Note: I do not own either Xenoblade Chronicles X or Doki Doki Literature Club. All rights of Xenoblade Chronicles X and its characters long to Monolith Soft while all rights to Doki Doki Literature Club and its characters belong to Dan Salvato, along with some of the dialogue used in this story.

I walk over to the group and see Sayori and Monika already sharing their poems with one another. Yuri, on the other hand, was still alone. Seeing as how she's the only one without a partner, I decide to share my poem with her for the time being.

"Is this seat taken?" I ask as I approach Yuri.

"A-ah!" said Yuri, startled "N-no, you can sit down."

I take a seat in the chair, "So, how do we do this poem sharing stuff?"

"Well, we first exchange our poems with each other, read them, then give them back and exchange any sort of feedback from them."

"I see. Alright then."

We exchange poems.

Ghost under the light

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.

Bathing.

It must be this one.

The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time.

The last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green of the future.

I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past.

The light flickers.

I flicker back.

...damn, it's kinda hard to read this in Yuri's handwriting. The whole poem's practically in cursive.

Though from what I can make out of it, it's has a very….mysterious tone to it. I can barely make out what some of these sentences are trying to explain. Is this how poem writing actually is?

I guess I took a while to read, because when I finally put down the poem, Yuri was already done with mine.

"I….I'm sorry for my terrible handwriting!" said Yuri.

"I-it's not terrible at all..." I respond, a bit startled.

"But it took you so long to read…"

"Don't, uh, worry about that. I tend to read kinda slow." I say "Anyways, I liked your poem."

"It wasn't too short?" Yuri asks "I usually write longer poems."

"I'd say it was fine."

If anything, I'm the one with the short poem here…

"I'm….really glad you like it. I'll be honest, since it's our first time sharing, I wanted to write something a little more mild. Something easy to digest, I suppose."

"I see. Do you like ghosts, Yuri?"

"Actually Cross, this story isn't about a ghost at all."

"It isn't?"

"Poets often express their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their work. They usually do more than tell a simple story, or paint a picture. In this case, perhaps the subject of the poem is only being symbolically compared to a ghost. Lingering in her last remaining place of comfort, unable to let go of the past. And soon to be left with nothing…"

"Never really thought of it that way… That's impressive."

"Eh? I-It's nothing, really! Your's was really impressive too, so…"

"Mine? Nah, I didn't think it was…" I say truthfully.

Her poems looks like it took time to make, compared to the one I just made in a couple of minutes. Even then, I had some help from Lin.

"I-I'm serious! Through your poem, it seemed as though you were trying to convey a story yourself. One that is hopeful, but at the same time somber. One that recognizes the passage of time, yet at the same time recognizes the decisions we make as humans and the mortal lives we live. A story so familiar, yet otherworldly." Yuri closes her eyes "How fascinating…"

…

"U-um! S-Sorry! It's just that your poem reminded me of some of the fantasy books I've r-read… um…"

Yuri hastily turns away from me, twirling her hair with her breathing a bit heavy.

"He must think I'm so weird…." she says in a low voice.

Looks like I need to save this situation.

"Hey, look, it's alright you feel that way about my poem. I'm glad you liked it. Besides, it looks like I could learn a thing or two from you about poem writing."

"Eh? You think so?"

"Well, I'd be interested."

"Ah…" Yuri says, calmed down "W-well, if you'd like, I would definitely help you with your poems, whenever you want me to that is."

Yuri smiles, taking a couple of deep breaths in "Y'know, I was really nervous about doing all this. But in the end, I enjoyed it. I'm going to keep doing my best for you, Cross."

"I will too."

Yuri starts twirling her hair again, "U-uhm… about earlier, with Sayori-"

Here we go…

"Look, like I said, if you're not comfortable-"

"It's not that." interrupted Yuri "It's… well…"

Not even finishing her sentence, Yuri reaches into her bag and pulls something out before

handing it to me.

"I...wanted to give you this."

It's a book, titled "The Book of Markov".

"You said you don't read much, so I got you a book. It's an easy read, but it's one of my favorites. I thought you might enjoy this."

"Wow...thanks Yuri. That's really generous of you."

"It was nothing!" said Yuri "M-maybe we could even read it together too-"

"Ahem."

I look to my right and see the rest of the girls, staring at us (Natsuki in particular…). It looked like Sayori and Monika were done presenting to each other while Natsuki was waiting.

And it seems like Yuri and I were stalling a bit.

"You guys done with your conservation already or what?" bluntly asks Natsuki.

"Oh, of course we were!" said Yuri, before hastily grabbing her stuff and moving on to another desk.

Before I react, Natsuki takes up the seat Yuri was in.

"Took you long enough." said Natsuki.

"Nice to see you too." I remark, before exchanging my poem with her.

Let's see here…

Eagles can Fly

Monkeys can climb

Crickets can leap

Horses can race

Owls can seek

Cheetahs can run

Eagles can fly

People can try

But that's about it

Not bad. More simple to read than Yuri's poem, yet I could tell there's more to this than what meets the eye…. Not completely sure what it is, though. Maybe it's about humans not being able to do as much stuff as some other animals (or in my experience, indigens).

Though I think this poem is underselling humans a bit. Humans can fly, damnit! We have Skells for a reason! ….then again, I don't think Natsuki knows what Skells are.

"...Well it's about what I expected from someone like you." stated Natsuki, putting down my poem.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not like I said it was bad, it just didn't evoke any emotion is all. Heck, it sounds near soulless!"

"Well, Yuri seemed to like it."

"..."

Natsuki rolls her eyes

"Tch… whatever. I'm just saying that it needs more energy to it! Get people really thinking instead of just telling it to them directly!"

"I'll keep that in mind." I look down at Natsuki's poem "So, about your poem…"

"Ugh, I already know what you're gonna say so just spit it out alrea-"

"I liked it."

"Lemme guess, cause it was 'cute'?"

"That's not exactly my reason."

"What?" said Natsuki "Just be honest!"

There wasn't a whole lot going on with Natsuki's poem, compared to Yuri's. But then again knowing Natsuki and the difficulty she has expressing herself, there was probably more to the poem. Like some kind of hidden meaning…. Even if I can't exactly say what it was.

"I am. Even though it looks simplistic, I can tell there's some kind of deeper meaning to it."

"Oh really? What is it about then?" asked Natsuki, rather demandingly.

"Uh… I suppose it's about how all these different kinds of animals can do all these special things, while us humans can't really do as much as them on our own. Does that answer your question?"

"...the poem's not just about humans, y'know." Natsuki retorts

"Oh, it isn't?"

"No. If you were really reading it, you'd know that there's a more personal theme with what's going on in the poem."

"Well, excuse me for not reading into every single little word." I snark back.

"Argh, I knew you wouldn't get it!" said Natsuki, aggravated "The point of this poem is about giving up! Each and everyone and everything around you can do incredible things, meanwhile you can't. All you can do is try, but it amounts to nothing! Thereby implying a theme that it's better to just give up since you'll never be as good as everyone else! Do I really need to spell that out for you?"

Guess I struck a nerve….again.

"I...think I understand now."

"Was it cause my writing was too 'simple' for you to understand?"

"Not at all. I don't think having a simple writing style would invalidate what you're trying to write."

"You'd be surprised. Everyone in high school thinks writing has to be sophisticated and stuff… So people don't even take my writing seriously. But I like it when stuff easy to read, but it hits you hard. Like in this poem." Natsuki points to the bottom part of her poem "Seeing everyone around you do great things can be really disheartening… So I decided to write about it."

"I see."

Guess I underestimated her.

"But the other nice thing about simple writing is that it puts more weight on the wordplay. Like I set up for a rhyme at the end, but then made it fall flat on purpose. It helps bring out the feeling in the last line."

"I never really thought about that kind poem writing like that."

"That's what it means to be a pro!" Natsuki smiles, triumphantly "I'm glad you learned something. Didn't expect that from the youngest one here, did you?"

"Surprise, surprise..." I humor her a bit "...I think you need to learn a little more patience with people."

"Excuse me?" Natsuki asks, offended.

"You shouldn't immediately lash out at people, like you did with me. You need to give them time to figure stuff out. Make them comfortable, don't just rush and expect them to get it right away."

Reminds me of my early days as a BLADE, where Elma would often lecture other soldiers (and me…) about the importance of patience and how it impacts our survival. I think she's rubbing off on me a bit, heh heh.

"...I wouldn't have to do that if people weren't so slow to begin with… but I guess I can see what you're saying."

"Good. A person your size shouldn't have such a large temper." I say, jokingly

Natsuki gives me a somewhat dirty look for my comment before I get up and move onto the next person.

I look around and see Sayori alone. I decide to share my poem with her next.

"Hey Sayori," I say, approaching her "Ready to exchange poems?"

"Sure am!" says Sayori, excited.

I sit down and exchange poems with her.

Dear Sunshine

The way you glow through my blinds in the morning

It makes me feel like you missed me.

Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.

Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes.

Are you asking me to come out and play?

Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?

I look above. The sky is blue.

It's a secret, but I trust you too.

If it wasn't for you, I could sleep forever.

But I'm not mad.

I want breakfast.

We finish at the same time.

"This is a really good poem, Cross!" said Sayori "Are you sure this is your first time writing one?"

"Well yeah, but I've got some experience in writing about this sort of stuff."

"Oh yeah, you did say that you wrote fantasy stories in your free time yesterday to Yuri. How come you never told me, though?"

"It's…. a new hobby. Yeah."

"Well alright! You should let me read one of them someday, though!"

"We'll see." I laugh, nervously.

Looks like this whole "childhood friends" thing is gonna be tough…

"So, what did you think of my poem?"

I didn't expect Sayori's poem to be so… formal. Honestly, it seemed like a mix of both Yuri's and Natsuki's. It was long and thought provoking like Yuri's, yet simple in structure like Natsuki's. But in a way, it just "sounds" like Sayori. All energetic and whatnot.

"It was a good read. I didn't know you were this good at poem writing."

"Well I'm the vice president after all, that means that I always have to be on my A-game! I-I totally didn't write this all this morning."

"Nice, nice. So I take it your poem's about waking up in the morning?"

"It's not just about waking up in the morning. Everything has a deeper meaning to it, Cross! You just have to look harder at it." Sayori says, somewhat serious.

"Well, what's the deeper meaning?"

"I can't just tell you, silly! You gotta figure it out yourself!"

"Alright…. were you hungry?"

"Yeah, but I ate breakfast! I had toast and eggs this morning! But that's not the point! Think of the sunshine as something else. Almost like a metaphor…"

"Uh…"

Well, the sun seems to be acting as a personification of sorts.

"It seems like you're portraying the sun like a kind of person, and it's trying it's best to wake you up from our bed. You seem somewhat reliant on it, too."

"That's one way of interpreting the poem, I guess! Good job, Cross."

"Thanks."

"This was so much fun. This club is the best!"

"It really is, ain't it?"

"I'm gonna keep writing poems everyday to get better. And one day, I'll write the best poem ever!"

"Well, I'll be looking forward to that." I respond.

So I've presented my poem to Yuri, Natsuki, and Sayori so far. Which means there's only one person left…

Monika.

Once more, I get up from my chair and head towards her desk.

"Hey Monika."

"Hello, Cross!" she responds "How's the poem sharing so far?"

"It's been fun. I've been learning a bunch of new things from all these different poems."

Kinda makes mine look weak in comparison…

"That's great to hear! So, are you ready to read my poem?"

I nod, and exchange my poem with her.

Hole in The Wall

It couldn't have been me.

See, the direction the spackle protrudes.

A noisy neighbor? An angry boyfriend? I'll never know. I wasn't home.

I peer inside for a clue.

No! I can't see. I reel, blind, like a film left out in the sun.

But it's too late. My retinas.

Already scorched with a permanent copy of the meaningless image.

It's just a little hole. It wasn't too bright.

It was too deep.

Stretching forever into everything.

A hole of infinite choices.

I realize now, that I wasn't looking in.

I was looking out.

And he, on the other side, was looking in.

Wow, this is pretty deep. Really gets the mind thinking about what this kind of hole is. I wonder who "he" is, though.

We finish at approximately the same time.

"Great job on your poem, Cross! I was going 'Ohh' in my head while reading it."

Looks like Monika really likes my poem.

"It's really metaphorical, I guess I underestimated you!"

"Well, I like to put as much effort into something as I can…. Most of the time."

"Ahaha, I see. Y'know that Yuri likes this kind of writing, right?"

"Yeah, she seemed really into it when we shared poems earlier."

"I figured." She sets down my poem. "Writing that's full of imagery and symbolism… Unlike Sayori, who likes to use simple and direct words to describe happiness and sadness, Yuri likes it when readers are left to derive their own meaning out of it. It's very challenging to write something like that effectively. It can take years of practice, which I'm assuming Yuri has at this point."

"I'm guessing I'm still nowhere near her level…." I say, a bit dejected

"Don't feel so bad! I'm kind of on the same boat as you. In fact, I really liked your poem too! Tell me, what drove you to write something like this?"

"Well…"

Gotta say something "normal", and not something from my real life BLADE work.

"I guess I wanted to put my own special take in writing poems. Something exciting, otherworldly, and forward, yet enough to leave things up for interpretation and to keep readers invested."

"Would you say this writing is based on….something more than that?"

"What do you mean by that?" I say, confused

"Oh nothing. I just think that this poem invokes a kind of 'mundaneness' of life itself, from the way you describe things. Living your life day by day, knowing that your own single life does not matter in the grand scheme of things of the universe. If one day something happens to you, you'll know that life will go on the way it's always been and nothing will change. Your existence is practically nothing. No matter how optimistic you are, you'll hit the same roadblocks as everyone else and end up the same way as all of them… At least, that's my interpretation!"

...wow.

"Hey, don't look so glum!" reassured Monika "Sometimes these dark takes on poems are just part of the fun! They're just like theories, is all. What I'm trying to say is that I liked your poem a lot. I think it invokes a really strong message, at least for me. Ah, but don't let me keep you from writing what you want. Just keep doing your own thing, and try new things every now and then!"

"I'll keep that in mind." I look down at Monika's poem "So what made you write your poem?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I know how to put it…" said Monika, deep in thought "I guess you could say that I had some kind of epiphany recently."

"An epiphany?"

"Yeah...something like that. It's been influencing my poems a bit. I'm kind of nervous to talk about deep stuff like that, because it's kind of coming on strongly… Maybe after everyone is better friends with each other."

"Well, if it's something that's bothering you, maybe I could try to help and give some advice."

"That's awfully sweet of you, Cross. I think I might take you up on that offer one day… Anyway, here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day!"

Monika sits more upright, with her right index finger pointing out.

"Sometimes when you're writing a poem - or a story - your brain gets too fixated on a specific point… If you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force yourself to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later! Another way to think about it is this. If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand, and go with the flow! That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening~!"

She ends with a small smile.

"And I can't wait to see you again."

Thanks for reading, I suppose it's time for me to address a couple of things and answer a couple of questions.

1. Cross is an amnesiac. He has no memory of his past life on Earth. Though this bother him at times, he tries to make the best of his current life.

2. Mira is the planet the humans landed on through the White Whale, one of the ships deployed after Earth's destruction from the Ganglion forces.

3. BLADE is an acronym for Builders of the Legacy After the Destruction of Earth. BLADEs act as soldiers and patrol all around Mira and climate threats to ensure humanity's survival.

4. Cross is apart of Team Elma, consisting of Elma (the team leader), Lin, Tatsu (a teenage Nopon, the "mascot"", and Cross himself.

5. The story takes place a couple of months past the end of Xenoblade Chronicles X. I won't spoil what happens exactly.

Acnoduin: Yes it is!

ptl: Quentin's a weird guy, what he can say? And yes the simulation has a recording feature.

JustLuck:

1. That's a secret

2. In a way, yes. Though they still will be able to interact with him normally and hide that fact.