The general dialogue between Eric and that AOL girl regarding his philosophy on love has always stood out to me. It's one of the very few moments of vulnerability we've been given / able to find on his character over the past twenty years.
Eric always had his guard up. We all mostly know this from his own writings, no one acts like how he portrayed himself naturally. But, also including the accounts given about him from other people in his life, important or not, before and after passing. Mostly commonly described as aggressive and irritable, yet closed-off and restrained.
Alongside that online exchange, the only other times I can think of were when he called out of work to be there for his sick dog, or the innocent adoration he held toward his older brother, alongside sincere respect for his mother, of course, Reb's "I wish I were a fucking sociopath" Tape, and (arguably) his undisclosed email to his childhood best friend.
He talked about love like he was an outsider. A still figure watching it & whatever shape it may take maneuver around him, but not having the ability to engage. Let alone even acknowledge the fact it could be something of his own as well if he reached his hand out to touch it, but that wasn't even a possibility for him at that moment. Feeling comfortable enough to bring it up, but never to address it directly. Mentioning what he believed, but never outright saying it, afraid to cross a boundary. Though, he was still very careful with his wording despite not feeling confident enough to state his opinion in full. Being just general enough so he didn't risk the girl disagreeing with his words because he didn't give her an opening to do so, but still baring just a bit of his self to her through his ego because it was just the two of them.
Everyone talks about the concept of "love" relating to the case in reference to DK, because it was something that openly consumed him in private, but in a way, I feel the same just might have applied to Eric as well. But, like many other things relating to him, he hid it all away inside of himself. To live is to be vulnerable, and the times Eric was, never ended in his favor. Hence why he conditioned himself to be so isolated from everyone else, emotionally independent.
When Eric did openly talk about his doctrine on love, it was that degenerate & exploitative journal passage in which he wrote in depth about the idea of forcing himself onto certain women in his life alongside gaudy band lyrics. Considering how hesitant he was to directly speak to another girl about love, even under the context they were both being open with each other, the passage was likely written out of some kind of complex frustration. To compensate for how he felt like such a stranger in the face of it, but remarkably knowledgeable when speaking objectively. He wasn't being honest with himself, but still desperately needed some kind of liberation as an attempt to stop whatever feeling of desire he harbored from further stirring inside him.
The passion that stems from hatred is something I'm sure we all know Eric was well acquainted with. I think the hate inside of him masked the love, being overshadowed and making it appear small. It was definitely there, but seldom did it get a voice to speak in comparison to the amount of steam he let out on a general basis.
Eric cared a lot. When you look past the ego he presented to the whole world, he wasn't an individual with ASPD by any stretch of the means. He wanted not to be independent, but his life made him feel that was the only option he could truly rely on with the social instability he faced growing up. He wanted to be seen. I'm sure many people have voiced this before, but it's truly heart-wrenching to think he was doing this big finale act with his best friend, maybe because he had his best friend there to do it with him, only to find out post-mortem that DK didn't hold him to the same high regard. Maybe close, but not at all on the exact same level.
Putting the fact aside both of them expressed fantasies of doing NBK with their own respective "dream girl," DK wanted other options for someone to go through with the date, other actual people in his life, but from Eric's point-of-view, it had to be Dylan. Dylan was one of the very few people in his life, the only one still present with him, that aided his desire not to be alone. To be seen as an individual. To be vulnerable. Under the impression Dylan felt the same way he did, or at least something similar ... and while I won't deny it was there, it just wasn't as significant to the other party.
"What one person calls true love (EH) can be just another cheap thrill to another (DK)."
I'd like to specify that my goal with this post isn't to send the message that they were "gay," nor point out any form of "romantic chemistry," but rather to emphasize how languished love was overall in Eric's life. Also, I think there's an absurdist humor that comes from the irony of him saying this with what we know would follow half at his hands (you know who the other half is).
They both loved each other as friends, without a doubt, but it's so tragic to think that Eric's closest bond, a connection of love so intimate yet unrelated to direct societal romance, which created a strength so abundant that it started a ripple effect worldwide that still persists to this very day, wasn't quite requited the way he thought it was. Just like every other published bond of his, in his sad little existence.
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Zandik, Sohreh and the Rishboland Tigers
Hello! Last night I began to think about Dottore just before falling asleep and now I'm back to write about something that's been bugging me for ages. This shouldn't be too long, but knowing myself I'll take it way too far so...!
Anyhow, every Dottore enjoyer knows of the Zandik's Legacy notes, and I'm sure everyone has their own theory on what happened between him, Sohreh and the investigation team he was with on Devantaka Mountain (if I remember correctly). Most people argue that he killed Sohreh just for the sake of it and lied about her being attacked by a pack of Rishboland Tigers, but I'd like to argue otherwise - she was attacked by the tigers first, and Zandik put Sohreh out of her misery as an act of mercy.
First and foremost, it's important to mention that Zandik and Sohreh, despite not having much in common (different Darshans, differences in their personalities etc) seemed to get along decently well. As written in Sohreh's Note,
"...Zandik and I discussed the traits of local plants and animals. We also exchanged views on their evolution models. We had a great time and decided to go on a picnic tonight..."
Despite their differences, Zandik made the effort to have a conversation with her and for him to agree to a picnic (hey, he could have offered first, you never know) means only that he was genuinely interested in Sohreh; if you have read my previous analysis about Dottore, then you might remember what I said about him and his loneliness and longing for companionship. If not, I will explain briefly: Zandik was rejected by his peers in the Akademiya. A monster, a madman, they deemed him, and it's easy to guess that he was very, very lonely. People were prejudiced against him, but here comes Sohreh - a Dastur who not only ignores the rumors about him, but is kind enough to talk to him, to want to see him more often. That must have been incredibly foreign to Zandik, who up until then had only known rejection and solitude.
With that said, why would he kill a girl?
Before I continue, I would like to note that we do not yet have a definitive timeline of these events. I am merely speculating based on what I know, so keep that in mind! I could very well be wrong when Dottore is released as a playable character and his Character Stories tell the true version of these events... anywho.
From reading the Ragged Attendance Record, we can understand that Zandik stubbornly acted by himself without caring to ask for permission:
"...Trainee Dastur Zandik has acted without authorization for the third time... It brings unpredictable risks to the investigation team... Punishment is advised..."
We know that Zandik meant to keep his research into these Ruin Machines secret; after all, investigating anything related to the fallen nation of Dahri was considered taboo back then.
The record continues,
"...Dastur Sohreh of Amurta has been critically injured under the attack of Rishboland Tigers. In need of first aid..."
Just what happened? It's unclear how she got injured. Can we assume that these records were written hours apart, perhaps? If so, assuming that Zandik had nothing to do with her injuries, how would he react to Sohreh getting hurt?
Moving on to the Sumeru Investigation Team's Note - this was very likely written after the Ragged Attendance Record, considering what we learn in it. It says:
"...Thank goodness, Zandik reacted quickly. Otherwise, the whole team would be in serious trouble...
...The terrifying killing machine has stopped. Zandik insisted on bringing it back to the Akademiya to be disassembled and reverse-engineered. That was absolutely ridiculous! Sage Sharnama reprimanded him and removed him from the author list.
...We buried Dastur Sohreh and sent the wounded back. Looks like this field research has come to an end..."
If we go over it line after line, we learn the following:
Zandik likely deactivated the Ruin Machine that attacked the Investigation Team. He must have gathered enough knowledge at that time to know how to deal with them himself; he also exposed that secret knowledge to the rest of the group, which only helped in strengthening the prejudice people had against him. Considering he acted so quickly, it must have been an instinct for him to solve the problem by himself/save the others.
The fact that he insisted on bringing the machine back could have played a role in the very reason why he got expelled from the Akademiya. This entire event could also be why studying mechanical life forms is now banned in Spantamad, which I believe to have been Zandik's Darshan.
Sohreh was already dead at that point, or she died shortly after the Ruin Machine attacked the group. Funny that they just buried her in the wilderness and left...
This begs one question: when would one even have the time to kill Sohreh? She was first attacked by a pack of Rishboland Tigers. Then, a Ruin Machine accidentally got activated, which Zandik quickly stopped, and there were even more people wounded - likely due to the aforementioned machine (oh, and if so, this might imply that Zandik hesitated to act). Of course, it could have been anyone else that choked Sohreh to death. It could be that someone just put the blame on Zandik because he was so hated. But if we are to assume that he and Sohreh shared some sort of bond, then perhaps he did it himself.
Indeed, for she was already terribly wounded. This is what the Dissection Records say about Sohreh:
"...The deceased...Dastur Sohreh...
Multiple trauma wounds...
Lacerations... contusions on internal organs... hemorrhage...
...But the fatal injury is the wound on the throat... fractured hyoid bone...
Mechanical asphyxia... unable to ascertain the cause of death..."
So all makes sense - I don't even need to spell it out. What I should say is another thing; ignoring the messy timeline and half-assed guess I made about the chaotic events that took place that day, I should return to Sohreh and Zandik.
Zandik - rather, Dottore - is not an actor. He does not pretend to be someone he is not, and Escher doesn't count because that was for a mission. Aside from being a bit polite with Nahida, Dottore never, not once, pretended to be nicer than he really was nor shaped his identity a certain way to make it easier to digest for others. Think of webttore - an openly short-tempered and brash man with a complete disregard for how others perceive him. That's Dottore, and by extension, Zandik. Sohreh wrote that he was rigid - would that not be a trait one would hide if they wanted to put up a front? Moreover, Zandik would have no reason to fake being nice with Sohreh. There was nothing she could realistically give him that he actually wanted - nothing if not acceptance and friendship. Knowing Dottore and his buried want for companionship, Zandik must have been entranced by Sohreh's kindness and curiosity. That must have been rare for him to receive, having already been chased out of his hometown and openly rejected and shunned in the Akademiya.
Say they went on that picnic and found more things to bond over - would it not make sense that he would be the one to show her mercy? Sure, strangling someone is not painless; he could have lacked other options. Perhaps she asked him to do it, or he felt as if he had to - she was bleeding out and helpless in the wilderness, without access to medical aid. Zandik could have thought that she wouldn't make it and took pity on her. Or... well, who knows.
I don't know. With such little information, it's difficult to make out a clear picture of what could have gone down. What I do know is that killing her just for the sake of it makes little to no sense. Dottore is resourceful and only does things that benefit him and his research. How would killing a Dastur of a Darshan that he did not belong to help him in any way? People already despised him and he wouldn't so openly risk getting expelled and losing any means of conducting research. It just doesn't feel right to me, y'know?
Anyway, that's yet another convoluted Dottore theory from me. Remember: I myself am not very confident in it. I had only my own audacity and 4 tiny notes to write this, so! Anything could have happened with Sohreh - this is just my take on it. It's the one I prefer, anyway. I'll humanize anyone looool
Thanks for reading!
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Wonderland and the Rabbit (Theory)
I thought by now my brain would’ve run out of Ateez theories but I was very wrong.
Last night I was aimlessly scrolling the internet when I came across all of the rabbit-centric promotional material Ateez used for their latest comeback The World Ep. Fin: Will, that I had somehow missed seeing before their actual comeback.
I also discovered Mito which I had seen before but didn’t realize was also related to the comeback. I guess just I accepted without question that they would carry a little stuffed rabbit around for no reason. (Apparently Mito is short for Michin Tokki or Crazy Rabbit.)
Of course that set the gears in my brain turning. Crazy Form has a few things in common with Wonderland, (mainly the coats) but not enough that I would immediately think they’re connected lore wise.
However, Crazy Form has a lot, and I mean a lot. Of Alice in Wonderland references.
We have Hongjoong doing the Cheshire cat smile.
We got the rabbits everywhere and the little ear motions in the choreography. Personally I think the name “Crazy Form” alone is already pretty in line with the whole Alice in Wonderland “We’re all mad here,” thing.
And of course we have whatever these godawful furry things are.
Even Seonghwa’s smile in the MV is rather Mad Hatter-ish
(I also find it interesting that his left eye is covered but that’s a point for a dif theory.)
So. From all that it’s clear they’re trying to make a connection to Alice in Wonderland. But why? What does Alice in Wonderland have to do with their story so much that they’re putting references in everywhere.
At first I assumed it had to do with their alternate universe thing. Is entering the doors to Strictland in the Wonderland MV them ‘going down the rabbit hole’? Is Mito their white rabbit? (Even though it’s black-) Is it just another reference to them being somewhere strange they don’t belong?
As I was thinking of all the things I could remember about Alice in Wonderland, suddenly it hit me. The ending. Alice in Wonderland ends with Alice waking up and realizing it had all been a dream.
(When I realized it I almost lost it)
There have already been a number of people theorizing that the Crazy Form MV is at least partially in a dream due to Hongjoong shooting real bullets out of his finger guns, San flying, etc... Oh yea and the crecent moon at the beginning that seems to instantly change to a full one.
Which just adds it to this list of dream related MV’s like Illusion, Wave, Inception, and Eternal Sunshine.
But it really makes me wonder, was the Wonderland MV a dream too? We don’t have diaries for the Treasure series, so pretty much anything goes at this point.
It would make sense if all the weird maze stuff was part of a dream, but feel like the maze is something different entirely…
AhhhHHhgh this is all so big brain that I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of what’s actually going on.
It does makes me wonder though…just how deep does this rabbit hole (dream) go? How long have they been asleep?
And when they wake up, where, when, and who will they be?
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Rambling about 15x18
I rewatched 15x18 "Despair" yesterday. I didn't want to at first, I told myself that I'll stop at 15x17 because I just couldn't watch this confession again. It hurts so much. But I had to because I was making a rewatch to determine when Cas knew his happiness was in just being and saying it. And I actually realized that he just discovered it in the moment, seconds before making his confession, because he says, "But I think I know... I think I know now." So now, I KNOW this.
We also learn that he thought about what is happiness could be since he took that deal, and he understood he couldn't have it. "I always wondered, ever since I took that burden, that curse, I wondered what it could be? What my true happiness could even look like. I never found an answer because the one thing I want... It's something I know I can't have." At some point he knew his happiness was Dean and that he thought he couldn't have him. But which point? I NEED to know.
He couldn't have him for multiple reasons, multiple theories are possible (I still don't know which one I prefer):
Either because he thought his feelings were unrequited.
Either because of the Sacred Oath (it's about creating a nephilim but one could guess it's about relationships between angels and humans in general, plus in episode 12x10 "Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets" he saw Ishim going inside the house to kill the human, which he didn't but was supposed to do), so he probably doesn't want Dean to be killed because of him.
Either because if he was in a romantic relationship with Dean the Empty would come which means he couldn't really have him, kind of the snake eating its own tail if you know what I mean. This theory is hard to explain. I hope some will understand but maybe I'm wrong, who knows? We don't know. I NEED to know.
So now I might have to do a rewatch to know when Dean might have done something that got Cas thinking he couldn't have him? (Because WE all know he has him) or maybe he knew he couldn't have him since a long time? I don't know what to do. I NEED to know.
I couldn't rewatch 15x19 and 15x20 though.
(It wasn't supposed to be that long, but to summarize, I just NEED to know).
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