u/Real_Kyryll_Flins

I like this sub a lot, it’s one of the most inclusive spaces I’ve seen online and most people seem genuinely sweet and kind. There are, of course, as with any community, some issues, and one that I’ve seen here is Misandry. I know it isn’t systematic (to the same extent) as other forms of bigotry, but it still is real and is incredibly saddening to see here, where most people are usually very kind.

Recent examples I’ve seen of this are when June as Men’s Mental Health Month is brought up, which I do understand, but it is still gross. I know people use it to try to call Pride Month less important which is untrue and shitty, and that (cishet, rich, white) men are the most privileged group in most societies. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a mental health crisis amongst men or that it is not still a serious issue despite being comparatively a less immediate issue than Queer people’s rights being taken away, racial tensions and violence, misogyny, etc.. I saw someone (iirc on this sub) mention male suicide rates and saw a highly upvoted response effectively saying that they should make it higher. People can care about two issues at once, and if people try to take attention from pride for Men’s mental health, they don’t genuinely care about either issue. That doesn’t mean they don’t both matter. I’ve seen a lot of the talk about men’s mental health being supposedly celebrated in November and thus not deserving June as another month, “why does it deserve two months”, “why men”, etc. which is the same talking points as people against pride with “why a whole month” or “why take attention from important (ie non queer) issues”, or “why no straight pride”. It gets two months because it has a different month in different places. Want to know why? Because it’s not internationally well organized as black history month or pride month. It’s also poorly organized because the people who use it to take attention from pride are gross and don’t actually care about the issue. This doesn’t mean it’s right to treat it like it doesn’t matter.

What made me want to make this post wasn’t from this sub, but a 4tran related one. On a post about He/Him lesbians, a trans woman responded that trans men were “male-brained” and thus “predators trying to coerce lesbians” and “lesbian fetishizers” by identifying that way. I understand not agreeing with or understanding someone labeling themself that way, but there are reasons why someone may identify in such a way. But the point of these terms should not be to constrain people. They’re groups with meanings that people may find themselves more comfortable having and being part of for whatever reason. You don’t have to agree, you don’t have to date them, or even talk to them, if they try to make you they’re a creep, but this transmisandry is really really gross.

While that discussion wasn’t on this sub, the reason I’m ranting about it is because I’ve seen some of the same creepy, almost gender fundamentalist, in the past at times racist, talking points on this sub as well as 4tran ones that I muted those subs for. “Theyfab” talk, insulting trans people who are gender nonconforming, or enbies for not fitting in to the right box, or trans men being men (derogatory), and slights at trans women of color. While most people here are great, it’s been sad to see and feel almost like the gross parts of 4tran are sneaking in to this sub.

Sorry for ranting. It’s just disappointing to see bigotry of any kind really sneak in to one of the subs I’ve gotten the most comfortable in and met some very nice and cool people on.

It’s not particularly original but it’s still fine. From a pro-trans sub, just lighthearted joking.

Yeah there’s no way Pantalone isn’t playable and there’s no way we aren’t seeing more of some version of Zandik/Dottore.

Pantalone’s whole “an enemy now isn’t necessarily an enemy for life bit is obvious foreshadowing imo to him allying himself (not befriending, but becoming allies with) the traveler. Plus there’s the fact that the quest humanized him and showed he was able to be loyal to his friends and be diplomatic with other nations and didn’t reveal who he was to the traveler, he could easily become playable from that standpoint.

He had a few lines about the gods, implying humans attaining that power was better and saying something about how if visions are given to those with great ambitions then shouldn’t those who attempt to rise up against the gods get them but no blah blah blah iirc. That feels like hinting at him getting some way to control an element. He could easily attain a delusion or potentially a stellar lynchpin, no matter how you get those, if he wanted, just by buying them. Visions don’t let themselves get taken from their og user typically, but Moonwheels and delusions act a bit different, stellar lynchpins can be the same I’d bet. I know his model is low polygon compared to most playables or whatever but I really can’t see him not being playable. He’s also just way over detailed and doesn’t look like an NPC like Linnea’s sister or Roland still do.

Now for Dottore.

Dottore’s idea of bringing a new him to life through Pantalone’s memories feels very much like a hint. Yeah, Pantalone said it was impossible without Dottore’s own expertise but I have ideas on that too which I’ll get to later.

If I consider Pantalone’s line about enemies not always being enemies to be foreshadowing, shouldn’t I take Nahida’s line about never seeing him again and Pantalone and Dottore’s final goodbye being said to be the last one as confirmation? No. Omega is done for, his story is over as it should be, and it was an amazing end imo, perfect for our truly evil villain, but I have complete faith a new “segment” that isn’t really a segment will be born. They focus deliberately on how the different segments have different personalities, with Omega being the most selfish and letting the OG Zandik die to dissect him and considering himself “the Doctor” rather than Zandik, etc. I feel like there’s definitely going to be a new version in some way that is less directly opposed and isn’t branded a traitor to the Fatui either due to being likely from Pantalone’s memories.

Back to the issue on how to do it…. Since Capitano can absorb memories and souls with his hart, that could be how it’s done since Pantalone said he wouldn’t be able to do it without Dottore’s help… well Capitano can extract the memories from Pantalone and potentially even extract Dottore’s own expertise and knowledge of how to remake him from memory from the ley lines or Pantalone could simply look through his papers to find that Dottore had already planned for this experiment, after all, he’s not the type to let himself die easily. Capitano will come back then help revive Dottore trust.

Oh but isn’t there the issue of morality? Hoyo would never… They could tho. It’s a different Dottore, as I said, not Omega, which removes the interpersonal conflict with the Fatui because as Hoyo sadly does, Omega is a scapegoat. He can be a scapegoat for the new Dottore now too. He’d still be evil, but the new quest does a lot imo to show Dottore’s humanity while maintaining his evil. And Hoyo isn’t against making evil characters playable, just against allowing them to have interpersonal conflict especially with the traveler, and showing their evil openly. Well Dottore is still evil, but he is more human now and Omega was the only one that Traveler or the Fatui were opposed to. I’m not saying make a whitewashed Dottore by the way, not at all, he will still be evil, but he can be evil and playable as long as he’s not Omega.