#Danganronpa RebeL | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ninjagirlstar5 · 7 months ago

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So I made a Danganronpa & AVA/AVM Crossover

But less about the killing games and more like, "How would the Tragedy affect the OuterNet?"

I'ma just copy-paste my Discord ramblings, but yeah, it's gonna get long so buckle up.

At first the OuterNet barely bat an eye at the Tragedy. Some Stick figures even claim that it's just a "Creators' problem," not a "Stick problem." Surprisingly, though, FreedomStick/Freedom Guy (the guy that had an ad that said stop stick slavery!), which I will be calling Rebel from now on, advocated for Sticks to do their part and protect Creators from Viruses and such that come from the OuterNet due to it's connection to the DeepNet (a.k.a the dark web) as they predicted the Despairs' ideals from real life will trickle down and affect them just as much as it'll affect the Real World. While there's not much Sticks can do to their creators from inside the PCs (physically, anyways), there are still ways they can harm them through the internet (gestures to Second forcefully commenting negative things on Facebook through Alan's account, viruses like The Dark Lord's, etc.) So Rebel is trying to get their fellow Sticks to be aware of the Tragedy happening in the Real World and trying to get some protection ideas off the ground, not only for the Creators, but for them, too.

(Btw, this is my design for Rebel, teehee.)

Of course, most of the stick community was not…pleased with Rebel's prediction and some even felt betrayed because it was thanks to them that they weren't treated like slaves from their Creators anymore, freeing them from their misery and/or inspiring them to break away. So having an influential figure be idolized for their, uh, "Anti-Creator" ideals (which is actually just a very extreme version of their beliefs cause in reality, they just want sticks to be treated like people, not hurt the Creators) say something of the "opposite" gets them ignored or even ousted from lots of groups. And so, the OuterNet continued on like normal.

There's just one problem: the Tragedy, and thus the Despairs, quickly makes itself apparent on the Internet.

Due to the OuterNet's nature, it is inherently tied to the Internet, which is where the Creators create most if not all of the websites where a lot of stickfigures come from. Not only that, the OuterNet gets most of it's information and ideas from the Internet, allowing them to stay in touch with the Real World while also inspiring them in ways that can help better their lives (it's why RocketCorp is able to grow as big and as quickly under a few years as it did: Vic saw an opportunity and snatched it while he still could). So, over time, the OuterNet started becoming more and more aware of the Despairs, their nihilistic propaganda campaigns posted all over in ads and news sites, and the harm that has been done all over the world.

Until, one day, the first sight of a Despair stick appeared in the OuterNet and proceeded to wreck havoc. And thanks to the Tragedy ongoing in the Real World, the denizens of the DeepNet becomes more bold in their crimes to the point that they do it in broad daylight. Guess where the Despair stick got it's equipment from.

The first Despair incident gets resolved pretty quickly but not without casualties and the community is shocked that this even happened.

Cue Rebel staring into the camera and having their "I told you so" moment.

Rebel doesn't spend time being petty, though. Instead, they take the opportunity to remind the community of their connection to the Creators and how they are affected by the Real World just as much as them. This incident only proved that their prediction is coming true and that the community is going to need all the help they can get to combat against the upcoming Tragedy. With the results of ignoring the problem shoved right in their faces, most of the community relents and helps out Rebel.

Of course, since this is the Tragedy, some of the ideals of Despairs start affecting the community through their campaigns and many become apathetic to the disasters happening outside and inside the OuterNet. But Rebel refuses to back down and let Despairs hurt any more people, becoming a Symbol of Hope as they fight against the Tragedy and help as many people as they can to protect not only their fellow Stick figures, but also the Creators that are suffering in the Real World. Even if all they can do is keep the DeepNet's crimes isolated in the OuterNet and preventing it from spreading to PCs.

Speaking of Despair sticks, there are three kinds of them:

Created Despair Sticks: These sticks are ones that are created through the Despair ads campaigns. While the Despairs have never intended to make these stick figures due to sentient Sticks being so rare in the Real World that nobody really knows about them unless they're a Creator, sometimes these Sticks will come across these ads and articles on Despairs and their code will be influenced by their "ideals" or even pop out from these Internet campaigns. As a result, it is a part of their nature to create Despair and Destruction to those around them and their surroundings. There are usually no way to reason with these sticks as it is a part of their code and cannot be removed without being killed.

Regular Sticks turning to Despair: Stick figures that have lived relatively normal lives before the Tragedy struck. Most sticks that turn to Despair are ones that have unresolved trauma from their past Creators that absorbing the Despairs' "ideals" encouraged them to finally go back and strike at their Creators, regardless of who gets hurt, or those that already had a nihilistic and pessimistic viewpoint that becoming a Despair is much more preferable than holding the Hope that things will get better. Because to them, the world has already turned to hell. Why not join them instead? It's very hard to reason with these sticks, but some are able to turn away before it's too late. Or at the very least, turn themselves in.

Despair-Infected Sticks: I've debated on whether or not to keep this one but I think it just adds another layer as to why these sticks are different than humans even though they're still people: because they have a code that can be removed or added to depending on if the person is able to access it. This is why Viruses are so dangerous to sticks as they can infect and even destroy their coding from the inside out, which is why Dark had to put in a bunch of safety measures for him to be able to use his Virus with his bracelets and such. Someone from the DeepNet decided it'd be a good idea to create a Despair Virus and sell it to other Despairs simply for the profit. Whether this bit them in the ass or not, we'll never know as they disappeared off the face of the Earth after it was completed. Despite it's creator gone, it was very easy to replicate the Despair Virus and have it infect many unsuspecting Sticks in a populated area. Once infected, they become exactly like every other Despair Stick, however, some victims are able to fight back long enough to beg for help and mercy from those around them. Currently, there is no cure and RocketCorp has been trying to study this virus to find it or at least a means to create back-ups of those infected (even though Vic is secretly selling things to the Despairs so he can fund RocketCorp and continue his goal in finding Alan, oops).

Created Despair Sticks are literally just born like this. Even if they develop into wanting something different, they can't go against their code cause they're born with it and it's literally them so they can't break it unless they break themselves.

Despair-Infected Sticks are literally infected by a virus and are forced to hurt others around them as their coding is forcefully changed and even broken down to make room for the virus. And some are even aware enough to know this and try to fight it. Basically, both are pretty damn bad, while the second type of Despair stick is more a choice than anything else.

And as my mutual pointed out, "infected sticks causes despair for both the infected and the victims surrounding them." It's a cycle, man. Once it starts, it's hard to stop. 💔

As for the Desktop Sticks...why don't we start with how Second and the Color Gang are holding up!

To be honest, they probably didn't notice what the fuck has been going on in the outside world. They've mostly been doing their own thing and having fun. Sure, Alan seems a little…stressed but he's sometimes like that, you know?

And then, Alan kinda just stops showing up.

They didn't think much about it at first. They just kept themselves preoccupied and Second took the time to hang out with the CG some more as he assumed that maybe Alan took a day off to hang out with his family. But then the days start going by and they all look at each other and go, "Hey. Alan hasn't come back yet. Is he okay?" So they decided to open up the Internet to see what's up.

And they get blasted with all the news on the Tragedy: crime has risen, riots are everywhere, terrorists called the Despairs are running around spouting nihilistic bullshit as they destroy buildings and spread their influence. They're all just shocked at what's happening and are frankly, terrified! And then Yellow points out that Alan must have been dealing with this outside in the Real World and and they all go, "OH SHIT, Alan's in danger!"

But, problem! They can't do shit about this.

Yes, they've destroyed Alan's PC numerous times, mostly by accident, mostly from collateral. But they do not have the influence or the bodies to stop the Tragedy in the Real World. All they can do is just…watch and wait for Alan to return. Well, Second and Yellow have been scouting the internet trying to see if they can find traces of Alan but everyone else is kinda just…bundles of anxiety

And then a couple of burglars break in and try to steal Alan's PC. And when Second tries to notify them to stop, they just laugh and ask each other if anyone would buy these sentient sticks off of them! That's when Green took the initiative and said that they're leaving and they all book it into the Minecraft portal so they can try and contact Mango and Purple. They're kinda hoping the OuterNet is faring better than the Real World. (They are all clueless.)

Second and the Gang actually aren't the only Desktop Sticks that have fled to the OuterNet. Some created Stick figures have been losing their Creators one way or another and they've all been immigrating to the OuterNet for safety and security as they have no one to help them or take care of them anymore. Assuming they even know of the existence of the OuterNet. If they don't…they're just kinda stuck on their desktops, alone. They're lucky if they have another Stick figure with them but if they don't, they just sit there and…wait. Like a sad little dog waiting for their owners to return. And that's the "best" case scenario in a situation where a Stick knows nothing of the OuterNet and lost a Creator that genuinely cared for them.

Desktop Sticks are usually ones that have Creators (some simply just come into existence by pure accident through websites and the like, though) and usually are unaware of the OuterNet. Since the OuterNet is kind of a secret safe space for Sticks, DeskTop Sticks aren't really searched for unless they send an SOS through a website. Rebel, of course, tends to travel between many PCs, but it's difficult for them to gain access to these PCs due to firewalls and stuff and often risk getting themselves deleted thanks to those. So it's usually safer to have these Sticks come to OuterNet on their own or through a secret code amongst many different websites that Rebel put out through their own ads. A Desktop Stick and their Creator's relationship is a case by case basis as some Creators treat their sticks like people (or at worse, pets that just so happen to live in their PCs) while others tend to abuse them or try to delete them for "taking up space," which depends on what kind of powers the Stick has (Chosen was kept because he had a use in being an ad-blocker, but was done so against his will). If the Desktop Stick's relationship with a Creator is positive, they usually stick around and stay in the PC, even when they know of the OuterNet's existence. If it's negative/abusive, they tend to break away and live in the OuterNet on their own, which is where Rebel established many communities for those who are new to the OuterNet and needed a place to stay. Every now and then, there are Desktop Sticks that move into the OuterNet due to escaping a horrible Creator, leaving an abandoned PC where the Creator just never took/transfer the Sticks to their new PC, or simply because their Creator passed away and they needed to start a new life. There was a steady flow of Sticks that come in and out of the OuterNet and the immigration was quite manageable.

But then the Tragedy strikes and suddenly, crowds of Sticks have been entering the OuterNet and it becomes very difficult to find the space for all these Sticks as the OuterNet isn't actually that big. Especially in comparison to the Real World. To make matters worse, the Despair Sticks see this as an opportunity to hurt even more Sticks. Many of whom are quite distraught at losing their Creators as, you know, not all of them were horrible people to their little Stick buddies! So hey, they may as well kick them while they're down! So Rebel is kinda just…struggling to find the time and space for the Desktop Sticks to live in and protecting them and they just look at this crowd, sweat, and go, "Wow…that's a lot of Sticks, haha…."

They honestly have no idea where to put all these Sticks, ngl.

And that's actually where Mango and Purple come in.

So, Mango and Purple have been watching this shit all go down. Hell, they actually witnessed the first Despair Stick incident and survived from that, which signaled to them that they can't just bury their heads from this situation. However, Mango prioritized he and Purple's safety first and foremost and the two hid away in Minecraft for a bit, but kept in contact with the OuterNet through phones and such. But as time went on, Purple was getting more and more antsy and Mango can tell just by looking at him. But he wasn't sure what he could do to help…until word spread that there has been a lack of space in the OuterNet due to the amount of DeskTop Sticks escaping there for a chance of safety. And it was then that he realized that, hey, Minecraft has been pretty much untouched from Despairs. And why would it be? It's literally just a game. For all everyone knows, both in the Real World and the OuterNet (except for some people in the DeepNet), it's a game that has existed before the Tragedy and can't really be used to spread any sort of propaganda. It's not as if there couldn't be any servers owned by Despairs, but the likelihood of them spending time on a game outside of their free time is pretty low. It wasn't a foolproof place to live in due to mobs and other environmental hazards, not to mention that Mango and Purple need to use a Nether portal to enter the game and the Nether is! Not friendly, to say the least! But it was the only other option they could use, as long as they're able to establish communities in different Minecraft worlds.

So Mango tells Purple of his plan to let Rebel know about his idea to use Minecraft to establish shelters for their fellow Stick people and Purple jumps at the chance to help. They managed to establish contact with Rebel and tell them of their plan secretly as they didn't want word to spread to the DeepNet or the Despairs on where they're putting the Sticks. Rebel is, surprisingly, all for this idea and helps them iron out the details. The first thing Purple does is create an easier path to some of the Nether portals they've already established in the past and create shelters for the sticks, Rebel and their team escorts a group of Sticks to the portal(s), and Mango helps teach the Sticks on how the game works, keep themselves safe, and how to create their resources like food, wood, take care of animals, etc., etc. Due to the danger that the worlds of Minecraft can pose, the three of them often take turns or team up to escort these groups to the shelters and protect them. This plan has worked for a few years and the Stick communities have grown enough to be able to protect themselves, but it seems that the Despairs and the DeepNet have started to catch on to their plan. They've started to follow the refugees to the portals, forcing Rebel, Mango and Purple to block off or even destroy some of the Nether portals they've established to prevent them from following them into the game. Thankfully, they haven't slipped through their defenses…yet.

This plan isn't foolproof but they're trying their best. At least the Despairs don't have the means to destroy the game! (Don't ask Mango about the time he tried to do exactly that. We don't talk about it.)

But yeah, Mango and Purple get to work with Rebel and Purple is kinda awestruck with hanging out with a historical, even legendary, figure and helping them out. Mango also finds it fascinating to work with Rebel but he quickly finds that for all their admirable traits, they can be quite flawed, too. For starters, they are…quite reckless! And tend to run off and act first, think later. Which contrasts with Mango, who tends to be pretty meticulous in his planning, since he had a step-by-step plan he came up with with Purple in AVM Season 3 (with a few, ahem, "missing" details at the time). And it turns out, while Rebel has a bunch of good ideas on paper, they often need help from their group to bring these ideas to life, cause otherwise they can get quite...aimless and may overlook things that they didn't notice. But the fact that they're willing to listen to other people's advice shows their good qualities in leadership as they're able to listen and examine the flaws of their ideas while still holding their ideals up. These two just tend to butt heads a lot due to their contrasting personalities as Mango is constantly trying to keep Rebel from running into trouble headfirst while Rebel is like, "No, we must act now!!"

Basically like this:

Mango: "Okay, first, we have step A, which will lead into Step B and Purple, you can take care of step C-"

Purple: "Uh, Da- I mean, Mango?"

Mango: "Yes, Purple?"

Purple: "Rebel already left."

Mango:

Rebel, running off to fight the Despair in the vicinity to protect a Stick figure:

Basically, Rebel has the passion and skills, but can also be impatient to a fault and can cause a bigger problem by running headlong into it.

Mango has the genius to examine the scenario and plot around the problem, but may not always be able to act quick enough to save lives.

Both mindsets has it's pros but it can also have their cons, and in a situation like the Tragedy, neither side is in the wrong. But it's a tough situation all around that either one can make things messy. But they're trying their best to work with what they got.

And now, to see how one of the scrunkly cats ever is doing during the Tragedy...*Holds up The Chosen One*

Since this takes place after AVA Season 2 where Dark is MIA by the end of it and obviously after AVM Season 3 since Mango and Purple have already gone through their arcs, Chosen is wandering around trying to undo his wrongs as an ex-terrorist. But he's still wanted by the public for his past crimes, which, yeah, that's bad. Makes sense. But unlike most of the public, Chosen believed in Rebel's prediction as he sees them as an inspiration and has been keeping an eye out on any sort of Despairs. So when the first incident happened, he was immediately on it and was the reason why the problem had been taken care of as quickly as it had happened. Unfortunately, though, time quickly proves that as powerful as Chosen is, he cannot be in two places at once (something Rebel can unfortunately relate to). Despair incidents happen one after another, sometimes at the same time, and he struggled to do his part in protecting other people. To make matters worse, those who actually recognized Chosen often freak out and run away or even beg for mercy, still seeing him as a terrorist. Some even blamed him for some of the Despair incidents he helped resolved, and he ends up being labeled as a Despair due to his past, even though he's been trying to do good for others. Which, ow.

And, to make matters worse, Vic is still on his ass by sending the Mercs after him. Just because the Tragedy is happening doesn't mean that he won't give up his goal on getting his revenge on Alan, not realizing that he had gone missing for awhile now. Vic is more or less a neutral party in the Tragedy, with RocketCorp willingly combating against the Despairs but also buying things from them and/or selling things to them if it means advancing his own personal goals. The Mercs help against the Despair incidents but are also waiting for Chosen to appear so they can capture him…

Fun fact: Mango and Purple witnessed Chosen saving them in the first Despair incident before he left without a word as a little setup for future development. ChoKing in my funky little crossover? It's more likely than you think!

At some point, Second convinces Chosen to meet with Rebel to try and establish that hey, he's NOT a Despair, he's actually trying to help everyone so please stop slandering him like this even though he knows his past is shady as fuck. Chosen agrees, albeit hesitantly as he knows that this is a very dangerous thing to do and he's meeting his idol so he's nervous for another reason, too. Surprisingly, Rebel agrees and even planned to go alone but Mango was insistent that no, they shouldn't go alone, even if he and Purple did personally witness him helping others, as they don't know if he succumbed to Despair or not. So they agreed to bring Mango along with them (Purple was told to keep an eye on the shelters with the rest of CG, much to his disappointment).

Ngl, I think their meeting starts off like this:

Second: "Hey, this is Chosen! He's kinda like my brother."

Rebel, blunt: "Your brother is a terrorist?"

Chosen: *Obtains -1000 psychic damage*

Second:

Rebel:

Mango: "…I think you broke him."

Rebel: "Oh, whoops."

Eventually, though, Chosen becomes honest with his experience and says that he looks up to Rebel as it was thanks to their ad that led to their website that he was able to free himself from the abuse Alan treated him with, and reassures them that he's stopped being a terrorist and has been trying to help and prevent more Despair incidents. Rebel, recognizing that he's genuine in his turnaround, does a 180 in their suspicion and is like, "OH, I love redemptions!" and immediately welcomes him into the group. Naturally, no one really likes this or believes in Chosen outside of Second, the Color Gang, and Rebel, while Mango and Purple are quite skeptical of him. Although Purple is more willing to give him a chance…and maybe wants to see his powers in action. Without the danger, this time. But yeah, Rebel recklessly brings him into the group, which causes a ripple effect of anxiety as most people in the Stick community doesn't agree that he's turned over a new leaf. He did, after all, hurt MANY people in the past and whose to say this isn't a ploy in the making? (It isn't but Chosen can only prove himself through action, not words.) This is pretty much how Mango and Chosen officially meet in this crossover.

Obviously, Mango eventually starts to see that Chosen is doing everything in his power to help others and is kinda just…fumbling as he tries to grasp how Minecraft works, which leads to Mango trying to help and teach him. Ngl, what makes this version of their dynamic hilarious is that this grown-ass middle-age man knows far more about Minecraft than a young adult person. Bonus points that the only reason Mango knows so much about Minecraft is because he was trying to destroy Minecraft in the past.

Speaking of Second, chronologically speaking, Second and the Color Gang end up crossing paths with Mango while he's escorting a group of sticks and after everyone gets over their shock of "wow, more people like us!", they ask if Mango is bringing some friends into Minecraft. Mango then realizes that, oh God, these kids do not know what's happening in the OuterNet, oh no, I have to tell them-

Second and the Color Gang are very distraught that essentially no where is safe but after meeting with Rebel, they suggest that they help out as it's made pretty clear that they're experts in Minecraft and that they can help teach and protect the shelters on how to work in Minecraft. Mango is concerned as he doesn't want to put these kids to work, but they all immediately jump at the chance cause they don't want to sit around and wait any more. Not only because doing nothing would make them anxious, but also cause they want to help as much as they can, too. (It also helps distract them from Alan going missing, although they still put in the effort to search for any signs for him.) Mango relents as he knows these kids are just going to do whatever they want, so he might as well support them and give them guidance instead of shutting them down. And Rebel makes a pretty good point that even though they were just minding their own business, the Tragedy still affected them by taking their Creator away from them, even if he's just missing. Whether they like it or not, they're forced to face the Tragedy so they might as well willingly get involved by doing the right thing.

And I think that Second and co. are very good at their respective jobs at helping others and giving them hope. Because, even though they're kids, they're always trying to find ways to keep things together and do the right thing. They may argue and fight sometimes, but in the end, they always come around a common goal and are able to stay positive despite everything. This happens in canon as in many scenarios, they're always having fun while on their adventures, even when things go wrong. As kids, they shouldn't have to go through all of this. But it's also because they're kids that they're able to see the light, the hope, in things and work hard to do their part in helping others in need. And I think AVM Season 4 can be a great way to tie into this crossover:

People are bored and scared out of their wits? How about Yellow sets up a fun-little cart game for people to watch the Color Gang go ham at!

People are starting to get tired of the same food? Blue and co. go on a journey to start a recipe book and establish a food network across the Minecraft world.

People are losing hope? Green holds a concert - which, uh, ends a lot more chaotically than anyone expected, but the rest of the Color Gang don't seem to be too concern.

Heck, even the prank episode can be shown as Red fucking around in his downtime.

(The Lucky Block episode is a pretty self-contained episode as it mostly happens inside the block so a lot of people probably weren't aware of it.)

Second and co. are constantly coming up with ideas to create fun activities and keep everyone's spirits up, making them very successful Symbols of Hope alongside Rebel. Mango and Purple are also considered as symbols as they work side by side with Rebel and were the ones that came up with this Minecraft Shelters in the first place. Chosen is seen as a symbol of Despair at first, but as time goes on after he joins Rebel's cause, public opinion slowly starts to shift in a better light for him. They don't consider him a complete symbol of hope but he's becoming less and less associated with Despair now, which is more than enough for him.

My Mutual: Gee I sure hope nothing fucks this up-

The Mercs:

LIKE, YEAH, THE DESPAIRS ARE BAD, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, VIC HAS HIS OWN GOALS IN MIND-

At some point the Mercs eventually find out that Chosen is in Minecraft and end up creating their own Nether portal, ambushing a shelter and telling Rebel to bring out the "Despair" and RocketCorp will leave them alone. Chosen immediately tries to give himself up instead of fighting back, but Second is like, "No, don't do it!" and Rebel is like, "NUH UH" and immediately runs in to fight the Mercs themselves. They always got bad vibes from RocketCorp and this just confirms their suspicions that they're up to no good, even going as far as to accuse them in supporting the Despairs themselves. Which, they're technically not wrong about, they just don't have concrete evidence beyond them trying to arrest Chosen, which is would be fair in any other circumstance. This results in a 3 VS 4 scenario where Rebel is fighting the Mercs for Chosen's safety, Chosen is just trying to survive and talk down Rebel, and Second, unlike canon where Chosen kinda just plops them into the situation, jumps in as well to protect Chosen, too. Mango and Purple are doing their best to escort the citizens to safety while the Color Gang are about to go down and help as well-

-But, oops! The Despairs are coming through the very portal the Mercs used to enter their Minecraft world! So the Color Gang is forced to split their attention on the Despairs and destroying the Nether portal while Mango and Purple defend the shelters.

The situation does stabilize once the Despairs are taken care of, but the 3V4 fight pretty much ends in the Mercs favor like in canon, except I'm thinking they take Rebel with them? But they might just leave them paused as they just up and leave, lmao. Either way, RocketCorp's reputation is not going to look good cause everyone saw that, although Rebel will certainly get criticized for their choice as well. And the Mercs destroy the Nether portal on the way out, all dramatically before Green could reach the portal and follow after them. They regroup, discuss what the fuck just happened and the Color Gang are tasked with trying to get them back while Mango and Purple try to manage things in the Minecraft shelters.

That's about it for the "main story" but I do have an idea for The Dark Lord:

Basically, The Dark Lord hid away in the DeepNet and has made a living for himself, even if he's frustrated and hurt by being "betrayed" by Chosen. Honestly, I think he'd take part in the Despair terrorism as he was definitely the most gung-ho about the terrorism back then. Like, even though he planned to hurt Alan with his virus, he still enjoyed the terrorism in the past before ever involving him again. He, again, makes more Viruses and shares them with others…and would give them away to the Despairs, too. Hell, I can see Dark taking part in the incidents, leaving whispers of people witnessing a familiar red blur hurting and killing other people…

Chosen is hoping it's not who he thinks it is.

And the minute word spreads about RocketCorp kidnapping Rebel, Second, and Chosen, Dark is immediately raiding it. To help Chosen? To take his revenge? Who knows, it depends on how you want to interpret him and what you wanna see from him after everything he's done.

Honestly, I don't have a lot of thoughts on The Dark Lord for this, he's kinda just doing his own thing. Same with Vic, but they pretty much lean towards Despair.

(And because I have no idea where else to put this, uh, I kinda forgot that Second would be shocked to learn of Chosen's experience with Alan back then when they meet up with Rebel. Like, yeah, he deleted the Color Gang once and threatened to do it again, but after all this time, it feels more like a misunderstanding as Alan clearly did not realize that they were sentient, even if he was pretty callous about it, and started treating them with kindness and respect. They also can't ask Alan about it right now cause, uh, he's missing. 💔 And while making this post, I realized that Second would find out about Chosen's terrorism through Rebel and other citizens…That's gonna be one hell of a conversation between them once they meet up.)

But yeah, that's about it for the time being. And if you're wondering what made me think of this crossover, well...

I stickfigured Teruya and it spiraled from there. He'd basically be our audience surrogate into the OuterNet if I were to ever write a story on this.

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penguwastaken · 9 months ago

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About Brainwashing in Danganronpa

Hello to all 3 of the people who see this account. A few months ago, I made a thread on hit website Twitter dot com about brainwashing in the Danganronpa Series. I discussed where it came from, how it works, and how the brainwashing of class 77-B was never a retcon. The thread got a lot of attention there, even getting a "debunk" on other hit website Reddit dot com (lmao). Due to that, there's been a lot of responses and questions. Since I can't really update a Twitter thread, I decided that I'd make the Ultimate™ Brainwashing thread and hopefully dispel any information on the subject while making my original points more clear and covering things I failed to cover. So here it is: Brainwashing in Danganronpa, how it works, where it came from, and how it was intended from the start. (a 🧵 except not really) *Massive spoilers for Danganronpa Zero, Danganronpa 2, Danganronpa Another Episode, Danganronpa Togami, and Danganronpa 3, as well as the series as a whole*

Danganronpa Zero: First Sighting

Brainwashing has its roots all the way back in the second official entry produced in the series, Danganronpa Zero. During the story's events, Ryoko comes across a secret cult made up of students from the reserve course. They're seen staring at a strange video, seemingly turning them and turn them into mindless zombies.

The video depicts members of the student council killing each other. Ryoko is stunned while watching it. She can barely look away, but eventually through force of will she does. This same video is later used to convince the reserve course to rebel.

The way it's described to work is that it uses their “pent-up emotions,” implying that their emotions played a role in its effectiveness. It's also worth noting that the novel itself refers to what is happening as brainwashing, making this objectively the first depiction of brainwashing in the series right from the second entry.

Danganronpa 2: Now it Gets Dubious

Our next instance of brainwashing comes from Danganronpa 2. The concept is brought up multiple times, such as when Makoto states that the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed or how the Neo World Program is good at treating brainwashing, though the details of what brainwashing actually means in this context are kept vague.

It's also worth noting that Danganronpa 2 was being written around the same time as Danganronpa Zero and Kodaka wanted concepts from the novel to appear in Danganronpa 2, likely so readers would feel validated. This is why things like Izuru Kamukura and the reserve course play huge roles in Danganronpa 2, it's not too much of a stretch to say that the same applies with brainwashing. One detail we’re given about the brainwashing is from Monokuma, who states the Ultimate Despairs were brainwashed by Junko taking advantage of their feelings. Specifically love, hate, grudges, and "anything really". If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly how the brainwashing video from Danganronpa Zero was described to function, using their pent-up emotions.

I should mention that Monokuma and Junko are known for being unreliable narrators who often stretch the truth, exaggerate things, and use hyperbole to manipulate people into believing their narrative. Monokuma describes the Ultimate Despairs as “nothing more than Junko’s limbs”, which contradicts the existence of characters like Nagito. Who, while in his despair state, did not work with Junko nor did he look up to her (at least in the normal sense like the other Ultimate Despairs). In fact, it would have been impossible for them to really obey any of Junko's orders as Ultimate Despairs because Junko was trapped inside of Hope's Peak with minimal connection to the outside world. This isn't a definitive "Monokuma is lying" statement, but just note that his word isn't 100% reliable. Meanwhile, someone like Makoto who outright mentions brainwashing, is a much more reliable source.

Danganronpa Another Episode: More Brainwashing! (kinda irrelevant tho...)

The next time brainwashing is used is in the next entry, Danganronpa Another Episode. Though its purpose in this discussion isn’t the most useful, as the brainwashing is caused by Monokuma helmets, which don’t have their functionality explained. I figured it was worth mentioning and describing at least, as its another example of brainwashing at least.

I did figure it was worth adding how the brainwashed children act. They obey the Warriors of Hope’s every command, as if they have zero control over their actions. This is different from how the Ultimate Despairs act, who still some free had free will after presumably being brainwashed judging by the actions of Nagito, who is also in this game.

Danganronpa Togami: I Hate My Life

Okay. As mixed as my opinions are on this novel trilogy, it does feature brainwashing. In fact, it might feature one of the most detailed and important descriptions of brainwashing in the series, and even outright CONFIRMS that class 77-B were brainwashed (sorta).

"Hey um... Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu... what do you mean by 'sorta'?" Well my uninformed reader who I guarantee has probably never read this book, there's a twist. I regret to inform you that the canonicity of Danganronpa Togami is rather questionable, as it depicts an extremely unreliable narrator’s warped viewing of events due to this thing called the K2K system, which means not everything in the novel is meant to be taken literally or at face value.

This doesn't mean that everything should be discarded or immediately dismissed however. This just means that we have to use our brains a little and decipher what the hell Yuya Sato was cooking when he wrote this novel trilogy. In the novel, we discover the existence of the elusive despair novel. When read, the novel will turn the reader to despair and inflict them with the despair disease. This novel is what's used to plummet the world into despair, as well as being what caused the class 77-B to become the Ultimate Despairs. There's no known ways to avoid it, once you read it, it's joever. 😔

As I said earlier, the events of Danganronpa Togami can’t be taken literally. Due to this and prior context, we can safely assume that the despair novel is most likely the K2K's warped idea of the despair video from Danganronpa Zero. Instead of being a book being read that brainwashed people, it was a video being watched. What makes me so sure? Well let's look over the similarities. The way the despair novel works is that it uses cruel words to overload the reader with negative emotions, causing them to snap and turn to despair. That sounds almost exactly like the despair video, overloading the viewer by manipulating their emotions until they turn to despair.

However, a major difference comes from the fact that Danganronpa Togami confirms towards the end that the despair novel doesn't literally brainwash people, acting as a placebo and an excuse for people with despair to use.

However I don't believe this suddenly breaks the connection to the despair video in Danganronpa Zero. All it shows is that the novel doesn't create despair, which is something we already established with the brainwashing video. It doesn't make despair, it makes it stronger. Whether it be via the disturbing imagery on the screen or the words on a page giving you an excuse, all it does is amplify despair. Basically it doesn't make despair come out of nowhere, it incites it. This connection's a little bit of a stretch but I'll bring it up anyways. The technology used in the despair novels was originally to bring hope. (Take notes, it will probably be important assuming you buy this connection.)

Essentially, the despair novel works in a similar same way as the despair video, but instead it’s a book and you read it instead of watching it. This means that class 77-B and the rest of the world were most likely brainwashed via the despair video, and that is what caused the class to become Ultimate Despairs.

Danganronpa 3: The One People Really Don't Like

And all of this brings us to the most detailed yet controversial usage of brainwashing: Danganronpa 3. Many assume that the anime’s usage of brainwashing is a retcon, contradicting the words of our holy savior Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair High School. However, I’d like to debate that. In fact, I'd like to finally put a nail in the coffin of this really stupid debate and finally show you that Danganronpa 3's depiction of brainwashing is exactly how it has always been described.

In Danganronpa 3, we are introduced to Ryota Mitarai and his anime. Using the power of subliminal messaging, it heightens the viewer's emotions and makes them more powerful. What was once a slightly emotional scene is now a complete tearjerker fully capable of tearing at the viewers heart strings! While he acknowledges that there are unethical things that can be done with this technology and it's technically brainwashing, his goal is to use this technology to make the world a better place, even if it can be dangerous. If that sounds familiar, that's because it's what Hope's Peak tried doing with the despair novel in Danganronpa Togami. Though I'll admit, this single point is a little bit of a stretch as there are differences. I just figured it was worth at least a mention.

Using her analytical prowess, Junko gets a rough understanding of how the technology works, so she develops the despair video, featuring the student council killing each other overlayed with subliminal messaging technology to make the despair felt while viewing the video stronger.

The video works on Mikan, however Junko fears that the video may not be powerful enough to fully go through with her plans due to not understanding the technology nearly as well as Ryota does. Because of this, she forces Ryota to create a better, more powerful despair video. A despair video v2 if you will. Junko’s fears weren’t unfounded, as we discover that Chisa had the mental fortitude to resist the despair video, similarly to how Ryoko was able to resist the same video in Danganronpa Zero. This is exactly why Junko needs a more powerful video, one that she knows can’t be resisted.

"Ermmmm, Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, how come Ryoko and Chisa are able to resist the despair video but Mikan and nobody in the reserve course could?" Good question, the answer is pretty simple. As mentioned before, the video takes advantage of the emotions of the viewer. Mikan is already pretty weak minded, so there wasn't much issue in controlling her. The reserve course already hated Hope's Peak and would take any reason to hate them more, so a video that shows them the sins of Hope's Peak would affect them as well. Ryoko and Chisa have no connection to the reserve course however, and neither are particularly very weak emotionally. Ryoko has the analytical prowess of Junko and Chisa is just a very strong willed person in general, and paired with Junko's lack of knowledge about subliminal messaging when creating the video, it's pretty obvious it wouldn't be that effective on them. All the more reason for Junko to force Ryota to make a better despair video.

The despair video v2 that Ryota is forced to make comes in the form of Chiaki’s execution video, where the stronger subliminal messages paired with witnessing the representation of the happiest moments in their miserable lives and their closest friend suffer makes class 77-B unable to resist. Ultimately this causes them to finally snap, being overloaded with despair, and now they turn into the Ultimate Despairs. (side note this is so freaking cool idc what anyone else says)

This resembles Monokuma’s explanation from Danganronpa 2. Junko used class 77-B’s emotions and years of getting closer against them to turn them to them to despair. Now featuring the added context of her using the video designed to manipulate people’s emotions. Also as @jelimore pointed out, Junko leading the class to Chiaki's execution itself was manipulating them. This depiction of brainwashing fits perfectly with the information provided throughout the series, even down to the little details. It’s so close in fact that I can say without a doubt that Danganronpa 3 did not retcon anything. “But Tumblr/Twitter user Pengu, that isn’t how the video is shown to work during Hope Arc. Therefore it actually contradicts previous entries and is inconsistent!" To that I say, you’re correct! ...at least about the hope video functioning differently, but that doesn’t make it inconsistent. The hope video behaves pretty differently. Instead of overloading the viewer with negative feelings, it simply just shows them a repeating video loop that turns them into a mindless zombie, likely caused by even stronger subliminal messaging. The people affected can also snap out of this state with some time, as seen with Aoi.

The reasoning for this is actually pretty simple, it’s just different technology entirely. It’s stated that the hope video was developed later on after the despair video. If anything, it behaves very similar to the Monokuma masks from Danganronpa Another Episode, which we also already established uses different technology. The hope video doesn’t contradict the despair video at all because they both use completely different tech. This can also be seen with how the despair video uses subliminal messaging, meanwhile the messaging in the hope video couldn’t be further from subliminal. There is no inconsistency, just two different things.

The reason the hope video needed to be broadcasted everywhere was so that since it would be airing everywhere, nobody would have time for the effects to wear off or resist it. This would turn the world into mindless zombies who obey every command, similarly to the Monokuma kids. It's just that now they don't have to force bulky helmets onto everyone.

Debunking Common Arguments

With the hope video out of the way, I think it’s very safe to assume that not only is the despair video’s functionality very accurate to previous descriptions, it’s also always been the reason for the brainwashing of Class 77-B, long before Danganronpa 3. Even if you disagree and think the cause of brainwashing was never explicitly mentioned in Danganronpa 2, there's still the fact that Danganronpa 2 outright says it was brainwashing. So even if a video wasn't the direct cause of it, them being brainwashed was still always intended (though given the context and the fact the video was introduced in a tie in novel for the game, I'm certain that it was always the culprit). Many point to this line where Kazuichi asks why they became the Ultimate Despairs and Makoto says he never got an answer to debunk this. But... this doesn't change anything. He asks why they became Ultimate Despairs, not how. And this is completely ignoring the fact that Makoto clearly has done his own digging into the situation, he discovered the Remnants of Despair were hiding among Future Foundation after all. The Future Foundation had access to brainwashing videos, they found them, so of course Makoto is going to know about the brainwashing. What Makoto is saying here is that he doesn't know every little detail, all he knows is that they were brainwashed. I wrote a bit more about it here, but there's nothing contradictory in this scene.

Many also point to Mikan stating that it was her many human relationships that led her to being the way she is. Once again, this changes literally nothing. Mikan was the only one of the remnants who actually knew Junko, she was the only one who spent time with her because she was the first subject. This is why she gets more attached to her, and even why she'd believe what Junko would tell her when they spent time together. Monokuma also says that Junko used "hopeless methods overflowing with charisma and humor" to control the masses. I don't even know why I have to address this, but this statement is so vague you can interpret it as a million things. Like for example, this is how she got Ryota to work for her. While pretending to be Makoto to manipulate the people in the trial, Junko tells them that they all became Ultimate Despairs while coming into contact with her at Hope's Peak and they were subjected by her terrifying influence. Again, ignoring how vague "terrifying influence" is, this is literally Junko trying to LIE AND MANIPULATE them. This is quite possibly the worst example you could have used because we know for a fact that she is lying to them while pretending to be Makoto. There's other examples of Junko trying to manipulate them, like mentioning how everyone hated them and their all Ultimate Despairs at the end of the day. But that's just what this is, manipulation. You would think that the "Junko manipulated class 77-B" crowd would understand that saying "everyone hates you but I saw your potential" is literally manipulation 101. She even states that Izuru killed the entirety of a student council, which we know for certain is a lie because Danganronpa Zero (which came out before) says otherwise. Some say that the brainwashing turned them into mindless zombies and eliminates all blame from their actions. While I would agree that it does make them less at fault, they still have the ability to make choices and still have free will. Their original personalities haven't been overwritten, their brains were just rewired to crave despair. They're still each their individual person with their own ways of feeling despair, and characters like Chisa and Nagito show that they regain their free will to an extent. I also wrote more about that here, LOL.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This whole debate stems from people misunderstanding Monokuma’s words and going along with the popular interpretation, which turned out to be wrong. Whether you like the use of brainwashing or not, it objectively isn’t a retcon as it's been developed ever since Danganronpa Zero. Personally, I love the use of brainwashing. I think the way it's developed throughout the series and its usage in Danganronpa 3 is super interesting. If you disagree, that's fine! Heck, if you choose to headcanon that Junko manipulated 15 individual teenagers into all becoming despair hungry terrorists capable but ending the world and fighting off every military in the world in less than a year, that's cool too! But the truth is, Danganronpa 3's brainwashing is canon and it's also not a retcon nor does it contradict anything. Contrary to popular belief, Kodaka was involved with the writing of the anime. He provided a large draft and outline of the plot and oversaw its development. He produced the anime, he did his homework, the team even played the games to prepare for writing the anime. He knew what he was doing. I'm sure if Kodaka intended for them to all be manipulated one by one, that's what he would have went with. All information implying that it was manipulation is very few and far between and questionable at best, not to mention outweighed by everything implying it was brainwashing. Mind manipulation stuff is not new in this series, its been around since the first game and brainwashing was established in literally the second entry ever produced. Whether you love it or hate it, think it's the best thing since sliced bread or the death of the series, brainwashing was the answer the whole time. Some people just never noticed it, and instead of acknowledging that they were wrong, they stuck with a headcanon that they believed so much and jumped to the conclusion of "retcon". I hope this mega post managed to inform some people, maybe change some minds too. If you still don't buy it, then I guess there's nothing I can do. Thanks for reading all of this though, I tend to yap a lot about this franchise lmao.

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