Dear [redacted],

We are delighted to inform you that you are one of the eighteen prodigious students to be invited to enroll in our program. As you may already be aware of, Hope's Peak Academy gathers students of the highest caliber in their respective fields for the lofty purpose of achieving a bright future for our country. Graduating from our academy guarantees a life of success - in its many years of operation, Hope's Peak has produced influential CEOs, politicians, TV personalities, and celebrities that can testify to the magnanimous esteem that our academy holds. With that in mind, you have been formally scouted as the Super High School Level [redacted]. If you wish to accept the offer to enroll in Hope's Peak Academy, please report to the entrance ceremony on [redacted]; you will be introduced to your fellow students and officially welcomed into the halls of our prestigious school. We hope you'll join us in our goal of carving a new path of hope for the future of all mankind.

Sincerely, [redacted] - Hope's Peak Academy Headmaster

The letter had been sent out to eighteen youths from around the world. The connection between the recipients is uncertain, but a few things were evident - everyone who received a letter from "Hope's Peak Academy" was a high school student. Furthermore, these students in particular were special in some way. As the content of the letter implied, these students were abnormally talented in their respective fields. They weren't your average day prodigies - the talent they possessed was almost superhuman, especially for students as young as them.

However, the most bizarre part of the incident is the mention of "Hope's Peak". For those who've heard of it, it was nothing more than an odd rumor, an urban legend. A mysterious academy that invites the best and brightest students in the country to attend, luring them in with the promise of fame and success. The story goes that those who accept the academy's offer simply… disappear. Almost as if they vanished off the face of the Earth.

Of course, as it was believed to be just a rumor spread around by high school students on the internet, the letters were easily dismissed as a prank. And that would have been the end of the story. A forged letter by some bored prankster looking for some amusement. That was the explanation everyone comforted themselves with.

They were mistaken.

A/N: I suppose I should start off with an explanation.

A long, looong time ago, I wrote an SYOC called the "Despair Project". Everything was going alright for the first few chapters, but then suddenly… I lost interest in writing anymore. Life had been pretty hectic from that point forward, and I didn't have much interest in writing anymore. Or rather, I was just too lazy to indulge my ideas.

But, after a series of incidents I won't get into because this isn't a diary, I've been trying to get back into writing. I went back and read Despair Project and realized how much I missed writing stories, and how far I've come since then. I abandoned Despair Project for a long time, I can't apologize enough for letting that happen. But all the ideas I've had are pretty much gone. One day I might come back to it and give it a go… if everything works out here and there's some interest in it. But today's not that day.

So this is my second try at an SYOC. I can't promise it'll be "successful" or "good" - after all, quality IS subjective - but I promise to at least TRY. Now I know that the Danganronpa section is bloated with SYOCs, BUT I sheepishly admit that I enjoy these a lot more than I should. So if this isn't your cup of milk tea, I apologize :)

This idea has been rolling around in my head for awhile. I'll be implementing ideas from Danganronpa RPs that never really took off the ground that I thought were pretty interesting. I don't know if the ideas I have in mind have ever been done before, but I DO hope they're unique enough that the story doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter copy of the original killing game.

That being said, some ground rules!:

You can submit as many OCs as you want, but only one character will be accepted. I can change my mind on this depending on how many OCs I get, but for now, that's the rule. All characters must be sent by PM.

I'll be accepting OCs for around a week or so, maybe more if submissions are slow. But if you are interested, that doesn't mean you should rush to get it done! It's not first come, first serve, as you've probably heard before. Take your time to create an OC you're proud of, or at least think is decent enough.

Yes, there IS going to be an OC that's going to nab the protagonist spot. That doesn't mean you should make your OC a blatant protagonist stand-in. Although, "protagonist" in this case is a little bit inaccurate. I'm going for more of an ensemble cast, with several viewpoint characters who shift throughout the story.

The roster will remain secret until I've made my final choices. Furthermore, if your OC didn't make the cut, please don't get upset. There's only so much space in the roster. And after all, you never know … ;)

A few more specific rules can be found in the OC forms, which is in my profile (so you can copy it, for convenience's sake). A big thanks to anyone who sends in an OC, but also to anyone who's interested in the project regardless of whether or not they have a character inside the story itself. Au revoir!