#and gordon and tommy just watch

[andwithinme]

Benrey being a cat

(can't believe I forgot to post this)

[py6oto]

choice

waaarggg. posted this on youtube to celebrate 900 subs, hence the random gratitude message at the end ,, but it really goes to all of u here too . every bit of ur support matters :} i am very happy about it im just also very tired >o< hitting the pillows after posting this !

this was supposed to be longer and cooler but unfortunately for all of us, i am not that experienced nor will i ever escape the grapple of art block. i could not get anything right after the text box so i accepted defeat and gave what i had which i believe was the smart option

2024.31.01

[thegirlsarethriving]

just finished undertale. ok i see the vision. i now understand yall's Sans-to-Benrey obsession pipeline. and the Papyrus-to-Tommy Coolatta pipeline

[smolcrow465]

JUST A FEW HOURS HOW WE FEELIN

[doctor-cowboy]

Just got around to watching Holly's Chronicles of Benry stream. It's great and everything I wanted. I love viewing it through the lens of it being Benrey's personal playing-with-dolls recreation of his fantasized life, where he imagines himself to be a relatable Normal Person who can be sympathized with because his life has been sooo hard (and normal). Favorite moments along with my interpretation of them: -The introduction of Emmet Calhoun. I love characters that barely exist and Emmet is no exception. I think we should let him be real -When Benrey is talking about the boss battle, he calls Xen his home -He talks about getting shot with the "Gordon gun" and being killed, and then says "I never forgive him, and he's my best friend, so I gotta forgive him". He's still mad about what happened but he likes Gordon enough that he "has to" forgive him -After his death, he is trapped in gm_construct and not allowed to leave -Constantly talking about how happy he is, how he doesn't have any friends but it's ok, how he's dead but it's ok, and how he can do anything he wants. From the perspective of this being his fantasy world, (and with all context), it can be assumed the opposite is true -Everyone in his fantasy perceives him as very funny, smart, kind, and helpful. I think the whole section with the cow friend says a lot about how Benrey sees himself in relation to others- mostly about how he thinks others should see him -^He tells the cow that he can do "bad stuff" with his powers. She responds by saying everyone is capable of good and evil, and that she thinks Benrey is good. Despite everything, Benrey wants to be a good person, or at least perceived as one -^After saying this, Benrey says that she reminds him of his friend Tommy. The cow then says "he sounds like a fine man, and its really cool when you know him." Benrey and Tommy are best friends -When he was on the phone with Dr. Coomer or Emmet, he insulted them once or twice. They responded by laughing. Could be interpreted that when he's being randomly mean to someone, he thinks he's being funny rather than an asshole -Claims now that he has died, he can't die ever again -Every part with Gordon is important. Gordon's 2 roles in this are being a damsel in distress- with a high-pitch voice and everything-begging Benrey to help him (which he does, because he's so nice and cool), or Gordon talking about how happy and proud they all are of Benrey's performance in "the videos" -^Gordon tells Benrey he's not mad about the "arm stuff" anymore because he has his arm back now. Benrey wants Gordon to forgive him too, and thinks he deserves forgiveness because of the perceived impermanence of what he did. It *is* hypocritical, since Benrey is still mad at Gordon for killing him, despite him being "alive" now -Overall implication that Benrey is not only self-aware as an AI but self-aware as a show character. Talks about "the videos" a lot. If you couple it with the idea that Gordon was streaming the game in-universe to justin.tv, I think that could be really interesting

Conclusion: I love to take a joke so real and serious. This stream is only tangentially related to canon, but in a comedy series, "canon" means a lot less. Which means that anything about it can be real if you want it to be. Or not. But I enjoyed the stream and thinking really hard about it, and I encourage everyone who hasn't watched it yet to check it out!!!

[checkadii]

gamearchivist!gordon but if he had free will ft. hbomberguy fallout 3 video

i love group assignments written on google docs. esp if youre in a group with close friends because the entire just turns into shit like this you just end up cursing the shit out of eachother while your other groupmates watch like theyre at a zoo

this one feels like a tommy

[jerseyluck]

Batman: No Man's Land: Assembly (Also Robin #67) (Story #17)

It is time for No Man's Land to bring the crew back together. See Greg Rucka show the dynamics of the Bat-family and Chuck Dixon tell the tale of how Robin and Nightwing broke into Gotham...again!

This is a story that is important to tell in chronological order, so I will start with first 7 pages of Legends of The Dark Knight #130, then we will do the Robin issue, and then we finish out the Legends issue.

The story opens up with Batman telling Barbara to call Nightwing and Robin to bring them back to Gotham. After this, Bruce goes to Commissioner Gordon to see if the GCPD will ally with the Bat-Family over Two-Face's forces.

Gordon does not take the meeting well. The police commissioner is still hurt by the fact that Batman was nowhere to be seen when the city needed him the most. Gordon is so angry, he slugs Batman's face. Batman leaves Gordon to his lonesome after this.

And now it is time to see the journey Nightwing and Robin took in order to get into No Man's Land.

Oracle has found an access point in the sewers that the two Boy Wonders can use to get into Gotham unnoticed. While the two go to this entrance point, they kind of dunk on the fact that Bruce called on them now, when they were willing to fight in No Man's Land since the very beginning.

Anyway, they get to the point where the aqueduct and sewer cross (having a moment of Gotham history explaining the entrance, which okay, sure, fill that page count) and the heroes need to crawl a mile in a mine shaft to go into Gotham sewers proper. And they succeed, but when they get there, they alert their presence to some villian.

Gearhead and Tommy Mangles show to fight our heroes! What, you want to know who these villains are? Okay starting with Mangles, he is normal muscular thug who exists, so GCPD characters have a villain to beat.

Gearhead on the other hand, is a villain that Chuck Dixon created and pushed hard in the year running up to No Man's Land. He is basically cyborg who really hates Batman for stopping in a crime that led to him getting turned in a cyborg. You can see why the only people who have used him are Chuck Dixon and the writers of The Batman cartoon (and that cartoon did a major reinvention that made Gearhead a speed freak, which actually works).

Dick and Tim win the fight (I want to point that because of the low-tech state of No Man's Land; Tommy is just giving Gearhead a piggyback ride) by throwing them into a river. But a single rat watched the fight. That sure would be a problem if Batman had a rouge that controlled rats. Anyway, how's Ratcatcher doing?

But that cliffhanger will have to wait for another day! As we continue with our Legends issue, we get to see Cassandra Cain (had this point the Bat-family still has no idea what Cass's name even is, so she is called nameless girl for this issue) and Jean-Paul Valley hanging out, with Azrael even figuring how to communicate with her by using fists bumps. And then Nightwing and Robin show up.

Batman enters soon after everyone starts to get used to Cass and takes Nightwing on a side mission dealing with mysterious new Batgirl. We see the Batgirl praying outside, but when she comes in, it is revealed (to the readers) that new Batgirl was actually Huntress/Helena Bertinelli the whole time!

Bruce gets very aggressive towards Huntress, telling her she blew it one too many times. Batman takes the Batgirl identity back; but admits to Nightwing later that he did so, because he wanted Huntress to go rouge, as part of the larger plan to take back the city.

The story cuts back to the rest of the Bat-Family just catching up with each other. When Dick and Bruce arrive back, Batman tells the group that he needs all of them to take back the city. There is some questioning about whether they can trust Cass (Bruce's word is worthless because of the way he acted towards the family in the leadup to No Man's Land), but Barbara vouches for her.

Batman gives the missions: Robin and him will go to Ivy's territory in Robinson Park to deal with her, Nightwing is to take back Blackgate, and Azrael and Cass will hunt down Nicholas Scratch before he can do more harm!

As a special moment, Batman gives Cass the Batgirl costume telling her to honor the Bat-Code, and the issue ends with family swing out together!

And we are passed the halfway point of No Man's Land, the crew is back together, and we got a solid story. Firstly, the Chuck Dixon issue was the shakiest part of this story, but it leaves some interest in the Gotham Underground. But the Greg Rucka issue really captures the quiet beats and just heartwarming moments of the family getting used Cass. Excited to see what happens next!

7.5/10

[spaceistheplaceart]

HLVRAI dancing headcanons

Bubby - we see how he dances in the end at Chuck E Cheese. uses all those preset moves like "the lawnmower" "the shopping cart" "the disco" etc.

Coomer - matches whoever he's dancing with <3 but on his own dancing is very... fighting like. like you cant tell if he's shadowboxing or dancing but either way he's killin it!!!

Tommy - i think he doesn't go out of his way to dance. of course at his own party with everyone else dancing, he's dancing, but mostly he's on the sidelines watching and enjoying himself like that. however... sometimes Frat Boy Tommy comes out from his college years and MAN HE IS HITTING EVERY BEAT WITH PRECISION!!! its almost too much

Gordon - he used to watch dance tutorials online and it shows. not in a good way tho, more like he's doing a lot of dance moves but they're not natural- he's trying too hard. if the song doesnt fit those moves hes learned hes lost and just sort of fades away into the bg. but otherwise he's just an average dancer.

Benrey: does the most intense choreo with a dead face the whole time. Like This. or This afterwards he just goes back to normal which is walking everywhere, not even swinging his damn arms. dancing will be the most you see this man move.

[loopstagirl]

Walk in the Park

For @febuwhump day 3: Pinned Down

Jeff paused and took a moment to look around. He smiled. It was a rare weekend where a) he wasn’t called into work, b) none of the boys had activities, c) none of the children were unwell, and d) the sun was shining. As soon as they’d seen the forecast that morning, both he and Lucy had known what they’d do today. 

A picnic in the park, with all five of their boys. 

It had been months since circumstances had let them do something like this. Between an unseasonably wet spring and various clubs, not to mention emergency meetings as Jeff’s fledgling business sprouted wings, there was always something on. 

Now, though... Now, everything was perfect. They’d eaten with minimal squabbles over who got the last sausage roll and which flavour drink they wanted. Alan had started to get tired and Scott had declared he was taking his baby brother for a walk. Ten minutes later, a smug 13-year-old had returned with Alan asleep in the stroller. The toddler wouldn’t sleep for much longer, but it had stopped any meltdowns. 

Virgil had seen some friends from school and run off to the play equipment with them. Thankfully, they’d picked a spot where both parents could see him without having to move. John was sprawled on the blanket, legs swinging in the air as he read, and Scott and Gordon were playing a version of catch the 5-year-old could keep up with. 

Jeff caught Lucy’s eye. She was sitting next to John, leaning back on her palms, keeping an eye on Virgil but with a satisfied smile on her face. It only widened when she looked over at her husband. This was what their family was all about. 

He grabbed a drink from the cooler, intending to sit next to her. All their children were entertaining themselves, which was a wonderful and rare experience. Before he could do so, however, a shout came from the playground. Jeff shielded his eyes with a hand as he looked that way, aware that Lucy had also straightened up. 

He wasn’t sure what was happening to begin with. Perhaps a child had misjudged the monkey bars? There were plenty of parents milling around there. Then there was another shout – and it was a voice he recognised. 

Lucy was already on her feet. 

“Virgil.” 

Jeff took a few steps closer, trying to see what was going on. Then he cursed under his breath, hoping that John didn’t hear him. 

Some older boys, maybe Scott’s age, were trying to take over the playground. They were ignoring the little kids, but focused on the other boys there without their parents: Virgil and his friends. As Jeff watched, one of the older kids shoved a younger one, causing him to stumble into the other teenagers. They didn’t let him regain his balance though, pushing him again. 

Lucy recognised the red tee before Jeff did. She took off, not quite a run, but a fast, angry walk that would get her there quicker than if Jeff sprinted. He took a step, then glanced at his remaining children. Scott was responsible, but he couldn’t leave him with John, Gordon and Alan. Still, he stayed on his feet, a few steps towards the playground, watching. 

“Dad? Where’s Mom-,” Scott trailed off, standing next to him. He too squinted in the direction of the playground, just as Virgil hit the ground. “Virgil!” 

Jeff only had time to grab Scott’s arm as the boy made to hurtle off.  

“Your mom has got this, Scott.” 

“That’s Tommy Higgins and his friends,” Scott snarled. “I warned them if they ever went near my brothers again...” His gaze flickered to John before back to the playground, and Jeff knew there was an untold story there for sure. 

Scott tried to pull out of his dad’s hold and Jeff found himself tightening his grip to hold the boy back.  

“I need you here, Flyboy.” 

“No! I told him! If he dares-,” 

“Your mom is almost there, Scotty. Virgil is okay.” 

Indeed, the boy was getting back up. Lucy was almost at the gate now and Jeff knew the older teens were going to be fools if they tried anything now. 

“Where’s Mama?” Gordon asked, appearing out of nowhere. 

“She’s gone to help your brother.” 

“I can help too!” Gordon looked as if he was all set to go dashing after Lucy. 

“John? A hand, please?” 

John looked up from his book and caught Gordon round the middle, pulling the suddenly-giggling child down to the blanket with him.  

“Scott, calm down.” 

“I’m not calming down! I told him he’d get what was coming to him if he ever went near them again.” 

“Scott!”  

Jeff couldn’t hold him. He wasn’t sure when Scott had suddenly sprouted but his little boy wasn’t so little anymore. In the type of move he hadn’t used since his Air Force days, he hooked his arms under Scott’s shoulders, pulling the boy back into him. Scott struggled, but even his new-found height was no match for this grip. 

“Calm down,” Jeff said in his ear. “I know you’re upset; I know you’re mad. But your mom is handling it. It won’t help Virgil, or any of your brothers, if they see you answer violence with violence.” 

Indeed, Jeff wasn’t entirely sure where this had come from. Scott had always been protective, but it appeared that all the emotions that came with being a young teenager meant he was trying to find a different outlet for those emotions. Jeff loved Scott’s protective nature, but he couldn’t let this continue. 

Scott snarled. One day, that was going to be an impressive sound. But his voice hadn’t yet broken and it didn’t have the depth to it to be truly chilling. Jeff winced as a foot collided with his shin. While he didn’t necessarily remember being 13, he did remember being a teenager and the feeling that the world was out to get him.  

He walked back a few steps, dragging Scott with him so that he was further away from his brothers. Carefully, he shifted their centre of gravity until he could drop to his knees, pulling Scott down with him. Then it was just a case of extending his legs, unhooking his arms and wrapping his son in a bear hug, keeping Scott’s arms trapped within his own. 

“You need to calm down,” Jeff said in his ear. Scott twisted in the hold but his father’s grip was too strong. 

“I have to help Virgil.” 

“This is not the way, and you know it. You’ll only get yourself into trouble and either you or your brother could be hurt if you react like this. Is this what you want?” 

Scott, mercifully, stopped struggling. He was still tense though and Jeff didn’t dare relax his grip. 

“What about Gordon? Do you think this is any example to set your younger brother?” 

He didn’t need to worry about John. He hadn’t copied Scott the way the others did for a while now and had his own way of handling things. Jeff knew his second born had a bad habit of trying to be invisible when the attention was on him, but he had an acid tongue if anyone tried to pick on his brothers – whether that was another child or a grownup. Jeff had been forced to apologise while trying not to laugh more than once. 

“He’ll know that I’ll always defend him.” 

“By getting into trouble yourself? That’s making the situation worse, and you know it.” 

Jeff dared risk a glance at the playground. Lucy was heading back their way, their 8-year-old clutching her hand. Jeff couldn’t read Virgil’s expression from this distance, but he was walking fine, so at least he wasn’t physically hurt. 

“Let me go!” 

“Not a chance, kiddo.” 

Jeff knew that Scott was fighting the hold, but he could barely feel his boy’s struggles as he held him down. It was only when Lucy came closer and they could see for themselves that although there were tear tracks down Virgil’s face, he’d already stopped crying and was smiling at something his mother had just said. 

Jeff sighed in relief. Then Scott went limp. The father suddenly wondered how much Scott had been feeding off his own tension and grimaced. He could keep calm in a business meeting but apparently not so much when it came to someone hurting his children. 

“Everything okay?” He called. He relaxed his grip but didn’t dare let Scott go. Not just yet.  

“All handled,” Lucy said. She had a hand on Virgil’s shoulder but ruffled his hair and nudged him towards his brothers. Virgil didn’t hesitate, dropping down beside John and instantly finding himself with Gordon climbing on him.  

“Get off,” he muttered, but he didn’t push Gordon away like he usually did and there was no conviction in his voice.  

“I was gonna save you,” Gordon told him, his tone uncharacteristically serious. 

“I didn’t need saving. Especially not from you.” Virgil wasn’t meeting Gordon’s eye. 

“There’s nothing wrong with a helping hand,” Lucy told him, also sitting down. “Even if it comes in squid-form.” She seized Gordon round the middle and pulled him onto her lap, tickling him. Gordon laughed. 

“Johnny, help!” 

John – for once – joined in without hesitation. After a second, Virgil also piled in and Lucy disappeared under three laughing boys. 

“You okay?” Jeff murmured in Scott’s ear. He softened his grip until he was hugging his boy. Scott didn’t let that happen very often these days and Jeff missed it. 

He heard Scott swallow before the boy nodded. “Yeah.” 

Gently, Jeff let go until Scott could sit up. His son looked at him, and it was a mixture of the man he’d one day be and the little boy he was trying so hard not to be. 

“They know you’ll protect them,” Jeff said quietly. “But there’s a right and a wrong way of doing it. You understand that, right?” 

Scott couldn’t meet his eyes but he nodded again. Jeff clapped him on the shoulder. 

“Don’t get me wrong, Scotty, I’m proud of you for wanting to look out for them. But no getting into fights, or you’ll be the one in trouble.” 

“Copy that,” Scott said. Jeff properly relaxed at hearing the words. 

“Now, go on, I think your mom needs you right now,” he said. He nudged Scott towards the pile that was his wife and three kids. Scott didn’t need telling twice and charged over, scooping a surprised and delighted Gordon into the air just as Alan woke up. 

Jeff fetched his youngest, keeping the blanket wrapped around him as he balanced the 18-month-old in his arms. Alan’s eyes were wide as he watched the laughing pile of siblings. 

“Maniacs,” Jeff told him. “The lot of them.” 

Alan’s answer giggle told him the smallest Tracy both agreed and approved. 

[bright-eyed-dizzy]

my HC of benrey’s progression of getting Scarier and Bigger as the series goes on! he gains his power by feeding on the science team’s (mostly gordon’s) fear, confusion and misery

infodump under the cut!!

benrey feeds off of others frustration and confusion but generally people at black mesa are too preoccupied with science shit to even pay attention to him. it understandably pisses him off, leaving him hungry and lonely, the only person that really paid attention to him before the science gang got together was tommy, they’re besties, and because they’re bros and are used to eachother’s bullshit (and tommys whole vibe in general) tommy also doesn’t react much to benreys weird fuckin attitude. this also leaves benrey in a more weakened state which is why he stays around black mesa posing as a guard. he had stayed at black mesa without any stimulation or sustenance that he had been stooped down to the ranks of a lonely guard, his powers were essentially robbed of him by his own hubris. he had forgotten his roots as a deity of chaos, and just went about his business at black mesa , only occasionally pulling pranks or talking shit to at least keep himself alive. the only person there keeping him sane was tommy, outside of that he fell into a deep depression.

gordon was different though. gordon immediately came up to him and once they started talking, benrey got the rush of causing chaos again. he zeroed in on him and followed him around, the rises he would get out of gordon were hilarious and intoxicating to him and he wanted more. he watched gordons every move from a distance, hiding in shadow. what started as a fun game of cat and mouse became an *obsession.*

he watched the science team gang together in real time, and in these moments he REALLY got his power. benrey himself didn’t need to be pissing off gordon, the other scientists could just be pissing eachother off and benrey would just feed off of the vibes. his power was growing exponentially, in the times he wasn’t visibly around he would hang around in his weird little pocket dimension to cache his energy but he was still omnipresent and surveying them.

the weirder shit that happens is a direct consequence of benrey becomming more powerful, the scene with Gman is a scene of genuine cosmic horror in my AU. gman is horrified and bewildered, *he knows what benrey is.* AND he knows his lack of power was keeping him stuck at black mesa cosplaying as a human. the fact he was able to intercept gman and gordons conversation was ABSOLUTELY terrifying to Gman because couldn’t possibly IMAGINE what this power would entail. he wouldn’t be so upset if he knew what benrey had in store for humanity, whether it be world domination, cosmic destruction, or to just have a good time. what scared gman worse is that he knew that his fear and confusion were just adding fuel to the fire that would later be the finale.

benreys obsession with gordon eventually became an intense one sided infatuation, a *lust* for the attention he gave him. he would lay his flirting on thick, knowing it would be taken as a joke or a threat no matter how he phrased it. this shows itself best in the finale when he’s actually trying to be genuine in his own fucked up manipulative confusing way, unable to really string together human affection in a way that again, would not be cosmically terrifying and unknowable. after his advances are denied and the gang retaliates with violence benrey actually snaps and becomes the final boss, just wanting to rip the fabric of the universe apart in the most chaotic way possible.

this. is toxic yaoi.

[alicepooryorick]

Chapter 0 from my new fic, a reverse Red Hood AU with Barbara Gordon as Red Hood now.

Blood was no uncommon sight in Gotham. Everyone had it, most people spilt a bit by accident. Hell, Jim Gordon had gotten a bit on his shirt the other day cutting onions. But anything can be unusual, it's all in the context of what's around it, where it's at, or what it's doing. No, blood was not unusual by itself. But blood seeping out from under the door? That was unusual.

The shadows twisted behind the man; an old friend, long changed, but friend nonetheless. Time had weathered them both, time and the cruel hands of fate. Were either the same or did they simply tell themselves they were?

It didn't matter what Jim thought. Not once he opened the door. Not once the bodies hit his eyes. It was something he had seen never before. Blood was not uncommon no, bodies neither when you're the commissioner, but the bodies.... Mutilated bodies strewn across the gang hideout. Scattered bullet holes in the walls told of a suprise, these were no men expecting death... Some had their weapons still holstered. Jim watched as his shadowy friend entered.

"There's no way to get DNA from this scene..." The shadows spoke, a deep sense of loss seeping into his voice. These were men and women, goons sure, but in Gotham what did that matter? It was easy work typically, always hiring. Especially after today. "They're all soaked with eachother... No quick way, I suppose..."

Jim squelched to the holes in the walls, digging cold metal out of the wall, "Tommy Gun.... Tommy Gun... They're all the dead... Whoever did this..."

"They didn't miss. I see that." The bat crouched in the layer of blood, inspecting corpses.

"How many do you figure were in here who did this?"

Bruce stood, walking along the edges, looking closely. Jim knew his friend well enough. He knew that scowl well. Bruce was thinking. It would be best to leave him alone. Jim sighed, standing back and watching the detective at work. A touch to the ear, a murmur below the surface, this was how it went. Some had dance, other's oil paints. This was The Bat's home, Jim could always tell.

Jim explored the building more. The bodies kept going. Each squelching step a temptation to throw up. They seemed to be Penguin's men... Shot just right to kill and bleed, a lot. But why? The specificity of it all... The horror of it all. The only man who did horrors like this was the Joker, but they knew his location. Besides, the Joker could never do this. There were to many, and Penguin had trained goons.

From back whence he came, the Best spoke, "One."

"What are you talking about, Batman?" Jim called back, clearing room after room to find more hints, anything really. "Look at the bullets. There's only one person they were aiming at."

"..." Jim paused, looking at the scattered bullet holes in the walls. All Tommy Gun rounds lodged in the walls. The sprays seemed to always try and center as the target moved.

"Only one gun's bullets in the victims..."

"You're kidding."

"That or only one person shot them, chum."

"Bruce..." Jim said in disbelief.

"I know."

"No... Batman. I need you to see this."

The hurried steps of the Bat sounded as Jim stared, his flashlight having hit the clue he didn't know he was looking for.

"My god..."

Bruce rounded the corner and stopped in horror. Before them, a bastardization to deep to understand stood. The walls were painted red in a mark, one all to familiar. The rounded wings of the bat stained the white wall, centering perfectly on the headless body of what they could only guess was the once head of the Gotham underworld. The regal regent of crime. The Penguin, framed by the wings like a twisted angel... A demon... Something other. Jim was not sure. But he knew, deep down, this was a sign of something far. Far worse.

[magnusligon]

I’ve been working for the last year on a project very loosely inspired by the love letters exchanged between Gilbert Bradley and Gordon Bowsher during WW2.

This project, however, follows two men named Tommy Brone and Peter Moore as they form a very tender and loving relationship. Nearly a year after they meet Peter is drafted and sent overseas, leaving Tommy behind in Texas. This song is from Tommy to Peter.

lyrics:

held you for the first time

that summer night, benign

dirty jeans and big brown eyes

i watched you drowning in the light

trying to hold your breath for a lifetime

always gentle

always kind to me

always bleeding

always bittersweet

waited, patient, on the hard ground

you stayed right there unbound

and wrapped your arms around me

i cry and i moan that im not just a child

but i know he’s only trying

and he’s

always gentle

always kind to me

always bleeding

always bittersweet

always gentle

always good to me

always bleeding

always bittersweet (you know that i love you)

always gentle

always kind to me (i’d do anything if you asked me)

always bleeding

always bittersweet (i’m only bleeding dry without you)

always gentle

always good to me (i’d give the world if you asked me)

always bleeding

always bittersweet

[radioactivereads]

bros cuddles (hlvrai)

summary: the science team is Tired and they Cuddle . thats it . lol

a/n: im a tommy kin and i was having a hard time sleeping so i wrote this a few months ago . its all platonic. also bubby is hard to write

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The dripping sound of the pipes was pounding in his head. Every noise felt elevated to the highest degree. Tommy stared at the ceiling, sitting against the wall of the Black Mesa floor, the chill of it feeling like it sunk into his bones. Around him the rest of the crew slept.

 In his brain’s constant quest to identify patterns around him, the science team's sleeping habits were now familiar.

Gordon always slept curled up on his side, tense in his sleep. Tommy had hoped his dreams would allow him an escape from how on edge he always seemed to be, but after noticing that he wasn’t so sure. 

Dr. Coomer and Dr. Bubby often stuck close together, and they were no different now. Coomer liked to sleep on his back, even if it did make him snore, which Bubby complained about, but he also liked to prop his head up on Coomer and lie next to him, resting his head on Coomer’s stomach and muttering in his sleep.

Tommy wasn’t quite familiar with Benrey’s sleep patterns, only catching them napping in the middle of other conversations, or once when he woke up and they were still asleep. They seemed to sleep wherever was most convenient, which was often just wherever he was when they got tired.

However, none of these patterns soothed him in this moment. He found himself struggling to sleep more and more. The sounds of all the weapons echoed in his mind. Each day he was dealing with much louder sounds than what he’d become accustomed to.

He wished Sunkist were here, if only for the selfish reason he wanted to hug her. Her soft fur always helped him fall asleep, and she’d often curl up next to him or by his bed, guarding him from threats, real or imaginary.

But it would be dangerous for Sunkist to be here. Despite her immortality, Tommy always worried that the exact moment she got hurt would be when she suddenly would stop being immortal, or maybe she’d forget she was immortal and maybe that would make her not be anymore.

His dad was nearby, he knew that. He’d been watching more closely these days. Whether that was because of Tommy, Gordon, the ‘incident’, or maybe a mix of all of them, he couldn’t be sure.

He- again selfishly- hoped it was because of him, though he knew deep down that was probably not the case. 

His feelings about his father, the ‘Gman’ were complicated at best. They’re his dad, and he loved them, sure, but the recent reappearance after many years of absence was a big thing to get used to.

His father was busy, yes, but Tommy had always hoped they’d have more time for him someday.

But they never did, and Tommy had stopped hoping.

Tommy didn’t exactly want his fathers “comfort” at the moment. His dad was not very good with emotions like comfort, and Tommy knew it’d likely make things worse.

Tommy was only startled out of his thoughts when someone snapped their fingers in front of him. He scrambled back quickly, but realized it was only Bubby, who was squatting in front of him.

“Jeez loueez no need to be so jumpy!” Bubby scowled, but Tommy had learnt he often did that, and it was not indicative of his mood.

“Sorry…” Tommy muttered. His gaze flicked to Dr Coomer, who was still lying on his back, pawing at the air in his sleep and muttering something about a championship and some sort of gaming console.

Tommy wondered what he was dreaming about before turning back to Bubby.

“You look terrible kid, you should sleep”

Bubby was quite blunt.

Tommy bit back a retort, knowing Bubby was much better at that than him, and it wouldn’t be very smart to start that kind of fight.

“…I can’t sleep” Tommy complained “it’s too much- I-it’s way too loud in here. Even if- even when it’s quiet”

Bubby sat, thinking seemingly

“I usually use Coomer as a pillow” he began, Tommy didn’t inform him he already knew this information

 “but when I focus on his snoring it helps me drown out the sound of anything else”

“But how do you- how are you sure you’re gonna be safe all night then? If nobody’s keeping watch over you”

Bubby waved a hand

“You all are very loudl. If something happens I’m sure I’ll wake up to Gordon yelling his head off”

“…I guess so…” Tommy still didn’t feel convinced.

“Why don’t we try to find a noise that you can focus on?” Bubby offered. Tommy sighed but nodded

“Yea… Usually I have Sunkist a-and she helps me feel safer…” Tommy hugged his knees, and Bubby was lost in thought.

“...Say, you like Wikipedia right?” “The- The free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit?” Tommy looked up hopefully

Bubby grinned. It wasn’t like how people were supposed to grin, Tommy thought. It was more like a chimp bearing its teeth, but he’d learned that was just how he smiled.

Bubby walked over and nudged Coomer with his foot. Coomer muttered about gloves and Bubby rolled his eyes (Or, Tommy assumed he did. He couldn’t quite see behind his glasses.)

Bubby picked up Coomer and carried him over, dropping him on the ground. Coomer jolted and yelled something about ropes, but Bubby tapped him and he calmed down.

“Oh, Hello Dr. Bubb-” “Shut it! That one’s still sleeping” He jabbed a thumb towards Gordon, who stirred a bit.

Coomer’s voice was quieter, but not like a whisper, more like someone had used a remote to turn the volume down.

“Coomer, recite the boy a wikipedia article!” “Wikipedia, The Free Online Encyclopedi-?” “Yes, yes that!!”

Tommy tried to get comfortable on the floor, but it wasn’t working very well. Coomer lied back down, resting against the wall, and Bubby lied down next to him, resting his head on Coomer’s side.

Coomer noticed Tommy’s struggles and kindly patted the spot next to him, offering Tommy to share the space. Tommy was hesitant, he wasn’t very used to any sort of physical contact. He hadn’t had many friends, let alone ones who wanted to be affectionate with him. 

He hated to admit it, but he still flinched whenever Gordon put a hand on his shoulder.

Coomer was the exact opposite however, constantly poking, hugging, and messing with other people, so Tommy suspected it was very normal for him.

Awkwardly, Tommy scooted closer, resting his head on his side, and Coomer put an arm over him. It was very comforting, he had to admit.

“A Chair Is A Piece Of Furniture With A Raised Surface-” Coomer began reciting, and Tommy felt himself relax. 

It reminded him of his dad. Gman would recite OSHA guidelines, rules, and encyclopedias to get him to sleep, whether because he thought it would bore Tommy into tiredness or because he genuinely thought it was interesting was beyond him, but Tommy had grown a liking for them regardless.

As he listened to Coomer ramble on, his mind wandered.

His dad was nearby, and he was safe. He shouldn’t worry about that. Even if it wasn’t as direct as Sunkist’s guarding, Tommy doubted his dad would let him get hurt.

But he didn’t just have to worry about himself anymore. He willed his tired eyes- which he hadn’t realized had closed- open, and his gaze tiredly flicked to Gordon, who was still curled up. He looked to Coomer, who was still reciting the entire page, reading out each resource link letter by letter.

“Hey Dr Coomer?”

“Yes, Tommy?”

“...Can we uhm- Can Mr. Freeman join us? He’s- he looks… cold” 

Coomer’s eyes squinted in a strange sort of smile. “The More The Merrier!”

Tommy stood and walked over to Gordon,  and very gently reached down, tucking his arms under Gordon’s, and lifted him up, careful to not wake him. Gordon stirred a few times, but ultimately Tommy was successful. 

He sat down, moving Gordon to be close to the pile. Tommy curled up by Dr. Coomer again. Bubby was already asleep, and contrary to what he said, he was the one snoring it seemed. Tommy hadn’t noticed that before.

Coomer continued reading out the link he was on, while Tommy’s eyes slowly closed. The dripping of the pipes was merely a background sound now, and easily filtered out. And though he felt the cold of the room threatening to chill him, he felt so warm next to his friends.

This was nice. Tommy appreciated the group's company, of course, but as of late it’d felt… Better than before. Tommy realized in this moment that they were his friends. They cared about him, and they’d help him.

Tommy smiled tiredly, curled up by Dr Coomer and Mr. Freeman.

The cold had passed, and only warmth remained.

He hoped it would last a long time.

[thegameartist03]

so about that in-depth post i owe ya

this is about the hlvrai undead au, so warning for major injuries, death, and body horror ahead! i wanted to go into more detail about how each cast member does (or doesn’t) die.

imagine, for a moment, that you are Gordon Freeman.

you’ve just arrived late to work on the day of the big experiment. you run through the halls as fast as you can to the locker room to get your HEV suit on. at the gate, you’re stopped by a random security guard who asks for your passport and hassles you about not being allowed in. you finally get past him, and then run into a fellow scientist that you’ve seen around. he introduces himself as Tommy and mentions something about soda. he seems upset about something, but that’s none of your business. you reach the locker room, and there you find Dr. Coomer- a clone of Dr. Coomer, to be exact, one of hundreds- and you politely address him, though he seems a little scatterbrained, then get suited up and head out. you’re almost there when you pass a commotion. looks like some of the scientists are manhandling an old guy in a hospital gown while he screeches at them about tubes and free will. that’s none of your business, and you’re way behind on schedule, so you continue on. you reach the test chamber, enter, and start setting up the experiment. Tommy, the employee you ran into earlier, is up in the observation room giving you instructions with a couple other scientists. you get to the point that you’re starting to push the crystal into the beam when something catches your eye.

up on one of the walkways is a skeleton.

that’s not possible, skeletons don’t just walk around without bodies, but it makes you pause for a moment before the scientists above loudly announce for you to continue with the experiment. it must just be stress making you see things, that’s all.

you push the crystal into the beam, and everything goes terribly, terribly wrong.

the machine overloads. a beam of green energy blasts through the window of the observation room, and the last you hear of the shutdown efforts is a collective scream. in your panic, you trip and your helmet falls off. now you’re absorbing god-knows-how-much radiation, but it doesn’t end there. a ball of brilliant verdant light builds in the center of the machine, shaking the room and lifting you off your feet, giving you a moment to watch in horror as you recognize the theoretical disaster that is a Resonance Cascade, before a massive shockwave throws you like a ragdoll against the wall of the chamber hard enough to crack your skull. arcs of plasma prickle across your exposed face, and you die.

except you don’t.

you could’ve sworn that you died, it really felt like you should’ve, but you wake up in the test chamber with a raging headache and a strange feeling in your chest. it’s not clear how much time has passed, but you know one thing for certain: you need to get out of Black Mesa.

long before the Resonance Cascade where everything went horribly wrong, a few crucial events occurred that inevitably lead to these unforeseen consequences.

a decade or so ago, Black Mesa and Aperture Science got into a legal battle that resulted in an exchange of leadership between the two companies. a direct consequence of this was harsh cutbacks on safety regulations in the Black Mesa facility, leading to a high employee turnaround and an even higher death record. management needed a solution for their dwindling population, so instead of robots or fewer OSHA violations, they created the Longevity Department. this department was responsible for finding any means to defy death and hopefully a way to reliably revive the heaps of lost staff so they wouldn’t have to hire new employees. there were many attempts made at simulating immortality, but none were particularly successful. eventually, they started dealing with a mysterious entity known as the G-man who provided the company with crystals from Xen, a dimension that existed outside of the concepts of life and death. but these crystals were meant to be used as a power source to solve Black Mesa’s growing power shortages, and they weren’t a main factor in the Longevity Department’s goals.

so what happened to the other members of the Science Team?

Benrey was your average security guard, a normal human who liked playing video games on his off time. his best friend was Tommy, one of the scientists that was hired a few years back and a bit of a quirky guy but nonetheless fun to hang with. Tommy’s been acting weird and sad though, and Benrey doesn’t know what’s up. on the day of the fateful test, the main man who was supposed to put the thing in the thing was late, so when he showed up Benrey decided to tease him a bit. when he finally let the guy go, Benrey was called to report elsewhere and help with a disturbance. he decided to take the rickety definitely unsafe elevator that didn’t have safety railings with some other employees. he and some other guards had a running competition for who could jump from the highest point on this particular elevator on the way down, so Benrey decided to show off to the boring scientists and hopped off early. in dnd terms, he rolled for athletics with disadvantage and no proficiency bonus and hit two nat ones. in a moment of tragic absurdity, Benrey hit the ground at such a bad angle he managed to break his neck. he was dead by the time the elevator stopped a few seconds later, and the scientists sighed about yet another security guard down and called for a cleanup crew.

Dr. Coomer was not the first Dr. Coomer, and he expected he would not be the last. the original Dr. Coomer was a great scientist who sadly contracted a terminal disease (completely unrelated to unprotected exposure to vats of green goop) and was ‘volunteered’ for the Longevity Department’s cloning experiments. cloning is not a perfect process, and many of the Coomers that are produced have serious health issues that kill them almost immediately. the ones that survive have to be augmented with various cybernetics to continue living, and due to the quality of parts every clone has about a 50/50 shot of their bodies rejecting the implants and dying anyway. the particular Dr. Coomer in the locker room that greeted Dr. Freeman was not only on the cusp of organ failure, but the implants in his brain had caused a fatal amount of swelling. he was supposed to be under observation, but he had managed to wander away from the other scientists and to the locker he was sure was his. shortly after Dr. Freeman left the locker room, he was found by the scientists from the cloning department. they tried to convince him to come back with them, to which he agreed, walked violently into a wall, and died on the spot.

Bubby was born in a test tube and he did not want to die in a test tube. creating test tube babies was an imperfect science, and the ‘experiments’ were subjected to accelerated aging, short lifespans, and a plethora of health issues. Bubby hadn’t spent years stuck breathing fluid then years more in physical therapy running tests to see if he could survive outside just for his body to betray him and get him thrown back in the darn tube at the end. thanks to an old friend, he managed to sneak out amidst all the hubbub surrounding some new fancy power source test. unfortunately, his body was no longer able to sustain itself outside of suspension, and his organs began to collapse on themselves under the weight of gravity. Bubby was caught halfway across the facility when his legs were too weak to run and his lungs didn’t want to cooperate anymore. he put up as best a fight as he could- his greatest wish was to see the outside before he kicked it, but failing that he absolutely refused to die in that tube- and a final bit of luck blessed him that his struggling overloaded his failing body. he fell unconscious before they could get the proper equipment, and within minutes, was dead.

and then there’s Tommy. due to his nature as a psychopomp, Tommy has a certain instinct for when someone is about to die. he was aware that Bubby wouldn’t make it and there would soon be another Coomer clone for the biohazard bin, but what upset him the most was his best friend Benrey. Tommy’s dad had warned him about getting attached to people in this line of work, but Tommy couldn’t help it. He was young (by supernatural standards) and he still had a lot to learn. He couldn’t tell Benrey what was going to happen of course, even if he did, it wouldn’t change his fate. So, as a way to say goodbye, he spent some extra time playing video games with his buddy before the day he was fated to die. this also happened to be the day Tommy was supposed to observe one of Black Mesa’s tests using a Xen crystal G-man had procured as part of his deal with the company. nothing major, just a simple experiment that would be over in less than an hour. Gordon Freeman would be the scientist handling the machinery, and Tommy already had a vague idea of when his time would be up. the man had a terrible habit of not double checking the seal on his helmet, and one day enough radiation would seep in to be fatal.

on the day of the test, everything went off as expected. Tommy felt it when Coomer, Bubby, and Benrey each fell, and though he was upset he planned on collecting their souls to guide them after the test. Gordon entered the chamber, Tommy and the other scientists instructed him step by step, and then-

well, for a being who has a sixth sense for life and death, the Resonance Cascade’s disruption of that balance, the outcry of every soul in the facility at once, and the screaming sensation that everything was wrong got to Tommy the moment things started going badly. he opened a door to the void and disappeared moments before the beam of energy struck the observation room. thus, he survived unscathed. returning to the destroyed facility was an overstimulating experience, but it was even more of a shock to find three people that should have absolutely been dead and gone running around and dodging newly created hazards.

far from the epicenter in the defunded Cybernetics Department, Darnold manages to survive the waves of Xenergy and holes himself up in his lab so the zombies and the US military can’t get him.

Joshua also exists in this! he’s the one character that is actually an ai. Gordon is constantly chosen for the HEV suit grunt work instead of being able to do the science behind the experiments, so to combat his frustration and boredom he messed around with artificial intelligence in his spare time. this led to the accidental creation of an actually sentient AI in his work computer that he named Joshua and labeled his son. he knows it would be very, very bad if Black Mesa found out about Joshua, so he keeps him a secret and has asked one of the much more stable Coomer clones to watch over him while he’s away. when the Rescas hits, Coomer is still watching Joshua, and when it becomes clear that things have suddenly gotten very bad, Coomer takes Joshua with him to try and find Gordon. the two have a series of misadventures in the facility while the Science Team are having their journey until eventually Tommy sends Sunkist to find Gordon’s son. from there, Sunkist takes Joshua and reunites him with his dad at Chuck E Cheese after the Benrey fight.

[divinemackerel]

I know most people (statistically speaking) haven’t watched HL:Alyx Gnome or whatever the acronym is (HL:ALBTGIA??? hl:lgbtia. I think its hl:age) but i think constantly about the fact the Player just left the gnome alone, rotting in the game for a year. Because while at times “Gordon’s” personality sort of encompasses this everyman shtick, he is far beyond that when in these games, though he tries casts himself as just another part of their plots, as faux as they are. A great example of that is the other installment in this canon, with the characters of HL:VRAI.

Because, while Benrey falsely impersonates godhood and the G-man seemingly has the ability to manipulate the sandbox, theres nothing out there beyond it all. We know that, and they are thus limited by the code that wrote them, tangled up in it like a fish in a net. 

But there is a world in Gordon’s dreams, when he turns off the game and the Player returns to the realm of the living and truly awake. If anyone has divine powers and/or the ability to intervene, its him, but he doesn’t. He left Coomer, Tommy and Bubby behind and he got tired of the gnome.

Honestly this fact is what makes “Gordon” (and by extension, The Player) so interesting to me, that theres so much he could do by the nature of what he is, but he instead falls haplessly into the role of a partial observer, this one truly free man who, with only mild guilt, abandons the game when he is bored.  In a way, that makes him even more sort of encompass this average joe. He is a failed savior, like most of us probably would be in his situation. He is intrinsically human compared to these artificial intelligences and so he lives like one despite his role in their world.

[blacktobackmesa]

Upload the science team into Red Dead Redemption. Might be one of the most realistic looking game they’ve been in thats very interactive.

Also, what exactly is the status of Sunkist’s inclusion in the Streamman universe? Im sure someone’s probably already mentioned this but, just asking for my own sake.

Sunkist is here! The dog is mentioned in Square and Sphere, the first story I ever wrote for this series, and appears in-person (in-pawson, even) in the third chapter of Start Again. Here's some basic information about Sunkist:

Sunkist is a dog and doesn't know about gendered language. I've stuck to binary language so far (she/he, good boy/good girl), but he doesn't care. Any pronouns. Woof.

To Tommy and the other AI characters, the only strange things about Sunkist's appearance are her larger than average size and an indescribable quality that makes him "more real than anything else in a room" (Tommy, Square and Sphere). That's because unlike other living things on their plane, Sunkist manifests as an image of a creature from Gordon's plane.

To Gordon he's a static PNG that moves around like a cardboard cutout on wheels, just like what we see.

Sunkist is highly intelligent but is also just a dog. Pup could probably hotwire my car but also will fall for the fake fetch throw an unlimited number of times.

As for RDR? Look, I'll be honest: the rules of what counts as horror-inducing realism for the AIs changes based on what I feel like, at least for my own writing. I could handwave the AIs watching a movie in 4K if I wanted to and make up some excuse about it being displayed in their world and thus made compatible with their software, but it's all about what's the most interesting in the moment. If it's cool for them to experience some mental strain while playing Cowboys Eight Still Great then that's what they're gonna do