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K_S

Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
time to finish this off!

the formula scene is where the money thing stops being abstract. a weeks worth is a fourth of Daisys monthly budget. Giovanni loads up another seven cans without asking and thats half a months pay just sitting there. and if this goes longer than two weeks shes burning through contest winnings that kept her housed for three months.

the math is right there. shes doing the math in real time. and Giovanni just... covers it. doesnt make a thing of it. but Daisy understands what it means. :( he is your dad. hes your dad! boogie woogie woogie!
Shes been aware for a while. But its a quiet scene to show undoutably that shes his. He will support her. No matter what


(Well until MANGA canon hits but thats its own insanity)

the pacifier aisle is some great late stage capitalism work which is genuinely fucked up. toxic glitter marked "dont put in mouth", but also it gets to show just how prepared Giovanni is.

Gios a man hell bent on doing better. And he wont let daisy make amy serious mistakes if he can help it.

Giovanni checking plastic safety ratings because he took nine parenting classes and learned baby products are full of poison. this isnt played for laughs either tho it is a little just... God its so dark you gotta laugh a little like damn isnt that real, its just... real. late stage capitalism will absolutely sell you toxic shit for your baby and make it cute.

Yep. It has and will. Gios not wrangling w quality control in the markets. He does not have enough time for that insanity. But it does show that even w wealth theres some staggering holes...

and THEN the racism. weve heard about it and seen it but now we really really get into it.

Ohh yeah this is your first encounter. Roost has some nasty scenes (where Green recalls Silver getting viciously hazed for being a ittalian and neither one of the kids (silver was like 5 at that point and green was eight amd bothbwere incredibly poorly socialized per canon events) know how to deal with it or gett why it was a thing... shes explaining the words to her parents and gio, all completely confused and wondering why gios looking ticked and her parents are making mute "stop now" motions).

but the real examples are in my anthologies Villiantines. Fur flies between fractions. Theres dead people in the end of a few examples. (Gio loses a beloved niece from police brutality. Grace is assulted by the police for assisting foreigners/being unpatriotic, amd is later nearly assasinated)

staff following them through the store. manager approaching to make sure Giovannis not "bothering" her. nationalist flags in bins at kid-eye-level by the entrance. a security guard for a town with under 100 people??

Glad you liked this small sampling of it tho. And yes. Kantos pretty icky under the table.

"He was very careful to never move suddenly or let his voice hit certain octaves or volumes. Anything that could be construed as hostile was carefully trained away." man thats like 3real5 me isnt it? Ignoring the aggression and hostility and you just need to smile and wave and pretend it's fine cuz if you react you're the problem.

Theres a reason Grace does all the shopping or they rely in delivery.


Im with daisy. I would be planning an out-of-Kanto vacation because "metropolitan areas like Viridian and Vermillion were diverse enough to offer some safety... Pallet clearly was not."

she can leave. he cant. his life is here. :(


Oh he can leave and take his wife and kid. No issues as he has no loyalty to anyone but himself and his small circle... its the Mob/Rocket thatd make things difficult. Hes not don. Just a con'.

the bit where staff interrogate Daisy assuming shes in danger while Giovanni keeps telling her in Italian also too just... AAA ...

Gio: for fricks sake daisy orn is making a ransom as is do not scale this up to harassment levels.

Daisy: cherrily provokes the staff to throw food at her like derainged monkwys and purlions the high end treats for them both.

Giovanni is so valid for his anger and frustration at the world. "ice half of pallet and sleep like a damn innocent after." AND YAKNOW idont blame him! they all suck! But also it's super cute how Daisy bribes him with his own chocolate and they go watch a documentary about violin construction until they both pass out.

Glad you liked it. They are pretty close and i try to show it...

in the end theyre in a shitty situation but they're in it together :)

Very much so. At least until CANON strikes.

OKAY SO, story wrap up! 🎺 to toot toot! what is my opinions and thoughts

So! What happened!

first off, kantos whole system is designed to fail people and it's not a flaw this is a feature cus they all suck. the legal system treats kids as criminals.
Well kids that are abandoned and of undesirable nationalities. Kanto and the world stage is a mess. This is all set after the equivulant of a world war (where gio and surge served, as did maxie and archie tbh) and while Kanto survived, it did not do so well and everyones against everyone right now. That sentiment bleeds out all over the place.

baby products are toxic. childcare is unaffordable. the mob runs an underground railroad because official channels dont work for Italian families.

Official channels would like to evict all the italians. They tried to do so in the past. It went very baddly for them and entrenched Rocket so deep utll take generations to extract them.

Giovanni cant exist in public without being surveilled.

Outside of pallet and fuscia hes fine. Otherwise hick land ahoy.

this is about two people who already have a rocky relationship working together and rebuilding it. its a really interesting look into usually a set of very flat characters in the games and giving them new life by making their situations understandable.

your character voice for Daisy is very strong. she's bitterness, sarcastic, the way she cycles through anger at Oak and anger at herself... she's a very good character and I like her. the worldbuilding is DARK too, really really dark. every system is broken, the custody hearing legalese, the racist legal precedents, the toxic pacifiers, the cost of formula.

Part of this tale, and villiantiens and a few others, is to show the process of fixing things. And how long it takes. Things get better. Slooowly... but its a progress.

Giovanni is also complicated in good ways. hes been Daisys support system and her abuser. hes trying to be better.

Hes had so much therepy. And he tries. And daisy and his wife ground him to keep him frpm royally backsliding...

he has mob connections and uses them to help kids.

When he can. If he can.. the mobs complicated....

he can talk to Pokemon too which is cool! he has to perform as this super non-threatening in public and it costs him.

Pokemon as actual characters works. Amewse calling for help, Nidoking with his Dolly Parton obsession and his criminal record, the whole crew having personalities. I would have loved to see more, but also that's not really what the story is about.

Oh therws more never fear...

overall its a really dark but interesting character study focused on two characters i really never would have thought about before. in the end there's some questions left hanging but it's on purpose, like how is it gonna last long term, is the system actually going to let Daisy keep blue,

Eventually. Tho how that pans outnis going to be... a surpruse i think...

and the most important- Nidoking know Dolly Parton isnt a banette.

He figures it out eventually. And is sad. Until grace gifts him a dolly stuffy and hes happy again.

XD you can feel that at the very least they're both gonna work together so it'll be okay even if its not okay.

but, the typos are breaking immersion fairly constantly. missing spaces, wrong words. this needs a serious editing pass, even if its just throwing it in a spell checker just to get the overall words correct. usually im able to guess what you meant, but it can bring me out of the story :( the pacing can drag in middle sections a bit. chapter 3 with the baby-proofing, parts of chapter 5. you can trim a third of those scenes once we get the idea, but its okay.

also, on occasion the blocking is sometimes unclear. whos doing what where, whos speaking, just adding an extra name or two sometimes can help.

Blocking?

i'm also left wondering what was Oak doing. was it actually an experiment or just criminal neglect? i think i missed that, but its never really fully explained i feel.

but!! overall, this is a strong story with a brutal premise youre committing to. the bones are excellent- character work is there, worldbuilding is compelling, relationships are complicated (which i'm always a fan of!). it needs word corrections and some pacing tightening but the core is solid.

YEA!! good job! and congrats on finishing it!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for dropping a line!
 

rimly

mini-blitz in a bottle
Location
a pocket dimension
Pronouns
They/She
Oh thats not an automatd system. That be an aide. It comes out during the trial later in my outline...
They dont want her moving the eggs actually. The person behind the camera is one of those stereotypical science trainers w bottle rimmed glasses/vision problems so he thinks shes manhandling an egg.

wait okay so i totally misread that, the voice was so mechanical i just assumed it was automated?? but knowing its literally just some aide with bad eyesight who thinks shes messing with the eggs thats... ahhhgh. like automated cruelty is at least consistent, this is just some dude who cant see right and now a girl is getting forcibly teleported and a baby is in a fire hatchery because of glasses. human error snowballing into catastrophe is so much worse than malice because nobody MEANT for any of it to happen ;c;

Its a bit more benign but no less crazy.
More like neglecting him in a cooker...

that is somehow WORSE than experimenting?? because at least experiments get monitored! like at least someone is paying attention?? even if theyre paying attention for terrible reasons. Oak just... forgot his kid existed. in a fire type hatchery. the bar for parental failure keeps dropping and he keeps clearing it lol

Daisy was also a faiked/washed out kid protagonist that tried to pull a pkmn red/blue aka taje on Rocket. And she failed.
Her injuries are due to the aftermath of that failure.
also in daisy and gios earliest interactions gio was like 19-20, daisy was 10.

oh. OH. okay so she tried to take down Rocket at ten?? and thats how she got hurt and thats how she met him?? that recontextualizes their entire dynamic, i had no clue, shes not just some coordinator he mentored shes a failed kid hero who got permanently injured and hes been carrying guilt about that for like seven years. and the age gap context is important too right, 19-20 meeting a 10 year old means his careful treatment of her isnt romantic care its guilt and responsibility, which explains SO much about why he treats her so gently even when hes being controlling. like he watched a child try to do what he couldnt and she got destroyed for it. no wonder hes like that ;c;

Hes been controlling, and rude. But hes been damn careful not to be cruel. Per the nature ofnthier meeting (and daisys injury which is partially his fault) he treats her as gently as he can.

yeah that makes sense!! and when i said "kind of her abuser" i was pulling specifically from chapter 2 where it says "his verbal nudges could have been considered abusive in a certain light" so i was working from the text there. but your clarification that its controlling/rude but NOT cruel is an important distinction tho, and knowing the foundation of how they met makes that line between controlling and cruel feel way more deliberate on his part

As for the scene... if oak entered gio and daisy would of ripped him to shreds. It was actually gio and orn.

okay that helps!! my issue was literally just tracking who was where physically, "Tall shot an arm in front of Short" is the spot i got lost, i genuinely could not figure out which was which. thats what i mean by blocking, its the spatial positioning in the scene not the dynamics, the dynamics were fine, just needs like one extra name drop and itd be immediately clear

Actually it less criminals and more.. kanto takes care of its own. Until proven otherwise john doe isnt, thus not thier responsibility.

right so its not "treat as criminal" its "prove youre Kantoian or we dont help you." which is somehow damn,,, because its just... policy?? nobody has to be actively evil for the system to abandon people, it just does it by default and calls it procedure. thats really effective worldbuilding honestly, it makes Rockets whole kid recruitment pipeline make perfect sense without anyone needing to be a cartoon villain about it

And as a nidoking, he onky wanted to evolve because hed get hands and be able to change the damn channel.
Gios had to endure years of his mon changing stati8ns mid Rocket stake outs.

LMAO NIDOKING EVOLVED SPECIFICALLY FOR HANDS. TO CHANGE THE RADIO. that's i think the funniest motivation for an evolution ive ever heard. Giovanni suffering through station changes during stakeouts for years is good, and honestly it tracks perfectly with the "you trained him to sentience" thing from chapter 3 where hes timing Earthquake to song lyrics. this mon has priorities and i respect every single one of them.

Ohh yeah this is your first encounter. Roost has some nasty scenes... Gio loses a beloved niece from police brutality. Grace is assulted by the police for assisting foreigners/being unpatriotic, amd is later nearly assasinated

so the Wooper-mart scene is MILD compared to the rest of the verse. cool cool cool ill just... brace myself then :)

Well kids that are abandoned and of undesirable nationalities. Kanto and the world stage is a mess. This is all set after the equivulant of a world war (where gio and surge served, as did maxie and archie tbh) and while Kanto survived, it did not do so well and everyones against everyone right now.
Official channels would like to evict all the italians. They tried to do so in the past. It went very baddly for them and entrenched Rocket so deep utll take generations to extract them.

post-war setting explains so much tho!! Kanto tried ethnic cleansing, it backfired and entrenched Rocket so deep itll take generations to extract them, and now the whole regions running on paranoia with systems designed to exclude.

appreciate all the clarifications genuinely!! knowing Daisy was a failed kid protagonist at ten changes how i read basically everything about their relationship going forward. question tho, you mentioned the teleportation thing being expanded in a oneshot? which one is that?
 

Tango

Mascot of the Doduo Alliance
Location
beyond the Nexus
Pronouns
He/him
Partners
  1. doduo
Acquisition
chapter 3
cleanup and prep
Time for another review! :veelove:

Companion notes

Pre edit woed count on 3981 1/20/2026
words as of 1/21/26 5315
words as of 1/23/2026 pending
I guess you are tracking edits or stuff. Cool.

One power nap later, where he threatened arson when he saw what she bundled him in, and...
:mewlulz: He is one to take great care in appearance.

I wonder how his demeanor changed when he realized it was a gift for Silver? :unquag:

well Daisy wasn't going to admit she'd napped too. When asked, she was resting her eyes. But with such star 'mon like Amewse draped over her shoulders like a white silken shoulder throw, and Meowscre, her pretty purugly going limp over her knees, Daisy might have caught some stray REM. It was all involuntary, however. Total cat nap mojo kidnapping her coherence.
Of course! It's those dang cats! :mewlulz:

As one who loves cat's that sounds like an INCREDIBLE way to nap!! :wowzard:

She wasn't old like Gio who actually needed naps.
OOOO!!! She really went there! :mewlulz:

"I thought the blue complemented your eyes," Daisy drawled, stretching to get blood flowing. Not to indicate she'd just woke up. "And that's for their first bed."

She let tone and fondness tell Gio who exactly she meant. And there might have been a proprietary slant to her stake. She, not some crusty off mainland relation, was giving the littlest Sakaki thier
📝 their

first present. Nona and her amoral clutch of mobsters could screw themselves.

Daisy called dibs.
I love how adamant she is about being special to Silver. 🥰

"I did the tassels and outline work on the 'mays myself."

Calloused hands combed over her work again. Dark eyes, thoughtful, the gym leader's stern features softened as his expression approached appreciative.
Yeah! That's right, GIO. Appreciate it! :mewlulz:

And considering the man was such an overprotective snob that was damn high praise.

"You just got to try it out first and break it in for your spawn. You know, to handle your nap time."
She calls his unborn child a spawn? I find that rather odd. It's what Celebi called Silver in Transversal.

Because while they and them worked, topped with pointed looks to avoid confusion, Daisy might have consulted her dictionary for a few variants.
But, spawn? Whaaaat???

Wiggling her toes, she was not gloating. She was not smug. Her feet were just asleep, or so Daisy lied to herself.
Wait, was she wearing sandals? Did she take her socks and shoes off? If Gio able to see the toes wiggle or is it inside her shoes to where no one could tell but her? This line is making me have an unhealthy fixation on her feet! 😅 (I don't mind girls with pretty feet, but feet aren't the things I go for! I tend to go more for things that bounce. :unquag:)

And did so badly.

She was totally preening. Oh well.
She's enjoying that. Loves messing with him. He can't stay mad because it's a gift for Silver. :mewlulz:

"You're welcome."

"We are having a child, not spawn."
Ah, so she called the baby a spawn on purpose. Just to mess with him further, it seems. Probably because Gio is the father. Clearly anything he makes must be a spawn! :ROFLMAO:

Spoilsport. Daisy yawned, wiggled, and stretch done stuck her tongue out. Meowscure flicked on eye, and managed to sync a whisker twitch with a facial tip to give the impression of a double eyebrow rise.
Love the way Daisy is portrayed so far, by the way. Very animated and snarky! :mewlulz:

Which was made even more impressive since Purugly didn't have eyebrows to actually work with.

Trainer looked up at Trainee, had the pupil become the master in the grand game of the bluff? Lip kicking up in one corner, clearly not buying what Daisy was selling, the Italian threw the cloth at her. Letting her try it on for size.
This bit I had to read a couple of times. At first I thought Daisy was the trainer and one of her mon was the trainee. Also, what game of bluff?

"Where's the coffee, brat?"
Apparently with the extra snark, even a gift for Silver could not contain Gio's disdain. :mewlulz:

Trying not to smother, he’d toss the fabric at her head, and both cats took the tassels as an invitation to reenact World War IV over her stomach. It took effort to pull it off, to unhook claws, and save her handiwork. Shoveling the twin terrors off, she was glaring at the kitchen doorway as Gio moseyed in to get himself a drink...
Cat claws! OUCH!!! :wowzard:

With them being mon claws, I wonder if they hurt more than regular cats? :copyka:

Oh, like hell he was. She'd earned her cup of joe, and would steal his if he dared..

"Makers under the sink," and if he couldn't see her smirk, well, that's because the coffee maker was way in the back. He had to reach deep for it, nearly bend double, and crawl in. Because Daisy's sinks were small and deep.
I love how much of a kick she is getting out of making Giovanni go through these lengths. :mewlulz:

"Insta is on top of the fridge, in the K-Cup dispensers."
Ah, K-cups are revealed to be a thing in their world!

The thud of him starting in horror was music to her ears. And the yelped profanities as pain hit were like the high notes of her favorite song.

"What the fuck did you mean, instant."

His question was delivered in tones that basically said he thought Daisy was committing cannibalism. Or war crimes.

He was such a stereotype like that.
It's like she set her house up knowing it would push all his buttons HARD. :unquag:

Like, what did she do? Put the coffee maker back there in advance and buy instant instead of better just to tick him off? :mewlulz:

The coordinator, blankie tucked in hand, nudging a lurking Amewse aside with her foot. Reaching up, she slid it into an empty cabinet away from questing claws.
Slit what into an empty cabinet? What is Amewse trying to claw at? Or is she moving 'IT' out of the way to make sure Amewse doesn't get at it? Also, why would Amewse try to get 'it'?

When she was done, well, she had dragged things out enough to twist her features into pseudo innocence as she leaned against the door frame.

Where most would be cringing back at enraged Italiano, Daisy lived on the edge. Up close and personal was the best place to watch the show.

Daisy gave points where they were due. The male half of the Sakakis was pretty good at looming and intimidating. But between the present topic and the fact that he'd got a cowlick from some damp spot down under... He was really failing at doing anything else besides amusing her.
Daisy is such a menace! :mewlulz:

This section is written so darn well! I'm impressed! :eyes:

"I taught you better; you do each step of the brew! Is this the crap they've been teaching you in Galar? Because I swear by Nona's grave if there wasn't a more pressing reason to go back to war with those elitist, stuck-up, uncivilized..."

Cue World War Five kicking in right about now.
Oh. Nifty little bit of lore. World War Five is this, the cat scratches were World War Four, and World War Three is presumably part of the gap between what we see in our world vs what is in the mon world. Amusing that she is keeping track of these incidents as wars! :mewlulz:

Giggling, Daisy shook her head. Added fire to the scandal.

"They have tea rituals in Galar. Not monk spiritual stuff like Fuisha with an LCD chaser... But actual steeping, fussy timing stuff that'd make your brain explode. I seriously got yelled at for stirring my "cuppa" the wrong way by my date."
What kind of insane guy would fuss that much about tea on a date??! :wowzard: Dude must be insane!

"You dumped him I hope?"

"Like the contents of a litter box."
And it ties in to cats! :mewlulz:

The tell-tale tension in Gios shoulders easing was not heartwarming. And if that was another lie... oh well.

"I do have insta." She confessed. "Its what the ass left. My stash is in the secret compartment by the Persian picture.
Ah, so she has non-instant coffee. She just wanted to upset Gio! What a rascal... Her and Green both. :mewlulz:

I love how I get to make cross-fic references with your stuff. Gives an extra level of reactions I can add.

Scraping a hand over his bruised skull, expression waffling between first and second degree murder as he realized he was being played with, Giovanni limped to the picture Daisy mentioned. A proud tom-cat posing pompously over a comically overlarge yarn ball. The hung art popped off with a wiggle, and the secret compartment under had the boodle. Mainly coffee, a hip flask for bad life choices on the go, and caffeine pills. He considered the pills and her and gave her a long look.

"They're for exams."

Actually, they were combating hangovers, the really bad ones.

Flicking an eyebrow up, Giovanni took pills and the flask out. Daisy knew she wasn't getting those back, ever.
Daisy is Daisying it up HARD around here! :ROFLMAO:

I'm surprised she didn't think about having to create a new hiding place where she will put her next stash...

"There are twice the recommended levels for safe human consumption and expired."

Daisy sighed, grieved, and moved on.

Someone was clearly feeling caffeine withdrawals, since the gym leader was in her stash of beans, setting things up, in a heartbeat.
I have no idea why she hid the coffee beans in there. Was it because she wanted to mess with Gio? But if she did, wouldn't she have moved the pills and flask elsewhere?

Daisy waited until her cup was set. A bright blue monstrocity that said "world's best at everything", before hunting up her mixing spoon. While Giovanni filled his cup, Daisy dug up the additives from the kitchen table. Dry creme powder, sugar, cinimin...
📝 Couple spelling errors in this. 'Monstrosity' and 'cinnamon'.

Calcifer's features, held in those scarred hands, looked weird and distorted stamped on a mug. Maybe that's what made the old man pick it up at that convention.

"So, I'm thinking, pizza for dinner?" Reaching over Gio's shoulder, she got into the baking goods to put a dollop of sugar in. Weirdo he was, he shivered like she'd dumped a gallon in, and took his drink plain.
Because of course Gio would drink his coffee black. :mewlulz:

"Let's do some lighter fingerfood than pizza for now, and then we'll handle the furniture and lower levels... After..." well, after, there wasn't too much to do. Just pretty up a nook for the kid, double-check everything, and do a food run. Because all she had was finger food. He considered something beyond her, expression softening at internal mathmatics end. "It has been a while, hasn't it? Since a movie night?"

"You are so behind," Daisy assured him. "But don't worry, there's time to catch you up."
Gio is asking for a movie night?? :wowzard:

Wow! Daisy really IS close with him! But I suppose everything has already shown that, so it's less surprising than it seems on the surface... :eyes:

Daisy took a knife off the block, her cutting board, and some fruit was sliced and spread on crackers. While the Italian would of probably preferred cheese and meat, the fridge and freezer had been unplugged, scrubbed and bleached to near factory reset levels, and was slowly re-cooling itself.

It'd be cold food safe in a few hours, but Daisy was taking no chances right now.
Yeah, getting sick would be the worst on top of all the grueling labor... :copyka:

They took thier drinks and nibbles standing. Well, Daisy was half perched on the kitchen doorjamb, Gio leaning a bit on the table. The kitchen chairs had been scrubbed and left to dry outside. The table covered in dry goods that were salvagable while the majority of the cabniets and drawers were left ajar to better air dry.
Ah! You read my mind! I was about to ask why these psychopaths weren't sitting down to eat!

Wait...

I'M STILL GOING TO ASK THAT! :wowzard:

Why didn't they go in the living room to sit down on the comfy chairs? You can say they don't want to leave crumbs, but with how hard they've been working, wouldn't their desire to sit outweigh it? Yes they did take naps, but still... :copyka:

That'd been fun, that spree of frantic cleaning and painting in the wee hours to hide the stupidity her last tenant had left up.

They sipped, nibbled, and were still for a bit, doing nothing at all. Just savoring the quiet. Outside, a pidgy warbled a simple tune; another answered.
This bit adds an interesting element. A space of quiet time. And it makes sense. It doesn't have to be 100% rush all the time. I'm not sure most authors would consider adding something like this in. If they don't I'd call it an oversight.

I initially passed by this bit without thinking too much about it, but came back to comment on it with me realizing how it really helped to set the mood.

Done, Gio put his cup in the sink, took hers (she'd been done awhile, just loitering), and now her once empty sink had two dishes waiting to be cleaned.

"Spicciati," to her confused look, he explained. "Sunlight's wasting."
(informal: get a move on)
The 'S' in sunlight is bolded. It bugs me.

But neat use of some Italian!

Well, Daisy guessed they probably should get a move on, so they'd be done before the vampires all came out to suck thier blood. But considering she was hosting thier king.
📝 You misspelled 'their' twice in this section.

"For that, you get to deep clean the bathroom by yourself."

"Monster!" Daisy gasped. "Waaait a second, I thought you already did that!"

"Upstairs, not downstairs." Giovanni hummed, snapping an apple as he headed out to check on Rhydon.
Bathrooms are the WORST. :copyka:

They love to get their jabs in at each other! I feel like this was payback for her messing with Gio earlier. :mewlulz:

For one spite-fueled moment, Daisy hopped that Rhydon had dug too deep. Maybe hit a septic line, and Gio would have to deal with nastiness like that. Then she realized that if 'Don did something like that, it'd be her septic line...

Daisy took it back.
Yeeeaaaahhhh... That would kill it just a bit! :unquag:

Outside, Nidoqueen bellowed, the sound was outraged and preceded by an alarming squelch.
Ok, what the CRAP happened here? I'm really confused. But maybe that's the point. If so, carry on! :mewlulz:

Taking the hand held radio off its charger, Daisy decided she wanted her work music super loud and she was gunna scrub those bath tiles extra hard... and be totally unavailable for... twenty minutes.

The yowled string of Italian outside, alarmingly shrill, and some complaint adjacent roars, made Daist add an extra twenty minutes to her scrub time, alone time.

Whatever was happening outside could very well happen without her supervision.
Yikes! :copyka:

I'd be right in there with her. Scrub like there's no tomorrow! (Though I suppose if there really wasn't any tomorrow she wouldn't be scrubbing...)

Xxx​


Rhydon was in timeout, and 'Queen assigned to filling holes, and that's all Daisy wanted to know of the aftermath. Giovanni, shaking off hoarfrost from his duster coat, had decided indoor chores were more his speed. He'd hung up his mafioso knock-off garb, hung his fedora, and made it his life mission to test every edge in her house. Dissatisfied that nothing was child-safe, he drew Rhyhorn to gnaw off the points of tables, counters, and furniture.
They are going all out on this child proofing! :eyes:

It was admittedly slop shod solution, only made better by the fact that he filed the bite marks to a safer shape. Though Daisy was sure that using a 'mon claw file to sand down edges was probably cheating.
Huh? Is Daisy saying she wanted his work to take longer? :unquag:

The materials that weren't sanding friendly were covered by more vibrant means. Daisy stuck sliced pool noodle over anything Gio couldn't smooth. Hot-gluing the spongy fluff down. It wasn't pretty, and clashed like hell, but it was better than waiting a week for Celedon to slowpoke mail her furniture edge caps and covers.
Why was waiting a week not ok? Are they on a strict deadline for these things?

For the electric socket caps, there was no safe substitute. Gio had taken a bit of a break to drive to the hardware store and bought a garchomps horde of the things.

"How many sockets do you think I have?" Daisy mused, picking out a handful of the white blocky things to get started."

Gio snorted. "Seems smart to set them up in the mansion."
The mansion...? Is Gio talking about a home that he shares with Grace? As in he has a child on the way and figured he should buy more for his home?

And to that, well touche, Daisy guessed.

Nursing his second cup of the day, Goovanni might of been followong
📝 Spelling errors.

her about as she worked. And then had to draw rhyhorn and his file when he spotted a table he'd missed. But mainly it was a slow span.

Which meant, gossip opportunities ahoy.

"May I say I'm glad you're damn tame compared to the others I've had to do this for."
Gio has helped child-proofed homes for others before? HUH?? I feel like some kind of explanation is needed here! lol...

Fighting with a particular stubborn socket, Daisy looked up. "Define untame."


Gio did. And because she was at the ripe old age of seventeen, he didn't hold any details back. Gio rattled off tales of weapon stashes, 'mon enhancers, contraband mon, and drugs with an amused air of a man done with other's stupidity.
So... for all of those things, it was helpful for Gio to go around child-proofing the home??

She had to admit the idiot with the sharkpedo in his tub deserved the tongue lashing he'd gotten. As well as Giovanni comandeering that 'mon per league rules. Though gifting the "little nipper" to the Cerulean sisters had been a bit cruel.
Sharpedo. Commandeering.

Sharpedo in the bathtub? Wow. :unquag:

"Is that why they cut off the girl's reality show, water grls, w' pretty 'mon" after the second season?"

"Guilty."

Daisy considered it, that show had been awful, and it'd been hyper-saturating the Coordinator scenes outside of Kanto for a full year. It'd been a relief not be dealing with so many water 'mon. Or keeping her cats from playing with all the new fishies on the design scene.
Amusing in-fic reference. Or does that refer to something in the manga?

"You sure we can't get you canonized for doing accidental good deeds?" Daisy got the device in with a firm click.
What device? Clicking what? A TV remote? A mouse?

"Unfortunately, there's no saint of "whoops, but I made it better"."
:mewlulz:

"Your faith is full of cowards."
Cowards? Huh. But I'm not understanding what prompted her to say that.

"Tell you what. Grace will call Arceus, I'll call the pope, and we'll let you know their reactions."
The humor on this bit isn't landing for me because I don't get it.

Daisy snorted. Thier reparte
📝 More spelling errors.

got them through all sockets, and there wasn't an edge left unsanded or sheathed. Gio was shaking out the file and working out bits of grit caught in the holes.
That sure is a lot of work... :copyka:

"Youve done this often?"
📝 missing apostrophe

Gio looked up from his work, rhyhorn bumping into his side, the Gym leader ran his hand over the ground type's grey side. "A few times," one finger scrolled up, and finding a bur in the horn picked up the blade and tipped his 'mon's head up. "When I first settled as a gym leader... well, I was the first Italiano to gain social clout in a field that wasn't either protection or legalese. There's a stigma in both those professions."

Daisy had heard this before. Had bumped into simular
📝 similar

assumptions for being Kantoian in... say Kalos... Where the assumptions that Kanto leveled at Italian diaspora and purebred Kantoian were one and the same. Outsiders couldn't tell the two races apart. It'd been a culture shock to be suspected of everything for simply being. But for people in those two jobs had it worse than her globe-trotting fashion shows ever did... If you went into law, well, every client you repped, no matter your specialty, was clearly a Mob contact. Go into any type of security, and you'd be labeled, at best, as a violent thug. At worst, you were a Rocket plant to take an organization down.
The way you handle this is interesting. It suggests that there is some truth to their prejudice but then one has to wonder how often they got it wrong... Of course, given what we've seen of Kanto so far, I'm not exactly jumping up to take their side. Instead I view it with extreme skepticism. But regardless I'd say you handled this in a realistic way. It's appropriately uncomfortable!

"So people in the middle of custody battles couldn't reach out to friends or family who were in those professions," the people who'd made it, who had money, and pensions, who could actually afford to help,
Funny how that works...

"but were dealing with.. stuff like this. Initially, they knew more than me. I was just the hired muscle." Gio's lips quirked, the joke going unexplained.
I'm really not sure what Gio is trying to say here. I guess that's the point?

The file rasped over horn, a slow, careful sweep down with the grain. And while he worked Daisy gathered up the extras and did a full room scan. Everything looked good. She popped the extras in a bag and leaned against a wall. Gio flicked the file free of grey grit. Daisy made a mental note to resweep and mop before heading out in the morning.
They got some stuff DONE, son! :mewlulz:

"My predecessor never bothered; there was a massive backlog. People were losing custody at accusation, and thier kids getting whisked away. Government documentation was and is a joke. So the inmates made something of an undercover railroad where kids were being tracked by inmates so they could get reunited with thier parents. Mob ran... but what else could they do in thier cells but keep track of a distant niece or nephew?"
Wow. That is extremely cruel of the Kanto government. Guilty until proven innocent and ripping families apart based purely on unsubstantiated allegations! :copyka:

But you know what? It certainly makes a compelling realistic case for why.

📝 'Their' is mispelled 3 more times above.

Guilty before innocent, Daisy was quite aware of how it worked. It'd been a shock to find out in Hoenn it went the other way. And while critics thought it was the reason behind thier
their. I've seen this done over and over. When you get PC time, this will be an easy thing to fix with control-f. I'd recommend doing a sweep of all chapters for this word.

little pirate problem, Daisy figured better pirates than this.
Yeah, seriously. :copyka:

"I had to learn the system." Unsaid but not unfelt, etched in the haunted cast of his eyes, the slight tremor of his words, what if it's my kid, what if I screw up and it's my kid being watched over by friendly eyes behind bars while I get my shit together?
Nice way of expanding on what Gio might be thinking. He is one to operate more on precense than many words, so having Daisy's POV as someone who knows him reasonably well is useful for digging into his head a bit even when the chapter isn't written from Gio's POV!

"Legal and illegal aspects. I'll do what I can to keep your brother out, but if we fail. I have eyes and can call in favors. He won't be safe. Kanto prisons were nightmares. Daisy appreciated the candor as much as the offer.
Somewhere in here you are missing the second ("). I think you meant to add it after 'favors.'.

"But he won't be unsupervised."

Unsaid was a promise. Gio'd protect her unnamed sib with clout and blood.
In a region like that, someone like Gio is the only real answer. Sure, you can try to change the system, but you might not be able to, and even if you can, if your family is caught up in it, there may not be time.

Throat tight, Daisy swallowed both pride and feels, and came up with snark.

"You're telling me you're living in a telenovela."

"No." Giovanni corrected, tipping Rhyhorn' head up he tested the edge with a finger tip and smirked at the thin line of blood that resulted. Mew if Daisy didn't know him so well, she'd have suspected he was an ex-edgelord or goth rather than a theater boy. "You are." Pulling out his pocket handkerchief, he dabbed at the cut. Recalling 'horn with his clean hand. "Welcome aboard."
Huh...

1772555561946.jpeg
1772555579189.jpeg
While Gio was cleaning his cut, Daisy decided she was done with the serious stuff. Bouncing her practicality with Gio's many, many parenting classes, they hammered out where the kid's room should be. Daisy's list was pretty straightforward: near hers, close to a source of running water, enough room for a bed, and enough room for her to navigate when bogged down. A miniature guestroom near the kitchen was decided. They checked measurements for a crib (just in case she'd have to take custody for a short while) and set up a folding table in the other corner. That was set up with medicines and bandages.
Clearly Daisy would make a good parent going through all these things. She has the set up and the motivation for it. 🥰

A dresser wouldn't fit, but a box could be slid under the table, so close enough. She half-filled it with towels and left the other half empty for a few changes of clothes.

Since no one knew when or for how long, Daisy was skipping a paint job. Fumes, injuries, and small lungs were a worry. Well, Daisy worried. Gio suggested fans and paints. But in the end it was Daisy's house. And it was easier to pull everything down and donate the excess once the kid's mom was found, or the mom's relations stepped up. So while they measured and stocked, Nidoking was outside with an old, long rug and a bolt of matching fabric he was tearing into strips. The two trainers were going to stripe the walls with the cloth.
They are going to cover half the walls with strips of rugs? In stripes?

Huh??? Why would they do something so weird? Is it like the bottom half of the walls? Making them soft so if the baby runs into them it's soft or something? I'm a bit lost...

It wouldn't look great... but an old fabric staple wielded by Daisy and one in Gio's hands, and they were set and would be done in... half an hour.

As for why King was doing the cuts... the mon had a nearly magneton's lock on level of accuracy when it came to slashing.
Nice mon expression. :okgon:

And Gio hadn't even taught the 'mon cut.

Having her second cup of coffee, Daisy watched through the window as Gio's purple people eater cheerily mearused and tore the last few lines.
Such an amusing way to describe Nidoking. :mewlulz:

Her driveway had become his art studio, and his scaly tail thumped along to the radios beat. He'd gotten full radio rights after Daisy and Gio had nearly gotten to blows over the station. The giving it to a third party had been courtesy of Grace, who, sick and tired of catty texts from them both, had said it was either "give it to someone else or toss it in the blender."
Nidoking is living the life with the radio rights! :mewlulz:

With overtures of, "I am one minute from cabbing my pregger ass down there, I will make your lives worse than Giovanni's freaking Hell if I have to do so."
That's enough to scare them both! :eyes:

At least 'King had enjoyed it without violence?

Gio was stomping up the driveway, sharp features thunderous. Despite the closed window, the man had a perfectly cutting tone that carried, and this heard every line as he told off his 'mon. Earthquakes timed to the song lyrics "when the thunder rolled" were unacceptable in any circumstance. And, no, they did not show ground-type supremacy.
:mewlulz:

They busted up pipe systems. Which was a bastard move. So stop it.

He poked back in to find Daisy amused, but sympathetic. While Orn and a few other people Daisy knew mockingly called Gio a cat whisperer, she had learned during their time of cohabiting that it wasn't just cats. He could, and did, speak to all 'mon. And was almost painfully shy about saying how he'd gotten what most would consider a kick ass superpower.
It IS a pretty darn cool power. It's the same one matt (the banned) gave Hilda in his fic. Was neat there and is neat here!

She'd spent one fun afternoon hounding him. Was it from a meteor he found, a stray spirit, a wish on a shooting star? She'd tossed all sorts of wild ideas at him, and "bit by a radioactive spinirak" had made him stop ignoring her and just shut down.
WHAT?? A Spiderman reference??? :unquag:

I did NOT see that coming! :wowzard:

The sheer stupid of it had stopped him mid-step.

"How would radioactive venom that'd give me a heartattack per it's paralatic properties give me a "power"?"
:mewlulz:

📝 Spelling errors here too, though.

A younger Daisy had been equally gobsmacked as she realized just how unworldly the "old man" before her was.

It got sadder when you realized he was only twenty-one, he was and curiously sheltered from pleasure anything.
📝

He'd never had a fun day in his life. Daisy, lounging in her bedding, scraping back from her second near-death experience, looked at him and felt something in her chest hurt at that revelation. But she wasn't one to cry when sad. She just quirked a smirk and tried on sassy for a size.

"You don't read a lot of comics, do you Mr. Sakaki?"

No, he did not. It'd taken two years, and almost nine months, to gently break him into popular and archaic media so he could you know... talk to his kid about kid-centric subjects.
It does seem like something he would struggle with! :unquag:

Little did he know, immaturity in the form of dancing Beedrills would eventually come to torment him!! :mewlulz:

And yes, I did just make another cross reference to Roost. Not sure how many other reviews can say they do stuff like THAT in reviews for you! :veelove:

"Do I need to call a plumber?'" Daisy drawled.
A plumber for what? I don't get it! :unquag:

Was this a stab at him for his college days of trying to fix a pipe in the dorm or something? (Oh yeah, I did just reference another part of your fic series! :cool:)

"No," He was as short with her now as he'd been then. Really, the man'd never change.

"Unfortunatly perfect EV and IV don't make for perfect taste." Daisy shrugged, taking a sip.
I'm aware of EV and IV's but I don't get at all what she is trying to say with them.

Giovanni looked at her, not in frustration or fury, but rather a soft horror. It was somber enough to nearly make her put her cup down and ask him what was wrong. Almost. If he weren't such a coffee thief, she would have. Instead, Daisy tucked her drink closer and watched as he slumped into his chair. Yes, the brown recliner was officially his. Him and Amewse could fight over it as much as they wanted. Daisy was ceeding it to Gio and letting Amewse figure out if that was going to be her hill to die on all on her own.
I don't understand Gio's reaction because I don't understand Daisy's comment from before.

Amusing how she leaves the recliner to them both to fight over... :mewlulz:

"I don't want to give that charlatan any credit, but... considering everything... I think Nidoking may have some... cognitive issues."

Per being a bit... inbred? Maybe. Daisy wasn't around the poison type enough to tell. Still, she spared a glance outside and waved. Nidoking, feeling her eyes on him, lookedup from his fussing over an angle to tear and wiggled his ears in greeting.
Cognitive issues as in being friendly compared to Gio's other mon? :unquag:

📝Also, 'lookedup' needs a space between words.

Sitting on the arm of the chair, tired and precariously perched, Daisy put a hand on his knee. A mute motion of support.

The poor poor man. He talked to 'mon all day long and never really got it, didn't he? "Gio, he thinks Dolly Parton is a singing banette. We've both seen that sock plush he has. And if it turns into an actual banette when he ever cottons on and drops it for a real doll of that woman, I am not dealing with the fallout."
Wait, so the Banette plush... is that analogous to the family pet dog having a favorite plush. Like... a VERY favorite plush?? :unquag:

Does Nidoking have a crush on Dolly Parton thinking she is a Banette? :unquag:

But the singing is in human language! Wouldn't Nidoking be able to distinguish a human over the radio vs a mon??

She patted his knee, a mute, "pay attention to this" motion, that, curiously, worked. He was looking at her, black eyes unblinking.

" He has a criminal record for breaking into a car to change the station because he hates headbanging rock, that much. He listens to tacky love songs and sings breakup songs at training." Hadn't that been a discovery? Daisy was permanently banned from Giovanni's private training area for derailing one session into a sing-off. Especially after Giovanni realized (and recognized) the song in question was from an anime.
:mewlulz: I have to say, I'm enjoying this bit about Nikoking!

" Liking country is the least of his problems." Another pat, and the man was glaring at her, overly sulking. "Congrats, you trained him up to sentience. Have fun with that. Now, how long until Nido's done?"

"He wants ten minutes."

"Awesome, Grace is offering complete trash for movie night tonight, help me talk her down."

Gio all but snapped the phone from her hands and went down the list. "Absolutely not, we are not doing another Rom-Com night..."
:mewlulz:

Which, thank Mew Gio was on her side tonight.
Sneaky Daisy getting Gio to do the work for her! :mewlulz:

A paw rapping on the door frame made Daisy look up. Giovanni, per furrowed brows and the slight tick in his jaw, was irritated as all hell and not coming up from his frustration for anything. Nidoking was in the doorway, strips in forepaws, and he lay it at the door like an amorphous doormat.

"Delivery!" Daisy chirped. "Come on, get your staple gun, we are getting this done before it gets any later." An ear wiggle at her approach meant Nido' wanted pets, but a firm warning from Gio held her back. Poison point 'mon were not safe to touch without gauntlets, and since neither she nor Gio was carrying a set, Daisy had to keep her hands to herself. "Sorry, buddy, next time, alright?"
Dawwww... He may be poisonous, but has such a tender heart! :mewlulz:

A rumble and by the tip of those ears, a pout, that was aborted by a flash of redlight and a sudden withdrawl.

'You're mean and bossy," she flounced past him, goods in hand. "You're like the capi de capo dei coglioni."(the high boss of dickheads)
I love how you spell out what it was immediately after! :mewlulz:

Daisy was proud of that one. All her weeks watching crime time and studying mob stuff paid off. She didnt even flub the title.

His laugh told her she either got it perfect or screwed it up. But he'd never tell.
She got it perfect. I'm convinced. :mewlulz:

Tossing his phone in the chair behind him, he stood, and after luxering a slow stretch, followed her to the temporary kids' room to help her wrap up.

Closing thoughts:
This chapter had some of the best writing I've seen in a fic. When it hits, MAN does it hit!! :wowzard:

You would think that Daisy and Gio child-proofing a home would be a boring chapter. But in-action? Fantastic! Loads of great character interactions between not only the two of them, but the mon as well! Especially Nidoking! :mewlulz: You take mundane premises and turn them into delightful entertainment. I don't even think I've read a mon battle (or maybe only one or two?? if training counts?) in your fics thus far, but I really don't NEED them for your fics to hit home!

The spelling errors are certainly less than they could be, but still stand out a bit. Gotta get those in check. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your fic is too good to be weighed down by such trifles. But if it's any consolation, I tend to overlook the spelling as I read. I really don't let it harm the experience. Probably because I am so used to chatting with you and ignoring typos. Like, I SEE them, but I ignore them, if that makes sense.

There were some bits in there that lost me, but its a big improvement compared to your older works! It really looks like to me that your overall writing skill has improved. Either that or it's re-awakened. Either way, you're writing considerably better stuff! :eyes:

Until next time! :veelove:
 

K_S

Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
Time for another review! :veelove:

I guess you are tracking edits or stuff. Cool
Actually word count for my poor negkected nidorina 'queen, helps me to keep the math out in the open...
.


:mewlulz: He is one to take great care in appearance.

I wonder how his demeanor changed when he realized it was a gift for Silver? :unquag:

He melted. The sap. But then realized she used it to troll him first.. and he waffled between p.o.ed and fond.

Of course! It's those dang cats! :mewlulz:

As one who loves cat's that sounds like an INCREDIBLE way to nap!! :wowzard:

It is. Especially when they go all boneless except to tip you a pointed "stop movong" glare.

OOOO!!! She really went there! :mewlulz:

She did.

📝 their

Yeah my auto correct dont catch that word anymore... i dont know how to fix it actually...

I love how adamant she is about being special to Silver. 🥰

Nona Sal and the rest of the mob clutch will have to clammer over Daisys dead body and her teams dead bodies to get any time with Silver. As for gifts, if Grace doesnt burn them all (which she does burn nonas first gift w extreme prejudice) daisy will happily do the service free of charge.


Yeah! That's right, GIO. Appreciate it! :mewlulz:

He does. Even if hed like a snark disvount please...


She calls his unborn child a spawn? I find that rather odd. It's what Celebi called Silver in Transversal.

Which is inititally why daisy rolled with it.
But, spawn? Whaaaat???

Because daisy had an emo phase and isnt totally out of it. Also the formal term for male offspring is scion. Which sounded too formal and royal and so daisy went with the nearest comparable option.

Wait, was she wearing sandals? Did she take her socks and shoes off? If Gio able to see the toes wiggle or is it inside her shoes to where no one could tell but her?

Nah shes wearing her shoes. No visual cues for gio they just be roomy shoes.


This line is making me have an unhealthy fixation on her feet! 😅 (I don't mind girls with pretty feet, but feet aren't the things I go for! I tend to go more for things that bounce. :unquag:)

Snorts. Nice to know. I assure you the only foot action in this fic is going to be the occasional dance move, happy dance, or pirouuette. As for bouncing Daisy be between boyfriends and is going to be super busy soon. so no go there on that twin topic.



She's enjoying that. Loves messing with him. He can't stay mad because it's a gift for Silver. :mewlulz:

Shes also the reason gios bloodpressure keps hopping up and down.

Ah, so she called the baby a spawn on purpose. Just to mess with him further, it seems. Probably because Gio is the father. Clearly anything he makes must be a spawn! :ROFLMAO:

Well its not like he hasnt heard it and worse before... but yeah... hes lucky she didnt roll with something even more offensive...

Love the way Daisy is portrayed so far, by the way. Very animated and snarky! :mewlulz:

Shes a demon pretending to be a nice girl. Put her and grace in a house and property insurance rates in a 3 block radias huke up...

This bit I had to read a couple of times. At first I thought Daisy was the trainer and one of her mon was the trainee. Also, what game of bluff?

So its a bit of a veiled star wars joke. Where student becomes the master... except daisy thinks she can pry bluff master out of gios hands. He aint dead yet, so shes having no luck and is prepetually disapointed on the fact he can bluff hard enough tonwin poker against her, grace, the mob, interpol, and not break a sweat.


Apparently with the extra snark, even a gift for Silver could not contain Gio's disdain. :mewlulz:


Cat claws! OUCH!!! :wowzard:

Its the price of them loving you. Claws in tender places for the kitties. Snark in your ego for daisy.

With them being mon claws, I wonder if they hurt more than regular cats? :copyka:

Well since cat mon are the only known cat in this setting, no one will ever knowm..

I love how much of a kick she is getting out of making Giovanni go through these lengths. :mewlulz:


Ah, K-cups are revealed to be a thing in their world!


It's like she set her house up knowing it would push all his buttons HARD. :unquag:

She did. Sometimes when he visits shell hunt up the gaud8est art and hang it by his chair just to drive him nuts..

Like, what did she do? Put the coffee maker back there in advance and buy instant instead of better just to tick him off? :mewlulz:

Well her dead beat left it. Shes just milking the oportunity...

Slit what into an empty cabinet? What is Amewse trying to claw at? Or is she moving 'IT' out of the way to make sure Amewse doesn't get at it? Also, why would Amewse try to get 'it'?

I"ll have to fic that...

Daisy is such a menace! :mewlulz:

This section is written so darn well! I'm impressed! :eyes:


Oh. Nifty little bit of lore. World War Five is this, the cat scratches were World War Four, and World War Three is presumably part of the gap between what we see in our world vs what is in the mon world. Amusing that she is keeping track of these incidents as wars! :mewlulz:

Its a hobby. And daisy is a history nerd.

What kind of insane guy would fuss that much about tea on a date??! :wowzard: Dude must be insane!


And it ties in to cats! :mewlulz:

Of course. And yeah i mt many a tea snob like that. Its a bit of vent8nf...


Ah, so she has non-instant coffee. She just wanted to upset Gio! What a rascal... Her and Green both. :mewlulz:

I love how I get to make cross-fic references with your stuff. Gives an extra level of reactions I can add.


Daisy is Daisying it up HARD around here! :ROFLMAO:

I'm surprised she didn't think about having to create a new hiding place where she will put her next stash...

She will have to but nows not the time...

I have no idea why she hid the coffee beans in there. Was it because she wanted to mess with Gio? But if she did, wouldn't she have moved the pills and flask elsewhere?

She didnt have time to hide her bad life choice accesories...

📝 Couple spelling errors in this. 'Monstrosity' and 'cinnamon'.


Because of course Gio would drink his coffee black. :mewlulz:


Gio is asking for a movie night?? :wowzard:

Daisy and grace have him tamed. Hes even moderatky looking foreard to it...

Wow! Daisy really IS close with him! But I suppose everything has already shown that, so it's less surprising than it seems on the surface... :eyes:


Yeah, getting sick would be the worst on top of all the grueling labor... :copyka:


Ah! You read my mind! I was about to ask why these psychopaths weren't sitting down to eat!

Wait...

I'M STILL GOING TO ASK THAT! :wowzard:

Why didn't they go in the living room to sit down on the comfy chairs? You can say they don't want to leave crumbs, but with how hard they've been working, wouldn't their desire to sit outweigh it? Yes they did take naps, but still... :copyka:

If they sit that cats will fit into thier laps. Theyre avoiding nap attack 2.0.
This bit adds an interesting element. A space of quiet time. And it makes sense. It doesn't have to be 100% rush all the time. I'm not sure most authors would consider adding something like this in. If they don't I'd call it an oversight.


Have youbheard the writing theroy of mu before? Basically thisnis thst.

I initially passed by this bit without thinking too much about it, but came back to comment on it with me realizing how it really helped to set the mood.


The 'S' in sunlight is bolded. It bugs me.

But neat use of some Italian!


📝 You misspelled 'their' twice in this section.


Bathrooms are the WORST. :copyka:

They love to get their jabs in at each other! I feel like this was payback for her messing with Gio earlier. :mewlulz:

Indeed it was.

Yeeeaaaahhhh... That would kill it just a bit! :unquag:


Ok, what the CRAP happened here? I'm really confused. But maybe that's the point. If so, carry on! :mewlulz:

Da8sy is goong all atlantis with this one...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxdDa0k-3Ak


Yikes! :copyka:

I'd be right in there with her. Scrub like there's no tomorrow! (Though I suppose if there really wasn't any tomorrow she wouldn't be scrubbing...)


They are going all out on this child proofing! :eyes:


Huh? Is Daisy saying she wanted his work to take longer? :unquag:


Why was waiting a week not ok? Are they on a strict deadline for these things?

Very strict. In house visits in 48 hours. And daisy got an extension for being sick.

The mansion...? Is Gio talking about a home that he shares with Grace? As in he has a child on the way and figured he should buy more for his home?

Yep.

📝 Spelling errors.


Gio has helped child-proofed homes for others before? HUH?? I feel like some kind of explanation is needed here! lol...

Itll come..

So... for all of those things, it was helpful for Gio to go around child-proofing the home??


Sharpedo. Commandeering.

Sharpedo in the bathtub? Wow. :unquag:


Amusing in-fic reference. Or does that refer to something in the manga?

Theres a famous manga scene about a tentecool.. so yep its a shout out. Kantos do not know that wildlife does not go in tubs.

What device? Clicking what? A TV remote? A mouse?


:mewlulz:


Cowards? Huh. But I'm not understanding what prompted her to say that.


The humor on this bit isn't landing for me because I don't get it.

So daisys mocking gio for not havong a saint of accidnetally fixing things.

Gios doing a dry version of cry me a river aka i dont think god or arceus give a rats tail let me call them snd check.. huh... funny no ones pickingnup..

📝 More spelling errors.


That sure is a lot of work... :copyka:


📝 missing apostrophe


📝 similar


The way you handle this is interesting. It suggests that there is some truth to their prejudice but then one has to wonder how often they got it wrong... Of course, given what we've seen of Kanto so far, I'm not exactly jumping up to take their side. Instead I view it with extreme skepticism. But regardless I'd say you handled this in a realistic way. It's appropriately uncomfortable!


Funny how that works...


I'm really not sure what Gio is trying to say here. I guess that's the point?


They got some stuff DONE, son! :mewlulz:


Wow. That is extremely cruel of the Kanto government. Guilty until proven innocent and ripping families apart based purely on unsubstantiated allegations! :copyka:

But you know what? It certainly makes a compelling realistic case for why.

📝 'Their' is mispelled 3 more times above.


their. I've seen this done over and over. When you get PC time, this will be an easy thing to fix with control-f. I'd recommend doing a sweep of all chapters for this word.


Yeah, seriously. :copyka:


Nice way of expanding on what Gio might be thinking. He is one to operate more on precense than many words, so having Daisy's POV as someone who knows him reasonably well is useful for digging into his head a bit even when the chapter isn't written from Gio's POV!


Somewhere in here you are missing the second ("). I think you meant to add it after 'favors.'.


In a region like that, someone like Gio is the only real answer. Sure, you can try to change the system, but you might not be able to, and even if you can, if your family is caught up in it, there may not be time.


Huh...

View attachment 20907
View attachment 20908

Clearly Daisy would make a good parent going through all these things. She has the set up and the motivation for it. 🥰


They are going to cover half the walls with strips of rugs? In stripes?

Yep. If there were tine theyd of painted but daisy coukd realistocally picking up blue tomrorrow morning and hes a burn victim his lings are hurt. So theyre temporizing.

Huh??? Why would they do something so weird? Is it like the bottom half of the walls? Making them soft so if the baby runs into them it's soft or something? I'm a bit lost...


Nice mon expression. :okgon:


Such an amusing way to describe Nidoking. :mewlulz:


Nidoking is living the life with the radio rights! :mewlulz:


That's enough to scare them both! :eyes:


:mewlulz:


It IS a pretty darn cool power. It's the same one matt (the banned) gave Hilda in his fic. Was neat there and is neat here!
Its manga canon. Gio, lance and yellow can all talk to mon at one point. When gio picks humanity over nature he loses some of his supernatural perks and gains others that reflect his human centric views.


WHAT?? A Spiderman reference??? :unquag:

I did NOT see that coming! :wowzard:


:mewlulz:

📝 Spelling errors here too, though.


📝


It does seem like something he would struggle with! :unquag:

Little did he know, immaturity in the form of dancing Beedrills would eventually come to torment him!! :mewlulz:

And yes, I did just make another cross reference to Roost. Not sure how many other reviews can say they do stuff like THAT in reviews for you! :veelove:


A plumber for what? I don't get it! :unquag:

Nidoking coukd very well rupture all the pipes. Daisys round about asking if king did so. Never knwoing gio prob coukd do the work if he really wanted to.

(He doesnt)


Was this a stab at him for his college days of trying to fix a pipe in the dorm or something? (Oh yeah, I did just reference another part of your fic series! :cool:)


I'm aware of EV and IV's but I don't get at all what she is trying to say with them.

Basically gios asking if his mon has a mental difency for being the result of an insnae breeding program to get those awesome numbers.

I don't understand Gio's reaction because I don't understand Daisy's comment from before.

Amusing how she leaves the recliner to them both to fight over... :mewlulz:

when the show down goes down itll be popcorn time!


Cognitive issues as in being friendly compared to Gio's other mon? :unquag:

Nah for being silly. Most of gios mon are serious or vicious... nido is a snuggle bunny who wants to give hugs... its just his hugs are.poisonous and all that.

📝Also, 'lookedup' needs a space between words.


Wait, so the Banette plush... is that analogous to the family pet dog having a favorite plush. Like... a VERY favorite plush?? :unquag:

It is. But banettes are special. They posess dolls that were once loved and later abandoned. Nido abandoning his og dolly doll cpuld trigger a banette event for the sakakis.

Does Nidoking have a crush on Dolly Parton thinking she is a Banette? :unquag:

He thinks shes the best mon ever because she sings all the best songs!



But the singing is in human language! Wouldn't Nidoking be able to distinguish a human over the radio vs a mon??

Nah, mon hear everything as intent, amd take thier cues from body language, scent, sight, ect. Talk (thiers and human) is just noises to express emotion. So singing to nidoking is just bird warbles to a non bird. He just likes the tones and instraments of common country and romance sonfs and thinks dollys the prettyest bird voice bannette in existence...

:mewlulz: I have to say, I'm enjoying this bit about Nikoking!


:mewlulz:


Sneaky Daisy getting Gio to do the work for her! :mewlulz:


Dawwww... He may be poisonous, but has such a tender heart! :mewlulz:

Get hug, also get free neuron poison as a b1g1 free deal.... its not a trade most wpuld take...

I love how you spell out what it was immediately after! :mewlulz:


She got it perfect. I'm convinced. :mewlulz:
Closing thoughts:
This chapter had some of the best writing I've seen in a fic. When it hits, MAN does it hit!! :wowzard:

You would think that Daisy and Gio child-proofing a home would be a boring chapter. But in-action? Fantastic! Loads of great character interactions between not only the two of them, but the mon as well! Especially Nidoking! :mewlulz: You take mundane premises and turn them into delightful entertainment. I don't even think I've read a mon battle (or maybe only one or two?? if training counts?) in your fics thus far, but I really don't NEED them for your fics to hit home!
So combat... not ky thing... but for the bloodthirsty...

Daisy picks a fight with Andre in Devoute. She also battles Gio late Cor', and Grace uses fist cuffs more times than a medic should throughout her whole run. Gio one hit k.o.s Professor Kukui with a sandshrew in "training a kantoian sandshrew", fist cuffs agaunst skull grunts in "headcanons"... and goes all out against Green one chapter later in than you read... and later Lysander amd him fight over Sevii in very very late Roost.


Also Silver mutilates Celibie, aka lops off 2x fingers, in self defense (transversal) but the legend gets better (a shame). And well you get to see whst gio wrecked in a later chaoter of Transversal.

The spelling errors are certainly less than they could be, but still stand out a bit. Gotta get those in check. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your fic is too good to be weighed down by such trifles. But if it's any consolation, I tend to overlook the spelling as I read. I really don't let it harm the experience. Probably because I am so used to chatting with you and ignoring typos. Like, I SEE them, but I ignore them, if that makes sense.

There were some bits in there that lost me, but its a big improvement compared to your older works! It really looks like to me that your overall writing skill has improved. Either that or it's re-awakened. Either way, you're writing considerably better stuff! :eyes:

Until next time! :veelove:
As always a pleasure.
 

Tango

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Reply To review reply for Chapter 3

He melted. The sap. But then realized she used it to troll him first.. and he waffled between p.o.ed and fond.
:mewlulz:

It is. Especially when they go all boneless except to tip you a pointed "stop movong" glare.
:eyes:

Yeah my auto correct dont catch that word anymore... i dont know how to fix it actually...
:unquag:

Nona Sal and the rest of the mob clutch will have to clammer over Daisys dead body and her teams dead bodies to get any time with Silver. As for gifts, if Grace doesnt burn them all (which she does burn nonas first gift w extreme prejudice) daisy will happily do the service free of charge.

He does. Even if hed like a snark disvount please...
:mewlulz:

Nah shes wearing her shoes. No visual cues for gio they just be roomy shoes.
:okgon:

Snorts. Nice to know. I assure you the only foot action in this fic is going to be the occasional dance move, happy dance, or pirouuette. As for bouncing Daisy be between boyfriends and is going to be super busy soon. so no go there on that twin topic.

Shes also the reason gios bloodpressure keps hopping up and down.
:mewlulz:

Well its not like he hasnt heard it and worse before... but yeah... hes lucky she didnt roll with something even more offensive...

Shes a demon pretending to be a nice girl. Put her and grace in a house and property insurance rates in a 3 block radias huke up...
:unquag:

So its a bit of a veiled star wars joke. Where student becomes the master... except daisy thinks she can pry bluff master out of gios hands. He aint dead yet, so shes having no luck and is prepetually disapointed on the fact he can bluff hard enough tonwin poker against her, grace, the mob, interpol, and not break a sweat.
This one feels like it's reaching. I don't feel like I would ever 'get' this one in the fic without your added explanation. And I even KNOW Star Wars! :copyka: But maybe 1 in 100 readers would get it? Maybe?

Its the price of them loving you. Claws in tender places for the kitties. Snark in your ego for daisy.
And a price any true cat owner is willing to pay. Love kitties 🥰

Well since cat mon are the only known cat in this setting, no one will ever knowm..
:okgon:

She did. Sometimes when he visits shell hunt up the gaud8est art and hang it by his chair just to drive him nuts..

Well her dead beat left it. Shes just milking the oportunity...
:mewlulz:

I"ll have to fic that...
But what was Amewse clawing at?? :unquag:

Its a hobby. And daisy is a history nerd.

Of course. And yeah i mt many a tea snob like that. Its a bit of vent8nf...
Ah, I think Mark is a tea snob, but he wouldn't yell at anyone over it. He would just be silently mortified by it. :mewlulz:

She didnt have time to hide her bad life choice accesories...
But... why put regular coffee in there?? Like WHY?? :unquag:

Daisy and grace have him tamed. Hes even moderatky looking foreard to it...
🤣 That is both hilarious and cute at the same time!

If they sit that cats will fit into thier laps. Theyre avoiding nap attack 2.0.
Then say so in the fic! Otherwise you might get another reader asking the same thing! :eyes:

Plus it would be amusing to see they are actively avoiding the cats after world war 4 lol

Have youbheard the writing theroy of mu before? Basically thisnis thst.
theory of mu? What is that?

Indeed it was.

Da8sy is goong all atlantis with this one...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxdDa0k-3Ak
:mewlulz:

Very strict. In house visits in 48 hours. And daisy got an extension for being sick.
Hmm. If you didn't include that in there somewhere and especially if you don't even reference that in a later chapter, you might want to find a place in this chapter to drop this information in. It adds context to their extreme rush to get stuff done! (If you did add it in somewhere and I missed it then... oops.)

So daisys mocking gio for not havong a saint of accidnetally fixing things.
OH! I get it now! Cowardly for not having the guts to have a saint of accidentally fixing things!

Gios doing a dry version of cry me a river aka i dont think god or arceus give a rats tail let me call them snd check.. huh... funny no ones pickingnup..
:okgon:

Yep. If there were tine theyd of painted but daisy coukd realistocally picking up blue tomrorrow morning and hes a burn victim his lings are hurt. So theyre temporizing.
Oh, because the previous tenant messed the walls up and they can't have them looking like that since whoever will inspect the home will be super picky about it? Is that it?

Its manga canon. Gio, lance and yellow can all talk to mon at one point. When gio picks humanity over nature he loses some of his supernatural perks and gains others that reflect his human centric views.
:okgon:

Nidoking coukd very well rupture all the pipes. Daisys round about asking if king did so. Never knwoing gio prob coukd do the work if he really wanted to.

(He doesnt)
Ah! Ok! I'm not sure if you should make it a little more clear in the fic or not. It might be a 'me' problem or other readers might also get confused by that.

Basically gios asking if his mon has a mental difency for being the result of an insnae breeding program to get those awesome numbers.
Oh! That makes sense, but I kind of feel like you should spell it out a little more. If readers don't catch what you are going for it makes it fall a bit flat.

when the show down goes down itll be popcorn time!
I bet Gio would just assert dominance and tell the cat it can join him but no claws... (Not sure, just making stuff up!)

Nah for being silly. Most of gios mon are serious or vicious... nido is a snuggle bunny who wants to give hugs... its just his hugs are.poisonous and all that.
:mewlulz:

It is. But banettes are special. They posess dolls that were once loved and later abandoned. Nido abandoning his og dolly doll cpuld trigger a banette event for the sakakis.
Huh. I wonder if that would be considered a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, they could catch a mon? That's good? But the haunting probably not so much lol...

He thinks shes the best mon ever because she sings all the best songs!
:mewlulz:

Nah, mon hear everything as intent, amd take thier cues from body language, scent, sight, ect. Talk (thiers and human) is just noises to express emotion. So singing to nidoking is just bird warbles to a non bird. He just likes the tones and instraments of common country and romance sonfs and thinks dollys the prettyest bird voice bannette in existence...
This is both interesting AND amusing! :eyes:

Get hug, also get free neuron poison as a b1g1 free deal.... its not a trade most wpuld take...
😅
So combat... not ky thing... but for the bloodthirsty...
:okgon:

Daisy picks a fight with Andre in Devoute. She also battles Gio late Cor', and Grace uses fist cuffs more times than a medic should throughout her whole run. Gio one hit k.o.s Professor Kukui with a sandshrew in "training a kantoian sandshrew", fist cuffs agaunst skull grunts in "headcanons"... and goes all out against Green one chapter later in than you read... and later Lysander amd him fight over Sevii in very very late Roost.
Ah, so battles DO exist! :wowzard: (kidding, I knew there were at least some, I just hadn't seen any yet... I think.)

Also Silver mutilates Celibie, aka lops off 2x fingers, in self defense (transversal) but the legend gets better (a shame). And well you get to see whst gio wrecked in a later chaoter of Transversal.
:eyes:

As always a pleasure.
Likewise! :veelove:
 
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Tango

Mascot of the Doduo Alliance
Location
beyond the Nexus
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He/him
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  1. doduo
Chapter 4
title pending
Ooo title pending? Maybe I can come up with one after reading! :eyes:

Between pizza night and trashy comedy films, the Sakaki's and the renegade Oak gossiped.
📝

Pointedly, the disaster of the present mess wasn't brought up. They discussed future movies, and it was no little surprise Gio hadn't seen one damn comedy film in ten years. Grace was slacking.
Gio has had a serious life, but man that's even worse than I would have guessed! :copyka:

Understandable per her gravid state... but still, Daisy got some ribbing in and popped nine more ideas onto the list.

Giovanni was watching "Montey Python" even if Daisy had to fly out to Galar and get a physical copy in her hands and fly back.
Surprisingly, I've seen that one! :wowzard:

It's very old, with outdated effects, but it being a comedy makes it almost better that way! :mewlulz:

"You don't get to argue when we both gang up on you," Grace ordered. "We discussed this. Or it'd only be documentaries and histories after you outstubborned us both."

"Seriosuly?" Daisy gapped, horrified. "Have we taught you nothing?"
Hmm! How will Gio worm his way out of THIS one?? :eyes:

📝Seriously gaped (misspelled)

"When you were out," A tactful nod towards Daisy nearly dying. "I got to watch a riveting history on the league and its badge system. They were originally embroidered patches that winners would stitch into sashes, that were mini flags of their hometown. I could have porygon engined that trivia Gio. Don't look smug." There was a loud huff as Grace shifted. "It wasn't just boring as all Giritina. Worse, it was disjointed. It went on a fascinating tangent of how there was a fraudulent badge system that got caught by a seamstress. Guess what nationality they blamed? And what got the "greatest thieves in Kanto's integrity caught" was that they weren't using crouchet. They were cross-stitching the badge pattern on fabric pads shaped like the badge... This woman figured it out; people were accused, but never caught."

"And why are you telling me this, why?" Daisy groaned.

"A mixmatch of "listen to your elders' and "sharing the suffering is affection'." Grace drawled.
Soo... what? Was it the Italians that were blamed? It's an interesting bit of trivia, though!

Also, it seems Grace watched that one with Gio.

"Isn't it supposed to be sharing is caring?" The gym leader hummed. He had taken half the couch, Mewfasa curled around him devowered the other half.
📝devoured

And the setup was only working because the leon 'mon was in his famous loaf pose and tolerating Gio's feet in his personal space like a champ. The blue and gold lion's eyes were a bit too riveted on the pizza box, which told Daisy why he was being so well
behaved.
📝 last word is on it's own line for some reason.

I love seeing cats loaf. Means they are relaxed and makes them even cuter than normal!

Gio, face twitching as if he was hearing something, reached out and flicked the cat's ear with a finger. Mewfasa grumbled, huffed, but settled in as his role of a glorified foot rest.

At least until Giovanni started to get interested in the plot, then the cat's ears flicked back, and he rolled his big head so his floofy mane blocked the view of the screen.

"Daisy..."

"You flicked the ear, you get the fluff."
I'm guessing he flicked the ear in response to whatever Mewfasa was saying.

Amewse had her present spot of lap warmer. Sprawled, belly snuggled into Daisy's lap, long limbs draping over both sides of Daisy's chair, Amewse happened to like watching the television. And was perfectly fine having Daisy's phone balanced on his forehead and gem. Thus Daisy was penned by limbs and guilt, making sure that Grace's view wasn't compromised.
📝did you mean 'pinned'?

"This is the first non-documentary I've seen in half a month," Grace confessed during a lull in the shenanigans.

"Giovanni Carosso Sakaki, what evil have you sunk to?"
Ah! Nifty way to clue readers in on his full name! :okgon:

"The ultimate evil, watching about painting techniques and artists, makes me the capio de capo of Kanto itself." Gio drawled, trying to push some mane aside.

It sproinged back into place after five seconds. Gio made another attempt, and Daisy wished him good luck with that, but nothing short of sheer was going to work.
📝sheer... will? Is that missing a word? Or did you mean to say sheering as in cutting the main to get it out of the way? also, 'sprung'

The sound of Grace munching as she dug into her salad carried. She'd become almost rabidly vegetarian as her pregnancy progressed. Eschewing cheeses, creams, and meats. Seriously, Daisy had heard of wild food cravings, but wererabbit-dom was a new one.
:mewlulz: I find the idea of pregnancy cravings to be cute. Helps the baby and seems amusing to see! Is also a good detail to include, especially in a setting as relaxed as this one.

As a result, Gio had sprung for the fattiest, cheese-laden pizza he could hunt up that'd deliver.
Now we're talking! :wowzard:

And, actually, Daisy realized the man might be a bit thinner. How long had Grace's mood swing be in effect? Wasn't there a time limit?
The subtext of this is so adorable! It means he is altering his diet to match hers to put her food cravings above his own! 🥰

Even before Silver was born, Gio was already doing everything he could for the boy. 🥳

A particularly ranchy gag (pun totally intended) came and went (Daisy mentally added that towards the good old internal pun counter), and normally, Gio would have been slapping a hand over her eyes. Or Grace. But both Sakakis were being a lot more candid in thier
📝 their

opinions and language. Actually, thinking harder, the "r" ranking block had been lifted from search results.

And that was definitely new.
Oh so they used to limit their language around her, but now they are not censoring because they view her as an adult considering Daisy is about to become a single parent?

Daisy considered going with it. just letting it sit. But it bugged her. Grace hummed a curious note, and Gio was giving her a pointed look. Huh, even two towns apart, with a huge sprawling reserve as a barrier, and they were still thinking in tandem enough to cotton on to "something's wrong" and pick who needed to pipe up.

"What gives?"

Grace hummed a note, and Giovanni actually used his words, once Daisy had clarified.


"You're seventeen, sweetheart, emancipated since fourteen, and going to, temporarily, be taking on a responsibility even I am scared to handle. " Another swat and the hair did not move. Giovanni glared murder at Mewfasa, who raised his tail and wiggled it in pride.
Mewfasa enjoys being a menace! :mewlulz:

"You're old enough to be... well, as they call it off mainland, fooling around. Hell, if you were part of the mob back home, you'd have had your first kid right about now. It seems stupid to censor ourselves."
Yeah, it's a good point. I guess Rockets tend to grow up fast too so it makes sense they would commonly have kids before 18.

"You actually talk about stuff like that?"

Grace murmured that Gio needed to rewind and pause, and Gio did without a whimper, the simp.
I enjoy seeing how Grace has such a strong influence on Gio. :mewlulz:

"Pre-emptive mutual agreement and hammering out clauses in case one of our boundaries is pushed..." Grace chimed in, the phone making her tinny, an interesting contrast to her dry subject matter. Daisy could imagine the woman ticking things off of her fingers as she chattered what sounded like nonsense.

"We have limits. There are things we won't watch. " Giovanni translated, more amused by this than some perfectly funny stuff on the screen. "If you wanted or needed to watch something that hits that... well, we'd discuss it with you first, but... For example, Grace won't touch certain medical and pandemic films. Myself? I have no taste for Mob flicks. Despite how popular they are or how well written..."
Well that's more a matter of taste than it is about maturity.

The last came out in an exasperated tone that told of an old fight.

"I still think you should watch-"

"We've been over this, Grace." Giovanni snarled. "No. And that's why. We're both hot-headed and passionate asses; it bleeds into our likes, playing by the rules keeps the fur from flying."
I love how he describes a fight as a cat-fight with the fur reference! :mewlulz:

"If anything we bring up crosses a line, tell us." Grace tagged in. "But, Gio's right." Then her tone became a bit sharp. "You lost the privilege to complain about things, considering I didn't get myself pregnant."

"Not a complaint, amore mio. And don't I know it." There's a bit of a smug purr to Gio's voice that made Daisy's skin crawl.
Gio was not only happy with the result but the deed and involvement in it too! :mewlulz:

And well, considering Grace's belly, I think it's safe to say she is very well-versed in the Sakaki experience. :mewlulz:

Because she'd been with guys. Nothing serious, just "fooling around" to borrow the gym leader's words. She knew what enthusiastic flirting sounded like, and Giovanni's tone was well beyond that. Cooling the raw want from his voice, Giovanni twirled the remote in his hands.
Rightfully so, considering how much farther Gio went than 'fooling around'! :mewlulz:

"We wanted a kid. Planned it. It's just... the world seems a lot larger than before this started. Because it's all about them..."

Giovanni trailed off

"My life's work changed tenor overnight. I don't regret it. But... It's humbling. Honestly," dark eyes bore into her, and Daisy's skin crawled for different reasons. "I'm scared I'll fuck it up. My famiglia is a nightmare. I have scars, literally, from how I was raised. I know how not to act, and a lot of book learning on how I'm supposed to... But this is new, and some days the terror outweighs everything else."
The fact that Gio is scared really helps to reinforce how much Silver means to him. Well done here! :eyes:

Ung feels. Still, Daisy swallowed her snark.

"It is new, but you aren't alone. You have me, Grace, all of Grace's med squad, and how many years dealing with kids as a gym leader?"

"I told you this already..." Grace's voice chimed, distant but fond, from the phone still perched on Amewse's head gem. "You aren't alone-"
So sad because he ends up alone in it in the end... But it was his fault for not giving up on Team Rocket. Even if he views it as a worthy cause, he probably should have ran away with Grace to some distant land. Maybe Orre or something.

"Alright... alright... Dios, you two..."


Daisy snorted, sprawling into Amewse's fluff and being rewarded with a throaty purr.
Purring. One of the nicest sounds I can think of. :veelove:

"Think of all the fun experiences you'll get second-hand from me doing the worst babysitting job ever." Daisy chirped. "We can compare horror stories after."

Gio snorts, almost smiles. And Daisy counts that as a win.

"Now turn on the show, you rachketeer.
📝 racketeer

You can imagine the scenes, but me and Grace are bored."

"Anything but that." With a click and flick, the TV is back on and all is well.
I feel like you don't really see that often in the pokemon series. Like sure, OTHER people watch shows and play video games but the protagonist is always going around on a Pokemon adventure. Sometimes it's easy to forget that normal activities can and DO happen!

xxx​

It'd taken them a bit of time to park. Mainly because they'd had an argument as to where to park. Under a light for security, or away from the lights for anonymity. Reminding her it was his car, not a democracy, Giovanni picked the shadiest section closest to the door he could. He then invited Daisy to take all that opinion out to the lot and bring over a cart.

The first, a rattling monstrosity that had probably been hit by a car from its warped frame, was firmly rejected. He sent her out again with a glare and encouragement to work out some of her humor out of her system while she was at it.

Once properly armed, they walked side by side to the doors. It was a common Wooper-mart, brick, blockish, and illuminated in blue light to save on paint. Part grocers, part arcade, the latter had been installed so the progeny of Pallet could be dropped off while their parents shopped. What the CEO's of Johto's biggest attempt at cross-regional commercialism had failed to grasp was that Pallet had no one under the age of seventeen.

And that was only if Daisy counted herself; the real age gap was a bit depressing.

Ignoring the soft growls in Italian at her side, about interloping assholes with the style of a drunken smeargal (Daisy was trying not to nod along, despite agreeing wholeheartedly), she sorta wondered if they shouldn't have taken the hour-plus drive to Viridian to get her goods...

But it was right here... and rightly creeping her out.
Well, this certainly provides a setting, but what exactly are they here to do? At first, I thought she was going to steal a shopping cart to turn it into a makeshift crib with some alterations... But it seems there are here to shop? I thought they did shopping earlier? Or maybe that was all for baby-proofing the home...

The windows of the storefront flashed with neon lights, casting lurid shadows over the sidewalk going up. The effect, with no other buildings about it to damp it, was a bit like approaching a jumbo sized, off-colored Banette.

The game cabinets, with no one at them, were spaced to look like a welcoming smile. But there were no tenants, ghostly or otherwise. The dust bunnies and cobwebs had been left to run rampant, making the place look haunted.

It was fine once you pushed through the glass-walled "play" area. Just a normal grocers. But the trip through was a bit like whistling through a graveyard. Or like one of those old pizzeria horror games.

"This place doesn't have animatronics, does it?" Daisy might be tucking a bit closer to Gio than absolutely necessary as they stepped in.
Daisy is afraid of animatronics? Cute that it gives her a reason to rely on Gio to feel safer.

Tipping his head, nearly boinking her with the edge of his fedora, Giovanni smirked. "No, but don't worry, if I'm wrong, Rhyhorn loves punching things. We'll be fine."
Punching?? Huh? I thought Ryhorn had hooves and didn't get fists until evolving! :unquag:

See? Gio could get references! And that was all Daisy's doing! She was awesome at corruption and perked up at her sense of accomplishment.
References... to what? I don't get it! :unquag:

The carpets were surprisingly soft. Thier
📝their

patterns were a garish mess of stylized lightning bolts, galaxies, and poorly covered power cords. And the light at the end of the tunnel was a wall of glass that they were getting closer to. Near sterile white and creams, with normal white overhead lights, and food as far as the eye could see.
Wow! Sounds like an 80s or 90s arcade carpet! :eyes:

"What are the odds of us getting kicked out?

The gym leader, holding the cart, flicked a firm look down at the gir- young woman, voice carefully tight and inflectionless.

"None, because you're going to behave yourself this time."
This time?? What happened LAST time?? :unquag:

"Badly, sure." Daisy chirped up at him with a tight grin. Ignoring how she'd just stumbled over one of those cords, he had to catch her before she went all the way up. She turned the pull-up into a small dance move, and he smiled at her with tired amusement.

Still smiling, he said. "I can, and will, cheerfully dump your ass here, without reliable transport back."

Daisy hummed. "I got a full team of 'mon, and I can adlib carry packs."

"And my last act, before ditching you, will be to dose them all with enough catnip to keep them high for three hours."
:mewlulz:

Daisy thined
📝thinned

her lips, considering property damage verses monitizing the insanity that would ensue. She sighed, math definitely pointing to the fact that she'd owe money.

Oh well.

"Fiiine..." she kicked a bit at a lump and ignored how one of the game cabinets powered down. "I'll behave, but only if you do."
A...lump? Like under the carpet? I guess it was where it was plugged in??

Tinny store music was audible, and conflicting with the low tecno strobing through the play palace.

"I'm a grown ass man who has been behaving since I was twelve."

He nearly lost the cart doing the actual air quotes at her. Daisy smirked, darting ahead to open the door.

It looked like the auto opener was offline, but hooking her fingers in the seams and tugging did the job.

Weird. But a glance in showed the place was lit, staffed, and she spotted at least one other customer. The joint was open. A quick read of the hours on the glass confirmed and affirmed all was well. And well, they wouldn't of shut the grocery side and leave the play palace open so...
I wonder why they walked in from a section so dead?

She'd flag a cashier or something when they got in.

"Even when Nona or the Madam couldn't see anything?"

Gio froze, startled, and a low, dangerous anger twisted his features. Daisy hopped out of her mocking "after you" bow and crossed her arms over her chest, in wordless defiance. Grace had to vent at someone besides Andre. It wasn't fair that she'd only been able to talk to one person about it for so long. And while a few of the stories Grace had trotted out were likely censored... Daisy'd gleaned enough to get the names of Gio's childhood demons.
She's been learning. :eyes:

His sour glare told of a mark hit, and his silence promised gossip galore if she played her cards right.

But right now, Daisy Oak wasn't playing; she was making a point.

"Don't mention them in public." He growled.

"No Shop, at shop, gotcha." The cart rolled over that stupid lump all stores had that marked the line between in and out with a rattly thump that made both wince. "But if you want to, or need..."

She left it hanging, and he softened a hair, sincerely touched.

"So what's new in Sakaki land?"

Gio rolled his eyes, but while Daisy flipped open an ad (for the store directory, she was not Grace, old man, she had no plans to dicker over every coin, calm down), as she read, he brought her up to speed on the latest drama.

The Sakakis were hip deep in what Grace called The Great Painting War.

Grace, secret Disney Princess at heart, who was unironically living the plot of many a b-rated kiddie story spin-off, wanted to inflict a sugary apocalypse on her upcoming progeny. Gio was locked into wanting something realistic. A scene meant for soothing adult and childish palates. They were, after all, going to be spending sizable spans of time in those spaces with a screaming child. Might as well tend to everyone's needs at once.

They'd argued over childhood characters being on parade... Gio'd won that round. He had no fondness for them, thier exagerated features (anime or just basic cartoon) quite candidly creeped him out. And his description of thier uncanny valley effect had sorta freaked Daisy out. Not that she'd admit to it.
📝their x2

Also, one 'exaggerated'. :okgon:

And now regarding the plot. So cute that they are both taking it so seriously that even painting is difficult to agree on! :mewlulz:

And not that either of them would admit that all the animated fluff in the Sakaki house was solely Grace's.

Not anymore.

Not since the man's introduction to Miyazaki. And surprisingly, Danna Terrace's work.

Neither Viridians had wanted a forest theme. Thier
📝 their

chorased "for reasons" had come in near surround sound, and Daisy had been pre-empted. Before a "why" could tumble out, both husband and wife had presented a unified front. A gentle (per Grace) but firm (all Gio) order to respect the couple's privacy, and to stay the hell out of the Forest had been doled out.

And heeded. Daisy was no one's fool, and there'd been, under that command, a glint of fear in both Sakaki's eyes.

Since forests, rainforests, and cartoons were out, the couple had waffled on oceanic and pastoral themes...

And... that was three months old news.
Wait, so they were against a forest theme in the bedroom but they also won't let Daisy enter Viridian Forest?

When Daisy called foul, Gio flicked her an amused look and admitted the tie had broken recently. Then a surprising somberness settled over the man's features.

"We went pastoral."

Daisy flicked a look up from the map, route set, and first detour on the horizon. She stilled, though in surprise at the morse
📝 morose?

turn of Gio's tone.

"I thought you hated ocean everything. Ocean 'mon, seafood, swimming..."

"I do. My reasons are: my gym, allergies, and sharkpedo."
📝 sharpedo

"So what gives?"

Black eyes met hers and thinned, a tiny warning of probable ire.

"Do you remember that wooloo you gave Grace two months ago..."

Now, when anyone started with "do you remember" and had a date tagged in, it was wisest to lead with plausible deniability. Be it Rocket Racketeer, Officer, or Interpol. You remembered nothing. You weren't anywhere near the scene of whatever was being discussed. And if there was evidence, well, evil twin wasn't plausable
📝 plausible

but a look-alike would fly if you led up to it just right.

So normally Daisy would chirp, "Remember, officer, I have the worst memory in the Region. My brain damage from psychics... you know..."

Considering Giovanni had had to do the freaking himelic menuvor
📝I think the last 2 words are spelled wrong, but I have no idea how to spell them correctly! (spell check doesn't know either!) :unquag:

on her to keep her from dying on her own vomit...

Daisy bit the bullet.
Ah, Gio's efforts to help her are keeping her at bay. Good. Figured it ought to count for something! :quag:

"Kinda?"

Sort of bit the bullet. Maybe nibbled on the edges of it.

"What you did, between regifting fling number nine's stuffie to her, was trigger an obsession."

And while the tone was scolding (the sane would consider it intimidating) Daisy perked up. Story time with Giovanni was always fun. All sweeping gestures and dramatic tones, and if Daisy lucked out... Well, Giovanni could do voices. Seriously, little Silver/Silvana was gunna be a lucky little...

And Daisy lost her train of thought at the realization that half of the Sakakis' king-sized bed was covered in plush button-eyed wooloo stuffies. Daiay gaped while Giovanni painted Grace's obsession in all its unbridled glory.

"You are shitting me!" Daisy squealed. Seriously?!"
I think Grace want to turn into a sheep. That way she can munch on plants all day! :unquag:

There'd been a compromise after two weeks of back and forth. Exactly one stuffie was allowed in thier
📝 thier

bed, and it was never left to stare at Gio with its soulless button eyes.
Wait... the dolls creep Gio out??! :ROFLMAO:

(Daisy was putting Caroline on the top of thier
📝

next movie night, nothing would stop it from happening)
Coraline! It's pronounced Coraline! Get with the program, K_S!

And one chair, in thier
📝their

reading room, was designated as Grace's to "wooloo up".

The result was a hybrid harvested wooloo mareep slip cover that had beautiful pale yellow flowers woven in.

Having been a regular guest of the Sakakis. Knowing that Gio's mansion was mostly a nerdy man cave, all darkwood shelves, looming furniture, and book-stuffed walls, interspaced with odd bits of art or training equipment, Daisy winced at the second-hand fashion clash. And Gio, scarily aware of weakness, pounced on that motion to rant a bit, which was more than fair.
Design preferences like oil and water! Kind of like their underlying respective moral fiber!

Not only did it clash. It made reading together a nightmare. Whenever Gio glanced at his wife, he was met with a sunny, vibrant, fluffy, button-eyed abomination. Because, somehow, someway, she'd managed to incorporate all the wooloo stuffies into that chair.
I've noticed you seem to utilize a literary technique of describing conversiations rather than spelling out the exact conversation with dialogue! I learned in a youtube video that is an advanced writing tactic! Cool to see an example of it!

"Wait." Grabbing Gio's sleeve mid-rant shut him up. He followed her gaze and froze, realizing that Daisy was fixated on the claw machine escapee from the game center that'd been left by the registers.

"No," Giovanni growled, irritated that he was being forced to be the voice of reason. They were both adults; they both should be equally reasonable. "You are too old to fall for this and-"

"It's got a Nidoking."
It's going to work, isn't it? :mewlulz:

And boy did it. On top of the mound. Plushy spines glinting in the neon luminescence of the claw machine's light system. It was the antithesis of a wooloo. With its edges and somber colors, and something like realism to the tip of its clawed hands and blunted snout. Giovanni looked at it, stared stupidly, and some internal want reared inside of him. It sounded vaguely like his eight-year-old self had woken within him and had one word for this moment.

Want.

"You can counter the fluff with spikey fluff." Daisy crooned.

Between the two of them, with Giovanni failing five times, and Daisy pulling off lucky number six, they get the stuffie. It got honor place in the baby seat of their cart as they went deeper in.
Ok, I really like the way this chapter ended! :mewlulz:

Closing thoughts:
Now that I've finished reading it, it's time for me to come up with an unofficial chapter title! :eyes: How about: 'The Great Fluffy War'. Gio deals with the fluffyness of the cat being in the way and later it boils down to Nidoking stuffie to counter the horde of Wooloo! It's also a reference to the great painting war. Yeah? YEAH?? :veelove:

The spelling errors harm the immersion. The word 'their' being the biggest culprit.

Some of the plot stuff and conversations were either referencing stuff I wasn't getting or was a little confusing. I tried to speak up on the parts I wasn't sure about.

But this chapter is still an example of your current writing abilities and was sprinkled with many amusing and endearing moments. It made for a genuinely good read! :okgon:
 
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Tango

Mascot of the Doduo Alliance
Location
beyond the Nexus
Pronouns
He/him
Partners
  1. doduo
Chapter 5
shopping
edit needed.
Hey K_S! I'm here for catnip!

Shopping.

Such a simple mundane task, yet involving not mundane people! But you know what? You can title a chapter as 'shopping' and you can even have the chapter be all about shopping, but I'm fully expecting it to be a great read regardless. :veelove:

Wordcount below this point not counting mispelled words: 1,020

Diapers and formula 1, 2 weeks worth!
Ah, a crossed off list! They already have these items. :eyes:

Daisy is gearing up to become a mother.

You know, because sometimes parenthood comes about from randomly strolling through a Pokemon research facility and rescuing a baby from an unsafe egg incubator before being teleported off the grounds as punishment. The normal stuff. :okgon:

Gio insists on covering the tab. Formula and diapers were, per him, insanely expensive. And considering the man made more money than Daisy would ever see in a week than she'd ever see in her lifetime...
If GIO is calling them insanely expensive, you're GOING to let him pick up the tab! 😬

He leads her to the back of the store. A little out-of-the-way nook with cartoonish Donphan holding up the price tags. She's charmed for about one second, then her math comprehension kicks in. And for once in her life, she wholeheartedly agrees with the Viridian Gym Leader.

One can costs a ransom. And a week's supply is a fourth of her monthly budget.
Lovely, so her entire monthly budget would be eaten up JUST with that! Sounds like Gio should quit the mob and go into the baby formula business! I think he might make more money that way! :mewlulz:

Still, she's going to have little John Doe for a while... And they better damn well tell her his name, or she's going to name him, and they're going to have to live with her bad bad naming choices.
I love how this is a reference to his eventual name later of Blue. :mewlulz:

It'd likely be a cat pun. Then adolescent John Doe would run to Rocket to get a hit on her for killing his dignity.
:unquag: Daisy and Mark should host a naming convention. :mewlulz:

Daisy wincingly gathered the required seven cans and squawked a protest when Giovanni leaned over her to load up an extra seven.

Because that's half a month's pay sitting right there, and her throat tightened in unnamed dread at the realization.

"You will spill. Babies sick up. It's better to have more than less. Any extras can be donated."
Gio seems pretty knowledgeable on that! He must have been doing research in prep for Silver! :veelove:

"To the hungry little Sakaki fund?"

Gratitude makes him smile, a small, surprised flick of his lips. "Exactly." He nudgeed her shoulder to get her moving again. "I'll cover this, just load up on what you think you'll need."
I enjoy seeing Daisy get what she needs. 🥰

And because she doesn't have a lot of money, it makes this so meaningful to her. I think readers would be hard pressed to call Gio pure evil with stuff like this. And he was there for her in the hospital AND getting the house ready! He is essentially taking on a father role for her.

Daisy flipped open the paper the judge had given her. Trying to puzzle out the suggested pacifiers and clothing. Luckily, the baby section was... well, not expansive, but it was an aisle and a half. Enough room to hopefully get some basics. Giovanni shamelessly read over her shoulder and scoffed.

"Questa è tutta una schifezza." ("This is all crap.")
Hmm! He wants better quality? Then why did he take her here...?

Some things didn't need translation. Tone just filled in the blanks. Daisy rolled her eyes and like a good little Kantoian defended the system. "They're the national child assistance board."
📝I think you are missing 'and' between 'eyes' and 'like'

"Ask me again, how many nieces and nephews I've either 'sat, emergency fostered, or been forced to hold at familgia carpet talks?" The man flicked an eyebrow up, expression patient yet scolding.
Carpet talks? I'm completely confused by this paragraph and the one before it. No idea what they are talking about. Let's see if reading more makes it make sense...

Edit: Nope! Still doesn't! :unquag:

He then showed her to the pacifiers and instead of picking the most expensive, flipped the packaging over.

"This number here, plastic type. There's some that are nominally safe for human consumption," at Daisy's horrified look, he added, "think about how they're used. Always assume there's going to be trace amounts consumed. This one, toxic, skip and move on." He tapped the number, then flipped a more middling brand. "This one is a bit safer per the number..."

"But there's glitter..." Daisy noted.

"Noted here as toxic, literally says don't put in mouth..."

"For a pacifier." Daisy deadpanned.

"Exactly." Giovanni sighed.
Woah!! Gio is a PACIFIER WIZARD!?! :wowzard:

"New Title Acquired: Pacifier Wizard"
Knows all the secrets of the pacifier. Said to bring good luck to babies. :mewlulz:

"How many classes did you go to again?"

"Nine."
Gio is only 4 classes away from being more of a pacifier wizard than Mark is an expert on the Pokemon TCG! 🤣

They both were flipping packages over. Perusing the fine print instead of aesthetics and cuteness. And in the end, they'd found one that didn't make Daisy's skin creep. It was actually silicone; all the other plastics were loaded with enough chemicals to make Daisy's head spin.
And yet, I imagine this pretty accurately reflects products in the real world too... 😬

While Daisy fixed the display they'd mauled, Giovanni had commandeered her papers. The snap crinkle of them being forcibly straightened out was like he was trying to shake prevailing information to the fore by force.

"Daisy, what diaper size is your brother?"
Does she actually already know it? :eyes:

"Um," wrangling a particularly wonky box, Daisy looked at the Gym Leader, expression blank. "How's that important?"
THE PACIFIER WIZARD HATH ASKED THEE A QUESTION, WENCH! IT BEHOOVES YOU TO ANSWER! :mewlulz:

Hooking his arm through hers, he steered her, the cart, and papers one aisle over and turned on his heel. It was a hall, it ran nearly the whole length of the store. And down it, as far as she could see, shiney plastic boxes, all stamped with cutsy critters and alien size charts.

The only helpful thing was the clear division of his/hers.

The coordinator felt some hyperventilating was warranted at that point.

Easing her onto a display so she could sit and do her thing, Giovanni flicked his phone open.
Don't worry, Gio! Just use your mass wealth to buy one size of each case! :unquag:

"Grace, sweetheart, I know you don't like it when I suggest this... but I'm going to need a less-than-legal gavor...."
📝favor not gavor

Less than legal?? Why not just buy one of every case? :mewlulz:

While Giovanni, second hand, shimmied the medical file back market to get the sizes squared up, Daisy focused on pulling herself together.
Ah! Medical records! That makes sense! :okgon: Certainly much easier than trying to carry 25 cases of diapers.

It wasn't easy.

They were exhausted. Even with a long movie break, a nap, it was the wee hours of the night, and both were loopy from too much work and too many bad life choices. Daisy has band-aids on hands, from powering through a months worth of cleaning in half a day. Chemicals, emergency construction, and the rockey earth of her yard had done a number on her. Her knuckles weren't barked, they were raw and only a few potions and cremes rubbed in were granting her mobility. Gio was less torn up but his wardrobe had taken a hit. His present clothes were second-hand remnants of Daisy's college days. A groteskly oversized, rumpled, coordinator camp sweater that she could drown in was nearly strangling him. His leggings were an old flings pj bottom that'd been laundried and accidentally left behind when things "hadn't worked out" between the two of them.
WELL. I can see this did QUITE a number on them! 😅

Both cashed atrociously, but it was only visible when he leaned against an aisle.
📝I think you meant 'crashed' rather than 'cashed'.

Because despite it being mid summer he was decked out in his ridiculous fedora-coat combo. And he'd buttoned it to hide everything.
Yeeep! That seems like something the great Giovanni would be compelled to do in a case like this. :mewlulz:

But it wasnt buttoned all the way up. Ergo, why things could peak out when Giovanni wasn't moving...

The sheer clash was enough to give Daisy the giggles.
So what he wears under is more visible when he isn't moving? 🤔 I don't get it.

But the clash evokes amusement regardless. :mewlulz:

His clothes were dirt and grass-stained, with broad salt stripes.
Salt stripes? Is that a clothing term to indicate there is white stripes? I thought Gio wore all black? Was this before he went all black? Am I wrong about the stripes and he actually spilled salt on himself?

They were also keeping Daisy's workout clothes company in the washer back home. He'd managed to singe his head during thier decorating, and has a sad, mareep band-aid right by his hairline like a second eyebrow because of it.

It was his own stupid fault for tipping the glue gun and trying to get the last inch out. Insistent he can see it working...
Gio's been through some stuff with her! 😅

Only Daisy swatting the device out of his hands had kept the last dalop from being in his eye.
Oh... Oh no. THAT would have been HORRIBLE!! Glue... In the eye... I'm pretty sure that would have knocked him out of commission for the day. Either that or probably risk losing his eye from it! 😬

Grace would not thank her for letting Gios stuborness get him in the ER.
No... she probably wouldn't... 😅

Wait. Again?! Whaaaat?? :wowzard:

When Gio, in his pacing, handwaving, chattery glory, drifted close, Daisy might have slumped against him instead of the cold metal of the shelf. He stilled, flicked a look down, and raised a hand over her head. Gently pulling the hair from her eyes.

"I'm fine." She mouthed.

She wasn't, hell, he wasn't, but... it'd do.

"Patricia hates me, can't someone else..."

Daisy toned that out. Half the staff at Saints hated Gio, some for his accent, some for stealing away and "corrupting" thier
📝their

favorite nurse, the smarter for his temperment
📝temperament

as a patient. Letting her gaze drift, Daisy stiffened. Gio felt the move and flicked a glance first down, then followed her line of sight.

There was a person watching them, pea green shirt, blocky apron front, staff, so affirmed the logo. Before either could read the name tag, the man had ducked back into an aisle, out of sight.

Well, fuck.

Clearing his throat, Giovanni murmured. "Siamo seguiti. Quanto velocemente puoi darmi le informazioni?" (We are being followed. How fast can you get me that information?)
Followed? Why??

I suppose Gio probably already has enemies? Is that what is happening? But all they are doing is shopping for baby supplies!

Grace's tinny voice devolved into a string of swears and Daisy sighed. Great, just great.

Like this couldn't get any more second hand tramatic.

Xxx

Her cart was stuffed and they hadn't even hit the food yet. Daipers were surprisingly heavy and boxy monstrosities. Tab that in with the formula and some snap on onsies that were, per Gio, barely adequate..

"I am paying, and first thing tomorrow you are applying for government assistance."

"Alrigjt alright..." she aimed for flipant. Her voice was trembling because, oh mew, this was barely enough for two weeks. If this took longer.. if she had the kid for say three weeks. She'd be back here burning through more money she'd earned beating up Surge.
Lt Surge? Is he supposed to be rich? He is kind of buff. I don't think Daisy could beat him up very well... Unless she used her cat mon.

Crazy cat lady still at large! Surge was just out for a stroll when suddenly a pack of assorted cat mon jumped him! "They came out of nowhere! Fast as lightning! Faster, even! I didn't even have time to draw my Pokeball... They were all MEOW and MERRROOOWWW and HISSSS!" And yet, the assailant only targeted his wallet, leaving the mon on his belt alone and not trying to steal a badge either! "Craziest thing I ever saw! And I've been in a war!" Police are standing by for any tips regarding this cunning and bold thief... :mewlulz:

And that'd kept her fed and housed for three months...

Shes fighting back the (sane) urge to hyperventilate in the baby formula aisle of Pallet's Woopermart like a complete waste of space because...

This was not chimcho change here.

A hand clasps her shoulder, grounding her... and she leans into him. Resolutely not crying. He stays still while she trembles and bites her lip.


She's not crying. She wasn't.
These finances are hitting her HARD! :wowzard:

There is a big truth to that, though. Money isn't funny. Not when you barely have enough to live! :copyka:

And if he passed down his pocket chief... well, it was to dab at sweat around her eyes, nothing else.
chief is weird. Might want to switch it to hanky. Sounds cutter from Daisy's POV anyway.

Eggs, milk, misc dairy


Because Gio is being such a sap (aka scarily nice). Daisy squeezed her ususal grocery run in into prepping for the baby.

(And didn't that sound weird in her head?)
When one has a sugar daddy, one must let the daddy sugar. :unquag:

She focused on meals that required minimum cooking.
That sounds pretty smart with all the stuff on her plate! :eyes:

Eggs are her go to for breakfast. Boiled, pouched, fried, she's got sause and seasoning galore, a few breads to make baskets, so all she just needs the base.
EGGS??! :copyka: From WHAT Pokemon??

"Smart" Gio complimented her. Looking mildly peeved.

Grace hadn't been able to tolerate the smell of cooked eggs for two weeks. Really the limits on Gio's diet were getting a little alarming as he trotted them out.
This is a case, where I don't quite understand but am afraid to ask... 😅

"Are you sure she isn't gunna pop out a rabbit?"
A rabbit? This is the mon world! Are there rabbits? 🤔

But I think the joke here is that Grace eats so much greens that she must be having a rabbit for a baby! :mewlulz:

She deserved that smack on the back of the head for that. Still, bad timing with her holding the heavy creme and half galon of milk. She almost gave both thier shoes an imlromptu bath.
Gio don't take no crap!! :wowzard:

"We'll hit flour, and baking next... but this should be a good base."

"You hate creme. So who was a particularly good furball to get this treat?"
Yessss! For the kitties!! :unquag:

"Its not for them." None of them had been particularly good... good cats, sure, but helpfull,
📝helpful

not so much... "its for shrimp alfredo, home made noodles, it can't all be quick and easy stuff, you know?"

Gratitude lit Gio's face as he put two and two together. Then he reached over, put back the creme, and swapped it out for a different brand.

"Higher butter content, it binds better to the thickener when making a sause."
📝sauce

Gio knows his pasta...

Gio acquired a new title: "Italian Chef"
"The sauce, the noodles, ... and don't forget the garlic bread!" :unquag:

Daisy honestly didnt care. Really, she didn't, she'd picked hers because the miltank on the side looked cute. His brand was boring as Giritina, logoless, and with more writing than a contract in two languages.
She ain't used to all this adult crap. :quag:

She let him know that as she put it back.

He used his height supremacy to veto her (per him) bad life choices, and leaned against the fridge door to make his point. Blocking her from swapping it out,and baring his teeth in a sharkpedos smile while doing so.

The bastard.
Never get between Gio and his sauce... Not when he has the Italian Chef title equipped! 😅

A throat was cleared behind her. Gio looked over Daisy's shoulder, irritation flashed over his face, but then daisy was turning about. She missed the flick from irate, to furious, to too calm, and was left wondering why the manager was looking as pale as he was.

"Ah hello Ms. Um uh..."

Daisy tipped her head, waiting as dread chruned
📝churned

in her stomach. Hoping this would be benign, like her misreading the ckosed sign or...
📝closed

"Ah.. is he bothering you?"
📝missing a dot

Nope, it wasn't. Damn.

"We're fine, besides Antonio being a total food snob."

Startlement from the manager, who clearly expected her to wail about the evil italiano villian and cling to him like a lifeline. The lack of her folding into expected patterns was kinda breaking his brain. And making a show for both the gym leader and cordinator
📝coordinator

since the poor guy was both stupid and obvious.

"Weeelll, if you don't need any help..."
Ah, the manager is used to Italians being trouble and assumed Gio was a problem purely for how Gio looks.

Though, to be fair, Gio IS a mob boss... (or will be one soon if he isn't already. I forget where he is on the totem pole right now.)

The mans wide eyes flicked from her, to her belly, to the cart, and by Arceus was she being judged. Daisy could hear it from here.
OHHH!!! He thinks Gio got her pregnant! 🤣

Both waited for the man to scamper off, face flaming. From the sheer scandlized,
📝scandalized

tramatuzed,
📝traumatized

set of the manager's features, the Woopermart's gossip train was gunna be spicy tonight.
Best line in the chapter right here! 🤣

"So if one of them actually gets the guts to ask, you want me to praise your skills in the bed?.
📝

Like legendary Don Juan it up, or... or should I just put Grace on speaker and let her do it? Or you wanna pull the sugar da-"
Gio acquired two titles!

"Sugar Daddy"
You want money? All you need to do is look pretty for him and bare his child.

"Title Fiend"
A title given to those who have acquired three titles in a single day!

Him hitting her with the papers, a barked, shut up, was more than fair. The fact that he was waffling between busting a gut, and vivisection, obvious to the coordenator and then some.

and the vine of palets woopermart was definitly not pg 13 tongiht
This ENTIRE LAST SECTION!!! 🤣

Closing thoughts:
Four titles for Gio later and here we are. This chapter showed a very real struggle pertaining to money.

It was also hilarious! :mewlulz: So many moments to assign titles. I probably could have done more! :unquag:

I enjoy your short chapters. Makes it easier to go all-out on reviews, too! I look forward to the next chapter when I get to it. :veelove:
 
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K_S

Unrepentent Giovanni and Rocket fan
Hey K_S! I'm here for catnip!

Shopping.

Such a simple mundane task, yet involving not mundane people! But you know what? You can title a chapter as 'shopping' and you can even have the chapter be all about shopping, but I'm fully expecting it to be a great read regardless. :veelove:

Wordcount below this point not counting mispelled words: 1,020

Ah, a crossed off list! They already have these items. :eyes:
Nope its them getting those items in the section below. Basically each scene corisponds to them scratcjing a few items off thw list...

Daisy is gearing up to become a mother.

You know, because sometimes parenthood comes about from randomly strolling through a Pokemon research facility and rescuing a baby from an unsafe egg incubator before being teleported off the grounds as punishment. The normal stuff. :okgon:

Daisy is goonf to have a field dy trollong blue... he literally was picked up at the hatchery. (A common dodge for avoiding bird and bee topics like the stork is for us stateside...)

If GIO is calling them insanely expensive, you're GOING to let him pick up the tab! 😬

So daisy learns...

Lovely, so her entire monthly budget would be eaten up JUST with that! Sounds like Gio should quit the mob and go into the baby formula business! I think he might make more money that way! :mewlulz:

Umfortunstly the profit comes feom the proce gougong. Gio would flat out refuse and then there is the fact he's in subtle was with azu'corp which is kantos main pharmacutical/formula provider, theyd mudlsing him 5 ways to sunday and find some lgal bs reason to keep him out of the market.

I love how this is a reference to his eventual name later of Blue. :mewlulz:

Actually daisy doesnt name him. Blues mom does.


:unquag: Daisy and Mark should host a naming convention. :mewlulz:

cue gio and mint and rick gtting smashed to cope one au over.

Gio seems pretty knowledgeable on that! He must have been doing research in prep for Silver! :veelove:


Tjat he is.


I enjoy seeing Daisy get what she needs. 🥰

And because she doesn't have a lot of money, it makes this so meaningful to her. I think readers would be hard pressed to call Gio pure evil with stuff like this. And he was there for her in the hospital AND getting the house ready! He is essentially taking on a father role for her.

He basically took over when oak dumped her on his doorstep after her first fit in pallet.


Hmm! He wants better quality? Then why did he take her here...?

Because all the shops are in viridian are closed and its a 2 hr drive. Snd gio and daisy have to be out the door before the shops openagain tomorrow for legal stuff ( daisy) and medical stiff (gio checking on grace).

📝I think you are missing 'and' between 'eyes' and 'like'


Carpet talks? I'm completely confused by this paragraph and the one before it. No idea what they are talking about. Let's see if reading more makes it make sense...

Edit: Nope! Still doesn't! :unquag:

Carpet talks are an old mob term. Basically family meetings about mob buisness in a mobsters home. Being a jr. Agent gio spent a lot of time babysitting. And daisy both in the know of gios past criminality and mob stuff (shes a huge true crime nerd) wpuld know the turn of phraise.

Woah!! Gio is a PACIFIER WIZARD!?! :wowzard:

"New Title Acquired: Pacifier Wizard"
Knows all the secrets of the pacifier. Said to bring good luck to babies. :mewlulz:

Oh gods... yes you got sucked into the tos rabbit hole again didnt you?

Gio is only 4 classes away from being more of a pacifier wizard than Mark is an expert on the Pokemon TCG! 🤣

Its a bit misleasing. Gio topk first aide. Tests to help grace w birth in a crisis situation. Baby rearing and psycholofy classes. And produxt saftey classes. They ususally are a few days to weeks for the harder medical stuff. Hes not as well learned as mark is thats for sure...

And yet, I imagine this pretty accurately reflects products in the real world too... 😬

Axtually i got thenidea when researxhing baby product saftey checks and balances...


Does she actually already know it? :eyes:

Nope.

THE PACIFIER WIZARD HATH ASKED THEE A QUESTION, WENCH! IT BEHOOVES YOU TO ANSWER! :mewlulz:


Don't worry, Gio! Just use your mass wealth to buy one size of each case! :unquag:

um tango... gio only has so much trunk room in his car... even gio has to bow to the laws of pyhsics.

📝favor not gavor

Less than legal?? Why not just buy one of every case? :mewlulz:


Ah! Medical records! That makes sense! :okgon: Certainly much easier than trying to carry 25 cases of diapers.


WELL. I can see this did QUITE a number on them! 😅

Yep it was a loooong day.


📝I think you meant 'crashed' rather than 'cashed'.

Clashed actually.

Yeeep! That seems like something the great Giovanni would be compelled to do in a case like this. :mewlulz:


So what he wears under is more visible when he isn't moving? 🤔 I don't get it.

Since it isnt buttoned,and the mans not adhering to anything like proper posture, the caot slips open allowing people to see glimpses of the clothes underneight...

But the clash evokes amusement regardless. :mewlulz:


Salt stripes? Is that a clothing term to indicate there is white stripes? I thought Gio wore all black? Was this before he went all black? Am I wrong about the stripes and he actually spilled salt on himself?

Salt stripes are a stain that occures when someone sweats thro thier shirt multiple times. The bodys salt (in the sweat) makes a visible white gritty line along the back ect and if you dont get that cleaned out asap w str9ng soap that stuff can become pernament.

Gio's been through some stuff with her! 😅


Oh... Oh no. THAT would have been HORRIBLE!! Glue... In the eye... I'm pretty sure that would have knocked him out of commission for the day. Either that or probably risk losing his eye from it! 😬


No... she probably wouldn't... 😅

Grace would dub it stupidist reason to need an eyepatch. Mock them both relentlessly until gio amd daisy was driven to catch dialga, go back in time, and stop the accident just to make grace STOP.

Wait. Again?! Whaaaat?? :wowzard:

There be some wild stories in the background tales.

📝their


📝temperament


Followed? Why??

I suppose Gio probably already has enemies? Is that what is happening? But all they are doing is shopping for baby supplies!

Thatll be explained pretty soon...

Lt Surge? Is he supposed to be rich? He is kind of buff. I don't think Daisy could beat him up very well... Unless she used her cat mon.

Crazy cat lady still at large! Surge was just out for a stroll when suddenly a pack of assorted cat mon jumped him! "They came out of nowhere! Fast as lightning! Faster, even! I didn't even have time to draw my Pokeball... They were all MEOW and MERRROOOWWW and HISSSS!" And yet, the assailant only targeted his wallet, leaving the mon on his belt alone and not trying to steal a badge either! "Craziest thing I ever saw! And I've been in a war!" Police are standing by for any tips regarding this cunning and bold thief... :mewlulz:

Snorts. Nah daisy was going to throw her badge at surge. Rechallenge him, spam fakeout/bite to freeze his speed demon team, and then reclaim her winnings.

About once a week to make ends meet.

But that be illegal and gionis right there, he can just pay.


These finances are hitting her HARD! :wowzard:

There is a big truth to that, though. Money isn't funny. Not when you barely have enough to live! :copyka:


chief is weird. Might want to switch it to hanky. Sounds cutter from Daisy's POV anyway.

Both her and gio would die... but inwill try to find abetter term.

When one has a sugar daddy, one must let the daddy sugar. :unquag:


That sounds pretty smart with all the stuff on her plate! :eyes:


EGGS??! :copyka: From WHAT Pokemon??

All the pokemon. All of them.

This is a case, where I don't quite understand but am afraid to ask... 😅


A rabbit? This is the mon world! Are there rabbits? 🤔

Bunnery among others.

But I think the joke here is that Grace eats so much greens that she must be having a rabbit for a baby! :mewlulz:

Got it.

Gio don't take no crap!! :wowzard:


Yessss! For the kitties!! :unquag:


📝helpful


📝sauce

Gio knows his pasta...

Gio acquired a new title: "Italian Chef"
"The sauce, the noodles, ... and don't forget the garlic bread!" :unquag:

Gio: dont be a savage, you bake a rosemary bread and then make a garlic paste with butter oil and crushed garlic,.spread on the bread and toast at...

She ain't used to all this adult crap. :quag:

She is not.

Never get between Gio and his sauce... Not when he has the Italian Chef title equipped! 😅


📝churned


📝closed


📝missing a dot


📝coordinator


Ah, the manager is used to Italians being trouble and assumed Gio was a problem purely for how Gio looks.

Yep. Him talking like a stereotypical itlian isnt helping nor is his mob get up.

Though, to be fair, Gio IS a mob boss... (or will be one soon if he isn't already. I forget where he is on the totem pole right now.)

Yeah but mundane people dont know hes a mobster. Hes actually a consiglier (advisor) to the present capo (boss) of viridian. So upper middle rank.

OHHH!!! He thinks Gio got her pregnant! 🤣

That he does. And hes scandalized.

📝scandalized


📝traumatized


Best line in the chapter right here! 🤣


📝


Gio acquired two titles!

"Sugar Daddy"
You want money? All you need to do is look pretty for him and bare his child.

"Title Fiend"
A title given to those who have acquired three titles in a single day!


This ENTIRE LAST SECTION!!! 🤣
Closing thoughts:
Four titles for Gio later and here we are. This chapter showed a very real struggle pertaining to money.

It was also hilarious! :mewlulz: So many moments to assign titles. I probably could have done more! :unquag:

I enjoy your short chapters. Makes it easier to go all-out on reviews, too! I look forward to the next chapter when I get to it. :veelove:
Glad it made you laugh. Thanks for dropping a line.
 

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Nope its them getting those items in the section below. Basically each scene corisponds to them scratcjing a few items off thw list...
Oh... You would think it would be the other way around then. Get the items and THEN scratch it off.

Daisy is goonf to have a field dy trollong blue... he literally was picked up at the hatchery. (A common dodge for avoiding bird and bee topics like the stork is for us stateside...)
Oh no! 😅 In a world where pretty much all animals(aka Pokemon) hatch from eggs, it REALLY isn't a big stretch to think humans hatch from eggs too! :unquag:

Umfortunstly the profit comes feom the proce gougong. Gio would flat out refuse and then there is the fact he's in subtle was with azu'corp which is kantos main pharmacutical/formula provider, theyd mudlsing him 5 ways to sunday and find some lgal bs reason to keep him out of the market.
Yeah. Gio might be a mob boss, but at least he doesn't jack the prices up on baby formula. :okgon:

Actually daisy doesnt name him. Blues mom does.
Oh! That explains why he isn't named Whiskers. 😅

cue gio and mint and rick gtting smashed to cope one au over.
🤣

He basically took over when oak dumped her on his doorstep after her first fit in pallet.
:okgon:

Because all the shops are in viridian are closed and its a 2 hr drive. Snd gio and daisy have to be out the door before the shops openagain tomorrow for legal stuff ( daisy) and medical stiff (gio checking on grace).
Oh yeah! They ARE on a time crunch! That's a very valid reason! :eyes:

Carpet talks are an old mob term. Basically family meetings about mob buisness in a mobsters home. Being a jr. Agent gio spent a lot of time babysitting. And daisy both in the know of gios past criminality and mob stuff (shes a huge true crime nerd) wpuld know the turn of phraise.
Ah ok! Good to know.

Oh gods... yes you got sucked into the tos rabbit hole again didnt you?
:unquag:

Its a bit misleasing. Gio topk first aide. Tests to help grace w birth in a crisis situation. Baby rearing and psycholofy classes. And produxt saftey classes. They ususally are a few days to weeks for the harder medical stuff. Hes not as well learned as mark is thats for sure...
Neat info! :eyes:

Axtually i got thenidea when researxhing baby product saftey checks and balances...
Interesting. But also scary. I'd say more scary than interesting... :copyka:

um tango... gio only has so much trunk room in his car... even gio has to bow to the laws of pyhsics.
That's ok. He can have mon carry it too! He will think of something! :unquag:

Clashed actually.
:okgon:

Since it isnt buttoned,and the mans not adhering to anything like proper posture, the caot slips open allowing people to see glimpses of the clothes underneight...
:okgon:

Salt stripes are a stain that occures when someone sweats thro thier shirt multiple times. The bodys salt (in the sweat) makes a visible white gritty line along the back ect and if you dont get that cleaned out asap w str9ng soap that stuff can become pernament.
Huh. You learn something new every day! Sometimes. :mewlulz:

Grace would dub it stupidist reason to need an eyepatch. Mock them both relentlessly until gio amd daisy was driven to catch dialga, go back in time, and stop the accident just to make grace STOP.
:mewlulz:

There be some wild stories in the background tales.
For real! :eyes:

Thatll be explained pretty soon...
Oh yeah, but the guy following them just ended up dropped? Like it was all serious and then it just went away? Unless it was the manager?

Snorts. Nah daisy was going to throw her badge at surge. Rechallenge him, spam fakeout/bite to freeze his speed demon team, and then reclaim her winnings.

About once a week to make ends meet.

But that be illegal and gionis right there, he can just pay.
Ah, she may as well go with the cat burglar strategy then. :mewlulz: (If Gio wasn't around)

Both her and gio would die... but inwill try to find abetter term.
:quag:

All the pokemon. All of them.
Noooooooooooo! 🤣

It's like every flavor beans. Beware the grimer egg! 🤮

Bunnery among others.
Ah! Yes. I forgot about that one!

Gio: dont be a savage, you bake a rosemary bread and then make a garlic paste with butter oil and crushed garlic,.spread on the bread and toast at...
There we go! :mewlulz:

Yep. Him talking like a stereotypical itlian isnt helping nor is his mob get up.
:mewlulz:

Yeah but mundane people dont know hes a mobster. Hes actually a consiglier (advisor) to the present capo (boss) of viridian. So upper middle rank.
Yeah, I know they don't know. But the irony is amusing. :unquag:

That he does. And hes scandalized.
:mewlulz:
Glad it made you laugh. Thanks for dropping a line.
Always nice to give you some good reviews. :veelove:
 
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