alt classpect theories

Alternate Classpect Theories (mostly about classes):

Proposition 1: The classes were named as such for a reason. While there are some odd connections that you might not make without Word of Hussie, like how he decided the Prince and Bard were about destruction, there was still a reason that the classes were named the way they were.

Proposition 2: Classes and Aspects were not all created at once. Homestuck was an ongoing story and there’s a high chance some classes were created before the entire classpect system was set in stone. These are most likely the Heir, Knight, Seer, and Witch, since they belonged to the alpha kids.

Proposition 3: The ancestor trolls are generally a better example of the Beta trolls’ classpect than the alpha trolls’ classpects. Though there are some exceptions, these are in beta trolls that have more defined characteristics, ex Gamzee, Karkat, and Terezi. When the ancestor trolls were introduced, they were shown to be a sort of previous incarnation to the beta trolls themselves. With this proposition, The Handmaid lives up to her name and Mindfang’s pirating goes along with her Thief class. …Because seriously nothing about her is Sylph-like.

Proposition 4: Not everyone acts like their Godtier prior to ascending. While on the one hand you have Vriska, who lives and breathes Thief of Light, most trolls’ characters were based on their zodiac sign. Even Hussie said in a Twitter post that Rose changed from an active to passive player after ascending, and vice versa for Jade. Rose even speculates that classpects are supposed to challenge the player, and thus might not directly coincide with their personality.


Verb vs Archetype Theory:

I’m not much of a fan of Verb Theory, that is, that each class is defined by how they interact with their aspect. At first glance, Verb theory seems to be correct. The classes we know most about are the stealing classes (Thief/Rogue) and the destruction classes (Prince/Bard) which lend themselves nicely to a single verb: steal and destroy respectively. However, this theory strains itself when taking into account other well-known classes. The Page is the best example. Despite all the attention Pages are given in the story, via Tavros and Jake, they are never once assigned a verb. Even when popular classpect theory attempts to assign verbs to classes that have none, they are excruciatingly vague. “Manipulate,” “Exploit,” “Relocate,” “Create,” in the end, each of these verbs has little difference between one another in order to account for the wide variety of uses in the story. Can we really say whether The Condesce relocated, manipulated, created, or exploited life in the Psiionic to extend his life? Did Aradia create, manipulate, relocate, or exploit Time to freeze Jack Noir?

As such, I instead point to Archetype theory. Instead of each class boiling down to a single verb association with their aspect, Archetype theory looks at the class like an archetype in a story: Protagonist, Antagonist, Mentor, Love Interest, etc. Sburb seems to take a combined approach to its archetypes, following both story tropes and RPG classes. In this way, Thieves are still known for stealing, like how a Thief in a game can steal from enemies, but this isn’t the only thing that makes a Thief a Thief.

Popular classpecting already takes archetype theory into account; they just don’t put it at the forefront. Many classpecters will acknowledge that Pages are generally weak at the beginning and become very strong at the end, but they insist the class must fall into Verb theory as well, resulting in thin, obtuse verbs.


Generally Accepted Canon Pairs (based off of the few classpect blogs I’ve seen, ymmv):

(+)Heir – Maid(-):
Going to be completely honest I don’t really see the connection between these two except maybe that if you believe the others are all correct you’re left with these two by default. Despite having two major characters in their classes, neither is particularly forthcoming about how their class operates.
Edit: As was pointed out, the Maid could also inherit their aspect, but with a more responsibilities bent than the Heir. I like this idea.

(+)Page – Knight(-):
Pages and Knights are often paired together as they both serve a similar medieval role and I agree that’s a valid reason to pair them together. Sometimes the pair is called the “serve” roles, in that they are in service to their aspects. I think this works well for the knight but doesn’t fit what we know about the Page very well.

Instead I like to think of the Knight and Page as a sort of opposites, two sides of a student/mentor role. The Knight begins their game one of the most powerful players, but has little room to grow. The Page, on the other hand, begins the game very weak, and constantly looks up to a powerful active class for guidance and eventually grows to one of the most powerful classes in the end game. Some people believe the Knight must have an insecurity, lack their element, or some kind of mask, but I think this is more of a side effect of being naturally talented and watching others improve while you mostly stay the same. In a sense, Knights are easily susceptible to imposter syndrome.

(+)Sylph – Witch(-):
The two things we know about these classes are that a) Witches are very powerful and b) Sylphs are healers. In this case, these two only really fit together in that both have a lot of magic ability. Like the Heir and Maid, I only figure these two go together if all other options are exhausted.

(+)Seer – Mage(-):
Thanks to Mages being one of the least shown classes in Homestuck, everything we know about it depends on which class it gets paired with. Some pair it with the Seer because of comments Sollux makes about prophets, but I think it belongs with the Seer solely because no other class is an obvious fit to pair with the Seer.

As for what the Mage actually means, many classpecters describe it as one who learns by experience, or one who gains knowledge by intuition. I don’t like either of these explanations. Learning through experience is something everyone does naturally, and knowledge through intuition is too passive for what has to be an active class. Instead, the Mage makes a lot more sense if you assume it’s a synonym for a wizard class, chosen to keep the one-syllable name rule. In D&D, wizards seek knowledge for self-growth and power, giving it a similar active = selfish angle as the Thief. This is opposed to the Seer, who gains knowledge for the betterment of the team.

(+)Rogue – Thief(-):
One of the two canon pairings. I think it’s generally well described in Homestuck so there’s not much to add.

(+)Bard – Prince(-):
The second of the two canon pairings. Again, not much to add.


Alternate Pairing Theories:

(+)Heir – Page(-):
Consider John. Despite being a Breath aspect, he starts Homestuck, well, stuck at home. Part 1 could be seen as John’s journey to simply leave his home. In the end he succeeds, and grows so powerful in his aspect he defies the boundaries of the comic itself. This sounds very similar to the Page’s quest. However, unlike the Page, John gains his freedom with Dad’s blessing. In a way, he inherits his freedom.

If we assume the Heir is the passive counterpart to the Page, then the journey of the Heir is to start with a lack of their aspect, and receive it from an authority figure. This contrasts the active Page’s journey, which must require betterment through the self. Equius’ ancestor also shows this inheritance, when he receives nothingness when The Grand Highblood, an authority figure, strips him of his position.

(+)Sylph – Knight(-):
At first, the Sylph – Knight pair may not make a lot of sense. After all, aren’t Sylphs much more magical than Knights? However, both Sylphs in the comic, Kanaya and Aranea, are primarily physical fighters, like Dave and Karkat. As such, the Sylph – Knight pair become a protection class. The Knight actively protects their aspect from harm, the Sylph passively protects their aspect via healing.

(+)Maid – Witch(-):
Maids have a habit of finding themselves in service to powerful beings in their aspect. The Handmaid serves Lord English, Jane serves The Condesce, and even Porrim is born into the caste that must serve The Mothergrub. As not much else is known about The Maid, it’s possible this is the journey of the Maid. While all three canon examples ended up serving against their wishes, the class doesn’t have to be a negative one. Consider a Maid of Void serving under a Horrorterror, learning its secrets and gaining its empathy.

If the Maid is a servitude class, then what makes the Witch? Consider Jade, who becomes so powerful over Space, you could say she rules over it. Bec, the very avatar of the Green Sun, finds it impossible to harm her as Bec Noir. Then Feferi and The Condesce, being the highest caste in the hemospectrum, quite literally rule over all life.

Thus, the Maid – Witch pair become similar to the Page – Knight pair of opposites: Maids are those who serve their aspect, and Witches are those who are served by their aspect. That said, I’m not entirely sure why “Witch” would be the chosen name for the ruling class, when it was probably created before other classes like the Prince (or potentially Princess.)

(+)Mage – Witch(-):
I give these two a possibility in name only. Both describe people who have potent magic ability. If this were to be the case, then the Witch and the Mage’s journey would mostly focus on becoming very powerful in their aspect’s magic. This leaves the door open for another class to fill in for the Seer, however, and I’m not sure what class could fit that role.

(+)Heir – Sylph(-):
Another often supported fanon pairing. I like this one more than the Heir – Maid pairing. In this case, the Sylph is one who protects their aspect, and the Heir is one who is protected by their aspect. It's a bit simplistic though and gets close to verb theory so I'm eh on it.

(?)Maid - Sylph(?):
Not sure how you'd classify which of these two were the active or passive, but I once heard someone describe the Maid as one who "tidies up" after their aspect, like healing in small ways bit by bit. It seemed like a solid possibility and would fit nicely with the Sylph.