Natsuki (DDLC)

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It's recommended you play the game first before you read the article.

## Natsuki

 *For her appearance in Plus, go here.*
**Natsuki** (ナツキ) is a main character of *Doki Doki Literature Club!*. She is a member of the Literature Club, and a character whom the player can write poems for.

## Appearance

Natsuki has straight pastel pink hair, cut around chin length, and pink eyes. Her bangs are swept to the right, having two prominent strands of hair beside them. Her accessories consist of a red Japanese-style crossed hairclip, as well as two red ribbons tying two small ponytails 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.

While in school, she wears the standard issue female school uniform consisting of a warm gray blazer fully 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 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. Under the shirt, two black bra straps can be seen.

## Personality

Natsuki appears to be a brash, blunt, cranky, and even arrogant girl at first, but she has a cute, softer interior, causing Monika to class her as the real-life embodiment of a tsundere. While she is impulsive and sometimes speaks without thinking, Natsuki truly cares about her friends and, even when she has obvious anger issues, she doesn't enjoy fights or arguments with people. 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 if she spoke out then it would cause more arguments. Natsuki is very stubborn and has a hard time expressing how she feels and what she wants. When repeatedly challenged, she often becomes awkward and tongue-tied, then aggressive, and then simply bursts into tears.

Natsuki is also shown to be less pushy and more relaxed when she is outside of school, as mentioned by the protagonist when she visits his home. She is also known to be skilled in baking, as she made delicious cupcakes for when the main character first arrives in the Literature Club, and for the festival.

If the player chooses to help Natsuki for the festival during Act 1, her clothing will be a pink, frilled skirt and a plain white shirt with a pink cat on it. The protagonist also gets Natsuki to admit a bit of her fondness for the aesthetic of cuteness, as he states that she can't wear this type of clothing and not be considered cute. They do baking together, and at one point the protagonist eats some frosting that was on her finger. She immediately burns up, and claims "You really shouldn’t do that kind of thing to girls...unless you really like them...” and when the main character questions her, the topic is immediately dropped and the two go back to making cupcakes. They also meet up in front of the protagonist's house, and Natsuki puts her face close to his, stating that she has "felt it for a while now", but they are both interrupted by Sayori, and she makes her excuse and leaves shortly afterward.

Natsuki's cute interior also involves a love of manga and anime, particularly 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 angry while the rest of the club obviously knows about her interest, and she is still hesitant to talk about it. Natsuki also likes cute things, such as cupcakes with cat faces, and prefers poems with cuter, happier words, though her own poems are still about sad things, such as being persecuted for one's hobbies.

Natsuki believes that it's important to be able to express something deep with few words. Her simplistic writing style puts her at odds with Yuri, who has a more extravagant style. In Act 1, the protagonist is tasked with siding with Natsuki, Yuri, or asking for Sayori's help after an argument between Yuri and Natsuki regarding writing styles. Choosing Yuri will cause her to be offended, and the player attempts to read Natsuki their poem, Natsuki will immediately shoo them away. 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. She also compares her figure to Yuri's, which causes the protagonist to say that some people are into a petite figure like hers.

Natsuki hates being called "cute," even when she acts as such or does cute things, and she will deny any claims from others relating to this; nevertheless, she is much more comfortable exposing her sweet side once she knows people aren't going to tease her about it. Natsuki hates it if she isn't taken seriously, whether it's 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. This is also implied in a secret poem, "Things I Like About Papa", which is most likely written by her.

It is shown that she is a very lonely person who desperately craves affection from anyone. One example is 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 the best, which quickly shifts to her begging him to say they are, even if he hates them.

During Act 2, Natsuki seems somewhat the same as she was in Act 1, although it slowly reveals more of her secret about her father. 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 try 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's okay, to when Natsuki doesn't respond, Monika will throw her an energy bar for her to eat. Monika then tells the player that Natsuki is malnourished, which could possibly be due to her father. This can also be the reason for her lack of height and her small body, and more personality-wise the reason for her refusing to open up sometimes.

Act 2 also displays a more possessive Natsuki, as shown in the scene when she argues with Monika over getting new members. She doesn't have a lot of places that are safe for her, so when she does have one, she prefers for it to be unchanged. According to Monika in this Act (as when she points out "how mean Natsuki is" in Day 3), Natsuki is possibly more harsh than normal, such as being less mean in a flirty way and more in a jealous way. It could be from her father’s amplified personality actions inflicted on her and/or being jealous of Yuri for spending more time with the player.

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 main character 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. A distorted version of "Okay, Everyone!" will play, 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. 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 abruptly, and will rush towards the screen. The screen will now show a black screen with the word "END" typed in backwards on it. However, when starting up the game once more, there seems to be no lasting consequences from that scene, with Natsuki still intact and the Literature Club seeming mostly normal.

In her next "poem", Natsuki, similar to Yuri, is shown to be somewhat "aware" of Monika’s influence around everyone, or at least aware of how Yuri isn’t acting as her normal self and how Monika ignores it, showing her care. She tries to come to the player about it for help, suggesting them to give Yuri a therapist and offering to make cupcakes for the player, though, like Yuri, Monika finds a way to prevent it. After this, the screen will glitch for a few seconds and show a faceless, pale-skin Natsuki. She will tell the player to ignore what they read and tells them that all of the problems will go away if they just spend time with Monika. She then repeats this three times with various option selections of “Just Monika” appearing. After this, the game does a fake restart to the beginning with the warning of the game changed to also “Just Monika”, to then going back to the game.

After Yuri's suicide, she comes inside the club to find Yuri's decomposing body. She will yelp loudly, scream, then vomit all over her uniform and run away. Monika then finds Yuri, and will quickly delete Yuri and Natsuki's files. Monika eats a cupcake made by Natsuki, except her name is jumbled up and distorted. Monika will then begin Act 3.

## Quotes

### Act 1

"Seriously? You brought a boy? Way to kill the atmosphere."

"What are you looking at? If you want to say something, say it."

"W-Why are you thanking me? It's not like I...!...Made them for you or anything."

"Ugh, I hate horror..."

"I'm not cute!!"

"If you really just came for the cupcakes, I would be super pissed."

"Manga is literature!!"

(To Yuri) I wasn't the one whose boobs magically grew a size bigger as soon as (player name) started showing up!!"

"Well everyone has their own opinion. But my opinion is the best opinion. I'm sure you've figured that out already."

"I am so done with you."

"Take your stupid poem. If you wrote it for someone else, just don't show it to me!"

"Well, even if you don't know how to bake, there's always some dirty work I could give to you."

"Do you really hate us that much?"

"You better bet that my cupcakes are going to be the best part of the whole event!"

"You shouldn't do that kind of thing to girls, unless you really like them."

### Act 2

"**fucking monikammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm**"

"She never puts my stuff back in the right spot! What's the point in keeping your collection organized if someone else is just gonna mess it up?"

"Seeing a box set with one book missing is probably the most irritating sight in the world."

"**don't judge a bookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk kkkkk kk k           k          k        k        k'**"

"Like I could ever get my friends to read this... They just think manga is for kids. I can't even bring it up without them being all like... "Eh? You still haven't grown out of that yet?" Makes me want to punch them in the face..."

"I mean, I feel like I can't even keep it in my own room... **My dad would beat the shit out of me if he found this.**"

(Arguing with Yuri) "Whoa, be careful or you might cut yourself on that edge, Yuri. Oh, my bad... You already do, don't you?"

(Next day after the argument) "**Whatever's on your mind, I'm sure it was nothing. I don't even remember anything bad happening. You're the kind of person who worried too much about the little things, aren't you?**"

"**Why didn't you come read with me today? I was waiting for you. I was waiting for a long time. It was the only thing I had to look forward to today. Why did you ruin it? Do you like Yuri more? I think you're better off not associating with her. Are you listening to me? Yuri is a sick freak. That should be obvious by now. So just play with me instead. Okay? You don't hate me, do you? Do you hate me? Do you want to make me go home crying? The club is the only place I feel safe. Don't ruin that for me. Don't ruin it. Please. Just stop talking to Yuri. Play with me instead. It's all I have... Play with me. PLAY WITH ME.**"

"**I changed my mind. Ignore everything you just read. There's no point in trying to do anything. It's Yuri's own fault that she's so unlikable. Can you hear me? If you would just spend more time with Monika, all these problems would go away. Yuri and I are too messed up for someone as wonderful as you. Just think of Monika from now on. Just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika.**"

(To Yuri) "All you care about now is dragging (player name) around with you and your stupid books."

"Alright, it's festival time! Wow, you got here before me? I thought I was pretty ear-“

\*sees Yuri's corpse\* "EYAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"

### Act 4

"So you're the MC that Sayori's always talking about?"

## Preferred Words

**Act 1**

* Blanket, Boop, Bouncy, Bubbles, Bunny
* Candy, Cheeks, Chocolate, Clouds, Cute
* Doki-Doki
* Email
* Fantasy, Fluffy
* Games, Giggle
* Hair, Headphones, Heartbeat, Hop
* Jump, Jumpy
* Kawaii, Kiss, Kitty
* Marshmallow, Melody, Milk, Mouse
* Nibble, Nightgown
* Papa, Parfait, Peace, Pink, Playground, Poof, Pout, Puppy, Pure
* Ribbon
* Shiny, Shopping, Skipping, Skirt, Socks, Spinning, Sticky, Strawberry, Sugar, Summer, Swimsuit
* Twirl
* Valentine, Vanilla
* Waterfall, Whisper, Whistle

**Act 2**
These words are added to Natsuki's word list during Act 2.

* Beauty, Bed, Bliss
* Charm, Cheer, Childhood, Clumsy, Color, Comfort
* Dance, Dazzle
* Excitement, Extraordinary
* Family, Feather, Fireflies, Fireworks, Flower, Flying, Friends, Fun
* Happiness, Heart, Holiday
* Laugh, Lazy, Loud, Love, Lucky
* Nature
* Ocean
* Party, Passion, Play, Precious, Promise
* Rainbow, Raincloud, Romance
* Sadness, Silly, Sing, Smile, Sparkle, Special, Sunny, Sunset, Sweet
* Together, Treasure
* Vacation
* Warm, Wonderful

## Etymology

* The name **Natsuki** is written in katakana (ナツキ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (菜月 or 夏希), it could possibly mean:
	+ 菜月 - "vegetables, greens" (菜) (**na**) and "moon" (月) (**tsuki**).
	+ 夏希 - "summer" (夏) (**natsu**) and "hope" (希) (**ki**).

## Trivia

* It is implied that Natsuki has an abusive father, ranging from being extremely strict in Act 1 to extreme physical abuse in Act 2:
	+ Natsuki prefers to stay 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 what would happen if he caught her reading it. This would also explain why she keeps 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 why she went to the protagonist's house to make cupcakes. This implies that he's controlling over her having friends over, or having relationships. By extension she says 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 "**My dad would beat the shit out of me if he saw this**" comment 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 Literature Club room, prompting Monika to give her a protein bar, saying it happens often enough to have Monika keep one in her bag in case it happens again.
	+ Natsuki's insecurity being the fuel to her tsundere archetype 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?" Natsuki is shocked and angry at first and tries to speak, but instead she runs out of the club room crying. Despite this, the rest of the events for that day proceed as usual, and Natsuki will still give the player her "poem" about trying 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 doesn't 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, 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 wants 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.
* Natsuki's version of "Okay, Everyone!" involves a much simpler tune consisting of a recorder xylophone duet, though it is slightly off-tempo, representing her childish and simplistic nature.
* Her poems are usually the shortest and most "childish" of the group, with playful and simple music, contrasting with the messages of her poems, which are usually more hard-hitting and serious.
* In the manga *Parfait Girls*, Natsuki's favorite character is a girl named Minori, who she claims to be particularly unlucky.
* Dan Salvato has stated that he wished he could have added more content to Natsuki's character.
* Natsuki is the only girl who does not have 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 may have been inspired by "vomit-chan," a famous *Yume Nikki* fanart image that features the player 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.
* Some of Natsuki's glitches/corruptions involve her eyes being "darkened" out. Such as her having black-shifting-pixels, her eyes popping out, and her ghost main menu appearance with no eyes. Some of them also revolve around her skin being paler.

## References

1. ↑ the statement by Dan Salvato on subreddit Discord
2. ↑ Concept height and statement on canon height
3. ↑ Satchely (DDLC's character artist)'s tweet about Natsuki's hair color
4. ↑ `poem\_special9`