#Page Class

[starlit1daydream]

Knights & Pages: Deficiency and Exploitation

Well, then... here we are.

A day in delay, I'm aware; but I'm afraid I can't always be accounting for extraneous real-life factors. My apologies.

The Knight:Page class dichotomy embodies deficiency, exploitation and arguably compensation as well. They imbue their Aspect into their fighting prowess, utilise it both as a weapon and a tool, and often use it to constitute a shield as well. (Literally and metaphorically).

The presence of either (or both) of these classes also functions as a signal; as by their very nature, they exist to compensate for a deficiency in their Aspect within their session proper.

Canonical Knight players are Dave Strider (Knight of Time), Karkat Vantas (Knight of Blood) and Latula Pyrope (Knight of Mind).

Canonical Page players are Jake English (Page of Hope), Tavros Nitram (Page of Breath) and Horuss Zahhak (Page of Void).

So, Point A. The narrative function of the Knight.

Narratively speaking, the Knight is one who defends their Aspect; and uses it as a defense in turn. They are defined by maintaining a rigid facade, born of their Aspect and used to hide a perceived deficiency in it. Their Aspect is their sword and their shield, and this oft manifests as a deep-seated insecurity.

Dave's insecurity is with his masculinity, mortality and conception of 'heroism'. Karkat's insecurity is with the colour of his blood, his fear of ostracisation and social exile. Latula's insecurity is less clear-cut, but the most prevalent theory is that the injury that rendered her anosmic also left her with brain damage.

Thus, we see here that their fear comes from lacking in their Aspect. Dave lacks confidence in his ability to face closure & his projections of masculinity (something he misconstrues with heroism). Dave doesn't want a great destiny; he wants to be a normal guy who lives a normal life and dies a normal death. He's essentially a tutorial NPC thrust into plot bullshit after plot bullshit.

Karkat lacks confidence in his sense of self caused by his mutant blood and his persistent fear of social ostracisation and subsequent death should his status be exposed. One could also argue it is a disillusionment with the Alternian social order that he does not fit into by design, but feels he must follow anyways (hence his ass-kissing dreams of threschecutioner greatness).

(Here's where the conjecture comes in...)

Latula lacks confidence in her capacity for rational thought and ability to use logic for her own (and others') defense. If we're going with the TBI narrative for her, she feels as if she lacks intelligence as a result. Tying into Latula's commentary on the misogyny in online gaming circles and we get a girl who is deeply, deeply terrified of rising above her station and displaying an intellect.

So, Dave pretends to be a self-assured, chauvinistic 'cool kid'.

Karkat pretends to be a bossy, self-righteous 'perfect leader'.

Latula pretends to be an air-headed, radical 'gamer chick'.

All of them deny themselves depth and identity for the explicit purpose of denying people the right to know them on a deeper level.

Let's simplify this - Knights feel they lack their Aspect and compensate for it. End of.

Here's where the dramatic irony comes in; Knights are the only people in their session who are proficient with their Aspect at all. Dave is the only Beta Kid concerned with Time management, Karkat is the only Beta Troll concerned with maintaining social order and collaboration, Latula is the only Alpha Troll concerned with logical thought and logical argument.

Because the Beta Kids lack Time on their side, the Beta Trolls lack Blood to bind them together, and the Alpha Trolls lack Mind to... well, to be totally blunt, to use their fucking brains.

(The Beta Kids' lack of Time being tied moreso to the nature of their Game as opposed to the nature of themselves is absolutely a matter of Lunar Sway, by the way).

That's what they need to learn, and subsequently use their Aspect to defend. Dave defending his co-players from certain death and entropy, Karkat defending his co-players from turning on eachother and descending into conflict, Latula defending Mituna from disbelief and abuse through logical counterargument.

Here, we're dovetailing directly into Point B - practical function.

We're all caught up in flowery metaphors and abstract conceptions, but how does this translate to a literal function within SBURB?

Simple. The Knight imbues, exploits and weaponises their Aspect. They don't generate it or control it in any way - that's the caveat of their function. Knights must exploit an already existing well of their Aspect and use that minimal supply to the best of their abilities.

It's the literal manifestation of their abilities for compensation! They have to merely 'make do' with what's available. After all - if there was an influx of their Aspect to work with, there wouldn't be a deficiency to combat.

This journey ties into their narrative function as learning to use it and defend through it also comes with dropping the mask and putting down your sword every once in a while. We don't ever get to see this fully with Latula, unfortunately, but we see Dave and Karkat (through means of eachother, actually) learn to relax in eachothers' presence and drop some of their unhealthy preconceptions.

Now, let's go on to the Pages!

Point C - narrative function.

Pages function in much the same way as Knights on a base level - existing to cover for an existing deficit in their session by virtue of compensation. The difference, obviously, comes in their passivity - and their different manifestation of their Aspect which more directly feels to be a shield as opposed to a sword.

Pages turn the Knights' overcompensation on its' head. Like Knights, they too believe their lack their Aspect, and thus project an image of possessing an influx of it. The difference is that Pages... actually do have that deficiency.

Jake lacks Hope. He lacks faith in himself, lacks the belief in his own capacity to bring a better future and finds it difficult to hold onto his convictions when the going gets tough.

Tavros lacks Breath. He lacks a direction or an objective to follow, lacks freedom by virtue of his disability and Vriska's control of his life. He prefers to avoid things and run away from problems.

Horuss lacks Void. He lacks the ability to cope with imperfection and the fact he doesn't know things. He can't deal with being absent or bereft of purpose.

And, likewise, their sessions lack their Aspect as well in equal measure!

The Alpha Kids lack Hope in the same manner - they don't have the motivation to keep going and find themselves falling into depression and passivity. Dirk even lampshades this!

The Beta Trolls lack Breath - none of them have freedom to choose their own destinies due to oppressive Alternian society and thus fall into the trappings of the roles laid out before them.

The Alpha Trolls lack Void - the teenage echo chamber of drama and gossip denies anybody the right to secrecy or privacy, and their presence in the dreambubbles forces them into proximity and furthers this absence.

Now, it's a common conception that this absence means a Page is weak by default, or outright useless. I absolutely abhor this notion. A Page is not the 'weakling' class - they merely rely upon guidance.

For Jake, it's his fantasies. His masks. His projections of heroism and adventure - and Brain Ghost Dirk is the literal manifestation.

For Tavros, it's his false confidence. It's his assurance that he can stand up for himself and fly to safety should the going get tough - and Rufio is the literal manifestation.

For Horuss, it's his 'renaissance man' projection. It's his showcase of absolute perfection and ideal highblooded taste - and his alters and therian identity are the literal manifestation. (However poorly executed it was, and oh boy was it poorly executed and oh boy was it ableist.)

For this, they're prone to subsequently use their Aspect as a defense mechanism in a more passive manner than the acerbic Knights who prefer to fight with it.

Jake hides behind his fantasies, Tavros runs away from everything he can't face and Horuss pretends he can't hear the sound of Rufioh breaking up with him.

And, of course, as everyone will tell you - this comes with a vast well of potential. Pages are not uniquely powerful or the 'strongest class' like some people would have you believe, but it is true that upon undergoing development, they become incredibly confident in that Aspect. It just happens to be a long journey that no Page fully completes on-screen.

It is learning to accept their own lack of proficiency with their Aspect, drop the mask and begin forging a more genuine relationship with it. Knights must learn to relax, Pages must learn to stop relaxing. It's almost like a little inversion of their active:passive roles, if you want to see it like that!

Point D. Practical function.

Pages... yeah, this is really fucking obvious. Look at Jake. Look at that thing he does. You know? The gigantic shield of pure Hope energy he generates when his full potential is tapped into.

That's what a Page does. They tap into the well of their Aspect to use it as a great shield, making their defense of themselves through their Aspect literal. And, yeah, that's pretty goddamn powerful!

It's like they're meant to embody the little 'sidekick' role in shonen. Koichi Hirose. Koichi Hirose is a Page.

So, there we have it. The classes of compensation. I'll be putting out individual analyses of all of these class combinations soon-ish once the main seven posts are out, so be looking forward to that! I'll be back with you soon wiht the second part of this: Mages and Seers.

And that should be fun, 'cause I am one.

Take care.

[en8y]

[IMAGE ID: two rectangular flags with six horizontal flags each. each flag has these top two colors: dark brown, and medium brown. the first flag has these bottom four colors: pastel blue, light blue, medium blue, and deep dark blue. the second flag has these bottom four colors: pastel pink, warm pink, hot pink, and fuchsia. END ID.]

pagetboy: a gender related to being a page (in a homestuck way), and a tboy/trans boy/trans man.

pagetgirl: a gender related to being a page (in a homestuck way), and a tgirl/trans girl/trans woman.

@radiomogai @liom-archive @obscurian @fem-mogai

[ogdegenerate]

HOMESTUCK CLASSES EXPLAINED… badly

WITCHES: the aspect’s personal bitch until they decide it’s their turn to top

HIERS: the aspect’s poorly disguised self insert with unnecessary amounts to plot armor

MAGES: gets traumatized by their hyper-fixation for plot reasons

SEERS: HOLY SHIT ITS TIRESIAS FROM THE ODYSSEY!!!!

PRINCES: aspect-phobic crusaders with anger issues who makes hating this broad concept their entire personality

BARDS: green aura and flies taken to its most lethal state.

MAIDS: don’t you hate it when you try to put on the fitted sheet on the bed but the corners keep getting loose?

SYLPHS: your fairy god mother who has no sense of personal space and consent

THIEVES: [This description has 8een stolen 8y the thief of light ::::)]

ROUGES: the communist party your government warned you about

KNIGHTS: when you mask so hard it becomes your superpower

PAGES: IM A GOOFY GOOBER ROCK 🎸🎸🎸

[prince-of-time-pt]

Anyways, I would like to bring attention to the simple fact of: if you are having trouble classpecting yourself there is a 100% chance you are not a Prince, Thief, or Seer.

There IS a good chance you are a Page, Rogue, or Sylph.

[irradiatedpathogen]

page redesign bevause i do not be needin to be seein a teenagers booty

[asyathefoileater]

[starkeaton]

OMORI Classpecting post, Part 1

Basil is a Rogue of Space (takes Space for others)

Rogues are always thinking about how to solve other peoples' problems. Where a Knight will stand strong to protect their friends, Rogues are usually on the back lines until they feel like they are needed. They tend to feel like outliers in their group, but they are willing to cross boundaries to get others' needs met. Just, not for themselves.

Space is the aspect of existence, as opposed to Time, the aspect of action. Basil relishes his moments of peace in Space, in the quiet moments he spends with his friends, in the comfort and beauty of a simple existence. He takes pictures to treasure these moments, and keep them safe so that others can always remember them too. He says himself that he "takes pictures of what he's most afraid to lose". He is also certainly willing to cross boundaries to protect that simple, calm, and peaceful existence for others.

Mari is a Seer of Space (knows Space for others)

Seers are always keen to offer advice and perspective to others, positioning themselves as impartial guides. They tend to put their own problems to the side in order to solve problems for others, creating the image of a perfect person with no troubles- even if Mari is quick to say it's not true, that's still what others think of her. A Seer at their worst still won't force anyone to do anything; They'll yap and yap about how you should have listened to them and how you're being impossible, and if they get mad enough they'll just leave.

I was a little mixed on Space vs Heart, but I think Space is more relevant to her. Her most important advice is about calming and centering yourself. This is emotional advice, but the philosophy behind it is decidedly Spacey- similar to Basil, she takes solace in the idea of a simple, peaceful existence; What matters to Mari is living in the moment, and understanding that the ups and downs are all just part of life. She doesn't feel the need to take it before it's gone- she knows it'll always return to her eventually.

Sunny is a Page of Hope (gives Hope for himself)

Pages have great expectations of themselves, great desires of what they could be... A beacon of inspiration to others, someone who can give their friends the world. Sunny doesn't just want to be with his friends, he wants to be the protagonist of a great journey of fantasy where everything is ideal, and he will readily retreat into that Hopeful fantasy when it suits him. He knows that he's selfish for wanting this, and hates himself for it, for hiding away, never able to truly live up to the person he wants to be, but feels like he has no other option.

Sunny is a tough nut to crack because he does very little to actually affect others within the game; He's caught up in his own little world. What's important to look at is his tendencies, his desires, and the type of person he wants to be, moreso than what his direct actions show.

Anyway yeah that's all i've got. OMORI doesn't have his own classpect btw because he is part of Sunny

(See Part 2 for Hero, Kel, and Aubrey)

[sburbian-mechanics]

Hi hi! Sorry if I'm being a bother!! But I just found this and I'd thought I'd ask!!! What does it mean if I'm a Page of LIfe???? I only just found out thats my Classpect and I have no clue what to do!!!!!

Hey, first classpect ask! Probably out of many. These tend to be some of the trickiest symbolism in the early-game, despite their importance, so no wonder you find questions about this all over Froggernet. They are pretty complex too, especially when you get into land quests and aspect spell lists, so this is going to be a basic overview. You can always ask for specifics if you want to know more about one of these things!

As for what a classpect is, it’s not as bad as some make it out to be. The first part, your class, determines your playstyle/quest, and is based on your personality and what you need to work on and how you can help others. The aspect part is more like themes from English class, as in it is the sort of overarching thing that surrounds you. It determines your spell lists and what you tend to be dealing with, as well as what domains you might have after the Legendary Nap.

So let’s break it down shall we?

The Page class is based of the idea of “big potential.” You start off weak, and end up the strongest in the end, (if you can make that far.) It tends towards a warrior type playstyle, so you are going to be rescuing consorts and fighting bosses a lot. The whole class is based off of upgrades, so expect trials to prove your worth and discover you are more than you thought you could be and stuff. On the personality side of things, classpects are always assigned to people who won’t quite get it at first. You’ll never see a Prince without massive insecurities, or a Sylph content to do their job without overdoing it at times. Thus, Pages tend to either be Fucking Stubborn, or Afraid of Responsibility, often both. This does not help when your goal is to learn things, and be an important figure with possibly the most power on the team. So, uh, work on that.

The Life Aspect is basically what it sounds like. You get plant and healing powers, although there are more…creative applications. There are tales of people using Life as dealing with the concept of value, willpower, or as a free pass to mess around with SBURBs health and/or leveling system. Overall, Life deals with Growth, either in the capitalism sense, or the personal sense. It also likes succeeding no matter what, living for your own sake, responsibility to the collective, natural self-sustaining chaos, and helping others. Or you know, exploiting them. There’s that double whammy of Growth.

If you combine those themes with your class, it’s likely you need to learn to help your whole group, or you desperately need to be a better person. You may also need to learn to live for yourself a bit, which sounds sort of contradictory but that’s Classpect for you. Never that simple. On the other hand, you get the power to wield and defend life, which sounds like shenanigans to me! Maybe you could delevel enemies or give them cancer. Plant powers are a given, maybe go Plants VS Zombies mode? Wait that’s an earth thing, you might not know about that…basically just make walking plants that can shoot people! Pages tend to have a bit of a last stand sort of role, so go for large area of effect with some minions. If ya want to know more, I could always bring in EB, she’s a Page of Time. Definitely falls more on the Stubborn side of the spectrum…I have my stories. Anyways, that’s all! GG out!

—————<|>—————

Some people are a bit too nice to Pages if you know what I mean…tried to be nice but if their like Kyah then you need to know to get your head out of the sand. Sometimes you got to pull your weight! Can’t rely on everybody to fall for your charms or be empathetic. You can’t rely on a cause or another idol or friend for your self esteem. Face responsibility, get a sense of self-worth, and stop weaseling your way out of everything! People without a spine annoy me…

[xx-cringe-factory-xx]

Hi! Its the DoH anon again!! And sick! thanks for the cool tag. recently (literally just tonight), i *may* have opened up to me being also a "prince of time" (i still have my qualms but honestly its a pretty cool classpect and somewhat fits, so am not complaining). so one of my other combined classpects could be the Overlord of Paradox (Prince of time + Page of Space). Can you analyse this one, please? Thank you as always! - DoH anon (who turns out to... not be so DoH, apparently) 🌌☀️⌛

LETS GO WE BOTH PARTIALLY PRINCES (im theif +prince also THEY'RE THE OPPOSITE ASPECTSLIKE ME (light+void) so cool) vmdsfsddv (also yeah so real and valid to realize you're different from what you originally thought you were)

------------Overlord of Paradox------------

one who is serves an aspect through destroying an aspect or destroys an aspect through serving an aspect

you litterally have the aspects/classes of some of the characters that are either loved or absolutely hated on in homestuck (dirk, Tavros, jake, jade, Dave, kanaya as ell as some others TwT)

woah sooo you have both of the big important aspects. time and space. like they litterally couldn't have a session with out you if they didn't have any other time of space players.so you likely have a lot of pressure put on you. which could obviously might push you to make quick decisions without having the time to put in enough thought which tbh makes sense for a prince.

a scheming page can get as bad as a thief if they have the wrong motives. you may feel isolated at times cause of you're space aspect and your prince class may make it feel like you're the only one who really sees the bigger picture. which honestly others probably struggle to understand why you do what you do. I recommend that you take a minute to evaluate you're possibilities and options before acting, but I do understand if that can be difficult sometimes.

pages tend to be really hopeful and want the best thing without fully understanding how to get their. but like with Tavros, you can get to that point if you work extra hard for it. be careful not to get stuck only focusing on bigger pictures and stuff. being a time player you'll try to get one step ahead and prolly fumble a bit. you'll believe other's will be against you in some way. you'll try to avoid getting attached to people and things. which you are prolly really good at.

also one thing princes and pages have in common is that they think they have to be better or at least something they aren't. and while pages are Great at keeping up that act princes are not. seeing you're a page of time you'll be great at pretending and avoiding getting attached and getting people to keep up with THEM instead of slowing down for others even if the NEED to slow down for their own mental/physical health. but seeing your a prince of space you might really try and expect people to not like you or to not understand you, but chances are they at the very least partially understand.

an overlord of paradox's powers would prolly be a bit simple but they could be VERY powerful if used right. things like the ability to teleport, make portals (or like some kind black hole type thingy basically it suck in things that get too close ig?) as well as the ability to slow or speed up time for specific people. maybe even be able to create whole new timelines or jump between them.

weapons are pretty simple, but prolly requiring a lot of skill though. Blades lots of Blades. doesn't even matter what size or kind. could be a javelin, a katana, a knife. as long as it has a sharp edge to it.

:3

[land-of-classpects-and-analysis]

Page Result Class Description

Congrats on being one of the walking embodiments of the Hero's Journey!

You're someone who tends to leave your Aspect in the hands of others, even if that may not be the best idea. That, or you're so avoidant of actually protecting your Aspect from people with bad intentions, it becomes a recognizable behavior of yours.

You most likely rely on your friends for a lot of things, even if you might not realize it.

However, you need to realize that you can't always hide behind people, or leave the responsibility of nurturing your Aspect in other people's hands. Your Aspect is a part of you, and you deserve to be treated better than that.

Pages are the Class known for having the most potential to do the most good. Even more so than the Maids and Sylphs. Even more so than the Knights many Pages may strive to become. They are, as said earlier, the embodiments of the hero's journey. What force is more compelling and awe-inspiring than such an old, old tale? You are meant to be something grand, so let yourself start to grow into it.

Failure is a terrifying, vague concept in our lives. However, it's one that we eventually have to become comfortable with. When it comes to your Aspect, don't be afraid to fail at fully protecting it. It's a grand concept that is meant to help uphold an entire universe. Of course it's going to be awkward to protect it, or even protect with it, at first, but you can do it.

A fully realized Page is someone who doesn't let their insecurities or anxieties hold them back any more.

[sburbian-sage]

I have a theory about why that guy didn't get Knight syndrome:

I firmly believe that each class in Sburb is basically a different take on what it "means" to be mature.

The Thief, for example, is for those people who think maturity means being yourself no matter what anyone else thinks, proving yourself to be useful in a material sense to the point that you cannot be disposed of, etc. while not really valuing the interpretations of maturity that focus on socialization, or doing what others want you to do, or not spending resources, or what have you.

To give another example, the Maid would be someone for whom maturity means doing your job. No matter how tireless, thankless, and generally exhausting it is. Someone who's idea of a mature adult does not particularly include moments of rest or relaxation beyond perhaps the occasional scheduled-out and earned vacation.

So my idea of the Knight is: in another game, where classes didn't have the one syllable rule, the Knight would be called the Soldier.

And not the actual reality of a Soldier, but instead, the sort of culturally idealized version. Someone who must fight. Not because they want to, but because they have to. For the money to support their family, to defeat an intolerable evil, for the sake of their friends, and so on.

And of course, the absolute most idealized version of a Soldier, must not enjoy fighting. They cannot revel in war. It is their grim task, that they must train to even be capable of performing, and that will scar them forever.

I think Knight syndrome is Sburb trying to force that last bit. Which it kind of needs to do, because you mostly just kill underlings in this game, and they are mostly not worth thinking about when it comes to morality. The task at hand, while still grim (creating new worlds that will themselves someday be destroyed to make more Sburb sessions), is almost the opposite of what this "ideal" Soldier should struggle with. They should not be fighting for a dubious goal, they should be fighting for a glorious one, but have to do awful things to get there, and the game (mostly) just isn't set up like that.

So if a Knight doesn't experience Knight syndrome, then I think by this logic there's a few reasons why that may be. That guy seemed to imply that he was generally following orders from others about what to do. I think that's normal for a Knight, as a passive class (bluh, something about that doesn't sit right with me, but that's a topic for another time) but I do think most Knights struggle with it?

I think that "following orders" is something the hypothetical Soldier class would be a bit mixed about. Obviously a lot of people's idea of the perfect Soldier *WOULD* disobey orders sometimes, to do what's right instead. But then, in real life, doing that could be downright treasonous.

So I think a gradient may exist. If there was ever a Knight who truly believed in their heart of hearts that following the orders of others was part of their duty, to such a degree that it should exonerate them of everything, that to apply their own will would make them a *bad* Soldier... they could perhaps skip the "put their emotions aside" thing that the Glitch FAQ says they are to do. No need for it. They truly and absolutely believe that questioning what they are doing is not something they are supposed to do, and so they don't.

And without that self doubt, the game can't spin up the syndrome inside them.

...Well, those are my guesses anyway. Sorry this was so long! Hope it doesn't read like total nonsense! I've only ever rolled Knight once, and personally my syndrome was so bad I nearly didn't make it through the session, so I'm not really speaking from experience.

The first bit on "Classes as a meant to maturity" is pretty commonly accepted game lore, which is not only corroborated in how Classes are attributed, but GGTG even made the "Knights are soldiers" metaphor originally. I understand it's building up to the main point though, so I won't harp on it.

A more critical misunderstanding is that Knight Syndrome is not exclusive to Knights. It happens to Knights *frequently*, most likely because the Knights have to suppress their own desires to act as executioner (as opposed to the Page, who achieves actualization through constant combat), but Knight Syndrome is found in both the Combat Classes. And if you're willing to entertain my iconoclasm, might just be a general "tendency" that we point out more frequently in the Combat Classes, in the same way everyone makes home bases and hideouts but we recognize a Seer's Den as being a specific thing for questionable reasons. The same way everyone gets hasty and makes an assumption that causes issues, but we pathologize it when Seers and Sages do it, even though I've never made an assumption that didn't end up being correct. But that's beside the point.

The point I AM getting at, is that Knight Syndrome, from my perspective, happens for a few reasons. Firstly, Page/Knight is assigned to people who don't want to fight in the first place, so breaking down and not wanting to fight later on hardly seems surprising. Second, while Underlings are basically negligible as far as killing goes, a Combat Class fights in a fundamentally different way. Other people fight Underlings they run into while doing a task, or temporarily go on a grinding spree when they need Grist. Pages and Knights are constantly getting sent to the really tough bosses, the enemies with nasty or tricky abilities, the Atomyk Ebonpyres, or "advanced Grinding duty", which is certainly more stressful than "normal combat", where those things are to be avoided or circumvented. Third, and more specific to Knights, it's the eradication of the self I alluded to earlier. Where the Page wields their Aspect like a weapon, it's not a stretch to say that the Knight is turned into a weapon by their Aspect. They have to walk up to other people, ask for permission to kill something, or get told to kill, and they walk off and do it. That's the essence of a soldier, and it can be quite dehumanizing. I know I hate being told what to do, so imagine my angst if my job for the entire Session is not only to get bossed around, but to constantly put my body at risk doing someone else's dirty work.

I do agree with your final conclusion though. If one not only doesn't mind the dehumanization inherent to soldiering, but in fact derives comfort or strength from it (strong sense of duty, abdication of responsibility, genuine love for challenge, weird sex thing), then it's unlikely to sap them of the will to fight, thus preventing Knight Syndrome. Though I do have to say, I still find the "I'm immune to Knight Syndrome because my brain is wired wrong and I'm literally built different" explanation to also be a compelling alternative. God personally hand-crafted that guy to be a Knight and like it.

[starlit1daydream]

Introduction to my Classpecting Ideas

This felt like a good idea for something to put out before I put my Knight & Page analysis out there, since I plan on making this a 6 part series. (Potentially 7 if demand for a Lord/Muse addendum is high enough).

So, I'll be laying out my most important philosophies on the subject here for future reference.

Classpecting is...

Point A. Classpecting is malleable.

There is not one rigid, set definition for any Class pair, or any Aspect pairing. The freedom of the author is that they may assign any symbolism to a concept that they may like.

What I mean by this is that people often seem to think that manifestations of an Aspect within Homestuck's narrative paint that object or idea as a concept inherently tied to that Aspect.

Example: Pumpkins & Void. You would not believe the amount of people in the early fandom who swore by the idea that pumpkins were inherently just Void constructs because of their role in Homestuck's narrative.

No? Pumpkins symbolise Void in Homestuck itself and Homestuck itself only only due to a running gag inherent to Homestuck itself.

Anything, with enough narrative basis and existing thematic ties, can serve to symbolise an Aspect. Furthermore, two different authors may have different ideas of what Aspect something represents.

Some authors may see alcohol, for example, as a Void-bound concept owing to its obfuscation of fair judgement. Some may see it as a Light-bound concept owing to the idea of 'in vino veritas' and the tendency of drunkenness to induce truthful confessions. Some may see it as a Life-bound concept owing to its associations with hedonism and impulsive behaviour.

With enough narrative consistence, anything is possible. Homestuck's narrative is not as rigid of a point of reference as some people would swear by it being. This is deeply important.

Point B. Classpecting is not the whole of a character.

I can't exactly phrase this in a satisfactory manner, but... a Classpect is not a personality type in of itself. An individual being a Prince of Heart does not instantly make them Dirk Strider. It merely means that their core value is identity & selfhood, and they interact with it by destroying it. It is that simple!

I see, time and time again, Classpecting blogs acting as if a Classpect is indicative of a character's whole personality and giving guides as to the exact behaviours & quirks a character with that Classpect should have.

I am imploring you to explore wider possibilities when it comes to this. Even if it means sharing a title with a canon character! It doesn't mean you have to just rewrite that canon character because that's not how Classpecting works.

I've seen fanventure characters share titles with canon characters. (Sovereignstuck's Annomi Errata & Dynama Zarrow sharing titles with Dirk & Porrim respectively, and Porrim herself is also a player in that narrative, mind you!)

I've seen fanventure characters share titles with eachother. (Vast Error's Dismas Mersiv is a Rogue of Mind. One of my fantrolls is also a Rogue of Mind!)

In every instance, they are fundamentally different people. I cannot put it any simpler than this.

Point C. Classpecting is always applicable.

That is the perfection of the Classpecting system. You can give a title to any character, from anything ever made. It's not even that difficult if you're half-decent at media analysis!

Quite literally all you need to do is ask yourself two questions.

"What's this character's core value?" and "How do they interact with that?" Do that, and you've got yourself a Classpect.

That's the beauty of it! It's obviously not going to be as airtight as a story that has the Classpecting system baked directly into the narrative, but it's still going to work out!

Hell, do it to yourself! Do it to your friends! The world's your oyster. You can do anything you want, forever, for the rest of time. I'm a Seer of Life! My best friend is a Page of Blood! My mother is a Witch of Hope! Go wild.

Post formatting

For my Classpecting posts, I'll aim to give two related definitions for every Class.

Definition A is the narrative function, what the Class says about the person and how they interact with their Aspect as an abstract concept.

Definition B is the practical function, what the Class says about their role in the session and how they interact with their Aspect as a SBURB construct.

Therefore, we get an idea of both the abstract, personal definition of a Classpect, and the functional, game application of a Classpect.

I'll also aim to give about two or three examples for each individual title about how you could write a character with them, since there are always going to be multiple directions you can take with a Classpect.

Conclusion

tl;dr - what I'm trying to say is this. Classpecting is malleable, easily applicable & capable of saying any number of things, and my posts will aim to give two concise definitions of both narrative and practical function for every title.

I'll get the Knight:Page analysis done either today or tomorrow, and the rest of the Class posts will be staggered releases in order of poll results. Thus, the order is going to be:

Knights & Pages, Deficiency and Exploitation.

Mages & Seers, Experience and Comprehension.

Witches & Heirs, Adherence and Manipulation.

Princes & Bards, Instability and Destruction.

Thieves & Rogues, Inundation and Redistribution.

Maids & Sylphs, Maintenance and Generation.

And, potentially...

7. Lords & Muses, Absolution and Dominion.

And then, subsequently, the order for the Aspect posts, which I've decided based on relevance to the canon, roughly speaking anyways...

Space & Time, Genesis and Terminus.

Breath & Blood, Fluidity and Stability.

Light & Void, Potential and Simplicity.

Heart & Mind, Instinct and Dialectics.

Life & Doom, Progress and Stagnation.

Hope & Rage, Conviction and Iconoclasm.

I look forward to the next post. Until then, take care.

[en8y]

[IMAGE ID: three rectangular flags with five evenly-sized horizontal stripes each. the first flag's colors, from top to bottom, as follows: dark blue, deep blue, dark grey, light brown, and dark brown. the second flag's colors, from top to bottom, as follows: dark blue, deep blue, medium grey, bright orange, and warm brown. the third flag's colors, from top to bottom, as follows: dark blue, deep blue, bright purple, bright cool pink, and magenta. END ID.]

moonlighterclasseic: a gender relating to the combination of the homestuck classes thief and page; moonlighter!

confidantclasseic: a gender relating to the combination of the homestuck classes thief and knight; confidant!

adapterclasseic: a gender relating to the combination of the homestuck classes thief and witch; adapter!

all designed by @/superxstarzz!

@radiomogai @liom-archive @obscurian

[prince-of-time-pt]

Do not put a thief and a page in the same room. We already saw what happened the first time, we don't need any repeats

[theologicalchimera]

What's your thoughts on the Page of Doom? I really ike your blog so far :)

woohoo my first request on this blog !!

so lets start breaking everything down :

page : one who is exploited by or through their aspect

doom : decay , rules , control & sacrifice

so how do these mix ?

actually not that badly ! basically a page of doom would be VERY passive , , because itd all lead to a very , , doom bound person , , particularly so !! so basically theyd be very with the flow in how they act ; very much a helper ( which is in my opinion the best role for a doom player ) , someone who wouldnt have much control over what happens to them to their dismay , , say , they would have a particular lack of rules & control which would be very detrimental to them in the session in the beginning of course as is customary for pages , , but again as a page they would grow through their aspect .

theyd be , , to put it lightly , , not very stable , , and would probably be scared of their aspect because they would not understand the great power that it could imply , , but of course they wouldnt ! its hard to grasp how powerful a fully realised page and thats fair , , itd be a spectacle to behold !! but for now theyre a complete pushover and not particularly responsible , , opting to just , , ignore their aspect due to thinking theyd fail if they tried .

being such a troubled classpect , i think they would just do everything in their power to be someone they are not , , having an idealized version of themself that theyd try pretty hard to live up to , , id joke about it being doom guy but itd actually work pretty well as to how a page of doom would want to be like , , being recklessly destructive and tearing through everything that stands on their way blinded by their wrath , , but eventually coming to terms with their way of being and even embracing it !

powers :

again , , no flashy names sorry not sorry

well , , itd be hard to say honestly , , but based on jake ( the page of hope ) theyd be stupid powerful !

id say theyd be able to be engulf everyone in a specific radius in doom , , making them either decay slowly , , like some fucked up poison effect in pokemon , , or making them be more prone to sacrifice , , say maybe to the pages advantage ?

although thatd be on a higher level , , onto the easier stuff :

theyd be more than a healer a support , , being able to give great advice on what to do , , overall being able to lead surprisingly well when they allow themselves to

theyd also be able to break things without meaning to , , id say theyd be clumsily powerful in the beginning , , then later on making it more intentional as they realize all the power they have

overall thoughts :

they would be a great member in any session , , as tends to happen with pages !! just be patient and dont lose hope , , , , id even go to saying that this classpect is powerful in a way so magnificent it is hard to properly understand , , mainly due to how unexplored the doom aspect is in canon , ,

[preshtagonist]

I still really love these super old phone doodles so im posting them… @ryuunosuke ‘s godtier and an alt godtier for our friend