Auspisic

Auspisic or ashen attraction is a type of attraction in the Quadrant System originating from famous webcomic Homestuck. Auspisic's closest analogue is "agape" or selfless love on the behalf of another's relationship. The ashen quadrant is represented by the ♣️ symbol, or in plain text, o8<.

An auspisic relationship is referred to as auspisticism, and the person that one is in an auspisticism with is one's auspistice.

Etymology
A portmanteau of "auspicious" (fortunate, promising) and "armistice" (truce).

Pronunciation
/aw-spis-ick/

Definitions

 * This quadrant involves a particular type of three-way relationship of a black romantic nature. ... When two trolls are locked in a feud or some otherwise contentious relationship, one can intervene and become their AUSPISTICE. The auspistice mediates between the two, playing the role of a peace keeper, preventing the feud from boiling over into a fully caliginous [ kismesic] rivalry. - Andrew Hussie, 2010
 * An attraction founded on a desire to help two other people maintain a healthy relationship + prevent them from developing a toxic or otherwise unhealthy dynamic. Ashen gestures towards the pair in question in the relationship could include breaking up / preventing fights and defusing feelings of anger. - mx-princey, 2020

In the original comic, an auspistice is a person who is a romantic partner shared between two individuals to prevent their relationship from tipping into full blown kismessitude, serving as a mediator in their relationship. They serve to regulate "ashen" rivalry, and do not typically mediate kismesic relationships except in cases where the relationship needs a third party to maintain the safety of those involved.

In real life use, an auspistice may act in a similar role, simply be a shared romantic partner who helps maintain peace in a relationship, or be an uninvolved party who purely helps maintain the relationship of two others.

History
The quadrant system was first introduced in famous webcomic Homestuck by Andrew Hussie on August 10 2010. In the comic, the quadrant system refers to the types of romance experienced by trolls. While humans only have one form of romance, trolls experience four; matespiritship (the flushed quadrant), moirallegience (the pale quadrant), kismesissitude (the pitch quadrant), and auspisticism (the ashen quadrant).

Although people have used quadrant romance to describe relationships since Homestuck introduced it, mx-princey on Tumblr formalized the terminology on 25 May 2020 for ease of use. In this post, they also coined flags for the four quadrants, and in a post shared details on kismesic attraction and bonus flags.

Subsets

 * Homoasupisic
 * A-auspistic
 * Demiauspisic
 * Ashen Polyamory

For a comprehensive list, see Category:Auspisic