#hlvrai demon au

[pistachi0art]

why is he holding him like that bro he ain’t going anywhere

[potionbarrel]

i cannot stop thinking abt demon benrey lately. he's done something irreparable to me

biggest shoutouts to @/restlessscribbler and @/pistachi0art for their really good demon benrey/gordon content that kickstarted the life of my brand new brain bug

[voidwolf]

finished drawing @pistachi0art ’s demon gordon!! i LOVE his design sm he’s so… RAAGHAHAGAHA. thanks for letting me draw him i had so much fun making this!!

[roundestrow1et]

your face begins to change

[jesisletmelive]

HLVRAI demon au, but its Boomer and Bubby is angel while Dr Coomer demon

Tube made Angel Bubby who runs away and meet Coomer who also runs away from Black Mesa

[partypanic]

Prelude to presents and Aurora borealis are the start of hlvrai and crypto Santa is the end of hlvrai / boss battle , ty for listening

[mbat]

man of course im gonna end up remembering my scrapped fantasy hlvrai ask blog idea i had back in 2020 right as im trying to sleep

i literally had a whole vague story and i believe drew almost every ref and had a few characters expressions done but it was so much work lmao. i am still pretty proud of it all even though it never went live. maybe i could make it a thing still but in writing only form shrug

i rly did have a few hlvrai au ideas that never came to light more than as ideas with some info attached. shout out as well to my hallmark movie au between gordon and benry 💀

[infohazardouz]

HI!!

hello everybody! it has been a... significant amount of time since i last posted- whoops ':0]

i've gotten a ton of asks and even a few very sweet dms asking where i am and what the status of the comic is, and for that i am very appreciative!

i'll answer some FAQs real quick here:

Q: where have you been? A: college.. doing horrible terrible college things that were very overwhelming and ever so soul-crushing (they really don't play about art school.) luckily i'm on my winter break now and i have a solid amount of me-time again. i have not created anything non-school related in months!

Q: what happened to the comic? A: temporarily unofficial hiatus i guess? i always did intend to continue it whenever i had spare time over the semester, and i even drafted scripts for parts... but i ended up having zero spare time at all :0(

Q: when is the next part? A: i can't say for sure, but sometime this month- hopefully before the new year! i have everything done except for the actual drawings. right now we are looking at about 55 panels to this new special part featuring a crossover guest you all are very familiar with ;0P i am trying to prevent burnout by focusing art on stuff that i am 100% super passionate about, and while i do want to finish this comic i have to say my hyperfixation on welcome home has certainly subdued after all this time.

Q: will you be posting more? A: yes, if all goes well! again, i'm trying to prevent burnout, so we'll see about how much i put out, but i'm excited to get back into drawing for myself again before the next semester starts. i gotta say though- i predict that my posts for the next short while will be focused around half life VR AI, because hlvrai 2 drops tomorrow! i'm really excited for that, so expect tons of fanart. there will be intermittent welcome home demon au stuff sprinkled in here and there for you patient folks too, don't worry!

glad to be back, guys!

[harmonytre]

Would you like to see fanart of your Benrey design?

SIGN-UP IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED. This post will remain up to hold the rules aaaaaaand to keep track of statistics!

Canon: 0/39 (5 unresponded)

Casual: 2/19 (1 unresponded)

AU: 0/30 (1 unresponded)

Xenrey: 0/11 (1 unresponded)

Pony: 1/17 (3 unresponded)

Look no further! Please read the rules below first. Of course, you can always contact me here or on discord (harmonytre) for questions! (I plan on doing the other HLVRAI characters too, I’m just starting with Benrey.) Form will be open for ONE WEEK before I start drawing.

You can sign up through:

The Google Form above

Discord DM

Tumblr Reblog

Tumblr DM

Here is the form to copy.

* means a required question while the rest are optional.

*Character Reference:

*What category is the character? (Canon, Post-Canon/Casual, AU, Xenrey, or Pony)

Any design notes?

*Where can I contact you for questions?

*How would you like to be credited on the artwork?

Name of the AU/Character (if applicable)?

What do you mean fanart?

This fandom has such a large variety of creativity and designs. I find it beautiful. So I’m going to draw 4 categories of pieces, as well as posting the individual drawings afterwards. It’ll be SFW and flat-color fullbodies. Categories include:

Canon: how you’d draw Benrey during the series

Post-Canon/Casual: how you’d draw Benrey in casual clothes or after the series

AU: alternate universes of Benrey (kinsonas included)

Xenrey: any design that will need spoilered regardless of canon or au (body horror, eyestrain, multiple eyes/limbs, bug features, etc.)

Pony: any MLP or Ponytown AUs

Rules:

-Please don’t rush or force me to finish yours quicker. I am doing this for fun in between other projects. If I end up dropping this project, I will let everyone know.

-The character ref must be clear and flat color minimum. (colored sketches are perfectly okay, fullbody is preferred but if it's a halfbody+description that works too)

-You may enter as many designs as you’d like. Have one canon design and 5 AUs? Go wild! Have a couple Xenrey concepts you can’t decide between? Go wild! Have like 10 pony designs? I get that and go wild!

-I won’t draw any oc*ult/demonic designs, sorry. No swearing either, but censored is okay. And obviously nothing racist/homophobic/transphobic/ableist/etc.

[flovey-dovey]

I have no energy for this but Howl's Moving Castle AU but it's HLVRAI. Benrey is Howl and Gordon is Sophie. Make of the rest what you will but that's the most important part of it I think. Also demon.

[i-willstealyourtoes]

MASTERPOST TIME WULULULU-

(Main page (rules, fandom list, extra info))

💗 is multishots / 💝 is oneshots / 💌 is headcanons

💕 is fluff / 💔 is angst / ❣️ is lime / 💋 is smut

💞 is poly / 💘 is match-up / 🤍 is not an x-reader / 🩵 is platonic

orange means it is being worked on / red means it is in my inbox

TF2

Sniper only connecting with the reader - 💕/🩵 + 💌

RED!Mercs with Pacifist!Medic!BLU!Reader - 💕/🩵 + 💌

Touch starved!Sniper with s/o - 💕 + 💌

Scout with introverted s/o - 💌 + 💕

Engineer with chronically ill s/o - 💌 + 💕

Heavy, Engineer and Medic with an s/o with night terrors - 💌 + 💕

Medic finds out crush is an alien - 💕 + 💌

Sniper + Wildlife anon - 💕 + 💘/💌

LGBTQ headcanons - 💌/🤍

Trans Scout - 💌/🤍

Engineer + Autistic Fem!Reader - 💕 + 💌

PAYDAY 2

Adopted!teen!reader + the PDG - 💌 + 🩵

Jimmy and his s/o during + after work - 💌 + 💕

Joy with fem!S/o who is depressed - 💕 + 💌

Dallas with a male crush - 💕 + 💌

Wolf with shy!male!reader - 💕 + 💌

Dallas with small!fem!sniper!S/o - 💌 + 💕

Hoxton x Wolf x reader - 💌 + 💞 + 💕

OG gang post-ending - 💌/🤍 + 💔

Dallas with a Medic s/o - 💌 + 💕

Houston + Hoxton flustering their s/o - ❣️ + 💞+ 💌

Wolf with a male s/o - 💕 + 💌

Bain, Houston, Sokol and Dallas with shy/cute/sensitive (fem) reader - 💌 + 💕

Clover, Bonnie, Bodhi + Dragan grieving their s/o - 💌 + 💔

Sokol + Jacket with (male) s/o watching (bad horror) movies - 💌 + 💕 + 💞

Hoxton with crush that's a (nice) guard - 💌 + 💕

Bain + Heisters with a cuddly s/o - 💌 + 💕

Sokol, Hoxton + Bain with hypersensitive s/o - 💌 + (slight) 💔 + 💞

Jacket, Jimmy, Houston + Hoxton with innocent s/o - 💌 + 💕 + ❣️

Houston + Hoxton with mediator/s/o who breaks up their fights - 💌 + 💕

Bain with his crush - 💌 + 💕

Dallas with younger/silly s/o - 💌 + 💕

Jacket, Hoxton, Sokol + Bain with s/o who's an 'over-achiever' - 💌 + 💕

Dallas, Hoxton, Houston + Wolf with hurt s/o - 💌 + 💕

Houston with tiny s/o - 💌 + 💞

Dallas + Houston catching their s/o singing - 💌 + 💕

Jacket with s/o 'sharing a bed' - 💝 + 💕

Hoxton with s/o 'no strings attached' (I hate this one sm bc it's old and cringe) - 💌 + 💔 + ❣️

Sleeping Dogs

Wei with s/o helping him with his grief - 💌 + 💔 + 💕

Wei, Jackie + Winston and their s/o - 💌 + 💕

Wei with s/o who's cousins with Dogeyes - 💌 + 💔 + 💕

BBC Ghosts

Thomas with best friend/crush reader - 💌 + 💔 + 💕

Clone Wars/The Bad Batch

Hunter with caretaker!Reader - 💕 + 💌

Crosshair + Hunter with the same crush (Mafia AU) - 💌 + 💕

Demon Crosshair with a crush that's an Angel (AU) - 💌 + (slight) 💔 + 💕

Ninjago

Ninjas with angry sibling reader - 💌

Star Wars: Hunters

General Sentinel Headcanons - 💌 + 🤍

Star Wars: Rebels

(There's nothing yet)

Faith: The Unholy Trinity

(There's nothing yet)

Detroit: Become Human

Ralph + reader angst - 💌 + 💔

HLVRAI

(There's nothing yet)

Henry Stickmin Collection

(There's nothing yet)

Yandere simulator

(There's nothing yet)

Minecraft: Story Mode

(There's nothing yet)

Sons of the Forest

(There's nothing yet)

Undertale

(There's nothing yet)

[pistachi0art]

Something Sweet 🍩

[crossfalconx5]

Alright heres a list of all the AUs im working on (Multifandom)

HLVRAI - “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” AU - Benry wins the final fight and holds the science team captive, toying with them as the minds and backstories of each character slowly unravel, and protagonist Gordon M. Freeman begins to crack under the pressure, coming to terms with guilt and the price of being human.

DHMIS - Human Backstory AU - A disheveled screenwriter with a “difficult” marriage finds joy in caring for their neighbor's child, David, with his husband. But when David's untimely death shakes the whole neighborhood, and Red is offered an interesting opportunity by David's father, everything in his life, and the show he creates, takes a turn.

BATIM - Court of the Wretched King AU - The ink demon has created a small group of followers he’s deemed personally useful to him, as the cycle falls apart after Audreys plot to reinvent the way the studio works proves futile. And with a kingdom in shambles, its subjects in disarray, and an angel posing a threat to every living denizen and the lord that seeks to control them, instability is weaving its way through every silent hall of the wretched studio the lord of the dark puddles calls his domain.

FAC/AT - Fractals AU - uhhhh working on it, something to do with the crown and golb connections as well as more alternate universes for the gang to explore

FNAF - Cassidy/Michael swap AU - Michael Afton, original protagonist of the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, end up being the fifth victim of the missing children’s incident instead of Cassidy Chul, and the price of vengeance begins to weigh down on every unfortunate soul that this franchise has gotten its cursed grip on.

HL - Half/Portal swap AU - Chell Freeman braves the deadly halls of black mesa and city seventeen as the combine and mysterious G-Woman pose a threat to all life on earth. While aperture test subject Gordon tries to escape an underground facility while tormented by the past and the malevolent GDoS who seems to know more about Gordon than he does himself.

UT - Aftertale AU- It’s been a year since the monsters escaped the underground and inhabited an abandoned human town and life seems better than ever, but Frisk has begun to hear whispers, old secrets kept buried have begun to be discovered, and doctor Alphys has started to see a familiar figure haunting her in her day to day life.

LTH - Heartbreaker AU - Also still working on it, a character centric AU based on Bennys character and how his experience with the lovely boys took a toll on him

If any of these sound interesting I'd be happy to talk about it!

[soldiertransgender]

I also have. A bit stewing for the trolls (It's Breen, Cave, and Caroline) but here is the main au

A little background information: There are two groups of characters, humans and trolls. The trolls are an alien species from the planet Alternia, and the whole species is raised to be pretty agressive. Each of the groups play a game that ends the world and requires the players to breed a frog to create a new universe inside the frog to win the game. (The game is called Sburb for the humans and Sgrub for the Trolls) A Time player and a Space player is nessecary to completely this, it does not matter what class they are or if there are any other players with other aspects. During the game, each player is assigned a moon they go to when they dream (derse or prospit depending on personalty), a planet that is tailored specifically to each person, an aspect which is the ideal or thing each person embodies, and a class which describes how the person uses their aspect. Once a character dies twice, their second death either being a heroic death or on their quest bed, they can god teir. The Space and Time player needs to God Teir, but the other aspects don't nee to. In this case all of the characters will god teir. In this case the human session is the Half Life characters (Gordon, Barney, Alyx, Adrian, and G-man) and the Troll session is hlvrai (Gordon, Coomer, Benrey, Bubby, Tommy, and G-man again.) Due to the way Homestuck was structured the Troll session goes first, and creates the universe that the human session takes place in.

Human session G-man is a Muse of Space who is a Derse dreamer. Muses passively manipulate their aspect almost by convincing it to do what they want it to do, which I think fits how G-man acts in the main series. Muses are also very close to their session, and are empthetic to their struggles. Derse dreamers like structure, but it has to be their own structure as they don't follow the rules of most places. His planet is the planet of Stars and Frogs. (Space players need to have frogs in their planets so one can be made into the universe frog)

Gordon Freeman is a Heir of Hope who is a Prospit dreamer. Heirs "provide their aspect of provide with their aspect" which in this case is shown through Gordon being pretty much the embodient of hope for humanity. Heirs tend to feel a obligation to be their aspect as well. Prospit dreamers also are very creative, but make sure to stay within the bounds of the rules (they colour inside the lines, pretty much). His planet would be the land of Crystals and Light

Barney would be a Knight of Heart. Knights defend their aspect and defend through their aspect, and Heart is the aspect related to love and romantic connections. So you know. Uhhh yeah. His planet would be the land of Metal and Feathers

Alyx is a Witch of Time who is a Prospit dreamer. Witches change through their aspect, and change with their aspect. Witches also tend to be very friendly and do things specifically to help their group. Time players of course govern time, and as a Witch of Time she can literally change how certain things go, which I mean is a canon thing she does with G-man's help so it fits! Her planet would be the land of Gears and Fur.

Adrian is a Rouge of Doom. Rouges steal their aspect to give to others, this shifting their aspect through eople and distributing it. Doom as an aspect is just that. I uhhh...yeah. He's that. His planet would be the land of sand and blood.

Gordon and Adrian's first death both come at the hands of G-man, which kind of demonizes G-man for the session even though he was ensuring they both god teir. Not quite sure about Alyx and Barney's first deaths but I do know that Barney and Gordon both god teir after a heroic death, and Alyx and Adrian die on their quest beds

Troll session G-man would be a Lord of Time and a derse dreamer (derse dreamer simply because he is a prospit dreamer in the other session). Lords fully control their aspect, and can manipulate it in whatever way they want. They are much more active then muses.

Gordon Feetman is a Bard of Hope who is a prospit dreamer. Bards cause destruction of their aspect or through their aspect, which fits as his existence in the game destroys the hope of everyone else. He is also a gold-blooded troll, who tend to be the more serious and down to earth workers of the blood castes. His planet would be the land of Oranges and Ash

Coomer is a Seer of Void and who is a prospit dreamer. Seers know everything about their aspects. It also fits with the whole "there's nothing out there." thing. He is a teal blooded troll, who tend to be the more active workers of the castes tending towards public services jobs such as lawyers and secertaries. His planet would be the land of Darkness and Slime

Bubby is a Prince of Space who is a derse dreamer. Princes destroy their aspect of destroy through their aspect, and tend to be very active and violent. Bubby is a cerulean blooded troll who are manipulative and ambitious. His planet would be the land of nebulae and frogs.

Benrey is a Thief of Doom who is a derse dreamer. Thieves obviously steal their aspect to use for their own gain. In Benrey's case though, I think that he would steal doom from his friends in order to protect them, thus inflicting the doom upon himself. He is a purple blooded troll, who tend to be the most violent of the blood castes but they keep themselves under control through various ways. His planet would be the land of Passports and Games.

Tommy is a Sylph of Blood who is a prospit dreamer. Sylphs are healers who use their aspects to help, and the blood aspect is the aspect of friendship, but also actual blood. He is also a bronze blood, who tend to be more overlooked and belittled by the other castes. His land would be the land of soda and dogs.

All the trolls god teir because Benrey kills them.

DUDE THIS IS SO COOL . MAKING ME WANT TO ACTUALLY GO AND FINISH READING HOMESTUCK

[antilocaprine]

Here is the Goncharov/HLVRAI crossover AU that absolutely no one was waiting for. Gordon is Katya, Benrey is Sofia. How does that fit into the rest of the narrative? No idea. How does that fit into the smoke-sharing scene at the cafe? Just like this:

The sound of approaching footsteps in patent leather shoes is loud, even on the cobblestone streets, even through the thin rain starting to patter on the cafe canopy, even though there are other feet passing by in both directions in other, finer footwear. 

Benrey’s always been a fan of a well-cared-for pair of shoes.

Gordon slings himself into the metal chair on the other side of the round cafe table with the same casual grace he shows everything, as if he expects the world to rearrange itself around him. And the funny thing is, it very often does. He acts like he’s the main character of a novel, and if Benrey didn’t know better, he might believe it to be true. After all, he's certainly pretty enough for it.

As if reading his mind, Gordon flicks a lock of chestnut hair over his shoulder, sending a scant handful of water droplets sparkling in the streetlights from the few lucky clinging beads of precipitation that managed to reach him under his umbrella. Gordon folds up said umbrella, businesslike and bland, and raises a hand for the waiter, speaking in quick words to order a black coffee with two sugars and cream on the side. Benrey knows he will dip the spoon in the cream and use that to stir the coffee between sips. Benrey knows everything about Gordon.

“So?” Gordon says, not making eye contact with Benrey as he pulls out a thin container and taps loose one cigarette. Benrey pulls a lighter from his coat pocket and reaches across the table automatically, and when the flame clicks on, Gordon’s green eyes flash like chips of emerald through his lashes as he dips his head to light the cigarette. The clock tower chimes. Benrey swallows.

“I, uh, I may have…found something,” he says carefully. Gordon leans back and breathes out a stream of smoke, then makes a face. 

“You’ve ‘found things’ before,” he says, squinting at the filter. “What makes this different?”

“It involves your…uh.” Benrey stutters, and Gordon’s gaze snaps to him. 

“Your coffee, sir,” the waiter says, smoothly placing the cup and saucer on the table along with a small crock of thin cream. It’s the wrong season for good cream - the fatter herds are still at higher elevations, and the local cows are whipcord thin and bitter about it. But Gordon doesn’t comment, like another might - he simply nods and picks up the spoon, dipping it into the cream, then the coffee, and swirling the utensil until a wavering tail of white follows his motions across the drink’s dark surface.

“Does it have to do with his business?” Gordon asks over the rim of the cup as he raises it up for a sip. When his eyes close in pleasure and he hums, Benrey swallows again and reaches for his own lukewarm cup.

“It’s, uh…looks that way,” he replies. 

Gordon’s eyebrows draw down, and he sets the cup back on the table and leans forward again. “You look pale,” he says, and reaches across the suddenly too-small table to press the back of two fingers to Benrey’s cheekbone. “Are you…are you sick?”

Benrey breathes out a wordless query, a huff of breath more than anything, and has to fight to keep his own hands down, to stop himself from cupping Gordon’s fingers against his cheek and holding them there.

“Here,” Gordon says, and spins the cigarette to press it between Benrey’s lips. “You look like you need this more than me. Try to, I don’t know, steady your nerves.”

Benrey breathes in sharply, then has to quickly turn his head to release the mouthful of smoke in an attempt to avoid coughing his lungs out at this streetside cafe. Gordon chuckles behind a hand, demure in appearance, demonic at heart. Benrey loves him, loves him, loves him.

“My husband’s business may be a bit…rocky right now,” Gordon sighs, stirring another spoonful of cream into his cup. “But I’m sure it’ll all end up - well, as well as it can.” He waves a hand, and Benrey takes another pull from the cigarette as his gaze catches on the twin silver bands on Gordon’s wrist - one a delicate chain, one a ring of scar tissue. Benrey is responsible for both of them.

“Has he told you about the Ambrosini brothers?” Benrey asks, and watches the minute twitch of Gordon’s face that he smooths over immediately. He’s spent years living in a society of sharks, but Benrey knew him before that, and knows every expression he can make almost before he makes it. That was a moment of fear, swiftly pushed down and locked in.

Nevertheless, Gordon’s hands do not shake as he raises the cup to his lips again. “I may have met one or two of them. New business partners, he said.”

“There’s three,” Benrey tells him bluntly. “D’you know where the third one is?”

“Do I want to?”

Benrey sighs and rolls the cigarette to the corner of his mouth. “D’you wanna live?”

Gordon gives him a level look and pulls the square container out of his coat again. “Oh, I see.” He taps another cigarette out, but just holds this one between his knuckles as he dips his spoon in cream again and stirs it into his coffee. “You’re here to get me into trouble. Again.”

“I’m here to get you out of trouble. Again,” Benrey growls, hand darting across the table to grasp Gordon’s wrist. “Or have you forgotten about the last trap you walked into?”

“The trap you led me into?” Gordon responds coldly, yanking his hand free. He pulls both hands into his lap and ducks his head as if to inspect his wrinkled sleeve - but Benrey can see his clever eyes darting left and right, checking for witnesses, gauging the interest of passerby. They are not the only patrons of this cafe - Benrey isn’t that stupid - but the tables to either side of them are empty, and the waitstaff are discreet. 

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Benrey says quietly, choosing his words carefully, as he always must these days. “You remember what I said?”

Gordon’s head is still down, and he replies as if speaking to his lap. “You said, ‘I didn’t tell them to do that.’”

“And d’you remember who was there? Who was listening?” Benrey is leaning forward, and he should pull back, should prepare himself for the disappointment he knows is coming, but he has to try, he has to -

“I know,” Gordon hisses, words sharp and acidic between his teeth. “I know, and I - I understand. I get it. I do. But you have to understand -” He raises his head and Benrey’s chin tips back in shock. Are those tears glittering in absinthe-green eyes? Or is this another act, as so much of Gordon’s life must be these days?

“I thought you were leaving me to die, Benrey,” Gordon says, and now his fingers tremble as he reaches for his nearly-empty cup.

“You had to think that,” Benrey says, biting back the pleading note that tries to undercut his voice. “You had to, it was -”

“I know,” Gordon interrupts, then falls silent. His eyes are focused on the coffee cup in his hand, as if he might read his future in the dregs if he simply looks hard enough. The light of the sodium-yellow streetlamps shining through a curtain of misty rain behind him gives him the distant air of a Caravaggio - or the crystallized perfection of a Bernini.

There’s a reason Benrey is in Naples, and it isn’t just because Gordon is here, too.

“Then you know you can trust me,” Benrey says, pushing just a little. “You - right? You know that.”

Gordon sighs and plants his right elbow on the table, holding the cigarette delicately between his index and middle fingers. His sleeve rides up and displays those slender bands again, both the chain and the scar. This time, Benrey doesn’t move until Gordon gives him another level look.

“I know,” he says. Benrey nods, leans forward, and reaches out with his lighter. The click of the wheel seems suddenly loud, but not for lack of any other sound - the rain still shushes down on the blue canopy, and feet still clatter on the street. Benrey is just utterly focused on the flame cupped in his hands and the burgeoning glow of the cigarette. 

Gordon has always been the center of his world. He never should have tried to be a rogue planet - no matter how hard he tried, he was always going to come back into orbit around this star.

“You still have that old thing?” Gordon nods at the lighter as he breathes the cigarette into life. Benrey blinks at him, then looks down at the dark, blocky lighter in his hand. It’s scuffed, but his name is still etched around the base in a never-ending loop.

“‘Course,” he shrugs, pocketing it again. “S’like a, uh, passport. People know it - they see it and they know it’s mine.”

“Hm,” Gordon says, and the fingers of his left hand stray to his right wrist, to the thin silver chain. Benrey’s chest hurts, but he says nothing. They’re both trapped, and they both know it, and it’s far too late for either of them to get out alone. But together, maybe…

“All right.” Gordon sighs out a trickle of smoke and brings both hands down to rest on the table. “So. Where’s the third brother?”

Benrey smiles. 

                                                          * * *

Night has fully fallen by the time they’ve finished exchanging veiled information, mixed in with gallery opening dates and plans to meet at a fruit stand to sample the newest shipment off the port in two days’ time. Benrey hopes they’ll be able to make it - he’ll need to rely on Gordon to lay the framework of his plan, now, before Benrey can build a trap that will catch his husband, but let him go free. 

The clock tower chimes once more, and Benrey blinks, pulling his watch out of an inner coat pocket, then muttering a curse. 

“You still have that, too?” Gordon’s grin is bright in the dark.

“We can’t all marry into wealth,” Benrey gripes, then sighs at Gordon’s hurt look. “Anyway. It’s a gift from, uh. Someone important. To me.”

“Oh,” Gordon says, cigarette paused halfway to his mouth. “Well. If that’s the case, I guess it’s okay.” His smile is a little gentler, now, a little more private. 

“Yeah,” Benrey says, as he winds the antique pocketwatch. “Guy can be a real jerk sometimes.”

Gordon’s hair bounces as he whips his head around to glare at Benrey. “Oh, for -”

“But,” Benrey interrupts, “I like jerks. Even when they steal my food.”

Gordon blinks, a slice of fried potato dangling from his grip. He puts it down and pulls his hand back guiltily. “I thought you were insulting me.”

“Who says I was, uh, talking about you?”

“Well, unless someone gave you an identical watch,” Gordon says, pointing, “there’s no one else you could be talking about.”

The waiter clears their table and places a leather booklet at the edge of Benrey’s elbow. “Take your time,” he says, and steps back inside.

Benrey’s got his hand on the bill when Gordon flicks it out of his grasp, waving off Benrey’s dutifully-mustered protest. 

“It’s not like it’s my money,” he says sardonically, and places several crisp notes inside. Benrey’s eyebrows rise at the amount, but then Gordon closes the leather cover and the waiter appears as if by magic to whisk it away, and Benrey knows they’ll be allowed to linger.

There are fewer pedestrians on the narrow street now, and the shops up the road have started to roll up their canopies and bring their tables and chairs in for the night. Other storefronts down darker side streets are just beginning to liven up, cheerful voices rising on the dark air, heedless of the misty rain that still falls. In Benrey’s experience, after enough alcohol the average Neapolitan wouldn’t notice if they were standing in a hurricane.

“I should go,” Gordon says, pulling a watch out of his own coat, and Benrey feels a burst of shocked affection like a physical blow at the sight of the scuffed copper cover. 

“You - did - you kept that?” he stutters, and Gordon glances up, freckles standing out suddenly as his cheeks flush, and Benrey loves him. 

“Of course,” he says, after far too little hesitation. “You gave it to me.”

Benrey takes a deep breath and nearly inhales the filter on his cigarette as it flares bright between his teeth. And Gordon, who should know better than to be so obvious, is still smiling, his flustered grin giving way to a smirk as he watches the effect his words have on Benrey. So Benrey leans forward and blows a cloud of smoke directly into his face, the tiny cafe table not big enough to give Gordon enough distance to avoid it.

Except he’s not avoiding it. When the cloud dissipates, it’s because half of it has gone into Gordon’s lungs on a deliberate inhale, and he huffs a laugh through his nose. Before Benrey can lean back, Gordon has taken a drag of his own cigarette and blown an answering cloud across the table, which has suddenly grown far too small.

Benrey gasps in a breath like a drowning swimmer, and he can almost feel Gordon’s warm chuckle in the smoke as it trickles behind his teeth. The bite of it is sharp and golden in the glow of the street lights, and Benrey wishes he could sip smoke straight from the source - wrap his palm around the back of Gordon’s neck, fit their lips together, and share smoky breaths back and forth until the air runs out and all they can breathe is each other.

His own cigarette suddenly burns his fingers. Benrey hisses and drops it on the table, glaring at it reproachfully, then picks up the butt and smothers it in the ashtray as Gordon snorts at him. He’d forgotten it was almost down to the filter.

Wordlessly, still laughing a little, Gordon draws Benrey’s hand across the table. He cups it in both of his and tilts it this way and that to catch the light and check for burns. The tingling has already faded, though there’s no need for Benrey to tell him that. Gordon’s hands are warm, and his old calluses have been softened and scrubbed away by expensive soaps and lotions. But beneath that, his hands are still strong - both of them are, even the one that Benrey nearly caused the loss of so many years ago.

Just as Benrey draws breath to say something - though he doesn’t know what - Gordon stuns him by raising his hand and gently pressing his lips to the back of the first two fingers, kissing the knuckles as gently as one would kiss a mortal wound. It’s only a fleeting touch, but Benrey feels it like a brand - Gordon’s lips burn hotter than any cigarette’s embers ever could. 

Benrey yanks his hand back with an inarticulate gasp, looking around quickly to check for any potential witnesses. The waitstaff are inside the cafe, cleaning up, and there are no longer patrons at the neighboring tables - they have outlasted all the other customers. No one is walking the cobblestone streets nearby, and anyone looking out of a window in the surrounding buildings would find their view blocked by the cafe’s awning.

“Are you crazy?” Benrey hisses anyway. “If the wrong person saw that, you - he would -”

“My husband would have me killed, yes,” Gordon says, rising from his seat. “Or worse, divorced.” He shakes out his umbrella and opens it with a snap, a shower of tenacious droplets pattering down across his patent leather shoes. 

“But -” Benrey protests weakly. “Then - what was that?”

“It was a gift,” Gordon says calmly. “To someone who is…important to me.” He raises the umbrella and steps out from under the cafe awning, his face instantly falling into shadow.

Benrey does not know how to respond to that. What could he say, what words could he find which might contain a fraction of how much he feels for this sad, strange man he’s known since childhood and followed across the world?

“I’ll see you at the fruit stand, Benrey,” Gordon says. “At noon, the day after tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

“The - the fruit stand. Yeah. Okay. Fruit.” Benrey puts a hand over his face and Gordon chuckles as he sets off into the dark.

“Don’t be late, Benrey.”

“No,” Benrey says, but it’s too quiet for Gordon to hear. “Never.”

Gordon’s footsteps pace away down the street, heading back toward his gilded cage, umbrella tipped over his shoulder to protect his hair from the rain, and Benrey loves him so much he knows it will kill him.

The clock tower chimes. Benrey swallows, then stands, waves to the patient and well-paid waitstaff, and walks out into the rain.

[h0undeye]

ok im too lazy to draw this so youre getting a textpost baby

BUT!

panepon au. basically follows general plot of panepon. fun little fairy land but MONSTERS are invading and all your friends are turned EVIL and you have to save them (beat them in a match three game)

our protagonist is tommy, the flower fairy. "why is tommy the protagonist shouldnt gordo-" SHUT UP HEATHWR!!! i'll GET to it but also tommy just reminds me of lip (the flower fairy in panepon) ok?

the first fairy you save, the wind fairy, is BARNEY CALHOUN because this is a hlvrai + half life au (aka i didnt have enough characters). why? shrugs. just. eh. vague gesturing. i think her free spirited nature works for barney

next is ALYX whos the ice fairy because sherbet is described as a silly little trickster and im like yeah thatd be funny

the nature fairy is gordon (hlvrai) because hes a nature guy in my heart of hearts

benrey is the jewel fairy because. looks around. sighs. i just really like the jewel fairy and i really like benrey. (also the term "shadow leader" is used in rubys character description and thats. im so NORMAL about that phrasing. plus due to lore reasons ill get to her being the shadow leader implies shes buddies with lip whos tommy in this au)

the water fairy is dr coomer! because the fire fairy is bubby and. well. im not immune to cliche

the sea fairy is darnold. sea and water are two separate elements here!!! i just think darnold mermaid is neat okay. something something sea. soda. whatever

the moon fairy is gordon (half life) ONE because shes described as the group leader DESPITE lip being the ACTUAL leader. two. idk something about moon imagery and gordon freeman. they go together in my head

the goddess cordelia is GMAN (hlvrai to be specific). because cordelias whole thing is that shes the final FINAL boss but its revealed that all the monsters and stuff were ILLUSIONS she created to test her daughter, LIP, to see if her daughter was prepared to take on the mantle of queen. do you see how this fits gman and tommy now?

as you can tell i dont have a lot of solid reasoning for most characters its mostly vibes especially since in panepon they dont have very solid personalities so vibes are my best bet. maybe i'll draw all these guys because i want too im just lazy. but this au occupies my brain and i have to get it OUT

sidenote i havent fully worked this psrt out but itd be really funny if dr breen was thanatos the demon king