#s/i: Atticus Brine

[dzvagabond]

Vagabond's Valentine's Day Art Challenge Day 3/14:

"...Hi Gordon."

It's nice to finally see you again.

[dzvagabond]

💡 + Half Life?

Ooh another one!! Thank you for the ask 💚💜

SO!!! Everyone who's ever worked with Atticus has known their last name to be "Brine", when in actuality their real last name is Breen. They are the child of Wallace Breen and resent him for essentially giving up the human race to the Combine for power. That's why when they awake from G-man's slumber 5 years before Gordon, they immediately join the rebellion with Barney to save earth. They changed their name so people wouldn't assume they got the job at Black Mesa for being the Head of the Facility's child.

[dzvagabond]

DZV’s Valentine’s Day Art 6/10:

Rise and Shine

[dzvagabond]

1, 25, and 26 for Gordon? :0

1. Well, go on, introduce yourself!

[*Waves*] Hello, @crybaby-shaymin, I'm Gordon Freeman, former scientist at Black Mesa Research Facility and the partner of Atticus Brine. I'm hard of hearing, I'm still 27 thanks to stasis and that weirdo in a suit, and now am the leader of a rebellion against the combine.

25. What’s the embarrassing memory you have that involves s/i? Go on, I won’t laugh, I promise!

The most embarrassing recent memory that I have involving Atticus would be when I first met Lamarr. Atti thought it would be funny to be in cahoots with Dr. Kleiner to chuck Lamarr at me as soon as I stepped into his lab to scare me. Well... it worked and let me just say I blew out my voice with the high pitched screech I let out. Barney, Alex, and Atticus were dying of laughter.

26. What’s something you’ve ALWAYS wondered about s/i but haven’t asked them about? And why??

I've always wondered about Atticus' family. They hardly ever talk about them, let alone their parents. I assume there may be some bad blood there and they don't want to talk about them due to something that happened. I figured if they do want to tell me, they will in their own time.

[dzvagabond]

For Gordon Freeman: 🤍❤️🧡💙💜 -ScribblyShipping :]

Hello, and thank you for the ask @scribblyshipping

🤍- When did you first realize you were in love with s/i?

Oh lord.. I would love to say it was during our time at Black Mesa before shit hit the fan, but it was definitely after reuniting with them after 20 years in stasis. Seeing them alive, albeit a bit scraped up, after all that time really hit it home for me.

❤️ - Is there anything you would like to do with s/i in the near future?

If we have time, and if we're in the same area, a small date is in order. I do owe Atticus that.

🧡- Who worries more about the other?

Atticus Brine is the biggest worrywart I have ever met in my life. More so than Barney. I do have my fair share of worry for them as well, but it's definitely them.

💙- Do the two of you have a shared morning or evening / night routine?

Unfortunately, we don't. With me moving to combine facility to combine facility and them being a sentry sniper for the rebellion, we don't get to see each other often, let alone spend the night with one another. I would love to have a routine with them, but right now it's not possible. We used to share coffee and breakfast every morning with Dr. Breen and Barney way back when however..

💜- What is something you would like to say to s/i right now?

Atticus... I want you to know how much I care about you and how much I am doing this for you, for us and all of our friends to finally be free of all of this shit. When this is all said and done, can I please take you out on a proper date?

[dzvagabond]

Half Life insert lore Brain Wurms leggo

Atticus joins black Mesa at the age of 20-22 and obviously works alongside a certain Freeman™ to develop the HEV suit.

They get caught up in the resonance cascade and make it through Black Mesa before G-Man takes a look at them, thinks oh they could be useful later for Mr. Freeman totally knowing their feelings for him and put them into time sleep until 5 years pre-HL2.

The war is still going on and the first person they meet when they awaken is none other than good ol boy Barney.

"A-Atticus?? Is that really you? No... I must be hallucinating. Damn Combine trying to play tricks on me again..."

Obviously it takes some convincing before Barney breaks down along with Atticus and catches them up to speed.

At the end of the war, they are devastated to hear their father ex-colleague, Dr. Breen take over Earth as the overseer.

They train with Barney and meet up with Dr. Kleiner, and Eli and make the plan to "join the Combine" as both Military Police and Reconnaissance to gather information for the resistance.

Once Gordon comes to the future, they're roughly 30 years of age, and tired of fighting in this useless war. Resenting Dr. Breen immensely.

But once they hear about A Freeman™ coming to take down Breen, they gather up as much intel as they could before escaping the Combine to officially join the resistance out in the field as a sniper waiting to meet Gordon on his journey.

Alright that's all I got for now. Might post more later once it comes to me. ✌️

[dzvagabond]

♡ + FLASHLIGHT

@cryptidchaos i STRUGGLED with this one my guy. Flashlight made brain go nope. you also get two but thats a given at this point lol.

While roaming through the Whitetail mountains, Taylor will always have to remind Sharky to turn off his flashlight while the two are taking out peggies at night. He’s always forgetful and Taylor is constantly threatening to take the batteries out of the damn thing but much to her chagrin, he just smiles and says, “Oh there’s no batteries in this here flashlight. Ya just have to shake it to get it to work.”  --- SO!!! During the Black Mesa Incident, Atticus is separated from Gordon after the explosion that kick-started the whole event. They struggle for a long time to even find a weapon in the labs, but ends up finding a goddamn flashlight of all things. It’s their only source of comfort, hearing the head-crab zombies and other aliens in the compound; until they find Gordon again before he ventures to Xen and they’re put to sleep by G-Man. 

[dzvagabond]

Merry Christmas from Atticus and Gordon!  λ

Hope everything is going well for you all, and let’s hope for a better new year!

[dzvagabond]

🌹🍒🍎💙 for an f/o of ur choice :3c

I was gonna pick Kisuke for this but ya boi hasn’t developed their insert yet so let’s go with Half-Life 2 Dr. Freeman >>

🌷 - How different is your f/o in your head compared to canon?

The Gordon in my head is more susceptible to showing emotion than canon. Also has frequent breakdowns when alone and in between fights with the Combine but doesn’t let anyone see. Gordon also remembers everything that happened during the previous game and gets nightmares about Xen. 

🍒 - What are some headcanons you have about your f/o?

Gordon Freeman is selectively mute. He’ll talk when necessary, but he lets his actions speak for him.

He has frequent nightmares about the Black Mesa Incident and about The G-Man, but will never admit it. 

Despite his actions in the game, he doesn’t like using guns. He prefers using the Gravity Gun. 

Maybe it’s just me projecting but Dr. Freeman is Biromantic Demisexual. Gordon is too focused on taking on the Combine than to have sex js. 

Back when he was in MIT, he had a mullet. You can’t change my mind. 

He keeps a small polaroid photo of him and all of his co-workers from Black Mesa to remind him of what he needs to do. (Gordon looks at it often when feeling down.) 

🍎 - What are some headcanons for your s/i?

Atticus Brine is a hot fucking mess half the time but refuses to show it. 

Sassy asshole to everyone except Gordon, but even then they act very Tsundere around Dr. Freeman. 

They’re a really skilled sniper, they were taught by the Combine while Gordon was still in stasis. 

Little self-indulgent but idc, they were one of the co-founders of the HEV suits for Black Mesa. 

Atticus identifies as Non-Binary (they/them) and is Panromantic Ace. 

BONUS INFO:

They met Gordon in New Mexico and had a huge crush on him back then as they do now. Refuses to admit their feelings tho. 

Works closely with Barney undercover to help the resistance against the Combine, gets “caught” and goes to meet up with Alyx and Gordon about half-way through the game. 

💙 - What trope dos your self ship fall under?

Because there’s a lot to look through and it making my brain hurty, I went with Aborted Declaration of Love since they both are too busy with everything that they never have time to admit their feelings to one another.

[dzvagabond]

gordon freeman + back of the hand

@cryptidchaos I'm slowly going insane trying to answer all of these.

Breathe In, Hold, Pull the Trigger, Let it Out… Breathe, Hold, Trigger, Out…  “Seven Combine down, base is safe for now.” Atticus leaned back in the chair up at their eagle’s nest overlooking a small resistance base, letting out a small sigh. They weren’t trying to get their hopes up seeing Gordon again despite the radio going off on how he’s supposedly coming this way. 

Minutes ticked by as they sat in the uncomfortable chair, peeking out through their scope every few moments, to make sure there wasn't any more trouble. Not long after, Atticus slumped back in their chair; eyes struggling to stay open as they fought back against their body threatening to fall asleep. Losing the battle, they succumbed needing to rest after sitting in that godforsaken wooden chair for days on end. 

The sound of the door behind them slowly Creek open snaps them out of their slumber. They stay absolutely still as the person gets closer and closer until they get in range. Once the figure is close enough, Atticus snaps up grabbing their knife from their hip bringing it to the neck of the intruder. Immediately recognizing the figure in front of them as Gordon awkwardly waving. They take a step back, knife dropping out of their hand. 

Gordon steps forward without skipping a beat takes their hand, bringing it up to his lips, and putting the softest kiss upon their gloved hand. Atticus' face goes beat red before snatching their hand back, holding it to their chest at a loss for words. 

Gordon just smiles and signs to them, Been a long time Atticus. I'm glad to see you again. 

"G-glad to see you too Dr. Freeman…"

[dzvagabond]

💡 + half life, bleach, apex legends, cod zambonies :3c

@cryptidchaos LEGGOOO

Marius (CODZ): Even though Marius was indeed a scientist for group 935, before he joined, his specialty in the military during the war was Communications and Linguistics; specifically designing encrypted radio messages for the Axis side (mainly for Germany). He can speak 4 languages fluently: English, German, Russian, and Romanian, and understand some French but barely.

Shield Breaker (Apex): Their "Shield" that they use for their Ultimate during the Apex Games is actually an old Titan Vortex shield back from the war. They remodeled it to fixate around their body like an extra layer of skin that looks similar to netting.

BLEACH: Haven't got a lot for them at the moment but here ya go: Worked with Kisuke and Yoruichi during the time he was Captain and the Head of the Science Division. After leaving the Soul Society, they followed and eventually ended up working at his shop becoming close with him, Tessai and the kids.

Atticus (HL): They graduated from Stanford University and accepted an internship from Black Mesa almost immediately since they were one of the top students of their graduating class. They were supposed to originally go to MIT but saw better opportunity at Stanford.

BONUS:

Lenny (HLVRAI): Even though his body and brain have been damaged by radiation from the nuclear plant, Lenny is still fucking brilliant and helps Gordon Feetman™ navigate through his old workspace with ease despite only talking in clicks and screeches (Thank God for Tommy for understanding him).

[dzvagabond]

Atticus Brine

They/Them

Age: 25

Former Black Mesa Scientist turned Resistance Sniper during the Combine Takeover.