Braveburned - ☆ — 𝙎𝙐𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍 !!

an atom’s way of looking at itself,

its own way of making people disappear. With the lights out, it’s less dangerous— I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

— Shelley Puhak, from "portrait of the twentieth century as a plagiarist: a cento," Harbinger

gregory vc: I almost died in the pizzaplex and all I got was an emotional attachment to freddy fazbear and a weird zombie dad

❝ you okay? you just seem extra quiet today. ❞

last of us (show) starters

★ — "Huh? Oh, yeah. M'fine."

His answer is automatic, meant to appease ; blinking himself wearily back to reality and out of his thoughts as he lifts his head to look at his guardian. It's getting more and more common for Gregory to find himself lost in his own head, spacing out for an indeterminate amount of time before he snaps himself back and pretends nothing happened.

He guesses it was only a matter of time before Michael noticed. Michael always seemed to notice these things, the things none of his other guardians had bothered to care about.

( gregory knows he's getting worse, too. he hates it, hates it, hates it, wonders at what point he'll be more trouble than he's worth — ).

"Thought all my talking annoyed you, anyways."

It's easier to push back than continue to dwell — the tone is meant to joke, but there's a slight sneer underneath it. Posture straightens ever so slightly, breaking some of the tension he hadn't realized he'd been sitting with. There's something sturdy against his back — the edge of his bed, he thinks? — and he realizes he's subconsciously positioned himself where nothing could sneak up on him.

given his dislike of authority figures and distrust of adults in general one might think gregory would be considered a problem child in school — which he's not not, but he also doesn't intentionally and consistently act out. ideally, he'd like to do the bare minimum and simply coast by under the radar of both teachers and classmates. while he'll catch an attitude with most of his teachers, that's really the extent of it. he's learned that if he just goes through the motions they'll mostly leave him alone.

any real issues he ever has stems from other students ; he won't ever start fights, but he'll certainly take something from verbal to physical and he'll sure as hell finish it. gregory is noticeably smaller than most kids his age ( stunted growth due to poor living environments ) and coupled with being the orphan kid with few friends, it makes him a seemingly easy target for bullying. except. y'know. he's not afraid to fire back and it typically escalates quickly.

❝ i’m trying to keep you alive. ❞

last of us (show) starters

★ — Gregory's expression scrunches up almost instantaneously, disguising the way he rolls his eyes as a quick glance around their surroundings. It's not that he's not appreciative ; the night guard ( supposed night guard, at least, gegroy's still not sure on that one ) had earned his ( tentative ) trust for the time being. But ——.

"I'm not helpless, y'know. I was doing just fine before I found you."

He'd been hunted, chased, and just a few seconds too late to make it safely outside the pizzaplex, but still! It had been mostly fine, especially with Freddy around.

"You can't just stick me in a corner and expect me to stay until morning. I can help with — whatever it is you're doing here."