#you'd think i'm a fuckin hero of light with all this mad analysis i'm dropping

[freidyne-aigis]

Personastuck? Tartarusstuck? Idk but both source materials involve QUESTIONABLE ARCHITECTURE implemented in REALLY FUCKING TALL BUILDINGS. And the END OF THE WORLD.

Edits by yours truly - please don’t repost or use them without permission.

Arcana-themed chumhandles and really fucking in-depth classpect discussion for each character below the cut. In this essay, I will...

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I’ll first give a brief summary of the framework I used when deciding on classpects so that each individual character’s explanation makes more sense. This framework is largely based upon the writings of optimisticDuelist - look them up if it’s of interest to you, their work is really insightful if you’re looking for an analytical reading of Homestuck.

Aspects are literally the aspects or “ideas” that SBURB’s reality is made of. They exist on a wheel, with opposite ideas on opposing sides. These opposed aspects are often two sides of the same coin, which opens the door for some neat parallels to be drawn between characters of opposing aspects.

[Image credit: Hiveswap extended zodiac]

I’ll touch on the specific ideas evoked by each aspect as we get to them in the individual character classpects.

Classes are split into active and passive, and some are more active/passive than others. There are two broad ways to define the active/passive dichotomy, both of which are equally true and unlinked:

Active classes “force” their aspect to bend to their will, passive classes “flow” through the will of their aspect.

Active classes act to benefit themselves, passive classes act to benefit others.

[Image credit: optimisticDuelist]

According to this framework, the active/passive spectrum is like a seesaw. The maid and prince are the most active classes, while sylph and bard are the most passive. Being “more passive” or “more active” means that a character is more “stuck” per se in a certain active/passive approach, and departures from that approach will be more dramatic (within canon Homestuck, examples of such dramatic departures from a character’s norm include events like Aranea’s outburst, Kanaya sawing Eridan in half, and Gamzee’s murderous rampage on the meteor, among others). This makes classes that are not strongly active or passive (witch, heir, mage, seer) inherently more flexible but also less specialized.

I also gave everyone in our SEES session a chumhandle, a land in the Medium, and a lunar sway. I’ll briefly outline my framework for deciding lunar sway here so that I don’t need to do so in each character’s analysis. Hussie never provides a clear explanation of what makes a character a Prospit or Derse dreamer, though he suggests that perhaps it may have to do with the environment one grows up in. If they’re from a culture of aggression, that may correspond to being a Derse dreamer, while a more laid back environment may link to Prospit. I take this to be the most powerful explanation of lunar sway because it is the one most able to account for the lovely outlier known as Vriska Serket the Prospit dreamer. Vriska grew up idolizing Mindfang, who was a sylph (one of the most passive classes) in another life. Vriska spends a lot of time early in the trolls’ session attempting to emulate Mindfang by trying to help Tavros reach his full potential (an inherently passive action). I postulate that lunar sway is inherently tied to the active/passive leaning of the most influential forces (be those character-driven forces like in the case of Vriska emulating Mindfang, or environmental forces like in the case of Rose’s experience living with an alcoholic parent) in a character’s upbringing.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about Persona 3′s cast in relation to SBURB’s hyperflexible mythos.

Minato, ouroborosOverture [OO]: Heir of Doom Derse dreamer; Land of Prologue and Dread

I spent quite some time debating aspects for the twins. One idea I really liked but ultimately discarded was that the twins would be the time and space players. Because canonically one of the twins always dies in a car crash, I think this idea is really fun, as it inevitably gives the kids a doomed session which mirrors their doomed reality in P3′s canon. I tossed this idea out because, at the end of the day, could Minato really be anything other than the doom player? There are a lot of characters in the P3 cast that could realistically be heroes of doom (Shinjiro in particular comes to mind), but the aspect really does feel most salient to Minato, and offers some fun interplay with its opposite aspect, life, which I’ll touch on in the next section about Minako.

Doom represents the restriction and adversity that bind us and how we react to hardship. The heir is the passive “change” class. An heir of doom like Minato changes doom for others, which he does quite literally at P3′s climax. Heirs are also known to sometimes “become” or “inherit” their aspect, which Minato also does quite literally in sacrificing himself to become the seal.

Minako, xx_intrepidIdiot [XXII]: Witch of Life Prospit dreamer; Land of Epilogue and Blossoms

While doom represents the confines of an oppressive reality, life represents agency. And what does the FeMC route of P3 offer but agency in troves? No matter how much some may dislike this narrative choice, Minako is the one and only person able to save Shinjiro, should she complete his social link.

The witch is the active “change” class, mirroring the heir. While Minato generally takes a passive “I don’t care” approach, Minako is much more active in her own life, at least as far as we can tell via differences in dialogue options.

A witch of life like Minako bends and breaks the rules of the life aspect to suit her will. With enough determination to get to know him, she can end up saving Shinjiro (who, for all intents and purposes, is unsaveable without her). Likewise, a witch of life seems very much the type to say “fuck you” when the literal unbeatable god of death shows up at her doorstep. Her story (both narratively and mechanically) is not nearly as much of a downer as Minato’s because she acts with so much more agency than her twin.

Junpei, outfieldImpowered [OI]: Page of Heart Derse dreamer; Land of Alchemy and Heroes

If any character could be called the “heart” of the SEES team, I’d argue that it’s Junpei. Heart is the aspect that represents the soul and one’s identity.

The page is the active “servant” class. Pages start out weak and lacking in their aspect, but have huge potential to grow with the help of those around them. Junpei fits the role of page of heart because he feels he lacks an identity or something to make him special at the beginning of P3. He wants to be a leader to prove his worth, but he’s not cut out for it. He struggles academically, and feels that his ability to fight with a persona is all he has.

When he meets Chidori, he starts to learn that he doesn’t need something special to be a worthwhile person and have his own identity. Just having connections with others is enough.

At the conclusion of his character arc in P3, when Chidori sacrifices herself for Junpei, he is literally “served” her heart, as her persona fuses with his. 

Yukari, valkyrieIncarnate [VI]: Maid of Breath Prospit dreamer; Land of Crossroads and Clouds

There’s a joke to be made here, it’s on the tip of my tongue.

Astounding as it may sound, Yukari is not a maid because of the whole maid thing she has going on in canon, but because maids are active creator/healer classes.

Breath represents freedom, but also detachment, both from reality and from others. A maid of breath creates freedom and detachment for themselves, and, uh, yeah, that’s Yukari. For someone so popular, she’s very self-isolated and actually a bit naïve in some ways, too. Her self-isolation plays out in her social link, while her lack of grounding in reality is most obvious in scenes like the one where she’s perfectly willing to drag Junpei and the protagonist out with her to investigate a back alley in the middle of the night.

Akihiko, indomitableVantage [IV]: Prince of Void Derse dreamer; Land of Mountains and Constellations

Void is the aspect of lack, obfuscation, and plot irrelevance. This does not particularly sound like Akihiko. However, considering the entire title, prince of void, may provide some clarity. The prince is the active destroyer class, one who destroys their aspect or destroys through their aspect for their own benefit.

Now, dearest reader, you may be thinking, “OP, I don’t see what you’re saying, Akihiko is a very selfless guy, he's so protective of his loved ones, he can’t be an active class!” and rest assured, I hear you. Aki is selfless, sometimes to a fault, but in a roundabout way, his selflessness is self-serving. I do not intend to slander Akihiko here - being selfish is not a bad thing, it is just a thing.

Akihiko spends the first half of P3 so wrapped up in guilt over his past and feelings of powerlessness. While Shinjiro’s way of coping with guilt is very *ahem* passive (we’ll get there), Akihiko deals with these emotions by using them as fuel to the fire to get stronger. It’s always training, training, training, with him. He believes that if he’s strong enough, he’ll never have to face the same loss he did in his past. There’s a void inside him, but no amount of determination and training will destroy it.

This obsession ironically plays into Akihiko’s irrelevance when it comes to preventing Shinjiro’s death.

When Shinji is killed, Akihiko finally realizes something. He realizes that his obsession with becoming stronger for others was, deep down, an attempt to assuage his own grief. If he could have just protected those important to him, this grief wouldn’t eat him alive, so he attempts to placate his grief with empty assurances that it won’t happen again, he’ll be stronger next time.

His persona’s evolution coincides with the point at which he finally learns how to destroy his feelings of lack: by accepting them for what they are, accepting himself for what he is, and opening up to others.

Mitsuru, ornateIIIuminati [OIII]: Mage of Mind Derse dreamer; Land of Eden and Hoarfrost

Let’s establish one thing. Mitsuru is smart, and she knows it (except for when it comes to fast food-related excursions). In the same way that Junpei is the heart of the group, Mitsuru is the brains behind SEES.

The mind aspect has connotations with logic, decision-making, and the masks we wear to cover up who we really are. And mages are an equally cerebral class. The mage is the active “know” class - one who understands their aspect for their own benefit.

As the leader of SEES (outside of combat situations where protag-kun is their lovely leader), Mitsuru is calm, calculated, and informed. She wears the no-nonsense mask that’s necessary for the job, and keeps everyone organized, even to the point of keeping crucial information away from her team members when she knows it will hinder their performance (see: Yukari). I’d hardly call Mitsuru maliciously manipulative, but she certainly understands what she’s doing and how to effectively use others to achieve her ends.

The one thing she doesn’t understand is Marin Karin’s poor accuracy. As we all know, this is because Marin Karin is a move that evokes heart imagery, the aspect opposite to mind.

Fuuka, investigativeInventor [II]: Seer of Space Derse dreamer; Land of Technomancy and Frogs

Fuuka is perhaps the single most obvious class of the bunch, due to her supportive role as the party’s navigator through most of P3. A seer is a character who knows their aspect for the benefit of others.

Space can refer to a lot of concepts, ranging from the physical properties of the world around us to the more abstract notion of creation. And Fuuka is very much a creative, for better or for worse. She’s skilled working with technology, but her culinary innovations are perhaps a little too innovative. A seer of space sees possibility at their fingertips, but it just so happens that in Fuuka’s case, possibility is using cough syrup as a dinner ingredient. On a more concrete note, we also know that Fuuka managed to survive for ten hours in Tartarus on her first visit without running into a single shadow, as if she could instinctively tell where in space they are. She’s been shown to be capable of scanning the entirety of Tatsumi Port Island from a single spot, and she (from the ground floor of Tartarus) can navigate the party with little issue, even 264 floors up. She has the range.

Aigis, vanadicImmortal-I [VII]: Knight of Time Prospit dreamer; Land of Phoenixes and Foundry

Oh Aigis my beloved, you’re one pair of shades away from being the coolest kid on the block.

I briefly considered having her be our hero of blood. What an interesting and ironic take that would be, and how fitting for a robot who develops emotions and friendships to be represented by the aspect of relationships and bonds. However, time feels to be a better fit. Time, akin to space, has a very literal meaning in the passage of time, along with some more abstract meanings like decay, inevitability, and the often cyclic nature of reality. Time is a concept that Aigis struggles with. Because she does not age and can always be rebuilt, Aigis is not affected by time like her friends are. Regardless of how soon their deaths come, Aigis will outlive them. Time is the one thing that prevents Aigis from truly being human. And yet time is also her strength, as she has unlimited time to work with. From her association with the chariot arcana (determination, willpower to get back up and try again) and the aeon arcana (cycles and rebirth) P3 paints a picture of Aigis that cements her place as an eternal, ever-present and ever-persistent force that runs parallel to time, but is never touched by time the way the people around her are.

The fun/terrible thing about the SEES cast is that there are a lot of characters here who could realistically be knights. The knight is the passive servant class. They’re the type to give little regard to their own safety, but throw themselves in harm’s way to protect others. While this fits several of our dozen heroes (I’m looking at you, Shinji), I believe it to be most salient to Aigis, as her character arc revolves around grappling with her mission and ultimate inability to protect the protagonist.

Koromaru, x_Infernalshibe [XI]: Rogue of Light Prospit dreamer; Land of Beasts and Fireflies

Light has a good number of meanings, most of which are well-explored within Homestuck canon. Light is fortune, luck, information, literal light, and plot relevance (see also: “the spotlight”). Quite an odd fit for our Mamudoon-casting shibe. And to be honest, the SEES group doesn’t feel like it has any members with exceptionally strong connections to the light aspect, unlike P4′s Investigation Squad, which has Naoto, Rise, and Yu as strong contenders to be heroes of light.

I will say, however, that Koromaru feels like the best candidate to be the SEES light player, especially in the context of being a rogue of light specifically. The rogue is the passive “steal” class. A rogue of light would perhaps steal wealth, information, and/or luck for their allies. Or, in the case of Koromaru, this classpect could steal the spotlight for their friends.

After the 12 giant shadows are defeated, Ikutsuki’s plot comes to a head and most of SEES finds themselves crucified. Ikutsuki is certainly threatening to become way too plot relevant for anyone’s liking as he threatens to have Aigis shoot everyone up. But thankfully, Koromaru shows up just in time to literally snatch away both his plot relevance and the Control Aigis Button he was holding.

It’s also worth noting that Koromaru seems consistently the most upbeat of SEES (likely due to being a dog, but I digress), and close to the end of the story, he’s very much a positive grounding force for team when they feel like fading away into the background and giving up on life. (This is most visible in the movie adaptation, especially between Koro and Ken.)

Also, mechanically speaking, Koro frequently “finds” valuable items when out on walks with the protagonist. Whether or not these are actually stolen from somewhere isn’t something we can confirm or deny, but he’s regardless providing his allies with Sweet Loot.

Ken, vigilanteTrident [VIII]: Thief of Hope Prospit dreamer; Land of Angels and Ruin

Ken has a lot of character beats linking him to the hope aspect. Hope represents faith/belief, justice, idealism, delusion, and plot coherence. As a kind and naïve yet vengeful kid whose character arc slots very cleanly into the story he’s in, our pint-sized justice arcana representative is very much hope-bound.

SEES doesn’t particularly have any characters who are clearly “steal” classes, unlike P5 which has rogues and thieves in troves. The thief is the active “steal” class, meaning a thief of hope steals hope for their own benefit. Ken is very much an active class, as most of his actions revolve around enacting his vengeance. I would argue that there’s a decent case to be made for him being a thief of hope specifically. Outside of getting justice for his mom, Ken struggles to find a reason to live, a reason to have hope. Justice is the only hope he has, and in getting vengeance, he believes he has to literally take away whatever hope his mom’s killer has. This mindset, as we all know, falls apart when Gun Jesus interrupts Ken’s revenge plot, killing Shinji and forcing Ken to finally reevaluate his beliefs and will to keep on living.

Shinjiro, oathboundVagrant [OV]: Bard of Blood Prospit dreamer; Land of Moonlight and Iron

Shinjiro as a bard may sound like a weird choice. That’s a fair take. I didn’t want to draw the bard outfit on him; he deserves better than that hood and codpiece. But we have twelve players and twelve classes, and Shinji seems the best fit.

The bard is the passive destroyer class. That is to say, they either allow destruction of/via their aspect, or destroy for the benefit of others, or both in Shinji’s case. As I touched on in my analysis of Akihiko, Shinjiro takes a very passive approach to grieving, removing himself from the situation that caused his grief rather than convincing himself to tackle that grief head on like Akihiko.

The aspect of blood represents relationships and the grounding force they have on our lives. As a bard of blood, Shinjiro’s classpect shines through in slightly different ways as his approach in life changes. Years prior to the events of P3, he allowed the destruction of Ken’s most treasured bond - his mom. For the benefit of those around him, Shinjiro then feels he has to destroy his own bonds and isolate himself such that his persona never harms another innocent. And on the fateful night he’s killed (before Gun Jesus turns up), Shinjiro is ready allow one of his bonds (Ken) to destroy him for what Ken believes to be his own vengeful benefit.

Chidori, x_indebtedIris [XII]: Sylph of Rage Derse dreamer; Land of Gallows and Flowers

Rage is a bit of an oddball aspect, because the main canon lens we get to view it through is Gamzee, but more depth can be seen in this aspect when you consider that it’s the opposite of the faith aspect. Rage represents anger (especially anger for false ideas and faulty systems), revolution, skepticism, lack of faith, cynicism, plot contrivance, and the acknowledgement that you’re but a pawn in a game or an actor in a play. The sylph is the passive creator/healer class, which is to say that a sylph of rage creates or restores rage for others.

Chidori starts off her P3 arc pretty cynical, and understandably so, given her situation. She lacks faith in the world around her and fears attachment because of the pain that inevitably comes with caring for another. She is the embodiment of the rage aspect with respect to her belief that life is cruel.

As her relationship with Junpei develops, her relationship with her classpect changes as well. She evokes so much emotion from Junpei, who had previously been feeling lost in life and without purpose. With Chidori by his side, Junpei feels more than able to tear down his previous conviction that he needs to be something exceptional to be worthwhile.

With her death, her mythological role goes a step further. Chidori sacrifices herself to revive Junpei, which stokes his rage and determination like nothing else.

And then there’s the plot point where Chidori can potentially be revived by the flowers she’s healed. It certainly feels like a plot contrivance to some, potentially to the point of evoking rage (in the player in this case, lmao).

In conclusion, the SEES session would be a disaster, and I love that for them. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.