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puppetninja) wrote2014-12-02 05:33 pm
puppetninja) wrote2014-12-02 05:33 pm
C̴̡̕h̛͢a͝r̷a̶͠c̢̕͢t̨e͘͞r ͜I̧̕ń̢f̴o҉͠
Name: Dirk Bro Strider
Canon: Homestuck
Gender: Male
Age: Mid 30s. We're not actually sure how old he is; old enough that he was an adult when Dave rode into his life on a meteor, and Dave is 13 at the time of Bro's death.
History: Bro Strider is the biological father of Dave Strider, and likely spent most of his younger years in foster care, since there wasn't anyone prepared to care for him when John Egbert's ectobiological ministrations launched him into the past. Because of the elements we see in the comic, it's indicated that Bro (like the rest of the Guardians) had some knowledge of sBurb long before it happened, so it's likely that the reason Bro is so skilled when it comes to swordfighting is because he was training himself from a young age in preparation for someday having to train Dave. By the time Dave comes barreling into his life as a tiny baby riding on a meteor - another result of John's experiments in ectobiology, though this one released appropriately enough in time that the baby would have a caregiver - Bro Strider has achieved ninja-level skills when it comes to speed and strength, having mastered a move referred to as 'flash-stepping'.
Because of the surmised instability in his youth, Bro probably tried his hand at various trades before finally finding an industry that would support himself and his younger brother. In the comic, when Bro is first mentioned, Dave expresses that he's an accomplished DJ/rapper and sometimes goes out on 'gigs' with lil' Cal, which indicates that Bro's also practiced ventriloquist. The place where he draws most of his money is from the smuppets and associated website that he pioneered 'ironically', creating a 'multi-billion dollar a year enterprise' that Bro 'rakes in thousands of dollars a month through'.
His raising of Dave was incredibly unorthodox: from nearly the very beginning, it's shown that the two engage regularly in rap battles (where they hurl things at each other from their sylladices via complex rhymes, with certain words triggering the release of certain objects) and strifing, or fighting, on the roof (once, Dave spends an entire battle fighting the after-image of Bro's flash-step, giving an indication of just how fast the man is). He frequently set up house-traps just to fuck with Dave, leaving lil' Cal in strange places and generally being pretty fucking creepy. However, there's also moments of bonding shown intermittently. The two clearly have at least the surface appearance of a working relationship, enough so that Dave idolizes him at least a little bit, and Dave is confident enough in his Bro's affections that he believes Bro would be down for whatever ironic shenanigans he might have planned.
Once the game begins, Bro strikes out on his own, fighting his way through Dave's world and generally proving that he definitely knows more about the game than even the Heroes themselves, including being aware of the fate of the current session - as indicated by his attempt to Scratch (reset) the session long before that plan was even conceived by the Heroes of the game. He strifes his way through several areas before coming face to face with Jack Noir, where he attempts to take down the Boss before he becomes unbeatable. Unfortunately, he fails to beat Jack Noir before he's essentially made unkillable, and Bro's life ends on the beat mesa, his opponent running him through with his own sword.
Further information can be found here.
Personality: Depending on what point of time you spoke to Dave Strider, he would either describe his bro as a hero, a creep, the coolest dude to ever live, or the biggest asshole in existence.
All of these things are true.
It's clear that Bro has gone out of his way to cultivate the word 'cool', even redefining it. In his world, it clearly means shitty swords, anime, puppets, gory movies, EDM and puppets. (And also puppets. Did we mention puppets?) Though most people might disagree with this definition of the word, it's also clear that Bro gives absolutely no shits what other people think. He's suave enough to dazzle anyone, regardless of the fact that he's got a popped collar and wears fingerless gloves. Though those who hear of him secondhand may remain skeptical, anyone who has directly interacted with the guy comes away with the impression that something incredibly amazing just happened, even if they aren't sure what. Even to those most familiar with him, it's hard to tell if Bro has perfected his cool appearance completely ironically, or if he truly believes that he is hella cool. He oozes confidence, approaching the world with a cocky swagger better suited for pirates in movies on the silver screen than a middle-aged man wearing spats and pointy shades.
There's a reason for that, though. From an early age, Bro learned that the best way to keep people from asking too many questions was to remain untouchable, aloof and out of their reach. Life is a big joke to him - how could it not be? - and he's unashamed of the few joys that he has. He takes pride in the things he does, even going out of his way to be a little bit showy. He's got people to impress, and sometimes, he gets a little lost in the need to make sure everyone is appropriately dazzled by him. He grew up knowing that the things he believed to be true and real were impossible in the minds of typical people. He's used to being viewed as a little bit off his rocker, and honestly, he feels it's better to be seen as eccentric and beyond comprehension than have people barking their curiosities at you all the time. It makes life easier, honestly. Keeps people out of his business. Because he's used to people not jiving with his world view, Bro's not so much secretive as he is evasive. He's skilled at redirecting the conversation whenever people get too nosy, looping it around so that they walk away feeling cheerfully confident that the conversation went the route they wanted it to...until they try and remember what, exactly, he said. It takes a lot to get information out of Bro Strider, and he will never part with it willingly.
Though his interests seem eclectic at best, underneath it all Bro is very driven, focusing with single-minded intensity on whatever his goals may be. He is not afraid to act in ways that are unorthodox, and he's willing to try anything necessary to get the job done, regardless of whether or not it's going to cause undue damage to the people involved. He's very much unafraid to sacrifice the few in order to save the many, even if he himself ends up numbered among the few. After all, he's a man who grew up knowing that he was going to die and the universe was going to end. To him, selfishness is an impossible thing, and the ends almost always justify the means. If that means he has to ruin the emotional well-being of a young boy in order to make sure the universe is saved, then that, to him, is more than acceptable. For the greater good is very clearly written in his actions.
Because his entire life was focused on raising his little brother to be the hero he never wanted to be, Bro's done a good job of cultivating a safe distance between himself and typical emotions. It isn't that he has no cares; but he's done a damn good job of ensuring that he doesn't express them, or even let himself feel them on any intense level. Emotions are a weakness that he's not comfortable with, and he does his best to keep them at bay, regardless of the cost. As a result, sometimes he comes off as a bit of a jerk, and has a lot of trouble comprehending why people allow emotions to motivate them. To him, the only logical response to having intense emotion is to cut them off at the head, and even if he himself may fail at that sometime, he still always does his best to shut them down whenever possible.
To Bro, everything is a test. Everything. He enjoys pushing people to their limits (though that's due in part to his programming as a Guardian), and without the Game confining his focus to Dave and Dave alone, he has a tendency to fuck with people. He likes to try people's patience, to push them to think, encouraging them to be on guard and better themselves in order to prepare for whatever life throws at them. As a Guardian, that's part of his purpose, and Bro is - again - unafraid to try unusual methods in order to achieve results. Sometimes, this can mean something as simple as gluing quarters to the sidewalk (to test resolve) or something as complicated as programming his blender to spin fast enough to fire its' contents at the user unless a complicated pattern is entered first. Every moment is an opportunity to test the reflexes and attentions of those around him (both physical and mental) and part of the test is ensuring that they rarely - if ever - know that he's the one testing them. As such, he's developed the ability to be subtle, and he employs it whenever it suits him (which is basically all the time). He's got a thousand explanations for the why and the how of what he does what he does, every one of them as glib as the last.
All in all, Bro Strider is a rather enigmatic, obnoxious tool of a dude.
Powers/Abilities: Bro is a fairly typical human, with above-average strength and reflexes, though that's mostly because he's spent a good portion of his life training. He can sneak from one place to another in virtual silence, and he's become incredibly adept at remaining undetected whenever a situation calls for it.
The only ability that he's got that isn't inherently due to rigorous training is the ability to 'flash-step' with ninja-speed from one place to another, so fast that he frequently appears out of sync with reality when fighting. He's been able to use this ability so well that at one point it was shown that Dave was strifing with Bro's after-image while Bro himself lounged nearby and watched.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
• Bro's katana - Bro's katana might as well be part of him (ha, ha), especially considering it's the very blade he met his demise at the end of.
• dumb anime shades - Bro is never, ever seen without his pointy shades. We can guess that he and Dave both utilize shades to make their expressions more unreadable, though it is just as likely they used them to hide their unusual eye colors from the rest of the world.
• assorted baseball caps - Bro also wears his hat wherever he goes. Though the hat he wears during the events of Homestuck is grey, it's also shown he owns them in a full range of colors.
• fingerless leather gloves - Another thing Bro isn't without. Though he probably wears them ironically, they're as much a part of his image as his dumb shades.
• Lil' Cal - Lil' Cal is Bro's constant companion. Bro even goes so far as to use him to fight with on more than one occasion.
• smuppets (puppet memorabilia) - Bro Strider's brainchild, smuppets are basically sex toys crossed with puppets. He makes them by hand, takes ironic pictures of them in obscene positions, and manages to profit from it. Because he's Bro. He also has several posters of puppets plastered on the walls of his house, and more than a few actual puppets hanging from his ceiling. He is, after all, a practiced ventriloquist.
• shitty anime weaponry - Bro's entire apartment is covered with shitty swords, shurikens stuck in the wall, etc. He even puts them in the fridge.
• turntables - Bro begins teaching Dave how to lay down sick beats from a young age. It's supposed that he himself does some DJing on the side, as part of the 'gigs' he goes on regularly.
Sample: Somewhere in the back of his head, Bro's aware that the guy standing in front of him would strike fear in the hearts of most men, but he's not most men. He's Bro fucking Strider, he is here to fuck shit up and all of that. Under his feet, the last attempt he'd made at brashness spreads out across the Beat Mesa in bright, gleaming lines of gold - a failed try at something that he knew was ultimately necessary, a hope to save lives that would be lost. Honestly, he'd suspected it wouldn't work. He wasn't a Hero, after all. That was Dave's job. Now that Dave was old enough to play the game, Bro's only remaining function was to buy the kid time, so he could figure this shit out and save the universe.
It isn't hard to keep the black carapace occupied. Bro's no slouch, and while he can't land a blow on the guy, it's worth noting that the guy also can't land a blow on him. Bro's a master swordsman, after all, and just because his enemy has tentacles and wings and a big fuckoff sword doesn't mean he's gonna be able to pull one over on Bro. After all, Bro's spent his whole life preparing for this game, and the guy in front of him is just a pawn. A pawn wearing the Queen's ring, sure, but just a pawn. Though he has powers that Bro can only dream of, he just doesn't have the skill to back it up. In contrast, Bro has skill. Bro has so much skill that it's oozing out of his fucking ears.
There's a few moments where he's actually almost sure that he's gonna make it out of this patch alive. The end of the game is far off and while that isn't a goal he expects to achieve, there's a chance he might be able to put down this baddie here and now. When the Sprite shows up (and Bro's only momentarily surprised to see that it's Dave, with feathers and a sword and grim determination set in his features), it seems almost undoubted that they'll succeed here. They'll beat the boss by virtue of taking advantage of the game in ways they shouldn't be able to, and Dave will go on to win, and maybe, just maybe the session won't fail, despite all Bro knows.
That sensation of hope plunges when the air turns green. There's lightning sparking through the thing they're fighting, and Bro steps back as the being before them glitches. There's no other explanation for the way his image flashes over itself, the brightness of it burning afterimages into Bro's retinas even through the pointed shades. They are going to lose. Whatever just happened sealed it. Bro knows it, even as he tightens his grip on his katana, bracing himself. The creature moves fast, too fast! He's everywhere and nowhere at once, and Bro tries to dodge, presses the advantage that he had before --
He has to shove Dave out of the way when the final blow comes. He'd been lost the minute he'd lost his sword, and he almost welcomes the sword when it find its home in his chest. Run, he tries to say, but there's blood bubbling in his throat, and he stares up into the horrified eyes of the sprite-version of his little brother. He's vaguely aware that, against all odds, the Mesa beneath him feels cold, and there's a warm hand curling in his. Maybe there's tears. He doesn't know, any more than he knows why the creature has left the sprite with one wing down and still breathing. It doesn't matter. Dave can still go on to help Dave, and Bro can end here. Like he's supposed to.
Dave's face is above him, and Bro smiles. He's proud of the kid, really. Maybe there's tears, maybe they're orange and streaking over dimly glowing skin, and maybe they stain Bro's hand when he reaches up to cup the kid's cheek. Maybe there's tears, and maybe there aren't, because his own eyes are hot, even though everything else is cold. You done good. The words bubble in blood and die soundlessly on his lips, and he sighs, letting his hand fall. Everything's heavier than he expected it to be. Everything's fuzzy. Everything's fading.
It doesn't hurt.
Not the way he expected it to.
Canon: Homestuck
Gender: Male
Age: Mid 30s. We're not actually sure how old he is; old enough that he was an adult when Dave rode into his life on a meteor, and Dave is 13 at the time of Bro's death.
History: Bro Strider is the biological father of Dave Strider, and likely spent most of his younger years in foster care, since there wasn't anyone prepared to care for him when John Egbert's ectobiological ministrations launched him into the past. Because of the elements we see in the comic, it's indicated that Bro (like the rest of the Guardians) had some knowledge of sBurb long before it happened, so it's likely that the reason Bro is so skilled when it comes to swordfighting is because he was training himself from a young age in preparation for someday having to train Dave. By the time Dave comes barreling into his life as a tiny baby riding on a meteor - another result of John's experiments in ectobiology, though this one released appropriately enough in time that the baby would have a caregiver - Bro Strider has achieved ninja-level skills when it comes to speed and strength, having mastered a move referred to as 'flash-stepping'.
Because of the surmised instability in his youth, Bro probably tried his hand at various trades before finally finding an industry that would support himself and his younger brother. In the comic, when Bro is first mentioned, Dave expresses that he's an accomplished DJ/rapper and sometimes goes out on 'gigs' with lil' Cal, which indicates that Bro's also practiced ventriloquist. The place where he draws most of his money is from the smuppets and associated website that he pioneered 'ironically', creating a 'multi-billion dollar a year enterprise' that Bro 'rakes in thousands of dollars a month through'.
His raising of Dave was incredibly unorthodox: from nearly the very beginning, it's shown that the two engage regularly in rap battles (where they hurl things at each other from their sylladices via complex rhymes, with certain words triggering the release of certain objects) and strifing, or fighting, on the roof (once, Dave spends an entire battle fighting the after-image of Bro's flash-step, giving an indication of just how fast the man is). He frequently set up house-traps just to fuck with Dave, leaving lil' Cal in strange places and generally being pretty fucking creepy. However, there's also moments of bonding shown intermittently. The two clearly have at least the surface appearance of a working relationship, enough so that Dave idolizes him at least a little bit, and Dave is confident enough in his Bro's affections that he believes Bro would be down for whatever ironic shenanigans he might have planned.
Once the game begins, Bro strikes out on his own, fighting his way through Dave's world and generally proving that he definitely knows more about the game than even the Heroes themselves, including being aware of the fate of the current session - as indicated by his attempt to Scratch (reset) the session long before that plan was even conceived by the Heroes of the game. He strifes his way through several areas before coming face to face with Jack Noir, where he attempts to take down the Boss before he becomes unbeatable. Unfortunately, he fails to beat Jack Noir before he's essentially made unkillable, and Bro's life ends on the beat mesa, his opponent running him through with his own sword.
Further information can be found here.
Personality: Depending on what point of time you spoke to Dave Strider, he would either describe his bro as a hero, a creep, the coolest dude to ever live, or the biggest asshole in existence.
All of these things are true.
It's clear that Bro has gone out of his way to cultivate the word 'cool', even redefining it. In his world, it clearly means shitty swords, anime, puppets, gory movies, EDM and puppets. (And also puppets. Did we mention puppets?) Though most people might disagree with this definition of the word, it's also clear that Bro gives absolutely no shits what other people think. He's suave enough to dazzle anyone, regardless of the fact that he's got a popped collar and wears fingerless gloves. Though those who hear of him secondhand may remain skeptical, anyone who has directly interacted with the guy comes away with the impression that something incredibly amazing just happened, even if they aren't sure what. Even to those most familiar with him, it's hard to tell if Bro has perfected his cool appearance completely ironically, or if he truly believes that he is hella cool. He oozes confidence, approaching the world with a cocky swagger better suited for pirates in movies on the silver screen than a middle-aged man wearing spats and pointy shades.
There's a reason for that, though. From an early age, Bro learned that the best way to keep people from asking too many questions was to remain untouchable, aloof and out of their reach. Life is a big joke to him - how could it not be? - and he's unashamed of the few joys that he has. He takes pride in the things he does, even going out of his way to be a little bit showy. He's got people to impress, and sometimes, he gets a little lost in the need to make sure everyone is appropriately dazzled by him. He grew up knowing that the things he believed to be true and real were impossible in the minds of typical people. He's used to being viewed as a little bit off his rocker, and honestly, he feels it's better to be seen as eccentric and beyond comprehension than have people barking their curiosities at you all the time. It makes life easier, honestly. Keeps people out of his business. Because he's used to people not jiving with his world view, Bro's not so much secretive as he is evasive. He's skilled at redirecting the conversation whenever people get too nosy, looping it around so that they walk away feeling cheerfully confident that the conversation went the route they wanted it to...until they try and remember what, exactly, he said. It takes a lot to get information out of Bro Strider, and he will never part with it willingly.
Though his interests seem eclectic at best, underneath it all Bro is very driven, focusing with single-minded intensity on whatever his goals may be. He is not afraid to act in ways that are unorthodox, and he's willing to try anything necessary to get the job done, regardless of whether or not it's going to cause undue damage to the people involved. He's very much unafraid to sacrifice the few in order to save the many, even if he himself ends up numbered among the few. After all, he's a man who grew up knowing that he was going to die and the universe was going to end. To him, selfishness is an impossible thing, and the ends almost always justify the means. If that means he has to ruin the emotional well-being of a young boy in order to make sure the universe is saved, then that, to him, is more than acceptable. For the greater good is very clearly written in his actions.
Because his entire life was focused on raising his little brother to be the hero he never wanted to be, Bro's done a good job of cultivating a safe distance between himself and typical emotions. It isn't that he has no cares; but he's done a damn good job of ensuring that he doesn't express them, or even let himself feel them on any intense level. Emotions are a weakness that he's not comfortable with, and he does his best to keep them at bay, regardless of the cost. As a result, sometimes he comes off as a bit of a jerk, and has a lot of trouble comprehending why people allow emotions to motivate them. To him, the only logical response to having intense emotion is to cut them off at the head, and even if he himself may fail at that sometime, he still always does his best to shut them down whenever possible.
To Bro, everything is a test. Everything. He enjoys pushing people to their limits (though that's due in part to his programming as a Guardian), and without the Game confining his focus to Dave and Dave alone, he has a tendency to fuck with people. He likes to try people's patience, to push them to think, encouraging them to be on guard and better themselves in order to prepare for whatever life throws at them. As a Guardian, that's part of his purpose, and Bro is - again - unafraid to try unusual methods in order to achieve results. Sometimes, this can mean something as simple as gluing quarters to the sidewalk (to test resolve) or something as complicated as programming his blender to spin fast enough to fire its' contents at the user unless a complicated pattern is entered first. Every moment is an opportunity to test the reflexes and attentions of those around him (both physical and mental) and part of the test is ensuring that they rarely - if ever - know that he's the one testing them. As such, he's developed the ability to be subtle, and he employs it whenever it suits him (which is basically all the time). He's got a thousand explanations for the why and the how of what he does what he does, every one of them as glib as the last.
All in all, Bro Strider is a rather enigmatic, obnoxious tool of a dude.
Powers/Abilities: Bro is a fairly typical human, with above-average strength and reflexes, though that's mostly because he's spent a good portion of his life training. He can sneak from one place to another in virtual silence, and he's become incredibly adept at remaining undetected whenever a situation calls for it.
The only ability that he's got that isn't inherently due to rigorous training is the ability to 'flash-step' with ninja-speed from one place to another, so fast that he frequently appears out of sync with reality when fighting. He's been able to use this ability so well that at one point it was shown that Dave was strifing with Bro's after-image while Bro himself lounged nearby and watched.
Keepsakes/Mementos:
• Bro's katana - Bro's katana might as well be part of him (ha, ha), especially considering it's the very blade he met his demise at the end of.
• dumb anime shades - Bro is never, ever seen without his pointy shades. We can guess that he and Dave both utilize shades to make their expressions more unreadable, though it is just as likely they used them to hide their unusual eye colors from the rest of the world.
• assorted baseball caps - Bro also wears his hat wherever he goes. Though the hat he wears during the events of Homestuck is grey, it's also shown he owns them in a full range of colors.
• fingerless leather gloves - Another thing Bro isn't without. Though he probably wears them ironically, they're as much a part of his image as his dumb shades.
• Lil' Cal - Lil' Cal is Bro's constant companion. Bro even goes so far as to use him to fight with on more than one occasion.
• smuppets (puppet memorabilia) - Bro Strider's brainchild, smuppets are basically sex toys crossed with puppets. He makes them by hand, takes ironic pictures of them in obscene positions, and manages to profit from it. Because he's Bro. He also has several posters of puppets plastered on the walls of his house, and more than a few actual puppets hanging from his ceiling. He is, after all, a practiced ventriloquist.
• shitty anime weaponry - Bro's entire apartment is covered with shitty swords, shurikens stuck in the wall, etc. He even puts them in the fridge.
• turntables - Bro begins teaching Dave how to lay down sick beats from a young age. It's supposed that he himself does some DJing on the side, as part of the 'gigs' he goes on regularly.
Sample: Somewhere in the back of his head, Bro's aware that the guy standing in front of him would strike fear in the hearts of most men, but he's not most men. He's Bro fucking Strider, he is here to fuck shit up and all of that. Under his feet, the last attempt he'd made at brashness spreads out across the Beat Mesa in bright, gleaming lines of gold - a failed try at something that he knew was ultimately necessary, a hope to save lives that would be lost. Honestly, he'd suspected it wouldn't work. He wasn't a Hero, after all. That was Dave's job. Now that Dave was old enough to play the game, Bro's only remaining function was to buy the kid time, so he could figure this shit out and save the universe.
It isn't hard to keep the black carapace occupied. Bro's no slouch, and while he can't land a blow on the guy, it's worth noting that the guy also can't land a blow on him. Bro's a master swordsman, after all, and just because his enemy has tentacles and wings and a big fuckoff sword doesn't mean he's gonna be able to pull one over on Bro. After all, Bro's spent his whole life preparing for this game, and the guy in front of him is just a pawn. A pawn wearing the Queen's ring, sure, but just a pawn. Though he has powers that Bro can only dream of, he just doesn't have the skill to back it up. In contrast, Bro has skill. Bro has so much skill that it's oozing out of his fucking ears.
There's a few moments where he's actually almost sure that he's gonna make it out of this patch alive. The end of the game is far off and while that isn't a goal he expects to achieve, there's a chance he might be able to put down this baddie here and now. When the Sprite shows up (and Bro's only momentarily surprised to see that it's Dave, with feathers and a sword and grim determination set in his features), it seems almost undoubted that they'll succeed here. They'll beat the boss by virtue of taking advantage of the game in ways they shouldn't be able to, and Dave will go on to win, and maybe, just maybe the session won't fail, despite all Bro knows.
That sensation of hope plunges when the air turns green. There's lightning sparking through the thing they're fighting, and Bro steps back as the being before them glitches. There's no other explanation for the way his image flashes over itself, the brightness of it burning afterimages into Bro's retinas even through the pointed shades. They are going to lose. Whatever just happened sealed it. Bro knows it, even as he tightens his grip on his katana, bracing himself. The creature moves fast, too fast! He's everywhere and nowhere at once, and Bro tries to dodge, presses the advantage that he had before --
He has to shove Dave out of the way when the final blow comes. He'd been lost the minute he'd lost his sword, and he almost welcomes the sword when it find its home in his chest. Run, he tries to say, but there's blood bubbling in his throat, and he stares up into the horrified eyes of the sprite-version of his little brother. He's vaguely aware that, against all odds, the Mesa beneath him feels cold, and there's a warm hand curling in his. Maybe there's tears. He doesn't know, any more than he knows why the creature has left the sprite with one wing down and still breathing. It doesn't matter. Dave can still go on to help Dave, and Bro can end here. Like he's supposed to.
Dave's face is above him, and Bro smiles. He's proud of the kid, really. Maybe there's tears, maybe they're orange and streaking over dimly glowing skin, and maybe they stain Bro's hand when he reaches up to cup the kid's cheek. Maybe there's tears, and maybe there aren't, because his own eyes are hot, even though everything else is cold. You done good. The words bubble in blood and die soundlessly on his lips, and he sighs, letting his hand fall. Everything's heavier than he expected it to be. Everything's fuzzy. Everything's fading.
It doesn't hurt.
Not the way he expected it to.