Actions

Work Header

Survivor: Despair Island (REUPLOAD - original upload 2019 to Danganronpa Amino)

Summary:

Sixteen people connected with Hope's Peak Academy or the Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles have come together to compete in the greatest game: Survivor.
With Season One contestants Komaru and Ibuki returning to the game, will their prior experience be viewed as an asset, or a reason to send them out early?
These castaways are going to have to battle the elements and each other in their quest for the title of Sole Survivor and the million dollars that go with it.
Alliances will form.
Friendships will break.
And with the Despair Island twist being added to the game, everyone is going to have to step it up if they want a chance to make it to the final three and face the jury.

39 Days. 16 People. 1 Survivor

Chapter 1: Episode 1: Part 1: Not On a Holiday

Notes:

Hey there, so as the title suggests, this is a reupload of a FanFic I wrote back at the beginning of 2019. It was uploaded to Amino which has now closed down, and I realised that I saved the files to a word document. The first season I don't have all of, but also kinda just... wasn't very good. This one definitely has problems, but in the interest of preserving the original story for those who did read it I haven't wanted to change too much of it. I have done a few corrections and added a few little bits for fluidity; but this is 99% the original upload reformatted to suit AO3. All the accompanying image files are removed, and the original comment threads are unfortunately lost to time.

I'm going to leave authors' notes at the end of each upload as a bit of a retrospective as "this is what I was thinking at the time I wrote this", avoiding spoilers for first-time readers in those notes. Because sometimes it can be fun to reflect on your own 6-year-old work and go "what was I thinking?" I'll also note any alterations that I did make to the text in these notes.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars is standing on a beach in front of a large boardwalk. The path continues behind him through a large skull mouth, with two torches at the skull’s base.

 

Kaito Momota:

Sixteen competitors known to Hope’s Peak are about to step out of their comfort zone and into a brand new world. They will be dropped in the wilderness and split into two tribes in an exercise that not even I could survive. Given very little food, the two tribes must build shelter, gather food, and sustain a society strong enough to compete in challenges against the other tribe. Should a tribe lose an immunity challenge, they will have to vote out one of their own members at a tribal council, where they’ll have to sit in front of the intimidating Maki Harukawa, and allow her to bring judgment onto the person who receives the most votes – and send them home. The last player standing will win the title of Sole Survivor, as well as the one million dollars that go with it.

 

Two helicopters fly in over the island. Each helicopter contains seven castaways, who are sitting with just the clothes on their back and a small cloth bag each.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Chisa:

I’m looking around my tribe’s helicopter, and I see two other people who look like they know what they’re doing. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone, but this might make my game a bit easier! But I do hope I can get to know them all well.

 

Natsumi:

My brother came out here and screwed up. I told him that I was going to play better than he did, and looking around I see a couple of children and a fat guy.

 

Hayden:

People are probably going to notice that I’ve gained a bit of weight since I last played… though you at home are probably going to realise that I’m not exactly who I’m claiming to be. But I just need to fool the people here.

 

Nagito:

I know that everyone in this game have some affiliation with Hope’s Peak. Natsumi is just a reserve course student, and Yuta is limited in his talent… but this Hayden person? I know he can’t be who he’s claiming to be. There is no “Ultimate Reality Television Contestant”.

 

***

 

The helicopters land on the beach, and the castaways all pile out and stand on their tribe’s coloured mats in front of Kaito. Purple for the Niraasha Tribe, green for the Jeolmang Tribe. The two helicopters take off, leaving them all there.

 

Kaito:

Welcome to Survivor: Despair Island!

 

The castaways all cheer.

 

Kaito:

I’m sure you’re all wondering what this “Despair Island” thing is, and you are about to find out. If your tribe loses a reward challenge, the winning tribe will pick someone on your tribe to send to Despair Island, where you will be alone until the next immunity challenge.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Mukuro:

I’m used to living alone. I don’t want to miss the start of the game because that’s when the strategising happens, but I think I will cope with the situation better than most of my other tribe members.

 

***

 

Kaito:

Also being added to this season is the hidden immunity idol. You may use the hidden immunity idol at a tribal council to prevent yourself from being voted out by negating all votes that are cast against you. The idol can only be used up until there are five people left in the game.

 

Hayden looks around at his tribe, trying to gauge their reactions. His tribe seem to all be in thought.

 

Kaito:

Before we begin with our first reward challenge, I would like to introduce two more competitors.

 

A third helicopter flies overhead, and slowly descends. As it lands, two people step out of it. The fourteen castaways look at them in confusion, as they realise who they are.

 

Ibuki:

WAHOOOOOOOOO!!! Ibuki is back for play time!

 

Komaru:

She’s been like this the entire helicopter ride over! She’s excited to be here!

 

Kaito:

Allow me to introduce Komaru Naegi and Ibuki Mioda. These two people, as you would’ve seen, didn’t make it very far last game, and they will be back to compete alongside you at a second chance of winning this game.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Ibuki:

Ibuki is so glad to be back! Last time I took a bit of a knock to the head, but I’ll be back harder this time!


***

 

Back on the beach, Kaito throws a bag of buffs to each of the two tribes.

 

Kaito:

Jeolmang, you’re wearing green. Niraasha, you’re wearing purple.

 

Masaru:

Can we have the crazy rocker on our team?!

 

Kaito:

Komaru and Ibuki are going to draw a buff at random to determine which tribe they’ll be on.

 

Kaito takes out two buffs wrapped in a grey cloth.

 

Kaito:

Grab one, doesn’t matter which.

 

Komaru steps back and gestures for Ibuki to go before her. Ibuki steps forward and grabs both of them, and shakes each by her ear one at a time, like a kid shaking their presents before Christmas. After shaking them for a few seconds, she hands one of them to Komaru.

 

Kaito:

What colour were you hoping for?

 

Ibuki:

They just made a quiet percussion sound! They would make a great studio remix!

 

Komaru:

They made noise?

 

Ibuki:

It was a very quiet rustle of cloth against cloth!

 

As the two of them talk, they pull the string off of the grey cloth, and unwrap their buffs. Komaru holds up a green buff, denoting her a member of the Jeolmang Tribe, and Ibuki holds up her grey cloth excitably. At her feet lay a purple buff, denoting her to be a member of the Niraasha Tribe. She picks it up off the floor after it is pointed out to her and walks over to be with her tribe.

 

Kaito:

Your first reward challenge will not be a whole tribe challenge, but will be a challenge between your returning players. The winning castaway will win a flint for making fire, and a tarp to help shield you guys from the elements. Take it from me, that tarp is going to make your job a lot easier!

But also, the winning tribe will send a member of the losing tribe to Despair Island, where they will stay overnight for the first twenty-four hours of the game.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Masaru:

How is Komaru going to beat Ibuki?! I don’t care what the challenge is, Komaru’s a weakling compared to her! And they have Hayden too! They get two cool former players! It’s not fair!

 

Chihiro:

I think that I have more in common with Komaru, based on the first impressions, but if we’re going to start with just the two of them facing off then maybe it’s better that we got Ibuki.

 

Komaru:

I don’t feel confident at all… I’m standing next to the girl who caught fish with her bare hands! I can’t do any of the physical stuff like she can. I’m going to let the tribe down before we even start! I got voted out because I wasn’t good at the challenges!

 

***

 

Reward Challenge: Komaru vs Ibuki

Komaru and Ibuki start at one end of an obstacle course, and must climb up a four metre pole to retrieve a wooden turtle sitting at the top. Once they have retrieved their turtle, they must dig a hole to fit themselves under a large log lying on the sand. Once under, they may run down to an eight-piece Tower of Hanoi puzzle, with the turtle serving as the eighth piece.

The Tower of Hanoi puzzle is made of eight discs, each of a different width, starting stacked on one of three podiums. By only moving one piece at a time, you must move the entire tower to be in height order again on one of the other podiums. A larger piece may not be placed on a smaller piece at any point.

The rest of their respective tribes will watch from the sidelines as their representative runs the course.

 

Komaru and Ibuki are standing at the base of their pole. Everyone else is standing on the tribe’s mat to the side. Kaito stands between Komaru and Ibuki’s poles.

 

Kaito:

Remember guys, you are competing to give your tribe fire and shelter! A lot is at stake here! Survivors ready? Go!

 

Ibuki immediately starts climbing up her pole effortlessly. Komaru slowly struggles up hers, and turns to see Ibuki drop down the four metres with the turtle in her hand. Ibuki lands in the sand and kicks some up around her. She coughs for a bit before getting back up, and then runs towards her log barely phased by her fall. Komaru tries to shake the pole as she climbs, hoping to get the turtle to fall, but has no luck.

Ibuki begins to dig to create a hole large enough for her to fit through under the log, chaotically sending sand everywhere in the process. Komaru is able to reach the top of her pole and grabs her turtle, and slowly lowers herself down. By the time she’s reached the ground Ibuki has started squeezing herself under her log. Komaru runs and begins to dig as Ibuki wriggles about, having underestimated the amount of sand she’d need to clear out. Before long she is through, and she runs toward the Tower of Hanoi Puzzle at the end. Komaru begins squeezing herself under her log while Ibuki moves pieces around seemingly at random, seeing if she can get something to work. Komaru struggles to get through, while Ibuki appears to be making some form of progress despite apparently blindly moving pieces around. Komaru pulls herself through, and gets to her puzzle, having lost a lot of time to Ibuki. She looks over to see how she’s trying it, and then stops to stare at her puzzle. After a few moments, Komaru slowly starts moving pieces at a much slower rate while Ibuki continues to move things around. As Komaru picks up her third piece, she looks at the podiums and tries to figure out where to put it, seeing that both spaces have a smaller disc on them already.

 

Chisa:

Put it back and move the turtle on top of the second smallest disc!

 

Komaru turns around and sees Chisa on her tribe’s mat calling out to her.

 

Sonia:

You can do it, Komaru!

 

Natsumi turns to the Jeolmang mat and hears as Chisa and Sonia begin yelling out instructions to Komaru, and then begins to do the same for Ibuki. Ibuki finds herself needing to undo a few steps, while Komaru is able to easily follow and understand Chisa’s instructions. Ibuki begins to close the gap, being more willing to move fast and recklessly, and Komaru begins speeding up her movements too. The puzzles are racing along much quicker now, until finally one of the turtles is placed on the top of the now complete tower…

 

Kaito:

Komaru wins reward for Jeolmang!

 

The Jeolmang Tribe jump up in excitement, and run onto the track to hug Komaru, with Masaru coming up the rear. Natsumi kicks the ground in anger, and the rest of her tribe look down. Ibuki turns back to her tribe and rejoins them while the Jeolmang Tribe calm down and move back to their mat.

 

Kaito:

Komaru, would you like to come and collect your tribe’s tarp and flint?

 

Komaru steps forward to Kaito and collects her tribe’s reward, and then rejoins them.

 

Kaito:

Now, one last thing. Because you won the challenge, your tribe must now decide on one person from the other tribe to send to Despair Island. Who is it going to be?

 

The Jeolmang Tribe huddle around for a moment and whisper to each other.

 

Mukuro:

The blonde girl who began giving instructions is the most likely to become the leader based on that challenge. If we isolate her now, the tribe is guaranteed to end up in conflict.

 

Sonia:

I agree. It makes the most sense.

 

The tribe turn back to face Kaito.

 

Masaru:

We want to send the blonde girl with the long hair.

 

Natsumi glares at Masaru.

 

Natsumi:

My name is Natsumi, and you better remember it.

 

Masaru:

Okay, so we send Natsumi!

 

Kaito:

Alright, Natsumi. A boat is going to come to get you from this beach, so wait here with your bag. Everyone else, take your tribe’s map from me and head on out to your new home for the next 39 days.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Masaru:

Komaru didn’t even do anything in the challenge! Ibuki would have been a way better person to have! Ibuki was a bad-ass! Komaru’s just some girl who got picked up by a better player and still got voted out first!

 

Mukuro:

I think that Komaru is the better player to have. Ibuki is unpredictable. Komaru is not. She’ll immediately bond with Chisa and Sonia after that challenge, so I’ll insert myself into their alliance and we’ll have half the vote.

 

Natsumi:

I’m going to make them regret sending me to Despair Island. I’m going to play this game to the end and show everyone who I really am.

 

***

 

A boat pulls up to a worn down looking dock. Natsumi steps out of it, and walks along the boardwalk. There is a large skull mouth at the end of the dock with two torches, one on each side. There is a piece of paper nailed to one of the torches. At the base of the torch is also a pot of fresh water and a machete. Natsumi rips the note off of the torch and reads it out loud.

 

 “Welcome to Despair Island, where you will remain until the next challenge. During this time you will have face the harsh environment alone – with only one pot of water and a machete to try and make yourself at home.

Despair Island is not necessarily a bad thing however. If you wish you may enter the Sanctuary if you follow the path, which will supply you with food and a proper bed. If you choose to fend for yourself instead, however, you may be lucky enough to find the hidden immunity idol – a special advantage that will allow you to save yourself, or an ally, from being voted out.

The Sanctuary’s doors will close five minutes after your boat arrives. There will be no leaving until it is time to return to camp.

The choice is yours.”

 

Natsumi puts the note down.

 

Natsumi:

It’s day one! I’m not even tired! Why would anyone give up a chance to look for the immunity idol over something this ridiculous?!

 

Natsumi takes the pot of water and her machete and heads through the skull, but diverts from the path and into the wilderness. She talks as she walks.

 

Natsumi:

I don’t have time for a shelter, and there are enough trees that I’ll be fine for one night. That idol is the only thing that matters right now. I’ll find a tree with big branches and set up there, and then run off straight away.

 

Natsumi eventually finds a suitable tree, and immediately heads off in search of the hidden immunity idol…

 

Meanwhile, at the Niraasha Tribe’s campsite, the seven other castaways arrive. They find their tribe’s flag blowing in the wind, as if waving to welcome them. At the base of the wooden flagpole is a machete waiting for them. Yuta reaches it first, jogging to it ahead of his tribe. He stops for a second, and Kotoko stops next to him and looks at the pole and the shoreline.

 

Kotoko:

We have a knife?! How are we meant to make a home with just a knife?!

 

Yuta:

We can do that!

 

Ibuki:

Yeah! I did it last time! We can do this! Follow meeeeeeeee~

 

Ibuki grabs the machete and runs into the treeline, waving it around like a pirate and screaming wildly. Yuta sprints off after her.

 

Kotoko:

Hey guys, wait for me!

 

Kotoko chases both of them, leaving Hayden, Chihiro, Nagito, and Isshiki behind.

 

Hayden:

At least they’ll keep morale high.

 

Nagito:

I’m glad they can be so excited at a time like this. It brings hope to my heart!

 

Isshiki:

We need to set up a shelter, and I am going to make sure we can use the machete for cutting wood. Not whatever Ibuki has in mind for it.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Isshiki:

Ibuki may have played this game before. But she should not use our supplies for whatever shenanigans she has in mind. We are not on holiday. We are competing for a million dollars. So earn it.

 

***

 

Ibuki, Yuta, and Kotoko are in the jungle, continuing the run. Eventually Ibuki stops, followed closely by Kotoko and Yuta.

 

Ibuki:

Here we arrrreeee!!

 

Kotoko:

What’s here?! What’s the game?!

 

Ibuki:

We’re going to win the game!

 

Yuta:

What game?

 

Ibuki:

Survivor, of course!

 

Kotoko:

Ohhh! I see!

 

Ibuki:

Anyone who was going to follow me is a cool person! So we should all work together!

 

From the confessionals:

 

Yuta:

We really got lucky getting Ibuki. Someone who’s played the game before and given me an alliance immediately?

 

Kotoko:

As far as teenagers go, Ibuki is better than most! I like her! She’s like an enthusiastic puppy! I had a puppy once… he was a Dalmatian! You know, like the ones in that movie!

 

Ibuki:

Ibuki didn’t get to play a lot last time! So I’m going to make sure I get to play by making a three-man band! Wahoooooooo!

 

***

 

Back on the shoreline, Isshiki and Hayden are pulling on a palm branch, trying to snap it off without the machete. Nagito and Chihiro are standing to the side, watching them.

 

Isshiki:

Hayden, you’ve played this game before as well, right?

 

Hayden:

Yeah, I played the American version once. And Big Brother.

 

Nagito:

Humble as ever. You didn’t just “play” Big Brother. This man won Big Brother, didn’t you? If that’s not talent, I don’t know what is. A winner of one game, and a finalist of another. You are a true leader, if you are who you say you are.

 

Isshiki:

Why would he not be who he says he is?

 

Nagito:

Oh! Pay no attention to me. I can’t imagine how anything I say could be important.

 

The branch snaps off, and Isshiki and Hayden pick it up and hand it to Chihiro and Nagito.

 

Isshiki:

Before you two go. I have a proposition.

 

Chihiro:

A proposition?

 

Isshiki:

Ibuki isn’t fit to lead this tribe. Hayden here is already ten times more useful than Ibuki. I propose that we defer to him and not Ibuki.

 

Nagito:

Two conflicting hopes… very interesting indeed.

 

Chihiro:

Well… it’s a bit early to make any definite claims, isn’t it?

 

Isshiki:

Structure within our tribe will be integral. Hayden is the only competent experienced player here. He must lead us.

 

Hayden:

Look, I appreciate the support, but we don’t need to think of this as us versus them. We’re one tribe right now, we don’t want to cause conflict unnecessarily.

 

Isshiki:

Agreed. No conflict. But if we lose the next challenge Ibuki will go.

 

Hayden:

Chihiro, Nagito, bring this branch back to where we’re setting up our shelter. Isshiki and I will bring down another. And if you can, please get that machete back from Ibuki.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Hayden:

I picked this identity because I wanted to give a good impression. Isshiki has basically placed me as the de facto leader. On the one hand, I think this is a good position to be in, but I have to hope that I have more support than Ibuki will. I don’t want my game ending before it begins because of some turf war that I didn’t start or want.

 

***

 

At the Jeolmang campsite, they all return in higher spirits than the Niraasha tribe. Mukuro is carrying the flint, with Hifumi and Shuichi carrying the tarp between them. They arrive and see a machete waiting by the wooden flag pole at their campsite. Mukuro grabs it immediately.

 

Mukuro:

I’ll get a fire going now. It will be easier to get it up while we have daylight.

 

Komaru:

Last time my tribe got the tarp, I remember how the guys set it up. Our shelter was pretty good last time so I think it’s worth doing again.

 

Mukuro:

Come with me.

 

Komaru:

We’re going to need a few people who can help put it up.

 

Hifumi:

A fair maiden in distress? Maybe I can be of assistance!

 

Shuichi:

I’m happy to help.

 

Mukuro:

Great. Do we have anyone who can find us food or supplies?

 

Chisa:

Leave it to me!

 

Sonia:

I’ve got this!

 

Nagisa:

Masaru and I will go along too.

 

Masaru:

Yeah, we’ll go hunting! Come on! Let’s go!

 

Masaru runs off quickly. Nagisa, Chisa, and Sonia follow after him. Mukuro watches after them as they go. Komaru watches her.

 

From the confessionals:

Komaru:

Mukuro reminds me of a cross between Celeste and Kaito from last time I played… she seems very cutthroat, but she also actually wants to get things done for the tribe. I think she’ll be someone worth working with so long as she doesn’t get put in the minority from the start.

 

***

 

Masaru, Nagisa, Chisa, and Sonia are standing at the base of some palm trees. Sonia begins climbing to bring down some coconuts while the others sit around the base.

 

Masaru:

Before I get up there, can I ask you guys a question?

 

Chisa:

Of course you can, what’s going through your mind?

 

Masaru:

Does it seem fair that we get stuck with Komaru and they get Ibuki and Hayden?

 

Nagisa:

They’re only people. Besides, Komaru was better in the challenge than Ibuki.

 

Masaru:

But that’s because we helped!

 

Chisa:

All good teams succeed because of support!

 

Masaru:

Huh?

 

Chisa:

They might have two experienced players, but if we can work well together then we won’t need experienced players on our side.

 

A couple of coconuts fall from the tree, landing next to the three of them standing below.

 

Sonia:

Well said, Chisa!

 

Sonia starts climbing down.

 

Masaru:

You only got two? Amateur!

 

Masaru bolts up the tree quickly, and reaches the top almost instantaneously. He rips out three and drops them below.

 

Nagisa:

I think we should wait until the next challenge before we have any more of this sort of discussion. If Chisa is right, the less time we spend thinking about voting for each other, the more time we can spend building connections between us.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Nagisa:

Chisa is smart, and she seems physically athletic. I think she’ll be very helpful for our tribe, but there is no way that we can let her make the merge. But I do believe she’s right and that we shouldn’t try to talk strategy yet. We want to keep a strong synergy before trying to make any big moves and destabilise ourselves.

 

***

 

Back at the shelter construction site, Mukuro has got a fire going while Hifumi and Shuichi listen to Komaru’s instructions. Mukuro continues to stoke the flame.

 

Komaru:

That looks about right guys. I think we’ll get good shelter from any rain.

 

Shuichi:

I think that some extra supports could be good – maybe something to hold it up a bit higher.

 

Komaru:

So long as the tarp is sloped so the water will run off it, it should be fine. If it’s all level then it’ll collapse under the weight of the water.

 

Hifumi:

Wow! You must really attract the hearts of lonely males!

 

Komaru:

Huh?

 

Hifumi:

If I weren’t so into 2D, I would definitely fall in love with someone with your intelligence and physique!

 

Shuichi:

Uh… Hifumi? That’s a bit weird.

 

Hifumi:

What?! What’s weird about telling someone that I admire their physique?! I would model an OC off of her and create it into an action figure!

 

Shuichi looks at Komaru apologetically. Komaru looks at Hifumi. Mukuro finishes with the fire and stands up, walking over to them.

 

Komaru:

I appreciate the compliment, but… you probably don’t want to say that to girls when you first meet them.

 

Mukuro:

You’re too passive. Just tell him that he’s a creep.

 

Komaru:

Huh?

 

Mukuro ignores Komaru and Shuichi and looks right at Hifumi.

 

Mukuro:

If you don’t clean your act up, you’re going home if we lose the challenge. Okay?

 

Shuichi and Komaru look at each other in shock, and then to Hifumi, who is just standing there in awe.

 

Mukuro:

I’ll take your silence to be agreement. I’m going to get a branch to use as the centre pole.

 

Mukuro walks off, leaving the other three standing there. Komaru chases after Mukuro.

 

Komaru:

What was that?

 

Mukuro:

Keeping the tribe under control. Hifumi is going to have a target painted on him after that.

 

Komaru:

Oh…

 

Mukuro:

I intend on taking you to the final three. Don’t be disappointed.

 

Komaru:

Wait, what?

 

Mukuro:

I’ve seen you play. You’re trustworthy. If anyone messes with you, they’ll have to mess with me.

 

Komaru:

How do I know if I can trust you?

 

Mukuro:

How many more times will I have to publicly stand up for you?

 

Komaru looks at Mukuro, reflecting on her argument.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Mukuro:

I need Komaru to get to the end because she’s useless. She was willing to follow Celeste to the end like a follower. Then in the final three I’ll be able to argue to the jury that I pulled for two people.

 

Komaru:

Mukuro feels different than Celeste did. On the one hand, she’s taken me under her wing in the same way, but she defended me in public. This isn’t a case of “we need to stick together because we’re both weak”, she’s outright saying “I want to work with you even though I’m the most equipped person out here.” I just don’t know whether or not I should trust her…

 

***

 

Day 2:

On Despair Island, Natsumi is lying curled up under a large elephant leaf tree. Her clothes are wet from an overnight downpour, and she is shivering slightly. A boat pulls up at the dock nearby, and she struggles to sit up. She grabs the bucket of water next to her and brings it to her lips to drink. She then drops it by the tree, grabs her cloth bag she arrived with, and uses her soaking wet sleeve to wipe away a tear. She walks toward the boat slowly and climbs in. The boat eventually arrives at the Niraasha Tribe beach, where she sees Ibuki on the shoreline in her swimsuit trying to catch fish with her hands. Ibuki sees Natsumi.

 

Ibuki:

Good nom-nom-nomming!

 

Natsumi gets out of the boat and collapses into Ibuki’s arms for a hug. They remain in an embrace for a while as Natsumi composes herself. Eventually Natsumi talks, her voice muffled in Ibuki’s shoulder as she speaks weakly.

 

Natsumi:

If you tell the others about this… you’re fucking dead.

 

Ibuki:

Hey! Are you okay?! What was on Despair Island?! Was it totally full of despair?!?!

 

Natsumi doesn’t say anything, but keeps hugging her tightly. Ibuki rips off Natsumi’s dripping wet shirt, and rushes over to where she left her dry shirt on the beach and gives it to her to put on.

 

Ibuki:

Go warm up by the fire! Isshiki managed to get one started! And dry your shirt off, too!

 

Ibuki walks back with Natsumi, who has now composed herself. They arrive by the shelter and see Isshiki and Yuta sitting by the fire.

 

Yuta:

Hey! How are you?

 

Nastumi:

Despair Island is the worst. Be lucky you guys had a shelter.

 

Isshiki:

You had nothing?

 

Natsumi:

There’s nothing there except a bucket of water.

 

Nagito arrives with a bunch of bananas.

 

Nagito:

Oh, it’s you.

 

Nastumi:

Yeah, it’s me. Who else were you expecting?

 

Nagito:

Did Despair Island overwhelm you with despair? It’s okay to admit it. It’s not like I expect anything more from a reserve course student.

 

Natsumi:

Why don’t you go fuck yourself? How does that sound?

 

Isshiki, Ibuki, and Yuta all jump at the sudden hostility.

 

Yuta:

Woah, what happened?!

 

Natsumi:

It’s nothing. I’m going to get some sleep.

 

Natsumi crawls onto the bamboo poles making up the floor of the shelter and crawls onto it, curling up in a ball. Ibuki takes Natsumi’s soaked shirt and hangs it near the fire before heading back out to the beach. Nagito follows Ibuki, and when they reach the shoreline he begins to speak.

 

Nagito:

Ibuki, do you think that Natsumi has what it takes?

 

Ibuki:

Huh?

 

Nagito:

It’s only been one day and she’s broken. It’s not right for her to be out here. For her own sake as much as ours.

 

Ibuki:

Pfft, being out of your comfort zone is how you grow! That’s why whales go onto the beach sometimes!

 

Nagito:

But what happens if she costs us the next challenge? A whale may explore the land, but it then dies a slow death. I love seeing talent and hope flourish. But if there’s no talent to begin with, then she’ll always be letting us down. This game is about us too, don’t forget that. It’s harder to win if we’re at risk of being voted out more often. It’s most difficult trying to drag a dying whale very far.

 

From the confessionals:

 

Ibuki:

Ibuki is worried about Natsu-cutie! She was all “Waaa! Waa!” but then was all “Grr! I’m tough!” This could be bad for her! I need to make sure that we look out for her. Maybe we should vote her out so she can’t hurt herself? But maybe she needs to overcome something… perhaps I should go into Guardian Rock Angel Mode™!

 

Nagito:

It’s only natural that the only person without a true talent would crack immediately. I mean, other than myself, of course. It’s despicable that she was allowed to come here as just a reserve course student. With an attitude like the one she just exhibited, there’s no way she’ll survive our first tribal council. I’m going to make sure everyone in this tribe sees her as the worthless, talentless trash that she is.

Notes:

Being the first upload, I'm going to make this part of the commentary about the general sense of "thought process behind the fic as a whole". But the second upload has so much to unpack.

The first thing to note about Despair Island is that I didn't want to write the season knowing who would win. Survivor as a game is driven entirely by the players and their decisions, and so I didn't want to have a winner pre-chosen in my mind and risk the characters needing to act wildly out-of-character or inconsistent with their depiction just so my desired outcome could happen. The problem with that method is that the series has to end with somebody winning. If the winner is somebody who hasn't appeared in the story until the final three episodes, then the story is incredibly unfulfilling. So each part needed to include each character once. Even if they are just part of a group scene, it means that it is possible for a reader to actually track the path to victory that each player could have."I know that this person was involved on this plan because they were talked about by name as being involved in it". Then as the cast gets smaller, anyone who had a minor role in a plan but now needed to fill a story role could now retroactively claim to have been more involved in it than initially appeared. And the reader can go "yes, that makes sense, you did tell us that this person knew about that plan." I tried to give each player one confessional per part, but I'm sure that I didn't always succeed at that. This also means that there are a few aborted arcs as players involved in story lines found themselves eliminated. The first season had it hardest with two alliances ending before they could actually do anything. This season I don't recall what they have, but I'll name them as they come up. But I did have to edit a part where Mukuro refers to "Chisa and Shuichi" being super supportive of Komaru, when clearly it was Chisa and Sonia. I think that this was me changing the duo after writing it and forgetting to alter Mukuro's quote after the fact.

The other thing to comment on is the casting. A good Survivor cast is a mixture of good players and fun characters. Sometimes you get someone who's both. Sometimes you get someone who's neither. When deciding on who to cast, I decided I would have three "strategists" per tribe. These characters would be legitimately game-savvy, and ensure that something game related would naturally occur in the early rounds before the game picked up steam. Niraasha got Isshiki from Danganronpa Zero (also following the trend of "weird left-of-field picks" that real Survivor does), The Ultimate Imposter (disguised as Hayden, and the reason the Niraasha Tribe was purple so as to match the png I used in the original upload), and Nagito. The Jeolmang Tribe got Chisa, Mukuro, and Nagisa (all far more well-known picks). That's not to say other characters wouldn't end up pushing the plot, or even end up pushing the vote, but in having them outnumbered by chaos gremlins and sidekick archetypes it allowed for so many different directions the story could go. The introduction of returning characters (and an exact recreation of the opening of Survivor: South Pacific with that challenge) was honestly because I low key imagined this become a huge thing (due to my inflated 21-year-old ego) and I wanted to not use up every interesting character before I could hit the fourth season. So in shrinking the cast down to 16, with two returnees, I only had to find 14 characters. Using Kaito as a host was an attempt to build up lore as well, except honestly he is written INCREDIBLY out of character for most of this series. I just wanted a gameshow host. If I were to properly "remaster" this I would replace him with an OC. The other thing that is lost to time is the ad I posted for this series in which it was stated that Maki was only helping out because Kaito asked her nicely.

The idea to have a show that could keep on going is also why I went to DR Zero and Ultra Despair Girls, as the more places I could pull from the more characters I could end up using down the line. Because y'know clearly this was going to make me internet famous. Clearly. But also, as mentioned above, the "weird left of field picks" are a staple for real life Survivor All-Star seasons; and they do sometimes turn out well. The first season was 20 players with six from each mainline game, and then Great Gozu from DR3 joining one tribe with Komaru joining the other. Gozu became a central figure for his season and finished in fifth place (initially serving as the challenge beast to balance out Gonta before evolving into a strong player in his own right), and Komaru would return here. So I was very keen to pull in some less front-of-mind characters outside of just the high visions I had for myself.