Friendsim volume 14 – as of the time of me starting this – dropped like 30 minutes ago and I’ve been losing my mind for just as long. While Karako’s route provides an insight into the Dark Carnival I’m sure nobody imagined we’d see, I’m going to postpone that discussion in favour of analyzing my new favourite boy and son, Karako Pierot – the Page of Mind (as discussed within the framework of @revolutionaryduelist ’s class system definitions). Spoilers for all 3 of Karako’s routes below. Long post ahead.
So the thing about my look at Karako’s lore is, Classpect wasn’t really the primary thing I wanted to explore.
Personally, after reading this, I’ve been swayed towards seeing him as a Page at the moment. Goes to show how quickly I change my mind about this stuff!
I’d recommend reading this for a thorough analysis on Karako that’s
more Classpect focused and less focused on the imagery surrounding the
Mirthful Messiah afterlife! This is real good shit. It also gets into some of the Pierot imagery I wanted to talk about, but which didn’t really fit into the framework I was presenting neatly.
If you want a full picture of Karako’s Classpect and how we understand his mythology, this piece is going to be as important as my own, I feel.
Here’s some thoughts that make my initial argument for Karako as a Lord seem more suspect, under the cut:
While the circle imagery I presented is somewhat linkable to Lords, the Carousel specifically isn’t so much related to Karako as it is to Lord English and his worship. Karako’s exposure to it is somewhat tangential.
And while thinking about it, I can draw some easy links between Pages and circles, too–a circle is prominently featured in Tavros’ sign as well as Karako’s, and Jake has the Hope orb, for example.
Both Tavros and Jake are uniquely paralleled with Caliborn, too–Jake’s imagery is thoroughly drowning with LE references, and Tavros is Gamzee’s only object of affection besides Caliborn. So does Karako happening to share LE’s gold tooth really tell us anything Class-ways? I kind of doubt it, honestly.
I think the symbolism surrounding the dream is fascinating and I stand by my writing on the carousel and Rage as a reflection of Maya–I just don’t think any of it tells us much about Karako specifically.
(RIP my thoughts on Vikare’s Classpect, since the main thing keeping me away from seeing Karako as a Page was that I already saw Vikare that way! So now I dunno what I think of him. Oh well, we’ll sort this stuff out eventually. Waddling through the confusion is a lot of fun :3)
I’m still too sick to record for the Joey video, so while I don’t have the time to make a full-scale analysis post on everything about Xefros right now (theres a lot) I figured I’d make two crucial things about reading his character clear:
A) Xefros’ unhealthy relationship with Dammek is the latest example yet of unhealthy Class Roleplay dynamics. If anyone remembers, I speculated weeks ago, before the game dropped, that Xefros’ relationship to the role of Butlering might well turn out to be both unhealthy for him and reflective of Classpect behavior.
As it turns out, I seem to have been correct. Specifically, Xefros is roleplaying a Knight through his unwilling assignment of the role of the Butler.
B) Xefros is a Page of Time.
Let’s explore them in order, considerably more briskly than with the Joey post. There’s more to say about Xefros, obviously, but unfortunately, I just don’t have the….
Time.
Something I have in common with Xefros, fittingly enough.
It’s pretty obvious that Xefros’ passive inversion is unhealthy to him and his narrative development, but who’s the one driving him towards serving his time? Dammek, the Thief of Breath: stealing Xefros’ individual agency (active) to serve Dammek, the band, and the rebel cause (passive and selfless) at the cost of Xefros’ personal interests like Arena Stickball (selfish).
Ooo, I like this. My soul hisses a little at describing it as passive inversion just because I don’t want to be confusing, but I do see what you’re getting at. Alternia’s assignment of Butler status is also at play here, I think, but Dammek is definitely exacerbating things. Sweet catch!
Flying through Storytelling 