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duscarasheddinn · 10 months

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I beat Pokemon Brilliant Diamond! I borrowed it from a library. Before then, I played it using a profile on a digital copy of someone else's Switch. I felt my plan to borrow a physical copy from my library was convoluted.

My team is under the cut:

First was Goku, the Infernape I started with. His Nature is Quirky (one of the neutral natures), which also means that he doesn't have a favorite or disliked flavor of Poffin. His characteristic is that he's capable of taking hits, meaning that his highest IV is in physical Defense and that it's 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31. His final moveset is Flame Wheel, Power-Up Punch, Flamethrower, and Taunt. I did nothing with contests. All of my team members have at least two ribbons, those being the Sinnoh Champion Ribbon and the Effort Ribbon since I maxed out their EVs. Since he's not from Pokemon Home, he has Blaze as his ability.

Second was Manaphy, which I got from the Manaphy egg event on that other person's Switch. Its Nature is Serious (another neutral nature). The egg claims to have come from "a lovely place" on December 30th of 2021, the same day the egg hatched in Floaroma Town. Its characteristic is that it's alert to sounds, meaning that its highest IV is in Speed and it's 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31. Its final moveset is Tail Glow, Scald, Charm, and Water Pulse. Being a Manaphy, its ability is Hydration.

Since I connected Brilliant Diamond to Pokemon Home, I got Hidden Ability Sinnoh starters. Since I already had a Chimchar, I just used Piplup and Turtwig, both of whom are fully evolved by now. Both of them also have the Classic Ribbon in addition to the Sinnoh Champion and Effort Ribbons, the former of which prevents them from being traded over the GTS or Wonder Trade.

My Torterra is named Discworld. His summary screen claims he traveled across space and time to join me from Pokemon Home, where he met his original trainer (who I also named "Duscara" like the trainer in Brilliant Diamond) in a fateful encounter. His Nature is Adamant, which buffs physical Attack but lowers Special Attack (and it also makes his favorite flavor Spicy and his disliked flavor Dry). His characteristic is that he likes to thrash about, meaning that his highest IV is in physical attack and that it's 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31. His final moveset is Razor Leaf, Curse, Crunch, and Earthquake. The Hidden Ability of at least Torterra is Shell Armor, which renders him immune to critical hits.

My Empoleon is named Bonaparte , but I accidentally added a space when I was typing it on my phone. It took me too long to realize that, but I'm keeping it because it's funny. His nature is Modest, which raises his Special Attack but lowers his physical Attack. That nature also makes his favorite flavor Dry and makes him dislike Spicy food. His origin is the same as that of Discworld. His characteristic is that he's mischievous, meaning that his highest IV is in Special Attack and that it's 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31. His final moveset is Flash Cannon, Ice Beam, Brine, and Aqua Jet.

From that same person, I got the Riolu and Happiny eggs, so now I have a Lucario and a Blissey.

The Lucario is named HerlockBones (a combination of Herlock Sholmes from Ace Attorney and Sherlock Bones from Wizard101). I wanted a name that had to do with dogs, okay? Anyway, his nature is Adamant, which I won't repeat listing the effects of. He's also mischievous. The egg was traded to me on June 16th, 2023 and I hatched him in the Grand Underground. His final moveset is Shadow Claw, Swords Dance, Aura Sphere, and Bone Rush, the latter of which was the final move I used on Cynthia's final Pokemon (her Garchomp) after I stalled it and her Milotic out. His ability is Inner Focus, which renders him immune to flinching.

The Blissey is named Gordo after Gordo Slimes from Slime Rancher. She has a Bold nature, which raises her physical Defense at the cost of her Physical Attack (though both of those are bad for Blissey) and makes her favorite flavor Sour and her disliked flavor Spicy. I received her egg the same day as the Riolu egg and she hatched in Eterna City on Juneteenth 2023. Her characteristic is that she's highly curious, meaning that her highest IV is in Special Attack and that it's 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30. Her ability is Serene Grace, which makes additional effects of attacks more likely. Her final moveset is Minimize, Covet, Dazzling Gleam, and Fling because the strategy I had planned her to use on the Elite Four was steal their items and fling them back at them... especially when I realized that I couldn't keep anything I stole. The plan did not work even though I beat the Elite Four and Cynthia on my first try.

#pokemon #pokemon bdsp #pokemon brilliant diamond #pokemon team #pokemon sinnoh #sinnoh

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awkwardnessandbaseball · 6 years

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CS Countdown to Christmas

We’re getting there, kids. Here’s 12/19′s prompt, posting promptly at just before 8AM on Christmas Eve.

Dec 19: Lost Christmas Spirit

AO3

“I’m not saying I hate Christmas. I’m just saying it doesn’t really…feel like Christmas this year,” Emma Swan was telling her best friend.

“Well, it doesn’t ever feel the same as an adult as it did when you were a kid,” Mary Margaret replied. “But that’s because as a kid, Christmas is magical by default. As an adult, you have to make the magic happen.”

“I can’t believe you’re talking to me about Christmas magic while I’m hanging sparkly silver garland in your classroom. This is too much.” Emma stuck another staple through the garland, securing it to the border of the bulletin board.

“If I’d known you were going to complain the whole time, I would have turned down your offer to help,” Mary Margaret stuck out her tongue.

“I complain every year, and you still invite me back,” Emma stuck her tongue out right back.

Mary Margaret Blanchard had been Emma Swan’s first friend when she’d moved to Storybrooke. Emma had been looking for a change of pace, and a place to settle down, and Mary Margaret had been looking for a friend. She’d offered to let Emma crash in her spare room until she found a place of her own, and they’d been practically inseparable ever since, even after Emma moved into her own apartment a few blocks away.

“We’re still going out tonight, right? Tradition?” Mary Margaret bit her lip, as though Emma could deny her anything when she’d been the one to take Emma in all those years ago.

“Of course. Drinks to celebrate another year of spending Christmas alone.” Emma winced at her own words – when had she become such a Scrooge?

“Alone together,” Mary Margaret corrected her.

The tradition had started on Emma’s first Christmas in Storybrooke. She’d only moved out of Mary Margaret’s apartment midway through November, and they were both already missing the companionship, despite needing their own space. Mary Margaret was decorating her classroom for the holidays, and asked Emma to come help. Eager to spend time with her friend, Emma agreed, only to regret it the moment she walked in to find boxes upon boxes of red and green, silver and gold, bows and ribbons and garland and stars. It seemed like it would never end, but when it finally did, Mary Margaret offered to buy the first round of drinks as a thank you.

As Mary Margaret began teaching older grades, her decoration collection thinned out, and they’d formed some sort of a system, so it took less than half the time now than it had five years ago. Still, Mary Margaret always bought the first round after Emma helped her decorate.

It was Emma’s first and only Christmas tradition, and she would never dream of changing it.

Several hours later, after only stapling her jacket to the bulletin board once and a mere three paper cuts – a record low – they found two seats at the Jolly Roger. They chose a table over the bar-top, hoping to mostly keep to themselves.

Their normal haunt, the Rabbit Hole, had been taken over by Robert Gold’s law office, holding their Christmas party. So they’d had to relocate. Mary Margaret was miffed, as she felt like this threw off their tradition, but Emma was determined to make the best of it.

“Two shots of tequila, please!” She called to any bartender who would listen.

A blonde man with broad shoulders turned around from where he was stocking one of the beer fridges. He had an easy, kind smile, and Emma hoped he was as nice as he looked – she preferred a bartender to be friendly than to slam down her drink and walk away with her money.

The bartender walked over to her and leaned in close.

“Is one of those for Mary Margaret Blanchard? I um…I saw you walk in together.”

Emma gave him a closer look. His eyes looked genuine, he was clean shaven and well dressed: a button down and well-fitting jeans. No wedding ring, nor a tan line from one.

“Yep, she’s my best friend,” she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, letting him know that ‘best friend’ was also code for ‘we protect each other’.

“These are on the house.” There was the easy smile again, and he handed over two shots, and a small tray with a salt shaker and two limes. “Merry early Christmas.”

“Um…thanks.”

“Would you…tell her I said hello? She probably doesn’t remember me, but my name is David. We met a few weeks ago at the pharmacy.”

Hmm. Mary Margaret hadn’t mentioned meeting a good-looking bartender with pretty eyes at the pharmacy, but if he was paying for their shots, Emma wasn’t going to argue.

She got back to the table, delivering the goods, and took her seat across from her friend, who clearly had not looked towards the bar yet.

“David says hello. These are from him.”

At the name David, Mary Margaret’s eyes went wide and her pale face turned bright red.

“David? Where is he?” She still didn’t turn around.

“He’s behind the bar. I guess he’s a bartender. He saw us walk in together and when I ordered these, he said they were on the house. Seemed into you,” Emma still hadn’t taken her seat, finding it easier to stare down her friend and force answers out of her if she were standing just a bit taller.

“He’s really cute, right?”

“Oh my God.”

“I was like, three dollars short at the pharmacy last week, and he was behind me in line and he paid what I owed. It was really sweet. That’s all that happened. No number exchange or anything. But he’s…really good looking. I keep hoping I’ll run into him, but I know nothing about him, so I didn’t know where to look.”

“Looks like a change in tradition wasn’t such a bad thing, was it?” Emma finally sat.

“Is he looking over here?”

“We are not doing that. We are not those friends who go to the bar to talk about men. That’s not the tradition.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Mary Margaret straightened up in her chair. “Time for shots.”

Three rounds later, Emma walked back to the bar, just a bit more swagger in her step than before.

“My friend wants your number, can you please go talk to her?” She said to David’s back. He turned around, slightly less confident and maybe a little nervous. “She won’t stop talking about you and I’m tired of hearing about it so please just go give her your number so we can all move on with our lives.”

David didn’t hesitate, but practically ran out from behind the bar and approached the table, motioning towards the seat Emma had previously occupied. Emma watched Mary Margaret hesitate, but then nod.

“I need another shot,” she mumbled to no one in particular.

“More tequila, or are we switching it up?”

She looked towards the voice and found a dark-haired man she’d seen serving drinks at the opposite end of the bar earlier in the evening.

“Tequila. My friend just got all Hallmark Movie Christmas Romance on me.”

“Not a romantic then? Or just not into Christmas?” He asked as he poured the tequila into two shot glasses.

“Both. I don’t know when I started to hate Christmas so much,” she admitted. “I tried to tell Mary Margaret that I don’t, but maybe I do. Maybe I’m just a scrooge.” She downed her shot of tequila, reaching for the second.

“Uh, one of those was for me, but very well,” he chuckled, one eyebrow raised.

“Shit, sorry. I just thought…I didn’t know you were allowed to drink on the job.”

“Well, I own the bar, I make the rules.”

“You own this place?”

“Well, co-own, with your friend’s new boyfriend over there,” he gestured vaguely towards the table where Mary Margaret and David were now sitting next to each other instead of across from one another. That explained why he was able to just walk out from behind the bar in the middle of a shift at least.

“I’ve never been here before,” Emma admitted as he poured another pair of shots, keeping one in his hand this time.

“Well, I hope you’ll come back,” he winked as they brought their shot glasses together for luck.

David returned to the bar a moment later, and the mysterious co-owner was pulled away before she could ask his name.

Three days later, Emma and Mary Margaret sat across from each other at a booth at Granny’s Diner, the latter recounting her date with David Nolan from the night before.

“It just…felt really right, you know? We just clicked. He’s so kind – you know he volunteers at the animal shelter? And when I said I wish someone could come in and teach the kids about different animals, you know to go along with my bird theme in the spring, he said he’d be happy to do it. And then he hesitated, like he was nervous, and he added, ‘if you want me there, of course.’ It was just so sweet and we’re going out again on Friday and I know it’s really sudden but I like him.”

Mary Margaret sucked in a deep breath, looking surprised by how quickly she’d spoken.

“So, you’re happy?” Emma eyed her friend over her mug of hot chocolate.

“Yes.”

“That’s all that matters.”

Mary Margaret grinned, but it slowly morphed into a nervous smile.

“I wanted to ask you something, but I don’t want you to get mad at me.”

Oh no. Emma knew this couldn’t be anything good – anything that made Mary Margaret nervous to ask usually involved big favors or half-formed plans. Emma nodded at her to continue.

“David was hoping we could double date.”

Emma nearly spat out her drink.

“Double date with who? Me and my dog, Max and our plot to steal Christmas from Whoville?” Despite Mary Margaret’s best efforts, Emma was still not feeling the Christmas spirit this year.

“Well, we saw you talking to Killian, and David said he hasn’t stopped talking about you since that night.”

“Who’s Killian?”

“David’s business partner at the Jolly Roger!” Mary Margaret tilted her head. “I saw you talking to him that night…did you not get his name?”

Emma blushed a bit and shook her head.

“Okay, so we talked. Now you want me to go out with him? And you and your fabulous Prince Charming? I dunno, M’s.”

“Please, Emma? Consider it your Christmas gift to me.”

“I already bought you a Christmas present.”

“Return it and do this instead.” Mary Margaret hesitated a moment. “No wait, don’t return it. But do this, too. Please? David and Killian are really close, and it would mean a lot to him if Killian were happy, just like it would mean a lot to me if you were happy.”

“Fine. One date.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“Yay! We’re going to Aesop’s Tables at 8 on Friday!”

Emma sighed, defeated.

Aesop’s Tables was decorated in nearly as much garland and ribbon as Mary Margaret’s former classroom. In fact, Emma was fairly certain she recognized some of the decorations from that first year she’d helped hang everything.

The Christmas tree in the corner and the fairy lights around the bar did nothing to help her feel Christmas-y. If anything, it all only made her just a bit sadder that she’d somehow become such a Scrooge.

What did cheer her up was seeing a charming, good-looking man waiting for her next to David Nolan. She stopped walking to take him in. Killian had looked good behind the bar of the Jolly Roger – all black clothing somehow making the blue of his eyes look brighter, a towel tucked into his back pocket and a bottle opener hanging from his hip. Emma liked a hard-working man, and if this Killian person could run a bar by actually working the bar instead of just sitting in an office all day, that was something she could get behind.

Today, though, he looked like a man who’d put effort into his outfit. A blue button down, leather jacket, and extremely well-fitting jeans adorned what looked like a fit physique. He wasn’t broad like David, but he looked strong all the same.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Mary Margaret misread Emma’s pause as apprehension, and gently grabbed Emma’s arm to drag her the rest of the way to the table.

“Ladies, lovely to see you again,” if Emma didn’t know any better, she’d think Killian was nervous. He was worrying his lip, and his confident smirk from the other night was nowhere to be found.

“You, too. Surprised you’re letting yourselves be seen at another bar. Isn’t that like, bad for business?” Emma teased.

“Can’t very well host a date at the place we own – we’d be interrupted every thirty seconds by some mishap or another,” Killian raised an eyebrow, daring Emma to challenge him.

“Hmm. Seems like maybe you just know where the best bar in town is,” Emma bit her lip, hoping the tone in her voice was enough to tell him she was joking and not insulting him. He barked out a loud laugh and she knew she’d hit her mark.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

“So I’ve been told.”

Mary Margaret and David were watching their interaction like a tennis match, identical grins on their faces.

“So, Emma,” Killian began, “shall we go grab the first round, since David and Mary Margaret were so kind as to invite us out this evening?”

For a moment, Emma wondered how Killian had learned her name. But then she remembered Mary Margaret mentioning that he ‘hadn’t stopped talking about her’. She’d assumed it was an exaggeration, but he must have at least asked about her if nothing else. David must have told him her name.

“Sure, let’s go.”

They stood at the bar, patiently waiting for a bartender to look their way. It was a Friday and the restaurant was full, forcing them practically on top of each other, his left arm against her right. Suddenly, a wave of movement from her other side caused her to fall completely against him.

“Hey! Watch it over there,” Killian yelled to no one in particular, taking the opportunity to move his left arm around her waist to steady her. “You alright, love?”

“Yeah. Thanks for um…catching me. Or whatever.”

“Of course.”

Emma looked up at him, and there were colors across his face from the lights around the bar, and for the first time in ages, she found herself thinking about Christmas magic.

By the end of the night, Emma was sufficiently charmed by Killian Jones, co-owner of the Jolly Roger. They’d spent over an hour standing at the bar, Mary Margaret and David seemingly forgotten. She laughed at his cheesy pickup lines and he listened intently when she told him about the past she’d run away from, the past that had landed her in Storybrooke.

She found herself giving him her phone number before she could think better of it.

“Still feeling all anti-Christmas?” He asked her as the four of them waited for the bus to take them back to Main Street, to all of their respective homes.

“I’m not anti-Christmas,” Emma nearly shouted. “I’m just not…pro-Christmas, either.”

Killian hummed in response as the bus pulled up. They sat in companionable silence until each of them exited the bus, one by one, and they headed in their separate directions.

Monday was Christmas Eve. There was no snow, and Emma was avoiding the radio at all costs, so there was no Christmas music. She grabbed a blanket and her mug of hot chocolate, and prepared herself for a cozy Monday of anything but Christmas movies. She flipped through the channels to no avail, grumbling as she switched over to Netflix, hoping she’d have a better selection there.

She was about to start re-watching one of her old favorites, when there was a knock on the door. She peeked through the peephole, but saw nothing, so she opened the door slowly. On the ground, on top of her welcome mat – a black rectangle with the words ‘wipe your feet’ inscribed in white lettering – was a gift. It was small, and carefully wrapped, with an oversized gold bow on the top.

Emma glanced up and down the hallway, but saw nothing, so she grabbed the gift quickly and retreated back into her apartment.

There was no card, so she carefully peeled back the layers of gift wrap, revealing a plain white box. She removed the lid and found a beautiful, old compass inside. She opened it, but it appeared to be broken. The needle pointed back towards her front door, but she knew that was east. She tried to turn, but the needle didn’t move at all within the compass, always pointing ahead of her, no matter which direction she faced.

Huh.

There was no note inside, either, but she had a feeling that only a man with a bar named after a pirate ship would leave a compass as a gift.

“Your compass is broken,” she said as she entered the Jolly Roger. The sign said they were closed, but Killian had mentioned having to go in to decorate for the employee holiday party, to be held the day after Christmas.

“And we’re closed,” Killian grinned at her. “Didn’t seem to stop you from coming in. Why should a broken compass stop you?”

“I’m just…confused,” Emma admitted.

Killian carefully finished pinning up the photo he was attaching to the wall – some bartender dressed as a pirate for Halloween – and stepped towards her.

“What would you need a compass for?” He asked her seriously.

“If I were lost, I guess.”

“And are you lost?”

Emma thought about it. She’d felt lost when she’d arrived in Storybrooke, all those years ago, until she’d met Mary Margaret. She’d felt as though she’d lost her Christmas spirit, until she’d looked at Killian’s face under the Christmas lights at the bar, reigniting just the tiniest bit of hope. And even then, she’d felt a bit lost until she’d found a gift from a stranger outside her front door.

“I suppose I’m not anymore. So then why a compass at all?”

Killian scratched behind his ear.

“I used that compass when I chose to come to Storybrooke. I bought it from some pawn shop a few towns over and I let it tell me where to go. It wasn’t until after I’d arrived that I realized it was broken, and I’d been the one choosing my path the whole time.”

“Sounds like you put a lot of thought into a gift for a girl you just met.”

“It’s Christmas. Seemed like maybe you needed someone to think of you, and I was more than happy to be the one to do it.”

Emma smiled at him, a bit surprised by the tight feeling in her chest.

“Do you need any help decorating?” she found herself asking.

Killian looked surprised for a moment, but finally nodded.

“I’m hanging pictures of the different events we’ve had throughout the year, just sort of a look back at 2017 if you will. You can help me choose, if you’d like.”

They sat on the floor, surrounded by photographs of people Emma didn’t know, but whose stories Killian gladly shared.

“That’s Ariel. She’s our waitress on busy nights. Sweet as pie, but tough as nails. Best worker I’ve hired to date.”

“I bet I’d like her.”

“You should meet her. At the party. You should come. If you want to.” Killian looked nervous, as though he wasn’t sure if he was asking too much of her, too soon. As though he hadn’t left her an incredibly meaningful gift for Christmas only two days after their first date.

“Okay,” Emma found herself saying.

And neither one of them would be able to recount it properly later, but somehow one of them leaned in and then the other met them halfway, and they were kissing on the floor of Killian’s bar, surrounded by photographs of people in costumes and people laughing and people dancing. And David walked through the door and found them there, and they weren’t even a little bit embarrassed.

And Emma Swan hadn’t been so happy about Christmas in a very long time.

#captain hook #captain swan #captain hook x emma swan #emma swan x captain hook #captain swan fic #killian jones #emma swan #killian jones x emma swan #emma swan x killian jones #cschristmascountdown

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