Rabidporcupine

Among the Ashes

Ok, so I'm getting started on my next post now, but I should warn you that I can't always use a computer for my posts, so in a few days the length of my posts may very well drop significantly. I mean, I'll try to get ones out with a similar length, but just be prepared for a few shorter ones when I need to use my phone.

Among the Ashes

Ok, done. Probably one of my less wonderfully written ones, considering I didn't get to much of Al in there, but I tried to capture the essence of a first meeting with Giovanni as best I could.

Among the Ashes

"GYAAAH!" Giovanni shrieked, springing from the couch in horror. For a moment, he considered trying to climb out of the chimney, having subconsciously thrown himself into the empty fireplace to try and hide. However, a mere moment later, he realised Nino wouldn't be able to deal with all that ash and soot.

"Don't scare me like that!" He said, pushing himself out of the fireplace and trying to calm himself down. "There's this thing called manners you know, people tend to use them when they first meet people to make a good first impression!"

He turned to Nino, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Some people, am I right Nino?" He asked, his tone no doubt extremely irritating and abrasive to anyone who didn't know him better. "No idea of how to be polite… Still, I'd say I'm a gracious host, so I'll forgive your rude introduction, on the condition that you apologise. After that, you can feel free to live here in my home. I'm not a monster, after all."

A mere moment later, a loud, high-pitched voice rang out from the next room over.

"Get away from my big sister, ya pasta-munching shits!"

This was quickly followed by something Giovanni hadn't quite been expecting just yet out here in the "clean" countries, a lengthy, apparently homemade javelin. And despite the throwers lack of practise, the weapon managed to imbed itself in the wall just a few inches from Joe's face.

For a moment, his face remained stony and expressionless, giving off the impression that he was completely unfazed by the weapon that had nearly killed him.

And then his face went pale, morphing into an expression of openmouthed horror and completely undoing anything that might have made him look even slightly cool.

"Hey… Hey hey HEY! What the hell was that?! You hide away in someones new home, scare them half to death when they try to move in, and then try to murder them?! Let me tell you, you're lucky societies in the process of collapsing, because if there were still police to go to, you'd better believe I'd be calling them on you thugs!"

He moved over to Nino, grabbing him by the shoulders in an affectionate manner.

"I mean honestly, what kind of monsters would assault a man just trying to protect his poor, sickly little brother? How low can you get? Are you truly that evil? Shame on you!"

As Giovanni continued on his rant, Alistair approached his sister, a completely unamused expression on his face.

"Hey, sis. If society is really collapsing, it's ok to hit this guy until he stops talking, right?"

Among the Ashes

Alright, I'm back. Ill try to get a post up now, but its getting late, so I might have to wait till tomorrow to finish it.

Among the Ashes

He would definitely bust it down, but… I don't know how to describe it any other way than 'lazily'. Like, he'd walk past houses because he'd find some seemingly petty problem with it rather than because they're occupied, and then he'd think 'Oh, theres a nice one', kick it down, and then try to make himself comfortable, wearing a bored, half lidded expression the entire time. Of course, beneath the facade, he'd have done it because he thinks its the only unoccupied one, but he keeps up the dumbass facade to get an edge on people if it comes down to a fight.

Among the Ashes

Al

Name
Alistair (Al)

Gender
Male

Age
12

Appearance
Al is a young boy with short red hair and light brown, almost amber eyes. Somewhat short even for his age, he stands at just 4’7, and while the clothes he wears tend to vary wildly, he was wearing a red hoodie, white shirt and jeans when everything went to hell.

Personality
Al is a very… lets just say boisterous kid, often shouting and grinning. Rarely quiet, he’s always jumping into situations that others would avoid, and isn’t afraid to step up and blurt out a decision if he feels like the people around him are acting too slowly.

Nowadays however, things are a little different. Ever since the anarchy began, he’s seen things that have horrified him. While he still tries to act upbeat and unshakable, if for nothing else than to keep Na from worrying, he will sometimes find himself staring at nothing in particular, less than pleasant memories replaying in his head. Oddly enough, he’s also found himself becoming a lot more protective of Na, ready to fight anyone he perceives as a threat.

Family
Catrina-- Older Sister

Trivia
He’s recently began to sport the infamous ‘thousand yard stare’ at times.
Red is his favourite colour, although that’s beginning to change as he sees more and more of it in worse context.

Giovanni

Name
Giovani (Joe)

Gender
Male

Age
19

Appearance
Giovanni is a young man with brown hair and eyes. He stands relatively tall, at just over 6’3 feet, and will wear whatever the hell he finds. He’s not picky.

Personality
When one first meets him, they couldn’t be blamed for having a fairly low opinion of Giovanni. He is quite blunt, often telling people exactly what he thinks of them, and acts pretty lazy. He can also be quite selfish, hypocritical, even a little cowardly, and is just a general bother to deal with.

However, work your way around these blatant faults and you’ll find someone ridiculously good at rising to the occasion. He is fiercely protective of Nino, even if it doesn’t always look like it, and if anyone he cares about is threatened, he will fight relentlessly to keep them out of harms way. He can also be quite cunning, using all kinds of dirty underhanded tricks both inside and outside fights. Finally, he’s bluntness can almost count as a strength, as it means that when he complements a person, they can know he really means it.

Family
Nino—Younger stepbrother.

Trivia
He’s actually really good at sewing, cooking, and the rest of your stereotypical housewife jobs, even if he’s too lazy to do them half the time.

Giovanni was actually born in America. However, when he was eight, his mother moved back to her hometown, where she met her new husband.

Among the Ashes

That sounds good. I might be able to make a post when I get home tonight, and we can get this show on the road!

Among the Ashes

Yeah, maybe. We could have Al and Na hiding away in a house their parents were renting after they ran from the city the airport was in, not with their parents, of course. Instead of having them be dead straight up though, maybe make it that they were just separated from them, and they're waiting as well.

Meanwhile, Giovanni and Nino are looking for a safer place to hunker down for a little while, because the way they came is not looking great. Depending on what you want, we can have the two groups meet up right away by bringing Nino and Giovanni to the Irish's door, or we could have them wander alone for a bit. I personally reckon we should bring the groups together at the start though.

Among the Ashes

And with the first post, I don't know how good I'll be able to do it, because I've got something on tonight. I can try, but it may actually be better if you do it.

Among the Ashes

Actually, while I did watch quite a bit of them just a little bit ago, I was referring to the far less laudable Gintama, which I still don't think deserves to be as good as it is. Based enough of Joe's personality on the protagonist that I am legitimately ashamed of myself.

As for the other countries, they were definitely quarantining Italy, but there was no trace of the whole conspiracy side of it that they knew of. They just knew that some unidentified virus began to ravage the peninsula, and tried to stop it from spreading. Then, through unknown means (carefully targeted bioterrorism), it suddenly began to spread across the rest of the world ridiculously fast.