Abstract Cognition's Notes, Chapter 1 - The Twelve Aspects · 6:31pm Dec 4th, 2018
“The Aspects of Habitrapped caught my interest because of the prospects they bring to light: that there is more to the Universe than the Periodic, Classical, and even Virtue-based Magical Elements.
If you do not know what Habitrapped is, I suggest you get out from under your rock and read up on it before you read another paragraph.
For readers who have yet to read Anderson Horsey's excellent work of art, I suggest you read up on it before you read the next paragraph. Why did you even agree to read this if you didn't know anyway?
Aspects are concepts, abstractions that carry a wide range in terms of their jurisdictions and lordships, which offer endless possibilities to any who wish to wield them as magic. This is, most likely, why the Class System was developed to make this magic system easier, slicing up the Aspect usage into personality-preference-specific categories.
But we'll get to Class types later.
There are twelve Aspects in total, each one a building block to the Universe: Time, Space, Light, Void, Life, Doom, Breath, Blood, Hope, Rage, Mind, and Heart.
And each of these Aspects are set up in opposing pairs: Time and Space, Light and Void, Life and Doom, Breath and Blood, Hope and Rage, and Mind and Heart.
Rather than make this collection of notes any bigger than it has to be, I'll give the basis for each Aspect here, so that they can be elaborated on in future chapters without me having to backtrack.
Time is the Aspect of Inevitability and Pacing, both narrative and otherwise, encompassing the past, present, future, and the alternate. It has connections to ideas and travel, but someone with the Time Aspect is destined to go on a rigorous, if not slightly weird journey to achieve perfection.
Space is the Aspect of Creation and Setting, be it a single city or the world, encompassing creativity, physical dimensions, and reproduction. It has connections with gardening and fashion, which makes sense since people with the Space Aspect are natural creators in one form or another.
Light is the Aspect of Clarity and Relevance, not just physical illumination, but also things such as luck, information, and imagination. It focuses on the people, places, or things in the foreground, and people with the Light Aspect will naturally want some form of recognition, even if they claim otherwise. They also monologue a lot.
Void is the Aspect of Obfuscation and Irrelevance, where information is covered in darkness, giving birth to bad luck, secrecy, and general nothingness. That being said, people with the Void Aspect and anything affected by its aura still exist, but are often times ignored or overlooked, fading into the background.
Life is the Aspect of Healing and Agency, the natural world in all its nature-y glory, but also centers around things such as food, sustainable energy usage, and wealth (the more royal, the better). People with the Life Aspect are problem-solvers and rule-breakers, not too mention very good cooks.
Doom is the Aspect of Decay and Conflict, the suffering of all things with a pulse, embodying technology, unsustainable energy use, and rigid rules. With something that more or less embodies entropy, you can expect a person with the Doom Aspect to be the type of person who never sees the glass half-full (like my sister).
Breath is the Aspect of Freedom and Development, symbolized by the wind itself, its jurisdiction includes direction, ambition, and spontaneity. Never expect anyone with the Breath Aspect to settle down and do nothing; even when it doesn't look like it, there's always a part of them that's in motion.
Blood is the Aspect of Community and Character, giving new meaning to the term 'blood brothers', as it encompasses all of societal rules, relationship drama, and general responsibility. An actual blood disorder can be thrown into the equation, but it's mostly about the bonds that are made: a person with the Blood Aspect is generally seen as a leader, a diplomat, or both.
Hope is the Aspect of Belief and Immersion, a very literal interpretation of hope and prayer that also includes positive emotions, religion, and dreams. Of all the other Aspects, this one has a lot of religious undertones, even in the source material, and people who possess the Hope Aspect are often seen as Bringers of Hope, a borderline messianic archetype who is destined for greatness.
Rage is the Aspect of Doubt and Contrivance, also literal in its interpretation of raw anger, but it also includes negative emotions in general, truth, and reality. This is a bit of an oxymoron, considering one of its biggest abilities is basically 'cartoon logic'; people with the Rage Aspect often raise all sorts of hell chaos if you don't keep an eye on them, be it for good or for ill.
Mind is the Aspect of Thoughts and the Persona, the delicate balance of cause and effect played out in the game of life, which also includes choice, justice, and whatever bullshit lawyers do in the courtroom. Karma makes sense to people with the Mind Aspect, though it's not always the happiest Aspect to have: knowing the potential choices and their consequences can be a double-edged sword.
Heart is the Aspect of Emotion and the Soul, the most nebulous of the twelve due to the uniqueness of every individual, but common denominators in its field are personal identity, romance, and the capacity to feel anything in general. People with the Heart Aspect, for all their mystique, are intensely loyal and have a thing for shipping.
One could, theoretically, divide the Aspects up into Physical, Metaphysical, Societal, and Personal, but that would be a waste of time. Each and every Aspect has a place in each category. For example, Time is our physical aging process, our metaphysical concept of inevitability, our societal references to past, present, and future, and our personal rush for the next big thing or the need to take things slow, or just our perception in general.
Take one facet of the Aspects away and you get a chaotic chain reaction that will break down the Universe they created. Even negative-sounding Aspects like Rage and Doom have their place: negativity doesn't always breed disaster, hell it's how things like tyranny get abolished, and death is an inevitable part of life, no matter how long you extend your lifespan.
Now that I've shown you the Aspects that make up the Universe as a whole, I'll move on to the Classes.”
And so it begins. Definitely looking forward to seeing how this all culminates.
How does this connect to the Faerie Bond Aspects stuff??
If at all?
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/357507/5/fey-breeze/appendices
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How does the MtG Color Pie connect to the Faerie Bond Aspect stuff?
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So, I assume that's rhetorical, or answering a question with another question that has the same answer.
Which is cool! And my gut answer is, not at all.
Or, there's similarities between them, with mind = something, red = emotion = fire, etc.
But they don't seem to be a one to one mapping, and I'd need more time and thought to form a good mapping.
Especially since MtG does involve personalities and stuff, but seem to be more a determination of what kind of magic is best for a person?
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This chapter feels wall of text-y, and I'd put section headers and stuff, but it might be because I'm on a mobile, and / or it's Abstract Cognition...
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I was trying to be all cool and stuff when I answered, sorry
MtG, the Fae, and the Classpects all seem to operate on different levels, with their own unique magic systems and yet, they share one similar rule at their core: Personality Powers.
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Wait... Are we gonna see Habitrapped Mages popping up???
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I can neither confirm or deny that possibility...… yet