#freehard

[juperder]

somehow, freehard returned

[pineapplesoda]

stasis

[mightbesong]

Hi. another shepman art. thanks

[wayfarerhythm]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[zimvo1d]

shephard doodles for the server im in. also they should let you pick up lamarr and throw her at barney that'd be funny

[iateyourburrito]

Here's the ultimate ship to me

[juperder]

he forgot what it was called

[mightbesong]

when you have two favorite characters who never interacted the right option is always to ship them

this looks like shep killed gordon. its not im just a fool ("oh floor seems a little empty lets add something cool there like blood :]"). he's taking a nap ♥

bonus