Aspects
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Overview
The second half of one's hero title consists of their aspect- one of 12 possible aspects. A hero's aspect, in combination with their class, determines their role in-game, powers, and even the shell of their being.
Homestuck's aspect pairs are Time/Space, Light/Void, Heart/Mind, Life/Doom, Breath/Blood, and Hope/Rage.
The Twelve Aspects
Time
Those bound to the aspect of Time are fighters, full stop. Their lives are often marked by struggle, not so much because fate has it in for them, but because they are fundamentally incapable of just accepting things as they come. They value action over passive acceptance, even if that may not be the wisest or safest choice. Don't try to tell a Time-bound to sit still and look pretty. They are very goal-focused, and tend to value the destination over the journey, and you won't find them making that journey in any traditional sort of way. To quote cheesy posters found on many a guidance counselor's wall-"impossible is just a word". If you need a miracle, they are who you call.
At their best, the Time-bound are empathetic and relentless problem-solvers. At their worst they are ruthless, defensive, and impulsive.
Time seems to reference the theme of decay that accompanies the passing of time; Aradia and Dave, for example, both share an interest in archaeology/paleontology respectively, whereas Damara [], and Lord English is seen as the physical embodiment of death in troll culture. A connection to technology, especially that of music, is also seen within time players, alongside masculinity. This may contrast Space, which is the aspect of propagation and femininity.
Those who are bound to the aspect of Time, possibly including destruction classes, typically exhibit abilities to travel throughout different points in time, freeze time, and generally think in terms of time (even if linked by caste, evident within Rustbloods who may even differ in aspect). Players linked to this aspect may, outside of SBURB/SGRUB, contemplate the past/present often, have some interest in past life, or have a heightened interest in music.
While not important to classpecting oneself, Time has strong associations with red- all Time players in canon were red (or rust) blooded, typically typed in red, and wore red. The symbol and godtier outfit for Time players is also red.
A Time and a Space player is vital to the success of every session. Time and Space is also said to be the most commonly occurring aspects in populations [according to how the Extended Zodiac determines aspect scoring], likely because a session is doomed without both. Time is thought of as the more active counterpart.
Space
Those bound to the aspect of Space are, as the name suggests, concerned with the big picture. They are patient, masters of the art of 'wait-and-see', and are inclined to take things as they come. That isn't to say that they're pushovers or willing to let injustice lie-they just choose their battles wisely, understanding that sometimes you have to let something burn to the ground in order to build it back better and stronger than before. To this effect, they tend to be innovators, concerned with creation and redemption. Catch them recycling the old to make the new, the fresh, and the beautiful. For the Space-bound, the journey is as, if not more, important than the destination; how they do something is as important as what they do.
At their best, they are steady, impartial, and creative. At their worst, they can be detached, apathetic, and vague.
Contrary to Time, Space is the aspect of creation. Alongside its link to femininity, Space also deals with artistic expression (via literal art or fashion), physics, properties, and abstraction. Space players also bring about life- Jade owned a dog, and, alongside Kanaya, had an interest in botany. Porrim, pre and post-scratch, acted as a mother for Kankri, and Calliope dorns the symbol of Asclepius, who was a healer in Greek mythology.
Those who are bound to the aspect of space, possibly including destruction classes, show the ability to change the size and position of things. As Jade was the only character to truly realize her powers, canon displays of potential powers are limited. Teleportation is a theorized element of Space.
While not important to classpecting oneself, Space has strong associations with green- 3 of 4 Space players in canon were green blooded, typically typed in green, and wore green. This may be due to green's association with life, namely plants.
A Time and a Space player is vital to the success of every session. Time and Space is also said to be the most commonly occurring aspects in populations [according to how the Extended Zodiac determines aspect scoring], likely because a session is doomed without both. Space is thought of as the more passive counterpart.
Light
Those bound to the aspect of Light are the universe's knowledge-seekers. They are, above all, driven to learn and understand. They are great alchemists, able to take multiple sources of information and synthesize them into something useful. They are scholars and researchers, absolutely dedicated to knowledge for knowledge's sake. They are the ultimate students, and although that might conjure up the image of people sitting around peacefully waiting for knowledge to be brought to them, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Light-bound will go after knowledge with a fierce intensity that others may find distasteful. They aren't overly concerned with laws or norms, either. They often take rules as simple suggestions, instead searching for loopholes or work-arounds.
At their best, the Light-bound are resourceful and driven. At their worst they can be fussy, pedantic, and insensitive.
Light is the aspect of not only literal light, but knowledge, fortune, luck, and perhaps relevance (as Light players are said to be "easier to see" from paradox space, paired with Roses importance as a character, Vriska's need to be important, and Aranea's quest for relevance). All three light players have been observed to go on ramble-y tangents, Vriska and Arenea specifically delving into the history of their ancestors. As such, not only are they knowledgeable, Light players know the extent of their knowledge and are happy to flaunt it.
The downfall of their factually-driven crusades is that Light player's logic may bring them to seem insensitive or cold, which may cause friction (or worse, incredibly ambitious). Whatever the case may be, their tendency to cause friction with others most certainly isn't unheard of, such as when they "shine light" on topics, likely bringing conflict. But with that comes knowledge. Most importantly, a Light player wants to know all that there is to know.
Light is likely the more active aspect, as those bound to it aggressively paint their own paths to knowledge, fortune, or relevance- all light players in canon seemed to have a magnetism towards Void, though in differing cases [Vriska and Aranea were violently repelled, whereas Rose was so pulled she roleplayed as a Witch of Void.]
Void
Those bound to the aspect of Void are the universe's secret-keepers. The unknown doesn't scare them-where others might see emptiness, they see potential. A blank page, an empty canvas, that's what the Void-bound live for. They value mystery and the unexplained, and are not particularly bothered by not having all the answers. Where others might be compelled to go out and seek answers, the Void-bound lean more toward casting doubt on what is already considered fully understood. They don't take much on faith and would rather live in a state of confusion than believe something that might be untrue or bow to intellectual authority. After all, in order for something new to be built, the old, rotting foundation must often be razed.
At their best, Void-bound are wise, intuitive, and vibrant. At their worst they can be dismissive, indecisive, and apathetic.
Unlike Light, Void would rather cover everything in mystery- allowing it to be interpreted by the eye of the beholder. Draped in mystery, the Void-bound are secretive and distanced, oftentimes hard to read because their tendency to hide everything even extends to their emotions. They're prone to doing the same to concepts that should be of significance to themselves- Equius distanced himself from others through his value of the hemospectrum, Roxy's drinking [she was also described as hard to read by her husband in the Epilogues during the Candy route], and Horuss was instructed by Meulin to distance himself from all of his negative emotions.
Overall, the aspect deals with the essence of nothingness. As such, Void players remain mysterious during their trials in SBURB/SGRUB. Equius' blood was able to block out information, while Roxy was the only human to use the Ring of Void.
Heart
Those bound to the aspect of Heart are very concerned with their favorite subject: themselves. It wouldn't be a stretch to call them 'self-obsessed', but not necessarily in a negative way. They simply want to understand the one thing we all are stuck with for our entire lives, i.e. our own minds. Forging an identity is extremely important to the Heart-bound, and every decision and action goes toward building a coherent narrative of their own story. That isn't to say Heart-bound don't care deeply for their friends and allies; they just have a tendency to assume that everyone is as concerned with identity as they are. They are excellent at putting on and taking off masks as the situation calls for them.
At their best, they are competent, imaginative, and steady. At their worst they can be overbearing, inflexible, and cold.
Content
Mind
Those bound to the aspect of Mind are-you guessed it-the universe's great thinkers. But don't for a second think that means that they have all the answers. They are very concerned with remaining rational, and they have such a firm hold on the constant conjunction of their thinking that it's easy for them to see the multitudes of the choices laid out before them, which often leaves them frozen and unable to act. That said, when a Mind-bound finally launches into action, they can execute a plan with unbelievable grace and precision. Their identity is fluid-it can change from day-to-day, from thought-to-thought, from interaction-to-interaction. Remaining logical is more important to them than building up a solid foundation of "self."
At their best they are great innovators, architects, and creators. At their worst they can be nasty, inflexible, and indecisive.
Content
Blood
Those bound to the aspect of Blood draw their strength from bonds, from the trust and camaraderie that blooms among a group of people who all share a single vision. Blood-bound are absolutely leaders, but they inhabit more of an inspirational role than a commanding one. They are prophets, rather than generals, giving others the strength and motivation to keep fighting. The Blood-bound can dispense excellent advice even when their own lives and interpersonal relationships are disasters. They can be very "do as I say, not as I do" types. A Blood-bound can often be found on a sinking ship, forcing an endeavor forward with sheer stubborn force of will. No matter how bad things go, a Blood-bound can always count on friends and allies.
At their best, they are charismatic, uplifting, and magnetic. At their worst they can be sullen, unkind, and set-in-their-ways.
Content
Breath
Those bound to the aspect of Breath are, above all, expansive. Flexible and driven, they leave an impact wherever they go. Like the breeze itself, they are able to sweep others up to carry along in their wake, but also like the breeze, they can be difficult to catch hold of or tie down. Although Breath-bound do make very good leaders, breath tends to be a very personal aspect. Often, heroism comes along as an offshoot of them pursuing their own personal stories. They lead by example, and will routinely be surprised that others look up to or feel inspired by them. They have a tendency to underestimate themselves, and not always out of poor self-esteem. They were just doing their own thing.
At their best Breath-bound are motivated, adaptable, and forward thinking, but at their worst they can be volatile, avoidant, and gullible.
Content
Hope
Those bound to the aspect of Hope are driven first and foremost by their convictions. They do right for right's sake, and are quick to come to the aid of anyone they deem to be experiencing injustice. That said, their views of the world can be quite black and white, so what they see as the "right" thing may not always be the universally accepted view. They put great value in the power of the imagination, the ability to dream up a better and more beautiful future. If anyone could dream a better world into existence, it would be one of the Hope-bound. They may sound like all sunshine and rainbows, but they aren't adverse to a little destruction, especially if they think they can replace it with something better and more just.
At their best, Hope-bound are positive, caring, and warm. At their worst they can be narrow-minded and selfish.
Content
Rage
Those bound to the aspect of Rage are bringers of chaos. They posses great contempt for lies or false ideas, including the stability that false ideas can impart. To them, the true is far more important than the good; they would tear down a system just to destabilize it if, by their reckoning, it is built on faulty premises. Often the Rage-bound prefer anarchy to any of the alternate forms of civilization, which they believe to be riddled with lies and foolishness and obedient masses. They are bringers of confusion and doubt, and they can be frustratingly difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea. If they sound dangerous, they are. The Rage-bound tend to be most volatile and unpredictable of the aspects.
At their best they are original, revolutionary, and fearless. At their worst they are cruel, uncompromising, and vicious.
Content
Life
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In canon, Life players are in a position where they can touch a lot of lives. Keep in mind that this won’t be consistent in real life, but Life players in canon start off high on the social ladder and primed for a position of power, while their counterpart, Doom, starts off pretty low. In most cases, Life respects the dignity and value of life (namely Feferi's distress over murderous society and Jane's respect of others that made her look like a leader). Life users are also the ones to jump in and solve problems, actively pursuing preservation and healing. So in terms of personality, Life players are altruistic and imbued with a deep understanding of human existence, while also being very positive and convinced that they are capable of fixing everything they want to fix. The altruism part of Life will vary from class to class, but progress and action ring true nevertheless.
According to Tamago, Life players are grounded and generally just know how to live. They are open minded about what life has to offer and find something they like and stick to it and pursue growth of that.
You ever met a genuine person who’s just like ‘hey I like cars’ and they like cars? Those are Life players.
- Tamago
It’s not really a fixation, so if what they like ends up disappointing them, they are resilient and can bounce back. Life players are probably the most stable and mentally healthy out of the aspects, which is good, since as the healing and nurturing class, it’s best to be healthy oneself before healing others. There’s not a lot of evidence in canon for this (characters with normal lives by our standards are few and far between). But out of the twelve beta trolls, Feferi, the Life player, was the only one who wasn’t psychologically messed up somehow.
As different ends of the same spectrum, Life and Doom players have strong relationships. There’s also something to be said about the relationship between Life and Hope - in canon, they’re somewhat dependent on each other but not entirely satisfied with the arrangement.
Doom
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Doom entails destruction, sacrifice, future knowledge. The Doom aspect only shows up in two canon sessions (and even then, the details of one are ambiguous). When it does surface, it proves to be integral. Sollux initiated the game session that started it all and died transporting the meteor to the rendezvous point, and nobody believed Mituna’s visions of catastrophe, leading to his sacrifice rendering him brain-damaged. Being able to see "how it all ends" and having the nagging feeling that it's real is a recurring theme in Doom players. Another point about Doom only touched on extra-canonically is a unique ability to commiserate, to be a presence in others' suffering. While a Doom aspect in real life may not be able to see the future, they have an inborn sense of continuity and can forecast what may happen - usually foreseeing the negative consequences, and thus they have to decide what to do with these looming threats. Additionally, they tend to underestimate themselves (especially feeling powerless in the course of events) and may not see them as the protagonist of their own story. This isn’t to say all Doom players have tragic endings - their empathy means the world to the people around them and are known for their silent heroism.
Doom and Life have a certain affinity (in canon, Doom and Life players have strong relationships), as they are on the opposite ends of the energy axis. This implies that Doom is linked to death and finite spheres, the opposite of Life. But Doom realizes that it is because of our finite existences that things are done and why life is beautiful.
Efficiency is meant to save time. But their time is infinite. Why try to save something you have in infinite supply? You may as well tell them to dig up dirt and hoard it in boxes.
- 17776
Oddly enough, there are noticeable relationships between Doom players and Hope/Rage players (the aspects on the belief axis). In canon, there are two pairs of Doom and Hope players in constant opposition to each other. In more healthy circumstances, Doom and Hope may be inclined to work together (one is about inevitability, the other is about options, but both are driven to similar goals and have a connection to gut/spirit). Doom and Rage try to undo each other to an extent - both are related to limitation but with different inclinations.
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