An important message to the Project: Eden's Garden fandom:
//Fucking hell, here we go again.
//I'm going to put most of this under the cut because this post is going to touch on some genuinely uncomfortable and triggering topics, and I want to be upfront about that from the start.
It’s impossible to talk about the current situation surrounding Project: Eden’s Garden without addressing the severity of what’s come to light, so just...be warned for some sensetive topics.
//Okay, so...
//For anyone who isn’t fully aware of what’s been happening, here’s the very short version.
//One of the game’s voice actors, Faza, the voice behind Mark Berskii, was exposed for having dated a 15-year-old while being 20 years old.
//That alone is deeply disturbing, but what makes the situation even worse is that it has come out that Sozzay, the project lead, was aware of this for quite some time and chose not to act. Action was only taken once the situation became public.
//And since this news broke, within what feels like mere hours, everything has begun to spiral. Longtime fans, passionate supporters, and community members who have followed this project for years are now walking away from it entirely. Some are calling for the project to be cancelled outright, feeling that what’s happened has irreparably tainted it.
//Let me be absolutely clear. I implore you to read the next paragraph VERY. VERY. CAREFULLY.
//NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, in this post is meant to defend what happened.
//What Faza did is ABHORRENT. There is NO justification, nor nuance that softens it. It is predatory, harmful, and indefensible.
//As for Sozzay, while her actions are different in nature, they are still deeply wrong. Knowing about something like this and choosing silence is not neutrality. It is complicity. Waiting until this recent exposure forces your hand is nothing more than damage control.
//She is an iredeemable COWARD, and it sickens me to say that because I have known of her and respected her for a long time now. I certainly don't anymore. This situation should never have been allowed to exist, let alone persist for years.
//But what I want to talk about, because I’m not seeing it discussed nearly enough, is the fallout.
//Because Eden’s Garden is not just two people.
//For the past five years, this has been a massive collaborative effort. Over a hundred people have poured time, creativity, and passion into building something they love. A FREE project, driven not by profit but by admiration for the series that inspired it.
//That kind of dedication is built through years of work, trust, and shared enthusiasm. And that’s why it’s so frustrating to see the narrative shift into something way more destructive.
//I get that the situation is bad, and that's putting it lightly, but people do not have the right to flatten that entire effort or call for the complete destruction of the project or to harass its contributors because of the actions of TWO INDIVIDUALS!
//Accountability matters. But SO DOES FAIRNESS.
//What makes Sozzay’s failure especially damaging isn’t just that she covered for someone who engaged in predatory behaviour. It’s that her decision has now dragged the entire team into the mud alongside her. She created a situation where the reputation of dozens upon dozens of innocent contributors is now being questioned.
//And realistically, it’s very likely that most of the team had no idea any of this was happening. That’s exactly what investigations are meant to determine. Until that process plays out, assuming collective guilt is not only unfair, it's actively harmful to everyone involved/
//People have every right to be angry. They SHOULD be angry. And lengths should be taken to help and protect the people who were ACTUALLY victimised by this.
//But so much of this aggression is just blatantly misdirected! What I’m seeing in some corners of the community doesn’t feel like a pursuit of justice; it feels like opportunism. Like some people are using this situation as an excuse to tear down something they already disliked, rather than engaging with the issue in good faith.
//And that’s deeply frustrating!
//Stop talking like the entire team was involved! Stop acting like every contributor deserves backlash! And for fuck's sake, stop using the fact that a child was harmed as an excuse to be an ASSHOLE!
//Because that's JUST AS DISGUSTING in my eyes! And obviously I'd like to believe that most of the people speaking up about this have good intentions, but by God you are not showing it!
//There’s also been a lot of frustration surrounding the official response. And honestly, I understand why. I've posted it here below for those who haven't seen it:
//It felt vague, overly cautious, and frustratingly indirect. Neither individual involved was named, and the situation was referred to as "allegations," despite how widely it has been substantiated.
//But it’s important to understand why that language is used. In situations like this, wording matters legally. Saying "allegations” is a safeguard, and it doesn’t mean the team doesn’t know what’s true.
//And it doesn’t mean they’re defending what happened either. It means they’re trying to avoid creating further legal complications while responding to a crisis.
//Could the response have been better? Absolutely it could. But I don’t believe that phrasing alone tells the full story of where the team stands. And just looking at how many of them have responded on their personal twitters has only reinforced that belief.
//When something you’ve supported for years is shaken like this, it hurts. It’s disappointing, not to mention infuriating. Especially if you're someone like me who considers Eden's Garden one of their all-time favourite Fangans.
//So once again, I’m not writing this to forgive anyone who caused this situation. And I’m not writing this to excuse what happened, because fuck that.
//I’m writing this because I still care about the project, and about the people who have poured their hearts into it.
//And I want to believe that something built on that much passion doesn’t have to end here. That it can grow, learn, and move forward, without the people who caused this harm, and with accountability where it’s deserved.
//I know this because...it's happened before!
//If Sozzay does get ousted from the project, as they rightfully should, this would be the second time that Eden's Garden has had to fire its project lead. Not a good look, but what we should be paying attention to is the fact that they've been down this road before, and they came out the other side stronger because of it.
//We can be angry. We SHOULD be angry. But we should also be careful about where that anger gets directed.
//Because if we’re not, we risk destroying more than just what’s broken. We risk destroying everything that was good about it too.
-Mod
