#geshu scrolls

[geshu-lin]

In Defense of Geshu Lin’s “Villainy”: A Modest Criticism & Analysis

Being a character that has only ever been mentioned by others and hallucinated a couple of times by a severely traumatized Doctor-turned-General, it’s no surprise that Geshu Lin has become victim of a number of (admittedly, very extreme) inferences about his character being villainous or downright evil.

This post seeks to argue against these inferences, taking the stance that they were made with limited information or not supported by canon/refuted by canon.

Staring Through A Filtered Lens

There is an unfortunate phenomenon in the Wuthering Waves fanbase where people assume that the Geshu Lin that has been presented to them is the purest, most accurate representation of him, though in reality all instances we have seen of his personality are either:

A. Distorted hallucinations, of which were altered due to Jiyan’s emotional state (ie. The Retroact Rain quest)

B. Metaphorical representations of Jiyan’s insecurities and almost a form of self punishment/a representation of his self doubt (ie. Jiyan’s character trailer)

C. A story from a storyteller, who is… a storyteller. Details, of course, are embellished for stories, and the tale mentioned does not go into Geshu Lin’s personality whatsoever; it only demonstrates his actions.

The Consequences and So On…

I have noticed that many fans believe Geshu Lin hates Jiyan, or detests him to a degree wherein he would exercise genuine cruelty upon him. I oppose this idea immensely—even in Jiyan’s hallucinations (seen in the Retroact Rain quest), Geshu Lin demonstrates some form of respect for him. He would not have asked for Jiyan’s opinion, even in Jiyan’s hallucinations, if he did not care for his opinion or input. I recommend rewatching this for a refresher:

I also fear a common subtext forgotten in this scene is that Geshu Lin had good reason to be upset at the idea that Jiyan wanted to stop him back during the Battle Beneath the Crescent. At that point, Geshu Lin had directed and watched countless numbers of his men die in war. It’s simply sunk-cost fallacy—if Geshu Lin retreated at that point, he wouldn’t be able to live with the shame of having not been able to avenge his men or, at the very least, proven that their efforts were not in vain.

Even the words of someone he respected enough to ask the opinion of (Jiyan) was not able to shake him from it—this is a human flaw, something I believe would be unfair to treat as downright villainous or cruel.

Oversimplification Taken as Truth

Geshu Lin did not outright step on his soldiers in order for glory or fame—not once is some ulterior motive of avarice ever implied, except for possibly “I will pave the way to victory with my Forte;” but that can be read as either pride or confidence for the sake of bolstering already low morale. Of course, he was stubborn and arrogant—but to provide him a benefit of the doubt, no one knew what the Retroact Rain was when he was around.

Who would give up the once in a lifetime (quite literally) chance to avenge hundreds, if not thousands of lives, just because of—as far as Geshu Lin was aware—some bad weather and ghosts? Especially knowing the weight and expectation of being able to make sure countless soldiers’ sacrifices were “worth it” in the end?

Even taking Jiyan’s hallucinations with a grain of salt, it’s evident that the sacrifices of his men absolutely haunts Geshu Lin. He cannot move on from it. Maybe that grief from the real Geshu Lin in the past is what stuck with Jiyan the most.

If Geshu Lin ended up retreating, I don’t doubt that he was also the type of person to think that these efforts and sacrifices would have all been for naught, and he would have failed his men. He would never be able to live down that shame.

So What’s His Deal, Really?

I don’t believe a “prideful, greedy, evil man” throws himself alone into the heart of a Threnodian, likely Overclocks, and then banishes said Threnodian out of sheer want to defend his country and its people. If anything, I can only assume his slightly more morally grey stance on war—a much less ideal and somewhat realistic vision of war, that is endless amounts of sacrifice and a series of “terrible but best in the moment with what we have” decisions—makes people uncomfortable and thus, it is insisted that Geshu Lin is somehow inherently evil and it is his personal fault for… well, making the best choices he could during an incredibly terrible circumstance.

People forget that if Geshu Lin ordered a retreat amidst Ovathrax’s rise, Jinzhou would be no more. Jiyan could only order a retreat because Geshulin sacrificed himself to banish Ovathrax, albeit temporarily enough for the Midnight Rangers to get some breathing room.

Conclusion

Geshu Lin is not a cruel, Jiyan-hating, evil man. He did what he could in the circumstances he was given. The “evil” Geshu Lin we see fighting Jiyan (such as in Jiyan’s character trailer) is almost always a representation of Jiyan’s inner self doubt and shame—never once have we actually directly met or even seen the man in reality, even in flashbacks.

Overall, it seems a bit disservicing to boil down an entire character to a small pinpoint of traits (“hates Jiyan, sacrifices soldiers for his own benefit, evil”), which in itself is due to the distorted perspective of an unstable Jiyan and complicated circumstances. Geshu Lin is a lot more than that.

For all we know, he might even be proud of Jiyan for being able to step up and protect the nation he (assumedly) died for so fervently, and quell Ovathrax (albeit with the help of Rover and Abby) a second time.

[geshu-lin]

I didn't realize this previously, but I think Geshu Lin dismembered Ovathrax's statue or at least severely damaged it to the point of its present appearance.

Really makes you wonder how powerful he actually was to solo this thing on his own (not to mention without the support of Jue or Rover).

[geshu-lin]

I'm not sure why but I've always thought about how Geshu Lin could enjoy carving, it just... Fits him in my head somehow, what do you think?

Geshu Lin and Woodcarving/Faith Theories

Hello Anon, thank you for the concept! I never thought about it before, but now that you bring it up, I adore this idea. I've included some headcanons below the cut for pre-Ovathrax Geshu Lin, as well as some inferences I've made from canon about his origins/faith (odd thing to theorize about, I know, but bear with me) and how it influences this headcanon.

The artwork of course, is of post-Ovathrax Geshu Lin; feel free to enjoy its somewhat endearing nature before you read the rest of this post; happiness doesn't last long around here.

Sources will be provided as well, many of which are outside sources to various encyclopedias of faith symbols/outside research articles or in-game content.

A Breakdown About Geshu Lin's Design

While we don't know much about Geshu Lin other than his attire and actions, we can consider his appearance as 100% reliable, given that there has been no other indication that he could have looked any different (to any significance, that is).

This brings me to one main detail I've noticed: the fact that Geshu actually wears Mala beads, a type of Buddhist worship article (you can think of them like rosaries, for example; you use the beads to count mantras during meditation):

Similarly, Sanhua also wears beads which are canonically confirmed/referred to as Mala, which look almost exactly the same as Geshu's.

This is important because it confirms the existence of some sort of faith similar to Buddhism (as abbots are the heads of temples and monasteries) in Sol-3, and implies the existence of perhaps sects of Sentinel worship (or even worship of things that aren't Sentinels or Threnodians at all, such as folk gods or folk spirits).

In addition, Geshu's earrings bear symbols that look incredibly similar to Tibetan Buddhist script (this is not a presentation of solid or even viable evidence, just drawing parallels/visual similarities; I cannot read this script, but I noticed the ingame rendering looked incredibly similar, and thought it necessary to address):

And if that wasn't enough, the three dot formation on Geshu's earrings are known as a çintamani; deeply linked to Buddhism and Hinduism as a term referring to both a mythical auspicious jewel and "the triratna: Buddha, dharma (law), and sangha (monastic community)."

The Encyclopedia Iranica describes the symbol like so:

The “wish-fulfilling jewel,” a motif consisting of either a single globe with a pointed extension at the apex or three such globes; either version could be surrounded by a flaming halo.

From these small inferences and vague implications, we can assume that Geshu was/is a man of faith to some degree, at least enough to carry symbols of religion on his person.

Headcanons, Inferences, & Backstory Theories

With all of this in mind, perhaps Geshu Lin picked up woodcarving during his time in the barracks, far from the faith in which he was raised. Maybe he used to carve symbols of particular importance to him; if you want, you could even say he carved his Mala with his own hands from branches he picked up here and there.

If we completely dive off of the deep end into original content about his backstory with absolutely no canon evidence to support ourselves, we can free ourselves with various ideas:

Geshu Lin being an aloof person in his youth who was raised in temples and monasteries; never having much connection to others and thus finding peace in his hobbies (woodcarving, (informal) swordplay) which consequently further isolated him from his peers.

If we want to think of Geshu Lin as the type of person who questioned the status quo and did as his heart desired (which we can vaguely assume from his very few bits of cutscenes and dialogue, but I would still prefer to take those with a grain of salt given poor Jiyan's emotional state during them), perhaps one day he (whether on purpose or against his will) renounced his faith and joined the military.

What incited his renouncement? If against his will, perhaps he hated the hours of prayer and yearned to brandish his blade on the battlefield. Perhaps one day, he raised his whittling knife against another man or a living creature, and was thus dismissed from his temple. Maybe he still holds onto that knife and his earrings and Mala, in some quiet delusion of days spent under the sun and trees instead of ill skies and gunfire.

Perhaps he still carved the things he found beautiful during those years of loneliness, or even during late nights in the ranger barracks. By firelight or flickering lamps, he whittled away, carving visages of his bunkmates, of wildlife, of shabby "good luck charms" he would sell as a joke to his fellow trainees for a couple credits.

But as the war went on and Geshu's hand began to brandish broadblades over whittling knives, his carvings became wicked-faced and agonized, his skill outpacing his sanity; bunkmates' faces soon became mutated maws of Tacet Discords, and the countless small statuettes sold off as "good luck charms" contorted into bad omens.

Eventually, Geshu Lin put down his whittling knife, haunted by the countless creations that stared back at him upon what was no longer the bedsheets of a barracks bunk but now the desk of his own General's quarters; desk strewn with carvings of people he last saw at burial services, others whose bodies were never recovered.

Perhaps it was then that Geshu Lin tried feverishly to gain control over his skill once more, insisting that somehow, this skill being one of his own creation, a place wherein he once found comfort, he must have control over it--and carve he did, slicing away at bits of wood over and over again, until--

The knife slipped on its way up, and Geshu Lin lurched away from the desk, a hand slapped over a bleeding gash across his lips.

The blood dripped onto the grotesque wooden statuette in his hand of a dawning full moon, crimson dribbling slowly into the shape of a man diving into its heart.

This is the first woodcarving Geshu Lin burns, and the last one he ever makes.

[geshu-lin]

Any hopes for Geshu Lin's story/gameplay when he releases?

Geshu Lin Story & Gameplay Hopes

Thanks for the ask, Anon! I have tons of hopes for it; I guess I could call this speculation going off of his lore in-game, but this post will just be a rundown of my ideas.

In addition, this post will contain some religious references and theoretical themes of self sacrifice, which I cover every now and then in relation to Geshu Lin on my blog.

However, if you're new here, feel free to take a look at these supplemental readings to better understand why certain themes such as sacrifice and repentance are so prevalent here:

Geshu Lin & Woodcarving/Faith Theories

Headcanons for Geshu Lin's Family

With that out of the way, buckle in! This is going to be a long post even if it's "just a rundown." :-)

Geshu Lin's Kit

Personally, I see Geshu Lin as a Havoc resonator because of the lore anecdote that his flames actually harmed him, and so far, Havoc seems to be the one attribute/element that embodies that the best.

❂ Intro Skill: Rallying Cry "The enemy is right before our eyes."

Geshu Lin leads the charge in a violet inferno and performs a wide crescent cleave with his broadblade, dealing Havoc DMG and granting increased resistance to interruption for all Resonators on the team.

🟆 Basic Attack: Sacrilegious Bladework "Step aside."

Basic Attack Geshu Lin performs up to 7 consecutive attacks, dealing Havoc DMG. Most of Geshu Lin's attacks are about advancing forward as much as possible/"pushing the frontline" movement, as a nod to his time during the Battle of the Crescent.

[↓; 1x] — Geshu Lin steps forward and cleaves downwards with his broadblade.

[↗↘; 1x] — Geshu Lin flicks the broadblade upwards in a glancing slash, crossing his arms above his bicep and letting the point of the blade dip downwards in a guard stance. Geshu Lin gains a 50% incoming damage reduction during the guard stance of Basic Attack 2. If he is hit during this stance, he will automatically proceed into Basic Attack 3 as an immediate followup attack.

[⇆; 2x] — Geshu Lin drops the guard stance and slashes leftwards, then rightwards.

[↑; 1x] — Geshu Lin cleaves upwards as if impaling an enemy and lifting their body into the air.

[↓⤴🟏; 2x] — Geshu Lin slams the broadblade into the ground and turn-steps past it with one hand on the handle over his back, kicking the enemy in front of him. This attack can be seamlessly woven back into Basic Attack 1 or his Heavy Attack.

Heavy Attack (Standard) Geshu Lin consumes Stamina to perform a forwards rush and downwards slam with his broadblade, then a turn and second slam forward again as he heaves it over his shoulder mid-turn. This second slam will create an eruption of Black Flame, damaging enemies in a small AoE.

This is a two-stage Heavy Attack, and can be cancelled out into a 360° spin-cleave by releasing the Heavy Attack button before proceeding to the second stage.

Mid-air Attack Consume Stamina to perform a Mid-air Plunging Attack, dealing Havoc DMG.

Dodge Counter Geshu Lin naturally dodges in a curve rather than in a straight line like other Resonators, as if attempting to flank his target. When dodging, he performs a side-strafe with his broadblade hefted over his bicep in a guard stance, before lunging back in with a wide circling slash, dealing Havoc DMG.

🟌 Resonance Skill: Flames of Naraka "Forgiveness is beyond our reach."

Geshu Lin incinerates his right arm and sacrifices it to the Black Flames. This consumes 25% of his current HP and consequently triggers the Repentance state, as well as gaining 25 stacks of Desperation.

🟍 Repentance Geshu Lin's right arm becomes swathed in obsidian growths and black flames. His outgoing Havoc DMG is increased scaling off of his max HP, but total increase will not exceed 400% of his Base ATK. This will remain for 14s or until he is switched out.

🟇 Desperation Every time Geshu Lin is hit by an enemy (1), performs a Basic Attack (3), or uses Flames of Naraka (25), he will gain Desperation. When holding Desperation, Geshu Lin cannot be healed. Geshu Lin can hold up to 100 stacks of Desperation. If holding <25 Desperation, all stacks can be cleared by performing a Heavy Attack, though there will be no bonus effect.

✸ Forte Circuit: To Burn Away Sin "You who seeks absolution even when undeserving."

When holding at least 25 stacks of Desperation, Geshu Lin can perform Heavy Attack: Desecration to consume 25 Desperation and heal himself based on how much damage he has dealt during the previous cycle of Repentance in combination with the percentage of missing HP. This can be done at up to three stages (at 25, 50, 75 Desperation).

If holding 100 stacks of Desperation, Geshu Lin's Heavy Attack transforms into Heavy Attack: Absolution and consumes all stacks of Desperation, healing him 4x and performing a powerful downwards cleave before ending the Repentance state.

✹ Resonance Liberation: Heretic's Final Vow "By the end, this will have all been worth it."

Geshu Lin sacrifices his body to the Black Flames and loses 50% of his current HP before entering the Heretic state, wherein his outgoing DMG is significantly increased scaling off of his max HP, never exceeding more than 600% of his ATK. He will consistently lose 3% HP for every attack performed during the Heretic state, but gains incredible resistance to interruption.

If he does not perform Heavy Attack: Absolution by the end of Heretic's duration or is switched out beforehand, Outro Skill: Changing the Guard will become Outro Skill: Dying Order.

☾ Outro Skill: Dying Order Geshu Lin brandishes his broadblade one last time and smashes it through the enemy's body, shattering the weapon into an explosion of black flames and dealing significant Havoc DMG. After this is performed, he will fall and the next Resonator will be automatically switched in.

☾ Outro Skill: Changing the Guard "Your turn."

Geshu Lin enters a guard stance and taunts all enemies for 3 seconds. Both Geshu Lin and the incoming Resonator will obtain an 80% incoming Damage Reduction throughout the duration of Outro Skill: Changing the Guard.

Geshu Lin's Story

Honestly, this is incredibly self indulgent (for obvious reasons), but I hope they do something similar to the #post ovathrax au. I understand Geshu Lin is a badass, but I would also love to see that vulnerable, unhealthy obsession with victory explored a lot more deeply the way I've been doing on this blog.

Most of my posts take on the idea that Geshu Lin wasn't a selfish person outright (or intentionally, might be better wording) but rather a person who was already heavily burdened by countless mistakes and realized he'd dug his grave too deep; his suicide mission into Ovathrax was the only way he could even fathom making "all of these sacrifices worth it," and he knew he would die there. Did he want to? Did he think himself a coward for doing so? Did he see himself as extremely noble?

Admittedly, I do not like depictions of Geshu Lin saying that he was 100% right about everything. I prefer a character who is a tragedy because of his sense of honor and goodness, and becomes an example of an absolutely shattered moral compass because of that. My view of Geshu Lin is that of a man who wanted to do what was right, but realized that with the circumstances and cards he was given, it was impossible; but he refused to believe this and only sank more and more costs into an impossible goal until there was no coming back from it. The idea that he was so obsessed with honoring those who died serving him that he eventually lost all sense of life and death and humanity, and even value for his own survival?

Perfect.