BingTheWing — Roleplayer Guild

ネオン の 神



Inspirations: Akira, Yojimbo, Jack Reacher, the Godfather.

Premise
Starting date and location August 13, 2055, in the fictional rural town of Suribachi, Hyōgo prefecture, Japan.
The following technologies are widespread: VR, Internet of Things, cybernetic limbs and implants, self-driving cars, household robots.
Since the early 2020s, Japan’s population began experiencing a severe slump, threatening to drop to 85 million people by the current date if left unattended.
This forced Japan to weaken its immigration policy, reducing requirements for work visas, residential permits, and even naturalization.
A sudden influx of immigrants from Korea, a drastically overpopulated China, Southeast Asia, India, South America, Russia, and the United States start to arrive on Japanese soil to live and work, turning Japan into a multicultural society.
With these drastic social changes came an increased crime rate, with mafias from other countries expanding their influence into cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo.
Other minor crime families from Moscow, New York, and Shanghai war for control over territory in the Japanese countryside.
Suribachi, a relatively small town of around 70,000, has long been yakuza territory, but in recent years a San Francisco-based family called the Sycamores have challenged their claim from Kobe.
Drive-by shootings, muggings, and street brawls have become more common in Suribachi. Many people are fleeing the violence, left untethered by an ineffectual prefectural government.
Yet your character, who may be a recent visitor or a long-time resident, has decided to stay. Do they have unfinished business? Grudges to settle? Loose threads to sever?




Most present-day countries still exist with their current governmental structure, e.g the United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the People’s Republic of China.
Overpopulation has now become the world’s most pressing issue. Great superpowers like India and China are threatened by revolt from the impoverished masses.
A major oil shortage in the early 2030s caused a global recession and caused most countries to heavily subsidize green energy. As of today, more than 40% of Japanese energy is renewable and that number is steadily increasing.
Phones have been replaced by headsets and smart arm-mounted displays.
Nearly every single thing in a modern home is connected to the internet, from your refrigerator recommending meals, to your bed measuring your hormone levels to your clothes having access to the latest weather forecasts.
‘Helper’ robots for menial tasks like cleaning, lifting, and to a certain extent security are prevalent in factories and middle to upper class households.
Virtual reality is the new era of entertainment, and hikikomori found dead of sleep deprivation and thirst with their visors still on is a common occurrence.
Cybernetics has advanced greatly, and Japan holds merit for being the world leader in this regard. A budget robotic prosthetic arm could cost as much as a good handgun. For cheaper models, people must regularly take medication to ensure their body does not reject the prosthetics. Chip implants to lessen the need for sleep, make mathematical calculations quicker, and to enhance VR experiences, are pricier but not uncommon. However, heart and lung cybernetics have been known to bankrupt families.
Self-driving cars are already rendering manual models ‘antique’, being programmed to take into account traffic flows and collision risks. Emergency manual operation is still a legal requirement, however. Taxi and ride-sharing drivers also protest against the rise of automated taxis.




Through a gradual series of legislation, Japan has had the world’s laxest immigration laws and subsequently the world’s largest influx of immigrants for almost thirty years, surpassing that of the European Union and the United States.
This is in direct response to Japan’s falling population. Local industry was suffering from a lack of manpower. Many businesses are staffed by only 60% ethnic Japanese.
Japan is becoming known as ‘the new America’. With the once great United States undergoing political and social turmoil, the  world’s determined and ambitious from Manila to Saõ Paulo are making landfall on Japanese ports.
The Japanese reaction to this has been extremely controversial, dynamic, and debatable, with opinions from all across the spectrum. (This is up for exploration with character creation.) Many prominently negative responses come from the yakuza, who regularly harass businesses owned by immigrants and beat ‘undesirable’ foreigners on the streets.
Like the organized syndicates of early 20th-century America, immigrants need protection. The Russian Mob occupies Sapporo, the Chinese and Korean mafia oversee their respective communities, but there has been an entirely new animal - the crime families originating from the United States, who leverage their influence through the megacorporations their countrymen own.
Weapons laws have also been rolled back due to the influence of the Mob. Most gangsters carry a handgun, and it is not uncommon to see bodyguards wielding assault rifles and shotguns.




The roleplay proper will mostly take place in the fictional town of Suribachi, in the fictional Kazakari district of the real Hyōgo prefecture, Japan, just a 20-minute maglev ride north of Kobe. Current population is at about 70,000. There is a river and a mountain range a few miles out.
Suribachi has existed since the Genpei War as a minor farming village, but started economic growth after World War II as it was near the intersection of three regional railways. Suribachi was where you would change station to continue to bronze and copper mines, fishing ports, and inland factories in the rest of the prefecture, soon becoming a rural commuter town of sorts.
As Japan’s population fell and immigration increased, Kobe’s real estate prices skyrocketed - as was the trend in other major Japanese cities. In response, the government subsidized the building of residential areas in rural towns to relocate foreign workers. Suribachi was one such recipient, and by 2055 the Japanese-to-foreigner ratio was nearly equal.
The Sycamore family hails from San Francisco, CA, and their patriarch, Daniel Sycamore, made his fortune in the 2020s and early 2030s from gun running, counterfeiting, - and surprisingly - stock trading. His skill in the latter was so reputed so as it was rumored that he owned an eighth of all the private industry in the Bay Area by 2040. As he took advantage of Japan’s lax immigration policies in the early 2040s, Daniel decided to make Kobe, a port city, his main base of operations, purging the existing Chinese and Korean gangs via street-level warfare and corporate influence.
The yakuza still put up a fight, though, and while still aggressively resisting the Sycamores in Kobe, they have also retreated to the prefectural countryside, where Kobe’s industry originates from. Suribachi is one of the many choke points to the rest of the prefecture, and - unfortunately for you - one of the front lines of the war.


WIP. All ya need to know at this point is that it’s majority residential with different ethnic enclaves, there’s a hospital, a prominent train station, and some small schools.




All Guild rules apply, I guess. Keep it PG, fade to black beyond that. Cursing, discussion of mature themes, and gore is fair game.


Honestly, run wild, as long as your character isn't an extremely politically powerful person e.g a Yakuza senior member or one of the Sycamores themselves.
In terms of combat capability, ex-military is the absolute bar at this point (and even then there shouldn't be plenty of these to go around). No secret government supersoldiers or whatever.


A doctor at Suribachi General Hospital, who feels duty bound to tend to the innocent and good-for-nothings alike of this town?
A young yakuza initiate, who hates the Shikemoa for what he has perceived as an intrusion on his community?
A scrappy yet determined immigrant, who has put everything he has on the line and cannot afford to move?
A normal salaryman who would much rather this entire state of affairs did not exist?
An alcoholic ex-Marine, looking for meaning in the wrong place at the wrong time?


[center][h1]Name[/h1]
Image Here (optional). Real or realistically drawn images preferred. If it’s anime, I will tolerate it only if it is absolutely amazing.
[i]Optional quote by them or someone else, or an also optional one-sentence abstract that summarizes their character.[/i]
[/center]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Sex:[/b]
[b]Nationality:[/b] Japanese naturalization in this timeline takes at the most two years. Dual citizenship is allowed.
[b]Languages Spoken:[/b] In order of fluency. Conversational Japanese is a requirement for citizenship. Most Japanese have also taken to learning Korean, Mandarin, Russian, etc.
[b]Cybernetic Enhancements:[/b] Brief description of each, if any.
[b]Property:[/b]Physical possessions they mostly keep on their person daily. Can be added to or removed from later.

[b]Appearance:[/b] Short yet brief, should include notable characteristics like tattoos or specially modified prosthetics. 3-4 sentences will do.

[b]Personality traits:[/b] 5-7 adjectives that encapsulate your character's personality.

[b]Background:[/b] Brief, but clear and concise and should answer the question: What are they doing in Suribachi?

[b]Skills:[/b] What will prevent you from getting killed in general. E.g good gambler, sharp shot, boobs perkier than an anime character, etc, etc.

[b]Flaws:[/b]What could [i]get [/i]you killed in general. E.g poor gambler, crap shot, alcoholic, abrasive, etc.


Many of you cyberpunk junkies may be asking the question: why isn't this in a big city, like Tokyo or something? Well, personally I find cities in cyberpunk to be overused and really depressing. The Japanese countryside also happens to be very pretty and has a certain 'fairy tale' feel to it, like it's a bubble of perfection. The only thing better than shooting someone in the back is shooting someone in the back with beautiful natural scenery in the background. An interesting mesh of timeless and timely - one of the themes of this RP.

DISCLAIMER: The premise of this RP does not attempt to be xenophobic or anti-immigrant in any way. If you have concerns, feel free to notify the OP.



ネオン の 神



Inspirations: Akira, Yojimbo, Jack Reacher, the Godfather.

Premise

Starting date and location August 13, 2055, in the fictional rural town of Suribachi, Hyōgo prefecture, Japan.
The following technologies are widespread: VR, Internet of Things, cybernetic limbs and implants, self-driving cars, household robots.
Since the early 2020s, Japan’s population began experiencing a severe slump, threatening to drop to 85 million people by the current date if left unattended.
This forced Japan to weaken its immigration policy, reducing requirements for work visas, residential permits, and even naturalization.
A sudden influx of immigrants from Korea, a drastically overpopulated China, Southeast Asia, India, South America, Russia, and the United States start to arrive on Japanese soil to live and work, turning Japan into a multicultural society.
With these drastic social changes came an increased crime rate, with mafias from other countries expanding their influence into cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Sapporo.
Other minor crime families from Moscow, New York, and Shanghai war for control over territory in the Japanese countryside.
Suribachi, a humble town of around 70,000, has long been yakuza territory, but in recent years a San Francisco-based family called the Sycamores have challenged their claim from Kobe.
Drive-by shootings, muggings, and street brawls have become more common in Suribachi. Many people are fleeing the violence, left untethered by an ineffectual prefectural government.
Yet your character, who may be a recent visitor or a long-time resident, has decided to stay. Do they have unfinished business? Grudges to settle? Loose threads to sever?

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