Placronym

A placronym - a portmanteau of plaque and acronym, from -onym, meaning "name" - is an object used to record the names of characters in Homestuck. A name can be entered into the placronym by any observer, such as an MSPA reader or a troll viewing the character through their chat window.

It is traditional that a human is given their name and has their placronym engraved on their 13th birthday (the equivalent for trolls being the anniversary of their “larval awakening”); any attempt to enter a name into the placronym before this date will be rejected, though it is apparently permitted for a name to be entered in the months following this birthday, such as in the cases of Rose Lalonde, Dave Strider and Jade Harley. Once named, a character will retroactively have had that name in the past as well.^{[citation needed]}

"Incorrect" names will also be rejected from the placronym; a character knows and expresses disgust when an inappropriate name is entered, and though it is not clear which forces - other than authorial intervention - decide whether a name is correct or not, a character without the time “for this sort of bullshit” might intervene in the process by destroying an incorrect placronym themselves. A sleeping character, unaware of the naming process taking place and thus unable to react, may at first seem to accept the wrong name being given to them, but the correct name will still be given to them eventually.

History

On Alternia

Alternia itself was named on a placronym; though in troll language it is actually written as Trollplanet.

It is not clear who, other than the reader, might have entered Karkat Vantas' name; Lord English or Spades Slick, who both had access to an exile terminal through which to view him, are both possible candidates. The rest of Karkat's group had presumably already had their names entered by the time Hivebent began.

On pre-scratch Earth

Before being given their true names, an ongoing gag saw John Egbert called Zoosmell Pooplord, Rose called Flighty Broad, Dave named Insufferable Prick, and Jade referred to as Farmstink Buttlass. It is not clear who gave John and Jade their names, though either of their initial nicknames is consistent with their frequent troll Karkat.

Post-scratch

Jane Crocker's placronym resting on her bookshelf.

Jake English's placronym on an “UNBELIEVEABLY DEADLY PILE OF GUNS.”

Roxy Lalonde's on a windowsill, recently unobscured by a nearby cat.

Dirk Strider's placronym with a tiny Maplehoof “for some reason.”

Being introduced at age 16, Jane Crocker and her friends had already had their placronyms engraved years before, robbing the reader of the chance to call them “something dumb like Barnstench Fartface” or “Barfbreath Turdsmirk”. Each of them kept their engraved placronyms somewhere in their rooms.

In Hiveswap

Rather than the kids or trolls, the player is given the opportunity to name Xefros Tritoh and Dammek's lusii.^[image?] The names in these text boxes default to "Zoosmell" and "Cornibuster" respectively.