Half-Life (series)/Fanfic Recs

Proof that the remaining 10% is worth dying for here:

These are recommendations made by Tropers for Half-Life, all of which have been signed. After a few samples, you will be able to judge whether you might be interested in the 'fic, based on who recommended it. No-name recommendations will be Zapped (wiki). Nobody would back up the rec. Discussion of the recommendation is welcome on the discussion page. As such discussion is important, do remember to add the discussion page to the watchlist, if need be.

Do warn when a fanfic may head into homosexual or non-canon territory. Some people just don't like it, and as we all know, Shipping is Serious Business.

General Fics
''Stories focused on the family and the friendly relationships of the cast. Plot-focused stories or light day-in-the-life stories. Pretty much anything that isn't focused on romance.''

Half Life Full Life Consequences
 * Recommended by FLCNPNCH, Tacitus, DEFCON 1, Paireon, Alynnidalar
 * Full Life Consequences -- Fan Fiction by squirrelking, Narration by blind51de, Video by Djy1991
 * What Has Tobe Done -- Fan Fiction by squirrelking, Narration by Cannon590A, Video by Djy1991
 * Hero Beggining -- Fan Fiction by squirrelking, Narration by Dwarfie, Video by Djy1991
 * Free Man -- Fan Fiction by squirrelking, Narration by Dwarfie, Video by Djy1991
 * Synopsis: Someone finds a crappy Half-Life fanfic and decides to make some movies out of it. These are those movies.
 * Comments: The "fan fic" itself: gut-bustingly bad. The machinema itself: absurdly hilarious. The "fan fic" and the machinema combined: ...can't...breathe...too...funny... Don't forget to watch Quarter-Life: Half-Way to Destruction -- Fan Fiction by Peter Chimaera, Narration by Cannon590A, Video by Djy1991.
 * There have been other similar projects, most significantly videos produced and released around the same time as Djy's versions by Gaz6231:
 * Hero Beggining -- Narration and Video by Gaz6231
 * Free Man -- Narration and Video by Gaz6231
 * These videos offer a slightly different take on the original fanfiction, which is... lacking in detail in places. Feel free to argue over which was better/first/ripped off/not ripped off/falsely accused of ripping off/falsely accusing others of ripping off/whatever in the comments of all related videos, or just enjoy two equally interesting takes on a truly terrible piece of writing.

Concerned: The Half-Life and Death of Gordon Frohman by Christopher C. Livingston
 * Recommended by Radioactive Zombie, DEFCON 1, Cameoflage, Extraintrovert, Parkour Paisho
 * Synopsis: Concerned tells the story of everyday moron Gordon Frohman, a side character who manages to fuck everything up for both the Combine and Rebels in his quest to prove himself to the Combine. Along the way, he has his medic eaten, pisses off Doctor Breen to the point of having a trail of destruction rained on him constantly, crashes into a Stereotypical CS:S server, and nearly kills Gordon.
 * Comments: An Affectionate Parody, notable for Lampshade Hanging. Also, Webcomic.

The Black Mesa Incident, Welcome to City 17, and Aftermath by Super Chocolate Bear
 * Recommended by Medinoc, DEFCON 1, Heavy Villain, Hush, Sceptre, Extraintrovert
 * Synopsis: A series of novelisations of the games, chapter by chapter. The first covers Half-Life, Blue Shift and Opposing Force, the second covers Half-Life 2, and the third covers Episode One and Episode Two. All finished.
 * Comments: Filled to the brim with wonderful interpretations of the characters and events, delightful yet unobtrusive additions, spectacular fights worthy of the series, and anything between Alyx and Gordon is made of d'aw. It drags at many points, becoming repetitive and full of filler much like the games, but also like the games it is well worth the wait.

Freeman's Mind by Ross Scott, located here.
 * Recommended by Doctor Worm, Rakuen, Unclouded_TJ, Tacitus. Extraintrovert, Parkour Paisho
 * Synopsis: A Machinima of the first Half-Life, basically playing the game with commentary in character as the usually Heroic Mime Freeman. In progress, thirty-nine(and a half) episodes, and more coming soon, as of January 2012.
 * Comments: Endlessly hilarious. Freeman is portrayed as highly sarcastic, most of his jokes lying in Black Comedy territory, which is fitting for the atmosphere. There's also a fair amount of Lampshade Hanging. Slightly a Let's Play, however there are several cheats enabled (invincibility and the ability to climb most noticeably) for storytelling purposes that move it far enough away to make the definition cursory at best.
 * Seconded. Though the wait for each new episode is notoriously long, Freeman's hilarious antics and somewhat threatening attitude towards his fellow employees are always things you can look forward to in every episode. Highly recommended.
 * Tacitus: This has spawned similar machinima adding similar monologues to Blue Shifts Barney Calhoun and Opposing Forces Adrian Shephard, by IRAMightyPirate and KrimsinYT respectively. Though they are admittedly following the leader, they're quite enjoyable in their own right.

Half-Life Two: Shephard's Epic, by Blind Acquiescence.
 * Recommended by Radioactive Zombie, Philistein, User:REV 6 Pilot
 * Synopsis: Fills in the details between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and follows Opposing Force protagonist Adrian Shephard as he returns to Earth from statis.
 * Comments: Pretty damn well written for a fanfic, and keeps your interest throughout.
 * Well-written indeed. Shephard's character reflects his experience at Black Mesa, and the group he's a part of is very interesting in their own right. The misdeeds in Ravenholm are of particular notice as one of the fic's high points. My only complaint is that Katya is little more than a clone of Alyx, but this bit's outweighted by the good things.
 * Status: Can be officially considered a Dead Fic. It's been 2 years since last update, and BA hasn't shown any sign of activity in this interval.

The Raid: (An Elite's worst nightmare) by The Airman
 * Recommended by Pointblank28, MC Ham Guy
 * Synopsis: When a typical raid by Civil Protection goes awry, this elite is thrown into a wild and crazy adventure.
 * Comments: Very funny in it's own sense, especially the twist ending. S Orry guys, no spoilers.

Typical Moments in the Horrible Life of Gordon Freeman by Camwyn, with other characters played by leeshajoy (Alyx Vance), whoever's responsible for Barney, and a couple more people whose names I don't know. ••Link to when Chell first shows up, please?
 * Recommended by Cameoflage, Tacitus
 * Pairing: Gordon/Alyx. Not the focus of the story by any sensible standard, but it's there; you have been warned.
 * Synopsis: A roleplaying journal for everyone's favourite asskicking theoretical physicist, associated with Milliways Bar, that doubles as a novelization (so to speak) of the games in the main storyline.
 * Comments: Currently in the middle of Episode Two (which is split between Gordon's and Alyx's journals). Due to Milliways' nature, characters from various other fandoms sometimes participate in the action (most notably during the Ravenholm and Battle of City 17 portions of Half-Life 2), which may not be to everyone's taste, but it's done in a way that makes sense and refrains from relying too heavily on the G-Man yet doesn't knock later events off-course. Also, Gordon can talk.
 * Tacitus: And now they've moved on to the search for the Borealis... and by "they" I mean Gordon, Alyx, Shephard and Chell. This is quite an intricate and intriguing narrative, but it can be hard to follow since the story is jumping across four of five LiveJournal accounts - if it's been collected somewhere, I haven't found it yet. Also, you'll have to keep expanding the commentary below some entries, since the participants are playing by post. Still worth the effort though, if only to hear Chell swear by the Weighted Companion Cube. I also found the Daemonmusings portions fascinating, since I'd never come across any fanfiction that speculated on characters' dÃ¦mons before.

Follow Freeman! by Pisces
 * Recommended by Moberemk, 'Van Irie
 * Synopsis: A series of drabbles in the Half-Life 2 universe.
 * Comments: A great series of drabbles that are just plain fun to read. They're quick, but definitely worth it.

Malign Contingency by Edcrab Malign Contingency II
 * Recommended by amitakartok, Philistein, Heavy Villain
 * Synopsis: A very well-written fic that takes Half-Life 2 and turns it Up to Eleven. It's basic premise is that the G-Man surely isn't the only power in the multiverse but rather, it's a three-way tug-of-war between the Combine, the Arcadimaarians and the Domarian Legion (plus the G-Man's "employers"; long story short, classic case of Gambit Pileup played on an interdimensional scale).
 * Comments: 33 chapter long. The protagonist, Quarir Nalore is a Domarian agent who has been unwillingly recruited into covertly undermining the Combine's presence on Earth since the Legion does not have enough firepower to get the job done. Things only get complicated when an Arc Zealot also appears and the Combine releases an advanced Elite to eliminate Freeman and Nalore. Said prototype, Forty, is a "bit" dedicated to his work... just read what happened to the Arcs who screwed up his mission (hint: ). The Zealot, on the other hand... ever saw a racist Ax Crazy alien? Who's also a powerful psychic? You don't want to.
 * Sequel to the above, caught in development hell with a three-year hiatus between the chapters. Not to mention that said sequel takes the plot complexity of the first fic and launches it into full-blown Mind Screw territory (Neon Genesis Evangelion-scale, just not as fucked up). In fact, the last chapter is a MASSIVE Wham! Episode. Apparently, the Uclasions were wiped out by the - and the Combine somehow got their hands on a dormant one... If this keeps progressing like the original, HSQ is about to hit the roof.
 * Comments: Not quite up to the standards of the original. But hey, it's not done yet.

Sidelines by Super Chocolate Bear and Blind Acquiescence.
 * Recommended by Sceptre, Philistein, Hush
 * Synopsis: A series of drabbles taking place during the intervening period between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, from day one to decades later. Same canon as SCB's series, and probably BA's fic too.
 * Comments: Appropriately they are incredibly bleak and depressing, giving a very detailed and personal look at what is only hinted at in the games.

Half-Life 40K
 * Recommended by: Watashiwa
 * Synopsis: Once upon a time, someone on 4chan had a thought: What if Gordon Freeman woke up in the 41st century? What if, crowbar in hand, Gordon Freeman became a living legend? What if Adrian Shepard followed, himself cutting a swath through the enemies of mankind? MAYBE it would be something like this.
 * Comments: This is a great proof-of-concept piece, highly recommended if you like Gordon Freeman going through alien hordes with nothing but a crowbar and a Zero Point Gravity Device. And I think you do.

Half-Life 2: Episode 3, Half-Life 2: Episode 4 by Nintendolover222.
 * Recommended by Gelious
 * Synopsis: A direct sequel to Episode 2, starting from Eli's funeral. Gordon, Alyx and Barney fly to Arctic to find the Borealis and save Mossman, while Freeman is plagued by question: how is he capable of being One-Man Army? Meanwhile, GMan gives freedom to Adrian Shepard and orders him to kill Gordon - . At the same time, GLaDOS, who is still alive, and is starting it's own path to Take Over the World.
 * Comments: Well written novels, which contain good description of action scenes, serious discussions of universal ethics and morality,, resurrections, several plot twists, reveals, and Warning: Anyone Can Die reigns free  Don't worry, It Makes Sense in Context.

Between Minds, by 3theCaptain
 * Recommended by Russ The Adventure Mouse,
 * Synopsis: Takes place between Episode 2 and Episode 3, and between Portal 1 and Portal 2, interferes with canon as little as humanly possible. "Chell & Gordon battle the horrors lurking in the Arctic. Meanwhile, Alyx and Barney search for their lost friend - but encounter surprising challenges at every turn. And all four discover that aliens & zombies aren't the only monsters out there." Only 9 chapters in as of this typing, but so far Chell has escaped Aperture Science, Gordon teleported to the Arctic by himself  and Alyx and Barney are dealing with a Combine invasion of White Forest.
 * Comments: Very well written, and gets better with each chapter! A good balance between comedy and action. The characters are all nearly canon, and neither Gordon nor Chell can speak. Introduces a few new personality spheres and rebels, all of whom are genuinely likable but stay out of the way. Cave Johnson (as a recording) is hilarious, Alyx is tough but in mourning, Barney has to deal with the double-life he's been leading, etc. All in all, a very enjoyable read that tugs your heartstrings when the time is right.

Rubik's Cube, by Tsumi-Amethyst
 * Recommended by Freya Crescent
 * Synopsis: "A young Alyx Vance is bored as she is dragged around the Black Mesa facility. She has been given a Rubik's Cube to play with."
 * Comments: Short, sweet, and heartwarming.

Shipping Fics
Stories focused on the romantic relationships between the cast.

The Right Words by Subverted
 * Recommended by Kathryn Shadow
 * Pairing: Gordon/Alyx
 * Synopsis: Sometimes it seemed as though they both struggled to speak, yet the meaning was always conveyed.
 * Comment: It started out as a brief exploration of what might have happened had Gordon actually had a chance to rest for a bit at Black Mesa East before everything went to hell. And then the author decided to continue it. And it kept getting better. Chapter 4 (which is titled Chapter Three), nearly brought me to tears. It also, beautifully enough, preserves Gordon's Heroic Mime status.

Misery Loves Company by Kraven Ergeist
 * Recommended by Edgar L Night, Hush
 * Pairing: Gordon/Alyx
 * Synopsis: "As Alyx mourns the loss of her father, Gordon offers his support in the only way he knows how: silently."
 * Comment: An adorable one-shot that can and will reduce even the most hard-hearted into a puddle of Squee.
 * A well-written and touching short story indeed. Worth a look.

Crossover Fics
Salvation: A Half-Life Mass Effect Crossover Story by Jesse De La Rosa
 * Recommended by autopanda
 * SynopsisAfter Gordon Freeman is allegedly killed by the Combine, Earth enters a new technological Golden Age. Until 179 years later, when galactic civilization is threatened once more. A threat that only Earth's two greatest heroes can stop.
 * Pairings: Shepard/Tali
 * Comments Exactly what the title says. It's actually pretty good. Also, in one of the first couple chapters, Shepard attempts to teach Legion what the term "fun" means.