#just as long as she has a soft spot for little chell

[non-cannon]

Spent a while going absolutely crazy trying to manage the double think needed to simultaneously ship ChellDOS and be going absolutely feral over the angsty implications of Caroline being Chell's mom. (no incest here, these are separate interpretations of the relationship, they do not cross exist, even if I keep flipping back and forth)

As I examined what fan content I need/am almost contemplating making from from mother theory, vs the content I've been consuming for ChellDOS (I have found countless ChellDOS fics which I have reading most of of, and 2 mother fics, which I read, the first of which being the one to introduce me to the theory, and it left me hanging and rabid for more).

What I want/have been getting from ChellDOS fics is canon/post canon them having feels and acting on them. Nothing I feel that needs to change canon, or necessarily happen during the game(s) except maybe introspection. Also nothing I feel an urge to write about, partially because I don't write romance.

What I want/was left hanging for in the mother therory fics, is the angsty in game implications. Both of the 2 fics I've thus far found end before the games start. And I need to see how this affects things in the games, damn it. Like an AU.

So, I've squared away the double think with ChellDOS is canon, and the mother theory is a fun angsty AU, where Chell is older than her bring your daughter to work day project existing in modern/new Aperture would tell us.

They are different universes/timelines. This is how I have my cake and eat it too. (unlike Chell, for whom the cake is a lie).

[cloudysarts]

i would like to introduce my Protag + Partner Swap AU for Half-Life and Portal :) probably self explanatory, but chell and gordon switch, and so do barney and wheatley ! (also benrey is included; read under the cut for info on how)

here are the designs! (+theres some litle story details under the cut!!)

realistically, i dont think either of the stories are very different, but heres some notable things

Half-Life: no one knows how wheatley got a job in black mesa security and people have even LESS of a clue how he lasted so long being a civil protection spy. he is so clueless but wont hesitate to jump in front of a moving train for chell and alyx if it means theyre a little safer. chell thinks hes dumb but has a soft spot for him and enjoys his company, especially since they used to be good friends. its endearing. he was the first face she recognized after waking up in an apocalypse, after all. 

Portal: barney is known as the security sphere in aperture. he was built to be a regular personality core, but none really seemed to fit, so he basically got demoted to a guard. he was sent to ‘guard’ the relaxation chambers, which is where he remained until the beginning of portal 2. he wakes up gordon, and both of them just know they have to get past the GLaDOS and get out. when he inevitably has his evil arc, his own anger of realizing he was abandoned in the relaxation chambers leads to a file corruption of sorts, and essentially turns him into. benrey. adhjfk

[sarcasticgaypotato]

I really like the theme of trust when it comes to ChellDOS. Chell needs to trust that GLaDOS won't try to kill/hurt her just like GLaDOS has to trust that Chell wont murder her again. Can you use your gay magic— I mean writing skills?

(( Of course! I am always happy to use my gay magic for the sake of ChellDOS! ))Chell never thought she would come back.She struggled for so long to leave, to be set free, only to be met with disappointment. The world above Aperture was dead.  She could not find a single living human, buildings were destroyed and overrun by plants, and even animals seemed to be in scarce numbers.  The world had aged while Chell had remained the same, frozen in time as the world wasted away.There was nothing for her here.  

And regardless of this fact, if she had escaped Aperture before she was thrown into the depths of the facility’s past with nothing but her portal gun and a talkative potato, she would’ve stayed on the surface.  Let herself die up here alone, rot away knowing that she was, at the very least, free from Aperture’s grip.

But things were different now.Chell still had no affection for Aperture, nor what the company had done or stood for, even back in the day.No, she had no positive feelings for the facility itself, it was the ruler of the facility that she had grown a soft spot for.GLaDOS, of all creatures, had earned Chell’s respect, at the very least.  And, in a way, they had formed a strange bond while traveling old Aperture.Chell had seen the change in GLaDOS, and that was what changed her own opinion of the core.Maybe it was the sudden realisation and understanding of the core’s past, or maybe it was watching the AI evolve.She saw the seemingly cold, unfeeling core soften and open up, bit by bit.  She was no longer in control, she was humbled, and was forced to see the world through different eyes.In a moment of sheer curiosity, Chell had looked down at the potato, staring into the golden optic that had become something she had only ever seen as belonging to an unfeeling enemy, yet now… She saw a person.  Not a robot, not a machine, a person.And while she never could be sure, Chell believed that GLaDOS had done the exact same thing, in that same moment.However, this newfound partnership hadn’t meant that they were suddenly as thick as thieves.  GLaDOS had willingly let her go, and Chell was happy to leave.  They both wanted as much distance as possible.  Staying too close brought up questions and feelings that neither of them wanted to address. Yet here Chell was, standing once more in front of the old metal shed, staring at its rusted door.The outside world had nothing left for her, but Aperture did.  Now it was just the question of whether or not GLaDOS would even let her in.Believe it or not, she did.And Chell was soon face to face with an old enemy. Though that term hardly applied to them anymore.  When she descended into Aperture, she was met with the core’s usual sarcasm, yet it was almost endearing this time.  Almost.“I didn’t think you’d come crawling back so quickly. Miss me already?”Chell held her head up high, refusing to let the comment shift her stony expression, despite the slight urge to let it shift upon seeing the core.  No longer was she hanging off the ceiling, but instead, standing in front of the elevator in an android body that looked far too human for being made of metal.The elevator door slowly opened, and neither of them moved an inch.“…Well, if you’re going to stay here, you might as well step out of that elevator, you can’t stay there.”GLaDOS backed away, never turning her back on Chell as she moved.  And once there was a good amount of distance between them, Chell exited the elevator.  Trust was not something that they possessed for each other yet.  But today was the start of a very long journey.It had not taken long for the two of them to end up staring each other down once more, dancing on the brink of confrontation.  Chell had been messing around and got her hands on the portal gun, and had brought it into GLaDOS’s chamber without a second thought.GLaDOS had practically freaked.  She concealed it to a certain extent, but Chell saw the change in expression on her newly crafted face.  She had drawn back defensively, and her eyes looked positively icy.  She still remembered all too well what Chell had done with that portal gun in the past.Chell hadn’t caught on at first. Instead, she too found herself getting defensive, assuming that GLaDOS was getting ruffled for no reason, and taking the core’s defensive stance as a warning before an attack.   Chell too had plenty of reasons to be skeptical of GLaDOS, as the murder attempts were still fresh in her brain whenever they ended up like this.“…Get that gun out of here.”GLaDOS hissed, not daring to move.Chell narrowed her eyes, confused for a moment.“…Now.”The core was not screaming at her, nor was she threatening Chell with turrets or deadly neurotoxin.  She was uneasy rather than particularly angry, and appeared almost… afraid? That was not something Chell had come to associate with the AI, though the pieces were starting to come together in the human’s mind.  GLaDOS had proven herself to be more than capable of showing emotion, and fear had definitely been one of them.Chell looked down at the gun in her hands, and it finally clicked.  She quickly glanced up at GLaDOS, wondering for a moment if she should apologize.  Instead, she quickly rushed out of the room, not looking back.More time passed, things were getting better.  They had actually sat down and talked. About… everything.  But mainly, what their relationship would be. Chell-who wasn’t actually talking, but instead preferring to write things down and show them to the core- had finally been able to get some answers from GLaDOS, who admitted to her uneasiness around the girl, and Chell agreed likewise.  At least now they knew, and could try to work on it.They both expected this to take time, and thankfully time was something they had a lot of.What neither of them expected however, was the rather… confusing feelings that had started to surface regarding one another.Chell would never know this, but GLaDOS had harbored an… interest in Chell for a long time. But that interest was far, far from anything… safe.  It had been a hatred, an obsession, a craving.  It had died down after her time in a potato, and she assumed she’d be able to be rid of the feeling completely.  And that was partly true.  The obsession and the hate started to disappear as time went by, but they were replaced by different emotions.  Something warm and strange feeling, like a tightness in her chest.  Something she had no idea that Chell was experiencing at the same time.Of course, this matter, did not get discussed. Not verbally anyway.It grew stronger as time passed, and eventually, Chell grew tired of simply letting it be.They had both tried to practice touching each other as a part of their trust building, even though each interaction had been very brief, and barely more than a brush of the fingers against each other. Chell decided to change that.She approached GLaDOS carefully, making herself known by walking towards the core head on, having learned to never sneak up on her. She cleared her throat a little, looking up at the AI and gesturing with her hand for the robot to come closer. “What is it now? You’ve already had dinner, you aren’t getting seconds.”Chell rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly under her breath. Once the core had gotten close enough, she rummaged through her jumpsuit pockets to find the pre-written note that she made for this.‘Can I try something?’“Well you’re going to need to do a better job of explaining, for one.”GLaDOS responded with snark, though her tone held no bite. It hadn’t for awhile actually, now that Chell thought about it. Instead, the sarcastic comments and remarks that many people would find quite rude had shifted. Chell wasn’t offended by them, yet she didn’t need to ignore them anymore either.  She found herself smiling at half of them, like this was an old joke between her and the core.Still, GLaDOS was right. She ought to explain herself better.She pointed to her hand, then gestured to GLaDOS.To her surprise, the core caught on instantly, her eyebrows raising slightly as her golden optics studied Chell.“…Alright, try whatever it is you want.”That came as even more of a surprise, though it was quite the pleasant one.  It wasn’t often that GLaDOS put that much faith in her. She didn’t want to mess this up.

Like many times before, she carefully reached out and touched GLaDOS’s hand.  The core tensed for a moment, before relaxing. This was not uncharted territory.  Slowly, Chell moved, lacing her fingers with the AI’s, constantly watching the android’s face for any signs of discomfort.She found none.Instead, the core looked at her with surprise, and a hint of something else. Contentment maybe?Chell wasn’t sure.  But she held this touch for awhile, liking the warmth that roared up in her chest that it caused.  Aperture was often so cold, and it had been so long since Chell had been around other humans, she had forgotten what physical affection had felt like.Minutes went by, maybe even hours.  It was so hard to tell time down here, but it felt like years had passed when GLaDOS pulled away.  She was slow in her actions instead of her usual jerky movements when it came to this sort of thing.  She was relaxed.  A relaxed GLaDOS was NOT something Chell saw often.  Even if the core was in a good mood, she was hardly relaxed.“…That… wasn’t as horrible as I had expected. Perhaps… we should continue to study this tomorrow.”Chell smiled.  That was the best reaction she could possibly hope for.And study it they did. Step by step, they put themselves on display for the other, showing their weakness just long enough for the other to study it, and try to learn how to adapt to it.A little over a year later, they were both surprised with their progress.  They weren’t perfect, they knew that.  Chell was rather jumpy about her neck being touched, and GLaDOS was still a little uneasy whenever Chell was holding a Portal gun or anything that could be used as a weapon.But despite that, they were proud enough of the steps they had taken as is.Chell found herself standing in her room, waiting for the core.  They had planned to spend some time together, and GLaDOS promised to meet her here. And, perfectly on time, a knock on the door sounded, before it opened on its own.  Knocking wasn’t necessary for someone who controlled the whole facility, but Chell liked to know where the core was if they were going to be interacting. No surprises.And so, as GLaDOS approached her, she’d give a brief, verbal warning before touching the girl.The AI carefully wrapped her arms around Chell’s waist, keeping her grip loose and relaxed, as to not make the human feel trapped. Gently, she pressed her forehead against the ex-test subject, giving her a sort of nuzzle that Chell quickly returned.“…Hey.”The core smirked, looking down at Chell as she spoke.“Is this all you had planned? When you said you wanted to spend time together, I didn’t think you meant you just wanted to stand here.”Chell rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips.  She didn’t want to pull away to grab a pencil and paper, so instead she simply mouthed the words, knowing full well that GLaDOS could read her lips very well.‘Well I wasn’t planning on standing, but I have a perfectly nice sofa that we could move this to.’Chell watched as the core’s optics seemed to gleam, almost sparkling with amusement.“…Can I pick you up?”Despite the affection that was being shared between them, both of them never failed to ask before changing their position or form of affection. They cared for each other, no doubt, but sudden movements could be unnerving for both, especially ones that involved direct physical contact.  However with proper warning, it was welcomed.Chell nodded, very carefully moving her arms to loosely wrap around the core’s neck as she found herself scooped up into the cool metal arms of her partner.It was strange in a way, to finally be able to give her trust to someone who, many months ago, she wouldn’t have let touch her.  She supposed GLaDOS felt the same.Yet, as she found herself being set down on the soft cushion of the couch, and she moved closer to the core who joined her moments after, she found that she didn’t care. What did it matter how things had been? It was time to enjoy the now. She wasted little time joining the metallic woman’s hand with her own, and gently resting her head against the core’s chest, who let out a soft hum of contentment at her actions.Trust had taken time to begin, and it would take even longer to keep going, but it had been worth it.