shirahama is COOKING with easthies' character someone has got to stop her!! she has crafted the perfect demonstration of the consequences that allowing an inherently flawed, oppressive system to consume oneself has on the human psyche. easthies has associated his duty as the deputy captain of the knights moralis so closely to his actual identity that they have become indistinguishable. shirahama has said herself that easthies is an extreme workaholic, and in doing so, he often neglects his health by falling into habits where he forgets to eat, sleep, and take regular breaks (i speculate commander vinanna might have contributed something towards his commitment. their entire relationship reeks of indoctrination). and what happens when a personality like that, who devotes his entire being to a system they genuinely believe protects and maintains order, is forced to watch, in real time, that very system betray the people during silver eve and cost human lives? easthies realises: the system that defined his moral philosophy, his every action, his entire identity, is flawed. and he loses his fucking mind. if the system is flawed that means he is, too. if the system is no longer to be followed anymore, then what is the point of his existence? you see this way of thinking seep into ch97, wherein he's under house arrest after the events of silver eve. he is just laying in bed, doing nothing all day, not even eating, visible eyebags. his hair is a mess, his room is a mess. he is uncaring when he is pushed against the wall by an enraged utowin, he is uncaring when loroga storms in. he lost his purpose. his entire will to live.
this is just a guess, but i think when easthies was younger, he was given the opportunity by a brimmed cap to wield forbidden magic and save the life of a loved one who was actively dying. he denied the opportunity, putting complete and utter faith in the system of the pointed caps. he knows he had the capacity to save that person. he knows. but the rules are absolute. and, years later during silver eve, when he is forced to watch others take the opportunity he didn't, he is forced to confront that the blame and guilt lies on him. and that is something he just cannot accept.
