classpectcurse

[classpectcurse]

WIP

i was explaining classpect to my friend and i had a realisation about like. classes as narrators.

it’s about the relationship between thought, knowledge, feeling, and action

to define my terms here:

action what a character does externally

feeling is the point when an emotion is identifiably felt

knowledge is when something is intuitively understood

thought is the character’s conscious, logical reasoning

for each class, the relationship between these four elements is markedly different and this determines how to characterise them accurately and also how they present as narrators.

to extremely simplify this i am ranking them for each class. the order of the ranking is key.

A character’s narration generally arises from Thought. The position of Thought in the ranking determines how self aware the narrator is of their emotional reality within their own narration. The further back that Thought is in the process, the more self aware the narration is.

Action is the reference point, since it describes what is happening externally. The position of Action in the rank determines how well-reasoned and/or true to themselves the characters actions tend to be.

Thought determines whether a character has consciously processed their situation. whether a character’s Actions are intentional or impulsive depends on whether Thought comes before Action

Feeling is the point at which an emotion registers strongly enough for the character to be aware of it. Feelings are always the intrinsic driver of Action, but characters may act on subconscious cues before the emotion itself registers. if Action occurs before Feeling, the character would tend to be confused by their own actions

the speed and intensity of Feeling varies by class and can determine, generally, how early Feeling shows up, and from there how quickly Feeling moves to Action. the proximity of Feeling to Knowledge determines the energy level of the narration

Knowledge determines the point at which the character internally understands something — whether a character is aware of the motivations for their own actions, even if it’s not something they’ve consciously thought through.

The position of Knowledge in the rank determines a character’s level of certainty:

if Thought comes before Knowledge, the character will question themselves in their narration and often reach understanding through the narration. On the other hand, if Knowledge comes before Thought, then the character may play their cards close to their chest and conceal things they know in their narration

If Knowledge comes before Feeling, then the character may be basing their understanding on certain assumptions, which may cloud their ability to correctly interpret their feelings later on.

if Action comes before Knowledge, then the character is likely to make decisions they regret in the long term.

1. Maid

Feeling > Action > Knowledge > Thought

Maids, in the moment, tend to act purely on emotion. As Feeling comes before Action, the Maid isn’t confused about why they’ve done something, even if they tend to be unable to express their reasoning at the time. They tend to need to process the situation internally and reach an understanding (Knowledge) before they are able to consciously express anything (Thoughts). As such, Maid characters generally act true to their feelings whether or not it turns out to be a good decision. But they make shitty narrators unless it is retrospective, in which case they have an Agenda in how they’re telling it.

2. Sylph

Knowledge > Feeling > Action > Thought

Sylphs are fascinating. Knowledge comes first, because Sylphs start from a place of certainty in their own convictions, which interferes with their ability to honestly interpret their own reactions. Action coming after both Knowledge and Feeling means that Sylphs feel extremely sure in their actions, even if impulsive. As a narrator, Sylphs are extremely confident, however the distance between Knowledge and Thought makes them highly unreliable as they are unable to reflect and change their minds from where they started, giving them a blind spot.

3. Knight

Feeling > Thought > Action > Knowledge

This ranking helps to characterise the precise nature of Knights’ often flawed decision making. Feeling is the primary driver, giving them a surety and conviction in their actions. Thought comes before Action, meaning they aren’t necessarily impulsive, they tend to brood extensively before making their decisions. However, despite the conviction they have in their decisions, as Knowledge is last, they end up regretting their decisions, as they haven’t fully understood the situation. They make fairly entertaining characters to follow, as you can sympathise with their reasons but also watch in horror as they make terrible decisions.

4. Page

Action > Thought > Feeling > Knowledge

Pages are the most confused!! They act impulsively, and without being able to identify the feeling. Their actions always run ahead of their decision making, and then they spend a lot of time pondering their own actions and trying to figure out how they feel. Their understanding of things is often very belated, requiring them to come to terms with all of their emotions and actions before they can feel genuinely certain about things. As narrators they provide a lot of material to work with, as they are constantly processing their own actions, and take the audience through the entire process of discovering their feelings and coming to an understanding of them. Page monologuing.

5. Witch

Feeling > Action > Thought > Knowledge

The most impulsive!

6. Heir

Thought > Feeling > Action > Knowledge

7. Thief

Knowledge > Thought > Feeling > Action

8. Rogue

Knowledge > Action > Feeling > Thought

9. Mage

Action > Feeling > Knowledge > Thought

10. Seer

Feeling > Knowledge > Action > Thought

11. Prince

Action > Feeling > Thought > Knowledge

12. Bard

Action > Knowledge > Feeling > Thought

[classpectcurse]

reason they got punched

overheard saying something bitchy: rogue, maid, page

whined too much: knight, heir, mage

their smug attitude: sylph, seer, bard

threw the first punch: witch, prince, thief

[classpectcurse]

interesting feature i keep forgetting to write down about pages is the befriend-recruit-release pattern. aka a page encountering someone, extending a life-changing influence on them thus recruiting them into the page harem, and then just moving on. presumably then the person becomes Part Of The Harem and part of the page’s social sphere or their team or whatever. but there’s repeated storylines in media of the consequences for people left behind once the page moves on and they’re unable to follow. bob from percy jackson is an excellent example of this? like the page does not REALISE that they’ve set someone on a new path, inspired their utter love and devotion, and then just dumped them? like it’s just what pages DO and page just goes oh yeah that’s a friend that i helped once!! but yeah there’s something to this pattern that i need to ponder about , about where it should fit in the wider description of the page class

[classpectcurse]

ok ok ok i really need to hash out if the prospit derse thing has any credence

in favour:

1. there’s no coherent explanation for either p/d nor for +/- aspects. so if p/d inherently linked to +/- then it would make sense as a system?

2. intuitively +/- is not straightforwardly positive negative but it’s definitely SOMETHING, and dumbass/edgy does seem like a plausible characteristic to group them.

3. there really needs to be some pattern to aspect leanings imo so this is a definite possible solution

so um,

positive: light heart space breath hope life

negative: void mind time blood rage doom

the theory is that prospit/derse means you lean towards +/- respectively in general wrt all aspects. it also may account for a fucked up relationship with aspect if your aspect is contradictory to your leaning.

ok so we need to case study this shit. it makes intuitive sense but i need to try and find an exception.

[classpectcurse]

bts r valid bc there’s no knight and there’s no sylph. no bard either. witch is super selfless. maid already established and respected. page in a good position to be nurtured. thief in a good position to be bullied and also nurtured. they’re rlly set up for perfection. damn

[classpectcurse]

classes - romantic relationship emotional constipation ranking (part 3/3)

It was when I hit this part of the document that I was seriously questioning myself. I wrote this entirely in order, no references, no discussion with anyone. In a tiny window on my desktop at work. Why the fuck do I just have this sitting in my brain. But anyway. Last group.

Tier 3: The Opposite Problem

9. Thieves

(After writing out the whole Thief explanation I'm moving them all the way up to #9 because on average they're more constipated than the ones below, even if they're some of the least constipated most of the time.)

Thieves are a tricky one, but also not at all. Because the Thief framework makes no sense, but within that framework they are very, very predictable. But the framework puts the Thief's emotional constipation level in flux.  

The Thief pattern is extremely straightforward: they only care to protect themselves, and what they consider Theirs. So if their entire community is considered "Theirs" in the Thief's eyes, then congratulations, the entire community benefits. But if the Thief has been taught  (as is often the case with Thief characters) that only a select few are considered "Me & Mine", then they will act without any hesitation or remorse to protect their own interests. If others suffer in the process, to the Thief, it's an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice.  

However, in addition to this framework is the One Exception: someone that the Thief loves unconditionally, and relates to them on extremely Normal Fucking Person terms. They are the one person who falls outside of that "Me & Mine" mentality. For story purposes this is usually the romantic partner.  

(I had a whole explanation about the One Exception pattern but it was very long and more relevant to the Thief class description so I took it out.)  

So for the most part, the Thief is usually pretty straightforward in their intentions with anyone they're interested in. Thieves have a lot of charisma, and so they can depend on that to draw their partner in. They don't really fear rejection except as a blow to their ego, which can be dangerous for the other party as a Thief can and will seek revenge for a perceived slight to their dominance. But the revenge seeking is an impersonal, calculated thing, not stemming from a raw sense of hurt.  

They may be more hesitant if the person they're pursuing is their One Exception, since they will be genuinely afraid of rejection. Again: everything about their relationship with their One Exception is Extremely Fucking Normal. Which is so contrary to everything else that the Thief does that it makes no sense? But nevertheless. The framework holds. That's just how it works.  

So they're 0 emotionally constipated, except for the one time that they actually care, in which case they are just precisely as constipated as their individual experiences would lead them to be -- which is usually a bit higher than a  Normal Fucking Amount, because Thieves usually have a tragic backstory to justify their damage.  

So it averages out; they get to go right under our Normal Fucking People classes, but above those classes who have no bars on chasing romantic interest.

Rank 10: Witches

Now we're in the tier of people who will consistently and actively pursue/initiate relationships.  

Witches are easily identified as the shouty, punchy ones, who feel emotions very strongly. So it makes sense that Witches are easy to pick up on their feelings, and pretty uncomplicated in going about getting what they want. They're strongly active in all senses of the word, so they're go-getters on the relationship front.  

Witches tend to be naturally more self aware and sensible than Heirs, though, so they may be more likely to stop and pick a right moment before charging ahead. But that will make them take time to pick their moment, not to make them stop.  

The problem Witches may initially encounter is in being too pushy, and may inadvertently pressure their partners into whatever they want. Their strong will can tend to overpower their partner, and a less assertive partner might be unable to speak up in the face of that.  

However, the Witch outlook generally isn't one that tolerates an unwilling partner for too long -- Witches value assertiveness in their partners; a lack of assertiveness is perhaps the least attractive thing to a Witch. So if a Witch had a partner who was disinterested, the partner would ideally be able to stand up to the Witch and make their opinion known, thus ending the relationship. If the disinterested partner is too weak-willed to stand up to the Witch and cut the cord, then the Witch may lose interest and end the relationship anyway. Even if the Witch still likes this person, if their partner can't even bring themself to a confrontation about their unhappiness, then the relationship probably isn't worth fighting for.  

On the other hand, it's not uncommon to see a Witch who has undergone some of their character journey to back all the way up and be paralyzed with self doubt. The negotiation with the confidence with their assertiveness is the central focus of the Witch arc, so it's natural for a Witch at different points in their arc to have different levels of confidence in that regard.  

But generally speaking, a Witch doesn't have issues with knowing their feelings and acting on them, and that's what puts them this far down the list.  

Rank 11: Heirs

After reconsidering, Heirs go all the way at the bottom actually! 

Heirs, being the epitome of No Thoughts, Head Empty, are open and obvious when they have feelings. Outwardly, they're the textbook example of Someone With A Crush. However, they do this without always consciously processing that they have feelings? Heirs project their emotions loudly, so it's the case that other people will clue into their feelings before the Heir themself. That doesn't stop them though.  

This attitude makes Heirs a good choice for a first person narrator in romance stories, because the Heir will act on their feelings without consciously realising it. They'll dote on their crush, spend all their time thinking about them, feel jealous, and get closer to their crush, all while not realising that a) that's a crush and b) they're being super fucking obvious to anyone with eyes.  

Because of that, Heirs are really good relationship starters. Their honesty with their emotions allow the relationship to develop naturally and at the exact pace that they're feeling those feelings. Since their demonstrations are 100% just about how they're feeling, and with zero expectations of the other party, they're a good class to pair with classes who are more hesitant about acting on their feelings, or who need more time.  

But on the other end of that dial, that means that Heirs may sometimes push their emotions onto people who aren't ready for them. They're so consistently oblivious to what's going on outside of Expressing How They're Feeling, that they can make the other party uncomfortable with their persistent displays of affection. In order to be a good partner, an Heir will need to learn to consider the other party's feelings before they go ahead and express how they're feeling. 

Their obliviousness can also make them vulnerable to manipulation; their lack of understanding of their emotions may get them pushed into a relationship they're not ready for. The Heir is really just, raw emotional output; the outcome usually depends on the other person.

So overall, the Heir's goal in this regard would be to develop and maintain an awareness of the situation and to consider the feelings of others before they go ahead and express their emotions. It's the opposite problem from emotional constipation, really. More like emotional diarrhoea.  

 

Rank 12: Princes

Our final destination. Honestly this position as Least Emotionally Constipated is probably more honorary than actual, as Princes in general are Pretty Fucking Constipated in all regards. But by the terms of this list, the Prince approach wins on being the least filtered, the least subtle, and the most assertive.  

The joke is that Princes are the incel class, and while we Don't Do That Anymore because calling an entire class incels is not good practice and is just not a nice thing to do, there's a reason for the stereotype. Princes feel their feelings strongly, they know what they want, and they will pursue what they want, with no necessary consideration for the other party or the situation.  

There's really not much else to say here: unlike Witches, Princes don't care too much about the relative assertiveness of their partner. Unlike Heirs, Princes are usually well aware of their emotions and maintain a tight control over their own actions and their relationship status.  

So the Prince, especially early in their character arc, would have no qualms pursuing someone that they liked, with zero regard to the other person's level of reciprocity, or whether it's an appropriate situation to be expressing interest. The Prince would get frustrated if they felt that their advances were not being taken seriously and double down on their efforts in order to force the other party to see their point of view. Add to that the Prince tendency to jump to seizing control as a solution to things not going their way. Thus, the incel thing.  

Overcoming this self-centred approach is very much a central focus of the Prince arc. So naturally, like with Witches, a Prince progressing on their arc can very well retreat entirely from this reaction and display extreme hesitance as they figure out the best way to balance their emotions with the situation. It's all about the learning process.  

Like we say over and over again -- and this applies to all classes -- when we describe "class behaviours" we are merely describing  instinctive tendencies that people will display early in their arc, or if they're never given a reason to change their behaviour. The extent to which an individual will display their class's characteristics will vary heavily based on the individual context, and every person is capable of becoming aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and working towards becoming the best version of themself. 

So that’s it for this updated ranking list, jfc it’s been coming for a while. I’ll leave the old list up with an edit at the top, since it’s iconic, even if the ranking is updated.

[classpectcurse]

classes - romantic relationship emotional constipation ranking (2/3)

I probably should also mention that I haven’t really edited these -- there’s some stuff that I definitely need to reconsider my wording for. But also it’s fucking cold and I just want to do this because I promised myself I would.

Tier 2: Normal Fucking People (aka, people who are normal about this. I completely don’t get it.)

Rank 4: Mages

Mages used to be higher up on this list but tbh despite the initial impression they do pretty well for themselves? Mages tend to be fairly quiet about their own emotions, and do a fair bit of overthinking and angsting, but they usually manage to spit it out and from there everything is ok. 

Mages and Pages can commiserate on the premature overthinking front. Like Mages are just generally emotionally withdrawn people, they love passionately but they tend to get consumed in Other Shit Going On, and their emotions just, fall by the wayside. It's a tragic story, really. But not a complicated one. 

Mages do strike you as the kind of person who would rank in the same category as Pages and Maids in terms of neglecting their emotions, self sabotaging their relationships with self doubt, etc. They are whiners and complainers and so it SEEMS like they're absolutely going to drag this out. And if the opportunity never comes upon them, the situation can stall. 

But Mages, in precisely the manner of their class, manage to do it when the situation is upon them. In the moment, they're able to do the right things, choke out their feelings, and Get That Relationship. The moment usually does come, and Mages' intuitions help them to seize the right moment for emotional honesty. And they manage it. Maybe imperfectly, but perfectly them, and perfectly what is needed for the situation to progress. 

But because they're Mages, after that they of course go back to their normal self, and of course they cannot for the life of them articulate WHAT exactly happened for them to be able to overcome their fears in that moment. It just happened. And now they're in a relationship and happy. 

(Can you tell that I'm a Page. I'm baffled and frustrated. I want to stab them. EXPLAIN.) 

In terms of later on in the relationship, Mages withdrawn and generally passive attitude can be a hindrance, as they're likely to go along with their partner's lead. So initially they may be easily led into an unwanted breakup, be pushed away, or land in a situation that's just not great, depending on their partner. The Mage will have to develop a more active drive, to push forward with what their gut is telling them and to ACT. 

Rank 5: Rogues

Now we are comfortably in the tier of people who are normal about the prospect of relationships. As in they can just. Like a person. And not be insane about it. Or only a normal amount of insane about it. 

Anyway Rogues get this tier due to their passivity. Rogues will like a person, be aware of it, and just. Do nothing. They're deeply chill about the reality of Having Emotions. 

(Page commentary: FUCKING BAFFLING)

Okay there's more to it than just that. So Rogues just do not feel any sort of forward drive to push their romantic feelings into a relationship. They're happy to lie their feelings just sit there and die. Or if they like the other person, to just go along at the other person's pace.  

This does not mean they don't experience any emotional angst at all. Some Rogues do sit in their feelings and agonise and daydream (I think possibly Prospit vs Derse Rogues but it might be an individual thing). Rogues are also in the category of whiny people, and so some Rogues WILL agonise about their feelings and their crush etc etc etc. But the key thing is, all that whingeing does not prompt them to any initiative in progressing the relationship. 

The most I've seen a Rogue ever do is agonise to the point that he felt he needed to confess his feelings to his crush, not so she could consider dating him, but just to get it off his chest. And he just did it? He just called her up to meet and just told her and that was it? And he continued to have a crush on her all throughout highschool and they just never interacted any more or any less than the casual acquaintances that they were before that. 

(MORE PAGE BAFFLED SCREAMING) 

It's confusing I don't get it. Moving on. 

On the flip side, if their partner is in the later rankings of people who will initiate the relationship, then the Rogue is easily and willingly led, with little conflict. There's just zero drama at all it's so underwhelming that it's huge. How the fuck are they so chill about this. 

The cognitive dissonance is because Rogues are bitchy and whiny people about small things but overwhelmingly chill about big things, and so yeah, whining about a crush is a small thing, getting officially into a relationship is a big thing. So by Rogue logic, yeah getting into a relationship? It just happened, no drama, nothing. NO THOUGHTS AT ALL. I suppose it's a helpful way to know how serious a Rogue is about their feelings. The less they complain about it, the more serious they are.

Sigh. 

Rank 6: Sylphs

I think Sylphs fall perfectly on level ground here. They're the ultimate Normal Fucking People about crushes. Like, they'll have a crush. They'll agonise about it a normal amount. They'll consider options a normal amount. They'll act on it a normal amount. 

The fucked up thing about them then is just all the other stuff about Sylphs that inevitably spills over into their romantic life. Aka their choice of romantic partner, usually. And how they deal with conflict.   

Like there's just not too much to be said about Sylphs when it comes to the getting into a relationship part -- they'll be aware that they like a person, they'll decide to wait for a good time to say it, they'll say it with positive intentions, and then they'll accept the outcome, however the other person feels. They won't hide their feelings for self-invented reasons, they won't overly agonise about whether the other person returns their feelings or whether it's the right circumstances. If there's an opening they'll go for it proactively, they won't just sit back and wait for the moment to be thrust upon them. They're just. Perfectly Fucking Normal about that part. 

But ok the part that causes them problems is just part of Sylph arc in general. (I really need to get my shit together on the Sylph class description post because I'm still struggling to articulate fully what exactly this phenomenon is.)

Basically the Sylph pattern is that their minds will NOT be changed by the opinions of others. Meaning that if they have a good opinion of someone, they will refuse to reconsider their opinion until they witness something first-hand to change their mind. They are stubbornly resistant to any external input, and essentially refuse to believe any perspective other than their own. 

This attitude is already vulnerable to manipulation with a Sylph's friendships, but in the context of an exclusive relationship, where people already tend to hold their own opinions of their partner above that of others, the Sylph's stubbornness can very easily be their downfall. Sylphs are be incredibly resistant to any input from others about their partner or their relationship.  

If, say, their partner did something shitty, and the Sylph's friends pointed it out, the Sylph would refuse to believe them and demand firsthand evidence. They might say, "it's not that I don't believe you, but I prefer to wait until [partner] has shown me firsthand that they're a shit person before I judge them." And they might go on to make excuses for their partner or interpret their partner's actions favourably. In the cases where their partner is wise to the situation, if the partner consistently presents a good front to the Sylph, the Sylph would go on believing them.

(I am aware of my bias against Sylphs due to a) terrible personal experience and b) completely not understanding them at all. I’m working on it.) 

If their partner is a fine person then that's never a problem so this problem is situational. Plus it's not specific to romantic relationships so that's why the Sylph isn't higher on this list. 

Rank 7: Seers

Not Gonna Lie, Seers are definitely still largely a mystery to me. Because they conduct themselves incredibly straightforwardly, but I've not been able to really dig into their psyche? Anyway Seers rank just below Sylphs here because they're just fine, as far as I can tell? They don't have particular hang-ups about realising their own feelings; that part goes relatively smoothly.  

Seers are the ultimate Thinkers, so they're best poised to know the best time to confess. As part of Seer arc, Seers do suffer from the impulse to ACT on their knowledge, which for romantic relationships will mostly serve them well in initiating the confessing etc when the time is mostly right. They don't get overly worked up in the process, in fact Seers can often be hilariously shameless. The complications that come with Seers and being too active don't come too much into play. Being shameless and forward can really get you places in the romantic sphere, unlike in other areas. In moderation though. Always in moderation.

However, it is possible for Seers, in relying too much on their own judgment, to assume they understand the situation much better than they actually do. Their confidence in their own viewpoint can lead them to jumping to conclusions about the other party's feelings, and pre-emptively acting on that knowledge rather than sitting back to let things play out. 

Later on in their arc, once the self doubt has set in, they may also be prone to overthinking, and like Pages, hang back from taking action. But I feel like those are more just normal problems to have in the courtship process, and not that specific to Seers. All part of the Seer's path to self knowledge and knowing when to rely on their instincts and when to exercise their common sense.  

Rank 8: Bards

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Not to be that person about Bards again but. ????????? 

Bards get into relationships. Somehow? 

In my limited experience, Bards are 100% willing to be the one to confess and initiate relationships. Usually everyone, including the other party, is more than slightly baffled about HOW the b=Bard managed to develop feelings. Their crush makes sense on paper in a way but not really? It's a, *nods head slowly like it makes sense but actually it doesn't really compute* kind of situation. 

Plus Bards tend to have very inconsistent energy (a Bard has described the internal process to me as a genuine constant switching of opinions and indecisiveness, so they themselves don't really understand what the driver is) and so from the outside it can feel like they don't really like their partner sometimes? Sometimes it's obvious they DO, but other times you're left baffled about why they chose to pursue this person. 

Just purely as an outside observer it's fascinating and makes no goddamn sense. But that's pretty much everything to do with Bards.  

[classpectcurse]

classes - romantic relationship emotional constipation ranking (part 1/3)

 The whole document for this is 4.6k so i’m breaking it into 3 sections. Anyway this is an updated and VERY extended version of my emotional constipation ranking. To be very clear, this is specifically pertaining to classes and how they respond to romantic/exclusive feelings and relationships. For the sake of length, this deos NOT include any case studies or examples. Trust me I fucking could but it would be an essay per class and we really do not need that.

Final ranking:

1. Page

2. Maid

3. Knight

4. Mage

5. Rogue

6. Sylph

7. Seer

8. Thief

9. Bard

10. Witch

11. Heir

12. Prince

Usual disclaimers apply. 

Tier 1: Chronic Self Sabotagers

Rank 1: Pages

Pages are still the most constipated, and jesus christ lemme tell you. Pages really drag shit out forever in the dumbest case of "you did all that for what" you've ever seen. I cannot stress enough the extent to which Pages will self sabotage if they are allowed to give a moment's thought to their own feelings. 

Here's the page scenario: 

Step 1: Page meets person Step 2: Page likes person Step 3: Page gets the mild sense that they MIGHT like like this person Step 4: Page overthinks, jumps to some conclusion about why the hypothetical relationship would never happen (sometimes legitimate reasons like I Don't Want To Date Them, other times it's The Other Person Would NEVER Like Me Back)  Step 5: Page decides that it'll never happen, so they just need to ride out their feelings internally and deal with it Step 6: Page lets their feelings go wild while "dealing" with it, puts self through ridiculous self torture and emotional hysterics while holding firm to the belief that It'll Never Happen. 

And so unless you get the rare scenario where either a) the Page doesn't clue in to their own (specifically romantic) feelings until the relationship is well underway (like in friends-to-lovers scenario) or b) the other person is confident and straightforward enough in their intentions that the Page can't push them away, or c) the Page has a persistent wingman to harass them into doing something about their feelings, Page relationships are just overly dragged out, full of endless whining, pining, overthinking, and running away from any actual attempt to progress the romantic situation. 

Luckily for Pages the effect of their charisma is that people end up finding their neuroticism charming, and so there's a higher-than-average change that they'll encounter someone willing to punch past the hysteria. 

 

Rank 2: Maids

Maids also remain the second most constipated, though there's far less hysterics than with Pages. Instead, Maids just fail to understand and value their own feelings, and push them down, knowingly or not. 

This ties specifically into the Maid arc, wherein they start out as doormats, lacking a fundamental sense of self worth and identity, and rely on external sources of input to determine their path. Maids, as we will cover in the class description (WHEN I GET TO IT), are hard workers, people pleasers, and self silencers. So they constantly have a lot on their plate, and don't ever really sit down to examine their own feelings, and even if they do they feel like their emotions aren't valuable enough to voice or to act on. So the goal of the Maid arc is to slowly build up that sense of self worth and learn to be assured and confident in their value. 

And all that is well and good, but that path of growth also applies to their confidence about romantic feelings, and unfortunately, confidence in life, career, and whatever else, does not really spill into confidence in romance. Those things tend to feel like separate issues from each other, and so the Maid can develop into their full girlboss self, but remain emotionally constipated emotionally because those things just don't intersect. 

So anyway, the Maid's reaction to Feelings would either be  a) they go for ages without realising that what they're experiencing is a romantic feeling. They do nice things for the other person, do things to be close to them, like normal things when you have a crush, but they don't sit to realise it. Takes forever for them to even notice, and by then maybe they've moved on. b) they realise their feelings, but they don't think it's worth acting on. Whether because they think they're not good enough for the other person, or that their romantic feelings just aren't as important as other things that are going on in their/the other person's life. 

Unlike with Pages though I do think that this is just a straightforward path to growth, just building confidence etc etc. But unlike in other areas of life, romance isn't really an area where you get a lot of chances to just slowly accumulate experience and build up your confidence, most times you gotta fly in strong at the right time or lose your chance, yknow? And it's so easy for things to just go wrong and you're devastated. So that slow developing of confidence can just hold a Maid back for a really long time. 

Anyway D*stiel is like that because Dean is a Page and Castiel is a Maid that's why the show is 15 seasons.  

 

Rank 3: Knights

Ha! Ha! Ha! 

So we get into the tier of people who are actually capable of getting into relationships without being wrangled into it. Though Knights do require some degree of wrangling, later on in the picture. 

Knights are more generally emotionally constipated, but when it comes to romantic feelings they're less constipated than they could be? Or they're less constipated than people would expect them to be, given [gestures to all of them]. Knights are the type to deep-throat their emotions, normally right? So you'd expect them to do that about their romantic relationships. But they do a loop around and end up being a lot more straightforward and willing to engage, about specifically romantic feelings, than they are about any other emotions? 

Every instance of Knights that I can think of, they're pretty good about acknowledging a crush, confessing their feelings, initiating the relationship, etc. 

The problem with Knights is when the emotional constipation about everything else comes in, and the Knight decides that their romantic feelings, sometimes their relationship and partner, are less important than whatever it is they've decided they're responsible for. 

Because part of the Knight arc is that they have a chronic case of Weight Of The World On Their Shoulders -- Knights will assume some responsibility (that they may or may not have some legitimate reason to feel responsible for) and carry it heavily. Again, stuff we'll get into with the class description, but they have this inflated sense of self importance in the situation, like The World Depends On Me, and will actively sacrifice everything in their life in service of that cause. And that will include relationships. So a Knight is the character most likely to Break Up For Noble Causes, push their loved one away. 

(It's a genuinely unselfish impulse, in that they are giving up things that they care about in service of something that they perceive as important. But it's unhealthy, and kind of narcissistic to think that you matter that much to anything.) 

Familiar catchphrases, "it was for the best", "I did it for your own good", "you're better off without me", etc etc you get the picture. Very compelling stuff for your angsty hero! But also incredibly frustrating in context, when they're just destroying their own happiness and the happiness of their partner out of some misguided paternalistic impulse. Especially if the conflict is something that could easily be resolved with open and honest communication. 

In general though this is a problem that is avoided when there is no serious conflict at hand that justifies pushing the partner away. (Though do NOT underestimate the ability of a Knight to invent something to be constipated about.)  

[classpectcurse]

some class descriptions i wrote out for my friends on twitter, just to hang on to the, because some of these are gold 

Rogue

ok so fun traits of the the rogue class:

1) they are the nicest people ever. like unbelievably just kind, will do nice shit for other ppl that is unthinkably nice but they don’t even realise it’s a nice thing to do?

2) they are also. the bitchiest people on the earth. like yeah they’re bafflingly nice about things that are significant, but when it comes to things that are. dumb. they are so petty. they complain so much. they r so annoying.

3) they are high key insane, like they kind of have NO sense of proportion of what is an objectively RIDICULOUS thing to do in pursuit of their goals. like. yuzu and the quad axel. iu with her seven hour fan concert. jimin. his entire. existence

4) as public figures their cultural impact is HUGE but passive, they don’t rlly chase fame and they don’t rlly do anything with it, they will do a lot of nice things like charity but it’s not like they’re making use of their influence. they are also fairly mysterious, like theyre v private about their personal life

Bard

1) they are ridiculous. like shameless, embarrassing, no sense of self awareness about how dumb they come across.

2) combined with that is the astral codpiece, aka the Thinks They’re A Slut energy. they think they’re so sexy. it is deeply embarrassing.

3) they are chaos demons. when they are around they make people around them angry and messy and start drama and you KNOW that they did something but you have no idea what

4) they create some legitimately genius works that are unthinkably influential, but you look at them, they are literally too stupid to have done it intentionally. the work itself remains a masterpiece but you’re stuck there thinking, is it possible that they’re somehow actually a genius? the answer is no. but they’ll take credit for it anyway??

a bard will create (one) unthinkable masterpiece and then spend the rest of their life creating lesser copies, thinking that they’re a genius

Page

other famous pages for u to mentally reference here: v from bts, naruto obviously, caroline from the vampire diaries, percy jackson, james charles

1) pages are baby as fuck. like pages are always a TAD immature for their age, not like they’re dumb or they’re rude kinda immature, but that they’re just childlike and innocent and adorable. they have an unshakeable core of optimism, like adversity kind of bounces off

2) but also that babyness also means that they are cringey as fuck. pages are so goddamn embarrassing. like they are similar to bards in terms of being just unaware and shameless except they do it in a baby way so like. cringey but endearing teenager x100

3) they are usually naturally very talented? like pages tend to either be some type of Intelligent, or have natural talent in. whatever their focus is in the narrative. but learning to improve beyond their talent is the challenge.

4) pages kind of insane and neurotic. like pages are always obsessing abt things and abt themself. v high energy they r constantly stressed out about minor things, but it’s quite harmless generally

5) pages are also somehow charismatic? despite the fact that they’re weird and cringey, people find them endearing and also to have a strong charisma that they don’t rlly know why

[classpectcurse]

is always yelling:

page

witch

prince (prospit)

thief

heir

will yell, but won’t yell when they’re actually mad and that’s more terrifying:

seer

prince (derse)

knight

maid

cannot yell:

sylph

bard

rogue

mage

[classpectcurse]

on a doylistic level it’s also that the writers try to write dean as the Brooding Hero Masculine Archetype but they overdid it and broke the character, like yeah knights posture due to insecurity but fundamentally under their layers they’re just Like That. dean isnt tho dean’s true self is inherently ridiculous

dean w*nchester is a page because, he enacts the knight archetype over and over but when u peek back his layers he’s actually just a confused baby with shiny eyes and a great ass

[classpectcurse]

dean w*nchester is a page because, he enacts the knight archetype over and over but when u peel back his layers he’s actually just a confused baby with shiny eyes and a great ass

[classpectcurse]

when i say “pagewitch is mutual zookeeping”

[witch to page voice] oh my god stop screaming you dumb baby

vs

[page to witch voice] you realise you’re being insane right. this plan is stupid. it’s important to me that you know this.

[classpectcurse]

class pairs: seer - mage

key words: perceiving, knowing, understanding

(why bother with a preamble when i can just jump right in to the interesting stuff)

these things are monsters, watch out

seer: passive

they understand their class, can perceive it with greater clarity and thoroughness than others. this tends to be an intellectual, brainy sort of understanding. it errs on the side of theoretical rather than practical knowledge. seers are head thinkers: they are able to come up with plans, ideas, solutions, about their aspect that others might not. they understand and have a VISION of their aspect. they can be relied on to direct others, come up with the best strategy, to explain the topic clearly and make others understand the thing.

however, on the flip side, if unchecked, it makes them rather idealistic and naive, and often arrogant. they can be blinded by their own knowledge. because their knowledge has a limit.

as a passive class, they are best served in a passive role; they work best when guiding others, teaching, directing, or strategising, rather than putting themselves on the front lines. by being head thinkers, seers tend not to think emotionally, and thus end up lacking a sense of boundaries when it comes to executing their own plans. this can lead to them taking things too far, morally speaking, or failing to be cautious due to overconfidence in their own abilities.

in fiction, a seer that oversteps his role is often punished by the narrative. they go too far, and engineer their own downfall. their hubris brings their own demise. they must learn to step back, take on the guiding role for players better suited to direct action, and they will see the best results.

the seer class is obviously based on the mythological seer archetype. think, the oracle of delphi in greek myths. the seer’s role is often to passive guide, to direct the heroes towards what they need without directly interfering in events. seers are often used as a narrative device by authors to deliver exposition; occasionally this use might be so egregious as to change a character who is otherwise NOT a seer into a seer by function (looking @ u jkr :/).

(important note that in fiction/mythology, the seer role has an unpleasant gender aspect to it, in that seer is an easy role to shove a passive woman character into, to give her something to do/say in the plot without involving her in any action. this is still unfortunately true of a lot of fiction today, but this doesn’t work irl bc gender is fake. beware of assigning gendered fictional seer characteristics to descriptions of the seer class.)

a great example of a fictional seer arc is mdzs wei wuxian. (SPECIFICALLY the mdzs version, not the drama version. cql!wwx is a different story.) through his ingenuity and creativity, he becomes the founder of demonic cultivation. however, he is arrogant in assuming that he knows best, that he could control the yin tiger seal, that his path was the only path to follow. the result is, the narrative punishes him for his arrogance. he loses control. he watches his loved ones dies. he dies a horrible death.

but in his second life, after his resurrection, he properly steps into the seer role. he solves the mystery, he guides and teaches the juniors, he steps away from the demonic path. and through embracing his role as a seer, he is finally able to achieve his happiness.

emotionally speaking, seers aren’t very complicated? if the time is right and the circumstances align they’ll confess their feelings etc. they might lack a sense of shame about it, in fact that seems an alarmingly consistent pattern. they kind of just don’t place on the emotional constipation scale. though they might be bogged down by logic and stuff and won’t examine their own feelings properly until later.

identifying traits of a seer: - wordy. good at explaining things; smort - very much a head thinker as opposed to a heart thinker; likes to think of things intellectually - can seem a bit emotionally cold? not that they’re cold people but just that they tend to be a little less overtly emotional, simply due to the nature of their class

examples of seers: namjoon (RM) from bts, wei wuxian (MDZS only), jing beiyuan (qi ye), rose lalonde (Homestuck), terezi pyrope (Homestuck)

prospit/derse: fairly straightforward, both types of seers still tend to be up there in terms of energy and chattiness, but derse seers are just more pretentious about it ngl.

mage: active

on the flip side to seers’ cerebral understanding of their aspect, mages have an intuitive, experience-based understanding, and they function best by employing this understanding directly.

mages, in a team dynamic, essentially serve as the talented weirdo/grumpy uncle who is extremely competent at their job, as long as nobody asks them to explain what they’re doing. mages understand their aspect supremely well, but they CANNOT, for the life of them, explain what the fuck goes through their head. it just comes out a bunch of confused, jumbled rambling that doesn’t really help anyone else. everyone knows that, without a doubt, this guy is a genius, but it’s useless to ask them to teach you because they can’t. they can’t explain shit.

their understanding of their aspect is not, NOT intellectual. it’s just that it comes from a place of instinct, rather than of deliberate, calculated thought. mages work best when they don’t try too hard to rationalise their understanding, but instead allow themselves to operate according to how they feel is best.

mages don’t really have a specific character arc? it’s more just about consistently trusting their instincts, maintaining the relationships around them, and retaining the trust of the people in the team. mages really need to do their own thing, and so a team is best off when they point the mage in the right direction and let them do what they feel is best, because they’ll often do a better job going off instinct than any plan could.

mage characters often come with some kind of tragic or mysterious backstory. because mages learn from experience, this backstory often serves as an explanation for their level of expertise. but irl this isn’t strictly necessary for mages. nevertheless they retain an intuitive understanding of their aspect which can be traced to their personal experience of it.

the thing to know about mages to identify them is just, they give off weird gremlin vibes. like, weird cousin in the basement vibes. like, coffeeshop uncle yelling about the government vibes. like on the surface they might seem respectable and shit, but deep down?? they’re some weirdo gremlin and that cannot shake the weirdness even if they’re in a law firm or a full tailored suit.

i used to think mages were really emotionally constipated but honestly they’re not that bad? they like to put things off, emotionally speaking. like they want to just leave that stuff for later, maybe never, bye, but they do get to it eventually. there’s a lot less active agonising going on, they just don’t like to think about the Feelings thing. when they do confront it, it’s usually just a, OK I SAID HOW I FEEL, CAN WE SKIP TO THE PART WHERE THINGS AREN’T AWKWARD ANYMORE. it’s funny but it gets the job done i guess.

identifying traits of a mage: - grumpy, crabby, whatever you get the vibe - gremlin energy. they’re just kind of weird - know their shit but cannot explain it, like maybe they can explain it a bit but it’s really not their talent and they are more likely to confuse someone than teach them anything - don’t like talking about their feelings if they can help it, but they’re not like, awful at it ig

examples of mages: yoongi (suga) bts, edward elric, meulin leijon (homestuck), sollux captor (homestuck), zhou zishu (tian ya ke, word of honor)

prospit/derse: prospit is edward elric. derse is bts suga. idk what else to tell u. it’s angry weirdo vs vaguely apathetic weirdo. both are weird with gremlin vibes.

[classpectcurse]

classes extra: prospit/derse

so in our source material homestuck, there’s the two dream planets, prospit and derse. and the characters seem fairly randomly sorted into them, with no obvious connection to class, aspect, or anything. prospit is the yellow, happy planet of the heroic side, derse is the purple, dark and villanous planet.

for the purposes of class, the prospit/derse association is an additional marker of how the classes can be classified for greatest amount of accuracy.

in short, the prospit/derse dichotomy is the dumbass/edgelord dichotomy. players of each class can be sorted into prospit or derse, and that further informs their characterisation. there really isn’t that much to it, except that it is the case that players of each class do fall under the general divisions of dumb, charged, high energy vs the more laid-back, edgy, angsty energy. it works, and it’s funny dammit.

(i know there was some legit theory behind this but honestly i’m too dumb to remember that shit. i play it by ear mostly.)

obviously this varies based on the inherent dumbassery/edginess of the respective class, but nevertheless each class sees this sort of division to an extent, and it’s useful to identify which is which, to explain how a certain, high-energy character, is the same class as another, grouchy, low-key character.

because as a system the purpose of classpect is to give the most accurate descriptions of each class possible, it’s important to make this distinction to explain why certain generalisations about classes may or may not appear to fit on the surface? if you take the prospit/derse angle into account that allows the system to encompass a wider variety of personalities without raising questions about such-and-such contradiction.

but honestly it doesn’t make a huge difference to overall classpect theory? you can get by without it. but i’ll be making note of the observable prospit/derse differences as i go down the classes. hopefully i remember to.

[classpectcurse]

class

okay so covering classes. not decided if this should be read before or after all the aspect posts? but i’m writing this one anyways for the sake of my own mental clarity.

so classes denote function — they are how you affect your environment. the domain that you affect is your aspect, but the way in which you go about affecting things is your class. that means that class heavily affects someone’s outward ‘personality’ – thus once you’re familiar with classpecting, it’s most easy to notice someone’s class because classes can register in easily identifiable behaviours and quirks.

(another way i like to describe class is by ‘character archetype’ – more on that below)

for irl classpecting, the impact of one’s class can most easily be seen/confirmed through one’s effect on their social environment. for example: how do they affect the social energy around them? what role do they play in a group dynamic? how are other people affected or changed by proximity to them? how do they interact with the others in their group?

for fictional characters, their impact may be more directly observed through magical roles, impact on plot, etc, though this is not always the best method to discern a character. especially nowadays where authors like to mix roles around, looking at a character’s magical powers doesn’t always give you a straight answer. nevertheless, looking at how a character chooses to use and approach the powers they have been given is a good way to tell their class.

class impacts are not always easily observed, which is why it is best used as a way of confirming someone’s aspect after an initial theory is already in place based on other observed factors. it’s very easy to impose an interpretation on someone’s effect and draw the wrong conclusion. the ability to pull out the right observations comes from experience.

so unlike aspects, which are divided into pairs according to opposites, classes are divided into pairs along active/passive equivalents. each active/passive pair shares a particular function, but each class would go about it in a different way, and have a different impact.

active classes affect their aspect DIRECTLY. aka, the change to their aspect would happen as a result of direct action. passive classes affect their aspect INDIRECTLY. they influence their aspect through others, through the environment.

(also keep in mind that active/passive class does not directly connect to how ‘active’ or ‘passive’ someone is as a person. there are active classes which tend to have have laid back, ‘passive’ personalities, as well as passive classes who tend to be super high energy. what matters is their impact.)

once again, classes are all equal in value; no one class is better or worse than another, they’re just different and serve different purposes.

more under the cut

so, in passive - active format, the classes and their general purposes:

seer - mage: perceiving, knowing, understanding

heir - witch: change, influence, manipulate

page - knight:  exploit, maximise

sylph - maid: create

rogue - thief: steal, appropriate, move around

bard - prince: destroy

the names of classes are taken, like aspects, from literary and artistic sources. the actual names are indicative of the character archetype the class describes (which is another way that i like to describe class). for example, you might think of the noble questing knight Sir Lancelot or Sir Gawain, or the righteous rogue of the people Robin Hood, or the chaotic Bard that jingles miserably across the floor. keep those associations in mind! they are very helpful in establishing your base understanding of these archetypes.

classes most clearly help to sketch out a character’s arc. a class will determine, generally speaking, someone’s approach. so, their approach to emotional situations, their approach to conflict, their approach to relationships, to helping others, to children, to handling anger. each class has their natural strengths and weaknesses, and it’s about recognising them, and pushing yourself to grow to your fullest potential.

but as a classpecter, then, these common approaches lead to very identifiable character dynamics and reactions that are easily learned.

what’s important to note is that class does not determine how you choose to respond to a situation, only your basest, most instinctive reaction to it. for example, there are certain classes which are prone to immediate outbursts as a response to anger. but they are perfectly capable of recognising this, and redirecting their instinctive response so that they do not blow up at people if it’s not productive. however, the instinctive reaction remains and this is what should be taken into account.

the term that the classpect community likes to use in relation to a player’s relationship with the natural tendencies of their class is ‘overembracing’ or ‘underembracing’. overembracing describes when one leans too much into their natural instincts of their class, and thus starts to display the flaws of taking those characteristics to their extreme. underembracing is when one leans away from those instincts, and becomes ineffective in serving their best function as a result. we’ll go more into that with individual class descriptions. but as with aspects, the goal is always to strike the right balance, to maximise your natural strengths while overcoming your weaknesses.

honestly, class is the easier of the two to learn. each class is quite easily identifiable, though often for very different reasons. there are unique characteristics that you will likely easily be able to pinpoint in characters and people around you, and vibespecting class is something that people pick up really quick.

in my own individual class pair posts, i will be covering the strengths, weaknesses, quirks, arcs, and all other observable material about classes. this does include my own biases, since this is MY glossary for ME, but i do ask that if you’re using this as any kind of reference, that you keep in mind that just because people have flaws, does not make them any less worth of respect.

i’ve seen people get bullied in the past because “ahaha pages are babies so we don’t have to take u seriously” and just, what the fuck. okay. i’ll try my best to contextualise every of this kind of stereotype that i bring up, since it’s always interesting to discuss that, but jesus, people. grow the fuck up.

[classpectcurse]

aspect:

it’s more useful to start with aspect because it’s the most broad and easy to understand, while also generally more difficult to identify once you have the gist of classpect. 


aspect is basically the thematic area that the character is mainly concerned with. how i like to define it is: the six facets of the human experience, each defined along a spectrum with 2 extremes, and each extreme of the spectrums are the 12 Aspects.

a player’s Aspect is whichever aspect most closely aligns with their character arc; the mindset that they tend towards, the general priorities guiding their thought process, the primary thematic struggle that their personality provokes.

aspects are all actually common motifs (given that they’re describing aspects of the human experience that we all share), and so are often tied to common artistic and literary themes, symbols, etc. it’s fun to look at a character and point out which symbols that pop up around them. for example, ‘blood’ to represent relationships, or ‘heart’ to represent the authentic self.

aspects are divided into positive vs negative aspects. this does not make the aspects themselves positive or negative!!!! it just means that certain aspects have more optimistic societal associations, while others have more pessimistic societal associations. (this is only somewhat helpful for vibespecting, since it’s about depending on your own instincts, which are undoubtedly affected by societal influence.) but all aspects are equal!! they are neutral!! no aspect is inherently better than another!!! they all serve vital functions, and must be held in a balance. too much of one aspect at the cost of the other is bad, no matter what.

more on aspects under the cut

very briefly, in positive-negative format –– since each aspect pair will get its own section eventually –– the 12 aspects and the area that they cover are (**and i’m not doing the whole one-word thing because i cannot be bothered to remember; i’m going with loose definitions that actually work for me): 


space - time: immediacy and progression, presence vs distance; relationship with the 3rd and 4th dimensions, really


breath - blood: freedom vs responsibility, motivation vs obligation, reasoning for pursuit of goals, hero’s journey dilemma


heart - mind: identity, relationship with Self vs Others, authenticity vs facade/manipulation

light - void: relevance vs irrelevance, the Spotlight vs the Shadows, clarity and attention vs obscurity and vagueness

life - doom: independence vs compliance, freedom of choice vs submission to systems, autonomy vs subordination

hope - rage: belief, possibilities vs limitations, lighthearted vs intense emotion

each individual will naturally grapple with all of the aspects at some point. however, your aspect is the one which registers most strongly with your personal arc, and most importantly, the area in which you affect the environment around you. how you affect it is governed by your class, but your aspect is the domain which you will affect.


note: classpect is concerned with a person’s natural tendencies, unaffected by their upbringing etc. upbringing and environment. external factors could push a player to have certain struggles that aren’t of their aspect.

for example, family pressure is a common trope in stories; it would push any character to struggle with the breath/blood aspects. this does not automatically mean a character is blood. another common example is neurodivergent people developing mind struggles, due to being forced to be aware of themselves in social situations. it’s a change clearly brought on due to their environment, and not a struggle that organically arises from the person’s natural tendencies.

this is perhaps less common for fictional characters, if only because writers would tend to make a character the aspect that corresponds with their primary struggle in the plot. but that’s not always the case. pay attention to whether a character experiencing a particular aspect struggle externally is reacted internally the way a character of that aspect should.

ok i’ve run out of things to say on aspects generally.

next up, will be an intro on classes, and then into individual class and aspect pairs. whatever i feel like, it’s my blog.