#mcd classpecting

Hello everyone and welcome to “Xyx mashes the mythos of their first fandom with the characters of their other first fandom because they’re so normal.” Wherein I classpect the characters of MCD to better analyze them, their actions, their relations to other characters, and their individual values, as well as their place within the canon. Classpecting is a typology originating from a webcomic called Homestuck. It is a wildly complex and intriguing system and can be learned standalone, meaning you do not actually have to read Homestuck to learn how to classpect yourself. I highly encourage anyone who loves character analysis to look into the intricacies of classpecting. This is a good document to start with, giving a general overview, but some nuances and teeny tiny minute details are left out. You can find more by doing a quick Google search and there’s tons of videos on YouTube. Introductions aside, let’s get into it-

Why not start with a fanatical fan favorite? You know him. You love him.

The Casanova of Meteli, The Mage of Rage, Laurence Zvahl

In Laurence’s introduction the very first thing he ever does in the series is try and flirt with Aphmau. Confused and taken aback, Aphmau immediately screeches for him to cool his jets, after which he introduces himself properly. His flirtatiousness is a behaviour he keeps up throughout the series. However, he himself identifies it as a mask. A character he puts on rather than himself, telling Aphmau “I guess I act this way because I’m not really interested in any of them. I just don’t know how else to conduct myself.” There is a common theme within the Rage aspect of the theatre. Alongside this mask he’s created for himself, Laurence often uses flowery, performance-like language. He uses pretty words like “alas” and waxes poetic almost as if it’s a part of him rather than an extension. He is a person who lies for the greater good. When Cadenza goes missing he says, “We’ll come up with some kind of story to keep everyone safe from the wrath of a father and lover.” He even uses the word story himself as though he’d rather put on some semblance of a stage play than tell the people nothing. 

The Ragebound are defined as bringers of chaos but in Laurence’s case, I don’t think he does it on purpose. The Ragebound are known to be “bringers of confusion and doubt.” While Laurence’s first ever action was to flirt with Aphmau his first words to her were actually “Oh my.” That is such a non-specific statement but it dredges up a sort of confusion and sinking feeling deep in your stomach if a man you had never met were to start a conversation with “Oh my.” It could be a good thing, maybe you look especially nice today. Or it could be a bad thing, what if there’s something stuck in your hair you didn’t know about. It turns out to be a positive comment when Laurence then proceeds to liken Aphmau’s beauty to a pearl of Atlantis, but for a split second, you’re unsure. 

The Extended Zodiac states that the Ragebound can be “frustratingly difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea”. Laurence is a shining example of this trait. He attaches himself to the idea of Aphmau to haul himself through the process of becoming a Shadow Knight. He latches on to the idea of Aphmau so hard that when forced to say he does not love her by the king of the South-Eastern Wolf Tribe, he is physically incapable of doing so, leading to the order of his execution. 

The Ragebound also deal in absolutes. The way Laurence perceives Aphmau’s love for him is an absolute. He knows she will never love him the way he loves her. The way Laurence decided it was immoral for Garroth to keep his relation to O’Khasis a secret was absolute. You either tell her or I will, which resulted in a fight. His absolute conviction to staying by Aphmau’s side. The absolute madness of The Calling and the slaughtering of the wolf tribe. All of these things are things that Laurence cannot comprehend being undefined, uncertain, or ideas that need compromise. To him they are all solid entities, not necessarily easy to define, but most certainly definable. 

There is a common idea that the Rage aspect is when you add limitations to yourself and your decisions through fear, anger, or skepticism, and are prone to paranoia. Laurence does this constantly with his thinking of “No, I can’t be around these people. I’ll hurt them.” Laurence consistently and constantly lets his status as a Shadow Knight define what he can and/or cannot do. It’s honestly frustrating to watch. He pushes everyone to a distance because he believes that he has fundamentally become a pretty bomb. The Calling ready to take him at any given moment and him fearing that he’ll let it. 

But Xyx, doesn’t Laurence have a lot of Time-bound traits? Yes, he sure does!

Following the theory of overwriting aspects (such as Rose’s Light being infected with an overcharge of Void in the Homestuck source material) it can be theorized that the Shadow Knights all suffer from an overload of Time thanks to Shad practically pouring it down their throats like motor oil into an engine. Time is just as much an aspect of… well, time, as it is an aspect of death. The steady clockwork of one's heartbeat or the decaying of a body over infinite hours. 

The Extended Zodiac defines those bound to the aspect of Time as “fighters, full stop”, and that their lives are “often marked by struggle”. While this is true for Laurence, this is true for every Shadow Knight. The Timebound are also described as relentless problem solvers at their best and ruthless, defensive, and impulsive at their worst. Sure, these are all traits that can be applied to Laurence, but these are general traits that can be applied to plenty of characters. Laurence does not have the bigger traits of a Time player. Not without Shad’s influence. Laurence does not partake in any metamorphosis or reinvention. Not without Shad’s influence on him as a Shadow Knight. Laurence does not have a hand in death and decay without the death and decay Shad gives to all his Shadow Knights. The Timebound’s need to move to their own rhythm. For nearly all of season one Laurence crafts a persona to move deliberately to other people’s rhythm. Albeit his persona is different before and after his experiences in the Nether, he still creates one based on other’s view of him. First for the women of Meteli and then later as a strong, infallible protector when in reality he’s suffering through the confusion and frustration of what’s happened to him. 

I think we can sufficiently call Laurence a Hero of Rage. But what about his class? I think Laurence would best be described as a mage.

A mage is one who understands their aspect and who understands through their aspect. As such, mages experience their aspect differently than other classes. Unlike most classes who have to learn and fiddle with their aspect, mages just know. This is my biggest reasoning for the whole ‘Laurence doesn’t use Rage on purpose” argument. He’s so intrinsically locked into it that it’s a part of him. To him, the use of Rage is perfectly natural. 

Mages often suffer tragedy at the hand of their own aspect. In an incredibly small sense this is the confusion and bewilderment he causes everytime he flirts with Aphmau. It’s the turbulence from Garroth whenever he, again, flirts with Aphmau. In a more major sense this is the distress of Ungrth’s death and the unsettling choice Aphmau is forced to make when he comes back as a Shadow Knight and Garroth insists he upkeep the Guard’s Oath, putting Laurence’s life in her hands. 

Mages are also predisposed to be selfish. Laurence continues his advances towards Aphmau not because she reacts positively towards them, but because he finds them entertaining. He pokes at Garroth in Malachi’s castle because he wants Aphmau to know what Garroth is hiding. A mage is someone who uses their aspect to their own benefit and Laurence, for all intents and purposes, did benefit from those decisions. 

Classes are all connected to archetypes. The mage is connected to the archetype of the Prophet. This is the part where I remove us from MCD and into some real world connections. I’m talking about Laurence as The Blind Prophet. The Blind Prophet is a trope that shows up in many stories, the most popular of which being Tiresias in Greek mythology. 

Most of Tiresias’s mythology revolves around his sex change, which, hey. Trans Laurence? But putting that aside, Tiresias was a prophet of Apollo, who presides over music, song, dance, and poetry. So various aspects of the theatre? 

I am very confident in calling Laurence a Mage of Rage.

There’s a missing third thing though, his lunar sway. 

Lunar sway is far easier to determine. It’s based in how you see the world. Whether you lean more pessimistic or optimistic. That’s a bit oversimplifying, but compared to what the hell is going on with everything else it’s allowed to be simple. 

Laurence is pretty easily dropped right into Prospit. He’s personable, intuitive, and incredibly trusting of those he’s close with. Extroverts are often Prospit dreamers and his default temperament is nonchalant and amiable. 

Laurence’s debut episode was posted on May 5th. We don’t have any canon birthdays so for all intents and purposes I’m going to be using their debut date as their “birthday” to determine their zodiac. 

The Extended Zodiac puts Laurence, a Ragebound Prospitian Taurus, under the label of Tauricorn, sign of the Gratified. I didn’t talk about blood castes because it doesn’t exactly translate cleanly into MCD, but for all intents and purposes I’ll relay some traits of the Bronze caste copy pasted from the web page itself. 

“Bronze Signs have a warm and generous disposition, but you might not accuse them of it the first time you meet. They have a tendency toward being withdrawn and slow to open up with new people. This can make them come off as arrogant and cold, like they think they are too good for everyone, although the reality couldn't be further from the truth.They crave stability and safety, and if they have the means, their homes will be full of beautiful things. Some might accuse them of being hedonistic; they would probably just claim to know what they like. As lovers they can be quite needy, wanting assurances that the affection they feel is reciprocated.”

While a lot of these traits apply to Laurence, I wouldn’t call him withdrawn and cold upon introduction. That guy came in hot. I wouldn’t call him arrogant either. Also I wouldn’t quite know where to place the adjective “gratified” on him. 

Personally, even though Laurence doesn’t necessarily strike me as a Libra, I would put him in the Teal caste. This would make him a Libicorn, sign of the Dismantler. Once again pasting in some teal traits from the web page;

“Teal Signs are natural charmers. Social and flirtatious, they are great at parties and public speaking events. They aren't afraid to use their many engaging qualities in both personal and business ventures. They have a strong moral sense. Right and wrong are very obvious to a Teal Sign, and it can frustrate them that others don't see the world the same way they do. They have vibrant imaginations, and enjoy fiction and roleplaying, and often those games will resemble the lives they want to be living. Unfortunately, they have a tendency to get involved with people who are very obviously wrong for them out of a desire not to be alone.”

Laurence is an incredibly natural charmer. His strong moral sense drives a lot of his decisions. The way he interacts with Aphmau like it’s a game is a mockery of a life he would love to be living. If you have an interest in LaurGene then that last statement of getting involved with the wrong people is obviously for you. Lastly, dismantler is an adjective that is very easily applied to Laurence. I bring it up a lot, but again at Malachi’s castle, dismantling Garroth’s secrecy. Dismantling what it means to be a Shadow Knight. Hell, even his current plotline is whatever rebellion he’s got going on in the Nether to quite literally dismantle it.