YES YES YES

I’m curious about something, if you write, reblog this post and put in the tags what you write with (MS Word, Google Docs, etc)

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

Hello 🙂 for the one hundred ways to say I love you I’ll ask you number 99! Thank you!

100 Ways to Say I Love you - "Be Careful" (Supercorp)

Maybe one of my shortest ficlets. A little Post-Phantom Zone reunion with a touch of angst.

Lena’s voice had been noticeably absent from the chorus of goodbyes from everyone gathered at the Watchtower as Kara prepared to head out on patrol. Something that she had tried not to notice, tried not to allow her mind to spin into some hurtful bit of fiction but as she prepared to head out on patrol she could feel herself doing just that. It didn’t surprise her... Not only did Kara have a way with words but she had months of incredibly painful memories to draw from back when she and Lena had been estranged, a deep well to draw fetid water from.. . Despite the careful progress the two had made since her return from the Phantom Zone, maybe they weren’t as okay as she thought they were… “Kara…” Lena’s voice floated to her from down the hall from the direction she had just come. There was the measured staccato click of her heels as she approached and when Lena drew closer the unmistakable beating of her heart, the tempo increasing ever so slightly when their eyes met... “Lena… Is something wrong?” Lena smiled shyly and shook her head., eyes trained momentarily on the ground before she looked up again and Kara was almost overcome with just how green Lena’s eyes truly were. The verdant green of some unending grassy meadow or the glittering ethereal beauty of delicately cut emeralds. “Nothing’s wrong,” Lena assured her. “I just…” She exhaled slowly and Kara took a step closer, concerned. “Promise me something?” she asked and before Kara could agree to Lena’s terms, she spoke again. “Be careful… Promise me that you’ll be careful, Kara.” Kara might have told her that she was just going out on patrol, that she had a better chance of being hounded for a picture than happening across an actual crime in progress but she saw the poorly masked fear on Lena’s face, the slight tremble in her hands and couldn’t get the words out. “I just got you back,” Lena whispered, throwing back the curtain on the root of her fear. “And I can’t…” She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, dropping her gaze again as her shoulders started to hitch. “I can’t…” She trailed off again and shook her head, unable to get the words out but she didn’t need to. Kara already knew what she wanted to say. “I can’t lose you, Lena,” Kara said and took Lena gently by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug that Lena melted into, arms wrapping tightly around Kara’s back, her head coming to rest against her shoulder. “I promise that I’ll be careful,” Kara whispered, pressing her lips to Lena’s temple, still holding onto her tight, tight. “And you’re here now,” she whispered and felt her eyes mist over. There were no more secrets between them, no more lies, and now all that remained was the simple fact that they were two people who loved one another very much. “Right here with me,” Kara whispered. “Right where I always wanted you to be.” Lena nodded earnestly against Kara's shoulder and nuzzled closer, tears sliding down her cheeks that Kara did her best to brush away as gently as she could. She tilted her head slightly to the side and Kara felt Lena's hands glide down her sides sending a rush of blood to her head that made her feel the slightest bit dizzy. Her hands settled securely around Kara's waist and she lifted her head up from Kara's shoulder, eyes sparkling. "I'll be here," Lena said and pointed back towards the room in the Watchtower they had both just vacated. "And here." She pointed to Kara's ear. "And here," she whispered and pressed her hand over Kara's heart. She rose up half an inch onto the tips of her toes, lips brushing dangerously close against Kara's ear that got her heart racing. "Go get 'em, Supergirl."

A smile as bright as the rising sun lit up Kara's face and while she would have liked nothing more than to scoop Lena up into her arms and fly somewhere private... somewhere romantic, she knew that there would be time for that later, tonight maybe if all was quiet. "Dinner later? If you don't mind waiting," Kara said, giving Lena an out. "As long as you let me pay," Lena said and while her eyes were still damp, she looked like she was more than ready to dig her heels in if needed. "Deal," Kara said, rising a couple of inches off the ground, feeling so deliriously happy that she might have been able to fly on just that feeling alone and flew backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off of Lena, nearly flying into a water cooler before she finally turned around and put on a burst of speed, flying out and over the city. She couldn't remember the view ever looking so magnificent. "You both left your comms on," Alex said her voice filtering in through her suit's comms. "Next time maybe switch to a private channel," she suggested, her voice brimming with poorly restrained glee.

but so elphaba 

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How would one write a realistic argument?

How to Write a Realistic Argument

Everyone argues.

Whether it be with a friend, sibling, parent, or coworker—arguments usually break out whenever there’s a stark contrast in opinion over certain things, which can happen a lot.

There are a variety of different kinds of arguments involving a wide range of people with different tempers. Because of this, writing arguments can be a bit difficult, but fear not, for this post is here to help!

1. Know The Writing Style of an Argument

For a very serious argument, the characters probably won’t stop and listen to what their opponent has to say.

It’s quick, choppy, and broken—each character shoving their emotions at one another and trying to get their point across without bothering to understand the other side’s opinions.

There should be a lot of em-dashes and italicized words for emphasis, and if it’s between two people, you want as few speech tags as possible; because there’s going to be a lot of back and forth, speech tags can serve to trip up the flow of the argument rather than help them.

When you do want speech tags or if there are multiple people arguing at once here’s some examples you can use:

Roared

Screamed

Yelled

Bellowed

Barked

Hissed

Shouted

Accused

Interrupted

Growled

Snarled

Spat

Screeched

Shrilled

But you also must know that your characters won’t just be standing stock still and yelling at one another; they’re going to be moving around, so here are some things you can describe your character doing during an argument

Expression contorting

Eyes narrowing

Speaking through clenched teeth

Baring their teeth

Lips twisting (into a sneer/into a snarl)

Hands balling into fists

Trembling

Breaking things/knocking stuff over

Pointing accusingly

Shoving

Spittle flying from their mouth

Stamping their feet

Face getting hot

Vein in forehead popping

Blood roaring in their ears/heart pounding

And if you want, to build tension you can put it in a dangerous place, like at the edge of a cliff or something—so you know fully well that if one of them goes too far it may end up with the other’s accidental death.

Keep reading

It's favorite not favourite

this just in: the world outside of america doesn’t exist

It’s been a whileeee

This necklace - a dark blue band with a silver pendant - was a promise, more than anything. A promise Asami intended to make to Korra that meant forever. That meant no matter how often the world called on Korra to save it, Asami would be here for her, waiting and ready to tend to her wounds and find her smile again.

Asami and Korra found their happy ending. If only the world would let them enjoy it.

So, for the first time in almost six years, I’m writing Korrasami again. To say that I’m nervous would be a MASSIVE understatement lol. Either way, Korra and Asami have completely taken over my life again and I’m thrilled about it. I had to write more - and I really wanted to dip my toes back into canon even though it’s scary. I’m not as knowledgable about the Avatar world as I probably should be writing this, but if you can forgive a few canonical slips ups here and there, I hope to tell you a fun story.

This story will have…a lot. The plot is wild and a little bit all over the place but the main focus remains the same, Korrasami.

It’s set into the future, and has elements from the comics in the like (SPOILER) President Zhu Li and a few characters are thrown in like Commander Guan, but the actual events of the comics aren’t canon here (even though I love them).

Anyway, that’s more than enough out of me. I really hope you like this one - it’s been a while…

Korrasami Week Day Seven

Oh, we’re almost finished! I’m happy to post this one too. Also, let us all believe that erasers don’t exist in the Avatar universe, simply because everybody uses ink or writes in the dirt. As usual, enjoy this, because we all know that Varrick and Asami are the kind of people who love until the point of invention :)

-----------

Prompt: double date

"Is this really necessary?"

Asami sips calmly at her drink. She's not usually one to indulge herself in alcohol, especially during a lunch in the middle of her workday. Given their company, though, she might find this necessary.

"Zhu Li insisted."

"Yes," Korra grouses and the childish drawl makes her sound young, "But Varrick!"

If Asami shares her girlfriend's feelings, well she's not going to tell.

"Zhu Li promised he'd be on his best behaviour."

Korra groans and drops her head on the table.

Truthfully, meeting for lunch with Zhu Li and Varrick doesn't sound too awful to Asami's ears. They have to discuss a new plan for the city infrastructure and since it involves the area around the new spirit portal, Korra's presence had been required. After a few tribulations of shifting plans and matching schedules, the four of them had settled for a lunch meeting in a plain but cozy restaurant.

Asami raises her free hand to the nape of Korra's neck, scratching a mellow pattern between her locks.

Criminal tendencies put aside, they had foolishly hoped married life would cut a new man out of the eccentric industrialist. Sadly, all hopes were crushed in a matter of time. Fallen from the helm of progress, Varrick had channeled all of his quirks towards his wife and her career. Grand gestures, full support for her presidential campaign, movers centered on her person... he appeared to be completely invested in Zhu Li. He even vouched for bestowing her name to a street under construction after her victory at the elections.

It was oddly charming.

Korra's unintelligible grumble in the folded napkin interrupts Asami's trail of thoughts.

"What was that, dear?" Asami asks, fingers teasing at Korra's scalp. The Avatar moves, turning her head and Asami's hand moves accordingly. Korra watches her through lethargic eyes, "If you keep doing that, I might fall asleep before they get here."

Asami smiles and withdraws her touch and Korra's nose wrinkles in response. The heiress is tempted to lean in and kiss it.

"I didn't say you had to stop..." Korra sighs, but straightens in her seat. Her plain water remains untouched in the glass.

Before Asami's tone can swirl into a gentle tease, a bell chimes and the restaurant door opens. Varrick marches inside, an exuberant flair to his gait.

Korra's mouth concedes a happy smirk, "Took you long enough."

"Nonsense! One is never too late to do the thing!" Varrick's loud voice carries through the room, "But now that you mention this, I'm actually thinking of making punctuality into a fashion. People could arrive late to appointments and still look amazing. I'll call it stylishly late!"

From beside him, Zhu Li smiles at the pair, "Korra, Asami. Thank you for joining us today. Have you been waiting for long?"

"Not at all, we-"

"I got it!" Varrick interrupts to lay an enthusiastic arm around Korra's shoulders, "We'll call it fashionably late! Eh! This way you'll never be late, only fashionably late! What do you guys think? Eh?"

Zhu Li doesn't bother with a sigh, "We'll work on the branding later, dear. I apologize for our tardiness, but Varrick insisted on driving and since he couldn't manage a parallel parking, we had to find another spot further down the street."

"We can't have the president herself driving a car, like some commoner. And it's those parking spaces' fault! They are ridiculous!" Varrick protests, as he pulls out a chair for Zhu Li, "Who decided to make them so narrow and compact?"

"That would be my girlfriend," Korra replies evenly, "You know, the CEO of Future Industries who rebuilt the city after the spirit vines?"

Varrick crosses his arms obnoxiously, "Well Asami," he says, "I'm sorry but I need to say this. Your parking spots are simply unacceptable. Barely passable. What kind of planning is that?"

"Now, hold on a minute-" Korra begins, but Zhu Li precedes her, "Don't anger the Avatar, dear," she puts the menu between his hands, "Why don't you decide what to order?"

Asami places her hand on the small of Korra's back, and guides her back down in her seat.

"Thank you for agreeing to this meeting," Asami says, "I know it wasn't easy to coordinate all our schedules."

Zhu Li smiles congenially, "If one of Republic City's most brilliant minds proposes a plan for the evolving infrastructure of the city, the least I can do is listen. And with the Avatar input and approval it's already one step closer to fruition."

"But first, let us eat!" Varrick exclaims from his seat, nose buried between the pages of the menu, "I'll have this one!"

Zhu Li examines his choice with a critical stare, "You don't like spicy food, so you'll end up complaining about the weird taste of the seal. Plus, you're lactose intolerant, so you can't order meat simmered in milk. I'll order the noodles for you, I've been told they're quite good here and I know you'll like them. Isn't that right, Korra?"

Korra stumbles through her reply, thrown off by the couple's fast dynamic, "Uh, yes they're good. Me and Bolin used to eat here after probending practice." She turns back to Asami for help, but her girlfriend is busy schooling her feature in an even expression, moments away from cracking in mirth.

Their waiter takes orders with a professional bow, writing concise words on a small notebook with a velvety black cover. As soon as he leaves, Zhu Li folds her hands on the table.

"Shall we take a look at your designs, Asami?"

Nodding, Asami turns back to retrieve her blueprints, but Korra precedes her, hands already buried inside her bag. She rifles quickly through the small pile of belongings, before landing on a red binder overflowing with papers. Asami accepts the folder with a grateful nod.

They balance each piece of cutlery in a carefully arranged scheme on the table, so they're able to both eat and discuss schematics at the same time.

"And that should do the thing, right?" Varrick questions, hand folded to his chin in contemplation.

Korra takes the last sip of her drink, "Yes. I'll need to communicate with the spirits first about these changes. But I have no doubts they'll agree," she trails off, noticing something left untouched on Asami's plate.

"Have you spoken to Tenzin yet? I'm sure the Air Nation will want to be involved in the process," Zhu Li points out.

"Not yet," Asami shakes her head, "We wanted to wait for your approval."

She watches as Korra scoops a spoonful of her serving of cabbages, the side to her main course of fish. Half turned in her seat, the Avatar proceeds to eat the entire of her portion in few large bites and Asami's smile tilts in grateful fondness. She never quite liked cabbage, be it a food on her plate or the shoddy work of her rivals.

She nudges her foot on the back of Korra's calf, leaving the touch there. There's nothing sensual in her gesture, just a grounding pressure that feels familiar and comfortable.

"Is that all?" Korra says around a bite of food. She speaks with her mouth full, so when the words come out they sound more like "Ish de a?"

Zhu Li lowers her fork and produces a pencil out of her pocket, "Except for minor alterations. But mostly, yes, this looks like a solid plan for the new district," she says and proceeds to cross out a section from an equation. She ponders for a second before she scratches the paper with the wrong end of her pencil. Asami quirks an eyebrow at the motion, puzzled by Zhu Li's actions.

"What are you doing?"

Zhu Li halts her motion, "Oh, this? It's an eraser."

Asami looks closer, noticing for the first time the pink end of the pencil. It's not made of graphite, nor wood, and it feels softer to the touch.

"You like my new invention?" Varrick snatches the pencil out of her hands, "It's a special kind of rubber, one that can cancel pencil's strokes. It doesn't work with ink, but I'm working on finding a solution."

To demonstrate, Zhu Li doodles a small star in one corner. Using the eraser, she carefully traces over her drawing, until each line disappears and the page turns white again.

"I first thought to produce little squares of this rubber, like portable erasing tools. But then, genius struck!" Varrick continues, wiggling his eyebrows, "What if we put the eraser on the back of the pencil? Then you both have the pencil and the eraser on the same tool!"

Asami touches the rubber again, the pink now stained by a gray smudge, "That's really smart, actually. How did you get the idea?"

Varrick sits back and crosses his arms, expression sombering somewhat, "My dear Zhu Li kept running out of paper in her office quite fast, so I had to find a way to let her save space. With my eraser, she won't have to stop and look for more paper ever again!"

Asami glances down at Zhu Li's notes, letters shaped in a small flowing cursive, neat and elegant even in small corners. She catches Zhu Li's knowing grin, both of them aware that making typos and mistakes falls outside the realm of possibility for the president. She did have a past as an assistant, after all.

"Yes and I thank you, dear. Never be said that the president doesn't have enough paper in her office."

Varrick visibly perks up at the words, that sound so much like something he would say, and his smirk turns satisfied. Beside Asami, Korra leans over her plate in his direction, impressed.

"Woah, Varrick. Think you can let me have one of those? Asami's notebooks are always filled with crossed sections and torn pages. It will be useful for her, too."

A familiar feeling warms Asami's chest and the heiress mirrors Zhu Li's smile, green eyes crinkling.

After another volley of proposals and questions and counterarguments, the waiter approaches their table again to take away the empty dishes.

"May I interest you in a dessert? Our kitchen offers the finest selection of chocolate from the Earth Kingdom."

Never one to turn down more delicious food, Korra accepts two servings, for both her and Asami, but Zhu Li hesitates, eyes flickering downward.

"I shouldn't," she says, smoothing the nonexistent wrinkles of her shirt, "The meeting between heads of states is next week and my public relations consultant said-"

"Nonsense!" Varrick springs up from his seat. Despite the thundering, he addresses the waiter in an even tone, "We'll have two as well, kind sir."

The waiter blinks and nods, adding another line to his pad. Zhu Li waits for him to leave their table before hissing at her husband.

"You know why I shouldn't eat that dessert, Varrick, Jin said-"

"You shouldn't listen to that consultant of yours. Jin is just a bloated head, as sensible as a hippo cow with an hernia," Korra's eyes bulge at the image, suppressing a sudden snicker, "There's nothing wrong with your figure, dear."

Varrick brings one hand to his chest and kneels down on the ground. The end of his blue jacket brushes the polished floor.

"You're beautiful, my dear. Even more beautiful now than when I first laid my eyes on you," his moustache twitches with his theatrics, "You are the strongest woman I know and I won't tolerate you refusing your favourite dessert only because of empty words."

An expression of surprise crosses Zhu Li's eyes, "Oh, hush. You say that because you are my husband, so you have to."

The denial spurs Varrick in a series of cheesy compliments that have Korra rolling her eyes at Asami. Opposite of them, Zhu Li doesn't bother to hide the pleased redness that spreads on her cheeks at her husband's words. When their food arrive, she ends up scrapping every morsel of dessert with a pleased hum.

After a fumbled argument about settling the bill, the four of them make their way outside the restaurant in idle chatter. They part ways with smiles and promises of another meeting soon.

Korra waves a lazy hand at Varrick and Zhu Li's retreating backs, "Well, I'm surprised that turned out well."

"Yes," Asami says, entwining their fingers together as they start walking in the opposite direction, "I knew you would end up enjoying yourself. They are a... surprising pair, but pleasant nonetheless."

They fall in a comfortable silence for a moment, before Asami speaks again, "Do you want to do something else? I have a couple of hours before my next meeting and-"

She trails off and stumbles on the curb, caught unprepared by the pull of Korra's hand on her palm, like a dead weight, "Korra?"

The Avatar is frozen mid motion, mouth open in a perfect circle.

"Holy Raava, Asami," Korra states, free hand moving into vague figures and voice warped by shock, "I just realized we sort of- kind of went on a double date with Varrick and Zhu Li! Oh, Raava..."

Astonished, Asami stifles a laugh into her hand, prompting Korra to give her a confused stare. It only takes a second before Asami's hearty laughter steals the entirety of Korra's annoyance and makes her join in.

Omg can you write a one shot where Lexa is paid by her college peers to write love letters to their gfs/ppl they want to date. So Finn asks her to write for Clarke and it becomes a constant. Until one day clarke goes up to her and says I know its you

OKAY. So this has been sitting in my asks for like a year. There will be a few (but short-ish) parts to this. And before anyone asks, this is not based off of “The Half of It” ... but here ya go.

---

Letters

PART 1

It was Polis Record’s fault. Lexa’s atrocious week was definitely Polis Record’s fault. Had Titus not been a complete asshat of a manager and dicked the schedule around, Lexa certainly wouldn’t be having this predicament. Had Lexa’s hours not have been cut back, she wouldn’t be where she was. Had Lexa not known that her next paycheck would be half of what it normally was, she wouldn’t be writing a fake love letter to the devastatingly beautiful girl in her Astronomy class. Had Finn Collins not offered her cash to do so, she wouldn’t be writing this letter on his behalf, even though she was the one that’s had an earth-shattering crush on the recipient ever since their Freshmen orientation, four long years ago.

Let’s rewind.

“Titus, are you kidding me?” Lexa huffed at the bald-headed man who was scurrying around the break room like a headless chicken. “You did what?”

“Lexa, listen,” he tried to calm her down. “The schedule will be back to normal before you know it. I had to hire her. There wasn’t another way around it.”

She was mad. No. More than mad, “There was. But you just didn’t have the balls to tell your mistress’ best friend that you already had a full roster of people on your fucking schedule.”

“Can you keep it down!” He hissed. “This is temporary. I’m sorry. I couldn’t dock my cousin, okay? The schedule will even itself back out. You’ll be back to selling these shitty, scratched up vinyls in no time. Ride it out for two weeks, it won’t kill you.”

What he didn’t realize was that two weeks of half-pay because of shitty scheduling could actually kill her. He just didn’t realize that. There was the pressure of doing well in school, that was one thing. But there was also the pressure of doing well enough to keep her GPA high enough to keep her partial scholarship. And then the pressure of her shitty part-time job at the local record store to help make early payments to her student loans so she wouldn’t have to worry about crippling herself into debt once she figured out what to do with a fucking degree in Geology.

“Two weeks,” she warned him as she started to storm out. “This better be fixed in two weeks, Titus.”

Spoiler alert: Two weeks had come and gone, and Lexa was still screwed off of her work schedule.

“C’mon,” Finn pleaded at Lexa’s side. He had managed to weasel his way into the vestibule of Lexa’s apartment building. “I took that writing class with you last year. I know you’re good. I just need one letter. Typed. That’s it.”

She was already on the verge of a massive outburst after her conversation with Titus. The dickwad that he was, managed to screw her hours up for another week, even though he promised he wouldn’t, “This is not a good time, Finn. Seriously.”

“$200.” He stood tall in front of her. “$200 in cash right now, and all you need to do is type up a page of words that will have her vaguely interested in the person who wrote it, and that’s it. $200 right now. If you do this, then I’ll never bother you for anything again.” He scratched the back of his neck, “Listen, I just need a good way in. I can take the rest from there, okay?”

$200 was enough to cover a good portion of what she would be missing out on for the week. $200 was enough to get by. $200 was enough to get her mind to start churning.

“$300 and it’s a deal,” she tried to match his height. She straightened her back and broadened her shoulders as far as she could.

He laughed at the request, “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”

“You’re the one that needs me,” she reminded me.

He let out a huff and pulled another Benjamin out of his leather wallet and clumped it with the other two. “Fine,” he shook his head as he handed her the wad of cash.

Lexa nodded as she took the money. She buried the pang of guilt she felt into her pocket, alongside the earnings she just made and was ready to make way up the two flights of stairs when she felt Finn grab her arm.

“Hey,” he called out. “Wait a sec. I started a letter already, but didn’t get very far. You can just go off of this,” he handed her a folded piece of paper.

She opened it and read it aloud, “Have you ever felt like you couldn’t breathe? Like the weight of everything you’ve been carrying has amounted to this one moment in your life? Like there’s this burden placed so heavy on your chest that has left your lungs struggling for any ounce of air?”

Finn nodded as the words poured out of Lexa’s mouth. He was more than proud of what he thought was eloquently poetic. Lexa’s look of confusion went missed by him as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Pretty good, right?”

“Finn,” she deadpanned. “It sounds like you just described having the fucking Spanish Flu. I’m not using this. You sound like a serial killer.”

“What?” he yelped. “It’s poetic!”

“It’s a terrifying beginning to what’s supposed to be a love letter,” she deadpanned again. She shook her head as she finally made her way to the flight of stairs, “Give me a few days, I’ll come up with what we need.”

He rolled his eyes, “Fine. But you better make it good.”

She made it good. She made it really fucking good.

Clarke ran her fingertips over the paper as she scanned the words again. She had no idea who had left it for her—she walked into the lecture hall a few minutes early, as she normally did, and saw an envelope pinned to the corkboard with “Clarke” scribbled on it. She looked around, wanted to see if anyone in particular was looking in her direction. It was the usual suspects that always got to class a little bit early. Monty, the one who was always quiet in class but loudest at the neighborhood bar during happy hour. Echo, the girl who always sat in the back row and snoozed as soon as the professor opened her mouth. Finn, the boy who always found a way to have an uncalled for argument with the professor. Lexa, the one who was always in the front row and tended to herself.

Not a single one of them was paying her a piece of mind, so she let her eyes scan the letter one last time before the room filled up.

Clarke,

I was sitting on the lawn behind the library catching up on reading for a class last week. I was skimming through Voltaire’s words:

“Sensual pleasure passes and vanishes, but the friendship between us, the mutual confidence, the delight of the heart, the enchantment of the soul, these things do not perish and can never be destroyed.”

This particular passage struck a chord with me, and it was mostly because when I looked up after reading it, I immediately saw you consoling who I’d assume to be a friend of yours. I’m not sure what had happened, but she looked like she was crying and you showed up with a blanket to sit on, a bowl of fresh fruit, and sat with her and listened intently while she spoke. It was life imitating art, right before my eyes.

Voltaire’s writing is mostly straight and to the point. It isn’t hard to decipher the messages he often tries to relay, but it was most certainly a breath of fresh air to finish that passage to find a parallel to present day. Your actions on that lawn helped me see things a little clearer.

I suppose I just wanted to thank you for that. SO, thank you for being the catalyst for making something in my brain click.

Before I close this letter off, I do have a question for you. And if you feel so inclined to indulge and answer it, you can drop it back into the envelope where you found this one and pin it back to the board.

Has anything happened to you recently that struck a chord? Something that stood out to you, but you haven’t had a chance to dive deeper into it? I’d like to know.

Enjoy your week, Clarke.

Upon tucking the printed note under her laptop, she took another look around the hall, which was now practically full. She moved her computer to the side and pulled a notepad out of her bag. The professor had started her lecture, but Clarke’s mind wandered from the images pulled up on the projector from the Spritzer space telescope as her pen started to move across the page.

Hello,

I believe you’re at an unfair advantage here. You know my name. You know what I look like. Yet I have absolutely no idea who you are. So if you write back to this, I’m hoping you’ll share some insight on the person behind the pen (or keyboard, in your instance).

I’m happy that the interaction you saw helped bring better insight into what you were working on. Coincidentally, the friend that I was with when you saw me is also reading a Voltaire piece for an assignment. I wonder if you’re in the same class?

She’s taking “Romance Studies” as an elective. I tried to convince her that there was no point harping on what was considered to be “romantic” through archaic literary pieces that are now long gone, and replaced with mediocre-at-best Netflix series about teenage love.

It always seemed that with the way things were going in our lifetime… that all “romance” really was, was when two people swiped right on Tinder.

With that said… I guess I can honestly say that your letter is what struck a chord with me. Especially after freshly coming out of that conversation with my friend.

I don’t want to be presumptuous. But it seems that this gesture of yours, whether it was meant to be platonic, or if it was meant to imply a sense of something more, is making me realize that maybe—just maybe—the practice of sharing words on a page isn’t so archaic after all.

-Clarke

She was happy with the end result of what was hurriedly committed to the page. Clarke quickly tore it from her notebook and tucked the loose piece of paper back into the envelope. She scanned her fellow students to see if anyone was watching her. She slunk further into her seat and wondered if the recipient was there, sitting in that very room. Unfortunately for her, the lecture that was being given on the Nebular Theory kept the attention of every other person in the hall, so she quickly reached for her computer to start typing notes on the theory’s premise of how every planet in the system was formed.

A tedious hour later, her fellow classmates started packing up and rushed towards the exit door. Clarke took her time shutting her computer down and tucking things away into her bag. She was suddenly aware that the person who wrote to her—the person she now wrote to—could be in the room watching her to see if she had a written response back.

She waited a few more minutes, and finally deemed it safe when the last few people in the room seemed to be chatting with one another or finishing up straightening their notes from the lecture. With a big exhale, she pinned the envelope back onto the board and made a swift exit.

Lexa felt a tap to her shoulder, which caused her to look up, “What do you want?”

“I think it worked. She put the envelope back!” the excitement in Finn’s face didn’t go unnoticed.

“Okay,” Lexa lowered her head to finish writing out her notes from the class. “Job’s done.”

“I’m gonna go get it so we can read it and figure out what to do next,” he giddily let out before darting out of Lexa’s peripheral.

She let out a sigh of distaste when he came back half a minute later and pulled a chair close to where she was sitting. “Finn, you said one letter. I did it. This is on you now. And if you don’t mind, I need to finish up here,” she raised her hand, showing she was still trying to get some of her notes done.

“Fine, suit yourself,” he propped his feet onto the table in front of them while he silently read Clarke’s reply. “Hmm, Voltaire?”

The author’s name caught Lexa’s attention. She suddenly looked up to where he was sitting, “What about him?”

“I don’t know. Clarke said something about him. That’s the bad dude from Harry Potter, right?” Finn brought his attention back to the letter. “What did our letter even say? You never even showed me.”

He handed Lexa the notebook page with loopy and wide writing on it. The edges were jagged, as if Clarke did the whole thing in haste.

“What do you want me to do with that?” Lexa eyed the piece of paper.

“Read it and let me know if you think she likes me,” Finn shrugged. “But also, why didn’t you put my number or something on it?”

“Because it’ll probably take more than one letter for her to even be open to the idea of you,” Lexa chided in her reply. She let her eyes quickly scan the girlish handwriting and folded the paper back up. “She’s definitely intrigued.”

Finn finally set his feet on the floor as he leaned forward and rubbed his hands together, “Okay, great! So what do we do now?”

“We,” Lexa pointed her pen between the two of them. “Do nothing. You can write another letter and see if she wants anything to do with you, Finn.”

“C’mon,” he nudged her shoulder. “I’ll pay ya for another one. Another $300. But we need an exit plan for when we move this from letters to texting or something.”

“Her reply literally just said that we’ve opened the idea to her that letters are romantic,” Lexa shook her head. “Your take on that was to immediately turn this to a texting conversation?”

He grabbed the letter from Lexa, “What? Where’d she said that? It doesn’t say that, Lexa.” He scratched his head.

Lexa let out a defeated sigh, “Finn. She literally said something like, ‘maybe the practice of sharing words on a page isn’t so archaic’ or something. Did we not just read the same piece of paper?”

“See, Lexa,” he smiled as he patted her shoulder. “This is why I need you. Just one or two more. Same price per letter. I just need a little more help and then I’ll be outta your hair. Promise.”

She took her palm to her forehead and rubbed her thumb into her temple. One more wouldn’t hurt. Mostly because the $300 definitely wouldn’t hurt.

“Fine,” she finally let out. “One more. Give me her letter back. I’ll have our reply ready for this same class next week.”

“Excellent,” he grinned as he handed the piece of paper over to her. “You’re a lifesaver, Lexa.”

She felt anything but that. But at least it meant she’d be able to get by for the next week or two, while Titus still screwed around with her hours at the record store.