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scariusaquarius · 4 months ago

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rehab. 7.

Avenger! Bucky Barnes x Winter Soldier! Fem! Reader

Summary: While on a mission to find any more possible super soldiers that were a part of the Winter Soldier program, Steve and Bucky make a discovery in an abandoned HYDRA base that was cleared out a few years prior to their mission. They discover the Reader, a long-forgotten soldier that was still asleep within a functioning cryostasis pod; still awaiting orders. While Bucky isn't happy about it, he is put up to the challenge of helping to rehabilitate the soldier in Wakanda where she may be able to become a person again.

A/n: Now we're getting into the nitty-gritty! Soldat is ready to start carrying out her mission, but will it be successful? Will Bucky catch on to what she's doing? Who knows! BTW, you can read it here on my archive account as well!

This is an au where Bucky joined the avengers but still rehabilitated in Wakanda (sometime before Infinity War [canon divergent cause NOPE]). I am NOT fluent in Russian, so I did use google translate cause I couldn't find a good translator that I trusted. If anything is wrong, PLEASE let me know!! Also, I tried to list as many warnings as possible so you know what the story will contain as chapters are posted. Stay safe!

Genre: Slowburn, Enemies to Lovers/Friends to Lovers, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Drama, Dark Content Rated: Explicit Warning: Angst, Dark Content: Graphic Depictions of Sexual Assault, Blood and Gore, Mentions of Manipulation, Kidnapping, Canon-Typical Violence, Body Horror, Nonconsensual Body Modification/Scarring, Emotional and Physical Abuse, Mentions of Murder, Mentions of Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation, Graphic Depictions of Human Remains, Mentions of Sexual Coercion/Manipulation, Death, Misuse of Drugs/Forced Drugging, Self-Harm (Graphic Depictions and Mentions), Nightmares

Author: ScariusAquarius

rehab masterlist. chapter 6

The next few hours had been relatively uneventful. After the soldier had pledged her compliance, the people surrounding her within the lab had slowly back off. The Fist and Shuri were exchanging seemingly heated words just outside the lab behind sound-proof glass that the soldier could not hear through.

While the Soldier could read their lips partially, she couldn't discern exactly what was being said. The only thing the soldier could comprehend was that the Fist was seemingly offended by Shuri pledging to help finish the mission.

When they were done exchanging words, they both came back into the laboratory and stood in front of the chair that the soldier was sitting in. Shuri greeted the soldier, asking politely despite the frustrated furrow within her eyebrows.

"When was the last time that you ate a meal?"

The soldier immediately frowned, glancing down at her knees as she tried to remember. There were no memories that came to mind, and when she couldn't answer, the soldier clenched her fists.

"I...don't remember."

Her voice was shaky, unused to the English that slipped from her tongue, but Shuri's shoulders relaxed with hope as the soldier spoke. The Fist squinted his eyes, however, and the soldier almost winced.

He was not convinced.

Truly, it was to be expected. Just hours ago, the soldier told him that he was her mission. The Fist was right to be cautious, but it did not matter to her.

She would complete her mission no matter what the costs were.

"That is alright. Would you be willing to eat?"

"How does this help me to complete my mission?"

The Fist and Shuri shared a look with each other before the Fist stated, making the soldier look up at him with an unconvinced sneer flashing across her face.

"You want to take me in, you need to be strong enough to do it. The more you starve, the weaker your body becomes."

His voice was slightly annoyed, his posture revealing his unease, and the soldier glanced back down at the untouched food. It was a different meal than what Shuri had attempted to give to her before, and it was extremely simple. The Soldier tilted her head slightly, and she leaned forward slightly to sniff it.

"It is called Isidudu. It's just porridge with some brown sugar, butter, and sweet milk."

The soldier simply frowned at it, and Shuri hummed gently, crossing her arms.

"You have permission to eat."

Flicking her gaze to Shuri, the two of them shared a look before the soldier glanced back down at the food. Slowly grabbing the spoon, the soldier scooped up the creamy food and began to hesitate.

Her hand was hovering over the plate, some of the porridge dripping off of the spoon. The soldier's body began to stiffen; her hand trembling as she held the handle of the spoon tight enough within her grasp to bend the metal.

There was a lump in the back of her throat, nausea beginning to plague her, and the soldier couldn't help but to glance at the door; waiting for her Handler to come in and punish her for even touching the spoon. She was unsure of why her tongue felt so heavy and thick-as if it did not belong to her, and the soldier became nervous.

The soldier could not help the tears that filled her eyes as she stared at the food, shaking and unsure, and she was slightly startled when Shuri sat down across from her; her tone gentle like a mother comforting their child.

"Isithunzi, it is alright. You do not have to be afraid. We will not punish you for eating."

The soldier was confused and unsure, her brows furrowed, and the soldier glanced back down at the spoon within her hand for another long pause.

The soldier could not deny that she was waiting for the reprimand; the hand raised in warning to strike her for having the audacity to even acknowledge the hunger, but her stomach was rumbling painfully to the point the soldier could no longer refuse.

The soldier swallowed thickly before she slowly took a bite, and flavor burst upon her tongue. The porridge was sweet and creamy, the milk adding a flavor that the soldier could not describe, and she carefully swallowed.

Despite the taste and enjoyment that soldier found from the meal, there was guilt eating away at her; cutting through the fog of her mind. She shouldn't have done that. She shouldn't have eaten this. The soldier began to tremble more, and Shuri encouraged her.

"You're doing great, but you don't have to eat if you don't want to. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

The soldier glanced up at the Fist briefly, and she noticed that he was gazing at her with a slightly far-away look within his eyes. When the Fist noticed that she was looking at him, though, he seemed to tense. The soldier looked away, and she slowly began to eat despite the guilt that was eating away at her like maggots eating an infection.

"Isithunzi, I would like for you to answer some questions for me if you can. Are you up for that?"

The soldier was quiet, rolling the food around within her mouth before swallowing; warmth blooming within her belly as the food began to satiate and ease the hunger and pain. She nodded, then, making Shuri smirk at the Fist with a haughty look that made the man roll his eyes.

"Do you have any memory of who you were before you were with HYDRA?"

The soldier paused, shaking her head slowly after careful consideration of her answer.

"I was...born into HYDRA."

Shuri tilted her head slightly, and the Fist sat down after a moment, asking her instead with a sassy tone to his voice.

"Is that what they made you believe?"

The soldier could tell that he was frustrated and becoming hostile, making alarm bells sound off, and Shuri scolded the man in Xhosa before glancing back at the soldier.

"He has not had his daily bottle today, I am sorry."

The Fist shot Shuri an annoyed look, but Shuri did not pay attention to him. Instead, she brought up a couple holographic images that made the soldier pause in eating, eyes wide with wonder. It was a list of CIA emblems for every directorate the agency had, and there was one that stood out to the soldier, though she did not indicate as such.

"Do any of these emblems look familiar to you?"

The soldier frowned for a moment, perplexed by the question, but slowly pointed to the emblem of the Directorate of Science & Technology. The Fist became intrigued, asking her as he leaned forward.

"What do you know about this?"

The soldier looked away, whispering shakily.

"I...dreamed. Places...a-and people...I...I don't...know..."

Her voice trailed off. She was not supposed to dream; to remember. She was frightened; afraid to mention this in fear that they would take the memories away, and the soldier became closed off. Shuri noted the way that the soldier became uncomfortable, and she praised her gently.

"That was good. You did well, Isithunzi."

"This is not relevant to my mission."

The words were almost robotic, and there was a strange feeling of shame that came from the words. Shuri and the Fist shared a look together, and Shuri shook her head.

"Oh, but it is relevant. We will explain to you why in due-time. Would you...be able to explain to me why it is difficult for you to eat?"

Traumatic memories flashed through the soldier's mind, and the tears welled up in her eyes again as she stared down into the porridge below.

"Hunger...is weakness. It serves no purpose to the mission. It is not to be indulged in unless given permission. It is strictly allowed only due to performance decline. There are...consequences...for displaying such weakness outside of absolute necessity."

Shuri shook her head slightly, and the soldier could see the Fist clench his jaw. The soldier could not tell if her answer pleased or upset the woman, but the soldier was aware that Shuri was becoming heated by the way her lips pursed.

"Well, you are allowed to eat whenever you would like to. In fact, eating more will help you to become stronger, which will allow you to complete your mission when it is time."

The soldier stayed quiet, staring down at the empty bowl in front of her before she whispered, her tone shy and unsure.

"I...am allowed to eat...whenever?"

"Yes. Whenever you want to."

The soldier then slowly pushed the bowl towards Shuri, which made the princess smile with amusement.

"May I...have more?"

Shuri nodded, and she stood up along with the Fist.

"Of course. Sergeant Barnes and I will be right back. It should not take long."

The soldier did not respond, however. Instead, the soldier was gazing long and hard at the emblem she had pointed out; looking perplexed as she tried to place the symbol within her memories.

(Y/n).

Who was (Y/n)?

Who was she?

-WITH BUCKY-

"I'm not really convinced."

Bucky was standing with his arms crossed as him, Shuri, T'Challa, and Okoye stood within a room just beyond Shuri's lab. There was a live hologram of Steve, Natasha, and Tony situated across from them, the three Avengers looking annoyed.

Tensions were high as the group discussed the soldier; topics ranging between her rehabilitation to her apparent mission and how Bucky wasn't entirely convinced by the soldier's behavior.

"She went from trying to throw knives into our heads and fighting to suddenly being complacent and accepting of our help. Seeing as I used to be her, I can tell you that she is bluffing. She's only trying to win our trust so she can strike when the opportunity arises."

Natasha nodded gently, quirking her eyebrow up as she responded.

"It's a good strategy."

Steve gave Natasha a dirty look before turning it towards Tony as Tony spoke, the man looking nonchalant and shrugging as he popped a couple blueberries into his mouth.

"Okay, then why not just call her out on that? The woman's already in captivity, so you might as well pop that cherry."

Shuri shook her head, muttering.

"I am the only smart one here. What a burden!"

Bucky did not miss the way Okoye snorted to herself, and the princess spoke firmly to Tony, stating.

"If we call her out on her lies, there is a possibility that she will become hostile enough to retrigger the programming. While I have placed blocks to ensure that it won't occur so soon, it would be senseless to place safeguards for nothing, and I am not wasting such complex yet delicate work."

She then huffed, crossing her arms while popping her hip out sassily; glaring at Tony with no hesitation.

"The best plan that I have is to rehabilitate her enough to give her a sense of self outside of being a Winter Soldier, and I am doing that by manipulating her into believing that what we are doing is to help her complete her mission."

Steve asked, frowning.

"What exactly is her mission?"

Bucky answered, shrugging.

"We don't know. She didn't say. She just indicated that I was her mission and that was all."

Bucky didn't miss the recognition that came across Steve's face, and the Captain asked.

"Do you think HYDRA put a hit on you before they disbanded and she's following that blindly? Is she aware that HYDRA is mostly eradicated?"

T'Challa cut in before Bucky could respond, shaking his head slightly.

"If she was given orders before she was put under, then it is possible that there is someone else that is waiting for her return. This is the best way to gain information without giving Sergeant Barnes to the enemy."

Bucky nodded, adding with a clench of his fist.

"In one of her memories, I recognized someone: Jack Rollins. He seems to be her handler."

Natasha and Steve shared a look together, and Tony stated.

"Okay, that's a start. If we can find Rollins, maybe we can find out who our Winter Soldier actually is. Do we know where Rollins was last seen?"

Natasha replied, shrugging.

"At the World Security Council at the Triskelion when Fury and I busted Alexander Pierce for being HYDRA. He was supposedly arrested, but given HYDRA's amazing ability to be everywhere and nowhere at once, I wouldn't be surprised if he was broken out."

T'Challa nodded, an expression of dread ghosting across his face before he quickly corrected himself, giving the three Avengers a determined face.

"I shall have Shuri run her biometric recognition programs while we continue to monitor and rehabilitate the woman. We now have confirmed that she knows the Directorate of Science & Technology, so that narrows our search down considerably."

Natasha muttered to Steve quietly, not realizing the mic was still able to pick up her voice.

"Scientist from the CIA? That always gets HYDRA's rocks wet."

"Natasha, we can still hear you."

Bucky was annoyed, and Natasha just made a face of mock surprise before shrugging, a ghost of a smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry, I thought I would lighten the mood."

In the back, Okoye muttered to herself.

"Americans."

Tony clapped his hands together, swallowing a large portion of blueberries as he surmised.

"Alright, so we get to Rollins, see what the deal is with this woman, get our Manchurian Candidate 2.0 no longer wanting to kill people, and we live happily ever after. Sounds like a good plan. Good talk, everyone, your participation is greatly appreciated."

Tony left the frame, and it was only Natasha and Steve left. Shuri couldn't help but to ask.

"Is that what he is like all of the time?"

"Unfortunately."

Steve replied before sighing, rubbing his temples before he said.

"While getting to Rollins is a good idea, it's not likely that he will talk when we do find him. If HYDRA is good at anything, it's keeping information as hidden as possible. I don't doubt that Rollins would be willing to do anything to make sure the information about the Winter Soldier, and any other possible ones, is kept quiet. We'll go ahead and keep looking through the data that we have here while Tony runs his facial recognition programs as well."

Shuri nodded before offering as well.

"If it's any consolation, we did make some great progress with our soldier, so I do believe that we are on the right track. We just need to be careful about how we move forward. If we can just establish some sort of trust, then perhaps the road to rehabilitation will be easier."

Steve nodded and he praised gently.

"You're doing amazing work, Princess Shuri. I really appreciate what you're doing, and what you did for Bucky, too."

Shuri smiled and waved her hand dismissively.

"Please, this is not only fun but a learning experience as well."

T'Challa nodded before he added.

"As we stated: we must move forward carefully now that progress has officially been made. While Shuri's safeguards are in place, they will not last long, and we do not know what will happen if they disintegrate before Isithunzi is rehabilitated enough to understand that what she is doing is wrong and HYDRA is not the good guy here."

Natasha then asked, a curious look upon her face as she stared at the King.

"Okay, then how long do we have until those safeguards disappear?"

"Without extreme emotional duress, the safeguards will be active up to a month. However, if the soldier experiences any duress during her time here, it can weaken the safeguards enough to last only a few weeks. Truly, it is dependent on Isithunzi...as well as a few other factors."

Bucky knew that Shuri was referencing him, and he could feel his shoulders drop slightly. Natasha just nodded along while Steve responded with a hopeful expression.

"Hopefully it doesn't have to come down to a fight. I just know that we're going to be successful....we have to be."

"What if you are wrong, Captain?"

T'Challa challenged Steve with a pointed look, and Steve sat back in his seat a little.

"What if you are wrong, and there is nobody beneath the rubble? What will you do then?"

"Keep digging."

Steve was firm, and though Bucky wanted to disagree, he knew that Steve was set in his plan. That's just who Steve was: fighting for the little guys. Bucky couldn't help but to shake his head, muttering affectionately and quietly.

"You're such a punk."

"Right back at ya, pal."

The video feed disappeared, and T'Challa glanced back at Bucky. Bucky looked up from his feet to meet T'Challa's gaze, and T'Challa sighed slightly; relenting his gaze to look at Shuri.

"While you work with Isithunzi, Sergeant Barnes and I will work on finding Rollins. Okoye will stay with you."

Okoye immediately stood next to Shuri while the princess hummed, raising a brow.

"You mean you are going to use my programs without me in the room? Am I nothing to you?"

"Oh, stop."

Shuri and T'Challa shoved each other gently before doing the Wakandan salute, and Shuri glanced at Bucky.

"I will let you know if there is any progress or issues alike."

Bucky nodded before he shrugged.

"Alright, let's get to work then."

STORY NOTES: After pledging her compliance, Shuri and Bucky seem to have a heated discussion about Shuri agreeing to help the soldier with her mission. When they both reconcile and come to an understanding, they decide to try to get the soldier to eat a meal again. When Shuri questions the soldier and asks her when she last ate, the soldier cannot answer. The soldier retaliates, asking how eating would help her with her mission, and Bucky replies that she needs to be strong if she wants to bring him back to HYDRA. The soldier then relents, trying an Xhosa meal called Isidudu.

The soldier then attempts to eat, though her bites are filled with hesitation and regret for her actions. She becomes afraid, unable to hide her fear of eating, and Shuri comforts the soldier before beginning to question her about her previous identity before HYDRA. The soldier indicates that she was born into HYDRA, which Bucky quickly quips about much to Shuri's chagrin.

Shuri then shows the soldier a list of CIA emblems for each branch, asking if any of them are familiar to the soldier, and the soldier points out the Directorate of Science and Technology emblem. Bucky becomes intrigues, but when he further questions the soldier, the solider becomes withdrawn in fear of being punished for remembering.

She becomes hostile after Shuri praises her, stating that what they are talking about isn't relevant to the mission, and Shuri vaguely replies in turn. Shuri then asks why the soldier is nervous when it comes to food, in which the soldier explains that HYDRA has instilled into her that food is a luxury that must be earned. Shuri encourages the soldier to eat whenever she wants to, indicating she has autonomy and freedom to eat, and the soldier shyly asks for more food after.

After retrieving another portion of food for the soldier, Bucky and Shuri attend a meeting with T'Challa, Okoye, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Natasha Romanoff about the soldier. Bucky reveals that he isn't convinced by the soldier's act, and points out that the soldier is only bluffing so that she has an advantage to complete her mission. Tony then asks why they do not call her out on the lies, and Shuri reveals that she is manipulating the soldier as well. She explains that if she can establish some sort of trust and get the soldier enough rehabilitation to formulate a sense of independence and autonomy from HYDRA, then the soldier may be more likely to leave HYDRA.

Bucky recalls the man from the soldier's memories as Jack Rollins, who Natasha and Nick Fury had run into during the Project Insight incident with Alexander Pierce. Since he was last known to be alive, Tony and Shuri elect to run biometric recognition programs all around the globe to try to find the man.

The avengers further discuss the safeguards that Shuri has placed, and she reveals that as long as the soldier doesn't experience extreme emotional duress, the likelihood of her programming being triggered is low. However, the safeguards are not meant to stay active for long, and there is a maximum of a month until the safeguards wear off.

TRANSLATIONS:

Isidudu - a creamy porridge made with mealie meal. It is a common breakfast in Xhosa and Zulu households.

Isithunzi - Xhosa for shadow/shade, the Soldiers nickname

TAGLIST: @mgchaser @tilldeathripsusapart @vicmc624 @aash3

#bucky barnes x reader #james buchanan barnes x reader #james bucky barnes x reader #winter soldier x reader #the winter soldier x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #the winter soldier #winter soldier #marvel #marvel x reader #captain america #captain america x reader

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calp0sa · 10 months ago

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Favorite Headcanons for airy?

i have like 10 million headcanons for him but i’ll list as many as i can from the top of my head

-hes autistic LIKE ME!!! and is specifically very autistic about music (like meee) i like to think he had a huge collection of vinyls cds cassettes etc and its all stuff from the 60s to the early 90s. no doubt he had a bunch of posters for his favorite bands and musicians too. and hes awesome on the guitar, great rhythm guitarist… its a shame he couldn’t make his talent a profession like he once dreamed of doing. oh well, at least the number 1 perk of trucking is that its peaceful and you dont really have to interact with many people! plus trucks have radios, and cd players, so airy would often bring along a few albums to listen to as he drove those long days and nights.

-hes also got a knack for aquatic creatures (LIKE ME) of course, being a literal fish monster himself (cool fact my airy design is like actually a fish monster he can breathe underwater and everything and his limbs are covered in fish scales) airy loves fish both as friends and food. hes particularly fond of freshwater fish, which makes sense considering the fact he grew up around the swamps of louisiana (yes im making him louisianan Like Me shaddap) hes also fond of those fucked up looking deep sea creatures, just so fascinating. i think airy liked to do a little fishing in his spare time. And hes awesome at cooking em but fair warning for those with a low spice tolerance… he loves spicy food btw (like meeeee)

-when airy was in the forest, he kept a log of his thoughts on the computer, in an attempt to hopefully give himself whatever clarity he could. the notes ranged from all brief, to desperate, to hopeless, to spiraling, to borderline dadaist poetry? to insanity, to denial, to whatever, really i think his mind was obviously all over the place on a daily basis. things must have been pretty loud for him, that cassette player was probably one of the only things keeping him together, before he numbed himself n all, which is around the time he ceased writing these notes as he saw no point in doing so.

-ok enough about him suffering we’ll get back to that later Airy’s favorite drink is ginger ale i mean look at that guy and tell me he doesnt fw ginger ale or dr pepper are you kidding me. he can have dr pepper as a little treat (too much soda is bad for anyone especially if youre an old feller like airy) speaking of little treats i like to think he has an insatiable sweet tooth LIKE MEEEE and his favorite treaaats are pumpkin pie, macarons and practically anything chocolate he loves chocolate (im like allergic to not projecting onto my favorite characters if you couldnt tell) maybe airy knows how to bake a little bit i mean he is an object show host after all

-this is oddly specific but airy is a chronic pain warrior #JUSTLIKEME so when he was in the forest he’d make like home made heating pads by wetting a glob of moss and putting it against his face while he had his flame on (he sometimes put it on a plank over a bonfire if he felt like it) this was a bit tricky when he broke his face but im sure he managed he always manages (kinda) (relatively speaking)

-well anyway we’re back to the forest and i just mentioned his broken face So you know how he disappeared for seven months after he did that lol well what if it was because the pain and shock from that incident evoked the long lost clarity he’d been so stubbornly avoiding in order to cling on to his meaningless, fallacious escapism which triggered him and sent him into a state of agonizing self consciousness, reminding him of his earthly death, how he used to be Someone, and how he essentially let himself rot into what is now an empty shell of who he once was. after so many years, the first reflection he saw of himself was seen in something broken; shards of glass, of which he couldn’t stand to look at… as there is nothing comparable to the pain of revelation, the burden of truth after having been so lost and festered into the stagnant waters that surround you. he felt he had no choice, he disposed of the shards into the nearby stream. those seven months were not just a matter of physically healing, but as a means to losing himself all over again.

-Aaaanyway i think airy had a cat at some point in his life i think we can all agree hes a cat person right!!! he had a tortoiseshell kitty named goose and he loved her very much. idk why he named her goose he probably just thought it was funny to name an animal after a different animal.

-OH YEAH lemme bring amelia into this listen i am such a huge fan of the theory of airy being related to amelia so i like to think hes her uncle!! when amelia was little she’d stay over at airy’s house while her parents were away and he’d teach her stuff like how to fish, how to ward off snakes, how to kayak, all that jazz cuz he was an awesome uncle. she was kinda like an actual daughter to him. and amelia was so fond of sunny weather as a child, one dayy at airy’s house she had to stay inside because it was too rainy, so she occupied herself by drawing a little picture of the way she wished earth was; always sunny, sky always blue, grass always green, huh! the way she drew that grass as individual little triangles is all too familiar is it not…

OK I HAVE SOMEWHERE 2 GO now i’ll probablt add more later But thank u so much for asking this i love love love infodumping about anything airy related i heart airy

#frank answers a thing #airy hfjone #hfjone #believe it or not this is just a few #i have so many i have way too many i have so so so many things to say about airy oh my gosh #oh my gosh airy

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cryptidghostgirl · 1 year ago

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Hey hey! i have a third angsty silly idea teehee (yes same person who requested the one where wife reader gets teleported to the hotel and the one with the fake dating trope-)

Im at it again with my silly ideas i can’t quite get out of my head- so picture this RIGHT before the begging of the second fic (loved it btw if i could id kiss you on the mouth)

(this interaction is important) Reader is eyeing Alastor to subconsciously make him talk to her, he does of course it goes a bit like “Alastor dear, havent seen you before?” "Just moved in, thought of making some acquaintances” and they talk, reader tells him “a charmer too? should be careful around you not to break my heart” or smth smilar idk i suck at dialogue

And then the partnership happens and theyve been at it for a while (like at least 5 years id say)- until Readers twin brother dies in a planned house fire and she goes out for revenge, before that they have a fight like “youre going to be out numbered” “its suicide” blah blah blah- and eventually reader goes out alone

She does manage to to kill the criminals but because of the cold January weather and the exhaustion of it all- reader gets hypothermia and in the frenzy thats caused by it stumbles and falls into a fence spike of an abandoned farmhouse, gets impaled right below the ribs teehee, Alastor eventually finding her and goes out to bury her properly.

readers death happens in 1925 -8 years before alastor which gibes her enough time to take over half the pentagram with her blizzard/ice powers (cuz i think theyre. cool ;)) and is also important reader has a long tail with fluff (which can turn into a heart shaped fur or have happy/angry twitches) at the end because i think its cute and because her demon form has one so it matches (think the faceless room guardians by anyaboz on IG but fully white- with a void face from which emerges a dog skull at will). the normal form being overall relatively normal aside from the long ears and black limbs that symbolize the hypothermia part of the death (Yes this is an Oc but im making it a bit more generic for everyone :>)

When alastor does die in 1933 (when he got shot visiting readers grave) he hears of this blizzard overlord and goes a bit into her territory and into a bar where he sees a somewhat familiar person teehee and they have the same first conversation over again but in hell :D and then get reunited but possibly pull out their signature weapons on each other again for old times sake 😇

also i love you so much for taking the time to write my dreams it does mean quite a lot to me and if you want i can give more ideas because i have a lot more- 😇 (im tottaly not insane and or delusional i swear-)

A/N of course?? I’m obsessed with your requests. they’re always so fun. Also as a heads up, I decided not to do this as a part to for cover up because I got an earlier request asking to do a part two for that and I try to address requests in the order I receive them. I also made some other minor changes just to make it work a little smoother. Also, please keep sending in requests, yours are always so fun.

Frostbite (Alastor X Reader)

Pairing: Alastor x Reader

Warnings: Murder, death, gore, arson, a little bit of angst.

Word Count: 3,949

Master Lists:

Master Lists

Hazbin Hotel Master List

Alastor sat at the bar of Mimzy's club drinking like he did every friday night. Normally the whirling dancers and loud music merely served to give him a headache, normally he ignored them and all the fans who somehow recognized him from the radio. Tonight was far from normal, tonight there was someone new.

Spinning on the dance floor, the fringe of her blood red dress spinning out from her legs. The woman was all smiles, all laughter, and she seemed never to turn down a partner. He watched her, entranced.

The woman wasn't a talented dancer, far from it in fact, but what she lacked in skill she made up for in enthusiasm and enjoyment. He had no intentions of doing anything other than watching her enchanting display until he made eye contact with her across the club. She blushed, turning away and quickly engaging a friend in conversation.

It was all the encouragement Alastor needed. In the dim light of the speakeasy, Alastor smiled to himself. He downed the rest of his drink and got to his feet. The crowed of dancers parted to make way for him like the red sea, waves of whispers following his path. He could hear the chatter, knew the rumors that he was a man uninterested in women, uninterested in love or romantic involvements of any type He knew that that was what everyone was speaking of as he approached the first new face the tired old place had seen in ages.

Coming to a stop behind the woman, her friend saw him first. It made sense, her back was turned to him after all, a result of her embarrassment at having been caught staring. He friend tapped her shoulder, indicating for the woman to turn around, and she spun. Alastor could feel the hem of her dress as it brushed against his leg through the fabric of his pants. His smile grew.

"Haven't seen you around here before Darling," he hummed, "new in town?"

"Just moved in, actually." the woman bashfully replied, clasping her hands behind her back and crossing one foot in front of the other.

The position it threw her body into sent Alastor's mind reeling. He hadn't expected that. Sure, she was pretty and different, new, but Alastor didn't feel things like that. At least, not normally.

"Well, I'd love to give you a tour sometime. The name is Alastor, Alastor Hartifelt."

This was the test: his name. How would she react? Was she just another one of his simpering fans, begging for his favor, for his attention, or would she do something interesting?

He held out a hand which she daintily rested her own in, a smile spreading across her face.

"Y/n L/n. I'm free tomorrow morning?"

Alastor was lucky, Saturday mornings were one of the few he had free. Gently, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand. Y/n felt her heart flutter inside her chest.

"Ah, a charmer." she hummed as Alastor raised his head again and she took her hand from his, "I'll have to be careful around you."

Everything had snowballed from there. The tour around the city had spiraled into dinner which had further fallen into an attempt by Alastor to take her life. He had been curious, how it would feel when the life drained from her body at the force of his hands. Instead, she had met his advances by holding her own knife to his throat.

It became a game of sorts for the two, always trying to outwit one another, one up each other, land the other six feet under. The game ended when Alastor was chasing Y/n through the woods and she had stumbled, falling to the ground. He had grinned maniacally as he had advanced on her, as she had scrambled on the ground away from him. Knife raised, her back against a tree, she had breathlessly asked him out on a date. How could he say no? Especially when he looked up and saw that she had planned this all along. There was no other way their initials could be carved into the surface of the very thing that had stopped her escape. It was perfect, she was perfect.

Five years of bliss. Five years of feathery kisses and passion. Five years of waking up to her smiling face, of washing the blood off each other's hands, of nearly wedded bliss. Then there had been the fire.

Y/n had a twin brother, a brute of a thing who always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite his flaws, Y/n loved him. This time, on a January morning in 1925, he had pissed off the wrong person and gotten himself killed. Y/n was inconsolable, spent every waking moment tracking the killer. It didn't take her long to get a lead.

She was halfway out the door when Alastor found her, shoving knives into her pockets and grabbing a gun. There was a wild, unfocused look in her eyes. Alastor turned his gaze momentarily to the setting sun as it sent rays of liquid golden light bouncing off the snow.

"Darling, what are you doing?"

"Going out." she gruffly replied, adjusting the laces on one of her shoes.

Alastor sighed. Y/n had mentioned to him just the day before that she had an idea of who was behind the murder and it wasn't pretty. The most controversial and strongest gang in the city had, according to her research, wielded the flames. Alastor took a step forward, placing a hand on Y/n's shoulder and she turned to him. Her eyes were hard and narrow, her face contorted by rage.

"Y/n, please." Alastor began, treading carefully, "Not tonight. It's awful out, and you just confirmed everything today."

"No." Y/n shook her head, "No, I can't wait to do this any longer, Al. It has already been nearly a month, I can't..."

She looked away, raising a fist to her heart, her shoulders hunching slightly.

"I can't."

"And I can't loose you." Alastor quickly replied, using his free hand to turn her face back to his.

"So come with me."

He hesitated. Y/n saw the look on his face, the doubt. She shook herself from his grip, turning back to the door.

"Alright. I'll go alone."

"Y/n," Alastor pleaded, taking another step towards her as she grabbed her coat off the hook on the wall, "it is too dangerous. I can't let you do this."

"Let me do this?" Y/n spun around, her coat in her hand and flames licking at the corners of her voice, "You can't let me do this?"

Alastor took a breath, trying desperately to keep his own anger at bay.

"There are too many of them." he tried to reason with her, "You can't do it on your own."

"So come with me!"

"I..."

Y/n scoffed, sliding her jacket onto her arms. Turning back to the door once again, she unlocked it. Her hand rested on the knob, she took a breath. Their eyes met over her shoulder.

"I'll be home later."

She swung the door open and stepped out into the night. Alastor trailed after her, the snow sinking into his socks. It was cold, a terrible night.

"Y/n, you'll die!"

"Do you truly have that little faith in me!?" she spun around, her rage radiating off of her, devouring everything in sight.

Alastor had never seen her like this before. He halted in his tracks.

"Please, I can't..." he took a deep breath, emotions had always been a struggle, "I can't loose you too."

"But I'm supposed to loose my brother and know who did it and do nothing?!" she screamed back at him.

"You will die!"

Y/n turned her back on him once again. She unlatched the gate to the garden and slipped through it, letting it fall shut behind her.

"So be it."

"Y/n!"

Alastor tried to run after her but, it was simply too cold. His limbs were numb, he stumbled.

"Y/n!" he yelled again but, she didn't turn around.

He could see her, in that red dress. She looked like she did the first time he had ever met her as she disappeared into the night. He knew it was his mind playing tricks on him, it felt like an omen.

Alastor stood in the cold for a few minutes longer before resigning himself to the truth of it all: Y/n was going to do what she was going to do. He just had to hope she would come back, that the damage he had done in refusing to back her up like that wouldn't be enough to have driven her away. That she was strong enough to make it out alive.

The fireplace crackled invitingly. No matter how warm and cheerful it made the room, Alastor couldn't stop the dread. He sat down on the couch before it, painfully aware of the empty spot beside him. He tried to read.

The hours ticked by, seconds dragging on for eternity. Still, Y/n was not yet home. Alastor couldn't focus on anything. He couldn't 't read, couldn't sleep, could barely sit still. He paced circles around the room as the sun rose, he called in sick to work, intent on being there should she return.

When it reached four pm, when it had been nearly twenty full hours since she had left, he decided to go out and look for her. Y/n had always been messy, always bad at putting things away. While normally it had irritated him to no end, he now found himself grateful. He swore to whatever gods were listening that if she was alright, he would never bother her about it again because right there on top of her desk were all her plans, including the exact location of the gang's hideout, the exact place she had disappeared to.

The sight that met Alastor when he reached the old warehouse on the outskirts of the city was one he would never forget. Blood stained the snow red and there were bodies everywhere, both outside and within. It was clearly, Y/n's handiwork and he couldn't help but feel a tad impressed, he had underestimated her yet again. His slight smile, a result of the realization, fell as he spotted the footprints leading out of the backdoor.

He had tracked Y/n enough times to know they were hers, they couldn't be anyone else's. A trail of blood accompanied them, one foot dragging more than the other. Alastor tried to keep his head clear, his mind cool. He gave chase.

The back yard to the warehouse was large, gave the impression of going right off into the woods. Alastor soon realized that was not the case as the rusted, wrought iron fence came in to view. Y/n wouldn't have been able to see it. Judging by the way the tracks were iced over, it had been a long time since she had walked this path. In the dead of night, surrounded by trees, the fence would have come as a surprise.

As he got closer, the lump that he had assumed was a fallen branch came into more detail. Alastor's heart stopped, he rushed to her.

If only he hadn't waited, if only the minute he had felt she'd been gone too long he had gone after her. He might have been able to save her, to stop her from this cruel fate.

What had happened was obvious. The fence was iced over, slippery to the touch. Y/n had evidently tried to climb over it and lost her grip, the force of her fall being enough to ram the sharpened edge of one of the fence's defensive points right through her temple. Wrong place, wrong time.

Alastor had never cried like that before, as he sat in the snow at her feet, her body stiff from the cold. Not even when his mother had died could he ever remember feeling such a grief. It ate away at him, pooling in the center of his chest and spreading out. She had been so integral to who he was, so much a part of his life and way of being. She had been his dream, his end goal. Alastor remembered the ring, sitting heavy in the drawer of his night table. His tears redoubled.

By the time he managed to calm himself, the early winter sun had long since sunk to its bed and been replaced by the moon. Moving completely on autopilot, not considering his actions, Alastor wrenched her body from the fence. Y/n deserved a proper burial, in a place that mattered. He made her final resting place at the base of the very same tree she had told him she loved him while sitting at. His fingers traced their carved initials, grown hard with the years. There was nothing to be done.

The guilt ate away at him, festered over the years. If only he had stopped her, had gone with her, had come to her rescue. If only he had told her that he loved her one last time.

When Y/n awoke in Hell, to say she was surprised would be an understatement. She had never been one to believe in the afterlife in any sort of way, let alone such a wonderful one with so many opportunities for mayhem.

The thing that had been the toughest to get used to was her new form. All the demons in Hell got them upon arrival and when she caught that first glimpse of herself in the glass of a shop window, she understood why everyone on the streets seemed to be eyeing her fearfully.

She looked like she was rotting, her fingertips and toes black from the cold she had lost herself in. It trailed up her limbs, mingling with her own natural skin color. Her hair, her eye lashes, her eyebrows even, looked perpetually frosted with snow, little particles of ice hanging delicately in them. Then there were the horns and the tail, those were by far the strangest. The horns were pure white and curving like a mountain goats, the tail was thin with a little heart shaped ball of fluff at the end. It wasn't until another demon attempted to attack her that she realized the full extent of the changes that had taken place.

Y/n had just tried to punch the man, that was all. He had made advances, she had said no. He had tried again and she had told him she was married. It wasn't entirely a lie, they had been planning on it after all. Still, the man refused to listen and so, she had resorted to brute strength. When she had pulled her fist away, it was to find the man encased in ice. That was when the anger had set in.

Y/n didn't blame Alastor, not really. She was mad at him but, in the end, he had been right. She had died. It was all so brutally unfair. The way they had left things, that final fight, weighed on her soul. She wondered if he even knew she was dead, if he just assumed she had up and left him. The guilt, the what if's of it all, were crushing.

The stronger Y/n's emotions, the more uncontrollable her power. She still attacked people for fun but, taking over half of Pentagram City with her storms had honestly been an accident. In retrospect, she would call it a happy one.

Y/n liked being respected, being feared. She liked the near worship with which the smaller, weaker demons began to treat her. She settled into her new life with surprising ease and soon, every demon and hellborn in the place knew her name: Frost.

Y/n would've liked something different, preferred something cooler but, when the people give someone a name, its hard to change it and so, she embraced the title. Stone cold, cruel, powerful and appearing at what others perceived as totally inopportune moments. She locked herself, her heart, away. She swore never to make the same mistakes again.

Alastor visited Y/n's grave at least once every year. Always on the anniversary of her death, sometimes more frequently. That was where he too had met his death. As he had stooped low to place the bouquet of flowers he had brought on the surface of the hard-packed earth, the hunter had shot him, thinking he was a deer.

His arrival in Hell had been uneventful and not all together shocking. Alastor had been raised in a Christian household and although he never truly had faith in the matter once he had been old enough to form his own opinions, he had still always assumed that if there was life after death he was going to end up in Hell. He also knew that if he had ended up down here, Y/n had too.

The search was all consuming and fruitless. Every demon he interrogated, every one he thought had the slightest spark of his love within them, never had a single clue what he was talking about. Half the city was a snow storm and before long, that half was the only part he hadn't searched. Allegedly it was the territory of some new overlord known only as Frost who had taken Hell by storm - literally - just a few years before. Alastor already had a distaste in his mouth for the overlords, a sort of hatred spawned from something close to envy. He figured that worst case scenario, he could just add this Frost character to the list over overlords he had already taken out in the year since his arrival.

The chill of the air as he stepped over the border was a cruel reminder of the truth of his life. Alastor welcomed the cold with open arms, wondered if Y/n had already been killed since arriving in Hell. He had heard of the exterminations, it wasn't too wild of an idea. The thought gnawed on his mind like a parasite, intent on seeing him dead. Alastor progressed.

The fact that in death he still felt such things as hunger had been a mystery to him. There was something poetic about it, something forlorn in the idea that hunger and touch were the only things that followed a person to their grave. He stepped into the restaurant, his stomach growling, and walked up to the bar.

"Do you have beignets?"

Alastor knew the answer before the barkeep even shook his head. He sighed, falling on to one of the stools.

"Sausage and grits."

"Coming right up."

Alastor tapped his fingers on the counter, watching the world around him. Hope was running thin, anxieties and hurt taking over. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up, how much more disappointment he could take.

"Haven't seen you around before, Darling," a voice purred from behind him, sending shockwaves of pain through his chest, "new in town?"

He summoned his microphone into his hand, ready to fight. It didn't matter that the demon most likely had no idea the effect of their words, the connections they had to his own past life. All that mattered was that he felt like he was being mocked, the world was parroting his life back to him because Y/n was out of his reach and probably would be forever more. He turned to face the person, a sickening grin spread tight across his face.

The demon had a clearing around her, the crowd avoiding her at all costs and whispering to one another behind the cover of their hands. Her tail flicked back and forth, ice emanating from the place her feet hit the floor.

There was something oddly familiar about her, the cocky smirk, the confidence. Alastor got to his feet. He leered over her and the woman didn't flinch one bit.

"Who's asking?"

A threat. The smile on the smaller demon's face grew, snow beginning to pile up on the floor in the corners of the room.

"You know, it's really far too cruel of you to go around with a voice like that." she hummed thoughtfully, a finger to her chin, "Gets a girl's hopes up just to shatter 'em on the floor."

Alastor could feel it now, the cold nipping at his extremities. Wind picked up in the indoor space and demons began rushing out through the door as quickly as they could. Alastor stood his ground.

"Ah, so you're the one responsible for this little snow town?"

"Why yes, I am."

"You're rather cruel yourself, you know." he mused, "Using my own words against me, how did you know? Do you overlords have some way to read a person's mind? Find the center of their desire and turn it to a weapon?"

Only now did the woman's expression change. Her calm facade morphed into confusion as the winds died down.

"What do you mean?"

"'Haven't seen you around here before, Darling, new in town?'" Alastor scoffed.

Y/n's eyes widened with a sudden recognition. It only fueled Alastor's anger as he took a step forward, shadows rising from the ground at his feet.

"I-"

"Just moved in, actually." the demon cut him off, holding a hand out for him to take, palm to the floor.

Alastor looked at her, disgust etched into his features.

"How could you..." he trailed off.

Eyes flicking over her form, Alastor examined the demoness carefully. Sure, she was different. She looked half dead, frost bitten to the extreme but, there was certainly something familar.

"Who are..."

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Slowly, he took her hand in his. It was icy to the touch, sent shivers down his spine. With a practiced grace, he leaned down and planted a feathery kiss on the back of her hand.

"Ah, a charmer." Y/n smiled as he raised his head to hers again, "I'll have to be careful around you."

"Y/n."

It wasn't a question, he knew the answer. Alastor could feel it in his bones.

"Alastor."

She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close. Alastor watched her movements in astonishment. Disbelief laid thick on his body, too heavy to allow him to move.

"I'm so sorry." she whispered into his ear, her breath a cold breeze.

"I... why are you sorry?" he asked, pulling her away from him.

Alastor placed his hands on her shoulders, brushing off a bit of snow that had landed there with utmost care.

"I'm the one who's sorry. I should have come with you, I shouldn't have said the things I said, I sh-"

"I love you."

She couldn't hold the words in anymore. Icicles of tears tinkled like glass as they fell from her cheeks and landed on the floor.

"I... I love you, Alastor. I can't... I always regretted... I..."

"Me too."

He pulled her back into his arms, this time holding her body tightly to his. The cold burned but he didn't care. The whistling of the wind outside seemed to quiet.

"I love you so much, Y/n. I am so sorry."

"I'm so sorry."

Y/n pulled back, cupping Alastor's face in her hands.

"Never again."

"Never what, my love."

"Never again will I be parted from you."

"I thought I'd never see you again." Alastor admitted, "I was beginning to lose hope."

"Me too, me too."

"Never again."

----

Next Part -> Day Lilies (Alastor x Blizzard demon!Reader x Angel!OC)

A/N I am such a little slut for a good reunion scene.

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canonically47 · 1 year ago

Text

i spent all of today rewatching almost the entirety of TDROTI and drawing... A LOT of drawing. (don’t judge if the designs look off, it was my first time drawing most of them in years)

scott was fun to stylize! i didn’t like drawing his short hair so i gave him a longer hairstyle.

samkota and jock stole my heart, i think it’s obvious

also the lightning is bowie’s uncle/cousin/whatever relative hc is SOOO real. personally i like to think of him as an uncle :3

more thoughts under the cut!!

first order of business, favorites! in no particular order, brick, jo, cameron and scott! also maybe lightning too, guy was so funny, i forgot how much i loved this cast

least favorite would obviously be staci but if i had to pick the non-obvious one maybe dawn BUT ONLYYY because everyone else is so much higher up OKAY DON’T KILL ME i adore her but i don’t think i can put her above many others...

scott is probably one of my favorite antagonists of the series, after heather (1st) and alejandro (2nd) :3

i also liked dawn and b more than i expected to. too bad they dipped so early. dakota, sam, mike and zoey were also cool :3 b could’ve probably made the favorites list if he stayed longer

they treated the girls so unfairly. especially jo, zoey and dakota - they deserved so much better!! i fully believe jo’s internalized mysoginy should’ve been adressed and resolved but then against this was the 2010s when the ‘not like other girls’ stuff was flying off the shelves

btw jo is sooo me at 10-12 i love her so much it’s actually unreal

i get the jomaria craze. it’s not for me but i get it so fucking much oh my god

brick and jo should’ve made out ugly ripaxel style /hj (only HALF joking. HALF.)

i fucking loved those two. seriously. i loved them so much they should’ve become proper friends or at least allies!!

scott you will always be famous (i will inflict so much trauma upon him in my AU)

vito and anne maria... annito... i get it. i really do

CAMERON <3 i loveddd the guy i’m a sucker for little dumbass nerds he totally won in my heart (and now in my AU too!!)

SHA-LIGHTNING!!! the guy EVER!!!

my favorite alter was vito and i will not elaborate (i’m lying i will. he had a fun accent and a different hair-do. also he and anne maria bounced off each other so well) close second is svetlana. like so close that they’re tied

BRICK FASHION ICON!!! I LOVE HE!!!!!

i’m running out of good thoughts umm err uhh ehh SAMKOTA AND JOCK!!! YAY!!!

LOVE WINS!!!!!!!

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ask-lab-rats · 10 months ago

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HELP I FORGOT TO ASK THESE (im sorry for the list of questions) 4. do any of the subjects have some kind of mental disorder? (depression, bipolar, etc) 5. knife why tf are you so emo. grab some friends, socialize...uhh...maybe try talking to pickle? (can you guess my favorite lol) 6. to all subjects, what are your dreams to pursue in life if you ever get out? 7. to all subjects, again; If you do get out...what are you even going to do? No money, No experience, no relatives- how will you survive? - :]

4: CreatorNotes:

OJ - NPD

Paper - DID

Bomb - OCD (and a speech disorder)

Paintbrush - Autism

Salt - BPD

Lightbulb - ADHD

Knife - ASPD?

Idk about depression but I think if anyone it would be Taco or Balloon. And all of them probably have PTSD. They don't know they have any of these btw but Cobs would. I don't even know if I'll actually portray any of these in the story but here anyway

"Ugh....! I don't want too...."

6: "I'd like to get a cool job!" - OJ

"I'd be so fun to play real video games." - Pickle

"I'd like a phone all for myself." - Bow

"I could become an artist!" - Paintbrush

"I'll dress up in pretty dresses! Like a fashion star or something." - Salt

"I'll get a ton of new friends, and go to school, and-" - Lightbulb

7: "We'll just have to figure it out I guess.

But don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll protect them." - OJ

CreatorNotes: I answered this out of order but it okay. I have a comic planned for the other one :)

#ask lab rats #ii au #ii lab rats #inanimate insanity #object show community #object shows #osc #ii knife #ii oj #ii pickle #ii bow #ii paintbrush #ii salt #ii lightbulb

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jeannereames · 1 year ago

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Dr. Reames, a simple question from someone interested in history but who is not part of the academic world: in order to study Alexander the Great and Ancient Greece in general, how much Ancient Greek does one have to learn? Would you need to learn Demotic Greek or the many other dialects, such as the one from Macedonia? As in, you’d need to learn one or more versions of Ancient Greek?

Thank you in advance! I always enjoy your responses!

How Much Greek Do I Need to Read about Alexander?

It depends on how far you want to go…what’s your end-goal?

If you’ve no desire to make it a profession, the good news is you need very little Greek.

Most ancient Greek and Latin texts are available in translation in the major languages of (European) Classical studies: English, French, German, Italian. Now, if you want them in Polish, or Japanese, or Bengali, you’ll have more of an issue. But the Loeb Classical Library (and LOEB ONLINE) has English translations of virtually all extant (still existing) Greek and Latin sources, and if you’ve got access to a (larger) college library, they probably have them, even if you have to ask them to get things out of storage. Latin is red (PA6156); Greek is green (PA3612). Budé is the French version of Loeb, btw.

Loeb texts also have Greek and Latin on the facing page, but I mention them because they’ve got translations of (almost) everything. One can find cheaper versions without the Greek/Latin from Penguin, Oxford, et al. But those don’t have, say, Aelian, or Athenaeus, or the obscure texts of Plutarch’s Moralia. Loeb does. That said, the Alexander histories (Arrian, Curtius, Plutarch, Diodoros, and Justin) are all available in relatively cheap translations. Much earlier, in answer to a different ask, I listed our main sources on Alexander, extant and lost. It’s a longer read, but perhaps of interest.

(See below for more online sources in translation.)

So, no, you don’t need Greek. But, if you’re at least moderately serious about reading beyond pop history, you will want to learn a few Greek words to better “get” Greek sensibilities. Say, timē (τιμή), which means honor/public standing/esteem, but has all these attendant connotations. If you start reading the Serious Stuff (articles and academic books), authors will throw these around so it’s useful to know them, as they tend to carry an entire freight of meaning we don’t want to explain every time we use them. These are words I make my students learn in my intro to Greek History class (2510), so there aren’t many. (Undergrads put up with only so much, ha.) For Alexander, it’s also useful to know the Greek names of some units, such as the Somatophylakes (the royal Bodyguard of 7), or the Hypaspists (the specialist hoplite phalanx, not the same as the Foot Companions), or even the name of the long pike (sarissa). But you can make do quite well with a vocab of maybe 30± Greek terms.

It's only if you want to pursue research at the advanced (graduate) level that you’d need Greek. Even then, it’s mostly Attic Greek. The only time you’d need dialects is for quite specific study and/or epigraphy (inscriptions). Epigraphers are language specialists. Most of us, even the “pros,” don’t work at that level. But yes, if you’re getting into extensive examinations of passages, it’s good to understand the language for yourself, not have to trust a translation. Translations are, by definition, interpretations.

I hope that encourages some folks to embark on reading the original (primary) sources. Of more import for these is to understand HISTORIOGRAPHY. Even those who can read the Greek, but lack historiographic training, tend to take stuff at face-value when they shouldn’t.

Go HERE for a discussion of historiography (with regard to Alexander). Again, it’s part of a specific ask, but I explain why we need to know something about the historians who are writing our texts, in order to understand those texts. It’s another longer read, but essential.

Almost forgot! If you prefer video, I've also talked about the sources on TikTok: Part I: Intro & Lost Alexander Sources and Part II: Extant Alexander Sources

Some Useful Online Sources to Bookmark:

Perseus (at Tufts.edu): clunky as hell because it’s old (in internet years), but indispensable. English/Greek/Latin/other texts in translation and original language, plus all sorts of other tools, including an image bank. Pitfall: these are translations outside copyright, so old and sometimes problematic. Still, it’s free, and so-so much stuff here. Every person dealing with the ancient Med world has this one on speed-dial. (You can find other online sources with various texts, but Perseus has, again, almost everything; it’s the online Loeb.)

Stoa Org Static: a version of the original where you don’t have to sign in. Takes you to various super-helpful pages, including the Online Suda (a Byzantine encyclopedia you can search: look up “Hephaistion” there. *grin*) Bunch of other helpful links.

Wiki Digital Classicist hypertext list of topics ranging from the Beasley Library (of pottery) to the Coptic Gnostic Library and various online journals. Just click around, see what’s there.

Topos Text: clickable map of places which includes all references to them in ancient sources. So if, say, you want to know where X places is, mentioned in Arrian, you can find it on the map.

PHI Searchable Greek Inscriptions: I have used the tar out of this. It’s much easier than Inscriptiones Graecae, and comes with English translations.

More Online Resources: more links. This is just one of various collections out there.

Again, ALL this stuff is free. Even when you may have to pay (like Loeb Online), the amount of material you can now lay hands on even without a uni library is fantastic.

JSTOR: requires a subscription, but, if you’re a college student or can get access via a uni library, you can look up material for free. Problem: JSTOR has different subscription packages, and only the really big Class-A Research schools have large holdings for Classics. I’m regularly foiled in things I need, as my library is smaller. I use ILL (Interlibrary Loan) a lot. If you can’t get what you want via your school JSTOR or ILL, sometimes you can purchase a solo copy of an article via JSTOR Google Scholar. But (hint) always check the journal’s website itself. It might be cheaper there! (The Ancient History Bulletin, for instance, is super-cheap; check their archives. Karanos [Macedonia only] is FREE.) Same thing sometimes with books. Certain publishers have rental options, Open Access, etc.

Also Academia.edu first: Your savior…if the author is a member, and has uploaded the paper you want. We frequently face restrictions on what we’re allowed to upload, and when. Yet we may list an article we can’t yet release publicly. That doesn’t mean we won’t send it to you privately via email if you message us and ask nicely. 😊 Especially if you’re not providing an entire wishlist, or asking for a book for free. It depends on the person, and whether they have a PDF.

#asks #greek language #alexander the great #studying the classics #Classics #source on Alexander the Great #How much Greek do I need?#ancient Greece #ancient Macedonia

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weirdmageddon · 2 years ago

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any dave music hcs? :) my playlist for him mostly consists of relatively popular rock music. besides wacky but awesome garageband beats, i personally think he’d be a rocknroll radio hits kinda guy, at least for pre-sburb dave, i don’t think he’d have as much freedom to really explore music the way he wants before then. some of my favorites for him are all mixed up (311), superman’s dead (our lady six), bound for the floor (local H), everything to everyone (everclear), inside out (eve 6) and birds (butthole surfers). i also think he’d like metal too! particularly nu metal. even if mixing music and rapping is an outlet for him, i see him relating to these types of songs a lot and maybe at the time when his #ironiccoolguy persona is most prevalent + affecting his interests/personality heavily, he’s embarrassed about admitting his popular favorites b/c it’s not cool to him to like what’s mainstream. but you know character arc! and besides when the earth explodes no music is really popular anymore LOL. btw i liked your davejade music posts ^_^ so i’m very curious if you have any thoughts for dave music on his own!

one of the first things we know about dave is “You like to rave about BANDS NO ONE'S EVER HEARD OF BUT YOU” but its never brought up again. so i can see him having a bit of a punky existence. but its pretty impossible to list bands that people havent heard about but him. it doesnt mean he can’t like known acts. pink floyd are one of the most well known music artists of all time but i think he would like it for instance

but of those known acts i know his ass does not listen to fallout boy or whatever

idk dave he strikes me as someone who listens to both brian eno and death grips but at the same time theres a lot of stuff i CANT see him listening to

i think he probably likes beastie boys. paul’s boutique (1989) is probably one of his top albums. deltron 3030 (2000) too. both experimental hiphop, paul’s boutique utilizing plunderphonics while deltron 3030 is a bit more epic and psychedelic.

i think both wouldve changed his life. paul’s boutique for for his pragmatic bent (sampling)

and deltron 3030 on the psychological / reflection / journey / listen and close your eyes rock opera side (“It is a rap opera concept album set in a dystopian year 3030. The album's story casts Del in the role of Deltron Zero, a disillusioned mech soldier and interplanetary computer prodigy rebelling against a 31st-century New World Order. In a world where evil oligarchs suppress both human rights and hip-hop, Del fights rap battles against a series of foes, becoming Galactic Rhyme Federation Champion. Del the Funky Homosapien's lyrics veer from serious social commentary to humor to epic sci-fi battles, while producer Dan the Automator creates an eerie and dense atmosphere.”)

come on man

nmesh dream sequins is another album i can see him listen to, the cream of the crop for experimental vaporwave (the type of slowing samples in vaporwave was a technique pioneered by dj screw who i think dave would also dig, as it essentially manipulates time and thats Cool). probably likes oneohtrix point never too, an experimental electronic artist who also took inspiration from screw

maybe a bit of biting tongues, one of my favorites. he couldve been led to it going down the eno hole. probably his favorite album being recharge (1989)

as for rock i’m pretty sure dave strikes me as a psychedelic / experimental rock type of dude. so yeah pink floyd is still on the table especially early with syd barrett (the piper at the gates of dawn (1967) and a saucer full of secrets (1968)). but i think he can like later after that (of COURSE he feels drawn to the song ‘time’ lol i bet he’d want to replicate the atmosphere of the song’s beginning in his own stuff). he likes this kinda sound. he i can definitely see him being a ween fan for sure, especially quebec (2003) or their satire art/prog rock album the mollusk (1997) —the latter of which i could see him bonding with jade over DEFINITELY just listen to the titular song — but really the whole discography. or a zappa fan. maybe a dip into metal if its experimental or funky like primus or zillatron (bootsy collins alias)

i have to mention that these are all bands i like to some degree because to know what they sound like and if they fit dave ive had to listen to them lol. but yeah so that could put some bias into it and theres surely more stuff he would listen to i dont know but heres a portion of what i see from where i am

the common denominator between all the music i talked about was that theyre experimental

#hs #homestuck #dave strider

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kimyoonmiauthor · 7 months ago

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5 times I envisioned something that didn't exist and then I spent the time learning how to make it. AI can't do that.

Honestly I have more than this... But let's start with five because AI bros like to say but what about the people that can't do art it's IMPOSSIBLE to do it. BTW, I'm definitely not against others reblogging and adding to this list to demonstrate their non-AI art/creativity to prove that if one puts in the time and effort, one can learn and achieve a result one would like even if it takes a long time to do so.

Pay or play around and learn.

I drew this dress. I loved this dress. I wanted this dress, but at the time I drew this dress, I didn't know anything about patterning, I didn't sew all that well, I didn't have the materials, and honestly I didn't know if I could get the materials. I have no idea how to construct this dress at all.

At this point the most I'd really done in the way of sewing was to make a jiggly puff from scratch and I'd never made a dress before.

But I looked up the pattern of the dress, found the cloth, bought the cloth and then bought a patterning book, bought other patterns around it, bought tracing paper and then...

I made the dress. It took years to finally get the budget to get around it and it took months of work. to figure it all out. In total, to make the dress it took a year. To find the matching shoes, it took a lot of time.

But look at it. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Look, when I first made it, it had flaws all over the place, but I'm still proud that I made it and from there I was able to do commissions and actually get comfortable with a sewing machine.

AI can't do that.

I wanted to make some jewelry that was floating around in my head. I knew about wire wrapping, but didn't know how to do it. But I practiced, slowly bought the materials, I sat down and I learned.

And...

upped my level to learn knotting, which my grandmother asked a necklace for. I gave this one to her and she said everyone around her loved it so much. But these beads were from her sister in law, and everyone complimented her on this necklace that now it's been passed to other people, becoming a family heirloom because I revived the necklace

Can AI produce those types of emotions?

During classes I would draw this pattern of flowers in the margins to keep alert ever since about middle school? I invented it myself, but when I made this dress (after the other one on top), I didn't know how to bead and I'd never done it before, but I sat down with youtube videos, bought the beads, and I drew it out and I spent a month doing it.

Now I know how to bead and I swear, I have this really deep satisfaction from knowing something I doodled in the margins of my notes all of the time has made it into a permanent item for me to share.

When can AI experience that?

I did not know how to quilt. I had to level up to get to this point. It's still not perfect, but now one of my relatives owns this quilt which glows in the dark, and it took literal YEARS AND YEARS to figure out how to get to this stage. I even had to buy MORE fabric in order to execute this quilt. I have to be honest that I've wanted to learn how to quilt since I was in Middle School.

I still wasn't that steady with a sewing machine, I still felt iffy about the whole thing and It took a ton of months to couch all of that glow in the dark yarn into place. It HURT a whole ton. But the result, it's magnificent and it's machine washable.

What AI can truly give the gift of time and effort like I did on this quilt?

I used to draw Hotaru like this. *sighs* I know you can't see it. But it was terrible. I have a worse one than this. lol

I paid attention, leveled up, learned some, took tutorials, and eventually classes and ended up drawing her like this.

I've done this with cooking, knitting, crocheting, and a lot of different crafts. It's not that I was brilliant the first time, it's that every time I failed and conquered, I gained more confidence every time to be more creative, learn more, be curious and explore. And I don't care what the AI bros say, AI cannot give you any of that.

This is a life skill I wish for everyone to have: The confidence to achieve no matter how difficult it looks like. I mean I spent a LONGGGGG ASS time trying to get my Korean name generator to work. But look, I achieved it. That heart, that merging of life experience is exactly what AI cannot achieve or give. So give it to yourself and your audience, that feeling of hope, and triumph over adversity.

I hope people reblog and tell their stories about how they learned their creativity too. Where they were, and how far they've come to show what people are missing out on.

#ai is evil #fight AI #What AI can't do and can't give you

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stxrrynxghts · 1 year ago

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History of the Matsya Kingdom

Idk if y'all are interested or not, But I am compiling the facts I found out about Matsya or not, but I am still doing this post, haha-

So basically there was this King of Chedi called Uparichara Vasu. He was a friend of Indra's, and he was so special for Indra that he was gifted a flying chariot.

Uparichara was married to this lady named Girika, with whom he had many sons, as was normal.

Now comes the creepy part. One day he was roaming around, thought of his wife and well, ejaculated out of a sudden. He scooped his semen as he felt that "it was wrong to waste the semen in a fertile time".

So he scooped it into a leaf (ew) and gave it to a bird, to give it to his wife. IDK what she was supposed to do with it, but yeah-

so the bird dropped the leaf into the water, and this fish, who was actually an Apsara cursed to be a fish, swallowed it.

Now some fishermen caught it, and they opened her stomach to see two living human babies inside. They took the kids to the King, who took the boy, and gave the girl to the chief fisherman.

This girl grows up to become Satyavati. And the boy? He is named Matsya, and is later on given a part of Chedi, where he forms his own kingdom, named after him, aka Matsya.

Now, Uparichara is Chandravanshi King, who is descended from both Yadu and Puru, like most Kings of that time.

Historically, Matsya was one of the 16 Mahajanapadas. Geographically, it is to the south of Kurujangala and Shurasena Kingdom, hence, in present day Rajasthan. Some parts might have been part of MP and UP.

Pali Literature shows Matsya Kings as descendants of the Shurasena Kingdom.

The Matsya King featured in the Mahabharata is Virat, and it is in this kingdom, that the incognito year of the story takes place. Virat has many brothers and relatives as per the story.

He is married to Sudeshna, who is referred as Kaikeyi, so she is probably from Kekaya. Her brother is Kichaka, who is one of the most powerful dudes of the time. He is the commander-in-chief of Matsya.

Virat has four children, as per the Mahabharata, three sons Shweta, Shankha and Uttar, and one daughter Uttara. The order of these children is not specified, though.

Uttar is a very important character during the Virat War, when he and Arjun go and face the Kaurava army. Dude very naturally chickens out, but doesn't take Arjuna's credit at all.

As a token of credit, Virat requests Arjun to marry his daughter, which he (thankfully) refuses. Arjun instead sets up his student with his son, and the marriage takes place.

This marriage is described in very detail, with an assortment of gifts exchanged on both sides, and such a long list of gifts. Matsya is definitely rolling in gold.

Haha, how funny, how many sites call Virat an idiot and incompetent king, when he is called just so many times. FYI, despite so many allies, the Panchala and Matsya forces form the major part of the Pandava army.

Virat is a very crucial person in the war as well, seeing how he is one of the only Maharathis from their side, apart from Drupada, Arjuna and Abhimanyu.

Uttar dies on the 1st day of the war, after a fight with Shalya. He has defeated Shalya, but instead waits to taunt him, and Shalya kills him in the meanwhile.

Angered at his brother's death, Shweta goes berserk, attacking whoever comes in his way. Bhishma kills him with the Brahmastra, and unlike his would-be nephew, Shweta does NOT survive. The Pandava army "mourn" the loss of their "hero".

Shankha dies on the fifth day, at Drona's hands, then Virat follows him in the same manner on the 15th day. The rest of the Matsyas are either killed by Drona on the 14th and 15th days, or by Ashwatthama on the night of the 18th day.

Uttara is the only surviving Matsya kid left, and her son Parikshit and his descendants, the only ones carrying the blood of the Matsyas.

BTW, by this logic, aren't Uttara and Abhimanyu cousins? Like, very distantly yes, being Chandravanshis with Puru and Yadu's blood but see-

Uparichara Vasu-> Satyavati-> Vichitraveerya->Pandu->Arjun->Abhimanyu and

Uparichara Vasu-> Matsya->Son->Son->Virat->Uttara unless Virat isn't of Arjun's generation, but Pandu's? He is mentioned as aged so much, and he and Drupada are always mentioned together-

It is possible that Virat was closer to Karna in age than the Pandavas, and Uttara can still marry Abhimanyu, as she is the youngest kid (until one of her brothers is younger than her?)

BTW, they ain't direct cousins, even by the logic I specified above, since all the human blood in Arjuna is from Kunti, not Pandu. So Abhimanyu is what....1/4 god, 3/4 Yadava(?) technically?

#mahabharat #mahabharata #hindu mythology #analysis #kingdoms of mahabharata #matsya kingdom #uttara #abhimanyu x uttara #uttaraa #abhimanyu x uttaraa

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cherrari · 3 months ago

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Indisputably top 10 drivers that never won a wdc? Which other drivers would you say are on that list btw?

considering the high positions he's gained in the wdc previously as well as his other statistics and generally accepted high rating by pundits, yes, i would say it's rather indisputable that if he retired tomorrow he would be considered one of the best drivers relative to skill level to not win

though tbh i mostly see this brought up in a "he hasn't won a wdc yet" sense so it's not the same feeling as a driver who has already retired. his career could theoretically go off the deep end and he could become a flop in a few years which would ruin any position he has on this list

there is bias too in that the more recent a driver is, the more likely they are to fall into this category because of the increased number of races in the calendar, the fact drivers stay in f1 longer, and the better reliability of cars nowadays

the most obvious choice to top the list is moss, and then some other drivers i'd name (in no particular order) would be berger, barrichello, villeneuve, alesi, reutemann and there are probably others i'm forgetting

#9.75 fm

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thekaijudude · 4 months ago

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So, out of curiosity, what exactly do you think the in-game forms for Orb are capable of? And what type of forms do you classify each one as? Considering each form serves a different usage and all for Orb as you pointed out before.

Speaking of it’s really occurring to mean again how freaking powerful Orb is. I mean in his very first form alone, even if he was a noob at it, he clearly showed he was no joke on the power scaling business. That said I’m left to wonder what eventually the full scale of his abilities will be in time. Any theories there? Especially considering the Voice of Light being this godly entity and all?

And one more thing, on the upgrade thing you mentioned, mind sharing what you think would be a perfect permanent upgrade for him? Especially considering what you pointed out there?

Oh damn alot of my favourite questions here as I'm both OBSESSED with the UFF exclusive fusion forms as I've memorised them all by heart lmao( I still hop onto billibilli and watch UFF vids ever since TsuPro moved it to China), and also about VoL, which I've talked extensively about cause it relates to Legendary Ultras. I honestly believe that Bandai will release merch for UFF exclusive forms as they're approaching the limit of all the canon content they can release, specifically for UHS and SHF.

But let's address your questions in order. Firstly is just gonna be a list, ill just state what i believe each form excels, but theyre relative stat distribution would obviously be different:

PhotoVictorium: Tank

Full Moon Xanadium: Suppression

Sky Dash Max: Speed, would be even faster than HS

Zepellion Solgent: Energy-based form, better alternative to SZ

Leo Zero Knuckle: melee

Thunder Miracle: Psychic + Strength

Slugger Ace: Weapon-based

Knight Liquidator: Swordsman

Specium Storm: Energy + Strength

Power Strong: Strength

Thunder Stream: Hydrokinesis

Mebium Especially: Sword + Energy-based

Breastar Knight: Sword

Storium Galaxy: Energy

I'm honestly expecting to see a Mebium Especially suit in 2026 as it'll be Orb's 10th Anniversary and Orb does have the Ultra Cards on hand already for it

Secondly, I actually believe that Gai is just adapting Orb's abilities to do what he can already do as whatever alien he was as lets not forget, he wasnt a noob at fighting, he was part of the organization at O50, whom are all skilled fighters to begin with.

And if he was the same alien species as JJ, which could already launch energy projectiles and transform into a majin, Gai could probably already do all those energy based attacks and dynamic moves before he was chosen by the VoL and just adapted them to be used in his Ultra form.

Also to go off on a tangent for abit, I'd like to point out here that I strongly believe that the VoL is a Legendary Ultra, which grants beings powers to become Ultras themselves, like what we saw with Dyna and Dinas/Decker, more details here:

Also about other ultra power sources here:

I've talked EXTENSIVELY about this cause I honestly believe I'm onto something here, especially with what we saw with Noa in UGF3. But back your last question.

Lastly, honestly not much expectations there as I've mentioned in the last ask that Orb can potentially just access all the niche abilities he needs with all the potential fusions the Orb Ring can register. The main aspect that synergies with this ability is literally having a better base form with higher stats across all stats itself which would automatically carry over to all fusions.

But if I were to go out on a limb and really say something different, maybe the ability to temporarily split into 2 or multiple versions of himself, with each being able to access a different fusion form entirely to essentially be a one-man army, like what we saw with Arc? Tho it's probably likely that Orb can already do this with a specific fusion form. Like iirc Geed: Mugen Crosser with LM Zero x Tiga can already split into copies of himself, so it's likely Orb can do the same if he uses the same Ultra Cards.

Thanks for the question!

#ultraman #asks

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stromuprisahat · 2 years ago

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Siege and Storm- Chapter 4

I didn't remember Genya disobeyed a direct order. Sure, I knew she didn’t shoot Alina or any of her helpers, but the Darkling ordered her. So I did not-so-quick search for suitable punishment in 1800s:

Figure 1 : Punishments inflicted by British courts-martial 1865-1867 32

... For example, the 1876 version outlined a number of military offences for which the death penalty could be applied. These included mutiny, sedition, desertion, cowardice, sleeping at or leaving a post, striking or using violence towards a superior officer and disobedience 42.

When we’re there, death doesn’t mean a bullet in the head:

In 1800, British Army regulations listed no fewer than 222 offenses that could draw the death penalty, and corporal punishment in the form of flogging was taken to such an extreme that sentences of as many as 500 lashes were regularly ordered. That number of lashes was enough to kill a man, a fact which led several contemporaneous observers to question the ultimate intent of such punishment. ...

There are even mentions of Russia in the first article:

This clinging to flogging and the branding of offenders was not exclusive to the British. Russian courts-martial could order corporal punishments to be administered summarily in the presence of a soldier's company or battalion 38.

...

Even in Tsarist Russia the death penalty was rarely used in criminal cases – although continued use of the knout resulted in many deaths and little restraint was shown in the army.

It’s also relatively safe to assume Ravka will lean into harsher punishments, since their wars are dragging and defensive, which rarely works for more humanitarian approach. They need to make their soldiers obey, even though their prospects are beyond bleak.

Genya didn’t pay with her life, or deep welts on her back, but magical facial disfigurement. Extensive branding, if you want.

(Btw, huge fan of the choice of words. Mutilated person= WHAT...)

Brutal? Undeniably.

Personal? So was her betrayal and the Darkling is a petty bitch, who rarely does anything for a single reason.

Genya’s disfigurement served as her punishment, vivid reminder he won’t tolerate such behaviour- he needs reliable support, not indecision- and later a weapon against Alina.

Genya’s fate is setting-appropriate, my only objection is possible lack of public trial and perhaps that the Darkling would serve as prosecutor, judge and executor. But then again we don’t know much about the usual inner workings of Second Army, so he might serve as those even in other cases.

#Grishaverse #Grisha trilogy #Siege and Storm #S&S Chapter 4 #Genya Safin #The Darkling #Second Army #parallels&references #history #S&S Chapter 23 #grishanalyticritical #V #books #quotes #Leigh Bardugo #degraded!Genya #anti Leigh Bardugo #because the narrative is her fault #so is Genya's treatment as a character.

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apocalypse-shuffle · 1 year ago

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Five times he finds himself falling for you w/ ALEC•H

SFW, 16+ at best, mild profanity, canon typical (mild)sexual themes, 5+1 Things -chubby!reader

This depicts the mission referenced in “The Gone Fishin’ Job” (S3E7).

#ONE

It starts off the first night you stay over after you had to stay up doing research on an automotive company bigwig in Juarez with him.

Hardison knew the mission would take longer than their usual, plus he had to account for travel times and not getting caught by border patrol for their fake identities, so he called you in for some help.

While Eliot and Parker were out getting supplies, and Nate and Sophie were discussing (arguing) over the plan while meeting one of Sophie’s contacts that could get them into Mexico, you and Alec were making sure the path was clear for the rest of the team to do their thing.

The both of you had until noon tomorrow to prep everything and boy did y’all have y’all’s work cut out for you.

As such it takes hours for you two to comb through every international database, track down all public (and not so public) information you could find on your target, curate another list of identities for everyone, gather intel on escape routes out of Mexico, and a whole lot more. By the time you and Hardison had even made a dent in your itinerary it was 11am and by the time you’d passed out it was pushing two in the morning.

The team might not have known the exact scale of how much he had to do to prepare for a mission, but if anyone, you were definitely starting to learn.

You were a rival hacker he’d met years ago during his sophomore year of college, even had a little crush on for a time, but after graduation you’d jumped off the map and even he couldn’t find your chunky lil ass. On his third year with the team the feelers he’d put out for your digital signature pinged and all of a sudden you weren’t just a long lost friend.

He sent an encrypted message to you almost immediately and you’d responded with a winky face and a ‘Long time no see Alec.’ He’d been texting you on and off since then, even asking for your consultation on some things, but he hadn’t brought you in on the team until yesterday night (with Nate’s tentative forced cause they were backed against a wall approval).

Luckily you’d made it to his place at 5 am and you’d had the chance to catch up and work in relative peace since then.

Early the next morning, six or so hours before you had to debrief with the team, you guys ordered takeout then promptly passed out right afterwards.

When you woke up at five it wasn’t time for you to head to base (Nate’s apartment) yet so Alec decided to just make a place for you to sleep on his couch.

You’d gone to the bathroom to change while he got you a blanket and some pillows after changing into some pjs himself, and you don’t come out until he’s nearly finished making the couch up.

When you step into his living room in some cute satin shorts that don’t at all keep your thighs in check and a matching lace camisole he makes sure not to say anything while you’re walking to his couch. He’s too classy for that.

He does, admittedly, notice the way your thighs jiggle as you tiredly go about putting your computers in your bag, before hastily looking away as his face heats up.

Alec hadn’t seen you in this light in years.

NOTES: Hope you enjoyed!!!

btw: there is basically nothing here but you can write a lil comment if you want to.

#alec hardison #black!reader #black y/n #spurt: 500 words or less #alec hardison x black!reader #•five temptations (the series)#alec hardison x fem!reader #hacker!reader #alec hardison x chubby!reader #5 + 1 fic #five times #alec hardison imagine #chubby!reader #leverage x black!reader #alec hardison x reader #leverage x reader #leverage imagine #leverage #16+

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miasfoxxden · 2 years ago

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I use Arch, BTW

I made the switch from Ubuntu 23.04 to Arch Linux. I embraced the meme. After over a decade since my last failed attempt at daily driving Arch, I'm gonna put this as bluntly as I can possibly make it:

Arch is a solid Linux distribution, but some assembly is required.

But why?

Hear me out here Debian and Fedora family enjoyers. I have long had the Debian family as my go-to distros and also swallowed the RHEL pill and switched my server over to Rocky Linux from Ubuntu LTS. on another machine. More on that in a later post when I'm more acclimated with that. But for my personal primary laptop, a Dell Latitude 5580, after being continually frustrated with Canonical's decision to move commonly used applications, particularly the web browsers, exclusively to Snap packages and the additional overhead and just weird issues that came with those being containerized instead of just running on the bare metal was ultimately my reason for switching. Now I understand the reason for this move from deb repo to Snap, but the way Snap implements these kinds of things just leaves a sour taste in my mouth, especially compared to its alternative from the Fedora family, Flatpak. So for what I needed and wanted, something up to date and with good support and documentation that I didn't have to deal with 1 particular vendors bullshit, I really only had 2 options: Arch and Gentoo (Fedora is currently dealing with some H264 licensing issues and quite honestly I didn't want to bother with that for 2 machines).

Arch and Gentoo are very much the same but different. And ultimately Arch won over the 4chan /g/ shitpost that has become Gentoo Linux. So why Arch? Quite honestly, time. Arch has massive repositories of both Arch team maintained and community software, the majority of what I need already packaged in binary form. Gentoo is much the same way, minus the precompiled binary aspect as the Portage package manager downloads source code packages and compiles things on the fly specifically for your hardware. While yes this can make things perform better than precompiled binaries, the reality is the difference is negligible at best and placebo at worst depending on your compiler settings. I can take a weekend to install everything and do the fine tuning but if half or more of that time is just waiting for packages to compile, no thanks. That plus the massive resource that is the Arch User Repository (AUR), Arch was a no-brainer, and Vanilla arch was probably the best way to go. It's a Lego set vs 3D printer files and a list of hardware to order from McMaster-Carr to screw it together, metaphorically speaking.

So what's the Arch experience like then?

As I said in the intro, some assembly is required. To start, the installer image you typically download is incredibly barebones. All you get is a simple bash shell as the root user in the live USB/CD environment. From there we need to do 2 things, 1) get the thing online, the nmcli command came in help here as this is on a laptop and I primarily use it wirelessly, and 2) run the archinstall script. At the time I downloaded my Arch installer, archinstall was broken on the base image but you can update it with a quick pacman -S archinstall once you have it online. Arch install does pretty much all the heavy lifting for you, all the primary options you can choose: Desktop environment/window manager, boot loader, audio system, language options, the whole works. I chose Gnome, GRUB bootloader, Pipewire audio system, and EN-US for just about everything. Even then, it's a minimal installation once you do have.

Post-install experience is straightforward, albeit just repetitive. Right off the archinstall script what you get is relatively barebones, a lot more barebones than I was used to with Ubuntu and Debian Linux. I seemingly constantly was missing one thing for another, checking the wiki, checking the AUR, asking friends who had been using arch for even longer than I ever have how to address dumb issues. Going back to the Lego set analogy, archinstall is just the first bag of a larger set. It is the foundation for which you can make it your own further. Everything after that point is the second and onward parts bags, all of the additional media codecs, supporting applications, visual tweaks like a boot animation instead of text mode verbose boot, and things that most distributions such as Ubuntu or Fedora have off the rip, you have to add on yourself. This isn't entirely a bad thing though, as at the end if you're left with what you need and at most very little of what you don't. Keep going through the motions, one application at a time, pulling from the standard pacman repos, AUR, and Flatpak, and eventually you'll have a full fledged desktop with all your usual odds and ends.

And at the end of all of that, what you're left with is any other Linux distro. I admit previously I wrote Arch off as super unstable and only for the diehard masochists after my last attempt at running Arch when I was a teenager went sideways, but daily driving it on my personal Dell Latitude for the last few months has legitimately been far better than any recent experiences I've had with Ubuntu now. I get it. I get why people use this, why people daily drive this on their work or gaming machines, why people swear off other distros in favor of Arch as their go to Linux distribution. It is only what you want it to be. That said, I will not be switching to Arch any time soon on mission critical systems or devices that will have a high run time with very specific purposes in mind, things like servers or my Raspberry Pi's will get some flavor of RHEL or Debian stable still, and since Arch is one of the most bleeding edge distros, I know my chance of breakage is non zero. But so far the seas have been smooth sailing, and I hope to daily this for many more months to come.

#linux #arch linux #foss #linux distros #unix #unixporn #gnome #gnome desktop #wayland

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