I feel compelled to make a post in light of the release of the extended zodiac, and with it canon aspect information. I’ll keep it brief.
I will be quite honest and admit that I find the aspect descriptions underwhelming, shallow, and disappointing. They feel half-assed and lack depth. If that’s all we’re getting, I think I would have preferred they weren’t released. The several classpectors I’ve spoken to so far about this feel the same.
so, with that in mind,
I’m not going to revoke or revise any of the theories I have shared to account for this new “canon” intel. Because the shitty quiz personality given to each aspect doesn’t hold a candle to the more extensive, more thorough, more creative, more interesting ideas that we theorists have been creating, sharing, and discussing for years. If we were to sweep all those theories off the table to replace them with a dozen brief paragraphs just because those paragraphs came from Hussie himself, it would be an injustice to all the effort and time invested in those ideas by the amazingly brilliant and dedicated theorists in this community.
I suppose it is kind of interesting to get some confirmation that we had the right idea, in most cases. But some of those aspect descriptions were just…not well done? Many Heroes of Rage are understandably upset over what they were given. I’ve spoken to Heroes of Heart that were confused by what they were told.
Almost everyone I’ve talked to got the wrong aspect from that quiz, including myself. (Time?? Really???)
I’m not altogether that surprised by that latter statement. I will always stand by the opinion that quizzes are an unreliable method of determining any part of your classpect (or personality), so to get our first canon classpect information within a shitty personality quiz is twice as bad.
or that’s how I feel, anyway. I will continue to run this archive as I did before, with hardly any acknowledgement of the new canon shit. maybe I’ll draft or share some posts analysing these new ideas, but that will have to wait for a week or two until my classes are over for the semester.
what about you? do you agree/disagree? feel free to share your thoughts as well, I’d be interested to hear from more of the classpecting community.
“Aspects are the twelve ideals and points that make up all of reality. Each has an opposite, and with this opposite, they form 6 individual spectrums that make up all of reality. Two of them form the physical world: Space and Time, and the rest focus on the ways that people interact with reality. Everyone has a bit of all the aspects in them, but there tends to be one that people can identify with more than any others. This aspect will probably come to define them in subtle ways, and they gain an instinct for the flow and feel and shape of this aspect, and it largely comes to represent them whether they know it or not.
Every idea can be traced, in some way, back to these aspects. The concept of a spectrum cataloguing everything might seem alien, but it is in fact well explored. Consider the four classical elements or the five colors of Magic: The Gathering. This is simply another schema available for looking at it, and looking at people.”
-quoted text from inifinitywhale’s Ultimate Classpect post
Aspect Theory - the basics
Aspect is the part of this whole system that I love the most. I’m not sure why, but I find the abstract functions of it really fascinating; discovering how they all interact, noticing them all at work in characters, in the game, in the fabric of reality. I’ve created this post with the intent of gathering as many references and resources as I can to provide a thorough explanation of the various aspects. It is and will remain a work-in-progress as I find new links to add, new ideas to discuss, and so on.
Note: this means I’m always open to new ideas! If you have anything to contribute, I’d love to discuss it and add it to my archive.
(more under the cut)
Aspects work into a general dichotomy, but can also been organised into a wheel. Like a compass, with the cardinal aspects acting as N and S. One of my favourite theorists, bladekindeyewear, organised this Aspect Wheel to demonstrate how they flow together.
Now, the wheel is very theoretical, but it is an excellent perspective on the relationships between aspects, and the application of it is fun.
I’ll be constructing a more in-depth post on the Aspect Wheel at another time.
But speculative wheel aside for now, back to the dichotomy. It may not be stated explicitly in canon, but aspect dualism is pretty certain theory at this point (feel free to disagree, but most seem to subscribe to it). Each aspect has a pair, intertwined so intimately that they essentially define each other in photo-negative - the shadows of one is filled by the other. Within every pair is a more, let’s say, optimistic half and a pessimistic half - like yin and yang. Neither is any better or worse than the other, but they are the inverse of each other.
(Aspect dualism discussed at length by BKE)
The general trend is between creation and destruction. The creation vs destruction dichotomy is pervasive in every piece of Homestuck lore, but particularly in aspect dualism. Space and Time embody it the most literally, making them the two cardinal aspects. Between the two of them they represent physical reality.
You’ll notice on the wheel referenced above that the rest of the aspects are divided into two halves around Space and Time, aligning themselves with one while their inverse aligns with the other.
The Archive
Links and keywords for a quick overview of each aspect
Note: if anyone knows of other posts discussing particular aspects, I’d love to add them to my archive. This list will continue to be a work-in-progress and I always accept more additions.
First, some masterposts discussing all aspects (including those linked above):
Ultimate Classpect Post - infinitywhale
Aspect duality - bladekindeyewear
Aspect Wheel - bladekindeyewear
aspect related concepts/keywords - creative-classpect
aspects and philosophy - the worst person in the world
the aspects as in SKRUB - Project SKRUB
aspect ‘personalities’ - classesandaspects
Aspects - 2classpect4this
A Guide to Classpect - gaytog
Space - physical matter, forces and dimensions, physics, literal space and the fabric of reality, distance, creation, evolution and change/variation, uniqueness/originality, physical appearance
Time - time, progress, inevitability, mortality, uncertainty, death, beginnings and endings, entropy, patterns, repetition
if you’re really curious about Void just. listen to the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. it embodies Void. Night Vale IS Void, narrated by Seer of Void, Cecil Palmer.
