If I Somehow Found A Newfound Father Figure In The Animatronic I Was Hiding In Id Be Protective Too

If I somehow found a newfound father figure in the animatronic I was hiding in I’d be protective too

where did you get that ? (ballpit / will)

◜ 𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 ◞ : a collection of prompts from the 2023 animated film 𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀 based off the graphic novel by nd stevenson .

★ — The sudden question causes Gregory to freeze — a deer in the headlights. Veins feel as though ice is suddenly coursing through them, heart lurching into his throat, overcome with a vague panic that he forces himself to swallow down.

He's come to hate being singled out by an adult in his own time, would much rather be left entirely alone than the punishments he almost never deserves that he's come to associate those moments with. Here, in this now, it feels far more dangerous than it ever has before. He's out of place ( out of his own time ), and all it would take is one person to pay him more than a sparing glance, to actually pay attention to him to grow suspicious.

"Its ——. I- I just found it."

Imperceptible wince as he speaks ( he can feel his throat starting to close up, struggling to force the words out ), but he pushes himself to keep going. To keep up the act.

"Is, uh — is something wrong?"

gregory survives being homeless for years and murder robots trying to kill him for 8 hours just to die to the grimace shake

[ HAIR ]: as the receiver leans against them/lies in bed, sender begins to run their hand through their hair to soothe them until they relax or fall asleep.

‘𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲’ 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬.

★ — They're watching a movie. Rented, at Gregory's insistence, having refused to watch any of Michael's shitty soap operas. He hadn't been sure what it was about when he picked it out, only stating that anything would be better than his guardian's taste in entertainment. It must be about halfway finished by now. Not that he would know.

Gregory is trying to stay awake. He really is — but he keeps drifting in and out of consciousness, his brown hues half - lidded and intensely focussed on the screen in front of them without truly processing anything that's occurred in the past forty - five minutes. The dim lighting for the ambiance of a movie night certainly isn't helping his fight to stay awake. ( neither is the inherent feeling of safety michael seems to carry with him ).

The thing is, Gregory wants to stay awake. He wants to watch the movie with Michael ; wants to spend this time with him. But his body and his brain seem to have two different ideas, and he can't stop himself from yawning, despite the fact that he tries to disguise the action as a deep sigh.

The fact that he can't remember when he shifted to lean against Michael should probably be the first sign that this is a losing battle.

And then Michael starts running his fingers through Gregory's hair, the acting unbearably gentle. For a brief moment, the kid tenses, still unused to this kind of physical affection ( something so gentle and warm, despite the coolness of michael's touch ). Then he relaxes into it ( his chest feeling tight ) with a slight whine. There's a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, though he half - buries it into Michael with a slight turn of his head.

"S'no fair — you're gonna make me fall asleep. I wanna watch the movie."

hiiiii guess who just got out of barbie

★ — A shrug. He is avoiding looking at her, instead turning his slight scowl to the ground between them. He has no family ; a fact Gregory has long since grown used to. Perhaps even before his mother had left for the night and never returned. He has always been on his own. He is treated gently not because he is delicate but because he is volatile — because he is angry. Not that he understands this. It is all so foreign to him. Michael is .... better than most. Treats him kindly, but not with an overabundance of caution. It makes him feel seen. Gregory shrinks into himself, a subconscious act, shoulders curling inwards. ( he should have died many times over by now ).

"Dunno. S'not like I ask for it to happen." ( a pause ). "I .... kinda hate it." ( it makes him feel so small ).

he  feels  out  of  place  because  he  is  out  of  place  .  elizabeth  would  say  it  .  again  not  trying  to  hurt  the  kid's  feelings  just  telling  the  truth  .  if  only  he'd  known  they  were  broken  long  ago  ,  with  the  patriarch's  leaving  &*  the  matriarch's  negligence  of  her  children  .  rosa  afton  did  her  best  but  it  wasn't  enough  .  &*  while  eliza  doesn't  blame  her  ,  she's  old  enough  to  recognize  it  .  easily  coming  to  stick  her  lollipop  back  into  her  mouth  ,  listening  to  the  little  man  answer  her  question  .  with  how  her  mom  talked  about  him  she  expected  him  to  throw  a  massive  fit  ,  throw  himself  onto  the  ground  &*  roll  around  in  agony  .  but  he  didn't  .    ‘  i'm  sorry  .  i  didn't  actually  know  she  was  dead  .  ’    of  course  she  didn't  ,  gregory  was  a  stray  cat  that  michael  carried  in  on  his  back  .  no  one  really  knows  anything  about  strays  .    ‘  why  does  everyone  treat  you  so  gently  ?  like  okay  your  mom  is  dead  ,  but  you're  not  .  ’