A Mom Helping Her Kids Beat A Hard Level In Super Mario Land, 1990s.

Eye of Iceland - Fagradalsfjall Eruption, Iceland - Sep 11 [OC] [3500 × 2332] - Author: grisigt on reddit

Korrasami Week Day Three

Oh, this one hasn’t undergone through much editing. Enjoy :)

-------------

Prompt: vacation

"You sure you got everything?"

"Don't worry, me and Pabu are ready to rock the beach! Those waves won't even know what hit them!" Bolin exclaims, flexing his arms over his head. Pabu climbs his torso to reach his forearms, sporting a small straw hat that matches his.

Mako sighs silently and folds the last of his towels against his leg. He places the cloth inside his bag, on top of all his other belongings. His brother doesn't miss the suspire.

"Relax, Mako. It's just one weekend."

Mako zips the bag before replying, "With Korra, I've learnt not to take anything for granted."

Bolin's enthusiastic reply slides into pursed lips, "You're not wrong... I mean, even Wu is tagging along," he trails off and shakes his head vehemently, "Oh, come on, Mako! It's been a long time since we went on vacation together. Me, you, Korra, Asami, Wu and my sweet Opal. I won't let your gloomy attitude ruin it! I know this time everything will go smoothly!"

Bolin's ramble accompanies them outside their home, to the front porch.

His brother has a point. It's not easy for them to coordinate holidays and outings so most of the times they are reduced to shared brief lunches or late nights together, where exhaustion grips at them from all sides. A whole weekend feels like a small blessing and he hopes they'll make the most of it.

"Last check, did you pack everything? What about the sunscreen? You grabbed that, too?"

Bolin's protests die immediately on his mouth, lips tightening in a cheeky smile as the earthbender rushes back inside. Just to be on the safe side, Mako lazily rifles through the contents of his own bag one last time. He prays this will be the most action he experiences during the weekend when a weird crunching noise distracts him.

"Good morning, Mako!"

Korra's cheerful call comes from a small van parked in front of him. The Avatar is leaning outside the window of the passenger seat, perched on the thin sill. Next to her, Asami smiles at him from the driving seat, green eyes shaded by a pair of googles.

He hoists his bag higher on his shoulder and waves back at them.

+++

"Next time," Wu pants and swallows heavily, face pale as a sheet, "We're riding badgermoles."

"So we have to listen to your singing? I’d quite prefer this, thank you very much." Korra replies, leaning back in her seat with a lazy stretch. Opal smiles at the back of her head, sharing the sentiment.

After all, Asami's van had easily welcomed the six of them with all of their belongings, and leaving space for Opal to stretch her legs between the seats.

"An air bison?" Wu groans again and Opal smiles sympathetically at him.

"Sorry, Tenzin had banned me from all the air bison’s stable, after I sort of helped Jinora sneak out in the middle of the night," Korra yawns and rubs at one eye, "And Opal here is still a student, and therefore prohibited to use air bison transportation for," she quotes with her fingers, "Such frivolous activities. But, on the bright side, I don't think this method of transportation is that bad."

"You think that only because it has the Future Industries' logo on its side," he moans back, both arms wrapped around his stomach.

Korra shrugs, "It's not my fault my girlfriend is a genius," she replies, leaning over the clutch to kiss said girlfriend on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Wu," Opal hears the smile in Asami's apologetic tone, "But it won't be for much longer, now. We're almost there," she replies as she takes another turn down a deserted street.

The engineer drives smoothly down the lanes, slouched in a comfortable posture, even as the roads become smaller and less frequented. She looks serene in her seat, arms lazily gripping the wheel. Because of the many turns they had undertaken, Opal had lost any sense of direction. Instead, she takes her time to admire Asami's navigational skills: the driver hadn't looked at the map once, not since their departure from Republic City, but she hasn't hesitated once.

Opal takes a look at the other passengers to distract herself from Wu's retching sounds. Beside him, Mako leans against the side of the van, arms crossed and eyes closed, probably in sleep. Opal suspects he's just trying to ignore Wu's moaning. Most surprising of all, Bolin's snoring loudly in the seat next to her, passed out only after few minutes of traveling, lulled to sleep by the van's rocking motions. Pabu has disappeared at the beginning of the drive in the back of the van to keep company to Naga.

Curious, Opal leans forward between the two seats in the front, careful not to jostle her slumbering boyfriend.

"Asami," she begins, "How come you never told us about your beach house before?"

The Sato heiress catches her eyes through the rear view mirror and offers a slight smile, "I don't know, Opal. I guess I never considered the idea of going there again until Korra mentioned a beach day."

Korra makes an humming noise from the side, to which Asami's smirk only grows. Opal isn't privy to the silent exchange, but the secret traded knowledge doesn't bother her because of the exclusion.

"When was the last time you came here?" Opal asks again, head lolling on her crossed arms with the elbows resting on both the front seats.

"I was very little. I think I came here last with my mother," Korra lays a hand on Asami's tight. Smiling fondly, both at the memory and at the touch, Asami waves away the gesture, but not the feeling, "We wanted to go together, but my dad had to remain behind for a last minute emergency at the factory. He insisted we went without him."

Asami's smile never falters.

"Though he never said anything, I think he wanted to get rid of this house after my mother’s death. Sell it, probably. Even though I don't know what made him change his mind in the end- That's the place, by the way."

"Well, I, for once, am sure glad he didn't sell it," Korra whistles lowly, admiring the blue and white mansion that enters their windscreen.

But the rueful chuckle that escapes Asami's lips makes Korra's hand cease its circular movement on her leg.

"It's nothing, don't worry," for the second time, Opal feels like she missed a beat of the conversation, "I just realized I don't have any memory of my father in this house."

Korra's other hand rises to Asami's cheek and brushes away a strand of ebony hair.

After a moment, Opal adds her smile and her hand on Asami's shoulder.

"Then," she says, feeling like a real airbender behind those words, "What are we waiting for? Let's go make some new memories."

+++

When they reach the beach, with the sea lapping gently at the shore, the first thing Korra does is heave her girlfriend over her shoulders and drop her in the water.

Asami comes back to the surface spluttering and complaining about sunscreen and sunburns.

+++

Later, after a raucous round of water fighting with Opal and the two brothers, Korra marches back to the beach, where an unaware Asami is peacefully reading a thick book, body splayed on a towel.

Korra drops unceremoniously on her, sprawling over her back like a starfish and dripping freezing water over her warm skin.

Asami shrieks, and Korra laughs.

+++

The six of them engage in an animated match of volleyball, one that ends in the water.

They have to explain the game to Korra, first, who has never played before in her life.

Surprisingly, Wu reveals himself to be a pretty decent server, scoring a few points with only one shot. But the skill doesn't balance his refusal to play any ball that's saved further than this, claiming of not wanting his hairstyle ruined. Opal is the fastest on her feet, jumping at any given occasion to land most of the smashes.

Mako stumbles awkwardly through a couple of smashes, but Bolin makes an amazing defender against the sturdier hits. His strength hinders his fast movements, so his team ends up relying on Asami's timely saves. Except for those, Asami reveals herself to be a terrible player, somehow lacking the proper coordination for simple passes.

They all breaks down in giggles when Asami accidentally hits Korra in the face with a terrible serve.

+++

"What do you mean you can't sandbend? Aren't you an earthbender?"

Bolin smiles awkwardly at Wu, "Yes, but that's not the same thing."

Wu wrinkles his nose from behind his round sunglasses, his face being his only visible part. Bolin and Opal are working together to bury him completely in the sand, as their original plan of building a sand chair had failed miserably. At random intervals, Mako kicks a spray of sand in their direction, helping them bury the former king.

"Why not?" Wu asks again, "It's practically the same thing. Sand is just earth, split into grains and located at the ocean's side."

Bolin's face flickers to a miffed expression, "It's not the same thing, because I can't sandbend, but I can earthbend."

"Do you know the reason it's not?"

"Of course," Bolin pauses in his digging to hunt for words, "It's because... because."

"You don't know?," Wu presses, "Aren't you an earthbender?"

"I am!" a wave of embarrassment washes over Bolin, "And what about you? Why don't you know the difference?"

Wu sniffs at him, "I'm not an earthbender."

"But you're the Earth King. You should know this stuff," Bolin points out simply.

Wu's complaints pitch his voice into a whine, but Bolin can now recognize when Wu is taking the teasing in stride, laughter bubbling behind his words, "Former king, thank you very much. And I-"

Bolin sighs, tuning out the political spree Wu inevitably launches into. He had seen in first person the effects of Kuvira's tight reign on the Earth Kingdom, and so it's natural for him to wholeheartedly agree with Wu's decision in stepping down on the throne. He has the feeling that the world had seen enough of monarchs, at least for a little while.

He just wishes he wouldn't launch into an half hour speech every time they mention it.

Bolin trades shrugs with Opal as he lets his gaze divert to the side. His eyes fall on Korra's form, laying curled up on her side, head in Asami's lap. They're huddled on their towels next to their failed sand chair, Asami sitting up to read her book. One of her hands is busy carding through the Avatar's damp hair in a rhythmic motion. 

Korra looks on the brink of sleep, with that thousand mile stare she does every time she struggles to stay awake. And Bolin knows the warmth brought by the touch of a lover so he understands Korra's wishes to remain awake as long as she actually can.

He feels lucky to be among the few who have the privilege of seeing the Avatar so relaxed. In the past years Bolin had known her, Korra had faced many adversities, always giving to the world more than it deserved. Bolin often wondered how much more she could give before it demanded too much.

Seeing her pliable and serene slots a pebble in Bolin's chest, one that warms in a pleasant way.

When he rises his eyes, he meets Asami's smile with one of his brightest.

It doesn't take long for Asami to join the conversation, offering her input on sand. She explains the many applications it has found in modern technology and how Future Industries has hired a team of skilled sandbenders to create prosthetic limbs with sand particles, resulting in lighter and stronger models.

He doesn't need to imagine the widening of Korra's smile.

+++

The moon shines over them, splintered in speckles of white over the black pool of the sea. The lapping waves peal like thunder.

Strolling on the beach, Korra gently leads Asami by the wrist, eyes soft. And Asami follows her until she feels the water lap at their waists and tickle their bellies.

Korra wraps her arms around her shoulders, guiding her further in the sea of darkness.

They sway to the rhythm of the waves, stealing slow and tender kisses from each other.

Asami presses the side of her head to Korra’s chest without a word, burying her face in Korra's neck. Her hands circle her waist and Korra feels like her heart is about to burst from love. She presses a kiss to the crown of Asami’s head in turn, cradling her closer in the embrace and heating the water around them with firebending, so Asami won't feel cold.

They stay entwined in the dark for long, moving only to kiss or caress another silver of skin.

Hi friend! How bout " jesus... what have they done to you... " Or "it's okay... I'm here now" for the drawing prompt thing :)

Orange Heart 🧡 in Yosemite’s National park firefall. Happy Valentine’s Day! [OC] [1080x1618] IG @the_lost_coast - Author: the_lost_coast on reddit

sea and stars

Jar of Hearts ❤️ 

Keep reading

..may this joke land with y’all the same way it did for my sister and I lol

part one

Despite being very red, Lena's cadence stayed mellow and sober as she trudged through rows of flowers.

Kara studied her from the shade of the orchard, half hidden between wavy fronds of fig saplings. Leaning back against the coarse bark of an old tree, Kara sat cross legged, lap overflowing with wicker. She dragged her thumbs along the chipped edge of a half assembled basket, as her nimble hands entwined sinewy twigs with mindless sinuous movements.

She could see Lena's lips mouthing something, but she couldn't make out the words so far.

After a tentative week of forced bedrest, Lena's bandages had finally peeled away in clean folds of stale white. Her limp had healed and the bruises over her ribcage had disappeared, nursed back to health by stubbornness and frowns. As soon as she could last an entire day without collapsing in exhausted naps, Lena had rolled the cuffs of long sleeves over her wrists and offered to help with odd jobs around the farm.

"Have you ever uprooted weeds?" Kara mused, elbows half buried in a bag of fertilizer.

Lena cast the bag an indifferent glance, "Can't be more difficult than polyatomic anions."

Armed with a crooked rake, Lena braved the grassy plains with the hesitance of a newborn duckling. And the same quiet determination to spread wings for the first time.

The fields were cast in the rusty glow of sunset as light seeped into the wrinkles of Lena's starched shirt. It was an old garment, one that Kara had fished from a forgotten corner of her wardrobe, tucked under the tailored tunic her mo-

A twig snapped under her fingertips, startling Kara out of her thoughts. She brushed them away like cobwebs, struggling to untangle the broken wicker stuck in the weaved pattern of the basket. All her efforts proved to be fruitless and Kara stood with a sigh, mentally giving up on the task.

She looked over Lena's hunched form, still engrossed in her job and figured they could call it a day. She dusted herself off and strolled past the trees' edge, wandering towards the open field. The basket was soon forgotten in the fallen foliage.

As she neared, Lena interrupted her string of murmurs. Her rucked shirt was stained with dirt and grass smudges, much like Kara's beige overalls. Kara's eyes scanned the field, looking for the way glass bent around the memory of Lena's steps, who was bent over a flowerbed of tulips, a vibrant cloud of red flowers that dissolved into smoke every sunset.

Lena's eyes shone with wonder when she had seen her the first vanishing blossom turning into smoke.

The air smelled of flowers and early chance of rain.

Another petal dissolved under their eyes and Lena offered a halcyon smile.

"These flowers are beautiful."

Glowing with a burgeoning sunburn, Lena painted an almost endearing picture, dirt stains in the shape of her knees and small blisters huddled on her palms from the rake's handle.

"When I said you could help around the farm I didn't mean you had to get sunburn on the first day on the job."

Lena flicked a lock of hair behind her ear with a flippant smile, "I might have underestimated this planet's two suns."

Kara chuckled briefly, catching easily on the playful tone, "I can tell. You are also quite..." Kara hesitated, chanced a quick look at the sliver of Lena's exposed collarbone, "You do have a fair complexion."

"My Irish genes shining through."

Kara blew her lips, "Yeah, I have no idea what that means."

"You really don't, do you?" Lena looked pensive and Kara tilted her body forward, swaying on the balls of her feet.

"The place I come from, Ireland," continued Lena, "My mother's side of the family."

The tendrils of dimming sunlight felt warm on their skin.

"She is-" Kara waved a hand, "Is she Irish?"

Cracking a slanted grin, Lena turned subtly away from her as if to inspect another dissolving tulip, and made no reply. At the prolonged silence, Kara forced herself not to reach over, lest she ended up doing something ludicrous.

(Like tuck the sad alien under her chin, chase a grip on her body, fold those hunched shoulders in a hug.)

After a moment, Lena sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'm not really good for conversation."

Kara's thoughts clammed in one direction No, you are fine. For an alien who crashed on my tiny farm, you are doing really well, even if I think you frown too much.

"Me either. I'm not really good at talking, most of the time I end up rambling," was what she said, instead.

"You do seem the type to ramble," Lena commented, handing the rake back to Kara to dust herself off.

Kara surveyed the flowers with a critic's eye, impressed with Lena's work: she may have lacked speed, as only half the field had been tilled at the end of the afternoon, but Lena definitely made up with her immaculate meticulousness.

"Wow," she deadpanned, "The first alien ever to crash into my silo and - of course - it's a rude alien."

That was enough to make Lena smirk and to lodge a proud grain of warmth in Kara's chest. She could do banter with Lena. It was safer than personal issues.

Kara had a fleeting thought to grab Lena by the wrist, then thought better of it before starting the walk back towards the house. She felt Lena fall into step behind her.

"So, how was your first experience with farming?" Kara asked, pausing on the toll of lightness in her timbre. She heaved the rake over her shoulders with a twirl, a move she hoped looked as cool as she intended. But at the apex of the motion, the handle hit the back of her head with a thud.

Lena's chuckle flew past her ears like wind chimes and in horrifying slow motion, Kara turned her head back to look for the crumbles of her own dignity. There was mirth in Lena's eyes, a dance of laughing stardust as her grin teased Kara's clumsiness.

Blowing at her mussed hair, Kara felt her cheeks match Lena's in redness as one of the alien's dark eyebrow rose. Embarrassed, she ducked her head to look at her feet and kept walking.

"The first encounter of my intergalactic travels and - of course - it's a dork farmer."

Kara chuffed good-naturedly at the impish tone, "Rude," she tossed back over her shoulder.

She met Lena's amused stare with her own teasing eyes, as the alien plodded through the lush plains.

An easy silence fell between them, encompassed by the background noises of a languid sunset. A fatigued yawn overruled Lena's lingering grin.

"I'm definitely gonna be sore tomorrow," she stretched, rolling her stiff shoulders in circular motions. She halted mid stretch to wince at the feeling of tender skin, "Oh, I'm definitely gonna feel that tomorrow."

Kara couldn't help but sneak another glance at Lena's shoulders, red skin peeking from the loose collar of her shirt.

"I'm sure I have some silver cream somewhere in some cabinet. For burns," she reassured with a sympathetic hum.

"You're a lifesaver," Lena sighed gratefully, missing the quip of her own words.

Without missing a beat, Kara added a teasing note, "Alas, I don't entrust my secret remedies to rude aliens, so you'll have to-"

Lena swatted at Kara's arm, wrinkling her sunburnt nose.

"You should have thought twice about laughing at my coolest moves."

Kara relished in the serene warmth diffusing in her body from head to toes as Lena laughed again.

(It had been a while.)

+++++

(She almost forgot to retrieve the half finished basket.)

+++++

The ancient spaceship had been caught in the planet's orbit and had crashed in a manner of seconds.

Kara had been kneeling next to the leaky pond when the spaceship had slashed her sky in two, catching her silo in its blazing trail.

All the ducklings had scattered immediately at the blare of the crash, the herd of rams barreling down their grassy pasture in fright. It had taken her three full hours, later in the dim lights of the evening, to gather them again, coaxing the most stubborn with her treasured stash of gummy bears - hay flavoured.

The rising smoke had been thick, burning black from oil and machinery. The same dark smoke Kara had seen once, several moons ago, after the battle against Daxam, where her father's battleship had been swallowed in the same black clouds.

She had stumbled to the side of the burned out shell, squinting. With shaking hands and tattered rags she had snuffed the fire quickly, before pulling herself level with a gaping hole in the spaceship flank to peer inside its belly.

The sunlight had danced on the alien's dark visor as its head had lolled against her shoulder.

Had a bit of luck wandering through the lupine fields in New Zealand when this rainbow appeared over Lake Pukaki’s blue waters [OC][1800x2700] @bloveimages - Author: snetljivff on reddit