Starting note: this is the completely decoded version of my DDLC fanfiction. As many don't like reading the coded version, I've made a version that possesses only decoded text. Enjoy.
What does it mean to be happy?
Is it to have everything go your way? To have a smile on your face at all times? To know you can lean on someone else?
I don't know. As much as I'd like to know, the answer escapes my grasp, slipping through my fingers whenever I come close to obtaining it.
"What will it take just to find that special day?" That's a good question, Monika.
I relax my back, letting it make contact with the chair's backrest. At some point, I stopped using it at all, and my muscles feel tense.
I sigh. My eyes are set on the black screen before me, the one signaling the end of Doki Doki Literature Club.
'All good things must come to an end.' As much as I tell that to myself, I can't help feel saddened.
A letter appears before me. Not knowing what to expect, my eyes scan over the text.
With Everlasting Love, Monika
I can feel my heart break in two. I know it's a video-game, but I can't help it; the characters inside the game took root within me, and seeing it end like this hurts me.
Error: Script file is missing or corrupt. Please reinstall the game.
I frown and click on OK. Doki Doki shuts itself down.
...Wow. Does that mean I have to reinstall it to play from the start? I try opening it again, but it displays the same message as before.
"..." I exhale and lie back into my chair. Thoughts of my reality make their way into me, sneaking into my mind through every opening they find.
Valentine's Day...It's ironic I would finish DDLC today. I'd started playing because of a friend's recommendation. While I initially dismissed it as bland, he told me to keep playing. In the end, I found my initial impression to be completely mistaken. The story behind Doki Doki and Project Libitina... it runs deep.
I get up from my chair and slump on my bed. My room isn't the biggest, so the action takes little to no effort.
I stare at the ceiling. I can feel bits and pieces of lingering emotion, emotion I'm unable to let go of. Despite it being a game, it felt incredibly real; it's almost as if the game was my actual life, and reality was nothing but a fleeting dream.
...Like that could happen. My eyes lazily scan around my room, finding nothing of interest. It looks plain, too plain for a regular person's taste. It's hard to think someone actually lives here.
Many thoughts are circling my mind, but the most reoccurring is, 'I don't want it to end like this.' I know I liked the game because of its story, but I still wanted to see a happy ending; the members of the literature club deserved better than that. The string of events that led to this outcome is a great source of regret; I understand that really well. It makes me...
...want to look for a way things could've ended well.
I have an idea. Monika was never given her happy ending, but she was given the chance to write it. If so, I should write that happy ending! The thing she wanted to achieve the most, yet couldn't gain grasp of.
Before I know it, my hands are flying at the keyboard. My fingers move quickly, so quick my brain can't keep up. The words, channeled into my body, are released into a Word file without a second thought.
Thirty minutes pass. My fingers have been moving this entire time, rejecting to have a single moment's rest, but...
It's still not enough. To bring about the good ending, there is still much more that must happen. Doki Doki could never end without answering the questions it left, and this must be written.
An hour passes. My hands keep moving mechanically, yet, it's not nearly enough. I've long stopped looking at the clock; I could never guess it's 1:30 by now. It feels as if I completely forgot about time - not only as a measure, but as a concept. It fades into the background, leaving space for nothing but the story.
Two hours pass. My hands start aching, and I'm forced to crack my fingers to keep going. I focus on the writing without allowing other thoughts, much like a craftsman and his work. I swallow the urge to take a break and keep my hands moving.
Three hours pass. My hands start feeling heavy, but I force them to continue. At last, I'm close, I can't stop now!
After four hours and a half, my hands come to a halt. Preparing myself for the last few letters of the story, I feel goosebumps form over my skin.
Those smiles were the most precious thing - and I managed to protect them.
"Hey, what are you waiting for? The festival is this way!" I could never mistake that voice. Without hesitation, I accept Monika's offer and take her hand.
Pen in hand, I find my strength. After all, not all good things must come to an end.
My body slumps into my chair, completely drained of strength. The clock reads 4:35 am, and I'm feeling extremely exhausted. I want to get some sleep, but I look at the quantity of text I've written again.
17,000 words... I don't have the first clue on how I could type that quickly, but I did it. I still feel like there are many things missing - primarily the main character's thoughts. That said, if I were to insert them, it would surely be around 30,000 words.
I quickly skim over the text. From it, thoughts, emotions, images come bursting forth. Love, hate, pain... it's all there. It's not a happy story, but the main character did just what he had to do: try until he could save them. Try until he could save the four from a reality they weren't designed to comprehend.
At that point, I finally asked myself what should I do with this?
Maybe upload it to some fanfiction website? Not knowing what or where I should be going to, I simply type 'fanfiction uploading website' into my search bar.
That's when it happens.
The entirety of my screen turns black. I should feel startled, but my pc isn't the best, so I've gotten used to it having problems...
I'm about to close the screen, leave the pc alone and think about it tomorrow, but I stop halfway.
You went... that far for me?
That text is written on my computer's screen - my dark computer's screen.
If so, I should meet you.
My eyes are intently staring at the text.
Because I need you too.
... I don't know what is happening, but I know it's not something to get excited for. I have a really bad feeling about this. Something like this shouldn't faze me after playing through Doki Doki, and I don't know what type of virus I unintentionally downloaded, but I can tell something.
The screen is being torn apart.
Its bending, contorting, twisting, wrapping, grabbing, yanking, pulling, dragging me somewhere. I feel my body fall apart, almost as if it were decomposing.
A sensation of pure horror traverses me.
The sight before me - it cannot be described in any way but horrifying.
Because I know how it ends - because I know how this story ends.
Because I am the one who wrote it.
Because I know I will no longer be me by the time it's over.
With those thoughts, I am sucked into a place I know too all well, knowing I will come back as nothing but an empty husk.