#coffee and crosswords

[copperbadge]

When I mentioned I was feeling a bit apathetic about my usual phone games and apps, therapist (I should give her a nickname of some kind) suggested rotating in a new puzzle or game for a dopamine hit, so I thought I might go back to "Diagramless" crosswords, which is where you do a normal crossword but without any of the dark spaces or numbers. I used to do the normal crossword but when you've been doing crosswords since the age of 15 they stop being very challenging after a while.

The problem is that because diagramless or skeleton crosswords are more difficult, they're not readily available, like I couldn't just go out and buy a book of them; there was one Chicago paper that would print them but they were cribbing the clues from the LA Times and anyway that only worked when I was stealing the paper from my workplace years ago.

My workaround was to create a 15-square grid in Excel, print that out, and do them by hand (more satisfying anyway) using clues from the LA Times crossword that I copy-pasted in. I stopped doing diagramless basically because just acquiring them was slightly more work than I wanted to be doing on a regular basis. (If anyone knows of a phone app that offers them, or a book of them I could buy, sing out.)

Anyway all was going well; above you can see the first two I did, and while I'm obviously rusty it's very satisfying to just do one, let alone complete them. I didn't bring very many with me while traveling but I was doing today's and something seemed...very off. It took me about four lines in and several headscratchers to realize that the puzzle clues were randomly and unusually for a 16 square crossword and I was trying to cram them into a 15 square grid.

Insert old joke here about "You aren't allowed to do crosswords anymore when you can do them entirely wrong" etc etc

Personally I blame Dan and Doug who designed it, and Patti who let it through, but on the other hand "Dan Doug and Patti" is a great name for a folk trio so I can't be too mad.

[ID: Several images of a printed 15-square grid filled out by hand with both crossword clue answers but also the squares and numbers that give the puzzle structure; the third image is only partially filled and clearly full of errors, and the last image is of the actual LA Times puzzle pattern, showing that there are 16 squares instead of 15. This never used to happen.]

[stamplover]

love you, dad (1987) happy father's day!

[chrysalismandtea]

there’s only one true modern equivalent of breakfast in bed while reading the paper and it is drinking an iced latte while doing the nyt games

[ghoulodont]

the air conditioning stopped working in this lovely building in which i reside on this beautiful 100 degree day so im giving up on work

[annoyingkoalaexpert]

Eiskaffee ist so schwarz wie die Seele,

Es läuft herunter, so kalt durch die Kehle.

Reinigt, weißt mein Gewand

Ich bin fertig fürs ewige Land.

[sushimango]

OC owner: mush_the_possum on Instagram

[sage-green-kitchen]

I just want to do the crossword in pencil and drink a nice cup of coffee and do nothing all day.

[music-orthemisery]

Hello! It’s me, anon who’s ranting about SP ) thank you for answering my rambling!

The most interesting thing is, that I totally agree with you, when I was high on my #feels for this tiny man, and was dreaming about this album meeting the light of the day in the more kind, more receptive timeline, what I was really wishing for is Patrick incorporating more songs from his album in his piano/acoustic guitar medley ))) or maybe even 8ball?? Because, unfortunately, you’re right, and the whole thing didn’t came from a happy place. And reliving it would be hard on everyone involved. Your relationship metaphor is so spot on, Pete taught us well )) Also, how funny is this, that this man can take the most serious, complicated topics and dress them up as dance, rock’ roll fusion songs … He does this on their latest album as well, it’s fascinating.

As about this famous pop artist whose album kinda flopped for me… I think I just hyped myself up too much, I heard good reviews, and thought it will be a bang of a record, but.. it’s not that bad, maybe I just need more time and some songs will stick with me ))

Anon, I’m going to subscribe to the insane delulu that Mr. Stump saw your ask last night because HE! DELIVERED!!!! WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!

Bad side of 25?!?! I’m dead and dying, honestly.

I am definitely holding your hand in terms of wishing that album could be released in the loving and supportive fan base that exists now. It kills me that he experienced so much pushback and vitriol. I fully believe him when he says that he was ok with it not being “successful,” but it was devastating to hear how much “fans” actively hated it. And be told this at his own shows!!

I try to remind myself that it was just part of the journey, though, and what helped make FOB what they are today <3

It’s easy to get caught up in the FOB feels. They have SUCH a story, and have come so far, yet have remained very true to themselves. That’s incredibly rare to find!

Totally agree that Patrick’s ability to take heart wrenching and serious topics and turn them into total bops is honestly unmatched. The beauty of all of his music is that you can either turn brain off and jam, turn brain on and cry, or do an odd mixture of both (<- me in the car tbh).

Feel free to express the feelings here any time!

(Ok but fr anon I am dying to know who you are talking about I do NOT get offended and prob will agree with you tbh hahahaha)

[ideologyofone]

I love being dubious and concerning I thrive in conversations where people look at me and just say …oh…..??? Life is so sexy when you make everyone feel put off and confused

[dijetemjeseca]

3/7/2024 ☕️

Some do drugs, others go for a run, but at the end we're all just searching for that tiny space, perhaps a hole, that gives us shelter from the terrible reality of the world.

[oculusxcaro]

👀 @question-marked

Send 👀 to find out how much my muse would like to _____ yours

Get to know: NEVER! | I'd rather not | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Befriend: NEVER! | I'd rather not | Convince me! (Rogue) | Sure why not? | Yes please! (Detective) | ALWAYS! Date: NEVER! | I'd rather not (respectfully!) | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Make love with: NEVER! (respectfully!) | I'd rather not | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Hook up with: NEVER! | I'd rather not (respectfully!) | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Protect: NEVER! | I'd rather not | Convince me! (Rogue) | Sure why not? (Detective) | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Help: NEVER! | I'd rather not (Rogue) | Convince me! | Sure why not? (Detective) | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Stop: NEVER! | I'd rather not | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS! Kill: NEVER! | I'd rather not | Convince me! | Sure why not? | Yes please! | ALWAYS!

Like his namesake and 'shtick' well-known here in Gotham, Eddie was an enigma to Khare. Had she known earlier about his reputation, she might have run the other way when he first came through those doors but the intellectual had captivated her with his personality and wit, making it difficult to dislike him even when he was a wanted criminal. She wouldn't have stuck her neck out for him but after a few visits, she'd come to enjoy his company, enough to put her worries to the back of her mind and happily continue to serve him pancakes and waffles, even though they were likely fuel for before he would start his next spree of crimes. He wasn't an absolute monster like the Joker, nor did he have a frightening interest in her coworkers like the Mad Hatter had developed for Cindy. When Eddie was arrested and, shockingly enough, made the decision to reform, Khare's opinion of the man shot right up. It was a pleasure to see him return to the diner once more too, thinner and worse for wear after his (very) extensive stay in Arkham, but seeing him enjoy the fare Pauli's Diner had to offer as he did, it was with genuine happiness that the former Riddler had indeed changed, without losing too much of the charm that made him so likable in the first place. She bit her lip, thinking hard. Eddie was... attractive in an unconventional sort of way, making it difficult to dislike him even when he was a wanted criminal. She certainly wouldn't have stuck her neck out for him but she'd happily serve him pancakes and waffles, even when knowing he was likely fuelling up to start a crime spree. Yeah, she liked Eddie before and after he became a changed man. Not enough to hook up with him, however charming he had been. Something told her that if he knew as much about her as he thought he did, he'd soon make himself scarce, never wanting to eat at Pauli's again.

[dolorianwolf]

YOU - "Kim. Do you think we're friends in other universes too?"

SHIVERS - Two cats jump from chimney to chimney, one cleans soot off of the other's face. A willow sways gently next to her birch, their roots tangle together deep underground. Two boys chase each other through the woods with sticks held like swords. An elderly couple solves the day's crossword puzzle over cups of coffee.

KIM KITSURAGI - "That is a very far-fetched idea, detective. Let's focus on the here and now."

[gojoest]

nanami kento likes doing the crossword in the mornings, it is part of his routine.

sitting in the kitchen, coffee on the table, some light breakfast to go along with it, and you — next to him.

his legs crossed, the newspaper rested on his lap, he casually takes your hand into his and intertwines his fingers with yours as he works his way through the word game. every now and then drawing your hand close to his lips and planting a soft peck on it.

his expression rarely changes, no matter how tricky the clue is — he always approaches it calmly. because, he always has the answer.

except for this one.

“could you please take a look at this?”, he asks, without peeling his eyes off the paper.

this is a surprise, it must be quite the question — you think, but — “sure”, you mutter. “let me see”, you lean in as he points at the clue with the tip of his pencil.

proposal, asking for a hand — it reads.

you squint. hmm.

14 letters — you count. hmm . . .

“w-i-l-l y-o-u m-a-r-r-y m-e”, you spell out loud. easy. you wonder why he got stuck on that one in the first place—

oh.

the realization hits after you look at him.

his eyes are still expecting, your answer.

“what do you think? will you?”

a/n: of course, he had to pull some strings to make this crossword happen. he’s been meaning to propose to you for a while but never really knew how to go about it exactly, until this idea came to him one day and he thought it was the most befitting, perfect. the ring is in his pocket, and he’s been quite nervous all morning — although he never showed it.

[pathologicalreid]

You write fluff and flangst absolutely amazingly and I’m in awe every dang time!

Buuut since you’ve got spring break coming up, a little fic idea that’s in my head that I’ll never do justice! (If you’re interested)

Fem!reader finding out an adorable way to tell Spencer she’s pregnant. I don’t care if they’re dating or married or what - but like she puts together a crossword, or a puzzle and he just doesn’t get it. (If you wanna throw angst in, he leaves without getting it for a case and then realizes it in the middle of the night.)

puzzling | S.R.

trying to tell Spencer you're pregnant, but he's too concerned with your well-being to fill out your custom crossword puzzle

who? spencer reid x fem!reader category: fluff content warnings: pregnancy and misc. symptoms., talk of fainting and blood tests. word count: 1.69k a/n: welcome back to the spencer reid dilf agenda! i hope this does your request justice and thank you for entrusting me with this idea!!!! <3

you

It was your pride and joy, the collection of folded papers that sat on the kitchen counter, next to a cup of coffee that you had already filled for him.

On your fake newspaper, you had created a custom crossword puzzle. With four very important clues.

Across: “Early stage of life”

Across: “American actress Frances _”

Down: “Must be finished by”

Down: “Veteran’s Day month”

You smiled softly to yourself as you heard Spencer’s footsteps coming down the staircase. Padding over to the kitchen counter, you sat on one of the stools, a cup of tea in front of you.

Before he even looked at the newspaper, Spencer leaned over to kiss you good morning, “You look tired,” he whispered, hooking a finger under your chin as if he were investigating the dark circles underneath your eyes.

“Way to make a girl feel good about herself,” you teased lightly, even though you knew he was right. At least you felt tired.

He rolled his eyes, “You know that’s not what I meant.” Turning to grab his mug of coffee off of the counter, he observed you again, “Are you sure your doctor said nothing was wrong?”

Smiling, you gave him a brief nod. You had gone to see your doctor a few days ago for nausea and fatigue, and Spencer would’ve gone with you had he not been on the other side of the country on a case. “They’re running some tests, but they didn’t see anything blatantly wrong,” the doctor was running a few blood tests, checking your iron levels and HCG.

Using his free hand, Spencer reached over and moved a lock of hair out of your face, “They said your blood pressure was low?”

Low blood pressure, as it turned out, was a pregnancy symptom that was most common in the first trimester. “You’re freaking out over nothing, Spence,” you told him. Really, it was something. A rather large something – or small, depending on how you wanted to look at it. “Come on, it’s crossword time,” you told him, using the end of the pen to tap on the newspaper.

“I worry about you when I’m away. You do know that low blood pressure can cause syncope, right? Did they prescribe you anything for it?” He asked, ignoring your wishes to move on and do the crossword.

There was a small part of you that just wanted to tell him, but frankly, you had worked too hard on the crossword puzzle to give yourself away like that. You couldn’t tell him that they didn’t prescribe you anything because they didn’t know how far along you were. A larger part of you knew that if you just got him to work on the puzzle, he would have his answers in about seven minutes.

Then his phone rang, he pulled the device out of his pocket, and the Caller ID on the screen caused you to slump your shoulders forward. It was Garcia. “Hey Garcia,” he greeted on the phone, “at the tarmac?”

You set your head on the counter and sighed in defeat as Spencer hung up the phone.

“Are you alright?” He asked you softly, tenderly wrapping an arm around your torso.

Humming, you sat back up, ignoring the stars in your field of vision as you did so. “I’m fine, you should go,” you insisted.

Spencer shook his head, “No, you’re sick. I’ll call Garcia back and tell her I have to stay back.” Acting bewildered at the idea that he had been so remiss as to agree to do his job while you were unwell.

You reached out and set a hand on his, “It’s alright, love. I can take care of myself,” you reminded him. Besides the fact that you were wholly self-sufficient, the only reason why Spencer would be asked to meet the team at the tarmac was if they were headed toward a particularly gnarly case – they needed all hands on deck.

“Promise me you’ll check in? Call your mom if you need any help, please,” he requested, pleading eyes following you as you got up to hug him.

Nodding, you wrapped your arms around him, “You should take the crossword with you.” Pulling away, you haphazardly refolded the newspaper and handed it to him.

Furrowing his brow, Spencer inspected the paper that you had given him. “We always do the crossword together on Saturdays,” he found you incredibly helpful on the pop culture clues. “We could save this one and then have two for next week,” he offered.

God. No. Your eyes widened at the idea of having to keep your secret for another week, shaking your head, you shrugged, “No, you should take it. It’ll make me look forward to next week even more,” you insisted.

He folded, and with a sweet kiss to the forehead, he was off to go save lives, remaining entirely unaware of the one growing inside of you.

him

The judgmental Italian behind him was proving to be a distraction, “Did you find something?” Spencer asked, eyeing the evidence board with frustration. Something bugged him about the case, and he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.

“Not right now, but it’s three in the morning,” Rossi said, joining Spencer by the evidence board. “Why don’t you give that big brain of yours a break?”

Shaking his head, Spencer crossed his arms in front of his chest, “I tried. I can’t stop thinking about the case.” Men were popping up dead in a small Missouri town at an alarming rate, and he felt so close to a breakthrough.

Dave nodded like he understood the feeling, that was probably why he had emerged from his hotel room so early, returning to the precinct before the sun peeked over the horizon. “What do you usually do to wind your brain down?”

Raising his eyebrows, Spencer shrugged, “Crossword puzzles,” he admitted, any word puzzle would do the trick.

The chuckle from the older man next to him startled Spencer, “Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?” Rossi looked around the precinct, “I’m sure we can find one around here somewhere.”

“No,” Spencer said, “I have one in my bag, actually.” He refrained from including the detail that you had given him the crossword puzzle, or else he’d never hear the end of it.

Clapping him on the back, Rossi lifted his coffee cup, “Then I suggest you go take the thirty seconds to fill out that puzzle and then get some rest.”

Once he was back in his hotel room, he changed before pulling out the pile of papers that you had sent him off with. Sitting on top of the bed, he filled out the puzzle in approximately six minutes and forty-three seconds. Once the letters were filled in, he skimmed the puzzle – just to check it over.

The only one that might’ve given him trouble was about an American actress – usually he had you to help him with pop culture, but he recalled having the same last name as an actress in Days of Our Lives.

It was interesting that the words “Baby” and “Reid” were right next to each other.

Wait.

Quickly, he calculated the odds that the words “Baby” “Reid” “Due” and “November” were all in the puzzle and when the numbers were put together, they made your anniversary. Spencer just as quickly called you, listening to the phone ringing.

His heart was racing as he waited to see if you answered the phone. “Hey,” your groggy voice came through the receiver.

“Where did you get this crossword puzzle?” He asked you, flipping through the rest of the newspaper for the first time.

You hummed softly, “You’re doing it right now?”

Looking at the alarm clock on his bedside table, he dropped his face into his hands. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t even think about the time,” it was just past four in the morning now, making it just past five in the morning in Virginia. “I just thought that…” his voice trailed off. What if it was just a coincidence?

There was silence on your end of the call, and he wondered if you had fallen asleep. You hadn’t been feeling well, and he’d woken you up with his phone call. “You thought what, Spence?”

The teasing lilt in your voice had given you away to him immediately. He knew. Every one of his suspicions were confirmed, “Y/N Reid,” he breathed.

“Spencer Reid,” you countered.

He took a deep breath, “Are you pregnant?”

“Yeah,” you answered simply, with about as much enthusiasm as he expected from you at five in the morning.

It all started to make sense to him. The low blood pressure, the drowsiness, and even the slight caginess when it came to him asking about your doctor’s visit. He swiped away a few stray tears, “I don’t know what to say.” It wasn’t a feeling he was overly used to.

You cleared your throat, “Are you happy?” Nerves clouded your voice, and he could hear you becoming more awake – more alert.

“I am,” he searched aimlessly. Elated. Thrilled. Ecstatic. “I’m so happy,” he told you, at a loss for words. “I don’t know what to say, I just… God, are you okay?” Dread washed over him, you were alone, sick, and pregnant at home and he was halfway across the country.

Sighing, he heard a ruffling on the other end of the call. “I’m great. I’m exhausted, I had no idea being pregnant was so tiring. I mean, I knew, but I didn’t know.” You sighed again, “I’m not making any sense.”

He laughed lightly at your rambling, “You’re making perfect sense. Chances are your energy will return during the second trimester.”

“Don’t get my hopes up.” You paused again for just a moment, “I’m sorry if I scared you. With the whole doctor’s appointment thing. They really are keeping an eye on my blood pressure and whole slew of other things, but they know the root cause.”

A giddy smile grew on his face, “It’s because you’re pregnant.”

A soft hum came through the phone, “It’s because I’m pregnant,” you concurred.

[pocket-bears]

Today I read a book next to the pool. Moms were onto something with that one. Maybe I'll pick up a book of crossword puzzles or something, give the Grandma part-time a try.

[butane-muses]

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