Sunshine [DDLC - Monika x Yuri, AKA Yurika]

Chapter I

"Yuri?"

Yuri looks up from her book. It's Monika. Slightly annoyed that she was interrupted , she sighs,  listening to what Monika has to say without putting the book down.

"Uh, you didn't seem to hear me earlier, but we're sharing our poems now." Monika says, the other club members already exchanging.

"Oh, okay." Yuri says, marking her place with her bookmark and sliding the book back into her backpack. From there, she grabs a folded piece of paper with her poem on it, written neatly in pen. What the others don't know is that she rewrote it four times just because she was unhappy with the way her handwriting looked.

Monika is the closest person to her (after all, she did just remind her it was poem-exchanging time), so she starts with her. "H-Here..." Yuri says, still new to sharing her poems. She used to be confident when she shared because MC seemed to like her style, but as time went on, she realized he was just nodding along, and that he didn't really understand what was going on. Eventually, the two just stopped talking altogether. Since then, Yuri's confidence in sharing her writing has dropped, and it has become her least favorite part of the club.

Monika reads over Yuri's poem. "You have beautiful handwriting..." she comments as she reads. Yuri gulps. "Is that really the only thing she notices...? Is my writing that bad?" She thinks. "Well, Yuri, this is an excellent poem! I really enjoyed the usage of symbolism and imagery. It felt... chilling, reading it. It really comes to life."

Yuri smiles to herself. She likes the actual poem, after all. "Th-Thank you...I tried to use my language to paint a macabre setting, so that the reader actually feels like they're there. I wanted them to feel... hopeless, and afraid. It's a wonder what literature can do."

"Yes, it is. You did a remarkable job. I also feel like the poem conveys guilt or shame of some kind. Is that just me?" Monika responds.

"Well... yes, that is an element to it. I'm surprised you picked up on that. It's an undertone I wanted to include. It represents the fear one feels that will be judged for something anything considered 'unusual' by society, the shame they feel for liking such a thing, the hopelessness they feel when they give up on thinking anyone will understand."

"It's very well conveyed, at least for someone who's really into poetry. I have trouble believing that most people will be able to read this and understand the deeper meaning behind it." Monika adds. "Though I do have one question..."

"Oh, uh, yes?" Yuri asks, curious to hear what she wants to ask.

"I believe it was you who said that poets will often project their own thoughts and feelings in their poems, even unintentionally. Is this one of those cases?" Monika asks.

"Well, uh... I... um..." Yuri trips over her words. The answer was yes, but she couldn't just say that out loud. She didn't want to admit... her cuts...

"Uh... never mind. Care to read my poem?" Monika asks, trying to change the subject.

"Um, yes, yes I would." As Yuri grabs Monika's paper, she notices her heart beating quicker than usual. Was it like that the entire conversation? It must have been the conversation itself. She hadn't had an actual discussion of literature in forever. Usually when she shared her poems, she was either received with a bland "it was good" or an accusation of arrogance from Natsuki. But that was an intellectual discussion! It made her blood rush, her heart race. She loved every second of it.

As Yuri reads Monika's poem, she thought to herself that it seemed odd. There were large gaps between stanzas, and sometimes missing letters. When she was done reading it, Monika was excited to see Yuri's reaction. "So, what did you think?" She asked.

"It was... confusing."

"Ah, confused about the spacing and missing letters?"

"Well, yes, actually."

"Well, when I was writing it, I thought about how difficult it was to convey meaning through a poem. Then I realized that I didn't just have to use my words. By changing the spaces between words and stanzas, I have created a whole new meaning. They imply pauses in time, or at least that's what I thought when I wrote it. When I read it over, I realized it conveys so much more, so much that I hardly understand it yet. As for the gaps between letters, it represents the longing to be together. The framework for the word is there, just enough that you can tell what it means, but not enough for it to be united, whole."

Yuri is fascinated. "That's very well put... I've never thought of utilizing the space in my poetry, only the language."

"Yes, it's quite--"

The bell rings. "Wait, is it really time to go already?" Yuri asks. She lost track of the time. "Well, uh, goodbye, Monika!"

"See you tomorrow, Yuri!"

And with that, they depart, each heading a separate way to their respective homes.