Heartwarming / Team Fortress 2

"Ah, ma petite chou-fleur."

It may be a war-themed hat simulator filled with goofy violence and over-the-top physics, but it's also about teamwork.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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Official Videos

• In "Meet the Spy", there's something sweet about the RED Spy shifting through the photos of him acquainting himself with the BLU Scout's mother to find a rather sweet one of them Holding Hands and putting it in his pocket with a genuinely fond smile on his face.
  RED Spy: Ah, my petite chou-fleur.
  • What makes that moment even sweeter is that of all pictures he could've kept, he chose the tamest one of the bunch; this in turn proves that he didn't just seduce her to spite the BLU Scout, but that he is genuinely in a romantic relationship with her.
    • Combining with Fridge Brilliance, his reaction as the BLU Scout may have been a combination of keeping in character and his own outrage over his lady love being photographed. Or even a genuine shock over getting caught.
    • Even more Fridge Brilliance: When it cuts to the logo, he is heard stabbing BLU Soldier and Heavy multiple times. Seems a bit odd for quick, efficient Spy... Unless he was pissed off at them for ogling the pictures of her earlier.
    • What could be much more Fridge Brilliance is while we see the RED Spy killing multiple mercs on screen, we don't see him killing BLU Scout at all. And judging by the fact that RED Spy disguised as the BLU Scout, it is possible that he may have spared the BLU Scout on behalf of him being his actual son, kinda like this fanmade video for example.
• Neat little background detail in "Meet The Medic": When Heavy's on the operating table, look towards the back. Sasha gets her own gurney!
  • Just the fact that Medic's not as grumpy as he usually seems is heartwarming on its own. And between the video and the outtakes, the sense that they really wanted to show that he's trying to improve his teammates' lives and keep them safe is awesome.
    • In addition, the fact that Heavy and Medic are so relaxed, happy, and trusting with each other, even as Medic gives Heavy information that the latter could use to ruin his life and Heavy lets Medic muck around in his organs. It's so sweet that even in the middle of a war-zone, deep and true bonds like that can form and flourish.
• At the start of "Meet the Medic", a badly injured scout and a wheelchair-bound Demoman are trying to make a run for it. It seems like the Scout should still be faster and likely able to run ahead to safety, but he's sticking with the Demoman and urging him on.
• A outtake of "Meet The Sandvich" had Heavy beating Soldier to death. Somehow hearing SCOUT of all people plead with Heavy to stop killing Soldier is this and Tear Jerker.
• An outtake of "Meet The Medic" had the Soldier holding a dying Sniper's hand... before they both get run over by the Medic's train.
• So, the Pyro. Yes, they may be a killing machine that burns everything in sight...but all they want to do is spread happy rainbows to all of their friends! That's really sweet! (But also scary.)
• In "Expiration Date", when it looks like the Team has less than three days to live, Spy tries to set up a bucket list so everyone's greatest desire can be fulfilled before they die.
  • Even though everyone likely has their own dying wish^note  nobody disagrees with Scout when he confirms that he collected everyone's requests, all of them are willing to drop them to help Scout learn how to woo Miss Pauling.
  • Soldier gets his granted: He wants the bucket.
  • A brief one, but when Spy mockingly jokes about Scout's failure to ask out Miss Pauling at the beginning, Scout is defensive at first, but he does chuckle a bit, signifying that the group regularly make jokes at each other's expense and do see the humor in it, which is always nice.
  • Later Spy agrees to spend his final hours training Scout in the art of seduction so Scout can go on a date with Miss Pauling, despite what a Jerkass Scout is to him. And the other team members chip in.
    • With knowledge of the webcomic in mind, Spy chooses to spend his final hours bonding with his son and helping him get a date.
    • Not to mention how the Scout does genuinely like Miss Pauling, even going so far as to swallow his pride to ask Spy for help, as mentioned above.
    • Plus, despite their mutual loathing, Spy actually stops Scout during the big fight at the end, encouraging him to try and salvage what remains of the horrendously botched date attempt while the rest of the team fend off the bread monster.
    • And before that, despite calling Scout a failure and Scout proceeding to rant at him, Spy points at his watch to remind Scout that he's running out of time to go ask Pauling out. And then joins Demo and Soldier to watch how it goes. It seems that Spy can't help looking out for his teammates.
    • When Spy reassured Scout that the date seemed to be going well, he wasn't lying; while he's watching Scout through the monitors, he's actually nodding in approval at Scout's approach.
    • After Miss Pauling asks Scout for another date, Soldier can be seen in the background smiling when Scout agrees.
    • Scout and Spy's interactions can be seen in an even sweeter light after the comics reveal that the Spy is actually Scout's father, and the entire time he was helping his son get a date. The fact that this implies that the Spy approves of Miss Pauling as well is even better.
  • Despite their imminent deaths, the Medic and Engineer don't decide to spend their last hours screwing around. Instead, they devote all their time to finding a cure.
  • A very brief one, at the start when the Engineer asks if anyone had anything they wanted to do before they died, viewers might spot Heavy in the background eating his sandvich, who gives a nonchalant shrug, as if saying 'nah, not really, I'm pretty happy with how things are'. It's also worth noting that during Spy's speech before drawing cards from the bucket, Heavy seems almost asleep. It's nice to know that the didn't have any outstanding dreams yet to be achieved, he considered his overall life pretty solidly spent to the point that, when faced with irreversible death, he couldn't think of anything he still needed to do.
  • Just how happy Soldier sounds when delivering the following line:
  Soldier: (laughs) I teleported bread!
• In the "Mann vs. Machine" video, Medic gently pets one of his doves before joining his teammates.
  • The video also shows the RED and BLU teams joining forces and fighting together against a common enemy.
• In the "Sound of Medicine" video, when Medic is about to fire up his shield and orders everyone to get behind him, Heavy seems to be shielding Scout with his body.
  • At the end, as they walk behind Medic's shield, Sniper gives Scout a fist bump.

Community-Created Content

• Any video where the RED's and BLU's team up.
• Perhaps the greatest example of this comes from outside the realm of the game. Valve released something called the Golden Wrench: an update to the Engineer class that turns opponents into gold statues with a killing blow. The catch was that only 100 were released, making it a very special weapon indeed. Then something unprecedented happened...a player named WiNGSPANTT of Top Tier Tactics recruited fellow recipients of the wrench into a special charity event called "Golden Charity". On August 31st, they sacrificed their Golden Wrenches in the name of the Child's Play Charity organization; the more money donated, the more wrenches were destroyed. To see something so base-breaking be turned into a Heartwarming Moment for the community is beautiful indeed. Valve put it best in their post on the subject...
  The TF2 team knew that the Golden Wrench event would be controversial — an experiment in the distribution of an ultra-rare item. We never imagined that it would empower a small group of players to benefit a much vaster group of children in need. We are constantly shocked and impressed by the creativity of the Team Fortress 2 community, but today we are humbled.
  • Valve made their own contributions to the event. One of the participants had his account hacked and his wrench destroyed prematurely. Valve normally does not replace items that were destroyed via account hijacking, but made an exception to their policy for this event and created a 101th wrench for the unfortunate player. The wrench was later destroyed along with the others for the charity.
  • Like the above, Golden Wrench owner #86, BIG_mama, destroyed hers as part of a donation fund toward the Japanese tsunami and earthquakes.
• Zero To Hero: The Jump Academy video, captures the whole concept, of teaching others, perfectly.
• On a smaller scale, in the fan-made video Dance Fortress 2, after the Soldier and Scout spend the majority of the video fighting each other, a BLU Spy appears behind the Soldier and the Scout immediately throws the Soldier his rocket launcher and points out the Spy behind him. They may be assholes to one another, but each respective team is still loyal to the end.
• Charlie Chaplin's speech from The Great Dictator done in TF2. It can resonate with gamers more than the original speech.
• Ballad of the Gibus. Everyone who was once a bad Spy player can easily relate to this one.
• In the video No One Likes the Scout, Scout is about to commit suicide because everyone is making fun of him, but then Sniper comes to give him a hug and show that he at least cares.
• Together. It's always nice to see some peaceful, relaxing TF2 videos.
• The ending of Meet the Family, made especially sweeter given The Reveal in-universe that Spy is Scout's dad.
• While also a Tear Jerker in the end, this short film of an Engineer and his (Level 1) Sentry will touch hearts. (Oh, and it also won Best Overall in the 2012 Saxxy Awards. For good reason).
• Never mind he isn't like this, but if you're not laughing from Medic singing in Pinkie Pie's voice (or even then), this Medicinal Smile song can be just as heartwarming as the original.
• While the first part is a Tear Jerker, the ending of this will touch you.
• While the audio is taken from two grumps arguing over a broken videogame, the way Heavy (as Jon) and Scout (as Arin) are animated in this beautiful little moment, plus a healthy dose of Awesome Music from Inception, creates a very heartwarming moment between Heavy and Scout:
  Heavy: (as Jon) You can give up now, or you can beat it out, because I certainly can't do it without you, and I know you can't do it without me!
• "Doktor Is Credit To Team". Awwww.
• "Tip of the Hats". This annual charity stream event is the biggest organised TF2 event every year, drawing over 10,000 viewers on Twitch, and involves pretty much every part of the Team Fortress 2 community. Over the course of a 2-day stream, every part of the TF2 community (pubbers, YouTubers, competitive players, SFM artists, jumpers, BBallers, traders, etc.) gather to raise money for One Step Camp, a program by Children's Oncology Services dedicated to providing children with cancer a fun summer camp experience. With each year, the viewership and the donations get bigger and bigger, with TotH 2015 raising over 214,000 USD, an enormous sum which was raised solely by the TF2 community and was donated in entirety to the charity. It's a Tear Jerker and a Heartwarming Moment combined with a Moment of Awesome for the community.
• Various animators celebrated the late Kitty0706's work by reanimating Team Fabulous 2. The video itself is quite the labor of love, and it speaks volumes about the TF2 community.
• Keep Going, Buddy, an animation by Poky, is initially quite a Tear Jerker, with RED Scout undergoing a Despair Event Horizon, struggling to find a reason to keep living with the never ending cycle he's going through in the war between the RED and BLU teams. Though it quickly crosses into heartwarming once he finds a BLU Engineer that's willing to hang out with him (Albeit also with bit of Nightmare Fuel as well when the two snap from being mistreated by their respective Soldier), but the ending portion sells it. After both teams find out the truth about the two hanging out, what is their response? Have a moment of ceasefire, and in a moment of tension when the two are confronted, choose a moment of peace and enjoyment with everyone on both sides taking part in the Kazotsky Kick dance, with both RED Scout and BLU Engineer finally able to enjoy the time they have.
• Twist of Fate, starts off with Bob, an overweight BLU Pyro who runs a Café going to the gym in order to get into shape and meets and befriends Jerome and Maxim; a buff Demoman and Heavy duo who through positive reinforcement and exercise over the course of thirty months helps Bob get into shape and become fast friends the very moment they began training. The heartwarming part comes in that Jerome, Maxim, and the RED Spy Body-Builder completely avert the Jerk Jock stereotypes most Body-Builders are often popularly portrayed in Media as being.
• It's Over(watch). While even the video's creator admits it's one big meme in the wake of Overwatch shutting down, there is still an oddly bittersweet tone to both the video and its connotations. Overwatch lasted six years of endless controversy before it was finally killed off for the second. Team Fortress 2, fifteen years later, is still kicking. Yes, it's plagued with bots. Yes, Valve has essentially abandoned the game outside of adding more hats. But through all of the hardships, TF2 has outlasted what was arguably its main rival. It has survived, with its community alongside it. All of that, even for the sake of a joke, makes the Engineer's smile at the end of the video seem...genuine.
• Obnoxious_and_horny_red_team_go_to_Popeyes_and_fight_android_21.lol is a standard Smexual for the most of it, but surprisingly throws in a touching moment at the near end: despite all the things Android 21 did to the team, including accidentally destroying the entire Popeyes, Soldier decides to spare her at the end, because in his own words, he "refuses to kill anyone who is a victim of buttsex".

The Game Itself

• The Sam & Max: Freelance Police themed items were released because the Telltale people became good friends of the Valve people after 2010 TF2 Studio Rumble. According to Telltale, the conversation for putting in the items were among the lines of:
  Telltale: Hey wouldn't this be AWESOME?
  Valve: YEAH!
• One of the Heavy's voice lines, while both badass and often made fun of, can also show genuine care on the Heavy's part. If you call for a medic while already being healed and simultaneously being shot at, the Heavy may shout "GET BEHIND ME, DOCTOR!", opting to take the bullets for the Medic. He really cares for that man.
  • Sometimes other players also get in on this, choosing to jump in front of rockets, sentries or other threats so that the Medic may live. Especially poignant in Arena mode, where there is no respawning and the Medic is the most vital member of the team. Some even compliment Medics over the mic instead of just using the voice command for "Thanks!".
  • Speaking of voice commands, the ones used when a Medic is healing. You can tell by the tone that the characters do appreciate it. Same goes with characters using teleporters. When these are coming from the Scout and Soldier it means a lot more than you would normally think.
    The Soldier: You deserve a medal Doc.
    • And the voice responses between Soldier and Demoman referencing their falling out. While most are insults, the others show that they still respect each other.
      Soldier: You were good son, real good; maybe even the best.
      Demoman (while drunk): ...I love you man...
• Miss Pauling apparently gave a free "open any crate" key to every player to alleviate the "Paying for Festive Keys" part of the Australian Christmas update.
• If we could be serious for a moment... Selling in-game hats for charity. THANK YOU.
  • Anyone who buys the Magnanimous Monarch. Spending 100 dollars on an in-game hat so that the money can go to charity.
  • It gets even better.
    Wow. Seriously, people, WOW. We knew you had it in you, but we're still amazed you've raised over $300,000 so far.
    Take a BOW, TF2 community — because that is an incredible, frankly astounding, amount of money from a dedicated number of gamers, to one heck of a lot of people in some real need right now. Anytime someone gives you guff about something negative in gaming, you go ahead and point them to this post, because here's some late-breaking damn news: they are wrong and gamers are generous and awesome.
  • Better still.
    Nice work, everyone! We're excited to share that, thanks to the generosity of the TF community, in two short weeks we managed to collect $430,543.65 for the Japanese disaster relief fund. It's been inspiring to watch gamers around the world come together for such a worthy cause.
  • Another charity item is the Virtual Viewfinder. The description is both heartwarming and funny.
    Get a migraine for charity. (99 percent of community revenue goes to fund Special Effect, a charity working to help disabled players get back into the game.)
• Robin Walker frequently plays charity matches of Team Fortress 2 to raise funds for Penny Arcade's Child's Play fund (which donates games for children to play while they're hospitalized). Other frequent participants include Notch, creator of Minecraft, Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley of the Yogscast, and several of the hosts of Kritzkast, the official TF2 podcast.
• Some of the lines from the Administrator after you defend Mann Co. from the robots make her sound genuinely proud of the mercs-probably a first for her.
  • On the topic of Mann Vs Machine: join a server. Play as Medic. Even if you're not very good at it, you'll still probably save the team a couple times. Prepare to be flooded with "you are credit to team" and "you're the best medic ever" from your teammates.
  • Actually, do anything good on any map of Mann vs Machine. Heal your teammates, stop waves, offer assistance to struggling or players in need of help, stop tanks or robots before they reach the pit or are about to drop the bomb in, or just save your team from losing the wave. Chances are, you'll be thanked and told you are a true credit to the team.
  • It's sort of a double moment as prior to the updates the medic was largely considered The Load, as his healing ability could rarely exceed the damage taken by bots and dispensers could heal multiple people at once. Plus any healing benefits he could provide usually weren't worth the loss of an additional heavy hitting weapon at higher difficulties. With the current buffs, the medic is awesome again, finally able to be a credit to his team by blocking incoming fire, resurrecting the dead, and various other benefits. It's touching to see Heavy and medic together again.
• The High-Five taunt. A teammate offering a high-five before or after an especially difficult fight is an awesome way of showing how much they trust you. Plus, some of the responses are pretty heartwarming. The Pyro in particular looks adorable when giggling and jumping after getting their high-five, or when crossing their arms trying to seem tough.
• It is now possible to do the partner taunt with a player from the opposing team. If someone is posing with the taunt (high-five, square dance, a flip etc.), many people stop shooting at them and just play along. The ultimate heartwarming taunt is the Conga or Kazotsky Kick - the entire server may abandon the objective so everyone can dance and have fun, with REDs letting BLUs capture points just to get more time.
• The "Pocket Class" items. They're small dolls made to look like a certain class, such as Engineer's Pocket Pyro or Medic's Pocket Heavy. The owner of the doll really does show his thanks for the class the doll is based off of.
  • Well, unless you're Sniper or Engineer. Though the Itsy Bitsy Spyer is a Voodoo Doll...
  • While not a class in the game, Spy has the Pocket Momma, a doll of the opposing Scout's Ma. It shows that, even when he's working, she is always close to his heart. Or at least where the heart typically is in fiction.
  • And now with the Rainy Day Collection, we finally have the Pocket Pauling. Looks like Scout really holds a soft spot for Miss Pauling after all.
• Two things about the Invasion update: One, the propaganda posters imply that RED and BLU have united together outside of fighting robots to declare war on the aliens (or possibly that chronologically, Mann vs Machine is actually the "second" time they've united against an outside threat for the sake of their jobs and the world). Another is a parody of the famous WW2 "Loose Talk Can Cost Lives◊" poster, but with Scout and Miss Pauling cuddling adorably in place of the army officer and his girl. (And an alien in a diving helmet reading the news.)
• Some of the things the mercs say when you use the "Good Job!" voice command are pretty sweet. Like Scout's "That was all you!", Spy's "You have done well.", or Medic's "Amazing, kamerad!"
• Due to a glitch in the game, if a teammate gets Revenge with an assist kill, the player doing the killing will say the Bond One-Liner. One could interpret this as a class (or better yet, a character) standing up for their fellow man.
• The Meet Your Match update added rare voice lines for the beginning of casual and competitive games that are longer and more lighthearted than most voice responses. Aping on Overwatch's Lighter and Softer pre-game lines? Maybe, but it's hard not to feel good when the mercenaries genuinely get along.
  Scout: Go team, everybody! Six trained killers, am I right? Best of da best! And best friends. We don't say it a lot, or at all, but we're all feelin' it here. In our hearts, you know? The frien-the friendship.
  Soldier: Remember men, "the flag was still there"! And if a piece of fabric can do it, you daisies can do it! Hang in there!"
  Heavy: We will crush them! And then Scout can clean up mess after.
  Engineer: Son, I never said this to anybody before, but I am damn proud of you!
  Sniper: Job done! Let's hit the bar!
• The March 28th Competitive Update added to the Axtinguisher an attribute with the title "Sketchek's Bequest," a reference to this video, the last upload on the channel of a skilled Pyro main that left due to a seemingly terminal illness.
  • At least, it was heartwarming until Sketchek publicly confessed to having faked his illness in February 2019. While the attribute remains, the reference to Sketchek was quietly removed shortly afterwards.
• On May 1st 2020, eighteen days after the passing of Soldier's voice actor Rick May, Valve released a patch that added statues of the Soldier to various different◊ maps in tribute◊ for the month of May.
  • A later patch made the statue on the map cp_granary permanent. Keep in mind that cp_granary is where Meet the Soldier takes place.

Comics and Other Supplemental Material

• From the "WAR!" Soldier vs. Demoman update comic, we have the BLU Soldier initially refusing to kill his best friend, the RED Demoman, even after the Administrator made it very clear that they'd kill him if he refused.
  Soldier: "Then I guess you'd better take me out to that gravel pit and shoot me, lady. 'Cause if you ever ask me to kill my best friend again, I will put my boot so far up your ass it will be on the news!"
  • And then, after they fake the Demo agreeing to kill him for weapons:
    Soldier: "Ahhhh, but dammit, it doesn't matter what he said in that weird robot voice I've never heard him talk in before. Once you've taken a man out for whiskey and ribs... then fought him... then fought the police with him... Well, you have forged a friendship thicker than any soup you can buy. That's not girl talk either. That is just facts."
    • Let us stress the fact that, up until his Berserk Button was pushed, THE SOLDIER of all people, was willing to DIE rather than kill his best friend. The command angers him so much that he stomps his barricade into splinters. Now that is true friendship.
    • Goes for both of them, really. For them to fight, one needs to be Possessed, and the other needs his Berserk Button smashed with a sledgehammer.
  • There are also some unused bits of audio from the update which show that even though they're forced to fight, they're still good friends.
    Demoman: DOMINATED! But yer a good man and I love ya.
    Soldier: DOMINATED! I cherish these moments we spend together.
• Also in the WAR! comic. The Demoman sits down to have tea with his blind mother, and they both briefly talk about how they miss his father every day.
• Robin Walker giving a heartfelt speech thanking id Software for pretty much everything ever in regards to codifying the FPS genre of games.
• In the Halloween comic, a kid trick-or-treating as Saxton Hale comes up to Heavy and Heavy sneers at the idea of spending the money he works so hard to earn for his family on some kid's candy, then proceeds to call the kid fat. When the kid starts crying, Heavy realizes how much he hates being called fat, asks him to stop crying, and gives him $7,000. Also the fact that the RED Soldier, of all people, is the one taking the three kids trick-or-treating in the first place!
  • Also, When Heavy, Spy, and Scout answer the door. Two of them regard the kids with contempt, but the Scout actually gets down to eye level with one of the kids, shows him his bat, and then gives the kid a molar he beat out of a guy while using said bat. Had a very "Cool Big Brother" vibe to it.
  • If the Soldier's line about being on the lam with the children for four days is indeed just a attempt to get some candy out of the team, then it's quite touching to see the merciless military man putting on a goofy costume and taking some kids trick or treating with him.
• Some of Valve's Christmas cards are both heartwarming and hilarious. Special mention goes to the BLU Medic presenting a huge multilayer sandwich to a delighted Heavy and the Pyro getting excited over receiving coal as gift ^note  Becomes more heartwarming when you realize that coal is flammable (so essentially fuel for Pyro) . Also, RED Heavy presenting RED Engineer with a giftwrapped BLU Spy, saying "Engineer is credit to team!", and even the BLU Sniper giving the RED Scout a hand-knit sweater (albeit one with a target on it.)
• In "True Meaning," Engineer reading the story of Australian Christmas to Pyro, who is watching with rapt attention. The friendships between teammates can often be quite sweet.
  • Part 2 features "Old Nick", a figure born of Australian Christmas who kidnaps children. It shows the mercenaries engage in actual teamwork for once, which is rare in the supplementary material, especially against an enemy other than the opposing team. The Spy teaches some random kid how to stab him in the neck. Their conversation afterward boils down to "Were you afraid?" "Yep." "Are you still afraid?" "Nah."
    • Even more heartwarming is the Scout and Soldier fighting against Old Nick. They only have a few Christmas items to use as weapons, but they're effectively risking their own lives in an attempt to stop him from kidnapping the children.
    • And, there's Spy giving the kid a piggyback ride at the end. Spy being friendly with a small child is especially heartwarming, even if it is just after he trained the child to kill a Bad Santa.
  • In a strange sort of way, Scout's "Single Mothers/Everyone Else" lines for the mall Santa is this... as this would imply that either A) they were set up and he's just enforcing them (the least heartwarming possibility), B) He set them up just to help single mothers make sure their kids get to see Santa (with the "pretty single mom" comment being an added compliment for good measure), or C) another play on Scout's Casanova Wannabe tendencies (and even then, it says something that his "type" is "has a kid").
  • To make point B even more plausible and heartwarming—Scout's own Ma was a single mother to a lot of boys. He would know firsthand how difficult the holidays could be for that kind of family situation, and so may very well have set up a seperate, emptier line to make sure nobody got left out.
• In "Blood Brothers", Barnabus Hale shows that true men can at least mourn.
  • It's also heartwarming to see Redmond and Blutarch not arguing for once. Even if they are discussing potential incestuous mpreg.
• In "Doom-Mates", Merasmus proclaims that he's going to murder everyone Soldier cares about. The scene switches to Soldier explaining why he's murdering them all to Scout and Spy. This basically means that Soldier views all of his teammates as his best friends!
• In the "Mann vs. Machine" trailer, the BLU Medic is seen petting one of his doves reassuringly before going out to war.
  • The sheer fact that RED and BLU are finally getting along in the trailer is heartwarming as well. Especially the grins Heavy, Soldier, and Demoman give each other when they realize the former isn't going to do them any harm.
    • Heck, Soldier and Demoman getting along at all, considering the events of WAR! (Even if it was the other team's Demoman.)
    • Even better; Valve added some scrapped files from the War update to the game for their robotic counterparts. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown. All that we know is that it shows just how close they were.
• In "Shadow Boxers", Miss Pauling wants to be taken to Gray Mann's hideout by the Soldier. Initially, everyone else doubts the Soldier actually knows what he's talking about and decide to head home. However, the Heavy stays behind and agrees to go with both of them. Why? Because he legitimately doesn't want Miss Pauling to get hurt.
  Heavy: If Miss Pauling goes, I go.
• "Ring of Fired"
  • In an oddly sweet turn of events, it's revealed Gray Mann has a young daughter. Even assuming the worst, they can still be seen celebrating together in "Ring of Fired", and there's nothing stating that Gray took the company back afterward.
  • Just how happy everyone is to be reunited is sweet to see. The panels where Soldier isn't smiling can be counted on one hand, Pyro comes running the second they see Soldier and Miss Pauling's beacon fire, and Demo is ecstatic to be offered his job back, even though he doesn't know what it's even going to entail, outside of Putting the Band Back Together.
    • In a roundabout way, seeing how depressed Demo is after losing his job—you can tell just how much the MannCo team meant to him. When there's a knock at the door and his Mum says it might be a job calling, Demoman responds that he doesn't want any other job.
    • After Miss Pauling offers him his job back, Demo perks right up—his mother, in the background, is similarly ecstatic to see her son back on his feet.
  • Demoman's dialogue in the car implies that he's kept in touch with Medic, if even just enough to know he has a new job.
  • Also, seeing Pyro in the veterinarian's office playing with a Dalmatian puppy is adorable, as well as a Funny Background Event.
  • Soldier mentions off-handedly at one point that Scout helped him move. Okay, it was out of his castle and into a box, but still.
• Medic seems to be adept with invoking this and Nightmare Fuel simultaneously. Granted, with the Second Opinion equipped, his "darker" side is telling him to kill his friends...but notice how he went from "TEEEEEAM!" when the game first started, to "my friends" in November 1972-ish in the storyline. Looks like he might have more of a heart than the one sitting in his fridge.
• "Unhappy Returns"
  • Scout goes to Spy for help getting his savings out of the Teufort bank, since Soldier broke his arms and he can't get it himself. Spy initially refuses, but changes his tune when Scout frets about how broken up his mother will be when she finds out he lost the savings.
    • To elaborate: Scout went to Spy for help, and looked truly betrayed when Spy essentially told him "tough shit," and seemed more worried about how losing the money would affect his mother than it would him. In fact, he referred to the money as "our savings," as in his and his mother's. He really loves his mother, as does the Spy, hence why he changed his mind.
  • Soldier worries about everyone thinking he's a civilian while in disguise, and Demo reminds him that that's the POINT of a disguise. Soldier, in a rare moment of vulnerability, then asks Demo if he'll know he's not REALLY a civilian, and Demo reassures him. This especially becomes important if you remember the RED Soldier's whole reason for leading the charge in the WAR! Update in the first place: the Demoman (or so he thought) called him a civilian.
  • Scout is studying piles of law books, since the last public defender they had didn't work out, and it's clear that he wants BOTH of them to walk out of there.
  • There's a quick scene where Pyro lights a few textbooks on fire to make a bunch of children happy. It's clear he just likes spreading happiness, even if his way of going about it is bizarre.
  • After the end, an epilogue appears, with a mysterious man in a large coat walking through a snowstorm in the mountains. As it turns out, it's the Heavy! Not just the Heavy; the Heavy gathering food and other resources from an old woman for his family in the worst snowstorm she's ever seen; she wasn't even expecting him. It's moments like these where you remember the Heavy is more than just a giant Russian brute with broken English.
• "A Cold Day In Hell"
  • Scout has a "nightmare" that the Spy is his father—a baby Scout toddles along while his mother and Spy gaze lovingly at each other in the background. Given the realistic framing of the image, coupled with what we find out later, it's possible this is a repressed memory of Scout's, meaning Spy came back to check on his son at least once.
    • In the flashback, baby Scout is wearing a shirt with a picture of France on the front. Either Spy brought it to him as an indirect way of sharing the boy's heritage, or Scout's Ma put it on the baby because she knew Spy would appreciate it when he came over. Aww.
  • Scout is offered sex by Zhanna, who hasn't seen a man in 20 years. He is very close to thinking about it, but only when he imagines Miss Pauling telling him that she finds what Scout was doing, aka waiting it out, sexier than anything, does he decline having sex. Let me repeat that: Scout DECLINED SEX just for Miss Pauling. If that doesn't say anything about Scout's love for Miss Pauling possibly being more than skin deep, NOTHING will! To reiterate, Scout's plan to get with Miss Pauling is to politely wait for an indefinite amount of time.
  • The reason Heavy didn't want to rejoin with the mercs was that he was looking over his sisters and mother. They've been stuck in the mountains to hide from the KGB because of Heavy's family escaping the gulags (and burning them down). The Heavy is actually very overprotective, and his sisters wish to finally leave. Heavy wanted to know only one thing: if they were making the KGB agents suffer horrible deaths. When getting that confirmation, Heavy decides that his younger sisters are all grown up and decides to come with the mercs; meaning that his sisters and mother can finally go somewhere they WANT to be in peace. TL;DR: Heavy is an incredibly overprotective family man, and for that, he's awesome.
    • "Mama, you are coming with us. And we are never eating bear meat again."
    • This also makes Heavy's protectiveness of Medic ("GET BEHIND ME, DOCTOR!") even more Heartwarming in Hindsight when you realize that he's extending to Medic the very same Big Brother Instinct that he shows to his family.
  • On the flipside, Zhanna seems to hit it off pretty well with the Soldier. They can be seen feeding each other in the background and Soldier even offers to take Zhanna back to America with him.
  • Let that sink in: the Soldier, who's patriotic to the point of parody and very paranoid about everything communist, has such a good chemistry with Zhanna that he instantly falls in love with a Soviet woman.
  • When it looks like a bear hit Scout hard enough to send his bones flying, Soldier is horrified (and then offers to hold Scout's guts in while screaming to the heavens). Scout then assures him he's fine, it was just the Amelia Earhart remains that were still in the hot dog costume he was wearing.
  • A minor one, but when Scout makes a hot dog pun before preparing to fight a bear, Soldier compliments him on the joke.
    Scout: "Come get your hot dog, pal... cuz I am gonna relish this!"
    Soldier: "Good one, son."
    Scout: "Thanks, Soldier."
  • Soldier referring to the Heavy as his friend while yelling to the "communist listening devices".
• "Blood in the Water"
  • In a flashback, Miss Pauling meets Helen (The Administrator) in a back alley for an update on the current mission. She hasn't seen her employer in six months, and something seems off about her behavior, causing her to ask if Helen's alright. Helen snaps at her, saying there's no time to pretend to be friends, and she needs to shut up. After a Beat panel, where Pauling looks concerned, possibly sad upon hearing this, Helen has a surprising Pet the Dog moment:
    Helen: [sigh] "I apologize. You've done well. And I'm...proud of you."
  • Turns out Soldier and Zhanna's relationship is not just a fling. Soldier offers Zhanna a string of severed ears as an engagement gift. He apologizes about it only having 2 ears on it and promises to get her more. She's thrilled and accepts, tackling Soldier to the ground and giving him a smooch. Look at the huge smile on Soldier's face!
  • A little later, Soldier goes to snap an Australian sailor's neck. Zhanna comes up from behind, wraps her arms around him, and helps. "Adorable" is not a word you would attach to either of them individually, but together, they are frickin' adorable!
  • Thinking back to their meeting, and you remember what a complete nutter Soldier can be, as well as being kind of stupid. Then you remember how protective Heavy is of his own family. And then you think "Hell, Soldier's got to have something going for him if Heavy's allowing this." And he does. He really is a brave, strong, loyal friend.
    • Unfortunately he didn't know about their relationship until their eventual reunion, and he is clearly NOT happy about it.
  • Sniper running back to save his dad, even though it's suicide and he's a total arsehole.
    "It don't matter. He's my dad."
• "Old Wounds."
  • Sniper, after being killed, reunites with his adoptive parents in "God's Secret Base, Heaven." Sniper had a strained relationship with his parents due to his career choice, and now they not only affirm they love him, they encourage him in his path. His mother tells him a lot more rotten people need killing and his father adds "A professional wouldn't quit while there's work to be done. And you are a professional, son. Now get back there and give 'em Hell."
    • Even more heartwarming when you remember that in Meet the Sniper his father thinks he is just a crazy gunman, and doesn't see the difference between this and being an assassin.
    • Adding on to this is Sniper's Badass Boast shortly thereafter. "[This] means I'm the most dangerous bloody man on this island. I know what's waiting for me when I kark it. I ain't afraid to die."
    • While it's possible that Sniper's encounter with his parents was a hallucination, the possibility that it's NOT is Sweet Dreams Fuel, and not just for him. If Sniper, one of the coldest classes in the game could make it into heaven, it stands to reason that the other mercs might just end up there too when they die. The implications that a) despite their sociopathic nature, the mercs are still genuinely good people at heart, b) Team Fortress heaven is that forgiving, c) Heavy's family might be reunited someday, and d) Long after their adventures are over, there's a possibility that this now close-knit band of brothers might be able to kick back in the afterlife together, all are fairly pleasant considering how much the Team Fortress world is is a bit of a crapsack.
  • Medic brought the Sniper back to life. Considering how Medic can sometimes be portrayed as a Dr. Jerk in-game, the fact that he was willing to bring a teammate back to life is pretty heartwarming in this regard.
    • Adding to this, Medic reveals that he was happy to see Sniper again. Notice how in-game and out, he's been referring to them more and more as "my friends," and showing concern when they die. Hurray for Character Development!
  • When the Classic Heavy takes his frustrations out on Archimedes, Medic immediately drops everything he's doing and works to revive his beloved dove. Just look at that sheer elation on his face when he succeeds. Even psychopathic doctors have loved ones.
  • Speaking of Classic Heavy hurting Archimedes, when that happens and Medic rushes to his precious bird, the Doctor asks Sniper to loan him blood, the latter saying that he doesn't have "pigeon blood." Notice how there's no scorn, no yelling at the Medic, no looking at him like he's crazy. In fact his face almost looks concerned, as if saying "I want to help but I don't think I can."
  • Pyro quietly comforting Demo while he's hallucinating and going through toxic shock. Admittedly, only because he's ingested something he hasn't had in years: Normal food and water.
  • Zhanna and Soldier get some really adorable moments while saving each other's lives after being captured and tortured. Soldier in particular comes across as, surprisingly enough, very sweet when he realizes how much blood Zhanna lost by cutting her hand off to save him, attempting to sterilize her hand, and tearing off a sleeve from his shirt to use as a tourniquet. He also assures her her new disfigurement doesn't make her any less ravishing. Awww.
    Zhanna: (tearfully) "Now I am handless monster..."
    Soldier: "What? No! Son, you look ravishing! Do you hear me, you piece of garbage? You are ravishing! I did not know they stacked ravishing that high!"
    Zhanna: (hugging Soldier) "Awww. Zhanna's little maggot-bear. You are drill sergeant of my heart."
    Soldier (looking concerned): Sweetie, I could berate you with sweet nothings all day... but you are losing a lot of blood. Let me make you a tourniquet."
  • The writers seem to like giving Spy more and more of these as time goes on, and the trend continues here. He led Miss Pauling out of danger in the last comic, and tries to cheer her up when she starts crying in this comic, even offering her a joint suicide by way of cyanide tooth capsule, in case the Classic team tries to torture them. The Classic Spy overhears them and intervenes, though. The fact that Spy is on First-Name Basis with Heavy is also very sweet, especially when you consider how mean he is to enemy Heavies, and the fact that most of the characters only refer to each other by a class title, or a related nickname (like "Demo," or "Engie").
  • He even compliments Miss Pauling on a speech she gave to a dying Gray Mann, even if Gray Mann passed before she'd finished it.
  • All evidence points towards the Classic team being as closely-knit as the "new" Mercs have over the years. The Classic Heavy in particular seems to be A Father to His Men, to the point where he betrayed Gray Mann not only for his personal gain, but for the entire team. He also flies into a blind rage when he hears that Classic Pyro, Demo, and Spy have been killed by the TF2 team. Looks like the TF2 mercs aren't the only sadistic Band of Brothers in this story.
    • Broken by "The Naked And The Dead" however. While the classic Pyro, Demo, Spy, and possibly Sniper were going along with classic Heavy's plan, it is made clear that the classic Engineer, Soldier, and Scout (possibly Medic since he is not present) did not agree to this plan. Classic Heavy also threatens Classic Engineer when he questions him.
• "The Naked And The Dead"
  • Most of the cast dies at some point. They all recover, eventually, but the reactions of their teammates are beautiful. In fact, the entire comic is about how the nine mercs, the Administrator, Ms Pauling, Saxton Hale, Mags, and Zhanna all care about each other.
  • At the end of the previous comic, the main group had the blood drained out of them by robots. The Medic shows up and puts the blood back into their bodies, saving all of their lives.
  • Classic Heavy tells Heavy that he's heard a lot about our favorite Russian, and he has been looking forward to facing his successor. Well, where's he been hearing this from? The most likely source is Medic - he was presumably talking about how great his old friend is during his time with the Classic team.
  • When Medic is killed by the Classic Heavy, TF2 Heavy's response is to beat the everloving crap out of his counterpart, all while shouting "YOU KILLED DOCTOR!" Heavy may be a brute but there is no denying that he cares deeply about his team, even when you remember that Medic actually joined the Classic team for a bit.
  • The most heartbreaking death is when Scout dies. As he lies there dying, Spy is about to admit that he has something to tell Scout, then says he'll "be right back". Scout then appears to have a hallucination about Tom Jones showing up, telling Scout that he's his dad, and saying how proud of him he is as he cradles Scout's dying body... except it's not a hallucination. It's Spy in disguise. Instead of telling Scout the truth - that a man Scout hated was his father - Spy told him a lie that he would want to believe. The entire thing makes many of Spy's actions from earlier in the comics a lot more Heartwarming in Hindsight. Remember how he comforted the child that Old Nick tried to kidnap? How he gave Scout dating advice before their mutual (not-)death? Or how he dropped everything to help Scout get to his Tom Jones memorabilia? Spy might have separated himself from his son in the name of his job, but this update proves that he loves Scout, no matter what Scout thinks of him.
    • When Spy and Sniper find the dying Scout, Sniper just looks at Spy and says "Mate.'' and Spy looks very shaken. Which means that either Sniper figured out they were related or Spy told him.
    • And afterwards, their reactions to Scout coming back to life: Spy biting back tears (and dropping an f-bomb) and Sniper beaming with genuine relief.
    • What the disguised Spy tells the Scout before the latter succumbs to his wounds is one of the sweetest lines in the franchise:
      Spy: You're stronger than you'll ever know, Jeremy. I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you... son.
  • Not only did Scout somehow manage to get to Heaven, but when he gets there, God treats Scout like the superstar he thinks he is - even going along with Spy's Tom Jones lie. Heaven in the Team Fortress universe is not only real, but it's whatever the person who goes there wants it to be. God is perfectly willing to play to Scout's ego because that is what will make Scout eternally happy.
    • While Scout talking down God from destroying the Earth definitely feel more hilarious, there also exists a subtle hint of sweetness on Scout's end. Given his inferiority complex, he now has a position where a literal God happens to be/act like a fanboy to him, and doesn't even use it to take revenge on those who shunned or mocked him. It's a noticeably very sweet moment coming from our favorite Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Spy and Sniper sharing a cigarette after the latter saves the former's life. It's the little things.
    • Overall, it's great to see these once bitter rivals get along, even if it is Teeth-Clenched Teamwork. As of the sixth comic, both of them have seen each other at their most vulnerable (Sniper getting mistreated by his birth parents; Spy grieving for the dying Scout), and neither mocked or judged the other over it ^note unless you interpret Spy's pokerface of DONE as judgemental, that is.
  • There's a brief moment shared between the Classic Scout and Soldier, who apparently want to drop the entire thing and go back to their dream of running an orphanage together. Shame the Pyro ruins it... though the Classic mercs' statement about having "an endless supply of free children" did not point to something positive. But even in that sense, it still works with Pyro's mindset — especially with how it ambushes the Classic Mercs the moment it realizes they were presumably going to harm children.
  • After reuniting with the rest of the group, Scout foregoes his usual ego-driven bravado and tells Pauling he's glad she's okay. Then he hugs her.
  • Soldier and Zhanna are apparently planning to have kids! There's also the genuine joy with which Soldier addresses Heavy as "brother-in-law". Heavy is horrified that his sister is going to marry Soldier.
    • Soldier, being Soldier, proudly tells Heavy "You're going to be a grandfather!" after revealing he and Zhanna are together and want children. Maybe Soldier using the wrong word...or maybe, given the way Heavy protected and fed his family all those years, Zhanna may very well see him as both a big brother and a father figure, leading to Soldier's leap of logic.
  • The reveal that the reason Zhanna doesn't like Miss Pauling is because of how close she is with Soldier. Miss Pauling has the predictable reaction. Even so, Zhanna still agrees to help Miss Pauling with whatever's going on with the Administrator, as well.
  • The dramatic shot of Ms Pauling, the mercs (minus Engineer), Saxton, Mags, and Zhanna, standing triumphant over the Classic Heavy. "We're Team Fortress" indeed.
• You would not expect to find Zepheniah Mann on this page and, indeed, his last will and testament is a diatribe of curses he inflicts on the world in general and his sons in particular. Amidst all this, however, are the wishes made to his dearest maid, Elizabeth, and to his faithful aide, Barnabas Hale; the former shall be given his estate, along with all deeds and accounts, and the latter shall be given complete control over Mann and Sons Munitions Concern, all given in thanks for their services. The Scream Fortress 2013 event also implies that after originally trying to kill Gray at birth, his ghost now sees him as his favorite son (probably for being nowhere near as stupid as Redmond or Blutarch, but that's still a good reason).
• In "The Showdown", when faced with a trio of vicious guard dogs, Heavy befriends them by offering them food. They then proceed to help him slaughter some agents in his way, and he happily lets them eat the corpses, which is, well, morbid, but still sweet.

Other

• Search on YouTube for any video of the voice actors at a con or just out and about, and watch how willing they are to do the characters' voices on the fly for fans. They really love their job! Robin Atkin Downes (The Medic) even videotaped himself recording "Meet The Medic" and redubbing the outtakes just for the fans (on his YouTube channel)!
• John Patrick Lowrie doing an in-character video as Sniper in support of Gaymercon (an LGBTQ-positive gaming convention trying to get funding on Kickstarter), saying how nobody deserves to be alone and we all need a mate. His wife, Ellen McLain, also did one in-character as GLaDOS.
• Introducing The Steam Link features a bunch of the characters playing video games together. Scout goes from playing Rocket League on his own to playing alongside Miss Pauling, Heavy and Medic interrupt surgery for a round of Street Fighter, Spy gets to relax with a bubble bath (and Cities: Skylines), and Pyro, Engie, Demo, and Soldier play Gang Beasts together.
• In 2016, Valve released an update that, among other things, made a Quickplay category for Alternative gamemodes, including Special Delivery, Medieval Mode, Player Destruction, and, of all things, Territorial Control. Suddenly, after years of neglect, Hydro was back on servers and surprisingly, there's been nothing but an outpouring of new respect for it. It's pretty sweet, seeing how Hydro was loved by the devs but ignored by the fanbase after it was released.
• A child sent this adorable picture of Soldier to an actual soldier fighting abroad.
• The many Soldier-related tributes to Rick May that came out after his tragic death from COVID-19 complications in April 2020 just goes to show how many people dearly loved both him and his voice actor even years after TF2's release. Once the word got out, millions of players, even those who didn't main him, played Soldier to honor May, and for a while, servers were flooded with Soldiers grouping together, using the 21-Gun Salute and Soldier's Requiem to pay their respects.
  • The fact that John Patrick Lowrie (Sniper's VA) of all people was among the first to share the heartbreaking news of May's passing on Facebook goes to show that all the voice actors still care about each other, even as most of them have moved on to other projects. Robin Atkins Downes and Nathan Vetterlein (who play Medic and Scout respectively) also paid respects to May on Twitter.
  • On May 1, 2020, Valve released an update adding memorial statues, featuring a bronze Soldier statue standing atop a marble pedestal with a plaque dedicated to May, to most maps, showing they too want to show their condolences. In addition, a rendition of "Taps" called "Saluting the Fallen" plays on the main menu screen.
    • Finally, on August 21st, 2020, the Soldier statue was permamently added to cp_granary◊, outside of RED Spawn - the same map that "Meet the Soldier" took place on. It's not approachable like the May-specfic statues, but players can now honour Rick May all year round, on the map that made his character famous.
  • The statues came back in April 2021, for the one year anniversary of Rick May's death. Many players (both RED and BLU) using the Soldier with default loadout could often be seen gathering around those statues, repeatedly using Soldier's most "respectful" taunts (such as the default salute and the shotgun salute) and not even trying to attack other players nor eachother. In turn, many players kept playing the game normally but made a point of not attacking Soldiers from the enemy team who were just there to honor Rick May. Those who did attack them anyway would often find themselves getting either gangpiled by the entire enemy team, or kicked by their teammates. Or both.
• YouTuber ShorK has done several videos starring most of the real-life TF2 cast front and center in various fun videos, and overall, all five of the present actors have a really fun time participating in these videos.
  • ShorK even got them to officially react to and redub fan videos like Heavy is Dead and Spy Reacts, which can be really fun to watch for viewers who had become accustomed to that form of TF2 humor.
  • The VAs even had a shot at playing the official game together and had a good laugh whilst doing it. Ellen, who watched with John, even had a great time doing Administrator impressions while her husband played as the Sniper.
    • Another heartwarming moment during the video is that fellow Medic players even play some music for Robin, and he's pretty chuffed to see this. He also can't bring himself to down any Medics on the opposing team, even trying to willingly assist one at one point in his gameplay.
• The official Team Fortress 2 Wiki's Gift Wrap video demonstrates the mechanic in the form of Scout's mother sending him a Smissmas sweater she knitted. For bonus sweetness points, she also has Spy in her Friends list, and in keeping with their relationship being a genuinely romantic one, there are a bunch of hearts next to his name.

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