Anwar Ashrafi

GENERAL CONCEPT

Shapeshifter, "Were-goat," Satyr Anwar is the offspring of an obscure breed of Shifter from a remote part of the world. After the wars in Afghanistan it is unclear how many others like him (if any) still survive. (Build based on "Mendean" shifter... see Changing Breeds p. 199 and also http://www.thedirge.net/wiki/index.php/Mendean ) He is an oddball and a novelty even by the standards of Shifters and other supernaturals. As an orphan he knows nothing about his background and is a complete novice in the supernatural world. He is a good person, a nice guy and, above all, an innocent. Even with superhuman abilities... how will he fare in the World of Darkness?

BACKSTORY

Ismat and Amina Ashrafi were one of Houston's most successful Pakistani-American couples, but there was one thing that they could not accomplish. In 1986, after several years of unsuccessful attempts, the Ashrafis decided to adopt a child. Moved by the suffering caused by the ongoing war in Afghanistan, they arranged to adopt an orphaned infant from a refugee camp in Pakistan...

Young Anwar was a difficult child from the start. He was awkward and introverted, and while he was quite intelligent and creative, he was also unfocused. He underachieved academically and was something of a social misfit. He was also a gentle and good natured boy, and his parents loved him deeply even though he was the cause of endless frustration. But during his high school years Anwar's problems intensified. His grades were mediocre. He hung out with nerds and geeks. He avoided trouble with drugs and alcohol, but indulged in vices that, at least in the eyes of his high-achieving parents, were almost as bad. Dungeons and Dragons, comic books, video games of all sorts... (he was also gay, which would have been another big black mark in their reckoning, but he was able to keep that secret) There appeared to be little hope that Anwar would become a physician like his father or an attorney like his mother. In the extended family, people began to talk... Years earlier, his adoption had been the topic of considerable debate. He did not share his new parents' ethnicity (Punjabi), and he was of "uncertain breeding." Nobody even knew the names of his birth parents, Pashtun farmers who had been killed in a Soviet bombing raid. Now, as the aunties and uncles had feared, his "inferior" qualities appeared to be manifesting themselves...

Anwar ended up going to the University of Houston. It's not like he could get into any place better. The good news was that he became an A student, making the Dean's list in his first three semesters. The bad news was that he was doing so in a selection of courses heavy in Art and Art History, not a pre-Med, pre-Law or Engineering curriculum from the list of choices his parents had insisted on. When his deception was uncovered halfway through his sophomore year, his parents exploded. After a succession of ugly scenes, they withdrew all support. If Anwar wanted to follow his dreams, he could pay his own way. He was angry, frustrated and confused... and for Anwar, when the going gets tough, the tough usually do something impulsive. So he walked into a recruiting office...

Of course the Army never let Anwar anywhere near the combat arms. A high ASVAB score and the lack of any discernible warrior temperament led him to the Signal Corps (to the enduring frustration of the officers who'd found themselves a Pashtun that could not actually speak Pashto) and eventually into a career as a cubicle jockey in uniform. Even a deployment to Afghanistan did not change that. Anwar went full fobbit, spending his time providing IT support, writing unit newsletters and composing Powerpoint slides... He had little time to see much of his ancestral homeland beyond the small town and bazaar outside the gates of the base...

The first (and last) shot that Anwar heard fired in anger was the 122mm rocket that brought an office LAN party to a crashing halt. (As he would say later, "Somebody brought a real rocket launcher to a game of TF2.") Everyone in the building was injured, but Anwar was the most seriously wounded. He was sent Stateside for treatment... He did not know this at the time, but his injuries had awoken something dormant within him. His physical recovery was astonishingly quick, beyond the most optimistic projections of his doctors. But his mental recovery? Not so much... While Anwar had never experienced combat and did not even remember getting hurt (a common outcome with serious head injuries), he began to exhibit the classic symptoms of PTSD... mood swings, depression, nightmares. The physicians speculated that this was related to the traumatic brain injury, but Anwar was actually entering the so-called "storm" that often precedes a Shifter's first change...

Anwar was eventually given a clean bill of health and discharged from the Army. He returned to Houston and tried to resume his life, but his mental state did not improve. In addition to his existing symptoms, he was now consumed by inexplicable urges and desires. He lost himself in compulsive binges of overeating, alcohol, marijuana, casual sex and even exercise, craving stimulation for newly heightened senses. He bounced to and from a series of dead end retail jobs. He tried to take more college classes, but his attention span was now hopelessly short. Psychotherapy, more trips to the mosque, a Sufi prayer group, yoga, martial arts classes... Anwar tried them all in order to regain control of his emotions. None of it worked... Finally, after one more lost job and an eviction, he returned to his parents' house... but his parents had expended the last of their patience. The epic shouting match that ensued was the spark that triggered Anwar's First Change... He entered war form and lashed out in an ecstasy of rage. He retained just enough self awareness not to harm his parents... instead he trashed their house from top to bottom and then fled into the night just as the cops arrived. In the darkness he ran and ran, eventually shifting into full animal form and running mile after mile until he was finally exhausted...

His parents did not press charges, in the aftermath of what they rationalized as a drug-fueled rampage. That was their final gift to him... but it was clear that their relationship was now at an end. (Anwar's only contact with his parents since then has been a few terse e-mails and phone calls.) Anwar could not stay in Houston any longer... so a tip from an Army buddy led him to a bargain-rate rental on a small house on the outskirts of Atlanta. He had never been to Atlanta, other than to change planes, but that was not necessarily a bad thing... Anwar is now scratching out a living as a freelance artist and graphic designer, occasionally supplementing that income with part time jobs. (As part of his bargain rental agreement he also does basic upkeep and maintenance on the property, as the house sits on a large lot.) The First Change and the discovery of his true nature have been something of a catharsis, and he is finally gaining more control over his emotions and urges. He is also exploring the limits and possibilities of his new abilities, which he finds both frightening and exhilarating. Whenever he can, he pursues information on the occult, trying to find out more about his condition. Are there others like him? What is his purpose and place in the world?

So far Anwar has never (knowingly) met another supernatural creature. He does not know about the existence of other supernaturals. He does not even know exactly what kind of creature he is, and he is unaware of any of the recent unusual events in Atlanta. It was only random chance that brought him to this city...

PERSONALITY

-Good-hearted and empathetic but hesitant to commit to close friendships or serious relationships

-Mild mannered and a bit shy

-Naturally curious

-Artistic/creative

-Slow to anger, but his temper is explosive once roused

-A sly sense of humor (he was a bit of a class clown)

-Somewhat mistrustful of authority

-Roots for the underdog and despises bullies

-Can be impulsive

-Craves stimulation for his newly heightened senses

-Has a tremendous sweet tooth

-He has few friends aside from online acquaintances and a handful of people he met in school and the Army.

-Politically he identifies as a liberal/progressive. He is something of a lapsed Muslim, not quite an agnostic. He still believes that there is some kind of Higher Power (his current condition makes it very difficult to disregard the supernatural) but doubts that it can be explained by any of the organized religions.

-While his emotions have stabilized considerably since the First Change, he is still prone to occasional mood swings and urges. Every now and then he still feels the need to binge... by over-eating, drinking or a series of hookups.

-He is still something of a nerd and stays current with that culture.

-Has two cats, Mulder and Scully. They came with the property but have since bonded with him.

OBJECTIVES

-Make a living

-Break through as a cartoonist/comic artist

-Learn more about the supernatural in general and his true nature in particular

-Find more people like him

-Make real friends

-Find a relationship/partner

(The above three are related?)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

As a human:

He is tall and rangy, (6'3" 210 lbs.) with light brown skin, brown eyes and black hair. He has a mustache and a long, wispy beard. (He felt the need to grow a beard because it felt "right" somehow, despite the negative connotations of Muslims/South Asians with long beards. The reason for this became obvious after he learned about his other forms.) This, along with youthful and somewhat homely facial features give him a bit of a gawky appearance, but closer inspection reveals that the rest of his body is all wiry muscle. It makes for a strange effect, like the head of a computer nerd or madrassa student grafted onto the body of an Olympic swimmer. Anwar loves his new body. He was clumsy and awkward as a boy and as a young man, but after his injuries his body has rebuilt itself as something much better. He is a natural athlete now, and *strong* He stays slender and ripped no matter how he exercises or what he eats. Anwar is something of a stud now, and that both excites him and leaves him slightly embarrassed... Unlike some shifters of his type, Anwar is not a hermaphrodite. He does look much younger than his actual age (about 19 instead of 27). As a native English speaker he has no accent, but his voice remains frustratingly high pitched. Some observers might consider his speech or mannerisms vaguely effeminate. The only unusual feature related to his other forms is teeth that are slightly longer and sharper than normal, with over-sized canines. His eyes are somewhat light sensitive, and he is uncomfortable in bright light.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/5599/bearde.jpg

As an animal (Primal):

His basic form is that of a Central Asian wild goat but it is obviously no natural animal. It's more like a goat the size of a pony mixed with... something else. His fur is jet black (shading to slate gray on his belly) and his eyes are orange-red. His body is muscled like that of a panther. Most disturbingly, his teeth are more like those of a wolf than the teeth of an ordinary goat, suggesting that his natural diet is anything but vegetarian. A ridge of stiff, upright fur running down his spine, resembling that of a "razorback" wild boar, makes his appearance even more intimidating...

for the natural animal he is based on http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/7145/capraaegagrusturcmenica.jpg

As a hybrid (War form):

He appears as a man with a goat-like head and horns, sharp wolf-like teeth, a short tail and finger and toe nails that grow out into sharp claws. His body is covered with thick black fur and his eyes are orange-red. Otherwise his anatomy is completely humanoid... he does not have the backward-jointed goat legs and hooves of a medieval fantasy satyr. (He's actually built more like the original satyr from Greek mythology.) He is over a foot taller than in human form and even more muscular.

for general idea (although different coloration) http://www.waldenfans.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_pc_satyr3_9-24-07.jpg

MISC.

Mulder and Scully:

http://images.mooseyscountrygarden.com/gardening-journals/garden-journal-08/ginger-tabby-cats.jpg

SHEET: Sheet:Anwar Ashrafi