Natsuki

Player Name: Kayla
Age: 28
Contact: crepusculae
Timezone: EST
Other character currently in game: Farnese de Vandymion (though I would like to swap her out for Natsuki if possible!)

Character name: Natsuki
Age: 18 (yeah, really)
Canon: Doki Doki Literature Club
Canon point: End of Act I, on festival day (prior to arriving at the club to help set up - Normal Route)
History: Wiki link

Three key adjectives: Blunt, Guarded, Insecure

Influential Events:

Joining the Literature Club

Joining the Literature Club did two very important things for Natsuki.

First of all, it gave her friends. Like many kids who have an interest outside the "norm", Natsuki did not have many friends, if any, prior to joining the Literature Club. Joining the club gave Natsuki people who she was around regularly -- people who actually seemed to genuinely care about her well-being, if how they treated her was any indication. For example, at one point when Natsuki fainted from a lack of food once day, Monika not only gave her a protein bar to eat to help her regain her strength, but she also kept more in her bag from then on, just in case it happened again. It's clear that the other people in the club (Sayori and Yuri) care about her to some degree as well, and they frequently hang out and spend time together in the clubroom, even though they may have different tastes in literature. And although she's still not very good at expressing it, it does give her people to care about and look after in her own way.

Second of all, it gave her a home away from home. Although she never truly says outright until Monika begins to interfere with her code, her father is abusive and makes being home unpleasant. A secret poem written by her that you can discover mentions that she likes it when "Papa is too tired for anything" (among other hints that seem to imply that he is neglectful, over-critical, and even inclined to hit her), and is careful at other points to ensure she does not do anything at home to displease him, meaning she must walk on eggshells when at home. Staying after school for club activities is a legitimate excuse she can give her father for not being home, while also providing her with a place where she can relax and just be herself without having to worry about what her father says or does.

The Main Character

The MC joining the literature club sets two things in motion.

First of all, it brings another new "friend" into the fold where Natsuki has so few. If the MC chooses to take Natsuki's route, she talks to the MC about the manga she likes and encourages him to read some of her favorites. Despite some of his dialogue being rather rude towards her, she opens up a lot more to him eventually, showing her excitement over some of her favorite events in the manga series she has him read. She also ends up breaking down in front of him when she's had a bad day -- this shows her that expressing that vulnerability rather than constantly resorting to the defense mechanisms of being sarcastic and rude can actually be met with kindness. She begins to open up a little bit more, saying things sincerely like how much she likes the MC's writing without any sort of sarcastic or tsundere-esque comments attached.

Secondly, seeing as how the MC joining the Literature Club is essentially the beginning of the game, it is the catalyst for the increasingly fucked-up events of the plot to come. Although things start out somewhat innocuous, once the programming for the other characters begins to activate and they develop feelings for the MC, conflict begins to spark. Yuri and Natsuki argue about each other's writing styles, causing Natsuki to say something rather unnecessary and mean about Yuri stuffing her bra to impress the MC. Depending on how the MC responds to the argument, Monika may step in to defend Yuri, leaving Natsuki upset at the lack of support. They also argue later over who the MC will assist for festival preparations, leaving whoever is not chosen disappointed.

Sharing Her Writing

After the MC joins the Literature Club, it doesn't take long for Monika to propose that they share their writing with each other, resulting in spending some club time exchanging poems with each other and sharing their thoughts regarding what the other wrote.

For Natsuki, this is the first time she has ever shared her writing with anyone. Despite that, she has a very clear and practiced writing style, implying she's been writing for herself for awhile. She has very strong opinions about how she wants to write and what style is most effective. When she is able to share with some of the other club members and they praise her, it is definitely an ego boost that she doesn't get often (since her father is so critical of her hobbies and her existence in general, and she doesn't have any other friends). If MC chooses to take Natsuki's route, we see just how important the praise and attention is for her. Although she puts up a bravado of being confident in her work and writing ability, in the end, she begs the MC to tell her that her poems are good, even if he actually hates them. She seems to be desperate for the affection and praise -- even if it has no meaning behind it, it's better than what she gets at home.

Of course, it also creates a bit of a conflict of interest when pitted against someone else like Yuri, who also has a very clear and deliberate style that she thinks is best, neither willing to admit that the other poem has merit if it's in a style they aren't fond of.

Writing With Yuri

If the MC's poems are generally inoffensive/unimpressive to both Yuri and Natsuki, the two of them reconcile their differences over style and decide to work together to write a poem on the same topic to compare and contrast their styles. It's a stunning show of maturity on both their parts, and shows that Natsuki has come a long way from stubbornly clinging to her assertion that her way of writing is better/that Yuri's writing is elitist. Spending more time with Yuri and agreeing to explore topics together like this seems to help Natsuki become more in touch with how she actually feels about Yuri -- in the next act, she even writes MC a note about Yuri and how she's always wanted to be her friend, and that she's worried about how she's behaving now. It's clear that Natsuki comes to care for Yuri a great deal, and has a difficult time expressing it until Yuri's behavior becomes truly alarming. Although she never truly gets the chance to act on her feelings and work towards a stronger friendship with Yuri, admitting that she cares and wishes they were better friends is a huge first step.

Baking Cupcakes

If MC chooses to help Natsuki with the festival preparations, she will come over to his house to bake cupcakes. Baking seems to be a pride point of Natsuki's -- it's something that she's good at and gets praised for frequently, so she seems to enjoy doing it for others. Although she admits at one point during her route that she actually got into baking because of a manga, she's clearly talented at it and knows what she's doing. The fact that the MC chose her over the others and the fact that she's clearly had some practice at it means that it's an opportunity for MC to see Natsuki at her most relaxed and confident. Although there is an awkward incident where the MC licks frosting off her finger, for the most part she runs the baking show like a boss and finally seems to let her guard down a bit, playing and having fun. She's even able to admit that the MC has a good idea when he suggests using frosting to write different words on top of each cupcake to match the "literature" theme of the club festival booth -- something she probably wouldn't have been so readily able to admit to before then. She's also able to more openly express that she wishes she could stay and that she would like to hang out outside of school again, even going to far as to almost kiss him before Sayori accidentally intervenes. She's clearly grown a lot more confident around the MC and has learned not to take his teasing too seriously, even if part of that can simply be blamed on the way she was programmed to pursue the MC in the game.

Link to Samples: Link to Sample 1; Link to Sample 2

Chosen path: Barbarian
5 7 Abilities: Rage, Spirit Shield, Reckless Protection, Fast Movement, Intimidation, Indomitable Might, Aura (Desert)
Why this path?: Aside from the fact that "Buff Natsuki" is a fandom in-joke, I actually think this path suits her well. She has a quick temper and frequently uses violence (not anything devastating, but a punch to the arm or an elbow to the gut) to make her point. Canonly, she is very strong and capable of carrying a lot of heavy items on her own. In regards to the stereotypical Barbarian "Rage", I think it would be very interesting to play with the idea of her learning to work with her temper and even potentially harness it to help others -- and how she would feel about doing so, given that her father is abusive. It's also not a very "cute" class, which is something that she'd prefer -- but that juxtaposition and how Natsuki will decide to make it her own will also be fun to play out!