towersofprospit

[towersofprospit]

An update on this blog

Hey all, sorry I haven't been around in a bit. Real life has caught up with me in some ways and I needed to take care of my mother who was indisposed for a while, so I haven't had time to get to the requests in my inbox, for which I am sorry.

In the time I've been away, I've thought long and hard about my own classpect, about classpecting in general and what of the popular canon I do and don't believe, and have come to the realisation that what work I've put into this blog no longer matches my views on what I think classpecting is and should be about. If you want concrete examples of theory I've been inspired by, check out @classpect-navelgazing and 0pacifica's essays on class and aspect.

In short, I no longer consider my previous posts valid to my views on classpecting. I will take some time to figure out how to move forward with this blog, so that I am certain that what I post is true to my views and as accurate as I can get it. I will not be deleting any of the old analysis, but it should be known they will be considered defunct and kept around purely for archival purposes.

You are free to comment on this post to suggest a path froward, though I can't guarantee I'll take it. I wish you all a splendid day.

[towersofprospit]

Pssst,hey, may i ask for a maid of heart?

I've already done a Maid of Heart, here.

[towersofprospit]

classpect titles: identity vs. the narrative

right. here’s something i’ve been meaning to talk about for a while. the assignment of classpect titles.

before i start, i want to make something clear: i’m not here to tell anyone how to identify. i am of the opinion that everyone knows themselves best. i’m not here to tell anyone how to classpect: this is a wacky business filled to the brim with speculation. this is merely an account of my views and opinions.

the classpecting community at large, here on tumblr at least, is very concerned with one’s personality when assigning classpect titles. this approach also necessitates a focus on both class and aspect in tandem; making sense as one full concept, a one and done thing, rather than two components of a title. a title, not a name.

a prince of heart is one who destroys heart. therefore the prince must destroy heart. he cannot engage in destructive behaviour, fall into that class’ archetypal pitfalls and climb its archetypal highs, and also have an arc concerned with identity, see the world in those terms at the same time. he must always be a [destroyer of heart].

it all ends up rather stereotypical; a prince destroys, therefore the prince is bad. a knight protects, therefore the knight is good.

i find it more constructive to look at classes as archetypes, because at their origin, this is what they are. patterns of behaviour one repeats again and again, falls back on when they are at their wits’ end. this is where the narrative view of classpects comes in.

class represents the hero’s internal processes. their values. a sort of concise list of their greatest faults and greatest strengths, like horoscopes in the newspaper. made to be generic. made for the hero to grow with and past them. it makes sense then why most prefer to classpect based on personality: it is easier to look at yourself as a list of traits than it is to look at yourself as a history, a narrative path you’ve walked. actually, that brings me to a good metaphor: your class is your shoes. the trail you walk. your aspect is the scenery.

classpecting from a narrative angle requires a shift in perspective, and acknowledging one stark difference between the hero title of myself and say, the hero title of jake english. we are both hope players, yet one of us is a person. the other is a character. the title system in homestuck is made around characters. the game is deliberately set up to help its players grow, and in doing that sets them on a path loosely defined by their title. people are a bit more complicated.

seeing yourself as a character isn’t easy. it’s almost impossible. characterhood is objective; personhood is not. in a story, we see its characters’ entire arcs in one line, we can clearly identify the inflection points in their stories and which themes repeat again and again. but as people our lives are ongoing; we are not afforded the same omnipotence, the ability to see time all at once.

class is incredibly hard to determine because of this. aspect is a bit easier. it is the themes that repeat again and again in our lives, a backdrop for all else to happen. it is a lens through which we see and understand the world. a light player might see their world as a story. a heart player might see the world as a tangle of identities rubbing up against and affecting each other. the possibilities are as endless as paradox space, which is to say not at all or quite a lot, depending on how you look at things. and how big you are in the scheme of them.

of course some measure of both narrative and personality classpecting must be employed for the most accurate outcome to be produced. one cannot look at the forest’s reflection in the lake and claim to know the beasts within. one cannot build a house with only bricks. but a healthy harmony should be strived towards in order for the result to be most accurate.

if you would like to read some posts from people who know these things better than me, i recommend @classpect-navelgazing, particularly their masterpost, and @urcharactersclasspect, whose opinions i found very particularly eye-opening.

[towersofprospit]

I don't know if this is a unusual request, but would you do quadrant ideas for a Prince of Hope?

Hello! Unfortunately I’m afraid I cannot fulfill that request. It’s not even a matter of quadrants being too time consuming - they’re just so far out of my realm of expertise I’m afraid they wouldn’t be any good. I’m aware I wrote in my profile description that quadrants are one of the types of request I answer, however as you may know this blog is a few years old now and after reviewing my capabilities, I’ve decided my skills in that department simply no longer meet my standards.

I will write a post with some rules for this blog soon that should hopefully clear everything up.

[towersofprospit]

Do you do session analysis?

No, probably not, sorry. They’re a ton of work and tend to pile up, and I already have commitment to another blog I need to see to, so I wouldn’t have enough time. I probably won’t post about lands either, unless you give me a specific land name, classpect, and a general overview of your character. I won’t mind posting about specific classpect powers, though.

[towersofprospit]

….kkkkknight of breath? please?

🌑 No problem! Thank you for requesting. 🌑

Knight of Breath

Knight: Knights are a protector class, through and through. They use a mask of self-importance/“cool”ness to hide how much they care for others, and they’re happiest when their friends are happy.

Breath: Breath is the aspect of Freedom, Direction and Individuality. A Hero of Breath will always rely on themselves first and foremost, and because of this they are fickle and hard to pin down, for better or worse. They are leaders by example.

Inverted Title: Rogue of Blood

Breath is an interesting Aspect, because it's very hard to describe. It is not so by intention or mystery like Void, or by virtue of being multi-faceted and far-encompassing like Heart, but because that is its nature. Breath is a fairly self-motivated Aspect, but that's not to say its players are selfish. They do what feels good and move on when it doesn't, which can make them seem a bit unpredictable from the outside. They're not blind to the needs of others, but some of the less social oriented classes might forget to watch out for their friends' feelings and state, as it is not in their nature to be particulalrly observant. As I said, they do what feels good when it feels good, and kind of ride their own wave, which is good for them, but sometimes leads to their friends getting soaked if they don't get out of the way soon enough.

This makes for a particularly emotonially disconnected Knight. I can see them struggling to take resposibility for their mistakes, not due to their pride, but because they're non-confrontational. They would feel bad for whatever they'd done of course, knowing Knights and their guilt complexes, but that guilt wouldn't overpower their want to avoid wrath and dissappointment, at least before they come into their own.

They would be, or at least pretend to be, the stereotypical "cool-kid", and unlike Dave they would actually succeed in doing so, because the high-strung nature innate to Knights would be somewhat dampened by Breath. They would probably have a difficult time maintaining close relationships, but their charisma and relaxed attitude would lend itself well to dipping in and out of various friendly circles while never committing to a singular one. They're that kid that sits with the popular kids one day in the week, the nerds the next and the band kids the day after, depending on ~ the vibe ~. I could also see them as the "class jester" type, putting an effort into appearing funny and uncaring towards the rules. If they were to join a permanent club, I could see them running track, or maybe taking a dance elective. Tavros and John seemed to share a common theme of escapism in their interests - movies and FLARPing, so a regular old tabletop RPG club probably also wouldn't be too far off.

As for the double-edged sword portion of Knights; commitment issues might as well be this Knight's motto. They want connection of course, who doesn't, but they are unwilling to cement themselves as one thing, a member of one group, reach back far enough towards someone to truly develop a relationship with them. This tendency will be difficult to overcome, as it will require the Knight to look their fear head on, and probably get hurt in the process. It can be done of course, and they will probably benefit greatly from the input of a Blood player or some other social oriented Aspect, but getting the Knight to stop stalling and make the leap will certainly be like pulling teeth.

Weaponising Freedom is certainly an interesting concept indeed, and this Knight will have to come up with some interesting workarounds and methods in order to use their power to its greatest potential, but once they manage to find their flow, it will be a piece of cake. The sheer defensive power the Breeze boasts in combination with the Knight's role in the session will make for a formidable opponent, though they might be more inclined to lay back and step in when necessary than actively lead the charge. There might be some varation depending on whether the Knight is a Prospit or Derse dreamer, but that's up to you, really.

Keep your head up, KoB? You know things are never as bad as you imagine them to be.

[towersofprospit]

Have you done a maid of heart yet, if so may I see your thoughts

🌑 Sorry this took a bit, I got sick right as you sent this. :,) 🌑

Maid of Heart

Maid: Where Heirs embody the idea of their aspect, Maids are quite literally made up of it. Their challenge is to grasp their aspect on their own terms, rather than letting fate or others control the way they live it, and controlling them by extension.

Heart: Heart is the aspect of emotion, self-expression and the True Self. Because of this, they can be very different depending on class, but you can certainly never accuse a Heartbound of being shallow. They can have trouble separating their inner world and the real world, however.

Inverted Title: Bard of Mind

A MoH might have been someone whose self-expression was kept on a very tight leash when they were young, be it for religious reasons, conservative sentiments on behalf of their parents or perhaps covering scars, they would have been placed into a tight box representing their identity and told to stay there and not move.

The Maid, as an active class, would then need to gather the will to break out of this subjugation and make Heart for themselves, rather than allowing others to use it, and them, as they please. Thankfully, the Maid would have friends and allies to back them up in this endeavour, even in places they might not expect.

A MoH would be someone overflowing with Identity. They have great potential for empathy and emotional maturity, being in touch with the Core of people, what makes them who they are, but this ability would be abused in a way that discards their ability to choose, at least at first. It makes me think of the unwilling therapist friend. They might rather be doing something else with this ability, or they might even genuinely want to help, but having to constantly emotionally support their friends is taxing on their psyche, and they end up not having enough emotional energy to work on themselves. An especially vile example of this would be a child forced to emotionally support their guardian/parental figure(s).

An especially exhausted Maid might then regress into their inverted state, the Bard of Mind. They would passively invite the destruction of Choice and Logic, completely resigning to their situation and giving up their free will in favour of doing only what others ask of them. A Maid who would become complacent in this state would then fail their role as an active class.

I won't lie, this one is not an easy classpect to have. Each character in Sburb has their own difficult path to tread, of course, but some are rockier than others, and this one I would certainly like to take hiking shoes on. Thankfully, Sburb's definition of hiking shoes can be quite varied, and so as long as they have the right support and are not left to fend completely for themselves, the Maid will eventually find the inner strength needed to accept a pair of hiking shoes as a gift from a friend, or make one themselves. ...That was a terribly complicated metaphor for what I wanted to say. Ah, well.

I'm afraid I've spent much of this analysis talking about the Maid's path, but unfortunately their development is integral to the Maid as a class, so I hope you will forgive me. Let us look at some traits and interests this Maid might have.

For some reason, this particular classpect strikes me as belonging to someone who would especially enjoy matchmaking. I suppose it is only fair, the Maid being one who actively creates their aspect, and all the Heart players we've seen seemed to be particularly fixated on romantic love, or rather the way it affected or completed their identity. That's a topic deserving of its own post, though.

Other interests that come to mind are embroidery, arts and crafts, DIY, and other activities of that type. What's more Maid of Heart than the Creation of something previously mundane, with a piece of themselves added to make it truly special? All the Maids we've seen seemed to enjoy doing things with their hands, (Aradia's archaeology, Jane's baking, Porrim's clothes-making), I suppose it is a side effect of being a creation class.

Perhaps doll making, or customisation? Giving Soul to inanimate things also appears to be a Heart thing.

To this Maid, I say this; Do not forget to make things for yourself, sometimes.

[towersofprospit]

How about the Knight of Heart? As a treat. It's my classpect.

🌑 Of course!! Thanks for the ask. 🌑

Knight of Heart

Knight: Knights are a protector class, through and through. They use a mask of self-importance/“cool”ness to hide how much they care for others, and they’re happiest when their friends are happy.

Heart: Heart is the aspect of emotion, self-expression and the True Self. Because of this, they can be very different depending on class, but you can certainly never accuse a Heartbound of being shallow. They can have trouble separating their inner world and the real world, though.

Inverted Title: Rogue of Mind

Oh this is gonna be fun, knights are among my favourites. Very well then. A Knight of Heart is an interesting case. How does one hide behind identity? Simple enough, a KoH wants everyone to believe they know exactly who they are. And it works, too! From the outside, a Knight of Heart is impenetrable. They may not be the most well-liked person in the room, or the most talented, but it doesn’t matter, because they’re completely aware and sure of themselves, and that means nothing can shake them, be it a petty insult or a crisis.

Whether this is actually true depends on the particular knight and how far along they are in their development, but it will nonetheless be something they strive for. This Knight is also interesting because it would genuinely be hard to parse said development, since they were hiding behind their true self in the first place. Even if their mask consisted of Emotion rather than Self, or some other aspect of Heart, the end result would be the same. Long story short, a Knight of Heart would be Rose Lalonde’s worst nightmare.

We’ve talked at length about the inner workings of this Knight, now let us look at how they might interact with the world around them. Heart players seem to have an innate understanding of what makes up the core of people, their heart if you will, and Knight being the class of innate skill with their aspect, this ability would become a weapon in their hands. Just as with all knights though, this weapon is a double-edged sword, and a Knight that is too empathetic may let their understanding of people get in the way of treating them as they deserve, or in turn a more unempathetic Knight might come to see any person’s action that doesn’t match up with the version of them they perceive as a deception. Whoo, that was a sentence and a half.

I feel as though I’ve been a bit harsh to this classpect. That’s part of the nature of the Knight class though, occasionally they need a reality check. Not that their heads tend to wander, Knights tend to be fairly rooted in reality, only that they tend to lose sight of others’ perspectives in favour of their own. Particularly unhealthy knights also tend towards self-sustaining loops of anxiety, usually somewhat regarding their aspect. “Is the version of me I show others truly who I am? Are my emotions justified?” A Knight that can stay grounded is a formidable force, however, and should not be underestimated.

A Knight of Heart might be someone who enjoys and is skilled in roleplaying, and by connection RPGs. They strike me as the type to enjoy games where decisions and consequences hold real weight, and their dialogue options always reflect their true feelings, rather than the ‘good’ path most main characters are pushed into pursuing. They might also be skilled in matters regarding technology, coding and torrenting, and for some reason my intuition tells me scrapbooking. It’s an interesting idea, for sure. If you’re a KoH feel free to tell me how you feel about scrapbooking I’d love to hear it.

Mostly they need to remember that their achievements hold weight, and others cannot prescribe meaning to what they hold dear, only they can. As the knower of all that is irrelevant, I would know. Also, they shouldn’t let the whims of others become obstacles for their own desires.

[towersofprospit]

Witch of Blood

Witch: The active manipulation Class. Witches start out incredibly passive, almost ghosting their inverted title. Their challenge lies in refusing to become complacent in their inverted aspect and taking opportunity to grasp their real one.

Blood: Blood is the Aspect of unity, responsibility, bonds, and flesh. It is both of the blood of the covenant and the blood that ties families. Blood players fall naturally, if reluctantly, into leadership roles.

Inverted title: Seer of Breath

Witches are active rebels, who break the rules of and defy their aspect. Blood is the aspect of unity, familial and friendly bonds, and its heroes have shown to value responsibleness and down to earth solutions.

A WoB would rebel against the idea that everyone is bound to something, the idea of being responsible for that you have sown type of deal. They would pursue and drop bonds as they see fit, not feeling themselves responsible for keeping up friendships they no longer see as tightly-vowen or beneficial.

This ties into their starting out as incredibly passive, skirting into the territory of their inverted title, the SoB. They would keep people at a distance, yet struggle with being completely disconnected. They might have a few people they’re close to, but they haven’t yet fully let themselves experience the potential of all bonds they hold. Eventually through circumstances or own volition, they will come out of their shell and start their path to become a fully realised Witch.

A Witch that fails to embrace the potential of their aspect and the reactionary nature of their class fully invert into their subrole, in this case the SoB. We do not know much about Damara, but I suspect this is what happened to her. Feferi is a more complicated case, as her journey was interrupted at its peak, however in being complacent with their doomed session, and becoming passive, she, too, failed her role as an active witch.

Thusly, the WoB’s main challenge lies in not becoming complacent in Breath, and actively pursuing Blood, which their natural talents tie into.

The personality of the Witch could be quite varied, but I can see them being sheltered as children, maybe their relationship with their family isn’t good either, causing them to be more comfortable in Breath. They could also have such a tight circle of relatives however that they do not feel the need to find bonds outside of their Blood.

They might be excitable from the start, sharing their interests and thoughts with those who they consider their Blood, but they might also be more subdued, with their head in the clouds, as one might say. They will become progressively more outgoing as they advance as a Witch, though.

[towersofprospit]

Seer of Void

🌑 I am only just beginning with this whole classpect analysis shtick, so I thought I’d start out with my own current classpect! Here we go! 🌑

Seer: The passive knowledge class. Seers focus on knowing about their aspect, seeing it, and using the information they gather to guide others.

Void: Void is the aspect of irrelevance, mysteries, secrets, and things that are hidden. Void players often have troubles with feelings and asserting themselves.

Inverted Title: Witch of Light

A Seer of Void is a class that can be seen as quite contradictory. They literally see nothing, obscurity, the Void itself. However that is only one part of what the aspect of Void represents.

SoVs can see through secrets, can unravel any mystery just by simply looking at it from a different angle than others. In a way, this makes me think of Velma from Scooby Doo.

Seers would quite possibly start out wanting to be in spotlight, maybe they weren’t given enough attention as children, or maybe they’re just Leos. Either way, this spotlight, just like with Roxy and Equius, continues to be denied from them, until they eventually grow to be comfortable in the shadows.

This fact is what allows them to be even more passive than most other Seers. They have to be careful to not fade away completely however, as that could easily result in them going grimdark, or even failing their role completely.

In general, I can see this classpect going grimdark is almost unavoidable, considering the Void’s connection to the Horrorterros and the nature of the Seer class. SoV will know the Horrorterrors don’t have good intentions, seeing through their mysterious demeanor and their lies, but in their attempts to keep others from falling for their whispers and temptations, grasping for control, they cause their own invertion.

Both Seers and Mages, their active counterparts, suffer from their aspect. Like the Signless suffered from the blood castes and his preachers, like Terezi became blind due to being mind controlled, I would say a Seer would suffer from Void through fault of someone else, for example being made to keep some sort of secret about themself or someone else, or even developing mental illness due to the behaviour of someone else.

In personality, they would be quite prone to stress and value mystery, for example writing cryptic texts or looking into long forgotten legends of places no one has heard about. They would be a little like the Seer of Light in this way, wanting to know mysteries. They would enjoy puzzles and setting up challenged and mysteries for other people, sharing secrets and mysteries through games.

Power-wise, the SoV could possibly be a very powerful ally. They see through the Void and the Vail, being able to find the easiest paths through the Furthest Ring, being able to spot dishonesty of things hidden from others’ sight very easily. They’re extremly sweet and will try to help any way they can, but for the love of god, don’t anger them. You saw what happened when Rose snapped.