#Prince of Time Analysis

[kooldewd123]

there's something to be said about the choice to use "prince" as the main signifier of military rank for the andalites. because it kinda obscures the truth of the situation, doesn't it? a group of kids getting magic powers from an alien prince sounds whimsical and delightful. a group of kids getting pulled into a war by an alien colonel sounds tragic and horrible. the slow reveal of what "prince" actually means over the course of the early books is perhaps the most underrated twist of the entire series, because it fundamentally recontextualizes the entire premise of the series without the reader even consciously realizing it.

[queen-lucy-the-valiant]

"Edmund, I've got a bad feeling" is such a funny line if you take it in context with the "the last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid" line from PC. Because Caspian and co are probably like... yeah bad feeling, it's Eustace, what good feelings could you have? but then Edmund's probably thinking something like... dear god, please don't let this be as dramatic as the last few times, we don't have enough men to fight another war rn.

[m4rs-ex3]

"i would do anything for you"

the first time:

the second time:

the third time:

[geekgirles]

In Defence of Beauty Marked

I've been giving it some thought, and I feel that nowadays we judge Beauty Marked too harshly instead of acknowledging it had flaws and virtues. Maybe we even focus on the wrong flaws.

From what I've seen, the episode's main criticism seems to be its heavy-handed message on feminism, especially how the writers use Sam to deliver it. To be precise, people dislike that Sam signed herself up for a contest she had no interest in just to make a point, which I've often seen was perceived as an example of her "not being like other girls" and looking down on more traditionally feminine things like beauty pageants.

While I admit this issue could have been solved by simply making the pageant mandatory and Sam rebelling against something that was imposed against her will, the truth is, Sam's as much of a proactive character as a reactive one, so it makes sense for her to go out of her way to make a point. So the fact that it was a voluntary event really worked against Sam's point in the first place.

I also have the feeling the Phandom's less forgiving reaction towards this episode might be a result of how, in recent years, more and more people have begun to denounce how femininity is often vilified in media. A campaign that I 100% support!

After all, beauty pageants are vilified for the wrong reasons, more so in the 2000s, where most shows featuring them either played it straight (Jake Long, Pucca, The Fairy Odd Parents), or had one of the characters denounce it as sexist (aside from Danny Phantom, Shake It Up also comes to mind). Now, I must admit I'm not their biggest fan either, but at least I understand beauty queens aren't inherently vapid idiots (for all I know, they can be wonderful people and have a degree in astrophysics), and focus my vitriol towards all the abuse happening backstage (pageant parents are a special kind of evil). However, in itself, beauty pageants aren't necessarily a bad thing, just a different kind of competition.

Just like there's nothing wrong with having more tomboyish interests, characters (and real-life people) who care about "girly" hobbies still have a right to exist outside of being the butt of some joke or the writers' punching bag. After all, we're people. We have layers and contradictions and that's beautiful.

I, myself, happen to be a hopeless romantic who loves dresses and skirts, and shopping for bargains, and cute and adorable things. But at the same time, I can be pretty foul-mouthed, I love myself some badass and even gory action scenes, I love weird animals as much as "cute" ones, and I prefer sneakers over heels any day of the week.

However, I feel people tend to misplace this sentiment onto Sam, seeing her as a proponent on "classical" femininity being bad. And they seem to treat this episode as proof, even though that's not what's going on at all.

Without going on too much of a tangent, the thing about Sam is that she's actually quite feminine herself. It's just that the Angry Goth Aesthetic and her design sometimes eclipse that. Ironically, her design also highlights that feminity.

Out of the major teenage girls in the show, the only ones wearing a skirt are both Sam and Valerie, just like they're also the most accesorised ones—with Sam wearing a choker and a bracelet on each wrist, and Valerie wearing her headband, necklace, earrings, and bracelets. And would you look at that! The girls whose designs include some of the most feminine elements also happen to be the ones spending their free time kicking ghost butt!

Layers, people!

Even outside from that, Sam's also been shown to have other girly traits or interests: even if she was embarrassed to admit it (which is normal for 14-year-olds), she was looking forward to the homecoming dance; she has great empathy for living creatures (mostly plants and animals), and AGIT went as far as to confirm she's a horse girl; she's usually seen with an adorable plushie spider backpack and bat slippers; she has great maternal instincts and the potential to be a very doting and loving mum...

Her problem with the pageant wasn't that it was feminine. In fact, at no point does she look down on the other girls for wanting to participate in it (she only got mad at Paulina for giving her a make-over that wasn't her style, and the feeling was very much mutual). Deep down, moments of hypocrisy aside, Sam understands that every girl has her way of being herself, which is something Dora openly mocked her for.

Sam was against the pageant not because she doesn't like girly things, but because Dora had quite openly stated how she intended to strip the girls of their agency in order to mould them into perfect little princesses—which we later learned actually meant turning them into submissive, mindless drones for her brother to marry.

Dora: Well, here's a statement. (holds a hand out towards Sam, standing beside her.) It says I'll never win in this outfit." Sam glares at Dora and puts her hands on her hips. Dora: Still, Ms. Manson has a point. (She walks towards the girls, now all standing in a row.) You girls are unique individuals with strong opinions and independent minds. Sam: You're darn right we are. Dora: It's my job to make you forget that and mold you into happy little princesses. (She smiles with her hands clasped together)

The point of the episode wasn't "femininity is bad", rather "objectifying women is bad".

A message which was exemplified all throughout the episode through the boys' actions, something that actually annoyed all girls, not just Sam, right off the bat, as soon as Dora announced she'd be appointing one of them as a judge.

To be completely honest, something I haven't really seen many people talk about is the absolutely horrendous attitude Tucker and Danny adopted during this episode. I hate to say this, because I love them both dearly, but they were such pigs! Literally the only one who acted as less of a feminist than these two this episode was Aragon, and that's because being a misogynist is his whole shtick.

While it's framed as they getting carried away because they're finally popular with the girls, it still doesn't change the fact that Danny and Tucker spent almost the entire episode (or the entirety of it, in the latter's case) reaping the benefits their new position as pageant judge (and his best friend) gave them to get special treatment and dates out of the contestants.

Doesn't that sound eerily familiar?

A judge (and his best friend) abusing his position to get favours and dates with beautiful girls, who in turn only accept because they hope in doing so they'll get first place.

With the rise of the #MeToo movement, that can get uncomfortable to watch. I mean, even if it was clearly meant to be a humourous moment, Danny literally snapped his fingers to get the girls to act as his bodyguards and to sic them on Dash.

It really says something when the most chivalrous guy this episode was Dash. No, seriously. Even if he clearly wanted payback from Danny hogging all the girls all week, he at least came to their defence when Danny seemingly chose Sam as the winner the first time. An action which, even though we as the audience know isn't what happened, can easily be interpreted as Danny playing favourites with his best friend, yet still be shameless enough to extort dates and favours from the rest of the contestants.

That is definitely not a good look.

I guess what I mean to say with all this is that, while Beauty Marked is far from flawless and didn't exactly pass the test of time, its message and Sam's involvement in it is actually one of the few things that aren't all that bad.

[transmascutena]

the poor little meow meow-ifictation of saionji in this fandom has got to stop i can't take it any more

[raayllum]

Allegorical Rayllum in "Dreamer's Nightmare"

Really thought I'd walk out of Dreamer's Nightmare thinking more about the broyals + Harrow, or an Ezran centric meta (and there may be ones to follow) but this was something that stuck out to me on my first two read throughs and was a truly unexpected part of the graphic novel so...

This is exactly what it says on the tin, and full spoilers for all of Dreamer's Nightmare.

Let's go

Crumbs

The biggest crumb(s) we get are arguably Callum 1) recognizing the mural as belonging to an elven temple, and 2) this panel below that definitely made me chuckle.

I also, accordingly, lost my mind over the elf-toy from 1x04 being a gift given to Ezran / the boys by the end of the comic, which seems to be modelled both after the Moonshadow elf featured in the story, and of actual canon Rayla per 1x04 itself, down to the girl having a similar hair style, markings, and being a sword wielder. (This also informs our basis for the next section.)

However, the definitely meatier stuff has to do with the Dream Warden (DW) creature, its history, and Ezran's interactions with it, so that's where we'll be focusing, and subsequently big spoilers for the graphic novel. Last chance to get out if you hadn't read it yet!

Identity and Loss

So there's a few things we learn about DW and their little mortal friend.

Long ago, a Dream Warden, still new to the world, befriended a mortal child. This violated the traditions of its kind, but the Dream Warden was young. Each night, it flew to the silver shores of sleep and each night found its friend there, wide-eyed and waiting. And beneath the watchful stars, they could adventure together through the child's dreaming world. But one night, sleep blossomed into dream, the Warden found itself alone. The child did not appear that night, nor any night that followed. The Dream Warden searched dream after dream for its friend. Sorrow became fear came anger, and soon the Warden left nothing but nightmares to flower in its wake.

This happens, of course, because the child has grown up and left their old dreaming behind, and the relationship between youth and dreams vs adulthood (actual and perceived) is something the comic is likewise interested in. Callum wants to be grow up so he can help, but as Harrow says, "Part of being grown-up is looking out for others," and there are many moments Callum acts far more like the 9-11 year old child that he is here than an adult, even if he is definitely more mature by the novel's close than he was at the beginning (and so on and so forth into S1 / beyond).

It is these two things — the abandonment of dreams (a life with Callum) to taking up an 'adult' task (assassinating Viren) in the name of "looking out for others" (Callum, the world) — that leads to Rayla leaving in Through the Moon. This is due to having fallen out of favour the idea that she's "stronger together" (BH) with anyone and missing the memo the boys receive/believe from Harrow—and their mother's actions—that they are "safest together".

So we have a Moon creature (seemingly) befriending an elven (mortal) child, even though doing so goes against the traditions of its kind. Then one day the Moon elf disappears in the action / guise of growing up, leaving the DW despondent, angry, and alone. Saddened, fearful, and furious they leave behind nightmares. [Sidenote: I do love the consistent metaphor of blossoming to flowering, it's nice.] Eventually, they fall into a deep depression and slumber.

This is a pretty close beat-for-beat of Esmeray as well, down to being left behind by a creature connected to the Moon arcanum who specifically "mysteriously dies"/leaves and subsequently causing an icy, snowy storm that shrouds the heavens (hides the starlight) until a return and/or reconciliation.

When she disappeared, she left you all alone. In pain. The storm isn't your rage. It's your grief. Your loneliness. On moonless nights, you miss her the most.

All of this is, however, mostly subtext, even if Callum and Esmeray match up in S6 and S4 in more than one instance, so I thought going through Dreamer's Nightmare that Callum's evident parallels to DW, and even Rayla to the moon child, that it would likewise remain subtext. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't.

Ezran

I've talked about Ezran and Rayla and their parallels before, decently extensively. Despite having different personality presentations, they have very similar cores. Both are less inclined towards violence in spite of Ezran having access to power and in spite of Rayla's upbringing, both have received prejudiced consequences for things they couldn't control (the assassin hit out on Ezran due to his father's crimes / Rayla being Ghosted partially because of her parents' as well as being seen as a monster), and these things contribute to them questioning perceived monstrosity more than, say, Callum, would.

We see this even reflected in Dreamer's Nightmare, where Callum despairs and in a desire to protect him and Ez, defaults to, "If I can't fight it, what can I do?" versus Ezran stating, "I can't fight you, and even if I could, I don't want to."

And while I have other thoughts on Callum and the 'monster' motif / label that you can read here, what I want to reaffirm here is the way through Ezran's connection with the Dream Warden, we also highlight his understanding of Callum both in the graphic novel and while Rayla was away / in the early days of her return.

Callum as a character has always been a character with a tenuous grasp on his own identity, especially in arc 1. He states in 2x04 that "when I got magic, I finally felt like myself" in trying to explain "how I've lost that. I'm just trying to find my way back". I think we can draw a point of comparison between Callum losing magic and not feeling like himself and Callum losing his mother and not feeling like himself, both in the immediate aftermath and repeatedly on the anniversary of her death. We also see elements Ezran mentions of Callum not feeling like himself (not drawing, his anger) that come out in S4 / 4x01 and 4x02, notably while Rayla was gone. It's only after she returns and they've begun to reconcile that we see Callum draw again (5x02) for example and indeed be more relaxed (somewhat) with his temper.

Through these periods, though, Ezran has been his cornerstone. Callum was lost in grief with Sarai, but finds his way back to Ezran; Ezran guides him out of the tower in 1x03 and into the quest to Xadia; Ezran is there even when Rayla is not, and Ezran encourages him to open up, recognizing there just as he does with the Dream Warden:

But it's easy to lose ourselves if we don't let others in. And I don't think you want to be angry and alone forever.

So Ezran through his assertions and understanding of both his brother in the comic's present, as well as the Dream Warden, takes everything that was previously subtext for Callum in the graphic novel as a character in the context of how he responds to loss (specifically Sarai and Rayla's loss), and makes it text:

DW lost their Moon arcanum connected best friend and fell into a furious sorrow, and that sorrow being disturbed is what brings the angered splintering back in full force. Dreamer's Nightmare ends, of course, with the creature being pacified and presumably going to bond with more new children, rather than just being shut away forever. Since Rayla isn't fully gone, and since she comes back, his tale of moon-friend-disappearing related woe ends differently with the full reconciliation, but the period of processing the grief and anger to "to hope and maybe forgive and love again" (4x03) remains the same.

This bodes well for theories regarding his love for Rayla and despair/desperation over losing her being what turns Callum into a 'monster' in S7, by which I mean Callum believing himself to become a monster through helping Aaravos / dark magic corruption, and believing himself to be something worth killing (4x07, 6x03) should those things transpire. But as Ezran says, all it takes is one (or two) people seeing you through the periods of anger, sadness, or splintered corruption to bring you back to your whole self again. Given the basis for Dreamer's Nightmare, I'm extremely hopeful that both Ezran and Rayla will have their roles to play in bringing Callum back to himself, just as Ezran's bonds with Callum and with Rayla will undeniably play a part in bringing Ezran back to himself, too.

With all this in mind, let's talk about the doll.

The Elf Toy

So the elf doll haunts me, nor is this new, by any means. I posted a bit about it when Dreamer's Nightmare had just come out, but I've had my eye on this thing since I first noticed the game motif some time after S3 aired. While it's since expanded to include Aaravos and his pawns (and dark magic) more directly in arc 2, said game motif in arc 1 mostly referred to the Key of Aaravos, with the motif and key itself being properly introduced in 1x04: "This is the game room, cube should be in there" / "It's a toy. A piece from a children's game."

A game motif oriented episode that then, therefore, likewise introduces a toy Rayla stand in, and one that Dreamer's Nightmare, purposefully being released before S7 for evident reasons for both brothers at least, harkens back to directly.

Like I think I can speak for all of us when I say I never thought we'd see the damn thing again. It's in 1x04 primarily to just emphasize how humans (namely Amaya) have always seen elves as scary monsters, it looks like Rayla to drive that subsequent point home, and yes it's a toy in an episode with the series' core Game Motif being centred for the first time, but that doesn't mean it's automatically connected. I'd like it to be, I think it'd be fun and very on brand for TDP's style of writing if it was.

That's said, let's go over it from various angles, starting with order of events:

Kid has elf toy, is buried under rubble

Callum and Ez pull them out and usher the kid to safety

The boys / Ezran resolve the conflict and defeat the 'monster,' with Ezran realizing it's not a monster, and instead relating it to Callum explicitly

The boys receive the elf toy as a gift

The most direct reasoning here, then, goes twofold:

Placing the toy here adds depth to Ezran thinking back in 1x04 about what makes something/someone a monster, which is the subject of the conversation at hand, and how it was incorrect

It is here in DM because we're revisiting the Banther Lodge next season, and there's going to be an emphasis on seeing people (others towards Callum; Ezran towards Runaan) not as monsters / reminding Ezran of his love for Rayla. We may see the toy, probably not, but that could be the thread

Therefore, that is where I think I'd leave it in terms of being a toy with a deeper purpose... if not for the fact it's referred to as a Gift. I've talked about the gift motif here in TDP and how arc 2 makes it much more of an emphasis, largely in regards to magic and magical sources of power:

However, where it's most notable in the 'gifts' Aaravos gives: his pawns are not just his pawns, but often tethered to him through magical objects. Claudia's current pawn intro has the Sun staff, which was given from Aaravos to Viren to her; Callum has the cube, a similarly ancient relic passed down through generations; "Lay it down? But it was a gift," Ziard says, the Staff clutched in his hand, and Viren later cites it explicitly a toy: "You had a lifetime to play with your toys, but now you hide them all away or destroy them."

To the point that throughout the various gifts given (the moon opal pendant, Rayla's goodbye letter, the sun orb from the Sun, the trio's gifts of sacrifice to Rex Igneous, Janai's sword and Miyana delivering the sun seed, and more I'm sure) the only things referred to as / that are both gifts and toys are the Key of Aaravos and the Relic Staff.

And, now thanks to Dreamer's Nightmare, the Elf (Rayla) doll.

Obviously this doesn't mean the elf doll is an ancient relic, or powerful, or even important, I think. Not on a literal level. But the final pages do tease it's a bringer of misfortune, which Rayla absolutely is (or is supposed to) when she lands on the boys' doorstep 6-5 years later. She's assumed to be a bringer of misfortune at said Banther Lodge where both the toy and cube are found, which is why she's taken captive.

What characters thus far receive things in the graphic novels, too, comes into play later. Claudia's map to the unicorn she acquired in The Puzzle House seemingly fulfilled its purpose pre-series with her tracking one down already, only to have another purpose in mind as of 7x01.

It's not beyond the realm of possibility to me, therefore, with all this in mind:

The doll was included as a throwback to 1x04

It will have importance

This importance will possibly relate to Rayla

If the motif of it being a gift and a toy is relevant, than the objects on par with it are the Relic staff and Key of Aaravos

Something something "Rayla's life is a fair exchange for the Key of Aaravos" because we all know what we're doing here by now

In summary: you lost your Moonshadow elf best friend and that caused you to become a monster / nightmare ("we had to fight our own people, it was a nightmare") and Dreamer's Nightmare just expected me to feel totally normal even before interweaving the gift motif into the game/toy motif with the damn Rayla stand in doll from 1x04 of all episodes. Yeah.

And that's really all I got for this one, but I hoped you enjoyed the allegorical thread break down and the game motif theorizing!

[the-words-we-sung]

Young Royals week: day 1 - playlist

S1E1 playlist

Bad - Farveblind Wannabe Ghetto - Fata Boom It takes a food to remain sane - The Ark I see you - Nadia Theran Blah blah blah - Armin Van Buuren

(Inspired by my song analysis serie)

Thank you @youngroyals-events for hosting this event!

[evie-doesnt-write]

Revolutionary Girl Utena: Ep.22//Ep.34

[willestears]

One of the things i love the most about young royals's characters is how imperfect they are, not only because of their circumstances but because they actually believe they're right, they're not perfect in ANY WAY.

Any of them could become a villain, they all have anti-hero traits just like in real life, Lisa has never been afraid of showing the darkest side of each character, even the protagonist, she doesn't mind showing the most selfish side of wille, risking him to be disliked by people, the key is how she makes the viewer empathize with him by showing exactly that, the raw side of his personality and life, making us root for him but also making us question ourselves when he does something that's clearly morally wrong: "does his circumstances excuse this behavior?" and i think that's just so incredibly genius

[maingh0st]

idk if holly has ever addressed the folk's origins but i have spent an unnecessary amount of time thinking about it and have decided they're immigrants

[lunarflux]

Jace's conversation with Rhaenyra almost reminded me of a conversation some kids have with their parents. It's almost like being told your entire life that you're special and then being humbled later on in life. It's like, finally, some random action proved you right - there are others who are better. I am not as special as my parent continuously told me.

Should Rhaenyra have told Jace that Harwin was his real father even if, deep down, he already knew? Probably, even if there was a risk to be taken by doing so. This was the big "maybe" that hung over Jace's head throughout his entire life. He fought over this "maybe." He was heckled over this "maybe." This "maybe" was a factor in the childhood fight with Aemond, and now, he's being faced with exactly how heavy this "maybe" actually is.

Rhaenyra did tell him when he initially asked as a child that he was still her child, but that's not what this means to him. Now, he has to consider that he could easily have been one of the commonfolk. I don't want to think that Jace looks down on them, but there was a fine line separating him from them and that was the conviction of his mother and grandfather that he was indeed the son of Laenor. While he doesn't seem to be ashamed of being Harwin's son, the pride of his lineage is blurred because of the rise of the discarded.

[its-leethee]

I am so accustomed to seeing the adults in children's media portrayed as antagonistic obstacles for the child protagonists to outwit and overcome. So, I really appreciate how in The Dragon Prince, Callum, Ezran, and Rayla are able to approach and rely upon the adults, strangers even, that they meet during their journey. The specific examples I want to talk about are both from 1x07: the doctor and the mercenary.

When Ezran and Callum meet the doctor, he is genuinely concerned for the boys, even though he can tell that they're not being completely upfront with him. He gives them his hospitality and listens without judgement or reproach while they tell him about the accident with the egg. When he realizes his expertise is inadequate, he keeps his promise not to tell on them, and points them towards hope.

Rayla's meeting with the mercenary is more tense; he is understandably skeptical of her intentions after she chases and corners him in an alley. But when he realizes her sincerity, he heeds her plea for help. His words ("but it'll burn you") and his body language (his hesitation, his worried facial expression) belie his empathy - at least, until he sees that she's an elf, and his prejudice overcomes him.

I also want to give a mention to Villads and Lujanne, who stepped up as mentors/guides for the trio, and offered their assistance, advice, and kindness without expectations of recompense.

In reality, most people are good and want to do right by others(1). The vast majority of the strangers and people you meet are not scheming, nefarious opportunists-in-waiting. If you approach with vulnerability and ask someone for help, they will honestly try to assist you.

I just find it such a refreshing, appropriately wholesome take. Grownups aren't out to get you, kids. As someone who was raised in the "stranger danger" era, I am glad to have tdp's more nuanced and honest version of reality to show and discuss with my own children.

[captaincouture]

Ok Captive Prince fandom I’ve got some food for thought for ya.

Why did the regent take so long to start offing members of the royal family so he could be king?

We don’t know his actual age but we know he’s at least younger than Aleron and if I remember Damen’s description correctly, he is starting to grey.

We assume he’s wanted more power for at least most, if not all his life. So unless there was a trigger during Laurent’s youth that made him start actively planning his family’s demise, why wait so long?

There would have been a time before both Auguste and Laurent were born where only Aleron and Hennike would’ve been in his way, so why not poison Hennike earlier and orchestrate an assassination for Aleron?

It seems like Vere and Akielos were on somewhat stable terms before the alliance with Kempt fell apart, or at least both had enough incentives to not outright attack each other. So it makes me think that maybe the regent was not as much of a prominent or trusted figure in Veretian politics while Aleron was alive. Did Aleron know how terrible of a person he was and keep him at bay? Did the whole court know? Did Auguste? Is that part of the reason he was so protective of Laurent, because he knew about a very real danger very close to them?

So maybe the Regent needed the time between Aleron and Auguste’s deaths and Laurent’s coronation to solidify his position in the court as an influential leader because he didn’t have that power before. He had to wait until there was a “buffer time” to make his move because there was no smooth transition of power from Aleron or even Auguste’s court to it becoming his. And with Laurent too young to rule and too traumatized and not well respected by the court to be of any influence, he had to change the ways of the court to gain power.

Laurent and other characters mention multiple times that the regents court was very different from Alerons. I think because the regent is such a narcissist and unable to change, he had to change the ways and the culture of the court in order for them to accept him.

Even throughout the first book we see him fighting Laurent for supporters, though it’s widely agreed that Laurent is losing miserably, it’s still a battle the regent has to fight. We also know that most people who are loyal or sympathetic to Laurent are that way because of Auguste, or because they believe in passing the crown to the “rightful king”. It’s been 6 years since Aleron and Auguste’s death at this point, is that not enough to win the whole court over? Apparently not.

Especially with as cunning and convincing as we know the regent to be, it should have been easy for him to gain favor and power in court and let a tragic accident happen to Laurent and be done with it. He could’ve easily outmaneuvered Akielos and ruled two kingdoms (as was his end goal) later on after taking Vere.

As much as we all love to hate on the Veretian court and talk about how perverse and depraved they are, it seems like they were the reason the regent was put off of having power for so long. Laurent was certainly in no state to be opposing him as a freshly traumatized child. So even if they eventually turned a blind eye to sexual assault and underage abuse, they still held off the regent long enough for Laurent to get old enough to start fighting back, which ultimately made all the difference in giving him the time to go on his journey with Damen and get his kingdom back.

We see this loyalty to the “rightful heir” in Akielos too, with Akielons widely favoring Damen over Kastor. Despite bastardy being much less stigmatized in Akielos and Kastor being an accomplished and respected military leader, there are still many people who oppose Kastors rule even with Damen presumed dead.

So ya know, just a little shoutout to the courts and common people in Captive Prince, who made it that much harder for the wrong people to get their hands on power, so that the rightful heirs had the time and opportunity to fight for their thrones.

[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.

[shannonsketches]

also REALLY love that super's manga continues the old manga's relationship between Vegeta and his title of Prince as something he's distant/passive with and it's either only brought up by other characters or when he's having a self-worth breakdown

shout out to Toya/Toriyama for using Toei's "I'm the Prince of All Saiyans!" as a line Vegeta throws out when he's intentionally trying to annoy his opponent, I laughed very hard about that

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

Something I really love in season two is that Wilhelm, at some point, does realize that he’s being unreasonable. Even if he doesn’t act on that realization, he knows. He even articulates that he knows. He says it to Felice in episode 2???? 3???

Whenever it was, it was early.

“I know it should be fine. I know it should be fine that he’s dating, but it’s not. And it’s my own fault.”

He knows.

“I went through his phone.” “Seriously?” “It was stupid. I know.”

He knows.

Wilhelm is completely aware that he’s being unreasonable in this situation. He knows that he’s more or less the person to blame for not being with Simon. He knows that Simon moving on should be fine. Wilhelm is fully aware that wanting Simon back is selfish.

I love that he knows. It would be so so easy to have him just not realize any of this. And that would keep him in his season one bubble. The fact that Wilhelm knows - that he takes any kind of notice that he is wrong and Simon should be allowed to move on and live life - shows just how much he’s grown. In literally 3 episodes he has grown. And maybe he doesn't act on that realization for another episode or two, but at least he has it.

I don’t know, I just have many many feelings about that.