Korra is the Avatar, you just gotta deal (korra) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-05-14 16:08:00
So I tossed the phone at his head. Who: Padmé Naberrie, Korra When: Today, around Dinner Time Where: Laguna Beach What: An after-dinner walk Rating/Warning: This log is pretty tame. Unless you're scared of poutine or funny stories. Status: Complete!
“What did I tell you? Best damn poutine I’ve found in Los Angeles,” Padmé exclaimed, smiling over at Korra. “I’m so glad to share it with a Canadian.” When she had met the other woman at Colleen’s dojo, she’d overheard Korra mention the Grouse Grind, which immediately made Padmé jump into the conversation. Vancouver was one of her favourite places to visit, and she’d actually toyed with the idea of relocating before reconciling with her family.
When she mentioned poutine to others, they usually wrinkled their noses, which Padmé had never understood. Fries, good. Cheese, good. Gravy, good. So why not good all together?It seemed like perfect math to her. Showing Korra her favourite poutinerie made for an excellent dinner, and Padmé found herself warming up to Korra more and more. And then when they agreed to go out and walk on the beach? Even better!
“I know we kind of touched on it during dinner, but you’re liking Los Angeles right? It’s gotta be a change, it’s so big.”
It was almost too much to bear, all this walking with her stomach still filled to bursting with amazing poutine, but Korra loved staying active. The beach was a wonderful place to be, especially in a place that was so sunny and warm. It was almost peaceful, too. The waves lapping up against the shore, and most of the crowds had dispersed now that the tides had shifted for the day.
"Right? When I first got here I was just like... where does anyone go to when they want to be alone for longer than three seconds? The city areas all seem so crowded, and there are so few places to go with, you know... actual, undisturbed nature. At least that you can get to cheaply by bus or taxi."
Korra didn't drive. In the beginning, she'd been too large of a disaster, and then there'd been no need to. Now she was torn. California was so widespread you almost needed a car, but- "The traffic is insane."
“I had to agree with the traffic assessment -- it is ridiculous. I remember when I was learning to drive, I’d go out with some of my Catholic friends and they all do the sign of the cross and kiss their rosary right before we get onto the freeway.” She laughed. “That does not inspire much confidence I have to say, but hey -- still kicking!! It’s why I got a Prius too. That way I can at least feel smug while I’m driving. Might have to upgrade to a Tesla when I’m rich though.”
Padmé reached down and took off her shoe. Even though it was just a flat, she decided she’d rather walk with the sand between her toes. “Actually, in all honesty, I’m thinking of getting an SUV. I tend to get out of town when I have the opportunity since, surfing and hiking are things I love to do, but we’re heading into spring and that’s prime wedding season. Something about how flowers bloom, and the scents in the air… it always has people thinking of love.” She shrugged. “At least I’ll make enough money for a new car in the next few months.”
It was a good idea, kicking your shoes off like that, and Korra followed suit. She stopped for a moment to take both of her sandals off and then dangled them from her fingers as they started walking again. "I think my friends would have been doing the same if they were Catholic. I tried to learn to drive when I was old enough, but that... was just not happening. Not even on the less traveled roads, honestly. And my parents were both so worried I'd crash their only car that they eventually told me to stick to public transportation. It was always kind of a surprise to them that I was better at driving skis or a snowboard."
The thought made Korra laugh, and then she raised her eyebrows at the idea of Padme getting an SUV. "Oh wow, that would be amazing, though! You could kidnap me and we could go off on adventures! I'd love to see some less populated areas. Maybe you could even teach me to surf. After your busy season is over, anyway."
Korra had been engaged to Mako for all of 2 weeks before they'd decided that was a Very Big Mistake, but she didn't begrudge other people their happiness. "What's the craziest wedding you ever had to plan?"
“I will happily kidnap you,” Padmé said, “since from what you’re talking about, you should never drive.” She matched Korra’s pace, and walked towards the coastline. It was peaceful, this time of night. Dusk was always one of her favourites, with the blush of the sun fading into the night sky. She was definitely NOT a morning person. “There’s quite a few trails I like to hike around here, and I’d be more than happy to teach you to surf. I don’t have as much time as I used to, which makes me sad, but I still try to get out at least every other day.”
Korra’s second question was a bit harder to answer. There were so many weddings, so many nuances. “It’s hard to say,” she responded finally. “I tend to cater to fairly well-off people, so their demands are … not the usual ones. I’ve never planned a themed wedding, for instance. Most of the ‘elite’,” and she used that term loosely, “want to just look richer than their friends. So the crazy parts are matching flowers to a specific shade, sometimes even having to dye them...yeah, that’s the craziest thing I had to do. Hand dye rose petals because they weren't ‘pink’ enough, and of course, they’d already been purchased.” Padmé wrinkled her nose. “I still can’t stand the smell of roses to this day. What about you? What do you do for work?”
The idea of having to hand dye a bunch of rose petals just to make a client happier with the shade of pink was ridiculous to Korra, and she wrinkled her own nose as Padme told her the story. "Thank god I'm not in Wedding Planning. I definitely know better than to try and work a job like yours. I don't have the patience for that kind of thing. Did I tell you the story about the time I nearly broke a guy's phone?"
As for what she did for a living, Korra grinned, "Well, I spend most of my time training. I'm not really sure what exactly for, yet. Maybe mixed martial arts, maybe just professional martial arts competitions, maybe even back to the Olympics. And when I'm not doing that, I teach beginner level Jeet Kune Do. It's the way Bruce Lee used to fight!"
Padme had never heard of Jeet Kune Do, although she did know who Bruce Lee was so she made appropriate noises and nodded her head. Really, she wanted to hear the first thing. “No, you didn’t tell me about breaking a guy’s phone! I want to know! What happened? Tell me everything.”
"Everyone wants to hear that story, it's so funny." Korra replied, grinning. One of her hands splayed out in front of her, as if trying to depict the scene. "Alright, so I'm going around doing talk show tours and stuff, I just got home from the Olympics and I'm like... snowboarding royalty at this point. Korra is a rockstar! Korra can do no wrong."
She snorted a bit at that, before continuing her story. "I had to get a couple people for this, you know the types. They keep people at a distance so that you can make it through crowds and stuff. Well one day, I'm like - 'Guys, I just want to go get a coffee, it's fine'. And I take a walk around the corner, doing the whole - I'm nobody, don't notice me look. Hat, sunglasses, flannel. But this guy recognized me anyway, and he leans in real close, then pulls his camera out. I was already ready to kick this guy's ass if he didn't leave me alone, but then he takes a selfie. He didn't even ask!"
Korra's arm waved around a bit at that, trying to gesticulate the act of the selfie, though it mainly looked like angry flailing. "So I took his camera. I was only going to delete the selfie, but he's all trying to grab it back and yelling at me. Excuse me? YOU'RE the one that took the selfie without my permission, guy."
"So I tossed the phone at his head." Korra said, while pretending to throw a phone. "He's fine. The camera screen got a dent in it when it hit the pavement and I had to deal with a lawsuit. And after that I was just like… that’s all anyone would talk about. It wasn’t about my skill anymore, just about how I rage threw someone’s camera."
Padmé couldn’t help but stop and double over with laughter. Just the mental image of Korra, throwing a phone at someone’s head, an action that Padmé sorely wished she had the confidence to do herself … it was too priceless. “Oh...my...GOD, Korra!” She barely managed to wheeze that out as she put a hand out on her friend’s shoulder, trying to steady herself. “You didn’t! Oh my god, you’re my new hero. Rage throwing a camera….”
Growing up as a child of fairly recognizable parents, Padmé had learned to perfect her ‘smile for the camera’ pose as well as learn the art of wearing sunglasses.
“Did you lose all your endorsements and have to go on TV apologizing, and promising you’ll do anger management when the whole while you’re basically rolling your eyes on the inside wondering why you have to act like an adult when no one else does?”
"How did you know!? Because that is exactly what happened. And they even made me take the anger management classes. That was actually part of like... the stuff that I had to agree to do so that the guy wouldn't press worse charges." Korra admitted, laughing a bit herself. Padme's laughter was infectious and it was impossible to even feel the littlest bit annoyed over the whole thing.
Korra grinned at Padme. "But you know, it did teach me a few life lessons. And hopefully the next time I'm out there on the professional circuit I won't have to follow it up with an apology tour. And now I've got a hysterical story to tell people about it. Maybe if this other stuff doesn't work out I'll take up comedy."