#if you squint there's Zanka references in the stories

[mayashesfly]

Nagito's Special Ability:

The Lucky Man's Roulette and The Unlucky Man's Gambit

The namesake of "The Lucky Man's Roulette and The Unlucky Man's Gambit" are from two stories meshed together to form as one.

The Lucky Man's Roulette

Is about a lucky man who has never experienced death, swimming in good fortune and good luck while his parents live. The people around him experiencing good luck as much as he is, but never truly reaching the same height as his. The plentiful gold blinding him as much as the light. Despite the bustling life breathing all around him and his ever present smile, he is hated and ignored. Left alone smiling permanently despite the living world. The cherry blossoms ever blooming in an unending world. The story ends with the man dying in a freak rollercoaster accident, the strange whistle whistling in despair, as he dies with six strangers on the train. The poisoned smoke billowing from the ashes of their graves.

The Unlucky Man's Gambit

Is about an unlucky man who has an intimate experience with death. His parents having died in a freak plane crash, the shooting stars having struck through true, as hijackers bleed and innocents scream. He struggled through life in poverty and unlucky streaks. Blood coating the very walls that made up the foundation of his very home. Of withering poisoned trees and rotting branches. And yet he has friends who adored him, keeping him company from being truly lonely despite the tainted blood seeping through his very clothes. In a genocide, they died. Leaving him all alone. Not even their very blood seeped into his clothes. The story ends with the man making a gambit, a deal with the devil made in hope. And in the very end he died all alone, peacefully. Reuniting with his friends in the very embrace of death. Held hands interwined.

His ability works just the same as his luck was in Danganronpa. Uncontrollable but somewhat wieldable if you try, cycling through bad luck and good luck in a neverending cycle. Something that is both a blessing and a curse. (It's more of a curse, even if he doesn't say it. It's more of a curse, as it takes more than it truly gives)

Since obviously Nagito is fictional and can't actually be inspired by a irl author('s work/s) I thought it would be fun to describe the made-up fictional books that inspired his bsd "character". The idea that two vastly different and practically polarizing stories made up his character was fascinating idea to me.

BSD ability names doesn't really have a naming scheme going on except being a title of the author's book, and Poe's ability name is interestingly enough two titles mixed together, so I thought it would've fun if Nagito's was too.

Ironically, if Nagito (both bsd au and canon) would've read either or both of these books, he would've hated them passionately. (Gee I wonder why)

I had other ideas of Nagito's ability name. One was simply just "Luckster's Roulette" obviously to reference his encounter with russian roulette which served as the placeholder name for a time.

But a part of me also wanted to include gambit in the name with how Nagito's character is and how Hangman's Gambit is one of the minigames we have in DR1 where Makoto is the protagonist. That minigame's name practically called to me. Which gave me the idea of "The (Un)Lucky Man's Gambit"

Another was just "Smile at Luck in the Name of Hope" the Despair part was too on the nose for me personally, so it made sense to me to change Despair to Luck. After all, what caused Nagito more despair than his own luck? And yet he uses it to hopefully bring hope too... But it personally didn't feel Nagito enough for me. Plus it's a bit boring too considering we already saw this naming scheme two times already in the game and anime.

​​​​​​This "au" of sorts of mine is pretty fun to think about. Now, time to just think about Nagito's complex ideology in this au...