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Name: Dr. August Marie de Rais (pronounced "Ray")

Nickname: No nicknames, thanks. Will respond to Dr. de Rais, but he prefers just August.

Age: 25

Birthday: June 17th

Sign: Gemini

Gemstone: Pearl

Blood Type: AB-

Favorite Food: Spicy food. The hotter the better.

Hated Food: Skim milk, and anything that says "diet" or "fat free".

Profession: Podiatrist (Not yet board certified — In the first of a three year residency program.)

Hobbies:

Coffee: The morning has not truly started for August until he has a cup of hot coffee in his hands. He has various places around the city where he likes to go to get a cup of joe, and prefers the expertise of a trained barista as opposed to making a pot for himself. He's been drinking coffee since he started high school, and his love for different flavors and blends and processes has followed him ever since. He doesn't like his coffee with a lot of cream and sugar (if he wanted cream, he'd order a latte), but prefers it with the minimal amount to enhance the flavor and that's it. August has grown into a bit of a coffee elitest and would never be caught dead in a Starbucks.

Games: While his lack of humor may make him an odd candidate for enjoying games, August finds many to be intellectually simulating when it comes to strategy and discovering patterns. Puzzles are his favorite and he uses them as a way to spark creativity after a long day. It helps him to zone in to one activity, pushing out other stresses in his life. He is also quite adept at solving Rubix Cubes, has a developed strategy for minesweeper, and would like a game of solitaire he couldn't eventually beat. (He heard there were a few auto dealt games that have never been beaten before and would like to try them for himself.) As a new way to keep him on his A game, August has recently started to venture into arcades to try the games out there. Pinball machines require a bit of skill and luck, and other games require developing a strategy early on, but he's up for the challenge and is often found with extra change on his person, just in case he happens to walk by an arcade.

Soccer: One of the few things he has kept at since he was little. He's not the best player, nor does he want to play professionally, but being able to work with a team towards a common, unspoken goal is essential to keeping order in his life. It also reminds him that there was once a time in his life where his only care was soccer. Those days are gone, but reminiscing once in a while never hurt.

Kickboxing: As a way to de-stress as college got more difficult and his family life more complicated, August picked up boxing. Punching and jabbing suited his purposes enough, but after a friend suggested kickboxing, he has done nothing but. It is more than just a workout for August. It's honing one's mind and body and spirit into a single entity. If anything, the fight is more of an artform, more spiritual than just beating on someone else. Even still, it has given him the ability to be able to defend himself and others if the need ever came up, and a good way to get out some pent-up aggression without going out and randomly punching someone in the face.

Virtues:

Focused: Having a million different thoughts about a hundred different issues going on in one's head does not mean there is no hope for narrowing in on one thing at a time. It's all about prioritizing those thoughts and forming a system that will make it easier to process everything. It's something August has developed for himself as he grew from adolescent to adult, his responsibilities and the expectations he has to live up to forcing him to grow up faster than a typical kid. By the time he was in high school, he already knew what needed to be done with his life. It wasn't necessarily what he wanted for himself, but because it was expected of him, he had to force himself to cut out frivolous things in his life, like hanging out with friends and video games and even soccer to an extent, and prioritize his time with studying and preparing himself for medical school. Now that he is out of school and in residency, he still has the same system of prioritizing his thoughts, cutting out superfluous information, and following through with duties and tasks. He focuses in on what needs to be done and does it; he doesn't waste time.

Cunning: It isn't always skill and luck that allows someone to come out on top. Craft can go just as far. Sometimes, when luck is hard to come by, it must be made. Whether it be through deceit or just being pretty damned brilliant (more the latter than the former, but he isn't against deceit either), August has been able to work his way through college and medical school. Being cunning is a skill in and of itself. It's not always about trickery and lies, but the ability to evade and artfully twist things to one's own benefit, or to step aside and let things play out on their own if and when there is no way to control them. He knows how to pick his battles, and in the event that he gets in over his head, well... he'll figure it out eventually, and if he doesn't then he'll be damned sure to learn from it and use what he's gleaned through his failure to his benefit. He isn't completely without morals, but he's not above a bit of duplicty either. The nobility of this slyness has been seen throughout history, and is often what brings one to victory instead of imprisonment and death. August is an example of shrewdness, of good old Machiavellian wiles. When "survival of the fittest" doesn't cut it, it's "survival of the luckiest" or "survival of the craftiest" that triumphs.

Controlled: A large portion of August's life has been decided for him. He was instructed in how to behave, what to say, how to act, what he would be when he got older, the timeframe in which he would accomplish these goals, and he rarely put up a fight about it. He was told early in life that he was going to be a podiatrist, just like his father and his grandfather and great grandfather before him. He was expected to be mild mannered and to follow those of higher authority, and he's become very adept in doing so, particularly when it suits his own purposes. August isn't the sort to show extreme displays of emotions. Everything is carefully contained beneath that cliched calm, cool, and collected veneer. Though he'll show anger (sometimes violently) if pushed to his limit, he can brush off insults and negativity quite easily. He is nearly the prefect guard dog, on and off the leash, following direction almost without question, both because that's how he was raised and how he has since conditioned himself to be. He finds that this placidity and cool detachedness often gets him exactly what he's looking for. His only area of weakness remains his temper, but he's been able to find other outlets for that.

Persistent: If at first you don't succeed... then you're clearly not August. August doesn't give up; he utterly refuses to give into failure. Oh, of course he's failed before. No one can get through life without failing at least a few times, but that's never stopped him, and it's unlikely to stop him at any point in the future. Challenges, obstacles, also unlikely to cause much of a hindrance for him, at least not for long. He might pause to consider them for a while, but eventually he'll just plow right through them and continue on his way. If there is something he is expected to do (or something he wants to do), he will not only do it to the best of his abilities, but he will try his damnedest to insure his success. If something comes up that seems impossible to overcome, August will use whatever resources he has available to him in order to continue his ambition of coming out on top in all things. He doesn't know the meaning of "give it up as a bad job." To August, if it was a "bad job" it was only because someone involved had a serious problem getting their s**t together, and he refuses to let that person be him. He keeps going, again and again, seemingly without exhaustion.

Flaws:

Mechanical: August is good at doing what he's told. He's good at living up to expectations, at taking the world around him and making it into a world that works for him. What he's not good at his expressing his emotions. He has conditioned himself to be so in control of himself and the way he feels about people, places, and things that much of his emotional range has been suppressed since a young age. At this point it's practically null and void. He isn't immune to everything, but much of what ends up showing through are the negative emotions, the anger and frustration that most people just don't want to deal with. If he ever has the ability to empathize, or even to sympathize, with the people around him, he doesn't show it. He's not even sure if he's capable of it himself anymore. Most of the times, he just doesn't care he's shut himself down so much. August is cold and distant and doesn't let himself become attached to anybody, because chances are they're not going to be there for long anyway. He goes through the motions of working relationships with his classmates and colleagues, but never with any real joy. Not only that, but he has absolutely no sense of humor and doesn't appreciate others trying to joke around with him. He takes things perhaps a bit too seriously, particularly his studies and his work, whether or not he even likes what he does.

Relentless: August likes coming out on top, and he'll do whatever it takes to get there. If that means studying his a** off, he'll study his a** off. If that means using other people to get what he wants from them, he'll use them without regrets or any second thoughts. If that means getting rid of people... well, he's never really had to do that before as he's always been able to find a way around it, but he definitely wouldn't be opposed to it if it came down to it. He can be merciless and cruel. He cares little about the success of others if it doesn't somehow lend itself to his own. When there are too many obstacles in his way, no matter what they may happen to be, he is not against stepping right over them (or on them) if that means he's the one to survive, to make it, to win at the end of it. His inability to sympathize with others blocks out pleas for help and he will continue on his way without caring what becomes of anyone or anything but his very own objective. He'd even sacrifice himself if for some reason it was necessary for him to do so. Luckily he hasn't yet had any experiences which deemed that necessary.

Severe: Because his life has been lead under the pressure of discipline and great expectations for his success, August often pushes the same level of expectation onto other people. Everyone should be perfect and no one should ever disappoint him. In his mind, he is the prime example of how people should be — crafty, determined, willing to do what needs doing, but also stiff, strict, and severe, no horsing around and absolutely no failures if he can help it. He is a stickler for rules and regulations, orders and guidelines, and expects them to be followed (whether or not he always follows them himself). Anything that seems frivolous or unnecessary — parties, lasting friendships, love — he heartily disapproves of. It's all a waste of time — particularly his, but everyone else's as well. August is harsh and uncompromising. He doesn't care to hear apologies or excuses. He doesn't care to hear sob stories or any other pleas for attention. Chances are he's already developed an opinion of you as soon as he sets eyes on you, and there's little that can be done by you to change that once it's set in.

Self Destructive: With most of his life having been lived for him, and many of his priorities forced upon him by other people, August's confidence and cunning and persistance in all areas of his life are maxed out by the time it circles back around to himself. He likes when things pan out the way he wants them to, and he likes to be successful (as success generally means influence), but when it comes down to it he doesn't really care what happens to him. He'll do whatever it takes to accomplish a goal; usually those goals have been set for him. He's not used to having a choice and he's not used to anyone giving a damn about his feelings or what happens to him in the process. As a result, he's doesn't really give a damn either, and he's developed some pretty bad habits in the process — he smokes, he drinks (sometimes in excess), and he tends to go a little too long without the proper amount of sleep or food that doesn't start with a 'c' and end with 'offee.' He's also been known to take on too much and get himself in a bit over his head. August isn't exactly impulsive, but he has a careless streak that could end with him stuck in some dangerous situations — and other as well, since he's not opposed to dragging people along with him if he'll get something out of it. He overestimates his own strengths, and doesn't care who he drags along with him. If it gets the job done, then it gets the job done and he'll call it a good day. Otherwise he'd just sit around going through the motions more than he does already, contemplating the utter meaninglessness of life.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Pale, silvery-blue, darker at the edges. Sometime's he'll wear glasses, but usually only when he's at home.

Hair: Black

Face: Strong jaw and a straight nose. He doesn't really smile — most people who know him well aren't even sure if he knows how. The muscles in his face seem frozen in a perpetual frown, his expression constantly displeased or unimpressed. If his mouth ever does twitch up, it isn't for very long, and it's more of an ironic smirk, or something more cruel and sardonic.

Height/Body Type: 6' even. Average build. More lean muscle than actual bulk.

Clothes: When not in scrubs or a shirt/tie/slacks/labcoat combo, he wears casual attire — dark jeans and button down shirts with the occasional sweater if it's cold. Sometimes he'll throw on a fitted t-shirt if he's having a lazy day, but nothing with any sort of graphic or bold print on it. He wears more modern than traditional mens' clothing, though the only thing truly "hip" about his fashion sense is the fact that he has his ears pierced. Otherwise his choice in clothes and accessories is pretty generic as far as male attire goes.

Hey, Guine! This profile looks fabulous and was awesome to read! There are two minor things I'd like to look into before dropping a trial stamp: one flaw, and his lieutenant weapon.

All of his flaws look good to me, so my only issue here is that he has five of them. They are all well written and contribute to his character, so all I can suggest is maybe taking out the one you feel is the weakest or merging two similar flaws into one?

The second thing is, his weapons all have a logical progression, however I feel like his lieutenant weapon as is might be a little too lethal. A rock hammer than can break rocks could easily do severe damage to skin and bone on a normal human. Due to its shape, I think a normal rock hammer is too lethal, however if there was some clarification [maybe it is a really thin/light metal so it can be damaged easily or doesn't have the weight to do severe damage?].

Either way, a little change or clarification and I think he'll be ready for a trial stamp! When you've made any changes, please just drop me a quote and I'll get back to you asap!

With your description and defense of the geologist's hammer, I am definitely inclined to agree with you! Reconsidering the item and the fact that it's about a foot long, it doesn't have much reach, and the fact that it's a fairly light item in terms of weight, I would be willing to okay a geologist's hammer [though if the GMs think this is too strong, I think the riveting hammer would definitely work as a backup]. The removal of the trait was the only other thing, and what you have now looks perfect to me! I'm going to drop off a trial stamp and a GM will be in for the final verdict as soon as possible!

That's fine with me!