#this isn't even relevant right now since i have a couple of things to wrap up before i get to those broken multichapters

[mimicteruyo]

The next time I post a multichapter, odds are I won't have the penultimate draft of the entire thing on the ready. We'll be way closer to working chapter by chapter*, baby!

(*I won't start posting before I have a FUNCTIONAL draft of the entire thing because omg)

[kerrikins]

The casting for 4 Minutes, the trailer and the subsequent discourse in the fandom has really reminded me of how far the BL sphere has to go in terms of working past stereotypes and bias. (I'll note here that I actually don't know how much of this has gone on here on Tumblr, I'm mostly talking about what I've seen on Twitter and Tiktok).

From the start it weirded me out to see people say stuff like 'obviously it's JesBible' as soon as the casting was announced. Because like - based on WHAT? Regardless of what turns out to be the case (or what we've seen from the trailer, now), at that point the ONLY thing to go on was stereotypes. Jes is taller and a bit bigger so therefore 'obviously' he's the top, right?

Gross. (And oh, I really need the BL world to give me a show with a big masculine bottom and a shorter top just to see some of these small minds struggle to wrap around the concept, lol.)

Then there's been the absolute obsession with the topic of 'omg is it JesBible or BibleJes' ever since the announcement. I expected it from the fandom, but the extent that it's gone on and then also hearing it from the media as well this week was so off-putting. It's reminded me that people really don't like it when they aren't given immediate confirmation of their biases and pre-defined boxes, and they don't like not being given answers, either.

I'll pause here to say that oh, I so appreciate how both Bible and Jes have handled this. They've both made it clear that it doesn't matter, that it's not relevant. Bible even said at one point that 'BibleJes or JesBible doesn't matter, you should think more about whether it's GreatTyme or TymeGreat', haha. (Also, I just want to say that I agree with what one of my friends on Twitter said - maybe, just maybe, 4 Minutes will be the show where we start rejecting this rigid defining of pairs based on who's supposed to be 'the top' or 'the bottom'? Because personally I think BibleJes and GreatTyme sound a lot better than the other way around, lol.)

Another thing I've seen come up is 'oh it's weird to see Bible being a bottom', 'it's weird to see Bible being submissive'.

Girl, what?

He's an actor. Why would he not play a variety of roles! I never see people say 'oh, it's weird to see ____ play a villain', or at least it isn't something that's been said very often, so why is this coming up here? Again: stereotypes (and a bit of fetishization, probably).

As for submissive - one day people will realize that where body parts are going has nothing to do with submission and the world will be a happier place 😭

This is why I would really like to see BLs incorporate something that I haven't seen much of: switching. Both in terms of changing up what role the actors are playing, but also just straight up acknowledging that not all queer couples stick to rigid top/bottom roles! Of course some do, but some don't, and representation of that might help dispel some of this nonsense.

There's also always a faint whiff of bottom shaming that goes on in these conversations, a view that being a bottom is 'lesser' or 'weaker' and it really bothers me. It's insulting to the actors giving their all to the roles but it's also really insulting to all the queer men out there who are being viewed that way according to sexual preferences. (And that's without even touching on the heavy, heavy whiff of sexism and misogyny attached to all of this, because I'm sure we've all seen people refer to the bottom as 'the wife', etc).

Honestly, it just deepens my admiration for Jes and Bible in taking this on. Jes has already gotten a question about how his lakorn viewers will see him now and I think he fielded that admirably, talking about how he's an actor and he hopes/thinks they'll realize that. There's also a bit of an assumption that lakorn is a 'step up' from BL so I love to see him defying that. He's been very firm on handling the media, too - he had an interview yesterday and TWICE had to shoot them down on the 'BibleJes or JesBible' nonsense.

And of course, Bible, my baby - oh, I admire him in doing this. So many BL acting pairs stick to rigid roles and here he is, in only his second role, being willing to defy those and challenge how the fandom perceives him and take on all the weirdness and hate that he's inevitably going to get through at him. I've already seen some people expressing dismay and saying they can't/don't want to see him in this sort of role, and I'm sure he had to be aware that he was opening himself up to that. I'm so proud that he did it anyway and I hope those people reconsider their notions around top/bottom and their expectation that actors stay in neat little boxes.

And all the above is without even touching on all the delays and the history with 4 Minutes, which already made it a bit messy in the first place.

ANYWAY. I don't really know how to wrap this up, since I'm partly just venting here to get this off my chest. But I really hope that this opens up some conversations in the BL space and creates some change for the better.

[frozen-spaghetti]

Papyrus' Heaven Theory - I Swear It's Not Card Friends

Updated June 4th, 2024. Currently probably the definitive version of Papyrus Knight.

Part 1 - The Flaws with Papyrus Knight

a. "It's out of character"

Well, this is the main flaw that Papyrus' Heaven is made to address. However, this section is to run through the argument, so let's see here:

Papyrus is often seen as a simple, happy, and whimsical guy. And on the surface level, in Undertale at least, he does seem to be.

He also has one core difference when compared to the rest of the main cast: He cannot kill you. Toriel can kill you if you're not careful. Sans can kill you in his battle, though it's hard to reach. Undyne and Asgore have essentially made it their job to do so. Mettaton lives in a killer robot body designed to murder humans, a body created by Dr. Alphys. Flowey is a genocidal maniac who will kill you, only to revive you and do it over and over again.

But Papyrus? The only instances of him being able to kill you were a rare glitch in older versions of Undertale, which appears to now be an impossibility.

Now, someone this nice surely cannot have been an evil Knight in another timeline, right?

Well, let me present you a mini-theory within this theory:

Papyrus' Disremembrance Theory

There is a LOT of evidence that Papyrus is intentionally making himself forget many things, many important things.

Dialogue from the King Papyrus ending as well as the Lost SOUL battle paints a dark picture for Papyrus' backstory. Him saying absolutely nothing during part of the fight is haunting, and could imply that he's unable to remember what he would've said at that point. This is especially relevant as it comes at the same time Sans says "you'll never see 'em again," which is a very likely reference to his time in Deltarune's reality. The King Papyrus ending is quite terrifying too, it alludes to his "usual encouragement" not always working, which seems to imply there are past coping mechanisms of his.

This—coupled with the evidence that he's from the DELTARUNE reality—implies he is deep in denial and has forced himself to forget nearly everything. By the way, if you're not aware of said evidence, check out my post detailing the evidence Sans and Papyrus are from the DELTARUNE universe. It's fairly good, but I did not address the sun argument...so I will now.

A major argument against the Papyrus Deltarune theory is that he doesn't know what the sun is. Clearly, he cannot be from Deltarune's Light World if he does not know what the sun is!

Well, my answer to this is fairly simple. He likely has beaten the Deltarune reality out of his mind so hard that he doesn't remember what the sun is. He has to strain himself to even remember there was grass, after all. He does use the term "sun on my skin" but I believe he isn't fully aware of the connection between "the sun" and a big ball in the sky.

To wrap up Papyrus' Disremembrance theory, I'd like to point out that it nicely contrasts Sans' whole "don't forget" thing. This is even reflected in the Lost SOUL dialogue; Sans is clearly grieving while Papyrus has fully made himself forget.

Now - back to the main point!

Since we have established Papyrus is in denial, and has made himself forget practically everything that occurred in his time in the DELTARUNE reality, we can now treat his Undertale incarnation as a "soft reset" of sorts. Many traits of his shine through, but he is a fairly different person.

For example, I believe one of his core traits is his "I WILL BE THE ONE!" mentality.

If Papyrus really is the Knight, him being obsessed with a goal of causing a world-changing event to happen would add up. The core motivation for both would be to become worshipped and to achieve what he perceives as the greater good.

It would also be consistent with how Asriel—the Angel in Undertale's world—deceived him into doing his bidding. Assuming that the Knight is working for Deltarune's Angel, that could be a recurring theme for Papyrus' story.

Lastly, I will mention how most Papyrus Knight theories mess this up. They often claim he does not know about the Roaring, or that he makes the Dark Fountains just to get some Darkner buddies. And, while that may be on the surface level closer to his Undertale characterization, it does not add up with the in-game evidence. Queen makes it clear that the Knight goes by 'Roaring Knight' and King implies he was ordered to fight the other kings by the Knight. This clearly implies they are devoted to doing the Angel's bidding, regardless of if it's morally wrong.

b. "He's from Undertale, so he can't be the Knight"

I won't spend too long on this one since it is absolutely unchangeable, but I will bring up a counterpoint, one that I explained earlier.

Papyrus is kind of a Deltarune character???

If anyone who first appeared in Undertale counts, it would be the skeletons.

Hell, W.D Gaster in Deltarune is very heavily implied to be the same Gaster who built the CORE in Undertale's reality.

It appears the skeletons are strange, interdimensional beings. Gaster exists everywhere at every possible time, and Sans and Papyrus are known to have hopped realities.

Essentially, this argument is a bit weaker for someone like Papyrus than someone like Undyne who isn't the same character across both games.

I do get it, though. However, I do think there is room to debate he's being treated weirdly compared to nearly everyone else.

This line about Papyrus.

This damn line about Papyrus.

I don't think it proves he's the Knight at all, but Toby Fox is totally conditioning us to wonder where the hell Papyrus is.

And given the way the newsletters have been using Papyrus, it's honestly odd to imagine he won't have some strangely major role in the plot.

I could easily use something like this GIF as "evidence" but it really isn't. I could argue it ties Papyrus to a future Dark World location, I suppose. But really, the main takeaway is that Papyrus is treated extremely weirdly when compared to the rest of the returning Undertale cast.

c. "Nobody knows who he is"

Well, this flaw is near-unfixable. However, it is possible to turn it into a slight strength.

Firstly, though, there are ways for him to be more known to the main cast.

Deltarune has teased a Papyrus hangout in a similar vein to Undertale's date. Not only has Sans directly told you that you'll hang out with him soon, but the Steam page hints that Papyrus is busy—implying he will show up later.

This could easily pay off in a hangout later in the game, which causes the Fun Gang to familiarize with him. Hell, it's possible there's a Dark World adventure with him later on. However, I have a question to pose to you:

Does it really matter?

Well, likely, yes. Though, it is potentially not as much of a flaw as you would think.

Consider, for a moment, who else do we know for sure has created a dark fountain? Kris. And, tell me if this sounds familiar.

"Antisocial person lacking friends, who—in the grand scheme of things—lives under the shadow of their older brother."

Sure, this isn't exactly that unique of a character archetype, but if the two Dark Fountain creators share those traits, it could mean something.

Kris isn't as unknown as Papyrus is, but still— many people do not know them very much. Some don't even know their name; Undyne addresses them as "Asgore's kid" and even the ones who do know their name are not quite familiar with them.

Some More Weird Parallels Between These Siblings

Kris and Papyrus are both compared to Luigi from the Mario series.

Yes, I get it's stupid to bring up Luigi in an essay about Papyrus being the Roaring Knight, but hear me out here.

In debating Papyrus Knight since I wrote the original draft of this essay, I've mostly encountered the response that it's a basic trope and cannot be considered as an intentional parallel.

However, knowing Toby Fox directly acknowledges it and considers both of them to be Luigi-like characters...that makes it far more plausible of a comparison to make. Both of them are younger siblings who, despite their circumstances, wish they were "as good" as their elders, being Asriel and Sans. Just LOOK at Kris' room.

Papyrus and The Fun Gang

Papyrus is absolutely one of, if not the best character to make the Knight in relation to the Fun Gang.

I know that sounds odd. How? The Mayor is a character who they all at least know exists, and a similar thing could be said about Alvin, or even a more out-there candidate such as Alphys.

But...one thing nearly everyone else has in common is that they are figures of authority. Figures not nearly comparable to the teenagers who were pulled into a universe-defining story which puts fate into their hands.

This could apply to Kris (albeit limiting the affected parties for obvious reasons) and arguably Dess, but Papyrus really does work the best from the perspective of an "equal" antagonist.

This becomes especially clear when you consider the main antagonists so far.

A king, a queen, some criminal mastermind guy. To have their creators and ultimate superior be just another sad teenager like the Fun Gang could work as a better story.

Now.

The main issues with Papyrus Knight have been fairly addressed.

They will be hard to correct, but I have gotten them out of the way in order to pave the foundation of my theory. If the Knight is creating these worlds, why? They don't just want little Darkner buddies...if so, why would they order Spade King to overthrow the other kings?

Well, the motivation comes down to one word.

...

Okay. This is a bit funny. When I originally made the theory, I considered Dess was controlling him to create an Angel's Heaven. But now i go against said idea. But I'm too lazy to change the title, so pretend that nothing happened.

Part 2 - Papyrus' Heaven Theory

The General Idea

If you just want the key details of Papyrus' Heaven, here you go.

Papyrus doesn't want the Dark Worlds for friends, for fun, for adventure, or whatever. He is fully convinced that whatever he is doing is working toward a great new future.

In Undertale, we see his "I WILL BE THE ONE!!!" mentality with his ultimate goal of saving monsterkind, by capturing the final human. I believe he felt that very way about being the Knight. That he is ultimately a legendary hero.

This parallels the Fun Gang, who are also a group of inexperienced teenagers lacking friends who have been turned into prophesied heroes of the world.

Papyrus is aware, in some way, that a Roaring exists and believes it's either a necessary evil or the key to the perfect end for the world. He is not going to have a Berdly moment where Ralsei tells him it's bad and he stops.

What he did hurt him so much that he repressed the memories and vowed to be a better person.

Now, let me look at a few of these points in further detail.

"Papyrus doesn't want to make fountains for friends, fun, or adventure. He believes he's bringing a grand future."

Well, I can sense a counterpoint coming.

If he is aware of the Roaring, and believes it could be used to help save the world, why would he not just start the Roaring right then and now?

Well, I feel the easiest way is to connect this to Gaster.

Sans is fairly obviously connected to Gaster, but what many people don't consider is the strange level of meta knowledge he possesses. Not only does he wink at what we can only conclude is the Player, but he fairly accurately knows the release window between chapters of Deltarune. (2 years to describe the window between Chapters 1 and 2, which is correct if you don't round upwards.)

Given he says you'll most likely see Papyrus again when Asriel returns, we can infer this will likely be around when a major story moment occurs. This is probably sometime between Chapter 5 and Chapter 7, however it is most likely during Chapter 5 proper, as that chapter may take place in the Flower King shop for various reasons. These include but aren't limited to the likely placement of the Church in Chapter 4 based on various context clues, the potential for a Flower King area to serve as a pseudo-endgame with Flowey characters and the like, and the May 2024 newsletter giving us some content regarding the Flower King shop a while after Chapter 3's development completed.

There are also many reasons to believe Chapter 5 will end with the Roaring beginning and heavily feature the Knight, such as Chess Theory and the original release schedule.

Regardless though, given that Papyrus is known to have some form of relationship with Gaster, I could see him having some level of fore-knowledge. It'd be interesting if Gaster actually needs the Knight for the Legend to come true, and thus is affiliated with them.

"In Undertale, we see his 'I WILL BE THE ONE!' mentality which may carry over into his attitude as the Knight."

Papyrus is strongly devoted to his goals in Undertale. Sometimes, painfully so. He is very, very committed to making sure Frisk is captured. Even after they become friends with him, he continues to aid Undyne in capturing him.

And yes, he is very aware of what he's doing.

Papyrus very much knows the consequences his actions have, and does not cease even despite the fact he is friends with the person who is going to be murdered; their blood would be on his hands. Yet he is unrelenting.

I imagine this is a personality the Knight could have.

To endanger children by placing Dark Worlds in a school and a library, and to continue creating these Dark Fountains even after having learned of the Roaring (if he didn't already know of it) is something I cannot see many characters doing. Of course, that can be addressed with others, but Papyrus in particular is very stubborn, or to put it another way, determined.

Regardless of whether a Knight Papyrus would want recognition or love, I believe he absolutely considers himself to be a hero. Perhaps he is misguided. And, if the Delta Warriors are also misguided, then it'd be a double misguide. Two opposing sides, and yet both manage to be wrong in a sense.

Does Papyrus Want Recognition Again?

Speaking of, though, it is entirely likely that Papyrus wants to be hailed for his work as the Roaring Knight.

Perchance Sans is being truthful when he says Papyrus wants friends, and Papyrus takes that in an unhealthy direction using Dark Worlds.

While Kris used the Dark Worlds to make new friends with Lancer, Ralsei, and Susie, as well as improving their bond with Noelle and Berdly, the Knight has been shown to have manipulated the chapter bosses in order to worship them. Maybe not directly, but they absolutely have displayed behaviour that implies that the Knight feels like a god to them.

It is presumable that Papyrus may also want to gain praise from other Lighters in this manner as well, but he certainly has taken the role of a 'god' to some Darkners.

"Papyrus is aware of the Roaring and considers it necessary to fulfill his grand goal."

Given Queen calls the Knight the Roaring Knight, this is a pretty clear-cut case.

As I mentioned in the last section, Papyrus absolutely does know his actions have consequences, and it's very hard to change their mind. In Undertale, thankfully, most of his actions were benevolent. But in this case, he is really acting in a dangerous manner which is bound to hurt many people.

"What he did hurt him so much that he repressed the memories, and vowed to change and improve as a person."

I already covered this earlier, during the Papyrus' Disremembrance segment.

However, I do want to expand a little more on a specific argument against it here.

I've seen Papyrus' ignorance at what a human looks like being used as a point against him being from the Deltarune world, or a point against him having met Kris.

Now, if Papyrus' Disremembrance theory is correct, that explains that argument away.

Next, I'll cover more tangible evidence for the theory.

Part 3 - Some Potential Evidence I Guess

Susie Is QC Lmao

When talking about the Roaring Knight and the Dark Fountains, Susie says this:

"The Roaring Knight…

(...)

Since they started showing up,

Everything’s gotten a lot more interesting, hasn’t it…?"

This is odd. It's very, very similar in wording to the way QC describes Sans and Papyrus being new in town. She says the following:

"There’s two of ‘em…

Brothers, I think.

They just showed up one day and…

… asserted themselves.

The town has gotten a lot more interesting since then."

The focus on the Fountains being new and the very similar choice in wording leads me, and others, to believe this may be an intentional parallel. Of course, there are other Knights who could be 'new' like the Vessel, but Papyrus fits the best by far, because of the fact the original statement was about him and Sans.

Papyrus and Dreams

Papyrus is weirdly frequently connected to dreams.

If you take even a casual glance at Deltarune, it's pretty clear dreams are significant to this game.

"This robot was the embodiment of a lightner’s dreams."

“The edge of shadow, where reality and dream meet.”

In the Undertale 5th anniversary alarm clock winter dialogue, Papyrus talks about how he let Sans sleep despite wanting him to help to clean up after the holiday party, and adds that this dream was his gift to him.

"SO I LET HIM SLEEP.

HE BETTER NOT EXPECT ME TO CLEAN UP BY MYSELF NEXT TIME! THAT GOOD DREAM WAS MY PRESENT TO HIM! NYEHEHEHEHEH!!!"

In Papyrus’s room, upon inspecting his bed, he talks about his dream of driving down a highway:

THAT’S MY BED! 

(…) 

OF COURSE, THAT’S JUST A DREAM. 

SO INSTEAD I CRUISE WHILE I SNOOZE.

Papyrus and the IcePalace Maze

Now, I'm including this one more for the hell of it rather than because it's really evidence. But, regardless, here it is.

On the Spamton Sweepstakes website, clicking on the black door of the blue and white d_a_m_n_y_o_u_t_e_n_n_a page leads us to Noelle’s blog.  https://deltarune.com/icepalace_glaceir/. In her blog entry, she talks about the cross shaped maze in the ice area from the game Dragon Blazers. If the player wasn’t accompanied by a specific character to guide them, they got lost and became stuck forever.

In the Undertale 5th anniversary alarm clock winter dialogue, Sans describes how Papyrus threw a holiday party for everyone and made a maze out of snow and ice, in which Asgore got lost:

"this winter, papyrus threw a holiday party for everyone. 

[...] oh yeah, he even made a, uh, a “welcoming puzzle” for the party.

a giant labyrinth made of ice, snow, and musical ornament, 

you, uh, had to get through it to get to the front door.

think asgore got lost in there for a while.

undyne had to go save him."

Mettaton refers to it as a "mind maze" which is extremely interesting if it truly is referencing a Dark World.

To be clear, though, my claim is that it is a parallel to Papyrus' previous actions, not that they really created a Dark World here. That would be silly.

The True Meaning of the Word Font

There is a very compelling case that the word 'font' means 'Dark fountain.'

Papyrus (as well as Sans and Gaster) use the more common modern definition of 'font' which is essentially just a computer typeface.

However, the more traditional definitions oddly line up with a description of a Dark Fountain.

Don't put too much stock in this one. It's mostly a fun coincidence!

"A receptacle in a church for the water used in baptism."

This one should be fairly obvious.

Darkness is compared to water a lot. Down to the word 'fountain' being used at all. The filename for the background in the intro is "IMAGE_DEPTH" and the sound effect when Kris and Susie fall into a Dark World is called "ocean."

The 'baptism' part is especially interesting though.

A 'holy fountain.' Not only does King describe fountains as Holy, but so does the soundtrack. The theme of the Dark Fountains is called THE HOLY. Given it is in all caps and fairly reasonably connected to Gaster, it's interesting that a skeleton who uses a strange font himself would describe them this way...

"A reservoir for oil in an oil lamp."

Not much to say on this, other than the fact oil is VERY dark. A very dark liquid such as Darkness may be comparable with oil.

"A source of a desirable quality or commodity, a fount."

Now this really just describes the Dark World.

Not only does the Dark World act as a form of 'Dream World,' but it actively amplifies the skills and powers of those who enter.

Monsters are able to use magic, or at least harness it more powerfully than normal.

Given the way Dark Worlds work, you could very much consider them to fit this definition of font.

Papyrus' Heaven - Conclusion

This is my first long-form theory, and I hope you liked it. Please point out errors or holes, and I'll go back and edit them!

Updated June 4, 2024 to reflect changes in my, and other people's, visions for how it should go.

[lightholme]

The plague of Diegetic essentialism (or, how I learned to stop worrying, and just enjoy the sub)

There's a specter haunting the sub… the specter of… Oh fuck, this bit is played out, isn't it?

Hello everyone, it's been a couple years since my piece asking people to chill about calling things fascist. Just long enough for everyone to forget it and the problem to come right back!

But that essay is a companion to today's topic, as is this ever relevant video by FoldingIdeas about The Thermian Argument.

Today, I want to talk about diegetic essentialism, how it poisons discourse, and is a cynical ploy by corporations to get you to mindlessly consume their products. And, especially, how it's managed to infect Warhammer and Sigmarxism in particular.

Introduction: Don't be a DEckhead

If you Google the term "Diegetic Essentialism," the first result is….this sub? What the fuck? Did we make up this term? Shit, that can't be right.

Ok, so there are actually a lot of other terms to describe this phenomenon, which has become pandemic over the past decade. Lore brain, Wookipediaism, the Thermian Argument, Cinema Sins-esque, Funko Pop Sunnism (ok, I made up that last one too).

But being the fucking insufferable, over educated losers that we are, we decided the best label was diegetic essentialism. The perfect academia poisoned definition. Exactly descriptive, but so wrapped up in jargon, it can't be understood on its own. So what does it mean?

The diegesis is a work of fiction's "universe." It is the imaginary place where the story is unfolding. There's a joke that's common in movies that explains the concept perfectly. A soundtrack is played over the intro, and when the credits are finished, a character leans over and turns off the radio, cutting the song short. The joke being, you thought it was the film's soundtrack, something the characters can't hear, but it was actually diegetic sound, sound that existed "in that universe." The joke being that there kind of isn't a real difference (hyuk hyuk).

Essentialism just means the only valid thing. To be essentialist is to say that something has an underlying, a priori nature that cannot be denied.

Put em together? It means someone who thinks the only way to analyze, critique, or understand fiction is as though it were real. To the DEckhead (how I'll be referring to the diegetic essentialist from now on), a work of fiction is like a keyhole into an alternate universe as real as ours.

There's nothing inherently wrong with this, it's often how we enjoy something as a consumer. And the DEckhead is nothing if not a consoomer.

While we're watching a movie or reading a book, we allow ourselves to pretend like it's real. It's fun.

But when a normal person returns to reality, they understand that fiction not only isn't real, not only can't be real, but isn't intended to be, beyond the fun of enjoying it.

It is something which is produced by artists, authors, actors. It may or may not have clarity of purpose, themes, intended takeaways, cultural criticisms, etc. It might just be something someone thought was cool.

In a movie like, say, Scott Pilgrim (I know but it's a good example here), when Scott punches someone they burst into coins. This is obviously not intended to be real. In the "universe" of Scott Pilgrim, people are not made of coins, it's just a fun video game reference, an absurdist joke.

But this is true even in something like Superman. When Supe punches someone, he's not really punching someone. The physics of that would be like being impaled by a telephone pole. No, the punch is essentially metaphorical. Evil is defeated by the strength of justice. A punch is the psychologically satisfying, "non violent" way to do that. IRL it actually very easily could kill the petty criminal the same way a knife or a gun could, but it's something our brains can passively accept, it feels right.

This is a critical aspect of media comprehension. Most aspects of a story are thematic. They're not meant to be understood as literally real, but rather meant to evoke the feeling of something real.

The DEckhead does not understand this, or, chooses not to, and gets angry at people who don't follow along. To them, a fictional universe is a consistent, coherent place that exists beyond the boundaries of the text in question. And the only thing you're allowed to do is contribute to "the canon." A term which was literally invented as a joke that is now taken 100% seriously. Welcome to the internet, enjoy your signal decay.

Our sub's eternal enemy, 40klore, is a perfect example of this.

Always are they searching for "evidence" of what something is "really" like, or who would win what fight. You know the type.

Which primarch has the biggest dick? What does Shadowsun eat for breakfast? Questions that, even if an author explicitly spells them out, do not have answers, because they are not real.

Let me give you some other examples to give you an idea how absurd this exercise is:

Does Gandalf have colon cancer? Does Pikachu like dubstep? Did Captain Ahab have imposter syndrome? Hopefully, you're getting the idea. Characters exist to serve a story, they don't have a reality independent of that.

And the only thing that determines what happens next in a story is what an author decides will happen next. That's it. This is true even of historical fiction or works like The Martian, in which the original author went to great lengths to make it as "realistic" as possible. But "Realism" is essentially a genre trapping. It's like a lightsaber color, it's just there to help you enjoy the work. It can't be real.

So here's a great example from the sub that everyone isn't sick to death of, female space marines!

What does the DEckhead say? There can't be female marines because there's no geneseed for them. What does the other DEckhead say? Cawl could totally do it if he did primaris!

These answers are categorically wrong. There were female marines, but they didn't sell as well, and for logistical reasons, they were dropped. Lore was invented to justify this. And it stays that way because the cultivated identity of your marine consumer expects it to stay that way (we will talk about this term later), and would go Gamergate on GW if it changed. GW likes money, and not rocking the boat, so without a compelling reason to blow up their current fanbase, they maintain a piece of fluff so that it's "impossible." ("It's an easy fix! One line of dialogue, thank God we invented the uhh.. You know… Whatever, device.")

This is the only coherent answer. "Lore" reasons are for idiots, and are literally wrong. It's like thinking that Toucan Sam controls what goes into froot loops.

Of course, I'm not saying you can't enjoy fiction on its own terms. But when criticizing it, you must think of it in material terms, as a production made by authors with intent. Lest you fall into this mental trap.

So how is this relevant to us, and why is it bad? Seems straightforward right? Can we be done here?

Well, unfortunately, DE is the tip of a very ugly cultural iceberg. We have a lot to talk about. About late capitalism, about the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, and about how one of capitalism's new frontiers is our brains, and how they've been fully colonized.

Ugh, fuck, like my sister essay, this is way too long. We will break it up with memes and jokes. Bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Media saturation and the attention economy

Have you noticed recently that there's just, like, way too much shit?

Pick any medium: TV, streaming, books, games, movies, music, fuck, even board and tabletop games.

The production and sale of entertainment products is more voluminous than ever. The sheer quantity of things released, even good things, is so large, that even if it were your full time job, you couldn't keep up with just one of these mediums, let alone multiple.

Sometimes people in the same hobby, that like the same genre, maybe even the same property, won't have anything in common with each other.

It did not used to be this way. For better or for worse, "pop culture" used to mean pretty much everyone had seen something. In 1991, 22 million people watched the season finale of Dallas. Now, something with a 2 million person fanbase is considered strong.

As more and more media is produced, it is competing with an ever shrinking attention span. You literally don't have time for this shit.

What results is an alienated, fractured fan "community," one in which you're forced to seek out other atomized individuals to even know someone who's experienced the same thing as you.

And this problem is only getting worse. With the proliferation of choices, not only is there an ocean of garbage to wade through, but a calculation has to be made whether that thing is even worth experiencing if you'll never even meet someone else who has as well.

Ever scrolled through Netflix for hours and found nothing to watch? Ever paid good money for a game on steam and never once played it? How many books are you planning to eventually read, only to find that by the time you start, they're not relevant anymore?

There used to be a thought experiment in philosophy like this: if you had a superpower where you could make any movie you want, but only you could see it, would you want it?

That's not a thought experiment anymore, it is functionally true.

As a result, very few cultural properties have any lasting impact, and fewer still will even experience them. And so they become shallower as a result. They need to appeal to ever increasing crowds of people but still have nothing to say. How can you make a resonant cultural impact, when the culture is essentially a shattered mirror of little cultivated fandoms? How can you even know how to speak to people? This is, not coincidentally, why every show sounds like Twitter now.

The walled garden, the cultivated consumer identity

Corporations have a term they use, cultivated identity, to describe a marketing and sales strategy for how you break through an environment like this.

Now this part of things I'm not an expert in. A lot of people make a lot of money figuring this shit out. But the outline of it isn't hard to understand.

If you're selling people a product, you're kind of a sucker. The buyer gets to evaluate whether that product is worth their money, and you have to convince them that it is, based on its quality, with consequences involved for lying or falling short.

But what if instead, you could convince someone that the product is part of their identity? You're not a customer, you're a blorbo! And you can't wait for blorb 13, the blorbening!

What does it matter if it's good? A blorbo blorbs. Duh.

Obviously, I made this sound as stupid as possible. And yet, how many people call themselves gamers? Hobbyists? Superfans? YouTubers? Even "nerd" and "leftist" can fall into this category.

This isn't like being a film buff, which has expectations of expertise involved. And it's not like an ordinary fandom or genre appreciator, e.g., a metalhead. This is merely a consumer category. You get in the club by being someone continually buying into something, regardless of quality or expertise.

It's pernicious, and it's a highly effective way to cut through all the noise.

Why buy the next thing? Because it's your identity. You could avoid it, if you wanted. But then you're back to that screaming void of attempting to parse through an ocean of stuff based on its quality, which no one else may even know about. Worse, the more people become like this, the less you can relate to them unless you become the same thing.

How many of you have read all of the Horus Heresy novels, all 60-something of them, even though you can count on your fingers which ones aren't complete dogshit?

I own all the Broken Realms books, and I sit and defend AoS on this sub all the time. Why? That shit is online somewhere for free, and I don't give a shit what redditors think about a game I enjoy playing.

It's because GW colonized our brains. In order to keep you onboard, they want you thinking about Warhammer all the fucking time. They want it to be the only thing you consume.

Have you ever looked at something in real life and said, "hey! That's just like Warhammer!" But no, it obviously isn't. That's their marketing with its hooks in you. That's the brainworm they inserted so you'll keep coming back.

And now that I've mentioned this, you probably see it everywhere. Video games that demand they be the only things you play. Endless manga and anime that never has a satisfactory conclusion. TV or books that go on forever and have spinoffs and sequels and tie ins and etc etc etc.

This differs from just making more content for things that are popular. The goal of these kinds of franchises is to be totaling. Warhammer, in particular, is so impenetrable that you can't know it all (even if it is a mile wide and an inch deep, which is actually intentional.)

Marvel of course is the clear juggernaut here. You could live your entire life in a Marvel bubble, if you wanted to. There's that much content.

Shit, even things like apps have the same strategy. Endlessly consuming your attention, refusing to let you go long past when you're getting any use out of it. How often do you even remember what memes you looked at an hour after you put your phone down?

How do they cast this spell on us? Why does this work?

Competitive identity and fandom

And now we return to D.E., and its role in this.

Real media criticism is like the product comparison we made before. Is this a good fiction? Are its themes coherent? What were the authors trying to say? Were the performances good? Etc etc.

You may notice, these are essentially subjective questions, which are the bane of both capital and the hopeless nerd.

If I judge something as bad, it's not easy to convince me otherwise. So you need to pull the conversation away from that, into something "objective."

Enter diegetic essentialism. The goal here is not to evaluate any substantive question. The goal is to establish canon. Quality and artistic merit are essentially irrelevant. And the author might as well be god himself. Aloof and unknowable.

In a deeply bitter form of irony, many DEckheads actually invoke death of the author as evidence for why a story can only mean what its "canon" implies it means. Symbolism? Allegory? Metaphor? These things don't exist. Only "details." Details established by fan arguments.

In this environment, it becomes very difficult to relate actual media criticism to the cultivated identity DEckhead. It tends to annoy them, or "spoil the fun." You're evaluating quality and artistry? That's not why we're here, bucko.

For you to fit into these properties, and therefore not be lost in the cultural wasteland, you begin to compete to be the biggest "fan." The best lore understander, the most details knower, the most hours logged on, the takes haver.

What becomes important is not actual construction of meaning, talent in performance, or even just having a good time, it's constructing the cultural justification for why it's worth it to stay in this identity.

I know you know what I mean.

How often have you been roped in to an argument about the Tau? How long have you spent memorizing the details of battles that did not happen and aren't even consistent? How many marketing names do you know for troops that have slightly different weapons?

When you're trapped in DE, all you can do is talk about the details. Everyone is in the walled garden. You're not a visitor here, you're trapped.

When we say 40k sucks, what we mean is the vast majority of it is zero effort reactionary garbage. Sure, some of it isn't, but that's the exception.

GW rarely or never credits their authors and artists anymore (their newest paint teacher is hands only lmao). They regularly shit can excellent story ideas if they can't connect to minis sales.

How can this dreck be worth thinking about? It's not just that it isn't real, that's obvious. It's not even really trying.

And yet that won't stop 40klore from furiously discussing the implications of bimchus boltbutt falling to chaos, all one paragraph written about it. And it won't stop someone else from spending two hours digging through wikis (which are like religious monuments dedicated to DE) to "prove" or "disprove" something that was never real and will be overwritten by the next book anyway.

Most of you are subconsciously aware of this. Be honest, when was the last time you really read any of the books? Compare that to how often you read a wiki instead, or, god help us, watched a "loretuber."

It's not your fault, it's because it's bad. It's not worth reading 80% of these things. Your brain rebels against it.

At one point, they existed to help you tell a cool story while you were playing a fun game.

Now? They exist to perpetuate a corporate juggernaut with a 30% profit margin. The game is deliberately designed to be miserable to incentivize new model purchases. And Black Library greases that engine.

Influencers and superfans consume and regurgitate "information" and "lore" to a series of people who've decided they "like" something that they literally don't like.

And you keep up with it because otherwise, you don't get to be in the "fandom." Hilariously, a lot of the arguments people make on here are incorrect even in DEckhead terms. Like it's obvious to someone who has read lore when someone else has not. But accuracy isn't even important to the DEckhead. Not really. Just that it exists to argue about.

And now we come to it. The conclusion that will piss a lot of you off.

""""""""""Leftist"""''"""""" Diegetic Essentialism

Leftist is essentially in this category too. Because it doesn't have a strict, coherent meaning like, say, Marxist-Leninist or Anarcho-Communist.

Despite being nominally anti capitalist, after the honeymoon period of escaping to the left, there is a lingering "what do I do now" that this same market mechanism is happy to latch onto.

"Breadtubers," shitty podcasts, awful electoral politics horseracing, they all fit into this same niche. An endless stream of content to deliberate on, but not act on or organize for.

Worse, since people falsely associate liberalism with the left, and liberals have increasingly become hysterical about the need to "improve" media, rather than improve material conditions, people start using diegetic essentialism to police their own fiction for elements that aren't in it.

How. Many. Fucking. Times. Have you read a thread, on this sub, from people who definitely should know better (and I do not exempt myself one bit) about how X faction is (fascist, capitalist, cringe, based, comrade, etc.) because of some snippet of their lore that clearly no author was trying to communicate, and that the story barely supports?

It's ok if you're just having fun, but we are so far past that point.

Stir made a joke a long time ago about how often the word "anarchy" is used in the Beasts of Chaos and Tzeentch battletomes in Age of Sigmar, and how it would be funny if someone thought that made them anarchist comrades instead of the clearly negative connotation GW puts on the word.

Only that's not a joke, that eventually did happen.

It's ironic that despite how saturated the internet is now with media analysis types with related degrees from universities, media literacy is probably worse than it's ever been.

The takeaway: Thematic/Material Analysis, vs diegetic essentialist problematic interpretations

Fuck, are we at the end yet? Thank God. The tl;dr is almost here.

When you make an argument like "Salamanders are comrades because in this book they did a thing that was nice, and that's like communism, so they're communists," you are doing the leftist version of DE to keep this consumer identity going. It is exactly the same as a shitty 40klore thread (redundant, I know).

It is the "leftist" version of "no female space marines."

Or, not to put this user on blast, but the recent "Chorfs are capitalist?!??" post is another great example. It would be one thing if we could examine the story and see their mode of production and, wow, look, the author included enclosure of the commons and theft of surplus value, I wonder if that was intentional? But no. The argument is "Chorfs are greedy industrialists. Capitalism has greedy industrialists. Chorfs capitalist?!??"

Lost in this kind of nonsense are basic critical questions. E.g., what was the author(s)' intent? What is the value of this criticism? Is this what the story is about, or is there only incidental interpretive evidence?

What's happening here, is leftists are using the Thermian Argument in reverse. They're using DE to say a story objectively has a message that it does not possess, and that no author intended. And, even worse, that even the interpretation is an idiotic stretch. All this to keep the fan content churning.

Do you see how foolish this exercise is? Do you see how the point isn't to critique or analyze or enjoy a work, but to create a competitive context to keep people trapped in these consumer categories?

It would be one thing if, like is the case with Krieg and Space Marines, people were deliberately misinterpreting lore as an endorsement of fascism (using an admittedly lazy and inconsistent framing where they're arguably not wrong). Especially since there's a material effect that misinterpretation(?) has on our lives.

But if we're just arguing about the fucking lore, the answer is that's it's just a bunch of shit designed by Tory adjacent Anglos to sell toys. That's it. Most Warhammer fluff isn't even worth analysis or critique, it's got nothing in it. Even the DEckhead has to scrape the bottom of the barrel most times. Sometimes literal sentences are their only "evidence."

If you want to break out of this hell, you have to start using actual tools of critical media analysis. And absolutely the first step of that is throwing Diegetic Essentialism out the window.

Don't think about lore as real, think of it as decoration for a product, made by tired authors and artists who largely aren't getting any credit.

When you want to have one of these silly takes, ask yourself instead, "what was the person writing this lore trying to accomplish?"

The answer typically, in Warhammer's case, is not much.

This is not to say there's nothing about it to discuss, far from it. We could talk all day about what Warhammer considers normal and what it says about Western values.

But there's no intelligent things to glean from the lore itself.

The tl;dr

There is no canon. The lore is not real. It cannot mean or imply anything not expressed by the authors and artists, or so strongly evident in the assumptions of the story, that it's an inescapable facet of it (e.g. Imperium and fascism).

If you don't want to be a consumer brained moron, stop asking """''factual""""" questions about the lore, and ask instead, "what did the author mean?" "How was this work produced and for what reason?" "Who made it?" "How does it make me feel and what are its themes?" And, most importantly, "is this even good? Is it even worth my time or analysis?"

Otherwise, you're just trapping yourself into a series of pointless arguments to justify your consumption, forever. And you'll be polluting the sub, and dragging everyone else down with you.

Peace, thank you for reading this incredibly stupid essay.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Jin Guangyao isn't cruel because he is nice sometimes! No... no... just no. He pretends to be a nice, sweet person to get what he wants, it is exactly why he got away with the killings and plannings for the Yin Hu Fu, YEARS AFTER JIN GUANGSHAN IS OUT OF THE PICTURE. He's the only legitimate Jin left old enough to take over the Sect, who the hell was gonna argue that when all relevant Jins were dead and Nie Mingjue was killed by the happy smiling pretty boy?

First example, he was actively friends with Xue Yang, there is no saying he was coerced into that one since he recommended him as a guest disciple and made creepy little jokes with him.

Jin GuangYao sighed, “I only turned around for a second and you stirred up so much trouble for me. I only had to pay for a bowl of dumplings in the beginning, and now I have to pay for his table, chairs, pots and pans, and even bowls.”

Xue Yang, “You’ll miss the couple of coins?”

Jin GuangYao, “No.”

Xue Yang, “Then why are you sighing?”

Jin GuangYao, “I don’t think you’ll miss the couple of coins either. Why can’t you try being a normal customer once in a while?”

Xue Yang, “Back in Kuizhou I never paid for anything I wanted. Just like this.” As he spoke, he casually plucked off a stick of sugared haws off a vendor’s pole. It might be the first time the vendor saw such a shameless person. As he stared open-mouthed, Xue Yang took a bite, “Besides, you can deal with the trouble of me wrecking a tiny stall, can’t you?”

Jin GuangYao smiled, “You little delinquent. Wreck stalls however you want. I wouldn’t even care if you burned down the entire street. Just one thing—don’t wear the Stars Amidst Snow robes and cover up your face. Don’t let anyone know who did it, or it’d be trouble for me.”

He tossed the money to the vendor

A.K.A: haha you're funny and I don't care who you fuck over but be sly and

Next example:

And so, Jin GuangShan sought after all those who imitated Wei WuXian in cultivating the ghostly path and gathered them under his rule. He spent a great amount of money and resources on these people, ordering them to study and analyze the structure of the Tiger Seal in secrecy so that they could replicate and restore it. Among them, not many achieved anything, while the one who walked the furthest was the youngest Xue Yang, recommended by Jin GuangYao alone.

Jin GuangYao was overjoyed. He accepted him as a guest cultivator and gave him high rights and freedom. The corpse training ground was an area of land Jin GuangYao specially requested for Xue Yang for him to research in secrecy, which meant for him to fool around however he wanted to.

He gave a whole torture playground for Xue Yang to use, he specifically asked for this from his own mouth, for Xue Yang to use and he would check in on progress. As for his morals:

Jin GuangYao’s tone was somewhat reproachful, “He Su gongzi is a respected cultivator, after all. How could you refer to him in such a disrespectful way?”

The cultivator laughed coldly, “I’ve already fallen in your hands. What are you keeping up the pretense for?”

Jin GuangYao responded with a kind expression, “You don’t have to look at me like that. I also had no choice. To elect a chief cultivator is an irresistible trend. What was the use of stirring up trouble and seeking arguments everywhere? I’ve already warned you again and again, yet you were determined not to listen to me. Under these circumstances, things are already beyond redemption. From the bottom of my heart, I, too, feel utmost pain and regret.”

He Su, “What was the irresistible trend? What was stirring up trouble? Jin GuangShan wanted to establish the position of chief cultivator only to imitate the QishanWen Sect in being the only one at the top. Do you think all the world is ignorant? You frame me like this only because I spoke the truth!”

Jin GuangYao smiled, saying nothing. He Su continued, “When you really succeed, all of the world of cultivation would see the true face of the LanlingJin Sect. Do you think killing me alone would put you eternally at ease? How wrong you are! We, the TingshanHe Sect, teem with talent. From now on, we’ll unite and never surrender to you Wen-dogs of another skin!”

Hearing this, Jin GuangYao squinted slightly, the corners of his lips curving up. It was the usual kind, gentle expression. Seeing this, He Su felt his heart skip a beat. At the same time, commotion sounded outside the corpse training ground, among it the cries of women and children.

He Su spun around, only to see a group of LanlingJin Sect cultivators drag inside sixty or seventy people all wearing the same uniform. There were men and women, old and young. Every one of them was a cross between shock and fear, while some were already crying. Both tied up, a girl and a boy kneeled on the ground as they wailed at He Su, “Ge!”

He Su was shocked speechless, his face instantly as white as paper, “Jin GuangYao! What are you doing?! It’s enough if you kill me—why drag my entire sect along?!”

Jin GuangYao looked down and fixed his sleeves, still grinning, “Weren’t you yourself the one who reminded me just now? Even if I killed you, I wouldn’t be put eternally at ease. The TingshanHe Sect teems with talent, and from now on, you’d unite and never surrender—I was quite frightened. After much thought, this was the only thing I could come up with.”

Among the group are children. That he did see and stare at gleefully as he lets Xue Yang decide to use all of them for corpse experiments. What does that mean??? Maybe that Jin Guangyao is also not in fact best uncle as he similarly was willing to kill Jin Ling who he "loved" as bait to try running away and is more than willing to use his "friends" for his own rise to power or to run away.

Examples of him enjoying emotionally torturing others as much as Xue Yang as a tactic:

Example 1:

“That’s not the way to go about things, is it? The TingshanHe Sect rebelled and schemed to assassinate Sect Leader Jin with all its forces before it was caught red-handed. How could that be called without a reason?”

The ones overhead cried, “Ge! He’s lying! We didn’t, we didn’t!”

He Su, “Utter nonsense! Open your eyes and fucking look! There are nine-year-old children here! Old men who can’t even walk! How could they rebel against anything?! Why would they assassinate your dad out of nowhere?!”

Jin GuangYao, “Because you made a mistake and committed murder, Young Master He Su, while they refused to accept Koi Tower’s conviction of you, of course.”

He Su finally remembered the accusation for which he was transferred to such a creepy place, “It’s all made up! I never killed a cultivator of the LanlingJin Sect! I’ve never even seen the person who died! I don’t even know if he was really a cultivator from your sect! I… I…”

He stammered for a while before eventually caving in, “I… I don’t even know what happened, I don’t even know!”

Yet, at such a place, nobody would listen to his protests.

Example 2:

Just as he was about to move, Jin GuangYao smiled, “HanGuang-Jun, it’s best if you take five steps back.”

Wei WuXian suddenly felt a small, sharp sting come from his neck. Lan XiChen lowered his voice, “Be careful. Do not move!”

Lan WangJi’s gaze landed on Wei WuXian’s neck. His face paled slightly.

An almost invisible guqin string, light and golden, was tied around Wei WuXian’s neck.

The guqin string was extremely thin. It was covered in special paint as well, making it almost invisible to the eye. Along with how disoriented Wei WuXian was, unable to pay attention to anything else, he didn’t notice it when it wrapped around his throat.

“Lan Zhan, don’t! Don’t back away!”

But Lan WangJi immediately walked five steps back without any hesitation.

Jin GuangYao, “Wonderful. Now, please sheathe Bichen.”

With a clank, Lan WangJi obeyed again. Wei WuXian raged, “Don’t ask for too much!”

Jin GuangYao quipped, “This is already asking for too much? Next, I’m even going to ask HanGuang-Jun to seal away his spiritual powers. What would that be called?”

Wei WuXian seethed, “You…”

Before he could finish, the sharp pain of flesh being lacerated came from his throat. Something dripped down his neck. Lan WangJi’s face was pale. Jin GuangYao said, “How could he not listen to me? Just think about it, Wei gongzi, his life is in my hands.”

Lan WangJi spoke one word at a time, “Do. Not. Touch. Him.”

“Then you know what to do, HanGuang-Jun.”

A moment later, Lan WangJi responded, “Yes.”

Lan XiChen sighed. Lan WangJi raised his hands. With two strong taps, he locked his own spiritual powers.

Jin GuangYao smiled, his voice soft, “This really is…”

Lan WangJi’s eyes were locked on them, “Let him go.”

Example 3:

Wei WuXian wouldn’t have had to be responsible for a life as heavy as Jin ZiXuan’s, and the things that happened later wouldn’t have had to happen.

Yet now, he finally realized even the reason behind culprit’s curse wasn’t to frame him. Even the cause didn’t have anything to do with him!

Such a fact was truly difficult to accept.

As he laughed, Wei WuXian’s eyes reddened. He mocked, whether at himself or otherwise, “I can’t believe it’s because of someone like you… because of such a ridiculous reason!”

But Jin GuangYao seemed like he knew what he thought, “Wei gongzi, you really shouldn’t think like this.”

Wei WuXian, “Oh? You know what I think?”

Jin GuangYao, “Of course. It’s quite easy. You’re definitely thinking about how unfortunate you are. In reality, you’re not. Even if Su She didn’t curse Jin ZiXun, Mr. Wei, you’d receive a siege sooner or later, because of some other reason.” He smiled, “Because that’s what kind of a person you are. At best, you’re the untamed hero; at worst, you offend people wherever you go. Unless all those whom you’ve offended lived their lives safely, as soon as something happened to them or someone did something to them, the first person they suspect would be you and the first person they seek revenge on would also you. And this is something you have no control over.”

Somehow, Wei WuXian smiled, “What should I do? For some reason, I think you make a lot of sense.”

Jin GuangYao, “And even if you didn’t lose control at the Qiongqi Path, could you guarantee you didn’t lose control sometime in the rest of your life? Thus, someone like you is destined to have a short life. You see? Doesn’t it feel a lot better if you think about it this way?”

He takes little time in using others hurt or their protective instincts against them, and is just as gleeful to see others in powerless situations in comparison to him as it still gives him a form of control to worm his way out of everything that has caught up to him.

Jin GuangYao, “Ge, every word of what I say is true.”

His tone was more than earnest. Ever since he captured Lan XiChen, he’d indeed been treating him with respect. At this point, Lan XiChen wasn’t able to turn against him yet. He could only sigh, “Sect Leader Jin, I have already said, when you went your own way to scheme such havoc at Burial Mound, that there was no longer any need to call me ‘Brother.’”

Jin GuangYao, “What happened at Burial Mound was an accident, a mistake. But, I can’t go back anymore.”

Lan XiChen, “What do you mean you cannot go back?”

Lan WangJi frowned slightly, his voice cold, “Xiongzhang, do not engage in excessive conversation with him.”

Wei WuXian reminded him as well, “Sect Leader Lan, do you remember what you said to Sect Leader Jiang? Don’t spend too long talking to him.”

Jin GuangYao, “Ge, listen to me. I don’t deny that I did those things…”

Lan XiChen, “How could you deny them? There are both witnesses and proof!”

Jin GuangYao, “And so I said I don’t deny them! But to have killed my father, my wife, my son, ge—if not because I had no other choice, why would I have done those things? Could it be that I’m really so out of my mind in your eyes?!”

"Your… wife…” As though he couldn’t say it, he immediately changed his phrasing, "Your sister, Qin Su, did you really marry her while knowing what blood relationship you had with her?”

Jin GuangYao stared blankly at him. Suddenly, tears rolled down his eyes. He answered with pain, “… Yes.” Lan XiChen took in a deep breath. His face was almost ashen. Jin GuangYao whispered, "But I really had no choice.”

With a sigh, Lan XiChen continued, “Third, do not try to avoid it and answer me—did you plan the death of Jin ZiXuan on purpose?!”

Hearing his father’s name, Jin Ling, who’d been holding Jiang Cheng, widened his eyes.

Lan WangJi raised his voice somewhat, “Xiongzhang, you believe him?”

Lan XiChen’s expression was complicated, “Of course I do not believe that Jin ZiXuan ran into the attack at Qiongqi Path by accident, but… let him speak first.”

Jin GuangYao knew he wouldn’t be believed if he denied it no matter what. He clenched his teeth, “… I indeed didn’t run into Jin ZiXuan by accident.”

Jin Ling immediately clenched his fists.

Jin GuangYao continued, “But I’ve never thought of planning everything that happened afterward either. You don’t have to think of me as so clever and faultless. Many things can’t be controlled at all. How could I have known that he’d definitely die by Wei WuXian’s hands together with Jin ZiXun? How could I have predicted that Wei WuXian would definitely lose control and the Ghost General would definitely run a riot?”

Wei WuXian’s voice was harsh, “And you said you didn’t run into him by accident? Isn’t that self-contradiction?!”

Jin GuangYao, “I don’t deny that I told him about the attack at Qiongqi Path on purpose, but I only thought that he’d encounter some difficulties if he ran into you when you were being troubled by his cousin since he’d never been on good terms with you. How could I have known that you would simply kill everyone present, Wei gongzi?”

“Why was a sect leader who spent money like water unwilling to do the smallest favor and buy my mother’s freedom? Simple—it was too much trouble. My mother waited for so many years, weaving together so many difficult circumstances when she talked to me, imagining for his sake so many hardships. And the real reason was only a single word: trouble.

“This is what he said, ‘It’s especially women who’ve read some books who think they’re a level higher than other women. They’re the most troublesome, with so many demands and unrealistic thoughts. If I bought her freedom and took her back to Lanling, who knows how much fuss she’d make. It was best that I let her stay where she was just like that. With her conditions, she’d probably be popular for a few more years. She wouldn’t have to worry about her spendings for the rest of her life.’

“‘Son? Oh, forget it.’”

Jin GuangYao’s memory was extraordinary. With such a word-by-word repetition, one could even imagine that drunk expression of Jin GuangShan’s when he said these words, “Ge, look, those three words were all that I was worth to my father, ‘Oh, forget it.’ Hahahaha…”

Pain flashed before Lan XiChen’s face, “Even if your father… you…” He still couldn’t find an appropriate comment and gave up, sighing instead, “What is the use of saying all this now?”

Jin GuangYao shrugged as he smiled, “I can’t help it. To seek pity even after doing all these terrible things—that’s the kind of person I am.”

At the word ‘pity’, he suddenly flipped his wrist. A red guqin string wrapped around Jin Ling’s neck.

Tears still hung at the corners of Jin GuangYao’s eyes as he spoke, voice low, “Don’t move!”

"I had no choice", "I couldn't predict anyone would be killed" "He mocked and forgot my mother and I". He uses all of this as a try to convince a kind Lan Xichen to let him go. However,he contradicts his own defenses as he had said Wei Wuxian was always fated to die for his actions and lack of being to keep things under control. This empathy is faked on his end while he makes excuses all while he never extended the same courtesy to those he killed, innocent or not, and underhandedly still tries to get those sympathetic under his manipulations. When they are not working he resorts again to threatening lives. He uses his mother also as a reason for revenge, however his grab for power alone after Jin Guangshan and Nie Mingjue are killed was solely based on his own obsession of status at that point. His mother was no longer a goal to accomplish anything and his continued lies dragged in more than one innocent party to get what he wanted.

He never saw Jin Ling, Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji, or Wei Wuxian as anything but pawns despite his soft words to them that are really just a mockery within Guanyin Temple at that point. He has placed none of them before himself in terms of what he cares for and never had.

TL:DR: Jin Guangyao's "kindness" was always a mask and Nie Mingjue was right that he was irredeemable, genuinely unkind and cruel as a person.

(Edit: Jin Guangyao stans don't even try, I will block you if you dare to reply to this)

[jfridley]

This isn't my book

 I am extremely late but this is day four's prompt FICTION for @sciencebrosweek

This is a crossover with HIGHLANDER

   Tony walked into their room smiling when he saw Bruce stretched on the bed reading.

“How was the bookstore?” he asked.

Bruce smiled over at Tony “Great-I found all these books” he said holding a couple for Tony to see.

“Good- anything I would like?” Tony asked as he walked into the closet.

“Maybe-but I tried to get more fiction books this time” Bruce replied.

Tony snorted “I do like fiction Bruce” he teased but noticed Bruce’s face. “You have the same look when on equation isn’t working? What’s wrong?” he asked.

Bruce sighed “Well I don’t think this is one of the books I bought” he said.

“How did you get it if you didn’t buy it?” Tony asked

“I ran into a man on the way out-we picked up all our books that fell-this has to be his” Bruce said.

Tony came and stretched out next to him “I know you-that wouldn’t cause that face” he replied.

“Well I started to read and I was 10 pages in when I realized this isn’t fiction- This is someone’s journal” Bruce said motioning to the book in his hand. “It’s more of a chronicle of a man during a part of the 1720’s” he added.

Tony raised his eyebrow “Really?” he said gently grabbing the book and glancing through it. “I think you’re right” he said.

Bruce raised an eyebrow “You doubt me?” he teased.

“Never dear” Tony said with a quick kiss.

Bruce chuckled “The problem is- the guy I bumped into looked familiar to me and I can’t place him-and it’s driving me nuts” he groaned.

Tony laughed “Well let’s go eat and not think about it. We both know as soon as you do something else the answer will come to you” he said as he climbed off the bed and went to grab Bruce’s hand.

Bruce smiled and nodded “That sounds great” he agreed and he let Tony pull him from the room.

Tony was right, Bruce had an epiphany in the middle of dinner. It took him by surprise and caused him to choke on his pasta. Tony watched worriedly as Bruce reached for his water and tried to gulp through his coughs. Once he had stopped coughing and calmed down he finally spoke. 

“I remember where I saw the guy” Bruce mumbled.

Tony raised an eyebrow “That caused you to almost choke? What was he a one night stand?” he half teased.

Bruce chuckled “No” he said shaking his head. “When I was in Nepal right after the accident-I was helping a family. Actually they were helping me more than I was helping them-gave me a place to stay-food-anyway I am digressing” Bruce stopped and smiled sheepishly. “They told me stories of a special man who came to town every 10 years. When I asked what made him special they said he never aged” he said staring across at Tony.

“Okay” Tony replied slowly. “How is that relevant?” he asked.

“They gave me a book that he had left the last time he had showed 40 years prior. The book was his journal-and if I remember correctly it felt like a chronicle of this man’s time on Nepal” Bruce said.

“How did they know he never aged? Maybe he had-well- good genes or something” Tony asked.

“That’s what I asked too” Bruce said. “They said the last time the man was there-the family was attacked and he jumped in front of the youngest taking a bullet and dying. They drug him into their hut and prepared him for a heroes burial and apparently he revived in front of them” Bruce replied.

“Revived?” Tony asked.

Bruce nodded “That’s what they said-he wasn’t breathing then suddenly he took a gasping breath and opened his eyes” he said.

“So how does the guy from the bookstore fit in?” Tony asked.

“The family made a death mask before the man revived” Bruce said. “It was the same face as the man from the bookstore” he added.

Tony stared at Bruce in thought. If anyone else had told him this he wouldn’t have believed them. But this is Bruce-Bruce is a man of science, who needs evidence before he makes a conclusion. He reached across and grabbed Bruce’s hand rubbing circles into his palms.

“So you actually believe that this man is what-immortal?” Tony asked.

Bruce chuckled and shrugged “Before the accident-No-I would have laughed and called them crazy. But now-I don’t know. I’ve seen too much to not deny the possibility” he said honestly. “They gave me the mask and book when I left but I lost them somewhere when I was on the run” Bruce added sadly as an afterthought.

Tony pursed his lips “Well I pulled a few strings with SHIELD and there may be a few boxes in storage for you to look through-stuff they collected while you were on the run” he admitted.

“What” Bruce asked in shock?

“It was going to be part of a birthday present” Tony admitted.

Bruce smiled and pulled Tony’s hand and kissed it “Let’s go home and look” he said.

Tony chuckled “I know it’s hypocritical for me to say this but why are you fixated on this?” he asked as they walked back to the tower.

“If it is the same person-maybe I can somehow return it to them” Bruce said simply.

“How do you plan to do that?” Tony asked.

“The women that owns the store seemed to know him-called him Doc. Maybe she would know how to reach him” Bruce said.

Tony smiled “Well if she doesn’t-there are other ways” he said.

  It took them two weeks and Tony coming into the store and flashing his smile before the women relented and said Doc can sometimes be found at a bar called Blues. Both were pleasantly surprised when they found the bar that it catered to blues fans. Bruce couldn’t deal with the atmosphere in most bars but found he could with this one.  They had left the package at the shift change of bartenders so they couldn’t be identified to Doc. They sat in a dark corner booth out of the way but close enough so they could hear-nursing a pitcher of beer and watched. Bruce gasped when he saw the man walk into the bar, followed by a broader dark haired man.

“That him?” Tony whispered.

“Yes” Bruce said then chuckled. “Why are we whispering?” he asked.

Tony laughed quietly “Not sure” he replied.

“Mac! Doc!” the while haired man bartender called with a smile.

“Joe” both men said acknowledging the man.

They watched as Joe started on Mac and Doc’s drinks without them needing to order. After he handed Doc his beer he handed him the bag. Doc looked at the bag in bewilderment.

“What is this Joe?” Doc/Methos asked.

“Someone left this for you” Joe said.

“Who left it?” Mac/ Duncan asked.

Joe shrugged “Not sure if was left before I got with a note to give it to Doc if he shows” he said.

Doc/Methos took a deep breath and glanced in the bag.

“The man from the bookstore” Doc mumbled.

“What?” Duncan asked.

“Who” Joe asked at the same time.

Doc/Methos pulled out the journal for the two men to see. “We ran into one another and he apparently went home with my-um this” he said.

“He gave it back that was nice” Joe said.

“How did he know to come here?” Duncan asked worriedly.

“My guess would be on Becca” Doc/Methos said. “Wait there’s something else in here” he mumbled as he pulled two wrapped packages out.

Bruce and Tony watched as Doc slowly unwrapped the first package and stare blankly as the book. Then he slowly unwrapped the second package and quietly gasped.

“What’s wrong?” Mac/Duncan asked worriedly. Doc didn’t immediately respond until Mac gently grabbed his bicep “Doc” he asked gently.

“I had no idea they did that” Doc mumbled in his own thoughts before he showed Mac what he held.

Tony looked at Bruce with a shocked look. Told you Bruce mouthed.

“You allowed them to make a mask of you?” Joe asked.

“It’s a death mask Joe-didn’t have a say” Doc/Methos replied.

“Where was it?” Mac asked.

“What is now considered Nepal” Doc/Methos replied.

“How did the man get this” Mac replied. “And should we be worried?” he added.

“Shit-I didn’t even think of that” Doc explained staring worriedly at Mac. “Wait there’s a note” he said.

 I was traveling through Nepal and the family gave me this. Not sure if I exactly believe the stories they told at the time but since I have seen so many things that shouldn’t be real that are. Your secret is safe with me.

  Tony and Bruce watched as the note got passed around.

“Do you believe him?” Mac asked.

Doc shrugged “I guess I have too for now” he said.

Doc then placed the three items back into the bag and asked about who was playing at the bar later-signaling the end of the conversation as the two men moved to a table on the other side of the bar.

“Hmm that was anticlimactic” Tony whispered.

Bruce snorted into his beer “What did you expect to happen?” he asked.

Tony shrugged “Don’t know” he said.

“Not everyone thrives on drama Tony” Bruce said. “Let’s finish our drinks and go home” he added.

Tony nodded reaching to finish his drink.

  “Huh” Mac said after they had sat down.

“What?” Methos asked.

“Is that Tony Stark at the other end of the bar?” Duncan replied.

Methos turned and scanned the bar until he saw the man.

“Yes it is” Methos said then he noticed the man beside him. “And the man from the bookstore” he added.

“Really that’s him” Mac said.

Just then the other man scanned the bar, searching for something.

“What’s he looking for?” Mac wondered.

“Us-he feels eyes on him” Methos whispered.

Then his eyes landed on Methos and Duncan’s table, waiting. The two men stared at one another for a few minutes before Methos raised his beer in a silent acknowledgement. Bruce’s eyes widened in understanding then gave a small nod.

“Do you think we have something to worry about?” Mac asked.

“Highlander you worry too much” Methos said as he took a drink. “I think they have other things to worry about. BUT if they DO become a problem-I have information that will work in my favor” he added.

Duncan stared at the other man “Do I want to know?” he asked.

Methos patted Duncan’s hand “No you don’t” he said. “But don’t worry I won’t use it unless I need to” he added.

“Let’s hope you never need to” Duncan replied.

“Agreed” Methos said giving the man a toast.