I’ve Created A Class And Aspect Schematization Chart Based Off The Lovely Theories Of 0Pacifica, Which

Very good analysis I like it a lot

Split Interpretations Theory:

(Ever notice how lunar sway moons look like the :eyes: emoji?)   The Extended Zodiac states that lunar sways are “a designation which says things about your perspective on life. “ In Homestuck, aspect powers are determined by thought, and thought is determined by perspective/how information is perceived. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that lunar sway plays a huge role in how aspect powers/movesets are utilized? I believe aspects can be split into two interpretations by a character depending on their lunar sways. A masculine and a feminine. I use the terminology masculine and feminine here because the respective dreaming moons are associated with the two heavily gendered cherubs, each of which strongly possessive traditional gender role traits. Caliborn (Derse): is proactive, forceful, and rational, logical, idealistic, traits heavily associated with masculinity. Calliope (Prospit): is adaptable, reactive, submissive, and intuitive, practical traits associated towards femininity. Of course, gender roles are considered bullshit in Homestuck (and ought to be IRL), so whether a character is female or male is actually irrelevant in possessing these lunar sways. An interesting dichotomy presents itself when viewing characters this way. Rose Lalonde, as a light player, is less focused on fortune and more focused on knowledge. Fortune permeates her life in not so subtle ways, such as living in a mansion with an ACTUAL OBSERVATORY.

However, Rose’s fixation is less on this fortune and her feelings of luck, but instead on the acquisition of knowledge. Knowledge, which grants her power and control and most importantly agency. (It also lets her shoot light rays out of some sticks). Knowledge, in this theory, would be the masculine element of light. It requires conscious thought and rational thinking to utilize effectively, especially as Rose uses it to determine probability. Rose’s affinity for light grants her theoretical knowledge which she then uses to provide agency for herself and others. Vriska, on the other hand, fixates on the feminine interpretation of her aspect, luck. Luck is a huge part of Vriska’s identity, and she believes fervently in it even though luck would generally be disregarded as bullshit by most. Luck is feminine because luck is reactive to the will of an individual as opposed to proactive, conscious thought. Vriska’s affinity for light grants her theoretical knowledge, to a lesser degree than Rose, but it makes up for this in it’s sheer practicality. Even the way that both use their powers offensively fits this divide. Rose shoots flash magic like she’d imagine a wizard would, as though she’s creating light ex nihilo whereas Vriska sort of just sucks out the luck that’s already there by looking at you hard enough. Both characters flow into active and passive states of their aspects to accomplish their ends, however it is Vriska who outstrips Rose in flexibility. Relying on luck requires a degree of intellectual submission and faith, which Rose’s ego is not inclined to allow. Vriska on the other hand, lets lady luck take the wheel so to speak, and if lady luck insists that Vriska gathers information to plan then she’ll do it. The downside is that Vriska becomes more easily manipulable and susceptible to the wills of others. The neutral element between both of these active states is “resourcefulness” which is the ability to look at your environment and take what you want/need from it. Luck would not work if one’s eyes are not open to opportunity, and you wouldn’t be able to acquire knowledge unless your eyes were open to it’s sources.

Tyzias and Stelsa both occupy a similar position as Vriska and Rose, both being blood players with differing lunar sways. Tyzias (prospit) interprets blood as camaraderie, bonds, and connections (community oriented/feminine things) and as such is blessed with the power of charisma, similar to Karkat. Stelsa on the other hand focuses on the masculine interpretations of blood, which is accountability, and social responsibility. Her connections with people are not ends, but rather a means to an end. And in this way, she very closely resembles the statement given about early session Karkat by Hussie himself. “As a Prospit dreamer, did Karkat struggle because he was actually passive in nature, but had a very active self image as a leader and conqueror?”

“For the very essence of a troll becomes sallow when devoid of love and of truth, which are often the same spiritual element,” Exodus said, gesturing emphatically with one hand as his other trembled against the podium upon which he leaned, projecting his rich voice to the very back of the slim and somewhat stuffy room he had managed to transform into some approximation of a church. The air was made stuffier by the excited breaths of his followers, gathered en masse on benches and below his feet, and he felt sweat or condensation cling to his brow and seep under the bridge of his glasses. “It may not seem readily apparent, but love is the pursuit of truth. Truth is the expression of love. While not inextricably linked, it is improper- or, rather, inadvisable to deny that in the absence these two gleaming facets, life loses its meaning and its justification. One must recognize the relation between truth and love, and their pertinence to life itself.” 

Exodus’s sermons were improvised nearly every time he gave them. While he was finding it harder and harder to sift through the dichotomy between what he truly believed and what beliefs he had fabricated for the sake of others, he did find it somewhat amusing that when he stood in front of the slick wooden podium, it truly felt as though a spirit compelled him to speak. The words were delivered to him, and with surprising competency - they had to come from some outside source, he thought, because rarely what he said he agreed with. That, or he agreed, but he could never realistically apply his tenants to himself. He was utterly contradictory, but of course this needed to be kept under wraps to stave off his doomsday, when it all would come crashing down. 

What strange things he was saying today. Utter drivel. He was making himself sick, describing some hypothetical state that was his direct opposite. Truth and love - he wanted to scoff, to spit at himself, as he lacked both in equal measure: untruthful, loveless, a contradiction of all he claimed to stand for. No more than a living lie. 

“It… ah.” He faltered. That wasn’t good, he wasn’t supposed to falter. He lowered his hand and clung to the structure before him, looking down. Long, heavy seconds passed. 

“Why are you crying, my Lord?” Someone said. Similar inquisitive, adoring murmurs rose from the crowd he had assembled. It sounded like birdsong to him: “Why? Why? Why?” 

Quickly now. Make something up; truth isn’t an option, it never has been.

“Fear not,” he said, trying to keep the thickness in his voice at bay. “I have simply thought of a troll I intimately know, an unfortunate soul, who I have known to lack the virtues I just described. I have become emotional, thinking of his life and the consequences of his deficiencies, and I… I weep for him.” He performatively wiped away a tear, though his anguish was real. 

He did something he knew the crowd would appreciate, and stepped out from behind the podium. Wide eyes searched his entire body. 

“Will you join me in prayer?” He asked them. 

“Yes, Lord,” was the resounding response. He continued to walk forwards, down the few stairs of the stage, into the thrum of his following. They crept closer to him with a shy reverence. 

“Together we must tell him, and all trolls like him, that we forgive him. Through this we will deliver him peace. Please join me.” He took a deep breath, and the collective did the same. 

“I forgive you.” He heard their parroted response echo, amplified by the high ceiling, and he felt the sound hum in his chest. He willed himself to glow, tears spilling onto his uniform, and the open faces that surrounded him were alight with a rose wash, petal-tender and hushed. The Heart symbol appeared, shimmering close to the rapid thumping of his own blood-pump adrenaline, and tentative hands ran over him, pressing palms to the pink curved sign, shaping themselves to his warm body. His shaking legs gave out, and, taking this as yet another sign, his collective supported his weight, lifting him above their heads, safe in their arms. 

“Say it with me,” Exodus whispered to their eager ears. 

“I forgive you. I forgive you. I forgive you,” they said. It was all he had ever wished to hear. 

Im just going to throw this hat of mine into the Classpect Analysis ring and see what happens, and a blank version for this if anyone wants it

I just had an epiphany on the Breath aspect, and how intricately it connects to the concept of ghosts/the afterlife

Vriska Serket, whose lusus constantly demands she feed it, received Cetus as a denizen, a monster known for eating every single fish on the Land of Light and Rain.

More obviously the number 8 is homophonic with the word ‘ate’ (and also takes the shape of the infinity, related to the ouroborous symbol depicting a snake eating itself), and in Homestuck’s symbology the sun - the symbol of the light aspect - is something that is meant to be ‘eaten’ by black holes.

Masculine (Yang) and Feminine (Yin) and the Distinction

The distinction between Yin and Yang interpretations of aspects is proactiveness versus reactiveness.  For example, emotions are generally a heart associated thing. However, identity and the construction of a cohesive self requires conscious thought and awareness beforehand. Feelings, in contrast, are inherently reactive. They require an external stimulus. Thus feelings are part of the yin interpretation of heart and identity is the yang interpretation.  Thus heart players of derse are less concerned with experiencing their feelings and more concerned with compartmentalizing and keeping them under control to the aid of whatever mask/persona they strive to project.

I have found the original HD size of the extended aspects from 4archive

this is a repost, I only reposted this because I think the original creator has deactivated their Tumblr. If by some chance the original creator messages me, I will take this post down.

Since I do not trust Tumblr to not destroy the image quality I will post this on Imgur. here

The lawnrings are empty. Blood skims the voids in your porous cranial plates, as if grazing the hollow of a threshed stem, or say, an abandoned cocoon.

The streets are empty. Wind skims the voids keeping neighbors apart, as if grazing the hollow of a cut reed, or say, a plundered mailbox.

lawnrings are presumably the closest thing trolls have to streets, and the setting of Karkat's rant takes place in his own brain rather than in his neighbourhood so that the line about wind can be replaced with one about blood (though it probably has some implications regarding the interconnectedness of the characters' homes and their inner worlds); but after using 'threshed stem' as a synonym for 'cut reed', it feels particularly pregnant that a cocoon is compared to a mailbox? particularly because we know by now that a cocoon is a bed, so that's not just their name for a mailbox. the very next page tells us trolls won't even have a word for mailboxes because they don't have mail full stop, so maybe those are just two parts to a joke, but trolls not having mail could be a part of this analogy too...

Not an Enigma, and Certainly Not a Curse: the "Ultimate Self" in Hussie's Own Words

I've found myself, lately, in several conversations in a row where the other guy and myself weren't on the same page about what the Ultimate Self meant; and though I welcome the opportunity for discussion, explaining my position over and over again has cost me minutes of my screen life that I simply won't win back. So this post is a departure from my usual fare in that it's more for my own benefit than that of anybody else.

I've been over Davepeta's "superceding bodyless and timeless persona that crosses the boundaries of paradox space" enough already, so if you're interested in the Ultimate Self as it is in Homestuck, I recommend you read "Homestuck's Gnosticism: The Conflict", and then, if that piques your attention, you continue with the follow-up "The World/The Wheel". For the purposes of this post, though, I want to keep analysis, interpretation and hypothesising to a minimum. As the title indicates, this is the Ultimate Self not as I describe it, or as characters describe it, but - so to speak - straight from the horse's mouth.

In Andrew Hussie's commentary on Homestuck: Book 6, p. 312:

Oftentimes, when characters lose certain qualities that came to define them, there's this sense of liberation they seem to experience. They become a happier, more relieved, easier-going version of themselves. When Aradia ditches a defining quality we came to know her by (being dead), she becomes a much happier and self-actualized Aradia. Sollux also seems to be chilling out now that his defining properties (bifurcation, etc.) have been KO'd. He had a mouth full of gnarly teeth that gave him a wicked lisp (gone), eyes full of nasty laser beams (gone, along with his eyesight), and a brain full of doomsday visions and bipolar disorder (also gone—well, maybe not the bipolar thing, because that's probably not how that works, but whatever). You get more of this kind of thing in even higher degrees with some of the fusion stuff that happens later (Arquius, Davepeta), where characters become almost euphoric versions of themselves for having been completely liberated from certain self-limitations which previously defined them. The concept of an "ultimate self," which appears much later, probably has its roots way back to stuff like this, which got the ball rolling on the idea that a more complete or fulfilled self is one that becomes free from mortal limitations, or the idiosyncrasies which comprise a specific instance of one version of yourself. Hence an ultimate self is an aggregate of someone's full potential. It's not just doing away with negative traits, but summing up all iterations of yourself, including ones without those traits, allowing you to move beyond them. Or maybe more accurately, to view them as insignificant in the grand totality of what a person really is.

Importantly, what Hussie does here is draw the conceptual line from the themes of Acts 1-5 to what are often interpreted by some as radically different, even left-field themes through Act 6. Think of this as an extension of one of Homestuck's meta-themes, where the comic undergoes a series of escalations that take simple conflicts to their logical extremes: we start the story worried about a Reckoning which might destroy the Earth, then end up with the more pressing concern that a Rapture is about to end reality as we know it. The Ultimate Self is the end result of the exact same kind of escalation; where the God Tiers are a method of becoming a better version of oneself by merging with one's "ideal" dream body, the Ultimate Self is the logical conclusion that one can become the best version by unifying with every body.

To draw my own conceptual line back to Homestuck: Book 5, page 409:

This connects to the basic question of whether to embrace the regimentation of a heroic path conveniently laid out for you (the expectation), or to reject it as the shallow and rigid confinement of personal destiny (the deviation). These issues are expressed through the fundamental language of platonic idealism: perfect ideas of things, and then specific, imperfect instances of those ideas, or varied permutations, evolutions, or hacks of those ideas through alchemy. The way Sburb "should" go is an ideal (expectation), but the disastrous, chaotic way it actually goes is an imperfect instance (deviation). An "idea" of a person, such as Rose, along with her regimented heroic quest for growth, and all the great things she might imagine herself to become if she followed it, is an ideal (expectation). The messy, flawed, yet more genuinely human individual she does become resulting from her errant choices and rejection of formalism, is an imperfect instance of an ideal (deviation). What's the bottom line here? This is a lot. I know it's a lot. Homestuck is, in fact, a lot.

I've added some of my own emphasis there again, but that whole extract is worth reading. The reason I bolded that part is because this "Platonic idealism" is something Hussie talks about a lot in his commentary, and I think that commentary is essential reading for anyone who wants to even get their foot in the door on this topic. Again, this is something I've blogged about extensively already, so there's more than just Hussie's word to take for it if you're really interested; but for the sake of this post, I'll finish off with, again, what Hussie himself has to say on the matter, all the way back in Homestuck: Book 1, page 123:

With things like Athenums and Perfectly Generic Objects locked and loaded, Sburb architecture seems to be circling widely around a game abstraction-based systemization of Platonic idealism. Homestuck deals with what I am going to roughly characterize as THEMES.

(Blood: To draw their power from the bonds between them and others, along with getting strength from leading others in the right ways.)

(Light: To seek knowledge above all else, and will venture out and stop at nothing to gain the information they want.)

The Blood-Light bound is smart and knowledge driven, so they would probably be that kind of person that you could find in a library at lunch or researching weird topics at 2 in the morning.

They’re also very social people, regardless of if they’re extroverted or introverted, and they care deeply about their friends and family.

They love to learn about things that could help somebody they care about, and if there’s a hope of helping someone dear to them, they’ll stop at nothing to achieve it.

The Blood-Light love going on adventures with their friends and family if it’ll give them more knowledge about something, and they are super good listeners if you want to talk to them.

Although they’re great listeners, they’re not too good on the empathetic half but they still love to learn niche details about you because they find it super intimate to share small details with someone you’re close to.

If Blood is the stronger aspect in the dual pair, then the Blood-Light bound person is sociable and caring, but with the tendency to be a little bit overbearing at times when you show them affection.

If Light is the stronger aspect in the dual pair, then the Blood-Light bound person is knowledgeable about a lot of different things, is a great listener, and is very ambitious and drawn to a learning adventure.