Why is nobody talking about the parallels between Amun and Zandik? And potentially to a lesser extent, Nabu Malikata and Pantalone?
These are my 2am thoughts, so they're unrefined. I might edit them in the morning. Here goes nothing. I will also be using photos because that’s easier than explaining the knowledge and lore myself
You know who else has an issue with Time? That’s right. Zandik. And he did something about it, like Amun did, albeit in a different way.
Instead of creating the Elixir of Life or Segments, like Zandik, Amun created a whole world outside of the Heavenly Principles' control, as mentioned here
Who else wants to defy the Heavenly Principles? Zandik. He also “attempted” to create a different world inside Irminsul, similar to Amun. However, by this point we all know that his real goal was to burn Irminsul (idk source to put rn lol), so the others were forced to transfer the data and the dead to a man-made system. That’s what Zandik wants. He doesn’t want the Heavenly Principles controlling fate or Teyvat.
So, they’re very similar, except one is much more destructive than the other. The ends justify the means kind of thing… however, everyone, including himself, I think (point of contention, feel free to correct lol), thinks what he’s done is heinous.
Now, here comes the more gay lens with Nabu Malikata and Pantalone. Bordering on delusional, through this lens, hilariously, Dottolone is doing a way better job than Amun and the Goddess of Flowers.
There are a few reasons why I connect Nabu Malikata. First, Amun is so similar to Zandik that it makes sense that the other paralleled character would be her, and by extension, Feofan.
Feofan means Manifestation of God. Nabu Malikata is the Goddess of Flowers. Both have God/Goddess. In addition, it can be argued that Zandik and Amun worshipped the other party in some way. Amun is obvious. He created a whole realm honoring her. However, there are a few instances of Zandik doing it with Feofan.
One of those instances is how 35 talks to Feofan during their conversation in Sumeru, while he’s in Irminsul. It’s framed similarly to how the Traveler talks to the Archons. If we follow that logic, Zandik stands side by side with Feofan but is still so important that Feofan is like Dottore’s God in a way.
Now, it could be argued that Zandik didn’t have to continue creating the Elixir of Immortality for Feofan, since it didn’t work on him, but he didn’t. While there was mostly a transactional portion at that time, it still mimics Amun building Eternity (interesting wording… interesting parallel) for Nabu Malikata. She didn’t have any romantic interest toward him. For Dottolone, there’s mutual attraction at least. Regardless, the romantic side wasn’t quite there for both, or it is, but they haven’t gone further, probably
If we continue with the Elixir logic, you could also say that 35 convinced the others to dissect the Original Zandik because he knew that it was the last ingredient they needed to create the full Elixir of Immortality for Feofan. Perhaps there was the prospect of simply completing the Elixir just because they could. However, I believe there are deep feelings between all the segments toward Pantalone, and they all wanted him to live more than themselves. This sentiment can be seen as Pantalone straight-up points it out
The point is Zandik goes very far to make sure Feofan stays alive and even sacrificing himself at times. He even makes sure he can still have Alpaca Wool for his comfort and desires
They could’ve rejected him, but they didn’t, and I think it wasn’t because they would’ve lost funding. Maybe they would’ve, but they enjoy Pantalone’s company. Any version of Dottore wouldn’t willingly engage with someone longer than necessary unless the other person matched his level and intelligence. Therefore, at the very least, Zandik is fond of Feofan.
The last aspect is Feofan’s eyes and Nabu Malikata’s flower.
They’re way too similar. Alright, I’m done yapping, and I rest my case. Dottolone is a less tragic version of Amun and Nabu Malikata because Zandik is obviously coming back based on the crucible theory
Hopefully, this made sense. I didn't edit this lol. Maybe in the morning