You might want to rethink the motives and general consent of either side when it comes to "Dave/Bro [STRIFE!!!]". Look at how easily Dave gets destroyed, and also think about how he never wanted this.

Answering this one separately, because I want my opinion on this to be clear for everyone since it’s kind of a delicate subject. I’m not condoning BRO’s actions out of the blue because I saw their strife and got “haha! funny! and they’re interacting! everything is fine now!” NO. I think you partially misinterpreted my point of view… and I admittedly didn’t make it very clear either. 

If you ask me: “do you think that BRO’s actions might be considered child abuse?” my answer would be immediate and simple: “HELL YES.” BRO’s actions IN MY OPINION should be classified as psychological child abuse (SEVERE psychological child abuse, perpetuated throughout years) and neglect of the child physical needs. But if you ask me: “Do you think BRO is also physically abusing him?” my answer would be: “For what I’ve seen so far, no.” There was a reason I was pleasurably surprised by their strife (NOT BECAUSE I ENJOY SEEING DAVE FALLING DOWN STAIRS, THAT’S FOR SURE.) Dave had always been pretty uncomplaining and passive while putting up with BRO’s antics but IN THE STRIFE you can see a different Dave. A Dave actively answering to his brother provocations with his own, and a Dave who is able to hold his ground and does not stand there just waiting for his BRO to “destroy” him.

And about the “he never wanted this” OBVIOUSLY EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO THEIR OWN OPINION and in other occasions he has been portrayed has a victim, but I don’t think he was in this one. He saw the note his brother left him, took Cal and headed for the roof. You also gotta frame it in context. And I know I said I was judging this from a realistic point of view but I only can do it until it reaches the point in which BRO throws him down freaking stairs as a gag. Because it was played for laughs. And instances in which abuse was brought up never were until now. And this is obviously a BIG BIG VERY BIG EXAGGERATION. Unless Dave gets up with a couple of broken bones and a mild concussion in the next pages I cannot interpret this as realistic. There is also the fact that this happens during a strife, not out of it. They are MEANT to fight each other. All the children have a STRIFE flash with their guardians and in this particular case, the guardian wouldn’t have stood there and watched as the kid threw himself at them with a sword. Also BRO is Dave’s… well, brother, not his father. And a parent/child relationship is very different from a siblings one.

ALSO:

The great number of offensive moves. And I need all these commands to show up again because I DEFINITELY want to see what ABUSE and ACCUSE are all about.

Now, talking about the last strife, Dave wanted to abscond, BRO didn’t let him, but it was less of a “you can’t abscond because I have yet to beat your ass” situation and more of a “you can’t abscond because that’s not what a real man would do” situation. And I think (AGAIN, THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION) that BRO is absolutely unaware of what he is doing to Dave. I think that in some incredibly messed up way he’s truly convinced he’s helping the kid to grow up. He is convinced that he is doing a good job. 

So, in conclusion: Yes, BRO is abusive. No, the fact he doesn’t realize it doesn’t justify him. No, I do not consider what happened in the strife to be possibly hold accountable in an argument to sustain the fact he is abusing Dave physically. If you do, (AND NOBODY IS SAYING YOU CAN’T) when you analyze other relationships, you gotta take into account that during the Rose/MOM strife she threw herself at her mother while wielding her knitting needles and initially AIMED FOR HER EYES.

That’s all. THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION, you obviously have your own, and I’m not saying yours is wrong or anything. 

And landofwindandthrowingshade, I’m addressing everyone here, not you in particular, since you were of the opinion that Bro IS abusive, like I am.