Point Of Divergence
is a What If? AU of Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair written by mercuriesandrandomness in which Nagito Komaeda does not have frototemporal dementia.
This changes the plot dramatically.
This work contains examples of:
- Dead Person Conversation: Hinata has one with Nanami after chapter 1's trial.
- Death by Adaptation:
- Everyone who survives the game in canon except Hinata dies in this fic.
- Nanami, Saionji, and Tanaka die earlier than in canon.
- For Want of a Nail: Nagito Komaeda doesn't have frototemporal dementia, and doesn't try to kill anyone during chapter 1's party.
- Implausible Deniability: Pekoyama claiming to not know Kuzuryuu during Chapter 2's trial. By that point, she's spent the entire investigation in a Heroic BSoD and vocally cursing her uselessness-it doesn't take long for everyone to realize she's grieving.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Chapter 1's murder happens in roughly the same way.
- Togami still dies in Chapter 1.
- Komaeda is still kidnapped in Chapter 2.
- Chapter 2's murder still heavily involves Twilight Syndrome Murder Mystery.
- Someone still tries to kill themselves in chapter 3.
- Akane and Komaeda both get despair fever in Chapter 3.
- Chapter 3's murderer has the exact same motive as their counterpart in canon.
- Chapter 4 still involves a suicide pact.
- Komaeda goes into the Final Dead Room in Chapter 4.
- Komaeda dies in chapter 5.
- Chapter 6 is roughly the same as canon.
- Mood Whiplash: Part 4 of Chapter 2 begins with the guys' attempts at spying on the girls' beach party, and ends with Hinata, Koizumi, and Pekoyama finding Kuzuryuu's body.
- Once an Episode: Chapters 2, 3, and 4 all feature a scene early on with Hinata and Tsumiki taking care of Komaeda.
- Shipper on Deck: Mioda briefly ships Hinata/Souda at one point.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Mioda, Tsumiki, Pekoyama, Nidai, and Hanamura, who all die in canon, survive until the end in this fic. Also, Koizumi lives longer than in canon.
- Survivor Guilt: Kuzuryuu's death hits Pekoyama even harder than hers did to him in canon, especially since it was a murder this time-she actively failed at being a bodyguard.
- Switching P.O.V.: Chapter 4's investigation is told from Komaeda's POV, like in canon.
- The Stations of the Canon: All of the murders have similar motives or occur similarly to those in canon.
- Was It All a Lie?: Hinata after finding out that Nanami is The Mole. It's confirmed it wasn't later on, when as in canon, it turns out she's the Token Good Teammate.
- What If?: Nagito Komaeda didn't have frototemporal dementia?
