#volkswagen owner

[rowlettmotorwerk]

Smooth Rides Ahead: Volkswagen Car Wheel Alignment Service Excellence in Rowlett, TX

When it comes to maintaining the performance, safety, and longevity of your Volkswagen car in Rowlett, TX, one often-overlooked aspect is wheel alignment. Proper wheel alignment is crucial for ensuring smooth rides, even tire wear, and optimal handling. In this article, we delve into the significance of wheel alignment for Volkswagen vehicles and explore the excellence in service available in Rowlett, TX.

Understanding Wheel Alignment: A Key Component of Vehicle Maintenance

Wheel alignment refers to the adjustment of the angles of the wheels relative to each other and to the car's body. Proper alignment ensures that all four wheels are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the ground, optimizing tire contact with the road surface. Over time, factors such as potholes, rough roads, and normal wear and tear can lead to misalignment, causing uneven tire wear and compromising driving performance.

The Benefits of Proper Wheel Alignment for Volkswagen Cars

Maintaining proper wheel alignment offers numerous benefits for Volkswagen car owners in Rowlett, TX. Firstly, it promotes even tire wear, extending the lifespan of your tires and saving you money in the long run. Secondly, it enhances fuel efficiency by reducing rolling resistance, allowing your Volkswagen to achieve optimal mileage. Additionally, proper wheel alignment ensures precise steering response, improved handling, and overall driving comfort, contributing to a safer and more enjoyable driving experience.

Signs That Your Volkswagen Car Needs Wheel Alignment

Identifying when your Volkswagen car requires wheel alignment is essential for proactive maintenance. Common signs of misalignment include uneven or rapid tire wear, steering wheel vibration, pulling to one side while driving, and a crooked steering wheel when driving straight. If you notice any of these symptoms, it's advisable to schedule a wheel alignment service promptly to prevent further damage to your vehicle and ensure optimal performance on the road.

Choosing the Right Service Provider in Rowlett, TX

In Rowlett, TX, Volkswagen car owners have access to a range of service providers offering wheel alignment services. However, selecting the right provider is crucial to ensure excellence in service and results. Look for a service center with a reputation for expertise in Volkswagen vehicles, equipped with state-of-the-art alignment equipment and staffed by certified technicians trained specifically to work on Volkswagen cars.

The Volkswagen Difference: Tailored Solutions for Your Vehicle

Volkswagen cars are engineered with precision and designed for performance. Therefore, it's essential to entrust your Volkswagen's wheel alignment needs to professionals who understand the intricacies of these vehicles. Opting for a service center that specializes in Volkswagen cars ensures that your vehicle receives tailored solutions and meticulous attention to detail, maintaining its optimal performance and preserving its resale value.

Experience Excellence at Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center in Rowlett, TX

Among the premier service centers catering to Volkswagen car owners in Rowlett, TX, is Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on customer satisfaction, Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center stands out as a trusted destination for wheel alignment and maintenance needs.

At Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center, our team of factory-trained technicians possesses the expertise and experience to perform precise wheel alignments for Volkswagen cars of all models and years. Utilizing advanced alignment technology and following Volkswagen's recommended procedures, we ensure that your vehicle's alignment is restored to factory specifications, guaranteeing optimal performance and safety on the road.

Furthermore, Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center prioritizes transparency, integrity, and affordability in all our services. We provide upfront pricing estimates, clear explanations of recommended repairs, and a commitment to delivering value-driven solutions that meet your Volkswagen's specific needs and budget.

Conclusion: Elevate Your Volkswagen Driving Experience with Expert Wheel Alignment Service

In Rowlett, TX, Volkswagen car owners seeking excellence in wheel alignment service need look no further than Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center. With a dedication to precision, professionalism, and customer satisfaction, we ensure that your Volkswagen receives the care and attention it deserves, leading to smooth rides and peak performance on every journey.

Don't compromise on the performance and safety of your Volkswagen. Experience the difference of expert wheel alignment service at Rowlett Motorwerks Volkswagen Service Center in Rowlett, TX, and enjoy smooth rides ahead, mile after mile. Schedule your appointment today and elevate your Volkswagen driving experience to new heights.

#volkswagen car #volkswagen wheel alignment #volkswagen service center #volkswagen mechanic #volkswagen services #volkswagen owner

[kwisatzzhaderach]

volkswagen owners when their car with 120k+ miles on it needs service

#its me i’m volkswagen owners #me replacing my old jetta with a new one thinking itll need less service #the new one has a turbo so its also burning oil like nobody’s business #🪐

[oldwickvillagegarage]

5 Signs Your Volkswagen Needs a New Half-Shaft Boot

Are you hearing a distinctive clicking sound upon turning your Volkswagen? There are a few explanations as to why a vehicle may emit such a strange sound. Some possible reasons include;

  Failing power steering system

  Broken tire rod end

  Defective suspension system

  Damaged ball joints etc….

Another possible reason why your Volkswagen may be making a strange clicking noise is a faulty half-shaft boot. Yup, you read that right! So, what exactly is this half-shaft boot and what purpose does it serve in your Volkswagen? Read on to find out.

Half-Shaft Boots- Things You Should Know About

Volkswagens with front-wheel drives come equipped with half-shaft boots. The sole purpose of a half-shaft boot is to protect the CV or half-shaft axle. What's a CV axle, you asked? Well, a CV or constant-velocity axle is something that is designed to transmit torque to the drive wheel through a wide range of angles; thereby allowing the vehicle to move forward.

Half-shaft boot essentially prevents dust, dirt, and debris from reaching the CV axle/joint. However, these boots are made of flexible rubber and can wear out over time. And, damaged half-shaft boots, if not replaced in time, can contribute to CV axle/joint failure in a vehicle.

Don’t worry, though… There are signs you can look for if you suspect your Volkswagen has a faulty half-shaft boot. Interested in learning more about those signs? Please, keep reading…

Signs You May Need to Replace Your VW’s Half-Shaft Boot

Unusual clicking/knocking sound

If there is something wrong with your Volkswagen’s half-shaft boot, a strange clicking or knocking noise will emerge, especially when taking a turn. The noise signifies that the CV joint is acting up because of a defective half-shaft boot and may cease to operate very soon. Reach out to an authorized Volkswagen service center to know the extent of damage to your CV joints due to damaged boots and act accordingly.

CV joint leaking grease

The unique design of the CV joint allows it to transfer torque to the drive wheel through a wide range of angles. And, the role of grease in all this is very important… as it provides lubrication and ensures protection against corrosion. In the event that the half-shaft boot covering the CV joint develops a crack; dust, debris, water molecules, and other foreign elements will reach the CV joint and grease will leak out. Loss of grease in such a way can result in CV joint failure in your Volkswagen.

Shuddering sensation

If you are feeling a shuddering sensation when driving your Volkswagen, you should be alerted at once. Such a sensation could mean one of your CV joints is at fault; most probably due to a defective half-shaft boot. By the way... This is a worrying situation and should not be taken lightly. Find out what's exactly wrong with your Volkswagen's CV joints and half-shaft boots. And, if you feel that something is not right, get in touch with a reputed car service center.

Visible cracks on half-shaft boot

Half-shaft boots, as we've already discussed, are made of rubber, and anything made of rubber can crack over time. Periodically check your Volkswagen's half-shaft boots and if you find cracks in any of them, consider installing new ones. Half-shaft boots can develop cracks due to any number of reasons including bad weather and road conditions. Nevertheless, if your half-shaft boots are cracked, replace them without a second thought.

The ride is bouncy

A defective suspension system is often blamed for a bouncy ride. But, guess what? CV joint failure due to a faulty half-shaft boot can also make your ride bouncy. In any case, driving a vehicle that bounces a lot can be a bit troublesome. You need to do something about this issue immediately to prevent a pricey repair.

To Be Precise…

The half-shaft boot is something that almost all Volkswagen owners take for granted. But, it is very important for the well-being of the CV joint/axle. A cracked half-shaft boot can contribute to CV-joint failure in a car. So, if you notice any of the above-written symptoms when driving your Volkswagen, don't hesitate to reach out to an authorized Volkswagen service center. A certified mechanic will be able to tell you what to do about a defective half-shaft boot.

#volkswagen #car half shaft boot #car problems #car owner #car maintenance

[tadfools]

I saw a post that was like ‘these are the cars the bg3 companions would have’ but they were all rich people shit so here’s my version just for funzies

Shadowheart has a Subaru and if you know why then you know why. There’s a moon sun catcher hanging from the review mirror and on the back there’s one of those coexist bumper stickers (it was there when she bought it but she doesn’t take it off cause it might damage the paint under it)

Karlach has her mom’s old beat up a Honda Civic. It starts rattling if it goes over 90, one of the seatbelt is being held together with duct tape, it smells like crayons, and the check engine light is always on. But good god is it going to get you where you need to go

Halsin has a jeep Liberty/Cherokee, it’s always covered in mud and it smells like a wet dog…. He doesn’t have a dog

Lae’zel has a Volkswagen bug. It’s small, dignified, economical even! (Kinda)

Wyll had a Toyota pickup from the 90’s. It’s not much but it was the first car he bought that wasn’t with his dad’s money, he loves it like a son. It’s name is Alberto

Rich kid Gale would drive a 68 mustang if he ever left the house. I love the man but he would be one of those people who has a fancy car just to say he has a fancy car and doesn’t have the first clue on how to take care of it

Jaheria has half a dozen kids at any given moment and has a minivan. Yes, she does have one of those stick figure family window decals. There’s a soccer ball sized dent on the passenger door

Minsc has a mini cooper. A mini cooper that has more scratches and dings than it should but a mini cooper nonetheless. It got left in the sun way too long and has one of those fading spots on the roof.

Astarion is the proud owner of a Prius. Her name is Natalie

Also Withers’ has the car from that 70’s show

#baldur’s gate 3 #bg3 #astarion #gale of waterdeep #wyll ravengard #shadowheart #lae’zel #karlach #karlach cliffgate #jaheria #minsc #withers bg3

[mostlysignssomeportents]

VW wouldn't locate kidnapped child because his mother didn't pay for find-my-car subscription

The masked car-thieves who stole a Volkswagen SUV in Lake County, IL didn’t know that there was a two-year-old child in the back seat — but that’s no excuse. A violent car-theft has the potential to hurt or kill people, after all.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/28/kinderwagen/#worst-timeline

Likewise, the VW execs who decided to nonconsensually track the location of every driver and sell that data to shady brokers — but to deny car owners access to that data unless they paid for a “find my car” subscription — didn’t foresee that their cheap, bumbling subcontractors would refuse the local sheriff’s pleas to locate the car with the kidnapped toddler.

And yet, here we are. Like most (all?) major car makers, Volkswagen has filled its vehicles with surveillance gear, and has a hot side-hustle as a funnel for the data-brokerage industry.

After the masked man jumped out of a stolen BMW and leapt into the VW SUV to steal it, the child’s mother — who had been occupied bringing her other child inside her home — tried to save her two year old, who was still in the back seat. The thief “battered” her and drove off. She called 911.

The local sheriff called Volkswagen and begged them to track the car. VW refused, citing the fact that the mother had not paid for the $150 find-my-car subscription after the free trial period expired. Eventually, VW relented and called back with the location data — but not until after the stolen car had been found and the child had been retrieved.

Now that this idiotic story is in the news, VW is appropriately contrite. An anonymous company spokesman blamed the incident on “a serious breach” of company policy and threw their subcontractor under the (micro)bus, blaming it on them.

This is truly the worst of all worlds: Volkswagen is a company that has internal capacity to build innovative IT systems. Once upon a time, they had the in-house tech talent to build the “cheat device” behind Dieselgate, the means by which they turned millions of diesel vehicles into rolling gas-chambers, emitting lethal quantities of NOX.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal

But on the other hand, VW doesn’t have the internal capacity to operate Car-Net, it’s unimaginatively-named, $150/year location surveillance system. That gets subbed out to a contractor who can’t be relied on to locate a literal kidnapped child.

The IT adventures that car companies get up to give farce a bad name. Ferraris have “anti-tampering” kill-switches that immobilize cars if they suspect a third-party mechanic is working on them. When one of these tripped during a child-seat installation in an underground parking garage, the $500k car locked its transmission and refused to unlock it — and the car was so far underground that its cellular modem couldn’t receive the unlock code, permanently stranding it:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/15/expect-the-unexpected/#drm

BMW, meanwhile, is eagerly building out “innovations” like subscription steering-wheel heaters:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/02/big-river/#beemers

Big Car has loaded our rides up with so much surveillance gear that they were able to run scare ads opposing Massachusetts’s Right to Repair ballot initiative, warning Bay Staters that if third parties could access the data in their cars, it would lead to their literal murders:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/03/rip-david-graeber/#rolling-surveillance-platforms

In short: the automotive sector has filled our cars with surveillance gear, but that data is only reliably available to commercial data-brokers and hackers who breach Big Cars’ massive data repositories. Big Car has the IT capacity to fill our cars with cheat devices — but not the capacity to operate an efficient surveillance system to use in real emergencies. Big Car says that giving you control over your car will result in your murder — but when a child’s life is on the line, they can’t give you access to your own car’s location.

This Thu (Mar 2) I’ll be in Brussels for Antitrust, Regulation and the Political Economy, along with a who’s-who of European and US trustbusters. It’s livestreamed, and both in-person and virtual attendance are free. On Fri (Mar 3), I’ll be in Graz for the Elevate Festival.

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

 — 

Upsilon Andromedae (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/upsand/212946929/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[Image ID: A blue vintage VW beetle speeds down a highway; a crying baby is pressed against the back driver's-side window. In the sky overhead is the red glaring eye of HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, emblazoned with the VW logo. The eye is projecting a beam of red light that has enveloped the car.]

#pluralistic #worst timeline #parenting #car-net #automotive #stranger danger #commercial surveillance #surveillance #volkswagen #vw

[seat-safety-switch]

When I was a kid, there was nothing better than heading into town to see the sights. Food, fashion, family, those were great too, but the best part was seeing the weird VW Beetle sculpture outside the local Volkswagen mechanic. For whatever reason, the guy running the shop had decided to place an old air-cooled Beetle chassis atop some welded-rebar legs, such that its two-hump body looked like the thorax of a spider. This, to my childhood mind, was cool as hell.

Unfortunately for grown-up me, air-cooled Volkswagen repair is no longer the moneymaker that it once was. In fact, I'm about ninety percent sure that it wasn't turning much of a profit when I was a kid, either. Chances are that guy had to compromise his principles and do a couple oil changes on a water-cooled Toyota, gritting his teeth in rage the whole time about how things made sense and were generally reliable. Eventually, he retired, and the Beetle statue disappeared.

What happened to it? Nobody knew, but it seemed difficult to hide an entire car plus two-storey-tall giant steel spider legs for long. Eventually, it popped up on the roof of the Starbucks across the street. When I recently visited, I was overjoyed to see that it had returned, in some way, to the community in which it once lived. It gave me further joy to imagine the confused anger of the local populace, queuing for their mocha half-fraps, wondering why the fuck there is a giant menacing Volkswagen-spider on top of their local coffee establishment. Perhaps this was part of the original owner's contract: I'll sell, but you gotta freak out the squares.

If that's the case, then hats off to that weird dude from long ago. You spent a weekend or two turning a rusty Beetle shell into some kind of horrifying art project, and made the world that much stranger in the process. And if you are reading this, please cut that rusty Beetle shell back off those legs, drop it from the roof of the Starbucks, and sell it to me so I can turn it into a Baja Bug. I got dumb art projects of my own to do.

[zorcskhakis]

For @melffy-puppy :D

You want a car that gets the job done? You want a car that's hassle free? You want a car that literally no one will ever compliment you on? Well look no further.

The 1999 Toyota Corolla.

Let's talk about features. Bluetooth: nope Sunroof: nope Fancy wheels: nope Rear view camera: nope...but it's got a transparent rear window and you have a fucking neck that can turn.

Let me tell you a story. One day my Corolla started making a strange sound. I didn't give a shit and ignored it. It went away. The End.

You could take the engine out of this car, drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge, fish it out of the water a thousand years later, put it in the trunk of the car, fill the gas tank up with Nutella, turn the key, and this puppy would fucking start right up.

This car will outlive you, it will outlive your children.

Things this car is old enough to do: Vote: yes Consent to sex: yes Rent a car: it IS a car

This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would.

Interesting facts: This car's exterior color is gray, but it's interior color is grey. In the owner's manual, oil is listed as "optional." When this car was unveiled at the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, it caused all 2,000 attendees to spontaneously yawn. The resulting abrupt change in air pressure inside the building caused a partial collapse of the roof. Four people died. The event is chronicled in the documentary "Bored to Death: The Story of the 1999 Toyota Corolla"

You wanna know more? Great, I had my car fill out a Facebook survey. Favorite food: spaghetti Favorite tv show: Alf Favorite band: tie between Bush and the Gin Blossoms

This car is as practical as a Roth IRA. It's as middle-of-the-road as your grandpa during his last Silver Alert. It's as utilitarian as a member of a church whose scripture is based entirely on water bills.

When I ran the CarFax for this car, I got back a single piece of paper that said, "It's a Corolla. It's fine."

Let's face the facts, this car isn't going to win any beauty contests, but neither are you. Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to your wife. This isn't the car you want, it's the car you deserve: The fucking 1999 Toyota Corolla.

#yugioh #yami yugi #atem #i fucking DIED making this #usually i correct the mispronunciations but i left a few in bc they're fucking funny #yami really went on an emotional journey here #greatest hits

[nytb]

Car Troubles

You grew up in Barcelona, played football as a kid but as you got older, life got in the way so you chose a more traditional work-life. Having worked in your family's garage for the past 3 years, you were in line to be the owner soon enough.

One day, a particular tatted blonde girl made her way to your garage. You were working on a BMW coupe as you bopped to the music playing on your headphones.

Suddenly, you felt a tap on your shoulder, startling you. "WOah- " you yelled turning around and facing the woman. She laughed and immediately apologised "Sorry, there was nobody at reception" she stated "I saw you and tried my luck".

"It's all good" you shook it off "What can I help you with" you said as you wiped your hands with a towel. The defender, who was now staring at your arms started to stutter.

"Um- my car" she pointed out to the driveway "I made.. an appointment" she added. You laughed at the awkwardness as you walked towards the car "So, your car. Having a specific problem or are you here for maintenance?" you asked.

Luckily for the defender, the secretary called you over, explaining what the appointment was about.

You made your way to the blonde with a set of keys in hand "Here, the keys for your replacement car" you said as you handed the keys to the woman.

Mapi's face frowned almost immediately "It's going to take that long?"she asked embarrassed that she didn't know the answer. "No no" You laughed at the defender's panic.

"Come by by the end of the day and it should be ready for ya" you added relieving her worries "Make sure not to crash it" you joked pointing at the replacement car, giving the defender a wink before you made your way back to the garage.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. You managed to fix the BMW's leak problem before finishing the defender's car.

When Mapi arrived to pick her car up, the secretary was once again nowhere to be seen. The blonde woman decided to repeat her morning sequence.

She walked into the garage, spotting you under a Volkswagen Golf, she gently tapped your foot.

"Well aren't you making this a habit" you joked as you got out from under the car.

The defender laughed before she introduced herself "I guess so, it would only be fair if you at least knew my name" she laughed "Mapi" the defender added reaching your hand for a handshake "Y/N" you replied.

For the next couple of weeks, the defender's car seemed to have a lot of issues.

"Damn I thought we fixed it" you stated as Mapi got out of the car "I'm happy to see you too" the defender joked, stealing a soft smile from you.

"In my business, not seeing the client this often is a good thing" you said defeated by the defender's car "What happened this time?" you asked, ready for the worst.

This time, Mapi had made a promise. This time, she wouldn't make some sad excuse up.

Well, this wasn't the time. "It's making a weird noise" she mumbled, escaping out of her original plan.

"Let's take it out for a spin shall we" an offer the defender wouldn't pass on.

The drive only proved one thing: the car was running as smooth as ever. Leaving one question, why did it keep making it's way into your garage...

It didn't take you long to figure it out.

"You ever gonna tell me why you keep visiting my shop when you have a perfectly working car?"

The question shocked the defender, hell, it even shocked you.

"I- I um" the defender mumbled, trying to make an excuse up. The fact that she had your eyes on her didn't make the task any easier. "The other day-" the defender started to lie through her teeth.

"Well actually" the defender gave up "I've been trying to ask you out" she confessed.

You could only laugh "I figured as much", a bit of a self-centred reply. "The stack of mechanical bills has gotten quite big huh" you joked earning you a slight slap from the defender.

"Yeah, this might be the most expensive first date I've had" Mapi stated, clearly too ahead of herself.

"You've had?" you repeated "Now don't go celebrating something you haven't gotten yet"

#woso imagine #woso #woso x reader #mapi leon imagine #fc barcelona woso #fc barcelona femeni #mapi leon x reader

[spreadthevag]

Aerial View 🤟🏼 Tag the Owner: Remember to #spreadthevag #volkswagen #vw #audi #mk1 #mk2 #mk3 #mk4 #mk5 #mk6 #mk7 #s4 #golfr #audizine #gli #gti #tdi #jetta #passat #corrado #vr6 #bbs #4motion #quattro #wheelwhores #static #bagged #vwrabbit #16v #vwforlife https://www.instagram.com/p/CqN653mOHLJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#spreadthevag #volkswagen #vw #audi #mk1 #mk2 #mk3 #mk4 #mk5 #mk6 #mk7 #s4 #golfr #audizine #gli #gti #tdi #jetta #passat #corrado #vr6 #bbs #4motion #quattro #wheelwhores #static #bagged #vwrabbit #16v #vwforlife

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

hello! as a celebration of me finally getting my driving license (shoutout to my instructor, he is an absolute saint and has forever changed my perspective on cars and car nerds), i thought i'd ask about your opinion on the cars my family owns — the Škoda Fabia I (the specific one we have is a combi from late 2004. slowly perishing, mainly of rust) and Kia Cee'd (2013??). is there anything remarkable about these two?

Ah, the Ceed, as Kia cowardly renamed it in 2018, in a decision I deliberately reject as I keep on referring to it as Cee apostrophe d, as Top Gear liked to call the earlier model they gave celebrities to go try to get themselves killed on tape, Tom Cruise getting the closest because of course it would be him.

Notice how nary an ounce of steering was given up whatsoever. Man was just balancing the car with the throttle in the true racing driver spirit of "If I die I die and if I don't this'll be a good time".

However, this is a bit of a sidetrack, as that's not your car - that'll be one o' deez, which whether as a 5 door...

...station wagon...

...or its bafflingly named coupe version (Pro_Cee'd????)...

...looks sharp as a goddamn tack in my books. In fact, wanna know how that's not just cheap flattery? That station wagon was actually the car I was pushing for our family to get when ours needed changing! Life didn't grace us with the opportunity, however, and so we ended up replacing our grey Citroën Picasso MPV with another (the ole' Xsara Picasso to C4 Picasso pipeline) which served us decently over a couple years before developing woes and getting passed on to family friends more willing to deal with them. Weird car, that C4 Picasso. Most of the steering wheel didn't turn.

Now, you may ask why those French folx would do that. And the answer is in the word French. I can just imagine the designers asking feedback about the handbrake and getting all giddy as they look at them struggle to figure out where it is. Actually, go on, you try!

Wait, wait, we're once again getting sidetracked, we've still not addressed the Fabia! And that's a crime, because it was a hugely important car for Škoda: as Volkswagen's involvement with the company had turned from shareholder to owner its involvement in the cars had turned from help to codevelopment, making the Fabia a humongous departure from Škodas of old. However, for the latest Octavia, no closer to those hunksajunk, the rave reviews had been no match against Škoda's brand image, which was so terrible that even Wikipedia feels comfortable saying they were laughing stocks.

So for the Fabia, Škoda turned to marketing agency Fallon London for a very bold advertising campaign. So bold in fact that I didn't even stumble into it through my passion for cars, but through my study of marketing. And it's so simple you could miss it. (...it's in the lower right.)

This simple idea, and how hard they doubled down on it...

...completely turned Skoda's fortunes around, in a brand repositioning so successful that all of Fallon's Škoda-related ads received awards. Including this one.

That's not even an ad for Škoda. That's an ad for themselves.

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question: if you liked this post, you might like those - or the blog’s Discord server, linked in the pinned post!

#i've heard great things about the spaciousness of the Fabia wagon #also sorry for making you wait well over a month - see one of my last posts about why #anyhow so cool you got your license!!! how's it going? and please do tell us about the instructor! #kia cee'd #skoda fabia #skoda octavia #the great catchup

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Be careful out there.

The Honda crotch rocket rider was traveling at approximately 85 mph.

The VW driver was talking on a cell phone when she pulled out from a side street, apparently not seeing the motorcycle. The rider's reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident.

The car had two passengers and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them.

The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 20 feet from where the collision took place.

All three involved (two in the car and the bike rider) were killed instantly. This graphic demonstration was placed at the Motorcycle Fair by the Police and Road Safety Department..

Pass this on to car drivers or soon to be new drivers, or new motorcycle owners and especially everyone you know who has a MOBILE phone!!!

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Save a life. Stop talking on mobile phones and Texting while trying to drive.

The life you save may be your own..... Or mine...

Keep passing this on so everyone will see what can happen by using a mobile PHONE while driving

#car #cars #safety #warning #texting #speed kills

[mensfactory]

1959 Porsche 718 RSK center seat,

Chassis No. 718-028 was built in 1959 with a center-seat cockpit and delivered new to its first owner, Christian Goethals of Belgium, who raced it for one season and took first place overall at the 1959 Leopoldville Grand Prix in the Belgian Congo. 

This car went on to place sixth overall and third in class at the 1960 Buenos Aires 1000km Grand Prix, followed by two overall victories at the Lance Anvers hillclimb in Belgium.

Introduced in 1957 and produced through 1962, the 718 RSK features a spaceframe chassis and Porsche’s Type 547 roller-crankshaft engine used in its predecessor, the 550 Spyder. In comparison with the flat-four, pushrod engines used in contemporary production Porsches and Volkswagens, Porsche’s Type 547/3, a 1,587 cc, DOHC flat-four, which developed about 142 hp, was a notoriously complicated and high-strung design.

Mecum

#art #design #sportcars #sportcar #vintagecar #vintagecars #porsche #porsche 718 RSK #1959 #mecum #collectors #center seat #luxurycars #luxurycar #luxurylifestyle

[zwischenstadt]

"Socialism in One Sector"

"Huber mentions the infamous statistic that “a mere one hundred companies are responsible for 71 percent of emissions since 1988”, a statistic based on the CDP Carbon Majors report. These numbers are almost invariably used to point to the power of large corporations relative to individual consumers. But used as such, the statistic is an enormous sleight of hand. Who, after all, are those one hundred companies? The answer is that they are producers and extractors of fossil fuels: ExxonMobil, SaudiAramco, BP, the Chinese coal sector (which the report somewhat oddly lumps together). By definition of what the study counts, the 29% missing percent also come from producers of fossil fuels — the CDP study is literally a list of fossil fuel producers, measuring nothing except the degree of market concentration in the fossil fuel industry.

We have thus merely opened up a third side on the ledger. According to this accounting of responsibility, both Volkswagen the company and the owner of the car are responsible for precisely zero percent, unless either of them owns oil wells. For any given product — a car, a laptop, a flight, a banana — We can thus count emissions at three points: at the point of consumption, at the point (or along the supply chain) of production of the product, and at the point of production of the fossil fuels which enabled the production and consumption of that product. But no matter on which of the three sides of this accounting ledger we decide to assign blame or moral culpability, the emissions have to come down. Huber’s argument thus matters to the degree that there are producers of products who could decrease the ecological damage they cause but choose, or are forced by the “mute compulsion” of capitalism, not to. But it ignores the fact that there are processes of production — and with them, products, services, and, yes, lifestyles — which intrinsically cause ecological damage and therefore have to be scaled down."

#ecosocialism #marxism #climate change #environmentalism #political ecology

[anons-has-hlvrai-aus]

The Metamorphosis of Gordon Freeman [Chapter 2]

Chapter 1 | Next Chapter

Chapter Summary: Gordon has some shit to do, and Benrey seems insistent on being there as well. Where’s he been? Why isn’t the rest of the Science Team concerned? What hell is “imprinting?”

Word Count: 9,884

Notes: From this Chapter onwards it gonna be at least partially blatant that Gordon…is kinda a jerk to the Science Team? I don’t see it depicted much in the fics I’ve read, but Gordon is kinda a shit person in HLVRAI, so I wanted to try my hand at writing him that way. If you don’t feel comfortable reading a version of Gordon that is kinda controlling and apathetic towards his friends, might wanna just skip out on this fic.

Also I know this is the funny “Gordon Feetman dick slip” fandom but I’m just letting y’all know that this chapter does contain like one joke about sex? It’s more like Gordon mistakenly thinks that’s what’s happening during the “Imprinting” Scene so if you wanna skip that, the bit starts at ‘Gordon tensed up…’ and ends at ‘Neither am I…’. I’ll separate the joke with some “***” just to be extra careful.

By the good graces of some god, or maybe a programmer somewhere, a vehicle pulled into the driveway just before Gordon started to leave to pick up dinner. It was an orange and black minibus that Gordon recognized quite well. The gaudy-looking Volkswagen had been “adopted” by the Science Team about three years ago, during an impromptu investigation into the unassuming remains of the Black Mesa Research Center. The van’s actual owner was one of his neighbors from across the street, and he was pretty sure the only reason she allowed the Science Team to even look at the van after their rocky first encounter was because she found their shenanigans amusing.

Regardless of the reasons, the arrival of the Anomalous Materials Van (AMV) was always a good sign.

Bubby was the first to exit the van, from the driver's seat, of course; he would accept no place less in any vehicle if it could be helped. There had been plenty of times where Bubby was so outraged at the prospect of somebody else driving that he would quite literally drive himself (mind you, the man could apparently turn into a car at will) to wherever the group needed to go, regardless of if he had any passengers or not.

“You’re here early…” Was all Gordon could whisper as he exited his home in sweatpants and an MIT hoodie. The sight of even one living team member made his relief audible.

“I know.” Said Bubby, “I didn’t plan to be here before the food arrived, but Tommy wanted somebody to make sure you weren’t having a fucking heart attack when he found out…” He looked over to where the former security guard was looking out one of the windows. “that was going on. Harold and I seemed the most qualified to handle things until everybody else could make it over.”

Gordon looked over as well to catch Benrey exchanging funny faces with one of his neighbors. From what Gordon could tell, the neighbor in question was wearing a bun in her hair, meaning it might have been Gina, checking to make sure the AMV was still in good condition. He couldn’t tell because the windows there had been tinted, but that was his best guess.

“Where is Dr. Coomer?” He asked.

“Hello, Gordon!!!” Exclaimed a muffled voice inside the AMV. The doors to the rear of the van swung open, and the good doctor himself shot out of the trunk like a spring onto the opposite side of the road. The sound of broken glass matched itself with the humorous manifestation of a Coomer-shaped hole in his neighbors’ window, followed by the gleeful utterance of “Hello, Dr. Cross!”

Bubby looked in the direction of the mess his spouse had created. “I think he earned nine points for style on that one.”

“I don’t think we should be encouraging property destruction.” Gordon said firmly. “I’m pretty sure that’s frowned upon, usually, by most people.”

“Gordon,” Dr. Coomer announced his spontaneous appearance. “We’re not people!”

“Right, yeah, artificial intelligence, yeah, I know. But the least we can do is pretend for a while? If not for our sake than for the sake of my neighbors that have to deal with our bullshit.”

“If you don’t want our bullshit at your house,” Bubby reminded Gordon. “We could alway just host the bullshit at mine and Harold’s instead.”

“I’m not fucking doing that. I am NOT fucking doing that!” Gordon immediately shook his head violently at the suggestion, “Last time we tried that we nearly got Forzen and his weird cousin killed. Not exactly the best way for us to mend bridges with them.”

“If they didn’t want to party Bubby Style, they shouldn’t have agreed to party during Ed Balls Day.”

“What does that-?”

“Why do you think Forzen’s cousin is weird?”

He gawked for a second. “I-wha-? Don’t just dodge the original topic!” Gordon let his arms fall to his sides. “Whatever. I just don’t think we should be, you know, keeping the Xen aliens as pets until they’re somewhat domesticated first? It’s like trying to take care of raccoons or possums, they’re still wild animals and you shouldn’t be encouraging that shit.”

“Technically only one of his pets is from Xen, but I guess I can see where you’re coming from.”

Benrey popped up in the middle of the group, uninvited of course. “You’re playing nice with bootboys now? Laaaame!”

“Not all of them, dear god no. Just the ones that were smart enough to leave.” Bubby explained, “Did nobody tell you that?”

“No.”

“Oh. That’s my bad then. I thought Tommy would have told you at least, since you two are friends. Forzen and a bunch of other soldiers left the US military following some shit involving a ‘double cover-up’ after we left for Xen, and now they’re trying to sue BIG TIME. They’re all sharing an apartment on the other side of town. We’ll have to take you over to visit at some point.”

Gordon turned to Bubby. “Hey, can we go back to the part where you and Dr. Coomer came over to make sure I was okay?”

“Hello, Gordon!”

“Hey, Dr. Coomer.” He waved. “You and Bubby are awfully calm about the fact that Benrey is back. How long have-?”

“Terrible news, Gordon. Tommy and his father are VERY busy this afternoon. I’m afraid Benny showing up when he did has caused a pileup of paperwork on their end.”

“Oh shit.” Gordon and Benrey both muttered. The latter seemed to show a hint of actual distress at the news.

“Now, gentlemen, there’s no need to feel downtrodden. Tommy will show before the movie starts. Let’s get inside before it freezes over out here.”

“Actually-!” Gordon rummaged around his pocket for his keys, “I kinda have to get everybody’s food. I trust you guys to not destroy my house so…”

“Hello, Gordon! Go right ahead. Everybody’s orders except for your own should be on the ‘food list’ that Benrey gave you.

“Oh cool. That certainly saves me a lot of trouble.” Gordon took out and unfolded the list for emphasis.

“Did you get my text?” Asked Bubby.

“Yeah. Sausage melt, mushrooms and tomato on your browns, pecans for Coomer’s waffle.”

The older man lifted his chin up smugly. “Good.”

Gordon folded the paper back up before getting into his car, waiting a moment after he turned on the engine. Normally this was when his mind would go fuzzy and when he came back to reality he would be at the Waffle House ordering food.

He let out a long sigh and turned to look at the back of the car.

“Can uh, can I come too?” Of course it was Benrey.

“I’m not going to steal anything from the fucking Waffle House, dude.”

“Yeah but, I still wanna come with you though, please and thank you?”

He turned back around and silently started driving.

-

Gordon was very, very thankful that Laszlo was working tonight when he went to get food; he was also thankful that Benrey had enough self-control to stay in the car for about fifteen minutes when asked to do so. He would have preferred if Benrey hadn’t gotten out of the car at all, but he wasn’t being disruptive or anything, and he actually seemed insistent on making sure the orders were correct when they came out (you know how it is with ordering out for more than two people) so it was mostly fine. It gave him and Laszlo time to catch up.

Gordon enjoyed talking with Laszlo, the guy had been a freshman in college when the Science Team first moved into Poastgame, and just a few months from now he would be graduating with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy. He supposed the younger man’s enthusiasm for his studies reminded him of himself from when he was still young and not yet broken by the events of Black Mesa, or at least a version of himself that theoretically existed but never did, and that was why he always felt eager to talk with the young man while he waited for the food to be prepared.

Faint smudges of green covered the edges of Gordon’s vision while they talked, and they lingered after he had left the Waffle House and was driving home. It took Benrey trying to talk to Gordon about something that made the color fade away, if only because he now had to focus on something else.

“Sorry man, could you repeat that?” Gordon requested, “I wasn’t listening. I’m not ignoring you on purpose, I'm just, you know, focused on other things right now.”

“Oh yeah, no problem. I said I saw a uhh,” He smacked his lips, “Vonnegut. In the Waffle House. I wanted to shoot it but you weren’t freaking out about it so I didn’t.”

“That was Gary, he’s cool. Most of the Vortigaunts are cool now, actually. I’m surprised you didn’t notice the abundance of Xen life sooner, although I guess you were busy sleeping and playing Heavenly Sword.”

“I noticed. Just didn’t think any of them could do people stuff.”

“Most of them don’t, the Vortigaunts an exception.”

Earth, outside of some notable areas, had actually been handling the Xen wildlife pretty well, all things considered. Gordon was surprised at first, but had accepted it pretty quickly when it became clear there wasn’t going to be an ecological collapse anytime soon. The Post Game had been crafted with peace in mind, but he did recall something about an ‘inevitability’ that would come up ‘within the next 20 or so years,’ so he was on edge about every tiny thing that changed around him, at least until he was certain it wasn’t going to cause a problem.

Benrey was a pretty sizable change in his life, so any kind of small talk with him was making him incredibly nervous right now about that inevitably. Did the rest of the Science Team know about the inevitability? Of course not, they didn’t need to worry about that, this was a problem for Gordon Freeman alone to be nervous about.

Perhaps Benrey could sense his nervousness, because neither of them talked for the remainder of the drive home.

-

Tommy and Darnold had arrived before the food did, and they had ended up bringing the movie for that night. The main menu for the disc played on loop while they all ate, and everybody enjoyed their food. Gordon had to remind Tommy partway through dinner to not drink too much soda, receiving an indiscernible look from the man before he obliged, but other than that there were no issues while they ate.

The rest of movie night also went well, a surprise to Gordon since he was expecting Benrey to cocoon everybody partway through their viewing of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It would have been thematically appropriate, at least as far as Gordon was concerned.

Something that was bothering him though was how, well, unbothered everybody else was by comparison about Benrey’s presence. The guy had enough time between his PS Plus running out and him getting to Gordon’s house that he got everybody’s orders for the night, which was fine, but that definitely was not enough time for everybody to get the shock of “Holy shit Benrey is back” out of their systems.

So, why was Gordon the only one even marginally concerned? It had been one thing during Black Mesa, he had been annoying at best and traitorous at worst, but after everything that happened he expected…something else? The theater, the heist, none of those were safe from Benrey, and nobody seemed bothered by this except for Gordon.

Like always, Gordon Freeman was wrong until proven right. All he could do now was wait for Benrey to act out so he could have the justification to kill him again.

As the credits rolled, everybody stretched, and said their goodbyes. Coomer and Bubby gestured for Gordon to follow them to the AMV.

“Gordon, we need to talk.” Coomer said once outside.

“A good old yehaw, as Bubby puts it?” He tilted his head.

Bubby nodded. “Yes. It’s a bit late for it now though. Let’s meet up at the same time tomorrow. Depending on how it goes, it might be a long one. The others have already agreed to it.”

“Okay?” Fair enough, I guess.”

“Good.”

And with that, the older men drove off. Tommy and Darnold left not long after, leaving only Benrey to deal with as Gordon came back inside.

Always Benrey.

He sat on the back frame of the couch, his legs wedged between the cushions on the couch’s back while he pressed himself against the wall. It reminded Gordon of a meme Tommy showed him that depicted various incorrect ways to sit on a sofa.

“Yo.”

“You gotta go, man.” Gordon sighed, “It’s almost midnight.”

“Nu-uh.”

“What-?!” He huffed, “Why? What do you need now?”

“You gotta come to my house now. You said you wanted to come but you couldn’t because you were busy with Movie Night stuff.”

Shit. He did say that, didn’t he? He shouldn’t be surprised that the rules you follow for fairies would also apply to Benrey somewhat. “Okay. Well, where’s your house at? How far away is it?”

“S’not that far. I can take you.” Benrey held out his empty palm.

Gordon’s anxiety skyrocketed.

This was it. This was how he was going to die.

At least he watched a good movie and ate some pretty decent waffles before the end.

Gordon didn’t actually die, of course, but he almost wished he had with how disoriented he felt by the time Benrey had finally gotten them where he wanted to be. Gordon had never noclipped before, he was pretty sure nobody except for Benrey and those fucking skeletons could anyways, and he certainly didn’t want to do it again after being dragged along for about five minutes through trees and dirt and stone and possibly somebody’s house, all at an absolutely wretched speed. The sensation of going through an object, to the best of Gordon’s own description, felt like his insides were being tickled with sandpaper. He wasn’t a fan, but he could probably tolerate the trip home if given enough time to mentally prepare himself.

Now that they had reached their destination, though, Gordon couldn’t decide which he dreaded more: the return trip home (if he returned home), or whatever the inside of Benrey’s house looked like.

The outside said ‘house’ wasn’t even a real house. It looked like a decently-sized gardening shed that had been left behind at an old depot and moved into the woods they were currently standing in. The aged quality of the wood was perhaps made up for by the artistry on display; shades of blue and gray were tastefully painted on to make a pretty exterior, but that was somewhat tarnished by the obnoxiously colored fairy lights that decorated every edge of the shed (because of course the alien fairy-man would have fairy lights). There was also a handful of generators behind the house, at least one of them was keeping the lights on.

“Come inside. Come see my house.” Benrey said, his tone sounded friendly, which Gordon was not in any way used to.

Gordon wanted to run, but Benrey had already established that he could go disgustingly fast without even trying, so he wearily accepted the invitation like some reluctant vampire.

The inside was a bit closer to what he expected. The walls were unpainted, there was a plastic grocery bag filled with…something, and the floor was littered with video game cases, cigarette butts and dead leaves. Benrey’s gaming setup was a small flatscreen tv with a long crack running from one corner to the other, a PlayStation console with controllers, and a bizarre collection of wires, meshes, and other stuff that clearly served a purpose. It scared him, it made him want to scream, and yet he was genuinely curious about what exactly it was.

It was too much, he had to know.

“Hey.”

“Yo!”

He pointed at the Wire Wad. “What the fuck is that?”

“That’s the internet.”

Gordon looked at the Wad again. “The internet?”

“Yeah. I don’t have money for internet. So I just made my own. It works good. I could teach ya. Never have to pay for internet ever again, you’ll save SO MUCH cash bro.”

He shook his head. “No thanks. Gonna politely decline that for now. Still got plenty from the heist. And also the government.” He was pretty sure Benrey was just leaching off of somebody else’s service provider anyways. Still though, if that thing was actually allowing Benrey to play online games, that was pretty impressive in his eyes. Gordon didn’t know how modems and routers were made, or really even how they worked. Didn’t make Benrey any less of a freak or a threat, though.

“Tommy’s dad gives you free stuff too?”

“No! Nononono, I meant the U.S. government. Does Mister Coolatta actually work for a governmental body? I’ve never asked, he scares me too much to ask.”

Benrey shrugged and turned on the console and the flatscreen, sitting on the floor as he did so. “I saw his office once. It has so much fucking emu in there. Only government people have offices.” He smacked his lips obnoxiously, “But yeah, he probably works for the government.”

Gordon quietly tried to parse what was truth and what was Benrey talking utter nonsense. Because if there was one thing he had to start reminding himself of again, it’s that Benrey was a master of making shit up. He had totally forgotten that fact with their conversation in the yard, and while it seemed like he was mostly telling the truth, he was starting to suspect that Benrey maybe didn’t sleep for 4 years straight, or eat squirrels, among other things. He believed the squirrels more than he did the sleeping. He certainly didn’t lie about the microwave though, there wasn’t a single one in sight.

“Wanna play games?” Benrey asked.

Did he have a choice? He didn’t exactly have any way to get home without Benrey’s help.

“Yeah, sure, fine. Can’t really leave anyways.” Gordon replied in a defeated tone. His skin crawled in discomfort. “Just not for too long, though. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” He was about to sit next to Benrey, but the man quickly stood upright again. “What-Why are you standing?”

“You should leave.”

“I thought you wanted me to play video games with you.”

“I did.”

“Then why’d you change your mind?”

“You gotta go to the doctor bro. That’s more important than video games.”

“I’m not going right now, it’s an afternoon appointment. I just don’t want to play too late and not have enough time to sleep and get ready in the morning.”

“Oh you’re a naughty little boy.” Benrey’s face morphed into something mischievous. “Staying up past your bedtime.” He took Gordon’s hand, his right hand, to drag him back outside. “We can do video games tomorrow.”

“Don’t-!”

“Let’s goooooo!” And off they went, noclipping back home. He hated this. He HATED this. He HATED THIS so much.

Gordon yanked his hand out of Benrey’s the moment they stopped moving.

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH ME!!!” He hissed. Orange and red speckles covered his vision as he distanced himself. “Don’t you dare touch me without asking first. Especially not my hand. Especially not THAT hand.” He tucked his right arm around his waist and used the spare one to gesture for emphasis.

Benrey wore that stupid, blank, unreadable expression again. “Oh. Shit.” He looked around at anything in front of him other than Gordon. “I did kinda take without asking that time, huh?”

“Yeah. You did.”

Gordon would have preferred an apology of some sort, but he supposed that Benrey silently ragdolling onto the driveway would have to do instead. He contemplated running him over in the morning, since the man’s body never de-spawned upon death like Coomer’s or Bubby’s, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Benrey didn’t actually die of guilt like Gordon would have hoped, and that running him over would probably make him mad.

He could have thrown him in somebody’s yard. Half of the houses in Gordon’s side of the neighborhood belonged to a former Black Mesa employee, all of whom had come from departments untouched by the Science Team, and all of whom had packed heat to escape in one piece. At least one of those people would know enough about Benrey to shoot some buckshot or a laser-guided rocket at him.

And yet, as the color left the edges of his vision, he couldn’t help but feel some sort of guilt? He shouldn’t have, Benrey was by all means his tormenter.

‘But he’s not hurting you now. He’s never really tried to hurt you on purpose, even the hand was an accident. He sounded rather surprised when it happened. Annoying at best, remember?’

Gordon wished desperately that he could block out that tiny voice that occasionally tried to pull him towards the irrational. It only got this vocal if the irrational thoughts were especially tantalizing.

No, no, no.

He would not feel sympathy, he would not humanize the (not) human incarnation of an internet troll, and he certainly wouldn’t ever talk to the man again (less he felt compelled to have those irrational thoughts again).

Gordon huffed and marched up to his front door.

The knob jiggled, but did not turn.

Gordon always left his keys in the house when he got in, and he always locked the front door when it wasn’t in use.

Benrey had noclipped them to his place when they were inside Gordon’s house, which was where Gordon’s keys were.

The scientist that still somewhat resided in Gordon mumbled to him. ‘Option, what are your options?’

He didn’t have a spare key. He always told himself he’d get one in case of an emergency. And now here he was, without a spare hey.

He couldn’t pick a lock, didn’t know how.

He couldn’t break any windows. After the Science Team had made a habit of breaking his windows, either by accident or on purpose, Gordon specifically hired a guy to install whatever shatter-proof glass they had in Black Mesa. It was probably a fire hazard, but Gordon could always just open the window if he was inside. He had a heat-resistant hand now, after all.

‘Well, time to consider asking for help.’

It was already after midnight (at least that’s what time he felt that it was), so everybody else was probably asleep; Coomer and Bubby because they were old, Darnold and Tommy because they had a job and an internship, respectively, they had to be awake for in the morning. They were all either heavy sleepers or kept their phone silenced when they slept, a new development after Gordon had convinced everybody he wasn’t going to be waking up from any more nightmares.

Forzen and his fraternity of ex-military buddies were probably still up, but they were half an hour away, and Gordon didn’t have his car keys (in the house) on him to drive over or his phone (also in the house) to call them and pick the lock.

No phone meant he couldn’t call anybody from his “Normal Friends” Group to help either.

All of his direct neighbors were people he barely knew, plus his neighbors across the street.

Yeah. No. He was not asking those two.

One of them had direct ties to the Biological Research Department in Black Mesa, and anybody that worked in the department responsible for those accursed prototypes was not to be allowed favors.

He also didn���t think he had the confidence to talk to his more normal neighbors for fear of judgment. How was he supposed to explain to a normal person how he got locked out of the house like this? There’s no way this was a common occurrence. Granted, he had never asked before how common this was, but he certainly wasn’t going to find out like this.

Gordon sighed, hung his head into his palms for a bit, and walked back to Benrey’s limp form to stare at it.

“Yo.” Benrey’s newest vessel walked over from the corner of his vision after a little while. “Thought you were going to bed.”

‘Process of elimination, Freeman.’ His inner scientist said.

“………Can you please noclip me back into my house?”

-

Given that Benrey had saved Gordon from being locked out for the night, he supposed it was only fair that he gave in to the irrational thoughts just this once and let Benrey stay over for a while. Disproportionately nice, maybe, but he honestly couldn’t see that shed lasting longer than another week or so before eventually falling apart. So really, Gordon was giving himself some favors by making sure Benrey didn’t inevitably become homeless.

By the time Gordon had showered to get the feeling of dank forest out of his skin, Benrey was already making noise in the kitchen. He offhandedly gave him permission to do so, knowing that it would be better in the long run to let him get all the snooping over with on night one.

Gordon threw on something only loosely defined as pajamas: some tacky bell bottom pants that he had no recollection of buying (and wouldn’t dare wear in public) and an oversized shirt lovingly gifted by some former coworkers that read ‘I survived the falling portion of HEV training and all I got was this shirt’. The latter was one in a large collection of novelty shirts, almost all of which were related to Black Mesa in some way, shape, or form.

He considered walking over to Benrey wearing the shirt that Forzen’s cousin had printed to say ‘I don’t have enough words to express how sorry I am about the hand thing. I’m not sure what hell happened there or what prompted it, but it was super fucked up’ in a massive wall of text. Gordon figured that it was on-the-nose if he wanted to get an apology out of Benrey, but he was listening to the irrational thoughts right now, and those were telling him to be nice, so he wore a different shirt. It was probably for the better, that shirt itched like hell.

He walked out into the hallway to check on his tormentor.

The man had pulled out the couch cushions and unfolded the blanket to create a fort.

“Please put those back in the morning.”

“Yo! Didn’t see ya man.” Benrey was sitting on the ‘ceiling’ of his fort. “Just testing out the structural stability of Fort Benrey.”

“Cool, alright. Gordon’s going to bed now.”

“Bedtime?”

“Yeah, bedtime. Good night.”

“Good night!”

“Good night, Benrey.”

On the way back to his room, Gordon took a quick detour to the bathroom to brush his teeth and contemplate what the hell he was doing to himself. There must have been something wrong with him if he was actually letting some stupid irrational thought compel him to let Benrey stay with him. Something wrong with his head, perhaps? He supposed it was a good thing he was going to the doctor tomorrow.

Finally, he made his way to the bedroom.

“…Really?”

Benrey sat at the foot of the bed awkwardly.

“Whatever. It’s late, I don’t care.”

He had to move around the smaller man to finally get into bed. Benrey didn’t move until Gordon was already under the covers, upon which he then attempted to tuck Gordon in and turned off the lights.

“Hey, uh,” Benrey spoke softly and with perhaps the most clarity Gordon had ever heard. “So Tommy explained the hand thing to me while you were outside. And I’m, uh. Sorry. About that. I didn’t know They would do that to you. And I didn’t know your hand wouldn’t grow back. Or that the hand thing would fuck up your brain chemicals.”

“What prompted this?” He shifted around to his usual sleeping position.

“I just. I wanna be a friend, ya know? I did kinda do too much with the passport thing. It was a new rule, I wanted to be S-Rank security guard and enforce it properly, but I wasn’t gonna push it, ya know?” Benrey tilted his head. “But you were stressing so fucking bad dude. I thought you were nervous about the test because everybody was talking about how big and important the test was that day. I thought ‘oh shit this guy is super stressed I totally need to un-stress him’. So I-”

“So you asked for my passport?”

“Yeah sorry it was all I could think about, other than Heavenly Sword. I thought it would be funny. You started sorta laughing and I thought it was working, so I followed you around and kept doing it.”

“So what about that fucking Boss Fight?”

A pause. “Tommy says I overdo my jokes sometimes. I thought I was being a silly guy, a funny fella. Thought I was keeping you none-stressed, but I was actually making you big-stressed. And that’s bad. You were getting mad and I didn’t know why, and it made me mad. Making Mad, collectors edition, now with special edition Benrey apology cut! I wanna be a friendly fella, just a funny little guy.” He looked at Gordon with another one of those almost-smiles, “I’m trying to be nice and read, uh, better. So we can be friends. And not be mad anymore.”

Gordon looked at Benrey blankly. “I don’t think I fucking believe you. You’ve said so much shit to me in the week we knew each other that I genuinely don’t know if I can or should believe that story.”

Benrey’s face was unreadable in the dark room, but his eyes definitely conveyed an emotion he didn’t recognize on the man. “Okay.”

“Okay. We done now?”

“Ya-no. Uh. I was gonna ask if I could. Imprint on you.”

“Imprint on me? Like a baby duck? What do you fucking mean by imprint?”

He shrugged. “I dunno man. It just feels important.”

“This isn’t going to kill me or fuck me up in some way?”

“Don’t think so.”

Gordon let out a long sigh. “Okay, yeah, fine. We can do that. I’ve learned by now that there’s no point in arguing with you.”

“I mean, I won’t do it if you don’t want me to. It won’t work if you don’t want me to.”

He huffed, “Do you want to do it or not?”

“I do but I’m not gonna force you.”

Talking with Benrey was like arguing with a cat. Cat says it wants one thing, you give it the thing, and then the cat doesn’t want it anymore. Except with Benrey you could give him what he wants and then he’ll have a stupid loophole to say you didn’t actually give it to him.

Gordon slammed his head into his pillow with an annoyed grumble. “Make up your mind man. Whatever. Good night.”

“Good night.”

-

About four hours later, Gordon sat back up.

He couldn’t sleep. His curiosity had been piqued by the imprinting thing, and the fact that Benrey hadn’t forced that shit onto him only made it even more intriguing. Damn those irrational thoughts that plagued his brain, and damn his inner scientist for being a nosy little bastard.

Benrey hadn’t moved from the foot of the bed, but he had definitely been sleeping because, when Gordon shined his phone’s flashlight at him, his eyes flicked open like a switch.

“Hey, you promise that imprinting thing isn’t gonna turn my skin green or put eggs inside of me?”

“Wha-? Oh, yeah. Pinky prommy.” He extended a balled-up fist and held his pinky out.

“Fine.” He laid both arms out in front of himself, using one to exchange the sacred promise. “Do whatever the fuck it is you need to do. I am giving you my trust and my permission to fucking…imprint on me.”

“Thank you.”

He watched Benrey hover closer to him, landing himself within arm’s length of Gordon. He sat with his legs splayed out like a fawn, which was an interesting sight.

“You can uh, imprint on me back if you want.”

Gordon shook his head. “I don’t know how to do that.”

***

Gordon tensed up as a horrible thought came to mind. “Wait wait wait! Hold on, is this-?”

Benrey, in another rare moment of clarity, realized what this probably looked like and burst into laughter. He coughed up a cloud of pink sweet voice and immediately covered his face. “Bro what the hell? What’s WRONG with you? Noooooooo!”

Gordon, ever vulnerable to Benrey’s seemingly contagious laugh, couldn’t help but join in. His vision turned a similar shade of pink to the Sweet Voice. “I didn’t know! I didn’t-!”

“You should have started with that!”

“I should have! But I didn’t!”

They laughed for another minute, Benrey uncovered his face. “You’re gonna kill me, man. I’m not even into that stuff.”

“Neither am I, I think. I’m not sure. They don’t have a manual for that kind of thing.”

“True, true.”

***

Benrey sat on his knees, fully composed once more. To Gordon’s surprise, he pried his helmet off to reveal a head of dark and messy hair. “It uh. Works better without the metal.”

Oh no. It looked…greasy. So horribly greasy. He was sure it would be so soft if Benrey ran shampoo through it several times.

“Gonna have to ask you to hold still.”

He was already doing that, but now he was extra careful about moving. As a scientist, he was obviously observing an alien mannerism in-person, so he obviously wanted to see what happens without accidentally manipulating any variables, that was all. Just a curious scientist wanting to be the control group, obviously.

Benrey leaned forward and gently butted his head into Gordon’s chest; they sat like that for a few seconds. There was a barely noticeable feeling in his heart akin to having a little knot of string tied around your finger, and he was sure that if he didn’t like the feeling he could easily remove it with a mere thought.

He didn’t feel obligated to remove it, though. It took actual effort to notice the feeling at all, and like Benrey promised it wasn’t hurting him in any way. He could easily wake up tomorrow and have forgotten the imprinting had taken place.

Soon, Benrey pulled away from Gordon. “That was it. You wanna try?”

Sure, why not. He didn’t need an irrational thought to humor this guy.

“So I just do what you did, and then what?”

Benrey shrugged, simply watching Gordon. “You just know what to do.”

“Fuck.” Gordon exhaled, bumping his head into the other man’s security vest. He waited, but he didn’t feel any different. He tried visualizing different things: a knot, ducklings, even hand-holding at one point, but nothing seemed to transpire. “I can’t do it man.”

“S’okay.” Benrey said calmly, “Probably don’t trust me yet, we can try again later.” He smirked, “Now go bad to bed, naughty boy. Sleepy boy. Gordon Sleepman.”

“Fuck off.” Gordon tried to say venomously. It came off as more humored than anything. Now that Benrey had mentioned it, Gordon did tend to laugh at Benrey’s nonsense a lot. That was a problem for Future Gordon to worry about, right now Present Gordon needed to sleep.

-

He woke up to a shower of toast, all sorts of toast.

Burger buns, rye bread, sourdough, white bread, any sort of bread Gordon kept in the house had appeared to him in toast form, most of it burnt, some of it nothing more than just a little warm, and occasionally a perfectly light brown slice.

“I made you breakfast.”

“I noticed.” He grumbled and pulled a slice of wheat toast out of his hair.

“You have a lot of bread.”

“I have a lot of visitors and need to do something to keep my hands busy when I talk to them. Some people talk over tea, I talk over a turkey and ham sandwich with melted American cheese.”

“You could probably just use a stim toy but okay.”

Gordon ignored him.

After ‘breakfast’, he got changed and drove to the doctor's office. Like with the Waffle House trip, Benrey was insistent on going with him, to which Gordon had to hurriedly explain to him that going into a medical facility while dressed like a fucking cop was not going to fly. If he wanted to come with, he was going to need some normal clothes.

Benrey stood in the driveway with those sad eyes again, like a lost puppy. Gordon held firm, he was not going to let Benrey win this time, so he drove off.

Benrey had other plans, of course.

It took Gordon looking up from the tablet he was supposed to be checking-in with to realize somebody else in the waiting room was looking over him. Literally.

“Owwwww. That’s my CHIN bro.” Benrey hovered in front of Gordon, rubbing over his stubble. He was dressed in jeans and an old band t-shirt that fit him very loosely.

Gordon had to admit, Benrey cleaned up pretty nicely, even if he had obviously stolen his outfit from his laundry to do so. He wouldn’t have been able to pick him out in a crowd unless he paid attention to the eyes.

The hat was new though, and clearly not meant for New Mexico weather. It was a hand-stitched beanie with a puffball at the top. He decided not to ask where it came from and instead patted at the chair next to him so Benrey didn’t freak out the other patients with his noclipping.

The man was completely quiet after he sat down.

It wasn’t out of politeness, Gordon could tell. His eyes were darting around at all the different people waiting with them, not lazing around emptily like they normally did, although they did occasionally droop enough that he had to pinch the webbing between his hands to force himself into focusing again. He paid special attention when people talked to each other.

What was it that Benrey had said last night about ‘reading better’? This might have been it, Benrey trying to ‘read’ his surroundings and how people acted in a normal setting. It made sense if that was the case, Benrey being ‘Not-Human’ meant he probably wasn’t raised on Earth or given an understanding of Earth culture; Gordon mentally beat himself up for not realizing sooner that, duh, obviously the guy that’s ‘Not-Human’ doesn’t know shit about Earth. It wasn’t an excuse though, he’d been here for a month, he should have spent more time figuring out Earth stuff instead of playing video games.

Gordon would never be that easily distracted if he was an alien, he decided.

After the tedious process of checking in and waiting ten minutes past when his appointment was supposed to be, a nurse called him over. Benrey attempted to tag along and was immediately surprised when he was barred from following Gordon past the waiting room.

“Come on man, big lame.” Benrey gently frowned.

“It’s a matter of privacy, sir.” The nurse said.

There were no further attempts to get inside, but he was obviously unsure what to do with himself.

Gordon sighed, “If it freaks you out so much that you can’t follow, how about you go take a walk around the place? There's like, a food court, and the lobby has lots of plants to look at, and a nursery on the opposite side of the building.”

“What's a nursery?”

“Uh, room where they keep all the babies. I gotta go now,” Gordon pointed at Benrey. “please stay out of trouble.”

Benrey looked like he wanted to ask something, but had little time to do so before Gordon left with the nurse. For the next half-hour, he would be blessed by the sweet and merciful gods of patient confidentiality.

-

Benrey wandered around the hospital, hovering a foot off the ground while he did so. Sure enough, there were plants. Unfortunately, they were fake plants, he could tell because they tasted bad. He was still hungry, despite eating breakfast with Gordon.

His metabolism completely shutting off when he slept meant he hadn’t needed to eat much until a month ago, and even then he hadn't eaten more than maybe once a week. In the past day and a half, Benrey had noclipped over multiple long distances.

He did the math in his head: he could travel 10 miles per minute (10 mi/min), the trek to his house from Gordon’s was about five minutes, then another five back. This morning he traveled two minutes from Gordon’s to Tommy’s to borrow some money, then one more to Bubby’s because Tommy wasn’t home, three minutes to the mall to buy a cool hat so nobody saw his gnarly gamerhair, and then finally eight minutes to find the right doctor’s office since he wasn’t used to tracking Gordon’s new scent. There was also the distance he traveled before he and Gordon met up yesterday, his place to Gordon’s to Tommy’s to Bubby’s to Darnold’s (two minutes) and then back to Gordon’s (two, he and Tommy were neighbors).

If he did the math right, and he usually did, that was about 360 miles in the past two days. No, he wasn’t going to show his work.

Needless to say, Benrey was understandably hungry. His Hunger Meter was only half full.

He should have gone to Black Mesa to grab a food suit while he was out, but Black Mesa was Empty Stomach distance away, and there was a high chance the suits were either gone or out of juice, both edible and electrical. Benrey didn’t want to return to Gordon’s house on an empty stomach, because then he would be tempted to eat ALL of Gordon’s food, and that would make Gordon mad.

Benrey didn’t want to make Gordon mad. There was the food court, but food costs money, and Benrey spent his money on a cool hat, which meant his alternative was to steal food, which would also make Gordon mad. Eating squirrels was an option, but that would make Gordon mad, too.

Lots of Benrey’s options for being Not Hungry would make Gordon mad. Maybe he could talk to Tommy about getting food together.

First, though, Benrey wanted to check out the nursery. That was where the babies were? He hadn’t met a baby before. He’d seen pictures of them, especially Gordon’s ugly-ass baby, but that had probably been a bad picture and was not representative of how all babies looked. Benrey knew how outliers worked.

Maybe Benrey should go introduce himself to a baby.

-

Gordon had a hard time trying to focus on what his doctor was saying. It was obviously nothing bad because he wasn’t being given a serious tone, but he simply couldn’t focus, how could he when he had clearly seen a trail of Sweet Voice appear in the room with him?

There he was, waiting for the doctor to show up, nervous as can be, as he typically was at these appointments. He was practicing some of his self-soothing techniques, mostly the square breathing one, and he had closed his eyes to block out visual distractions. Nothing abnormal, blue taking up the black space until he was ready to open his eyes, and as a silly little goof he decided to half-sing during his final exhale.

He opened his eyes, now calm.

Or he would have been if he hadn’t seen a wobbly trail of blue sweet voice traveling upward.

Even at the fucking doctor, Benrey couldn’t be bothered to give Gordon some privacy. He told him some places to visit, what the hell was his problem?

He silently stewed in his frustration, pretending to listen to his doctor, knowing that if there was anything important or wrong going on with him then he would be completely glued to what the other man was saying.

For some reason, he felt like this appointment had gone by much more quickly than it normally did; actually, everything since Benrey showed up had been going by much more quickly, like he was only really conscious of the more important things going on. He could remember everything he was witnessing in the normal amount of detail, but he didn’t really feel like he was experiencing it all correctly.

Probably the stress, and by ‘the stress’ he meant Benrey. Leave it to his tormentor to destroy Gordon’s sense of time by mere presence. And of course, he was so nervous about his invasion of privacy that he forgot to ask about the irrational thoughts thing, great. Whatever, be could drag Benrey about the privacy thing on the drive home.

God, the drive home. He’s gonna have to actually drive home instead of letting Fast Travel do it for him, again.

He really would prefer to just abandon Benrey here and go home himself, get his number from Tommy and leave a text saying he ‘accidentally’ forgot he was still at the doctor’s office. Alas, Gordon was a responsible adult, and he knew it would be cruel to the normal people of Poastgame to leave Benrey unattended for much longer.

It didn’t take long to find Benrey. Following his inquiry about the nursery, Gordon suspected he would try looking for it, and he had been right! The man stood in front of the massive pane of glass of which one could easily look at all the babies inside. The window was smudged with the imprints of Benrey’s face while the man himself was standing stock still mere inches away from it.

In one hand, Benrey had a small pile of pamphlets, and in the other he had one of his fingers trapped in the mighty grasp of an infant, held tenderly by a young woman that, along with her husband, seemed unbothered by the non-human. The couple was so unbothered, in fact, that they were clearly carrying a conversation to Benrey about something.

Gordon stepped over to get Benrey’s attention, he could see now a vague expression of wonderment in his face while the baby cooed at him.

“Bro.” Benrey whispered, looking at Gordon. “They so small? Can’t even hold a Game & Watch. Too small. Look at their little gamer hands.”

“Dude, they’re babies.” Gordon sighed, “They can’t even roll over until they’re a few months old. Of course they can’t hold a Game & Watch.” He looked at the couple, “I’m sorry about him. He’s a little-”

“Oh, it’s fine.” The man interrupted, “He actually cheered her right up. We couldn’t be more thankful.”

“I’m cool with the kids.” Benrey sounded proud about that.

“That’s great, Benrey. We need to go home now.”

“Okay.” He wiggled his finger free, getting a laugh from the baby. “Byeeee friendddds.”

The couple said their goodbyes as well while Benrey quietly tagged behind Gordon back to the car. He was the first one to break the silence of the car, of course, about halfway through their drive.

“Babies are cool. You said you have a baby, right? Joshua?”

“I did but,” Gordon felt a lump in his throat. “look, it’s a long story. Maybe I’ll explain it later.” He stopped at a red light, letting out a long sigh while orange crept into his vision. Focus, Gordon. “Hey. Why were you in my exam room?”

“What?”

“Why were you in my exam room? Don’t play fucking dumb with me, I saw the fucking Sweet Voice in my room.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”

“Yes you do, YES you DO! Don’t fucking lie to me.”

“Please stop yelling.” Benrey monotonously requested.

“I just want fucking answers!” Gordon glared at Benrey, “I’m letting you stay with me, I don’t know why but I am. I could easily revoke that decision.”

“You’re getting mad at me for no reason. I didn’t DO anything!” He looked out the window, refusing to meet Gordon’s eyes. “You’re being a bad friend.”

“I don’t know what that has to do with anything we’re talking about. You said YOU wanted to be friends. A good place to start is respecting my privacy.”

“I did! I went into the lobby and tried to eat the plants and then I read about babies at the nursery and I met a baby.” Benrey looked at Gordon now, hyperfocused and stern. “I know I make stuff up to be funny, but I’m not this time!”

Benrey spewed blue at Gordon, who swatted it away angrily.

A car behind Gordon honked at him to move. “The light JUST turned green, fuck you!” He glared at Benrey again before slamming on the gas. “Whatever!!!”

They both exchanged quiet swears under their breaths for the remainder of the ride home.

Gordon just wanted to go inside and find a way to distract himself from Benrey.

The smaller man didn’t even bother waiting for Gordon to exit his vehicle when they finally got home, deciding instead he was better off noclipping into the attic. His intentions became clear when Gordon attempted to re-align the couch cushions for when the Science Team arrived, and was swiftly assaulted with the sound of stomping above him.

Benrey told him something, but it was muffled by whatever was between the floor of the attic and the downstairs ceiling.

“Can’t hear you! You fucker.” Gordon growled.

He put on some TV to pass the time, not even bothering to fix lunch for himself. He knew that eating three meals regularly was a necessity, one he found out the hard while spending time with the Science Team early on. He had been pretty good with feeding himself though, and he didn’t want to break his streak because of some shit Benrey pulled, so he shuffled to the kitchen to make himself some cheese toast.

Benrey was dangling through the ceiling and into the boxed goods cabinet, audibly crunching on something he had found like a wild animal. Either he had been hungry, too, or he was trying to get back at Gordon by eating his stuff.

His shirt rode up just a bit from how he was positioned, exposing just enough of his stomach for Gordon to notice he didn’t have a belly button.

‘Probably not a mammal.’ His inner scientist mused.

‘You should poke it.’ Chirped an irrational thought.

He shouldn’t have, but Gordon did, in fact, poke Benrey’s stomach with the handle of a spatula he was using.

Benrey made a noise like a stalling car and pulled himself out of the cabinet.

“Not cool, man.” He mumbled, clipping the rest of the way back into the attic.

Gordon didn’t care, he had a cheese toast to make. A few slices of white bread, generously topped with grated cheese, were slid into the toaster oven, and a few minutes later Gordon had procured and eaten his delicate cuisine in a fraction of the time it took to make. A low maintenance meal, but filling enough to tie him over until he and His Boys got together to have that talk.

It did make him weary, though. The rest of the Science Team never planned anything ahead without Gordon. Given the timing between Benrey’s return and this spontaneously-planned talk, Gordon could only suspect that they were connected.

As if on-cue, there was a rapping at the door, followed by a ring of the doorbell.

“Cut it out!” Benrey phased through the ceiling to shout at Gordon.

Their eyes met, and Gordon quietly swung open the door.

“Oh. Hi Bubby.”

“Hello.” The pyromaniacal man strutted inside, “Why do I smell toast?”

“I made toast.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Hello, Gordon! Hello, Blobby!” Coomer bounced in.

“Hey Dr. Coomer.” Gordon laughed, “Come in, come in. We’re waiting for Tommy and Darnold again?”

“It’s only fair, Gordon. This concerns them just as much as it concerns the rest of us!”

“Of course, of course.” Gordon locked the door behind Coomer.

Immediately, he got another knock.

“That sounds like Tommy, let me-”

The door opened on its own, a man donned in an inexpensive suit on the other side, the outside he stood in covered with a familiar ethereal blackness. Gordon almost thought it was Mister Coolatta, but upon the visitor walking into normal lighting he was happy to see it was just Tommy dressed up like father.

“Tommy! Oh my god, you had me scared for a second.”

“Sorry Mister Freeman.” Tommy blushed, “I thought that this was a conversation that required a serious outfit.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah!” Tommy stepped through the doorway, the door closing on its own.

Gordon opened it back up curiously…nothing but a normal neighborhood on the other side. The sound of rocket boots came from behind the house and settled down when Darnold planted his feet firmly before the front door.

“Dr. Freeman, it’s good to see you again so soon.”

“Yeah, man. Come on in, always happy to have you around.”

“Thank you.” Darnold tilted his head left and right, “I do hope you still feel that way after we get this meeting over with.”

“I don’t see why it would?” Gordon’s inflection came off a bit more unsure than he had intended, “I mean, it’s one conversation.”

The seating arrangement around the TV had a sofa across from the screen, a loveseat to the right, and a recliner to the left. Coomer and Bubby usually took the loveseat, and Gordon usually took the recliner since it was his own house. That left enough room on the couch for Tommy, Darnold, and at least one more person (or a very large dog) to all sit together. So, of course, Benrey sat in the middle.

Gordon looked around at everybody, each of them passing awkward glances at each other, aside from Benrey who was just looking directly at the ceiling.

“Hey, so, what’s up?” Gordon asked, “What’s the talk about?”

“Well uhhhhhhh, it’s a bit complicated.” Bubby spoke first.

“So it’s about Benrey, got it.”

“Yo!”

“What?” The older man looked at him quizzically. “No? Of course it’s not about Benrey, we already know he’s back. Nothing much to be done about that.”

“Yeah Mister Freeman, Benrey is a functioning member of society.”

Gordon gestured vaguely at Benrey. “This guy? A fucking-a FUNCTIONING member of society? Benrey?”

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t be!” Darnold exclaimed, “He was very polite last night, he even got all our orders for dinner.”

“Yeah, well, clearly you weren’t there when he plotted to get my fucking arm cut off.”

“Now Gordon,” interjected Dr. Coomer, “I think you’re forgetting that Dr. Bubby was also involved with the ambush that took your hand.”

“I didn’t tell them to do that!” Bubby growled, “Benrey can attest to that. He didn’t tell them to do that either, they just-!”

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.” Gordon deliberately interrupted Bubby. “You know he snuck into my doctor’s appointment today, right? Started spewing Sweet Voice into the examination room before my doctor showed up.”

“I DIDN’T FUCKING-!” Benrey got up, huffing out orange balls of light with every breath.

Tommy pulled Benrey back to his seat, the latter man looked at the floor in frustration.

“Mister Freeman, Benrey would never invade someone's privacy that way.” Tommy frowned.

Gordon audibly growled. “This guy literally harassed me when I went to use the bathroom at the movie theater!”

“No, I waited for you to finish first.” Benrey argued, “I’m not gonna look at your junk on purpose.”

Gordon got up and paced around his living room, violently ruffling his hair around to avoid getting physically violent.

“He’s not going to look at your junk on purpose, Gordon.” Bubby reiterated unhelpfully.

“This is the same guy who’s day was apparently ruined by a slip in my suit! I don’t get why you guys are defending this fucker!”

“Because you’re being a fucking dick!”

“I’m not being a dick!”

Coomer spoke up, “You kinda are being a dick, Gordon.”

“Dr. Coomer?! What the hell?!”

“Dr. Freeman, I think you should calm down before we finish this conversation.” Suggested Darnold.

Benrey seemed to feel that now was a good time to butt-in, “Yeah, you uh, you should calm down.”

“No! I don’t WANT to calm down! I want to get mad!”

“You shouldn’t though.”

“Why not-!”

“Because bad things happen when you get mad.”

“What-?”

Gordon’s vision went blurry before he could say more, he hunched over a shelf to steady his suddenly weak knees.

This wasn't the kind of blurry where he skipped long drives or conversations where he already knew the outcome, and this wasn't the kind of blurry that had frequently plagued him immediately after the Resonance Cascade where his mind muddled all reasoning with resurfaced memories of Black Mesa. He felt a tightness, no, an obstruction in his throat.

This was choking.

He was choking.

He could faintly hear Tommy and Dr. Coomer, talking to him, could barely see them getting up to help him.

Yellow and orange filled his vision, and just as quickly vanished. The color seemed to flush itself into his throat while he coughed and hacked, his arms giving out as he fell on his side in agony and distress.

His eyes drew themselves over to Benrey, who's face now wore an expression that looked so foreign on him. He only barely hid it while covering his mouth to try and keep yellow and red orbs of Sweet Voice from spilling out.

Fear.

Benrey was afraid.

Gordon felt nauseous.

What could be so bad, so wrong with what Gordon was experiencing, that Benrey was afraid?

What did Benrey know that he didn’t?

Gordon tried to scream.

The more he tried to scream, the more his head began to thump, louder and louder, and the more it felt like he was coughing up a gobstopper the size of a mule, until finally the pressure became so unbearable that all the fear and anger swelled out of him in a hundred brilliant shades and hues. The colors dulled into confusion, and then wonder and then fear once more while his throat continued to provide discordant screaming noises.

The chorus of people screaming around him did nothing to relieve Gordon's overwhelming terror.

Eventually, however, the screaming died down. His throat had become too raw to continue, and the colorful lights that accompanied it lessened into a perpetual trickle.

Almost everybody in the room was mumbling to themselves or to a neighbor about the situation, equally confused and scared as Gordon, except for Tommy.

The young man looked at Benrey, who’s face had shifted from fear to a sort of dawning combination of embarrassment and guilt. He looked at Gordon, allowing a thin stream of alternating pink and cyan Sweet Voice to fall from his lips in what Gordon must have assumed to be an attempt of mutual understanding.

Finally, Tommy looked back at Gordon. The guilt on his face was much more palpable compared to Benrey’s “Mister Freeman, you must be feeling a lot of emotions right now.”

“Oh, oh god... I think... I think I'm gonna be sick.”

#hlvrai metamorphosis au #hlvrai au #metamorphosis au #fanfic

[titleleaf]

On the flipside, fascinated by Will Graham’s car and all it signifies about him:

There’s a very different vibe between these vehicles even setting aside price point -- even the difference in reviews, where you're seeing stuff like "comfortable", "dependable", people talking about how good it is for doing your own repairs or for helping your friends move. Will is fully comfortable transporting stray dogs in this thing, he's using it to commute some ungodly distances so it's not a total beater, but he's not particularly interested in turning heads or in owning something that's fun to drive. I would wager Will's not this car's first owner and that he does most of his own maintenance, while Hannibal 1000% pays someone else very well to do that shit for him.

Overall show!Will's Volvo always reminds me of book!Will's real ambivalence around the Leeds' well-to-do acquisitiveness in Red Dragon.

Graham pursued Charles Leeds through the house. His hunting prints hung in the den. His set of the Great Books were all in a row. Sewanee annuals. H. Allen Smith and Perelman and Max Shulman on the bookshelves. Vonnegut and Evelyn Waugh. C. S. Forrester's Beat to Quarters was open on a table. In the den closet a good skeet gun, a Nikon camera, a Bolex Super Eight movie camera and projector. Graham, who owned almost nothing except basic fishing equipment, a third-hand Volkswagen, and two cases of Montrachet, felt a mild animosity toward the adult toys and wondered why. Who was Leeds? A successful tax attorney, a Sewanee footballer, a rangy man who liked to laugh, a man who got up and fought with his throat cut.

#ska watches nbc hannibal #will graham

[beardedmrbean]

A man was illegally carrying a handgun after he drove through the streets of a New York town in a car covered in swastikas, a Palestinian flag and pro-Hamas messages just blocks from a planned pro-Israel rally, officials said.

Hani Saleh, 47, was arrested Wednesday in White Plains at South Lexington Avenue and Quarropas Street after cops pulled over his Volkswagen, according to the White Plains Police Department 

The vehicle sported a Palestinian flag along the top, according to photos obtained by Fox News Digital.

"The license plate on the vehicle had been apparently illegally altered, and the vehicle also had writing painted across the entire windshield obstructing the driver's view," White Plains Police Capt. James Spencer said in a statement shared with Fox.

2ND AVE DELI OWNER SAYS HE WAS ‘SHOCKED’ AND ‘UPSET’ TO SEE SWASTIKA DRAWN OUTSIDE FAMED NYC EATERY

Police said an investigation revealed the license plate, which appears to say "MMORTAL," to be a forged instrument. A weapon was also found inside the vehicle, along with other license plates, cops said.

"An inventory subject to the vehicle being impounded revealed a .40-caliber handgun and several Arizona license plates along with a New York license plate," Spencer said. "Saleh was booked and processed for criminal possession of a forged instrument … and criminal possession of a weapon."

Spencer noted that Saleh, listed as a resident of Elmsford, New York, was also issued a traffic summons for the violations.

Saleh, after being stopped by police, was arrested two blocks away from the site of a pro-Israel rally slated to take place later that evening.

A number of anti-Israel messages were written in what looked like red and white paint on the vehicle driven by Saleh that accused the country of "genocide" and the murders of thousands of Palestinians.

"Holocaust in Gaza by the new [Nazis] USA + Israel. The terrorist [and] nuke power," one handwritten message along the back window stated. "Hamas resistance is not terrorism," another stated.

"2,050 Palestinian kids murdered by EU, USA, ISRAEL … how many kids more until ceasefire," was written along the right side of the vehicle.

"USA=ISIS=ISRAEL," appeared on one side. "They are killing us."

Other images shared by the Westchester County District Attorney's office revealed the driver's side of the vehicle, which featured an American flag with "ISIS" written above it and a larger swastika interlaced with the Star of David.

An investigation is ongoing, and Spencer said he and his department is working with federal law enforcement agencies. Saleh was arraigned Thursday and locked upin the Westchester County Jail.

Saleh is due back in court Nov. 2, according to the office of Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah.

#nunyas news #couple months ago dude would have been pulled out #by alleged antifascists and assaulted #they're likely calling this a wrongful arrest now