Spoilers Off applies to this page. There will be unmarked spoilers below. Proceed at your own risk.
Kaladin meeting his little brother for the first time.
When Kaladin suddenly starts glowing and flies away from Hearthstone, everyone is shocked and frightened. Everyone except his mother, who is ecstatic.
Dalinar and Navani getting married.
Kaladin identifying with the parshmen in spite of his original expectations of them as Voidbringers, and even tries to help them and turn them away from conflict with humans.
Following Shallan's revelation at the end of Words, Pattern is even more convinced than ever that she is going to kill him. She tearfully promises that she doesn't hate him, and begs him to never leave.
In a flashback, Dalinar sees Gavilar not paying attention to Navani talking about something she's enthusiastic about, and gets annoyed by that. It's a little thing, but it shows how much Dalinar loved Navani, even back then.
Dalinar's joy at seeing his firstborn son for the first time is sweet enough, but there's a more subtle part immediately before it. Dalinar sees Evi right after she's given birth and mentally compares her facial expression to one he's seen on soldiers after a harrowing but victorious battle, the look of a person who has had to push themself further than they ever thought they could go but who has come through it in the end. There's a nice bit of respect and empathy baked into that short observation, especially given how much trouble Dalinar and Evi always have relating to and understanding each other.
Dalinar taking the time to bond with young Adolin when Evi brings him to the warcamp, showing him Oathbringer and telling him about soldiering, even though he's practically dead on his feet from exhaustion at the time.
Dalinar hugging young Renarin in the flashback. While most of that chapter is a tearjerker, and even that scene is too, it's still this because no mater how low Dalinar sinks, it's literally impossible for him to stop loving his kid.
Renarin: They talk about you. But they're wrong. You just need to rest, after all of the fighting you did. I know. And I miss her too.
Dalinar: What did she tell you? What did your mother say about me?
Renarin: The only honest officer in the army, the honorable soldier. Noble, like the Heralds themselves. Our father. The greatest man in Alethkar.
It's made even the more sweeter (and sadder) when you consider that a lot was made in the previous flashbacks about Dalinar and Evi's arguing, and the fact he didn't pay enough attenion to Renarin. Even so, they both loved him deeply.
Also, earlier in the chapter Dalinar suffered from the paranoid certainty that Evi must have been turning his sons against him. And then he finds out that no, even when their marriage was on the rocks, she still respected him and wanted their children to be proud of their father.
When Evi finds out Dalinar couldn't bring himself to kill an enemy highprince's young son, the two of them share a tender moment where Dalinar briefly forgets about his brother's ambitions and the Thrill and is happy just to be a hero to his wife.
When Renarin attends the meeting of scholars (who, in Alethi culture are almost exclusively women), he's mostly overlooked or mocked by the others attending. Then Dalinar shows up to the meeting, just to support his son. Because if Dalinar Kholin does something, no one's going to suggest it's "unmanly".
Elhokar's faith in his wife.
Lift sharing some of her food with Dalinar. It's a small thing, but a nice moment none the less, especially considering Lift's past. Doubles as a CMOF as this is food she stole from Dalinar in the first place.
Kaladin spending time with some lighteyes of reasonably low rank and realising that despite his misconceptions that they're just people, and feeling the urge to defend Adolin - someone he had considered frivolous, spoiled and annoying in the last book - when they make fun of him. He's learning to overcome his prejudices and understand that lighteyes are people too.
Wit comforting and encouraging Shallan.
Wit: You will, Shallan. If you do not trust yourself, can you trust me? For in you, I see a woman more wonderful than any of the lies. I promise you, that woman is worth protecting. You are worth protecting."
Wit: I see only one woman here, and its the one who is standing up. Shallan, that has always been you. you just have to admit it. Allow it. It's alright to hurt.
When asked about his feelings about the deadeye spren that is his Shardblade, Adolin calls her 'a friend'.
The dead spren of Adolin's Shardblade saving his life in Shadesmar.
Later, their relationship is strong enough to at least partially revive the dead spren, enough to tell Adolin her name at least.
From Adolin as well. Upon hearing a weak voice say "Mayalaran," his reaction is to instantly go "Well Maya..." He immediately gives her a nickname. And you can just tell that he's instantly gone from thinking of his sword as an 'it' to a 'she'.
Adolin summoning his Blade Maya, who coalesces before his tenth heartbeat, just because he needs it that badly.
When Shalash finds Taln, he briefly manages to break out of his Madness Mantra to thank her for what she did to him, since it gave the world thousands of years to progress.
Jasnah manages to change the future because her love for her cousin is greater than her pragmatism. She spares him instead of killing him, proving the visions he sees can be changed.
Similarly, in a scene where Odium shows Taravangian the extensions of the Diagram, he notes a place where Taravangian's predictions are completely and totally inaccurate regarding how Dalinar Kholin turned out, and that they all stemmed from one person: Renarin. Renarin's mere existence changed Dalinar for the better in ways the Diagram could never have predicted.
We finally see Jasnah and Dalinar together, and how much they love each other. They share a moment, while Dalinar shows Jasnah and Navani one of his visions, when Jasnah reassures his uncle and gives him some advice to deal with his crisis of faith and the more tense relationship with the church.
The Subverted Catchphrase showing how even someone as broken as Szeth can put himself to good use.
Szeth of the Skybreakers envied Kaladin, the one they called Stormblessed, in the honor of protecting Dalinar Kholin. But of course, he would not complain. He had chosen his oath. And he would do as his master demanded.
The Reveal that Drehy and Skar rescued Elhokar's son from Kholinar. Also doubles as an Offscreen Moment of Awesome given the forces they'd have had to go up against to do so.
By extension, this also meant that Elkohar saved his son. He insisted on staying instead of returning right away. He never stopped aiming to save his family. And while he died during it, his actions did help save his son from the torment his mother brought upon him.
After three full books of worrying about them, Shallan is finally reunited with her brothers.
Venli becoming the first Listener Radiant by bonding with Timbre, and telling the parshmen of their heritage.
Wit going out of his way to unite a girl orphaned in the battle of Kholinar with a couple who had lost their daughter, even giving her an Awakened doll to protect her.
And made all the more powerful by the way it's told. Wit takes the doll to the girl first, asking her to look after it. We see how much it can help a person when you give them something to look after. Then, when he takes the girl to the grieving parents he repeats the process, almost word for word, now bringing them someone to look after. The symmetry makes it easy to see how much he's trying to help the adults, just as much as the girl.
And note that giving the girl the Awakened doll required Wit to spend several precious and nearly-irreplaceable Breaths on the Awakening. Wit sacrificed those Breaths for a girl he would probably never see again.
Despite the context of the scene being more of a tearjerking moment, the compassion and understanding Syl shows Kaladin when he realizes he can't swear the Fourth Ideal to save them from the approaching fused is one the most tender moments in the entire book.
The Lopen cheering up a wounded soldier on the brink of giving up by telling jokes, talking about Bridge Four, and doing tricks like tying his boots with one hand. It's sweet enough from the beginning, but about halfway through we find out that the soldier has lost an arm - something which Lopen knows a whole lot about. Then the one-handed 'tricks' take on new meaning: Lopen was showing him how much he can still achieve, despite the injury. It's what allows Lopen to inadvertently swear the Second Ideal, protecting them from despair.
The real heartwarming moment comes when Lopen is casually discussing the Ideals, and says he's not sure if he's good at saving people yet. The soldier, clearly still overwhelmed but starting to feel a bit stronger, says he thinks Lopen "might be doing just fine".
While the circumstances are sad, Adolin loves Shallan enough to decide to step down and let her be with Kaladin, since he seems to have more to offer. Shallan counters that she is the one who has to chose, and she choses Adolin, giving an extremely detailed and heartfelt description of how much she loves him. The whole marriage also counts.
Shallan's final clue? Seeing that Adolin knows her well enough that, when she has trouble and is slipping through the three personalities, Adolin can see when she's Shallan.
There's just something adorable in Dalinar learning to write and read.
When Dalinar swears the Third Ideal, and begins to merge the Cognitive and Spiritual realms together, he finally receives that which he had sought when he went to the Nightwatcher all those years ago.
He closed his eyes, breathing out, listening to a sudden stillness. And within it a simple, quiet voice. A woman's voice, so familiar to him.
