#pitch romance

[iwasntcreativeenoughforaname]

Erisol? In the year 2023? Yeah.

[urfavinquadrant]

Zim and Dib from Invader zim are in a Kismesissitude!

[relaxxattack]

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 :]

[derseprinceoftbd]

"The Ninth house necromancer *FLUSHED NEARLY BLACK*" ARE YOU *SHITTING ME*

[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

[stimsandcrims]

[terfs, anti-endo, anti-mspec monospecs, trans-id, etc don't interact please! explanation of my dni on my pinned post]

x x x // x x x // x x x

because i can't just pick one. a pitch janerose stimboard for day four of @queerjaneweek : ship or no ship! center image by the lovely @dyke-stuck

also. if you like pitch janerose, have i got a fic for you. highschool au. i'm still updating it. it's fun. go check out it was hate at first sight (or don't, i'm not your boss) here!

[m0rb1dspade]

Fun Date ideas goals

Thing below

[edits4thosestuckathome]

Anonymous asked: "thii2 miight bee odd two a2k for two moodboard2 iin one a2k but iid liike two keep my quad2 twogether iif that2 okay?

could ii get moodboard2 for:

flu2hed/pale vaciillatiing 2ollux and karkat wiith gamiing and 2appy themes

and

piitch 2ollux and diirk wiith themes of fake nonchalance (“i hate you but its not a big dea” 2poiiler: iit2 a biig deal)"

[technorganictierboskat]

You don't understand how much I want them to hate Me. That one bitch who just riles Me up so fucking much, I just hate them so desperately and want them to return the Feelings. I think about spending so much Time with them, and the little Moments we had, like when they held my Hand to help me skate, or When we had a Shouting Match at a sleepover right before we sat right next to eachother. The Intoxicating Aggravation has pooled around me. They say it's fun to piss Me off, and by the Gods do I love that Fact

[ask-equikats]

Oh, are you two in spades?

CG: GOOD QUESTION.

CT: D --> He has trouble keeping things squared away and has thus far refused to put a label to our current arrangement

CG: DON'T SAY IT LIKE THAT, IT SOUNDS SO... WRONG.

CT: D --> Our situation

CG: THAT'S WORSE!

CT: D --> Our affair

CG: YOU KNOW WHAT, LET'S GO BACK TO ARRANGEMENT, THAT WAS BETTER.

CT: D --> But I suppose spades isn't a bad way of 100king at it

[chainsawgendered]

==> PitchGirlfriend

+ a gender identity connected to kismesissitude and girlfriends, being a kismesis and a girlfriend, etc . (open to image IDs . . .)

[manyofnine]

I know lukewarm take but my brain is still in Homestuck rot and I just watched the first episode of Agatha all along...

Agatha and Rio are pitch. Kismesis, yeah? yea. we're all in agreement that they are a very accurate representation of what that is. good.

[urfavinquadrant]

c!Quackity and c!Wilbur from Dream SMP are in a Kismesissitude!

[artificialdeity]

guys. GUYS. do you see my vision here. do you understand what im saying.

[coolkiddig]

help how do I write a kismesistitude

[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.