#xen problems

[angelicintention]

We finally got the thing. It took forever! Sorry! Personally, I blame those ruffians down there. They are SO ANNOYING.

Oh, hey, thank you!

You guys are life savers, honestly.. you went through all that trouble — I really do admire your strength.

Who's there..?

Go back to sleep, Xen.

[angelicintention]

Oh, you know.. he woke up and stuff, and he started sneezing — but his sneezes are different. Every time he sneezes, it's like.. colours in the house start to change change.

I'm now yellow and blue. I know he can't help it, but the only thing he's been eating are eggs, and jam.. not together, of course!

Eggs.

Can I have eggs? Do you have any eggs? They're for Xen, not me.. he's not well.

· – @angelicintention 🪽🕸️

Uh.. I might have a carton- but you can also buy some from the store? You should have the money for a carton of eggs! If not... uh- so uh whats going on with Xen?

[haruhar-u]

mwah /p

im bored and lonely

[0ccasional-thoughts]

These fireworks are TOO DAMN LOUD

I WANNA FUCKIN SLEEP AND MY EAR DEFENDERS ARE DOWNSTAIRS LAGDJDHR

[cozen-miscellany]

Saule & Yevgeniy 2025 designs Currently chipping away at making new sheets for everyone because I love making my life difficult. I'll redesign Mariano when making his sheet while Eluney and Citllali will have minimal/no changes

and a bonus spinning Xen for fun! Look at him go he will be microwaved

[thathomestar]

played through the black mesa blue shift mod, up through the xen chapter since that's all they've released so far. the mod aims to remake the entirety of blue shift in the style of black mesa, and boy howdy does it deliver on that, for better and for worse.

they actually establish a couple supporting characters, more security guards and scientists, which is nice. in the original game it was basically just dr rosenberg, so more named characters is a good change imo. feels like you're actually rallying people together to fight your way out of black mesa.

a weird thing this mod does is take away player control sometimes. i can understand it for specific sequences, like when the elevator crashes at the beginning or when you first teleport into xen, but it also does it for some mundane things too, like inserting a keycard into a switch. why? half-life's whole thing is letting the player be in control the whole time.

the first few chapters are well paced, but it starts feeling like its padding a bit when you go off to find dr rosenberg. you have to do this whole song and dance moving a train back and forth and turning it around properly on turntables to bust him out. they could have cut out some of the tedium there a little.

my problems really start when it comes to the xen chapter. the original blue shift xen chapter lasts for roughly 30-40 minutes for a first time player, though someone like me was able to speed through it in under 15. with the black mesa mod, they have stretched out the runtime of this chapter to 3 hours.

it starts off pretty strong, you're making your way through xen, taking in the sights and finding all the stuff the previous science teams have left behind. about 90 minutes in i was wondering when i'm gonna get to the focal point relay thing, the whole reason calhoun goes to xen in the first place.

but instead you keep detouring through black mesa outposts and alien factory things and it just gets so long in the tooth. it'd be one thing if you get to one of these places and you're there for 5-10 minutes at most, but you typically spend over 20, sometimes even 30 minutes at these places.

there's one bit where you inexplicably decide to jump on the back of one of the giant flying manta rays and it flies around for like 15 minutes like an autoscroller section until it gets shot down by alien railguns, and then you spend 30 minutes making your way over to and destroying the railguns. and the whole time i'm just like... when are we getting to the focal point thing.

so finally you get to the focal point relay and turn it on but it gets jammed by a signal so you spend another 40 minutes blazing through ANOTHER alien factory so you can blow it up and you make your way back to the focal point thing and the portal's open but alien controllers keep telekinetically grabbing you and yanking you away from it... and it's just so exhausting. i got burned out.

not to mention the weirdness with how they handle vortigaunts. so in black mesa they do this whole thing in xen to show that the vorts are slaves and don't actually want to fight you, but calhoun never encounters any of that stuff. for the first 2/3rds of xen in this mod, vortigaunts are constantly trying to kill you non-stop. then all of a sudden they don't attack you anymore. why? because i, the player know they're not really bad? why would calhoun know that? it doesn't really make sense to me.

xen is cool. i like xen. if you told me "we're adding more xen to blue shift" i'd be like alright that's cool. but 6-8 times more? that's way too much. xen in blue shift was never meant to be a long trip. calhoun was supposed to get in, find the focal point relay, align it, and leave, not go on a grand alien gallivanting adventure. that's for gordon to do.

[fishwolfcrow]

miscellaneous

finally using the sketchbook my friend bought me with the carpenter pencil I found in my sketching kit from when I was younger

Horrifying house md models (i love them)

Also my friend and I are planning Half Life 5 which will be released one chapter at a time like deltarune but it's INFINITE

This is gwoman which is gman after he dies and reveals that he can shape shift everytime he dies (like Garrys mod) and gnan also created garrys mod (definitely true it's revealed in the 7th chapter of HL5

Also random notes about our beloved characters in HL5

Barney can hold his breath for 6 hours

Gordon doesn't know sign language and talks by telepathically talking to Barney and then Barney speaks for him

Gordon had to do the trolley problem when he was 9 and it traumatized him

Dr Kleiner is Christian

Xen 2 gets opened up and it's a world of slug people

Dr Kleiner converts the slug people into Christians and marrys one of them

Also Barney and Freeman are married don't quetstion it

Half of these things came to me in a dream

I'm exhausted there's probably so many spelling mistakes in this

[suevi-if]

RO and MC stuck together in a confined space, hiding. What happens? Who gets flustered? Who enjoys it?

Hi anon, thanks for your ask! <3

What happens also depends on the relationship stage. If they are in an established relationship with MC, Aquila, D and Nefer would definitely try to have some NSFW fun. Ing and Xen would not try, but if MC would initiate, they wouldn't say no.

In crushing stage things would look a little different (don't have the time for full scenarios, so you only get the reactions, sorry!):

Ing: They are frustrated. And slightly flustered, but they try their best to not let it show. Because of that, they get exceedingly more mad than they normally would in such a situation. They bash against the door until someone hears them and lets the both of you out.

Aquila: Would instantly suggest NSFW activities. It's like heaven with MC in here, and sooner or later, people will look for them, so why not use the time... productively?

D: They can't possibly look you in the eyes in such a confined space. They feel close to fainting and are beet red in the face. Is it hot in here? Feels like they're in the hot part of a bathhouse. They might start screaming for help in the hopes that the strain and agitation can be blamed for their redness.

Nefer: No problem. They have skills that will get the two of you out of there in a few seconds. Unless you don't want to? You could also play some silly games, or possibly... silly games, if you're up for it.

Xen: They try their very best to ignore the fact that they are stuck here with someone else, especially MC. What an embarrassing mishap, Agape will tease them for weeks to come if she hears about this. Will politely knock on the door and loudly say "Hello?" in the hopes of someone hearing them.

[annarobszombies]

Hi! I really enjoy your style to write and the thoughts of Dr. Stone you share with us! I especially love the idea of mythological creatures being real in Stone World!

I was rewatching Dr. Stone and noticed something in the episode where Stanley shoots the gun while Xeno watched and Stan didn't hit the target perfectly in the middle. Xeno just talked happily while Stanley observed the gun like searching a fault in the weapon itself in dissappointment until he noticed the tobacco plant.

That reminded me that during nicotine withdrawal some people may experience shaky hands and I'm just head-canoning that he's so depending on it that he isn't in his best aim without it and even after a long pause still feels the effect so Xeno assumes this is the case and that's why he guides Stanley how to make tobacco.

I haven't found others talking about this or I might have missed that entirely since that episode came out a while ago but I can't stop thinking about this detail.

To the actual request, if you have time and like the idea, would you write Xeno dealing with Stanley when he is experiencing strong withdrawal symptoms that messes up his work flow and is very dissapointed and harsh to himself about it but Xeno intervenes and confronts him?

Take your time if you decide to put this on your work pile! Wishing your weekend treats you well! ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚.

This actually catches me at the best possible time, since most of the requests I've been working on are finished and in my queue to come out over the next couple of days.

So, here's the thing about quitting smoking suddenly from someone who's done it. It sucks. You get shaky and irritated (among other things), and even though the withdrawal eventually fades, it's miserable while it's happening.

I'm not sure this is totally what you asked for, but I had fun with it

"Dammit!"

Xeno halts mid-step, head turning to find Stanley glaring at one of the targets made to keep his skills sharp. It was late, the soldier should be preparing for bed, not lingering out here while the sun continues to fall.

"Stanley," Xeno calls, noting immediately how stiff his friend gets. Stan glances over, an unhappy expression pressed into his normally calm face.

"...hey."

"Are you alright?" Xeno asks.

Stan doesn't respond, looking away again. His gaze lands on the target in front of him. Xeno glances at it as well, frowning a bit when he notices that not a single bullet hit the center, as they always used to.

"I see." Stanley hadn't needed to say anything for Xeno to understand. "Withdrawals?"

"Guess so," Stanley tucks his hand into his pocket, letting out an annoyed huff when he doesn't find the cigarettes he was still so used to having on him at all times.

"It won't be for much longer. The human body only takes up to four weeks on average to reorient after ceasing intake of nicotine," Xeno says. "You've been doing quite well."

"Well?" Stanley asks, turning to look at him. "I'm doing well?"

"Are you not?"

"Xeno, I can't fuckin' aim," Stanley's accent slips from him as he loses hold of his calm. "My hands won't stop shakin', I can't sleep, and my fuckin' head hurts all the time! I'm useless like this!"

Xeno reels back a little, eyebrows furrowing.

"Why did you not say something? I could have been more helpful to you," Perhaps it's a bit selfish, but Xeno can't help feeling a bit hurt that his potential to give aid had been overlooked. Stanley lets out an annoyed noise, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"Because it's not your problem," He says, earning himself a hard look.

"It very much is," Xeno says.

"Xen-"

"You are my oldest friend and greatest companion, how could I not be affected by your struggles? It may not be my addiction, but your problems are, have, and always will be my problems." He leaves no room for argument, though with how Stanley's spine straightens and his eyes narrow, he knows the man is certainly ready to try.

"And, if I may add," Xeno continues, before Stanley can open his mouth. "You are the farthest thing from useless. You are the most competent person besides me in this wretched little place. I would not be able to do anything if it wasn't for you. Shaking hands, or not."

Stanley lets out a hard breath, his shoulders loosening a little as he takes in Xeno's words, mentally digesting them and allowing for them to calm his stirring mind.

"Yeah, alright," Stanley mumbles, turning back to the target. He lifts his hand, holding the revolver as steady as his hands would currently allow (which, Xeno admits to himself, isn't much), and pulls the trigger.

The bullet hits the target dead center.

"Getting better already," Xeno teases, earning himself a huffed out chuckle.

Xeno allows himself to get closer to his companion, eyes scanning Stanley's body as the man reloads the gun and starts back at his practice. It's not just his hands that shake, but his knees and breathing as well. Stanley was certainly doing his best, but he still had a long way to go before his body accepted this new state of being.

His eyes catch something nearby. A familiar plant.

The sight of it makes Xeno frown. The moment Stanley caught sight of it, he'd want it. More than anything else, he'd want the naturally growing tobacco to feed the habit he was doing his hardest to fight.

The target pings when a bullet goes astray, just barely hitting it on the very edge, and Xeno decides not to say anything.

For now, anyway.

[thegameartist03]

after five years my brain decided to get me back into hlvrai by inventing a What If They Were Dead au.

warnings for the content ahead! this is a darker, grittier version of hlvrai with a lot of mentions of death, severe injuries, fatal disease, and body horror. this is also a real life version of hlvrai where the characters aren’t ai and they aren’t in a video game.

the general idea for this au is that on the day Gordon arrives at Black Mesa for the big test, every character in the main cast (except for Tommy and Darnold) through a series of unfortunate events ends up dying. then, the Resonance Cascade occurs, and the energy it releases removes the boundary between life and death and puts almost everyone and everything in the facility in a state of undeath. for some, this turns them into essentially zombies, for others, they become horrible fleshy monstrosities, but for the lucky few that are the Science Team, they’re brought back to life! mostly.

all that said, have a character lineup!

i have a longer post going into detail about what happens to each member of the Science Team, but the basics are this!

Benrey (who started out as a normal human) jumps early off one of Black Mesa’s very unsafe elevators and sticks the landing so badly that he straight up dies.

Coomer is one of many clones, and because of all the issues with cloning he had to have numerous cybernetic implants to keep him alive. his body started to reject these implants, including in his brain, which swelled up and led to his very sudden death.

Bubby is still a pyrokinetic test tube baby, and although he had a period of time where he was able to survive outside of the tube, his body has deteriorated so much that when he tries to escape Black Mesa at the end of his life his organs collapse on themselves and he dies.

Gordon Freeman is notoriously bad at getting to work on time as well as making sure the helmet of his HEV suit is secure, so when the Resonance Cascade begins with him at the epicenter, he trips, his helmet pops off, and he takes a beam of radiation to the face before getting thrown back by the explosion and cracking his skull on the wall. and, you guessed it, he dies!

off to a cheerful start, aren’t we? but don’t worry, they all get brought back! with varying and somewhat terrible consequences.

the Xen crystal used in the test opens unstable gateways to Xen, a dimension that is both lifeless and deathless, which releases shockwaves all over the facility and creates a variety of undead monstrosities that take the place of the aliens from the original series. this ‘Xenergy’ that changes people is also what, through pure coincidence, revives the Science Team in mostly alright condition. it has consequences though- each of them can regenerate whatever damage they take and are prevented from dying, but it resets their bodies to a state before they died and they have individual problems that get worse over time.

Gordon is the least affected and can take any amount of damage without experiencing a reset because he was at ground 0 and absorbed a ton of Xenergy. however, this excess Xenergy is constantly arcing out of him and creating anomalies (see: duplicating pigeons, survivors acting strange, etc). Gordon is in complete denial, does not realize he or any of the other Science Team members died, and thinks that every scientist or security guard they come across that doesn’t look like a practical effect in a horror movie is still alive and fine (a small number are, but they don’t stay that way for long).

Coomer was brought back to the state he was in briefly before he died, so the Xenergy is constantly resetting his body- and as a consequence, his mind- whenever it starts to degenerate again. it goes so far to alter time and space when he does something like jump down a pit without a rope. this causes the ‘glitches’ he experiences throughout the series. there’s a way he can reduce the resets, and that’s by killing clones! Coomer is able to steal compatible parts from his clones to replace his own failing organs to give himself more time, which also gives him more awareness about their situation.

Bubby can regenerate damage and thanks to the Xenergy, he’s in good enough shape to walk around for a little while, but over time that changes. the longer he’s out in the air and moving around, the more he begins to decay and get closer to the point where he’s basically a beached whale and his body collapses on itself. he can mitigate this problem by consuming a key ingredient from the test tube fluid he was kept in- soda! between soda breaks it does get harder and harder for him to walk, so he’s often either leaning on something trying to play off his discomfort so he doesn’t look weak or getting carried by Coomer.

Benrey’s got the worst of it. his ability to regenerate damage is really high, he can survive being riddled with bullets and taking a laser beam to the helmet, but the Xenergy doesn’t keep his body in a locked state. as time goes on, he goes from pale and sunken to outright decaying. think Jack Goodman from An American Werewolf in London! he can’t find any way to stop or reverse this, and he has to watch himself as his body slowly falls apart.

there’s also the Sweet Voice, which both Coomer and Benrey have. Sweet Voice occurs when there’s an excess of Xenergy in the body, especially after regenerating damage or being reset, which then takes on a color pattern based on the electricity in the nerves and is expelled. it corresponds to an actual color spectrum from Xen, which is why it can be translated.

Tommy hasn’t been mentioned yet as he isn’t among the dead, but then again, it’s been a long time since he could be classified as ‘alive’. Tommy is actually working at Black Mesa for a sort of internship; not to be a scientist, but to get practice at running the ‘family business’ as he likes to call it. Tommy, G-man, and Tommy’s dog Sunkist are psychopomps- they guide newly dead souls to the afterlife. Black Mesa was the perfect opportunity for Tommy to get field experience on his own, as the company had a very high death rate and asked very few questions. his dad was already doing business with the mysterious Longevity Department, so it only made sense that Tommy practice his job in the facility. what he doesn’t expect is for a seemingly harmless experiment he was set to oversee to go so horribly wrong it upsets the balance of life and death and kickstarts a global apocalypse. he’s stressed, he’s overwhelmed, but at the very least he’s got a few friends that kinda sorta made it. he has no idea how to solve an entire facility full of employees whose souls are now trapped here, he’s just an intern after all! so he makes his new job keeping an eye on the Science Team and trying to keep them sane and alive and not zombified as they attempt to escape Black Mesa.

i’ll probably have a couple posts sometime after this going into more detail about everything, but this is it for now! my motivation for this is probably gonna wither away like every other project i’ve started so i’m gonna post what i can while i can.

if you have any ideas or questions, feel free to ask!!

[angelicintention]

i m ean he doesnt want to go to jail, most of his threats would result in jail

Pathetic.

Jail on earth is nothing compared to the underworld. He'd be fine, and would probably survive it. Tell him to get a grip, and actually kill the people he threatens.

[ Okay, edgelord.. ]

[wayfarerythm]

*spoilers for mad max 2 and half-life 1 with opposing force I guess. also this is a quick opinion piece. I'm not George Miller nor Gabe Newell nor do I claim to be either lmao

Masked military/ex military main villain/side protagonist men will look at the main hero men they're actively and/or supposedly trying to kill and be like "ugh, it's him again! Always there in the distance yet always at the back of my mind! I can't stand this wanker!!!" and then proceed to pose next to said main hero man (in Humungus' and Max's case, almost as if about to hold hands) in the OFFICIAL COVER ART AND TITLE SCREEN OF THE FILM AND GAME THAT THEY STAR AT.

…And proceed to have roles and/or journeys that parallel the main hero men. And the masked men stare back at the main hero men in one of the few instances where they get even slightly near each other physically (the tanker-delivery and final chase sequences in Mad Max 2, the opening of the Lamda lab's Xen teleporter in Opposing Force), and later on it's like "oh wouldn't you know it, this man I'm inexplicably connected with kills me" (Gordon doesn't kill Adrian per se, but I think that he is the main reason Adrian has been "detained" for so long). He is my beginning and my end.

He is the sawed-off shotgun and muscle car to my Smith & Wesson scoped revolver and muscle truck, us the only racing gunslingers in the wasteland. He is the crowbar to my pipe wrench, us also practical tools, at least to the same interdimensional bureaucrat. He is the lone wanderer coming to destroy me, king of terror on wheels, us leading figures among other warring survivors of the world's end. He is the scientist the world needs, a deconstruction of the generic action hero trope that a soldier like me is originally built upon, yet we're both maybe on the same team.

I'm not saying these are the only important relationships in Mad Max and Half-life. Max has compelling interactions with pretty much every major character in the og trilogy, Toecutter and Aunty Entity bringing their own specific dark mirrors to Max. Gordon's main character relationships are with series deuteragonist Alyx and main not-necessarily-the-main-villain-but-still-a-big-problem-playing-4d-chess entity the G-man.

But there is something intoxicating about the idea of Humungus and Adrian being created for Max and Gordon respectively. What little public development history and scrapped plot concepts of Mad Max 2 and Opposing Force are out there at the very least support (emphasis on support, NOT confirm) this.

Of the idea of being so intimately linked with a stranger that is the opposite of you in many aspects, someone you never got to properly meet in canon. Someone who, despite the whole drama of the mess you're both into, if only you got the chance to somehow communicate, would've understood you more than anyone you've ever met. Antonyms and synonyms at the same time. Peak concept imo, one of my favorite types of narrative foils ever.

*humaxgus is probably the only toxic yaoi I can get into. and freehard is not-necessarily-super-toxic-but-still-complicated yaoi with tons of potential… and possibly one of the og gay valve ships if you think about what interpretations at least some half-life fans could've had in the late 90's. either way both are good

[dynamiteghost]

this is the ‘taranza @ magolor’ song 2 me ever. i do not know why

[mikaazune]

Hey guys, Ferris here. First things first, I'm back. My break wasn't as long as I thought it would be, but I think I'm doing a lot better. I think it did me some good to unplug for even just a little bit — not just from Tumblr, I pretty much went on a social media detox. Plus, I missed you guys.

There are a few things I'm going to be doing following me coming back. First is a new blog theme, which I think I'll keep for a while (I'll probably revamp the magician one on a later date). Love Hacker, he's a real one.

Second, as you probably noticed, I have new user too. I hope that doesn't confuse too many people. One change I'd like to make regarding that is the name that yall call me. I like Ferris, but I think I still subconsciously associate it with my old blog and then I begin comparing back then to now — something I'd rather not do mostly because of some of the issues I mentioned in my previous post. So I'll be going solely by Mika now, though I'll let yall known if anything changes in that regard.

Third, I mentioned this in my earlier post, but I'm taking a break from writing. For one, I'm not fond of my current writing style and I want to improve it. We'll see how that goes, I just want to experiment a little. I also want to reevaluate the fandoms and the characters I write for, and I'll probably spend some time rewatching/replaying so I can gain a better understanding of each character. But as I said, since I'm pausing writing, that second part will be a bit of a future me "problem" to deal with. My posted fics will still remain, don't worry.

Fourth, in terms of Faridian, that's still on pause as well. I'm slowly losing motivation due to lack of interest in the plot — I know, I wrote the thing, my bad there. I just didn't plan things out properly because I was excited to get it started, which was my mistake since I rushed it. I actually did like the later part of the plot, but it's the beginning and middle that are getting me. But on that note, do the participants like how it's going, or do you guys agree that I should change some stuff up? I acknowledge that everyone's in the beginning stage, though, so you guys don't really have the full perspective I do. Side note: just out of curiosity, would people be interested in me revamping Spirelands? Not any time soon so I can actually do the plot and not be a dumby, just gauging interest.

Anyways, with all that being said, I'm back. If I come up with anything else that needs saying, I'll mention it. If there are any questions, feel free to ask them. Thanks for the well wishes by the way; don't worry, I'll take better care of myself from now on.

@xryptik @lyle-my-beloved @xen-blank @edith-is-a-cat @tenjikyu @unprofessionalsimp @nervocat @nightmare-in-the-woods @floydsteeth @officialdaydreamer00 @cookiesandbiscuits @rainynightmoonlight @koihanwrites @casp1an-sea @vivisboutique @tako-cafe @creatorbiaze @l7k-a

[officialdaydreamer00]

House fire

ROLLO FLAMME — in which one can predict a student exchange program might go south real quick

COLLAB WORK with @unfictinalnightmare for [The chimes of comfort]

CONTENT — takes place after glorious masquerade, our yuusonas (hillary and irene) are yuu, silly shenanigans with hillary and irene, encounter with 3/4 diasomnia oh no D: , little crumbs of mallerene

A/N — lol i have returned for a bit :)

Do reblog or comment if you enjoy my work! ^-^

TAGGINGS — @cloudcountry @identity-theft-101 @xen-blank @esmerulia-chantelle @dove-da-birb @cookiesandbiscuits @vioisgoinginsane @siren-serenity @loser-jpg @axvwriter @edith-is-a-cat @le-monchou @thehollowwriter @taruruchi @cyanide-latte @aqua-beam @ferris-thewheel + others :3 

Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4: Encounter with Diasomnia || Chapter 5

After a while of shopping, the group of three humans and one monster returned to Night Raven College.

The students parted ways for the Prefects, but curious eyes followed Rollo with every step he took. Some looked confused, others sent him unpleasant stares. He could tune them out, no problem.

As they arrived back to Ramshackle dorm, however, a situation they didn't expected happened.

"Irene, Morutel, and... Flamme?"

Malleus came to visit the dorm on a whim, as usual. But this time, he had Silver and Sebek with him.

Such a sudden encounter with both parties who didn't like each other to begin with would not end well. And of course, it proceeded to turn into an even bigger mess, much to the Prefect duo's dismay.

"YOU AGAIN!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Sebek yelled out, making everyone in the vicinity flinch in surprise.

Grim found his hands flew up to cover his ears from the louder than normal yell. Silver quickly stood in front of Malleus, ready to protect him from Rollo. Said perpetrator of this commotion was watching with a blank stare, silently asking the Righteous Judge why he had to curse him with an encounter with Draconia the moment he stepped a foot into NRC.

What a cruel joke fate had set him up with.

"Wait- Sebek, no!"

Hillary was quick to stop Sebek, who was roughly grabbing Rollo by the collar of his shirt, and tried to separate them. Meawhile, Irene, as calm as she could manage, explained what had happened to Malleus and Silver.

Understanding the situation, Malleus only then told Sebek to let go of Rollo. If a fight broke out without being stopped, their two Prefects would rain hell on the student body.

No one wanted to be put through their strange spells and unorthodox potions, never again.

"You are a guest to our school, you should have been treated as such. My apologies for Sebek's rudeness, Flamme." Malleus gave Rollo a simple smile, though it made the hairs on the back of the silverette's neck stand up.

Rollo knew for sure, that smile was anything but sunshine and rainbows. That and the hostile auras exuding from his two knights. However, Rollo couldn't just leave it at that and accept such defeat.

Beside magic, the thing he couldn't stand the most in this world was Night Raven students.

"It's... alright, Draconia. I'm fully aware of how dedicated your guards are to you. I just didn't expect them to be so... hasty."

...

..

.

"Alright, that's it...!"

At that moment, Irene felt as if something snapped in her. As everyone were stunned from her sudden burst of anger, she threw at Rollo an astounding myriad of harsh words that she wouldn't normally use.

The more she looked at the silverette, the more pissed she was. From their previous trip to Fleur City until now, Irene rant out all her pent up anger on Rollo.

Meanwhile, Hillary had been watching the whole thing like it was her favourite soap opera. Only when Rollo looked as if he would pass out anytime soon from the verbal assault, did she finally went to stop the black-haired girl. She pushed Irene over to Malleus, waiting for her to cool off.

———————————————————

"That was quite an entertaining sight, Child of Man."

After Irene calmed herself down, she received a round of laughter from Malleus. He didn't expect his Child of Man would have such moments. A bit mean-spirited, sure, but that didn't mean she was any less endearing to him.

"I- Please stop talking, Tsunotarou!!!"

Irene exclaimed in embarrassment, trying in vain to cover her reddened face. Earlier, she was so pissed, she didn't notice her surroundings, and only when Hillary pushed her away did she remember what she did. That was so embarrassing... Why didn't that witch Hillary stop her earlier!?

[grotesque-marvel]

Frenrey- Love is like a camera! (it stop him in my eyes)

Summary: A short fic based on the song "ZOOM UP !" by Kahimi Karie. Benrey, Joshua and Gordon go out on an walk. Computer-virus-now-turned-human Benrey has to learn how a digital camera functions. Feelings and emotions get in the way as per the usual ! Tags: sfw, Benrey/Gordon Freeman, pure fluff, tooth rotting fluff, mutual pining (not mentioned for Gordon's side), lots and lots of sappiness, computer virus tries to learn how a digital camera works irl, not beta read at ALL

Fic under the cut, if you'd like to read it on here ^_^

“ so, this is like aaa. a shittier version of the screenshot button? „

The bitter-yet-kind air of spring nips at Benrey’s nose, making the stout man snort more obnoxiously than he otherwise would in such a pollen-riddled season. Surprisingly, being a computer virus hadn’t actually come with the advantage of being immune to actual real-world viruses (that’s what he calls this itching, anyways, no matter how much Gordon insists that no, it is not a virus, Benrey is just allergic, which is like. So much lamer.), but that’s the least of his problems right about now as he blinks sluggishly at the strange device in his palms, turning and twisting it like he was investigating a new item in a Resident Evil game, looking for clues.

The human looks amused by his antics, anyways, judging by the ugly snort he lets out followed by the smile stretching across freckled cheeks which does not make Benrey’s heart palpitate weirdly as if he’s on the brink of a heart attack. 

“ It’s a camera, Benrey,  „ Gordon carefully, patiently explains, green eyes kind despite the kid currently tugging on his pants demanding that they go to the park, dad, pleaasee!!, “ Like the- you literally had a camera in Xen, how can you not recognize it? ,,

Benrey sniffles once in reply, stubby fingers finally properly gripping the gadget before he look up at Gordon, sensing that he’s supposed to verbally respond to that question. “ uhhhh. yours is. shittier. ,, He deadpans as if that’s supposed to explain anything, fingernails digging into the sides of the camera like there’s supposed to be a hinge and the camera just doesn’t know it yet. “ there’s no- there’s no film slot thing. how are you supposed to take pictures without film, idiot? stupid useless device. ,,

Gordon snorts again, like there’s some great inside joke that Benrey had been oh so cruelly left out of, before the man bends up to scoop the fussy child up in his arms, groaning at the way his bones creak like awkward hinges that hadn’t been greased in a long time. Can one grease their bones, anyways? Is that, like, an automatic function? Benrey’s body surely doesn’t do that, judging by the constant pains in his spine. Then again, Gordon does often comment that he sits like a fucked up shrimp, so-

Finger snap in front of his dazed eyes and Benrey is quick to catch on, blinking once, twice, before his other senses catch up and he tunes back into Gordon’s monologue with a startled look. 

“ Have you- were you even listening to what I was saying? ,, Gordon doesn’t expect a reply to that, Benrey’s learnt that’s merely a rhetorical question by now- of course Benrey isn’t paying attention, he almost never is, “ I was telling you about how these are digital cameras. Don’t need film if you just have an SD card to - how do you not know about digital cameras, even? They’ve been around forever, man, that’s like- you know about gaming PCs but not about digital cameras? What even- ,,

Just like how Gordon had previously broken Benrey out of his trance, the shorter repays the kindness by flicking Gordon’s forehead just harshly enough to break him out of his rambling. At first, he quiets up, but he’s quick to continue as if nothing happened, putting one hand on his hip whilst his other, prosthetic one, is busy holding up his child who has by now begun to play with Gordon’s hair out of boredom.

“ It’s just- I’m not asking for much, man. Just one nice picture with me and Joshie, yeah? Then we can continue on our walk. ,, Gordon would be a fool to believe in Benrey having an attention span longer than a few seconds, and Benrey is already considering him a fool for thinking that he can do anything more complex than press the popcorn button on their microwave. Still, the short man shrugs and waves Gordon off, a sign that, whilst begrudgingly so, Benrey’s willing to entertain his antics.

The smile that Gordon flashes back is nearly as blinding as that of a camera’s flash, and Benrey feels like he should cover his eyes lest he go blind, yet he surprisingly doesn’t mind the thought of losing his vision due to the man’s happy grin. He does, however, mind the instant nausea effect that he gets right after that thought, world tilted just a little off its axis as he watches Gordon bound over to the spot he had picked out for the picture whilst Benrey was probably spaced out. Benrey, being the oh so diligent security guard that he still believes he is, follows shortly thereafter. Just to make sure Gordon doesn’t cause a scene, of course.

They’re dressed more fashionably than either of them are used to, really- Gordon has decided to bundle up in the bright orange sweater that he had oh so lovingly been gifted by Dr. Coomer this past Christmas, along with a stereotypical combo of blue dad jeans and sandals with white socks. His green-tinted glasses sit awkwardly on his nose, the lenses crooked and bent from probably sitting on them by accident far too many times, and his prosthetic glistens in the bright sun of the afternoon, a vivid black and orange metal that matches the design of the HEV suit almost uncannily so. Pfft, fanboy.

Benrey, on the other hand, had tried something other than the usual black hoodie and gray sweatpants, the recent dressing up games that he had been playing giving him a more refined fashion taste than before. Not like he had been programmed with a fashion taste, after all, but Benrey likes to believe he’s improved anyways. Dressed in a white tank top with a black leather jacket he’d stolen from Gordon draped over his shoulders, a pair of khaki-colored jeans that Gordon insisted on getting him no matter Benrey’s protests and whines. He had forgone a hat today, surprisingly, though he’d ended up snatching Gordon’s anyways, a bright orange beanie that matched the scientist’s sweater, coming from none other than Bubby himself.

Joshua’s outfit had actually been picked out by the kid himself, this time, deciding on a pair of cream knee-length shorts and a matching-colored bucket hat, a graphic t-shirt currently hidden by the tightly zipped up bomber jacket around his body. God, Benrey felt as if just yesterday he had been staring at a pruny baby swaddled in blankets, only to now feel his eyes soften impossibly so as he stares at the chestnut curls that bounce with the motion of Joshua’s head as he turns towards the short man, offering him a similarly blinding smile that shows off the gap in his teeth proudly so.

Snapped out of his reverie, Benrey shakes his head as if trying to get rid of a dizzy spell, focusing back on the gadget at hand as he brings it up to his face. It really is a technological marvel to him- he’s so used to static, low quality props that felt like air in his hands, yet now he can brush his fingers against the material, can feel all the ridges of the plastic casing on his fingertip, can drag his nail on the scratched up silver accents, can see the image reflected actually change as he moves the camera around, trying to get a proper angle.

He’s not exactly a photographer, per se, but it’s not like he can’t see which angles are flattering and which are very much now. He fidgets with the settings for a bit, tongue poking out as he flicks through all the filters available only to settle for the default anyways. Best not to fuck up and have Gordon chide him for it later, though he suspects the man has been going softer on the arguing lately. He tends to look at Benrey with a far more tender look, an indecipherable emotion swirling within those pupils that makes Benrey’s once-digital self feel all like scrambled code and ciphers on the inside.

Finally, he finds the perfect angle, the light reflecting off of the models just so, bringing out all the details Benrey had been striving for. At first, he fumbles with every button for a moment, unaware of which one actually takes the photo, before he promptly startles at the sound of the shutter going off, camera unceremoniously falling onto the dewy grass. Grumbling as he hears the echo of two laughters basking in his misery and shame, the short man reaches down to grab the camera, only to wince as a resounding crack comes from the small of his back, bringing forth even more laughter at his expense.

“ boo, laughing at my pain. how dare you. punishment for you both, eternal torture . ,, Benrey hisses as he finally manages to grapple the now wet camera back in his hands, using the corner of his tank top to messily wipe away the dew before pointing it the same way it had been before, huffing and puffing. The pouting doesn’t last for long, however, as Benrey’s jaw slackens at the sight reflected in the feed of his camera-

Gordon and Joshua are both leaning their heads into one another’s as they laugh, both their faces scrunched up with what must be a chest-aching amount of laughter. Like this, Gordon’s wrinkles become all the more apparent, yet all they do is make him look all the more breathless, crow’s feet tracing the arc in which his eyes are squeezed shut whilst his smile dimples in his cheeks, giving his expression just another pop that has Benrey’s breath catching in his throat. And Joshua’s smiling wildly too, the missing canine on full display as his cheeks are blotchy and red from laughter, small torso heaving with the force of his childish giggles-

Click.

Benrey remains staring there dumbfounded long after the shutter of the camera goes off, long after the pair’s laughter die down only to be replaced with concerned glances shared between father and son as they stare at the man who stands there utterly slack-jawed. There’s a blush crawling on Benrey’s face, the redness tracing a path all the way down his neck and to his chest, and Gordon lets out another ugly snort at the thought of Benrey looking as if he’d been sunburnt, the sound finally enough to once again snap the shorter out of whatever stupor he had been under.

“ bwuh- uh– ,, He flounders like a fish out of sea, glancing between the device, then the tall man, then the device again, as if there’s a puzzle slotting together right before his very eyes.

 Instinctively, not knowing what else he is meant to do, Benrey then begins waving his hand around with the camera still clutched tightly as if he was rushing the development of a polaroid, the sudden movement pulling a startled laugh out of Gordon. Eventually, after enough staring from both ends, the curly haired man merely shakes his head and kneels down to allow Joshua to practically bolt out of his arms, quick to stand back up and place his hands on his waist as he looks at the child with a happy grin before once again focusing his attention on his silent friend, his pace lazy and unhurried as he makes his way over towards the frozen figure.

“ Try not to swallow a fly, dude, ,, Gordon teases as he pats Benrey’s back roughly, said man gasping as if he’d actually choked on an insect right then and there, “ What’s up with you? Was the picture really that bad? Cmon, let me see. ,,

Wordlessly, Benrey snaps his jaw shut and passes the device silently to the taller man, Gordon’s mouth letting out an instinctual ‘thanks’ as he pulls it from Benrey’s grasp and moves to look through the gallery. Now it’s Gordon’s turn to gasp as he looks down at the screen with wide eyes, almost unbelieving of the candid photo Benrey had took- it looked near professional, really, save for the little bit of motion blur, but to Gordon’s eyes it was perfect.

“ Oh my God, dude, this is- this is awesome! ,, Gordon laughs excitedly, bouncing on his feet as he clutches the camera even tighter, “ I’m so printing this out- thanks a bunch, Benrey, you’re the fucking best! ,,

Still reeling from the events that had just unfolded, Benrey barely has the time to let out a startled ‘whuh-’ before his head is wretched by an arm wrapping around his neck, quick to hear the shutter going off as he notices the camera is now pointed towards themselves. Stumbling on his feet once Gordon lets him go, Benrey blinks as if having actually been dazed by a nonexistent flash, the shorter man having to clutch tightly onto Gordon’s forearm so as to not collapse then and there. Gordon lets him, of course, far too focused on the camera in hand to really pay any attention to the way in which he instinctively offers up his limb for the other to hold onto.

“ Gonna hang this one up, too. ,, That voice calls out again, this time less affectionate and more smug as he turns the camera around, showing Benrey the picture that Gordon had managed to sneak. It’s a pretty crappy picture, all things considered- a selfie of them that had definitely been taken in a hurry, yet Gordon’s crooked smile and Benrey’s shocked, flustered expression remain unblurred in the midst of it all, almost as if the camera is personally mocking him for existing. It’s… Cute, almost disgustingly so, like a photo you’d see in an old married couple’s album as they reminisce about their youthful love.

The thought of that alone is enough for Benrey to shove the beanie up until his eyes get covered as he grumbles and kicks at Gordon’s shins, ignoring the man’s outraged cries in favor of running away from the scene… Only to, of course, collide directly into the nearest tree due to his lack of sight. As he lays there on the dewy grass, however, and listens to Gordon’s wheezy laughter as the man undoubtedly makes fun of him, Benrey finds no annoyance in his heart, merely basking in that familiar feeling of scrambled emotions bouncing around in his heart like a game of fucked up ping pong. Maybe digital cameras weren’t so shitty, after all.