#danganronpa the mask au

[avas-wonderland]

Masked! Junko: 2023 vs 2022

(Reblogs are encouraged, pr0ship/c0mship DNI)

[thechaosofhope]

Jordan pops out behind everyone.

Jordan: can I wear the mask?

*carefully hands him his mask* just try not to do anything rash. I’m trusting you

[bluuscreen]

i have ofc known about the same [anime] va thing for a little while because i like reading wiki pages but i have at last decided to do something with this information. so. half-ghoul taka

[spittyfishy]

First half of the Woh for the Pokémon au! I tried to keep their designs largely the same but with more distinctly Pokémon elements, and as I mentioned in the last post the kids each have one of the Unova genies instead of their giant robot mechs (and then they have their real Pokémon partners too)

[thelemoncoffee]

i'm thinking about an au i made a while back ago where Kokichi got split into two Kokichi's by Miu, one is his real self without all the masking and the other is a personification of the mask- it is the horrible person he pretends to be. iirc the mask lacks Kokichi's morals because they aren't part of the persona, so it has no qualms with murking somebody and is a gleefully sadistic monster

i wanna bring this au up again cause i love the idea of Kokichi being forced to externally experience the monster people think he is. the other post i think focused more on the others getting to know the real Kokichi while they tried to track down the mask whom went missing, but i want more Kokichi turmoil.

i want Kokichi questioning if they should even fuse back together despite feeling anxiously empty without the mask, i want him thinking about killing his other half but never having the guts to do it because of his strong morals, i want the mask mocking him and knowing just where to push to bring out his insecurities, i want Kokichi hating himself for making that mask in the first place, and because i personally tie the reason he made it to the trauma i gave him- i want his ass being forced to confront his trauma and poor coping mechanisms.

i want him angry, i want him sad, i want him forced to understand how fucked up he is. i want some physical catharsis up in this bitch

fight! fight! fight! fight! fight! fight! fight! fight!

[honeysucklebuttons]

a little watercolor and ink piece for day 7 of @gontagokuhara-week 2024: AU! The is part of a collab between @helpingyacchi and I, where he wrote this beautiful first chapter of a fic and I made a little visual to accompany!

define beauty - Please read the fic here!! It's about Gonta living in the woods and encountering a new species with iridescent feathers, and the gradual act of befriending the magic of the wilds. (Especially when the wilds talk back!) (Featuring Rantaro and Kokichi and also chickens!!)

Please also note that I am utterly thrilled to have been even a slight part of this event this year, and even more excited to share in the creation with someone amazing <3 thanks to everyone sharing and hosting for the best boy!

[nebul-anna]

💖 Canon/OCtober Sketch Dump! 💖

Back in October of 2023, to combat burnout, I allowed myself a whole month to draw Canon/OC ships I was fond of. No strict time limit, no pressure to do it every day, all prompts I thought of myself. I ended up with five sketches by the end of the month! Prompts and ships below 💜

Drawing 1, SDR2: Funny Costumes (Kazuichi Souda/Alma Ryuusei) 💗

Drawing 2, Professor Layton: Playing Music (Nils/Seraphine Ellington) 🧡

Drawing 3, Ace Attorney: Casual Tenderness (Sebastian Debeste/Armin Strong) 💚

Drawing 4, JJBA Part 3: AU in an AU (Jean-Pierre Polnareff/Anna Lisa Rosati in Anastasia AU) 🤍

Drawing 5, Ace Attorney: Singing Along (Apollo Justice/Melba Rowes) 💞

Hope you all enjoy!! 💕

[nobody-nexus]

What your fav TADC ship says about you- UPDATED!

-> Note: these are for fun! Do not take any of this seriously<-

Edit: Don't tell me if I missed any ships I'm not updating this

Pomni x Caine: You love the inherent romanticism of being too aware at all times x Being completely unaware of everything at all times

Pomni x Ragatha: You love the idea of someone being so pathetically devoted to another that you can't see them with anyone else

Pomni x Jax: You think the way to someone's heart is insulting before sharing a kiss and a cigarette

Pomni x Gangle: You knew the moment that Pomni was indirectly the reason for Gangle's mask breaking that it was love

Pomni x Zooble: You believe in the inherent romanticism of just not giving a flying fuck anymore but together

Pomni x Loolilalu: You haven't seen episode 2 yet. That or you just want all of the sapphic ships

Pomni x Gummigoo: You are very much into the idea of THE fruitiest straight passing couple of all time

Pomni x Kaufmo: You took that one fact that they would've actually gotten along with each other and ran with it

Pomni x Exit: You came from the Danganronpa fandom

Pomni x Sun: You are into swap AUs. We know the scene. And we know what you are

Ragatha x Jax: I dunno which one you wanna bang, but all I know is that you wanna bang ONE of them

Ragatha x Gangle: You just want them to be happy for ONCE dammit! Also you're probably anhopeless romantic

Ragatha x Loolilalu: You do not CARE if they only had 20 seconds of screen time together, you WANT THEM TO KISS

Ragatha x Kaufmo: You most likely know a couple in real life where one makes jokes and the other is sick of it

Jax x Gangle: You were told that the bully had a crush on you and you still have not recovered from it

Jax x Zooble: You just want a couple who can and will do hijinx together whether they like it or not

Jax x Caine: I got no idea what you're into, but it is one of the straightest gay things I've seen

Jax x Gummigoo: You love the idea of an asshole twink being put in his place. Also you ship Montgomery with Bonnie

Jax x Kaufmo: You believe in the inherent romanticism of two pranksters causing complete mayhem together

Jax x The Fudge: You either are a HUGE crack shipper OR you are into a very SPECIFIC thing and I am judging

Jax x Bubble: There is no way you ship this in a genuine way. You are the master of crack shipping

Gangle x Zooble: There is at least a 70% chance that you have at least one mood board on Pinterest

Gangle x Caine: Apparently, you exist

Gangle x Loolilalu: Oh you definitely have NOT seen episode 2 yet

Kinger x Queenie: Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment. This is the closest to canon y'all are gonna get

Kinger x Caine: You are into yaoi, but like the wholesome kind instead of the super sex kind

Kinger x Gloink Queen: You are a MONSTER FUCKER

Kinger x Kaufmo: You decided that old man yaoi was the true answer to solve abstraction

Caine x Moon: There's a 90% chance that you know and love the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Caine x Loolilalu: Your love for any canon interaction is overweighed by the need to fuck GOD

Caine x Gummigoo: You are purely in this community for the bara NSFW. I've seen it all... I KNOW

Sun x Moon: You like Steven Universe

Jax x Pomni x Ragatha: You either couldn't choose which one to ship, or you just wanna be Pomni

Jax x Pomni x Gummigoo: Same as the previous, but the chances of you being straight are way higher

Ragatha x Pomni x Loolilalu: Same as the last two, but the chances of you being a lesbian are way higher

Ragatha x Pomni x Gangle: You love the inherent romanticism of having one big group therapy session

Caine x Pomni x Ragatha: You don't actually ship Caine and Ragatha, you just want Pomni to top em both

Gangle x Jax x Zooble: You are @inkyprism

Sun x Moon x Caine: You just want Caine to have rizz.... He doesn't but whatever floats your boat

Jax x Airplane: You.... Are WAY too deep into this fandom

[elysia-nsimp]

Hello scary Danganronpa community I would like to leave my Korekiyo redesign here an an offering please do not hunt me for sport /hj

Details and stuff (giant bricks of autistic text) below cut

Okay so in canon, we know Kiyo’s sister made his uniform and (I THINK) (DONT QUOTE ME ON THIS) he canonically doesn’t like it very much but wears it because of the whole… sister thing.

This redesign is meant to NOT be just a replacement of the OG design, but takes place in a non-despair AU where Kiyo actually learns that the relationship he had with his sister was NOT a healthy one. He gets support from his classmates and possibly the therapy he DESPERATELY NEEDS, and after beginning to accept his situation, he makes his OWN uniform with help and input from his peers.

That being said, what all did I do and what was my thought process?

- his og outfit was highly inspired by military-style clothing, and. *The anti-semetic armband.* so all that went in the trash because I didn’t like it

- I put him in more comfy traveling clothes—a soft button-up, a cardigan, slightly baggy pants, high travel boots. He travels a lot so might as well be comfy for it! The boots have a fluffy lining for cold weather

- I changed the hat. He needed a hat still but I changed it from a military style hat to a sea man type hat. It just felt right.

- kept the mask, but he wears it more because of his travels—lots of diseases. + his sister died of illness so he’s cautious about that. (I did change some of his story too but I tried to keep the big plot points while not romanticizing it)

- kept the bandages too. He does a lot of field work so I imagine he gets scratches a lot. Just another precaution to protect himself when traveling.

- I wanted to use the rope and rose motifs in his official art. I was so disappointed there wasn’t more of that. So his cardigan and pants have matching vine patterns and he has a rope tied around his waist—it’s there because sometimes you need a rope yknow. It’s a tool but also stylish/hj

- it’s commented on in the game how he’s very feminine (QUEER) and how he “has the kind of beauty that puts female colleagues to shame” ??? which is a weird way of forshadowing BUT I decided he gets to have long eyelashes and longer nails.

- his locket has been moved from his breast pocket to a necklace.

- and lastly I kinda liked the weird stringy hair thing Danganronpa does sometimes?? I just gave it more volume because . Yeah.

So yeah those are my big notes. How about some more story-based explanations?

- Kiyo got used to the darker palette (plus it keeps the mysterious spooky vibe the creators were going for), so he just kept that.

- all the material is soft and breathable, which was his priority when looking for the base clothing pieces!

- Angie helped him with the rose and vines! They’re embroidered. All Kiyo said was that he felt it was all very green and wanted to bring back some red, something about roses, and that’s what Angie came up with for him. He really liked how it came out

So yeah :] I hope y’all enjoy, I like the final product. Definitely not intended to be canon in the event of the killing game universe but I’ve always preferred exploring non-despair AUs.

If anyone WANTS to hear about the story changes I made lmk but uhhh I’m not making that my first Danganronpa post ahahahahahahha (<- read this as frightened and shaking like a chihuahua)

Again please don’t shoot me point blank danganronpa community

[nmakii]

masterlist :)

— if there is yet to be a link, please assume i am still working on it!

— previous works

hazbin hotel

alastor x chef!reader

alastor x similar!reader

— youre losing me - judgement upright & reversed (charlie & lucifer)

— ill shelter and adore you more than anything - the fool reversed (alastor)

sway with me… — a date with alastor

religion’s in your lips. — making out with lucifer

getting caught in the moment… lipstick on your face — alastor + lucifer + vox getting lipstick stained

all of the girls you loved before — chaggie fluff

alastor x modern!reader

rant to me, i like the sound… — charlie + angel + alastor ranting

your sweet radio demon! — alastor getting jealous

the girl in my story has always been you! — alastor x insecure reader

yandere!alastor x clingy!reader

hotel staff x drag!reader

human!alastor x rival!reader (school au!)

yandere!alastor x fiance to be!reader

foolish one — loving vox was bad for your health

the monster’s gone — don’t be scared, lucifer is here

whiskey on ice, sunset and vine — drunk mistakes with drunk alastor

“do you think you’ll kill for me one day?” yes, of course i will, my darling — tricking yan!alastor + yan!vox

domestic life was never quite my style… — married life with human!alastor

your ivy grows, now i’m covered in you — babysitting fat nuggets for angel dust

[ghostface alastor] [teasing you with the mask]

— yandere!human alastor series

burnt out — breaking up with alastor

only bought this dress so you could take it off — alastor + vox + adam’s fashion preferences on s/os

alastor x hypersexual ace!reader

danganronpa

yandere!nagito + kokichi x demon!mastermind!reader

overlord!junko x overlord!reader

kokichi x ult psychologist!reader

haikyuu!!

all because i liked a boy? — rumors. because of oikawa

so dim that spotlight… — inarizaki’s manager is an idol?!

bedtime angel — kuroo + oikawa’s s/o hugging a pillow

bungo stray dogs

dazai x oda’s sister!reader

genshin impact

food wars

project sekai

percy jackson and the olympians

percy x shy!athena!reader

[dreamzghostz]

TELL ME ABOUT THE TALENTSWAP AU NOW!!!

OKAY, I'M SO GLAD SOMEONE FINALLY ASKED ME ABOUT THIS.

So, this Talentswap AU, it's like the average killing game

*Oh no, Celestia (the protag) got kidnapped and forced in a killing game with 15 other students. She finds Kiyo (the support), and they have to escape, waaaah*

To be honest, what inspired me to make this are Danganronpa V3 (I like how they have features like Scrum Debates, Argument Aranments, and Mass Panic Debates), and the Danganronpa: Another series

So, yeah, everyone's talents are swapped. If you click on the "Danganronpa: A Dice of Despair" tag, you can see everyone's designs and talents. So, what I mainly want to talk about are the characters, their talents, and their personalities, backstories, etc.

There will be a LOT of yapping below, so keep reading if you wanna

‼️‼️TRIGGER WARNING FOR MAJOR SPOILERS IN DANGANRONPA, DARK IMPLICATIONS, AND PERSONAL/SENSITIVE TOPICS‼️‼️

Celestia Ludenberg - Ultimate Lucky Student: So, in this AU, Celestia is the protagonist. She has a mix of her and Makoto's personalities. She can be cold and a douche at times, but she does care about everyone. Here, she has a mix of good luck and bad luck, but they both work at the same time... Somehow? Her real name is still Taeko Yasuhiro, and she made up her fake name to hide who she really is since her family has very dark secrets that could easily crumple her reputation if spilled. Hence why she also doesn't believe that she's really the Ultimate Lucky Student.

Korekiyo Shinguji - Ultimate Swordsman: Here, Kiyo is the support/deuteragonist. Celestia runs into him after escaping into the gym. In this AU, he's aloof, smart, but also starts showing kindness after a while. In Chapter One, he's the one to snap Celestia back to reality after she has her initial panic. He can come off as a bit hostile, but that's because growing up, he didn't have many friends as he spent most of his time training since his family are mostly famous warriors.

Sayaka Maizono - Ultimate Gambler: In this AU, she's more of an anti-hero then an antagonist. She's pretty rude and demanding, and she uses Kiibo to her advantage since he's the Ultimate Butler, and growing up, she had many butlers and maids to her aid whenever she needed them. Eventually, in Chapter Two, Sayaka starts to see that Celestia isn't a bad person, and starts to open up to her. Sayaka's cruel and sadistic personality stems from her childhood where her mother was killed by being burned, and her father basically abandoned her, so Celestia's really the only person she likes. Also, she ALWAYS wins every gambling match (Always? ALWAYS.) As well, she's a bit narcissistic, and thinks she's above everyone.

Byakuya Togami - Ultimate Gamer: Here, Byakuya is more of like an AI (like Chiaki), because his father wanted an heir, and none of his kids were "fit for it". So, Mr. Togami got a friend to create Byakuya. Though, Byakuya was never interested in the Togami Corporation, and took an interest in video games instead. He's a bit insensitive, but does mean well. He doesn't express much emotion, but is protective of the people he cares about, and he has a deep sense of justice. He knows his father doesn't love him, but as long as he has video games, he'll be happy.

Chiaki Nanami - Ultimate Pop Sensation: In this AU, Chiaki is a human. She's a lot more energetic then her game counterpart, and is like who she was in Danganronpa 3. Ever since she was a little girl, Chiaki had dreamed of being a famous star, despite her parents' wishes. She loves to write songs and sing with her group, even though after Chiaki gets trapped in the killing game, her girl group gets killed by the Ultimate Despair, which sends Chiaki into despair, though she masks it well. She'll write a song for everyone in the place, and she'll sing it as loud as she can. She's a great friend to have, like a golden retriever!

Gundham Tanaka - Ultimate Traditional Dancer: So, growing up, Gundham's home life was pretty bad. His family was VERY strict on what he ate, what he wore, and what he said. His house was near a street, and every afternoon, he would sneak there and feed all the tabby cats, making him gain their trust, and making him feel a sense of comfort. He's kind of an asshole in the AU, since he had a bad home life, and it left a huge mark on how he viewed people. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to warm up to anyone, as he's secretly scared they'll just use him, so he closes himself off, and he only trusts the tabby cats.

Hajime Hinata - Ultimate Inventor: Hajime's mother was rarely in the picture, causing him to develop a very close relationship with his father. When his father got ill and passed when Hajime was ten, he found all his father's unfinished inventions. Determined to finish them, Hajime worked for hours, nights even, to make his father proud. Hajime gets his vulgarity and bluntness from the highschool he was at before Hope's Peak Academy, since the crude and rudeness was basically the norm at where he was. Also, yes, Hajime is Izuru in this AU, though I'm still trying to figure out how to write that.

Mahiru Koizumi - Ultimate Astronaut: She's the Antagonist of the AU, so I probably should have placed her up way higher, but I'm too tired to change it. So, Mahiru's mother was an astronaut, and Mahiru has always been intrigued by space. In the village she lived at, she would tell the younger kids stories about space and amazing astronauts, forming a close bond with them. Unfortunately, a few months before Hope's Peak, Mahiru's village was burned down, leaving Mahiru homeless. When she saw the advertisement for Hope's Peak, she took it in a heartbeat. She's kind, a little naive, and protective to make sure she can keep everyone as safe as she can.

Mikan Tsumiki - Ultimate Pianist: School was a very tough time for Mikan, as she was always the targeting of bullying, though she felt safe in her music class. After a very traumatic event, Mikan basically clung to her piano, playing it every day, as many times as she could. She's shy, but also very determined and kind, and she's quite skilled at the other instruments other then piano! Which she personally finds to be very cool!

Nagito Komaeda - Ultimate Anthropologist: Nagito's house was very close to a library, so every day, after school, he would stop by the library and find a book. The ones about culture and evolution were the ones that intrigued him the most. He spent most of his childhood in the hospital, so the library was like a safe space for him. He's also aloof, but somewhat disturbing and also mature. He has to keep a close eye on Hajime, so he's basically Hajime's babysitter (lol).

Sonia Nevermind - Ultimate Detective: Sonia was always very smart, even as a young child, so she didn't have very many friends as she got frustrated by people who weren't as smart. One day, the detectives brought her in to see if she could help them with a case, and she solved it, pretty quickly. She can solve cases quicker then the average detective can. She's pretty quiet most of the time, but she also has a strong sense of justice, is no-nonsense and quick, and she really doesn't have as much empathy as she probably should.

Kaede Akamatsu - Ultimate Princess: So, Kaede is the princess of Japan, so she also has to follow strict and unfair rules. She often but heads with her parents since she wants to actually be her own person and not follow their rules. Her parents had arranged a marriage for her, and when she found out about this, she quickly signed up for Hope's Peak to escape this. She's kind, charming, curious, and always willing to learn. She may not give the best advice, but she tries her best!

Shuichi Saihara - Ultimate Artist: Shuichi here seems like your average Joe. He doesn't really talk highly of himself, and he just does art as a hobby, so he wasn't really expecting it to become his actual talent, lol. Despite all of this, he's fairly nice and pretty chill, but can also be pretty morbid due to the fact he was born and raised in an unusual church. No, he isn't religious. Also, he loves art, but he doesn't draw eyes when he draws people, as he finds it difficult to do (this will come in handy later).

Kirumi Tojo - Ultimate Magician: Growing up, Kirumi always loved magic. She was a street magician for a while before being allowed to enter a school that allowed her to embrace her interests. She's kind, energetic, and kooky since she had been seen as a "weird kid" by most people growing up. Despite this, she's incredibly loyal to those around her, and she can be scarily serious when she needs to.

Kiibo (Idabashi) - Ultimate Butler: So, in this AU, Kiibo is also human, so I will refer to him as Kiibo Idabashi. He always loved helping people, despite what they asked him to do. His father, Professor Idabashi, spent a lot of time on robotic engineers, so that led Kiibo to wander off... a LOT. He always enjoys to serve people, and he enjoys Celestia's company. He doesn't like Sayaka much though, as she uses him. There are also times where he feels empty, like a robot. Though, he's hardworking, devoted, and can take on even the hardest of tasks.

Rantaro Amami - Ultimate Photographer: Rantaro still has twelve sisters in this AU, and they always loved for him to take pictures of them, to where they would even ask him daily to take pictures of scenery they liked and outfits they liked. Rantaro found himself enjoying photography, even in the darkest of times. At first, he's bossy and a bit stubborn, but he eventually learns to trust his classmates and even befriends most of them. After that, he's kind, still a little stubborn and bossy, but more willing to hear others out. Also, him and Korekiyo become quite close very quickly!

I'm SO sorry that I talked more about the characters and their backstories then their roles!! I'll make a relationship chart of them in a post eventually. Also, this took a long while and isn't my usual content, so my bad! Also, if you read all of this, thank you 💕

[avas-wonderland]

Promo for an update of one of my AU’s

(Reblogs are encouraged, pr0ship/c0mshippers DNI)

[thechaosofhope]

Jordan: don't worry. This isn't the first time I've put on the mask of Loki.

Jordan was about to put the mask on when Jenny snuck up and surprised him. This caused him to throw it up and it lands on Jenny's face. She the tornadoes out of the room.

Jordan: ooooooh SHIT!

Oh shoot!

[mmani-e]

Part 3 of the lineart teasers for Danganronpa Demix: THH, featuring:

Moral Compass Junko

Fashionista Kiyotaka

Biker Mukuro

Soldier Mondo

Sparkling Justice

Disguised Mondo (as Taka)

As always change will surely come for these designs and have some design insights below. Thank you for peeping, the final piece with all of them should be in the next few weeks.

Junko - Junko's a moral committee member known for being really really weird and off-putting but stupidly effective. She crocks up silly plans to basically cause everyone around her to sweat and be terrified of her despite her not really doing anything wrong. Essentially she's a fucking psychopath still but her focus is more on constantly entertaining herself rather than just dipping into despair, and mass-social engineering is the most fun thing for her. The easiest way to access that sorta thing is become part of the school morals committee.

Kiyotaka - Kiyotaka's family ruination goes a little worse in this AU, as Kiyotaka's family's grief really gets to him, he reminesces over the perfect world he had in his life, and seeks to create a world without pain or poverty or hatred... through eliminating free will, and establishing permanent control through despair! Can't have corruption when nobody's motivated to do anything right?

Mukuro - The events of Mukuro and Junko's early years still occur in this timeline, and Mukuro is convinced to run away to Europe, for what particular reason matters little, and Mukuro gets found by a gang of bikers in eastern europe, the violent variety, one she climbs up in and becomes leader of in record pace. Also she's still weird about her sister, but in a less screwed up way, she's just really clingy and the way she and Junko become better friends again is when Junko messes with her so much Mukuro gets fed up with her and bad mouths her to oblivion, something Junko highly appreciates.

Mondo - I'm still cooking this one up, but essentially Daiya's death sparks a way, way bigger catalyst than Mondo could ever hope to believe and his gang are impressed and indebted into becoming a private paramilitary group used by one of the people they'd wronged in the past. But this ends up being something Mondo would prove to be way too good at, something that'd blow up stupendously in the face of the person that initially forced them into working for them.

Sparkling Justice - He has a gun, a revolver and shoots bad people, bc in danganronpa 1 Makoro uses guns and truth bullets, I thought it'd be neat to give that to our serial killer. Also I gave him an ahoge styled after Takumi Hajirahara because it's heavily implied he is sparkling justice, also gave him a bit of a simpler mask. Probably will tweak it more.

Disguised Mondo - Yeah thtere's not really any kind of rhyme or reason for this I just think it'd be really funny if "Taka" didn't even remotely look like Taka but for some inexplicable reason Mondo can just do a perfect Taka impression and everyone's like "yep works for me."

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

-The World's most Multiversal DND Party!-

(featuring @danganronpasurvivoraskblog, @a-student-out-of-time, @finalverse and @despair-to-future-arcs)

[MORE INFO UNDER CUT]

//So there were a lot of talks about the main protagonists of mine and three other well-known Danganronpa ask blogs forming a DND part together on Mod Bubbles blogs, and as an artist, and a major DND fan, I could not resist.

//My little autistic cogs in my little autistic brain got turning and I basically made full on character sheets for all four main protags of each of the blogs; Kuripa from Survivor, Hajime from ASooT, Nagi from NWPM, and Aliza-chan from Finalverse

//I won't post the full sheets because I don't know how many people would want to see that, plus it's a shitton of information that I just don't want to bother with. But outside of the character cards above, here's a brief summary of every character in this "AU" shall we say.

Hajime - The party leader. Was once a young boy who never stood out, but gained the gift of a prophecy that showed him a dark future wrought by dark lord Junko Enoshima. Now with the power to reset himself every time he dies, the number of times depicted in his magical left eye, he dedicates his life to the journey of stopping the prophesized dark future. Sometimes he can be a bit cold and distant, always acting like the fate of the world rests squarely on his shoulders despite his teammates by his side, but he is capable, kind and a true leader.

Aliza - Aliza has a power with a similar origin to Hajime, which gravitates her towards him, and eventually is the founding reason she becomes his ally. Unlike him however, power is that to see and explore other universes parallel to theirs, where everything can be different, and she struggles to control it. The goal of her journey is to learn to use her power for good, and to escape the lofty expectations and cruelty of her family. She's a little bit clumsy and inexperienced as a result, with her wild magic sometimes landing her team in deeper trouble than they were originally, but she always means well and if nothing else, serves as the heart of the group.

Kuripa - He was originally a well-known artist and sculptor who lived a quiet life until a rogue in a steel mask raided his village and murdered his sister. For those who frequent this blog, you know how this story goes. He dedicated the rest of his life to hunting down the murderer, learning black magic arts and becoming a blood hunter, willing to sacrifice anything and anyone, including his own body, if it meant achieving his goal. He's a bit of a loose cannon and more violent than his peers when it comes to executing plans, much to Hajime, Aliza and Nagi's chagrin, but it's made up for in the fact that when he gets the job done, he REALLY gets the job done, and it makes them glad that he's an ally and not an enemy.

Nagi - Nagi was an Aasimar who was the guardian of a realm in the sky known as "Neo World" until she was attacked by Junko Enoshima's evil paladin right-hand, Mukuro Ikusaba, who was ordered by Junko to kill her and bring back a part of her body to show that she'd finished the job. After this encounter, Nagi miraculously survived, but Mukuro successfully tore her wings from her body. Nagi joins the party out of revenge, and despite her trauma, is still the most mentally sane member of the group, acting a lot like a team Mom of sorts.

//I'll also but transparent renders of the characters here if that tickles your fancy. Thank you for letting me pour my little nerd heart out.

[ninjagirlstar5]

Imagine getting the talent of the guy you absolutely despise. Yeah, that's right, Yoruko is the Ultimate Wizard in this Swap Talent AU.

Yoruko's was fun to tackle as I don't think she'd be super flashy or anything as a wizard but she'd still look very pretty as one. She may have been a hostess but she only dressed up like that cause she required to look appealing while working. But making it clear that she was a wizard was a bit...I don't wanna say "difficult" but I definitely had to consider how she would dress herself up as a wizard as I didn't just want to put her in a witch hat and dress and then call it a day. She's not like Mikado, who simply put on a fancy hat, cape, magical mask and gloves over his regular clothes and called it a day. (And even then, he wasn't even a real wizard.) So I decided to just go off of vibes when approaching this design: I gave her a sleeveless sweater, a long skirt with a split (I might change that split design though the next time I draw this Swap Talent AU), boots with dark socks, made her bow MUCH bigger, a single glove with a bracelet that has a gem hanging off of it (most likely to help her control her magic), a shawl and some glasses to both reference her real self's sprite design and to put emphasize on her smart looks when it comes to magic. I also changed her ponytail to a big side braid as it symbolizes wisdom and I tend to think of braids as a sort of wizard-y kind of hairstyle. Fun fact: I used heart shapes to make her hair. ^^ The butterfly tattoo on her arm is kind of a brand or a symbol to what kind of magic she specializes in, which in her case, I'm thinking is probably transformation magic, a kind of magic that's exactly what it says on the tin: she can transform any object or person into another thing, although there's probably limitations. Like, for example, she can't turn a living being into an inanimate object and the more complex the object/living being is, the less time that thing will remained transformed. (Basically, if she changed Nikei - clothes and all - into a frog for annoying her, he'll only remain as a frog for a couple of hours at most and will wear off with time.) She can also make simple changes like turning her black hair to pink. Hey, why use hair dye when you can literally just use MAGIC to change her hair itself? That being said, that's probably the only physical change in her appearance that she made. I don't think Yoruko is the kind of person to make any DRASTIC changes, just small, simple ones. Especially since she tends to copy people she looks up to a lot. Anyways, I changed her color palette from gold and blue to gold and lilac since purple is associated with power and since an Ultimate Wizard would be pretty powerful in raw talent and, well, power, I thought it would suit Yoruko a bit more although I made the colors far softer and gentler than Mikado's darker and murkier cape and hat. Yoruko isn't perfect but she tends to have her heart in the right place most of the time, unlike Mikado, who is...Mikado. And so, Yoruko is done and wow she is a pretty wizard.

Next up is Syobai!

Okay, coming up with background story beats for Yoruko and how she came into her talent is...interesting, to say the least. Like, for starters, the talent wasn't even real in the first place. It was just AIkado fucking around in the Neo World Program thanks to his administration access and to be as powerful as he can be in contrast to his "fellow students." A show of power without revealing where they really are. To be honest, I don't see Yoruko being given any kind of administrative access from Mikado if the main story were to remain the same, just with swapped talents, unless he had made her into an AI/program and frankly, I'm not interested in approaching this background like she IS a program. So I'm just gonna ignore the fact that magic isn't actually real in the DRA/SDRA2 version of the Danganronpa timeline and say that it does, in fact, exist. And hey, if ghosts can be canon in Despair Girls, why can't magic? (This also probably means that the age twist wouldn't work cause they're not in the Neo World Program and it'd be impossible to de-age them like they were in the original story, at least in this version of events. But since magic is real...well, regardless of Mikado's swapped talent, he'd probably delve into Necromancy just to see if he can bring back Utsuro thanks to Yoruko's talent confirming that magic does indeed exist. Oops.)

Anyways, for Yoruko's background, she would have never became a hostess if she had never met her Senpai, who saved her from a group of bullies that were going too far and nearly could've killed her. I think in this version of events, the reason for her Senpai, Amane, to intervene was twofold: 1.) because it was the right thing to do and she couldn't stand watching the same thing that happened to her happen to someone else, and 2.) because she noticed there was magic building up around Yoruko and realized that there was going to be an outburst that could easily injure, or worse, kill these bullies and intervened to keep it from escalating. She knew that if that were to happen, Yoruko would forever be haunted by this event and she couldn't stand by and watch her younger classmate become fearful of her own power. So she helps Yoruko and befriends her, trying to subtly train her in her magic without revealing that she has it and to keep it concealed. The bracelet Yoruko has is to help her keep control over her magic without it bursting and creating havoc whenever she loses her temper or when survivor instincts kick in in a way that would hurt others when she didn't mean to. She thinks that, for Yoruko, ignorance would be bliss. At least, at the start. But eventually, Yoruko hears rumors about Amane being a "witch" or doing "creepy rituals at night" and she's like, "Pfft, yeah, right. Like magic ever existed...right?" She didn't think it was true, but when the thought of the rumors covering up something more insidious that Amane couldn't get out of, she caves into her suspicions and follows her one day after school to prove to herself that it's nothing like that. And it wasn't! But she does end up witnessing a magical ritual where Amane easily repaired a valuable object that seemed irreparable with how many pieces it had been turned into or how she helps a plant regain it's vigor and color. So, the rumors were a lot more truer than everyone thought it was and she kinda freaks out. Which was enough for her to get caught by her Senpai and she begs for mercy. But her Senpai is quick to reassure her that she's not going to hurt her and admits the truth: she's an actual wizard and probably one of the last ones left...at least until she met Yoruko. It's then that she also revealed that one of the reasons why she approached Yoruko was because of her magic and how it was this close to hurting someone, which she had a feeling that her younger classmate would regret. Yoruko would try to deny it at first but when her Senpai takes the bracelet off, her magic starts to sizzle out from her due to all her anxiety and ends up cracking a mirror. Hit with the reality that she was the same as Amane, she questions why no one had noticed and Amane just...tells her to sit down.

You see, if wizards/witches and magic really do exist in Danganronpa, you'd have to question why this wouldn't be common knowledge in this universe, especially with a world based off of real life and the real history we've been through. Some people's solution to this is to make a secret society, but that actually crops up OTHER issues like how some humans would react to actual real world events like, you know, war and such, and how many of them would probably try to use their magic to stop it or make it worse, and how difficult that would be to keep that a secret when such events happen. But honestly, I think there's a much simpler solution in this case: wizards are just...a dying breed in the modern world, for lack of a better word I could think of. If they were common place back then, then most of them had been hunted down and killed due to their power in magic scaring society. That's Amane's assumption, at least. According to her, even she doesn't know enough about magic and it's own history. Just that if no one believes that magic actually exists, that it's just a fictional part of storytelling or folklores, then the real history of magic had nearly all but disappeared from existence. Even Hope's Peak never had an Ultimate Wizard before since it's existence. There just isn't enough people to even be considered a group, and to Amane...she considers herself to be one of the few wizards left in this world. Assuming there are more of them out there.

Yoruko questions how the hell she even came to realize her own power, and Amane simply says that she was just lucky that her own parents had magic as well and were far more equipped to handle her magic when it became obvious that she had it. When Yoruko questions how the hell her own family never noticed, Amane simply asks if they had magic, and if they did, she should think back on the times when strange things were happening around her while growing up, if she ever got blamed for something that seemed out of her control, and how they handled it. If they had magic, would those signs have gone under their radar? After a pause of Yoruko thinking back on her childhood, on the times when she managed to jump higher than should've been possible when playing tag, on the times when a kid blamed her for getting hurt when they tripped on a root that wasn't there before and thought she had pushed them, on the time when she tried to blow out a candle when her group of friends brought her a birthday cake but somehow the flames grew bigger instead and accidentally set the table on fire, and how everyone started to avoid her for being "accident-prone" and becoming more and more pessimistic in her life in response, she realized, no, they didn't have magic. Yoruko's parents, and perhaps even her sister, were normal people that simply tried to comfort and support her when things went wrong, never realizing the power their daughter/sister had in her all along. Yoruko asks how that's even possible, and Amane simply shrugs, admitting that even though she and her parents had magic, her younger siblings did not. She may have theorized that wizards had been hunted down and killed, and for all she knew, she may be right since witch hunts WERE a thing, but it could also possibly be because magic was a gene and humans just...stopped needing a use for it over time and wasn't being passed down by the majority anymore. It doesn't mean it can't crop again, like what happened with her and her parents and even Yoruko, but that also meant that the majority of people born with magic are more likely to end up with a family that may not understand what's going on with them, let alone figure it out. Like what happened with Yoruko since, according to her, neither of her parents nor her sister seemed to have magic like her. Again, Amane didn't know enough about magic's history and even her parents knew jack shit, gravitating towards each other because of their shared issues and only then realizing that what they were dealing with was magic. All their learning was pretty much trial and error, which they passed down to her.

Yoruko...has no idea how to feel about all of this. On the one hand, learning that she has magic is almost...freeing, in a way. An explanation for the many things that just shouldn't have happened in normal circumstances but did. But on the other hand, she had a power that could hurt others. Kill others. That kind of power would be terrifying for Yoruko. What if she messed up? What if someone got hurt because of her? But Amane, ever kind and patient, calms her down, saying that she doesn't have to go through this alone. Not anymore. Not as long as she's around, and she offers to teach her to control her magic and even give it a use. If that's what she wants, at least. Amane reminds her that as long as she wears that bracelet she gave her, her magic would never get out of control, even when she uses it as an outlet to better direct what kind of magic she's using and such. She can easily return to her normal life if that's what she desires most and apologizes for leaving her in ignorance. But Yoruko, knowing that Amane may be the only one that can understand these magic-related issues in a way no one else would and wanting to stay by her side, accepts. After that, Yoruko spends months, perhaps even years, learning from Amane and even teaching her new things as well since she's still learning more about magic herself. Learning together, working together, and helping each other when the other is down helped Yoruko become just as skilled of a wizard like Amane, perhaps even better.

But one day, Yoruko would ask Amane why she has new things to repair almost every day. She would laugh awkwardly, admitting that she kind of turned her magic into an independent job by repairing people's most valued objects in exchange for cash. When Yoruko asks why she has to do that, for the first time, Amane grows quiet...and admits that her parents actually passed away in a car accident a few years back. She's not sure if they had no relatives or if they somehow became a black sheep to their relatives due to their magic, but no one took her or her siblings in so it was either being stuck in a system that may separate them all or try to take matters into her own hands. Clearly, she chose the latter as she's able to take care of both herself and her siblings through her magic, and even gained a reputation of sorts. A reputation that she really hopes doesn't take the notice of Hope's Peak cause as much as she wished there were more people like her, she knows better than to let the world know that such powerful magic exists. She doesn't want to think of the consequences that could entail from it. Yoruko agrees but is also surprised as she had never realized that Amane is dealing with a lot more on her plate than she admits. She simply says that she didn't want to burden Yoruko at the time since her teachings were much more important and she had managed this far, it's just...well, it's become a bit harder to find commissions lately and she's worried she may not be able to pay the bills in time. Yoruko rebuts, though, saying that she may be her mentor but she's also her...friend, and it wouldn't be fair if she just vented all her feelings to her but never allowed her to do the same. She even asks if she could help, which surprises Amane for moment but then...she agrees. She even says it would be a good opportunity to teach Yoruko how to repair objects from scratch as it's a pretty handy spell to know for daily life, although it's much more complicated for something that's to have a more permanent effect than Yoruko's usual transformation spells.

Looking back on it now, Yoruko wished her Senpai had turned her down. If only to avoid what happened next.

Amane had asked her to set up the chalk circle and candles while she double checks the book. Yoruko wasn't sure what she had messed up back then, especially under Amane's watch. Did the candles not have the correct properties? Did she make such a small, tiny mistake in the chalk circle when messing up just a smidge could change it into a different spell entirely? Or did she overdo it with her magic as she followed her Senpai's instructions in staring at the original photo of the object and visualizing what it should look like as she imbued the object with the spell?

Regardless of what the mistake was, magic was the embodiment of chaos, not logic, and only bends to it's own rules. And Yoruko, despite doing her best, messed up and turned the object into dust.

Shocked by what had just happened, Yoruko tries to apologize and even says that maybe they could still try to fix it but Amane just stared at the remains of the object in silence before saying that this can't be fixed. All the pieces had been destroyed and now it's impossible to fix it at all. She tried before, but couldn't, and had to bring the bad news to her customer, getting hit with a refund soon afterwards. Yoruko apologizes again, quieter, but this only gets Amane to snap at her, blaming her for losing the paycheck she could've used to help her and siblings from this one commission. In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have allowed Yoruko to work on a commission the first time trying out this spell as it's only natural for her to mess up on her first try, but she was too angry and distraught to realize her own misjudgment in this situation and Yoruko is too hurt and upset to try and defend herself. She just constantly apologizes as she leaves, hoping that by removing herself from the situation, it would allow Amane some space to calm down.

By the time Yoruko worked up the courage to talk to her again, though, she couldn't find Amane at school and finds out through her teacher that she had to pull out for the time being. Horrified by the implications, Yoruko runs back to the hideout, only to find the mess had been cleaned up with a stack of books left on the desk and a letter on top of it. When she opens it up, it was an apology from Amane snapping at her, saying that she shouldn't have done that and some of the blame was hers as well for making the wrong call in judgment. Still, due to her current circumstances, she could no longer stay in school and had to go searching for a second job, bringing her siblings along with her as she admits to moving away. The letter tries to reassure Yoruko that this was probably going to happen anyway due to the lack of commissions, but she's not internalizing that, instead blaming herself for forcing her Senpai into a position where she had no choice but to move away. When she gets to the bottom of the letter, her Senpai reveals that while she can no longer teach Yoruko due to both her own circumstances making it hard to meet up anymore and Yoruko simply being better than her at magic at this point, at least according to her, she left her all the books and research both she and her parents had done over the years in her care. She expresses the hope that she'd still continue to study and research magic so that maybe, one day, when they meet up again, they can understand their shared magical history together. Yoruko, still racked with guilt, chooses to do just that, taking responsibility for her actions by continuing her studies in magic.

And then, perhaps a few months or even a year later, Hope's Peak comes knocking at her door via a letter proclaiming that they know her secret and wish to bring her into the school to study her talent as the Ultimate Wizard. And if she doesn't, they'll out her to a government agency and have her be taken away. Worst of all, Hope's Peak is still tied to the government themselves, even when they lacked funding, so it's basically a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. So Yoruko decides her only option was to "willingly" join Hope's Peak Academy's newest class so she can have more freedom, and perhaps, more control over what they learn about magic. If she has to be forced out of hiding and reveal that magic exists, she'd doing it her way in the hopes that she can at least try to give guidelines on how it should be treated and worked with.

Too bad she ends up in a killing game, but hey. It was an effort, at least. And to keep her from being too overpowered in the killing game, Mikado probably set up some kind of magic-negation objects that keeps her from blowing him up on sight. After all, she does still have her bracelet that both negates her own magic and helps her control it, and doesn't actually require magic to create. Some gems simply have magic-negating properties. And HE learned this from HER during their time at Hope's Peak, even if she doesn't realize it due to the collective amnesia plot point. Oof.