Natsuki (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Natsuki is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Yuri) of the visual novel, Doki Doki Literature Club!. She is Yuri's best friend and former rival. She is one of the two tritagonists in the game's Act 1 and Act 4, and the deuteragonist in Act 2. Natsuki is also one of the three characters for whom the player can write poems, as well as one of the five members of the Literature Club. 
Natsuki introduced to play off the trope of small-but-feisty tsundere girl, as discussed by Monika in Act 3. Natsuki lives in a tragic and phlegmatic household with a strict and magnanimous father and a deceased mother, whose death results in her father's post-traumatic stress disorder and becoming an alcoholic, as well as becoming sexually and emotionally abusive at occasions, before becoming physically abusive in Act 2. Her father finds manga childish, so Natsuki joined the literature club to store her manga collection in order to evade dilemma with her father if he caught her reading it.
==Appearance==
Natsuki is a young teenager who has straight pastel-pink hair, cut around chin-length, and rose pink eyes. Her bangs are swept to the right, possessing a pair of prominent strands of hair beside them. Her accessories consist of a red japanese-motif crossed hairclip, as well as two red ribbons tying a pair of small ponytails/pigtails on either side of her head, with the rest of her hair left down. Her canine teeth are longer than the rest of her teeth, making them visible when she opens her mouth wide enough. She is the shortest character in the Literature Club, a feature that results in people commonly mistaking her for a first year student (in reality, this is caused by malnourishment as a result of her father refusing to offer her food or lunch money, implied by Monika, but her short stature is suggested by the protagonist to be because of her being younger than the rest of the club members). She is also pale-light skinned, like the other club members.
While attending school, she wears the standard-issue female school uniform consisting of a warm gray blazer extensively buttoned and untucked, brown sweater vest, white shirt slightly unbuttoned at the collar, red ribbon, dark blue pleated skirt, white knee-high socks and white uwabaki slippers with sky blue tips.
While out of school, she casually wears a short-sleeved white shirt with a light pink cat face decoration on the left side with light pink trims lining the edges of the sleeves, light pink ruffled skirt with a black trim, and under the shirt includes a pair of black bra straps.
==Personality ==
Natsuki is introduced as a brash, explicit, peevish, and even arrogant girl at first glances, before revealing a cute, considerate and softer interior as a result of insecurity, causing Monika to class her as the real-life embodiment of a tsundere. While she is impulsive and occasionally improvised, Natsuki truly cares about her friends and, even when she has obvious issues with her anger, she is not entertained with fighting nor arguing with people, like Yuri. Over the course of the game, it is shown that she worries about Yuri, and, on one occasion, she gives the protagonist a note asking him to help Yuri, fearing that further and more intensive arguments will occur if interfering with her while simultaneously recognizing that there is something wrong with her. Further fitting her characteristic as a tsundere, Natsuki is heavily stubborn and has difficulty expressing her feelings and desires. When repeatedly challenged, she often becomes awkward and tongue-tied, then aggressive, before basically bursting into tears. The latter also displays the much more fragile interior she hides from other people.
Natsuki is also shown to be less assertive and more relaxed when she is outside of school, as mentioned by the protagonist when she visits his home. She also compares her figure to Yuri's, which causes the protagonist to state that some people are into a petite figure like hers. She is also known to be skilled in baking, as she made delicious cupcakes for when the protagonist first arrived in the Literature Club, and for the festival.
In her cute interior, Natsuki's favourites include manga and anime, especially those in the slice-of-life genre, and baking. She has been known to store her manga collection in the Literature Club out of embarrassment; another reason (hinted at) is because her father would be furious if he were to find her reading it while the rest of the club knows about her interest without a doubt, and she is still hesitant to discuss it. Natsuki also likes cute things, such as cupcakes with cat-looking faces, and prefers poems with cuter and happier words, though her own poems still revolve around depressive themes, such as being persecuted for an individual's hobbies. Her cute interior culminates to the reason Yuri shows Natsuki friendship and care for her the most out of all club members, outside of the protagonist.
Natsuki believes that it is important to be able to express something deep with few words. Her simplistic writing technique puts her at odds with Yuri, who has a more extravagant technique. The differing writing techniques between each other often leads into arguments, but are immediately broken up by the protagonist and Sayori. However, despite their different rhetorical techniques, Natsuki and Yuri often touch on similar themes in their poetry, such as respecting the interests of other people, even if unorthodox.
Natsuki hates being called "cute," even when she acts as such or initiates adorable performances, and she will decline all claims from other people relating to this; nevertheless, she is much more comfortable exposing her sweet interior once she has the knowledge that people are not going to tease her about it. Natsuki hates it if she does not receive important and mature attention, whether it is her writing, her hobbies, or just her overall demeanor. It is likely she learned to be ashamed of herself and her hobbies because her classmates judge her and because of her implied abusive father, making her abrasive nature a coping mechanism to mask her domestic struggles. This is also implied in a secret poem, "Things I Like About Papa," which is most likely written by her.
Natsuki is shown to be a heavily isolated person who craves affection from other people out of despair. An example includes during the third poetry-sharing session: if Natsuki has liked all the player's poems to date, she outright asks the protagonist if he thinks her poems are superior among the other club members, which immediately shifts to her begging him to state they are, regardless if he hates them or not.
Further events of the game seem to foreshadow more of Natsuki's domestic struggles upon the game's sudden shift to horror after Sayori's suicide. Monika will offer her an energy protein bar for her to eat, to an apprehensive Natsuki who refuses to open up about her wellbeing. Monika eventually tells the player that Natsuki is malnourished, which could potentially be due to her father refusing to offer her lunch money. This can also be the reason for her lack of height and her small body, and more in terms of personality, the reason for her refusing to open up occasionally.
In Act 2, Natsuki is characterized to be more possessive than before, demonstrated in the scene when she argues with Monika over getting new members. She lacks a lot of locations for her safety, so when she does have one, she prefers for it to remain intact. According to Monika in Act 2 (as when she points out "how mean Natsuki is" in the third day), Natsuki is potentially more harsh and presumptuous than in Act 1, such as being less impolite through flirting and more through envy. It could be from her father’s amplified actions in terms of personality inflicted on her and/or being jealous of Yuri for spending more time with the protagonist. This is also because Monika modified her character file to make her more aggressive and hostile in Act 2. Her increased aggression is demonstrated with the arguement between her and Yuri over their poetic techniques, which takes a darker and more intense turn in Act 2 (due to Sayori's absence).
==History==
Natsuki was born on 1999. Natsuki was raised by her parents. Her early childhood was going smooth sailing, until Natsuki's mother perished, whose death results in her father's post-traumatic stress disorder and becoming an alcoholic, as well as becoming sexually and emotionally abusive, though strict. In turn, Natsuki's father even became neglectful of her daughter, not even offering her lunch money nor feeding her either most of the time due to the alcohol intoxication causing her father to forget to do so for her, thus resulting in Natsuki's malnourishment. Natsuki's father also disliked manga due to finding it as childish, much to Natsuki's misfortune - as she loves reading manga since her childhood. In addition, Natsuki has also been judged by her other classmates in school because of her father and Natsuki's short stature as a result of her malnutrition, resulting in Natsuki becoming a sharp tsundere over the years of her life.
In 2017, Natsuki joined the Literature Club at her high school to store her manga collection inside to evade her father's wrath if she caught reading it. In the protagonist's first glances with Natsuki, she is introduced as a brash and arrogant girl. In Act 1, the protagonist is tasked with siding with Natsuki, Yuri, or asking for Sayori's assist after an argument between Yuri and Natsuki regarding writing techniques. Choosing Yuri will cause her to be offended, and the player attempts to read Natsuki their poem, Natsuki will immediately shoo them away. Choosing Natsuki will cause her to become proud and happily accept his opinion, only for the protagonist to chide her when Yuri becomes upset. The protagonist explains his reasonings to Yuri, although it is clear that she is not completely convinced, if listening at all. Natsuki then reluctantly apologizes to Yuri. If the player calls for Sayori to diffuse the situation, Sayori will compliment both Yuri and Natsuki on their writing and capabilities. The argument will dissolve afterwards and both Yuri and Natsuki will be satisfied with Sayori's response, yet embarrassed simultaneously. While accessing her route, Natsuki reveals that her friends think manga is childish, and that she cannot even bring it up without them being all like, "Eh? You still haven't grown out of that yet?," which makes her "want to punch them in the face."
On the third day, Monika is found to have moved all of Natsuki's manga up to the top shelf of the classroom's closet - much to the latter's anger, and she is forced to find a method to reach them. The protagonist holds onto the chair while Natsuki grabs the box of manga, in a position where he can almost see up her skirt. Once she has the box, she asks the protagonist to take it, but she changes her mind as she looks down and thinks that he is looking up her skirt, even though he is not. Her anger and misunderstanding in this situation causes her to fall, and she lands on top of the protagonist, accidentally causing him to crease a page in one of the manga, causing Natsuki to burst into tears. He tries his best to cheer Natsuki up, and she thanks him for being so nice to her, which stands out of her traditional behaviour.
On the fourth day, when the protagonist talks to Natsuki about a dejected Sayori, she immediately becomes jealous. However, after going into more detail, Natsuki calms down and reassures the protagonist that since Sayori is his best friend, if she did have problems, she would bring that up to the protagonist himself. When sharing poems, Natsuki seems to finally admit that she likes the protagonist's poems, even comparing him to her skills. She then begs him to tell her that she is a good writer. When the protagonist asks for her poem, Natsuki becomes apprehensive and does not show it to him, claiming that it is a bad poem, but she finally gives in and hands it to the protagonist. It is revealed that her poem is actually about the protagonist himself, which is the reason she was nervous about letting him read it. When the protagonist tries to return it, Natsuki declines apprehensively, stating that she does not want it. If the protagonist picks Natsuki for the festival preparation, she is delighted, even though she did not require help. Yuri becomes passive-aggressive, stating that she is used to working alone by now. Natsuki tries to cheer up Yuri, which surprises the other club members. The protagonist then exchanges phone numbers with her.
When the protagonist returns to his home, Natsuki arrives soon after, and he invites her into his house. The two get started with baking, but when Natsuki playfully tries to get him dirty with a bit of icing, the protagonist catches Natsuki by both of her wrists and pinning her up against the kitchen wall. The protagonist then licks the icing off of her finger, which makes her feel shocked and embarrassed. After the cupcakes are baked and decorated, the two stand outside the protagonist's house when Natsuki suddenly tries to kiss him, and Sayori interrupts them, causing her to become flustered and rush home.
Unique to the other characters, Natsuki lacks her own respective problems and never meets a gruesome ending. However, hints are given throughout the course of the game that suggest that she struggles with an abusive household as a result of her neglectful and potentially abusive family, including the ninth special poem, titled, "Things I Like About Papa," and her edited comment in Act 2 about her father's wrath if he were he to find her manga. If the player writes a poem for Natsuki, the protagonist will read manga with Natsuki, and during the middle of the session, she will fall asleep. The protagonist will attempt to rouse her, and she will glitch out, with a mass of black glitches covering her eyes and mouth, and her dialogue will be distorted. Monika will find them and ask if she is fine, to when Natsuki is hesitant for response, Monika will throw her an energy protein bar for her to eat. Monika then tells the player that Natsuki is malnourished, which could potentially be due to her father refusing to offer her lunch money.
On the second day of Act 2, the same argument between Natsuki and Yuri and their differing writing techniques will occur, but with a more intensive and darker turn due to Sayori's absence. Monika eventually takes the player out of the classroom and into the hallway. She then waits for a while before deciding that it is safe to go in. Suddenly, Natsuki will burst into the hallway, crying in fear. She rushes past the player, and upon returning to the classroom, Yuri will repeat: “I didn’t mean it,” and continues to ask the player not to hate her for it and hopes that Natsuki will forgive her tomorrow. Monika will then comfort Yuri by telling her that Natsuki will forget all about it tomorrow, implying that Monika will erase the memory from Natsuki’s character file. On the third day, Natsuki will no longer remember the argument that she got into with Yuri the day before, and when Yuri attempts to apologize, Natsuki responds she doesn’t remember what happened the day before, intimidating Yuri.
If Natsuki is written another poem in Act 2, Natsuki will show immediate jealousy for the protagonist spending time with Yuri. She will show the protagonist her poem, which is written in Base 64. She will then start asking the player if the player just wants her to suffer, and telling him that he should stop hanging out with Yuri, and to spend time with her instead, complaining that she has been spending too much time with Yuri in comparison to the others. A distorted variation of "Okay, Everyone!" will play over the scene, and Natsuki's eyes and mouth will be covered by a mass of black glitches, her skin becoming more pale, and blood will rush down her face, to resemble crying blood, all while the screen slowly tints to a dark red. She will continue rambling on and on that she is isolated and that the protagonist requires to spend more time with her. Eventually, she stops talking as the music cuts off, and for a short moment, the room is filled with silence. She will then yell "PLAY WITH ME!!!," the mass of glitches on her mouth replaced with a wide smile, and her neck will snap and bend to the left (or right side of the screen in the player’s perspective) abruptly to a 90° angle, and will hastily rush towards the screen. The screen will now show a black screen with the word, "END," backwards on it. However, when starting up the game once more, there seems to be no lasting consequences from that scene, with Natsuki still remaining and the Literature Club, practically intact.
In her next "poem," Natsuki, similar to Yuri, is shown to be somewhat self-aware and sentient of Monika’s influence around all of the members within the club, or at least aware of how Yuri is behaving paranormal and how Monika ignores it, showing her care. She tries to come to the protagonist about it for assistance, suggesting them to give Yuri a therapist and offering to make cupcakes for the protagonist, though, like Yuri, Monika finds a method to prevent it. After this, the screen will glitch for a few seconds and show a faceless, pale-skinned Natsuki. She will tell the protagonist, more so the player themselves, to ignore what was read on the poem and tells them that all of the problems will relinquish if they just spend time with Monika. She then repeats this three times with various option selections of “Just Monika” making an appearance. After this, the game performs a fake restart to the beginning with the warning of the game changed to also “Just Monika,” to then returning to the game.
Near the climax of the fourth day, a heated quarrel occurs over who the protagonist should help in preparation for the festival. Whereas in Act 1, the player was able to choose who to help, three buttons appear, reading Yuri, Natsuki, and Monika. However, in this act, the cursor is forcefully moved towards Monika. If the player manages to press Natsuki or Yuri, a white screen will appear, with Yuri's realistic purple eyes staring directly at the player. After a few seconds, the default “choice” screen reappears, but this time, with randomly generated text at the bottom, and the only choice buttons are “Monika,” filling the entire screen top to bottom. If the player selects Monika instead, the game continues normally. After said quarrel, and after the player inevitably chooses Monika, Yuri ejects Natsuki and Monika from the room, and confesses her love for the protagonist in an obsessive manner. No matter whether the player accepts or rejects her confession, she stabs herself twice in the stomach, and once in the chest before falling to the ground.
After Yuri's suicide, Natsuki comes inside the club to find Yuri's decomposing body. She will yelp loudly at the sight of her corpse, scream in horror, then vomit all over her uniform and flee the facility while suffering nausea before both she and Yuri are deleted by Monika, and Act 3 begins, before Natsuki and Yuri reappear in Act 4 with a much more friendly disposition to one another. If the player achieves the normal ending, Sayori will attempt to perform Monika's actions, but the latter will delete her and the existence of the entire game before she successfully does so, along with Natsuki and Yuri. If the player achieves the good ending, Sayori will not attempt to continue where Monika had left off in Act 3, instead thanking the player for being thoughtful about making everyone happy, thus retaining the existence of herself, Natsuki and Yuri.
==Gallery==
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==Trivia==
*Natsuki's name is a common unisex given name in Japanese.
*Natsuki has a Twitter account under the alias lilnatsuki3.
*Contrary to popular belief, however, Natsuki's father is not abusive in reality, just strict (before becoming abusive by proxy of Monika's influence as the game shifts to horror). In Act 1, Natsuki's father is sexually abusive and strict, albeit still generous and caring for her. In Act 2, Natsuki's father ranges to extreme physical and violent abuse upon the game's sudden shift to horror after Sayori's suicide as Monika's manipulations begin to occur.
*It is implied that Natsuki has an abusive father, ranging from being heavily strict in Act 1 to extreme physical abuse in Act 2:
**Natsuki prefers to remain at the Literature Club rather than at her home and is visibly worried about fading into the background if more people were to join the club, even asking Monika to let her know in advance if a new member joins.
**Natsuki implies that her father finds manga useless and fears his wrath if he caught her reading it. This would also explain the reason she stores her manga collection in the classroom's closet.
**The father wants her home no later than a specific time.
**When preparing for the festival, Natsuki states that her father would kill her if she brought a boy to their house, which is the reason she went to the protagonist's house to make cupcakes. This implies that he is controlling over her having friends over, or having relationships. By extension, she states she "can't do anything" when her dad is home.
**Monika's alterations to Natsuki's negative traits in Act 2 intensify her father's abusiveness, evident by Natsuki's bolded comment, "My dad would beat the shit out of me if he saw this," and Monika's "guess" that Natsuki's father does not give her money or lunch as she departs to school, resulting in her malnutrition and short stature.
***Related, Natsuki passes out in the room of the Literature Club, prompting Monika to give her a protein bar, stating it happens often enough to have Monika retain one in her bag in case it happens again.
**Natsuki's insecurity being the fuel to her tsundere-classified characteristic and boastful attempts at superiority as she looks for approval and jeers from others without being laughed or mocked at, a common symptom for victims of child abuse.
**Another circumstantial point, but if the player writes poems for Natsuki in Act 2 the day before and the day of the festival planning, then the interaction between Yuri and Natsuki changes on the day of the festival planning and takes a darker turn: Natsuki apologizes for being so aggressive the day before and leaving the club, and Yuri responds that "Nobody cares. Why don't you go look for coins under the vending machines or something?" under Monika's influence. Natsuki is initially shocked and angry and tries to speak, but instead, she runs out of the club room, crying, while Monika remains oblivious of the scene. Despite this, the rest of the events for that day proceed as traditional, and Natsuki will still give the player her "poem" about attempt to help Yuri, stating that she doesn't trust Monika. The jab by Yuri, though, further alludes to the possible fact that Natsuki's father does not give her lunch money and thus encourages the concept that Natsuki's father is abusive.
**Theoretical at best, but by connecting the symptoms of insecurity from real-world abuse victims and how such relationships tend to begin,poem_special9 Natsuki pressuring to go home for dinner after saving her appetite, feeling insecure about her underdeveloped size and stature, and her boasting about how she can overcome such a flaw with minor acts of feat, the father is likely critical of her stagnated growth and desired her to eat all provided meals so his efforts are worth the fortune that Natsuki does not become more dependent on him and become a greater drain on his resources, time, and energy.
*Her poems are typically the shortest and most "childish" of the group, with playful and simple music, contrasting with the messages of her poems, which are typically more hard-hitting and serious.
*In the manga, Parfait Girls, Natsuki's favorite character is a girl christened, "Minori," who she claims to be especially unlucky.
*Dan Salvato has stated that he wished he could have added more content to Natsuki's character. However, no such content was planned.
*Natsuki is the only girl who lacks a death scene.
**Natsuki snapping her neck to the side during her corruption in Act 2 could be disputed as Natsuki's self-destruction, but the act has temporary and inconclusive consequences.
*Natsuki is the only female character whose bangs are swept to her right rather than to the left.
*The sprite of Natsuki throwing up is potentially inspired by "vomit-chan," a famous Yume Nikki fanart image that features the protagonist-central character, Madotsuki, throwing up.
*Natsuki's file can be changed into a .png file, inverted, and then put on a cone to show a neon-blonde woman with no pupils.
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