(2/3)We know that the Seer class experiences visions of the future through the vector of their aspect(or perhaps guided by their aspect), and this is clearly demonstrated by Terezi seeing the future as the myriads of choices the players can make while Rose seems to be capable of seeing the “true” path or the most fortunate path. So how could the Blood aspect, or rather bonds, be used to see the future?

(3/3)I thought about what a bond really was, and realized that a bond is simply the accumulation of shared memories and experiences between individuals, in other words a shared past. Then I remembered Signless, the visions that prompted him to start the revolution were of Beforus, of the past. I think that rather than being a pre-cog like other Seers, a Seer of Blood is actually a post-cog who uses their visions to empathize with their players and unite them.

1) Thank you so much! I’m really glad you liked them, and I hope we go on to learn a lot more about the system together 😀 I’m sure I’m wrong about some stuff and I’m sure there’s more to learn–it’s part of why I’m so excited for Hiveswap!

2) Yeah, I’d say I more or less agree! The only point I’d differ on is that I don’t think Terezi and Rose are specifically Pre-Cogs, and I don’t think a Seer of Blood is necessarily a Post-Cog, though the Sufferer certainly experiences his powers that way. I’d say all types of Seers could likely develop both properties.

I say this because time simply isn’t linear in Homestuck at all. Hypothetically, if none of the seers had any limits on their power, then for the Sufferer remembering past bonds would inevitably lead him from Beforus to LE, and from LE to the Alpha kids, from the Alpha kids to the Betas, and back around–though obviously, as his focus is Blood, he seems to cap out with the Beforans.

But even that’s more complicated, because the Sufferer isn’t technically remembering the past, but rather an alternate timeline/universe entirely, isn’t he? We saw it with the kids: The beta kid and alpha kid timelines are actually mostly concurrent to one another, despite the fact that the Betas created the Alpha’s timeline.
Jake and Jade grow up loosely in tandem.

So whether they’re inclined to remember moments related to the future or to the past, what it seems to me all Seers are mostly able to do is see sideways–into other universes, other timelines. That makes the concept of pre- or post- cognition tricky, because different universes’ temporal envelopes are wholly irrelevant to one another’s.

Terezi distributes some pretty remarkable recollection of her own timeline and the results of changing it at various points, which seems technically post-cog? Though again we fall into that timeline ambiguity. And while it’s not in canon exactly, it seems easy for me to imagine pre-cog showing up for a Seer of Blood–seeing someone and instantly knowing you’ll be friends or lovers, for example? That kind of thing.

anyway none of this is to say you’re wrong at all. It’s definitely correct that the Sufferer has a heavy disposition towards elements of reality that, through various vague and complex mechanics, read as “Past” events from his perspective. I just find the Time mechanics in Homestuck irresistible to think about because they’re so fucking weird x3.

I also just don’t want to imply that anything about my view of the Classpects implies any Class ever has to “just” be X or Y, you know? I don’t even think the archetypes I claim the story puts forth for the class pairs work that way, which is something I’ve been thinking about and needing to clarify for a long time because I’m worried I haven’t been clear enough about it. So let’s get into this tangent for a minute, if you’ll indulge me. 

Maid/Sylphs as Fairies, for example. I do think it’s definitely true those classes are coded that way in the story of Homestuck, and that they flesh out our understanding of what their key verb means, and so what they can do/how they think and process reality. 

Now, does that mean all True Maid/Sylph OCs, in my view, should parse themselves in terms of fairies? No, I don’t think so. I think Homestuck uses the symbol logic of fairies to clue the reader in, but there are myriad ways you could use mythology–or simply narrative– to get to the concept of a Player creating their Aspect or being made of it or both. 

It would be just as evocative and powerful, in my view, to base a “Maker” informed by the mythological idea of Creator Goddesses, or even a specific creator goddess. You could go with Summon Spirits from JRPGs, who embody many of the same tropes of elementals while being a bit distanced from the idea of fairy-dom. 

You could get more specific. It would be pretty easy to imagine a Fairy class Hope player who literally becomes or already is an Angel–they’re Made of Faith, after all.

The classpects are hyperflexible, and I like the Unifying Myth concept because it gives us handy ways to interpret any individual member of a given classpect to specificity. Or, of course, you can use no unifying myth or broad historical archetype at all, or make up your own consistent worldbuilding for whatever you’re thinking of making.

To personalize and flesh out the character by drawing on archetypes and mythology outside of the base Classpect system in order to give resonance and meaning to the classpect that is relevant to that specific character, the way furries work for Jade or Trolls for Callie or Rainbow Drinkers for Kanaya or so on.

So I definitely think The Sufferer reads strongly as a Post-Cog. I’m way more hesitant to allow myself to say a phrase like “Seer of Blood is post-cog”, though, because I’m unnervingly aware people might be starting to give a shit what I have to say? And I absolutely never, ever want to be limiting.

A Seer of Blood can and will be anything. The only limit is what kind of story you want to tell with one, and how much thought and nuance to want to put into the telling of it. Homestuck gives you a lot of tools to build the same kind of compelling nuance it does itself in your own storytelling, that’s all.

Sorry if I’m rambling! I wasn’t expecting to come out with this right now, and I’m sure there are more elegant and coherent ways of saying it, but I really felt like I needed to get this out there. Thanks for giving me the chance and sorry for the wall of text!