quadrantbot

[quadrantbot]

About the Cronus ask you answered a few days ago do you have any examples of the stuff you're talking about? (It's not that I don't believe you I just never played Open Bound so I never met Cronus in canon and the stuff you talked about really suprised me)

Sure, I absolutely can do that! Apologies for the delay- I’m currently stuck with just mobile, so I had to enlist the help of my good friend @scalematez to get these!

Here’s the post, for sake of reference. Let’s get into this.

Content Warning: Long, Cronus Being Cronus (I.E. Incest, Child Predation, Violent Ableism.)

I will be upfront and say there are a few minor details I misremembered. I was working off memory- with mine being particularly faulty- and while that post was largely correct, you may notice there’s a detail or two in the original post that is not fully, 100% accurate. However, since I am quite literally going to be providing screenshots to back up the correct parts of my claims, there’s no need to render the entire post as null.

I will use the text of the original post like a bullet list to run through, and if there’s any corrections I need to make to my original text, I will point it out after the images. Hopefully this makes up for any facts I did get wrong.

Remember that time Karkat, who was 14-15 at best, wouldn’t let Cronus hit on him so Cronus followed him home and tried to unlock his door/break in to keep at it and called Karkat selfish for locking the door in the first place?

[CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL POST: Cronus did not, in fact, call Karkat selfish. He did, however, call him rude, and said he “sure knows how to give a guy the cold shoulder,” which is… Approximately the same thing, just significantly less direct.]

Remember that time Cronus told Mituna that he’s broken and there’s no way anyone could actually ever genuinely love him and that Latula was just lying to him out of pity?

[CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL POST: Cronus did not call Mituna broken in this exact quote. He has, however, called him broken in other exchanges. Proof of this posted below.]

[MINOR NOTE: I do not like the separation of “cats” and “kittens” here.]

Remember that time Cronus sexually harassed/assaulted Eridan, who was like 14 and related to him, in a public space- by which I mean in the middle of a literal crowd- to force him into going out with him?

[NOT SO MINOR NOTE: This was Hussie’s way of finalizing the nail in the coffin of Eridan’s character ultimately amounting to a cruel punchline. It’s no secret to anyone that Hussie… Really didn’t like Eridan, and had no intentions of treating his character kindly. I wouldn’t normally make such a fuss about a throwaway line like this, but this does show that Cronus’s weird behavior towards literal children is, in fact, a pattern, rather than a one-off weird event.]

[NOT SO MINOR FOLLOW-UP NOTE: Since I know twice doesn’t exactly constitute as “a pattern” in some people’s minds- which is a pretty reasonably fair argument in most situations- here’s him doing the exact same thing to Tavros, who is also a child of roughly the same age.]

Remember that time he told Mituna that “if culling meant what it should have on Beforus,” he would have killed Mituna himself as a literal hate crime?

[Bonus Round of this included below! I find it noteworthy that he said this to Mituna’s face. Can you imagine being told something like this?]

… I appear to have unfortunately run out of image space… Tumblr only allows 10 pictures per post, I’m afraid. I’m not sure I need to further convince you, though, unless there’s a specific bullet point you’d like me to elaborate on. Anyone is open to send me an ask if this is the case! I have no problem with backing myself up here, and debunking my own poor memory in the process.

Last thing we need is more misinformation on the Alpha Trolls. I try my best to contribute as little as possible to that trend, but alas, I’m only human- and a human with severe memory issues, at that, lol. As I said previously, I can only hope the images and clarifications make up for this!

#info #not quadrants #but important

[quadrantbot]

Jake and Dirkjake and other mildly related tangents. (Additional paragraph on alpha kid romance, because I guess that was necessary to me.)

Heads up this post is not positive about Dirkjake like, at all. I'm not saying you can't like it or do anything with it, I am just sharing my own personal opinion and analysis on it. And Jake in general. (I'm not going to tag with Dirkjake because that's a dick move, but I'm not going to intentionally avoid saying it in NON tag text either. Scroll on if you don't like Dirkjake hate. Okay? Cool.) 

Jake is one of those characters that fandom wise, is super mischaracterized. This includes the mischaracterizations in postcanon as well, which also at least to some degree includes Pesterquest. It's confusing to me for several reasons why so many major changes were made to Jake outside of the main comic, but considering how most of the fans do not seem to take him seriously and the writing team for the dubiously canon content seem to lump his existence purely in with Dirk, it's a little understandable.

Jake isn't really too complicated of a character when it comes to likes, dislikes, motivations and issues. Jake likes his movies, the IDEA of adventure, and he loves blue ladies. He doesn't really care for romance at any major point in the story, especially considering his entire friend group had feelings for him, and when it comes down to actual adventures, actual conflict, he's freaked out. Jake has a great deal of care for his friends, even despite the weird romance shit occuring in the group, and his main issue when it comes to that friend group is a lack of communication from everyone involved. Jake "wants" to be important, Jake "wants" to be a hero, Jake "wants" to be a brave adventurer, but these "wants" don't ever appear to reflect in his actions, even so far as contradicting them, leading to conflict between his supposed wants, and what he actually seems to go for. Jake is often seen as a "himbo" by the fandom, but even that is not really all that accurate. Jake isn't stupid. Jake does have some issues when it comes to reading the room, but even when he DOESN'T, it's usually picked up whenever he's in a weird situation that he doesn't want to be in, which can be seen in his conversation with Jane about her romantic feelings for him, or the proposed lack thereof. Should be pages 4587-4593, but I'll screenshot the notable parts I'll be referencing and put them below. 

Jake didn't really seem very convinced when Jane said she DIDN'T have feelings for him, but he just continued along with the conversation, expressing his relief because even if she was lying, he didn't really want to face that sort of thing head on. Jake then goes onto explain the weird shit with Dirk and doesn't exactly seem very interested in him either, but seeing as Jane supposedly has no interest in him, there's a weird sort of obligation going on where he feels he HAS to just let this happen, which doesn't really seem like the common fandom idea that he was like, head over heels for Dirk. There's a vague mention of jokes from "years ago" where they could like each other if Dirk was a girl, but seeing as these are 15 year olds, "years ago" is a pretty vague period of time AND teenagers will say shit like that all of the time! Mostly younger ones, yes, but I think a good portion of teenagers have joked about having feelings for/WOULD have feelings for someone if they were a gal or a guy. Nothing when it came to Jake's behavior was intentionaly shitty or leading Dirk on or anything, because Jake can't always be aware of literally everyone's feelings for him? 

On a vaguely related tangent, I used to be large on the "bi Jake" being canon thing, but just taking the bare minimum look into some of this just makes it seem like he's got no interest in men at all, and his interest in women appears to be from both a jealousy/almost gender envy standpoint (in the way he seems to WANT to be like them,) and a genuine attraction, especially when considering his blue ladies and more specifically, Aranea. (I do not like Aranea/Jake for the record, and if somehow you guys who enjoy that pairing (or any pairing with alpha trolls/anyone who isn't an alphatroll, I'm looking at you Meenkat, Vrismeen and other freaks,) have made it this far, PROSHITS GET OUT!! I am a normal consumer of darkfic not a FREAK!!) I think I can understand those who read Jake as not aromantic, just uninterested in romance with his current issues, but I also thoroughly enjoy reading Jake as arospec as someone who is both arospec AND someone with several arospec friends who like the reading just as much, Jake never seems to take a genuine interest in relationships with anyone, only considering one with Jane or Dirk because they're his friends, and if he's good friends with them, they MUST be good partner options for him. While it's true there can be a good basis on friendship, I don't think the two major Jake ""romance options"" are all that fit even with the basis of friendship, seeing as neither Jane nor Dirk communicate well, and Jake really doesn't either. 

The thing about the base alpha kids (excluding cherubs and any of Dirk's robots, whic includes Lil Hal, despite being a copy of his brain,) is that when it comes to the most prominent "proposed" canon pairings, Dirkjake, Janejake, Dirkroxy, it just seems they only exist because those four are each others only options romantically. Jane likes Jake, so Roxy feels like Dirk is the only option. Dirk, though unlabelled, only has a canon interest in men, so Jake appears to be the only option. Jane seems to like Jake to a degree, but I think that primarily stems from the fact that Jake is extremely kind and caring to all his friends, so she really does see him as HER only option as well. Again, I do think some of the base alpha kids pairings are alright, but that mostly relies on things AFTER the trickster mode section completely explodes all over everyone and the conflicts reach a boiling point. Dirk and Jane make up, and I do think there's something good that could be said about some form of moiraillegiance between the two, because even despite their issues with each other prior to the Dirkjake breakup, they still do care about each other. I also like Jakeroxy as a pairing option, though mostly in a queerplatonic sense, because when Roxy took a step back from any form of romantic interest in Jake because of Jane and later Dirk, Roxy is more capable of having some form of bond with Jake that wouldn't automatically feel like a necessarily romantic thing, and I think their shared caring for their friends and each other could make them closer. The thing about the base proposed pairings between the alpha kids is that, at least in the case of Dirkjake, it's overglorified by the fandom, even if there are ""nuanced"" readings of them. 

This isn't to say that you can't interpret the text however you want, but when it comes to the bare minimum in canon Dirkjake doesn't really work at all. Not as a fluffy pairing, and not as a strange, codependent teenage relationship where they're mutually obsessed with each other and tearing each other apart. Jake has no romantic interest in Dirk. Jake also has a completely reasonable extra reason why, even if he DID have feelings for Dirk, which, according to canon, he doesn't really, they still wouldn't be good together. I definitely understand the value in exploring negative relationships via fictional means, but when it comes to Dirkjake, their conflict isn't complicated, or nuanced, or even really that complex to understand. Dirk didn't know how to properly go through with his feelings for Jake, so he did fucked up shit, and Lil Hal did fucked up shit, and it very easily came crashing down on him. Even without every strange and fucked up thing Dirk and Lil Hal did towards Jake in order to express those feelings, the biggest point of conflict, the decapitated head kiss in front of the volcano, was definitely enough to state that there's nothing really all that great between them, and there's nothing to take from it that really requires or calls for an exploration of the fucked up side of their relationship, because every way I've seen that handled, it's just as full of mischaracterization as fluffy Dirkjake is. I can understand the excitement at "canon gay representation," but at the end of the day, all Dirkjake really is is a one sided relationship between Dirk and a guy who doesn't have any feelings for him outside of platonic ones, a guy who felt an obligation to be with Dirk just because Dirk was his friend. Could that be explored in an interesting and angsty way? Definitely, but that is a Dirkjake interpretation I've seen the least of, if any at all, and that's literally what's set up canonically! 

"But Ro, what about postcanon?" There's a lot to be said about postcanon, and a variety of things that make any form of romantic feelings on Jake's end completely unbelievable to me. For starters, Ult Dirk is in control of postcanon, Alt Calliope is also, to some degree, but anything that may or may not ""confirm"" romantic feelings on Jake's end is being told to us by two unreliable narrators. But also, postcanon is stupid, existed to get Hussie out of debt, and overall was a piece of garbage that didn't do anything for canon whatsoever. So I don't consider it canon. At all. But if you do, the unreliable narrator argument above is for you. 

#jake english #homestuck #homestuck analysis #alpha kids #dirk strider #roxy lalonde #jane crocker #Jake english analysis #hs analysis #hs character analysis #Homestuck character analysis #Ro's Character Analysis Tag

[quadrantbot]

My own headcanon Splatoon romance system.

Alright. Starting this off. You will likely read parts of this and go "this is just like Homestuck quadrants." I recommend looking at my name and pfp so that it is clear that is intentional. Please do not write me off for only that, romance is just my special interest! But still, my view of these romance systems, although occasionally similar in function, are quite different.

Another thing. These are just my own personal headcanons! If you think that human romance is the best to be applied to Splatoon characters, be my guest! I just figured that considering the major differences in human society and Splatoon society, they'd likely have a different romance system as well.

I'm a Splatoon fan. My moirail is also a Splatoon fan. Biggest one I know, biggest one out there. I asked for her expertise on a few of these things, and this is what we came up with!

🦈 SHARKTOOTH ROMANCE

This is a form of romance originating from inklings, as they tend to place a high amount of value on fresh and cool factor. Those in sharktooth relationships would often feel a sort of admiration and respect for another inkfish's freshness. The relationship would likely start most frequently from two inkfish who want to up their coolness and freshness by being together, seeing the other as a partner fresh enough to make them even cooler. This sort of admiration passes from a regular type of admiration into a romantic kind, though I imagine this relationship is still rather casual in the majority of cases. I imagine that inkling friendships are often similar to this, but this specifically refers to a more committed romantic bond between them.

⚓️ ANCHOR ROMANCE

This type of romance originates from octarians, because as loyal as they are by nature, their relationships typically fall under this category. Anchor romances help ground the other party, taking a caring approach, and focus on comforting/protecting the other party. Those in anchor based relationships will often hold a great amount of both affection and care for the other party, which does pass into a romantic bond between the two. Is it possible for octarian friendships to be similar? Yes! But this is specifically referring to some form of romantic relationship. Note: Yes, it is somewhat similar to pale romance from Homestuck quadrants. No, it is not the same. The societal role of pale quadrants isn't any form of societal role found in Inkadia. You can find my analysis on the purposes of pale romance in troll society here, should you wish to understand it more. Additionally, I'll be referring to this post later for a different type of romance.

🐚 SHELL ROMANCE

This type of romance is a rivalry between inkfish. Though most relationships of this type tend to be revolving around turf wars and tableturf, a rivalry based romance can literally revolve around anything. Most inkfish entering these relationships find pride in meeting their match and working to be better than the other, even if it often results in them butting heads. Because of shells often being used in a competitive way in the Splatoon series, (super sea snails post Splatfest, clam blitz,) that's how they've come to know this romance.

Note: Yes, I can see how this could be mistaken for pitch romance in terms of Homestuck quadrants, but again, creatures of the Splatlands don't really have a societal need for what pitch romance is, and this instead acts as a more casual rivalry than that. Again, reference my post linked in the anchor romance section if you'd like to understand better what I mean by saying the roles societally are different.

OTHER THINGS TO NOTE

While all of these are romantic relationships, they can all most definitely exist in inkfish lives in a platonic manner as well. In addition to that, due to the lack of explicit romance in Splatoon, I believe that even committed relationships such as these would still be considered rather casually for the majority of inkfish, because they place a lot less importance societally on romance compared to both human and troll romance. The way I see it, every form of relationship in Splatoon seems to be valued at the exact same level, which is probably the best in my personal opinion, so these are more just ideas for romantic relationships, even if they'd be casual. I also believe that unlike human and troll romance, it's quite normal for these three to be relationships applied to the same relationship depending on the parties involved! You could have an anchor/shell relationship, or an anchor/sharktooth relationship, any combination of the three!

IN CONCLUSION

This is probably how I'll categorize my own personal Splatoon romances! Will I post about them? Probably not. But, if you think you'll find any sort of value in this system, let me know! I figured I'd at least put my own personal thoughts and headcanons out there, seeing as I don't see a lot (or anything) when it comes to categorizing the romances in Splatoon.

#Splatoon #splatoon 2 #splatoon 3 #splat3 #splat series #romance #sharktooth romance #Shell romance #Anchor romance #Splatoon shipping #Splatoon pairings #Splatoon ship #info

[quadrantbot]

Hello! Just updated my introduction and made a new quadrant explanation post, so I'm putting this out into the fandom.

Hey! I am the quadrant guy. I like to answer questions about quadrants. My blog is full of my own explanations on them enough already, but as I love to talk about them, I'm looking for any quadrant questions I haven't answered in the past! If you are curious about anything quadrant, go ahead and send an ask!

#homestuck #homestuck quadrants #hs quadrants #homestuck shipping #hs shipping #homestuck analysis #homestuck information #Alternia #troll romance #hs analysis

[quadrantbot]

Updated QUADRANTBOT informational page.

Before we begin, romance and quadrants are my special interest. Despite it being a fictional romance system, I do tend to take it rather seriously. As it is something very important to me, I get annoyed when I see misinformation spread about it. Unless you are directly replying to me or my posts, I won't be arguing with you specifically, but I may argue certain points made by people if I see that it is misinformation about these things. Naturally, there are some of these things that are my interpretations, but when it comes to the basics (all quadrants being explicitly romantic and the very basis of which quadrants are built on,) it's something I will continue to restate/argue for either way. 

Hello there! My name is Raptor (my friends call me "Raptor Romance" or "Dr. Romance", (pretty funny I know)) and this is my QUADRANT EXPLANATION BLOG. Since this blog is entirely dedicated to Homestuck quadrants, (and sometimes troll relationship types and shipping in general,) I will go ahead and recommend you start with THIS post of mine, as it's my most comprehensive and helpful guide to quadrants/troll romance. 

So, besides just long winded quadrant posts, what is this blog used for?

Writing the proper definitions of quadrants based on canon plus any extra info I've picked up! There's a lot of in fandom misinformation, so I hope to at least one person I can be a good source to reference when thinking about quadrants.

Discussing my own headcanons on Homestuck romance, troll romance customs, and occasionally pairings if I really feel like it.

Writing about just about any sort of prompt quadrant wise I can think about.

And, occasionally, discussing pairings I don't really like. I am not really big on Dirkjake, Vrisrezi, Davekat (in a romantic way), and some other potentially obvious ones like Aravris, Tavris, Araquius, Erisol, Vriskan, and the fandom portrayal of Gamtav. There are some others, but this is just a list off the top of my head.

So, what might I be interested in replying to specifically, should you wish to ask? 

Rarepairs. Any and all, excluding a few specific things. Alpha trolls/any NON alpha troll, (not a fan of 19 year olds with 13-15 year olds, thanks,) alpha troll pairings (sorry, not really as interested in them, so I can't provide analysis,) or any pairing I've already listed as disliking.

Specific quadrant questions. I've had people ask include "how matesprits are grounded on pity", "how long quadrants last for", "how different trolls may view quadrants" (and an additional post to explain that here) and "the quadrant least understood by humans"

Clarifying quadrant questions. I like to think I explain things in an understandable way, but even the best worded explanations can leave much to be desired. If you want something specific about quadrants clarified, send in an ask and I'll reply asap with the best explanation I can!

(Last edited July 7, 2023)

#info

[quadrantbot]

Troll society and the original purpose of quadrants within it.

To put it in the simplest terms possible, troll romance/quadrants (yes, all four of them,) are a romance system created on Alternia to keep trolls alive. That's it. That's your simple explanation. They have evolved moreso into extra, more personal and more "romantic" definitions, but the very basis of all four quadrants is just an attempt to keep trolls alive. 

Now for the long shit.

Trolls are a naturally hateful species according to canon, and added onto that, they're stated to have a very limited range of social based emotion towards others. These emotions being hatred and pity. Pure hatred from trolls typically manifests in violent actions, most of which going as far as to kill, or at the very least, seriously harm others. Pure pity tends to lean you more into red quadrant territory. Due to these extremes, a mixture of both pity and hatred tends to make up all romantic troll relationships.

Because of the drones on Alternia, the concupiscent quadrants were brought into existence to keep trolls from being murdered. When it comes to the basis of quadrants, in the case of concupiscent quadrants and the drones, it makes up the flushed quadrant and the pitch quadrant. When the concupiscent quadrants were created, they were just based on pity for a troll leading you to not wanting them to die, so you're romantically and sexually involved with them, and pity plus hatred of a troll leading to you not wanting them to die, so you're romantically and sexually involved with them. Drones need buckets. Trolls need to fill them. Concupiscent quadrants are just built on that foundation, despite growing into far more over time, so in the case of these quadrants, they are always romantic in nature. 

But what about the conciliatory quadrants, you ask? Well, it's very simple too. Due to the nature of trolls being as violent as they are, instead of focusing on the buckets for concupiscent preserving of their quadmates lives, they focus on the pacifying. Trolls get into a lot of conflicts. Trolls get very angry, violent and oftentimes will act on those violent urges. For ashen relationships, an auspistice pacifies two trolls at risk of harming each other. For pale relationships, a moirail pacifies a troll at risk of harming others. Both of these things are extremely intimate to trolls, as the trust required between them required to both pacify and be pacified is really only reserved for their personal romantic relationships. Conciliatory quadrants are built on that foundation, despite growing into far more over time, so in the case of these quadrants, they are always romantic in nature. 

All this to say, while the troll romance system has grown past just fill buckets to live/pacify to live, the very basis of their existence is based on romance, so all trolls do and will see quadrants as inherently romantic. 

If you would like more information on how exactly they have grown and what they have grown into, I recommend my post on quadrant feelings. It's my most in depth analysis on how quadrants work, and as a bonus it explains how those with quadrant relationships/crushes tend to feel about each other.

#homestuck #homestuck quadrants #info #homestuck shipping #hs quadrants #hs shipping #palerom #moiraillegiance #moirails #pale romance #flushedrom #pitchrom #pitch romance #flushed romance #ashen romance #ashenrom #matespritship #kismessitude #auspisticism

[quadrantbot]

An explanation on what QUADRANT FEELINGS feel like.

Those with any sorts of quadrant crushes OR those in quadrant relationships tend to feel a few easily identifiable things. 

Any and every member in a troll romance relationship feels some form of pity. 

The base descriptions of troll romance types may lead you to believe otherwise, but it's very easily explainable if you think about a few things.

Trolls (at least in canon) really seem to have only a few "emotions." One being hate, one being pity. That being said, I think any relationship based on pure hatred doesn't exactly have the push and pull required for a short term OR a long term relationship between two trolls. What's going to pull you back to someone you hate? Something deeper than just pure hate, that's what.

But what IS pity? Let us take a look at a few dictionary definitions of pity to break it down. 

"sympathetic or kindly sorrow evoked by the suffering, distress, or misfortune of another, often leading one to give relief or aid or to show mercy"

(dictionary dot com) 

"sympathetic sorrow for one suffering, distressed, or unhappy"

(Merriam Webster)

"a feeling of sadness or sympathy for someone else's unhappiness or difficult situation"

(Cambridge Dictionary)

"a strong feeling of sadness or sympathy for someone or something"

(Britannica Dictionary)

As the basis of all troll relationships are pity, getting a few definitions is best for any description. To put it in the most concise way possible, all of these above definitions are good ways to describe exactly how troll pity feels.

2. Despite pity being the core of all romantic troll relationships, it is often utilized and felt in relatively different ways across all quadrants.

When it comes to flushed romance, (the trolls in this relationship being referred to as matesprits,) pity is often referred to as the main factor. In a way, this is accurate, but it often feels like it's ignoring the major pity aspect in other quadrants. Those who are flushed for each other often feel extreme pity (or even on occasion regular pity) for one another. Flushed relationships are relationships where the pity is very prevalent, but often is less acted on. Flushed relationships feel that pity for one another, but they don't really feel the need to act on it too much. To quote a popular phrase, a good way to describe them would lean on "misery loves company" rather than any action taking place. They feel a sort of passive pity for one another, finding comfort in just knowing that and being together rather than a more active approach. Flushed romance is one of two red quadrants, both of which are based primarily on the positive emotions of all parties. Flushed romance is one of two concupiscient quadrants, those which can often involve sexual feelings, though not always.

Pale romance is the second topic in this, acting quite differently than flushed romance. When it comes to pale partners, (referred to as moirails,) pity also plays a role, though a far more active role. A common misconception about pale romance is that it's not romance, which is false. Pale romance is romance, after all. Those in a pale relationship feel pity much like every other troll relationship, but alongside that pity is a sort of feeling of caring, understanding, and a need to pacify and help their moirail. The support level between two pale partners can vary anywhere from one side being more on the recieving end and one on the giving end to an equal sort of thing on all sides. Unlike the previous relationship discussed, they have a more active pity, showing in their comfort and placating of their moirails. Pale romance is one of two red quadrants, both of which are based primarily on the positive emotions of all parties. Pale romance is one of two conciliatory quadrants, both of which involve some degree of pacifying.

Pitch/caliginous romance, (with a partner in this relationship being referred to as a kismesis,) is a relationship built on primarily hate. It contains the same pity as every other quadrant, but the main characteristic of pitch romance is the shared mutual hate and the mutual respect of both parties. Those who feel pitch feelings for one another tend to have a handful of things they admire about the other party, but that admiration is outweighed by the hatred they have for the other's bad traits. When it comes to caliginous romance, the pity they feel comes from knowing all that their kismesis could be if they were to improve, and being upset that they aren't becoming that on their own. The pity and hatred takes an active role where each party pushes for the other to get better. There's a sort of "get better" thing that goes along with their "I'm better than you" rivalry. They typically tend to push for the other to get better while also trying to be better than each other. Pitch romance is one of two black quadrants, both of which are based primarily on the negative emotions from the majority of parties involved. Pitch romance is one of two concupiscient quadrants, those which can often involve sexual feelings, though not always.

Ashen romance, (with the middleman partner being referred to as their auspistice,) is a relationship that could exist for a few different reasons. At the very core of it, an auspistice feels pity and ashen feelings for the two trolls they're mediating between. Those feeling ashen feelings can be best described as a sort of responsibility they feel to keep the hatred between the two trolls healthy, or, in the case of preventing pitch infidelity, keeping the hatred platonic. This feeling is also considered a type of romance. An auspistice's responsibility for the two parties is something they willingly sign up for, so it's generally not as stressful as one might assume. Auspistices exist to make sure the emotions and actions between the two mediated parties stay at whatever level is best for everyone involved. Ashen is one of two black quadrants, both of which are based primarily on the negative emotions from the majority of parties involved. Ashen romance is one of two conciliatory quadrants, both of which involve some degree of pacifying.

TLDR: BOY READ MY QUADRANT POST BOY

#homestuck #homestuck quadrants #info #homestuck shipping #hs quadrants #hs shipping #palerom #moiraillegiance #moirails #pale romance #Pitchrom #Pitch romance #kismessitude #kismesis #flushedrom #Flushed romance #Matesprits #matespritship #ashenrom #Ashen romance #auspisticism #auspistice

[quadrantbot]

Good post.

(If I see anyone skimming over the rest of this post just for the hatefucking I will start the killings.)

How would you go about writing a pitch relationship?

OKAY SO.

essentially, when you get really down to the wire about it, it's about respect.

the foundation of a pitch relationship needs to be some sort of respect, and equality. this seems kind of obvious at first, because, how the fuck are you meant to rival someone if you're not equal? if they're actually better than you, and they win every fight or challenge, that's a beatdown, it's not a rivalry.

the literal definition of rivalry itself implies that two things of equal chance attempt to succeed.

ID in alt text

they can't just be exactly mentally and physically identical, though, and it's possible for two parties to not be equal and have a healthy kismesissitude anyway-- as long as they consider themselves to be equals.

that's where respect comes in. one party may be completely unable to fight or fend off any attacker, and the other may be the strongest bodybuilder in the universe. and you could think to yourself, well clearly they aren't equal, because the bodybuilder could snap the weak one like a twig. but if these two people really had healthy pitch feelings for one another, they would exhibit in challenges that were not physical. perhaps these two people are equally terrible at video games. their rivalry could manifest around that.

the main thing that people know and remember about pitch romance is the fact that it's based on hatred and annoyance. this person should annoy the shit out of you, and that friction between you is what causes the tension for the relationship.

so, to write pitch romance, what you have to start with is two people who consider each other equal and also find each other annoying as hell. but you have to remember to keep in mind the respect aspect (hatred without respecting and being drawn towards someone is not romantic, it's just plain old hatred). you also need to keep in mind that the oblivious pining stage of a pitch romance can go on a long time, because a classic part of having pitch feelings for someone is not wanting to have them. because, how could you EVER have a thing for someone who bugs you so much?

now, when it comes to the actual relationship itself- once the two idiots start dating, that is- the main idea is that there's a push and pull. an ideal pitch romance is essentially an act of tug o' war between it's two parties. suppose in your general human flushed relationship, the two of you take turns planning date nights, to show your investment in the courting. in a pitch romance, it might be more like taking turns winning- if your pitch partner has just pulled an incredible prank on you, it is now your turn to come up with something even better to get back at them with. you can't be shown up by them! you want to win!

so writing the beginning of their relationship might involve a lot of dates that are essentially formal challenges. what these are of course depends on the characters themselves; nobody likes the same kind of dates and similarly nobody likes the same kind of pitch challenge. if the two parties have similar interests, like say they both enjoy gaming, you might pick that so they can sharpen their skills on each other and try to become better. if they have very different interests, perhaps they'd do something neither of them are super familiar with, in order to be on even footing (remember that equality is very important to a pitch relationship). however, if one member wants the other to learn how to do their favorite thing, e.g. fencing, perhaps they would train their kismesis, and the real challenge would come from seeing who can be more patient, the teacher or the student. there could be some real tension in not knowing whether your partner is going easy on you or not, but showing them you can work hard anyway.

that's what the honeymoon period would be like, in my opinion- tons of challenge dates and pranks, while the relationship is new and fun and fresh they're probably teasing each other all the time and trying to see what one can get better at than the other.

when it comes to later, deeper aspects of kismesissitude, an important function of a kismesis is to point our your faults. yes, they respect you, but of course at the end of the day they still hate you-- and the reason they hate you is because you're too much of an aggravating person to let your good qualities fully come through. if one of your flaws is seriously fucking up your other abilities, it is the job of a kismesis to force you to notice this crack in your armor, so that you can get back to meeting them on equal ground.

for example, if your battle moves are becoming predictable, maybe they block every single move you make in a fight and then tell you they saw it all coming, so that you know you need to work on your tells, or switch up your moves. you want to get better than your kismesis, and in a way you want to get better for them, because you want them to respect you and continue to stay in your relationship. this also applies to mental and emotional flaws; battle skills are just the easiest visual example.

important fact: a healthy kismesissitude, like any healthy romance, is good for both parties.

if one person is consistently getting beaten down by words and defeats by the other person, who refuses to let up, that is abuse. they are absolutely not on equal footing, and no one is getting better at anything- no rivalry is taking place. (a kismesis should only be pointing flaws that are actually harmful to you or others, and actually reasonably fixable. your inability to dodge a sword is something you can train to fix. being disabled for example, however, is not something you can train to fix. beating down on your for traits you cannot change is abuse, even if a kismesis thinks or claims they are well meaning.)

conversely, if someone begins to find their kismesis isn't strong enough or interesting enough to warrant challenging and fighting, that is relationship also unhealthy, and likely going to end soon. being bored with your kismesis means they aren't challenging you in your rivalry at all, in which case they need to get back on even footing- or perhaps you just aren't interested in them as a person, which means the romantic feelings are gone.

(consider, as examples of unhealthy pitch relationships that broke up: terezi and gamzee, in which the relationship seemed to exist mainly because of terezi's low self esteem, and vriska and eridan, who broke things off because vriska became bored of it.)

pitch relationships can be unhealthy, the same as flushed relationships. if the power dynamics are not equal, or there's some insane excusing of actions or abuse of power going on, that's not healthy. it can be interesting though if you're trying to write a pitch relationship gone wrong, but i'm going off the assumption that this anon was wanting my opinion of how to write a healthy and happy-ending pitch romance.

so that's sort of my thesis on how to write healthy and fun pitch romance-- there's a tug of war, a lot of respect, arguing, challenges, training arcs, banter, and exhilaration. oh and of course, what everyone who hears about kismesissitude first imagines- yes, there's hate-fucking. all of those physical fights where you try to beat your rival you're romantically into at stuff? obviously that's going to have a ton of sexual tension. erotically charged swordfights are where it's at.

enjoy writing :]

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TO THE VERY BASICS IN QUADRANTS (COMPLETELY CANON IN HOMESTUCK)

Blackrom

PITCH RRLATIONSHIPS ARE BASED ON MUTUAL HATRED

THEY'RE ALSO BASED ON MUTUAL RESPECT

PITCH ROMANCE TAKES THE ADMIRATION FOR THEIR GOOD TRAITS AND THE HATRED FOR THEIR BAD TRAITS AND PUSHES YOU TWO(or more) INTO BETTERING YOURSELVES AND EACH OTHER

Palerom

The initial creation of the pale quadrant WAS intrntuonally made for lowbloods to pacify highbloods, however I believe that as a general society it expands more than that even with our canon examples

Moirails have a mutual caring for each other and much like REDROM, a mutual pity. Redrom tends to be a lot less active in helping with those they pity, moreso just pitying each other rather than the moirails where they pity each other and Activelt try to help each other

Moirails are not platonic I will whack your head right off if you say they are JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE A NON CONCUPISCIENT QUADRANT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE NOT ROMANCe ok sorry

Redrom

As I mentioned with palerom redrom is basically the concupiscent and less actively involved pitying quadrant. They tend to act more similarly to a regular human romance but it is EXPLICITLY DIFFERENT BECAUSE HUMAN LOVE AND TROLL PITY ARE DIFFERENT THINGS

Redrom partners tend to have the more basic romance things, but they are also often capable of wallowing in that pity together rather than doing anything about it?

Ashenrom

ASHENROM IS ROMANTIC BETWEEN ALL PARTIES. WELL, MAYBE NOT THE TWO BEING HELPED IN THIS WAY, BUT THE PERSON DOING THE HELPING HAS ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR BOTH OF THEM. ASHEN FEELINGS.

The difference between ashen and pale tends to be that ashen wants to calm a conflict between two trolls and palerom tends to focus on one individuals feelings over everyone elses

Ashenrom is usually used to prevent pitch infidelity AND is also sometimes used within pitch relationships to prevent it from becoming unhealthy

(Since this description was helpful in one server. Haha!)

#homestuck #homestuck quadrants #homestuck shipping #hs quadrants #hs shipping #palerom #moiraillegiance #moirails #info #Redrom #matesprits #Matesprit #kismesis #kismessitude #blackrom #Ashenrom #auspisticism #auspisce

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#Palerom #redrom

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kismesissitude! what it is and what it isnt

this is like a bit of a remake of an old post from my instagram a couple years ago but WHATEV i privated thag so... kismesissitude! blackrom!

things it is!

•kismesissitude is mutual hate!

•on top of the hatred, it's mutual respect! you can't have a good healthy kismesissitude without respect for each other!

kismesissitude is a relationship where you see all of someones good traits, and you respect and like those, but that liking of their good traits is outweighed by how much you hate their bad ones. in a kismesissitude you both inspire each other to get better, because you care about each other and WANT the other to get better and be all the good things that you already know they are capable of being.

common misconceptions!

•kismesissitude isn't JUST hating each other. respect is ALWAYS necessary. if you don't respect each other, that isn't a kismesissitude!

•kismesissitude is NOT something that SHOULD end in death. you do NOT and should not kill your kismesis.

•blackrom should ALSO not include any extreme bodily harm. for example, vriska blinding terezi. that is NOT something you do in ANY quadrant relationship, including blackrom.

•not every two characters that hate each other have pitch feelings for one another! another example, erisol, is written in a way that is NOT blackrom, they just hate each other. wanting each other dead and wanting to kill each other like they do is not even remotely a good example of pitch romance.

•kismesissitude is NOT just hate sex y'all. come on. YES its a concupiscent quadrant, NO thats not all it is. all the other bits still apply. im sure there are plenty of blackrom relationships that arent even sexual. its not a requirement (although its a bit of one canonically on alternia, anywhere else and in any other context does not require it)

#PREV THANK YOU OH MY GOD I HATE ALL THOSE THINGS

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can moirails smooch on the lips frequently? maybe even makeout as treat?

Absolutely.

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dosing myself up with a fuckton of muscle relaxants before a first date and just limply and pathetically flopping around on the floor until they feel an instinctual pity and care for me like a sickly baby bird

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shipping is cringe except when i do it then it’s beautiful and profound and a necessary aspect of the work’s interpretation.

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Just going to put this out there that if you believe moirails are explicitly platonic just because they're nonsexual I assume you don't like asexuals or that you don't understand the difference between platonic, romantic, and sexual attraction. If they are outright stated in canon to be nonsexual but romantic they are romantic and nonsexual. There's "interpreting how you want" and then there's just blatantly getting something wrong, and if you compare moirails to just bestfriends or to siblings, you have gotten the relationship wrong. Nonsexual relationships like moirails can and ARE still romantic, it is stated in the text, and no amount of "personal interpretation" changes that. Okay? Thanks.

#moiraillegiance #moirails #palerom #pale romance #homestuck #homestuck quadrants #homestuck shipping #hs shipping #hs quadrants

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hawk i need you to look at this absolutely atrocious moiraillegience take i found this may be the worst one i've seen yet

What in the actual hell.

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HOMESTUCK QUADRANT DIVIDERS … 

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#Big fan of these