Heartwarming / Doki Doki Literature Club!

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

While Doki Doki Literature Club! isn't how it was advertised, there are still plenty of Heartwarming Moments.

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• Monika gives some good advice for writing poetry. She advises the player character to not worry about the words so much, but to let them flow out and trust the free flow.
• While it quickly leads into a sudden and the nastiest of Tear Jerkers, the scenes with the player character and Sayori after she reveals that she suffers from depression are still very heartfelt. For the most part, he eases up on his comments toward her and pulls her aside to tell her how much she matters to him, and that he will be there for her. This doesn't stop her from committing suicide, but the game portrays this in a serious manner and makes a point (and later outright tells you) that people like this exist, and you should be there for them. You Are Not Alone.
• In Monika's room, some of her dialogue can be very emotional:
  "You know, high school is a really turbulent time in a lot of people's lives. People can get really passionate and dramatic. And others have aching hearts and seek attention on social media...But all of the social pressure and hormones can lead to a dark time in people's lives. Everyone has a story. You may not know what someone is really feeling on the inside. Many people who are depressed won't even bother telling the world about it. They don't want attention, because they've already given up on the inside. Their feeling of worthlessness is so overwhelming that they don't even want people to tell them otherwise. Depression comes in many forms, but that is one of them. Just, if you think you know someone struggling with depression... You can help just by treating them like they're a good friend. Spend time with them, even if they don't feel like doing much. And remind them that they always have something to look forward to. Making plans in advance, letting them borrow something, or even just saying 'See you at school tomorrow'... All of those things can help your friend make it to the next day. I hope being friends with Sayori has given you some perspective on the true face of depression. Yeah, she's gone now... But Sayori was never real in the first place. You're real. Your friends are real. And just by being a good person, you can save someone's life. As for you...You don't struggle with depression or anything like that, do you? Because you, too, have people who would want to save your life. Maybe they don't express it every day, or maybe they don't even know how to. But people do feel that way. I promise. ... Man, humans are complicated! But as long as you're here with me, I'll take care of you, my love."
  • Really, Monika's interaction with the player in her room counts as this. Despite the creepy atmosphere, her conversation is incredibly down to earth and shows emotion that she really does care about you. Also discussing about your well being and such, just like a real actual girlfriend would.
    • One of her monologues ends up talking about the possible problems with having a poor sleep schedule:
      Anyway, I saw some studies that talked about the horrible short-term and long-term effects caused by lack of sleep. It seems like mental functions, health and even lifespan can be dramatically impacted by it. I just think you're really great and wanted to make sure you're not accidentally destroying yourself. So try to keep your sleep on track, okay? I'll always wait for you in the morning, so make sure you put your own well-being before anything else.
• Even after deleting Monika, she still loves you enough to bring back the other characters for you to have a happy ending. Sadly it doesn't work out unless you got the Golden Ending.
• Natsuki's final poem in the second playthrough is this. It's actually a note saying that she's concerned about Yuri's Sanity Slippage, and that she feels you're best to convince her to get help, as it'd only start another argument if she did it personally and Monika keeps sweeping it under the rug. She compliments Yuri's positive traits, says that she's always wanted to get to know her better, and even offers to bake cupcakes for the player if he can convince her to see a therapist or anything of the like. Unfortunately, Monika's interference makes it moot.
• In the Golden Ending, Sayori gains awareness of the player's saving and loading to go through each girl's route, and is touched by how much they care to take these efforts. While overjoyed that everyone had their chance to be happy, she has nothing to offer in return except by keeping the club's doors open. Aware that the game has reached its end, she gives one last heartfelt goodbye before the credits roll.
  • One nice aspect of this actually comes from a way in which the player can mess up getting the best ending: if you delete Monika's file too early, her CG doesn't count and you don't get the good ending. This means that even after everything Monika did, Sayori still sees Monika as a friend and values her happiness as well (or at least she does in this ending). The fact that you shared in Monika's moment of happiness, and didn't just delete her the first chance you got, proves that you care about her just as much as the others.
• After Sayori goes home early on the day Monika hands out assignments to prepare for the school festival, both Natsuki and Yuri will assure each other of their talent and importance. The text comments on how they're doing their best to encourage and cheer each other up, the way Sayori usually does.
• One of the special poems turns out to be one, surprisingly. It only says "Stare at the dot long enough for a secret message." That message is "I love you".
• The resolution to Yuri and Natsuki's argument in the epilogue. After seeing how heated the two got in the previous acts, it's immensely heartwarming to see the two friends mutually back down and apologize to each other, really driving home that without Monika's interference the two really do care about each other.
• Although bittersweet, the song that plays over the end credits, written and sung by Monika, ends with her wondering if she had only brought pain to those she loved and resolving I Want My Beloved to Be Happy. It helps that this takes place after her Villain's Dying Grace, showing she was genuine when she said she loved the player, her friends and the Literature Club.
• Sayori manages to defuse an argument between Natsuki and Yuri when the two argue about their poetic styles by giving a heartfelt speech about how their poems are amazing in their own way (though the speech ends comically when Sayori says that there is nothing wrong with Natsuki being cute and that Yuri's breasts have always been big and beautiful). Monika admits to the player character that she might come off as a good leader, but she is not good with people and could not bring herself to interject. However, Sayori is, which is why she is the Vice President of the club. This also establishes that she is The Heart, and holds the club together when things get heated.
  Sayori: Stop! Natsuki! Yuri! You guys are my friends! I-I just want everyone to get along and be happy! My friends are wonderful people, and I love them because of their differences! Natsuki's poems, they're amazing because they give you so many feelings with just a few words! And Yuri's poems are amazing because they paint beautiful pictures in your head! Everyone's so talented... so why are we fighting?
  Natsuki: Be-because...
  Yuri: Well...
  Sayori: Also! Natsuki's cute and there's nothing wrong with that! And Yuri's boobs are the same as they always were! Big and beautiful!
  Natsuki and Yuri: ...
• If you impress Natsuki for all three days in Act 1, you'll receive a very heartwarming poem from her. With all of the implications that she lives an awful home life and her school life outside of the club isn't much better, it just comes to show how caring you can be towards her. Too bad the game messes up with the whole Sayori scene ...
  • And for an added detail that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, Natsuki initially convinces herself that the main character doesn't like her poems and refuses to hand this very personal poem over. The player assures her he does, doing his best to convince her and she slowly, and apparently with great effort, pushes the poem towards him. After he takes it, she asks him to face away while reading it, because she doesn't want him to see her face at that moment...
• Yuri and the protagonist reading a book together. Awwwww.
  • How the MC interacts with her in general. He's slightly dismissive and mean to the person he considers his longest friend, he teases and provokes the Tsundere, and he's outright pathetic towards the School Idol. He picks up that Yuri has really poor social skills and he comes off as patient and understanding whenever her anxieties flare up.
• When at his house, Yuri decides to tell the player that she has a knife collection, which she never tells anyone because she's scared that her fascination with them would just weird people out. While playing with one of her ornate knives, the MC cuts his finger and Yuri sucks it, because she instinctually thought it would help. MC is taken aback, and Yuri realizes that what she did was something no normal person would do. So that she wouldn't feel to conscious about it, MC grabs her finger and licks it so that they would be equally awkward.
• Although it comes at the cusp of creepiness during Act 2, Yuri breaks out of her shell and allows her feelings to overtake her whenever she's near you. She tells you that you make her heart beat faster and she truly loves your company.
• Natsuki offering Sayori a cookie after hearing that she wanted a snack. It was done in typical Natsuki fashion, especially since she also heard Sayori admit that she tricked Natsuki into baking cupcakes so that the player character could come over to the club, but it was still sweet.
• Despite everything she does over the course of the game, it's apparent that Monika still loves the rest of the Literature Club, even after her psyche got twisted by the Awful Truth. It only takes the end of Act 3 for her to realize that, as fake as her world was, they were still her friends. Before that, occasionally she can bring up funny stories, what-if scenarios, or retrospective thoughts on the other girls, before commenting that it's all in the past now. This implies Monika misses them, but is in serious denial about it. Some of the things she posts on Twitter also shows her affection for her clubmates.
• A subtle one, but Act 1 establishes that Sayori is often late to school because of her tendency to sleep in. She later reveals that her depression makes it harder for her to get out of bed and get ready. In Act 4, however, the opening scene establishes that she has been waking up on time for a while. This implies that her depression has been alleviated to some degree and it is now easier for her to be genuinely happy.
• If you choose to have the player character say that he returns Sayori's feelings, he delivers a powerful Anguished Declaration of Love. He says that spending time with the club and having fun with Sayori every day made him realise that she truly is the most important person to him, and he is willing to accept her burdens. Sayori and the player character hug, and the player character affirms that he wants to help her and face her depression with her. He says that he'll do everything to make her feel better on this journey, starting with them going to the school festival tomorrow, and Sayori promises to meet him at the festival. Monika herself admits later that You Did the Right Thing if you made this choice because even if this isn't enough to save Sayori from Monika's manipulations, you made her day a little better.
  Protagonist: Sayori... I love you.
  Sayori: Eh—?
  Protagonist: Those are my true feelings. So... there's no way you could like me more than I like you. I should have realized it sooner. But spending time with everyone at the club... making new friends... and having fun with you every day... it helped me realize that you are truly the most important person to me. That's why I'll accept any of your burdens. As long as we continue like this every day... with you by my side... then I know we'll both be happy.
• Sayori's suicide is a Tear Jerker, but the lead-up to it shows how much the player character cares about his childhood friend. He notes that she's not up for school, which is unusual, but reasons that maybe she needed some extra sleep and goes to class with a niggling doubt. Cue Monika showing up and giving a rather cruel hint and showing a poem that Sayori wrote that is a Madness Mantra. The player character goes Oh, Crap! and runs back to Sayori's house, banging on her door. When she doesn't respond, he realizes it's unlocked and goes in, calling for her. It's especially sweeter if you had agreed to go with her to the festival.
• In the epilogue, Sayori becomes the Literature Club President and learns she's actually a video-game character and tries to corrupt the game to be with the player again, Monika comes in and saves the player from her, completing her redemption. She either deletes all the files of the game so that no one else can become the President again, or resets the game.

• The Side Stories' very existence is pretty heartwarming. In the Side Story-verse, Monika lacks self-awareness and thus she remains a genuinely supportive friend. The Side Stories tend to involve some degree of conflict, but primarily emanating from miscommunication rather than malice on the part of any members and the bulk of the problems that arise are able to be overcome. In other words, the setting allows there to be happiness in the Literature Club.
  • Considering that the Side Stories are a completely different timeline than the main game is this too, meaning that the actions done between the cast are sincere and ignore the events in the main game (specifically Act 2).
• Respect:
  • Dan Salvato points out that Monika named the song she wrote for the club "My Song, Your Note", using the initials of the members in the order that they joined: Monika, Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki. Though, she was too shy to point out that detail to them.

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