Fanfic / Where Talent Goes to Die

Where Talent Goes to Die is a Danganronpa fic by Theralion. It takes place in Talent High School, a school very similar to Hope's Peak Academy, but of somewhat lower status. A girl named Kaori Miura wakes up in her new school, trapped here with sixteen other students, and is informed that only the student who commits murder and gets away with it can graduate and escape from the school. All that sounds familiar enough, not the least of which is because Monokuma is acting as though it has happened before. It's up to Miura and her friends to search for a way out of the school, solve any murders that may occur, and uncover the truth behind the school's mysteries and secrets.

The fic can be found on Fanfiction.net and AO3, and has been completed.

A collection of Side Stories has been published, featuring the cast's Free Time Events. The Fanfiction.net version can be found here and the Archive of Our Own version can be found here.

A spinoff, called "Where Talent Went To School," covers the cast's life at Talent High School. The Fanfiction.net version can be found here and the Archive of Our Own version can be found here.

The fic has a sequel, Where Talent Goes on Vacation.

The fanfic contains examples of:

• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Averted. Miura and Edogawa theorize that the student council, which they, Mitamura, Katsura and Iwasawa served on was not all that powerful or influential.
• Alliterative Name:
  • Minato Mizuhara, the Ultimate Fisherman.
  • Aiko Aizawa, the main character of Edogawa's eponymous series of novels.
  • Sayuri Sasaki, the Ultimate Manga Artist.
  • Akane Akasaka, Kuro's younger sister.
  • Futaba Fukuda, Daichi's younger sister.
• All Just a Dream: Two omakes from Sae's POV. One shows Miura being executed after being convicted for the first murder, while the other shows the class trial for Miura's murder, as well as Katsura's execution.
• All Women Love Shoes: Katsura asks Miura, "from one girl to another," whether the latter has found any extra shoes. Katsura's disappointed to hear that Miura's answer is "no," since she has different pairs of shoes for various occasions.
• And Then What?: Miura struggles with this question sometimes, from what to do with the mastermind after exposing them, to what to do with Katsura, who flees after almost killing Miura.
• April Fools' Day
  • The omake to Sora Hoshino's Free Time Events shows Miura being executed.
  • A longer example occurs in the "Our Lie In April" episode of The Talent Show, in which the cast reads a fake announcement for the sequel.
• Arc Number:
  • The number four. There are sixteen students in the class (4x4), four of whom survive. There are four murders in the course of the story, plus an Accidental Murder and a case in which a student asked another student to kill her. In Chapter III, the students take four-hour shifts guarding the gun that could be used as a murder weapon.
  • There's also the number three. The fic stars the 33rd class of Talent High School. Three students refuse to vote for Mitamura. The first killing takes place on the third night. The second and fifth motives have deadlines that are three days after their introduction. Three students also have highly unusual talents.
• Arc Words
  • "On a pedestal."
  • "An impossible choice" frequently refers to characters who are forced to weigh one or more lives against others.
• Asshole Victim: Played with. The first murder victim is Shiro Kurogane, who'd spent the entire Chapter antagonizing Kaori and refusing to accept her apology. Of course, he isn't necessarily killed because he's an asshole, but because there's an obvious person to frame for his death.
• A Winner Is You: Final Dead Room: VR Edition, ends with a fairly perfunctory congratulatory message that Miura mentions would be very disappointing if she'd been playing a game.
• Berserk Button:
  • Do not call shogi a "game" to Kurogane's face.
  • Do not confuse astronomy with astrology when speaking with Hoshino.
  • To a lesser extent, insulting Miura is one of the few things that has been shown to cause Edogawa to lose her temper.
• Bittersweet Ending: In the end, the mastermind is thwarted, and ultimately perishes, but by this point, three fourths of the class is dead, and the survivors realize that the world has been destroyed. In spite of that, they set out for the outside world to rebuild the world and find their loved ones, and Miura and Edogawa begin a relationship.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Monokuma's still Laughably Evil, but not to be taken lightly. Miura lampshades this when Monokuma gets bored of recapping the killing game rules, and opts to show a filmstrip instead.
  Miura narrating: He struck me as whimsical and immature, a bit like a little kid in a robotic bear body, but that unpredictability clearly made him more dangerous, not less.
• Breaking Old Trends: There are several noticeable differences between this fic and the other games.
  • There is no Ultimate Lucky Student among the class.
  • The first murder takes place before Monokuma even gives out a motive.
  • Unlike Maizono, Komaeda, or Akamatsu (inasmuch as Saihara is the true protagonist of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony), Edogawa does not betray the main character's trust or play any role in the first murder.
• Brutal Honesty: Hoshino's defining character trait is that he is completely unafraid to say what's on his mind regardless of who might be offended.
• Call-Back:
  • Monokuma tells Miura that the door plates can't be removed, citing Sayaka's attempt to kill Leon and frame Makoto for it.
  • The incinerator actually is set up so that it's impossible to activate by throwing something at it. Edogawa notes that she's glad Mitamura's in charge, since someone could use it to dispose of evidence.
  • Monokuma mentions that the motive in the second Chapter, giving the students notepads with each other's weaknesses and threatening to release the information to everyone, is similar to the second motive in the first game.
  • Kagami talks about Prime Minister Ishimaru (Kiyotaka's grandfather) when discussingexceptionally talented individuals who fall from grace.
  • When the second verdict comes in, Monokuma's amazed that it's unanimous this time, noting that even Iwasawa, who'd looked up to Mitamura(the killer) had voted correctly. This is a reference to the second trial of the first game, in which Ishimaru is the only one who does not vote for Owada.
  • When checking out the locker rooms on the second floor, Miura and Edogawa muse about how this presents problems for transgender students or those questioning their identity, a reference to Fujisaki's gender being a plot point.
  • When faced with a handbook reader for the display case containing a gun, the students ask if they can use a dead student's handbook on it, in reference to a loophole that Fujisaki and Oowada took advantage of in the second chapter of the first game.
  • Just before the final trial, Monokuma hands out pictures to each of the students, with the recipient being the only one not in the picture.
  • In order to test a theory, Miura throws a Monokuma-issued piece of electronics into the sauna to overheat it. It turns out that the mastermind did the same thing.
  • The mastermind's execution is composed of all previous executions.
• Call-Forward:
  • A travel guide to Novoselic implies that Talent High School once tried to recruit the country's princess, to their school, only to find out that she was already going to Hope's Peak.
  • Monokuma complains about Miura being like his little sister, a reference to Monomi in the second game.
  • The group finds a training potty that's similar to the save points in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls.
  • The fourth chapter's motive is based on the Final Dead Room from the second game. Several of the puzzles are similar, and it ultimately culminates in a Life-Threatening Game with a 5 out of 6 chance of "killing" the player, but if completed, grants information on the outside world.
  • While discussing virtual reality with Iwasawa, Miura wonders if a killing game could take place in virtual reality, a reference to the setting of the second game.
• Camping a Crapper: The first murder takes place in the boys' bathroom on the first floor.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The murder weapons the cast gets are this. Mitamura ends up using her weapon for murder, albeit in a much different sense than Monokuma intended, when she unscrews the screws on Iwasawa's pad, transplants her pad's battery into Iwasawa's, and views the data on the pad.
• Christmas Episode: "A Very Talented Christmas" takes place on Christmas Eve. The class has a Christmas party, Iwasawa and a few others go to church, and Kaori and Sae have a date.
• Commander Contrarian: Hoshino is not fond of the idea of Mitamura leading the group, and frequently questions her decisions, seeing her as no better suited to the role than anyone else.
• Cool Big Sis: Kuro Akasaka loves her younger siblings dearly, and enjoys playing checkers against them.
• Couldn't Find a Pen: The first victim supposedly wrote the culprit's name in their own blood, but it turns out to be a forgery.
• Dark Secret: In the second Chapter, Monokuma gives out information on characters' weaknesses, similar to the first game's second motives, but these include personal weaknesses (for example, Yuuki's fear of blood and Mizuhara's peanut allergy) and secrets people don't want to get out (Sugiura being the Ultimate Poisoner and Mitamura cheating on a test). The twist is that with a few exceptions, everyone has someone else's secret, as well as a potential clue as to who has their secret.
• Deconstruction Fic: The fic deconstructs some aspects of Talent High School, such as its layout, how such an exclusive school wouldn't have a very healthy sense of school community and other such things.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance:
  • In Inoue's Free Time Events, he asks Miura for permission to use first names, and when she hesitantly accepts, he apologizes, and they go back to using last names and honorifics. He then goes on to talk about his old friend Marie felt out of place in Japan, where, among other things, not many people apart from family or close friends use first names on each other.
  • Inoue also says that his family downplays his achievements and even insults him to avoid coming across as arrogant. He understands why they do so, but is a bit uncomfortable that they have to lie to their friends just to save face.
• Dramatic Irony: School Mode involves the students never learning things that they do in canon, such as the mastermind's identity or the Tragedy and the Shelter Plan, so many of their reactions upon escaping the school are played this way.
• Due to the Dead: Early in Chapter IV, the group holds a memorial service for everyone who's died so far, with students giving eulogies for their dead friends.
• Dwindling Party: As is the case in a Danganronpa story. At the end of the fic, four students are left.
• Dying Clue: Subverted. Kurogane actualy didn't write Miura's name in his own blood- the killer did in order to frame her.
• Everybody Lives: Obviously averted in the main fic, but played straight in School Mode, in which all sixteen students survive and escape the school. In the "First Blood" side story, there's only a single casualty- the mastermind.
• Everyone Has Standards: Talent High School isn't really devoted to the study of talent, but even they had to admit that the Ultimate Pirate's talent wasn't worth bringing to the school.
• Farm Girl: Momo Iwasawa, from her wearing bib overalls to her talent as the Ultimate Farm Hand, definitely looks and acts the part.
• First-Name Basis: Ami addresses the others by their first names, using "-kun" on guys and "-chan" on girls. It's also suggested that while the students were attending Talent High School, Kaori and Sae were on a first-name, no honorifics basis, and were very close.
• First-Person Smartass: Miura can often be fairly snarky in her narration.
  Miura narrating: It was obvious to me that getting on Hoshino-kun's bad side would not be very wise... or difficult.
• Foil
  • Kurogane and Akasaka. The former, the Ultimate Shogi Player, is rude, hostile toward Miura and sees his talent as Serious Business, particularly since he competed against his siblings. The latter, the Ultimate Checkers Player, is friendly, polite, not especially fond of competition, and a Cool Big Sis to her younger siblings.
  • Kurogane can also be considered one to Sayaka Maizono, as both are people who knew the protagonists prior to coming to the school, as well as the game's first victims. Kurogane intensely dislikes Miura, while Maizono is at least outwardly friendly to Naegi. Their deaths also contrast. While Maizono tries to kill Kuwata, and writes Kuwata's name in what Naegi and Kirigiri believe to be a final apology and attempt to save Naegi, Kurogane was killed without the chance to fight back, and his Dying Clue is used to frame Miura.
  • Mitamura and Kiyotaka Ishimaru. Both of them are serious and no-nonsense students who set out to be The Leader of their groups, but while hardly anyone takes Ishimaru seriously, most of the group respects Mitamura, due to Mitamura having a less bombastic and over-the-top attitude. On the other hand, Mitamura is somewhat less idealistic and more self-serving than Ishimaru is, and while Mitamura does share Ishimaru's belief in hard work, she also believes in the importance of talent, seeing it as her duty to serve as a role model (as well as a great privilege).
  • Mitamura and Edogawa. Both are fairly serious, polite and intelligent individuals who were well-respected honor students in their old schools. Edogawa, however, is significantly more willing to let down her hair (literally and figuratively) than Mitamura is, is somewhat more humble and has a better sense of humor.
  • Mitamura and Kaede Akamatsu. Both of them are leaders of their respective groups and both end up committing murder. Akamatsu is warm, personable and optimistic, compared to Mitamura's disciplinarian and professional nature. Their killings are also done for different reasons- Akamatsu wants to kill the mastermind, while Mitamura wants to protect her own reputation.
  • Miura and Akamatsu. Both of them lead the group, and get along with most of the other students, but Miura is somewhat more hesitant to get into the role than Akamatsu is. While Akamatsu tries to kill the mastermind, and pays for it with her life, Miura is hesitant to move against any of her suspects, knowing that if she makes a mistake, she'll share Akamatsu's fate.
  • Edogawa and Fukawa. Both are skilled writers who haven't had many friends in the past, but while Fukawa can be extremely unpleasant, Edogawa is a Nice Girl. Fukawa's crush on Togami is unrequited, while Edogawa falls in love with Miura, who returns her feelings. Even their outfits contrast, as Fukawa wears a Sailor Fuku, while Edogawa wears a blazer uniform.
  • Hoshino and Byakuya Togami. Both are quite rude and uncooperative individuals who virtually nobody else likes. While Togami is relatively sophisticated, Hoshino is blunt, vulgar and rude, and while Togami imagines himself superior to everyone else, Hoshino privately admits to Miura that as judgmental as he can be, he doesn't think he's better than the others "just more honest." Hoshino ends up committing murder, while Togami survives, eventually dedicating himself to ending the killing game.
  • Hoshino and Celestia Ludenberg. The former is brutally honest and rude to almost everyone, while the latter is a talented liar who manages to keep up a veneer of politeness. Both of them are the third culprits, motivated by a desire to escape, but while Hoshino killed both victims himself, Celes manipulated Yamada into killing Ishimaru before killing Yamada herself. Hoshino is executed by being burned alive, while Celes would have been burned at the stake if the truck hadn't hit her.
  • The mastermind is this to Junko Enoshima. While Enoshima is entirely insane and so devoted to her love of despair that she'd welcome of her own death, the mastermind is only cooperating Monokuma for his own ends, and tries to rig the killing game to ensure his own survival. After being uncovered and defeated, he only executes himself to die on his own terms and avoid facing justice for his crimes.
• Foreshadowing
  • Miura wonders if Talent High School took advantage of "the in-house talent" to fortify itself. It ultimately turns out that Talent High School followed Hope's Peak's example, the students sealed the school.
  • Sakuragi mentions that he isn't just a good runner, but has strong arms. This shows that he can hit Kurogane hard enough to kill him through blunt force trauma.
  • Sakuragi checks a digital watch to record his time while running. The next day, Yuuki, who also has a digital watch, notices that the date is two years off. It's implied that because Sakuragi learned how long had passed while he was trapped inside the school, he became driven to kill.
  • In the first Chapter, Miura finds Mizuhara investigating the kitchen, and he says that he's looking for foods that could possibly cause allergic reactions, although he doesn't elaborate. He's searching because he's allergic to nuts.
  • In Mitamura's Free Time Events, she says "I" instead of "we" when talking about escaping, and stops just short of admitting something to Miura. The former hints at her being more selfish than she's willing to admit, and the latter is a reference to her having cheated in the past.
  • During the argument between Sugiura and Hoshino at the start of Chapter III, Miura suspects that Hoshino wouldn't hesitate to hit Sugiura just because she's a girl. Hoshino ends up murdering two girls.
  • Hoshino points out that he's not better than the other students, just more honest. This includes the killers, as Hoshino gives in to temptation and tries to graduate.
  • Hoshino sarcastically asks if Miura's going to ask the culprit to confess, like Mitamura did. He's the culprit, which is why he's fairly sure that won't happen.
  • In the bath scene, Miura notices that Katsura is surprisingly muscular, whereas Edogawa seems fairly thin. Katsura quickly overpowers Edogawa and shoves her aside when they're grappling with each other in Chapter IV.
  • Also from the bath scene, Miura feels as though she's being watched. Monokuma has a recording device in the baths.
  • Fukuda mentions that he'd probably do practically anything for his siblings. Being forced to finish the game first to prevent Monokuma from killing them or his family puts him in a very difficult position.
  • Iwasawa suggests that her handcuffs could be used to hold someone underwater until they drown. That's how she ends up being murdered, and the murder was her idea.
  • Miura notices that the locker room doesn't seem all that impressive for a school as prestigious as Talent High School. It turns out that the school isn't as good as it seems.
  • It's mentioned in passing that there was an Ultimate Linguist before Inoue who wasn't nearly as accomplished. This is the first indication that Talent High School practices nepotism.
  • Inoue's father is fairly cynical about Talent High School, saying that it "celebrates mediocrity, rather than real talent." His suspicions turn out to be well-founded.
  • Kagami once brings up the story of Stone Soup, cynically noting that the soldier who brought the pot was motivated by his own self-interest. It foreshadows that the founders of Talent High School founded the school under false pretenses for their own benefit.
• Four Is Death:
  • The first execution takes place in Part 4 of the first chapter.
  • Katsura dies in Chapter IV, Part 4.
• Furo Scene: Early in Chapter III, the girls take a bath together. Miura even suggests that the readers would actually like to see it happen, rather than just hearing her description of it.
• Genki Girl: Yuuki, as the Ultimate Cheerleader.
• Grammar Nazi: Mitamura, as the Ultimate Proofreader, gets bothered whenever someone uses improper grammar.
• High Hopes, Zero Talent: Edogawa once knew a girl named Matsukaze, who wanted to be an author even though she didn't stand much of a chance at being published. That said, Edogawa did believe that Matsukaze did improve a little during the time they knew each other, even if she had a long way to go.
• I Do Not Own: Parodied in the first Monokuma Theater, in which Monokuma suggests using this as an excuse for stealing things.
• I Should Write a Book About This: Yuuki suggests that Edogawa write a book about what happened in the school. Edogawa agrees, but points out that she shouldn't make money off of it. Yuuki then proposes giving money to the victims, sparking an argument.
• Jack the Ripoff: At the end of the first trial, Monokuma reveals that this killing game takes place after the one at Hope's Peak. He adds that someone started the game as a copycat crime, apparently for reasons that Monokuma doesn't especially care for.
• Jerkass
  • Shiro Kurogane, the Ultimate Shogi Player, holds a grudge against Miura for defeating him and repeatedly rebuffs her attempts to apologize.
  • Sora Hoshino is brutally honest and does't care at all about being tactful.
• Last Episode, New Character: In the epilogue, Makoto Naegi and Izuru Kamukura make their debut.
• Last-Name Basis: Most of the cast addresses each other this way, with the exception of Ami.
• The Leader: Mitamura is a Levelheaded type, and strives to be the closest equivalent to an adult authority figure. After her execution, Miura replaces her.
• Limited Wardrobe: All the characters are stuck with a few sets of the clothes they arrived in.
• Loophole Abuse:
  • When Monokuma offers a gun to the students, he closes off a few of the loopholes to the primary security mechanism- a display that shows whoever swiped their handbook to take the gun. Breaking the glass results in the perpetrator's face being showed anyway, and he confiscated the dead students' handbooks. Miura tries to exploit a loophole by firing the gun into a wall to prevent a murder, but Monokuma was prepared, and replaces the gun.
  • During Chapter IV, Monokuma prohibits the students from loaning their memory cards to each other. In order to get around this, Iwasawa puts her own memory card into the console, then lets Miura play the game.
  • The Life-Threatening Game of Final Dead Room: VR Edition, a game of Russian Roulette, is cleared more easily by not pointing the gun at your own head, thereby eliminating the chance that you'll die if the gun goes off.
• Ma'am Shock
  • Katsura doesn't like how her older sister's young daughter calls her "Komaki-baa-chan" ("Aunt Komaki").
  • Averted with Mitamura, who not only regularly uses "ma'am" on older women, but actually enjoys being called that herself.
• The Most Dangerous Video Game: Averted with Final Dead Room: VR Edition. While the students assume that Monokuma would make the video game that serves as that Chapter's motive deadly, anyone who loses the game is unable to try again for 24 hours.
• Nepotism: It turns out that Talent High School was founded for this purpose, as an institute intended for the benefit of the founders and their families, with the professed claim of researching talent being little more than a pretext for establishing the school.
• Nice to the Waiter: Kaori's mother is said to be this, showing the same courtesy to her lesser that she does to her betters. Kaori greatly respects this side of her mother, and so strives to emulate her.
• No Dead Body Poops: Implied. Miura notes that the first victim smells like the toilet did before she flushed it.
• Nobody Poops:
  • Averted. Miura has to go to the bathroom shortly before Night Time on the third day, and encounters Edogawa in the girls' bathroom. Meanwhile, next door, Kurogane is murdered while using the urinal.
  • When the group stands guard over the display case with the gun inside, going two at a time with four-hour shifts, they bring a porta-potty to the room just in case someone can't hold it in.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond:
  • Iwasawa and Sugiura are the best cooks in the group, but Sugiura mentions that neither are all that good at it compared to other people, such as the chefs in the restaurant where Sugiura works.
  • Miura is one of the few students who's played a video game before, and is thus significantly more knowledgeable about the topic than most of her peers.
• Not a Game: A double example happens in Chapter II. Hoshino, slightly pleased that Mitamura is seemingly starting to wise up and accept the nature of the killing game, says that he's glad she's learned that it isn't like "playing elected official" at her old school. Mitamura then replies that her work for her old school wasn't a game, either, even if she does realize that the stakes are higher here.
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • In his time at Talent High School, Shiro's still bitter about losing to Miura, but admits that he'd probably have made the same choices she had, from taking advantage of a second chance to be invited to the school to joining the student council.
  • Kagami tries to invoke this with Miura, saying that they were both used by Talent High School, but Miura is quick to shoot him down.
• Obnoxious In-Laws
  • Yuuki once jokes that Mitamura tries to be the "mom" of the group, but ends up being more like a mother-in-law. That said, Yuuki does actually like Mitamura, even if their personalities clash.
  • Downplayed with Kaori's paternal grandmother, who does not approve of Kaori's mother. That said, Kaori's mother is nothing less than polite to her (just like everyone else), so the two women actually manage to keep things civil.
• Obvious Rule Patch: After the third trial, in which the killer tries to intimidate everyone with an empty gun, Monokuma passes a rule stipulating that any threats or acts of violence during class trials will immediately be punished with death, in order to prevent the killer from killing the mastermind.
• Only in It for the Money: Kaori's father fully admits that he only works as a Salaryman to support his family, and suggests that most of his coworkers feel similarly about their jobs.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech
  • After the group gets murder weapons from Monokuma, Mitamura tells everyone to not open their boxes. At this point, Hoshino, who'd never trusted Mitamura, takes the opportunity to criticize what he believes to be her naivete.
  Mitamura: Assuming none of you plan on committing a murder, you should have no reason to use these weapons.
  Hoshino: That might be true, but what do you think we should do? Sit on our asses until Monokuma realizes we won't kill each other and lets us go?
  Mitamura: I am not expecting something so unrealistic to happen, but all 'games' require the players to actually play. The choice of whether to participate in this one is up to us, and if all of us choose not to participate, no one will have to die.
  Hoshino: Like that'll happen. Do you really think that no one opened their boxes? Or that there aren't other places to get murder weapons? Hell, you were the one who told us there was a crapload of dangerous stuff lying around when we met up last night. [...] So you can't answer that, huh? Or maybe you don't want to. Not that it matters- I'm not expecting an honest answer. Unlike everyone else, I don't just put you on a pedestal or listen to everything you say. I didn't even vote for you, anyway.
  Sugiura: Neither did I, Hoshino-san, but that level of hostility is uncalled for.
  Hoshino: Is that all you have to say in Mitamura's defense, Sugiura? Do you really think our fearless leader is the only one who can find a way out of here? Or that she's better than any of us? I sure as hell don't.
  Iwasawa: I do, Mr. Hoshino. Why else would Miss Mitamura take on the responsibility of leading us?
  Hoshino: I can think of a few reasons why someone like her would go to all that trouble. Maybe she's used to doing so to pad her resume for her college applications. Maybe she wants her mommy and daddy to be proud of her. Or maybe she wants to pull the wool over our eyes so that no one'll suspect her when she commits murder. In my experience, goody-two-shoes like her are almost always selfish at heart- they just try harder than most to convince people otherwise.
  • Kurogane gives a vicious one to Miura during her final attempt to reason with him.
  Miura: I realize that you're still angry about my defeating you, but I'd like to do what I can to earn your forgiveness. We don't have to be friends, but given the nature of our situation, we should at least be able to get along and work together.
  Kurogane: So you're making nice with me to keep me from murdering you? Believe it or not, I don't plan on killing anyone, so keep your platitudes to yourself- they aren't necessary or appreciated.
  Miura: I didn't think you were trying to graduate. I'm just saying that even if neither of us plan on murdering each other, we should be able to trust and cooperate with each other. That's why I'd like you to know how sorry I am for what happened in our game of s-
  Kurogane: A GAME?! Spoken like a true amateur! I competed against siblings and relatives just so the rest of the family would approve of me. I defeated pros who, like me, had played for all their lives. And then some newbie shows up, making me the laughingstock of the professional shogi circuit and an embarrassment to my family, merely as a demonstration of her talent! I can't think of what's worse- that you'd surpass me so quickly, or your 'beginner's luck' only lasts long enough to make a fool out of me.
  Miura: I-I didn't think of it as...
  Kurogane: Of course you didn't think! Dilettantes like you just play around until they're bored, then move on to the next thing. Your so-called 'talent' gives you a few wins, and might just fool most people into thinking that you're good at it, but you're still just playing around, not knowing what it takes to gradually build a reputation- or have all your hard work undone in a single loss.
  Miura: I didn't know...
  Kurogane: I'll tell you this much. True Ultimates hone their talents over time, and must continue to do so in order to be worthy of the honor- and burden- of being known as the best. You might not be able to leave this school, but you don't belong here, so don't talk to me unless it's actually important.
  • Mitamura gives a short one to the first killer after their Motive Rant.
  Mitamura: I suppose I understand your feelings. At the same time, though, your actions were unacceptably selfish. For your own life and own desires, you murdered Kurogane-san, and were willing to let the rest of us die rather than own up to your actions and accept the consequences. I do not condone Monokuma-san's decision to sentence you to death, but someone like you has no place in our group.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Averted with Akasaka. She wears a red blazer-style uniform with a black shirt, but she's one of the nicer students.
• Sailor Fuku: Mitamura wears one (which she briefly loans to Yuuki), while Hoshino and Kagami wear gakuran. Most of the other characters wear blazers or their own clothes(for example, Katsura wears a suit, while Iwasawa wears a button-down shirt and overalls).
• Sanity Slippage: When 16 high schoolers are trapped together in a school, away from their families and other friends, and fearing for their lives, some don't even need an additional "motive" from Monokuma in order to commit murder and graduate. In Sakuragi's case, realizing that two years have passed and he's likely out of shape is enough reason to cause him to snap and kill. Lampshaded by Hoshino.
  Hoshino: You mean escaping this hellhole isn't enough reason to kill someone?
• Seeking the Missing, Finding the Dead: This happens with Katsura in Chapter IV. The person in question had fled and disappeared after an attempt on Miura's life, and was found dead the next morning. Miura was fully aware of the likelihood of this happening, as much as she didn't want it to be true.
• Serious Business: Kurogane has this opinion of Shogi, which is why he takes losing so poorly.
• Sharp Dressed Woman: Katsura, being the Ultimate Saleswoman, wears a pantsuit instead of a school uniform.
• Shout-Out
  • When the three Book Dumb members of the group say that despite their poor grades, they should be able to graduate, Monokuma calls them "sweet summer children" before revealing the rules of the killing game..
  • After leaving the students, Monokuma says "may the odds be ever in your favor!"
  • Edogawa and, as it's implied, Mitamura, of all people, reads a manga about a gay couple called "Breakneck Canyon"
  • In Monokuma's letter to Kaori that comes with her murder weapon, he calls the killing game a "battle royale."
  • At breakfast on Day 7, Monokuma greets the students with "Rise and shine, ursine!" and departs with "So long, bearwell!", the Monokubz' catchphrases in V3.
  • In Chapter II, Inoue recites the long string of French obscenities that The Merovingian used in The Matrix Reloaded, and Tezuka says it's "like wiping your ass with silk."
  • When giving the second Monokuma File to Miura, Monokuma says "It's dangerous to go alone, so take this!"
  • The Fukuda siblings are named after the Yamura siblings from Bokurano.
  • When Monokuma is asked whether Final Dead Room: VR Edition will kill people if they lose, he says, "Who do you think I am, Akihiko Kayaba?"
  • Monokuma points out that the mastermind could have been murdered, because "People die when they're killed."
  • Monokuma shouts "Paganitzu!" during the final trial.
  • The first episode of The Talent Show is titled, "Our Lie In April."
• Show Within a Show: Edogawa is famous for writing the Aiko Aizawa series, best-selling and critically acclaimed mystery novels about a high school student who's a detective. Sayuri Sasaki, the Ultimate Manga Artist, also writes "Breakneck Canyon," a seinen manga about a gay couple.
• Socially Awkward Hero: Downplayed with Edogawa. While well-mannered and decent at casual social interaction, she doesn't have any close friends, and it's indicated that she's somewhat more comfortable talking with Miura than she is with most other people.
• Sore Loser: Kurogane's grudge against Miura comes from her defeating him in a shogi match, and thus causing a blow to his reputation. Akasaka complains that her youngest sister, a six year old, takes losing better than Kurogane did.
• Sucky School: Talent High School. While the premise is highly similar to Hope's Peak, the reasons are very different. The school turns out to be a way to manufacture a highly prestigious institution like Hope's Peak, only admitting exceptionally talented students to boost the school's prestige so that the board members could have a place to send their children and relatives.
• Take That!:
  • The fic makes fun of Talent High School (and by extension, the very similar Hope's Peak)'s layout. For example, Sakuragi's shocked to hear that there aren't any elevators, save for the one to the courtroom, and wonders how wheelchair users and people with heavy loads are supposed to get around.
  • An omake after the first investigation period makes fun of pink blood.
  • At the end of the first trial, Miura, having cleared her own name and found the killer, is less than happy about the outcome, since it means that the killer will have to die. Monokuma then tries to "reassure" Miura, taking a shot at the first trial of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (specifically Kaede's death) in the process.
    Monokuma: Now, now, Miura-san, it could've been worse. You might've taken the fall for the murder, and then we'd need a new protagonist. A lame plot twist like that this early on in the game wouldn't even be funny.
  • An April Fools' Day omake shows an alternate ending to the first trial, in which Miura is found guilty of the murder. Edogawa protests that it's unreasonable to conclude that Miura killed someone who was in another room while all the readers were viewing her actions and thoughts, as yet another shot against V3's first trial.
  • Near the start of Chapter IV, the group finds what will be the fourth motive- a video game titled "Final Dead Room: VR Edition." Monokuma insist that he means it when the game will be coming out soon, noting that the game isn't called "Final Dead Room Forever."
  • Edogawa mentions her "friend" Matsukaze, and how she didn't have much of a chance as a writer, Miura wonders what Edogawa means.
  Miura narrating: I had to wonder what kind of story we were talking about- perhaps that of a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire, or that of a billionaire with a passion for bondage and the poor unfortunate woman who happens to be his lover- but didn't ask.
  • Chapter V has one against the Gofer Project from V3. Miura points out that they'd need at least 500 genetically diverse people to repopulate the world if the Tragedy wiped out humanity, rather than the sixteen they have (down to seven people- three boys and four girls by this point). She also realizes that not only would most of their talents be of little use, but none of them are remotely prepared to live in and try to rebuild a world that's been changed so drastically.
  • In Chapter VI, Monokuma hands out several photos of the surviving students at school, each of which is missing the recipient. He asks Miura if she can explain why she isn't in the photo, and she proposes that she could have taken the photo, or maybe she was absent that day. This is a jab against some of the classmates in the first game assuming that everyone else was the mastermind when faced with a similar situation.
  • Also from Chapter VI, when it's revealed that Talent High School was founded as a place to send the families of the school's founders and administrators (even if they don't actually possess the Ultimate talents they're said to have), the headmistress' diary reveals that even they had to reject a board member's nephew who wanted to be the Ultimate Pirate, a Take That toward some of the more unbelievable Ultimate titles found in fanfics.
  • Midway through the final trial, after the mastermind's identity is revealed, Monokuma plays a joke on the remaining students, by claiming that, like in the third game, the students are in the fifty-fourth season of Danganronpa. Miura refuses to believe it, noting that it's hard to believe that the world would let a show that twisted become popular, that no show could stay popular for 54 seasons, and that the Roman numerals for 53 are "LIII," not "V3."
• Team Dad: Mitamura's style of leadership tends to involve emphasizing discipline and following the rules one might be expected to observe in an actual school, even if she realize that she's in no position to hand down punishments.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Mitamura insists on being called "Mitamura-san," but after realizing not everyone's willing to show her that courtesy, she doesn't press the issue.
• 13 Is Unlucky: Inoue, being a bit superstitious, has this belief. In the thirteenth installment of this fic, Yuuki and Akasaka get murdered, something that technically happens on Day 13 (if you count each day as beginning when Miura wakes up).
• Transfer Student Uniforms: Like in the previous games, most of the cast wear their old schools' uniforms. When Miura wakes up wearing hers, she briefly wonders if she's still at her old school.
• Transparent Closet: It turns out that while Miura was going to school, everyone figured out that she was a lesbian. It's implied that because of this, the mastermind chose not to include her sexuality as her "weakness" in the second Chapter's motive.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Matsukaze, the closest thing Edogawa had to a "friend," asks Edogawa to look over a story she wrote. When Edogawa truthfully says that Matsukaze has no chance of getting published, Matsukaze gets angry and cuts ties with Edogawa.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Yuuki throws up after the second execution, and Miura does the same after finding the dead bodies in the bio lab.
• We Will Not Use Photoshop in the Future: Averted on two occasions.
  • In Chapter I, the culprit for the first murder, having been implicated through a photo of the bloody footprint at the crime scene, protests that the picture was edited. Unfortunately for him, there's no such option on the handbooks.
  • In Chapter III, the group wonders whether the class photo was edited, but there's some holes in the theory- Yuuki notes that there aren't many girls who are as large as Iwasawa, while Iwasawa asks where they could have gotten her photo.
• Wham Episode:
  • Chapter I, Part 2. The first murder takes place, before Monokuma even sets a motive.
  • Chapter II, Part 5. The second murderer turns out to be Mitamura, so after her execution, the group no longer has a leader.
  • Chapter IV, Part 3. Katsura tries to kill Miura... then ends up dead in the next chapter.
  • Chapter IV, Part 6. Not only is Fukuda found guilty and executed for the murder, but it's revealed that Monokuma has the Katsura and Fukuda families held hostage, and the group learns about the Tragedy.
  • Chapter V, Part 3. Monokuma reveals that he has all the group's families as hostages, and will execute them if someone doesn't commit murder in the next three days. This leads to Iwasawa's death.