Line #2 Main/TearfulSmile


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3	%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
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6	%% Crying Girl by Roy Lichtenstein: http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/3352.htm
7	[[quoteright:275:[[Creator/RoyLichtenstein https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tearful-smile_lichtenstein-crying-girl_9260.jpg]]]]
8
9	->''"Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."''
10	-->-- '''Truvy''', ''Film/SteelMagnolias''
11
12	Someone smiles while crying — usually after the tears start.
13
14	May be an attempt to paper over the grief, especially to fool a child, but often indicates a -- complicated emotional state. As when NoOneCouldSurviveThat is succeeded by NotQuiteDead so quickly that the characters suffer emotional whiplash. (Compare AngerBornOfWorry.) Sometimes, a character will lie about crying, invoking SandInMyEyes.
15
16	Compare GoOutWithASmile, TearsOfAwe, when they cry over something magnificent, and TearsOfJoy, a less ambiguous expression of happiness. See also CryLaughing, a similar expression of mixed emotion.
17	----
18	!!Examples:
19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
22	* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': Casca , several times throughout the series, but most notably during the Eclipse. While helping [[spoiler:a mortally wounded]] Judeau walk, she is reminded by him that Guts loves her, and smiles. The tears in her eyes are barely noticeable, but prompt Judeau to say "You cry a lot when you're alone, don't you?" as his final words before falling to the ground.
23	** It gets worse in the movie adaptation, while Casca is suffering [[spoiler:an excruciatingly painful and humiliating rape at the hands of Griffith right in front of Guts and a menagerie of other demons. There's no doubt that what she's feeling both physically and emotionally is unimaginably horrible, but yet she manages to [[GoOutWithASmile give Guts a smile during her last moments of consciousness]] ([[GoMadFromTheRevelation and inevitable sanity]]) while tearfully telling him [[DontLookAtMe not to watch her be violated.]]]]
24	* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'': In the After Story arc, [[spoiler:after reconciling with Ushio and promising to take care of her, Tomoya finally begins telling her about her deceased mother, Nagisa. He starts out composed but scarcely gets past the story of how they met before beginning to cry and smiling as he remembers his late wife.]]
25	* ''Anime/CodeGeassLelouchOfTheResurrection'': [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, [[TheChessmaster Lelouch]] decides to join [[MysteriousWaif C.C.]] in WalkingTheEarth, even offering to call himself L.L. as his own form of a WackyMarriageProposal. C.C.'s response to Lelouch's choice is to tear up, look like she's about to sob outright... then smile gratefully, tears brimming her eyes as Lelouch smiles back.]]
26	* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': Henry does this when [[spoiler:Terriermon and the rest of the Digimon were forced to leave and return to their Digital World.]]
27	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Jotaro Kujo has a moment in the finale of part three. That he would smile while on the verge of crying is quite surprising, considering the type of [[TheStoic person]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jotaro is]] much of the time. Jotaro's grandfather Joseph and friend Polnareff also smile through their own tears and all three of them [[InsultOfEndearment throw insults at each other]] while they embrace and bid farewell to one another.
28	* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': When Kaguya's cellphone breaks in chapter 100, she starts smiling since she now has an excuse to upgrade to a smartphone. It's only once the fact that [[PreciousPhoto all the photos stored on it]] were lost (since the phone was old enough that it had neither cloud storage nor an SD card) sinks in that she starts crying. [[spoiler:This happens again when she's giving a practice confession to Hayasaka regarding all the things she loves about Shirogane while admitting she could never keep him from going to Stanford.]]
29	* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': Misty gets a tearful smile when Ash and Pikachu come [[BackFromTheDead back to life]] thanks to a friendly Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar after being accidentally killed by a falling chandelier. Pikachu also gets one in [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the first movie]] after Ash is restored from being [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]].
30	* ''Anime/ProjectK'': Yata attempts this in the last episode, after [[spoiler:Mikoto's death.]] It doesn't hold for long, and he ends up [[TearJerker sobbing halfway through the HOMRA chant.]]
31	* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Chapter 90 shows [[spoiler:Yotsuba]] forcing herself to smile, trying to convince herself that she's happy that her sisters realized what a great guy Fuutarou is (and falling for him). Her tears make it painfully clear she's just bottling her own feelings, because [[spoiler:she's the one who has loved him for the longest time, and still does even now, [[InsecureLoveInterest but thinks she doesn't deserve to pursue him]]]].
32	* ''AudioPlay/SaintBeast'': At the end of the [=OVA=], Maya wakes up Shin from a HappyFlashback turned FlashbackNightmare and asks why he's crying. Shin responds that he's crying over happy memories, and when pressed further, explains it's because he's sad that those times are now over.
33	* ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins:'' [[SweetPollyOliver Jericho]] gets this [[spoiler:after realizing she has inherited [[PosthumousSibling her posthumous brother Gustav]]'s [[AnIcePerson Ice Fang]] magic. Resolving to become a Holy Knight to honor him, her eyes are brimmed with tears from her earlier breakdown that froze when her magic awakened. After those shatter, they're replaced by non-frozen tears.]]
34	** This is used to a more... ''unnerving'' effect in the sequel manga, ''The Four Knights of the Apocalyse'', [[spoiler:where [[SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome Jericho is now a traitor to Liones.]] She ends up doing this as she admits to her 16-year-old former apprentice, Lancelot, [[{{Ephebophile}} that she has a disturbing crush on him]], and that she joined King Arthur because he could create a reality where she can be with a "Lancelot" of her own. The moment she snaps back into combat, her tears freeze and shatter.]]
35	* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'': Vash the Stampede does a bit of this, being prone to complicated emotional states. (See chapter 32 of ''Maximum'', "Colourless Emotions".) Though mostly when he's ''really'' sad he [[UnableToCry goes right past tears]] to the ThousandYardStare, and more often cries out of [[TenderTears relief, frustration, sympathy,]] occasionally [[TearsOfRemorse guilt]], or as a gag.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'': [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/OQ/OQ16/DisplayOQ16.html This cover]]. Cutter was grievously wounded in the previous issue, and Leetah's expression here is deliberately ambiguous.
40	* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': Both Lois and Clark do this as they say goodbye after Lois breaks off their engagement and decides to leave Metropolis.
41	-->'''Clark''': You're free now, Lois. Take care of yourself.
42	* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': When Diana gives Badra her mother's crown, the princess thief turned museum curator smiles and cries in heartsore joy at seeing not only something from her ruined home planet, but something her long lost mother wore every day.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Fan Works]]
46	* Roleplay/DCNation: The mood whiplash hits hard at the end of the Olympics plot. Troia and Omen restored to life as per Arsenal's bargain with Hades. Unfortunately, Arsenal and Nightwing were killed in the process. As this is a liminal space between the living and the dead, the Titans and Arrows are saying farewell to their own. Athene wrests another condition from Hades; Troia will be allowed to choose which family she wants to bring back to life and stay with. Her choice is to restore her close friends Nightwing and Arsenal or [[SadisticChoice her son and stepdaughter by Terry Long]]. After seeing her own children are terrified of her, she declares without hesitation to restore her teammates. Made all the more bittersweet because Franchise/TheFlash lost his kids before they were born, Arsenal has a young daughter, Tempest has a young son, and Nightwing had a yet-unborn daughter.
47	-->''From grief. To shock. To euphoria. To realization. And back to grief. Connor races down to help Roy to his feet. "She...She chose you, Roy. You...you and Dick. I can't..."''
48	* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'':
49	** At the end of the chapter "Destiny", Jaune gives Pyrrha one last tearful BrokenSmile before [[spoiler:donning the [[EvilMask Mask of Darth Nihilus]] and allowing Nihilus to [[DemonicPossession possess]] his body.]]
50	** In "Vengeance", Pyrrha has one of these while parting ways with Ren and Nora right before her battle with the BigBad.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder: Film -- Animated]]
54	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'':
55	** Miriam gives a horrified Moses one when she sings their mother's lullaby and he recognizes it, fully realizing he is a Hebrew and he runs away in shock and confusion.
56	** Moses has one after his first encounter with God, where he is tasked with leading the Hebrews out of Egypt.
57	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': Mei and Ming exchange these at the end of the climax due to their mixed emotions.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
61	* ''Film/{{Babe}}'': Mrs. Hoggett hasn't finished crying with horror and embarrassment because she thinks her husband has gone crazy for entering a pig in a herding contest, before she begins laughing because [[spoiler:he won]].
62	* ''Film/CityLights'': Creator/CharlieChaplin cries tears of joy at the very end.
63	* ''Film/{{Filth}}'': The film adaptation ends with [[spoiler:Bruce grinning falsely at the camera with tears in his eyes, just before he hangs himself]].
64	* ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'': Hermione does one of these at the end, in the infamous "there's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid" scene.
65	* ''Film/KillBill'': The end of the movie, where [[spoiler:Beatrix is reunited with her daughter]], has the main character crying in the bathroom before it turns into tearful laughter.
66	* ''Film/RomanHoliday'': Joe and Ann during the press conference.
67	* ''Film/SenseAndSensibility'': Near the end, Elinor dissolves into tears when she hears that [[spoiler:Edward is NOT married to Lucy]]. Since this is actually the release of tension and despair that she (and the audience) had been holding for nearly the entire film, she soon smiles.
68	* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' At the end, Data and Counselor Troi are searching the wrecked [[spoiler:Enterprise]] for survivors, and discover Data's pet cat, Spot, alive under some rubble. Data begins to cry and wonders if his [[PersonalityChip emotion chip]] is malfunctioning, but Troi assures him it's working fine.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Literature]]
72	* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'': Jerin [[TenderTears feels like crying]] when he's about to leave home to get married, but knows that actually letting tears fall will make his [[PromotedToParent little siblings]] even more upset than they already are, so he forces cheer. Later he's upset because he's too modest to enjoy [[BeAWhoreToGetYourMan wearing tight clothing to appeal to women]] but knows no one wants to marry a crying boy, so he doesn't. His eldest sister knows, all the same, and tries to console him.
73	%%* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': [[spoiler: Lyra]] at the end.
74	* ''Literature/HowToMakeYourselfMiserable'': Being a parody self-help book geared to cultivate the reader's sense of self-pity to where nobody would want anything to do with them, it features a gallery of appropriate holiday cards, including one with a little man in an elf hat, smiling bravely with a tear in his eye with the caption "Don't Feel Obligated to Send Me a Christmas Card".
75	* ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'': When Elinor learns that Edward is free:
76	-->''She almost ran out of the room, and as soon as the door was closed, burst into tears of joy, which at first she thought would never cease.''
77	* ''Literature/SixOfSwords'': When Irissa has lost her powers and gone blind, she starts to cry. Kendric is cruel to her and leaves, taking the horses, causing her to sob. Then Kendric returns and Irissa finds her vision returning, and she sees that the tears were solid and colored; she regains both her sight and her powers and smiles even as she weeps the last of the problem away.
78	* ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'': After Lancelot and Guinevere quarrel and make up:
79	-->''The Queen dried her tears and then looked at him, smiling like a spring shower.''
80	* ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Phoenix Exultant]]'': Daphne both when she is recovering from her tears at remembering Phaethon's exile and seeing what a mess she made, and when she meets him again, and he remembers that she is Daphne Tercius, not Daphne Prime.
81	* ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'': When Nutt says they can leave to go back to the city, cutting off her chance to speak, Glenda bursts into tears. Then, minutes later, she manages to smile on top of it.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
85	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]] has the Doctor do this twice: first, his voice is noticeably breaking when he's [[spoiler:celebrating surviving the showdown with the Master before Wilf [[OhCrap knocks on the door four times]]]]. The second time, during the dénouement, when he meets [[spoiler:[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature Joan]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood Redfern's]] great-granddaughter and she asks him if he was happy]] — he smiles but looks like he's about to cry.
86	* ''[[Series/{{Pyramid}} The $10,000 Pyramid]]'': Bernadette Peters invokes this after she helps a contestant win the big prize in a 1974 telecast.
87	* ''Series/QueenCharlotteABridgertonStory'': Charlotte in the final scene, when her senile husband has a moment of clarity and recognizes her, and the two share a happy memory of their early marriage.
88	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Chloe does this when Clark saves her in "Crush" and "Obscura".
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Music]]
92	* An example of this happens at the end of the Music/{{Vocaloid}} song Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI by Hitoshizuku-P when the messiah realizes that, instead of stealing her blessings, as she thought, her friends had [[spoiler:taken on eternal punishments to allow her to continue on and light the altar. She is glad that she can save the world from God's wrath, but also grief-stricken by the loss of all her friends and ashamed of herself for suspecting them of betraying her.]]
93	** Another example appears in Hitoshizuku-P's song Amagoi Uta, or Rain Song. The priestess in the song begs the rain god to [[HumanSacrifice accept her as a sacrifice]] in return for ending a drought. The priestess then sees raindrops begin to fall, prompting her to cry both from relief and joy that her people won't die of thirst and from grief because the rain means that the god has accepted her sacrifice and she is about to die.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Video Games]]
97	* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'': At the end, [[spoiler:Shanoa did this per Albus's [[LastRequest final request]].]]
98	* ''Videogame/EarthBound1994'': The famous song "Smiles and Tears".
99	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': [[spoiler:Aqua]] in the secret ending when [[spoiler:Ansem the Wise]] tells her [[spoiler:Sora]]'s name.
100	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': Miranda [[DefrostingIceQueen smiles tearfully after meeting her adult sister for the first time]] if Shepard encourages her to introduce herself.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Webcomics]]
104	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Both Sarah and Tedd on [[http://egscomics.com/?date=2004-06-23 this page]].
105	* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'':
106	** [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=310 Antimony's]] when meeting a friend after vacation.
107	** [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=416 Anja trying not to distress her daughter]] -- somewhat complicated by the way InelegantBlubbering left her eyes red.
108	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0333.html Durkon's]], on hearing that [[DueToTheDead his dead body will be returned home for proper burial]].
109	** And much later, [[spoiler:he dies with a tearful smile on his face]].
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Western Animation]]
113	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': There's a lot of those, with one of the most memorable being when [[spoiler:Iroh and Zuko are reunited in the finale.]]
114	* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In the episode "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS2E17And18SummitToSaveEarth Summit to Save Earth, Part 2]]", [[MotherNature Gaia]] is twice moved to tears.
115	** The first time is when she's very close to dying due to having been deprived of her powers and immortality by her archenemy [[BigBad Zarm]], with some RapidAging thrown in [[KickTheDog for good measure]]. While listening to Ma-Ti's little speech about the power of {{Heart\|IsAnAwesomePower}}, she [[SoProudOfYou smiles proudly]] as tears start streaming down her cheeks.
116	** The second time it happens, it's after the things are set back to normal and she's watching the Earth Summit. Upon seeing the delegates cheer for the motivational, eco-friendly speech of the meeting's president, she smiles with hope, once again letting the tears flow.
117	* ''Charlie Brown's All-Stars'': Charlie Brown effects this after the gang presents him with a sweater that reads "Our Manager".
118	* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' Lena does this in the episode "Friendship Hates Magic!", when [[spoiler:Webby's attempt to rescue her from the Shadow Realm (seemingly) fails and she beings to fade away.]]
119	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': A somewhat depressing example occurs with [[spoiler:[[BigBad Amon,]] [[AlasPoorVillain right before his death.]]]]
120	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
121	** Twilight Sparkle does this in the series pilot upon realizing that these five quirky ponies, who insisted on accompanying her on her journey to find the elements, are indeed her friends.
122	** Rarity also does this when she [[spoiler:cuts off Spike's AnguishedDeclarationOfLove, silently revealing that she knew about his crush on her all along.]]
123	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': Buttercup does this in "Buttercrush", as she's buying Gangreen Gang leader Ace's sob story alibi. (Blossom and Bubbles aren't.)
124	* ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'': In "Jet Cooks Dinner", the Propulsions begin to miss Bortron 7 and the Classic 3-part Bortronian Meal. After they sing the commercial tune, Jet gets nostalgic about Bortron 7 and starts to [[https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/readyjetgo/images/5/5d/Screen_Shot_2017-04-20_at_12.37.21_PM.png/revision/latest?cb=20170421000231 cry a little bit while smiling.]]
125	* ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': A particularly heartbreaking example comes from the episode "Cheer Up, Pops", when Pops is having a mental breakdown.
126	* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': Late in the series' run, Daphne smiles with tears in her eyes when Fred announces his love for her and they kiss. Velma follows suit.
127	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': Sari after Optimus's FirstEpisodeResurrection.
128	[[/folder]]

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