CLASSPECTING RED GUY: DHMIS And The Aspect Of Breath

CLASSPECTING RED GUY: DHMIS and the aspect of Breath

So, Red was technically tied for first with Yellow in the poll I made, but given that I had more clear ideas for Yellow I elected to make this first. Now I've taken some time to think over Red's classpect, I think I'm confident about my answer.

Red's characterisation hinges on two key factors, I think.

Factor one: Red Guy is disaffected, apathetic and bored. He seems to enjoy doing nothing, to the point where he gets frustrated when his plans of doing nothing are scarpered. Red Guy is lazy.

Factor two: Red Guy always seems to want to leave wherever it is he is. He never belongs. Consistently, throughout both series, Red Guy has the urge to depart the most frequently.

With this, it's pretty clear what Aspect he's bound to? Red Guy furthers the narrative, is in constant pursuit of freedom, and remains avoidant and detached throughout it all. He's a very clear Breath-bound, and I'm irritated it took me this long to realise it.

Red Guy's desire for escapism and refusal to fit into boxes comes into play particularly during the Family episode, which serves as a little mini-arc for him, I feel. He seems to like the idea of family, connection and 'belonging' (a very Blood-coded idea), but finds very quickly that he's not cut out for it and is rejected outright by the people he seems to think he belongs with. It happens again in the Dreams episode of the TV show. Red's among those whom by all accounts he should conform with. They're quite literally carbon copies of him... but he doesn't connect.

So, what Class does this place him as? What do you give to a player who has quite literally been rejected by their opposing Aspect? I'm going to pin him as a Seer of Breath. He has the stubbornness, argumentative nature and self-destructive nature that most Seers have, for sure, particularly Rose. Much like Rose, he begins without his Aspect and disregards it (lacking in freedom, adhering to Blood rather than Breath) and his quest begins once he starts searching for it. Once he has his eyes on the Aspect, he is relentless in his thirst for knowledge of it. Red, like Rose, rejects the role given to him by the higher powers (Roy & SBURB) in the name of something greater and desires to destroy what's been laid out in front of him. And, as you can see in Transport, that's what he does.

Ultimately, Red's motivated wholly by desire to understand Breath in the name of others, working tirelessly to free himself and his friends from the chains they're bound by. And, of course, in the web series narrative he grants them that freedom.

There's an alternative reading for sure that Red is a Thief of Blood - not understanding the value of Blood whilst continuing to crave it and obsessively hoard it, but Thieves aren't really known for ghosting their opposite and he doesn't really strike me as being selfish or callous enough to be a Thief. Plus, the Breath in his characterisation outweighs the Blood significantly.

Finally, I'll be going over Duck Guy for June 19th, as a player of Doom. Don't miss it.

jumpscaring my followers by revealing i have a really fucking heavy british accent

classpect positivity :)

saw the first one with the blue sky and checkerboard background. and for one horrid moment i thought this was homestuck fanart

i'm absolutely going full on 'quit having fun, guys!' mode with this one but i just do not get the hype behind chansaw. i cannot see heather chandler willingly entering into a sapphic relationship during the movie's events (not that i disagree with any sapphic readings of the character; quite the contrary actually) and i feel like in order to make the relationship work you have to very deliberately mischaracterize chandler.

this may just be horrendously biased though because i am and always will be dukesaw's strongest soldier. that, and i feel like the 'toxic yuri' thing is the main hook for most people.

CLASSPECTING DUCK GUY: DHMIS and the aspect of Doom

Saving the best 'til last, of course. I'm not at all biased.

I love Duck Guy. I think this crusty old son of a bitch is the best character in the show and I think he's a very interesting one to analyse.

His Aspect is, of course, very simple to pin down. Duck dies all the time. He dies so much they have backups to make sure he can come back. There's an entire episode revolving around him dying. Duck is an obvious Doom player.

His relationship with the Aspect, though, goes far deeper than just 'he dies a lot'. When you expand Doom to cover rules, regulations, acceptance & compliance, you realise just how well he fits into the box. Duck is the only one of the guys never to reach self-awareness. His attempts at rebellion end in his mutilation and destruction. He's the only one with the wool pulled over his eyes, obedient to the system that controls them.

This, of course, makes him sound more like a Hope player, but... Doom has more facets than people give it credit for. Duck is 'fate's chosen sufferer', to use the EZ's description, for sure. Plus, who better to represent the aspect of rules and compliance than the guy very much portrayed as a right-wing bootlicker? ('Memories of him telling me about the military, digital currency, etc'...)

The Class is where things get interesting. Duck is a narrative joke, just in a different way to Yellow. Duck is the chewtoy, the plaything, when somebody needs to get hurt, he's the one there. He's an arrogant jackass to boot, and, here's the kicker - Duck passively influences the other characters to gain awareness. He destroys their suffering and limitations, he's just unaware of it. Episode Five, anyone?

That's why he's the Bard of Doom. Sure, he doesn't exactly fit the pattern of the Bard's journey (ghosting their opposing Aspect 'til a dire crisis pushes them into their own), but he's definitely got the traumatic incident that gives him an influx of his Aspect covered. Episode Five, anybody?

Duck's a tragedy, made to suffer over and over again, existing to demonstrate the limitations of their universe and ultimately showing the dangers of falling into compliance. But in his mere presence, his actions erode the limitations and regulations that bring suffering to those around him, his rebellion and irascibility leading to their liberation.

Plus, a series like DHMIS could sure use somebody to represent the aspect of predestination and acceptance. One could argue Duck destroys that too - his death is the straw that breaks the camel's back and leads the other two on to fight against the cycle.

Tomorrow, I might be giving another little insight into two of the show's most prominent figures...