Hello everyone, and thanks for showing up for my little presentation. I’ve been working on this theory for a while, and I feel like we’ve hit a point where I feel fairly secure in showing my general findings. I’d also like to dedicate this to Garth Marenghi, as a show of… penance I guess.

To begin with, it should be fairly obvious that some sort of Mastermind figure exists in some capacity. For one, the Monokuma AI certainly seems to have gone rogue, or at least… reverted back to being a Killing Game bot.

It doesn’t seem outwardly as though Dr. Pierce is responsible for this and is simply playing the fool, as most of the Killing Game appears to be aimed at disrupting her in some way.

Now, a common saying is that behind every crime are three elements. Means, motive, and opportunity.

First of all, we have the means by which someone committed the crime. In this case, unfortunately it’s probably not super relevant. Going by the investigations of the third basement level, we know that the Monokuma AI was likely installed by the USB drive planted in the AI Control room.

We also know that there’s multiple access points to B3F if you count the pipe under the river, and whoever the mastermind is likely had some way of bypassing the e-Pass system regardless, making Access Levels a moot point.

Thanks to Hu Tao’s pass, we know that at the very least, it’s possible to get your hands on that technology, and probably not super difficult if the Crimson Eye were able to do it with no references, especially if the mastermind has some level of technical knowledge.

Finally, we know it had to be one of our ”NPC” staff members, as you call them. Why? Because no one else would know the password to the secret room where the Sun Stone was stashed to be able to hide it. As much as I don't like accusing my peers... it simply has to be the case.

So, now let’s move on.

Next up, let’s talk opportunity. Motive is technically second on the list, but is a bit more complicated. Opportunity is… unfortunately the least useful of the three in this case, so I’ll get it out of the way right now. Most of us would have had the opportunity to slip down to B3F and plant the USB, but admittedly… that still doesn’t mean much.

The USB could have planted on the first night, or the night before, or hell, even weeks prior. I doubt it though. Monokuma’s appearance on our first night indicates that it was done either that night or immediately before. The Crimson Eye AI took what we can assume is a short time to take over, and unless Monokuma specifically had a delay mechanism, chances are he would do similar.

When we’re talking about opportunity though, let’s bring up the fact that this mysterious “Bag Senpai” character you all keep referring to, if Bigfoot’s testimony is to be believed, knew the location of the AI Control Room immediately upon the unlocking of the floor.

With this in mind, a couple facts become pretty clear:

- “Bag Senpai” must have been on B3F before last night
- “Bag Senpai” is likely the mastermind

On the subject of this mysterious character, the nature of their costume in and of itself would imply that they’re not invulnerable or omniscient, because if they were, they certainly wouldn’t need to hide behind a disguise or even keep their identity hidden. Now, I will accept the alternate possibility that “Gas Mask Man” is the Mastermind as well, but only because they have come forward.

A player testimony also previously mentioned that they “snapped their fingers” and called Monokuma for assistance, which would imply that the Mastermind does not have direct control over Monokuma, and that Monokuma does not always know what’s going on with the Mastermind unless immediately directed. Chances are that unless Monokuma is directly nearby, he needs to be called or interfaced with via. the AI Control Room.

Monokuma also seems to exhibit a large degree of autonomy in general, as seen by instances where he simply takes suggestions for incentives sometimes if he thinks they’re interesting or might lead to an outcome that benefits the Killing Game in some way. This might be extended to things that benefit the Mastermind as well, even indirectly.

And now… we come to the Motive, which I think is the most important part of this entire thing. Something this elaborate would need a hell of a motive behind it, and we can likely use this to narrow down the list a bit.

First up, we have Dr. Morgan Pierce

It’s very likely that she is not the mastermind, though almost every action she takes is both extremely unethical and generally suspicious. I can say with reasonable certainty that at least when it comes to this offense, she is innocent.

...Or is she?

While she is almost definitely not the one in charge of Monokuma, the little bear does seem to harbor some general disdain for Dr. Pierce, interacting with her relatively often and taking several chances to talk about how much he dislikes her specifically. In that sense, perhaps she IS responsible, in that this killing game may be an act of revenge. Either way, she has no motive for this Killing Game, despite having the means and opportunity.

Next, let’s talk about Dr. Hawke.

While he certainly has a desire for Pierce to get her just desserts, in his case due to the “Lazarin Project” and their history, I just… don’t really think he’s stable and conniving enough to pull something like this off, no offense to him. Furthermore, his office contains a Nadare brochure, one that advertised the experience to him as a vacation rather than an employment opportunity.

I believe then, that Dr. Hawke was entrapped similarly to Pierce. Dr. Pierce doesn’t seem to like him much, and likely wouldn’t have sent him a brochure to begin with, therefore it’s very possible that he was lured here to end up as part of this Killing Game. Considering the two’s history in the medical world, this opens the likely possibility that the Lazarin Project is the basis of this revenge plot.

And then there’s me.

I uh… I don’t think I’m the mastermind anyway? To be honest I don’t think I have much of a motive, and while my family has a certain reputation, as well as a relationship with Dr. Pierce, I myself didn’t have any particular issues with her before this series of events.

I understand though that my familial relations in particular mean that I would have more familiarity with the Monokuma system than most others, as well as a rough knowledge of some of the systems of this place. I figured I’d give myself a fair analysis as well, and you are free to assume I am guilty and am simply making this all up to make myself less “sus”.

Next up is Lynn Tyrne, our traitorous little intern girl.

She wound up being a member of the Crimson Eye, but I doubt that she was the Mastermind. If she already had access to B3F, she wouldn’t need to have done anything she did. She could have just hopped down there herself and done everything she needed to.

Also the Killing Game has killed both her AND one other operative, and she is certainly too dead to be this mysterious costumed figure, no? Therefore I would like to posit that Lynn Tyrne most likely cannot be the Mastermind, and the Crimson Eye aren’t behind the game. Admittedly however, it is possible that “Bag Senpai” or the gas-masked individual is one of the Crimson Eye, but still mostly doubtful, as if the Crimson Eye were already in control of the facility AI, they would not need AI Cores of their own.

On the opposite end of the Crimson Eye conflict is Liz Grayson, professional secret agent.

I don’t think she is guilty either for similar reasons to Lynn, reasons that mostly consist of a lack of facility access. Agent Grayson is capable of hacking the e-Pass readers, true, and a Killing Game would certainly be an effective means of disposing of the Crimson Eye, but…

I just don’t think her actions make sense in that context. Why bother hacking doors when you have full access AND are disguised AND an unknown quantity for most of the game? It doesn’t make any logical sense, unless this is a plan way too complicated for my brain, haha.

Finally… that brings us to the Nurses.

The Nurses are a duo, consisting of two individuals. The sardonic but competent Luna, and the seemingly airheaded and ineffective Summer. In the case of Luna, I also believe her to be innocent however. She has spent much of the past nights operating on DK West, and was the first person to point out any weirdness in the headcount of our guests.

I believe that at the very least, West’s testimony would exonerate Luna from being any of our disguised figures, either Bag Senpai OR Gas Mask Man. That does not clear her, but she doesn’t seem to have a negative history with Dr. Pierce. Quite the opposite, her mother and Pierce apparently had a good relationship, and her mother’s death is unrelated to the Lazarin Project.

Last but… not least, there’s Summer, the “dumb one”. Curiously enough… we don’t really know much about Summer. Probably the least of the group. We don’t really know her history, we don’t know why she came here, we don’t know her connection to the Lazarin Project, and we have no idea where she even is right now.

Now, in the spirit of fairness I’ll bring up a similar point as I did with Dr. Hawke. Summer is also known to be rather incompetent, and she has displayed no known skills with computers or technology in general. Still, that's not necessarily evidence of anything, and unlike Hawke, Summer does not have a very real and crippling addiction problem behind her, as far as we can tell.

Most of you have already come to this conclusion, but I believe I’ll present my own now, to add to the pile.

Out of everyone currently in the facility, there is one who is by far the most likely to be our culprit, and I’ve laid out the work to figure out who that may be. Dr. Pierce would be actively screwing herself if she were the Mastermind, Dr. Hawke likewise. Luna has been too occupied, and, well, I’m obviously not going to suggest myself.

That leaves one individual left. An individual who were present, “passed out” immediately before both Luna and Senpai were rendered unconscious and the latter’s clothes stolen. An individual who showed up with various wounds on the same arm as the wounded person wearing Senpai’s clothes. An individual who has either lied about their identity and background, or has received outside help to trap us all in this game of death.

That’s right. I accuse Summer of being the Mastermind.

I don’t know her motive, and I don’t know how she pulled it off, but I do know that it’s our only option left. To tell you the truth though… I first got my suspicions quite a while ago, when I caught something interesting on camera.

Here, I’ll show you. Just let me open the file here on the Lobby computer… Aha, here we g-

wexlyn no thats goatse!!!!!

GREETINGS, RESIDENTS OF NADARE. IT IS I, THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS GAME.

I HAVE LEFT THIS VERY SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR YOU.

Huh? Gas mask...? What the… T-this isn’t my recording!

SO, YOU HAVE CONCLUDED THAT SUMMER IS THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON PULLING THE STRINGS? NONSENSE, A FOOL’S CONCLUSION.

THIS “SUMMER” IS SIMPLY ANOTHER VICTIM. ANOTHER PAWN IN THIS GAME. I WILL NOT BE INSULTED BY BEING COMPARED TO SOMEONE SUCH AS HER. NOR WILL I ALLOW THE INSULT OF BEING TOLD THAT I DRESSED IN SENPAI'S GARB.

FOR YOUR INSOLENCE, I WILL PRESENT A NEW MOTIVE TO MONOKUMA FOR CONSIDERATION.

YOU WILL BE PUNISHED.

THIS FOLLOWING NIGHT WILL BE A DOUBLE MURDER NIGHT, AND UNLESS EVERY PLAYER ATTEMPTS, ONE OF THE PLAYERS IN THE "NPC” CATEGORY WILL BE GUARANTEED TO PERISH IN ONE OF THE KILLS.

IF I TRULY WERE "SUMMER", THEN I WOULD BE PUTTING MYSELF AT RISK WITH THIS MOTIVE AS WELL. THIS SHOULD SERVE AS A WARNING. DO NOT INSULT ME IN SUCH A WAY AGAIN.

…What the hell? I swear to god I had an actual video on here. Did you do this, bear? Did you... swap out my files or something? Is this actually... the mastermind?

Yeah I dunno. We don't really have open communication, I mostly just do my thing and show up when I'm called. And like hell I'm keeping track of everyone's costumes, have you seen this place lately? I didn't touch your shitty computer though, bub. Give me a break.

I like this guy's motive though... He's got a pretty solid point, what with the whole punishment angle... People really shouldn't be throwing out their theories all willy-nilly like this, especially at an innocent girl like poor old Summer! I'll just... steal that idea...

Well, now things are getting interesting... Puhuhuhuhu! Finally, one of these chumps is gonna drop dead! Better hope it's not you, Wexy-boy!

I'm still getting a check once this all blows over, right?

i hate being dark souls ii