THE PLANaka the script ENTRANCE/OPENING: Start with DAVESPRITE: DAVESPRITE: hey and welcome to the symbolism of homestuck. Which is a RIDICULOUSLY LONG and OVERLY COMPLICATED web comic. we are going to start at the beginning of this long and winding path of weird symbolism. i'll be your guide on this trip. we will be having a few other characters join in along the way but mostly i'll be explaining things. ok? cool? got it? good.
DAVESPRITE: it all started on a sunny day in april. a young man by the name of JOHN EGBERT stood alone in his room. it was his birthday this has no relation to any part of what we are talking about thought so hahah nope.
ACT 1: PICK A BETA KID ANY BETA KID lets start with DAVE STRIDER. Literally in his very first pages, he screws up and kills a bird. Immediately we get a concrete link between mistakes and mortality, both immortalized (no pun intended) in the form of this unsuccessful thief. Let's talk about that crow. Jade sticks it in the seizure kernel . When Dave creates the Cruxite Egg, the kernel sprite's first impulse is to grab it and carry it far out of reach. Possibly just in a mad attempt to hatch it (the "brainless" part of "brainless feathery asshole" ain't for nothing), but if that can be considered an obstacle and the seppucrow is still an easy metaphor for the consequences of carelessness, Dave's later issues with stable time loops are heavily foreshadowed. He discusses later with Jade that all he ever needed to do was wait for the egg to hatch, but if my calculations are correct his waiting the full four hours would foreshadow full trust in the benevolence of fate. Eventually he can't take it anymore and decides to go for the egg himself, only to get hurt by his own mortality. Next time seppucrow gets relevant is in the original beta timeline, in the form of Calsprite. Cal's prototyping is the part of the timeline that arguably went most wrong, so I'm not sure I need to go into that too much. But when Dave goes back and becomes Davesprite, he's merging with his own mortality and his own capacity to screw up at the same time. Pretty straightforward heroic sacrifice, but to alpha Dave, Davesprite now represents a version of him that essentially died as a result of his screwup and mostly for the purpose of saving him. This is the most direct parallel to the original role of the Seppucrow that I think we're going to get. Then, Jackspers Noirlecrow happens. He doesn't really become relevant to Dave specifically until he hits 4 prototypeing and Dave finds out about the aftermath. At this point I think the crow part of Jack is almost... getting revenge? Like "you screwed up and I died because of it, now I will make you feel pain". And he does make Dave feel pain. Bro dies (sword imagery happens, which would require a completely separate essay to dissect), Davesprite gets injured, the all-too-popular Felt Dave died, Dave himself even dies though he knew that would happen, really crazy stuff. To quote Dave's thoughts on Jack: "hes pretty much the guy in charge of random teleportation murders right now". By the time we hear about Dave's dream with crows and traps and bloody murders (hehehehe) and the sun, it only serves to cement the exact meaning of the whole metaphor clusterfuck and relate it to the Green Sun. That didn't make it any less depressing though. For those doubting the symbolic significance of crows throughout Dave's arc, they also appear at significant moments like his paradox sister's brush with fiery death and even the Scratch itself. The second is, I think, more significant since that's the last time Dave actually interacts with his Bro alive, the origin of the broken record imagery in Homestuck, and the origin of the broken sword imagery in Dave (not to mention the whole "half of a hero" thing). Probably more, too.
ACT 2 :ENTRY ITEMS AND SUCH The entry items for the trolls is one of those topics that was left to the imagination, and it's likely this will always remain the case. Entry items as a whole were never supposed to be THAT significant as a game detail, but in looking back on the four items we've seen, there's a lot to talk about. Each one is symbolic in some sense of a departure. And each has things in common with some of the others. John's is the simplest, and rooted in the most obvious myth, which is taking a bite of an apple from the tree of knowledge. It makes sense for a number of reasons. It represents the most significant departure since it kicks off the whole game. It's also very easy to "solve". There's no puzzle element to it. They get progressively more complicated. Rose had to break a wine bottle on her house, just as ships are christened. And though not seemingly a part of the challenge at first, the trial involved losing the bottle and having to take a leap of faith to retrieve it, and well as rely on a friend (Jaspersprite) to help her complete the trial. This was required of Jade as well. Dave had to wait for an egg to hatch. The symbolism of the egg, like the apple, is pretty obvious. The challenge here was to do nothing, to have patience for several hours and wait for it to hatch. And though it seems like a simple challenge, it proved difficult for Dave, and would be a significant trial for one who was to become the Knight of Time. (well get to the godtier stuff later) Jade had to destroy a Bec piñata. There's plenty that could be said about piñatas. You could even be as superficial as noting they're used during birthday parties, and opened to celebrate birth. But I think it's more interesting to study it from the vantage of the symbolism surrounding the destruction of effigies, and the implications this has for the Bec prototyping and Jack assuming his powers. Her challenge was to destroy it while blindfolded, and only by shooting it in the head. Several previous chat references had been made to this outcome, which was similarly foreshadowed by their strife dance together. The symbolism of killing her dangerous dog to enter (i.e. a step toward growing up) borrows notes from the Old Yeller story, but in this case, it's a dog that can't die (though nevertheless would assume a death-like state through prototyping). Also included in her challenge was taking a shot in the dark (much like Rose's leap of faith) and relying on her friend who redirected the bullet through his own head, the very friend she was attempting to slay in effigy. This is easily the most complicated of the entry puzzles, very thick with symbolic meaning, and is probably my favorite part of this webcomic. Also note all of the items are, in a way, edible. The boys have directly edible objects, apple and egg. The girls have objects which contain edible goods; the bottle and piñata contain wine and candy, and both needed to be broken. Dave's was actually a little of both, a food product, and a container for that product which needed to be broken (i.e. hatched). John and Jade's items both came suspended from a tree. Each item had significance to the player, if loosely. Jade's was obviously quite personal. Rose's related to her mother's drinking. Dave had been plagued by crows. John's is the only one which seemed generic, although there was a tree outside his window which seemed to be a fixture of his life. His wasn't especially personal since it was the simplest trial, and something most generically befitting of entry and mythological departure.
ACT 3 Each trial can be summarized more simply: John: Loss of innocence. Rose: Leap of faith, trust in a friend. Dave: A lesson in patience. Jade: Shot in the dark, killing a friend for its own good, and greater good. Also, and this was one of those unplanned things which I noticed: A - Apple B - Bottle C - Crow's egg D - Dog piñata As has been pointed out in the past, nearly everything about WV is symbolic. Many of these examples of symbolism are very obvious, but still quite significant. Let's list them: 1. His chess game is a simple representation of the battle on Skaia. 2. His dream sequence shows his fear of prototyping and, tragically, being attacked by Bec Noir. 3. The entire mayor thing probably means that he'd like to lead, but not as a tyrant, like the Black King. 4. The death of "citizen can" might very well symbolize the massacre of the entire resistance, save WV, on the battlefield. 5. Of course, his paintings are of the incipisphere.
ACT 3.5 Tavros and Vriska are basically a bull and a torero. She was keeping him alive, only to later kill him, and their final battle was identical to a bullfight, in how the loser was impaled through the heart after charging at of the more minor symbols in homestuck, the kids' associated objects, have a great deal of meaning and foreshadowing to them:
ACT 4 John's object is oil. It is a symbol of power, both for the incredible potential energy contained within its molecular bonds, and the great influence and wealth it gives to those who own it. Of course it doesn't start out that way; crude oil is useless until refined. Over the course of the story, John has refined his powers, and while once his "windy thing" could only be used by accident, it is now under his command. Similarly, john has always been the powerful one of the group. He is the leader, the first one to reach the top of his echeladder, and the first to go god-tier. Rose's object is chalk. This one is a bit less obvious, since chalk's primary use, creation doesn't seem to fit her role in the story. However, it has been explained over and over again that her element is water. What happens when chalk gets wet? It washes away. The undoing of a great plan, that is Rose's theme. Each time she tries to solve the problems of the kids and the trolls, she fails. Her greatest role in the scratch is to dispense knowledge, which ends up being falsified. When she tries to blow up the green sun, she ends up creating it. When she tries killing Jack, she ends up being killed in the fight. When she tries to kill wash and the meta- wait, that's the wrong web series. the point is, every plan she has gets washed away. Dave's object is amber. Amber is known for preserving all who are entrapped within the golden resin. Similarly, Dave's role is one of preservation. He is responsible for fixing the screw-ups of others, as is his role as the hero of time. When terezi kills john, he is forced to go back and prevent john and jade from dying. While most of this role appears only in the background, every doomed timeline likely occupies him with the same goal. Jade's object is uranium. Like oil, it is powerful, but it is also extremely unstable, and depending on it's use, it can power a city or burn the planet to ash. This comes into play mostly in the prototyping of bec. The initial effect is catastrophic, destructive, and results in the creation of an unbeatable boss. When jade goes dog-tier, what once made their session impossible now made jade far more powerful than any other figure in the story. Now we only have to wait and see what she is capable of.
ACT 5 blah blah Sufferer = Troll Jesus moving on I know it has been stated before in certain posts, but here: Certain characters have symbolic references to various pieces of popular culture: John: Biblical stories: (Forbidden fruit) Dave: King Arthur: (Knights, Swords in stones, Morgaine is somewhat like Rose?) Jade: Wizard of Oz (Witches, Dogs, Ruby Slippers) Tavros and Vriska: Peter Pan (Pirates with disabilities, Fairies, Flying) Jane: Alice in Wonderland (Red Queen, The disappearing cat, the Rabbit) I know there may be others, but I don't know pop-culture too well, and I know there is A LOT of that scattered around.
ACT 6 GOOD GOD(TIER.)
act 6.1 the symbols / aspects of godtier: light time space breath (NO NOT WIND GAWD) heart hope life void mind blood rage doom
ACT 6.2 GODTIER CLASSES (AVERAGE CLASSES) Rogue Thief Heir Maid Page Knight Seer Mage Sylph Witch Bard Prince (THE MASTER CLASSES) Muse Lord SORCE FO GAWDTIAR STAF: wiki/Class
ACT 6.3An aspect is an element assigned to a player of Sburb that dictates their role and powers. It is one part of the player titles, the other being the class. There are 12 known aspects, each seemingly a generalized "element" or concept, that could be considered a primal force of reality. It had been previously hinted that each aspect was connected to a particular denizen, however Yaldabaoth has been seen to be assigned to a hero of Heart and a hero of Time. Based on this it is unknown if the previous hints were false, or if aspect is only one factor in the determination of a player's denizen. It should also be noted that Caliborn was assigned Yaldabaoth as a consequence of turning their two player session into a one player "dead session". It is unknown if his denizen would have been a different one if he had accepted a two player session with Calliope. Due to the aspects of Time and Space being essential to a session, and Echidna and Hephaestus having connections to the Scratch construct and the Forge respectively, it is believed that at the very least, these two denizens may be consistent in normal sessions. Contents[show] Time Edit Time Time is one of the basic fabrics of paradox space, the other being its counterpart, Space itself. It is associated with the Timetables, time travel and exploits, and timeline maintenance in general. The Hero of Time also has a feature installed in their personal world in the Incipisphere: a large structure that will obliterate the game session and reboot it by rewinding everything to long before the game starts. It is a last resort, and would (ideally) result in better starting conditions. According to Doc Scratch, there is a Hero of Time in every successful session. Dave, Aradia, Damara Megido, and Caliborn are all Heroes of Time. Dave and Aradia are shown to be able to time-hop, and Aradia has been shown to be able to briefly freeze a rampaging Jack Noir in time. It is currently unknown what Caliborn's abilities may be, though as LOrd English he is confirmed to have at least one (rather large) time-hop himself in order to be "already here" despite entering the A2 universe at its death. His other instances of being "already here" may also have used a similar method of time-travel. The Time aspect appears to have some sort of connection with death, as seen with the Heroes of Time: Dave collected dead things, Caliborn/English was regarded as the physical embodiment of death in troll culture and is later known as the "Angel of Double Death", Aradia had an interest in archaeology, was dead prior to playing Sgrub, and is interested in death and guarding the afterlife (and refers to herself as "the death fangirl"), Damara appears to desire to serve English and an alternate iteration of her did serve him. This directly contrasts with the Life aspect or could also contrast with Space's association with life and beginnings. Known Heroes of Time are Dave Strider, the Knight of Time; Aradia Megido, the Maid of Time; Damara Megido, the Witch of Time; and Caliborn, the Lord of Time. Dave's denizen is Hephaestus, and it is speculated that this is shared with Aradia and Damara. They are also all associated with the color red. All known Heroes of Time are Derse dreamers, fitting in the theme of destruction. It might be significant to note that although all Space players are female, the Time players are evenly split between male and female. Space Edit Space Outline Space is the other basic fabric of paradox space, along with Time. From Jade's display of powers, it seems that Space has to do with the size of things and their velocity, or basically their position in existence with regards to physics. It is also associated with the player whose Land contains their session's Forge. Both Kanaya and Jade live in similar homes, next to a Frog Temple, and their dream selves are both awake before entering the session. Having their planet's First Guardian as a guardian is also a parallel (Jade was effectively raised by Becquerel, while Kanaya was Doc Scratch's "protégé"). Beyond this, both players of Space have been in charge of the breeding of the Genesis Frog. It is unclear how many of these parallels directly relate to the Space aspect. The symbol for Space is very similar to the Borjgali and is symbolic of concepts relating to the roles of heroes of Space. It also resembles a spiral galaxy. It could be possible that the Space aspect has ties to creation, beginning and life (in contrast to Time's association with death). Each Space hero thus far has been in charge of creating the Genesis Frog, a new universe. Moreover, Kanaya held the matriorb, of which she would use to recreate and heal the Troll race, by starting it anew. The third hero of Space, Calliope, also shares the attribute of having her dream self awake before playing the game, however this may be connected to her unique circumstances with Caliborn. Known Heroes of Space are Jade Harley, the Witch of Space; Kanaya Maryam, the Sylph of Space; Porrim Maryam, the Maid of Space; and Calliope, the Muse of Space. The associated denizen of the Space aspect is Echidna, at least for Jade and Kanaya; it is presumably Porrim's as well, and presumably would have been Calliope's had the cherubs played a proper session. There is a possibility that Aranea's denizen was also Echidna, but this is not confirmed, as it was only stated that she had spoken with the denizen, not that it was her own. It is also interesting to note that all of the Heroes of Space seen so far are associated with the color green (which parallels Time players, who are all associated with red). All Space players so far have been Prospit dreamers, probably because of the connection to Skaia. In addition, all of them are female. Void Edit Void Void is associated with "the essence of lacking, or nothingness" and "the obfuscation of knowledge, or its outright destruction". It has been almost stated outright by Calliope to be the antithesis of Light, and actually was stated to be so by Aranea. It seems to enable players to act without being seen or noticed, as evidenced by Darkleer's apparent ability to hide a Magic Cue Ball from Doc Scratch, Equius's similar talents during Vriska's struggles with the omniscient ballhead, and Roxy's occasional "dark patches" from Calliope's viewpoint. Void players may potentially also have the ability to become invisible in some sense, as it is seen that the B2 Draconian Dignitary becomes invisible with the "Ring of Void" as well as Roxy reportedly becoming both invisible and intangible while wearing itSburb Logo. Normally a ring of Orbs does not work on humans, but Roxy thinks the ring is helping her to get in touch with her own void powers. It is also interesting to note that two of the known Heroes of Void have both used the Fistkind Strife Specibus. This makes sense, as the use of bare hands is essentially the lack of a weapon. It is also worth noting that the Void symbol is the inverse of the Space symbol; corresponding to the spots between the arms on the Space symbol. All known Void players have created a "void" around themselves to distance themselves from the world. Roxy and her drinking, Horuss and his "happiness" and Equius and the hemospectrum. The Void aspect may be related to the Furthest Ring, which has been referred to as "the void". This is further underlined by Roxy's affinity to the Furthest Ring and Rose causing the blackoutSburb Logo under the influence of the gods of the Furthest Ring. As the Rogue of Void, Roxy is able to "steal" the nothingness from the idea of an object, and thus either conjures the actual object or creates it from scratch. Either way, she has somehow succeeded in conjuring up Perfectly Generic Objects, pumpkins, and a combination of a Generic Object and a Logo It may also be worth noting that Equius's blood is used by Gamzee to void out information on LOrd English and himself in the copy of Rose's book possessed by Calliope. Horuss Zahhak also stated that he used his Void abilities to draw out qualities in himself he did not know he had. Known Heroes of Void are Roxy Lalonde, the Rogue of Void; Equius Zahhak, the Heir of Void; and Horuss Zahhak, the Page of Void. Roxy's denizen is Nyx, and it is speculated that Equius and Horuss share this. Light Edit Light The Light aspect is equivalent to "fortune", and involves power over luck and fortuitous outcomes. Two heroes of Light have been able to see into Magic Cue Balls. This may also mean that Light could mean "knowledge", in the way that it contrasts with the Void aspect, although it has been stated that Vriska's ability is due to her vision eightfold, and Rose's power may be related to her role as a Seer. It has been speculated that Rose did not literally see through the magic cue ball, but that the scene was merely a visual representation of her prediction of the roll of the die contained within. Alternatively, Light players may possess some degree of control over light itself, or at the very least, an enhanced detection of bouncing light rays (this pageSburb Logo references making opaque objects permeable to light). The third Light player, Aranea, is a Sylph, and has claimed to "heal" with Light by helping the wounded to see how to heal themselves by looking at things honestly. This further reinforces the concept of Light as knowledge. However, as Aranea has had eons to refine her power over Light, this healing may be the result of an extremely potent and localized expression of good fortune, as a person who is physically and mentally whole is, at least technically, luckier than someone who is not. Another possible interpretation is that Light's aspect embodies fate or destiny. Robbing fortune can be seen as stealing away a favorable fate, while a seer mapping favorable outcomes is essentially charting destiny. Light players have also shared a fascination with history and discovery. At least two enjoy telling long-winded stories about what they've learned, forcing their audience to listen no matter what. This behavior properly parallels the Void aspect obscuring information and being ignored. Known Heroes of Light are Rose Lalonde, the Seer of Light; Vriska Serket, the Thief of Light; and Aranea Serket, the Sylph of Light. The associated denizen of the Light aspect is Cetus, at least for Rose and Vriska. It is unclear whether Aranea's denizen is Cetus, as she has communicated with Echidna. Mind Edit Mind The Mind aspect seems to be related to thoughts and decisions of individuals and the consequences of those decisions. Terezi was able to seeSburb Logo what decisions will be made, and the outcomes of such decisions with her Seer of Mind powers. Heroes of the Mind aspect also seem to be able to communicateSburb Logo with the otherwise-undetectable "dream splinters"Sburb Logo that dreaming players create in dream bubbles. Mind seems to be the antithesis of Heart, given that it is associated with logic and reasoning. It may also be an antithesis of Heart given that it is associated with action and decision-making, in contrast with Heart's association with motivation. Latula, as the Knight of Mind, states that karma makes some sort of intuitive sense to her. Known Heroes of Mind are Terezi Pyrope, the Seer of Mind; and Latula Pyrope, the Knight of Mind. The denizen associated with the Mind aspect is unknown. Heart Edit Heart Calliope has stated that the Heart aspect is comparable to "Soul", or essence of being. This is further shown when Dirk, a Prince of Heart, attempts to extract Aranea's soul from her Logo A Dirk "mind splinter" hosted in Jake's subconscious states thatSburb Logo heroes of Heart walk the path of self. Calliope also says that this aspect may cause splintering in the Hero's personality. When talking to Caliborn, Dirk has stated that "I splinter, but I don't break," however this could just have been a figure of speech. This manifests in Dirk's status as the Prince of Heart, by having simultaneously awake real and dream selves, having his auto-responder AI, a robotic version of himself, and apparently having an imaginary version of himself living within Jake's subconscious. This may also be related to the role-playing tendencies of Nepeta. Although as a passive rogue, Nepeta's abilities may have had to do with splintering others, rather than herself, had she ever realized them. For example she is Equius's Moirail, with the ability to keep him subdued. Without doing so Equius can be far more dangerous than he is, since he is one of the most powerful trolls pre-Hivebent. Given that Heart is associated with emotions and intuition, it can be speculated to be the antithesis of Mind. Heart may also be associated with motivations and inclinations to do things, in contrast with Mind's association with action. Furthering this, Heart may also have something to do with feelings, including feelings of attraction. This could explain why Nepeta and Meulin, both Heroes of Heart, are interested in shipping, but this also fits into the theme of splintered selves. Dirk also seems to enjoy shipping in his own manner by making shipped scenes of himself and his friends at Caliborn's request. In a sense, Heart could be considered to deal with "personality", everything that makes a person uniquely what they are, including primarily their likes and dislikes which lend themselves towards an individual's motivations. Known Heroes of Heart are Dirk Strider, the Prince of Heart; Nepeta Leijon, the Rogue of Heart; and Meulin Leijon, the Mage of Heart. RageEdit Rage The Rage aspect is most likely tied to the emotion of anger. Gamzee, the Bard of Rage, was able to enter a berserker mode, presumably by channeling his anger. This mode greatly increased his strength and allowed him to do massive damage to the Black King during the trolls' fight with him. Also, as he entered this rage, he was surrounded by a purple lightning effect and turned red in his sobriety, though the exact ramifications are not known (though "thunderbolts and lightning" make sense as being associated with Rage if used as a reference to the Norse god Thor, and Mars, the Roman god of War, is associated with "The Red Planet"). Gamzee's eyes were also shown to turn a darker shade of orange, and then completely red, as compared to a normal golden troll eye color. There is also the possibility that this is all just stylistic representation, and not actually there. Rage may also mean belief, specifically believing in only one possibility, or simply blinding the player to all others. An example of this is when Gamzee invited Rage in Terezi, who believed that only Vriska could be possible for the murders. Another speculation is that the Rage aspect deals in sanity or madness, evidenced by Gamzee drawing on ancestral powers to make a whole crew of jokers get to being kinda mentally mother fuckin unstableSburb Logo. There has been at least one clown posse in Homestuck known to be given willingly to insanity, the likes of which bear tangential relation to the Heroes of Rage. Another possibility is that Rage is the antithesis to Heart. Whereas Heart is both positive emotion and essence or "soul", Rage may represent both negative emotion and physical form or "body". Evidence of this is seen in both Gamzee's physical changes during his "rage mode", as well as his manipulation of Terezi's negative feelings toward Vriska, and the fear he instilled in John through his dream self. Among the pre-scratch trolls, Kurloz, the Prince of Rage, is stated to deal with shipping in the the black quadrants while Meulin, the Mage of Heart, deals with shipping in the red quadrants. It should also be noted that due to the "berserker nature" exhibited in Heroes of Rage, Rage players also "splinter" much like Heart players as shown by Gamzee's dual personalities. The Rage aspect seems to be linked to religion. Known Heroes of Rage are Gamzee Makara, the Bard of Rage; and Kurloz Makara, the Prince of Rage. The associated denizen of Rage is unknown. Hope Edit Hope Outline As Light is associated with fortune, Hope seems to embody both its literal meaning and certain holy powers. Eridan, wields powerful attacks which seem to be based on so-called "white science". His title of Prince of Hope denotes both destroying hope itself, as he did by destroying the matriorb, and destruction through hope, which it is possible his white science actually was, especially since they were blasts of powerful white light described as 'holy' and 'sacred' by Kanaya, as well as Terezi's observation that the light smells "hopeful". Supporting the purported connection of white science and Hope powers is Doc Scratch's line that implies through the angels Eridan learned to "destroy hope with their light". Jake, the Page of Hope, emitted a huge aura of white energy, similar to Eridan's "white science" blasts. The Prospitians also considered him to be providing them with literal hope, so Hope is, at least, literal if not figurative. Dirk mentioned that a Page class channelled through Hope was a formidable thing. Caliborn later mentioned that Hope is supposed to be a force of unparalleled power. With Pages having great potential, this seems to prove Dirk's previous statement true. An alternative theory is that Hope is the power of belief. For example, Eridan believes in the power of science, which would explain how a mundanely alchemized wand that he thinks is science-powered could be immensely more powerful than the actual "god-weapon", Ahab's Crosshairs. In a conversation with CalibornSburb Logo Jake states that he thinks Hope is "all about believing in stuff" and that if you believe in something hard enough it just may come true. It would also make sense of the claim that a Page of Hope is such a potent role – massive potential combined with an ability to affect reality through belief could hypothetically approach omnipotence. Especially given that Jake is emphasised to be highly credulous. The fact that "brain ghost Dirk" was made real by JakeSburb Logo reinforces this possibility. Jake also statesSburb Logo that "friendship is a HUGE key to being good at hope". Continuing this, Hope may mean believing in many possibilities. One example is Jake's many fantasies of being an adventurer. This is in contrast to Rage's connotation of belief in only one possibility. It also represents positive emotions to contrast Rage's negative emotions, and it's worth noting that Eridan (a Hope player) was very focused on science, whereas the two Rage players we know of are strongly connected to religion. This makes sense, as science and religion are classically opposed concepts. Known Heroes of Hope are Jake English, the Page of Hope; Eridan Ampora, the Prince of Hope; and Cronus Ampora, the Bard of Hope. Jake's denizen is Abraxas, and it is speculated that Eridan and Cronus share this. It has been shownSburb Logo that adult cherubs have wings that bear striking visual similarities to the symbol for this aspect, further reinforcing the thematic connections made between cherubs and angels, and angels with the Hope aspect. The connection between Hope and angels was also apparent when angels flew out of Jake's powerful Hope aura. All Hope Heroes so far have been shown to use guns as a Strife Specibus. However, this is more likely just a coincidence. The Hope aspect seems to be linked to science. The symbol of Hope appears to be an image of a six-pronged set of wings, likely a reference to seraphim. DoomEdit Doom Doom could be related to death, an antithesis of Life. Sollux, as the Mage of Doom, was inherently aware of the impending destruction that would follow the trolls' playing of the game and was plagued by screams of the imminently deceased. He also displayed remarkable skill at using the ~ATH programming language. Continuing its connotation of death, Doom may also mean sacrifice, since Sollux sacrificed himself to get the trolls to the Green Sun, and Mituna sacrificed his mental well-being to save his friends from an unknown threat. Another likely interpretation could be that it is Hope's antithesis, as it could symbolize the absence of hope as in refering to something as 'doomed', as the original definition of doom equates it to "fate" or "destiny", which is something that cannot be changed. This may be backed up by Sollux's visions and voices in his head foretelling him of imminent doom and death, as well as soon after his introduction referring to the result of the game as "hopeless". An alternative interpretation of Doom is judgement, or law. In fact, this is essentially the original definition of the word. The Doom aspect could, therefore, have some association with the rules that apply to things, such as Sburb sessions. An analogy could be Sollux's hacking skill: he understands the constraints and mechanisms of the system. Of note is the fact that Sollux didn't merely distribute the Sgrub files; he firstly had to reconstruct the code from two sets of ruins, and secondly, it is stated on his introduction pageSburb Logo that he had modified the program slightly. This fits in with the theme of an understanding of system rules and structure. Known Heroes of Doom are Sollux Captor, the Mage of Doom; and Mituna Captor, the Heir of Doom. The associated denizen of Doom is unknown. Both Heroes of Doom seen so far have had two dream selves. Whether this is simply an effect of the Captors' duality theme or a provision by Sburb to players whose aspect deals heavily with death and sacrifice remains to be seen. This aspect is also implied to be connected to the Tumor, due to the similarity in shape and the implications from both of a negative circumstance. The Tumor being apparently connected to ProspitSburb Logo and DerseSburb Logo could in turn support the idea of Doom players having two dream selves. Life Edit Life The Life aspect is some kind of innate "life force" of living beings, necessary and sufficient for life to exist. Life players displayed the ability to heal teammatesSburb Logo by repairing grievous woundsSburb Logo and have even been shown to be capable of resurrecting themselvesSburb Logo. Interestingly, going by Feferi and Jane's examples, Life powers appear to glow in the player's text color. The Condesce was able to extend lifespansSburb Logo, and it is shownSburb Logo that her pre-scratch self, Meenah, is a Thief of Life. If Doom is associated with death, then it may very well be the antithesis of Life. An alternative theory for Life is similar to the theory that Doom is associated with system rules and structure. As Doom may be associated with understanding the rules, Life may be associated with testing and subverting them. Biological life is known for its resilience – one need only consider organisms that live next to volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean to appreciate this. Life adapts to find a way to survive, and in the process, probes the extremes of possibility. If both theories are correct, Life would remain opposed to Doom as expected. Possible supporting evidence for this theory includes the spontaneous revival of Jane's dream self (not normally possible) and the extension of the Helmsman's lifespan by the Condesce. Meenah demonstrates a very experimental mindset with regards to the way things work (speculating on concepts such as whether it's possible to "double die", as well as wanting to stab Roxy just to see what happens), and as the queen of Derse, the Condesce is perfectly happy to bend the rules by endorsing "tactical shortcuts" in the war against Prospit. Known Heroes of Life are Jane Crocker, the Maid of Life; Feferi Peixes, the Witch of Life; and Meenah Peixes, the Thief of Life. Jane's denizen is Hemera, and it is speculated that Feferi and Meenah share this. BloodEdit Blood The Blood aspect, like some others, has not yet been shown to have a literal or clear-cut meaning. Common theories include affinity, affection and unity in general, such as the word is used in "blood brothers". Karkat, the Knight of Blood, had a reputation among his friends for sympathy, and out of all the A2 trolls, he remains the only one not to have been either attacker or victim in any aggressive act between the twelve players in his session. Additional evidence for affection is its use in the form of moirallegiance with Gamzee in order to protect the other surviving trolls. Karkat's obtainment of "cahoots" with his session's Jack Noir may also be a form of this. It should also be noted that Karkat was able to unite the trolls despite their differences (including blood color) in order to reach their common goal: win Sgrub. Karkat has also stated that "Leadership is in his bloodSburb Logo". That may also suggest that the Blood aspect involves unity of some sort. If this is the case, it can be speculated that Breath is the antithesis of Blood, since Breath is associated with direction rather than unity. Alternatively, Heart may be the antithesis of Blood, as a hero of Heart walks the path of self rather than unity. Contrast Karkat's leadership and constant communication with Dirk's tendency to orchestrate plans on his own, without the help of his teammates. Jack's bloodied handSburb Logo is very similar to the symbol of the Blood aspect. Another possibility exists that the aspect refers to strong emotion. Some of the evidence supporting this is the fact that Karkat, as a Knight of Blood, is fighting with and getting upset with John. A Knight weaponizes their aspect. Kankri, the Seer of Blood, frequently attaches triggers to everything he says, which "benefits others with [his] knowledge" of emotional responses. It was stated that both Karkat and Kankri never fully realized their potential as Blood players, however, the Sufferer did begin to realize his powers as the former Seer of Blood. These allowed him to see his alternate reality self living on Beforus which triggered his attempt to reunite trollkind, implying that Blood powers may have to do with alternate selves or, as previously mentioned, unity. This is supported by the conversations Karkat held with Jade in which both his future and past selves were present in chat. Known Heroes of Blood are Karkat Vantas, the Knight of Blood; and Kankri Vantas, the Seer of Blood. The associated denizen of Blood is unknown. It should be noted that both Blood players were trolls with bright red blood that is considered a mutation. This trait only occurs in trolls as a mutation, but Sburb considered the color to be normal, as proven by the Blood symbol and the blood of the carapacians. Breath Edit Breath The Breath aspect seems to have some relationship to John's power over The Breeze (such as The Windy Thing). It was never revealed whether Tavros has or could have had equivalent powers, but since he spent most of his time in the game asleep or otherwise passive, it seems unlikely that he was able to complete whatever makes those powers available. However, as shown hereSburb Logo, Tavros' breath appears as blue lines similar to the Breath symbol. The significance of this is currently unknown. However, by speculation, he is a Page of Breath so it might be showing his ability to create or manifest his aspect, as pages do. Tavros also shows a great enjoyment of flight (moving through the air), mainly through a rocket chair and his dream self on Prospit. He is not capable, however, of unaided flight, which could be linked to his class, which is said to be closely related to potential (which he was never shown to fully realize). It is possible that, like Light has associations with both luck and knowledge, Breath may also have multiple facets, making the various combinations with classes more viable, as the Windy Thing and its effects do not lend themselves too much for classes like the Seer or Thief. It may have connections to Life or living, since Tavros might have been accessing this power before attempting to revive Vriska. It could have some connection to motion, as wind, or by combining these facets, animation, the motion of living or life-like things. It may also have connections to direction, since John is very seldom at a loss of what to do next. If this is the case, it can be speculated that Blood is the antithesis of Breath, since Blood is associated with unity rather than direction. It may also be associated with rising up, including flight, confidence, and rebellion. It might be representative of freedom, as Rufioh's post-scratch self (Rogue of Breath) attempted to steal the freedom from the highbloods and give it to the lowbloods in his rebellion, and he could control animals, stealing their free will. Also, John, the Heir of Breath, inherits or receives a sort of "freedom" from the storyline when he is affected by LOrd English's "treasure". In the Act 6 Intermission 3, during his battle with Jack Noir in a dream bubble, John was able to turn into wisps of air to escape Jack's hold and was able to reform behind him. He has demonstratedSburb Logo this power again in Act 6Act 6 while avoiding Grimbark Jade, in tandem with continued zapping around canonspace due to the effects of English's "treasure". The association with Life could parallel that of Blood, with both John and Karkat being the ones to create the players and their ancestors for their respective sessions. The Breath symbol bears a resemblance to a symbol on Link's ship in the game The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Interestingly, John is displayed in a full Link outfit when he enters Trickster Mode in one of the Shale Imp Strife Flashes. Known Heroes of Breath are John Egbert, the Heir of Breath; Tavros Nitram, the Page of Breath; and Rufioh Nitram, the Rogue of Breath. John's denizen is Typheus, and it is speculated that this is shared by Tavros and Rufioh. ACT 6.4 A class is one part of a title assigned to a player of Sburb, the other part being aspect. There are twelve known normal classes and two "master" classes. Classes describe the intended role of a particular player in Sburb, and how they can use their aspect. They come in passive (+) and active (-) pairs, with each member of a particular pair preforming a similar function but with differences in execution and outcome. It is a vague concept with some flexibility. Calliope has given two examples of this dichotomy with the Rogue/Thief pairingSburb Logo (both steal, with Rogues doing so to help their team mates and Thieves doing so for their own benefit) and the Bard/Prince pairingSburb Logo (both cause destruction, with Bards bringing destruction and Princes directly destroying). Various guidelines of the dichotomy have been revealed from a simplistic "active means offensive, passive means defensive"; to more complex ones with the active classes employing or affecting their aspect directly and for their own gain, and the passive classes being affected by their aspect, and sharing their actions with the team. One definition is they are able to do something using their aspect and do something to their aspect. The passiveness or activeness of a class is one of multiple factors related to whether a player is a Prospit or Derse dreamer. The passive/active system exists on a scaleSburb Logo with classes being more passive or active than others. With the exception of the master classes, no class' position on the scale has been revealed, although some hints have been given. The classes have different gender alignment with some of the classes tending to be assigned to males or females, with others being exclusive to a certain gender. While not all the gender alignments are known, Calliope has statedSburb Logo there to be equal numbers of male exclusive and female exclusive classes. So far three male exclusive classes (Bard, Prince and Lord) and a single female exclusive class (Muse)have been confirmed. Out of the remaining ten classes, five are known to be assigned to both genders, and the final five have only been shown assigned to a single gender but unconfirmed to be gender exclusive. However given the unbalanced numbers, at least two of the remaining five must be female exclusive, with the remaining three all assigned to both genders or split between gender exclusive and gender biased. A few class mechanics have been explicitly explained, others only implied. Contents[show] Rogue and Thief Edit Thief template The garb of a ThiefRogue template The garb of a Rogue Rogue and Thief are a pair of classes, respectively passive and active, that are assigned typically, but not exclusively, to female players. They deal with stealing and turning others' powers against them. While the active Thief will steal things to their own benefit, the passive Rogue will enhance their teammates, or their session with the stolen aspect and is described by Roxy as a "Robin Hood" of their aspect. Vriska, as the Thief of Light, is able to steal luck from her allies or enemies, and make herself luckier. It should also be noted that little things characters do reflect their classes, as Vriska stole the victory by landing the finishing blow on the black king even though Gamzee dealt the most damage. Roxy, as the Rogue of Void, is said to black-out her entire session in the future, presumably via sharing the black-out with her teammates. Roxy also "stole" pumpkins from around the world and shared them with her neighbors, fitting in with the "Rogue = Robin Hood" description. Another ability Roxy shows is being able to steal the nothingness from imaginary objects, making things that exist from things that don't exist, seemingly materializing them out of thin air. Meenah, as the Thief of Life, "stole" her friends' lives (by killing them) so they could continue to exist after the scratch. As the Condescension she was able to lengthen hers and The Helmsman's lifespans indefinitely and cut short a thousand others at her will. This could lead to speculation that Thieves can share when it suits them, whereas Rogues share by nature. Nepeta, as the Rogue of Heart, is presumably able to give or share her 'heart' with others, as she does ridiculous things for the people she loves. It might also be that she'd be able to give others love, as she dearly wants Karkat to return her feelings, and as The Disciple and The Signless were lovers as well, although all this is speculation. Worthy of notation as well is Nepeta's affinity for shipping. The idea of the black-out may or may not have anything to do with Rose going grimdark, which disrupted Trollian's viewport. One theory on these two is that where a thief is "one who steals (aspect) from others", a rogue is "one who steals from (aspect)". This idea stems from Vriska stealing luck from her friends as opposed to Roxy stealing from the nothingness of non-existent objects in order to create them. Known Thieves are Vriska Serket, the Thief of Light; and Meenah Peixes, the Thief of Life. Known Rogues are Roxy Lalonde, the Rogue of Void; Nepeta Leijon, the Rogue of Heart; and Rufioh Nitram, the Rogue of Breath. Heir Edit Heir template The garb of an Heir The exact powers of an Heir are unknown. John (the Heir of Breath) was saved by the Breeze twice before he learned how to willingly use it, and Jack Noir was unable to pick up the source of his scentSburb Logo, as if the Breeze was protecting him. He was also saved in a battle with Jack Noir by turning into wisps of windSburb Logo and reforming behind him. Equius (as well as his ancestor) was given the ability to not be noticed, which can be seen as an effective form of protection. Equius used his fists as his main weapon, which can be interpreted as him using nothing (Void) to fight and defend himself with. Mituna Captor was also said to have lost his psychic powers (and possibly part of his sanity) while protecting his friends from an imminent disaster. Their placement on the passive–active scale is unknown; they may be the active (-) or passive (+) equivalent to any of the classes of Maid, Knight, Sylph, Witch, or Page. They could also be the counterpart to the Mage. One speculation of the Mage is that they are protected from their aspect and since an Heir might be one who is protected by their aspect they may be opposites of each other. Their gender alignment is unknown but if only two of the standard classes are female exclusive Heirs would be biased towards males. Should three of the standard classes be female exclusive Heirs may be either biased towards males or male exclusive, depending on the alignment of the Page class. Known Heirs are John Egbert, the Heir of Breath; Equius Zahhak, the Heir of Void; and Mituna Captor, the Heir of Doom. SpeculationEdit A common speculation for this class is that it is 'one who protects themselves with [aspect]', or 'one who is protected by [aspect]'. That said, they could be the active (-) counterpart of Maid. This is strongly hinted at hereSburb Logo with the quote "The heiress is the Maid." Another definition of Heir may be 'one who is consumed by their aspect', or 'one who is surrounded by [aspect]', since John was surrounded by the Windy Thing, Equius was surrounded by a Void that protected him from Doc Scratch's omniscience, and Mituna was surrounded by the screams of the imminently deceased. Also, it has been theorised that the class of Heir can possibly be "one that manipulates their [aspect]". Said to be the passive (+) counterpart of Witch who actively "increases or decreases the amount of [aspect]". This can be seen by how both John and Jade can seemingly have control of their apects. John by using the "windy thing" to save others, and by Jade changing the amount of space a planet holds by shrinking etc. The title "Heir" could also have a more literal meaning, as "one who inherits/receives aspect". John, the Heir of Breath, recieves a sort of freedom from the storyline when he is affected by LOrd English's "treasure", and Mituna recieves a kind of doom when he lost part of his sanity. Yet another meaning could be 'one who becomes [aspect]', based on John's ability to become Breath, and the fact that Equius's blood was used to Void out the words on a page. Mituna is less clear, however he may have became the literal embodiment of Doom during his accident. Maid Edit Maid template The garb of a Maid The exact powers of a Maid are unknown. Aradia (the Maid of Time) was able to freeze Jack, while Jane was able to heal herself after being stabbed, and is able to bring people back from the dead, although according to Jade, that ability is limited to one use per person. Likewise, its passive/active alignment is also unknown; it could be the passive or active counterpart to any of the classes Heir, Sylph, Witch, Knight or Page. Known Maids are Jane Crocker, the Maid of Life; Aradia Megido, the Maid of Time; and Porrim Maryam, the Maid of Space. SpeculationEdit All seen Maids have been female and it is speculated to be a female exclusive class. One theory is that the Maid class is a pun, and that Maids are 'made of (aspect)Sburb Logo or 'provide themselves with [aspect]', which could make it the active (-) counterpart to the Page class which is speculated to "provides others with their aspect'. it is also possible that Maid is shorthand for "Handmaid" or "Shieldmaiden", fitting with its class's apparent focus on protecting/defending. Maid could be the passive counterpart of the Heir class; if Heir is 'one who protects themselves/is protected by [aspect]' then Maid could be 'one who allows others to be protected by [aspect]/one who protects [aspect]'- as in, literally one who serves their aspect, like how Aradia froze Jack to protect others and protected time by maintaining the timeline or how Jane can bring back the dead protecting them from death. And if Heir is 'one who is surrounded by [aspect]', then Maid may be 'one who surrounds others with [aspect]', as seen when Aradia surrounds Jack Noir in a field of stopped Time. Maids may also be the active (-) counterpart to the Sylph class, as healers or repairers, as Sylph appears to be a healer class, while Aradia used time travel to avert doomed timelines, in essence, "repairing the timeline", and Jane repaired her planet and also herself. Maid could also refer to protecting/"cleaning up/tidying" [aspect]. Aradia, when talking to Sollux, mentioned the reason she was accompanying Vriska on her mission to find LOrd English's treasure, was because "all loops must be tidied up even his". It is also possible that the Maid is someone who protects themselves and/or others with [aspect]' since Jane could resurrect herself after being stabbed. Aradia could also use her time powers to freeze Jack in time, thus protecting herself with time. There is also a possible example of this later in the comic when Aradia says that she'd slow down Jack while Rose, Dave and the other trolls went ahead during the "race"; she might have used her time powers to do this. This could make it the counterpart to the Knight class; Knights being one who fights (for themselves/for others) with [aspect] and Maids being those that protect themselves and others. This also could allude to Roxy's description of the active/passive classes being similar to the the "attack/defend powers in an RPG" Yet another interpretation is that a Maid is "One who gives X," with X being the aspect. Aradia gave the Trolls, Dave, and Rose time when she stalled Jack Noir and boosted the meteor towards its destination, and Jane is shown to be able to give life to others by reviving them once they die. Page Edit Page template The garb of a Page The exact definition of the Page class is currently unknown, as is its passive/active alignment though it is hinted that the class "provides others with (aspect)" or "creates (aspect)" as seen hereSburb Logo. The Page of Breath, Tavros Nitram, was shown exhaling with breath that resembled the Breath symbol when preparing to wake Vriska with a kiss. However, Pages seem to have a tendency to begin their sessions with a personal deficit in their aspect, which means we haven't seen a great display of powers from them yet. Tavros entered the Medium crippled with dreams of flying, and must overcome this (using a rocket car and robotic legs) in order to become a significant player in the session. Jake begins his session with his dream self dead, making it harder for him to ascend to god tier, and Horuss describes learning more about himself by turning to the void, rebuilding his personality and perceptions of reality from it. Dirk (albeit the splintered version of Dirk that exists only within Jake's subconscious) revealsSburb Logo that Pages have a lot of untapped potential and once they find this potential within them they are adept at using it. In Caliborn 's conversation with Jake, he reveals that if Jake realizes his powers as a Page of Hope, Jake might become powerful enough to defeat him, despite Caliborn being a Lord (one of the two master classes). This corroborates the idea that Pages are extremely powerful, once they realize their potential. This potential is also hinted atSburb Logo when Tavros and Aradia talk about how Tavros's Flarp class Boy-Skylark's "useful c0mbat abilities [d0n't] c0me int0 play until y0u reach a very high level" and hereSburb Logo when Aranea said "You see, in every hero of hope there dwells a gr8 hidden power, unrivaled 8y that of any other aspect and for a page, the journey to reach his full potential is longer than it is for any other class 8ut once that journey is over, how fearsome he 8ecomes!" Known Pages are Jake English, the Page of Hope; Tavros Nitram, the Page of Breath; and Horuss Zahhak, the Page of Void. SpeculationEdit Due to the contextual relation in the name, Pages are speculated to be the passive counterpart to a Knight. Knights are thought to be warriors that exploit or equip themselves with their aspect as a weapon: one who wields one's aspect, while the Page may be the passive counterpart: one who equips others with one's aspect. This implies that Tavros, as the Page of Breath, is able to equip others with breath, explaining the Breath symbol that appeared when he prepared to revive Vriska with his kiss. However, 'Page' could also be taken as 'a blank sheet of paper', which would point to the potential they have and possibly make the Page as actually something to do with exploiting potential rather than that just being a side effect of their powers. Pages might be a male-exclusive class, as the real-life profession is that of a male servant. Knight Edit Knight template The garb of a Knight The Knight is a class assigned to both male and female players. The exact powers of a knight are unknown, but it has been described by AradiaSburb Logo as warriors that exploit their aspect as a weapon. It is unclear where they fall on the active/passive axis. Known Knights are Dave Strider, the Knight of Time; Karkat Vantas, the Knight of Blood; and Latula Pyrope, the Knight of Mind. SpeculationEdit The Knight could be defined as 'one who equips themselves with [aspect]' or 'one who improves themselves with [aspect]', as supported by Aradia's statement, Dave's manipulation of the timeline for his own benefits and Karkat's leadership efforts to make bonds to unify his team and his calls on his teammates against adversaries, which could make it the active counterpart to Page. Knight is also sometimes speculated as a 'protector' or one who uses their aspect to protect their teammates rather than to advance themselves, which could mean it was the counterpart to Heir or Maid instead; Dave has so far saved the lives of all the members of his team, and Karkat tries to protect his team in his leadership, for example from Gamzee and Eridan in their rampages, and in pacifying Gamzee. In a more personal level, it may be interpreted as 'one who protects/conceals their [aspect]', as Dave is responsible for maintaining the timelines; Karkat attempts to keep his mutant blood color a secret; and Porrim strongly suspects that Latula is hiding the true extent of her knowledge. Karkat, as the Knight of Blood, also has a unique leadership role, being outside the hemospectrum, and better suited to pacify a jumble of different-blooded trolls. This could qualify as using his blood to his advantage. The Knight may have something to do with breeding the Genesis Frog, since in two of the sessions so far, the Knight has assisted the Hero of Space in the breeding. While it may not appear to be a necessary part of the game, both sessions seen thus far that lack a Knight have been doomed to failure from the outset; it is unclear whether this is meaningful, however. All Knights we know have been hiding their emotions behind an "act". Dave puts on the aloof coolkid mask, whereas Karkat tries to seem angry and tough. Both are, in a way, shown to be different from this facade they put on, though. Dave being seen to be emotionally attached to his companions, and Karkat being known as the most sympathetic of the post-scratch trolls, even having risked his life to protect others, shoosh-papping the rage out of a sober Gamzee. Latula's rad game girl act fits with this pattern as well. Worth noting as interesting trivia is the connection between the aspect of a session's Knight and a deficit of said aspect among the team. In the beta kids' session, Dave uses his abilities as a Hero of Time to make up for the fact that they had an early reckoning, and in the post-scratch troll session Karkat attempts to rally his co-players together despite an enormous lack of unity (something which could conceivably be related to the Blood aspect). Meenah describes her co-players as stupid throughout her stories of their session, possibly pertaining to Latula's aspect, Mind. It may also be of significance that both major Knights have been seen to have problems with 'splintering' similar to that which Dirk experiences - Dave at first being creeped out by the 'other hims' (as well as his dual control of both himself and his dream self), and Karkat always having arguments with his future self. Seer Edit Seer template The garb of a Seer The Seer is a passive (+) class, assigned to both male and female players, that uses extensive knowledge to coordinate their team members. According to Aradia, they understand their aspect comprehensively (e.g. Terezi knows all consequences of individual actions, and Rose knows the "most fortuitous path", and what happens in it). Doc Scratch also states that Seers will keep their party from making grave mistakes, as if they had a strategy guide for Sburb imprinted deep in their mind. Two of the Seers can hear the mental commands of the exiles louder than the other playersSburb Logo. One of the Mages apparently experienced this as Logo Known Seers are Rose Lalonde, the Seer of Light; Terezi Pyrope, the Seer of Mind; and Kankri Vantas, the Seer of Blood. SpeculationEdit The Seer is usually taken as 'one who benefits others with their knowledge pertaining to their aspect' or 'one who leads and guides with knowledge pertaining to [aspect]'. As stated below, a Mage/Seer class pairing is strongly implied. Mage Edit Mage template small The "semi-canon" Mage design The exact definition of the Mage class is unknown, as is its passive/active alignment. The Mage class is assigned to both males and females. Known Mages are Sollux Captor, the Mage of Doom; and Meulin Leijon, the Mage of Heart. SpeculationEdit The Mage class is most commonly thought to be the active counterpart to Seer, someone that 'benefits themselves with knowledge pertaining to [aspect]' and 'guides by setting an example using knowledge pertaining to [aspect]', like how Sollux actively led the surviving trolls away from their doom. The pairing is further alluded to by the fact that, in the Troll session, only the Seer and Mage are blind, and Sollux says that "iit2 kiind of liike how a prophet earn2 hii2 2triipe2, by beiing bliind, liike how an angel earn2 iit2 Logo" In addition, Mages, like Seers, seem to be more directly cognizant of their exiles' Logo However, Mituna also saw a great doom ahead of time and promptly stopped it despite being the Heir of Doom rather than a Mage of Doom, leading to a possibility that those with the Doom aspect generally have some ability to foresee doom and calamity no matter which class they are assigned to. Mages could also be speculated as 'one who receives knowledge from [aspect]' as opposed to the Seer's 'one who gains knowledge through [aspect]'. Sollux heard the voices of the imminently dead (THE DOOMED), and Meulin Leijon, despite being deaf, is able to communicate with her ex-matesprit; in essence, she could hear his soul (which could be taken literally, given his use of telepathy, she hears his self). Another definition is that a Mage is 'one who creates [aspect]'. Sollux created the mobius double reacharound virus, which supposedly works like a curse that resulted in the death of the trolls lusii, although it actually prevented a far more sinister timeline in which Gamzee kills everyone. Sollux's creation of Sgrub, as well as the creation of the virus, could also be seen as evidence that Mages are in fact 'ones who create their aspect' although whether this makes the class active or passive is debatable. Meulin's reputed skills as a masterful matchmaker even bringing together unlikely pairings also supports this view. Mage class could also be the passive (+) counterpart to the Witch class and can mean "one who manipulates with or through the use of [aspect]", or "one who is manipulated by [aspect]". This can be shown by how Meulin is being manipulated through Kurloz, her former matesprit (which is a quadrant represented by a heart) and how Sollux was manipulated by the voices of the imminently deceased or the doomed, as well as ghostly Aradia. Yet another speculation is that Mage is synonymous to being "given protection from their aspect's ill effects". Sollux had two dream selves, was able to exit the dream bubble he was in, and only half died, while Meulin seems to have been spared heartbreak despite her romantic troubles. Alternately, a Mage could be one who uses their aspect to the benefit of others, but to the detriment of themselves. This would explain the fact that Sollux's abilities benefit the team overall, but cause him a great deal of personal distress. It would also account for the fact that Meulin has such terrible luck in her romantic life, despite her outstanding ability to bring other couples together. Sylph Edit Sylph heromode The garb of a Sylph The Sylph is a magic based class that is thought to specialize in healing. As a Sylph of Light, Aranea healed primarily by helping people to see things, both figuratively and literally. In the figurative sense, she focused on helping people to heal from psychological wounds. In the literal sense, she restores Terezi's eyesight for her, as well as Jake's mind. Its placement on the passive/active scale is unknown, although most consider it passive. Known Sylphs are Kanaya Maryam, the Sylph of Space; and Aranea Serket, the Sylph of Light. SpeculationEdit Kanaya statesSburb Logo that a Sylph is "Sort Of Like A Witch But More Magical", meaning that it is possible that the Witch class could be its active (-) counterpart; it could be that Sylphs benefit others in an abstract or psychological sense of their aspect while Witches manipulate it more practically, in a physical sense, which would be supported by the actions of Jade and Aranea, the two main examples in Sylphs and Witches. However she later statesSburb Logo "I Am On Record As Once Having Facetiously Likened It To A Magical Witch", casting that into doubt. Sylphs and Witches could have something to do with secrets as well. The traditional connotations of sylphs and witches are generally mysterious and secretive. All of the known Sylphs and Witches are friendly, even-tempered or perhaps inconsequential on the surface (Feferi, Jade, Aranea, Kanaya, Damara before she was corrupted) but they were actually all surprisingly powerful in some way, and they could get really fiery if you pushed them to their limits. Additionally, the known Witches and Sylphs seem to have entered their sessions quite late, and according to Jade's comments it was quite a long path realizing herself as a witch, as she was the last to enter, the last to find her powers and the last to god tier. This would be supported by Aranea's unlocking light for others, and Jade's unlocking space by her teleporting, expanding/shrinking and moving powers. Maids are also speculated to be Sylphs' active (-) counterpart as one who heals or restores. Aradia, as the Maid of Time, used time travel to avert doomed timelines, thus "repairing" the timeline, and Jane, as the Maid of Life, healed herself using her powers, which is similar to Aranea's use of light to heal people. Jane and Kanaya also had similar transformations into absurd creatures who avenged themselves on insensitive characters, with several directly parallel panels. Sylphs could be a female exclusive class. Witch Edit Witch template The garb of a Witch The Witch is an active (-) class. The exact definition of the Witch class is unknown. Jade Harley (the Witch of Space) is able to change the size, velocity and position of things in space, and an alternate-timeline Feferi (the Witch of Life), was shown healing WV in a dream bubble. Known Witches are Jade Harley, the Witch of Space; Feferi Peixes, the Witch of Life; and Damara Megido, the Witch of Time. SpeculationEdit All seen Witches have been female and it is speculated to be a female exclusive class. The most common definition of a Witch is 'one who manipulates [aspect]', although that seems a little vague. Witches are most possibly the active counterpart to Sylph, which is explored in the Sylph section, as either 'one who physically or literally manipulates [aspect] to benefit themselves' (as opposed to 'one who abstractly or psychologically manipulates [aspect] to benefit others') or else 'one who unlocks [aspect]' (as opposed to 'one who unlocks [aspect] for others'). Another speculation is that Witch is related to "breaking the rules" of their aspect. Feferi was able to establish an afterlife through dream bubbles, therefore breaking the rules of Life. Jade displays powers that completely go against the laws of physics. This could make Witches the active (-) counterpart to Mages, if they are also related to the rules in some fashion as is sometimes speculated, whether it be the Mage enforcing/enacting the rules due to being manipulated by said rules or the Mage having the power to manipulate the rules. While Witches manipulate their aspect, Heirs appear to be manipulated by their aspect and passively control their aspect. This could make Heirs the passive (+) counterpart to Witches. Witch could also be a pun. Witches might choose "which" of a portion of their aspect they want, such as Jade choosing which Space to occupy, including traveling to another session, and Feferi choosing which Life to lead. Bard and Prince Edit Bard template The garb of a BardPrince template The garb of a Prince Bard and Prince are a pair of classes, respectively passive and active, that are exclusively male and deal with destruction. The Prince, as the active, is literally simplified to "destroyer of [aspect]" or "one who destroys via [aspect]". Bards are somewhat stranger, in that they "allow destruction of [aspect]" or "invite destruction through [aspect]". The Bard is also quite the wildcard; unpredictable by nature and thus equally likely to help or hinder his party, often to great effect. In extreme cases they are either single-handedly responsible for their party's massive downfall, their improbable victory, or sometimes even both. The Prince's powers seem to include phenomenal offensive abilities, using their aspect to completely overwhelm other aspects or players. Eridan, as the Prince of Hope, killed or knocked out a lot of his teammates, including Sollux, who up to that point was one of the most powerful fighters in his session (second only to Gamzee, Vriska, and, possibly, Equius). He also destroyed the Matriorb, the trolls' hope for the survival of their race. While unconfirmed, evidence seems to indicate that the "white science" powers he used were actually his aspect, Hope, being used as an attack. If this is the case, then Princes may be able to channel their aspect into its physical form for destructive purposes. Dirk, the Prince of Heart, literally 'destroyed heart' as he killed the Hegemonic Brute (Hearts Boxcars). Later on, he also literally began ripping out the soul of Aranea Serket. If the pre-scratch version of Dave's bro is any indication, Dirk is also an incredibly strong fighter. Princes also tend to lack their aspect; Dirk describes himself as heartless, Eridan says that there is no hope left when he wants to join Jack, and Kurloz, the Prince of Rage, is completely calm in all situations in which he's seen. Gamzee, as the Bard of Rage, could enter some sort of berserk mode, causing deep fear in everyone around, and becoming exceptionally strong. When he did he was surrounded by a strange purple lightning which turned red later, and may have been Rage itself considering the purple colours of his god tier robes. This suggests that Bards can use their aspect to improve their own abilities and possibly others. Later on he allows his Rage to be destroyed by Karkat, and sets a trap for Terezi that, by inspiring Rage against Vriska, invites her to commit destruction. During his stay on the meteor, his uncanny ability to inspire Rage in Terezi results in him becoming her kismesis, which proves to be a very negative (or self-destructive, as it were) relationship for her. He has been seen in god tier clothing while in possession of Aradia's music box time machines, suggesting that like the jokerkind strife specibus can use other weapons, Bards can use their aspect to 'mimic' the powers of other aspects. This would be in keeping with the idea that Bards and Princes are an opposite pairing: the Prince overwhelms other aspects entirely, while the Bard exploits other aspects to strengthen their own aspect. The god tier outfit for Princes seems to consist of pantaloons and a crown, much like an ordinary prince, despite the class's non-literal nature. It should be noted that, in a somewhat related circumstance, the god tier outfit of the Bard class comes standard with a clown-like form better suiting a jester and MASSIVE codpiece, which is a highly likely reference to Bard Quest's Hull of the Flagship codpiece. Prince may have been made a "destroyer class" as a reference to the King's Quest series of computer games, in which destroying things is considered "the nature of princes." Known Bards are Gamzee Makara, the Bard of Rage; and Cronus Ampora, the Bard of Hope. Known Princes are Dirk Strider, the Prince of Heart; Eridan Ampora, the Prince of Hope; and Kurloz Makara, the Prince of Rage. Muse and Lord Edit Lord Template A Lord template, which is obviously canon. Obviously. Calliope has stated that these two classes (the so-called master classes) are significantly more powerful than the others, and that these are the classes she and Caliborn have. Her class, Muse, is female-exclusive and the most passive of all classes, while Caliborn's class, Lord, is male-exclusive and the most active. Presumably, these classes are paired. It could be speculated that these classes deal with interference in a cosmic level, with LOrd English (who is Caliborn) destroying the dream bubbles and being the leader of The Felt (who are notorious for interfering with time - although this theoretically may just be due to the fact that the aspect of their player ,who is Caliborn, is time; eg, a hero of light might have luck/fortune based leprechauns, or a hero of breath might have wind based leprechauns) and Calliope inserting herself, or at least, her trollsona, into real events. It could also be speculated that the muse class is based on the traditional role of a Muse, to inspire. The tale of Calliope's tragedy has inspired hundreds of souls to seek her soul out, or, at the very least, to seek a way to kill Caliborn. this also ties in with the Muse being the most passive class of all, as all Calliope has done to fulfil her role is die at her brother's hands. If Caliborn's rantSburb Logo is anything to go by, progressing as a Lord involves excruciating effort and a large amount of suffering. Also, in place of other players, Caliborn, as the Lord of Time, has several underlings with time-themed powers and apparently must learn to command them in order to make any progress in his session. In fact, taking all of the above points together, it may be suggested that the two master classes are at least partially codified by the ability of the player to influence events indirectly: the Muse inspires others' actions despite not being in a position to do anything directly by herself, while the Lord instructs his minions' actions in the places he cannot Logo It is possible that these classes are "master classes" in the sense that they are "master copies", or guidelines for what defines active and passive classes. Aranea, in Act 6 Intermission 5, describes the two options Yaldabaoth offers Caliborn in The Choice. The options may delineate the roles two master classes. Caliborn, of course, as an active player, chooses the more active choice: to prove himself through a series of trials before receiving unconditional immortality and a limitless supply of power, "to destroy anything he wanted, for as long as he wanted." The other option, which could correspond to Calliope's role as a Muse, is for the player to give up all ambition and accept her own death in exchange for the promise that her sacrifice will benefit all who ever lived by ending "a force of unfathoma8le evil and desctuction"- in other words, the player who chose the first option. So far, Caliborn's Lord of Time outfit has only been seen in Scribble Mode, and in Hero Mode in a few panels in which he is mostly adfksjdn. It has a long cloak which covers his shoulders, and has the Time colours and symbol, but otherwise seems to match his previous outfit, complete with green suspenders and pants which leave his robotic leg uncovered. It's not clear whether this is Caliborn's original default Lord of Time outfit or a modified version like Meenah's outfit in Ministrife. The suspenders are identical to the green suspenders from his previous outfit which he previously pledged to never stop wearing, and Stitch is a good tailor.