#muse class

This felt like a good idea for something to put out before I put my Knight & Page analysis out there, since I plan on making this a 6 part series. (Potentially 7 if demand for a Lord/Muse addendum is high enough).

So, I'll be laying out my most important philosophies on the subject here for future reference.

Classpecting is...

Point A. Classpecting is malleable.

There is not one rigid, set definition for any Class pair, or any Aspect pairing. The freedom of the author is that they may assign any symbolism to a concept that they may like.

What I mean by this is that people often seem to think that manifestations of an Aspect within Homestuck's narrative paint that object or idea as a concept inherently tied to that Aspect.

Example: Pumpkins & Void. You would not believe the amount of people in the early fandom who swore by the idea that pumpkins were inherently just Void constructs because of their role in Homestuck's narrative.

No? Pumpkins symbolise Void in Homestuck itself and Homestuck itself only only due to a running gag inherent to Homestuck itself.

Anything, with enough narrative basis and existing thematic ties, can serve to symbolise an Aspect. Furthermore, two different authors may have different ideas of what Aspect something represents.

Some authors may see alcohol, for example, as a Void-bound concept owing to its obfuscation of fair judgement. Some may see it as a Light-bound concept owing to the idea of 'in vino veritas' and the tendency of drunkenness to induce truthful confessions. Some may see it as a Life-bound concept owing to its associations with hedonism and impulsive behaviour.

With enough narrative consistence, anything is possible. Homestuck's narrative is not as rigid of a point of reference as some people would swear by it being. This is deeply important.

Point B. Classpecting is not the whole of a character.

I can't exactly phrase this in a satisfactory manner, but... a Classpect is not a personality type in of itself. An individual being a Prince of Heart does not instantly make them Dirk Strider. It merely means that their core value is identity & selfhood, and they interact with it by destroying it. It is that simple!

I see, time and time again, Classpecting blogs acting as if a Classpect is indicative of a character's whole personality and giving guides as to the exact behaviours & quirks a character with that Classpect should have.

I am imploring you to explore wider possibilities when it comes to this. Even if it means sharing a title with a canon character! It doesn't mean you have to just rewrite that canon character because that's not how Classpecting works.

I've seen fanventure characters share titles with canon characters. (Sovereignstuck's Annomi Errata & Dynama Zarrow sharing titles with Dirk & Porrim respectively, and Porrim herself is also a player in that narrative, mind you!)

I've seen fanventure characters share titles with eachother. (Vast Error's Dismas Mersiv is a Rogue of Mind. One of my fantrolls is also a Rogue of Mind!)

In every instance, they are fundamentally different people. I cannot put it any simpler than this.

Point C. Classpecting is always applicable.

That is the perfection of the Classpecting system. You can give a title to any character, from anything ever made. It's not even that difficult if you're half-decent at media analysis!

Quite literally all you need to do is ask yourself two questions.

"What's this character's core value?" and "How do they interact with that?" Do that, and you've got yourself a Classpect.

That's the beauty of it! It's obviously not going to be as airtight as a story that has the Classpecting system baked directly into the narrative, but it's still going to work out!

Hell, do it to yourself! Do it to your friends! The world's your oyster. You can do anything you want, forever, for the rest of time. I'm a Seer of Life! My best friend is a Page of Blood! My mother is a Witch of Hope! Go wild.

Post formatting

For my Classpecting posts, I'll aim to give two related definitions for every Class.

Definition A is the narrative function, what the Class says about the person and how they interact with their Aspect as an abstract concept.

Definition B is the practical function, what the Class says about their role in the session and how they interact with their Aspect as a SBURB construct.

Therefore, we get an idea of both the abstract, personal definition of a Classpect, and the functional, game application of a Classpect.

I'll also aim to give about two or three examples for each individual title about how you could write a character with them, since there are always going to be multiple directions you can take with a Classpect.

Conclusion

tl;dr - what I'm trying to say is this. Classpecting is malleable, easily applicable & capable of saying any number of things, and my posts will aim to give two concise definitions of both narrative and practical function for every title.

I'll get the Knight:Page analysis done either today or tomorrow, and the rest of the Class posts will be staggered releases in order of poll results. Thus, the order is going to be:

Knights & Pages, Deficiency and Exploitation.

Mages & Seers, Experience and Comprehension.

Witches & Heirs, Adherence and Manipulation.

Princes & Bards, Instability and Destruction.

Thieves & Rogues, Inundation and Redistribution.

Maids & Sylphs, Maintenance and Generation.

And, potentially...

7. Lords & Muses, Absolution and Dominion.

And then, subsequently, the order for the Aspect posts, which I've decided based on relevance to the canon, roughly speaking anyways...

Space & Time, Genesis and Terminus.

Breath & Blood, Fluidity and Stability.

Light & Void, Potential and Simplicity.

Heart & Mind, Instinct and Dialectics.

Life & Doom, Progress and Stagnation.

Hope & Rage, Conviction and Iconoclasm.

so im trying to analyze Lil Hal's character before prototying into a classpect, one that makes sense (to me at least?? idk i dont ask people stuff about my hcs often) and doesn't overlap with any of the alphas or betas classpects. i am stuck between these two classpects, that seem to have quite a bit of overlap in regards to how Lil Hal's character developed after being put inside the shades:

Mage of Mind and Muse of Mind.

while i have a feeling Mage makes more sense, the overlap it holds next to Muse is kinda confounding to disect! your help would be greatly appreciated!

-Project

hey there! thanks for asking in!

i’m happy to help, and i think you’re totally right on both fronts! mind makes the most sense out of the four remaining options (doom, rage, blood, and mind), as it is the opposite of heart, which makes sense in a narrative lens, as well as being associated with the brain and the consciousness, both of which are important to hal’s character.

the more confounding question is which class, then. out of the four remaining standard classes (mage, bard, sylph, and thief), mage is definitely the best fit, as hal is neither a destructive nor healing force, and doesn’t have the bravado and narrative role required of a thief - though if anything, i would say he’s very rougelike. but mage has the very interesting negative aspect relationship, and hal’s relationship to his own tedious existence is... less than positive. i would’ve never considered the master classes, but i must say that muse is a great pick, especially taking into mind how dirk oftentimes has a lot of lord-like qualities. plus, hal is a very passive character pre-prototyping, having little-to-no influence on the plot beyond affecting relationships - and acting as another character to do so, not even as himself.

From the dawn of 2009, it has been the Homestuck's duty to assign characters from different media a title from their RPG-inspired typology system. Although it is full of holes, has little cannon info, and can be interpreted in so many ways it is honestly pointless to argue about which character is which Classpect, it is my duty as not only a Homestuck, but as a Tumblr blogger to assert that my interpretation is right and that everyone else is wrong.

So here is why Chara is so obviously a Muse of Time, it is actually atextual to suggest any other classpect.

First of all, Toby Fox is a Homestuck fan. He read the comic, he wrote a comic, and he made music for the comic. Therefore, it is not unthinkable that we can look to Chara's design, and dialogue, for clues for their classpect.

Chara was inspired by the Cherubs. The red cheeks, their Al-like speech patterns, their green shirt, their focus on absolutes, the way they were briefly a part of an entity that fought with itself, they have a sibling relationship with someone who is very much their opposite (at least at the time,) it is all very much Cherub inspired. This will be important later.

Secondly, let's look at their ideology. Aspect is the themes that follow you, which informs how you see the world. Chara is very much focused on power. They want all of it they can have. They define themselves by it, and the chase for it. They are noted to be very efficient and particular in how they pour their water, and it is not a stretch to say they keep these traits are probably a key part of their personality. Additionally, they are surrounded by death. They die, cause the death of another, and are only encountered in the route where you kill everyone. You only see them in sepia-toned flashbacks of the past otherwise, or if you believe in the NarraChara theory, narrating the present, using their words to define how we experience Undertale in the moment. Yeah, this is a Time-bound character no doubt.

Thirdly, let's talk about their role in the story. This is what defines their class, and is the tricker part of classpecting. Chara is defined by absence. The fact that their name is actually their name, not Frisk's, is the twist at one of the ends of the game. They are only vaguely alluded to by those that know them, and they don't have a voice bite. We only encounter them in a route where they are pushed so far we don't know if their personality is what we see, and it's at the end of the hardest route too. It would be easier to say Chara is a complete non-character, except...they are the reason the game happens. Their choices indirectly lead to Asgore causing the war, which directly impacts every character in the game. They impact Asriel so much that he is only saved when reminded of them. In fact, much of Asriels/Flowey's actions are defined by Chara's impact on them, and Undertale as a story would have to be completely rewritten without them. Hell, if you believe in NarraChara, they are the narrator. Imagine playing Undertale without the iconic narration! This is all a dead ringer for the Muse class. They are the indirect, most passive, almost absent character that ends up impacting absolutely everything.

Chara is a Muse of Time, baby.

(Oh, and about that cherub stuff? The only two Classpects of the Cherubs we know are the Lord of Time and the Muse of Space. The Lord has iconic red cheeks, and the Muse becomes the Narrator in half of the epilogues. Checkmate, atheists!)

[IMAGE ID: three horizontal flags with nine stripes. the middle stripe is twice as large as the rest of them, which are equally sized. the first flag has these top three colors: light grey, navy blue, and black. the second flag has these top three colors: light grey, deep blue, and black. the third flag has these top three colors: light grey, deep purple, and black. each flag has these bottom six stripes: medium purple, off-white, medium purple, teal-blue, light warm grey, and medium grey. END ID.]

muclasulean: a gender connected to being a (homestuck class) muse ceruleanblood; this gender is connected to the muse class, muse class aesthetics, ceruleanbloods/cobaltbloods from homestuck/hiveswap, forms of telepathy, such as mind reading or mind control, and if the user deems it appropriate, eyes and eye-related mutations.

muclasindigo: a gender connected to being a (homestuck class) muse indigoblood; this gender is connected to the muse class, muse class aesthetics, indigobloods from homestuck/hiveswap, physical strength or power, arrows, and if the user deems it appropriate, robotics or inventing.

muclasipleblood: a gender connected to being a (homestuck class) muse purpleblood; this gender is connected to the muse class, muse class aesthetics, purplebloods from homestuck/hiveswap, psychic abilities such as mind reading, clowns and/or juggalos, and if the user deems it appropriate, religion.

Val is a Lord of Heart and Cupid is a Muse of Heart ❤︎₊ ⊹

Mage knows how to screw in a lightbulb but won’t tell you.

Sylph goes around unscrewing lightbulbs humming to themself.

Muse preaches about the value of darkness but doesn’t actually unscrew anything.

Knight slingshots every lightbulb in the house.

Am I thinking too much?