Fanfic / Alternative Class Despair

Alternative Class Despair is a series of Danganronpa fanfics written by GameBawesome. It's a Role Swap AU of the canon series, with the casts of the Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair being swapped around, however unlike other such AU fics, Junko remains the Mastermind rather than being swapped out for someone else.

The author has written the stories Out of Order, so it's best to beware of spoilers. The chronological order is:

1. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair: DESPAIR
2. Danganronpa: Alternative Class Despair: Trigger Happy Havoc
3. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair
4. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair: Another Episode AU
5. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair: Kirigiri OVA Despair
6. Down with the sickness
7. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair: FUTURE
8. Danganronpa Alternative Class Despair: HOPE

All spoilers relating to the main series are unmarked!

This series contains the following tropes:

• Accidental Murder: Crossed over with Killing in Self-Defense. Fuyuhiko, mistaking her for Mahiru, whacked Akane over the head with a dumbbell—however, he didn't want to kill Mahiru or Akane, he just wanted to question the former about her role in his sister's death. A naturally-pissed Akane attacked him, Peko jumped in, and Fuyuhiko desperately struck Akane’s head again, killing her.
• Action Girl: Since she takes Toko's role in the Ultra Despair Girls story, Peko shows off her amazing sword skills.
• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Class 77-B are not the Remnants of Despair.
  • Canonical killers Peko and Mikan don't commit murder.
  • Chisa is not brainwashed into Despair.
  • Since she's part of Class 78, who go through the Neo World Program in this AU, Mukuro is cured of despair, freed of her sister's influence, and has a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Downplayed, but Haiji doesn't casually mention being a pedophile in Ultra Despair Girls. Whether that's because he didn't see the point in doing so or because he isn't one here, is up for debate.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Class 78 other then Makoto are the Remnants of Despair this time around.
  • Fuyuhiko and Hiyoko commit murder this time around.
  • While nowhere near a saint in canon, Munakata is even worse here, as he is willing to attack his own girlfriend, simply because she sided against him. In canon, he was heartbroken when she died, at least until he realized she was a Despair.
  • Koichi is the Mastermind of the Final Killing Game.
• Adapted Out: The killing school trip still occurred, but has not been written save for a one-shot, and the author currently has no plans to do so. Judging on the absent characters, some combination of Sayaka, Hifumi, Yasuhiro, and Toko comprised the murderers and victims of the first two trials.
• An Arm and a Leg: As Remnants, Kyoko and Chihiro each lose an arm; the former cuts hers off and replaces it with one of Junko's while the latter lost it for unknown reasons and replaced it with a robotic one. Side:Hope establishes that while Kyoko replaced hers with a robotic arm, Chihiro chose to go without.
• Benevolent Conspiracy: Unlike in canon where the Neo World Program was enacted in secret against the Future Foundation's wishes, in here it's approved from the very top. Since Jin Kirigiri is the head and his daughter is a Remnant, he has a vested interest in keeping her safe from Munakata's wrath.
• Big Damn Heroes: In Kirigiri OVA Despair, Nekomaru, Chiaki, and Kazuichi arrive just in time to prevent Mukuro from torturing Mahiru.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite not being part of Class 77-B, Junko manages to wiggle her way inside the barricaded Hope's Peak by pretending to have been separated from her class and seeking shelter. They welcome her in, completely oblivious as to her true nature.
• Blood-Splattered Innocents: Chiaki is unfortunate enough to be standing near the Impostor when he's Squashed Flat and gets a front-row seat to the blood spray.
• Bound and Gagged: After Mukuro captures her during Kirigiri OVA Despair, Mahiru wakes up to find herself tied to a throne and gagged.
• Black-and-White Insanity: As Munakata's sanity slowly snaps, he decides that anyone who disagrees with him must be a Despair, even said person is his own girlfriend. The idea that someone else could have a different viewpoint but still be on his side simply goes over his head.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Nagito, as per usual, has very strange views on what is okay and what isn't, such as not seeing anything wrong with telling an utterly distraught Peko that it's a good thing that Fuyuhiko (aka, the man she was not only sworn to protect, but also her Love Interest) is dead, as it will allow her hope to grow brighter.
• Brown Note: During the Future Foundation rescue in Side:Hope, Leon's guitar-playing is so awful it causes the nearby brainwashed agents to lose consciousness.
• Continuity Cameo: Several members of Class 78 (Leon, Aoi, Mondo, and Chihiro) pop up during Ultra Despair Girls, as Remnants hunting down their own loved ones. Byakuya, Mukuro, and Celeste (as the "Banker") also make appearances, though they aren't participating in the Hunt.
• Ceiling Cling: Used by Peko to trick Resistance members into running into her cell, thinking she's escaped.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Much like in canon, the executions.
  • "Blast Off!": Remains the same, only with Tengan as the victim rather then Jin.
  • "Tonight’s Special!": Teruteru is placed onto a large tray, upon which he is covered in food. After being buried, he is then forced into an oven, which cooks him to death.
  • "Getting Medieval On Your Ass!": Fuyuhiko starts out chained up, before he approached by two Monokumas wielding bats, who proceed to beat him with them. After this, he is placed on a table, with a vise around his head. The Monokumas then tighten the vise, causing his left eye to pop out. Finally, he is driven off a makeshift cliff by a Monokuma.
  • "Dance of Despair": Hiyoko is standing over a Spike Pit, with a series of wooden platforms being her only way to the exit. She has to dance her away across. When she nearly reaches the exit, the final platform breaks, causing her to fall into the spikes.
• Cutting Off the Branches: Side:Future establishes Ending C of Ultra Despair Girls as the canonical one.
• Dead Man Writing: Fuyuhiko leaves a message to Peko before he gets executed.
  Fuyuhiko: Peko,
  I’m sorry for being so stupid. I fucked up real bad. If you are reading this, they found me out and I died during the trial. Funny, this is kinda my preferred outcome. I never wanted to risk your life for me. I know you’ve wanted yourself to protect me, but I didn’t want you to. I wanted you to live. I wanted you to live your life, when I’m gone, and I still do. I want you to move on. Ever since we were kids, I never wanted a sword or a shield, I just needed you. So remember, just live.
• Deadpan Snarker: Peko gets really snarky during her trip through Towa City.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Since Class 77-B isn't in a simulation, all of their deaths are final. Those dead include the Imposter, Teruteru, Akane, Fuyuhiko, Mikan, Sonia, Hiyoko and Gundham.
  • Makoto was killed by Junko before the Tragedy began in order to drive her class in despair.
  • Ryota is murdered by Junko in place of Mukuro when, in canon, he survived to the end of the Tragedy.
  • Because he was acting as Headmaster, Tengan is killed via the Blast Off execution rather then dying by Munakata's sword.
  • In regards to Class 78's Killing Game, Toko and Yasuhiro, two survivors, along with Hifumi, the canonical fourth victim, are all dead by the third motive, although it's downplayed since they are in the Neo World Program.
• Death Trap: What killed Sonia.
• Death Seeker: Following her Interrupted Suicide (which already puts her in this trope) Peko makes no effort to hide her murder attempt on Chiaki, outright telling the students that they can just execute her afterwards as she thinks her life no longer matters now that Fuyuhiko is dead.
• Decoy Protagonist: Since Chiaki served as the protagonist in the Killing School Life, you'd expect her to be the protagonist of the Future arc as well. Instead, she ends up taking Kyoko's Heroic Sacrifice Disney Death role, with Chisa serving as the true protagonist of the Future arc instead.
• Despair Event Horizon:
  • Following Fuyuhiko's execution, Peko completely loses it, not only attempting suicide, but giving up on attempting to escape the school completely and later attempts to murder Chiaki for pinpointing Fuyuhiko for Akane's murder.
  • Komaru crosses it when Monaca shows her, in succession, the dead bodies of her parents and brother.
• Driven to Suicide: Peko attempts it, but the rest of the class save her.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • Tengan is killed via the Blast Off execution rather then dying by Munakata's sword.
  • Rather then getting stabbed, The Imposter is crushed by a fallen light.
  • In addition to dying as a victim rather then a killer, Mikan has her throat slit rather then getting launched into space.
  • In addition to dying as a culprit rather then a victim, Hiyoko falls into a pit of spikes rather then getting her throat slashed.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Junko gets a friendly reminder why casually giving a death threat towards someone you suspect to be the Love Interest of the World's Strongest Man is a bad idea when Izuru just as casually hoists her by the neck.
• Everyone Has Standards: Tellingly, Nagito makes no mention of hope or Ultimates when scoffing at Juzo for punching Chiaki.
  Nagito: Hitting someone you're arresting, is that how Future Foundation is now?
• Eye Scream:
  • Fuyuhiko still loses one only here, it's during his execution.
  • Leon is revealed to have also lost an eye at one point.
  • Mukuro nearly stabs out one of Mahiru's, only being stopped by the arrival of Nekomaru, Chiaki and Kazuichi.
• False Friend: Toko is one to Komaru during her trip through Towa City in order to lure her into a trap.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Nagito is in canon The Friend Nobody Likes. Here, while he starts out as that, he eventually becomes True Companions with the rest of the survivors of Class 77-B.
• Foregone Conclusion: Since the first story in the series is Chisa picking up the survivors, readers already know that Chiaki, Nagito, Kazuichi, Mahiru, Ibuki, Nekomaru and Peko survive the Killing Game. This means that, among other things, Peko's attempt at suicide fails, as does her attempt on Chiaki's life.
• Foreshadowing: Throughout the third trial, Chiaki repeatedly notices that Peko won't stop staring at her, with other characters commenting on it as well. Peko is plotting to kill Chiaki and is just barely stopping herself from doing it during the trial.
• Hope Spot: Hiyoko nearly makes it to the exit of her execution, but the final platform snaps under her, sending her into the Spike Pit.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: When confronting Kyosuke for the final time in Side:Future, Chisa appeals to his love for her to try and get him to stop. It works.
• I Lied: Junko let Mukuro believe that she was going to kill Kyoko and the rest of their classmates but spare Makoto for Mukuro to have all to herself. In actuality, she chooses to put Makoto through her Death Maze in order to use his death to brainwash her sister and classmates into Despair.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Junko is still the Mastermind behind the Tragedy and the killing games.
  • Additionally, Junko still backstabs Mukuro, albeit nonfatally this time.
  • The Imposter is the first victim, and Teruteru is his killer.
  • In addition, Teruteru is killed via being cooked alive.
  • Fuyuhiko still loses an eye.
  • Mikan and Hiyoko still die in Chapter Three, only their roles are reversed.
  • Kazuichi still makes it to the end of his killing game.
  • In spite of Makoto being dead, Komaru still becomes the hero of Towa City.
  • Mukuro still impersonates Junko at one point.
  • Both Nagito and Toko/Genocide Jack are still involved in the events of Towa City.
  • Class 78's loved ones are still brought to Towa City, but instead of being prisoners, they are being hunted by the class.
  • Izuru still joins the Remnants of Despair and is in the Jabberwock Island killing game.
  • Even though Jin Kirigiri himself approved the Neo World program, Kyosuke still accuses the hero of the School Killing Game (in this case Chiaki) of being a traitor.
• Irony: In order to get Mahiru and Sonia out, Hiyoko kills Mikan and then sets a Death Trap in order to claim a second victim. Said second victim ends up being Sonia, who tries to help Mikan.
• Kick the Dog: While he means well, Nagito is outright cruel to Peko over Fuyuhiko's death, telling her that not only can he not understand what's she's going through, but also basically says it's a good thing as it will allow her hope to grow brighter.
• Laughing Mad:
  • As in canon, Nagito displays this during the first class trial once his true nature is revealed.
  • Kyoko also does this after being Forced to Watch Makoto die right in front of her.
• Love Triangle: The Despair Arc reveals there was one between Makoto, Kyoko and Mukuro. It's implied that the former two were a couple, and Junko tricked Mukuro into going along with her plan by convincing her that she was going to kill Kyoko and leave Makoto alive for Mukuro to have.
• Madness Mantra: During the third trial and when she attempts to murder Chiaki, Peko keeps repeating that she has "nothing to lose" due to Fuyuhiko being dead.
• Mama Bear: Chisa is willing to face down anyone, including her own boyfriend, in order to protect her students.
• Misplaced Retribution: Peko attempts to kill Chiaki for Fuyuhiko's death; while she did solve the murder, she wasn't the one who killed him nor the one who made him kill.
• The Mole: Kyoko is the Despair agent in the Future Foundation.
• Morality Pet: Chiaki is Izuru's. When Junko whimsically comments she'll have to "take care" of her, Izuru wordlessly grabs her by the throat and dangles her over the edge of the building.
• Multiple Endings: The author provides three endings for Ultra Despair Girls.
  • Ending A: Peko kills the despair-filled Komaru, finds Nagito, and leaves the city, inwardly broken.
  • Ending B: Peko uses Komaru's megaphone to destroy Big Bang Monokuma, knocks Komaru out, and brings her to Future Foundation to be rehabilitated in the Neo World Program with the other Remnants.
  • Ending C (Which is the canon one): Peko talks Komaru out of despair, they defeat Big Bang Monokuma together, and then stay in Towa City as per the game.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: What Mukuro thought Junko's plan entailed. Namely, she was going to kill Kyoko, along with the rest of their class, while letting Mukuro keep Makoto for herself.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Peko attempts to kill Chiaki, Nagito drops all of his hope talk and tells her to run for it.
• Official Couple: Hajime(Izuru)/Chiaki, Fuyuhiko/Peko at least until the former dies, and Kyosuke/Chisa. It's also implied Makoto/Kyoko is canon before his brutal execution, at least.
• Point of Divergence: The whole premise of these fics can be summed up as "What if Junko decided to brainwash her classmates into Despair rather than her upperclassmen?" The exact cause of that change happens when Toko stumbles across Mukuro while she's kidnapping Mikan in Side: Despair 8. Since Mikan doesn't know who attacked her while Toko recognizes Mukuro, Mukuro drops Mikan, grabs Toko, and brings her to Junko. Junko promptly decides that since She Knows Too Much, she'll have to turn Class 78 into Ultimate Despair instead.
• Properly Paranoid: Both Peko and Nagito felt that something was off with Kyoko when they first were introduced to her. Both were right to worry as she's The Mole for the Remmants.
• Replacement Goldfish: A slightly creepy but still Played for Laughs version. Side:Future shows that Kazuichi built a mini Mecha-Sonia in the same vein as Mini-Mechamaru. She gets destroyed right after he pulls her out.
• Role Swap AU: In this AU, Class 78 are the Remnants of Despair, while Class 77-B goes through the Second Killing Game.
• Self-Made Orphan: Chihiro murders his father during Ultra Despair Girls by playing his voice, crying for help, from a room that contains a Beast Monokuma.
• Ship Tease: Gundham and Sonia get their share of cute moments, and he is silently, utterly devastated over her death.
• Slashed Throat: What killed Mikan. Ironically, it was done by Hiyoko, the same person Mikan herself killed in that fashion in Goodbye Despair.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Toko, despite not having much of a role in the stories, is the Spanner in the Works that results in Junko changing which class she plans to drive into despair, as she walks in on Mukuro kidnapping Mikan. Since Mikan didn't know who Mukuro was while Toko did, Mukuro opted to grab her instead, forcing Junko to change plans on the fly since She Knows Too Much.
• Sole Survivor: Komaru is the sole surviving Naegi.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • The human Chiaki remains alive, both before and after the Tragedy.
  • Downplayed by Mahiru, Nekomaru, Ibuki, Peko, and Nagito as, while they all were revealed to have survived overall, they did die in their Killing Game. Here, they make it to the end of their Killing Game.
  • All of class 78 other than Junko and Makoto are alive by the end.
  • Chisa survives to end of the Final Killing Game.
  • Jin Kirigiri is head of the Future Foundation and still alive, even after the final killing game.
  • Yasuke Matsuda was never killed by Junko.
• Star-Crossed Lovers:
  • Chisa and Kyosuke, but for different reasons than canon. She's infuriated by his Knight Templar attitude and wanting to harm her students during the Final Killing Game, which he takes as a sign of her being a Despair. He spends the fic planning to kill her to "save" her from Despair, and the two ultimately come to blows. Even when she talks him down, he departs out of shame.
  • Chiaki and Hajime/Izuru downplay it. He associates with the Remnants and masterminds the killing school trip, while she goes on to be part of Future Foundation and is even the one to capture him. However, they both survive and are implied to be together.
  • Fuyuhiko and Peko, as in canon, due to her being raised to see herself as a tool and him not being able to spit it out. Also due to him being the second murderer and getting executed.
  • Makoto and Kyoko are implied to be a thing in the Despair Arc, and he gets tortured to death by Junko while she's brainwashed into despair.
• Swapped Roles:
  • Makoto and Chiaki swap roles in the narrative of the story, with Makoto becoming the fallen classmate who becomes the guiding AI in the Neo World Program, while Chiaki becomes the hero of the Killing School Life who tries to redeem the Remnants of Despair.
  • While Hiyoko and Mikan still die in Chapter 3, their victim-murderer dynamic has been reversed.
  • Celeste takes over Nagito's role as the Servant in Ultra Despair Girl, though she calls herself the "Banker", while Nagito is the Future Foundation hostage instead of Byakuya.
  • Chiaki plays a platonic Kyoko to Chisa's Makoto in Side:Future.
  • Ryota swaps roles with both Mukuro and Yasuke—he's killed in the Second Killing Game the same way Mukuro was. Yasuke, meanwhile, is driven over the edge with guilt for how he helped Junko and becomes the final boss of Side:Hope.
  • Kyoko takes on several aspects that Nagito had in the original series, including cutting off her arm and replacing it with Junko’s as well as coming down with the lying disease in Down with the sickness.
• Tragic Keepsake: The letter Fuyuhiko left for Peko. She carries it around during Ultra Despair Girls and touches it when thinking of him.
• Tranquil Fury: Junko, annoyed at Izuru's musing over hope, comments that if he's considering the concept for Chiaki, she'll have to kill her. Izuru doesn't say a word; he just grabs Junko's throat and holds her over over the edge of the building.
• You Are Too Late: Chisa wanted to take shelter with her class in Hope's Peak Academy, and briefly detoured to inform Kyosuke of the decision. Unfortunately, that was when the Reserve Course's mass suicide and revolt really broke into gear, forcing Jin to close the door early; Chisa sprints over as fast as she can, but is ultimately locked outside.