#gregory you're so embarassing

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

2x10 | 3x11

[cardhamine]

A little bit of a late @vanweek2024 prompt!

Here's a very short ficlet for the final prompt, Sunrise. (Put under Read More to not take up a ton of dashboard space.)

Vanessa sat at the foot of an old oak tree, soaking in the moment. Her eyes trailed the scene before her, the dip of the hill and the flower-dappled meadow it rolled into. The early morning sun was just lighting up the hill, illuminating its greens and yellows. A sunbeam fell through the oak's boughs and across her face, brightening the green of one iris into a bright, gold-flecked emerald. 

When was the last time she saw the sunrise? The last time she smelled sweet morning air? The last time she felt grass at her fingertips? The last time she'd even been outside, for heaven's sake?

She couldn't remember. 

Wow. She really couldn't. She had no idea when she was outside the pizzaplex last. When the sun was rising every day for the last who-knows-how-long, she was crawling back to a grubby mattress in a dark room illuminated by aged, flickering light fixtures. Those old LED bulbs were her sun. The computer monitors her moon. At least the stars above the daycare looked like real stars. Sometimes she pretended they were so she could imagine for just an instant she wasn't cooped up forever in that suffocating place.

Was that pathetic? It felt pathetic.

"Vanessa?"

She turned her head so quickly a muscle in her neck twisted. Other than a slight grimace, the shock of pain didn't show on her face. "Everything okay, Kid?" 

"Don't call me Kid," came the boy's huffy reply. Whether he liked it or not, the nickname wasn't inaccurate by any means. He was hardly a preteen - probably. That or seriously malnourished. He sat just a foot or so away, Glamrock Freddy's head cushioned snuggly in his lap. He had paused halfway through a bite of ice cream to catch her in a stubborn half-glare. 

Vanessa shook her head. "Sorry. Right. Gregory. What's wrong?" Anxiety flared in her gut. Was he alright? Had he gotten hurt somehow? Or maybe he'd gotten hurt back in the plex and was just now realizing it? She had hurt him after all, hadn't she? And maybe he was just bleeding slowly, internally, minute-by-minute just becoming another of her victims unless they did something quic-

"You're making kind of a dumb face."

She blinked. "What?"

"You were making a dumb face, and you were, like, staring directly into the sun. I don't think you're supposed to do that, even if it's not all the way up yet. And your ice cream is melting on your shirt." He took a bite of his own ice cream, then nodded to himself, as if approving of his own assessment. 

She blinked again, absorbing the information. "Ah." Her hands hurried to wipe at the cold liquid that had dripped down onto her purple flannel. It would definitely dry before she was anywhere near soap and water to get the sugary substance out of the threads. She 'tsk'ed, licked at her thumb, then scrubbed with mild irritation at what was sure to become a stain. 

"What were you making that dumb face for, anyway?"

Vanessa couldn't help the way her lip twitched with slight annoyance at the question. "What was so dumb about the face?"

"You kind of looked like you were thinking about something that bothered you a lot." He paused, mused, then added, "Or like you had to use the bathroom, maybe."

"I didn't have to use the bathroom," she sighed out in mild exasperation. Now she took her turn to pause. She listened to the sound of wind blowing across the grassy hill. Watched as the sun crept higher in the sky. Felt the tell-tale heat of the summer morning air. "I was just thinking."

"About all the bad stuff again?"

Vanessa frowned. "What do you mean, 'again'?"

"You made that face the whole car ride here. Even when we were buying the ice cream. I'm pretty sure you freaked the ice cream lady out."

A little embarassed, the blonde shrugged. She scratched distractedly at her freckled cheek and sighed. "Yeah, she seemed pretty wigged, huh?" Her tone lightened somewhat, and she mused, "We did get an extra scoop for free; I'm assuming as an act of pity? Like, a pity scoop. Not a horrible trade-off, actually. Maybe I should reenact the war flashbacks for sympathy more often."

Gregory hummed thoughtfully at the proposal. "I bet if we combined that with some casual mention of me being an orphan, we could get free ice cream for at least a week."

Vanessa bit back a laugh. "We are not getting ice cream every day, especially not for an entire week in a row. That much sugar will kill-" The raw irony of the statement cut through her before she'd even finished her sentence, but she tried to correct quickly enough to not make it noticeable. "- a person.. I mean. Like. It's really bad for you." As hard as she tried to mask her discomfort, her mind had started turning on those familiar, bloody memories now, and it showed on her face clear as day. 

Gregory didn't seem overly sympathetic. Instead, he was fixated on her refusal to get more ice cream. "Oh, suddenly NOW you're a good influence?" 

Vanessa balked at the sheer audacity in his irreverence to her inner turmoil. Speechless, she only stared. He stared back, studying her expression with furrowed brows. 

"You are! You totally are!" Whatever his revelation, he seemed completely exasperated. If he didn't have an ice cream cone in his hands at the time, he probably would have thrown them up in the air to emphasize that feeling. 

For a third time, she blinked. "I'm.. what?"

"Thinking about all the bad stuff again!" 

Screwing up her face in frustration, she confessed, "Of course I am! I-..!" She swallowed hard at the knot forming in her throat. "I have a LOT of 'bad stuff' to remember. A lot of bad stuff that I did."

"But you didn't." When Vanessa only continued to stare, Gregory elaborated, "You got infected with a virus or whatever. You didn't do any of the bad stuff; the virus did."

"It was still my hands doing it all." She glanced down at her palm. An intrusive flash of some nasty memory distorted her vision. For a moment, she swore that palm was dripping with blood. She squeezed her eyes closed and shook away the memory. "And it was my fault I got infected with that 'virus', anyw-" A drop of something cold landed on her fingers, and she opened her eyes again to see more of her ice cream dripping onto her skin. 

"You're wasting the whole thing," Gregory complained. "A perfectly good pity scoop, taken for granted. I could have eaten that if you weren't going to." 

"What did I just say about too much sugar..?" She gave the ice cream a somewhat irritable lick, as if somehow it was to blame for its own sorry state. It tasted good, even if it was a little melted. She had missed sweets. Before that thing had crawled in her head, she'd kind of had a sugar problem, honestly; but apparently he was always too busy working on his twisted plans to let her have any decent meal - let alone anything sweet. When was the last time she had ice cream? When was the last time she tasted anything but day old pizza? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad letting the kid have ice cream for a week straight, after all. She figured they both deserved it.

"Anyway, I think you should stop thinking so hard about all the bad stuff," Gregory returned to their previous conversation. "If you keep getting distracted thinking about all that, you're going to waste the rest of the ice cream."

"And the rest of the sunrise," piped up Freddy (who she had almost forgotten about there for a second.) 

Vanessa's eyes widened, and she turned back to the sight of the sun nearly fully bloomed on the horizon. 

"Yeah," she said, gentle understanding blooming in her along with the sunrise. "I guess it would be a shame to let that go to waste, wouldn't it?"

[kenphobia]

KISS ME WITH MY EYES CLOSED!

summary. relationship hcs w/ our favorite gator boy <33

includes. established romantic relationship. gn!reader. fluff, no angst. ( be glad i'm not writing angsty shit today >:[ ) cursing.

relationship/s. reader/monty montgomery

notes. albeit short so sorry for that, i had a lot of ideas for this but i was caught up in my modules and forgot to do this

monty is absolutely smitten when it comes to you. he can be an egoistic asshole at times but all he just needs is a hug and pecks of kisses caressing his face, especially from his s/o.

being the overly confident gator he is, he boasts his achievements to others— and of course, you. some find it endearing with how he tells people about you and the way his eyes sparkle at the mention of you ( i.e glamrock freddy ) , while some find it extremely tiring and wants him to shut up for once but lets him talk on and on, whether it be out of fear or recording the conversation as blackmail material. ( i.e gregory, the staff bots )

monty loves to hear your praises, even from something so simple like helping a kid get back to their parents or pointing a lost person to whereever they were headed. he also likes pats ( on the shoulder or head ) whenever you do, any sort of physical affection going along with praises makes his animatronic / non existent heart flutter.

monty likes to do pda a lot, and by a lot i meant a lot. when you two are a slightly later into the relationship, he would hold your hand for a minute or so and pulling away before he overheats from his own flustering self. although, he starts to be more comfortable and less embarassed by pda as time goes on.

whenever you guys are on a stroll around the pizzaplex, he would— obnoxiously —point at his hand holding yours, raising it up high and boasting it to whoever is around. ( mostly to the staff bots, he has a love-hate relationship with them. )

at times when he's feels a bit agitated with or sad about something, he'll hide from you so you don't see how messed up he is at the moment. sometimes he goes to you and whines for you to comfort him. ( which you do because who can ignore this mf )

as proud and affectionate he is, monty isn't good with expressing his feelings through words, and usually goes for showing his love for you through physical affection and spending time with you. ( whether teaching you to play mini golf or whatever you or him is feeling at the moment )

dates happen within the walls of pizzaplex since, of course he's an animatronic, and monty's gator golf is usually where you two go to. dates usually set after hours due to the fact monty is one of the main animatronics and is busy performing for the guests.

cuddles with monty are often after hours. he likes cuddling you while you sit on his lap and your back is facing his chest or him laying down while you're resting atop of him.

any position where he can hug/cuddle you while you can still breathe and not be crushed by his arms is automatically ok for our favorite gator!

also, he's a bit scared he might hurt you on accident, though he does appreciate it when you try to reassure his nerves and lets him hug you all he wants.

he frozes up sometimes when you hug him first, he's just standing there for a few minutes before gently hugging back and basking in your soft and fuzzy warmth.

AND NICKNAMES— did i mention this mf is a flirt? no? well i just did now

monty is cheesy but sweet when it comes down to teasing, and sometimes it get a little spicy. ( he never goes that far though, especially if it makes you uncomfortable. )

since he has a cajun accent in-game, i figured he calls you in french nicknames or any english nicknames that either makes you want to say 'aww monty !!' or 'monty for the love of god sTOP—' or even both.

in conclusion; monty is a bastard but we all love him. why the fuck can't he be real

[ot3]

hey i just read through ur ace attorney au comic and i just wanted to make a list of things i love about it:

-the color choice omg!!! the way u use bold colors to create stark contrasts and silhouettes is so inspired and unique

-i would sell my soul to be able to do composition as creatively as you do

-the expressions! im in love

-gregory....h

-the way you're not afraid to make edgeworth unabashedly an ass. i hate seeing him being an ass but it hits HARD. it really drives the emotions of the whole thing home

-the. the panels wi. with the three. the elevators. and then edgeworth on the stairs. i dont know what fucking emotion it makes me feel but it deals psychic damage while also adding 10 years to my lifespan

-ur style reminds me of the opening of the Great Pretender anime. which is one of my fave anime artstyles so

-(not the absolute fave im sorry but mob psycho 100 will always fuck the hardest)

-d. dahlia....the ncklace.....h

-BABY MIA

-literally everything about part 9. i cant. i cant even words about it

-OK I CAN DO ONE WORDS ABOUT IT AND THAT'S. EDGEWORTH'S FACE WHEN HE WAKES UP I CACKLED

-WHY IS THE BLUE BADGER IN THE FUCKING REALM OF THE DEAD???????????

-the 3d glasses that mia and edgeworth wear

-mia isn't dead she's braindead....is this....a surprise tool that will help us later?

-phoenix choosing all the dumb fuckin investigation options that we didn't choose in our playthrough because neither of us can handle secondhand embarassment

-all the little stylistic flourishes! from the dialogue boxes to the silhouettes to the little rays around miles' alarm clock

in conclusion: outstanding work op

THANK YOU SO MUCH i have put by this point literally hundreds of hours into drawing this comic so getting feedback like this means a ton to me... im glad edgeworth being a complete bastard is hitting because tbh i feel like there's a tendency to underplay exactly how awful edgeworth was when he was at his Awfulest but i think the extremely good redemption arc he gets in canon is a lot more meaningful when you remember that he was genuinely a pretty terrible person who ruined a lot of (very likely innocent) lives without it ever really registering as an issue for him.

i have not actually seen great pretender but i've heard of it and so i just went and watched the opening on youtube and this is a very flattering comparison so thank you! this is exactly the kind of art i like. and mob psycho too, definitely one of my favorites of all time - i was literally just watching it in stream with a friend for the millionth time directly before seeing this ask, and we were as always gushing about how much we like both the directing of the anime and the paneling in the manga. definitely some of my biggest artistic inspiration. i originally wanted to go into the animation industry and never really intended to draw comics so pretty much everything my comics do is to try and attempt to capture the really fun transitions and motions of animation within the confines of a static image, so i'm glad it's having some of that impact.

the proto-badger is in the realm of the dead because i think it would be funny for him to be there. that's the whole truth of it.

mia being braindead rather than dead is very much a surprise tool that will help us later - now that i've done all of the Setup things are going to begin diverting more heavily from the original sequence of events in the game. otherwise, pretty much everything would be essentially identical to the way it plays out in canon and there's not really any fun in drawing something like that. so yeah. lots more to do ! hope y'all like the rest of what i've got planned !

[wulfums]

the idea of wulfe and gregory having a kid is so sweet!! 🥺 do u have any hcs of what their kid would be like yet? and how would wulfe's and gregory's dynamic as parents be like?

IM GLAD YOU THINK SO BESTIE KAYYYYY omg

Well I had the idea when me and Bestie Fio were watching Last Train and noticed that Gregory is actually like- really kind to kids? Esp with how he is with Sleepy Sheep and Lost Doll!!! He's even kind towards James when James isn't causing problems on purpose which makes Wulfe go HEART EYES AWOOOGA. He loves a man who is nice to kids.

I think Gregory and Wulfe have a daughter, mostly because I think the funniest possible scenario is Gregory's Mama not caring about this....until she founds out they're having a daughter then she's like 👀 "I suddenly want to be involved" so she goes from Disinterested to Being Incredibly Overbearing which I think Gregory would be happy his mom cares meanwhile Wulfe is like "please helb she won't leave me alone I think this might be worse than before"

I think Gregory loves his daughter Very Very Much and is very involved with her and sometimes taker her with him when he's going on rounds around the hotel (If its dangerous however he will Not) and like. Wulfe is Nervous bcuz he's never taken care of a baby or toddler before (He adopted Sleepy Sheep but Sleepy Sheep was already like 10) but Gregory, who has had a kid and also basically raised James, is like it's easy dont worry. And Wulfe is like "...Not sure you're great at that if you raised James but Ill trust you."

I think everyone in the hotel is Super Nice to their daughter!!! Gregory's Mama absolutely Spoilers her grand daughter..I think the daughter grows up to Absolutely be a menace to society like James but she gets away with it easier.

I think Wulfe's dynamic is that he's very nervous and trying his hardest and he has a whole stack of parenting books in the closet but Gregory is always there to reassure him he's doing great!!

I think when she's older she gets Really embarassed about how Lovey her parents are like when they PDA like Kiss or Hold Hands she's like This Is The Worst No Wonder Everyone Loses Sanity When They Get Here -_-