#mark berskii's execution be like

[hyacinthleaves]

Istg you're carrying the project eden's garden x reader tag on your back 😭😭.

Could I request Damon, Wolfgang & Mark with a blackened reader and what their reaction would be when they discover it was them in the trial?? (For the sake of this imagine Wolfgang is alive...)

PD: what if the motive was that if the blackened got away they could choose another student to leave with? (Reader would obviously want to leave with the character)

DAMON FANS WHAT IS HAPPENING

Damon Maitsu:

I already talked about Damon's s/o as the blackened but with that motive?

He's actually going to lose his shit

He cares so much about you and he had a sneaking suspicion that one of you were going to die by the end of the game (though he didn't want to believe it) but he had no clue that it was going to be for that reason

Really, with his mixed emotions in that moment, he wants to call you a dumbass

But he loves you so much because you went to those lengths to try and make sure the two of you come out alive

So for a bit he says nothing because he's genuinely buffering, but you can see it in his eyes (through his tears), he's extremely grateful even though you did do that

It pains him to say that you're the killer but he'll honestly try to be as slow as possible just so he can have a few more moments with you (and he's beating himself up for it because he knows what's going to happen anyway)

He'll watch your execution and just think that this was entirely preventable if he never got close to you in the first place

...wait

Hear me out. What if you just told him in advance

I really think that if you manage to make Damon reach a level of selfishness and hate for others, you can convince him to keep his mouth shut for a pretty long time

Like really if you let him sit in the fact that he never wanted to be there, everyone hates him, he hates everyone, and there's a way out if he just shuts up, I think it's possible

Out of all 3 characters listed, I genuinely feel like he's the most likely to shut up and actually help you get away with it if there's enough preparation

Food for thought, I don't know

It'll make it so much worse when/if you get executed though because he actively played a hand in your death. His mental health will quickly go downhill from there

Wolfgang Akire:

He's SO conflicted, poor guy

And I'm sorry to say this, but he would flat out tell you that he never wanted you to do that

It hurts him to say it too but he's generally pretty selfless (or at least in front of others, he does care about how he presents himself) and he wants to keep that up, whether he actually believes it or not

It's not like his love for you isn't strong, but he's also a lawyer. YOU should've seen that coming

He'll still be upset for sure but in a moment of high stress, it'll definitely look like he turned his back on you, even though he's just trying to solve the case

And I don't think it would've changed even hm if he thought that you might've done it from the start

I don't think he would want everyone else to die for the sake of you two, it just wouldn't have worked long term either

He's pissed but so sad because he knows how much you care about him but you knew damn well he doesn't like what you did

This would be disastrous because he's crying out of frustration and it looks like he's so pissed. It literally looks like you two are breaking up, because he's mad at you because you killed someone and now you're about to die. There's so much shit happening I don't even think anyone would want to talk anymore

Mark Berskii:

(if the motive was public) As soon as that motive dropped, he knew something was going to happen

I feel like he considered it for a moment but he thought that it wouldn't be right to do anything so he didn't

He also wondered if you would kill someone for the both of you, but it wasn't something he was taking seriously. It still stayed in the back of his mind though

This bit of anxiety caused him to keep an eye on you a lot more than he usually does

If he thinks you're acting suspiciously, he'll be extremely nervous but he won't say a word. He doesn't want to know. If it's you, he doesn't want that thought plaguing his mind at a time like this

Even if you did do it, he wouldn't want you looking suspicious during the investigation. He'll stick to you and just tell you to act normal if you aren't already

If you don't have an alibi during the time of the murder, he might just make something up. He becomes EXTREMELY protective. He doesn't want anything happening to you

He might crash out before you do just because he doesn't even want anyone thinking of you in that manner

It would look very sudden compared to his general silence from before

He doesn't care if you did or didn't do it anymore, he refuses to lose you. It almost looks like he has more to lose than you do, and you're the one that might die

He's gonna become Damon levels of pissy after the trial. If people even look at him for too long he'll get mad

It'll take him a bit to calm down and I don't think anyone will really try to bother him, for obvious reasons

[ulysseswilhelmnumber1fansblog]

My opinion of the characters

Explanation

Favorite

Ulysses Wilhelm: He's a cute, smart boy, he's someone you can easily relate to, he's cute when sleeping, everything is perfect

Love

Kai Monteago: At first I hated Kai because of his spoiled personality in the prologue but during chapter 1 I was able to see a lot more of him and I identified a lot with him, plus I like Kaimon

Like

Damon Maitsu: I like that he is a more awake person than the rest, he is intelligent and although he does not show it, he is one of the most empathetic, but his comments ruin it a little

Eva Tsunaka: I became very fond of Eva during the episode and I came to identify with her a little but I cried when she was executed and I feel that she had a lot of potential

Diana Venicia: She is very kind to everyone and it is hard not to like her, but I feel like I need to see more of her for her to move up the ranks.

Cassidy Amber: It's pretty fun to watch and gives you a good laugh but other than that there's not much else.

Mark "Mayhem" Berskii: I became fond of Mark during chapter 1, despite being a total introvert he proves to be intelligent and knows when to say things, but I don't know much about him

Ingrid Grimwall: She is a lovely person and someone very fun to watch but I would like to know more about her

Wenona: QUEEN, she knows how to do things, she is sarcastic and has a lot of potential as an antagonist for the group (Plus:I'm studying administration and it is related to her talent)

Jean DeLamer: He's a better leader than Wolfgang, he's handsome and you know he'll take care of you

Neutral

Toshiko Kayura: There's not much that catches my attention about Toshiko to be honest beyond the theory that she's a traitor or the mastermind

Desmond Hall: I don't trust this guy, he wants others to trust him but he doesn't trust the rest? The only thing that saves him is that he is useful in the trials.

Eloise: Like Toshiko, there isn't much that catches my attention about Eloise, I don't know if it's her personality but I just don't like her or hate her.

Dislike

Grace Madison: She is a complete conceited, she is quite aggressive and refuses to listen to the rest, the one who cared about Wolfgang barely saved her

Jett Dawson: I don't like this guy, the fact that he wants to almost force Mark to be his friend and invade his personal space is uncomfortable, and I can confirm this as someone who went through something similar.

Hate

Wolfgang Akire:There are no words to express my hatred for this guy, he is a complete hypocrite, he brings everyone from his flock of sheep, he made everyone turn against Eva causing her to kill him, And I feel like if he hadn't died I would have definitely blamed Eva, I'm glad you died Akire

These are all my opinions, remember that this is my personal opinion, please do not attack me.

[momentomori24]

For a character that has virtually said nothing (impressive feat considering Mark Berskii exists) and has been dead since the start, Cara is so SO intriguing to me. Her complete lack of humanity in the midst of a cast brimming with it stands out in such a fucked up way.

Take her appearance, for example. Outside of the fact that she's much paler than the group, her having redish hair feels so intentional. It physically ties her to two characters: Diana and Wolfgang's mum. By extension, that ties her to Wolfgang and Eva as well. I don't believe that she's directly tied to them, or anyone in our group really (which I think is the point). However, the links that can be tied-- that we as the audience are encouraged to tie-- still exist.

We are introduced to her as a murder victim, a girl who was brutally ambushed and stabbed to death by who is assumed to be a man. That serves as a parallel by what is implied to have happened to Wolfgang's mum; a woman who was murdered by her husband. Coupled with their vague resemblance, it explains why Wolfgang was so emotional during the trial. He's a lawyer, and it's both his job and moral code to have empathy for everyone, but it seems obvious that there was a lot of projection on his part related to this specific case. He doesn't just see a person, he sees a blameless woman, an innocent girl undeserving of her fate. A victim who had to have been sadistically murdered by a man, and "self-defence" was never on the table. He clearly cared about the case-- he cared THE MOST about the case. He was the only one to actually acknowledge that it's based on a real murder case, that the victim was a real person, and treat it with that same amount of appropriate care. But that care is rooted in his strong sense of justice for victims as a lawyer, in his own issues and warped view on gender due to his parents-- it's not entirely for her because he never actually KNEW her.

And we see her again in the execution. Quite literally like a puppet on strings, she mechanically reaches out towards Eva and offers her a hand. In my eyes, this is 100% a parallel to Diana. There's the obvious of a vaguely red haired girl being the only one to offer her support during her lowest moments, but the way Cara reaches to pull Eva up only for her to fall to her death is comparable to the way Diana reaches to pull Wolfgang up only for him to still get electrocuted to death. Here she is again, playing a different role, open to the interpretation of others. Here she is, twisting the knife about Eva's feelings about Diana. She looms over her, standing tall where Eva was at her lowest in every sense of the word. She's a girl offering help, but not out of the goodness of her heart, and the strings puppeteering her every movement emphasise that reality. Where Eva had rejected her advances before, in her desperation she actually reaches back for her, and the act of allowing herself to trust that kindness is what has her plummeting to her doom the way she was always of, the arm giving and tearing at the farce of it all.

Take her talent, for example. She's the Ultimate Teacher's Aide. By her very nature, she exists for the service of others. Uplifting others rather than uplifting herself. She's the Ultimate Teacher's Aide, and she fulfils that role by being Tozu's literal puppet in the killing game, her servitude entirely at his disposal and her autonomy nonexistant.

Take her motif, for example. She's the only character without an animal motif. Her motif, ironically enough, is a human. Two humans, in fact. And I think that's significant cuz we never actually learn anything about Cara herself when she appears. Her existence is always symbolically tied to someone else on appearance alone (Wolfgang's mum or Diana). Her motif is a human because it's the closest thing to what she looks like, but just like the Tree of Ignorance being a hollow imitation of the Tree of Wisdom, she's anything but. What do we know about her, really? What was she like? Was she a cheerful soul or a gloomy one? Was she aggressive or pacifistic? Was she someone who had confidence or none at all? Was she a perfect victim or a failed yet complicit perpetrator? The sad thing about that question is that it really doesn't matter. Her murder case is only proof of her existence that exists; history has taken this girl and reduced her to nothing else and it doesn't matter. In a group of individuals she's exists solely as a blank slate, a passive party, an entity they can project on. She's a girl. She's a victim. She's a doll. She's a reason. But make no mistake-- she was never meant to be a person.

(Cerise's made a great art piece on this idea go check it out!)

[themattress]

My Project: Eden's Garden tier list for the Prologue and Chapter 1.

S (Legit Amazing): Tozu.

Just...Tozu. This is an ingenious creation. Superb design, fantastic voice, clever usage both plot-wise and thematically, and the perfect balance between menace and comedy. I love him.

A (You're Fun): Cassidy Amber, Toshiko Kayura, Jean DeLamer, Kai Moteago, Jett Dawson.

I didn't know what to make of Cassidy in the Prologue, but in Chapter 1 she became a scene stealer and I love her voice actress' enthusiasm in the role. Toshiko is adorable and if she ends up dying in a later installment I might just rage quit this game. Jean the pirate ship captain not only has an amazingly Jamieson Price-sounding voice, but he subverts your expectations of him being a meathead by being very thoughtful and incredibly knowledgeable about a wide variety of things. Kai is so lame and so pathetic that he crosses the line into being endearing, and Jett is just straight-up hilarious, especially his Scooby Doo laugh.

B (I Want To Like You, But...): Wolfgang Akire, Diana Venicia, Eva Tsunaka, Wenona, Ulysses Wilhelm.

Wolfgang showed a lot of promise, only to end up as the first victim, with a lot of his whole deal left unexplored. Diana is nice, but the game never shows us her bonds with Wolfgang and Eva so I can't be as invested in her dramatic transformation at the end of Chapter 1 as I'd like to be. Eva....sigh. An interesting, endearing character turned into a twist villain who gets graphically executed certainly leaves an impact, but I'm not sure it's the one the game ought to be leaving. Wenona still has potential, but at the moment it's not being realized and she just comes off as either a slightly more assholish version of Kyoko or a slightly less assholish version of Byakuya. And Ulysses would be fine if not for that goddamn voice of his. It annoys the crap out of me. Go be the next victim and lemme hear your Wilhelm Scream!

C (You Bore Me): Damon Maitsu, Desmond Hall, Eloise Taulner, Ingrid Grimwall.

I get what they're going for with Damon. The problem is that this isn't a fully completed game, but one that's released in separate installments via updates, and that means all momentum in his personal journey gets stalled. With what we've already got, it feels cheap: the Prologue was released at the end of 2022 and closes on a note of "this guy might turn to evil!" Then Chapter 1 releases at the end of 2024, he doesn't turn to evil, and then closes on a note of "this guy might turn to evil!" You can't keep baiting like that; it will get old and I'll lose interest.

As for Desmond, Eloise and Ingrid, they're all just blandly nice people at the moment.

D (Why Are You Even Here?): Grace Madison, Mark Berskii, Mara.

Grace was kind of funny in the Prologue, but she got on my last nerve throughout Chapter 1. I feel like Miu Iruma is an influence here, but Miu was endearing because she had a pathetic side that contrasted her abrasive side, while with Miu it's pure abrasiveness and as of right now nothing explains or justifies it (Why did she attack someone to get her blackmail and then destroy it? Why did she care that much about Wolfgang? Why is she so fine with - even enthusiastic about - executions?) Mark, meanwhile, is equal parts bland and unlikable, and Mara barely exists: she shows up once and then her lurking presence is simply used by Tozu to spook people with. I hope all of them improve in updates, but right now I don't like them.

[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.

[melsxteaa]

Hehe, hi

If I can can I request Desmond Hall and Mark "Mayhem" Berskii (separate) angst with the reader? like they get into an argument regarding the killing game and S/O becomes a victim directly after it? then they realize that S/O was an easy target to the Blackened because they were sobbing over the argument? just some sad stuff.

love your fics btw <3

— tears

a/n: ty for your request!! I love this idea veryvery much!! sorry for the late reply I had to go somewhere!! sorry if the arguments are a little too bad !!

warnings: a bit of cursing in desmonds part. impaled in marks part.

characters: mark “mayhem” berskii, desmond hall. ( jett and kai mentioned as side chars! )

genre: heavy angst ( i love angst sm ty for this request )

Desmond was the type to usher himself away from people, only interacting if forced to. Now he was forced to survive in a killing game, where the chances of survival are thin. When he met you he started worrying about what would happen to him, or you if any of the both of you died.

He sat on the bed which the both of you shared, his shoulders tense, looking at the ground. You entered the room and looked at him “Are you..alright?” You asked him, confused “What if you die, or I die? What’ll happen to you..or even me?” He replied, his voice breaking at the last bit. You softened your eyes and took a seat next to him. “We’ll be alright Des, as long as we’re by each others side.” You comforted him and put a hand on his shoulder, he looked at you and softly smiled, then looked at the ground again, then he stood up. “I’ll make sure we escape. “

your eyes widened, and you took your hand off his shoulder “What the hell do you mean by that?” Desmond looked in your eyes, his eyes were different, full of hate, rage. “It means that I’ll kill someone.” He turned to the door looking like he was leaving, you stood up and grabbed his wrist “Hang on, those are our friends out there Des, you can’t just kill one for the benefit of us!” You rebutted, pulling him back into the dorm, “One life for two, its logic s/o.” He replied pulling back his wrist “Des, wait I need you alive! If you get caught in the trial…then!-“

“Dont, call me Des.”

“Des I cant watch you get executed!”

He clenched his fists in his hand and grabbed your shirt. “CALL ME DES ONE MORE TIME.” He shouted at you, tears brimmed the corner of your eyes. “ s/o, sorry I just-“ you ran out of your shared dorm sobbing. Desmond took a step to run after you, but he knew that he shouldn’t go after you.

————-

Then Desmond got even more worried about you when you didn’t come back at night. He was already in bed, stepping out of the dorm every 5 minutes looking to see if you would come back. His finger tapped against the mattress, he didn’t like silence at all. “Fuck it.” Desmond got out of his bed and put his jacket on and went to look for you.

“s/o? look I’m sorry about the fight we had, please come back.” He said in the hallways, hoping that you would come back soon. He walked in the hallways with a worried look plastered on his face. Thats when a bloody trail appeared before him, was this the reason you didn’t come home? But really could he call this home? He rushed into the dining hall, and thats when he saw your bloody body against the wall, there was blood everywhere, in the kitchen, some on the walls, but Desmond could hardly focus on the crime scene in front of him, he rushed straight towards your body. “ s/o!” He said shaking your body, you looked at him weakly. “Des- I mean Desmond.” His eyes became glassy at the sight of you, he held onto you for dear life, like he depended on it. Which he did. “You can call my Des, it’s okay, it’s okay.” He said, almost breaking down, you sniffed, hugging him back.

“Des, go get others.” You said weakly, tears running down your cheeks, “Not until I’m ready to leave you…who did this?” He asked, finally breaking down. “ Des, you deserve happiness, more than I can give you.” You held his hand, dodging the question. The marksman left the hug and kissed you passionately.

He pulled away from the kiss, and looked at you. “I can’t believe I did this to you.” Guilt overcame Desmond as tears rolled down his cheeks, you wiped them away and cupped his cheek.

“Don’t let this drag you down Des, I love you.”

Desmond watched you pass away. He couldn’t imagine what life would be like without you, and now it was real. The last thing you heard was Desmond screaming your name in rage.

( MY BABY WAAAAA )

Mark laid with you in your shared bed. Thats when you asked a question out of nowhere, “Mark, would you care if I died?” He looked at you, confused. “…Of course I would, why would you ask that?” He replied, “It’s just that..never mind, it’s dumb anyway.” You said, slightly frowning. “…No it’s okay, you can say it.” The music producer wrapped his arm around you.

You sighed, ready for what was about to come, “If you really want me to say it, You seem like you prioritize your music over me, Ever since we’ve been together.” Mark squinted at you. “…No I haven’t, if anything I’ve been spending every half of my day with you since then.” He rebutted, you got out of Marks hold and looked at him and scoffed, “What do you mean half? You spend all day making music! What if I die and your not with me?”

“Dont bring the killing game into this s/o.” Mark replied, already annoyed by your responses. You pulled out of Marks hold and got out of your shared bed, grabbing your bag and your jacket. “…Where are you going?” Mark asked you, also getting out of bed and putting his hands in his pockets “Somewhere, where I can’t see you.” You rushed to the door and pulled the handle, stopping to look back at Mark “If you wanna be alone Mark, Be alone.” You commented before slamming the door.

—————

Mark waited for you at your shared dorm, he even asked Eva, your old roommate who had a newly single dorm after you moved in with Mark, and Kai, one of your close friends in the ‘game.’ “Yo’ Mark, you look worried.” Jett asked the worried music producer from across the room, Mark sighed “….We had a fight and, I don’t know if they’re coming back.” Jett walked over to Marks side of the room, “If ya want, we can go and look for ‘er, it’s almost night anyway.” The racer looked at Mark, who was staring right back at him, “I’ll take that as a yes! Put your jacket on Mark, we’re going!”

“Hey!! vocalist person!! where are you!?” Jett shouted in the courtyard, “…You’re still loud even under that helmet…” Mark replied, squinting at Jett in annoyance. “Sorry man!”

Mark walked in the hallways of Edens Garden Academy, he himself never thought that he would have to look for his own s/o in a killing game. That was when Mark stumbled upon the dining hall, one of the doors were slightly opened, blood on the handle. Mark quickly rushed to open it, but there was nothing but blood on the the table. But that was when he felt something wet on his shoulder.

Mark reached his hand out to touch it, blood. Mark looked up, horrified with what he saw, It was you, your mouth was taped shut, and a spear impaled you, probably how you got stuck to the ceiling. Mark collapsed onto the ground, still looking at your dead body. This…This was his fault, no doubt about it.

-🌹 itsuji