I've said that I want to make a more expanded post on the topic of comparisons between Sampo and Asat Pramad, and I sort of will, but with the Improv Tour Trailer out for 4.4, I think this warrants its own post since I couldn't help but be reminded of Sampo.
Despite the pranks he pulls and the people he takes from, Sampo supposed goal is for everyone to be happy and get what they desire. A lofty goal, all things considered. Something that's far easier to say than accomplish.
In his defense, I do think he does take his role as shadowy comedy relief pretty "seriously" or at least as serious as a Masked Fool can. In a way, it doesn't matter if you believe him or not because his approach to the Path of Elation and what he does is something that will really only be understood by him. We do know that he has gone out of his way to help Natasha without being asked and for whatever reason he'd been waiting on Jarilo-VI all that time for the Astral Express to make a move, he's been helping out Wildfire. And yes, it was to make money, but think about it. The Underworld isn't that well off, neglected by the Overworld and the Architects for a decade, though there were political and social issues that came even before they were cut off from one another. Sampo does scam above as equally as he does below undoubtedly, but his help for Wildfire seemed to come out of a place of altruism while still satisfying his own selfish desires.
The reason I preface this post with all of that is because Asat Pramad and Sampo share a little bit of an outlook on the world. I would still argue that they approach things differently but some of their sentiments do seem to be shared in one way or another.
Even before some of the newer content, I've understood Sampo to be someone who thrives more in a structured environment. His chaos is of his own making in Belobog but he appreciates the simplicity of it, hence why he'd go out of his way to get his mask to protect it for something we are unaware of in the future.
Sampo mentions "certainty" in relation to the Cosmicon Collective. How there's all these questions and so many different Paths, what if this, what if that? It's a whole grand monologue just to say that this game is a lighthearted way to settle disputes. It's meant to make light of these things and perhaps in a way be a bit mocking. But Sampo continuously harps on humanity's need for certainty.
Part of Asat Pramad's gimmick is that he can manipulate probability. In a way, crafting certainty that something will happen. In essence, it negates chaos that might come with Elation.
Oddly, in the Improv Tour Trailer, Asat Pramad goes on about his altruism as Enroute the Masked Fool: the want to bring happiness to the unfortunate, overthrow tyranny for all, fight Ouroboros. He wasn't sure what Elation brought him, stopped laughing at jokes. Going back to what I mentioned at the start of the post. Sampo and Enroute as Fools or at least coming into being a Masked Fool and their own outlook seem to be more altruistic in nature.
But because he stopped finding jokes in the Tavern funny and found no joy in all things, he believed that the Elation was dead and thus should be saved by finding the true "World's End." This ultimately led to the disillusionment with the Trailblaze as well while he was Isee, as with Akivili's fall he could not help look at these things being all for nothing, meaningless.
Asat Pramad believes that Destruction provided him with what he was missing, a means to use his own hands to bring suffering to those worthy enough to gain Elation because he is after a cruel joke. The only things he can bother laughing at nowadays.
But oddly, with this, he leads with "humans, show me your diginity." Self-worth and one's being tied to this measure of Elation or to achieve Elation he is creating via Destruction.
Strange then, a Masked Fool who prefers happy endings and for people to get along lives by a quote that talks about "true happiness" (another way to talk about Elation) and "dignity of mankind."
It almost makes me think that Enroute might have come up with the quote long ago. We know that Sampo knows about Enroute. Every Fool does but he seems to have more concrete tales and more accurate information. And given their similarities in beliefs, especially when Asat was the Fool Enroute, it really is plausible.
