Tear Jerker / The Dark Artifices

Lady Midnight

• Just, Julian. At the tender age of twelve, he inherited the duty to care for his four younger siblings, one of whom is autistic. Moreover, because his uncle, Arthur, has been driven mad by his experiences in Faerie, he also had to pull double duty as head of the Los Angeles Institute, constantly lying to the Clave by writing correspondences in Arthur's name, because if Arthur's secret is discovered, he will be sent to the Basilia while the children will be broken up and sent to different Institutes. On top of recurring PTSD of having to kill his Endarkened father years ago results in a teenage boy who is forced to act far older than he is, all to prevent the breaking up of a family who don't even give him the respect he ought to as a parent.
• Mark's five-year tribulations at Faerie consisted of being lashed on the back repeatedly and being verbally abused at because of his Shadowhunter heritage.
• Emma offering herself to replace Mark and Julian being lashed by Iarlath. She passes out after a few lashes and wakes up to Cristina and Julian, who breaks down sobbing on her.

Lord of Shadows

• Arthur doing probably the most sensible and selfless thing since he went mad: sacrificing himself to let his nephews and nieces go away safely as Malcolm closes on him.
• Robert Lightwood's death. Mostly because it's so shocking and because, among his family, only Alec is there with him in his final moments.
• Livia's death. She doesn't even finish her last words before she drops dead.
  Livvy: Ty, I...
  • Julian's absolutely heartbreaking reaction to the whole thing. Remember that, for Julian, this is not just losing his sister, this is him losing a daughter he cared for since she was 10 years old.
    Julian: Livvy, Livvy, my Livvy. Livia! Livia. Livvy, my baby, please, sweetheart, open your eyes, it's Jules, I'm here for you, I'm always here for you, please, please.
  • Ty crumples down, apparently unable to deal with the fact that his twin, the one who has been serving as his voice of reason since they were babies, has died.
  • The other Blackthorn siblings' reactions are no less heartbreaking. Helen struggles to the stage, Mark shakes hard as he tries to help Ty, while on the ground, Dru sobs into her hands.
  • For five years, the Blackthorns have not been a complete family, with one sibling being kidnapped by faeries while the other was Reassigned to Antarctica. Eventually, those two manage to come back...for less than an hour before one of the siblings back home dies in front of their eyes.

Queen of Air and Darkness

• Robert and Livvy's funerals, particularly when Ty starts climbing Livvy's casket. While his mind is on something else, everyone naturally assumes that this is a saddening display of him saying his last respects to his twin.
• After the stress of the last few days, Julian begs Magnus to shut his emotions completely, deciding that it's better than having to deal with his forbidden feelings for Emma and his grief over Livvy.
• Everything happening in Thule. Where to start?
  • The first thing Emma and Julian see after they enter the portal is the sight of Maryse Lightwood being beheaded by her adoptive son, Jace. Her last words are the French song she recited to him as lullaby when he was a boy.
  • Livvy revealing that she is the last Blackthorn, her siblings all having disappeared or died. Essentially, while she is the source of much grief in the main world, in Thule, she has to grieve for her family all alone.
  • Livvy's story about others who perished after the Dark War isn't much better. The worst bit must have been the part with Magnus and Alec: Magnus turned into a demon, because Alec wanted to wait as long as he could for his beloved. Then after he was forced to Mercy Kill him, Alec lost the will to live and turned the blade on himself.
  • Emma and Julian meeting Tessa, the last warlock in the world. Though she wills herself to be strong for them, Emma notes that Tessa speaks as if all hope has been drained from her.
  • While they are definitely evil, Emma is briefly shaken after Julian kills Thule-Julian, causing Thule-Emma to run to his dead body, howling and crying all the way. Even Evil Has Loved Ones, apparently even if they are supposed to be mindless zombies.
  • Livvy's reaction when the gates to Silent City has to be closed down before her boyfriend, Cameron, is able to escape, trapping him inside.
  • Tessa's Heroic Sacrifice.
• Kit convincing Ty to stop attempting to resurrect Livvy at the last minute. Ty tearfully brushes him off and successfully does the spell...only to find out that he can only bring her back as a ghost, thus finally forcing him to admit that, yes, Livvy is dead and there is nothing he can do to bring her back.
• Emma's apparent death. Once again, Julian has another breakdown as he begs for her to stay alive.
  Julian: Please, Don't Leave Me, Emma, please don't leave me in this world without you.