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Description
Name: Karasu
Species: Domestic dog
Breed: Kai-ken (black)
Name Origin: "Karasu" means a raven or crow.
Former Occupation: sporting and family dog (Ninja-ken)
Height: 5’9”
Build: similar to Sanjuro/Hunter

Background: Karasu is ostensibly named for his fur color, but the name was actually chosen by his master's grandfather in honor of the Pacific Northwest Indian culture hero and trickster, Raven. Why is a Japanese dog named after a Native American culture hero? Because his master and his family are American. The grandfather is a Nisei World War II veteran who met Wyatt Earp as a small child and has been playing cowboys and Indians ever since; the obsession runs so deep that Karasu's master is named Wyatt in honor of him.

Karasu has styled himself after the comic and anime/manga heroes his master loves. He watched him get bullied as a youth by the physically/athletically gifted, and not permitted to fight back normally in order to maintain his family's secret. Because of this, he somewhat dislikes Hunter and Blitz, dismissing them as being like the "dumb jocks;" Karasu initially asks to be the one to torture Blitz (though possibly for reasons more than just his disdain for idiots with physical superpowers, if you get me). Exile he has no enmity for, in fact he even respects/bordering on likes him, since he is a very skilled techie.

He is unique among his pack in that he is the only "first-dog;" all of the others are the second, third or fourth dogs of their respective masters. Sanjuro would have also been a "first dog," and like their masters they trained together and were friends, but then Sanjuro was promoted in status based on the father assuming field command of his son's dog. Karasu tries not to show it, but this has put a strain on his friendship with Sanjuro, since in addition to his disdain for the physically gifted, he also resents those with other qualities that he views as unearned, whether they are worthy or not.

Personality: True to his namesake and the mask he wears, he is a cunning trickster. Believing the only unfair fight is the one you lose, he fights using dirty tricks, including traps, holograms, active camouflage (short times only due to power issues) and bluffs.

Skills/Abilities: He wears a battle mask (contains electro-optics, gas-filters, etc.) styled after a tengu Noh mask. To him it is no coincidence that the word "tengu" is derived from the Chinese "tian gou," a mythological black dog who swallows the sun at night and spits it out in the morning.

He's also a skilled technician/mechanical and electrical engineer and hacker and is good with explosives, making him the group's saboteur. In melee combat, he prefers the kama, manriki-gusari and kusari-gama. His unarmed style is influenced by Okinawan Toudi (Naha-te) / Goju-ryu Karate, and he is one of if not the most acrobatic of his pack. The latter is partially owing to his being a competitive agility dog.

Fun facts: Karasu is into "geekier" stuff like movies and comics (both Western and manga), but also internet surfing, tinkering with all types of machines (he and his master are working on a powered, armored battlesuit) and watches racing (air and sports car [both GT and prototype]), but will also watch pro wrestling with Hakumaru. He also likes flying, wing-suiting and hang-gliding and is the best parachutist and pilot of his pack.

When not in uniform, Karasu would definitely have more relaxed attire (as opposed to Sanjuro), probably with a geeky/fun shirt of some kind.

Road Rovers (c) WB
Karasu (c)

Description
Name: Karasu
Species: Domestic dog
Breed: Kai-ken (black)
Name Origin: "Karasu" means a raven or crow.
Former Occupation: sporting and family dog (Ninja-ken)
Height: 5’9”
Build: similar to Sanjuro/Hunter

Background: Karasu is ostensibly named for his fur color, but the name was actually chosen by his master's grandfather in honor of the Pacific Northwest Indian culture hero and trickster, Raven. Why is a Japanese dog named after a Native American culture hero? Because his master and his family are American. The grandfather is a Nisei World War II veteran who met Wyatt Earp as a small child and has been playing cowboys and Indians ever since; the obsession runs so deep that Karasu's master is named Wyatt in honor of him.

Karasu has styled himself after the comic and anime/manga heroes his master loves. He watched him get bullied as a youth by the physically/athletically gifted, and not permitted to fight back normally in order to maintain his family's secret. Because of this, he somewhat dislikes Hunter and Blitz, dismissing them as being like the "dumb jocks;" Karasu initially asks to be the one to torture Blitz (though possibly for reasons more than just his disdain for idiots with physical superpowers, if you get me). Exile he has no enmity for, in fact he even respects/bordering on likes him, since he is a very skilled techie.

He is unique among his pack in that he is the only "first-dog;" all of the others are the second, third or fourth dogs of their respective masters. Sanjuro would have also been a "first dog," and like their masters they trained together and were friends, but then Sanjuro was promoted in status based on the father assuming field command of his son's dog. Karasu tries not to show it, but this has put a strain on his friendship with Sanjuro, since in addition to his disdain for the physically gifted, he also resents those with other qualities that he views as unearned, whether they are worthy or not.

Personality: True to his namesake and the mask he wears, he is a cunning trickster. Believing the only unfair fight is the one you lose, he fights using dirty tricks, including traps, holograms, active camouflage (short times only due to power issues) and bluffs.

Skills/Abilities: He wears a battle mask (contains electro-optics, gas-filters, etc.) styled after a tengu Noh mask. To him it is no coincidence that the word "tengu" is derived from the Chinese "tian gou," a mythological black dog who swallows the sun at night and spits it out in the morning.

He's also a skilled technician/mechanical and electrical engineer and hacker and is good with explosives, making him the group's saboteur. In melee combat, he prefers the kama, manriki-gusari and kusari-gama. His unarmed style is influenced by Okinawan Toudi (Naha-te) / Goju-ryu Karate, and he is one of if not the most acrobatic of his pack. The latter is partially owing to his being a competitive agility dog.

Fun facts: Karasu is into "geekier" stuff like movies and comics (both Western and manga), but also internet surfing, tinkering with all types of machines (he and his master are working on a powered, armored battlesuit) and watches racing (air and sports car [both GT and prototype]), but will also watch pro wrestling with Hakumaru. He also likes flying, wing-suiting and hang-gliding and is the best parachutist and pilot of his pack.

When not in uniform, Karasu would definitely have more relaxed attire (as opposed to Sanjuro), probably with a geeky/fun shirt of some kind.

Road Rovers (c) WB
Karasu (c)