Class Basics

Maid of Life.

Rogue of Void.

Prince of Heart.

Page of Hope.

Titles like these are the foundation that make up that which is the Homestuck Classpecting system. These titles can also be called classpect titles or classpects. To understand how this system works, one must understand the purpose of these titles. Each title is made up of two components: Aspect and Class. This page focuses on the Class part of Classpects.

If you have not already checked out my post on Aspect Basics, you should because this post assumes you have a basic understanding of aspects. That said, let's get into it!

Classes' Purpose

Classes indicate how a character interacts with their aspect. According to Calliope, "the aspect is channeled more specifically by the assets of ones class" (Homestuck, page 4513). Thus, characters with the same class will interact with their aspects similarly.

Classes have more depth to them than their literal definitions. The literal definition of each class cannot be taken at face value as being indicative of the class's true nature. Addoring to Calliope, the "sUrface meaning of classes and aspects can be deceptive," (Homestuck, page 4564). Even their definitions as given in-canon may not be meant to be taken literally, as discussed by Kanaya; "It Could Also Be Theres More To Being A Warrior Than Engaging In Physical Combat" (Homestuck, page 7637).

NOTE TO SELF: PUT https://visionaryparacosmos.neocities.org/images/husstweet.jpg HERE

Given that the classes are based off of "myth archetypes" (see the above, now deleted and unarchived, tweets), it is likely that a class is both indicative of the process through which they interact with their aspect and their broader journey through the narrative.

The Class Scale

There are 14 classes in total: 12 standard classes (Andrew Hussie's Twitter) and 2 master classes (Homestuck, page 5093). The 12 standard classes are Bard, Heir, Knight, Mage, Maid, Page, Prince, Rogue, Seer, Sylph, Thief, and Witch. There are 2-to-3 characters of each of these classes in Homestuck. The two master classes, Lord and Muse, each only have one example.

According to Calliope, all classes are categorized as either passive or active. "[T]here are passive (+) and active (-) classes" (Homestuck, page 4514). The passive/active distinction is complex; the jist of it is that passive and active classes tend to interact with their aspect in different ways. "[W]hether the class is [passive] or [active] makes all the difference. it is a great indicator as to how a hero will make Use of [their] aspect" (Homestuck, page 4514).

She also divides classes into pairs made up of one active class and one passive class. "[C]lasses always come in [passive/active] pairs" (Homestuck, page 4514). Classes are paired together based on how they interact with their aspect as "both classes in [passive/active] pairs tend to have very similar descriptions" (Homestuck, page 4514). For example, the Rogue (+)/Thief (-) pairing are both defined as "one who steals" (Homestuck, page 4514).

Furthermore, classes can be organized on a scale from most to least passive/active. "[S]ome [classes are] more strongly passive or active than others" (Homestuck, page 4514). Many classpecting theorists represent this scale with numbers, on a scale from +7 to -7, wherein +7 is the most passive class, -7 is the most active class, and 0 is the dividing line between active and passive classes.

The class scale is organized in a manner so that paired classes have "significant disparity between them" (Homestuck, page 4514). How far apart they must be and whether that amount is consistent for all pairs is unknown, but paired classes will definitely not be next to each other on the scale and will likely have more than one class separating them on the scale.

An Aside on De-Canonized Gendering

Some classes originally were stated to be gender exclusive (Homestuck, page 4564) or to lean towards a particular gender (Homestuck, page 4514). Andrew Hussie originally balanced the class scale based on gender and had an equal amount of assigned to each binary gender (Andrew Hussie's Twitter). Since then, Hussie has confirmed that a formerly gender-restricted class could be assigned to someone of another gender ( Andrew Hussie's Twitter). Due to this, many people, myself included, disregard gender when classpecting characters and people.

That said, the originally intended gender assignment of a class is relevant to knowing where each class may fall on the scale. As such, while I do not subscribe to classes being gendered, I do use the available information to better understand the class scale's potential arrangement.

Conclusion and Further Reading

And that's the basics of classes! If you're curious about learning more about a particular class, check out my Classpecting 102 pages.

If you'd like to get more into the passive/active divide, check out this page!

I hope you enjoyed! Go forth and classpect~