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mor-beck-more-problems · 3 years

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Intro to Balancing Your Life || Morgan & Sasha

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @sasha-r-blog & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Sasha drops in on a new class on campus; Morgan is only too happy to offer encouragements.

“…And who is it that determines the definition of humanity? What kind of definitions do we see offered by Victor, or Henry Cleveral, or the Creature?” Morgan asked the class. The students, while not thrilled with some of Mary Shelley’s ‘big words’ had enough preparation to offer semi thoughtful ideas. Obviously, Victor thought he could define what human means. One of her try-hard students, eager to please every adult in sight, posited that while Victor’s definition of humanity is the one that dominates the narrative, the intrusion of the creature’s perspective halfway through the book is meant to compel the reader into questioning its validity. “Yes!” Morgan tossed the kid a candy from her bowl. “The midpoint crisis here upends our expectations through thought, rather than action. It is, structurally, the center, the heart of the story, changing what we believe to be true. But, are we convinced by the Creature’s definition of his humanity? Why or why no–”

Morgan’s timer, the theme song of The X-Files, went off.

“Shit. Alright, that’s time everybody! Do your homework, do your reading, and get ready for Fan-Fiction Friday! And you–” She pointed to the newcomer sandwiched at the corner of the seminar table. “Come see me for a minute. The rest of you: glad you love each other, but please get out.” As the room cleared out she began to gather up her things. “I’ll level with you, I haven’t checked my roster, so I’m not sure if you’re a late add or just checking things out. But either way, I might be able to answer any questions you have better one-on-one instead of just looking at you across the room.”

Sasha watched the other students mingle and leave, a second of nervousness keeping her in her seat before the professor called out to her. It was hard to parse the tone in Professor Beck’s voice when Sasha’s immediate assumption at a teacher saying to “see me” was that she had fuck up somehow. But either way, Sasha walked towards the desk, dodging any curious looks from her exiting classmates.

“Um, hi. Sorry I didn’t mean to cause any trouble by sitting in.” She shifted the straps of her backpack, tugging them against her shoulders, as if the weight would somehow shield her from the awkwardness. “I’m Sasha Rodriguez. You gave me your office hours awhile ago. I uh, didn’t get a chance to visit but I saw your name on the winter session course list and thought I’d check it out. I’m trying to branch out I guess.”

It took Morgan a few minutes to place the girl. She didn’t give out her school contact information to everyone, but it happened often enough that she had more than one name floating around her head. But the more she looked at her, the nervousness, the eagerness, the closer Morgan got to a hunch. “Oh, you’re the girl trying to figure everything out in college. I’m glad you decided to come by. If you’ve got some spare time, we can go somewhere and talk? I’d love to have you join in the spring, if you like what you’ve seen so far.” She dumped her books and laptop into her bag, and shouldered the load, handling the bulk with ease thanks to her strength. “Come on. Why don’t you start by telling me what you’re branching out from and what you thought about class today.”

“Oh, yeah, okay.” Sasha said as she moved to follow the professor. She still wasn’t used to how casual some professors could be. In high school they made it sound like professors were all strict, no nonsense, and unforgiving. And Sasha had certainly had professors like that during her first semester. But here was a professor throwing candy to students and cursing in class and talking about fan fiction. It was cool, but weird to process.

“I’m in computer science and I’ve only really taken courses in that department and math stuff. Oh, and also English 101, for the gen ed.” Those classes had been a lot different from what Sasha had just sat in on. Even the one English class she took didn’t really match up, that one having been run by an exhausted looking graduate teaching assistant who didn’t seem all that interested in teaching.

“The class was cool, though I feel like a lot of the stuff you were saying went over my head.” Sasha had a moment of internal panic, worried that came off as implying Professor Beck was bad at teaching. “I’ve just never been good at looking into books, but the class was interesting. I was surprised you mentioned fanfiction at the end. I didn’t think most professors even knew what that was.” Oh no, did that sound rude too? Sasha closed her mouth before she could say something dumb. Besides her advisor, if you could even count their meetings as conversation, and Ben, Sasha hadn’t really spoken one on one with a professor before. It still felt a bit surreal.

“Oh, that’s just because you’re coming in at the tail end of the course. I don’t throw my students into the deep end before I’m certain they can at least, you know, doggie paddle.” Morgan smiled good naturedly and lead them up to the main sitting area in the English building, setting her bag down carefully and making herself comfortable. “I can tell you that looking into books isn’t so different from the way you look into the stories in other media. Movies, TV, video games, comic books--our relationship to the stories we engage with say so much about what we envision for ourselves and the world. The more we understand and invest that relationship, the more empowered we feel to take control of our fate.” Morgan stopped herself from saying anything more and laughed, low and self deprecating. “Oh, jeez, don’t tell the other professors I said that. But, anyways, yes, the aforementioned reasons are what fan-fiction and other forms of counter-storytelling are so important. But more important than that is doing something that’s going to challenge you in positive, enjoyable ways. And making time for a little fun.” Morgan held her fingers up, like this much. “Can I ask how the rest of college is going for you, Sasha?”

Sasha followed her and sat in the unfamiliar sitting room. She gave a small smile as Professor Beck talked about stories and how people related to them, finding that she had been nodding along without realizing. She stopped once she did, somehow worried that it came off as over eager, as if a professor would ever get mad at someone being interested in what they were saying. If only the professor knew how close that hit to home for her. All those stories of kids getting superpowers, it was real. As if it had jumped straight off the page. As if Sasha had willed it into being. In the back of her mind Sasha wondered how she would have reacted to suddenly growing calls if she hadn’t grown up on comics and superhero movies. It felt like the blueprint to everything now.

Lost in her own thoughts she was a bit startled when the professor’s tone shifted. “No, no I agree, I think. I think all that stuff is important. Storytelling. I mean, I’m not much of a reader but comics and games and movies have been really important to me.” She wished there was a major in that stuff. Or crime fighting. She’d be on the dean’s list if her nightly patrols counted for credits.

“It’s been going okay. I mean, I don’t really do much outside of classes. I’ve been trying to do more but I mostly keep to myself.” It was the same thing she had told her advisor and Professor Campbell, but more and more Sasha felt silly for saying it. It wasn’t like she did nothing, just nothing related to college life. But it wasn’t like she could tell her professors she was protecting White Crest. Or at least trying to.

Morgan noticed Sasha’s interest and perked up at once. “You know, we do cover films in my class,” she said, grinning slyly. “And books. But still. It’s the same kind of thought process as with books, so it might as well be given its time and place. There’s plenty of other courses like that in this department, even a film and media studies minor. You should do what makes you happy, because undergrad coursework doesn’t matter half as much as you think it does. It’s all internships and jobs and connections and recommendations that help you get anywhere. And this place, college, has a lot of flaws and problems, but one of the best ways to make it worth it is leave knowing as much as you can about the things that matter to you most.” But that was about all the pitching she was willing to do on behalf of her class. Besides, being a student at UMWC came second to being a kid in White Crest. Morgan couldn’t help but look at the girl and wonder what this place would do to her. Morgan pushed the thought away, she couldn’t let herself focus on a big, bad future like it was some kind of unstoppable force.

“This might sound silly, coming from a professor who just tried to recruit you to their class, but I hope you do find other things besides school studies. There’s a much bigger world out there, and you should have something else in your life. At least friends and playing video games or going to Al’s at one in the morning or whatever kids your age do now. Life is for doing stuff, you know? Whatever it is you’re thinking about doing or joining, you should go for it!”

“I never really thought about taking a minor. I didn’t know they had one about film.” Honestly, more and more Sasha felt like she hadn’t planned much of anything when it came to school. Or life in general. But she supposed she could change that. If anything this talk had made her actually interested in looking into classes, something she had mostly breezed through doing in the past, simply checking off the boxes of what she needed for her degree. But if the professor was right and it didn’t matter that much... “Maybe I’ll try looking into classes for film and english and stuff like that. They seem fun. At least the stuff you were talking about seems fun.”

Maybe it would make school more interesting, instead of something Sasha went through the motions of to get to her real job. “Real job,” as being a superhero paid. As if she wouldn’t one day need a day job. College was a convenient way to pass the time and something she was told she had to do, but it would be nice to actually care about it, to feel like she was actually doing something.

“I do have hobbies...” Just none she could tell Professor Beck about. “But yeah, I should probably try to do more. I wanted to check out the library. I was supposed to help out with the comic collection there as a volunteer thing. So that’s a start I guess.” It had almost slipped her mind, but that was something she had been genuinely excited for. It was just hard to remember stuff like that during the day when she was normally up all night. Her nightly patrols had turned her days sluggish and uneventful, filled with quick naps between class and maybe some video games alone in her dorm before she put on her costume and went out again. And she loved doing it, of course she loved going out at night to keep White Crest safe. But at the same time...

“Do you ever just get really focused on one thing?” Sasha asked the question before she was thought about it, but decided to keep going, even if it was dumb. “Like, you have something you like or is important and you just focus on that and everything else just kinda blurs into the background?” Sasha rubbed nervously at the back of her neck. “I don’t know if that makes sense. I guess sometimes I feel like that. But I don’t know if I want to change it.”

“The library is a great start!” Morgan said. “You’re going to learn so much, and probably find people who have similar interests to you when they come to check out materials. But I hope you do other stuff, not for credit, just for you. You’re only going to be young once--” Hopefully.

She couldn’t help but smile at Sasha’s notion, that hyper-focus was something rare or embarrassing. “Oh, all the time. I have some art projects that I do on the side, and I can get so lost in my carving that hours can pass by so easily. Same with baking, or cooking something really involved. It’s almost like you’re connecting to something else, outside of or beyond you. There’s you, the thing you’re doing, and this energy it gives you, right?” Morgan watched the girl’s expression to see if she was getting it right. “Even if it’s just kind of like that, I don’t think you should change it. Whatever that thing is, it sounds to me like the universe is giving you the green light to keep going.”

Sasha nodded, giving a small smile. She was happy that Professor Beck seemed to get it and not think it was weird. Sure, Sasha's focus wasn’t on crafts or cooking, but it was the thought that counted. Her mind lingered on what she said about being given a green light. Really, what was a bigger green light than getting her powers? But she knew there was more to it than that. There had to be a reason it was her. She had to be able to do something with her powers, something to really help people. It was comforting to have the professor say she was right, that the universe wanted her to do what she was already doing, but there was a pang of melancholy knowing Sasha couldn’t tell her, or anyone, the truth. How much did advice and validation matter when the person saying it didn’t know the full truth?

She shook the thought from her head. “Thanks. Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask you a bunch of weird questions when I came to sit in. I think it would be cool to try out one of your classes though if you still have room for students.” Sasha chased away the worry of struggling in a class she wasn’t used to. If worst came to worst she could always drop that class. At least it would be something new, something she might actually end up liking.

Beaming and unawares, Morgan took out a post-it from her bag and scribbled out the class information before handing it to Sasha. “Don’t be embarrassed about questions,” she said. “Questions are how we learn. You’re never going to find anything interesting if you always leave well enough alone.” She stood up, getting the vibe that Sasha had opened up all she felt like so far. “I hope to see a lot more of you this coming semester,” she said. “Hoping even more that you do something just for you, but.” She put a finger to her lips. That’ll just be our secret.

“Thanks. I’ll try to keep asking them.” Well that was one social interaction that didn’t go horribly. Wasn’t great that Sasha considered that a victory for herself but she was going to take the feeling of accomplishment anyways. “And I’ll try to do stuff for myself too.” That was going to take more work than just registering for a class, but maybe it wouldn’t be the worst. She couldn’t promise herself she would put in the effort though. Tucking the post-it note into her backpack she smiled and said goodbye to Professor Beck. Maybe a few new classes would be enough to make her college life, and her daily life, seem a bit more exciting and a bit less like time to just get through. But her patrolling White Crest at night was still more important. Professor Beck didn’t have to know that part though.

#wr sasha #wr chatzy #wr sasha chatzy #intro to balancing your life #wickedswriting

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mc-lukanette · 4 years

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Elf Preservation

Luka felt his hat slip as he set the gift underneath the tree, the hat's bell nearly falling into his face. He ensured that the present was properly in position, then went to adjusting his hat by forcing it down as far as it would go. He was not going to lose his hat on the way back to the North Pole if he could help it.

He turned back to Santa's sack of presents, then walked over and dug inside. He pulled out the first present he touched, checking that it was properly marked with the name of the house's owner because he honestly didn't trust the magic sack to not mess with him, given that he wasn't Santa Claus.

Thankfully, the name was still the same as Santa had told him and also the same name marked on the last gift he'd already set down: Marinette.

Luka sounded out the name with a hum. The more he saw it, the more of a ring it had. So much so that, as he knelt down to set the gift next to the one already in place, a melody formed in his head.

Tapping rhythmically on one of the gifts, he swayed his head back to induce the chime of his bell. "Ma-ma-marinette~"

He giggled to himself, humming louder as he turned back to the sack to grab another gift. He found himself getting lost in the tune, his body relying on muscle memory to take the gifts out of the sack so he could develop his little song without interruption.

Then, a voice interrupted him. "Um..."

Luka had hummed for another few seconds longer before noticing that there was a sound in his verse that wasn't his own. He jerked his head back, seeing a woman standing in the archway between the living room and kitchen. She wore slippers, long poofy pants that nearly touched the floor, and a turtleneck sweater that had the sleeves extending past her wrists.

She was also staring at him. It took Luka a moment to snap out of his stunned trance and realize that maybe it wasn't a good idea to wear a hat with a bell on it when he was supposed to be stealthy.

"Uh." He stood up, glancing at the sack of gifts, then the presents, then her. "Look, I—"

She cut him off with a giggle, raising a hand in apparent reassurance. "You're one of Santa's elves, right?"

His mouth hung open for a long, dumb second before he managed a, "What?"

"Those gifts weren't there before," she said, gesturing to the obvious reason why he couldn't be a thief, "and your ears; they're elf ears, right?"

He reached up, feeling and tugging at his inhuman ears if for no other reason than to prove to her that they were real. "You're not... surprised?"

"A little, but—" She looked away, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Idly, Luka noticed that her ears were pierced, even though she wasn't wearing earrings.

"—I'm pretty used to magic by now," she explained. She glanced his way, then at the open window that he'd come in through, her expression turning apologetic. "Oh, sorry, do you need to go? You're on a time crunch, aren't you?"

Luka was still in a daze, seeing the woman before him, so he didn't even think before responding, "No. Timewarp. As long as I'm gone before morning, everything's fine."

"Ah," she chimed in understanding. "So you're technically all over Paris right now?"

He smiled. "Yeah, something like that."

So this was Marinette, he registered after far too long. It was obvious, as no one else lived in the house and she had a certain "ring" to her just like her name did. Luka knew, of course, that he shouldn't be talking to a human, but outside of Mr. Claus and Mrs. Claus, he never got to communicate with humans, making the occasion seem a bit more desirable than it would otherwise. He blamed his mother, honestly; she'd always been the rebellious type.

There was also something about Marinette that he inherently felt calm around. The melody he'd made around her name had been a little off from the full person, but in the best way.

"Mm," Marinette hummed, nodding in response to what he'd said. She lingered their momentarily, then smiled and turned away. "Anyway, carry on."

Luka frowned as she walked away, feeling a sense of disappointment that their conversation couldn't continue. It seemed strange how quickly she cut off their little chat, but he wasn't well-versed in human customs, so he presumed that it was normal and reluctantly went back to placing her presents below the tree.

He'd only gotten one more underneath it before he heard a small clanging sound from the kitchen. He froze, waiting to see if there was maybe a yelp or cry that required his attention, but when nothing came, he went back to pulling out gifts.

Another gift went under the tree, just as more sounds continued to come from the kitchen. Luka's attuned hearing picked up the sound of things being set down, things being moved, and metal clinking against metal; perhaps silverware.

Luka sat there, unmoving as he listened to the assorted noises. He realized after a minute or so that he wasn't getting anywhere with Marinette's gifts until his curiosity was satiated, so he pushed himself up and headed for the kitchen.

Marinette was standing at the island in the center of the kitchen, an apron on and a mixer to her side as she seemed to be preparing ingredients. He eyed the assorted bowls she had lying around, trying to gauge what she was doing so late at night, but as soon as he glanced up at her to ask, she was already looking at him with a knowing smile.

"What do you like in your cookies?" she asked.

Luka stared blankly at her, but she didn't waver. He blinked, then glanced back into the living room, seeing a plate of cookies already resting on the table along with a glass of milk. He looked back at her, wordlessly asking a question.

"Those are for Santa," she told him with a dramatic wave of her measuring spoon. "It wouldn't be right to give it to you when it was intended for someone else, so I'll just have to make something for you too."

Luka was struck by how casually she'd said it. "You don't have to."

"Then I want to," she stated matter-of-factly, immediately going back to measuring her ingredients. "So, what do you like?"

Her gaze was so inviting that Luka approached the island almost without thought. Now that he was up close, he registered a few things about her.

One, she was tall. Well, not in a general sense, but given that he was an elf, she was tall to him.

Two, the apron she was wearing said, "Safety Hazard" on it. Luka agreed with it, but knew that probably wasn't what it meant.

Three, her eyes were blue; really blue. He'd seen blue skies at the North Pole before, but he liked her blue better.

Four, she had a cute smile, and he was again reminded that the melody he'd made up hadn't done her justice.

There was a stool near the island, so he hoisted himself up onto it and rested his forearms on the counter.

"Marshmallows," he replied simply, watching as Marinette almost instantly turned to go collect said ingredient. He shifted in his seat, feeling weird about sitting still. "Can I—"

"No, you can't help," she interjected, cutting open the bag of mini marshmallows with a knife. "You've already brought me gifts."

He grinned sheepishly. "They're Santa's gifts for you, not mine."

"Still." She began dumping a few ingredients into the mixer, occasionally glancing at him. "So then, if they're Santa's gifts, what are you doing here instead of him? Is he sick?"

Luka didn't doubt that she would've made medicine-infused cookies if he said 'yes.' "I... actually just offered to help out."

"Really?" she asked, looking curious. She flicked on the mixer, cringed at the noise, then shut it off and opted to whisk manually.

He looked away, slightly embarrassed to admit, "I'm not all that great at making toys. I guess I wasn't born for it like most elves are. I can make instruments, but that's only because I know how all the sound is supposed to work."

She let out a hum of interest. "So you're a musically-inclined elf?"

He snorted, at least happy that she didn't laugh at him for it. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Is that why you were humming earlier?" She stopped whisking and reached for the tray resting on top of the stove. "You write songs?"

He blushed pink. She wasn't wrong, but he didn't know how to explain that he was humming her. "I don't always write them down, but I like making music out of what I feel."

"It was really pretty," she commented as she scooped out the cookie batter in tiny amounts evenly spread out along the tray. She laughed with a hint of embarrassment. "I was actually so taken by it that I didn't know what to say at first, but I thought it was rude to listen when you didn't know I was standing there!"

Observation five: scratch the cute smile, she was just cute overall. Luka couldn't even stop grinning. "It's alright, Marinette. I didn't mind."

She lifted the tray, but stopped to glance at him, likely noticing that he'd said her name. However, a quick look at the gifts in the living room probably reminded her that of course he'd know her name, so she simply turned to slide the tray into the oven.

She shut the oven door, then stood and placed her hands on her hips. "O-kay," she said, stretching out each syllable for flair. "That should take about..." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Fourteen minutes? Yeah, maybe twelve just to be safe."

She reached out, setting the timer on the oven. Luka tried not to think about how much he was making Santa wait, being content to just watch Marinette exist.

Besides, Luka knew full well that Santa could sometimes linger too, even if it was just to savor the cookies and milk. Surely it wouldn't be a problem if he did it for once instead?

Marinette straightened, her hand moving away from the timer and resting on the front edge of the oven. She stood there, back still facing Luka as she kept staring ahead for seemingly no reason.

Luka got the distinct feeling that she was either nervous or thinking, the fidget and anxious sway of her hips giving her away. "Marinette?"

She looked back at him, suddenly appearing shy. She hesitated, then stared at the floor, asking, "Um, can I hear the rest?"

"The rest?"

"Of the song," she clarified. "Since we're waiting anyway."

It took Luka a moment to reply. It was just so rare for someone to ask him to play for them. After all, while elves did enjoy music, they usually resorted to listening to human music that had lyrics, and Luka wasn't well-versed at lyrics.

"I... don't have any instruments on me," Luka warned.

"That's okay," she assured. Her blush was beautiful as she added, "Your voice is enough, if that's alright with you."

"It's alright with me," he said, definitely too quickly to not be considered eager. Him leaning forward and hovering slightly off the stool probably gave it away too.

Marinette smiled sweetly, but faltered as she looked around at the kitchen. Her hands fiddled with her apron, taking it off and depositing it onto the messy counter. "But, ah—let's go somewhere else. I'll—" She walked away from the island, gesturing vaguely to it. "—I'll take care of that later."

Luka chuckled, then got down from the stool and followed after her. She led him back to the living room, down the hall, and finally into what Luka soon realized was her bedroom. It was mostly pink, her black hair easily standing out from all the bright colors, and a quick scan of the room basically put her whole self on display for him to see.

The mannequins adorned with clothes and sticky notes. The patterns lining the wall. The tiny accessories resting on the table.

Luka admired all of her work. Kind, pretty, and creative? He'd have to revise his melody again.

Marinette sat down in her chair, spinning around so she was facing the table. "Do you mind if I work while you hum? I like keeping my hands busy."

He walked over, seeing that she seemed to be gathering materials to start on something new. "No. I don't mind at all."

She tossed him a thankful gaze, then started working. It almost seemed wrong to start humming when she looked like she was about to get in the zone, but she asked, so he obeyed.

He clutched the edges of the table, then leaned back and closed his eyes. He mentally brought himself back to reading her name for the first time, then the soft tap of his fingers against a gift box, then the chime of her voice as she made herself known.

In the end, he decided not to change the melody. He kept it just as it was, instead adding new notes after his original tune and shifting the song accordingly as his memories drifted through the short experience with her.

Quiet and curious at her name, bouncy and thoughtful at his pondering of it, jumpy and surprised at her calling out to him, then calm and soft at her offer to make something for him.

Once again, he lost himself in the melody, though he was sure he would've snapped out of it had she spoken to him at all. Instead, however, she merely listened, and he could've sworn that he heard her humming along if he ever repeated something that was recognizable enough to her.

Minutes passed without his notice. It wasn't often that he got to get truly lost in a song, the tune frequently broken by his hands reaching for a present and finding nothing, or Santa belting out that they arrived at their next destination, not always hearing Luka's humming over the sound of the snowstorm.

He couldn't blame the interruptions, but it was nice to have someone just listen for once; just enjoy something he created himself and not made out of the obligation that was his job. In fact, he actually ran out of notes in her song rather than be interrupted, his humming trailing off as he realized that he was able to complete a melody for once.

He opened his eyes, readjusting his vision to the room and briefly trying to find a clock to tell him how much time had gone by. When he didn't see any indicator of time, he looked back at Marinette.

She was hunched slightly in her chair, her hands clasped together and her eyes blinking back emotion. Silently, Luka wished that he had more memories to add to the song.

"That—" She breathed up, then met his gaze with a smile. "That was beautiful."

He blushed, the compliment combined with that look doing unfair things to his heart.

"What's it called?" she asked gently. "Does it have a name?"

Her question was more direct this time, so he couldn't wriggle out of the subject again. Seeing how she was staring at him though, he smiled and found that he didn't want to. "'Marinette.'"

When she blinked, clearly about to say, 'Yes?', he added, "It's called 'Marinette.' I wasn't lying when I said that I write what I feel, but... I write what I see too."

She just looked at him, blankly, her wide blue eyes bright and vibrant. Then, her blush reappeared, matching the red hints in his suit, and her gaze darted down to her hands still clasped together, as if she felt that she'd been staring at him too long.

In Luka's opinion, it wasn't long enough. He'd come up with another five minutes worth of her melody, just on those eyes alone.

"Um—" Marinette squirmed in her chair, not looking at him as her hands slowly rose up, level with his chest. "Here."

Luka looked down as her hands opened up, revealing a pair of black earrings. He sucked in a breath, then reached up and grabbed the edges of her hands, tilting them slightly to get the best look he could at the gift. "For me? Was this what you were working on?"

"Is that weird?" she asked quickly. "Sorry, I just—your ears. I kept wondering what they'd look like with earrings, and now you've made a w-whole song about me apparently, s-so..."

He gently took the earrings in his gloved hands, as if they'd break apart at the slightest pressure. He held them in his palm and shifted them occasionally with a finger to see every millimeter of them. They were even clip-on earrings, meaning that he didn't have to pierce his ears to wear them (his mother would've approved regardless).

"I love them," he said softly, really having no other words other than that. Elves receiving gifts was an extremely special occasion, so his heart was doing flips in his chest even if he didn't tell her that information. "Can I put them on?"

"Oh! Yeah, yes, please!" Marinette slid her chair away, grabbing hold of a small mirror resting on the table, then slid back to him and set it down.

Luka leaned down, staring at his reflection and turning his head to give himself the best view of one of his ears. He fumbled a bit to get one of the earrings between his thumb and index finger - darn gloves - but stopped as he realized something. "...I've never actually worn earrings before."

"Really?" she asked, her voice a mixture of surprised and fascinated. "Do you want me to...?"

"If that's okay."

"It is."

Her hand brushed his as she took the earring he'd been holding. She instructed him gently for future reference, showing him the basics of how a clip-on earring worked, and he nodded with everything she said just to assure her that he was listening.

Then, she reached up with both hands, one hand holding the earring and the other hand touching his ear to hold it in place. At the cold but pleasantly sensitive contact, Luka sucked in a breath, his face suddenly turning red as he forced himself to hold still.

Thankfully, Marinette seemed wholly oblivious to his suffering, sticking her tongue out to the side as she clipped the earring in place. Luka turned his head as she let go, at least more mentally prepared as she held his other ear too.

No one had ever touched his ears before and he mentally noted that he probably should've kept that in mind.

"There!" she exclaimed, Luka feeling the other earring clip on right before she pulled away. She seemed so excited to catch his reaction that she grabbed and held the mirror up herself.

Luka gave her a smile, then looked down at the mirror - he was still blushing, shoot - and tilted his head appropriately to admire the earrings. Black wasn't a color he often got to wear, but it clearly looked good on him. He didn't have any of the fancy words that Marinette probably would've used to phrase it, but he definitely liked how it looked on his ears.

"Tha—" He was briefly cut off by a beeping noise coming from the oven in the kitchen, so he waited for it to stop before finishing, "Thank you. They look amazing."

She beamed, her eyes sparkling dangerously at the praise. "You're welcome!"

She handed over the mirror, then stood up and ran off excitedly to go check on the cookies. Luka stared at his reflection, taking a few breaths until his face was a normal color again, then set the mirror down on the table so he could follow after Marinette.

By the time he got to the kitchen, he could tell that she'd indeed rushed all the way there in her eagerness since she was already pulling the tray out. He approached, standing next to her and appreciating the room-filling smell of freshly-baked sweets.

Setting the tray down on the oven and placing her oven mitt aside, Marinette eagerly reached for one of the cookies. Luka flinched, but didn't call out to her in time as she recklessly picked up the piping hot cookies in her ungloved hand.

"OW!" she yelped, practically throwing the cookie up into the air and then frantically trying to catch it without burning herself. "Hot! Hot!"

She lost her grip completely, Luka reacting just in time to catch the cookie before it was sent tumbling to the floor. At the same time, he used his free hand to grasp the hand that she'd picked up the cookie with.

Safety Hazard, he recalled, forcing himself to ignore her cute embarrassed face as he inspected her hand to make sure there weren't any burns.

She was fine, thankfully, not that he would've minded staying longer to tend to her.

"S-sorry," she whispered. "I just really wanted to see if you'd like them, but I guess it won't do if you burn your tongue."

He smiled, placing the cookie with the others on the tray. "I've got time. I can still wait a little bit."

She smiled back, but weakly, due to her embarrassment. She avoided his gaze, her eyes directed towards the living room, but she didn't recoil from him.

He didn't let go either.

"...Oh!" she suddenly gasped, stiffening. Luka tried to follow her gaze, but it was hard to see what she was staring at.

She pulled away, much to Luka's dismay, and rushed over to the fridge. "Hot chocolate, of course! That'd be fantastic to wash marshmallow cookies down with!"

Luka watched as Marinette was getting to work on yet another thing, knowing that there'd be no use arguing with her. He was honestly starting to wonder if she really was a human; could humans actually stay up so late while also being this awake?

After she'd gotten the ingredients together and started to heat the hot chocolate up, Marinette scrambled about and started searching through her drawers. She grabbed two plastic bags, then two to-go cups and the lids that went with them.

She ran out to Santa's cookies and milk first - ah, so that's what she'd been looking at earlier - then stored the cookies in one of the bags. She poured the milk into one of the cups, then ensured that the lid was on tight before returning to the oven.

One by one, she dumped the marshmallow cookies into the remaining plastic bag, leaving one left that she promptly handed to Luka. He waited to try it, seeing that she was distracted by getting the hot chocolate into the remaining to-go cup.

"Mm, it might be too hard to tell whose cup is whose," she murmured to herself. She began to search through the drawers again, but stopped herself and turned to him. "Oh, he's not supposed to know we met, right?"

Luka nodded, glad that she was thinking of him. "It's probably for the best if we keep it our secret."

"Well—" She looked between the two cups, squinting as she tried to see through their pure-white outside. "—I guess you'll know when you open the lid and see what color it is."

When she glanced back at him, her eyes fell to the cookie in his hand. He could swear that he could see the hope in her eyes, so he didn't delay in finally taking a bite.

It was warm, delicious, and practically melted in his mouth. He even let out a noise of delight, though the way Marinette lit up at the sound was even more delightful.

He mentally apologized to Mrs. Claus, knowing how betrayed she'd feel if she'd known that he looked at someone else and admitted honestly, "This is the best I've ever had."

Marinette clapped, bouncing in place. "My parents are professional bakers! The best in Paris!"

"It shows," he said, trying to focus on the cookie rather than how excited Marinette was.

He reached for the cup of hot chocolate, only for his wrist to get grabbed by a piece of rope. Luka let out a small yelp as he was forced to turn, his gaze turning sour as he came face-to-fabric with Santa's sack of presents.

"Um—" Marinette uttered, baffled, "what...?"

Luka glanced at her apologetically. "It does that sometimes. I came out to see you before I finished getting all your gifts under the tree. I think it's impatient."

The rope of the burlap sack tugged on his wrist, almost as if to confirm. Luka frowned, then managed to hand his partly-eaten cookie to Marinette just before he was dragged back to the living room.

He could faintly hear her giggling to herself at the sight, so he couldn't be entirely mad at being led away, especially since he did abandon his job instead of finishing it first like a responsible elf would.

He sat back down, reaching for a few more presents and placing them underneath the tree. He took his time, doing his best to make the gifts look nice and being highly conscious of it since he was in the house of a designer.

Once he'd finished, he heard footsteps and turned to see Marinette approaching with the cups, plastic bags, and partly-eaten cookie. She also had a note in her mouth, given that her hands were full.

Luka stood, reaching up and taking the note so he could read it. It was addressed to Santa, thanking him for all the presents he'd given her last year and insisting that the extra drink and cookies were in thanks to that. She even added that he shouldn't try to drink and eat it all in one sitting.

Luka glanced up at her with an amused grin. She sent the expression right back at him, though a shuffling noise got both of their attentions as they turned to see the burlap sack crawling along the floor to get to the window.

"Uh—"

"Let it go," Luka muttered, watching as the sack threw itself out the window and used the rope around its opening to climb up to the roof. "It's off to wake Santa up, since he's probably napping by now."

"Ah."

Mentally formulating how he was going to climb back up to the roof with all this extra stuff, he began to take the cups from her.

"Couldn't the sack carry these?" she asked.

"It'd probably just eat it," Luka replied dismissively. Gathering the cups in his left arm and pressing them to his chest, he took the plastic bags in his right hand and transferred them to his left. He kept the note in his left as well, then took the cookie from Marinette with his right, offering her a grateful look.

She smiled, but it was faint. "...Before you go--" She sounded just as sad as Luka felt towards the inevitable. "--can I at least get your name?"

He smiled for her, not wanting this to be a solemn moment between them. "Luka."

"Luka," she repeated, a thoughtful hand to her face as she seemed to ponder the name like it was some sort of special thing.

Luka looked towards the window, lifting the cookie up to his mouth. He was mid-bite when he felt a warm pressure against his face; Marinette had softly kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for the song," she whispered.

Involuntarily, he inhaled, the rest of the cookie going into his mouth. He reacted just in time so as to not choke and managed to keep his expression neutral enough so that she didn't notice his brief state of shock.

"Will I see you again?" she asked quietly.

He couldn't give her a definitive answer, even though he badly wanted to. He and Santa actually took turns on who took what household, so there was no guarantee that he'd be instructed to do hers again, even if Santa deemed that he did a good enough job helping out.

He swallowed the rest of the cookie, then answered honestly, "I hope so. If I can make it happen, it'll happen."

She seemed satisfied by that, standing up to her full height and giving him a wave.

He waved in return, turning and heading for the window. He made sure everything he held was secure, then took one last glance at her before climbing out and navigating up to the roof.

Santa was indeed waiting in the sleigh, now awake and looking at Luka with a hint of curiosity. "You took some time on this one, my boy."

Luka noticed his eyes taking in the surplus of stuff he had in his arm. "...That woman," he began, refraining from using Marinette's name; it definitely would've sounded too warm and familiar coming out of his mouth. "You had a lot of gifts for her."

Internally, he corrected himself: a lot of gifts that she deserved.

"I see. Well, anyway, let's get going then!" Santa exclaimed, perhaps too innocently for Luka's liking. "We have a lot more houses to get to!"

Luka nodded obediently, approaching Santa's side of the sleigh first. He handed over the bag of non-marshmallow cookies, then punctured one of the lids on the cup so he could look inside. When he confirmed that the liquid inside was milky-white, he handed it to him and gave the note afterward.

Circling around the back of the sleigh, Luka hopped into the passenger side and punctured the lid to his hot chocolate. He took a long sip, savoring the taste, then placed the cup between his legs so he could grab another marshmallow cookie out of the plastic bag.

He felt Santa's curious eyes on him, so he turned away. They'd mutually agreed that Luka could take the sweets and drinks as he pleased, and while he imagined that he looked a little weird right then since he didn't usually do it, there was nothing inherently wrong about it.

He leaned on the side of the sleigh, trying not to gaze too fondly at the house. He raised the cookie to his mouth and bit into it, the treat tasting a little more bitter than before.

He heard the snap of Santa's reigns, then saw the roof underneath him quickly fall out of sight as the sleigh went back into the air again. Luka had to resist letting out a sigh, just hoping that he'd succeed in seeing Marinette again next year.

"By the way," Santa began as they flew across the sky. Letting out a hearty chuckle, he continued, "those are nice earrings you've got there."

Luka choked on his cookie.

(continuation)

#((I compulsively write Lukanette when I'm depressed and it's Christmas so--))#type: story #story: multi chapter #Flower Arrangement Shipping #event: Christmas #Elf Luka Couffaine #Short Luka Couffaine #((This is my longest oneshot so far.))#((Gross.))#((And also))#((an excuse to write elf/short!Luka.))#Pro LukaMari #Lukanette

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nataliedanovelist · 4 years

Text

GF - Where the Crop Circles Grow ch.2

Summary: When things get out of hand at the Pines’ family farm, Ford asks an old college buddy to assist investigating anomalies and Stan hires a farmhand. Who knew asking for help would actually get you somewhere?

For @lemonfodrizzleart. Part of her Farmer AU and featuring her OC, Jackie Asante.

Ao3 link here.

ch.1 - ch.3

~~~~~~~~~~

A loud scream Jackie wasn’t prepared for disturbed her slumber and made her jump, lying on her stomach and propping the upper-half of her body up with her hands pushing against the mattress. She calmed down as she became used to the crowing of the rooster… or an opera singer dying… one of the two. Jackie relaxed and fell back on the bed. So that’s what Stan had meant yesterday.

Looking forward to her first day, Jackie hopped out of bed and started to get dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt with boots. No sense taking a shower now since she would get sweaty and gross later; she’d treat herself to a bath after dinner, like she did yesterday. After a quick brush through her jet-black hair, she took in a deep breath and gazed around her bedroom.

Stan said it was a guest bedroom, not that they ever had any guests, but Ma had this part of the house built in with the idea of visiting grandchildren. So Jackie was granted a small bedroom with a comfortable bed with an old quilt, a dresser, a nightstand, and a Jack and Jill bathroom with the opposite bedroom promised to be Fiddleford’s when he came up here from Tennessee. Jackie, who didn’t come here with much, was comfortable and anything she couldn’t fit in the nightstand and dresser she kept in boxes under the bed.

Jackie finally emerged from her bedroom and peered up and down the short hallway. She listened and could hear the shower running. As she journeyed to the kitchen her nose picked up the beautiful aroma of coffee and she instantly saw the pot filling up and heard the boiling water when she entered the empty kitchen. Whoever was in the shower must have started the coffee so it would be ready by the time they were done. Seeing no indication that breakfast was going to be made and given what she learned yesterday (that the boys couldn’t cook to save their lives), Jackie rubbed her hands together and started to hunt for ingredients to make biscuits.

About fifteen minutes later, Stan came out of the bathroom with a puff of water vapor behind him, shaking his mullet dry with a towel, his maroon robe wrapped loosely around him. He hummed to himself drowsily as he strode to the kitchen, but his not-so-keen senses heightened as he swore he could smell something cooking. Bacon? His mouth watering, Stan picked up the pace a bit without running and saw Jackie working hard in the kitchen. Holy Moses, who knew he had hired the best cook in Oregon?

“‘Mornin’.” He greeted casually.

Jackie glanced at him and her face dropped in shock. His toned, hairy chest was half-exposed, his legs bare below his knees apart from his slippers, and he had a smile on his face alongside those nice pair of brown eyes, the kind of smile you naturally mimic. It’s more contagious than the flu. Jackie caught it and returned it. “G’mornin’. Slept well?”

Stan shrugged. “Yeah, pretty good. You? Bed okay?”

“Yeah, it’s real comfortable.” Jackie replied. “Fix your coffee and sit down, biscuits are almost ready.”

Stan threw his towel onto the back of his chair and went to the cupboard above the coffee machine for a mug. Standing right next to Jackie and the stove, he saw a skillet full of sausage gravy being cooked, a pan sizzling with bacon, and she was currently cracking eggs into a bowl while another pan heated up. Stan marveled at how one person can keep an eye on so many things at once.

“You like your eggs scrambled?” Jackie asked.

Stan shrugged. “Sure.” His favorite way to eat eggs was over-easy, but hey food is food. The farmer can force anything down his gullet if needed. He watched as Jackie whisked six eggs in a big bowl and added previously shredded cheese, some chopped basil, and a small splosh of milk. Stan raised an eyebrow at that. “Why add milk?”

“Makes the eggs fluffier.” Jackie explained as she threw in some salt and pepper, whisked some more, and then poured the eggs into the small pan. The little hand-timer dinged and Jackie slipped on some oven mitts to pull out the pan of biscuits. Stan’s jaw dropped as the new farm-woman had a tray of twelve beautiful, fluffy, golden biscuits. She carried the tray to the table, where a dishcloth was folded to protect the wood, and she sat the tray down and used a little brush to paint melted butter on top. Stan licked his lips and reached to grab one, but Jackie smacked his hand and said, “Wait, mister, if you eat ‘em now you’ll burn yourself.”

Stan snorted as she turned back to the oven to flip the eggs with a rubber spatula and Stan sat with his mug of black coffee. Ford entered the room, yawning, but fully dressed. He had a rolled-up newspaper under his arm and he dozily threw it to Stan, who caught it one-handed like it was a baseball and opened it. “‘Mornin’, Sixer.”

Ford grunted as he grabbed a mug like a drunk man, poured some coffee, sweetened it with some sugar and milk, and gulped it down. Jackie watched him with a raised eyebrow as she moved the bacon onto a plate. Some people simply could not function in the morning. Ford poured a second cup, sweetened it, and sighed after a few sips, and then sat in his chair to breathe and obtain his necessary caffeine.

“How long before he can talk again?” Jackie asked as she sat the bacon down and quickly moved to the eggs.

“I’d say two full cups for half-baked sentences n’ a full pot for him to function like a normal human bein’.” Stan sneered playfully as he read the headline.

“Har, har.” Ford said sarcastically. He then blinked a few times at the realization of another feast before him. Jackie set the big bowl of cheesy scrambled eggs down and began to move the gravy to another bowl. “Holy Moses, Jackie, you didn’t have to…”

“What else am I payin’ her for?” Stan asked but took the time to throw her a wink so she knew he was joking.

Jackie snorted and sat the bowl of sausage gravy down and made herself a mug of coffee. “Since none of you know how to cook and I don’t wanna eat brown meat, I figured I’d make breakfast.”

“Hey, I can make some mean pancakes.” Stan corrected. “Sure they got a bit of hair in them, but…”

Ford and Jackie laughed and the young scientist reached for a biscuits and was pleased to find it didn’t burn his fingertips. He bit straight into it to give it a try and it was like his brain had exploded. He had never thought he would ever know what it was like to eat a cloud, but here he was. He hummed and took another huge bite, too happy for words.

Jackie’s cheeks suddenly felt a little warmer and she smiled as she spooned herself some eggs.

While Ford happily fixed himself some biscuits n’ gravy, Stan bit into a biscuit as he read his paper and he froze like a statue. Angles were suddenly dancing on his tongue. He moved his eyes to Jackie and muttered, “I’d have to marry you if you always cook this good.”

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Oh, c’mon, your mother never cooked?”

“She always cooked,” Stan explained. “N’ she was good at it, too, but you’re… you’re really, really good!” And he engulfed the rest of the biscuit in his mouth.

“What Stanley is trying to say,” Ford said firmly and smiled at the dark-skinned woman. “Is that we’re extremely grateful you’re here.”

Jackie returned the smile. “Thanks. I’m grateful to be here. What made you decide y’all needed help?”

“Well,” Ford sipped his coffee again and began to explain in detail why exactly the twins decided to hire extra help on their farm. “You see we can handle it for the most part by ourselves, with Stanley handling the sheep and chickens and with me supervising the crops and sales, but recently something has caught my attention and… erm, kept me away from the farm, and it’s too much for one man to do on his own.”

“What’s been keeping you out of the farm?” Jackie asked, not at all judgmental as to why this man wasn’t helping his brother, but curious as to what caught his attention.

“Recently some strange things have been occurring.” Ford added. “I don’t know if it’s because I went away to college and saw what was considered normal and not normal or what, but there have always been weird happenings in this town. The deeper you go into the woods, the more natural anomalies there seem to be.”

“Which means stay outta the woods.” Stan said firmly.

“Which means, since we live on the outskirts of Gravity Falls, we’re safe.” Ford corrected. “But I plan to further investigate what’s going on, and I wish to spend all of my time doing so to quickly get to the bottom of it. I also need some help, and Stanley is too busy and it wouldn’t be fair to ask him to be at my beck and call, so I’ve asked my old college buddy to come down to help me investigate the strange findings in this town.”

“I get it, okay,” Jackie said with a nod, it all making sense now. “But what kind of weird stuff have you been noticing?”

Ford grinned excitedly. “You’ll see in time.”

Jackie blew a raspberry at this guy deciding to be “cool” and mysterious, making him laugh and resume his breakfast. “So, what kind of stuff we’ll you have me do?” Jackie asked Stan.

“Well,” Stan closed his newspaper. “Since it’s your first day I’ll walk you through everything. Some stuff you’ll do every day, some stuff only on certain days. The chickens need to be fed, the sheep need to be let out, the cow’s gotta be milked, n’ the crops gotta stay healthy n’ weed-free.” And he left the table to get dressed in a red button-up and jeans.

Stan made Ford do the dishes, claiming they were behind on work and it would take longer to get everything done since Jackie was learning. Right by the kitchen door, next to two big pairs of rain boots, was a huge bag of chicken feed. “We gotta keep it here or the hens get into it.” Stan explained and opened the bag, showing a big measuring cup inside. “One cup’s enough, just spread it out n’ don’t pour it all at once. If they’re still hungry there’s plenty of bugs.”

Jackie nodded, taking mental notes, and watched as Stan scooped out some food and opened the back door. Jackie had seen the farm yesterday, but to see the sun rising on the barns and crops made the whole thing sparkle gorgeously. She grinned at the little chicken coop by the house and watched Stan sprinkle out the feed as he whistled. A dozen or so hens scurried out of the coop with one big rooster standing as king on top of the small structure, and he fluttered his wings and floated down for food.

“That’s our rooster, Clock.” Stan explained as he put the cup back inside the bag, grabbed a woven basket, and closed the kitchen door behind them so no chickens would run into the house. “Here, get in the coop n’ collect eggs. We don’t need a whole lot, so don’t freak out if the hens aren’t makin’ that much.

“Any chance they’ll have chicks inside?” Jackie asked, eyeing the loud and proud rooster.

“Nope. Clock’s an old boy.” Stan explained. “That’s why he sounds so bad. We haven’t had a chick from him in years. Hey, he always does his job, though.”

Jackie chuckled and ducked into the chicken coop. Some nests had no eggs but some had one or two. Jackie carefully collected them and knew they would be great for baking and breakfast. When she emerged, Stan tossed a metal bucket to her. “Sheep need water. There’s a well out that way, just make sure they won’t get thirsty after you put the eggs in the kitchen. I’ve already got ‘em out in the field. If you need me I’ll be in that barn over there.” And he pointed to the smaller one of the two.

Jackie nodded and headed in the direction he pointed toward when talking about the well. As she walked, she took in her surroundings and was free to acknowledge how big his farm was. There was a lot of land, with the woods acting as the border. On one side of the land it was full of crops like a big cornfield, rows of carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, watermelons, and pumpkins, and closer to the house strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries blossomed. Jackie also noticed a little herb garden growing in a basket on the back porch, not too far from the kitchen door.

On the opposite end of the crops was the two barns and a huge patch of clear land for the sheep. Jackie awed at the thirty-something sheep that “bah”ed quietly and gnawed on grass, their coats a bit short, telling Jackie that they had been trimmed not too long ago. Somewhat between the crops and the fields for animals was an old well that might have once been the primary source of water here, but thanks to modern plumbing now it was only used for the livestock. Jackie saw another bucket tied by a rope with the pulley system and she was clever enough to figure it all out on her own.

Mustering up her strength and hardly breaking a sweat, Jackie filled her own bucket with water and carried it to where the sheep dwelt. By the fence that kept them away from the crops, there was a trough, so Jackie poured the water in it and the sheep came flocking, craving water. She chuckled and noticed the trough wasn’t full, so she walked back to the well, refilled her bucket, and poured it out again, this time sploshing some sheep a little, but they didn’t mind. In fact, they started licking each other’s faces for more water, making Jackie laugh and she petted a nearby sheep and admired the soft wool.

As she petted the sheep, she caught something out the corner of her eye and looked over at the smaller of the two barns. Stan was emerging with a beautiful gray and black horse and then gently slapped his behind so the horse would know he’s free to wander. The horse galloped for a bit and then slowed, lapping up some water at his own trough. Jackie wondered if she needed to fill that one, too, but Stan made his way to the well with his own bucket and watered the horse. Jackie smiled and walked to Stan, ready for her next chore.

“That there Truffles.” Stan explained, pointing to the horse as the woman approached. “Stubborn. It’d be best if you let me handle him. He doesn’t like people much, even gives Ford a hard time.”

Jackie nodded. “Gotcha.”

“Watered the sheep? Good. Ever milked a cow? Well today you’re gonna learn.” Stan said and motioned for her to follow him into the smaller of the two barns. Inside were two stalls and equipment for a horse and a cow. Jackie could even see a horse-drawn sled collecting cobwebs in the back corner. “Luna’s okay, as long as you’re quiet. Doesn’t like noise much. She’s got a soft spot for Ford.”

Stan opened one of the stalls and Jackie got a full view of a white cow with only one big black spot over her right eye. She mooed at the visitors and licked Stan’s outstretched hand. Jackie couldn’t help but notice how gentle he petted her neck and talked to her. Despite having a voice made of gravel, his talk was as soft as silk. “Hey mama, good to see you, good to see you. Try to be nice for me, girl, okay. Alright, c’mere, Jackie.”

Stan pulled a short stool over and motioned for her to sit. He knelt beside the cow and placed the bucket below the utters. “It’s really simple, just squeeze n’ pull n’ squeeze n’ pull.”

“Okay,” The woman sat on the stool, held the bucket between her boots, and carefully grabbed an utter. It was soft and squishy and she could feel the milk, and she did as she was told and smiled to see delicious warm milk fall into the bucket.

“Not bad, not bad at all.” Stan commented with a smile. “Here, you can squeeze harder, you won’t hurt her. Like this.” He gently covered Jackie’s hand with her own and showed her just how tightly to squeeze and pull. Jackie followed, her eyes darting up to Luna, but the cow only happily chewed on some hay. She didn’t even twitch her tail with uncomfortably. Jackie smiled at Stan, thanking him for his help, and he returned the smile and let her go to milk. She milked just as well as Ford or Stan could, and when Stan checked to make sure Luna was empty, there was no milk left to obtain.

“Good job.” Stan praised and stood up. “Take the milk in the house n’ Ford can pan it. He’s got a knack for dairy n’ makin’ butter. He can teach you if you want.”

“Sounds great.” Jackie hoisted the bucket up and let it hang in front of her. “What after that?”

“Well, nothing’s ready to harvest yet.” Stan answered. “We’ll check for weeds n’ make sure the gardens are healthy, then I think we’ll be okay until the afternoon. Usually around noon is when we go into town, do laundry, chop wood, or whatever else needs to get done aside from mornin’ n’ afternoon chores.”

“Well what are the afternoon chores?” Jackie asked.

“Basically reverse of what we just did. I’ll put up Truffles n’ I’ll show you how to drive in the sheep. Then you’ll water ‘em n’ milk Luna again, or you can make Ford do it so you can cook.”

Jackie snorted. “I think I’ll do that.”

“Good. Then we’ll have your afternoon chores only be to drive in the sheep.”

“Anything needs to get done today?” Jackie asked.

“I can’t think of anything.” Stan said with a shrug. “Ma used to have a little jingle… Scrub on Monday, Laundry on Tuesday, Knit on Wednesday, Prep on Thursday, Bake on Friday, Rest on Saturday, Clean on Sunday. O’course, you can do whatever you want, s’long as work’s gettin’ done. I’m sure I can find you something to do.” He hinted at and winked.

Jackie rolled her eyes. “I like it. Your mom was really smart… What’s today? Wednesday? Well, I don’t feel like knitting or sewing, so I guess I’ll try to clean the house for when Ford’s friend gets here. Hey, what did your mom mean by scrub on Monday?”

Stan shrugged. “Usually that meant the kitchen n’ bathrooms. You know, the tubs, sinks, toilets, the oven, the stoves…”

“Ah, gotcha.” Jackie wandered out of the barn with Stan and said, “Well, after I check the crops I’ll scrub.”

“Have fun.” Stan teased and headed for the corn to check for crows and other pests.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Great, so we’ll see you on Tuesday?” Ford clarified. “Thank you so much, buddy. I owe you. No, of course we don’t mind. We’ve got plenty of room. You’re welcome, goodbye.”

Ford hung up the phone and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had been foolish to think Fiddleford could simply drop everything and move across the country just to assist him. Foolish and selfish. What stung most was how worried Fiddleford had sounded over the phone when he began making his request.

There was no good in stalling and not telling Stan, he had to tell him that the plan had changed. Ford stood and exited the parlor to try to find his brother, probably out in the fields by now. He knew if he did he would get tangled into trying to help, which was fine for today, so Ford mentally prepared himself for hoeing and pulling weeds as he entered the kitchen and found Jackie entering the room with a bucket of milk. “Oh, thank you, ma’am.” He said politely. “I’ll pan it later, we’re low on butter. Right now I need to have a word with Stanley.”

“He’s out at the cornfield.” Jackie assisted.

“Thank you.”

Ford found Stan right where Jackie said he would. The younger twin emerged from the field, satisfied with the state of the corn, and raised an eyebrow when the older twin said, “Stanley, we have to talk.”

“What’s the word, Sixer?” Stan asked as they started to walk alongside the edge of the field.

“Fiddleford will be here on Tuesday…”

“Great!”

“... and he’s bringing his son.”

They kept walking as Stan gave Ford a surprised and confused look.

“Tate. His four-year-old.”

“I know who the boy is, Poindexter!” Stan snapped, irritated that that was what Ford thought he was confused about. “That’s fine, we’ve got room for him, but why in Moses’ name is he brinin’ Tate? I thought your friend was only visitin’ for a few weeks.”

Ford sighed and ran a six-fingered hand through his fluffy hard-to-maintain hair. “Fiddleford is getting a divorce.”

Stan winced. He may not have known the nerd as well as Ford did, but from what he gathered he had been over the moon for his gal.

“She doesn’t want anything to do with Tater, either.” Ford added. “Says he’s too much like Fiddleford. He thinks this is a good way to start a new life, you know? Move here and help me, then maybe find their own place.”

“Or we can build a smaller second house.” Stan threw in. “More houses means more hands to work the farm, which means more money n’ more land.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “Perhaps. For now I was thinking Fiddleford could have the guest bedroom and Tate could have the Jack and Jill bedroom.”

“Sure, I bet Jackie won’t mind.” Stan predicted.

“And you’re okay with Tate coming to live with us, too?” Ford double-checked.

“You kiddin’ me, I love kids!” Stan punched Ford’s shoulder and stood still with his arms cross over his chest. “It’ll be great, you wait n’ see! There’s plenty of stuff here to Tate to do until he’s old enough for school n’ nobody’s gonna get claustrophobic here. Not that Santa Claus is real.”

Ford groaned and pinched at his eyes under his glasses. “That was bad, even for you.” But the young investigator smiled at his twin and returned the punch on the shoulder. “Well, thank you. I know it’s a lot to take in in such a small amount of time…”

“You know something, Sixer?” Stan interrupted and gave him a slightly-more serious look. “It’s been too quiet here lately.”

Ford raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what your definition of quiet is, but…”

“You know what I meant.” Stan said firmly and resumed what he was trying to say. “I ain’t got a problem with it just bein’ the two of us - you know I don’t - but it’s been way too quiet here. I miss it bein’ crowded n’ busy n’ loud. So I say the more the merrier; n’ the sooner I can’t hear my own thoughts (though few there may be), the better.”

Ford smiled softly at his brother. It was true. The quiet had been appreciated at first, but now it wasn’t as appreciated as the noise that comes with good company. Ever since Ma and Pa had died and Shermie had gone back to California, it had just been the twins on this big farm. What Stan said was true, it was fine, and with Ford gone for four years while he earned as many PhDs as he had fingers, it was nice to reconcile and catch up. But now it was high-time the Pines family grew bigger and louder and weirder, the way it was supposed to be.

“Well, guess we should tell Jackie she’ll be sharing her bathroom, then.” Ford suggested and led the way away from the cornfield with his twin by his side.

#GF #gravity falls #fanfiction #farmer au #ford pines #stan pine #jackie asante #gift #thank you so much for reading!#please leave a comment on what you thought #I'd love to read them!

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allcheatscodes · 7 years

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pokemon colosseum gamecube

http://allcheatscodes.com/pokemon-colosseum-gamecube/

pokemon colosseum gamecube

Pokemon Colosseum cheats & more for GameCube (GameCube)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Get the updated and latest Pokemon Colosseum cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, guides, hints, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for GameCube (GameCube). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the GameCube cheats we have available for Pokemon Colosseum.

Genre: Action, Adventure Developer: Game Freak, Inc Publisher: Nintendo ESRB Rating: Everyone Release Date: March 23, 2004

Hints

Jurachi

To get Jurachi, load him into the Game Boy Advance from the bonus disc. Then, transfer him to Pokemon Colosseum.

Unlimited Of Any Pokeball Including The Masterball

The way you do this is when your in battle you pick the pokeball you want to use with your first pokemon. Now with your second pokemon you go to items and you click on the pokeball you used with the x button on the controller and switch its place in the bag with another type of pokeball. Then after you switch its place the game acts like you never used a pokeball. So you can have unlimited of them but you have to do this every time you use a pokeball.

Snag A Togetic

To snag Togetic, you must first snag all 47 other shadow pokemon in the game and watch 2 TV broadcasts about pokemon attacking people. When you do, you’ll receive a strange e-mail telling you to go to the Outskirt Stand. A shady guy that looks exactly like you awaits, holding onto the last shadow pokemon in the game. Since his Togetic is nearly 50 levels below his other pokemon, snagging it is quite tricky. The most crucial step is taking out the Gyarados since it knows earthquake and kill kill Togetic in one shot. Put him to sleep or use the quick claw and hit him with an electric attack (from Ampharos or Raikou) to hopefully deliver a one-hit KO. When Togetic hits the field, poison or paralyze him, then throw out pretty much any type of pokeball for an easy snag.

Choosing Your Starter In Phenac City

You know how when you try and leave Phenac city, there are weird guys standing at each exit. Well that determines who your starter will be. At the left exit ( the one by the mayor’s house) will be green and have a Bayleef. The one at the right on the opposite side of town will be red and have Quilava. The third guy at the entrance of the city (where you first came in and got your sidekick), will be blue and have a Croconaw. In my oppinion the Grass type, Bayleef is the best choice. The other grass pokemon aren’t that good and the one that is good can’t be used until after you beat the game. I didn’t even use it in the final battle but it will come in handy on Mt. Battle when you have to face about 20 Ground type pokemon that can be beaten by a Quagsire and Bayleef combo or Maganium if your bayleef evolved already. I think Croconaw is the worst choice because Their are 5 other water types in the game including Suicune, which is a very good pokemon and a rare legendary pokemon. Fire is okay but still you can catch an Entei which is equivelent to Suicune except fire type and not a water type. And there are other good fire types like a Slugma which can be evolved and a Houndoom which can be evolved. This is just a heads up. You can catch Entei Scuicune and Raikou in this game and they can also be called the Legendary Dogs or the 3 Legendary dogs. Of Pokemon just like Articuno Zapdos and Moltres can be called the Legendary Birds or 3 Legendary Birds of Pokemon.

Secret Cave

In Agate Village, at the first house you see to your left, go around the hose on the left side and keep going around until you go offscreen. In the cave, there are two chests that give you stuff.

Secret Chest

In Agate Village, if you take the hill down from the pokecenter, and go south and turn at the edge and keep going, you’llrun into a chest that gives you something.

Easier Chance At Capturing Tyranitar

If the three DNA samples you are given are Entei, Suicune, and Raikou or Croconaw, Suicune, and Sudowoodo, go through the door and press and hold the L, R, Z buttons while entering. This will make it easier to catch Tyranitar later in the game by possibly giving you a second chance at battling the Cipher President.

No Need For Awakenings!

Instead of wasting your money on awakenings,you can just call your pokemon for them to wake up!

All The Cities

Here are all the cities you visit in the Orre region.

1. The Outskurt Stand2. Phenic City3. Pyrite Town4. Agate Village5. MT.Battle6. The Under7. Shadow Pokemon Lab8. Realgalm Tower

Time Flutes

In order to instantly make a Shadow Pokemon’s heart to open you need an extremely rare item called the Time Flute. I know of at least three places where you can get a Time Flute. One from Vander at Mt. Battle after you drive off Dakim. One from using the U-Disk in The Under. And one to the far right of the platform you start out on when you reach the 100th trainer at Mt. Battle. You can only use a Time Flute in front of the relic in Agate Village. (Make sure to save one for really strong pokemon.)

Get Ho-oh

Snag and purify all Shadow Pok�mon (DO NOT USE TIME FLUTE!) and beat the level 100 mode in Mt. Battle using your Pok�mon from story mode.

Catching Raikou

Catching Raikou isn’t as hard as catching the other legendary pokemon. When you battle him you should paralize it instead of putting it to sleep (that’s how I did it). First try using ultra balls then if you run out of them, or they don’t work, use timer balls. If you faint him don’t worry you can catch him again soon.

Level 100 Battles In Orre Colosseum

Successfully complete Tower Colosseum in single and double battle.

Level 50 Battles In Orre Colosseum

Successfully complete Phenac Stadium, Pyrite Colosseum, and Under Colosseum in single and double battle.

How To Get Entei

You must battle hard and smart to get Entei. To find him you must go to Mt. Battle and go thourgh the men. Then you will see a tall buff guy in white cloths. he has four other pokemon than Entei. They are Golom, and three others that I can’t remember, but they are mainly weak against water abd grass. The main pokemon that I used were Bayleaf, Noctowl who Earthquake doesn’t affect, Quigsire, and the two pokemon you start out with Unbreon and Espeon. You must hurt Entei to near fainting then if you can put it to sleep and try to catchit if you can’t put it to sleep just catch it. I found that a premire ball works best aganst it.

The Real Way To Get Makuhita

there is another guy in this section who talks about Makuhita. He forgot something. The first step is to talk to the mayor in Phenac city. Then u go to Phenac Stadium. Talk to the person behind the desk there. to get to phenac stadium, go up all the stairs, there will be a guy with a jiglypuff. go into the entrance. anyway, after u talk to the person behind the desk, go outside again. a bunch of thugs will challenge u. beat them. then go to the poke mart and talk to either the man sitting down upstairs or the woman in the back of the first floor. then go back to the outskirt stand. buy pokeballs from the bartender. buy a few because u might need more than 1, buy great balls if u want a easier catch. go back to phenac and to the mayor’s house. the second person will have a pokemon u can steal.

How To Get Suicune

First you must have fought off the to (Chippers I think they were called) both of them are female and in purple and they will come at you back to back. Once you defeat them you need to run along the side of the gate they were watching intill Sliva sees you then he will give you a R-Disk that will lead you to the office were Lady Venus is at. Don’t forget to look around first because there are rare candies that will raise the level of one pokemon buy 1 there are three. Once done looking aroud talk to Venus and the battle begins. If you haven’t noticed she atracts attention and so do her pokemon so be prepared. Most of her pokemon are weak aganist Fire so slug ma and if you snagged him and purified him Entei. Her pokemon are Bannet(ues bite),Steelix, Skitty, Vileplume, and Suicune. Like Entei Suicune won’t go easy you have to get its HP near zero to five. The best ball to use is the Timer ball if there as been more than 6-8 turns, if not Ultra Ball.

Get Makuheta

To get makuheta go to the first city. Talk to the mayor go to the poke mart and talk to the lady. She will tell you about pokeballs. Go to the first place on the map. Talk to the man be hind the conuter. He gives you 5 pokeballs. Go back to the mayors house the 2nd guy you battle will have it.

Cheats

Currently we have no cheats or codes for Pokemon Colosseum yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Pokemon Colosseum yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Pokemon Colosseum yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Pokemon Colosseum yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently no guide available.

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