Updates + One Piece Character Analysis/Classpects

WOW, it’s been awhile since I’ve made a journal, huh? Between work and life and personal projects, I haven’t had much cause to make a journal since my last one. However, I thought that since I’m making a journal anyway, I might as well give you guys a quick update on what I’ve been working on for the past few weeks and haven’t yet posted:

- My last Narustuck picture set with the Sand Siblings as seadwellers. Finished all three sketches and Gaaraa’s inks, moved on to inking Temari ATM.

- Doodles of One Piece characters (mostly my two favorites, Ace and Luffy), that I may or may not post because I did them in pen and had no reference, so they’re…  not  exactly of the best quality, let’s put it that way.
    
- The last chapter for “If It’s a War They Want,” my first HetaFly multichapter fic. I’m almost done with it. Almost. Currently clocking in at 17 pages long, I just need to finish the last couple of scenes and do some checking and polishing, and I’ll be ready to post it at long last. ^v^

-0-0-0-

Now, for the real reason I wrote this journal. X3 Because I’ve fallen head over heels in love with One Piece in the last couple of months, I thought it would be fun to do some Homestuck classpecting for some of the characters, like I’ve already done in part for Naruto and Axis Powers Hetalia. (It seems to be becoming my shtick. X’D) However, since I have a lot of other things going on right now, I don’t really want to draw it all out, and while I DO want to do some OnePieceStuck art sometime, the only person whose developed any story concepts and troll designs for the characters thus far (she has a DA account and she’s good – check her out her initial designs here) ended up giving the characters classpects I don’t think quite fit them. Which is fine, don’t get me wrong, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, but since it probably wouldn’t be in good taste to draw the original artist’s designs and then say “Oh yes, and I decided to give them different classpects just cuz,” I decided to just classpect the actual characters here and then possibly do some OnePieceStuck sketchdumping at a later time (because really, those designs just deserve to have way more fanart than they’ve gotten).

As always, I use Infinitywhale’s classpect system to determine classpect for characters (if you’re wondering what in the world classpect IS right about now, I recommend checking out that link before you read on any further). Therefore, the definitions for Classes and Aspects come from him and his friend Bladekindeyewear’s development of the subject. Most descriptions for Classes and Aspects from the below discussions will come from his definitions. Also, to reiterate my previous disclaimer, if you personally see any of their Classpects differently, I’m not saying that I’m right and you’re wrong, just that this is how I personally see them. Even Infinitywhale himself took a stab at classpecting some One Piece characters, and I disagree with over half of them. So again, this is all subjective. If you don’t like mine, feel free to make your own. That’s what makes it fun, after all!

And while we’re on that note, I also recommend checking out this AMV and One Piece’s 10th Opening and/or 11th Opening if you’re not familiar with the series. They don’t really have any spoilers in them, capture the general carefree, idealistic tone of the series excellently, and will quickly get you introduced to the main characters before we start talking classpect. Almost makes you forget the series also deals with such lighthearted subject matter as totalitarian, tyrannical governments, genocide, slavery, racism, how violence perpetuates through generations, civil war, killing children of notorious criminals, drug testing on children, so on and so forth. >_> Yeah, one thing I learned over the past couple months: you can’t judge One Piece based on its art style. It may LOOK silly and stupid (and to be fair, a lot of time it is), but some really heavy stuff goes down, too. It’s not the #1 best-selling manga of all time for nothing, y’know.
 
Anyway, if you watched the openings linked above, you might have an inkling of just how many characters this series is packed with – literally in the hundreds by now – so trying to classpect them all would take more time than I currently care to spend at the moment. Therefore, I’m just going to be doing the Strawhats and two other characters I picked just because I like them a lot. XD However, if anyone wants to request a character or two in the comments to see what they might be, I’ll be happy to take my best shot at it and add them to the “other” section alongside Portgas D. Ace and Princess Shirahoshi. ;D I’ll also be trying my utmost to keep spoilers to a minimum here, but I can’t promise it will be completely spoiler free, given that this is a character analysis. Without further ado!

-Strawhat Pirates-

Monkey D. Luffy – Heir of Breath

_{Luffy’s Aspect was always going to be Breath. No question. “Breath is all about motivation, direction, freedom, and quest. Breath sees a goal it wants, and it pursues it, overcoming anything it may face in the way. It is ineffable, free, and untouchable; it floats away from everything and refuses to be tied down. Breath players tend to be carefree and a little bit silly, but as they become more realized, they can become driven, determined, and powerful, without ever losing any of the freedom or joy that was originally who they were.” This is Luffy through and through. He wants to become the Pirate King not for power or riches or glory, but because in his mind, the Pirate King is the one who has the most freedom in the world. In fact, that’s why he became a pirate in the first place; to have the freedom to explore and have all the adventures he wants. As Infinitywhale stated, he kind of seems to float past and above everything, and nothing seems to get him down for long; he always “bounces back.” He doesn’t doubt himself or his friends, and takes even the most random, dangerous, or ludicrous situation in stride. If he wants something, by George he is going to have it, and nothing can stop him. He will keep going and pushing on relentlessly until he achieves his goals, and nothing short of death can stop him. And of course, he’s incredibly carefree, silly, childish, and takes few things seriously, just like most Breath players.
Luffy’s Class was a bit harder to pin down, however. I finally decided on Heir, because it is the passive change Class, and that’s what Luffy, in essence, has been doing throughout the entire story. He changes people, their direction, their hearts, their minds, and in the process makes them a little bit more like him, often without even meaning to and empowering them in the process, a la Coby, Ace, Shirahoshi, the rest of the Strawhats… in fact, we could list off a third of the cast of One Piece right here. The Heir is also perhaps the most balanced of all Classes, displaying both the active and passive traits of their Aspect, and must learn to utilize them both. Luffy is perhaps one of the most emotionally balanced people on his crew. Not to say he’s perfect or devoid of flaws (faaaar from it), but in terms of mental well-being, Luffy just doesn’t let much bother him or really get under his skin. Therefore, he doesn’t have nearly the amount of emotional baggage that everyone else on his crew does. Naturally, being so balanced between passive and active gives the Heir a unique position of acting passively while still making several critical active decisions, which again, Luffy does repeatedly. He does not try to dominate or control, even though he is the captain of the Strawhats, but leads more through suggestion and example, only exerting his authority and power when he absolutely needs to.}

Roronoa Zoro – Knight of Heart
 
_{Call me crazy, but I personally think Zoro is a Heart player. Think about it. Heart is the very core of your being, your Self, your soul, who you are fundamentally. Heart players are focused on themselves, what they are capable of, who they are, and what they want. They’re rarely focused on proving themselves to others, and are much more likely to be determined to prove themselves to themselves. When they fail, it’s probable that they will wonder if they are as good as they thought, rather than be concerned with what others think of them. Common traits of Heart players are the ability to understand others, and channeling passion to accomplish the changes they want to make to reality. We can definitely see this in Zoro frequently. He wants to be the world's greatest swordsman, and is constantly training and striving to improve and to honor the promise he made with his childhood friend/rival Kuina. Now... granted, Zoro isn't the most compassionate or sympathetic of people, but he's not heartless (hah) either. He is shown to have a definite soft spot for his crew - especially Chopper - and children, and he also shows a keen understanding as to why people do what they do and what steps need to be taken in order for harmony to be maintained or restored (evidenced, for example, when he insisted that Usopp sincerely apologize before being allowed to join the crew again, or when he fully analyzed the situation when Robin had appeared to betray them instead of jumping to conclusions). But he doesn't care what people think of him personally. He does what he wants when he wants, and he's not interested in proving himself to anyone except for himself.
While I wasn’t sure if he was a Prince or a Knight, I did ultimately decide that he strikes me more as a Knight, the active equip Class. The Knight uses whatever amounts of their Aspect they have available to them as a weapon, but they not only weaponize it, they use it for anything and everything. We can see him weaponize his Self when his glare or “killing intent” alone makes normal people back off when intending to fight him, and see the classic “splintering” of Self Heart players seem to go through when his frustration and anger causes his spirit to fragment so that it creates the illusion like he has three faces and six arms a few times when he’s fighting. Also, Zoro’s first instinct in almost any situation is to charge in headfirst, swords flashing, and he just will. Not. Die. I’m dead serious; a normal person would be dead about 40 times over with the amount of abuse that man has taken over the course of the series. His strength of will is just incredible, and that all ties back to Heart. Knights also seem predisposed to self-delusion and coming across as different people, and while he may seem cool and composed a lot of the time, Zoro is in actuality huge dork. No seriously, he is, but he always acts “manly” and collected like he knows exactly what he’s doing, even when he’s getting lost in a straight hallway or giving his attacks names that sound like types of food.}

Nami – Thief of Mind

_{I’m agreeing with Infinitywhale on this one; Nami is a Mind player. Mind is the masks people wear, internal logic, and what people do as opposed to who they are. Also, because “trickery is associated with Mind, especially because a really good trick requires knowing what a person is going to do in advance. Mind also knows that ‘luck doesn’t really matter’, and acts accordingly to get the best result. It is also associated with dishonesty, as it represents not being true, to yourself or others,” Mind really fits Nami’s habit of playing on people’s affections, weaknesses, and foibles to get what she wants, usually seen in her interactions with Sanji. She can effortlessly change her demeanor and attitude not only to blend in wherever she is and worm her way into people’s good graces, but also to protect herself as well, because in her mind, if she doesn’t allow people to see her true self, her Heart, they can’t hurt her. She’s also, unlike Usopp, a very good liar and always has a backup plan or three up her sleeve. Her weapon of choice can also create illusions and weather phenomena, from lightning to fog, another analogy for masks and Mind. However, Mind players, though they might not be the most perceptive in matters of the Heart, are usually very understanding of others, and Nami is no exception. Though she is extremely slow to truly trust people, once she does, she is a fierce and loyal friend, and she has a large soft spot for children, such as when she insisted on saving the children Caesar Clown experimented on even when it jeopardized the Strawhats’ mission. Mind is all about patterns, logic, and predictions as well, which serves Nami well when she’s navigating and mapmaking, as an intimate understanding of weather patterns is crucial in the Grand Line if you don’t want to end up as a wreck at the bottom of the ocean. Also notice how she acts when her best-laid plans go awry, and everything she thought she knew about others is proven wrong, like when Arlong stole all the money she spent years collecting; she pretty much had an emotional meltdown and all her masks and plans briefly fell away, inverting her into an unbalanced Heart player for a time.
I also agree with Infinitywhale on Nami’s Class; she’s obviously a Thief. The Thief is the active allocation Class. What drives the Thief is control and placement of their aspect, taking things and putting them to use, either by using it themselves or giving it away if they feel like it. Nami does this constantly with Mind. Sure, she steals treasure, but more than that, she also steals Mind and through Mind. She knows how people act and how to manipulate them, thus stripping away their Mind and using it to take control of the situation at hand. However, just like with her treasure, she also can give people Mind if she feels like it, calming the more emotional members of the crew and giving them a clear plan of action to follow.}

Usopp – Mage of Void
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_{I had a brief moment of indecision between Mind and Void for Usopp’s Aspect, but after some deliberation, I concur with Infinitywhale’s pronouncement of Void for him. “Void is about obfuscation and destruction of information. Void hides and avoids, cloaks in shadows, deals with secrets. At its very core are submission and destruction: basically, Void is nothing, but that lets it be a lot. Void is subtle, quiet, and maddening, and obscures everything, hiding information, and souring luck to achieve their ends.” … Does this even need any further elaboration? And while yes, Void seems rather dour and dreary on its surface, it really isn’t. Void is negative, but it’s not bad. Usopp is shown to be very sweet and cheerful a lot of the time, but he is also extremely pessimistic, cowardly, and insecure under the brave and confident mask of lies he constantly hides behind. He pulls stories and fabrications out of nowhere to try to make himself feel important and useful, and it’s not until he figures out how to use the “nothing” he has in imaginative and constructive ways - i.e. creating his superhero alter-ego Sniper King, developing ways to make Nami’s weather staff more powerful out of what little he has to work with, keeping the Going Merry afloat practically by himself for a considerable amount of time by just doing what comes instinctively - that he’s really able to start gaining the confidence that he’s been searching for his whole life.
However, there is also the second part of his Classpect to take into consideration, the Class, and that is the Mage, the active understanding Class. Usopp’s greatest asset has always been his mind, and through a growing understanding of Void - secrets, shadows, negative probability, and avoidance - Usopp uses what little he has to achieve the maximum possible effect and to keep pressing forward despite his fear and insecurities. He cloaks every action in trickery and misdirection, and also shows a surprising insight into how people think and act, which lets him pull off his misdirection that much easier. This is shown perhaps most spectacularly in his fight with Luffy, wherein he used his intimate understanding of Luffy’s character along with some classic slight-of-hand and nifty gadgets to give the strongest fighter the Strawhats have a run for his money. He also seems to almost instinctively understand how things work and is extremely creative in utilizing them in ways no one else would ever think of, from the dials in Skypiea to common, everyday items such as rotten eggs and ketchup.}

Sanji – Maid of Life
 
_{First person to make a crossdressing joke will promptly get booted to the curb courtesy of the bottom of Sanji’s shoe. Everyone got that? Good. *ahem* Now, where were we? Ah yes, Sanji as a Life player. I was torn between Life and Heart for him for a good long while (in fact, him and Zoro gave me the most trouble out of all the Strawhats), but I finally decided on Life for a few different reasons. For one thing, Sanji loves cooking. He loves being good at what he does, yes, but he obviously takes great pleasure in being able to provide for others and create the best food he possibly can. Food is energy, aka Life; in fact, the Aspect is often symbolized in Homestuck as cakes, baked goods, and food in general. Life entails the desire to survive and grow, and Sanji could not have survived months stranded at sea and slowly starving to death without having a vested desire to continue living. He is probably the third strongest fighter on the crew after Zoro and Luffy, and is unabashedly passionate, vigorous, and… pretty much completely brazen in any sense of the word. See, overindulgence in Life can result in “shamelessness, selfishness, and an inability to hold oneself back from one’s desires or instant gratification.” Yeah… *coughs awkwardly* Anyone who knows Sanji at all knows what his other shtick is aside from being a good cook. Life players DO seem to share a tendency to let their passions run away with them so much that it becomes unhealthy, after all. But still, part of his obsession with women seems to be he just wants someone to dote on and to share his Life with, though he certainly could stand to be more… subtle about it, shall we say?
Moving on to Class! This took me awhile as well. But I thought and thought about it, and finally decided he seems more like an active Class to me. What kind of active Class, then? Well, call me crazy, but I think he’s the active creation Class (with minor aspects in healing), the Maid. First and foremost, he creates Life through his food and heals through it as well, as seen when he constantly restores vitality and energy to people – even enemies! – with the food he makes. However, he doesn’t just do this with food; he is shown multiple times creating feelings of joy, hopefulness, enthusiasm, and/or zeal in others, from encouraging Usopp when he was feeling insecure and worthless, to cheering Chopper up after Usopp left the crew, to his legendary arguments with Zoro. He tells people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear, which allows them to grow past their limitations and become better in the process.}

Princess Nefertiri Vivi – Witch of Blood

_{While Vivi was not a permanent Strawhat, she did travel with them for a time and is still a member of the crew in spirit, which is why she is on this list as well. Her Aspect was actually very easy to find, as it is ultimately the reason why she stopped traveling with the Strawhats in the first place, though it was obvious both she and they wanted her to stay. She is a Blood player, and “Blood is bonds and loyalty, limiting your freedom in order to help something or stay true to a system that is in place. Responsibility, duty, and loyalty keeps Blood on the ground, focused on the practical and unimaginary.” Blood is Breath’s antithesis, and Vivi’s deep loyalty to her kingdom, duties, and people ultimately prevented her from sailing wild and free with Luffy (who, as we have seen, is a Breath player). In fact, she is seen to be an adviser to Luffy of sorts in the time she is with the Strawhats, reminding him of the responsibilities and commitments that come from being the leader that he is (i.e. reminding him of Blood). She is also seen to greatly inspire bonds and loyalty in others, from her pet duck Carue, to Pell, to Kohza, to her former partner Mr. 9, to the Strawhats themselves, who were willing to move heaven and earth to protect her and ended up saving her kingdom in the process.
As for her Class, I knew from the get go that Vivi was an active player. Anyone willing to leave their home, join a criminal organization, and then join a pirate crew, all to save their country from being torn apart by civil unrest is definitely an active Class, but not just an active Class; I think she’s the active change Class, the Witch. Notice she went out to actively save her kingdom herself, to change its course and the bonds between her countrymen so they would not go to war against each other. Because she is naturally very friendly and kind and knows how to act around people, she can easily make or break bonds between herself and other people, as seen when she effortlessly joined the very man who was plotting to destroy her country, and then turned on him at the drop of a hat to join the Strawhats. She did not hesitate to put her mission to stop Crocodile on hold to find a doctor for Nami when she fell ill, either, and also helped to change and strengthen the bonds between the Strawhats when they all banded together to help her save her kingdom, simply because she was their friend.}

Tony Tony Chopper – Sylph of Doom

_{“Doom is systems, limitations, and sacrifice. It represents things that are going to happen - such as death as an end - and systems that cause them to happen. Restraint is also a large part of it, and in addition, such knowledge of systems can make people able to work within them extremely well. Doom players tend to be somewhat gloomy, and also tend to limit themselves.” I think this describes Chopper rather well. He can be charming and happy of course, but when the Strawhats first met him, he was very wary and distrustful of them, as he was used to being ostracized seen as a monster. These were things he believed he could not change, and no one would ever accept him because of them. However, even when he was proven wrong and the Strawhats accepted him into their crew without a second thought, Chopper still is seen to be a very cautious, timid, and restrained individual, though he can be very naïve as well. He always wants to play it safe and abhors taking unnecessary risks, often berating other members of the crew for overstepping their boundaries and putting their lives in jeopardy. He accepts limitations and strives to work within them. Because he is a doctor, he understands these limits very well, but he also knows how to circumvent those inevitabilities and invite healing through putting limits on people when needed, such as with bandages and splints and telling them not to exert themselves too much. We also see him using Doom when he fights; he knows just how much he can push himself before he gets seriously hurt, but he will sometimes overexert himself if it will help his friends. An example of this is him eating too many Rumble Balls at a time in order to get enough strength to beat an enemy, even when he knows this will turn him into a mindless, rampaging beast and will probably end up killing him as well.
I vacillated between Rogue or Sylph for Chopper’s Class for a good while, but I finally decided on Sylph. “A Sylph is a passive healer class, with minor aspects in creation. They fix things, but they don’t go out and fix them by themselves. But, when they find a problem, or a problem is presented to them, they are all over it.” The reason why this fits Chopper should be obvious. Chopper is a healer. That’s what he does, that’s all he’s ever wanted to do. And not just a healer of broken people, but broken systems as well, as seen when he rejects useless, outdated, or untrue preconceived notions of how the world works, and reworks and realigns them, both in himself and others, such as the ironclad rule that humans would always reject and revile him, or when people treat human life without respect (and because he’s so naïve, he ends up needing to do this quite a bit). Not that he won’t fight and defend those he loves if he must, but at the end of the day, he’s simply a kind, gentle soul who just wants to make a difference in the world. (For a more in-depth analysis of this particular classpect, I highly recommend checking out this dissertation on the subject.)}

Nico Robin – Seer of Light

_{I debated for a while whether Robin was Light, Void, or Time before finally settling on Light, because Light's definition in Homestuck is "information, probability, and fortune.” Robin is a scholar and archeologist, frequently seen reading and researching. Her dream and whole raison d'être is to discover the true history of the world, as she is the only person left on earth who can still read the Ponyglyphs, huge stones with ancient writing on them that tell the world’s history, history that the World Government will go to any lengths to to keep hidden, even commit genocide. Therefore, it would make sense that if her main purpose in the narrative is to discover information, that she would be a Light player. And, as Whale has said, "Agency is often linked to light as well, considering Vriska’s ability to take control of people’s choices and actions, and Rose’s understanding of what makes people do what they do continuously growing as she becomes a better Seer of Light.” Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit lets her duplicate any body part, so she can literally control people with her Devil Fruit ability, and her innate understanding and distrust of people lends itself well to mental and verbal manipulation.
For her Class, I believe she is a Seer. The Seer is the passive understanding Class, their job being “to use their understanding in order to guide reality, and while this does mean they will sometimes take extreme actions, their goals are much more focused on the idea that they are looking for general avenues for reality to flow down, not restricting it to a channel.” This is what Robin does constantly. Notice how she’s almost always quietly sitting in the background, carefully observing everything and taking in as much information as possible so that she can use it in the future in case she needs to. Even as a child, she spent almost all of her time studying and learning, never actually going out and doing anything unless she had to. She’s also usually very passive, and will not directly get involved with anything unless she perceives it in her best interests to do so, or one of her crew is in jeopardy.}

Franky – Prince of Space
 
_{Franky, I believe, is definitely a Prince of Space. Space players are oriented on what is, the concrete and the touchable, and are usually extremely creative. Space is also about substance, creation from preexisting parts, and spatial distance and location, with minor emphasis on size and velocity as well.  Franky is a shipwright and a cyborg to boot, and as such he specializes in creating a cohesive, working whole out of many pieces. If you’ll notice, for all his exuberance and outlandishness, he is remarkably pragmatic when you really get right down to it, and does not spend much time dwelling on nebulous concepts, just on ones that either are preexisting or ones that he can soon make a reality. He also follows the Space players' penchant of modifying or changing their bodies in creative and fashionable ways - like Calliope’s cosplaying, Porrim’s piercings and tattoos, and Kanaya’s fashion sense – by making himself a cyborg after he was horribly injured in an accident.
However, Franky is also a Prince, the active destruction Class. He is so focused on creating and living life with as much gusto as possible that he takes his "space" and supercharges it, creating weapons and ships that can be incredibly destructive in the wrong hands. He's also incredibly strong himself, and actually makes his living dismantling ships when the Strawhats first meet him, destroying Space instead of creating it. And yet, this also serves a constructive purpose, as when he explained to Usopp that ships who served their crews well in their lifetimes deserve a dignified disassembly instead of sinking at sea, possibly taking their crews down with them. Franky’s over-exuberance for creation got him in huge trouble in his backstory, ended up causing a lot of pain for both himself and the people close to him, and also triggered the incident that made him a cyborg in the first place. In essence, he destroys through creating i.e. with the weapons he creates, but also creates through destroying (because you can't build ships without cutting and destroying the wood first).}

Brook – Bard of Time
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_{“Time is uncertainty and inevitability, two of the things that human beings hate the most. Time is timing and patience aspectified. Time players understand this flow of time and use it to their benefit, giving them incredible skill with timing and patience. Time is also endlessly linked to mortality and death, though not necessarily as an ending, since many characters still impact reality after their death or continue on in an afterlife or two.” Is this starting to sound like anyone we know yet? Brook is such a Time player. For one thing, he is a musician. Now, musicians aren't always Time players (though, fun fact: both named Lands of Time players in Homestuck have music themes), but it does require an exact sense of timing and patience to play a melody properly, which he excels at. He's also very patient, very good at waiting (dude, he waited FIFTY YEARS for someone to find him on his ghost ship), and also precise, elegant, even genteel (when he’s not being a perv, that is). Even his name implies a steady flow toward an ultimate ending point, a la Time.
As for his class, Brook is a Bard, aka the passive destruction class (which just so happens to be musically themed as well). A Bard’s job in a nutshell is to deconstruct, the primary focus being on their own Aspect, but ultimately doing this in order to reinforce their Aspect. Notice how Brook always makes fun of his own death and current undead state, but reinforces it’s inevitability through making fun of death and his appearance? Also, pay close attention the song most people associate him with from the show, “Bink’s Sake.” (You can read the lyrics here) That song is FULL of references to the inevitability of Time, but also takes away its sting somewhat by saying that the world will go on after we’re gone, but until then, we will live every moment, every second to its fullest. And that’s what Brook does constantly. He knows what a precious gift he’s been given - even though he had to live through 50 long, long years of solitude to be able to get a second chance at living with a new crew and fulfill his dream – and reminds people of the fact of what a phenomenal gift life really is simply by being his bony, music-and-pun-loving self.}


-Other-

Portgas D. Ace – Knight of Life

_{Ace’s Aspect was pretty easy to decide on, actually. My first gut instinct was Breath, because of the similarities between him and Luffy, but I almost immediately rejected the idea after giving it a bit more thought. Breath is carefree and untouchable, not letting anything get it down for long, regardless of the hardships that come its way. Luffy fits that description… Ace does not. Therefore, I chose a similar but markedly different Aspect for him, Life. Life is growth and freedom, overcoming any limits and obstacles that might stand in its way, and involves the optimism and courage to act, change, adapt, and survive. To live is to have the power to affect how reality unfolds around you and to project your will into the world. I think this fits Ace rather well. He became a pirate because he wanted to forge his own path in life, to show the uncaring, merciless world that constantly told him he should have never been born that it was wrong. He wanted to ultimately prove that he was worth something, that it was a good thing he was given Life in the first place. He does display some of the negatives involved with Life, such as being very impulsive when he is angered, never backing down from a fight - thus disregarding his limits and causing harm to himself as a result - and an inability to control himself around food (one trait he does share with his brother, most likely as a result of their very rough and Spartan upbringing). Overall, though, while he’s not perfect, he’s a pretty balanced Life player all things considered, able to temper his actions with a fair amount of Doom (Life’s opposing Aspect) most of the time when he needs to (i.e. his politeness and adhering to systems such as manners and the hierarchy and rules of the Whitebeard pirates), and utilizing Life in a generally positive way in all sorts of different situations, such as helping a little girl reunite with her parents in exchange for saving him from drowning, defending vulnerable islands and coastal towns from marauding slave traders and pirates along with the rest of his crew, saving a marine from a burning ship, finding food for the Strawhats in Alabasta, and protecting and caring for Luffy during their childhood, helping him to grow into the strong, carefree, and confident person he is today.
As for Class, I knew from the get-go that unlike Luffy, Ace is undoubtedly an active Class. He forges ahead no matter what, taking control of his own destiny, and what better way to illustrate this then to make him a Knight? In addition to weaponizing and using their Aspect for everything, Knights also usually start out with a shortage of their Aspect. This is fitting for Ace, as due to his rather hellish childhood, he had very little optimism or joy in his life and was a very angry, rebellious, broken little boy before his younger brother came into his life. He even told Luffy later on when they were both grown that if it wasn’t for him and their other adopted brother Sabo, he would not have even wanted to continue on living. However, due to his siblings’ unconditional love and acceptance, he became a much kinder, gentler, more positive person, determined to survive whatever the world threw at him and live his life with no regrets. Even as a troubled child, however, he showed a remarkable aptitude for surviving in a very harsh environment, and displayed physical strength that could knock down trees, smash walls, and lift grown adults. This trend carried on into his adult life as well, where Ace continues use every facet of his Life - i.e. physical prowess, friendliness, determination, adaptability, and positivity – in many different ways to survive and even thrive in a very dog-eat-dog world.}

Princess Shirahoshi – Page of Hope

_{For Shirahoshi’s Aspect, I picked Hope. Hope is made up of positive emotions, where positive is defined as allowing you to broaden your point of view and expand your thoughts. It’s not necessarily “happy” or “good.” This allows people to see past their preconceptions and consider all of the possibilities, as well as believe in things, sometimes even when they seem rather childish or stupid. While she is very timid and sensitive, Shirahoshi is eager to learn and broaden her horizons beyond the tower she’s been shut in for most of her life. She is optimistic and eager to believe the best of everyone even when they’re not so kind to her in return. She’s also is very forgiving and accepting, so much so that she even genuinely forgave her mother’s murderer because her mother asked her to not hate them. This would be flat-out impossible for most people, and demonstrates that underneath her tears and timidity, her gentleness, kindness, and acceptance make her very noble, brave, and remarkably strong, so much so that she could literally shake the foundations of the world if she wished.
The Page part of her classpect is because the Page is the passive equip Class. Pages start off with all of the negatives of their Aspects and it is not until later they obtain enough and learn how to use it in a productive manner. However, when they do, the results can be phenomenal. They can inspire those around them to use their Aspect for good and even give them some if they need it. This is very much seen in Shirahoshi, though she’s only appeared once so far in the storyline proper. She started out as an extreme pushover, indecisive, fearful of the world around her, and ready to burst into tears at the slightest drop of a hat. However, as she developed confidence in herself, she displayed such a deep belief in her convictions that she was willing to give her life to save her people and her island, which awakened her inborn ability to summon the gargantuan creatures of the deep to come fight at her side, subconsciously imparting to them some of her own Hope in the process.}