A Robot Should Not Be Teaching A Ghost How To Human

[mttbrandlegs]

Who: Mettaton and Napstablook

Where: New Bark Town, probably late afternoon

When: the day of Napstablook's arrival, because what is patience?

Summary: There is absolutely no way in heck that Mettaton's going to let Napstablook be alone in the big scary Poké-World! So HE IS BACKTRACKING TEMPORARILY TO HELP, via his Pidgeot of course!

Rating: G


Mettaton of course makes good on his word to meet Napstablook at New Bark Town. It does take him the better part of the day to get there though, and when he finally arrives, his hair is a glorified mess and he's not sure if he's a fan of flying on anything but his own rocket power.

Oh well. He'll get used it it eventually, right?

Calling Superstar back into her ball, he casually brushes his hair back into place--because he doesn't like questions being asked about his eye--then makes his way back into the small town.

Whew. He sure had made a lot of ground from this point. It's no trouble to backtrack, but of course he'd been happy to see the exit from this quaint little town. Yet here he was, looking for his cousin.

Hopefully they were outside at this point. His estimated time of arrival was...a little bit off. By about 3 hours. Oops.

Comments

[mttbrandlegs]

Mettaton half-glances at the Pumpkaboo, the smile not fading from his face. He'll address her soon enough, for sure. But for now, Napstablook is higher priority.

"Indeed, it's very good to see you too, Blooky," he hums. "I've...I've really missed you."

Oh heck, even if he is risking the ire of his cousin's Pokémon partner, Mettaton absolutely can't help himself; he throws himself against Napstablook, hugging him and his Pumpkaboo close.

"I know I should not be happy that you're in an uncomfortable position, but it is still so wonderful seeing you!!"

[soundtest]

Before Napstablook can offer some kind of confused response, they're cut off by Mettaton throwing his arms around them in a hug. The action gets a startled "EEP" out of them. The Pumpkaboo lets out a tiny, startled hiss of her own before attempting to bite the supposed "attacker". Luckily, she's held firmly in place by Napstablook's completely stiff body.

But soon enough, Napstablook feels a warm pressure around them that feel so much different from a ghost hug. It's so strange. It's not really unpleasant either, but Napstablook wasn't very good at giving hugs. Or in this case, receiving them.

But this hug was... it was the same kind of hug that Mettaton gave them when they returned to Waterfall after being gone so long? It was a little worrying.

After a few seconds, Napstablook does finally relax. Their forehead accidentally brushes up against Mettaton's without them meaning too.

"i'd say i missed you too... but i just saw you? before i got here i mean..."

Napstablook's face falls a little as their mind goes directly to the worst implication of what Mettaton's saying.

"did you need to leave again..."

best part of rping in a humanization game? i can use all my icons!

[mttbrandlegs]

Mettaton's taken aback at the quiet question, and pulls away to raise an eyebrow at Napstablook. Surely...they have more faith in him than that?!

Then he realizes with an uncomfortable pang of guilt that he hadn't really given them much reason to as of yet. Along with that guilt comes a rush of heat to his face, which he immediately attempts to cover with one gloved hand.

He does so sorely wish that he could control that particular function.

"No, no!!! Of course not, I came here to pick you up, Blooky dear! You're coming with me, I just--I missed you, and it's a little selfish, is it not? To want you here where you are corporeal and you never wanted that?"

Hey. At least he's trying to be sensitive, even if he can't quite empathize with wanting to stay a ghost.

ghost mtt is so cute

[soundtest]

Not so much a lacking in faith in Mettaton, but more of lack of faith in themselves. They were happy as Mettaton's sound mixer, but a part of them was a little afraid. They weren't really good at performing in front of people yet, Shyren was even better at it than them, and...

... well, there had to be better sound mixers out on the surface, after all. Probably cool human ones that wouldn't ruin Mettaton's reputation.

But it seems the question was a little upsetting, judging by the sudden red tint on Mettaton's face. They didn't mean for it to be, and the frown only deepens. Partly from confusion, as it seems that Mettaton is talking about here instead of the conversation they had not too long ago on the surface.

"oh no i meant... back home....? do you remember talking to me a few minutes ago? before i woke up here and.... not a ghost"

Oh gosh they're probably terrible at explaining this. And they're not sure how to explain themselves without maybe making Mettaton further upset, but they really don't understand what he's saying. Was he gone a long time?

...Was Blooky??

"i'm sorry i'm probably not explaining it very well.... when i last saw you it was just a few minutes ago and it was you talking about what you wanted to do for your show."

Maybe they should comfort their cousin? It's not that they didn't know how, but with them it'd be extremely awkward. They're going to carefully lift a hand to place on Mettaton's shoulder though.

blooks are the cutest always

[mttbrandlegs]

"Oh."

Mettaton takes a mental step back, realizing that perhaps he was taking things a little personally. It had been much more than a few minutes. He's not at fault for getting upset, but Napstablook is a little...sensitive about this kind of thing.

AT any rate, when the former ghost's hand settles on his shoulder, he smile a little.

"No, no. I'm sorry, it's just been months since I ended up here!! I have had a lot to worry about just being here, Blooky. Humans are very strange creatures!! Can you imagine, needing to eat actual food?? Having to maintain a living body is hard.

I should have kept in mind though, that you may have just seen me before you got here! I'm sorry for assuming!"

Mettaton takes a deep breath, then lets it out in a short, determined little huff.

"Let's talk about you, though!! How are you doing? Do you feel alright, and have you mastered walking yet? Are you hungry, or tired? Don't hold back, I promise I'll help you with everything!"

[soundtest]

"months??? as a human...?"

A rare tone of actual bewilderment breaks through Napstablook's melancholy voice. And the more Mettaton talks about it, the more alarming it is. Wouldn't they know this? This seems like something really important they should know.

It doesn't make any sense, but neither does their new human body. But they don't really know the answers to anything and it's distressing. Napstablook can feel their eyes water as they roll the questions of "why" and "how" inside their head and come up with nothing.

And then Mettaton turns the conversation on them, and Napstablook feels a little like sinking into the ground. They don't know how to answer any of these questions.

"i-i think i got walking down? but i'm probably not that good at it yet. umm... i'm not sure if i should be rambling on about my problems though-"

And Napstablook is interrupted by a loud growl. From their stomach. And there's a dull ache that follows. Their face scrunches up in confusion as try to understand what just happened.

[mttbrandlegs]

That pretty much tells Mettaton what he needs to know. Like he'd said, being human was hard work, and Napstablook could hardly be expected to know anything about it.

"That means that you are hungry, darling. I am assuming you didn't eat the lunch you were packed, then?"

Even if he knows that Blooky is new to the whole thing, Mettaton still fusses over his cousin, because that's just the way he is. It's probably familiar behavior, him asking questions, explaining things with a mixture of patience and exasperation. One thing is certain--as always, Mettaton means well.

[soundtest]

"o-oh.... no i didn't think about it...."

In fact their packed lunch is still inside the house where Napstablook completely forgot about it. They've pretty much just been waiting outside the house with their new Pokemon.

They had no idea it'd actually hurt though.

[mttbrandlegs]

"Ah, don't worry about it! I have a solution for that anyway!!"

Mettaton's quick to shift the attention off of Napstablook's oversight and onto himself. Pulling his own bag closer, he rifles around inside it. There's an assortment of noises--clinking and rustling among them--and then he pulls a bottle of lemonade out, along with some foil-wrapped objects.

"I prepared for such a situation! Besides, I'm hungry too! I didn't really eat on the trip here, since well, flying with Superstar isn't the most stable of trips!"

Carefully, he peels back the foil to reveal a sandwich. It's basic, just ham and cheese, but it should do for now. He holds it out to Napstablook, smiling a little.

"Try it! I made it myself, so it can't be bad!! It is a little more solid than you may be used to, but I'm sure you'll find it palatable!"

[soundtest]

Napstablook watches Mettaton prepare their meal, leaning forward curiously to see what all he packed. The sandwich Mettaton pulls out looks a lot like something Napstablook would eat - which is a little surprising, considering they've watched Mettaton's cooking segments. It's less glittery and less Mettaton-shaped than they expected it to be.

Another growl from Napstablook's stomach, and they reach for the sandwich. The Pumpkaboo's head turns up, looking at the sandwich like she wants to take it for herself.

Napstablook bites down on a corner. They make a face as they swallow it - not out of disgust for the sandwich, but wow is this what human digestion is like?

"it's really good....
thank you for sharing it with me
but i've watched your cooking show before so i don't think you'd make anything bad."

Napstablook turns their attention to the Pumpkaboo in their lap.

"do you want some too...?"

[mttbrandlegs]

"Why, of course sweetheart! Who better to share it with than your cousin? I'm glad you have such confidence in my cooking ability, even if it was already proven to be top-class!!"

The sandwich might not be made of sequins, but to be quite honest, Mettaton's starting to learn you can't eat sequins. Or glitter. Or paste which glues the sequins or glitter to edible things.

It's not good for you.

When Napstablook's pokémon attempts to cajole a piece of their sandwich from the former ghost, well. Rather than be a shit about it, Mettaton simply reaches into his bag and withdraws an Oran Berry, offering it to the small creature.

"I made that for Blooky, darling, and it's perfectly fine if you want to share at another time, but!! What do you say we let him have this first meal to himself~?" he says brightly.

[soundtest]

Napstablook continues to enjoy their first meal, a little quietly. They were getting hungry, and the more sandwich they eat, the more those hunger pangs start to disappear. Still, they eat it slowly as if to take in the taste of it.

"there's a lot of flavor to it... not meaning it's a bad thing or anything, i mean it's a good thing..."

Meanwhile, the Pumpkaboo glances warily at Mettaton for a moment - but the berry is a good peace offering. She opens her mouth as wide as she can and sinks her little teeth into the berry, giving it a little shake before she gets a good grip on it. Napstablook watches the tiny pumpkin Pokemon for a moment before looking back up at their cousin.

"um... i think they like you."

Napstablook thinks? It's kind of hard to tell with this Pokemon. They're not even sure if this Pumpkaboo likes them all that much.

[mttbrandlegs]

"I'm glad you think so! Take your time if it's overpowering though, food is certainly something to get used to," Mettaton says contentedly, releasing the Oran berry once Napstablook's pokemon has a good grip on it.

"I'm glad they do like me, because we're going to be traveling together, right~? We all need to be friends!!

Maybe later I'll show you my friends, but...perhaps not now. They're quite large, you see."

[soundtest]

Pumpkaboo eats the berry a little ravenously, while Napstablook eats in smaller, gentler bites. It's weird, and the sensation of food traveling down their throat isn't one they care for very much. But there's an urge to eat a little faster, to satisfy that hunger in their stomach.

"did it take you a long time to get used to this?"

"This" meaning anything from eating, to just being human in general. The Pumpkaboo stuffs a large piece of berry in her mouth, cheeks puffing up as she forces it in. Napstablook half wonders if they should try mimicking her. She seems like she knows what she's doing.

"you mean more Poke... Pokemon...?"

They've heard the term thrown around. That's what everyone keeps calling their Pumpkaboo. They still have no idea what the heck a Pokemon actually is.

[mttbrandlegs]

With the Pumpkaboo busied, Mettaton unwraps his own sandwich and has a bite. He's pleased that Napstablook is taking to this jarring scenario so well! Even if they stumble on the path of humanity though, he plans to be there and sort it for them.

Swallowing, he considers their first question.

"It did! For a while, I had a problem sleeping properly, because I've never had to! And getting used to food was an experience. Thankfully I do know how to cook, so there's that!! Though if there is something that I've really taken to heart, it is the limitations of the human body. It's easy to get tired, I can't lift as much as I want, and it's important to be careful what I eat."

Eugh. Like berries. Don't ever eat those. Ever.

"Anyway, yes! Pokemon! Your little companion there is a Pokemon, and mine are as well! I have six of them, and I would love to show them off soon! There's Silky, Frisky, Superstar, Maddy, and..."

Oh. Right.

He named one after Napstablook.

"...Well. I have one named after a very special person I missed~"

[soundtest]

Napstablook tries to take in all in the best they can. Needing sleep is going to be a new experience, as is eating solid food regularly. It seems like a lot, they don't know what they can and can't eat, and part of them just really hopes they don't end up slowing Mettaton way down with their new human body.

"i've done a lot of fake sleeping before... but i guess that's not the same."

They want to ask a little more about Pokemon, but what he says gets them to open their mouth and close it. They wonder if Mettaton means them, if he named a Pokemon after them, but their low self-esteem doesn't let them ask that.

"...."

I mean, there's a good chance it wasn't them that was the "special person", right?

"i-is it a fan...?"

[mttbrandlegs]

"Oh yes!!! It is, it's my favorite fan of all! The very first and most important fan I've ever had, actually~"

Even for a former ghost, Mettaton's being terribly transparent. He pulls one of his pokeballs off of his belt, tapping the button lightly to expand it, before tossing it casually to the side. The ball bursts open, light streaming from it and coalescing into a sluglike shape.

The Gastrodon blinks several times, then glides closer to Napstablook and Mettaton. It glances curiously up at the new human, the fin-like protrusions on its head wiggling slightly.

"Blooky, meet Blooky!" Mettaton says cheerfully. His smile brightens for a few seconds before he reaches an arm around his cousin, holding him close.

"I really did miss you, sweetheart."