Danganronpa: Locked Doors of Despair

Ch. 1 Daily Life Part 1: Of Searches, Suppers, and SPF

[A/N] Edited as of 12/3/22

Joanie

So either I die, which is not ideal, kill, which is even less ideal, or live the rest of my life with these people. That doesn't sound too horrible, right? And in most cases, it doesn't seem to be. Bisque seems like a total sweetheart. Chimon was a little cheeky, but he's real cute— which is a surprisingly important aspect of survival. Hachi is very distractible, but her soft demeanor is pleasant, in a brainless way. I don't know the rest too well, but Tozen was immediately doting over me, Nari seems like someone I can vibe with, and overall it seems like the best bet.

But Wakumi. GOD, Wakumi. I get why nobody really wanted to hang around me. I'm airing out all sorts of frustrations that I don't normally get to express in public, so I'm pretty much at my worst. I can also understand Hachi. She's not what I'd consider the most helpful search partner, even if I like her a lot. Now, this pirate and I... we are never gonna get along. To say she doesn't do well with first impressions is an understatement. She joked about us throwing a costume party, which, like... fair. She didn't know how much I hate being "Heavenly Blessing-Granter Aika." But then when I clarified that I'd kind of rather do whatever lets me not act like her and explained my reasons why, she essentially told me I'd dug my own grave and that she had no sympathy for me. Since then, she's been bossing us around, bragging about all manner of things, and going off in random tirades of pirate insults if either of us do something she doesn't like. And since we have Hachi... that's often.

Hachi wanted to explore the garden, but Nari's group headed off in that direction, so she's kind of bummed. "The flowers I wear are called Lilies of the Valley. But in Animal Crossing, they're mislabeled as Jacob's Ladders. Real Jacob's Ladders are surprisingly resilient. They're resistant to disease and insect infestation, and they don't need a lot of maintenance. I wanna see them..."

"If ye keep talking about Jacob and 'is ladders, I'll introduce ye to Davy! Davy Jones!" Wakumi scolds.

"You have an American friend? Does Joanie know him?"

"Honey, I think that's a saying," I clarify. I do know a David, though.

"I'm telling ye I'll kill ye, ye scallywag!" Wakumi yells, frustrated by the misunderstanding.

"Don't you go making death threats in our circumstances, joking or not. I don't think you realize the gravity of this situation."

"I wonder what it'd be like if gravity was different on this planet. Ooh, I wonder how much that would impact stuff like Azumi's circus," Hachi rambles, trying and failing to do a cartwheel. Fortunately, she lands on her stomach instead of her head. "Ow, my boobs."

"Don't complain, yers are real small anyway. And YOU. Don't talk down on me, ye scabby sea bass!" the pirate bellows, "I'm plenty competent and I understand very well that any o' us could die at any minute! If all o' ye pathetic pansies go addle at a half-hearted threat like that, ye're e'en more lily-livered than I thought! It's not me fault ye're all oversensitive goons."

"Of course we're all on edge right now! This isn't normal, so stop pretending like we're all just whiny bitches! This 'game', or whatever that psycho bear wants to call it, isn't just about physical strength. It's about social skills. And from what I've seen, you don't really have those. You're like those diva celebrities that my casting director always finds for my movies, yelling at employees and demanding your way. Skill doesn't make up for arrogance and callousness, you know," I raise an eyebrow.

"Ye can't lecture me, ye washed-up excuse of an artist! Yer movies prolly only survive cause o' that persona ye claim to despise so badly!"

"Shut up! I was doing just fine before that!" She lunges at me, trying to throw a punch. I block it with my prop staff. "Stop, stop, stop. Hachi, you're paying attention, right?" She gives us the "I'm watching you" sign with her fingers. "See? If anything escalates any further, and one of us somehow winds up dead, there's a witness just WAITING to spill the truth. Let's make a truce, for now."