ohmyarceus | Test Drive Meme

Joseph is still in New Bark until further notice - sure, Emporio could escort him somewhere else, but he'd be stranded since his Pokemon are still weak and his Charmander refuses to listen during battle. So he's wandering around for fun, with his new Skitty on his shoulder and his Charmander trailing behind unenthusiastically.

Wherever he was going, though, completely leaves his brain when he hears that adorable Italian accent. There's only a passing moment of confusion - no, his grandparents have been here, his grandson and great-granddaughter (and other person) are here, that has to be-

"SUZI!!"

He would be scooping her up, but she seems busy with her own weird new pet, and he's slowly learning to take his time approaching new Pokemon. His Skitty, though, has no such issues and climbs down his clothing (ow) to hop over and join the Chikorita on her lap.

What a problem that actually works out for him once, who would have actually guessed that would have happened. At first she's a little distracted by the chikorita who has happily made herself comfortable in Suzi's lap properly until she hears that voice yelling her name. There's only one person who would yell her name instead of actually just coming over and talking to her properly.

Part of his charm? Part of his charm, sure.

"Hmmm?~" This is only slightly awkward for her to look up at him from where she's sitting because why is he always so tall, it's even more difficult than it normally is. "They got you too, Joseph?" She sounds far more relaxed about the situation than she has any right to be, but what good is panicking about it really going to do her? Nothing, nothing at all.

And suddenly there is also a cat in her lap and she can't help a little bit of a giggle and using one of her hands to pet the Skitty's ears while the Chikorita is more content to not be touched right now. "I didn't think you a cat person!" If only she knew.

"I got here a week ago, and- yeah, well, the Old Lady down the road was giving them out and I couldn't turn her down..."

He's trying to act like his arm was twisted, but he really does like his Skitty. He just can't admit it quite yet.

"Actually, she's my second Pokemon - Rush, come meet my wife!"

Rush the Charmander hesitates visibly, and walks in a wide circle around Joseph to come sniff Suzi's hand. Joseph huffs quietly, and gets closer as well so he can crouch down next to all of them. There, see, now he isn't being so tall.

"This is Rush, and the cat is Mitzi. Who's your um... cucumber?"

"Oh, of course, you can't just say no to an old lady or anything. That'd just be rude."

It's absolutely ridiculous but of course she'd be on the same weird wavelength with that, but at the talk of it being his second Pokemon (she... assumes that's what the name of these creatures is, so she won't ask) she tilts her head in curiosity.

...

Oh he's cute. She's letting him sniff her hand for as long as he wants and then gingerly turns her hand over to show her palm and lift her hand towards him in an offering of a head pet if he wants it. Luckily she's not like her husband in that regard and knows not to just reach out for a creature that hasn't given their consent to be touched already.

Good, he's still tall but at least her neck isn't hurting. "I don't think I'm getting up any time soon at this rate, so you may as well sit." The grass isn't going to kill him, of course.

The Chikorita actually looks up from where she's curled up, seeming to frown at being called a "cucumber" of all things. "Cute!~ Uh, I think we've settled on Fiore for her." The Chikorita in turn seems to nod her head before curling back up, the sun is on her lap and she's keen on sunbathing right where she is.

"I guess you're right."

He makes himself comfortable on the ground, at first giving the Pokemon space and then scooting over so he can wrap an arm around her waist. There, he feels complete again. And he reaches to pet Fiore, before thinking better of it and letting her sniff him first.

Rush continues to like everyone except for Joseph, and presses his head hard into Suzi's hand.

"Just be careful, he bites. And it'd be a waste if you got ugly scars on your hand on your first day."

Hey, the Pokemon can deal with it as far as she's concerned right now considering she's scooting to be able to lean against him properly. Doesn't matter if they're somewhere that isn't familiar, this is familiar and that's what matters to her the most. There's not too much more she could really ask for.

Fiore seems to just squint at him for a moment from her curled spot but deciding that fine she guesses and shifts to headbutt his hand gently before laying it back down on Suzi's thigh. At least the Chikorita is doing what she does best and has that whole scent thing going on to keep people calm.

... Not that Rush seems to need it as Suzi's more than happy to lightly scratch his head with her nails. "Bite? This cute little thing?" She doesn't believe a word of that, Joseph. "He seems pretty friendly to me, what'd you do to get him to bite?" Better to entirely ignore the whole ugly scars on her hand comment because, wow, that would probably bristle some people instead of it rolling off her back.

"Well, I may have... uh... well, we just got off on the wrong foot." Wow, the closest he's gotten in a while to admitting a mistake. "I did get some help with him from my new roommate, so we're doing better..."

His energy almost calmed down, but he brightens up again, "Oh, right! You'll never guess who I've been speaking to - our grandson! He's actually older than me, which... I'm still wrapping my head around a bit, and he's a jackass, but I bet you'll get along better with him."

Joseph is, at least, aware that he has an effect on people (and Pokemon) that makes them want to kick his ass. Most of the time it's fun, and with Jotaro in particular he finds it fairly frustrating.

"And has he bitten you since you got that help?" She's trying to help, really, even while continuing to skritch the little lizard's head like he's just some kind of cat. No worries there at all and it seems to be paying off for her, at least.

She pauses for a moment at those words, blinking slowly as her brain is computing what he just said. Grandson? Grandson that is older than them? Her life is never not strange and complicated anymore, which is both a blessing and a curse, if she were perfectly honest. "Huh. I guess it's... only natural that that would happen at some point, but it's still so strange to think about when it's not something that's happened yet." She'd expected a fairly quick turnaround on the whole starting a family thing to begin with given how her ~~dumb-ass~~ husband is, but she hadn't really thought much further than that before.

"A jack-ass sounds like he get more from you than you think, if I'm honest." Look, she adores him, she really does, but she's not blind. "I'm sure it'll be fine, whenever I inevitably run into him or meet him!" She shifts a little more to make certain she's pressed against his side while she looks up at him with what can be described as puppydog eyes, she knows exactly what she's doing here. "You do have a very natural talent of upsetting people, after all." Nailed it.

"Only a few times... mostly on my left hand, so I think he's being gentle."

Although he's stopped wearing gloves, for now, and his metal left hand definitely has some dents in it. His range of motion is going to be a little off until he can get that fixed.

"Listen, you don't have to say it... I was just hoping he'd take after you a little more. Y'know..." quick what's a nice thing to say "...understanding. I mean, this is all a lot to get used to, I think I'm allowed to be a little difficult."

"... We'll call that progress." She lightly pokes the tip of Rush's nose before going back to skritching him. "I'd prefer for you to not beat him up that badly, at least make sure he can still use his hands since they're useful." Totally innocent comment right there.

Someone is bound to be able to look at it at bare minimum, right? It'll be fine, she's not all that worried about it.

Don't think she doesn't know why you paused during that, Joseph, for all of her ditziness she isn't that dumb under it all. Mostly. "You only get part of the blame since we don't know anything about his father?" She doesn't even know if the father is their kid or if it's the mother, but whatever, her point stands. Quickly she's sticking her tongue out at him, at least she's feeling more comfortable in this mess. "No excuses! Especially when you know I'm right and it has nothing to do with being here."

Rush utters a protesting little charrr, and gives Joseph a reproachful side-eye, but he still nods and places his head on Suzi's lap (wherever he can fit, next to Mitzi and Fiore).

Joseph is aware that she's seeing through him - at least at the moment, he does frequently forget that there's a brain in there somewhere. He's just glad that she's giving him yet another pass. Mostly.

"Yeah, I... wasn't sure how to ask about his parents, but I figure he should be the one to tell me. Us. Maybe if you ask him..."

Evidently her duty in life currently is to see how many Pokemon she can fit in her lap, luckily for him, Fiore is at least shifting to give him some more room while still maintaining her sunlight spot.

She does have to have a brain in there for all that she does and if he forgets that she pretty much put him back together, she can always so helpfully remind him the next time he does something stupid. Fair is fair and what's a little pain to someone like him? He can take it.

"Are you asking me to do it because I'm not bound to upset him or are you asking me to do it because you've already managed to strain that metaphorical bridge?" She really shouldn't be able to pin him that easily, but does so in the nicest tone possible and still smiling. Ruthless.

Edited (Words hard) 2025-04-09 17:36 (UTC)

"Can't it be both?" He replies with his sweetest tone of voice, and a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sure he likes you better, anyway."

One particular moment from their first meeting still stings. "Have you tried to do anything to gain your Charmander's trust? Or have you just subjected it to your whims as usual?" It confirmed, among other things, that Jotaro knows his older self very well. Which bodes poorly for Joseph.

"Here, I can add his contact information to your PokeGear - it's like a telephone, in your pocket, and it sends digital telegrams too. Which means you don't get an excuse if you don't follow up on it." He pulls out his own PokeGear. "I can give you mine too, and my roommate's in case I'm busy... well, I say roommate, but I'm staying on his boat."

He's unsure if he should bring up Jolyne, or the fact that Emporio is also from their world. Hell, he's not even sure if he should bring up that his grandparents used to be here. Maybe he'll surprise her with that, if he ever convinces Emporio to let him take over their house.

Unfortunately that does soothe her enough to where she wiggles back against his side properly with a fake little huff. "I guess. It's not that difficult to like me better, dearest, when I don't remotely attempt to ruffle someone's feathers." Most of the time, she's very nice for the most part when she wants to be.

"Is that what that was?" She's fumbling around in her pocket to grab the thing and hold it out, she has no idea how it works, but she'll figure it out soon enough. "I didn't think something that small could be a phone or be able to send messages? A follow-up on what?~" This is absolutely her pretending to not know what he's talking about when she damn well knows what that means. Better he say it, though, partially because it amuses her. "Staying on a boat sound uncomfortable." Of course the kind of boat she's thinking is your typical sailing ship or something you have to use oars with. Not... not quite the same thing.

Probably for the better if he doesn't because she's already having a hard enough time wrapping her head around the idea of grandson being here since time fuckery isn't exactly in her wheelhouse. Excited about the whole thing and meeting him? Absolutely. Understanding how that works out time-wise? Absolutely not.

"Isn't it amazing? The technology here is phenomenal... and don't play games with me, you know exactly what I'm talking about." The hand around her waist shifts so he can tickle her - a little more roughly than he meant to. He'll smooth that over with another kiss. "And listen - I can't invite you to stay with us without asking Emporio first, but you should come visit at least. It's actually pretty nice. Like a... a really fancy cruise ship, but smaller."

Definitely too small for three people, at least if Emporio wants to keep his sanity, but maybe that will be enough encouragement for Joseph to, y'know. Actually look for a long-term residence.

"Never thought I'd see something like it," she managed to get out before he's going in to tickling her which earns him a genuine squeal and attempting to half-heartedly push him away to stop. Luckily it's not that long and she's placated with the kiss, doesn't stop her from pouting for a little bit. "Wouldn't it be better to try and explore this place? Find something of our?" She assumes that's why this place seemed to provide them with a backpack of... things... that she hasn't exactly looked at.

Just to further her point she's shifting enough to let the Pokemon stay in her lap so she can press her chest against him and keep up that pouting. "I know I don't want to have to share space with someone if I don't need to. And better yet..." Her voice lowers, unable to hide a grin that is far too sharp for what she's about to say. "Can be as loud as you want in the wilderness, who cares if anyone else might be around?"

It might be for her benefit, but she's pretty sure this might also convince him to do something instead of just bumming off of someone else. This place has a lot of technology and seems to encourage travel so why not explore it more?

Joseph has that look on his face again - the look that says that she's absolutely correct, and he just doesn't want to admit it. Bumming off of Emporio is fun and free, but he is missing out on the adventure aspect of being in a new place if he stays there for too long.

He leans in closer, shifting carefully around the Pokemon so he can give her a proper kiss on the lips.

"Maybe we should make a date out of it, then - we can borrow a tent from Emporio, travel to the next town over, and get loud in the wilderness on the way."

He's not going to admit that having Suzi around finally makes travel safe, since her Pokemon will presumably actually listen to her.

When she's right, she is right. Helps that she absolutely knows how to appeal to his interests and has no reservations about doing so even if it's also to her benefit.

A proper kiss finally even if she's unable to hide a bit of a giggle after it and shifting to sit very properly again and just lean her side against him once again. Better to not give him any sort of reason to act an entire fool in public.

"Thought that might have convinced you~" Her voice is a bit more sing-song, but she doesn't seem to mind too much. "A lovely sky with stars and the moon away from people, too, maybe the tent wouldn't be entirely necessary but just in case." She doesn't know if this place has certain laws in place but maybe they shouldn't push that theory too hard.

And yet he's the one that's supposed to be a trainer, oops. But maybe she can talk or bribe Rush into actually listening to him.

Good thing she's got her head on her shoulders, because he absolutely needs someone to. Although the fact that acting a fool would also mean pushing all the animals off of her lap, and getting bitten by Rush again, also helps.

"It's not like we'll be in the middle of nowhere... and there are bugs the size of Fiore out there." And y'know, laws, but those pesky things are also stopping him from fist-fighting wild Pokemon himself. "Plus, I don't want anyone getting a view for free."

That is extremely rich coming from you, Joseph.

He'd probably also learn if Fiore has actual teeth or not, which maybe not the best idea to test that theory as getting headbutted by a chikorita is perhaps not the best of things.

"Is all of it settled, then?" She doesn't believe that's possible, though the bugs thing gives her pause and scrunching her nose up. Okay, that part is actually what would convince her out of her ideas. "Did you need to ruin that image with telling me that?" Rude. So rude. "'For free'?" You better start explaining yourself right now, Joseph, because that is maybe not the best thing to say. Especially when she's got a brow raised and is pointedly looking up at him to wait for that answer.

Sir, she is not about to start a porn business or something, what do you even mean.

Oh, he's made a grave mistake. And he knows there's a time limit to cover it up, so his mind is racing.

"Well, you know, without your permission- I mean, there could be creeps out there trying to sneak a peek while you're changing, let alone while we're fooling around."

He's trying his best to sound chivalrous, like he has any ground to stand on, while knowing full well that he is himself that type of creep.

At least he's able to know when he's made a mistake, better than most might think of him.

For a long moment she remains quiet, still looking at him before shaking her head, unable to hide that bit of a grin. "You're lucky that we're married otherwise I'd think you were talking about yourself." Dead to rights. She isn't remotely unaware that he is a creep of some kind of caliber but it doesn't really matter when she allows it anyway, right?

"Though..." she trails off for a moment, letting that sit there before speaking again, "maybe I'd want them to watch, who knows." He can do with that knowledge as he pleases as she's going back to skritching Rush's head as if she didn't just say those words.

A shiver passes through him. God, she's so perfect - and here he is without even the money to drag her back to an inn. He is definitely going to have to take training and battling more seriously.

(Or get a job, but. That's never happening.)

"If you insist, we can try going without the tent, at least the first night." He's getting up and dusting himself off, because he needs a little distance and Hamon breathing to cool back down, "But we can head out tonight, if you like. I'll just have to call Emporio about getting some supplies first... I wonder how long we can rent things before I have to pay him for it..."

Too bad Suzi won't be getting up any time soon, since Mitzi and Rush are both starting to fall asleep on her.

Test Drive Meme - Spring 2025

New Bark Town

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