#Project: Freeman (half life au)

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

The catalyst

Recovered Black Mesa documents from the experiment, #2 of ____

(Pg. 1)

Stage Two: Resonance Cascade Simulation (RCS)

Section 2: Resonance Cascade Simulation

The Resonance Cascade Simulation (RCS) is a revolutionary advancement in Black Mesa’s incident prevention/preparation technology, where a replica of multiple wings of Black Mesa’s main facility were constructed to give the appearance of the real facility. Here is where the rest of the test will take place, as soon as the simulated Resonance Cascade Catalyst is complete. We hope that this experiment will prepare us in case of a real Resonance Cascade event, and thus can potentially prevent one entirely. 

Dr. Freeman is to be put in the RCS as soon as the Catalyst is complete and he is sufficiently unconscious. It is crucial to place him under anesthesia to not cause alarm as he is moved from the real Black Mesa Facility into the replica. (REMINDER: it is of UTMOST IMPORTANCE that Freeman is to be unaware of the test taking place, as to make this simulation as accurate as possible. Failure to comply with this rule will result in career termination.) It is to be noted that despite the simulated AMS failure being in a controlled environment, there is room for error and potentially even injury in the case of Dr. Freeman being within the chamber as it happens. However we believe the HEV suit will be enough to protect him throughout the process.

To make the RCS even more realistic, we have contained multiple species from multiple expeditions to [CENSORED TEXT] within the testing facility. Though it is to be noted that certain species remain too great of a liability to keep within the same facility as the subject. We hope these specimens will help make the cross-dimensional-travel of anomalies more predictable in the case of a real Resonance Cascade event happening, and more importantly, teaching us how to deal with, and/or dispose of these specimens.

Notes: Freeman is a smart man. Hiding the true nature of this test is for his own good.

Conclusion of section:

Power AMS to 105% to begin simulated AMS failure scenario

Begin RCS

(Pg. 2)

INCIDENT LOG: #40

TIME OF INCIDENT: 10:24 AM, December 13th, 1998

CAUSE OF INCIDENT: Technical Malfunction

PERSON(S) INVOLVED IN INCIDENT: Gordon Freeman

INCIDENT TYPE: Workplace Injury/death

DESCRIPTION OF INCIDENT:

At approximately 10:24 AM MST, a malfunction occurred involving the Anti Mass Spectrometer, where a stray beam struck Dr. Gordon Freeman between the lower Thoracic and Lumbar sections of his spinal cord. Due to this area being primarily the HEV’s visible undersuit rather than an armored section, it proved to not be enough to withstand the entirety of the shock. Freeman Suffered near instantaneous lower body paralysis, along with heart failure. Freeman also underwent convulsions, restricting his ability to remove himself from the situation. When the AMS had reached a state of stabilization, allowing personnel to enter the chamber, they found Freeman unresponsive aside from minor erratic muscle spasms. They found that his lower back was severely damaged, along with the HEV undersuit.

Damage to the HEV suit was minimal, though holes caused by the shock needed to be repaired. The protective cover over the Life Support Module was damaged, and unable to be reattached. However, the Life Support Module is still intact and functioning as expected. 

Freeman appears to be healing despite tremendous damage. The HEV suit took most of the hit, allowing Freeman to heal relatively without problem. Due to the HEV’s extraordinary biomatter repair technology, Freeman’s heartbeat has returned, along with stable brain activity and nervous system control, meaning he is no longer paralyzed. (It is to be noted that he awoke during examination, but was quickly put under anesthesia to prevent further pain, any potential alterations to the test results, and any further mental strain from the resurrection.) 

Planned initial Termination was going to be three (3) hours after the RCS had begun, however due to this horrible oversight from the engineers in the Lambda team, the first test had taken place prematurely. However, Freeman appears to have healed completely from this incident. This is promising.

FOLLOW UP ACTION(S):

Monitor possible HEV malfunctions

Monitor Freeman’s physical health and recovery from this incident

Resume test as initially planned without further delay.

[voidsickness]

GORDON FREEMAN SHOWDOWN!!!

gordon freeman. you know him. you love him. but which gordon is the ULTIMATE FREEMAN? i wracked my brain for every popular gordon freeman related au i could think of and this is the result. brackets and links to the polls will be under the cut. if any of the creators wish to have their gordon/au removed, please let me know.

SIDE ONE

freeman [hlvrv] vs. swap [hlvrv]

doc [hlvrv] vs. kittle [hlvrv]

freeman's mind vs. gordon freeman [hlvrai]

gorgeous freeman vs. gordon freeman [half-life]

SIDE TWO

loverboy [hlvrv] vs. gordon freeman [vry2k]

gordon freeman [ccy2k] vs. gordon freeman [hlvrc]

gordon freeman [toon!hlvrai] vs. gordon freeman [swap!au @ sweetmugs]

captain gordon freeman [pirate!au @ melonsharks] vs. gordon freeman [the-xen-project]

[caffeinehevsuit]

So like i..

Your au is very funky and i love aus n drawing Gordons so—-

@gmanwhore ( apologies if you don't like being tagged )

[nomeaynfoeye]

HLVRAI TMA AU (BP edition)

Hoo boy! Here we are! This post is going to get LONG because I am SO fucking autism about this shit. Like infodumps, TMA and/or Hlvrai? Stick around! Don't? Last chance to scroll by.

Inspired by @corvidaeconundrum! Their HLVRAI/TMA stuff inspired me to post my version.

General info:

This is a game au! The game the player ends up getting was an experimental rip of Half Life to bring the Fears closer to a nonexistent world, and see if they could affect lives that technically do not exist. (Aka some nerdy avatars decided it'd be a fun little side project to generate more fear) Unfortunately the project was eventually deemed a failure and given away to some poor soul for shits and giggles. That poor soul ends up being the player, getting more than he could've bargained for.

Gordon:

(I don't have a drawn ref for Gordon because I forgot to save Krita right as I was coloring him in :') I'll upload him when i have the motivation to try again.)

As the player proceeds through the game, they find themselves accepting the role of Gordon more than their own identity at times. While parts of themself are integrated into Gordon (their son, dreams to be a streamer, etc.) they eventually fully accept Gordon Freeman as who they are. Gordon does eventually become an avatar. Throughout Black Mesa, Gordon is often confused, and denied any sense of logic in his mounting terror regarding the situation. As he's ambushed by the military, and his hand is sawed off, he's faced with a choice. He can stay here, and die confused, alone, and afraid, or he can go home to his son, a mess of inconsistencies and terror. He takes a knee and submits to the Spiral, taking on the burden of insanity as an identifying trait. When the game is turned off and put away, he finds himself still embodying Gordon Freeman and the Spiral in the real world.

Dr. Coomer:

WARNING! Clowns, existentialism, and body horror regarding eyes

Harold P. Coomer has been a loyal employee of Black Mesa long before Becoming an avatar of the Stranger. Faced with confusion in his identity, and a few failed experiments, he found himself in avatarhood. More than anything, he doubted himself as a real person. Of course, this thinking was absurd, and he often relied on his friends to anchor himself as somewhat human. A person who mattered. But with the first glimpse outside of Black Mesa, an unloaded map with half-finished textures, enemies as still as statue, unaware of their own existence... He Knew. He Knew none of it was real. That he wasn't real. He Knew that every time he had grounded himself, told himself he was real... that it didn't matter. He's been proud of himself then, for calming down. Now he's distraught more than anything as he takes on a new burden: The Eye. After being separated, he collects the old parts of himself. Damaged, rejected pieces left behind after experiments, he stitches them together, fuels them with the same rage he feels. After Gordon and Tommy fight their way through, he feels conflicted. He takes a while to think. To reflect. To realize that it doesn't matter how he exists or why. He was made with purpose. With love. To be someone. With a new perspective gained, He rejoins the Science Team.

Bubby:

The perfect scientist was hell to create. It needed time, wastes of Government money, and sacrifices. Through this, Bubby was eventually created, a born avatar of the Desolation. Keeping him sustained wasn't easy, either. A couple phones with heartfelt memories a week usually satisfied him enough to be cooperative. But despite his nature, Bubby found someone he cared about. That he'd never take anything from: Dr. Coomer. The two bonded instantly, becoming best friends in a matter of days. One night, they managed to sneak out. Arson was committed, ice cream was bought, everything was going perfectly. But as night fell, Bubby discovered a new desire. The stars in the sky. He almost wished he could reach out and touch one. During the escape from Black Mesa, he almost achieved this dream. Climbing on top of the rocket, he reached for the atmosphere, before he stumbled and fell. The fire felt cold as he dropped. It was an experience completely alien to him. He'd been confined his entire life, yet the open sky greeting him as he plummeted terrified him more than anything, and the Vast made a connection. When he hit the ground, he saw stars... and nothing else. The voices of the people he cared about echoed in his ears as his own felt incredibly distant. Realizing he'd never actually see Dr. Coomer again, he wondered if this was what it was like to have everything taken from you.

Tommy:

Nobody really knows where Tommy came from. Not even Tommy himself. All he knows is that he has a dad, a dog, remembers the entire OSHA handbook cover to cover, loves bayblades, and his favorite thing in the world is soda. He knows that all of this isn't real. He knows he's an avatar of the Spiral and the Stranger. He doesn't really care. He wants to go home, eat dinner, and walk his dog.

BENREYBENREYBENREYBENREYBE?:

WARNING! BENREY'S DESIGN IS INTENDED TO CAUSE CONFUSION, DISORIENTATION, AND EYE-STRAIN

Barney Calhoun was something of a klutz. So it came to the surprise of no one when he stumbled through a door and never came back. All anyone knows is that Barney disappeared one day, and Benrey showed up. He wants out. He doesn't know how he got here. He knows it isn't real. He wants out. And he's going to do anything he needs to get to the real world.

Sunkist:

WARNING! Body horror and eye contact ahead. She's a good girl I promise :)

Tommy's beloved dog, and avatar of the Flesh. Did the team a favor and "disposed of" (integrated) the bodies they left behind. Looks like she got an earring out of it, too. Oh by the way she's fucking MASSIVE. Clifford-looking ass dog.

Forzen:

(Haven't drawn him yet. He looks basically the same.)

Just wants to graduate. He doesn't know why these guys look so weird or why their fucked up dog considers him a chew toy. Maybe if he survives Sunkist he can go home. Maybe.

Darnold:

(Also haven't drawn him. Is also basically the same.)

Just works in the mixology department, and is the only normal human at Black Mesa. Friends with Tommy, refuses to let his coworkers eat radioactive materials for funsies.

And yeah, that's basically my interpretation of the AU! I'm still working on concepts regarding it, but I just wanted to get this out there.

[gmanwhore]

Oooooo you wanna commission me for writing soooo bad you wanna give me money to write for you soooo bad

Hello All! I am O/G-man and this is my stupid little blog. I am obviously quite into Half Life and all adjacent media, but I also love HLVRAI. Another important thing I like is the Hatchetfield Trilogy and Nightmare Time! I also like Homestuck, Danganronpa, and other things I rarely post about. I do have pictures of mantises on my blog tagged under woman/girl. I love mantises. Icon credit

Header by @chaos-and-kromer

I am G-man. Actually.

I WILL BLOCK IF YOU BRING G-MAN HATE ONTO MY BLOG.

My pronouns are they/it/xit/can/mant/click/tap/nova/patch/stitch/slay/loverboy

I do use. Other names. Orchid, Omega, Doll, Sweets, Arcade, Colette, Cave, Wallace and Francis are all. Viable options. You can also call me. Dr. Sunshine. Or the Scarlet Milkman. If you want to use a full name please use Sunshine-Lalonde! I got adopted by Mom Lalonde lol.

My really epic IRL list (you can use the names of my irls for me too ig)

Yuri

My writing blog: @sugar-sweet-writing

My stimboard blog: @multiversal-stims

My selfship blog: @hanahaki-arcade

My otherkin blog: @emphasis-on-the-other

My irl blog: @lab-rat-girls

My HLVRAI au ask blog: @project-mary-bell-township

My Half Life oc ask blog: @black-mesa-brew

Team PNK ask blog: @team-pnk

Orange Box Trio Kinhelp blog: @orange-box-kinhelp

This is my icon btw! I edited the Gordon Freeman out because. I would not fucking say that

I love you all and have a nice day.

[ask-onelife-au]

Read me!

This is a roleplay/askblog about my Oneshot/Half-Life crossover AU, One-Life. Currently, the only characters available for asks are Niko and Kip.

I'll to stay as in-character as I can, unless I mark something as OOC (out of character), such as if I'm announcing a hiatus.

Other roleplay blogs are free to interact!

▼ Tagging System ▼

#ask-response: Responding to an ask

#ooc: Out of Character

#roleplay: Roleplaying with another character blog

#os game rp: Anything not OOC

▼ About the World ▼

This takes place 19 years after the Black Mesa incident. The Combine control most of the world. Gordon Freeman has not arrived yet.

The Citadel acts as the Tower. The Sun is gone and has been missing for the past 3 years.

The Refuge, re-named City 6, is the equivalent to City 17.

Due to City 6 being too unsafe, Kleiner's lab is abandoned, and he and Barney now live in Black Mesa East (Eli's lab/hideout)

There is no World Machine or Old World. The World is canonically real.

Kleiner and Eli are a couple

BISEXUAL ELI

Black Mesa East is the main rebel base.

▼ About Kip ▼

Kip barely survived the Black Mesa incident. She escaped with a few unimportant scientists, as well as Silver, who was a half-finished project at the time, taming her in the process. Silver has since been completed, mostly using Combine scrap.

She and Silver are very close, and share a kind of sisterly bond.

She's been through a lot.

Lives in Black Mesa East. Niko considers her their aunt.

Obviously the gayest woman the world's even seen

▼ About Niko ▼

Niko suddenly appeared in Black Mesa East one day when they were very young. They were summoned here by the G-Man, though nobody knows this.

Prophesied by the Vortigaunts to restore the Sun one day and help take down the Combine.

Nonbinary

14 years of age

Raised in Black Mesa East by Kleiner and Eli.

▼ Other Information ▼

This blog is run by @local-robotgirlthing

I don't have any facesprites made yet, so for now, I won't be using any

When sending an ask, please specify what character it is meant for.

[merklins]

Fine. The Furry Roster, part 1 of however many parts it takes: All the Gordons are cephalopods. Reasoning: Freeman's deep sea thing + Swap's tentacles + Doc is strange and bizarre + Freeman compares Loverboy to a cuttlefish in Act 1 + Literal Actual Octopus "Gordon". Freeman/Storyteller: Architeuthis/Giant Squid Swap/Overlord: Vampire Squid (they're really weird AND the vampire thing) Doc/Hypnos: Firefly Squid (those fuckers GLOW) Player/Power Trip: Blue-Ringed Octopus (chill but also dangerous) Gordon B/Leading Light: Cuttlefish Seven/Last Resort Gordon: Giant Pacific Octopus Worldstop crew: Malcom Challender: Unicorn (something something his ability to manipulate Source seemed magical to the AI? Really it's just because our Malcom fictive has a ponysona but no actual fursona) Darnold: Pitbull (seen as aggressive but tend to be sweethearts; very loyal) Benrey/"Forzen": Blue dragon sea slug / garden snail (Benrey is a slug, but his Forzen disguise is quite literally him retreating into his shell) Y2KVR crew: Benrey (also Loveletters Benrey): Heterometris spinifer/Giant blue scorpion (for obvious reasons + they're blue) Spork (also Valentine): African Gray Parrot (They're smart as FUCK) Coomer/Lovetap: Mantis shrimp Bubby/Dr. Feelgood: Fire salamander Forzen/DJ Heartbeat: Mongolian death worm (this is not a real animal, however, they are supposedly attracted by rhythmic thumping similar to a heavy bass beat) Darnold/Smooth Operator: Cinnabar chanterelle (yes, the mushroom. Consider the emails to be similar to the mycelial network. I know this is getting weird. It will get weirder.) Tommy/I Don't Remember His Lovecore Name: Common crow The Restrictor: Raven (Half-Life G-Man is associated with ravens sometimes)

More will come soon.

"blackmailbutler asked:

Furry Roster Part 2 Of Something:

Admins: Admin C: Tri-color Monitor Lizard G-Man: Komodo Dragon Da Boss: Blue Poison Dart Frog Admin F: Blue jay (Like a blue jay, most of his aggression is a bluff; he's loud and abrasive, but doesn't actually want to fight) Admin P: Praying Mantis (green and can sort of punch things) Admin Darnold (he is mentioned one time in Act 1): Clownfish (orange + Darnold is mentioned to have been taking care of Joshua, which made us think of Finding Nemo because of the whole parental figure thing? Mostly going on vibes because we know nothing of him.)

Mad Science Team: Sleepless: Canada Goose (Acts like an asshole most of the time + Canada + probably loud as fuck) Harold: Protogen (it's MY furry AU and *I* get to choose the species. AND Protogens are COOL) Electrobubby: Electric eel (duh) Politerey: Duck (mostly because we are a Benrey and Forzen siblings truther) Project Coolatta: Lace Monitor Lizard The Old Man: Lace Monitor Lizard (they're monitors to call back to a certain other father-son duo, but unlike GVRV and C, they're the same species to represent them NOT being estranged)

Merch Team/The Last Resort: The Party Pontiff: Mantis shrimp Wheels: Okay so you know how people make anthro planes? That but a Greyhound bus. Yes he still drives an actual bus. I told you last ask that it'd get weirder! Tommy Bahama: Marine iguana (He does the beach tour IIRC. Plus I wanted him to be a lizard like some of the other Tommies.) Dr. Perky: Golden orbweaver (laser grid = spiderwebs, plus golden/orange color scheme) The Bellhop: Tropical leatherleaf slug (Vibes only. Plus he can retract one of his eyestalks to fit the one-eyed thing.)

???: Barney Calhoun: Harbor Seal Alyx Vance: Leopard/Deer (based on our pre-existing furry!Alyx. Eli is a deer, and she wears a little headband with some of his shed antlers on it.) Capital M: Changeling (think MLP. What do you mean that's just the ponysona that I got assigned by the system. I don't know what you're talking about.)"

----

me time answer time (:

OH MY YOU ACTUALLY DID IT. YOU ACTUALLY HAD THEM ALL. AND!! THEY'RE ALL SO AWESOME TOO?? I don't know much about the lizard selections for the Coolattas BUT!! Absolutely AGREED on the Gordons being cephalopods that is SO SO COOL. The bright colored rings of the blue ringed octopus on Player and Power Trip? OHHH THAT'S EPIC.Love the sea slug snail thing you have going for worldstop benrey. YES!! Attention for the worldstop benrey!! Love that guy. cherish that guy. AND Y2KVR FORZEN AS THE WOOORM. THAT! IS! SUCH A COOL WAY OF TYING IN MUSIC TO CREATURES. AND!! Same goes for Y2KVR Darnold! Because OH! MY! GOD! MUSHROOM MYCELIAL NETWORK FOR THE EMAILS YES YES YES THAT!! IS AWESOME. love mushrooms (: kicking my legs and giggling DUDE!! You have so much good stuff here HOW AM I TO SAY STUFF AT IT ALL? Literally ALLLL of these are SUCH! GOOD! CHOICES! I could be here forever. Mad Science Harold as a Protogen, YIPPEE! Forzen and Benrey connections? ALWAYS welcome! WHEELS. AS A BUS FURRY. /VPOS. Dr Perky as an orb weaver I LOVE ORBWEAVERS YES YES YES I SEE THE VISION AND IT IS WONDERFUL. And you certainly covered your bases huh? THE MCDONALDS WORKERS FROM HLVRV. AS FURRYS. IN! MY! INBOX!! /pos

and of course. ponysona ponys mlp hlvrv on the merklins tumblr ONCE AGAIN!! A lovely selection by the way changelings are so epic and cool always <3

THANK YOU FOR SHARING. THE. THIS!! SO EPIC AND COOL LOVE YOUR IDEAS THIS IS WONDERFUL AND TREASURED! This list spinning forever in the thoughts now (:

[lordtraco-fanfics]

I've been holding it back but.

Submas Half-Life AU ideas:

Emmet eeby deebied alone to Half-Life 1

"huh. Weird joltiks!"

Turns out headcrabs can be caught in pokeballs. Resonance Cascade... Handled?

G-man tries to stop Emmet, but finds he can't? Nothing the G-man tries works on the Subway Boss, and he doesn't like getting hit in the head by pokeballs.

Emmet helps the seven hour war last much longer. Introducing a technology that can not only capture the aliens, but also nourish them to the point they are no longer violent/actively helpful

Maybe capturing Vortigaunts breaks them free of the control of the Nihilanth?

Gordon still does his thing and ends up squirreled away by the G-man

You know what!

This is a self-indulgent AU!

Adrian Shephard gets freed by Emmet and together they go collect happy alien buddies and bond over their love of bugs.

I like the idea that by the time of HL:Alyx, Emmet and Adrian have an ethical way of sourcing health goop without killing grubs.

I almost imagine a game mechanic where the less you use the health stations and instead give them another grub, you get closer to a better ending.

But if you keep using the health stations, Emmet ends up just leaving (hopefully to find Ingo, but you never actually learn anything more)

Best ending: Emmet and Adrian ride off into a portal that conspicuously looks like Hisui while on an antlion guard.

Worst ending: Adrian is alone and sad, giving up on the grub project to help the rebellion with more shooting.

Did I just accidentally decide to ship Emmet with a very obscure semi-canon character from an alien game? Yes. Moving on.

Emmet should get to have the power to teleport and do all sorts of funky stuff. Because I love him. He'll get nerfed in Hisui it's fine.

Adrian at first viewing himself as Emmet's body guard but slowly coming around to the fact theyre friends.

Emmet knows sign language so they are able to easily communicate.

Emmet, not wanting to "replace" his brother, still ends up viewing Adrian as a partner. Given the circumstances, they learn to trust one another quickly out of necessity.

The Vortigaunts are uneasy around Emmet, but they do appreciate his help enough to teach him about the antlions. Especially if it means he stays far away from The Gordon Freeman.

SPOILERS FOR HALF LIFE ALYX ENDING

What if The Vault was built for Emmet since he was a MUCH less subtle threat, but the Vorts captured the G-man instead.

The Combine: Ok well, build another o-

Alyx Vance

The Combine: Ok build a better one.

Revamp again but Good End causing Emmet to show up when the Vault breaks

Emmet, having decided that Alyx is now family, steps in when G-man tries to make a deal with her.

The scene of her dad dying flickers and at the moment he would've died, a massive army of antlions, led by Adrian, break in to save him.

Alyx, at the G-man: "I want the Combine off the planet or no deal!"

Emmet: "Wait. Can I do that?"

*poof*

Emmet: "That's verrrrrrry convenient."

He then gets help to open a portal to Hisui and brings Adrian along as mentioned above. Emmet has no powers in Hisui and Adrian has no guns, but their antlions and lightning dog army keep them safe

RIP to the pokedex. Laventon nearly gives up

Submas reunion!

"How are we getting back to Unova...?"

Arceus? Nah.

Alyx Vance shows up a couple years older with a portal gun. Her turn to help!

[ackerslut]

Star Trek Lower Decks Fic Recs

(most of these are by the same rotating five writers bc our fandom is That Small. Still, all of these are absolute gems and worth your time. Please DM me if I forgot to put a fic on here of y'alls or if a link doesn't work <3)

you wanna kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid by InsideMyBrain

shipwide crises are a lot more enjoyable when you have someone to make fun of. unless you’re the person being made fun of.

Everything Is Fine by UncreativeIndividual

After several months serving together, Tendi begins to realize that she feels for Mariner as more than just a friend. This is not ideal for her.

The Mariner Protocol by bauchle

AKA: Beckett Mariner's Guide to Scoring With Hot Space Babes

When she learns that Rutherford is crushing hard on Tendi, Mariner selflessly takes it upon herself to coach him in the fine arts of court ship. She even drafts Boimler to help her out, though for some reason he's less than enthusiastic about the whole project.

Cue movie nights, flirting "workshops", and 400-year-old mixtapes - not to mention melees, arguments, and maybe a minor shipwide crisis. This is definitely going to end well.

im standing guard (im falling apart) by @lastoneout

“Dude Barb is way out of anyone’s league, trust me. She’s so perfect it’s freaky.” Beckett continues, “I don’t know if you noticed but it did nearly drive me insane.”

Brad falls silent for a moment, giving her a weird look that she wilts under.

“Is that why you haven’t been sleeping?”

It's Going Great, Why Do You Ask? by UncreativeIndividual

The sequel to Everything Is Fine.

Mariner and Tendi have been dating in secret for a few months. It's going well, though the former does wish to keep the relationship a secret despite the latter's wishes.

Then, Mariner's mom, Carol Freeman, starts to suspect something is up with her daughter. T'Ana gets stuck in the middle as the only one aware of the relationship, and Boimler & Rutherford are just confused as to what's happening. You can probably s ee where this is going.

are you lonely looking for yourself out there? by @lastoneout

He knew listening to her message would only make him feel worse, but he reached over and pushed the play button, waiting for Mariner’s angry voice to fill the room, reminding him of what a jerk he was.

“Boimler?” Instead of angry, her voice was quiet and groggy, like she’d just woken up, and Brad froze, quickly realizing two things. He must have hit the call button on accident, and he was totally, completely fucked.

- or -

After having a shitty day on the hell ship that is the Titan, Boimler gets drunk and accidentally calls Mariner.

i loved you then and i love you now by @punk-rock-yuppie

Seven years after the end of their friendship, Beckett and Brad meet again.

Enjoy, Endure, Survive (a surprise) by @punk-rock-yuppie

Five times Boimler surprises Mariner with something, and one time she beats him to the punch.

Letting the Days Go By by @punk-rock-yuppie

It’s been three years since Bradward Boimler left his three closest friends on the Cerritos to take an ill-fated stint on the Titan.

It’s been two years since he came back from the Titan with his head hung and his metaphorical tail between his legs.

It’s been a year and a half since Mariner cornered him and told him, drunk and hushed, that she missed him so much it felt like a missing limb.

No Time Like The Present by @lastoneout

If there’s one thing Beckett has learned about Brad Boimler in all the years they’ve been friends, it’s that he has an intense—and frankly worrying—flair for the dramatic. So she isn’t exactly shocked when he decides to confess that he loves her in the middle of a fucking red alert, but that doesn’t mean she’s happy about it.

Love Your Fate (which is in fact your life) by @punk-rock-yuppie

Five out-of-this-world shenanigans that try to get Beckett and Mariner to confront their feelings for each other, and one time these two idiots finally do something about it.

a collapsing star with tunnel vision (but only for you) by @punk-rock-yuppie

The night before Brad transfers to the Titan, he and Beckett have a one night stand.

Of course, everything gets a lot more complicated after that.

Terminal Infatuations by ProdigySorcerer

A collection for my Rutherford/Tendi fics, will have multiple stories, AU, etc.

Future Nostalgia by sprucetree

Various oneshots about Mariner and Boimler.

Chapter 1: Fletcher spills a secret about Boimler. Chapter 2: A Titan mission gone wrong leaves Mariner worried. Chapter 3: Mariner and Boimler prepare for their wedding with all of their friends and family in attendance. What could go wrong?

Who Says You Can't Go Home? by @punk-rock-yuppie

Brad knows how his reunion with Mariner will go: not well.

Spoiler alert: Brad is wrong.

Delicate by sprucetree

Various oneshots about Tendi and Rutherford.

Chapter 1: Tendi and Rutherford both work well as friends, sure. But are either of them ready to make the jump to being a couple? Chapter 2: After the accident, Rutherford wakes up.

Maybe, Perhaps, Almost by @punk-rock-yuppie

It's a tragedy, the way our story goes: maybe, perhaps, almost.

Mindless in a Worthwhile Way by @punk-rock-yuppie

Beckett and Brad's first date on Earth goes a little awry.

____

I'm also here to shamelessly promo my own fics.

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Recovered Black Mesa Documents from the incident, #1 of ____

(Text on the pages below in case it’s hard to read)

(Pg. 1)

[CENSORED TITLE]

Project Codename: Free Man

Subject: Gordon Freeman

Sector: Anomalous Materials Department

Age: 27

Clearance: Level 3

Physical Description: Six Foot four inches (193.04 cm) Tall caucasian male, brown hair, green eyes.

Current status: Alive; No abnormalities.

Project Administrator: [CENSORED NAME]

Purpose of the experiment: testing revival and healing technology; Preparing for the possible event of a Resonance Cascade.

Time of test: Scheduled for December 13th, 1998 at 9:30 AM MST

Planned duration of test: 3 days (72 hours)

Current Status: Preparations complete. Awaiting subject arrival.

This test is the Second human test of our new revolutionary Life Support System, which is capable of both healing typically fatal wounds, and even bringing back an individual from the dead. This technology has caused multiple unforeseen side effects on its users, however with advancements made by Black Mesa engineers and the Lambda Team, we believe this test will prove that the technology will be in a suitable enough state to be used without consequences.

We have been approached regarding this technology from [CENSORED TEXT], which means that our new sponsors will be able to help develop this technology further and even fund future research. This new Sponsorship, the possibility of preventing death in Black Mesa staff during highly dangerous expeditions, Along with possible commercial use in the coming years, are more reasons for this test to be taken seriously, and more importantly, be done correctly and quickly. The following documents will be the results of every test, and there will be logs of all injuries and even deaths our subject will experience, and more importantly how the Hazardous Environment Suit will repair said injuries.

(Pg. 2)

Section 1: HEV Suit Integration

The Hazardous Environment Suit (HEV) Mk. 5 is a vast improvement from the standard HEV suit Mk. 4, with its main difference and technological improvement being the HEV Life Support system. Unlike the Mk. 4, this Life support system contains a specimen known as [CENSORED TEXT] from our latest expedition to [CENSORED TEXT]. This Specimen has properties that are known to heal even life threatening wounds, and thus has the potential of even bringing an individual back from the dead. This has proven true with previous testing, though it is to be noted that the HEV suit Mk. 5 is the best, and most promising version of this technology put to use as of current date. However, Dr. Freeman is to be noted as the first test done with this suit to test its revival capabilities.

-Dr. Freeman had received the HEV Mk. 5 at approximately 10:00 AM MST on December 13th. Due to a small hold up, being worsened by a single security personnel delaying Freeman’s arrival, Freeman had arrived at the testing facility around 30 minutes past schedule. However, despite this small change in schedule, Gordon had accepted the HEV suit without suspicion, even despite not being told of the Suit’s properties, including the slight painful sensations of the suit attaching IV tubing and blood monitors to Freeman’s skin. Freeman seemed to move on quickly however, and proceeded to the test chamber containing the Anti Mass Spectrometer (AMS), beginning the first test at around 10:16 AM MST.

Notes:

Freeman appears to have had no problems resulting from the HEV suit’s integration, not even during the suit’s Life Support startup. This is promising, considering the negative effects the technology had on previous subjects. (See Incident log #32; Subject Shephard)

Conclusion of section:

-Despite Freeman remaining unaware of the test, it is best to inform any and all staff participating in said test to not disclose any information that Freeman does not need or could affect the results.

-Continue to Stage Two: Resonance Cascade Simulation (RCS)

[gt-ridel]

i’d LOVE to hear more about your borrower au!

Oh, okay then! Thanks for the interest! :D (Putting it under a cut because it ended up being WAY longer than I thought...)

There isn’t a whole lot to it. I just have a very basic idea of what could happen. Partly because I’ve only played through the beginning of Half-Life one (I attempted to stream it, but my internet connection isn’t strong enough). Everything I know about the series comes from cultural osmosis.  When I finally play the games all the way through I’ll have a better idea of things that could happen in the AU. For now what I have is... Barney is a third or fourth generation Borrower who lives inside of Black Mesa.  A long time ago some Borrowers were kidnapped and experimented on by the company, but some escaped and managed to hide long enough to start families and such.  Barney has never seen anything outside of the facility. As far as he knows, the whole world is concrete and steel and hiding from giant creatures that WILL cut you up or torture you if you are caught.  As far as most of the humans in Black Mesa know, Borrowers are just this funny little story people tell to freak out the new guys. “Yeah there’s totally tiny rat people running around in the vents. It’s true! My friend Dave’s friend Tom saw one once! Some kind of messed up experiment that got loose.” New guys tend not to believe it. People who have been around long enough to know what kind of shady stuff Black Mesa is into are a bit less skeptical. Very few people have ever actually SEEN one though. These Borrowers are next level paranoid. (Totally justified) Barney is living on his own. It’s safer to live alone or in very small groups. Less chance of taking other Borrowers down with you if you are caught.  He’s claimed a few offices as his territory and scavenges for scraps in them. Mostly I think he eats those gross cockroaches that are always running around (safer to hunt than to steal) but when he needs something non food related, the offices are where he goes.  Gordon is fairly new to the company. He recently graduated from MIT, and is currently working on a big project (you know the one).  He’s temporarily staying in the level three dormitories just so he can basically run off to have a shower and a snooze before getting right back to work every day. Once the project is over, he’ll return to commuting from home. He’s heard the stories about Borrowers, but Dr. Kleiner assures him it’s just a prank people like to pull, so Gordon puts it out of his mind pretty immediately.  One day Barney sneaks into one of the offices to snag some rubber bands (INVALUABLE stuff). This scientist seems to work very long hours, but he’s pretty sure they’ve left for the night. While he’s climbing up his rope to get back into the vent, he gets spooked by the sound of a giant human opening the door.  Barney has never in his life been seen by a scientist, and in his panic, accidentally slips and gets his leg tangled in his own rope. He’s trapped right out in the open at the mercy of some mad scientist! Gordon isn’t a mad scientist, but he sure is a surprised one when he returns to his office with a fresh coffee in hand and finds a tiny man on his desk.  Is he seeing this because he’s been working to hard? Had to much coffee? Hasn’t seen the sun in weeks? But no mater how long he stands in the doorway blinking stupidly, the tiny man is still there.  Barney feels like he’s going to drop dead at any moment, but he tries his best to at least LOOK calm in the face of death.  He gingerly lifts a hand a waves. “Uh, h-hey Doc.” He says with a wobbly smile. “Uh... Hi... tiny... man on my desk?” (Yeah Gordon talks in my AU) Gordon approaches, still in shock, and when Barney flinches back violently, he flinches too. Gordon gently untangles Barney from the rope and introduces himself. With no immediate means of egress, Barney feels like the only thing he can do is chat with the giant, trying to keep things light and friendly. No need to get the scalpels and the cages.    Gordon is of course curious as heck, and whatever he was supposed to be working on is completely shoved to the side in favor of talking with Barney all night.  Much to both of their surprise (Barney’s more than Gordon’s) they actually end up really enjoying each others company. They share a granola bar from Gordon’s desk (one of the best things Barney has every eaten) and a bit of coffee (Not good at all, but not the worst thing he’s been forced to drink). Over time, Barney finds himself coming back to visit the weird human whenever he’s alone in the office.  Gordon is very concerned about Barney’s diet. He eats cockroaches and scraps from the garbage? When was the last time this man had a vegetable? (Barney: What the hell’s a vegetable? What’s a fruit? Are you swearing at me?)  These discussions leads to other troubling revelations. Barney is in constant danger. He’s never been outside of the facility. He doesn’t even know there IS an outside! Gordon’s heart is thoroughly broken on the borrowers behalf, and he offers to take Barney with him when he goes home at the end of the month. Barney doesn’t exactly understand, because he thought humans just lived in the dorms. But the more Gordon talks about the outside, the more Barney is captivated by the idea.  It is absolutely 100% insane, but... But maybe he could live in a house with Gordon? Not have to worry about hiding. Not have to worry about starving. Get some of that fresh air he’s been hearing about.  It takes a little while, but eventually Barney caves, and the two start excitedly planning for the big move.  First Gordon has to finish his project, and Barney has to pack up everything he owns (which isn’t too much, but still a job).  On the day of the big test, Barney is waiting in Gordon’s office, filled with anxiety and excitement.  He waits... And waits... And waits... The lights flicker. Is something wrong with the power? Is... was that a scream he just heard out in the hall? Was that a gunshot?! What’s happening out there? Is Gordon okay? Barney decides maybe it would be safer if he waited for Gordon back in the vent. But just as he’s about to climb in, he hears something huge scuttling through the metal tunnel.  Suddenly a... THING bursts out of the vent and lands clumsily on the desk in front of him, scattering giant pieces of paper filled with Gordon’s writing, and shattering the desk lamp.  He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s staring at a headcrab that has been following his scent all through the ventilation system. (Do headcrabs have noses? I don’t know. But it tracked him somehow)  Barney runs and the creature goes crashing after him. Barney is forced to dive for the floor (not a deadly fall for a borrower, considering their incredibly light bodyweight. But still scary!) He’s backed into a corner while this unnatural thing closes in on him. He’s going to die. He’s going to die and he’ll never see Gordon again and they’ll never escape this place and- A figure bursts through the door, covered head to toe in some kind of armor. It races forward, crowbar in hand, and swings at the creature, smacking it away from the cowering borrower. The figure slam it’s weapon into it again and again, long after it’s stopped moving. All that is left is a pile of twisted flesh and yellow viscera.     The towering figure then turns to Barney, and his heart is suddenly trying to claw it’s way up his throat.  He stands to run, but it’s too late. Swiftly, roughly, a giant gloved hand reaches down and snatches the Borrower up. The glove is covered in alien gore, but that is the least of his worries. He can’t tell who the human is behind the heavy helmet, and even if he could, he can barely breath for fear, let alone speak.  The figure examines him, then walks over to the desk and sets him down carefully.  The figure falls heavily into the seat, and with arms that suddenly look too heavy for it, lifts the helmet off its head.  There in front of the borrower sits Gordon Freeman. Pail, sweaty, shaking, and so, so relieved that Barney is alive. He’s seen a lot of people die today, and was nearly sick with the idea that Barney might be among them.  Their plan has been complicated. Leaving Black Mesa isn’t going to be as easy as just hiding in Gordons pocket and walking out the door. Now they are going to have to fight their way out.  In game mechanics don’t translate very well to real life, and I don’t think the HEV suit actually has pockets and holsters that let you carry tons of weapons and stuff. I think they settle on having Barney ride along with him inside the helmet. It’s not super safe (and I imagine it would be pretty gross what with the sweat and everything) but it’s the best option they have.  That’s all the story I’ve got. I’m not sure how it ends, or if/how we get to HL2 from this, but still. Maybe at the end they just get to go home and live a peaceful life together away from Black Mesa. That would be nice. =p   So, uh... Yeah! That’s the idea so far. ^__^;;   

[caffeinehevsuit]

Peeks in

Drops here

Silly..

@gmanwhore

Thought this fit Sunshine.

[gryphsdeadbones]

hey from one nd person to another the comic where fm gordon says a slur seems kind of in poor taste. ik ur not intentionally making light of it and tht occurring in fm should be criticized but while you dont make it out to be a good thing making jokes about it and calling him a "slurboy" is kind of questionable? it makes it seem more like a plotpoint and angst rather than the creator of fm genuinely fucking up in the past (and having moved on from it)! i think exploring fm coming to terms with being nd is a good idea but this isnt the best way to do it. if you want me to explain my point more lmk if/when u post this and i will! someone already made a post abt it but it was kinda strongly worded and i wanted to approach you more calmly because i genuinely dont want to call you out or start drama or anything ;-;

first off thank you for being civil and patient with me i appreciate this ask a lot- also this got long- im not in a flying rage or anything when i bold or emphasis text, i just needed it also for my own readability and since im not the best at wording- hopefully this hellsite works and my response is under the cut

i would like to know how is it in poor taste when freemind explicitly gets clocked at the very end for saying it. the entire point of the comic was to show that saying the r slur has existed in his source and is bad

im not sure how much more direct i can get, with the disclaimer/warning list growing longer and longer and out there for a huge sign that says “this au can get dark as fuck and these subject matters are treated seriously/not something to mess around with.” Like yes, there are some jokes in the asks and other comics, but that specific comic is not supposed to be “haha thats funny”. it has a serious tone using a rough sketch style bc i was super tired and wanted to vent

was it just the direct reference to it that just made people uncomfortable? because thats 100% understandable, and i made sure i tagged it appropriately (although admittedly, a little bit late since i thought the filter would catch at least the main thing)

i think what some people somehow got from it is “exploring sensitive content = endorsing said content” which! that is not the intent! i absolutely do not want people saying that word! I don’t want people thinking that is any way okay for this character to say

its more of a damned if i do address it, damned if i dont.

if it never comes up, people are gonna assume that ‘oh this character says slurs and is shit, surely the creator or fan-creator MUST be okay with it and woobifies freemind and absolves him of any mistakes’ or something like that. no. this asshole has an arc and i want to do it right. its serious and i think it shouldn’t be shoved under the rug

and people just. dont want to read for context for whatever reason. theyll start watching it and get taken aback by the slur and start blaming me ‘hey you never warned for this’ when very early on i keep mentioning over and over ‘you dont have to watch it if you dont want to! This has slurs and 2000s internet brand humor/style’ You really dont, I’m not forcing you to watch it- Literally all you need to know is either canon half life or hl/vrai. thats it. fm mostly follows hl1 with very slight changes.

so i had to make something that:

1. warns people who arent aware and dont want to go through my asks or about/warning pages (for whatever reason) and just want to see the art

2. also NOT downplay freemind’s canon assholery. listen, i kinda despise writing mean and cruel characters, theyre hard to do, and a lot of people get shit for doing it wrong or people going “character = author”

i’ve also considered leaving the bubbles blank, but then people could fill it with whatever they want, then blame me for being vague. or they’d fill it in with a different kind of slur that freemind has never used, even if he MIGHT be the type to do that. I needed to explicitly mention that it is ableist slur. There are shitty racist and other problematic jokes, but never those kinds of extreme racial slurs to my knowledge.

Although I do see your point that maybe joking about it outside of the serious stuff might not be the best route. The slurboy jokes are getting stale, and I will try a better way to remind people.

The thing that gets to me is that it feels people are more than ready to defend either Ross Scott or Gordon Freeman the fictonal character himself. I don’t??? really care for Ross Scott, so I don’t know if he’s ever brought it up specifically. I’m not really calling him out or cancelling him. Idc for some white man’s feelings, im only bringing the timeframe of That era and reworking it to fit in This current era.

And I hate to break it to people: Gordon Freeman is a blank slate character, you can project whatever the hell you want on him as long as it’s not freakshit illegal garbage. The machinimas (fm, hl/vrai) do have SOME characterization that I want to nail down. It fucking sucks when characters are ooc, and I’m trying not to do that, even if it means sacrificing some comfort. But still mostly staying in my comfort zone if that makes sense

Now about the callout that I do not want to engage with the op directly:

Honestly im very surprised the comic was called out when i just. thought my stuff is relatively tame on exploring the bad shit canon freemind does. ive seen him in fancontent where they really dont hold back and its still played off as ‘kinda funny’ tone.

I really don’t know if people just want any reason to hate me for whatever reason. That’s fine I guess, I can’t please everyone and they dont have to like me.

But like. isn’t it so much easier for the op of that to block me and the post and move on. Why kick up such a fuss. I can see that thinly veiled death threat of a vague. That’s pretty fucked up- Like holy fucking god, you do not have to like my stuff. I’m not holding you at knifepoint to like my stuff. I’ve specifically made two different tags (one general au, one specific au) if anyone wants to blacklist it for their own reasons I do not need to know. I don’t want to know.

You’re allowed to be uncomfortable. You’re allowed to unfollow/blacklist/block.

However you just don’t go ranting about it for something you horribly misinterpreted. If it bothers you so badly, literally just. drop me a message to clarify. thats it. or save yourself the time and block me.

I’ve blocked the op for both our sakes, but if anyone wants to send this post to them, then thats fine. I don’t want anything to do with them.

I don’t want to link the post and blow it up. I just want shit clarified, dropped and we can move the fuck on with our lives. 

If you’re reading this and don’t know what the post is, please don’t bother. I do not want people going after the op with threats, please keep it civil, I’d prefer if you don’t engage with the post at all on my behalf.

Despite this huge wall of text, I do not want this to be a big deal, so please don’t ask me about the details.

_

As for anon, feel free to dm me either on here or. Maybe on discord if you’d still like to suggest or have something more cleared up. I’m still willing to hear any kind of feedback, and i want to thank you again for being reasonable about this

[steves-on-a-plane]

The Way You Look At Me

Words: 1115 Pairing: Bruce Banner x Reader  Prompt: “You’re my best friend and you’re rambling on again about the thing I couldn’t care less about but I’ll always listen because you love it so much AU” -@dailyau​ Summary: Reader has been dating Bruce Banner for years. They’re enjoying some pizza together one night and she is listening to Bruce talk about his work. Bruce realizes that it’s finally time for him to ask Reader a question that’s been on his mind for the past three years.

“So, then Tony is like it’s only going to take three days. Three days! Keep in mind the last time we tried this it took us a week and we still failed.” You were in your apartment with your boyfriend, Bruce Banner.

The two of you were sitting together at your tiny dining table, a pizza box was taking up most of the surface. You sat with one leg tucked up under you and both your elbows on the table. You nibbled away at a piece of pizza as you listened to Bruce ramble on about his work. Bruce had only taken a few measly bites of a single pizza slice before he started talking about his most recent project with Tony Stark.

“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying, are you?”  He chuckled and offered you a dreamy smile.

“Yes! Yes I am!”  You assured him. You reached across the pizza box and held his hand. “Honey, I could listen to you talk about Tony Stark, and Artificial Intelligence and microwaves forever.”

“Okay, now you’re making fun of me.” He nodded, reaching for a new slice of pizza. “It’s cute.”

“I’m serious!” You insisted. “I love it when you talk about work. The way your eyes glaze over and how you seem to go into a whole other dimension when you start talking about science. You go on with such passion and it’s inspiring, it really is.”

“I don’t!” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry!” You gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, before releasing it and leaning back in your chair. “It’s like…what’s that British show you’re always trying to get me to watch?” You snapped your fingers as if that would bring the show title to mind.

“Which one?” Bruce smirked in between bites of pizza.

“Not the Sherlock Holmes one with Bilbo Baggins the other one with the phone box.” You huffed in frustration.

“Martin Freeman was on Sherlock before he was in the Hobbit.” Bruce pointed out. “You’re thinking of Dr. Who.”

“Yes!” You clapped your hands together excitedly. You pointed a finger at him, trying to accentuate your point. “You’re Doctor Who!”

“He’s called The Doctor not Doctor Who.” Bruce mumbled, taking another bite out of his pizza.

“Oh whatever.” You rolled your eyes. “You know how The Doctor takes people through time and space and he’s always rambling on about stuff but his companions just think the world of him even though they don’t understand a word of what he’s saying? It’s like that. I could listen to you talk about things I’ll never understand for the rest of my life.”

“Really?” Bruce put down his half-eaten piece of pizza and brushed his hands off on his pants. “You know, if you would have told me when I was a kid that my interest in science would eventually lead me to become The Doctor in my girlfriend’s eyes, I would have been thrilled. But this reminds me, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Bruce got up from the table and disappeared into the bedroom. You heard him open and close several drawers in the rickety old dresser where he kept his clothes at your place. He stumbled back in, nearly tripping on the cat on his way by. Bruce was carrying a pair of his old wool socks.

“You know how I keep these socks in here, and I told you it was in case we went hiking?” He asked holding the socks out to you.

“Yes,” You nodded, inspecting the socks from a distance before looking back up at his face. “I specifically remember because at the time I told you we’ll never go hiking and you know what?” You glanced down at your smart watch for dramatic effect. “It’s been three years and we haven’t gone hiking once.”

“Well, I supposed it’s time I come clean about this.” Bruce laughed. “I don’t keep these here in case we go hiking. Of course we’re not going to go hiking. You don’t want to go anywhere that’s full of bugs and has no caffeine. I know you better than that.” Bruce started to unroll one sock away from the other. “I’ve actually been hiding something in these socks for the past three years. It was a gift from Tony, kind of. You remember the first time you met him?”

“Yeah.” You laughed. “What a pain in the ass. He asked me all kinds of questions about how long we’d been together and if I knew about the other guy and…other inappropriate questions that I’m not going to repeat.” You could feel blood rush to your cheeks as you thought back on your first ever interaction with Tony Stark.

“Well, a few days after that,” Bruce shook his head. It was obvious that he also remembered your first Stark encounter. “He just drops something at my workstation. Told me it was his grandmother’s and she never liked green, so she never wore it. He told me that you must like green though since you were dating me.” Bruce rolled his eyes.

From the second sock he pulled out a small green velvet covered ring box. Your lungs felt like they’d stopped functioning.  Your heart hammered powerfully in your chest. Sure, you’d been together a long time now, and you always assumed that eventually he’d propose to you, but you hadn’t expected him to do it in a Thursday night over cold pizza in his boxers. Hadn’t he just been rambling about his work a few minutes ago?

“And then he told me if I didn’t marry you, I was a big green idiot.” Bruce continued. He began lowering himself to the ground slowly. He wobbled slightly as he came to rest most of his body weight on one knee. “And you know, for once, I think Tony was right. [Y/N], you were the first person to see me for who I was and not just the monster inside of me. You’re the first person to look at me, Bruce Banner, and see…I don’t know what honestly. But no matter where we are if we’re out to dinner or at one of my work functions or hanging out with your friends, I just take one look at you and I know. I know that you’re the most important person to ever come into my life. You’re loyal and creative and when you love a person, you just do it full out. I’ve been lucky enough to be loved by you for the past five years, and I’m hoping you’re will to continue loving me for the rest of my life. [Y/N] [Y/L/N], will you marry me?”

[newtafterdark]

Taste of Metal - Chapter 2:   Safe Inside Familiar Walls AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157634/chapters/63644236

Summary: What if the overwhelming VR experience Gordon went through, had a deeper purpose than just being a simple simulation & a freelance debug job for him? But most importantly- what if Gordon Freeman listens to Metal & used to be in a band? aka. the "Metalhead Gordon AU"

- - -

Gordon couldn’t sleep, as much as his body wanted him to.

The pain was one thing, but the number of unanswered questions was the overwhelming main reason he had curled up in a blanket, staring at nothing with wide eyes like a startled cat.

Tommy had not moved much after he had teleported them both into Gordon’s apartment, aside from grabbing a water bottle and some painkillers from the kitchen for the shaken scientist.

“D-Do we just wait? I don’t… I don’t know what to do a-about any of this. What even is “this”? What happened? H-How are you even REAL?”, Gordon stammered.

Tommy gave him an apologetic smile from his spot at the end of the bed.

“I just am, Mr Freeman. We all were- uhm- we all are real! I… wanted to tell you during everything. We all did! B-But the code didn’t let us.”

“But you can talk about it now! What changed it?”

Tommy appeared a chunk more nervous at this question but continued anyway-

“You.”

“M-Me??”, Gordon stuttered as he found himself in the focus of Tommy’s vibrant glowing eyes once again.

“We didn’t think someone could alter the code of the simulation like you did, Mr. Freeman... Y-You freed us.”, Tommy said with a warm smile- “I… all of us will do our best to explain everything to you once everyone is here.”

“In my apartment?” Tommy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “We thought bringing you here would be the safest option for you. It’s a place you know and would feel comfortable in. I-In general but also to talk about everything that happened?”

Gordon nodded slowly.

“I… yeah, I guess that makes sense. And when you say “we”... are you sure everyone will make it out alive without our help?”

“Absolutely!”, Tommy's laugh lines deepened at the edge of his eyes- “I think they are just wrecking the place now for fun now! :)”

That left Gordon silent for a few seconds.

“Oh. W-Well… I…”, Gordon let out a short shaky laugh- “Sorry that I keep you from joining the fun... and that I can’t add support myself-”

Suddenly, Gordon found himself being held once more. Tommy hugged him gently, his chin resting on Gordon’s head.

“A-All of us want you to be safe first, Mr… … Gordon. Fun mayhem comes second! And… a-and I am rather here with you than g-getting overwhelmed with the noise… as fun as destroying a facility might be.”

Gordon chuckled, brushing away a tear he hadn’t noticed falling. “Oh… uhm, thanks. For being here and… the foresight and all that. I don’t think we’ll be safe here in the long run though…”

The taller scientist tilted his head at that. “Why would you leave your home behind? You don’t have to when anyone who could tell on us has other problems to deal with. Much... much bigger problems at that!”

“What… okay, you actually need to sit my ass down and explain what the fuck is happening. Because... this vague shit? Not helping with my still high-stress levels, my man.”

“Resonance cascade………....2”, was suddenly muttered too closely into Gordon’s left ear, almost making the man yeet himself off the bed-

“OH SHI-”

Gordon stared, almost frozen in place.

“B-BENREY?”

The guard (or former guard now? had he even ever been one, to begin with?) was propping himself up on the bed beside Gordon, his lower body no-clipping through it. Seeing this happen in real life turned out to be way trippier than Gordon could have ever imagined.

Yet aside from that… and the very much scary boss encounter they had had with him in the simulation, Benrey looked relaxed. Comfortable even.

“Yo, Feetm-”

Instantly, Benrey got tackled by Gordon. Aggressively, yes - but not with ill intent. Benrey let out a startled wheeze but soon stared in shock as he was tightly hugged against Gordon’s chest.

“I still have no idea how any of this is happening, but I am so fucking happy to see your annoying ass alive, holy SHIT!”, Gordon laughed, ignoring the pain in his stump as good as he could.

Tommy let out a snort as a few pink sweet voice orbs escaped Benrey.

“uhhhhhhhhhhhh… You too, man? Wasn’t sure if you’d make it on your own… decided that Tommy was the best. He always is, but… ya know. For getting you out. Smarter than all of us combined, ya know?”

Tommy waved Benrey off with a blush but smiled.

“Y-Yeah but all that matters is that everyone’s okay. Do you think the rest of the team will be here soon? I w-want us to tell Gordon what happened. He… he really needs to know. There were enough secrets in Black Mesa. :(”

Gordon slowly let go of Benrey and sat up, returning to cradling his arm. He let out a sigh.

“You can say that again. I… I don’t know how much you all know about my side of things, but the bastards never really told me the most important details on any of the projects they assigned me to. I always had to peace everything together myself… which was frustrating as all hell...”

Now it was Benrey’s turn to let out a huff as he pulled himself on top of the bed and got comfortable laying down with his hands behind his head. Gordon decided to look past the fact that the man was still in full guard get-up, including his helmet and boots. At least he looked surprisingly clean...

“Yeah, that was, uh… their whole schtick. Always has been.”, Benrey said, scratching his cheek with- … that was an entire third arm he just grew and Gordon decided to look past that even quicker than the full guard-getup.

Suddenly the door to Gordon’s bedroom opened, making Gordon jump and hold tighter onto his aching arm- until he recognized the friendly face of Darnold…and the very large golden retriever that pushed the door further open to let herself in.

Gordon’s tense shoulders relaxed a bit at the sight of both of them.

“H-Hey...”, stuttered Darnold, giving Gordon a nervous smile and wave- “I just wanted to let you guys know that Sunkist and I checked the area and the apartment. Everything’s clean.”

Sunkist let out a soft woof at the sound of her name and then opted to rest her head on the bed near Gordon. Man, she really was huge. And very much 3D now. Another thing to add to Gordon’s “oh damn I’m starting to feel real overwhelmed by this entire situation”-list.

Tommy pet Sunkist’s head gently and nodded. “Thanks, Darnold! And that’s good! We are several miles away from the facility... but it’s better to be extra safe and see if anything is weird here!”

Darnold sat down on the floor beside Tommy.

“I’ll go check again in a few minutes… I don’t trust this supposed freedom just yet.”

Gordon opted to just nod at that. Speech was slowly failing him as his senses dulled slightly from exhaustion. He leaned back against his bed frame.

He was about to close his eyes as the sound of space being wrapped and time getting bent to his left pulled him right back into high alert-

Dr Coomer and Bubby stepped out through the portal that had formed way too close to the boxes with Gordon’s vinyl record collection, followed by G-Man who closed the portal with a wave of his hand.

“Hello, Gordon!”, Dr Coomer exclaimed, eyes bright and happy as he spotted the man currently half bundled up in his blanket- “Looks like you made it here with good Tommy’s help without... ehm… further harm.”

Bubby scanned Gordon’s form with his eyes and frowned.

“They actually did it, the bastards. Shouldn’t surprise me, but...”, he motioned at the air without aim, seemingly not being able to put his frustration into words.

Gordon just smiled softly at them, exhausted to all hell and back but so relieved and happy that the entire Science Team had made it.

He also noted that Dr Coomer’s limb enhancements were far more visible in real life than in the low-poly form he had been used to. It was interesting to see and the tech guy in him really wanted to ask the man about the intricacies of how they worked. But… later. That could wait.

Bubby on the other hand… there was something off about how Bubby looked. Gordon couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but he supposed that Bubby’s lore of having been created artificially must have carried over into his real-life form as well.

But once again, this was something for Future Gordon to ponder about.

Present Gordon wanted to know about the general “ok, what the fuck just happened???”, before diving into information that he wasn’t even sure he had the right to know about.

He noticed G-Man giving his stump a glance as well before the suited man materialized a simple wooden chair for himself and sat down on it.

Bubby and Coomer opted to join Darnold and Tommy on the floor.

With everyone finally seated, G-Man opened his briefcase and pulled a very heavy-looking folder out of it. Its casing reminded Gordon of the pattern and colour of a missing texture error.

“I am… certain you have a lot of questions, Mr Freeman.”

Gordon closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes again, looking at everyone in the room over once more before nodding.

[hlvrpa]

ABOUT

🖤   CHARACTERS [MOBILE]

HLVRPA (Half Life VR Post Apocalypse) is a HLVRAI AU made Crunchy (@cruncherofteeth). 

  Welcome to HLVRPA, an interactive ask blog. You’ve probably seen a handful of blogs out there like this one and this one is going to work basically the same.

  Follow Gordon Freeman as he finds a pair strange walkie-talkies letting out static sitting in the lap of a skeleton. After he picks them up, voices begin to speak from the walkie-talkie. Where will the voices lead him? Who will he meet? There’s only one way to find out.

  The radio is buzzing, what do you say?

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  Yo! My name is Crunchy or Crunch and I am the artist and author of this blog. I use pretty much any pronouns but I do like Ae/Aer pronouns. My main blog is @cruncherofteeth and I’ll probably be putting up WIP art of any bigger pieces involved with this project there. Now its time for the notes and such!

  Due to the nature of this AU being a post apocalyptic AU, there will at points be body horror, unsettling imagery, as well as some mild gore. All of these things will be tagged when they occur. If you ever have anything you need tagged specifically, don’t be afraid to let me know :o)

  If you have any questions for me specifically, start them with OOC or with my name so that I can easily tell that it is for me.

  Fanart or anything like that is fully allowed! Feel free to tag this account, my main account, use the #HLVRPA tag, or message it to me! I will in fact throw my love at you.

  I have done my best with formatting this blog to also accommodate mobile pages. However this is the first time I have really done something like this, so if you are having any issues at all with links or the like, please let me know and I will try to fix it as soon as possible.

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CURRENT CONTENT WARNINGS

🖤  None

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RULES

🖤  I can and will delete any asks that make me uncomfortable.

🖤  While this blog will contain some darker imagery at points, nothing explicitly NSFW is allowed. Mild NSFW jokes are chill (dilf jokes, etc.) but keep any serious amount of horny to yourself please.

🖤  Please don’t try to fourth wall break too bad! Feel free to talk about things the characters might not know yet, but don’t mention anything about an ask blog and such. For all you guys know, you’re just some voices coming from a walkie-talkie.

🖤  Don’t interact with this blog if you are truscum/transmed/TERF, racist/n4zi/anti-blm/pro-cop, antisemetic, MAP/pedophile, ableist, homophobic, an lgbt+ exclusionist of any type, or support cringe culture. Just stay away from me please :o)

🖤  Have fun, okie?

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TAGS

🖤  The general tag will be #HLVRPA

🖤  Big plot moments will be tagged with #plot and #HLVRAI

🖤  Any in-character asks will be tagged as #[character].buzz. (Like gordon.buzz for Gordon, coomer.buzz for Dr. Coomer, etc.)

🖤  Any out of character asks will be tagged as #crunch.buzz

🖤  Fanart and the like will be tagged as #precious salvage

🖤  Any triggering things will be tagged as #[trigger] and #[trigger] tw

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