Hi! So, if you know me, you know I’m not the biggest fan of Danganronpa 3’s storyline. I won’t go into detail as to why in this post. Instead, I’m going to show off my Danganronpa 3 rewrite! It mostly focuses on the Despair Arc and then adding on to things like UDG, SDR2, and the Hope Arc. Please note this contains spoilers. I’ll write it in bullet points because it’s easy for me to get things down in this manner, especially since I don’t have every moment of every single day rewritten. Maybe one day I’ll write fanfiction for this! Forgive grammar n stuff, I’m super tired and just spewing my ideas out without structure. So hit that “keep reading” and let’s get this party started.
-In my rewrite, Chiaki Nanami’s punishment isn’t what pushed them into despair. Rather, Junko Enoshima played on everyone’s weaknesses and individually pulled them into despair. In some cases, she used those she already converted as pawns to drag down their fellow classmates. For example, I like to believe Junko played on Nagito’s desire to be loved. And eventually, Nagito understood what she was doing to him.. But rather than stop it, he let himself become despair because he couldn’t wait to see the hope that would be born from it. For another example, Junko might have pulled Mahiru into despair. In turn, Junko uses Mahiru to drag down Hiyoko. I like the idea of Junko’s analytic and manipulation skills being more relevant. A slow process of taking everyone down and hitting them in their weak spots feels more satisfying than everyone going down at once, in my opinion.
-Again, Chiaki Nanami’s punishment isn’t what pushed them into despair. Rather, it was a test. Junko uses Chisa as a puppet here, and Chisa is the one to subject Chiaki to her punishment. Think back to DR3, and how we saw Junko on all the screens as Chiaki navigated the death maze. Now, what if we saw Chisa there instead and narrating the entire thing? What could be more despairful than your own teacher putting you through this death trap? And of course, since I’m a sucker for angst, I like to imagine her classmates NOT watching on in complete devastation. What if they were basking in the feeling it gave them? Cheering on as Chiaki navigates her way through the maze…
-Now, remember in DR3 where we see Kamukura cry as Chiaki is dying? Remember how Hajime’s attachment to her caused Kamukura to subconsciously care for her? Now, this will come into play later. But let’s get back to Chisa Yukizome. What if Chisa had the same thing happen? A subconscious desire to.. Well, not see her die. So she leaves Chiaki with a very slight chance of survival. The footage of Chiaki navigating the maze cuts out before anyone really sees her die. Of course, the assumption of Class 77B would be that she IS dead.
-And here’s where Kamukura comes in. He subconsciously cares for her, though he does not know why. I like to imagine he saved her with his talents. And because he is neither on the side of hope or despair exclusively, Chiaki is now a new pawn in this “war” between hope and despair. Just something new to hopefully cure this boredom and bring something new to the table.
-Well, after treating her, he turns her loose. Keep in mind, a recovery like that doesn’t happen overnight though.
-Chiaki Nanami ends up in Towa City, and takes refuge in the Resistance. However, she joins under a new identity. Miyuki Watanabe. The fake name stems from the fear that she would be killed if her true identity is discovered, and people realize she is associated with the remnants who had faked their deaths and mistake her as a remnant herself. I tried to design a concept for Chiaki while trying to hide herself. A mask to hide her face, and she has longer hair due to not really getting much of a haircut lately. A wrinkled up shirt, and all that. She has grey bag with two things that are rolled up sticking out of the bags, perhaps posters of some kind.
-Chiaki eventually meets Komaru and Toko at the resistance camp under the name Miyuki, but she eventually reveals her true identity to them and what had happened to her until that point. Of course, Toko was skeptical of this at first but was talked into helping by Komaru. When Byakuya was eventually rescued, he tipped Makoto off to Chiaki’s presence in Towa City in their video call at the end of Ultra Despair Girls.
-Makoto is able to come to Chiaki’s rescue. Of course, once Chiaki is brought back, she’s met with lots of interrogation and DNA tests from other members of the Future Foundation prior to being held in a high security cell for precautionary reasons.
-She does end up receiving some grooming like a haircut and fresh clothes. She remains here until eventually Makoto asks for her assistance. He explains he intends to use the Neo World Program to reverse Junko’s influence on her friends, and asks her to help monitor her classmates’ behaviors from the outside, as she knows them all best.
Here’s Nanami after getting a haircut and some fresh clothes to wear. Of course, she still wears her signature jacket over these fresh clothes.
-And oh boy, seeing everyone’s faces on those monitors… hearing their voices again.. It both hurt her terribly and warmed her heart.
-Let’s not forget real-life Chiaki’s reaction to the AI within the program. Before I continue, please note Chiaki is traumatized and not quite the person she was back at Hope’s Peak.
-Seeing her AI within the program? It causes a bit of an identity crisis. Her AI does remind Chiaki of better days, however, she also feels envy and frustration towards it. She’s a little envious that the AI is there, interacting with her classmates and Hinata again the way she always hoped to do again. Frustrated, because sometimes the AI would respond in ways real-life Chiaki would have done differently. She has zero control over her own AI, by the way. So she can only watch it interact with everyone.
-Though once she learns why the AI is herself, she finds it to be bittersweet.
-But when the killing game begins, her world comes crashing down AGAIN. Still, she was told to continue monitoring the behavior of her classmates’ despite this.
-Might I add that AI Chiaki’s execution brought back some really, really terrible memories for real-life Chiaki?
-Rest assured, in the end, Chiaki was able to reunite with Class 77B and Hajime Hinata. And they all live on the real Jabberwock Island together.
-In my rewrite, Hajime’s relationships with others tumbles a bit as he comes overprotective over Chiaki, despite her insisting he doesn’t need to be. He worries greatly about her due to their past. The romantic feelings are still there between the two, but the interest in a romantic relationship is low as they both require lots of healing before they’re ready for this. Hiyoko remains on iffy terms with Fuyuhiko and Peko, while Mahiru does the opposite and repairs her relationships with them. Kazuichi is on OK terms with Gundham, and actually ends up falling for Mikan and they get together. Akane is oddly one of the first to be forgiving towards Nagito and they become friends, though I will add that Nagito is a little desperate for Hajime’s attention, which he has directed to Chiaki very heavily. Mahiru and Hiyoko remain besties. Fuyupeko is semi-canon. They acknowledge their feelings but neither has made a move. I’ll make a chart of everyone’s relationships with each other someday and tack it on with a reblog. Right now, it’s just me spewing out my ideas as I’m dead tired.
-Oh, and they provide relief to the world as a way of atoning for their sins. Sometimes their missions require everyone on the island! Other times, it requires a certain number or a certain talent. They’re just here to try and make the world a better place after all that has happened.
[Credit for Chiaki model in replies, hyper links eat my posts]
I wrote this AU during the pandemic. I came on Tumblr to go down memory lane. I received such a lovely ask and now it's all I can think about. I think I might pick up on this a little. Like making the relationship chart I mentioned here. Maybe start writing a fanfic (which would be a long-term project) and finding a name for it.
