tunnelrat

Name: 'George' (once Georgio Salvatore DiGiovanni)

Age: Actually 26, but appearance-wise, it's indeterminate

Gender: male

Type: Select One

Appearance:

'Pile of rotten rags' has been thrown at George once or twice in his life, and he's fine with that, really. He doesn't really want people to look too closely at him, and so he uses his appearance as part of his armour. His hair is lank, dirty and matted - nobody really knows what colour it is naturally anymore, these days it's the colour of dirt, often of mud and grime. His skin is likewise filthy, as are his clothes. Generally he wears layers, lots and lots of layers - some people believe that he never actually takes anything off, he just layers over the top with whatever he's found. Because of this, likewise people don't know what build he is, really - the only thing that's certain is that he's not overweight, but then what man living on the streets is? Also unclear is how old George is - his appearance definitely doesn't give it away. He looks much older than he actually is and makes no effort whatsoever to correct this.

Personality:

Anyone who knows George, or speaks to him, figures out pretty quickly that he is, in short, mad. Or they think he must be. What clinical name could be put to that madness, however, is another thing. And that is because George isn't mad - he's acting. His madness is as much of a cover as his clothes are, and, like his clothes, he never takes his madness off - he just keeps layering over the top of it. Underneath, though, he is entirely sane and rational. Whilst he may not always make sense to other people, he always makes sense in his own head.

Depending on the day, George is as likely to be a raving madman, shouting and screaming at passers-by, maybe declaring the end of the world as he is to be sat quietly in a doorway, rocking backwards and forwards and crying gently to himself. Some days he may decide that he has a small monkey living on his shoulder, or that he has invented a new language in which he is fluent and will only converse in that language for the day. His moods swing from one extreme to another and the only thing that is predictable about George is his unpredictability.

Underneath it all though, George is a very observant man, and this has stood him in good stead over the past few years. People know that, if you can catch George on a good day, he can be a fine source of information about what is happening on the streets. People also tend to pass information onto him as well - he trades in it, though he does it in an often cryptic manner, as befitting his act as a raving lunatic. It wouldn't do to have people think he's not as mad as he appears, and trading in information helps him keep an ear to the ground about whether anyone has clued into the fact that he's still alive.

City History:

Living out his life and the streets was never George's plan. In fact, being called 'George' was never George's plan. He was born Georgio Salvatore DiGiovanni, though there was always argument about the surname, as he was the illegitimate son of the youngest son of a minor cousin of the DiGiovanni family. But, his mother was insistent that her son bear that name, knowing that it may open doors for him in the future. She knew that the DiGiovanni's were the mafia in town, but what was the alternative? A life living hand to mouth? She had her looks, but no money, she couldn't provide the life that she wanted for her son, and so she wouldn't let his father forget for a moment who Georgio was - though he would have preferred to, since his wife gave him hell for it every day of his life.

Still, Georgio was raised by his mother, with the grudging financial support of his father. It wasn't a bad life, Georgio was as good or bad as most young boys were and whilst he often got into mischief, he had no real drive to get into any real trouble, and he didn't know about the reality of the dealings of the family whose name he bore.

Things weren't meant to go down the way they did and to this day, Georgio doesn't really know what happened. All he knows is that one night when he was sixteen, his mother came home covered in blood and talking about how she'd seen his father and his friends gunned down in the middle of the street. She got no further than that, because as she was talking through her hysterical tears, two men burst in through the doors and shot his mother. Georgio managed to get out through the window of their second storey apartment and fell to the street below, fracturing his arm as he landed. He ran off into the night and disappeared into the underworld of the city, never to be seen again.

'George' appeared sometime later, the madness he exhibited at first a defense against the other homeless - the underbelly of the city, whilst safe from the mob, having its own very real dangers. Eventually, however, once his appearance had been sufficiently changed, George found he could emerge back out onto the streets - though he could never go back to being Georgio again. Over the years, he's grown comfortable with his presence as 'mad homeless guy' and has fun with it at times, but it's a hard life, especially in winter. It is, however, a life - which is more than he is absolutely convinced he would have if he ever tried to reclaim his name. He might not actually know anything about what went down that night so many years ago, but he is in no doubt that someone thinks he does, and that is enough for them to want to put a precautionary bullet between his eyes.

Special Skills and Abilities:

George is a consummate actor, skilled and versed in fooling people into thinking that he's something he is not. He's also skilled at staying alive on the streets - whether that is fighting for his pitch, or keeping away the winter chill (though these days he's so established underground that most of the other homeless respect his place there. He doesn't have the problems he did in the early days)

Weaknesses:

Hunted - he doesn't know who by, but someone wants Georgio DiGiovanni dead. It might be either the DiGiovannis themselves, or the Syndicate - George has never stuck his head up to ask. One thing is true though, he truly and honestly believes that is Georgio DiGiovanni ever proclaimed his status amongst the living again, it would be a very, very short life. Furthermore, he was only ever a lowly bastard DiGiovanni in the first place, so he does not think that his connections to that name would help him much, even if it wasn't the family who were trying to get him six feet under.

Insane - or not, but a lot of people believe he is, which means that do-gooders over the years have tried more than once to have him carted off to Bedlam. He's always looking over his shoulder for that, and he has an ingrained fear of being locked up anywhere where he could be cornered. It's one of the reasons he's still living on the streets - there's more escape routes when there are no walls. Generally what he does is he mimics symptoms he's seen over the years. The homeless population has quite a high ratio of madness, after all. And while he never uses something directly after experiencing it, he keeps it in the back of his mind to pull out at some later date. He keeps himself versatile, never really falling into the trap of exhibiting the same symptoms for long term. He's seen people get landed with a 'diagnosis' or somesuch, and they have been carted off to Bedlam. If he constantly keeps people guessing, it's easier for him to get what he wants out of situations. It means he can play whatever he needs to when he needs to.

Known source - People know George knows things, they know he has contacts. And whilst most people are willing to buy George's information, occasionally someone won't like the price - which means that George has had a few broken bones over the years when people have chosen to extract what he knows is more direct ways.

Old injuries - life on the streets is hard, and George has had his fair share of injuries, none of which have been properly treated. It's left him with scars under his matted appearance, but also with aches and pains that never totally leave him. The worst is the break he got when he was sixteen, which aches in cold weather, and also whenever a thunderstorm is approaching. George rarely has access to any medication for these aches and pains.

Strengths:

Contacts - George has contacts. Mostly on the street, but also some uniforms in the police. Most people come and find him, and he exchanges information either for information, or for money or food. Everything is good currency for George.

Family or Connections:

George says his family are the rest of the homeless under 6th Street Bridge. He makes no claim to the DiGiovannis as his blood.

Residence:

Generally to be found under the 6th Street Bridge

Career:

Information Source

PB: to be chosen