Fanfic / Three-Point Shot

The first investigation was going exactly as the Mastermind hoped it would. And then Ouma picked up the ball.

Three-Point Shot by RandomRex6 is a Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Alternate Universe Fic where Kokichi Ouma, partially out of curiosity and partially out of amusement, tampers with the crime scene of the first murder by picking up the shotput ball and throwing it back up to the top of the bookshelves. This sets off a chain reaction in which Shuichi Saihara carries out a crucial experiment that did not take take place in the main game's investigation in Chapter 1, and he is able to uncover the vital evidence needed to clear Kaede Akamatsu's name as a suspect and save her from being executed. From that point on, the students are able to steer the Killing Game down a different path.

As of February 28, 2018, the fanfic has been completed. It currently has the third-most "kudos" of any Danganronpa fanfic on Archive of Our Own. The story is also available on FanFiction.Net here.

Compare I'd Trade My Life For Yours, in which Shuichi is executed in Kaede's place, and System Restore, a Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair fic with a similar premise.

It has an in-progress audiobook on YouTube.

The fanfiction is built heavily on not only the First-Episode Twist, but events from as far late into the game as the endgame. Thus, all spoilers for the actual game will be unmarked.

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Tropes in Three-Point Shot include:

A - M

• Aborted Arc: A couple of In-Universe examples.
  • The only things left of Tsumugi's apocalypse subplot and memory-implanting Flashback Lights are the occasional treasure chest where they were once held and Kaito's Plot-Induced Illness already having taken effect. With her gone, her higher-ups took the game in a different direction.
  • Maki's personalized motive in Chapter 5 involving Kaito's impending death. The astronaut succumbs to his illness before Maki is even able to act or commit murder. The heads of Team Danganronpa even discuss in chapter 59 how she didn't even take any action with this motive.
• Accidental Hero: The whole story is possible because Kokichi picked up the shot put ball and threw it as a prank. Because of said prank, Shuichi noticed Kaede's trap during the investigation. By investigating it further, he quickly learns that it failed to kill Rantarou and he managed to save Kaede from being executed and found the real culprit. Though knowing Ouma, it may or may not have been a genuine accident.
• Adaptational Heroism: Kirumi Tojo never sees the original game's motive video and never attempts to commit murder. That said, while she is the victim of the fourth case, it came from a place of being very much okay with gambling her life against Iruma's, with one or the other escaping alive.
• Adaptational Villainy:
  • Angie Yonaga attempts to poison Kokichi and ends up accidentally killing Gonta, going further than they ever did in canon. Tenko and Miu are also murderers, with Tenko killing Korekiyo in self-defense after finding out his true colors and Miu being reverted to her original personality before killing Kirumi.
  • Monodam is far crueler than in canon. While his canon counterpart was a Knight Templar who wouldn't hesitate to kill his siblings, he genuinely wished for them to get along. Here, his desires for everyone to get along is a thinly veiled excuse to kill them, not showing a shred of sympathy during the accident that killed Monotaro, killing Monophanie simply for "not being cute enough", and attempting to kill Monosuke during Angie's execution despite having no reason to.
• Adaptational Wimp: Downplayed and justified with Angie's student cult, because the group still has Kaede's strong leadership. In canon, an Absurdly Powerful Student Council that intimidates and acts over the heads of any nonmembers, with even Tenko barely able to do much as The Mole; here, they're an art club with a highly religious bent. The group is still treated by the Fitness Club as a potential threat to the group stability and fear the possibility of Angie making a power grab, not to mention just what the hell Kokichi has in mind joining it, fearing that she could turn it into what the readers know it easily could have been. The art club's members besides Angie are less fanatical, and between Kokichi, Shuichi, and inadvertently thanks to his sacrifice Gonta all end up working against its leader's will. This trope is also deconstructed somewhat as Angie's lack of an iron grip on her followers leads to her being far less okay with the betrayals than how casually she took canon!Tenko's, having a brief crisis of faith, and going so far as to defy her god telling her to forgive Kokichi's transgressions and attempting to poison him.
• Alternate Identity Amnesia: Chapter 10 begins with Kaede receiving a recorded video of herself, congratulating "future me" on making it past the first trial and encouraging her future herself to be as ruthless as necessary to win the Killing Game. With a few scattered exceptions such as Maki's, encouraging her simply via reminding herself that she's an assassin, implicitly everyone else got something along those lines too. As a "reward" for winning the special prize during Monokuma's staged Fair-Play Whodunnit, Iruma gets to remember who she was.
• And Then What?: When Kiibo presents the survivors with an opportunity to escape Gifted Inmates' Academy, Kaede is against the idea for the following reasons.
  Kaede: Look, even if we use this plan to get out, what next? The guys who captured us will probably come after us again. Are we just going to run for the rest of our lives? Plus, we don't have any money, or I.D.s, or any way to contact anyone. I want to escape, but... realistically... what comes after?
• Ascended Extra: Part of the premise; Kaede goes from Decoy Protagonist to remaining the foremost of the shifting viewpoint characters. Beyond that, anyone else who died early on but lasts much longer here can be argued as counting, though for the most part it's downplayed as they're about as active a presence as they were while canonically alive. For the Monokumarz' subplot, due to differing death orders, Monosuke of all of them, only really notable for being slightly less of a Jerkass than Monokid and otherwise being in favor of his siblings fighting, ends up being the one with the most focus and the one to turn the tables on Monodam's reign of terror.
• Assassination Attempt: Monosuke and Monokid plot against Monodam fearing that he'll kill them just like he did to Monofunny with Monokid being the one to go through with it. It fails when the guitar Monokid uses becomes a lightning rod that shocks the bear during his assassination attempt, ultimately resulting in his death.
• Ax-Crazy:
  • After regaining their memories, Miu displays a darker and more sociopathic personality as she describes how the world is more horrible than anyone can imagine. She also purposefully refuses to provide any information on their situation as it would be more fun to have everyone continue to suffer.
  • In chapter 53, Kokichi displays more deranged and sadistic attitude as he announces his plan to end the killing game with a bomb that will endanger the lives of the survivors. Although considering his personality and how he feels about the killing game, this may be just an act.
• Back from the Dead: Thanks to Monosuke tampering with the machine that managed Miu's execution, the Monokuma Cubs along with him come back to life, much to Monodam's concern.
  • They return to life again after they were deactivated from the EMP bomb implanted in Kiibo during the fifth case. This time they're brought back to help their dad with the final class trial in chapter 62.
• Badass Boast: A few of them.
  Kokichi: [to Monokuma] I just want you to remember my face. In your darkest moments, I want you [to] remember the face of the man who beat you.
  —
  Kaede: [to Team Danganronpa] You've already lost. So bow out gracefully, or go down in flames.
• Beta Couple: Kaito and Maki become this as they receive the most attention and development in the story after Kaede and Shuichi.
• Benevolent A.I.: At the end of the fifth trial, Kiibo is revealed to be alive and has taken control of Motherkuma and the entire school system.
• Big Brother Mentor: Kaito fills out this role to both Shuichi and Kaede. Shuichi even admits that he sees Kaito as a brother figure rather then a potential crush.
• Bittersweet Ending: The killing game ultimately ends with more survivors than in canon, including all three canonical survivors. However, those who survived still bear the scars from their ordeal (especially Maki and Himiko, who lost people they cared about), and while Danganronpa is on the decline, it hasn't ended yet.
• Blackmail: Kokichi uses this on Maki after learning of her true talent as an assassin. Thus forcing her to go along with his schemes. Strangely enough, she ends up being relatively okay with this situation after his motive video convinces her of his desire to overcome the killing game itself.
• Book Ends: The fic begins with Kokichi declaring "Three-point shot!" and throwing the shot put ball onto a bookshelf. The fic ends with Kaede throwing a poster for Danganronpa 58 into the trash from a few feet away and quipping, "Three-point shot."
• Brainwashed: Kaori reveals to the survivors in the final class trial that they were ordinary fans who willingly underwent brainwashing so they could become part of the Danganronpa experience. She even states that even though they wanted to escape, they were written so that they could only do so by following the rules of Danganronpa and keeping the game going.
  Kaori: You only believed what we wanted you to. You only loved who we told you to. You only fought for what we asked you to. Struggle as much as you want, change as much as you want, the ending stays the same. With all of you under the thumb of Team Danganronpa. Hell, sis only convinced you not to blow your way out of here because we made you that way.
• Cain and Abel: Kaede and her sister Kaori applied for Danganronpa, but only Kaori got accepted, so Kaede forged an acceptance letter and stole her sister's spot. Kaori repays the favor by accepting the role of the new Mastermind for the final trial.
• Call-Back:
  • When Monofunny performs her trademark throw-up upon seeing the second body and calls out her brothers for looking forward to the upcoming Class Trial, Monokuma comments that she's "got too much of (her) aunt in (her)."
  • When Monokuma explains the use of virtual reality in Chapter four, Kaito demands to know if he intends to trap them inside leaving them to starve until one of them commits murder.
  • When the fourth body announcement is made, Monokuma makes a joke about how he prefers his pancakes with a wad o' butter.
    Monokuma: "Meh, before your time I guess."
  • Kaede interacting with her pregame self in a black void after falling into despair bears a certain resemblance to Hajime and Chiaki's final scene together in Danganronpa 2 Goodbye Despair.
• Chekhov's Gun: The usb drive that Kokichi wins in Chapter 2's casino night is brought up again in the end of Chapter 5 and was used to save Kiibo's AI.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: If one pays close attention to where the Monokuma Cubs are positioned in the final class trial setting, they'll notice that each one is placed in the spot of a culprit from the story that matches their color. Such as Monosuke in Angie's spot (yellow), Monofunny in Miu's spot (pink), and Monokid in Tenko's spot (blue). The exceptions being Monodam in Rantaro's spot (Rantaro was a victim) and Monotaro in Kokichi's spot (the bear is red while the supreme leader wore white, though they both wear a scarf).
• Confessional: Monokuma sets one up as the motive for the third chapter. Anyone can confess a secret to Monokuma, who has secrets regarding everyone in the killing game, and if they do, they'll hear a secret about someone else. If the secret that person confesses matches the one Monokuma has on them, he'll discard it, but if not, he'll add it to his stockpile.
• Cop and Scientist: Kaede and Shuichi's dynamic as a protagonist duo. Kaede fills the cop role as her assertiveness guides the group in their discussions during the trials while also staying strong when confronting the culprit. Shuichi is the scientist as his detective skills help evaluate how the murder scenarios would have played out along with figuring out why the culprit would be motivated in the first place.
  • This dynamic extends to the game mechanics of the class trials. While Kaede steers the non-stop debates, rebuttal showdowns, and scrum debates forward the majority of the time, Shuichi delivers all the the closing arguments himself.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: It's a fanfic about a killing game in Danganronpa, so elaborate, gruesome executions are standard fare.
  • At the end of the first trial, the real culprit, Tsumugi Shirogane, is found guilty and executed by the Monokubs, strangled and squeezed to death by garrotte wires.
  • Tenko is the culprit of Case 2, and she is put in a dojo where after she fights off some robotic warriors, she then gets beaten to death by gravity after getting flinged around by planks.
  • For Case 3, Angie is found guilty, and she is struck by lightning and tumbles into a volcano.
  • The fourth culprit is Miu. She is hurled into a factory, where she gets crushed and melted like scrap metal.
  • In the fifth execution, Kokichi is restrained in a chair and after playing a life sized game of chess with Monokuma, he is sliced in half by a giant sword hanging over him.
• Crush Blush: Kaede knocks on Shuichi's door to go to Casino Night with him. He comes out wearing a fancy midnight blue suit, and she is wearing a scarlet dress. Both are at a momentary loss for words.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Due to the source material's really low survivor count, so far entirely of the 'killed off earlier than in canon' route, with Shirogane, Shinguuji, Chabashira, and Gokuhara all dead earlier than in the game. The latter type is also downplayed with Momota, who lasts exactly as long as he does in the game, it's just the case and trial he died during that ends up not happening before he can expire.
  • Thanks to the differing order of the Monokumarz, Monotaro and Monofunny are the first two to go rather than the last... And then subverted and outright inverted when they're all brought back, explicitly with the memories of their old selves.
• Death Is the Only Option: Kaori's final ultimatum for the survivors. They can either lose the class trial and continue the killing game until two people are left or they can leave the academy after undergoing another brainwashing session which will erase their current memories and personalities ultimately turning them back into the way they were. Thankfully, Kaede convinces everyone to Take a Third Option instead.
  Ryoma: Basically, if we want to leave, it means killing ourselves.
• Decon-Recon Switch: The objective of convincing the viewing audience to give up Danganronpa is given this treatment. It's deconstructed after Kaori reveals that Danganronpa is too powerful to give up on and that the 54th season is already in production. Kaede accepts this but she reconstructs this by vowing to make every effort to boycott the show by pointing out how flawed it truly is.
  Kaede: "I know I can't bring the production down myself. I'm not strong enough to do that. But we can plant the seed. A seed of doubt in the peoples' minds. I highly doubt whoever the higher-ups in charge of this are will get to keep their jobs after this fiasco. Everything that happened, everything that fell apart will drive in the wedge that rips apart Team Danganronpa. Maybe we can't stop the Killing Game here and now, but we can sure as Hell be the first step."
• Decoy Protagonist: A (so far) nonlethal yet ironic variant compared to its inversion in the game. Shuichi takes point for much of the first murder's investigation and trial, which is where the story starts, and after that point settles pretty firmly back into Deuteragonist territory as Kaede gets through her initial bout of My God, What Have I Done?.
• Despair Event Horizon: The survivors cross this during the final class trial in chapter 64. They learn from Kaori that the killing game is a TV show where their traumatic experiences and deaths are broadcasted for the world to enjoy. They themselves were fans of the bloodshed and were willing to throw away their lives to participate. And now they are presented with the Death Is the Only Option ultimatum from above leaving them too afraid and in despair to react.
• Deus est Machina: K1-B0 declares his intention to transcend his physical form and become an independent digital entity in cyberspace after the end of the game.
• Deuteragonist: As mentioned above, Shuichi is pretty clear-cut about continuing to hold onto this position throughout the game, right down to being the go-to guy for some but not as many trial mechanics as Kaede. The Tritagonist title is a tossup between Maki (being the third most prominent viewpoint character, plenty of character development of her own) and Kokichi (his meddling being far less antagonistic to the others and his desire to end the killing game leading to him being pretty much the source of significant alterations to the narrative that aren't simply caused by a change in motives or Kaede's continued presence).
• Didn't See That Coming: Team Danganronpa admits during their meeting that they did not see Kaede's survival and Tsumugi's resulting death coming.
• Did They or Didn't They?: Throughout chapter 51, Maki spends the whole day with Kaito to make his final hours as enjoyable as possible. Coupled with the Does This Remind You of Anything? segments down below, it all leads up to them spending a night together in the Love Hotel. Yet the details of their time in the hotel was never described, leaving readers in the dark as to whether they actually had sex or not. The answer is revealed in chapter 67 with Maki having a daughter named Anzu who has a great interest in space.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: Katio passes from his illness in Maki's arms.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Tsumugi Shirogane was the game's mastermind, but The Show Must Go On, and it's been implied multiple times that someone has already replaced her by early in the second chapter.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: In chapter 51, we're given this eyebrow raising segments involving Maki doing something special for Kaito to make his last days more enjoyable.
  Maki: Shut up, and remember I'm rusty at this.
  [Several minutes later...]
  Kaito: OH MY GOD!
  Maki: So I haven't lost my touch. That's reassuring, I suppose.
  Kaito: These... are the best brownies.

  Maki: You can do this...
  Kaito: Right.
  Maki: Just believe, and put it in.
  Kaito: Uh-huh... [Proceeds to pull down the lever in a slot machine.]
• The Dog Bites Back: The Monokuma Cubs killed by Monodam are brought back to life thanks to Monosuke tampering with the machine that handled Miu's execution. The next chapter reveals that they wasted no time in delivering payback to Monodam for how he mistreated and killed them throughout the story.
• Due to the Dead: With Kaito's death in Chapter 52, the survivors hold a funeral in his honor complete with Keebo and Shuichi digging him a proper grave, Maki giving an eulogy describing all he's done for her and the group, and Kaede performing a somber musical piece dedicated to the fallen astronaut.
• Duel to the Death: A non-violent example occurs in Chapter 4 using two chalices, one poisoned, between Miu and Kirumi. The former has regained her memories of the outside world and offers the knowledge and escape opportunity to Kirumi should she live through the challenge.
• Easily Forgiven: During the first trial, much to Kaede's relief, everyone is willing to forgive her initial attempt to murder since she only did it to save everyone by killing the mastermind.
  • Maki is also forgiven by the survivors sans Kokichi in chapter 53 after her true talent as an assassin was revealed. This trope is reconstructed as Kaede makes it clear that Maki is deserving of forgiveness because of how much she truly cared for the group and how she was helping them with their respective problems throughout the story.
• Everyone Can See It: Pretty much the entire cast can tell Kaede and Shuichi have a thing for each other. Likewise with, for those who spend time with them, Maki and Kaito.
• Exploiting the Fourth Wall: After the reveal of the killing game being a television show, Kaori shows the survivors comments provided by the Danganronpa fanbase all of which are comments made by real life DR fans based on their reviews from the past chapters. The author even went as far as to include their usernames with their comments!
• Fair-Play Whodunnit: The theme of the fourth chapter involves everyone entering a virtual reality world with a mystery dinner setting. Complete with the students having new outfits, character roles, and backstories.
• Final Boss: Kaori Akamatsu is brought in to replace Tsumugi as the Mastermind.
• Fingertip Drug Analysis: Gonta finds Kirumi unconscious with a cup of tea next to her. Deducing that the tea might have knocked her out, he decides to have a taste to see what's wrong with it. He promptly gets himself killed for his stupidity.
• First Kiss: Kaito and Maki in Chapter 47. Also, Shuichi and Kaede in Chapter 50.
• Foregone Conclusion: Since Kaede Akamatsu is outed as innocent, Rantarou Amami's real killer, Tsumugi Shirogane, very naturally won't be long for the world at the start of the story.
• Former Friends Photo: Shuichi comes across a picture of Rantarou and Tsumugi participating in a class trial together in one of his lab files. Himiko sadly laments how the two looked like they were good friends.
• For Want Of A Nail: It all starts when Ouma picks up the shot put ball and throws it onto the bookshelf, thus cluing in Shuichi on Kaede's trap and proving that it failed to killed Rantaro.
• Fridge Logic: In-Universe, the first portion of the final trial is spent pointing out the various flaws in the Gofer Project. Such as how the plan relied on high school students to preserve humanity even though a majority of them have no expertise in creating a functioning society or how they selected someone like Ryoma to participate despite his incarceration. There's also how Kiibo, a robot, was sent alongside the last survivors of humanity even though he wouldn't be able to propagate the species. Word of God claims that this was intentional as they felt that the Gofer Project plotline was flawed and incredibly stupid.
• Gone Horribly Right: Monodam's attempts on his siblings lives do end up getting them to work together, first in the case of Monokid and Monosuke planning on killing him, and then, after they all come Back from the Dead, collectively bullying him even harder than ever. Poor guy even admits he just wanted them all to get along.
  • The producers of Team Danganronpa discuss how horribly everything turned out by allowing Kokichi to do as he pleased resulting in a critical reaction, both positive and negative, from the audience.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Team Danganronpa is this for continuing the Deadly Game after Tsumugi Shirogane's death.
• Hands Go Down: The morning after the first trial, Kokichi calls into question Kaede acting like the group's leader reminding everyone that she did try to kill someone and lied to everyone, at least at first. Kaito responds by polling everyone, saying "Anyone opposed to Akamatsu as Leader raise your hand!" Only Kokichi and Miu do, and when Kaito amends the question to, "Anyone who thinks Ouma would be a better choice, raise their hand", even Miu won't support him.
• Heroic BSoD: Shuichi. Beginning in the third trial and continuing for quite a few chapters, Shuichi becomes withdrawn and unable to talk normally with anyone, especially Kaede. See Wham Episode below for the reason why.
  • After being backed into a corner by Angie and Kokichi's accusations during the third trial, Shuichi experiences an actual anxiety attack complete with heavy breathing and being unresponsive to the world around him. Maki even refers to his state by the actual name. Kaito does his best to help Shuichi through it while Kaede continues the trial.
• Heroic Second Wind: Despite Miu's sudden change in personality along with her cryptic last words, Kaede decides she has had enough and encourages everyone that now they need to stand strong together more than ever in order to beat Monokuma and end the killing game. Everyone with the exception of Kiibo and Kokichi is in agreement.
  • This happens again during chapter 65 where Kaede motivates everyone that they can still fight back against Team Danganronpa. Each of the survivors gives their own speech on what they intend to fight for and how far they've come as their own person.
• Hope Bringer: Kaede is this to a T as she's able to motivate the group through the worst of times. It's thanks to her that she's able to overturn their Darkest Hour during the final class trial by encouraging her friends to fight back against Team Danganronpa.
  • Kaito also places himself in this role as his boisterous personality is meant to inspire everyone. Knowing that his life may be coming to an end, he considered having Maki take his place as the group's new 'rock'.
    Kaito: Akamatsu, Shuuichi, Hoshi, all of 'em. They need someone who doesn't get phased by all the shit Monokuma keeps throwing their way. They need to know that staying strong through all this is possible, and I just... I took it upon myself to do it. And if they knew their rock was crumbling... Everything they've been building themselves up on goes away. I can't let that happen.
• Hostage Video: While searching her lab for clues in chapter 61, Himiko finds a Monopad video featuring Rantaro but tied up by mysterious figures and in a bruised state. This trope is inverted since Rantaro is making this video for himself begging to give up on saving himself and to instead save everyone else.
• Idiot Ball: After the first trial, the survivors learn that the mastermind's secret base can be accessed through the girls' bathroom. Rather then going there immediately for Shuichi to look for the secret entrance, everyone decides to wait until the next day to investigate. Bonus points for Kaito taking Shuichi to go through night time exercises leaving him exhausted the next morning. When they do investigate and find the entrance, they arrive too late as Monokuma has already blocked the area keeping them from going to the secret base.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Just as in the original game, the fifth trial features Kokichi breaking the Killing Game by engineering a "murder" in which it is impossible to figure out for certain who the real "killer", not even Monokuma.
  • Kaito ultimately dies of his illness as in canon, but this time he dies in Maki's arms instead of dying in the middle of his own execution.
  • Shuichi, Maki and Himiko, the three canonical survivors of the original game, still survive to the end.
• Ironic Echo: In the final class trial, after Kaede vows to stop Monokuma from continuing the killing games, she's interrupted by a video of Rantaro in a trial setting saying the exact same speech, showing how much value her words really have.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Everyone is angry and disgusted with Kokichi when it's revealed that he purposely pitted Tenko and Korekiyo against each other, knowing that one of them would be murdered. He justifies himself asking them if anyone even misses Korekiyo after learning about his dark secrets and how he was a potential threat. This leaves everyone in Stunned Silence.
• Kick the Dog: Kokichi does this to Maki after revealing her true talent to everyone in Chapter 53. He describes her as a heartless killer and mocks her for believing his lies about wanting to saving everyone and for going along with his schemes.
• Last Chance to Quit: In chapter 60, Kaede sends this message to Team Danganronpa.
  Kaede: To whomever's watching this, and I know someone is, this is an ultimatum. Kiibo Idabashi is alive, and inside your 'Motherkuma'. With that, we have complete control of your security cameras, and our own standing army. In five minutes, we're going to create a single Monokuma, with which, we'll let you make us an offer. We're giving you those five minutes to come up with your best. Once it's made, we'll give you another five minutes to make your pitch. If we don't like it, we're going to default to our own plan to blow our way out of the school with our Kiibokuma army. I don't want our escape to have to be so violent, so this is your last chance. You've already lost. So bow out gracefully, or go down in flames.
• Last Stand: With Kiibo having full control of the Gifted Inmates Academy, Kaede convinces her friends to have a final confrontation with the masterminds in order to end their killing game and be free of their control once and for all.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: If you are not already familiar with the entire plot of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, many of its twists are spoiled in the first few chapters of Three-Point Shot, like the fact that Kaede didn't actually kill Rantaro, that Tsumugi did as the mastermind, and various other character tidbits.
• Let Them Die Happy: Shuichi figured out that Kokichi was responsible for Kokichi swapping Korekiyo and Tenko's motive videos, but doesn't bring that up until after Tenko is executed for killing Korekiyo, since he doesn't want her to know this.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: While exploring the new areas of the academy, Miu and Kirumi take a peak inside Angie's art room and find a bizarre scene of Angie and her art club during an art session. This includes Gonta doing a handstand with a bowl of fruit on his barefeet while shirtless as Kiibo uses butterfly net to catch the bowl while doing a yoga pose. All while Angie is painting them. The two girls quietly close the door and bring up this trope.
• Like You Were Dying: Knowing that his life is coming to an end soon, Maki offers to make Kaito's final days as enjoyable as she can for him. This includes teaching him how to use a gun, feeding him homemade brownies, and spending a night with him at the Love Hotel.
• Loony Fan: The survivors in chapter 64 come to the dark revelation that they themselves were huge fans of Danganronpa and were willing to throw away their lives to become part of the killing game experience.
• Love Hurts: The reason Maki chose to stay aloof from everyone is out of fear that she may feel heartbreak or suffering from getting too close to anyone. She becomes more afraid as she ends up becoming friends with Kaede and Shuichi while also developing a crush on Kaito. And it's her crush that is ultimately used against her as Kaito's impending death is made into her new motive to kill for chapter five.
• Makeover Torment: Played with, as while the makeover itself isn't tormenting for the person in question, that fact that it takes place during Tsumugi's execution is.
• Meaningful Funeral: Kaito's death and funeral serves as a grim reminder to the students that they will end up dying inside the prison if they cannot escape.
• Meaningful Name: The Necklace of Gia Nostelle, the MacGuffin of chapter four. The name comes from the term nostalgia which means remembrance of the past. Whoever is able to find the necklace is able to regain their memories before entering the killing game.
  • Maki's daughter is named Anzu which means 'apricot' in Japanese. Her name is a homage to her late father who's surname contains the word 'momo' which means 'peach'. Apricots and peaches come from the same family of fruit.
• Meaningful Rename: In Chapter 60, Himiko nicknames the Monokuma army being controlled by Kiibo as 'Kiibokumas' with her friends going along with the name. Considering that Kiibo's name means 'hope' in Japanese, the name is fitting now that the tables have turned in their favor.
• Meta Twist: A minor one. Though there is a fakeout, the author even lampshades the fact that the third case is not a double murder.
• The Mole: Shuichi pretends to join Angie's student council in order to keep an eye on their activities while also learning of the purpose of Monkuma's confession themed motive.
  • Kokichi also has Maki become this after being invited to hang out with the workout club (Kaede, Shuichi, Kaito) at the end of chapter two.
• Mood Motif: Kaede's numerous piano performances.
• Moral Event Horizon: In-Universe, during the final class trial, the survivors learn that Monokuma has held countless killing games in the Gifted Inmates Academy resulting in hundreds of deaths. Each of them expresses their disgust with this shocking revelation.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Even after realizing she's innocent, Kaede still regularly struggles with guilt over her attempted murder having been one miscalculation short of genuinely killing Amami, without even getting into the thoughts about what would've happened if this wasn't mistaken.

N - Z

• Noodle Implements: Without tea, Kokichi is likely to snap to order his organization to attack a military base in South America armed with a rubber chicken and twelve yo-yos.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Kokichi brings this up when discussing with Shuichi with how he and Kaede share a lot of similarities, even how they resorted to murder in order to protect everyone; he also questions why he continues to be hated and scrutinized for his actions while Kaede gets off scot-free.
• Odd Friendship: A few.
  • Ryoma and Himiko become close friends after Tenko's execution with Ryoma helping Himiko overcome her grief by following his old exercise routines.
  • Miu and Kirumi have an odd sort of camaraderie develop naturally, even partaking multiple times in a Spit Shake. Kirumi is also the one Miu trusts with what she's learned with her regained memories, playing a simple game with two poisoned glasses with her to determine who gets to attempt to escape with this knowledge of who they really are.
  • While friendship may be a stretch, it can be a bit surprising to see Kokichi and Maki cooperating with and seemingly trusting one another, given that under different circumstances she's easily the most hostile of all the students towards him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Everyone is surprised, and relieved, to see Kokichi attend Kaito's funeral with sincere sorrow and with the honest intention of paying his respects to the fallen astronaut.
• Off the Rails: From the very first chapter, Ouma's prank results in the narrative from the game going completely pear-shaped, up to and including The Mastermind being exposed and executed in the very first chapter.
  • At the end of Kokichi's execution in Chapter 5, the producers discuss how terrible things have gone for them by leaving Kokichi unchecked resulting in the game receiving backlash from the audience. And then Kiibo proceeds to take over the school.
• Out-of-Character Alert: Miu's post-VR lack of insulting nicknames in her dialogue, along with the absence of her submissive, self-pitying behavior, becomes a major clue for uncovering the truth of the fourth case.
• Peaceful in Death: Kaito's passing in Chapter 52. He spends his last moments peacefully with Maki, in his lab under the artificial stars.
• Posthumous Character: Rantarou gets even more of this than he already did, given that the story starts at the discovery of his murder. Tsumugi also gets implied posthumous characterization in the same vein as Rantarou, with an image implying the two were close in the previous killing game being among the files in the detective library.
• Princess for a Day: All the students participating in Casino Night dress up in formal attire in Chapter 12, courtesy of Monodam.
• Recurring Element: A common theme that fans noticed about the culprits is that they have all been female students. Word of God says this was unintentional. Ultimately subverted in the fifth case; nobody, including Monokuma, is able to conclusively prove whether the person who pressed the button that killed K1-B0 was Maki (female) or Kokichi (male), and Kokichi accepts execution for the crime.
• Red Herring Mole: Discussed by Team Danganronpa at one point, who reached the conclusion that setting Ouma up as a potential traitor was too obvious to possibly be true, given how Obviously Evil he is.
• Rousing Speech: Kaede shares a few words with her classmates before going into the final class trial.
  Kaede: I just want to say... whatever happens next, thank you. I couldn't have asked for better friends. This place may be Hell on Earth, but... there's an old saying about how, even if you go to Hell, you'll spend too much time laughing with your friends to care. And... that's kind of how I feel. In spite of everything, what I said on our first day here hasn't changed. Even when we leave this place, I want us all to stay friends. Forever. Together, we'll put an end to the killing, the tragedy, and the lies! We're going to face the last class trial, and we're gonna win!
• Said Bookism: The author frequently switches up the verbs used to indicate whenever someone is talking, and virtually never uses "said" after characters' dialogue.
• Say My Name: Right before being executed, Tsumugi delivers a loud one to Kaede.
  "You... you... AKAMATSUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
• Secret-Keeper:
  • Unlike in canon, where he reveals it very quickly, Kokichi here is the only person who knows that Maki is an assassin until she tells Kaito herself late in the story, towards the start of the chapter 5-equivalent. From there...
  • Maki and Kaito end up revealing their darkest secrets to each other: Maki's true talent as the Ultimate Assassin and Kaito having a life ending illness. With Kaito's death, everyone just sort of found out the last one anyway, while Kokichi goes back to being the one person with knowledge of Maki's true talent. Though she did reopen her lab on Momota's last day alive...
• Secret Secret-Keeper: The third motive, thanks to how Monokuma interprets a rule he added against "damaging" parts of a motive, turns everyone who uses the confessional into this for the secret of another student per thing they confess to, not even allowed to reveal what they found out until after the trial ends. Angie took Saihara's secret detailed under Wham Episode to the grave, though she very openly professed her disgust with him for it.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Both Kaede and Shuichi have this reaction when they see the other dressed up for Casino Night.
• Shipper on Deck: Implied in Chapter 51 by Ouma passing a love hotel key onto the class, which Harukawa and Momota end up using. Of course, knowing that guy, there may be something more to this yet.
• Shout-Out: "I HEAR VOICES IN MY HEAD! THEY COUNSEL ME, THEY UNDERSTAND..."
  • Tenko's execution is one to her death in canon, namely the infamous seesaw trick that Korekiyo used to kill her.
  • While discussing Rantarou's real talent, Himiko believes him to be the Ultimate Vampire based on the bloody appearance of his research lab. Kaede argues that he was shown to walk in the sunlight unless he was one of those vampires. Ryoma claims that they're not real vampires.
  • Shuichi and Maki reference an old Seinfeld bit in Chapter 49 when discussing Kokichi:
    Shuichi: There may be more to (Ouma) than meets the eye.
    Maki: Oh, no. There's less.
  • During the final class trial, Monokuma makes a reference to Narnia when he questions Ryoma's gullibility.
• Sickeningly Sweet: Kokichi has this reaction after everyone decides to accept Maki as a friend after revealing her talent as an assassin in chapter 53.
• Spanner in the Works: Kokichi, true to form, gets to be this a lot.
  • The whole reason the story happened is because Kokichi messed around with the shot put ball, cluing Shuichi into the murder method allegedly used far earlier on.
  • After the first trial, a board meeting of sorts (presumably from Team Danganronpa) even discusses the fact that Kokichi Ouma is too smart and unpredictable for the game, it hasn't been calibrated for Kaede Akamatsu's continued survival, and that now they need to readjust the entire game on the fly accordingly. Apparently it's great for ratings, though, so they just let the rest of the game play out with some modifications.
  • The fitness club immediately assume Kokichi's up to something when he joins Angie's "art club," and it's part of why they send Shuichi to act as The Mole for them.
  • Kokichi did something to Keebo while he was unconscious for maintenance from Miu shortly before the third murder, just what he did and the exact reasons for which are still a mystery dozens of chapters later. It's ultimately revealed he planted an EMP bomb in him as part of his final gambit to outwit Monokuma.
  • Even Kokichi's second-motive video message drives his status as a walking one of these home: he outright tells his future self that he has to beat the killing game entirely. Seeing it is actually enough to win him Maki's support.
  • Besides Kokichi, while ranting at Kaede towards the end of the first trial, Tsumugi complains that everything was going according to plan until Kaede's shot put ball missed.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Thanks to the story's premise, Kaede Akamatsu goes from Decoy Protagonist to remaining one of the main viewpoint characters for the whole story alongside Maki and Shuichi.
  • A good few characters have the "lasted longer than originally" treatment, such as Angie and Miu making it to the trials they were victims of as culprits, and Kirumi surviving until Chapter 4's equivalent.
  • Ryoma Hoshi is the second longest to live after Kaede, having now lived through the fifth trial.
  • More comically, the death order of the Monokumarz is different, so Monokid and Monosuke last longer before they're destroyed, and Monodam himself isn't. Thanks to quick thinking on Monosuke's part, all four destroyed ones are brought Back from the Dead with their memories intact, rather than simply being blank slate copies returned just to pilot exisals.
  • Ultimately, the students who survive the killing game who didn't in canon are Kaede, Ryoma, and K1-B0.
• Stuff Blowing Up: The killing game ends with Team Danganronpa going with Kiibo's plan of blowing up the end wall with an army of self destructing Kiibokumas. More than 500 Kiibokumas participate on the assault and it all leads up to Monodam leading his siblings towards the wall as they sign off with a final 'BYE-KUMA' before self destructing and breaching the wall.
• Take That!: A good portion of chapter 62 is spent pointing out flaws with the concept of the 'Gofer Project' plotline from the game, such as putting the fate of humanity in the care of fifteen teenagers (and a robot that can't reproduce) with no knowledge of agriculture or anything else needed to rebuild society. The author's note at the end of the chapter also brings up some Fridge Logic (how did K1-B0, the Ultimate ROBOT, forget his talent?).
• Time for Plan B:
  • Or more specifically Motivational Tool Beta-Two-Slash-Jay. Without Tsumugi to keep the narrative on track, the mastermind behind the game decides to choose different motives to make up for the loss of their primary asset.
  • They do this again in Chapter 60 when Kaede and the others send the mastermind a video calling them out. The plan is titled Situation Omega-7 with a substitute in Motivational Tools Epsilon-Twelve-November, and Phi-17-Charley in preparation for the final class trial.
• Title Drop: When Kokichi throws the shot put ball, starting the sequence of events creating the Alternate Universe story line. Kaede drops the title again as the last line of the fic.
• Too Dumb to Live: The sad truth of Case 3. Gonta suspects something is wrong with Toujou's tea when he sees her having fallen unconscious from inhaling its vapor. He decides to investigate the tea...by tasting it. He succumbs to the poison in the tea soon afterwards.
• Training from Hell: Katio invites Shuichi to work out with him after the first trial. The next morning, he can barely stand. Kaede suffers from the same effects after she joins in.
• Transparent Closet: Tenko, naturally, leads to this being discussed. Kaede advises Himiko not to press her too hard on the issue, even if she'll likely end up better off for just coming to terms with her feelings, as forcing the matter might only end up making her even more uncomfortable.
• Triumphant Reprise: In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, Clair De Lune was a leitmotif used during tragic or heartbreaking moments in the game, such as Shuichi playing the song after Kaede's execution. In this story, it's used during the 50th chapter where Shuichi and Kaede reveal their true feelings to each other and seal the moment with a kiss.
• Villainous Breakdown: Tsumugi does not take kindly to the fact that she was revealed as Rantaro's true killer in the first trial. She lashes out at Kaede and the others for ruining her storyline and is even angry with Monokuma who is willing to go along with her execution despite being promised the role of mastermind.
• Voice of the Legion: After being accused as Gonta's killer in the third trial Angie's voice and mannerisms change dramatically as it can only be described as if she were being possessed by God himself.
• The War Has Just Begun: Kaede and the survivors are aware that ending Danganronpa can't be done in a single moment, but they intend to make every attempt to ruin the show's credibility when they return to the real world.
• We Can Rule Together: Monokuma makes this pitch to Kokichi in Chapter 11. Kokichi responds by offering a handshake, which Monokuma takes, only to get shocked by a joy buzzer.
• Wham Episode: Chapter 31, after the conclusion of Case 3. Several scenes not shown in previous chapters are revealed.
  • First, the reason Miu had been found unconscious in her lab was because Maki, acting on Kokichi's orders, sneaked up on her and covered her mouth with a rag, likely soaked with chloroform.
  • Then, it's revealed that after Shuichi confessed to Monokuma that he is suffering from depression, Monokuma simply changed his darkest secret to "Shuichi Saihara has all the clues he needs to learn the Mastermind's true identity. But he refuses to actually do anything with them." It was this secret that Monokuma leaked to Angie that she hinted at before her execution.
  • Finally, the secret that Monokuma leaked to Shuichi is revealed. Monokuma says that Kaede forced her way into the Killing Game even though a different group of students had already been selected by him. Combined with his own darkest secret, this leaves Shuichi strongly suspecting that Kaede is actually the mastermind.
  • In chapter 59, after Kokichi's execution, Kiibo is revealed to still be alive as an AI and has hijacked the killing game, even being able to control various Monokuma bots.
  • Chapter 63, the mastermind is revealed: Kaori Akamatsu, Kaede's twin sister.
• Wham Line: Kaede says this to herself before going to the final class trial in chapter 61.
  Kaede: What was with that weird flashlight?
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: To Kiibo's surprise and displeasure, he learns that he was essentially a walking camera meant to be used as an Audience Surrogate for the audience, making it feel like they're part of the Danganronpa story. To make matters worse, Kaori reveals that Kiibo wouldn't even be allowed to leave the academy since he's property of Team Danganronpa.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Even though he is aware of Shuichi's role as the mole in Angie's art club, Kaito becomes angry with the detective for not standing up and defending Kaede from Angie's criticisms over her leadership.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue:
  • Kaede is teaching the piano under several pseudonyms.
  • Maki has a daughter by Kaito, and she doesn't intend to explain what happened to her father until Danganronpa is truly dead.
  • Himiko is on a tour displaying her magic tricks.
  • Ryoma is travelling the world.
  • Shuichi is recovering from his depression, and still together with Kaede. It's implied he's planning to propose to Kaede.
  • K1-B0 has become a digital entity, and is sabotaging Danganronpa.
  • Kaori is undergoing therapy to remove the parts of Junko Enoshima's personality.
  • All of the survivors have become outspoken critics of Danganronpa. It's still holding auditions for Season 58, but its popularity is fading fast.
• Wild Mass Guessing: When Kaede, Ryoma and Himiko come across the late Rantarou's locked research lab, they try to guess among themselves what his talent was based on the door's bloody decor.
• Writing by the Seat of Your Pants: In-Universe. After the original storyline goes tits-up when Kaede survives the first trial, Team Danganronpa is forced to make things up as they go along.
• You and What Army?: When confronted by another Monokuma bot, Monokuma says this word for word. To his displeasure, he is soon confronted by a genuine army of Monokuma bots. After the survivors leave the courtroom, the bots prepare to take down the original Monokuma.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Kaito only has one left, by his own estimates at the end of chapter 51. Next chapter, turns out he's right on the money.
• You Fool!:
  • After outing Maki as the Ultimate Assassin, Kokichi calls her "an idiot" for thinking he had good intentions.
  • While he doesn't say it directly to the survivors after sending their ultimatum video, the head of Team Danganronpa says something similar to this claiming that they're still in control of the game at the end of chapter 60.