Last Defense Writing

This analysis was originally written on Fusetter.



This was an analysis that was actually requested of me to write. I am admittedly a new reader of Marionetta — a "new-gen" as people these days might call it — so I was not there to witness the expansion and development of Sahed as the story steadily progressed. But this is not inherently a bad thing; it gives me the advantage of having far more material to work with with what we have now.

Sahed is a peculiar character to me. I am truthfully madly in love with him, sure, but his complection is much like that of an intricate web — elaborate and deeply multifaceted. If you know me, then you'll understand that I have a peculiar taste for characters like Sahed, and I would like to take the time to delve into that web and detangle the threads that make up Sahed as the man he is.

To begin with, we can make a few notes about Sahed's personality. He's snide and reclusive, behaving coldly towards the other members of the troupe, he's secretive and often reckless, he regularly gets into arguments with the Ringleader, Tonny... From this perspective, Sahed can be considered a bit of an antisocial jerk. But while this behaviour may seem uncharitable and crass, it is not without reason; for Sahed, keeping everyone at arm's length is born from the deeply-rooted distrust he feels, both from his past and due to the abuse and discrimination that his people, the Ah'kon, are dealt by the Kalgratti. That's not to say that Sahed is heartless — quite the opposite, really — but he has built these walls that very few get to see past as a culmination of all of the pain which he has endured and witnessed.

It is impossible to talk about Sahed as a character without mentioning Kalgratt and its government. The Ah'kon are thereby treated as "others" who have no place within their society, and yet are repeatedly exploited and abused by the very government that shuns them. The Kalgratti government views them not as human, but as vessels to extract from; they used the Ah'kon for their magic capabilities and seals to benefit them and give them the upper hand in war. Likewise, magic and superstitious practices are out-right banned, and Ah'kon are not even allowed to live freely, being forced into becoming a test-subject at the Aspett Research Center and having their heads completely shaved, their third eye being covered, so on and so forth. This is the unfortunate reality that they are faced with, and it speaks volumes in how much of an emphasis the Kalgratti puts into scientific discovery and innovation.

I feel the need to preface by saying that I do not come from an oppressed race (quite the opposite, unfortunately), so I cannot relate to these subjects in any capacity, nor will I pretend to. But nevertheless, I will do my best to proceed with this segment as delicately and respectfully as possible. Anyhow, the discrimination which the Ah'kon people face are reflective of the very real oppression of many races in the real world. They are treated as less than human, enslaved or used to benefit the oppressors. It is a cycle which has spanned centuries, and which many of these races still feel the effects of in today's time. It's what makes Sahed so distrusting of others, what drives him so fiercely in combating the discrimination and abuse of his people at the hands of the Kalgratti Government. It's what motivates him to help Julia in snuffing out Tonny as per her pact.

Knowing this, we can understand that Sahed's anger and resentment is not unfounded. He has not only been on the receiving end himself — becoming little more than a research subject then — and has witnessed this discrimination against the Ah'kon time and again. He is considerably passionate in fighting against the Kalgratti's mistreatment of his people, which can also be noted in the way he reacts negatively when the other members of the troupe behave dismissive of their plight. This becomes especially apparent in his spats with Tonny, frustrated that he refuses to do anything to help the Ah'kon or fight against the Kalgratti government, where the circus' magic and the seal of life could aid him in doing so. I do not feel like it is my place to speak upon the experience, and I do not want to speak over anyone in this, but I can say that the way Sahed reacts and his zeal in pushing back against this discrimination may reflect the way that people from backgrounds who experience similar things feel as a result of such. However, please feel free to give me some feedback about this if any of this applies to you at all, I would be appreciative to hear the perspectives a lot.

This is fueled much by Sahed's past, having once been a research subject at the Apsett Research Center under Jonah Steinheimer, who led the subject group in sudying seals. During this time, Sahed proved himself to be something of a gifted child, in his advanced capability to observe with the spirit world and study seals, which earns him Steinheimer's favour. He makes Sahed a protégé of sorts, and this gets to Sahed's head a desire to please the researcher, not wanting to be abandoned when the other children were transferred to a "special program," and the inevitable disgust and betrayal he felt when Sahed came to discover what the Kalgratti were actually doing to the Ah'kon. It is a horrific and completely imbalanced dynamic, but I think there are some layers to be explored here as well.

Now this gets into more speculative territory, but I believe that much of what Sahed went through during his time in the research center parallel many cases of different forms of grooming: in how Sahed was "special" and "extroadinary," in how he was Steinheimer's "favourite" among the subjects, in how he was spared from being blinded like the others because Sahed was his favourite. Getting into more darker territory, though, as pointed out to me by a mutual of mine... in how Steinheimer acted and spoke to Sahed, how he invaded his personal space, it also parallels many cases of sexual grooming and CSA. Sahed became the "target" of such twisted affections due to how bright he was and his capabilities which exceeded those of the other subjects in his group; similarly, many real-world cases involve sycophanizing the victim, especially if that victim has something that can be provided to the perpretrator. The objective, in this case, is to create an illusion of "specialness" in order to manipulate the victim — objectifying the victim and lulling them into a one-sided, almost parasitic dynamic.

With that being said, I also want to delve into Sahed's psychology here. He mentions craving Steinheimer's approval and affections — seen in his drive to excel in studying seals — but this can allude to a few things as well. We know that the Ah'kon are either treated as less than human or as research subjects, so it's possible that Sahed's desire to please Steinheimer could tie into the need to feel validated. Sahed truly believed that he was "special," and he was treated as such; the notion that his potential was so extraordinary to Steinheimer gave him the drive to lean into his demands, clinging to the very prospect that someone saw his potential as something to be valued. What came in the wake of Sahed's discovery of what had happened in the special program, however, utterly destroyed that need for approval; he felt betrayed, horrified, angered. It broke Sahed, knowing that his potential was being used for something so... hideous. He felt guilty for not being able to save the other children.

There is much to be said about Sahed's relationship with various characters, especially in how he shows trust. He is the closest with Rainah, a fellow Ah'kon, and he is shown to be caring of her unlike how he is with most others, though he does seem to serve as an emotional crutch for her as well. And despite having a rocky start, throughout the course of the web-comic, Sahed slowly warms up to Julia and eventually develops genuine care and feelings for her, eventually being able to open up to her about his past. Sahed doesn't allow anyone to see his vulnerabilities, so the act of opening up to Julia was a major leap for him; his trust doesn't come easily, especially given his past, being betrayed so many times, and his strained and complicated consanguinity with Tonny. This sense of trust is what allows his relationship with Julia to flourish the way that it does.

What makes his dynamic with Julia interesting to me is how Sahed feels and thinks of his relationship with her. He calls it manipulation, and perhaps it probably was in the beginning with how shady he behaved and taking advantage of her situation, but yet he eventually comes to care and worry about her as the two of them work together. When they initially meet, Julia is adamant in her patriotism for Kalgratt and her discriminatory beliefs against the Ah'kon, but these views ultimately change as she learns of the corruption of the Kalgratti government. I also heard this from my mutual, but it is possible that amidst his betrayal and resentment of the Kalgratti lies a sliver of hope that Julia could be somehow different from them, and this is notable in the way she gets to open her eyes to the truth about their government. This is what leads Sahed to become more trusting of and open with Julia, and the two agree to help each other with their respective plans. His teasing and flirting doesn't subside, of course, but it has a softened edge to it weathered by time spent together.

On the contrary however, the same cannot be said about his relationship with Tonny. He is shown to resent Tonny the most, due to his sense of betrayal in him as Tonny remains idle despite witnessing the pain that various Ah'kon are put through — the subject in which the two often get into arguments over. In the past, however, Tonny was once someone that Sahed could trust completely, having being raised by him since childhood. Tonny taught him how to read, treated him much like a son. But that bond ultimately diminished when he failed to make good on his promise to bring down the corrupt Kalgratti government, despite the latter's worry of putting the other troupe members in potential peril. This once intimate bond that they shared had ultimately shattered, and I believe that this might be another root to Sahed's distrust; it is very likely that he feels betrayed by Tonny in a sense, when his own goals are ultimately righteous in nature. Sahed's ambitions and Tonny's reluctance caused a scathing friction that severed their familial bond that may never fully be repaired.

It is also entirely possible that, due to his past and being betrayed by people he thought he could trust, him putting up walls and shutting most everyone out is his way of protecting him from the pain of betrayal once again. He does not trust easily, and a part of me believes that there is a fear of building that trust with the possibility of being betrayed as he had been time and again.

In the end, I feel like Sahed does desire to have an intimacy with someone he can genuinely trust. He is considerably caring of those he can trust and be close with and can be a bit protective of those he cares about, even beneath his layers of loathing and distrust of a world which has harmed him so deeply for so long. Sahed wants a future where his people can be treated as equals in Kalgratt, where they can be free from the prejudice and pain that is so often brought upon them. In this, he is willing to help Julia get home, and perhaps even grow to love her.