless "thank you." August was sure that she could save all of Sornieth from destruction and she would still maintain that same stony expression.

But the young skydancer would be proven wrong when she handed her mother her first report card. It was immaculate-- straight As-- but August didn't think it was otherwise remarkable. Her family had known since she began school that she was remarkably talented; all this report card did was put this in the context of traditional academic grading. But when her mother took the paper in her hands, she saw a grin come across her face for the very first time.

August was not sure why her mother had only smiled at her report card after hearing her teachers praise her since preschool. Perhaps it was because she was the distrustful sort, and this was the final piece of evidence needed to convince her of her child's brilliance. Whatever the reason was, the young skydancer was ecstatic. She had finally found the thing that could make her mother happy.

For the rest of her school years, August dedicated an immense amount of her time to studying and other academic endeavors. She rose to the top of her class and stayed there. She took every difficult course that she could cram into her schedule, and still studied on her own time the ones that would not fit. She joined every academic club she could, and leapt at any opportunity to win. If there was a way to prove her academic prowess, August would grab it by the neck and squeeze it for every last bit of glory.

All this, just to see her mother smile for a brief moment.

By the time August received her PhD, she had amassed a mountain of academic achievements. But the skydancer found no joy in any of them. Even her PhD was just another flashy thing to add to the pile. She would not take pride in her work unless her mother was proud of her.

After her post graduation education, August left to travel Sornieth for a job. Not just any job, though; one that gave her a high position and a fancy title. Something her mother could boast about.

It was then that she found herself in some trouble. One wrong step, and the skydancer suddenly woke up to find herself kidnapped. Her captor was a ruthless queen, hellbent on destroying some other kingdom. She planned to do so with the help of a powerful cannon, but she needed someone to make it. August had the skills and knowledge to do it, and she happened to be in the right place at the right time (or in her case, the wrong place at the wrong time). The queen forced August to do her bidding, making her work for days on end without sleep or meals and yelling at her when she didn't get what she wanted. August was absolutely miserable, but she had no training in combat. Even if she could fight, the queen had an entire army at her disposal. She stood no chance. It did not take long for the skydancer to come to the conclusion that she would likely never escape.

But just when she was losing hope, she saw a light-- literally. In the depths of the castle basement where she was kept, August was stunned one day to look up and see sunlight coming around the corner. She blinked, and suddenly an imperial appeared in front of her.

The imperial extended a hand and said, "Come with me. I can take you to safety." She did not elaborate further.

August hesitated. She wasn't exactly the sort to trust random imperials that mysteriously appear in front of her. Then again, there was a possibility that this was her only chance to escape in a long time. And she certainly didn't like the prospect of waiting indefinitely, all the while being ordered around by the queen. August looked at the hand, and then looked up at the imperial's face. It was half obscured by a white mask, but she could still observe her stony expression. She could not sense any malice when she looked into her eyes, but then again, she couldn't really sense any emotion at all. If the imperial had bad intentions, then she would only be able to tell once she accepted the offer.

But she had been here for five years already, and if she had to stay for more, the skydancer was sure that she would begin to lose her mind. She looked at the outstretched hand once again. With a sigh, she put her hand in the imperial's.

Whether August's gamble ended up paying off is... a bit more complicated than something that can be answered with "yes" or "no."

She did not end up being kidnapped to be turned into someone else's minion-- err, hold on. The imperial did not end up kidnapping her to turn her into her own minion. However, she did bring August to Adrienne, who can hardly be considered a saint.

But August didn't know that. Convinced she had been brought to her savior, she thanked them profusely for their kindness.

And when she asked what she could do to repay them, she all but locked herself into her fate.

"Oh, well, if you insist... you are a scientist, no? I do have a few projects that I could use some help on," Adrienne had said with a smile. August probably would have immediately denied under other circumstances considering that she was just freed from being forced to work on someone else's projects, but in this case, she was doing a favor.

August agreed to lend Adrienne a hand for a while with the intention of eventually leaving. Now that she was free, her mind had gone back to finding a job that would make her mother happy, and she was eager to get back to the search. She dedicated herself to The Fallen One's projects for the next few months, but all she thought about was what would come after.

But it was when she was getting ready to leave that tragedy struck once more.

A dragon showed up in front of her bedroom with a message late one night. It was short, just four words:

"Your mother has died."

How does one describe the tremendous grief that struck August then? We could begin by saying what it was not: beyond the initial shock and tears, August did not cry. She did not wail or sob, weep or bawl. She only allowed herself that initial reaction, and once that was done, she decided that she could not let herself wallow in the pain, lest she drown in her own sorrows. She was upset, of course, but the pain was so great that she felt that she had to avoid it at all costs.

August went back to Adrienne and informed them that she had changed her mind about leaving. She would stay and work for them indefinitely. Looking for a job seemed pointless to her now that her mother was gone. Even if August wanted a job for reasons other than to seek her mother's approval, she would still need to spend some period of time without focusing on work, and the skydancer feared that the pain would come back full force then. She needed something to immerse herself in, to ignore the grief that had now made itself at home in her mind.

As the weeks since her mother's death eventually stretched into months, August noticed something odd. The Fallen One usually kept this artificial smile about them. It wasn't fake per se, but she could tell that it was forced. It was the sort of smile one might have while dealing with people at a customer service job.

But when Adrienne was truly happy, that's when their real smile came out.

It was small, the corners of their mouth turned just barely upwards of their neutral position, but August could feel the warmth of their happiness beaming through. The smile of someone who rarely let themself find the joy in anything.

Just like her mother's smile...

When August first saw Adrienne's real smile, that's all she could think about. It had been so long since she saw her mother, and now that she was gone, she could never see her smile again. Adrienne's smile would be the closest that she could ever get to seeing her mother again.

August buried herself deeper in her work, desperate to make Adrienne happy if only to feel that warmth again. It was not the same, but after years of structuring her life around her mother's approval, August needed someone else to fill the hole that she left.

Now, although they were planning to keep August by their side, Adrienne had not planned for her mother's death, nor did they intend to mimic the smile that she had come to attach her own happiness to. But now that August had decided to work for them in pursuit of their approval, Adrienne saw an opportunity: they could mold the grieving August to their liking. If she were so desperate for approval, then it would be as easy as luring a hungry animal into a trap with the promise of food. Adrienne could craft her into their perfect lackey, a tool that would never dare to disobey their wishes.

And what could August do? As long as she was ruled by her grief, she could not stop herself from going down the path that she was currently on. Not as long as Adrienne was there.

She was doomed to become a puppet, forever in search of approval from the one who pulls at her strings.

original codes by Archaic and Auraea

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