CLASSPECTING - A [possible?] Comprehensive Form

[hamandcheeselover]

So, I have this extensive repertoire of classpecting documents and I just wanted to leave it behind for you guys and to hear some of your opinions! Since I don't want these to go to waste and just hold onto them til' death or something. I apologize if my organization is a bit iffy as I'm a noob. LOL
If it's incomplete, I'll be updating it as I go, I just wanted to stir up some discussion on the definitions I've got.
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THE ASPECTS
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BREATH
The Breath has to do with smell, odor and scent but also inhalation/exhalation and vapor (Old English æðm “air exhaled from the lungs”). The aspect of Breath in Homestuck has to do with feelings of awe (”breathtaking”) and superficial, fleeting things, like youth, beauty and beliefs/dreams. Breath also is responsible for fluidity of movements (walking, dancing, swimming, figure skating, etc.) and confidence (or lack of it - the metaphorical spine). Breath responds to feelings of carlessness or caring a lot (to be an airhead) and feeling alive and/or suffocated (literally and metaphorically). Breath aspect also is tied with ability to fly and float and with volume of voice tied with capability of lungs (being heard/unheard, shouting, mumbling, stuttering, etc.).
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BLOOD
The Blood aspect means “to gush, swell, spurt” or “that which bursts out” (wording “bhlo-to”). It can also be tied to Gothic “bloma” which ties to “flower” and “to thrive, bloom”. It also means inheritance and relationship senses as in “person of one’s family/race/kind”. In 1300 it was also tied to meanng of “hot spark, a man of fire” and in 1530 there was “blood money” coined (money paid for death of another) and in 1660 “to get blood from the stone” (to do the impossible). “Fresh blood” (new member of organization) is from 1880. In Homestuck, aspect of blood is one of the least explained and shown aspects, but there’s several things that can be said about it - it ties to flesh and blood (actual blood and blood color present in troll race) and societal problems like racism and inheritance (hemocism). Blood comes to place when there are consequences abound due to given demands

and it’s the force to act at the sudden need or demand.
Blood also is supposed to connect and/or be the connecting force, f.e. transporting oxygen from lungs to cells in the whole body.
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LIGHT
The aspect of Light has to do with literal light (so shining, emitting rays, glimmering) but also lack of it (darkness, invisibility). This aspect is tightly tied to ability to be seen and noticed - be it by standing out of the crowd or through being different in some way (being “special”), but also the ability to see things like truth or knowledge without being the one to make it or posses it first (that’s Mind aspect) - so powers of mind control, making someone tell things or discovering things that could be useful. It also is tied to fortune and luck and ways it influences the person or how the person uses it.
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VOID
The aspect of Void is tied to nothingness, emptiness and a lack - be it physical (like holes or lack of weapon) or metaphorical (psychological feeling of emptiness, lack of certain emotions, inability to feel empathy, etc.). Void also is connected to creation as it could be considered a blank page or card (tabula rasa, basically) you can create on and take from what you need, depending on the class.
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TIME
Aspect of Time is tied to time itself - but also the fact it’s running out (so, awareness of own death and mortality in general), passing of time (both wasting of it and being productive), time travel and timelesness connected to immortality and lack of it through means like having incurable fatal sickness.
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SPACE
The aspect of Space has to do with literal space - so, location an object takes and relocation of it, size of it and making something smaller or larger. Space should not be confused with Void aspect in case of lack or nothigness, even if “empty space” is something you could describe Void with. All heroes of Space also have a recurring theme with being fashionable and taking interest in clothes (Jade alchemizes lots of dresses, Kanaya partakes in dress sewing as a hobby and Porrim - probably not for the first and not the last time - makes Kankri wear sweater she has made herself). Aspect of Space could also be distinctively linked to ability of teleportation and removal (like teleporting enemy out of your personal space and locating them somewhere else).
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HEART
A Heart aspect corresponds with emotions, self, individual goals and intuition.

It also is linked to life force (the one that makes you move before you even think about what you’re doing) and can be considered to be a container for pure and impure thoughts (sin versus lack of it) and thus, is also a vessel for the mind (Mind and Heart aspects might be opposites but they’re very tightly linked together). You could say that heart represents your conscious goals, as for when heart is dead/gone, you lose focus on what you wanted to achieve.

Terms “soul’s desire” and “heart’s desire” are interchangable after all.
There’s additionally the problem with possible splintering.
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MIND
The Mind aspect is connected to thinking, reasoning and logic. As ideas it can be thought in terms of understanding (reality, charades, quests, self, etc.) and memory and it’s loss. This also is connected to picturing and visualizing things and the literal seeing or lack of it as eyes are embodiments of character’s mind in Homestuck and just like Heart aspect, it’s connected to the idea of “soul”, but from the sense of discussion and act of planning and not hotblooded, reasonless desire.
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LIFE
Aspect of Life has to do with literal life as in existence, cultivation of it, possible revival, continuity of it or also lack of it as life is inevitable tied with eventual end of it, which means death (however, not as much as Time and Doom aspects) but also transistion (like between dead and living selves or into godtiers) and even “another life” (like dreambubbles or alternate form of leading a life like on Beforus/Alpha session or Alternia/Beta session due scratch).
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DOOM
The aspect of Doom means law, judgment, condemnation (Old English dom), but also judgement and law and putting place to (sth) and attention (Lithuanian dome). Modern sense of fate, ruin and destruction is from 1600, from the finality of the Christian Judgment Day. In Homestuck, aspect of Doom is tied to gloom, finality and uselesness/hopelesness.

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There’s also a good side of the said aspect, as it’s “letting go”
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cause when you can’t do anything about what awaits you

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then you can as well be happy about having no responsibilities to others/yourself/fate.
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RAGE
The Rage aspect has to do with anger, aggression, wrath and feeling of madness - associated with fierceness but also passion, violence and madness (also coming from insanity or physical sickness like rabies). This is linked to physical violence
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but also mental violence like need for harm and grief and also feeling of contempt, uneasiness and discomfort coming from lack/damage/trauma.
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Rage also is linked to feelings of fear, panic and avoidance.
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HOPE
The aspect of Hope means “confidence in the future” (old English), “expectation of something desired”, “trust, confidence; wishful desire”, also “to have trust, have confidence; assume confidently or trust” (that something is or will be so). It can also mean “leaping in expectation” and to “hold to hope in the absence of any justifiction for hope”. Hope in Homestuck also is tied to motivation, belief in illogical things, faith and miracles (including having faith in the said miracles or the lack of it)
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[hamandcheeselover]

THE CLASSES
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HEIR
To be a Heir is to be someone who inherits - this means this class is given something on a silver plate through heritage and rights of inheritance (this doesn’t have to always mean a good thing, despite how easy does it sound).

Definitely not in case of Heir of Doom
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A Heir also has his path cleared out when it comes to their classpect, as, through it being a heritage, it means whatever is that they inherit, it’s already been used/tested/done before and they either have rules written down or the knowledge passed on (like a manual).

John can do the windy thing right away with no complications whatsoever
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This means that a Heir would have things tested out and their main objective is to adjust it to their personal abilities (polished if you will).
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MAGE
To be a Mage means to be “magician” (from Latin magus) who has learned their skills (this usually meant people like astrologers or priestly class) and are associated with actual magic and magical tricks.

In Homestuck, Mage is a class where one gets pressured by their own aspect through lack of comfort, annoyance or even actual suffering it might bring,

all for the sake of becoming better through things that torment them (a situation comparable to the way pearls are made - through constant irritation of the oyster, that builds up a nacre, forming the gem out of the irritant object).

Mages also tend to keep up nonchalant or cool attitudes (masks) that easily fall apart once you get to know them (comparable to attitude Knights put up), mostly done for the sake of protecting themselves from uncovering their weaknesses this class is trying to uncover. Usually, the opposite aspect is used to shield Mages from the aspect they suffer from.
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KNIGHT
To be a Knight means to be a hero at service of the higher in ranks - usually the ruler (and preferably being tied to the noble idea, but it’s not always true). Etymologically speaking, a knight meant “youth that serves”, “servant”, “attendant" and “vassal” - which eventually has turned into specific “military follower of a king or other superior” that (even later) became a rank of nobility. Knights in Homestuck are considered to be soldiers and warriors who rely on the strategist members of the party (preferably seers, even if there seems to be general disagreement and recurring theme with seers being problematic to knights and uncovering their flaws, which is something knights must face and the pair needs to learn how to work together in a team for the sake of the best efficiency)

to use the aspect as a weapon to the benefit of the idea they’re fighting for.

Additionally, there’s the recurring theme of every knight wanting to be in charge (and yes, it’s a goddamn pun) of things, which involves keeping up a facade that leaves the impression of someone better/more impressive/etc. than they actually are (in case of Karkat it’s being in charge of leadership, Latula wants to be the most R4D and Dave constantly keeps talking about how “cool” he is).
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ROGUE
To be a Rogue means to be “mischevious”.

Rogue had a few different meanings as etymologically it used to describe a beggar (rogare in Latin means “to ask”) or someone “haughty” (Celtic rog). It was also used to describe wild beasts that lived apart from the main herd, which, with the use of a slang has turned into “someone uncontrollable or undisciplined”. Rogues in general defied laws of society and wandered around vagabond-like style, which in medieval society was defined by law as “a person who has no land, no master, and no legitimate trade or source of income” which was punished by whipping, burning with iron and possible death sentence unless they were given actual job. Calliope explains this class more as a definition of being closer to Robin Hood trope

in a meaning of stealing

but in a passive way.

This basically means that Rogue class is supposed to steal from the aspect and since it’s compared to being alike to Robin Hood, it wouldn’t be thievery for self-gain, but for the good of others; in other words: Rogues steal from their own aspects for benefits of everyone else.

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MAID
To be a Maid means to be a virgin, a young unmarried woman (from maiden) and was used in the past both toward men and women alike - which survived further on in the social demand of housemaids and butlers staying virginal/unmarried. Maids are also associated with servitude in household and to people of noble birth, but also to fighting matriarchal tribes, like Amazons. In Homestuck, Maids are associated with act of creating through aspect for the objective they work for.


This includes serving their aspect for the sake of fixing the mess that was created in the group/team they work with, often through the drastic means and lengthy tasks.


That’s why Maids are essential to the team and the session, as without them, the aspect of existence they serve (and they’re not to create) becomes pathetic and miserable for the rest of the group (for example, three years spent on the meteor were awful for everyone who was in there, because Aradia wasn’t around).

Maids also tend to create such problems for the group as they often go missing/have tendency to be gone/have higher risk of dying/being targeted


but they do it for a good cause, because, just as Knights, they tend to weaponize their aspect, even if in more passive way.

Maids also tend to have a tendency to sleuthe around for things they’re curious about, which also can be a cause of their disappearance.

In case of appearance of the Lord class in the session, Maids of the respective aspect tend to either yearn servitude, end up in servitude or try to break out of unwilling servitude imposed on them by the said Lord.

Maids also would have a lot of aspect to use once they’d godtier.

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BARD
To be a Bard is to be a poet, singer and/or someone who lifts up the voice, praise and is considered to be either a troublemaker or a more liked lyrical poet in positive sense. In Homestuck terms, Bards are passive class that allows destruction to happen through their aspect.

Bards also are supposed to be wildcards, and, as Calliope mentions, their influence can spontaneously alter the story/fate of the session/members of the party, leading either to victory or downfall.
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Additionally, Bards are also supposed to be helpful and sweet

and their actions often can be categorized as “it came out of nowhere, it happened with no explanation and no one knows why and/or how”.
PAGE
To be a Page is to be in the lowest of ranks and in servitude of others, which is supposed to elevate you higher (the general idea in times when it was a profession was that you could become a knight someday, but you had to learn from one by serving him) - the general meaning of the word “page” means (depending on language and region) either “servant”, “youth in servitude” or simply “child”. The Page class is the strongest class after top tier classes like Lord and Muse and is considered the class of great potential.

Pages usually start at the very bottom of the way they have to go and usually their grasp on the aspect they represent is none, so they basically stand in opposite to it (without ghosting the invertion) and have to learn how to master it through every possible way and step that gives them advantage over other classes as they learn how to understand and use their class through every possible thing they look through and encounter.

However, because of how long is the way they have to go through to achieve the greatness,

other players might find it hard to believe they’re capable of achieving strength that would be worth acknowledging and they end up being mocked for it.


There’s also the recurring theme with all the pages and their helpful “imaginary friend/figment of subconsciousness” (in case of Jake it’s fake Dirk, in case of Tavros it’s Rufio - Horuss never mentions having an imaginary friend, but instead he speaks of himself as of someone he had to reimagine, so it’s possible that his horsekin self is not something he has to become, but something that is supposed to help him along the way with achieving his true potential.

The fact that he uses such phrase might also mean that, despite acting aloof about his kin, he might actually be ashamed of it (just a speculation).

And, of course, there’s Page costume that always seems to be crossing the line with how it shows off the magnificent naked leg and thigh.
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THIEF
To be Thief is to be a robber or a stealer. Thieves in Homestuck are considered to be an active class, also described as “the asshole class”

who steals things tied to their aspect for their own benefit.


There’s several things that also describe Thieves, and those are
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being uncool in act of thievery (they make others unhappy)

unresponsive to commands and stubborn (useless to those who want to use them, so, mostly in charge of things despite others being in charge)

and it’s stated karma catches up to them eventually for their stealing misdeeds.

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[hamandcheeselover]

SYLPH
To be a Sylph means to be a mortal but soulless air spirit (silva from Greek) - but also someone graceful and slender in movements and appearance. Sylphs in Homestuck attribute to being “like witches, only more magical”,


which comes down to magical abilities (mostly powers).

Sylphs, as passive classes, mostly focus on helping and healing through their aspects, which can come down to keeping and maintaing things in stabilized state (even in a priori means, so before it needs to be fixed)

also through means like watching over things they keep.

Sylphs also share things like talking a lot about things they concern themselves about and being nosy (f.e. Kanaya always tried to auspisticize between everyone and Aranea always spoke about others and interrupted it with her opinion, even trying to sidestep it being unwanted by paying Meenah to stay around and listen to her anyway).
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PRINCE
The Prince class in general means “the ruler, the first in command” but also “the first one to take” and “the one who takes first” (from latin “princeps, primus”). To be a Prince means to be someone who is either styled to inherit the greatest responsibility (after a “king”) or to be thwarted of it as deemed unworthy (usually deemed himself a title of “count” then). This means this title comes with great risks and either a might untold or a harsh fall, depending on how user deals with it.

That’s why Princes seem to be devoid of their aspect, as it is their challenge to conquer something they don’t have/know (Eridan is hopeless in his pursuits, Kurloz is unnaturaly calm and Dirk is heartless with his aloof attitude). The Prince class is a destroyer class

and, as said above, they can destroy their aspect or cause destruction through their aspect.
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SEER
The Seer is someone to whom divine revelations are made (Latin videns) – it also has literal sense of “one who sees”. In Homestuck, Seer class is a passive class of a strategist who knows their aspect thoroughly

and can strategize through it to obtains favorable outcome. They usually are able to see “the bigger picture” and are supposed to work with it or around it (as the usual challenge of a Seer is muddled vision).

Seers can also have visions and ideas given through their obtained knowledge about things that have to be done beforehand or after an important event and their main challenge is to work with it for the benefits of themselves and the team.

Seers are also supposed to maintain relationship with Knights to form unbeatable duo, able to overcome the challenges given them by the game.


Seers usually are prone to asking and giving a lot of questions and riddles (but also take pleasure in solving them).


Seers also rely on informants and outside sources to widen their visuals and seeing horizons.

[hamandcheeselover]

WITCH
To be a Witch means to be a magician, sorcerer/sorceress, wizard (Old English wicce (female) and wicca (male)) who performs magic and supernatural acts; in case of women it also is tied to having dealings with the devil and evil spirits that enable her magical abilities. Depending on the sex of the one describes, it could also mean that men described as witches were “skilled with horses” (Anglo-Saxon wiccræft) and women - midwives (Hebrew wicches). Extended sense of “old, ugly, and crabbed or malignant woman” is from early XV century. In Homestuck the Witch class is associated with being able to perform magical things,

which are tied to manipulating events (which includes scheming) in favor of the outcome they’re focused on.


To be a Witch in Homestuck also is tied to being wicked, which means the said class has ability to turn mean if they’ve been wronged in some way (which doesn’t have to happen, but can in case of appropiate circumstances).


This means that whoever had done them wrong is probably going to bear pretty harmful consequences of their actions, as Witches don’t forgive easily.

This is also pretty frightening considering Witches are very powerful

and thanks to that, their main challenge is to use the huge power they were given (they don’t have to learn it, they know how to make great things from the very beginning) with responsibility (so, keeping in mind to not actually hurt others through as this is a pretty overpowered class). The opposite of it is also true (so, not letting the power go to waste, as it’s easy to become lazy with power you already have and don’t have to polish in any way). Witches reach their full potential and achieve magical abilities only after they god tier.

[hamandcheeselover]

LORD
The Lord means master of a household, ruler and superior (Old English laverd) also God (Latin Dominus). In earlier times the term used to mean one who guards the loaves (of bread) from Old English hlafweard and hlafæta (household servant as in literally loaf-eater). In Homestuck, Lord class is the most powerful active class connected to destruction whose primary function is to destroy reality of the aspect into nothigness.

Lords are start off weak and then - once they decided to change their fate - go through the trial of suffering of the greatest effort in which they eliminate everyone “who is stronger than them”.

Lords master their aspect through instincts and natural impulses they already posses; they also, as they grow in strength, they become more and more responsible for more and more things and it’s their personal challenge to become at ease with inevitability

which becomes their greatest asset.


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MUSE
To be a Muse is to be “protector of the arts” (Greek Mousa) but also “music, song,” and “to think, remember”. In 14th century it gained a meaning of “inspiring goddess of a particular poet”. In Homestuck, the Muse class is connected to telling stories - can be to yourself for amusement, can be to others for the sake of given purpose.

Muses also help out simply existing - be it by being nearby or just y existing at all; they inspire others through their aspect through the passivity of existence they provide (and it’s a very strong influence, going through all the possible ways a given aspect can provide).

The Muse’s goal is finding a way to defeat the Lord who is simply overpowered in his active class (they serve as a buffer to unstoppable force and as a key to elimination of the Lord class as their opposite).