Homestuck/Tear Jerker

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Remember when Homestuck was just a webcomic about some kid dicking around in his bedroom for three months? Yeah, we... we kind of miss those days.

> SHED Single Tear OF BLACK LIQUID SORROW

You let a sole drop of moisture roll down your cheek at the merest thought of these moments. Alas, what has been done cannot be undone.

---

• Jade: Answer, in hindsight. Before, it just seemed like it was some jerk insulting Jade. Knowing what we do now... Karkat was being a jerk, but "IS THERE NOTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE YOUR MIND?" takes on a horrible new meaning.
• Rose: Fast forward to now.
  • Until you notice the horseshoe in the corner near the end.
    • YMMV on whether that helps. I almost CRIED because it reminded this troper of a very similar, and equally loved, cat. If you think about it, this event may have been what shaped Rose into the cold-hearted hero we know.
• Jade: Abscond.
• Dave's Pesterlog with Rose in a Bad Future where John is dead, Jade might as well be, Dave's planning to leap back in time and try to prevent it from ever happening in the first place, and Rose will either cease to exist along with the unfavorable timeline or be left there alone forever if it persists.
• It's twanging into my soul. (This is, of course, light-heartedly written.)
  • Watch it again after you know dream!Jade dies. Whole new meaning.
• Jade just sacrificed her dream self to save John's. She's been harnessing her dream-visions for years, and gives them up for dream!John's survival. Excuse me while I go find a tissue...
  • A boy finds a dead friend. Her ring, recovered.
  • Jade's letter to John only makes it worse.
  • This needs no words.
• Terezi lives completely alone in the woods and her only companions are stuffed dragons that she hangs in LARP sessions. Also, she's blind.
  • She seems to take it all in a stride, though.
  • One of the reasons she prefers being blind? The day she went blind was the first time her lusus interacted with her.
• Karkat in a fit of arrogance ends up killing everyone's Custodian by setting off a program that curses him and everyone he's ever met. Their faces when they find their custodians though. That is what makes it a Tear Jerker. You never thought you'd see Gamzee so sad. Not to mention Karkat with an expression that isn't pure rage.
• Tavros Nitram, also known as adiosToreador, takes Tear Jerker to Serial Escalation levels. Phrasing it very briefly:
  • He had a fascination with flight. Using mind-control, a literal Killer DM convinced him he could fly, thereby forcing him to jump off a cliff. This left him in a wheelchair, a disability which the Powers That Be on Alternia see as grounds for culling. Upon entering the game, when he finally managed to experience flight, his dreamself died. We're told that his disability leads to all sorts of problems within the medium, made worse by the fact that the aforementioned Killer DM is now his server player. Although it's eventually fixed, it's only at the cost of having his legs chainsawed off. And all of this is in addition to the already-terrible problems faced by the other trolls: a dead home planet, an unwinnable game, and a dead lusus.
    • And even then he only gets to use his new legs for (presumably) a couple of hours, before the aforementioned Killer DM/server player succeeds in killing him.
• Terezi waits her entire damn life on her Lusus and then it dies right after it hatches.
• Screw it, all the trolls have incredibly shitty lives, and a lot of them are crippled or were hurt from an extreme roleplaying accident.
  • This actually leads to another Tear Jerker while listening to the Alternia album. Most of the songs are a mix of spooky and awesome synthesized tunes. But "Theme" is a sad, simple piano piece, which the composer calls "Overwhelmingly bittersweet and heartfelt. Entirely inappropriate." It may be due to the huge amount of Mood Whiplash involved, but that song destroyed me, especially when I juxtaposed it with how brutal and sad the trolls' lives are. You need to buy the album to listen to it, but it's completely worth it.
    • Agreed entirely. I have not felt such emotional sympathy for characters ever, and Theme was the key to realizing that. I don't know what exactly it is about the trolls, whether it's their tragic pasts or the fact that they're ultimately going to lose, even if they technically win, but something hits home with me. It's amazing, if still quite sad at the same time. Andrew Hussie and Toby Fox are geniuses.
    • "Alternia" from the Alterniabound album is a remix of "Theme" and is this but more. The notes that come with the album clear up what it's about: how they came so far and almost won the game, could almost move into their own, new universe, and things were finally going to be OK for them, and had it all taken away from them. "It is, in essence, the Trolls' lingering and bittersweet memory of Hope."
  • Let's summarize: Their parents die, they live on an utter hellhole full of wild monsters that can and will attack them, many of them are tormented by injuries or burdened with psychic visions of their doom. Plus, all trolls have absolutely terrifying nightmares and need their beds to calm them down enough that they don't go insane. Oh and the only forms of emotion considered natural for them are hate and pity, and the only thing they have to look forward to is a violent life of conquest. That doesn't even mention the blood based caste system, which is openly disdained by most of them and allows for them to be abused. AND they are the only survivors of their race, and still, after all this, their dream selves die. Eventually they won the game. AND THEN the Kids do something to screw it up, and they're stuck in the Veil, reduced to trolling. And ignoring all that, there's Vriska. She will pretty much screw your life, regardless of other circumstances.
• Vriska manipulates Sollux, Aradia's boyfriend, to raze her and her hive to the ground with his Wave Motion Gun Eye Beams. Kind of sad. But Aradia's face when she see's Sollux changes from surprised joy to fear. And then she died. And the readers cried.

Sollux??

• "But unfortunately, Rufio is not real... You continue to be sad and alone." Keep in mind that, while you read this, Tavros is being harassed by Vriska over his disability. Specifically, her demanding that he apologize for being crippled (by her). And remember that Rufio is the name he gave to his self-esteem.
  • "...He's imaginary. A fake. Like a made up friend, the way fairies are." For me, the worst thing is Tavros is just telling himself what Vriska said when she laughed at the idea of Rufio. It's like she convinced him of what she said, that the whole self-esteem thing is a ridiculous joke that Vriska is playing on him.
• D-don't cry, Kanaya... Nooooooo!
  • Kanaya, it's hard. Being a kid and growing up. It's hard and nobody understands.
• Vriska possibly realizing what she's doing as she manipulates Tavros, she looks down and stops, looking sad.
• Fridge Horror turns Eridan's entry into him slaughtering some random troll's lusus to get fodder for Feferi's lusus.
  • And then the feeding routine is explained... Let's just say that Vriska and Ferefi's lusii efficiently share their meals.
• Right after Feferi enters the medium Eridan gets the courage to tell her that his feelings for her are redder then the average moriallegience... right when Feferi decides to dump him, saying that they don't need to be moraillegience anymore because Eridan can't pose a threat to the land dwellers now that he is in the medium and that being his Morail made her exhausted.
• Sollux just didn't quite make it into the Medium, did he..?
  • Doubles as Nightmare Fuel after you see what The Vast Glub's effects are... then drops back into another Tear Jerker when Karkat, the perennially angry self-described second-biggest asshole on the planet starts crying for his best friend. And then comes Jack Noir's line...
    • HoNk
    • Averted for some: Sollux was seen alive and well at a point in his future, but prior in the story.
• This entire update, while rather heartwarming, struck this troper as sad when he realized that half of the conversation was coming from a kid who would in all likelihood be dying very soon, and knew it. Rambling on to himself and talking about troll-Christmas made his conversation with Kanaya feel like two friends who have completely given up hope, just talking to each other while they wait for the world to end.
  • And then Kanaya scrolls up and we see that that future version of Karkat is headed for The Rift, a flashing void of nothing. The fact that things look so horrible for the Trolls is enough to put anyone over the Despair Event Horizon.
• Catchyegrabber just makes you feel horrible for Skipper Plumbthroat
• The trolls were literally inches away from claiming their reward for victory when the Scratch happened.
• WV blames himself for the death of the Skaian armies.

Your RAG OF SOULS begins to soak in the BLOOD OF THE FALLEN. You supposed it could be poetic? No, instead you think it is just sad. You were very foolish to believe you could be a leader of men. Look at what bearing that flag has wrought. Perhaps one day you will find something new to bear. A burden befitting of the peasant you truly are. Oh my what's that shiny thing in the water.

• ==> The people talking behind the pesterchum window are John's dad's friends trying to be stoic businessmen during the apocalypse on Earth.
• This and the following two pages just make me feel horrible for Aradia. Rose's last two lines are kind of sad though also hilarious.
  • The pure desperation from the normally-emotionless Aradia is both unnerving and saddening. She's lashing out against the (seemingly) inevitable.
• This conversation and what follows. Poor Nepeta...
• This one's old, but any time Rose (one of the darkest characters in the comic) has a conversation with Jaspersprite (quite possibly the most innocent thing ever), I start to tear up. This one is especially bad.
• Jade's reaction to the dream she has when she sleeps after her dreamself dies and her subsequent conversation with Feferi about it.. She just looks and acts so tired, confused, scared, and just plain worn out; you can't help but want to give her a hug, even though you know that probably wouldn't help things. Poor Jade.
  • It also gets pretty sad when she says that she never wants to sleep or dream again, she's spent her whole life dreaming, it was her favorite thing, and now that is gone...
• as with the Aradia example above, seeing Jade, the normally very cheerful and optimistic girl just out right FLIP OUT and start yelling at both Karkats, is....really unsettling
• "You consult your reminders to get your bearings on what to do next. But you can't remember what they mean at all. You have a feeling these are all useless now."
• Whoa. Whoa. The Land of Wind and Shade got fucked up. Just the thought of all the cute little salamanders getting genocided is a kick in the chest, but the implications for John and Jade do not look good.
• I found the one-sided conversation Karkat had with Sollux right here to be devestating...especially once you see what he's looking at. Might just be because I like Karkat so much, though.
  • Although Sollux got better.
• The final shot of this flash. I'm not sure why, but for some reason Jade falling though the snow just always makes me tear up.
  • What's even worse is that Bec just wanted to save Jade; he knew John was asleep, and the meteor was fast approaching. He didn't know what horrible things would follow after he prototyped himself, he just wanted her safe.
• Karkat's reaction to seeing god mode-Jack Noir destroying Prospit, and his dream self is just heartrending. The look can only be described as one of absolute betrayal.
• Bro dying.
• Holy crap no. NO FUCKING WAY.
  • OH THANK GOD. I think I heard every single fan sighing in relief as soon as that page was posted.
    • Oh jeez, damn you Hussie. Though... Kanaya's little speech makes it seem like she isn't totally out of the woods yet... but the meaning of that is something for WMG to sort out.
    • And now Rose's normal self is dead and her dream self is still going on the suicide mission...so she really will die unless Aradia intervenes.
• Hooray! Tavros saved Jade from killing herself as a child! And got rid of an Adult prowler. Wait. Oops. The worst part is that he only meant well.
  • No, the worst part is that Jade spent her whole childhood agonizing over the belief that either the taxidermied woman did it, or her grandfather had committed suicide.
• . . . John?
  • The worst part about that scene is that the minigame right before it showed just what a nice guy John is. And then Vriska takes advantage of his overly trusting nature and gets his physical body killed.
  • It's even worse from WV's point of view. He just witnessed Jack killing John, and his view cuts out permanently. WV can no longer contact John, and he has no way of knowing that John's dreamself is still alive. And he appears to be on the verge of tears.
    • JOHN. RISE UP. (He doesn't)
  • Then go back and reread that scenario once you've seen Vriska's ascension to the God Tier. Realize that by putting John to sleep and keeping him that way, in her own way she was protecting him from the same horrible drawn-out death she had to experience.
• If you're a fan of Vriska, or Tavros for that matter, her ascension to the God Levels and Tavros's role in it all starting here is absolutely HORRIFYING. Also crosses over with Nightmare Fuel. Honestly, these updates horrified me as much as the infamous "Jade: Wake Up" update.
  • She really believes in him and trusts him, and he can't. Who else is betting that this is what Tavros was talking about when he mentions something so horrible happening during the trolls' session that all he did after that was sleep?
    • Worse yet is the possibility that the reason he can't do it is due to her always picking away at his self confidence.
• This conversation and Vriska's chatlogs with Kanaya. Or essentially anything that involves the cracks we see in Vriska's BLUH BLUH HUGE BITCH veneer. Doc Scratch's enabling turned that FLARP session into a complete clusterfuck that cost Vriska most of her friends, and she does feel guilty about it and wants them back. All her attempts at trying to help Tavros and Aradia go about as horribly wrong as they can. She keeps chasing after a kismessitude that she's not going to get, it's destroying her moirallegiance, and she doesn't understand why. All the little moments of sincerity Vriska has just bring home that under her maniacal need to manipulate everything, she's a thirteen-year-old kid with massive psychological issues just like all the other trolls.
  • Anytime we see "It's hard being a kid and growing up. It's hard, and no one understands" may be a parody of teen angst, but it also drives home how much all these silly trolls need a hug.
• The ending of Jade: Enter left a very strong impression that Jade had died crossing into the Medium, as she drifts away, translucent, in a sea of white. The next update featuring her was a week later, and rather than conclusively showing she'd survived, gave the Mind Screw another twist (CC: Because, stupid. I'M D------EAD!)
• Aradia saying her final goodbye to Sollux.
  • Oh dear Gog
  • Coupled with Equius's reaction from the back. He's notably just as shaken as Sollux, maybe even moreso, not only because he loved her, but the fact that she chose to say good-bye to her ex-boyfriend and not her current one broke him.
• Terezi: Watch alternate universe version of new alien friend die because of something you did.
  • Then, she shoves Karkat out of the way and runs off crying. Yeah.
• Jade: View Missing Dave.
  • Her subsequent conversation with Dave manages to be something of a tear jerker as well. She tries to comfort him after the loss of his brother / "ghost dad," and he addresses the strange relationship he had with Bro.
• On second thought, prototyping with Dream Jade was a really bad idea.
  • You thought THAT was bad? The two pages after. Oh... oh god.
  • ...And then Jade gets impatient and annoyed, and just starts laying into poor Jadesprite like crazy. Thinking about where each of them is coming from--our Jade is frustrated, tired, at her wit's end, and has degenerated into abusive rage; Jadesprite was finally starting to get over dying and losing the game in the afterlife when she was suddenly thrust back into the most traumatic point of her short life, and can't even begin to cope--you just can't help but feel terrible for them both.
    • Want to make it even worse? Think about this: Jade and Jadesprite are variations on the same person, and the real Jade has seen all of the trauma that Jadesprite has and a lot more to go with it. So why isn't she having a massive breakdown too? Well, look at what she's calling Jadesprite - selfish and weak, accusing her of letting everyone down. Think about the implications there: she's probably going to hold her actual self to the same standards as her spriteself. In other words, she's suppressing a FUCK of a lot of trauma - dying, losing half her life on Prospit, watching a Dave be killed (not permanently, but still horrifying), losing her guardian, blaming herself as the game becomes unwinnable, and being faced with an unbeatable murderous monster that could appear anywhere at any time - because she feels like if she freaks out over all of that, it's a despicable weakness and she's letting her friends down. That's an unreasonable expectation for an adult to have, and she's thirteen.
  • To say nothing of Karkat making her realize how Not So Different she is from him in that scene.
    • Which actually ends up with a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when Jade sees it isn't such a bad thing and they make amends, apparently going on to become Fire-Forged Friends if Karkat's messages from the future can be trusted.
• Wayward Vagabond needs a hug. He'll never forget his past failure, even while he is asleep.
• Tavros, ever the quintessential Woobie, is rewarded for showing a little backbone and standing up to Vriska by being impaled with his own lance and thrown off a cliff. Again.
• From the same update as Tavros above, Jack deciding to Kill the Cutie twice in gruesome succession.
  • Especially Nepeta.
• OH GOD! NOT AGAIN!
  • FUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK. Hussie's on a killing spree!
    • IT KEEPS HAPPENING!!! In fact, Hussie introduced a new word that perfectly describes this current batch of updates: HOPESPLODE!
    • Karkat's reaction pretty much sums up the readers' feelings about what's just happened.
    • Karkat's face stops being funny when you realise that he literally just stood and watched his friend being killed, too frozen in horror and fear to try and help. And that's probably the only reason he's even still alive. Bitter tears, let them flow.
    • Not only that, but Karkat's absolute Freak-Out when examining one of the bodies is enough to drive anyone to tears.
• The recent death of Kanaya makes this conversation especially sad.

GG: i dont know, i have no idea what time you are from! GG: but you will get it, i gave it to you some time ago at the end of our last conversation GG: and i have been eagerly awaiting your linear and unconfusing reply ever since! GG: bye kanaya <3

• • Actually, this may create just the opposite... because, remember, this means Future Jade has had future conversations with Future Kanaya in the Future! So that means Kanaya's not permadea. Somehow. Maybe through time shenanigans I dunno.
• The reveal that Gamzee, who had always come across as a generally sweet, friendly and easygoing person, is actually a murderous sociopath whose Split Personality had been being kept in check by his constant consumption of sopor slime was not only nightmare-inducingly horrifying but utterly crushing.
• This memo, The part where past Feferi responds is severely gut wrenching.
  • Indeed. Even if you've made it through the last several comics without cracking, that is sure to break you.
  • And on the next page... CCG: SHE WAS MY REALLY *GOOD* FRIEND AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL TO DO NOW THAT SHE'S GONE. Then it rapidly segues back into horror.
• The 2xCorpsesmooch Combo is funny, but also sad because Karkat is crying as he does it - it's obvious he's hoping against hope here. Made even worse by the preceding chatlogs, wherein it's pretty clear he was bordering on redrom (platonic <> probably) with Kanaya, and this just hammers it home.
  • It failed.
• The Dramatic Irony of the kids being unaware of the events going on for the trolls. Whenever they talk about the trolls as though they were still alive, sane, or not in danger, it's like a punch to the gut.
• Karkat's (possibly) final chatlog with John:

CG: OH GOD THE HONKING CG: WHY WON'T THE HONKING STOP CG: I HAVE TO GO CG: SORRY FOR BEING SUCH A DOUCHE TO YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS. CG: I HOPE YOU CAN SUCCEED AS A LEADER WHERE I FAILED MISERABLY.

• • Damn it Karkat, stop tripping over loser flags!
• Karkat's slow descent into the Despair Event Horizon after receiving Terezi's logs. She tells him that she will be 'away from her glasses' and right after that Karkat freaks out when he sees one simple word: honk, heavily implying that Gamzee is going after Terezi. Then Karkat examines Sollux's unconscious body only to discover that falling down the stairs knocked the latter's teeth out. After putting the teeth back in his mouth, this text comes up--"There. Good as new, best friend! It's like it never happened. No one can ever blame you for dropping him down the stairs now. Stairs? What stairs! Ha ha ha!"
• In the 2/9 update, we see that Nepeta has painted a new shipping wall. The tear jerker part is that she's got a full wall dedicated to people who just died and that she can't bear to paint over them. For those curious, Dave/Tavros, Rose/Kanaya, and Sollux/Feferi.
  • Nepeta and Equius's seperation is parts this and part adorable. But it tips toward the Tear Jerker side of things when you realize that the reason Equius is so adamant about saying goodbye is because he knows it's very probable that they might not see each other again and after what happened with Aradia wants to properly say goodbye to his friend.
    • Which esclates into full Tear Jerker when sure enough, Gamzee kills Equius right before Nepeta's eyes.
    • Did anyone else put off actually going somewhere as long as possible just so they could have a few more moments together before things inevitably got dark(er)?
    • To mention something fan-made, here's Nepeta dealing with Equius's death.
      • To mention something ELSE fan-made, it is near impossible to listen to Fur Good and not cry.
      • And then there's Blue Lips, a tribute to Equius & Nepeta.
• The fact that Equius had the ability to save himself and Nepeta, but didn't. He valued the hemospectrum and Gamzee finally acting like a highblood more than his moirial. Because green b100d is ok, but it's not great.
• Whether or not you find Vriska's conversation/confession with John starting here sad depends on how sympathetic you are to Vriska. It's still tragic, since it drives home to poor John just how different he and Vriska are despite their budding friendship. He is clearly struggling to understand her even after learning about all of the horrible things she's done.
  • It also tugs at the heartstrings when you realize how incredibly serious Vriska is about these doubts and confessions; count how many times she uses her usual typing quirks. Then look at how much of the conversation is completely devoid of typing quirks...
    • And think back afterwards to her relationship with Tarvos and her idolation of Mindfang. Nearly every horrible step in her life before the that wasn't motivated by trying to please Spidermom or Doc Scratch's manipulations was due to her chasing Mindfang's shadow (and failing). If you don't feel sorry for her still, then look at poor Tavros — everything she did to him was to try to make him into a new Summoner, and every single thing she did backfired horrifically. Then go back and reread her ascension to God Tier. She desperately wants him to kill her as one last attempt to make him into the man he could be — and it breaks him completely. Just tragic on both sides.
• If we can count things fans have done, take a look at this. If you read the description, this was a fan-chat two people who had never met before improvised. It's a fake chat log between Feferi and a Gamzee from the far future after he is finally killed. They discuss Sollux not wanting to keep Gamzee around, Karkat wanting him to stay, Gamzee reverting to Aradia's destructive life style, and worst of all, he also became emotionally dead like Aradia, and he wants to learn how to laugh again. It's done in such a way, it could almost be canon.
  • When this troper read it, she found Gamzee talking about how he misses Tavros and Equius very sad, because he goes on to say he can't remember if he liked them or not, but knows he misses them. His mention of how he doesn't think he deserved a second chance is also very sad. Why can't this be canon??
• The February 11th/12th updates... which focused on The doomed Dave who tried to ascend to the god tiers. Especially the panel where he sees Alpha Timeline Dave finding and mourning over Bro.
  • The saddest part is that the doomed Dave, being Dave, reacts with utter composure. And yet, you can easily tell by his dialogue how he's feeling. The saddest part probably being:

AA: and yes your guardian did die TG: well TG: dammit TG: what did i do wrong

• • Further down this dialogue, it could break some readers hearts to see Dave witnessing what's going on around Skaia, wanting to do something, and yet be powerless to do so...

TG: if im seeing this TG: shouldnt i be able to do something about it TG: or stop it from happening or TG: i dont know like anything to keep helping my friends TG: what do i do AA: nothing AA: none of this is your business anymore AA: its time to move on

• Put into context this journal entry from Vriska's ancestor: Marquise Spinneret Mindfang is raping her slave just to make her rival Orphaner Dualscar jealous, and ignite/strengthen their odd troll romance further. Yes, it is a record of life centuries ago on Alternia, but still, My God, that poor slave...
  • Then the slave is assassinated by Dualscar right when Mindfang starts to feel genuine redrom feelings for her.
  • And the slave was later implied to be Kanya's ancestor, the Dolorosa.
• Last seeing Nepeta, she was engaging the snapped troll Gamzee. Cut to the Complete Monster interrupting the start of a duel with her blood on his weapon of choice. Cue worrying concern whether she is still alive or not.
  • She's not.
    • And on that note, have some soul crushing!
• John's Dad and Rose's mum are enjoying a romantic meal. A few updates later? "You are now Jack Noir. You have just murdered an innocent family. What will you do?"
  • ANDREW WHY THE FUCK
  • But Vriska mentioned earlier that John runs into his father later, and since she's never outright lied to John, it could mean they're alright? Right? Right? *sob*
    • He stumbles across the bodies. That counts, unfortunately. It's also epic Mood Whiplash, as the previous panels were filled with hilarious Crazy Awesome.
• Rose's expression when she looks into her crystal ball and sees that Jack has killed her mother.
  • Given Rose's attitude towards her at the beginning, it's also sort of heartwarming in an Aw, Look — They Really Do Love Each Other sort of way. Doesn't make it any less sad, though.
  • And Rose's conversation with Jade afterwards, at least until she starts going insane.
  • Especially this little line. Rose immediately starts blaming herself.

TT: John was too. But he went to look for his father. TT: It would have been normal of me. I can't remember what I was trying to prove anymore.

• Alternia, from the latest album, combined with the image for it, sent This Troper nearly crying just from the start.
• For some reason, Bec Noir retaining Becquerel's love and loyalty for Jade made this troper tear up bit. Heck, even the part where he accidentally describes her as being wonderful and adoring made this troper sad.
  • Bec Noir's incredibly sorrowful demeanor when Jade dies. And he takes her to her quest bed.
• [S Seer: Descend], especially towards the end; Dramatic Irony at its worst.
  • Near the beginning, attempting to examine MOM and DAD's bodies does nothing; the only message you will get is "There is no sign of Jack Noir up here. Must be somewhere in the castle," which is produced by examining any spot on the screen. There are two reasons why this could be. One is that she's trying very hard not to think about it and focusing on revenge. Another is that she no longer cares and is still focused on revenge.
  • As you descend into the castles you find more and more corpses of Dersites and Prospitians, but you do encounter a few surviviors: one hiding behind a pillar, and a group in a secret room plotting a futile counterattack. It turns out that, as Rose spoke with John, Jack returned.
  • The [S ==>] after it is worse. Jack stabs John through the freaking chest before they get a chance to fight.
• Dave's conversation with Terezi after finding Bro's body. The poor guy is obviously having serious trouble working out his emotions, and having a personal crisis over his role in the game at the same time.
• This page shows that Terezi is clearly concerned for Gamzee... when the readers already know that Gamzee's the killer.
• In some of Mindfang's more recent journals I was wondering why Equius' ancestor was alone and why Nepeta's ancestor wasn't there with him. Then I went back to the page where she's climbing the steps to his cave. She throws an offhand remark of wondering of him believing SHE was worth it. Brings a whole new level to his moping around alone in a cave, doesn't it?
• Three words: The Seer dies. Yes, her dream self is still alive probably, but... ROOOOOSE!!
  • It also puts a different spin on her Self-Sacrifice Scheme, because her dream self is no longer expendable.
  • Also, Rose's body is likely going to be the first thing John sees when he wakes up. Think about that for a moment.
• Yay, two new albums up! Oh, hey look, an update: With as little fanfare, he seized the opportunity to follow the Thief's trail quickly before it dissipated, and destroyed their hideout in the veil. --wait. Wait. What?
• Oh...oh. This is kind of the worst day ever.
  • Well... yep. Because of trying to find the silver lining, Gamzee is most likely dead.
    • Actually... sorry, but probably not. We know he at least lives until the end of the mysterious countdown, where he was seen fondly regarding the miracle of a new beginning.
      • If that's the case, then Karkat and Terezi are probably alive as well. They also live to the end of the countdown.
    • Kind of makes you wonder HOW he's watching it, though.
    • YMMV depending on your opinion of the character, but Vriska's reaction to the whole situation has tugged the heart strings of a few people, this troper included. Despite all her good intentions, her actions have doomed every person she ever considered a friend, and she knows it. The various facial expressions that demonstrate this can be deeply saddening.
  • A whole MSPA thread was created devoting itself to people crying over this update.
• Oh, thank goodness, it was an alternate timeline. Except now Vriska's seriously injured, possibly dying.
• Oh...oh, Vriska. She really does like John. A lot.
  • Oh my god... Now I want Vriska to live more than anything...
• The clock stops at just, and we see Vriska's body, with the label Dead all after an extended sequence of her confessing her feelings to John and talking about how much she hopes to see him in person.
  • Karkat weighs in on the situation:

OH MY FUCKING HELL, THIS IS SO INSANELY AWKWARD AND SAD.

• Karkat admitting that Gamzee was a good friend. At the same page we see a snapshot of him typing, coated in indigo-coloured blood.
  • Thankfully, later updates actually make this one Hilarious in Hindsight.
• This is very depressing.
• WV's death in [S] Cascade. This is a guy you have learned backwards and forwards as a guy who cares for his friend and is willing to fight for what he loves. In the very beginning, he builds a city out of cans and becomes obsessed with Tab soda. He's a hilarious guy. At one point he finds a bunch of random stuff in the corner of his room, and eats half of it. One of these things is a chunk of uranium, leading to one hilarious scene. However, Bec Noir executes a horrible, tearjerking ultimate Call Back. He needs the uranium, so he PUNCHES THROUGH WV'S STOMACH AND TAKES IT BY FORCE. Made even worse when he leaves and PM comes in and finds his body.
  • Oh thank god
• The entirety of [o Feel free to examine the clippings while I tidy.]
• 8 Oh, Vriska..

AG: You will 8e a8le to see me. AG: If you want.

• Keeping in mind Jade's reaction when seeing a doomed Dave awhile back, the scene featured in the panel above here.
  • It bites even more when you look at how they got to that point.
• Nanna finds her son's hat.
• When Rose travels through Dave's dream bubble on the way to delivering the Tumor, they argue about who was the designated pilot for this suicide mission. For once, Dave forgoes all his ironic coolguy nonsense, does not mince words and states, "but i dont want you to die". Then, he decides to stay asleep rather than wake up and try to stop her after she says this:

TG: so you admit you were stalling with all that bullshit TT: I said not entirely. TG: what do you mean [[color:#b536de:TT: It's going to be a long ride through all this nothingness. TT: Maybe I just thought some company would be nice. TT: Before it's all over. ]] TG: ............

• For the most part, John and Vriska finally meeting one another face to face is actually rather sweet. But when John finally starts to remember some of the details, like the suit he died in, the reader's brain finally catches up with the haymaker Hussie set up: The John she's talking to is from Davesprite's timeline... the one that Terezi got killed way back in act 4. He doesn't remember Vriska because he never met her.
  • For any Vriska lover, this scene hurts, because John's immortality will keep the two from meeting for a very long time.
  • This is now also captured in Tearjerking song form: Do You Remem8er Me indeed.
• fedorafreak is possibly dead.
  • but then you realize that he died on his quest bed, and likely reached the God Tiers as the fully realized Gent of Piss.
  • Not to mention, Nanna's entire story just makes you feel horrible for her. Especially since she never got to see her brother again.
• This series of panels actually give us a huge amount of exposition into various... shenanigans. But the saddest part of it all is probably the emotions that Karkat is going through when he wrote this. This is probably also the first time he genuinely says sorry, and he does it with full emotion.
  • I THINK I GAVE HIM CANCER. And then my heart was wrenched.
• After strifing Doc Scratch becomes hopeless, the imprisoned Handmaid feels Driven to Suicide (which she attempts by self-inflicted Electric Torture), and fails. Which is worse, the reason the Handmaid is held captive in a Gilded Cage, the Unnecessary Combat Roll to suicide after failing the Damsel Fight-and-Flight Response, OR the Epic Fail of all three responses?
• This page:

Doc Scratch: "Once, in this very universe, you could say, Alternia was home to a peaceful race. Trollkind had never known the corrupting influence in their evolution which led them to perpetual war and violence." Doc Scratch: "That is to say, they had never known me."

• The Disciple, full stop. Love that transcended the quadrants, tears of joy. Then she was left to live for years after her soulmate died. No wonder she went insane!
  • Two bits of fan speculation make it worse: 1) If Redglare had been around during the Sufferer's time, she may have caused romantic tension and 2) Nepeta's coat is actually the Righteous Leggings stained green from years of the Disciple coddling and crying into it.
  • From the same update, we learn that the Dolorosa, Kanaya's ancestor, abandoned her duties to care for and raise the Sufferer. After he was executed, she was sold into slavery. Probably to Mindfang. And then was probably raped and murdered.
    • She was sold for the seadwellers to use, which implies all the seadweallers. In Mindfang's journal she mentions... coupling with a slave of unusual blood color that belonged to Orphaner Dualscar, then Dualscar kills the slave. The extent of the relationships is never explored and perhaps it's better we don't know.
• The cause of Bec Noir's unfathomable rage upon entering the Trolls' session is finally revealed.
  • Then Bec Noir murders CD in a fit of rage.
  • What happened to the Exiles in [S] Cascade. AR especially.
  • As awesome as Jade's ascend to the God Tiers is, it's a little depressing seeing her fuse with Jadesprite and fly away, leaving Davesprite alone on Skaia.
    • YMMV, Davesprite is perfectly fine still there, Jade just shrunk him with the planet.
• How about the fact that the entire main cast is THIRTEEN? AND that all of them have died at least once? AND seen their homes destroyed? AND seen most of their friends killed, be it in battle or the apocalypse? AND have to live with the knowledge that the deaths of MILLIONS are on their hands? How would you deal with that?
  • Not only that, but the fact that they're witnessing the very BREAKDOWN OF THE LAWS OF PHYSICS. All the things you listed tend to fall under the "everything you know is falling apart", but the very structure of the Universe is being revealed to them. The fact that they keep their sanity might either be a sign of optimism, or strength. I wish the kids could do what such friends should be doing, which is this.
• Solux is breaking down under the effort of accelerating the asteroid towards the green sun, yet with Bec Noir about to do battle with PM it's questionable whether or not he needs to work himself literally to death.
  • Word of God says that they only have a small window of time before the light from the Green Sun disappears, and it's not like the knew PM was there.
    • This troper hadn't read Hussie's blog post at the time. However it should be noted that it's not the fading of the Green Sun that's important, rather that the very path through the outer ring itself is likely to change if the kids don't get to the rendez-vous immediately.
• Right after he teleports away to the Trollverse, there's a quick montage of all the damage and death Bec Noir caused there, set to sad piano music, just to remind you of some of the more tragic parts of the series.
• The looks on Rose and Dave's faces as they wait for the Tumor to blow. It really sinks in that they're two thirteen-year-old kids, waiting to die.
  • ...and realizing that it was pointless since they had been tricked.
  • Similarly, the look between Jadesprite and Davesprite, especially for the latter. Davesprite had to suffer through Jade dying by meteor once, and now he has to see it again, thinking he's failed in changing anything... which only makes the following scenes that much more awesome.
• The White Queen (or, rather, Windswept Questant) is finally reunited with the White King, and they hold hands... for exactly ten seconds, before Jack arrives and kills the both of them.
• The cover art for Galactic Cancer. Poor Karkat.
• Serenade by Clark "Plazmataz" Powell. When combined with the cover art, it hits especially hard.
  • The more you look at that picture, the harder it hits. When you notice that it isn't her cave art. When you notice that it's her blood. And, what finally did it for This Troper, when you notice that her cheeks are tear stained.
• PM, holding WV's dead (or dying) body while looking up at the sky as the universe ends.
  • Most of the exiles (and the entire human universe around them) ending up dead is especially tragic when you remember art like the cover art to this song. What could have been...
• Rose and Dave ascending out of the Green Sun always gets This Troper, though it's more out of pride than sadness.
• The lost child is also heart breaking when you remember that despite everything she tried, the Handmaid was always doomed to the life of misery as a servant of Lord English.
• Even throughout all of what he's done, the reason why Gameze went insane was quite melancholic. Imagine, if you will, that you followed a very peaceful and joyful religion, only for someone to make a complete mockery of it and shatter your pure image of said religion. That getting together over Faygo morphed into a complete satire. Listen:

TC: I HAVE THE IDEA THAT YOU PUT IN MY PAN TO SIT THERE. TC: that the paradise planet TC: IS A FUCKING JOKE. TC: and the miracles TC: ARE FAKE. TC: pure fiction. TC: FALSE FAKEY FRAUDY CON JOBS FROM A BUNCH OF UNFUNNY NINJA HARLEQUIN BULLSHIT ARTISTS.

• • Add to this the fact that his religion was basically Gamzee's only source of hope; living with an absent parent in a society that oppressed your best friends and would most likely cull the two people you are closest to (Karkat and Tavros) isn't so bad when you know that there's hope for the future. Then Dave takes away his faith, and he finds Tavros stabbed through the chest by one of their teammates and left bloody and broken on the floor. There's also the fact that he is most likely going through withdrawals, and it's quite possible that Lil' Cal is screwing with his head. At that point, going insane could almost be seen as a coping mechanism.
    • The worst part? Gamzee's religion was a lie; Word of God confirms his Mirthful Messiahs were Doc Scratch and Lord English.
• Alpha!John is introduced by Jane thusly:

GG: So if I have this straight, the big thing hogging up your plate today is not this marvelous new game which I have invited you to play with me, but finishing a robotic rabbit to give to my dead poppop?

• If you really think about it, the Alpha kids in general. They only have the most basic of clues of what's going to happen, and if you remember what happened to the original kids and notice the indications that the Alphaverse may or may not be a Crap Saccharine World, it can be depressing.
• "The Page is dead. Our hope is lost." - the Prospitians, in the funeral procession of Jake's dreamself.
• Call me crazy, but if you think about it, the entire universe's destruction was a big one for me. I mean, it's nice to see the session's going to be completed and all, but the one little thing nagging at my head is that billions of people are fucking dead and never coming back. No more history, no more stories, no more of all that once was and all that ever will. Just a big, sad, empty void.
  • Adding onto this, the mere fact that the kids are ignoring that fact (or at least, trying to) is Tear Jerking, too. It's like there was nothing they cared about on their home planet, except for the family they're introduced to and themselves.
• TINKERBULL!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
• Hey Jane. Heard you got the mail today...
  • As soon as I saw the slow-mo as she reached for the mailbox, I KNEW this was coming and the bottom dropped out of my stomach. I just kept thinking "It's a bomb. There's a bomb, ohnoohgodnodon'tbeabomb, nnnnnnnnoooooo... *BOOM*. HUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSIIIEEEE!!!"
• Call me crazy, but what Hussiebot says at the end of his maniacal laugh is kind of sad. The way he just words his comment ("Why am I laughing This is a completely innapropriate reaction") kind of says that he almost gives an air of compassion about those offed characters by realizing his laughter was not the best of reactions. It tells me he seems to care.
• John still thinks he's going to meet Vriska in the Alpha!Universe.
  • Making it even worse is Jade's complete silence about it after John continues to ask about Vriska, implying she knows.
• Serenity calls PM's attention to WV's broken body and says in morse code, "Please...help him!" It's just gutwrenching to see, after all they've been through.
• The scene of what is likely the most inevitable heroic death in the whole comic is only worsened by Karkat's tears.
  • Which then becomes Mood Whiplash Tears of Joy when Karkat looks up.
• Karkat's panic attack. After what happened on the meteor, seeing Karkat close to falling apart is sad. Plus, maybe Kanaya made it slightly worse by trying to give him Equius's shades, possibly reminding Karkat's command to Equius to seek the highblood, leading to his friend's death.
• Kanaya seems really depressed. Prior to now she was too busy being dead and then badass for us to see how deeply the loss of the Matriorb affected her.
• John's letter to the group on the meteor ends with "vriska, if you read this, thanks again for all your help. i don't think i'd have made it this far if not for you! i just thought you should know that." What makes it worse is that the two could be very happy together if they had ever met face to face.
  • The worst part? He's still looking forward to meeting Vriska once everyone reaches the new session in three years, and Jade, the only person with John who knows Vriska won't be there to greet him, hasn't said a word so far.
• Oh, it must be Jack here to offer help taking down the queen, as his role in the game dictates, and Jane's going to be fi- HUUUUUUSSSSIIIIEEEE!
• When you really think about it, Vriska's POV section of Alterniabound is actually pretty sad, albeit self-inflicted, since it shows just how she managed to torpedo practically all of her relationships, especially with Kanaya, and has no clue what's really going on.
• Those last few seconds of the EOA, where the fourth wall goes backwards through everything that happened to John before he started playing the game. It's just a huge blow to the heart that makes you remember where it all started and how far everyone has come.
• The first on-screen conversation between Roxy and Dirk. We already knew that Jane was distrusting of Roxy's claims, but one off-hand remark halfway through the pesterlog casts a whole new light on not only Roxy's frustrations but on her own character.

TG: but it gets tiring and saddening TG: knowing that TG: that my best friend cant bring herself to believe some really basic things about my life TG: like the shitty things the baroness has done to us TG: or about our upbringings TG: do u know how misrable it is for your bff to doubt you TG: when you tell her your mom is dead

• • Also serves as a double Tear Jerker: R.I.P. Alpha Rose and Alpha Dave.
• Roxy and Dirk's conversation about their hypothetical children from the same conversation above, which is even sadder when you think about Rose and Dave and realise that Dirk isn't really all that wrong.

[[color:#ff6ff2:TG: whaaaat do you think TG: it would be like TG: if we had kids]] [[color:#f2a400:TT: Inconvenient mostly. (...) TT: Two perfect little freaks of nature raised by people who've clearly got no business bringin' up anybody.]]

• NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
• Oh god, when Jake asks Jane about her feelings for him, it's starts off funny as she freaks and says she doesn't (but she does really, we all know this) and then thinks this. It started off funny, but then everybody saw her slowly get hysterical in the conversation, as Jake stated that he thought she had had a crush on him, and more or less expressed the chance of being gay. We then see her thoughts again two pages after the first time, where she's almost in tears.
• The recent revelation that Dirk and Roxy are in the future has a lot of this. They're forced to watch Jake and Jane mucking around happily in a beautiful world they know will soon be destroyed without even being able to warn them of what will happen. The romantic situation as well: maybe Roxy was trying to set Jane and Jake up so they could at least have each other when everything went to shit? And then there's Dirk falling for a guy he was separated from not only by distance but also several hundred years of time...
  • Some may think the "beautiful world" was not destroyed, but made better, and feel happy for Roxy and Dirk instead.
• The suggestion in the latest update that Terezi has been pulling away from Karkat. Not only was she the person that he went to vent to but she was obviously someone very important to Karkat. It gets worse when he berates himself for not realizing how good things were between them on Alternia.
  • He seems to be so desperate not to lose her that he's willing to be in a love triangle with her and Dave, alternating between red and black so they each get to be her matesprit for some of the time.
• The song Do You Remem8er Me, a song basically from Vriska to John, is ridiculously heart-wrenching when you realize that after a year, John barely even remembered her name, referring to her as "That troll girl who was sorta into me".
  • Though it's hinted he does remember her and wasn't being entirely honest to Jade.
• This pesterlog in hindsight. While Dirk did make the AR for other reasons, he also created it for the purpose of simply having someone to talk to. And since we've seen his apartment, literally located in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight or no company from anyone except his own robots, these lines in particular can be a little depressing.

GG: Are you saying you have conversations with your own auto-responder? TT: Of course. TT: Why do you think I made the thing?

• Terezi in this dream bubble talking to Vriska, with Aranea helping with the healing.
• NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
• Jane's planet, the Land of Crypts and Helium is pretty morbid- her creatures all died millions of years ago, there's no one left except Hemera, and there's prophecies all over the place showing how all the creatures thought they were going to meet their hero, only to find out that she's not arriving for millions of years, so they stopped farming their life-giving balloons and started DIGGING THEIR OWN GRAVES.
• As if living in a post-apocalyptic, flooded wasteland ruled by a tyrannical alien overlord and her Eldritch Abomination wasn't enough, Dirk had to raise himself. At least Roxy had the luxury of being raised by carapaces.
  • Also serves to show just how much of a Badass Dirk is.
• Take a good look at this poor kid when he had to cremate his own grandmother, and tell me you didn't feel awful for Jake.
  • The art only makes it sadder.
• Alpha!Rose and Alpha!Dave challenge the Empress. Thus, they become martyrs among the Homestuck fandom.
• Aranea herself is a living (or rather, dead) Tear Jerker. She's nice, helpful, kind, altruistic, good-spirited and nearly selfless - she's everything that Vriska wasn't when we first met her. She genuinely seems to want to help Jake and Terezi. She lost her homeworld to the inevitable destruction that comes with playing Sgrub, and despite fighting her hardest, not only did she fail, but she was always destined to fail, no matter how hard she tried. But it doesn't stop there: not only did she struggle for nothing, but thanks to the Scratch, all her struggling was nothing. Because of the Scratch, she shouldn't even exist anymore. As it is, she's dead, existing only as a ghost, drifting through dream bubbles. To become anywhere near as nice as her, Vriska had to die. And then you think about what Aranea became after the Scratch...
• A Missed Moment of Tearjerking occurs when Rose tells Dave she remembers her Davesprite timeline self having nothing to do but drink liquor. Mixed unfortunately with Fridge Brilliance, the deaths of her friends John and Jade would understandably depress Rose enough to drink.
• This flash reminds us that poor Terry/Liv died during the events of Cascade. More tear-jerking is the fact that among all of the stuff that goes on in the flash, the bunny's death is often forgotten.

And that was how that stuff happened. The bunny didn't make it.

Fan Content

• If we're allowed to mention fan-made stuff...

TG: bro TG: ok bro you win TG: pretending to be dead is the lamest prank and it’s the most ironic thing youve ever done TG: you can get up now TG: bro TG: bro please TG: please get up

• • Link?
• Hell, if we're mentioning fanstuff, the whole outpouring of love and tribute art following Bro's death was somehow incredibly touching and heartbreaking all at once.
  • this...just...this
    • Not to mention this.
• They may be fan-made, but this is one of the only times this Troper will say that if you don't cry while reading these 5 fanfics then you are NOT human. Even better, this is probably canon.
  • How about Sing a Melody, detailing Aradia's attempts to save them?
  • Not so. This Troper got through it by continuously reminding himself that all of those characters have been shown to survive past the Scratch. It was still really depressing, though.
  • It may be canon, just in one (or more) of the hundreds of doomed timelines.
  • The death of Gamzee is either the saddest part of that fanfic or the brightest point in a sea of darkness. His continued belief in his faith, in his MiRaClEs... it really was the highest low point.
  • Many of the Trollmegle logs in this thread are sad, but particularly the one in the third spoiler tag on the first post had this troper in tears while doomed timeline Karkat tries desperately to ease Terezi's suffering as they both die. On top of that he seems to totally disregard angsts over his blood color out of devotion to this final purpose.

TEREZI, I'M RIGHT HERE. CHERRY RED. PRETTY MUCH E-EVERYWHERE.

• If we're allowed to add fan content here, this video ought to be the crux of fanmade tearjerkers. It made many a cynical fan break down crying and announce a newfound love for Equius.
  • On that subject, there's Ode To Dad, which doubles as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming.
• The Sufferer's Final Sermon. My god, if the gorgeous voice acting didn't drive you to the verge of tears, the playing of "Homestuck" near the end will.
  • The worst thing is, at the end, where he talks about a world where all casts work together? He got that, in a a way, through Karkat and the trolls.
  • Now in video form!
• Two Acts left, the melancholy of that is just too much. It's good to know that these feelings are mutual among the fanbase everything hurts but it's all beautiful.
  • That link doesn't seem to be working, but the maker put it up on YouTube now!
• Nepeta's last memo
• this rp on tumblr which starts as a petty argument between Terezi and Jade before devolving into a look at how both of them are horribly broken balls of self hate and guilt. (note that in this continuity Dave and Jade are together and Terezi has admitted her flushed feelings for Dave)
• Beyond the Ends of the World talks about the afterlife with all the dead Aradias. One of them goes crazy, and we found out why: in her alternate timeline, the trolls actually successfully completed the game - which she then had to go back and prevent to preserve the alpha timeline. To see success and happiness right in front of you, and then having to stop it from happening...
• Seeing Nepeta heart-broken is a sure sign of tears to come.
• This site is basicallydedicated to heartbreaking images from Homestuck.

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