The Dresden Files/Tear Jerker: Difference between revisions

== Summer Knight ==

* {{spoiler|Aurora's}} death at the end of Summer Knight can definitely bring a tear to the eye:

Then she died. }}

== Death Masks ==

* Throughout the whole story of ''Death Masks'', {{spoiler|Marcone went through a lot of trouble to secure the Shroud of Turin. Enlisting the Churchmice, getting extorted into paying millions more for it by Valmont to make sure it's safe, even personally risking his life with Harry, Michael and Sanya to fight Nicodemus, pulling off incredible shots just so he wouldn't harm it. Near the end of the story, we learn why he went through so much trouble: he wanted it to heal a girl in a private hospital in Wisconsin. The real Tearjerker part was Gentleman Johnny Marcone, [[Affably Evil]] criminal mastermind, head of the biggest criminal empire in the country, putting a teddy bear in her arms, reading her a story out loud for an hour, laying the Shroud on her, and ''praying''.}}

** Made even more poignant after reading White Knight, where we discover that {{spoiler|the girl is the Beckitts' daughter, who has been in a coma for years after being hit by a stray bullet meant for Marcone. Marcone hasn't even told the girl's mother, who now works for him but has tried to kill him at least once, because he doesn't want to devastate her even more if the girl never wakes up. Marcone put up with all that effort, money, and personal danger in the hope of helping a little girl who was hurt because of him. Not only that, but Harry also realizes that it was that event that gave Marcone the drive necessary to because the leader he is; his taking over and organizing of Chicago's crime was less for selfish reasons, and more in order to make the crime organized so that nothing like that would happen again. Marcone might be scum, but it's hard not to like him sometimes. }}

* The closing paragraph of Death Masks. For two entire books, Harry's been obsessed with researching a way to save his ex-girlfriend Susan, who was half-turned into a vampire. It's gotten to the point where he's almost been evicted from his office and home in his desperation to find a cure. At the end of the book, Harry finally lets go. He takes down her picture and the engagement ring he offered her from his mantle, and instead puts up the holy blade Fidelacchius, given to him by a man who surrendered himself to torture to give Harry a chance to live. The final lines, "Maybe some things just weren't meant to go together. Things like oil and water, orange juice and toothpaste. Me and Susan. But tomorrow was another day", always choke me up.

== White Night ==

* ''White Night'' has a moment between Thomas and Justine that really hammers home how much he's given up because he loves her.

* The shadow of the fallen angel Lasciel spent multiple books living in Harry's head, alternating between being a dangerous annoyance and really helpful when things get desperate. Then Harry starts treating her like her own person. He gives her a nickname and, like Ivy and Bob, it changes her. And then in ''White Night'' she shields him from a psychic attack and it burns out the parts of his brain where she lives... except for the part of her that helped him play the guitar better.

** It becomes especially hard-hitting when Harry is talking about it with Bob, and Bob, being [[Lovable Sex Maniac|Bob]], starts wondering if he "took a ride before the carnival left." He then stops, and then this exchange happens:

[[Sand in My Eyes|"No,"]] I snapped, and left the lab. }}

* ''White Night'', the scene where Harry soulgazes Ms. Demeter and {{spoiler|he sees the moment when her daughter was shot years ago.}} This troper has ''never'' cried at anything in any form of fiction he has ever seen. But ''this scene'' made me start to tear up. In public, with literally hundreds of people around. The part that did it was when {{spoiler|the daughter starts repeating "Mommy" over and over while she bleeds in her mother's arms.}}

*** {{spoiler|Which is what makes Harry's retaliation a CMOA. He knows that using fire, especially without the blasting rod, will be like a signal fire to Summer. Fuck that shit. A bar of white hot fire, straight through Tessa's buglike chest. Hell yeah.}}

** The Denarians {{spoiler|torturing Ivy.}}

** {{spoiler|Also Harry ''writing'' the letter, because he's powerless to do anything more for Ivy at the time, but still has hope of bolstering her courage.}}

** It is surprisingly cruel that the author had wrote this. Harry and Anastasia had both been out of the relationship game for a long time relative to their own years spent on Earth, so when they entered their's, it had been very fulfilling for the both of them, physically and emotionally. They trust each other, work well together, and for god's sake, make each other very happy, then the author just had to [[Yank the Dog's Chain]] by stating it was all a lie, leaving poor Anastasia sobbing and angry, and Harry, to a lesser degree as well. Despise this outrage however, one potential silver lining makes a reference to what Molly had earlier stated in the book, that whomever could had fiddled around with more resilient wizards' minds, they would had only needed to nudge them a little bit, heavily suggesting that although Anastasia was not completely herself, she was (is) still at least attracted enough to him for her to hit on him multiple times. So hopefully the author can give them a chance to reconcile their relationship, because what happen to them was pure dickery on the Author's behalf.

* In ''Turn Coat'' (heavy spoilers for this magnificently beautiful passage): {{spoiler|Morgan's death. Since the very first book he has been relentlessly looking for a reason to implicate Harry/find a way to have him executed because he believes that Harry really is a bad, bad man. Then, finally, eleven books later:}}

** The end of Turn Coat. {{spoiler|The Gatekeeper tells Harry that his relationship with Luccio was partly the result of psychic manipulation}}.

** On top of that, Morgan admitting that {{spoiler|he took the blame for the crime from Luccio, who had originally been set up, because he still loved her as his teacher.}}

** The final lines of Turn Coat:

"I closed the door behind me, and life went on." }}

** Morgan's speech inside the bubble.

* The majority of [[Trauma Conga Line|the book.]]

* There's also a part of Harry's conversation with Ebenezar in the last chapter of ''Changes''.

{{spoiler|"Oh, Hoss," he said. There was more compassion in the words than you'd think would fit there.}} }}

** In ''Changes'', Harry has been paralyzed from the waist down, and is succumbing to despair, and prays to the archangel Uriel to help him. Uriel arrives and says he can't, but then reminds him that he does have a couple of other avenues open to him to {{spoiler|save his daughter}}. Finally, he makes the choice he's been avoiding for years.

** When Harry that he has to {{spoiler|kill Susan}} to win the day at the end of ''Changes'', Butcher makes clear how horrible it is for him.

God forgive me. }}

** What makes it extra powerful is that for the majority James Marsters' reading of the audiobook, he's fairly calm. Sure, there are scenes where he tinges his reading with the anger, disbelief, weariness, pain, and fear that Harry has to be feeling, but when he gets to "God forgive me," the line is delivered with a heartbreaking half-sob. It almost sounds like Marsters ''himself'' was breaking down crying while reading that chapter.

* Hell, Marsters' reading the entire last chapter. Especially when Harry {{spoiler|asks Murphy to take Maggie to Father Forthill and put her someplace safe, and that he doesn't need to know.}}

** A small but powerful moment afterward: the Leanansidhe says that she will {{spoiler|bury Susan}} with all the respect and honor that Harry would wish to do himself, and even ''gives her word'' that she will do so without expecting anything from Harry in return - something incredibly rare among [[The Fair Folk]]. But the hammer comes from Harry's thoughts immediately afterward.

* When Harry is cradling Maggie:

Because I had made a deal. If I hadn't done it, she'd be dead--but because I had, I couldn't be what she deserved to have. }}