Brian Laborn
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<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Brian Laborn</default></title>
<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>
<label>Status</label><format><label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox>
Brian Laborn, publicly known as the villain Grue, is a member of The Undersiders.
Personality
Brian has an overly professional demeanor and a desire for personal freedom separate this. He takes online classes that allow him a flexible schedule. He readily accepts burdens when it comes to his family and friends but he values his ability to walk away from it at anytime.[citation needed]
He's an organized individual who's careful to divorce emotion from his actions and agenda. He falls back on order, rules, self discipline in times of stress.<ref>Orders, demands, statements, condemnations, use of skull in costume: solo operator, organized, careful to divorce emotion from action & agenda. Falls back on order, rules, self discipline in times of stress.-8.x (Bonus Interlude)</ref>
Brian is well versed in multiple martial arts, being able to pick up the basics very quickly,<ref name="3.2c1">Comment by Wildbow on Agitation 3.2</ref> but he does not dedicate himself to one particular style, being more interested in using a plurality of styles. He was confident enough to train his teammates how to fight.
Relationships
Imp
Brian had a falling out with his sister a year after he got his power and a year before joining the Undersiders (confirm). While he does love his sister, their extended time together has made it easier for his sister to know what annoys him and exploit it.
Taylor Herbert
Brian is initially unaware of his feelings toward the teammate that is closest to him in temperament. He had not had many relationships with unrelated women given his upbringing with his father. The author described theirs as a "failed relationship"
Alec
The two teammates share an interesting friendship. Both of them seem to enjoy trading barbs and general put-downs but their insults generally lack any real venom or bite to them.
PRT/Authority Figures
Appearance
Brian is an African-American teenager, physically mature for his age, with a muscular frame, and a lantern jaw. He is usually dressed fairly well, in a manner that's not opulent but still stylish. Multiple characters seem to consider him rather handsome.
As Grue, Brian dressed in motorcycle leathers and a motorcycle helmet with a full-face visor sculpted to look like a stylized skull.<ref name="1.5">Gestation 1.5</ref> These incorporated side vents to allow the darkness he creates to flow outward, creating an eerie, dramatic effect.
His equipment would receive defensive upgrades when Skitter finished making spider-silk costumes for all the Undersiders. The new outfit possessed a helmet with a more demonic design, as opposed to the skeletal motif of his previous helmet. It was based on a figurine Brian bought for the express purpose of inspiration.
Abilities and Powers
Story Start
Brian can generate clouds of smoke-like darkness that erase all light, mute and distort sounds, and confuse the sense of touch. It also interferes with microwaves, radio frequencies, radiation, and certain Breaker powers such as those possessed by Shadow Stalker and Velocity.<ref name="6.6">Tangle 6.6</ref> He does not actually 'see' this darkness, he is aware of its location and when it is affected but it does not obscure his vision in the least.<ref name="16.6">Monarch 16.6</ref> Further whenever he uses his power he temporarily induces inodorosity <ref>'wipes' his scent<ref/>,<ref name="7.7c1">Comment by Wildbow on Buzz 7.7</ref> pushing the particles that make up his 'smell' away with his darkness. This makes it hard for those with an enhanced sense of smell compared to base line humans to track him.<ref name="I4">“Bitch, hold up,” speaks the scentless man. Scentless man makes Brutus nervous because he is big but he has no smell. But he is Master’s alpha so Master stops and listens.
“You’re going out?” the scentless man asks. --Excerpt from Interlude 4</ref>
A common tactic of his was to writhe himself in his darkness to obscure his voice and distort where his body is. He displays further versatility by making a body double out of his darkness that was often convincing enough to distract an enemy,<ref name="4.9">Shell 4.9</ref> This tactic would later be borrowed and improved upon by his teammate Skitter.
Grue is able to cause his darkness to dissipate at will,<ref name="14.3">Prey 14.3</ref> and could selectivly disipate sections at a time.
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine
After his second Trigger Event, Brian's darkness became thicker, heavier, and came out less quickly, but grew exponentially. He also gained the ability to use the powers of other parahumans while they were in his darkness, while suppressing their powers at the same time. While using these powers, he was essentially using them for the first time, lacking the experience and skill of previous users.
History
Background
Grue was abused by his mother's boyfriend when he was young, and fought to develop the strength and fortitude to never be that weak again. After going to help his sister deal with the same man at his mother's house, he was brought back to his weakest, darkest moment as he dealt with his mother's boyfriend. With the man's eyes on him, he found the power to immerse the world in darkness. The combination of the environment, malign attention, and the desire to protect his sister all factored into his power being what it was.<ref name="reddit1">Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref>
Early Career
Brian was active as the super-villain Grue for roughly two years. During this phase of his career, Brian learned about the importance of reputation. Specifically choosing the name Grue due to its obscure etymology, he did so with the presumption that the alias would attract a more sophisticated clientele. <ref name="SV1">Comment by Wildbow on Sufficient Velocity</ref>
This seems to have worked as he was eventually collected by the benefactor of what would become The Undersiders. During this time Brian met The Adepts, and by extension Epoch. From this encounter, Brian discovered a deep hatred for people whose powers violated the solvency of the time-space continuum<ref name="reddit2">Comment by wildbow on Reddit</ref>.
Story Start
Coming off a successful robbery of the ABB's Ruby Dreams underground casino, they ran into a new bug-themed super-villain. Saving the villain from Lung, they were able to quickly make their escape before Armsmaster arrived on the scene.
They would meet up with the villain later in civilian garb to recruit her to the Undersiders. They were successful and Taylor joined the team.
After Rachel attacked Taylor in an attempt to test her and possibly drive her off, Brian stepped in to stop things from going to far. He admitted to Taylor he would much rather have her on the team than Rachel but that her hands were tied.
He was devastated to learn that his teammate and closest confidant on team was a hero who had been planning to betray them.
Post-Leviathan
Weeks later, with his sister now a member of the Undersiders, Grue was forced to get let Skitter back into the Team.
Trivia
- Contrary to popular belief, Grue didn't name himself after the darkness-dwelling monster from Zork According to Wildbow, "That's not actually what the Grue refers to." 'Grue' as in gruesome, is Old English for creepy or scary<ref name="SV2">Comment by Wildbow on Sufficient Velocity</ref>.
- Clones of Grue made by Echidna are called 'abhorror's, a variation of abhor meaning a strong aversion or repugnance, essentially grue's name taken to an extreme.<ref>root word definition</ref>.
- Like many characters in Worm, Grue took his turn as the protagonist for one of the stories many drafts.<ref name="14.8c1">Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.8</ref>
Fanart Gallery
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illustration byDrunkfu on deviantart -
Illustration by Holocene from spacebattles -
Illustration byDrunkfu on deviantart
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References
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