#medoro

Identity

"Klaus" -> "Medoro"

Of course he would have to make up a pen name for himself, given the controversial topics he was reporting on, so it makes sense that their names are different.

Animal Motifs and References

Klaus is clearly meant to be a reference to the cowardly lion from Oz. Medoro was a regal poodle in Pinocchio. I know the references don't end up meaning much since we know, characters like Lumacchio end up nothing like their Pinocchio-counterpart, but I just feel like it's worth mentioning anyway.

Hotel Krat Review

At the end of the DLC, Klaus leaves a letter at the hotel with a review ranking it 4/5.

He adds that it's like a proper Monthly Landmark Guide...but the Landmark Guide wasn't created yet, and the hotel wasn't open to be reviewed, so it's impossible he's referencing Medoro's writing here, since it wouldn't exist.

The very first published Monthly Landmark Guide by Medoro also ranks the hotel the same 4/5. Antonia also specifically says the guests are "brave like lions."

Pretty on the nose. She's definitely referencing Klaus here and this is very difficult to refute honestly. BUT!

Occupation

Klaus is a merchant, not a journalist. Secondary to being a merchant, he's a collector. And third to all of that, he's interested particularly in horology.

Of course it's not as though people can't have career changes but Medoro is a very well-known journalist in-universe who had a reputation and was very good at what he did. It just seems odd that Klaus doesn't show any aptitude or interest in journalism at all, besides asking P for what's going on around the city (which is a normal thing to do when it's all gone to hell and you're stuck alone inside. We know how that is.) Until the Hotel Krat review…I guess it could've been his journalistic awakening, but...?

Demeanor and Personality

It honestly doesn't seem in his nature? Medoro is absolutely fearless and isn't afraid to go up against the most powerful people in Krat with his pen, yet, Klaus can't even talk to the guy next door? I'd argue that someone could be a lot more brave hiding behind the pen than they are in person, but don't forget that Medoro went to wild lengths to get his scoops, like going undercover for months.

Friendship with Alidoro

Medoro and Alidoro are such good friends that even Hugo mentions it.

Yet, Klaus and Alidoro have no interactions in the hotel.

Though, I think we can deduce that Alidoro ("H") was the ex-Alchemist informant from the Far East that reached out to Medoro. Medoro then spent months with him to learn the truth about everything?

So, this would have had to have been after the DLC. Yet, Alidoro would've only reached out if Medoro was already a trusted and established journalist, right...? (Cont. in Timeline section)

Also, based on what Hugo said, they had to have been friends before the Workshop Tower falls (the incident that kills a bunch of Stalkers, Alidoro loses his finger, and Eugenie is saved).

Parrot

Parrot mentions he once didn't give Medoro the antique he wanted, and their relationship soured.

Now, why would Parrot give Medoro an antique? If he was a collector......

....which Klaus certainly is! Finally, a connection between Medoro and Klaus and their aptitudes! I think this is pretty solid evidence, tbh.

Friendship with Lumacchio

Not much is changed after playing the DLC and returning to the base game. Very little is added, which makes the little that is added seem rather important. So the addition to Medoro's notebook feels like it should have a lot of weight.

Medoro considered Lumacchio a friend enough to write about him in his very last moments, yet Klaus not only does not know Lumacchio in the era of the DLC (which supposedly isn't too long before the events of the base game?)--

--and Lumacchio does not know Klaus--

--Klaus is outright SCARED of him?

Which I always found weird off the bat, tbh, but they're clearly strangers to one another.

The fact these two don't know each other seems so intentional that I actually thought, when first playing the DLC, that they were just pretending not to know one another and were actually partners of some sort, but that didn't turn out to be the case at all. So I still find this dialogue suspicious, but all we can do is take it at face value now. Like, did I miss something? Why do they make such a big deal about not knowing each other?!

Now, there might have been time for them to meet again and become friends later, right? Except, we kill Lumacchio before they ever have a chance to meet again.

In the same timeline, we get that additional page added. We can assume that Alidoro, the mutual friend (we know he was friends with Lumacchio), must've told him about it (because P had told him about it in this timeline).

So, when did Klaus (Medoro) and Lumacchio have time to become such good friends????

Interestingly, in the pre-DLC timeline, Lumacchio is "ill" but definitely still alive to Medoro (or he would've said 'dead' like he did "H"), and he never knows of his betrayal. Does that mean, if we don't do the DLC, Lumacchio survives to a much farther point in time, hypothetically befriends Klaus/Medoro, though eventually still succumbs to PD without ever taking the alchemist's medicine and his sins never coming to light?

It's curious, but regardless, Medoro and Lumacchio were friends in both timelines.

Timeline

This isn't necessarily canon, but if you want to take into consideration this trailer for the game that's presented in the style of Medoro's journal, he has been around and reporting (or at least recording all of this) since the very beginning when puppets were first being put into "every home."

Since Medoro seems to be such an established reporter, rather than an up-and-coming one, I think the only way this is possible is that he was secretly working as "Medoro" during the DLC era.

Secret Identity

Now we get into pure speculation, but if he's lying about his occupation, who's to say he's not lying about also being friends with Lumacchio? Hence why it comes off a bit strange that they act so much like they're not friends. That, or maybe Medoro and Lumacchio were only friends through letters or something, and Lumacchio never actually met him, so he genuinely didn't think Klaus was Medoro?

Also, this could explain the discrepancy in Klaus's personality compared to Medoro's. Like, it's all just an act. Since we've seen that before...(Giangio).

Conclusion