#bard of void

The group chat has Homestuck brainrot and I am not immune.

So did some quick God Tier designs for Ophelia and Dusty. Opehlia was assigned Bard of Void and Dusty was assigned Thief of Heart by a friend because I was too lazy to research it myself.

I want you all to picture me with an incredibly evil grin on my face right now. That is me. I am a supervillain and you are about to fall for my evil plans. I have been waiting for this.

The Princes & Bards, the most contentious classes in Homestuck; consistently lumped in with the nebulous 'bad guys' and given little thought beyond the absolute ugliest manifestations of their powers and personalities.

The Prince:Bard dichotomy embodies instability, destruction and deconstruction. They shatter their Aspect, break it down to its constituent parts, tear it into a million pieces; it is their scourge, and they terminate it however they see fit.

Similarly to the Knights & Pages symbolising deficiency, the Princes & Bards signify instability; their presence usually means their Aspect is in flux, and often it's due to their presence too in a roundabout way.

Canonical Prince players are Dirk Strider (Prince of Heart), Eridan Ampora (Prince of Hope) and Kurloz Makara (Prince of Rage).

Canonical Bard players are Gamzee Makara (Bard of Rage) and Cronus Ampora (Bard of Hope).

Point A - the narrative function of the Prince.

The word I'd use to describe the Princes is... obsessive. Obsessed, in particular, with eradicating their Aspect. They tend to hold a deep-seated dislike for their Aspect in their lives, and so they seek to purge it in whatever way they can - and yet it still haunts them in every way they can think. If anything, tearing it apart only means it haunts them more.

This destruction often leads to a superficial manifestation of their opposing Aspect; but not nearly to the degree that most people would suggest. It's there, but not the be-all-end-all.

Dirk, for all of his self-loathing and obsession with appearing methodical & disingenous, can't help letting his emotions get the better of him when the going gets tough - and he surrounds himself with echoes and splinters of his 'godawful personality' despite his efforts to destroy himself completely.

Dirk projects outwardly as cold & calculating, like a player of Mind may be.

Eridan is a hopeless romantic at his core, and yet hope & aspiration still form the basis of his character. He's a man constantly hung up on destiny, constantly thinking about his fantasies of genocide & eternal love from Feferi; trying to live up to the image of a tyrannical ancestor he barely knows. And yet, he's utterly without Hope at his core and seeks to eradicate it.

Eridan projects outwardly as a skeptic who believes in science over fantasy, as a Rage player may do.

Kurloz (speculation time!) is a man defined by his own negativity. Appearing calm, collected & rageless; he conceals a deep-seated devotion and a desire to eradicate Rage in the form of removing skepticism & rebellion from his session. He has a hand in puppeteering Meulin and injuring Mituna, all to remove their potential presence as a spanner in the works for his nebulously defined plans.

Kurloz projects outwardly as an exuberant preacher obsessed with spreading the belief in his gods, as a Hope player would do.

And oftentimes, this destruction spreads to their session mates.

The Alpha kids' romantic prospects and emotional stability erodes the more time they spend in the Medium 'til they all reach boiling point.

The Beta trolls lose all hope of rescue and turn to pulling teeth & murdering one another in a desperate attempt to turn their situation around.

The Alpha trolls are too caught up in their echo chamber of gossip & teenage delusion to understand the gravitas of what they're all dealing with, and it shows.

What the Prince needs to do should they aim to be successful is learn to live with their Aspect. Their frayed & fractured relationship with their Aspect can be healed, and once they've done that healing and moved away from obsessive and mindless destruction, they turn their head to the unhealthy manifestations of their Aspect in their session.

They destroy their Aspect where it needs to be destroyed, and destroy through it when necessary.

And this segues quite nicely into...

Point B - The practical function of the Prince.

The Prince's powers of destruction are nothing to be scoffed at.

Dirk Strider showed the ability to tear out a woman's soul.

Eridan Ampora channels Hope as a weapon of mass murder and destruction.

Kurloz Makara erodes the agency of his peers and robs them of the capacity to rebel through his mind control (I'M NOT CALLING IT THAT) and mental manipulation.

The Prince's power to destroy translates physically into immense physical capability, and in any way their Aspect can be manifested; the Prince can tear it down.

Their role becomes that almost of a really weird healer; because in a sense, what they're doing is mending their Aspect by breaking it where it can't be fixed, and allowing it to continue in a healthier fashion.

It's strange, but the Princes are a strange bunch.

Point C - the narrative function of the Bard.

This is where things get fun.

The Bards are best described as representing decay. Their Aspect passively rots away in their presence, they use it both as a tool to erode it and as something to be slowly degraded in itself. This destruction is often unconscious, and subsequently the Bard has little control over this destructive force; it's like a miasma, surrounding them.

Gamzee Makara erodes his own capacity to question, openly preferring the quiet uncertainty of blind faith; he tells Karkat he'd rather believe in miracles than know the science behind them. He's a boy that thinks pretty lies are better than ugly truths, and by drugging himself up with sopor slime he only compounds that lack of capacity to question. This, of course, then leads to him having his own capacity for skepticism repeatedly taken by the narrative agents that use him as a walking plot device later in the story.

Cronus Ampora is beyond hope, beyond all redemption, designed in every way to be disgusting and hated in every facet. He's an awful, awful man who embodies the worst entitlement and delusion imaginable, falsifying minority identities for attention and using his position of privelege to prey upon those he sees as beneath him; he doesn't believe a word of what he says, and yet he's terrified of being 'exposed' for what he is.

Gamzee is more complex in this regard since he has far more screen-time, and we get to see directly his transition from destroying Rage to destroying through Rage as he goes sober and starts believing himself a God. It's hard to definitively pin down anything about Gamzee since he's... a walking plot device with far too much baked-in bigotry, but there's something to be scraped out of him for sure if you're willing to wade through how really uncomfortable he gets.

Cronus is easier to analyse as a Bard of Hope despite his limited screentime; and there's some really interesting analysis to be found in him being crafted by the narrative to be awful.

Point D - the practical function of the Bard.

Here's where it gets interesting. The Bards erode and decay their Aspect in some very interesting narrative ways.

Gamzee uses Rage as a force for destruction by allowing other people's negativity & overwhelming rage to destroy them. He aggravates everyone he targets into striking him first, before hitting back with three times as much force; we see it with Equius, Nepeta & Terezi very clearly.

Cronus uses Hope as a force for destruction through lies and shit-stirring. He sabotages the image of anybody he wants to victimise, lies and spreads rumours until they're disbelieved and shunned; and he does this very openly to Mituna. It's disgusting, but it's interesting to look at. He's both destroying Hope in Mituna, and destroying Mituna through Hope.

...This got very Cronus-centric, didn't it? I guess he has the distinction of not being written in a way that hurts my brain to think about for too long.

I've been excited for this one for a while; I'm sorry that it was pretty late, but I at least managed to get it out on the right day.

Next week is gonna be another interesting one because it's another group that tend to be villainised quite a bit! Thieves & Rogues are up next.

my friends homestuck ocs!!

A Knight of Void would be someone who protects the Void, thus being this secret keeper. However they can start struggling with this, putting up this facade on being reliable in some way, show themself as smart? They usually develop into this Secrecy, skills like bluffing, lying, and pokerfaces. These are not natural to Knights of Void, but it will soon become second nature to them. They come in sessions that usually lack void, and they must make do with the VOID they do have on them, which is usually something inner within them. Which sounds weird, but makes sense (to me at least)! Too much going on? They'll use that downtime with nothing to do to the best of their ability. People are being way too honest and it's hurting the sessions integrity? Tell them to shut up and keep a secret!

HORUSS. A Page of Void is similar to Knights, being devoid of their aspect, not knowing how to keep a secret, what is or isn't true, struggling with concept of secrets. They may grow insecure about this! They might bring attention to things best kept secret. Even if they subconsciously show some signs of the Voidbound, hiding themself away to protect themself, they must still grow into the role of a true Voidbound, learning how to lead with NOTHING, with secrets, with lies. How to keep everyone together through such means. They go from having nothing, to still having that nothing, but with the limitless potential of... Nothing! They might turn into a being that you cannot find, protecting what they hold dear in a way they might LITERALLY disappear.

A Witch of Void, one who manipulates the unknown. Someone who manipulates secrets, Witches however has an abundance of their aspect, whether it be everything about them is a lie, they keep things about themselves in darkness, or have a bunch of Literal Nothing to them, own nothing keep nothing, not a hoarder! They meddle more selfishly (but not a bad way), they weave themselves into other peoples secrets, whether but accident or not, they keep these secrets, but a more malevolent witch may use this as blackmail,.,... Manipulation.... Witches arent inherently bad but can def have the evil BAD potential.

Heir of Void, Equius Zahhak Classpect, one who is changed by nothing, or changes through nothing. They accept the void, whether this brings solitude or accepting into the secrets. They can be meaningless in some way, but revel in it! Or love the fictional, as it isn't real, but imagining their world just like it. They undo and redo, they change through these acts, or make change through them. They can hear lifechanging secrets, keep it to themselves. But it changes them for better or worse. No matter what, their aspect will change them or the world greatly.

Thief of Void, steals Nothing? for themself. They hoard secrets, lies, nothing, the dark. they will take it and never let go. Best secret keeper! but still may not be reliable... As they don't keep it for YOU, they keep it for THEMSELF. They might be not secretive themself, being quite truthful actually, but due to that they might be the greediest little shit to find secrets on other. Never truly achieving a sufficient amount, they will take without knowing the meaning of the aspect, but cause of this, they can steal the unlimited potential of Void, making Something they want FROM NOTHING. Much like Roxy as the Rogue of Void in Canon, she makes something for someone else out of nothing. Cause she "stole" from nothing. However with this greed to take from the void, they might find themself overcompensating just "stealing" more and more and more and more. The balance on their void is weird, they'll take but they'll never have a void around them.

Rogue of Void, Roxy Lalonde's classpect, where you don't take for yourself, you take for others. They don't want to be invisible, or feel uncomfortable in this area of being forgotten. So they take all this, and share it with their closest allies, or random people if desperate enough. They want attention, but will always end up being forgotten temporarily, whether it be short or long! They will do anything for others, and they will give anything from their aspect, for others. They take from the void to make anything with the potential, to appease anyone surrounding them.

Prince of Void, You are not lying to this person, they will sniff out the truth! They want attention, they want to have truth out there. Don't want to keep secrets, don't want to LIE. However this will be futile to a prince, as their aspect is a key part of them. They will try and reject their aspect, but will always come back to it. It can come out in a number of ways, having their own secrets, telling a white lie every while, having a facade of their own. Anything that brings them back to the aspect they try to deny. These princes are aware of the NOW, not the past and future. They want the TRUTH NOW and will not hesitate. 

Prince of Void side note. I think there's one non-homestuck character that's the PERFECT Prince(cess) of Void. Kurara Oozusuki from The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. She is someone who HATES secrets and lying to others, her "best friend" she feels like she can't trust over ONE LIE. But this is hypocritical of her, as she gives herself a facade to deal with her own issues. She wears a big tomato mask to APPEAR confident, and she acts SUPER confident and cocky, but without it? She is her true self who is super anxious ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. She denies her true self, making this facade despite her hate of someone who doesn't show their true self. She also engineers weapons of destruction, overcompensation for her aspect.

Bard of Void. They allow destruction of nothing. They do not seek it, but is always drawn to it. They might be someone who is very informative, or at least bringing people to information, allowing them to passively destroy gatekeeping information and secrets, the Void. Then they go much more into this state of Destroying that information. Going from secret sharing to never telling a soul. Leaking documents to Redacting any mention of a thing. That, or it could go the opposite, being a fairly secretive person, to someone who shares everything everywhere. They destroy their aspect, or through their aspect.

Maid of Void, someone who creates nothing, however has that abundance once again. They might dislike this, They may create the positive aspects of void in themself, being content in nothing, calm with not sharing the truth. But will face the negative factors of this in others, not being part of knowing the truth in groups, being ignored every once in a while. They face both sides of this Abundance, and this can grow tiring. They might not get themselves though, being content in the calm of the Void, but also not facing who you truly are, no one knows who you are deep inside. But they grow honest, they keep the aspects of void, but mature into someone who can function without it. No longer abundance, but a good level. 

A Sylph of Void would be someone who casts doubt on what's already known, they would find secrets, and despite their meddlesome nature, would tend to play along with secrets. Void players are apart of the unknown, secrets, literal nothingness and is a canvas for limitless potential. They are apart of their aspect, so they tend to create and not only create and leave it, they'll add to it, a spruce up if you will. So they will keep secrets and lies, and keep it til their deathbed. However this comes with people coming to YOU for information, whether you give it or not is up to you. You help people with their secrets, not just protecting said secrets.

Mage of Void, They understand everything about the void, they can keep secrets, know how to lie effectively, and point out when someone is lying or keeping a secret. They understand the darker sides of people that are kept hidden. They always find ways to get information, even if it seems like it came from Nowhere, they might know something in the back of their head without realizing, and pull it out at the perfect moment. However despite their knowledge of the unknown, they might not feel particularly confident, being insecure and feeling meaningless. They might also miss the big picture of things, focusing on the small details of secrets and lies and "nothing"

Mimmet Panton, Derse, Bard of Void

They/Them

Painting in your... normal paints? Oh, this is Beforus? No blood, then?

Paints impressions for an audience, including those which nobody else can see

Speaks only in their paintings

me n my irls god tiered!

Manipulate

Witch(-), Sylph(-)

Understand

Mage(-), Seer(+)

Steal

Thief(-). Rogue(+)

Preserve

Knight(-), Page(+)

Destroy

Prince(-), Bard(+)

Create

Maid(+), Heir(+)

Command

Lord(--), Muse(++)

Main / Aspects&Castes / Sway&Species

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