Kismesissitude

Kismesissitude is one of the four quadrants recognised in troll romance. It is a form of black romance, like auspisticism, and is a concupiscent quadrant like matespritship.

Kismesissitude is represented by the spade (♠ or <3<) symbol and a pitch black or "caliginous" color; as such it is known as the caliginous quadrant.

Concept and creation

Etymology

Like the names of the other quadrants, kismesissitude plays on the term soulmate; kismet, from Arabic qismat, means 'portion' or 'fate' (as in the fate one has been "portioned"), while a nemesis, from the Ancient Greek goddess of retribution Nemesis, is someone's archenemy or polar opposite. As such, your rival in a kismesissitude is referred to as your kismesis (plural kismeses).

Purpose and practice

“When a pair of adversaries delve into this quadrant, they become each other's KISMESIS. As one of the concupiscent quadrants, it plays a role in procreation as well. There is no particularly good human translation for this concept. The closest would be an especially potent arch-rivalry.”

— Homestuck, p. 2395

As a form of black romance, kismesissitude is “the strongly negative [side of troll emotions].” Karkat Vantas refers to the specific feelings associated with kismesissitude as “HATE”, in contrast to the more tones down feelings of “PITY” which fuel mating fondness. As a concupiscent quadrant, the pitch feelings associated with kismesissitude are also closely associated with sex and reproduction; kissing is considered an appropriate show of physical affection between kismeses, though more teeth and blood are to be expected than in a typical lovesnog. Alongside material from a matespritship, genetic material from a kismesissitude must be supplied when the imperial drone arrives at a troll's home with his two filial pails, failure to comply resulting in swift execution.

Beyond this, little is known about how kismessitude is practised or what purpose it serves, and it is difficult to compare to anything that can be easily understood by humans.

Conflicting feelings may be a key or at least common component of a kismesissitude; when Vriska Serket says she “[doesn't] really understand” why she doesn't pity Tavros Nitram, and that she feels “a really special kind of h8” for him which “never goes away and [...] doesn't make a lot of sense”, Karkat confidently declares these as “FEELINGS OF BLACK ROMANCE”. Karkat also insinuates that being able to see “SUBTLE POSITIVES” in someone can further inflame your romantic negative feelings toward them by showing you “HOW MUCH YOU WOULD LIKE AND ADMIRE THIS PERSON IF IT WASN'T FOR ALL THEIR INFURIATING FLAWS, AND THE INCREDIBLE SENSE OF FRUSTRATION THAT CAUSES”; he also insists that a caliginous crush is “SUPPOSED TO FEEL FUCKED UP”. The latter assertion, however, may have something to do with Karkat's self loathing tendencies and struggles to adhere to traditional quadrants,^{[citation needed]} while the former may also have something to do with his fixation on vacillation, with Karkat himself forwarding the notion that “THE POSITIVE QUALITIES YOU SEE DEEP DOWN IN A KISMESIS ALSO SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR RED FEELINGS TOWARD THAT PERSON, ASSUMING THE RELATIONSHIP EVER STARTS TO VACILLATE.”

Importantly, caliginous feelings should not be thought of as completely taking the place of hate in troll society; trolls, like humans, also experience various forms of "platonic" hatred, and apparently have little difficulty differentiating between the forms. Because of the vitriolic nature of trolls, however, lesser black feuds - or "ashen" feuds - are quite common, and run the risk of erupting into caliginous affairs; the ashen quadrant exists to mitigate such risks. There may also be circumstances where “Two Parties [...] May In Fact Be Perfect For Each Other” as kismeses, but the chaotic nature of the quadrant could potentially destroy other parts of their life, such as their other relationships; such scenarios may also call for the kismesissitude to be replaced with a placating auspisticism.

Outside of the troll quadrants

Despite being deeply alien to humans, kismesissitude, like its red twin, is actually easily recognisable by some other species as analogous to their own forms of romance or reproduction. Cherubs, like humans, associate only one quadrant with reproduction, but theirs are “exclusively 8lack”, with their mating ritual involving violent conflict between the two "kismeses".

Carapacians are also known to practice something that, to trolls, is “a dead ringer” for kismesissitude. The torrid, simultaneously erotic and antagonistic relationship between Jack Noir and the Black Queen is given as a prime example - across iterations - to the point that something alike to auspisticism might even be required to separate them. Jack's arch nemesis the Peregrine Mendicant also professes the same feelings for him. What the point of all this is, given that carapacians don't have genitalia and reproduce through ectobiology,^{[citation needed]} is not clear; however, the running theme of violent combat in both cherub and carapacian black romance may give a hint as to what it can be like between trolls.

Examples

[T]roll players could immediately place [this] as a dead ringer for kismesissitude.

As described above, though they are not trolls, Jack Noir and the Black Queen are used as an example of an immediately recognisable kismesissitude.

Vacillating relationships involving caliginous feelings

• Aradia Megido and Equius Zahhak
• Vriska Serket and Tavros Nitram
• Eridan Ampora and Vriska

In The Homestuck Epilogues (Dubiously Canon)

Despite John Egbert's “3XTR3M3LY CULTUR4LLY 1NS3NS1T1V3” assumption that a kismesissitude just involves “like, [meeting] up every once in a while to do, like... [...] “hate makeouts.””, “4 TRU3 K1SM3S1S 1S JUST 4S MUCH YOUR L1F3 P4RTN3R 4S YOUR M4T3SPR1T 1S”. Terezi Pyrope also asserts that “TH3 PO1NT OF 4 K1SM3S1S” is to “PUSH YOU TO B3TT3R YOURS3LF” and “SH1N3 4 L1GHT ON TH1NGS 4BOUT YOURS3LF YOU WOULD OTH3RW1S3 1GNOR3 OR D3NY”.