Red Winged Heart (Redwingshipping)

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

(This appears to be the only story for this pairing, but since it came up with a VENGEANCE on the Pokemon/Human thread, I decided a refresher was appropiate. Rated T)



My arrival in Alto Mare was nothing special. I was greatful to be off the boat, but other than that, I disembarked with the others as anyone else would. It seemed strange to me to enter a new place without at least some degree of otherness. Perhaps it was the lack of my ship; after all, she always seemed to welcome the comments and stares that I now missed.

In Alto Mare, I was just another new arrival. Perhaps that would be how I would live out my days. At least I would live surrounded by the legends themselves.

There are places like this dotting the world over, places touched by the Legendaries. They are woven through story and song since the ancient times.

Some people refer to those days as the 'time of legends'. I prefer to think that legends are still being written.

Soon after I arrived, I met her. A beautiful young woman, with a smile like sunshine and eyes like precious amber. She did not speak, but I found I could understand her perfectly.

She had recently lost her brother, and depended on a friend of hers for company. I shared my experiences when my mother had passed on, and other sorrows, and she moved closer to me, resting her head on my chest.

At that point, I had known her for only a few days, but I drew her in for a soft kiss. It was as though I had known her for ages, since before time.

Later, she took me to a park in the city. Stopping at a grand fountain, she threw a flower into the water, bowing her head in reverence. I did the same, pulling a blossom from the ground below my feet. "For your brother?" I asked, and she nodded.

I saw her reflection in the water, red wings rising from her. Yet I thought nothing of it.

That night, she returned with me to my home. I told her of the legends surrounding my treasures, the ones I had managed to salvage. She cocked her head at me when I mentioned the crash of my ship, and so I told her the story.

When it was through, she looked as though I had betrayed her, and ran out into the night, crying silently. I followed her, but could only catch the shadow of something flying overhead.

I had heard the legend of the twin birds of Alto Mare, the guardians of the water city, but had not connected them with her. I had no reason to.

But at that moment, I knew the truth about the silent girl who had captured my heart.

And now I wait to see the shadow of those red wings once more.

 

[wayc]

While I was a little nervous about how I'd feel about reading something where Latias didn't pine for Ash, I have to admit I was curious about this. I wondered what the antagonist from the 2nd movie could possibly do to redeem himself or make himself, in my opinion, worthy of someone as sweet and gentle as Latias. I hope you write more so we can see. You have a nice flowing writing style and I like your detail in expressing emotion and your similes; "like sunshine and eyes like precious amber."

Let's see what you can do with this.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

The thing is that I don't think he realized, even at the end of the movie, that he'd done anything wrong. At least morally wrong or anything, anything beyond making some mistakes, and even then he's probably not sure *what* he did wrong that caused such a disaster. And of course he thinks of his own loss as the disaster rather than anything else, because he spent pretty much the whole movie not even noticing what was going on around him outside of his narrow scope, namely the Birds/Lugia.

So for him to be attuned to this girl means that he puts her up there with his treasures. And it may *be* that she's a Legendary that draws him to her, although he doesn't realize that until it's too late for him.

It's hard for me to write romance for him given that I usually see him as being blind to the world and its people, which would probably mean that if he ever gave his heart to someone, they would be able to manipulate him left and right and he wouldn't be able to figure out out. Which is interesting because I see him as being quite manipulative in his own way...but usually to get what he wants from someone. If they're *willing* to give him what he wants, then I think he'd lose himself somewhat to make it a continious thing.

Which means, of course, that something like this cannot end well. And given his tenacity, it can only continue from here. Although the details I'm not sure of.

 

[wayc]

You make some excellent points. I never thought about it that way before, or him in that way before. I can start to see how tricky it might be for him to sustain a relationship, and if Latias did in fact manage to enter his heart before he knew what she was, it could turn into a bit of a conflict of interest for him.

That's actually quite a clever plot element to base a fic around and makes it even more intriguing. He will have to, temporarily at least, let it open his eyes to what it really means to "collect" Pokémon if how Latias feels about him is important to him. Otherwise, he's probably not going to see her again, of her own volition, anyway.

I really do hope you continue and if you can figure out how, you've got a guaranteed reader now. I want to see if Latias can forgive or come to terms with who he is, and if he chooses, what he might be able to do to show her that she has true meaning to him that isn't superficial. I tend to think with Latias though, anything is possible. Her empathic abilities could tap into the benevolence of anyone.

Ahhh, don't you just love unusual romances with unusual obstacles?

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I think he has great potential to be reformed, but first he'd have to actually realize the magnitude of what he did and why that was a Bad Thing. Alternately, he also has potential to become a true villian, but that would more than likely take someone else pulling him down that path.

Before I write any more, I'll have to actually watch the fifth movie. It's the one I haven't seen yet, believe it or not (well, and 11 but there's a very good reason for that).

And I'd have to decide on if this would be Obsessionverse or not (see my sig, Obsession is my ongoing backstory fic for him) to think about how his past might influence him. Yes I refered in this fic to the loss of his mother, which happened in my other fic, but it's not specific enough to tie it to that personal continuity. And if I *do* decide to take it that way, how to write it without giving too many spoilers.