#also i'm so sad this fit can never exist but ALAS

[icharchivist]

The Paa-san Paa-shi discourse is similar to how Lucio calls Sandalphon San-chan, but Belial calls him Sandy, but both are the same in English, even though, like with Percy, one just annoys him while the other one would probably make him throttle you if you called him that

Yeah pretty much the exact same issue.

I know they can't really go around that as long as they decide to translate the nicknames, but those two in particulars are unnerving.

Paasan and Paashi annoys me a lot as a Paa fan, mostly because by having both nickname translated Percy it really loses how personal Paashi is and that Percival isn't like, just giving a pass to his family (though he is) but also just that the nicknames are very different. Like, when Vane first calls him Paasan Percival blows up bc "what sort of stupid thing did you do to my name" which doesn't really track if it was the same nickname as the name his family lovingly give him (though he would still be mad at Vane calling him that, he just wouldn't be this offended by it) but yeah ultimately to me it's when Belial started to use it that i got upset the difference didn't exist in English, because there's miles between calling someone a nickname everyone call shim as, and specifically crossing bondaries that only belongs to his family yaknow? esp since in the fight, the line he calls him Paashi in is "The perfect kingdom? Don't make me laugh. You should be thankful, Percy. I've saved you from heartbreak, and a long search with no happy ending.". Which is especially making fun of Percival on the promise he made his mother, so rubbing it with the nickname his mother used on him is another level of vile yaknow?

Sandalphon's situation is similar, though it has less of a double reading of "it's because one nickname is okay for people who matters to him", he hates both nickname, but both do serve a different purpose yeah. Sanchan is much more affectionate, which makes the fact it's Lucio doing that to be just very annoying for Sandalphon, and Sandy is just shortening his name*. But it does kinda stop at it being two equally as annoying nicknames. I do think it would have been better to make them different though, if only so no one would think Lucio reminds Sandalphon of Belial or vice versa. Letting Lucio being hated on for his own merits yaknow?

* (though i have an overreading for this one, over the fact that all the angels have a name ending in "Eru" (or "aru" for Belial), including Lucifer (bc his name is an alternative pronontiation on Lucifer, Lucilius's name is the official pronountiation of Lucifer, as rushifaa), and "eru" being the Japanese pronontiation of the suffix "el", which, in Hebrew, is originally the suffix to say "of God". All of the "eru" angels are angels who answers directly to Lucilius, so they're "of their own God". Meanwhile the two angels who don't fit this patern, Sandalphon and Metatron, are two angels defined by their loyalty to Lucifer and being outsiders to the rest of the angels Lucilius originally planned to use. So an argument could be made that the suffix "on" there is representing a distance from Lucilius and their loyalty to Lucifer in a sense. With that overreading in mind you can read Belial's nickname as a way of stripping Sandalphon from Lucifer's connection. Albeit, he calls every angels a shortened version that cuts the "el" too, so something something Belial removing them from belonging to Lucilius as well so he can be Lucilius' one and only and/or to "give them back their own freedom". This was the overreading corner which was probably not intended by canon but it's not like anything disproves it so, like, have fun with this one?)

so yeah this is kind of a shame how some of the nicknames really lose their nuances due to the translations. I'll never forgive the Paashi one but i'm a Paa fucker, i overthink everything, so. well.

but yeah it's the type of things you might miss unless you catch it by ear, which can be a bit sad imo. alas...

#ichareply #ichafantalks gbf #anonymous

[solacefruit]

Congratulations on the new job!! I left all my gushing for a comment proper, but if you don't mind I have a couple of questions, just because I love this world so much! I'm trying to focus on characters and not worldbuilding or anything that could be relevant to future works, just in case!

Is Firestar still Jake's son in this universe? How did that come about, and does Tallstar figure it out? How does he feel about it?

Have there been any other cases of cats being made elders early? Can you imagine any canon characters achieving that honor?

Why did Deadkit/paw keep his name, as opposed to having a prefix related to his color and being named Deadfoot as a warrior?

How does Pip eventually react to tales of Talltail's accomplishments? To him becoming deputy, then leader?

Thank you again for this journey!

Thank you very much! I’m going to have quite a lot to juggle in the next few weeks, but I do like to be busy, so I’m not complaining. (At least not yet). 

It’s so thoughtful of you to avoid world-building questions, but I don’t mind answering a few if you have them. If anything’s too important, I’m always able to decline an answer. As for what you’ve sent in, I’ll answer all of that below. 

Is Firestar still Jake's son in this universe? How did that come about, and does Tallstar figure it out? How does he feel about it?

Yes, I absolutely believe Cypress/Jake is Firestar née Rusty’s father. I don’t have all the details of Jake’s life post-Talltail set in stone, because I’m sure he went on to live a very full and bustling life, but he definitely met other cats and had litters with them. I like to think Jake adventured until he got far too old and then spent his twilight years in a lap by the fire, so I imagine he probably met Rusty’s mother on one of his many outings. I don’t believe Jake ever knew the kittens personally, although he probably heard about them existing at some point. 

As for Tallstar, I think he would see too much of Jake in Fireheart not to at least suspect a connection there, and I think he would ultimately assume that Fireheart is Jake’s son. But blood isn’t everything--especially to Tallstar--so I feel he’d let Fireheart live on his own merits, rather than just as an extension of a cat that Rusty never met. 

Have there been any other cases of cats being made elders early? Can you imagine any canon characters achieving that honor?

Clan history is very long and winding, and some of it is forgotten. In a way, that’s me saying “probably everything that can happen has happened before, at least once”, and also every clan has their own ways and metrics for judging this kind of honour--but yes, Talltail definitely isn’t the first young cat ever to be anointed an elder at a young age. 

Of course, he might be the first cat of his age to be made an elder for killing a hawk--which is a very rare method of achieving that particular rank, and only exists in Windclan--but I’m sure there have been others in the past who had done great deeds or shown wisdom enough to earn that right in the eyes of their clan. 

Re: canon characters, that feels a little like a trick question! I wouldn’t have given canon Talltail from TR the honour, but my Talltail? Absolutely. So I suppose if I really sat down and considered them all through my writing, perhaps I could think of one or two others, but truthfully there’s no-one that leaps to my mind as a candidate. Talltail is really quite unique. 

Why did Deadkit/paw keep his name, as opposed to having a prefix related to his color and being named Deadfoot as a warrior?

If I’m totally truthful, it’s because it was easiest! It’s the same reason I didn’t give Talltail a new name: it was good enough, and familiar for readers, and it meant I didn’t have to detour the narrative through a piece of clan life that wasn’t really fitting for this particular story--i.e., naming/name-change culture. I didn’t want a new name to distract or distance readers from my actual work, so sometimes I just have to cop it and let Erin Hunter’s bad canon exist in my world, because the immediate character recognition is worth it.

In an ideal world where I didn’t have to consider that my readers are pretty much exclusively preexisting fans of the series reading my work through a lens that’s always in reference to the original canon, most significant characters I’ve written about would have received new names. Background characters I tend to have a little more freedom with and I make full use of that, but even then, it’s still limited within the bounds of what’s digestible as Warriors content, and not a new IP.

For instance, I have a fun little cat conlang I tinker with now and then and have for many years and that, to me, is canon in my world, and it allows me to do some really neat stuff as far as enabling prefixes that aren’t possible in a typical traditional system or Erin Hunter’s garbage canon. In my dream stories, I’m able to name characters after butterflies, and the many parts of a tree, and the different kinds of clouds. 

But alas, because this is fanfiction I’m writing and not just a free-for-all where I remake the world entirely anew and expect readers to do the work of learning its intricacies and language, I usually favour what’s easier for other fans to read and enjoy, rather than what I see as the One True Canon of my world, if that makes sense? I get as close as I reasonably can, but frequently there are trade-offs for accessibility. 

How does Pip eventually react to tales of Talltail's accomplishments? To him becoming deputy, then leader?

She’s ecstatic. I think Pip always saw in Talltail what everyone else slowly comes to know over his years rising to glory in Windclan, and I think she’s proud of him, even though she’s sad that they are apart. She loses her entire mind when she finds out about the hawk, there’s no doubt about that.

#reply #make a mighty sound #thank you for asking! i hope the answers are fun to read

[irepookie]

INFINITY

Summary: QUEEN AU where Rog (aka Rowan Queen) is young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: Fluff, Fluff, Fluff, and swearing.

Word Count: 1926

Okay so this is the closest picture I could find to Row's state in the next two chapters:

Chapter 2: PIPER

Row has a lot questions to ask himself, and he knows it's on only his own future at stake, but also The Prune's, who may be getting a name.

Of all the things Rowan Queen might have aspired to be, -a Rockstar, a Roger Taylor level drummer...- a 19 year old solo dad wasn't amongst them.

All he knew was that since he had first held that small Wrinkly being and her eyes had met his, she had stolen a part of him, and that the only way to feel completed again was being with her.

Ridiculously sappy, he knew.

"But that's what makes best parents" Callie, the nurse who had introduced them assured him one day when he confessed his thoughts out loud, while he watched her sponge bath the infant "Don't feel stupid, or embarrassed for feeling that way, Row. In fact, that's exactly how it should be. Always. And those fathers who deny it or fight that connection, end up estranged from their kids as they grow up. Take it from a daughter who hasn't seen her father in 5 years"

But, alas, there he was, living between his flat and the Hospital's newborn aisle, because he just couldn't get that one girl out his head, despite don't knowing how he had come to this.

"Well I haven't seen mine in 9"

"And that scares you, don't it?"

He gasped, and nodded slowly.

"Is better having no father figure at all than having a bad one. Just like I think your Prune is luckier having one brave dad than a coward mom"

"And two fit parents?" He asked, eyes flicking to the untouched pile of adoption papers

"Well that's the ideal situation, isn't it? But the weight always ends up relaying more on the mother, you know? The father always steps back, because society still thinks it's more acceptable for us women to raise the children because, of course, we have deeper connection with 'em for carrying them around for nine months and blah blah blah." She got the towel and handed it to him before laying the squirming 2 day old In his arms.

He carefully wrapped it around her and sat down so he wouldn't drop her, then started to stroke her soft delicate skin with the towel.

"But that's bullshit." Callie continued "That's an excuse you men came up with to sneak out from changing nappies. But I believe you guys are just as capable of taking care of children as us. And that you might be the ultimate proof of it." She gathered her hair in a ponytail, and smiled at father and daughter, as Row was now

leaning back on the rocking chair with the Prune, -as all the staff had begun to call her- laid on his bare chest.

"So forget whatever prejudices you have. This kid needs you, she doesn't know nothing about what's going on, she misses her little warm oven, the voice she was so used to hear and that she'll never hear again because that world has left her behind the first chance she got and she's very confused.

But also, She doesn't know about gender stereotypes, or that she's a girl. But she knows you're here. And her instincts tell her you're safety, and warmth, and love. Sure, I'm around a lot too, but soon you'll be discharged and everything she'll have will be you. A d then she'll grow up and will be forever grateful for everything you will have done for her"

The teen nodded, taking in all the words but remaining silent. Quiet moments like this -when she was calm and content- were quite meaningful.

"I just want the best for her. And I'm not sure I am"

"Well, from where I'm standing, you're pretty much up there. Nobody gets her to settle down as quickly as you do. That has to mean something, right? Newborns have this amazing instinct of detecting sources of love and protection. And you are hers. She trusts you: trust yourself"

Days went by, and Row found himself getting up early in order to go back to hospital. At home he was restless, as questions filled his head.

Was she better off with him?

Was he ready?

How could Callie be so much more sure about the whole thing than he was?

What if be wasn't good enough

What if mom was right?

Why did he want to become a dad in the first place?

Should he just sign those papers before it was too late and forget the whole thing?

The sixth day, he made his way to the hospital as usual, but something felt off. What it was? He couldn't put a finger on it, so he shrugged it off and entered the NICU area where she was.

"Hey, lovely one, look at you, a bit bigger each day" he cooed at his yet unnamed daughter, as he put his hand through the incubator hole to let her know his ore6 "So strong and so beautiful" he smiled brightly as her small hand closed around his finger.

"Yes, this way please" he heard a male voice and turned his eyes to see a doctor and a man and a woman who were probably in their thirties

"Oh my gosh she's so tiny!" The woman exclaimed, walking towards the glass

"Who are you?" Row asked, stepping defensively in front of her before she could reach the baby.

"You must be Rowan Queen?" The man held his hand out "We're the adopting couple..."

"What?" He basically slapped it away "No! Who told you she's in for adoption?"

"Mister, you signed the adoption papers" the Doctor said

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did. Here" the doctor looked through the pile of papers on his hands and showed him.

He snatched the file from him. That was his signature but he didn't remember signing anything. He may have doubts about being a dad, but Callie was right, the little prune and him needed each other. They belonged together And he wasn't gonna give her away. The only way was through.

"There must be a mistake. She's not up for adoption"

"Err... Yes she is" the man said

"No she's not! I should know better than you, huh?"

"We've heard about the mother. So sad. But babies need their mommys, don't they?" The woman cooed from the other side of the incubator

"You can't take her" if looks could kill, Row would have murdered her right then and there.

"Mister..."

"No! He's my daughter!"

"Sir, signing this you gave up your parental rights"

"And what the hell does that even mean?"

"Legally, she's not yours anymore"

"But I don't remember signing anything!"

"But this is your signature"

"Yes. But I... I didn't mean it"

The woman scoffed "Well you clearly did."

"Mind your fucking business!" He snapped, before turning to the doctor "Look, I really don't know how my signature is there but I need you to... I don't know, forget it, okay?"

"Forget it?"

"Yes! Whatever that stupid paper says, I'm keeping her. And I will do everything you want me to"

"Sorry. There's nothing we can do about it now. You could take this to court but... It's a lost cause"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"A 19 year old against a healthy, stable marriage?" He used the same arguments mom had

"But I'm her dad..." His voice quivered, as his baby started to cry.

"Don't worry sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy are here now" the woman said "Our Judy"

"Judy? What the fuck, you're not naming her Judy!"

"What we do with our daughter is our business, sir" the woman said "Now please, leave us alone"

"No! She's not Judy. She's my prune, I'm gonna prove to all of you fuckers wrong, because I can fucking do this if I want you. Not because I wanted to at first, or because I can't have my own kid like you; she's my own kid and she belongs with me. And I may not be a middle upper class, or drive a goddamn Mercedes, or have a huge house and a stable boring job at whatever office. And she may not have a goddamn mother, or her own room. So what? She has me. Because I'm the one who's been here for the whole bloody week worrying about her. Not you, not her mother. So fuck off and choose another kid!"

Two men who Row hadn't even seen arrive took him, as he fought and called his crying daughter "PIPER! PIPER! DADDY WILL GET YOU! I'M YOUR DAD, DON'T FORGET!"

Then he woke up with a jolt in that same hospital room, as his newborn baby awoke too beside him

He quickly sat up and leaned over to place a hand on her tummy, to check that she was real, letting out a sigh of relief when feeling her warm skin

It had been just a dream. Well, a nightmare rather than a dream. But she was there, safe next to him

"Hey, baby girl. Yes, hello darling. You had a good night? Gave trouble to the nurses?" he asked, stroking her torso "Are we hungry?" He offered his little finger,and she began to suck on it as response, which made him chuckle. "Alright, I'll call so they get us a bottle okay?"

3 minutes later, he was sitting on the green rocking chair, Baby Prune on his bare chest -because apparently skin to skin helped parents and kiddos bond or whatever- as he gave her the bottle.

He had to admit, ever since he had learned how to properly hold her, he looked forward to feeding, because he had grown to love these little moments, and by the end of them, be always felt closer and more in love with that tiny, wrinkled human being which he had helped make.

Who was a part of him somehow, and who he couldn't imagine his life without despite having only known her for 6 days.

She was so amazing. So mesmerizing. With her clear grey eyes and her peachy skin, and her adorable ears.

He just couldn't get his eyes off her.

"You're gonna come home with me in a couple days, and..." He realized he hadn't really thought about a plan. He had just moved out mom's, and the apartment was still empty. He'd have to start getting stuff. But anyway "... And we'll figure something out. I'm not gonna renounce to you. No ma'am. You've got me. And I've got you. And I'll look after you and make sure you're always happy and safe and... loved. I fucking love you so damn much and I don't even know how did this happen. I mean you're not even a week old and you've already turned my life upside down just by bloody existing. You can't even understand what I'm saying. But here I am, making all this plans and Shit... I, who never thinks ahead, who never knows his future beyond what meal he's gonna get. But I... Damn. Do you babies have like special powers or something? Do you like... Is it a defensive instinct? Like you manage to make us go nuts about you by casting a spell it whatever so we'll stay enchanted? Because this is fucking ridiculous."

She finished the bottle and he put it aside.

"Speaking about plans, we can't keep calling you Baby Prune. We're gonna have to choose a name. A pretty unique gorgeous name for a special, perfect little princess like you. So, let's see" he changed his hold on her so they were face to face. Something the nurses had called.. ? He wasn't really sure but he had got hand on it "Yes, hello" he smiled helplessly at the sight of her "Baby girl. Baby girl" he cooed absentmindedly as he analysed her features

Then he remembered his dream. He had called her Piper. He wasn't even sure if he had heard that name before but he liked it. It was original, cool, rare enough people would associate it with her but not awful, like other names he had heard.

"Piper" he whispered, tasting the word while contemplating her face. It sounded good to him. "Piper Queen" he said, a bit louder this time as her tiny hand closed around a strand of his blonde hair. "You like that? Piper?"

She just blinked, but he interpreted it as an affirmative answer

"It's settled, then. Piper. Pips for short." He smiled, and brought her back to his bare chest so he could lull her back to sleep with his rambling, which had worked the previous times.

"My Piper" he kissed her head and began to rub her back "I'm so scared honestly. I won't lie to ya, I have no idea what I'm doing but you can rely on me. I'm good at improvising so I'll figure it out. Don't worry. But you gotta take it easy, hm? If you have a bit of patience, it'll be just fine. And about this?" He reached for the papers -which were unsigned- and ripped them off "Fuck it. Just fuck it."

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

A big Hola to my dear fellow @definitely-darcy whose kind review and attention to detail has made gain confidence in this.

So, I've written this one in different bits which I've had to tie up together. Hope you guys like it.

That's about it, really. Please comment and let me know what you think (always nice and constructively).

Xx

~Pookie

#bohemian rhapsody #queen band #roger taylor #infinity fic #queen fic #queen fanfiction #queen #queen fandom #queen au #single dad! roger taylor #roger taylor daughter #roger taylor baby #ben hardy! roger taylor #irepookie #lil'prune

[sage-nebula]

i was worried about big ol' lizardon, to be quite honest back when you had that one fic about alan meeting a random trainer. also about ash's charizard, so the fact that he's still around (and that ash runs a team of dergs while alan has lizardon and gabby) warms the cockles of my heart. I'm curious about Lapras, actually, since it also has dragon blood? Do the duo run into its pod every once in a while?

Ahh, yes! This one! For the sake of others reading this, I’ll post that little snippet, since it’s small enough to easily fit here:

The dragon was massive—easily ten feet tall, give or take, though Amy supposed she wasn’t always the best at gauging height. Its scales were bright orange, and though the flame atop its tail blazed with enough intensity so that she felt the wash of its heat even from where she stood, the blue eyes it looked at her with seemed gentle.

“Is that … that’s a pokémon, right?” she asked. The boy—the dragon’s trainer, Amy thought, if their matching pendants were anything to go by—nodded. “What is it?”

The boy’s gaze was no less blue, but was somehow more scrutinizing. He looked at her for what felt like a long second before he turned back to his dragon, who turned to meet his eyes.

“He’s a charizard,” the boy said.

“A charizard?” Amy repeated, and heat from the dragon’s—the charizard’s—tail flame was nothing compared to the shock she felt vibrate through her now. “You mean a—the final evolutionary stage of … charmander, right?” The boy nodded, and as he did Amy exclaimed, “I thought they were all extinct!”

The boy glanced at her, something inscrutible in his expression, as the charizard beside him made a sound that, to Amy’s ears, sounded almost … sad, or at least unhappy. Upon hearing the sound, the boy turned away from Amy again, and looked back at his charizard instead. The great dragon ducked his head as the boy raised both hands, and stroked the charizard beneath his jaw.

“Not all of them,” the boy said quietly.

But yeah, Lizardon is just fine. He’s just as immortal as Alan himself is, it just took a little longer for Xerneas’ power / that Infinity Energy to stop his growing completely, thanks to his species. Unfortunately, though, Ash’s charizard is not; he’s still going to live an extremely long time thanks to the fact that he’s a dragon himself (and Charizard, to me, always seemed pretty exceptional even for his species, so I could see him living to be a thousand or more), but he will eventually succumb to old age, since he wasn’t caught up in that blast. (He could have been, had the writers allowed Ash to have Charizard in Kalos, but alas …) Of course, thinking about it, it’s possible that Ash could always ask Xerneas to bless Charizard the way he did the rest of them, but I imagine that might require him to actually do something for Xerneas, and there might not be very much opportunity for that. Additionally, I feel like Ash would have a hard time asking for just Charizard, and not all of his other pokémon as well, which would just cause the favors to pile on and on. It might not be entirely convenient. (Plus, there’s no telling that Xerneas would even want to do that. Does Xerneas want to make other pokémon and humans immortal? Hmm.) 

Anyway, you can ask me questions about Immortality AU at any time! I would have been happy to answer about Lizardon if you’d asked back then, and about Charizard as well, haha. I don’t do very much with it on the regular, but I really do love this AU, and I like thinking about it a lot, too. ♥

As far as Lapras is concerned, that’s an interesting question! To be honest, I never thought of lapras as dragons by species; they’re based on the Loch Ness Monster, and I always considered the Loch Ness Monster to be more of a dinosaur, like a plesiosaur. And I know some people think that dinosaurs are dragons, but for the most part I’ve always disagreed with that. Some of them might toe the line, such as pterodactyls (which is why Lance has an aerodactyl on his team as early as Gen I), but I never thought of dragons when I looked at plesiosaurs, and as such I never really thought of lapras as dragons by species.

But that said, even if lapras aren’t dragons, the fact that the Loch Ness Monster is still alive (I want to believe, okay) tells us that they’re very long-lived, anyway! Lapras are extremely rare even in the modern day thanks to poachers hunting them to near extinction (this is canon as of the Gen I Pokédex entries), so sadly, lapras might have the same fate as charizard a century or two later, back when a lot of the Immortality AU stories take place. They might be more legend than actual ‘mon by this point, a pokémon that people have read stories about, but think don’t actually exist anymore. =( But that said, the idea of something happening to Ash’s lapras is too sad for me to bear, because that precious baby never deserved any of what happened to her in the canon, she was a sweet cinnamon roll too pure for this sinful earth, and the idea of poachers killing her is just … no. No. I refuse to accept that.

So I imagine that what could happen is, perhaps most (or all) of her pod dies or is killed off through some means or another. Maybe at one point there’s an epidemic that spreads throughout the sea and makes different members of her pod sick, and maybe this was even intentionally done by poachers to make lapras easier to snap up. Particularly since lapras, as a species, tend to be very gentle and trusting, it would probably be easy for poachers to “befriend” them, only to actually betray them later and capture them, heal them so that they’re good enough to sell, and then sell them off. (Or maybe even kill them for delicacies … god, that’s dark, but in real life poachers are just that disgusting, so they probably are in the PokéWorld as well.) Lapras managed to escape this. Either her mother (who might have still been alive at the time) urged her to go, or she just recognized when there was nothing that even she could do for her pod and left, but she managed to escape. (Maybe she even was temporarily captured, but fought back and escaped from there. She wasn’t with Ash very long, but though he was of course always gentle with her, he taught her to be a fighter and a survivor. She remembers that even decades later.) 

So she escaped, and then much like the lapras in the Gen II games, she finds a deep cave to live in—a cave where no humans really tread. She’s grieving the loss of her pod, and she has renewed trauma re: humans, so this deep, underground lake is just what she needs right now. There are some other pokémon there, and she does befriend them. She befriends the other aquatic pokémon that live in her massive lake with her, as well as the other cave dwellers that she sees when she surfaces. And she does surface, at least once a week (because I really enjoyed how the Union Cave lapras in Gen II routinely emerged on Fridays). She knows she has to keep pressing on, that she can live underwater most of the time, but that at least once a week she should take some time to enjoy the surface. Her cave is safe. No humans ever come down here.

… Until two humans do.

To be honest, they were just exploring. They were bored. Ash saw the cave, and he suggested they go take a look inside, because why not? Alan figured it might be good—there could be some good training opportunities in there. Ash thought maybe they could find some fossil pokémon. There was no reason not to go in the cave, and a lot of reasons to go into the cave, so into the cave they went. And they ventured through it, eventually coming down to that huge lake on the lowest level. And this just so happened to be the day (because of course it was) that Lapras was spending some time on the surface of her lake, but when all of her land-dwelling friends scattered, she felt true fear and alarm rush through her as well. No humans ever came down to this lake, but those—those were human voices. She was caught frozen, unsure of what to do. Should she plunge back down beneath the surface? Should she fend them off with Ice Beam? If she did, and she failed, she might be captured or worse. If she didn’t, all the other pokémon in the cave might be captured or worse. But—

Her indecision cost her precious time. The two human boys made it to the lake, and the shorter one was the one who saw her first. “Hey,” he said brightly, “a lapras!”

Once again, Lapras felt frozen. She knew that voice.

“A lapras?” the taller boy said. Lapras didn’t know that voice. That boy was a stranger. But the shorter boy—her boy, the one human boy who was there for her when no one else was—always had good taste in friends. His friends were always safe. So— “I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d see one again.” He was smiling, too. This boy, the taller one—he had to be good, too.

And Lapras knew that her Ash was definitely good.

So she called out to him. She swam as quickly as she could over to the shore. And as she did, Ash’s eyes widened. Recognition lit in them. And he said, “Lapras? Lapras! It’s really you!” before he threw himself off the shore and wrapped his arms around her neck, laughing joyfully as she crooned and butted her head against his (so tiny head, he was so small—was he always this small?).

And that was how Ash got Lapras back. He had no idea she was still alive, hadn’t seen her in so long—but when they reunited, he took her with him, because he still had open space on his team, both he and Pikachu were delighted to see her, she was delighted to see him, and Alan was pretty warm to the idea of having her along as well. (Bonus, they also can now comfortably travel across seas. They could always fly, and Ash does have milotic, but lapras are easier to Surf on than milotic, and sometimes their charizard need rest.) 

Anyway, I think that both Ash and Alan would focus their teams on dinosaurs and dragons (and Pikachu), simply for the sake of, well, these particular pokémon are very long-lived, they’re not going to age out and die any time soon, so it’s much easier to bond with them than it might be others. Ghosts could fit this, too, come to think of it; it’s not like a ghost can exactly die of old age. (And I don’t think we’ve ever been told if ghost pokémon can die or not. I’d think they couldn’t, because I mean … they’re not dead, per se, but they kind of are? Some are literally the spirits of dead children, so like …) So with that in mind, teams I imagine for both of them in this AU are:

Ash:

Pikachu (obvs)

Charizard

Garchomp

Noivern

Lapras

Milotic (nicknamed Mystearica, further nicknamed Myst)

Alan:

Lizardon (obvs)

Garchomp (Gabby)

Tyranitar (Bangiras)

Salamence (Bohmander)

Aerodactyl (Ptera)

Mimikyu (Kyuu)

I considered also giving Alan Fulbert’s altaria, since altaria are also dragons, Fulbert was like his grizzly uncle, and so it might make sense for Alan to look after Cumulonimbus as well. But in actuality, altaria are based on mythical birds from Chinese folklore, so I’m not sure if they count as a dragon by species … maybe, maybe not, but it’s also possible that he does take care of Cumulonimbus for a while, but eventually Cumulonimbus passes on. Or maybe Fulbert released Cumulonimbus as he got up there in age and was about to die, who knows. Either way, whether Alan has Cumulonimbus or not, one thing I like about Alan’s team in Immortality AU is that every single ‘mon can mega evolve, with the exception of his mimikyu. Since Alan had a real focus on mega evolution and wanted to become a mega evolution master, the fact that all of the pokémon in his possession can mega evolve is fitting, I think, even if only ever really mega evolves Lizardon.

For the record, that tyranitar is his tyranitar, the very same one he has in canon. I know that tyranitar are sort of based off a type of lizard, but they also kind of always reminded me of Godzilla, which is kind of like a dinosaur. Thus, perhaps Bangiras can live for a long time, too. (And if not, maybe swap out Bangiras for Cumulonimbus?) His salamence was perhaps captured (in its first stage, of course) as a tribute to Zinnia (because I have not let go of my Delta Episode adaptation wherein they become friends; I don’t know how they would meet in a prime timeline scenario, but let me dream), and I think it’d be funny as all hell if his aerodactyl was the very same aerodactyl that had once tried to eat Ash. Maybe they encountered it again, and it once again tried to eat Ash, but Alan decided to solve the problem by capturing it. Taming Ptera takes some work (Ptera has held a grudge), but it’s probably worth it. And I’ve always liked to imagine him getting a timid little mimikyu at some point (such as in my Alola AU), and on top of that, I think the idea that Ash and Alan have teams of dragons and dinosaurs save one (for each of them) is kind of funny. So Alan has his mimikyu, which—as a fairy/ghost—is sort of immortal in its own way.

And while some might think that Alan’s team must not like water very much, type advantage isn’t everything, and Lizardon is about ten feet tall. I really don’t think a little water is going to bother him much, especially when he’s mega evolved and it’s no longer super effective. :P

But anyway, that’s enough ramble from me, haha. Thanks again for asking!!

#immortality au #em-exceeds-change-zearu