#Quantum Entanglement and Remote Sensing

[venniekocsis]

The Future of Perception: Unlocking the Power of Quantum Resonance Scanning

In an era where science and consciousness are converging, a new frontier is emerging—Quantum Resonance Scanning (QRS). This advanced method of detection, analysis, and perception has the potential to redefine how humans interact with their environment, detect hidden structures, and even perceive interdimensional anomalies. But what exactly is Quantum Resonance Scanning, and how can humans harness…

[grvning]

A few years back, when I was still living in one of the places that further confirmed my interest and love for Science, I was also considering giving that old sixties show a watch. Curiosity had been pushing me to at least visualize the first episode or so, and proceed from there.

I cannot precisely recall what happened in my brain back then, but I never finished that first episode, namely episode 1x02, as I am not certain that 'The Man Trap' was yet available then. I might be wrong about that.

I grew up with a bit of Star Trek in my life, through my father's dedication to using that Voyager starship car freshener - what a beauty it was, beheld through my elementary schooler eyes, perhaps even with some sense of wonder. And yet, I became exposed to the Star Wars movies to a much greater degree, to such an extent that I spent most of my life never watching anything that was remotely Star Trek-related at all.

Science Fiction has always been a consequent part of my life, taking me to different kinds of civilizations and futures, seen through different prisms, asking different yet somewhat similar questions. The potential of humanity against its very own self-destructive tendencies, very human ones, might I add.

I spent my childhood watching staples of Sci-Fi such as 'Stargåte SG1', 'Sliders', 'Quantum Leap' - staples in the 90's to early 2000's context, at least - and became fascinated with each of them. What always managed to grab my attention and never let me go was the science behind it all, the human limitations to our future perspectives, and all the dynamics at play in between, entangled with each other as an intricately woven spiderweb.

After spending most of my life being a Star Wars aficionado, delving deep into the psychology of its characters and exploring its ships and worlds, I finally got to watching 'Star Trek: The Original Series'.

There are a few things which I was not expecting, but I can say that the most unexpected one of them all is the amount of emotion the show and surrounding fanbase are imbued with.

I was not expecting to feel so much, to get so deeply involved with the characters and their struggles. I was not expecting to relate so much to some of them. My cheeks tend to remain as dry as the next Vulcan's, and yet, I would lie if I pretended that it were still the case.

Most of all, I relate to Spock's behavioral and thought patterns, more often than not. His direct and informative speech gives me a sense of comfort in how it is unequivocal and factual. His logic remains, even at his most emotional moments, a shoulder to rely on. But so does his emotional turmoil, in that he doesn't deem it acceptable, especially not as the Vulcan that he is convinced that he must be. He has been told his whole life that the Vulcan way treats emotion as superfluous, as it must be shed, and that logic is the supreme intellectual principle to follow; the irony of that philosophy shows quite frequently in the show, notably through Sarek's life decisions.

Most of the people whom Spock works with add to the challenge, as they are quite human and prone to being indirect and/or to mistaking his directness for something else. This could easily apply to my professional life, as well, although I wish that my colleagues and direct superiors also valued integrity and principles above their own egos (vastly male department, around sixty people in total. Specialized technical department for a reseller. I am the oldest woman there, being around one third of Shatner's current age).

I have felt so much since I started watching TOS, too much. The burning and all-encompassing love that Spock and Kirk feel for each other, the clear, deep bond that both the characters and their actors shared... How could one remain cold in the face of such warmth and sunlight? TOS took over my life in a way that made it a safe place to escape to, to try to find the strength to confront the real world and how detached from it I feel and how ill-fitted it is.

This post could go on. I barely can express in words what I have in mind, but at least it is on the digital paper. For posterity, perhaps.

Dan-neruk klem-bosh nash-veh na'Star Trek.

Dif-tor heh smusma. 🖖

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alike Friday: What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman

A World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul

In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we’ve learned of these key migrations—how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis—is nothing short of extraordinary.

Bird migration entails almost unfathomable endurance, like a sparrow-sized sandpiper that will fly nonstop from Canada to Venezuela—the equivalent of running 126 consecutive marathons without food, water, or rest—avoiding dehydration by "drinking" moisture from its own muscles and organs, while orienting itself using the earth’s magnetic field through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in nine days of nonstop flight, as some birds do, leaves little time for sleep, but migrants can put half their brains to sleep for a few seconds at a time, alternating sides—and their reaction time actually improves.

These and other revelations convey both the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep, from the mudflats of the Yellow Sea in China to the remote mountains of northeastern India to the dusty hills of southern Cyprus. This breathtaking work of nature writing from Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul also introduces readers to those scientists, researchers, and bird lovers trying to preserve global migratory patterns in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges.

The Glitter in the Green by Jon Dunn

Hummingbirds are a glittering, sparkling collective of over three hundred wildly variable species. For centuries, they have been revered by indigenous Americans, coveted by European collectors, and admired worldwide for their unsurpassed metallic plumage and immense character. Yet they exist on a knife-edge, fighting for survival in boreal woodlands, dripping cloud forests, and subpolar islands. They are, perhaps, the ultimate embodiment of evolution's power to carve a niche for a delicate creature in even the harshest of places.

Traveling the full length of the hummingbirds' range, from the cusp of the Arctic Circle to near-Antarctic islands, acclaimed nature writer Jon Dunn encounters birders, scientists, and storytellers in his quest to find these beguiling creatures, immersing us in the world of one of Earth's most charismatic bird families.

Sentient by Jackie Higgins

Perfect for fans of The Soul of an Octopus and The Genius of Birds, this book explores how we process the world around us through the lens of the incredible sensory capabilities of thirteen animals, revealing that we are not limited to merely five senses.

There is a scientific revolution stirring in the field of human perception. Research has shown that the extraordinary sensory powers of our animal friends can help us better understand the same powers that lie dormant within us.

From the harlequin mantis shrimp with its ability to see a vast range of colors, to the bloodhound and its hundreds of millions of scent receptors; from the orb-weaving spider whose eyes recognize not only space but time, to the cheetah whose ears are responsible for its perfect agility, these astonishing animals hold the key to better understanding how we make sense of the world around us.

Flight Paths by Rebecca Heisman

For the past century, scientists and naturalists have been steadily unravelling the secrets of bird migration. How and why birds navigate the skies, traveling from continent to continent—flying thousands of miles across the earth each fall and spring—has continually fascinated the human imagination, but only recently have we been able to fully understand these amazing journeys. Although we know much more than ever before, even the most enthusiastic birdwatcher may not know how we got here, the ways that the full breadth of scientific disciplines have come together to reveal these annual avian travels. 

Flight Paths is the never-before-told story of how a group of migration-obsessed scientists in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries engaged nearly every branch of science to understand bird migration—from where and when they take off to their flight paths and behaviors, their destinations and the challenges they encounter getting there. Uniting curious minds from across generations, continents, and disciplines, bird enthusiast and science writer Rebecca Heisman traces the development of each technique used for tracking migratory birds, from the first attempts to mark individual birds to the cutting-edge technology that lets ornithologists trace where a bird has been, based on unique DNA markers. Along the way, she touches on the biggest technological breakthroughs of modern science and reveals the almost-forgotten stories of the scientists who harnessed these inventions in service of furthering our understanding of nature (and their personal obsession with birds).

[damnghouligans]

Too many people were having fun with their gravity falls OCs without MEEEE so I made one.

Her name’s Veronica Gutierrez and she’s from the year 2047. She’s a data analyst and computer engineer. Also one of like 10 people in a small team, within a bigger nationwide team, working on experimental tech between Ball and Boeing deep in the Humboldt woods.

She was SUPPOSED to be working on machinery that was being used to better understand quantum entanglement and its effects on spacetime (using what she’s pretty sure were parts of an alien spacecraft but, to be honest, she wasn’t being paid enough to ask that). Unfortunately, things went wrong. Very very wrong.

Basically her job was to help figure out if portals were a viable method of transportation and, while trying to repair the stupid robot dog they were using for remote testing, was accidentally transported across space and time into the icy Oregon pacific….. right in front of the Stan-o-War II. Now she’s gotta figure out how in the hell she’s getting home. All while avoiding federal agents, the time police, learning about the anomalies of the falls, and unraveling the conspiracy that lead to her job in the first place. At least she landed in great hands!

She’s 52

She’s in love with British synth pop, both the 80s and resurgence in the 2030s

You can and WILL catch her at the goth club and emo nites (theyre more tame in 2047 now that everyone is in their 60s and 70s)

She’s got a bunch of stories about Wendy’s fave bands, but isn’t sure what’s happened already or not. Wendy treats her knowledge as sacred.

Since she speaks Spanish, abuela, soos, and melody immediately like her.

McGucket is VERY MUCH her lifeline since all of the tech in 2012 feels like playing with dialup again, both in good and bad ways

She’s really into vintage tech, especially the almighty coaxial cable.

Shes a DIY king

Her fave cryptid is the borrego springs sandman, for hometown pride reasons

All of her journals consist of beat to shit composition notebooks, which she’s suddenly really grateful for since her 2040s tech is USELESS here. Plus she can’t influence the timeline so she can’t even talk about it much…… did I mention she really loves mcgucket?? Only guy that speaks her language.

She really loves kids, so she entertains the younger pines pretty much whenever she can. They’re a great distraction to the whole “being thrown out of space and time” thing.

She and Stan enjoy old romance novels and argue about the best couples. This is a sworn secret between the two of them, per stans request. So much so she refuses to encrypt her thoughts with ford, or anyone else, present. Ford already knows about the book club. He doesn’t argue.

She and Ford mostly keep it professional at first but she gets his sense of humor and they confess to embarrassing weirdness they’ve told no one but their own journals before (like ford regularly drinking human blood for a month and liking it because he thought he was turning into a vampire thanks to being bitten by a fruit bat. Or Vero trying to convince her middle school crush to convert her to the legions of the undead because she fell for a convoluted vampire hoax).

They become close friends and confidantes after this, but Mabel is determined for more!!

[sarabrunoblog]

Explain the utilization of cutting-edge methods and tools by animal communicators in their work.

Animal communication is the process by which animals convey information to one another, often through vocalizations, body language, and other non-verbal cues. It plays a crucial role in their survival, mating, and social interactions. However, the field of animal communication has evolved significantly, with modern practitioners incorporating cutting-edge methods and tools to deepen their understanding of animal behavior and enhance their ability to communicate with animals.

Understanding Cutting-Edge Methods and Tools

In recent years, advancements in technology have revolutionized the way animal communicator interact with their subjects. These advancements include telepathic communication, energy healing techniques, intuitive communication, biofeedback devices, quantum entanglement, animal behavior analysis software, remote viewing and sensing, neural interface technology, bioacoustics and vibrational healing, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality.

Telepathic Communication

Telepathic communication involves the transmission of thoughts, feelings, and images between individuals without the need for verbal or physical interaction. Animal communicators often rely on telepathy to establish a direct connection with animals and gain insight into their thoughts and emotions. Tools such as meditation, visualization, and psychic development exercises are commonly used to enhance telepathic abilities.

Energy Healing Techniques

Energy healing techniques, such as Reiki and pranic healing, are based on the principle of channeling life force energy to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Animal communicators utilize these techniques to address physical ailments, emotional trauma, and behavioral issues in animals. Advanced tools such as energy wands, crystal grids, and frequency generators facilitate the application of energy healing modalities.

Intuitive Communication

Intuitive communication involves tapping into one's innate intuition to understand and connect with animals on a deeper level. Animal communicators often rely on intuition to interpret subtle cues and messages from animals, allowing them to identify underlying issues and communicate effectively. Techniques such as mindfulness, breathwork, and journaling can help develop and enhance intuitive abilities.

Biofeedback Devices

Biofeedback devices measure physiological responses such as heart rate, brain waves, and skin conductance to provide real-time feedback on an individual's state of mind and body. In animal communication, biofeedback devices can be used to assess an animal's stress levels, emotional state, and overall well-being. Tools such as heart rate monitors, EEG headsets, and galvanic skin response sensors enable animal communicators to monitor and manage the energy dynamics between themselves and the animals they work with.

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum entanglement refers to the phenomenon where particles become interconnected in such a way that the state of one particle instantaneously influences the state of another, regardless of the distance between them. In animal communication, quantum entanglement principles are applied to establish a non-local connection between communicators and animals, allowing for seamless communication across space and time. Tools such as quantum entanglement devices and consciousness-assisted technologies facilitate the exchange of information at a quantum level.

Animal Behavior Analysis Software

Animal behavior analysis software utilizes algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze and interpret complex patterns of animal behavior. These software tools can track movement, vocalizations, and social interactions, providing valuable insights into the behavior and communication patterns of animals. Examples include GPS tracking systems, acoustic monitoring devices, and video analysis software, which enable animal communicators to gather data and make informed decisions based on empirical evidence.

Remote Viewing and Sensing

Remote viewing and sensing techniques enable individuals to perceive and gather information about distant or unseen targets through extrasensory perception. In animal communication, remote viewing can be used to observe animals in their natural habitat or remote locations, allowing communicators to gain firsthand insights into their behavior and environment. Tools such as remote viewing protocols, meditation techniques, and astral projection exercises facilitate remote viewing and sensing experiences.

Advancements in Neural Interface Technology

Neural interface technology involves the direct communication between the brain and external devices, enabling individuals to control and interact with technology using their thoughts alone. In animal communication, neural interface technology can be used to establish a direct link between the communicator's brain and the animal's nervous system, facilitating seamless communication without the need for verbal or physical cues. Tools such as brain-computer interfaces, neurofeedback systems, and neural implants enable animal communicators to exchange information with animals at a neuronal level.

Bioacoustics and Vibrational Healing

Bioacoustics involves the study of sound frequencies and their effects on living organisms, while vibrational healing focuses on the therapeutic use of sound and vibration to promote health and well-being. In animal communication, bioacoustic techniques can be used to transmit healing frequencies and harmonize the energy field of animals, addressing physical, emotional, and energetic imbalances. Tools such as sound therapy devices, frequency generators, and binaural beats recordings facilitate bioacoustic and vibrational healing sessions with animals.

[jcmarchi]

Using Polarization to Improve Quantum Imaging - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/using-polarization-to-improve-quantum-imaging-technology-org/

Using Polarization to Improve Quantum Imaging - Technology Org

Quantum imaging is a growing field that takes advantage of the counterintuitive and “spooky” ability of light particles, or photons, to become linked or entangled under specialized circumstances. If the state of one photon in the entangled duo gets tweaked, so does the other, regardless of how far apart the two photons might be.

A stained slice of a mouse brain, as imaged with classical imaging (left) and using the Wang group’s ICE method (right). The difference in resolution between the two techniques is clear in the side-by-side comparison focused on an area of detail highlighted in boxes E and F. Image credit: Caltech

Caltech researchers demonstrated last May how such entanglement could double the resolution of classical light microscopes while also preventing an imaging system’s light from damaging fragile biological samples. Now the same team has improved upon the technique, making it possible to quantum image whole organ slices and even small organisms.

Led by Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, the new work uses entanglement—what Albert Einstein once famously described as “spooky action at a distance”— to control not only the color and brightness of the light hitting a sample, but also the polarization of that light.

“Our new technique has the potential to pave the way for quantum imaging in many different fields, including biomedical imaging and potentially even remote space sensing,” says Wang, who is also the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Medical Engineering Leadership Chair and executive officer for medical engineering.

Since quantum entanglement allows paired photons to be linked no matter how far apart they might be, Wang is already imagining how his new system could be used to make birefringence measurements in space. Image credit: Caltech

Like wavelength and intensity, polarization is a fundamental property of light and represents which direction the electric component of a light wave is oriented with respect to the wave’s general direction of travel. Most light, including sunlight, is unpolarized, meaning that its electromagnetic waves move and travel in all directions.

However, filters called polarizers can be used to create light beams with one specific polarization. A vertical polarizer, for example, only allows photons with vertical polarization to pass through. Those with horizontal polarization (meaning that the electric component of the light wave is oriented horizontally with respect to the direction of travel) will be blocked. Any light with other polarization angles (between vertical and horizontal), will partially pass through. The outcome is a stream of vertically polarized light.

This is how polarized sunglasses reduce glare. They use a vertically polarizing chemical coating to block sunlight that has become horizontally polarized by reflecting off a horizontal surface, such as a lake or snowy field. This means that the wearer only observes vertically polarized light.

When changes in light intensity or color are not enough to give scientists quality images of certain objects, controlling the polarization of the light in an imaging system can sometimes provide more information about the sample and offer a different way to identify contrast between a sample and its background. Detecting the changes in polarization caused by certain samples can also give researchers information about the internal structure and behavior of those materials.

Wang’s newest microscopy technique, dubbed quantum imaging by coincidence from entanglement (ICE), takes advantage of entangled photon pairs to obtain higher-resolution images of biological materials, including thicker samples, and to make measurements of materials that have what scientists call birefringent properties.

Rather than consistently bending incoming light waves in the same way, as most materials do, birefringent materials bend those waves to different degrees depending on the light’s polarization and the direction in which it is traveling. The most common birefringent materials studied by scientists are calcite crystals. But biological materials, such as cellulose, starch, and many types of animal tissue, including collagen and cartilage, are also birefringent.

If a sample with birefringent properties is placed between two polarizers oriented at 90-degree angles to each other, some of the light going through the sample will be altered in its polarization and will therefore make it through to the detector, even though all the other incoming light should be blocked by the two polarizers. The detected light can then provide information about the structure of the sample. In materials science, for example, scientists use birefringence measurements to get a better understanding of the areas where mechanical stress builds up in plastics.

In Wang’s ICE setup, light is passed first through a polarizer and then through a pair of special barium borate crystals, which will occasionally create an entangled photon pair; about one pair is produced for every million photons that pass through the crystals.

From there, the two entangled photons will branch off and follow one of the system’s two arms: one will travel straight ahead, following what is called the idler arm, while the other traces a more circuitous path called the signal arm that causes the photon to pass through the object of interest. Finally, both photons go through an additional polarizer before reaching two detectors, which record the time of arrival of the detected photons.

Here, though, occurs a “spooky” quantum effect because of the entangled nature of the photons: the detector in the idler arm can act as a virtual “pinhole” and “polarization selector” on the signal arm, instantly affecting the location and polarization of the photon incident on the object in the signal arm.

“In the ICE setup, the detectors in the signal and idler arms function as ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ pinholes, respectively,” says Yide Zhang, lead author of the new paper and a postdoctoral scholar fellowship trainee in medical engineering at Caltech.

“This dual pinhole configuration enhances the spatial resolution of the object imaged in the signal arm. Consequently, ICE achieves higher spatial resolution than conventional imaging that utilizes a single pinhole in the signal arm.”

“Since each entangled photon pair always arrives at the detectors at the same time, we can suppress noises in the image caused by random photons,” adds Xin Tong, co-author of the study and a graduate student in medical and electrical engineering at Caltech.

To determine the birefringent properties of a material with a classical microscopy setup, scientists typically switch through different input states, illuminating an object separately with horizontally, vertically, and diagonally polarized light, and then measuring the corresponding output states with a detector. The goal is to measure how the birefringence of the sample alters the image that the detector receives in each of those states. This information informs scientists about the structure of the sample and can provide images that would not otherwise be possible.

Since quantum entanglement allows paired photons to be linked no matter how far apart they might be, Wang is already imagining how his new system could be used to make birefringence measurements in space. Consider a situation where something of interest, perhaps an interstellar medium, is located light years away from Earth.

A satellite in space might be positioned such that it could emit entangled photon pairs using the ICE technique, with two ground stations acting as detectors. The large distance to the satellite would make it impractical to send any kind of signal to adjust the device’s source polarization. However, due to entanglement, changing the polarization state in the idler arm would be equivalent to changing the polarization of the source light before the beam hits the object.

“Using quantum technology, nearly instantaneously, we can make changes to the polarization state of the photons no matter where they are,” Wang says. “Quantum technologies are the future. Out of scientific curiosity, we need to explore this direction.”

Written by Kimm Fesenmaier

Source: Caltech

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[physicsalertofficial]

Multi-Photon State Achieved in Remote Superconducting Circuit In a groundbreaking leap for quantum science, researchers have achieved a multi-photon state in a remote superconducting circuit. This achievement opens doors to previously unimaginable applications in quantum communication, computation, and sensing. Let’s delve into the details of this remarkable breakthrough. The Quantum Frontier Quantum mechanics, with its mind-bending principles, has long fascinated scientists and sci-fi enthusiasts alike. The idea of particles existing in multiple states simultaneously, entanglement, and teleportation has fueled our collective imagination. But harnessing these phenomena for practical purposes remains a formidable challenge. The Experiment Led by Dr. Maria Rodriguez at the Quantum Research Institute, the team set out to […]

[ev-pierce-writes]

Quantum Entanglement

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader

Words: 6.4k (oops)

Rating: 18+ (get outta here ya children)

Summary: Steve Rogers decides to disappear, take some time for himself in the solitude of a small town where he meets you.

Warnings: p in v. oral fem receiving. size kink (reader is much smaller than Steve in more ways than one). soft (very very soft) fem dom.

AN: This is stupid soft. Just simping all over the gd place. I'm so sorry but my baby Steve deserves nothing but the purest, sweetest form of love and that's what he's getting, though I imagine he likes to be ordered around. Took me way too long to feel good about this.

---

There had been the snap. And then the resurrection. Steve had lost everyone he loved and then had most of them returned, and it felt good to go back to normal, in some ways. In other ways, it was stifling.

As the world reeled and tried to figure out how to "be normal" in a time that was anything but, normalcy felt forced, rushed, exaggerated. He wanted to be in this world, of course. The 1940s were no longer his home, and Steve had everything he wanted here. But he didn't feel complete. A piece was always missing, something from a past life, that he couldn't quite name but knew he had to find.

So he disappeared. Went undercover as some might call it. Bucky knew, of course, and Sam on some level. But to the rest of the world, he had slipped quietly back into the past to live the rest of his life. In reality, he'd slipped into Herrington, Massachusetts, a small coastal town where he was invisible to the world.

He'd found a little house, a cottage on the beach, and settled in completely. He didn't need a job, the government was more than willing to pay him a severance check of some sort, but he took one anyway, stocking the local grocery store and delivering groceries to the elderly when they ordered. It was just antiquated enough to remind him of a faraway time, of the past, but didn't force him to give up his wifi and color television. That was something he'd come to love.

And that was where he met you. You, the petite spitfire with a bone to pick with the entire world. Fierce, loyal, and slightly terrifying when double-crossed. The first time he met you, you had come out of your great-aunt's house shaking a fist over the groceries.

"I told Mr. Pierce," you were yelling, "not to skimp me on the meat." Mr. Pierce was the grocery store owner. And the meat in question was a roast, for what purpose, Steve wasn't sure, but one that apparently did not satisfy your desires.

You hadn't been the one to answer the door, that was your great-aunt Agnes, a kind, leather-faced woman who liked to tip Steve a healthy amount for "carrying all those heavy groceries for a silly old lady like me."

"It's no problem ma'am," he'd replied and stepped back toward his motorcycle, recently decked out with a basket on the back to transport deliveries. Then you'd chased him down the road until he noticed you and stopped, shouting all the way.

"When you see him," you said, your finger wagging in his face, puffing and out of breath from your yelling and running, "tell the bastard that's the last time he gets away with making me pay for his shitty cuts of meat."

Steve didn't really know what to say, but then your face softened, your voice calmed, and you took a deep breath. Maybe the panicked look on his face had made you have a change of heart. "I apologize for yelling at you, I know you're just the messenger. But that slimy son-of-a-bitch is going to get what's coming for him someday."

"I'll let him know," Steve replied with half a smile on his face.

"You aren't from around here are you?" you had asked, a sudden look of curiosity in your bright eyes.

Steve nodded. "Just moved here."

"Look, I'm really sorry." You stuck out your hand and introduced yourself, and Steve had found that hand to be surprisingly supple and calloused for its tiny size. "Let me make it up to you. Aunt Agnes seems to like you. We're having a potluck tonight, her place. Why don't you come by and meet the neighbors? I'm sure they'd love a new face, especially one as handsome and friendly as yours. Maybe make some friends, even."

You were being surprisingly friendly and sincere, and Steve had no choice but to accept the invitation.

So that's how he ended up in an old lady's backyard, handing off a bowl of his mother's jello salad (it was a potluck after all), and accepting a beer from a man who looked similar enough to be your brother (a cousin, it turned out). You didn't even notice his arrival, flying about, getting everything set up, taking part in the appropriate amount of small talk. Earlier, when you'd chased Steve down the road, your hair had been flung all about your head, wisps of it sticking out from all directions and looking positively a mess. You'd been wearing jeans with mud on the knees and a t-shirt that had more holes than necessary for your arms and head. Now, your hair was pinned back and tamed and you floated about in a soft blue sundress, revealing a delicate plane of skin across your shoulders and tan arms and legs.

The calloused hands and muddy jeans made sense now as well. The backyard of Aunt Agnes' house was primarily a garden, not only beautiful rose bushes and creeping wisteria but rows and rows of fruits and vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, strawberries. The work was obviously the product of a talented gardener.

Aunt Agnes was the one to welcome him in, having noticed Steve before you did and taking his arm. She began to talk, of you and the neighborhood and her many, many family members. She introduced them one by one, though most of the names he immediately forgot. But it was a blessing to not be recognized and he relished the feeling. Sure, he'd grown out his beard and his hair was a bit longer than the standard military high and tight, and he wore a flannel with the sleeves rolled up instead of red, white, and blue spangles, but it still amazed him that he could pass through the world like this.

Eventually, the conversations became too much, and Steve excused himself to the kitchen to find a drink while he waited for the food to be ready. Really he just wanted some silence, a relief from society. But you'd beat him there, and, ever the busy bee, were scrambling to fill a cooler with more ice.

"Steve!" you exclaimed when you saw him, pleasant surprise plastered across your face. "I'm so glad you came."

You reached out and gave him a hug that took Steve so much by surprise he almost forgot to return it. It was shockingly warm, your arms around his neck, and though he had to stoop down to your level, he wrapped his arms around your waist anyways.

"I hope they didn't overwhelm you out there. My family can be a lot."

"No, not at all. Just needed some quiet. I'll let you get back to work."

"I could actually use your help if you don't mind."

You directed him into the front room toward a stack of boxes, cases of drinks he assumed. When Steve returned to the kitchen, all four boxes piled in his arms, you nearly dropped the glasses in your hands in shock. You recovered quickly, trying to remain polite despite your poorly hidden astonishment, but Steve could already tell you were trying to compute how he had managed to carry over a hundred pounds of drinks in one go.

"You can, um, put them on the counter I guess," you managed to stutter out. Your sudden flustered state was amusing, and Steve noticed he liked the way you seemed almost embarrassed, cheeks flushed pink, though he had no idea why you should feel that way.

But then you picked back up with your normal bubbly chatter, and Steve found himself lingering longer and longer in the kitchen with you until he realized neither of you were doing anything but talking, the work abandoned in lieu of discussions about the town, your stall at the farmers market, and eventually, very naturally, the passing of your parents. The slip into deep conversation was easy, surprisingly easy, easier than it had ever been with anyone else, even though Steve felt himself having to lie a bit about his past. Sure, he could admit to being from Brooklyn and having no family and his stint in the military, but that was about the extent of it. He found himself wanting to tell you more but refraining.

When your cousin called that food was ready from the backyard, the jolt back to reality was abrupt and almost unwelcome, until you smiled and allowed him to put a hand on your back, pulling Steve out to enjoy some food.

As night fell, lights twinkled on in the backyard, and the summer heat reduced to a light thrum as the breeze from the ocean swept through the town. Fireflies glowed in the darkness of the low trees behind the house and you seemed to glow as well, good food and friendly conversation lighting your face up with joy. You caught Steve's eye several times during the night, noticing him watching you from across the garden, but he didn't care. He liked that his attention made you smile.

Finally, the party began to dwindle, as parents with young kids trickled out, followed by the older folks, heading off to bed. Soon, even Aunt Agnes turned in and only the cousins close to you in age remained. They pulled out the stronger bottles of alcohol, sitting in plastic chairs and passing shots around the barbeque that still glowed hot with coals. Steve accepted every pass of vodka that came his way, despite knowing it wouldn't get him even remotely drunk. But the camaraderie of the moment helped ease a bit of that gaping hole in his soul so he clung to it as best he could. And you were sitting next to him, insisting he take a sip, and again he couldn't turn you down.

"And then Jack nearly sunk the boat in the bay," you were saying, telling the story of one of your cousin's finer moments. "Your dad almost killed us."

"Oh you want to bring that up?" he teased. "How about the time you snuck out and Aunt Agnes caught you making out with Michael on the beach."

You blushed bright red at the reminder but protested that was years ago. Then another cousin brought up his own late-night escapades and you devolved into a fit of giggles, leaning so far out of your chair that Steve had to catch you before you slipped right to the ground. Your hand gripped his to recover but, to his surprise, you never removed it, even as you righted yourself in your seat. Your hand just remained in his, your small fingers wrapped in his large ones, as you turned to pester him into telling a story.

"What about you Steve? Tell us an embarrassing story."

He looked around at the group and they leaned in expectantly, curious to know more about the stranger who was quickly becoming a friend. Steve didn't know what to say, most of his stories involving things he wasn't yet ready to reveal about himself. So he picked one from long ago.

"I once picked a fight with a guy at a bar. He was a bit of a Nazi. Got my ass kicked. Fortunately, I had a friend to back me up or he definitely would have killed me."

Everyone looked shocked. "But you're so strong," someone spoke up. "Look at you. How could anyone beat you in a fight?"

Steve shrugged, not wanting to admit to it being a pre-serum story. "Guess I'm a bit of a pacifist."

He turned to you to gauge your reaction. Your eyes were wide, sparkling with mischief and curiosity and a hint of disbelief. For a moment Steve thought you had figured it out, figured out who he was, but then you started giggling again and the only thing keeping you in your seat was his hand in yours.

"That's not embarrassing Steve, that's just the most fucking noble thing I've ever heard. Making us all look bad."

Your teasing words made his heart flutter in his chest and he felt like he could get used to this crowd.

Eventually, the coals of the barbeque started to wink out, and the cousins excused themselves for the night, heading home on foot to the various houses they had come from. It seemed no one lived too far apart in this town. Suddenly, the backyard was quiet.

"Can I give you a hand cleaning up?" Steve asked, not wanting to leave you with the job that looked a bit overwhelming to him.

You looked around and shrugged, a little tipsy but fully aware that it was a big mess. "I'll probably just take care of it in the morning. Can you just help me get the dishes inside?"

Steve obediently gathered up plates and cups, filling the dishwasher in several trips. Finally, the last were inside and you stood in the kitchen filling the sink to wash the pots and pans while Steve tried awkwardly to find a way to say goodbye.

"Um, thank you," he said at last, "for welcoming me into your community. It means a lot. I'll, uh, see you later I guess. Have a good night."

You stopped your scrubbing to look up at him, bubbles up to your elbows, your face flushed from the warm night air and the alcohol.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

You paused, hesitant, eyes searching his face for confirmation of a mutual feeling. "Do you ever feel like you were meant to meet someone? For a reason?"

The question hit him like a ton of bricks, and he realized that this night had made him feel exactly that way, that somehow he was meant to end up here and meet you, of all people. Why else had there been an instant connection unless this was just the way you were with everyone?

But your question made him think otherwise. You had to be special. Steve, in that moment, could do nothing but nod in affirmation. And then, like you had both had the same thought at the same moment, you were meeting him halfway, rising on your tiptoes, wrapping your arms around his neck, and kissing him. Really, truly, kissing him.

It was like that missing piece had found itself. You slotted your soul into his and Steve was pressing you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you, and lifting you so he didn't have to bend down to reach you. Your wet hands tangled into his slightly too long hair, pulling him impossibly closer, tasting one another's tongues.

And that was the start of it, of late-night motorcycle rides down the causeway, of Saturdays spent on the beach that tapered into drinks with friends, of dinners filled with your chatter and smiles and laughter, and Steve couldn't believe how lucky he was. He was not used to this feeling, of building friendship and companionship and perhaps even love. And he certainly wasn't used to the intense desire to reach out and pinch your ass every time you showed up at his house wearing those gardening jeans, high-waisted and tight and so goddamn cute.

But he never did, was never sure how you'd react. You kissed him, a lot in fact, every morning that he came over and every night that he dropped you off at home. And you never shied away from telling him how handsome he was, how much you liked his hands and his arms and his short beard, how sweet he was and kind and soft and gentle. So many words, words that made his head spin and his world wobble and sway. But it never came to be more than that, never late at night when he was thinking of you most. And oh lord, did he think about you, how your small frame might fit against his in bed while you spooned and slept, or how tight you'd be if he fucked you until the sun rose. He didn't particularly like sleeping in bed, it was too soft for his taste and he tended to take the couch or even the floor most nights, but he would sleep in bed for you if you would just tell him that was what you wanted.

It was like you were waiting for the right moment. And apparently, that moment was July 4th, during the annual celebration. Steve had whispered to you that it was consequently also his birthday, and had begged you to keep that a secret, but it seemed you had simply forgotten the fact entirely. The day passed without mention that Steve was turning 39 (105 if he'd been really counting) and you kissed him as the fireworks exploded over the ocean, sitting in the sand, hands tangled together. He thought the two of you would sit through the show, but then you were standing and pulling him to his feet as well and slipping away as everyone else's faces were turned to the sky.

At your house, you pulled a small cake from the fridge, just big enough to split between two people, and lit a couple of candles as you sat next to him at the kitchen table. Of course, you hadn't forgotten.

"Make a wish," you said with a happy smile. So he did, hoping this summer would never end. "What did you wish for?"

"Can't tell you, otherwise it won't come true," he replied. But then you pouted and he lost all resolve. "How about I show you instead?"

The look on your face said it all, shock mixed with intrigue and the mischief he had noticed that first night almost a week ago. So he reached down and tugged your chair closer, forcing you to face him with your knees between his. And then he leaned over and kissed you, taking your small cheeks in his large palms, putting all the power of his suppressed feelings behind it. He hoped you understood that he wanted more than to just kiss you, he wanted to occupy space inside you, fill you, complete you. Steve could feel your smile against his lips.

You pulled away. "Did you wish that I was dessert instead of the cake?

"I might have. Should we make my wish come true?"

Again you smiled, bright and guiding like a lighthouse torch, and something in your demeanor changed. Instantly, you were relenting to his touch, letting him pull you further into his lap, straddling his waist and settling into him like that was where you were meant to be. The quiet house, probably as old as him in this New England town, creaked in the silence of the night, only occasionally disturbed by the bang of a firework. But it all faded away with you in his arms.

You fit perfectly, just as Steve had hoped.

"You gonna be gentle with me, big man?" you whispered, that same brilliant smile on your face, wiggling as close to him as possible, the fingers of one hand tangled into the hair at the nape of his neck, the others tracing down the point of his sharp nose and pressing against his soft lips. "You gonna fuck me good? Be a good boy?"

Oh, Christ. Steve nearly lost his mind with your hips so tight against his, lost it at your words that made his heart race and color rise to his cheeks. He could be good. Really damn good. You seemed to know something about him that Steve didn't even know about himself, of how much he liked your praise, your commanding tone. If there was anything he was good at, it was taking orders.

"You just keep telling me what to do and I'm all yours," he mumbled against your fingers, the thump of his heart beating in time with yours somewhere deep in your chest, echoes of one another in the silence of the house. Your hand came to grip his chin, pushing another kiss against his mouth, a kiss with lips parted in a sigh, the mingled palate of you and him, like a glass of wine on the beach and chocolate melted on the tongue, sweeping over taste buds and breathed into starved lungs.

"Mm, you taste so good. Like you were created just for me, don't you think?" you asked.

"Built from the best material, just for you." Built to love you, he wanted to say. Steve shut up instead.

You hummed with pleasure and the hand on his chin gripped a little harder, a little more suggestively. He opened his mouth obediently as you slipped your thumb between his lips, and he let you press it against the soft muscle of his tongue. You wanted him to taste you, so he did, his teeth biting gently down on the pad of your finger, another pleasant hum running down your body and straight to his groin.

He waited for your instruction.

"Undress me."

He complied, obediently. Steve's large hands hiked your sundress up around your waist, revealing the softness of your hips. His fingers smoothed up the length of your thighs, kneading at the flesh of your ass that he had so longed to touch. Your reaction was music to his ears, a soft moan leaving your lips and breathed against his, and Steve closed his eyes, arousal spreading through his body at the thought that he was making you react this way. His length hardened, tight in his pants, pressed against the thin layer of fabric that covered the heat of your core. The thought that he might not fit flickered through his mind but it dissipated at the feeling of your fingers pressing into the rough stubble of his jawline.

Steve's hands continued to travel further up your body, taking time to release the zipper of your dress down the length of your spine, and you answered his quiet, "can I?" by pulling slightly away and lifting your arms over your head. The dress landed somewhere in the kitchen and Steve dragged you close again, arms wrapped around your back to encompass you completely, his lips finding purchase against the skin of your neck.

"Look at you, so perfect," Steve mumbled, face pressed into your hair. If he had looked up he would have seen you blush, but he was too preoccupied letting his senses discover every piece of you he could touch, smell, or taste. He wanted to envelop you, inch by inch, roaming and discovering and satiating his curiosity, but you dragged his attention back to your face.

"Hey, eyes up here," you said, pulling his face toward yours and locking gazes. The intensity of your eye contact was stunning, but there was something else behind those eyes, something other than intense attraction and unsatisfied arousal. Was it doubt? Insecurity? The reason why you kissed him for so many nights and never asked for more? You were searching for something, and it came in the form of a question. "You won't leave me after this, right?"

There it was, the bit of insecurity, a fear of loss, of transience, of lacking control. Someone had hurt you before. Maybe that's why you approached everything in life with such ferocity and sincerity. But Steve would never hurt you like that, never let you feel that way again. He hoped you could see it in his eyes the way he felt about you, but words would be more reassurance. "I'm yours tonight. And tomorrow. And the day and week and month and year after that, if you'll have me that long. Whatever it is you need, I'll give it to you."

You blinked and then smiled and pressed another quick kiss to his lips before murmuring, "touch me" against them. So he did, trailing his hands over every sliver of skin before him. He felt the goosebumps rising in their wake, the downy hair on your legs and arms, the heat of your core against him, grinding almost imperceptibly to find some kind of friction, any friction. He wanted to touch you so desperately, but he got the sense that you needed to take the lead, that it would give the control you felt you lacked. So he slid a hand down the plane of your stomach and stopped just shy of dipping into your panties, waiting for your word. But you were no longer interested in playing games. Your hand found his and pulled him lower, using his fingers to press into the seem of your cunt, and he found you slick and warm with desire.

You urged him forward. "Rub my clit, baby. Slowly. Gently."

Slowly and gently. That he could do. His fingers crept absentmindedly closer to the swollen bundle of nerves and when he landed there, touch soft and circling, you jerked against him, your whole body moving with the force of anticipation and a cry leaving your lips. And though it seemed to burn, seemed to be torture for yourself, you demanded he do it again. Your forehead leaned against his, eyes shut tight, and Steve watched as your face contorted in pleasure as he flicked and circled again and again and again.

"Yes, baby. Perfect. So good. So. Fucking. Good."

Every bit of you was soft, from your neck where he placed his kisses to the curled hair hiding the swollen bud of your clit where his fingers played gently and rhythmically. Even the orgasm that gushed from your smooth cunt and stuttered from your lips was soft. You came with a choked cry as your hand pulled him closer by the back of his head, your tits pressed to his chest. Steve looked up to watch you devolve into pleasure, eyes squeezed tightly shut, your hair messy and swirling about your face, the straps of your bra slipping from your shoulder.

"Bed. Now. Right now," you demanded before you even had a chance to come down from your high. He would have been just as happy to have you in the kitchen, just like that, but Steve picked you up, with you latched to his chest like a koala, and carried you upstairs. You felt feather-light in his arms, easily tossed onto the mattress, your hands reaching out to pull his white t-shirt overhead and grab at the plane of his chest. Even as Steve kissed you again you couldn't stop tracing your fingertips over the lines of his torso, the ridges of his abs, the v-line that led tantalizingly toward the waistband of his pants. He felt his cock twitch and strain against the fabric of his boxers, the rough cotton not enough to stimulate him but enough to make him ache for your pussy. Your fluttering hands were not helping and Steve pictured your thin fingers wrapping around his length.

"Look at you," you said. "You're fucking perfect." It was Steve's turn to blush.

Steve wasn't...inexperienced. But it had been a while, to say the least, since he'd had the time or energy or capacity to even feel attracted to anyone. And even longer, perhaps never, since he felt the way he felt about you, like a bee to a flower, drunk on sweet nectar and high on honey. That was you, the delicate flower, so small and tender beneath him, yet as stunning and resonating and thunderous as the fireworks bursting somewhere overhead.

Fighting to survive was all Steve had known for so long, standing up to the bully and helping the fallen to their feet, that it was a relief to not have to be that man for you. You didn't require protection or help or anything from him at all, and yet you welcomed his presence endlessly. Steve realized he was not a need for you, but a want, and for the first time he felt valued for something real, something that wasn't just his brute strength, but something almost bordering on love. This he understood as he stared at your sweet face, caging you beneath him in bed.

"Earth to Steve," you said softly as your legs wrapped around his waist, pulling his pelvis down toward yours and dragging a deep groan from his lungs. He hadn't noticed he'd stopped kissing you and was getting lost in drinking you in amidst his reverie until your small hand pressed to the back of his neck and gently guided him back to your lips. But you stopped just shy, your eyebrows knitted in concern, taking his leisurely manner for uncertainty. "We can stop if you want."

"No, definitely not."

"Good. Then stop staring and kiss me."

"Where?" he teased.

"Everywhere, big man."

Everywhere was doable. So he started at your lips with one so big and breathless it rivaled Mount Everest. For a moment he let himself forget about everything except how long he could go without oxygen against your lips. But there remained more of you to taste.

Steve's lips connected with your chin and slid down your jawline, taking time to kiss the pulse of your neck and the dip of your clavicle. The fan of his breath tickled across your skin and you giggled, the purest sound of joy bubbling from your lips at his touch. More of that he wanted. So he continued down to the valley between your breasts, full and round despite your stature, removing your bra as he did so, nibbling lightly at the peaks of your chest before replacing his teeth with his pinching fingers and moving lower again. Lower toward the edge of your ribs, arched upward to meet the movement of his mouth, toward the slope of your hips, his sharp nose following each kiss as your underwear joined your bra into the abyss.

Your thighs he kissed, top to bottom, left and right, but it was your ass he couldn't get enough of, filling his grip with handfuls of your flesh, using it to pull you toward the edge of the bed where he kneeled, lifting your hips toward his face, your legs slung one over each shoulder. Steve sunk his tongue into your folds without warning and you gasped, your thighs suddenly squeezing tight around his head.

"Yes, right there," you hissed between ragged breaths.

He responded by burying deeper, gripping you harder, and moaning with delight at your overwhelming taste and scent bombarding his senses. You squirmed but didn't pull away as Steve's hands worked their way back up your stomach to cup the tissue of your breasts, the width of his palms capturing the flesh in one big handful. Your hands covered his, holding them there, forcing him to press you into the bed while his mouth left you twitching and bucking beneath his touch.

And in spite of the urgency with which Steve wished to devour you, he continued on leisurely, doing his best to build you up slowly and gently pick you apart bit by bit the way you had asked him to do it before. Your body betrayed its delight, evidenced enough by the way your legs hooked around him and held him down, but you praised him anyways, rapture falling from your lips between sporadic moans of pleasure.

"Fuck, Steve, you're so good, oh God yes, baby, you're doing so good, taste me like that," you cried, and the words spurred him onward, hurried his movements just slightly, his tongue circling your clit, fingers circling your areolas. He would do whatever you asked, jump off a cliff, take a bullet to the chest, drown himself in a river, if only to please you. But you would never ask anything of him that he couldn't give, and Steve knew the moment you asked for his heart it would be his heart you'd receive. And with that intent in his mind, he made you come undone with a silent cry.

Eventually, the trembling ceased, even as he continued to drink your release with the ministrations of his tongue.

"Oh fuck, you like the way I taste baby?" you asked. His affirmation came out muffled and sloppy between your legs. Even you were breathless, barely getting out the words, but you pushed him nonetheless. "I wanna hear you say it, Steve. You like eating me out? Like drinking my juices?"

"Fuck, yes, you taste like goddamn heaven, darling."

"Kiss me, Steve."

"Yes, ma'am."

He complied without a second thought, crawling back up your body to lean over you, giving you a taste of the heaven he had just dipped into. When your fingers found his belt, he helped you remove the rest of his clothes. And then your hands were roving down his chest again, searching blindly until they found what they were looking for. Steve groaned at your touch on his swollen cock.

You gasped. "Oh, God."

Before Steve could respond you pushed him over onto his back and straddled his thighs, eyeing the length on display before you, fingers around it as if testing the girth and finding them unable to wrap all the way around.

"Oh God," you repeated. A short laugh bubbled up from your throat, the controlling front you'd managed to maintain this whole time slipping from your tone.

"Something wrong?" he asked, feeling slightly inadequate under your scrutiny. Steve sat up to meet your eyes, hands finding their place on your hips.

You gazed at him, eyes wide and glassy. "You're gonna split me in half with that thing."

"We don't have to. Not if you aren't comfortable."

"Oh baby, I'm gonna get real comfortable sitting on your cock." Your sultry grin was back and you rose up on your knees to look down at him. Your other hand swiped between your legs, two fingers gathering the warm, wet juices of your orgasm, before joining the first around his cock. You pumped, rolling a drop of precum off the tip with your thumb and rubbing it down his length, mixing the release of your pleasure with his. Steve barely held back from bucking his hips into your hand. He would save that for your pussy.

"I want you to fill me," you whispered. "I wanna be so fucking full. Just go slowly, okay?"

"Slowly. I got you, baby girl. You can take me. Let me fill you."

Steve lifted your hips and guided you forward, aligning your entrance with his length. You moved at a crawling pace, letting gravity sink your pussy around him, pausing every inch to adjust to his intrusion. His biceps stung with the grip of your fingernails in his skin, but it was a welcome distraction from the rush of pleasure threatening to tip him over the edge prematurely. Agonizingly you dipped further, a cry falling from your lips, until you were fully seated, the tip of him pressed into the cavity behind your cervix. You were warm, so, so warm, and soft and tight and you fit perfectly, just like he knew you would.

"Fuck, Steve, you're so big."

"Am I hurting you?" he asked, wiping away a tear from your cheek with his thumb.

"No, fuck, no, you feel so good. I just--I can't move."

"I got you, darling," Steve whispered, his face falling to your chest and burying it in the soft flesh of your tits. And then he wrapped his arms around your waist and did all the moving for you, lifting you up and sinking you down again, just fast enough to make you gasp for air and whine his name. With every thrust, you cried out in pleasure.

"Don't stop, Steve, please, baby, don't stop."

The fingers of one hand tugged at his hair dampened by sweat, nails scratching lightly across his scalp, as the other fell between your legs. You pressed your fingers around your clit and along your entrance, feeling where Steve's thick cock was pushing in and out of your tight pussy, feeling how big he was, how much he filled you. The meandering touch of your fingers almost sent him straight over the edge.

But it was the slick warmth of your cunt that was too much, and Steve found himself resting his forehead more and more heavily against your chest, willing himself to give you everything you wanted before he even thought about himself. The satin scent of your skin, like talcum and rose and his cologne, intoxicated him with every breath, and he sucked and nibbled on one breast and then the other, mindlessly attending to the most sensitive parts of you. A drop of sweat rolled down your sternum and Steve chased it with his tongue, licking a warm stripe up the center of your chest.

"Tell me what you need, darling."

"Fuck, that's perfect," you whined. "You fuck me so good, baby. Don't stop. Gonna make me come--make me come so hard."

Your fingers pressed against your clit once more and then you were clenching around him, your already tight pussy settling into a pulsing vice grip, your body shaking against his while he kissed the sweat from your collar bones. Steve felt you pumping the life out of him, riding out your orgasm and dragging him closer to his. The hand that had been on your clit moved to cup the weight of his balls, pinching and massaging as they pulled in heavy with the need for release.

"Where do you want me, darling, you gotta tell me."

You practically ordered him to come inside you, told him you wanted to feel him sticky between your thighs all night and it was suddenly Steve's turn to come undone, his hot seed pumping deep inside you, his twitching member finally finding release. He moaned your name against your lips, pulling you into a final searing kiss.

When, after a good twenty minutes of not moving from that position, of breathing heavy and kissing softly, you finally pulled away to lean down and lick his cock clean, the sticky mingling of you and him on your tongue, and he had to fight the urge to get hard again. And when you kissed him again, he tasted that mingling, two souls becoming one, as they were meant to be.

He slept next to you for the first time that night, your small frame encased in his, even though there was no need to share body heat in the dead of summer. But he actually slept, no dreams, no nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night. Just deep, heavy sleep, your head tucked beneath his chin, back to his bare chest, his hands holding your breasts, and your hands holding his. Tangled together. Souls as one.

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Can you explain quantum mechanics to us?

*a man in a blue shirt, blue pants, and white shoes, holding a gun to his head and looking at a blank white wall, is shown on the left of the top image and on the right of the bottom image*

Hello, John.

I hope that you do not mind if I take the liberty of speaking with you, and of using the first-person pronoun in order to do so. "You" will understand, I am sure, in just a moment, in the course of our conversation. ("I" have a distinct advantage, because I am already you, I am you that I am.)

But, until we meet in person again, I want you to know the reason I have written you this letter. To do that, I want you to know how I became you. You, like I, are a product of your generation, and the material conditions that produced it. You, just like I, were formed by your parents, and then by your siblings, and your classmates, and your friends, and the place in which you were raised – by that place's culture, and by its history, which has become yours, and by its language, which, once you learn it, becomes a part of you forever. You, just like I, can say that the very nature of the world around you contains traces of the influences that have formed you, and which you now carry inside yourself. You, just like I, can say these influences are both strong and subtle, for even those influences which we could consider to be most abstract and remote are not completely abstract and remote, but are entangled with the particular histories of their cultures and societies, which you carry within you.

I have always wondered, in just this way, whether the particular traces of culture and history which make up my identity, were ever really absent from the identities of my peers, no matter how long ago we were. Are these influences present in my friends, and those of my parents, and the others who have known me since infancy? Do the influences of the country, the town, and the culture which surrounded me at home still carry traces of them within me? If so, then even though they have faded from consciousness for a long time, they are still there, in the very substance of me. And if it is the case that these influences are always present, and the traces of them always there, no matter what we do, then we must always feel ourselves to be the same person, in some essential way, and not just a different person, or something that has temporarily departed from identity.

This is the idea upon which I wrote my book. And I thought that, because my book is the first, it was necessary to do some kind of test of it, in order to make sure that it really could convey the idea of what I was doing. And I was going to do that test of myself, that is, of who I was before I began to write my book.

I went to the place where I was born, a town on the Hudson River in New York, in a time when many people lived there. I found this place, and I found the houses that stood upon the land where I was born. I walked among the children of the town, and I saw the children of the town grow into adults, and I saw the adults in the place die, and one day, I too would die, and I could see with my own eyes the deaths of those who have come and gone before me. It was here, in this place, that I lived as I lived, as my friends did, as my parents did before me, and as those who came after me did.

And I came to know them, and I learned the history, and I saw it was still the same place, where I had grown up, as I now did. And I was filled with a sense that the very nature of the place had changed, and had become less the same, as if, in the meantime, the memory of me had dimmed and blurred.

*a man in a blue shirt, blue pants, and white shoes, holding a gun to his head and looking at a blank wall, is shown on the left of the top image and on the right of the bottom image, again. He is standing in a place, with a door in the background. The place is empty and silent*

And you came into the place, like me, but you had not seen it as I had, because you had not been there, because the memory of it was dimmed, in much the same way as the memory of me had been.

And there was the house which my father built, and the land in which my father had built it; and there were the people who lived in it; and they were different, in just the way I was. I felt that they had changed, and that I was different from them, in just the way they had changed. And I began to want to live in a place, and to need to be a person, which was not them.

*the man is still holding the gun to his head in the same pose as before, now in the middle of a park with trees around it, and the houses of the town visible in the distance,*

*the man's head is shown in the middle, the other man's head is shown to the right. The man with his head in the middle is holding the gun as before, it is pointed in the direction of the person with his head on the right.*

Do you see what I mean? That I was me, even as I was writing my book? That my book was only the first, and the last book which I would write, before the place which was myself was filled with me, was myself? Do you know what I mean? Is this the reason that you, John, could read my book, and understand it? Is this the reason that you, John, did not just read it?

Did you know what I was writing about? Did you get it?

*the man is still holding the gun to his head, and looking at the camera*

No, John. You do not know. You don't get it. You only read the book, to try to understand me, and the people like you, but you did not read my book as if it had been written in reference to you personally. You only read the book as if it had been written in a general way.

*the head of the person with the gun is no longer visible*

And you think you can know who I am, because you know about me, and you knew about you. And you have read my book, and you believe it is true, just as I wrote it. You know me, and you know the influences on me. You are me.

*the head of the person with the gun is no longer visible, and only the head of the man holding the gun is now visible*

And what do you know of the place where you live? What do you know of the country, where you grew up, where you are now, that you believe it

[spooks-and-tea]

Entangled (Spencer Reid x femReader) [Ch.6]

Summary: You don’t know how it happened. One moment you were watching Criminal Minds, and the next moment you were literally in the show. Can Spencer be the key to helping you find your way back home?

Warnings: minor character death, mentions of su*cide, bad explanations of quantum mechanics, bad words, sexual situations(some non-con), the usual criminal minds-type content

A/N: Sorry if any of the profiling sounds dumb, and don’t take it as factual for your psych hw. I’m trying to keep descriptions of people basic so you lovely readers can fill in the blanks with what you would want them to look like <3 even fill in the blank of which Reid hairstyle you want!

Word Count: 6,359

Chapter 1.  Chapter 2.  Chapter 3.  Chapter 4. Chapter 5.  Chapter 6.  Chapter 7. Chapter 8.  Chapter 9.  Chapter 10.  Chapter 11.

This is the second time that Spencer Reid has left you utterly disoriented before 6:00a.m.

You wake up on your couch practically on top of him.

Coffee and woodsy-vanilla. Warmth. Surprisingly toned arms (probably from carrying heavy stacks of books and case files). Yup, this is heaven. You initially thought you were still dreaming. After all, your dream hadn't been too far off from this. You figured the setting had just changed.

Absentmindedly, you cuddled up closer to him.

Suddenly, you heard the sound of a door being thrown shut. You yelped, jumping up. Your sudden movement woke Spencer up and he rolled, falling off the couch with a loud thump followed by a groan of pain.

Okay, so, not a dream.

"I'm gone one night and you're already with him again? When were you planning on telling me I was dating a whore?" Chris stood at the doorway.

"Calm down, it's nothing scandalous." You muttered. You needed coffee; it was way too early for this.

Spencer stood up, rubbing the back of his bedhead and yawning. You'd never felt the need to describe a full-grown man as 'cute' before. But- Cute.

"Sure looks that way," Chris scoffed.

"Why are you even here?" You asked, standing up from the couch while trying to smooth out your hair.

"Don't change the subject Y/N."

"Hey, don't talk to her that way." Spencer cut in, rounding the couch to stand next to you.

"What do you even see in this guy? What does he have that I don't have?" Chris blatantly ignored him, directing all of his attention to you.

"He's the complete opposite of you for starters, but I don't have to-"

"No I think you do; you owe me that much."

"Just leave it and get out of my house! Don't let your ego hit you on the way out." You yelled, yeah you definitely needed coffee.

"You're a fucking bitch and a slut. You're lucky I ever gave you a chance because this-" He pointed at Spencer, "is hilarious, you must be absolutely out of your mind. He must fuck you good and hard huh? I bet you like that you whore!" He growled. "I guess now is as good a time as ever to tell you I slept with someone too, here, probably while you were out fucking him. You weren't giving me what I wanted so I found it in someone else. You're nothing but a cheap whore; forgettable. I hope you both rot." You stood with your jaw dropped as Spencer boldly stood up to him.

"She said get out." Spencer sneered.

"Or what? The scrawny side-piece is going to beat me up? I doubt it. Get out of my face before I make you."

Spencer stood his ground, you slowly neared behind him sensing the escalation.

"I said get. out. of. my. face." Chris was furious now. He roughly pushed Spencer backwards; sending Spencer stumbling and tripping over onto the floor. Chris looked like he was about to tackle him. You panicked and punched him with all your strength.

"Ow what the fuck Y/N?" Chris groaned as he covered his nose. You hissed as you clutched your bruising hand, no one said punching someone hurt the puncher so much.

"Don't. touch. him." You even scared yourself at the seriousness your tone.

"You bitch! You broke my nose!"

"And you assaulted an FBI agent. 2 of them actually. So I think we are more than even."

"Dammit. Forget it, just let me grab my clothes and leave; it don't have much here."

"No. You'll wait in the hallway outside of MY house and I will grab your things and bring them to you. Now give me my house key." You ordered.

"Ugh, fine." His voice was nasally as he held it to stop the bleeding. He followed your orders, slamming the door behind him.

You pocketed the key before turning to check on Spencer. He was still on the floor, holding himself up on his elbows to stare at you in awe.

You held out your non-bruised hand to help him up.

"Y-you punched him." Spencer stated as if he was trying to convince himself that it really happened.

"Yeah, he was going to hurt you so-" you shook your bruised hand out, the skin had slightly scratched leaving little lines of blood. You laughed to yourself. "No one told me it would hurt this much."

Spencer grabbed your hand to inspect it. "We should clean this up."

You agreed and followed him upstairs.

He sat you down on the bathroom sink counter and looked through your medical supplies.

"He's waiting outside for his things." You mumbled.

"Let him wait." Spencer took your hand in his.

You watched him working for a moment before deciding you'd rather watch his face. He did his nose scrunch tick as he cleaned off the wound with water. You smiled in admiration.

"Thank you." Spencer said, meeting your eyes for a moment before continuing to gently clean your hand.

"You would've done the same for me." You shrugged, knowing it was true.

"This is going to sting." Spencer warned, moving on to the next phase of the cleaning process.

"Okay." You nodded, bracing yourself by holding his shoulder with your good hand.

He dabbed on the cleaning solution and your back shot up straight. You hissed and tightened your hold on him, he didn't seem to mind. He worked quickly. A tear fell down your cheek. You hadn't expected it to hurt that much.

Spencer noticed when he finished cleaning the wounds. He reached up to gently swipe it away with his thumb.

"Shh it's okay, the hard part's done," he cooed.

You almost wanted to cry more just so you could hear him speak to you like that again.

He took out the bandages and wrapped them around your hand, taping them off at the end. He bent your fingers back and forth.

"Is it too tight?"

You shook your head no, still watching his face. "It's perfect."

"They'll stay bruised for a week at most." Spencer finally looked up, meeting your glassy eyes.

Something about the gentle caring nature he exuded as he took care of you melted your heart. You hadn't had someone even close to that since your dad died. You wanted him to know how much you appreciated it.

You moved your free hand to clutch his hands which were still holding your bandaged one. You gave them a comforting squeeze, a silent 'thank you.'

He moved to hold both of your hands in his, lifting them to place a lingering kiss on each.

You held your breath.

Spencer Reid, you're making me fall in love with you, and you know it too, don't you? You know what you're doing.

"Better?" He asked, meeting your eyes.

You finally remembered how to breath again.

"Yes, thanks." You gave him a smile, hoping you didn't look like a red tomato.

He stepped back, giving you room to jump down. "Let's get his things."

"I hope he hasn't gotten blood all over the floor." You teased, trying to change the mood for your own heart's sake.

Spencer helped you pile Chris's small amount of items and you both tossed them out the door in front of him.

"Bitch," you heard Chris mutter under his hand that was still holding his nose. You flipped him off as you closed the door in his face, locking it behind you.

Spencer watched you with a look of amusement on his face.

"Thanks for all of this Spencer. I didn't mean for you to get caught up in all of this." You leisurely walked to him, messing with your bandages as your wounds itched.

"It's no problem. Actually, I would have been glad to punch Chris myself after what you went through. You know you're not any of those derogatory names he called you, right?"

"Yeah. I know." You nodded. "And he was right about one thing. You have everything that he doesn't have, Spence. All he has is his abs, a broken nose, and a vile personality." Spencer nodded with a shy smile.

"So- breakfast?" He suggested.

"Yes. I need coffee, and I haven't tried out my kitchen! What do you want to eat?" You asked, excitedly.

"Hmm. What's your favorite breakfast food?" Spencer asked.

"It's a weird combo, but I like omelets and blueberry muffins." You chuckled.

"Then that's what I want." He grinned.

You quieted and met Spencer's eyes, your smile dropping. A magnetic feeling pulling on your chest.

"What?" He asked, looking nervous.

Before you could second-guess yourself, you stood up on your toes and pulled Spencer by his shirt into a kiss. All of your pent up emotions had finally broken your dam of self-doubt. You didn't think about it, you just did what felt right.

Spencer's lips felt so wonderfully right locked with your own. At least, it did on your end. His lips were chapped but somehow the softest things the sensitive skin of your lips had ever felt. You felt his heart beating and a magnetic, crackling electricity. The kiss was quick, but you put all of your pent up feelings into it; hoping that could explain what you, otherwise, had no words for.

Spencer froze, his entire body going stiff.

Oh no I've fucked this up. I've really fucked this up. I have morning breath and I just technically broke up with my ex and my hair is a mess and I'm from an entirely different reality, and Spencer is not even remotely interested in me.

Your mind screamed at you. This was a mistake. You'd misread all of Spencer's good intentions as something more and now you were going to have to drown in self-doubt.

He never kissed you back. You pulled away, willing your forming tears not to fall.

"Y/N I-." Spencer softly spoke, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"I-I'm sorry. I just- I thought. I wasn't thinking." You turned around to avoid his eyes. You didn't want to see him feel sorry for you.

"You can leave Spence, don't feel like you have to stay here for my sake." Silent tears began to fall freely, you didn't bother to wipe them away.

Without a word, Spencer walked out of your apartment, gently closing the door behind him, and taking the last of your stability with him.

You wish you could say you didn't completely break down. You wish the denial of a man you'd only recently known, in the flesh, didn't hurt so much, but it did- it really hurt. Again, you were reading him like his character, expecting him to grab your hair like he did with Cat Adams and kiss you until you'd forgotten your own name.

You might as well have imagined everything you'd perceived as acts of more-than-friendliness. This wasn't some perfect fanfiction scenario.

Spencer was a real person, and he wasn't the man you'd daydreamed about. Yet you still fell for him, hard and fast.

Now there was nothing. Your chest ached for him like magnets tugging and pulling you towards another force. You sobbed on the floor where he had left you and you felt what true loneliness was like because Spencer Reid kissed your hands and made you fall in love with him. It only took 5 days of knowing him and, just as quickly, he broke your heart. So you lay on the ground and went over the stupid kiss in your head until your stress built up and you had a panic attack.

You don't know how long you sat there with no strength to pull yourself back up. Had you cried more in the last few days than in your entire lifetime?

You checked your charging phone for the time; you had 45 minutes to get to work. You weighed the pros and cons of leaving or staying and decided that staying would be far worse on your mental health. Staying would only include wine, romance movies, and anxiety. Besides, you needed to give your phone to Garcia for tracking. You would just have to try to avoid Spencer today.

Getting ready was a difficult task. You showered, you had a good cry in the shower. You brushed your teeth, also while crying, and you put some makeup on to hide all the evidence of your crying. You decided to skip out on breakfast all together, only drinking a cup of coffee you figured out how to make in your high-tech kitchen.

While driving, you decided to play the radio. Flipping through stations, every one seemed to be playing the same song. Like some sick joke, the song was sad. So you ended up also crying while driving which is mid-life crisis-level depressing. You fixed your makeup in the rearview mirror after parking.

You were about to walk into a room of profilers and expect them to not ask you what's wrong. If they asked, you might just cry again. You walked in, flashing your badge like Spencer had shown you. Making it to the office, you luckily, ran into Garcia on the way out of the elevator.

"Honey I heard the news! Are you alright?" For a moment you stood in shock, had Spencer told everyone about the kiss already? Was he making a joke out of it? No, that's not Spencer. On or off the show, he would never.

"You have your phone right? Givemegivemegivemegiveme." She reached out and you pushed your phone in her eager hands.

"I'll phone someone when I find some information on this sicko." Garcia's heels clicked as she walked away.

You hadn't gotten one word in. At least it seemed that Spencer or Rossi had filled everyone in on your phone-call stalker and not your failure of a love life.

You caught sight of Spencer's hair through the glass doors. He always stood out on the show. His hair was constantly changing length and style to the point that you could name which season each style was from. The current one was your favorite. He wore a dark purple shirt and black vest; a black tie around his neck. He just had to wear his sleeves rolled up and prolong your torture, didn't he?

You took a deep breath and opened the doors, walking through. You felt like a gladiator walking into the colosseum, going straight for her opponent as spectators looked on to laugh at the bloodshed. You figured your desk was the one you had woken up in, which was just across from Spencer's. You would have to sit face-to-face all day. You slowly walked, watching him. His head was lowered as he read over some paperwork; flipping through the pages quickly. His eyes moved quickly, reading like the super-genius he was.

You spotted your name plaque and pulled out your chair. This grabbed the boy genius's attention. He lifted his head, looking at you with doe-eyes, as if your chest wasn't aching enough.

"Y/N." He choked.

"Spencer."

He licked his lips, preparing to say more.

"Meeting in 5." Hotch called out, tearing your gazes from one another.

You didn't even have a chance to sit down.

Spencer stood up and took a long stride to walk along next to you.

"Y/N I think we should talk." He spoke in a hushed tone that tickled your ear.

"Everything seemed pretty final this morning." You willed yourself to keep your voice steady.

"But I don't want it to be," Spencer spoke, sadly.

"Are you sure? Because it didn't seem that way to me when you walked out." You didn't mean to sound so harsh, you weren't really angry at him, this was all on you. You told him to leave out of shame.

"I thought-" Spencer frowned.

You both stood at the closed door to the roundtable room and you turned to Spencer.

"Here's what happened. I fell in love with you. I know I've only known this real you for 5 days, but I fell. Hard. You were saying and doing all of these things that made me love you, and I already had a crush on your character, and so, in a moment of weakness, I kissed you. That's what happened. I kissed you and-and you didn't kiss me back, so I know it was one sided. I let you go and I cried it out. I just want to save whatever friendship we can salvage at this point. I'm sorry I kissed you, Spencer."

Luckily, you had cried all the tears you had that morning and your words came out clear. Spencer stared at you, wide eyed and speechless. Deciding the conversation was over, you opened the door.

You took an empty seat between Rossi and JJ, Spencer moving to sit across from you, next to Morgan. You looked everywhere else but at Spencer.

Hotch soon came walking in.

"Alright, we have a case involving one of our own, Agent Y/N, you all have been informed of the situation. We're having Garcia track the phone caller's location and any identifying information we can get from the number itself. She received the call at 2:00a.m. The unsub repeated the words 'I know who you are.' When questioned, the unsub grew louder, possibly feeling provoked by her voice. The unsub hung up at 2:02 a.m. Reid arrived at Y/N's apartment at approximately 2:43 a.m. and found no signs of a break-in. Is that all correct Agent Y/N?" Hotch asked.

You nodded, 'yes.'

Just then a video call came in on JJ's laptop, Garcia popped up on the screen.

"I've worked extra fast on this one. I'll just give myself a little pat on the back. The call came from a phone booth in the outer limits of the city. The booth is literally in the middle of nowhere, there's an abandoned warehouse and gas station nearby, but that's about it. The rest is forestry. It's so well-concealed, if I was a creepy phone stalker person, this is where I'd go." She finished.

"Alright Garcia thank you, we'll call you if we need anything else." Hotch thanked, hanging up.

"I doubt this unsub will still be there, if he went this far out of his way to call Y/N, he knows we can track him to that location." JJ reasoned.

"He sounds like a prank caller, but that doesn't align with his escalating aggression. What I want to know is why he targeted Y/N, specifically." Morgan commented.

"Morgan's right, Y/N do you know anyone that could possibly want to scare you?" Rossi asked.

"There's one person. My ex, Chris, but it couldn't be him. He wouldn't drive all that way just to prank call me." Okay you were now part of one of these back and forth profiling things.

"The voice was disguised. Y/N said it was low and nasally like the Scream killer, Ghostface. This could be a slasher movie fan trying to recreate his favorite movie. We see this behavior in mostly young adults and children. The Slenderman cases being the most recent examples of these proxy killers." Spencer spoke, you quickly glanced his way, he was twiddling with a pencil. Killers? You had hardly been here and someone was already trying to murder you? You really couldn't catch a break.

"Wouldn't he say or do something more specific to that movie? Scream in particular, the phone calls were followed up by the break-ins. No, he knew she was alone and awake. He wanted to scare her, but not harm her; at least, not yet. I think he knows her, or he's been watching her. This is a classic stalker scare, a warm up before he acts." Rossi said, leaning back in his chair.

"You're saying you think his next move will be physical?" Hotch asked.

"Whether she knows it, or not. I think he'll look like a normal man, he'll watch her from afar and probably try to gain her attention to formally meet her." Rossi replied.

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Morgan asked.

Spencer leaned in. "Not at all, in fact most known cases of stalking begins at the non-physical contact level. The stalker will try to contact their victim through emails, direct messages, mail, or phone calls. From there, it escalates to more intrusive, physical behaviors such as the classic visual of stalking, spying on the victim, and eventually confronting them. It's possible this unsub has suffered from rejection or failure in the past. His narcissism makes him see himself as the real victim and he feels that he deserves the victim's affections. He'll display obvious signs of obsession, possibly outwardly showing obsessive-compulsive ticks, and, through this, he'll become fixated on the victim. Going back to the slasher scenario, stalkers will often justify themselves through believing in their own fantasies. In his head, the victim wants his attention. If he's a true narcissist, he will want to meet her in person. he'll make sure these chance meetings happen on his terms."

How the hell did he figure all of that out through a few words in a phone call?

"He's already shown outward bursts of anger over the phone. He'll want to escalate things quickly. Y/N isn't safe she needs to be put under surveillance." JJ nodded to you.

"Alright JJ and Rossi I want you to go question the ex boyfriend, Chris. Reid, Y/N, Morgan and I will scope out the telephone booth. In the meantime, Y/N, I know you can handle yourself, but if this unsub does know where you live, he is highly dangerous. Pairing up is your safest option. I don't want you going anywhere alone. You can stay with one of us for the time being."

Okay, dad.

"She can stay with me," Spencer offered a little too quickly. You leaned back in your seat, wishing to disappear. Why did Spencer want to put you through this? You were still heartbroken. This would make it impossible to move on. You needed more time.

"Um I-" You finally spoke up.

"Reid, thank you, that would be great." Hotch spoke, either not hearing you, or wanting to move on to more important business. You gave a pointed look to Spencer as he pursed his lips.

Great. Just great. What is he thinking?

************************************************************************

"Garcia was right. This unsub had a goal, he knew this place was far enough out of town that if we tracked it immediately we still wouldn't get here in time to find this guy," Morgan said as you all got out of the car.

"No one goes this far out of their way to make a simple prank call. And judging from what Spencer said about stalkers, the unsub would be too compulsive to think this far ahead. Unless, he lives around here." You spoke, looking around. This was your first real thought contribution to the BAU!

Spencer looked at you and smiled, knowingly. How was he still acting so nonchalant after all of the drama between you two?

"I don't see any tire track marks other than ours and this road is too far out from the main road for just anyone to stumble upon. Y/N's right the unsub has to live nearby. The terrain is flat and he came here on foot. I'll ask Garcia to track down any residences within a 20 mile radius." Morgan said, pulling out his phone.

"Good. I'll check out the forested perimeter and maybe that gas station. Reid, Y/N, you look around the warehouse, it's in bad shape, so watch out for any structural hazards." Hotch planned. Basically giving the Scooby-Doo "let's split up gang!" Spiel.

You sighed.

Yay, more time alone with Spencer and he's wearing that tight FBI vest, lovely. Christmas must have come early this year.

You held your firearm out like you had seen in the show; walking cautiously behind Spencer, while scoping out the perimeter.

Something caught your eye in your peripherals as you turned to look behind the building. You looked directly at a dark, distant figure, Spencer still moving forward.

You squinted in the bright sun, the figure was getting closer, and it wasn't Hotch or Morgan. It was the same figure from the hotel in Montana.

You pointed your gun at it, fear making your throat tighten.

"Spencer," you called.

He circled back next to you and pointed his firearm up, following your line of sight. You grew confused as he began to lower his weapon.

"W-What are you doing Spence?" You adjusted your footing, not sure if you wanted to run away or catch this guy; if he even was the unsub.

"Y/N, no one is there." Spencer turned to you, looking concerned.

"Are you joking? He's right there! Oh god, he's getting closer."

"What does he look like?"

"H-He has a trench coat on and a hat, like a 1950s businessman hat. He has long dark grey hair and a scraggly beard and his face is very ashy. His cheekbones are hollow, like starving hollow, not like model cheekbones hollow. He's wearing brown corduroy pants and some old brown dress shoes. He looks maybe in his 70s with a long grey beard. He's roughly around 6 ft 3in, I think." You described.

The man was now a basketball court's length away from you and Spencer.

"Where is he now?" Spencer narrowed his eyes, desperately trying to see the man.

"A few feet in front of us."

Spencer slowly moved in front of you, pushing you behind him as if he could see the man coming and protect you. The mysterious man moved closer and closer. Despite where you an Spencer were at emotionally, you appreciated his unwavering support in this moment.

"I know you," the man said; smiling and tilting his head.

"Who are you?" You asked, afraid and not sure of his intentions.

Spencer turned his head to look at you, you were staring at the man, unable to move out of fear.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is you aren't supposed to be here."

"What do you want?" He stands in front of Spencer, too close, but Spencer can't see him. You go to push Spencer out of the way, not wanting him to get hurt by someone he couldn't defend himself from, but he stood his ground and held you back.

"To take you back where you came from."

"Why?"

"You're not from here."

"So?"

"You do not belong here. You must go back."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, creep." You tightened your grip around your firearm.

"It will hurt more if you return later."

"Why do you want me to return?"

"Let's just say- So the show can return to its normal scheduling."

Way to be mysterious without giving away any tangible information.

"I don't want to leave."

"I know. You love him. How sad. You were never meant to meet. Someone made that decision. They were wrong. I will have you return." The man inched closer, but stopped suddenly, darkening his eyes at Spencer.

"Try me, bitch." You narrowed your eyes, angry that he knew your personal feelings for Spencer and angry that he wanted anything to do with your life.

"Very well, you will return later then. Don't say I didn't warn you. Your decision will not only hurt you, but it will hurt him too." The man smiled a wicked smile and turned and walked away.

You managed to release yourself from Spencer's body shielding, jumping in front of him.

"Do what you want to me, but I won't let you hurt him!" You yelled after the man.

You pulled out your gun to run after him and apprehend him. Spencer dove out, holding you back.

"There's no evidence that bullets can effect him. If I can't see him, I highly doubt they will. It might be a trap." Spencer explained.

Spencer was right, you were sure the man wasn't even human, or if you would be able to actually touch him. If he was, he was able to tap into some weird inter-dimensional, science shit that made it so Spencer couldn't see him.

Your hands shook as you pocketed your firearm.

Spencer let out a breath and spun you around, embracing you. "I couldn't protect you. I couldn't see him. I'm sorry."

"No, no it's fine Spence. He's tapped into something beyond our understanding; some more of that quantum stuff. Though, I think, somehow, you were stopping him from coming any closer to me."

"What did he want? I only caught your side of the conversation."

"He wants me to return to my reality. I asked him why and he said all this convoluted shit." You shook your head, frustrated, stepping back, but still holding Spencer's arms.

"Maybe I can decipher it."

"He said I don't belong here. I must go back. So the show can return to its normal scheduling. He said someone made the decision that I should meet you, but he doesn't agree with them. He said my decision to not freely go with him right now would hurt not only me, but also you," you paraphrased. "I don't know how to stop him. What if he succeeds? What if I'm ripped away from this life?" You rub at your temples. Dread filling your core.

"I won't let that happen."

You wanted to stay here. You could be strictly friends with Spencer Reid, but to lose him completely? That would destroy you at this point. How could he stop an unsub that he couldn't see?

************************************************************************

You returned home to pack for your stay, with Spencer as your designated chaperone. You both stayed silent on the drive there until you walked inside.

"Y/N, about what you said at work-" Spencer scratched his temple as he idled near the entryway.

"Spencer, if I'm going to be staying with you for a long period of time, I need you to drop this," you stated, beginning to ascend the stairs. You felt lightheaded as you still had neglected to feed yourself since that morning; it was evening now. You held the rail with both hands and took a deep breath.

"Y/N, are you okay?" Spencer walked up behind you.

"Fine-just-dizzy." You mumbled.

"What have you had to eat today?" Spencer asked, going into serious doctor mode.

"Coffee."

Spencer waited for you to continue. His eyebrow raised as you didn't speak.

"Just coffee? You're going to make yourself sick. Not to mention your high stress levels already, you're going to give yourself a panic attack." Spencer scolded.

"I already did this morning. I'm stressed and I don't eat when I'm stressed, okay?"

"You had a panic attack?" His face paled.

"Not a full-on one, but yes." You caught your breath and stomped to the top of the stairs. You made your way to your closet.

"Y/N we really do need to talk!" Spencer's voice grew louder as he walked in.

You pulled a suitcase out and began folding clothes inside.

"Then talk Spencer. If not now, then we have a lot of future time together to do so," you sighed.

Spencer kneeled on the floor next to you.

"When you kissed me, I thought it was a spontaneous rebound move. High stress chemicals clouding your judgement. I didn't think someone like you could actually be attracted to me."

"Spencer you've kissed far hotter women than me."

"That was on the show?!" Spencer blushed.

You nodded.

"What are you trying to say Spence?"

"I'm saying-" he licked his lips. "You're beautiful; you don't have to worry about anyone else I've kissed. You're the most fascinating person I've ever met; not just because you traveled through a multi-verse to get here. You're a dreamer, and you look at me with these doe-eyes. You're incredibly strong-willed, although now I think you're also physically strong too because your knuckles aren't extremely bruised from that punch. I want to protect you all the time, but I find you protecting me too. You're funny and I feel like you understand me more than anyone else. I-I get nervous when I'm around you and I can't articulate my thoughts, which is admittedly frustrating for someone with my IQ. I want to hold you constantly and hide you away from everything that bothers you. I actually know every English dictionary definition, and some French, of the the word 'love' and I know it encapsulates all of these other words like passion, attraction, devotion, and so on. That is the only word I can think of that properly describes what I feel for you, and every word that falls under its definition. I didn't kiss you back because I thought you didn't actually feel the same way, I thought you were full of adrenaline and anger and you needed comfort; I didn't want to take advantage of that. But now I know that I was horribly wrong and I hurt you. I am so sorry I walked out on you without explaining myself, Y/N. I-I hate that I made you cry and I understand if you don't want to be around me. I can ask Rossi if he can take you in, if that's what you want."

"Spencer" You croaked. Your throat tightening.

He wrung his hands, nervously, in his lap. Waiting on bated breath for your input.

"Please kiss me," you pleaded.

Without missing a beat, Spencer cradled your face in his hands and pulled you to him in a kiss. You immediately reciprocated.

All of that crying for this stupid genius. This man that kissed you like he could lose you at any moment.

His movements were hesitant, unsure, but determined. From an outsider's perspective, a kiss was simply skin to skin contact. You'd done it in acting classes countless times and it was just that. It's the context and emotions that make a kiss mean something. Spencer's lips pressed against yours and you'd never felt anything like it. Your lips nearly tingled, all your senses felt heightened.

You raked your hand through his hair to hold him closer. This made him bolder as he traced his tongue along your lips.

Did he even have to ask? You granted him access, opening up everything, your whole self; you wanted him to take.

Your heart knew this was special. The magnetic pull in your chest buzzed in an electric storm, finally not pulling you to an unknown force. Spencer was that force, he was the other end of the magnet, the thing that pulled you here.

You slowed the kiss. He was nervous and moving too fast. As his tongue danced with yours, you let him have his dominance, but you also guided him. The slower movements allowed you both to put more emotions into it; it was almost too sensual for a first kiss.

Spencer pulled away first, his forehead resting against yours. You leaned up and stole one more kiss, making him smile.

"I love you Spencer." You whispered.

"I love you too. The old you and the real you." He kissed you again. Your hands fell around his neck and down further to his shoulders. This was the first time you could freely touch him. Your hands reached his chest and you placed your palms flat, feeling his heartbeat. It was as erratic as yours. It was real, and it was his.

You were the one with the strength to pull away. You were still lightheaded from the lack of food and this wasn't helping. In fact everything was spinning.

"Spencer I-" Your head lolled and your body dropped forward. Spencer reached out to catch you and you fainted in his arms.

You woke up not even a minute later. Spencer was holding you, but he had positioned you so that you were lying horizontally over his lap.

"Kissing someone has never made me faint before," you mumbled, clutching your head.

"You're body was under too much stress and you've had 0 sustenance." Spencer stood, somehow easily lifting you with him. You knew he was toned, but skinny, you'd already seen him half-naked; where was he hiding this magical strength?

"Where are we going?" Your words came out slurred. Spencer answered by gently laying you on your bed, the sheets were long forgotten in the wash. You definitely would have to buy new ones.

"You are going to lay here and rest," he used the extra pillow to elevate your legs.

"Why are you lifting my legs?"

"You've fainted and you need to get your blood flowing in your brain again." He explained.

"Oh."

He leaned down and kissed your forehead, smoothing your hair back over your ear.

"Are you trying to make me faint again Reid?" This was the first time you had used his last name, you wanted to channel Hotch's energy.

You were also a little bit delirious.

"Your blood sugar and your blood pressure is low. I'm going to go downstairs and find some food with sugar and salt in it. Meanwhile; nap." He nodded.

"I'm not supposed to be left alone, Hotch's orders," you pouted.

"I'll just be downstairs."

"Fiiiiine."

You watched him smile and shake his head before turning and leaving. You listened to his steps as he walked down the stairs, counting each one, and already missing him. Ugh, you had it bad for this man, and normally you would be terrified of that fact. Terrified that someone could have so much power over you by simply just existing.

Soon enough the exhaustion finally took over and you fell asleep. When you came-to, Spencer was gently coaxing you awake.

"I thought you might want to eat out on the balcony, open some windows, and get some fresh air."

"Mmm sounds good," you groaned. You rubbed your tired eyes.

Spencer helped you up, holding your waist as you descended the stairs. You felt sluggish and tired, Spencer was right, all of the stress was catching up with you.

He helped you sit on the pretty balcony. It was enclosed, but he had propped open some of the windows inside. The smell of all the plants inside mixed with the night air, making it easier to think clearly. Spencer waited on you, first bringing out the silverware and cups, then a tray of food. The plates were covered with serving lids. You giggled at how seriously he was taking this.

"This may not be a proper dinner but-" Spencer lifted the lids. "I think I owe you this."

Your jaw dropped, as if he had just proposed. Omelets and blueberry muffins.

Spencer Reid was better than his Criminal Minds character, you determined; his fans had no idea.

Next Chapter

[the-archetype-of-civilization]

Forgotten and Cast By the Wayside (Drabble/Vent)

I just woke up from a 3 hour nap, something that I should’ve been at least a little bit refreshed from (despite how embarrassing it is that I’ve slept for 3 hours and accomplished none of what I wanted/needed to do today), but I don’t feel that at all.  I have a headache and me eating my dinner late didn’t make it go away.

I didn’t feel good today.  Physically, I’m fine.  Mentally?  Not good.

Today I felt like crying at work today, so occupied with my own thoughts that I wasn’t sure if it was because I hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning, because I barely slept at all, because I really was feeling my loneliness hard, or because it was all three.

I feel like I can control my emotions and know the difference of when I’m tired and hungry, because I would just be annoyed or hangry.  I wasn’t.  I was every bit as depressed and alone than how I was before.

I felt forlorn.

–

Ender stared at the coordinates for so long, he wasn’t sure if the image was burned into his brain for how long his eyes were glued to it.  This was it.  His past made real.  And he really was considering to do it.  What would he gain from this?  What could he possibly achieve by going back?  Reopening old wounds isn’t something that he (nor anybody, for that matter) would be comfortable doing at all.  Especially one where it’s a dead planet.

He would see things that he didn’t want to see.  Go to a place that he should never witness.  Find things…that are best left buried.  Was it worth all the trauma?  Was it worth all of the pain he might inevitably endure?

He needed to confront it.  Here and now.

Ender starts to flip up the switches as the Theseus’ engines and quantum entanglement reactor light up and hum to life.  The door was opening.  He pushes the lever forward as a large a blue portal opened up in front of him into another world of stars.  He breathes out a heavy and shaky sigh as he pulls the ship through.

–

There’s a lot of things that I kept thinking about today that probably didn’t make things better (which is a great mindset to have, right?).  One of them was an essay that a mutual sent to me about…what kind of person I am.  I can assure you that none of it was good.  I had it stowed away somewhere, to remind me never to forget that you can’t let people walk all over you, say whatever they want, nor think things for how they think you are when you really aren’t.

It was hard not to, I can assure you of that.  What if they were right?  What if I really was this awful person that was merely using them for my own gain?  Back then, I was so upset to read that and the more that I thought about it, I had gotten so angry and rage-fueled.  I wanted to scream at work, in my car even, because I was so angry at that.  I wanted to scream so loudly that they would hear from where they were, to know how much needless pain they caused me when I showed them nothing but kindness.  But…I’m glad that I received it, in the end.  It showed that I did respect myself.  That, in some way, I loved myself.  And it made me grow as a person.  I’m indebted to it, as painful as it was coming from someone that I admired and loved.

During those few months when I got a new job, things seemed to be going right and well for me (with its realistic downs, every now and then).  I had been getting better pay, had some good friends and met new ones, I was starting to write a story on FanFiction that I was really motivated and happy to do, and, somewhere down the line, I was inspired to think about making my own video game (one that I had thought about and fleshed out in some way, shape, or form).  Things were great.

Now?  Not so much.

–

This was a mistake, he thought to himself.  I should never have come here to this…hallowed ground. The planet was right there in front of him, covered in white and grey.  No blue, no green, no brown, just those two mute colors that he fully well expected to see from a planet experiencing a nuclear winter that wouldn’t end for years to come.

Flying over the planet, he inches the ship ever closer like he was drawing out the inevitable.  He made up so many excuses: would the ship be able to withstand the radiation?  Were the shields strong enough to withstand it?  Would his armor even protect him from the radiation plaguing the entire planet?  The answer was yes, of course.  But it didn’t make him all the more willing to go down, for reasons that weren’t because of what he listed.

As he inches close to the planet, the large and grey planet loomed in front of his windshield like a siren singing a haunting song to his doom.  A cursed liturgy of the millions that perished during and after that accursed genocide.  That needless genocide.  The storms raged and swirled around on the planet’s surface unforgivably, blizzards burying and drowning out whatever life could ever live on the land.  As Ender pulled the ship in closer to the atmosphere, the storms would continue to rage on, making Ender’s neck sweat hard and his brow drenched.  His throat became dry, and yet he swallowed hard as he gazed at the many maws of the never-ending maelstroms that would open and close, waiting for him to jump in.  Waiting for him to accept.

He hyperventilates a bit as he felt his head become heavy and lightheaded, holding his forehead as he felt the sweat form under his palms.  This was a bad idea, something that he should never have done.  He needed to turn back, to get away from this tainted planet as fast as he could and never come back.  Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he looks down at himself.  He needed to.  He had to.  He knew he had to.  If he didn’t make peace with this…he’ll always be in perpetual torment of this place.  Forever.

Wiping some stray tears from his face, he bites his whited lip as he grips the throttle and pulls into the gaping maws of the blizzard-ridden planet.

–

I don’t want to point this at anyone in particular (but then again, it’s not like they are on this website to my knowledge), but I could narrow it down to another individual that brought me my mental encumbrance.  I remember I was writing my story on FanFiction and there was one reader that seemed to be interested and followed my story for a bit.  But, one day, he decided that my silence on projects and lack of updates was the last straw for him, and he left a rather…brusque review.  One that was very critical of my work and how I operated rather coldly and without any personal OOC comments on the progress of it.

Even if what he said about my story was true, it killed my mojo for writing.  Completely.  And it left me doubting myself and my work.  While I did update and make an OOC post about my plans and the reviewer followed up with an apology, the damage was already done.  And my mood and buzz for writing something that I loved and cherished was killed instantly, by some piece of shit twat that thinks his opinions on products were profound and of the highest mindset in terms of what FanFiction has to offer.  But I think it killed more than just my writing, it killed everything else.  It killed my sense of purpose.

I lost my motivation to do anything and everything.  To be a better person, to keep myself on track, to do what I needed to do, to learn new things.  I had forgotten and abandoned all of it over time once it was all taken away from me.  I felt so worthless and I started to have pity myself again.  Pathetic, right?

And where am I right now, you ask?  Not any better than where I was before, I can tell you that much.

–

The ship shook and shuddered as it descended through the storms, hearing thunder and seeing snow flood his windshield.  Thankfully, his ship was powerful and was able to withstand atmospheres that would tear humans apart in a matter of seconds.  It didn’t make his descent any better.  A part of him hoped that it would be so brutal and ruthless to control that he would leave, but his ship’s shields was taking all of it rather well.  And it made a pit in his stomach.

There was no ground that he could see, even when he was below the clouds.  The snow drowned and flooded his screen without mercy, the fog covering what landscape there may (or may not) have been.  And the more he perused and observed the surface, the more dread he began to feel.  He drew closer to his coordinates by the minute and it felt so wrong.

The closer he got to his destination, the more unrecognizable the land around him became.  There was no familiar valley or hills that he had grew up on, no houses, no trees (of course not), no anything that would even remotely remind him of this once…sacred place.  And he only knew that things were just going to get worse, his head and body starting to sweat as he felt himself whimper a bit with every moment he was here.  This was true agony for him.  Merciless trauma.

Once he had arrived, he lands the ship as his right leg was bouncing on the floor impatiently and nervously.  This was the worst idea he could’ve possibly come up with and decided to do.  He storms out from the helm as he was panting intensely from whatever await him outside.  Putting on his armor he heads out to the landing pad and looks at the switch.  He stares at it for so long, knowing that only pain and anguish would await him outside.  His armor could brave the weather…but he wasn’t strong enough to find what lay ahead.  He knew it for a fact.

…I’ve come this far…

He pulls the switch as the nuclear winds flooded through the dock.

--

Today was something that I felt hard.  Something that I thought I was better at ignoring and knowing fully well wasn’t the truth.  But it was something...that seemed tangible to me, and something that drew a horrible realization.  I felt so alone, today.  I care about people way too much more than others do about me.  I tried messaging some friends on Discord, hoping that they were doing well.  They replied...but that voice in the back of my head is too convincing for my own good.

It felt like I was bothering them, annoying them with my presence.  They probably had better things to do and wanted to be left alone by some stupid idiot that was being an annoyance on their lives.

Whether this was true or not, it hit me that...I don’t think anyone really cares.  No one cares.  About me.  I had never felt more mortal and alone than in those moments at my work.  That, truly, my presence didn’t matter to anybody or my friends.  Don’t mistake this as suicide, because I would never do that.  But...if I disappeared tomorrow, would anyone really notice?  Would anyone ever look for me?  Would anyone actually care that I was gone?  How long would it take before they noticed that I’m not there anymore?  Not just on Discord, but on Tumblr.  Does anyone really care?

My existence is fleeting and I don't see a point of me being here. Why am I here? And it was at that moment that my suspicions about myself were true: I’m just a forlorn, forgotten, unwilling hermit.  I try to help and console as many of my friends and strangers as I can, because it’s what I enjoy doing.  I enjoy making people happy and trying to help them through their problems.  But they are so quick to move on with their lives...that I’m left behind.  And that’s all I’ll be good for: a counselor.

I’ll still be in my cold, empty, barren head even when I invite myself over to other people’s problems.  My sense of purpose and belonging only happens when I rudely invite myself into helping other people and initiate conversation first.  And although there are a small few that would take the chance and the time to talk to me, it still feels like they do it out of principle rather than because of genuine interest.  No one would even bother to talk to me first, invite me to places first, or join in on my sessions willingly.

I haven’t felt more forsaken or abandoned in my life.

--

“Radiation levels: extreme.  Adjusting radiation intake” his armor computer chimed.

Ender didn’t feel anything when the winds blew through.  And the blizzard quickly piled up near the end of the landing pad.  But it didn’t worry him...his head was filled with too many other worries than something as trivial as this.  He takes a step forward, then pulls it back as he sighs heavily.  He had to.  He just had to.

He takes a few steps forward and continued to slowly walk until he was outside.  The blizzard and winds lightly pushed and rolled over him, but that was thanks to his armor.  If he didn’t have this on, it would have sent him flying.  He looks around him, seeing the grey snow-covered landscape of the familiar hills and valleys completely changing whatever it may have been before.

Home.

The grey clouds and storms coated the entire horizon all around around him, seeing nothing but a barren wasteland with no sky or stars to be seen here.  Hallowed ground, indeed.  Ender pulls out his wrist pad to find the coordinates.  It was a short walk away.  And God, did he want to retreat.  But he had already come this far...he had to make his amends.

Trudging through the snow, he makes his way over to that place...his house.  The very place where he was born and raised in.  Looking up from his wrist pad, there was nothing of the sort here.  No house, no anything.  Just a pile of snow that had covered this now hundreds-of-years old planet.  He felt some tears well up in his eyes as he looked at it.  His home was gone, this place buried under the weight of a world that refused to move on.  A world that refused to accept humanity and ignore their menial and needless gripes against one another.

Ashen snow of a dead planet.

He goes over to where his house would be as he takes a knee and leans his head down.  Nothing here to remember what this place was when the nukes dropped.  Nothing at all.  And it hurt him, to know that his past, his childhood, whatever made him happy, was completely burnt away to a crisp and buried under this cursed snow.  He sighs shakily as some tears coursed down his cheek.

Ender gently places his hand on a part of the snow as he hangs his head down.  He missed them.  He missed his family so much.  His mom, his dad, and his sister.  They had all wasted away here...what happened when the missiles were coming?  Did they brace themselves?  Did they try to hide?  What did they do?

“I’m sorry...I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you guys...I’m...I’m so sorry...” he muttered and barely could speak out, his eyes welling up even more as he hung his head lower.

Then...he felt something under his hand as it sunk into the snow.  Something solid.  Tangible.

--

I was weak.

And I still am.  I let these stupid emotions get to me when I know better than to let it happen as it has so many times.  It’s hard for me to control my emotions when I’m...so emotional, you know?  I really feel things for people, sometimes overtly and sometimes not so overtly.  Not many people would agree with me on that, I’m sure, but I’m telling you how I see myself.

I hate myself so much, sometimes.  I hate that I care so much.  I hate that I let myself get this way, just venting and talking about shit that no one couldn’t give less of a shit about.  I hate using a story that I’ve wanted to write for a while about my muse (my Gary Stue, honestly) as an excuse to vent over shit that I’m sure many have glossed over.

It’s pathetic.

But it’s the only way I know how to be upfront and honest with people.  And...I wanted to create something different, experimental.  To see how I would feel about writing a pivotal plot point with my muse, as well as myself, I suppose.  I enjoy writing stories, but who reads them?  Much like the death of Keats, who mourns for Adonais?  I’m not proclaiming myself to be anything special of the sort, but who cares?  No one does.  I just talk into a void, hoping that it’ll answer back.  And it might not ever.

Ender is a muse that I really care for, one that I feel like I’ve grown up to be like almost as much as he has with me.  But we all like to roleplay as those that we are not, right?  He gets all the ladies (with their permission and consent, of course), he travels and goes to wherever he wants endlessly, and he gains friends and lovers wherever he goes.  I don’t believe that I’m that at all.  I’m not bold, I’m not brave, I’m not flirty, I’m not saucy, I’m not adventurous, and I’m certainly not strong.  I’m me, the same person I’ve been for 9 years since I’ve made this blog.

I’m still me...

--

What was this under his hand?  It felt...soft, but also hard.  It was bizarre, but also frightening.  Perhaps a piece of debris?  Ender grabs onto it firmly and pulls it out from the snow.  It was a decent clump of something, covered in snow of course.  But he couldn’t make out what it was.  A rock?

He starts to brush it off to see what it was.  The more he brushed it, the more he saw of what it was.

--

Sometimes I’m not proud of this blog or my muse, either.  I feel like he can be a one-trick pony for smut.  But I enjoy smut.  I enjoy loving and being loved.  Also, it’s fun.  Because it’s something that I’ve only experienced doing a few times in my miserable 25 years.  And I enjoy doing something that promotes pleasure and happiness, rather than something depressing, something that can hurt you, or something that can destroy you.  It’s also why I like fluff.  It makes me happy to see him and the other happy.

--

He started to brush it more and notices...tendrils?  What?  That didn’t make sense.  He brushes it some more and started to see that it was...hard.  Hard, but not rocky.  It was something else.  And it was interlocked and linked to something as well.  He started wipe it off some more until he slowly started to realize what it was.

--

Why am I still on this blog?  It feels like I always invite myself to RP with others that don’t really care or RP with me out of principle sometimes.  It feels like I’m bothering them, especially given the track record that my blog has.  Forget about RPing with canon blogs, something that I always want to do and would like to see myself get involved it.  But it’ll never happen, because...well, OC.  And a self-insert, for all intents and purposes. And I'm still wary about asking to RP with other OCs because of said track record. You only need to scroll a little to see what I'm famous for (or INfamous for, I should say). It's dumb.

--

It was a hand.  A skeleton hand.  And it was...holding another hand.  Ender felt his heart sink and tears started to well up under his eyes.

“...m...mo...mom?  Da...dad?” he could barely utter out.

There was a small, deeply burnt sear on the ring-finger of one of the hands.

--

I don’t know why I’ve continued for this long...

--

“N...No...oh...oh God...oh my God...oh my God!” he sobbed out quietly until he holds the hands tightly and presses it to his helmet.  He felt the tears streaming down his cheek as he sobs hard, pressing his helmeted forehead to it, hoping to feel something.  But the glass protected him from whatever radiation it surely housed.  To have something be between him and his parents...it was painful.  He presses a kiss against his helmet as he presses the joined hands to his helmet, but he couldn’t feel anything.  He hoped they did.  It only made it worse for him.

His sobs descended into screams of pain and sorrow, wanting to drown out the bitter storm that drove on around him.  He wanted to scream over this blizzard that flooded all sounds around him.  He wanted to scream against this dead planet so it could be heard around the world.  He wanted to scream so that his family could hear it in the next life...if one existed.

He wanted to be heard.

But nothing did.

[antagonistchanremade]

A couple years ago, I was telling my aunt about why I love Mass Effect.

There’s a ton of reasons, but because my aunt is a high school science teacher, I was mostly talking to her about how Mass Effect is basically the closest thing there is to a truly Science Fiction mainstream video game (I’m going by the definition here that the larger genre of “Sci-Fi” can be broken up into two smaller subgenres- “Science Fiction” which is actually scientific, it’s usually scientifically accurate and even if it isn’t it still clearly thinks very hard about science in relation to its worldbuilding; and “Future Fantasy” which is ultimately just a fantasy story pretending to be about technology. A basic (though not quite accurate) analogy: Star Trek is Science Fiction, while Star Wars is Future Fantasy (honestly, Star Trek is also Future Fantasy, but it’s a lot closer to Science Fiction than Star Wars is, and those are your traditional comparisons; truly Science Fiction stuff is more like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Martian)).

Anyways. Mass Effect is the closest thing there is to a truly Science Fiction mainstream video game. There’s lots of Future Fantasy games, but the Science Fiction end of the sci-fi scale is a lot more cerebral and slow and scientific. It’s harder to do at all, and even harder to make interesting for a mainstream audience. There’s a reason The Martian was such a big deal- it was a mainstream exciting adventure movie about a guy getting stranded on Mars that also happened to be (almost, the author has admitted that the storm that leaves him stranded was pretty contrived) completely scientifically accurate. Science Fiction is hard enough for books, and it’s even harder for movies, and EVEN HARDER for video games. If you wanted to find a truly Science Fiction video game, you’d have to look for weird indie games. There was a pretty cool Kickstarter campaign I saw in like 2014 for a game that was all about using 4th dimensional travel to solve puzzles (and they made it work by considering what it would be like for a 2D character to use 3rd dimensional travel to solve puzzles), I wonder what ever happened to it. I assume it didn’t get funded if I never heard about it again, which is too bad, it explained the concept really well.

So, as far as the mainstream stuff goes, Mass Effect is as good as it gets. Because it’s not completely scientifically accurate, but it’s more scientifically accurate than a lot of other series’, and even when it’s not scientifically accurate it’s still clearly keeping the science in mind- the titular Mass Effect technology honestly doesn’t really make any sort of sense, but the way it’s used does. Like, all you really need to understand with Mass Effect technology is that it fucks with gravity. Once you understand that, you can look at all the tech based on Mass Effect and realize that, if Mass Effect were a real thing, this would totally work... for the most part. There are exceptions, like FTL tech and biotics, that makes no sense whatsoever. But other things? Mass Effect-based architecture, weaponry, and transportation all totally checks out if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief for Mass Effect itself. And it’s also not just about the science- Science Fiction is all ultimately about being realistic and truly believable, and Mass Effect does a very good job on that front with its in-universe culture and politics.

Another thing about Mass Effect being Science Fiction is that sometimes it is genuinely scientific. As I was explaining to my aunt, there are two technologies that use “Quantum” in their name, and they’re both based on actual quantum science.

One of them is Quantum Entanglement Communicators, which is one of my all-time favorite bits of sci-fi technology because Quantum Entanglement is really fucking cool and this technology is a perfect- and scientifically accurate- implementation of it. Quantum Entanglement means that there are two particles that are linked, so if one changes state, so does the other, instantly, no matter the distance between them (science still isn’t quite sure how this is possible, and Einstein himself mockingly called it “Spooky Action at a Distance” because he didn’t believe it was really possible, but it is). And since all information technology is ultimately just based on binary code, an on-off state, like quantum entanglement, if you set up sensors and some sort of tech to change the state to use a quantum particle’s state as computer input and output, it can allow for lag-free communication from anywhere in the entire universe.

The other... is Quantum Blueboxes, which aren’t as interesting or examined as in-depth. A Quantum Bluebox is a quantum computer that’s used in AI development, and is basically necessary for a true AI.

And now, we’re finally at the point of this post.

My aunt scoffed at the Quantum Blueboxes, basically saying, “Laypeople just think ‘quantum means weird, so obviously a quantum computer could actually have consciousness!’ with no real basis. That’s not what quantum computers are.”.

Firefox just recommended me this article about this legendary physicist, Roger Penrose, who’s considered one of the most genius people around and helped Hawking figure out his black hole stuff... and also believes that quantum mechanics are the only thing that can explain consciousness. This is apparently a fringe theory that wouldn’t even remotely be taken seriously if it weren’t for the fact that Roger fucking Penrose believes in it, but still. Quantum = Consciousness is a real theory that’s taken somewhat seriously in the scientific community, so it is perfectly reasonable for a Science Fiction story to use that idea.

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: National Bird Day 

The Secret Perfume of Birds by Danielle J. Whittaker 

The puzzling lack of evidence for the peculiar but widespread belief that birds have no sense of smell irked evolutionary biologist Danielle Whittaker. Exploring the science behind the myth led her on an unexpected quest investigating mysteries from how juncos win a fight to why cowbirds smell like cookies. In The Secret Perfume of Birds - part science, part intellectual history, and part memoir - Whittaker blends humor, clear writing, and a compelling narrative to describe how scent is important not just for birds but for all animals, including humans.

Whittaker engagingly describes how emerging research has uncovered birds' ability to produce complex chemical signals that influence their behavior, including where they build nests, when they pick a fight, and why they fly away. Mate choice, or sexual selection - a still enigmatic aspect of many animals' lives - appears to be particularly influenced by smell. Whittaker's pioneering studies suggest that birds' sexy (and scary) signals are produced by symbiotic bacteria that manufacture scents in the oil that birds stroke on their feathers when preening. From tangerine-scented auklets to her beloved juncos, redolent of moss, birds from across the world feature in Whittaker's stories, but she also examines the smelly chemicals of all kinds of creatures, from iguanas and bees to monkeys and humans. 

Readers will enjoy a rare opportunity to witness the twisting roads scientific research can take, especially the challenging, hilarious, and occasionally dangerous realities of ornithology in the wild.

A World on the Wing by Scott Weidensaul 

In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we’ve learned of these key migrations - how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis - is nothing short of extraordinary.

Bird migration entails almost unfathomable endurance, like a sparrow-sized sandpiper that will fly nonstop from Canada to Venezuela - the equivalent of running 126 consecutive marathons without food, water, or rest - avoiding dehydration by "drinking" moisture from its own muscles and organs, while orienting itself using the earth’s magnetic field through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in nine days of nonstop flight, as some birds do, leaves little time for sleep, but migrants can put half their brains to sleep for a few seconds at a time, alternating sides - and their reaction time actually improves.

These and other revelations convey both the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep, from the mudflats of the Yellow Sea in China to the remote mountains of northeastern India to the dusty hills of southern Cyprus. This breathtaking work of nature writing from Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul also introduces readers to those scientists, researchers, and bird lovers trying to preserve global migratory patterns in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges.

Birds and Us by Tim Birkhead

Since the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art and philosophy. Looking to the skies above, we have variously worshipped them as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves in their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight and, more recently, attempted to protect them.

In Birds and Us, award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on an epic and dazzling journey through this mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to Renaissance experiments on woodpecker anatomy, from Victorian obsessions with egg collecting to the present fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats.

Weaving in stories from his own life as a scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is the culmination of a lifetime's research and unforgettably shows how birds shaped us, and how we have shaped them.

The Hawk’s Way by Sy Montgomery 

When Sy Montgomery went to spend a day at falconer Nancy Cowan’s farm, home to a dozen magnificent birds of prey, it was the start of a deep love affair. Nancy allowed her to work with Jazz, a feisty, four-year-old, female Harris’s hawk with a wingspan of more than four feet. Not a pet, Jazz was a fierce predator with talons that could pierce skin and bone and yet, she was willing to work with a human to hunt. From the first moment Jazz swept down from a tree and landed on Sy’s leather gloved fist, Sy fell under the hawk’s magnetic spell.

Over the next few years, Sy spent more time with these magnificent creatures, getting to know their extraordinary abilities and instincts. They are deeply emotional animals, quick to show anger and frustration, and can hold a grudge for years. But they are also loyal and intensely aware of their surroundings. In this mesmerizing account, featuring sixteen pages of gorgeous color photographs, Sy passionately and vividly reveals the wonderous world of hawks and what they can teach us about nature, life, and love.

[technotale]

"An Introduction to Refractories: Essential Materials for High-Temperature Industries"

Quantum sensors are devices that utilize the principles of quantum mechanics to measure and detect physical quantities with exceptional precision and sensitivity. They harness the unique properties of quantum systems, such as superposition and entanglement, to enable highly accurate and advanced sensing capabilities.

Unlike traditional sensors that rely on classical physics, quantum sensors leverage quantum effects to achieve unprecedented levels of accuracy and resolution. They can measure a wide range of physical quantities, including time, position, acceleration, magnetic fields, electric fields, temperature, and more. Quantum sensors have applications in various fields, including metrology, navigation, imaging, healthcare, environmental monitoring, and fundamental research.

One key property of quantum sensors is their ability to achieve extreme sensitivity. Quantum systems can be manipulated and controlled in ways that allow for the detection of minute changes or variations in physical quantities. For example, quantum magnetometers can measure extremely weak magnetic fields, which is valuable in applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), geophysics, and detecting magnetic anomalies in materials or biological systems.

Another advantage of quantum sensors is their high precision and accuracy. Quantum systems can exhibit intrinsic noise reduction mechanisms and can surpass the limits imposed by classical physics. For instance, atomic clocks based on quantum principles provide precise timekeeping that is crucial in fields such as satellite navigation systems, telecommunications, and scientific research. Quantum sensors also offer the potential for enhanced imaging capabilities. By exploiting quantum entanglement and quantum coherence, imaging techniques such as quantum-enhanced imaging or quantum radar can provide sharper and more detailed images compared to classical imaging methods. This can have significant implications in fields like biomedical imaging, remote sens

[myserendipities]

An international team of scientists claim to have found a way to speed up, slow down, and even reverse the clock of a given system by taking advantage of the unusual properties of the quantum world, Spanish newspaper El País reports. In a series of six papers, the team from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna detailed their findings. The familiar laws of physics don't map intuitively onto the subatomic world, which is made up of quantum particles called qubits that can technically exist in more than one state simultaneously, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. Now, the researchers say they've figured out how to turn these quantum particles' clocks forward and backward. "In a theater, [classical physics], a movie is projected from beginning to end, regardless of what the audience wants," Miguel Navascués, a researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information who worked on the research, told El País. "But at home [the quantum world], we have a remote control to manipulate the movie," he added. "We can rewind to a previous scene or skip several scenes ahead." "We have made science fiction come true!" the researcher exclaimed. By developing a "rewind protocol," the team says they were able to revert an electron to a previous state. In experiments, they say they were able to demonstrate the use of a quantum switch to revert a photon to its original state before passing through a crystal. While it's an exciting prospect, scaling up the technique could prove extremely difficult, if not impossible. "If we could lock a person in a box with zero external influences, it would be theoretically possible," Navascués told El País. "But with our currently available protocols, the probability of success would be very, very low." And there's an even bigger catch as well. "Also, the time needed to complete the process depends on the amount of information the system can store," Navascués added. "A human being is a physical system that contains an enormous amount of information. It would take millions of years to rejuvenate a person for less than a second, so it doesn’t make sense." Besides, the system is only able to revert the state of a given particle. To speed up time, though, the researchers have an ace up their sleeves. "We discovered that you can transfer evolutionary time between identical physical systems," Navascués explained. "In a year-long experiment with ten systems, you can steal one year from each of the first nine systems and give them all to the tenth." Instead of recreating "Back to the Future," the researchers see more mundane practical applications of their discovery. For instance, qubit states of a quantum processor could be reversed, effectively allowing researchers to undo errors during their development.

https://futurism.com/scientists-reverse-time-quantum

[kendimize-mektuplar-blog]

Quantum Entanglement

-1- Bir kere şiir yazmaya kalkmıştım. Çıkış noktam; Bu kadar çok şiir okuyan, seven birisi mutlaka şiir de yazabilmeliydi. Ne kadar saçma bir düşünce olduğunu yazmaya başladığımda fark ettim. O kadar kötüydü ki, sayfaları yırtmakla kalmadım bir de yaktım üstüne. Çöp toplayan emekçilerin dahi eline geçmesini göze alamamıştım.

Yani yazarak iletişim konusunda pek iyi sayılmam. Ayrıca, konuşmaktan ziyade dinlemeyi tercih ederim. Kendimi anlatmakta bazen sıkıntı yaşıyorum. Öyle ki kelimeler boğazımda düğüm düğüm olmaktan boğazıma acı veriyor. Bence bu durum anadilim dahil, dil sistemlerinin her duyguyu veya düşünceyi anlatacak karşılıklara sahip olmaması. Ya da belki vardır ben bilmiyorumdur; Bazı şeyler ilk defa başıma geldiği için. « Yeni Bir söz bulsam neye yarar ki, söyleyemediklerimiziz –İnce bir sızı gibi-»

İnanç sistemlerine de dahil değilim. Şüpheciyim. Ölünce çürüyüp kurda kuşa yem olacağız inancındayım. Herşeyin bir açıklaması, rasyonel bir sebebi vardır, olmalı, tarafındayım daha çok. Ama bu durum yanlış anlaşılmasın. Zygmunt Bauman’ın «Tanrı’ya ve İnsana Dair» kitabında belirttiği gibi, fiziğe, genetiğe, Marx’a , GSYH’ye, bilgisayar bilimine adeta bir dinmiş gibi inanan insanlardan da olmak istemem. (S.14) Bu örneklerin her birinde tanrı tektir. Neyse, Yani elbette sorgulamak gerekir.

İnsanlar açıklama getiremedikleri her duruma mutlaka bir doğaüstü anlam yüklemişler değil mi?

Kuantum fiziğinde kuantum dolanıklık denilen ve Einstein’in Spooky Action At a Distance olarak adlandırdığı, bir şey var. Şöyle ki, iki parçacık aynı sistem içinde etkileşime girdiğinde dalga fonksiyonları dolaşık hale geliyor. Birbirine gönül vermiş ve spinleri zıt yönde bu parçacık çiftiyle bir düzenek kursak, her iki parçacık spin durumlarını bilmeden up and down spin durumları arasında dolaşıp dururlar. Ama bu parçacıklardan bir tanesine dışarıdan müdahale edersek ve spin durumunu değiştirirsek (dalga fonksiyonları çöker, kararlı duruma geçerler) , spin up oldu diyelim, diğer dolanık elektron anında spin down olur: 13,7 milyar ışık hızı uzakta, yani evrenin diğer ucunda olsa bile. (Derli toplu ifade edebilmek için Evrim Ağacı sitesinden faydalandım. Sonuçta Einstein’ın bile kafasını karıştırmış bir mikro evren söz konusu) 2

Peki, iki parçacık nasıl oluyor da çok uzun ve derin etkileşime girmeden birbirlerini tanıyormuş gibi olabiliyorlar? Hiç konuşmadan anlaşabiliyorlar? Veya hissedebiliyorlar. (Onlar da korkuyor mu acaba?) 

Yani biri diğerinin bir sonraki adımını hissedebiliyor, hatta gerçekleştiğinde bu durumu garip karşılamayıp, yadırgamadan kabul edebiliyor. Ya da bu en olmadık zamanda ve mekanda gerçekleşiveren dolanıklık hali nasıl oluyor da çok uzun bir zaman dilimine yayılabiliyor. Doğrusu bilmiyorum.

Diyelim ki spin down elektron negatif bir etki yaydı ya da bu durum spin up parçacığına öyle yansıdı. Spin up parçacık, gelen bu negatif veriye rağmen, spin down parçacığa sonsuz güvenebilir. Sebebini de bilmeyebilir. (İki parçacık arasındaki bağların rahatsız edici kırılganlığına rağmen) 

Schrödinger’in zavallı kedisini şizofren yapmış bir teoriden söz ediyoruz en nihayetinde.

Spin up (bundan sonra dünyadaki parçacık spin up olarak adlandırılacaktır) spin down parçacıkla (evrenin diğer ucuna giden parçacık) dolanık duruma geçmesiyle beraber, başka hiçbir elektronun onunla artık dolanık olmasına/dolanmasına izin vermeyebilir, vermez de. Veremez. Spin up’ın bu garip sadakat anlayışının tam olarak Quantum Entanglement teorisindeki yerini bilmiyorum.

Spin down parçacığın yukarılarda anlatılan durumlardan hiç haberi olmayabilir hatta umrunda bile olmayabilir. Olsun. Çünkü burada ışık hızından daha hızlı hareket eden bir bilgi akışından söz etmiyoruz. O zaman genel görelilik teorisini delmiş olurduk ki bu mümkün değil.

Özetle, Bazı şeylerin, şimdilik, açıklaması yoktur, insafı da.

Mucize diye bir şey yoktur. (?)  Yaşamdan mucizeler beklemek ahmaklıktır. (mıdır?) Mucizeler klişe Hollywood filmlerinde olur.(?) 

Yaralarımız asla iyileşmez ve açık kalır. (kapanır mı?) 

(Kendi kabuk bağlamamış yaralarımız varken, hiç aklımızdan çıkmayan başka açık yaraları tek tek öpüp iyileştirme arzumuz sönmez yine de)

Ama

Parçacıklar, evrenin iki ucunda da olsalar ve hep öyle durmak zorunda bile kalsalar, en azından dolanık olduklarını bilmek eminim biraz huzur veriyordur. … Ha, bir de Dark City (1998)

... Şubat 2019

3

DİP NOTLAR

Başka parçacıklara yersiz ilgi gösteren veya hala bu parçacıkımsılardan kopup uzaya fırlayan paylaşımlara ilgi gösteren spin down yüzünden, spin up parçacığın, o diğer parçacıkımsıları daha da küçük parçacıklarına ayırmak üzere, bir odayı naylonla kaplayıp, daha sonra testereyle daha da küçük parçacıklarına ayırma hevesi ve arzusu olabilir. Normaldir.

Quantum Entanglement - Surprising "remote connection"

A common quantum mechanical state of separated systems Quantum entanglement is a physical phenomenon that occurs when quantum systems such as photons, electrons, atoms or molecules interact and then become separated, so that they subsequently share a common quantum mechanical state. Even when a pair of such entangled particles are far apart, they remain "connected" in the sense that a measurement on one of them instantly reveals the corresponding aspect of the quantum state of its twin partner. These "aspects" of quantum state can be position, momentum, spin, polarization, etc. While it can only be described as a superposition with indefinite value for the entangled pair, the measurement on one of the partners produces a definite value that instantly also determines the corresponding value of the other.