#beta guardians

[radiopaques]

Happy 413

#homestuck #hs #nanna egbert #grandpa harley #jane egbert #jake harley #mom lalonde #bro strider #hal draws #beta guardians

[tipsygnostalgy]

thinking about the implications of a "no game au" in which the game was supposed to happen but just didn't. jade left alone on that island, not knowing what she did wrong and panicking over the possibility that she'll be stuck there forever. both dave and rose watching their respective guardians act more insane than they ever have, unsure what caused this and terrified out of their mind. mom eventually messaging bro for the first time in literal decades to ask what the fuck is going on, only for bro to read and not respond because he's too busy trying to figure out how the hell to get the session started again. john's friends haven't been online in weeks (jade is perpetually set to idle! and won't respond to anything), and when he mentions their full names to his dad he actually cuts himself shaving before making frantic phone calls and dialing numbers and looking more disheveled (more human) than he'd ever been. head in hands.

#beta kids #homestuck #hom3stuck #beta guardians #ngau

[conceptofjoy]

my beloathed friend

#hs.bro #eyestrain #hes like 13 ish here #d draws #bro strider #beta guardians

[nekropsii]

Do you mind elaborating on how Dave was *sexually* abused by Bro? It's been a long while since I've read Homestuck but i hear many other creators say that that's an "absurd, chronically online" thing to say. so you specifying that that's exactly what happened morbidly piqued my interest (no pushing of course, given the gross subject matter i completely understand if this is not something you're comfortable with answering)

The idea of calling that statement "Absurd" and "Chronically Online" is baffling to me, because you'd honestly need to do significantly more mental gymnastics to say that Dave hasn't been sexually abused by Bro. It's textual, and it's a major part of Dave's intro.

Putting this under a cut, because you're entirely correct- this is a really touchy, disturbing subject matter. But it still needs to get talked about. Lucky for you, I'm perfectly okay with talking about the darker aspects of Homestuck's writing... Without filtering it through a fetishistic lens. I apologize in advance if this is more rambly than my usual essays. It's an uncomfortable series of topics that's hard to tackle for any normal person.

Let's do this.

Content Warning: Heavy Discussion of CSA, Mentions of Incest and Pedophilia.

I think where people are getting tripped up is that they hear the phrase "Child Sexual Abuse" and automatically think of the worst forms of it possible. It's an easy trap to fall into, and a pretty understandable one. The word "Abuse" is loaded, and perceived as an inherently violent, extreme action- a callous, sadistic disregard for the safety of someone who is seen as weaker, something done only by an unfeeling, inhuman monster who wishes to dominate the victim. It's a violent word, so people envision it as a violent crime.

I can't fault anyone for hearing the term "Child Sexual Abuse" being applied to two brothers with a significant age gap and instantly assuming that what's being said is that the older brother is committing absolutely heinous acts on the younger brother. That is easy to digest. That's the simplest takeaway one can get from that statement. It's a fair assumption. I can't fault anyone for assuming that the phrase "Dave was a victim of CSA under Bro's care" means that the person stating it thinks that Bro sexually assaulted Dave. I can't fault them for having the assumption that what is being said is that Bro is an incestuous pedophile. I cannot fault it for a second. It's just the easiest takeaway, and the most mentally and emotionally intense one. It's easy to digest, and easy to get mad at. Because saying that would be wrong.

Most cases of abuse are more subtle and nuanced than its most extreme cases. Sometimes abuse come in the form of Neglect. Even sexual abuse can come in the form of Neglect.

For The Record: We have no reason to assume Bro Strider ever made sexual contact with Dave, nor do we have any evidence to the idea that he even had any sexual thoughts or feelings about him. To assert that idea as fact would be fucked up. But that doesn't automatically negate the presence of sexual abuse.

What I want everyone to understand is that it is sexually abusive to constantly, wittingly expose a child to sexual material, be it websites, videos, photos, or objects. It is sexually abusive to do this, and the fact that Dave is surrounded by sexual objects and pornographic material- and has been since he was a literal baby- should absolutely concern people. The comedy of it is surface level, and a quick prod quickly reveals the abject horror of the situation.

Bro's main business appears to be in the porn industry, specifically making puppet fetish content. A parent being in the porn industry and having a fetish... Isn't inherently a bad thing. Kinks and fetishes are normal, and so is being a sex worker. If that's what you want to do, go for it. But Bro leaves his Smuppets everywhere, which are, by and large, sex toys. Whether or not they are for his own personal sexual gratification is irrelevant to the debate- if you are a parent and your business is making and selling dildos, it is still your job as a parent to hide those dildos from your kid, even if they're not for your own use.

Dave knows this. He knows that Smuppets are sex toys. Dave is very aware of the fetish porn site that Bro runs. Bro knows that Dave knows this. The sexual boundary between Bro and Dave is incredibly thin- inappropriately so for one's own young child. And Dave, the child in this situation, knows this lack of boundaries is wrong... But he's genuinely not in the right place to fully acknowledge it. He's too unsafe still, so he has to keep making excuses to try and bury his trauma.

[Homestuck, page 461.]

The thing you have to keep in mind throughout reading Dave's entire introductory segment is that "Irony" is a code word. A lot of abuse victims, when they're still too unsafe to fully acknowledge their abuse, tend to make excuses for their abuser's behavior in the form of "At Least" statements. As in, "At least they don't hit me", or "At least I can still talk to my friends". Things of that nature. "Irony" is Dave's "At Least". That's him saying "At least this is a joke", "This is creepy, but at least it's not serious", "at least he doesn't mean it".

All of this Smuppet stuff is creepy, and Dave wishes Bro would stop. He wishes he'd put his puppet sex toys away, wishes he'd stop tormenting him every waking moment of his life, wishes he'd stop forcing him to fight. He wishes he wasn't trapped in an apartment that feels like hell, and he wishes he didn't have to hide any drinks and food he could get his hands on in the closet to get any chance at sustaining his own life and body. He wishes he was a normal kid in a normal home with a parent that loves him, just like his friends.

But hey, it's all ironic. At least Bro doesn't mean it, right?

It all stops being abuse when you declare it to be a prank, right?

It's fine, guys.

[Homestuck, page 467.]

Totally fine.

#homestuck #homestuck meta #homestuck analysis #beta kids #beta guardians #dave strider #bro strider #cw abuse #cw child harm #dave.pdf #bro.pdf #nekro.pdf #nekro.sms

[unidentifiedfroggy]

beta guardians really said the brilliant yet tormented mom lalonde who turns to drink in the face of impending doom and a daughter she’s never known how to connect with. bro strider who is the dark reflection of dirk who in some fucked up way wants to love dave but is too fucked up and influenced by cal and should really not fucking raise a child. grandpa harley who is larger than life and magnificent and has been absent to everyone for his entire life and left his daughter to grow up alone on hellmurder island. and also nanna egbert

#nanna egbert #jane crocker #mom lalonde #roxy lalonde #bro strider #dirk strider #grandpa harley #jake harley #beta guardians #homestuck #hs #idk its just incredibly funny to me #the beta guardians are so compelling to me for reasons i cant really explain #esp mom and grandpa #idk #alpha guardians are dope too but i think #they get too niced up for my tastes #what makes the beta guardians interesting is that theyre fucked up #that would absolutely come up in any sort of team up #while jade english and j crocker are inoffensive and respected and too dead to do any wrong #and bro strider and mom lalonde are mythologised heroes of the rebellion #dont get me wrong i love the relationship the alphas have with their guardians #and i eat the dirk makes himself the guardian of all of them even himself shit right up #but like #i do think people portay them too nicely for my tastes LMAO

[catgirl-catboy]

Random idea I had, that I really like:

The beta guardians are the alpha kids SELF-PERCEPTIONS, which explains why they're like that.

Jane does her best to ignore her faults, or blame other people. This is why Nanna has very few, comparatively, and her faults could be plausibly be blamed on the game (like Alpha Jane blames her flaws on other people)

Jake has an extremely negative self-image, to the point where he adopts escapism as a coping mechanism and took up the 'brave, stupid, adventurer' facade. Grandpa is a flanderized version of that.

Mom has all of Roxy's flaws, minus the context that caused them. Because Mom isn't as desperately lonely as Roxy, (because she's not the last woman on earth) she doesn't feel the need to change as a person to improve her relationships.

Dirk hates himself, and has a very unrealible sense of self thanks to his splinters. This explains the clusterfuck that is Bro, and how much agency Bro realistically had over Cal.

#fandom post #homestuck #alpha kids #jane crocker #nanna egbert #jake english #grandpa harley #roxy lalonde #mom lalonde #dirk strider #bro strider #beta guardians

[prospitsdream]

so i was thinking abt when people revive the guardians in post-sburb fics and like. i just realized they would've missed sm milestones for their children??,? and its making me so sad to think abt

#beta guardians #beta kids #post sburb #? #homestuck

[ithinkdogshouldvote]

Guardian swap au for 4/13 ^ ^

#for claritys sake. these versions of the kids are functionally the same character just with different upbringings #like dave still likes music rose still likes knitting (though she has to hide it because bro will throw her yarn off the roof) #jade still likes science. john still likes movies etc. their nature is the same its the nurture thats different #beta kids #homestuck #homestuck humans #guardian swap au #fanart #fan art #Dave strider #dave lalonde #rose lalonde #rose strider #john egbert #june egbert #john Harley #June Harley #jade harley #jade egbert #homestuck au #bro strider #classpect #witch of breath #heir of space #seer of time #knight of light #hs #digital art #implied abuse. Rose is losing at strife and injured #413

[throesti]

Going insane over Guardians (especially young ones) being simultaneously game concepts and whole human beings with identities. You are not raised by anyone. You are supposed to raise someone. You don't want a child. You don't have a choice. You want to have your own agenda. You're stripped of everything that makes you a person. You're destined to die in cruelest ways. You're an NPC. You have feelings. You don't supposed to have them. You don't have a choice. The child you're raising is a constant reminder of all of this.

#total loss of control over everything in you #your body your identity everything ever #young guardians are going to die in their 40s #homestuck #hom3stuck #alpha guardians #beta guardians

[attachablepenis]

absolutely obsessed with the idea of alpha dave and rose doing everything they can to be parents to children they will never ever meet. dave filming pbs style educational videos for baby dirk and rose recording herself doing dramatic readings of bed time stories for lil roxy. hidden presents around the house that say "Open only on your 8th birthday" and "for when youre 12". leaving pictures of themselves in the kids home so they know that even though they're alone, this person loved them and did their best to make an apocalypse livable for them. video recordings and handwritten notes and instruction manuals and nonperishable food and "i dont know you but i love you" and "ill never get to meet you but im proud of you" and "youll never know me but i did my best to take care of you" in every way they knew how

#like its just insane to me how much they could have done to try and ease dirk and roxys life #and i get teary eyed thinking of it #homestuck #alpha dave #alpha rose #like they didnt HAVE to do anything #they didnt come across these babies like the beta guardians #they had to step up and do their best to be there for kids they will never meet #penis meows

[anyoldfandom]

Have to meme my starter not-cat, really enjoying this game and this very normal and casual moose. (Version without text under readmore)

#pixel cats end #Sadly the beta registration window isn't open but maybe next time..... #More people should join it's really fun #Nestor my friend Nestor #He gave me a kid today :) #I need to do a lil comic about that too tbh #Walk over to say hi to your pal and guardian and they go Woe kitten upon ye #My new kitten's name is Toast btw I love him

[conceptofjoy]

get me the fuck outta here

#hs.rose #hs.bro #d draws #bro #beta guardians #hs.dave #hs.cal

[nekropsii]

Hi! I've recently gotten into homestuck and I've read quite a bit of it, as well as other people's blogs analyzing and criticizing the media. I've heard a Lot about Dave's arc being centered around internal homophobia and toxic masculinity, so it surprised me to hear taht you disagreed! I was wondering why you think that, and what are your thoughts on what his arc actually is? I know you don't like writing about the alpha/beta kids, so feel free to ignore this ask completely if you want. Thank you, I hope you have a great day!

Hello, Anon! I'm glad you've been having fun with Homestuck lately!! Despite its many flaws, it is a deeply compelling piece of fiction, and I'm always glad to see new eyes on it and new voices being added to the analytical sphere. To answer your question...

Personally, I have never seen what people are talking about with regards to Dave's whole character arc surrounding overcoming Internalized Homophobia and Toxic Masculinity. These are fundamentally not what his arc is about, and this is never what his arc has ever been about. I'd honestly never seen that analytical lens until after DaveKat rose into prominence (mostly due to Post-Canon's heavy featuring of the pairing), and I feel as if these things are related. It is easier to make easy-to-stomach, shippy angst out of addressing your own personal shortcomings than what Dave's arc is actually about. No shade intended. This is because...

Dave's character arc is, and always has been, about Recovering from Childhood Abuse.

This is the conflict we are made aware of in his introduction, and it's a theme that persists all throughout the story. We meet Dave as a 13 year old boy suffering some pretty extreme abuse at the hands of Bro- Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, and Sexually. Dave's home life is such an active threat that he struggles to even admit to himself that it is abuse in the first place- that's an admission that takes a level of vulnerability that he just could not afford, and it's something he's only left to truly unpack during the Meteor Arc.

I have a couple major problems with the "Toxic Masculinity and Internalized Homophobia" takes. Firstly, Toxic Masculinity is not inherent to any expression of Masculinity. The only Toxically Masculine trait we see that's applicable to Dave is that he struggles deeply with vulnerability and sincerity in his emotions. However... These don't really have anything to do with what his views on what a man is or should be. They have everything to do with the fact that he was abused by someone who punishes any display of weakness, because Bro excused his abuse with it being "Training". Secondly... Dave is Bisexual. Even if the process of Dave struggling to accept being attracted to men was a major point in the story, it would not be called Internalized Homophobia. It would be called Internalized Biphobia, because Dave is canonically Bisexual, not Gay. We have seen Dave be attracted to more women than men, and attraction to both genders was present simultaneously. It was not Compulsory Heterosexuality. If it was, it'd be actually written into the story. Bisexual people exist. This is not a Homophobic argument to make; I am literally a Gay man.

It's anthropologically fascinating how this take arose... Basically out of nowhere from my perspective, especially considering how all of Dave's most iconic dramatic lines have something to do with him having to sort through his own abuse. Does no one remember the rooftop scene between Dave and Dirk, where Dave starts telling Dirk all about the horrible way that Bro raised him, and how deeply it affected him?

If not, I'm posting the most striking part of it here.

[Homestuck, page 7749.]

... So, yeah, no. Dave's character arc is not about "Overcoming Toxic Masculinity and Internalized Homophobia". It's about Abuse. Dave is an Abuse Victim. Point blank period. Any trait even loosely attributable to the ideas of Toxic Masculinity and Internalized Homophobia are a consequence of how he was raised, and how he was abused. This does not mean that this is what his character arc is about. That just means that's included within his character arc. It's a way to show growth, not a way to define his arc in its entirety. That is legitimately not how character writing works. To claim such would be to express a remarkable amount of Tunnel Vision.

Inclusion does not equate to Totality. There is a bigger picture, and that bigger picture is Abuse Recovery.

#homestuck #homestuck meta #homestuck analysis #homestuck fandom #beta kids #beta guardians #dave strider #bro strider #cw abuse #cw child harm #dave.pdf #nekro.pdf #nekro.sms

[slavhew]

you win. try again?

#homestuck #home2t4ck #hom3stuck #dave strider #bro strider #beta bro #abuse #blood #admin draws #fanart #uhh i dont usually say this but please dont tag as ship lmao #i usually live and let live but this is a domestic abuse situation. i wouldnt really be cool with that. #that out of the way. so many thoughts about these 2 #its like. bro is a bad guardian right. hes just more than shit at it. #but it never felt to me like it was malicious. hes doing irreparable damage but its something he thinks is necessary #or is unaware of the extent of it. either way. #i feel like in this situation he'd be proud of his little bro. lil guy did something impressive after all. #who cares that he himself got hurt for it. like even tho he might realize this is upsetting for dave. he might hope that its vindicating #but its not. dave is just horrified. because its just violence #defeating the villain and being the hero doesnt feel good. it never has #OUGHGHG anyways i drew more. today it felt like pulling teeth but i have too many ideas and theyre getting otu on the canvas one way #or another

[heckcareoxytwit]

Cosmo the psychic Space Dog saves the day by using his telepathy to stop Galactus from wrecking Knowhere.

Cosmo The Spacedog Infinity Comic #6, 2023

#Cosmo the Space Dog #cosmo #cosmo the dog #cosmo the spacedog #Drax #Arthur Douglas #Star Lord #Peter Quill #Rocket Raccoon #Groot #Gamora #Guardians of the Galaxy #Gladiator #Kallark #Imperial Guard #Shi'ar #Beta Ray Bill #Ch'od #Starjammers #Galactus #marvel #infinity comics #digital comic #infinity comic #digital comics

[prospitsdream]

i need homestuxk 2 draw plspls.... (not the felt tho lmao xD)

lik ships or scenarios or whatver u want,,,,,,,,

#homestuck #beta trolls #alpha trolls #beta kids #alpha kids #beta guardians #alpha guardians #homestuck ancestors #dancestors