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Takaneko Theory {Original Open RP}

Post by Neonhyper

“Do you believe in miracles?”

The words left her lips and hung in the air by a half-hearted echo while she watched him from across the room. He sat in one of the two chairs enclosed within the cold grey room, with his muddy boots kicked up onto the formerly clean surface of a white washed table. A smug smile crossed his rough hewn features as he raised a lighter to the end of a cigarette perched between his fingers.

“Depends on what you call a miracle, honey,” he replied, slowly bringing the lit cigarette to his mouth and breathing in.

She silently set down the manila folder, pushing it forward with a slender, well manicured hand. He grunted, grudgingly swinging his legs down in order to examine the typography scrawled across the front of the file.

“‘Takaneko Theory’? What is this, some sort of essay on soy sauce?” he asked with a dismissive snort and a cloud of smoke.

Her expression tightened with exasperation as she clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace along the far wall, “The Takaneko Theory is a recently charted phenomenon, though the media is assured it’s a hoax drummed up by a conspiracy obsessed internet.”

He drummed the fingers of a hand against the table, before flipping open the folder and briefly skimming the first of a hefty stack of neatly organized papers, “So what, it’s the new Bigfoot? Loch Ness Monster? Slenderman? You don’t strike me as the kind of woman who gets hung up on fairy tales and fabrications.”

“I’ll ask you again: do you believe in miracles?” she looked at him as if she were analyzing every fiber of his clothing and pore on his skin. “An Austrian girl suffers fourth degree, fatal burns from a freak gas station accident, but somehow recovers alongside surviving. A young man from Mexico is seemingly mauled to death by a three-hundred pound grizzly bear but is later found and somehow still alive. A boy is hit by a subway train in Tokyo, proclaimed dead at the scene, but is released from the hospital a week later in perfect condition.”

“Sounds like a load of bull,” he remarked after another breath of the cigarette, and perused the blurred phone captured photographs and fuzzy camera footage stills attached to police reports by paperclips. Gory corpses of unknown identity side-by-side with reported sightings of the apparent formerly deceased. He shook his head. “This isn’t anything bizarre. People have survived this kind of crap before, even if it isn’t some elaborate prank.”

Despite his objections, she continued, “There are also claims that these miraculous survivors have been displaying strange abilities, such as telekinesis, incredible resilience, or shape shifting.”

“So now we’re dealing with superheroes?” he scoffed, tracing a thick finger along the edge of one of the supposed sightings of these powers. “These photos could have easily been faked. What’s the connection? What makes a couple incredible death defying stories and some graphic artists’ drunken Photoshop binge into some sort of full blown paranoid Mardi Gras?”

“Every one of these people has been seen in Takaneko City after their miraculous recovery,” she stated, halting abruptly as if to gauge his reaction.

He sputtered, exhaling another stream of smoke as he held out the cigarette and waved it pointedly towards her, “Even if that were possible, how could anybody tell? The internet will mistake celebrities for each other at the drop of a hat, let alone your average Joe!”

She was quiet, holding his gaze for an uncomfortable length of time before she finally removed an envelope from the pocket of her coat and stepped forward to set it atop the opened file, “We are willing to compensate you if you can find any evidence the Takaneko Theory is true. The flight has already been arranged.”

Her footsteps echoed in the following silence as she crossed the room to its sole exit, “The choice is yours,” she concluded, before leaving with only the sound of a closing door in her wake.

Balancing the cigarette between his lips, he cradled his head in his hands and stared at the envelope likely containing a one-way plane ticket. His eyes drifted down to the pages beneath the packet, attempting to focus on the mass of text and jargon.

Lapsing into thought, he muttered, “Takaneko City, huh?”

Post by Neonhyper

Hi guys! Two and a half years ago, some of us got together and attempted to create an original setting and world to RP in. Unfortunately, it was complicated and ended up bombing pretty terribly. A couple days ago, we decided to revisit the concept of a board original RP. Given that some of us are getting bored of the typical Warcraft-fantasy setting, we chose to make a modern style RP … and this train of thought eventually gave birth to Takaneko Theory.

The best way I can quickly summarize it would be an anime superhero sandbox set in a metropolitan Silent Hill. Strange? Yes, but less complicated than you might think.

So given that this is something new, you’ll probably want to know more about the setting and the established rules for this crazy universe, right? Well, here goes!

• Setting

First off, this is set in an ambiguous year in modern day reality, so all technology is up to the current standards.

Second, the actually physical setting of this RP is Takaneko City, a metropolis built on Takaneko Island, a region in the ocean stretch between China and Japan. It’s a self governed city and has a multinational identity as a trading and entertainment giant and attracts people from all over the world. While it’s a melting pot of different cultures and therefore languages, Takaneko City’s official languages are split down the halves of the island. East Takaneko is officially bilingual with English/Japanese and West Takaneko is bilingual with English/Chinese.

There is no exact layout for Takaneko City, so feel free to create your own locations as necessary! The City, for sure, has an airport, docks on both the West and East sides of the island, and a fully functional underground transit system.

• Characters

As the intro has already hinted, this RP revolves around a phenomenon known as the Takaneko Theory: where random individuals around the world are given a second chance at life, mysterious powers, and are guided to the city by the mysterious hands of fate and coincidence.

You can choose to RP as one of these individuals or as someone without powers too! But let’s talk about the guys with powers because they’re more interesting.

• Characters with Powers

So there is literally one requirement to having a character with powers: they need to have died.

Turns out the eldritch roulette landed on him or her and they’re miraculously back from the dead with a set of powers that somehow relates back to how they died. (For example: someone being burned to death will come back with fire powers, or someone who went splat from a great height may have gravity powers.) Be creative! Or not, that’s an option too.

Regardless the powers do come with strings attached, or else this could get crazy really quickly. Therefore, a character using their powers will cause increasing harm to themselves (like the old idea where using psychic powers causes nosebleeds.) Over exerting themselves for a massive attack (using the fire example, starting a firestorm) or using too many smaller attacks in a short timeframe (like chucking a ton of fireballs around consecutively) will inflict backlash. Backlash basically causes the character to send themselves into a coma. The backlash coma can also be inflicted by fatal damage to your character. So what does this mean, are you out of the RP? Nope!

Comatose characters will wake up in Takaneko’s otherworld. The otherworld is exactly what you might be thinking: a nightmarish version of the metropolitan city where eldritch beings stalk to the streets and everything is out to kill you. And if they do? Your character is dead in reality! The power backlash doesn’t exist in the otherworld, meaning your character can go crazy with their powers in order to survive long enough for their body to recover in reality.

Quick clarifications: the otherworld character and their reality self are separate. If the otherworld self is injured, it doesn’t translate back to their real body. If an otherworld self dies, the real body will flatline.

So yes, the Takaneko Theory characters are basically immortal in reality! (Is it worth it? Who knows!)

• Characters without Powers

Ignore all of the previous section! You don’t have powers or access to the otherworld! You’re also not immortal! But you did somehow get to Takaneko. Who knows why?

• Closing Thoughts

Tekanako, both reality and the otherworld, are sandboxes. So feel free to create your own locations, areas, plots, or monsters (in the case of the otherworld.)

Just remember, power backlash exists in reality to keep things from getting overblown and city-destroying levels of crazy. If you feel the need to go nuts, go nuts in the otherworld, that’s what it’s there for!

Otherwise, if you have questions, feel free to ask me on Steam or in the Q&A, and remember the typical suggestions of RPing: communicate, have fun, and don’t godmode!

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko Island - Otherworld - Library

"No!"

With a gasp, Asher awoke, sitting straight up. He immediately began to regret it as his vision swam, his surroundings vanishing into a swirl of darkness. His own outline was hard to distinguish, clad as he was in a black t-shirt and grey jeans; much less the rest of the room. With a groan, he laid back down.

His vision eventually snapped back into focus, and he ran a hand through his curly blond hair as he sat up. He seemed to be in some sort of library, with shelves stretching away into the distance as far as he could see (which, admittedly, wasn't far). However, most of these shelves stood empty, with only one or two books sitting on them, their titles conspicuous only by their absence. A door was set into the wall a few feet away, and though windows were placed high above, they let in no light.

Standing up carefully, he staggered into a bookshelf, using it to hold himself up as he inspected the rest of the room. It definitely wasn't where he had last remembered being, with the bright light and crushing stone. Shaking his head, he thrust the thought from his mind and released the bookshelf. Feeling steadier, he walked to the door and carefully opened it and got his first glimpse of what was assuredly Hell.

The sky was empty; no sun, stars or moon shone their friendly light down, and no clouds floated high above to obscure their welcoming gaze. The street was decayed in several places, with holes worn into it here and there, reaching down into dark oblivion. The buildings were likewise crumbling and destroyed. Several seemed to be missing doors and windows, while others were completely boarded up. One was splashed with what looked horribly like blood.

All in all, not the best place to find yourself in.

Post by Atik

Erin Laidlann
Takaneko City, East Harbor

The scent of salt water filled the air, carried by the wind and into her nostrils. She couldn't help but lose herself in thought, surrounded by the smell for the moment.

She stood fairly tall, with pale skin and freckles framing the sides of her face. Bright orange hair curled in an unruly manner, several crazed strands handing down to the sides of her head. A thick hair-tie held the majority back into a low ponytail, the hair hanging from it bursting outwards like a budding flower, trying in vain to escape its confines.

A green turtle-neck covered her torso, consuming her figure and hiding it beneath its folds. Jeans covered her legs, slight tears beginning to form along the knees, and boots protected her feet, large and a dark brown.

Takaneko City.

Those words. They were the first thing she remembered. She had apparently died, that much she knew.

Or, at least, she should have died. Yet here she stood; Erin Laidlann. She had thought long and hard, but had no idea what 'Takaneko City' might have to do with her past life. Or even what any of that past life was.

Her hand stopped, gripping the sharpening stone tight. Slowly, she placed it back into the bag beside her, hefting the pack over her shoulder. Her other hand handled the broadsword carefully, raising it and placing it into its sheath upon her back.

Time to see why this place was so important.

The formerly dead girl began walking, leaving the scent of salt water behind her.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

It was a decent hospital room, miles better than the one he had gotten out of a couple weeks ago. The walls weren't a sterilized, insufferable white that practically secreted the stench of anesthetic, but instead were shades of earthy brown that made the place look distinctly more homely. Kazuhiko Saito leaned back in a plush, cushioned chair near the window, the blinds closed but still radiating a golden light through the thin material.

The hood of his dark grey jacket was popped over his scruffy mess of black hair and shadowed his copper skin and almond hazel eyes. His torn jeans, scuffed sneakers, and worn orange shirt, with a faded biohazard symbol, stood out in stark contrast to the uniforms of the hospital staff speaking in hushed tones across the room. With a set of white earbuds drowning him in synthesized beats from the iPhone cradled in his hands, Saito couldn't hear a word either of them were saying. Instead, he was watching the flickering monitor of the guy in the hospital bed.

Asher Hansen. Or at least, that's what his name was if his ID wasn't lying, and it was what he used to fill out all the hospital forms. He didn't know the guy from a hole in the ground, but the staff didn't have to know that. And until they figured it out, they were apparently going to let him stick around. It certainly beat sitting around in the streets, where he had found the kid bleeding out and unconscious.

Saito's eyes flicked back towards the doorway after it opened, allowing the doctor and nurse to exit the room, leaving him alone with the comatose Asher.

He huddled further into his jacket. Beside him, another doctor idly tapped a pen against his chin before making some observation to check off. His music seemed to become a blur, merely white noise against the louder voices in his head.

"I assume he'll make a recovery. However, the cause of what put him in this state is still up for debate. Theoretically, the person who claims to know him but actually doesn't could have very well accidentally put him there, especially if they are not quite sound," the man remarked.

Saito twitched, teeth gritting painfully, "Shut up," he hissed in Japanese.

"This is all hypothetical, mind you, but I imagine this theoretical person would rather not end up in jail. Or worse, an institution!"

The teen gripped his head, "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"

"Maybe you should reconsider lying--"

"SHUT UP!" Saito shouted, freezing in place as he stared at empty air and slowly slid his gaze back to the entryway of the room. The teen hurriedly composed himself even as the door reopened, admitting a startled nurse. She looked at him, wide-eyed, and he merely quirked a brow and shrugged, as if he had no idea what was causing her bewilderment.

She glanced over at Asher on the bed, before slowly closing the door once more.

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko Island - Otherworld - Library

Asher stepped warily outside, observing his surroundings carefully. The street seemed deserted, though the back of his neck prickled ominously, warning that this was not the case. As he began to walk, footsteps echoing down the street, the feeling only intensified. He looked around fearfully, but saw nothing.

He was truly spooked now, and began to run, only to trip and nearly fall on his face as a gigantic sound reverberated across the street. The sky flashed a dull red, then faded back to its featureless grey. Asher steadied himself, then looked up at the sky. This time, he was prepared as the sound blared again, and he was able to discern what it was: the beep of a hospital monitor.

At that moment, however, he heard a thunderous roar echo down the street. He glanced over his shoulder as the ground began to shake, then started to run again; where, he did not know.

As he rounded the corner, he saw an arrow spray painted on a wall nearby, pointing down a side street. Without hesitation, he followed it, ending up on another dark, decayed road. As he sprinted down it, he noticed yet another arrow. Underneath was written a single word: hospital.

Outside, in the real world, his heart began to race.

Post by Atik

-
Takaneko Island, Otherworld

"Oooooh, sounds like some havoc's about to drop!" A voice giggled, listening to the roar of one of many strange things in the streets.

The woman's head leaned out a window into the alleyway, half shaved and the other half a bright neon blue, laying flat over her head.

Erin Laidlann
Takaneko City, East Side

Erin made her way through the streets. She wondered exactly what was important about this island.

She could feel something, something drawing her deeper. Her boots clicked against the sidewalk, the woman quickly following the streets.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

Saito flicked his gaze sideways towards the screen near the head of the bed, the rhythmic spiking of the monitor suddenly accelerating. The boy reached up, removing his earbuds and closing his hands around them to muffle the sound, leaving him in silence aside from the racing monitor.

"I hope you realize that this doesn't mean he might be close to waking up. In fact, this could potentially be disastrous. A heart racing too fast could end with him just as dead as if it beat too slowly," the doctor remarked, inspecting the monitor.

He flinched, releasing the buds and batting them aside as he flung himself from the chair, his phone settling in the tangled mess of cords as Saito rushed towards the emergency button not far from Asher's bedside. Yet, with his hand hovering not too far above, he hesitated, eyes sliding towards the monitor once more.

Post by oneforthemoney

Character: Cecil Fleming
Location: Takaneko City, East Harbour

The boat blasted forth its horn across the busy harbour. Seagulls took to the sky at the mournful roar, screaming over the lap of waves and murmur of conversation. His boots, polished to a shine, hit the wharf. His long coat was buttoned against the chill, white. He was pale and thin yet tall, his clothes hung off him as though once fit him, but no longer. It was done up to the throat, as if he was afraid it would be caught by something. His green eyes were clear but somehow sad, his hair parted in the middle to either side, black and curled yet pale like himself. From one hand hung a heavy suitcase.

He stood on the dock uncertainly, a white figure surrounded by the grey of cement and bricks. Even the sky was a dismal colour, like someone had drained it of life. He glanced across it, thoughtful yet wary. All of a sudden he sighed and started off, his steps purposeful, though he hadn't an idea where he was going.

Character: Buster Weiss
Location: Takaneko City, Main Street

"Now who wants to see a trick!"

The crowd of Japanese and Chinese men and women shrugged uncertainly at this flashy man in his scarlet lined cap and tall top hat. He grinned, mustache blooming from his face in a handlebar. "Well ladies and gentlemen I see we have a discourse. Now, observe, nothing up me sleeve, as you can see," he declared, tugging down his white cuffs and showing them around. "Quite spectacular no? And yet, oh my!" The crowd gasped as, from his fist he seemed to draw a long elegant blade with a silver pommel. "Yes! Look and be amazed! Where does it come from? Not my sleeve, I showed you. Dare you challenge the proof of your own eyes!" he cried, swinging the sword about. "Do not be alarmed folks! I have a license to carry a concealed weapon. Oh! But what's this?" Suddenly tilting his head back, he fed the blade down into his throat, much to the crowds increasing delight. He swallowed thickly, then performed a deep bow.

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko Island - Otherworld - Library

Asher glanced up, hearing a voice, then was almost immediately diverted by another arrow. He glanced back, and new life sprang into his steps as he saw what was chasing him: what seemed to be a coyote on hind legs, lacking any fur. Sores and lesions pocked its skin, and it let out another high pitched shriek as it darted towards him.

Asher tore around the corner and spotted it ahead of him: the hospital. Spotlights shone from the courtyard, and the doors stood wide open. There was only one problem: the large concrete wall surrounding the hospital campus. The gates were blocked by a series of wreckage, stalling any entrance into the building.

He skidded to a halt in front of the debris, eyes wide. Looking back, he spotted the coyote run around the corner. He pressed up against the debris, eyes wide, and felt his body begin to shift. He could hear tendons crack and bones shift as he wormed his way through the wreckage, appearing on the other side.

From beyond the gates, he heard a frustrated howl.

In the real world, Asher began to twitch, grunting, as the veins in his arms began to write like snakes.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

"Well, are you going to let him die?"

Saito shuddered, the shadows beneath the bed twitching and writhing much the same as Asher's spasms. The boy jammed his palm onto the button, resulting in nothing but a sharp click. He held the edge of a nearby table, watching Asher with a sunken, horrified gaze to the soundtrack of the beeping monitor and the distant music still playing on his phone.

A couple minutes later a nurse--was it the same one from before?--came in, and saw the Japanese teen at the bedside of the writhing boy and was already shouting for help. Saito backed away, once more to the chair, in order to let the professionals do their work.

"Was that so hard?" the doctor asked, giving Saito a contemptible expression.

He bit his tongue until it bled.

Post by Atik

-
Takaneko Island, Otherworld

The girl moved through the building, dancing through halls and rooms, snatching a weapon up as she passed by it.

Coming to another window, she raised it. The rocket-propelled grenade launcher required her to hold it with both hands, a bulbous projectile sticking out the front of the long pipe. She was muscular, but not so much so to erase the natural curves of her form. Her clothes were scarce; a tube-top covering her breasts, ribbons falling from the back of it like a tattered cape. Cargo pants covered her legs, lined with an absurd amount of pockets, only added to by the pouches hanging from her belt.

"Here doggy!" She shouted with a whistle, firing off the rocket. The projectile screeched through the air, twirling and gaining far more speed than it should have.

It suddenly erupted on impact with the beast.

Erin Laidlann
Taraneko City, Main Street

Erin slowed somewhat, noticing the gather crowd. She stepped through it, watching the man curiously as he swallowed a blade seemingly summoned from nowhere.

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko Island - Otherworld - Library

The explosion districted the coyote by launching it into a brick wall with a nasty splat. This gave Asher enough time to slip through and inside. As he stepped through the doors, the world began to grow black, and the omnipresent sound of the heart monitor began to grow louder.

Asher awoke with a scream.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

Saito jumped at screen, already on his feet, but didn't dare move any closer. The doctor was shouting over Asher, as the nurses seemed surprised he was awake at all. One of the nurses attempted to placate the newly wakened boy, while the other was subtly pricking him with a needle.

"A light anesthesia, likely," came the commentary from the idle doctor.

"If you want to be useful, get in there and do something," Saito muttered under his breath, thankfully unheard under the commotion surrounding the bed.

Post by Atik

-
Takaneko Island, Otherworld

The woman squealed in delight, quickly retreating from the window and tossing her weapon aside. In its place she retrieved a multi-barreled minigun, quickly vanishing into the halls with the clicking of shoes.

The sounds of skittering filled the halls behind her. Her grin faltered for the first time, and she instinctively itched her own arm, her pace quickening. The wallpaper grew out like bubbles, popping and tearing.

Reaching a stairway, she was quick to grab the railing, hoisting herself up and sliding down. She grinned, glancing upwards, only for her smile to falter again.

The skittering grew louder, echoing down the stairway behind her.

"Right, the neighbors don't like the nose." She exclaimed, quickly hopping free and beginning to hurry down the stairs quickly. "Duly noted, time to go."

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko City, East General Hospital

The monitor began to began to beep so quickly that it sounded like a continuous drone, then suddenly snapped back to a normal pulse.

Asher's arched back fell back to the bed, his muscles relaxing and allowing him to breathe normally again. "Where..." he whispered.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

"The East General Hospital in Takaneko City," the doctor quickly explained, gesturing for the nurses to give Asher some space. "It's all right, you're going to be fine. You were in bad shape when you were brought in here, but you've made a stunning recovery. Do your best to rest up, okay? We'll see if we can get you some food."

The doctor glanced at the nurses, who hurriedly nodded and swiftly carried themselves out of the room, allowing the doctor to quickly check Asher's vitals through the nearby computers, before heading towards the exit himself.

Saito sat on the edge of the chair, licking his lips with the sudden awareness that he was now sharing the room with a boy he didn't know who was no longer in a coma.

Post by Monday

Character: Asher Hansen
Location: Takeneko City, East General Hospital

Asher nodded his thanks as the doctor left. Only then did he notice the other boy sitting in the chair. He pushed himself back. "Who...?" he asked, then cleared his throat. "Who are you?"

Post by oneforthemoney

Character: Buster Weiss, Cecil Felming
Location: Takaneko City, Main Street

"And now!" the man cried, sweeping off his top hat and holding out so the crowd might examine what lay within, "I shall pull something out of this hat! Is it not an ordinary hat? Gaze in it. Ah!" He suddenly drew the cap back, tipping the edge so the crowd might not see its contents. He wiggled his brows expressively. "Yet, should I put my hand within..." He did so. "And pull it out, what shall we find? Oho! A cat!' The crowd gasped as, indeed, the man pulled forth a tired looking tom. The tabby looked at the crowd listlessly until the magician put it on the ground, where it promptly began to clean itself.

One individual, who had looked ready to pass, stalled and had joined the crowd. Cecil riased a brow in surprise when the cat was produced, though for some reason he refrained from joining the crowd in applause.

Post by Neonhyper

Character: Kazuhiko Saito
Location: Takaneko City, East General Hospital

Saito flinched for a moment, eyes darting across the floor of the hospital room, "Don't freak out or anything--agh--" he shook his head and switched languages after a moment's pause. "Name's Saito Kazuhiko," he grimaced, "er, Kazuhiko Saito? Eh. Whatever. Call me Saito. I'm the reason you aren't bleeding in a gutter, Hansen."

"Truly, you are a master of introductions."

"Oh, shut up," Saito said dryly, eying the empty air beside him with a glare.

Takaneko Theory {Original Open RP}

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