Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-24.177.35.35-20130905071358/@comment-4851119-20131013165047

From Tv Tropes:Warhammer 40000 is a major Crapsack World because it's being seen through the eyes of the Emperor.

In reality, while 40K is still not a nice place to visit, it's nowhere near the nightmarish dystopia we've been seen. The Emperor is simply a "glass half empty" kind of guy who's had his sons betray him, ten millennia on the golden throne and his Empire pervert his goals, all which have utterly his spirit. In summary, Warhammer 40K is the tale of a once great man who's completely broken down, metaphorically taking the entire universe with him to the Neitzchian Abyss.In the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, There Can Be Peace. There Can Be Respite. But for The Emperor of Mankind, There Can Only Be War.
 * The Emperor remains ambiguous because he's shutting himself off from the world.
 * As each chapter goes, Warhammer 40K is getting suckier and there's nobody you can route for (whether that's done well is up for you to debate) because the Emperor is getting more and more depressed.
 * The writers of the codexes are plotting down the Emperor's revisions of history, which he warps to fit his views.
 * The Imperium is still a Church Militant with some Fantastic Racism, but to the extent of the Middle Ages instead of the stereotype we take for it Up to Eleven. The Emperor was already rather racist, and has taken this to new extremes due to his Sanity Slippage. The Space Marines are practically Mary Sues because the Emperor isn't modest, especially with all that worship going to his head.
 * The Chaos Gods were always crazy and dangerous, but they've become far worse because the Emperor in giving them the "Ron the Death Eater" treatment.
 * The Eldar are demonized because they're rivals to humanity, and like humanity will screw over other species for self-defence. On the flip side, the Orks are treated as Laughably Evil because the Emperor has both gone Laughing Mad and is desperately trying to find a reason for going on. The Necrons aren't any better or worse, but they're are an exaggeration due to Sealed Evil In A Can and the Emperor wanting a symbol of his own Fate Worse Than Death. The Dark Eldar, though? Right on the mark.
 * The Tau and Tyranids do not exist, and represent the Emperor's wish fulfilment. For the Tau, they are the embodiment of his optimism, hence why they are treated as the one good faction in a galaxy rotten to the core. The reveal of them being Nazi Commies in Space? The Emperor has gone beyond the point of optimism. The Tyranids are the Emperor's Death Seeker tendencies - they want to kill and devour everything in much of the same way the Emperor wants to finally break down and die.
 * The passage of time is slowing down because the Golden Throne which has sustained the Emperor for these past 11,000 years is finally breaking down. The Emperor is dying, and as he gets closer to the Mercy Kill he so desperately craves and needs his perception of time slows down. The Starchild theory? The Emperor's last ember of hope, however false it way be, that instead of sweet oblivion he will get a Heaven of becoming the messianic figure he set out to become for mankind long, long ago.
 * Ciaphas Cain? He's actually the badass he claims to be, but is made a Fake Ultimate Hero by the Emperor because he no longer believes optimistic things like "heroes" exist.