History TearJerker / Fallout4

* Although the Open Season quest goes under the Awesome/Fallout4 section, it is a heck of a tear inducing downer for Porter Gage. This is a guy who is a VisionaryVillain who isn’t content with the short term nihilism ofmost raiders. He saw too many gangs fall apart due to alcoholism, drug addiction, laziness and mindlessness. He instead wants to build a large hegemony, an EvilEmpire of sorts. And he put in a lot of work to be on the way to accomplishing it. He somehow convinced three mutually distrustful gangs to buy into his idea. He coordinated their efforts to take Nuka World, from which he wanted to secure the various parks to further fortify his new hegemony. Unfortunately the Overboss he’d backed got lazy and started to rest on his laurels, making the three gangs restive. Then a random vault dweller is strong enough to make it through the gauntlet, Gage becomes hopeful that his plan can get back on track with this Vault dweller. So he conspires with that person to overthrow the Overboss - once again after working hard to get the three gangs to buy in. Then this new Vault Dweller Overboss actually does the work to clear the parks. And in the process, unlocks not just a sweet new Quantum Power Armor, but also a nifty sword, a cool baseball bat and a new extra powerful nuke launcher! And then this Overboss turns around and slaughters them all. [[AllForNothing All that work, securing an alliance between gangs, all that effort into taking Nuka World, all down the sewer]] not because of laziness or incompetence brought about by substance abuse, but due to a carefully orchestrated betrayal. All because EvilCannotComprehendGood so Gage’s pleas of EvilFeelsGood fell on deaf ears.

* In ''End of the Line'', Shaun sends the Sole Survivor to massacre the Railroad leadership. Assuming they didn't make enemies with the Railroad before, the Sole Survivor can choose to refuse and continue spying for the Railroad, or they can still go through with it. If they choose the latter, their companions (excluding the villainous ones) will voice their horror at their betrayal.
-->'''Codsworth:''' Sir/Mum, ''no''! You ''can't'' possibly be serious!\\

-->'''Codsworth:''' Sir/Mum, ''no''! You ''can't'' possibly be serious!

*** Piper's other last words are "Take care of...[[TakeCareOfTheKids Nat]]". Either she's calling in vain to anyone else nearby to take care of her sister or she's pleading you to take care of her as atonement for mortally wounding her. Not that you can, Nat will never even know what happened to Piper. Maybe that's for the best. Unlike you were so cruel as to murder her in Publick Occurrences or Diamond City.

*** Even then, despite the Brotherhood of Steel casting him aside like yesterday's garbage, Danse still remains loyal to the Brotherhood, constantly spouts their ideals and will refuse to work with you should you destroy them.

* In North End, there's an unmarked pastry shop called Mean Pastries. In it, you won't find any hostiles, but you will find a work light shining on a lone house cat, standing next to the skeleton of a dead woman and never moving away from where they're standing, you're left asking yourself; "How long has that cat been in there? is the skeleton their owner? is the cat still grieving? does the cat even know that person is dead?" Whatever answers you guess at with any of those questions, it's doubtful any of them make the set up any less tragic.

* Should you make your companion [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3gUFcFqtmk dislike you]], they will often make comments about how much they despise travelling with you, how horrible of a person you are and even threaten you to shut up when you talk to them.

*** It gets darker considering that, seeing as it's the only way to get them in-game, as the player shot the companions right after [[IfICantHaveYou they left them]]. After listening to their companions' likely justified rants, insults and occasional death threats, them leaving was the last straw that led to the Sole Survivor killing them in a rage, only for their terrified, shocked last words to remind them how they were [[WeUsedToBeFriends once friends]] and it's their fault that they ruined everything.
*** Piper's other last words are "Take care of...[[TakeCareOfTheKids Nat]]. Either she's calling in vain to anyone nearby to take care of her sister or she's pleading you to take care of her as atonement for mortally wounding her. Not that you can, Nat will never even know what happened to Piper. Maybe that's for the best.

** Considering that Codsworth, like all other companions, does get outright abusive and abrasive when he actually hates you, it really makes you wonder how badly you've fallen when even your robot butler [[BrokenPedestal knows you're a monster]] and goes against his programming to tell youso.

** You may understandably be spurned to betray the Brotherhood as a result of Danse's death. However, as Danse remains blindly loyal to the Brotherhood even to his death and continues spouting their ideals, he would most likely have been outraged and heartbroken.

*** Piper's other last words are "Take care of...[[TakeCareOfTheKids Nat]].

** Compared to the others, Dogmeat, X6-88 and Strong have much less in the way of Tear Jerker material. However, as an ownerless dog, Dogmeat is probably quite a lonely pooch, and is clearly eager to follow you around when you greet him. Depending on your opinion of synths, there's some 'Fridge Sadness' in X6-88 thinking he is nothing more than a blunt instrument for the Institute to use. His whole life is dedicated to nothing more than catching his own kind and returning them to slavery. Meanwhile, when you find Strong, he's been stuck in a cage by his own 'brothers' and they intend to [[BlackComedy bet on how many times he'll bounce when he gets thrown off a rooftop]].

** Considering that Codsworth, like all other companions, gets outright abusive and abrasive when he actually hates you, it really makes you wonder how badly you've fallen when even your robot butler [[BrokenPedastal knows you're a monster]] .

*** It gets darker considering that as the player shot the companions right after [[IfICantHaveYou they left them]]. After listening to their companions' likely justified rants, insults and occasional death threats, them leaving was the last straw that led to the Sole Survivor killing them in a rage, only for their terrified, shocked last words to remind them how they were [[WeUsedToBeFriends once friends]] and it's their fault that they ruined everything.
** In the scenarios where the Sole Survivor manages to defuse things with their companion, they give Cait and (subtly) Danse an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove which appears to stun them. They're so depressed and lonely that a hint from their TokenEvilTeammate that the truly cared for them is enough to make them agree to stay.

*** It gets darker considering that as the player shot the companions right after [[IfICantHaveYou they left them]]. After listening to their companions' likely justified rants, insults and occasional death threats, them leaving was the last straw that led to the Sole Survivor killing them in a rage, only for their last words to remind them how they were [[WeUsedToBeFriends once friends]] and it's their fault that they ruined everything.
** In the scenarios where the Sole Survivor manages to defuse things with them, they give Cait and (subtly) Danse an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove which appears to stun them. They're so depressed and lonely that a hint from their TokenEvilTeammate that the truly cared for them is enough to make them agree to stay.

*** It gets darker considering that as the player shot the companions right after [[IfICantHaveYou they left them]].

* Discovering that Paladin Danse is a synth can already be a hard truth to swallow. Being sent to execute him is even harder. Finally reaching him only to learn that he's prepared to die knowing he's the enemy, and he decides to FaceDeathWithDignity and just kneels and waits for you to finish him, is crushing. But only if you back down and accept your duty to kill him does he drop the single most heart wrenching part. He says that ''he's never been more proud of you than he is at that final moment.''

* No matter which faction you pick, you're bound to hurt a potential friend. Side with the Institute or the Brotherhood, and you have to kill Deacon, and leave Nick & Curie's fate in very questionable hands. Side with the Institute or Railroad and Danse will never speak to you again. Side with the Railroad or Brotherhood and you ensure that you and Shaun will end on very negative terms, with him effectively hating you. Maybe worse with the Railroad because you act as a mole for a long time, building his trust and affection (not to mention some other Institute members) before tearing them down.

--> '''Sole Survivor:''' I've lost Shaun, all over again
** ...or decided to destroy it with one of the three other factions

** Destroying the Institute ''after'' curing him isn't much better: He's still crushed by the loss of everyone he ever knew, and just quietly requests that the player leave him alone for good.

* The first objective your quest log gives you when you exit Vault 111 and see the remains of the Commonwealth? “Go home”. The Pip-Boy almost seems to be mocking you with the idea that you even have a home to go back to after the bombs reduced it to ashes two hundred years ago. And yet… what else would anyone try to do in the Sole Survivor’s shoes? It’s this moment that truly establishes the theme of the entire game: trying to go back to your previous life, even when you know deep down there’s almost none of it left to go back to.

--> [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oouhlWTcd30 Nate]]/ [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibKreiQR9tg Nora]]: Everything we do, no matter how hard; we do it for our family. Say goodbye Shaun. Bye-bye! Say bye-bye! Come on! Hahaha! Bye honey! We love you.

'''The Sole Survivor:''' ...Seriously? All the enemies you've created, and you can't imagine why I'd be standing here?\\

** All but one of the endings require OffingTheOffspring by blowing up the Institute, and the best you can do in any situations involving its destruction is to promise Shaun that you'll make sure to protect any survivors from a disaster you're causing. He is ''not'' happy with this arrangement. And if you opt to explode the Brotherhood and save the Institute for the sake of your son, Nick Valentine, one of the most likable Companions in the game and the man that helped you track down Shaun, will [[WhatTheHellHero chew you out]]. Every ending has some pain to it.

** There's a third and just as tragic way the quest can end, too. If you enter the bunker, Danse sees you, but you then leave without speaking to him, the quest log will direct you to collect his holotags. Upon entering the bunker again, you'll discover [[DrivenToSuicidehe has taken his own life]]. Near his body, you will find a holotape called "Paladin Danse final entry", which is essentially his suicide note. It's exactly as depressing as it sounds.

-->'''Raider''': ''(After you've killed one of his buddies) "Don't you die on me!"''
-->'''Super Mutant''': ''"You... killed... my... BROTHER!"''

-->'''Sole Survivor''': [[ArcWords War. War never changes.]]

-->'''Diamond City Guard (on Halloween)''': "Today's Halloween. But do we get treats? Noooooo. It's all tricks. All day."[[labelnote:*]]What makes this comment harsher is that the day the bombs fell was just over a week before Halloween day[[/labelnote]]
-->'''Diamond City Guard (on Christmas)''': "Can you believe today's Christmas? Ho ho friggin' ho."

--> '''Mama Murphy, during "Reunions"''': I can only see that you're on the right path. If you had any doubts in your mind, you shouldn't. The man you're after. He's the one. [[AlasPoorVillain He wears all the pain he's caused like a shield]]. Be strong, kid. The Sight's getting... foggy... but your energy is glowing brighter than you know. You can win this. He can't hurt you anymore.

--> '''Arlen Glass''': She was right, y'know. I did work too much. And now...I'll never hear her voice again, never get to hold her, kiss her good night...

--> '''Cait''': Spent me childhood livin' in trailers like this. [[AbusiveParents Of course, me parents made me sleep outside]].

'''Dr. Amari''': It's time, H2.\\
'''H2-22''': I... uh... thanks.

--> '''Sole Survivor''': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRUWEJq1jVE I close my eyes, I see my life before all of this. Before the bombs. Everything can change in an instant, and the future you plan for yourself shifts, whether or not you're ready. At some point, it happens to all of us. This wasn't the world I wanted, but it was the one I found myself in. The Commonwealth. My home. Ripped apart and put back together. I thought; I ''hoped'' I could find my family; Cheat time; Make us whole again. The way we were. But now I know I can't go back. I know the world has changed. The road ahead will be hard. This time, I'm ready. Because I know War. War never changes.]]

--> '''Sole Survivor''': I've lost Shaun, all over again

--> '''Sole Survivor''': I can feel it all wash over me. The heat. The force. The radiation...the fear. It's the end of the world - all over again.

** At worst, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential you can see to the]] [[KillEmAll death of absolutely everyone]], not only by failing to keep the peace of Far Harbor, resulting in the massacre of Acadia. You can deactivate Far Harbor's it's Fog Condensers allowing the Island to consume it; and allow the Children of Atom to detonate its nuke for a mass suicide in the name of their fanaticism.

* Although the [[KillEmAll Open Season]] quest goes under the Awesome/Fallout4 section, it is a heck of a tear inducing downer for Porter Gage. This is a guy who is a VisionaryVillain who isn’t content with the short term nihilism ofmost raiders. He saw too many gangs fall apart due to alcoholism, drug addiction, laziness and mindlessness. He instead wants to build a large hegemony, an EvilEmpire of sorts. And he put in a lot of work to be on the way to accomplishing it. He somehow convinced three mutually distrustful gangs to buy into his idea. He coordinated their efforts to take Nuka World, from which he wanted to secure the various parks to further fortify his new hegemony. Unfortunately the Overboss he’d backed got lazy and started to rest on his laurels, making the three gangs restive. Then a random vault dweller is strong enough to make it through the gauntlet, Gage becomes hopeful that his plan can get back on track with this Vault dweller. So he conspires with that person to overthrow the Overboss - once again after working hard to get the three gangs to buy in. Then this new Vault Dweller Overboss actually does the work to clear the parks. And in the process, unlocks not just a sweet new Quantum Power Armor, but also a nifty sword, a cool baseball bat and a new extra powerful nuke launcher! And then this Overboss turns around and slaughters them all. [[AllForNothing All that work, securing an alliance between gangs, all that effort into taking Nuka World, all down the sewer]] not because of laziness or incompetence brought about by substance abuse, but due to a carefully orchestrated betrayal. All because EvilCannotComprehendGood so Gage’s pleas of EvilFeelsGood fell on deaf ears.

[[folder:Trailers, Music and Meta]]
* Just in the trailer alone, with both the 2077 segments and (likely) Dogmeat.
* The song they chose for the reveal trailer? "It's All Over But The Crying" by The Ink Spots. How appropriate.

* The pre-war flashback shows a couple tending to their newborn baby in its crib, then later showing all three of them about to be blasted away by the shockwave after they get locked out of the Vault.

** It is now 10 times more tearjerking now that the couple is confirmed to be the protagonists.
* We finally get to see the life before the war. How peaceful, how colorful, how lively it was. Considering how the world will eventually end up, it's so heartbreaking to see it.
** Even more heartbreaking is how it was just a facade. After the oil shortage, riots, plagues, martial law, and a decade of war with China, everyone probably just wanted to get back to their lives and pretend like everything was back to normal. Then the bombs had to cut that fantasy short.
*** Even ''more'' heartbreaking is the implication that the male protagonist is a veteran of said war. Imagine leaving the hell represented in Operation Anchorage to marry and start a family, only for the bombs to fall only a few months after your son is born. Home from the war indeed.
*** Even ''more'' more heartbreaking is that a protagonist who participated in the war that pushed China to launch the nukes actually has reason to feel personal responsibility for the end of the world...
*** Let's throw ANOTHER layer on the trauma-cake, and think about how Big Mountain's Revolutionary Fission-based psudo-replicator technology was a potential solution for the underlying resource crisis RESPONSIBLE for the war, that came too late.

** Then the release date reveal. Bethesda making a new Fallout game? Great, it'll probably be out mid to late 2016. NOPE! Six. Months. Later.

* While the action-pack montage is more lighthearted, the very last thing you see in the montage is Sole Survivor kneeling next to Dogmeat saying, "It's good to be back." For those who waited so long for another ''Fallout'' game, this can be a TearJerker of a happy kind.

* The passing of River, the real-life dog who modeled and voiced Dogmeat and was owned by Bethesda employee Joel Burgess. In a [[https://twitter.com/JoelBurgess/status/1409013849584504833 few tweets]], he mentions how he started bringing River into the office to help turn Dogmeat from a [[https://twitter.com/JoelBurgess/status/1409013864218365952 simple weapon]] to a [[https://twitter.com/JoelBurgess/status/1409013870908383234 full-blown companion]]. Several fans made mod and settlement tributes to River in the following days.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Pre-War Occurrences]]

->''"America in the year 2077 was a land of advanced technological achievements... and terrible civil strife. As in any age, most ordinary people wanted only one thing - a happy, peaceful life. What they got was complete nuclear annihilation."''
-->-- '''Loading Screen'''\\
\\

* Everything about the pre-war scene when the news of the bombs arrive. People fleeing to Vault 111 only for the overwhelming majority of them to be stopped at gunpoint because they're not on the pre-approved list. The Army soldiers and Vault-Tec employees guarding the Vault are also shown to be fairly sympathetic, which is somewhat rare in the series. They know they've got no chance to survive when the bomb hits, but they are still helping to get as many people into safety as they can. [[FaceDeathWithDignity The Army officer who clears you through even calmly wishes you luck]].

** They could have easily simply said ScrewThisImOuttaHere and ran or worse forced most of the innocent civilians to stay behind and gotten into the vault themselves, but instead they did their duty. Later, you can find the skeletons of these brave soldiers lying around the area around the vault, most likely struck dead where they stood, murdered by desperate civilians, or died of radiation exposure.

* Seeing glimpses of the world before on terminals paints a sad picture. Many entries were by people just going about their lives, unaware of how important Saturday, October 23, would be. Schools and homes across the nation were preparing for Halloween the Sunday after, the Boston Red Sox had their first chance to win the World Series in over a century, General Atomics and Poseidon Oil had meetings scheduled for the week of the 25th and the war with China was supposedly ending as U.S. Army units encroached further and further into Chinese territory. To most of the country, it was just a normal Saturday, just a day to unwind from the work week and relax with the family. And then on that fateful morning, all of that just... vanished.

* The random, repeating distress signals all over the place, which are most of the time desperate pleas. Most of them started not long after the bombs fell, meaning that you find a skeleton there at best, or a feral ghoul at worst.
** Arguably the worst of which, if not 'the' worst in the entire game, is the Miller family radio signal out of Big John's Salvage. The message, recorded by the patriarch of the family, explains the generator powering the ventilation system in their bunker has died, they're running out of oxygen, and they can't open the hatch. The message ends with the guy instructing his daughter to keep calm and take slow breaths. Some odd 200 years later, despite trying to hold on to a sliver of hope, you already have a sinking feeling that things didn't end well for this family. That feeling turns out to be true; but just the way the bunker is set up, will still make you feel like someone gut punched you. The first thing you'll notice is a male and female adult skeleton holding each other on the mattress. Then, you look to your right and see two child-sized mounds of dirt topped with typical boy and girl toys. And just like that, you can picture exactly what happened after that message was recorded.

! General

* Just when the two choice lead characters are about to be lowered into the vault, they both exchange a final "I love you" seconds before the explosion. It's painful knowing that regardless of whether you play the husband or the wife, the other [[spoiler:will soon perish and their child kidnapped. One of the first items the player character finds in their inventory is their wedding ring, who shortly adds their now-deceased spouse's as a TragicKeepsake.]] ''Ouch.''
* The character has the choice of picking a male or female protagonist, but can customize both. The other is the main character's spouse. They even have a baby named Shaun together. [[spoiler: The spouse is executed and the child ripped from their arms.]]

* The Boylston Club, just south of Swan's Pond. No enemies, no quests, just a bar full of skeletons. Check the terminal, and you find out that this was a club for high-level government officials, their male heirs and other wealthy patrons. The terminal's final entry mentions [[spoiler:a Memoriam Gala and Final Toast, scheduled October 31, 2077, added to the schedule on October 24, 2077 - the day after the bombs fell.]] Play the holotape or take a closer look at the wine bottles around the room, and you realize that [[spoiler:these heads of wealth and government, who had survived the initial bombing, swore and acted on a suicide pact, rather than face the post-nuclear world they had helped create.]]

** Less tragic once you find out that [[spoiler:the mayor and his wife ''[[AssholeVictim deserved it]]''. The mayor had constructed a luxurious nuclear shelter at the tax payers' expense, answering to his wife's insatiable needs, while leaving many people to die outside. That said, while they deserved it, their children, including a literal baby, certainly did not]]

* To the south of Far Harbor is a long abandoned island that was once home to a small farming family. There you can find [[http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Eliza_journals the journals]] of Eliza, a young girl who chronicles the year leading up to the Great War. What makes these journal entries truly sad is how much of a personal touch they have, such as doodles on some of the pages. The very last page the player finds is a drawing Eliza made of her family... [[spoiler:which can only be found after opening their bunker and murdering the entire ghoulified family in self defense.]] Compared to all the faceless notes and holotapes of previous games this entire sad saga packs a disturbingly human punch to the tragedy of the Great War.

** It's even worse if you consider that most of the Super Mutants [[spoiler: were created from people the Institute [[KillAndReplace kidnapped and replaced]] with synths. They're ordinary people who have been transformed into bloodthirsty monsters who will never see their loved ones again, and would probably kill and eat them if they ever did]].
** The story of Swan, the legendary Super Mutant Behemoth of Boston Common, is especially saddening. [[spoiler:Once a janitor working for the Institute by the name of Edgar Swann, he was caught stealing cigarettes and was punished by being made a test subject and unknowingly injected with an experimental strain of FEV. Swann began to mutate within a week, and within two, not only did he have massively increased muscle capacity but also significantly increased intelligence. Unfortunately, he began suffering seizures into the third week, and his intelligence began deteriorating, and he became fully aware of what was happening to him, including that the strain of FEV he was injected with was fundamentally unstable. Whether he escaped from the Institute or was "discarded" like so many other Super Mutants is unknown, but from the final note he wrote, which simply reads "YOU ARE SWANN", it is clear that he wanted very badly to remember who he was. By the time you meet and fight him, he has completely degenerated into a psychopathic monster so powerful that people are warned to steer clear of Boston Common and stay out of the radioactive pond that he has made his home. And when he rises from the lake, his roar? It's not a roar, he's yelling ''' ''"SWAAAAAAAAAN"'' '''. He ''still'' remembered his name, but he's so heavily degenerated at this point that it's meaning to him is lost]].

** [[spoiler:In the Beantown Brewery, you find out that [[ShaggyDogStory Lily was gunned down]] by Tower Tom in an escape attempt and he had been forging her notes. Tom's band of raiders were holding Lily hostage because they were starving and Red had food in the Ration Stockpile. Still, it makes killing these guys (either during Confidence Man or on your travels) a worthwhile act.]]

* In the backstory, the fate of the [[TheAlliance Commonwealth Provisional Government.]] A bunch of settlements in the Commonwealth tried to form a nation with the help of the Minutemen only for [[spoiler:the Institute]] to view it as a threat to their power, and used [[spoiler: Synths]] to destabilize the alliance, preventing it from getting off the ground and leaving the Commonwealth as messed up as it is.
** To rub salt in the wounds, many of the residents of Boston straight up mention the New California Republic back west, either in passing dialogue or in their notes. Nick Valentine even is getting intel from back West. The Commonwealth saw what the NCR was doing to bring law and order to the wastes and wanted to do the same thing '' and [[spoiler:the Institute]] took it away from them.''
** On the other hand, it's possible to turn this around as the Sole Survivor. Not only can you rebuild the Minutemen, but in the process and through their partnerships with the rest of the Commonwealth [[spoiler:including the Railroad]] help them lay down the foundations of something like the NCR. Succeeding where the Commonwealth of Allied Settlements failed, and making their sacrifices worth a damn. Unfortunately for the Institute, this ending still requires making enemies of, and eventually ''destroying'' them.

* After you leave any building in Diamond City for the first time, you'll see two men in the center of the market- Riley and Kyle - the latter holding a gun to the former's head. Kyle believes that his Riley was abducted and replaced with a synth. Riley on his knees almost breaks out into tears, desperately telling Kyle that he's not a synth, and even begging him not to shoot. The only thing that stops the man holding the gun is you or Diamond City Security. [[spoiler:[[ShaggyDogStory Riley doesn't drop a Synth Component on death, meaning the poor guy had to watch his own brother threaten him with a gun before being mercilessly gunned down by others simply trying to keep peace]].]]
* Phyllis Daily is easily the biggest contender for [[TheWoobie Woobie]] territory out of all the settlers. The woman's unhinged, pointing a gun at you, believing she's a synth that'll go berserk with no warning, and attack people. She isolates herself to protect everyone, she claims. After a bit of grudging, she allows you to poke around her home for the time being. Reading her terminal reveals that she's plagued by nightmares, and becomes violent when awoken... And attempts to shoot whoever wakes her. Eventually, she settles with a few farmers with her grandson, and one night, she takes on guard duty. [[spoiler:She dozes off with a rifle on her lap... and suddenly awakes to a gunshot, and her grandson lay dead at her feet, soaked with blood.]] No raiders, super mutants, or synths attacking... only [[spoiler:her and her grandson.]] The true kicker of this scenario is that if you kill her, [[spoiler:she doesn't drop a synth component. She's just using the thought of being a synth to cope with accidentally OffingTheOffspring]]. And if you’re a card carrying Brotherhood member with a mandate to put down synths wherever you find them, you can throw her admission of synthdom against her as a reason to execute her. [[spoiler: When she didn’t deserve to die for that reason]].
** Regardless of how kind you are to her, even offering a spot in the Minutemen, [[spoiler:she leaves the settlement after awhile, and depending on how you talked to her, she could either wander without purpose, or find help from Railroad agents, still believing she's a synth.]]

* Mama Murphy's backstory. The way she tells it heavily implies that she tried to give up chems before for her own health, and [[spoiler:ultimately lost the man she loved since she couldn't use The Sight to avoid danger]]. It really shows why she'll be so resistant to your pleading [[spoiler:if you try and get her to give up chems]].

*** The best part about that is the Sole Survivor is so inspired by what she says, [[spoiler:[[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments they gain 25% damage resistance against Kellogg]], which is an ''extremely'' difficult fight if you don't take shortcuts or prepare heavily beforehand.]]
* Jun and Marcy Long's backstory. When you first meet Preston's group, Jun is in a major HeroicBSOD and [[TheScrappy Marcy]]'s being extremely bitchy and finicky. [[spoiler:Talking to Jun after everything is all over has him reveal that their son, Kyle, was killed by the raiders when they were running.]] Not only has this affected their moods [[spoiler:(Jun's moreso; the terminal entries at Quincy imply Marcy was always [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk like this]])]], but has clearly put a strain on their marriage. Marcy victimizes Jun and their interactions are painfully awkward. The way she acts implies that she doesn't even want to spend time with him anymore.

* An unintentionally soul crushing one comes if you've cleared out Atomatoys. You can find a sad holotape of a girl telling her father that she misses him and wants him to come home, and is happy he's made all those Giddyup Buttercup toys. [[spoiler: He's '''alive''' as a ghoul in The Slog, and you can give him the holotape. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7_FPjNg3uQ His reaction is absolutely heartbreaking]]. And then go back to The Slog a few weeks after giving him the tape and talk to Wiseman for another excuse to get sand in your eyes.]]
* At [[spoiler:Big John's Salvage Yard]], you can find a homemade bomb shelter broadcasting the "Miller Family Distress Signal" because the occupants are trapped inside. [[spoiler:You'll learn that they were trapped there immediately after the bombs dropped due to a faulty design, and the bunker can only be opened from outside. Inside are the skeletons of two adults, who died in a last embrace. At one end of the shelter are a shovel and two patches of disturbed earth, each with a toy set ceremoniously on top... two children's graves. If you read the entries on the terminal in the house nearby, you even know their names. It takes a cold, cold person to loot those toys.]] This crosses into NightmareFuel if you start to wonder [[spoiler:whether the children died of asphyxiation before their parents, or if their parents gave them a MercyKill to spare them that fate...]]
* If you head to West Everett Estates, at first it just seems like yet another ruined settlement overrun by Super Mutants. Do a bit of poking around, however, and you'll uncover a more tragic tale. [[spoiler:Before the place was run by Super Mutants, it was run by raiders. Before that, it was one of the few safe havens in the Commonwealth, where families had rallied together after the bombs fell to try and rebuild the neighborhood into a fortified stronghold. What's more, it worked... that is, until one of the residents recognized a gang of raiders he used to run with and [[TooDumbToLive invited them inside]]. Before long, just about everyone there was slaughtered and the place was taken over by the raiders. It's heartbreaking to think of how a genuinely safe community was lost because of plain human stupidity.]]

* Going to Goodneighbor and finding [[spoiler:the Vault-Tec Rep]], now ghoulified. Seeing you, he embarks on a rant on how both of you ended up two hundred years in the future, but you peacefully slept through it and remained the same while he had to struggle to survive the entire time, only be turned away from almost everywhere just because he's a ghoul. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RV08GpAho If you offer him a place in Sanctuary and he accepts it, he pleads sadly with you to come visit him soon as he walks away]].

* As the truth behind [[spoiler:Vault 81]] demonstrates, the non-control Vaults in general still had some ''choice'' whether or not to become the twisted, tragic messes many of them ultimately became. Yet [[spoiler:whereas the ones tasked with implementing Vault 81's intended experiments opted not to]] the ones tasked with implementing those skewered projects still went through with them anyway. Whether it's out of a genuine albeit deluded belief that it's for the greater good or simply because they really ''are'' that sick, the end results say multitudes to their hubris.

* [[spoiler:Kellogg's]] backstory. [[spoiler: The whole memory room sequence has you discover that Kellogg was born in the most typically tragic conditions, with an abusive father who might've been a raider and a mother who, although tough, seems to teeter on the edge of the DespairEventHorizon. At the end of the first memory, Kellogg's mother gave him a pistol, so that he may protect himself from his father. Then things seem to look up as he ends up with a happy family and a newborn child...Until they're all killed by raiders. This pushed Kellogg across the DespairEventHorizon ''big time.'' We see a man who despite all his tough upbringing, grew up to try his hand at being a loving father and husband, then had it all taken away from him in further proof that there is no kindness, no idealism, no goodness in this world to believe in.]] Speaking with him, you get the feeling that this is a man whose very soul is wrung out by sheer grief, and who became an amoral mercenary simply because there is nothing else for him to do. The fact that he did not become a raider himself to RapePillageAndBurn somehow makes things even worse - he was so broken that he couldn't even muster the will to do evil, or to kill himself. What he could do is to become an agent of the world's unfeeling machinations, and wait quietly for it to finally end, somewhere, someday.

* Your eventual reunion with Shaun. [[spoiler:You infiltrate the Institute at last, and are lead by a voice over intercoms to a room where he sits. It's your son! You call out to him, but he doesn't recognize you and calls out for "Father". You're confused: you're standing right in front of him (or if you're playing a female character, tell him his father died), but his distress escalates until an older gentleman walks in and, with a spoken code, deactivates him. [[RoboticReveal This child is actually a synth!]] The man introduces himself as "Father", the leader of the Institue...''[[LukeYouAreMyFather and your son, Shaun!]]'' To say that it's unbelievable would be an understatement.]]

* In ''Automatron'' [[spoiler: if you manage to talk the Mechanist down, she's really a meek, nervous girl who adopted the bombastic Mechanist persona in an attempt to help the Commonwealth. She just hadn't counted on the Robobrains interpreting her orders in a murderous fashion.]]
* Most everything related to The Mariner in ''Far Harbor,'' once you've befriended her. It turns out she has a terminal illness, and she doesn't have very much time left. Before she dies, she just wants to help the people of Far Harbor, [[KnightInSourArmor even though she thinks that they're kind of dicks.]] After helping her fortify the town's wall against any possible attackers, she asks the you to help her hunt a mythical creature that had been terrorizing ships for years, something she's wanted to do ever since she was a girl. [[spoiler: The creature in question is a tiny little Mirelurk, and the ships had been lost crashing into the rocks nearby. Naturally, she's gutted that her lifelong dream turned out to be nothing but a joke.]] The worst part of all of it is that ''there's nothing you can do to save her.'' With all the other opportunities you have to help people in the game, you'd probably expect to be able to materialize some cure for her. You can't.

* Even though his chunk of the park can be ThatOneLevel for players with low Rad Resistance, Oswald the Outrageous is incredibly sad when you get down to it. A performer from back before the Great War, he's one of the few Glowing Ones that isn't completely feral and has been defending Kiddie Kingdom for centuries. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him he's pretty WrongGenreSavvy about being a Ghoul, believing his radioactive pulses and the healing effects they have on other ghouls to be actual magic. He also doesn't quite understand that Ghouls eventually go feral due to radiation and chalks it up to some disease. Worse still is the fact that his girlfriend left quite some time ago to search for a cure that doesn't exist, and she might either be dead or feral herself.]]
** It gets worse when you confront him. [[spoiler: He accuses you of "murdering" his friends and co-workers, not understanding that they've become little more than animals that indiscriminately attack non-ghouls. If you try to convince him of this fact [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint he doesn't quite understand that when you say that radiation has consumed their minds that you mean that literally, not figuratively.]] [[DramaticIrony He might have even been inadvertently causing them to go feral faster with the radiation pulses he was using to heal them and the radioactive mist he was using to keep Raiders out.]]]]
** In the town of Bradberton, you can find the body of [[spoiler: Oswald's girlfriend. She committed suicide rather than turn feral, and on her body she left a recording to Oswald saying that there is no cure, and all ghouls will turn feral eventually. Talk about a DownerEnding.]]
** [[spoiler: If you get Rachel's holotape before confronting Oswald, you can give it to him to end the encounter- he'll be heartbroken, and leave the park as per her wishes, but ''he takes all his feral coworkers/friends with him'', vowing to search for a cure himself even though his lover thought that one might not even exist.]]
* The ending of [[spoiler: Sierra Petrovita's]] personal quest in ''Nuka-World'': [[spoiler: you find the creator of Nuka-Cola is still alive, as a [[BrainInAJar severed and chemically-sustained head]], whose centuries of isolation and helpless state has left him [[DeathSeeker begging for you to end the torment that is his life]]. Naturally, Sierra is aghast at the idea and begs for you to spare his life. The man may have been a bastard who was working in the military and signed off on [[CrappyCarnival all the unsafe crap in Nuka-World]], but still, leaving him trapped like this is DisproportionateRetribution. Especially since you'll be leaving him with company... in the form of a LoonyFan whose addiction to Nuka-Cola has almost literally rotted her brain. But, if you do give him a MercyKill [[KickTheDog but told Sierra you wouldn't]], then Sierra will snap and attack you in a blind rage for killing the man who was like a living god to her, forcing you to gun her down. If you weren't pointlessly cruel to her however, she will accept that killing him was the best solution, ending the quest on the possibly best note.]]

* If you revisit Vault 111 with a Companion [[spoiler:and take them to your spouse's cryopod, they IMMEDIATELY realize who s/he was, some of them trying to comfort you, or quietly telling you to take all the time you need.]] Even your {{Token Evil Teammate}}s [[EvenEvilHasStandards offer their condolences]].
** It gets worse if it's [[spoiler:Codsworth who is accompanying you. He ''breaks down crying'' upon looking at your wife/husband's frozen body, one of the very few times his unfailingly chipper demeanor completely cracks.]]
** Nick's reaction [[spoiler:to your spouse's body is also heartbreaking, and what makes it sadder is the revelation that Nick also had a fiancée who was murdered - He knows exactly how the sole survivor is feeling. The voice acting absolutely nails it.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Nick Valentine:''' Now that's not...oh. Oh I'm so sorry.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Hancock:''' Damn... Hey look, if you wanna get out of here...]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Piper:''' Is... is that who I think it is? You okay?]]

** Speaking of, even though the male Sole Survivor never comments on it himself, there's an extra punch in the fact that [[spoiler:Piper looks almost exactly the same as his murdered wife (assuming you kept her default appearance) and has a similar personality as well.]]

** Cait was raised by AbusiveParents who sold her to slavers at 18, is addicted to drugs [[spoiler:that are killing her, and once she was free of her slavers, returned home to take violent revenge on her parents. Far from giving her closure, it has left her bitter and full of self-loathing.]] Her life at the Combat Zone has been nothing but brutal struggles, to the point she's surprised that Sole cares about her ''as a person'', [[spoiler:and it is ultimately revealed that she had come there to die before you came along]].
** Preston is technically the last Minuteman, trying to stop a cause he believes in from dying with him. He was present at the Quincy Massacre and watched as the Minutemen either abandoned their ideals or were murdered. And he's been losing people ever since, most recently in a feral ghoul ambush. Once his approval is high enough, he reveals that all this [[spoiler: pushed him to the brink of suicide, and Sole's help is the only thing that stopped him from just giving up on surviving.]]
** [=MacCready=] left his home at the young age of 16, and [[spoiler: lost his wife to feral ghouls. He actually saw her torn apart by them, and from how he speaks, it's clear her death still haunts him. He expresses disappointment in himself for lying to her about 'being a soldier' because he didn't want to admit he was a merc, killing people for caps. His young son fell seriously ill, and he hasn't been able to find a cure.]] [=MacCready=] sought work with the Gunners, but was so disgusted, he left. Since then, they harass him and stop him getting work.
** Piper says with a slightly bitter voice that her mother was 'out of the picture' during her childhood, suggesting that they parted on sour terms. She was raised by a loving father [[spoiler: until he was murdered because he found out his boss was taking bribes from Raiders. No one was prepared to help her, so Piper had to get justice on her own, then raise her little sister herself.]] Even now, the people of Diamond City tend to shun her because of her newspaper.
** Nick Valentine was an Institute-created late-model Gen-2 prototype. His fond memories of the place include [[spoiler: being pulled apart and put back together again, over and over. His physical body is decaying, he faces persecution for being a synth. On top of that, he has serious existential issues, because every part of his identity he owes to the original Nick Valentine. That includes a fiancée murdered by mafia boss Eddie Winter. Nick has been single-handedly trying for years to find Winter and bring him to justice.]] Even worse, after you complete his personal mission, he reveals he's still not okay with having the memories of a dead man. He says in a strange combination of anguish, anger and pride that no one really matters -- not you, not him, not anyone -- except for what actions they take, because the only thing ''anyone'' can do is be a difference in other people's lives. There's a fridge sadness to it, because Nick is essentially calling himself an UnPerson.
** Curie was created to help the Vault-Tec scientists stuck in Vault 81. This means that she had to witness [[spoiler: her friends' deaths, and we see the memorial she laid out at their caskets. Once she is in a synth body, the grief of this hits her full force, and she struggles to deal with the sudden emotion. All that time she was stuck in the Vault alone, with nothing but some diseased mole rats.]] If Sole ever returns to Vault 81 with Curie, she asks in a very sombre voice if you can leave as soon as possible.
** Hancock reveals that he used to live in Diamond City, and [[spoiler:his brother is the mayor. He did little to help as Diamond City's ghoul population were thrown out of the city to die. After leaving in disgust, he went to Goodneighbor, which back then was ruled by a scumbag named Vic who liked to prey on those who could not afford a place to live, and after witnessing one such drifter get killed by Vic's men, he went on a huge bender which ended with him waking up in front of the clothes of the original John Hancock, prompting him to reinvent himself and take a stand, killing Vic's men and Vic himself. Although he's now the respected leader of Goodneighbor, it's clear those years of BystanderSyndrome weigh on him.]] There are also times when he seems self-conscious as a ghoul (particularly when you start a romance).
** Deacon's final approval conversation reveals that he used to be [[spoiler: part of a violent anti-synth group. After someone was eventually lynched and he had doubts that the victim really was a synth, he had a HeelRealisation and left. His past caught up with him when he settled down, married a lovely woman and tried to have kids. She turned out to be a synth and his old group found out, murdering her for it. This prompted him to kill all his old gang in a fury to a man.]] No matter how much time has passed since then, he still seems to suffer from grief, as well as deep self-loathing for his past actions.
** Danse's hatred for non-humans can be linked to [[spoiler:witnessing his friend captured and turned into a super mutant.]] Later in the Brotherhood quest-line, we also discover that Danse [[spoiler: is a synth, the very thing he hates. Those memories of his friend may or may not even be his own. His admired leader, Maxson, orders his death. You ''can'' go through with it. Even if Danse is allowed to live, he is cast out of the organisation he's dedicated his life and soul to. They shoot on sight if they see him. All this, while he's also in the midst of an existential crisis.]]

** [[spoiler: With the release of the Automatron DLC, the answer most DEFINITELY is able, and then some.]]
** Now the game's out, we see that Codsworth IS capable of emotion, as he will have an emotional breakdown in front of you because not only has he been completely alone, he hasn't been able to keep the (destroyed) house clean, so he feels as though he's failed you. [[spoiler:Even worse, he starts SOBBING if you take him to Vault 111 and show him your partner's body.]]
** [[spoiler:Made sadder if you tell him about what happen to your wife/husband and son. He's in clear denial over the truth and insists to help you look for your family.]]

* Discovering that [[spoiler:Paladin Danse is a synth]] can already be a hard truth to swallow. Being [[spoiler:sent to execute him]] is even harder. Finally reaching him [[spoiler:only to learn that he's prepared to die knowing he's the enemy, and he decides to FaceDeathWithDignity and just kneels and waits for you to finish him]], is crushing. But only if you back down and [[spoiler: accept your duty to kill him]] does he drop the single most heart wrenching part. He says that ''he's never been more proud of you than he is at that final moment.''
** When you find Danse, he lays out how horrible this [[spoiler:TomatoSurprise]] is for him. [[spoiler:Not only has he discovered his entire life is a lie and he has no idea how much of his memories aren't even his, but his entire belief system has been betrayed. Danse was fanatically loyal to the Brotherhood and their cause, and believed as strongly as anyone that Synths are inhuman abominations, a perversion of technology that symbolized mankind's self-destructive nature. And then he finds out he's what he hates. Danse is so loyal to the Brotherhood, that he accepts that if he wants to uphold the very ideals he's spent his life fighting for, he has to die. Most of the Brotherhood would probably give their lives in the name of their duty, but for Danse, that means something very different.]]
* Going back to the topic of drugs, Cait. [[spoiler:She was ''[[MadeASlave sold into slavery]] [[AbusiveParents by her parents]]'' at age 18. It's not explicitly stated what she was forced to do, but the implications aren't pleasant. She manages to get her freedom and kills her parents, then spends her life pumping herself full of Chems and earning money as a cage match fighter. Right before her loyalty quest, she confides that she's so hooked to Psycho she's been sneaking it behind your back, and is starting to cough up blood. When finally given the opportunity to get herself sober in Vault 95, she's hesitant; worried that her addictions are the only thing holding her together and afraid of what she'll think of herself when clean.]]
* For those who like having Cait as a companion, seeing her squirm and scream in pain as [[spoiler: the detox chair in Vault 95 removes the lethal toxin from her body]] during her Personal Quest will be uncomfortable. Her very obvious frown during the whole procedure tells you all you need to know about how much she really hates this.

* While walking around in various settlements, Piper will sometimes step away from the player to ask [=NPCs=] for comments for the paper. For the most part, these interactions simply serve to add life to the world, and sometimes they're quite funny. Except in Diamond City, where the answers she gets range from slightly rude to downright cruel. Piper's response to these remarks is usually a subdued, "I see. Well, thank you for your time." During her highest affinity scene, she reveals that as soon as she started the paper,[[spoiler: almost all of Diamond City started treating her poorly. In her own words: "Seemed like overnight I'd gone from 'Piper, friend and confidant' to 'Piper, the nosy snoop.'" She has a few friendly acquaintances in Diamond City like Nick Valentine and the Bobrov brothers, but aside from Nat, the Sole Survivor is the first person Piper has ever felt really close with since losing her father.]]
** Which makes it all the more heartbreaking if you cause her to walk out on you. [[spoiler: You were her only true friend, and you completely betrayed her trust. [[WhatTheHellHero Are you proud of yourself?]]]]
* Nick gets a roller-coaster of emotion when he comes to Far Harbor. [[spoiler: He discovers that he has a brother, and that he was the one who helped him escape the Institute. Then he finds out that his brother is a murderer. It ends with either A) His brother becoming just as bad as the Institute, with killing and replacing people with mind-wiped synths. B) His brother executed for his crimes.]]
** It stings even worse if you [[spoiler: talked Nick into accepting [=DiMA=] as a brother after leaving the Nucleus.]] Especially since [[spoiler: Nick and [=DiMA=] agree to start over and patch things up between them when you return to Acadia. Which you know you'll deny them the chance to do the second you step in to confront [=DiMA=] with memories and evidence of his crimes.]]

** All but one of the endings require [[spoiler:OffingTheOffspring]] by blowing up the Institute, and the best you can do in any situations involving its destruction is to promise [[spoiler:Shaun]] that you'll make sure to protect any survivors from a disaster you're causing. He is ''not'' happy with this arrangement. And if you opt to explode the Brotherhood and save the Institute for the sake of [[spoiler:your son]], Nick Valentine, one of the most likable Companions in the game and the man that helped you track down [[spoiler:Shaun]], will [[WhatTheHellHero chew you out]]. Every ending has some pain to it.
** In greater detail for that: [[spoiler:You either join the ''Brotherhood of Steel'' for Order at the cost of Synthetic Freedom, The ''Institute'' for Family at the cost of Oppression, The ''Underground Railroad'' for Synthetic Freedom at the cost of Anarchy, or rebuild the Minutemen for the Commonwealth at the cost of Control.]]
*** Even more, if during your [[spoiler:tour of the Institute]] you have a HeroicBSOD and [[spoiler:[[ThatThingIsNotMyChild try to gun Shaun down]],]] the game ''will not stop you''. Now shoot your way out, gunning down both security units and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters scientists in lab coats with crappy energy pistols trying desperately to stop you]]. [[PlayerPunch This includes the department leaders and named assistants]]. [[PragmaticVillainy You know, those (mostly) perfectly nice people]] [[TheDeadHaveNames that you may have just spent an hour-long quest introducing yourself to]]? [[spoiler:[[CallBack One of them is Doctor Madison Li]].]]
* The Railroad does great good by helping Synths escape the Institute. Unfortunately, many synths are forced to undergo memory wipes to make this possible. Be this either because they want to forget the traumas they endured, or just want to avoid capture better. A shining example of this is H2-22, a synth that you personally escort to Ticonderoga Safehouse during the Railroad's questline. [[spoiler:He decides to have his memory wiped, and even decides to leave a ''goodbye message'' to you before Dr. Amari wipes him]]:
--> [[spoiler:''H2-22'']]: The doctor said I could say goodbye. I've decided... to have the operation. I know I'll lose all my memories. I don't want you to be sad. I... I have nightmares. And this world, the SRB, being hunted. I just can't handle it. Everyone says I'll be safer if I start a new life. I know I'll be happier. My only regret is I'll forget... Old Man Stockton. High Rise. And you. Looking back, there's only fear. Worse than fear. But I will miss my new... friends.
--> '''Dr. Amari''': It's time, [[spoiler:H2]].
--> [[spoiler:'''H2-22''']]: I... uh... thanks.
* The fact that [[spoiler:you can't save Shaun no matter what you do. The quest you began when you first stepped out of that cryo pod in Vault 111 was doomed from the very beginning, because by the time that you're actually released, it's already far too late to reverse the damage that the Institute has done to him -- and when you finally do reunite with him, he's become the BigBad]].
* In three of the possible endings, you choose to side against the Institute's director, or in other words [[spoiler: betray Shaun, your son,]] and everything that he has built and accomplished, in the name of doing what's right (preventing mankind from destroying itself with technology once again, securing freedom for the enslaved Synths, or bringing peace and stability to the Commonwealth).

** You can also choose to [[spoiler: reject Shaun 2]]. He even calls you [[spoiler: "Dad/Mom"]] to yank at the heartstrings.
*** Oh, it gets worse. If you chose to [[spoiler:destroy the Institute]] with the Minutemen, Sturges will [[WhatTheHellHero personally call you out]] for [[spoiler:leaving Shaun 2 to die, asking if you're really going to abandon "your own flesh and blood". You can ''try'' and rationalize it by pointing out that [[ThatThingIsNotMyChild Shaun 2 is not your real son]], but this will just make Sturges even ''more'' disgusted.]] Feel proud of yourself?

* No matter which faction you pick, you're bound to hurt a potential friend. Side with the Institute or the Brotherhood, and you have to [[spoiler: kill Deacon, and leave Nick & Curie's fate in very questionable hands)]]. Side with the Institute or Railroad and [[spoiler: Danse will never speak to you again.]] Side with the Railroad or Brotherhood and you ensure that [[spoiler: you and Shaun will end on very negative terms, with him effectively hating you. Maybe worse with the Railroad because you act as a mole for a long time, building his trust and affection (not to mention some other Institute members) before tearing them down.]]

* The ending cinematic, narrated by the Sole Survivor. It's rather sobering that [[spoiler: in spite of all you accomplish, your family is gone no matter what you do.]]

* Some of the last missions in the game become this based on your faction. Since two factions have you [[spoiler:destroy the Brotherhood (including Haylen, Danse, Quinlan, and all the other characters you've met in the Brotherhood)]]; anyone who [[spoiler:did some of the Brotherhoods' quests but ultimately settled on the Institute or Railroad has to suffer killing them all to complete the main quest.]] Then, there's [[spoiler:destroying the Railroad for the Institute and Brotherhood, since the Railroad is arguably tied with the Minutemen as the Token Good faction, and it's likely that some good-leaning players will join them.]] The only faction that [[spoiler:doesn't require killing anyone not from the Institute is the Minutemen, and even then the Brotherhood and Railroad will probably still end up destroying each other later.]]
** [[spoiler:Sadly, after destroying the Institute, you can build Artillery in your settlements and shoot down the Prydwen. Thankfully, this is completely optional.]]
* The whole Institute questline is one, and it can get a ''lot'' worse depending on how you play your character and the decisions you make in dialogue. [[spoiler: Shaun reveals that he has a terminal illness, and the normally stoic player character really shows how much this news guts him or her.]] This can get even more heart wrenching, there are dialogue options that let the player character express that they hate the Institute's methods and despised having to commit violence in their name, [[spoiler: but they did it it anyway because of the unconditional love of their son. When Shaun is actually on his deathbed, the player character is audibly and visibly emotionally gutted again as they spend Shaun's last moments together as a family.]]
* The FridgeHorror element which also doubles as NightmareFuel as well as a Tearjerker. All of the 3rd generation Synths are [[spoiler:cloned from Shaun. Which means they're all your biological grandchildren. You'll have killed many of them by the time you reach Shaun if you're against the Institute; and if you're for them, you're contributing to their slavery and have to kill more.]]
** Can become a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} [[spoiler: if you side with the Railroad and liberate the Synths.]]

** You might be wondering why Sarah Lyons isn't in charge, leading the Brotherhood in accordance with her father's ideals. [[spoiler:Data on the ''Prydwen'' indicates that she ''did''... [[DroppedABridgeOnHim until she died in battle between games]].]]

* During the Railroad ending, you have the option of disguising yourself so you can [[spoiler:sneak aboard the Prydwen and rig it to explode. Yes, there are children on the ship. No, you can't save them.]]
* [[spoiler: Glory's]] Last Stand. Especially if [[spoiler: she]] died due to a bug, and you had to reload from a few hours back, find the body, then resurrect it with console commands, only for [[spoiler: her]] to immediately die while stopping the [[spoiler: Brotherhood from overrunning the Railroad HQ]]. [[spoiler:Her]] final words are especially heartbreaking because [[spoiler: as a Synth, she has no reason to expect an afterlife.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Glory''']]: "Isn't there supposed to be a light?"
* Side with the Railroad in the final quest, and when you return to headquarters, Desdemona will inform you that [[spoiler: [[TheMole Patriot]] died accidentally while escaping the Institute]]. When called out on some rather BlatantLies, she'll hand you a letter, telling you to destroy it after reading, and that you're not to discuss the contents with anybody. [[spoiler: The letter is Liam's [[DrivenToSuicide suicide note]], where he [[WhatTheHellHero calls out the Railroad, and you specifically]], for making him an [[UnwittingPawn accomplice]] to the destruction of his home and the death or displacement of everyone he ever knew.]] Desdemona's touching speech at [[spoiler:Liam's funeral]] just drives the knife in a little deeper; she is giving a heartfelt eulogy for [[spoiler: a man who died ''completely and utterly despising'' her and her entire organization for what they did to his family.]]
* One of the final Railroad missions has you infiltrate the Cambridge Police Station that's occupied by the Brotherhood of Steel. You're tasked to clear out the building, and one of the people you have to kill [[spoiler: is the NiceGirl Scribe Haylen. The person who welcomed you if you first joined Danse there, and who also disagreed with Danse's execution]], and it's a PlayerPunch having to kill such a nice person like her.

* In the Automatron DLC, [[spoiler: the Mechanist truly believes she is a hero. Not only that, she thinks YOU'RE the villain. Throughout the DLC, there's an unstoppable madman ripping her robots to shreds and stopping them from protecting the people. Eventually, this psychopath finds her hiding place, and tears through security like wet tissues. She throws everything she has at them, and is beaten handily. It's over. She can't save the Commonwealth. Then, this crazy raider says they just want to talk. She obliges, and discovers that HER robots have been slaughtering innocent people because of her mistake. That villain came to save the Commonwealth from her. She's so broken by the news that no matter how you tell her, she refuses to try to use her gift for robotics to help ever again.]]
* Destroy the Institute before curing Virgil, and the next time you see him, he'll be absolutely furious, delivering one of the most heartrendingly scathing WhatTheHellHero moments in the game before he [[spoiler: tries to kill you]].

** At best, [[spoiler: you convince [=DiMA=], Nick Valentine's LongLostSibling, to turn himself in for the murder of the original Captain Avery and [[FaceDeathWithDignity accept his execution with dignity]] while keeping Far Harbor from massacring Acadia in outraged reprisal.]]
** On the more bitter side, [[spoiler: you can let him keep his crime secret and subsequently move to KillAndReplace Tektus to maintain a manufactured peace between everyone, cementing him (and you) as no better than the Institute.]]

** or [[spoiler: you can take a FOURTH option, as a variation of the second, where the Leader of the Children of the Atom is still replaced- but you convince Tektus to LEAVE the island willingly, reducing the amount of blood on your shared hands.]]
* Choosing to rule Nuka-World as the Raider Overboss can be quite depressing if you went with a Minuteman ending in the vanilla game. All that hope you built as the savior of the Commonwealth; all those settlements you built up; all those lives you gave new meaning and hope for a brighter future of honest living. [[spoiler:When your Nuka-World gangs conquer settlement after settlement, that's all ripped away from the settlers. Not only are they removed from their homes, but others are enslaved]].
** [[spoiler:Even worse; you can ''still'' take the Minuteman route in the main questline after this, destroying the Institute.]] You're still General of the Minutemen[[spoiler:, if a blatantly corrupt one]]. You essentially lock the Commonwealth in a never-ending war between Minutemen and Raiders. Yes, that's right, you're essentially creating a world not so different to that of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''.
** Last but not least, if you attack a settlement under Minuteman or Neutral jurisdiction, [[spoiler:Preston Garvey immediately leaves your party.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Preston Garvey:''' Our friendship is over... I can never trust you like that again.]]

** The biggest irony? The Institute ''didn't'' do it. It was a fight between various feuding factions in the Commonwealth. Worse, this is the Institute's StartOfDarkness as prior to this incident, they actually were friends to the Commonwealth. Blamed for the events, they decided to say ScrewThisImOuttaHere and fled underground. It made them think the Commonwealth surface-dwellers weren't worth saving. Makes it doubly sad when you consider the most hopeful ending you can get is uniting the Commonwealth with the Minutemen, but even then you still must take the Institute down. Even if they are innocent, they have no place in a unified Commonwealth because of how utterly broken the trust between the Institute and the Commonwealth is now.

* Collecting the holotapes in the Boston Mayoral Shelter reveals that during the Great War, the mayor of Boston took himself, his family and staff down into the bunker. Eventually, though, a mob broke through with the apparent aim to kill the mayor and his family and get their stuff. [[DrivenToSuicide In an effort to protect himself and his family, the mayor committed suicide by dropping a radio into a bathtub with himself in it]], but unfortunately, the wife wasn't so lucky as her skeleton is in the utility room of the gym. Worst still, her holotape reveals that she's scared for [[AdultFear their kids, especially their infant daughter]] and just wants to abandon the shelter and let the mob have their stuff. Borders with NightmareFuel because not only is there a Deathclaw in there, but there's an army of Synths patrolling the ancient hallways and they simply acknowledge you as if you were there all along.