IC Contact

[garbagechild]

"... So I just talk? I start talking? .... Now? ... What's the light mean? ... Oh! HI, I'M WRATH, THIS IS MY MAIL VOICE, PLEASE LEAVE A--" BEEP.


[OOC: Want to thread with me but don't have a current post to do it on? Wanna send Wrath a private message? Wanna prank-call him in the middle of the night and then instantly regret it as he dials you back over and over and yells "Hello? HELLO?" into the mic? Pop a thread on here with the IC date and time and let's get playing!]

Comments

[garbagechild]

... Oh!

_{[He... did not know that. Chalk up one for 'Things Wrath learned today'!]}

Okay.

What do you say, um, when somebody is sorry and feels badly about something?

_{[What Micchy tells him may or may not determine how Wrath handles any and all future interactions in which someone tells him 'Sorry'.]}

[grapeeater]

Well... it... depends how you feel about it.

[He is not ready for the responsibility of dealing with children but here he is.]

[garbagechild]

I feel nice.

'Cuz there wasn't anybody else who wanted to be there and help me.

[grapeeater]

... I'll help you. If you want me to.

[He's not really sure how to handle Wrath, but... he can't help but feel a little bad for him.]

['Those who own power and privilege have a duty they must fulfill. That's what noblesse oblige means. Sometimes you have to get your hands dirty in order to do that.' That's what Takatora, the real Takatora, had said. Not this phantom. His brother, the real flesh and blood person who had practically raised him. Even if this wasn't on as big of a scale, even if Wrath was more like the 'street trash' his brother had once discarded as being frivolous and useless... small changes added up, didn't they?]

[garbagechild]

What do you mean? You already help me.

_{[By telling him in plain, simple English what was to be expected of him, by giving him advice and approval when he needed it... even if it had mostly been a front, Wrath doesn't know that.]}

[grapeeater]

... I'm not as good at it as my - ... as some other people I knew.

[Can he still call Kouta a friend when he killed him? He pushes that thought away as much as he can and carefully reaches to put an arm around Wrath's shoulders.]

But I'll try.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Wrath beams. For the occasional glimpses of something sinister behind his wide blue eyes, his sharp-toothed smile sure does have a way of lighting up a room.]

[He's been fairly good about not physically clinging to anybody so far... but Micchy's careful initiation of something that could be construed as a hug pretty much makes any hesitation on Wrath's part fly out the window.]

[The boy promptly throws his arms around his fellow Rocket, squeezing him hard. Not painfully, but still tight.]

[He doesn't say anything, but... the hug probably speaks for itself.]</sub>

[grapeeater]

[He's drawn away from hugs in recent years. The clingy affection of his youth had been replaced with careful planning and a hesitance to get close. But the feeling of Wrath's arms around him brings it back, and he gives the boy a gentle squeeze.]

It'll be okay. We both have new lives here, right? We can be whatever we want to be.

[It doesn't matter what he was in the past here. No one cares, no one really asks, and no one from home is here to tell him what he should be. So this really is a second chance - one he can use how he wants. There's no Inves here, so... maybe he can live a somewhat normal life. Or as normal as you can get in Team Rocket.]

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath spent eight years in a void of everything and nothing all at once, and never felt the touch of another human being until he wrestled his way out into the world. Hugs are great. He loves hugs. He wants all the hugs that he missed out on in those eight years.]}

Yeah!

We could be ANYTHING!

Anything we want!

[grapeeater]

Exactly. As long as you're careful about it, you can do whatever you want here.

[... More or less, but the justice system here is pretty lax. He should probably not be encouraging this kind of behavior, but... still.]

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath nods.]}

I already got what I wanted, too.

I always wanted to be human, and here, I am.

_{[He wrinkles his nose thoughtfully for a second or two.]}

... It's not really what I expected it to be, though.

[grapeeater]

... Life usually isn't, I think. As far as I've seen.

[garbagechild]

Yeah.

Pretty much nothing's ever turned out like I expected it to.

But... here it's been pretty good.

_{[He pauses thoughtfully... then rests his head on Micchy's shoulder.]}

Yeah... pretty good.

[grapeeater]

[He just... rubs Wrath's back gently like Takatora used to do for him.]

I think... it's been pretty good for me here, too.

[garbagechild]

<sub>[Well, if Micchy thought at any point that Wrath was clingy already, he's sure in for a surprise. Because it's safe to say that the kid's gonna be Micchy's shadow EVEN MORE from this point on.]

[No one's embraced him like this since he got here-- nobody besides Mama, anyway.]

[The only PERSON he's used to receiving this kind of quiet affection from is Sloth. And he misses Sloth dearly.]</sub>

D'you think maybe it can stay like that forever?

Stay good?

[grapeeater]

[It's hard for him to answer at first, because his instinct is to say 'no' - but who says that it can't be? He nods slightly, before he's finally able to move past the block in his throat.]

Yeah. Yeah, I think... maybe it can be. Or at least as close to it as we can get.

[It'll never be perfect. He can never take back what he did, he can't bring back the dead, and he can't exactly get past his own sins. But he can try to help other people. That's his duty... and more than that it's what he wants to do. At least with Wrath. At the very least, he'll do what he can.]

[LETTER]

[quickattackjack]

_{[Jack assumes Wrath is quite young so he foregoes the loopy script for block letters.]}

LITTLE MONSTER,

I must leave for now. I hope to see you again one day! Remember to dress warmly. Always say please and thank-you, and if you ever need a safe place to stay, knock on my door. It is the big black house on the north end of Goldenrod. Someone will let you in on my orders.

-A BIG MONSTER

[Video]

[rocketralph]

_{[Ralph appears on Wrath's screen. He's holding up Hungry by the little knot at the top of his weird trash bag body. He's not happy.]}

Hey, kid, keep this thing on a leash, will ya? He just ate the only pair of shoes I have!

[Video]

[garbagechild]

Oh!

_{[He'd been wondering where Hungry wandered off to.]}

You found him!

--I can't keep him on a leash, he needs his freedom.

[Video]

[rocketralph]

I NEED MY SHOES.

[Video]

[garbagechild]

Well... I guess we could cut him open, and get them back for you.

They're probably not digested yet.

[Video]

[rocketralph]

<sub>[--???]

[!!!!!!!]</sub>

What is WRONG with you, kid?

_{[It isn't often that Wrath does the hot and cold thing, but boy howdy when he does it, he does it.]}

Just--keep a better eye on 'em!

Re: [Video]

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath simply blinks and tilts his head, looking remarkably like a little owl.]}

What?

I've seen him get cut open before. He was fine afterwards.

_{[BUT OKAY RALPH. WRATH JUST DOESN'T GET YOU SOMETIMES.]}

Are you gonna make me pay for your shoes?

_{[It's a threat that's been levied at him once or twice by other Rockets, usually as a preventative measure. He is not the most popular individual to hang out with in HQ.]}

[Video]

[rocketralph]

_{[The wrecker's face fills the screen.]}

YES

[Video]

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath doesn't really look INTIMIDATED, just a little put-out. He has quickly learned that money goes away very quickly and that they don't really get a whole lot of it. 8[ Awh.]}

Oh... okay.

I already spent mine this week on pudding cups. Do you want some pudding cups instead?