( DIEGO LUNA / cis man / he/him ) — AUGUSTUS "GUS" AMADO has been living in Port Leiry for 1 YEAR. They currently work as an ASL INTERPRETER & PROFESSOR, and are 44 years old. No one is sure if they’re actually a HUMAN or if they’re connected to TIDEVIEW UNIVERSITY. They tend to be quite FLIGHTY and NAIVE, but can also be KIND and UNDERSTANDING.
Full biography under the read more. Please be aware of all trigger warnings before proceeding!
—biography
TW // Death, Kidnapping/Hostage Situations, Guns
Gus grew up an absolute momma’s boy. He followed his mother around the house, he cooked with her in the kitchen, and he was spoiled rotten. Maybe his parents weren’t rich, but they worked hard in a small deli and sandwich shop in the Bronx. Gus would carry out orders for customers from as young as 8 years old and helped slice meat and vegetables as he got older. He always loved reading mystery novels and he’d translate them to his mother in Spanish. It was from a young age he knew he wanted to solve problems. He just wasn’t sure what that meant.
Studying Criminal Justice just seemed like the right thing to do. Gus had a naive view of the world when he got into college, and it continued as he learned about the criminal justice system. His college experience at John Jay was relatively uneventful - an occasional party, an occasional boyfriend or girlfriend, and traveling home on weekends to help at his parents’ deli. Deciding to take on extra courses on forensic sciences, Gus worked very hard and dedicated any of his spare time to his studies - though his parents found this frustrating. It formed a bit of a rift between him and his father for a while - Gus was desperate to show his worth, meanwhile it felt like his parents just missed having an extra body in the shop.
When Gus finally clinched a job as a special agent, he couldn’t believe it. He was unassuming and a little bit green - and that made him perfect for the work they wanted him to do. He was given a partner pretty early on - Graham, a Deaf man who was another ‘unassuming’ agent. The naive optimism that Gus had for his new job shattered as he saw how little many of his supervisors cared about the hurdles Graham had to go through to do the job- no courses to even teach others ASL to make sure Graham could communicate with them clearly. However, Gus learned ASL for him, and they worked perfectly together. It was an odd job- something he’d never thought he would do. Like he was in some CSI show. And he loved the high stakes, the adrenaline. He and Graham were perfectly in sync as FBI agents. And they did it for years. They formed a partnership that went beyond work- Gus could’ve done it forever. Soon enough they were dating, living in the same apartment, with Graham’s weird little chihuahua Chelle there waiting when they got home.
Until a case went wrong. He’s still unsure if the information they were given was wrong or just ill-advised, but a drugs bust had far more criminals waiting than expected. The two agents were apprehended and held at gunpoint for over 48 hours. At the end of 2 days of hell, Graham was shot in front of Gus. He doesn’t talk about it much any more- it’s too much for him to handle. He’s pushed a lot of it out of his mind- except when it comes roaring back from certain triggering noises, repressed memories. All Gus normally says is that he was in a very high-stakes job. And one of those stakes ended up being his partner. His partner, romantically and otherwise, of almost 6 years.
Gus spent a lot of time healing. He went to physical therapy to heal from various injuries. He had head trauma, scars. He still has PTSD. He went to a therapist. Very early on after Graham died, Gus found that their apartment was too much for him to bear. He moved himself and Chelle out and drove off to Port Leiry - smaller, different. But at least it didn’t remind him of Graham.
Eventually he went back to school. Night classes to brush up on his ASL, and other courses to learn about teaching and instructing. Soon he got his current position - teaching ASL at the college in Port Leiry. Meanwhile, he continues doing freelance ASL interpreting services for whoever comes calling. He doesn’t ask questions - is just happy for the money and experience.
