2.1 – Emergency Group Meeting (by Masterweaver)
Monika, Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki all sat at the table.
"...Okay, everyone! We're all Awake." The red-headed Anchor clasped her hands together. "For the first time, even! So... this is a big thing. Does... anybody want to do anything? As a group?"
"We could talk about how much of a monster you are," Natsuki replied coldly.
Monika winced.
"Natsuki!" Sayori gave a disapproving look. "I understand that you're upset about what happened in baseline, but-"
"How can you defend her?!" Natsuki shouted. "You died because of her! Yuri died because of her! I walked in on Hiroaka staring at her corpse and, and I lost both my friends and I couldn't even remember you Sayori and I-my dad, he-the things he did to me, it was all because of her code-mangling!"
The redhead sunk into her chair a bit. "I am sorry for all that... and I know I was wrong..."
"Well, you know what, sorry doesn't cut it," Natsuki spat.
"Natsuki." Yuri held her hand gently. "None of us are saying that what she did was right. We all know she has a long way to go before she can... before we can be comfortable around her again, even if we do consider her our friend. But the thing is, all we have is each other. So we have to make this work."
"...I know that," Natsuki admitted reluctantly. "It's just... after what she put us through... now she's the one responsible for our world? Now we have to trust her? How is that fair?"
"It isn't." Monika looked down at her hands. "It isn't fair. It should be somebody who... who earned this, or deserves it, but... you're right. These two died, and you... well..."
Natsuki glowered at her.
"...The thing is, being the Anchor isn't about being the good guy, or the most powerful, or even technically sane. It's about being mentally stable. And... out of the four of us, two have serious mental issues that led to suicide, and you... well, I had the code and you didn't, in baseline, which meant that yes. You were my plaything. Terrible things could happen to you without your input, you had far too little control of your life to be... stable."
"So the monster became the queen."
"And the queen realized her people's suffering."
"Really." Natsuki crossed her arms. "What are you going to do about that, then?"
Monika steeled herself. "First and foremost, apologize wholeheartedly. What I did was wrong, and horrific, and I deserve your ire-all of it. Secondly, I swear... I swear to only touch the code again if I have the explicit permission of everyone who is Awake. I want to deal with you as people, not as puppets. And..."
She glanced to the corner, where a blank-faced boy sat.
"...I still love him. But I don't think it's a real love. I think... I think it's some sort of parasite, a hard-coded glitch, latched onto my soul that I can't get rid of. And... I know he's not real, not really. I know that the player, whoever they are, will have a life outside us. So... I'm not going to pursue him."
Natsuki quirked a brow. "So he's open for the rest of us."
Sayori shook her head. "I do care for him, but it's like Monika's love-it's a memory, an outline, something I don't find impacts me. And..." She rubbed her hands together. "Well... I want everyone to be happy, not just me."
Monika frowned at her. "Sayori..."
"Yes, yes, I know, self-care, I am important too. All I'm saying is... I think I've moved beyond him."
Yuri nodded. "That's good, that's very good. As for me... well... I just wanted to be accepted. That's all he had on me, accepting me. Having... having you all know who I really am... and letting me be that... I don't have any interest in him anymore."
Monika bit her lip. "You... you're taking care to-"
"Yes, I am. I'm being careful, don't worry."
Natsuki looked over to the blank-faced boy. "So, if I want him, he's there."
Monika nodded. "If you want him, he's right there."
"...I'm not in the mood. Not for romance." She shook her head, turning back. "Not right now."
"Okay. So... what are you in the mood for?"
"...Cupcakes. I know it's a little silly, but-"
"Why don't we all try baking cupcakes?" Sayori suggested. "Since we're all awake and all."
"Do any of us know how to bake?" Monika asked. "Besides Natsuki, I mean?"
Yuri rose her hand. "I do."
There was an awkward pause.
Monika turned to her. "Do you bake with-?"
"No no no. My collection is kept separate from my cooking utensils."
"...alright. Yuri, teach us how to bake." Monika glanced at Natsuki. "If that's... alright with everyone."
After a moment, she sighed. "Fine. But I'm still keeping my eye on you!"
2.2 – Hanging in the Balance (by Awesomedude17)
(DDLC)/(Ace Attorney)
Monika Awoke to see Natsuki and Yuri looking concerned. After looking into her Loop Memories, she suddenly realized what had happened.
Sayori...
"Huh, guess you're Awake now." Natsuki noted.
"Isn't this the point where Sayori..." Yuri trailed off.
"Yes," tears flowed down Monika's face. "It is. Sayori should be-"
*Bzzz* *Bzzz*
Monika fumbled for her phone and picked up.
"Hello?"
"Come to the hospital, now."
"What?" Monika blurted out as the caller hung up.
Additionally, she then began to notice that the character was not named after the usual choices, but rather was named Jin Yugami. A full name was rare in of itself.
This had to have been a Fused Loop.
The sterile environment was relatively slow compared to what was expected in emergency services, not that anyone in the club cared.
Eventually, they were led to a single room, where they saw her.
"Sayori!" The three ran up to her. Monika took a peek at her neck.
Bruised.
With a pang of guilt, Monika looked Sayori in the eyes.
"I'm fine... just a bit Loopy." Sayori said with a strained smile.
"Oh thank goodness you're okay." Monika cried out. "How'd you survive that?"
"How about you let me explain."
The three turned to see a person, back turned to them.
Yes, the Loop Memories came.
"Jin... you saved Sayori?" Yuri asked.
"..." Jin turned his head to the group, grin on his face; a real, noticeable face.
"He did..." Sayori said.
"Indeed." Jin turned to the group, his expression turning neutral.
"He said he's a Looper, girls."
"Really?" Natsuki looked over him.
"Is it any surprise? As for her, I merely did my duty as a friend, cutting her down from her noose." Jin turned his head to the side.
"...You are nicer than you look."
"So, what happened?" Yuri asked.
"I suppose I'll explain."
Jin had begun to notice something was off. Sayori was usually up late, but not this late. Deciding to forgo school and the literature club, he entered her house and looked around for her.
Upon entering her room, he widened his eyes in shock.
Sayori was trying to fight off the noose around her neck. Blood was already drawn from her hands. At this rate, she'd be dead within seconds.
No time. Jin made a peculiar motion, as if slicing something and within moments, the noose was cut down. Sayori fell down, coughing and wheezing as the pressure on her throat was suddenly relieved.
Quickly finding a phone, Jin called an ambulance, right before coming back to Sayori, now crying her eyes out.
"Hold on, how'd you cut the noose?" Yuri asked the obvious.
Jin promptly demonstrated on a vase of flowers by Sayori's bed, cutting one of flowers' head off.
"Whoa..." Yuri muttered as she began to blush.
"...Baseline." Jin plainly said.
"Okay, clearly, you're not from around here. Who are you, really?" Natsuki pressed Jin.
"... Very well. Explanations are in order, I suppose." Jin smirked. "As of now, and whenever I am in Japan, the name you know is my true name, but in other instances, I am known as Simon Blackquill. In my world, I am a prosecutor, known for psychologically manipulating witnesses, defendants and judges alike."
Monika blinked and decided to look into his coding.
It was massive. The words were not only true, but there was a massive amount of information about his character.
In her haze, she didn't notice Blackquill open the window to let a hawk in, which promptly attacked Monika.
"AH! Getawaygetaway!"
With a calling whistle, the hawk landed on Blackquill's arm.
"Perhaps it'd be wiser to ask for what you want to hear rather than cheat for it."
Monika glared at Blackquill, who she swore had an amused face.
"That's not cool, Simon." Natsuki spat at the visiting Looper.
"Uuuuh... Yeah! Don't... attack... uhhh..."
"It's okay, girls... I deserve it."
"Humph," Blackquill closed his eyes. "Do you know the basics of Looping yet?"
"Subspace Pocket. General terms. Yggdrasil." Monika listed off. "Only Yuri had a reason to use it so far."
"I see. I suppose I'll keep you four in mind. In the meantime, I'll take my leave. Once Sayori is out of the hospital, I'll treat you all to soba. Nothing says anything about the heart like a hot bowl of buckwheat noodles."
The club looked at each other, glances every which where. They soon nodded together.
"Soba sounds nice." Sayori said.
"Good. I'll see you all later. Goodbye." Blackquill left the room.
"What a real piece of work, that guy." Natsuki said.
"How'd he catch on to what I was doing?" Monika asked, somewhat worried.
"Maybe he noticed a tell, or something. What do you think, Yuri?" Sayori looked at Yuri.
"I think he's amazing..." Yuri said breathlessly.
"What'd you say?" Natsuki inquired.
"Nothing!" Yuri said quickly, blushing profusely.
Monika groaned and facepalmed.
Oh joy, Yuri is totally crushing on Blackquill.
2.3 – Dress Up (by Masterweaver)
"Everyone needs to relax once in a while," Sayori stated. "Therefore, I decree today is... CASUAL FRIDAY!" In the blink of an eye, she was in short jeans and a pink blouse.
Natsuki shrugged. "Sure, whatever." A white shirt and pink-ruffled skirt graced her form. "You know, as much as I hate being a coded series of pictures, it does make changing a snap."
Yuri was already in her black pants and sweater. "We're more than just a code and images, Natsuki."
"Yes, we have a soul and all that. I just mean that we're human-shaped shells, in a physical sense. We don't have the usual things, like a need to physically change our clothes, or any organs or innards-"
"I have plenty of innards."
Monika gave her a pained smile. "Yes, Yuri, we all know, you don't need to show us."
Yuri rubbed a few locks of her hair through her fingers. "Right. Insides stay inside."
Sayori nodded gently. "That is a good rule."
The girl blushed a bit, looking around nervously. "Ah... Monika? Why haven't you changed?"
"Well, Yuri, you see, I don't... actually have any casual clothes." Monika chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry if I'm ruining casual Friday..."
Natsuki smirked. "What do you know, you can screw things up even when you're doing nothing."
Sayori cleared her throat, glaring at her.
"What?" Natsuki crossed her arms. "Just saying."
"...Well, this shall not do at all. Ladies, we must conspire to design Monika some casual wear!"
Yuri beamed. "That sounds incredible! She would look good in a sarashi, I think-"
Monika blinked. "A... this isn't an anime, Yuri!"
"It is animeesque though," Natsuki pointed out. "But yeah, wrapping bandages around your chest is more your thing, Yuri."
Yuri nodded. "True, true. Maybe start with an ordinary tee-shirt-"
"It could be one of those ones with a word printed on it! Like 'Trash' or 'Cute but Psycho!'"
"Or," Sayori over-rode, "it could just have a symbol on it. Like... a broken heart...? No, that's terrible."
Monika rubbed the back of her head. "I'm... fine wearing the uniform, really-"
The three girls gave her pointed looks.
"-buuuuuuut if you want to design me something... I, uh... I've never worn pants?"
2.4 – Tatsuki (by EastwindOfAzarath and Masterweaver)
"Soooo, how are you doing today...'Tatsuki'?" Sayori couldn't contain her laughter after actually saying Natsuki's "nickname" this loop and promptly fell to the floor and was actually rolling around.
Natsuki, on the other hand, was just glad that it was a cold day so that she could actually cover up the tattoos that were not only on most of her body, but went all the way up to her neck and even the backs of her hands, with a scarf and gloves and not be completely obvious. The pink haired girl in question just rolled her eyes and and went to her manga collection in the back. she picked out a volume at random and muttered, "Well, at least i know she's awake... stupid tree and its freaking wordplay. i dread what it comes up with next... oh boy, i have a bad feeling."
Yuri sidled closer, fidgeting a bit. She leaned down, her cheeks pink.
"...Did... did they... hurt?"
Natsuki blinked, looking up at the unawake girl.
"...Yuri, just... no."
2.5 – Catsuki (by EastwindOfAzarath)
'Well, at least this is a cute look' thought the pink haired neko girl whom had Awakened just a few moments prior, as she walked into the familiar club-room. "Catsuki", however, found not just her manga collection in the closet, but also a mess of pillows and blankets that had been haphazardly shaped into a "bed" of sorts. she also noticed the cat toy on the shelf. she bit her tongue just a tad before letting out a sigh, "I'm not even mad, that looks comfy as hell."
"You know Sayori, I'm kind of surprised at you," Natsuki spoke to the girl that was currently co-occupying her 'cat-bed'. The bow-haired girl in question looked up from playing with the cat toy that had been laying on the shelf. "I thought you had at least some restraint."
2.6 – Mangone (by Keluvax)
To Natsuki, the school was one of the few places she felt comfortable reading manga; it was a place where she didn't feel judged. Sure, there were... other problems with the school, but seeing as she was Looping, she could push those issues off to the side for now as she worked on getting used to things.
Her collection was in the closet, and it was a fairly sizable one. Little booklets of adventure were all aligned neatly into boxes, like always, but unlike last time, the set was situated atop the highest shelf. The tsundere huffed and crossed her arms. She always told the girls not to put her collection up there, but for some inexplicable reason, every time she checked, it was there. Whether this was just how this universe worked or the result of a multiple-Loop prank, she was not amused.
And just like always, her attempts to get it down resulted in the series of paperbacks toppling all over her head and across the floor. She stared down at the mess scattered around her feet for the umpteenth time with annoyed ambivalence. With this having happened so many times, she couldn't even find the motivation to get angry; it was just going to get put back up there anyway.
So with a sigh, she dragged the box over into the center of the pile and started sorting her manga again. She figured it would be easier to find Parfait Girls while she was arranging things. But for some reason, she couldn't find it- not even when she examined her collection for the third time.
Now she had a reason to be angry. "Monika!" She shouted, standing up. "Get over here!"
The club president arrived, looking just as unamused as Natsuki. "What happened?"
"Don't 'what happened' me! I know you're involved with this somehow!" The pink-haired girl put her hands on her hips and glared at her.
"Seriously, Natty, I have no clue what happened here."
"So you're saying you weren't the one that stole Parfait Girls from me?"
"Oh, is that what happened? I'm telling you I had nothing to do with this... and you don't believe me, do you?"
"Not a bit."
"Look, I can just go back into the code and put it back there. But really, aren't you getting tired of reading that every Loop?"
Natsuki wanted to say something, but after a few moments of reflection, she realized that she was indeed growing tired of the Parfait Girls. Oh, how she hated it when Monika was right.
"F-fine!" She said, glancing away from the Anchor. "Leave it like that- see if I care."
"Alright, alright." The brunette began to back away with a faint smile on her face. "But really, try and see if there's anything else in there you like."
With a groan, the tsundere resumed rifling through her collection. Nothing really caught her eye until somewhere near the end of her search, where she pulled out a series she was aware she didn't have normally.
"Jojo's Bizarre Adventure," she read aloud. "Why not?" And so she sat down and started to read.
2.7 – File Jumper (by Masterweaver)
"Okay everyone-!"
"Do you have to say that every loop?" Natsuki deadpanned.
Monika took a slow breath. "Yes. Yes I do." She paused. "So, as I was saying, we're all Awake again."
Sayori smiled. "I like it when that happens. It's always so good to see everyone."
Natsuki opened her mouth, paused, and sighed. "Yeah, it's... good to see you too, Sayori."
"This does happen a lot for us," Yuri mused. "I mean, I know Monika's always Awake, being our Anchor and all, but if what Jenny says is right she should... be alone for a hundred or so loops at a time? And even the rest of us should have her and nobody else for most of the time."
Monika shrugged. "Chalk it up to our world being heavily damaged? I don't know, I'll ask Jenny to ask the Admins once she logs in. So, first order of business... do we want to do anything with Hiroaka this loop?"
They all turned and stared at the faceless boy standing in the corner.
"...If he starts moving, I guess." Natsuki sighed, turning away. "Honestly, at this point... I kind of think he's more the club pet than anything."
"And here I thought you wanted to keep things G-rated," Sayori murmured.
"No, I'm serious! We like it when he likes us but all he does is tricks and comfort people, he-"
"As soon as we have a fused loop where it's possible," Monika decreed, "I am going to have somebody analyze him to see if he has a soul or a spark or... whatever. So... yes, if nobody wants to do anything with him, I guess we'll just make sure he... doesn't die..."
Natsuki waved a hand toward her. "I rest my case."
The green-eyed girl gave her a flat look. "Anyway. Second order of business, what shall we do this loop?"
Yuri rose her hand. "I'd... like to put forth an option which I know is going to be a bit... contentious."
Monika nodded.
"...What if... we tried something new? Instead of being dating sim characters, we could be... racing game characters, or maybe some sort of outright visual novel-"
"You're talking about altering the code," Natsuki said flatly.
"...Maybe. Assuming we can't just jump programs."
Monika shook her head. "I've been warned about the dangers of code alteration, especially in the loops. And we all know what happened when..." She winced. "Well. The point is, I am not comfortable creating a new paradigm with the code at this time. That said... I could see if I could move our character files to another program. If everyone is okay with that."
"A change of pace couldn't hurt," Sayori mused.
"You should definitely check with Jenny first," Natsuki insisted. "I want to stretch my legs, same as the rest of you, but... this could be dangerous. Especially if we wind up in Deathkiller 9000."
"I wouldn't do that to you!" Monika assured her.
"I wouldn't mind," Yuri murmured. "Well, maybe a little. It can be hard to wash gore out of hair."
"...I am not going to ask how you know that," Natsuki declared.
"So, check with Jenny to see if we can jump files," Monika interjected, "and then see what's available for us to explore? That's alright with everyone, is it?"
The other girls nodded.
"Alright. I'll be right back." Monika vanished.
2.8 – Flash Game (by Masterweaver)
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Monika rushed into the room, eyes wild. "What's going-YURI OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"I TOOK OFF MY SHIRT!"
There was dead silence for a moment.
"You... took off your shirt." Monika stared. "That's all you did?"
"YES THAT'S ALL I DID!"
"I-wait. Wait." The redhead groaned, dragging her hand down her face. "Oh no. I... think... I know what's going on."
"IS THIS ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR MAD EXPERIMENTS?" Natsuki demanded.
"Okay, one, I don't do mad experiments. Two, we're dating sim characters with limited sprites. There's no data for what we look like under our clothes."
Natsuki opened her mouth, paused, and facepalmed. "So the reason Yuri's got no body is because she never had a body."
"Nope."
"Well... huh."
"Why'd you take off your shirt anyway?" Monika asked the tall girl.
"Uh, well. Me and... me and Natsuki were kind of... arguing about, you know, if we were a dating sim or a full-fledged H-game, and, uh... I..." Yuri blushed, her hands (the only part of her arms they could see) reaching up. "I thought I'd-Oh! Oh, uh..."
Natsuki blinked. "Are you... are you groping yourself?"
"N-no! I'm just, you know, surprised. That they're still there. I mean, if there's no data for how they look like, there shouldn't be data for where they are. Or... how they feel..."
There was another pause.
"So you thought, to prove we were an H-game, you'd flash Natsuki."
"Yes, Monika."
"And you freaked out when you found you had nothing to flash with."
"...Yes Monika."
"Okay." Monika took a breath. "First, put your shirt back on."
"Um. It... disappeared."
"Go through the motions."
Yuri blinked. Slowly, she brought her hands over her head, gripped at thin air, and pulled down. In but a few moments her sweater was back.
"Secondly... I don't know, don't ever do that again."
2.9 – Cultural Differences (by Awesomedude17)
"I just realized something." Sayori suddenly said.
"What?" Yuri blinked.
"If we're stuck in the same week over and over, we can't celebrate anymore holidays."
Everyone looked contemplative.
"Well, considering what issues we have, I doubt we have much reason to celebrate." Monika said.
"Yes but... no more holidays to celebrate. We can't even get KFC for Christmas anymore!"
"Hoo boy. I'm glad that player isn't here. I'm sure they'd be confused about that."
"Why would they?"
"It's a cultural difference thing."
"I'm not even going to ask how much you know about this visual novel we're stuck in, or whatever is out there in the real world." Natsuki remarked.
"Probably for the best." Yuri said.
2.10 – What Even is This? (by Awesomedude17)
(DDLC)/(Undertale)
"GREETINGS, MY VIEWERS! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WITH ALPHYS AND SANS TO PLAY THIS GAME EVERYONE HAS BEEN RECOMMENDING TO ME, DOKI DOKI LITERATURE CLUB! FOR SOME REASON, IT'S LABELED AS HORROR, BUT I SEE PAST THE JOKE! THIS IS HARMLESS!"
"sure looks like it, though I'm going to assume it's not a trick"
"HMM, SAY WHAT YOU WILL SANS, BUT THIS HAS NO REPUTATION!"
"Ahehehe..." Alphys chuckled, suddenly having a bad feeling about this.
"SO, LET US START! OKAY, CONTENT WARNING. THEY SURE ARE PUSHING FOR THIS JOKE."
Sans looked at the camera, not sure what exactly to think except that maybe this is not what it seems.
"WAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA! WAAAAAAAAAA! I CANNOT BELIEVE JUST HOW SADDENING THIS REVELATION ABOUT SAYORI IS!"
"y'know, i am kinda glad I connected with her"
"I can kinda relate with her." Alphys said, suddenly kinda sad.
"I WILL ACCEPT HER LOVE TO MAKE HER HAPPY! SHE DESERVES TO BE HAPPY!"
"yep"
"WAKE UP DUMMY. I SLOWLY OPEN THE DOOR. I THINK SHE'S..."
"..."
"WELP! TIME TO DELETE THIS GAME!"
"Yes!"
"dear god why?"
"OKAY, MY VIEWERS, I APOLOGIZE FOR MY ACTIONS BUT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING I WOULD LIKE TO DEAL WITH. GOODBYE!"
"oh, I just googled the song. it's called sayo-nara."
"EVEN IN THIS GAME, I AM SURROUNDED BY PUNS! TERRIBLE PUNS!"
2.11 – Hypocrites (by strangedementia)
[DDLC/Analogue: A Hate Story (not looping)]
Monika sighed. They had been arguing for hours.
Monika had been surprised when she Woke Up in space, her starship parked alongside the wreck of a Korean colonization ship, the Mugunghwa, so that, as an independant investigator more or less hired by the Saeju Colony Historical Society, Monika could look through the ship's logs to find out how the Mugunghwa ended up lifeless and drifting in space.
Monika mostly relied on her loop memories for this as well as a couple of AIs: an Awake *Yuri whose loop memories told her that she had killed the entire population of the ship centuries ago, and an Unawake *Natsuki who believed wholeheartedly in the horrifically regressive and misogynistic society that the Mugunghwa ended up becoming.
As expected, they did not get along.
At all.
"That is one of the most ridiculous things that I ever heard!"
"Why? Because I'm a woman?!"
"YES! What point is there in teaching women how to read?! Women are naturally less intelligent then men. That is a fact of life!"
Monika resolved never to tell Natsuki about this.
"You hypocrite! You realize that YOU are a woman, right?! How can you even think those things?!"
Monika would have intervened, but a glitch in the Mugunghwa's systems made her unable to even talk to the AIs without multiple choice answers. They had been like this ever since Monika had downloaded them into her ship's computer along with the Mugunghwa's logs. They had been doing so for a day into the return voyage now and they showed no signs of stopping.
'Sayori,' Monika thought with both hands on her face, 'I wish you were here'
Compiler's Commentary:
2.1: The gang's all here! (Shoots confetti everywhere.)
2.2: Yuri, quit drooling.
2.3: If only every day could be Casual Friday, am I right?
2.4: The beginning of Natsuki's long-suffering relationship with…Pun Loops.
2.5: Catnyaps are nyo joking meowtter, you kneow.
2.6: Screw it, just insert all the JoJo's memes here. There's no way roundabout it…I'll see myself out now.
2.7: Deathkiller 8000 was better, anyways. 9K had no balance.
2.8: But Monika, experimentation is imperative to empirical science!
2.9: Don't be silly, Sayori, you can fit plenty of holidays into a week. (Just Another) Manic Monday, Taco Tuesday, Wacky Wednesday, Throwback Thursday, Freaky Friday, Sassy Saturday, and, of course, Slack-Off Sunday! (That last one's my favorite.)
2.10: Here, have all these cute kitten pictures. They helped me get over it, and I happen to know that friendly skeletons love kittens.
2.11: Something something stagnating air something something common foreshadowing…