A story caption and the DMs ten minutes later
The author's DMs, first ten minutes
Caption New era: coffee, a book, and zero plans.
Two flat whites on the table. Soft launch?
Deadass been waiting for this since July.
I can see the jacket, fit check please. Serving, by the way — the light there beats your lamp.
Author It's coffee. IYKYK.
"It's coffee." Cope.
Bestie. I recognised the watch.
Main character, and I'm here for it. Tea later, voice note.
Author Hard launch on Saturday. Tell no one.
Gagged. Finally.
One caption, ten minutes — and DMs in which nobody asks what anything means: the people writing here already got it.
The DMs read the caption and reply to the cups
Half the words are about showing and not showing. The other half are about the guessing: the second cup, the watch in shot, the date. Between them, a compliment on the jacket — no set of DMs goes without one.
Era
A personal phase you're fully leaning into.
I'm in my quiet, save-money era right now.
Goes in the caption to explain everything at once and nothing in particular. The DMs did not accept the explanation.
Soft launch
Hinting at a relationship without showing your partner's face.
A mystery hand in the photo? That's a soft launch.
The first reply to any story with more objects on the table than people in the frame. Differs from a hard launch in that there's no face yet, but there's already an argument.
Deadass
Seriously, for real; an intensifier from AAVE.
I deadass forgot we had a test today.
Goes in front of the thing you're happy to admit. Waiting, it turns out, since July.
Fit check
Showing off your outfit of the day.
Quick fit check before we leave — thoughts?
A request to show what's only at the edge of the frame. Here the jacket matters more than the second cup.
Serving
Delivering a striking, flawless look.
She walked in serving, head to toe.
A compliment wedged between two guesses. Mixed up with slay: that one's about a deed, this one's about a look.
IYKYK
'If you know, you know'; marks an inside reference.
The 3 a.m. diner run after prom — IYKYK.
The reply that closes a question without saying anything. In the DMs it reads as "yes".
Cope
To deal with a loss badly; 'copium' is desperate self-comfort.
'It was rigged anyway' — man, that's just cope.
The reply to an "it's coffee" nobody believed. Not an argument, a nudge: nobody in these DMs was planning to argue.
Bestie
Best friend; also a friendly way to address anyone.
Bestie, you cannot wear that on a first date.
The form of address that softens a guess. The watch was recognised, but it was said kindly.
Main character
Acting like the star of your own story.
She walked in with headphones on — full main character energy.
Support disguised as a diagnosis. Tone decides: with approval it's a compliment, without it, a jab.
Tea
Gossip or juicy news; 'spill the tea' means share it.
Okay, sit down — I've got so much tea about last night.
A promise of the sequel that won't make it into a story. A voice note, because typing it all out takes too long.
Hard launch
Openly revealing a relationship online.
They finally hard launched with a couples photo.
A date instead of an answer. "Tell no one" after it is mandatory, and it's the first thing that gets broken.
Gagged
Stunned speechless, usually in a good way.
When she hit that high note, I was gagged.
One word instead of a reaction to the news. Mixed up with shook: that one's surprise, this one's delight.
On Saturday, under the couple's photo, the words will be different
Under a photo of the two of them people write differently, and some of these words won't make it there. These will come in handy sooner — on the very next story with two cups in it.
Questions and answers
What about the rest of the words?
On the deck page, all of them. These twelve are the ones that turned up in the DMs after one story.
Why is there Spanish on the card?
All twelve are written the same way in Spanish DMs — soft launch, bestie, tea, unchanged. The card shows both sides anyway, so you know it isn't a different word over there.
Where do the definitions come from?
From the Gen Z Slang deck — the same cards as in the app.
By Saturday the DMs will have a different dozen words in them.
The Gen Z Slang deck holds the rest — in the app they come a few a day.
