This is a Danganronpa, self-ship fanfic and retelling of SDR2: Goodbye Despair written by @my-gf-is-kazuichi-soda.
Full Title: Sensitive Hearts in Parallel Play
Quick summary: Autistic/Adhd queer kids form a friendship and eventual wlw romance despite being in a killing game. Non-despair au, mutual pining slowburn romance, humor, hurt/comfort, eventual OC x (trans girl) Kazuichi Soda
---- I made a new version of this summary post because I decided Kazuichi changes her name to Kazumi, and also changed my own name/pronouns (Maxwell, bigender girl-boy, it/he/maybe she pronouns) while writing this story.
Long version of the summary, and long notes/reoccurring themes/potential triggers for this story at the bottom (I will also mention any triggers in the story at the top of posts for every time of relevance, so it’s okay to skip this post as long as you heed the trigger warnings on the top of each part of the story)
Maxwell Parker (who starts off as “Zoey”), the Ultimate Cartoonist with a superhero complex, wakes up with the rest of its class on a deserted island and is told to make friends with everybody. He realizes quickly that his autism and adhd might make this difficult, so it decides to enlist the help of a neurotypical student who can be a guide to help it make all the friends, navigate confusing social situations, and understand what is happening around it. For this guide, it chooses none other than…Kazuichi Soda.
Despite the Ultimate Mechanic not exactly being the expert in normal socializing (or perhaps because of this) the two end up forming the start of a friendship: right on time for Monokuma to show up and turn the “heart-throbbing school trip” into his signature killing game!
…Though, Monokuma is forced to skirt around an annoying new rule that he can’t punish the Blackened with violence or death. But Monokuma insists that the killing game is still on! He continues to torment the students, specifically two promising Blackeneds-in-the-making: Mahiru Koizumi and Max Parker, who both have big secrets, their lives on the line, and a potential to kill.
But Max fights to keep itself alive as he clings onto his friendship (and budding crush) on his new best friend.
Meanwhile, Kazuichi’s friendship with Maxwell leads to some realizations about…herself. Not quite ready to come out as a trans girl, Kazumi constantly flip-flops between her newfound queer identity she can express with her also-queer friend Max, and the tough guy act that she puts on for everyone else. And she’s not sure where her obsession with Sonia Nevermind is supposed to fit in with all of this. Because she obviously has a crush on Sonia Nevermind (she thinks?), but, she also might have a crush on Max? Why does everything have to be confusing?
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Other Important Notes in the story, this has some plot details but I think it’s relevant for triggers and knowing what the fanfic gets into:
The fanfic is mostly humor (a lot of cringe comedy), but there are some reoccurring themes that get heavy…
Maxwell is depressed/has intrusive thoughts/is suicidal (I will always give bold warnings on the top of the posts where this is relevant to the scenes and make relevant tags, you will not be thrown into anything triggering without warning, I promise.)
(Self-harm mention!) While Max doesn’t cut himself, he does things like neglect his needs (e.g. letting himself get too hungry) and sometimes act recklessly knowing something could kill him, and that can be disturbing. I’ll always give warnings for this stuff being in posts as well.
This oc is my self-insert. I was depressed/suicidal as a teenager, but I am no longer depressed/suicidal and my intrusive thoughts are fewer and more manageable. You don’t have to worry about me bc of this fanfic. I chose to process the feelings (not based on real events, but just feelings of loneliness and trouble making friends as a neurodivergent teen) through this fanfic.
No family drama in this fic: not that it didn’t exist, more like I don’t wanna write about it, so it may get mentioned if relevant but no flashbacks/long stories about it and it’s mostly irrelevant to the fanfic. This goes for both Kazumi’s and Max’s families. I don’t even want to see Kazumi’s dad, let alone draw him.
Kazumi is in the closet for most of this fanfic (and Kazumi doesn’t know she can be a girl in the beginning) so expect a lot of he/him pronouns/misgenderings bc she’s still in the closet. The same might apply to Max too but not sure yet. I’ll give warnings for any transphobia, though I don’t have any plans for characters being transphobic. Most of them are either accepting or Fuyuhiko (hella confused but too awkward to make a confrontation about it, but he comes around).
This fic does have a lot of internalized transphobia though, for both Kazumi and Max.
Max and Kazumi character growth and long conversations and just hanging out together fluff.
Teruteru is a recurring character and I write him as sort of a bastard (/affectionate). Actually writing him as a “lovable pervert” compelled me. So he is kind of a mom friend and a sexual harasser at the same time. The characters are put off by him but I find him funny.
Mahiru is sort of an antagonist because when I first played the game I found her annoying and sexist. Still, I try to write her in-character, and I’ve come to like her better through writing this fic and forcing her to confront the past, so I believe in character growth for her (and Nagito too!) To be fair, Max also has his annoying moments here, and most of them are around its (sometimes ridiculous) conflicts with Mahiru. For one thing, Maxwell thinks Mahiru taught Hiyoko to be a bully. This is how Maxwell misunderstands the situation but is still a character calling Mahiru out on some stuff other characters let her get away with.
Mahiru and Nagito friendship.
Lot of “will they or won’t they” with Max and Kazumi even though it is obvious as hell where it’s all going. It’s like they are eternally in a contest to see who can be more obvious about their crush and who can be more oblivious to the other’s crush. They’re both winning (which means losing) for like half the fanfic, maybe more than half?
Boob focus in the humor and the gender dysphoria (Max has a character development arc about his chest. You can laugh, it’s meant to be funny, though keep in mind the author actually does have chest dysphoria).
I like writing “cringe comedy”, ridiculous conversations/scenarios, characters (and their conversations) leading the plot, and foreshadowing.
This fanfic gets fucking bonkers and please let me know what moments made you go “Wait, what the fuck?!”
The danger of a future killing game looms ahead as the students try to make friends on the island.
(Btw! Chihiro, like the other closeted/egg trans characters in this story, gets unintentionally misgendered. This story portrays her as a trans girl. I don't wanna give too many details away right now, but I want to be upfront about this to anyone new to the story).
I have been processing personal stuff lately, which halted this. But I think the next update will be here soon! Ive written a better outline of chapter 2 and have a general idea of how it will go.
It was very fun and surreal to draw Slubbers into this comic. That realistic fuzzy version of him was very fun to draw. Monokuma stepping on him makes me laugh, Monokuma's so petty he has to attack the other stuffed animals to show them all who's boss xD.
In high school, I really did train my left hand to write, and that panel was written by it. It can be useful for writing sloppily on purpose.
I love throwing Princess Piggles in the background whenever I can.
Edit: changed a small part of the dialogue in the last page.
Edit: You do not have to respect any assholes btw, honest or otherwise. It was a bad coping phrase from being surrounded by assholes 😔
Chapter 1: Zoey’s Guide to Making Friends: Part 26
Part 1: go here
Part 25: go here
Part 27: click here
Warnings: spoilers for sdr2. One panel features a death scene from trigger happy havoc (in pink blood)
The class has a new student join them as they head towards shelter from the rain.
Chihiro Fujisaki, the 18th student, who was hidden somewhere until now, the one they call ***** ***...has arrived.
(Chihiro, like the other closeted/egg trans characters in this story, gets unintentionally misgendered. This story portrays her as a trans girl. I don't wanna give too many details away right now, but I want to be upfront about this to anyone new to the story).
Author notes:
-I had this same type of shock after surviving a car accident (the first one). "🌸🌸I almost died - I'm so happy to be alive🌸🌸" kind of ditzy shock, I imagine it was kind of creepy to witness.
-..my headcanon that Gundham's face scar is painted. He would have fixed it, but a bigger priority was making sure the devas were dry...and then stealing the wand.
-so many characters with secrets, hehehe...
-I've been playing The Hundred Line Last Defense Academy...I think it takes more than a hundred days to finish the game on top of having a job, and I'm still playing it. It's a lot of fun, but also, for a while all of my free time was going to playing that game😅
-speaking of new games... the 2x2 announcement!! I'm a bit overwhelmed, but excited about that one too!
Swimming and other surprises happen as an unexpected guest crashes the party.
Chihiro Fujisaki, the 18th student, who was hidden somewhere until now, the one they call ***** ***...has arrived.
Chihiro, like the other closeted/egg trans characters in this story, gets unintentionally misgendered. This story portrays her as a trans girl. Chiaki didn't know. I don't wanna give too many details away right now, but I figured that I should be upfront about that aspect of this story.
This part got packed! I know this is a lot of info to cover, but I'm also really excited! Hope you're all enjoying the story.
Chapter 1: Zoey's Guide to Making Friends: Part 22
Part 1: go here
Part 21: go here
Part 23: go here
The class gathers at the beach for Usami's surprise. They discuss the islands that they've been brought to, gathering the information that they know.
Heads up! This part is very long!!
Author's notes:
Chapter 1 Hajime was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It feels weird writing him like that while Kazuichi is acting all calm, but we're still in the stage where no one seems to be in immediate danger.
I didn't initially plan on changing Jabberwock Island's name, but this dialogue of referring to both the island and the series of islands with the same word "island" started to bug me. Most of the time I'll just have the characters call it Jabberwock rather than Jabberwock Archipelago.
I think I gave almost everyone lines here, except Gundham :( (sorry Gundham!) Maybe half of the lines here were lifted from the actual prologue, and I was surprised at how little Nekomaru said anything.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
Chapter 1: Zoey's Guide to Making Friends: Part 19
Long post!
Warning: A watermelon knife makes an appearance, and Teruteru makes suggestive statements (what else is new?).
It seems that the introductions are finished and the Hope Fragments have finally been collected...or have they?
Part 1: go here
Part 18: go here
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Next part: go here
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Author notes:
I used to work in the produce department at a grocery store. I'm not usually a fan of knives, but I can confirm that watermelon knives are fun to wield.
I drew that panel with Zoey and Kazuichi as cats back in May 29th, 2023! I want you all to know, that's how long this specific scene has been sitting in my head. And if you saw that art in the past, now you know the context!
Chapter 1: Zoey's Guide to Making Friends: Part 18
Kazuichi returns to help Zoey to meet the remaining students. Zoey and Mikan have a cute moment. Zoey and Kazuichi sneak around in the kitchen.
This part has I think 26 images.
Heads up! Akane and Nekomaru only appear in one panel.
Part 1: go here
Part 17: go here
Jabberwock Island has a kitchen in the Hotel's Old Building, but I also think it would make sense to have a kitchen next to the Hotel Restaurant, even if we didn't see one in the game.
bonus! Teruteru haircombing draft before Kazuichi's hand got in the way:
Chapter 1: Zoey's Guide to Making Friends: Part 16
Zoey and Kazuichi talk to more people, but Zoey struggles to remember who she's already met. Heads up: this part is very long! 29 images I think.
For cataloguing purposes, the following characters do appear in this post (and thus are tagged) but they only in one or two group panels: Mikan Tsumiki, Hiyoko Saionji, Gundham Tanaka, and Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. I will never spam the tags. If any characters are in the tags but do not appear in the post, this was an accident and please let me know so I can remove them. Also, in this story, the Ultimate Imposter is Maya Fey.
Part 1: go here
Part 15: go her
Part 17: Go here
Believe it or not, I spent a few days being stuck trying to figure out how Maya would explain being a spirit medium, because Ace Attorney doesn't give much of a verbal explanation (not that they needed to, seeing it in action was easier to comprehend.) I looked through the wikia and watched a few cutscenes from four different games to see if Maya or Phoenix offered an explanation that would be easier to understand if you didn't know the words "medium" or "channel" in this context. They did not. I then skipped an explanation and went for dialogue showing that Maya/Imposter wouldn't see a need to use this ability here anyway.
Mikan makes a guinea pig noise.
It took me a while to understand smartphones irl, and they were around when I was a teenager, they just overwhelmed and intimidated me. I didn't willingly get one until I was in college. I feel like a boomer saying that. Please tell me I'm not alone here.
Yes, that Nekomaru scene was inspired by the one in the anime.
