#project: eden's garden prologue

[stay-xen]

Project: Eden's Garden

since i've seen several people post their opinions regarding the new danganronpa fangame's cast, why not join in since i finished the prologue?

spoilers for the prologue and predictions up ahead!

Damon Maitsu First of all, making the protagonist the ultimate debater is a really clever idea to make him lead the trials. also he's such a dick. i love him. he reminds me of early chapters byakuya and i want him to realise that he needs to trust the others to stay alive. very interesting approach for a protagonist imo

Eva Tsunaka My girl, i already love her. i feel like she'll make a grat 'rival' character, especially with her talent and animal motif. although wolfie might be the rival? not sure about it yet. i do believe that she will be alive for a while, maybe even sacrificing herself for the group in the end

Desmond Hall I trust him with my life. He has a SHARK motif, of course i'm going to trust him. he seems like such a good boy so i assume that he will become a victim sooner or later. if he ends up being a blackened i WILL cry

Eloise Taulner I am going to protect her with everything i have. very shy and anxious, i assume she will find strength eventually and become more confident, possible after losing somebody close to her? swan motif is very sweet for her :c

Toshiko Kayura My daughter is definitely compensating for being young, trying to be more mature than she is. i adore her getting flustered when called out, i hope that she will survive. she's a baby so pleaaase

Wenona step on me. i don't trust her, at all. she seems like a mirror for Damon, so my current guess is that she might become a blackened (or victim, either way i think it might involve cassidy)

Ulysses Wilhelm My useless son, i love him. he's so smart yet so dumb. please stay safe. current guess is first victim, sadly. idk he hasn't really done much yet :C

Mark Berskii I ADORE HIM i love his design and his attitude. "call the fire brigade, Grace" hasn't left my mind yet. such a simple line, yet i love him. strong connection to Jet already, i assume Mark will be a survivor that gets drive after Jet dies?

Diana Venicia Oh i wish i could trust you, love. something about her talent having to do with make up (covering up/identies, etc) and the chameleon motiv really makes me worry about her. i don't think she's the mastermind, but i believe she might be a blackened. maybe first chapter even?

Wolfang Akire i do not trust you but i will forgive you everything you do. this man has me in a chokehold and i'm not complaining. there's something about him being a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' i KNOW it and i can't wait to see it. his extreme sense of justice in the mock class trial was very interesting to see and i assume it will only be more extreme in actual trials. potential rival, i fear he will not survive. maybe a blackened, having to go against his principals for a certain motive? he's so polite though, especially to Eloise :c

Kai Monteago My fail son, my wet paper back, my beautiful butterfly. i saw him and fell in love, i can't wait to see more of this idiot. although i hope for character development, my current feeling is that he is going to die :c yet at the same time i can see him be a survivor (like hiro, souda being the clueless one, although i know they're not following the usual scheme)

Jett Dawson I've had this wolf for like 4 hours but if anything happens to him i will kill everyone in this academy and then myself. SO precious, SO dumb, i can't wait to see him get closer to Mark and ultimately get my heart broken. Current guess: victim

Ingrid Grimwall awooga. strong woman yes. on a serious note, i like that she's rather feminine and still strong, but i haven't seen enough of her yet to form a proper opinion :c could see it go either way with her tbh

Grace Madison soybean. i adore her, she doesn't have a single braincell and is currently trying to steal Wolfgang's. a real one for trying to fight back AND being able to actually get the jump on Tozu. No high hopes for survival though ngl :c

Jean Delamer If he ends up being a blackened, i'll be sad. he seems like such a nice guy, very safe, very brrr. also a whole ass dragon motif??? how cool is that??? he really feels like a safe space for the group, both mentally and physically so i hope we get to see a lot of him!

Cassidy Amber The only valid rich person. LOVE the spiderweb clothes. wouldn't be surprised if she kills Wenona or dies trying lmao. not the smartest tool in the shed but i love gaming references so i'm more than happy. it IS a stepladder.

Tozu Why is he hot. he's not supposed to be hot i hate it here (/s). didn't expect him to look like this but i am more than happy with the design. please show me more of him

Mara WHO ARE YOU i wanna see you more and talk to her and aaaaa she's mysterious OwO

[iridescentsky29]

If no gay then why hugging in official art

[jun6bugs]

counter!

[sunriseindigo]

💌

[accirax]

as of now my top mastermind suspects are mark, desmond and ulysses n i think originally i was very very sure ulysses would be the mastermind but now i'm leaning towards more mark. probably because i was always suspicious of him before the prologue even released. it's a little embarrasing looking back but i tell you i was dead convinced he was evil and for the last question i just think people should be more suspicious of mark. come on. look at him. his ass is not just victim or survivor-who-gets-character-development-after-jett-dies. come on guys

fair enough! well then, hopefully you won't be upset that i left Desmond and Ulysses above Mark, at least. perhaps not so much Diana, Cassidy, and Toshiko, though. damn, do i just hate women? (/j)

i have to admit, i did initially peg (ha ha get it like p:eg) Mark as a survivor-who-gets-character-development-after-Jett-dies. but, i also think it's valid to think that, because a lot of people might have had that first impression, his character will actually go elsewhere. that line of logic was what made me change my mind about Diana, after seeing how many people thought she was the mastermind.

spoilers for DRA, DRDT (thus far), v3, SDRA2, THH, and SDR2 under the cut!

in my opinion, it's really hard to make theories about Eden's Garden-- or any fangan, really-- based off of the prologue alone, because we don't know what their writing style is going to be like. for example, we have no idea how they're going to treat their first victim.

do the writers plan on making a first victim out of an initially less important/highlighted character, like Linuj did with Kiyoka in Chapter 1 of DRA? it has the downside of sacrificing a character who hasn't really made much of an impact early on, but has the benefit of allowing yourself to really establish and focus on your most important/late game characters. if this is the case, we might have to worry about, i dunno, Kai or Ingrid, who didn't have particularly standout plot moments in the first chapter, being the first victim.

or, do the writers plan on making a first victim out of one of the characters that's gotten the greatest highlight so far, like DRDTdev did with Xander in Chapter 1 of DRDT? that has the upside of making sure that everybody knew his character and was invested in his story before he died, but had the downside of making his death more predictable, because he was "throwing up death flags" with all his content.

either option is entirely valid, and up to the discretion of the writers to decide what works best for the story we're crafting.

in DRA, Linuj decided to invest his resources into making Yuki, Akane, Tsurugi, Rei, and Mikako (and to a lesser extent, Teruya, Satsuki, and Haruhiko) the most interesting and best-developed characters he possibly could, and thus, decided to use the first trial as setup to Tsurugi's eventual delusions of grandeur by making Mitch intend to kill him. however, it does leave characters like Kiyoka, Mitch, Ayane, Kanata, and Kakeru relatively underdeveloped and forgettable (if you don't do their free times, anyways).

in DRDT, the dev clearly has an agenda about making sure that every character has at least one highly focal scene before they exit. Xander was Teruko's support throughout the entire prologue, and had multiple scenes of discussing the mastermind with Teruko alone; Min aided Teruko throughout almost the entirety of Chapter 1's investigation; Arei had a very memorable breakdown moment where she revealed a lot about her character. based on that history of writing, i'm less inclined to believe that someone like Hu, who we haven't focused on that much thus far, will be the killer, and more inclined to believe that a character that's been spotlighted in the ch2 daily life, such as Eden, Levi, Ace, or Whit, will be the killer.

obviously, we're not talking about the first victim here, we're talking about the mastermind. however, similar principles can apply. if p:eg's mastermind is in the game for the entire time, i have no clue if they'd be more of an over-the-top obvious mastermind like SDRA2's Mikado, or an under-the-radar camoflauged mastermind like v3's Tsumugi.

and, that's even assuming that the mastermind is one of the members of the cast! i don't think that's actually been confirmed yet. the mastermind could be a hidden/external threat like Junko in THH, or could be a forgotten side of one of the "innocent" participants like Hajime/Izuru in SDR2.

going back to my original post, a mastermind like Mikado could be someone like Wolfgang; a mastermind like Tsumugi could be someone like Mark; a mastermind like Junko could be, i dunno, Cara?; and a mastermind like Hajime could be someone like Damon. but, with only a prologue under their belt-- even if it is a prologue with a class trial in it-- it's hard to judge what sort of writing the writers will favor. the fact that there are multiple of them makes it even harder to determine.

this all was really barely related to your ask. i just wanted to write it out, as it's been on my mind for a while. thanks for bearing with me :,)

[an-inspired-eternity]

the love was there. it didn’t change anything, it didn’t save anyone- there was too many forces against it. but it still matters that the love was there.

[archerestarcher]

Me, usually: I really don't get why people say 'step on me', it really doesn't seem appealing and there are far better forms of being dominated that make more sense.

Me when Wolfgang Akire yelled "Silence!": ...Step on me.

[valesushii]

i said what i said

[magiclcss]

sighs as i slip back into my danganronpa fixation.

[orphudice]

good morning!

[s1x-s1x-s1x]

December 23rd, 2022

Tempted on making a sideblog for the game Project: Eden’s Garden.

[adracat]

Notrette: The Mother of Abominations, Queen of Heaven and Space

"This is the Mystery of Babylon, the Mother of Abominations, and this is the mystery of her adulteries, for she hath yielded up herself to everything that liveth, and hath become a partaker in its mystery. And because she hath made her self the servant of each, therefore is she become the mistress of all. Not as yet canst thou comprehend her glory.

Beautiful art thou, O Babylon, and desirable, for thou hast given thyself to everything that liveth, and thy weakness hath subdued their strength. For in that union thou didst understand. Therefore art thou called Understanding, O Babylon, Lady of the Night!" — The Vision and the Voice (12th Aethyr)

Thelema is an esoteric and occult philosophy founded by Aleister Crowley. That name may be familiar to those who've read any of my gwitch hermeticism posts. Thelema draws heavily from ancient mythology, among Greek/Egyptian in particular, and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Alchemy, astrology, and geomancy are among the crafts they practiced. Thelema asserts following one's True Will is the path to self-realization and fulfillment, gaining the Great Work or Magnum Opus. See my posts here for more on this.

Babalon is the Great Mother. She is Nott and Nuit; the Night. She is the Whore of Babylon that reins the Beast of Revelation. She is the Bride of Chaos, the primal light of the soul and where life began. She is Mother Earth, Gaia, in her most fertile sense. She is Lilith (etymology-'female night being/demon') the fell consort to Samael. Notrette is indicated by her name, derived from Nott the Norse personification of Night, and taken epithet Anesidora (Demeter, Pandora, and Gaia) to be Babalon.

And I believe in one Earth, the Mother of us all, and in one Womb wherein all men are begotten, and wherein they shall rest, Mystery of Mystery, in Her name BABALON— Gnostic creed

We never see her in the show, save one image. What is there speaks plenty to her place as this occult figure. And perhaps her link to Prospera most of all.

Bride of Samael

Prospera is unmistakably the Great Deciever. Her name before Vanadis' fall was Elnora, which means Shining One. The same as Lucifer, the morning star. It matches the name of Dellingr, Nott's husband in norse myth. However, Delling is a red herring and perhaps the slight change in name is intentional. Prospera is the true Satan, who fell from grace and now rebels against God. Considering Dominicus and Delling are both coded with divine authority, this seems to be the point. If Notrette is Anesidora, then Prospera is Phosphoros. In my Prospera analysis, I noted she's bedecked in Hecate symbolism. One of Hecate's epithets is Phosphoros, light-bringer, signifying Hecate, Diana, and Eos/Aurora; goddess of the dawn. Another parallel with Nott's mythic husband. Phosphoros/EOSphoros is the greek name of the morning star. Perseis, another Hecate epithet is synonymous with Perdition. The name Satan took after falling. She has also cast aside her original shining name to be Prospera

The planet Venus is historically 'morning star', one of the wandering stars in astrology, and Elnora is similarly coded with Venus parallel. Consider the sign Pisces, which is Venus and her son Eros fleeing to safety. (The Prologue events) The events of episode 17 onward easily fit Venus' role in the story of Eros and Psyche.

Crowley asserts Babalon and the biblical Scarlet Woman are separate and the latter enacts the will of the former. Prospera wreaking her havoc on Earth and Space is certainly fitting with Aerial as the Beast of Revelation.

So how does this relate to Notrette? Because she is the Bride of Samael/Satan, Lilith, who rebelled against Adam and was banished from the Garden of Eden. As Babalon/Babylon, she is the mother of harlots and revels in adultery. We already know Quiet Zero was her project. She is a gifted geneticist and the only person explicitly fiddling with biometric code... The Mother of Abominations can easily apply to Aerial and replichildren. Something we already suspected, but seems confirmed. She is indeed the Angrboda to Prospera's Loki. After all, in the Tempest Caliban is the child of the Devil and a witch.

Consider fell Lilith, the first wife of man who was formed from the same clay as Adam and unleashed horrors upon humanity. This tale mirrors Pandora, another Anesidora. The first woman in Greek mythology molded by clay who unleashes horrors from her jar. Mothers of Abominations both. Some occultists view Lilith as a former agricultural and fertility goddess like Demeter. Anesidora is Satan's bride, Lilith.

Potnia (Mistress), an epithet of Demeter, can also be taken as indicative of the great Idolatress

Queen Nuit

The highest deity of Thelema is Nuit. She is the naked Great Mother dressed in the stars. She is infinite space and infinite possibilities. They name her Our Lady of the Stars, Queen of Space and Queen of Heaven. Greek Nyx, Norse Nott, and Egyptian Nut are all her names. Her consort is Hadit, the embodiment of causality; '"the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star." And causality is the method to which Prospera works her curses upon the cast.

Notrette is metaphorically a queen before her death. Married to psuedo king Delling, she is the G-Witch Queen of Heaven and Space. Her name hard placing her as Nott just drives the point home.

Daughter of Babalon

But casting aside speculation, well-founded as it is imo, let's take a look at her canonical child; Miorine. Thelema also speaks of her and cements Notrette's true identity.

And this palace is nothing but the body of a woman, proud and delicate, and beyond imagination fair. She is like a child of twelve years old. She has very deep eyelids, and long lashes. Her eyes are closed, or nearly closed. It is impossible to say anything about her. She is naked; her whole body is covered with fine gold hairs, that are the electric flames which are the spears of mighty and terrible Angels whose breastplates are the scales of her skin. And the hair of her head, that flows down to her feet, is the very light of God himself. Of all the glories beheld by the Seer in the Aethyrs, there is not one which is worthy to be compared with her littlest finger-nail. For although he may not partake of the Aethyr, without the ceremonial preparations, even the beholding of this Aethyr from afar is like the par taking of all the former Aethyrs.

The Seer is lost in wonder, which is Peace.

And the ring of the horizon above her is a company of glorious Archangels with joined hands, that stand and sing: This is the daughter of BABALON the Beautiful, that she hath borne unto the Father of All. And unto all hath she borne her.

This is the Daughter of the King. This is the Virgin of Eternity. This is she that the Holy One hath wrested from the Giant Time, and the prize of them that have overcome Space. This is she that is set upon the Throne of Understanding. Holy, Holy, Holy is her name, not to be spoken among men. For Kore they have called her, and Malkah, and Betulah, and Persephone.— The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley

In the show she is given Kore/Persephone symbolism as explored in my Miorine analysis. As the daughter of a Demeter it felt fitting, but it's now doubly significant. The Hebrew words Malkah and Betulah mean 'Queen' and 'Virgin' respectively.

With this wealth of context, I can't help but wish Notrette made a full appearance. Yet I understand both production meddling and perhaps symbolic intent may have led to her remaining unseen. Babalon is Mystery. And her glory cannot be comprehended.

[humbugghere]

The Ultimate (heeheehoho) analysis of Project: Eden’s Garden Prologue is done. It’s about 1 hours and 45 minutes - so rest assured that it’s fairly comprehensive of the game we have so far.

[accirax]

Eden’s Garden Mastermind Theory Ranking (Least to Most)

Greetings, Eden’s Garden fandom, and happy... uh... two days past the three month anniversary of the prologue release! I know I’m really late to the punch on this, but after thinking it over for a while I have ranked every student in Project: Eden’s Garden based on how likely I think it is that they are the mastermind. Also, I drew them all, because their designs are really cool. So, without further ado:

#16: Grace Madison

Out of all of the characters, I think Grace would be the most bewildering mastermind. This is the girl who screamed “get me out of here” so much that she got shocked, clubbed Tozu until he was writhing on the floor, and nearly got executed for it! She’s been shown to be violent, but not in a particularly manipulative or intellectual way. Yes, you could argue that all of that was an act, but she’s been shown as so honest and blunt that it makes me doubt whether she could really pull that off. I personally believe that Grace may make a deep run in this game (even to the point of being a survivor), but I can’t think of any particularly compelling reasons as to why Grace would be the mastermind.

#15: Jean DeLamer

So… it’s the pirate guy. No, a ship captain! Either way, I think Jean would be a pretty strange mastermind. To me, it feels like a mastermind Jean would have to lean into the sea aesthetic somehow, and given the locale and theming of Eden’s Garden Academy, I can’t see how that would tie in. The way that Jean portrays it, Ultimate Ship Captain is a title built on bringing people together. So, the writers would have a lot of work to do to justify him being someone who would lead his friends to tear each other apart. Overall, this seems pretty unlikely to me.

#14: Damon Maitsu

And here he is, our protagonist boy! While the protagonist being the mastermind certainly isn’t a foreign concept, I personally don’t think it’s what the Eden’s Garden writers were going for here. Protagonists secretly on the evil team, such as Hajime, are typically missing a lot of memories, and Damon doesn’t seem to be missing any more than the average student. It would certainly be bold to have Damon be an active and aware mastermind under the players’ noses for the entire game, but based on how difficult Kodaka has said it was to write just a single case in which the protagonist was a killer, I find it dubious that this is a realistic possibility. Personally, I also didn’t see any thoughts, actions, or dialogue of Damon’s that would indicate that this was the case. If something weird was going to happen to prevent Damon from being the long-term protagonist, I think it would more likely be a shockingly early death as either a victim or killer. However, I think that Damon has a great character arc set up before him, and that he’ll probably survive to the end as our innocent protagonist and POV character.

#13: Jett Dawson

Jett is pretty similar to Jean in that they’re both big, sociable guys with a seemingly killing-game-irrelevant talent. Because of that, it might seem strange that I put Jett above Jean, considering that he’s even sillier and dumber than Jean. However, I think that because of that, it would be more fun for him to have an eleventh hour heel turn and become the mastermind. I also think that him being sillier would allow him to better blend in as a simple comic relief character and believable survivor nearing the end game. And, of course, he’s wearing that mask, the taking off of which could be a fun twist in Trial 6. Despite all of this, however… he’s still 13th overall. And that’s because, overall, I still think it’s pretty implausible for our goofy, Scooby Doo-impersonating Jett to be the mastermind.

#12: Mark Berskii

I’m pretty indifferent on the concept of mastermind Mark overall. His alligator imagery is questionable, given his apparent personality; and having a tech-related talent could be helpful in creating a killing game, somehow…? But, he also seems pretty soft spoken and anxious during introductions, and more of a sarcastic straight man in the Class Trial, neither of which scream “mastermind” to me. Really, the most suspicious thing about him is that Damon specifically points out that Mark is staring at him on the train, and that Mark was sitting in the back of the train near the sleeping gas bag. Currently, I don’t really have anything that can argue him better or worse than 12th place.

#11: Eloise Taulner

Given how much Eloise has already demonstrated how much she cares about her family, I find it hard to believe that she would put herself in danger by placing herself in a killing game. But, on the other hand, maybe her family is her reason for starting the killing game in some twisted way, and her loyalty to them could explain her actions…? I can’t deny that it would be fun to see such a shy and sweet character flip in the final Class Trial to reveal her masterminding ways– sort of reminiscent of Mikan’s character flip, though hopefully on a more solid foundation. Fencing is also a violent talent, one that Eloise specifically pointed out is a calculated mental game more than a physical sport. However, I’m a pretty strong believer in early killer Eloise, so personally, I don’t think that she’ll make it late enough in the game for her being the mastermind to be a real topic of discussion.

#10: Ingrid Grimwall

Being the Ultimate Blacksmith, Ingrid has a weapons-based talent, specifically one that fits in with the old fashioned stylings of Eden’s Garden Academy. She thinks pretty highly of herself and her skills, and is shown to be flippant about safety laws when it comes to cleaning supplies. These traits, in my mind, make her a more viable candidate than Jett or Jean, but I just can’t shake the feeling that Ingrid would be a really random mastermind choice. I don’t know what her being the mastermind would say about her or people like her, or what it would add to the story and world development. Ingrid isn’t a terrible choice, but I think there are far better options to consider.

#9: Kai Monteago

Yes, Kai is incredibly silly, and I probably shouldn’t have even had him this high just due to how much of a meme it would be if he were the mastermind. But, I think that out of the more silly mastermind candidates, Kai stands out for one reason and one reason alone: attention. Kai has already presented himself as someone who wants everyone to know his name, and what better way to do that than slaughtering some of the country’s brightest? The way Kai initially resigned himself to being an observer of the practice Class Trial before jumping in and eventually providing a lot of commentary could speak to him being a fan of killing games or mysteries in a way he couldn’t manage to contain. And, look– I know that his behavior was probably just to communicate that even when he’s underinformed, Kai is still a chatterbox who wants to be the center of attention, alright? I know that he’s probably here primarily as comic relief, especially if he winds up an early death. But at least compared to most of the students ranked below him, I can imagine a point or message that the writers would be trying to convey about social media and fame with him being the mastermind. His other limiting factors prevent him from cracking the top half, but that alone gets him part of the way there in my list.

#8: Wenona

In terms of actual feasibility, Wenona has to be high up there on students who we know could logistically be the mastermind. Cited as a billionaire, I’m sure she has the resources necessary to run a large production such as this killing game, as well as a shrewd, business-oriented mind that could potentially diminish the value of people’s emotions and lives. Plus, depending on what the writers’ collective political leanings are, I could see some kind of message about the evils of capitalism cropping up if she was revealed as the mastermind. Ultimate Entrepreneur is a talent that Damon already respects, so there’s also potential for drama there if she turns out to be evil. So, after all of that, why don’t I have her higher? To be honest, I don’t know. To me, there’s just something about Wenona that makes me think she isn’t the mastermind. It’s not because she’s so sweet or innocent that I couldn’t believe that she could pull it off– to be honest, it’s the opposite. Even if Damon respects her talent, she came off as fairly antagonistic and cold to me in the prologue. If she is the mastermind, I would imagine that she’d keep that attitude throughout the rest of the game. Then, in Chapter 6, we’d be faced with the revelation that, wow, the mildly antagonistic character was actually a really antagonistic character all along! It just doesn’t seem like enough of a dramatic hook to me, I guess? There are a lot of good reasons why Wenona could be the mastermind, but for those reasons, I don’t think she’s it.

#7: Wolfgang Akire

Similar to Wenona, Wolfgang for me is hampered by the fact that he’s already been set up as Damon’s rival. A lot of people are already suspicious of Wolfgang in one way or another, so if he’s revealed to be the mastermind in the end, players might feel vindicated, but not necessarily surprised. That’s why, if Wolfgang is the mastermind, I think the most interesting thing the Eden’s Garden team could do would be to reveal him as such early. I’m talking, like, first Class Trial early. We’d get to see Wolfgang’s calculating mind openly act as the mastermind throughout the killing game, let the other students deal with repercussions of having their trusted leader be the mastermind for a while instead of just in the last chapter (after he may have already done some morally gray things), and explore what people would think about Bargain Bin Damon when they know that Wolfgang is the mastermind. Would they make Damon their new hero, now that they can’t rely on the Ultimate Lawyer anymore? Or would they distrust Damon, potentially thinking he’s working with Wolfgang? Wolfgang being the mastermind also has the benefit of his talent. Given that Damon is so good at Class Trials, I feel like pitting him against, say, the Ultimate Music Producer might be too easy of a fight for him. Lawyer vs Debater is something that would not only be an even match, but has already been set up and, in some ways, executed. For Wolfgang, I think there are a lot of ways that him being the mastermind could go “wrong,” but if the writers play their cards right, Wolfgang could be one of the most interesting and unique masterminds we’ve ever seen in a Danganronpa game, canon or fanon.

#6: Eva Tsunaka

While Eva has a blunt and cold personality, she has the benefit (as compared to Wolfgang or Wenona) of being a character that the player is supposed to feel aligned with. You wake up with her, you investigate with her, she’s the one to agree with Damon when he takes a stand against the common complacency at the end. A lot of people have compared playing as Damon to if we had seen Trigger Happy Havoc through Byakuya’s eyes, and in that case, I think that Eva would have to be our Kyoko. And, although Byakuya and Kyoko had their disagreements, if Byakuya were forced to designate someone as his support character, who could he really trust and intellectually respect enough besides Kyoko to give that title? I think Eva will be our support character of the game, which would only make it more devastating if she betrays us in the end. That would also be a pretty unique road to go down, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fangan in which the support character was actually the mastermind, as opposed to a traitor or garden-variety killer, especially in a situation where the protagonist isn’t evil as well. It would also be brutal to make the player confront the Ultimate Liar really being the untrustworthy mastermind all along, after we presumably come to trust and like her. Given the comparison to Kyoko, I think it’s more likely that Eva will not be evil, and instead have a character arc about opening up and being more vulnerable, potentially dying in a late chapter or surviving. However, I would be super excited to see what would happen if Eva were the mastermind, and especially how Damon would react to it.

#5: Desmond Hall

Desmond is this high on the list because, really, I can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t be the mastermind. He’s the Ultimate Marksman, a talent that’s obviously tied to killing and violence, especially when we already have guns at play from the practice Trial and Mara. And, yes, he claims to have never killed anyone himself before, but 1) that could be true and he still could be evil, or 2) he could just be lying. Along with Eva, Grace, Wolfgang, Toshiko, and Eloise, Desmond is one of the characters that you meet before entering the room that contains the other half of the cast, which automatically makes him stand out more as compared to those who were grouped together. He’s shown to have a chill personality, but in a way that (at least to me) could totally be an act. Or, he could even retain that cool attitude as the mastermind, but in a way that just makes him detached from caring about life or death. However, given that we don’t know much about him, I don’t have any particularly damning evidence that he is the mastermind, either. After getting an initial look at him, I really didn’t have any strong inclinations on where his character might go– early death, late death, survivor, what kind of arc he could go through, etc– which is what makes him a more compelling suspect, to me. I plan on keeping a close eye on Desmond to see if there’s any future evidence that swings my opinion of him in one direction or the other.

#4: Toshiko Kayura

Alright, raise your hand if you didn’t think that Toshiko seemed suspicious from the first time you saw her. Given that she’s introduced eavesdropping on your conversation and always conceals half of her face, it’s no wonder that she gave a lot of people bad vibes. While Ultimate Matchmaker might seem like a silly talent to give the mastermind, it could also be a ruse to distract us from the fact that Toshiko has a talent that allows her to read people well and make choices that will impact their lives dramatically. Toshiko obviously stands out from the rest of the cast due to her age, though some people might consider that a reason to avoid suspecting her. However, it’s not like the canon games have strayed away from evil children– in my opinion, Monaca is Danganronpa’s best written villain– and a 14-year-old mastermind could bring up a lot of interesting scenarios which haven’t been popularly explored. Maybe Toshiko has a point to make about child prodigies, and how putting so much pressure on someone to be talented at such a young age is bound to mess them up. Maybe Toshiko grew up in such a terrible, Tragedy-inflicted world that she would be more vulnerable to corruption than her older peers. Maybe killing games are a family business, and traditional Toshiko is being raised to carry on that ritual. On that last note, though, I do think that Toshiko is more likely to be a traitor type than a mastermind, assuming that a role like that exists in this game. I could definitely see her working under the influence of someone a little older and wiser, which is why she’s still only at 4th place. She did seem to have a genuine, screaming reaction when Cara’s fake body appeared, which also points to her not being the manipulator behind it all. Still, I’m wary of Toshiko’s cuteness, and will continue to keep an eye on her and her fan.

#3: Cassidy Amber

Out of all the comic relief-based characters, I think Cassidy has the best shot of being the mastermind. She has Kai’s media and fame angles with the added benefit of being someone who streams games. You know… like killing games! Through that hilarious ladder/stepladder reference, we even know that Cassidy is a fan of Ace Attorney, a trial-based mystery solving game. I think that if Cassidy is the mastermind, a great way to foreshadow it would be to use the games that she references to show the potentially dark subjects she’s into and how she could be blurring the lines between reality and a video game in her head. Similar to Wenona, we know that Cassidy could have the resources to pull off a killing game, even if she usually donates most of her proceeds to various charities. She could also potentially have Wenona’s political angle if the writers wanted to use a killing game to critique communism… somehow? (Personal leanings aside, I genuinely don’t know how a killing game would be a good metaphor for communism in any way. I also feel like Cassidy is a communist mostly for the meme.) An Ultimate Pro Gamer mastermind could also draw on the meta elements showcased in SDR2 and V3, given that Eden’s Garden is, y’know… a video game. While Damon is initially opposed to her after she starts calling him Bargain Bin (stirring up that drama for the viewers), I think it would still be surprising if she was the mastermind because of how hard she reads as a comic relief character. If she made it to the end, I think people would expect more of a Hiro than a Junko. However, that could be just the trick that the writers are trying to set up to make Cassidy a fun and surprising mastermind. But, that’s just a theory… a GAME(r) theory.

#2: Ulysses Wilhelm

I wasn’t all that sold on Ulysses being a good mastermind candidate before I watched Ocean Unknown’s video, Project Eden’s Garden: Who Is the Mastermind?, in which she laid out some really interesting reasons why Ulysses could be it. I’ll summarize her main points here, though, because it’s mostly those I agree with. First of all, Ulysses’ name means “wrathful,” something of note given how uncommon Ulysses is as a name in the modern day. His last name, Wilhelm, means “vehement protector.” While this sounds nice, he could just as easily be protecting his wrath, the legacy of the killing games, or something else evil like that. Secondly, some of the very first words to appear in the original trailer for Eden’s Garden are “HISTORY REPEATS,” which is obviously suspicious for the Ultimate Historian. Ulysses’ symbol is the owl, and while it can symbolize wisdom (befitting an academic like Ulysses), it also means death and bad luck in many cultures. Damon also makes a really interesting comment about one of the paintings in the hallway, a woman with an owl’s face, when you click on it: “Sheesh. Owls always gave me the creeps.” Why would the writers give Damon that character trait, knowing that they have a character symbolized by the owl, unless they were trying to foreshadow something? It could just be a joke about how some owls eat snakes (Damon’s symbol), but… isn’t that kind of suspicious, too? Ocean Unknown also pointed out that we never actually see what Ulysses is taking notes about, meaning that they could be about the killing game in some capacity, although that particular trait of Ulysses’ screams “victim’s unique truth bullet/trial mechanic” to me. Despite all of this, Ulysses isn’t my number one mastermind suspect just because I think he was a little too underdeveloped in the prologue to have a huge role later on. I think it would be really easy for him to fall into a victim role as a relatively unimportant character. However, that lack of focus could just as easily be a front to save Ulysses’ true nature for later on. Don’t sleep on the sleepy boy– he might just be the mastermind behind it all.

#1: Diana Venicia

What a shock: the number one most suspected character in Eden’s Garden is my number one suspect for being the mastermind! Who could have guessed? Although this does feel a little basic, there are just so many things that make Diana suspicious. First of all, she’s the Ultimate Cosmetologist, symbolized by the chameleon. This has obvious parallels to Junko and Tsumugi, two canonical masterminds with fashion-based talents who disguised themselves (Junko via Mukuro, and Tsumugi in chapter 6). The fact that the practice trial featured the hyper realistic mockup body could also be something that Diana did using her talent. Speaking of the body, Diana excused herself from investigating like Toshiko, but wasn’t shown to have the same panicked reaction that Toshiko, Eloise, Jett, or Kai did. That would make her uneasy reaction much easier to fake. Also, is it just me, or does she kind of look like Cara? Secondly, there’s the decal on her shirt that’s oddly reminiscent of the Hope’s Peak Academy logo. It lacks the Monokuma eye that would make it really suspicious, but it’s still notable that she nearly references Hope’s Peak in her core design. Diana has a bubbly and sweet personality that would make her seem innocent, but just like a good foundation, that could be a cover up. It would be a little strange to have the mastermind be, after age revisions, one of only two minors (Diana being 17), but again they could be making some sort of point or connection there. Really, the main thing that holds me back from believing that Diana is the mastermind is just that it seems so obvious that people would suspect her immediately, which takes away from some of the surprise. It almost makes me think that she might be part of the cast as easy mastermind bait as opposed to a true mastermind. But, it’s possible that they could go for something non-standard with her (like an early mastermind reveal, as I talked about with Wolfgang), or they may have hoped that people would get more tripped up by Diana’s cute demeanor and young age. I’d still say that Diana is my #1 mastermind candidate for now, but I’m excited to see whether my prediction is correct or if they’ll go for a different option.

[humunanunga]

Project: Eden’s Garden prologue just dropped and here’s my thoughts on the cast so far 👀

Damon: Oh, so we finally get to play as a tool. Just a total trashman. It’s almost like if we went into the first Danganronpa playing as Byakuya LMAO. Can’t wait to watch his guy slowly figure out he was being a gatekeeping prick just to feel self-important and not have to think about having an identity apart from his talent.

Eva: I love her. I already liked her design when the voice cast was announced, which I also really like, and now I’m really looking forward to how her arc pans out. I like how a lot of her dialogue consists of questions/guesses, directives, or observations you wouldn’t need to take her word for. I also like that, assuming it’s true-- and so far, I’m willing to bet it is-- that, while hesitant, she was honest about being the Ultimate Liar. Imagine how that’d blow up in her face later if she tried lying about what kind of Ultimate she was. She knows it’s a lot to ask for with her talent, but she definitely acts like she wants to be trusted. I already said this in Youtube comments, but the contrast against Kokichi really makes a point for why she’s the Ultimate Liar: a good liar knows when not to lie. For one, a bad liar tells lies they can’t get away with, and for another, if your reputation precedes you, all it takes to deceive everyone is to tell the truth and let their suspicion do all the work.

Grace: Uncalled for, but Damon kinda earns it later.

Wolfgang: A polite boy. A lad, even. Save for how riled up that “demo” got him. Wondering whether he’ll be Damon’s Kaito or his Kokichi... Right now, it seems like Damon’s set himself up to be Wolfgang’s Kokichi. Yikes.

Toshiko: We haven’t seen her mouth yet... curious. Could mean nothing... but if this fangame also includes a plant among the killing game participants, she’s my first guess. Danganronpa loves red herrings, so I don’t think it’d be Eva, but Toshiko? Her color scheme would also fit, everyone woke up in pairs, and a lot of those pairs seem to work well together or at least balance each other out.

Eloise: Hello, so you have red eyes, huh? Is there something you’re not telling us? What was that about analyzing your opponent and predicting their next move, almost like you would in chess? Sorry, you seem very sweet, I just know how these games go.

Desmond: Oh no, you’re gonna get a lotta heat for your talent later, aren’t’cha. I am so sorry, you seem like a real chill dude.

Jean: idk, guys, he's jacked and reliable, and beefcakes with integrity tend to strike out on the fourth case in this series...

Ulysses: Another design I loved from the get-go. I get the impression his habit of note-keeping could be important later... I’m rooting for his survival, but that journal could easily be evidence later.

Ingrid: We love a beefsteak.

Kai: I could see the Ultimate Influencer being a traitor or mastermind and using their talent to gather an audience for their killing game, cuz the games are always streamed and he has a lot more black and white in his outfit than Cassidy, but I... kinda doubt it’ll be him unless they’re all revealed to play roles as the mastermind.

Diana: tbh I’m really hoping she’ll be one of the killers. There’s a lot of potential for a makeup artist to cover their crime, like concealing or faking injuries. They did say she’s done makeup for cinema, I’m just saying. I’m just saying! At the very least, even if she’s cleared, I really hope she’ll be a suspect.

Jett: Don’t know what I expected, but I’m loving his energy. He is doing his best.

Mark: What was with that leer on the train? Did he recognize Damon?

Cassidy: Ohhh boy, are she and Wenona gonna duke it out at some point?

Wenona: Damon... my guy... I woulda thought you’d get along with her. You are a certifiable hypocrite if you’re gonna judge her for being an Ultimate elitist.

Cara: Oh, this wasn’t Eden’s first killing game, was it. I’m surprised none of them pointed out after the practice trial how Cara was an Ultimate too... Wolfgang was right. Asking why would’ve been just as important as asking how. We’re gonna circle back to this case later, aren’t we-- hold on... was... was the point of doing this... did... could Cara’s killer have won a class trial?

Tozu: Did... did he sound like Dr. Frank-N-Furter to anyone else or is that just me? Great voice either way, interesting that it looks like he’s wearing a grey body suit under that coat that'd make him look more like an unnamed Danganronpa culprit. Interesting.

Mara: idk, she yoked tho.

[proj-edens-garden]

Welcome to the official Project: Eden's Garden Tumblr Account!

Project: Eden's Garden is a nonprofit free-to-play Danganronpa fangame. The project will contain a completely new story, with different characters, story elements, and some new gameplay features. This is a small project that is dedicated to recreating the magic of the inspired works that led to this project's inception. We do not take any donations for this project, but we do appreciate you sharing this project with everyone you know!

Download the prologue here:

https://project-edens-garden.itch.io/projecteg

https://gamejolt.com/games/Projectedengarden/769796

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ProjectEdensGarden

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