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1Moments pages are '''Administrivia/SpoilersOff'''. You have been warned.
2
3[[folder: Book I - ''Child of the Storm'']]
4* It's not really dwelt upon, but the fact that Thor had to watch his wife be murdered and nearly saw the same thing happen to his son, while he was completely powerless to do ''anything.'' That alone would've inspired a HeroicBSOD, even if he hadn't had to deal with suddenly getting thrown into another body with 1,500 years' worth of memories getting dumped on his head.
5* How Hela came to be. Oh ''Loki''...
6** As pointed out on the NightmareFuel page, from Odin's point of view, this could've been averted if he hadn't been so distant and frightening that Loki would rather run and take his chances than to ask for help. And just to take it up to eleven? It's implied that (at least part of) the reason Odin is so emotionally distant is because of his own father, who was definitely not a model parent. Meaning that, when Loki ran away rather than ask for help, Odin must've felt like ''he was taking his father's place as the frightening one.''
7** It's also a tearjerker for Frigga, who, being the loving mother and healer she is, would have certainly done her best to help Loki's wife and daughter.
8* The "Mama loves you, Harry. Mama will always love you," line from a not quite dead, not quite alive Lily Potter. It was designed to reach in and press the button marked 'Feels'.
9* Lily was pregnant when she died, according to Sirius. And she was planning to surprise James with the news after Halloween.
10* [[CallingTheOldManOut Harry's confrontation with Odin]], crossing over with SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.
11--> Why didn't you want me?
12* Wanda had to give up both her daughter and her godson, the latter the child of two of her best friends-and to a family who would mistreat and abuse him. She says to Sirius that he could not possibly hate her as much as she hates herself-and she's the daughter of the man who wrote the book on hatred. It's also clear that, at this point in time, she is pretty much completely alone, her boyfriend (her daughter's father) having proved to be a [[ManipulativeBastard conniving bastard of the highest order]], and her mentor vanishing for most of a decade.
13* Once upon a time, the Howling Commandos were stationed to Hogwarts, leading Bucky to meet a pretty young witch named Minerva [=McGonagall=] and falling in love with her. Unfortunately, he was declared KIA and as such, because unwed teen motherhood was a huge social taboo for the era, Minerva had to give her daughter away. Years later, she tearfully confesses she never tried to contact her grown-up child because she thought Edith would hate her for giving her away, and it's also implied she feared her daughter resenting her for having magic while she didn't.
14** The fact Clint ''immediately'' rejects Minerva as family because she wasn't there to take him and his brother in when they were left orphans, and it takes Natasha to point out how irrational it is to hate the poor woman for something she didn't even know in order for him to reconcile with her. As a first meeting, it more than sucked.
15* Carol's SenselessSacrifice in chapter 60, as they were rescued moments later, and the way that Uhtred bursts into tears of guilt shortly afterwards. Thankfully, she's saved by the Winter Soldier, but still.
16* The deaths of Luna Lovegood and Arthur Weasley in Chapter 70.
17** The former should be expanded on a little: Wanda postulates that Luna, a 12-year-old girl who had just gone looking for her shoes, took a bullet to the lung and choked to death on her own blood. And she was found by Sean Cassidy, who was implied to have known her mother, tried to look out for her, and was too choked up to do more than whisper. Oh, boy...
18** As for the latter, it was his last day at work, he was just about to start his dream job, and then his boss went and invited Malfoy into the building. And when he's killed by the Winter Soldier, it's after an epic HoldTheLine moment that earns him respect from Wisdom and even the HYDRA agents. And just to hammer it home, it's stated that Bucky's snapping his neck was the ''best'' option.
19* Bucky's struggles with himself and his identity in chapter 71. While shaking off his programming was awesome, it's left a real mess behind.
20** And then he gets brainwashed ''again.''
21* Chapter 72: you've got Harry clinging to his godmother and weeping in her arms until he can't cry any more in response to Luna's death and his own and doing much the same with his father. It seems a very long way away from Harry's first hugging of his father 70 chapters or so beforehand, because [[BreakTheCutie this Cutie is very much broken.]]
22** Dumbledore feeling that ItsAllMyFault for Luna and Harry's deaths and Warren's HeroicBSOD. He's usually very caring towards and protective of his students, and having to see one young man lose what innocence he had left and watch two more die painfully (even if one was immediately resurrected) must be pretty much his worst nightmares made real.
23* When Carol reveals to Steve that she's his great-granddaughter, he's so shocked at the situation that he pushes her away, which leaves her hurt and confused. [[CerebusRetcon This just gets even worse after the audience sees her father and what he's like]]--Carol just experienced rejection from ''another'' male parental figure.
24* Harry having to say goodbye to his mother, after just getting her back, as she has to return to her duties as the White Phoenix of the Crown.
25[[/folder]]
26
27[[folder: Book II - ''Ghosts of the Past'']]
28* Harry's HeroicBSOD after he's forced to MindRape six Death Eaters in order to save his friends. He's left vomiting to the point of dry heaving, having completely drained himself emotionally.
29* Maddie/Rachel's fate. All of it.
30** Her reaction when Xavier gently reveals to her that she wasn't, as she had believed, simply created whole by Essex. She was born Rachel Grey and was supposed - ''should have been'' - raised as a normal teenage girl with loving parents and siblings rather than some LivingWeapon. She just... breaks down, to the point where she physically collapses and Gambit has to catch her, and even after calming herself, she sadly admits she cannot be Rachel because she's been Maddie all her life - she wouldn't know where to start.
31* Sinister ensured no one would come for Lorna [[{{Unperson}} by wiping her family's and friends' memories about her]], [[YouCantGoHomeAgain so much that her own mother forgot her and thought someone was playing a tasteless joke when the girl tried to call home]]. [[BreakTheCutie Poor Lorna]] breaks down in Storm's arms afterwards.
32** This is implied to have happened to the other prisoners too.
33* Harry being brainwashed into becoming a Red Room agent and murdering dozens of people in cold blood, performing MindRape and loads of other horrible things as well. Just when you think he hasn't suffered enough... And all that after Maddie tried to protect him, too.
34* Understandably, he [[BreakTheCutie completely breaks]] and starts channelling the Dark Phoenix, which manifests with what Dresden describes as a chilling, agonised scream. It's brief, but heartbreaking nonetheless.
35* The [[TheStoic usually cool, calm and collected]] Maddie being overwhelmed to the point of tears by the way she's being treated (with kindness and concern). As she puts it in something of a bewildered wail, "Everyone's being so ''kind."'' Why? Because ''she's never been treated like this''. She's never been treated with such genuine, free kindness and concern, and she has absolutely no frame of reference for it.
36** Also her revelation that she was, in fact, aware that Gambit's original intentions when getting close to her were mainly to pretend to care to use her to get free of Essex, before changing his mind and actively working to coax her away and get her free too, once he realised that she was as much a victim of Essex as he was, and she let it past. Why? Because it was nice to have someone at least ''pretend'' to care about her. To underline the point: this is someone so starved of affection that not only did she have trouble with the concept, she was willing to accept affection that she ''knew'' was fake and had ulterior motives behind it, simply because it was the closest she could get. Gambit is appropriately stricken.
37** And in chapter 28, the depth of her insecurities and worries about meeting her family, and fearing that she'll be compared to Jean - who is, in her eyes, more or less 'perfect' - and that she'll therefore fall short as a disappointment. Thankfully, Harry, another 'less than perfect' member of the family, is present to help her through it, but even still...
38* We finally learn why Wanda dropped Constantine: he felt that the knowledge of the Zataras, of how to merge wanded and wandless magic, was potentially incredibly dangerous if it fell into Voldemort's hands, and that while they'd never give it up willingly, [[MindRape Voldemort had his methods.]] So he took steps - specifically, secretly enchanting them both without their knowledge or consent, turning them into bombs that would go off if Voldemort ever captured them and broke into their minds, hopefully killing Voldemort in the process, making it look like Death Curse of the TakingYouWithMe kind. That was exactly what happened when Voldemort captured Sindella Zatara. Voldemort survived, albeit badly injured. And it gets worse: a grieving Giovanni Zatara - still reeling from his wife's death and seeking revenge, was told by Constantine that he could find the wounded Voldemort. However, Giovanni wasn't stupid, and knew Constantine's growing reputation, and was hesitant about trusting him and ambushing the Death Eaters, so he asked Wanda if Constantine was trustworthy. She checked with Constantine about the plan, then said that he was. Voldemort turned out to be healthier than expected, and Giovanni died, killed with a killing curse. Which left the explosive enchantments intact. Which Wanda discovered. She then she confronted Constantine, demanded to know why he did it, and he said: "Casualties of war, love. Casualties of war." ''Casualties of war''. You have dick moves, and then you have ''that''.
39* Surtur's backstory establishes he was a kind, gentle, and brilliant mage-scientist from an extremely advanced world. However, it was dying and he was so desperate for a way to save his people that he managed to summon and beg the Phoenix for help. As soon as he summoned her, [[HumbleHero he broke the circle, stating that he only wanted a chance to speak, not to bind Her.]] The Phoenix took pity on him and made him one of Her hosts to let him fulfil his aims. And it worked - Surtur repaired and improved the planet, even kickstarting his people's evolution. But. He then thought, "Why stop there?" and started altering his people on a grand scale without their consent, making them 'better'. They rose up against him and the Phoenix came to reclaim Her power - he begged to keep it, to be allowed to finish what he had started. She refused, rebuking him for misusing it, and Surtur... snapped. He'd spent decades studying the power he'd been given, so managed to separate it from the main Phoenix, which fled in agony and confusion, then obliterated and enslaved the spirits of his people, transforming them into Fire-Giants, becoming the first Dark Phoenix. He then resolved that he was the OnlySaneMan in an insane, flawed universe, and that it was up to him to burn it all down and rebuild it better. It ends up with him locked away for a million years. TragicVillain indeed.
40* Stephen Strange grew up in Camelot after being orphaned as a baby. Yes, ''that'' Camelot, and he became Court Physician and Court Bard, as well as a secondary CourtMage after Merlin. And even now, after ''500,000'' years, he still refuses to forgive himself for too late in arriving at Camlann, thinking he could have struck Mordred down and saved King Arthur. It still haunts him. After all that time. And it's hinted that the reason he refuses to forgive himself is because he's terrified of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and starting to dismiss such things as 'the cost of doing business.' No wonder he's so messed up.
41** He still regards as another regret the circumstances leading to Surtur's binding, since one of his friends, Frey, had to sacrifice himself. Frey was young, and kind, and he was about to become a father, and Strange couldn't find a way to spare him which spared the universe too. Frey knew it and thanked Strange for trying, only asking Strange to walk with him while he left for his last battle.
42** When being threatened by an angry Thor, Strange remarks that any torture the latter has in mind would be amusingly quaint, if not cathartic, and that he honestly wouldn't mind if he did die. What kind of ''hell'' has that man been through?
43** Additionally, what happened with Arthur and Mordred and his being too late to stop the tragedy explains why he drove himself mad trying to do everything he could to save Maddie/Rachel - he failed her the exact same way as he failed Arthur, by being too late, something he vowed after Camlann to never, ''ever'' be.
44*** And on top of that, as he informs Uhtred when on the verging of totally flipping out, he ''never'' breaks his word, because it's just about all he has left. The prospect of being forced to break his word, which likely had very real magical consequences on top of the very obvious psychological ones, nearly destroyed him.
45** Strange sending Harry to Gorakhnath, and later absolutely flipping out, to the point of actually ''shouting in Wanda's face,'' when she suggests that he was trying to mould Hermione as a successor to him. He's perfectly well aware of how terrible he's become, knows how much he's loathed by others, and doesn't want anyone to '''ever''' have to be like him. As he sadly states, all he ever wanted was to be a doctor, maybe a musician on the side. Instead, he's become a lonely, bitter, broken old man with (quite literally) the fate of the universe on his shoulders, having had to do some absolutely terrible things, and with the reactions of ''almost every single character in the story'' to his presence ranging from wary respect, usually mixed with a certain amount of dislike, to absolute hatred.
46* While having powers is awesome, Jean-Paul discusses with the Kents the downside of being born a mutant-there are many beings and organizations out there who would love to use a super-powered minion, and if you don't keep your powers hidden or have protection like Xavier, the Avengers, SHIELD, etc, they will come for you, and your loved ones will be helpless to intervene. All because you just happened to be born with powers you didn't ask for.
47* Pretty much everything about Ruth - at around 12 years old, her psychic powers were just starting to develop when she got hit by the side-effects of Harry and Maddie's psychic brawl. Her powers went out of control, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation the sheer amount of possibilities she could see drove her mad]], and she was reduced to begging on the streets, which implies that, for whatever reason, her parents either aren't around, or didn't care for her. It's a toss-up as to which possibility is more of a tearjerker, with a hefty dose of FridgeHorror.
48* Harry's MotiveRant in chapter 28 really shows just how weary and broken Harry is from ''Forever Red'' and everything else, sounding like a combination of weary old man and petulant teenage boy who just wants to spend time with his friends and family without someone trying to kill him.
49--> "I. Have had. Enough. All I want is to have a normal school year, and to be left alone. I mean...is that really too much to ask?"
50* In chapter 29, Steven 'Stevie' Danvers, Carol's younger brother, lays out what he's noticed about what's been going on (a lot, considering that he's LockedOutOfTheLoop), including that there was something fishy about their father suddenly getting a job that keeps him far away from his family (because he tried to get Harry to alter Carol's mind). He then notes that their youngest brother, Joe junior, who's 9, doesn't understand what's going on, just that ''something'' is off and that his daddy is gone - he doesn't know why, much less understand (that there's a good reason for it), and therefore tends to cry himself to sleep whenever he thinks his older siblings aren't around. Furthermore, he believes that Carol seldom paid attention anyway, a remark she, a little ashamed, doesn't rebut. In general, it serves as a little reminder that what's good for the main cast has ramifications for other characters.
51** Later on, Stevie being absolutely terrified of Dracula's strike team - he is, after all, surrounded by monsters that are pretty open about how they have no use for him other than possibly as a snack, and his only protection is his superpowered big sister, who the monsters are clearly more powerful than, and the fact that they're only sparing him as long as he can serve as a hostage for Carol's good behaviour. While Carol's not especially fazed by vampires etcetera, having had practise fighting monsters, Stevie is completely out of his depth and understandably terrified, and thus clinging to her as tightly as he can, with later chapters establishing that he's got PTSD. Another little set of ramifications.
52*** Little Joe, meanwhile, is 9 years old, just lost his daddy, and sees both of his big siblings getting traumatized, so he starts acting out. And he's the ''least'' traumatized member of that family, given that he's too young to remember Charlie O'Neill.
53* Alison Carter remembering Piotr Rasputin: all he ever wanted was to peacefully live as a farmer, but the Red Room coveted his mutant power too much to take "no" for an answer, killed his parents to teach him a lesson about refusing them, then kidnapped his baby sister Illyana to make him comply to their wishes. When young Alison was abducted too and people came to rescue her, he was reminded of his little snowflake and turned against them, then with the help of Peggy and a few others tried to find his sister... only to learn she had been spirited away into Faerie and thanks to the [[YearInsideHourOutside time differential of the Nevernever]] was now a grown-up woman with a bad case of BlueAndOrangeMorality. As summed up, life conspired to make of Piotr a very lonely man.
54** Also, this is the ''Red Room'' he was working for. Whatever they made him do, it wouldn't have been [[NightmareFuel the kinds of things]] [[ForcedIntoEvil that leave an easy conscience]]...
55* Gambit's reaction when he's informed he's nothing but a clone grown by Sinister who only escaped by a freak accident? He runs away. When everyone finds him, [[StepfordSmiler he tries to play it cool, but he's obviously shaken]].
56* When Jor-El realized Krypton was about to be destroyed, he immediately went to the Science Council to warn them... only for them to dismiss him. So he begged his friend Dru-Zod for help... and Zod ended up declaring war on Krypton's government. Oh, and don't forget this apocalyptic cult who started to worship Jor-El as a prophet of the coming doom, the 'Herald of the Eradicator'. Being a committed pacifist, he was utterly horrified at this, and the poor guy was reduced to hiding himself and his family to continue living in something approximating safety.
57** The fact he came to Earth to personally plead with Alison Carter to watch over baby Kal-El, and the way he pretty much dismisses any chance of getting out alongside Kal-El. Also heartwarming because yes, Jor-El was ''that'' anxious to protect his beloved son.
58* Alison discusses with Carol how she has to lie to the faces of men and women she works with and respects, ''every single day,'' given that many of them had loved ones who were killed by the Winter Soldier.
59* Clark's breakdown when it truly hits him that he's the LastOfHisKind.
60* Ginny's concerns over realizing her feelings towards Diana, which she's afraid to discuss with anyone because she views them as "unnatural", cut far too close to home for anyone in the LGTBQ community who's faced similar troubles in their own lives.
61** When she gives into those feelings and kisses Diana during the Yule Ball, she has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and flees, convinced that there's something wrong with her. Fortunately, Harry is able to convince her what she's feeling is perfectly normal, and she's left feeling much better afterwards.
62* A more minor example, but there's Hermione and Ron developing a tenseness with each other due to her disapproval of his plans to one day join SHIELD as a means of hunting HYDRA, in order to get revenge for his father's death.
63* Harry reveals that he unblocked his Red Son memories. All of those terrible things mentioned above? Now he can remember doing them.
64** It's particularly tearjerking given that, when those memories came back to him, he wasn't surrounded by loved ones, family, and friends who could help him. He unblocked them while alone in a dark tunnel, and had to deal with the memories of six months' worth of being used as a puppet, performing all kinds of terrible actions, and the sense memories of being sexually assaulted, two or three times, and then compartmentalized all of that so he could use the knowledge of stealth skills from those memories to go rescue the other champions. Oh, ''Harry...'''
65* It turns out that shortly before Harry killed it, the Elder Wyrm touched Ron's mind and stirred some of his suspicions, and implied that the Winter Soldier is still alive. Harry is forced to do some quick thinking through usage of ExactWords, and though he smooths it over somewhat with a YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre speech, he also admits that he would (and is) lie to Ron about some things. When Ron finds out the truth, it's going to be nasty...
66* T'Challa briefly alludes to the plot of ''Film/BlackPanther2018'', which means he had to live through the heartwrenching reveal that his father (who he watched die in front of him - here, murdered by Baron Zemo) wasn't such a good person and that he had a cousin driven so mad he was unable to normally function in society. It's easy to see he still feels raw about it.
67* Draco has to ask Harry to pull strings for him just so that he can visit his imprisoned mother over Christmas. This also implies that they probably haven't seen each other very much at all.
68* At the Yule Ball, for the Last Dance, Doctor Strange dresses up in the formal bardic gear he wore back when he was known as Taliesin and was part-time Court Bard to Arthur Pendragon, and plays an ancient antique crwth (a Welsh semi-lyre/proto-violin), indicated to be his original instrument. What song is he playing? One that only one other living person has ever heard, because he's only ever played it once before, when he was a mortal young man: the First Dance for Arthur and Guinevere's wedding. Who is he playing it for? Harry and Carol, of course, the last couple on the dance-floor. On one level, it's a sweet ShipperOnDeck moment. On another, though, it's a reminder of how utterly ancient and incredibly lonely Strange is, how much he's lost, and that this is part of his way of saying goodbye, because he's dying.
69* Harry and Carol discuss the problems that Jean's been going through: Playing big sister to Harry and Maddie, two incredibly traumatized family members; acting as the unofficial Head Girl at the Xavier Institute, meaning that she's also taking care of Bobby and the Red Room prisoners, all of whom have had plenty of traumatic experiences of their own, on top of all the angst that being a teenager ''and'' a mutant brings (plus, as Harry's demonstrated, being a telepath in a building full of teenagers is difficult enough at the best of times); struggling to deal with the fact that, at 17/18 years old, she's got PhysicalGod levels of PsychicPowers; captaining her soccer team; and dealing with academic pressure, as well as the pressure [[StepfordSmiler to keep up a happy face on top of all of that.]] And then [[{{Jerkass}} her boyfriend started cheating on her.]] Because "[[ItsAllAboutMe she wasn't spending enough time with him]]". As Carol observes, it's mainly surprising that she didn't crack sooner.
70** Meanwhile, Maddie, having blurted this out at pretty much the worst time imaginable, faces rejection and anger from Jean. From most people's point of view, this would be entirely understandable, if still upsetting; from the point of view of someone who's just beginning to get used to the idea of being loved and cared for unconditionally...
71* Harry actually ''isn't'' Thor's first demigod child. As Frigga put it, young Thor was reckless, not feckless, and took precautions after Loki's Hela fiasco. However, one time, he unfortunately failed to get those precautions updated. As a result, when he had a night with a mortal woman, it (against all odds, what with Asgardians having a low fertility rate) resulted in a pregnancy. Thor didn't know, because he assumed the precautions were still in place, immediately returned to Asgard, and was dispatched to Nidavaellir to help out in a minor war against the trolls, basically just as way of showing Asgard's support and his abilities. This took a few decades, and when he returned to Earth, he heard about a shieldmaiden named Torunn who claimed she had been sired by the God of Thunder himself. While such claims were common enough, he remembered the village she was born in, noticed mention of superhuman attributes in stories about her, realised she probably was his and immediately went looking for her, following the stories... only to arrive several years after her burial. Oh, he still got to know her as she became a Valkyrie (an undead badass warrior woman protecting the Norse afterlife, slaughtering the monsters that still infest it, and even Outsiders that try and use it as a way into the Nine Realms), and she seemed to be enjoying herself (as Harry notes, it's what most of the family does for fun). He's not so bothered by the being dead part - as Frigga notes, death is seen differently in Asgard, since they know pretty much how it works. But what he ''is'' bitter about is the fact he missed a lifetime with his daughter. This in turn is, according to Frigga, why he reacted so badly when he got his memories of Harry back, and is so bitter about having missed out on a good chunk of Harry's childhood.
72* Carol tells Harry that when her father came to visit for Christmas, she [[CallingTheOldManOut confronted him on his attempt to get Harry to use his powers on her, ultimately disowning him]]. She breaks down in tears as she recounts this, being especially upset when she acknowledges that the worst part was that her father didn't even seem to realize what he'd done wrong.
73** It's also noted that Joe Jr. was unaware that their father was only visiting for the holiday and had a meltdown when he had to leave again.
74* Wanda's reaction when Dresden meets his infant daughter: she's genuinely happy, she ''is'', but the bitterness and wistfulness are still there. Once upon a time, she was the one apprentice with this tiny person she helped to come into the world, but she had to let Hermione go. And Harry, come to that.
75* Dresden unloading to Murphy how Strange manipulated his mother to ensure he and Thomas were born, all as part of his larger agenda. He admits that he logically understands Strange's reasoning for doing so, but is still clearly torn up over the fact that he was a pawn before he was even born, and that his mother had to suffer and die for it.
76* In the aftermath of the fight against Reynolds, Strange asks Tony to help Harry, because he's going to go through a '''bad''' case of PTSD, courtesy of his memories from the Red Room, combined with how he found Clark close to being vivisected. When Tony (naturally) asks him if he can't help Harry, Strange bitterly says that he has tried ''everything'' in his power to help Harry get through it, but has been unable to. Even angry as he realizes part of this is because of Strange's manipulative nature, Tony empathizes with Strange and can tell that he is an incredibly tired and frustrated man that has found a problem he cannot solve.
77* Harry, a little reluctantly giving Clark another dose of BrutalHonesty regarding his crush on Lana, after Clark brings it up. Specifically, he points out how if Clark was really as in love with her as he claims, he'd know more than some basic character traits about her. While he adds that a) [[MindLinkMates his relationship with Carol]] (and the related mutual insight) is not anyone's standard of normal, b) he's not actually met Lana or seen/sensed how the two interact and feel about each other, c) Clark definitely cares about her and Lana probably cares about him... going by what Clark himself has said, it probably isn't True Love. Clark gets understandably upset to have this shoved in his face, even if he understands Harry's point.
78* Strange bluntly tells Clark to not waste time hoping for another Kryptonian having escaped the planet's destruction, even though he concedes that it's possible. He's advising this because ''he'' desperately tried to find a hint of his birth clan having safely fled Uther Pendragon's relentless persecution against druids, chasing rumours, getting his hopes up. He'd hoped that at least one, maybe both, of his birth parents had survived; at the very least, possibly a distant relative, someone who'd been part of his clan. He spent a year searching... only to be confronted to the cold truth that he well and truly was the SoleSurvivor.
79* Harry has the PTSD event Strange warned about, and it is as terrifying and tearjerking as warned. Harry ends up bleeding because he rubs his skin raw.
80** Carol does her best to help when she finds him, but has to deal with the fact that she can barely help the person she loves so much, and also with how Harry flinches every time she gets too close (due to her superficial resemblance to Belova). Multiple reviewers noted that both the PTSD itself, and the sensation of not being able to help someone through it due to their own triggers, are incredibly accurate and cut very close to home.
81* While being tormented by the entity haunting the Fortress in the Forbidden Forest, Harry is able to shrug off all its taunts... until it conjures an image of [[TraumaButton Belova]], at which point Harry completely freezes up. When he finally does snap out of it, it's in a blind rage as he lets out some of his bottled trauma.
82** Ron, meanwhile, is mocked by a vision of his father for failing to avenge his death. And in the process of being attacked by a vision of the Winter Soldier (who looks like Harry--which is a tearjerker in itself), his wand is broken, which he realizes even after Harry saves him actually happened.
83* Following the whole disaster, Hermione finally adds two and two and confronts the Grangers, Harry and Wanda regarding her parentage. It goes in the worst way possible, as the girl feels completely betrayed by her loved ones ''lying to her face'' for at least several months, and utterly rejects Wanda as a relative.
84** Even worse is the fact that Harry, one of her only friends (not only that, but one of her ''best'' friends), immediately jumps to Wanda's defense. While it's somewhat understandable given that she's a maternal figure to him, it's also incredibly hurtful and insensitive, and just drives the rift between them wider.
85** Then Dumbledore gently explains to Hermione why the Scarlet Witch decided on this course of action, and it doesn't really make things better. He underlines just how lonely, shy and afraid of people Wanda was, before being traumatized by the Wizarding War... and now her daughter possibly broke her heart.
86* Strange mourning his inability to take Harry and Maddie's crappy childhoods back and give them something better. And he ''tried'', so hard.
87* In Chapter 2 of ''Unfinished Business'', Gambit mentions Waylon Jones (aka Killer Croc) and explains how he was TrappedInVillainy for years simply because his looks kept him from getting real work and earning an honest living. Fortunately, he's turned himself around thanks to an internet business.
88* In Chapter 5 of ''Unfinished Business'', Deadpool sees the horrors of Project Pegasus in person -- specifically the monsters that [[WasOnceAMan used to be human]] -- he [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness grows deathly serious]] as he recalls his own origins, which the projection of Strange sadly recounts to the others.
89* Monica and Peter's reactions when they think that Carol being turned into a tree by Nimue has killed her. Carol herself, with her spirit in the Green, likewise thinks she's dead and briefly breaks down thinking about how her family will react.
90* Hermione's inner monologue regarding her feelings after she's had some time to process the big reveal about her heritage shows that she's not doing much better than her initial reaction. Logically, she can understand why Wanda had to give her up and why Harry kept the secret, but emotionally, she is still incredibly hurt by the whole situation, especially considering how Wanda had to keep a distance from Harry for the same reasons, [[{{Hypocrite}} but came back into his life when the situation arose all while still staying away from Hermione]].
91** Worse still is how everything that's happened with the Fallen Fortress and its aftermath has forced her to confront the existence of the growing divide between her, Ron and Harry, who has increasingly been shutting the two of them out in favor of his new circle of friends without even realizing it. Not to mention how his CharacterDevelopment has turned him into someone who Hermione reluctantly admits that she's afraid of.
92** At one point, as Hermione sadly reflects, Harry was one of her very best friends, practically a brother to her and Ron (indeed, more so than Ron's actual family in some respects). Now? She's not sure if they can ever be that close again. And you can bet Harry knows it.
93* Clint relates how, after Bucky decided to let the older Weasleys know about his identity, Natasha kicked him out of bed and he and Steve had a blazing argument; indeed, Clint says the only other time he's ever seen Steve that angry was when Harry and Carol were kidnapped by the Red Room. All of this because Bucky took the ''kindest'' option available at the moment. That must've really sucked for him.
94* Chapter 73 has two big moments that have been a long time coming:
95** Hermione and Ron call out Harry on how he's been keeping them locked out and pushed them away, which leads to Harry finally dropping his facade for them in a rant that shows just how ''broken'' he is. He's gone through a TraumaCongaLine that he's still suffering lingering effects from, and most of the people he's close to have likewise suffered. He's keeping Hermione and Ron at an arm's length from this part of his life because he's terrified of them getting dragged in and ending up the same way, or worse.
96*** An additional tearjerker is that even now, as he's being more open and honest with them than he's been since Book 1, he's ''still'' deliberately leaving things out.
97** Carol [[CallingTheOldManOut chewing out her father]] for his attempt to get Harry to MindRape her. While mostly a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, the demonstration of her super soldier strength leaves him looking at her like she's a monster. This reaction, more than the confrontation itself, leaves her weeping after he leaves.
98** Alongside these, Michael Carpenter is quite understandably very concerned because [[MissingChild his daughter has gone missing]]. Meanwhile, Remy and Scott’s meeting, while containing a good deal of kindness, also has several sobering statements. Remy admits outright that he’s done things he’s not proud of in the past but declares that his fault and his own choices were part of what little he had under Essex. He ends by declaring himself [[CloneAngst a bad copy of a better man]]. Of course, [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre Scott’s response]] is quite heartwarming.
99[[/folder]]
100
101[[folder: Book III - ''The Phoenix and the Serpent'']]
102* Chapter 10 has a big one, as Sunniva reflects on the upcoming battle with the Grandmaster. She knows that nothing less than absolute devastation will stop the Grandmaster, but doing so will almost certainly condemn billions of innocents to death. The ''best'' that she can do is to give them a quick and merciful death by Phoenix instead of a slow and lingering fading, or else letting the Grandmaster eat them from the inside out and turn them into more perverted copies/extensions of himself.
103-->'''Sunniva:''' "Damn you for doing this to them. And damn you for making me do this."
104* Harry meets his great-great-grandfather Buri, who explains how his son Bor UsedToBeASweetKid (arrogant to be sure and with greater Warrior's Madness than most members of the family, but still fundamentally good), but was corrupted by Malekith's use of the Reality Stone against him, enhancing all his negative traits and turning him into a cruel tyrant and {{abusive parent|s}}. Worse, due to being the God of Time, Buri saw this all coming but despite his best efforts couldn't stop it from happening.
105* Buri lamenting his son Bor's fall into darkness. He UsedToBeASweetKid, a mite of a berserker temper but nonetheless brave and loyal -- only for [[RealityWarper Malekith]] to try and force his belief about Asgardians being nothing but bloodthirsty, savage brutes upon reality and as the Crown Prince, Bor suffered the brunt of this. And when Buri attempted to reverse the damage, Bor made very clear he had no wish to be saved, especially not by his father. After relating this, Buri shows off a scar on his neck, with the implication being very clear.
106** It's particularly sad because this all happened before Odin was born, meaning that he never got a chance to know his father as anything but the worst version of himself.
107* The Lady Knight being constantly wandering across time means she had to say goodbye ''a lot''. She enjoys being around people, so she easily grows attached, but she always has to leave the era for another -- she has to leave her loved ones behind, and she has to fight in order to preserve the timeline in which they reside, because if she fails... she's the only one remembering their existence. And according to Buri, she's had multiple loved ones wiped out of existence entirely, with only her memory of them left. At this point Harry--by now a hardened and highly experienced warrior who's been through incredible amounts of trauma and torture--can only shudder and reflect that he doubts he'd be able to stand it.
108* Lobo murdering Miek in [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe BRUTAL]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath fashion]] with his laser whip [[KickTheDog just to pay back Harry]] [[DisproportionateRetribution for Sunniva wounding his pride]].
109* In the third chapter of COS Short Stories, Hermione inquires to Professor/Agent Lupin about her biological father, John Constantine. The professor is very kind and patient, but still sadly has to inform the young woman that Constantine, despite his good qualities, has proven multiple times to be a ruthless schemer who has hurt Lupin himself and others with the consequences of his actions, and that his acknowledgment of doing so is the most likely reason he has chosen to not involve himself in his daughter’s life.

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