Between the tables of the Literature Club, under light beams from the open window, everyone shared their poems. Though they'd grown used to it, it still filled their stomachs with butterflies.

Sayori fidgeted as their newest member, Protag, read the last few words on her paper, slightly creased from staying in her pocket. He scanned the page again. "It's... are you doing okay? This is sadder than usual."

Her messy hair caught in her hands. Sayori thought long and hard. "Uhm, don't worry about it too much! You've gotta separate the art from the person, dontcha?"

With a sigh, he turned to the table opposite them. Natsuki and Yuri had traded poems, and were just finishing them together. The paper Yuri held had crumpled ridges from the little tsundere's tight hold. She put a finger to her lips. "Uhm, very... cu... I mean, h-heartfelt...? I enjoyed the... the... sense of character..."

"...Jerk, you don't have to pretend it's good."

The purple-haired maiden shook her hands in defense. "N-no! It's just... I can relate to... we all feel kinda stuck in these... competitions...? Although we don't mean to..." Realizing what she was saying, she hid her face away from her fellow club member's glare.

Natsuki groaned a little. "Sheesh, thanks a lot." Her fingers navigated around the tea stains on Yuri's sheet, squinting while she read off the last words. She shoved the sheet back in her companion's hand. "What's with this purple prose? You know, it's not healthy to keep covering up your secrets."

With a long, relieving breath, Yuri put a hand to her chest. "You understood the symbolism...? Thank goodness... "

Natsuki crossed her arms. "...Duh! I also feel the same... I-I mean... I'm a pro!" Her short pigtails bobbed as she tossed her face to the side, pert nose pointing up. "Don't act like your poetry is all mysterious and spooky, smarty-pants!"

As they kept discussing their work, Sayori finished reading the poem Protag put together. She hugged the paper into her open jacket. "Awww, it's got a little something from each of our styles! Even that fun stuff Monika does with the spaces!"

"Speaking of..." He turned his head to a corner of the room.

Though a little lonely, Monika's voice was graceful and gentle as she re-read her own poem, which everyone else had already reviewed. She turned her head to Protag, already aware of his gaze. Her eyes kept locked to him as she spoke to everyone in the room. "Okay, everyone! I know you're eager to see that secret I promised."

Beaming in the attention everyone gave her, the club's leader pulled out an ornate box. "Well, here it is! Da-da-daaa...!" When she removed the lid, humming a fanfare, a set of glowing orbs rested within; resting on soft, protective pillows and tissues.

Sayori instantly grinned, her glowing blue eyes approaching the serene spheres. "Oo~oh! Planets! You've actually got some tiny planets~! Hello~o world, I'm Sayo~ori!"

Natsuki held her hips, and peered at them sideways. "...Seriously? Some dumb rocks? What's this got to do with our club? You could've just asked me to make cupcakes."

Yuri's hands folded into each other, as she hid them behind her back. She steadied her breath so as not to jostle the worlds' atmospheres. "...Uhm... These are... Absolutely majestic... M-may I... please...?" Her hesitation stopped her from finishing that sentence.

With a slightly embarrassed smile, Monika held her head to the side. "My old club mates from the Debate Team convinced the staff to increase our budget. This is a treat to every one of you who help make this Literature Club a fun place!"

Across the makeshift solar system, the skies filled with unfathomably huge faces. Most of them had a little twinkle of excitement in them, as they began scanning their "gifts". The billions of microbes panicked; some going through revolutions; others praying to the skies; none of their movements even registering as a whisper outside their box.

Protag, unlike the others, was practically frozen; his eyes bulging out of his head. "Wh...what the hell? Shrunken planets? Those things? Are they toys? No, it looks like there are actually settlements on each of them... Where did you get these? Are you some sort of witch?" His hands shot up to his scalp in panic.

Monika gave him a sideways glance and a frown. "What's the matter? They've always..." Suddenly, she broke into laughter. "Oh jeez, I forgot to tell you! I'm super sorry! Let me fix that..."

The club leader lifted her finger, and bits of game code shifted around it. She hummed as the symbols fluttered through her brown ponytail and spotless white ribbon.

editing player_memories.rpy...

    $ del _history_list[-3:]
    $ omniworld = True
    m.add_history("Protag", "", """Marble-sized planets with tiny inhabitants pop up in this world. Many people use them as inexpensive food. It's completely natural that Monika would buy some of them as gifts. There's nothing abnormal about it at all. In fact, this is very thoughtful of Monika.""")
    return

"Thank you, Monika!" Protag blurted out with an earnest smile on his face. "This is really neat."

She nodded back, traces of editing code entirely vanished. "Anytime~"

As soon as the club leader pushed the cosmic box out further, Sayori snatched up her favorite from the batch: a watery sphere with sky-blue seas. She rolled it happily in her palms, as if performing a good-luck ritual. "He~ey! Don't worry, I'll suck your planet's rainclouds ri~ight up. That way, I can see all of your smiles! Eheheheh!"

Navies on the shifting seas below all stood in formation. This bright, smiling diety challenged their very perception of reality. Across impossibly large cheeks, they launched barrages of missiles... Which only resulted in her giggling from the tickles. One flew into her nose - triggering a massive sneeze. Her nose's force shot the globe to the ground, sending it rolling across the floor. The gargantuan Vice-President yelped in surprise, and chased it. "W-wait! I'll be more careful! Aaaw, don't run...!"

Next came Yuri - who spent a little time second-guessing herself, analyzing both the orbs and the club members around. She finally pinched the tiniest planet out of the set. It was as pink as cotton candy; and the fluffy, soft clouds surrounding it looked incredibly sweet. Her hand shifted rapidly, almost dropping it out of her hold, while trying to contain her heavy breathing. "Thank you. I... believe... I should repay you." She took out the class' trusty water pitcher, and with a few elegant steps, made her way to the door. "I'll... return with tea..."

Across the rocky pink fields, a bunch of fuzzy humanoids stared up. Digits longer than anything they could imagine gripped to every corner of their world. And through the small spaces between the fingers, they spotted a woman's moon-sized pupils shrinking with restrained glee.

Not wanting to miss out, Natsuki hopped on a desk to get a better perspective. She reached in, and picked up what might've been a "gas giant" in its old solar system: a large, world covered in shifting mists of amethyst purple. "Well, this one's alright... I guess..." She went back to a closet, gripping the populated orb in her wrinkled palm. As the unique texture of their outer crust brushed into her pale skin, she suddenly snapped down to them: "Don't wiggle like that! It feels gross."

The exclamation blared as loud as an alarm through the ancient temples and fortresses of the murky world below. A refined, regal society, with a long, storied history of love and despair among their royal family... They all understood the danger they were in when they saw a flash of this woman's hungry fang.

At the table, Monika held her box up to Protag, giving him the best possible view of the settlements within. "Protag, I feel like there's some guideline preventing me from offering you your own planet right now. You still need time to get used to this paradigm shift, of course. But still, if you have any plans for what you'd like to do next, let me know! I'm always listening!"