Ooh, this one seems fun:
“I think you missed your calling.”
As for ship, how about Fives/Hardcase?
Heeee! These two are so fun together, platonic or not.
The happy/light-hearted dialogue sentences
“I think you missed your calling.” + Fives/Hardcase
"Huh."
Hardcase turned his head, cracking one eye open. "What?"
Fives, who had been sitting right next to him on the narrow bunk, showed his datapad to Hardcase. "I finished it," he said, both sounding and looking quite pleased with himself.
Reluctantly, Hardcase pushed himself up on one elbow to see better. He'd been halfway to a nap, cradled between the firm bulkhead and Fives' warm body, but if Fives wanted to show him something, then Hardcase would take a look at it.
Still, he blinked in confusion when he saw what the datapad was displaying. It looked like several boxes in a grid formation, but each tiny box had a... letter?
"It's called crosswords," Fives explained, and it was only then that Hardcase realised that the letters formed words that could be read both horizontally and vertically. "They give you clues, and you need to guess the word it means, but also make sure it matches the number of boxes while matching with the other words around it."
"Where did you learn about this?" Hardcase asked, curious.
"One of the troopers in ARC training showed me. Apparently, their General enjoys doing them between long hyperspace travels." Fives tapped at the edge of the datapad with his stylus. "I kind of understand the General. Doing these is kind of relaxing, but also improves your memory and puzzle-solving skills."
Hardcase made a sound to indicate that he was listening, eyes scanning the screen. Some of the answers were simple, but as Hardcase read them, he realised that the majority of them were clearly something natborns would know.
Almost as if reading his thoughts, Fives hummed. "I wonder just how difficult it would be to create one yourself. And base the answers with more familiar words."
And as Hardcase watched, Fives accessed the (illegal) holonet portal, looking for blank crossword grids.
Surprised, as well as impressed, Hardcase sat up, leaning his head against Fives' shoulder. "Looks like the ARC training gave you more than just extra pieces of armor and new endurance," he said teasingly, snickering when Fives elbowed him a little in return.
Still, it was interesting to watch Fives try to create his own crossword, and Hardcase found himself making suggestions more than once as they filled the grid with words and wrote down questions.
"I think you missed your calling as a crossword puzzle maker," Fives commented after they finally finished almost three hours later. Around them, the bunk room had quieted down, most of the troopers sound asleep.
"Could say the same thing about you," Hardcase said, pressing a soft kiss on the 5 on Fives' temple. "So, what's next?"
Humming, Fives turned his head to nuzzle him in return. "I guess we need to have someone test it. To find out if it's too easy or too hard..."
They looked at each other with a grin, speaking at the same time.
"Rex."
** **
I've been doing lot of crosswords myself lately lol
Hi! Hoping you will look into covering Selma Lagerlöf some day!
Thank you! I am going to be adding her to our list!
This is also a great time to remind people we do take suggestions very regularly, in fact, our most recent article about Winnaretta Singer was suggested by a fantastic patron! I had never heard of her before, just like Selma Lagerlöf!
Now because of you I know she was a Swedish author and teacher and someone who I would very much like to know more about!
