Backstreets - 12:05 AM
It had been a particularly rainy day. By the time the clock hit midnight, the storm had fully subsided - leaving the streets covered in a thick layer of dampness. The town was completely and utterly barren at this time, with the sole exception of one lone soul traversing the winding sidewalks, guided only by the flickering of the ill-maintained streetlights.
He was walking home after his night shift as a convenience store at the edge of the city, a menial job that barely paid the bills. It hadn't been a particularly busy day, which only served to worsen the tedium of the job. The banality of it all left the man physically and emotionally drained by the end of it. His legs felt like lead as he dragged himself through the soggy pavement, every footstep heavier than the last.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. The sudden thought flickered into his mind as he passed through an empty storefront. This isn't the life I was promised.
As if by a cruel twist of fate, his foot happened to step on something. Gazing down, he noticed that he had stepped on a soggy piece of newspaper that someone had carelessly thrown away. Litter wasn't an odd sight, but this particular issue had caught the man's interest. He had seen it before - there was no avoiding it. Even though he had canceled his newspaper service, this story was inescapable.
Fifteen graduates of Hope's Peak Academy have gone missing in the last three months.
It's been the only thing anyone has been talking about. Hope's Peak Academy was a big deal. The disappearance of 15 graduates, all of them relatively well-known, would cause a huge panic across the nation - hell, maybe even the world. Even more worrying that the authorities have barely been able to make a dent in the case. Fifteen celebrities just disappear out of thin air and the police can't do anything but twiddle their thumbs and shake their heads… It was definitely something to worry about.
Especially considering that he was a graduate of Hope's Peak himself.
Kou Nijisaki. Former Ultimate Lucky Student. It was a generous title - symbolic at best, utterly meaningless at worst. It was four years ago that Hope's Peak held a nationwide raffle to select one perfectly ordinary high schooler to join the ranks of the privileged few who got to attend Hope's Peak. It was Kou Nijisaki who ended up with the golden ticket.
Kou never wanted to attend Hope's Peak. But the promises of success are tantalizing to anyone, especially a completely average nobody like him. Even so… it was obvious from the start that "luck" wasn't going to get him anywhere. His time at Hope's Peak was marked with complete alienation. His so-called peers, who had been pruned by Hope's Peak itself to view themselves as above the common rabble, refused to treat him like one of their own. It was absolutely clear that even with his fancy new title, someone like him could never hope to be on the same level as a true Ultimate.
It had been a year since he graduated. The success and wealth he was promised never came. His name had been forgotten a week after the raffle ended, banished to discarded newspapers and years old blog posts. After all, what else was there to say?
Still, it was precisely that reason why the news of the recent abductions haven't particularly worried Kou. He barely qualified as an Ultimate, so the idea that someone who targeted Hope's Peak's graduates would go after him was far-fetched. Blasphemous, even. What could they possibly gain from his kidnapping? His dire financial situation made any attempt to get some sort of ransom out of him laughable.
His legs finally stopped. He had reached his apartment complex - a two story ramshackle building that was all his paycheck could afford. The rusted stairway creaked so loud that if he wasn't careful, he would wake up the whole neighborhood. He tip-toed his way carefully up the stairs, making it to the second floor. His apartment was at the end, the last door on the second floor. The fluorescent lights flickered on and off, lighting the way.
He made his way towards his door. His legs were ready to buckle underneath his weight at any minute - he doubted that he had any energy left to take a shower, let alone change out of his clothes. He cringed at the thought of having to sleep in his sweaty work clothes, but unfortunately it was something he was all too used to.
He reached the welcome mat in front of the door - a coarse brown mat that had been here for as long as he could remember. There were some words imprinted on it, but it was so old that they had long faded away, leaving only the faintest traces of letters etched onto its fabric. Kou sighed as he dragged his shoes across the mat, hoping that it would be enough to dry his shoes.
He fished his key out of his coat pocket and inserted it into the lock, turning it ever so-
… That was odd. The door was already unlocked. Kou could have sworn that he had locked the door before leaving that day. He had never forgotten to lock the door before, especially after someone had broken into the neighbor's apartment a few months back.
As his mind tried to make sense of his situation, his arm acted instinctively. The door slowly creaked open - the lights were off, just as he remembered he left them. The living room was in place, with nary a soul in sight. It didn't look like anyone was inside.
Against his better judgment, Kou stepped inside. His body moved on his own, closing the door behind him. As he did, a sudden wave of dread washed over him. His body froze, his blood running deathly cold. What… was going on?
He didn't have time to respond. Before he knew it, he was losing consciousness. His vision went black, and his body collapsed into a crumpled heap on the ground with it. Soon, the last vestiges of his consciousness faded as well, plunging him into complete darkness.
End of Prologue - Part 1
Author's Note
This has been something I've been wanting to do for a long time. Danganronpa SYOCs were practically my childhood, so I have a lot of fondness for them to this day. I've always wanted to write one myself, but until now I wasn't too confident in my skills as a writer to go through with it. Until today, that is! I guess you could say this is my way of giving back to a community that I grew up with, for better or for worse.
The concept is simple. I know there are a lot of more interesting stories out there, but for my first go at this type of fic I wanted the concept to be as simple as possible. A typical killing game in a typical school, just like the first game in this series. There are twists to the formula - all the characters are Hope's Peak graduates from the start, meaning they have all their memories from their days at the school (a luxury not many characters in canon are afforded). For as basic as the synopsis is, I plan to use your characters to build something far more elaborate and fascinating - after all, any good story is built on the back of its characters.
With that aside, I do have some rules!
For the time being, each person can only submit one character. If submissions are particularly lacking, then I might raise the amount to two, but no more.
This story takes place outside the canon Danganronpa universe - therefore, pretend that the games never happened when creating your characters. Do not make reference to any events or characters when making your OC.
The deadline for submissions is May 28 - you have two weeks to submit your characters. No rush!
As the writer, I have full creative control over this story. While I will take your considerations into mind while adapting your character into the narrative, please keep in mind that the nature of this story means that there's a high chance your character will die. Please keep that in mind before you scream at me in my dms, please and thank you :3
Submit all your characters through private messages! After all, it wouldn't be ideal if any reader could learn all about your character's secrets by just clicking the review button. For character submissions, title it by the character's name followed by their talent - this would seriously help me keep things organized.
I will be updating this first chapter with a list of all current submissions as soon as they start rolling in. That's everything I have to say. I wish everyone who is interested a happy and death-free day, and good luck. You'll need it :3.
Name: Self-Explanatory. Include any nicknames or pseudonyms they would prefer to go by.
Gender/Pronouns: Their gender identity plus any pronouns they go by.
Age: The participants in this killing game are all recent graduates, meaning that their ages would range between 18 to mid 20s, early 30s at most.
Ultimate Talent: This story takes place in a universe outside the canon games, so canon talents like Detective or Idol are perfectly fine. Lucky Student is off-limits for obvious reasons.
Sexuality: Self-explanatory.
Height: I am a filthy American who doesn't understand the metric system so please list it in feet and inches, please.
Physical Appearance: Their hair color, hair style, skin color, body type, any special marks, etc.
Clothes: Their regular attire. Not necessarily their "everyday" attire, moreso what they'd be wearing during the killer game. You can include any alternate clothes sets - ie what they wear when they go to bed or swimming, but it's not particularly necessary.
Personality: How do they act, how do they think, what are their beliefs, etcetera etcetera. I'm not gonna give you a word requirement but please be as detailed as possible.
Backstory: How they got their talent, and their life before joining Hope's Peak. It doesn't have to be a full biography, moreso a broad strokes recap of all the important and notable events in their life.
Likes: At least four or five.
Dislikes: See above.
Loved Ones: Self-explanatory. Can be family, friends, pets, co-workers, or even no one at all!
Goals: What are they hoping to accomplish with their lives? Or well, were hoping to accomplish before they got kidnapped.
Life at Hope's Peak Academy: How was their life at Hope's Peak Academy? What are their thoughts on their experiences there, now that they've graduated?
Role and Character Arc: Just your general ideas for what role they would play in the game, and any potential character arcs they would go through. This isn't a promise, of course - there are sixteen characters all vying for the spotlight, so not everyone can have a fully fleshed out arc. Alas, that is the nature of a killing game.
Mastermind: This section is only for characters that could possibly be the mastermind behind the killing game. If you cannot think of a motivation for them to be the mastermind, then skip this section. If you do see your character being a potential mastermind, then please detail the reasons why and their possible arc and actions during the killing game.
Quotes: Stuff they would say. Introducing themselves, as an everyday greeting, etcetera etcetera. Any quotes you think particularly express their personality.
Other: anything else you'd like to add that didn't fit any of the other sections.