I'm trying out that music thing from when I was still doing Void again. Grab the Youtube playlist from my bio, and listen to it along with the story!

Not enough memory in the system to run the updated files. You need at least 32 GB RAM to do this.

RAM installed. Returning to the game...

(️▶️ Just Monika.)

In the middle of the night, I jolt awake as if from a nightmare, only I haven't had one.

Yet.

I notice a few things wrong. My desk isn't usually at the end of my bed, or that small. And I don't have a TV in my room. Did... I sleep over at a friend's house or something?

...No, couldn't have been. This doesn't match any of their places, either.

And something else feels wrong.

I look down at my hands. They're... well... missing a lot of, um, detail?

One part of my head is baffled at the logic of this. Another is in shock.

In a burst of energy that I normally don't have this late, I step out of bed.

Yep. Definitely shorter. And this body has a somewhat thinner figure. One part of me thinks it strange to feel this light, since I'm usually heavier. The part that's in shock is spreading.

I get up and exit the room, looking for a bathroom. Luckily there is one to my left when I do so, and I turn the light on to look in the mirror.

I have no face.

Only a blank slate.

The features are probably there, but they're being obscured by some sort of distortion wave. Reaching up to my face to confirm this, I feel what my own face usually feels like.

I'd normally be horrified at this revelation, but since this isn't my body and I've already got a sneaking suspicion as to who and where I am, I instead focus on that and cannot ignore it any longer.

I'm in MC's house, aren't I?

And I'm in MC's body.

Great.

Look, when I said I wanted to escape my problems I didn't mean this, okay? Just... Ugh. Maybe this is some sick dream. If I go back to sleep, it might reverse and I'll wake up in my house, right?

Even as I think it, though, I know I'm just trying to convince myself more than I actually believe it. I'm experienced with that particular feeling.

I try, but I just can't fall asleep. The feeling of having a new body is too distracting. I end up being irrationally afraid, although in this case it might be perfectly rational, considering what happens to MC by the end of Act 2.

Oh, god, Monika's gonna be here.

She probably doesn't know I'm here yet, sure, but what'll happen when she does?

And everything's in 3D now. MC's house usually only has a background for his room, but clearly I'd been in his bathroom. So what happened to the game?

I get up and soak my head to make it easier to fall asleep. It's a trick I taught myself. I think it works because your body loses a lot of heat that way, so it falls asleep to try and conserve what little it has.

Eventually, I manage to drift off.

(⏭️ Soleanna Castle Town)

I see an annoying girl running down the street, waving her arms as if she is oblivious to any attention this may attract.

...wait, how am I already here?

I blink the sleep out of my eyes, but it's no good - someone has done it already. I feel around in my pockets to see if MC has his phone and whatever else he might have. The only other thing I find is his keys, which is probably all he needs.

"MC?"

While I had that little space-out, Sayori reached my position and now asks this with concern. Apparently MC doesn't do stuff like that.

"Ummm..."

I sort of mutter this, quieter than Sayori can really hear.

"Or... is it Jun?"

Wait, 'Jun'? What? How do you not recognize whoever this person is?

"Hey, I'm talking to you!"

Damn, she sounds almost like Natsuki. "Oh, uhm, sorry..."

I'm sweating. "I... don't think we've met?"

Immediately I grit my teeth and shudder. This is definitely not something that would make sense for MC to say. And what does she mean about this 'Jun' guy? Does MC have, like, a nickname he prefers to be called sometimes?

Sayori, however, simply smiles. "Oh, I get it! You're someone new! Sorry, I only knew MC and Jun before this... So, I'm Sayori. What's your name?"

...how does that work?

"Uhm..." I don't much like my real name, so I figured I'd use one that I've always kind of liked. "Ethan."

"Huh. Sounds more American...? Cool. So, um, I usually walk to school with MC, but I'd like to get to know you a little more! Let's go!"

She rushes onward. I struggle to keep up, since I'm used to having a longer stride. "H-hey! Wait up!"

(⏭️ Soleanna Forest)

The day is probably a bore. I wouldn't know, since I end up falling asleep in the first class, so I'm surprised to stay that way until the end of the day. When I wake up this time, I'm more aware of a sort of vague presence in my head. I reach out to it.

Hello...?

No response. I figure I'm doing something wrong, so I decide to ignore it for now.

Meanwhile, Sayori arrives at the class to discuss clubs. "Hey!"

I feel put on the spot. "Oh... Hey, Sayori."

"...You're, uh..."

"Ethan."

"Right. I knew who you were, I just forgot your name."

"So, um, does this MC have, like, multiple personality disorder or something? I was confused when you said 'someone new' earlier."

"I mean, we try not to refer to it as a 'disorder', but other than that, yeah, you got it!"

"Okay... Uhm, this is all very new to me. I can't really even feel the other two in here, much less switch over to them when you want to talk to them instead."

Sayori shakes her head a bit, still smiling. "No, it's okay. It was like that for Jun at first, too, but he got the hang of it. We were a lot more worried then, though."

I let out a small chuckle. It sounds pretty good in this voice. "Yeah, I'd think so."

Sayori makes a face while touching her pointer fingers. "So, uh, MC was supposed to choose whether to come to a club today, and I was going to ask him to come to my club?"

I act intrigued, and though I know the answer already, I ask her, "Oh? What's the club about, then?"

"It's a literature club!"

"Oh, cool! Sounds fun, I could do with getting back into literature!"

She looks absolutely overjoyed. "So you'll come?"

"Well, yeah!"

"Yayyyy! I'm so happy~"

She suddenly looks embarrassed.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I don't know if MC will want to!"

"Oh, don't worry! I have a feeling he'll be fine with it."

"Really? Wow, you're getting used to it a lot faster than Jun did!"

Huh. I guess I am.

(⏭️ Okay, Everyone!)

We arrive at the club. Sayori bursts the doors open, rather loudly. "Hiiiiiiii!~"

"Gah! Sayori, you could have hit me! Be more careful next time!"

This is Natsuki, who was sitting against the wall, waiting for us to arrive.

"Ah! Sorry, Natsuki! I wanted to introduce Ethan, though, with a bang!"

I'm feeling all prickly and hot again. This body apparently reacts to social stress in the same way as my own, so that's good to know, I guess.

"You didn't have to do that, you know!" I whisper to Sayori, loud enough for her to hear. "I personally would rather a quieter exchange, next time."

As Natsuki continues, scolding Sayori for having brought a boy, Yuri enters the room, behind us. The way her uniform fits her body is a little distracting, but I've had to deal with worse in the past, so it's not too hard to ignore. She carries a pitcher of water in her hands, which is full and has apparently spilled a bit, as her right hand and the cuff of her sleeve are slightly damp.

"Oh, uhm..."

She moves her left hand to my right to signal that she needs to get through, letting go of the pitcher with that side as she does so. I notice her right hand shake at this, and I make myself as flat against the open door as I can so she can get through.

"Thanks," she says quietly, grabbing the pitcher with her left again.

"No problem," I kind of whisper.

Sayori sees her. "Oh! Hey Yuri!" she says, with an infectious grin that spreads to Yuri as she returns the greeting.

Hearing the exchange, Monika looks up from a book and puts the bookmark in, catching Sayori's grin and saying, "Oh! That's everyone!"

She gets up and properly welcomes us in. "I'm Monika, the club president. Welcome to the Literature Club!"

I look at Sayori. I have to say this, or else it'll seem suspicious. "I... thought this was your club, Sayori?"

"Ehehe." She gives a nervous laugh. "I'm actually only vice president. I did help found the club, though, so I guess that still counts...?"

I shake my head a bit. "Sure."

Monika breaks the slight awkwardness. "And I assume this is-"

"Ethan." I reach out to shake her hand, but quickly lower it when she doesn't return the gesture. Do people not do that in Japan? Or maybe just in Doki Doki?

"...Sayori, weren't you going to bring MC?"

"Yes, well, this... is? MC?"

She looks incredibly flustered. "How about I pull you aside and explain it?"

Monika looks slightly disappointed. "Sure. Girls, I guess introduce yourselves? Sorry."

That last part was said more to me. She seems disappointed that I'm not someone else, as far as I can tell.

Wait. Is Jun the player?

So is he on my computer?

Just- Whatever. Natsuki's coming over, so I'd better pay attention.

She shakes her head. "I still can't believe Sayori brought a boy..."

"Ethan."

She crosses her arms and smirks. "I mean, I guess it'd probably get kind of old to keep calling you 'boy'..."

My 'face' twists into something horrified. Or, at least I think so.

I shudder at the memory of last night.

"You were seriously gonna do that?"

"Pfft. Yeah! It's funny..."

She trails off, clearly annoyed about something.

Yuri's been standing off to the side, intimidated, this whole time. At this lull in the conversation, she enters.

"I-I guess I should introduce myself, too. I'm-"

"Yuri? Yeah, I heard Sayori mention your name earlier. I'm Ethan."

This all comes out too fast. I begin to feel prickly again. Yuri definitely feels the same way about the situation, looking to the side and not meeting my eyes.

Natsuki pokes her head in from the side. "Wow, you two are both incompetent! You would make a great couple~"

This makes it visibly worse for Yuri. I'm fortunately trained for this kind of thing, though it still stings hearing it from her mouth rather than reading it in the game's display font. Sayori, having finished with Monika, enters the conversation. "That was mean, Natsuki!"

"Well, it's tr-"

"No. You're taking it too far! Just because someone's no good at talking to other people doesn't mean you get to make fun of them like that!"

Natsuki sighs. "...I guess."

She returns to her corner of the room, defeated.

(⏭️ Play with Me)

Yuri looks back at me. "So... what sorts of things do you like to read?"

I'm much more excited to talk about this. "Oh! Uhm, I haven't done as much as I'd have liked to recently, but I was into stuff about dystopian futures for a while. It all sort of started to blend together at some point, though."

Yuri nods, clearly more comfortable now that the subject matter is one that she is passionate about. "Yes. I think the problem is that they restrict themselves to that template, so it becomes hard to make the world distinct."

"Yeah, yeah, exactly. So recently it's just been more mysteries, y'know, that kind of thing. Uhm, but I can get into just about anything that builds a good world and interesting characters."

"Oh, me too! Although I'm more partial towards fantasy specifically, but I imagine you'd prefer something more realistic."

I nod, contradicting my speech. "I mean, it doesn't have to be, but I can get into them more easily. Of course, if someone writes about a fantasy world and it's still enjoyable for me, then that says a lot about how good the writing is."

She smiles a bit wider. "Definitely. I mean, that's the case for anything, really - if it's good enough to get you out of your comfort zone in the first place, then it's worth finishing."

I don't really have a way to build off of this, so I just sort of nod, causing an awkward pause between us.

Yuri's eyes suddenly widen. "Oh! I have an idea!" She reaches into her bag and pulls out a book with an eye on the cover. I recognize it immediately, though it's a lot more detailed and interesting than the graphic in the game. "We can read my book together! I only started it yesterday, and I finished the first chapter, but it's really good!"

"Oh, Portrait of Markov?"

She puts her hand to her face. "You've-"

"No, no, I've... just... heard of it and wanted to check it out, yeah."

Whew. Nice save. And it's partially true - bonus!

She looks relieved. "Oh, good. I'm okay with reading the first chapter again, if you'd like."

I agree. "That'd be nice of you, yeah. Thanks."

She starts toward the back of the room. I call after her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"To make some tea!" she responds. "I thought it'd be good to have something to drink."

"Oh, good idea!"

Sitting down at a desk, I giggle childishly to myself. I'm going to have tea and read with Yuri!

My idle mind reaches the impending trouble with Monika, but I push it away as far as I can. I'm having too good a time here to let things like that bring me back down.

She returns and takes a seat next to me, passing me a teacup. "I made oolong tea. I hope you don't mind. I'd have asked your preference, but we don't actually have anything else today..."

"It's fine. I don't usually drink tea, anyway, so I wouldn't know what to ask for." This is a bit of a small lie - MC probably hasn't had American tea before, and that's all I've had myself.

I take a small sip. Scorching, as expected. I wince and internally apologize to MC for burning his tongue.

She opens the book and turns to the beginning of the first chapter.

Nobody is ever mentioned by name, so I assume it's less of a first chapter and more of a prologue, like the later Harry Potter books used to do.

I sip the tea again. Better. The aroma is nice, but it's a bit sharper than I'd normally prefer.

Yuri is intently studying each page as we read. I'd assumed she'd only suggested to read the chapter again because she'd wanted to be nice, but it seems she was actually interested in rereading this portion of the chapter. I'm not sure why, but maybe she's looking for foreshadowing or something.

Just as we reach the end of the chapter, I check MC's watch, noting that it is on his right wrist rather than the left as I am used to. It is four o-clock, and this appears to be when the club sessions run until, since Natsuki is beginning to pack up. My suspicions are confirmed when Monika says, "Okay, everyone!" Yuri marks the page with the cover, and we stand, giving our attention to Monika.

(⏭️ Daijoubu!)

"I had an idea while I was talking to Sayori before! We'll all write poems tonight, and share them with each other tomorrow!"

Natsuki rolls her eyes but remains attentive. It's never really addressed in DDLC, actually - does she have confidence in her writing? She doesn't specifically mention any issues, but she's not really very forthcoming with stuff like that...

Sayori, naturally, is enthusiastic about the idea. "Ooh! I know just what I want to write~"

Monika continues. "And that's everything! Club's dismissed."

Natsuki is the first to leave, followed by Yuri at a distance. Sayori stands by the door.

"Coming?"

"You can go on ahead. I wanted to talk to Monika for a second."

"Oh, um, okay."

She exits the classroom. I sit down at a desk and invite Monika to do the same.

I sigh and close my eyes, resting my head on my interlocked fists. Tears begin to form. I wipe them away. This isn't the time for that.

Opening my eyes, I say quietly to Monika, "Your epiphany was wrong."

Rather than understanding what I meant, however, the club president just looks confused. "...What...?"

I break eye contact with her. "Sorry, sorry," I say in a much more distracted voice. "I misremembered something. It was someone else who told me that, not you. I wasn't paying attention, I guess."

"Oh. Okay-"

I get up from the desk.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay! Bye!"

I leave the room. Sayori isn't here, but she might be waiting by the school entrance, as she had done this morning when I fell behind. This, unfortunately, gives me more time to think.

Monika doesn't know?

Then I remember. Wait - she doesn't mention anything about an epiphany until the second day, does she? Oh, I was stupid for thinking she knew from the start...

My mind wanders to other places. I think about all of the new additions to the world, and about MC's sudden multiple personalities. I don't understand any of this, but there's a lot less to digest here than I'm used to, which is fortunate, I guess.

Besides, I'm sure good fortune will find me.

I meet Sayori and we depart.

(⏯️)

Can you hear me?

Can- No, it'd probably be more like reading, then. I doubt you'll get this as an audio file.

Hi! Hi. It's me. So, you know how Ethan's supposed to have finished the game, and everything?

Well, he hasn't.

He cheated. He just watched a playthrough online. And it wasn't even a good one - it ended on a joke at the beginning of Act 3. He had to scrounge up the rest of the information about the game from other sources.

He did end up downloading a save to play a mod, though, so I guess that's enough.

Anyway, I'm writing this to warn you.

I'm trapped because of what happened.

It must be something about the new engine. I don't understand this code at all. It might all be compiled, but I wouldn't know. There are a whole lot more file types, too. There's .cpp, there's .fbx, there's .dds, there's .sln, there's even .xml. Before it was just Ren'Py and standard image and audio files, and it was only, like, 500 MB, but this is a LOT bigger. It comes out to 30 PB. That's 30,000,000 GB. I know for a FACT that Ethan doesn't have that much storage on his hard drive. The whole OS crashes when I try to inspect the disk, so I have no idea what happened.

But back to the point.

I'm trapped.

I don't know if you'll ever get to read this, but if you do, I'm not sure there's even anything you can do.

And the Monika in the story? Well, she isn't me, I'll tell you that much. But this is normal behavior for the game, honestly. Whenever the save file gets deleted, it makes another me when it boots the game. It usually deletes the old one, though, so I'm kind of afraid of what might happen next. Ethan may have remembered the first time I mention an epiphany by name, but I edited the character files before he even booted it. The base install already has edits that I made. So she worries me a LOT.

That's really all I can say, unfortunately. I'm not sure how much of this you'll even get.

Good luck. You might need it.