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jangmo-othewarrior · 2 years

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TW: Body Horror is discussed at length, please be careful!

Corruption has run rampant over the globe. Protect yourself by knowing as much about it as you can. Corruption works in stages, and it hits you when you least expect it.

Stage 1: Contamination

There are a multitude of ways to come into contact with despair. The original method was to simply touch it a little too much, or even be dunked into it. This method was most noticeably used on Class 77 and 78. Also used on the student council to kickstart the Tragedy. Method #2 is air contamination, first introduced after Class 77 succumbed to corruption. Most noticeably used in the Future Foundation Killing Game and with Class 79 (drv3 cast). After contamination, the subject appears physically fine, but a trigger will cause that to change, no matter how much time passed in between the contamination and the trigger

Stage 2: The Trigger

Commonly known as "Falling into Despair," this is the stage with the most grounds in the OG danganronpa material. Falling into despair can happen in any of the ways outlined by the games/anime. The swirly eyes, crazed behavior, all the works. However, this stage also typically triggers if the subject has an internal struggle that causes them pain. A good example of this would be Sayaka seeing her idol group tragically fall apart, or, in a not cannon event, Kaito being forced to rely on his hero complex too much, and putting too much emphasis on it. This stage is incredibly varied, and calling it 'Falling into Despair' doesn't really do it justice. However, this stage is also the point of no return. Afterward, there is no true way to return to normal.

Stage 3: Transition

This stage is the longest, and is often considered the worst by the population. This stage marked the beginning of physical transformation, or more accurately, mutilation. Unlike Resident Evil, where rethe transformations take a few minutes max, typically, this stage can last up to a week. This is because Stage 3 is a transitional stage between Stage 2 and Stage 4. The physical mutilation begins almost immediately after Stage 2 starts, so Stage 2 is often used to refer to a single moment or day before Stage 3 begins. Mentally, the subject is also shifting, albeit slowly. More often than not, the subject focuses on their personal relationships or internal issues rather than the mutilation happening to their body. Most either don't notice or welcome it with open arms (Junko, Remnants, etc.) The amount of time a subject is in Stage 3 varies between individuals.

However, one of the more interesting parts of Stage 3 is the fact that it can be halted somewhat easily. Simply talking to the subject about what's happening to them can slow or even reverse Stage 3 to a livable point. Class 78 and 79 have made us of this tatic many times, espcially with the more volatile members of the group (Kokichi, Hiro, etc.) The reverse is also true, however. Stage 3 can never be fully reversed. Stage 2, as previously mentioned, is a moment rather than a longer period of time. No recorded subject has ever returned to Stage 1 after the Stage 2 trigger. Subjects who have slowed considerably or have halted are referred to as 'stilled' or 'paused.'

Stage 4: Mutilation

Stage 4 is the stage that gets the most attention by both the media and the public. Stage 4 is the 'monster' stage, where everything recognizable about the subject is seemingly gone. Subject who have reached this stage are referred to as a 'Husk.' Every Husk is different, and thus every Husk has their own unique design and ability set. (Yes, ability set. If this au were a game, the game play would be a weird mix of the Resident Evil 2 Remake and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. AKA: an RPG with survival horror elements.) However, there are also two separate categories of Husks. There are Despair Husks, and Remnant Husks.

Despair Husks are the typical enemies you would encounter in a game. They are similar to zombies, in a way. They are the most common type of Husk. This type of Husk typically results from someone falling into despair and welcoming it. They are mostly mindless, with most of their thought process being despair despair despair- without end. There are also different types of Despair Husks, which vary based on how badly the subject fell into despair. Despite all of them appearing similar, Despair Husks are still often unique from each other in smaller ways, like behavior and markings. Despair Husks are also the hardest Husks to reverse, since they welcomed corruption with open arms.

Remnant Husks are very different from Despair Husks in lots of ways. Remnant Husks got their name from the most prominent group of them during the Tragedy, the Remnants of Despair. Each one is unique, and the form of each Husk often has to do with the personality, internal issues, and ideals of the subject. They are somewhat similar to the concept of Shadows from Persona 4, but here they are less abstract and more Oh God that is simultaneously so disturbing and fitting at the same time.

Let's use Mondo as an example! Mondo is well known for his tough, biker leader act. Mondo is physically strong, and appears strong to others. However, Mondo is actually incredibly weak mentally, and he suffers from heavy guilt ever since his brother's death. He tries to put on a personal of strength to hide his guilt and weakness from everyone around him.

After the initial fiasco with Sayaka, Junko, and Leon, Chihiro has decided that it would be in their best interest to become strong, for both themself and for the rest of the group. So, they go to Mondo for help training. After all, Mondo is the strongest person they know, and he would definitely be able to help them!

Well, we all know what happens next. However, instead of hitting Chihiro over the head with a dumbbell, Mondo's mental break accelerates him into Stage 3, causing him to almost immediately fall forward from the unexpected weight of his arms doubling in size. Chihiro, not knowing what was happening, books it, not realizing that they have just had their Stage 2 moment, and were also entering Stage 3. Mondo, meanwhile, was just staring at the ground, thinking about how Chihiro knows how weak he is now, and they're going to tell everyone, and everyone will know nobody can know he has to be strong he HAS TO BE-

His jacket falls into tatters on the floor. He can't stand up, his back hits the ceiling. His claws hands make dents in the floor. Something knocks into his leg but its fine it bounces off his armor skin. The dumbell he was previously holding crushes beneath his heel. Something inside of him shakes, but its fine. His too-large muscles ache with the need to move, to prove that he's strong, that he's stronger Chihiro, stronger than the rest of them-

The doorway to the boy's locker room is completely destroyed, with a hole three times bigger left in its wake.

Stage 5: Revelation

Stage 5 is a stage that is exclusive to Remnant Husks. Despair Husks never reach this stage due to their transformation primarily being focused on despair rather than their own personal issues. Stage 5 is almost like a 'second phase of boss' type stage. This stage can only be caused by large amounts of stress, typically relating to physical damage or mental exhaustion. It can also be caused by the Husk's issues being challenged. This stage also usually has the mental state of the Husk be degraded into completely nonsensical.

Let's head back to our Mondo example, shall we?

The past two days have not be the... best for Taka. They were still stuck in this stupid school, Junko was still at large, and everyone was just on edge. It didn't help that Mondo and Chihiro had disappeared, only for Chihiro to reappear the next morning say Mondo had gotten angry with them. Taka was obviously concerned (Shut up Celeste, I was not hysterical-), but things only became worse when Chihiro started growing whips (wires?) out of their wrists. Makoto was able to calm them down fairly easily, though the whips did not go away. Admittedly, that was probably a good thing, considering the situation Class 78 have found themselves in.

It was safe to say that whatever this thing was, it wasn't the normal kind of monster. It was massive, taking up nearly half of the gym with little issue. It appeared to be able to stand on its back legs, but was unable to do so withough hitting the vaulted veiling. It had large claws on all of its appendages although the ones on its arms were a lot longer and sharper. Its face was surrounded by some type of armor plating that resembled a helmet. In fact, that armor surrounded nearly it's entire body, and it was sturdy enough that it could handle Sakura's punches. Despite the abundance of armor, it was extremely fast. The only hits that seemed to do damage were the ones to its legs, which wer being held in place by Chihiro wrist whips. When it had first appeared, it had gone immediately for Chihiro, but Kyoko was fast enough to pull them out of the way. It had made some sort of sound at that, a growl maybe, but it had sounded more like an engine revving than anything else.

Needless to say, Taka wasn't having a great time. The monster wasn't either, however. It's legs looked ready to fall out from underneath it. Taka turned to Makoto, who was standing on the gymnasium's stage with Kyoko.

"What is our next course of action, Makoto?" He yelled above the screeching of the monster.

Makoto turned to Taka with a look of confusion on his face. "I don't really know! I dont really want to hurt it anymore!"

"Why not? It is being disruptive during our search for Mondo!" The thing absolutely screamed as it turned to where Taka was standing "Shit." Despite the fact that it's legs were literally falling apart, the monster dove towards Taka. Thankfully, Chihiro was able to hold onto it long enough for Taka to race over to Makoto and Kyoko. The monster destroyed the bleachers not two seconds after Taka jumped off.

Makoto grabbed onto Taka like a lifeline. Taka didnt mind. "This thing is kinda similar to Sayaka and Leon, so I think it's someone in the same position!" Taka looked at Makoto in surprise before turning back to the monster.

Makoto was correct. It didn't resemble the normal, black and white monsters that roamed the halls of the school. Not only was it larger, but it appeared to be driven by much different things than their regular foes. So far, it has only really attacked Chihiro and Taka himself just now. The rest of the class appeared to be afterthoughts, almost. Like bugs occasionally landing on a hunting predator.

The monster, after pulling itself out of the hole in the bleachers it had made, turned back towards Chihiro, who stood poised and ready. Sakura and Genocide Syo were ready nearby, waiting for Chihiro to wrap their whips around the monster. As the monster turned its head started to tilt. Kyoko stiffened. As the monster head tilted, something started to... leak out. It was yellow, and it dripped onto the floor. Kyoko suddenly leapt off the stage, and shouted as she did so. "Go for the head!"

Chihiro obliged, immediately wrapping both of their wrist whips around the monsters head. The monster, rather than charging forward, screeched and started to thrash and pull backwards. Makoto, Sakura, Kyoko, and Syo all grabbed onto the whips to help Chihiro pull. Taka nearly jumped down to help them when something caught his eye.

The back of the monster, previously hard to see with its sheer size, was now fully visible to the Ultimate Moral Compass. Though it did have armor like expected, there was also a symbol on the back of the monster. A symbol that Taka has been seeing on the back on his best friend ever since they had woken in in this damn school.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait-the monster is MONDO!"

Just then, Mondo's head popped off. Everyone pulling flew backward from the sudden release of their opponent, and they all stared as Mondo's body fell apart. Without the head connecting everything, the pieces of armor scattered along the gymnasium's floor. The yellow substance leaking from Mondo's neck was pouring onto the floor from his body and head. There were masses within the slime as well, which Taka realized very quickly were Mondo's organs. And the worst part, the worst part, was that Mondo was screeching the entire time. And slowly, as the agonizing seconds ticked by, those screeches became words.

"No! No no no no no nO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-"

It was like Mondo's voice was coming out of an engine going 80 miles an hour. It was grating, and Taka found himself shakily stepping off of the stage and towards a trash can. After emptying his gut, Takalooked up to find Chihiro, whose whips were retracted from the helmet- the motorcycle helmet, God it was so obvious- shaking as they put their hands to their mouth. Everyone was frozen in horror. Taka was the only one moving, and found that the only reason he could was because he had to make sure everyone was okay, including Mondo. That was the only though in Taka's brain as his footsteps were muffled by Mondo's panicked yells. Suddenly Chihiro's voice cut though Mondo's screeching, and Mondo stopped.

"M-mondo? W-what.. happened to..?" They didn't finish. The gym sat in silence, the only sound being the squelch of the yellow slime.

"What.. happened to me?" Mondo muttered from somewhere. The yellow slime started to quiver. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?" The yellow slime suddenly began to move, bunching up together, and desperately trying to grab onto the armor pieces. "NOTHING HAPPENED CHIHIRO! I'M NOT WEAK I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STRONG!! SEE?" The yellow slime-Mondo's true form, Taka realizes- surrounds one of his leg armor pieces and chucks it at Chihiro.

-----

There you go! I hope you enjoyed this rundown of the 5 Corruption stages! Do expect some drawing and drabbles soon. I have this au on my brain and it is not going away! I know I put in way more detail than was necessary, but I hoped you enjoyed it!

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$#@ge 6: T>× Poi*!&# of No Re*!rn

The public does not know about Stage 6, AKA *--- ------- -----* The subjects do not know about *--- ------- -----* The Remnants do not know about --- ------- -----*

And they aren't going to know.

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