Balmon

Fas was certain he smelled feline? mixed in with? an overwhelming amount of that horrid concoction that the humans seemed to consume in such large quantities. But this was no ordinary feline he sensed? no? he was certain it was a Lycan. The thought of a Lycan living amongst the Innocents immediately stirred his blood. He had been ambling in and out of the alleyways of Tokyo?s Ginza shopping district, in search of rats for his meal, when he sensed the Lycanthorpe. He couldn?t see her, and really didn?t need to. He gave one last passing snort, showing what he thought about the Lycan, and continued on his way. On his first steps into the city he had already sensed another Lycan? now THAT time he could barely control his urge to force the Lycan to reveal itself to the humans surrounding it. It seemed to Fas that too many Lycans were just adapting themselves to live like the humans. Did none of them care about their lineage? their honour? Why subject their selves to such abasement? At the very least, Fas lived outside the city, where he could rest easy in his natural form. However, he reminded himself that he had been asking these questions for centuries now, and that no answer would come anytime soon. For the moment finding some nourishment was the first step. He usually went into the city for food, as there always seemed to be an overwhelming amount of rats and other creatures amongst the humans? they lived like such pigs. ?They might as well all be Lycan-Swine in costant human form!? he had laughed to himself millions of times now. However, it occurred to him that in the past couple of days, there had been an inordinate amount of animals fleeing the city at night. It seemed he could have just stayed out of the city and feasted today, but almost out of habit, Fas made his daily trip into the city. Perhaps something was happening soon? he had felt and heard as much? that something was gathering here? [COLOR=DarkRed]BLOOD.[/COLOR] Fas immediately stopped in his tracks. He could feel that inner cry of rapture from somewhere nearby. His hand immediately shot-out and grabbed the closest passer-by, ?What is around us? Tell me now!? He could feel the tiny wrist struggling against his grip, and could feel the surprise the female human felt at his strength. ?A?a?apartments.? He released the grip and heard her running away. He could suddenly feel the anger building around him, he heard a number of people walking around him muttering ugly obscenities ? then suddenly, the people forgot he was ever there? not really forgot, but just didn?t care that he was there. He hated using his abilities like this, but this was something he had to confirm for himself. With the slightest shudder, black scales began covering his body, crawling out from underneath his skin. Another shudder, and he could feel his legs and body growing, could feel his fingers dislocating and stretching, could feel the bones inside his body breaking and reforming? With a blink of his white eyes, they suddenly turned to pure black? except for his pupils, which saw more than most. He blinked again to orient himself, and looked up. Wampyr. He could practically see it up in one of the apartments. He took one more look at his destination and then slid into the shadow underneath him. As an afterthought, a hand slid back out of the ground and retrieved the remains of his clothing that were torn to pieces. He came out into an apartment, a body caked in dried blood directly in front of him. He heard water running in the bathroom accompanied by laughter. Maybe now Fas would finally get some information from this Wampyr, whatever it took. [COLOR=DarkRed]Dinner could wait.[/COLOR]

Name: Kwung Yei Sung Age: 37 Gender: Male Group: Miyotji Ninjas Rank in Group: Loyal friend and right-hand man to Sorashima Fighting Style: Shaolin Hung Ga Weapons: Bare-handed ? The oldest art of fighting in China, Hung Ga revolves around five animals; the tiger, crane, leopard, snake, and dragon. Each animal has its on characteristics, based upon its qualities and importance to the human body. Bo ? ?Unlabored Flawlessness?* - The most famous Bo of Asian history, a weapon so imbued with essence it can shatter weapons of metal. Passed down along Sung?s mother?s family line, it was given to him when she passed away. Abilities: Ki projection ? Being so in touch with the unceasing energy of the universe, known as ?Ki?, Sung has mastered the ability to increase the output of his Ki, basically creating an additional shell around him which increases his resistance to physical and mental attacks, as well as extending his range and power. He can effectively attack someone who is seemingly beyond his reach. Animal Adaptation ? More innately attached to his fighting style, whichever animal he adopts, he benefits from the strengths of that particular being. Tiger = Power, Strength and courage Crane = Agility and watchfulness Leopard = Speed Dragon = Spiritual control and skill Snake = Internal strength and power Description: Sung is about 5?11?, at about 150 lbs. His lean frame belies an incredible amount of strength. He wears a traditional Chinese hat, and traditional Chinese garments. Despite attempts by his friend Sorashima to switch to traditional Japanese garments, as he has been a resident of Japan for many years, Sung holds strong to his own identity. Personality: A learned scholar and fighter, Sung is a man dedicated to peace. He is very kind, though not to the point of being gullible, and is always willing to lend a hand. However, he has no patience for wrong-doing of any sort. He will go out of his way to eliminate any evil around him. This is a man who cannot be swayed by any means to partake in any vice ? including drinking. This is the one trait of Sung?s that Sorashima has practically dedicated his life to changing. Bio: A native of rural China, Sung was born into a family of accomplished martial artists, his mother being the most renowned. Of course, this was an extremely opposing take on the role of women in his time, so he has grown up with strong values regarding the equality of women. Spending much of his younger years studying with his mother and father in the martial arts, and other mentors for the academics, Sung never saw much of the world. So, when his parents felt it was time for Sung to go, they sent him off on his own with no destination in mind. After many years of traveling along China?s coast, Sung eventually made his way to Japan ? he had heard about a Japanese martial arts expo taking place there, the first of its kind.. It was there that he met Sorashima, and where a friendship was quickly formed. The two found they had very similar upbringings, with very similar values. While Sorashima is definitely the much more spontaneous of the two, he is well-balanced with his Chinese counterpart, a much more sensible and rational man. With his friend Sorashima, along with the other Miyotji Ninjas, they take up causes they feel are just and ask no reward? though known for their courage and steadfast beliefs in peace, they are nonetheless well supported by the citizens of Japan. *credit to Ninja Gaiden (XBOX) for the name Hope this guy fits well.

Name: Known only as Fas Ancient Name: Fas Eversio Age: 2,377 years old Gender: Male Species: Lycanthropic Dragon Height: Human incarnation ? 5?11? : Draconic Lycanthrope ? 8? 7? Weight: Human ? 10 stone : Draconic Lycanthrope ? Approx. 30 stone Description: Human ? Fas cuts a rather unimposing figure, standing at 5?11? and measuring 150 lbs. He is lean ? not particularly muscular. His eyes are a completely white - and he is afflicted with blindness as a human. However, they stain with streaks of crimson red when Fas has killed as a human; this fades away randomly. He is completely bald ? no hair will grow on his head ? and has no extraneous facial hair to speak of. He wears a single rusted bronze ring on the pinky finger of his left hand. His clothes basically consist of non-descript robes. Because he remains outside the perception of most Innocents and Hunters alike, Fas tends to ignore such superficial things as clothing. Dragon ? Fas? entire body is encased in black scales. The rusted ring on his finger is actually enveloped by the scales. His eyes also turn black, though his pupils remain white. He has a wingspan of about 12 ft., though his wings do not function as a method of flying, but rather, protection. His hands and feet do grow in size as claws, but he remains standing upright. His head also takes on the shape of a dragon. Weaponry: A small, silver dagger with a jade hilt. He carries it around in a sheath of unknown material. Bio: Fas Eversio, literally meaning ?divine destruction?, travels on a path with one destination ? to end the Danse Macabre. Born into an unbroken Draconic lineage known only as the Line, which spans to the World Beginning, Fas is the only remaining Lycanthrope Dragon. Although immortality is a common thread through the Line, the fanatic zealousness of the Danse Macabre eventually showed them a way to end the Line. Although they believed they had eradicated the Line completely, Fas remains as the only member of the Line Unsealed. While the customs and traditions of the Line are largely unknown, they were assumed to have been largely a non-violent species ? though extremely territorial. Having challenged those teachings since his birth, Fas still struggles with those customs. Fas now commits atrocities in the name of vengeance. Fas? innate ability to move among the shadows, coupled with his unparalleled ferocity as a fighter, has already left a trail of Hunter blood in his wake. All of these deaths have, so far, been attributed to the Wampyrs which stalk the Earth? and although Fas is no ally of the Wampyr, he will not go out of his way to kill them. Most recently, Fas has learned of movement towards Tokyo, Japan, where Hunters are gathering in search of a mysterious character, Charax. Fas is hoping his hunt will end there.

While I'm here, and since you all seem like intelligent Anime viewers - I will pose my problem to you. I've been killing myself trying to figure out the music at the end of Episode 17 of the Ghost in the Shell: StandAlone Complex episodes. The one where Aramaki goes to London to meet up with his ol' British chicky friend. Can anyone help me out? It's the last song playing while he's in the car with Major discussing the difficulties of transporting wine through British customs. Thanks a ton. Phil [COLOR=Navy]I would help you if I'd seen the series. :/ For now, I would suggest looking at the tracklistings of all the Stand Alone Complex OSTs. In the future, please try to avoid making totally off-topic posts. ~Dagger~[/COLOR]

You've all mentioned great points about why Anime is so great. They really do delve into elements of human experience that rarely get billing on North American shows. They're willing to explore the eerily creepy, the truly disturbing, as well as the overly romantic (not lovey-dovey, but romantic in style), and much more thought-provoking stuff. The Ghost in the Shell: StandAlone Complex series, for example, explore the not-so distant reality of ccybernetic parts, and the practicalities and inherent ethical issues of such a thing. They manage to tap into human emotions in a way not done by others - a resonance that SHOULD be felt by all art. (Mind you, shows like DragonBall Z, while a great fun show, is not the type of Anime I'm talking about.) What's so unfortunate about Anime is that it is considered a sub-culture, or alternative culture, while this is the kind of stuff that is really great visual/audio art and media. While I'm here, and since ou all seem like intelligent Anime viewers - I will pose my problem to you. I've been killing myself trying to figure out the music at the end of Episode 17 of the Ghost in the Shell: StandAlone Complex episodes. The one where Aramaki goes to London to meet up with his ol' British chicky friend. Can anyone help me out? It's the last song playing while he's in the car with Major discussing the difficulties of transporting wine through British customs. Thanks a ton. One last thing, for anybody who enjoys Anime, go check out the Ghost in the Shell series, as well as the movie. It is an absolutely stunning piece of work, and hopefully the second season comes out soon. Anybody squeamish about some, while tastefully, blood and robotic/human dismemberment, should perhaps re-consider viewing this series. Balmon

I hope someone is still around to read this post. I've been killing myself trying to figure out the music at the end of Episode 17 of the StandAlone Complex episodes. The one where Aramaki goes to London to meet up with his ol' British chicky friend. Can anyone help me out? It's the last song playing while he's in the car with Major discussing the difficulties of transporting wine through British customs. Thanks a ton. Balmon