@deathsbecome Replied To Your Post:

@deathsbecome replied to your post:

Get squished idiot

★ — do not squish!!!!

★ — Gregory's eyes sting.

He closes them, rather than letting the growing pressure behind them win — he won't let himself break, won't let himself be weak, even if all he wants to do is hide behind Michael and Freddy just like he had the first night he'd been stuck in this hellhole. The walkie - talkie is clutched in his hands, which rest against his half - bowed head. Shakes his head despite the fact that his guardian can't see him, the action bordering on frantic.

"I didn't listen to you!"

No further explanation is needed. If Gregory had only listened to Michael, he wouldn't have been caught off guard. If he had stayed away, he wouldn't be down here, and Michael and Cassie wouldn't both be in danger because of him.

Frame further tenses, teeth gritted as Michael explains why they can't turn back — he's about to retort, insist that they should at least try before static suddenly cuts into the frequency. Gregory feels his heart drop.

"Michael?" "Michael?" "Are you —— Michael? Can you hear me?" "Are you still there?"

MICHAEL'S CHEST TIGHTENS the more Gregory insists on his own fault, unsure what to do or say to convince him otherwise ( reminds him of himself— the endless efforts to push Gregory away from returning to the Pizzaplex out of fear that he would end up with similar motivations incessantly gnawing at him ). He isn't mad at Gregory for going, not at all, they can deal with all that when they aren't in danger of much worse. Still, he wishes there were more he could do with just their limited communications.

He has never been all that good at words, but he can pick up on the underlying fear— he can't bring himself to turn around, couldn't possibly endanger Gregory even further.

"No— it's not," He repeats. "You didn't want her here, you didn't want any of this. If anything, I should've arrived sooner— soon enough to stop her. But it's too late for that now, I'm getting both of you out."

Slight tense as he questions why they can't simply turn around, glancing behind as if to confirm that even the nearest path is risky, never mind all the rubble and destroyed rooms they managed to pass through. "It's... been a rough path, alright? A lot of the ways we took to get here are already blocked off, or through broken vents... you know how it is. We could find a way out, but it might take even longer than it did to get here."

@behindslaughter replied to your post:

William here like new guardian?

★ — " .... I'll only consider it if I get to keep Freddy around."

★ — "And I'm not vandalizing it!"

Comes the young boy's immediate, insistent response. His words aren't quite a shout, but they're not far off — a significant difference from his previous mumbled, half - hearted tone. As if he's not doing anything wrong by being in the building. ( as if he didn't have to climb in through the old air - duct just to get inside ).

Stubborn set to his jaw, looking at the officer with narrowed eyes. His chin is lifted in some childish attempt to make himself look tough ; almost daring Vanessa to tell him he needs to leave.

"S'not like anyone's using it, anyways. I don't get what the big deal is."

All Gregory wants is somewhere to stay, away from the neglectful yet suffocating reach of being a child of the state. Freddy's certainly isn't ideal, but it's better than nothing.

vanessa's mouth opens, although no protest leaves her. a little brightening of her eyes in worry however, quickly snuffed out as to not spook the kid any more than he already was.

her brow narrows in the center, at the way in which every inch of her wanted to help this little boy. get him out of here, before something awful happens. yet something in her gut churns with the idea, like an unexplainable nauseousness. her eyes flickering over those oh-so-familiar signs, like she'd see so many times in her childhood. like she'd remembered doing herself, when her father involved her in any of his [...] hobbies. at least, the one outside of engineering.

her lips press together, arm dangling from her raised knee. she wouldn't trust herself either, if she were gregory. he wants to run away, &. even she knows what she has to do. however, it doesn't make it any easier. heart strings feeling a distinct tug. "yeah, well.." she looks down, though also doesn't allow her eyes to leave the boy for very long. "that's why i still do." she says, matter-of-fact. [...]

"the building -- it still has an owner. &. he nor the city want it vandalized." she continues, with an inhale.

★ — Cartoonish tilt of the mascot's head only serves to further unnerve the boy, who takes a step backwards in response — it doesn't do much, there still isn't much distance between him and the rabbit ( still close enough that it would only take one sudden movement for Gregory to be grabbed ), but it rocks his weight backwards as if he's half - preparing to run. His brows are furrowed, frown tugging at the corner of his lips. What an obvious lie. It reminds him of the animatronics calling out for him ; your family is looking for you.

"You're lying. There's no one waiting for me."

Tone is clearly accusatory. ( even if he weren't already on edge, Gregory doesn't trust easily ). His fazerblast is still shoved into his back pocket, and he finds himself wondering if it would do anything against this figure. It didn't against Vanny, but it still might be worth a shot.

"What do you want?"

THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT. EVEN IGNORING THE RESPONSE, WILLIAM CAN SENSE THAT. Perhaps his initial instincts had been wrong: had drawn him over to the boy not believing he’d be the perfect victim but alerting him to some wider problem. Still, he’s come this far now. There’s no harm in trying to convince the kid — no harm at all.

His brow furrows at the boy’s flinch and at the reply, tilting that cartoonish golden head to one side while his dark eyes never leave Gregory’s face. For the kids that know this rendition of the rabbit, they’d maybe be endeared. For anyone else, it’s downright unsettling. “Don’t you know? There’s a secret party happening in the party rooms and your friends have invited you to play with them! With cake and chocolate and all sorts of fun; come on,” William coaxes, layering cheer into his voice he hasn’t felt in a very long time,, “you wouldn’t want to let your friends down, would you?”

how adorable are you?

gregory is 10000% adorable. Can i squeeze your cheeks?

★ — "Ew, no —— don't touch me."