Danganronpa 4: Second Chances at Renowned Hope
Hope and Despair clash yet again in what the 48 participants pray to be the only and final killing game to end all killing games.
In an attempt to defeat despair once and for all, the Future Foundation's latest objective is to target the source, Junko Enoshima, before she strikes. With a newly functioning time machine in their grasp and other technological advantages, Junko Enoshima's despair can be prevented and the irreversible damage that the Tragedy had caused internationally can be remedied. But before their plan is put into place or even agreed upon, an unknown resistance group takes advantage. Mending the past few years into their utopia, they've recaptured the 48 participants for an Ultimate Killing Game that their leader hopes to never be forgotten. Hope versus Despair, Past versus Present, Good versus Evil, the final showdown begins!
So this is my idea for a 48 character, killing game. This was inspired by quite a few fics and fangans I've seen where the characters we've all come to love (for the most part) have been placed in yet another killing game. To have some of these characters be presented with a second chance, specifically killers and victims (whose memories from their original killing game are still mostly intact), is a rather tempting idea that's just brimming with character development potential.
But how would this work exactly? Glad you asked.
For starters, we need a location to hold all 48 characters. While New Hope's Peak Academy would be the main residence, the location for the killing game would take place in Towa City. The mastermind has managed to take over Towa City in this timeline, leaving the 48 participants and the citizens trapped. Everyone in Towa City has been forced to wear Monokuma bracelets, much like in Ultra Despair Girls where if anyone wearing said bracelet leaves the city limits (or breaks a rule), they die. Another feature that was introduced in UDG to be used in SCRH would be the different types of Monokumas to lurk in the streets at night. During the day, the city operates as usual, but once "the curfew" is in effect, a blaring siren goes off and the different types of Monokumas come out to play. While exploring the city at night isn't prohibited, it is rather dangerous. Safe zones are the only areas where the stray Monokumas are not allowed. These areas include New Hope's Peak, Towa Hills, and a variety of different landmarks in Towa City that will be unlocked after each class trial. Whatever damage the city takes will be fixed the next day by the very familiar Exisals from V3. Any participant to die from a Monokuma will trigger a Body Discovery Announcement, but a class trial will not be held.
Speaking of class trials, 48 characters in a class trial would be extremely hard to write, read, and contextualize. Who said all 48 characters would have to participate?
In the Ultimate Killing School Reunion, the class trials work as a jury duty. Monokuma will summon the blackened and fifteen random students to participate in the trial. The others are to watch in the audience of the colosseum, where the class trials take place. Should an account/fact/tidbit be needed from a student/participant who is not chosen to be in the trial, the said person in question can be called upon as a witness and temporarily participate. All of the surviving participants will be asked to vote at the end regardless.
While this fic has a very obvious theme of second chances (Redemption vs Condemnation), with the typical and subtle Hope vs Despair that's always a constant in any Danganronpa content, another hidden theme that this fic tackles would be the notion of sequels and reboots in today's media and the conversations surrounding that notion. And while I'd love to expound upon this, I can't. It's a major hint to the mastermind. π
