#1500 piece puzzles

[thebiggestmenace]

hooray!

little thoughts (that aren't so little)

shit, is he actually dying?

hi, Bobby :)

I forgot Death came back :o

"there ain't no me if there ain't no you" :(((( I thought that was in s8, I was prepping then :( I wasn't prepared now :(

ugh, Ezekiel doing the big old flair to kill the demons?? will forever love that (is it because I love Sam and he looks so so cool here? maybe, but that's not what's important here)

now that Cas is human, does he ever get his angelness back? cause I shrimply cannot remember

oh, isn't Bartholomew the bad guy?

"you know I always appreciate our talks and our time together" oh, you don't say? you do not say

Sam is gonna find out about Zeke, isn't he? Dean isn't being very discrete about it

I forgot Dean could hear animal thoughts oml 🤭

human!Cas makes me so sad, man

kind. of. bummed. *little head wiggle*

the recap being all the stuff with Sam??? from season 1??? oh, I fear I will not make it (I have no idea what this episode is about) (I take that back, it's the one with the boys home Dean went to)

I guess that answers the question about if any supernatural being would notice Sam being an angel

Cas is back in town!!!!!!

Ezekiel is actually Gadreel??

okay, just steal that guy's grace, I guess

he just killed Kevin???? wtf man :((((

I forgot Crowley possesses Sam :o

and they've gone their separate ways again

Cain!! hi, Cain!! I thought you came in in season 10!

"you have a guinea pig? where?" Cas, I love you

this season is Ouchie

and Garth is a werewolf now?

DONNA!!!!!

and the Ghostfacers break up :(

and now Dean has the Blade

are angels eating peoples souls?

not an angel, it's Abaddon. and not really eating, just trying to convert?

I feel like I know Hannah?

THEY BROUGHT GABRIEL BACK!!!!!!!

...did they bring Gabriel back?

DANIELLE SAVRE????

is this even supernatural? it feels like a soap opera

and they're separated. again. why do they keep doing this? smh smh

"not funny haha" is it funny weird?

"he's in love with humanity" you only tried to have him kill Dean? I mean, you aren't wrong, but Dean is a different conversation

and now we get to go through the portal to heaven :) I kept picturing this in s8, so yippee!!

I forgot about this ending :( ouchieouchieouchie

and now he's a demon? wait, is he actually a demon, or is it from the Mark?

only word I have for this season is Ouchie. and Destiel. Metatron was not sly about any of that. anyways, time for season 10 :) once again, can not remember what happens

s1, s2, s3, s4, s5, s6, s7, s8, s9, s10, s11, s12, s13, s14, s15

[stuffyflowers]

my back hurets

[doumekiss]

It took me almost two months, but I finally finished this 6000 pieces jigsaw puzzle 🐙

[beautifulangelhes]

1500 pieces puzzle: 1. Colorful Africa (May 6, '23)

[bolcseszgoblin]

would be a couple days with a couple of friends

[deerpuzzle]

1500 piece

date completed: 8/20/23

took so long and was just overall not fun! its a vintage puzzle with thin pieces and identical shapes, and frankly too many pieces for such a blobby picture. glad to have it out of my collection!

[dordey]

obsessed with these as a concept

[justwinginglife]

Wrapped Around Your Finger

Happy Birthday to my friends @ouiouimochi and @hoshinasblade. Here is a lil bday fic I wrote for yall. Love youuuu!

After two years of dating, you thought you knew almost everything that there was to know about Soshiro Hoshina. You thought you knew the way he took his coffee, how early he liked to get up, how many laps he liked to do as a warm-up; he was a man of routine and you had his routine memorized. So you thought there were no more surprises in store for you. 

But then, one day, at a particularly monotonous cross-divisional meeting, your beloved Soshiro had nothing better to do than fidget with the ring he’d stolen from your pointer finger and when the meeting ended, before he bounded out the back door, eager for escape from his boredom, he casually slipped your ring back onto your finger. 

He was long gone before you could confront him about the fact that he put the ring on the wrong goddamn finger. 

You sat in the conference room, stunned, just staring at the gem on your ring finger, just wondering if he’d known what he’d done, just wondering if he was the type of man to drop subtle clues like this or if the nonchalant manner in which he’d done it should’ve hinted that he had no such thoughts on his mind. 

In the span of a few seconds, with this one single action, he’d consumed your every waking moment. Did this mean something to him? Did he secretly have a proposal up his sleeve? Or did he just pick a finger, any finger, to deposit the ring on? Did he even look when he put the ring on? If you asked him about it, would you get nothing more than a chuckle and a disbelieving shake of his head? You spent hours trying to decipher the puzzle that he’d laid out for you, piecing together every bit of information that you knew about him. And after two years, you realized it still wasn’t enough. You wondered if any amount of time with him could’ve prepared you for the shock -and the joy- of him gracing your ring finger with a ring. You wondered if he was laughing to himself somewhere, giddy about all the turmoil he’d caused. You wondered if you were overthinking this, if maybe he hadn’t thought about his action at all. Years of knowing the man, and suddenly you knew nothing about him. At this point, the only thing you were certain of was that you were never taking the ring off again, at least not until he replaced it with his own. And if that took years, you could both laugh about this silly situation together later. 

But for now, you decided to enlist the help of your friends. 

Pretty soon Okonogi, Nakanoshima, Shinonome, and even Captain Ashiro began to file through the doors of the conference room- the same conference in which you’d had your earlier meeting, the same conference room that you still had not left since the incident.

Ashiro cleared her throat. “Alright, troops. It is 1500 hours and the meeting to decide what on God’s green earth is going on in Hoshina’s brain has commenced. I’m handing the spotlight over to our number one data analyst, Konomi Okonogi- take it away. What have you got for us?”

Okonogi pushed her glasses up in all seriousness. “Thank you, Captain. Let’s review the facts. At 1200 hours, the aforementioned suspect placed a ring, an object with marital ties, on the victim’s ring finger when it had previously been located on the victim’s index finger. Now the question is, would someone as disciplined as the Vice Captain knowingly engage in this act, aware of all that it could perpetrate? Now my gut tells me that because the Vice Captain is well versed in traditional customs having been raised in a traditional household, there is no denying that he would have to know the implication behind placing a ring on the ring finger and therefore, did it on purpose. Do I hear any arguments?”

Shinonome raised her hand. “Look, I don’t know the guy as well as the rest of you, but isn’t it possible that maybe he’s just a dude and didn’t remember which finger he took the ring from? And did anyone else see that he was rushing out the door? Maybe he just picked one at random, in a hurry to get out.” She concluded, shrugging. 

Nakanoshima shook her head. “Have you ever thought that maybe he was just making it seem like he was rushing out the door so that when he quickly shoved the ring on, it would seem less obvious that he had intended to put it on her ring finger all along? I mean, the Vice Captain is like a child sometimes, but I’ve never seen him fidget before. Maybe he took the ring from her in the first place, under the guise of fidgeting, always intending to put it on her ring finger.”

Okonogi frowned. “But now that you mention his childish behavior, would the same man who proposed allowing Kafka into the Third Division merely as ‘comedic relief’ really be capable of masterminding such a plot? Nakanoshima clearly didn’t like the thought of her argument being disproved, because she was already standing up out of her chair, fired up for another round of debate. “But what if he wants you to think him childish, to think him incapable of devising this scheme, are we really going to let him get away with this on a technicality?”

“Here’s a thought- why don’t you just ask him?” Shinonome voiced aloud.

All chatter silenced as everyone’s eyes blazed their way through her skull.

She coughed. “Okay. So that’s a resounding no. And why aren’t we asking him?”

“Because we’re smart enough to figure this out on our own,” Nakanoshima argued.

“Because we don’t want to make things awkward in their relationship if we’re wrong.” Okonogi chimed in. 

“Because I don’t want to get laughed at.” You finished. 

Ashiro nodded thoughtfully. “You all bring up valid points. How about we revisit the topic from the beginning, start fresh, start with what we know for a fact.”

You sighed, exasperated, “We already did that earlier, and look where it got us. It got us nowhere.”

“But it doesn’t hurt to try again. Maybe we missed something the first time. Come on, don’t give up, let’s figure this out together. We’ve got all night, after all.” Ashiro said encouragingly. 

“I just don’t understand- what is going on in his head? Does he even know how much time this is taking up??” As soon as you said the words, something clicked in your brain.

“Captain Ashiro, how are you available right now?”

Ashiro blinked, not understanding your meaning. “I’m sorry, could you explain what you mean by that?”

“You’re a Captain. You’re always busy. And yet, you just… came when I called. Almost immediately.”

Ashiro blushed, “That’s because we’re good friends and I wanted to help.”

You stepped closer to her, eyes like a hawk, examining every inch of her reactions. “Yeah, but you said you had all night. This just happened today, how could you have cleared your schedule for the entire night? Unless you knew this was going to happen.”

She rolled her eyes, but all you could focus on was the shift of her gaze away from yours. “That’s ridiculous, I have the night free because I wanted to have the night free. Because, as you mentioned, I’m the Captain and I’m always busy so I needed a night off to rest. Now I’m wasting my free time trying to help you, and here you are, accusing me of masterminding this whole operation.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Well? Are you?”

All eyes stared at her expectantly.

“No, of course I’m not.” She scoffed, crossing her arms.

“Where’s Soshiro?” You asked, starting to feel a burst of adrenaline in your chest. 

She shifted her stance. “I don’t know. How would I know?”

“You always know. He’s your Vice Captain; it’s your job to know. What if you need him?”

The girls had started to pick up on what you were insinuating and soon, you’d all formed a circle around poor Captain Ashiro.

If she could’ve traded this situation in for a battlefield, she would’ve in a heartbeat. She’d never had close girl friends growing up, and she wasn’t used to this kind of peer pressure. She could look a Kaiju dead in the eye and show no fear, but four girls with expectant eyes? It was only a matter of time before she caved in.

“Ashiro, come on, we’re all good friends, you said so yourself, right? Tell us the juicy gossip. What’s going on with Hoshina? Where’s he at? What’s he doing?” Nakanoshima inched closer.

“Yeah, Captain, it’s just us. You can tell us, we won’t tell Hoshina.” Okonogi made her way beside Nakanoshima.

“You know something, don’t you, Captain Ashiro? What is it that you know?” Shinonome questioned, joining the fray.

You didn’t even have to say a single word more, your friends had done enough. 

One helpless look at you and soon, Ashiro was sighing, slumping into a chair as she massaged the stress-induced wrinkles out of her forehead. “I suppose this is why you’re a Platoon Leader, Y/N. Nothing gets past you.” She looked at her watch. “Oh well, he better be ready by now. It’s about time anyway. He’s at the pier.” 

You saluted her. Then, for extra measure, gave her a wink. “Knew I could count on you, thanks Captain!” And with that, you took off running. 

Your lungs ached and the salt-stained air stung your cheeks as you made your way closer to the ocean, but you pressed on, desperate to find him. You reached the pier as the sun started to dip below the horizon. For a moment, you thought you’d misunderstood which pier she’d meant, as the lights had been dimmed and this particular pier, which was always active and bustling with crowds, had suddenly fallen quiet. 

Then something caressed your ankle, fluttering by as you stepped onto the boardwalk. It was a flower petal. And another. And another. After following the trail of petals, all the lights along the boardwalk flickered back on, music floating through the air, the scent of fresh food riding the breeze, as though they’d known you were coming. 

And there, at the end of the dock, in a dashing suit, was your love. 

“I suppose it’s a good thing I work fast and the pier workers are easily bribed,” Soshiro joked as you made your way to him, admiring the glimmering lights and the scattered rose petals. 

“So you roped the Captain into your schemes, how very devious of you.” You laughed, taking his hands in yours. 

“To be fair, she was supposed to buy me significantly more time than she did, so I feel pretty proud with what I’ve got so far.” 

“And what have you got so far?” You teased.

“You’ll see. Come on.” He led you through the deserted boardwalk that had been lit up and over decorated, through stalls of vendors with food made fresh for you and only you, past carnival games that you were now sure he’d probably rigged so you could win, and the thought that he must’ve spent at least half his salary to buy out the entire place for the night made you tear up. All this for a date. What a man. And what a lucky woman you were. 

When he finally led you to the Ferris Wheel, you couldn’t hide your excitement anymore. You squealed like a little girl, and even pulled ahead of him to dash into one of the pods. He chuckled and followed close behind you, his hand never leaving yours.

For a moment, you sat in silence together, admiring the view as you slowly rose up into the night sky.When you reached the top, the Wheel stopped and your brows furrowed in confusion.

Then he got down on one knee.

“My love. I remember our first mission together, we were fighting a Kaiju right off of this beach and when we’d finished, you’d begged the Captain to let you ride this same Ferris wheel, practically on your hands and knees.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “Just once you said, you just wanted to ride the wheel once. And I thought, god, this rookie has some nerve- to be drenched in blood and guts and still walk right up to the Captain, just to ask for something as silly as that. And then I thought to myself, god, she's gonna have me wrapped around her finger, one of these days, I can just feel it. And one of these days I’m going to take her to the top of the Ferris Wheel. I’m going to make all her wishes come true. I’m going to make her mine. I’m going to make her happy.” He squeezed your hands. “I’m sorry I’m two years late on the Ferris Wheel, but I’ve never once stopped trying to make you happy, and I swear if you’ll let me, I’ll never stop making you happy, I’ll never stop trying to make all your wishes come true. So, darling, will you please marry me? Make my wish come true?”

He popped open the ring box, eagerly awaiting your answer.

“You think after bribing an entire boardwalk full of people and coercing the Captain of the Third Division into aiding and abetting your little scheme that there’s even a sliver of a chance that I’d say no to you? Well think again because Soshiro Hoshina, you are stuck with me for life. I will marry you as many times as it takes for you to know that I’m completely and utterly in love with you; I am completely and utterly yours.”

“I know, I just like hearing you say it.” He teased, bending down to replace the ring on your finger with the new engagement ring. “It really took you that long to figure out I put the ring there on purpose, huh? Getting slow in your old age.” He chuckled as he rested his head in your lap, admiring the ring glimmering on your finger. 

You flicked his head. “Hey, isn’t that why you love me, because I take my time to think things through?” You pouted.

He laughed again, kissing your knees in apology. “I do love you. More than anything.”

Then he paused, looking over the edge for the first time tonight (he’d been watching you the whole way up). 

“Now let’s get off of this Ferris Wheel before I discover I have a fear of heights.”

[bogkeep]

it's gonna take a while,

uh oh

[wizardarchives]

Wizard Spell 1500 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle by Steve Sundram

[rpfisfine]

my puzzles

historic world map: 1636 (1500 pieces)

lake of constance, mainau island, rose garden (500 pieces)

italian delicacies (555 pieces)

gressoney, monte rosa (1500 pieces)

[nohoperadio]

A small number of classics publishing thoughts

I wish it were way more common to see long books published in multiple volumes. I'm fine with long books existing but a 900 page paperback is not good to hold in your hands. It's bad to hold. It's heavy for example. I don't wanna do that. If there were two of them but smaller it would be fine.

And I get why this doesn't happen in general, if you need to buy two books that's going to be more expensive, customers en masse wouldn't like it. But I'm puzzled about classics publishing specifically, because this is where choice, in theory, abounds. If I want a copy of War and Peace, I can cheap out on a £3.99 Wordsworth edition that probably uses a public domain translation and will definitely fall apart before I finish it, I can pay £9 more for the privilege of real paper and footnotes from Penguin/Oxford/Vintage/etc, I can pay £9 more than that for a tacky Penguin Clothbound edition because a straight person on instagram told me to, and above that there's varying degrees of actually nice expensive gift editions, I mean the Folio Society has proven that there's really no upper-bound to what people will pay for a book that looks really good.

What I can't seem to do, for any amount of money, is buy a paperback that is the size of my hands. I literally can't do it. All of the above are single volume and between 1000-1500 pages. The Everyman's Library War and Peace is in three volumes but hardback, and hardback is a significant disadvantage imo but that's probably genuinely the best option still. And that's a special exception anyway, Everyman's doesn't make a habit of doing this, their edition of Middlemarch for example is one 900-page volume, same with the other longboys I checked.

Surely there is room in this variegated competitive market for one edition that prioritizes comfort, for people who want to actually read the book and have a nice time doing so. It seems like there's not. Oh well.

---

I made fun of the Penguin Clothbound series above, and listen if you think they look cool and not like something conceived by a graphic design student who's just looked up what books are as research for their assignment then more power to you, but you still shouldn't buy them because they suck, like the quality is so bad! That coloured ink rubs off so easily it's insane. Part of my job involves picking books from the shop floor for online orders, and I hate seeing orders for the those ones because it's a very frequent occurrence that we'll have like six copies of the clothbound Frankenstein or whatever in-store and I still can't fulfill the order because none of them are remotely presentable, they've all got prominent scratches or faded parts, and this is before they've ever even been owned by anyone, this is just from existing in a shop and getting occasionally manhandled! It's so so sad. And the thing is a lot of books age gracefully, they look nice and well-loved as they get battered and worn, but these ones when the ink comes off just look like cheap pieces of shit! Please stop buying them, you do not want these books on your shelves trust me!

---

tbh the normal-ass Penguin Classic black paperbacks aren't always great quality either. My copy of Wuthering Heights looks like it's been passed down through three generations but I bought it new and I've only read it 1.5 times:

And like sure I let it get jostled around in my bag a lot but I do that with all my books and they don't all look like this. Definitely part of the issue is that it crinkles white which shows up really strongly against the black, but even allowing for that it's really bad. Penguin just kind of sucks with their classics publishing in general I think. It's weird because you'd think with no living author to pay royalties to there'd be more room for investing in an actual quality product--seems not! Most of my others in this series are kinda beat up too although admittedly this is the worst example.

(I don't even like Wuthering Heights it's kinda boring! The 0.5th read was my first attempt, I fell off it and then forced myself to try again later. I probably wouldn't still own it if it weren't sadly too ugly now to give away!)

---

Classics publishing! Just some thoughts.

[petalpetal]

oh I did finish it today it was only missing 2 pieces anyway we have A LOT of puzzles (like around 50) most of them are donated by one of the security officers who loves puzzles and just goes to thrift stores and buy them

The adhd boredom is taking over me it was nice knowing you all

[tgmsunmontue]

It's all academic darlin' PART 5/10

12k+ Hangster AU. Updating 2-3 parts per week and will be finished by 31st January 2024. (Each part is ~1500 words).

Bradley is a professor but living his best life with IceMav parents. Jake is a pilot. Maverick sort-of tries (and fails) to play matchmaker, so he tries again. Touch of epistolary and sprinkling of one-sided unknown/mistaken-identity.

For the emails in this part (because bold (Bradley Bradshaw) and italics (Jake Seresin) aren't super obvious) the beginning and ending of emails are also marked with this: <>

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4

                The semester kicks off eight days later and Bradley is covering one of the freshman engineering courses for a colleague who has gone on sabbatical. Freshmen aren’t his favorite cohort of students, he prefers the more seasoned ones, the ones who have the end of their qualification in their sights rather than just starting out. Know how much blood, sweat and tears they’re going to have to put in to get the most out. His life falls into the usual rhythm of teaching-research-administration, with far too much administration for his liking, although he’s sure to stay on the good side of the engineering school administrators, who help make his life so much smoother in all respects.

                He has a fairly fixed routine, knows it’s entrenched in his upbringing, like the need for all his plates and mugs to match. He has quiz night with his colleagues and some postgraduate students every week, and they never allow him to duck out unless he’s sick. He goes rock climbing at least twice a week, sometimes three times. Runs three or four mornings a week. Plays music to unwind and because it forces himself to switch off other trains of thought; has a jam session with others every month. Goes hiking every other week. Mav has started joining him at either rock climbing or for the hike. He’s started joining Mav at the hangar occasionally, either working on a bike or some other piece of junk (and no Mav, my Bronco is not junk!)

                He has a meal box delivered every week on a Sunday night just before he usually heads out to Sunday night dinner with Mav and Ice. It’s meals for five nights, meant for two people. He just takes leftovers for lunch the next day except on the nights one of his friends comes over. He’s had a couple of long-term relationships and he knows Mav worries, but Bradley really doesn’t see it. Bradley likes his life. It’s over-flowing with friends and family. His job is interesting and challenging in equal measure. He’s well-liked and respected in his field, students from around the world want him to supervise them to do their own doctoral study, which is a huge compliment. He’s never had to put a relationship before work before, and while maybe with hindsight and the maturity that comes with age he was maybe a little insensitive about a couple of things he can’t go back and change things. He has his priorities and the people in his life know what those are. His hobbies and friends are important to him. His work is very important to him.

                He doesn’t expect to hear from Jake, although realizes he’s a little disappointed that he hasn’t. After talking properly with Mav he wants to meet the guy Mav knows and not what he suspects was a heavily curated version, although he doesn’t think the version that Mav knows is really the real one either. He thinks about it occasionally, a little puzzle in the back of his mind that he cannot ask Mav about, because he for sure as fuck would jump on any sign of interest and shove him in Jake’s path (again!) and he’s fine with his dad not being involved the next time he goes on a date.

                It’s a few months later when he opens his emails and spies the name Jake Seresin and it throws him a little, unexpected.

&lt;>Dear Professor Bradshaw,

I recently read your article about the mechanical and tribological behavior of particle reinforced matrix composites, particularly those used in aircraft structures for the less weight to strength ratio, low wear rate and high creeping behavior. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind answering some questions around the physical and mechanical properties, specifically the pros and cons between silicon versus titanium composites and the potential microstructure evaluation.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Lieutenant Jake Seresin<>

…             …             …

                Jake hadn’t known why Mav had given him the print-out of the journal article, he’d been too surprised at the time having someone waving him off as he deployed for seven months. A late deployment for reasons that were never explicitly explained but it’s what his orders were after he was physically recovered and undergone all assessments to ensure he was fit to fly. Some light reading material while you’re away… Mav had said, grinned, as he’d slapped the paper to Jake’s chest. Who even used paper these days? Trust Mav to print something out.

                It had taken him a couple of read-throughs to get to the end, the first time it had put him to sleep, but he’s sure it’s because he was so tired. Although Characteristics Study of Physical, Mechanical and Tribological Behaviour of SiC/TiB2 Dispersed Aluminium Matrix Composite isn’t his usual reading material. He had a couple of questions though, had seen the email address for the first author and just thought… why not? He had nothing to lose. Besides, Mav has recommended him to be a test pilot, and while he’s never had an interest before, if he does get into testing it would be good to understand more. Mav obviously thinks he should know more, or he wouldn’t have given him the article.

                So he shoots off the email, not wasting time with his actual questions incase the email goes to a dead-end and is never answered. He’s surprised he gets a reply within a day. Or what feels like a day on the ship, the rostered shifts making him lose time.

&lt;>Hey Jake, nice to hear from you. Glad you liked my article, surprised you even found it to be honest. Happy to answer your questions though. Do you want to do this via email, over the phone or in person? I always find in person a bit easier when I'm explaining complex problems. I've got some really good hands-on examples I can show you, happy to give you a private tour as well.

Let me know!

Kind regards,

Bradley B.<>

                Bradley. Another freaking Bradley. He wonders how popular that name is for him to have met another Bradley and now be emailing another one. Although he feels for this man, his parents naming him Bradley Bradshaw clearly wanted him to grow up and be able to take some hits. He reads the email a couple more times. It’s very familiar. Friendly. The temptation to shoot back an email brimming with innuendo is there, but he has no idea if he’s reading into something that isn’t there. He sits back and cracks his knuckles. This guy is a professor at SDU, there must be photos of him on the University website. Maybe that’ll help him determine how to reply.

                It doesn’t work though. He gets plenty of pictures, even some of Mav’s son which is fucking weird, but there are apparently more people called Bradley Bradshaw than he thought, although Bradley Shaw seems to be Google’s first fucking preference. He narrows it down by adding further criteria and finally ends up on the staff landing page listing the staff with little professional photos beside each one.

                Except for one Bradley Bradshaw.

                Instead it’s a picture of a fucking rooster of all things. The little cartoon one from Moana of all things, which he will deny knowing the name of with his last breath if he needs to. What kind of person doesn’t have a professional picture up? Okay, this one obviously. It makes Jake think he might be fairly young, or maybe really old? Fucked if he knows. He reads the little blurb and does some mental arithmetic and figures he must be around 40, maybe up to 45. He frowns, wondering how else he can find information about his personality and then he has an idea. He’s never used it, but he knows about Rate my Professor and he jumps into it, wondering what kind of information he can find. Maybe some idea about the guy.

Prof Bradshaw is a very good professor, he cares about student learning. While I found him to be a tough grader, he was engaging and thought-provoking. He constantly challenged us and didn’t take any BS.

Dr Bradshaw tends to give pop quizzes, so stay on top of the material. I liked his teaching style.

Would it kill him to dress properly? Demanding but fair. Somehow a hardass and a soft touch at the same time.

This was a difficult class, some classmates really struggled through it. Professor Bradshaw seemed to care about all students and went out of his way to help. His tests are hard, but he gives clear understanding of what he expects. The material can be really overwhelming and it’s hard to follow it, but I think if I’d had any other professor I would have failed.

Great sense of humor. Terrible taste in clothes. And facial hair.

He clearly enjoys teaching this subject and he wants his students to enjoy it just as much, which sucks when it’s a compulsory and you actually don’t want to be there. Respect for him though because he still helped me pass.

Demanding but fair. Show up to class, read the course materials and you’ll be fine.

Knows his shit.

Having a professor who is fluent in asl was a godsend. He went above and beyond to help me with my degree. He’s now one of my doctoral supervisors. Awesome educator and amazing person.

I know we’re not meant to comment on looks, but Prof B oozes confidence, and that’s attractive by itself. A++

               It’s that last comment that makes Jake grin slowly, think that this guy is maybe on the younger side.

&lt;>Hi Bradley,

Thanks for the prompt reply. I know I'm no expert, but I'd really appreciate your time. I'm not currently in the country, so we’ll just have to deal with emails for now. We can talk about that private tour and hands-on example when I'm back.

Kind regards,

Lieutenant Jake Seresin<>

                After he’s pressed send he feels a flush of unexpected embarrassment. That felt like too much. Unable to read the facial expressions, no idea if it was far too flirtatious, or just plain weird. He frantically looks for the recall button, knows he has about one minute to stop the message from going. He can’t remember where that particular setting is though and he stares at his screen. Okay. It’s fine. In his experience people who don't know they are being flirted with don't know. So hopefully there's no harm done. And if he gets a flirty reply? Well. He's okay with that too.

                He doesn’t have to wait very long.

PART SIX

[0ystercatcher]

mutuals do you want to help me solve my puzzle. it has 1500 pieces.

[scribble-dribble-writes]

The snake

<<<Prev (Ambition) (at what cost) Next>>>

Pairing: Buggy x female mermaid reader

Word count: 1500

Warnings: mostly none, character death

Note: Work has become so intense all I do is come back home and sleep through the week even though I really want to sit back to write a chapter 😔

I've got four or so chapters left which will be up every Sunday!

I might continue to write one shots and flash backs from within this AU once the story is done, cause I can't let go of buggy yet 🥹

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You fiddled with the ring on your finger as you walked down the corridor towards the archives. Hassan wasn’t there and your questions lingering in your mind didn’t leave you alone either. You were certain that the date of the coronation would have been given to you first. Hassan had promised. You clasped your hands together in an attempt to see through the plot that was at work here. Trying your best to work through this conundrum, all your clues and evidences scattered across the table without leading you anywhere.

With Eleanor always by Helge’s side, you eased. He would not be in danger from more threats while he had company too. The burden had been lifted off from your shoulders to care for him, he could now find what he was looking for with the woman who was vehement in keeping him safe. But with the engagement announcement and Theodora twisting the ring on your finger into a political element, it made the hairs on your arms to rise. Neither you nor Helge was free from this web of lies.

Buggy’s most vulnerable declaration of love now had turned into a piece in a puzzle. The man who rarely gave away a part of himself was now weaved into the tapestry of this mess. So you protected the aquamarine jewel on your finger more than anything, because you were carrying his heart. You knew the arduous journey of having to earn it, you weren’t going to drop it now.

But with the oceans having chosen him as their worthy king, he too had a stake in the game one he could chose to play or not. He had wanted to meet with his crew urgently since the events of this morning and though you trusted him, there was a voice that said he could still be ardent about the one piece. That what you had to offer was still not quite as worthy of what he was looking for.

All the preparations were well underway, the people of Maraka were thrilled to finally have a true Nerrocean on the throne and so soon. But you didn’t feel all too different. All you knew was to follow your heart and that wasn’t the best when dealing with the rules of court. It hadn't quite helped you solve this mystery either. You were no where close to finding the truth behind Helge's father's death, the instigator behind the revolt that led to the death of your parents and the one who was after your life now.

But a part of you though, it was ready. To stop running, to stand in the shoes of your parents who had left behind a legacy, a calling that felt like you were exactly where you were supposed to be. It was time that had ripped you apart and now had sewn you back together giving everything you had craved for, even though you had to hide under enclaves and not give away your smile the moment your pirate captain walked into the room masquerading as a joker.

It was all right in front of you, almost at your finger tips and yet it was still fragile. The adrenaline in your body never settling, making you stay alert that in turn it left you feeling fatigued. You couldn’t focus on the tasks at hand, just when you thought you were a step ahead, it was revealed that you were in fact three steps behind this hidden enemy. Who was working behind the scenes, wrapping their gnarly tentacles around your feet like a kraken that had awoken from its sleep.

You touched your forehead and your finger singed your skin. Your flaming hands just as volatile as your thoughts. You hid your hand in your sleeves as you headed towards the royal mage.

Otis was from the Banyan family line, he was still quite young having only been a young man when your parents had passed. He didn’t have much to do since then, with the royal line being put on pause till your return. He continued to live alone, exiled in one of the towers. But even with you back, he had never once ventured to visit you.

Now with your ability beginning to lose control ever so often, you had no one else left to ask for help but him. So as you stood looking up at the stairway that led to his quarters, you sighed. It was a long way up. You looked back down the passage you had come from, your heart and mind worried about Hassan’s sudden disappearance. It was in his nature to be away when he was researching something. Maybe he was alright. Maybe he had found something.

The overwhelming desire to protect everyone you knew pulsed through your veins and your fingers burned again and when you looked down at your skirt, burn marks had scorched the fabric.

You had no time to lose, if you couldn't trust yourself to help the ones you loved, you had to pull yourself together till you were capable enough to do so. So you picked up the edge of your skirt and started up the stairs.

The door loomed ahead of you, the dark wood looking like it had aged with time but there was light escaping through the cracks. Atleast that confirmed someone was here. You reached to knock but the doors opened on its own making a gust of cold wind sweep over you.

“Come in quickly before I decide to close the door on you.”, you heard a voice as you entered into a chaos filled space. Flying books, moving furniture, bubbling potions and a baby dragon fluttering around in excitement. But there was no one else here.

You stood still, taking in the environment around you, the warm light and the carpeted floor, but you could feel the presence of another being around you.

“You look dreadful.”, the voice said and it sounded rather close as though he stood near to inspect you. You dabbed your forehead to prevent sweat from trickling down your face.

“You never came to see me.”, you huffed a breath getting straight to the point as you looked around you trying to focus on where you had heard him.

Instead he laughed and it swirled around you.

“I was there when they brought you in.”, he said as though he had to go out of his way and that it had taken up a lot of his time.

“And you didn’t bother to stick around?”, you asked feeling rather irritated, one for his sense of nonchalance and the other for having climbed up ten storeys worth of stairs for nothing.

“You weren’t ready, I would have been wasting my time.”, he spoke but you could see him. His calm attitude began to get under your skin.

"Not like you’ve got much going on.", you mumbled at the solitude that rested in this place even amidst the chaos.

"I’ve always got a lot going on.", he bit back as though you wouldn't understand his dealings if he explained them to you. You heard the clinking of glasses, pages being turned, the little dragon cooing but a part from that, the mage was silent. You tapped your foot impatiently.

"You know what, I’m wasting my time.", you raised your hands up not bothering to know where he even stood.

"I should not have come up here.", you shrugged your shoulders as you turned towards the door. Anger began to bubble, worry deepening it's clutches on you as your mind wandered back to Hassan and Buggy and everyone else.

You felt your skin prickle when could feel your fingertips anymore, turning to look at your hands, you gasped. Blue flames had engulfed your skin from your wrist onwards. It's wasn't just a burn anymore, it danced over your fingers in full form, as though it held the ocean's rage and it's beauty.

But your pulled away from being mesmerized when you heard a loud thud of a staff ramming into the floors behind you and the doors in front of you rattling in the quake. When you turned, Otis stood in front of you with a wide smile on his face.

He looked like he could use a month of sleep. His curly brown hair extending in all directions not combed back, his beard well groomed and his green eyes rimmed with a lush set of eyelashes. He wore a mage's vest but his shirt collar held a distinct gold corner with the royal crest that distinguished his rank.

“The thing about mages is that we can only reveal ourselves when you’re ready.”, he leaned on his staff as he spoke to you.

“and I am now?”, you questioned shaking your hands which reverted them back to how they were.

"You are and I am honoured to serve you.", he bowed his head.

"Tell me, how can I be of assistance?", he asked extending his hand towards his table.

"I want to control the outbursts.", you replied as you moved towards him as he hummed in response list in thought.

"Your father had the same difficulty.", he tapped a finger on his forehead as though he remembered.

"Can I get it under control before the coronation?", you asked to which he shook his head.

"Gaining control over your ability isn't as simple, even more so if you have the mark of the sea.", He said as he turned to you.

"Show me your hands.", he said as he held his hands out with his palms facing up, you placed your hands it in his.

"You ability links your emotions with the strength of you mind, the more in sync, the more stronger.", he spoke as you began to feel his hands turn warm.

"Think of someone you love.", he instructed and it was easy. Buggy's smiling portrait emerged in your mind's eye and soon your skin began to flicker, threads of blue dancing around yours when you felt the burn. Otis held onto your hand even as it grew hotter. You couldn't think of anything else and the more your heart began to fill up in the love you had for him, the brighter your flames began to burn. And as you suppressed your cry that bubbled in the base of your throat, you saw a swirl of white light emerge on your skin, just like the brand Buggy had on his chest.

You looked at Otis but he looked serene, the heat not once hurting him as he focused on your hand instead and when the heat settled, your hand cooled turning normal but the brand stayed. He pulled up your palm closer to inspect it.

"You’re the first legend come to life.", he said, his voice turning giddy for second.

"You thrum with a magic that is ancient, like the sea is within you.", he held your hands in his gently.

"I feel it now", he stated as he closed his eyes.

"Do you?", Otis asked to which you closed your eyes and a moment later, you felt it.

The sound of the sea, the movement of the waves, the thunder, the rolling clouds, the storm and the calm. The surge of power in your veins, leaving you feeling refreshed and electric, you felt your lips stretch in a smile as you held onto the edge of the table, shocked at your capability.

"He should have a brand similar to yours", Otis stated, to which your gaze shifted to him.

"Who?", you asked nervously.

"Your pirate.", he smiled at you.

"I know everything.", he stated holding his head higher as though he could hear through the whispers in the castle. You assessed him, no one knew Buggy had the mark too. You knew Otis was powerful, if he was set apart to teach and guide the royals themselves. If he had wanted to kill you, you would have been dead already.

"He does.", you admitted to him as you took a seat.

Otis noded feeling pleased as he took a seat too.

"It’s never happened before.", he pushed back his curls from his forehead as he looked at you.

"What hasn’t?", you furrowed your brows in curiosity.

"The fulfillment of Meluminera and Tenebris's love story. The love between moonlight and the dark sky manifesting into reality. Giving you the power to control the sea and the weather.", he elaborated.

It began to make sense why you were a target. Once you were on the throne, you strength would only continue to grow.

"But he’s not the one you’re marrying are you?", he questioned based on the invitation that was on his table.

"I thought you knew everything." you remarked with a smile.

"Indulge me some gossip will you.", he rolled his eyes as he sat back into the cushions.

"The mercourt has decided to play a dangerous game.", you sighed not knowing where to start but it seemed like he understood without your explanation.

"They always do.", he pursed his lips, a haunting look passing over his features as he zoned out.

"Whatever you do, choose the one with the mark.", he advised, his eyes locking with yours.

"Cause if you don’t, the sea will take him back.", he said not wanting to elaborate further. But it gripped you, the truth behind his statement. If you vowed yourself to Helge, even as part of an act, it would kill Buggy.

"Now what else can I help you with?", Otis asked clasping his hands together trying to shift the mood.

"You said you know everything, how?", you asked in an attempt to ask about Hassan's disappearance.

Otis snapped his fingers dramatically and huge water droplets began to float around you both displaying everything that was happening this instant. You saw Buggy walking back to the castle. Helge and Eleanor standing together on a balcony, their fingers almost touching. Staff running around preparing the throne room. You skimmed through the rest as it marvelled you, the amount of information you could gather just from being in one place. But one droplet in particular caught your eye.

It was Hassan, resting on his cane as he clutched his chest with the other hand, as he rested up to thump on your door with fading strength.

You felt time stop, blood rushing to your head as panic surged. You looked towards the door in desperation, that no matter how fast you moved it would still be late. But Otis placed a hand on you shoulder as though he knew what to do. He spoke words in an ancient languages and the space in front of your ripped open to hold a portal. You squeezed his hand as a gesture to say thanks before you ran through the void. You felt your stomach churn as the darkness enveloped you and your feet felt the solid ground beneath them, you were an arms length away from Hassan to catch him as he fell.

He face contorted in pain as sweat dripped down his forehead, his eyes disorienting which he fought to place his focus on you. You held him as he heaved his breath, feeling helpless as he placed a shaking hand on your cheek. His eyes began to tear up while yours trickled down your face.

"Guards.", you yelled down the hallway in the hopes that someone would come.

But before you could call for them again, Hassan said your name to quieten you.

"I don't have much time left.", he held onto your hands as he placed a torn page in it.

"The snake.", he mustered his strength to speak.

"The snake is here.", he whispered as his eyes fluttered to a close.

He exhaled and slumped, his body weight pinning you down making it impossible for you to move.

"Guards.", you yelled again as you weeped, the paper in your hands fluttering down to the ground next to you when you head began to hurt.

The pain took over as you placed your hands on the carpet, your heart crumpling as you screamed, blasts of blue scorching it's way through the floor and up the walls.

The sound of guards marching up towards you, Hassan's still and cold hand resting next to yours as though he was asleep when the blue flame turned red as it burned. But nothing could console you, as your cry echoed down the walls.

You looked at the half scorched paper now by your side. On it a picture of a tattoo revealing the head of a snake. You took it as you wiped your tears, the only concrete proof towards who your enemy was. You snuck in into the corner of your sleeve as the guards approached you.

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@lotr-got @juhdoche @wooyoungsrightsock @mysingularitybts