melodiesofeternity | Doki Doki Vaikuntha Club (Act 1)

The threat?

[ She wrote him a threat...? Now that was news to her. The only thing she'd ever written for him was the poem she gave him last time. ]

Wait, do you mean the poem I gave you last time?

What else would I mean?

[His eyes narrow. He remembers how ominous it read.]

The one where a girl goes and tells her friend that there are monsters out there. I won't let you hurt Yue.

[Somewhere, Yue is eating snacks and reading a poem without a clue in the world.]

[ Hurt Yue...? Oh boy. She sighed. ]

The one looking like a monster was sad and miserable, alone and self-deprecating. But the one looking like a beautiful human was trying to manipulate her friend. She judged the one looking like a monster based on his looks alone and used violence as a mean to eliminate anything she doesn't like.

[ She looked away for a moment. Well this was the literature club, she had to explain these sort of things but she'd never expected she'd have to explain the meaning behind her poem wasn't murder. ]

The poem was supposed to warn about not trusting appearances. When you read a poem, the meaning of it is not usually what jump to your face. You have to read between the lines. It was supposed to show that the true monster was actually the human woman, whereas the monster actually displayed human qualities. He was considerate and questioned his own existence, attributes one would usually associate with humanity.

[ Well... Hopefully he'd understand. ]

I wrote it because I thought it'd make you understand why I like you... I guess I didn't do a good job at that, ahaha.

You like me?

[He asks the question with the same amount of skepticism that he'd reserve for a question like "you put vinegar in your cereal?" or some other ludicrous claim.

He taps his claws on the table. Like his scales, they're as black as the night sky. Dylas slows down with each passing second before he finally stops.]

I know how to read between the lines. [He's pouting. A little. His stern face vanishes and is replaced with a look of exasperation. What is he supposed to do with this girl?] If you'd written it better, I would've gotten it.

[That's rude, but. His eyes narrow. He's still...not sure.]

Is it true?

Of course it's true.

[ Well that's pretty rich of him to give her advice on how to write, but for the sake or not worsening an already tense situation, she won't mention that. She's pretty exasperated though, that much is obvious. ]

I've already spoken with Yue before, you know? I don't understand why you'd even think that...

[ If she really wanted to hurt him? She'd have brought a hand from a random corpse, put it on display on the table and then told in a high enough voice for all to hear "Hey Dylas, I brought you a snack~." ]

I already told you why I'd think that. But maybe if you'd had more than a few seconds, you'd have written something clearer.

[He's still going to be rude, but he's going to try and give her the benefit of the doubt here. His shoulders relax, and he stares at the table. He feels like an idiot now, but he also feels like it was justified. Should he tell her that's why he didn't take her fishing?]

...I did write something. I wanted Yue to think I actually wanted to come, so...if I let you read it, will you keep this between us?

[He slides his journal in front of him, waiting for a confirmation.]

[ Man, there's so much she'd want to say right now. And do, for that matter. Like a slap right into his face. Make that a punch, actually. Not only he assumed the absolute worst, but he's still being rude?

But if Monika is good at anything, it's keeping her emotions bottled up inside and showing nothing. She was still hoping they could be friends, after all. And she's the one who's better with words...

So she won't say another word on the topic. ]

Sure, I'd be happy to!

[ She smiled sweetly and extended a hand to take the journal. ]

[He doesn't think he's being rude. Telling Monika she would have done better if she weren't in a rush was actually his way of saying 'You were rushed, so it wasn't your best effort.' He's trying to say something positive!

But no one can read his mind. And it takes a while to get used to how he speaks and what he means. He sighs, running claws through his hair before he decides to relinquish the journal. If Monika opens it to a dog-eared page, she'll find the following poem:]

no monsters here
my hands in the air like i care
a desperate prayer
but no one is there

i look around me
baby face boy welcomed
in one month, new family crowned
more peace for him than i’ve ever found
more rest for her than i’ve ever downed
in 1,000 years
more than i could ever have

world where being alone becomes grouping together to survive
world where grouping together becomes becoming friends
world where becoming friends becomes feeling safer

only a monster here

friendship gives access to ignorance
‘where is the way home’
no one asks often anymore
waiting to die but waiting together
like lead in the water
a false sense of security
dulling their senses

replace my idea of friends with self-reliance
replace my dreams with being alone
replace my family with a sparrow

“welcome travelers! don’t panic”
forced welcome plays on a loop

i just want to be with monsters
i want my own life
i share my bed with a sparrow in the dark
they have a house and a party in the yard

someday
i’ll take an airship to nowhere
and hope their house burns to the ground

[But before she can start reading, he turns his head away, trying to hide how anxious he is. The feelings expressed in the poem aren't intimate to him. They're hateful, bound to make him unpopular. She can know. She's seen him with an arm. She knows what he is.]

Don't get your hopes up. It's nothing good.

Edited 2018-08-07 17:55 (UTC)

Oh wow. That's a lot better than I expected.

[ She was being entirely honest here. She was genuinely surprised, but something else had striked her upon reading this poem. It wasn't a particularly happy one. For a new writer, this was surprising. ]

But... It is so sad.

[ Sorry Dylas, whether you like it or not you're getting a hug. It's brief and tight, she pulls away after a mere second. But it feels like he needs it. ]

[He would actually blush at that comment if being partially reptilian didn't rob him of such a feat.]

It's just...scribbles. I wrote 'em down without thinking at all.

[That's sort of a lie. He did try, a little, because he spends a pretty decent amount of time writing in his diary. He's still caught off-guard by the compliment when Monika decides to hug him. He lifts his arms in surprise and doesn't touch her in return. At least now he's even more sure that she doesn't want to kill him, but geez.]

The poem isn't...sad. It's just how things are. And what was that for, anyways? You should warn someone before you do that.

I think you needed it.

[ That poem was like the missing link. The world described in that poem, it wasn't Vaikuntha. For how awful this place was to some people, it didn't look like that terrible a place for Dylas, especially if his things from home included severed arms. And he'd reacted so strangely to her falling in love in another world, as if he knew something she didn't. Most importantly, why would he refer to his home as a "world?" ]

I'm starting to understand, I think... [A pause.] It's happened to you before, hasn't it? Getting taken to another world. But one that was...

[ She looked away. One that was far worse than Vaikuntha. ]

...You can think that if you want to.

[He's not sure what to say in response. If the hug makes her feel better, he's fine with that, he guesses. It's not like he isn't hugged or sat on by Yue all the time. The next question is one he's answered before, and each time he's answered it honestly. He has no reason to lie to Monika about that.]

There's a world full of monsters like Yue and I. That's where both of us are from, but it's not where we were born.

[He watches Yue from where he's seated. They've both agreed to stay monsters. For Dylas, it's too painful, the idea of returning to his old body like he's never done anything wrong. His snake features are like a scar to him. In a way, he's proud of what that means.

But Yue...is good.]

Don't ask any more questions. [His voice turns pleading, quiet so Yue doesn't hear.] Not from me or Yue. He hasn't done anything wrong.

[Dylas' face doesn't look sad.

But his eyes do.]

Edited 2018-08-14 13:14 (UTC)

I won't ask. I know... What it's like.

[ Perhaps he'd find it laughable that she pretended to know. But she has so many skeletons in her closet and her homeworld was, well... To her, it had been hell incarnate. Especially the times when the user logged out.

She nodded. ]

But if you ever need someone to speak too, I'm here, alright?

That's a pretty big claim to make.

[But from Dylas' defeated tone, it's clear he's not pushing that point. He's actually accepting it. He doesn't want or need to know Monika's secret at the moment, but since she's seen his...and this all hinges on her not wanting to kill him and Yue...

Maybe she's alright?]

...You should come to Nakagawa sometime. Yue would be happy if he got a visitor.

[ It was a really big claim to make, no doubt. And she felt like she could tell him and he wouldn't judge her for it, but... Now wasn't the right time. Next time, perhaps.

Her face lighted up when she heard his offer though. ]

I'll be sure to pass by! And perhaps then I'll be able to tell you, well, you know.

Don't worry about that. You don't have to tell me anything.

[He taps his journal, starting to feel pleased again that his poem was so well-received.]

I'll see you when I see you, I guess.

Doki Doki Vaikuntha Club (Act 1)

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