He’s the one who first linked Rage to plot contrivance. That last video is an audio post where he discusses what EVERY aspect means metatextually and it’s really good, I think!
The more I think about it, the more I agree with Tex Talk’s description of the Aspects as each relating to an element in narrative construction.
It’s been traditionally accepted that Light is the Aspect of narrative revelance/importance. The “Spotlight”, if you will. Tex argues that all the Aspects represent different elements of a story.
So I’d say all Aspects are an aspect of stories, in that they all describe different parts of narrative construction that make a story whole.
So then it’s not so much that Light is the aspect of stories, but that the fact that Homestuck is a story is one of the most important things about it. Indeed, characters like Vriska and Jasprose come by the closest to acknowledging and interacting with the author.
I will say that my friend @hussianphilosopher made some points about Gamzee I thought were compelling, and on my agenda is moving that little Tumblr post over to Medium with a few expanded sections on Gamzee and Damara.
I’ve known about Whistles, and yeah I agree that Gamzee is definitely a giant callback to that in many ways. But honestly I really don’t like the idea that any character in homestuck is just a plot device/makes no sense–Equius is an extended humanimals reference in a bunch of ways, but he’s still also a character who has depth and intrigue and a coherent personality, as Tex Talks breaks down excellently here:
HOWEVER, If I were to accept that any character in Homestuck is contrived and nonsensical and exists only to be a joke, it would be Gamzee. It’s just that I believe that perception is intentional, and in itself part of his character arc. Tex Talks may help get across why I think so here, as well:
In this episode, we break down the rules of the Alchemy system, and take a glimpse at how the ability to create anything is exploited by the kids playing Sburb. We also begin our exploration of how this mechanic is used to advance Homestuck’s philosophy.
In the next, we will see that philosophy come to fruition.
[This is the reuploaded link with the audio issues fixed! Please reblog this version. Thanks! :D]
Absolutely and hell yes. I don’t really feel the need to write about Aspects the way I did about Classes at all, because I think the fandom mostly has them figured out. I can add some little nuances or interesting tidbits with Aspects, but nothing I say there is going to be game changing I think.
There’s a lot of pretty great thinkers on the Aspect level, so here’s three recommendations:
I’ve gotta mention @bladekindeyewear , who in some not insignificant ways got me started in my interest in reading Homestuck analytically (along with @what-the-fuck-is-homestuck ‘s character analysis). I don’t buy into inversion theory and I think BKEW’s key verb for Knights and Pages is off, and obviously I think he’s got their Active/Passive designations reversed. Those would be my personal caveats.
But in terms of Aspect theory, his writing is on point! I’m particularly fond of his posts on the Breath/Blood dichotomy and his masterpost on Aspect Dualities, in particular his identification of physical symbols for each Aspect (I am particularly fond of the symbols for Hope :P).
I’d also recommend @dahniwitchoflight , who I haven’t read as much from but greatly enjoyed what I have read. In particular I’ve pretty much adopted her view on Denizens until further word from the canon, because I like it and it meshes with what I already see in the system. Same quibbles as I have with BKEW re: Pages and Knights, some key verbs, and inversion theory stuff.
Finally, definitely definitely check out Tex Talk’s videos on the Aspects, because they’re the best cases laid out yet for Homestuck’s like…unifying themes, and the writing on the Aspects themselves is completely transcendent and pushing the envelope in a big way.
Those are my reccomendations! A lot of this stuff is kind of the foundation I work off when doing my own writing, too. Feel free to let me know what you think of any of them 🙂
WATCH TEX’S VIDEOS ON PLATONIC IDEALS AND THE VOID ASPECT/CRAFTING SYSTEM THEY ARE GAME CHANGERS
HERE THEY ARE:
Be good to yourselves and watch them
@revolutionarygays didnt think that would work. tagging u specifically to let you know the first video there talks extensively about Vriska i felt you deserved to know
WATCH TEX’S VIDEOS ON PLATONIC IDEALS AND THE VOID ASPECT/CRAFTING SYSTEM THEY ARE GAME CHANGERS
HERE THEY ARE:
Be good to yourselves and watch them
me before watching “computer science and world building in homestuck”: i get the narrative significance of the mind aspect, but i’m unsure as to its actual function in game
me after watching “computer science and world building in homestuck”: ITS FUCKING… QUANTUM COMPUTING DUDE
Flying through Storytelling 