childe, la signora, scaramouche, alrecchino, and now il dottore
and i just realized that every one of them has had the fatui motif woven somewhere into their boss themes, except il dottore
these themes have always been biographical in nature, and anyone who listens deeply can follow all of the major beats of a character's story, learning as they go how the character feels about those defining aspects of their past
so, with this understanding, it is extremely revealing how the fatui motif doesn't even get so much as an homage in dottore's theme
the harbingers never mattered to him, even though they saved him. their mission never impressed him, despite allowing him to pursue all of those discoveries that would have otherwise eluded him. why, it's likely that he never even considered himself to be part of their membership, only wearing the title like a mask because it provided the most convenient means to achieve his own ambitions.
anyway, that's just a little food for thought from someone who listens to way too much of this game's soundtrack
If you examine notes and dialogs closely, you can notice changes in Zandik's personality
In Sumeru we can find a note about research team that was saved by Zandik, but Sohreh died. He suggested to take the Ruin Guard with them for researches (and it's logical for me. I mean, examination of enemy's weapon is useful), but was banned once again
And in last big Sumeru event we learn about Zandik's expedition. After some time, he found his companion useless and planned to leave him in ruins, but was tricked by Thoth.
But here's a thing. Zandik didn't leave his companion, even when he found out about Thoth's lie. Because as we could see in notes, they spent some time in ruins before leaving
What I'm trying to say.. We can literally see changes in Zandik. At first, he tried to help others, but received nothing, still being an outcast. And then, after expulsion from the Akademiya, he didn't see the point in helping anymore, but still decided to keep his companion alive
It's amazing that from small details you can tell about character a lot, I love it in Dottore's lore
I’m just wondering what the heck Dottore must’ve gone through in his childhood to think that relationships are transactional. The closer you get to him, the more freely he uses you.
He genuinely doesn’t even understand what he did wrong towards Columbina. The fact that Sandrone saw the falling out between those two from a miles away… That must mean that Dottore wasn’t even hiding the way he treated Columbina.
He saw her as his sister, and that’s why he treated her worse than other Harbingers—because she got so close to him.
So, how did Dottore’s own family treat him as a child? Was he used? Extorted? Abused? Manipulated?
The backstory of Il Dottore's Parents (Genshin Impact)
Reddit comment I want to post also here. This is fanmade story inspired by Hijo de la Luna, I tried to make it stick with the contents of the newest Archon Quest so be aware of spoilers!
Zandik's mum was one of the desert people and managed to roll into the Akademiya despite ostracism (part of it is the moon pact that came from half serious, impulsive prayer, that also states it's power allows the woman to overcome the obstacles and have her dream life, but she will give the most precious fruit of her work to the Moon), very brave and intelligent woman who wanted to learn medicine and then return to the desert to help her people. Her only mistake was forgetting about her prayer to the Moon and taking the whole credit as her ambitions grew with each success she achieved. In this arrangement, during Akademiya years she met her husband who was a fellow student from the rainforest, also a brilliant mind who was more than good for her. He agreed to live among desert people with her, believing that love is enough to overcome his own bias against desert folks in general and the bias of... well, his wife's family and the community that treated him like opressor's agent and her like a traitor to a certain level. Yet, she had so many practical knowledge, resources and contacts, that locals weren't actively trying to expat anyone.
Both young scholars were working a lot to better the life of the community and as the time passed, they conceived. They couldn't wait to meet their baby and teach it all they knew. When the day of Zandik's birth arrived, his father was present. He actively supported his wife with the assistance of local midwives and he witnessed the birth of a child that... wasn't looking like him or any of his ancestors. The child had only it's mother's face, and then almost white hair, very pale skin, small sharp teeth and awful red eyes. He couldn't identify any familiar trait that could prove that this scary looking abomination was... His son. The new mother went pale as she saw her kid, she immidiately remembered her moon prayer made long before all of this started. The moon picked the child as the prize of the deal. She tried to explain that she never betrayed the man she loved, but he couldn't believe her.
The first person who felt resentment towards Zandik was his own father. By the village's tradition he had to be the one who picks newborn's name – so he did, choosing a literal curse. Then, he publically disowned the baby and left his former love behind, humiliating both. No one knew where he went, as the Scholar was never seen again in the rainforest part of Sumeru either.
Zandik's mom decided to do everything she could so the father's curse could be stopped from coming true and she really tried to rebrand the intention of the name from "heretic" to "reformer". Zandik had some borderline morbid behaviors and curiosity since he became conscious, he was also impulsive at times, other kids rarely wanted to play with him (mostly by lowkey bullying as they were told the rumors that Zandik was unloved by his dad since day 1) – but he surpassed his age in learning capabilities. He also loved his mum and was responsive to the way she tried to regulate his temper with no anger, but with reason.
Unfortunately, the mother died during one of outbreaks of severe illness she catched too. Her protection from father's curse died too – with every good thing that went extremely bad later.
This story already connects Zandik to the Moon motifs (+ gives assumption why he realized the Moon is relevant to change the course of fate), explains the root of his predestined fate to be hated as extremely strong paternal curse and also opens possibility that after getting chased away from the village – Akademiya took him under their protection as someone recognized their old friend's little son in the hungry beaten up boy wandering alone somewhere in the wilderness.
This version also creates inverted mirror situation to Scara's story, what is used in the game's narrative too – one boy disowned from birth by mum, the other disowned by dad on the same stage of life.
It also results in Pierro, the same man who recruited him to the Fatui at the lowest point in life, as the closest one to father figure Zandik could ever have.
not 3 qualities you like about him. or 3 qualities you hate. i guess, give us 3 points you've observed about him. put him under your microscope. share with us ur dottore thoughts.
also how's neuvillette for you? -- @milkstore
OMG HELLO DEAR MILK!! You always have the best questions oh my God I love this. Even if it was very challenging cus we cling to qualities we hate or love about the characters but here they are:
Dottore is not rude, he is polite. You can call him arrogant, overly confident, blunt and etc. but you cannot call him rude in conversation. He follows conversations very well and, more importantly, when he speaks he always has a start, middle and end. We haven't heard him yell yet; he has a very good grasp of holding and giving the floor. He doesn't talk just about himself or his research; he gives compliments when people deserve them and asks plenty of questions so the other person also gets a turn to talk.
Dottore still considers himself a scholar and is aware that he is tied to Sumeru in many ways. He still calls it his homeland and seems to be very critical about the academiya not progressing. This could be due to him being expelled but also it is just an ingrained part of his personality. He only called one thing worthy that the academiya worked on ( the sound ray) and whenever he meets a scholar, he appraises them and if they are a good fit according to objective standards. Like, he has no problem giving Tighnari his compliments but he also won't hesitate to insult a careless researcher. Kind of like...everyone gets a chance to prove themselves in his eyes but he judges quickly and swiftly.
Uhm, he swings one arm more than the other when he talks and I find it rather funny asjkda. For a more serious quality; he knows dimensions of the universe that teyvat is very well. Notice how he talks about the aspect of time and his clones; then look up ishtaroth's name meaning and some of the things she did + what the artifacts represent. I guess that makes it 4 not 3 but you get it.
I think Neuvillette....so far has my favorite voice out of all of my genshin blue men...he is so,,, he fits the criteria for my men. Kind, capable and pathetic. I love those men irl and now him too heheh
I'm not a professional composer or something. I'm just an ordinary person who loves character so much and tries to find any piece of lore in everything connected to him
And I want to share thoughts about Dottore's ost. We really need to talk about changes in its mood. The soundtrack is kinda aggressive most of the time. Buuuuuuut
But
In some moments it becomes calm. I mean, we hear aggression, then drop, and there's calmness. And the most important thing in this situation is.. WE HEAR SUMERU INSTRUMENTS. I MEAN, ONLY IN MOMENTS OF CALMNESS!!
Imo, it tells about Dottore a lot. First of all, it's his chaotic nature. Even if he can contain his anger, he's still hot-tempered sometimes.
Second, and the most important one for me. Dottore’s obviously homesick. Somewhere deep inside he's still Zandik who loves Sumeru even after all hatred people gave him.
This is heartbreaking for me, because when I realized it, my mind blew up. Because this guy hates Heavenly Principles and Teyvat's rules, BUT HE STILL LOVES AND MISSES SUMERU IN ALL WAYS POSSIBLE, AND NAHIDA IS THE ONLY ONE GOD HE RESPECTS, ITS CANON ACCURATE
I love this character so much, thanks to Mihoyo for creating such a fascinating personality
I can yap about Dottore's lore a lot, but I think that's all for now. Thanks for your attention
Dottore is Odysseus-like character, but I can't prove it...
But if being serious, he really has something in common with Odysseus from Epic: the musical
In the beginning, they both were kinda nice/more human. They tried to help others somehow
But after so many terrible events they lose their humanity, switching to the philosophy "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves". So they did sacrifices, used their close ones as instruments, hurt so many lives
However they both missed their homeland and wanted to return there. Because somewhere deep inside there were still their past selves
I really love thinking about Zandik as Odysseus, I even made a crossover with Epic (you can find it in my blog), because aaaah damn, it looks so cool
very late to the conversation, but i agree with u aqua! i dont see neither dottore's partner, nor dottore himself, laugh at anything like that (eyeballs popping etc), because dottore is not a sadist - he's a mad scientist, but not because he finds joy in harming others, but more because he doesn't particularly care if he does. he just cares about research, and anything else is just a means to an end.
as for who he would be interested in - someone who not only piques his interest for whatever reason, but someone who *understands*. think about how he desperately wanted scaramouche to understand, to be like him, because he craves connection. so imo it doesnt matter if the person is crazy, or good, or evil, or something in between, i think what matters is for them to also be an outcast like him, in some way. but i gotta say, i agree with the fact that if they would challenge him in some way, that would make them just more interesting for him^_^
- dottore anon
So sorry it took me a long time to answer this!! I opened it late in the night and then simply didn't get asks after and forgot I left it in my inbox !!
I also find the idea of a reader who naturally fits in and is not an outcast in the traditional sense just meeting Dottore and him hating them ?? so enemies to lovers but also being envious and like spending time with them to see what he is/was missing. or perhaps that same dynamic but with a reader whose throne got usurped so they are finally after YEARS forced to be an outcast. But the thing is, Dottore also fits in with the Fatui now if you consider them all outcasts in one way or another so it is hard to see where he stands until we get more from him.
I would argue however that he is a sadist. There is a fine line between him deriving pleasure from his experiments and being neutral to the pain. I doubt he would choose to lessen someone's burdens if his end result by the calculations is the same in an experiment for example. Like, if the result will be the same he probably sees no reason to treat pain or etc. Also for my own nsfw headcanons I consider him more of a sadist but that is irrelevant here.
The biggest proof I have of him being a sadist comes from the fact that sadistic people love humiliating others and dottore loves to do that to 1. his other clones?? like ok grandpa thats just you in a different font 2. his colleagues and everyone in scara's story 3. holding knowledge over nahida 4. his test subjects 5. other researchers like when he speaks to tighnari and when we first meet him in the sumeru cutscene. Like he will walk into a room; find a target to humiliate because he is superior; and then walk out ASDAJ.
