been a hot second since I combined my two favourite things in the world: Ace Attorney and beatboards!
I played the official AAI2 english release recently, and it still stands tall as the indisputable crown jewel of the entire franchise to me. you should play it too. if you like those aceing attorneys. normal game that makes me feel a normal amount of emotions
So I'll start by saying I have DID like officially diagnosed for years so I'm very passionate about this. I also have diagnosed schizophrenia and this can be a doozy of a combo but it also appears to be exactly the fucked up combo Sancho has. Not to brag about how mentally unstable I am but I feel like I'm a bit of an expert here.
Jokes aside: while Sancho/Don Quixote shows obvious symptoms of DID and being a system, it should be noted that this is enhanced by fantasy aspects. She does have the trauma that would lead to development of a dissociative disorder but the method in which her alter “forms” could debatably be complete fantasy due to memory loss from drinking from the Lethe. But to me, fantasy enhanced or not, Don Quixote is still obviously a traumagenic system.
First: Don Quixote has two distinct personalities. Even before Canto 7 we see hints of this.
Her W Corp ID shows her starting out acting one way, and then ending another, even to the point of her voice and speaking style changing. Post Up-Tie, Don Quixote gains a new voice line where she completely drops her speaking quirk, talking more like we later see Sancho speaking.
“Did you know that human life is more resilient than it seems? One may still be breathing even after suffering profuse bleeding and breaking most of one's bones.”
In her Shi identity Up-Tie it calls explicit attention to the fact that her cheery personality is not how she always is. Although this can be taken as her “acting” it is still important to note.
“I doubt anyone knows what this child… is like when she's faking on jobs alone.”
In Canto 2, when dancing for the Mariachi men, Don Quixote’s movements are called “insincere”. Although she does not cease using her archaic language, her voice does notably change when she replies.
There are several other times throughout the game leading up to Canto 7 where you can see her seem to shift in personality but these are the most notable.
Of course Canto 7 is where most of the evidence lies.
Sancho has extreme memory loss as a result of drinking from the Lethe. She was driven to drink from it due to trauma but she was already showing signs of dissociating at this time.
The way she responds to Bari before she drinks is dismissive and depressed. Drinking from the Lethe is akin to a suicide attempt for Sancho.
Bari asks Sancho how she will live on (quoting both something First Kindred Quixote asked Sancho and something Sancho asked him) Sancho replies to Bari with: “I've lost everything. And now I prepare myself to lose even the remnants of what once was. Do you think that question means anything to me?”
Bari herself does not know what to say to this, showing that the way Sancho is acting is uncharacteristic.
Sancho may have also been prone to bouts of disassociation in general even before this point.
Dulcinea explicitly says Sancho acts like a “detached observer” and “as though you were not part of the world”. This is a pretty obvious way to describe disassociation.
Even Nicolina says she thought Sancho was condescending her, which Sancho denies. She did not even realize that she was acting in a way that may be interpreted as such. She simply acted uninterested, unable to express herself. This is common in other disorders, such as autism which Sancho also definitely has, but when paired with Dulcinea’s comments, it appears to be closer to disassociating.
Then there is the more obvious memory loss. Although it is caused by the Lethe, the way it is described is the same as dissociative amnesia is.
Xichun describes it as extremely disorienting. “Coming to terms with the realization that those hazy, nightmarish visions were in fact her own memories, that they weren't just dreams, has to be…”
Hong Lu finishes for her. “Yes. It will be sad. And complex.” He continues, speculating on which is the dreamer. “Is it myself as I had existed in that dream, or myself who has awakened from it?”
Traumatic memories being like blurry nightmares is not something specific to DID or other similar disorders, but it is very common among those who have DID.
Memories between alters are often hard to grasp, feeling like they happened to someone else or were a dream, just like Sancho. What happened to her when she was Don Quixote feels far away, and for Don Quixote, what happened to Sancho was simply nightmarish visions.
This is especially obvious when after killing Cassetti, Don Quixote is unable to remember the time Rocinante was not on her feet.
Specifically there is no reason for this except something related to trauma and DID. Rocinante itself does not suppress memories.
Then we have Don Quixote’s rendition of Pass On.
The song starts out with one singer and then turns into a duet with two distinct singers. This is obviously Sancho and Don Quixote.
There remains two voices singing even at the end, where they swap between singing lines and then sing together. I think this clearly shows there are still two personalities.
The final spoken line starts with Sancho’s voice and then changes to Don Quixote. I like to think this is a cute way to show a shift in who's fronting…
There are also Don Quixote’s announcer lines. In many lines you can hear Don Quixote switch to sounding and talking like Sancho, showing they both are still around. Italics are Sancho’s voice.
You insolent— Ahm! Their vile trickery is but a passing misery! In the end, we shall prevail and break their spears!
Thou mustn't fear having to take a knee from time to time! A bit of my slobber upon thy wound, and it shall be healed posthaste, forsooth! ... Um. Perhaps that was too much…
... I shall remember thee; as shall Manager Esquire. Thou hast fought valorously. I await thy return with anticipation.
What would you have done in such a situation, Father? ... Haha. I don't suppose he was ever in such a situation. Hark! 'Tis not the end, my compatriots!
Just like Dulcinea's elaborate preparations for her Parade's finale… But I already knew it was coming, so it didn't affect me much. ...Thus! We shan't be troubled by such craftiness! Prithee, prepare thyself accordingly!
Did they feed them blood packs or something...? N-no. Our foes stand over yonder, brimming with morale! Prithee, watch thyself!
'Tis clear that thy strike against them was much like splashing water against myself! Ugh... I threw up a little merely by mentioning it.
Ah, thou hast chipped off a part! This brings to mind an adventure of mine when— Mm.
F-fie… Agh... Father could have obliterated that fool in an instant...
I won't cover every part of the Canto but it is obvious Sancho has two separate personalities, the Bloodfiend Sancho and Don Quixote that developed in the Lighthouse after her memory loss.
Could Sancho then just be going back to play the role of the Don Quixote personality? Sure. But the point remains she has multiple personalities that formed from trauma (with the help of fantasy magic sure) who do not seem to share memories until the end of the Canto.
The writing seems to be trying to make it obvious when Sancho “shifts”, often using ellipses or her clearing her throat. I feel like from a writer's perspective, there is no point to this except to draw attention to it. Why make it so obvious if it is just Sancho playing a role? That is just me who has been writing plural characters for like 20 years.
If you discard the connections, Sancho still exhibits signs of many other disorders. Autism and schizophrenia most of all. She is delusional and traumatized. She disassociates and has two personalities.
There is room to argue she is now, as of the very end of the canto, one personality playing the other most of the time and sometimes that “mask” slips, but it doesn't change that, as a person with DID, I see myself in Sancho and I wouldn't mind if she became good representation for plural people and systems.
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