Classpecting Meta

A classpect literature review.

This essay was written by CMa Overdensity. Started on June 8th, 2025, and published @ cmaoverdensity.neocities.org on June 29th, 2025. Last edited July 15th, 2025.

Homestuck © VIZ Media (specific image by u/kingof557 on Reddit). This work is a nonprofit educational essay that complies with Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright, 17 U.S.C. § 107 (Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Methods
  3. Discussion
    1. Description of Class, Aspect, and Classpect
    2. Who Can Be Classpected
    3. Lunar Sway
      1. The Twelve Aspects
      2. Aspect Groupings
      3. The Aspects
        1. Space and Time
        2. Breath and Blood
        3. Hope and Rage
        4. Life and Doom
        5. Heart and Mind
        6. Light and Void
      4. Aspect Comparisons
    4. The Fourteen Classes
      1. Activity
        1. Relative Activity
      2. Counterparts and Inversions
      3. Genderlocking
      4. The Twelve Standard Classes
        1. Prince
        2. Bard
        3. Thief
        4. Rogue
        5. Mage
        6. Seer
        7. Heir
        8. Knight
        9. Maid
        10. Sylph
        11. Witch
      5. The Two Master Classes
        1. Lord
        2. Muse
      6. Class Comparisons
    5. Conclusion
    6. Application of the Data
      1. Harry Potter
      2. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
      3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica
      4. Steven Universe
      5. Myself
    7. Citations

    Introduction

    In Homestuck, upon reaching god tier, players of SBURB are given certain roles. These roles act both as game classes, such as DPS, tank, and healer, but also describe the character’s personality and how they interact with the world. These are called classpects, as they are a combination of the character’s class (equivalent to an RPG class) and aspect (their elemental power).

    Classpecting (the way in which a classpect is given) is a soft magic system. This, coupled with Homestuck’s intentionally obfuscating nature, means there are very few aspects about the system that are given plainly. Furthermore, many classes and aspects are given to characters without narrative prominence, giving fans little to go off of. But you can’t make a magic system without fans trying to figure it out, so many classpecting systems derived from Homestuck canon exist. These systems attempt to consolidate information presented in canon, make reasonable assumptions when they find gaps, and how to assign classpects both to characters and to yourself.

    However, each system is different from each other, despite drawing from the same source. What are the commonalities and differences between each system and canon?

    Methods

    Eighteen different classpecting systems were chosen for this essay, gathered from memory, Google searches, Reddit searches, and Tumblr searches. Only systems with complete descriptions - ranging from separate pages to one sentence - of all twelve standard classes and aspects were considered; any system lacking either was rejected. Systems missing discussion of lunar sways and master classes were considered due to the lack of information on both.

    The following eighteen systems are considered complete, and will be used in this essay:

    1. Bladekind Eyewear (BKEW) - earliest classpecting post published May 27th, 2012.
    2. Infinity Whale (IW) - published January 11th, 2013.
    3. Bane of Giygas (BoG) - first post about classpecting published April 27th, 2013.
    4. Wow Reviewing Fantrolls (WRF) - classpecting posts published April 29th, 2013.
    5. Dahni Witch of Light (DWoL) - earliest consolidated post (Time) published August 8, 2013.
    6. Classpeculation (CS) - first post published on August 10th, 2013.
    7. Classpector (CR) - first post published December 13th, 2013.
    8. Classpect Analysis (CA) - first archived on August 21st, 2014.
    9. Homestuck Classpects Explained (HSCE) - first post published October 29, 2014.
    10. Sylph of Hope Analysis (SoH) - first classpecting post published December 23th, 2014.
    11. CrazyLandSquid’s A Big Classpect Explanation (CLS) - published January 13th, 2015.
    12. Creative Classpect (CC) - first classpect post published January 25, 2016.
    13. optimisticDuellist’s Homestuck Examination (OD) - earliest post tagged as “Classpects” published December 3, 2017.
    14. doppio_is_best_boi's i made some class and aspect charts bc speculating abt classpects is fun (DiBB) - published October 14th, 2020.
    15. Classpect Navelgazing (CN) - published May 19th, 2022.
    16. Ouroboros’ Treatise on Classpecting (OB) - audio version published October 11, 2022.
    17. Dewdrop’s Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System (DD) - final version published September 13th, 2023.
    18. caligvlasAqvarivm’s Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide (Aq) - published December 29, 2024.

    Furthermore, the following sources of information will be factored into analysis for the sake of comparison:

    1. Extended Zodiac (EZ)
    2. Homestuck itself.
    3. Information about classpecting from Andrew Hussie, gathered from their Formspring and Q&As.

    Each system’s information was manually copied over and written into a Google Sheet spreadsheet (Raw Data). From this spreadsheet, the information was compiled and compared with each other, with repeated traits tallied (Collated Data). The following types of information were considered:

    1. How to go about classpecting an individual.
    2. If classpecting can be done on real people, or if it is restricted to fictional characters.
    3. The definitions of “class”, “aspect”, and “classpect”.
    4. Descriptions of all twelve standard classes (Bard, Heir, Knight, Maid, Mage, Page, Rogue, Prince, Seer, Sylph, Thief, and Witch).
    5. Descriptions of both nonstandard Master classes (Lord and Muse) if applicable.
    6. Whether a class is considered active or passive.
    7. The definition of what makes a class active or passive.
    8. What classes are considered counterparts (sharing the same domain but inverted activity).
    9. What classes are considered inversions (having both opposing domains and inverted activity).
    10. If the system accepts class “genderlocking” (classes restricted based on player gender) and what, if any, genders the classes have.
    11. Descriptions of all twelve aspects (Blood, Breath, Doom, Heart, Hope, Life, Light, Mind, Rage, Space, Time, and Void).
    12. The groupings of each aspect.

    Only traits that have at least two different systems agreeing on its presence will be discussed, though traits described by only one system may be brought up to support broader trends. Emphasis will be given to traits agreed on by multiple systems. For aspects and lunar sways, there are two versions of the data: with and without the Extended Zodiac. This is for the sake of comparison. Amount of systems describing a trait may be cited with full blog/page name or abbreviation, declared as a grouped-together number, or in a parenthetical number by the trait.

    Prevalences of each class and aspect will be given, derived from eridan-ampora-polls’ 2024 Tumblr-only classpect survey with 2523 votes. This was chosen over the 2025 survey due to the discrepancy in votes between the two, as the 2025 survey only had 363 votes. For lunar sway only, desireddefenestration’s 2018 pan-community classpect poll with over 1000 respondents was used, as eridan-ampora-polls did not collect lunar sway data.

    To compare systems to each other, I used ChatGPT to generate Python scripts that tallied what systems agreed with each other, how many traits they agreed with each other on, and which traits were agreed on. A Python script was also made to find the average, standard deviation, and standard error of the amount of traits each system agreed on. I accept the error that comes with using generative AI to create programs despite my testing to ensure all scripts generated worked as intended. Any programmer who wants to validate my data can use the raw data provided in my citations.

    Definitions of Class, Aspect, and Classpect

    Eight of the eighteen systems defined what a class, aspect, and classpect are.

    Three of those eight defined an aspect as being a person’s worldview, while another three described it as a person’s motivations. This is complimented by multiple systems, one apiece, relating aspects to personalities (Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide), interests (Treatise on Classpecting), impact on reality (Infinity Whale), or something a person embodies (A Big Classpect Explanation). This suggests aspects are assigned based on how a person views and interacts with the world.

    Classes, however, have a slightly stronger association with personality, as two systems describe them as such. Two describe the class as being how one relates to the aspect, either by literal relationship to it (Infinity Whale) or by how one uses the aspect (A Big Classpect Explanation). But three systems describe them as character arcs or as roles in a narrative, which is supported by Hussie, who said classes suggest “a little more about a hero’s path and role in the greater quest”.1

    A classpect is described by four systems as who someone is - a summation of their character. Common verbiage I found in these systems is that a classpect “feels like a personal attack” in that it describes you so succinctly it offends you. Given the definitions of both class and aspect prior, this is a proper description.

    Who Can Be Classpected

    Six of the fanmade systems, along with the Extended Zodiac, either explicitly state the classpecting system could be applied to real people, or such was inferred due to how the information was presented (discussion on classpecting yourself, for example). Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System is the most emphatic on real people being classpect-able, comparing classpects to psychology and relying more on real-life examples than the Homestuck text itself. Eleven systems were considered either unclear or contradictory - either not implying either way or gave mixed answers. Only one system, Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide, explicitly states that classpecting could not be applied to real people as “[real people] are complicated, [real people] contain multitudes, and [real people] don’t have arcs.” Classpect Navelgazing, considered as part of the “you can classpect real people” category, makes an exception for Bards, strating “You, dear reader, are not a Bard, I assure you.” as it describes Bards as the “facilitator of the narrative” and “they are a tool [a]nd as such are resigned to a non-arc.”

    To make a continuum, Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System is on the far end of “real people can be classpected”, the other confirmed systems fall to its right, then all of the unclear or contradictory systems, then Classpect Navelgazing, and Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide further right into “real people cannot be classpected” than everyone else.

    Lunar Sway

    “Lunar sway” describes if a player’s dreamself will wake up on either Prospit or Derse, the two moons orbiting around Skaia. Six fanmade systems described lunar sway, while the rest either lacked information, had contradictory information, or refused to describe them. Of the systems that did not have information, two (Homestuck Examination, Infinity Whale) cited canon being unclear as to what kind of people are more likely to wake up on which moons.

    Hussie themself describes lunar sway as not necessarily random, but vague. They describe the split as being active (Derse) and passive (Prospit), or that Derse is a culture of offense and aggression, while Prospit is its inverse. These traits either “rub off” on their players, or describe something they must overcome.1

    Of the seven total systems that described lunar sway, no more than two agreed on each trait, and fewer of those were between two fanmade systems and not between one fanmade system and the Extended Zodiac. If only counting inter-fanmade system agreements, Dersites are neurotic and tend towards subterfuge, while Prospitians are associated with the aspect of Hope (despite Eridan, Prince of Hope, being a confirmed Dersite). Counting systems that agree with the Extended Zodiac, Dersites are rebellious, introverted, and skeptical; while Prospitians are intuitive, trustful, and don’t plan.

    Only Translation of the Homestuck Classpecting System had lunar sway as integral to its descriptions, as each class is affected by its player’s sway. It describes the Prospit/Derse split as equivalent to “Sun and Moon”, “Order and Chaos”, “Extrovert and Introvert”, and “Dog Person and Cat Person”. Prospitians have a clear idea of what “good” is, while Dersites have a clear idea of what “evil” is.

    The Twelve Aspects

    Aspect Groupings

    Seventeen fan-made systems describe each aspect as having an inverse aspect, and each system agrees on what that inverse is. These pairings are Space/Time, Breath/Blood, Hope/Rage, Life/Doom, Heart/Mind, and Light/Void. Five systems describe domains of these pairs, describing the general area of reality that they control.

    Four of the five systems describe Time and Space as being aspects of existence, the universe, and reality itself. A similar proportion describe Heart and Mind as aspects of identity and the self, and Light and Void as aspects of knowledge. Breath and Blood are described by three systems as dealing with direction, and two as dealing with interpersonal relationships. Life and Doom are described by three systems as dealing with mortality and the progression of life to death. There was no majority for Hope and Rage, as each system described their domain differently, as the future (Treatise on Classpecting), “core of being” (Classpect Analysis), emotion (Classpector), faith in possibility (Bladekind Eyewear), and either permission or defining reality (Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide).

    Treatise on Classpecting describes more pairings of aspects based on their positionings on the aspect wheel (see cover image). Laterally, Hope and Life have the domain of growth, Rage and Doom finality, Mind and Light knowledge, and Heart and Void subjectivity. Vertically, Hope and Doom have the domain of the future, Rage and Life the status quo, Mind and Void coincidence, and Heart and Light meaning.

    Classpect Analysis groups aspects not only by domain, but their outlook, reality, and location. Outlook describes rough personality types for the aspects (optimistic or pessimistic). Reality describes if an aspect focuses on the big picture (fundamental), details (metaphysical), or emotions (emotional). Location describes how big of a picture the aspect focuses on (internal/neutral/external). Time, Blood, Rage, Doom, Mind, and Void are pessimistic, while Space, Breath, Life, Heart, and Light are optimistic. Time, Space, and Breath are fundamental; Life, Doom, and Mind are metaphysical; and Blood, Rage, and Heart are emotional. Time, Space, and Doom are externalised; Blood, Breath, and Life are neutral; and Hope, Mind, and Heart are internalised.

    The Aspects

    Space and Time

    Space was the second most chosen aspect, with 10.6% of voters identifying with Space. Space is overwhelmingly associated with creation (12). It is also associated with creativity either in general or as it pertains to the arts (8), the physical world or the universe (7), the physical properties of objects (6), birth and reproduction (4), beginnings (4), settings either in general or in a storytelling sense (3), and personal image or aesthetics (3). Kanaya supports the view of space as both physical space, but also propagation.2 It may also be associated with the present (2) and femininity (2. Space is a necessary aspect for the game (3) due to its association with frog breeding (2), also supported by canon.3 Space players may be friendly (2), good with the tangible world (2), and focused on the big picture (2). However, they may also be isolated (3), bad with abstracts (2), unfocused (2), and detached (2).

    9.9% of voters identified with Time. Time is overwhelmingly associated with destruction (10). It is also associated with death (8), endings (7), inevitability (5), rhythm and repetition (5), sufferings and conflict (4), timelines (4), pacing (4), patience (3), and music (3). It may also be associated with the past and future (2) and mechanical objects (2). It is an aspect integral to the game’s proper functioning (3), with Time players also having a Scratch construct on their lands (3), which allows them to hard reset their universe. Time players may be restless (3) and goal-focused (3), unable to be in the present (2) and caring more about the destination over the journey (2).

    Breath and Blood

    7.6% of voters identified with Breath. Breath is overwhelmingly associated with freedom (15) and air/wind/flight (11). It is associated with motion/movement (8), direction (7), change (4), detachment (4), motivation (3), and journeys (3). It may also be associated with boredom (2), fate (2), moving forward (2), spirits (2), and separation (2). Breath players are adaptable (5) and silly (4), and may be confident (2), goal-oriented (2), independent (2), carefree (2), emotionally secure (2), and quick to recover (2). They may not play SBURB as intended (2) and are hard to pin down (2). However, Breath players may also be avoidant (3), unreliable (3), self-centered (2), unfocused (2), and gullible (2).

    Blood was the third least chosen aspect, with 6.3% of voters identifying with Blood. Blood is overwhelmingly associated with bonds (11). It is also associated with responsibility (9), unity or unions (8), friendship (7), connection (6), lineage (4), relationships (3), sacrifice (3), attachment (3), and stability (3). It may also be associated with trust (2), earthiness (2), the material world (2), promises (2), and teamwork (2). Blood players may be charismatic (3), diplomatic (2), compassionate (2), and caring (2) leaders (3). They may also be temperamental (3), dependent (2), and controlling (3).

    Hope and Rage

    Hope was the second least chosen aspect, with 5.9% of voters identifying with Hope. Hope is overwhelmingly associated with faith (10) and beliefs (10). It is also associated with positive emotions (7), possibility (6), idealism (4), and angels (3). It may also be associated with dreaming (2), misdirection (2), light (2), hope (2), authenticity (2), motivation (2), trust (2), and conviction (2). Hope players are optimistic (7), and may also be imaginative (2) dreamers (2). They may want to fix the world to be what they want it to be (3). However, they may also be stubborn (2) to the point of delusion (2), and may believe they should be excepted from the rules (2). In canon, Hope is referred to as being a powerful aspect.4

    Rage was the least chosen aspect, with only 5.0% of voters identifying with Rage. Rage is overwhelmingly associated with anger (13). It is also associated with negative emotions (6), limitation (6), skepticism/doubt (5), anarchy (4), emotions (4), and fear (3). It may also be associated with destruction (2), rejection (2), despair (2), lies (2), chaos (2), base instincts (2), religion (2), drive (2), conviction (2), violence (2), authority (2), and truths/reality (2). Rage players may be passionate (3) and physically strong (2). They may burn systems down over fixing them (2), and may be immovable objects in their beliefs (2). However, Rage players may also be pessimistic (3) and think in absolutes (2).

    Life and Doom

    7.2% of voters identified with Life. Life is associated with growth (8), energy (7), life (6), healing (5), status (4), food (4), nature (4), positive emotions (3), rebellion (3), and luxury (3). It may also be associated with evolution (2), authority (2), obligations (2), wealth (2), and resilience (2). Life players are optimistic (4), and may also be eager (2) and caretaking (2). They may desire change (2). However, Life players are also stubborn (5) and may tend towards conservatism in the sense of the way things are supposed to be (2).

    7.0% of voters identified with Doom. Doom is associated with fate (8), death (8), rules (6), sacrifice and martyrdom (6), limits (5), decay and old age (4), systems (3), restraint (3), misfortune (3), and endings (3). It may also be associated with suffering (2), prophecy (2), pain (2), negative emotions (2), rest and dreams (2), order (2), and technology (2). Doom players are often pessimistic (4), though they may also be isolated (2), nihilistic (2), and gloomy (2).

    Heart and Mind

    Heart was the most chosen aspect, with 13.9% of voters identifying with Heart. Heart is overwhelmingly associated with souls (13). It is also associated with roles (8), emotions (8), intuition and instinct (6), the self (6), romance (5), identity (4), individuality (4), and true feelings (3). Calliope supports the view that Heart is associated with the self and with souls, as souls are the “essence of being”.6 It may also be associated with motivations, a single perspective, uniqueness, and positive emotions (2). Heart players are passionate (4) and may also be empathetic (2). They may care more about who you are more than what you do (2). However, they may also be irrational (2).

    8.2% of voters identified with Mind. Mind is overwhelmingly associated with decisions and choices (12). It is also associated with logic (9), thought (7), consequence (6), justice (4), games and puzzles (4), probability (3), roles (3), and deception (3). It may also be associated with equality (2), multiple perspectives (2), law (2), strategy (2), rules (2), systems (2), objectivity (2), and the mind (2). Canon supports Mind being the aspect of both decisions and probability, as Rose says Mind has control over “outcomes of decisions made by individuals”, and narration remarks that Mind deals with causality and probability.5 Mind players tend to plan (3), may be intelligent (2), and have interiority (2). They care more about how people act over who they are (2). However, Mind players may also be apathetic (2), manipulative (2), and neglectful of their emotions (2).

    Light and Void

    Light was the third most chosen aspect, with 10.3% of voters identifying with Light. Light is overwhelmingly associated with fortune and luck (13). Both Aradia and Hussie support this association.7 It is also associated with knowledge (9), relevancy (8), information (7), light (4), clarity (3), focus (3), and meaning-making (3). It may also be associated with truth (2), answers/conclusions (2), and the known/visible (2). Light players may be intelligent (2), aware (2), and talkative (2). However, they may also be obsessive (3) and have a desire to be in the spotlight (2).

    8.1% of voters identified with Void. Void is overwhelmingly associated with obscurity, secrets, and hidden things (13); along with nothing, lack, and absence (11). Calliope and Jade support this, as Calliope says that Void is “by definition inscrutable” to non-Void players, and Jade says Roxy, as Rogue of Void, can “steal the essence of nothingness from something”. Roxy’s Void powers can also turn her invisible.8 It is also associated with the Furthest Ring (6), mystery (5), irrelevancy (5), horrorterrors (4), darkness (4), addiction and alcohol (4), ignorance (3), misfortune (3), and uncertainty (3). It may also be associated with doubt (2), pumpkins (2), confusion (2), subjectivity (2), infinite possibility (2), submission (2), and obsession (2). Void players may believe that good questions ought to remain unanswered (2), though may also be apathetic (2).

    Aspect Comparisons

    Space, Hope, Life, Doom, and Mind all deal with possibilities. Space deals with the possibilities of creation, Hope the possibility of dreams, Life the possibility of growth, Doom the possibility of things going wrong, and Mind the possibility of every action.

    Void, Light, and Mind deal with certainty. Mind is the middle point between Void’s uncertainty and Light’s certainty, understanding the unknowns while not just focusing on what it does know.

    Time, Rage, and Doom have themes of destruction. Time and Doom describe an inevitable,impersonal destruction - the passage of time. Rage is more of a personal, avoidable destruction - destruction born from emotions.

    Blood, Rage, and Doom are associated with limitations. Doom describes existential limitations - a limitation set by something beyond yourself. Rage describes personal limitations - a limitation of viewpoint due to emotions. Blood represents social limitations- a limitation on freedom due to obligations to others.

    Heart, Rage, and Hope describe emotions. Heart is the middle point between Rage and Hope, describing emotions in general, while Rage and Hope describe the extremes of negative and positive emotions, though Rage is more associated with emotions than Hope.

    Time and Breath describe movement and pacing, though Time lacks the freedom of movement that Breath does, bound to repeat and never change. Breath is free to fly wherever it wishes.

    Time and Doom describe inevitability. Time is detached in its inevitability - it accepts that what events will happen will happen. Doom is seemingly the same way, though is resigned to the apparent fact that what will happen will be bad.

    Space and Life are associated with life. The reproductive nature of Space creates Life, which grows independently from its creator.

    Space and Void deal with literal space. While Space deals with the objects occupying space, Void deals with the space between objects.

    Breath and Hope describe freedom. Breath is a personal freedom, while Hope is a freedom-of-mind - being open to new ideas and not bound by old ones.

    Hope and Void deal with unknowns. Hope describes the unknowns of belief, the not-yet-but-will-be tangible. Void describes a more cosmic unknown: bringing things into being would ruin the fun of speculation.

    Hope and Heart describe a belief in the self. Hope describes one’s own beliefs, while Heart describes a literal “belief in the self” - that who you are is the most important thing about you.

    Rage and Life are associated with rebellion. Life is seemingly torn on whether it wants to uproot systems or enjoy the benefits of where it was planted. Rage burns down forests to revel in the fire.

    Rage and Void are associated with obfuscation. Rage deals in obfuscation of the truth, being skeptical of it. Void deals in a more literal obfuscation - hidden things, secrets, and shadows.

    The Fourteen Classes

    Activity

    Calliope notes that each class is assigned to be either active (-) or passive (+), with “significant disparity” between the two. While she calls the dichotomy not absolute, in general, she assigns the active classes as exploiting their aspect for themselves, while passive classes allow their aspect to benefit others.8 Despite Roxy likening it to offensive and defensive magic in an RPG, Hussie calls the dichotomy vague and unresolvable into such categories.10

    Seventeen systems described class activity. Classpect Navelgazing is the only system that rejects activity entirely, not believing anyone - including Calliope - to be reliable narrators. The classes with the most agreement on activity are Prince-, Bard+, Thief-, and Witch-, with all seventeen systems agreeing on their placements. Prince- and Bard+ are mentioned by Calliope.6 These are followed by Heir+, Mage-, Rogue+, Seer+, and Sylph+ with sixteen, though this is due to one system (Creative Classpect) not clearly labeling which were active or passive and were thus not counted towards the total. Thief- and Rogue+ are also mentioned by Calliope.9 Heir and Sylph each had one dissenter. Wow Reviewing Fantrolls does not elaborate on why they chose Heir-. Bane of Giygas also does not elaborate, but pairs Sylph- with Knight+, creating a dichotomy between active healing and passive protecting.

    The classes with the most disagreements are Maid, Knight, and Page. Fourteen systems have Maid-, thirteen have Knight-, and twelve have Page+. Maid’s three dissenters are Treatise on Classpecting, Wow Reviewing Fantrolls, and Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide. Treatise on Classpecting pairs Maid+ with Knight- as servant classes, with Maid’s “nannying” their aspect. Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide says about the same with the same counterpart of Knight-. Wow Reviewing Fantrolls does not explain its rationale, nor any class where it does dissent.

    Knight’s four dissenters are Homestuck Examination, Bane of Giygas, Wow Reviewing Fantrolls, and Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System. Both Homestuck Examination and Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System pair Knight+ with Page-, with the former describing them as “giver” classes while the latter describing them as “servant” classes. Homestuck Examination explains the difference as Knights serving others, while Pages are served by others. Bane of Giygas’s explanation was covered above with Sylph-.

    Page’s five dissenters are Homestuck Examination, Treatise on Classpecting, Wow Reviewing Fantrolls, Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System, and Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide. Homestuck Examination and Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System pair Page- with Knight+, the former’s rationale explained prior. The latter does not explain why Pages are active, but is emphatic in saying they are. Treatise on Classpecting and Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide pair Page- with Heir+, the former describing Pages as actively acquiring mastery over their aspect, while the latter describes them as stepping into power. This contrasts with the Heir’s discovery of mastery and starting with power.

    Relative Activity

    Calliope also introduces the concept of relative activity/passivity. Within each category, classes are seemingly ranked by how active or passive they are relative to other classes in that category.9

    Only three systems (Treatise on Classpecting, Dahni Witch of Light, Classpector) describe relative activity. Their rankings are given verbatim below, translated into a point scale between 1-14, where 1 is the most passive, and 14 is the most active. Numbers considered active are highlighted in red. Classpector did not give the classes a clear ranking, but instead provided them in a form like a riddle. I have reconstructed what I believe Classpector intends as the ranking, though it may be wrong.

    Given these rankings, I have averaged their activity rankings. As Heir and Page received the same average, I categorised them as active or passive based on the most agreed on category above.

    Like with canon,11 Lords and Muses are considered the most active and passive classes in all three systems. Princes are also generally agreed to be “very far on the active side” like Calliope considers them.6

    Counterparts and Inversions

    Because Calliope introduces the concept of classes being grouped together and differing in activity/passivity,9 there are also the concepts of “counterpart” classes and “inverted” classes. Classes are often described as doing some action to their aspect - destroying, creating, knowing, manipulating, etc. This is their “verb”, and only two classes can share the same verb. Classes that share the same verb differ from each other in activity/passivity - one will always be active, while the other will always be passive. These classes, sharing the same verb, are counterparts to each other. However, classes that are opposite activities and opposite verbs are considered inverse to each other. A passive creator class is the inverse of an active destroyer class.

    Seventeen systems describe counterparts, with the one dissenter being Classpect Navelgazing, which rejects the concept. Only eight systems have clear inverted classes. As with canon,5 Princes- and Bards+ are considered counterparts of each other by all seventeen systems - they “destroy” their aspect. Thieves- and Rogues+ are also considered counterparts by all systems and canon9 - they “steal” their aspect. All twelve systems that described Lords- and Muses+, along with canon, describe them as counterparts with each other. They are the “master” classes,11 though their true verb is unclear, though seems to be “controls” (6 for Lords, 4 for Muse). All seventeen systems agree that Mages- and Seers+ are counterparts - they are commonly described to “know” or “understand” their aspect.

    Thirteen systems have Witches and Heirs as counterparts under either “create” or “manipulate”. Three systems pair Witches and Sylphs up under “create” - likely inspired by Kanaya describing Sylphs as being like a “magical witch”.12 Only two systems (OB, Aq) pair Heirs with Pages under “inherits”. Pages are commonly paired with Knights under “exploit”, though Knights have been paired with Maids under “serve” by two systems. The dissenters to these pairings (Heir/Maid, Knight/Sylph, and Maid/Page) were covered prior.

    Princes- and Bards+ as destroyer classes invert to whatever the system considers as creator classes, either Maids+, Witches+, and Sylphs-. Thieves- and Rogues+ as stealing classes usually invert to either Knights- or Pages+ as exploitation classes - taking what you don’t own versus making do with what you have. All the systems that consider the inverses of Mages- and Seers+ as Heirs- and Witches+ are tacitly making the distinction between a knowing or understanding class and a changing or manipulation class - putting the energy into understanding why something exists how it does versus putting the energy into changing that something into a form you’ll understand better. Of the three systems that described inversions for Lords and Muses, they all considered them to be the inverses of each other.

    Genderlocking

    Genderlocking, or restricting classes based on a player’s gender, is a controversial practice. Calliope accepts genderlocked classes, saying that some classes lean more towards one gender, while others are exclusively one gender.9 Rogues and Thieves lean female,9 Muses are female-only,13 and Princes, Bards, and Lords are male-only.14 Hussie gives contradictory information on whether classes can be genderlocked, saying that the most active class is female and the two most passive classes are male in 2012, but saying a female player can be a Prince in 2014.15

    Of the eighteen systems, ten of them did not explicitly accept or reject genderlocking. Of the remainder, five explicitly excluded genderlocking. Reasons for rejecting genderlocking are split between “personalities aren’t restricted by gender” (Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System, Treatise on Classpecting) and not taking Calliope as authoritative in her discussion of gendered classes (Classpect Navelgazing, Homestuck Examination). Of those that include genderlocking, Classpect Analysis comes the closest to rejecting it, describing canon’s tendencies but telling the reader that they don’t have to follow canon.

    The Twelve Standard Classes

    Prince

    7.5% of voters identified as Princes. Seventeen of the eighteen systems agree that Princes “destroy” their aspect, with exception to Classpect Navelgazing who described them as being “in service to” their aspect. Princes destroy their aspect (seven systems) and detroy with their aspect (3). This comes directly from Calliope6 and was confirmed by Hussie.16 They may also rule or rule through their aspect (2). They may reject their aspect entirely (2). A Prince themself or their session may have too much of their aspect (2). Princes are powerful (5) and dedicated (4), and may be skilled (2). However, despite being destructive (5), that can easily become self-destruction (5). Princes are known for big egos (4), self-esteem issues (2), instability (2), and emotional intensity (2). Many systems used other negative words to describe the personality of Princes, such as toxic (1), indignant (1), difficult to work with (1), entitled to connection (1), and being the most dangerous player (1).

    Bard

    Bards barely escaped being the least-chosen standard class, with 3.6% voters identifying as Bards. Like Princes, seventeen of the eighteen systems agree that they “destroy” their aspect, with the one dissenter being Classpect Navelgazing which calls them the “facilitator of the narrative.” Bards invite destruction of their aspect (7) or allow their aspect to be destroyed (3). Calliope words Bards’ relationships to their aspects similarly.6 They may also mock their aspect (2). Like Princes, Bards seemingly spend time rejecting their aspect, though Bards are noted to spend time in their inverse aspect more (2). Bards are chaotic wildcards (7) whose power may change the outcome of sessions (2). This is likely derived from Calliope, whose explanation was similar.6 Bards may act when they’re needed, and fade into the background (2). They are avoidant, cowardly, or uninvolved (3), but a crisis may force them to change (2). Though Bards are assigned more positive traits than Princes, such as friendly (1) and helpful (1), they are also directly called antagonistic (1).

    Thief

    Thieves were the least-chosen standard class, with only 3.5% voters identifying as Thieves. Thirteen of eighteen systems agree that Thieves “steal” their aspect, though they may also “allocate” (3), “relocate” (1) or “redistribute” (1), “fix”, (1) “cheat” (1), or even “attack with” (1) their aspect. Both Calliope6 and Hussie17 agree that Thieves “steal” their aspect. Thieves steal their aspect for personal gain (7) and directly take it from others (5). They may be unable to use their aspect without stealing it from someone else (2) and/or hoard their aspect (2). Fitting that nature, Thieves are thought to be selfish (3), though their predominant trait seems to be egotism (6). They’re ambitious (2), fearless (2), and blunt (2) rule-breakers (2), though they have a mean streak (2). Some call Thieves manipulative (1), impulsive (1), or lacking empathy (1). Others call them energetic (1), charismatic (1), and with good intentions (1).

    Rogue

    9% of voters identified as Rogues. Rogues are slightly less associated with “stealing” their aspect than Thieves (12), but “allocates” (3) the same amount and “redistributes” more (2). They also may relocate (1) or fix/cheat (1) their aspect as well. Unlike Thieves, Rogues steal to give to others (6) and to redistribute their aspect (4), moving it around (2). Rogues are noted to have issues with their aspect, either lacking their aspect, believing they lack their aspect (2), or having an unhealthy relationship to their aspect (2). Calliope agrees on Rogues “stealing” their aspect, with Roxy likening them to Robin Hood.9 Jade also agrees that Rogues steal their aspect, as she explains to Roxy that, as Rogue of Void, she can steal the nothingness away from something, allowing her to summon anything at will.17 Rogues are rebellious (3), though friendlier (2) than Thieves, as well as generous (2), idealistic (2), and group-focused (2). However, they may be isolated (2) and hesitate to get involved (2).

    Mage

    Mages were the most chosen standard class, with 13.5% of voters identifying themselves as Mages. Mages “know” (9) and “understand” (8) their aspect. They know everything about their aspect (4) and use it for themselves (2), though there is conflict over whether that knowledge is innate (3) or if it’s through harsh experience (2) or study (3). Mages tend to be negatively affected by their aspect (4). Mages tend towards being intelligent (3) but isolated (2).

    Seer

    7.1% of voters identified as Seers. Seers “know” (8) and “understand” (8) their aspect, using it to guide others (7). They may be able to see into the future regarding their aspect (3) and understand their aspect as it pertains to others (2). Canon supports this, as Aradia says the Seer of Light is someone who “knows her aspect comprehensively” and is a “knower of all fortune” that can see what paths lead to the most favourable outcome for everyone.19 John also speculates that Rose’s (Seer of Light) powers allow her to “know how the consequences of certain actions play out”.20 Hussie somewhat agrees with Aradia, calling the Seer of Light the “understander of fortune”.17 Seers may be strategic (3), intelligent (3), talkative (3), and aware (2). However, they may also be prone to both egotism (2) and a lack of confidence (2).

    Heir

    7.6% of voters identified as Heirs. Heirs are more entwined with their aspect than other classes: they “become” (6) their aspect, “inherit” (5) their aspect, and are “controlled by” (5) their aspect. They may also inspire their aspect (2). Their personalities may be more influenced by their aspect (2) and may become lost without or to their aspect’s influence (2). Heirs also commonly “change” (7) their aspect. Though generally nice (3), Heirs are privileged in some manner (4). This may make them stagnant and slow to adapt (2).

    Knight

    Knights were the second most chosen standard class, with 11.8% of voters identifying as Knights. Knights “exploit” (7) their aspect, “equipping” (4) or “weaponising” (4), which is what Aradia says about the Knight of Time.19 They “guard” (5) their aspect and may also “serve” (2) their aspect. Knights may be skilled with their aspect (3), and though limited to what they have (2), they use their aspect for everything they can (2). A Knight’s session may lack their aspect (4), and they may lack their aspect themselves (2). Knights mask their insecurities through a persona (9). They may be emotionally defensive (2), obsessive (2), and project confidence more than they actually are confident (2), though may also be protective (4), devoted (2), and reliable (2).

    Maid

    8.2% of voters identified as Witches. Maids “create” their aspect (11), though also “housekeep” their aspect (4). They may also be “made of” their aspect, which Aradia says herself as Maid of Time.21 Maids may be burdened by an excess of their aspect (2). They are sometimes considered a support class (2). Maids have it rough: they may be unacknowledged (3), isolated (2) doormats (2) who struggle with external forces (2). This could lead to feelings of frustration (1), resignation (1), or contempt (1). However, they are passionate (2).

    Page

    8% of voters identified as Pages. Pages “exploit” (8) their aspect, and either allow others to use their aspect (5) or supply them with it (3). They may also guide others with their aspect (2) or influence others with their aspect (2). Pages may start with a deficit in their aspect (3). Eleven systems, along with canon,24 agree that Pages are a class that has immense power but an insane difficulty curve. Pages may be childlike (2): kind (2) and idealistic (2), but also easily led (2). They may hesitate to make decisions (2).

    Sylph

    Sylphs were the third most chosen standard class, with 9.2% of voters identifying as Sylphs. Sylphs “heal” (13) and “create” (11) their aspect. Their aspect may be innate in them (2). Sylphs are meddlesome (8), and tend to be analytical (2) expositors (3). However, they may be sidelined, irrelevant, or not acting when they ought to (3).

    Witch

    7.3% of voters identified as Witches. Witches “change” (11) or “manipulate” (8) their aspect, though better verbiage might be “breaking” (3) their aspect. They may be unable to create their aspect and may only manipulate what already exists (2). A Witch’s relationship to their aspect may be likened to a warlock and their patron god - great power at a great cost (2). With that power (2), they may also be one of the designated DPS (2) classes of SBURB. Like a true witch living on the outskirts of society, Witches are isolated (2) outsiders (4) who care little about rules (4). Though they may be optimistic (2) and enthusiastic (2), they may also be irresponsible (2) and close minded (2).

    The Two Master Classes

    Calliope describes Lords and Muses as “master” classes, both as rare as they are powerful.11 This is implied to be due to playing SBURB, a multiplayer game, alone, creating a session nearly impossible to beat.22 Ergo, these classes could be seen as SBURB trying to level the playing field, if only by a little.

    3.7% of voters considered themselves as either master class. Only twelve of the eighteen systems described Lords and Muses. The reason why is succinctly given by Classpect Navelgazing: “I don’t think I can extrapolate the similarities of the class from a single example.” Homestuck only gives us one Lord (Caliborn) and one Muse (Calliope), which makes it hard to infer traits that are common between the two and their classes.

    Lord

    Lords were the least-chosen class, with only 1.4% of voters identifying themselves as Lords. Lords command (6) or embody (3) their aspect, and may define (2) or rule it (2) too. Combined with the “master” designation, this suggests that Lords are the masters over their aspect - their word on their aspect is law. Lords are powerful (4) but tend to be egomaniacal (3) and authoritarian (2).

    Muse

    2.3% of voters identified themselves as Muses. Muses inspire (6) or control (4) their aspect, and may define (2) or create (2) it. What exactly inspiring an aspect in someone means is not clear. Two systems (Classpect Analysis, Bane of Giygas) describe Muses as allowing others to use their own aspect. This can be compared to the function of the mythological Muses. Greek poets would call on the Muses to relate to them events that the poet wishes to describe, as well as giving them the gift of song (or poetry, as the two were connected).23 The Muse’s inspiration of their aspect could be similar - imparting their aspect’s power unto others for them to use themselves. Beyond a possibility of being creative (2), Muses had no other agreed on personality traits.

    Class Comparisons

    Given the agreement between canon and fanmade systems, Prince-/Bard+ and Thief-/Rogue+ are paired under “destroy” and “steal” respectively. Likewise, given agreement between fanmade systems, Mage+/Seer- are likely pairs under “know” or “understand.”

    Maids and Witches both “create” their aspects, though Witches “manipulate” their aspect significantly more. Sylphs “create” but “heal” slightly more. Considering Maid+/Sylph- is likely, this could suggest that Maids creative powers may also allow them to heal. Knight/Page is also likely, given how both were described under “exploit”. A page is someone who wants to become a knight; a knight is a former page. The activity could go either way. The popular choice is Knight-/Page+, though as a Page is still actively attempting to gain power, and Knights defend others rather than themselves, Page-/Knight+ could be possible. This leaves Witch/Heir. While Witches “manipulate” their aspect, Heirs are seemingly “manipulated by” their aspect as they either are directly controlled by it, influenced by it, or eventually embody it. Witch-/Heir+ is likely under “manipulate”.

    It is possible to rationalise Knight/Witch and Heir/Page. Knights and Witches are both fantasy roles, and manipulation and exploitation aren’t entirely divorced concepts. To manipulate - to literally move around with your hands - fits a common other verb used for Knight: use. To exploit, therefore, is to use one’s aspect for the benefit of yourself or someone else, to not let that resource go unharvested. Witches may also exploit their aspect in how they manipulate it - exploiting (taking advantage of) its weaknesses. As Knights are subservient (to a king, to their aspect, or to other players), this would make the pair Witch-/Knight+ under “manipulate”. Heirs and Pages are both roles wanting to become another. Heirs are the owners of an inheritance that isn’t yet theirs, while Pages serve knights to become them. Given Heirs having an inheritance in their aspect, and Pages needing to prove themselves worthy of having their aspect’s power, I propose Page-/Heir+ under “inherits”.

    A connection can be argued between Heirs and Muses. Both are said to “inspire” their aspects, though Muses (6) are more associated with it than Heirs (2). This suggests a connection between Lords and either Witches or Pages. Witches (2) and Pages (11) are both classes of immense power like Lords (4) are, though Pages must grow into that power. Lords could be argued to be manipulating their aspect along the same lines as Witches do - they break the rules of their aspect to make it whatever they please.

    Cross-System Comparisons

    Agreement and Disagreement

    Considering every possible citation combination and resulting amount of trait agreement, the average number of agreed traits between any number of systems is 6, with a standard deviation of 3.13 ± 0.01.

    The systems that shared the most traits between each other were Classpeculation and Infinity Whale (65), Classpect Analysis and Dahni Witch of Light (63), Classpect Analysis and Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System (59), Classpect Analysis and Classpeculation (56), and Classpect Analysis with either Sylph of Hope Analysis or Infinity Whale (55 each). Within system pairs that agree with each other at least five standard deviations from the average (21 traits), Classpect Analysis and Dahni Witch of Light are the most represented, both being in 17 of 122 pairs.

    The least represented systems are A Big Classpect Explanation (9), Classpect Navelgazing (6), Wow Reviewing Fantrolls (4) and the Extended Zodiac (2). In systems that agreed with each other below five standard deviations from the average (49 pairs), the inverse is true. The most represented systems are the Extended Zodiac (16), Wow Reviewing Fantrolls (14), Classpect Navelgazing (12), and A Big Classpect Explanation (9). Classpect Analysis and Dahni Witch of Light are only found in one pair each.

    Given this information, I am confident in saying that Classpect Analysis and Dahni Witch of Light are the most similar to all systems in the sample. A Big Classpect Explanation and Classpect Navelgazing are therefore the systems that are the least similar to all systems in the sample. Wow Reviewing Fantrolls contributed very few traits and agreements to the sample, so I am choosing to exclude it from the ranking. The Extended Zodiac is underrepresented due to a lack of class information, and along with being official, is also excluded from the ranking.

    Dahni Witch of Light shares 23 traits with the Extended Zodiac, followed by Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide (22), Treatise on Classpecting (18), Translation of the Homestuck Classpect System (15), and Classpect Navelgazing (13). Wow Reviewing Fantrolls and Classpector shared only 2 traits with the Extended Zodiac, followed by Sylph of Hope Analysis , Infinity Whale, and i made some class and aspect charts bc speculating abt classpects is fun, which all shared 5. Again, as the Extended Zodiac does not cover classes, consider these similarities valid only for aspects and lunar sways.

    The systems most similar to each other but least similar to other systems are Treatise on Classpecting and Actual Ultimate Classpecting Guide, which agree with themselves on 45 traits, but diverge from most or all other systems on 15 traits. These traits are: Maid+; Page-; Page/Heir; Maid/Knight; Witch/Sylph; Heirs being lost without their aspect; Time players being workaholics; Space players being unfocused; Blood players being controlling; Breath players being conflict averse, irresponsible, and carefree; Heart players being concerned with motivations; Light players being obsessive; and aspects representing worldviews.

    Publication Date

    No systems in the sample were published before August 30th, 2012, the date Act 6: Intermission 3 was published. Twelve systems were started or published between this date and the ending of Homestuck on April 13th, 2016. The remaining systems were published after the publication of the Extended Zodiac on November 27th, 2017.

    Both of these events are significant. Act 6: Intermission 3 introduced the dancestors, twelve Scratch-caused variants of the trolls introduced in Act 5. Dancestors share their aspect but differ on class. This likely gave fans enough information to make definitive claims on classes and aspects, especially less prominent ones. The Extended Zodiac is significant as a canonical source of aspect and lunar sway data, which old systems could incorporate, and new systems could build on.

    Though there are likely systems that predate Act 6: Intermission 3, complete systems would, at minimum, be published around November 11th, 2011, when Act 6: Act 1 was published. This is due to the introduction of the trolls, which fill out the remaining classes and aspects, and which provide both personality and game information regarding those classes and aspects. Any system before this date would not be considered complete, as the fandom would only have the original kids’ classes and aspects to go off of.

    Application of the Data

    In lieu of a proper conclusion, I want to end this essay by applying the data I collected to characters in other, non-Homestuck media. To be transparent about my methodology, I approached classpecting the following characters by looking at their role and arcs within the story and leaning on personality traits and behaviour afterwards. Most classpecting guides are built for you, the real-life person, to classpect yourself, but there is fun analysis to be had in applying classpects as character analysis. This may explain my divergent choices if you have seen the following characters classpected before.

    Harry Potter

    Harry Potter is a Heir of Doom. I fought with myself over if he’s Doom or Void for a while. My impulse for Void is that Harry spends most of the narrative trying to reject the relevance and notoriety that people keep ascribing to him, but Harry doesn’t necessarily want obscurity, he wants to earn relevance. Harry is a Doom player not only in the sense that his destiny is already locked in (he has to defeat Voldemort), but also that his destiny is to die. If Harry didn’t die, the Horcrux Voldemort inadvertently put in him would still live, and Voldemort himself could return even if defeated again. Harry inherits Doom when Voldemort marks him as his equal, and eventually comes into his own as the Master of Death - attaining all the Deathly Hallows (one of which he inherits) - and uses his Doom to defeat Voldemort.

    Hermione Granger is a Sylph of Light. Once called the brightest witch of her age, while definitely a Light player, she fails being a Witch. She defers too much to the establishment to truly manipulate Light; a true Witch would jump to learn and use the Half-Blood Prince’s improved potion recipes and Ministry-unapproved spells rather than avoiding them. Nor does she change what knowledge is - she redefines no fields, she contributes no groundbreaking knowledge, nor does she put a new spin on the old. What Hermione does with Light is fix the world around her. Her role in the narrative is exposition. She is the nerd who reads books that Harry and Ron don’t, and thus, can educate them on matters that are plot-relevant but not things they would know already or learn. As she grows, she uses her knowledge to fix the wizarding world - primarily seen through her dealings with house elves. She sees an injustice and believes that she, armed only with knowledge, can fix it - ending up meddling more than she heals. Besides, Hermione is a character I can see having an Aranea-style exposition booth.

    Ron Weasley is a Rogue of Blood. Ron is the glue of the Golden Trio, being the most emotionally intelligent of the three. While Harry withdraws and Hermione insists on her own correctness, Ron bridges the gap between them, giving Harry someone to connect to and Hermione someone to banter with. Ron’s Rogue-ishness not only comes from him providing his family to (famously an orphan) Harry, but also how he provides Harry a connection into the Wizarding World. While Hermione is plot exposition, Ron is worldbuilding exposition, since neither Harry nor Hermione have the native lens into the Wizarding World like Ron does. Furthermore, as Rogues tend to have poor relationships to their aspects, so does Ron: he is the most middle child of the Weasleys, unable to find uniqueness in a family that has seen it all, causing his series-long insecurity.

    Severus Snape is a Prince of Blood. Skipping past the obvious parallel I'm playing off of with his self-given title of the Half-Blood Prince, Snape is defined by his bonds to others, primarily his bond with Lily, then to Voldemort, and then to Dumbledore. All of these people give him obligations: Lily wanted him to give up Dark magic, Voldemort wanted him to give up Lily, and Dumbledore wanted him to protect Lily's son Harry. But Snape also destroys those connections: he ruins his friendship with Lily, he betrays Voldemort, and kills Dumbledore. You could even count his distancing from his Muggle heritage as a metaphorical destruction of a bond. I don't think Snape ever becomes a realized Prince of Blood, but if he did, I think he'd benefit from destroying the bonds and obligations that don't serve him. How much is his guilt over Lily's death truly serving him, rather than serving someone else?

    Voldemort is a Prince of Doom. Voldemort cannot stand the fact that he, like every living thing, is bound to die. He views it as a sickening limit on his being, and overcomes it through making Horcruxes - items that allow a part of his soul to survive even when his body is destroyed. This parallels Harry, who has accepted his Doom, and through acceptance has mastered it. Voldemort doesn’t want to master Doom, he wants it utterly destroyed. What is eating death if not destroying Doom?

    My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

    Twilight Sparkle is a Page/Muse of Blood. Unlike her friends, I don't think Twilight's actual cutie mark acquisition story is relevant to her role as Page of Blood. What's relevant is her role in the narrative of Friendship is Magic. Twilight was a shut-in who didn't understand friendship before moving to Ponyville on Celestia's orders to try and make some friends. Only through friendship does her element even work; none of them, including hers, can work alone. While Rainbow Dash unites the Mane 6 through their cutie marks, Twilight unites them through actual bonds, through dealing with their problems and learning what friendship is along the way. No one can disagree that Twilight is powerful - either through raw magic or her knowledge of friendship - but she had to fight to learn the latter. She starts powerless with friendship, but eventually becomes the princess of it. As a normal pony, she is a Page; as a princess, she is a Muse.

    Rarity is a Seer of Space. Rarity seems like the perfect Rogue, generously distributing her aspect to others, but this is such a surface-level read of why she is generous in the first place. Rarity has shades of Kanaya to her, both in being prim individuals, but also being into fashion. What does Rarity do with her fashion? Does she merely distribute it? No, she uses it to capitalise on the potential she sees in others. The plain rock her horn brought her to as a filly wasn't just a rock, it was a geode filled with gems that she used to elevate the costumes at her school play. It is also not meaningless that when Rarity was corrupted by Discord, her seeing potential was corrupted into her seeing a genuinely plain boulder as a diamond - potential where there is none. Rarity knows Space - she is skilled at her craft - but she's not the one that makes people great, she simply offers the guidance needed to become so.

    Applejack is a Rogue of Heart. Applejack seems like a Blood player due to her connection with her family, but it’s deeper than that. Her family is very important to her, but not all of her family has been kind to her. She leaves her family at Sweet Apple Acres ("I didn't want to spend my life on a muddy old apple farm!") to live with her sophisticated, Manehattanite aunt and uncle. While in Manehattan, her identity is stripped from her - her accent is corrected and her experiences dismissed. What brings her back to Sweet Apple Acres is homesickness, of realizing her true self is on the farm. Applejack attempted to change her identity to something that wasn't truly her, and only realized who she was when she realized she didn't fit in the role she wanted to play. Applejack's belief that she lacked the identity she wanted parallels with the Rogue-ish tendency to believe they lack their aspect, and being the Element of Honesty, she provides her honesty - her identity - to others.

    Pinkie Pie is a Rogue of Hope. Pinkie's upbringing on the rock farm was hopeless - both in its monotony, but also in how there was explicitly no smiling. When Pinkie experienced joy when she saw the Sonic Rainboom, she wanted to distribute that joy to others, and decided the best way to do that was through parties. While Hope's dominant association is with faith and belief, it is also highly associated with positive emotions, along with the boundless optimism that Pinkie often displays. However, Pinkie also suffers from Hope's delusions, as seen with her puppeting around objects to be her "true" friends while erroneously believing her actual friends hate her. Pinkie doesn't want to hoard Hope to herself - she provides it freely, to anyone, even if they don't want it!

    Rainbow Dash is a Knight of Breath. This is one of the least surprising classpects, but may seem odd given her being the Element of Loyalty. Loyalty is a Blood trait, no? Dash loves freedom, the freedom to fly and the freedom to goof off, but her lessons across the series come from that conflict between her innate need for freedom, and her Element. Should she be loyal to a mean friend, or fly away from that bond in order to strengthen another? Should she temper her ego in order to better maintain bonds? Should she support Applejack's cider when Flim and Flam offer her a plentiful and easy alternative? Should she finish the race in Cloudsdale or save Rarity? Should she join the Wonderbolts and abandon the Ponyville team when they fly at Rainbow Falls? Dash's impulse is to fly free, but she needs to grow into somepony who has all four hooves on the ground. Her Knight-ishness comes from the self-consciousness over the persona she creates. She reminds me of Dave and Latula, in that sense, hiding the truth behind a cool facade. She’s Rainbow Dash - she loves going fast, being cool, and hates girly, sappy, and nerdy things. Except Dash can be girly. Dash hides her sappiness. Dash fought so hard to hide the fact that she liked reading because she didn’t want to be seen as an “egghead”. That insecurity, along with Dash’s actual weaponisation of Breath through fast flight, and even the Sonic Rainboom, is what makes her a Knight of Breath.

    Fluttershy is a Sylph of Rage. Rage? Fluttershy? Are you crazy? Yeah, but hear me out. A common lesson for Fluttershy to learn in earlier seasons was how to assert herself. She discredited her Rage often, but when her Rage was improperly expressed, like with Iron Will's seminar or when her expectations of the Gala were dashed, she gets mad. The explicit lesson in the former's episode is how to best use Rage - how to stand up for yourself without becoming cruel or mean. Her Sylph-ishness comes from later seasons, when she understands how to best channel her Rage into helping others. This is best demonstrated when the Breezies took advantage of her kindness. After playing doormat for far too long, she realizes that being kind sometimes looks like being mean - the Breezies will never return home if she doesn't put her hoof down and tell them enough is enough. After this episode, Fluttershy retains this assertiveness, understanding how to best use her Rage to be kind - to heal through standing up for her friends and herself.

    Puella Magi Madoka Magica

    Madoka Kaname is a Page/Muse of Hope. Madoka’s arc revolves around her struggling to maintain hope and optimism amidst the truth of magical girls. She isn’t a magical girl for most of the series - powerless while her friends take the devil’s deal - but has the most power locked inside that inevitable transformation. Madoka becoming a magical girl is akin to god tiering - she finally unlocks that Page potential to bring hope to every magical girl. Normal Madoka would be a Page, while Ultimate Madoka, being the embodiment of Hope, would be a Muse.

    Sayaka Miki is a Bard of Doom. Sayaka's role in the narrative is to become a witch - illustrating the fate of all magical girls. This is to the extent that in every timeline that she becomes a magical girl, she is fated to become a witch, even when the other girls don’t. Sayaka starts the anime appearing as a Life player, vivacious and stubborn, and rejects the truth that Kyoko gives her - that all wishes have prices. But when she finally realises that Kyoko is right, she succumbs to Doom, not actively trying to kill herself but overextending her magic to the point that it speeds up the inevitable. Sayaka also never directly destroys her relationship with Kyosuke - she assumes, based on her own feelings, that he would hate her for being a magical girl, and lets Hitomi take him instead. Her transformation into a witch is her god tiering - becoming a visceral, destructive symbol of the fate of all magical girls.

    Mami Tomoe is a Thief of Blood. Mami appears welcoming and gracious, but her purpose in the narrative is to ensnare Madoka and Sayaka into the world of magical girls. In the original anime, Mami desperately wants teammates and mentors. She uses Madoka and Sayaka for that means, playing the role of “cool big sis”. In the games, her witch form is described as not being able to stand loneliness, so she traps those that wander into her barrier. I don't think Mami is malicious. She's a lonely orphan with the world's worst job. But her inviting appearance is the perfect disguise to steal friendship from others, and when she finally overcomes her loneliness, the resulting cockiness kills her.

    Homura Akemi is a Maid of Mind. Homura seems to be an obvious Time player due to her literal manipulation of time and insistence on repeating the same series of events over and over again, along with the patience to enact that insanity. However, why would she repeat the same events over and over again? Every time Homura goes back in time, she seeks to change the outcome: for Madoka to not die. Mind's personality traits also fit her: she is logical and apathetic, focused entirely on her goal of saving Madoka.

    Kyoko Sakura is a Prince of Life. Kyoko's role in the narrative is to be Sayaka's foil, to point out how wishes don't exist in a vacuum and that karma will take what from you what it has also given. Many systems conceptualise the active/passive split to be that of selfishness/altruism, and with that, along with Kyoko's wish having active destructive consequences, with her father killing her family and himself, it feels apt that she is the Prince of Life. Her philosophy is also tied up in the destruction of life - survival of the fittest. Why preserve the weak when the strong naturally prevail? Kyoko has an additional connection to Life through food - she's always seen eating.

    Steven Universe

    Steven Universe is a Sylph of Blood. If Garnet is the leader of the Crystal Gems, he is the glue. His role in the narrative is to bring people together through repairing connections. Unlike a Hope player, Steven doesn’t force this repair through unchecked and delusional optimism. Rather, he sees the hurt that underlies it all. Pearl and Amethyst’s bond is shaky due to their conflicting personalities, and only through Steven can they reconcile and form Opal. He mends the break between Ruby and Sapphire when they split up for the first time. He builds a connection with Peridot that heals her perspective on Earth. He literally heals Lapis, her trusting him and him alone because of the rapport he built with her. Even the Diamonds, who see him as Pink rather than Steven, have their bonds healed - they realise that not only is Steven his own person, but that the Diamonds had poor bonds between themselves, which caused Pink’s defection. He even has a meddlesome side, shown in Steven Universe Future, where he avoids healing himself by demanding to heal others, becoming desperate for someone he can fix now that he’s fixed everyone.

    Rose Quartz is a Maid of Life. Rose (and Pink Diamond) reminds me a lot of Feferi, being characters at the top of their societies that wish to reform it, and whose attempts have mixed results. Pink is energetic yet stubborn, overlooked by the other Diamonds who see her as a child. But as Pink colonises Earth, she realises that she cannot exploit Earth for Homeworld without killing it and all that she’s come to love about it. This is why she takes up the identity of Rose, growing beyond her petulancy and actually rebelling against the system. Rose is a Maid because she can not only create life itself, but she maintains Life in others - their potential for change and to become something new. She wanted Pearl to be free to be herself rather than the slave Homeworld made her to be. She wanted Garnet to find who she was without believing herself to be an abomination like she would be seen on Homeworld. She wanted Amethyst to see herself as perfect as she is, despite what Homeworld would want her to believe. Rose doesn’t fix people like a Sylph does, but she sees what people can become, and creates that Life within them.

    Garnet is a Rogue of Heart. Garnet’s arc happened before Steven was born, and a majority of her episodes afterwards, focus on her relationship and her individuality. When Ruby and Sapphire fused, they didn’t know who Garnet was, as they only knew their own roles on Homeworld. Only through Rose did they realise that their love - their personhood - wasn’t an abomination. Her Rogue-ishness comes from her providing her personhood to others, sometimes at her expense. She gives Heart to Stevonnie in telling them that they are allowed to exist together as they are, but both Amethyst and Pearl depend on becoming part of her to feel strong themselves. And though stoic, the one thing that makes Garnet mad is when fusion - the thing she owes her identity to - is disrespected.

    Pearl is a Bard of Void. Pearl seems like a very obvious Light player - she is the expositor, teaching Steven about the Gem world. But Pearl’s arc has nothing to do with Light. The most obvious Void trait of hers is the secret she carries with her the entire series - that Pink Diamond faked her own death to become Rose Quartz. This is a secret she is forced to keep, physically not allowed to speak of it and necessitating a convoluted series of events for her to even impart the information to Steven. But it’s a secret that needed to be said - a Void that had to be destroyed - indirectly. Furthermore, Pearl’s dependency on Rose comes off as an obsession or an addiction. Rose made her into the renegade Pearl - another lie, another secret, as Pearl never broke from her Diamond’s command. Pearl’s arc, therefore, is learning to let go of Rose’s relevance in her life. She can’t keep clinging to someone who doesn’t exist, pining from afar like an addict looking for a fix made of validation. She has to move on - and she does, with Bismuth and Volleyball, by the end of Steven Universe Future.

    Amethyst is a Knight of Heart. A lot of people think Amethyst is a Rogue of Void and I don’t understand why. She’s not like Garnet where she is constantly giving something away, nor is she like Pearl in that she is keeping secrets. One could argue that Amethyst has a Void in her self-worth, but doesn’t that point to something more Heart-like? Amethyst reminds me a lot of Dave and Latula, apparent cool kids with deep insecurities. She exploits Heart by literally changing her form. She is the best Gem at transforming herself and often does to suit her goals, whether to eat food or make a new identity entirely. Amethyst’s Heart comes out in her arc, where she is searching for her identity between Homeworld and the Crystal Gems. Is she inherently defective or can she be something more? This is further solidified in Steven Universe Future where Amethyst is in charge of placing Gems into jobs that best suit them - roles that fit who they are - saying that since she had to figure that out herself, it’s made her good at doing it for others.

    Myself

    Sylph of Light. I am Aranea Serket. You have read this essay and can come to that conclusion. I am healing an informational gap.

    Citations

    Below is a spreadsheet cataloguing all of my data and actual citations, organised per person. The citations below are to direct you to the individual pages on that spreadsheet more than the actual pages I got the information from. There are a few reasons I did this. One of them is to focus on how many people are saying a piece of information rather than where all of them say it. Another is because the citations would get unruly if I cited every page individually, and I don’t want to spend more time on the boring parts of this essay than I have to. Ergo, the specific citations are in the links below, while the citations below them are citing whole blogs.

    Raw Data

    Organised Data

    2024 Classpect Poll

    2018 Classpects and Lunar Sway Poll

    1. Andrew Hussie’s sixth Tumblr Q&A (06.05.2025), archived by mspaintadventureswiki on Tumblr.
    2. Homestuck, pg. 7779.
    3. Homestuck, pgs. 3305-3306.
    4. Homestuck, pgs. 3832 and 4354.
    5. Homestuck, pg. 4564.
    6. Homestuck, pg. 4354.
      “If the ‘light’ in Vriska's title refers to luck does that mean that Rose also has an improbably high amount of luck?” answered by Andrew Hussie, posted on Formspring (12.22.2010).
    7. Homestuck, pgs. 4514 and 6293.
    8. Homestuck, pg. 4514.
    9. Homestuck, pg. 4514.
      Andrew Hussie’s sixth Tumblr Q&A (06.05.2025), archived by mspaintadventureswiki on Tumblr.
    10. Homestuck, pg. 5093.
    11. Homestuck, pgs. 5673 and 6576.
    12. Homestuck, pg. 3305.
    13. Homestuck, pgs. 4514 and 5093.
    14. Homestuck, pgs. 4565 and 5093.
    15. Andrew Hussie’s Twitter post on 06.17.2012.
      Andrew Hussie’s Twitter post on 04.11.2014.
    16. “Did you have evil schizophrenic Gamzee planned out from the beginning? You know, since his chumhandle IS terminallyCapricious.” answered by Andrew Hussie, posted on Formspring (01.24.2011).
    17. “If the ‘light’ in Vriska's title refers to luck does that mean that Rose also has an improbably high amount of luck?” answered by Andrew Hussie, posted on Formspring (12.22.2010).
    18. Homestuck, pg. 6293.
    19. Homestuck, pg. 4354.
    20. Homestuck, pg. 7151.
    21. Homestuck, pgs. 3481-3482.
    22. Homestuck, pgs. 5993 and 7615.
    23. “Muses (Mousai)”, published on Theoi.
    24. Homestuck, pgs. 4875 and 6576.