RunawayRonpa: Let's Play For Hope!
(Shortened to just RunawayRonpa or RR) is a fanfic written by Ari Zonia featuring The Runaway Guys, some of their friends, and few friends of the author themself. It takes place in an Alternate Universe based on DanganRonpa where everyone is a "guest" at a place called Kiibocon. Everyone is first gathered and told they are to live in harmony, until MonoBagel shows up and tells them, in order to leave, they must kill each other and get away with it.
Originally planned as a webcomic, the story was migrated to a written format for better pacing and easier workload. Artwork for the story still exists to help provide a visual representation of key aspects of the story, like everyone's attire. This is especially so for those that are from Ari's friend group, and thus unfamiliar to most friends of TRG.
The story is ongoing, and some tropes are subject to change, but also given the murder-mystery aspect of the story, spoilers beware.
RunawayRonpa trope examples follow:
- Alternate Universe Fic: Takes place in a made up timeline based on DanganRonpa where TRG and friends are stuck in an empty convention center and its accompanying hotel, being forced to kill each other. Each person is also assigned a specific "ultimate" talent that coincides with something that person may be known for. Some of these include:
- Ultimate Let's Player Emile: known for the amount of effort and dedication done for every Let's Play video he does, and plans to do.
- Ultimate Singer Adriana: her entire career is built upon her amazing singing voice.
- Ultimate Teacher Mallory: before becoming a full time painter and guest for Stephen, Mallory was an art teacher, and her talent is an homage to that, as well as her painting tutorial videos.
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Alternative Character Interpretation: As is the nature of a story that takes its basis from DanganRonpa where personalities can be a bit exaggerated. Most everyone in the story is more or less a very believable written interpretation of the person they are based off of, but there are some that are a little bit different compared to how they actually are.- Tom is very much the loose cannon, and drawn alignment charts always put him along the evil or chaotic side of things
- Brandon is very quiet and cryptic, to the point most of his dialogue is "translated" by Ari, who seems to have no problem figuring out what he's talking about
- Ambiguous Time Period: No exact place in time has been given so far in the story. Chapter 2 makes it even more confusing as the convention has amenities for providing both hand warmers as well as cold water bottles, leaving even the season up for debate.
- Anyone Can Die: Established extremely quickly as Emile, the supposed protagonist, is killed before the end of the prologue.
- Back from the Dead: Tom makes a return starting early on in Chapter 3, except he is now some sort of robot or animated doll. His memories are somewhat intact, but only if it's knowledge the other guests at KiiboCon would also know about.
- Bilingual Bonus:
- The hotel everyone is staying in, along with the attached convention are called "Zetsubo Hotel" and "Kiibocon" the Japanese words for "Despair", and "Hope", respectively, and Arc Words of DanganRonpa itself.
- MonoPippy's original name "Usarotta", is a combination of the Japanese word for rabbit, and the Japanese name of the Animal Crossing character she was already named after.
- Breather Episode: Chapter 2 finally introduces the proper "Daily Life" segments of the story. There's no murders, motives, or anything to put the reader on edge. Simply, the characters interacting as friends and getting used to new surroundings.
- Cats Are Mean: MonoBagel, the main antagonist, is an anthropomorphic cat that declares everyone needs to start killing each other.
- Content Warnings: As the story is hosted on AO3, there is a fair share of tags to warn readers what may be in store."It's DanganRonpa" "you know what you're in for"
- Creating Life: Stephen, Ari, Mal, Meg, Roxie, and Brandon combine some aspects of their respective talents, or otherwise lend a hand, to create a robot Tom.
- Cryptic Conversation: Most anything that comes out of Brandon's mouth comes off this way. To a point that Ari usually translates what he's saying to be a bit more natural sounding, and for it to make sense to everyone else.
- Deadly Game: Everyone is forced to play in a "game" where they have to kill each other to leave the nightmare that is KiiboCon. Should someone commit murder, and get away with it, they walk off without punishment and leave everyone else to die. Although, should they be found guilty, they get axed instead.
- Death Fic: Par for the course, given its inspiration.
- Decoy Protagonist: The entirety of the combined Prologue and Chapter 1 is written in Emile's point of view, giving the reader a clear look into his thoughts. All of this is thrown out almost immediately as the Deadly Life part of Chapter 1 throws you into Masae's point of view and sticks with her throughout.
- Escape from the Crazy Place: Who wouldn't want to find the way out of a "game" where you're expected to kill your closest friends and loved ones?
- First-Name Basis: Most of the cast is referred to by their actual first names, rather than usernames. Lucah averts this, unless it's Jon talking about her.
- Hanging Judge: As is standard for the story's origin. MonoBagel's punishment for someone committing murder is immediate execution. While there is a trial process to find the guilty party, if they accuse the wrong person, everyone else dies. He also shows no mercy to anyone that dares lay a finger on him maliciously.
- Foreshadowing:
- Near the end of the Daily Life in Chapter 1, Emile and Masae bid each other goodnight and ask that the other stay safe for the night. The chapter ends with the Death Announcement playing.
- Just after bidding Masae goodnight, Emile finds her bag in his hotel room and comments she must have forgotten it and will pick it up the next day. Her bag contains a knife that ends up being used in the murder that occurred immediately at the end of the chapter.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: The story begins this way, with exactly eight guys and eight girls, which is normal for the story it's based off of.
- Happily Married: Stephen and Mal, Jon and Lucah.
- Hope Spot: What happens with Tom during his execution. It looks like he's going to be able to break free from the chains forcing him to fight, only for the collar in his neck to impale him. The description for the scene makes it all the worse
- Hostile Show Takeover: MonoPippy, known at the time as Usarotta, shows up at first to greet the guests and explain their new lives for them, only for her to get sat on by MonoBagel and have everything flipped on its head.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Stephen, Jules, and Brandon easily tower over their companions of Mal, Adri, and Ari.
- Idiot Hair: For any drawings associated with RR, Emile prominently sports one. To a lesser extent, so does Masae.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: MonoBagel loves his puns, much like his inspiration. They're bad enough that Emile even comments that they're terrible.
- Lemony Narrator: As a story written solely from a first-person perspective, the author takes great liberties with what goes on in our protagonist's head, including some very interesting metaphors.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone's reactions to MonoBagel announcing the Killing Game was mostly a mix of anger, fear, and skepticism.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Notably Masae and Lucah are only referred to as such by the entire rest of the cast, even if people actually already know their names. Averted in Lucah's case specifically with Jon where he always calls her Reese.
- Public Execution: Well, for as public as the story can be given the limited cast. The guilty party of any given murder is executed practically on the spot, and the remaining survivors are forced to watch whatever MonoBagel cooked up for them.
- Real-Person Fic: All characters, even down to MonoBagelnote and MonoPippynote are based on TRG, their associates, and friends of the author, Ari.
- Small, Secluded World: The cast seem to be stuck in an abandoned convention center completely cut off from the outside world, they have no means of outside communication, and only each other to keep themselves company. Whether the world at large still exists and everyone is simply cut off or was subject to the end of the world already is left up for debate.
- Your Head Asplode: What ultimately killed Sage from MonoBagel giving her a piece of explosive bubblegum.
