History TearJerker / VorkosiganSaga

-->Yes, he thought, the good face pain. But the great - they embrace it.

* Dr Vaagen's re-telling of Henry's death.

* During Rian's last farewell to Miles she gives him a lock of her hair as a parting gift, saying she doesn't even know what it means, but it was all she could think of. Miles sadly reflects that it's all she ''has'' to give; everything else of her, down to her very chromosomes, belongs to the haut, the Star Creche or the Emperor.

** During "The Mountains of Mourning", Miles must preside over an infanticide case in a backwater area of his family's district; the baby was killed for having a hair-lip. Miles is initially annoyed at having this time taken out of his shore-leave, but gets sucker-punched by the enormity of what's happened during the disinterring of the baby girl's corpse. When her mother burns a funeral offering on her grave...

* Even though he gets better, Mile's last thoughts before getting killed are "Wait, I haven't...", which is heartbreaking when you consider his BackStory.

* When [[spoiler:Ekaterin]] is being questioned under fast penta after her emotionally abusive husband dies via manslaughter; when she's asked if she hated him, she replies that he wore that out as thoroughly as he did her love, but earnestly adds that "He never hit me, you know." Miles thinks despondently:

* Miles' letter of apology to Ekaterin, which doubles at a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.

* Ivan's birthday in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance''. Thirty-five years of starting off every birthday burning an offering for his father in the middle of a Vorbarr Sultana street. Not just a tear-jerker for him, either - his mother got to relive the horror of her husband's death, her son's traumatic birth, and her narrow escape every year for thirty-five years...

** She also says it's her last time - and it's ''strongly'' implied that it's because Tej is with Ivan at the time. Party because she sees they're in love with each other, and she wants to tell the story for their benefit, and also because she's hinting that the tradition can be carried on by Ivan if he wants to.

** And bear in mind that this is one of Miles' worst case scenarios - [[spoiler:that he would not be there for his father's death. "He dreaded the day that some stiff faced messenger would begin by addressing him as ''"Count Vorkosigan, sir?"''" And then along comes Colonel Edwin Vorventa...]] Excuse me, I gotta go compose myself.

* After so many years, Cordelia is ''finally'' able to achieve her dream of having a large family, by having several daughters with Aral, posthumously -- but he'll never see them, or the sons that Jole will be able to create with Cordelia's left over eggs and his and Aral's DNA.

* After all of Miles' (mis)adventures, his body's been ravaged and his life expectancy has been severely reduced; both mother and son privately agree, without words, that he's very unlikely to make it to the Barrayaran equivalent of old age, let alone the Betan equivalent (and WordOfGod is that Miles will die at roughly 59) meaning Cordelia will probably outlive her first son. 'Barrayar eats its children', indeed.

* While Miles' outburst to distract one of the villains and save Ivan from a hostage situation starts off funny -- as he points out how they ruined their plot by making assumptions about who was running the investigation and grabbing the wrong person, and internally wonders why the hell one of his allies is taking so long to defuse the situation -- his frustration clearly comes from real pain as he rants about how when they were little, people always spoke to Ivan first instead of him, as though he were an alien who needed translation. Later, when he's grilled by his superiors about why he didn't just alert them to the conspiracy, he gives the cover story that he didn't want the investigation to be taken away from him because he yearned to achieve something under his own name and merit, and not because of apparent nepotism; while he was acting on behalf of Illyan to protect Barrayar, he realises in his mind there's a lot of truth to his excuse as well.
* During Rian's last farewell to Miles she gives his a lock of her hair as a parting gift, saying she doesn't even know what it means, but it was all she could think of. Miles sadly reflects that it's all she ''has'' to give; everything else of her, down to her very chromosomes, belongs to the haut, the Star Creche or the Emperor.

* While Miles' outburst to distract one of the villains and save Ivan from a hostage situation starts off funny -- as he points out how they ruined their plot by making assumptions about who was running the investigation and grabbing the wrong person, and internally wonders why the hell one of his allies is taking so long to defuse the situation -- his frustration clearly comes from real pain as he rants about how when they were little, people always spoke to Ivan first instead of him, as though he were an alien who needed translation. Later, when he's grilled by his superiors about why he didn't just alert them to the conspiracy, he gives the cover story that he didn't want the investigation to be taken away from him because he yearned to achieve something under his own name and merit, and not under a cover identity or because of apparent nepotism.

* While Miles' outburst to distract one of the villains and save Ivan from a hostage situation starts off funny -- as he points out how they ruined their plot by making assumptions about who was running the investigation and grabbing the wrong person, and internally wonders why the hell one of his allies is taking so long to defuse the situation -- his frustration clearly comes from real pain as he rants about how when they were little, people always spoke to Ivan first instead of him, as though he were an alien who needed translation. Later, when he's grilled by his superiors about why he didn't just alert them to the conspiracy, he confesses that he didn't want the investigation to be taken away from him because he yearned to achieve something under his own name and merit, and not under a cover identity or because of apparent nepotism.

* While Miles' outburst to distract one of the villains and save Ivan from a hostage situation starts off funny -- as he points out how they ruined their plot by making assumptions about who was running the investigation and grabbing the wrong person, and internally wonders why the hell one of his allies is taking so long to defuse the situation -- his frustration clearly comes from real pain as he rants about how when they were little, people always spoke to Ivan first instead of him, as though he were an alien who needed translation. Later, when he's grilled by his superiors about why he didn't just alert them to the conspiracy, he confesses that he didn't want the case to be taken away from him because he yearned to achieve something under his own name and merit, and not under a cover identity or because of apparent nepotism.

* While Miles' outburst to distract one of the villains and save Ivan from a hostage situation starts off funny -- as he points out how they ruined their plot by making assumptions and grabbing the wrong person, and internally wonders why the hell one of his allies is taking so long to defuse the situation -- his frustration clearly comes from a place of real pain as he rants about how when they were little, people always spoke to Ivan first instead of him, as though he were an alien who needed translation. Later, when he's grilled by his superiors about why he didn't just alert them to the conspiracy, he confesses that he didn't want the case to be taken away from him because he yearned to achieve something under his own name and merit, and not under a cover identity or because of apparent nepotism.

* After all of Miles' (mis)adventures, his body's been ravaged and his life expectancy has been severely reduced; both mother and son privately agree, without words, that he's very unlikely to make it to the Barrayaran equivalent of old age, let alone the Betan equivalent (and WordOfGod is that Miles will die at roughly 59) meaning Cordelia will probably outlive her first son.

* As vicious as the ba was, its backstory, the genetic practice run for the Cetagandan Emperor, so close to receiving a position of power and respect but instead trapped in the role of a servant, no chance to pursue its own life or dreams, is sad.

* Cordelia notes that one of Aral's drawings was of Vorkosigan House. It was accurate to the finest detail (that Cordelia mused would take a magnifying glass to note) and all from memory. She realizes that Aral was homesick.
* After all of Miles' (mis)adventures, his body's been ravaged and his life expectancy has been severely reduced; both mother and son privately agree, without words, that he's very unlikely to make it to the Barrayaran equivalent of old age, let alone the Betan equivalent (and WordOfGod is that Miles will die at roughly 59) meaning Cordelia will very likely outlive her first son.

* After all of Miles' (mis)adventures, his body's been ravaged and his life expectancy has been severely reduced; both mother and son privately agree, without words, that he's very unlikely to make it to the Barrayaran equivalent of old age, let alone the Betan equivalent (and WordOfGod is that Miles will die at roughly 59) meaning Cordelia will certainly outlive her first son.

* After all of Miles' (mis)adventures, his body's been ravaged and his life expectancy has been severely reduced; both mother and son privately agree, without words, that he's very unlikely to make it to the Barrayaran equivalent of old age, let alone the Betan equivalent (and WordOfGod is that Miles will die at roughly 59) meaning the Countess will certainly outlive her first son.

* Cordelia notes that one of Aral's drawings was of Vorkosigan House. It was accurate to the finest detail (that Cordeli mused would take a magnifying glass to note) and all from memory. She realizes that Aral was homesick.

[[folder: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen]]

[[folder: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance]]
* Ivan's birthday in ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance''. Thirty-five years of starting off every birthday burning an offering for his father in the middle of a Vorbarr Sultana street. Not just a tear-jerker for him, either - his mother got to relive the horror of her husband's death, her son's traumatic birth, and her narrow escape every year for thirty-five years...
** Of particular note: a smell she especially remembers from her husband's death (by nerve disruptor hit to the head) is the smell of burning hair. One of the things traditionally burnt in the offering is clippings of the hair of the attendees, which would certainly trigger unpleasant memories. Every. Single. Year.
** She also says it's her last time - and it's ''strongly'' implied that it's because Tej is with Ivan at the time. Party because she sees they're in love with each other, and she wants to tell the story for their benefit, and also because she's hinting that the tradition can be carried on by Ivan if he wants to.
* Also from ''Captain Vorpatril's Alliance'', Lady ghem Estif’s story about her stepson, who went back into Vorkosigan Vashnoi to find his Barrayaran lover, and ended up being nuked along with his boyfriend and the rest of the province. She must have really loved him, because she asks Ivan to pay them tribute the next time he flies over it.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Barrayar,'' five-year-old Gregor at his mother's funeral asking Cordelia, "Are they going to kill me, too?" with morbid curiosity.
** It is at this point Cordelia realizes she's no longer Betan, but full Barrayaran.
* In ''Cetaganda'', Ivan tells a story of how Miles got the two of them buried alive in a tunnel for a few minutes, til Bothari rescued them. Ivan wistfully says that he wishes Bothari were still around to save them. Miles starts to snap then thinks to himself painfully, ''I miss Bothari, too'', and wishes Ivan hadn't made him revisit that wound that hasn't healed (nor has it ever.)
* ''Komarr'' reveals that Miles spent the last six years reliving the trauma of [[TakeMyHand Sergeant Beatrice's death]].
--->“Not all the time, you understand, just when I chanced to be reminded. If only I'd been a little quicker, grabbed a little harder, hadn't lost my grip, I might have pulled her in. Instant replay on an endless repeat.”

* The epilogue of ''Shards of Honor'', which deals with medtechs retrieving the bodies of the dead from the Escobar War. One of the bodies the medtech finds is her [[spoiler: daughter]].

* There's a poignant moment in ''Barrayar'' where Cordelia, who's always wanted children, is gleefully anticipating the large number of them she can have now she doesn't have to worry about the 'two child only' law of Beta Colony. After reading this part, it's both heartbreaking and heartwarming that she refuses to have any more children and gives up her dream of a large family, for love of her son (any younger siblings would be a candidate for heir, and thus put Miles' life in jeopardy).
** The part in ''Barrayar'' when Cordelia nearly dies giving birth to Miles, and Aral admits he hasn't been so scared since he was eleven years old: which was when the [[TheCaligula old Emperor]] murdered his mother and brother in front of him.
** This part in ''Barrayar'', where Aral and Cordelia confront [[spoiler:Vorhalas]], who's just tried to murder them with poison gas:

* The part from ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' where Miles says he wants to make his life "an offering fit to lay at my father's feet":

** The death of [[spoiler:Sergeant Bothari]] and the final remembering at the end of the book.

* The TurnInYourBadge scene in ''Memory'', as well as Miles and Ivan's first visit to Simon in the medical ward.

* Miles' letter to Ekaterin in ''A Civil Campaign'', which doubles at a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.
* Rosso Gupta's pained, tearful story of the fate of his former crewmembers in ''Diplomatic Immunity''.

* Even though he gets better, Mile's last thoughts before getting killed are "Wait, I haven't...", which is heartbreaking when you consider his BackStory.

** Really, most of the plot of ''Barrayar'' is potentially tear-jerky. There are so many babies and children in peril. This troper loves the book, but read it for the first time while pregnant with her firstborn son. Not recommended unless you like weeping openly on public transit.

* The parts of ''Mirror Dance'' where [[spoiler: Miles']] family and friends are mourning [[spoiler: his]] death, at the same time as they are welcoming Mark to the family. The scene where Mark sees Ivan crying breaks this troper's heart every time.

* Miles' letter to Ekaterin in ''A Civil Campaign'', which doubles at a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.

* In ''Cetaganda'', Ivan tells a story of how Miles got the two of them buried alive in a tunnel for a few minutes, til Bothari rescued them. Ivan wistfully says that he wishes Bothari were still around to save them. Miles starts to snap then thinks to himself painfully, ''I miss Bothari, too'', and wishes Ivan hadn't made him revisit that wound that hasn't healed (nor has it ever.)