I'm glad you commented on Ash, actually, because he was in a lot of ways where this fic began, as a tiny seedling of an Ash backstory that was mostly left out of the final version because Ellen took over and that woman doesn't take no for an answer. Also: Ash = favorite. Seriously. Any man who works for beer in canon is one after my own heart. *digresses off into the sunset*

Thank you for the lovely response. :)