Danganronpa: Despair’s Philosophy
by ETNMystic is an ongoing second-person perspective Danganronpa fanfic utilizing the website AI Dungeon. The reader takes on the perspective of Lydia Binx, a fifteen-year-old girl in this killing game with little to no recollection of who she is only for her to begin to experience strange, recurring dreams
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The story in general provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: A couple of the kids have them actually:
- In a flashback in Chapter 2, Part 8, it's implied that Cleo and Karla both have strained or even no relationship with their families. It's also implied that this could be due to the fact that she and Cleo are both gay, as on their wiki pages, Karla is confirmed to be a lesbian and Cleo is confirmed to either be lesbian or bisexual.
- In Chapter 3, Part 5, Jacob talks about how he actually hates video games due to his father pushing him to get good at them day and night. He did just about everything to keep his son awake, including injections and IVs of coffee or pure caffeine, a strict diet of high-caffeine foods, tasering him awake, and even taping his eyelids open after a particularly-bad night for Jacob. He wouldn't even let his son use the bathroom unless he beat a personal best. This caused Jacob to develop kidney stones the size of golf balls. After the surgery to remove them, he told the staff about what his dad was doing to him and he was arrested for child abuse.
- In Chapter 4, we learn of this from Mr. Demar's godson Dmitri who then confronted him not long after.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Discussed as of current. Practically every dream Lydia has talks about this ascension to Godhood.
- Betrayal by Inaction: Mr. Demar to Lydia in the final dream of Chapter 3 when Nagito is becoming obsessive over and harassing her, even trying to propose to her, setting much of the tone for future interactions so far.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: As in practically every fan story in the franchise, the executions are rather twisted.
- The Chapter 1 killer, Frank Norris the Ultimate Astral Projector, uses his talent in his execution to meet with the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion; he begins to float on his own lotus heart to a place with no more suffering, only for the lotus heart to fall apart and drop him into Hell where he's tormented by demons who push him into the pit of fire. It's especially brutal as, just before the execution, he states that his grandparents told him he was going to go to Hell because they believe that Astral Projection is part of the occult.
- The Chapter 3 killer, Jacob Bradley, the Ultimate Gamer, ends his execution through a confrontation with his dad, who pushed him to get good at video games to the point of abuse.
- Death Game: As with practically every fan story in the franchise, the characters find themselves in a killing game.
- Double Entendre: Chapter 3, Part 5 in which they find an art room and Lydia is staring at her crushes, to which Annie states that "SOMEONE has to nail the art to the wall."
- Dream Land: Lydia experiences odd dreams shortly after watching her motive video. But as time goes on, they slowly start to seem as though they're seeping into reality.
- Dream Within a Dream: The stories about Zero could be considered as such, as these are only presented in the dreams.
- Dude, She's A Lesbian: Stated by Annie to Jacob in Chapter 3, Part 5 when he saw Lydia staring at Mona and Ivy.
- Forced Transformation: Inflicted on Jacob in Chapter 2, Part 1 by Thalia.
- Hide Your Lesbians: Averted; in fact many of the characters in the fic are confirmed as being LGBT+, in the fic and/or on their wiki pages.
- Mona is very openly flirtatious towards Lydia and is even called "that British lesbian bitch" at one point by Jacob.
- In Chapter 2, Part 4, Ivy states that she doesn't "speak 'etero." (hetero)
- In Chapter 4, Part 4, Lydia states that she's "pretty gay" for two girls at her school.
- I'd Tell You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You: Said to Lydia twice in Chapter 1, Part 2 by Cleo and Karla during introductions, with the latter being cut off before she can finish.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Said by Cleo to Karla in the killing flashback of Chapter 2, saying that their talents and their lives are very similar if not the same.
- Shout-Out: Several of these, particularly to the canon franchise.
- Many of Lyra's meta comments elude back to it (by virtue of her being the Ultimate Meta Commentator); one such example is the Chapter 2 motive being the secrets motive, or as Lyra says, "So Game 1, Case 2."
- Chapter 3 gives one to "Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy, a piece which appears in Danganronpa v3.
- Another is in Chapter 3 following a speech given by the protagonist meant to give the group hope; Lyra points out that she's nearly the protagonist of a killing game, with her only needing an ahoge to complete it; this references to many canon DR protagonists sporting ahoges.
- There are plenty of nods to the movie Hocus Pocus, including Lydia and Thalia's last names.
- Took a Level in Badass: In a Chapter 3 flashback after Jacob is found to be guilty of Ken and Thalia's murders. The typically-timid Ken finds out about Jacob's plan to murder Thalia and they tell Jacob they won't let him; he even ends up throwing a few punches at Jacob. Unfortunately he is still taken down.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: The chapter 1 execution is an excellent example. Frank Norris the Ultimate Astral Projector, uses his talent in his execution to meet with the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy and Compassion; he begins to float on his own lotus heart to a place with no more suffering, only for the lotus heart to fall apart and drop him into Hell where he's tormented by demons who push him into the pit of fire. What's more twisted is that aside from grandparents who claimed he was going to Hell for his talent, Frank was born into poverty, he was constantly picked on at school for being the weird kid even before astral projecting, and had almost no one who supported him astral projecting except for his mom, who worked so much to keep them above the poverty line and turns out to be terminally-ill and is the one who appears in his motive video.
