#Except for Junko of course

[incorrect-zombieland-saga-quotes]

Saki, covered in scratches: "I'm still the toughest bitch there is, you know."

Lily, doubtfully: "Sure, Saki."

Saki: "I did eventually get the spider out of the house."

Lily: "It’s just that there was so much screaming."

[penguwastaken]

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.

[zxmbigirlfriend]

hopes peak academy tumblr dashboard simulator

🍡kusamochis Follow

i hate ultimates fuck off ultimates ultimates dni

🍀nagikomaeda Follow

reserve course lmao

🍡kusamochis Follow

YOU ARE LITERALLY WHO I’M TALKING ABOUT HERE

#except for @gamez4life you are the only exception ily

47 notes

🐉best-sister Follow

@lesbienning what are you gonna do? cancel me for “harassing ultimates”?

📸lesbienning Follow

123.69.420.51

🐉best-sister Follow

WHAT THE FUCK

1,609 notes

🐰gamez4life Following

why can’t reserve course and main course just get along :(

473 notes

🐺fenrir-mercenary Follow

@junko-enoshima-official how do you reblog

5 notes

🔮mageofdespair Follow

haiii!!! :3 our warrior cats animated series featuring our ocs “the rise of despairstar” has its first episode out now :3!!! Drawn primarily by @birdskinhater and voice acted by @totezadorbz, we’d like to say thank you to @junko-enoshima-official for helping give our project more recognyation!! :3333

💋junko-enoshima-official Following

#omgggg this slayed #not to be a warrior cats fan or anything but i TOTALLY LOVE despairstar she serves CUNT you with me she serves CUNT

21,394 notes

🍡kusamochis Follow

Getting brain surgery tmrw hope it goes well

11 notes

🎓hope’s-peak-academy Following

Clarification- our school has NOT taken part in any unsanctioned lobotomies. Such behaviour is abhorrent and we recommend that any reports of it are to be reported immediately.

2,356 notes

🍬candygurl Follow

just got expelled

21 notes

🍀nagikomaeda Follow

Finished my junko enoshima callout doc, you can find it here

#junko enoshima #anti junko enoshima #junko enoshima critical

685 notes

💉kill-your-self Follow

i stand with my cancelled wife

💉kill-your-self Follow

shut the fuck up about your fictional characters this is about my real-life girlfriend

3,687 notes

🎤ilovesayakamaizono Follow

shes so pretty it hurts…

#koma talks #i love her #sayakaposting

7 notes

🎸 bookidooks Following

IS THAT A FUCKING DEAD BODY

#WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKKKKKK

9 notes

🐱cutesquish Follow

Fun fact: killing people is universally wrong! If you think otherwise you are a horrible person and I hope you fall in a tar pit!

📸lesbienning Follow

Fun fact: you shouldn’t be morally policing other people’s activities! Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves and you shouldn’t be forcing your views onto others! Op is an asshole, don’t listen to them!

🐱cutesquish Follow

what. what the FUCK.

🃏irlvamp Follow

Calm down. It is unnecessary to be throwing a fit after an innocent comment. I believe it is important to see both sides of the debate.

🐱cutesquish Follow

don’t you like run an illegal underground gambling ring

🎸 bookidooks Following

anyone here smoke weed

10,452 notes

🐰gamez4life Following

Playing this cool horror game… there’s “punishment” if you failed a task and there was this one were we had to go through all these traps and eventually got impaled… god it looked painful i would definitely not like to be in that game

#it was so sad too? Like we got a little bit of hope and then it got quenched out :( #i HATE the evil teacher btw how dare she betray us

5 notes

[carbonatedjem]

Tokomaru Week 2024 - Day 4 - Despair

Okay so up till now the way I've been picking prompts has been choosing which one I want to do for Syomaru Week (where I really wanna go all in on the art if I can), and then using whatever is left to use as my Tokomaru Prompt, which usually makes for a neat challenge. This is the only prompt so far where I actively chose it for Tokomaru week. I admittedly didn't know what I was going to do at first, since either ship seemed like I would have had to do some angst which personally I don't wanna indulge in for these shipping weeks (More power to those who are though, I can't wait to see em and you're way stronger than me). I almost just doubled up on the rainstorm prompt. But then I remembered MasterMind AU's are a thing, and then I further remembered that Evil Girlfriends are the coolest. And so we get an AU where Toko's the Mastermind and Komaru is essentially her Mukuro equivalent, except they're dating instead of being sisters. Also for further context on Makoto's reaction, i kinda imagine that in this AU Komaru was in the Killing Game with him instead of Junko (Mukuro is also in the game, but as herself. If you're wondering where Junko is, i dunno she's outside doin stuff??). Like Mukuro she died, but in her case she just full on faked her death.

Last detail, sorry for the long wall of text to go along with this, i accidentally got too invested. Toko is still the Ultimate Writing Prodigy when she's not discovered as the Ultimate Despair, in Komaru's case she's the Ultimate Girlfriend because I think that's very silly and fun, she's also Ultimate Despair of course.

I had a lot of fun with this pic! The designs especially, I kinda wanna do more with them but only time will tell if I do

[satoshi-mochida]

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars adds PS5 and Xbox Series versions, launches March 6, 2025 - Gematsu

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025, Konami announced. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions are newly announced.

Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms except Switch, which will begin pre-orders on September 6. Physical edition pre-orders will begin on August 28.

The following downloadable content is included with pre-orders for the digital edition:

57,300 potch – In-game currency

Fortune Orb – Doubles the experience gained by the character that bears it.

Prosperity Orb – Doubles the “potch” gained when winning a battle with the character that bears it.

Here is an overview of the collection, via Konami:

About

A hero’s destiny is written in the Stars. The legendary Konami JRPGs Suikoden I and Suikoden II have now been remastered in high-definition!

The Story of Suikoden I

A once renowned hero turns into a violent tyrant, and an empire falls into decline. A Liberation Army is rising up in an act of rebellion against an oppressive rule. One by one the 108 stars of Destiny gather to shape the course of history.

The Story of Suikoden II

Our story’s hero and his friend Jowy are members of the Unicorn Youth Brigade, which participated in a drawn-out border dispute between the Highland Kingdom and the City-States of Jowstown. A few months earlier, a truth agreement was signed between the two forces, both of which were happy to see an end to the fighting. However, hidden under the momentary peace the fires of a new war continued to smolder…

Key Features

-Graphical Improvements

Pixel sprites and environment art enhanced with new screen effects including lighting, clouds, and shadow animations Flickering flames, smoldering smoke, the movement of leaves and insects, all add up to a lively in-game atmosphere!

The effects and direction have been redesigned, bringing memorable scenes back to life in more beautiful ways!

-New Character Drawings

All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War.

-Sound Improvements

Field Sound – A large number of environmental sounds not found in the original version, such as the sound of running water in the river, wind, insects, and running footsteps, have been added. You can enjoy an immersive experience like never before!

Battle Sound – All sound effects are now in HD. In addition to the impact of the 3D effects, the realistic sound greatly enhances the dynamism of the battles!

-Game System Improvements

Many new features have been added, such as dialogue log, auto-battle, double-speed battles, etc.

Watch a new trailer below.

Release Date Trailer

English

Japanese

[lightlycareless]

If your main story followed canon, how would your Naoya handle the situations that canon Naoya was put in? Do you think Naobito still put in that thing about Megumi in his will and do you think Maki would’ve ended up killing the Zen’ins(she’d most likely spare Y/N and her children and maybe Naoya if Y/N asked) or do you think it would’ve never gotten to that point at all? I love your story and I find it fun to think about how your Naoya would handle the situations of canon :3

Heya!!!

Omg this is such a difficult question to answer because I feel like everything would still continue on as the manga! With a few exceptions, of course. Let's get to them 👀👀👀

Naobito would still select Megumi over Naoya to be his successor (if the clause regarding Gojo becomes effective) however, your dear husband wouldn’t go batshit crazy over it.

Instead, he’ll get to see how messed up it really was for him to become leader at 15 years of age. So young, unprepared, and the fact that he hadn’t spent time with the Zen’in, meaning he didn’t know how everything went down, just made it worse! This is definitely a reflection of him becoming a father; he sees Megumi as either one of his babies and the dangers and stresses of becoming clan leader drives him crazy with worry! It’s a tough job, that’s for sure, one he never wishes either of them to endure.

THOUGH the one thing I struggle with deciding the most is whether the Zen’in massacre happens or not.

It’s interesting to see how Mai and Maki would grow up to be in an environment where you were around; The easiest route to take is to say that Naoya remained the same jerk we know from the manga, everything continues on as planned, and that’s it! But then, I don’t think you’d be able to stay around for that long! Certainly not to tolerate a man that disrespects you constantly.

Though I do like to play with the idea that you were there ‘till the end, as the quiet, submissive wife Naoya always wanted you to be. Your relationship with him wasn’t the best, but as long as you kept to yourself, served him, and so on… everything was fine. Kind of. Until a baby came along…

BUT WE’RE NOT HERE FOR THE REALISTIC part, we’re here for my version of Naoya 😏 and so, I’d like to say that maybe, just maybe, the murder of the Zen’in never happens (I still struggle to accept it happened in the first place! I 100% believe Mai cursed her. Like, Maki never hinted wanting that but anyways) because you would’ve done your best to set a better life for the twins, persuade Naoya to use his influence for their benefit. I doubt anyone would’ve cared much since they were “irrelevant” to the clan so yeah sure, why not!

The one that would’ve put up much resistance obviously would be Ogi and their mom, Junko. Going as far as reproaching you about it, but you did not budge. Not after all the horrible things they’ve gone through. You couldn’t back down.

But of course, as much as you tried to stop the clan from being crude to them, some would still persist, more so when Maki eventually decides to pursue a career as a sorcerer (You and Naoya would have discussions about this; he still believes that people with no cursed energy shouldn’t be sorcerers, even if there were ways to go around that. You insisted otherwise.) making things worse for Mai with her inevitable departure.

I have no idea how Maki got to enroll in the school and whatnot, mainly because the Zen’in would finally intervene at this point, saying something like “We allowed you to act the fool, use the heir to make their lives better. But we draw the line at sorcery—back off if you know what’s good for you.”

Thus, for the sake of this ask (and my curiosity) I’ll make it as if you were the one to call Gojo intending to ask a favor out of him. Informing him of what was going on with her (specifically how talented she was!! So, he better not mess this up!) and make sure he gives her all the support she needs; because you knew damn well the Zen’in were not people to underestimate and would go out of their way to ruin her life. But at least they respected (feared) the leader of the Gojo clan enough to not intervene… that much.

As for Mai, you end up recruiting her as part of your staff; a kind of hidden, diplomatic solution to protect her from being forcibly enrolled as a sorcerer as well. The Zen’in hated you for it, but what could they do? They sure liked abusing the system, but when it was the other way around, they hated it. Talk about hypocritical…

Naoya, even though he didn’t agree with much of what was happening between you and the twins (mainly because it made you a target of his family, again) would still 100% remain by your side. Any snarky comments from them he’d shut down immediately, with the threat of retaliation if they persisted.

Unfortunately, there’s only so much you could do to protect the twins—so maybe that massacre does happen in the end. I’m still debating whether you die or not, but it’s most likely that you do, solely because I believe Maki was cursed by her sister. Mai told her to destroy everything and she did.

YET I DON’T FEEL HAPPY WITH NOT GIVING YOU A CERTAIN ANSWER, MORE SO WHEN IT’S A PESSIMISTIC ONE, SO: No for the sake of a happy ending, you don’t die. Mai is eternally grateful for the things you’ve done for her and her sister (you managed to ease the tensions between the two, Maki apologizes for leaving and Mai understands why she left) so, she doesn’t hold any grudges, and thus, she doesn’t ask her sister to destroy everything 😊

Instead, when you and Naoya decide to live away from the estate for a while, you invite the twins over with their mother, if they wished. Junko heavily decides against it, but since you take your staff and Mai is part of your staff, she has to go. (This is nothing but a formality, you let Mai do whatever she wants. She doesn’t really work for you) and Maki goes whenever she has free time at school.

Megumi ends up becoming the clan leader because of Shibuya, but he ends up giving the role to Naoya by… insistence of Maki! She trust him to do a good job now (and because she knows you’ll keep him in check haha) and since it’s a reformed Naoya, you can bet he will do his best to restructure the Zen’in into a better clan. I mean, do we honestly think he’d like to see those things, especially when they happened to you (with the fear of them occurring to his own kids as well), and not do anything?

So yeah! There you got it. TLDR: your interference in Naoya’s life essentially changed everything that happened in the clan, to the point where they didn’t get killed for it hahaha. NGL this totally sounds as Y/N was some kind of messiah with all the work she did, but hey, that’s the power of love 🫣🤣

Thank you so much for sending in this ask! This touched a subject I’ve been wanting to explore for a while now, I might get to it later on :> specifically the did Y/N die at the massacre? OR WHAT ABOUT CURSE NAOYA? (That’s another ask I got on my inbox hehehehehe I guess we’ll have to be patient 😏)

Now, take care, and hope to see you soon 💖

[popcornpieispissedoff]

A Pile Of Canon Divergent Danganronpa Headcanons:

The students absolutely did not get along when they first enrolled, they were all legit getting on each others' nerves and every other day was a shouting match.

Byakuya doesn't mind Ultimate Impostor's presence most of the time, but there have been times when he was seriously creeped out by Impostor.

After they adopted Kotoko, Hifumi collected all his loli/shotacon and invited Kotoko to help him burn it. Seeing the damage adults did to Kotoko has him rethinking his tastes in manga altogether.

If Kiyotaka catches anyone running in the halls he will drag them to that person's starting point and make them walk back to their destination.

When Gonta inevitably found out that Hiyoko liked squishing ants, he sat her in front of the biggest anthill he could find and unloaded ant facts on her. This bored the habit right out of Hiyoko.

Everyone has accidentally locked themselves out of the school at least once.

Over time, everyone noticed that Mikan was tripping over less and less. Though she attributes it to learning balance from Sakura, she subconsciously knows it's because she doesn't need the attention anymore.

Mikan wants to cure Nagito's terminal illnesses, but fears that Nagito's luck would kill him if she does so.

Mikan cares deeply for the Warriors of Hope, and is a key player in their rehabilitation.

The virtual Jabberwock Island from Danganronpa S is still there...but the students actually built it to get away from their oppressive dickhead superiors that they hate. It has the 50 day summer camp mode for all of them, or a solo mode for anyone to set a specific amount of time within the virtual world to unwind.

[Very slowly lays hand on Masaru's head as to not trigger his trauma of being slapped] This boy can fit so many cuddles and kisses.

Jataro won't just let you hug him, the little mf will let you s q u i s h him into your body with all your love and might. As long as he can still breathe he will be happy and let you hold him.

Kirumi cracks pretty easy under stress. She doesn't lash out at everyone so much as she curls up against the nearest wall and rocks herself.

Don't ask Kirumi to reenact Jackass with you, or she will absolutely overcomplicate the assignment and seriously injure herself. She does not comprehend physical comedy, much less the line where physical comedy becomes everyone around her fearing for her life.

Ryota straight up lives in the walls along with the balding Monokuma from V3. Junko and Ultimate Impostor are the only ones who know, but neither of them have been successful at getting Ryota out of his shell.

Korekiyo has been given an intervention by all the girls at Hope's Peak. It ended with eight hours of group hugging. Korekiyo is feeling better now.

Korekiyo and Kirumi have routinely fought over the air conditioning.

Masaru will bite anyone at least once, but for reasons only known to himself, he likes biting clowns the most. He will hunt down any clown that appears in his field of vision and not stop until he gets a bite.

If Gonta finds any insect traps or insecticides, he throws them down the garbage chute.

Hajime is still Izuru, but it's an open secret. His classmates love him no matter what his identity is. <3

Reserve Course students weren't so chill about Izuru, however-they wanted Jin Kirigiri's BLOOD. And the Ultimates just kinda let them do it for treating their friend as a lab rat.

One winter when the heater broke everyone slept together in the gym until it was fixed. We're talking a pile of blankets that was three feet thick.

They legit would not trade each other for the world except for Kokichi and even then Suichi would still be sad about it

Mahiru doesn't like taking pictures of Ryoma because his weirdly large eyes reflect all the light and the result always looks terrifying.

Someone kept leaving a stuffed toy clown in random places around the school...until they adopted Masaru and he promptly bit the shit out of it.

Ibuki tried playing from the rooftop once. It took 8 hours to find her, 4 hours to coax her down, and 2 hours to soothe her afterwards.

Nanokumas like to move things around when nobody's looking.

All Ultimates are prone to getting the zoomies. It ranges from Leon running around in circles to Sakura almost leveling the school.

Reserve Course students like to observe the Ultimates because Ultimates are all stupid fucking dorks and watching them accidentally stir up chaos is great entertainment.

Hope Fragments appear when a student feels their happiest. It forms within the body and gets hacked up like a hairball.

Gonta routinely has nightmares about being caught in a venus flytrap.

Fuyuhiko has become aware of Yasuhiro's debt to his family, and holds it over his head.

Peko wonders if her parents know about her becoming an Ultimate.

Junko is trying really, really hard to feign apathy towards her classmates in the name of Despair, but no one buys it.

Mukuro and Peko like to spar together, and they're pretty evenly matched.

Miu is soft (by Miu standards) towards Chihiro.

Miu becomes very anxious and needy at the mere thought of graduating from Hope's Peak and moving away from her friends.

More to come when my brain cells wake up and remind me who these people are

[theamityelf]

Have you ever done RoD class 78 AND class 77 together before I genuinely cannot remember? I know you have a story about RoD class 78 on AO3 but it's not both classes together. Anyways like your previous idea everyone except Makoto is in despair and they keep him around because he is simultaneously their hope amd despair. Despair because he has to watch his friends do things they would have never done, and hope because some of them are waiting for him to join them.

How would the RoD of class 77 view their situation and what would their dynamic be now that they're both fighting for Junko's affection?

This is really cool!!

The envy over class 78 perpetually having more of Junko's attention and favor than them would be such great despair for the 77th class.

Mondo's "every biker gang in Japan" and Fuyuhiko's, ya know, yakuza, are constantly fighting over turf, because now there's factions within the Ultimate Despair. This lawlessness benefits their side, of course. When it doesn't benefit them to be at odds, they're allies. But they all want to be the ones to earn Junko's approval, and her classmates know her better and she cares about them more. Officially, though, the 77th class has "double seniority", because they're upperclassmen and they were initiated as despair first.

Basically, by objective measures of rank and usefulness, the 77th class should be the favorites; they have a princess controlling kingdoms on Junko's behalf, for despair's sake! They worship her way more than her class does. But she simply doesn't like them as much, and that hurts.

Okay, now Makoto!

He is hanging on to his morals, but naturally his mental health is in shambles. Basically, it's the status quo of Despair's Throbbing Heart, for him; he is keeping layers of denial and dissociation between himself and the horrors and surfacing from that state when there's someone he can save or influence.

The arrangement he's in would be different, in this AU.

The 77th class like to make fun of the 78th class for the fact that their luckster is still on "that good guy BS". They even point to Nagito proudly, like, "Look at our luckster! He set a convenience store on fire yesterday. What's your guy been doing?"

Nagito loves this. His class has never been so supportive and affectionate toward him.

The 78th class's response to this is largely defensive. Like, "Stop bullying Makoto! He's just a late bloomer!" Meanwhile, they all do their best to get him into despair. (Hifumi is the most creative about it.) At first, he meets every attempt with yelling protestations and passionate insistence that they're not like this! He knows them, and they're not like this! After they've done it enough, he loses the energy for such displays, but that doesn't mean he's given up. Every time they do a horrible thing in front of him and he shuts down emotionally, they wait eagerly for him to start laughing or pawing curiously at the ashes or something to indicate he's enjoying it, but he just shuts down for a while and, when his mind considers it safe to resurface, changes the subject.

He still argues and protests what they're doing, but now that he's no longer shocked every time, he can ration his energy so that he's subtle when he needs to be subtle and insistent when he needs to be insistent.

Junko lowkey loves it. When she visits her friends, there will be at least one time where she beckons Makoto over to sit with her and just kind of guides his head to rest on her...chest. Strokes his hair with her long nails and calls him a freak of nature and tells him he disgusts her. Sayaka's cuddled up against his other side, sometimes, but sometimes Junko takes care to get him alone. Quietly, in an alternatingly sweet, cruel, and emotionless tone, she tries to wear him down by talking at length about the futility of his resistance and how much happier he and everyone will be if he just gives in to despair.

He's sometimes trembling with fury while she does this, and sometimes he's just staring into space. Either way, he's managing his energy. He can't fight what she's doing to others if he wastes energy defending himself. And she knows it.

He seems not to be listening, but he saves her words in his mind. Sometimes they're useful, to get his friends to spare people based on little loopholes or slants in what Junko said.

The 77th class repeatedly offers to borrow Makoto for a weekend, claiming they can get him to despair, where his own class has failed. The 78th class tries to refuse, but Junko tells them to let the senpais try. So, sometimes Makoto visits them.

They think he's adorable and weird.

He gravitates toward the ones who do the least horrible stuff in front of him (Ibuki doesn't seem to personally kill anyone.) and the ones who seem the most capable of uncomplicated affection (Akane treats him like a younger sibling, and there doesn't seem to be any edge of weird, fond cruelty to it.).

Nagito and Izuru are fascinated with him.

Both the hope and despair in Nagito are delighted by Makoto. Makoto causes Nagito's class to view him favorably, to take pride in him. But also, Makoto has shown himself to be the best of them, somehow. There is a light within him that cannot be extinguished. It's a precious gift that he simultaneously wants to see destroyed and protected. Literally, any direction that Makoto goes will make Nagito happy, either from the perverse glee of seeing someone so amazing finally falling to despair, or the wholesome glee of seeing him continue to soar above the filth that has claimed everyone else. Either way, he is transfixed. After they've spent more time together, he'll probably start to care about personally protecting the good in Makoto, but at first he's just watching the fireworks with his hands behind his back.

Izuru is likewise fascinated by the unexpected fortitude. Since Makoto is subject to more avenues of attack to his morale, in this AU, than he is in Despair's Throbbing Heart, he's less overtly friendly in this AU than in that fic. He's kind, but he's more careful about who he opens himself up to, meaning the side of himself that he shares with Izuru is less an immediate friendliness than a quiet kindness. Still, Izuru is intrigued by it, and a part of him he doesn't consciously recognize is starved for kindness.

Both Nagito and Izuru are pretty overt about these feelings.

Sometimes Makoto wakes up to see a shadowy figure standing over his bed. "Kamukura?" he guesses from the long hair.

"I was walking past your door, and I heard you having a nightmare. I was curious, so I came to watch."

"...Okay." Makoto rolls over and goes back to sleep.

When Junko has her weird cuddle sessions with Makoto, Nagito will post up to watch, like it is a critically-acclaimed one-act play.

Both of them are constantly commenting on Makoto's behavior out loud in front of him, like they're the Twitch chat of his life.

Occasionally, someone like Akane or Taka will ask Makoto if those guys are bothering him, but he always says no.

(They don't know enough about Izuru to know that there wouldn't be much they could do about it if he was.)

[himiko-yumehellno]

Kodaka very obviously wants to make Danganronpa 4, but as many people have pointed out already, this would conflict with the ending of V3. I thought I would make things easier on our resident murder mystery writer who appears to really like making mascots that remind me of Whisper from Yo-Kai Watch, and come up with some solutions to this problem! Organized in approximate order of increasing silliness and grasping at straws, with some additional director's notes from ✨me✨!!

So, how can Kodaka make a new Danganronpa game that works with the ending of Danganronpa V3?:

Danganronpa isn't actually a killing game franchise loved around the world; Tsumugi either lied or was lied to herself (probably with the use of a Flashback Light to make her believe she was a willing ringleader). Allows for some interesting angst if it's the second option.

Despair made a sudden comeback and took over a good portion of the world. Tsumugi fudged some details, but it's true that a lot of the world now enjoys killing games, because normal life is just boring to them (a life without despair and death?! Ugh! Who'd want that, am I right?). We find out in a later installment that the survivors joined with other forces fighting against despair. Danganronpa 4 explores a separate killing game also put on in the name of this new global wave of despair.

Danganronpa 4 turns out to be a prequel (possibly featuring a killing game that the in-game franchise was inspired by, possibly just being one of the numerous previous installments Tsumugi threw out there in her exposition monologue, possibly some secret third option), and ends up with some ridiculous name so fans don't get confused on the sequence of events. Personally, I hope the name is Danganronpa Negative Four.

As so many postgame fics have taken to declaring, the entire game was a simulation. Except to make this work, it probably wouldn't be a simulation designed by Team Danganronpa – no, no, no! Perhaps this killing game was put on by Remnants of Despair or – *exaggerated gasp* – the Future Foundation themselves, hm?

Danganronpa V3 was a really fucked up social experiment and none of the "reality TV" backstory was real. No one knows how it got past the ethics committee, so don't ask.

It was all an alternate dimension/timeline. ... Look, if all it takes to brainwash someone into mass murder is forcing them to come to anime night, they can throw in a little time or dimension travel!

To piggyback on that last idea, the "reality TV" backstory was true; Danganronpa V3 and all the previous installments in this series were fiction... in the Rain Code universe. Or some other video game setting made by Kodaka. Nothing of the sort happened in the actual Danganronpa continuity, however.

Danganronpa V3 was Junko Enoshima's idea of heaven. Of course, it wouldn't have been complete without the despair of her ideal world being destroyed, hence the survivor trio shutting down her killing game show. Danganronpa 4, therefore, takes place in the living world, continuing off vaguely where the Danganronpa 3 anime left off. Notably, all questions about how Junko's heaven works and why she even got to go to heaven in the first place are not solved until a separate anime series, where we find out it was originally supposed to be her hell until she made the demon in charge of looking after her quit and give her full range of the place. It's never answered whether the participants of the killing game were other dead souls or just beings she created.

The entire thing was just the Monokuma Children playing with dolls. ... Or, knowing them, dead bodies.

Before V3 came out my brother had this whole theory that all of the characters were in a pseudo time loop where every time a killing game concluded, they'd just roll out a set of clones of everyone and start all over again, presumably killing off the survivors of the last game. I have no idea how this would solve Kodaka's issue but I want to see if they could find a way to make it work.

I'm excited to see what becomes of Kodaka's newest works, but apparently by his own admission he's interested in returning to Danganronpa at some point, so I thought I'd do the hard part for him. Feel free to take any of these ideas and run with them, Kodaka!

(feel free to add your own suggestions on how to make the ending of V3 work with a new Danganronpa game!)

[ultimatemissadhd]

You guys want complex characters but you couldn't even understand Kyoko Kirigiri - Kyoko defending post.

So today I'm gonna talk about Kyoko framing Makoto because you guys only foucs on Makoto in here which drives me insane.

Yes, it was unfair that Makoto got framed. But don't forget that Kyoko was getting framed too, it's not like Kyoko framed Makoto for a murder she committed. The dead body belonged to Mukuro who died chapters ago.

Of course, Kyoko could have pulled out an inspirational speech and sacrifice herself for Naegi but there was no place for that bullshit.

Haven't you seen the bad ending? If Kyoko dies, they never get out of the killing game, the tradegy goes on forever and they don't even know.

And Kyoko knows that. Kyoko knows she's the only person who can end the killing game with all the information and evidence she got. As much as, some of these were in her room, that still wouldn't be enough for others. Plus they would probably have no reason to go there after she dies, I also wouldn't be surprised if Junko got rid of the evidence in Kyoko's room after she died.

The whole reason why the trail was in the first place was because Junko wanted to stop Kyoko from destroying her killing game. Kyoko knows that.

Now, Kyoko finds herself in a situation where she's about to get executed and the "if you vote the wrong person then you all die" rule is not going to help her anymore since the whole thing is rigged and she's being framed by the mastermind. She knows that if she dies the killing game will never and go on forever AND SHE'S RIGHT. She's nervous, she's scared, she's in a point of no escape.

She has to choices:

1. Die and lnever defeat the mastermind and have everyone locked in there forever, mastermind wins, all the deaths meant nothing.

2. Frame someone else, live and defeat the mastermind and then avenge the deaths of everyone including the person who got framed.

There's no place for sacrifice bullshit here.

Kyoko choses to save herself, not because she's selfish or arrogant but because she believes in her abilities and the knowledge she has.

Makoto ends up being the person who gets executed instead and that's s pretty much a random thing because it really could have been anyone. Yes, she feels guilty and yes, she knows it's unfair. But it was the only thing to do so she can end the killing game.

Makoto survives and she goes to look for him and saves him and she does it pretty quickly. She goes there, brings him food and water, then helps him get back to the building. If she didn't care about him, she wouldn't think about what happened to him.

The fact that she was the only one to do so, maybe because she detailed map of the school that she got from some secret room, however the fact that she threw herself down the trash to save Makoto shows that she cares. But I think it's safe to say that if she didn't go down there, there's a huge chance that no one would.

In conclusion, chapter 5 is not all about Makoto. I hate when people make it all about him and how it was unfair for him and JUST for him. Because if you think about it, it wasn't fair for anyone and Kyoko had no choice, just like everyone else. They couldn't just not vote, they had to vote for someone.

Kyoko is an interesting character because like I mentioned before, what you'd except from a Danganronpa female support character would be inspirational sacrifice to let the protagonist solve everything by themselves and "I believe in you" and blah blah.

That scenario just doesn't work here because Makoto alone doesn't have enough information and knowledge to defeat the mastermind by himself.

Another thing is that Kyoko apologies and explains everything as soon as she sees Makoto.

Makoto forgives her not because he is a loser people pleaser although he is but not here but because he knows Kyoko and trusts her and he knows that she has those information that could help save the killing game, he knows that without her they wouldn't defeat the mastermind.

Kyoko Kirigiri is a character with her own morals, brain, way of thinking and mind. She is a deep powerful character who was one of the main reasons Junko was defeated. Yet, she gets very little credit. This would bring us to talking about the anime but that's a topic for another day and another rant.

[rubberduckyrye]

Also is anyone else bothered by the timeline of DR as a whole in V3??

Like here's the thing that I'm annoyed by rn, and this is something I feel like the V3 class could have figured out on their own if they weren't busy with their narrative hate boner for Kokichi

In DR3 the Anime (which is canon to V3) Makoto and go are shown as young adults, who eventually go on to rebuild HPA after the world is finally back to normal. I'm assuming in this timeline the Dr1 and DR2 cast are even older.

Considering the casts of DR1 and 2 were young adults by the time their KGs started, we can safely assume that the DR1 cast was about 18 (at the youngest) to mid 20s (at the oldest) depending on how many years they were in HPA for and how long it took from them holding up in the academy for their KG to actually start (it seems to be implied they were in the academy for a long time but idk how long exactly)

Add a few years after DR3 Future Arc's main story to account for the world being rebuilt/for HPA to be rebuilt, and you're looking at a cast that could well be in their thirties by the time the V3 cast applies to HPA as students. Or at the bare minimum, mid twenties.

So here's the stinker: how in the FUCK was Kokichi supposed to be Junko's "right hand man"?

If Junko would be in her mid 20s at the youngest and in her 30s at the latest by the time Kokichi could even apply for HPA...

Okay. Let's say Junko at the youngest would have been 25 by the time the new HPA is built.

Kokichi could apply to HPA at the earliest, probably about 16 years old? Since there is that rule that he had to have been in a different high school first.

That would mean that Junko is nine years older than Kokichi at the youngest she could have been--and let me put that into perspective for you.

If Junko was 18ish when she broke the world, Kokichi would have been 9 years old.

Considering she didn't even view the WoH on the same level as her, either Kokichi was an extremely exceptional child she took advantage of and made him her right hand man, or the whole thing was absolutely bogus.

I know these are very rough estimates here, but realistically speaking, there is no world where the V3 class (aside from TDP and DRS of course) aren't all way younger than the DR1 and 2 cast

It just feels like this detail got swept under the rug because the writers forgot their own implications

[magioftheseas]

The Concept Of Self

Written for @sayakazine Please check out the fundraiser!!! Summary: Sayaka needs a change in direction when it comes to her image. Who better to ask but the Ultimate Fashionista? It's strange, then, that Enoshima Junko doesn't act like expected at all. Rating: PG Warnings: None really. Notes: This is one of my two fics posted for the Sayaka Zine! It's Ikuzono-focused but you can read it platonically. I've always been super interested in the idea of Sayaka interacting with Mukuro while she's disguised because, uh, Mukuro's not the best at acting and Sayaka would definitely notice. I love writing Sayaka as more shrewd and inquisitive while Mukuro is floundering. I think they're cute. Currently, the Sayaka Zine is running a fundraiser, so please show them support! Special thanks also to @softausterity for the illustrations, which are included in both the zine and the Ao3 version. Go check them out, too! ***Alternative Ao3 Link*** Commission? Donate?

She didn’t look at many fashion magazines growing up, even after she debuted.

She loved fashion and pretty dresses as much as the next person, but it had never been her passion. Just something she appreciated and respected from a distance with little understanding beyond if she thought an outfit was cute.

At the beginning of her career, she was told it was okay to not concern herself with such things.

“You’re cute enough without trying!”

Except now it’s become,

“You can’t keep coasting on your natural charm forever.”

She supposed she had expected this to a degree. As distant as she was from the normal teenage girl, she would’ve been a fool to not notice the rising star of the fashion world.

One Enoshima Junko.

–

There were other girls with noticeable style, of course. The Black Cherry girls were a strong example with the guitarist especially standing out. That guitarist, Mioda Ibuki, had a personal style that was as bold and brazen as her music.

Sayaka admired that commitment to individuality, but when she looked at herself, the difference between her and Mioda-senpai was as stark as peacocks and sparrows. No, Mioda-senpai knew herself better than anyone, but Sayaka didn’t think that she’d be understood at all.

But someone like Enoshima-san might be different. Enoshima was similarly bold and outspoken, but her interviews also depicted her as someone with a keen perception and a knack for understanding not just people but people at their deepest and basest.

When she finally met Enoshima, she had been on edge.

…but Enoshima-san wasn’t what she expected.

–

“Enoshima-san, can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Uh, why?”

What caught Sayaka’s attention first was that Enoshima was always on edge around her.

“It’s nothing serious! I just want to talk!”

“O-Oh, that’s, fine, I-I guess?”

Enoshima would cross her arms defensively and not at all like the powerful young woman who was predicted to take Japan by storm. Almost as if that person had been nothing more than an illusion.

But the Enoshima-san in the magazines absolutely isn’t a person that the press could fake.

There must be something that Sayaka is missing.

“Have I done something to offend you in some way?” she asked innocently, taking in the twitch in Enoshima’s eye. How Enoshima just barely manages to disguise her grimace as a grin. “I’ve actually come to you for advice, Enoshima-san.”

“Oh. Oh!” Enoshima does perk up at that, but she still seemed strangely flustered. “L-Like about…boys?”

Oh. Oh.

“It’s not about Naegi-kun at all.”

“I-I didn’t say–!” Enoshima balked, face a now brighter shade that rivaled her red nails. “W-What even gave you the impression?!”

“It’s a joke,” Sayaka chirped with a laugh. “I know there are rumors about Naegi-kun and me, but an idol is nothing without her fans. I’d never do anything to break so many hearts.” She does pause, switching to a more serious mode. “It actually is about my fans. More specifically, the image I present for them.”

The sky was unbearably bright. A more blinding blue than the shade of Enoshima’s widening eyes. Enoshima was no doubt taken aback.

“How am I supposed to…?” Enoshima stopped herself, flushing again. “Wait, so you’re looking to change…your look?”

Sayaka felt her smile strain. A shameful slip that had her want to dig in her nails and heels.

“In a manner of speaking, Enoshima-san. I’m glad you understand.”

It’s supposed to be Enoshima’s talent. Enoshima should understand fashion and image better than anything, from the matter of boys to the matter of her own heart.

Enoshima’s shoulders hunch in the most pitiful way. She worries on her lower lip extensively. Her bright blue eyes go downcast. Her mouth works to speak, but hardly a sound comes out. The bright red of her cheeks really does bring out those homely freckles.

“If you don’t have the time,” Sayaka said, with a pang of sympathy overriding any disappointment. “That’s fi…”

“It’s fine!” Enoshima exclaimed, finally bursting. “I-It’s absolutely fine, Maizono!” Tilting her head back, she forces a hearty laugh. “I’m just surprised! Didn’t think you’d go out of your way to ask me about something like that!”

She’s being honest.

Enoshima clears her throat.

“S-Say,” she says, quirking an eyebrow in a way that only slightly distracted from the sweat dripping down her cheek and the clamminess of her clenched hands. “How about a shopping trip? J-Just us two girly girls.”

She’s uncertain, but she’s earnest.

Sayaka doesn’t have to force her smile in the slightest.

“I would love that, Enoshima-san.”

–

There’s a shopping district nearby Hope’s Peak Academy. Since a lot of Ultimates flock there, it’s always bustling especially in the afternoon. To call it a cornerstone of trends would be an exaggeration. It’s a perfectly ordinary distinct, it’s just in a convenient spot.

Not that Sayaka would know for sure. Enoshima was wetting her lips in a clear sign of nerves rather than offering any judgment on the matter. When Enoshima noticed her curious stare, she forced a grin and snatched up her arm.

“Let’s do this, Maizono!”

Her voice cracked at the honorific. Likely also nerves.

Sayaka had already put on her best-disarming smile, but Enoshima was already tugging her into the first clothing store, closest to the entrance.

Was it convenience, or…?

It wasn’t her place to assume.

–

“This is cute, isn’t it?”

She had picked out a soft blue dress. Rather plain but the kind of thing worn in movies going for a rural charm. It’s the kind of unassuming but lovely thing that Sayaka would usually go for.

She can’t help but think that the Ultimate Fashionista would call it drab, but Enoshima is terribly tense as her gaze flickers from Sayaka’s innocent face to the cloth.

“It’s, uh, fine, yeah.” Enoshima finally forced a grin and a thumbs-up. “Is it what you’re looking for?”

…so that you can hurry up and leave?

“I’m not sure,” Sayaka said, and it was a nugget of truth despite everything. “Can we keep looking?”

Enoshima looked like she might be sick, but kept up that grin.

“S-Sure!”

The next outfit that Sayaka entertains is a poofy blouse. Enoshima simply nods along, agreeing that it’s cute. She even points out that the mannequin was wearing it so it must be popular.

Shouldn’t she know based on her own intuition?

She did notice. Enoshima looked over clothes as well, but idly like she had never been clothes shopping before. Enoshima did seem partial to some colors and designs, but they largely seemed more suited for blending in with the bushes over dazzling a crowd.

Just to test her, Sayaka did pick up a dress that was patterned with earthy tones of green and brown. She knew who it’d remind Enoshima of, and she saw how Enoshima’s eyes brightened when she brought it over.

“How about this, Enoshima-san?”

It’s a dress that even Sayaka knows she wouldn’t be able to wear, regardless of how charming it was. It’s too unassuming. Even her plainest clothes needed to have some level of flashiness. The Ultimate Fashionista would also say as much.

“Uh…” Enoshima-san hesitates, cheeks pink. “Is that…what you’re into?”

Sayaka just smiled as she always did. Smiled, smiled, smiled.

“Why? Do you think it’d look good on me?”

“Well,” Enoshima stutters. “I don’t want to recommend something you don’t want to wear. And I’ll be real, I don’t even know what you want to wear.”

“I’m not picky.” Her smile wouldn’t twitch. “This is for the fans as much as it’s for myself.”

Enoshima just frowned at her.

“Are you sure? Are you sure it’s for yourself as much as it’s for your fans?”

Ah. Enoshima-san is making herself into a problem now.

“Sure I’m sure!” A cute laugh here. Smile, smile, smile. Turn up the CHARM! “Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

Rather than at her, Enoshima looked up at the store lights.

It smarts a little.

“Do you like the dress or not?” She finally cut straight to the point. “Do you think it’s cute? Unassuming but so very charming? Because I’ll trust your opinion on anything, Enoshima-san. You’re the Ultimate Fashionista, so this is your talent, right?”

Enoshima looked at her shoes next. Her cheeks are flushed, and it’s likely not because of the dress.

I feel like I’m bullying her. That’s not how an idol is supposed to act at all. What’s wrong with me?

Enoshima doesn’t even assert herself. She just shrugs before sullenly nodding. Sayaka had once thought that the Enoshima-san she read about would tear someone apart if they dared to cross her. She had envied that idea to an almost sickening degree.

I’m already twisted, but…

“Do you think I should just forget about my fans?”

Still, I…

“That I shouldn’t consider them at all?”

Enoshima’s shoulders hunch.

“...m-maybe?”

She sounded so unsure.

“I-I mean.” She’s stuttering. “Isn’t this about you and what image you want to put out?”

“In a sense.” Sayaka is calm. “But idols aren’t anything without their fans. Not considering them at all would be cruel. I exist for their sake, so…”

“So you’re going to restrict yourself based on what you think they want?” Enoshima’s frown deepened. “I don’t think that’s what self-expression is about. It, uh, sounds like the opposite, actually.”

The thing is that Enoshima’s sentiment was sincere. She still wasn’t confident at all, but it was still a belief from her heart.

And it was ridiculous. Cliché and cheesy, but Sayaka had begun to suspect…

Maybe Enoshima-san has a secret twin or something.

That should’ve been the end of it. If this Enoshima wasn’t actually the Enoshima-san that she read about, then what actual good was she? This trip was a waste of time. A total waste, but she supposed it made for a pleasant enough detour.

And this Enoshima-san isn’t a bad person. She’s cute much the same way that Naegi-kun is. But my fans always come first.

“It can’t be helped,” Sayaka found herself saying. “I’m an idol, so that’s the way that things need to be. I can’t be like Enoshima-san.”

Enoshima warily regards her. That’s her first cue.

“I had a great time.” She made a move to put the dress back on the rack. “And I really do appreciate your help. I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

“You’re just going to cut things off here?” Enoshima’s voice rose. “Seriously?! You haven’t even tried on any of the clothes you showed me!”

Just like how unassuming Naegi could be full of surprises, it was a shock when Enoshima reached out and grabbed her wrist.

“So what if it’s not what the fans want? The fans aren’t even here, Maizono-san! If you want to wear these outfits, you should! I won’t judge!”

“A-Ah…”

Enoshima’s grip was stronger than she could’ve imagined. Enoshima realized that too when she winced, hurriedly retracting her hand.

“S-Sorry, I just…” Enoshima scratched the back of her neck. She dug in her nails like it itched terribly.  “I’ve just been thinking… I want to see what you want to wear. Even if it’s not what others want; if it’s what you want… What’s the harm in dressing up? That’s…what I wanted to say.”

Her wrist wasn’t swollen, and she really should leave. She really should.

Instead, she says. “It might be underwhelming or disappointing. I’m…afraid I’m not as sparkly on my own as I am on the stage.”

“That’s fine,” Enoshima almost replied too quickly. “I still want to know more about you. Despite our, uh, differences, I think we could get along.” Then, quieter, she mumbled. “You kind of remind me of someone I really like and admire, so I do want to help you…”

“Ah. Hm.” Sayaka tilted her head, genuinely curious because that person couldn’t be Naegi. “Who?”

“N-Not important!” Enoshima squealed. “Do you have to try and distract me instead of just answering the question?!” She’s whining, too. It’s so childish. “You always do that!”

She’s the one that’s like Naegi-kun. I can’t help but tease her.

She can’t help but laugh.

I can’t help but like her.

She takes the dress back and holds it close.

“Alright!” She exclaims like it’s easy. Like it’s simple. Like her heart really is light. “I’ve actually always wanted to wear green. I like green more than pink if you can believe it.”

“I don’t,” Enoshima said bluntly. “But I understand it.”

Sayaka smiles wide, and it doesn’t even hurt in a bad way.

[the-ultimate-puppeteer]

Masterlist

Danganronpa

THH

Kyoko kirigiri

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a shy male reader

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to Junko and Mukuro's precious baby brother

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a depressed male reader

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a Mikan like male reader

Kyoko Kirigiri confesses to a male reader who's woken from a coma

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to Ibuki's Younger brother

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a male reader who was executed instead of Makoto

Yandere Kyoko Kirigiri Confessing to a Main course male reader

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing an Aoi asahina like Male reader

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a crush she accidentally rejected before

Kyoko Kirigiri finding out her androgynous boyfriend is curvy

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a former remnant of despair reader

Kyoko Kirigiri as a Parent

Kyoko Kirigiri with a cuddly S/O

Yandere Kyoko Kirigiri comforting her boyfriend who had a nightmare

Kyoko Kirigiri confessing to a reader who's to kind for their own good

Kyoko Kirigiri with a Kobeni like Boyfriend

Kyoko Kirirgiri's boyfriend giving her flowers

Aoi Asahina

Aoi Asahina with an Izuru Kamakura like S/O

Aoi Asahina with a cuddly S/O

Aoi Asahina cuddling with her S/O after a busy day

Aoi Asashina and Reader having their first date

Aoi Asahina with a Kobeni like S/O

Mukuro Ikusaba

Mukuro and Junko's Younger brother who's just done with Junko's shit

Mukuro with an affectionate and cuddly reader

Mukuro x Reader general headcanons

Mukuro asking her crush out

Mukuro with a sick reader

Mukuro with a Tsundere boyfriend who's affectionate

Mukuro's boyfriend incorrect quotes

Mukuro with a clingy and air headed S/O

Mukuro with an S/O who absolutely loves her freckles

Mukuro with an S/O where she follows through on killing the class except the her S/O

Mukuro ikusaba as a Parent

Overprotective Mukuro headcanons

Mukuro with an S/O who takes down an attacker

Yandere Mukuro headcanons

Yandere Mukuro comforting her boyfriend who had a nightmare

Mukuro carrying her S/O

Mukuro with an Ultimate sketch artist boyfriend

Mukuro with a Quiet but extremely affectionate boyfriend

Mukuro with a Touchstarved S/O with ADHD

Mukuro with a shy and introverted Younger sibling

Mukuro with a S/O that has contrasting Public side and a Private side

Mukuro with an S/O who has a Feral side

Mukuro meeting her S/O's parents for the first time

More Yandere Mukuro Ikusaba Headcanons

Junko Enoshima

Junko with a younger brother who's just done with her shit

Yandere Junko with a darling who purposely makes her jealous

Junko with an Autistic ultimate plushy maker

Yandere Junko with a shy and adorable boyfriend

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes 2

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes 3

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes 4

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes 5

Junko enoshima Incorrect quotes 6

Non despair Junko with an Autistic reader

Junko with a shy Younger sibling

Junko comforting her S/O who was ditched by a former friend

Junko with an S/O that refuses to fall into despair

Junko x Reader headcanons

Toko Fukawa/Genocide Jack

Toko Fukawa and Genocide Jack with a Boyfriends who's energetic and affecionate

Toko Fukawa and Genocide Jack with a boyfriend who helps them their hobbies

Toko Fukawa with a Boyfriend who's supportive

Toko Fukawa with an S/O who's quiet but affectionate

Toko Fukawa with a Male reader who has a crush on her back

Toko Fukawa getting caught making out with her S/O

Makoto Naegi

Being best friends with Makoto Naegi

Chihiro Fujisaki

Chihiro Fujisaki with a S/O who has ADHD

Chihiro coming home from a busy day to cuddle his S/O

Chihiro with a reader who's his Best friend

Chihiro having a Lazy day with his S/O

Chihiro relationship Headcanons

Chihiro with an easily distracted S/O

Chihiro with a depressed S/O who's really into exercise

Celestia Ludenburg

Celestia ludenburg with Ditzy and Clingy reader who has a dangerous Ultimate

Goodbye Despair

Mikan Tsumiki

Mikan with a Mioda sibling who gets into weird situations like his sister

Mikan tsumiki with an S/O that likes giving her compliments and affection

Mikan tsumiki Parenting headcanons

Mikan Tsumiki with a S/O with ADHD

Mikan with an S/O who helps out with her hobbies

Mikan with an S/O who's normally shy and friendly but when gaming gets angry and loud

Mikan with an S/O who's quiet but loves spending time with her

Mikan and reader who have a mutual crush on eachother

Mikan with an S/O who has a Feral side

Mikan with an S/O who likes giving her headpats as praise

Mikan coming home from a rough day to recieve love and affection from her S/O

Mikan with an S/O who has Public side and Private side

Mikan meeting her S/O's Parents for the first time

Mikan with easily lost and distracted S/O

Mikan watching her boyfriend molly-wop an entire Yakuza clan

Peko Pekoyama

Peko confessing to Chiaki's older brother

Peko confessing her love to a Makoto like reader

Chiaki Nanami

Chiaki with an S/O who has PTSD from their abusive family

Chiaki with an S/O who's sleepy all the time

Chiaki encouraging her S/O to get some writing done

Chiaki with an S/O whose normally shy and friendly but when gaming is angry and loud

Chiaki with an Ultimate martial artist S/O

Super Danganronpa Another 2

Chainsaw Man

Danmachi

RWBY

Jujustu Kaisen

Persona 3-5

Helluva Boss

My Hero Academia

Honkai Star Rail

Zenless Zone Zero

Anby with a Phaethon sibling who likes to show off

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley

Fate Grand Order/Stay Night

[aparticularbandit]

I keep going back to the idea of Monaca finally coming back from outer space and ending up being invited to be a student at the new Hope's Peak Academy.

All of the Warriors of Hope would be invited and would be there, maybe, not just Monaca, but she's the most wary of it. (DR3 implies the other four were helping Komaru and Toko, so maybe they've still kept in touch. Monaca, meanwhile, is both Monaca and has been living her best life in outer space, far away from everyone and everything. Except television, which DR3 implies she somehow still has.)

But like. They're all radically different.

Jataro's still some sort of Ultimate Art because that's the best way he knows to express himself, but he's all willowy and thin and never wears his mask anymore and his hair's kind of long. He's kind of a pretty boy, the exact opposite of himself.

Masaru's maybe the Ultimate Pickpocket because it's all a game to him. Sometimes he gives stuff back, and sometimes he doesn't. But he likes the running, likes the chase. He's not a hero anymore, not a leader, but he's still a little bit Peter Pan, and he never wants to grow up.

Nagisa's maybe the Ultimate Manger - not like Nekomaru because he's not into sports, but corporate positions. He's good at arranging people, good at scheduling, good at making businesses better and more effective. He's best at knowing when people need to take time off, when to let them rest and take a break, and because he's so good at his job, the corporations tend to listen to him. His hair's grown long and bushy, like a fluffy cat's tail, and it's always kept back in a ponytail. At some point in the past several years, he's gotten glasses, and while he knows he's good at his job, he's grown more shrunk into it.

Kotoko, meanwhile, has gone full tilt into her fighter class and become the Ultimate Boxer. She hates gentle, hates it, and having something else to beat up, to rough up, to punch has been a healthy way for her to get all of that negative energy out. (I like to think she and Komaru took a self-defense class together, and she liked it so much she kept going with it.) All of her hair has been chopped short, and she has the band-aid on the side of her face that Masaru used to have across his nose. But it's still a cutesy band-aid; she still loves adorable things. (In fact, it's probably the same bunny-covered band-aid that Junko used on the Steering Committee member.)

And Monaca, herself, is also something other, something different, but she's not necessarily better. She's spent all that time alone and away from everyone and everything. I don't know what her Ultimate might be, but they call her the Ultimate Space Case as a joke. And she still knows just what buttons to push to rile everyone up.

Hope's Peak isn't what it was either, so we get to see what Makoto's done with it. It still focuses primarily on the growth of its Ultimates, but it's more about giving them a safe space to continue to pursue their passions while also making sure they get a well-rounded education. There are other students, too, Talentless ones, but they're not treated any different from the Ultimates. In fact, sometimes the Ultimates are asked to teach on their passions, if they want, and Talentless students go and learn intricate stuff from them to get better at stuff they like. (Kotoko teaches a self-defense class primarily for girls; Masaru is not allowed to teach pick-pocketing, but sometimes he does anyway.)

....

And then, of course, because it's Danganronpa, they somehow find themselves locked in the school and Monokuma shows up to start a Killing Game.

The Warriors of Hope immediately pull a DR2 vs. Nagito bit and tie Monaca up and leave her in one of the rooms because obviously it's her. Everything was good and fine until she showed up, and no one wanted to emulate Junko as much as she did, and she's still kind of a bitch, and no one knows what she's been up to in space, maybe she's been planning this for years!

Except it's not Monaca and Monaca desperately wants to figure out who it is because she's pissed off. How dare whoever this is use Big Sis Junko's legacy this way? (Yes, she still loves Junko. The other Warriors still do, too, but they've got a bit of better perspective on her. She could be good to them and still be a horrible person. It can be complicated. There's no such it can be complicated with Monaca.)

And Monokuma comes to Monaca all tied up and talks with her a bit. Asks her what she would do if it actually was Junko. Which Monaca refuses to believe because Junko is dead, Junko has been dead for years at this point, there's no way she's coming back, no way she's alive. But Monokuma plants enough of a seed of doubt that she's left unsure.

Then the story proceeds from there.

I like to think Monokuma untied Monaca. That would give her a lot of extra suspicion from the Warriors, especially if she's honest and says Monokuma did it. She wants to be honest because that's the only way people will believe her, and maybe Komaru and Makoto do, when she says she's not involved, but Kyoko holds off because she's all investigation mode and the Warriors absolutely refuse, absolutely are certain this is her fault, because it's always her fault. And if she's telling the truth, then she's obviously in cahoots with Monokuma because he's helping her! Also who is the one who still has Monokuma servants? Just Monaca. She has to be doing it!

Excepting that this Monokuma is clearly not Towa City design. Toko has seen them both - the ones Monaca used and the one Junko used - up close and personal - and they're not the same. Monaca's are mass-produced copies of the original, and they're servants. Junko's was an exquisitely designed one-of-a-kind original (she had more than one, but there's no Monokumas like Junko's Monokumas). And these are Junko's Monokumas.

Which leads to concern for the Remnants. Whether they've reverted, whether they're involved somehow. And maybe they're able to contact them (or maybe one of them is there with them, too), and nothing points in that direction either.

And so on.

Despite being dead, I think Junko's still involved somehow. Because it's always Junko, at the end. And because the idea of Monaca specifically having a reunion with some form of Junko is just. a very strong pull here. Of a Junko who can look at Monaca and say she's proud of her and who she's become, who maybe can look at the other Warriors and say the same, although that's less important. (The other Warriors would not want her to be proud of them. Monaca still does.)

Anyway, these are the thoughts. Idk if I'll ever actually long form write the thing (between the Warriors of Hope, Makoto, Kyoko, Komaru, Toko, and maybe a Remnant, that's 10. I don't know who the other six would be, unless I rope in Hiro and/or Hina (who could be teachers at Hope's Peak) and/or more Remnants (which I like less). No Byakuya, although I feel like he's been taking Nagisa under his wing. And while it'd be interesting to rope in new characters, new Ultimates, I don't want to "clearly these don't have plot armor but everyone from canon does" you know? So. That's a thing.)

Just. Thoughts.

[haunted-xander]

The program has been going well so far. It felt strange for Chiaki to see Hajime's face as... Hajime again. She'd gotten so used to Izuru's long hair and red eyes, that Hajime's short and choppy brown hair and his golden-green eyes felt like looking at old memories.

She wondered how it'd feel to see Hajime's personality with Izuru's appearance.

There were a few things she noticed in regards to how everyone was acting in the program. Hiyoko and Mahiru weren't as close as they were during their school days, but as these versions of them have just met, that makes sense. Most of the others seem to be getting along with who she'd expect, with the exception of Nagito and Hajime.

Hajime didn't know anyone in Chiaki's class besides her, having only met Chisa and -very briefly- the Ultimate Imposter. All he knew of them was from what Chiaki had told him.

He seemed to get along well with Nagito in the program, though. Admittedly, Chiaki had been keeping an eye on those two in particular, as she had gotten a lot closer to them over the course of the Tragedy. And, in part, because they both seemed rather lonely even during the school days. Hajime never seemed to hang around with anyone else and never talked about any other friends, and Nagito had always been somewhat... seperated from the rest of the class. Despite Chiaki and Chisa's attempts at integrating him into the class, everyone else found him too off-putting and weird to bother with, and Nagito himself seemed reluctant to include himself.

She could tell Monaca was keeping a close eye on them, too. Mostly Nagito, of course. When Hajime first appeared, Monaca seemed confused for a second before she put the pieces together.

For some reason, Hajime seemed to pass whatever approval test she has in her mind, as Monaca looked at him the same she did Makoto and Kyoko; not necessarily positive, but decidedly not negative. Neutral. She didn't seem to mind his interactions with Nagito, which was a vast improvement over her utter disdain at anything Izuru said or did with Nagito and Chiaki.

...Intimate moments became hard to come by, thanks to that.

Right now, the students in the program were all having fun on the beach. Most of them were swimming and playing in the water, but some had opted to simply watch from the shore. Usami -the rabbit teacher that Chiaki and Makoto helped Alter Ego design- seemed happy to see things going smoothly.

But things never stay happy for long, do they?

Out of nowhere -and really, shouldn't even be possible in the simulation- the sky turned dark and cloudy as an all too familiar voice suddenly spoke up from all the islands monitors.

"Ahh, ahh...! Mike check! Mike check! Ah, ah! Ah, ah! Can you hear me, can you hear me? Puhuhu... Surprised? You were totally surprised! ...Riiight?" It was like the voice was talking to those of them outside the program, mocking them. "Now then, sorry to keep you all waiting for so long. Let's leave all this worthless entertainment behind... It's time for the main attraction!" The feeling of dread filled the room.

In the corner of her eye, Chiaki could tell the survivors of the Killing School Life having an understandably stronger reaction to the robotic bear's appearance. Makoto was shaking violently, face pale and tears in his eyes. Kyoko tried to keep her cool, but her face was grave as she clasped her hands close to her chest. Even the usually unfazed Byakuya was visibly shaken, his eyes betrayed his attempt at composure and his hands trembled slightly.

Chiaki couldn't begin to imagine the absolute terror they must feel at seeing Monokuma like this again.

She tore her eyes away from the bear's face and shifted her gaze over to Monaca, trying to gauge her reaction. Although she knew the little girl wanted to ensure Nagito's safety, she still held admiration for Junko and as such, could very well see this as an opportunity to further carry out her idol's will.

Monaca's face was blank, devoid of any emotion. ...Maybe she doesn't know how to feel. I guess I can understand that. Her admiration of Enoshima-san, and her bond with Komaeda-kun are at odds... Despite Chiaki's thoughts, Monaca turned to Makoto and started to yell, "...You promised nothing would go wrong. You promised that Big Bro would be fine. You PROMISED, so why is Mr. Monokuma in the simulation!? Why is Mr. Monokuma messing everything up!? You said everything would be fine, so WHY is Big Bro in danger!? TELL ME!?"

"M-Monaca-san, I-"

"YOU PROMISED!! YOU SAID BIG BRO WOULD BE FINE, THAT MONACA WOULD GET ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD WITH HIM! YOU'RE A LIAR! MR. NAEGI IS A LIAR!!!" By now, Monaca was screaming and flailing her arms around, furious and upset at the threat towards the one person she'd admit to care about. "BIG BRO IS IN DANGER AND IT'S ALL! YOUR! FAULT!!! BIG BRO'S GONNA DIE AND MONACA WON'T HAVE ANYONE ANYMORE, NO ONE ELSE LIKES MONACA, NO ONE!!!! MONACA DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE THE ONE PERSON WHO SAID THEY LOVED HER AND MEANT IT!!!!!!"

She was crying. Honest, genuine tears were streaming down from Monaca's face as her voice grew hoarse with her screaming. Chiaki understood all too well what she was feeling, but couldn't bring herself to blame anyone present for it.

Makoto didn't know this would happen, and he never would've wanted to consider it.

No one managed to get a word in, Monaca's screaming drowned out anything they tried to say, so they simply had to wait until she tired herself out. By the time she had stopped screaming her throat out, Monokuma had gathered all the students in the simulation at Jabberwock Park and was explaining the rules of the Killing Game to them all. Monaca wheeled herself over to Chiaki, and lightly held onto the fabric of her backpack.

They stared defeated at the image of Monokuma on the monitor.

[angelofdarknessss]

Beautiful Sinner

Chapter 2: Nightmare

Previous Part: CH-1

Next Part: Not here! ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)

Word Count: 2,679

Main Pairing: Toko Fukawa x Gen!Neutral Reader

Summary: You *just* arrived and you already feel like you're going insane.

Author note: I feel bad for being so late >_< so sorry;; also I lied here is the part but on tumblr ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ for now my fic is active on Ao3 (main), Quotev and here! It's also published on wattpad but I'm not sure If ill update it there too, it is alot of work but I want as many people to read my work as possible sooo I'll try to keep up with it ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊

!!CW:!! Murder is described in this chapter! Starts when you see the "….. ᶻ's " If you want to read past it keep scrolling until you see another pair of " ….. ᶻ's "

You and Sayaka finally made it to the dorms, but not without you observing the other rooms as you passed through the school. It really had everything, you saw a bathhouse, dressing room, laundry room, dining hall, warehouse, and you’re sure there’s more to search later. You’d say its heaven but considering the situation you’re in now…it’s the opposite.

“Ah! Here we are!” Sayaka says happily. You two stood in the hallway between 12 rooms, the others located further down. “Wow, this school wasn’t lying when they said we’d be set for life. There’s a lot of useful stuff here…except for a hair salon. Would’ve loved a room to do my hair with all my materials.” You say with an annoyed sigh.

She giggles. “Aw, don’t be like that y/n! I see you already have some of them, right?” She gestures towards your waist apron with a few basic hair tools. “Well, yes..but that’s not enough to do my or anyone else’s hair!” You whined.

“I’m sure there’s a room with the things you need around here somewhere, after all this school is massive!” She smiles while staring at your hair. “I can tell you take good care of your hair..it’s so pretty.”

You could feel your face burn in embarrassment. Sure, you’ve received compliments about your hair many times but coming from Sayaka, an idol, it made you feel different. Especially since she was so gorgeous. “Oh!..thank you! I appreciate it.”

“Of course!” Her eyes then travel back to the dorms, searching for hers. “Hmm…oh! There’s mine!” She points towards the door on her right, you also took notice of the rooms beside hers. Those being Chihiros and coincidently, Makoto’s.

You stare at it, thinking about Makoto. Is he okay? Is he still asleep? Did something happen to him again? Those thoughts clouded your mind until Sayaka spoke up again. “Worried about Makoto still?” She tilts her head. “Don’t worry y/n, we can check up on him later. For now, should probably let him rest..” She voiced.

“Yeah..yeah you’re right. He must be unconscious still, I guess it’s best to wait until he wakes up.” Speaking of resting…you could really use a good nap right now. Where was your dorm?

You look around for your dorm and eventually spot it in-between Junko and Celeste’s dorm. Resting next to Junko doesn’t seem to bad, as for Celeste…you weren’t sure. You’ve only spoken to her once, maybe you’ll get to know her better later.

“Found my dorm.” You point towards the door with a little pixel you on it. It was kind of cute..you guess. “Perfect!” Sayaka holds her hands together. “Let’s check out our rooms, then we can meet back out here!...if that’s okay with you of course!” She says.

You nod in response. “That’s perfect. I’ll see you in a little bit then.” With that, she nods and heads straight into her dorm and you go into yours. As soon as you stepped inside and closed the door behind you, you realized it’s not like your typical dorm room.

It had…everything useful for a hair stylist!

There were three shampoo systems, three hood dryers, two salon chairs, a shelf filled with multiple hair products, scarfs, shower caps, blow dryers, combs, brushes, hair straighteners and curlers, and so much more..! This school even hooked you up with beautiful bonnets! With these tools you can do everybody’s hair in here…well, not for free.

And…of course there was your bed and bathroom you guess..that’s good too. But the tools is what you cared about the most. Not only did Monokuma hook you up with good hair products, but also some good personal ones too. On the nightstand beside your bed a bottle of shea butter lotion, dove deodorant including the soap, Olay bodywashes and a few perfume options to choose from.

Damn…you really shouldn’t be praising the bastard who put you in this mess but he really knew what specific items you used. It was a little creepy, but nonetheless you appreciate that you won’t be walking around the school looking AND smelling a mess.

“Phuhu~ You like it, stylist?”

“AHH!” You screamed while stumbling backwards, landing on your backside. “Y..you!!”

“Indeed! I am Monokuma!” He giggles into his paws at your reaction. “Didn’t mean to scare you buddy. Anyways…again, do you like your dorm, stylist?” He asks again. “uh…yes..?” You respond, your voice filled with uncertainty.

“You better!” He waddles over to you with his paw pointing at you. “All of these hair products, machines, and personal hygiene were expensive!” He angrily says. “I didn’t know you hair stylists were so high maintenance! I mean granted I have more than enough to buy them all but still! I better see you use every single one of these items, stylist!” He scolds you as if you were his child.

“What the..?!” You get up, now towering over the small Monokuma. “Did you just come to my dorm to yell at me? Get out now!” You yell at him, meanwhile he keeps that same angry expression. “Nuh-uh, you don’t have the power to send me off, kid! And besides…I came to give you this.”

He reaches into his non-existent pocket and hands you what looks like a room key, specifically a key to your dorm. “Your room was the last one I had to prepare, and I realized I forgotten to leave your key inside it.” You take it from him cautiously and slowly, as if he’s going to suddenly bite your hand.

Monokuma giggled at that. “Aw..scared a lil ole me?” He laughs out loud, showing off his sharp teeth. “You should bee~” You huffed in irritation and proceeded to point towards your door. “Just get out already!”

“Fine! Ungrateful brat..” He mummers before disappearing. You were alone again.

You let out a sigh of relief then sat onto your neatly done bed. Before you laid your body down on the soft blanket, your eyes caught a glimpse of a shiny coin on your nightstand. You picked up the coin and examined it…it was…a Monokuma coin?...a monocoin? You scoffed. How ridiculous….. yet, you slipped it into your waist apron. Might be handy later.

“This is so…..ughhh!” You frustratingly screamed, face palming yourself and then laying your back against the soft sheets. What were you going to do? You were trapped with 16 other strangers alongside a psychopathic bear and you could die at any minute! Why…why you of all people? Why did this have to happen to you specifically?

This was bullshit.

You need to take a nap for awhile..maybe for 30 minutes or so. Sayaka won’t mind, right? She knows where you are afterall..hell, she’s probably still looking around in her room. You slowly closed your eyes.

A little…rest…won’t hurt….

Yeah….yeah..you’ll see her in 30 minutes. After a few minutes of pure silence, you drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately missing the few gentle knocks at your door.

….. ᶻ

………………………. ᶻ 𝗓

……………………………………………………… ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

…ᶻ

……………….ᶻ 𝗓

……………………………………….ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

“Y/n…..” A gentle voice whispered your name, their hand brushing against your cheek like a warm breeze. Exhaustion enveloped you, as if every ounce of energy was being siphoned from your very essence. You found yourself unable to stir, your body feeling heavy and frail.

Your eyes fluttered open, taking in your surroundings. You found yourself in a bathroom, sitting on the floor with your back against the wall, your left arm stained with blood and a fresh stab wound that continued to bleed profusely. As you shifted your gaze downward, you noticed that your right calf was also injured, bearing a matching wound that was equally oozing blood.

Yet, everything felt numb. All you could focus on was the person in front of you clutching a bloodied kitchen knife—Sayaka Maizono. But, she didn’t strike you as someone capable of causing harm, much less taking a life. So… why?

“I’m…I’m sorry!” she cried, her voice trembling as her clearly broken nose leaked blood. “I didn’t want to…to do this..not to you.” Tears streamed down her face, splattering onto your blood-stained shirt. She looked so traumatized, like she hadn’t mean to hurt you in the first place. “It wasn’t..*sniff*..supposed to be you..!”

How did it end up like this?… ‘Sayaka… why?’ was the question you longed to voice, yet all that escaped your lips were only anguished murmurs.

She suddenly clung to you tightly, the knife still firmly in her grasp, tears streaming down her face as she buried her face in your neck. “I’m so sorry…b-but I have to do this…please forgive me!” In one quick movement, she pulled the hand holding the blade away and drove it deep into your abdomen. Your eyes grew wide with shock; a scream threatened to escape your lips, but no sound came.

You could only remain frozen in fear, helplessly observing as your blood seeped through your garments and trickled down your legs. She pulled the knife away, her gaze locking onto yours, realizing you were still alive. “No no no…I’m sorry I’m sorry, I’ll make try to make it quicker…” She cries as she gripped the knife in her hand in guilt. It seemed so cruel to allow you to bleed out slowly, so… she directed her blade towards your neck and drove it in. But instead of taking it out, she let you choke on your own blood.

…This option didn’t seem much better, but you did feel the life being drained from you quicker. You watched her intently as she rose from the floor, her hands stained with blood as she tried to wipe away her tears. The crimson streaks marred her face, and some of it splattered onto her shirt and skirt. The bathroom floor was a gruesome sight, soaked in blood that continued to flow from your fresh abdominal wound, and now with the injury on your neck, your clothes were becoming increasingly tainted.

You made one last desperate attempt to cry out, to call for help, but deep down, you understood there was no hope. The only thing that escaped your quivering lips was blood. Sayaka looked at you, her eyes filled with remorse for a fleeting moment before she stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the door softly behind her, but not before flicking off the light, plunging you into complete darkness.

She left you all alone in the dark to die…how cruel. You thought she was your friend…why..why did it have to be you?

With one final breath, you felt your soul leaving your body finally. Sayaka Maizono murdered you.

If you were still able to talk, what would you ask? Was it worth it?...Would she do it to another classmate if not you?..Did she intend to kill you the moment she saw you?..How would Makoto feel?

Questions that you’ll never get an answer for. Because you no longer existed.

….. ᶻ

… *DING DONG*

………………………. ᶻ 𝗓

………… *DING DONG DING DONG*

……………………………………………………… ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

…………………………… *DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG*

“…ugh!!” You shot up from sleep, drenched in sweat and your heart racing wildly in your chest. You propped yourself up, your fingers brushing against your neck and stomach. That dream, or rather, that nightmare, felt incredibly real. Yet, here you were, awake and safe. What on earth was that nightmare about? Why did Sayaka kill you? And why—?

*DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG*

“Okay..okay! Stop! I’m coming…” you grumble, feeling a bit irritated as you push yourself off the bed and shuffle toward the door. With a yawn slipping out, you swing the door open. “..Taka?” You murmur. “AH..Y/N!..So THIS is where you’ve been hiding all this time!” He exclaims. “You really worried everyone, you know!...especially Makoto…” he adds, his voice dropping for the last part. “We were all convinced something terrible had happened to you!”

Makoto was worried about you..? wait…He’s awake?? “Wait what—? Makoto is awake?” you exclaim, a blend of shock and relief washing over you.. “Yes, he’s fine… but seriously, why did you think it was okay to nap for an hour and a half without telling anyone?!” he reprimands, prompting you to shoot him an irritated look. “Come on, cut me some slack! I didn’t plan on sleeping that long; I just meant to take a quick nap, but… well, it turned out to be a bit longer than I expected.”

“Clearly!” He states. “Now…please head to the dining hall with me, we’re holding a meeting, and we cannot start without you.”

"Uhm.. I appreciate the offer, but I can make it to the dining hall on my own. I’ll see you there." Just as you were about to shut the door, Taka wedged his foot between the door and the frame. "I really must insist." You give him a long look and let out a resigned sigh. "….fine, just let me freshen up first."

Once you had tidied your hair and brushed off your clothes, you made your way to the dining hall with Taka, feeling a bit reluctant. As you strolled toward the hall, a thought struck you—you had carelessly thrown your waist apron somewhere in the room. You considered turning back to grab it, feeling somewhat exposed without it, but then decided you could always pick it up later

At this moment, you really had to get up to speed with your classmates…who had been busy digging for information while you were asleep…this may end badly for you. They likely put in a ton of effort while you were relaxing in your room…or rather, you wouldn’t exactly call it ‘relaxing’ given the nightmare, but still…

Anywho, you two finally made it to the dining hall and were immediately greeted with everyone eyes on you two, more so you. Everyone sat at the same table except for Toko and Byakuya, who sat at a different, smaller table. Toko wasn’t sitting with him but was standing near him.

And..wait..Kyoko wasn’t there. Strange.

“Y/n! There you are!” Sayaka exclaims, her face lighting up with relief as she jumps up from her chair and rushes over to you, wrapping you in a warm hug with her head against your shoulder. “I..I thought something had happened to you..I tried to ring your door bell but you didn’t answer.” Her voice trails off, and she glances away, a hint of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. “So I assumed you had left your room..”

Your breath caught in your throat as she unexpectedly wrapped her arms around you. Every time you laid eyes on her, the haunting nightmare replayed in your mind. A part of you wanted to keep your distance, yet another part ached with sympathy for her; after all, it wasn’t her doing that you had such a terrifying dream. You reassured yourself that it was just the overwhelming stress of the situation, she’s harmless..is what you tell yourself.

"Y/n?" She lifts her head from your shoulder, calling your name softly. “Ah, sorry to scare you Sayaka, I was just sleeping.” you reply, feeling a bit embarrassed as you rub the back of your head. You give her a gentle pat on the back, which brings a warm smile to her face. "No worries! I’m just happy to see you’re okay. By the way, Makoto woke up a little while ago!" She points to him at the table, where he offers you a friendly smile and a wave.

“And guess what? I found out we used to go to the same middle school!” She happily chirps, her face lighting up. “How funny is that? What middle school did you go to? Maybe we have—"

“Sayaka…Y/n!” Taka clears his throat with a loud cough. “Let’s put a pin in this conversation for now; please take a seat!”

Sayaka's shoulders droop a bit as a rosy hue spreads across her cheeks, but she manages a nod. "Alright... um... Y/n?" Releasing her grip on you, she takes your hand gently. "You’ll sit next to me, right?"