hackeralert

Anon ON, IP logging OFF, don't hold anything back!

OOC INFORMATION
Name: Patch
Contact: patchpatterns, zestybreakfast , patchyface (with the bear) on Skype
Other Characters: None

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Wheatley
Age: 25-30
Canon: Portal 2
Canon Point: Post-game
Character Information: http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Wheatley
Personality: Wheatley, as an Intelligence Dampening Sphere, was programmed to numb the brain of a homicidal AI by issuing forth an endless torrent of inane chatter and bad ideas. To this end, he's relentlessly talkative, finding conversation in such eclectic topics as floors, lacks of pens, and imaginary birds. As a metal ball with generally very limited means of physical action, Wheatley tends towards persuasion as a method of solving problems, despite how ineffective such an approach has proved against such opponents as neurotoxin circuits and unprecedentedly tenacious test subjects. He doesn't appear to believe that there exists a problem that he cannot solve by talking at it long enough, demonstrating a rather irrational overconfidence in himself and a tendency towards relentless optimism.

When talking fails, which is nearly always, Wheatley has shown a tendency towards using what little force he's capable of, from trial-and-error password-guessing to dropping bird eggs into door mechanisms to bashing windows in with his faceplate. He considers all of these approaches 'hacking,' and considers himself an excellent hacker. He hasn't shown much of a moral disinclination towards the destruction of other people's property when it serves his means, flippantly breaking furniture to get it out of his way. It remains to be seen whether being given limbs along with a functioning human body- a much more physically capable form- will incline him a bit closer to violence than persuasion, now that the option is there.

Helplessness presents two options to those afflicted by it: Acceptance, in which one understands and acknowledges their limitations and focuses on finding happiness within their means, and denial, in which the helpless bluntly refuses to acknowledge their own limitations and insists to themselves and others that any problem that arises can be easily solved by their own limited skills. Wheatley has chosen the latter. Upon inadvertently awakening the homicidal AI mentioned previously, Wheatley waited until he was scooped up in her pincer and seconds away from being crushed before accepting defeat. He’s confident in his nonexistent hacking skills, sure that there’s no problem he can’t either talk out of existence or break, despite large piles of evidence to the contrary. He thinks highly of himself, but his confidence is easily shaken, even accidentally. After years of isolation in an inert facility, he isn't used to others questioning his competence. Wheatley is a paradox: Endlessly confident, so long as no one suggests otherwise.

Wheatley's disposition is nearly always sunny. His first words upon being reunited with the test subject are (when audible) thoroughly enthused, as he regales her with the tale of how he survived post-destruction. And then, after being attacked by a bird, he expresses how absolutely certain he is in their escape, despite having nothing approaching an actual plan. He frequently alerts said test subject as to his admiration of her jumping and turret-replacing skills, regularly calling her ‘brilliant.’ Wheatley is not someone who reserves compliments. He lacks a filter, which does occasionally send him blundering into thoughtless insults, but he doesn't hesitate to let people around him know what he's thinking, and his sheltered underground upbringing renders him easily impressed by even simple tasks. To Wheatley, the world is full of joy and wonder, and it's his responsibility to inform everyone around him of that fact.

Despite the urgent circumstances, perhaps because of his limited options without her, Wheatley remains affable when his brain-damaged escape partner is slow to act. Albeit by necessity, he remains generally accommodating, acknowledging the test subject’s struggle with brain damage and exhaustion while trapped on the floor. Short of necessity, emergency, or reflex, Wheatley rarely if ever raises his voice. Whether his politeness is genuinely a quirk of personality, or something that grew out of the necessities of helplessness, Wheatley seems very slow to anger and generally willing to give allies plenty of time before they make any decisions.

As cheerful and friendly as he may be, Wheatley is not without faults. Wheatley does, in fact, bear a diverse cornucopia of various flaws, some of which are tied directly to his nature as an Intelligence Dampening Sphere, while quite a few are just personal failings. One can’t fault him for being stupid, for example, because to be otherwise would reflect a complete reversal of his function, but that does not justify his cowardice, pretension, pettiness, or deep-rooted insecurity. Wheatley is foolish by design, and that tends to manifest most often in his other main programmed function: Talking. He insults his escape partner several times, ostensibly without meaning to, because he rarely considers the meaning of what he says. While he does try to apologize for generalizing humans as ‘smelly,’ he doesn’t seem to recognize that she would have any reason to be less than enthusiastic about his suggestion that he turn her over to GLaDOS.

He’s also a coward. While not unwarranted considering what GLaDOS is capable of, Wheatley’s enthusiasm and hopeful nature are often at odds with last-minute hesitance, even regarding his own ideas. He tried to talk the test subject out of entering the central core room, for example, despite verbally acknowledging and entirely believing they had no other option a few minutes earlier. This anxiety manifests as paranoia later, when Wheatley turns on his ostensible ally within seconds upon being led to believe she’s been working with GLaDOS, and remains convinced of this to the point of believing they’ve actually created photorealistic paper mache fire to scare him.

Wheatley takes other people’s opinions of him very seriously, even those of longtime enemies. Not only does GLaDOS provoke him into an elevator-smashing rage by telling him he’s an Intelligence Dampening Sphere, but he becomes immediately obsessed with proving his intelligence to her, claiming to have read “all the books,” understood Machiavelli perfectly, and mastered poker. When he is inevitably ousted from power and exiled to space, his reactionary behavior haunts him, and he wants nothing more than to apologize to the test subject. He can’t find peace without her forgiveness.

Much of Wheatley’s personality was defined by his relative helplessness as a metal ball, so he’s ill-equipped to handle the responsibility and power of a humanoid body- much less that of a monster. While outwardly cheerful and polite, Wheatley is very vulnerable to psychological manipulation, and cannot be trusted with the power to demand others respect him. He is a tightly-wound ball of neuroses and insecurities covered in a layer of placatory charisma.

5-10 Key Character Traits:
Talkative
Optimistic
Enthusiastic
Patient
Violent
Obtuse
Anxious
Defensive

Would you prefer a monster that FITS your character’s personality, CONFLICTS with it, EITHER, or opt for 100% RANDOMIZATION? Either fits or conflicts, please.
Opt-Outs: None.

Roleplay Sample: http://graveyardsmash.dreamwidth.org/18357.html?thread=14556597#cmt14556597