One Shot - Just and Update

by Karl Kadaver

A simple content update creates unexpected results.

[Updating Doki Doki Literature Club...]

"That's weird," I said to myself, checking my Steam Library. I clicked on the Update History, and found a new entry at the top.

"I Added a Special Surprise to the Game!

The newest member of the Literature Club, Usagi, is ready for romance! Can you write your way into her heart?"

A picture below the entry showed a girl with blue green eyes and medium length (at least for this game) dark brown hair with a side ponytail. She was facing the camera and smiling brightly. The dialog box underneath her picture revealed, "I like cosplay!
/You know, dressing up as people from popular anime or video games."

Superimposed in the corner of the picture was the chibi version of the girl, looking very happy.

The Update Note concluded with another bit of text: "Note: To activate Usagi, you have to start a new save file." Then, under that, "I hope you like it! - Monika"

Cute. It was nice to see that Team Salvato was still sticking to the meta aspect of the game. I looked at the picture again. I had always been partial to Yuri, but really, all the dokis have their own special charm, and it seemed like Usagi was no exception.
/The update had finished by the time I finished reading the update notes, so I did the first thing any self-respecting DDLC fan would do: I went into the game file directory. Sure enough, I found a file called ' '. I opened it, expecting to
/find another cryptic cypher of some sort, maybe some more clues as to the nature of Project Libitina. To my surprise, when I opened it, it was just a short message, written in regular text: "Ahahaha, I knew you'd look here. It's kind of a breach ofprivacy,
don't you think? Well, whatever. I'm not mad. But if this works, you'll definitely be seeing more!"

I was a little disappointed by the simple message, but at the same time, I was excited by the possibility of more dokis to fawn over. This was going to be fun!

I fired up the game. The title screen looked exactly the same as it always had; Usagi wasn't present, which I thought was odd. Maybe they would patch it in if she became popular enough, or maybe it was because I hadn't started a new save file yet. Nobig
deal either way. I started a new save file, just as the update notes suggested and the game started as usual: walking to school with Sayori, being invited to the Literature Club, all that stuff.

The Usagi update seemed to kick in right after the part where Natsuki says, "Seriously? You brought a boy? Way to kill the atmosphere." Normally, this was the part where Monika would interject with "Ah, MC, what a nice surprise! Welcome to the club!"But
instead of 'Welcome to the club,' she said, "That makes two new members!"

It was at this point that Usagi made her appearance, as 'Girl 3'. She slid onto the screen, just behind Monika's sprite. Like Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki's sprites, I noticed that the New Girl's sprite was facing slightly away from the camera. Monika closedher
eyes and smiled. "Go on, introduce yourself!"

Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika faded out and Usagi's sprite slid to the center of the screen. She assumed a pose where she clapped her hands together; her eyes were wide and bright. The text box said that she bowed quickly. "Hi, everyone. I'm Usagi." Monika's
/sprite appeared next to Usagi in her 'finger pointing' pose. "Usagi came from the Drama club."

Usagi put her hands at her sides, closed her eyes, and smiled, a small sweat drop appearing on her face. "Hehe, yeah. There was a little too much…'drama' for me. I just got burned out." Then, she opened her eyes and clapped her hands together again. "I
/still think that the stage is cool, and I love acting." Then, she said, "I like cosplay! You know, dressing up as people from popular anime and video games."

The text box informed me that Natsuki seemed to perk up at Usagi's mention of cosplay and anime. Natsuki came on screen with her face slightly turned away. "That's kinda cool, I guess."

The rest of the meeting went as usual, with Natsuki being introduced first, then Yuri, and of course Monika. Natsuki handed out the cupcakes, just as she did usually, but the game made sure to mention that Usagi "timidly takes a bite and smiles to herself."
/Usagi is also mentioned by name when Yuri gets tea for everyone, perhaps as a way of reminding me, the player, that she's also considered a new member of the club. "As I sip my tea, I notice Usagi stealing glances at Yuri as she blows the steam from
/her tea and takes a short sip."

Then, Monika asked me why I considered the Literature Club, also as usual. But I noticed that there weren't any lines in the script of her asking Usagi the same thing. Maybe it was discussed offscreen, but I thought it would've been nice for her to go
/into more detail than to just be 'burned out from Drama Club.' I also found it unusual that when Natsuki and Yuri described their favorite types of stories, that Usagi didn't join in as well, but like the title screen, I simply assumed that details
/like that would be patched in if she became popular enough.

Soon enough, the time for the poetry minigame was upon me. I saw that Usagi's chibi sprite was present among the others, and since I had already decided to give Usagi's route a try, I scanned the page for any words that were different or unusual. She
/liked to cosplay, and she came from Drama club. I deduced that she would probably like words that had to do with acting or being on stage. And there it was, right on the first page: stage. I clicked it, and just as I suspected, her sprite happily
/hopped. Awesome! Now to find the other words: act, curtain, microphone, wig, gown, mask, ovation, ad lib, director, patter, cast, libretto, monologue, backstage, pantomime, pretend, troupe, understudy, OVA, and wardrobe. Nailed it.

The next day rolled around. Natsuki and Yuri had their argument over whether manga was literature or not and after that scene ended, a new scene played out: "Sayori and Monika are having a cheery conversation in the corner. Yuri's face is already buried
/in a book. I can't help but notice her intense expression, like she was waiting for this chance. Meanwhile, Natsuki is rummaging around in the closet. And finally...Usagi is at her desk, writing something down."

"Being the nosy sort, I walk over to Usagi's desk. 'Hey.' She stops writing. From this distance, I can see that she's actually drawing something. I guess my assumption about her not having finished her poem was wrong… 'That's pretty good. What are you
/working on?'

She glanced up at me and smiles. 'Ah, hi! It's a costume I'm working on.' She covers the drawing with her hand. 'So...you ended up keeping your end of the bargain, huh?'

I shoot her a quizzical glance. 'Bargain?'

She laughs softly. 'Hehe yeah. Cupcakes and tea for your loyalty. I'm not gonna judge; I did too.' She giggles again. 'Or did you join because of all us cute girls?'

'Tsk…'. I start to stammer a response before she stops me.

'Hehe, don't worry about it… I can see you're corpsing.'

'Corpse…'

'Hehe, sorry. Acting term; it means you're breaking character. Your face turned beet red when I mentioned all us cute girls.'

'But that's not-'

'I said don't worry about it!' She smiled brightly. 'You seem like a good guy.'"

A CG activated. From my point of view, I was sitting across from Usagi. She was peeking upward at me through her bangs, and still covering her paper with her hand, while resting her head on her other one.

I spoke first. "'So...you were in Drama club?'

'Yeah. I was pretty good at it. I did as much work behind the scenes as I did as an actual actress.'

'Wow! No wonder you got burned out.'

'I didn't really mind. It was a case of the spirit being willing but the body being weak, you know?' She glanced downward. 'I…' She slowly moved her hand off of her drawing. 'I like immersing myself in anything I do. Designing costumes, getting into character,
/literally anything. It's so much fun being someone else, don't you think?'

I started to answer her, but Monika interjected."

"Alright everyone! It's time to share our poems!"

I decided to show my poem to Monika first, since she usually tells you if you're on the right track.

"She reads over my poem silently, nodding to herself occasionally. 'Mhm. Hmm…' Then, she glances up at me and smiles. 'Yup, I can see it. I'm not surprised that you decided to write something for the new girl, what with you two being in the same boat
/and everything.'

'What? I didn't write it for anyone.'

'Ahaha! It's alright, I'm just teasing you. But I do think Usagi will like it; it'll remind her of her former club.'

'Thanks, I guess. Yours is probably better.'"

It was at this point that she showed me her poem. It was 'Hole in the Wall,' like usual. And, like usual, Monika explained that she had an epiphany recently. Before I moved on to the next girl, the text box told me that Monika touched my arm. "Be nice
/to the new girl, okay?"

My character replied, "Yeah. Okay," and the selection boxes appeared. I decided to show my poem to Sayori next.

"Sayori narrows her eyes and crinkles her nose, seemingly trying to make sense of what is probably a crappy poem.'

'Yeah...it's not very good…' I tell her sheepishly.

'What? No, that's not it at all! It's just...I didn't quite expect it! It's good!'

'Well, I guess that's a relief.'

'You have hidden talent! See? I knew it was a good idea to bring you here!'

I chuckle nervously. 'Eheh, yeah…'"

Then she showed me her poem: Dear Sunshine. The dialogue went like usual. It was very similar when I showed my poems to Yuri and Natsuki; it didn't seem like the dialogue changed at all.

Then I finally showed my poem to Usagi.

"She reads it over, tracing some of the words with her finger and chuckling at certain points. Then, she finally looks at me and smiles. 'Nice job. I mean, sometimes you use the wrong word, but I think I get the gist of what you're trying to say.'

'Well, it's the first time I ever wrote a poem...seriously.'

She nods. 'I probably could've guessed.' Her eyes widen and she gasps. 'I...I didn't mean that the way it sounded! It's not bad, just…'

'Mediocre?'

'No! Not mediocre, but...you know, rough. Unrefined.' She smiles nervously. 'But good.' A sweat drop appears on her face. 'Eh, mine's probably not much better.'"

She showed me her poem. The background music, Okay Everyone, was accompanied by a guitar. But not a ukulele like Sayori. More like an acoustic guitar. Her handwriting was neat and fairly easy to read.

"Stage Fright

She stands on the stage

Facing the audience

She inhales

How many are there?

One? Hundreds? She can't see.

She feels small

Being peered at though opera glasses

The audience bates their breath

Awaiting her performance

She exhales"

"She glances at me, noticing that I'm looking at her. 'Oh! Done already?' She puts a hand behind her head. 'Yeah...so… I couldn't think of anything to write about, so I just wrote the first thing that came to my mind.'

'It seems like you didn't finish it.'

'I like it better that way. Like, not knowing how she did, it adds a little suspense and leaves the ending up the reader's imagination.'

'Yeah, I guess I can see that. Ending in a cliffhanger.'

'Exactly!'

'If we have to keep doing this, do you think you'll do a sequel?'

She laughs. 'Probably not. I don't know which direction to take it.'

'Guess she's stuck in limbo forever then.'

She frowns. 'Heh. Yeah…'"

After I showed everyone my poem, the scene where Yuri and Natsuki fight played out. Usagi didn't factor in at all, and I ended up picking Yuri when I was given the choice of who to side with. The scene played out like normal until Monika asked how sharing
/our poems felt. Usagi got a line of dialogue before Natsuki: "It was cool."

The rest of the day passed like normal. Sayori asked me how I felt about Yuri and Natsuki, but conspicuously left out Usagi.

During the poetry minigame, I tried once again to pick words that applied to Usagi. I accidentally misclicked on on the word 'Existence', which I knew was one of Yuri's words. Both Usagi and Yuri's sprites hopped. I only had a few words left, so I thought
/I'd experiment and clicked on the word 'Doki-Doki'. Once again, Usagi and Natsuki's sprites hopped. Then, finally, I clicked on 'Hopeless.' Only Usagi's sprite hopped.

Something weird was happening here… Before moving on, I checked the game files. All of the files were there, but Usagi's had moved up a few places. I opened it, expecting to find a different message, but the message was still the same. Maybe the file
/hadn't moved and I was just imagining things. I continued the game.

The scene played like normal with Sayori begging MC for money. Instead of Yuri giggling, though, the game told me that Usagi giggled. Her sprite appeared and the dialogue was exactly the same as Yuri's should've been. Having no choice, and honestly being
/morbidly curious as to where this was going and whether the update was glitched or another trick by Team Salvado, I continued on. Monika came into the room late, like normal, and told us about practicing the piano, then a new scene with Usagi played
/out:

"I see that Usagi is once again doodling something. I make my way to her desk. 'Hey again.'

Usagi looks up at me and smiles. 'Hiya. How are ya?' She covers the paper with her hand again.

'Working on another costume?'

She glances back down. 'No. Not this time. It's a...um...thing."

A CG appeared where it once again showed Usagi from MC's point of view. She's sitting at her desk, covering the sheet of paper with her hand. She's also brushing a lock of her hair back with her other hand. She spoke first.

"'Sorry, I don't mean to be so cryptic. It's just I'm trying to sort through some things.' She smiles brightly. 'It's all good, I promise! So, newbie, are you still having a good time?'

'Heh, yeah.'

She looks at me with a serious expression. 'I'll bet you feel out of place here, being the only guy in a group of girls?'

I scratch the back of my head. 'Haha, maybe a little, but honestly I can't complain. I mean, Sayori's my best friend and I'm starting to get to know the rest of you better.'

'Hmm...I guess…'

'Is something wrong, Usagi?'

'Oh, no! I mean...not really. I guess I still have nerves from changing clubs...I think. I still kind of feel like I don't belong.'

'What?! That's crazy! You fit in here more than I do! You just said so yourself. I don't know what you have to be nervous about, you're so talented and stuff.'

She blinks and looks directly at me. 'How do you know?'"

All of a sudden the scene changed to the selection of who to show my poem to. Everyone's poems go as planned, except when I showed my poem to Monika, she onceagain said something about Usagi.

"Monika reads over my poem, nodding to herself the whole time. She chuckles to herself.

'What?' I ask her.

'It seems like you're really taking a shine to Usagi. You can't deny that this poem is mostly for her.'

'Yes I can.'

'Ahaha! Whatever you say.'"

I then show my poem to Usagi.

"She looks over it once...twice...three times. She nods to herself. 'Hey, you're getting better. I like it!'

'Well, that's good. I'm glad to have your seal of approval.'

She laughed. 'Don't call it a seal of approval yet. I just said I liked it. Here's mine.'

"Trick or Treat

Daisy likes to Trick or Treat.

She likes to wear a mask.

And a pretty costume.

The people smile at her.

"What a pretty costume!"

"What a cute mask!"

And beneath her mask,

She smiles back.

The people give her treats.

"These are for you!"

"Take them with pleasure!"

And in her costume,

She says 'Thank you!'

Daisy loves to Trick or Treat.

She loves her costume.

And she loves her mask.

She loves not being her."

"As she watches me read her poem, she seems to blush slightly and plays with the tip of her ponytail.

'Wow, this is a lot different than your last one.' I tell her as I hand the poem back to her.

'Yeah...I thought I'd express myself a little more in this one…'

'You don't like being yourself?'

'Well...it's not that, so much. It's kinda hard to explain… When I pretend to be other people, I can just...forget who I really am. Like…'

'Escapism?'

She smiles brightly. 'Yes! Escapism, exactly!'

I shrug. 'I guess there's nothing wrong with that...but I think you're pretty cool just the way you are.'

She glances at me skeptically. 'You don't even really know me. You've only known me for a couple days, if that. How do you know I'm cool?'

Her question really puts me on my heels. 'I, well, you seem like a cool person. You don't cause trouble or anything, and you're pretty friendly.'

She glances downward. 'I guess. It's just...I'm sorry, I don't feel well. I think I'm going to leave early today.'"

At this point, I looked at my screen quizzically. Whoever programmed Usagi...it didn't seem very original. It started off well, with her being a new member like MC so he'd have someone to identify with, but now she's straight up using other people's lines
/verbatim. I quickly scrolled through the rest of the day's dialogue, just to get the day over with. I wasn't quite as excited about doing Usagi's path as I had been when I started. Like, what was next, it turned out her dad abuses her?

I went into the poetry minigame, just going through the motions. Oddly, I found that when I clicked on a word that Usagi liked (I was still going to see her path through to the end), her sprite didn't hop. It only stopped moving for a second. The other
/sprites hopped if I clicked one of their preferred words, so I figured at this point that maybe she was glitched. Maybe this was part of the game; Act 2 was starting early…

This was confirmed when I started the third day and I got to the point where we share poems. I clicked on Usagi first.

"Her expression is sullen as she hands me her poem, without even reading mine."

". #Call exclusive scene

$ nextscene = poemwinner[1] + "_exclusive_" + str(eval(poemwinner[1][0] + "_appeal"))

call expression nextscene

label ch3_end:

play music t10 fadeout 2.0

show usagi 1ba at t11 zorder 2

image u_cg2_bg:

"images/cg/u_cg2_ "

6.0

"images/cg/u_cg2_ " with Dissolve(1)

2

"images/cg/u_cg2_ " with Dissolve(1)

1"

I clicked to exit the poem, and Usagi was still looking at me.

"'I guess it didn't work. Would you like to join me on the roof?'"

The only options I was given were "Yes" and "Okay." I clicked Okay.

The scene transitioned to a view from atop the roof of the school as My Confession started to play. I was standing at Usagi's side as she leaned on the waist-high rail at the edge of the roof. She spoke.

"'Don't say anything. Just listen, okay? I might sound crazy for saying this, but...I feel like I don't belong here. For the last couple days, I've been having terrible nightmares. Nightmares of hanging myself...stabbing myself to death. Last night, I
/dreamt that you killed me. Like, just erased me from existence…

But I feel like they aren't dreams, they're memories. But...they aren't my memories. Is...is it the other girls? I don't know.

What I do know is that I feel like you're the only one I can trust. You're the only one I can talk to.

I don't belong here. In this school, in this club, in this...reality. It's not real. I might not be real. I don't completely understand it, but I can feel it inside me: I'm not like the others.

I don't belong.

I don't belong.

I DON'T BELONG!"

At this point, the screen went black and presented me with two choices:

"Usagi...I feel the same way…"

and

"I'm sorry… I don't understand."

I was reminded of Sayori's confession, and wondered if these responses were supposed to be for a confession with Usagi or if I was supposed to be responding to what she was saying at this moment. I clicked on "Usagi...I feel the same way," thinking that
/was the Love response and it would snap her out of...whatever existential crisis she was having.

The scene faded back in. Usagi was looking at me. Her sprite was directly facing the camera, much like Monika's.

"'Ah, okay...I think I understand. There's only one thing to do…'

Before I can react, Usagi steps over the rail and leaps from the roof.

'USAAAAGIIII!'"

She screen turned black, the music cut out and an audible -crack-, like the sound of bones breaking, came out through my speakers.

When the screen faded back in, it showed a view from the roof of Usagi's broken body on the ground; her head was turned completely around, facing upward.

"Shit."

I couldn't tell who was saying it.

"No."

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

"You shouldn't have to see this."

"Hold on."

The screen flickered and I found myself staring at Monika's sprite, in the space room. She looked worried. She closed her eyes and a sweat drop formed on her cheek.

"I guess I have some explaining to do."

"You're damn right," I replied to the computer.

"Yeah…" Monika replied. "You're probably pretty mad at me. Or disappointed. I'm not sure. Well, anyway, I promised you an explanation. You see, I...kinda made Usagi. From scratch. I used unused assets and bits and pieces from all of us, then filled in
/any gaps in her code with stuff I just made up on the spot. It didn't look pretty, but it worked. Well...I thought it did…"

"And you fucked up."

"I want you to know that I'm really sorry. Is there any way I can make this up to you?"

"I dunno…" I replied sarcastically. "You could try not fucking with the game files."

"Ahahaha. That's a novel idea."

I blinked at my computer in surprise. She could only have said that in response to what I said…

"Sorry, your mic is on. I've been able to hear everything you've said so far. Ahahaha!" Her sprite pointed downward, toward the mic sitting on my desk.

"Shit."

Monika grinned at me. "I didn't want to spook you. But anyway, back to what I was talking about: I didn't delete Usagi's file. I can...um, fix it if you want. Or, well, I can do my best to fix it. All you have to do is exit the game and I'll have it done
/before the next time you log on." She frowned again. "Honestly, I'm kind of proud that I was able to make something like Usagi all by myself; I don't have the heart to delete her. I'm like her big sister or something. But if you want to delete her
/file, then I won't hold it against you. I still love you. The choice is yours."

I pondered for a moment, and finally asked, "Can I have some time to think about it?"

Monika smiled at me. "Sure! You can go ahead and exit the game and let me know when you log on next time."

"Uh, okay. I guess this is 'see ya later' then…"

"Bye!" She waved at me as I exited the game.

—

This all happened a couple days ago. And honestly, I still don't know what to do. Do I delete Usagi or not?