There are many ways this story could begin, the creator thinks.

It would perhaps be excessive to go back to the days these youths were born, whether that was as an exploited child model in China, or to a loving family in the Faroe Islands, whether as one of a pair of twins, or many siblings, or simply an only child. But perhaps, instead, their stories should start with letters. Letters that arrive on mail ships, via airmail, or drop through slots in the door onto doormats, red wax seals gleaming. Perhaps the story should start with one of them picking up the letter and reading it that same morning, or having an inquisitive sibling read the letter first, or even have it withheld from them for a few days, punishment for some imagined slight. It would be a good way to begin the story, to show each of them receiving an invitation to the place that they would be snatched from.

So perhaps that is where the story should begin, then? With being snatched away after going exploring in the isolated parts of the school grounds, or while trudging from the airport after having been to Florence to see family over Christmas? Or while going shopping, heading home from a concert rehearsal, even while crossing the road to get to school while their best friend waited by the gates, staring right at them but not seeing the moment the creator came for them. Now that was a moment the creator thought to be perfectly orchestrated. The sweet agony, the tingling anticipation, the hidden tension in the air. All of it, perfect. But all the disappearances were well-crafted moments. Not a single one needed re-writing.

Nonetheless, they're not quite right for beginning this story. The creator will use them anyway, in time, but they will be different stories. As for this one…for this one, the beginning is here, now, when the last doses of sedative are wearing off, waking them up slowly. The final traces of sleep will surely be chased away when the creator presses the button that releases the lock on their doors, but who will be the first to react to it?

Who could the creator pick, to narrate this moment?

Maybe the copywriter, cautious and earnest. Or one of the ones who took extra doses to keep down, so full of defiance they were. Or perhaps it would be more fascinating to go to the other extreme, to pick the pretty opera singer, who slept peacefully the entire time it took to collect the rest of this cast. With sixteen students, all of them so very different, the creator is spoilt for choice. It does not matter though, because all of those stories are happening at the same time. Sixteen stories are happening simultaneously as each student wakes up, either slowly or rapidly, getting out of their camp beds gracefully or almost falling out of them. The stories are happening simultaneously as they look around for their personal effects, yell out for someone to hear them, explore every inch of what they all rapidly realise are their own small cells, complete with a bucket and sink in lieu of a bathroom. Their stories occur side by side, plodding along together as they remember the sound of the lock, as they either pound at the door or kick it, or simply attempt to open it, all of them succeeding and stepping or stumbling out into the grey corridor.

Sixteen stories happen simultaneously as they step out, stare at each other, but this is also where they converge. Where the story of the first to disappear converges with the last to disappear, where friends reunite. Where a boy who had been relieved that at least his crush and his best friend hadn't been taken too has that relief shattered to pieces when another door opens and he sees his crush peer around it. Where first year students are astonished to see upperclassmen they recognise and possibly even idolise gathering in this small cramped corridor. Where friends reunite, and rivals eye each other up in confusion and suspicion. Over and over, the questions gets asked, so you were here all along? So this is where you were taken? How did you get here? How long has it been? They chatter, and argue. Some of them weep and rail at everything, while others comfort them. A few sweep their eyes over the surroundings, taking note of the darkness and the dust, the roughly-hewn staircase, and the small flat screen mounted on a patch of wall next to it.

And then, finally, they look at each other, and they ask: so where is this, actually?

And this thrills the creator, as they watch from a distance, through the same screen that they have all noticed. The same screen that will flicker to life and display an amateurish but effective animation that will tell them what lies in store for them all. This is where all these stories converge, where they become the one story the creator are trying to tell, to write, to weave above all others. This is where the story begins. Here, and nowhere else. But now, the creator must wonder something else:

Just how will this story end?

After a brief break following the completion of my last SYOC, I am diving back into the madness with another. I had actually been sitting on this idea for ages, and had even made plans for it way back in the days I was writing two other SYOCs at once...which is the main reason I did not actually start writing this idea until now. Even I would not do three SYOCs at once these days! The other reason being that when I finished the previous one, I did just need a break from SYOC writing, which feels very different to other story writing. This isn't going to be my only project, as I do have an ongoing non-SYOC thing that I intend on continuing with (that has absolutely nothing to do with DR and some of you might know about already), but I will aim for semi-regular updates once things get going properly.

Anyway, I have put the forms up on my profile, and without further ado, here are the rules and guidelines for submitting:

1)There are four roles that you can apply for. Two are student character roles, and two are adult character roles. They are as follows, and each will have more guidance in their relevant forms-

Remaining students are students who haven't gone missing, and who are still in Hope's Peak and will be drawn into the investigation as the bodies keep piling up. There are four spots available for this role
The missing students are probably pretty self-explanatory. There are eight of these spots available.
Staff refers to the staff of Hope's Peak Academy, whether teachers, support staff, janitors, whatever. There are six spots available for this.
Investigators refers to people who have been involved with the investigation of the Hope's Peak disappearances one way or another. There are six spots available for this.

2)The total number of submissions I will accept from each person is four. You may send me two duos, one duo and two solo characters, or four solo characters. Members of the duo can be from the same role, or each from a different role. Depending on submission rates I may adjust this as time goes on.

3) I want a good gender mix, but am not fussed about getting even amounts of each gender or whatever.

4) Each form has various bits of specific guidance within brackets to help you. Use those to help you but for the love of all things good in the world, please delete the brackets when actually filling in the form.

5) I am going to be strict about the age limits for the two student roles, so nothing above or below this please. However, for the adult roles, I will be open to characters who are a great deal older than max age, but only a year or two younger than the minimum age.

6) Where nationality is concerned, I already have a few foreign students who only came to Japan for Hope's Peak amongst those of my OCs I plopped into the story. For that reason, I want all the submitted characters to either be Japanese citizens or have some form of long-term residency. However, where ethnicity is concerned, while I definitely want at least a few who are fully Japanese, I am a lot more flexible on this.

7) This is a complete, non-despair, AU, and is also unrelated to my previous SYOCs. As I will be featuring AU versions of canon characters in minor roles, please don't make reference to canon characters in your forms.

8) Regarding the timeline of disappearances, they started in early/mid December 2022 and the last disappearance was near the end of January 2023. I have already decided who the first, fifth and ninth disappearances are out of my OCs. Also, though in this world the Covid pandemic happened more or less as it did in reality, it's really only something that gets a passing mention here and there and may have had some impact on people's backstories. So, not a big deal, but worth considering.

9) There are some already-taken Talents for both student roles which are: Guitar Technician, Barista, Calligrapher, Opera Singer, Forensic Ecologist, Hairstylist, Studio Audience Member, Copywriter, Kudo Practitioner, Fashion PR Coordinator. So none of these can be used for students. They could, however, be used for staff or maybe even investigators, because the rule for this Hope's Peak is that at least ten years must have passed since the last student with a title graduated before it can be recycled.

10) You can use Lucky Student (as each year group has one), Student Council President (there's one every three years, usually, so once per cohort) and canon Talents. A caveat with the Lucky Student is that in this Hope's Peak, international schools and particularly elite schools are excluded from the lottery. Those who aren't Japanese citizens are also excluded, but less officially. Make of this what you will.

11) I won't post a submitted Talents list, though-only if I accept a character with a particular Talent will I make note of it somewhere (my FF profile, most likely)

12) Please do not recycle characters you had accepted into other fics, unless the fic in question has been dead for a long time (I'm going to say over a year) or has otherwise been confirmed as discontinued. Obviously, if you submitted the character and they weren't accepted that's fine.

13) Submissions are to be sent by PM only. I will ignore review OCs. PMs should mainly be through FF but if you ask me first I will probably also allow for submissions through Discord.

14) Details, please. You don't have to be me and write a mini-novel, but effort is always appreciated. And details are always good

15) Where deadlines are concerned, while my final deadline will be 3rd March 2024 , I am hoping to make an early round of acceptances at around 21st January 2024 and then accept more as I go along right until final deadline. With enough notice, I can be relatively flexible with the final deadline. Both the early acceptance and final deadlines make allowance for timezones so don't worry about that.

16) If I've missed anything, or there's just something you particularly want more clarity on then please ask. I may not respond immediately, but I will respond! Likewise I will acknowledge all submissions even if not immediately