#bartle

The fact that Aaron has gone to live with Adam makes Danny Miller leaving Emmerdale almost bareable........almost

*this post is a translation of my work on VK. Other translations will be tagged appropriately*

It has been a long time since one particular Mage of Blood has promised to make a comparison post for Classes, but what else to do on a quarantine? So here we are. I am going to compare those roles which cause the most confusion and mistakes during "on the field" Classpecting, since otherwise the post would be enomorous. Thus if you want to know more about differences, not mentioned here, you can send me an ask, so that I add the info you needed.

First of all, I should list all the points of comparison I will be using, so that no one gets confused in the terminology here. But there is an important detail: despite Classes being divided into groups under these points, each of the groups is actually a spectrum of traits for different archetypes. For instance, there is one called "Dependant Classes" (explained further in the post). It contains six Classes, while each of them have a different level of dependance, from the lowest to the highest. It is still comfortable to place them into one group or the other, but we should always remember that subtle traits make Classes uneven despite being under the same label. 

Аlmost all of Classes' traits can be used as branching points for comparison, some of them can be derived from the graph below.

The full list of traits and explanation goes like this:

1. Dependance-Independance — how strong the need in allies is for the Class to perform its function.

2. Activity-Passivity — these terms are quite well-known, but they actually include a vast variety of traits, which are often different for the same Class under the label of "passive" or "active". Therefore, I've cut it into distinctive parts; in the context of our current subject this trait determines whether the Class performs its function directly, is the deliver of the action (active), or indirectly, through other person's hands (passive). For example, the active Prince destroys the Aspect or via Aspect, causing the damage with his own hands, while the passive Bard is more like a catalizator and an initiator for others to break the Aspect.

3. Action-Interaction — can be mistaken with Dependance ones, but these determine whether the Class is occupied with influencing the environment or the people around him accirdingly. Corresponds with A, I and E, S Bartle's types (explained further).

4. Deficiency-Abundance of the Aspect — kind of a vague characteristic, since the topic of Aspect amount in the family system and individually is quite complicated, won't fit into this post for sure... Well, to put Deficiency-Abundance simply, it determines whether the Class is "hungry" for the Aspect and willing to put his hands on it or completely full and willing to share accordingly. 

5. Practice-Theory — practical Classes are more intuitive and prefer to act and improvise over planning first, they are better at working with their Aspect, than understanding how it works; theoretical Classes are the opposite: they absolutely have to understand how the Aspect works, but not necessarily be good at using it. Most practical Classes are Deficiency ones, theoretical - Abundance ones.

6. Basic skillness in the Aspect — I am using the word "basic", because, as I've previously stated, everything exists on a spectrum as well as many things are dynamic and changeable. The skillness in any sphere changes with time, but many people are used to think that, for example, the Knight is skilled in the Aspect, while the Bard isn't, which is not always true, though this point is still needed for the differentiation.

7. Class type — all Classes can be divided into the ones who distort, change the Aspect in any way, affect its shape (the Changing group: the Prince, the Bard, the Knight, the Page, the Witch and the Heir) and the ones who do the opposite with keeping the Aspect as it is, multiplying it, sharing it around (the Saving group: the Maid, the Sylph, the Thief, the Rogue, the Mage and the Seer). To not mistake the Changing type for the shared function of the Witch and the Heir, I will be referring to the latter as Manipulators in this post.

8. System function — can be mistaken with the individual Class function. The system function determines the overall solo effect of the Class on the Aspect balance in the session (system), which is based not so much on the personal skills as on the amount of the Aspect in the system and in the Class we are talking about, on the relationship of the Class with his Aspect. System function goes like this:

Classes that increase the Aspect greatly: Creating Classes (the Maid and the Sylph), the Page

Classes that increase the Aspect slightly: the Muse (only if we are talking about solo impact!), the Heir, the Seer, the Knight

Classes that decrease the Aspect slightly: the Lord (solo), the Mage, the Witch (changing the part of the Aspect limits the ways it can express itself), the Rogue (via dispersing it around)

Classes that decrease the Aspect greatly: Destroying Classes (the Bard and the Prince), the Thief (via concentrating it on himself)

I need to mention that despite me writing about Muses and Lords here, people in average circumstances do not take up these roles and are not born with them as titles. It is a whole another topic, too big for this post anyway.

9. Egoism (labelled egocentrism on the graph) — how much the Class prioritizes his own well-being over other people's ones. Does not always correlate with the over-the-top self-esteem.

10. The Bartle's player type — the Bartle's Classification describes four types of game players based on their relationship with other players and gaming environment. For the Classes these types are used in pairs for each Class, primary type and secondary. I won't be giving the in-depth explanation of each type, since they can be found online, only the combos for the Classes as following:

Strategists (S): SS (the Muse), SE (the Bard), SI (the Sylph), SA (the Seer)

Effectors (E): ES (the Prince), EI (the Maid), EA (the Knight)

Innovators (I): IS (the Mage), IE (the Rogue), IA (the Page)

Aces (A): AS (the Witch), AE (the Thief), AI (the Heir), АА (the Lord)

11. Overall weight of the Aspect — a number, signifying the sum of the Aspect already on Class'es hands and the Aspect he can get his hands on potentially. It describes "the weight" of Classes and the shift of the balance in Aspect pairs among inversion pairs, which in its turn influences the subjective heavyness of the role as well as the final Master Class of the person. In addition, this plays a role in the collections of roles one posesses in their Classpect profile as there are distinct formulas for the Classes' combos within related Aspects (topic for another day, though). For the inversion pairs the numbers are:

2:0 = Prince:Sylph, Bard:Maid, Mage:Heir

1:1 = Witch:Seer, Knight:Rogue, Thief:Page

12. Class category — the good-old function pairs (Relocators, Destroyers, Creators, etc.).

13. Relationship with the Aspect — some Classes coexist happily with the Aspect and it likes them back (harmonious Classes), while others don't like it that much and it returns the favor (disharmonious ones). If we make a spectrum of harmony, it would go like this:

Harmony <- +3 (Maids and Sylphs), +2 (Knights and Thieves), +1 (Heirs ans Seers); Muse

Disharmony -> -1 (Mages and Witches), -2 (Rogues and Pages), -3 (Bards and Princes); Lord

14. Inversion — some roles are impossible to differentiate without looking at their inverses. The inverse of the role is created by taking the opposite by function Class to the one you are starting with and another Aspect paired with the starting one to combine them into an inverse role. For example: the Prince of Void, the opposite Class would be Sylph and the Aspect - Light; this gives us an inversion of the Sylph of Light.

Inversion pairs for the Classes: Maid-Bard, Thief-Page, Mage-Heir, Witch-Seer, Knight-Rogue, Prince-Sylph; Muse and Lord are more analogous, than inverted.

!UPDATE STARTS!

15. Aspect source — this has stuff to do with the family system, inheritance, Activity/Passivity, but to put it simply: it is where the Class finds the Aspect to perform its function on/with. The Aspect may come from the family system of the individual (Internal) or from the people around them (External). The divide goes like this:

Internal source: Sylph, Seer, Bard, Page, Knight, Heir

External source: Maid, Mage, Prince, Thief, Rogue, Mage

!UPDATE ENDS!

So finally let's dive in the comparisons themselves. *You have no idea, how painful it is for me to rewrite the whole post after the device shut down without saving my almost done project. Anyway…* I will be highlighting only the key differences since some Classes are so far apart, that is is too hard to mix them up. 

1. Thief-Witch-Heir

Shared: all Classes are Independant, Action-oriented, Deficient, they posess the qualities of the Ace. The Heir and the Witch get mixed beacuse of thw difficulties in defining Activity, the Thief and the Heir — because of the Hunger for the Aspect, the Witch and the Thief — because of the Egoism.

Different: contrary to the Thief and the Witch, the Heir is a more Independant, Egoistic Passive Class, that Slightly increases the Aspect. What is more, he has lesser Overall weight, because the Heir doesn't attract the Aspect as much as the Thief and the Witch is more Abundant. In addition, this Class posesses the qualities of the Innovator. Unlike the Strategist Witch, the Heir is Harmonious with his own Aspect and Disharmonious with the inverted one. Apart from the Thief, there is no "hardest, fastest, strongest of them all" logic for Heirs in the Aspect. Not to mention, that overall the Heir is softer to the people around. He is just minding his own thing, without meddling with others.

Contrary to the Witch, the Thief is a more Basically skilled, Saving type Relocation Class, that Greatly decreases the Aspect. He is Harmonious with his own Aspect and Disharmonious with the inverted one (but usually nonetheless he is positive towards both), posesses the qualities of the Effector. In addition, the Witch is quite unpredictable and tries to bend the Aspect to her rules when she finds something she doesn't like.

Unlike the both Heir and Witch, the Thief has a remarkable Hunger for the Aspect, is impulsive. While the first two feel and behave as part of the group and care for others (the Heir is overall friendly, the Witch has a soft spot for a close circle of friends), the last one is self-centered and drops the team as soon as there is nothing for him to get. What is more, the Relocation takes the full transporting of the Aspect from one object/place to another, while the Manipulation needs at least one object and the Aspect isn't erased completely.

2. Thief-Knight-Sylph

Shared: all Classes are highly Basically skilled and Harmonious with their own Aspect. They get mixed up because of the perfectionism, that stems from different reasons for each Class.

Different: contrary to the Thief and the Sylph, the Knight is a Changing type Yielding Class. He is less Egoistic and his Overall weight is smaller, because of the lack of the Aspect attraction. His perfectionism is the result of the low self-confidence and high demands and standards he has set himself. The Knight is very good in the Aspect, not for the glory of being known as "the best", but to justify this in his own eyes. Therefore, he is not bragging about his achievements, quite the opposite — he is constantly loathing his excellent job, thinking of it as something hideous and "not good enough". Though likely you won't hear this from the Knight, since keeping his facade of competence is very important to him. In addition, they usually care specifically for the close circle of friends and do not play saviours with the random people just for the sake of it. Unlike the Thief, the Knight is more Disharmonious with the inverted Aspect, because the Rogues are not as compliant with their element as the Pages.

Contrary to the Knight, the Sylph is a Passive, Interaction-oriented, Abundant, Strategist-Innovator Creator Class. His system function is Greatly increasing the Aspect. He is waaaaaaay more Disharmonious with the inverted Aspect, while in the own Aspect the Sylph is not as much a perfectionist as an appreciation seeker. Thus the Sylph is going to meddle even with the unfamiliar people and show off his skills so that everyone would know how useful and precious he is. Alas, once the appreciation has been got, the mastering of the Aspect skills is no longer a goal for the Sylph. What for, anyway? Usually Sylphs are absolutely confident in their competence and they are not afraid to rub it in your face.

Unlike the Sylph, the Thief is a more Independant, Action-oriented, Deficient, Active Relocation Ace-Effector Class, that Greatly decreases the Aspect. He is less Disharmonious with his inverted Aspect and is more objective while bragging about his own Aspect achievements. The level of skillness is less valuable to the Thief than the quantity of the Aspect on hand. It is kind of like "the bigger — the better" logic. And as has been stated above, he is not as altruistic.

3. Witch-Knight-Prince

Shared: all Classes are Active, Deficient, Changing type. The Knight is here, because Witches and realized Princes often get Classpected as such (but only developed and realized Princes: Classpecting a decompensated Prince as a Knight is, well… not very well; you'll understand why).

Different: contrary to the Witch and the Prince, the Knight is more Basically skilled in the Aspect and the least Egoistic from the three. He is Slightly increasing the Aspect and is Harmonious in his own one, though more Deficient, while Disharmonious with the inverted one. What is more, unlike the Prince, this Class posesses the qualities of the Ace. Apart from the Witch, the Knight is usually more "noble", lawful and disciplined, while the latter is rebellious and flexible.

Compared to the Witch, the Prince is a more Egoistic, Dependant, Interaction-oriented, less Basically skilled Destroyer Class, that Greatly decreases the Aspect. He posesses the qualities of the Effector. While the Witch is prone to drop her playthings half the way to the goal and move onto another stuff, the Prince finishes the job due to the Sylph inverse. Unlike the Knight and the Witch, the Prince influences broad masses of people and doesn't limit himself with a tiny circle of friends. He is very Disharmonious with his own Aspect, sometimes even hateful towards it.

Contrary to the Knight and the Prince, the Witch is a more Independant, average in Basic skillness and Egoism Manipulator Class. Both the Prince and the Knight have a lower self-esteem and a higher perfectionism, than her, but the first one overcompensates with Egocentrism and the second one is convinced he is a loser in his Aspect despite all the evidence of the opposite. All in all, bragging and manipulating are more prominent in Princes and Witches.

4. Witch-Sylph

Shared: both Classes are average in Egoism, posess the qualities of the Strategists.

Different: the main problem comes from the difficulty of understanding the Creation and the Manipulation functions. The only difference is that the Witch needs to have access to the source of the Aspect to both make it stronger or weaker, while the Sylph can get the Aspect seemingly from the thin air, but afterwards can't put it away. In addition to that, unlike the Sylph, the Witch is a more Independant, Action-oriented, Changing type, Deficient Active Class and is more likely to leave her "toys", while the Sylph sticks like glue, is an Interaction-oriented, Saving type, Abundant, filled to the brim with the Aspect, Passive Class. The Witch has a lower Basic skillness, but just because it is measured among other Practical Classes, while the Sylph is a highly Basically skilled Theoretic. The system function of the first one is Slightly decreasing the Aspect and is more interested in mastering her skills (qualities of the Ace), has a higher self-esteem, whether the second one Greatly increases it and seeks social appreciation (qualities of the Strategist), has a lower self-esteem that is overcompensated to the size of arrogance. What is also important, the Witch is Disharmonious with the own Aspect and Harmonious with the inverted one, while the Sylph loves his own Aspect and hates the inverted one.

Day 8: Adam and Aaron. Bartsy. Bartle. They’ve always been one of my favourite things about the show. They’ve been through so much together, been more like brothers than Adam’s actual brothers, and they always bring out the best (and the worst) in each other. 

A few scenes that are some of my favourites that I couldn’t find were:

1. That hug that Adam gave Aaron when he came back from reporting Gordon. He couldn’t do anything other than hold Aaron, but he was there.

2. Two different things, but it’s the dynamic: Adam cheated on Victoria with Vanessa. Aaron lied to Robert about not having his watch. They both had each other’s back, but they still gave each other shit for it between them.