CLASSPECT ANALYSIS: the Mage of Time!

Hi everyone! Another classpect analysis. These next several blog posts are gonna be requests from the Pesterchum Republic Discord server! After this blog, I'll be doing the Prince of Mind, Heir of Doom, then the Mage of Void, Page of Life, Bard of Space, and lastly the Bard of Rage. Enjoy this analysis!

The Aspect: Time

Time's symbols are quite simple at first glance, though they are incredibly vague and can open themselves up to a lot of different interpretations. The main ones, I would say, that show up are time itself and mechanisms. To go deeper, things such as impatience, gears, clocks, routines, beginnings/endings, and repetition are all things that can encapsulate what Time is as an aspect.

Time players' lives are, according to the Extended Zodiac, "marked by constant struggle". Aradia, the Maid of Time, struggles with dealing with her own grasp on time and being able to utilize what time she has to be productive and help her team. Dave, the Knight of Time, struggles with his self-confidence and competence, as well as his own perceived weaknesses.

Time, being the complement/opposite to Space, is a very important aspect in the story of Homestuck. Time players are often incredibly vital to the story, especially when they're first introduced.

The Class: The Mage

The Mage isn't a class we see all too often. The two mages in Homestuck are Sollux Captor and, as I'm finally mentioning the dancestors, Meulin Leijon. Although the true definition of the Mage isn't exactly known, one interpretation is "one who understands (using) their aspect". Sollux, the Mage of Doom, understood Doom immensely, having premonitions of the doom that was soon to come to him and his team. Alternatively, you could say Sollux understood Doom through Doom, as he gained much of his premonitions through the voices of the dead (aka the doomed). Meulin, the Mage of Heart, began to understand her friends and her situation through use of Heart, i.e. by talking so much with Kurloz. 

You can also interpret the Mage as being "one who uses their aspect for others, but to the detriment of themselves" (which I personally love!). Sollux used Doom in order to help people understand the direness of their situation and to get everyone together, but ended up causing himself immense stress. Meulin used Heart in order to get get friends into relationships with one another, but has a horrible love life herself.

The Classpect: The Mage of Time

The Mage of Time would have their life marked by a constant struggle. They would constantly fight against outside forces, trying their best to smoothly ride on the progression of time, always getting blocked by some sort of force. This blockage would be twofold, because the Mage class is constantly deprived because of their aspect: the Mage of Time would be willing to give time to anyone, letting people talk to them about their problems. However, despite the satisfaction they may get from helping others, their distress and feelings of "not catching up" (i.e. not having enough time) would grow over time. The Mage of Time would likely be very pessimistic regarding time, as at any point in their life, they would only have, seemingly, one course of action to follow.

Despite all this, the Mage of Time would grow to truly understand Time within their session and within life itself. Becoming a master of temporal mechanics, what was previously a lack of free will would turn into a feeling of stability, a way for them to know what they will do and how to make sure it comes into effect. They would be incredibly helpful in helping others understand Time as well, and would especially use it to kickstart their friends' personal journeys or help them get into a routine. They would be genial, always seeming to have Time, though truly their kindliness and generosity would come at a very large cost to themself. They would eventually, through constant stress and micromanagement, break down and become a sort of dead weight to the team. It would then take a long time for them to recoup, while in the meantime the other players of the session are breezing through the game because of the Mage of Time's help and generosity.

When making a fan-character that's a Mage of Time, the first thing that comes to mind is their home life. Perhaps their parent(s) is/are incredibly strict and don't allow them to do much, leading to the sort of "set path" talked about earlier. A Mage of Time might have an ironic element to them, such as blindness: blind people have a very hard time discerning the passage of the day, leading to a constantly thrown-off schedule. Speaking of which, scheduling would be incredibly important, but incredibly stressful as well, to the Mage of Time. Their powers could include soothsaying or giving premonitions to others, sort of like a tarot reader, or they could stop time for others, allowing them to get things done without worrying about the amount of time needed. Most of their powers wouldn't be able to be applied to themselves, however, leading to a sort of altruism.

My thoughts?

The Mage of Time is a very nice classpect! I never realized just how deep and complicated a Mage can be, especially since the roles of Mages are downplayed so often. Time is an aspect I absolutely adore, as it's home to one of my favorite characters, Aradia! Overall, I like how the Mage class interacts with the vagueness of Time and how it can be used to create an altruistic, almost prophet-like character.