About Natsuki, Heavy Spoilers.

[Arsynic]

So I was wondering, If you go down her path it's said her dad basically beats her. gives her no money for lunch and so on so on.
Is this Monika's work or do you think it's really true?

[HypetheKomodo]

Even before Monika's heavy editing, it seemed as if life at home was not quite well. Natsuki joined the Literature Club not because she loved literature (As proud of her writing style as she is), but because it's better than being at home.

She constantly brings up how her dad would react in a variety of situations, and insisted that she came to the protagonist's house because it didn't seem like her dad would appreciate having a boy over.

'Course, later on, Monika 'unties the knot' and makes it much worse. Natsuki's petite form is due to malnutrition, she can't afford lunch and has to hunt for coins near vending machines, and in the Papa "special poem", she lists a number of things that she suffers through with her dad.

I'd say it's safe to assume home life has always been poor for Natsuki, and Monika makes that much more clear in an attempt to have the player not want to hang out with her anymore.

[Arsynic]

Originally posted by Flustered:

Even before Monika's heavy editing, it seemed as if life at home was not quite well. Natsuki joined the Literature Club not because she loved literature (As proud of her writing style as she is), but because it's better than being at home.

She constantly brings up how her dad would react in a variety of situations, and insisted that she came to the protagonist's house because it didn't seem like her dad would appreciate having a boy over.

'Course, later on, Monika 'unties the knot' and makes it much worse. Natsuki's petite form is due to malnutrition, she can't afford lunch and has to hunt for coins near vending machines, and in the Papa "special poem", she lists a number of things that she suffers through with her dad.

I'd say it's safe to assume home life has always been poor for Natsuki, and Monika makes that much more clear in an attempt to have the player not want to hang out with her anymore.

That is very true about her small frame. The main reason I kinda ask is about the Cup Cakes she brings in the first day.

[HypetheKomodo]

I believe she picked up on cooking both because her father is so horrible at taking care of her (among other things), and as a way to hide her stress.

Monika's comment about Natsuki 'drowning her guilt in comfort food' is a bit confusing, as it makes it seem that she stress eats, but no, it's her attempting to cope with her nightmarish home life with cute food to share with her friends.

At least, that's what I got out of it!

[Laeradr]

As Flustered already stated: The girls give you hints about how maaaaaybe not everythings "okidoki" within their lifes, whether they do it through their personality or parts of their poems.

I personally think that the games a satire about how a human being cant possibly be as cheerful or carefree as the average VN character, whos seemingly "cured" from her/his problems just by dating the protagonist.

[HypetheKomodo]

I personally think that the games a satire about how a human being cant possibly be as cheerful or carefree as the average VN character, whos seemingly "cured" from her/his problems just by dating the protagonist.

Pretty much this! Uses familiar dating sim tropes, but adds a dark spin for each, and of course your standard VN protagonist doesn't know how to handle things like depression.

But, yeah. Natsuki's home life was pretty much trash well before things get going!

[Draelios]

Originally posted by Laeradr:

I personally think that the games a satire about how a human being cant possibly be as cheerful or carefree as the average VN character, whos seemingly "cured" from her/his problems just by dating the protagonist.

Originally posted by Flustered:

Pretty much this! Uses familiar dating sim tropes, but adds a dark spin for each, and of course your standard VN protagonist doesn't know how to handle things like depression.

But, yeah. Natsuki's home life was pretty much trash well before things get going!

To be honest, I believe the "dark side" of the characters isn't really a new twist, and is instead exactly another kind of common anime tropes the game wanted to play with and deconstruct. There are lots of novels and animated series with psychologically damaged characters that hide behind a cheerful or shy facade. As good as this game was, it didn't suddenly invent and explore the "stepford smiler" archetype.
That said, since the characters are still pretty well-written and relatively realistic (and not some kind of melodramatic cardboard), I can understand people relating to them, and if that emotional bond improve the overall experience, well, I'm sincerely glad for you all. But personally, I feel the main strenghts of the game lie elsewhere. Just my two cents of course.

On topic, the game never goes into enough detail to determine how much is "real" and how much is the result of Monika's tampering, as the hints are IMHO quite subtle. Honestly, I imagined Natsuki's dad as a really strict, hard to please no-nonsense parent rather than the outright neglectful and abusive one the game depicts in the hidden poems and act 2 scenes, but then again, maybe I'm completely wrong and he was that bad from the start.

[Delthea]

Just like Yuri's and Sayori's damaged personality traits, Natsuki's was there, too.

Monika didn't create the characters, she just showed 'em to the player.

My guess?:
Natsuki's dad physically abuses her.
~~"I need to save my apetite for my dad's meals" after refusing to eat a cupcake you helped her bake. This leads me to believe he knows if/when she's eaten, and punishes her for doing so. He wants to keep her petite for reasons.
~~Monika throwing her a protein bar in the second arc after she passes out from exhaustion.
~~"If you're going to hang out with Natsuki, make sure you keep some snacks on hand" -Monika, telling you about Natsuki's maladjusted food situation.
~~"My dad would beat the ♥♥♥♥ out of me if he saw these", about her manga in the club room, second arc.
~~"My dad would kill me if I had a boy over" -First arc, prior to making cupcakes.