History TearJerker / TeamFortress2

[[caption-width-right:350:[[InMemoriam "That was one hell of a campaign, son!"]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Rick May, the inimitable voice of the Soldier for thirteen years, many shorts and countless updates, passed away this April at age 79. We were lucky enough to work with Rick many times in the studio over the past decade. A quick-witted and kind-hearted collaborator, Rick endowed the character with a trademark bellow and bootfulls of idiotic charm. The Soldier wouldn’t be the Soldier without him.]]

* [[http://kazerad.tumblr.com/post/99954750523/ This story]], telling of a dying player's legacy.[[labelnote:For those who can't access the link or in case the post dissappears]] [=TF2=] Player Kazerad shares his story of Frosath, a player from his Steam friends' list who he invited to his core group out of a need for a sixth player. Frosath chose a Pyro, and had a habit of buying invincibility canteens (which Kazerad saw as AwesomeButImpractical) and using them every chance he got, and actually became quite effective with them. The team became quite the tightly-knit bunch, and, although Frosath never really interacted with Kazerad outside of ''Team Fortress 2,'' he became a good friend, even gifting Fro an in-game item for Christmas, which Fro [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming used in every match from then on.]] And then, one day, Fro wasn't online, and remained offline for two months. Growing concerned, Kazerad did some online detective work and found some of Frosath's blog posts talking about being in intensive care for cancer...and then he finally made contact with another one of Frosath's friends who revealed Fro had passed on.[[/labelnote]]

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[[caption-width-right:350:'''ARCHIMEDES!''']]

* In "Ring of Fired," Saxton Hale's distress upon losing his company hits quite hard. At the very least, he wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. To rub salt into the wound, Gray orders his robots to go into nonviolence mode. No matter how much Saxton tries, they never react to his attacks. Even before the order was given, they've made way for him to exit the premises. Saxton's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]].

* In "Ring of Fired," Saxton Hale's distress upon losing his company hits quite hard. At the very least, he wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. To rub salt into the wound, Gray orders his robots to go into nonviolence mode. No matter how much Saxton tries, they never react to his attacks. Even before the order was given, they've already made way for him to exit the premises. Saxton's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]].

* In "Ring of Fired," Saxton Hale's distress upon losing his company hits quite hard. At the very least, he wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. To rub salt into the wound, Gray orders his robots to go into nonviolence mode. No matter how much Saxton tries, they never react to his attacks. And they've already made way for him to exit the premises. Saxton's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]].

* In "Ring of Fired," Saxton Hale's distress upon losing his company hits quite hard. At the very least, he wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. To rub salt into the wound, Gray orders his robots to go into nonviolence mode. At this, they simply make way for Saxton to exit the premises, and they never react to his attacks no matter how much he tries. Saxton's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]].

* Just seeing how disheartened Saxton Hale was in "Ring of Fired" to lose his company. He, at the very least, wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. Said robots have been ordered to nonviolently stand at attention, making way for Saxton to exit the premises and never reacting to his attacks. He's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]]. It hits upon similar feelings as his ancestor's moment in the previous comic.

* Sniper's subplot during "Blood in the Water" is ''rough''. After being fired by Gray, he returns to his parents' house to find them both dead. While searching the house for clues, he learns they weren't his birth parents. It's rather understated in his first scenes, but he's clearly distraught from the revelation and the deaths as he threatens Ms. Pauling for information -- he was even prepared to kill her and the accompanying Demoman. Thankfully, when he's told the team is visiting his birth parents' underwater home city, he agrees to tag along and lets them free. Unfortunately, this inevitably sets him up for disappointment when both Bill-Bel and Lar-Nah leave ''a lot'' to be desired. Even so, Sniper remains loyal to them, willing to dive back into the flooding city to save his dad... who has absconded with Team Fortress' sub, leaving the group for dead. He gets his hopes up again one final time when it appears Bill-Bel is coming back for them... [[DirtyCoward but it’s not him]]. It's Team Fortress Classic, and [[ShootTheShaggyDog the Classic Sniper abruptly shoots the [=TF2=] Sniper dead after the realization sinks in]].

* The death of Rick May, voice actor for The Soldier, from [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19 complications]] in 2020 lead to an outpouring of tributes from the [=TF2=] community.

* The death of Rick May, voice actor for The Soldier, from COVID-19 in 2020 lead to an outpouring of tributes from the [=TF2=] community.

* The death of Rick May, voice actor for The Soldier, from COVID-19 in 2020 lead to an outpouring of tributes from the TF2 community.

* Sniper's subplot during "Blood in the Water" is ''rough''. After being fired by Gray, he returns to his parents' house to find them both dead. While searching the house for clues, he learns they weren't his birth parents. It's rather understated in his first scenes, but he's clearly distraught from the revelation and the deaths as he threatens Ms. Pauling for information -- he was even prepared to kill her and the accompanying Demoman. Thankfully, when he's told the team is visiting his birth parents' underwater home city, he agrees to tag along and lets them free. Unfortunately, this inevitably sets him up for disappointment when both Bill-Bel and Lar-Nah leave ''a lot'' to be desired. Even so, Sniper remains loyal to them, willing to dive back into the flooding city to save his dad... who has absconded with Team Fortress' sub, leaving the group for dead. He gets his hopes up again one final time when it appears Bill-Bel is coming back for them... [[DirtyCoward but it’s not him]]. It's Team Fortress Classic, and [[ShootTheShaggyDog the Classic Sniper abruptly shoots the TF2 Sniper dead after the realization sinks in]].

* [[http://kazerad.tumblr.com/post/99954750523/ This story]], telling of a dying player's legacy.[[labelnote:For those who can't access the link or in case the post dissappears]]TF2 Player Kazerad shares his story of Frosath, a player from his Steam friends' list who he invited to his core group out of a need for a sixth player. Frosath chose a Pyro, and had a habit of buying invincibility canteens (which Kazerad saw as AwesomeButImpractical) and using them every chance he got, and actually became quite effective with them. The team became quite the tightly-knit bunch, and, although Frosath never really interacted with Kazerad outside of ''Team Fortress 2,'' he became a good friend, even gifting Fro an in-game item for Christmas, which Fro [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming used in every match from then on.]] And then, one day, Fro wasn't online, and remained offline for two months. Growing concerned, Kazerad did some online detective work and found some of Frosath's blog posts talking about being in intensive care for cancer...and then he finally made contact with another one of Frosath's friends who revealed Fro had passed on.[[/labelnote]]

[[folder:Meta]]
* The [[ActorExistenceFailure sudden passing]] of Rick May, the voice of Soldier, on April 13, 2020 after succumbing to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19.]]
[[/folder]]

* The [[ActorExistenceFailure sudden passing]] of Rick May, the voice of Soldier, on April 13, 2020 after succumbing to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19...]]

* The sudden passing of Rick May, the voice of Soldier, on April 13, 2020 after succumbing to [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19...]]

** A little while after they reunite, Sniper and Spy find a dying Scout. The Scout is lying against a wall, having taken down a small sea of robots by himself, and it's clear he's running out of time. Sniper looks to Spy in understanding, urging the Spy to do... something. It's not clear exactly what it is, but soon after, Tom Jones, of all people, appears before the Scout. At first, He appears to be part of the Scout's DyingDream, and Jones has nothing but praise for him:

** Medic's death in the comic proper isn't much better. It comes soon after the Classic Heavy challenges his successor, who arrives just in time to defend the Modern Medic, to a one-on-one, close combat duel. After Modern Heavy tosses his minigun aside, CH suddenly draws a pistol. It looks like Classic Heavy's about to shoot Modern Heavy like a gutless coward. Instead, he suddenly empties two rounds into the doctor's chest as Heavy looks on, cowed. It's very sudden and just as cruel, but it ''does'' lead to a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome a delightful moment]] where the Modern Heavy has the [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge mother of all retaliations]] against his counterpart.

* There's a small moment during Gray's flashback in ''Blood Brothers''. Bette Mann dies during childbirth; her husband, Zepheniah, [[{{Jerkass}} doesn't give a damn about her fate]]. His aide, Barnabas Hale, is clearly distraught. Hale's personality is a carbon copy of his successor's, so seeing this subdued, mourning side of him is pretty impactful.

* There's a small moment During Gray's flashback in ''Blood Brothers''. Bette Mann dies during childbirth; her husband, Zepheniah, [[{{Jerkass}} doesn't give a damn about her fate]]. His aide, Barnabas Hale, is clearly distraught. Hale's personality is a carbon copy of his successor's, so seeing this subdued, mourning side of him is pretty impactful.

* Just seeing how disheartened Saxton Hale was in "Ring of Fired" to lose his company. He, at the very least, wanted to go down fighting his way past Gray's robots, yet he doesn't even get that. Said robots have been ordered to nonviolently stand at attention, making way for Saxton to exit the premises and never reacting to his attacks. He's simply forced to leave, [[DespairEventHorizon and he does so in uncharacteristic despondence]].

* "Old Wounds": Classic Heavy demonstrating his lack of respect and patience with Medic [[KickTheDog by killing]] Archimedes. Of course, he's only dead for a moment, thanks to Medic, but many people reacted [[http://40.media.tumblr.com/69a42bb4a2991b90ae0ef5499eafa02d/tumblr_ntyx21OdQG1sjih3ro1_500.jpg with the same look of shock and horror as Medic did when it happened.]]

* "The Naked and the Dead" contains a number of examples, starting from the cover. It's a shot of the Heavy cradling a dead Medic, and the former is ''wailing'' as damn near every character from the comics looks on in hushed sorrow.

** A little while after they reunite, Sniper and Spy find a dying Scout. The Scout is lying against a wall, having taken down a small sea of robots by himself, and it's clear he's running out of time. Sniper looks to Spy in understanding, urging the Spy to do... something. It's not clear exactly what it is, but soon after, Tom Jones, of all people, appears before the Scout. At first, it appears to be the Scout's DyingDream, and Jones has nothing but praise for him:

** A little while after they reunite, Sniper and Spy find a dying Scout. The Scout is lying against a wall, having taken down a small sea of robots by himself, and it's clear he's running out of time. Sniper looks to Spy in understanding, urging the Spy to do... something. It's not clear exactly what it is, but soon after, Tom Jones of all people appears before the Scout. At first, it appears to be the Scout's DyingDream, and Jones has nothing but praise for him:

*** Of course, when Scout suddenly comes back to life after a [[ItMakesSenseInContext very goofy trip to heaven]], Spy responds with [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe vocal frustration]]. In contrast, his face shows he's clearly [[TearsOfJoy fighting back tears]].

*** Of course, when Scout suddenly comes back to life after a [[ItMakesSenseInContext very goofy trip to heaven]], Spy responds with [[YouHaveGotToBeKidding vocal frustration]]. In contrast, his face shows he's clearly [[TearsOfJoy fighting back tears]].