Hey quick PSA cause I've seen DottoreMains reddit doomposting already:
Guys... we knew Dottore likely wasn't going to be in that 7.0 livestream. To anyone outside of Dottore's fans, it's supposed to be like a shock value/surprise that he's coming back. It's not like Sandrone's situation where we knew beforehand she was going to be getting rebuilt.
I fully DO NOT expect any hints or reveals about him until 7.5+, and that includes livestreams, character reveals, and the silhouette posts. It's gonna be hard for a while. We're gonna have plot lines without him. The cast is going to treat him how they know him currently: heinous and dead. Don't be surprised if his past deeds get brought up again, or if people refer to him as truly gone, or if he gets thrown under the bus for other things. He did do most of his work in Snezhnaya, after all.
But please remember:
There is more evidence he will be playable than there is evidence that he's truly dead.
The biggest thing supporting this right now is Pantalone's plight of the lack of the elixir of immortality. They're going to have to address that issue at some point. We really don't know how the story is going to progress from here, and we won't know much until later on down the line- probably after the issue with Ronova is settled. Right now, this new AQ is going to be our introduction to Snezhnaya- it's not going to focus on Dottore at all.
Right now, we stay firm in our belief and show Hoyo we still expect him Playable. We do not give up! We keep standing there with our signs and fanarts and fanfictions, and we shove Dottore BACK in their face so they know we're still interested.
A fair warning too, especially those who use reddit: I have no way to confirm this, but I do believe that since people think he's really gone now, they've gotten more bold about openly bullying Dottore fans and harassing them. I think posts offering legitimate discussion or doubting whether he's playable for reassurance are fine, but PLEASE be wary of posts trying to stir the pot or posts that insist beyond all doubt that he's not playable and he's dead permanently. I think MAYBE it's possible people from outside the Dottore community are joining reddit to purposely discourage and dishearten us. I've seen it done before. Mostly this applies to reddit, as tumblr really doesn't have much of a space for community like that, but... my point stands.
Discord, Reddit, and even HoyoLab are all places where players frequently post about their hate for Dottore and his fans. I would avoid these places for now if you can, or at least browse cautiously. Again, just a word of advice.
