the garden of eden is widely remembered as the biblical paradise where the first man and woman dwelt in innocence. purity often relies on what remains hidden, especially when the creator of the paradise masks a dark secret beneath the soil. to which, hides a deeper secret than the forbidden fruit. are you ready to divulge what lies within?

first verse: the gates

behind the gates greets a whole new sanctuary, eden vanderbilt. this promise is also known as EV, eve, eva, sometimes mother. she is twenty-seven years of age, italian-american, and a living powerhouse dwelling within the corners of ortigas center, pasig. she was born under the sign of libra on october 23, 1998, part of the entertainment industry as a singer, songwriter, and model. she speaks english, italian, and tagalog. how is eden as a being? at her deepest core, she is amiable, confident, independent, protective, and empathetic. charismatic and humorous with a generous heart. eden is understanding and trustworthy for those she holds dear. to the outside world, however, she wears a mask. stoic, uncompromising, and calculated especially when the time calls. she is proud, unfiltered, and unapologetically unhinged. at times, she tends to be cynical and pragmatic towards the world to hide her ████. when crossed, she becomes hot-headed and volatile, completely unafraid of conflict. she can be blunt and aloof that contrasts with her softer side. but at the end of the day, she is still human. others may understand her, or not. but it’s never out of spite. when the world is this cruel, especially in an industry crawling with power-abusing individuals. you go to whatever lengths it takes to survive.

her preferences include pastries. churches. dark art. antique. uncanny corners. handwritten letters. horror. heavy metal. flowers. storms. fashion. berries & plums. sky-high heels. throwing parties. food. self-expression. adorable and cutesy. her lilith. and her disfavors are performative behavior. lukewarm room temperatures. invasive paparazzi. systemic corruption. minimalism. sensory nuisances. anyone who looks down on her, and most of all, boredom.

second verse: the sculpture

one eden has appeared in high-fashion covers and features for publications. frequently walks and attends shows for both avant-garde couture houses and high-profile international labels. two she is faithful to the church. attends mass, and celebrates saints. but she doesn't deem herself as overly religious. three eden’s career started on controversy for being a shady celebrity overall: making tracks on her exes, shady live-TV callouts exposing corrupt figures, and her fashion choices. four actively weaponizes her "beautiful is boring" philosophy to dismantle pop-star perfection. five has her own security team, which is staffed entirely by women. six when she was younger, she spent five years in catholic formation to become a nun under her mother's supervision, until the deep self-reflection of the novitiate revealed her true identity, prompting her to break free before declaring her vows. seven desperate, she worked at a nightclub to finance her living expenses and production costs as a small artist. eight eden has a cat named fern, she is a maine coon.

third verse: the beingeden is known for leveraging bespoke accessories and dark-glam couture. her signature look? waist-snatching corsets, heavy black silk, and crushed velvet. layer on the black lace, rows of silver elements, chains, and monster heels. add statement earrings, necklaces with saint benedict, cross pendant, and rosary bracelets. height is 5ft 11in (180 cm). palette are colors plum, violet, montana, and muted slate indigo. grey irises (wears black contacts), rich jet-black hair. uses smokey eye shadow and heavy eyeliner. tattoos on her underboob—back inked with angel wings—her arm with intertwined roses and thorns—intricate gothic lettering ("sacred") along the side of her ribs—two crosses on the back of her thigh. she has a belly piercing, and two on each of her lobes. she has a plum liqueur and sophisticated scent of lilies. her clothing includes gothic, thrift fashion fused with sharp high-fashion tailoring.

Known for her dark pop persona, theatrical performances, and frequent use of religious iconography, Eden rose to prominence in the early 2020s as one of pop music’s most polarizing figures. Her music includes avant-garde, dark pop, rock, and metal.After winning various awards globally, she has risen as the winner of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2022, solidifying her status as a monster novice. Since then, she has remained at the forefront of the new generation of global pop stars alongside acts like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Chappell Roan. After signing with Sanctuary 13 Studios in 2021, Eden achieved global recognition with her debut album, “GLAMOUR MORTIS”, during the pandemic, uniting the masses with its influential music. The project yielded successful tracks, including “Poker Face”, “Just Dance”, and “LoveGame”, which made her one of the few artists with multiple top-streamed songs globally in 2021 and 2022. Her single “Born This Way” became the fastest-selling song in iTunes history, surpassing one million downloads in less than a week.She simultaneously continued to evolve her signature sound. Now, Eden showcases her most-played track, "Poker Face", in the Spotify Billions Club and the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs, while maintaining multiple concurrent entries on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

fourth verse: the tree
trigger warning: mentions of blood, profanity, adult themes, religious trauma,
unsettling imagery, gore, violence, and death.

"In God's name, I will bear my firstborn, holier than holy water. She will be the next sacred divine."It began with a mother's decree. Long before Eden was born, her Mother, Mary, developed a messiah complex around her pregnancy, seeing her child as the means to redeem her family's piety. And thus, the fruit was born on the 23rd of October; Mary baulked at the oddness of the date—yet accepted it. What a twist of fate! was what she said, at mercy to what she believed was a blueprint of divinity.Eden's upbringing then brought in a pressure that was unfathomable; dwelling within a sketchy community, everyone's mind was twisted to the brink. Hold her hand, and you will heal, the mother declared once her offspring came into the world, even when this child's skin was too fragile to move on its own. Mary's stifling and conservative zealotry and her Father Jordan's cynicism formed Eden's perception of life at an early age. Even her truth was silenced once she gained that consciousness. With fresh wounds over veins and renowned ichor trickling down her cheek.Homeschooled under a religious curriculum, Eden sought escape in music, secretly taught by her Aunt Magdalene, Mary's twin sister. At six, she taught herself piano by ear; by ten, she was writing original classical compositions, all thanks to her Aunt's support. Abandonment was not lost on their family, especially when you can vividly feel your parents drifting apart. Surprisingly enough, her parents never questioned an expression devoid of emotion.When her parents' marriage ended in annulment, ten-year-old Eden was uprooted and enrolled at Assumption College San Lorenzo, a conservative all-girls school in Metro Manila. Alone yet free, she was here, liberated. Under the tutelage of her maternal Aunt Magdalene, Eden mastered the cello by age sixteen. In the shadows of her strict routine, she began uploading self-produced demo tracks and cello compositions under various pseudonyms, endlessly reinventing herself to forge an identity outside her mother's shadow.The divine does not have a dark soul.She was then transferred to Korea to extend her studies; as an exchange student for a year, she had enough time to secretly film short song covers, learn guitar, attending vocal lessons, while yearning for the life she could have without any sacrifices. Express yourself, don't repress yourself.Soon, Mary found out about the music through Magdalene, who had discovered her twin sister's true intentions for her daughter. Enraged, Mary dragged Eden back to the States right after high school. Realizing that Eden was beginning to form an identity as an independent person, Mary strictly suppressed every ounce of her self-expression. Music, Voice, the right to become someone...Right then, Eden was ruthlessly forced to become a nun. Silently reluctant, she still spent five years enduring a process of vocation discernment and stages of formation—completely suffocated by the life chosen for her. Yet, she adapted, taking every opportunity to consume any media she could find—books, newspapers, and articles across all genres—the important part was that she began the study of religious iconography. It was deeply ironic, however, that she flourished despite the reluctance. It was strange that she found comfort in the patience of the elderly sisters who saved her.God loves you, but not enough to save you. But the convent was never a sanctuary; when a religious leader they called him a priest attempted to touch her soul, and his servants held tightly to her body until it left a mark, these thorns treated her as the devil incarnate. Her mouth was filled with silent cries, yet her heart was filled with guilt that she forgave them, answering their faux righteousness with a forced raid of her fists, and blood seeping through the beads of her nails. Those years of endurance left her numb, yet deeply faithful, and it was the pursuit of knowledge that she thanked the church for. Through the trauma and the systemic corruption, she never stopped believing. I deeply apologize, my Lord. But your men are vicious dogs.Eden resented them, and they feared her.She carried that hatred until she finally received her habit and white veil as a novice. That veil was the truth about learning a few things in this transcendence; her character changed, so did her temperament, but her soul remained intact. Because after everything, she was still Eden, the being who built and bloomed a tomorrow for herself.She will never let fear rule her.Mary assumed the strictness of the convent would keep Eden in a chokehold on her autonomy, but it only taught her daughter how to fight back. The further into the religious life Eden went, the more the peace allowed her to reflect. Away from her mother's reach, she finally found her strength in the silence, choosing to break free and walk away before ever taking her first vows.Her heart was blazing; her mind brimmed with the possibilities of who she could be and what she was capable of. She refused to be mediocre; she'd rather die of passion than do nothing at all.Eden didn't stop pursuing. At twenty-three, she plunged into the lower-side and lived independently without speaking to anyone. This is where she did small gigs and worked at a nightclub to fund her rent and her music, feeding the fire of her ambition with every motion of her body. Even then, she just grew respect for her own being, despite the desperation rotting at her core. Being well-known in their small community, her talent earned her back to education—an early admission to NYU Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied music, theater, and politics. She continued gaining newfound knowledge about religion. She remained saved by the divine; it was not a cage to her but an internal light.As she aged another year, her father found her on the streets of New York, where they exchanged embraces and a good word. Your mother never stopped thinking about you. I've heard you earned a title for yourself. He mused, although the moment was warm, his words started the rupture. She wanted you to come back and be part of the preachers. If you don't obey, you will lose everything. But she never questioned these terms; her father was just as pathetic as any unfeeling man she's ever gained sight of. You are a lonely old man who's been walked like a dog by your ex-wife, why should I listen to any of you? She was certain decorum was something she possessed that her parents had not.However, Eden is nothing without the pinnacle of her existence; she is the remedy, the denouement of fright, the misery—never prosaic. She did not live it down and refused to come back to serve as the poster child for Mary's evangelical campaign. She's not that being anymore; she cannot hold another's hand and reassure them that they will heal and become better. All Eden could think of was that she longed for a world where fear did not keep people small, and where preaching wouldn't bring an ounce of superiority.It did not sit well with Mary, and she resorted to malice—cutting off her daughter's finances, disowning her on paper, and systematically poisoning their family and supporters with malicious fabrications to isolate her completely. But Eden did not dwell on any of that nonsense; she was aware it was in pure hatred. Because she did her thing, she fought her way through graduation and vanished into the heartbeat of New York City, claiming the existence she had always been denied. And you know what? It's no thanks to you, Mary.This was the same time her Aunt Magdalene recognized Eden's authenticity, quietly leaking studio demos, videos of her small gigs, and compositions to executives at Sanctuary 13 Studios. The tracks ignited a firestorm, securing Eden a record deal. Her debut album shattered expectations, pushing her to fame and earning the title of the industry's "Monster." It was sudden, but Eden took it all with gratitude. Embracing the life she now has, she leveraged her platform to her advantage.Stripping away her mother's Vanderbilt Sanctuary Foundation to adopt a more welcoming approach, she restructured it into a global organization dedicated to women, youth, and mental health access for marginalized communities. Shedding the past self and entering the wider world, she finally reclaimed her life and grew into the gentle, compassionate woman she had once only dared to dream of becoming. Eden strives to dominate further on her own terms, becoming the spectacle, the runway, and the symphony. She has a lot to learn, after all.She was raised to be a saint, yet she chose to become a monster—impenetrable to judgment, and answerable to no one.

fifth verse: the living things
even when the being's eyes are closed, she still finds beauty in human existence.

Lilith Lunareth Bonnabelle, Love Interest

And when I am six feet under, and the bugs are eating my heart, all they taste is you. There was fame, broken connections, and a subtly tarnished reputation. Everyone knew Eden was a controversial artist. There were protests regarding her religious beliefs—the Christians did not approve of her image, and people judged her for openly supporting the marginalized, exiling her for loving the colors they refused to see.Yet on one notable afternoon at a meet-and-greet, among the goths, the punks, the elderly, and the middle-aged fans who adhered to the dress code, stood one poised, prim, and proper young woman dressed in the brightest faint colors. She immediately caught Eden's eye. Beyond her bright features and sparkling eyes, what truly drew the popstar in was her soft, sweet voice. And she knew what she truly wanted in life.She was subtly shaking as she handed Eden her album. But the moment their fingers brushed, the singer left a small piece of paper tucked against the woman's palm with a small message. 'Call me if things get lonely', along with a telephone number.Since then, they have remained at that single interaction. Eden never stopped pursuing her, and she never will.