Fanfiction Fridays: Whirr and Click by GhostwriterSyo

(Spoilers for Dangan Ronpa under cut)

I think one of the hallmarks of a good series is when you become so interested in the characters that you start wondering what their lives were like before their current canon situation. I’m not talking about AU things either, I mean the more than likely mundane grind of schooling, hanging with friends, or whatever it is that fits the setting. With a series like Dangan Ronpa, it’s not too hard of a stretch to imagine what the main fifteen characters would be doing—they are students, after all—but the interest there is in how they deal with their lives.

To be honest, right now, I’m talking about one character in particular. My favorite character. Touko Fukawa.

From the game, Touko (the Super High School Level Literary Girl) comes off as a very broken girl. She has a persecution complex and constantly believes that everyone is out to get her, except when she falls in love with the Super High School Level Heir, Byakuya Togami. It’s him that she trusts fully, but he has no interest in her and tries to shove her affections away by being verbally abusive. However, even before getting trapped in the school of despair, Fukawa had some issues of her own: this mild-mannered novelist’s mind is also home to the serial killer, Genocider Syo.

Syo is known for conducting a string of murders on men (to whom she’s sexually attracted) by cutting them apart, then writing “bloodstain fever” in the victim’s blood at the scene of the crime. However, Syo can only come out when Fukawa either sees blood—she’s hemophobic—or sneezes, and even then, Syo and Fukawa do not share memories. Fukawa lives her life in fear of the murderer within herself that she cannot do anything about, while Syo loathes her main personality and tries to do things that will make Fukawa miserable while still having a grand old time. This is where today’s fic comes in.

Art by AO凹君@睡眠不足です@ pixiv

Whirr and Click by GhostwriterSyo takes a look at a possible pre-Dangan Ronpa situation with Fukawa. Currently attending an academy, she catches the eye of another student who then invites her over to his house. Unnerved by the sudden interest, Fukawa is immediately suspicious of why he would even invite her over, since she’s nothing special. Her suspicions are well founded this time as this student, who reveals himself to be a psychologist, is not interested in Fukawa, but her alter-persona. Little does he know, however, that when he puts Fukawa under, he’s bringing out a serial killer. As he fights and begs for his life, does Syo find him attractive enough to kill? Or does Fukawa have the power to overcome her other personality?

I won’t give it away here because I am a cruel person that actually wants her audience to read this fic. That, and the ending is simply fantastic and is one of my favorite parts of this story, and I would be doing a great disservice to the author if I just gave it away here. In terms of writing, GhostwriterSyo does a fantastic job of conveying Fukawa’s fear of letting Syo “out” along with the fear of being looked down upon. And the writing for Syo? Ugh, it’s fantastic. She’s as murderous and terrible as a fan would want her to be. But do please take note of the trigger warning for non-con. Barring that, I’d highly recommend this fic. It’s a good primer for what you can expect from Fukawa in the canon story, even if you won’t be surprised at the reveal of Syo any longer.