btw if you *are* still having issues with the Homestuck website (it gets errors all the time, very annoying) I'd just recommend downloading the Unofficial Homestuck Collection for ease of access whether offline or online. It's got the epilogues stuffed in there too iirc, if you ever wanted to read those
Oh damn, yea I'm definetly gonna look into that when I get the chance. Thank you so much!
Super silly tho that the only *offical* way to read homestuck online is a mess broken links and inconsistent glitches
Little cover art I did for when I post Summer with the Striders on Quotev (the story's birthplace). Realized I didn't have another place to use it so here, a treat
Hi its been actual years since I updated this blog (whoops) but I'm back for reals this time. I will be putting my shiny new creative writing degree to good use here.
and to clarify I will be continuing Summer with the Striders. Currently I'm reworking the first 2 chapters, there shouldn't much of a change to those just some polishing. Then I'll begin working on more chapters which thankfully past me already wrote stuff for.
(Other characters will likely be mentioned/added as the story progresses)
Description:
Itâs silly of you to think you could possibly be spending this summer like any other, hanging out with your friends or perhaps participating in one of many summer activities you had been dreaming about during those last few weeks of school. Unfortunately for you, your parents had something else planned and shipped you off to spend the summer with a family friend and his kids? Now youâre stuck spending the summer with irony loving, sunglasses wearing weirdos. Shenanigans ensue.
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==> Â Be the confused teen
You and Bro had just walked through a very average apartment building, off-white walls, plain doors, and rather quiet. The door to the apartment looked the same as all the others but what lies behind it was utter chaos. You admit you hadnât put much thought into what this place might look like simply wanting these three months to go by quickly so you could go home but you never could have even imagined what stood before you. Half of the main living space was a basic kitchen while the other was set up like a bedroom and living room combo, a futon and tv took up a good corner while the rest was filled with someone's personal belongings. It could have ended there but almost every available surface was covered in some kind of thing that so would likely not imagine being there. Various weapons took up the counter space in the kitchen, fireworks in the sink prevented anyone from using it the way it was intended and this was all without you mentioning the strange and almost inappropriate creations made of puppet flesh. Why did they have asses?
It took a moment to take in the room before you, or maybe it had been many with the look Bro had given you. He gave your arm a small nudge as he pushed you further into the apartment so he could close the door. You stood there, pizzas in your arms and confusion on your face while the loud sounds coming from the tv only added to your frazzled state.
Bro eventually slipped around you once it was obvious you were going to be moving from your spot anytime soon, âDave didnât I tell you to clean this place while I was gone?â A muffled complaint came from past the doorway on the opposite side of the room where you presumed the bedrooms were. Another blonde eventually appeared through said doorway, you assumed this was the Dave Bro had told you about. Dave looked different than you had originally imagined, you assumed he would look far more like Bro, broad and defined but his face held a far more round appearance though he held the same blonde hair and need to wear sunglasses indoors that Bro had. Thanks to said shades you couldnât tell if Dave was looking at you but he eventually gave you a curt nod before turning his attention to Bro.
âI lost track of time, but itâs really not that bad in here. At least there's not fake blood or something all over the place.â
âFair, but still would have preferred it cleaner but I guess itâs a little late for that.â Bro holds out your bags to Dave as his sentence finishes. âSince you didnât clean you can go bring this to Dirkâs room, hopefully, he cleaned if not Iâm giving you both hell,â and with that, he nudged Dave out of the room before turning himself around to face you. âI hope the apartment would have been cleaner but this is more accurate to what it would have looked like the rest of the time.â He didnât give you much time to contemplate this as he took the pizzas from your hands, pushing things off of the crowded counter to make room for the boxes.
âAlso a heads up, Iâve got you crashing in Dirkâs room. Not that youâll be sharing it with him but I had him clean it up so you can have a bit of space to yourself.â
Speak of the devil and he may appear, the final Strider entered the living space, with the same blonde hair and pointy sunglasses he and Bro looked more similar in general. He gave a quick nod in your direction before he slipped into place beside Bro to look through the selection of pizza. âRoomâs clean except from my workbench.â barely glancing around the room, he shook his head before going back to his search. âDave didnât clean.â
âYea I know.â
Dave slipped back into the room his hands now empty of your bags, âSorry I was actually talking to my friends instead of making an autoresponder to do it for me.â The two of them locked eyes for a moment before Bro looked in your direction, his thumb pointed over his shoulder at the doorway that led to the rest of the apartment.
âDown the hall last door on the left.â You took that as your cue to make your escape while you still could. Quickly you slipped into the hall with a final glance at the striders before you looked forward to a hallway just as messy as the rest of the apartment you had seen. Three doors sat on the left wall of the hallway, the first was slightly opened making it easy to tell that it was a bathroom. The next was even easier to identify as Daveâs name was painted in red smack in the middle of the door in messy almost childlike handwriting. The final door was blank and you slowly made your way towards it pushing it open you were met with a much cleaner space than you had expected. The walls of Dirkâs room were just as chaotic as the rest of what youâd seen with posters of all kinds covering the walls, the bed was made and the only surface that was covered in things was what you guessed was his workbench just as he had said. An extra pair of his pointed shades sat next to his computer, the slightest red glow coming from them ominously. Your eyes eventually made their way back to the bed, just wanting you to crash after the day you had but you were taken aback by something you hadnât seen before sitting on the surface of the sheets. You backed up until you made contact with the door, grabbing uselessly at the handle. A verantiliquist dummy? Puppet? Sat there confusing you as you were sure you would have noticed those soulless blue eyes staring at you the minute you entered the room. Without a warning one of its floppy doll arms moved for its draped position and made a waving motion towards you.
âWhat the Fuck?!â
Note: I tried to keep each of the Strider's descriptions brief since I know people have different headcanons on what they look like. Personally, I HC Dave as biracial but I know not everyone does so I left it out. Feel free to leave your Headcanons in the comments but please be respectful of others' headcanons. No fighting in the comments.
(Other characters will likely be mentioned/added as the story progresses)
Description:
Itâs silly of you to think you could possibly be spending this summer like any other, hanging out with your friends or perhaps participating in one of many summer activities you had been dreaming about during those last few weeks of school. Unfortunately for you, your parents had something else planned and shipped you off to spend the summer with a family friend and his kids? Now youâre stuck spending the summer with irony loving, sunglasses wearing weirdos. Shenanigans ensue.
 | Next Chapter>>
==> Be the heat exhausted teen
This wasnât at all what you imagined when you were dreaming about your upcoming summer vacation. You had planned to spend the responsibility-free time gallivanting around with your friends, enjoying the last little bit of your fleeting childhood by doing kid stuff, like crimes or I donât know, ending the world by meteor storm or something.Â
Instead, youâre melting your ass off outside an airport in the Texas heat, waiting for some friend of your parents that youâve never met and who has only ever been cryptically referred to as âBroâ. Thatâs not even a name.Â
While your parents havenât seen him in years the stories theyâve told you about him paint an odd and conflicting picture in your head. How can a man be a frat boy, a puppet fanatic, someone who took the âI studied the bladeâ bit too seriously and a clumsy father all at once??
You didnât get the chance to contemplate this thought for too much longer as before you even saw it, you heard a car approaching. Once it came into view it was hard to look away, its bright red color and flame decals made for an eye-catching vehicle. Who would even drive such an obnoxious car? Is all you could think before it pulled up in front of you and you were forced to stare at your own sweaty reflection staring back at you from the car's tinted windows.
In a moment the only thing blocking you and the inside of this car is rolled down, âAre you [Name]?â
The question was thrown at you before you even got the chance to fully comprehend the sight of a muscular blonde man with pointy sunglasses leaning over the center console. Neither of you moves for the few silent moments that follow as he stares you down, waiting for an answer. At least you assume that's what's happening, the sunglasses were not helping your deduction skills.
Was this guy, Bro? Responsible parents would have at least shown you a picture of the man who was supposed to be picking up their teenager from the airport. Yours had neglected to do so, but given this manâs frat bro appearance and flashy car, you could make an educated guess.
âAre you Bro Strider?â your words come out shaky as you stare down at the man, seriously asking someone if their name was Bro was a bit weird but you werenât about to get into a car with a total stranger.
âSure am, now get in the car weâve got places to be, people to meet,â His tone leaves little room for argument as he slides back fully into the driver seat. Passed that he doesnât make any more sudden moves, only impatiently tapping on the worn leather steering wheel as he waits for you to sort out your thoughts. You take a few tentative glances around you, just in case this wasnât in fact the man who was supposed to be picking you up. No one around you seemed to spare you a glance, only pausing briefly to glimpse at the eye sore of a car before going back to waiting. When you finally look back into the car Bro is in the same place you left him but now, carefully placed on the passenger seat is a picture. The familiar faces of your parents smile up at you, they're younger, in their college years maybe and a man is wearing a pair of pointed sunglasses squished between them.
You glance back at Bro, still staring out the windshield waiting for you to get in the car. It's not hard to figure out what heâs doing, likely noting the lack of recognition and hesitation towards him, and presenting you with evidence that he wasnât just some stranger.Â
The anxious knot in your stomach loosened a bit and you allowed yourself to stash your bags in his trunk and slide into the passenger seat after carefully picking up the photo. Bro doesnât turn to look at you as he pulls the car out of the terminal pick-up area but you can see him fight back a small smile from the corner of your eye.
The car was silent as you zoomed along the highway, you took the time to enjoy the cold air blowing out of the vents. Broâs driving fit his bombastic car as he zipped back and forth between lanes to pass the slower cars on the road. It was hard to watch so you tried to think about anything else, what your friends were doing, your flight over here, the fact that you had finally met the guy your parents offhandedly mentioned when they reminisced about their past. So far you couldnât tell if Bro lived up to the impression of him that you had built in your head all these years. He was flashy, sure, and he dressed the same as he did in the picture you delicately held in your hands, still you had yet to see any swords or puppets even after taking a peek in his back seat. Itâs entirely possible your parents had made some of that stuff up, or maybe the guy had grown out of it in the 15 years since the last time your parents had hung out with him. Not to mention this guy had kids apparently, you never would have guessed with the way he had acted with you. Speaking of, he hadnât said a word about them at all so far.
âSoâŠâ unsure of how to word your question you paused and glanced over to the man in question, his gaze seemingly on the road as he zigzagged around it, mouth turned down into a concentrated frown.Â
When he didnât immediately react you wondered if he even heard you, prepared to repeat yourself before you saw one of his eyebrows peek up over his sunglasses.
âSo?â his voice was far more hesitant than it had been at the airport like he hadnât expected you to speak up after the silence had sunk in. You couldnât help yourself though, you needed the reassurance that there were in fact kids your age where you were going and that you wouldnât be stuck with a grown man for 3 months.
âMy parents said you have kids?â not the best phrasing but it would have to do considering it had already come out of your mouth. Broâs response was immediate as the car jolted sharply, slamming you against the car door before he got it back under control.
âNo I do not have kids,â he paused and you could feel the panic begin to overtake you, which seemed to show clearly on your face as Bro immediately began backpedaling, âI have two younger brothers, but they are not my kids. I did not birth them.â Weird way to specify that but alright.
âOh sorry, my parents seem like you were a father or something,â you shifted in your seat, the atmosphere had gotten awkward fast.
âItâs fine, I have no clue what kinds of stories your folks told you about me,â Bro pauses for a moment, his hands shifting against the steering wheel awkwardly as the car slows to take its place in the upcoming traffic jam. âBut yeah, my brothers Dirk and Dave, they're two pretty independent kids. Neither of them really need me to take care of them but I appreciate that they stick around.â The corner of his mouth twitches upwards before he continues, âDirkâs super smart, already graduated from high school, spends most of his free time building robots and shit. Heâs not great with new people though, he definitely gets that from me. Then thereâs Dave, heâs still young but heâs hella creative, heâs got this webcomic he's been working on for a while now. I havenât seen him all that much since school ended, he locks himself in his room so he can have calls with his friends without me âembarrassingâ him or whatever. Heâs a good kid though, I hope you two get along.â Broâs voice got softer as he continued talking, you didnât need to be able to see his eyes to tell the soft spot he had for his little brothers.
Bro takes the next exit off the highway getting you out of the sea of traffic and into a more downtown area. Eventually, the car comes to a stop in front of a pizza place, the second Bro opens his door to get out the smell hits you and you're rudely reminded that you hadnât eaten since before getting on the plane earlier today.
He briefly looks your way before patting the roof of the car, âHold down the fort kid, Iâll be back in a minute,â the door shuts behind him and he quickly disappears into the pizzeria. True to his word not more than a minute later he exits the building with half a dozen pizza boxes balanced on one arm.
He uses his free hand to pull open his door once again, âHere, hold onto these for me,â is all you here before the pizzas are in your lap without you even seeing Bro move to place them there.
Thereâs a moment of panic as Bro takes his seat, about the photo you had previously been holding in the hands that now held a bunch of pizza boxes. Your panic turns to confusion as you look over at Bro and see him holding it carefully between two fingers. How fast was this guy??
Bro has already pulled out of the parking spot and is a way down the road before you manage to pick your jaw off the floor. A quiet âwhat?â is all you manage to mumble as you try to wrap your head around what the fuck just happened. You werenât tired enough that you missed all of that⊠were you?
Bro didnât even acknowledge your confusion, quickly filling in the following silence, âI didnât know what kind of pizza you like, so I just grabbed a few different ones.â
The next half an hour was filled with mostly silence, up until you got trapped in some dense end of the work day traffic and Bro turned on the radio, introducing you to his questionable taste in âsick beatsâ.
Eventually, you finally pulled off of the traffic-ridden road into a parking garage next to an impressively tall apartment building. Aside from its height, the building was rather plain, off-white in color, and covered in various windows that belonged to various different apartments.
Distracted by the sight of the building you didnât realize the car had stopped until the air conditioning shut off and you were reminded of the awful Texas heat that the car had been giving you a temporary reprieve from. Bro was already up and out of the car with your bags in hand by the time you awkwardly wiggle your way out of the vehicle with arms full of pizza. As you exit the parking garage you stare up at the building ominously looming over you, one of these very apartments is where you would be staying for the remainder of the summer. Who knows what will happen.
