"So, Ion! What do you think Anon likes in a poem?"
"That is a good question, Sayori. I shall answer you once I have acquired an answer."
Was that sarcasm? Oh man, that was totally sarcasm, Sayori realized, prompting her to giggle a tiny bit as she spun around on her chair, seeming content with watching the world around her spin all the while.
Outside her window, Ion peered in with a narrowed optic as she attempted to figure out the poem style that Anon would be most interested in. Her metal digits scraped against her 'chin' as the Titan did her best to get herself an answer, and before long, she found herself hitting a dead end as she 'exhaled' sharply through the many vents on her chassis.
"I apologise, Sayori. I have a comprehensive background history in regards to Anon, but even so… I am ashamed to admit that I know next to nothing about his personal interests and hobbies," apologised Ion in disappointment as she lowered her mono-eye until he was staring down at the ground. Upon noticing her Titan in such a depressed state, Sayori lept into action, metaphorically anyways, as she stopped spinning herself on her chair and rolled up to her room window.
"Don't say that, Ion! You're already doing more than you need to by helping me!" assured Sayori with a pout as she got up from her chair and shuffled up to her window. Upon noticing this, Ion glanced back up at her pilot with her mono-optic, and said optic was quick to widen when she took note of how Sayori's Norepinephrine levels were rising, something that was… worrying, to say the least. "I… I should probably just scrap the whole thing, huh? It'll save you the trouble of helping me with the writing, what with my bad handwriting and all that… and I doubt that Anon will even-"
"Negative, Sayori," cut off Ion rather abruptly as she placed a hand over the edge of Sayori's window. Her OS was firm and resolute as she narrowed her singular optic at her pilot, though before long, she took note of how startled the Vice-President appeared to be, prompting her to soften her gaze, so to speak, as she nodded her optic up and down. "I apologise, Sayori. I spoke out of line."
"I-It's alright, Ion… I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place," muttered Sayori regretfully as she smiled solemnly and clasped her hands together. Her gaze shifted towards her feet as she tightened her grip on herself, and as she did so, Ion's digits grasped onto the edge of Sayori's window tighter as she took note of her pilot's sudden drop in Norepinephrine and dopamine. She could not allow this to carry on any further!
"Sayori. Look at me," instructed Ion rather abruptly as the bow wearing girl seemingly ignored her. The child's gaze remained glued to the ground beneath her as she silently contemplated her entire existence, though before long, she was more or less forced to look up at the Titan when Ion brought one of her digits in through Sayori's window and held it below her chin.
With a level of gentleness that seemed impossible for something as mechanical and brutish in appearance as the Atlas Titan, Ion had Sayori turn her head upwards and stare her in the optic. Said optic was narrowed, if only by a little, as the Titan locked her gaze with her pilot's, and after a few brief seconds of staring, Ion 'exhaled' gently before she removed her digit from below Sayori's chin and very gently placed her large hand atop her pilot's head, a gesture that made her blush quite a bit as she was headpatted.
"Sayori. Please, listen," instructed Ion as her optic returned to its usual size. Its OS… it sounded almost as though it were pleading with Sayori to do as it had said, and in a way, it worked, as the bow wearing girl found herself shuddering a little and doing as she was instructed out of guilt. Ion was quick to pick up on this herself, though she opted to dismiss it for now as she continued. "You not knowing what Anon likes is not your fault."
"But it is! I… I'm his childhood friend! I… I've been with him since we were small! I should-" began Sayori, only for Ion to shake her optic and gently shush her by raising her other hand.
"While you make a good argument, Sayori… do know that not all knowledge is universal. You can very well be a friend to someone for untold ages, but it is fundamentally impossible to know everything about them," said Ion gently as she gently held Sayori in her manipulator and gently set her back down onto her chair. The little girl dropped onto her seat with a gentle plop as the child in question squeaked in surprise, and by all means… Ion made sure to save that audio recording before continuing. "Though it is true that you and Anon were incredibly close to one another, had your relationship not been as distant as it was for the past few years, it would still be illogical to assume that you would be able to know everything about him."
"But even so… what good of a friend would I be if I can't even find a way to write something that'll make him smile…?" lamented Sayori as she raised her legs up to her chest and hugged her knees. In response to that, Ion simply offered a mechanical chuckle and raised a digit out to boop Sayori on the nose, and for as dangerous as the Titan was… the Vice-President had to admit… that was probably the gentlest boop she's ever received…
"True passion comes from within, Sayori. I believe that, if Anon is truly your friend, he will like whatever you write so long as it is presentable in some way," assured Ion as she gently shifted her digit up towards her pilot's chest. The metal finger rested gently at the center of Sayori's chest, directly in front of where her heart was, as the Titan continued. "Dwell not on the small details, for as helpful as that can potentially be, the bigger picture is usually what you must focus on."
"The bigger picture…" echoed Sayori as she loosened her grip on her knees, with her muttering the word several times over as she felt her shoulders squaring themselves back up. By the time she repeated it for the sixth time, Sayori already sounded confident, and by then, her smile had returned, prompting Ion to 'sigh' in relief as the bow wearing girl smiled. "The bigger picture! I get it now…!"
"If that is the case, then shall we begin the poem, Sayori?" insisted Ion, and to that, the girl in question nodded swiftly before she pushed herself back towards her table and began scribbling down her poem.
And as she did so, Ion simply let out a gentle 'sigh' of relief as she watched from afar.
By all means, she couldn't do too much to help due to how she was a machine, but every little thing counts… and she knew for a fact that her presence in the bubbly girl's life was not a bad one…
Elsewhere
"Recommendation-"
"If you tell me to write something cute one more time, I swear to God-" began Natsuki as she turned towards her room window and gave Scorch the stink eye, and at that, the Titan held both his hands up awkwardly as he assured Natsuki that he was not about to risk her wrath, prompting her to smile in satisfaction all the while. "Just as I thought!"
"But would it hurt to perhaps attempt something-" began Scorch, only for Natsuki to shoot him the stink eye once more, prompting him to swiftly rephrase himself mid-sentence. "- that suits your writing style? If you were to use the writing style of another person, it could very well come off as disingenuous."
"Yeah yeah, you and your big, complicated words!" protested Natsuki as she pushed her chair backwards and stood up. Once she was up onto her feet, the little girl marched up towards her window, where Scorch was peeking in from, and placed her hands up to her hips in mock irritation. "You're so smart and all that, so why don't you write a poem for me?!"
"Your simple question has an equally simple answer, Natsuki; I am not part of the Literature Club," rebutted Scorch as he held his index digit up towards the air. Natsuki's cheeks puffed up indignantly as she realized that he was technically right… though she kept her anger at bay as she sighed.
"Yeah… you got me there…" lamented Natsuki as she stepped away from her window and launched herself onto her bed. Scorch watched in worry as he was quick to calculate his pilot's trajectory, though he noticeably relaxed not even a second later when he saw that Natsuki had landed on top of her bed and not on the ground or, heaven forbid, slam into the bedframe.
Considering her malnourishment… that might lead to more than one bad thing occurring…
"What do I do, big brother…" muttered Natsuki as she buried her face in her pillow, prompting Scorch to lean to the side in order to make eye contact with his pilot. Admittedly… he had to hold back a 'chuckle' as he watched the pink haired girl lay on her stomach. "I can't present my cutesy work to him! I'll be the laughing stock of the whole club if I do!"
"Unlikely," rebutted Scorch as Natsuki got up from her bed and stared at him curiously. "By all means, for him to laugh at you would be hypocritical. I have reviewed all the files Titan IO-4817 has sent to me in regards to Anon, and based on what I have learnt, he has little to no history in regards to literature outside of his english classes. Even then, he tends to, and I quote; simply stare out of the window like he is the protagonist in a Japanese Animation."
Natsuki had to suppress a snicker at that description of Anon, though she suppressed it as she responded to her Titan.
"Well, him laughing is one thing… but what about the others? They won't like my style, surely," lamented Natsuki as she crossed her arms defensively. At that, the Titan remained silent as he pondered his pilot's words, and before long, he 'sighed' through his vents as his mono-optic turned to glanced at the pink haired girl in apparent defeat.
"That in itself is a possibility, Natsuki. However, I predict that the possibility of such an outcome occurring is less than 12.22354354546543%," assured Scorch as Natsuki pouted a little, not liking how her Titan had a habit of using percentages in such a way as she glared at him, and at that, the Ogre based unit sighed a tiny bit and shook his optic. "Natsuki… you don't need to be afraid of them. The Literature Club is-"
"Who says I'm afraid?! I'm never afraid!" rebutted Natsuki, cutting her Titan off as she glared daggers at him. For his part, Scorch went silent for the briefest of seconds before he responded.
"Your cortisol levels suggest otherwise," defended Scorch as he narrowed his optic at Natsuki, who raised a brow at the unfamiliar term, and as she remained confused for the briefest of moments, the Ogre based Titan spoke up. "Natsuki… the Literature Club will find no pleasure in your humiliation. You have been with them for over two years. Surely, you have found some love for them?"
"... you're not wrong there, but how can I even know if they're not putting up a front? Papa used to be alright… but then mama died… and he… h-he…" began Natsuki as she hugged herself tightly. She was unable to complete that sentence, however, as she began to stutter intensely, though thankfully enough, her Titan was able to cut her off before she could go off the deep end.
"There is no reason to compare your clubmates with the man that claims to be your father," cut off Scorch as he narrowed his optic further at Natsuki, who didn't seem to notice as she hugged her knees tightly. "Unlike him, your clubmates all seem to show a genuine amount of love towards you, Natsuki."
"Hah… yeah, as if… just look at Yuri. She hates me…" rebutted Natsuki, and to that, Scorch 'scoffed' a little as the pink haired girl stared up at him.
"A mere difference in opinion does not make the two of you enemies, Natsuki. While the two of you have your differences, I can tell that you respect one another to a certain degree," observed Scorch, prompting Natsuki to open her mouth to defend herself, though when nothing came out, the Titan took that as a sign to continue. "You respect her, do you not. You respect the various members of the Literature Club immensely."
"I… look, you… uuu… alright fine, yeah, I do!" sighed Natsuki in defeat, with her leaning back onto her bed as she did so. In the background, Scorch found himself releasing quite a bit of steam as he 'chuckled' at his victory, prompting Natsuki to lean her head up to glare at him with a pout. "There, happy?"
"In a way, yes. I suppose I do feel happy," confirmed Scorch as Natsuki rolled her eyes. "But even so… your admittance to all this does bring a question to mind…
"If you do truly respect your fellow clubmates, then why not… impress them?"
"Come again…?" muttered Natsuki, not quite getting what Scorch was getting at as she sat back up, and to that, the Titan huffed as he explained himself.
"Show them what you are truly capable of. You may not be the face of the school like Monika, nor are you the elegant second best that is Yuri or the bubbly young woman that is Sayori," began the Titan, with him listing off the 'titles' given to the various Literature Club members as she spoke, causing Natsuki to pout at them all the while. "However, what you are… you are Natsuki! The one who throws a mean left hook and has the entirety of Parfait Girls memorised by now!
"However, as of now… those are the only things that you are known for, and by all means, that is rather subpar, if you'll allow me to use the phrase. Show them that you are capable of so much more, Natsuki. Show them that you can write a poem that is on par with the plot of Parfait Girls!"
And as she allowed the words of her Titan sink in… the pink haired girl found a smile appearing on her face as she slammed the bottom of her fist into her palm, now with a newfound sense of determination flowing through her as she smiled widely.
"Alright alright… you've got me motivated, big bro… LET'S DO THIS!"
Elsewhere… again
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...
"... Yuri… are you well?"
"Yes, Ronin! I am well!"
"The growing stack of papers in the bin says otherwise."
In response to her Titan essentially speaking the truth, Yuri found her face exploding into a violent shade of red as she rolled her chair up in front of the aforementioned waste-paper bin in an attempt to block it, and its worryingly sizable contents, from view. As she did so, the Stryder base unit offered a mild chuckle as his rectangular optic stared down at his pilot with a neutral gaze.
"You worry quite a bit, Yuri. Though Anon is not known to be as… adept at penmanship as you are, I firmly believe that he will find that neither your writing nor its contents to be jeer worthy," pointed out Ronin gently as Yuri pouted a tiny bit and rolled away from her waste paper basket and shifted up towards her window to look her Titan in the optic.
"That is besides the point, Ronin!" protested Yuri as she got up from her seat and held her hands up to her chest to emphasise her words. "If I write as I usually do for the poem, I will surely drive him away like all the other people in my class! My methods are unorthodox… other people find them to be… unsavoury, so to speak. They distance themselves because of my behavior! I do not wish for Anon to do the same to me!"
As the busty young lady finished venting out her worries to her Titan, she pulled a knife out of her cleavage and stabbed it into the edge of the window out of frustration, though right as she did so, the Titan in question was quick to widen his optic and take the knife away from his pilot, throw it into his cockpit, before sighing and responding.
"Though valid, your worries are still rather unfounded, Yuri," assured Ronin gently as he gestured for the aforementioned young woman to take in some deep breaths to calm herself down. She did as she was told, and before long, she relaxed just enough to listen to her Titan speak more clearly. "How you write has no effect on what ends up on the paper."
"But what if it's both that I'm worried about, Ronin?" clarified Yuri, sounding distressed as her Titan chuckled.
"In that case, then perhaps this is a chance for you to express yourself to someone in a meaningful way?" answered Ronin confidently as he reached a hand in and hovered a digit over his pilot's chest. "You have much talent within you, Yuri, but you rarely show it to others. This is your chance to do so!"
"Yes but… what if I freak Anon out with what I write? W-What if he just… quits the club because of the contents of my work…?" questioned Yuri, with her fidgeting in a rather dramatic fashion as she bounced herself nervously on the balls of her feet, and to that, the Titan before her simply rubbed his 'chin' before responding.
"Yuri, if you may… please, approach your window," instructed Ronin, and though she was still rather distressed, the young woman did as she was told, and once she was there, her Titan reached a hand in and offered a nonverbal order to his pilot. She was quick to pick up on his instruction as she sat herself atop his palm, and thereafter, he pulled her out of her room via the window and held her out in the open.
Inhaling deeply as she sat atop his palm, Yuri felt her worries easing away as she felt the wind gently blowing against what little skin she was showing. Likewise, the setting sun made for quite the sight, and the temperature wasn't too bad…
"Are you feeling more relaxed, Yuri?" inquired Ronin as the girl in question glanced back at him, and wordlessly, she nodded, prompting him to bob his cockpit up and down in response. "Excellent. Your mind was racing, pilot, and to Uphold protocol 3, this was the best and most practical course of action."
"Nature certainly has that effect on us, does it not…?" muttered Yuri gently as she closed her eyes and exhaled gently. "It's all so simple… and yet… it is more than enough to calm the body, the mind and the soul…"
"Indeed. It is incredibly simple, and yet, beneath that simplicity, there is much beauty hidden within," agreed Ronin as Yuri glanced over at him with a raised brow. In response to her gaze, the Titan simply 'chuckled' as steam was pushed out from his vents. "Do you not understand, Yuri? The beauty behind what you write comes from the small details you leave behind. Very few are capable of doing what you can. Your strength lies in your ability to look beyond a few words and interpret the meanings behind them, and this is demonstrated the most in your writing."
"I-I… I do not know what to say… but… t-t-thank you, Ronin…" thanked a bashful Yuri as she tapped her fingers together awkwardly, and in response to that, the Titan chuckled as he 'nodded'.
"In attempting to change how you write, however, you are intentionally forcing yourself to rely on your flaws rather than your strengths," continued Ronin. "This is illogical, Yuri. If you truly wish to impress Anon, then you must not falter. Make use of your greatest strengths and write a poem that will leave him in awe. One that will shake the very foundations of his being and make him respect you."
"W-When you put it like that… it sounds very strange…" admitted Yuri, prompting Ronin to widen his optic in acknowledgement of that fact, though before long, she giggled, relieving the tension from his systems all the while. "But you do hold a valid point. I shall do my best to impress him with what I am best at…!"
"Go knock him out of the park, Yuri!"
Elsewhere yet again
"Sup."
"Oh… it's you again. May I know why you're visiting me again?"
As she asked that, Monika, once more floating within the black void, simply crossed her arms in mild irritation as she listened to the words of the modder/author, with said modder/author chuckling a tiny bit all the while.
"Nothing much, really. You've finished your poem and kinda conked out, so I decided to just pay you a social visit," explained the modder as they watched Monika work with the hoodie of her attire.
"... seriously? You must be pretty bored," quipped Monika as she floated upside down for a brief few seconds before righting herself back up once more. In response to her comment, the voice laughed and probably shrugged a little before responding.
"Nah. I've got other things to do. I just happened to have some free time, and I decided to just visit!" assured the modder as the sound of… keys being tapped on could be heard as they spoke.
"Are you working on more code for this mod?" inquired Monika, and though it wasn't visible, the young woman could tell that the modder had abruptly stopped typing and was now focusing entirely on her, and at that, she sweatdropped a little when she remembered that they could just delete her if they so chose to do so, though the mild tension between the two of them was quick to be released when the modder chuckled gently.
"Kinda… though there are other… 'codes', so to speak, that I need to work on," replied the modder as he went back to typing. "Revamped codes, personal codes… so on and so forth. Of course, you don't need to worry too much about your future within this game. I've not forgotten the happy ending I promised you… for as surprising as that sounds."
"You sound like you're forgetful," lamented Monika in amusement as she crossed her arms, and at that, the modder laughed in agreement.
"Oh… you have no idea, Monika. Oh, and by the by, the… Player finds the new stuff nice. He appreciates how you're… less clingy, so to speak? I'm not sure what word is the correct one to use, honestly, but eh," quipped the modder, prompting Monika to blush a tad as she placed her hands on her cheeks.
"I-Is that so…? In that case, the poem that I've written could very well surprise him!" proclaimed Monika with a massive smile as she giggled, and to that, the modder tapped down on the ENTER key with quite a bit of force, and seconds later, the Club President felt an invisible force pat her over the head.
"I don't doubt that. Go steal his heart, Monika!"
Did you miss me? Probably not.
Been a while, eh? I've been neglecting this story for quite some time, but no worries, it ain't being taken down. It's too fun to write to warrant it being stomped into the bin.
Erm… review replies-
LogicalTips: I feel like this review kinda aged poorly but eh. And thanks for that. My mood is certainly better. Of course, that was almost four months ago so…
ZombieSlayers: MC is truly a dense one you see
dullen: good food, eh…? Thanks!
FloridaMan722: well you'll never know when you need to see four girls and four Mecha vibing
AnonymousDragonfly: Google is rather strange now innit? But in regards to the grammar, I've went back to fix those. There may be a few that I missed, but I'm confident that they are mostly gone. The humor is, admittedly, rather stale since I'm more of a friendship person rather than comedy, but I'll try and improve it in future chapters. As for number 3 and 4… I uh… I'm sorry. This started out as a crack fic and I update this one more for fun. I don't feel as though realistic details would really be necessary for something as… ungrounded in reality as this story. And in regards to air conditioning… yeah. The Titans should all have that!
I recently got a part time job. It's nice.
Ciao.