#cortnan

[combines]

hello again!! as someone who comes from the 2020 fandom resurgence I am. SO SORRY. that happened a lot unfortunately. yeah we did NOT know how to act early on (ToT). I had the vibe it was a lot of people's first online fandoms.

the ship with two guys in it being dubbed butter pecan because of something something 'a lot of nuts' is again, so, so funny. Thank you for enlightening me on this, I know it's probably wild to be asked about this stuff like a decade after. This is like honestly a bit of a mystery in the fandom so it's insane finding out the source!! A real miracle the person who coined it so long ago is still active on tumblr

And speaking, it is and was INSANELY hard to dig for any 'fandom history' or even just any sort of Old post on here and I hate it.

another little question if that's okay- I'd assume that seeing the change in reception to freemance and freehoun kinda swapping around must've been bizarre as an older fan considering this was a fandom for a fps game in the early 2000's-early 2010's, in my head the vibes were kinda reversed where freemance was the big ship and freehoun was less well received by most

hiii again!!! i'm so sorry it took me a few days to answer this sdkfsmdk

i think it's super funny because both half-life: alyx and hlvrai came out within weeks of each other so you had this sort of resurgence on here of old fans returning/posting and getting excited for alyx and then a huge wave of people getting into hl in general because of the audience that hlvrai introduced. personally, i still haven't watched hlvrai because it doesn't really seem like my thing, but i'm still glad that there were so many people who enjoyed it to the point where they actually ended up playing and loving the games too!!

freemance definitely was the big ship on tumblr back in the day so yes it was very interesting to see that reversal!!!! honestly i don't think i was on tumblr too much during that time where hlvrai/freehoun really took off, and so the drama surrounding ship wars or whatever was mentioned to me secondhand. 2020 was just like the worst year of my life for personal reasons, as i'm sure for a lot of people, and i can't remember really any of it tbh LOL but you've got nothing to apologize for! i think you're definitely right, it seemed like a first fandom for many people, and that generally skewed younger. i think (hope) it's a better now at least!

tumblr's tagging/tracking/search is HORRIBLE i completly understand. i still think tumblr is the best place for fandom centralized stuff (pictures, art, gifs, etc) and until there's a new platform that does it better, i'll probably still be here, if super sporadically!

if you are interested in uncovering past hl fandom posts or just looking to follow some great people, i've tagged just some that were active in the hl fandom back in the day!!! :') i'm sure they wouldn't mind if you combed their archive looking for hl stuff/shitposts <3

@mbelyakova @littlewitchbee @temunade2 @loplins @angels-heap @anndromedea @skellagirl @bioticbear @cortnan @duamuteffe @protokol @cerviceps @axiolotl @clodiuspulcher @caramujotan @drgertiefremontphd @jauffre @owligator @saikkunen @utopianoverlord @failssafe @brogineer

[fishfaggot]

Get to know me!

Tagged by my favorite @jokermutual 💖 thanks babe 💕

Favorite color: Ultramarine Blue as of late

Currently reading: Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential 🔪

Last song: Lotfi Bouchnak - Nassaya

Last series: I Think You Should Leave 👀

Last movie: Pink Flamingos 🦩💃

Sweet, spicy, or savory: Spicy 🔥🔥🔥🔥 Spicy everything🔥🔥🔥 Spice up your life🔥🔥🔥🔥

Craving: A loud sweaty gay trans rave in a cement basement on a copious amount of edibles right meow

Tea or coffee: Yi Fang Brown Sugar Milk Tea babe

Currently working on: Enjoying my weekend to the fullest.

I'll tag... @cowumbo-uwu @cleaverchine @stegozavr @outkastspeakerboxxx2003 @cortnan

[infinityactual]

You want positives on the Halo show? Well, Cortana is still the best girl and Jen Taylor's performance is wonderful. One of the made-up Spartans, Kai, is the greatest revelation of the year: best character to come out of that series hands down. Funny, quirky and sometimes even sweet. I wasn't a fan of the twist on Miranda Keyes at first, but she does surprisingly well and escalated quickly to one of my top favorites.

What else? Hmm. The aesthetics are spot on, I like how everything looks.

I hope it helps!

OH, I'M GLAD OUR GAL JEN STILL GOT TO PLAY CORTNAN! I did not know!!

I have seen a lot of love out there for Kai, too. I don't know a lot, just that apparently she's good enough to have become a blorbo.

And yeah I was sorta...hm...about Miranda in this. LOVE the twist where Jacob is Black and Miranda is mixed, but I too was sorta iffy on Miranda's character changes. glad to know it grows on you!

And YE the overall vibe looks pretty on the nose!

[areax]

Roy Scheider in Sorcerer (1977) dir. William Friedkin

for @cortnan !!!

[chestnutroan]

cortnan replied to your photo “some expressions practice with this synth! hc that seeing as nicks...”

(nick voice) THATS MY O P I N I O N

YOU GET ME........YOU GET ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[corttana]

cortnan replied to your post: it’s so emotionally taxing for me to listen to the...

after all these years green and blue is still a sucker punch!!!!!

it’s disrespectful is what it is. who does neil davidge think he is, composing a work of art like that, assuming it does not murder my whole ass every time i hear it

[themoonshoes]

TWENTY PINE TEEN

only you bottom text……….. its 20pineteen baby we’re out here! literally! 🌲🌾🌲🌲🌱🌿🌻🌲🌵🌹🌾🌵🌵🍂🍃🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌳🌳🌳🌲🌾

[nitensalis]

cortnan replied to your photoset “tonight feels like a night for crying over the ending of contact...”

no .

i just saw this and swans, i’m sorry, 

[rytfujgkuhhgmjgh]

cortnan replied to your post: i feel like marlene was well educated (as well as...

(marlene voice) i thought the whole time we were living Inside the earth

TO BE FAIR SHE, SPECIFICALLY, WAS

[ghidrah]

cortnan replied to your post: Do any of ya’ll recommend playing the other...

playin fo3 would probs help w context!!!

awesome, thank you!! 

[combines]

cortnan replied to your post: “plus im really confused did marc laidlaw just forget that alyx and...”:

i need you to know every time i see moosetracks ice cream i think of you

NOT BUTTER PECAN?

[sailorsanghelios]

cortnan replied to your post “I saw Singing in the Rain on the big screen with my mom today, and I...”

i teared up at the dedication to debbie but at the end where everyone was clapping i lost it :'(

OMG you went too Swans?

Yeah it was the very ending that I started crying too...the dedication was a punch in the gut too, especially since when I got these tickets for Christmas she was still alive :’(

[infinityactual]

LORD THIS TURNED OUT WAY LONGER THAN I INTENDED, PLS ENJOY.

Wingman

He could feel her smile, even without the direct connection provided by the armor's interface.

"How long has he been out?" Cortana asked a few seconds later. John was certain she already knew the answer and was just being conversational; sharing Infinity's hardware as she was, he knew she had access to everything Roland did, maybe more.

Definitely more, knowing her.

"Not quite ten hours," he replied quietly.

John was in the Captain's quarters, neck craned as he peered through the doorway into Tom's bedroom. The captain always left the dim amber accent lighting on, which afforded John more than enough light to see that he was still curled up on his side, completely engulfed in the blanket...with the exception of his feet.

"He needed it, and so did you."

John scoffed quietly as he turned back to the living area and the small blue woman standing on the holodisk atop Tom's desk. Her arms were folded, and she was looking at him with one eyebrow raised and an expression to match the affectionate scolding tone of her voice.

A week ago Cortana had 'accidentally' let it slip that John had, in fact, flat-out ignored Lord Hood's orders for R&R. In the wake of the AI's tactical lapse in memory, the Admiral had spent several minutes stewing in silence while John stood stoically at attention and awaited a dressing-down. He found that preferable to the boredom of downtime and the general restlessness and anxiety it always entailed.

But then Cortana had broken the silence with a well-placed comment about how Infinity's Captain was running himself ragged pulling sixteen hour days, either forgetting or refusing to delegate his former duties to his own XO. Spartan Commander Palmer had even found him asleep at the ready room desk, his face stuck to the tablet he'd fallen asleep on while doing paperwork.

A Shame, really...

Forty-six hours later, John was back aboard the Infinity, bereft of armor and orders in hand, the lingering sense of Cortana's smug satisfaction at the success of her machinations in the back of his mind.

"So," the AI unfolded her arms and clasped her hands behind her back. "Plans for today?"

John glanced at the clock; 0947. February the 14th, 2559.

"We already discussed it." John stated plainly.

"True," Cortana said slowly as she rocked forward onto the balls of her feet. "But one last review of the mission objectives never hurt anyone, something you could definitely learn from Fred."

John had to smile at the two-pronged jab, at once teasing Fred for his at times overt caution and planning, as well as John's own 'act now, deal with consequences later' philosophy.

"It's Fred's job to plan and worry." But it's my job to act and lead with confidence, he left unsaid. As he got the tin of coffee out of the cabinet, Cortana cocked her head and once more folded her arms.

"I don't see 'ship-to-ship combat asset' anywhere in your job description."

Before John could reply, he heard a faint rustle from the bedroom and looked over his shoulder. He was somewhat surprised at the intensity of the anxiety that flooded him at the idea of Thomas waking up before he was ready; not that he felt he'd ever be ready for something like this...

After several too-long seconds, John could make out the steady, even breaths that said Tom was asleep again. When he looked back to Cortana, she was smiling with an earnest warmth.

"Well?" She spoke just above a whisper. "Get everything together, and I'll walk you through the recipe." John nodded silently and waited for instructions.

Over the next hour or so, with Cortana's help, John had successfully prepared several helpings of scrambled eggs with cheese and ham (cut into perfect 5mm cubes) as well as a batch of pancakes, one of which was burnt. While he'd been annoyed at the apparent failure, Cortana assured him that burning the first pancake was essential to getting the rest perfectly golden. She was right, of course.

As John prodded at the edge of the last pancake in the sauté pan, he caught the sound of a yawn followed by Tom stretching and froze.

"Coffee! Coffee!" Cortana hissed. He quickly reached over and thumbed the switch, and after a brief moment's muffled hissing as the hot water flowed, the machine began to drip coffee into the pot. He returned to the pancake, carefully lifting the edge to check if it was done and, finding it an even caramel-gold, quickly scooped it up and added it precisely to the top of the stack. The shuffle of bare feet on Infinity's deck sent a bolt of lightning down John's spine and he snapped around to find the captain standing in the doorway. John suddenly felt like he'd been caught sleeping on watch, or wearing wrinkled dress whites.

"Ah, look who's up!" Cortana piped brightly. John nearly jumped out of his skin at the abrupt break in the tension. Thomas blinked.

"C'rtana?" He half-mumbled, obviously still sleep-drunk.

"Well I'm the completely wrong color to be that sassy-brassy thing the UNSC assigned you."

There was a sudden mellow-yet-indignant noise reminiscent of an archaic OS alert over the comms, and John swore he heard Roland mutter something about 'Eiffel Sixty-Five looking floozie'.

"Mmh, right, sorry." John felt his stomach clench as Tom seemed to notice him finally, and he found himself resisting the urge to either snap to attention and apologize or fall through the deck and vanish into slipspace.

"What's...John, did you get breakfast?" He asked as a yawn overtook him.

"No, si-" John bit back the honorific. "No, I cooked."

Tom's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"Really??" John simply nodded. On the holodisk, Cortana made a pleased sound.

"Hm, well, I'll make myself scarce and leave you two lovebirds to yourselves." She winked at Thomas, then vanished in her usual flicker of light.

"Lovebirds, huh," Thomas chuckled as he rubbed an eye with the heel of his hand. "So, what's so special you decided to cook?"

John suddenly felt frozen and vulnerable, and for a beat he stood silently like a Kigyar in a Warthog's headlights.

Just say it. He's seen you at your absolute worst, I doubt that stumbling over your words will make him think less of you. Cortana's earlier words came to mind, and he took a breath.

"Happy St. Valentine's Day."

Thomas met his eyes, and he could see the man blush.

"I...ah...is it?" the captain looked at the clock. "Ah, yeah it is. Would you look at that..."

As Thomas trailed off, John looked down as a weight settled in his gut.

"Give me a sec." Thomas quickly vanished back into the bedroom and John could hear him rifling through drawers and swearing. The seconds seemed to drag by as curiosity began to color the edges of his anxiety, but barely a minute passed before Thomas reappeared with a small box in hand.

"You...made enough coffee for both of us?" he asked as he looked behind John at the coffee pot.

"Yes." His simple reply seemed to be the right answer, as Tom smiled and then held the box out to him.

Everything seemed to be moving slower than normal to John as he reached out and took the box. While Tom looked on expectantly, he pulled the top away to reveal black tissue paper, which in turn covered a smooth metal cylinder with a lid and handle, and the words 'Oly Oly Oxen Free' embossed on it.

Several things seemed to crash through him at once; memories of Reach, thoughts of his fireteam and of the AI that was his best friend, did Tom know the significance of that phrase and if he did...how had he found out?

"I uh, got a set. Of four. Y'know, in case Fred or Kelly or Linda, uh. Drink stuff." Tom was fidgeting as if he was uncertain of his gift, rubbing his thumbs and forefingers against each other in small circles. "Cortana told me about oly oly oxen free, how it's sort of your team's 'all clear' signal and uh, that it means a lot to you guys and I thought it might be a good way to sort of say that all of you have a place here...I mean, of course you have S-Deck, but you also have a place-place...as in you're always welcome in a...family sort of way? Crap I'm not making sense am-"

"Thank you." Thomas looked up at him and his face split into a wide grin.

"You like it, then?" John nodded, then took the oversized mug out of the box and set it next to the one he'd put out for Tom, who was still grinning like a fool.

As they settled in on the couch with breakfast and coffee, John wondered just how long Cortana had planned this. She'd been enabling and encouraging their relationship from the very beginning, when...

"John." The sound of his name pulled him back to the present.

"Mh?" Thomas was smiling at him, but the excitement from earlier had been replaced with a soft fondness, a subtle change in the set of his eyes and in his posture that John couldn't quite define, but that always made him feel almost giddy.

"Happy Valentine's day."

John smiled, and when Thomas leaned in for a hug, the Spartan gently lifted the captain's face and kissed him softly instead.

"I love you, John."

Just say it... Cortana echoed in his mind again.

"I...love you too." Thomas smiled again, then picked up his coffee and sat back.

"So, how are things with Blue Team anyway? You haven't been down to S-Deck much lately."

"My orders are to make sure you take your R&R...and..." John swallowed, and reminded himself that it was ok to admit to his wants. "I'd planned to stay because...I want to." Thomas smiled again and took a sip of his coffee.

"That is absolutely a perfect plan"

"Also if I go back to S-Deck, Kelly will just speculate and make comments about what 'sexcapades' we went on."

"What."

[areax]

literally every time hickey was onscreen i was just like. tuunbaq kill this clown.

[astrovagrant]

cortnan replied to your post: deep inhale. this online math class is required...

i know at my commcoll iirc there were placement tests u could take again ???

i... took their placement test (got a 100%), and this is the class i placed into (which is also the only math class i need for my major, so... i guess i’ll take it)

[occultdigest]

A Ripley for a trade with @cortnan ! She’s not looking for trouble but it’s still finding her ...