venus-is-thinking

[venus-is-thinking]

Hello hello! #1 Tristan/Diego comeback believer Venus breaking accidental tumblr hiatus (whoops) to point out some cool details I noticed in the intro that could suggest that I'm right about these two!

So, during the Season 4 intro, like most Disventure Camp intros, we see all the characters having little mini interactions with some of the people they're notably linked to during the season. These groups are:

Derek, Trevor & Emily (if you count them)

Alessio & Logan

Amelie, Benji & Hannah

Anastasia & Marissa

Richard, Ted & Lynda

Natalia & Isabel

Spencer, Diego & Jade

Zaid, Tristan & Ivy

These all make sense for the season we've seen so far, so I don't think we can learn much about who's paired with who. If, say, Alessio and Ted did come back together, that wouldn't want to be in the intro because 1) spoilers and 2) this combination of characters already intuitively makes sense for what we see in the early season.

However, it's in these little interactions that I found an interesting note.

In both Diego and Tristan's segments, they appear on camera, fully leave the frame, and come back into frame. No one else in the intro does this; it's only these two.

This is what happens in Diego's:

Diego stays in more or less the same position from when he's left behind to when he comes back. However, he first leaves the scene because Spencer is backing away from him nervously-- sort of like how he left the game (the first time?) because Spencer grew wary of getting too close to Diego and ran away from his feelings.

If Diego does come back, this could potentially suggest that Spencer is somewhat upset to see him again-- maybe because he worries that an old ally he cast aside will ruin his game? Maybe because it means he has to confront what he did? Maybe it's because of something that happens with Logan! Who's to say.

As for Tristan:

Tristan ducks off screen unceremoniously, which makes sense given that (from what I remember) they kinda just got axed to split the trio up.

The fact that Zaid and Ivy seem to be emphasized more as a couple in Tristan's absence here could just be that the team wanted to show Zaid and Ivy being couple-y in the intro but it was weird with Tristan there, but I also think it would make a lot of sense with the game implications. Once Tristan left, the two grew closer as a couple and were targeted as a couple, resulting in Ivy's elimination from the game. Now, Tristan returns between the two; they helped Ivy in the edge of extinction episode, and they're going to talk to Zaid once they're back in the game. They bridge the gap between the two of them when they aren't as physically close to each other anymore.

For whatever it's worth, Diego and Tristan's segments are also last in the intro. I don't really think that matters too much, though.

Anyways, I definitely don't think this is conclusive and could very well be confirmation bias, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case this is a cool and subtle detail the storyboarders decided to toss in! I'm excited to see who it'll be :D

Have your rankings on who will come back changed now that episode 13 is out?

(for context, this is about my ranking of most likely eliminated contestants to return in Disventure Camp)

In short, yes, 100% absolutely, for reasons I'll discuss under the cut to hide spoilers from DC4 Episode 13.

...So I didn't know that there would be two returning players--

By the way, I think that two returning players finally puts us at the point where episode count evens out for a clear path forward. If we assume that Episode 14 will not only not eliminate anyone, but instead bring our cast size back up to 12 from 10, it would take 11 episodes to distill us down to one winner. (This is assuming that, like DC2 and DCAS, the finale will be split into two episodes that go 3->2 and 2->1.) 14+11=25 episodes, plus an extra one that will probably be used as a second Loser's Motel-esque episode closer to the finale. Hence, the onslaught of non-elim episodes seems to finally be coming to an end! Know that, if your fave gets eliminated now, they'll be gone for good.

But, back to the task at hand! Obviously, things have the potential to change when bringing back two contestants instead of one. But honestly, what's more relevant to me is the extra information that we've gleaned from a glimpse at the daily lives of the eliminated players on the Edge of Extinction... I mean, "Rescue Island."

Relevant info ranges from new bonds that players have made with people they may not have even met before, whose plot arcs seem like they were getting either set up or shot down, and even who was getting focused upon and who was getting more sidelined. (Although, that last one is a bit of a double-edged sword, as getting focus could mean that they're getting everyone re-invested in your return, or that this is your last hurrah.) The stage has been set for a double return, and I'm taking it upon myself to examine the stagecraft to refresh my predictions.

This will once again be a ranking, although a bit different than the last. With 8 eliminated contestants, there are 28 possible pairings to consider. While that number isn't unmanageable, I would rather not have to write 28 separate entries in this follow-up, and I doubt you would really want to watch me ponder the minute distinctions between Amelie + Marissa and Amelie + Ivy anyways. Therefore, this will be a simple top 5 of the most likely duos I see making a return to the game. If the true combo is one that I don't wind up mentioning, then, I guess we can just say that I failed, lol. Also, because I'm only doing 1-5, I don't think it makes sense to start from #5 and work my way up. Instead, we'll be starting with my pairing #1, which is...

#1: Diego + Tristan

Are people surprised to see that Ted has fallen out of my #1 contenders? Well, I did just combine my #2 and #3 contenders, so it's not too much of a shakeup. I'm, like, 80% certain now that, given the context of last episode, Diego and Tristan will soon be back in the game.

Diego had just about the perfect episode to set up for a return to the competition. On top of him not showing that he's moved past whatever he and Spencer had together, attention was drawn multiple times to the fact that he hasn't gotten over what happened, and typically refuses to even acknowledge it. Showing off Diego's still-open wounds similarly reinvigorates our interest in seeing the drama between him and Spencer play out. And, while there's still potentially time for that story to be concluded outside of the competition, it now feels like big enough of an issue that it should be handled in the main story moving forward (especially in the wake of Spencer just revealing his continued guilt over what happened to Logan as well).

Speaking of Spencer and Logan, what of the shipping side of things? Have I backtracked on the prospect of logancer being canon kings? Ehhhh, sort of, but not really. Notably, Trevor's comments in the episode recap made me even more certain that romance between Logan and Spencer will be relevant to the season somehow.

(Although, it's possible that could just be Trevor being fruity lol)

If Diego does come back, though, it's possible that we could be face to face once again with our old friend (or, foe?), the love triangle. My hesitance now comes from being less sure if it would be a diencer endgame or a logancer endgame. I could totally see a world where Logan's feelings are one-sided and/or Logan and Spencer decide that they're just better off friends, but I can also see one where, over the course of the season, Diego comes to realize that he and Spencer aren't a good match for each other, and ultimately supports Spencer being with Logan instead.

In a based world, Diego's clear physical attraction to Logan as highlighted in his exit interview could be a hint towards a poly Diego/Spencer/Logan relationship emerging. However, given how ONC handled huntessally, I'm hesitant to believe that that would ever happen.

While perhaps not as good as Diego's, Tristan also had a good episode to support their return. The main argument I can see against Tristan coming back now is that they got so much focus in this returnee episode-- focus that ONC might have placed elsewhere if we're about to get a bunch more Tristan content in the series proper anyways. However, Tristan is a fan favorite (and probably a writer favorite) character who likely would have merited a lot of content anyways, and their reunion with Ivy was something that would have been weird to skip over, especially with Ivy sort of serving as this episode's POV character.

However, beyond what I already outlined in my prior post about how Tristan coming back into the competition would make sense, my sister (@venus-is-thinking) highlighted some logic that made me really high on Tristan's chances.

We all know that Tristan is very conflict-averse, and easily gets uncomfortable when others are arguing. We were even reminded of that in Episode 13 with Amelie and Emily, who are shown on the thumbnail. Therefore, bringing Tristan back into the fold when their former bestie Zaid is absolutely furious at their former crush Benji opens up a ton of interesting opportunities to explore Tristan's character and help them grow. Making a vibe tribe between a bunch of strangers is one thing, but reestablishing that vibe when people are already mad at each other is another entirely. I think this would be excellent timing for a Tristan return, which is why I'm rooting for it to happen.

Also, to the extent that ONC would want the two returning contestants to have at least a bit of a dynamic between each other, the fact that Tristan was ultimately the one to hug and comfort Diego near the end of the episode felt like it may have been very intentional foreshadowing that Tristan will Diego interpret his feelings in the future. That can't happen if only one of them comes back into the game, so let's just bring both of them back!

#2: Alessio + Ted

From red to blue, here's #2! Wow, I should be a poet. Or, perhaps, a musician...?

I imagine I wasn't the only one surprised to see such an emphasis placed on Alessio and Ted's dynamic throughout this episode. I mean, I guess the two of them were in an alliance (kind of) once upon a time, but so much more focus was placed on Alessio's bond with Logan that I genuinely forgot that was the case. Still, I understand why the writers did it: Alessio and Ted have a lot of chemistry with each other. Enough chemistry, perhaps, to justify their return to the competition...?

Ted's reasons are about the same as I last laid them out. Yes, we got a bit more information (or at least, information more directly stated) about Ted's insecurities, and how he feels like his life lacks a purpose other than gambling. However, when Lynda had the same crisis of faith (about being ashamed that she was only a housewife), even if she didn't win, her accomplishments were highlighted by Richard during her elimination, and Marissa prior to that.

To my memory, no one has ever done the same for Ted. Therefore, without any further story content, Ted is just left feeling like a loser, which is a pretty unprecedented route for DC-- unless the character is as obviously evil as Riya or Yul. Even Fiore got a happy ending eventually! From the beginning, I think Ted was meant to be at least somewhat rootable. I'd think he's bound to get a confidence boost someday.

Meanwhile, Alessio. Now that we've gone into even further detail about Alessio's deal-- how the high expectations of his artistic family have caused him to lose faith in his abilities and worth in general, not just to lack inspiration-- it really seems like Alessio's character could be wrapped. Him playing the guitar and singing at the end of the episode could prove that Alessio has, once again, found inspiration, and the drive to keep being a creator, despite his fears.

However, that's kinda what I thought last time, and then Alessio came back swinging with more content than I thought was there! He's a man of many surprises, so he could surprise us yet with reentry into the game.

In terms of their dynamic together, like I said, this episode did a great job of making me care about Alessio and Ted's dynamic should the show want there to be one between the two returning players. Because Alessio and Ted weren't particularly close during their time on the Blue team (hell, Alessio even voted for Ted on his way out), the players still in the game probably wouldn't expect for the two of them to be working together. Therefore, I think it could be fun if they had a secret alliance with each other where they could give each other recon. For instance, maybe Alessio could reconnect with Logan and Richard and tell Ted what's going on there, while Ted schmoozes with the former Red Team and gives Alessio the deets. They could be the most undercover duo this game has ever seen! (Now, where have I heard that one before...? /ref)

#3: Ted + Tristan

Okay, now this one is just me shamelessly smashing together my top two picks from before Episode 13. You've already seen my arguments for why I think Ted and Tristan could be good returnees (from before and after e13), so I won't go through it again. Instead, let me argue against myself for why I don't think that my former two contenders will be the selection anymore.

Issue #1: Diego. And, to a lesser extent, Alessio. While I think that any further content for Alessio is potentially skippable, Diego is now in a position where it might be tricky to conclude his arc in just four more episodes. (Any characters who don't return will probably only be seen in next episode's challenge, the other LM episode, and Finale pt 1 and 2). Not choosing to include Diego might wind up fumbling his character a little, which would suck.

Issue #2: Ted and Tristan have little to no connection to each other. Speaking of, perhaps I should elaborate on the whole concept of "the returning players having a dynamic."

Technically, there's nothing wrong with having two characters come back to the game who aren't connected to each other. In fact, one could argue that it's better, because it would imply that the characters would affect a greater range of players still in the game. For instance, even though Marissa and Lynda have a great dynamic with each other, they would both be very tied to Anastasia/the former girls' alliance upon their return, leaving the dynamics of the red team largely unaffected by the returnee challenge.

However, if handled properly, I think it's better to have the characters be at least slightly connected to one another. First off, it's a representation of the time that's passed at Rescue Island. In real life, Tristan and Ted would have been living together with only a few other people for about 2 weeks before reentering the game, so it would be weird if they acted like they basically didn't know each other at all in the game itself. It would diminish the impact of Rescue Island as a twist and institution.

Secondly, it would just feel... random. My fear with Tristan and Ted returning is that the whole thing would just feel like, "man, we really can't decide whether we want to bring back Tristan or Ted... so what if we just brought back both?!" It's an issue that might not even bother people other than me, but in my eyes, pulling a move like that would be more of an instance of just wanting to restore a previous save state of the game than to truly build something new. Agree or not, that's what I mean when I talk about returnee characters having a dynamic.

#4: Ted + Diego

Logistically, this one should at least be above Ted + Tristan, because I think that Ted and Diego are the two characters who have the best argument to currently facing unsatisfying endings.

However... I dunno, I just don't vibe with this being the returning pair. Maybe it's just my bias of liking Tristan more than Diego, or maybe it's that these two would both sorta gravitate towards the Spencer/Logan pair. Although, Diego would certainly interact with Hannah, at least, as well. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing? It kinda ruins the Hannah curse plotline, but so does, like, anyone eliminated from Red returning.

For whatever reason, I just don't see this pairing as much as I do the three above it. However, it does have most-if-not-all of the benefits of both a Ted return and a Diego return, which certainly makes it a worthwhile pair. Perhaps I'll be eating my words two weeks from now, much like Diego with his fruit.

#5: Ted + Lynda

It's very funny to me that I've put Ted in all of my top 5 combinations except for the one that I actually think is most likely to happen. That's just how the cards were stacked, I suppose. Ted's a gambler; he'll understand.

Advantages of Lynda returning? Like I said in the other post, it would give her a better chance to fully prove herself, and have a unique plotline, to say the least, of always coming back from the brink of disaster. If she gets to come back with Ted, it would be interesting to see how Richard would react. I also just like the dynamic between her and Ted, which I mentioned before.

I'll stop beating around the bush, though; I don't really think this is going to happen. There are still a lot of problems with Lynda returning, and the capstone she got with Marissa this episode felt like a suitable end to her character. The fact that she didn't talk much with Ted this episode also didn't seem great for their chances of returning together. I was just kinda struggling for a fifth pairing, and thought this would be more interesting (and probably more likely?) than just saying, "okay, here's Alessio + Tristan!"

So, those are my new choices for which pair I think will ride on the Carnival of Chaos once again. I also want to give a shoutout to Tristan + Ivy, which I think is a uniquely terrible pairing to come back. Defusing Zaid's anger that hard would be both awful for the story and absolutely hilarious.

Can't wait to be totally wrong again. Thanks for the ask!

POTENTIALLY SPOILERY EDIT:

Okay I've been watching Silly Billy's episode 13 reaction now and he really makes it sound like neither Ted or Alessio is returning-- and especially not with each other. So... Tristan/Diego sweep!!! or it's secretly like Marissa/Ivy or whatever lmao

[venus-is-thinking]

DRDT Chapter 2 Text Animatic: Hold My Place in Heaven by Saint Motel

Hello everyone! I'm not sure how intuitive this concept is, so I'll explain it a little.

Basically, I like to imagine animatics to various songs, but I don't have the time nor skill to actually create them, so I just envision them through the magic of Google Docs tables with text in them.

Recently, I was listening to a new Saint Motel song -- Hold My Place in Heaven -- and I thought it fit DRDT Chapter 2 super well! So, I decided to share the end result. Hope you enjoy :)

[venus-is-thinking]

💙❤️Blind Date or Die Episode 3, Starring J, Ulysses, Ace, Damon, Charles, Mark, Xander, and Cassidy!💙❤️

[venus-is-thinking]

A genuine question for you all: as I've mentioned in a few posts now, @venus-is-thinking and I have been working on a very long analysis/review regarding Project: Eden's Garden's first chapter. To be completely transparent, there are a few parts of the chapter that we thought could be improved, which we occasionally remarked upon throughout the essay.

The reason why we did so is because we care a lot about the art of crafting a fangan, have invested much of our time discussing with each other what we believe makes a good fangan narrative, and wanted to share some of that speculation with you guys (and the team, should they ever find the post and choose to read it). We were attempting to show our passion for both P:EG and fangans as a whole by investing the time to thoroughly analyze how P:EG both succeeded and struggled in telling its story, respecting the project in the same way we would a fully licensed game, through the lens of our opinions.

However, we have also recently seen (or at least, recently seen brought to attention) an uptick of so-called "fans" being cruel to unpaid, passionate fancreators (of fangans or otherwise). Many good points have been raised about how, as a fangan is essentially a fanfic, it's not fair to walk up to them and criticize them in the same way you would a published novel or triple-A game. A creator sharing the fruits of their passion might not necessarily want to receive industry-style criticism on their free-time hobby.

The last thing either of us wants to do is incite drama or a barrage of cruel commentary towards members of the community that we love. So, again-- as genuinely as I can communicate through this text box--

I would include the option of posting only the positive parts of the analysis, but if we can only post half of our opinion we would rather not post it at all. I hope you can understand that stance. And thank you for reading! <3

[venus-is-thinking]

2,714 Marabucks? Pathetic, get back to me when you have even close to 100,000! >:)

You're right... I'm a fraud...

Please accept this as repentance

[venus-is-thinking]

I have. 2,714 Marabucks

[venus-is-thinking]

accirax ditched me and did her tierlist without me :(

So here's mine! Happy Chapter 1 :)

[venus-is-thinking]

Project: Eden's Garden Predictions Game!

Howdy everybody! Accirax and I just finished replaying the prologue and are now doing predictions game posts for Project: Eden's Garden (don't worry we haven't started chapter 1 yet). If you don't know what the predictions game is, we explained it pretty thoroughly in this post.

As Accirax said in her partner post, because P:EG has said they aren't doing a double kill in chapter 3, we decided our standard ruling would be to add a bonus survivor as a result of only killing one victim in chapter 3. This may not be what happens, and in fact, I'd suspect we'll probably get an extra death in another chapter for one reason or another instead, but this was the simplest way to change the format.

Also, please note that Accirax and I said we'd be keeping these brief. I've been betrayed and mine are now going to be short. My bad. I don't have a lot to say about some of these as a lot are based on vibes or me running out of slots, so I can't write paragraphs about the logic :')

Anyways! Here we go!

Grace as Chapter 1 Victim

I think there are a lot of options for the Chapter 1 victim who, if they make it past that slot, have the potential to go long game. Grace is one such character; I view Cassidy, Toshiko and high key also Eva and Wolfgang this way. As such, especially with how points work, it was really difficult to figure out who to stick in the early game instead of the late game.

I eventually settled on Grace for 2 reasons:

I think her most obvious/likely potential character arc is about learning that she needs to work with others instead of against them, and that arc feels a bit too similar to what I expect both Eva's and Damon's arcs to be like.

I don't get Grace. This might be a me problem, but I have a hard time figuring out how she fits into the cast or the themes in general. I feel like most conversations/conversational moments, she's either 100% the main focus or 100% not important, and that kind of character is really hard to write for an extended period of time without dominating the story.

I could definitely see Grace making it far or even surviving though. I initially had her flipped with Toshiko; I think Toshiko as a first victim would also make a lot of sense (copy/paste accirax's Toshiko first victim if you want an explanation), but I went with this because it feels more intuitively right in my gut.

Jean as Chapter 1 Killer

Originally based on Accirax's theory, but wow, that man did himself no favors in the prologue when I looked at him more suspiciously. He's sort of a joke character, but he insists he's more than that. He seems to have some level of anger issues, and he's already mentioned wanting to leave a bunch. This just makes sense to me. Plus, I think the first chapter will probably affirm Wolfgang's views (I think Eva/Wolfgang/Damon are all going to make late game based on the logos/ethos/pathos thing we got going on), so man kills woman makes sense.

Desmond as Chapter 2 Victim

Truly I have no idea. Desmond strikes me as a Chapter 2-4 kind of guy, and this is where he fit best.

Eloise as Chapter 2 Killer

Accirax and I have been joking about Eloise Chapter 2 Killer since her introduction, just because she's so very "I want to leave because I miss my family," which is usually a pretty Chapter 2 Killer sentiment. At this point I'd be betraying myself NOT to put her here, so here she stays lol

Ingrid as Chapter 3 Victim (where is my yellow :( )

Ingrid has INSANE Chapter 3 energy to me. I think it's the "generally nice person with a gimmick, but seems to be largely centered around that gimmick and therefore might not survive the whole time"? Idk, she was a lock here for me.

Cassidy as Chapter 3 Killer

Cassidy is THE highest variance character to me. I truly feel like she could take any slot and I'd be like, "yeah, tracks." I guess that's why she ended up in the middle.

My logic here is kinda flawed, 'cause I was thinking that Chapter 3 killers are usually kinda gaming, but then I realized that was related to double kills which... isn't happening. Whatever. She stays here.

Jett as Chapter 4 Victim

I REALLY considered flipping Jett and Mark. I don't feel like they're both gonna make it all the way, which I guess means I think one dies one survives? Obviously there are lots of ways to break that mold, but the two of them particularly give me that vibe. I ended up choosing Jett to die both because I already had a different comic relief character surviving and because I feel like Mark gives special little guy energy (a term accirax and I use for "creator's favorite lil guy").

Imagine Mark and Jett aren't even notably connected. Would that be fucked up or what?

Diana as Chapter 4 Killer

I hate this one. She just kinda ended up here. I don't like Diana as a killer. I first had her as Chapter 4 victim, but the my gender balancing got weird, and now she's here. I'm suffering.

Wolfgang as Chapter 5 Victim

Idk man. He feels like a late game antag to me, but I also didn't really think he was gonna survive, so I kinda put him here by default. I don't even really necessarily feel like they're gonna put him in the classic antag slot, I just didn't have any better ideas.

Ulysses as Chapter 5 Killer

I feel like Ulysses is cooking something, so I wanted to lean him late game, although like Desmond, I think he only has a slightly better Chapter 3-5 range to me rather than 2-4. and I could even see Chapter 2 without being too surprised. I also thought he had the potential to be a late game killer (just on vibes), so he took one.

Please know that, after seeing Accirax's, I would switch Ulysses to Chapter 4 Killer and steal her Chapter 5 of Wolfgang kills Diana for the exact same logic. It's smarter and more satisfying than me putting my people in slots just because.

Eva as Mastermind (Survivor)

The idea of Eva as the mastermind for me came up when I was trying to figure out the payoff of Eva being the Ultimate Liar, because it feels very important. I think that the fact that she is NOT ethos plays into this (people, in fact, actively trust her less because of who they know her to be), but that didn't feel like enough for me. I'm also assuming she's Damon's support character, but that doesn't necessarily tie into her talent itself.

I started to like the idea that Damon and Eva become genuinely really close and Damon defends her, saying that just because she's the Ultimate Liar doesn't mean you should disregard everything she says. Then, in Chapter 6, she's figured out as the mastermind, and she's like, I still am the Ultimate Liar. IMO it'd be fun if that's also kind of a lie (and she still does genuinely care about Damon at last to some extent), but it could go either way. Whether or not she's redeemed would depend on what the story themes are exactly, which I'm not feeling like I can predict right now. I'd lean redeemed...?

Damon as Survivor

Protags can die, but Damon really doesn't strike me as one of those. I feel like he has a lot of clear reasons to be the protagonist (talent, being set up as Wolfgang's opposition, nonstandard reactions/opinions to what's going on), and he also seems to have some kind of important complex about talent that we'll definitely be exploring. I also don't know who'd replace him as pathos, or as protag. I feel pretty comfortable with this one.

Kai as Survivor

Ever since I learned that the devs ship Kaimon I see too much special little guy in Kai for him to die early. Which is good, because he's one of my favorites and I was worried about him dying instantly the first time I played the prologue!

I think he'd make a good and interesting survivor, he has a good, varied arc to go through, and I just know he has some tragic habits or secrets or something to unveil.

Toshiko as Survivor

Mentioned already in Grace's section. She could really go either way to me, but I feel like they're having too much fun with her to cut her so early. I really hope we get to see her try to actually matchmake some characters in-killing game, I haven't seen that before (don't worry Whit I love you anyway).

I also think that the fact that she's been so quiet since the first "body discovery" might be a good sign? If she starts that quiet, we'll presumably get to hear her speak up someday, which means she needs time. Besides, who wants to kill the kid? (Ignore that there are also other minors.)

Mark as Survivor

Mentioned in Jett's section, I was picking one of them. He gives me the vibes that he's cooking something and that the writers enjoy writing him, and that's good enough for me.

Wenona as Survivor

As my last survivor pick, I figured I should pick a woman to balance it out, especially with Eva as the mastermind. I think Wenona has decently late game vibes. I'm still not really sure what her deal is (billionaire comes with the connotation of exploiting others to me, but it also seems like she might have been making products that are for the greater good, like something with agriculture I think was mentioned?). I also think that, as one of the ones with the most obvious "real" talent, she might be interesting to keep around for Damon's sake for a while.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed my rambles! I have no idea what's going on. See you after Chapter 1 :)

[venus-is-thinking]

Taking a "Shot" at the DR:OS Prediction Game!

In case you're not aware, a post on the av-multifangan account explained an interesting prediction game: after reading the prologue, you give your predictions on killers, victims, death chapter, survivors and mastermind. I am, to be clear, really bad at this, but I decided to give it a "shot" (heh) anyways! Here are my predictions, with explanations under the cut!

(I put chapter number too because this format is not colorblind friendly otherwise lol)

CW: Murder, death, insane predictions. Spoilers for DR THH, DR2, DRV3, and DROS Prologue

[Also, in case you're curious, I didn't check accirax's guesses, nor the guesses of this Jonas fellow mentioned in the original post, before making this post. I only checked their mm guesses 'cuz I was curious :v I'll check them out after to see how different they are :)]

Survivors and MM

We're starting with survivors because sometimes it's easier to start at the end and workshop a way to get there.

First is the only freebie on the list: Ellis. As stated in the linked post, because of DROS' format, the protagonist must be a survivor. Which means I'll only get 15/16 wrong, nice.

After that... I have no idea :v

Mark is here because of... pattern recognition, really. In canon DR, out of three Ultimate ???s, two were survivors (Kirigiri and Hinata) and one died in CH1 (Amami. No I don't know why I'm listing them by last name). However, Amami knew he was the Ultimate Survivor (more or less? Been a while since I've seen anything DRV3 related) so he actually doesn't count. I think you can see my reasoning here lmao.

However, there's a reason Ultimate ???s have a tendency to survive. Simply put, if the mastermind (MM) chooses to erase this person's memories particularly, they're presumably somewhat important. Maybe connected to the nature of the killing game, even. And so, they're usually around for the CH6 reveal of what their missing memories might mean for the larger plot.

It's not perfect, obviously. There's many ways to kill Mark before CH6. Talent reveal can happen posthumously, which was the case with Amami for example. They can also happen earlier in the killing game, allowing Mark to react to it without surviving to CH6. And more! However, I have very little to go off of, and Mark's "talent" gives me something to argue for their survival, at least. That's more than basically everyone else in the cast bar Ellis, so they're going here :v

So, now that we're officially out of okay-ish guesses, let's dive into the insanity! Starting with my hail mary, absolutely most-probably-wrong MM guess, Grace!

Now, this cast has a few "suspicious" characters. Robert has the whole "plain" thing going on that Tsumugi had, Aidan's half and half color scheme could be a nod to mm leanings, Ultimate ???s like Mark are always decent guesses, and the setting being a casino makes Antonia a prime target for MM accusations. Of course, these might be too obvious for an MM, but that's not extremely disqualifying. There's also the argument that the attempt on the mm's part to replicate Hope's Peak throws suspicion on the Impressionist, Taylor; and that Paris' talent being related to secrets and stuff could be considered mm-ish. Plus, Paris is the 13th student by Countdown Order (which I can't help but notice is the order of this list when read left to right and up to down), and 13 is an unlucky number, compared to Ellis' lucky number seven. Thee two might be a bit better. Finally, since she's even less obvious, I also vibe with accirax's guess of Cass, but I can't think of many arguments beyond Vibes for them (which is valid, tbf).

But if we're going to take Countdown Numbers into account, 4 is also an unlucky number (related to death even!), which gets us to Grace. There are a few reasons I believe they could be the MM.

First and foremost; given some of my previous posts, I just find it really funny for me to call the Clockmaker of all people the MM. If you've ever touched a clock, it's on sight with me, apparently xD

Now that we've established that, I do actually think there's a good argument for Grace!MM... by the standards of any MM theory pre-CH1, at least. Beyond the previously mentioned Countdown Number thing, they're the person in the prologue found next to the Movie Theater room, which was locked and didn't really have anything interesting to look at. Could it be they didn't feel the need to explore, because they already knew everything about the building? They also mentioned they liked the directness of the message on the cork board outside the Movie Theater room, when that's the exact thing Vanessa complained about Monoquin earlier. These are, to be extremely clear, really silly points. But they're there! And compared to people like Jeff, who have somewhat disqualifying introductions on the mm front, it's not a horrible start.

Another point is that, so far, Grace is the only person to have definitively shot down Ellis' flirting, by talking about their boyfriend. If Ellis is Lucky, then maybe it makes sense for the universe to stop him from flirting with the mm... maybe. This point is even sillier than the others, especially considering Grace isn't even the only character Ellis has no opportunity to swoon, as for example Vivi is aro/ace.

The next point is funny. See, I joke about the talent, but Grace being a Clockmaker could be twisted into suspiciousness if you're mentally unwell like me.

Usually one of the tools I consider best for MM predictions is thematic analysis (in other words, what kind of mm would best fit the themes of a work), but I can't exactly do that in the Prologue when there's very little set up in terms of themes and such.

Unless. Unless we go insane.

The fangan... is called One Shot. So a theme of the fangan (bear with me here) could be irreversibility. That you only get "one shot" to do certain things or something. Which fits decently well with the idea of time, this unstoppable march forward that can never be turned back. Right? You get the idea? And, and, because the DROS killing game is the sixth in-universe killing game ran by the mastermind(s), another theme could be repetition. As in, the killing games happen "like clockwork."

...

Me rn

Yeah this is maybe the stupidest set of "evidence points" I've ever used for any theory ever. Like, that's an insane soul read on what the themes of DROS could actually be, I'm fully expecting to be completely wrong on that lol. I actually find Grace!MM pretty unlikely, but I currently feel like all MM theories are almost equally unlikely, so if I have to pick one... I'm gonna pick the funniest one and continue my "beef" with Clockmakers lmao

Anyways, so remember those themes I'm pulling right out my ass and struggling to even pretend there's the slightest chance I'm actually right about them? How about we draw more probably wrong conclusions from them? Because if irreversibility is a main theme, then Vivi, who is interested in "conquering death", could fit well as a survivor. After all, you only get "one shot" at living, and she has to accept that, right...?

God I'm so bad at these.

Finally, Taylor.

I have no idea why Taylor's here.

It's sort of process of elimination, more than anything. I'm not confident about the rest of the kill order, but I feel I can't fill the fifth survivor spot (or fourth if you count the MM as separate) with any sort of actual reasoning, so... uh, I just picked my current favorite out of the characters I feel are most plausible as survivors. And that's Taylor, apparently.

Of course, the counterargument is that if they're already taking charge somewhat by proposing the breakfast meetup in the prologue, then that might not bode well for their survival and they might die soon. It's definitely decent reasoning, but... I mean, the story can go literally in any direction atp, so it's not impossible Taylor survives regardless. Just let me have the silly impressionist okay they're cool :p

Btw, funny thing about survivor predictions in this fangan. Usually a good way to build survivor predictions is by trying to balance the genders of the surviving cast, as generally there's a more or less equal split of girls and boys in the final trial, and thus remaining at the end. However, there are very few girls and boys in this killing game. In fact, no one in the surviving cast I predicted uses exclusively he/him or she/her pronouns. This isn't even the only configuration where this happens! Not even close! I find that amusing xD

Now that I've already probably gained no less than 25 points with these guesses alone, let's move on to the even harder part; death order!

Chapter 1: Vanessa - Robert

I chose Vanessa as the first victim because she is (I believe? more or less) the only character to have had, count them, three whole positive interactions with other characters on screen! Her chat with Ellis, giving Mark their name, and helping Taylor speak up at the end of the chapter. She's too nice, so she's dying. Immediately. Because she's one of the only people whose death could have a legitimate impact on the cast even this early, at least from what we've seen. Obviously I could be wrong but that's a given by now.

As for Robert, well look. I'm perfectly ready to be proven horrendously wrong about this, but I kinda struggle to see how his shtick of being perfectly normal could continue to be all that interesting post-CH1. It feels more like a gimmick you use for one chapter, then make Robert the killer to make the point that "if the most normal person here murdered someone, anyone could murder :O" and get paranoia going on the rest of the cast. Again, I'm probably completely wrong about that, but it's an angle I find plausible, so I'm picking it.

Robert's also like one of my top four picks for fifth survivor. Just so we're clear on how unsure about my guesses I am :v

Chapter 2: Harper - Cass

Harper and Noah met before the killing game. Even if they don't know much about each other's lives, they seem to be on pretty good terms. That means the pair probably isn't making it past CH2 lol.

Out of the two, I find Harper slightly more likely to be the CH2 victim. Vibes only on that one. I guess it makes sense in my mind that the Philanthropist is more likely to become more well-liked quicker than the Frat Boy, and as we've established, a character making friends is a good indication they might die, because their death might impact the cast more. Obviously with only the prologue, it's impossible to properly guess about any character dynamics beyond maybe CH1, but I try to pick my guesses with some amount of reasoning so.

As for Cass...

Listen I have no idea what to think of Cass. For some reason my mind comes up entirely blank when I think about predictions for them, or even when I try to think about anything about her character in general.

Why am I putting them here, then? Simply put, I could see them being an interesting foil to Harper, and it's not uncommon for character foils to kill each other in these killing games. Think Mondo - Chihiro, Ryoma - Kirumi, Kaito - Kokichi (now I'm listing them by first name because I hate consistency /j), just for some easy-to-see canon examples.

The foil here could potentially be that Cass might be (and just so we're clear on this, this is an immense extrapolation from like two lines of dialogue and could be horribly wrong) a more money-oriented person, based on these lines:

Cass [Prologue]: Lucky Student, huh? That’s an all-around useful talent. Still though, it’s weird… Why is no one here talented at making things, or having something to sell…?  Ellis: Hey, who says I’m not talented at “making” something? Cass: I should clarify, I’m referring to making something physical. Something that one might, say, need someone to critique and/or help them market to higher ups

Cass [about the Customer Service Desk]: That can’t be a sound business practice…

While Harper is a Philanthropist whose likes include charities. So... boom. Foils.

Make no mistake. I doubt I'm cooking. I've probably overshot the kitchen and jumped directly into hell. Two or three lines are far from enough to properly guess what a character's deal is, especially when it's something so specific. This is not so much a genuine prediction and more so me grasping at straws to put Cass... somewhere and not have it be just up to the roll of the die. Unlike...

Chapter 3: Davis & Paris - Jeff

My CH3 guesses are nothing but Vibes Only hail maries. The reasoning here is that I don't know where else to put these people, so they're going here. I mean, putting them around the middle reduces the amounts of chapter points I can get from them under this scoring system, right? (<- Not actually the reasoning I used but y'know).

Davis, at least, has some form of... conflict? Thing? Going on from the very prologue, with him being clearly uncomfortable with Ellis' flirting and stuff. That could set up some form of early game character exploration, and that can imply an early-ish death after he gets explored. That or he survives. Uh... So he's going in CH3.

Jeff being a killer makes sense with him being the Ultimate Absentee, and thus wanting to leave. You could argue that might be too predictable, which- maybe, but that doesn't mean bad. The setup's there for him to not make it to the end... but still survive to see the pool open, since they were interested in it. So CH3.

Paris is here because I needed a second victim :v

Chapter 4: Noah - Aidan

It's not uncommon to guess that if one half of a pair dies, the other will survive, so you might think Noah as a survivor makes sense. And it does! But that reasoning didn't save Taka, so...

Again with these two, I am very unsure as to what exactly will happen with them. This, too, is a very Vibes only hail mary guess. I could see them going at practically any point past maybe CH1, but Aidan's probably gonna last for the sake of Conflict and... I don't know what to do about Noah so he's here :v

I can't even be sure about their roles! I could definitely see both of them as victims and killers, though I should note I think Noah being a killer is more likely if he dies before Harper, which is why I put Aidan as the killer for this prediction set.

Of course, this assumes Aidan can overcome his Contrarian urges to throw all weapons out the window when given the opportunity, but I believe in him! (/Slay the Princess ref).

Chapter 5: Kennedy - Antonia

You might think my confidence in guesses would go down as the chapters go up (barring Ellis and maybe Mark of course), as it's harder to predict things further down the road because of all the stuff that can happen in between the Prologue and the later chapters. And while that's generally true, Kennedy is actually one of the guesses I think is most defensible. Not necessarily more likely to be right, just easier to argue for.

I struggle to see her reaching CH6, since you'd probably want the protagonist to take center stage in uncovering all the mysteries behind the killing game, and having the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist around could complicate that. However, if he reaches CH5, he can at least start uncovering the mysteries as a way to set up for CH6, and I can even see the angle of the MM specifically making a motive against them to get rid of them. That could even be the inciting incident for CH6, a la "Junko wrongfully 'executing' Naegi" (now I'm using both first and last names because I'm Evil) from THH.

However, a lot of that is probably the kind of bs Kennedy herself would say, and it's never a good sign when you start sounding like the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist, so I'll leave it alone now.

Finally, Antonia...

Look, in my heart of hearts, I want her to be a survivor. I think it could work, especially with how intertwined her talent is with the setting and the protag's own talent. And in fact, those very reasons are the logical explanation of why she's this far in, all the way as the CH5 killer.

(The emotional explanation being that I just want her to last a while :v)

But... come on.

Ellis: … So, is there some kinda prize for winning? Other than our escape, I mean. Antonia: There must be. If it’s a “game,” there has to be an incentive to win.

It's the damn prologue and she's already considering prizes for murder honestly CH5 might be a little too optimistic T_T

---

Anyways, I hope this doesn't sound as completely unhinged as it reads in my mind lmao. And I also hope you enjoyed the objectively buckwild and most-likely wrong predictions, even if I'm probably going to end up with a ridiculous amounts of points at the end! See you!

[venus-is-thinking]

DR: One Shot-- Prologue

The link to the e-Handbook for the end of the Prologue can be found near the end of the text. Please only open it once you reach that point in the story as otherwise you'll be spoiled on the characters and locations.

A list of trigger warnings can be found linked on the first page of the Prologue, as well as here. These will contain spoilers, especially as the series progresses, so only take a look if you need to!

Be on the lookout for upcoming posts about bonus content and scheduling, and enjoy reading! :)

[venus-is-thinking]

good luck fellow Americans :(

[venus-is-thinking]

Danganronpa One Shot: Pre-Release Analysis

Let's gooo!

In case you're not aware, for the last sixteen days, there's been a countdown of sorts going on in venus-is-thinking's account, and I've been excitedly following it along! The big reveal happened today: a fangan called Danganronpa: One Shot, hosted in the account av-multifangan!

For now, we have little more than a title, an announcement post, an FAQ and an About Page. Which I hope don't have secrets in source code or anything because I don't know how to chekc that :p

But is that going to stop me from talking about it? Hell no! I'm going to follow this from the start, and that includes early theories based on literally two pictures and a countdown. Mainly character talents and the such. Let's get into it!

What we Have

As stated earlier, literally two images and a countdown.

So... yeah not a lot. However, I feel like the poster with the wheel could give us an idea of tone, at least. Seems on the more lighthearted side from first impression, even if a killing game will inevitably have some pretty sad moments to go along with it. At least that's the impression I get, could be wrong! There's a big theme of games of chance with all the imagery of wheels, money, poker chips... as well as weapons like guns, knives and nooses, as expected of a killing game. Particularly, we see American-looking $100 bills, which combined with the names of the characters, could suggest an American setting. But hey, it's a prediction post; if I get things wrong, I get things wrong!

The comment on the names is a nice segue for the reveal that the tags of the announcement post include the names of the characters!

Now, venus specifically claims the names are secret, but I actually have a guess of what each name refers to. I could be completely off, but I think the names might be listed in Countdown Order. So Sixteen is Vanessa Bravo, Fifteen is Jeff Breeze, etc. It fits decently well, makes some sense, and I have exactly two evidence points for it, which could very well be coincidences. So again, I might be completely wrong on this :v

There's also a surprising amount of last names which... are just words? "Love," "Breeze," "Bravo," "Hall," "Long," "Walker," "Young." Hell, "Rey" and "Torres" are words in Spanish ("king" and "towers" respectively). I assume it means nothing, but I do find it amusing.

But there's one name that's interesting to me above all others. "Mark Dros." Because it just so happens that "dros" is the acronym of Danganronpa: One Shot. Now, this could just be a coincidence, or even a very meta hint of a fake name/mastermind/something like that, but if it's not a coincidence, what I find likeliest is that Mark's last name is not revealed at the start of the series. Be it because Mark doesn't remember it, or because Mark's hiding it, or something else; if Mark's name is not initially revealed, then venus and accirax would be forced to tag Mark alongside the acronym of the fangan to differentiate this Mark from the countless other Marks out there.

Am I cooking? Am I burning down the kitchen? Who knows.

Anyways, let's actually get to so-called "character analysis." I'll refer to them by their number in the countdown (I'm not confident in the name guesses as you can see :p), which can be tied to the cards by color, and from the cards to the wheel via face recognition. It's going to be extremely embarrassing if I somehow get the wrong wheel sprite from the card drawing, so let's hope that doesn't happen!

I'll mostly go in Countdown Order for organization, though... it'd feel wrong not to start at the beginning, no?

Seven - Ace of Hearts [The Protagonist]

Pronouns: Any

Color: Hot Pink*

Countdown Symbol: Penny

Card Frame Symbol: Pennies

Wheel Color: N/A

More-or-less Confirmed Name: Ellis Ortiz

*(Note: These colors are taken from the ALT text of the countdown pictures. None of them use "plum" so they're acceptable in my eyes /ref :))

Those deep in the DROS lore (so, me and maybe two or three other people so far :p) know that Seven's countdown post was the only one accirax reblogged apart from 16 and 1, saying she did it for "no reason in particular." This is one of the things that made me think Seven could be the protagonist, which I was seemingly right about, but I could have never expected her to actually be played by accirax! This sort of roleplay format is really interesting, and I'm very curious to see how it plays out!

Well, I should point out that Seven isn't technically confirmed as the protagonist, but he may as well be. That means they're the only one with a confirmed name, as both the About post and the FAQ state accirax played Ellis. Ortiz comes from the tag. This is evidence point Nº1 for the names being in Countdown Order, as Ellis is listed seventh to last.

Apart from that, my previous guess of Seven being the Ultimate Lucky Student (based on the coins and the number seven being considered lucky) seems to hold up pretty well. The theme of chance and luck has only been made more prevalent with the announcement post, though it's to the point I almost wonder if Seven might be the Ultimate Game Show Contestant or something to that effect instead. However, since the About page claims some knowledge from THH is required, it's not unreasonable to assume this is a Hope's Peak class and thus needs a Lucky Student.

Plus, Ellis being Lucky would continue the age old tradition of Lucky Student protagonists: your Makoto Naegis (THH), your Yuki Maedas (DR Another), your Teruko Tawakis (DR Despair Time), etc. What this luck looks like is impossible to know so far, but since Seven seems like a relatively confident person at first glance, my best assumption is that he's aware of his good luck and uses it for their benefit. That's probably the guess I'm least confident about btw.

Seven's also connected to the Ace of Hearts, and looking at their glasses, yeah that makes sense :v The card is connected to new beginnings and love, which seems pretty in line for a protag.

Anyways, as a final note, I really love Seven's design and Vibe. Really fun looking protag, and since she's played by accirax, I would be foolish to expect anything but peak from them :D

Then again, the rest of the characters were written by venus, so I would be foolish to anything but peak from them either ;)

Alright, now we can start with-

Mascot

Pronouns: He/him

Color: N/A

Countdown Symbol: N/A

Card Frame Symbol: N/A

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: N/A (but probs Mono-something :p)

Right, this guy. Not included in the countdown, this little cameo in the announcement post is the only reference we have of this thing's existence. That means I genuinely have no guesses on what's going on with him.

I can't even know what I'm looking at, necessarily. It looks like a gem, maybe? I'm very curious to see this guy's full design, because I feel there's a lot being lost in translation to the wheel sprite :v

Alright, now we can start with Countdown Order. Jeez.

Sixteen - Queen of Clubs

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Lime Green

Countdown Symbol: Headphones

Card Frame Symbol: Headphones

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Vanessa Bravo

Although headphones by themselves are a bit too vague for me to have made a guess from them alone back during countdown ages, the addition of a microphone in her card makes it seem that Sixteen is the Ultimate Singer! Or something to that effect, obviously exact wording is impossible for me to guess. In any case, I’m sure watching her perform would get anyone to say “bravo!”

… I’m very unfunny.

On top of that, while card symbolism is always pretty hard to pin down due to the large variety of possible interpretations, the queen of clubs' association with confidence and self-love seem in line with Sixteen's seemingly animated stage presence... I say, having exactly one picture of her. As always in these fangans, the persona of any performer will always come into question, so whether or not she's really as confident as she seems is yet to be seen. First impressions can be wrong, after all!

Anyways, I really like her design, her little hair accessory is everything :D

Fifteen - Jack of Hearts

Pronouns: He/they

Color: Teal

Countdown Symbol: Umbrella

Card Frame Symbol: Umbrellas

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Jeff Breeze

A cool looking guy to be sure, I... have no clue what Fifteen's talent may be. The towel they're holding makes me think the umbrellas are actually parasols, so maybe something like Ultimate Resort/Hotel Manager, Ultimate Tour Guide, Ultimate Vacationer, something to that effect?

Regardless, Fifteen looks like a relatively chill guy, which certainly fits the Jack of Hearts' connections to youthful love, passion, honesty and adventure. Seems like the sort of guy you'd really love to "shoot the breeze" with, huh?

... I gotta stop. These names are all gonna be wrong and this is gonna go from unfunny to straight up silly-

Fourteen - Queen of Spades

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Red

Countdown Symbol: Spade

Card Frame Symbol: Clubs, hearts, diamonds, spades

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Antonia Cisneros

Oh... oh she looks cool... and vaguely evil... Chat I fear I might have found a future favorite. Her smug little smile and and appealing design have enraptured me lol.

I particularly love the fact all four suits of the French deck are represented in her design; the club and spade accessories in her hair and belt (maybe?) respectively, the heart shaped dress, and the (I think) diamond earrings, she slays so much I worry she might "slay" a bit too literally if you catch my drift.

That aside, it seems my original guess of Ultimate Gambler or Poker Player or something to that effect remains solid, what with all the card imagery in her accessories and the cards she's holding. Especially notable given the series itself has quite a large theming around games of chance. Hell, all the characters are represented by cards in the French deck in the Header picture.

That could certainly imply a larger degree of importance for Fourteen than other characters. I expect her to be a common mastermind guess, but I personally think it'd be cool if she was the main killing game "antagonist," a la Byakuya. Of course, she doesn't have to be, but she's currently my best guess of who the "antag" might be, if there even is one at all.

This is especially so since the Queen of Spades can be associated with intelligence and logical judgement, which makes it seem like we might have a bit of a girlboss in our hands. As much as I'm excited to see all the characters, Fourteen is one that particularly intrigues me. Can't wait to meet her!

Thirteen - Queen of Hearts

Pronouns: She/her

Color: Gold

Countdown Symbol: Teacup

Card Frame Symbol: Laurel leaves, crown?, undetermined

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Paris Hall

Speaking of girlbosses, Thirteen seems to be actively telling me to "spill the tea, sis" in her card, which is awesome. She looks like she'll be fun.

I originally didn't have much of a guess of what talent she might have, though Ultimate Tea Maker or something to that effect might still be the best guess. However, the combination of her color being gold, the crown-looking thing at the top right of her card, and the Laurus Nobilis leaves at the top make me consider she might be royalty? Ultimate Queen/Princess? Not impossible for sure. Though it would be pretty funny to call a monarch after the capital city of one of the most notoriously anti-monarchy countries in history, assuming I got the name right of course.

(...Should I mention that Cisneros, which could be Fourteen's last name, is the name of a historically important viceroy? Does this imply a thematic connection to Thirteen? I almost wanna look a bit deeper into it, but that's speculation on top of theories on top of speculation on top of theories, so I'll hold off for now)

In any case, I'm sure she'll be quite fun. The Queen of Hearts is associated with compassion and emotional intelligence, so I'm sure she'll be a good person to have around during the killing game! ... Provided we ignore the associations 13 has with bad luck :v

Twelve - King of Spades

Pronouns: He/any

Color: Dark Red

Countdown Symbol: X

Card Frame Symbol: X

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Aidan Ho

I didn't know what the X could represent on Countdown Day Twelve, and that hasn't changed just because we've added more Xs to the situation :v

Indeed, Twelve is one of the people for whom I have no guess of a talent. He's so weird that I don't even know what's happening with his hoodie??? Is Twelve wearing a half-blue, half-red thing??? What is this.

To be fair, though, the duality might be the point. The 12 in the countdown image was also split down the middle, although what this duality theming could imply is beyond me for now.

Very emo looking, though, I'm sure it'll be fun to see what his Deal is. The King of Spades holds similar meanings to the Queen of Spades, so I could see Twelve and Fourteen being a pair of sorts. Also potentially not, you know how this works.

Very mysterious dude... I'm excited to see where Twelve goes!

Eleven - Jack of Spades

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Orange

Countdown Symbol: Theater Masks

Card Frame Symbol: Theater Masks

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Taylor Long

Really love the design of this Ultimate Actor (or something else theater-related)! They look pretty befuddled by that book, I wonder what they're reading?

I found conflicting reports on what the Jack of Spades symbolizes, but it's something along the lines of cleverness and hard work. Possibly a smart individual, then, and the fact they seem to be studying something in a killing game seems to corroborate the "hard working" thing. I'm interested in seeing them in action! It won't be "long" until we get to see how well that applies-

I gotta... I gotta stop.

Ten - King of Hearts

Pronouns: He/him (I really hope I'm not wrongly assigning the wheel things lol :v)

Color: Pink

Countdown Symbol: Rose

Card Frame Symbol: Roses

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Davis Love

Ah, the classic trope of the "sopping wet cat guy," I suspect this one will be a big hit in the Tumblr crowd! Definitely connected to romantic love in some capacity, not just because I'm suspecting his last name is "Love," but more so because of the "they love me-they love me not" game he's playing in the Header image and the roses he's always accompanied by. Not to mention the King of Heart's connections to love and empathy and deep emotions.

Can't exactly tell what the pin he's wearing is, but it might be a rose too. Very Crystal Gem coded, this guy.

I wonder if "Ultimate Romantic" could be a valid talent, because that's the vibe he's giving me. Hey, I've seen weirder! If not, then I don't have many guesses of what he could be :p

Nine - Ace of Spades

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Purple

Countdown Symbol: Question mark

Card Frame Symbol: Question marks

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Mark [Dros]

Ah, the classic Ultimate ???, huh? Well, maybe not, but that's my best guess for Nine! The mirror they're holding up could be a representation of them trying to remember their own identity, their talent... and possibly, their last name.

Indeed, the fact that "Mark Dros" happens to fall on Nine is my second evidence point for the name order I'm using. It's a theory built on top of a theory built on top of a guess, but it's what I have for now :v

In any case, I'm sure I'll love them. I'm always a sucker for mystery characters, be it in the form of weirdos like Okazaki Hanano (Tetro DR Pink), cryptids like Mai Akasaki (DR Despair Time), or as seems to be the case here, amnesiacs like Izanami Hoshimiya (DR (He)artless Deceit). And the mystery with this guy is exacerbated by the fact that the Ace of Spades has the most conflicting interpretations we've seen so far. It can represent power, authority, success, and good luck... or bad luck, defeat, and death. Quite literally impossible to tell what's going on, which is only fitting. Very intrigued by this one...

Eight - Queen of Diamonds

Pronouns: She/they

Color: Bright Blue

Countdown Symbol: Scalpel + Wizardry 8 reference

Card Frame Symbol: Scalpel

Wheel Color: Red

Suspected Name: Vivi Mitchell

Ah, my archnemesis.

The backstory here is that Eight's countdown image released after I had spent the entire day, from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon, in uni, and my brain was a bit fried from several hours of class and three hours of lab work. That's my excuse for fucking up not once, but twice with that image. Not only did I first think their symbol was a paintbrush (despite having checked ALT text for every day prior), I then proceeded to confuse the word "scalpel" for "chisel" and therefore assumed Eight would be a sculptor. You're allowed to laugh at me.

Anyways, third time's the charm, Eight is likely the Ultimate Surgeon/Doctor or something to that effect, and will most likely be our designated autopsy performer for at least the first few trials. They seem to be pretty upbeat from the one (1) image we have of them, so I'm sure they'll be fun to have around. The Queen of Diamonds seems to mostly represent wealth and power, which means... I don't know. Eight makes good money? :v

Also, still no idea what Wizardry 8 is, if anyone has any guesses on why that reference exists, please tell me pretty please?

Six - Ace of Diamonds

Pronouns: Any

Color: Brown

Countdown Symbol: Illuminati Symbol

Card Frame Symbol: Illuminati Symbols, but radiant

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Kennedy Rey

It looks like Scott Smajor got a little too obsessed with Bill Cipher and turned into a Drew Flamboni kinnie. I wonder how many references it takes for no one but me to understand a sentence :v

In case the illuminati symbol wasn't enough, the red string she's holding, associated with insane cork boards filled with random connections, fully cements Six in my mind as the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist, or something to that effect. Not sure what the rectangle in their shirt is meant to be, but I guess that'll have to wait for the actual release.

The Ace of Diamonds generally represents wealth and success, which makes me wonder how it could connect to Six. I guess... he might just be rich. Final note, while I'm still uncertain if I got the names right or not, if I am right, venus would be kinda crazy for calling the conspiracy theorist Kennedy, knowing the conspiracy theories surrounding JFK xD It would be iconic of her I think.

Five - Jack of Clubs

Pronouns: He/him

Color: Light Blue

Countdown Symbol: Page

Card Frame Symbol: None

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Robert Smith

Now this one's interesting. While Five's countdown symbol of a page with a bent top right corner is etched into his design, being the pin he wears, he's the only character not to have any symbols on the frame of his card. I already had no good guesses for his talent before, just kinda throwing in Ultimate Writer or Ultimate Coder or equivalents as provisional guesses, but now they seem even less likely. Because the lack of symbols on the frame of his card could actually mean the page represents something different.

I think it's possible Five is meant to be a "blank slate," which could mean he has no talent at all. Of course, there's also the possibility that his average-ness is actually his talent, something like Ultimate Blank Slate or Ultimate Regular Person or Ultimate Guy. I'm probably way off, but who knows!

The Jack of Clubs has a few different meanings, but they're generally positive. Creativity, intelligence and sincerity seem to be the main themes. So I'm sure Five will be Perfectly Normal and have Nothing Wrong with him :)

Really curious to see this one!

Four - Jack of Diamonds

Pronouns: They/them

Color: Dark Green

Countdown Symbol: Gear

Card Frame Symbol: Gears

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Grace Thomas

Another design I love at first sight, I really dig Four's vibe. They seem pretty straightforward so far; an Ultimate Mechanic or something to that effect (I am overusing that phrase so much), they give me the impression that they'll be a voice of reason within the killing game. The Jack of Diamonds seems to reference a "messenger" who helps people achieve financial goals, which extrapolated to the killing game, could imply Four will be some kind of important support. Probably will be helpful in trials, they seem smart. Entirely possible I might be off, but that kinda fits the vibe I'm getting from them.

Let's just hope the associations the number four has with death and misfortune aren't relevant...

Three - Ace of Clubs

Pronouns: She/they

Color: Light Gray

Countdown Symbol: Fountain Pen

Card Frame Symbol: Fountain Pen

Wheel Color: Blue

Suspected Name: Cass Torres

Another one that looks like they know what they're doing, Three seems to be some kind of Ultimate Writer or something to that- you know what the phrase is. The Ace of Clubs is connected to creativity, prosperity and good fortune, which certainly fits an Ultimate Writer. Bit ironic I don't have much else to write about Three, but what we have of her seems pretty straightforward so far. We'll see how much of that is wrong later!

Two - King of Clubs

Pronouns: He/him

Color: Orange**

Countdown Symbol: Omega (uppercase), 2 stylized as Lambda (uppercase)

Card Frame Symbol: Omega, Lambda, Phi, Psi, Theta, Sigma; all uppercase

Wheel Color: Pink

Suspected Name: Noah Walker

**(Yes, the ALT text for Two and Eleven describe their colors the exact same way. That's kinda funny)

If I had no idea what the hell the Greek letters were about in the countdown image, I have even less of an idea of what they mean here. Is Two the Ultimate Hellenic Scholar? As in, a scholar focused on studying Greece? Certainly kinda gives frat bro vibes. Surely, if he was the Ultimate Linguist or something, there'd be more than Greek letters, right? Why is he so confusing?

Anyways, he seems like a pretty positive person, but who knows. The King of Clubs represents leadership, intelligence and authority. I mean... sure? Maybe that applies to him? Yeah I have no idea. Two's a bit of an enigma for me :v We'll have to wait and see!

One - King of Diamonds

Pronouns: Ve/ver

Color: Dark Blue

Countdown Symbol: Heart in Hands

Card Frame Symbol: Heart in Hands, hearts, people holding hands, peace symbol

Wheel Color: Orange

Suspected Name: Harper Young

While I originally thought One might join ver apparent distant cousin Whit Young (DR Despair Time) as an Ultimate Matchmaker, the inclusion of the peace symbol in the card frame and One giving out sweets (kinda funny, given ver countdown image came out in Halloween) makes me think it's something more along the lines of... Ultimate Pacifist? Ultimate Activist? Ultimate Make-Other-People-Feel-Good-Person? Some vague title that refers to helping others with love and peace in ver heart, be it through volunteer work, activism, whatever. I'm thinking something along the lines of Tsuno Manami's Ultimate Superhero (Tetro DR Pink), if you catch my drift.

In any case, what I'm certain of is that One seems to be a very sweet and kind person! Even if the King of Diamonds, representing mostly material wealth and authority, seems like a weird fit for ver (btw if I use these pronouns wrong please tell me. I looked them up but I'm still not entirely confident I'm using them right :v). However, the King of Diamonds can also represent ethical success and bring positive energy to a reading (?), so it might not be completely off from what the rest of the information we have of One.

Finally, there's one variable I've been listing for these characters which I haven't really addressed yet, and that's the wheel color. Here are the full groups for each color:

N/A: Seven

Pink: Mascot, Sixteen, Thirteen, Two

Red: Fifteen, Fourteen, Twelve, Eight

Orange: Eleven, Nine, Five, One

Blue: Ten, Six, Four, Three

What could this mean? Well, uh... anything. Friend groups, shared themes, simple coincidence... I have no way of knowing what the connections could be, or if they're even relevant at all. I'm just noting them down for future reference :)

Anyways, that's all folks! Geez, how the hell did I write so much about a fangan that has practically no content so far? No wonder my other posts reach such ridiculous word lengths.

Hope you enjoyed! If you made it this far, you deserve a little treat! You can ask One, heard ve's passing them out. See you later!

[venus-is-thinking]

IT’S REAL!!!

I am so, so, so excited to share this with all of you. Even though this is the fourth fangan I’ve written, it’s the first I’m posting, so this is all new to me. It took a long time to plan, a longer time to write, and an even longer time to edit and get ready for all of you. I hope you’ll all be willing to give it a shot! (A one shot…?)

It’s still a week until the prologue (and therefore the talents/characters) release, but feel free to ask any questions you may have going into it! I can’t stress enough that I’d love to talk to you about this, so I’ll happily answer anything you have to say (whether it be here or on our official account; I recommend our official account, though).

One week until prologue!! Aaa!!!

Now Announcing...

Our new fangan, Danganronpa: One Shot!

Prologue releasing Friday, November 8th at 2 PM PST!

As we've vaguely mentioned before, we (Accirax and Venus) have written a lot of fangans for fun. We're now posting one of those fangans online for the first time! Venus wrote the characters and the mysteries, while Accirax wrote the protagonist and solved them. For a more detailed explanation, please check our About Page and FAQ!

The prologue will be posted on Tumblr as a Google Docs link, as that's the format the fangans will exist in. There will also be a Google Slides e-Handbook to accompany every installation. We will announce further posting schedules as we figure out the pace at which we want to post the chapters.

Our ask box is currently open, so please send in any questions you have about the format, any non-spoiler questions about the fangan itself, or just general thoughts/excitement! We're super excited to share this all with you, so if you're unsure about whether or not to send something in, send it. We want to see it!

Following the prologue, we'll be hosting a character Q&A, as well as allowing for voting on bonus content between the characters. We also may post polls to determine what our future posting schedule will look like, so please keep an eye out for those!

And finally, here's a version of the poster with the characters' pronouns if you want to discuss them!

As well as an easier-to-see picture of our header :)

Have fun, and we look forward to letting you meet the characters on November 8th!

[venus-is-thinking]

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