#wafflestories

[thepacifistrouter]

Chelley week, day 6: Heartbeat

Okay, I was excited about this day and category, it was the first one I actually did, but I didn't feel like I could convey it in drawings (or that it would take me too long if I did it with that), so I turned it into a short-fic

I know it probably won't be well received for that reason, but it was something I really wanted to do, so… well, here it goes.

Thump

It was a cold, but mostly calm winter night, the wind was blowing outside Eaden's bakery, it wasn't especially strong, but it managed to generate howls and the trees to move enough for their wood to make a crackling sound from time to time.

The place, like most of the town, was mostly made of wood, but firmly and solidly built, even though until not long ago, they had to remodel a little inside, mostly the room in which its inhabitants slept - After all, since the second of them arrived, or rather, since they started sleeping together, it had become a necessity to make the ceiling a bit or two higher.

Yeah, a lot of changes had happened in that place, how it had turned from a place of tension, of banging on the wall and night terrors, to not only having an adequate roof so that anyone could stand without crashing or hitting or needing another bandage in his head, it also has a proper window, normal curtains, furniture, and decorations. It was a completely different place. Just like the people sleeping in it.

One of them, the one with the shortest stature, opens her eyes slightly, having woken up, with the weather - or rather the wind - being the main cause, along with a slight drop in temperature. When she was alone, she usually didn’t notice the presence of those stimuli due to being busy with her own nightmares, which either woke her up or kept her distracted. It could also happen that, if she manages to sleep with no nightmares or no dreaming at all, if she noticed them, than the sound plus the cold would bring back bad memories of unpleasant, cold places with hollow sounds on a smaller scale -usually that involved a short walk to the kitchen for a warm milk cup. and a re-reflection on her life and the events surrounding her until she could fall asleep again.

Things are different now. She had managed to get used to it, to feel those signals that reminded everyone that there was still a long time before winter left and spring take place, to stop associating every small unpleasant and cold noise with That place. But of course, as with any person, there could be exceptions, it could happen to anyone that the seasons could wake you up with the weather in the middle of the night, always something inopportune. The main difference was that, in the current time, she had other, new tools to deal with them and, her untold favourite, involved the person who slept a few centimetres from her.

A tall, too-tall, skinny, gawky blonde man who was fast asleep facing her. He was also the main person responsible for the vast majority of changes that both her house and her life had undergone. The mere presence of him there had been and had had a couple of changes.

Not that she was complaining at all, au contraire, having him there, next to her every night, was nothing less than welcome. In fact, at times like this, it was exactly what she needed.

Moving stealthily and carefully (never a problem for her) so that she becomes attached to him. That, at first instance, fixes the problem of the cold, probably for both of them, she knew he could have woken up at some point because of the same reason, neither of them were very fond of the cold after all- but of course, this was not just about the cold, if it was, being like that would have been enough or she could just have gotten up quickly and stealthily, as only she could, to get a blanket and come back and problem solved. No, this was different and required a small specification in her movements. And that was to put her head right at the height of his chest, so she could carefully rest her ear on it, close her eyes and just pay attention.

*Thump-thump*

She smiled.

There it was.

*Thump-thump*

The sound she was looking for.

*Thump-thump*

It wasn't a necessity, but it was something she liked to do from time to time, if the opportunity and circumstances presented themselves (like in this moment) - it was something more like an habit, perhaps? She didn't know, she just knew that for her it was almost like that feeling that comes from the sound of rain and a crackling fireplace on calm nights. Maybe even better. It was simply something that brought her peace.

And it wasn't just because of how she felt about him, although that was an important reason, but she knew it wasn't the only one. It was complicated, after all, it was, on a small scale, a vague reminder of everything they had experienced, but somehow... in a good way.

*Thump-thump*

It made her remember different related moments. How, the first time she saw him in a human form, that prototype avatar of solid light that they had made, was just that, an almost perfect, almost empty mirage, it wasn't real... it wasn't alive, Wheatley was the one that, while being awake, gave it life. Remembering, also, how, watching him asleep (or well, in sleep mode), if she hadn't known, and anyone who didn't know, she would have thought he was dead.

*Thump-thump*

Then, that time on the hill, when she leaned her face as she was doing now, but back then, there was nothing, just something similar to the noise of the LED light in a kitchen or the hard light bridges in That place. It was a strange, uncomfortable feeling... even sad, it made her think about what they did to him, what they took from him and that his whole being, in fact, was actually in something not much bigger than a pen with lights and a lot of unnecessarily complicated Aperture technology.

*Thump-thump*

Even more, at this point, it was… almost hard to believe that he didn't always look like that. Human. Even though, he always acted like one. Who knows how long he was in his little spherical body. She was sure that even now he must feel, at least in part, as if he still is in some level. She knew that at least he still didn't stop completely feeling like a machine and she had her doubts than that would ever change - if it could, there was still plenty of time for that and it was fine, she didn't mind giving him time to adjust to things, it could be annoying, yes, but it was even sweet to see when he made progress on something, how happy he was and how, truly, he kept trying after failing and learned from what he did - achieved or not. Little by little he had begun to stop pretending so often that he knew or could do things that he really didn't, to quick so fast, and start to actually try, to practice and learn despite failing till he gets it and finally being able to do it. Frustration could still become an issue for him, depending on the situation, he could still seek responsibility or blame in others (or things) while failing - fortunately that was something that had also been slowly decreasing over time. Probably, knowing that no one would harm him or throw him up if he failed, specially not her, was a great help on his progress (Plus, the enthusiasm and shine in his eyes when he finally managed to do something well was priceless)

*Thump-thump*

Then, she also remembered the first time she heard that beat, that last time they stepped into That horrible place never to return. He was naked and soaked in a slimy, stinky, gross substance, but in that moment she felt such a relief to see him, she couldn't have cared less about any of it -he was there, he was alive and he seemed to be fine, that was all that mattered -she just needed to go check him and make sure of the “being fine” part. It was in the middle of a hug when she heard it. She was so excited to see him alive that she had overlooked it, distracted by so many emotions and sensations, but being who she was, it didn't take her long to react and, after a small check, It didn't take her long to solve the puzzle. That was not a mirage or an artificial body, it was his actual body, this was real. He had his human body back.

*Thump-thump*

Of course, at that moment there wasn't much time to process it, they were a little more worried about getting back to town all in one piece.

*Thump-thump*

Someone would think that after a couple of 101 lessons on being human and relearning how to use their organic body, everything should have gone fine, but the truth is that they would still have to go through one or two more big Aperture Science Labs headache, but at least this one wouldn't involve the "labs" part, so, by comparison, they weren't that big… but still.

*Thump-thump*

At first it was just a couple of colds, flu, stomach pains, allergies (luckily they taught him not to take too many medicines at the same time to get better sooner because it doesn't work like that), his forehead testing all the edges of 2 meters or less of the town. A lot of unpleasant stuff, but nothing particularly bad - who knows how many decades in suspended animation without even contact with air wreak havoc on anyone's immune system and physical condition -at least he managed to cover his mouth by reflex when sneezing or coughing... most of the time.

The real problem came later, a couple of months later and it started with what seemed to be another case of the flu, but accompanied by a lack of appetite and more and more noticeable fatigue, among other things. He was trying to hide the seriousness of the matter, trying to make it seem like just the flu, saying from time to time that he was starting to feel better and finding ways to make it seem that way. But there was no way to continue the attempt of a theatre once she saw him fall passed out, burning with fever while he tried to go down the stairs (luckily it was almost halfway). The scare plus her own instinct helped her react quickly enough and effectively to first check that there were no serious injuries and then go find help.

The details of what happened are long, complicated, almost worthy of an adventure, but at that moment, Chell could only especially remembered being there, in Dr. Dillon's guest/patient room, him asleep in the bed and her in a chair next to the bed. She went there when she could to check on his progress, changing wet towels and checking him, his temperature, his breathing...and his pulse. Since she checked him after the fall, she could feel how his heart took on such irregular rhythms, sometimes almost at the level of tachycardia... and sometimes so low... without a doubt they were days of worry and discomfort for everyone, including fear for them both. It was an absolute relief when things finally became normal and she could see him acting with the same energy as always, having regular breathing, and being like this, in that very moment, while she was listening to that sound in the rhythm it should.

*Thump-thump*

Of course, not all were bad memories, you could say that a third and final part of what makes this pleasant for her is what that sound transmits to her, his heartbeat could become as much or more communicative than his voice-which is saying a lot, especially on those... private occasions, planned or not. Like that first time, when she found him in the bathroom naked, confused and scared by a part of his own body's functioning that he knew nothing about, so she helped him to... clear up the misunderstanding… by using the empirical method.

She discovered 2 things that night: First, that she liked to feel how, at that moment, the most obvious part of his body was not the only one that showed emotion when they were that close, it was as if they had disconnected his mouth so they could say almost everything that needed to be said.

*Thump-thump*

Second thing was, deep down, she liked having that kind of control over him. Perhaps because he was someone so vulnerable and at the same time so paradoxically unpredictable and predictable at the same time. Having that level of control over him and the circumstances around at such an intimate level was an extremely satisfying delight, almost irresistible to her so, of course, when she managed to prepare, from time to time, very occasionally, she would gladly take advantage of her position. During those encounters, she even learned that there was difference when the heart races out of fear, out of happiness, or out of pleasure.

*Thump-thump*

And now this.

Moments like this, in some certain different way, also counts as a private, intimate moment, but instead of hot, they are warm.

These moments not only allow her to feel his more honest and vulnerable side, but also allows her herself to be openly vulnerable, knowing she would be safe by being it, even if it was just for a bit of a time.

*Thump-thump*

*Thump-thump*

Someone could say, in summary, that these moments, taking the time to listen and/or feel carefully, from time to time, was something that, in some way, for her defined very well his presence in her life and himself, a reminder of what he went through - what they both went through to get here, of who he was and what she liked about him, his fragility, his spontaneity, and that strange paradoxical strength that he himself doesn't seem to realize, but it does seem to be based in that cheerful endless optimism. He made her feel warm inside and happy to have him there with her, alive and in peace. Maybe it wasn't all always joy and happy and fun, but right now, there was no way she could ever say that she regretted it.

*Thump-thump*

*Thump-thump*

It didn't take long for her to begin to fall asleep again, without separating a single centimetre from his chest, from his heartbeat, as if it were a little coo just for her.

*Thump-thump*

Shortly before she completely falls back in the Morpheus arms, she gives herself the small luxury of carefully wrapping one of her arms around him.

*Thump-thump*

To her surprise, somehow he, unconsciously -because she was very sure he was still asleep- seemed to realize this and, in response, slowly and clumsily moved his own arm to lightly puts it around her in the same way.

After that slight initial surprise and a quick processing, she simply smiled - without moving from where she was, without taking her face off his chest, she closed her eyes again and, letting herself be carried away by the calm, but somehow cheerful way of his heartbeat, she finally fell asleep.

*Thump-thump*

[pokimoko]

hiii--- i know you mostly post/write about other fandoms but i just want to say that graceful degradation is probably one of THE best fics ive read of all time and i love it so so so much, it had me screaming into my pillow at like 2 in the morning. its such a unique and creative take on his backstory and the ANGSSTTT. oh my god...u are a genius

Thank you so much!!! Portal 2 was something I never imagined myself writing for, but I'm very glad I did, because writing that fic was a blast. It came out of my fondness for 'Flowers For Algernon' (which I read many years ago but has been stuck in the back of my mind ever since) and my need for a Portal fic that suited my particular niche of interests (which included, of course, my dear old friend angst). I'm so glad to hear you think of it so highly! That really means a lot 🥰

[bee-rosmyth-art]

This scene has been haunting my brain lately so I had to draw it out

(Adapted from Blue Sky by Wafflestories)

[onyxstic]

A few weeks ago I was motivated to draw the cover and print the classic Blue Sky fic written by Wafflestories as a little physical book! (non profit and not publicly sold, don’t worry)

It just arrived today and man I’m so happy with it 🤤

The cover was inspired by the post I’ve linked down below, it also has info on how to print your own. (Please use responsibly) All credits to the respective creators!

[infestedguest]

One of the reasons Blue Sky by Wafflestories is one of my all time favorite fanfictions (controversial opinion I know /s) is that, outside of the context of that story, I’ve never really seen the appeal of the ship that it centers, yet I still genuinely adore the fic, including the romantic parts.

I don’t hate Chell x Wheatley, I’ve just always thought it was one of those ships where people saw a non-romantic piece of media featuring a man and a woman and went “Wanna know what would spice this up? Heteronormativity!” But I’ve reread Blue Skies over and over throughout the years since I first read it back in 2015 because the author was successfully able to show me through their writing what they saw in the ship that made them like it.

I still don’t see the appeal of the ship just going off of canon, and I don’t think I ever will, but I do enjoy the ship specifically in the context of that fic.

From the way I’m talking about it you’d assume that Blue Sky is primarily a romance, but it’s a lot less focused on it then you’d think it’d be. It’s primarily a character study that explores the nature of identity in a genuinely interesting way. It takes a very fanon-ey concept that was quite popular at the time it was published (wheatley becoming/being human) and dives headfirst into the philosophical and psychological implications of that idea.

I’d also be remiss not to mention the fact that it has some of the best written original side characters in all of fanfiction. Typically I find original characters in fanfiction to be particularly uninteresting (I’m reading fanfiction not regular fiction), but I love every member of the supporting cast in this story and was actually really engaged whenever one of them was the focus of a scene. Waffleswrites really took the time to make Eaden feel like an actual community that could exist.

My point is: there’s a reason this fic is so famous and I think that you should give it a read even if you’re disinterested in the ship it features. You can find it on FFN, but if you’d prefer an audiobook version Outis Audio on YouTube made a really nice podfic of it.

[wafflebloggies]

Hi there, I don't know if this account is still associated with WaffleStories or not, but if it is, I just wanted to say that I've been reading Blue Sky once a year during spring break since 2017 or 2018, and it's my favorite story of all time. It's beautifully written, it's entertaining, it's world building is exquisite, and it's what helped get me into writing. So if this is WaffleStories/Waffles, thank you so much for bringing so much happiness into my life and for inspiring me <3

I'm so glad! I'm really happy you enjoyed it so much.

[rapono-writes-stuff]

do you got a favorite writing? be it yours or someone else's

Ooooo yes of course! My tastes/fandoms change over the years but there's some fics that I love to reread and indulge in.

I'll list off some of my faves (in no particular order):

Human Resources Violation by KogoDogo

Not a Man by Anonymous

A Touch Shorter by saintsaint

Alone by CG2

Coming Home by Kirmon64

Imposter Syndrome by TheAsexualofSpades

Behemoth by littleleaflings

Blue Sky by Wafflestories (ff.net)

Solar Lunacy by Bamsara

Cryptid Sightings by NaffEclipse

.:Same Man I Was Before:. by DarkwingSnark

Not too close to Home by retempts

Deadly Doppelganger by SilverStarSheep

Boiling Point by MathanLin

Peaks and Valleys by clefairytea

Sky Piercer by Regal_Eagle

As for my favourite of my own? Hard to choose, often changes. Sometimes it's just my most recent, sometimes it's just what I'm in the mood for at that moment. Don't be afraid of the big bad eldritch horror, A candle in the cold, and The sound of a waking nightmare are a few I really like but felt like they went underappreciated imo.

[pocket-watcher]

I was tagged to do this by the lovely @concerning-goth !!

Last song I listened to: Cabinet Man by Lemon Demon 🎧

Favourite place: Anywhere that gives off backrooms vibes: malls, airports, convention centres, sports centres (the emptier the better). If we’re being specific, Disney World ✨

Favourite book: Physical Book, Saviours Champion series, got through the latest one in a day 😅 Fanfic, Blue Sky by wafflestories

Currently reading: Physical book, The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman and fanfics, Embers by Vathara and Non-Newtonian by EveryoneThinksImGay

Favourite TV show: Gravity Falls

Favourite food: Pizza 🍕

And I am tagging @mas-o-kissed @bawdy-booster @ghoulishfreak

[faebriel]

pretty new to fandom and never have heard of bluesky, what fandom is it from? or is it just its own thing published to ao3?

ohhhh anon. oh boy anon.

okay so blue sky is a portal fanfic written by wafflestories, originally on livejournal, also on ffnet. here's the ffnet link. no it's not on ao3 yeah wild right. it is set post-portal 2, so if you don't know the story to the game i don't wanna spoil you and am gonna put All That Synopsis under a cut here. no spoilers for the actual fic tho! yayers

Meteors, signals, apologies, and that tricky little thing called humanity - four years after the events of Portal II, Wheatley's been handed a second chance, but it's not going to be plain sailing…

the summary says it all, really - after returning to earth from his spacely rendezvous, wheatley gets another chance at Not being a terrible person and mending his relationship with chell.

yea also it's chelley (chell/wheatley for the unacquainted). i don't actually know what the vibe check is on chelley these days i think chelldos is more common now at least on tumblr. and i am not arguing with that because that big robot is gay and frankly good for her. but i can say when i played the portal games back in like 2014 chelley had a fucking vice grip on the fandom. the soccerball was a tumblr sexyman, for goodness' sake. and of the squillions of chelley fics around at the time (some of them probably quite questionable in hindsight but we don't gotta talk about it right now) blue sky was the crown jewel.

the thing is? blue sky 100% deserves that spot. shit, it's one of my favourite fanworks ever.

arguably because it's not really focusing on being a shipfic. i know half this recommendation is talking about shipping but i'm giving some context here alright to the nouveau portal fans who were Not there in 2014 and i feel the need to justify like No This Fic Is Actually A Really Good Take On It Trust Me. we are not here to kiss the metal ball we are here to grab him by the lapels and watch him struggle to go from an objectively terrible person to a deeply insecure person three steps from relapsing Back into that terrible person to someone who actually has their moral and ethical shit together. i think it does portay glados in a less sympathetic light than some other fics but also bro (gender neutral) i was reading portal fic in 2014 and 2014 alone i saw so much worse than "yeah glados is still on her i'm-in-denial-about-my-humanity-and-taking-it-out-on-everyone-else schtick"

i'm sick of writing paragraphs. reasons why blue sky is really cool, fic spoilers minimal:

a redemption arc where a character's flaws are not skipped over; in fact, they are dragged into the light and shown off at all angles to be appropriately judged by the reader and the characters in story. no woobification here. if anything the opposite - blue sky takes opportunities to remind the reader wheatley is very capable of being a shit person and the fact that he is doing this whole redemption arc thing is important

but still acknowledging the trauma that is apeture science. saying shit's fucked up without excusing everything else that people did because of it

blue sky is definitely a wheatley centric fic (i don't think this is a bad thing because Let's Redeem Wheatley is a concept that requires a lot of narrative attention and heavylifting tbh) but it doesn't overlook chell's feelings about apeture and also about this whole oh wheatley's back situation. she's strong and badass but she's also allowed to have those feelings and be worried and anxious but also angry. and that doesn't make her not a badass. wah i love her

the town of eaden!!! chell has found a home after portal 2 and they are lovely and she loves them and they love her. i was obsessed with some of these characters as a teenager and they are all ocs. but they are so well written and integrated into the story so well that you can't help but love them. it is so easy to see why chell loves them and especially as wheatley gets attached to them too. it just. ough. it all feels so real they're all wonderful

bro (gender neutral) the redemption arc hinges not on romance or whatever but on the love one gives and receives by contributing to their community and finding their place and taking the things they've been told they're shit for their entire existence and spinning it into something that helps others. tell me that is not the best shit ever

i like how it depicts the robotics and technology its fun :]

there are several scenes that are imprinted in my fucking brain. i swear. one the hallway scene. two the tower scene. three the nightlight scene. four the foxglove scene. if you know you know

[thepacifistrouter]

POST BLUE SKY HEADCANONS

Hello! I need to take inspiration to draw when it comes, and is just what happened! This tine, a couple of unexcpected headcanons about Chelly I'd like to share with you

Headcanon 1: Counterintuitively, at bedtime, it is Chell who tends to move more, especially if there is a nightmare (even though these have diminished considerably), which usually involves Wheatley being beaten if he doesn't wake up in time to calm her down. On his side, Wheatley barely moves, maybe turns from time to time, if there is any nightmare he might jump or turn quickly, but that's it... oh, and he sleeps with his mouth open, he doesn't snore unless he has a cold, then he snores like a bear.

Headcanon 2: An unexpected common thing for these two: neither of them are very affected by horror movies. Chell because she already lived her own in 3 and a half parts and Wheatley because he'd probably seen a loooot of corpses and humans dying in horrible ways in his life. There's not much that fiction can offer them anymore.

And well, that's it, I hope you like then, if you have any opinions, glad to read you

Bye!

[brighhton]

the entirety of blue sky by wafflestories playing through my mind like a flipbook every time i listen to mr blue sky by electric light orchestra

[bee-rosmyth-art]

"Blimey, hello- huh, wow, you're- this is- um, can I just check, is this a hug? Are you- are you hugging me, is that what you're doing? Because if you are, ab- absolutely no complaints from this quarter, ha, God no, the, the opposite in fact. Very much the opposite, it's very nice- well, no, 'nice' doesn't really even begin to cover it to be honest-"

Wheatley, Blue Sky, Chapter 10

Written by Wafflestories

[kai-ni]

Anyone else have fanfics that were just... so brilliant, better written than most novels, that they permanently changed your brain chemistry?

Mine are:

Blue Sky (Portal 2) by wafflestories

and

Children, Wake Up (Kylux) by hollycomb

[whichcouldmeannothing]

tag nine people uw to get to know!

(idh many moots on tumblr so @mitthrawnu @bobfloydpilled please do 🙏🙏 also thank you @thebahwrites for tagging me :D)

- 3 ships : currently focused on the important tgm boys hehe cymav, icemav and hangster!! been thinking of icemav for too long.. my brain is thinking of a holiday hallmark movie for them.... (swarkles gets my attention also bc im on the himym rewatch)

- 1st ever ship : heritage ship but percabeth!! i used to write percabeth fic in my head and read fic on deviant art i am truly cool and normal

- last song : night shift by lucy dacus, i was hanging laundry hehe

- last movie : black adam and that SUCKED ASS

- currently reading: the pisces by melissa broder (the book) and blue sky by wafflestories (the CLASSIC portal fanfic)

- currently watching: himym season 8 and nana the anime! a lot of rewatching but its fun!!

works been a little bjt of an ass so sorry for being barely here :// but this was fun thank u bah <33

[aredletterday]

i’m not a chelley shipper anymore but man if i sit there and think about blue sky for too long i get in my feelings...

[ayakoarchive]

finished Blue Sky. didnt cry but probably will soon