"Hello, our dear viewers!" The woman on TV greeted the audience, "Welcome one and all to a very special season of the world's favorite show - Hope's House!"
I had heard of this show before… A reality TV show where sixteen or so people are meant to live in a house with one another. Every now and then, they all gather together and vote one of their fellow housemates off. This style of play… It was meant to mimic *that* incident. The one so many people saw during the Tragedy.
I had heard of the woman before too… Sayumi Mitsukura. She was easy to find on television, considering that she's the Ex-SHSL Presenter. Nowadays most of her work is on this show, but there aren't many people who don't watch.
People need hope after all. Need something to reach for. Need something to see others strive towards.
That's what the show's for, after all.
Looking at Sayumi, it wasn't hard to see why they'd want her to host a show like that. In terms of looks, there was a lot about her that was pretty average. Black hair, pale white skin though that's considered beautiful here, dark brown eyes. None of that screamed "different" per se, but what *was* different is the way she carried herself.
She was in her early forties now, but I know some people my age who aspire to be like her. She had a magnetism to her, a sense of fashion - her stark white outfits could stop a room. She embodies the word "star" to a T.
It was hard to look away as she continued to talk about what exactly made this season so special.
"Now, what could our show have to offer that it hasn't already done?" She asked with a coy smile, making eye contact with the camera.
I tensed up for a moment. My eyes locked with the pair on the TV.
"We're being backed by a very special sponsor this season. My alma mater, Hope's Peak Academy. You know what that means? We'll be getting a full group of students straight from Hope's Peak, for our very own Super Highschool Level Season!"
I could barely believe what I was hearing… That… That sounded like… An incredible opportunity. With that condition, that means I could get in. I could even win.
"For all our potential SHSL Contestants out there, you may already know this, but please go to our website to fill in your application forms!" She said, a link to the website appearing on the screen, I scrambled to my laptop and quickly typed it in as she continued, "This summer you may get the chance to go further than hope itself!"
She continued, wrapping up as I starting searching the website for the application form.
"We here at Hope's House promise people they can reach the pinnacle of hope. So now it's time for us all to start there, and see what lies beyond it all. Good luck, and see you all on our SHSL Season in Hope's House!"
The show that I was watching before continued… Or well, the show that my family was watching. I was just set on getting what I needed to fill out, filled out. I had found the form and I was busy applying.
Hope's House is a show that has a prize that's tailored to the winner… And with that, I knew that I could make sure the world knew what I thought that it was worth. I would be able to tell everyone exactly what I think, exactly what I feel like they need to hear. About how the world really is…
That's a promise. An open letter addressed to the world, from Akuya Kuroda. From the SHSL Poet.
Now let's see here…
Please continue through this form on the official website for easy access and to submit it properly!
[The form is on my profile for easy copy and paste access.]
[Here are some rules as well.]
1. No Mary Sues, self explanatory.
2. You are allowed to repeat talents, but nothing overly abstract like Hope, Despair, etc.
3. This isn't first come first served, but I may confirm cast members or slots that have been taken up as time goes on.
4. Don't submit through reviews, PM them directly to the account.
5. If you want to run something by me, feel free to PM me.
6. I won't write bigots. Please don't send me sexists, homophobes, etc.
7. Understand that your character may be subject to some change based on how I interpret them. That being said, I will try to do them justice and write them as described.
8. Less of a rule, but enjoy yourselves. This is meant to be fun.
[Gender Ratio]
5 M - 12 F - 0 NB
[Submitted Talents]
SHSL Poet
SHSL Hypnotist
SHSL Miko
SHSL Escape Artist
SHSL Screenwriter
SHSL Card Shark
SHSL Chemist
SHSL Interior Designer
SHSL Pilot
SHSL Linguist
SHSL Nail Artist
SHSL Ninja Warrior
SHSL Magician
SHSL Archer
SHSL Artist
SHSL Good Luck
SHSL Mountaineer
- SUPER HIGHSCHOOL LEVEL APPLICATION FORM! -
[BASICS]
[Any answer on this form can be as long or as short as you want, for the most part.]
Name: [Western name order.]
Age: Include your birthday if you'd like! [Between 15 and 18 years old, generally.]
Gender: We're equal opportunity here! [Nonbinary and trans characters are more than okay.]
Sexuality: Anyone should be able to have a showmance, shouldn't they? ; ) [Non-straight characters are similarly more than okay.]
Nationality: Hope's Peak has lots of international students after all. [Include race. Most of the cast will likely be from Japan, and by extension East Asian. Other POC would be good as well, but anything's fine.]
SHSL Talent: What's your talent! Tell us a little bit about how you got it? [Repeat talents are okay, as long as they're different enough from the original. No talents that aren't talents like mental illnesses, or sexual talents. If you aren't sure, please feel free to ask.]
Height / Weight: If you don't know specific measurements we'll be happy to take care of it for you! [Metric and imperial are both acceptable.]
Appearance: Just include a picture of what you look like for now. Give us an idea of what you like to do for hair, clothes and makeup too! Our styling team may take some liberties though. [Simple description of what they look like and what they wear. Appearance may vary in the final product for cast diversity, but will keep the basic idea.]
Personality: Tell us a little bit about yourself! [Keep this concise, but make sure to say everything you want to say. The latter is more important, but the former helps.]
Backstory: What's life been like for you up until now? [Go into detail here. This will be expanded upon. Try to keep it realistic to who they are as a person.]
Likes: Tell us about the things you like and about your hobbies and interests. The fans are always dying to know, you know. [Give me a handful. Expand on why they like these things if you can.]
Dislikes: What about things you don't like so much? [Same as above.]
Fears: Is there anything you're scared of? We promise we won't tell! This is to keep contestants away from anything potentially harmful. [It doesn't have to be a concrete fear, it can be abstract. You don't have to put too much in this section if there isn't much to put.]
[QUESTIONS]
[These don't have to be answered in character. You should keep in mind that they're questions on an application form though. These are optional, but doing at least few of them is encouraged.]
What are you most looking forward to in the house?: [It can be anything, or even nothing.]
What are you least looking forward to in the house?: [Same as above.]
Why do you want to be on Hope's House?: [This can be anything, the prize is tailored to the winner, along with money.]
Why do you think that you should be on it, and why do you think you should win?: [Cast members on the show are typically voted off. The why can be anything.]
How do you intend to win?: [Similarly anything goes. This doesn't have to be a realistic strategy, not everyone watches this type of show.]
Do you think that you'd be open to a showmance?: [Their answer doesn't have to necessarily be true to whether you want them to have a potential romance. Elaborating on why they answer how they do would be good too.]
Who would you hate to see most in the house?: [Not a specific person, but a kind of person.]
If you could bring anything from outside with you, what would it be and why?: [Straight forward.]
[KILLING GAME]
Killer, Victim, or Survivor?: [Rate them in order of what you think is most realistic, to least realistic.]
Why would they be a killer?: [Elaborate on a situation in which they might kill. Ideally, it's not just "only in self defence, otherwise never". Try to think of at least one other situation.]
Why would they be a victim?: [Similarly "they wouldn't" isn't the answer I'm looking for.]
Why would they be a good survivor?: [Anyone could be, but why do you think they should make it to the end. Tell me what's compelling about it. Reasons like "romance" or things like that don't count.]
Investigation: [What would they most likely spend their time doing during the investigation?]
Class Trial: [What would they focus on in the class trial?]
General: [How would they put effort in during daily life? How would they contribute to a potential escape, or figuring out the greater mysteries behind the game?]
[REACTIONS]
[These won't always be the same, but this gives me something to work with.]
Reaction to being on live TV: [Everyone thinks that this is going to be a regular reality TV show after all.]
Reaction to death: [In general. This'll change based on the other character and the circumstances most likely.]
Reaction to execution: [As a possibility, or to watching one maybe. Not to being executed.]
Reaction to the killing game: [How they react in this situation is important.]
Reaction to being accused: [How they react to being accused during a class trial. You can include both a guilty and innocent reaction if you want to.]
[OTHER]
Do you want your character to have the chance of being the "SHSL Good Luck"?: [In this case they would be in the cast, but modified to be an SHSL Good Luck instead.]
Trivia: [Anything else that you'd like to tell me.]