32.1 — Doki Doki Mad-Lib Club!, by Master_Spoilers
"Hey, Everyone!" Sayori ran into the clubroom. "Look out the window! It's [Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]!"
"[Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]?" Monika asked.
Sayori nodded. "Out of the [Place]!"
"[Plural Noun]..." Yuri began, before being cut off by Natsuki.
"No need to ask why! Just open your [Body Part] and [Verb] your eyes!"
"It's [Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]!" Sayori shouted again. "It's [Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]!"
Yuri calmly walked over to the window and looked outside. "Out in the [Other Place]." She noted.
"[Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]..." Monika repeated thoughtfully.
Natsuki looked out the window. "All you can [Other Verb]!" She proclaimed with a massive grin on her face. "There's [Other Noun] and [Food]..."
"[Third Noun] and meat!" Sayori finished.
"...It's [Precipitation]-ing [Plural Noun]." Monika concluded. And that was all that needed to be said. All four girls put on their coats and ran outside, cheering.
The sole non-Looper watched them leave in confusion. "How were they able to talk like that?" [Male Name] wondered.
32.2 — A Day for Themselves, by Venku
Monika Awoke and sent out an obligatory ping. Receiving three responses let her know that this loop might just be a normal day. She decided to check on the others of her club, and see if anyone had any gossip to share.
Entering the club room, the brunette gave it a cursory glance. No Hiroaka..No that's Kevin. Need to remember that...she chided herself, so he was likely not present yet. Natsuki was treating one of her magic hammers with wood varnish by the closet. Sayori was meditating by the window, the sunlight reflecting off of her peach coloured hair. Yuri was preparing their afternoon tea. Everything seemed peaceful and perfect until a loud shriek of rage came from the purple haired woman.
"Alright." Yuri slammed her palms onto the table. "I'm only going to ask this once. Who. The hell. Covered my cleaver with Barney stickers?"
"Wasn't me," Sayori replied, continuing her meditation and ignoring the purple hued glare.
"I just got here," Monika added, ignoring the death like glare from the other girl.
"H-Hey! Yuyu why do you think it was me?" Natsuki placed the varnish down and looked at her lover with an innocent expression.
"Because if Sayori didn't do it, and Monika wasn't here it was you, dear." the woman growled as she looked down. "Also you're the only one here who would think Barney was cute!"
"H-Hey! Just because I like cute doesn't mean I think that dinosaur was! I'd have liked our time in that Teletubbies loop if I did!" Natsuki growled as she rose. "And while we're lobbing out accusations here who the hell moved my Manga collection? It's always been in the closet and when I came here today it was over by the window!"
"Wasn't me. I love you but you know how I feel about your Manga!"
"And I didn't touch your damn cleaver!"
Yuri growled. "Be reasonable Natty. If need be we'll have to go to the Holodeck to settle this!."
"COME ON! YOU AND ME! WE'LL SEE HOW WELL YOU CAN FIGHT AFTER A FEW RIPPLES!"
As the two other Looping Literature Club members walked out the room, arguing and sniping at each other, Monika approached the only one who said nothing. Who was still deep in her meditations, and who was silently giggling.
"Veep? Did you cover the cleaver? And move Natsuki's manga?"
One eye opened and showed her bright blue eyes tinged with yellow. "Kevin was given the Force Suggestion to stay home today," Sayori commented, her voice betraying what Monika thought was her emotions. "He's under the impression that I wasn't feeling well and he'd check in on me tomorrow."
"Those two," and a hand waved to the departing door. "refused to talk about it but it seemed they had a bad loop, as did I. They'll fight about it then talk about it. I'm just here trying to meditate and calm myself after the last loop" Both eyes open now, and while the yellow remained, it was starting to fade back into the clear blue. "As the one who seemed to be the most emotionally attuned to the others, I figured a small nudge would help them work through it."
Monika nodded as she heard Sayori's reasoning. Though she held up her finger in the patent-pending 'Monika's tips' pose. "Yes but don't forget yourself. You're also apparently recovering from an annoying loop. Or something that affected you. What say you help me clean up and we spend the rest of the day seeing if we can binge on cute kitten videos and silly movies?" the club president offered.
"Okay!" Sayori chirped as she rose. Monika just smiled. Never change, Sayori, she thought with affection.
32.3 — Dokfiniti Train: The Grid Car, by Masterweaver
(DDLC)/(Infinity Train)
Monika woke up already Awake, which was always an interesting contradiction. There was a vague ache somewhere in her skull, fading quickly. And the room around her was...
Well, it was a room.
Gridlines went across the floor, up the walls, and over the ceiling. Her hand pressed against one of the squares-and a colored cube spontaneously generated out of it.
"Ah. Puzzle game loop." She stood, stretching her arms over her head-and noticing a glowing green number on her right palm. "And I am apparently subject 2017. Isn't that cute."
Her foot tapped against the floor, absently generating a stack of cubes as she put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. Two identical doors stood at opposite sides of the chamber-red arched double doors, with a pair of semicircular golden handles on each. The handles were not directly mirrored, strangely enough; their corners touched in the center of the door, but one went up the upper half of the door, and the other turned down.
Kicking aside the stack of blocks, Monika walked over to the door and tugged the handles experimentally. "Locked-no..." She rotated them around their shared point, tugging again and opening the door to see a large copper-green building linked by a small bridge. "Okay... that's an odd way to latch this. But if I can just progress, what's the point of this room?"
A sound from behind her made her turn around, witnessing another person enter the room. A girl straddling the line between preteen and teen, it seemed, with an orange ponytail and surprised eyes in a dark-green hue behind a set of wireframe glasses.
"Hmm." Monika tried to release a ping, but frowned when nothing happened. "Null loop... of course."
"Uh..." The girl waved, carefully shutting the door behind her. "Hey! How long have you been on the train?"
Monika blinked, glancing out the door she had opened. What she had assumed to be a building was actually a strangely designed and massive train car, as evidenced by the wheels the size of elephants and the desolate landscape rushing past.
"...Approximately one and a half minutes," she replied, turning back with a small smile as she shut the door. "Well, I just Woke Up here, I mean. Are you a local?"
"Well, no, I'm a passenger like you." The girl took the glove off her right hand, holding it up to show off her own number-153. "See?"
"So it's a ticket system."
"More like a countdown. You get the number down to zero, and the train opens a portal back home." The girl rubbed her arm awkwardly. "Thing is, to get it to go down... you kind of have to learn more about yourself. Figure out something... personal and important, that you're stuck on."
Monika glanced at the number on her own hand and heaved a sigh. "Of course. Somehow, I am unsurprised. What's the rate of decrease on these?"
"It's variable. You can drop by fifty in one car, go three more without a change, and then drop by two more points in the next one." The girl cleared her throat. "Plus... the numbers can go up if you go against whatever issue the train decided was worth its attention."
"Oh! Oh! Miss Tulip!" A small white sphere bisected by a vertical black band crawled out of the girl's backpack and onto her shoulder. "Who are you talking to? Oh! Hello!" The thing waved a tiny leg, the vertically aligned pair of dots on the black band shifting to arcs. "You look like Miss Tulip but older!"
"One-One!"
Monika laughed it off with a wave. "He's not wrong. We've both got green eyes, a ponytail, black stockings and a skirt... but coral is technically a shade of brown," she added, waving her own ponytail for emphasis.
"Okay..."
"You know, I don't remember you being here," said the tiny orb, tapping its band thoughtfully. "Maybe I should ask my mother when we get to her."
Monika quirked an eyebrow. "Your mother?"
"Yeah, One-One is-" Tulip paused, glancing around carefully before leaning in. "One-One's the real conductor of the train," she said in a low voice. "There's a slot in the motherboard for him to sit in. But he was kicked out of the engine by one of the passengers-she's been using the train to try to recreate her past for years now."
"Huh."
"Yeah, I was pretty stunned when I first found out too. Of course that was-"
Tulip cut herself off.
"...That was when you were fighting her as a dramatic final confrontation?" Monika offered.
The girl's eyes whipped up to her. "How do you-?"
"Let me guess," Monika continued with a grin, tapping up a small stack of cubes. "Time's been repeating for you, and you have no idea how or why."
"Uh... yeah. Me and One-One both," Tulip confirmed. "He repeats more than I do, I've only had four times I remember, but he's had... how many times?"
"Thirty-nine!" One-One declared cheerfully. "It's been amazing! And harrowing," he added in a suddenly morose tone.
Monika nodded as she tapped the side of the uppermost cube on the stack, now about knee-height. "Well then, welcome to the multiverse, sanity optional. I'm Monika, Anchor of the Doki Doki Literature Club loops. Make yourself a seat and get comfortable." She sat down on the angular stool she'd just made. "We've got a lot to cover and... how long does this loop last?"
"Loop?"
"The time loop," Monika clarified. "Before you come back to the start."
"Oh, it's about a year," Tulip said, already halfway done with an armchair made of cubes-or maybe it was a throne.
"Well, okay, we've got time to cover this." Monika cracked her fingers. "Now, it starts with a tree called Yggdrasil..."
32.4 — Soul of a Poet, by Tetradrachm
"...and round the alabaster angel's wing, a countless flock of wonders sing..."
Natsuki glared over at Sayori as Mike—her friend's name in this loop—continued rambling on merrily. "I thought you said he wrote this just last night!" she whispered.
"That's what he told me!" Sayori whispered back.
"He's been reciting for fifteen minutes now!" Natsuki hissed. "I've been watching the clock!"
"That isn't very nice," Sayori pointed out.
Natsuki glared daggers at her—not literally; only Yuri could do that. Yuri herself appeared to have fallen asleep, while Monika was perfectly intent in a way Sayori recognized as belonging to a placeholder model while the real Monika was off messing around with code somewhere or other.
While Sayori was as overjoyed as ever to see her old friend come to life each loop, she couldn't help but admit that this version of him was a bit annoying. Apparently he was a genuine aspiring poet this time, and had been all his life; she hadn't even had to invite him to join the Literature Club because once she'd told him about it he'd immediately asked if he could join.
She almost regretted telling him about it now.
A sudden silence indicated he was done, and everyone clapped politely—except for Yuri, who was just startled into awakeness—as he shuffled through papers.
"That was wonderful!" The Monika program said automatically. "Who's next?"
"Oh, no," Mike shook his head, "that was just the first page. I've got three more..."
"Nnnope," Natsuki said. "Not doing this, not today. I've got blue milk cookies to bake. C'mon, Yuri, we're flying this coop."
Yuri muttered something incomprehensible, still half awake, as she was physically dragged out of the room by Nats.
Sayori did her very utmost best to not sigh forlornly. "Right, go ahead Mike. She's just cranky today."
She still sighed slightly.
32.5 — "Am I...a Bad Friend?" by Venku
It was another day, another millstone around the neck of the young man. Sayori's neighbor, Kevin, he of the literature club woke up with the alarm piercing a very nice dream. With a groan escaping his lips, as he would prefer to be asleep, he rolled out of bed. The alarm turned off, he padded downstairs.
Yesterday he was supposed to join the literature club after the incessant pestering of his friend. He remembered that she was always there, ever since their parents met when he was young. While the coffee was brewing, the man's mind decided to do one thing. Replay memories. And while the coffee was brewing, the drip of the coffee began to stimulate his mind. With each drop of the black liquid, he remembered:
- He remembered when Sayori skinned her knee. They were young and he didn't want to play with her. There was no reason why, he was just being stubborn. Yet she followed him. And when she fell, he felt guilty. Turning back to want to help her and treat her knee.
- Mr. Cow and Mr. Bird. There was a local festival when they were younger. Both of them were about twelve. Winning the stuffed animals and the smile on her face.
- When secondary school started they started to drift. He was not happy with her clinging to him. Always wanted to impress the other girls. Ignoring how Sayori wanted a friend. She drifted as well with his responses.
- She had called him saying she was sick yesterday. Instead of checking on her, he just stayed home and binged some of the anime. While he was happy they reconnected, he sure let the ball drop.
As the coffee finished brewing, he took a sip. A bit of self reflection caused him to think of a few things, including that if he did indeed miss Sayori he had a crap way of showing it. An idea formed in his mind as he pulled out two bits of paper. Two separate poems were written. One in his bag for later. One to the side. After his shower, he thought to do one thing. Trying to remember what his mom cooked when he felt bad, he made a box. Rice. Noodles with no seasoning. Chicken. Some of the cookies he kept in the cabinet. Wrapping it up in a bow for Sayori, he placed the other poem on top before moving outside.
Sayori woke. The loop was still ongoing and she figured that she had enough control over her emotions to progress things like normal. Yesterday she and Monika spent the day just binging on the cat videos until late. A few rather bland Rom-coms picked up from the Star Wars universe and a video her Master Pinkie demanded they see were also played. The general consensus was that while Sayori was eternally grateful Pinkie Pie took her on as an apprentice she'd never quite understand the pony's logic concerning movies.
Her bag was packed with a book that Natsuki recommended on baking to read later. A small internal sigh was felt as she began to head to the door. Roughing up her hair for a moment to give the impression she was running late, she was surprised with a knock on the door. Weird. She peeked out the window and was surprised. Kevin.
"H-hi?" she asks, confused as he was standing there with a box in his hand. "You're..early. Ehhehe. You never came to wake me up before."
"You were sick yesterday. Give me some credit, du.." he paused. "Sayori. Of course I'd check on you."
Sayori blinked. He was going to call her dummy. While immune to the barb, she was surprised. Not used to this level of understanding. "B..but.." she was surprised as Kevin spoke.
"Look. I had a thought. A few of them. Let's..say that I try to meet you here every morning. I can't guarantee it because I'm breaking old habits but I'd like to try. And here.." as he shoved a box into her hands. "Made you lunch."
"Aww..that's sweet" as she saw her friend blush. Figuring to not press her luck, she motioned for them to walk to school. Holding onto the bento for a moment before they split ways. She paused as there was a note on the top.
Sayori, listen.
A few things made me think hard
Am I a bad friend?
- Sorry for not checking on you. Kevin.
Blinking, she sent out a ping. Three others responded. Confused, she went to the club room.
As she entered, there was a bit of a familiar sight. Monika was currently brushing over some coding books, including Advanced Python. Yuri and Natsuki were apparently commandeering one of the tables for impromptu baking. A sniff of the air indicated fresh granny smith apples from one of their pockets. Since Kevin wasn't due in yet, Natsuki had repurposed one of the corners temporarily to bake.
Monika looked up as the other woman entered, Yuri and Natsuki chatting amicably. "You Pinged. We're already awake. Why?"
"Read this" Sayori almost ordered as she thrust the note in front of Monika. Her eyebrows lifted before reading the haiku. "Basic but.." she paused. "And what are you carrying?" In response, Sayori opened the box. "He..made a bento care box?" Sayori silently confirmed this with a nod.
"GIRLS! Emergency meeting!"
The tone in her voice had Yuri and Natsuki pause what they were doing and moved to the other girls. Yuri held the granny smith apple she was to chop in her hand as she looked at both in confusion. Natuski grabbed the note and showed it to her. The pink haired tsundere and the purple haired bookworm's eyebrows raised before both sampled the box.
"It's basic but what the fuck is this?" Natsuki asks.
"A basic bland bento box. Needs more salt" Yuri commented.
Natsuki sighed. "Monika's tits.."
"Hey!"
Waving her hand to the brunette to silence her, Natsuki commented. "Well when Ganesha said he'd install that patch it was to signal he had a script. Maybe.." she looked at both women. "He's not Looping?" And with Sayori and Monika's confirmation, Natsuki shrugged. "Maybe he realized with this patch he's a dick. Maybe not. He could be the same asshole next loop. Sayori are you...YURI WHAT THE HELL?" as Yuri spit out the apple, after biting it and making a face.
Yuri wanted to taste the apple while they were discussing this. The woman was going to give her insight on Kevin's attempt to evolve before she took a bite of the apple and spat it out, the bitter taste affecting her tastebuds. And in that moment, Yuri realized something incredible about herself: She absolutely could not stand the taste of apples.
32.6 — Categories for Sci-fi, by Awesomedude17
Monika put the finishing touches to her chart and hung it up for the rest of the club to see.
"So, you may be wondering-"
"No we're not." Natsuki interrupted.
"Okay then. So, here's a sci-fi chart of evil corporations, their subtypes, their motivations, and the subtypes for those."
"Where'd you get the idea?"
"Deadpool and Spider-Man for the better part of 2 years makes you want to learn stuff."
"Right so... random pick... Doom."
"Which one?"
Natsuki shrugged. "The new one."
"Evil corporation subcategory 9: Weyland-Yutani type with motivation subcategory 12: energy crisis."
"Well, you better get on showing off Cerberus than."
"Naturally. Might throw in a taco cart in there for good measure."
32.7 — "Thank You and Celebrate/Thank You and Grow", by Venku
In all honesty, Yuri was not even remotely sure how to process this loop. Even with their Admin announcing that a patch to give Hiroaka, apparently called Kevin this Loop, a consciousness, she didn't expect to see any sort of response immediately. Hell, she'd accept a few hundred loops before something happened. Mysterious ways and whatnot.
Instead, after a fused loop in a series which made her baseline seem tame, she discovered that 'He' showed signs of something other than what was referenced as a basic walking hormone. That surprised her.
Yes, her fight with Natsuki was their attempt to blow off steam both had built up. Happy that Sayori had 'nudged' them into percussive therapy to get them to talk, Yuri had woken up thinking that it would be the same loop. Same ennui.
Sayori's Ping and the resulting haiku and bento reflected otherwise.
It was an unspoken agreement after that meeting and her subsequent dislike of apples that they'd continue with the same policy of treating him like a human instead of furniture. By a bit of unspoken agreement, Monika and Yuri were the two who would see what else would show of this. Monika as Club President, anchor and the most familiar with the code. Yuri as both a vampire and Hunter of Hunters. Each able to see in one way or another any sort of deviances or changes.
Though it wasn't much, a few things were noticed. Sayori and Kevin were spending a lot of time gossiping. The..don't sugarcoat your thoughts, Yuri she chided to herself...the jackass actions of him from Baseline onward seemed to be dulled some. A few times he was going to make a rather insensitive remark, and he caught himself at the last minute. A subtle catch, but one that both Monika and Yuri noted.
Natsuki had reported during their second day that Kevin did seem to try to interact with the others more. Though it was obvious, according to her lover, that "The lumbering jackass" had no interest in her manga, he tried to at least get an opinion of why she loved the Parfait Girls. Monika even reported he was asking for honest critique of the 'word salad' he normally would offer.
It was a slightly hopeful outlook for this loop, but none of the girls were expecting this to carry over. Yggdrasil was notoriously buggy, and had its own version of what should and should not be.
The loop was ending, as the next day was the School Festival. Sayori had begged out early to allow for time with Kevin. Aware that he was non-looping but oddly happy her friend showed some signs this loop of being human, none of the other girls would begrudge her this chance.
Natsuki and Yuri were in her room, and Yuri moved some of the books aside. Tea was brewing as she always felt calm after a cup. Helped her relax. Natsuki was working on a doodle for an outfit she wanted to try to make later before looking at the purple haired vixen.
"Yuyu, I'm bored! Didn't you save any of the board games I brought in last time?"
"Well..." Yuri replied as she pulled out a box she picked up from a near hub loop. Immediately Natsuki rose out and explained: "No Yuri, we're not playing Cards against Humanity. You always win!"
She then paused. "I've been bitchy this loop haven't I?"
Yuri smiled before gently rubbing Natsuki's hair, causing the younger woman to grumble. "It's ok cutie. I find it endearing."
Tuning out Natsuki's tsundere remarks about being called 'cute', Yuri could only think of one quote from a hub book she and Sayori had read and discussed. When Life is Well say THANK YOU & CELEBRATE
"Thank you" Yuri murmured, quietly to herself. She then proceeded to celebrate with her lover. Grateful for her, and for her 'family' in the Looping Literature Club.
The loop was ending and Sayori was not a happy camper.
Fully aware nothing was permanent save what loopers and anchors made permanent, as in skills or 'pocketed' items, Sayori was still grumbling a little bit when she knew that this version of Hiroaka might not carry over to the next loop. She was aware that Ganesha applied a patch which, if you use a botanist term, reattached the leaf to their branch of the tree. It wasn't clear if he would 'flower' into a looper, or had the stability to be grafted on other branches while the tree was being fixed.
While instinctively, and logically, she understood why Ganesha didn't show much attention to if he would or not, Sayori would not be honest if she didn't say that his reaction irritated her some. Even if it was a baseline code...even if they were not real..those were her memories of her friend, dammit! Monika refused interaction with anyone romantically, while Yuri and Natsuki found comfort in each other's arms. Why couldn't she have a chance? Even if it didn't work out, she'd like to try!
Calming herself, taking a deep breath, Sayori remembered what her Master had said. Her emotions were her own. That it was ok to feel them. How she responded to them determined what would happen next. And remembering how she wanted to spread 'happiness' and to quit focusing on her own problems.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken." Sayori repeated in her mind, reciting the Sith Code as a sort of meditative exercise. Reminding herself of what she swore on Equestria all those loops ago. To spread happiness and focus on others. Channeling her feelings of bitterness into how to spend the most time with Kevin. Even if he wasn't looping, he deserved to have a good night since he asked to spend time together.
Though her eyes had tinged yellow, they started to seep back into the crystal blue they were. Just in time for Kevin's knock on the door. Smiling, radiating positive thoughts, she opened and grinned.
"Hey!"
"Sayori" Kevin smiled. They had agreed to go see a movie and pick up some supplies Natsuki needed for the School Festival tomorrow.
"It's good to see you!" she added with a grin. While he still had some of his old habits, she remembered what Monika and Yuri had stated. He was trying, in some ways, to curtail his old actions. Stepping forward on a bit of trust, she chose tonight to spend the last night of this loop with her friend. To have fun.
Fun they did have, though Kevin seemed more and more reserved on some aspects. When she'd act like a klutz, she saw where he wanted to say 'dummy' and it wasn't as affectionate as before. Other times, she thought she'd see some signs of irritation, but he didn't act on it. Wasn't enough to totally derail their time, but was enough for her to notice. She paused as they were walking back to her house. "Kevin?"
"Yes, Sayori?"
"I have the answer for you. From your poem."
He turned to face her, surprised for a moment. She refused to answer his question when he first asked. None of the other girls did either, making it 'clear' that it had to come from Sayori. "Oh?"
"You..were a bad friend. Growing up. You hurt my feelings. But.." she smiled at him as she reached out to squeeze his hand. "But now? With what I've seen? You have the potential to no longer be a bad friend. Promise me one thing?" she asked.
"What's that?"
"Remember why you wanted to change. And let that be the reason you do."
He was dumbfounded as what she said seemed to have given him food for thought. Giving him a friendly hug before going into the house for the night, and the end of the loop, Sayori internally signed. This could be a waste of time. Pointless. And yet this could be one memory Sayori could treasure for however long the loops last. She entered her house.
Recalling a quote she and Yuri had read in that hub book, Sayori paused as she looked around her room. and when life is Bitter say THANK YOU & GROW.
Renewing her resolve to grow, and hoping she could have more memories like tonight, she whispered a silent "Thank you" as she reflected on what she was grateful for. Her friends from the Loops. Her Master. Her family in the Looping Literature Club.
For Hiroaka and Ganesha, who had given their branch the patch for him to be more than just a faceless collection of code.
32.8 — Dark and Toned, by CrazyCog
Some loops for the Dokies were emotion filled journeys that led to revelations about them and the world around them. They made each individual question their place in the wider looping multiverse, having caused Monika to angst, Sayori to cry, Yuri to do Yuri things, and Natsuki to complain that she was just along for the ride. This was not one of these loops. This was a loop of posing, super expressive faces, weird sentences, and protein being a miracle food for some reason.
Monika looked at Sayori, face muscles flexing in a super defined manner. "I'm sorry Sayori, but all of the protein this loop shall be mine, how else can I keep my super expressive face muscles this toned." Although the lights had shut off as soon as she had walked into the warehouse, there was still enough light from the full moon shining in through the windows for them to clearly see each other.
Sayori pointed at Monika while twisting in a weird way, her arm muscles bulging. "Are you kidding Monika? I need the protein this loop in order to hold all of these poses as long as I do." She bent forward and struck an over the top questioning pose. "By the way, what happened to the lights? I ask as I am not the one who did that which happened."
There was hysterical laughter from above them. There on the catwalk was Yuri, arms outstretched and the rest of her looking like she was doing the limbo. "Hahahahahaha, you two are fools. Unlike you, I can see in the darkness, and thus have an advantage, which means that all of the protein shall be mine!"
Before she could follow through with her thread however, she was then dropkicked in the face by Natsuki wearing a dark outfit complete with a hat that somehow seemed to transition into hair despite the two being different colours. She landed on the same catwalk and slightly tilted the brim of said hat with two fingers. An otamatone cover of some generic anime song started playing in the background as Natsuki spoke, "Yare Yare Yuri, you went to so much trouble for your plan, only for it to fail." She pushed the hat back to the way it originally was. "All of the protein has already been taken by me and gone into my stando, Star Proteinum." A figure resembling Terry Crews appeared behind her as she placed her hands in her pockets and leaned back in a way that would probably hurt her had this not been an anime-esque loop. "Now, it is time for this to be the end!"
"POWER!"
With that cry, Star Proteinum launched forward at Yuri while bouncing his biceps, two which the girl gave a resounding cry back of "TREEEEEEEEEEEE" as she launched forward in full vampire mode. Down below, Monika's face muscles were somehow countering Sayori's punches, each done in an over the top pose. It was pure and utter madness, and the girls would not have it any other way.
32.9 — Bull's...Monika's...Chargers?, by Venku
(DDLC)/(Dragon Age)
Natsuki Awoke. Two simple words. Enough to indicate that the shortest Doki was aware of what was going on. The loop memories kicked in, and she internally grimaced. Great. Start of what may appear to be another baseline loop. Although she wanted to complain, Natsuki kept her thoughts to herself. Just her luck, the tree would decide she needed pun loops. Those were quite horrible!
Figuring that her day needed to start, and to get this loop over with, she gathered her supplies. Backpack. Outfit. The box of kitty cupcakes. Satisfied she was set for the day, she made sure she could activate her pocket. Satisfied she could, she sent out a Ping, expecting three others to greet her. Instead of three Pings, five greeted her inquiry. Confused, she sent out another Ping to clarify. Another five responded. "Weird. Must be a fused loop" she muttered.
Walking into the clubroom, she called out "Y'know, I'm feeling quite loopy. Prez, you happen to be awake by any chance?"
"Actually no. And wouldn't you know it, I don't have the poultice to help out. Though I've been having that waking feeling" a crisp, cultured voice called out from the closet. Natsuki stopped, trying to get a visual clue of their looper. Unfortunately, she was in the middle of the door, and Yuri and Sayori ran into her.
"Owie! My Head!"
"While this is lovely, why did you stop?"
She quickly moved out of the way to allow the other two women to enter the room. This allowed her to see both visitors. One was dressed in Hiroaka's school outfit, though it seemed to be rather 'tight' on the humanoid. With a broad chest, and clearly defined muscles, it was quite obvious the man worked out. He was also a shade taller than her friend, had a black eyepatch on, and had two horns on his head. Noticing her staring, he winked. "Hey there short stuff. Normally I'd ask you if you want to see if everything lives up to your fantasy but I'm kind of in a committed relationship."
"I AM NOT...!" Natsuki's rebuttal was cut short as Sayori sighed, and Force Grabbed the back of the smaller woman's blazer. Sayori admonished the other woman with whispered "Hush Natsuki. Not now!"
While this was going on, the other man groaned. "Amatus. Really? We're in their loop and you just HAD to make that remark..." While he chided the first man, the Dokis could get a visual look at the bearer of the 'cultured' voice. Dressed in a three piece stylish suit, his skin had a light bronze hue to it. Coal black hair was coiffed, while a thin mustache covered his upper lip. He was dressed in a three piece suit and attempted to give off an air of authority.
Noticing the attention given to him, the man appeared to visibly preen. Addressing Yuri, he commented "My apologies my dear lady, and that is a lovely shade of color four your hair. My companion here" and the other man was given a mock glower. "Is not usually this much of a foul mouthed lummox."
That caused the other woman to giggle as she bowed her head. "It seems you have a similar relationship with your.."
"Amatus. It's a term of endearment in my native tongue. Used for those we're romantically involved with. Dorian Pavus, dear lady. And this.." he smacked the shoulder of the other man who just laughed. "Is the Iron Bull. We are indeed travelling loopers. Are you the anchor of..?"
"Doki Doki Literature Club" Yuri responded. The wince given by both gentlemen was quite visible as she sighed. "Played our game did you?"
"Hub Loop" the other man commented as his one eye glanced first to Yuri, then Natsuki and finally Sayori. While not as obvious, this action was mirrored by the other man.
This action was noticed by Sayori who sighed and spoke. "We're not as bad as our baseline game. We promise. The taller one's Yuri. The one the Iron Bull patted on the butt with his statement.."
"Knocked on my butt Sayori.." Natsuki muttered.
"I said that!" Natsuki groaned while Yuri began to visibly rummage through a nearby closet. Ignoring her companion's responses, Sayori pressed on. "That's our resident baker and Yuri's meeter.." as she waved her hand to Natsuki.
"Amatus" Dorian corrected.
"Yes..Natsuki's Meeter."
Dorian shook his head, refusing to correct the woman's words.
"And I'm Sayori, the VP of the Literature Club. Our anchor Monika is running late."
"W-would you like some tea?" Yuri asked as she opened up the closet. She saw that both visiting men were looking at Sayori as if they were both confused and had a bit of a pounding headache, so she sought to move the situation onward.
"Nothing stronger?" the Iron Bull asked.
"Not right now, no"
"Tea's fine."
"..so let me get this right. You four are the Looping Literature Club." Dorian responded as they sat in a semi circle at one of the tables. While the tea was brewing, Monika had shown up, completing the list of those awake this loop. Each of them had a cup of special green tea and peppermint blend, and one of Natsuki's cupcakes.
"That's right," Monika responded. "And usually we're up front about our baseline for visiting loopers."
"Wise of you" the Iron Bull murmured.
Acknowledging his statement with a small nod of her head, Monika continued. "We've worked through our baseline. And have managed to work into a cohesive family. You" she nodded her head to Iron Bull. "looped in and took the place of the protagonist. Yes it's a cheesy dating simulator. We're not amused with it. And no, he's not looping. Our admin had installed a patch to give him personality but nothing else had happened."
"Whether or not he loops, I hope you all are treating him as a part of the family?" the Iron Bull asked. Various expressions of a painful memory or a nod of their head was his answer. "Good. I can tell you that in baseline as I'm in charge of a mercenary company the quickest way to kill any sort of chance for a new person to acclimatize is to treat them as an outsider."
Dorian paused. "Amatus" he chimed in. "A moment. Have any of you heard of our branch?" he asked the four. Seeing their confused response, Dorian sighed.
"Let me..tell you. Since we know of yours, it's only fair you know ours..."
"That's fucked up, you know"
Wincing at Natsuki's tone, Yuri chimed in. "While less eloquently put, she does have a point. Though.." she taps her chin. "We each have done and seen things we're not proud of. And it's only due to the loops we've moved past it. Can we agree to that point?" she asked. Her companions's responses were something that she could guess on. When the two visitors agreed, she smiled and took a sip of her tea.
"So we each have our own stories. And we're mature enough to move past it" the Iron Bull boomed. "Great! Now what are we going to do for this loop since we've all shown our collective horns?" He paused for a moment to dip into his Pocket. pulling out a few bottled beverages." And fuck this schoolage stuff! If we want a drink, we will"
A groan escaped Dorian's lips. "Please tell me you're not pulling out bottles of Marass-lok" he asked.
"Nah! We don't know them yet. It's the aggregio bottles you love, kadan."
Yuri paused. "Kadan?"
"Language of my people. Means literally heart's desire. Reflects a close friend or in this case soul mate." the Iron Bull responded. There was a collective aww as Dorian looked embarrassed.
Clearing her throat, Monika commented. "Well, as Anchor.." she paused. "I'd say we would do poetry or discuss literature. But as you guys know about our game..." Dorian's eyes lit up at the discussion of literature and he began to rummage through his Pocket while the Iron Bull's eyes glazed over. "Let's just call this a vacation loop. Get to know each other. We can discuss literature. There's a separate room if people want to spar, as well."
"Hey! I like that! Work the brain and work the mind." the Iron Bull visibly perked with Monika's response.
This caused Dorian to groan. "Can't take the dirty mercenary act out of you, can I, Amatus?"
"Ah you like the smell"
A small smirk escaped Sayori's lips as Dorian and Iron Bull bickered. While she'd miss having her friend here, this looked to be an interesting loop, something she would enjoy.
32.10 — So We Back in the Club, by Zum1UDontNo
"Hey, girls, I just wanted to give a warning about our MC this loop," Sayori said, popping her head through the hole.
"...And you couldn't have come through anywhere else?" Natsuki asked. Behind her, Monika looked up from her laptop.
Sayori shrugged as best she could. "Just wanted to keep you on your toes." She dropped through the missing tile in the ceiling, doing a brief handstand before flipping onto her feet. "So, you know how his name is randomized now, but it tends to be something to do with 'M-C?'"
"His name isn't the only thing that's randomized," Monika reminded her. "His personality is also highly variable."
"The majority of the time he's basically the same, but okay. Point is, he's not just named Hiroaka now, his name is usually different. I wanted to warn you because... well, if I didn't, it might catch you off guard. And yeah, it'd have been funny to see your reactions, but..." She slowly trailed off.
Monika glanced at Natsuki. "She's regretting coming to warn us."
"Oh yeah," Natsuki responded. "Well, now we know something's up with his name."
"Aw man," Sayori pouted. "I didn't think this through." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter, I guess. I told him what the room's number is, so he'll be coming through any minute now."
Right on cue, the door opened, and the MC of that loop walked in. He looked around for a moment, before his face brightened as he saw Sayori.
Natsuki and Monika both surreptitiously looked down at the bottom of the screen to the text box... and winced.
"Hi, I'm Sayori's friend," Minecraft said. "Is this the Literature Club?"
Natsuki and Monika both looked to Sayori, who shrugged again. "Told you it'd catch you off guard."
32.11 — To Common Ground, by Venku
(DDLC)/(Dragon Age)/(MLP)
This was, as far as Natsuki was concerned, an interesting loop.
With the arrival of the Iron Bull replacing Hiroaka, and Dorian filling in as a teacher advisor for the Literature Club, Natsuki was unsure at first how to respond. The Iron Bull, while not as openly flirty as others she had the misfortune of meeting, still managed to make the smallest Doki uncomfortable with the innuendo from the start. Even as it was explained that the Bull always did that, it still didn't make Natsuki any less unnerved. While the loops did help settle most of the issues from her baseline, she was still a small bundle of tsundere who was uncomfortable with overt flirting.
After the Iron Bull explained that his flirting was an attempt to diffuse the situation and break the ice, Natsuki relaxed. A little bit. She was still nonplussed with how the man had managed to irritate her to that degree. In the spirit of cooperation, however, she was willing to let it slide. And share poetry.
Everyone present had taken some time to write something which 'spoke to their heart' as Monika had put it. During the required sharing moment, the Iron Bull went first. His poem was short and to the point. With a clear, slightly gravelly voice, he spoke:
"Existence is a choice.
There is no chaos in the world, only complexity.
Knowledge of the complex is wisdom.
From wisdom of the world comes wisdom of the self.
Mastery of the self is mastery of the world. Loss of the self is the source of suffering.
Suffering is a choice, and we can refuse it.
It is in our own power to create the world, or destroy it."
Though Dorian appeared unmoved by the poem, the other four just blinked and said nothing for a few moments. Finally, as the leader of the Looping Literature Club, Monika asked the most basic question. "What..does that mean?"
The Iron Bull shrugged his shoulders. "Recall I said that I am both Kossith by race and ex-Qunari by choice. The Qunari belief system was written by this sage Koslun in a text called the Tome of Koslun. And no" he replied as he looked at each of the women. "I don't have a copy of that text in my Pocket. The only one who does is the Warden, the original Anchor and they're refusing to budge on sharing that bit of information."
"It's theft caused a bit of a debacle in our baseline, so I can understand their stance, Amatus" Dorian chimed in. He waved his hand to the others. "Pardon the interruption, and I might just share that story later."
"Aww. Isn't he a big bundle of exposition?" the Iron Bull teased the other man, which caused Sayori to grin in a sappy manner and Yuri to issue a smirk. The Iron Bull ignored the other man's protests before he continued. "But to answer your question, this poem called the Body Canto basically states you make your world. It's your actions which shape it. Or that's my response to it anyway."
"Oh. I see" Monika replied. Thoughtful for a moment, she acted as if she wanted to dissect another point but instead nodded her head. "Well put. If we loop into your world I may ask your Anchor to get a glimpse of that book."
"Feel free" the Iron Bull replied. "Depending on which iteration he is for that branch, one of us might be even able to point out his special interest."
"Wait, what?" Yuri asked.
Interestingly, it was Sayori who chimed in. "I've heard of these loops," she mused. "It allows for multiple paths with the same goal in mind. Like you know how the book's going to start and end, but you're not sure of the path taken. And each path creates another path."
"Very good young woman" Dorian responded. "The Warden has had the misfortune to live through each iteration from their baseline form. Man. Woman. Elf. Dwarf. Murdering psychopath to gentle healer. Two others in our world have had the same issue, Hawke and the Herald of Andraste. Most recently.." he nodded his head to the Iron Bull. "The Herald had the option to even be as a Kossith or a Tal-Vashoth. Those who rejected the Qun."
"Hah. Those few times were fun. Once the Boss even looped in like me. A man on the front lines. The blood and guts and viscera flying everywhere. Was absolutely glorious!" the Iron Bull quipped. "Good catch Pinkie!" He was confused when the Looping Literature club winced. "What? I didn't fart on anything."
It was at that moment the door itself opened and a woman with bright pink curly hair, a cheerful pink top and pink ruffled skirt, and skin which was even more bright than her hair walked in. "Who called for me?"
"Pinkie?" Sayori asked, surprised only with her appearance in this loop.
"Pinkamena Diane Pie, Sillyori" the other woman replied. "Remember that's my name when I'm not a perfect Pony!" She grinned before approaching Sayori and giving her a tight hug. "Thought someone asked for me. Oooh! Two New Loopers?" she asked, seeing Bull and Dorian remain gobsmacked at her appearance. "Hi! Look me up when you're in Equestria. And what's this?" she asked, seeing a barrel by the Iron Bull. "I'll be sure to pay you back" as Pinkie grabbed the barrel and began to carry it with her.
"Young lady…" Dorian began.
"Bup bup. Look me up and I'll offer a good trade" before Pinkie walked out the door with a 'pop'.
"Did she just steal the Marass-lok? One of the stronger alcoholic blends?" the Iron Bull asked, dumbfounded.
Natsuki shrugged. "Eh. She's Pinkie Pie. You get used to her."
All four Dokis laughed at the sheer confusion on the visitors' faces.
After the brief appearance of Pinkie Pie in her human form, the rest of the loop continued almost the same as if per baseline. Though Monika tried to get the visitors to write poems, that idea was quickly tabled when Natsuki and the Iron Bull tried to outshine the other in the 'First Annual Most Lewd Limerick' competition. Yuri's face turned beet red while Sayori just looked confused. Natsuki privately thought the other woman knew what was being said but kept up the innocent act for the hell of it.
Instead, the loopers each branched into two separate groups. Monika, Yuri and Dorian were apparently in deep discussion about the Dragon Age branch and 'Magical Theory'. While Sayori could understand the general concepts, she had no wish to engage in such theoretical discussion. Instead she wandered over to where the Iron Bull and Natsuki were engaged in friendly banter while baking.
"No no. You pair the Aggregio with pork. The natural tartness will compliment the meal, especially if you have a salted meat dish" the Iron Bull was emphasizing this point with the sharp knife in his hand. He paused, looked at the knife, then resumed preparing the vegetables for their meal. "How's the bread coming along, short stuff?"
"Sure. If you want to see if a Looper can get a diabetic emergency or spew their lunch everywhere. That wine is too tart!" Natsuki retorted as she was working on a lump of dough, kneading it and adding flour. This would be a normal situation, as far as Sayori was concerned, save for the fact Natsuki thought she would cook better in her Majin form. Indeed, while she worked the bread, her twin antennae turned a slab of beef into a mound of chocolate.. "Only Majin can handle the sweets as it's a baseline diet. I'm the only Majin in this group. And I'm not 'Short Stuff'" she barked, taking a swipe at the Iron Bull who dodged it with a laugh.
Seeing as the Iron Bull and Natsuki were handling the cooking without issue, Sayori went to her room to work on one of her cosplay costumes, content she didn't need to be sure neither side tried to hurt the other.
The loop was coming to an end. Monika, in homage to the visitors and with the blessing of the others, tweaked the code a little bit. Banners inside of their club room, instead of showing "Welcome to Literature Club" showed "Welcome Dorian and Iron Bull to the Looping Literature Club." Minor decorations were added, including changing the walls to reflect a castle setting and candle sconces. Desk tables reflecting a small banquet hall, and various trappings of a castle keep. "It's only for this one time to welcome them" Monika elaborated when Sayori questioned the extent. Her Vice President nodded her head once, listening to Yuri and Natsuki chime in their agreement.
Her decorations apparently had the desired effect, as both Dorian and the Iron Bull expressed their surprise and appreciation. While Dorian assisted with setting the table, much to Natsuki's chagrin, the Iron Bull disappeared into his pocket for a moment. He returned, with a couple more casks held against his shoulder.
"What..?" Natsuki asked.
"Well you all have the wine and Dorian brought the aggregio. I just thought we'd have some Marass-lok for those interested" Bull replied as he prepared the casks, adding a spigot to them.
Dorian sighed. "You would really serve.." he yelped, his question cut off as Natsuki shifted to her Majin form. "Young lady, what..?"
"It's supposed to be a powerful badass drink right?" Natsuki chirped, her voice a bit higher in this form. "So! Gimme! Gimme gimme Gimme! I'm a Magical Girl Warrior Badass!"
"Magical girl warrior?"
"Of course!" Natsuki replied. She approached the Iron Bull with a mug in hand. Pouring herself a healthy cup of the drink, she turned to Dorian. "Who else in here is wearing a panty-shot miniskirt and midriff-baring school uniform? Who else can turn anything into candy and eat said candy? I'm Natsuki! The Tsundere of the Looping Literature Club and a badass bitch!" she self proclaimed, slamming the beverage down in one gulp.
She then proceeded to turn from a healthy Majin pink to a bright green and passed out, much to the laughing delight of the Iron Bull.
"Oh her I like!"
The other Dokis sighed while they left Natsuki passed out. Sayori just mashed her fingers together and went "Ehehehe. Let's eat. She'll wake up on her own."
After a while, Natsuki did indeed wake up. Grumbling good naturedly, she joined the table, and the feast.
"Shame the loop's ending soon" Dorian commented as the meal had ended. Each of them had not left the table, instead choosing to just sit and gossip.
"Indeed. There's still a lot more that I'd like to discuss with you. However we usually go up to the day of the School Festival. That's about a week or so out, sometimes two, from the start.." Monika commented. A small nod of her head as she added. "Who knows. We might loop into your branch and pick this conversation back up."
"I'd like that," Dorian replied.
The Iron Bull clapped his hands together as he grinned. "And you have to come by to see me and the chargers!" he added. "Who knows. Do well as we might make you honorary chargers! Even you short st-OW!" the Iron Bull leaned forward in his chair and rubbed his knee, where Natsuki had kicked him. Both were sitting across from each other. She smirked and gave him a challenging glare.
"With that being said..I propose one last toast..if that's ok?" Yuri asked. She held her glass high and cleared her throat. "To Common Ground. The one thing that makes these loops less of a hell."
The others lifted their glasses and mugs and clinked theirs with hers.
"To Common Ground!"
32.12 — New Management, by Skaz Wolfman
(DDLC)/(Adminspace)
Psyche found an elephant in her office. More accurately, an elephant-headed deva. She blinked, and then did a quick bow. "Lord Ganesha, to what do I owe the unexpected pleasure of this visit?"
"I am on a bit of a time crunch, as per usual, so i shall be brief," he began. "Quite some time ago, a rather distressingly damaged branch was activated. it couldn't be given to just anyone, it had to be someone on hephaestus or saraswati's level. I was assigned the Branch, and I have done my best to patch up the worst of it. Now, it is stable enough that I can in good conscience turn it over to another admin, which will make my life ever so slightly less hectic."
"That sounds all well and good, but why me? I'm an Ol…that is, I'm not very experienced…"
"Not at direct administration, no, but you are an expert with soul-coding, and I've heard that psychology is an interest of yours."
"…I may have dabbled, here and there," the woman whose name was literally Psyche admitted.
"Then this is a superlative Branch for you to cut your teeth on. Rather small and not particularly intricate, but still quite a fascinating riddle of bugs and glitches. Only four Loopers, very tight-knit group, all girls. One is a chronic depressive who seems to have wandered closer to manic-depressive as late. The Anchor is a veritable Gordian Knot of complexes and neuroses all on her own. She also doesn't particularly trust gods, either. My first thought was to approach Pandora, as they share the common ground of having been created to serve a function they came to greatly regret. She, however, said she'd rather not add another Branch to her workload just now, and recommended you. I understand you were born mortal, married into the divinity business?"
'Well, it would have been nice of 'Dory to give me a little heads-up,' Psyche thought sourly. "Yes, I'm an Ascended human." She put a finger to her chin. "Truth be told, I have considered requesting a Branch of my own to Admin…but I'm pretty comfortable where I am, providing support from below. Most of the Admins benefit from my work, you know."
"Yes, I have heard that you are a very supportive person, Miss Psyche–"
"Ahem. Mrs. Psyche. I am married, Lord Ganesha."
"My apologies. You have a very youthful complexion, even by immortal standards."
"Thank you, you're much too kind," she said genuinely.
"Yes, well. your compassionate nature also makes you a good fit for this branch. These girls have come a long way on their own, but they're still quite the troubled bunch. I've done what i could find the time to do, but speaking frankly, they deserve an admin who can afford them more one-on-one attention. I do care for them, of course, and i have always considered myself a great altruist, but I don't think my idea of care is what they need."
'Oh…Tartarus, he's playing my bleeding heart against me.'
"Well…I could look at the Hub backup, at least, and see if it looks like something I can handle…if nothing else, it gives me a good reason to excuse myself from dinner at Mother's, tonight," said Psyche, rubbing her arm. She gave Ganesha a wan smile, "For a woman who has so much love for French culture, her attempts at French cuisine are…dodgy. I'll never forget the time Hestia dragged poor Marianne to one of Mother's dinners; poor girl looked like she was going to drag her guillotine out of the mothballs."
"Thank you for your consideration, at the very least, Lady Psyche. you'll find I have already left the relevant files on your terminal. and in the interest of a conversationally topical farewell, I shall wish you au revoir."
The next day, after a solid sleepless night of repeated playthroughs of Doki Doki Literature Club and mad note-taking, Psyche all but barged into Ganesha's office, red around her eyes, and said, "I'll do it."
…
Sometime later, in the present loop:
"You're sweating, Madam President," said Sayori smugly.
"You've got me in a corner, I'll admit it," Monika replied. "But I'm not quite up a creek yet," she added as she moved her knight, taking Sayori's bishop.
"Wow, I had no idea Sayori was so good at chess," said the MC, whose name was 'Phil' this loop.
"She's only really good at playing Monika," Yuri observed. "They play all the time, so Sayori has a good handle on how Monika thinks. Not to brag or anything, but she's no match for me; even though we often play together, the inner workings of my mind remain enigmatic to her," said Yuri with a smile.
"Pssh, whatever you say Patrick," Natsuki snarked. "Four Austens say Veeps has Moni in checkmate in three moves."
"Tch. A Chaucer on Monika getting her in two moves," Yuri retorted, "And you're one to talk, you don't even play chess."
"Because chess is for nerds. Backgammon is a real game. You don't need skill to be a boss at chess, you just need to get in the other person's head, like you said." Natsuki leaned forward and glanced at 'Phil'. "You could be the chess grandmaster of the world, but Sayori could probably still lick your ass in four moves, or less," she said with a smirk.
"…you mean 'kick' my ass, right?" asked Phil, his eye twitching. It was only day three of the loop, but he was already inured to Natsuki's potty mouth.
"Isn't that what I said?" she asked innocently, doe-eyed and everything.
"Hey, that's Sayori's bit," Yuri admonished.
"Checkmate~" sang Monika with a dopey grin as she set down her rook, sealing the fate of Sayori's king. Sayori melodramatically clutched at her chest and fell out of her chair.
"Dagnabbit," Natsuki grumbled as she reached a hand into her blazer and pulled four Jane Austen autographs out of her Pocket and handed them to Yuri.
Before Phil could ask them what they had just exchanged, there was a knock at the door. The girls all froze, and slowly turned as one to stare at the door. Phil merely raised an eyebrow.
"That's…unprecedented," Monika muttered. She stood up and waved a hand, opening a computer screen in midair. She ignored their MC's flabbergasted reaction, frowning at the readout. "There's nothing anomalous in the code. No one Ping back," she said quietly before launching her own Ping.
No response. A moment later, there was another tentative knock at the door.
"Welp, this looks like a job for the Club's Face," said Sayori as she approached the door. Everyone but Phil noticed the black cylinder of a lightsaber hilt appearing in one of her hands. Sayori opened the door, revealing a butterfly-winged fairy woman in a business suit, with her shimmering white hair in a very professional bun and a briefcase in her hands. She was also, like, uncomfortably pretty. Sayori stared blankly at her for a solid minute, while the beautiful stranger stared right back, trying not to look nervous. Finally, Sayori declared, "Alright, maybe I'm not as straight as I've always thought. Admin?"
Psyche nodded quickly.
"Monika! I think Big G's replacement is here," said Sayori, turning away from the door and heading back into the clubroom. Psyche tentatively followed her.
"Let me guess, Ganesha was too busy to come?" asked Monika, arms folded in her seat. She snapped her fingers, and a long table materialized with her at the head, another chair at the other end, and two chairs on each of the sides in-between. Phil abruptly found himself in the seat next to Sayori, who had seemingly teleported into the seat at Monika's right hand. Yuri and Natsuki took their seats across from Sayori and him, respectively. Psyche sat down in the remaining chair.
"What the hell?!" Phil blurted.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention; our world is a video game," Sayori told him. "Please don't ask me what kind, it's sort of embarrassing. And Monika's kind of godlike. And this pretty fairy lady is actually a goddess. Right?" she turned to Psyche for confirmation.
Psyche nodded. "Hello, girls. Ladies? I'm Psyche. As Lord Ganesha told you before, I'm to be your new Administrator going forward. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances."
"Not going to introduce yourself as the goddess of such and such?" Monika asked with an elevated eyebrow.
"Lord Ganesha?" asked Natsuki, "He seemed more easy-going than that, to me."
"No, seriously, what the hell?" Phil pressed.
Sayori sighed before standing up and grabbing his hand, pulling him to his feet. "C'mon, Philly, I'll fill you in somewhere private. Yuri, take minutes for me, please?"
Yuri nodded, and Unpocketed a journal full of blank vellum pages, an inkwell, and a black feather quill. She resolved herself to record everything said and done, every expression, gesticulation, and reaction, with language so vivid and evocative that when Sayori read it she would feel as if she had stayed in the room the whole time.
"Ganesha is a much older deity than I am, and I learned the hard way a long time ago that you should always treat such people respectfully, however 'easy-going' they may seem," Psyche explained. "And I'm actually not a goddess of anything, really. Just Cupid's wife."
"Cupid?" asked Monika, "I thought the Olympian Admins favored their Greek names?"
"Most do, but my husband is an exception. When we started working more closely with the other pantheons after...The Incident...a lot of other Admins got him confused with the older Eros. The Primordial one. So he's taken to using his Roman name more lately."
"So you're here, you've met us, what now?" asked Natsuki with a smidge of impatience. The more she looked at this impossibly perfect-looking woman, the more uncomfortable she felt, especially with her girlfriend in the room. And she noticed that Yuri was making more of an effort than she usually needed to to keep her eyes on her writing. "Like, do you have questions for us, or some kind of 'new management' mission statement, or what?"
"I...um...uhhhh, actually, I didn't really...plan that far ahead," Psyche admitted. "I just...figured I should introduce myself. I'm going to be responsible for you girls, after all, so it wouldn't do for us to be strangers, would it?"
"What other Branches are you responsible for?" asked Monika.
"Ahhh...none, actually," Psyche replied candidly. "Before Lord Ganesha approached me, I was doing general codework for the others. I helped with a lot of Patches, and especially with the Pocket. Nothing groundbreaking, really, just routine gruntwork for the most part."
"Huh," Natsuki said in a faint tone of frank surprise. "Everything I've heard about the Admins had me thinking the Olympians were all cocky cocks swinging their egos at each other."
"Thank you for that vivid imagery, Natsuki," said Monika sourly.
"Imagery is my specialty!" Natsuki beamed proudly.
Psyche cleared her throat, pulling everyone's attention back to her. "Ganesha made a point of how he regretted not having more time for you. Really, I just want you to know that I'll do my best to look out for you girls."
Monika shrugged at that. "We're kind of past needing to be 'looked out for', no offense."
Psyche looked Monika straight in the eyes and gave her a small smile. The subtle, understanding sadness in her eyes (combined with the simply impossible perfection of her features) gave Monika a funny feeling. Some mixture of cold shame at her own dismissive attitude and a gush of warmth in her chest. "No one should ever feel like they're 'past' letting those who have the power to protect them do so. Remember, I was once a mortal human. I've never let myself forget that. I've never forgotten, either, what it was like being at the mercy of fickle divinities. There's a lot of lingering pain in all four of you, I can feel it. I want to do what I can to help ease it."
Monika heard a whisper in her mind, 'I also know, very, very well, what it means to suffer and bleed for the right to love. As a matter of fact, before I Ascended, Love Herself was my most bitter enemy in my pursuit of love.'
'I also know, very, very, well how it feels to be a misunderstood outsider,' Yuri heard Psyche whisper in her mind, 'Even to this day, there are times when my beloved, who has always been an immortal, can't quite grasp my human sensibilities and can only do his best to humor me.'
To Natsuki, Psyche mind-whispered, 'I also know, very, very, well how it feels to have everyone look down on you, and not take you seriously. And I know how it feels to be so in love with someone I can barely understand.'
And in another room entirely, Psyche whispered to Sayori, 'I want you to know, regardless of how you feel sometimes, you are an exceptional person. Based on what I've learned, I have to believe that you are the sole reason that your friends are as stable and grounded as they are. To forgive what you have forgiven, to care for those you have cared for, and to dare to hope for what you hope for, all while dragging the albatross you have around your neck...I cannot overstate my admiration of your human spirit, Sayori. I hope I can prove worthy to have you and your friends in my charge.'
"Well, before I keep going—any questions?" Psyche asked. As it turned out, Loopers meeting someone new for the first time, especially their brand new Admin, had a lot of questions.
Compiler's Commentary:
32.1: [Footnote]
32.2: The crucial role Sayori plays in keeping her friends balanced and happy can never be overstated enough.
32.3: *Choo-choos into eternity*
32.4: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
32.5: INTROSPECTION! *Spooky noises*
32.6: You can tell Monika's getting stir crazy when she starts making organizational graphs and tables that have little practical application. Come to think of it, she might have picked up the habit from her sessions with Twilight Sparkle?
32.7: OH! I almost forgot, welcome to the Looping Literature Club, Venku! Here's your cupcake.
32.8: I would yare yare at all this nonsense, but I guess Natsuki beat me to it.
32.9: New friends! Can't ever have enough new friends.
32.10: The girls would later wonder how he got his hands on a diamond pickaxe, as none of them had coded it in.
32.11: Before anyone freaks out about Pinkie jumping Loops or something just for a Kramer Gag, no. She was somewhere in the background of this loop the entire time, probably tooling around in meatspace, working at a bakery and catering parties or some such. How did she pop into the game for the Kramer Gag, if that's the cae, you ask? She's frigging Pinkie Pie, that's how.
32.12: WHAT'S THIS?! A TWELFTH SNIP, IN MY CHAPTER?! It's actually more likely than you might think. The odd number of snips up until now was actually a serious annoyance to me for the last thirty chapters (excluding the Special Chapters where that didn't apply) but I kept it up because it was the precedent Keluvax had set with her DDLC Loops Compilation, so I felt somehow obligated to carry on because...I don't know, I'm weird, leave me alone. But this chapter begins a new era in the looping lives and times of the Literature Club! The old Admin, Ganesha, who also administrates the Neon Genesis Evangelion, Magic: the Gathering, and Homestuck Loops, among others, has handed our girls over to a younger Admin with a tentatively optimistic disposition and a much less fusterclucked schedule. This is symbolic of the new paradigm shift for the DDLC Loops, and also due to the fact that I've been avoiding writing interactions between the girls and their Admin due to his VERY PARTICUlAR VERBAL QUIRK. So, yeah, twelve snips to a standard chapter from now on, and a freshfaced new Admin. Woohoo. Let the good times roll.