Something I find very fascinating about Arknights is how it approaches the character of Doctor, the main character and functionally, our self-insert. With that said, I’ve been having Thoughts about the Doctor themselves, and how it ties into a few things.
Amongst the Arknights community, the scarcity of Sanity (AK equivalent to the AP of FGO), which is used to run various nodes and farming materials for Operators. Many of the higher tier nodes require huge amounts of sanity, which takes many hours to recuperate.
It’s led to many quirky and funny interpretations of Zero Sanity Doctor, but my thought goes a bit deeper.
Sanity as a mechanic represents the divide between the Doctor pre- and post-amnesia.
It’s noted many times, especially in the Operational Intelligence event, that the Doctor in the past was cold, ruthless, completely and utterly without regard for the Operators they commanded as well as civilian casualties. Essentially kill several to secure the mission.
This is Doctor before their amnesia. A cold headed machine of war forged by the world and people around them into a tactical acumen. A teacher, made into such an unfeeling machine.
Doctor after their amnesia couldn’t be more different. Numerous times it is shown they have a goofy side, splashing Amiya in the summer event and being a groupie of the band of their choice too.
They also, very clearly, hold school lessons for some of the kid Operators like Ifrit, Projekt Red and anothers. That is them in their original capacity as an educator- they have fun with their students, do their best to fulfill their needs, and seek to make them wiser than they were before.
So this is my theory, and a fun thought: every time the Doctor uses more sanity in battle, uses more and more to command their Operators to victory in almost impossible circumstances... they are closer to falling back into their old self.
Which is why it takes Sanity so much time to restore- it is the Doctor’s mind regenerating from the strain, fixing itself so that it doesn’t break apart again. This is somewhat addressed at the start, with wonder being shown at them retaining their tactical genius despite forgetting almost everything.
That is the Doctor’s struggle for Sanity. Sanity itself fundamentally represents the Doctor as they were and the Doctor as they are now.
They goof off, the best reward of their recovery being teaching the kids of Rhodes Island and regaining something of who they were before they became cogs in the warmachine of Terra, and in turn the price for their abilities is losing themselves.
Amiya frays and cracks at times in the story, showing she is just beginning this inner conflict. Thus, it isn’t surprising that the Doctor, her parental figure, suffers from the same issues with one caveat.
They have gone through this before.
Breaking over and over, time and time again until they weren’t anything but a cog.
Which is why it’s also so heartwarming to see them at their very best. Goofing off, listening to music, helping kids with homework and being there as best as they could. Bit by bit, just as much as they lose their Sanity for victory, they regain it by becoming their old, idealistic and content selves.
Doctor is pretty freaking good for an insert character, guys.
