Heartwarming / A Man of Iron

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A Man of Iron

• Tony's entire relationship with Jon, whom he considers a true Stark no matter his birth. He's ready to take the kid back home at Iron Pointe as his ward, goes Papa Wolf on Catelyn Stark when she tries to hurt him and finally does what Ned never did in canon, which is legitimizing Jon.
• Tyrion and Tony being friends. Their bloodline doesn't matter, nor Tyrion's dwarfism, they genuinely enjoy each other's company.
• When he understands it would be too dangerous for Samwell to stay at the Wall, Tyrion agrees to the Lord Commander's offer to take him as his squire and openly declares he's going to teach the world to the boy.
• Arya openly and shamelessly considering the Iron Man as a hero, not knowing he's actually her uncle Tony.
• Logan becomes Daenerys's protector and substitute big brother.
• Arya's reaction when Mystique shows her true appearance? She asks if she can become blue too. Aww.
• When he's about to falsely confess, Ned comforts himself with the knowledge Antony will protect Jon and explain the boy the truth about his mother. Then the Iron Man comes for him and Sansa.
• Tywin admits he may have mishandled Tyrion's education and wasted his talents when he sends his dwarf son at King's Landing as Acting Hand, and promises that even if Tyrion won't have Casterly Rock, he will have a reward of his own if he does a good job. Tywin freaking Lannister, people. Tyrion is so shocked he forgot his drink.
• When he sees his cousin despondent over Jon's struggle to call him "father", Tony tells Ned that maybe a father is not the one who sires a kid, but the man who raises this kid.
  • Also, Tony's thoughts over Jon's newly revealed parentage: even if it means he doesn't have a father or siblings, it doesn't change the fact Jon has a family in Iron Pointe. And Tony intends to remind him of this. Strongly.
• Jon finally standing up to Catelyn Stark is as much this as a Moment of Awesome, because he was motivated by her verbally assaulting Tony. The man protected Jon from her at the very beginning, and now Jon is repaying the favour.
• Sansa heals and restores Sandor's face upon her resurrection and he pledges himself to her in gratitude. Downplayed though due to her being The Night Queen.

A Crack of Thunder

• Thor arrives at Dragonstone, and Jane braces herself for him to show the usual pity over Shireen's face. Instead, he's impressed that she's apparently already been in battle at her age.
  • As Shireen's nursemaid, Jane basically plays the Cool Big Sis to the little princess, and the Seven know she needs one of those. The best thing? Stannis encourages Jane to protect his daughter.
    • Robert had given Shireen a doll likeness of her, which Joffrey ruined in an attempt to bully her, and Jane made sure Joffrey got in trouble for that. After his return to King's Landing, Stannis sends two dolls to Shireen: a replacement for the one Joffrey damaged, and another that looks like Jane, with a note that says "To Protect Her".
• After discussing King's Landing's current situation of chaos, Tyrion tells Captain Jeor Stacy that this conversation will become very important in the future. Fast-forward to Tyrion's next chapter, and he named Stacy the new Goldcloaks' Commander for his honesty and dedication to order.
• Ned and Catelyn reconciling in their first chapter.
• Ned vows to continue to honor the pact with House Frey for Robb to marry into the house, to which Walder is so touched that he remains loyal to the Starks (the author notes afterward that he sees Walder as being like an abused dog who expects nothing but further mistreatment, so a bit of actually being treated well is all it takes).
• Oberyn reaffirms his friendship with Tony even though he is one of Tywin Lannister's bannermen.
• When she thinks Oberyn is there to take Jon away so he will marry Arianne, Pepper seriously considers breaking out her axe to stop it.
  • How supportive Pepper is towards Jon moonlighting as the Centurion in spite of her fear because she can see how much he enjoys doing good and being a true hero.
  • How starstruck Jon is when he lays eyes upon Natasha Martell - his intended bride - is adorable. It becomes even more cute when remembering Westerosi marriages are made for political gain rather than happiness for the bride and groom, so seeing Jon actually liking his future wife warms the heart.
• The main reason Thor is in Westeros is because he is worried about his brother Loki, since he should have returned to Asgard five years before but he did not. He also states that he renounced the throne, and has no qualms in admitting Loki is far better suited to the role.
• Even though he knows Stannis will hate being the King, Thor will still support him if that is what he wants.
• When Jane asks Thor why he still acts as if she were the Queen, he replies that she is the Queen the people deserve.
• Thor admits that in his youth, he was brash and arrogant and realized that as such, he'd have become even worse as an adult and a King. He thus went to Odin and told him he was renouncing his claim to the throne of Asgard as he knew he wouldn't be right and do more harm to their people. Rather than be upset, Odin told Thor he had never been prouder of him.
• It comes as too little, too late, but Jaime genuinely empathizes with Ned over Sansa's death.
• Theon accidentally brings up Sansa's death to Robb after he is told he is to go meet Renly. Robb not only does not get angry, but admits he needs to accept his sister's death, and also advises Theon about why he is not going to the Iron Islands.
• Roose Bolton gets married - but this time, to a plain-looking, yet cunning, daughter of Walder Frey called Gretin who Roose says reminds him of his wife.
• Ned and Cat took great pains to ensure Robb would be Happily Married and their efforts seem to have been rewarded: not only is Roslin Frey quite pretty, she petted Grey Wind when the wolf was introduced to her, and Robb didn't need anything more to be smitten.
• Jonos Bracken bonding with Theon and teaching him everything he can. He essentially becomes Theon's mentor in a matter of weeks - enough that his death sparks Theon's complete change of allegiances as he casts away any relationship he may have with the Ironborn.
• By changing a couple of details (being born a sickly girl and then becoming the She-Hulk equivalent), we get a Brienne of Tarth that not only kicks ass like no one's business, but that also feels comfortable in her own skin and that has none of the self-esteem issues from canon.
  • She mentions it wasn't a maester or a magician from Essos who finally healed her, it was her cousin Bruce. Someone in her family cared that much, and his attempt to help was more than successful.
• A bittersweet one since it comes at Robb, Arya and Bran's expense, but when Jon thinks of family, he doesn't think of Winterfell. He thinks of Iron Pointe.
• While Ned and the other Starks want to kill all the Lannisters as revenge for what happened to Sansa, it turns out they're making an exception for Tyrion, realizing he's the only decent one. Ned even intends to include a personal note of apology for how he was treated in the official peace terms.
• Roslin proving that she is a great wife and Lady of the North by gently and firmly helping to raise Robb's spirits when he is feeling down.
• Tyrion still has his big scene of stopping Joffrey having Sansa beaten despite knowing full well it's not really her anymore, simply because the real Sansa meant that much to him.
• When Renly calls Jane a whore, Thor damn near kills him. When Jane gently chastises him afterwards, saying she could handle it, he makes it clear that he won't let anyone insult her.
  • He also fiercely defends Shireen's status as Stannis' heir, stating he would gladly serve a ruler who fought for her life and won. You could feel Stannis warming a little bit to him for that.
• When she hears about Jon's betrothal to a Martell girl, Catelyn shows she really did change by not flying in a temper, acknowledging she did wrong by mistreating him and wishing him happiness with his young bride.
• When Tony confesses her his fears about the Iron Man being useless in the long term, Pepper tries to point how much he helped with the suit. It doesn't work, but it's still extremely sweet, especially because Pepper very much disapproves his vigilante work.
• Tony and Natasha silently promise each other that, if one of them hurts Jon, the other will crush them.
• Tyrion revealing to Cersei that Jaime is safe in Harrenhal with their father, stating he had hoped to be able to reveal it in different circumstances. Of course, the readers know that "Jaime" is actually Mystique, and that Tyrion may have actually condemned his brother to a horrible fate.
• Doom takes Daenerys under his wing in order to teach her. He may be just as brutally honest as Stannis, but it is clear he knows she will need to toughen up if she ends up becoming a Queen. He is also trying to help his adoptive city, Qarth, improve itself rather than remain tied to absurd traditions instead of striving to truly become what they claim to be.
• Arya asks Mystique if she regrets not being normal, and when she replies she does sometimes, Arya says she does not, because if Mystique had been normal, Arya would have never met her. And they embrace each other, fully settling into their roles as adoptive mother and daughter, 'alone amongst the lions'.
• How Mystique met Magneto: she was a prostitute using her shapeshifting to allure men, so he went to her and told he wanted to see the "real Ravan". She finally revealed her blue-skinned- crimson-haired form, scared of his reaction... and he took her hand and told her she was perfect.
• Even with Ned becoming a darker character after Sansa's death, he's still making sure to help every village his army liberates from the Lannisters get back on their feet before moving on. And in quite a rarity for Westeros, this innate goodness actually pays off as his reputation increases dramatically among the Northerners, plus the Lannisters find themselves stymied at how to bait someone who only wants to kick them out of his own country.
• Remember that apology letter to Tyrion that Ned sent with the peace terms? Turns out Catelyn sent her own apologies as part of it, showing genuine remorse for her actions.
  • She also admits that raising Jon in Winterfell was good for Robb, as it gave him someone to keep him level-headed. Yet again showing just how she's let go of her irrational hatred for him.
  • When Ned asks her if she believes they can negotiate with Tyrion, she states that he showed her respect for their entire journey to the Eyrie, before correcting herself and saying he showed more respect than she deserved.
• Upon learning of Renly and the Ironborn's plots against the Starks Theon maintains his loyalty to the Starks, declaring himself "Theon of Winterfell". Far cry from his canon counterpart who chose to attack Winterfell without prompting.
• Roslin proves herself to be exactly what Robb needs in the aftermath of Rickon's disappearance by pointing out, among other things, that his role as the Stark in Winterfell is as important as Ned's in directing the war.
• Even though he has fought murderers, rapists and all sort of criminals for weeks now, Jon has not lost his belief that he can do good and help others to find their own internal hero.
• In spite of all the time he's been away from them, Jon still reflexively thinks of Lord Stark as his father, and of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon as his siblings.
• Natasha had never expected to find love, marry and have a family of her own. Then her father got her betrothed to Jon, and she was very happy to be proven wrong.
  • It is also wonderful how great the two work together. Natasha's quite supportive of her husband's mission, and even helps him with his alibi.
• When Natasha asks Jon if it bothers him that he is what he is because of Tony, he says it does not: the important thing is what he does with what he has, and right now what he does is help others.
• Roslin cheering Bran up, first by talking about her siblings, then by telling stories about her journey to Winterfell.
  • Jojen firmly telling Bran that he is not useless as he still has important part to play, and that his family will recover from their grief and losses.
• Bruce of Tarth braved the world for seven years, including going into Valyria (which no one has ever come back from) just for the chance that any of those places might hold the answer to cure his cousin Brienne.
• Maxell, the Maester of Harrenhal, tells Arya that he knows who she truly is, but won't reveal the truth - because he considers her the true Lady of Harrenhal.
• Thor proves himself to be a man of his word, teaching Shireen how to fight with a staff and acting as a mix of her big brother and Cool Uncle.
  • He is also mentioned as never holding himself above the inhabitants of Dragonstone, making time to speak with the smallfolk and trade stories and fighting tips with them.
• When Davos started to come around Dragonstone more often, Selyse opposed his visiting Shireen, but Jane said that Shireen needed to know more people she could trust, so Stannis allowed it - and was soon vindicated when Shireen happily told him all about what Ser Davos had taught her that first day.
• Thor mentions that, after renouncing the crown, he told Loki and Loki confessed he had been undermining and manipulating Thor for several years out of jealousy. The two brothers fought - but after the fight ended they sat together, spoke, realized and admitted that both had made mistakes in regards to each other and swore to stand side by side, no matter what.
• Jane tells Thor that, even if Stannis has forgotten his promise to help Thor find Loki, she has not, and she promises to go with Thor, because she knows Loki is that important to him. And underlines that promise with a Big Damn Kiss.
  • For that matter, Shireen beaming when she sees them kissing.
• Stannis tells Melisandre that he will not sleep with her for a chance to get all the other 4 Crowns (Eddard Stark, Joffrey and Renly Baratheon and Jane) because he doesn't want to break his vows to Selyse - and because he cannot bear to think of harming Jane, both for herself and for how crushed Shireen would be.
• After seeing his sworn lord and best friend isolating himself from his family in the aftermath of the fight between Tony and Jon, Rhodey gets into Tony's workshop and pretty much beats him in the head with the fact that he needs to fix things, because he knows they love each other and need to fix things up before it is too late.
• Arya's horror when Maester Maxell shows himself to the Bloody Mummers - she's about to run to him or yell to take cover. Fortunately, he's more than able to defend himself.
• When Fury appears to Jon and starts trying to recruit him for the Council, he mentions Tony was discarded as a possible agent so they want to make-do with his ward. Which leads Jon to believe the Council wants to use him against Tony. Jon's reaction? Declaring that no matter the intensity of his quarrel with Tony, he won't betray his blood.
• Daenerys, Doom, Jorah and Logan go to the House of the Undying to rescue the dragons. It's a terrible experience, but there's some nice points.
  • Jorah's main wish is to be able to return home and earn the forgiveness of his family.
  • Logan's desire is not shown. Why? Because he already has it: serving Daenerys.
  • Logan's potential future shows him having a daughter.
  • After everything that has happened to her, Daenerys' deepest desire is to be able to return to the house with the red door and the lemon tree.
• After saving Jane from being raped, Thor is as gentle and compassionate with her as he can be, not making light of the situation but instead doing his best to comfort her.
• For all her neglectful ways towards Shireen, Selyse ultimately loved her too much to sacrifice her when Melisandre asked her to kill the girl. Her last words are a plea for Jane and Thor to save her daughter.
• What truly happened to Loki when he disappeared on Westeros: he actually was peacefully living as Davos Seaworth, hinting he grew to love his human family and friends too much to leave them behind.
  • The reason why he finally cast his disguise away? Amora almost killed his sons, she was about to kill Jane and Shireen, and that decided Loki to bring the big guns out.
  • When Thor asks him why he remained Davos Seaworth for so long, he gives several reasons. One of them being that, for once, he wanted to be the straight man instead of the trickster, and realized that gave him the peaceful life he wanted. The biggest, of course, is that he fell in love with Marya and had children with her.
  • And he also confesses he went to break the blocus on Storm's End because of Jane: not only he couldn't bear the idea of children from her age suffering and dying, he wanted to be someone she would be proud to call her dad.
  • Just to round things up, the last thing Loki does in that chapter is to seek Marya and all his children. Because he'll be damned if he returns to Asgard without his family.
  • Loki also makes clear that Marya will remain his wife and will be the Queen of Asgard.
• Podrick Payne proves his loyalty to Tyrion, not only defending him from a wight sent to kill him, but also standing up to Tywin when he acts dismissively towards Tyrion having been fighting on the frontline. Tywin himself is later shown to have been impressed by this, and rewards Pod for his loyalty by arranging to make him an actual knight.
• Upon the strange new arrival Star Lord introducing himself to Robb, Shaggydog still knows his master immediately and eagerly greets him.
• Star-Lord's jacket has a wolf head made of stars on the back. In all his adventures, Rickon never forgot where he came from.
• As it turns out, the people of Iron Pointe have known that Tony is Iron Man and Jon is Centurion all along, and have kept quiet about it out of loyalty.
• As he lays dying, Stannis tells Shireen she's the one thing he's most proud of in the world, requests Jane to fully become Shireen's mother, asks Thor to destroy the Destroyer armor and charges Loki with ensuring Shireen becomes crowned as Queen of Westeros. Then, Thor manages to call in the Valkyrie Brunnhilde, having acknowledged Stannis as one of the best warriors he has ever met, so Stannis will be able to have another life in Valhalla.
• Unlike in canon, Tywin actually visits the wounded Tyrion's bedside, and congratulates him on his part in the battle, even rewarding him by naming him the new lord of Tarbeck Hall. And when Tyrion declines in favor of searching Essos for a means of restoring his hands, Tywin acquiesces (albeit with the caveat of it only being for a year).
  • In contrast to Joffrey and Cersei, Tywin chooses to reward the service of those beneath him, and the families of those who died fighting on the Lannisters' side in the battle.
    • One of these families are the Parkers, not only because Benjen died but because his widow May decided to adopt Gwen Stacy in the wake of Commander Stacy's death. Tywin intends for them to have a regular pension, and if May Parker doesn't want to remarry after losing her beloved husband, he won't force her. It's partially and characteristically pragmatic of him, but the Lord of Casterly Rock also admits to himself he understands and sympathizes with the grief of losing a loved one.
• Josef Bracken thanks Theon for returning his brother's remains and sword by offering to let him take the Bracken name and found a cadet branch in the North. Theon accepts, but only on condition that Brienne be knighted for her own actions in aiding him.
• Natasha makes it clear to Fury that her first loyalty is now to her new family, not him.
• After learning what Sansa had to endure when the Night's Queen hijacked her body, Tony (unaware she managed to escape) immediately ponders about the means to rescue her. And when Fury argues it's impossible, Tony merely retorts he will make a way if necessary.
• While mentioning about how life tends to balance itself, Robb states that Roslin is one of the best things that has ever happened to him.
• Star Lord!Rickon jokes around with Robb, knowing that his brother has been missing having Jon and Theon around and deciding to replace them as best as possible.

A Shield of Man

• Daenerys cuddling with her dragons before they arrive in Astapor, and making sure they understand not to harm any innocent people. There's also the fact that she makes sure to talk to them like people, rather than beasts.
• Jorah and Logan actually get through to Daenerys that in purging the slavers, there will be somewhat moral people who will be killed in the process. This gives Dany enough pause to understand that actions for the good of many will have collateral damage, hopefully heading off her Jumping Off the Slippery Slope from the show.
• Instead of a list of enemies, Arya recites the names of all her loved ones, which not only helps her remember them but allows her to focus enough that she's able to overcome the difficulties of fighting while adjusting to her new body.
  • The Brotherhood members are all shown to get along very well, even Sabertooth.
• The Night's Watch having the rules for no children, no wife and no crown, and serving until death wasn't inherited from the Knights of the Dawn. It came from a wish to honor their Lord Captain, Steve Rogers who ultimately gave everything for duty.
• Steve reveals that his father Lann the Clever was a dwarf, and immediately warns that he won't stand for any mockery of that.
• Pepper and Rhodey both insist on going with Tony when he's sent to Braavos to negotiate with the Iron Bank over the Seven Kingdoms' debt.
• Despite delving into her rather self-absorbed, unstable, and utterly horrid personality, Cersei's chapter shows her one redeeming trait: her love for her children. Despite being blind to Joffrey's many faults, even she is disturbed by his sadism when he contemplated tormenting poor Tommen.
  • As toxic as their relationship was, Cersei mourns Jaime's supposed death in her own way, showing that even she is not that heartless.
  • Like in the TV series, Tywin shows a soft spot towards Tommen and orders guards to protect him from Joffrey and to ensure that the royal brat does not mutilate any animals.
• Of all people, Euron shows pride in Theon for rejecting his heritage and seeking his own path in life.
• Throughout Jaime's first chapter all his companions are referred to only by demeaning nicknames. But then he remembers his own family seems to have cast him out while they're all helping him, and starts thinking of them by their names.
• Natasha and Clynt are very happy to see each other.
  • Natasha makes it clear that she's done with Fury and the Council and is only using them to protect Jon.
  • She also tries to make Ellaria lay up on the bastard talk due to how insulting it is to someone from the North like Jon.
• After hearing of the Ironborn attack on Winterfell, Ned makes it clear that Robert's choice to hand Theon to him has put Theon in a much safer position. Given to Stannis or Tywin, it'd be much easier for them to kill him, but given to Ned, he truly came to regard him as another son. And as a result, he will do whatever he can to ensure he's not a retaliatory kill.
  • On that note, Brienne steadfastly refuses to allow his execution, even going straight into bloodlust against the injustice of it all.
  • The mention of Robb threatening to rip the tongue of the next man who will call for his almost-brother's head.
• Daenerys insists on taking the time to listen to each of her inner circle's opinions. She also reflects happily on how right it feels to be part of this tight-knit group.
• After the harrowing confrontation with the Commander, Ygritte (who has been suspicious of Steve for some time) tells Steve she doesn't give a damn about everything the Commander said.
• Gilly weeps Tears of Joy when Steve reassures her that no, he won't take her son away.
• Despite his hatred of the Lannisters, Oberyn is infuriated at Ellaria's suggestion of hurting Myrcella as Revenge by Proxy.
• Natasha's POV confirms once and for all that she truly loves Jon.
• Spider-Man is just as idealistic as ever even in the Crapsack World of Westeros, and upon Petyr, Gwen and Miles all finding themselves with spider powers, they decided to team up to help the helpless. Gwen also seems to have no problem at all working together with the son of her late father's replacement.
• Sansa proves that she is a Stark of Winterfell when she saves an innocent girl from a bear attack. Despite all the pain she has endured, she refuses to stand by and let an innocent be harmed like she endured in King's Landing.
  • That girl is Sally, who gives a sincere thank you along with her dad, prompting Sansa to reflect that perhaps she was following the wrong gods, and more importantly, reaffirming that she needs to find her father.
• Jon meeting and befriending Sam, who has become Petyr Parker's mentor.
• Yondu, who used to be Rickard Stark, is happy to be reunited with his children and grandchildren.
• Robb finds out that Arya and Sansa are alive (sort of in the latter's case), and upon finding out the latter is in Lady's body begins asking how to fix her.
• As soon as Gambit starts putting the moves on Arya, everyone else in the Brotherhood immediately moves to defend her. Even Lady Deathstrike.
• Blob in this continuity is fine with letting Arya call him such, but she decides to call him by his real name, as it seems insulting to call him such.
• She might have joined the Brotherhood, but Arya told Magneto she would see the Starks spared from his retribution when he will leave to conquer Westeros. He accepted her demand.
• Shireen appoints Maester Cressen as her hand for his service and because he never looked down on her for the Grayscale.
• After being set off by a conflict between The Brotherhood and Charules's group, Arya retreats to the beach to hide from her "responsibilities". The mutant who comes to comfort her...is Gambit.
  • Despite the horrible argument everyone was having, when Rogue gets a peek at what Arya's life has been like from a brief physical contact, she immediately apologizes for assuming she was a spoiled princess, almost ending the fight right there.
• Tywin praising both Petyr's ingenuity and Sam's training of him and the other kids.
  • Jon noting that for as terrifying as Tywin is, he is genuinely affectionate towards Tommen, who loves his grandfather in return.
• Ygritte coming to Mance's defense when the other Free Folk leaders accuse him of selling them out to the Night's Watch, and Steve coming to hers whenever it looks like one of the others will attack her.
• Despite still claiming to hate his traveling companions, Jaime still makes sure to cook food the way they like, such as softening hard tack because Bran complains that it's hurting his jaw. He also carries on long conversations with Hodor, and when Meera thinks he's mocking him Jaime points out that while Hodor is only able to say one word, that doesn't mean he can't understand what's being said to him and he may well be glad for someone paying attention to him for once.
• The rest of the Night's Watch are overjoyed to have Jeor back, showing how beloved he is.
• Steve shows gentle care to have Maester Aemon understand what's so important about his appearance, giving the followup punch that he's an Other, but he's also an ally.
• The Spiders make it clear that the only reason they're acting as vigilantes is because they honestly believe it to be the morally right thing to do.
• Tony promising not to make fun of Duke's weight, and striking up a friendship with Toad.
• Chapter 36, which introduces T'Challa into the series, ends with a dedication to Chadwick Boseman.
• Sansa stumbling upon a pack of wolves. She's bracing herself to fight for her life... only to learn their Alpha is Nymeria, Arya's direwolf, who still can identify Lady's body as her littermate. And suddenly, Sansa doesn't feel that alone anymore.
• Mance and Ygritte calming down Steve after he becomes enraged at the suggestion he raise a wight as a demonstration.
• Shireen fondly remembering Asgard and how everyone there showered her with love — Odin asking for her to call him Grandfather after meeting her, the Warriors Three taking her in adventures, Sif teaching her how to fight as a woman, and so many little things that made her feel wanted.
  • As Shireen is reflecting on Davos, Jane and Cressen's love for her, Cressen confesses he feels a bit of a failure as a Maester. See, a Maester is allowed to care for the family he serves and advices, but genuine attachment is frowned upon — yet how could Cressen not love Shireen?
  • Shireen also gave Asgardian wine to Cressen to extend his lifespan, so he'd be able to come with her to Asgard after the war.
• Jaime confesses to Bran that he was the one to push him off the tower and cripple him, and Bran immediately forgives him, saying that Jaime's not the same man he was then. Jaime starts complaining about the tunnel's dust getting in his eyes.
• Mantis greeting the party, and telling Jaime how grateful she is to him for being nice to her when she still was Rhaenys, Rhaegar Targaryen's daughter.
• Barristan still fondly remembers Rhaegar. And he takes the time to ask if Daenerys was happy in her childhood, while making it clear he regrets not joining her and Viserys in exile.
• Bruce stating that the Hulk cares about Brienne as much as he does, and wants nothing more than to be reunited with her.
• Tony and Rhodey (actually a disguised Mystique) managing to rescue Pepper from the Mandarin.
• Petyr and Gwen sticking to their guns in front of Jon and Natasha's disapproval for their heroics, as they already lost family to unchecked violence and they won't allow Miles to suffer the same trial. And then Jon tells them he's not actually condemning their need to make things better, he's worrying about them doing it wrong and getting hurt — and offers to help them.
• Tywin agrees to host May, Petyr, and Gwen in the Red Keep to keep them protected from potential chaos.
• Tony refuses to hold the mentally-damaged Renly responsible for the things he did under the Mandarin's influence, and only agrees to keep voluntarily helping Magneto if he gets Renly help. Magneto agrees, feeling sympathy for Renly's condition.
• When Pepper reveals her family was exiled for siding with the Blackfyres, she and Magneto bond over ancestors who fought alongside each other.
  • After making a comment about Mystique's appearance that she thinks might be offensive, Pepper immediately apologizes for it, even after Mystique says that she's heard worse.
• Tywin makes sure to tell Tommen how to be a good king, and tells him to join Sam and Jon for his sword-fighting lessons.
• Mantis/Rhaenys makes it clear that she doesn't blame Jaime for failing to prevent her human side's death.
• Osha telling Jaime that he was right to kill Aerys, as it was more honorable than letting him continue his madness.
  Osha: A man that would harm those he has sworn to protect has lost all right to honor. When one stands at the side of a chieftain, the pact goes both ways. The fighter is expected to aid their chief but the chieftain is expected to lead his people so they live. A chieftain who fails to do this deserves death and the fighter strong enough to deliver that shows they hold great honor for all those that were betrayed.
• Summer forgiving Jaime for crippling Bran, refusing to judge him for one mistake.
• Jaime being protective over Bran in general. He doesn't want to leave the boy alone with Bloodraven, and he asks the Old Gods how he can protect Bran.
• It's brief, but Daenerys' dragons are thrilled that she's able to fly under her own power now, and able to fly alongside them.
• As he fell within a lake full of Symbiotes, Robb could only think about Roslin and how he needed to save her life — leading Venom to take an interest and offer to work with him instead of hijacking his body.
• Natasha, before their mission against the Vulture, tells Jon in full about what her meeting him was like: before the marriage, The Council said it would be a way to get close to Iron Man's armor for weapons purposes. But when she saw him for the first time, she realized she would instead serve and protect him. Not as Natasha: The Black Widow servant of the Council, but as Natasha: Lady Stark and Wife to the Centurion.
• Natasha the Council member thought it would make sense to attack Vulture in the city, since that's where the Spiders would work best and the Vulture would be stuck in the buildings. However, Natasha the wife knew that Jon would never accept collateral damage, so instead they did their interception on the road.
• Looking at the defeated Vulture, Natasha decides that while he may not have been a great guy, Adrian isn't a monster compared with others. So, she reveals herself to him. Telling him that he's going to the Wall to help protect the realms from the White Walkers, and that he'll never have to go back to the tombs again.
  • She even brings up that with her influence, she'll do what she can to help make him Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Thus giving Adrian a chance to have glory in his own way down the line.
• Despite being near the breaking point with each other, Ned and Cat stop their arguing when Nick Fury (the black one) comes in with news that The Guardians are returning home soon.
• Coincidentally enough, Sansa arrives home with Nymeria, desperately writing out her self identity to have her father understand. And he does. He hugs her tight. The Starks are starting to come back together.
• Tywin thinking of all the potential that Tommen has as a king, and shows him a rare gesture of affection.
• Despite being understandably thrown for a loop by everything, Catelyn chooses to personally wash Sansa's wolf body, refusing to have her in the kennels like a dog.
• While they get off to a rough start, with Yondu calling out Ned for seemingly doing so little as Warden of the North and Ned chewing him out for his Southern politicking ruining House Stark's reputation in the North, Yondu ultimately concedes that Ned is a worthy King and is proud of him.
  • Ned in general seems to be enjoying the bickering between Drax/Rickard and Lyanna/Gamora a little. No doubt it reminds him of their childhood.
• Though they both have problems with what happened to Jon's childhood and the leadup, when Ned talks about keeping him close because he was a last reminder of who Lyanna was, Gamora just smiles.
• Tommen naming Jon his Hand and regent to try and restore the close friendship once held between their houses.
• Robb still considers Jon his brother even after learning his true heritage. He also considers Venom as much a part of the family as anyone else.
  • Robb's narration also makes it clear that even with Jon now on the Lannisters' small council, everyone in the family is united in firmly squashing any rumors that he's a traitor.
• Roslin also merged with a symbiote, specifically Venom's mate. The two bonded pairs are shown to be quite happy with the arrangement.

A Web of Lies

• Petyr, Miles and Gwen have been taken into Jon and Natasha's household as squires and a handmaiden, partially to make sure Cersei or someone else doesn't try to plant spies into those roles, but also for their own safety. Not to mention it's similar to how Tony took Jon under his wing. Jon even wonders out loud when he and Nat became parents of three.
  • Jiffsun takes a moment during the Small Council meeting to thank Jon for making Miles his squire.
• For all of his less admirable qualities, Pycelle sounds genuinely sympathetic to Otto Octavius' reasons for ending his Maester studies and returning to his family duty.
• Adrian strikes up a genuine friendship with Yoren while they're traveling to the Wall, to the point that when Ultron/Littlefinger shows up to forcibly recruit Adrian into his forces, Adrian risks his ire to beg for Yoren's life.
• Pepper gets Mystique to let Arya go back to Westeros so she can meet her family again, and is fiercely protective of Jon, intending to keep him well away from the Blackfyres.
• Jaime has changed much, showing great distress at Bran's decaying health and worrying for what might happen to him and the others if he's sent away.
  • Now that he knows the reason why Tyrion (and the rest of his family) apparently wrote him off, Jaime's a lot less distressed, too. He idly imagines what his little brother would say and think in these situations, and he deeply wishes they will see each other again.
    Jaime: You always thought I could be better, brother, said that if I only got away from the people that drove me towards my worst impulses, then I could become the man I always wanted to be. And as always... you were right.
• It turns out The Fantastic Four went with Bruce on his trip to Valyria to look for help for Brienne. But they got separated after Bruce got his Hulk Powers. So, on their reunion in Mereen, Bruce breaks all protocol and runs up to hug Susun in joy of reuniting with his best friends.
• When Benjen reveals his rocky form, he's clearly waiting for the horrified screams of people. When no one reacts with more than mild surprise, Ben looks ready to cry at finally not being seen as a monster.
• How Otto met his wife Rosalie: she had run away from her family to study in the Citadel, disguised as a bastard noble son. Otto saw through her disguise... and chose to help her with the charade, no strings attached. This led to both of them becoming friends, and eventually lovers.
• When Tony expresses his doubts regarding Tommen's ability to rule without getting "confused", Sam immediately and angrily defends the boy-king as a kind-hearted kid who just deserves a chance to prove himself.
• Thor is overjoyed to be reunited with Steve, who formerly was his comrade in repelling the Others from Westeros. And when he lays eyes upon Tony — who's apparently an Identical Grandson to Bran the Builder, another comrade in arms of the god — he hugs the engineer with all his might.