#Mastermind Kiibo

[mythgirlimagines]

Ok, AU idea.

Tsumugi had been a writer on Team Danganronpa for 3 years by the time the 52nd game concluded(she was around 18 when it aired), but only started participating in the games actively around DR40-something. However, having watched back all/most of Danganronpa, a relatively newly-made Kiibo thought the writing began to slip starting recently after she joined- she overcomplicated all the cases, focusing more on the death and less on the characters. So, in an attempt to salvage things, Kiibo hijacked everything. He became the mastermind of DRV3, reducing Tsumugi to a subservient traitor beneath him. Headcanons?

:eyes:

Kiibo was very aware of what Tsumugi’s writing was like, since he’d been forced to watch the entire backlog, save for a season or two. It definitely slipped after she started writing.

He couldn’t have that happen, of course. He had to fix it somehow, so he decided to take over the game as the mastermind. Overcomplicating everything, letting go of the characters… It was horrendous.

Obviously he was going to focus more on the characters, drive things that way. Tsumugi would be his own pawn, someone he could make help however he needed to get things going.

Tsumugi absolutely hated it, but there was nothing she could do beyond a certain point. Certainly not ruin the game itself, since she would definitely get fired for that.

So everything would go according to Kiibo’s plan, unless something else decided to go awry. Which he didn’t think it would; he knew everything there was to know about the game itself.

[lizzietoons]

‼️Miu and Kiibo’s Mastermind AU: The Reveal‼️

The death order in this comic is different from cannon! This AU follows a “dual protagonist” system, which basically means the player would switch between Kaede and Shuichi throughout the game. Instead of characters like Tsumugi, Maki or Himiko being alive for the mastermind trial, Miu, Kaito, Kokichi and Kaede are alive. @swolfyxd and I have most of it planned out (even though we’ll never actually write it 😔).

Focus for the last panel is on Kokichi, because he would be the one that underestimated and dismissed them the most due to his own biases.

The idea for this entire AU came partially from the some “Red Flags” by Tom Cardy, so Miu’s mastermind outfit is an homage to the cocktail style dress worn in the music video.

Hope you guys enjoy!

[default-kiibo]

A mastermind saiibo collection as part of my rendering practice 👌

look it's not my fault every Kiibo/Shuichi interaction gives bitter ex energy okay

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

Isn't there like a dialogue option (or maybe it's a fan comic who knows) that points out all the bugs in Gonta's lab die after ch4 because no one was taking care of them? Sad face. I think at some point if you go into his lab during ch5 and click on the wall, it prompts that, but I may be misremembering.

I believe that if you look at the bug box item you get after ch4 the description says something like “with its owner gone, there’s no one to look after the bugs anymore” I’m not sure it ever explicitly says the bugs are going to die, but it is implied

[motto-chanto-itte]

brooo im gonna miss this game so muchhhhh what the fukc!!!

[mudkipfanatic]

Drew like a dark, fucked up version of Professor Idabashi haha. Just a glimpse into my dark reality. A full stare into my twisted perspective would make most simply go insane lmao

[eggs-can-draw]

I love today doodle dump sm🥰

Thank you thank you thank youuu I’ve been thinking about it all day lol

[spectralreplica]

Uhhhhhhhh Sburb AU!! This was more of an excuse to classpect and make sprites, so don’t ask me questions about plot details because I put like zero thought into it. Tsumugi probably had something to do with setting up the session, and she’s hiding her real title and the fact it’s not her first session. Baby Kiibo is a robot baby because I thought that was the funniest option.

Drawing with anti-aliasing off really brings me back...

Classpect thoughts under the cut if you really want:

Immediate caveat: I mention speculative stuff here like unconfirmed active/passive class pairs and inversion theory. If you don’t like those things or otherwise disagree with the titles I gave people that’s fine but just know I’m not super interested in debating about it and won’t reply.

So, to start out with I wanted to make the 8 of them a session, so I needed no overlaps in class or aspect and one Time + one Space. I also wanted to have Kaito and Kokichi as opposing aspects. In general, I think of a Title as kind of the end of your assigned character arc, so depending on your level of maturity/introspection at the start, it can seem either really obvious or really unintuitive. I tried to base them off of the hypothetical chapter 6/survivor versions of characters, since those (plus maybe the chapter 5 deaths) of the ones that get a full arc in DR canon.

Immediately Tsumugi seemed like a deadringer for Space, not so much because of the literal physics-related stuff but because of its associations with creation/narratives and setting things up for other people to act. I made her Sylph of Space here, but that's a facade. She's actually a Muse of Space who participated in past session(s) and wants to watch how things play out.

Based on the Extended Zodiac description, Kaito or Kaede has to be time, but Kokichi CANNOT be Space by any stretch of the imagination. I made her Heir of Time with the interpretation of Heir as someone who invites change/influences of/through their aspect. Time is also associated with music and death, which is both fitting and a little mean. (I can also see Kaede as Breath outside of having to have someone be Time.)

So moving onto Kaito and Kokichi, I was considering Hope vs Rage (belief vs doubt, possibility vs restrictions), but 1) Rage is defined partially by hatred of lies despite otherwise sounding Kokichi-ish (that alone could be interesting, with the possibility of a negative/reverse title or else giving him Hope and Kaito Rage for the unexpected swerve........) 2) I really wanted to give Hope to Kiibo. So instead I went with Heart and Mind (emotion vs logic, intuition vs planning, identity/motivation vs action/decisiveness).

Kokichi is Thief of Mind for taking away other people's decisions for his own purposes but also for generally "stealing" things (e.g., the Mastermind Role, narrative importance in general, along with literal items) through his own cleverness. Vs Kaito, a Knight of Heart, who uses his constructed identity as a weapon to face challenges. I'm also a fan of inversion theory, so I think at low points they'd both trend towards Page of Heart (grows powerful late in the narrative based on his own ego/identity) and Rogue of Mind (taking choices/agency/logic away from people for their own good), respectively.

I always wanted Kiibo to be Hope since 1) Ult. Hope Robot 2) big on possibilities/faith but can be a little self-centered. I went with Bard at least partially to make a "guess we know whether he has a dick or not now!" joke, but I also think "inviting destruction through Hope, inviting destruction of (false) hope" is pretty spot on for chapter 6 Kiibo. Like, as the camera/audience surrogate, he's been forced into passively leading the others to despair, not to mention how the audience takes him over to destroy the hope of ending the show. But Kiibo ends up reversing this and helping destroy the audience's faith in Danganronpa, destroying the whole academy in accordance with the vote. (Sidenote: I wonder if Kiibo gets taken over by Horrorterrors and goes grimdark? Or if he's just really, really susceptible to orders from his Exile)

Shuichi, Page of Void, was another one that immediately came to mind. Like, "starts off weak but becomes really strong/important by the end" is Shuichi's thing! Also, counterpart to Kaito's Knight. And Void is all about secrets, mystery, etc. From the Extended Zodiac: "Where others might be compelled to go out and seek answers, the Void-bound lean more toward casting doubt on what is already considered understood. They don't take much on faith and would rather live in a state of confusion- than believe something that might be untrue or bow to intellectual authority... At their best, Void-bound are wise, intuitive, and vibrant. At their worst, they can be dismissive, indecisive and apathetic." 

I had considering Light, for seeking out knowledge/truth, but Shuichi's character arc ends on "fuck you, I refuse to play. You all get nothing more from us" and learning to live with ambiguity, so I think he's way more Void. But, again, inversion would be Thief of Light, so selfishly taking away knowledge/importance from others.

Speaking of Light, I made Miu Mage of Light. Mage is like, active Seer, seeking out knowledge for yourself (vs advising others) and Light is luck, knowledge, and also importance/plot relevance. As an inventor, Miu keeps innovating and figuring things out, plus she's very motivated by her own importance to the world. She wants to be seen more than anything else and loves being smarter than those around her. Also: "At their best, the Light-bound are resourceful and driven. At their worst they can be fussy, pedantic, and insensitive." Inversion is Heir of Void, so "inviting change via hiding things" or "changing what's kept secret", which suits Miu when plotting murder.

Finally, Maki is Prince of Blood. Blood is trust, bonds, relationships, stubbornness, duty, obligation (vs freedom, change, choices) so "someone who breaks bonds/destroys relationships" but also "someone who destroys using/motivated by duty/relationships". Like, Maki is inherently a fracture point in the group because of her talent and then directly breaks the group apart and sabotages her relationships with the others in chapter 5, but also she's deeply motivated by her bonds to others in all of her destructive actions (protectiveness for orphanage/friend, love for Kaito). This sound super negative, but I think this is also the Maki who commits to destroying the institution of Danganronpa in chapter 6. Sometimes you have to be decisive and cut bad relationships out of your life.

Inversion would be Sylph of Breath, so "healing via change" or "encouraging growth towards freedom", which you can argue is sort of the way Kaito wants her to go? But she just doesn't. Idk, for better or worse, I think Maki is very aware of who she is and how people related to her, so even at her worst she's true to herself, vs, say, Kaito or Kokichi, who act "ooc".

[lampochkaart]

I really love this parallel between Kaito and Kokichi.

Kaito has the persona of a stereotypical hero. He built his personality around the "hero-protagonist" archetype. He always talks abot himself in that way. He literally calls his close friends "sidekicks."

But with all this, the the main character of the game is Shuichi, Kaito's “sidekick”. And from the viewer’s perspective, Kiibo can be considered protagonist.

Kokichi plays the role of a clichéd villain. He constantly chatters about how he has a huge villainous organization, he exiles unwanted people to Siberia, he controls the entire government, etc. He plays the terrible villain as best he can. Later in game he even pretends to be a mastermind.

But at the same time, he is not the actual villain. He is not a mastermind. He was not the one, who imprisoned everyone in that academy and forced them to kill each other. Moreover, by nature he is a pacifist and spent all his time in the killing game trying to find a way out and save the most people.

In short, Kaito and Kokichi play the roles of clichéd hero and villain, without actually being them.

[foryoupeko]

Random Miu quotes from media I’ve been watching lately:

Miu about (redacted): BTW our mastermind is a predator, AND I LOVE IT

Miu about KIIBO: Our relationship can only be described by tags on porn hub

Miu about the monokubs: Hard to love, but even harder to hate

⚙️

Random Miu quotes based off my DND character:

Korekiyo: Will you stop calling me a beta male cuck sucker?

Miu: I thought you were going by masc pronouns today, you genderfluid fuck

Korekiyo: the gender was not the problem

—

Kaede: (fucking dies)

Miu: how long does a mourning period last, because I got other shit to talk about

Maki: is it about you?

Miu: what else would it be?

—

Miu: (takes off her skirt)

Gonta: why?

Miu: because it would be embarrassing to have an unintentional panty shot

Kaito: so you’re solving the first half of the problem… but not the second half

Miu: thanks for explaining it to the kids in the back

Kokichi: I wish there was kids here, then we could file this under a criminal offense instead of unnecessary fanservice

—

Miu: I’m literally gonna just stay outside for the whole fucking time. Good luck with your plans, DM!

Tenko: Who is she talking to?

Angie: God.

—

Shuichi: Does anyone have any insight on this?

Miu: You know how Dog’s heaven is Squirrel’s hell?

Himiko: Where are you going with this?

Miu: Well I was just thinking, if I wanted to suck God’s dick, would he enjoy it? Or would it be that my heaven is God’s hell?

Himiko: I think you just described a crime

Miu: ITS GOD. I can’t do shit without his consent.

Tenko: why are we assuming God is a man?

Miu: That’s not the conversation we’re having here!

Shuichi: I’m gonna go back and solve this murder.

—

Kirumi: I appreciate your enthusiasm but you’re being overzealous

Miu: Did you just call be a jealous bitch

Korekiyo: Do you even know what a book on your skin feels like?

Miu: I don’t fuck books? Why did he say it like that?

Ryoma: As much as it pains me to agree with Miu, why did you say it like that

[catgirl-catboy]

I have many complaints about Danganronpa (affectionate) but one of the biggest ones is that the students don't make nearly enough jokes about the situation. Put a bunch of teens in a mildly stressful situation, and in 5 minutes they'll come up with an inside joke about it.

Some ideas for what they could have been:

Referring to your classmates as random numbers after Leon. Everyone automatically knows who that is.

If someone tries to kill you at 3am, they legally can't do that. tell them to reschedule at a time where you're both awake.

Every Disney movie ever is in fact about Sonia.

Whoever can interrupt Nagito's monolouge with the best Nagito impression wins.

Togami uses money for things no sane person would use money for. The more impractical, the better.

Trying to get Genocide Jack into furry porn via Hifumi, so she might kill the mastermind for us.

Making up Ibuki Mioda songs about random topics. Ibuki likes some of the ideas so much she actually wrote them.

Since everything Kokichi says is a lie, anything you get him to say can no longer happen.

Coming up with fake motives for the mastermind that are incredibly stupid/downright ridiculous.

Every robot is Kiibo. How can you be sure it isn't?

[lunarin64art]

For you...

 (Sorry in advance for the rant below lol)

 For anyone who hasn’t played V3 for a while, Gonta was acting increasingly depressed throughout the game up until chp4. This was due to the fact that he didn’t feel smart enough to contribute to class trials and because he was unable to use his strength to fight the mastermind. Ouma would have picked up on this so, I wonder if he had planned on giving Gonta credit if the bugvac brought the class closer to finding the mastermind.

 There’s also a part on the Official V3 artbook (translated by @kaibutsushidousha​) that seems to imply that Ouma planned on eventually having Gonta use the bugvac so that he could finally find out what the “tiny bugs” he was seeing were.

 Which is interesting as it contradicts the idea that Ouma had planned on “making Gonta a murderer” in order to become the “mastermind” as chp5 suggests. But most people already assume that he did this out of desperation anyway...

 I also find it interesting how much detail Ouma put into the blueprint as Miu likely would have been able to make the same thing with just a simple one. It being so detailed was likely meant to show that the bugvac wasn’t just some after thought for Ouma. He, unlike the rest of the class (aside from maybe Saihara) actually took Gonta seriously.

 As for the second part, the reason why it’s implied that Ouma attempted to save the class on chp5 due to his promise with Gonta, is because I truly believe that Gonta was the only classmate that he ever felt a true bond with. He was also friends with Miu and Kiibo but, like the rest of the class, they also often vilified him. With Gonta gone, he was now left with people who, in his view, couldn’t care less if he died, even prior to chp4. So, while he would already be inspired due to his anger toward the mastermind and to let his dead classmates rest in peace, I still find it hard to believe that he would end his life in such a gruesome way for people who treated him so badly. Because of this, I think he did what he did in order keep his promise with Gonta, by forgiving his classmates for how they treated him. 

 As a final note, I know that there are some people who would argue that Ouma would instead be thinking of Saihara during this time due to the “trustworthy?” line on his whiteboard. But that was only on the NISA version. In the original it was something more along the lines of “dangerous?” or ”untrustworthy?”. Also, most of their canon interactions are negative so there’s a possibility that Ouma actually saw Saihara as a potential mastermind. But that’s for another post...

[default-kiibo]

Mastermind Kiiruma AU concepts: Miyuko Idabashi

Yeah so Miu Iruma actually isn’t my real name. Zetsy has always had a habit of calling me Miyu and so Miu seemed like a nice enough fit for my character. Also, doing it that way means that when he’s screaming M-Miyu during “maintenance” it won’t seem as weird hahahaha! As for Iruma… well that’s my dads name, Iruma Idabashi. I like my dad but I mostly just took his name so that no-one will compare me to my mother...-Miyuko

The Idabashi family are all very prolific within Team Danganronpa, and it’s because of Miyuko that I even exist in the first place. I dedicate myself to being faithful to my audience. However, my top priority will always be my professor. While it’s true that she is very vulgar and aggressive, she is also immensely passionate. She won’t accept anything less than perfection and that drive will be what makes Danganronpa V3 so great…. That’s why I will stand by her side. The same way that she has always done for me. -Zetsubo

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

I personally headcanon that Kokichi was a lot more suspicious of Keebo being a potential mastermind (perhaps -rightfully- assuming that the robot could be hijacked by monokuma or something). Not that he'd cross any of the others off the list, but if everyone else was at a 5, then Keebo was at a 6 kind of deal. Which let Mugi just plainly slide under the radar.

I would agree with that!! If not because if I hadn't been spoiled about the mastermind reveal I think I would've been SUPER suspicious of Kiibo too. The whole thing with his "inner voice" was very very strange and there's no way kokichi didn't pick up on it

[mmani-e]

Danganronpa Demix's masterminds :)

Kiyotaka, ultimate Fashionista - Obsessed with order and control, Taka seeks to accomplish his dream of a world ruled by peace and order, using despair to render all other people pliable and too depressed and incapable to work, rebel, or even think of rebelling. This dream is his obsession, his masterpiece, and he will do nothing to stop it from becoming a reality. To help him every step of the way is his best friend and closest confidant Mondo who has ruled the Crazy Diamond gang ever since his brother's unforseen death, and had converted it into a true paramilitary group. Mondo was promised glory, wealth, and a world where brothers never kill their siblings ever again... and it is a lie he has fallen for, hook line and sinker ever since.

Ibuki, Ultimate Talent - Ibuki, born a normal, unremarkable girl always thought - knew deep in her heart that she was something more, destined for more, she was supposed to be like the ultimates she so idolized, she was just like them, she just knew it. There was some deep talent within her, itching to get released for the world to recognize... but it never manifested. Never naturally at least. When given an offer to realize her dream, she jumped into the pool with both feet.

As a result, she was reborn as something else - someone else completely. A being with no memory, no recollections, no friends, no thoughts, nothing but talent... and a distinct sense of satisfaction that has her grinning through everything...

And that's it for now. Ibuki and Taka are Danganronpa Demix's masterminds for the 1st and 2nd game. Though V3's masterminds are yet to be decided as I'm ping-ponging between mastermind Kiibo or Ryoma, not sure yet. But when I am, I'll draw them :)

[shsl-writer]

I love myself a good documentary and all I can think abt rn is post-game the kids of drv3 participating in a exposee-documentary in order to further help contribute to taking down Danganronpa.

Like, Shuichi, Maki, and Himiko talking abt the survivor’s guilt and forced interviews and the poor treatment and blackmailing and attempts to pay them off by the Danganronpa Team after the 6th trial

Kiyo, Maki, and Ryoma talking about what it’s like to have the lives of hundreds or thousands of fake deaths on their hands and the stigma surrounding them now due to the backstories Danganronpa forced on them, as well as the severely traumatic backgrounds given to them for no other reason then to cause drama.

Rantaro talking about the severe memory issues he suffers from and how he was manipulated into participating in yet another game only to be purposely killed off early. Kaede talking about being put through an excruciating execution for a murder she didn’t actually commit. Her discussing the intense guilt that comes from the fact that she even tried to kill someone because she didn’t realize there was another way.

Kokichi and Kaito talking about the severe physical after effects from their death and sickness. Talking about how the nature of the game led them to the point of desperation that was the 5th chapter. Talking about the poor treatment and blackmail pushed on them for being the characters who went off script the most and contributed to the ending of the 6th chapter.

Kirumi discussing how the pressure of running an entire country was artificially placed on her shoulders. Gonta and Miu discussing the atmosphere of desperation and despair that was deliberately grown within them that helped lead directly to the 4th chapter. Angie and Tenko discussing the trauma of being killed so suddenly and bluntly and then waking up to face hatred and judgement from the world.

Tsumugi discussing the trauma of being turned into essentially a monster, made to run a game where she helped kill and mentally torture people she could have and wants to consider her friends. Discussing how she’s been used as the scapegoat by the Danganronpa Team just as every other mastermind before her.

Everyone discussing Kiibo’s sacrifice and their efforts to retrieve him from the simulation being blocked again and again and again by a company that claims he’s not human and doesn’t matter in the way they all know he fundamentally is and does.