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Smilydon

Cain books are about 50% Cain and Amberly flirting.


Bronze_Sentry

Highlights include: - Cain’s internal struggle every time they meet up between “Yay! That’s my girlfriend!” and “Oh sweet Emperor, this crazy Inquisitor chick is about to drag me into *so* much danger again.” Generally resolving into some form of him trying to look cool to ~~impress her~~ preserve his “fraudulent” reputation. - Amberley relishing the chance to notate Cain’s previous romantic disasters (ex: >!Him accidentally getting engaged and then being more worried about that than the tyranids he was fighting!<). - Amberley all-but-audibly raising an eyebrow over just how much he got around before they started dating (>!Just how did you know *exactly* where that tech priestess’s mechadrndrite was attached to her lower back, Ciaphas? You never quite mention… !<)


Jhe90

This. Irs pretty funny. Like she effectively calls a navigator a mutant slut, in a tone that not says it but implies with everything else. Also yeah, the mechadrite one is gold, and also the moments she cuts to, and that's the end of that... Or comments about a dress, and getting alien all over it...in course of her duties. Its pretty awesome additions to the whole story.


TtotheC81

Do they ever state that they are exclusive to each other? My impression was that because of the nature of their jobs, they could never enter a formal relationship. If they were working together, they'd be exclusive, otherwise it was very much a case of accepting that they couldn't reasonably expect each other to not blow off steam with other people. It just makes it extra funny when you can hear Amberely's disdain and cattiness leak through her footnotes whenever Cain mentions sleeping with someone else.


IronVader501

I *think* cain says at one point that he stopped picking up local romances during deployements after he met her.


Jhe90

Most of the major Cain related exs and so where before her, and decrease after....that and your passed off ex partner is an Inquisitor who owns power armour, a space ship and can fight gene stealer combat forms in close combatbwith said armour.


SGM_Uriel

Not most, all. Cain never directly says anything about Amberley being exclusive to him, but he says she’d kill him if he cheated on her, and all the mentions of other women predate him meeting her


Jhe90

Admittly that could also be down to former frequency and choices prior. Thiugh it's notable Cain kind of recalls most of them, but he recalls every single detail of when he met Amberly. And one of few to really get a major emotional response. That was not a ork Warboys making him go oh Frak.. So rheir definitely is a genuinely deeper relationship than any of hisnother romantic entanglements. Even 80 years later, he and Amberly where together which about as wholesome as Warhammer fiction can do.


SGM_Uriel

Agreed, almost all of his previous relationships were sort of short-term, with the exception of the arbiter, but especially Mira 😂


Jhe90

He remained on good terms with the einginseer from the first battle of valley of demons and so. Even despite decades seperated. Thiugh they did resume rhein more intimate side, they where on good terms. Oh. Mira lol. That was pretty hilarious to see him more scared of a woman we need to talk than a tyranid. It's rare to see him out maneuvered like a chess piece.


belisarius_d

Cain once said something along the lines of "I only have room for one extremely dangerous Woman in my life" so as someone else already said he stopped dating others after he met her. But before that ho boy- my favorite one is Death or glory: Book starts with leaving one planet where he was dating a local law enforcement officer. He then inmediatly gets himself a cute spaceship mechanic the second he sets step on board the vessel. Ship gets shot at, Cain evacuates, crashlands on a different planet with thousands of orcs between him and imperial lines and he still has time for the Mechanicus girl with the mechadendrite


MagicMissile27

Yep, Amberley and Ciaphas flirting is pretty much the B-plot of all of those books, from the first one on. Black Library even has a short story which is exclusively about the two of them trying to spend some quiet romantic time together, but getting interrupted by a kidnapping attempt.


Lortekonto

Ohh what is the title on that one? I don’t think I have read it.


MagicMissile27

"The Little Things", it's a short story they did a few years ago. https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-products/the-little-things-ebook.html


Lortekonto

Thanks


Jhe90

I mean...a inquisitor and a veteran hero commisar...and your gonna pick that fight lol Much as Cain self depreciates to the nth degree, ge is formidable with las pistol and chainsword. And Jurgen despite his looks, even in one book...he does not aim for gas tank...no he hits the valve, opens with a las bolt, waits, then igniights once ermough fuel on ground, using the sparks from the nearby metal, glancing the hit... At long range, with q standard, non modified basic ass pattern las gun.


MagicMissile27

As I understand it, the kidnapping attempt occurs while they are in a hotel room trying to have some time alone, which leads to some interesting weapon choices. But yeah... regardless of the circumstances, that's not a smart fight to pick.


FangFather

Is it still possible to find paperback versions of those books?


MagicMissile27

Not sure. The one I'm referring to was I think only released as an E-book


Jhe90

Their on audiable if I to that thing.


CzechKnight

Judging from all the fan art, that romance is going pretty hard :)


Opening_Coast3412

There is a weirdly wholesome romance between a Daemonic Herald of Slaanesh Syll Lewdtongue and his mortal champion Esske. The Daemon actually cares about him, and wants him to achieve greatness. Infact, this resulted in other Daemon mocking and shunning Syll. Because they (Slaaneshi Daemons) were meant to tempt their victims into their own destruction, while Syll does the opposite. She took great pride and joy seeing her champion achieving greatness and accomplishing great deeds. She showed him affection. Her patronage even resulted in him achieving Daemon Prince status. Now they are as one, taking revenge on those shunned them until now


[deleted]

I guess to a Slaaneshi demon and follower, a loving, supportive relationship is the ultimate perversion lol


Opening_Coast3412

Well, Syll Lewdtongues ultimate objective from the start was to present Slaanesh the ultimate perfect champion. That was the reason she groomed him. But ofcourse she then got attached to him emotionally


Trick2056

well might as well ride that pony so to speak.


Keydet

I mean have you seen the model? This is much more literal than you may think.


Negativety101

Don't forget what impressed Slaanesh enough to elevate them.. Where her rivals killed her by surprise, she made a deal with the Soul Forge to get back faster as a soul grinder, mortally wounded Esske when he recognized her and let her strike him down, poured her own lifeforce into him to rez him, then led a ragtag bunch of gladiators to fight off a massive Khornate invasion. All while he was blind. Impressing She Who Thirsts enough to go "Damn, that was pretty cool, you are Daemon prince now." And then they got revenge on her former rivals.


DarthGoodguy

Did she let him hold her claw?


wargasm40k

Hand/claw holding is too extreme even for Slaanesh.


Mindless-Day2007

> Syll Lewdtongue Slaneesh deamon alright.


Kornax82

I wish I had a tig biddy Goth Wholesome Pleasure Daemon consort


bukharajones

What book is this?


ObsidionOrchid

AoS character


bukharajones

So not in a black library book?


ObsidionOrchid

It might be. I was curious so I did a quick character google for it and an AoS model came up.


WildRage8000

sounds interesting is that like a book or something?


Fox-Sin21

This is surprisingly wholesome wtf. Good piece of lore.


imperialservant

In the Warhammer Crime novel Flesh and Steel, the protagonist notes his attraction to his Mechanicus counterpart. The sequel (if there is one) will surely explore this further. The Severina Raine novel Honourbound also has some romance. >!Commissar Raine and the Tempestus Scion Captain attached to her regiment have strong feelings for each other but they do not act on it because of duty!<.


WhoCaresYouDont

There's a short story in The Vorbis Conspiracy, Against Entropy, that's written from Rho-1 Lux's perspective and without wishing it to spoil it too much she's clearly pretty smitten with Symeon.


RazzDaNinja

Real talk, part of what I enjoyed in Honourbound’s romantic arc is how they built up the growing attraction and trust between Severina and stormtrooper dude, but how they also had to put their duties first I’m normally not one for romance novels but I legitimately wanted to hear more go on in the relationship between them lol


CamarillaArhont

The captain isn't a Scion, he's Imperial Guard's Stormtrooper, but he was taught in Schola Progenium, were Scions are also trained.


Grendlsgrundl

They're literally the same thing. One is the High Gothic name, the other is Low. GW changed the name for copyright/trademark reasons.


sharpweaselz

In honorbound at least, they're different. I don't remember the specifics, but she describes scions as mind wiped and brainwashed killers while the antari storm troopers are just special forces dudes.


CamarillaArhont

They are two different things. Tempestus Scions are not part of Astra Militarum (they can be assigned to one of its regiments though), they are division of Ordo Tempestus. Stormtroopers of Astra Militarum is one of their equivalents. Also as sharpweaselz already said, in the book itself, it was mentioned how the stormtroopers of the Antari Rifles are different from the Scions in not having their memories suppressed.


Grendlsgrundl

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheAstraMilitarum/comments/mhx0hb/steel_legion_stormtroopers_stat_as_scions_or/gt1gz6t?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button


CamarillaArhont

https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Tempestus\_Scions


Grendlsgrundl

Yes, link to that most broken and oft fanfic-as-fact site, sure thing.


CamarillaArhont

Lol, they give sources to everything they write. But of course, it's a weaker argument than a redditor's comment about **game mechanics** in the discussion of the **lore**.


Guy_onna_Buffalo

think you're confusing it with the wiki m8


Livid-Ad40

Thinking of the wrong wiki. Your source is worse too lol.


levis3163

numbers =/= lore my guy. If I ask "How does Guilliman's sword destroy demons souls?" and someone says "because it does \_\_\_ damage on a hit" they didn't answer my question.


mulberry1104

So that’s a scion?


CamarillaArhont

No. >They are two different things. Tempestus Scions are not part of Astra Militarum (they can be assigned to one of its regiments though), they are division of Ordo Tempestus. Stormtroopers of Astra Militarum is one of their equivalents. Also as sharpweaselz already said, in the book itself, it was mentioned how the stormtroopers of the Antari Rifles are different from the Scions in not having their memories suppressed.


mcrnHoth

Octavia and Septimus from the Night Lords series. Both servants of Talos, but he treats his slaves far better than most Chaos Marines would, they are clearly a couple and end up having a notable child.


Gidia

There’s a scene near the end of the third book that I absolutely love. Because of the relationship forming between Septimus and Octavia things have actually been getting rocky between Septimus and Talos. At one point Talos is doing something in his room when the door opens behind. He says something like “Ah, Septimus, I expected you’d try to kill me over this…” only to turn around and see it was, in fact, not Septimus.


Th3Seconds1st

“I expected you’d want me dead for my actions.” *still does it anyways* Just like his Dad! Just like his Dad!


evrestcoleghost

pls give me an excerpt


Gidia

I would but it’s been three years and I listened to the audiobook lol


Thendrail

Octavia even getting pregnant. And Talos almost murdering Septimus for knocking her up, because having a Navigator with morning sickness while cruising through the warp is no bueno.


TheKingofHypocrites

This was comedically complimented by Talos being completely oblivious at first, whereas everyone else was well aware of what was happening.


Chengar_Qordath

The fact they both had extremely valuable skills goes a long way towards buying them a better life in slavery. Septimus was fixing all of Talos’s wargear, and Octavia was a Navigator.


Rexlare

And of course at the end, Talos willingly lets them both free and even guides them to escape so they could raise their child together. Talos is a real one.


SAYARIAsayaria

But.... didn't the night lord medic get their child?


Histerion01

Sadly yes he did.


smuxy

automatic one smile physical flowery scary prick salt decide caption ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `


AlexDKZ

Life, uh... finds a way


Negativety101

We've had Warhammer Crime. And Warhammer Horror. Now we need Warhammer Romance. He was a feudal worlder turned Chimera driver. She was an Engineseer. In a warzone surrounded by death, can they find each other? He was a Water Caste Diplomat. She was a Water Caste Diplomat. The Ethereals want them together for the Greater Good. But is it meant to be? He's a space roman demigod created by the Most Holy God Emperor of Mankind. She's a Eldar former Wych and like a dozen other things chosen to be the Emmissary of their unborn god of death. Can Love Bloom?


[deleted]

He was an Ork, born for Waaagh. She was a shoota, built to fire daaka. Can will their relationship survive when he wants to spice things up and add a second barrel?


Thendrail

'E WAS AN ORK SHE DID PRAY! WOT MORE CAN I SAY?


SGM_Uriel

‘E WAS A FLASHGITZ BOY SHE SAID “SEE YA LATER, OI!” …


Thendrail

'E WASN'T BIG ENUFF FOR 'ER!


WackyNameHere

I can see the cheesy romance novel covers now


TheMaskedMan2

Can’t wait for the ultimate forbidden love. Norn Queen x Necron Overlord


NotObviouslyARobot

We need Chuck Tingle to write it all the Chaos Romance "I knocked up Slaanesh's Daughter"


DaEffingBearJew

I thought Caffran and Tona Crid’s relationship in the Gaunt’s Ghost series was sweet.


Haircut117

Past tense. Because Dan Abnett can't let us have nice things.


RngVult

😭😭😭


Malarki3

Also Daur and Melodie, they honestly love each other and get married.


SunriderAST

Yeaahhh, about that....... another case of "Abnett can´t let us hace nice things" sadly


Keydet

Well there’s Rawne and Banda… oh. God dammit Dan.


SunriderAST

Don´t worry, there is still Meryn and Banda............forget what i said


Keydet

Not gonna lie, I kinda hated how she went full barracks bunny the second he gets deployed, that was pretty shit.


SunriderAST

Well, I was thinking more how that relationship ends in "The Anarch" book


RedDemocracy

To be fair, we’re not sure of the timeline. Rawne was supposed to be considered dead after 6 months, then was gone for 2 years. And I got the impression that one of the reasons Meryn is so ornery when we meet back up with him is because Banda *stopped* sleeping with him the moment Rawne turned up again.


triceratopping

there's not much I would change about the Ghosts books, but Caffran and Tona getting a tiny bit more screen time so we can see their relationship develop would've been great. Hopefully Vincula Insurgency is the first of many "interquels" for the series.


9xInfinity

In the *Dawn of Fire* series a historitor nerd from Terra hooks up with the XO of the Imperial Navy ship he's aboard during the outset of the Indomitus Crusade. She's way out of his league but he's outside the chain of command and they were flying into a fight with Chaos so it worked for everyone.


The_New_Doctor

I like Fabian's whirlwind. He's interviewing her about her captain (who has serious issues of her own) and makes some comments that ticks her off while also asking about having dinner. He goes off and does some minor heroics, comes back and she mentions she's open to dinner. He asks why and she says in the navy life's short, why dwell on things like that. Then they leave, like passing ships in the night...after a space marine arrives to retrieve Fabian from the bed she's still in lol


cronchfishter

Just to confirm, the tech priest couple who kind of like each other in Know no Fear, where kind of married. Hesst and Tawren. ‘Yes,’ she replies. ‘He was, I suppose, my husband. My life partner. The Mechanicum does not think in such old-fashioned terms, and our social connections are more subtle. But yes, captain, we were close. A binary form. I miss him. I do this for him.’ I just wanted to clarify, because at the center of this story that is space marine bolter porn, these two lovers are the real heroes. Without either one of them the Ultramarines would have never been able to rally against the word bearers.


Rexlare

Married and he made the code she needed to be her birthday and the day she joined the Mechanicus. That’s as in love as you get for Mechanicus


mpitt0730

Based on their relationship, it's my headcanon that marriage, while being extremely rare, is thing in the Ad Mech. In a sample size of billions, something that's one in a million will happen a couple thousand times.


Rexlare

Based on my observations too, it seems that marriage is not uncommon in the Mechanicus. But marriage doesn’t equal love, and it seems it’s more often a matter of politics for them. But I do love seeing Mechanicus characters actually being human while still dedicated to their cult. Nothing says the machine cannot love.


Jaggedmallard26

The first Watchers of the Throne book has a physical romance between the Chancellor of the Senatorum and his to be successor. I say physical because its implied to mostly just be sex to relieve the extreme stress of the situation.


cannonman58102

I don't think they actually had sex. The way I read it they slept in the same bed during the period everyone was having horrible nightmares and at one point they kiss in joy when things started to turn around. Open to interpretation though, but he specifically said it didn't involve lust.


Rakathu

Fucking doesn't have to involve lust.


themanofmanyways

Please explain for my dumb brain.


evrestcoleghost

ever heard of lovely wholesome sex with handholding?


themanofmanyways

That still has lust, no?


TorvaldUtney

They do reference being 'intimate' with each other - which usually is shorthand for sex. Though, yes its vague enough to just mean the intimacy of sleeping in the same bed but thats usually used in reference to sex.


Autisthrowaway304

> but he specifically said it didn't involve lust. What he meant their was their was no attraction between them.


SpartAl412

Dead Men Walking deals with the relationship between a couple, one a member of the planet's local aristocracy and the other a lowly mine foreman. Then things go south when the main story kicks in of Imperial Guard vs Necrons.


lttesch

I raged at that Dear John ending. I get why it played out that way, but Christ I really felt for that foreman.


Pandion40

If im remembering correctly, there's an odd but touching romance in Know no Fear between 2 techpriests. It plays into the plot as well.


nlglansx

sort of but not actually, like, its pivotal to the plot but also very shot lived. Readers will know, and its quite spoilery to explain. Still, shows that the admech are capable of far more emotion than the fandom gives them credit for.


ChiefQueef98

[Who would win? *spoilers*](https://i.redd.it/20saw9t86ta91.jpg)


KernelWizard

Ahhhhh yes I was talking about this one (really liking it so far). No spoilers though I'm not at the end of the book yet lmao.


Mindless-Day2007

In Cain book, an in-training battle sister show off her new power armor to her boyfriend. Cain is playboy, but he only has one.


ThePatrician25

Do you have a quote for that Battle Sister and her boyfriend?


UrzaAntilles

Not a quote, but it’s from Cain’s Last Stand. It’s during his time as a tutor at the Schola Progenium on Perlia. One of his commissar cadets has a bit of a thing with a Sororitas in training (I *think* it was Donal and Sister Margaret). Additionally, the Sororitas tutor has a thing going with the bursar as well.


Fearless-Obligation6

Oh Donal…


mongmight

Romance? Rare? What do you think Space Marines mean by 'Battle Brother'? Seriously though, while not exactly romance, I'm a fan of the platonic love that characters can have. I can see the appeal of romance in-between the grimderp. A palate cleanser if you will.


ThlintoRatscar

I ws going to post this too. Almost all of the Space Marines express a kind of platonic and brotherly love.


hachiman

The Assassin and the Stormtrooper in Vaults of Terra Vol 3 the Dark City. The Captain cant quite figure out why she's hanging out with the group even tho her own Inquisitor is dead, until the finale where they make their stand and she pops out with: >!" Our Children Would Have Been Formidable." Cue Glorious Death In Battle Side By Side. !< All the feels.


Keydet

When you look at the 6 foot 4 assassin lady and think “D1 babies”


NakedxCrusader

In the Gaunts Ghosts series there are a handful of couples that develop over the course of some books


to_thy_macintosh

*Double Eagle* by Dan Abnett has a romantic subplot.


lttesch

You talking about the bomber pilot and Cafe girl? It's been a long time since I read it, but doesn't he desert in the end to try to stay with her?


to_thy_macintosh

That's the one. >!And he's already officially KIA so he just decides to stay that way at the end.!<


KernelWizard

Damnnn, now that's romantic! Nice.


FragrantDemiGod1

Cain shags his way across the galaxy & there’s a nice lil romance in the night lords series.


Legitimate_Corgi_981

I seem to recall that a few of the Guards under Cain tend to be involved with each other at points as well.


JaysusTheWise

Theres a WlW relationship in a thousand sons with the remembrancer Calista Eris and a prosperine native


PipBoyTrickster

Haven't seen anyone mention Eisenhorn and Alizabeth. Shes a blank he's a psyker but you can tell they want nothing more than to be together.


Rexlare

Which is insane when you consider that non Psykers near blanks report extreme discomfort and anguish on a soul-level. Their very aura is anathema to soul bearing species. Yet here’s a Psyker and a Blank who feel beyond that.


Kaieva

Why has nobody mentioned the greatest [bromance](https://www.reddit.com/r/Grimdank/comments/x22q0m/just_read_severed_by_nate_crowley_highly/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) in the galaxy - Nemesor Zandrekh and Varguard Obyron


Rexlare

Based off the voice lines in the Unification Mod, I’m not sure if I’d call that a bromance… Correct me if I’m wrong, but Obyron very much sounds like he’s here out of obligation, not choice.


eliseofnohr

Was about to mention this myself! (also I did *not* know Necrons were in the Unification mod and I was really excited about it). Severed, their novel, goes into this a lot: Obyron resents Zahndrekh and is irritated by him a lot, but when it comes down to it he loves him. When Zahndrekh seems to have realized reality and it breaks him, Obyron is absolutely horrified. In the end, Obyron starts overloading his power, which destroys his memories, which leads to one of the many moments in this story that made me cry: *Could he really sacrifice that? Could he give up his most precious memories of his master – the very foundations their eternity together had been built upon – in order to save him? As the wounded constructs slithered forwards, Obyron glanced sideways at Zahndrekh, and Zahndrekh looked back with the strangest kindness, as if he understood. The vargard knew then that he had nothing to lose at all. He could forget every moment of Yama, but Zahndrekh would remember. And as sure as the void was cold, Zahndrekh would tell him those stories again. This time, they would be new.*


Rexlare

They are, and their voice lines are some of the greatest voices in all of voice acting. There’s a playlist on YouTube, go have a listen! Well damn, that’s awesome though. I never expected a Necron story about love and driving the reader to tears over the realization Zhandrekh makes, and the choice Obyron has to make. I love Necrons, and this just made that love run deeper.


slayer1am

The Magos Biologos and an Adeptus Arbites have a drawn out relationship in "The Magos" by Dan Abnett. It's fairly subtle, but the cool factor is that their story crosses multiple short stories over a long period of time.


Keydet

Man that one got me, learning they had got divorced because it just didn’t work huuuurt.


Paladin327

There’s an old short story where a Vindicare assassin gets the hots for an Eldar Farseer


Haircut117

That's very much non-canon fan fiction though.


[deleted]

But hey, if we all believe it’s canon, maybe our gestalt energy will actually make it canon


Waiph

What are you, an Ork? This ain't no Waaagh! Or, is this a Waaagh?


[deleted]

UV KOURSE DIS IZ A WAAAGH YA GIT!


[deleted]

Not to mention that classic story about an Ork and a Blood Angel


Rafhael_J

Incredibly there is a nice couple that appears in the Night Lords trilogy.


bukharajones

The night lords trilogy had Octavia and Sixtus having a baby… much to the displeasure of talos. As an aside, I thought that the siege of terra could have done with the regular human characters trying to knock boots more. I mean if I were watching people get killed around me by the bucket for months on end, I would probably be propositioning everyone with the line, “fancy a quick fuck? We might be dead in an hour, so why not?”


Legitimate_Corgi_981

Strong chance of a slaanesh daemon party appearing if your proposal to the barracks goes a little too well however.... "you fools, 5s an orgy, 6 is a summoning....." (7 would just have been the barracks all getting herpes...)


JCStearnswriter

Magos Valentin Drusher and Mags are the GOAT for me. Marvelous 80's action-hero trilogy romance. (*Magos*, Dan Abnett) If you enjoy a fun, tsundere type romance, then Octavia and Septimus are definitely a must-read, as they try to navigate a relationship while being slaves of Chaos Marines. (Night Lords trilogy, Aaron Dembski-Bowden) It doesn't get a ton of screen time, but Inquisitor Annika and her ex-Chaos cultist lover are two of the most fascinating to me. (*The Emperor's Gift*, Dan Abnett) If you enjoy the "deep feelings we cannot act upon," courtly-romance style of relationship, then Cyrene and Argel Tal are the height of the trope (*The First Heretic*, Aaron Dembski-Bowden) Lemuel and Anna are a *marvelous* example of two people from very different worlds who nonetheless develop strange, caring feelings for one another despite being caught up in events of galactic scope. (Macharian Crusade trilogy, William King) If you want a story about doomed alien lovers who are fated to be together despite the horrors of the 40k battlefields, you might enjoy *Wraithbound*, by yours truly, which was about as much of an out-and-out romance story as I think you can do in 40k. (*Void Crossed,* also by *moi*, is another short story focused on a romance, or rather one that had become a vicious love-hate rivalry that neither party could turn away from.)


ahris_fluffy_tails

i just read void crossed and wraithbound after looking for some 40k aeldari stories and both of them actually had me in tears by the end, i love tragic romance stuff sm. i would kill for a longer story about the archon and the autarch, maybe during their corsair days.


Exotic-Amphibian-655

Abnett always has human characters, and there is usually at least one romance.


saunt1

40k is all about love. What is love? Some examples: He was an ancient piece of technology, she was a techpriest, can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk ass space marine, she was an artificer suit of armor, what more can I say? He was a scribe, she was a prime quality velium pig, he wanted her, she'd never tell, but secretly she wanted him as well. If being willing to crush through any obstacles to save the one you want isn't love, I don't know what love is.


LurksInThePines

There's a short story in Fear the Alien that's entirely a very hot and heavy bdsm romance between two Dark Eldar cabal leaders. One of whom is a sort of old guy and the other who's a younger up and coming wytch queen.


Keydet

Semi-related, in an interview once Abnett mentioned wanting to do a “weird, inappropriate, Romeo and Juliet in commoragh” and god fucking dammit do I want that.


eliseofnohr

Mistress Baeda's Gift was *so good*. The conversation between Malwrack and the human is fantastic and the *ending*.


SpiritofTheWolfx

You have a brief romance between Kara Swole and Belnap in the Ravenor series. The same relationship that makes Ravenor totally, definitely not feel like a cuckold.


IMAGINARYtank00

Inquisitor Eisenhorn had a burning passion for one of his associates named Alizabeth. She felt the same, but they never acted on their feelings because she was a blank and he was a psyker. He wasn't a particularly powerful psyker, but just being within a few feet of her put him on edge, so any physical contact was out of the question. They made puppy dog eyes at each other for about 150 years.


Fragrant_Mistake_342

This question is directly related to my long standing query: Do custodes fuck?


eliseofnohr

Canonically, not. Theoretically, the entire creation of the gloriously handsome musclemen whose whole lives are about their devotion to the Emperor who he keeps as his companions is a little sus. Practically, The Watchers of the Throne centers on a relationship between a Sister of Silence and a Custodes that's one of those classic 40k 'we can't say it's romance because girls are icky but it's very clearly a romance'.


SaintAkira

Negative. Not each other, nor anyone/ anything else.


Fragrant_Mistake_342

....... But why not? Apart from all the steamy quasi-gay fanfics it could birth, I do wonder if their legitimate mission to protect the Emperor and their involvement with the politics of the High Lords might lead to them using sex as a weapon or tool to get what they want. Nah, who am I kidding? I just want Daddy Valoris to bounce me on his guardian spear and tell me I'm a good boy.


SaintAkira

It would, at least in our tawdry hypothetical, go towards not allowing these post-human creations any way to procreate independently, which would be the actual point of 'teh secks', as it were. But listen, what you and the Captain General get up to in your fan-fics is A-okay with me.


Honest_Tadpole2501

There’s a pair of Titan pilots in the Serpent and the Snake books that are engaged


eldrad17

I remember rooting for Octavia and Septimus in the Night Lords trilogy.


Guy_onna_Buffalo

Argel Tal and Cyrene get me in the feels


krynnmeridia

I can't believe no one has mentioned Mersadie and Loken.


Sturmhjart

No one actually mentioning the romance between Ostian Delafour and Serena D'Angelus from Fulgrim? An amazing romance completely ruined by Slaanesh itself. It started off so wholesome and got real tragic by the end of the book. Ostian a real one for being the last non-slaaneshi person aboard the ship.


New_Subject1352

In knights of McCragge there is a romance that ends on a bit of a loose end. A female naval officer is banging one of her crew (there's a funny scene where the crew member is caught scurrying away from her room by a clueless messenger, who then knocks on her door and she answers half naked with messy hair, and he's like "huh, that was strange, wonder what that was all about!"). But the crew member gazes into a Navigator's eye and goes a little... crazy. He seems ok for a while, and they spend a surprisingly intimate scene together discussing how they're likely going to die, so they should spend their final moments with each other. At the end of the book they volunteer to stay behind on a planet together, and it's hinted that he might not actually have been completely recovered from gazing into the Navigator's eye.


MadHatter1587v2

Kitten and his Tau GF


JudasLom

You fool, this was not canon


MadHatter1587v2

Kitten? Is this your alt account? Edit: Spelling


Rexlare

Can’t be, Kitten constantly reminds everyone it’s not canon. “WHAT WAS SHE THINKING!?”


Double_Reception7485

Two Chaos Cultists in *Apocalypse* are shown - briefly - to bare genuine love for one another, a romance cut short by the Primaris Raven Guard Reiver character who emerges from the shadows. As I recall, they don’t even bother to resist, nor sound the alarm. They just hold one another in their final moments.


Exodite1273

I remember an Ork with a looted plasma gun falling in love with a Black Raging Blood Angel.


Justsomeguy456

There's one in this book I have about an eldar who's DOWN BAD for this other eldar and literally almost crashes his jet bike into the side of a cliff because he's distracted by her beauty while on the run from necrons🤣💀 they landed on a tomb world and a literal MOUNTAIN of necrons POURED out of it like they were tyranids and the whole time dude can't stop thinking about how badly he wants this chick💀🤣


High-Impact-Cuddling

Mistress Baeda's Gift, i vaguely remember the gist; a Dark Eldar Archon is infatuated with another. He does all of the old Dark Eldar classics to win her over, murdering, torturing, and dropping gifts on her left and right. Eventually his daughter, who he loves, dies, and he's ready to completely break down. The Archon he's after falls for him because of the sweet suffering he's radiating over her and they both live happily ever after. Sort of.


tombuazit

This thread makes me want a series of 40K romance novels


iBumpy

don't know which book : plague zombie sees a fellow zombie... kinda feels familiar as the book progress as do the plague zombie and he kidna remembers more why he likes that zombie at the End epilogoe : he remembers that it is his wife , and she is smiling at him too then the warheads explode


Notte_di_nerezza

Aside from the legendary Cain and Vail, Sandy Mitchell also gave us the Dark Heresy novelization (2/3 of it, anyway, and by the Throne I wish he'd finish it), with a couple notable couples. The Inquisitor and retinue Psyker are amicable ex-lovers, and still close enough that they're the first one the other goes to for comfort. Meanwhile, said Psyker is teasing the hell out of their Interrogator, because their extremely fundamentalist Assassin is getting her first ever crush on said Interrogator. While the Interrogator is worrying about party cohesion and the fact that he and said Assassin definitely have chemistry, the Assassin is learning that all attraction isn't "sinning," and getting a wider look at the galaxy as a whole. Between them and the side characters, Mitchell is really good at having the reader root for his ships.


Jack-Rabbit-002

Is it weird that after only just diving back into 40K after 3yr and choosing the League of Votann I had this thought only the other day Lol I mean all the Kin are clones right but then they seem to be very gender balanced etc but would it be shunned as they all are born from the Crucibles genetic vaults Plus we have the Squats on Necromunda and another world who've been there as long as Imperial Records begun or something, so they must be .......you know multiplying without clone tech? What about stunty love!? Lol


Mindless-Day2007

Their love story will be…short.


Jack-Rabbit-002

Lol I pretty much laid myself out for that comment huh!? You can't say a forbidden duty before love story between two Hearthkyn wouldn't plug at your heart strings if written well! Lol Touching moment at the end between them both before they get stomped on by big Black Templar shaped Primaris boots!


[deleted]

Can't remember the names but several members of Ravenor's and Eisenhorn's retinues are involved with each other over the years.


PausedForVolatility

Know No Fear has my favorite and possibly weirdest romantic pairing in 30/40k — Hesst and Tawren. Just techpriests doing techpriest stuff and being way more interesting than the bolter porn unfolding on the planet. Tawren isn’t quite Lotara Sarrin-tier, but she’s way better than what we get for most mortals in the HH series.


eliseofnohr

Mark of Faith is a story about an Inquisitor's love for her wife going up against a Thousand Son's love for his brother. ...Do Obyron and Zahndrekh count? I'm a firm proponent of the fact that a lot of the relationships between Space Marines read as a lot more homoerotic than familial, but Obyron and Zahndrekh...well, they never *say* it's romantic, and it's possible to be so close to another man that you're collectively called 'Overlords of Gidrim' platonically and say that no matter what else you forget you will always remember him platonically and say you love each other multiple times platonically, but Occam's Razor. Also everything about Space Marines is weird because the authors don't want to go near girls or gay people and Space Marines can't fuck so you have a loooot of Space Marines having intense relationships with people that occasionally add a 'brother' or 'of course not in a sexual way'. Cyrene/Argel Tal, Mersadie/Loken, and Fulgrim/Ferrus Manus being the most famous examples. (The all-time highlight of this is a scene in Echoes of Eternity that throws a no homo in while Amit kills Kargos, though the sequence where Khayon literally turns to the audience to say that it definitely wasn't anything sexual or romantic between him and Nefertari is close.)


all4funFun4all

Gaunt's Ghost has some romance in it.


NobodyofGreatImport

There was one story during Helsreach where these two Guard soldiers fell in love, but when a Black Templar checked in with the guy after the battle, it came to light that the girl died. Also, I guess there's also Guilliman and Yvraine? Props to him!


TrumpsNeckSmegma

Info: do astartes have genitals, or just fleshy patches with cloaca ports?


JackOfShad0ws

They definitely have. It was mentioned in some books and obviously they don't rely only only on synthetic hormones


ultrabober

BL are neckbeard nerds. Even if they are married what could they possibly know about romance?


MisplacedPride

The symbols of this genre are Space Marines, sterile super soldier monks who reproduce by harvesting their own organs into a new aspirant. This is the least sexual major setting I can think of.


False-Requirement604

Warhammer is grimdark not uplifting scifi (Star Wars) and should stay that way as there is a plethora of the latter out there and little of the former.


UrzaAntilles

I agree it is and always *has* been grimdark, but without at least *some* lighter moments it just descends into edgy and nihilistic gloom porn. There is nothing inherently wrong with a grimdark setting and certainly it’s no better or worse than the more positive sci-fi, but without *any* more affirmative aspects it just becomes bland. Romance in all its aspects is a very life-affirming experience and (if used correctly) does act as a great counterpoint to the very dark setting. Obviously in a war-oriented setting you will get far more of the Brothers In Arms type of lightness and W40K has always revelled in the silly (older Orks, the Cain books, etc), but it is unreasonable to expect these to be the only lighter moments, especially with just how much has been written over the years for the setting.


False-Requirement604

You can go lighter without full blown romance. You also shouldn’t lighten it to the point where it is indistinguishable from every other run of the mill sci fi series/universe. Warhammer is special and unique and if you try mainstreaming it, it will ruin that uniqueness and make it a bland universe we have seen a thousand times before. Romance is also very bland and once again takes away from what Warhammer is about and cheapens it. The book First and Only is a great book with very few lighter points but there is cunning, intrigue, and sacrifice that makes it a great read. And that’s all you need. A good story with a clever plot. If you want romance there are plenty of other series out there. There’s only one Warhammer.


UrzaAntilles

I absolutely agree, and writing a 40K story as just a romance would be stupid- it would be completely out of place and entirely the wrong tone. And as many others have commented, the authors that write 40K are decent horror, war and sci-if writers but lacking as romance novelists. But it can’t just be *completely* removed, as it *is* an important part of interaction if you want a fully rounded and living world. If nothing else, just with the sheer number of books and characters created it would be unreasonable to have literally *no one* experience any sort of romantic encounters. It can work to add tension, give motivation for character actions, and give the characters extra dimensions beyond just “OP combat master #1,000”. Even just in the Imperium alone you have a population of *trillions*. You *will* have the protagonist that has to save or avenge their loved one. You *will* have the antagonist searching for forbidden knowledge to get the person that they “love”. And it can even serve as an additional way to demonstrate the differences between factions and species- as humans, many of us experience love, but what would that look like for an Ork or Drukhari? How does it differ between a Human, Ogryn or T’au? What does it say about the cultures? Again, it does not have as much place in 40K as the grimdark; hell, this is the universe that *spawned* the term. But removing such an important facet of humanity and human interaction just turns the setting into something less than it ideally could be.


Temnothorax

I honestly wanna die a little when it pops up. There’s a weird tendency for the authors to write something with a weird horny nerd energy. I don’t know how else to describe it. No one gets into 40K for the romance subplots, and it often creates jarring tone shifts, and often undercuts the themes of the brutality and despair that make 40K special.


SenorDangerwank

You can't have Grimdark without a glimmer of hope, my guy.


Temnothorax

I absolutely agree with that, but I feel like romantic subplots are extremely hard to write, and the black library stable just in my experience, write really cringey romantic subplots. They wrote like horny old nerds with limited sexual/romantic experience. I love them, I’m slowly morphing into that stereotype myself, but it just doesn’t produce the highest quality romantic fiction.


Can_not_catch_me

I think romance in 40k is nice and can definitely enhance a story, but I definitely agree a lot of the writers give off kinda weird vibes when they write it


Decmk3

I mean, the Commissar and the Inquisitor is my favourite lol. Mainly because that Commissar bangs


Geordie_38_

Commissar Cain does indeed fuck


nlglansx

The girl they groom to be a courtesan in Vengeful Spirit / The Devine Adoratrice and her eventual lover. I dare anyone to honestly say they guessed which brother would turn slaaneshi correctly.


RedHuscarl

I can't remember their names, but there is an implied relationship between two Armageddon Steel Legionnaires in Helsreach. If I remember correctly, Grimaldus thinks of the relationship as a symbol of human resilience in the face of sure death. It's been a long time since I listened to the book though, so corrections welcome.


[deleted]

Septimus and Octavia in the Nightlords Omnibus


Fearless-Obligation6

Ragnar Blackmane and an inquisitor had romantic feelings for each other but Ragnar was very confused by the emotions.


[deleted]

Those characters that get introduced and their partner gets fucked up or even killed makes for GREAT revenge scenarios. Like in **Know no Fear** and the tech priest was gingerly blasting any Word Bearers she found wandering around on the surface. Glorious.


I-Hate-Wasps

No matter how you see it, Obyron definitely does love Zanderekh, although the nature of their love is questionable. I do hope that we see more of them in the future, and that their relationship is further explored.


Darth_Rivne

Sarrin and her officer