neotokyo (ネオトウキョウ) is a prosperous, thriving city on the cusp of becoming a utopian paradise. due to its' rapid advancements in technology and scientific discoveries, japan has long since climbed to the top in regards to a great many things, and tokyo has benefited greatly from it. the country has the best economy in the world, overtaking the likes of china and the united states, with a staggering gross domestic product of $19.6 trillion. with many tokyo-based japanese companies holding a monopoly in things like tv entertainment, food, sports, and music, it's no wonder that it is regarded the capital of the world; by citizens and politicians alike.

the landscape of neotokyo is a beautiful one - tall, booming cities tower over people on the streets below, yet it still manages to feel open and free at street-level. parkourists and adrenaline junkies are far from a rare sight in the city, and you should honestly expect to see plenty of crowds surrounding street performers and even sometimes street fights. the streets are riddled with people from all over the world; tourists and citizens alike.

when it comes to night time, things all but get quieter. the city is lit up with neon signs, bright street lights and various other forms of impressive and beautiful decor. roof gardens become populated with restaurant and bar-goers, regular talents set up on the streets to entertain passersby, and you can expect plenty of people pulling out cameras to capture some hauntingly beautiful night time shots. if in the fittingly dubbed "music district" (the minato district), music plays from speakers built into the front of buildings and market stands, tended by the famous japanese dj iwasaki tokugawa. needless to say, it's a great place to sit on one of the rooftops and take in the view, all accompanied by an expertly chosen soundtrack.

however, with great wealth, fame, and vast beauty, comes the seedy underbelly of crime and murder, brought forth by greed and jealousy. one of the biggest names in this criminal underworld is the koshiro mob; a name whispered in hushed tones, lest you're caught uttering it and disappear completely. named after its' famed founder, shibata koshiro, the key to its' fame and success is the mob's famed ability to "erase" people from existence. get on the wrong side of anyone with enough money, and you're gone. any wrong move can mean you're marked for erasure - shit talking, winning a match of golf, even looking at someone who's unstable enough. if you're actively involved in underground activities, or know someone who is, then it's no secret that you're treading on eggshells. on the surface, however, people live their daily lives; completely oblivious to the game of cat and mouse going on around them.

unfortunately, given the surprising amount of secrecy to "normal citizens", that means there's also nowhere for people to run. until now, that is.

you may think to yourself, "who are these 'erasers'?", as (unlike your characters) you're clueless in this aspect. essentially, erasers are an upgraded kind of hitman. they have the ability to erase someone from existence entirely; any social media accounts, any memories of said person, any relations with them, etc. essentially, nobody will remember you at all, and you'll be wiped from both social media and official documents. finally, you'll disappear entirely. nobody is sure if it's death, or if it's something different. nobody's ever managed to run fast enough to tell the tale.

as for appearance and personality, there's very little to say. any eraser looks and acts like a regular joe in regular clothes, with little to no defining feature. it's almost as if the applications said: "look so generically bland that you're more forgettable than your targets".

speaking of applications, nobody is even sure how the erasers came about, or how they work. there's a lot of theories made by deep web nutjobs wearing tinfoil hats, but that's the usual "don't trust the government" rhetoric. needless to say, there's very little people know about the erasers, other than the obvious. most don't care - they're only there to do what people pay them to, why should we know their life stories? however, for people on the run, even knowing the hair colour of their "hunter" can make all the difference.

ɪ. this will most likely be a slow-paced rp. nagging at others (including me, the "lazy-ass gm") for them to post ain't cool, and i'll get pissed at you. do it multiple times, and i'll post even slower to spite you you might want to reconsider your inclusion in this rp.
ɪɪ. be reasonable when making characters. i don't want to see all-around badass mary stues, but i also don't want a special snowflake "weakling" that would break a bone simply by punching a pillow. make well-rounded, capable characters, that at least have a chance on the run, but also have a chance of being caught.
ɪɪɪ. this leads me onto my next rule; don't be afraid to pm me for help. at all. i've tried to make it so that i provide sufficient information, but also manage to keep people in the dark about certain topics, so i understand if anyone's unsure about certain aspects. even pming me a wip of your character for me to look over is perfectly fine.
ɪᴠ. don't expect me to instantly tell you whether your app is accepted or not. this isn't first come first served, so i'm waiting until the cut-off point to review sheets.
ᴠ. the cut-off point for applicants is may 10th. apply after this time (or ask me about the cut-off date) and i'll know you haven't even looked at the rules.
ᴠɪ. if i tell you to change a little bit of code in your cs (even changing text from italic to bold), please don't be annoyed. i'm a snooty bitch.
ᴠɪɪ. i won't set you a paragraph limit, but please keep in mind that this is advanced. if it sounds scary, just imagine it as a slower-paced high casual. one-liners are a definite no-no, and one-paragraph posts irk me.
ɪx. please excuse the broken, google-translated japanese.

please just look over the formatted cs before you immediately start writing up your own, as there is an extra special abbreviation that only works if you hover over the word "name" for a few seconds. once you've done that, here is the raw cs code. change any of it and you're fucking dead, kiddo.

ps: this is set in japan. if your faceclaim isn't inherently japanese, i'd like a brief sentence touching upon your character's emigration to japan. if they have non-japanese parents that moved to japan before they were born, then birthed them there, that's fine. (tl;dr: no whitewashing reeeee)

and yes, i basically copy/pasted this paragraph from the initial post in the interest check. but all of it still counts, and newcomers should read it.