#hope classpects

Know - Too Much Experience with Hope

A player who gains thorough understanding of [Commitment and Justice] through near constant good and bad experiences with [Conviction and Ideology], and uses their understanding of it in a practical way to progress

A Mage of Hope is almost constantly experiencing conviction and ideological beliefs in the people around them and their surroundings, which gives them a unique understanding of how commitment to a cause and justice for a cause can help a situation... or hurt a situation.

Mages are flooded with their aspect, uniquely experiencing both the good and the bad of it. As a result, they gain a unique understanding of what their aspect is or does, often resenting it or becoming jaded and frustrated with it, but never rejecting it. Their challenge is to become open to new insight or different perspectives than their own.

Inverse Classpect Analysis of Mage

Mage of Hope: Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice) is actively there. Too much experience with aspect causes innate understanding of it.

Inverse: Heir of Rage

By experiencing the active presence Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice), the Mage passively changes Rage (Skepticism, Truth-seeking, Rebellion, Stubbornness) in others as they understand Hope.

Embodiment of Rage (Skepticism, Truth-seeking, Rebellion, Stubbornness) in others is changed by the Mage's experience with Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice).

The analysis written above is my own writing, analysis, and thoughts. The statements are my own analysis, but they may function as a “fill in the blank” statement for you to create your own interpretation of the classpect as you please.

Absolutely! It's my opinion that the Hope Aspect, like a few other aspects and what they're named after, is fairly misunderstood because of the connotations the word "hope" has. The Hope Aspect is also one I gained a better understanding of by comparing it alongside its inverse.

The word "hope" has some pretty positive connotations to it. Dreams, longing, yearning for something better, holding on, so on and so forth. These aren't wrong when thinking of the Hopebound, but they're certainly not the full picture of what the Hope Aspect has to offer. And, like the other 11 aspects, the Hope Aspect isn't necessarily good or bad; it is inherently neutral, with the potential to be either good or bad.

From The Extended Zodiac, I pulled these keywords from the Hope Aspect description. These would be the "canon" traits; they are what I adhere to when analyzing, but it should also be understood that this concept encompasses much more to do with than these keywords. Its "vibe", if you will, is much more than what is written.

TEZ Hope Keywords: Conviction, justice, aid, black and white thinking, imagination, dreams, better future, positive, caring, warm, (narrow-minded, selfish)

What really caught my attention in the canon description for the Hope Aspect was the descriptor "narrow-minded". It painted an interesting picture; that someone can be narrow-minded at their worst when their drive is towards that of a better future.

My chosen words for the Hope Aspect are "Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice". I felt that the drive for many Hopebound is their sense of justice; they believe the things they do because they have a sense of justice. However, it's also important to keep in mind that one person's idea of justice is not always another person's idea of justice. (The Death Penalty debate is a good example of what I mean, but there are a lot of other good examples out there too).

The other word I chose for the Hope Aspect that didn't come from the TEZ was "ideology", which I felt encompassed many of the words on the list and off the list. Ideology is what a person believes; this can be religion, one's moral compass, true (or false) education, government systems, propaganda, so on and so forth. Ideology focuses on the system of beliefs a person has, and so the Hope Aspect also focuses on both personal beliefs, and systems in general (the government system, the education system, etc). This is perhaps why Ragebound tend to be anarchists and punks. Since the Hope Aspect is about beliefs, these beliefs can be anything. There's a lot of room in the Hope Aspect to look like other aspects if someone's ideology happens to match up with, say, the Life Aspect, or the Light Aspect, or any of the other aspects. There's a lot of wiggle room, but ultimately, the Hopebound do what they do because they hold fast to their beliefs and adhere to the systems that are in place which support their beliefs.

Like with Gamzee and Kurloz, the Hope Aspect doesn't get a full spotlight with Eridan (Prince of Hope) and Cronus (Bard of Hope) representing it, as the destroyer classes tend to skew the understanding of an aspect. However, for what Eridan's classpect was, he certainly was written up to it; the Prince uses hope to destroy hope, because he cannot grasp it or control it despite its abundance around him. His connection to the Hope aspect is fairly apparent in his Pesterquest route, actually, with how he talks about gender roles and his desire to be gender non-conforming and supportive of it, but he just can't grasp that for himself despite believing in it (ironically, because he's a shitty person via actively destroying the Hope of others). He also, in the next breath, proceeds to spout some pro-hemospectrum system bullshit, which I feel really does represent how narrow-minded he can be on certain subjects. Cronus is written flatly, but as a Bard of Hope, he has too much control over Hope, and that actually scares him. He allows Hope to deteriorate by actively enhancing Rage in others; this might be why he comes off as a playboy and a coward, and why so many people don't like being around him.

The analysis written below is my own writing, analysis, and thoughts. The statements are my own analysis, but they may function as a “fill in the blank” statement for you to create your own interpretation of the classpect as you please.

-aortaObservatory

Rogue of [Hope]:

Allocate - Too Much Value towards Hope

A player who allows others to take [Conviction and Commitment] from within themself while also redistributing any previously existing [Conviction and Commitment] around them to balance [Ideology and Justice] in others and/or others' circumstances

A Rogue of Hope would redistribute, allow others to take, and/or give committed conviction to others in the name of balancing justice born from their ideological beliefs.

Rogues give their aspect away, either because they have a lot of it already, or are able to get it so easily they don't know what to do with so much of it. They often know the true value of their aspect, and are able to see where there is too much or too little of their aspect and redistribute it in a balanced way around themselves. Their challenge is to not let their aspect run dry within themself, and to learn how to healthily balance their aspect in themself.

Inverse Classpect Analysis of Rogue

Rogue of Hope: Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice) is passively influenced. Too much value towards aspect leaves no means to allocate it to the self, giving it for care of others.

Inverse: Knight of Rage

By passively valuing Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice), the Rogue actively utilizes Rage (Skepticism, Truth-seeking, Rebellion, Stubbornness) in others as they give Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice) away.

Knight of [Hope]:

Utilize - Too Much Skill with Hope

A player extremely skilled with [Conviction and Commitment], and actively uses every part of [Ideology and Justice] as a tool to defend themselves and those around them

A Knight of Hope would be extremely adept at using their own conviction and commitment to their cause to protect their cause, driven by their ideology/belief in their cause, using it to achieve justice for their cause.

Knights are extremely adept with their aspect, their driving effort to protect it and others through it. They are loyal to their aspect's cause and naturally gifted with it, using it as a tool to achieve whatever they set themself to. Their challenge is to learn how to be less harsh on themselves, to accept and learn from failure, and to accept the assistance of others when they need it.

Inverse Classpect Analysis of Knight

Knight of Hope: Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice) is actively there. Too much skill with aspect causes innate utilization of it.

Inverse: Rogue of Rage

By being actively skilled in Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice), the Knight passively gives Rage (Skepticism, Truth-seeking, Rebellion, Stubbornness) to others as they utilize Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice).

Value of Rage (Skepticism, Truth-seeking, Rebellion, Stubbornness) in others is given by the Knight's skill with Hope (Conviction, Ideology, Commitment, Justice).

The analysis written above is my own writing, analysis, and thoughts. The statements are my own analysis, but they may function as a “fill in the blank” statement for you to create your own interpretation of the classpect as you please.