#pm wheatley

[thepacifistrouter]

The Spark (Wheatley The Best PM fanfic)

Hello!

I've been reading everything I could about Wheatley the Best PM, a Waffles AU from years ago (twitters, one-shots, questions, wiki, etc.) and, although I found it fun and interesting… I felt like it was missing something …I mean, yes, in itself it is unfinished, but I mean that an element was missing, perhaps even that affected the fact of being able to continue moving forward with the idea, I don't know. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that the story lacked… hope, especially for our protagonist, that it seemed that the negative things around him were much bigger and heavier than the positive ones (too many flaws, no friends real, or at least real support, his cat was killed, his plant, current pet missing and his grandmother is presumed dead, etc), there didn't seem to be any solid reasons for anyone to want to help him personally, not even Chell I'm not talking about a possible Chelley, I'm talking about Chell showing real interest, initiative in, not even being his friend, but at least wanting to help him, knowing the difficult situation he is in, I know he has his reasons, but still. It's difficult to work on unfinished material, but… for some reason, I wanted to try it and… I think I finally came up with a… plausible idea to add hope for our favorite Prime Minister and his story.

I clarify that I'm not even half as good writer as Waffles… and I'm sure she won't read this… but… I don't know, I wanted to publish it, I hope you like it.

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They were a few thought weeks, really though weeks, 2 weeks to be precise, but not because of the cold and snow, nor because the work was particularly difficult (which technically, it wasn't), but because of her boss, the Prime Minister. The tallest and most idiotic Prime Minister the country could ever have, but it was only aware of the former. They were also not aware that the person in charge of the nation was, actually a being that was difficult to define as human, but who was the one who pulled the strings of everything under the shadows. She wasn't someone you wanted to be around, in fact, if it weren't for the Prime Minister having decided on her, she would never have taken that job on her behalf.

Curiously, until a few weeks before, her job had been up and down, but it was bearable, as was her boss. especially in the last week. When he regularly offered to take her home in the Sentinel, even though at first, she did not feel comfortable with that, it eventually became a pleasant time, but sadly, illusory and therefore, temporary.

After having to endure the wrath of Hurricane Caro, aka, his "best friend" all by himself, after having let her know his displeasure during that last Sentinel trip together, even though he tried to pretend nothing had happened the very next morning, things only got worse.

First, because the following days, from time to time, the Prime Minister was called to meet with Her, long and alone meetings, no one knew exactly what was being discussed there, but when they finished, it was clear that it couldn't be anything good. Especially because, due to the clear nerves he had when entering, he seems to had spilled coffee on his leg I none of them and, clumsily tried to hide it. And even without that, you could see a clear glow of satisfaction in Her eyes as She left, and something was changing in the Prime Minister's gaze and in his manners with others. At first was almost imperceptible, it was not very different from how he acted before, but this was just more... intense, less patient, more self-aware of his actions... in a bad way, he seemed to make more and more efforts to appear serious and imposing, trying to look more professional, which, for him, meant being more bossy, being more categorical when giving opinions or making decisions, etc. He didn't even post anything on his Twitter anymore.

Somehow, he managed to make this less noticeable by having public appearances, it was there, but it was still more like any other public appearance before those weeks, silly and lost. Still, Chell, being as sharp as she was, she saw it, she saw that it wasn't the same anymore.

She noticed how he corrected his posture much more often, looking for imperfections in his clothes, at some point he began to adjust his glasses every time it looked like he would say or do something, but he changed them at the last second for something else a little less like him; like being offered some biscuits, but in the last second, he ended up refusing them, saying that he would start a healthier diet soon and that it would be better to leave the biscuits to the children. Even once, on their way to an opening outside London, they spotted a circus in the distance, she could have bet she saw that spark of childish excitement in his eyes, only for him to, in the next breath, remark that he really liked them as a child, but now he had more interesting and important things to pay attention to.

Tension began to be felt in the No10 atmosphere, a tension that grew as the days passed, becoming palpable for anyone around, specially her.

She didn’t give a damn.

Maybe he was her boss, but she wasn't willing to let his stupid attitudes get to her, it already bothered her enough that she was affected by his tantrum at the Sentinel, no matter how sorry she was for him, no matter how much she could understand his situation, what happened was not her fault. It wasn't her fault that he wasn't able to open his eyes to his "best friend", it wasn't her fault that he was incapable of running his life, much less a nation, or that his will was so weak with what really mattered, he was not even able to ask for help other than some advice from time to time or for silly, irrelevant things or accidents he caused with his clumsiness. The only possible guilt she could really feel was not having done anything to try to change things or say something during the elections, perhaps that was the main reason, along with her own plans, why she had not tried to quit her job. He was not her responsibility out of what her work or her guts could demand, like saving his life of himself, which was still on her ‘not exactly something to be too proud of’ list of things.

It was true, after all, despite the time that had passed and there being something about him that could have made her consider to saving him as not a complete waste, from her point of view, that life was still a harmful and dangerous disaster, for himself and for the nation that, It is assumed that it was under his charge. Even taking his precious Caro out of the equation, who was the one who made him a danger to the general population, his position on her life and her mission doesn't change much... irrelevant, almost expendable. Remembering the times she saved him of problems that should only be problems for little kids and not for a ruler of an entire country, that he ignored obvious problems for him or blaming others for them because of his own insecurities and lack of self-steem, or when he began to become especially unbearable in the way he treated others, especially in the last week. She didn't hate him, he wasn't someone worth hating, but she wouldn't let someone so needy and annoying upset her, it was true that he had his more tractable moments where he can even feel friendly and kind, like someone to be nice with… but that was far too temporary, and still, again, even if it wasn’t… that didn't make him her responsibility… aside from her job. There were more important things to worry about, there was a whole nation full of people to worry about to. She couldn't, she didn't have to, she didn’t need to focus on his life problems.

The snow was beginning to fall in a foggy London, she was well dressed for the occasion, scarf, coat, gloves, etc. Luckily it was time to go home, she alone had to stop by to do a couple of purchases for herself. It wasn't her favourite activity, but it had to be done, and that same day she had to go shopping for clothes for her boss, who would say that buying a pair of packages of special-sized socks online was a mission of national importance.

At least she didn't have to deal with him anymore for today… or so she thought.

The streets were empty due to the hour, the snow and the fog, in the distance, at least from what could be seen, she saw some garbage containers, which told her that she was, more or less, halfway home. The containers were an expected sight for her, what she didn't expect was to see the lanky guy with glasses, overdressed in formal clothes - despite being outside of his working hours- standing in front of them, staring at them, as if he couldn't decide what would be his next step after getting there. She was about to cross the street, taking advantage of the fact that he hadn't seen her, so she could continue without having to go through an awkward encounter with her boss, but something protruding from the box he was carrying caught her attention. From the distance, it looked like just a piece of fabric, but she realized that it was a sleeve, a sleeve of a huge sweater that she had seen before, its size and its owner made it difficult to forget, after all.

She doesn't know what prompted her to move a little closer to be sure if she was seeing wrong instead of following her original plan to cross the street and quicken her pace. She regretted not doing so the second he became aware of her presence, although her reaction was a bit...unexpected?

“… Oh, hello… Michelle” He barely turns his head to look at her for a second and immediately return to the initial position. “You can continue your way, I just… took advantage of the hour… you know, lack of public hour… to get rid of… some trash I had at home, you know, free up some space… A-and I would ask someone else to do it! but… Well, it would’ve been like letting someone snoop though the Prime Minister’s garbage, that’d bee totally weird and controversial, right? Embarrassing paper news material…. No, it was best to do it myself, after all… it’s close to me…”. He adjusts his glasses “I-I mean, close to my home, not me, pfff! is just garbage, how could possibly be that close to me? Is close to my home, like… in the way home, that’s what I meant to say…”

What, this?" It's from my nan. She used to knit me jumpers for school, but she always had to make 'em bloody huge or I'd grow out of it in five minutes flat.

Chell notice how, while he was talking, something was missing in his look, something that had been there before, but seemed to be dismissing over time. She looked at the box, there were many things, some familiar to her, others not, a huge blue sweater, stratospheric blue like the eyes of its owner, long and colourful socks, with almost psychedelic and childlike patterns, one of them with what it seems to be a large coffee stain, she even though she saw a hair clip with a little frog, in a corner.

Something was wrong.

The Prime Minister noticed Chell's gaze towards the box. “Oi, oi!! it's private!! didn't your parents teach you to not look at other people's trash!?... and... and anyway, now that you did, which again, super rude, but since what's done is done, a little saying there, I guess you're wondering about the sweater, after all, you'd already seen it and it's hard not to notice it because the size and the loud colour and that… well, the thing’s that... after thinking about it well, I considered that, honestly, I didn't need it anymore… sentimental value is for people who can't afford actual value, after all, I mean, I'm the Prime Minister! I can buy a much better sweater, more suitable! This one is 2 bloody sizes too big for me! I looked ridiculous wearing it, didn't I? Heheheh... yeah, luckily no one else saw me with that... to be honest... it-it was about time to get rid of it… and-and I don't think my nan would mind, really, after all, she is... is…" He adjusts his glasses "Well, you already have your answer, don’t you? It's getting cold. I'll just... I'm trying to think if I forgot something to throw or if I get rid of something important by mistake, that's all, human mistake could happen even to me, so… you can continue your way home, like I said, nothing important happens here..."

Chell couldn't imagine why he would be taking this decision; it was clearly taking him a while to let go of that box. She was almost certain that he would never let Caro or anyone at No10 know of the existence of any of the things in the box, why would he be getting rid of them, then? The only plausible answer that her mind pictures was Her and their meetings those weeks.

Even though Chell was good at solving puzzles and unknowns, she enjoyed it to a certain extent, at that moment she didn't have much desire or energy to think further about it, it's not like the Prime Minister's clothes or trash were her business and, besides, he didn't seem in the best of moods at that moment; She noticed that ‘something’ that was missing again, that kind of spark that seemed to have been replaced by the small glint in his glasses reflected every time she adjusted them. His stare was almost dead.

 She decided that she no longer wanted to be there, so she was about to return to her path, when they both heard something move and squeak that came from the container, they focused their sight on the place where the sound came from. It was a well tied plastic bag, in the middle of several bigger bags and some empty cans.

Chell didn't have much time to think about it when the Prime Minister spoke “Oh... that must be, without a doubt, a cat that someone threw in the trash, I know about this, remember I told you my father loves cats? Yeah, I told you that time when... nevermind, nevermind, thing is he used to pick up cats on his way home sometimes, and he would talk to us about what were the most common places, you know, the most repeated methods to get rid of a cat, he mentioned the use of tied bags in rivers, slopes, gutters, garbage cans, etc. So, I'm sure, 100% accuracy, that there is a cat in that bag" he says in an almost pretentious tone, Chell already saw that she’d have to take him out of the trash for trying to pick up the bag from where he is, instead of turning around to approach it, like someone who thinks before acting would do, but...

He adjusted his glasses "... Oh well... it's better… i-it’s better to finish this and go home, I was told that the snow should not take long to increase..." then, he proceeds to, slowly, place the box in the container, away from the moving bag, pretending he no longer saw it; they could even hear moans and squeaks from time to time.

Something was definitely wrong.

Chell couldn’t help but stare at him, he noticed it, then she looks at the bag “…What? The bag?... is… is just…“ He adjust his glasses “is just a stupid cat, isn’t it? W-What others do with their stuff is none of my business…”

She kept looking at him, he seemed to be, or trying to be, serious and she didn't see any intention in him of wanting to go for the bag, so she wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she decided to, at least, say something.

“How about a shelter?”

“Heh, nah, at this time? in this weather? The closest one would take too long to get here and I'm not going to waste my time on foot, much less picking up other people's trash and you shouldn't either… again, it's getting late...”

The bag moves again, but he turns to leave. She decides to try again.

“So... are you just going to leave it there?”

He stops, but at first he doesn't turn around. He adjusted his glasses and she could see a bit of the reflection of the light from the street spotlight in them.

“...Is funny, you know? Because I thought...I thought I was being clear about this...but okay, okay I'll take the time to be clearer anyway...so yeah...I'm going to leave it there...whatever happens to that bag... or that cat or whatever... it's not my problem... I have more important Prime Minister things to think about than… than a useless cat... be-besides, there must be a reason why they left it in garbage like that, shouldn’t it?" he turns to look at her "there must be a good reason, a very good reason why someone decided to get rid of their cat like that, probably several reasons... so why would I…"

“Such as?” She interrupts, maintaining her usual serious, cold, and calm tone and countenance, yet, somehow, there was a small hint of challenge in the way she asked it. It was involuntary, or that's what she wanted to believe.

“Such as? Well, that’s easy, actually, a really easy answer, to be honest, there are a lot of possible reasons… for-for example, and this is just the first things that comes to my mind, being very noisy, cats can be quite noisy, really, especially at night, have you ever heard a cat fight? Well, let me tell you, it is very noisy, or could just be one of those who do not stop meowing…. Anyway, other option here, It-it could also be one of those that spends its time scratching or biting things everywhere, like clothes, armchairs, curtains or walls, whatever, that's typical of cats, be destructive, small earthquakes, to be honest… you don't want that in your house... and... well, if I had to name something else, some other good reason that occurs to me, well... well it's still easy" he adjusts his glasses "it could… it could simply be a useless cat...like… like a cat too stupid to fulfil the main role of a cat, the traditional mouse catcher, be the pest controller… yeah… yeah, in fact I think it is the most plausible reason, because it would undoubtedly involve the other 2 reasons I already said, and… and not to also mention the waste of money, space and food!" He turns to look at the bag while saying this, with a look that seemed to have begun to bother with its contents, but even so, it almost seemed empty "Yes, without a doubt that must have been it, a useless cat that only got in the way and caused annoyance... I mean-I mean, just look at it! It's not even able to use the claws nature gave it to try to escape, it’s just a plastic bag! Even so, the moron is not capable of trying to use them to escape on its own" he looked with what seemed almost a look of hatred at the bag, which was moving and emitting squeaks less and less, as if it were getting tired “No, I have no reason worry about such a thing…”

Chell was struck by the hatred that began to appear in his voice and in his eyes, for something that was nothing more than a speculation, he was just assuming all those things... or perhaps more than that… but she didn't back down in this game because of it, although, at this point, she wasn't sure why.

"Even if it were like that… it's just a cat…”

“Yeah, you said it, just a cat” he interrupts “It's just a cat, the country… no, not even the country, we can reduce the population ratio for this, actually, let’s better say the city where we are right now, London, I meant London, is full of other cats, many in houses where they are wanted, many strays that have managed to survive on their own; in short, cats that have earned their place in this life on their own, that they have been useful for their purpose or the one that their owners gave them... this is not one of them... I don't see why... should we spend efforts on a hopeless case like this… it doesn’t deserve… is just not worth it... to be honest”.

It seemed like he was going to return to his path but noticing how the young woman continued to stare at him, he seemed to take that as an incentive to continue. He adjusts his glasses.

“Besides, even if I considered... which I'm not considering! Just to make that perfectly clear, I'm not considering anything! but... but if I did, I couldn't, like I said, I'm sure I mentioned it, I have more important things to worry about… like, vital nation things to take care of, important Prime Minister business, decisions to take… as you might already know, I couldn't take care of it, I don't have time to laze round, taking care of another cat that can't even catch mice… no, to be honest, it would… it would, without a doubt, be a waste of time for both of us…”

This time, he turned to look at her, that look that seemed dead, but now also showed a small hint of... irony? “And you... you are also here after all, don't think that I’m not considering you in the scheme of things, but-but I know that you would not take it either! I remember it well from those times, that big red sign of 'NO PETS ALLOWED’ in front of the building door, so no, hehe, you couldn't take it even if you wanted to, right? See? even for you it would be just troubles... because... be-because... let's say that for some reason, you decide to take it anyway, thinking that you could... I don't know, just hide it from the management, but ‘eeeh!’ bad news, and I think you can guess it too, you couldn't! You just couldn't hide it for long, plus it wouldn't be worth it!" A smile appears on his face, a smile she didn't like at all. "Like I said, cats, especially idiot cats like this, can be very loud... and you... you spend most of your day at work, how would you try to hide it while you're away?! A-and let's not mention everything you would have to teach it! to use the sand box, also difficult to hide, not to scratch things or bite them, not to throw things off the table... even though... even though he may be a sweet, innocent... happy... with that tender little face that welcomes you home every day..."

For a second, for that small moment when he said that and his voice seemed to even soften, she thought she saw that familiar silly, happy glint in his eyes, but as soon as it came, it was gone. He adjusted his glasses.

"It's just not worth it!! It's not bloody worth it! honestly, because the truth… the truth is that it would only cause problems!... Plus, it could have rabies or ringworm or something worse…”  The snow begins to increase “No... it's not worth to even trying to help... to be honest..."

He turns to look at the bag again, this time with a rather tired tone, perhaps because of everything he said, perhaps because of the weather... or perhaps because of something else.

"Yeah... at this point, probably... the best we can do for it... for all the trouble it would entail... for being too weak, too idiotic to help himself... for be too useless to others... the best thing for everyone would be... not to help him at all...”  Suddenly his voice lowered all its volume and the energy with which he spoke a few seconds ago, even sounded a little sad. The plastic bag hardly moved anymore. “No one would gain anything by helping him... but at the same time... no one would lose anything by not helping... leave it there and let destiny takes care of its misery... it's for the best..."

A short dead silence, you could almost hear the snow falling. He finally turns away and continues his way.

"I'm going home...see you...see you tomorrow at work...good night."

He walks with an almost robotic firmness, but determined, no longer wanting to wait. She watches him leave, then looks at the bag and decides to return to her own path at a fast pace, in the opposite direction, the way home, thinking about everything that just happened.

Although she was surprised by the coldness of the Prime Minister's words and movements that night, so unlike him and at the same time so typical of his way of carrying things out, but still. It's not that his life decisions were any of her business, it just caught her attention.

It was strange to say or think this about her boss, but he had a point. The nearest shelter would never arrive on time, especially not at that hour and weather. He, much to her surprise, really didn't seem to have a choice to do anything about it. It was true that she had no solid reason to think that the cat was everything he said it was, but she herself, at that moment, had nowhere to take the cat, it would be a problem for her to take it to her apartment due to the lack of space and the strict policy; she didn’t even know anyone else who could or would be willing to care for the cat, at least until it could be get to a shelter.

The snow and cold increased, as did her pace, she really had no good reason to go through so much trouble to help a being who couldn't help but give it, even if it was unintentional.

It'll probably die soon in this weather and no help... probably tonight she thought, without slowing her pace, feeling bad for no having someone to turn to to help the poor creature.

(…)Look at him, why would anyone not want a perfectly good little cat like that? (…)

Things like that made her doubt that she had any hope in him, that he could actually be more than just the lesser of two evils, watching how he was doing less and less of his part to believe it, to make her believe that he was worthy of any help... In the end it would just be a nuisance

(…) No. She’s never going to let me have a funeral for a bloody cat. ’Specially one that kept going out of his way to sick up on her handbag. I mean, I stuck up for him, I said it was just an unfortunate mistake- a- series of unfortunate mistakes (…)

Anyway, the important thing at that moment was to get home early, it was getting dark and cold.

She had plans to follow, people, an entire population to help, unlike what the Prime Minister believed he did. In her eyes, more than cruel, he was also being a great hypocrite, she knew that he did not take real actions for his people and, even if he did, she also knew that helping a helpless animal did not actually harm or affect to those people at all. It wasn't an attitude that completely surprised her coming from him, knowing that he wasn't capable of noticing how little or nothing he actually did right, of ignoring or blaming others, including things, for what goes wrong. He didn't do anything when he should and when he had a real opportunity to do something other than what his "best friend" told him, to really help with something - like now - he just made excuses not to do it...

(…)But- but sh-she- just said that- snfff- that at least that was one less thh… thing to laze round all day get-getting uh-uh-underfoot. Joking, obviously, just- just how she talks(…)

She had no real reasons, which for her was the same as saying, no practical reasons, for spending time or efforts on...thinking about helping...someone like that...

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Her step was quick and determined, just like her. She hoped she would be able to arrive in time, she was almost at the door of her apartment building when she decided to turn back, the probability that it would be too late was there, but she had never liked the idea of giving up when she set a goal, for however low the chances of success were, if they weren't 0, then it could happen, she would make it happen.

This mentality had always been a part of her, always, she didn't have an easy life, she just never let it stop her from moving forward, always being efficient, always with her eyes on her goal no matter what, no matter how difficult it could be, always looking for the best and most efficient solution possible in her hand, always seeking to remove any possible obstacle from her path or at least not let it disturb or interrupt her too much; After all, no matter how pessimistic - although she preferred to say 'realistic' - she might be, as she was taught to always guided by what she considered to be the right thing to do, she never let adversity get in the way of her principles.

Always seeking the greater good, always evaluating and classifying each cause and those involved in silence, drawing a line of action, based on the value and danger of each one for the cause, always seeking to go unnoticed, determined not to suffer any more inconvenience than the necessary - that is, those planned - as far as possible. If an unexpected problem arose, she would adapt, she was good at adapting to different situations, she knew how unpredictable and unfair life could be, she had internalized that… so internalized... that sometimes she forgot... the weight of other things of value in this life besides usefulness or practicality, even talking about such high and important roles in this society, such as being Prime Minister...

Sometimes she forgot that, as valuable and important her mission was, there were little things that worth fighting for, no matter how irrelevant or useless they seemed in other ways, even if they were a nuisance, even if they might be perceived as a waste of time... maybe they weren't so much, after all, it was those little details that had kept her from completely losing faith in people.... maybe...just maybe

She finally made it back to where the containers were, she didn't waste much time recovering breath and look, immediately, in the direction where the bag was, found what she was looking for, but not exactly in the way she expected.

Maybe there was still a little hope.

The bag was now untied and inside the box with the Prime Minister's things, half stuffed under the stratospheric blue sweater. She could also notice how the bag moved, how a feline nose peeked out, weakly, from the opening. The little one was still fighting, despite everything.

Chell looks around for a second in case she managed to see someone. There was no one. What she did see were large footprints on the ground, striding footprints of someone who came and left in a hurry. She couldn't help but feel a small wave of relief and gave a slight grin, but it was quick, after all, there wasn't much time to waste.

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She entered her small apartment, she was covered in a thin layer of snow, but it didn't matter. She carefully closed the door with her foot, and then went straight to her bed to leave the bulky bags with her purchases on her bed. She went to turn on a small heater that she had for days like this, while she shook off the snow and took off gloves and scarf. He went back to the bags and took out the box that was inside one of them. She removed the bulky sweater inside her a little to reveal the weak, thin cat beneath it, just enough to uncover his familiar orange head, then set it down near the heater.

The world was really very small, very small - she never thought that the cat in the container would be the missing little Kevin. She was sure that his mysterious disappearance meant he had died, probably because of Caro. She wasn't that far from the truth, but it was still quite a surprise, it would have been a pleasant surprise if it weren't for the implications of it.

The bag in which they found the small cat was not just any type of bag, it was for medical waste, and there were 2 of them (one inside the other), she noticed this after taking the small animal out of it, this not only implied that it was left there with the intention that he could not get out even if he tried, he would not be able to get out, but expecting for it to try - and she could see that he did try - but in addition, she noticed other details, such as that one of his hind legs had marks, as if someone had been had him tied up for a while. She also found very similar markings on the tip of his tail, which she was sure looked a little shorter. He seemed scared when she opened the bag wide to take it out, but luckily, after a quick smell, he seemed to have recognized her and didn't give her any major trouble.

The Prime Minister had many flaws, he was and could be many negative things, but she knew him well enough to know that he would never be so cruel, even leaving out the worst details. No, she knew, she was more than sure who had been the guilty even though she had no proof. After all, She loved to play with Her prey, slowly exhausting them, testing how far they could last until She got bored and then getting rid of them, abandoned to their fate, no longer having the tools or energy to fight back or at least, to move forward. Animal or human.

Chell used a small empty tupperware to give him water. She was sure that she had some grilled chicken that she had left over from the other day that would work for the occasion. The little feline, having already overcome the cold a little, thanks to the sweater and the heater, manages to drink. He was no kind of mouser, much less a Chief Mouser material... but even so, he seemed to refuse to let go his tinny little, he refused to give up, without thinking about it, without anyone asking him, he just did...

She knew that when he regained his strength, it would be harder to keep it hidden with everything he had to do, it would, definitely be a problem and a hassle, but something would occur to her, she had faced bigger problems and even the idiot who caused the most recent problems was able to deal with this for a while. She would figure it out, she will just have to be creative. With the cat... and with the idiot.

After all - despite everything, the adversity, the wear and tear, his own limitations - mental or physical -, despite having to deal DIRECTLY with HER, even seeming like all is lost in his most recent attitude... Even so, he shows a small spark of hope, involuntary, but existing… in his attitude, even in his look, the spark was weak… bit was still there.

She simply couldn't leave him on his own like this, knowing that there was something good to rescue, from her point of view, it was stupid to think that he didn't deserve her effort and her help to get out of the hole he was in, to be better, alone. she needed to think of a way to approach things that would work under the current circumstances, there had to be a way, there always was and she would find it. She knew that it would be difficult and that it would involve going through more than one disappointment and inconvenience... but she had to try...

Yes, it was stupid to think that, just because we had a larger cause on our hands, there was no value in also trying to deal with a small cause... especially if it was directly linked to the larger cause...

As stupid as thinking that you need a stupid, weak, squeaky cat to give you a solid, logical reason for you to take it out of the garbage in the middle of the snow.

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Aaand that was it, I know I'm like 10 years later, but if you read this... thanks you

hope you liked it or at least you found it good enough

thepacifistrouter out

[thepacifistrouter]

Actually… after reading a lot of TBPM material… As far as I understand... I dear to say that this Wheatley (being or not the PM) couldn't have any kind of close relationship, at all, not even friendship.

Why? because he has not real virtues nor streng points, he has no personality beside being a huge arrogant selfish idiot (with or without Caro, with or without power position), but he does have defects, TOO MANY defects, like, basically, he is a walking defect, so any tiny tinny minuscule progress he could make, will always be overshadowed by his own flaws… or by Caro, who, at this point is, indeed, out of jokes and no quotes… his best and ONLY friend, a Chernobyl toxic friendship? Yes, but she is the only person who has ever be by his side for years, make him feel useful and needed, tells him the truth of what he is (…as a person, not as a PM) as cruel as it might sounds, all her cruel words about him are true, no exceptions; help him out of his trash can life (if only to put him in a golden cage as lonely as before), despiting her intentions. So, if he loses Caro, he lose… pretty much everything, since he has no one and nothing else to lose, not even himself, cause he can't even stand himself. PM Wheatley is a man who needs A LOT of help, too much help, but he can't ask for it (emotional abuse is powerful) and he won't receive it anyway, asking for it or not, because he and his friend will always take care of keeping away anyone who might be willing to help him. He is too annoying and everybody is too afraid of Caro to even try to help, even Chell, and unlike BS Wheatley or the original Portal 2's… this one doesn't seem able to convey his optimism to anyone, even when it seems like Chell could use it, so no hopes here.. Furthermore, I suspect that even if, by some kind of miracle, he does receive help… it'd be just like what probably would happen if he tried to practice something to develop a talent, PM Wheatley is too stupid, the type that when he practices something, it gets worse instead of better (no wonder why he lives lying to himself, I mean, I think the day he finally accepts his truth, he will start having serious anxiety attacks, panic attacks, maybe even self-harm or worst. I'm even surprised he haven't had them by now, but I think is something Caro could use for her benefit and/or pleasure if it happened).

... So… in summary… He's too idiotic, coward, useless, pathetic, he's unlikable, unlovable, unhelpable, his real loved ones don't last long and any positive attributes one might try to find in him turn out to not be substantial enough and they get weaker and weaker over time… yeah, This is not a fanfic to make Chelley… or any romance or even physical attraction at all... maybe as a hint of its possibility in a good ending (if something like that is possible in this interesting, but unfinished fanfic)… but in the meanwhile... no.

How does PM Wheatley's romance with Chell begin, if you don't mind me asking?

It’s a tricky one, isn’t it- it would HAVE to be Chell’s choice to begin a relationship, and it’s a choice that it’s hard to reconcile with her character. Wheatley has always been desperate for people to like him, but unfortunately for him he just… isn’t very likeable. We like him because he’s funny and we feel sorry for him, but we don’t have  to actually endure him- the people who have to deal with the PM on a daily basis quickly tire of such a needy, clueless, selfish, arrogant disaster magnet. And you would, especially if you suspected they’d blame you the second anything went wrong.

Plus, Chell is very aware of the danger of getting personally involved while Caro is lurking in the background. If she’d had a say in the matter she would never have become his assistant in the first place, it’s FAR too close to Caro for comfort.

So I don’t know. I hate feeling like I’m being OOC and when it comes to fleshing things out it was much easier to write about a Wheatley and Chell who AREN’T an item. That isn’t to say that I’ve not often considered them as a couple, as you can tell from the meme this morning, but I could never quite see how they’d get there. Chell is too cautious and closed-off and she has her own gameplan. She’s also extremely perceptive and she sees EXACTLY the mess that Wheatley is under the Prime Ministerial image. Wheatley might honestly believe that Chell can solve all his problems because she’s so clever and has no choice but to help him, and he genuinely comes to care about her, even love her, as far as you can really extract any genuine feeling from such a cat’s cradle of denial and insecurity, but I can’t really see how his love would be wanted. And it’s not Chell’s fault that she doesn’t want it, either.

[dahfloofysmol]

HELLO. This is the official post for YouTube kids’ surprise party on the 27th of March. Any and all gimmick blogs welcomed!

Some roles we need are:

-DJ [real-pollo-campero]

-great DJ (as per requested 🤨) [spotify-kids-real]

-video jockey [buildabearfr]

-Someone to make the cake [forever21-official]

-Puncher server [big-mayo-official]

-Decorator [barns-and-noble-official]

-Party crasher(s) [officialtinder and youtubefr and actually-kroger]

-Corner Person [Pinterest, yahooo-official, reallytimhortons]

-Person who’s dealing with a crazy sugar high [firewaysubs and zotap]

-Emotional support [walmart and def-bjs-guys]

-Mom [Krista the art program and Canadian tire] AND dad friend

-Birthday person IS taken (obviously lol)

-Someone to bring snacks [incognito-mode-official]

-Ring Leader (person in charge of the games) [totally-official-yahoo]

-person who performs a special but confusing (and overly translated) version of happy birthday [google translate ]

-piñata [firehouse-subs-fr]

-setting off fireworks [google-news-official]

-here for the food and bringing tWO DOGS!!! OMG DOGS!!!!! [swearification-and-cursing]

-person currently trying tO EAT THE CAKE!! STOP THAT!!! [shakespeare-official-account]

- stopping the Cake Eater [wow-google-maps]

- putting spiders (?????) under the cake [true-blue-straya]

- the person that is every bisexuals awakening [it’s-target-official]

-pops in for the last 5 minutes with a card + a store bought cake [the-real-google]

- gay wine uncle [the-McDonald’s]

- creepy uncle (???) [rick-e-chedder-official]

-single rich aunt who disappears every night at specifically 8:00 pm [totally-not-kraft-mac-and-cheese]

-shapeshifts between wine aunt and vodka uncle, and the comic relief [the-one-and-only-duckduckgo]

- bringing lights so we aren’t all dancing in the dark [real-vivaldi-browser]

- summoning Satan under the table with a bottle of whiskey and pancakes (??????????) [definitely-canada]

-person asking weirdly specific and absurd questions [actual-aspec-military]

-the COOLEST cousin [support-speaks]

-cousin who hangs out in the corner and looks like they know something you dont [the-official-publix]

-person who hits on everyone at the party even though they’re already dating 2 ppl [fr-winn-dixie]

-contributes Ziploc® bags [totally-scjohnson]

-bringing burritos [the-real-chipotle]

-YouTube's kids southern aunt who blesses everyone's hearts bc they think theyre dumb most of the time [i-bless-your-heart]

-middle school cousin who argues with anyone and everyone to look cool [wallyworld-the-unofficial]

-gives oil (?????????????) and branded pens as party favors [truly-jcjenson]

-the strange neighbor kid who talks to no one but sings the loudest and brings a weird yet tasteful gift [the-real-aperture-science]

-bringing Walmart sugar cookies [not-really-discord]

-guy bringing the Knives [wheatley-labs-official]

-joining in on the games [totally-official-yahoo]

-the disco ball [jollibee-real]

-that one uncle with lore of untold numbers of deaths involved, and that includes guns [partycityistotallyofficailguy]

And any other role I haven’t stated!! I’ll accept pretty much anything

In case what you pick is already chosen, tag your second option ;p

—>The biggest part of the surprise party is wishing YouTube kids a happy birthday, but in the most creative way possible. In the “ask me” works, but literally anywhere; on your blog or on a post from anywhere (that you know they’d be okay with a little shenanigans) works wonderfully.

->Also, saying happy birthday is awesome, but spicing it up would be more fun!!! Day Of Birth, One of Awakening, Oh Child of the 27th, and any other batshit way to say “happy birthday” would both be awesome and absolutely hilarious.

Again, invite any and all gimmick blogs, and feel free to let me know what you’d want to do! We attack on the 27th >:DD

ADDITIONAL NOTE: sometimes there will be more than one person in each role! I do actively encourage for people to come up with silly and niche roles if you think of one ;D

ON THE 24th I WILL NO LONGER TAKE ROLLS!!!! Spread the word please!

@barnes-and-noble-official @basically-bumble @totallyofficialtacobell @totally-official-yahoo @totally-bing @officialtinder @officially-google-translate @officially-ikea @official-fedex @incognito-mode-official @forever21-offical @officialkfc @kfc-official @k-f-c-official @life360-i-swear @xgames-blog @cars-official @big-mayo-official @bingle-official @the-real-google @the-real-firefox @nasa @wow-google-maps @wallyworld-the-unofficial @walmart-the-official @realgoogleslides @realgoogledocs @yahooo-official @unfortunate-wattpad @firewaysubs @firefox-official @pinterest-real @spotify-kids-real @duothelingo @definitely-wikipedia @firehouse-subs-fr @google-2point0 @gimmick-thief

[castametric]

after a couple of minor delays, I’m proud to announce that the Best Of Wheatley Bag is finally complete!!

Happy holidays, @xebecdav !! At your earliest convenience, PM me with a post box or mailing address so I can send this your way! I had a lot of fun making it, and I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks so much @portal-secret-santa for putting this together!

[blue-character-brawl]

The brackets are finally here!

(sorry for the poor quality of the bracket images lol it’s the best i could do)

Two quick propaganda rules:

1. Propaganda is good and encouraged, just don’t send any negative propaganda. This tournament is for fun, and anti-propaganda kinda ruins that.

2. If you do make propaganda, you can either send it through my ask box, or you can reblog the post with your propaganda. Either is fine!

These 6 brackets will go on until there’s only one character left in each. Once the six semi-finalists are chosen, there will be two battles of 3, and then the winners of that will go against each other in the finals! Each poll will last for one day, but the finals and semifinals will be a week each. The posting schedule will be one bracket a day, meaning that day 1 will be bracket 1 round 1, day 2 will be bracket 2 round 1, and so on. The first set of polls will drop tomorrow (March 30) at roughly 4:00 PM EST. Now, onto the actual matchups!

Bracket 1:

Cam (Rhythm Heaven) VS. Casey (Deca Sports)

Grover (Sesame Street) VS. Rosita (Sesame Street)

Cookie Monster (Sesame Street) VS. Gonzo (The Muppets)

Blue (Blue’s Clues) VS. Flippy Doggenbottom (Toontown)

Bluey Heeler (Bluey) VS. Bandit Heeler (Bluey)

The Tesseract (Marvel) VS. Captain America (Marvel)

Blue (Overly Sarcastic Productions) VS. Blue (Animator VS Animation)

13th Doctor (Doctor Who) VS. The TARDIS (Doctor Who)

Lancer (Deltarune) VS. Lance McClain (Voltron)

Link (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) VS. Zelda (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Navi (Legend of Zelda) VS. Fi (Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney) VS. Trucy Wright (Ace Attorney)

Mega Man (Mega Man) VS. Megamind (Megamind)

MePhone4 (Inanimate Insanity) VS. Four (Battle for BFDI)

Teardrop (Battle for Dream Island) VS. Sadness (Inside Out)

Blue Album (Weezer) VS. Blue Meanie (Yellow Submarine)

Bracket 2:

Scott Wozniak (Scott the Woz) VS. Jacob (Alpharad)

Big Pauly (Papa Louie) VS. Watergirl (Fireboy and Watergirl)

Abby (Wii Sports) VS. Saburo (Wii Sports)

Kris (Deltarune) VS. Berdly (Deltarune)

Powerade VS. Gatorade

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson) VS. Luka Couffaine (Miraculous Ladybug)

Gooey (Kirby) VS. Goo (Inanimate Insanity)

Benrey (HLVRAI) VS. Bubby (HLVRAI)

Gus Porter (The Owl House) VS. Anne Boonchuy (Amphibia)

Agent (Penguinronpa) VS. Gary the Gadget Guy (Club Penguin)

Mordecai (Regular Show) VS. Blue-footed Booby (Real Life)

Wish Bear (Care Bears) VS. Grumpy Bear (Care Bears)

The ocean (Real Life) VS. Elsa (Frozen)

Cinderella (Cinderella) VS. Alice (Alice in Wonderland)

Doc Hudson (Cars) VS. Sally Carrera (Cars)

Mudkip (Pokémon) VS. Squirtle (Pokémon)

Bracket 3:

Marth (Fire Emblem) VS. Lucina (Fire Emblem)

Chrom (Fire Emblem) VS. Dimitri (Fire Emblem)

Donald Duck (Disney) VS. Dewey Duck (Ducktales)

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) VS. Leonardo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Sans (Undertale) VS. Queen (Deltarune)

Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) VS. Finn the Human (Adventure Time)

Gumball Watterson (The Amazing World of Gumball) VS. Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb)

Squidward Tentacles (SpongeBob Squarepants) VS. Inkling Boy (Splatoon)

Bubbles Utonium (Powerpuff Girls) VS. Bloo (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)

Logan Sanders (Sanders Sides) VS. Patton Sanders (Sanders Sides)

Jay Walker (Ninjago) VS. Nya (Ninjago)

Tom (Eddsworld) VS. Thomas the Tank Engine (Thomas and Friends)

Sokka (Avatar: The Last Airbender) VS. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Sapphire (Steven Universe) VS. Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe)

Nightwing (DC Comics) VS. Superman (DC Comics)

Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) VS. Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz)

Bracket 4:

Craig Tucker (South Park) VS. Goombario (Paper Mario)

Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) VS. Kaito (Vocaloid)

Michael J. Caboose (Red vs Blue) VS. Leonard Church (Red vs Blue)

John Egbert (Homestuck) VS. Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

James P. Sullivan (Monsters, Inc.) VS. The Genie (Aladdin)

Wheatley (Portal) VS. V1 (Ultrakill)

Frosta (She-Ra) VS. Mermista (She-Ra)

Falco Lombardi (Star Fox) VS. Blu (Rio)

R2-D2 (Star Wars) VS. Bo-Katan (Star Wars)

Mountain Dew Voltage VS. Blue Gushers

Pablo (The Backyardigans) VS. Tuxedo Sam (Sanrio)

Crackle (Rice Krispies) VS. Blueberry Muffin (Strawberry Shortcake)

Blue (Pokémon) VS. Piplup (Pokémon)

Nightcrawler (X-Men) VS. Mystique (X-Men)

Sayaka Miki (Puella Magi Madoka Magica) VS. Tsumugi Shirogane (Danganronpa V3)

Shun Kaido (Saiki K.) VS. Teruhashi Kokomi (Saiki K.)

Bracket 5:

Soundwave (Transformers) VS. Optimus Prime (Transformers)

Frankie Stein (Monster High) VS. Lagoona Blue (Monster High)

Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) VS. Roadrunner (Looney Toons)

Merryweather (Sleeping Beauty) VS. Hades (Hercules)

Zazu (Lion King) VS. Benny the Bull (Dora the Explorer)

Samus (Metroid) VS. Shovel Knight (Shovel Knight)

Toy Bonnie (Five Nights at Freddy’s) VS. Spheal (Pokémon)

Lucy van Pelt (Peanuts) VS. Numbuh 2 (Codename: Kids Next Door)

Nebula (Marvel) VS. Steve (Minecraft)

Blue Alien (I’m Blue by Eiffel 65) VS. Shiver (Splatoon 3)

Barney Calhoun (Half-Life) VS. Blue Beetle (DC Comics)

Vivi Yukino (Mystery Skulls Animated) VS. Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4)

Ciel Soleil (RWBY) VS. Bloom (Winx Club)

Jack Harkness (Doctor Who) VS. Spock (Star Trek)

Gwen (Total Drama) VS. Rosalina (Super Mario)

Mugman (Cuphead) VS. Sea Fairy Cookie (Cookie Run)

Bracket 6:

Teddy (Bob’s Burgers) VS. Blue M&M (M&M’s)

Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon) VS. Silvermist (Disney Fairies)

Bibble (Barbie) VS. Sylvie (Wander Over Yonder)

Simon Seville (Alvin and the Chipmunks) VS. Dory (Finding Nemo)

Tsunami (Wings of Fire) VS. Bluestar (Warrior Cats)

Rainbow Dash (My Little Pony) VS. Metal Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Beauregard Lionett (Critical Role) VS. Jester Lavorre (Critical Role)

Veronica Sawyer (Heathers) VS. Smurfette (The Smurfs)

Undine Wells (Sleepless Domain) VS. Idia Shroud (Twisted Wonderland)

Lan Wangji (The Untamed) VS. Korra (Legend of Korra)

Pokotho (Hatchetfield) VS. Langa (Sk8 the Infinity)

B.O.B. (Monsters vs Aliens) VS. Vergil (Devil May Cry)

Vault Boy (Fallout) VS. Jake Sully (Avatar)

Phantasma (Scooby-Doo) VS. Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians)

Tutter (Bear and the Big Blue House) VS. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Disney)

Spy (Team Fortress 2) VS. Baljeet Tjinder (Phineas and Ferb)

As stated previously, the first round of polls, which will be Bracket 1 Round 1, will begin on March 30, at approximately 4:00 PM EST. See you then!

[zunra2]

me and my buddy pal @bunnyconfetti drew some stuff in discord

Closet & Edgar are drawn by bunny

Wheatley & Bobert are drawn by me

(pm me to join my robots enthusiasts discord also :33)

[millenniallust4death]

FREE Dog Training Webinar With Alexandra Lowry! My tiny town’s resource centre is starting a monthly educational series. Our very first speaker is Seattle-based dog trainer Alexandra Lowry! She will give a short presentation on how to teach your dog to come back when called and will answer all of your dog training and behaviour questions.

Allie is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She is committed to using scientifically sound, positive methods to achieve the ultimate goal of happy, well-trained dogs. Allie works on everything from puppy foundations and basic skills to more serious behavior concerns and competition skills. She currently trains and competes with her Cane Corsos and Löwchen in AKC conformation, obedience, rally, barn hunt, agility, IGP, and other fun activities.

Date: Saturday, 15 April 2023 Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT Cost: Free! Locations:

In-person at the Village Resource Centre located at 108 Talbot Road East in Wheatley, Ontario

Online via Zoom

Here is a link to the registration form. Note that you can submit your training question to Allie in advance if you prefer! The session will also be recorded so you can watch at a later date. https://forms.gle/7CoVMEM5TXeZ7cJC9

If you have any questions then please let me (Laura) know.

[blueandyellowbracket]

Out of 448 submissions, 32 teams are ready to take the stage! Or perhaps... 33? Check out the Genshin Impact poll to decide whether Kaeya & Albedo OR Xingqiu & Aether will earn seed #23. Once that's decided, round one of voting will begin on 2/26 around 8 PM PST.

Vote however you like; favorite pairing, most iconic, the most blue/the most yellow. Just be nice! This is all for fun goofs. You can be as enthusiastic as you like, just don't start sending hate anons over what is ultimately a meaningless popularity contest.

If you end up making art/posts/propaganda, please tag me @blueandyellowbracket! 💛💙

Round One match-ups listed below the cut -->

Sonic & Tails (Sonic the Hedgehog) VS. Rosalina & Luma (Super Mario Bros)

Pipimi & Popuko (Pop Team Epic) VS. R2D2 & C3PO (Star Wars)

Four & X (Battle for Dream Island) VS. Bonnie & Chica (Five Nights at Freddy's)

Spongebob & Squidward (Spongebob Squarepants) VS. Gus Porter & Hunter (The Owl House)

Alphys & Undyne (Undertale) VS. Kuroko Tetsuya & Kise Ryōta (Kuroko no Basket)

Lance & Hunk (Voltron) VS. Ash Ketchum & Pikachu (Pokemon)

Hatsune Miku & Kagamine Rin (Vocaloid) VS. Blue Beetle & Booster Gold (DC Comics)

Blue Diamond & Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe) VS. The Moon & the Sun (Real Life)

Spock & James T. Kirk (Star Trek) VS. Tsujimura Mizuki & Ayatsuji Yukito (Bungou Stray Dogs: Gaiden)

Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto (Naruto) VS. Rainbow Dash & Fluttershy (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic)

Mike Wheeler & Will Byers (Stranger Things) VS. [Genshin Impact Duo TBD]

Shiver & Frye (Splatoon) VS. Katara & Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Finn the Human & Jake the Dog (Adventure Time) VS. Blue Stickperson & Yellow Stickperson (Animator vs. Animation)

Someya Yujiro & Shibasaki Aizo (Honeyworks) VS. Wheatley & GLaDOS (Portal)

Benrey & Tommy Coolatta (Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware) VS. Sadness & Joy (Inside Out)

Veronica Sawyer & Heather McNamara (Heathers: The Musical) VS. Blue Ena & Yellow Ena (ENA)

[protocolseben]

a regular day in the ISS. | 1685 words alt title : a short story written while i screwed with html. you can use mobile, but landscape please!

you can read the story below the cut without all the jazz. it's pretty much all the same.

408 km above Switzerland / 4:18:48 PM /UTC +1 CET 38 Days - Manned Mission 2-1 LOG : a regular day in the ISS.

"ah, switzerland again!"

"how about australia for once?"

"no."

"alright, suit yourself then."

-----

"Besides, how hard is it to miss Australia? It's...one big thing just. There. Not my fault you can't catch it in time."

"Yes, and your stupid numbers board there."

"I want to win after all."

"Nothing to gain from winning it, love."

(of course seb is winning…)

««« ────── [ approximately 2.5 years ago ]

Mark's half-superior-half-coworker Jonathan Wheatley had once jokingly asked him if he wanted to move to the STELLARIA Section, in which Mark's response was a grimace and a terse "No thank you," given the fact that the fellas of that section was…eccentric to say the least.

He was unsure as to why Horner decided to open a whole section dedicated to just original research, but given that even the man himself had superiors, he was not surprised. Must be the weird old guy from the Munich University again in his ear. Either way, he must be really special to have all the astrophysicists be in their very own area.

"I watched them do their stuff once." Wheatley said in one of break rooms. "I didn't get a single lick of it, even with the math they used. And I had almost full scores in all the Engineering mathematics. They can get real loony."

Mark shrugged his shoulders, in slight agreement. STELLARIA was chock full of these nerds that are constantly fixated on space numbers, but one of them stood out the most for looking like a 15 year old. but at that point the slightly scraggly man -- boy? -- already seemed to be fond of Mark from the get-go. Rocky had brought him over while touring the place, and the twinkle in the latter's eyes easily meant trouble for him in the future.

Theoretical subdiv, Rocky clarified, the guy bringing Seb around. Not the normal Practical use physics that the other sections worked with.

Charming, he thought, but still, it's unfortunate that they would barely see each other considering the differences in what they did. Some other fella named Anton looked at STRUCTURAL once, and slinked away at the massive working machines he and his coworkers went back and fro to. Couldn't blame him.

Wheatley told him that Sebastian had only joined the company a month ago, and apparently as part of his traineeship, or cadetship, something along the lines, while still working on his final fringes of his PhD or the like. It wasn't officially stated yet to the world, but rumours had already persisted that didn't really have any interest in the other agencies. But that was a wild story for another time. Mark wonders how he managed to do so many things at the same time, and was entertaining the thought of him having a twin or clone to help out.

At the end of the break, Mark had pushed away the thought of the starry-eyed section long towards the back of his mind. Not useful, he muttered.

»»» ────── [ present day, present time ]

(being pushed down by 25-year old worth of kilograms)

"what lame ass metal thing are you doing right now?"

"being dragged down by you… why is your hair so ticklish?! it's just last part of today's experiment."

"ok. i think CORE wants to give us a report for today in a few minutes, and then i can knock myself out."

"you get to knock out? i had to drag you to your sleeping bag because you weren't meeting your 8 hours ─"

"the graph was too interesting…"

"oh god it's you two arguing again."

"oops, hello Marlon."

««« ──────

Overtime. He never really minded it, because the peace and quiet was optimal, for when Mark was too caught up in the place building his things, and free to audibly mumble his thoughts.

Unfortunately for him on this fine evening, a person stood waiting behind his back , holding a slice of chocolate bread made with approximately 100% passion and 89% skill 500% flavour. Mark was dumbfounded at the bread hanging in front of him, but he was kind of hungry. It was a bit singed at the edges, but it still tasted good. He thanked Seb, stuffing the piece into his mouth and delighting in the chip flavour burst.

Until you realise that the person's pass was not authorised for this specific part of the building, of course. He whipped his head around and nearly strained his neck --

"How the fuck did you get in?! You are not supposed to be here." Mark had exclaimed in hushed tones, the first time Seb had managed to inflitrate the Section. STRUCTURAL was tightly maintained.

"I know all the corridors to here already." there's that knowing tone again. What a nosy little shit.

"There's nothing interesting in this place mate," Mark threw his hands up, looking around to make his point and hunking pieces of things and thingmabobs, before looking at the kid before him. "all I do every day is testing and make sure the materials are working right. And doing work I'm too slow to finish."

"It's ok, making stuff is fun. My dad used to be a carpenter and make stuff out of wood. Writing space math gets boring when you're sitting there too long."

You couldn't argue with that, he's a curious kid alright.

He let him have a look around. Seb's eyes were immediately drawn to the panel-type mish-mash item laying about in the corner, lifting and turning it gingerly like a new archaeological find. Dents, dings and bumps marred the surface of it, curious materials all welded with different names to them, like "Carbon Fibre" and "Heat Resistant Fibreglass".

"It's just our in-house materials, Seb. Not that big of a deal."

"Still, making a whole new kind of matter, you guys are pretty cool."

»»» ──────

"psst. hey. mark."

"what?"

(rustling sound)

" 'Thermo-Sterilised Chocolate Bread'… STRUCTURAL Section. What? When did they do these?"

"They had a whole investigation to try "compress" it. Also, i thought you were more level-headed, Mark. They told me you got visibly jealous over people snooping for my bread!"

"God, they noticed that…? Was i that serious about it?"

"you were."

"shit."

««« ──────

As much as Mark wanted to entertain Seb's sixty thousand questions, which were basic engineering (but he didn't mind), he wanted to go home more. So he had to gently convince to him to leave, turning the lights out for the night.

By gently convincing, it meant Mark forcing Seb on one of those roller chairs and rolling him out STRUCTURAL Section's main doors, before kicking the empty chair back in. -- "wait let me get my stuff first!!" he had exclaimed, running back to STELLARIA and back to meet Mark in a record of 3 minutes.

Quite a speedy lad. Mark had not seen someone go as fast as that since University Rugby in Australia. He was obliterated on contact by the opponent as he dived for the ball. Three months out with a broken left shoulder. Ah, the wonders of youth.

"You didn't let me see the machines."

"And you didn't even tell me what you like." Mark had grumbled, fumbling for his car keys as they walked out the tall glass doors. "And you can do it anytime, the machines aren't going to grow legs and run away."

Seb simply gave a grin.

oh for fuck's sake. "Fine. Anyway, I'm going off. Goodnight, Seb." He was about to walk off, before realising something. "How… do you go home?"

"Huh? Bus obviously. Salzburg's pretty good with the public transport. Yeah I have a license but I don't care much for driving a lot."

Mark looked at him right in the eye. "Get over here. I'll just drive you back." He wanted to laugh when Seb just stood there in his stupid oversized jacket giving him a questioning look. "I'm being serious. Where do you live anyway? It's faster than just waiting around."

► ► ►

It was the world's most uneventful trip by many standards. In fact, Mark's passenger somehow managed to catch a quick snooze right after telling him the address. Seb lived on the other side of Salzburg, in a simple four-floored apartment. Despite being practically the same as his own, Mark thought the surroundings were more cozy.

He gave Seb a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "Ok sleeping beauty, nice place you have here."

"Huh…what…?" He looked around before realising. "You seriously didn't have to…"

"It's for the bread. Good stuff."

There was a short moment of silence as Seb processed what Mark said, before turning slightly red. "I-if you want, I can give you different flavours every week," he said. "Banana, Raisin,--"

Mark just sat the wheel listening in mild awe. He would've just gone home and knocked out or gotten a beer. It sort of made him want to try baking, but that was probably his illogical brain talking, before realising he had to tell Seb to not get any more ideas. "No, no, you don't need to do it, it's just that you are really impressive, still finding time to bake."

"It's a nice hobby!" Seb laughed. "Ok, ok, i'm leaving now. Goodnight Mark, thanks again. Take care." He clumsily opened the car door and right after, tried to give Mark the awkwardest fist bump attempt on Earth.

► ► ►

Twenty two hours to the first time Seb sneaked into STRUCTURAL, a slightly baffled Mark whipped his head around to the sound of the maintenance exit audibly opening, to a Seb holding some more of his homemade chocolate bread.

"I have a lot more at home in the fridge, actually, if you'd like."

»»» ──────

ISS INTEGRATED VIDEO LOG : // ZVEZDA-20XX-24-01-XX:23:11:98

(zip noises) come on stop struggling Seb.

HU--REN--SOHN!!!

translation : son of a bitch.

there, neat and tidy. good luck waking up tomorrow, i think you'll be fine.

I will throw you out the airlock tomorrow. You watch.

muah. ok, goodnight sweetheart. love you. don't wreck the module.

fuck you..............night.

-- RECORDING ENDED --

»»»───«««

[spottedtidbits]

Wheatley was already fast asleep. Grady couldn't blame him. If he weren't the one driving, he'd be asleep himself. He'd hate to make Wheatley have to stay up late, though.

Grady checked the time. 10:40 pm. Wheatley had fallen asleep about an hour ago. Maybe it was best that Grady drove, then. Though he felt tired physically, he could keep his mind relatively sharp. He was used to staying up extremely late, so nearing 11 pm was nothing to him.

Despite this, he'd rather be home already, in bed with Wheatley. Even if he fell asleep long after him, it was still nice to lay with his love. He was sure Wheatley felt the same too, as he shifted around in his seat.

It was right at 11 when they'd finally arrived home. Virgil had been babysitting their daughter, Stephanie, so there was no worry for her. Grady chuckled to himself; Virgil probably fell asleep before either Stephanie or Wilbur did. Virgil was always an early bird, could never stay up late if he tried.

Wheatley couldn't, either. Grady was well used to being up all night by himself, though still laying in bed with him made it feel a lot less lonely.

Grady sighed. Not long now, the two could go ahead and do that. He stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind him, then made his way around and opened Wheatley's door.

He quickly undid his seat belt, and he saw Wheatley shift. Grady caught the slight opening of his blue eyes, then them closing again lethargicly.

Gently, Grady scooped him up into his arms. That got his eyes open again. Wheatley looked up at Grady, a little shocked. It melted away into a purely lovestruck look; he was too tired to hide it, obviously.

"Mmmm..." He rubbed his eye as Grady pushed his back against the car door to close it. "You're strong..."

Wheatley was often swept off his feet by Grady, this time literally, but often tried to play it cool. Grady knew him well enough to notice when something seemed to tug at his heartstrings, though. The little nicknames, the small movements he'd make, sometimes just his voice, it all got a reaction out of Wheatley. A swallow, a hand to the neck, a small smile, small things that most could overlook but Grady could see right through.

There was no attempt to play it cool tonight. Wheatley pressed his head against Grady's chest, a smile crossing him as he closed his eyes again.

Grady had already grabbed his keys before picking up Wheatley, so he unlocked the door and walked in quickly.

Grady had gotten Wheatley into bed and, after asking if he wanted him to, undressed him. Wheatley put on his pajamas himself while Grady got ready for bed himself. He threw off his shirt and his pants, just ending up in his boxers.

Grady couldn't be bothered tonight. He skipped pjs and hopped straight into bed. Wheatley seemed surprised, though didn't object to it at all. Whether he was just too tired or didn't care, Grady couldn't tell. He was tired himself.

Wheatley shifted to press against Grady's side, and Grady moved to hold him in his arms as he usually did. Humming lovingly, Wheatley pressed a kiss to Grady's lips.

Grady chuckled. "Glad to be in bed?"

"Mhm..."

"Yeah, me too." Grady yawned. He felt Wheatley run his hand up and down his arm. "Very strong..." Wheatley smiled, cheeks growing red. Grady felt his own face grow hot. He sighed.

Wheatley leaned further into Grady, tilting his head down slightly. Soon after, he fell back asleep. Grady tilted Wheatley's head back up. He always slept with it down, and thus hurt his neck, but Grady tried his best to stop him from doing that.

Grady smiled, pulling Wheatley closer. Closing his eyes, he felt ready to sleep as well. Pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, Grady set his head down onto his pillow and drifted off into sleep.

[thepacifistrouter]

AI in Sheep's Clothing (The Best PM fan-art)

Hello! I've been reading the 'Wheatley the Best PM" AU (Sad is unfinished u.u), a really interesting idea, so I wanted to make a drawing about it, a song I've been listening to helped me get a little inspiration to know what to draw, so I decided to support the drawing by adding the lyrics here, with a bit of paraphrasing from me.

Context: Caro crossed a line that not even Wheatley can ignore or he just finally figured out her actions or at least hher real intentions, so he has a moment of anger alone in his room at night. All this shortly after a heated argument between him and Chell (I'm taking 'Caro Knows Best' as headcanon, so the argue was after that revelation).

(Hahaha, this is about you)

Beware, beware, be skeptical Of their smiles, their smiles of plated gold Deceit so natural But a wolf in sheep's clothing is more than a warning

Baa-baa, black sheep, have you any soul? No sir, by the way, what the hell are morals? Jack, be nimble, Jack, be quick Jill's a little whore and her alibis are turning tricks

So could you Tell me how you're sleeping easy? How you're only thinking of yourself? Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words: One day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt

Aware, aware, you stalk your prey With criminal mentality You sink your teeth into the people you depend on Infecting everyone, you're quite the problem

Fee-fi-fo-fum, you better run and hide I smell the blood of a smelly little lier Jack, be lethal, don't trust her Jill will leave you lonely, dying in a golden cage

So could you Tell me how you're sleeping easy? How you're only thinking of yourself? Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words: One day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt

Maybe you'll change Abandon all your wicked ways Make amends and start anew again Maybe you'll see All the wrongs you did to me And start all over, start all over

Who am I kidding? Now, let's not get overzealous here You've always been a big bad witch! If I could kill you, I would But it's frowned upon the kingdom states Having said that, burn in hell! (Hahahaha)

Oh, oh, oh, oh So tell me how you're sleeping easy How you're only thinking of yourself? Show me how you justify Telling all your lies like second nature Listen, mark my words: One day You will pay, you will pay Karma's gonna come collect your debt Karma's gonna come collect your debt (oh, oh, oh) ... And it seems like I am just like her... *sigh*

These would be his reaction while the song finish and see his reflection in the window's broken glass, broken by him self, that's why the change in the very last sentence of the song

Clarification: this is just what I imagine of a possible scenario, you know, of what could have happened, I can't say if I really think it could have happened, TBPM's Wheatley is… well, it's hard to imagine him being able to having a moment like that for himself, you know, realizing that he'd been doing wrong on his own, feeling bad about it instead of just looking to blame others, or beingable to understand the situation or accept that bad things happen around him, ETC. But I still like this possible idea a little, since the story, probably, will never be finished, we don't lose anything.

... And well, that's it for this time, thanks

see ya

[thepacifistrouter]

Finally found the first part!! ... I know this is supposed to be funny... but... even though I DO think is pretty good, an excelent adaptation of the song... I also think... is kinda sad... because Caro... well, far from Gothel's song... she, indeed, is right in... mostly everything she said about Wheatley and the speech he wrote. Like, there's almost no lies there.

Considering everything we've seen in TBPM so far, I'm pretty sure his speech was, indeed, stupid and ridiculous, that it would have been a joke if he'd read it publicly, and unlike Rapunzel, there's no way Wheatley could prove that any of what she said is wrong, even the little bits that actually are lies… AAAAH I feel like so much wanting to give him the help he so urgently needs, but I don't know!! I couldn't do it without changing a couple of things from what was already established by the author and I don't like doing that!! @waffleguppies, where are you T-T???

Caro Knows Best

About a year ago I posted this fragment of a storyboard-gif for a Tangled/thebestPM filk thing. I actually tried to write the lyrics at the time, but only got halfway, mostly because the lyrics to Mother Knows Best are really good and, like most filks I’ve attempted, it felt like drawing badly all over a perfectly nice painting.

Anyway, I had another go a few days ago and thought I’d put it up as a sort of apology for the silliness (and unfinishedness) of thebestPM in general. Goethel and Caro/GLaDOS have very different character voices, but they’re both masters of the shamelessly unsubtle, passive-aggressive guilt trip.

Bluh bluh bluh I’m not very good at rhyming. CARO You want to read this at the Conference? Oh, sir…

Seguir leyendo

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Thursday 2 November 1837

7 50

11 40

damp hazy morning shower of small snow Flying about now at 8 50 and F34° out till 9 then breakfast – A- just made it, and then went to Mr. Horner – out about 9 ¾ about till Holt came between 11 and 12 when A- had SW-  – shewed H- the agreement drawn up by Messrs. Holt and Thomas – to which I would not agree – would not pay more than 2/3 of the money on the engines’ working and would keep 1/3 in hand till after the warranty of the engine (say 6 instead of 12 months) was over – H- thought this very right – I had settled for H- and Booth to meet engine Holt here o Monday – when H- said he had been at L.E.P. and at Airgate pit, and believed the latter would be very nearly if not quite out of water – there is a throw up of 5 or 6 yards – all are of opinion this is the case, but it can be ascertained by Monday – well then said I, we can do without an engine at all at Listerwick – yes! agreed to wait another week before proceeding farther about the engine – and now in great hope of doing without it till wanted for the Incline – this (if true) will be the 1st piece of luck about the colliery – told H- to bring with him on Monday his calculation of what the colliery will make at Listerwick – he said it would not make so much the 1st year or 2 on account of there being ‘so much yarding’ and straight work that is driving water level, etc but thought it would make as much afterwards as their (the Holts’) colliery at the top of the hill – that is four hundred a year I did not take much notice of this apparently but thought within myself that surely I having no £80 per acre rent to pay ought to clear more than the Holts clean tho’ perhaps the charges for agency may = rent – I said I should try the colliery under H-‘s management with Joseph Mann as bottom steward and Robert as Banksman – H- proposed having a bookkeeper – but I thought this might be done without while the concern was confined to Listerwick? yes! said H- he meant there should be a bookkeeper at the Incline – but I think £400 or £500 a year would hardly afford the salary of a regular bookkeeper – the Banksman might suffice at Listerwick? – I said I meant the coal to pay for the Incline; and it must wait accordingly – then on H-‘s going a little while with A- then in my own room a little while then again with A- near ½ hour and then out from before 2 till dark – George took Mangnall to Mr. Wheatleys’ between 10 and 11 this morning and left him there – Robert + 3 at the bur walling against the road where the entrance gates were (the new wall and much more tumbled down in consequence of the platform stuff laid against it) Jack Green and David Mann filling up the 2 stall stable to level of cowhouse and making overflow drain to farmyard low trough this afternoon – some while with A- came in at 6 ¼ dressed  wrote and sent this evening by Sam Booth letter to ‘Mrs. Thompson Register Office Coney street, York post paid’ only inquiring this morning gave up the arrangement alluded to in my letter of yesterday – wish to know if she has a footman that will suit – should be glad of a man of good character to be engaged by the week or month for the next 3 months – to let me know the terms asked – dinner at 7 ¼ - tea – read the newspaper – A- read French – then we each wrote our journal – told her as I wrote it what had passed today with Holt – said I had not ventured to tell it before for fear of the news being

Joseph M- told me this evening Holt said 8/. but sure the mine from L.E.P. to L.P. could not be done for less than 9/. a yard = 180 yards = £81

105

186

and the mine from L.P. to Airgate pit fetching up all the level could not be done for less than 15/. a yard = 140 yards

too good to be true – wintery morning – snow showers and rain – small rain and damp this afternoon but on the whole tolerably fair from about 2 pm that the men could work out of doors – then till 10 ¾ read a little in Murray’s encyclopedia of geology on Indian botany – came upstairs at 10 ¾ at which hour F34 ½°

[blue-character-brawl]

Round 4 Matchups!

All of these will be posted tomorrow around 4:00 PM EST! I’ll be taking another break after tomorrow, and the semi-final deciders will be on Thursday! Here are the matchups:

Bracket 1

Blue (Blue’s Clues) VS. The TARDIS (Doctor Who)

Trucy Wright (Ace Attorney) VS. Megamind (Megamind)

Bracket 2

Kris (Deltarune) VS. Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson)

Blue-footed Booby (Real Life) VS. Mudkip (Pokémon)

Bracket 3

Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) VS. Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb)

Bubbles (Powerpuff Girls) VS. Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Bracket 4

Hatsune Miku (Vocaloid) VS. Wheatley (Portal)

R2-D2 (Star Wars) VS. Piplup (Pokémon)

Bracket 5

Soundwave (Transformers) VS. Spheal (Pokémon)

Steve (Minecraft) VS. Rosalina (Super Mario)

Bracket 6

Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon) VS. Jester Lavorre (Critical Role)

Korra (Legend of Korra) VS. Tutter (Bear and the Big Blue House)

[christianpureofficial]

From cancer to healing: A pilgrim’s journey to the National Eucharistic Congress

Source Christina Wheatley, a cancer survivor, in front of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Indianapolis, where a welcome Mass was held July 16, 2024, to kick off the National Eucharistic Congress. / Credit: Zelda Caldwell/CNA Indianapolis, Ind., Jul 16, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA). “We are being sent forth on mission to make Christ known to others and to be Christ to others,” Christina…

[millenniallust4death]

We already have some interesting dog training questions submitted in advance to Allie! Four examples include:

Classic questions such as handling my dog's jumping and nipping when I arrive home from work.

Any advice for when I get my first serious sport dog?

What five things should my puppy learn in her first year? and

Tips for helping my dog feel less anxious/fearful?

Here is a link to the registration form. Note that you can submit your training question to Allie in advance if you prefer. The session will also be recorded so you can watch at a later date. https://forms.gle/7CoVMEM5TXeZ7cJC9

More information about the session:

The Village Resource Centre is starting a monthly educational series. Our very first speaker is Seattle-based dog trainer Alexandra Lowry, who will be joining us via Zoom! She will give a short presentation on how to teach your dog to come back when called and will answer all of your dog training and behaviour questions.

Allie is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer – Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) with the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She is committed to using scientifically sound, positive methods to achieve the ultimate goal of happy, well-trained dogs. Allie works on everything from puppy foundations and basic skills to more serious behavior concerns and competition skills. She currently trains and competes with her Cane Corsos and Löwchen in AKC conformation, obedience, rally, barn hunt, agility, IGP, and other fun activities.

Date: Saturday, 15 April 2023 Time: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT Cost: Free! Locations: In-person at the Village Resource Centre located at 108 Talbot Road East in Wheatley, Ontario and Globally via Zoom.