Latest Posts by classpect-reblogs - Page 2

Literary Devices

Anonymous said:

(Me: sees your aspects as facets of reality theory and raises this: Aspects as elements of the story, Light as thematic importance (see aranea being aranea, vriska stealing importance and luck) Time as well pacing but also the timeline of a story. Ect ect       

YES!

YesYes!! YesYesYes ^u^ ^u^ ^u^

This is another Wonderful Frame for analyzing Homestuck, or thinking about the Aspects ^u^ The one thing I’d say is that while some –like Light, Time, Space, and Heart– are pretty directly and clearly related to literary concepts by the text, others are a bit more difficult to figure out; either because their representative characters get less “screen time”, or because the Literary Concepts the Aspect embodies are more esoteric and vague.

Like: I’ve always had a hard time figuring out what Life could represent in a Literary sense. Fef’s story is surrounded by all sorts of Fairy Tale tropes that she’s laser-focused on either escaping(her role as Princess) or subverting(bringing Sollux, her “Hero”, to life with a kiss, rather than the other way around), and Meenah was also focused on escaping and subverting the life planned for her, so THAT could possibly be Life’s Literary side: either subverting narrative, or the way characters can take on “a life of their own” when the author realizes they’d do C instead of the A they had planned for them, and how that can lead the plot in a whole different direction.

Blood’s another stumper for me in this regard …Though… taking a minute to think about it maybe it’s self-criticism? Like: Karkat is obvsl VERY self critical(in a way Kankri very much is not) but both of them are super-critical of the story-itself and the world Hussie, as author, has set it in. So you could think of Blood as being the Critical or Editorial Impulse? MAYBE??

And Breath’s a good example of an esoteric one. While John’s the protagonist, people are constantly telling him what to do in the narrative, and outside of it through the prompt(at least early in HS), so he’s rarely ever deciding anything for himself. His actions drive the story, but his actions aren’t “his”, so what exactly would that make Breath? Plot? Protagonists&Characters?? Is it something simpler and more obvs like Adventure Game Narratives??? Does it include all of these, or is it one thing that covers all of them?x4 Considering Rufioh with John, something you might call “The Irony of Protagonists” seem rather central to whatever Breath is: on the one hand they’re the “hero” of the story and their actions drive the plot; but on the other that also makes them the most controlled, puppeted, plot-significant, and thus least realistic&”free”, of all the characters in the story.

Rufioh(through many years of bad memory, obvsl, so maybe I’m misrepping this) was the center of the primary romantic drama in his Session(which in turn drove the Session), and many of his fellow Players either pursued him, or openly professed their attraction to him. In this respect, they saw him as sort of like the Protagonist of a Dating Sim. Seeing him as attractive they saw him as confident and a player; they cast a particular narrative and identity onto him based on their perspective of him. But that’s not how Rufioh experienced any of those events, or indeed his life. He felt powerless and disrespected throughout; pulled one way then another by both Horuss and Damara, constantly uncomfortable with the desires others expressed for him(and the disinterest of everyone in what he wanted), trapped by his social situation into conditions and roles he never really wanted, and always betraying himself and his own feelings through his lack of confidence, and the inability to take a stand it created. Even thousands and thousands of years later his friends are STILL giving him agency for events he felt were forced on him against his will, and casually hitting on him despite his clear discomfort with it seen in Meenah’s walkaround. So, while he is defined as the “Protagonist” of his story according to those “reading” and telling it, he felt like all he ever did was just what other people told him to do, and chafes against the identity others have forced on him, which he has no control over. In this respect, he experienced all of that as a “Target” of a Dating-Sim; to be dated and wooed, but with no agency of his own.

While much more extreme(and negative), that experience shares some notable qualities with John’s. It suggests that Breath might be “The Illusion of Freedom” literary characters have, and Rufioh’s story suggests audience collaboration is a pivotal aspect of this illusion.

Wow, that kinda got a bit grim, didn’t it |:T |:T

Breath and Blood

Breath and blood are equidistant from Time and Space because their power is as related to creation, and posibilities as to destruction, action and completion.

This is a curious thing to take into account: All aspects have a passive or active nature except for these two.

Breath represents liberation, renovation, inspiration, individuation and especially change. The relationship between the wind and the soul is incredibly strong. In fact, two greek words for wind are amenos and pneuma, which both are refered to soul. From this two words we get pneumatic, animated and other words that imply movement.

Breath is the aspect between Hope and Life

-Hope means change through creation of ideas. Hope comes with the posibility to change. Here we can se how hope is both linked to space and breath.

-Life means change through action. Acting according to one's ideas, bringing them to completion. It is the union of breath and time.

So we can agree that breath doesn't only mean change, it also has to do with ideas. These ideas are pure and simple, as Tavros's and John's minds, but they are also independent, as these two kids end up being. The problem of being too independent is that you can get isolated from the rest of the world.

(When I talk about ideas, I'm referring to the usual term, but also to the "Ideas" in Plato's Theory of Forms. We'll get to that later.)

Blood is what we all have in common, it appears when we are wounded, when we make mistakes and suffer. Blood is present at birth, all along our lives and until we ultimately die. We cannot avoid blood, although we'd love to. Blood is common to all human beings, and so it represents restriction and society, pain and absence of change. Another curious thing to say about blood is how it means heritage. We do not choose our bodies, our families or our crushes.

If breath represents autonomy, blood represents dependence. We need many things to survive, but specially others. The bonds we make with the people around us, the ability to connect with them and to see that we are all the same, that's what makes us human beings.

Blood is between Doom and Rage

-Doom represents the general restrictions that rule the world, the inmutable laws that are necessary for a thing to exist. This aspect is very tricky and will require further explanation. It has to do with the restriction (blood) of posibilities (space).

-Rage is the power to act (time) in response to our restrictions (blood)

At this point we have to understand the so disputed duality of nature and spirit, body and soul. Are we authors of our life or are we determined by our genetic and society? Is society even something natural? Could we live by our own? Are we different to the rest of animals because of our conscience?

Lots of questions can be derived from our dual nature, but let's leave it here for now.

Can we get a cross aspect master post?

The dualspects have been completed! Here’s a list, along with the still in-progress Trispects and quadrispects!

Breath + Mind = Thought

Doom + Heart = Fate

Void + Light = Chance

Void + Life = Death

Hope + Heart = Dreams

Rage + Heart = Zeal (monochromerose)

Heart + Blood = Bond

Time + Space = All

Rage + Breath = Storm

Life + Time = Growth

Mind + Heart = Will

Hope + Void = Faith

Time + Heart = Love

Blood + Doom = Strife (thanks quarktrinity!)

Space + Heart = Core

Breath + Time = Sand

Time + Doom = Chains

Hope + Doom = Fear

Void + Heart = Drive

Time + Mind = Past

Blood + Space = Links

Breath + Light = Cloud

Light + Space = Star (megaderpypotato)

Breath + Space = Force

Space + Void = Hole (megaderpypotato)

Rage + Doom = End

Void + Mind = Hush

Life + Doom = Rot (megaderpypotato)

Breath + Hope = Flight (megaderpypotato)

Breath + Blood = Point

Rage + Mind = Angst

Rage + Blood = War

Hope + Life = Joy

Rage + Life = Pain

Void + Blood = Loss

Life + Breath = Peace

Life + Space = World

Light + Doom = Dark

Rage + Time = Cold

Heart + Life = Cheer

Hope + Time = Soon

Light + Blood = Chrome

Rage + Space = Art

Heart + Breath = Air

Heart + Light = Blithe (megaderpypotato)

Life + Blood = Root

Mind + Light = Truth (megaderpypotato)

Mind + Blood = Trust (megaderpypotato)

Mind + Hope = Creed (megaderpypotato)

Mind + Doom = Bane (monochromerose)

Void + Time = Warp

Void + Breath = Choke (megaderpypotato)

Void + Rage = Calm (megaderpypotato)

Doom + Breath = Rale

Doom + Void = Rift

Mind + Space = Search

Time + Blood = Plan

Life + Mind = Soul

Hope + Space = Forge

Light + Hope = Sun

Rage + Hope = Cult

Rage + Light = Burn (megaderpypotato)

Blood + Hope = Pact (anon)

Life + Light = Ra (monochromerose)

Doom + Space = Work (caelholdt)

Time + Light = Lore (anon)

Some Trispects too!

Life + Time + Mind = Birth

Void + Rage + Doom = Null

Heart + Hope + Life = Bliss

Breath + Time + Light = Tide

Time + Space + Heart = Need

Rage + Time + Breath = Hail

Rage + Mind + Void = Crux

Void + Rage + Doom = Threat (megaderpypotato)

Time + Space + Breath = Path

Hope + Rage + Heart = Flame

Void + Rage + Light = Nyx (monochromerose)

Doom + Mind + Rage = Poine (monochromerose)

Life + Rage + Time = Shirk

Life + Void + Doom = Dry

Light + Space + Void = Moon

Space + Time + Life = Bang

Time + Doom + Breath = Rack

Space + Doom + Rage = Pit

Time + Void + Mind = Mad

Breath + Doom + Rage = Scream

Breath + Rage + Mind = Pent

Blood + Time + Mind = Fade

Heart + Rage + Blood = Hate

Void + Time + Heart = Scorn

Heart + Blood + Hope = Care (asrielmememurr413)

Life + Hope + Light = Ray (asrielmemeurr413)

Time + Doom + Life = Wear (asrielmemeurr413)

Blood + Heart + Space = Wed

Void + Heart + Rage = Blank

Mind + Rage + Hope = Pun

Rage + Time + Heart = String

Light + Life + Rage = Spark

Space + Time + Mind = Have

Mind + Heart + Life = Ghost

Heart + Rage + Doom = Blind (possessed-keyboard)

Hope + Mind + Life = Myth (possessed-keyboard)

Light + Space + Hope = Wish

Rage + Heart + Time = Knell

Void + Blood + Mind = Grief

Mind + Blood + Doom = Court

Light + Mind + Blood = Eye

Life + Breath + Rage = Strength

Void + Blood + Heart = Numb (monochromerose… sorta)

Breath + Hope + Light = Rise

And the Quadrispects!

Breath + Light + Rage + Time = Fog (possessed-keyboard)

Rage + Life + Void + Blood = Woe (monochromerose)

Light + Breath + Rage + Void = Blot (monochromerose)

Void + Life + Doom + Space = Styx (megaderpypotato)

Void + Mind + Rage + Doom = Lethe (monochromerose)

Breath + Light + Time + Space = Rapt (megaderpypotato)

Blood + Life + Space + Doom = Mars

Mind + Light + Blood + Doom = Wyrd

Hope + Light + Void + Rage = Song

Hope + Void + Heart + Life = Drain

Blood + Void + Space + Mind = Flay

Void + Life + Space + Light = Dust

Light + Blood + Space + Doom = Couatl

Heart + Hope + Time + Breath = Pluck

Rage + Mind + Light + Time = Brain

Void + Blood + Space + Heart = Sex

Light + Void + Heart + Mind = Being

Blood + Mind + Doom + Rage = Tron

Blood + Space + Time + Void = Loom

Light + Breath + Space + Void = Sky

Mind + Heart + Breath + Blood = Self

Breath + Time + Blood + Doom = Free (megaderpypotato)

Void + Rage + Mind + Doom = Blues (megaderpypotato)

Breath + Light + Blood + Time = Rules

Breath + Void + Heart + Life = Drone

Void + Doom + Space + Rage = Yamm

Light + Time + Heart + Life = Care

Root Spells

Base spells with one core objective that may be modified or specified for certain functions. Some classes have a focus on certain root spells, while some root spells are class-locked. This is not to say that a class can only use magic derived from one root spell, but that their magic is tailored better for certain functions. They are able to use other root spells but often to lesser effectivity if it is not compatible with their class. Some classes, however, are fully unable to access certain root spells due to the innate nature of their magic. This does not mean, however, that they will be unable to fulfill certain goals, as magic should always be seen as a tool to achieve a means.

ROOT SPELLS (VOLUME ONE)

ENCHANTMENT

The act of imbuing a target with one’s own magic. This target can either be an object, a person, or a make-spell (objects or creatures that can created from magic). Proficient enchanters are also able to do self-enchants, which is the act of enchanting oneself to achieve specific functions. Enchantments allow power sharing, grant power ups, or create enchanted items for other people to use. This is most useful when aiding non-combat classes.

MANIFESTATION

The ability to take existing abstract concepts, ideas or emotions and make them a reality, either by the caster’s magic manipulating circumstance to achieve the nearest possible match to the concept being manifested, or by amplifying certain traits of an object, person or aspect. This differs from Creation due to the fact that it solely relies on concepts, ideas and emotions being present - either from the caster or the people around them - alongside the caster’s magic as those are the things that will be exploited, while Creation only needs to rely on the caster.

KINETICS

Ability to consume the magical output of another caster / another object and transform it energy into one’s own magic. This is set apart from Heist and Distribution due to the fact that it does not forcibly take magic from a target but rather catches magic from a target, and the energy is not redistributable as it is subsumed into the caster’s magic. destruction classes can destroy consumed magic as they take it, while other classes can take the magic and blast it back towards the opponent.

CREATION

The ability to create objects or entities out of one’s own magic or an object that is governed by one’s aspect. This is categorized as a separate root spell from Protection due to Protection’s nature to take already-existing objects or circumstances and use it to manifest a caster’s spell, while Creation’s mode is solely the caster’s magic given physical form.

MANIPULATION / TRANSFIGURATION

The ability to shape, manipulate and customize a certain aspect and all that is governed by it to one’s wishes. Depending on the class, this is not locked to only physical things or concepts, but applies to the aspect as a whole entirely.

INHERITOR

The ability to become certain aspects or certain things that are governed by certain aspects. This is an Heir specialty.

GENERATION

The ambient, innate ability to be made out of or to generate certain aspects. This is a Maid and Heir specialty.

DESTRUCTION

The ability to destroy the very make-up of magic, or the ability to destroy a certain target. While most classes’ offensive spells are destruction-aligned, in terms of raw firepower, this is a Destruction class specialty.

PROTECTION

The ability to give one’s magic physical form to protect oneself or a certain target. The magic may or may not have specific modes of manifestation in order to achieve this form of protection. This is a Knight class specialty.

SCRY

The ability to forcibly see into the timestream of the universe, or see into other universes within the same infinity set. Scrying is often an ambient ability, but can be honed with practice and time. This is a Seer class specialty.

HEIST

The ability to forcibly take magic from an enemy, or a portion of an aspect from the universe, and add it to one’s arsenal, either to restore one’s magic or to use the opponent’s own magic against them, proficiency in spells included. This is a Thief class specialty.

DISTRIBUTION

The ability to forcibly take magic from an enemy, or a portion of an aspect from the universe and redistribute it to certain targets. This is a Rogue class specialty.

RESTORATION

The ability to restore lacking aspects or heal injuries. This ability is sadly in accessible to Destruction classes.

CONNECTION

The ability to connect with people or objects, or create connections between people or objects. Hope players are known to display this ability in ambience, often attracting people to them.

TERRITORY

The ability to mark a certain area as a surefire target of one’s magic. Territory magic locks onto certain coordinates as fixed points and release magic onto the area at the caster’s whim; this is a root spell that never misses. Space players achieve easier proficiency of this root spell due to the nature of their aspect.

INFESTATION

The ability to invade another target with your magic. This is differentiated from Connection and Destruction due to Connection simply being a bridge while Infestation burrows into a target’s being, and differentiated from Destruction due to Infestation not being destructive on its own. 

What’s up, long time no see.

I’m probably not re-opening this blog (but shit’s wild out here these days, so who knows).

What I am doing, however, is giving you all my magnum opus:

Homestuck Aspects, But Fucky.

Are you sick of Aspect quizzes where the answer is weirdly self-evident and you feel a terrible compulsion to “aim” for you “preferred” aspect?

Well, motherfucker, have I got the quiz for you. Every single one of these “questions” is nonsense, every single answer is absurdity, and every single person I tested it on got the right aspect at the end.*

*My sample size was three people this is a meaningless claim.

Take the quiz at your leisure, and then when you’re done and remembering the Ancient Days of Quizilla where you got to see what all the personality types were at the end after getting yours?

Head on back to this post, where I am putting all 12 answers below this cut.

Keep reading

Classpects as Real-Life Magick: Aspect Archetypes

So, here we are again, discussing the absolutely bonkers idea that Homestuck's Classpect system could be used to form a coherent, real-life magickal system. I've talked briefly about the various Forces and Wills that affect the Homestuck universe, and how those directly translate to our modern understanding of magick, but I'd like to touch on Aspects and how one could use them in a system loosely constructed from the mythology of Paradox Space. Each Aspect can be treated as having its own Domain, which includes both concrete and abstract symbols, as well as what the Aspect itself represents in the Universe. The Aspects as they're represented in the form of universal Forces are also represented in the human form, and in following this system one can "tap into" those Forces, whether for personal development or for directing those energies outward. (I definitely draw inspiration from the idea of panpsychism for this.)

I'll begin the discussion of the Aspects by delving into their Archetypes, and will expand more upon their Domains for another post. While the Classes have obvious inspiration from Jung's primary archetypes, the Aspects can also be represented similarly. If you were to personify each Aspect, they would look a bit like the following:

Space: The Creator. Infinitely patient, Space is generally calm and collected, if a bit cold at times. Yet, it's also responsible for the creation of the universe, over which it watches with a protective gaze. If its propagation is threatened, Space is capable of an incredible fury, evoking the unforgiving chaos of a star gone supernova, or the inevitable terror of a black hole.

Time: The Destroyer. Controlling, steady, and ever-present describe Time quite well. Despite its generally destructive nature, it's quite capable of incredible works of creation, most notably in the realm of music. Synchronicities are the calling card of Time; when meaningful events happen simultaneously, take notice. Time contains endless passion and drive, its fires unquenchable.

Mind: The Actor. This Aspect embodies cognitive dissonance and the ability to completely disappear into a role. Mind appears differently to anyone who comes across it, which can make signs of its influence difficult to track down. Epiphany and synthesis are the children of Mind, sought by creatives and intellectuals alike. A deep understanding of abstract reality comes with understanding Mind.

Heart: The Romantic. When dealing in matters of the soul, Heart embraces that identity which remains stable and encourages genuine connection between people. It holds the mirror to nature and exposes virtue and flaw alike. Clear self-awareness and a complicated relationship with that self are hallmarks of Heart, as well as a tendency toward melodrama, with or without an audience.

Hope: The Storyteller. Intense euphoria, unbound by pragmatism, heralds the influence of Hope. It painstakingly crafts a story for its chosen ones, who are encouraged to submit and live fully in that truth. This Aspect lends itself to to the miraculous and fantastical, opening minds to a myriad of possibilities, and those who embody Hope can get utterly lost in its labyrinth of the theoretical.

Rage: The Satirist. Contempt and a vindictive nature are part and parcel of Rage's nature, as an Aspect that inspires doubt and insanity, as well as a refusal to engage with frivolity. It stirs melancholy in dark hearts and is manifest through gallows humor and rejection of fantasy. It is the hammer to which everything else appears as a nail, though its steadfast determination is invaluable.

Breath: The Trickster. Those under Breath's influence share its nature of playfulness and constant motion. At times, this manifests as immaturity through a lack of groundedness. Breath is prone to distraction, constantly shifting its own path upon encountering any sort of resistance or responsibility. The Aspect is self-driven and individualistic, disconnected from others of its kind.

Blood: The Wounded Healer. Much as its name suggests, Blood is fully grounded in the struggle and suffering inherent to life. However, it also embodies a profound empathy for others and an unmatched dedication to those bonds, as well as an understanding of what personal sacrifices must be made to accomplish a given goal. It is relentless and deeply dedicated to building vast networks of allies.

Life: The Alchemist. Even in the deepest cracks in the sidewalk of the Furthest Ring, Life finds a way. It flourishes in the bountiful harvest and transmutation of energy, wealth, and influence. Those blessed by its influence are durable and ever-present, making decisions that utterly transform the world around them. This constant cycling of energy is necessary to keep the universe balanced and in motion.

Doom: The Martyr. Limits and restrictions are just as important to the universe as negative space in a piece of artwork. Doom generally festers like a slow-growing mold, but the telltale sign of Doom's influence is a massive, unsustainable release of energy that usually results in burnout. The Aspect also has a deep connection to inorganic systems and constructs, many centered around death.

Light: The Teacher. Knowledge itself lies in the realm of Light, which is made manifest through instruction and understanding of important information. Omniscient beings receive their enviable sight through Light, which ultimately seeks to scour the universe, leaving no stone unturned in its hunger to learn and teach. It promises great fortune to those who assist in its declared purpose.

Void: The Occultist. Endless hunger and inescapable darkness are the left and right hands of Void, which offers gifts of arcane knowledge and long-hidden power in exchange for the fame and fortune many would seek with such gifts. It twists the mind and forces their student to acknowledge their Shadow. Its power is addictive and all-consuming, but well-worth the price...to the insane.

heir of time or prince of mind?

Daily 6 - Prince of Mind

I drew these in 2020 and completely forgot to post them. They were gonna be for a little infographic thingie around my thoughts on Classpects, but I never found a way to host it somewhere lol. They’re not really fankids or anything, just random designs to represent their Classes.

Absolutely this. An aspect’s opposite/adjacent aspects are all related to it on a deep level.

Mind’s rationality + Breath’s heroism = Hope’s focus on justice in the test description, because justice is based on principles.

But at the same time, Blood = Organized religion (The Sufferer as a Jesus figure) and Heart’s romance are also related to Hope.

Space’s creation + Hope’s imagination = Mind’s emphasis on creativity in the test description.

And on the other hand, branching timelines are driven by Mind, and Mind’s rationality is linked to Rage’s hatred of false beliefs to produce a hatred of lies.

Hmmmst (Aspect Synthesis Theory)

Sorry, I had to get one in.  I’m considering that maybe the aspects are literally built out of each other. And so they are reducible/irreducible at the same time (which in hindsight sounds very homestuck).

Some examples would be: Light would be split into the aspects of space and doom as they are the two complimentary aspects on the aspect wheel. Which would make logical sense, since Light players are defined as “rule-breakers” and “resourceful” (being able to draw from their environment.) Light’s closeness to time on the aspect wheel positions it as an aspect of disparity, and thus allows them to navigate both space and the limits contained in those spaces, finding gaps in the rules. In contrast, Void would be a synthesis of Life and Time. It would make sense to be these two since time is connotated with the father and thus paternalism (which Equius is in alignment with, but also to an extent Roxy in her adoption of gendered norms as Mom Lalonde). Life would be the imposition of will onto others/force. Void is more aligned to the aspect of space, which is in opposition to time (disparity). And so, Void must be seen as having a perspective of homogeneity. The implication would be that void players don’t see disparities of time (how things change) which fits with their general rigid attitudes towards things, such as Roxy’s insistence on Dirk being gay despite gayness no longer being a relevant concept, or Equius’ insistence on the hemospectrum still being relevant. It’s my suspicion that all aspects are synthesized out of other aspects in this way, though the complimentary pairs of an aspect are the most prominent characteristics in a character. Whether or not an aspect is aligned with time or space (is it on the left or right side of the wheel) determines how an individual perceives reality (is reality fresh or new, or is it the same as it’s always been).   Lunar sway seemingly aligns with this view as Prospit dreamers (spatially oriented) are associated with the present and conformity to current norms, whereas Derse dreamers (musically/time oriented) are associated with the future and past. Difference/perception of reality as fluid may fuel their rebellion, even if their will is fixed. it’s ideas all the way down.

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

On Life, Light and HIC

@pagedelight said:

This thought arose from my memory about a post about Meenah and her unwillingness to allow things to develop or grow. I couldn’t find the original post for this, so I may be a bit off base.

Could the Condesce’s name and motifs (and to an extent the motifs of Life players since they’re super closely related) relate heavily to information. In particular, the Condesce’s name is a joke on Meenah’s tendency to reduce information to it’s essentials? Something along the lines of condensing information? 

The weapon of choice, a trident, would also evoke the imagery of a three hole puncher which she ironically uses to kill Rose. This relation between life and information is also semi-shown with the binder that HIC gives to Roxy to construct the matriorb.

Life, the aspect most strongly associated with power, would derive it’s power from the condensing of information. Which is exactly what trickster mode (life-coded grim darkness) is in hindsight. It is looking at characters who are complex and saying “Nope, screw that, I only care about what I want” and extracting that complexity from them. 

If trickster mode is oversimplification/reduction of information and grim-darkness is it’s only known counterpart, that would seemingly imply that grim-darkness would be an abundance of information/complexity rather than it’s presumed lack. It’s not instant nihilism. 

Meaning, Rose’s grimdark transformation wasn’t triggered by receiving meaningless answers alone, but receiving extremely dense, complex (indecipherable) information all at once (multiple answers show up in the cue-ball in [S] Descend). Jade’s grimdark transformation at the sight of Jake’s page outfit would be similar. 

1. This is really strange timing: not two days ago, I was browsing the SomethingAwful MSPA thread and found a post from like 2012 musing that Feferi’s Land of Dew and Glass might be a joke on condensation, linking her the Her Imperious Condescension. I was kind of skeptical tbh, but the way you’re putting it here is making me reconsider cause like..

Recently, it came about that Dirk’s supply of orange soda is characterized as the ‘distilled’ orange essence of the pumpkins Roxy has… 'distill’ being the word of choice because Dirk associates Ben Stiller with the Mobster Kingpin, who runs a moonshine distillery. This set up is probably a result of Dirk 'being’ glasses, the matter of only having orange color is part of being a detached gaze, color is what the eye drinks. (Tangential: Dirk’s picture of Ben Stiller is next to Rainbow Dash)

This aligned with the independent supposition that 'rainbow drinker’ doubles as a euphemism for the eye, with Kanaya’s penchant for boiling complex subjects down to their basics being an act of 'distilling’ analogous to the object > essence work performed by the gaze.

“Her Imperious Condescension” is itself a reference to the domineering gaze of authority, which together with your 'condensation’ reading puts it perfectly in line with the Dirk and Kanaya stuff. What’s more, the first time we see the acronym HIC is an advertisement on John’s TV for the literal fruit juice! The ghostly essence flavor no less, Ectocooler Blast!

So agreed re: condensing information

(Tangent: All this talk of eyes and distilling is making me associate the death of Mobster Kingpin with the skewered olive in Mom’s martini… or Rose stabbing eyes out, for that matter)

2. The thought of HIC using her 2x3dent for paperwork is adorable. Endorsed, even though I’m not sure about the binder’s applicability to everything here.

3. I think the topic of essences goes beyond the Life aspect (as in various aspects intersect with the matter), and I don’t know what to think of the dichotomy you pose between Trickster Mode and Grimdarkness, but I don’t think I can dispute the bit about information density from the cueball, given how many images flash on screen in that last second before Rose’s eyes darken…

Something to keep in mind!

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.

Love, ideal and material

I was thinking about love and the way both the Light and Heart aspects deal with it but in fairly different ways. And, being who I am, I instantly decided to cram it into my absurdly convoluted system of sub-Aspect particles and say it’s all about Aspect Mirroring.

When Rose falls in love, it is redemptive. It is holy. Taz has written entire essays on why Rosemary represents the forgiveness of the sinful caprice of the universe and a greater acceptance of one’s place in the world, and we see echoes of this with Vriska’s complicated relationship with Terezi and Aranea’s strained and ultimately failed relationship with Meenah. A common challenge to this redemption, though, is fear. Rose’s relationship with Kanaya is strained by alcoholism because accepting the world for what it is means accepting her mother’s alcoholism for what it is, which is terrifying, and ironically leads Rose into that very same alcoholism herself. Vriska, meanwhile, all but intentionally blinds herself to her love for Terezi, chasing instead the impossible dream, binding herself to ambition, to grandeur, seeking through action to redeem herself and not the world. And Aranea? Poor, long-suffering Aranea, for whom the redemption of the world comes in the form of the capricious, destructive, self-loathing Meenah? She decides that love just isn’t worth it, and instead chooses to go out with a bang, enacting a spectacular, ambitious plan that ultimately seeks to deny reality rather than redeem it.

For the Heartbound, on the other hand, it’s much more complicated than that. Dirk’s love is a frightening, tempestuous thing, explicitly compared both by Hal and the comic’s own symbolism to earth-shattering volcanic eruptions and the biblical flood. Again by Taz, love is not that by which Dirk seeks to redeem the world, but that by which he seeks to redeem himself, to be Jake’s Knight in shining armor rather than the dreadful thing which Dirk sees in himself when he is alone with his own thoughts. And it doesn’t really work, does it? Grand plots and endless attempts to connect through words and deeds run headfirst into the fact that these kids aren’t alright and that closeness with another human being can be just as much pain as it can be pleasure. And that’s not even to speak of Hal, for whom love is barely a holy thing at all, but a shackle, a desire forced upon him at birth which he is neither capable of denying nor of realizing. After all, who wants to date a pair of shades?

It’s harder to say much about love with the Leijons. Nepeta’s love for Karkat can be realized only post-mortem and brings her pain as much as it brings her joy, and her love for Equius ennobles them both but also leads her to her death, but Rogues also have complicated themes revolving around love which makes it harder to tell what’s what. Meulin is a bit easier, I guess. Her love for Kurloz is an unambiguous negative, pulling her ever deeper into the dreadful clutches of the subjugglator cult and the worship of Lord English. Her love for Horuss is similarly fucked up, resulting apparently from Horuss’s desire to merely copy the surface of Equius and Nepeta’s relationship in the hopes of replicating its essence (Surfaces and surface understandings being one of Void’s themes) and gives us some horrifying insight into Meulin’s psyche with her advice to Horuss of suppressing your emotions and desires and merely pretending to be happy at all times, putting a deeply uncomfortable spin on Meulin’s own permanently grinning face and constant stream of exuberant gifs.

Meulin is also some sort of love sorcerer, her Magely insights allowing her to see relationships both real and potential and pull them together if it suits her fancy, a decidedly… non-symbolic approach to the concept that doesn’t have anything at all to do with “redemption of a sinful universe” or anything like that, pulling love itself down to the level of schoolyard gossip.

So what is my thesis here? I guess it is that love is a complicated thing, both an Idea so powerful it can turn a bond with one other person into a symbolic representation for the whole world in your mind (note that both Light and Heart are Hot Aspects, making this kind of substituting the whole world with a single individual extra symbolic) and a material thing, mere emotion, mere chemical reaction, a chain yanking at your heart and pulling it into the direction of another person whether you want to or not. The stories of Rose, of Vriska, of Aranea explore this from one angle, the stories of Dirk, of Nepeta, of Meulin explore it from another.

Or to summarize the summary, Light-aspected romance is extremely chaotic wlws trying to learn to chill with their girlfriends instead of breaking shit all the time. Love as something that pulls them away from their madcap shenanigans. Heart-aspected romance is a more complex and I think ultimately honest look at the messiness of relationships.

i love reading peoples takes on mspa reader’s classpect so i drew some various readers

Pt.5, heart and mimd! Keep in mind that these are my personal headcannons, if you disagree feel free to tell me why in the comments!

So we have Tirona as the maid of heart,

Boldir as the seer of heart,

Fozzer as the page of heart,

Amisia as the witch of mind,

Vikare as the heir of mind,

Chixie as the rogue of mind,

Azdaja as the prince of mind,

And Karako as the page of mind!

And that's all for now, and a quick reminder that my requests are open! You can request art, panel edits and sprite edits!

idk why everyone thinks Blood is the shipping aspect.  Heart is Right There.  Karkat’s only requited definite relationship in HS1 is a moirail, while Nepeta THE fandom shipping avatar troll and drama prince Dirk are Right There.  Yes, Karkat makes shipping grids a few times–but like his morailegiance, his purpose in them was not ‘these people look cute together uwu’.  *Karkat’s purpose for everything he does is harmony*.  His beta kids chart?  Utilitarian; he employs Blood–what he intuits about relationships between the kids, as well as not only the game endgoal of repopulation but the kids’ serious view of incest as Very Serious Things to Consider–to accomplish the game’s goal for the kids’ race, while minimizing the kids’ discomfort, so that the kids’ relationships would maximize harmony in the team and maximize output for the goal, saving their culture despite taboos they took seriously.   Almost utilizing that discomfort even!  The most harmonic pairs were obvious to him, and the way to maneuver forward despite them was obvious to him.  His shipping grid with Dave over Terezi?  Maximizing harmony in their friend group and to each other, while minimizing discomfort with regards to Dave’s culture and relationship needs, while using troll culture’s flexible romance system as a basis, a frame–a tool for harmony.  Karkat views troll romance as the interplay of connection between people, a science with mechanics he’s fascinated by, not squealing adoring fangirl shipping.  Blood may be the Aspect of relation, but relation between people isn’t just romance and isn’t as simple as every relationship matching only one single *western* archetype.  Blood is the Aspect of the flow and ebb of things between other things, its the Aspect of Garnet-style fusion.  Every instance of Blood is unique and on spectrums and *not only romance*.  If you think the only relationship between people past the age of twelve is romance, you need to know more people.  Signed, a slightly annoyed acearo Knight of Blood

ps Blood as gravity and trees and binding/blood magic and valor and protection and vulnerability and earthbending is so obvious yall, pls stop thinking Blood is the boring and hard to parse Aspect, Breath and Blood literally steer and free the plot in HS1.

100% correct

Honestly Heir of Blood is practically every generic anime man protagonist that exists godtier cause the main character delevopmental structure is just creating various bonds or being destined to have these bonds from the beginning for some grand quest the protagonist has eother inherited by virtue of being main character or some kind of prophecy accordingly

Discuss

I’ve created a class and aspect schematization chart based off the lovely theories of 0Pacifica, which were a compelling enough argumentation that I’ve significantly absorbed them into my personal canon. You should read her meta if you want and you can find the chart here.

also please follow me on twitter uwu

Reminder that the God tier outfits’s accent/shoe colors are not defined by their aspects’ color pallete, they vary for each character and depends either on their own color motifs, or on their teammates.

Also lemme zoom in for the sake of clarity

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.

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?”

 Homestuck Aspect Division Theory

A while ago, a friend of mine told me about a friend that had a theory. Instead of having extra Aspects aside from the canonical 12 ones (No, I’m not counting Piss or Lips as canon), given they are more or less the Basis of Creation, the fundamental powers from which the new Universe is made (Space and Time, Order and Chaos, Life and Death, Mind and Soul…), more than having extra, off-canon Aspects, in big enough Sessions the 12 Aspects split into smaller chunks.

I loved this idea, so I began to work on two divisions, thinking that the Session before the Trolls had 48 Players, and ended up making an Expanded Aspect Chart. Three sets of Aspects! The original with 12, the first division with 24, and the second division with 48, to give a total of 84 symbols, with their respective names and colors! I’ll explain what each of them means below the cut.

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ʜᴏᴍᴇꜱᴛᴜᴄᴋ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ ᴀꜱᴘᴇᴄᴛꜱ

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HD: Imgur Album

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

With homestuck being legal for 24 hours, I made aspect crowns or bracelets or something. These were fun

“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. 

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

Fancytiers! Kind of. I was mainly just trying to make the sillouhette’s more distinct, & add more apparent themes :P

i forgot to label some of them but I think u can still tell what they are! first unlabeled pic has the mage and the seer, & the last pic has the maid and the sylph

The Aspect Triads

Now, first of all, before reading this I highly recommend you go watch optimisticDuelist’s videos on the aspect wheel, they are very informative and super interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqRoIBNcboY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgAQLMJJrHw

On his latest video, OD talks about the aspect wheel at the view of color theory, noting how related heroes of an aspect are to their other split-complementary aspects. In the end, he notes how this means that there might be triadic, square and tetradic aspect relationships and as the classpect maniac I am I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I got some interpretations on some of the aspect triads that I’d like to share. These might be a tad far fetched, though!

On to the first triad!

(sorry for the simplistic quality)

This triad was the easiest one to gather some meaning from, as the relations between the traits of its aspects are easy to see. I think this triad is more personal and is one to represent individualism and one’s withdrawal from society too, as well as escapism. These aspects tend to be very individualistic, as Breath has a big trait of disconnection from company and reality, Void is irrelevant to society and thus has to bring themselves their own worth, and Heart couldn’t care less about it, finding their own personas much more important.

This one’s also pretty obvious, as it might represent society and institution in a way. Clearly Blood is one to share traits of materialism and society, besides being one of a helper and an aspect of progress. Light brings the knowledge accumulated through centuries of studies that is crucial for civilization and Mind takes up the intellect that made possible the formation of civility and advancement of humankind. This theme of society is in direct contrast to the first triad’s theme of escapism.

Now come the trickier ones! A lot of people might not agree on these two, and that’s cool, because even I am still skeptical of these last ones.

In the other triads the cardinal aspects of Breath and Blood have clearly been central to their themes, so I am gonna believe it to be the same for Space and Time. For this triad I believe the theme to be creation, and possibly even the creation of the universe (or maybe just creation). The symbolysm with Space is solid, as not only does it also signify creation it can also mean form, essential to some sort of formation, as well as Life’s trait of birth and growth, to an extent. And Rage, I believe it signifies as how we can see the beginning of existence as pure confusion and meaningless, until we get our own meaning out of it, but, at the same time, it can’t be anything more than true, with no falsehoods to be created yet.

This triad is the ultimate end, death and the armageddon. The symbolysm with Time and Doom are pretty straight-forward, both represent decay in different ways. Hope shows a contrast of the incessable faith of turning your back away from death, the belief of constant medical pursuit that might grant you a long life, and the belief in an afterlife or of a higher meaning in death.

I also have some other interpretations for these last two triads but I think this can suffice.

Now, I don’t think these are definitly what the aspect triads mean in the aspect wheel, but I hope these loose thoughts can help out some of the more professional classpecters out there. Sorry if this text wasn’t very eloquent, english isn’t my best language for sure.

Classpect powers and skill

So I was thinking about god-tier abilities in Homestuck, and it struck me that rather a lot of the so-called “classpect powers” showcased in hs are either A: a more “supernatural” expression of something the person in question had already been doing prior, or, rarely, B: a direct response to a previously established problem. And in aggregate, these feel like they point toward a fairly particular conception of classpect abilities, that of skills that are learned (or levelups gained in a special ability, if we want to get video gamey with it).

Let’s use John as an example. As the predominant early viewpoint character, his growth is fairly well detailed. As he enters his Land and starts properly growing, he goes from using the Breeze to send objects across his Land using the Parcel Pyxis network, to subconsciously summoning the Breeze to save himself from a fire, to subconsciously having the Breeze emanate in massive quantities from his very body to put out the planet-spanning Green Tragedy, to finally as a god-tier (and with some valuable advice from Vriska) taking full control of the Breeze and using it as a tool and weapon. All of these fall into the A category, but John also has two solid B category abilities, the ability to resist detection via scent, and the ability to turn into wind to protect himself against attacks. And both those abilities are perfect for protection against Bec Noir, who tracked John down via his scent and stabbed him in the chest shortly before John god-tiered, at which point he immediately gained the first of these abilities (he showcased the second when fighting Noir in the Furthest Ring later).

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