Title: Fairytales By Us
Warnings: It's a crack-ish piece. Again. When will I ever get around to writing something serious?
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or The Little Mermaid. No pun intended. (Don't look for a pun—literally no pun intended. Hahaha. You can shoot me now.)
Notes: Rom-com style. Also my first attempt at involving BW and XY characters. Wish me luck!
Thanks to: MC-12, my romcom inspiration.
.&.
1.— and maybe it's coming back together
Daisy continued to idly scroll down her news feed on Pokébook. It was a very bland day for said news feed. She passed by random selfies, pokévines, and frustratingly vague statuses. Lame.
At least she was feeling relatively relaxed for a Monday morning. Last night, she and her sisters had returned from one of their latest photoshoots. Their modeling career was now at its peak, which made running the gym and surviving in general much easier.
Well, Misty kind of handled the 'running the gym' part but details, details. At least the sisters had a steady source of income now.
It seemed that everything was running quite smoothly in the Waterflower family.
Then, she froze. What had she just scrolled by? Daisy frantically stroked the mouse pad upward to reach what she had just seen. It was a photo of the Waterflower sisters performing their last water show.
They, of course, looked fabulous, that wasn't exactly the problem—it was the comments. Things like:
OK, is it just me or is this getting really old?
OMG. Legit same. I only went for the mermaid play a couple years ago, that was lit fabs.
Right. Petition to drop the hags?
Daisy's jaw dropped, and she dramatically set her glass of lemonade down.
"Oh, no they didn't."
Lily walked inside the room with a mirror in one hand and a brush in the other. "Daisy, do you like, know where you put the um, citrus-y perfume?"
Daisy immediately rose from her chair to face Lily, determined frown on her face. "This is no time for vanity, Lily! We've got a gym's reputation to save!"
"... Like, what?"
Misty continued to stare at them for a moment, trying to figure out if they were actually being serious right then.
Daisy, who was seated on her knees at the foot of Misty's bed, clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Please, Misty! I know that the gym is already going great with you back, but there's your sisters to think about!"
Misty frowned at the sudden new approach Daisy was taking. She sat upright, legs swinging over the bed to plant her feet firmly on the floor. "What are you talking about?"
"It's true!" chimed in Lily. She too kneeled down beside Daisy and continued, "We're like, at our modeling peak now! If we don't do something about the negative image we've got because of our water shows, our modeling career could like, totally go down the drain!"
Misty took a moment to process everything her two sisters had just said in a jumbled mess, and sighed in aggravation. She couldn't believe that her sisters were trying to convince her to do something again. Even worse, they had already made her do this before!
Of course, she should've seen it coming. Her life was just running a bit too smoothly the past few months. She had been winning a decent ratio of her gym battles, Tracey came by often and helped her out, and she had finally gotten Gary to drop by and help her with the new project she was working on. Gary might've become an esteemed researcher, but he still had the same sassy attitude she'd seen when she was travelling with Ash.
Ash... of course, the one downside of the whole "running smoothly" thing was that she hadn't gotten to talk to him at all. They usually managed a call or two, but she was just really busy with the gym life, to be honest. She didn't even have the time to meet up with Brock, and that had become a thing after he returned to Kanto to study basic medicine.
But - argh, she was doing it again - she didn't have the time to be concerned with Ash. He was off travelling and exploring the world (without her) and that was totally okay! Misty, in return, had other things to focus on. Her gym; her family. Her current life.
She glanced down, slightly crumbling at the pleading looks on Daisy and Lily's faces. They just seemed so... fragile. And - well - the last play wasn't so bad, right? Team Rocket had kind of jumped in, but it's not like they were bothering her anymore. It was just one play.
Yes. Just... one... silly little play. She could do it. She could grant her sisters one favor.
Daisy realized that Misty hadn't spoken in a while, and opened her mouth to speak—but Misty interrupted, "Fine. I'll do it."
"Wait—what?"
"You're serious?"
Misty stood up, nodding to finalize the matter. "Of course I am." She left the room, and Daisy and Lily stared after her, still reeling with shock.
The two sisters turned to each other with their identical look of befuddlement, prompting Lily to ask, "Is this like, really happening? Is Misty finally out of her rebellious teenager stage?"
"Um, well, whatever it is—I'm not gonna question it!"
In all honesty, May would've never thought that a week after the Johto Grand Festival was over, she'd be on a ferry to Kanto. But, she was really in no position to refuse when Misty invited her, especially because it was Misty inviting her.
She had always looked up to the feisty gym leader, and it'd been a while since May had talked to her. Of course, what would make this reunion even more exciting was that none other than her best coordinator friend would be coming with her.
Dawn stood beside her at the deck's railing, grinning into the sea below them. She understood that a group reunion of these sorts was rare and would be nothing short of amazingly fun.
The sequence of events that had led her to coming with May to Kanto made Dawn think she was quite lucky. The two coordinators had bonded over videophones and contest stories—and even more so when Dawn decided to come visit May after the coordinating season was over. Dawn had stayed over for half a week, and this was mostly due to Caroline's doting.
And then, next thing she knew, Misty called, saying that she wanted to invite her for a reunion of sorts. Misty said Ash and Brock would be there, and at the mention of those two, Dawn immediately came into the conversation. Misty didn't know Dawn very well, but she seemed excited at the prospect of meeting her. And then it was decided, and Dawn was glad she'd come over. She might've missed the golden opportunity!
May laughed at the memory of Dawn hesitantly agreeing to stay longer at the Maple household. Her family was happy to have her, of course. Dawn was nothing short of delightful and a great source of positive energy around the house, just like May.
May was glad she had Dawn as a best friend. She turned to smile at her, only to find Dawn doing the same.
"Do you know when we'll get there?" Dawn asked her, eyes shining with excitement.
May glanced down at her Poketch to check the time. "Probably in an hour or so," she answered. "Are you excited?"
Dawn elbowed her before replying, "Of course I am! I'll get to see Ash and Brock again, not to mention Misty. I've always been curious about her, ever since the fishing lure incident."
May frowned questioningly. "Wait, I knew you'd only heard of Misty, but... the fishing lure incident?"
"Oh!" Dawn started laughing at the memory. She laughed even harder when May just crossed her arms at her impatiently. "Did I not tell you about that?"
"No?"
Brock wondered what this was all about. When Misty called, he assumed she just wanted to meet up because it had been such a long time. But apparently a few others were going to be joining the somewhat impromptu meet-up.
And if he knew Misty, he knew that she did things like this for a reason.
He smiled as he stopped in front of the Cerulean City Gym, and squinted when the sunlight reflected off of the majestic dewgong that decorated the heading. Of course, curiosity aside, he was plain ecstatic to see Misty again. She was his best friend, after all.
He had barely even walked in a few steps before bumping into someone. He fell from the impact, apology on the tip of his tongue, before he realized who it was.
"Hey, you're here!" Misty exclaimed, face instantly lighting up. She tackled him in a hug, and Brock laughed at her enthusiasm before returning it. They stood up, and Misty dusted herself off before checking the time on her watch.
"Are you late for something?" Brock questioned at the sudden panicked look that had flitted across Misty's face.
She relented, "Um, yes actually—I wanted to go stock up on snacks since so many people are coming. And um, it's—I'll explain the rest later! Can you wait here just in case anyone comes?"
Brock took a moment to understand the garbled mess before nodding. "No problem."
And then Misty had fled, only stopping to lock the doors before she headed off.
Brock exhaled, planting his hands on his hips. As he looked around the gym, he realized it really was empty - not even the Sensational Sisters seemed to be around.
"That's kind of disappointing," he grumbled to himself. He pondered crashing in Misty's room for a nap, but then remembered that she was expecting guests. So he instead pulled up a chair next to the pool and sat down, whipping out a book from his backpack.
He couldn't really bring himself to focus on the book, however. He too was excited at the prospect of this - reunion - and he still couldn't help but wonder what had prompted it. All of them were so busy that it was hard to arrange one where everyone could attend.
Still, wonder as he might, he simply couldn't find an answer. He decided to go find a more interesting book, because obviously the one he had only just prompted him to daydream and worsen his curiosity.
He opened the door to Misty's office, which was conveniently right by the pool. And just as he thought, the girl did own a bookshelf. He rifled through the books until he found something that looked out of place - a laminated binder.
"What's this doing here?" he wondered. Brock assumed it would be just paperwork, but opening it up, he found the pages for a play.
Specifically, The Little Mermaid.
"This sounds really familiar..." Brock flipped through the pages, wondering it just belonged to their sisters or something. But then, what would it be doing in her office? Maybe it was a play she did while he was gone...
He reached the back page, only to find nearly the entire thing covered in comments. They were all written in glittery pen and cutesy lowercase letters.
...
...
...
the little mermaid casting list
director: daisy waterflower
co-directors: lily & violet waterflower
ariel — misty waterflower
prince eric — TBA
sebastian — brock slate
flounder — horsea
flounder's voice actor — georgio
ursula — TBA
king triton — tracey sketchit
scuttle — ...
1. - (we should like srsly consider figuring out the rest of the list... :/)
(um, no need to worry about that, remem? we've got backup.)
(if u like say so.)
(can you two stop writing on the back of my script!?)
...
...
...
Brock stood silently for one, two, three minutes.
Then: "Oh my Mew."
"Hey, Brock!"
Brock glanced up belatedly, still in some kind of haze. He realized Tracey was smiling at him expectantly, and he stood up to deliver a half-heated grin. "Hey, Tracey... it's been a while."
Tracey, oblivious to his confused state replied enthusiastically, "Yeah, Brock! It has been."
Brock blinked at Tracey's bright mood. He almost felt bad for ruining it, but he had to tell him. He had to tell him. He had to tell Tracey that he was King Triton. He needed someone else to confirm this insanity.
"So, about the—"
"SURPRISE!"
Before he could finish the thought, two girls sprung out from behind the door, delighted grins plastered over both faces.
"Whoa - May? And Dawn! I didn't expect you guys to get here so soon!"
May looked to Dawn and chuckled. "Well, we're here! Only because someone was so impatient."
"You were too," Dawn countered, sticking out her tongue.
"Well it's great to see you two again." Brock exchanged a quick hug with the two girls, before they took to examining the new guy beside Brock.
"Oh. Hi?" Tracey greeted, sheepishly and slightly awkwardly.
Brock stepped in, luckily, starting, "Tracey - Dawn and May. Dawn and May - Tracey. He used to travel with Ash."
"Another member of The Ash Club I didn't know about, huh?" Dawn teased, prompting a round of laughter from everyone.
When the laughter died down, Brock decided to bring the subject up. That subject. The one he needed to get out in the open before it killed him.
"So you guys know about the play, right?" Brock tried to sound casual, but in the end he just seemed plain freaked out. He could tell from May and Dawn's slightly surprised looks.
"You mean The Little Mermaid?" Tracey questioned. Brock affirmed with a nod. "Yeah, I've known about it for a while. Daisy told me... and kind of cast me for one of the parts."
"Wait, what play?" asked May.
"The one the Cerulean Gym is presenting. Misty's starring as Ariel," Tracey informed her.
"Misty's going to be a mermaid? That's so amazing!" cooed May, clasping her hands together.
"And strangely fitting," added Dawn.
"She didn't tell me I was going to be playing the part of Sebastian," Brock brought up, sighing. The image of himself in a krabby costume enveloped his mind. He wasn't too fond of it.
"That's it!" Dawn brought down her fist on her open palm. "Misty must've brought us here not only for a group reunion, but for participation in the Little Mermaid production!"
This matter sunk in with the three, before Brock sighed openly. "This should be fun."
"It should!"
All four turned to find Violet striding into the gym with shopping bags in her hands. Most of them seemed to be filled to the brim with cosmetic products - predictably, of course.
"Violet!" Brock jumped to the older woman's side, kneeling down before her. "It's been so long, my sweet - but I could never forget my beautiful flower!"
Violet stared. "Um... right. Anyway!" She easily pushed Brock out of the way before confronting the others. "I'm Violet, Misty's sister. I've heard about you two from Misty. You're her boyfriend's friends, right?"
"Her boyfriend?" Dawn echoed, raising her eyebrows.
"Sadly, not really," Violet answered. "We're hoping it'll happen sometime soon, though."
Everyone nodded and hummed with agreement. No one could disagree with that, especially since even May was filled in on the apparent relationship between Ash and Misty.
"Speaking of that, I came to talk to you guys about something. We're not finished with our casting list yet, and I wanted to ask you guys about the role for Prince Eric. Who do you think would be best suited?"
Violet pulled out her copy of the casting list and set it in front of them, pointing at the blank spot next to Prince Eric.
Tracey glanced at the paper and seemed to think of something. "How about Georgio?" he suggested.
"We already put him down for Flounder." Violet shrugged, crossing her arms.
"Well, why not change him? Someone else can be his voice actor. I think he'd fit the role pretty well," said Tracey.
"And why's that?" Brock asked.
"Well, he asked Misty out once, so they've already got... a connection, I guess?" Tracey was beginning to realize the argument wasn't as compelling as he thought it would be.
"Whoa, I didn't know about that! Did she accept?" Brock asked.
"Obviously not," Tracey answered.
May giggled before asking, "So Misty really likes Ash back? Huh... then we should just make her 'prince' Ash, right?"
Violet slammed her hand down on the table, causing everyone to jump. "You know... that could like, totally work!" She sounded delightful.
"Well I wasn't really being serious, but... he does seem like he would fit," May added, voice gaining confidence as she thought about it.
"Well," Dawn began matter-of-factly, "Ash himself isn't the princely type, but he's got the looks to be a Prince Eric. The black hair, the tan skin? His Pikachu being like Eric's dog?"
"Wow." Tracey blinked. "Why didn't we think of this before?"
"It's probably one of those things that are so obvious it's hard to see," Brock answered with a chuckle. "And besides, I've never seen Ash act before. Do you think he'd accept?"
"We'll make him accept," spoke up Violet, voice dark and foreboding. The said voice frightened the entire table, but she continued, "You're with me, aren't you? You're willing to make this play a success, as well as helping out my lil sister's love life?"
"It's romantic," May said. "I'm in!"
"Me too!"
"Well, I can't argue that they were meant to be."
"...It's not like I haven't forced Ash into anything else before."
Violet grinned. "Alright! Operation 'Prince Ash' is a go! And our goal: getting the two most stubborn people in the world together. Pokeshipping will be a success."
Five minutes later, after Violet's departure to begin the plan, our heroes discuss a matter of confusion.
"Wait, Pokeshipping?"
"Yeah! It's like, their ship name."
"Wait, their ship name?"
"Yeah, like... okay, I'm totally not explaining this to you guys. Tracey, educate them!"
"Er... well... it's kind of like..."
"Like... like Brangelina?"
"Kind of, but. You use a factor in common and then add 'shipping' to the end."
"Oh, I get it! Then I've got a good one, May! How about Contestshipping?"