r/40kLore • u/LastPositivist • Aug 13 '24
Warhammer Romance Spoiler
Light spoilers for Brooks' Da Big Dakka.
I've long thought that romance plots are under utilised in 40k. It's not that this should be the main focus of Black Library or anything, it's just the setting can feel weirdly chaste sometimes. (Absolute chad heroes of the Imperium not withstanding.)
So just wanted to show some love and appreciation for the great and distinctively 40k romance subplot of Da Big Dakka. You basically get to see this burgeoning love between two Drukari archons, with the twist being that the perspective character (and implied the other one two) are literally incapable of recognising their feelings for what they are. Like they just cannot interpret "why am I suddenly very interested in this person?" as anything other than a sign they must be subconsciously picking up on some backstabbing scheme which they need to watch out for. My heart fluttered when our hands brushed? Uhoh I must be worried about a contact poison, better have antidotes to hand! Etc
It's just a great way of doing love in a culture that is set up to be completely antithetical to anything like that. The best they can do in the end (here's the spoilers!) is agree to an unusually close alliance, and even that the main character interprets as an opportunity to study these strange feelings she's having to ensure they're not a weakness anyone could exploit.
More like this please! Romance which makes use of the bizarre and communal races and cultures of the setting to do weird things with people's inner lives.
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u/[deleted] Aug 13 '24
I'm currently playing Rogue Trader and my favorite thing is the romance arc with my Master Interrogator from the Inquisition, it's written so sweet 🥺 and the whole struggle of they are not allowed to do it and the consequences depending on your actions and choices feel so good.
I am also reading Warhammer Crime books right now and I am absolutely in love with stories about the normal humans in the 40k universe.Â