•𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦•

ℱ𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒-

August — to increase, or great

ℳ𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒-

Grace — favor, blessing

ℒ𝒶𝓈𝓉 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒-

Carlisle — from the protected tower 

𝒜𝑔𝑒-

Twenty-years-old

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇-

Female

𝒫𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓈-

She-her-her's

𝒮𝑒𝓍𝓊𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎-

Lesbian

ℱ𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓂-

Sophia Bush

𝒜𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒-

August is the picture of beauty. With her curls of warm brown hair, suffused with fairer chestnut strands; her skin is milky and smooth, like fresh dew drops. Her eyes are lambent and pearly, hazel in hue, and sharpened at the edges. Her gaze is cool and calm, watchful and brimming with reproach, like an astute crow in the tallest perch.

Her lips are shapely, akin to dainty rose petals or lying waves beneath the ocean's surface. Pinprick dimples, and a vibrant flush to her cheeks that signals youth and radiance. However, her hands break the illusion of a languishing starlet who lives in a perfect world.

Her hands, slender, nimble, calloused, and dappled in fine scars, are proof of her life. They are working hands; the girl, lithe like a willowy reed, has never been without the burden of hard-work. Her taciturn, calculating air hints at this as well.

She has a very nasty scar on her left leg, from a bullet wound that got terribly infected. Additionally, she has a scar cutting up her collarbone on the right side. 

ℬ𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓉𝑒-

December 15th

𝒫𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎-

A willowy girl who grew up in the dark; saddled inside a cellar on the outskirts of the world, August learned shadows and family at a young age. It shows in her character, which is half-wit and half-calamity. Her tongue cuts deeply, but the way her eyes lacerate could make someone bleed to death. She is an ever cautious, ever esoteric soul who searches for purpose and meaning in everything.

She is surprisingly intellectual, and unsurprisingly cunning. She thinks three steps ahead, outwitting even those who think in advance. She can be puzzling, frustrating, too certain for her own good, and unwilling to bend. She is the queen of dirty jokes, and you'll never meet a more competitive type. She is never without a funny little quip, constantly cracking jokes — especially to get the attention off serious matters that pertain to herself.

For example, she responds to getting injured or facing loss, with humor. Some might find it charming, some bizarre, others just see it as annoying.

But beneath the charming smile, and gravitational confidence, there is vulnerability. There is always vulnerability with types like her. Hidden in the labyrinth of her secrets is an eden of truth, painful and longing — a tale of a desirable girl who has always been left to rot. But she hides this beneath the smoke and mirrors, and tends to her grief like a garden. The trouble, is that her careful tilling only makes the pain grow.

Careful, astonishing, too damn smart, and untrusting.

𝒮𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽𝓈-

Quick thinking — August has always had to be very fast on her feet. Her mind is constantly working on survival mode, spinning gears and drawing conclusions and connections. Her mind is like a constantly burning flame that can build to a wall of fire on a second's notice. Strategic thinking is her specialty, along with jokes that can be surprising from her stoic mouth.

Persevering — you have to be in order to live in their world, but in particular, August has a knack for bouncing back. She is very similar to a roach in that way. She might be worse for the wear, but she will always find a way to get through to the other side of any bad scenario. She has a surprising amount of inner strength reserved in her soul.

Distracting — this trait is mainly useful in two ways. The first is when she is regarding a foe; she is fantastic at distracting an opponent in order to catch them off guard. The other is more emotional, a sign that she has a soft spot for you. If your heads in the gutter and you can't get unstuck, she'll stay at your side and try to distract you from whatever is eating you up. It's her way of making you feel better.

Charming — she is oddly charming, which is her saving grace. Otherwise, her distant and hardened exterior can be off-putting. Most of the time, she isn't intending to be charming and she gets annoyed when people actually start to like her.

Tender hearted — for the most part, there is more to August than what meets the eyes. She isn't the self-centered dick she appears to be, meaning she sometimes cares so much that it makes her ill. You won't catch her admitting it though.

— Funny
— Realistic
— Brave    

𝒲𝑒𝒶𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓈-

Untrusting — oh boy, she would keep her name a secret if that were possible. She is watchful and present when in the company of others, always preparing for the worst. Even those she has known for years, she isn't sure she completely trusts. She would like to be different, but she is fast learner and the world has taught her that caution keeps you alive.

Her old injury — the origin of her old bullet wound will be explained in her backstory, but just know that it left lasting effects. August walks with a slight limp to her gait, which can slow her down in perilous situations. Due to living in an apocalyptic world, she was never able to get proper treatment for the injury, so it still hurts. It's a constant, dull throb that reminds her of how she got it, as if her mind didn't do that enough.

Loner — she absolutely thinks she can do everything alone, which puts her in bad situations sometimes. Another side-effect of this trait, is her habit to isolate herself and fail to make meaningful connections with people. She doesn't really see this as an issue, until she's sitting alone with her fear and grief, without a friend to be seen.

Dishonest — she's a fibber. Her motives and goals are always cloaked under an excuse, largely stemming from her general distrust. She likes to keep her cards close to her chest, never telling the truth about what's on her mind.

Angry — this isn't a trait that is instantly apparent upon meeting her, or interacting with her. She tries to keep her anger buried down deep, simmering but never boiling over. The truth is, she's furious. At the world, at the people in her past, at the death that has infected the air itself. Screaming into a pillow would do her a world of good.

— Too many jokes
— Won't sleep in the dark
— Cynical

ℱ𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈-

The dark — childish as it sounds, August is deeply unsettled by the dark. On a good night, she stays awake and calmly watches the shadows for trouble. On a bad night, her eyes are glued open and snapping frantically to any shift in the environment with fervency. She won't sleep at night, so she doesn't sleep much at all.

Small spaces — confinement is her kryptonite. She doesn't like feeling penned in, or enclosed. Tight spaces are a cage, and cages are traps, and she loathes it all.

Getting someone killed — due to her injury, she is worried that one day she's going to move to slow and it's going to get someone injured or killed. Murdering a bad person is one thing, but having innocent blood on her hands is another.

— Rats
— Silence
— Loving someone enough to lose them

ℒ𝒾𝓀𝑒𝓈-

— Her walking cane
— Card games
— Wind
— Sunlight
— Crossword puzzles, Rubik's cubes, puzzles of any kind
— Reading
— Driving
— Birds, larks in specific
— Maps
— Drawing

𝒟𝒾𝓈𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒𝓈-

— Men, most of them anyway
— Her face being touched
— Night time
— Petunias
— QZ
— Losing
— Dependency
— Cold weather
— Sleeping bags
— Leading 

ℒ𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉-

TBD.

ℬ𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎-

August was born a couple months into the outbreak, to Georgia Carlisle and Vince Carlisle. They were a young couple who got pregnant out of wedlock, and made a day trip to the courthouse when the strip turned pink. They were your classic high school sweethearts, in love with each other like spring and flowers. Before the world ended, their world revolved around grades and football practice... then everything changed.

In a flurry of screams, and bangs, and cries, the world ended. The fall from grace was almost mythic, unbelievable! But it was real, and their parents died at a dinner party. However, Vince's grandmother had one of those old school cellar basements with doors that open up from the ground. The couple reached her house in a couple days — they had to wade through the chaos and disaster, plus the cabin was on the outskirts of the world.

When they arrived, they expected the worst. So, when Vince's grandma came strolling out of the bunker on her walker with her ancient beagle by her side, they were pleasantly surprised.

They holed up in the basement for months because they were afraid of going out into the city. Vince would try to hunt and forage, but pickin's got slimmer and slimmer and eventually he had to start going into town. August was born and they kept her in the cellar for most of her life. They were terrified of her getting hurt outside, so she kept her great grandma company whenever her parents went out on supply runs.

Her great grandma became... less than sane under the conditions. The woman couldn't stand being cooped up, plus her health was relatively poor near the end. She took her own life, August found her body, they buried her under a large oak tree in the backyard. It was the first time August went outside. The old beagle passed away shortly after, and they buried him right at her great grandmas.

They kept going, and as they did, August was let outside more and more once she proved she could handle it. Time, ever the loyal soldier, trudged on until tragedy struck: her dad was bit by an infected while they were on a run. He was torn apart before August and Georgia's eyes, leaving his screams to haunt the rest of their lives.

Another year went by, Georgia and August were outside on a nice day. They were sitting at the edge of a lurid river, smiling for the first time since Vince died. Then a random bullet flew, and Georgia caught it in the head. A man came out of nowhere, kidnapping August.

For two years, he kept her locked away in a completely dark room. There was no light that poured in, no renegade ray to act as a glimmer of hope. The only time she was ever allowed out of the room, was when he used her body for nefarious acts that she refuses to speak. Even then, he would blindfold her and press a gun to her temple to keep her from taking it off.

One fateful day, August escaped. She managed to fight him off and get out the door, which was only a couple blocks from her great grandma's old house. However, she wasn't unscathed. The man shot her leg,  but she kept running, and running, and running. Eventually, she settled into an old house on a neighborhood street. She did her best to stop her bleeding, but infection came quickly.

She thought she was going to die by blood poisoning in a shoddy old suburban home, but a man and a woman found her. Joel and Tess. They brought her back to the QZ, after she passed out anyway, and her life was saved. 

ℛ𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈-

Joel Miller — he is the only man she can usually stand to be around. He has semi-affectionately called her 'trouble' since they first met. She and him have an unspoken understanding of each other, and she feels somewhat indebted to him for saving her all those years ago.  

Tess Servopoulos — similarly to Joel, August feels like she owes Tess something. They are somehow less close than Joel and August, mainly because she thinks Tess would sell her out faster than he would.

Ellie Williams — eventually, they have a sisterly relationship but it takes time for August to warm up to Ellie. A lot of time.

𝒜𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓉𝒾𝒸𝓈-

ℳ𝒾𝓍𝓉𝒶𝓅𝑒-

Sugar Mountain — Neil Young

She's Only Happy in the Sun — Ben Harper

If You Know What I Mean — Neil Diamond

Old Paint — Linda Ronstadt 

Who Knows Where the Time Goes — Fairport Convention

New York's Not My Home — Jim Croce