Augustine "August" Belfort

Augustine "August" Belfort
Styga europaeus
Age	150
Gender	Male
Born	1825
Died	1872
Orientation	Bisexual
Status	EVS Councillor
Occupation	Woodsgrave Livestock Overseer
Height	6'11
Weight	A lot
Likes	Adult magazines, cannabis, casual sex, cigars, hunting, orderliness, orgies, raw meat, the housing market
Dislikes	Being questioned, Disney's Bambi, George's board game nights, Left-wing politics

August is a main character in Dancing with the Dead. He serves as Edgar's employer and holds a seat on Woodsgrave's vampire council.

History

August was born in 1825 to a wealthy family in North Yorkshire. The ownership of Dawnwatch, his family's ancestral hunting lodge, suggests he originates from landed gentry, though the precise nature of their wealth is not known. From an early age he showed a strong interest in hunting, notably killing rats alongside the family dog. His mother found this behaviour repulsive and reportedly grew fearful of him. In adulthood, he inherited Dawnwatch and married a noblewoman, and after some difficulty conceiving, fathered one son he named Clifford. By his own account, he had hoped for more children. Following his wife's death, August sent Clifford away, stating that "the whole affair took its toll on me" and that he did not want the boy to witness further suffering. He maintained distance from Clifford deliberately, keeping him at arm's length even after his own transition in 1872. He continued to support Clifford financially, funding several trips across Europe, until Clifford vanished and experienced undeath in Venice.

At some point during his unlife, August married Horace and established a harem of three vampiresses: Josephine, whom he turned in 1895; Camilla, turned in 1914; and Abigail, turned in 1922. He also formed a friendship with Todd, which dissolved in 1967 when Todd killed a human familiar on the premises of Dawnwatch. Todd, apparently confident that August would not act against him, misjudged his host entirely. The resident ghosts of Dawnwatch witnessed the incident and went on to testify against Todd. August used this to bind Todd to his service, an arrangement that has held since. August retains a hierarchical advantage over Todd, likely maintained through the legal consequences of the 1967 incident and the ever-present threat of their use.

Personality

August is a spectre of Victorian masculinity. By default he is affable and gregarious, eager to play the part of a gracious host, and takes evident pleasure in ostentatious displays of wealth. He has a boundless energy for socialising and will dominate conversations if he is not caught up with. Boorish and overbearing, he demands space at all times and will take it if he feels ignored. He strongly dislikes criticism in any form, whether from fellow vampires, familiars, or the perceived gaze of his own taxidermy when his composure is under strain. This is most apparent with Rozzlyn, who repeatedly challenges him on his intentions and compels him to reassert his persona. Even when others satisfy his need for attention, he does not see them as equals but as amusements. With humans, he looks down on them as larval vampires or prey. With characters he unapologetically dislikes, he torments them in increasingly bizarre manners. Above it all, Mr Belfort is a thrill-seeker, terminally bored and fidgeting for his next source of stimulation. This extends to his financial ventures; he describes the housing market as a "fertile maiden" and takes particular delight in his human tenants unknowingly funding his lifestyle.

August projects an image of absolute ease, dismissing fear as a non-concern and insisting that nothing happens in the hamlet and nothing needs to. When confronted with symbols that challenge this composure, he reasserts it by force. His reunion with Clifford reveals further emotional conflict. Upon initially meeting Clifford, August is visibly stunned, before abruptly reasserting a more controlled appearance. When Clifford challenges him on his manners, August can barely contain his desperation and attempts to guilt Clifford, grinning so widely the latter calls it a rictus.

On the topic of his ennui, August can be unexpectedly tender. He waxes poetic about the nature of vampirism and appears emotionally attached to it. As revealed in Episode 6, he chose to become a vampire himself. He also possesses a softness for more overtly vulnerable characters, having helped Abigail and Camilla in times of personal crisis. Unlike his peers, August is unwilling to manipulate or mistreat Edgar, as first shown with their initial contract. For every lie, August can tell a truth.

Appearance

August has the appearance of a man in his late forties. His hair is worn short with a centre parting, combed firmly into place. His face features a double chin, a small blocky nose, beady eyes, and a pronounced underbite. His ears are broad and droop slightly at the tips, giving them a faintly animal quality. Despite his obesity he carries a broad, sturdy frame and notably hirsute limbs, most visibly on his hands. In coloured renders he has light green skin, light orange hair, and yellow eyes.

Extras

• According to Clifford, August built a private cemetery for his hunting dogs, each of whom was euthanised by hunting rifle.
• As revealed in Episode 13, August had his casket modified to accommodate a large hole. The reaction of his harem upon hearing this strongly implies the modification serves a sexual purpose.
• August assigns a will o' the wisp the sole duty of remaining on his person and holding his penis while he urinates outdoors, presumably to avoid the need to wash his hands afterwards.
• August constructs golems from taxidermy and animal bones, animated with tamed wisps. These guard Dawnwatch from intruders and prevent escapes from the dungeon.
• August encountered difficulties conceiving Clifford, the cause of which has not been disclosed.
• August has pierced nipples.
• August is an absentee landlord and takes pride in his human tenants remaining unaware of his nature.
• August is an open man-eater.
• August is openly bisexual, which he notes is a common and accepted fact of life in vampire societies.
• August is prone to taking heavy drags of his cigar or bong when nervous.
• August is a regular patron of sex workers. Given his attendance of orgies and polyamorous lifestyle, it can be assumed his partners consent to this.
• August maintains a laboratory within Dawnwatch for golem construction.
• August objects to EVS safety measures, though characteristically his objection is aesthetic rather than principled. The required signage clashes with his decor.
• August owns a dungeon beneath Dawnwatch, containing several cells and a garrotte chair, the latter implied to be his primary means of execution.
• August reads the eponymous "Necks" magazine.
• August smokes cannabis regularly, with no apparent preference for medium.
• August smokes the fictional brand of "Cuba Crowns" cigars.
• August takes umbrage with the term "fascist" being applied to him.
• August was born with Jacob's Syndrome, as revealed in Episode 11.
• August's drink of choice is an absinthe and cyanide blend garnished with a human or pig's eye, named "Poisonois" in Foxtrot: Gone Away.
• August's weight is a frequent target for other characters. He has been referred to as a "fat slime" by Nancy, with Todd offering a considerably less printable variation, and Claudius remarking during a property negotiation that the suggestion Belfort could run was itself an implication worth questioning.
• August is implied to swallow small animals whole, as he readily produces pellets. He shows little shame over this despite the disgust of those around him. The production of pellets suggests he possesses a gizzard.

• August's voice claim is Richard Ridings' portrayal of The Mentor from Dungeon Keeper 1 and 2.
• August would consider fast food beneath him, until he's caught ordering 40 chicken McNuggets and 3 large fries as a starter.
• August would consider video games beneath him. Killing things in video games does not carry the same fun as killing them in real life.
• August is fond of Tom and Jerry, with a particular preference for Tom and Butch.
• August would constantly call anime collectively "those Chinese/Korean/Fijian/Malaysian cartoons", with no apparent interest in accuracy.
• August's favourite human food, excluding meats, is cheesecake.
• August hates beer and considers it a peasant's drink.
• August sees swearing as beneath him, but does so if he's in enough pain.
• August takes his coffee and tea with two sugars.
• August's preferred sexual position is doggy-style.
• Given that vampirekind's attempts to impose strict limitations on internet use will go on to fail completely, August would spend his time online hunting for scans of out-of-print pornographic magazines, hiring familiars to shitpost for his amusement, and frequenting obscure imageboards to discuss firearms. He would also maintain a remarkable archive.org collection of rare and out-of-print books, arguably the most productive and benevolent thing he has ever done.